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Kyouko inserted her key into the lock and gave it a twist. The key stubbornly didn’t move. She frowned and turned the doorknob with care before tugging the door towards herself. It opened. Her breathing sped up but she willed herself to keep calm. Panicking would not help.
She took a tentative step inside and gently pulled the door behind her, leaving it open a crack in case of a quick getaway. She took a breath and eyed her apartment. Nothing seemed to be ransacked- her mail was still in a huge pile on her coffee table, tv still playing some mindless reality show she never watched, the morning’s breakfast still left half prepared on the counter and even the wilted flowers were still on table-- the same number of fallen petals lying by its pathetic vase.
Not a burglar then. A kidnapper hiding to make his move? Someone out for revenge? An unsatisfied client?
She took another step inside and her leg hit something warm… something human-sized. She grabbed the first thing she could reach-- which turned out to be the framed photo hanging on the wall of the narrow doorway left by the previous owners- and swung it threateningly at the… intruder? She heard a whimper and froze, finally looking down. The person was more of a cocoon the way they were crouching with their arms wrapped around themselves. They timidly uncurl their head and turned to stare at the detective.
“K-Kirigiri-kun?” a trembling voice asks.
“Fukawa-san?” Kyouko blinks in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
Fukawa swallows visibly and shakely tries to stand up. Her knees fold into her and she grabs at Kyouko to steady herself. Her breathing is labored and she feels mildly sticky. Kyouko wraps an arm around her waist just to steady the poor shaking girl.
“I-I don’t k-know,” she stuttered. “I w-woke up a-all covered in.. in b-blood and a-already here…” she trailed off, hiccuping mildly.
Kyouko stared at her and began to notice everything she missed before. There is blood streaked in her hair and her glasses are covered in it. The murder weapon-- her trusty scissors-- are in her front pockets and there is blood splatter on her clothes.
“We need to get you out of these,” Kyouko said. Somewhere in her mind, a voice of reason told her this was a bad idea but she couldn’t just turn her back on her fellow classmate. Not after everything they had been through.
Fukawa meekly nodded and let Kyouko lead her into the bathroom. She pushed the girl into the shower after helping her strip and left to fetch some clean clothes.
Returning to the bathroom, she dragged a sulking Fukawa out of the shower and into a big fluffy towel.
“Can you change into the clothes by yourself?” Kyouko asked, concerned. The other girl didn’t seem to be in a good frame of mind and Kyouko wasn’t sure how much she could manage on her own.
“I-I think I c-can,” Fukawa gave a slight nod.
“Ok,” Kyouko nodded, her arm resting over the girl’s shoulders, less in comfort and more to stabilize the other girl if she starts to fall. The bathroom is cramped and just a slight wobble might end up with Fukawa hitting her head on a number of hard surfaces.
Kyouko twists around to grab another towel for Fukawa’s hair when she feels Fukawa shiver, then her breathing quickens and…
Achoo!
Kyouko freezes, her heart in her throat. Taking a deep breath, she wills herself to turn back and face the other girl now.
“Kyouko-chi?” a manic voice exclaims. “Da--arling~ What a pleasant surprise!”
Kyouko takes another deep soothing breath before wrapping the second towel around Syo’s soaking hair.
“Not pleasant, not pleasant at all, Syo-san,” she says, grimacing.
Syo blinks looking around the room, checking out her surroundings. She looks down at herself and grins.
“Wooaah, Kyouko-chi, aren’t we so forward! Already got me undressed, you sly minx!” she cackles.
“I see you can manage changing into the clothes by yourself now so you do not need me anymore,” Kyouko says briskly and heads for the door.
“No, no, nooo!” Syo whines. “I’m so helpless! Please help me, o great detective-sama!” she winks with what she must assume seems enticing but only makes Kyouko cringe. An arm snakes around her waist and next thing she knows she has a naked Syo pressed up against her, nuzzling into her neck.
Kirigiri pushed her away and hurried out the door. She twisted the bolt locking the murderess inside.
“Kyouko-chi!! Let me out~” Syo’s voice sounds a bit muffled coming from the other side of the door. She’s banging against the door, making a huge racket which really doesn’t help considering it is late in the evening. “ Please ,” her voice momentarily breaks and she actually sounds vulnerable. “I… I f-fucked up, Kyou-chan, I really did…” her voice going extremely quiet, the racket dying down. She hears a quiet thump and is surprised to hear the other start to… sob.
She stands there as minutes tick by before finally cursing under her breath and unlocking the bathroom door as silently as possible. Which is hardly at all, the damn thing squeaking worse than a dying cat.
Inside the bathroom… Syo is sitting on the tiled floor, hunched over, tears streaming down her face. Hearing the door, she staggers to stand up but a tremor passes through her, and she falls down on the floor, banging her knees. Kyouko rushes to her side, and Syo wraps her arms around her neck.
Not really knowing what to do, Kyouko begins to pet her hair, staring off into space. She’s sure she’d seen a movie or something where one of the characters comforted their friend like this. Syo just sobbed into the space between her neck and shoulder. Kyouko thought it was uncomfortable but there wasn’t a lot she could do so she let it be. She just slowly stepped out of the bathroom, dragging Syo with her to the living room. She sat down on the couch and Syo tumbled down with her.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” Kyouko sighed.
Syo shook her head, pressing her face closer and out of sight. The tears seemed to be stopping though so Kyouko pursed her lips and just kept petting.