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A slurry of voices greeted his returning consciousness:
“No! I told you, one at a time!”
“Come on, I’m good with taking care of people! I can like, help you and shit!”
“What if he needs an exorcism!”
“Guys, seriously, I think he’s like, sick so I don’t-”
“Oh shut up, my immune system could bench press you!”
“With those twig arms?”
Shuichi’s head pounded from the cacophony. “Ow…” He mumbled, not wanting to look up. Things were a little fuzzy- he remembered… ah. Right. Everyone who’d died was right in front of him. Kaede and Keebo, he must have passed out in front of them.
Looking up, he could see the blurry but unmistakable form of Keebo standing in front of a door in what looked like some sort of school nurse’s office. He seemed to be attempting to block some people from entering, but he couldn’t see very well who they were. Though, from all the shouting, he could make a decent guess…
Keebo finally noticed him as he was attempting to sit up, and rushed to his side. He noticed now he was laying on a cot of some sort, with an ice pack about to fall off his head. “You’re awake! You gave us quite the scare when you passed out. Here.”
He was handed a carton of orange juice with a straw, and Keebo guided him to sit up a bit, putting pillows behind him. “This should help, though I must admit I don’t quite know what your affliction is. You had a high fever when we brought you in, and Kaede said you’d been saying things that didn’t make sense, but it doesn’t appear you had a stroke or anything of the sort. If anything, your symptoms seem more consistent with the common flu other than-”
“I told you! He’s definitely possessed!” The voice crying that out was unmistakably familiar, as was the person who burst into the room. Kaito, precious friend and Luminary of the Stars, who would not be rushing towards someone he thought was possessed in a million years. He was wearing black like in the photo, and his normal jacket was replaced with a cape, looking more like someone you’d see on stage than in a school.
Keebo looked as if he were attempting to roll his eyes. “Possession is not a recognized affliction. It seems far more likely he got disoriented by his fever. Besides, he shouldn’t even be having visitors right now! I need to examine him now that he’s awake.”
Kaito didn’t seem to hear a word Keebo said, as he rushed straight to Shuichi’s side. “I know you can fight this, Shuichi! I know you’re in there, and your spirit is stronger than-”
Kaede pushed him aside with surprising strength. “Oh, leave him alone. If he’s possessed, we can deal with that when he feels better,” she said, directing a stern frown at him. “He can’t fight off a ghost if he’s coming down from a fever.”
He was just staring blankly at the scene, holding his orange juice. It was clear no one saw anything odd in this situation other than his behavior, so he definitely couldn’t tell them that he had seen the three of them die. Should he just pass it off like nothing was wrong and he’d just been disoriented like Keebo said? Probably the best plan. He’d play along for now and try to keep his cool.
“I-I’m fine, really,” he assured them. “I didn’t realize what time it was and I was trying to find some ice for my head. I thought it was the middle of the night, I guess.” That would check out- the curtains in his room were thick enough to block out the light and if he’d not checked the clock or run into anyone on his way, he could easily have thought that, surely.
Kaede’s expression softened a bit- it seemed she bought that. “Oh, I see. You could have come to my room! I have some pain killers in my bathroom for muscle cramps, but some of them help with fevers!”
Crap. Uh… “I didn’t think you were allowed to have those in your room,” he said, glancing around nervously.
Keebo shot a glare at Kaede. “You aren’t,” he said sharply. “You do not have permission for that, nor do you have permission to share it. I recommend you bring those in here if you do not want to be written up for it.”
“Oh, come on! Are you seriously going to get that way over some Ibuprofen?” Kaede crossed her arms. Shuichi glanced around the room- there were three people in here, but hadn’t he heard another voice as he was waking up? Had he just been hearing things, or had Kokichi been talking too?
“Unless you want me to inform Angie, I recommend you go bring those in here,” Keebo threatened. What did Angie have to do with it? She didn’t seem like the type who would care in the slightest, but then again, why would Kaede need them in the first place? Was playing piano more strenuous than he’d realized?
No, something else had to be in play- too much was too specifically deviating from what he expected. Kaito didn’t seem scared in the slightest bit about the imagined possibility of ghosts, Kaede was taking morning runs in some sports wear, and Keebo was manning the nurse’s office. Was it possible that his classmates had changed more than just being not dead? Were these even the people he had known?
Kaede left in a huff, trying to drag Kaito out with her. “Come on, he needs to rest anyways,” she told Kaito. “We can check on him later. Just, keep me updated, alright? I’ll leave the stuff at the office or whatever.”
Kaito tried to resist her pull. “Wait, I’m not- come on, Shu, don’t you want us to stay?”
That was a good question, really. As much as he’d love to catch up with his executed friends, he still had no clue what was going on, and was pretty sure saying “I saw you both die” wasn’t about to go over well. So, he offered an apologetic smile instead. “Sorry, I’m kind of tired, I’d rather rest, if it’s all the same to you.”
“Oh, sorry,” Kaito glanced around the room as if looking for something. “Ugh, where did he wander off to, anyways?”
“Who knows with him,” Kaede said, already starting out the door. “Keebo, just tell him to leave if he comes back, I guess.”
This nebulous “him” was probably Kokichi- he must have heard him after all. Maybe he just got bored and left, or something of the sort. Or, knowing him, maybe he was lying in wait, eavesdropping for whatever reason. Great, one more uncertainty to add to the pile. As the other two left, Keebo glanced around the room as well, as if his suspicions were the same.
“If you are still here, I would recommend you leave,” Keebo announced loudly. The room remained silent. He sighed. “He can be annoying sometimes…”
Shuichi couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “Tell me about it,” he mumbled. “But, I guess it doesn’t matter. What was it you wanted of me?”
“I just need to properly assess your symptoms so I know how to treat you,” Keebo reported, a strange sensor showing itself in the palm of his hand. “May I take your temperature?”
“What- oh, certainly.” He kept saying things kind of weird, why was that? It felt like a reflex, almost.
Keebo’s hand met his forehead, and a little beep came from him. He frowned. “It’s only a mild fever… At least it came down quickly- you were at concerning levels while you were unconscious. I was afraid you would need to be hospitalized.”
“Oh, uh, that’s good, that I’m not that bad, I mean,” he said, stumbling over the words. He was a bit distracted by the fact he had no idea Keebo could do that. Was that new, or was that always one of his abilities?
“Yes yes, ah, I’m unsure if my systems are fully equipped for this diagnostic,” he said, shaking his head a bit. “Sincerest apologies, but I don’t want to misdiagnose, and I’m unsure what exactly is going on. I’m going to find the real nurse- even if it’s my talent, I’m not as experienced as a professional.”
He ran off, leaving Shuichi to ponder his reference to “talent”. Did he mean he was the Ultimate Nurse instead of Ultimate Robot? Did that even entirely make sense? Maybe if he was a medical robot- that would explain the temperature scanner. Maybe that was the big difference he was sensing. Maybe Kaede was actually in some sort of sport instead of being a pianist, and something or other was up with Kaito.
Part of him wanted to get up to take notes on things, but he didn’t see a notepad anywhere around here, and he couldn’t really leave if he was waiting for the school nurse. So what, was he just supposed to wait? Try to ponder things out here in silence? He felt a chill running down his body, but wasn’t sure if it was dread or the fever.
Then, one of the cabinet doors suddenly swung open, and Shuichi tried to suppress a shocked scream that came out more like a breathy squeak than anything. Unsurprisingly, it was Kokichi, and his surprise turned more to dull annoyance, and then back to nerves. So he was still here, but why had he hid out until the two of them were alone?
The trickster perched at the end of the cot, a determined frown on his face. He stared at Shuichi in silence for too long before he felt obligated to end the silence. “Uh… hey? What are you doing?”
It took another few painfully long moments for Kokichi to speak. “You aren’t concussed, that’s one of the first things he checked for,” he remarked. “And Kaede said you asked where you were- that doesn’t check out with the story you gave her. Considering my brother’s usually full of shit, I doubt you’re possessed either.”
Brother? He was clearly referring to Kaito, but he had no idea why he would call him that. He tried hard to suppress the surprise on his face, but feared it didn’t exactly work, as a moment after he said that, Kokichi’s determined frown turned to a slight smile. Had he just said that to throw him off? That sounded right.
“What are you getting at?” he asked Kokichi. “I know how you are, you’re definitely up to something.”
And the smile was gone, turned to a blankly unamused scowl. “Oh, so that like… wasn’t a joke. Did I seriously piss you off? What did I do?”
“I mean… nothing in particular, I’m just not in the mood to deal with your antics right now,” he said, hoping it would dissuade him.
Of course, it did nothing of the sort. Kokichi just leaned a bit closer to him. “Hey, Shuichi, what’s my Ultimate Talent?” He asked with a sly smile.
Shit. Shitshitshit. He was on to him. Of course it would be him of all people. “Uh, Ultimate Supreme Leader?”
Kokichi snickered. “What? That’s not even- okay, then, what’s Kaede’s?”
“Ultimate… Runner?” That was his best guess based on what she’d said. Probably wrong, but he had a feeling whatever he said, he was probably screwed.
“That’s… closer, at least,” he mused. “And yours?”
“Ultimate Detective,” he said without hesitation. He suspected it wasn’t correct in this world, but it was his own talent.
The look he got from saying that was more like he’d said he was the Ultimate Alien. “Seriously? Okay, yeah, this isn’t amnesia, this is something else. Are you even my Shumai?” He poked his cheek.
Of course he of all people would be the one to catch on. Ironically, he couldn’t lie to him right now. “I don’t think so,” he admitted. “I am Shuichi, if that’s what you mean, but I…”
He closed his eyes for a moment, the vision of blood splattered against a hydraulic press filling his mind. “You died. All of you did. You and Kaito sacrificed yourselves for us and Maki.”
“Wh-what?” He’d caught Kokichi off guard, judging by the way his eyes widened. “Kaede said you looked like you’d seen a ghost when you saw her in the cafeteria, but I didn’t think that was literal.”
A hand rested on his cheek, and Kokichi’s eyes softened. “Hey, it’s okay, we’ll figure this out,” he assured him with the sincerity he’d never heard in his voice dripping from every word.
Shuichi’s eyes burned a bit. He felt confused- where was all this softness coming from? Kokichi must have been entirely different in this world, huh? Could he really trust him? Did he even have a choice?
He wanted to trust him. He didn’t want to face this alone, so if someone was offering to help, even if he didn’t entirely trust them, he needed to accept that. “Thank you,” he almost whispered.
Just when he was about to ask him to tell him more about this world, he could hear footsteps approaching. Kokichi’s face fell. “Shit, uh, I should go. Meet me in my room after this, okay? I’ll skip class today. I’m room 228, I’ll leave it unlocked.”
Before he could respond, Kokichi hugged him and then rushed towards the window, opening it with surprising speed and climbing out of it. He was left staring in astonishment at the whole thing. This was the person he had to trust, huh? Not even Maki or Himiko…
His heart stopped for a moment. Maki and Himiko, were they in the same predicament he was? He needed to find them as soon as he could, or at least once he was done dealing with the nurse. He needed to know if they remembered anything.