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After going over all the talents, Shuichi decided it would be best to meet these new versions of his classmates in a sort of… controlled environment, for want of a better term. Kokichi came up with a pretty decent plan- he’d ask in the class’s group chat if anyone wanted to come see him in his room at lunch because he could use some company or whatever. He would talk to them on his own to just… slowly accustom himself back to how he’d usually interact with everyone so they’d not suspect something was more wrong than a mild fever.
To his shock, a lot of people volunteered for this. Definitely more than he was expecting. He’d thought like, he’d get used to a couple people maximum this way, but over half the class had volunteered. Did people like him that much? Or were they just bored with nothing better to do?
When asking Kokichi how this had happened, he just shrugged. “Look, you’re like, popular? People just like you a lot. When a guy is super nice, super pretty, can cook, smells nice, and cares a lot about people, that generally just draws people in.”
None of those words were things he would have ever described himself with, except maybe caring a lot about others. But, if that was how everyone thought of the him of this world, he hoped to be able to live up to that. “I… I see. Do you think I’ll be able to handle that many people on my own?”
Kokichi hummed in thought, looking around the room. “Oh! I know! I’ll hide out nearby and text you if you start looking lost! I can coach you through it if you start to choke!”
“Oh, right, I forgot I’d probably have a phone…” It had been so long since he’d had access to one he’d just sort of gotten used to not having it. But, one was plugged in beside his bed, so he unplugged it and put it in his lap. “Oh- wait, it has a password.” He tried the phone password he’d usually used back in what he could remember, not expecting it to work. It didn’t- unsurprising since his memories of the world outside the Killing Game had apparently all been fictional.
“Here…” Kokichi typed in a few numbers- 0907- and it unlocked. Shuichi groaned internally- was his password really just his birthday? He’d have to change that. Kokichi seemed to notice the unamused look on his face and gave a sly grin. “I’m guessing Mister Detective had a better password than that, huh?”
“Yes, and he’s about to again,” he muttered, scrolling through the settings to find where to change the password. He hid it from view as Kokichi peered over. “No looking,” he said resolutely, and his classmate turned the other way.
It would need to be something only he’d know the significance of, so 4253 it was. Easy enough to remember, and would keep in his mind the truth of his predicament. “Can I look back now?”, Kokichi asked. “They should be here soon anyways, we need to go over everything!”
“Yeah, I got it changed,” Shuichi said. “Uh, where exactly are you going to hide? There aren’t any cabinets in here…”
Kokichi started walking towards the closet door. “Oh, I’ll just not let anyone know I’m in the closet, it’ll be just like middle school!” He left it slightly ajar as he entered it. “See? You should be able to see me, but they won’t! That way I can signal if you need to check your phone!”
He could mostly see him, yes. He could notice him giving a thumbs up or gesturing at his own phone. But, with the way the room was situated, no one standing at the door would be able to notice, so it should work. “Yeah, I think this is a good plan,” he noted. “At least, it should work… Worst case scenario someone will ask why you’re in my closet, and I can just tell them you didn’t want to intrude but you’re keeping an eye on me.”
“Yeah, right, okay. Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing that goes on around here,” Kokichi agreed. “Lunch break just started, so people should be around any minute-”
A knock on the door interrupted him. He retreated further into the closet, and Shuichi called out to whoever it was to come in. He wasn’t sure who he expected to be first, but it wasn’t Gonta. A pang of guilt hit him- Gonta had been so kind, and didn’t deserve all that happened to him. No one did, but him more than most.
The yearbook had said he was the Ultimate Cook- a far cry from the bug lover he once was, but he could see someone like him being good at making things for others. His hair was tied back, and he was carrying what looked like a takeout container, smiling gently at him. “How are you feeling?” Gonta asked. “Up to eating?”
“Oh!” He’d brought him food, that was really nice of him! His chest felt warm with the gesture. “Thank you so much! I’m not too hungry right now, but I’m sure I’ll appreciate it a lot when my stomach settles a bit!”
Gonta nodded. “Take your time- don’t eat until you feel ready. I look forward to cooking with you again when you’re feeling better, but until then, just leave it to me!” His speech patterns were pretty normal- made sense, considering how that whole raised by wolves (and/or dinosaurs?) thing was probably just a gag for the cameras, but it still sounded a bit strange to his ears.
“I- I look forward to it too…” Kokichi did mention he could cook, and it made sense if he had Kirumi’s talent he would also have many of her skills, cooking included. He was a bit afraid of actually having to cook, considering about the only thing he could make was cup noodles and burnt toast, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
Setting the take out container on his bedside, Gonta smiled widely at him, while Kokichi scampered further back into the closet. “I made sure to make all your favorites! Oh, and this shouldn’t get cold, but if you’re worried about that, you can always drink it now!” He sat a thermos beside the container.
Unscrewing it, Shuichi recognized the scent with a smile. “Thank you!” He did really love tea, so he appreciated that hadn’t seemed to change here. He took a sip- it was really good tea, to be sure, but something tasted a bit off about it. He didn’t usually take it with any sugar, but there was a tiny bit in there, so perhaps that was it. It wasn’t anything to complain about of course- it was really nice of him! But, he had to wonder if that was how he took it here, or how Gonta made it.
“I should go, I promised to bring Miu lunch in the music room, sorry!” Gonta apologized. “But, I hope you feel better!” He rushed off, and Shuichi let out a sigh. Him and Miu… he felt dread in the back of his throat before biting the inside of his cheek to remind himself things were different here. Miu was the Ultimate Musician here, after all, so that was evidence enough that the two of them weren’t as disastrous a combination as he might fear.
Kokichi peeked out from the closet once Gonta’s footsteps were far away. “You alright, Shu? You look kind of… dizzy.”
“I’m fine,” he assured him. “Totally fine. Just… a little weird, but it’s-”
Someone else approached the door, and Kokichi slid back into the abyss of unfamiliar clothing. It took Shuichi a minute to recognize the girl in front of him. If not for the mole next to her lips, he’d think she was a stranger, but he could recognize her as Tenko once he noticed that. She looked completely different- slouched posture, less muscular physique, hair in two long braids instead of the weird double helixes, and a nervous, darting expression instead of a confident grin. The picture labelling her as the Ultimate Novelist hadn’t conveyed just how strange it would be to come face to face with this Tenko.
“G-good afternoon, S-Shuichi Saihara,” she mumbled, refusing to make eye contact. Was that a different expression of her discomfort around men, or was she just really, really shy? “I- um, Lady Himiko asked me to come speak to you on her behalf.”
Ah, there was the Tenko he knew. The “lady” part was new, but her doing things on behalf of Himiko seemed very much in-character. “Alright,” he agreed, internally wondering why Himiko couldn’t be bothered to come here herself. Even if she was the Ultimate Princess, they were still classmates, so why would she send someone else?
“She wants to extend her most sincere apologies to you for the incidents of this morning!” Tenko bowed her head, as if to convey such an apology. “I… I must confess, I don’t know exactly what happened, but Himiko was mortified to have acted rudely towards you, so I offered to help her apologize.”
The red-haired no-longer-mage was peering out behind the doorway, before retreating as soon as Shuichi’s eyes met hers. He suppressed a little laugh. So it was her who was being shy about this? How cute. “Oh, it’s fine, she didn’t know I was sick,” she assured her through Tenko. “I’m not upset or anything!”
His phone buzzed. Notification: a text from 💜Kichi💜. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the name in there, no doubt something Kokichi had added himself considering how easily he knew the phone password. The text just had a single word: “pushover”. He looked up at Tenko, hoping she hadn’t noticed. “Really, don’t worry about it,” he assured her. “It’s not a big deal.”
“O-oh! Um, thank you!” Tenko still wouldn’t quite look at him, but she nodded. “I- I’ll be going!” She rushed off, and he saw Himiko’s silhouette following her. He was a bit concerned, really. Was she, like, okay? He understood being so anxious that it was hard to look others in the eye, but he wouldn’t have expected Tenko to be like that.
“Is she alright?” He asked Kokichi once certain both girls were gone. “She was so shy… She was never a fan of men, but I never saw her freeze up like that.”
He gave a nod in return. “Yeah, she’s fine, she’s just like that when Himiko is involved,” he assured him. “I guess ‘not a fan of men’ is one way to put it, but like, I would just say she’s a big ol’ lesbian.”
“Glad to know that’s the same, at least,” Shuichi mumbled. No one had really been… open about their sexualities, but Tenko was a big exception to that. She couldn’t have been clearer about her affections for Himiko, and girls in general, if she tried.
Oh, wait. Maybe that’s something he needed to like, know about? If any of his other friends were out, that would be something Other Shuichi would know but he didn’t, so it would be weird if he didn’t know. “Kokichi! Uh, is there anyone else who’s not straight.”
A blank stare, and then Kokichi burst into laughter. “Are you seriously asking me this? Shu, there aren’t any straight people in this whole class. You can’t have possibly come from the universe where we’re all hetero, right? Right?”
He fell silent, trying to think. Kaede did always seem quite interested in girls… and Miu seemed interested in everyone… he could never tell if Kokichi was being serious, but the whole thing with the Rantaro statue was a bit telling… But, he would have never known, mostly because he barely even knew any of them. It’d only been what, a few months at the most he spent with them? His precious friends that he’d wanted so badly to keep from dying, in the end, were people he’d barely gotten to start knowing.
“You’re like, bright red,” Kokichi noted, deadpan. “Did your fever come back or did you astral project back into the closet?”
“I just… I guess I never got to know anyone that well, back there,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s weird to think people meant so much to me, but there were lots of basic things like that I never even got to find out about. I don’t know anything about them, and I don’t even know if what I knew of them was true, and now I’m here and everyone’s close but I’m… I’m still in the dark…”
Kokichi’s face fell, and he came closer to the bed. “Hey, it’s okay,” he assured Shuichi softly. “Do you want a hug?”
He nodded. A hug sounded nice. Being held sounded lovely. And, despite being as tiny as ever, Kokichi’s arms felt safe and warm. It was a familiar feeling in a sense, even if this wasn’t something he remembered. Maybe it was because the Other Shuichi was his close friend, so something in this body remembered it.
“You think maybe this is why you’re here?” Kokichi suggested. “So you can finally get to be friends with everyone for real? You’re safe here, so you have all the time in the world for that.”
He found himself nodding against his chest. “Maybe this is some sort of second chance,” he wondered softly. Maybe he deserved a world where no one was in danger and he wasn’t left to anguish alone. He hoped that was it, some sort of karmic reprise, but he was still a bit doubtful. If that him was fiction, then why did he persist into another world?
A hand carded through his hair. “You’re gonna be alright,” Kokichi assured him. “We’ll figure this out. To be honest, I really think you should tell Kaede-”
“Tell me what?” A familiar voice chimed in. Shuichi felt his whole face heating up as he looked up to see the Ultimate… Gymnast, right? Kaede had discarded the jacket she’d worn this morning in place of something that more resembled a school uniform, and had her hair up in a ponytail. Ugh, he’d totally forgotten for a second people were coming in! How embarrassing...
“K-Kaede! It’s not what it looks like, I swear,” he backpedaled.
Kaede just laughed. “What is it supposed to look like? Relax, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen Kokichi all over you. I know you two are like that.”
Oh… so Kokichi was just super cuddly, nothing unusual about it. That was a relief… “I- I just didn’t want you to worry about him getting sick or anything!”
A little laugh came from beside him. “I neeeever get sick, nothing for Kaede to worry about!” That had a very… Kokichi air to it. He tried to keep it straight that he wasn’t a huge liar here, but was that the truth? He certainly didn’t believe he was being honest about his talent. As far as he was concerned, he was the Ultimate ???, like Rantaro had been.
“Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” Kaede said with a gentle smile. “I was worried about you this morning, and I’m still a bit worried. For a minute, I thought Kaito was right and you really had been possessed!”
She laughed about it, but Shuichi felt sick. She was right, in a sense. He was another Shuichi stealing this body and this life. Kokichi had been about to say he should tell her, right? He was right- Kaede of all people deserved to know the truth. He needed to tell her what was really going on.
“Well… he wasn’t wrong.”