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Dancing in the moonlight, he extended his hand to Shuichi,
"May I have this dance?"
Starry summer nights, lit by passion and compassion in this cruel world,
I always wondered what it was that drove them to hold it true.
In this place, in this game,
It would seem idiotic to do such a thing, what with danger around every corner,
But it never seemed that way to me. Rather, it seemed strange, not stupid, to engage in such a ritual. It was strange how every night, it would be someone different than the last, who would take up in arms a non-existent melody, and dance without a care for the cage around them, from the ever lingering presence of the game, and just move in the night.
Everyone had a different dance. Kaede was the first one Shuichi saw, and danced a gentle, flowing ballroom dance, as if set to soft piano music.
After her, He saw Kiyo. He danced a sharp and rhythmic dance, one that seemed to have been meant for a partner who wasn't there.
Kaito was the next one he saw. His dance was energetic and full of movement, but wasn't harsh or aggressive, it was simply fun.
Maki was there the next night. Shuichi didn't know what to expect, but he was surprised to see a swirling, moving dance. She never kept her feet still on the ground, not for a second.
It continued like this for ten more nights, nights spent observing quiet ballroom dances, vibrant tangos, moving traditional dances, sad slow tapping of feet, and all sorts of things.
During all of these nights Shuichi had simply observed in quiet, not quite sure what was going on. When he had finally worked up the nerve to ask about it to one of those who had danced, the answer was:
"Huh? Dancing? In the middle of the night? I don't know what you're talking about…"
And thus, it remained a mystery.
Many questions plagued his head, what would happen the sixteenth night? Would I finally dance under the sky? Was all of this an odd fever dream that had been occurring for the past two weeks? And what would happen, he wondered, if I were to intercept someone's dancing?
He thought about this a lot, maybe, he thought, it was just like sleepwalking and you shouldn't disturb them. Or maybe it was like the place where that key leads… all a living dream of sorts.
Whatever this trance like state was, curiosity eventually overcame him and he could not resist the urge to approach one of the dancers during their midnight trance, and he resolved himself to do it on the 15th day, presumably the last.
The problem with this was that… all but one person had danced.
And that person was Kokichi Oma.
Of course the prospect of using Kokichi as guinea pig greatly worried the detective, as he had no idea what would happen if he disrupted the dance, much less what Kokichi would do if he disturbed him. The prospect terrified Shuichi, but he knew that to satisfy his curiosity, he would have to act.
And thus the 15th night rolled around, and Shuichi prepared himself for what was to come. What type of dance would he even have? Shuichi thought to himself, he didn't even take the supreme leader as the type who even likes dancing, much less what kind he would like.
As the night progressed, Shuichi worriedly kept watch outside the dormitory, waiting for Kokichi, who had yet to arrive.
But just as the clock struck eleven o' clock, a figure emerged from the building, shadowy at first, but once he stepped into the light of the full moon, it had become clear who had arrived.
Kokichi. Right on cue.
Before approaching, Shuichi thought it best to wait a little, to let the ultimate supreme leader get settled in the dance first.
The boy bowed to a non-existent second person, held his hand out, and after a pause, positioned his hands as if they were meant to be on someone's shoulder and hand and began to move.
His movements were swift and sleek, they gave the air of careful consideration and calculation, but flowed seamlessly. Kokichi kept his eyes on where the other person would be, not staring harshly but in a way that seemed almost… intimate.
So Kokichi's dance… is a waltz. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this is surprising… yet not out of character, Shuichi pondered to himself. He decided that though this didn't seem… the best time to intervene, he figured that now was better than never.
Shuichi carefully emerged from his hiding spot, and stepped into the purple haired boy's view.
Oh my god oh my god oh my god please don't hurt me please don't-
Kokichi halted in his dancing, lifting his head up to meet the other boy's mercury colored eyes. He looked startled, but not too badly shaken, and after the surprise settled he relaxed his view and spoke,
"How interesting. Looks like Mister detective got jealous!" Kokichi exclaimed.
Not what I was expecting, Shuichi said to himself. "Ah… I wouldn't say it's like that, It's more like, I was curious to see what you were doing,``he explained.
"Oh come on Shuichi, you can't lie like that to me. I mean it's not like you know I can always tell when you're lying," Kokichi sighed. "I'm sure I don't need to point out whether or not that was a lie, unless you really are that dense. Weird for an ultimate detective don't ya think?"
Well at least I know he still acts like Kokichi, Shuichi exasperatedly thought to himself.
"Um yeah… you got me," Shuichi nervously chuckled, "But really, what are you-"
"Hey Shuichi, let's just cut the small talk and get to the point," Kokichi said as he made a waving motion to his side, as if dismissing his invisible partner he had been previously dancing with.
"Seeing as you're taller than me, i'll let you take the lead this time. Fits more with the vibes, y'know?" Kokichi expressed.
The shorter boy bowed and held his hand out to the detective,
"May I have this dance?" He asked, lifting up his head to meet mercury colored eyes.
"K-Kokichi… I don't know how to do the waltz," Shuichi stammered. Despite the fact that he was telling the truth, he got one of those I-know-you're-lying faces as a response from the shorter boy. Looks like there's no getting out of this, the detective thought to himself.
And with that, Shuichi placed his hand into the other's
As he had said, Kokichi let the taller boy take the lead, and though he had never waltzed in his life, Shuichi oddly found himself doing quite well at the role. The detective stepped back and forth, in time to the silent music, turning at the proper timings, and doing strangely well for someone who had never done the dance.
The dance was almost hypnotic, each sway and step leading more into some odd scenario that seemed to exist in this situation, that Kokichi was fully aware of, but Shuichi no clue to. Yet he still understood the connotations of what the dance meant, the grandiose of it all, the relationship he was hinting at the non-existent observers to. But the most entrancing part of it all was not the dance, but his dance partner.
Kokichi matched his steps perfectly with the other, all in time to the mute melody, and perfectly attuned to his partner. His gaze remained firmly on Shuichi, Shifting from amused, entranced, to, oddly enough, intimate and endearing. As if in this make-believe world, they had done this dance a thousand times, and would do so a thousand more. Shuichi found himself falling into this fantasy, feeling more intune to the other's state of mind and feeling, to the implied history of it all, and most surprising, the romance of the waltz.
Caught up in it all, Shuichi took a daring move, outside the typical waltz , and instead of spinning his partner away, he brought the shorter boy closer. Dangerously close, as their faces were mere centimeters apart.
Kokichi looked surprised, but not shocked by this action, as if it wasn't out of character, but unexpected for the situation. His surprise soon turned coy, and with a smile he said in a low voice,
"Getting a little risky are we, Mister detective? Please do keep in mind we ought not to pull this type of thing here," He said procedurally.
The purple haired boy pulled away, "As fun as this has been, we ought to wrap up here. There are plenty of ladies waiting for a dance with Mr. Oma, and we've already caused quite the stir haven't we? Wouldn't want them thinking anything of this, now would we?" He said with an oddly sad expression.
"Kokichi, wait!" the detective called out, but the other boy was already out of his grasp, and nearly out of sight.
"See you later, Mr. Saihara! Let's dance again!"
And with that, Kokichi was gone. The detective stood there, confused, bewildered, longing, and left with more questions that answers.
"Oh well look who it is! My favorite detective! Well, my favorite overall, but you get the idea," Kokichi greeted the aforementioned detective.
"Ah… Kokichi. Say, I actually have something I need to ask you," Shuichi started, "What were you doing last night? And did you have any… strange dreams?" he asked.
"Oh is Shumai getting jealous? It's only natural for you to think about these types of things, y'know since detectives deal with so much infidelity cases," Kokichi replied.
"What I was doing last night … hmmm… well I was just planning my first murder, I'm thinking about getting Tsumugi, what do you think? She seems like an easy target," Kokichi lied.
"That's a lie of course. I was asleep, silly! Though I did have a dream that I was an Imperial russian prince at a grand ball, and jeez, all the ladies wouldn't leave me alone! I bet Tenko would be pretty jealous, huh?" he answered.
So that's what that scenario was, I guess it seems fitting enough, Shuichi deduced.
"Um yeah, probably. I'm just asking on a uh… hunch. Yeah… " Shuichi nervously answered.
The supreme leader clearly saw that was a lie, but couldn't be bothered to prod any further on the subject.
"Wellllll… it was a pretty weird dream. It kinda reminded me of War and Peace. Hey y'know what sounds like a good idea? Going to the library to go and read it. Maybe you'll get a lead on your hunch," the ultimate supreme leader invited.
"You know," Shuichi started,
"I think I'd actually like that."