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Shuichi smiles when Kaede rests her head against his shoulder, sliding her arm around his lower back and squeezing gently. He reciprocates the half-hug, resting his own arm around her shoulders but being careful not to mess up her hair. The whole class is wearing the light brown school uniform today- even Kokichi and Korekiyo- because of the occasion. Why wouldn’t they, on their graduation day, after all? There will be plenty of time for hugging and talking later, of course, but as the class representative Kaede will be going up to give a speech, and since their names are a bit far apart in the alphabet, they won’t be sitting near each other, so they won’t get a lot of time to be together during the actual ceremony.
“I’m glad you’re here for this.” She says quietly, and Shuichi hums, glancing at her. Her plum eyes are smiling, and this close he can smell the pleasant scent of her honeysuckle shampoo. Still, though, she seems a bit sad. Everyone is a bit sad, today.
“Of course we’re here,” Shuichi replies, and glances over his shoulder to where Rantaro is chatting with Korekiyo. “We wouldn’t miss our graduation for the world.”
He means that, too. This is an important day. After today, they’ll no longer be students at Hope’s Peak Academy. After their graduation their titles as the Ultimate Detective and the Ultimate Adventurer will no longer be there. It’s something to be sad about. But happy, too, Shuichi supposes. Still, not the kind of thing he’d want to miss. There’s already another Ultimate Detective in the first year, and someday soon there will be another Ultimate Adventurer. Hope’s Peak is going to keep going on as it always does. But it’s not going to be the same.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so. And I didn’t think Rantaro would miss the opportunity to see Mukuro today either.” Kaede smiles, and Shuichi nods, because of course he wouldn’t. The students from the 78th class, as well as the majority of class 77-B are here to see the graduation. Makoto, one of the alumni from class 78, is even going to give a speech after Kaede. It’s going to be a long day. But Shuichi’s a bit excited. “Still, I really wanted you guys to be here. The class always feels less full when you two are gone.”
“Aw, Kaede…” Shuichi pauses. “I’m always just a phone call or a text away if you need me, you know.”
“Unless you’re on a boat or a plane,” the pianist counters with a raised eyebrow and a small grin. Shuichi begrudgingly returns the expression, chuckling quietly because he knows she’s right. “Tsumugi was really worried that you’d miss the ceremony when you didn’t come back until late last night.”
“Ah, I’m sorry about that,” he apologises. “The flight was delayed.” He pauses, then adds, “I thought Tsumugi didn’t like Rantaro very much?”
“Oh, she likes him plenty, she’s just a bit petty about the time when Rantaro painted my nails in our first year.” Kaede rolls her eyes. “This was before she knew which way Rantaro swings, though.” Shuichi laughs when she does, but still feels a bit sad about it, because those moments are going to be few and far between now that they’re all going off into their own lives. Even though he and Rantaro were always traveling, they still consistently came back to Hope’s Peak. They always had a reason to come around and see everybody. Now, they’re not going to have that. When they come back to Japan, they’ll be seeing family, but… not so much all of their classmates.
Who won’t be their classmates anymore, by the end of today.
Kaede seems to sense that he’s feeling sad about it, because she squeezes him around the middle with a very determined look in her eyes. “Don’t feel bad, Shuichi, we’ll keep in touch.” She assures. “You’re my best friend, you know? There’s no way I’d ever stop talking to you for any reason! Plus, I’m going on tour right after this, remember? My first destination is San Francisco. We’ll be flying there together. You, me, Tsumugi, Rantaro.” She grins. “There’s no way we’ll lose touch, yeah?”
“I know.” Shuichi responds. “And I doubt anyone else is going to let us lose touch either. Kokichi threatened to call me every day at four in the morning where I am unless I text him frequently enough. I don’t know if he really meant that, but I’m not necessarily willing to take my chances. I’d rather just keep in touch.”
The pianist giggles. “Well, now that he and his boyfriend and Miu are moving in together, maybe they’ll be able to act as his impulse control.” Shuichi smiles at the reminder- it was an awkward conversation they had several months ago, about Kokichi and Miu’s home situations, but then Kiibo just spoke up and offered to bring them in with him and Professor Idabashi. They obviously hesitated at first, but Kiibo was insistent, and when it came down to it… perhaps they all really wanted to live together. “Actually, maybe not Miu. She’s not really equipped to be anybody’s impulse control.”
“After your tour, are you and Tsumugi going to get an apartment?” Shuichi asks, because they haven’t really talked much about what Kaede and Tsumugi plan to do. “I haven’t said so yet but I think it’s great that she’s going with you, by the way.”
“We’re talking about it.” Kaede admits. “But neither of us are sure what the future is going to hold. I’d love to live with her, of course, but it could be extremely awkward.” She shrugs. “We’ll see what happens after the tour. Staying together in a hotel room is a lot different than going to the same boarding school.” That’s for sure, but Shuichi is pretty sure that Kaede and Tsumugi’s relationship is a lot stronger than she makes it out to be whenever they’re talking.
“Uhm, it’s just my opinion, but I really think that you two have a good connection.” Shuichi says with a small smile. “Don’t underestimate the strength of your relationship just because we’re in high school and things aren’t permanent. Just enjoy your time together, alright?”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Kaede sighs. “You’re definitely the one to be telling me that, too, considering that you and Rantaro are total couple goals.” At that, Shuichi blushes, and she laughs. Nowadays, Kaede is really the only person who can make him blush like that. (Except Rantaro, of course, but that’s totally different.) “Do you know what Maki and Kaito are planning to do?”
“Kaito’s moving to America, I think?” The detective hums. “He’s moving to Texas. Uhm, Houston, Texas. And I think Maki might be considering following him, but maybe not.” Kaito still hasn’t figured out that Maki has feelings for him, of course, so it might just not work out. He is rather oblivious. Shuichi can’t help smiling anyway. “He’s gunning to get to space as quickly as possible.”
“Naturally.” Kaede rolls her eyes with a good-natured smile. “I hear that secret group that Mukuro and Kyoko are working with wants to recruit Kirumi to take down evil people.”
“Evil people is a bit of an odd way to put it, isn’t it?” Shuichi asks. She pouts at him, though, and he chuckles a bit, shaking his head. “I think that’s the case, but I doubt Kirumi will join them. She’d rather do maid-work. It’s what she’s cut out for, after all.” He’ll never really understand it, but Kirumi deserves to be doing what she loves. And what she loves is being a maid. So he’ll support her no matter what. “Did Ryoma tell you that he was accepted into a university?”
“Really?” Kaede gasps. “No, he didn’t!”
“Ah, perhaps I shouldn’t have told you, then,” Shuichi smiles slightly, glancing over his shoulder to where Ryoma and Gonta are talking. Gonta is bending down rather far to listen to Ryoma speak, which is a sweet display. They’ve developed a pretty strong friendship this past year. “But yes, I think partially because he’s an Ultimate, but he said they mentioned being impressed by his work ethic, and that the essay he wrote on his application form was powerful and they wanted a student like them at his school. They’re offering a full scholarship and housing for the next four years.”
“What do you think he’ll do?” Kaede asks. “Like, major in.”
“I’m not sure,” Shuichi admits. “But he mentioned being interested in psychology. Helping kids get over traumatic experiences in a better way than he did. He’s been talking to Miaya about this a lot,” he adds, in reference to Miaya Gekkogahara, the counselor at their school. “And I think it’s something he’s passionate about. It makes me happy to see him passionate about something.” Shuichi can’t help smiling a bit wider. “He deserves it.”
“He does.” Kaede agrees. “Of course everyone knows that Angie, Tenko, and Himiko are moving in together.”
“Tenko won’t stop talking about it,” Shuichi snorts, thinking back to when Tenko first announced it, kicking open the classroom door and yelling, TENKO IS MOVING IN WITH HER BEAUTIFUL GIRLFRIENDS AFTER GRADUATION! It took a while for Tenko and Angie to get to that point with each other. It makes him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. They’ve all come rather far. “Kiyo will be coming with Rantaro and me next time we go to Vietnam. Just for the flight, though. He doesn’t have any business in the capital.” He remarks, and Kaede nods.
“That makes sense. He usually just works in smaller civilisations.” She comments, and Shuichi hums. He’s looking forward to it. Korekiyo has always been so interesting, and knowledgeable, and he’s just an overall good person to be around. (Even if he has a tendency to say a lot of unsettling things without realising it.) “What is it that Gonta’s getting up to? He’s taking his family camping or something, right?”
“Sort of.” Shuichi smiles. “Do you remember when we all showed up at Gonta’s door half an hour before dinner and dined with his family?”
“I do, yeah!” Kaede beams. “And we all talked about how much of a gentleman he is.”
Shuichi nods. “He told me that his parents decided that if that was really the case, then they wanted to go with him to see the place where he grew up.” Gonta’s other family, the one in the forest, is a family that it took him a while to tell everyone about. Initially, Shuichi was the only one who knew. But they all learned eventually. They’ve come that far together. “He cried, telling me.” Shuichi adds.
“He’s such a sweetheart.” Kaede sighs, and Shuichi feels inclined to agree. He almost got a really big crush on Gonta right at the beginning of his first year when he began attending Hope’s Peak. Just like his crushes on Kaede and Kaito though, he pretty much let them both shrivel up and die inside of him, perhaps because he felt he wasn’t good enough. (He’s glad that he didn’t do that with Rantaro.) At this point, Kaede gives him another, more serious look, and speaks again. “So what about you two?”
“Hm? You already know what our plans are,” Shuichi points out, and Kaede nods, because of course Shuichi and Rantaro told everyone about the search for his sisters eventually- well, rather, Rantaro told everyone, and it went a lot better than Rantaro thought it would. It was a good moment. Everyone in the class has been looking out for them ever since. “We’re going to keep searching.”
“But after that. What do you plan on doing?” Kaede asks. “You’re still going to be together, I assume.”
“Ah, I don’t know. I mean, I’d like to be in a relationship with Rantaro for the rest of my life.” He means it, too, even though they’re only nineteen and he doesn’t want to speak too soon. “But I don’t know if that’s what he wants. I can’t always shake the feeling that… he might get bored of me someday.”
Kaede snorts, and opens her mouth to say something, but before she can-
“That would never happen,” Rantaro remarks, and a pair of arms snake their way around Shuichi’s middle. The pianist smiles and moves away to make room for him, and Shuichi turns his head, feeling his face flush as he meets his boyfriend’s green eyes. “And I’m offended that you’d ever insinuate that there’s anything about you that I could ever get bored with.”
“I trust you,” Shuichi replies awkwardly. “But I still feel…”
“Not happening.”
“But-”
“Nope. Shh.” Rantaro kisses him, long enough that it can muddle Shuichi’s thoughts but quick enough that he can jump right back into talking right after. “I’m never going to get bored of you, Shuichi.”
“I told you,” Kaede’s lips curl up into a smirk. “You don’t see how he looks at you, but I do. You two are probably gonna be together forever.”
Gosh, that really just sounds lovely. Shuichi rests his head against Rantaro’s shoulder and nods, because he really really wants that. His heart is still a bit anxious, but he sees the firm look in Rantaro’s eyes and he trusts it. Plus… “Ah, your shirt is unbuttoned,” he comments, reaching up to fix it. The adventurer scrunches up his nose, which, cute, and bats his hand away.
“It’s a stylistic choice.” He defends.
“It’s unprofessional,” Shuichi returns. “And we’re graduating today.”
“Well, missing a lot of class is unprofessional too, and look at us,” Rantaro grins.
“It’s not the same thing, button your shirt.”
“Make me.”
“You know I can.”
“I’m not afraid of you, you’re short.”
“I am three inches shorter than you-”
Kaede starts laughing, and Shuichi remembers that she’s still there as he looks over at her, a reluctant smile on his face. She shakes her head, and opens her eyes again, and he sees the fondness and the warmth in those plum irises and feels a rush of it to his own chest, and everything is okay, suddenly. Tsumugi walks over and tucks herself into Kaede’s arms, and Maki and Kaito join them after a moment (Kaito’s hand on Maki’s shoulder, so Shuichi thinks maybe it’ll work out with them) and then Kiibo comes over, a rambling Kokichi hanging off of his back and Miu laughing at their antics right behind them. Tenko is carrying Himiko too, as the magician is asleep, and Angie’s hand is in hers, and the artist is telling Kirumi about her god, and Ryoma and Gonta and Korekiyo join them, all immersed in conversation, and then they’re all talking to each other, and the moment is real.
They’re never going to be students together ever again. But that doesn’t mean they have to stop seeing each other. When Kaede reaches out her hand, Shuichi takes it, and squeezes tight and closes his eyes and just listens to all of their voices, and everything is whole.
(About thirty seconds later the moment is broken and they’re called out to the ceremony. When Shuichi’s name is called he rises from his seat and smiles back at his uncle, his aunt, his father- he meets Kyoko Kirigiri’s eyes and she smiles at him too, and then his gaze goes to Rantaro, who is already standing, and his chest squeezes and fills with warmth once again. They’re all here. This isn’t really an ending at all. It’s just a beginning.)