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KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
“Go away!”
Komaru grimaced, withdrawing her hand from the bathroom door. “Toko, come on! It’s just Makoto and Kirigiri! I thought you were friends with them!”
“I’m friends with you, and I don’t want to see you either!” came the muffled response. Wow, that was… actually kind of sweet, as far as things Toko yelled when she’d locked herself into the apartment’s bathroom went. She hadn’t even denied that she considered the two others friends.
Komaru sighed and turned back to her guests. “I’m sorry about this. Surprises make Toko kind of anxious, and when she gets anxious, she tends to…” She gestured helplessly at the door.
The couple had flown in to Towa City by helicopter earlier that day, only calling via radio about an hour previous to inform Komaru and Toko of their impeding arrival. That lack of warning was rare, for Makoto at least; usually the two siblings would plan their meetings with each other extensively before they actually occurred. Toko had said something about Kirigiri being “an insensitive boor who never thinks of other people” before bunkering down in the bathroom, which seemed to imply that the late notice was probably her doing, though Komaru had long since learned not to trust Toko’s judgment when it came to other people. She hadn’t spoken much with Kirigiri herself, but it was easy to see that Makoto absolutely adored her, and Komaru knew that he was certainly a lot better with people than Toko was. She just hoped her brother’s girlfriend wouldn’t end up thinking ill of the two of them.
Makoto waved off his sister’s apologies. “No, we’re sorry. We should have given you two more time to prepare. It’s not polite to just drop in like this.”
“Then drop out!” came Toko’s frustrated yell. “Come back later! Never, even!”
“Toko!” Komaru glared at the bathroom door as though her roommate could somehow see her disapproving look. Maybe she could; Komaru could easily picture Toko huddled against the opposite side of the door, glasses askew as she glared at nothing in particular. “Is this just because you’re self-conscious? You look fine; you always do!”
Toko tried to scoff loud enough to be heard through the door, but it turned into a coughing fit instead.
If Kirigiri was at all phased by the “welcome” they’d received, she didn’t show it. Komaru supposed that she and Makoto had known Toko even longer than she had, though it felt strange to think about. All her life before the Monokumas attacked felt like a dream, or the kind of faraway childhood memory that you weren’t entirely sure your mind hadn’t simply manufactured. Her current life started, more or less, with Toko.
Glancing between Makoto and Kirigiri, where they were not-so-subtly holding hands, Komaru wondered if they knew the feeling.
“Is there a reason you guys came today? Not that I don’t like seeing you…“ It was a good thing Toko was too busy clearing her throat to respond to that one. Komaru continued, “But, like, you didn’t come here to tell me any bad news or anything, did you?”
“No, nothing negative. And I’m afraid the late notice was my fault,” said Kirigiri, confirming Komaru’s suspicions. “I only sprung it on Makoto last night.”
“Yeah, and we wanted you to be the first one to know!” cut in Makoto. “Well… one of the first. I didn’t think you would mind us giving Fukawa the news at the same time, and I’m pretty sure Hagakure knows because he said some stuff yesterday that sort of implied—“
“I certainly didn’t tell Hagakure,” interrupted Kirigiri, sounding insulted.
“Yeah, I figured, but all that ‘psychic’ stuff does seem to work for him sometime…”
“Just coincidences. There’s no way that that man of all people has supernatural powers—“
“Oh my god!” The cry came from behind the bathroom door. “Spit it out already! Is she knocked up or what?!”
“Wh—“ Makoto turned bright red, holding up his hands defensively. “Kyoko isn’t pregnant; we’re engaged!”
Komaru gaped, first at him and then at his outstretched hands. She hadn’t been able to see it when he had been busy holding hands with Kirigiri, but now that there were no obstacles between her and his right hand, she could see a gold ring on the ring finger.
“Makoto!” she squealed, rushing forward to embrace him, and her new sister-in-law, too, when she was forcibly shoved out of the way. She turned to blink at the open bathroom door, and then back at Makoto, whose engagement ring was being inspected by a suddenly personable Toko. Komaru caught her brother’s eye and he merely shrugged good-naturedly.
“You really made your girlfriend be the one to propose? Of course you did,” Toko was saying, her tone somewhere between impressed and scornful. She picked up his hand and held the ring to the light, admiring the way it shone. “Wow. Kirigiri, your taste in jewelry is definitely better than your taste in boys.”
Kirigiri cleared her throat, eyeing Toko with annoyance. “He didn’t make me do anything,” she corrected, cheeks tinted slightly. “I know I can be reticent, so I thought it would be meaningful if I was the one to make such a grand gesture. That’s all.”
With her brother occupied by Toko’s interest, Komaru took the opportunity to walk up and hug Kirigiri. The detective stiffened in surprise, but didn’t move to break contact. “I’m so happy for you guys,” Komaru gushed.
Eventually, Toko regressed to sulking, this time over the fact that her old classmates had gotten engaged before she’d even gotten to go on a proper date with “Master,” though at least this time she was content to do so in the same room as all of them. Usually her obsessing over Togami bothered Komaru, but right now, Komaru was too happy to feel jealous. She threw her arms around Makoto as soon as he was free, and spent some time admiring his engagement ring as well.
“Kirigiri, can I see yours, too?” she asked, bouncing up and down excitedly as she maneuvered so that she had one arm around each of them.
“Oh, it’s on under her—“
Kirigiri cut her fiancé off simply by taking hold of her right glove with her left hand and, with only minimal hesitation, slipping it off completely. Komaru gasped.
Her hand was dark red and riddled with burn scars, yes, but that wasn’t the issue. Situated on her ring finger was a thin—so as not to mess up the fit of her gloves, Komaru imagined—gold band with diamond-cut gems encrusted at regular intervals. The gems themselves were a soft lavender that matched Kirigiri’s hair. “Wooow!” She was too preoccupied to notice the touched, proud look Makoto was shooting his fiancée over her head.
“Gee, go ahead and rub it in,” grumbled Toko nonsensically, apparently ignoring the fact that she’d previously come out of hiding just to admire Makoto’s ring.
Kirigiri replaced her glove before long, an uncharacteristic vulnerability in her eyes as she did so, only to be embraced again by Komaru. “Welcome to the family,” Komaru said softly.
Her new sister-in-law’s response was a short, genuine smile.