Work Text:
Kaito Momota:
Kaito was just always…always so positive and cheery. You loved him for it, but sometimes it got on your nerves. There were days when you just refused to believe his bullshit about everything in life having a bright side or way out. Even when you two were fighting, he tried to pull it back into a more positive light or rope you out of your foul mood. Today though, you’d been crying and frustrated and anxious and when he tried to cheer you up, you just kept on giving him reasons why there was absolutely no bright side to this. He was beginning to get frustrated, more with the situation than with you, of course, but it was coming off as being directed at his dear S/O.
Truly, he just didn’t want to admit that he, too, was a bit disheartened by your situation. He was mad at himself for losing his signature confidence and cool.
“Ryoma is fucking dead, Kaito, will you just fucking give it up!” You were in your dorm with him as usual after the nighttime announcement, only this time he wasn’t exactly invited in. You cuddled, played board games or just talked for hours after his training with Maki and Shuichi every night, but tonight you’d told him you just wanted to be alone.
“Yeah? And so is Kirumi, and Kaede, and Rantarou, too! B-but we didn’t let their deaths get us down, right?! Sure it’s horrible and we miss them but we have to be strong for them! It’s what they would want!”
“No, Kaito, you didn’t let their deaths get to you! I had a mental breakdown!”
“Yeah…I-I know but…but! You know we’re here for you! Shuichi and Maki and me! Gonta, Kiibo, everyone here cares about you and we all lift each other up! You even got on that Kiyo creep’s good side! We all have to keep going!” You’d had enough. You just watched someone’s corpse be devoured by piranhas then watched Kirumi, one of your closest confidants, fall to her death in a bloody mess. You were traumatized, and you’d had enough Kaito for today. You began to push past him to your bedroom door. “Hey, where are you goin’ S/O?”
“Anywhere you aren’t!” You began to cry, your throat choking out your words. That did it. Kaito was officially pissed off. He felt his face heat up and his fists shake. He’d been there for you through everything. He loved you, he protected you, he was your motivational coach, bodyguard, lover, best friend, and this is what he got in return?!
You felt your hand be snatched off the door and it slammed back closed. You flipped around, Kaito cornering you.
“K-Kaito!” You’d never seen him get this angry…maybe at Kokichi or Monokuma, but not at you. Never at you.
“Why are you acting like this! Why do you always have to let everything get to you so much?!”
“ ‘Acting like this’?! Kaito, our friends are being brutally picked off and killed one by one! And I-”
“You think I don’t know that?!” he spat, his tone extremely harsh. “And every time that happens what do I do? What do I do, huh?! I come here and support you and talk to you and take care of you and now you wanna just walk away?! I love you, S/O! You push away everyone who cares! Keep actin’ like that and you’ll be next!” He was starting to scare you. You could tell you’d pushed your boyfriend too far.
“I- I just can’t do this anymore, okay?! I can’t do it! Your support isn’t the cure to everything, okay?!” You screamed, your face burning up. Why was he being such a dick? “You really think you yelling at me right now is helping?! Saying I may be next?! I’m scared, Kaito!”
“Everyone is scared!”
“Not you, apparently! Because you’re Mr. Perfect, right?! You’re gonna save us all?! Well you’re making this all worse!”
“I- don’t put this on me! You push Maki and Shuichi away too! Your friends check in on you and are there for you and you’re not there for them! You’re being selfish!” You felt a chill run don your spine, and tears threaten to fall. You were a mess. You were shaking, terrified, enraged, and he just crossed the line.
Selfish…not there for them?!
“…Get out, Kaito!” You leaned forward, yelling in his face.
His hands quickly flew up to his head to pull at his hair, dumbfounded and tired of this argument. Your eyes closed and you gasped, falling back against the door and flinching.
Huh..? Kaito looked at you with confusion. What, did you just get a muscle spasm or something? Were you injured?
Then it hit him. His expression softened and his arms fell to his side.
“S/O…” Your heart rate sped up as he approached you, though his voice was gentle. All of the anger in it was completely gone. He grabbed your arm and pulled you into his wide chest. He smelled of lavender and fresh men’s aftershave. “Did…did you think I was going to hit you just now…?” He sounded a bit hurt, and you felt guilt wash over you. You didn’t respond, feeling a bit foolish. “I would never hurt you. No matter how much of an ass I’m being or how worked up I get, I will never hurt you.” Tears began to fall from your eyes and soak into his shirt.
“I know…I’m sorry,” you whispered, sniffling. He sighed, and scooped you up, walking over to your bed and laying down with you on his chest.
“I love you, S/O…I just need to…talk less and listen more. I didn’t mean those things I said about you, and I know just believing doesn’t fix everything, but it’s all I got right now. I’m scared too, I promise. Just…don’t tell anyone that, please.” He chuckled, still a bit melancholic. You grinned into his shoulder, snuggling in close.
What a big goof.
Kiibo/K1-B0:
“Kiibo, calm down!” Your voice was stern but held an edge of fear as your normally rational and wholesome boyfriend thrashed about his research lab in a vengeful mood. He was flipping chairs, knocking over gadgets and upgrades, breaking screens.
“Why are you defending him?! How could you take his side! I am always so…so loyal to you!” His words were almost glitchy, his rage cutting through his programming.
“I’m not taking his side!” You backed away from the rampaging robot, a bit scared of this new side of him that you’d never seen before. Sure, Kiibo got angry, but usually it just ended with verbal rebuttals and logical arguments. He never got violent like this. It just wasn’t who he was. “I just said that maybe Kokichi has some shit going on down deep in his heart and mind. He’s probably just super insecure. You shouldn’t let him bait you like that! You’re smarter than that!” But he was hearing none of it.
“Even the person I care most about just sees me as a stupid machine, as someone that people are allowed to pick on and discriminate against!” He began to groan loudly in frustration, pulling at his platinum hair, and that’s when you noticed it…
“K-Kiibo….? Where’s your antenna?” You asked softly, afraid anything you said at this point, in his favor or not, could set him off even further.
“What?!” He panted, fists balled up as he craned his neck toward you.
“Y-Your antenna is gone…?” He smiled wickedly; it was a teasing smirk of irony and instability.
“Oh, that? Kokichi yanked it off of my head after his merciless bullying session today, just before you came to visit!” He chuckled. “But I’m sure you’ll justify that, too right? Go on, defend him!” The sardonic hum of his voice turned gravelly toward the end of that last sentence, and he felt the pure rage building up again. You saw him almost vibrate, and his eyes glazed over like a computer blue-screening. Electricity pulsed from his irises.
“Kiibo-”
“Grrrah! Shut up!” He glided across the room, closing in on you with speed that could only be described as inhuman, and you cowered and threw yourself to the ground in front of him. You shielded your head with your arms and began to sob.
“Kiibo, please!” You cried out to the robot, the boy you loved. He froze dead in his tracks with you at his boots, crumpled into yourself like a crushed soda can.
“S/O…?” Hesitantly, and so very, very cautiously, you looked up, Kiibo’s gentle eyes returning to their usual baby-blue. “That’s not me. Th-that’s not me!” He fell to his knees and wrapped his cold arms around your shaking form. You let him, sensing no trace of the hostile energy.
“Kiibo…I was so scared-”
“I know. I’m sorry that I ever made you think I’d hurt you. I-“
“I was more scared that’d I’d lost you, that losing your antenna meant that I’d lost the Kiibo I love, that you’d lost your soul…” his eyes widened and his mouth fell agape.
Soul…? No one ever referred to him or his body like that…soul...a soul was such an extraordinarily human thing to have. Did you see him like that?
“I don’t need that antenna or the voice inside my head to tell me that I would never hurt the person I love. And I hope you know that, too.” He nuzzled into your neck, and you two set there, silently, just holding each other for a while.
Gonta Gokuhara:
You didn’t know how to get out of the dangerous situation you’d put yourself in, but you were sure you deserved this…
You’d upset your gentle giant of a boyfriend, a man possessing endless innocence, chivalry, patience, kindness, and love. You’d done the unthinkable:
You’d killed a bug in front of him.
Now you were on the receiving end of the biggest riot you’d ever seen someone cause up close. It was like watching a big kid… a very big kid, throw a tantrum. It would’ve been cute or even funny if he were Kokichi’s size, but seeing the love of your life, the hulking mass of rippling muscles hovering 6 feet 6 inches off the ground and stomping about like Godzilla, you were petrified.
“Why S/O kill Gonta’s friend?! Gonta was taking care of him!!!” He gestured to the smashed cockroach on the ground, and man had the little eyesore put up a fight.
“G-Gonta please, calm down! I wasn’t thinking! Why didn’t you tell me there was a roach in my dorm room?! You know I ask you to keep your bugs in your own room or lab!” You tried to put your hands up in surrender and calm the storm brewing inside him.
“Him not want to leave! Gonta talked with him! He love S/O, just like Gonta! Gonta promised to keep him safe and secret in here! He was comfortable here!” He was almost crying with rage, and you started to feel bad for him. He was so damn innocent and cute. He saw the beauty and value in even a cockroach’s life…
“Gonta, sweety, my love…” you tried approaching him with nothing but sympathy in your heart.
“S/O supposed to be good person! Good people no hurt bugs! S/O hurt bug and Gonta’s heart!” His fists clenched and he growled, his aura flaring up like some Super Saiyan trying to raise their power level. He looked like a Shonen villain ready to slaughter millions.
“Gonta, please forgive me, I’ll do any-“ you placed your hand on his wrist and he pulled away sharply, throwing his hand up into the air in a gesture of frustration. “Gonta-!” You brought your arms up in front of your face, preparing for a blow.
He saw you cower below him, and everything faded. He receded into himself, his expression blanking. His mind flashed back to kids on the playground in elementary school, running from him, yelling, shrinking back in fear at the much larger kid with the wild green hair. They saw him as a monster, even when he was peaceful and kind to them…so what must you be feeling right now, now that he actually was being a monster? He closed his eyes, teeth clenching in guilt.
“G-Gonta never hurt you. Gonta is gentleman. Gentleman not hurt people, and gentleman really not hurt people they love.” He shook his head, disowning and denouncing the Gonta he was only seconds ago. He looked to you, and his hands reached out and grasped at the air in front of you, almost afraid to touch you. Afraid he didn’t deserve to.
“Gonta…I’m really sorry. I really wasn’t thinking. I’m scared of bugs, and I saw your little friend and he surprised me. It was all instin-“
“Gonta not mad about that anymore. Gonta mad at himself…to make S/O think Gonta is scary, to make S/O scared of Gonta…” Your eyes widened in realization. That was one of his biggest insecurities: being seen as a savage beast and not a gentleman.
“No! Gonta!” You shoved yourself into his arms and wrapped your arms as much as you could around his very wide torso. He didn’t know what to do, blushing like crazy and overwhelmed with emotions from both sides of the spectrum. “I’m not scared of you. I will never be scared of you.”
“…Really?” He smiled slowly, hugging you back.
“Really. Flinching like that was just an instinct as well.” If there’s anything the man raised by animals knew, it was instinct. “A stupid one. I know you’d never hurt me. I love you, my big, loving gentleman.”
Korekiyo Shinguuji:
Korekiyo was always busy, always lost in his work, and you were starting to miss him more and more. You’d only been dating for a short while, but you’d been best friends for a long period of time before that. Now that you were dating, you wanted more and more of his attention.
You respected his scholarly nature and admired his work ethic, but it was starting to grind on your nerves. Why? Because he was the one choosing to be away from you. No boss was holding a due date over his head, there was no paycheck that depended on him, no cultural or scientific breakthrough that would benefit the world once he discovered it. That’s what frustrated you. You were locked in the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles, trapped in a killing game with nothing to do but kill or die or waste the days away doing frivolous activities with the other students. So why…why on earth was your boyfriend always spending time in that dusty, archaic old research lab instead of with you?
You were feeling energetic today, in one of your more hyper-active and careless moods, the boredom clawing at you. You decided this would be a perfect time to go bother Korekiyo, and hopefully use your playful mood to ignite a playful mood in him. Maybe, just maybe, you’d tear him away from his studies to spend time with you.
“Kiyo~” you danced into his lab, twirling around and landing your backside onto his large desk with a thud. He looked up from his work, with what you presumed was an amused smile. He was wearing his mask as usual. He’d worn it the entire time you knew him, only taking it off for showers or when he slept alone in his room. When he slept over at yours, he wore it the entire night, and you’d never had the courage to pull it down while he slept, fearing you’d see two cat-like, piercing, angry orbs flash open and stare into your soul. He wasn’t ready to show you what was hidden beneath the black fabric, yet, and you never pushed him. It must be something really serious to him…
You reached out, stroking through his black hair and removing his cap before plopping it on your head and putting your hand in front of your mouth like a mask, narrowing your eyes to mimic his own intense appearance.
“S/O, you’re rather cheerful this morning…” he was suspicious, but still found your little dance and daring demeanor cute. The crown of his black hair was a bit mussed, tousled about at the roots by the swift motion of you snatching his hat.
“I just really~ miss you, and I have endless energy today! Sooooooo, let’s go eat then explore! And I think Kaito is setting up some kind of lame game night for everyone later on. I promised him I’d go even though I don’t really want to, but it would still be awesome to team up and destroy Kokichi’s will to live! All we have to do is partner him with someone who sucks at trivia or charades!” He chuckled at you, his eyelids falling closed. You were such a bright light in his life, and he was so happy that you were all his.
“I’m afraid I’m busy, my dear. Maybe some other time.” He shook his head, his gaze returning to the yellowed pages of a tome in front of him. You reached forward, closing the book. He sighed. “S/O…” his brow furrowed, now speaking in a cautionary tone.
“Kiyo…” you imitated his serious, gravelly timbre.
“I’m being serious. You’re adorable, I’ll give you that, but you’re trying my patience~” he tried to lighten the mood and not seem so short with you, a sing-song last warning in his voice before he clasped your hand in his.
“Sigh!” You said aloud. “I suppose I’ll just have to leave~” you pulled away, standing slowly and teasingly gliding to the door, hoping he would be seduced into wanting your attention, or guilty about forcing you away, or… something! Anything. You reached the door and looked back over your shoulder as if to say ‘this is your last chance!’ and he simply waved back smugly, his fingertips wiggling childishly. You exhaled deeply in defeat, head hanging over dramatically. You drug your feat heavily along the ground back into his lab, pouting as you began flipping through texts on the ceiling-to-floor bookshelf behind your boyfriend. “Can I at least stay in here while you work?”
“…I suppose,” he didn’t even look up from his book. “If you promise to stay quiet so I can focus.”
“Alright…” You chimed.
“S/O.”
“Hmm?”
“I mean it.”
~
About fifteen minutes had passed and so far you’d been behaving for the most part, twiddling around relics and blowing dust off of old artifacts. Occasionally you’d bump or clank something accidentally, and Korekiyo would narrow his eyes at you or sigh. You were beginning to feel that same pang of boredom and restlessness creep up your spine for an encore. You were starting to feel antsy.
How do I get him to just fucking pay attention to me?! You huffed, scheming to yourself. Then it clicked. You had the perfect way to liven him up. He’d have to play along with you if you…
You crept up quietly behind your boyfriend, and your hands crept around his neck like impish little claws before snatching his mask down and off of his face. You held the black fabric in your hand like this was a game of capture the flag and tried to lean over his shoulder and see his face, his full face, for the first time.
“S/O!” Korekiyo growled, his reaction time immediate and way too fast for you. He spun away, covering his mouth with his arm. “What the hell are you doing?! Give that back!” He reached out for his mask with his free hand, and you skidded backward, giggling.
“Come and get it~” You teased, hoping he’d want to give into your playful chase, maybe tackle you…maybe pin you to the ground and use those newly-revealed lips to…
“Give me the mask, now!” Kiyo flew up from his chair so violently that it fell backwards, tipping over. This alarmed you, and you looked him up and down, scanning him over. He was shaking, a sheen of sweat over the flushed skin that was normally porcelain-white. You’d never seen him this upset. He was usually so composed, so elegant, so graceful and rational.
“Kiyo…” You almost asked more than stated, doubting the inflamed, shadowy entity in front of you was in fact your boyfriend any more.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?! Have you no decency or respect?! Why do you torture me so?! Have I not been good to you?! His words were almost muffled by his sleeve concealing his mouth and chin. He quickly turned around again, seemingly scrubbing his sleeve across his mouth roughly. When he turned to you again, you swore you could see something staining his sleeve a deep red.
“Why are you getting so pissed off?! I was only trying to revive your dead-corpse of a personality! Why the fuck are you even dating me if you never wanna spend time with me?!”
“Give me. My mask!” He fumed, his eyes holding back something unstable.
“Everyone, everyone here thinks you’re a creep! They think you’re some weirdo freak and they avoid you! Some of them are even scared of you, but I’m always here! I always have accepted you, have loved who you are, have supported you! And now I’m expressing my feelings and you care about this fucking thing?! I could die tomorrow, killed by one of our friends, and this is how you treat me?!” You shook the mask around in the air before throwing it to the ground with malice. His eyes widened, and in a moment of pure, raw emotion, he flew at you, the gust of air that carried him lifting his black tresses like a veil behind him. He stopped just in front of you, his face inches from yours.
“Then leave! Leave me alone if I’m such a pathetic excuse for a human being!” He seethed. He no longer had a mind to cover himself. You were now seeing his lower-face for the very first time, but you couldn’t even register that right now. Kiyo was like a cyclone, a demon demanding satisfaction for a wrong-doing. His temper was never this present, and your heart was involuntarily speeding up in fear. Why had you pushed him like this? “Just get out!” His bandaged hand shot forward and you flinched, crying out his name as it flew toward you. You closed your eyes, bracing yourself for the pain that never came as he punched the bookshelf behind you. You kept your eyes closed, shaking as tears began to spill over.
You were both silent, Kiyo’s shaky breath filling the air as he finally looked into your eyes. His heart dropped upon seeing your tears and cowering body. How could he…? He was never going to hit you, but it didn’t matter, you thought he was going to, and that was enough. He felt the desperate need to explain himself, to save your opinion of him and make sure you were okay. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. Surely…surely you’d leave him now, and never spare him a glance again.
“S-S/O…S/O,” he quickly grasped onto your face with weak, trembling hands. His palms cupped your jaw and chin, and gently made you look up at him. You gazed up into his eyes, and saw him, truly saw him. He was beautiful, and his soul was beautiful. How could a mask hide more than appearance? “I need you to know that when I struck my hand out, I was always planning to hit the shelf behind you.” He shook his head, searching your eyes for understanding. “I need you to know that. I would never, ever raise a hand to you. I know very well that even letting my temper take control enough to hit things like a child throwing a tantrum is unacceptable, and was probably very scary for you to watch, but please know that I will never harm you. No matter how upset I get, I will never hurt you. I hold far too much love for you in my heart. I loved you as my best friend, and now I love you as my partner. Please, please forgive me for my outburst.” His honey eyes were glassy and wet, and his face was set in a self-loathing grimace.
You looked at him, breathing deeply for a moment, before slowly leaning forward. You let your lips melt into his, and they were so soft...softer than you could’ve ever imagined. His eyes widened a bit in confusion and surprise. Did you forgive him? What did this mean? He silenced his thoughts and his eyelids fluttered closed, letting his lips mold around yours like they were meant to fit together.
Your first kiss.
He moaned, his arm reaching for your waist and pulling you in to deepen the kiss. After a long while, you both parted for some much needed air.
“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you so far. It wasn’t fair. Nothing that I said or did today was fair. I was being childish as well, and selfish.”
“No, you’re right. I cherish you, I want you. I should be spending more time with you. And I vow to you, I will.”
Ryoma Hoshi:
You walked into Ryoma’s research lab, grinning ear-to-ear. You held a little box full of snacks and soft drinks, prepared to spend the night with him. Upon entering, you noticed your boyfriend dripping sweat, gracefully repelling away tennis balls with expertise. The automated machine arm on the other side of the net was pelting him mercilessly, whipping ball after ball in his general direction. Ryoma was unrelenting, balls ricocheting off the walls after he served them back to the machine, which couldn’t keep up with the Ultimate Tennis Pro. He was entranced in the sport, and you were entranced with him.
You couldn’t help but see the skill he was brandishing out in the open as incredibly attractive. He was so fast, so agile, still so passionate about the sport, even if he didn’t want to admit it. You were amazed and enamored, and simply watched as if it were a private little show just for you. Ryoma was always so cynical and self-loathing, that seeing him in his element, focused-in, enjoying himself, was so intimate. After a few more minutes, you shook yourself out of your reverie. It was snack time! You took a step forward.
“Wow, Ry-”
“Gah!” His deep voice growled out, and he pivoted to face you, almost shitting himself. “S/O-!” The machine continued to launch balls, and one hit him at a dangerous velocity right in the back of the neck. “Agh!” He tripped forward, nearly toppling forward but catching himself. “Fuck!”
“Ryoma!” you teetered over to him, the heavy box in your arms impairing your free movement a bit.
“No!” He ran at you, tackling you back into the corner of the room. You fell to the ground with Ryoma on top of you as the machine pelted three balls directly where your head would’ve been. The snacks scattered everywhere and the sturdy box knocked off of Ryoma’s head in all of the ruckus. “Ow!” He reached from his prone position for the sleek remote on the ground by the door, and pressed the red button on the side. The machine whirred to a stop, a few already-primed balls dropping from it’s front with a thud.
I’m such an idiot…you thought to yourself. Gosh, he must be so pissed right now. Why were you so annoying and careless?
Ryoma sat up, his face blood-red and his chest heaving angrily. His neck and head pulsed with a dull pain, and his temper had shot right up through the roof. You met his eyes with a fearful and apologetic expression.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, S/O?!” He yelled, and you cringed. He was usually so chill, so easy-going, even when being self-deprecating or depressing.
“I-”
“You know I’m dangerous, that I react instantly to threats. Why would you startle me like that?! I’ve killed people for less!”
“Ryoma, you’d never hurt m-”
“Then you walk out in front of a machine launching projectiles at light speed??? Act like you’ve got some fuckin’ sense!” The hand still holding onto his tennis racket in a vice-like grip rose above both of your heads, and you flinched away with a gasp, bracing for it to strike down upon you. Instead, it launched past you both, Ryoma throwing it with a grunt of frustration.He took in your reaction at the very last second, and instantly felt like a piece of shit. He said nothing, pulling his knees up into himself and staring at the ground. Realizing you were in no danger, you sat back up fully, feeling a bit foolish now, and simply crossed your ankles, sitting beside him silently.
A moment passed, then another, then another. You didn’t want to push him. He didn’t like to open up or to be forced to open up. This was a bit awkward…and sad. Another moment passed. He sighed, taking one of your hands in his.
“Hey…”
“Hey.” You looked to him with apprehension in your eyes.
“You’re right, I would never hurt you. That was bullshit, everything I just said and did…how I acted was bullshit.” He paused before continuing, hesitant. “I wasn’t mad at you, I was mad at the situation. I was having a rough night anyway before you showed up, thinkin’ about the past and shit. Then you scared me, it hurt my pride, then the ball hit me, and it just hurt my pride even more. Then you walked out onto the court and I just, I was scared that you were gonna get hurt, and angry that you’d be so careless with your safety when you know how much I worry about you. Plus, you know I don’t like people watching me play, it’s embarrassing…I guess all that emotion just built up…” He scratched the back of his neck, waiting for your response, or something more to say. When you remained silent, searching for the right words, he began again. “Enough with the excuses. There is no excuse. I shouldn’t have yelled at you, or thrown the racket. But, you have to know I would never hurt you.” He leaned in to embrace you, a bit stiff as he wasn’t one for physical contact but thought the situation deserved it. You allowed him in, hugging him back tightly.
“I already know that. I already said so before, didn’t I?” You grinned weakly. “Please, don’t beat yourself up about this. I flinched out of instinct.” You reassured him, but Ryoma was always far too hard on himself.
“You’re the only thing in this world that matters to me…” He breathed, avoiding your plea to let himself off the hook.
Kokichi Ouma:
“Kokichi! K-Kokichi stop!” you screamed between pants, barely able to catch your breath. You’d been sprinting away from your little asshole of a boyfriend for a little over ten minutes. He chased after you brandishing a large butcher knife. He snickered and cackled along behind you, not winded in the slightest. It was like his body provided an extra shot of adrenaline and stamina when he was being evil.
~
You’d been in the kitchen with Kokichi, him harassing Kirumi while she tried to prepare dinner for everyone like she had every night. He was rearranging and messing up her cooking station, hiding tools and utensils, harping on her to cook faster. She ignored him, and he ignored you begging him to leave the hard-working maid alone, however, he was starting to get bored. He had resigned himself to taking inventory of everything Kirumi had set out, and his eyes seemed to glitter and glisten when they landed on a classy, expensive-looking, and very large butcher knife.
“Wooooow, coolio!” He picked it up in wonder, posing and swinging it around like a little sword. “Kirumi~ now people might start to get suspicious with you packin’ this thing!” He was beginning to get reckless, swinging the knife loosely and almost clipping his own skin and Kirumi’s skirt.
“Kokichi, be careful!” You loved him, and saw greatness in him where no one else did, but man could he be an idiot sometimes…
“You just walkin’ around with this thing under your skirt, Miss Maid? Ready to go scrub down someone’s entire room then plunge this into their heart? That’s gotta be someone’s kink…” his voice trailed off and he swung the knife in a wide arc toward you. You jumped back, and he tilted his head.
Slowly, a wicked smirk climbed across his pale, impish face. Oh, no…
“Kokichi…” You held your hands up in surrender, backing away slowly. He leapt at you with a little yell, gauging your reaction. He liked your reaction. It was most certainly not boring. “K-Kokichi, stop!” He began to creep toward you with a low chuckle. You knew that chuckle.
You spun on your heel, and jetted out of the dining hall at top speed.
“Nishihi~” The little tyrant immediately gave chase, excitement evident in his voice. He held the knife out in front of him like a serial killer, clearly enjoying the hunter-and-prey dynamic. You, however, were on the verge of collapsing out of stress. Only the fear of death kept your feet going. This was most definitely not fun to you.
Kokichi always teased you. He pulled pranks on you, flustered you on purpose, hid your belongings, even chased you around like this sometimes...but this was different. Usually, if he chased you, he held a spider from Gonta’s lab or a booger as his weapon of choice, never a fucking knife. That, and the fact that something in his voice sounded more thrilled, strained, more malicious, was setting off your fight-or-flight.
“Run, run, my little S/O! Run for your life!” He sounded fucking insane, but thankfully also sounded further away now. It seemed you were losing him, much to your relief. Looking around frantically, you turned a corner in a looping hallway and tripped over a foot that stuck out suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere. You fell roughly to your hands and knees with a yelp of pain, turning around to stare up at the Supreme Leader. “AHAHAHA! That’s right, cower at my boots, kneel and beg for your life!” He angled the knife down at you, the tip pointing into the middle of your throat. Your head was spinning. There was something hazy and reeking of blood-lust in his eyes.
Your walls broke down, and you began to sob loudly, tears pouring from your eyes and snotty yelps and choking-sounds coming from your raw throat. This wasn’t funny, you weren’t playing along. Why was he tormenting you? Your eyes were puffy and you looked absolutely miserable, almost scream-crying up at him. Kokichi felt a chill run down his spine, but not the good kind. He quickly pulled the knife away, and tossed it behind him on the floor to be discarded and forgotten.
“Huh? Hey, why are you crying? I was just playin’ around, like always.” There was something like child-like innocence and confusion in his tone. You always liked playing with him, what gives? You simply kept weeping, holding your hands in your face, not even wanting to look at him. “H-hey…” Kokichi sunk down onto his knees, now eye-level with you, and he removed your hands from your face. He’d never made you cry before…
“Please, go away…” You sniveled, looking away from him. You were humiliated, terrified, vulnerable. You didn’t want him there??? This wasn’t fun anymore.
“S/O…did…did you think I was actually gonna hurt you???” He sounded incredulous. “Why were you so scared?” He reached back behind his neck and untied his checkered scarf before placing his hand under your chin and tilting it upward. He began drying off your face, wiping up the snot.
“Yes, I thought you were gonna hurt me. Did you hear yourself?!” A bit of anger latched onto your mainly exhausted tone. “You sounded like you’d fucking snapped, ‘Kichi.”
“Well I was just messin’ around. It’s no fun if you don’t go all out, right?” You didn’t answer. “Right?” He frowned, feeling like the biggest asshole in the world. “Hey! S/O, I would never actually hurt you…this place would be the worst without you. You’re so much fun! And!…and you like me...no one else likes me…” He let his persona slip for half a second before mentally slapping himself. “And I like you!” He grabbed you roughly and pulled you into a hug, trying to distract from that little moment of weakness he’d just shown. “H-how about from now on, we make a secret code or phrase that only you and I know, and when one of us says it, we know that whatever game we are playing is not cool or fun anymore, and we both stop immediately?!” He meant when you said it, he would never chicken out of any activity, no matter what. His pride wouldn’t allow it…but….you could see he was trying. He was sorry.
You nuzzled your head into his shoulder and let him whisper little words of apology and encouragement into your ear, promising that next time, you could pick what game you played together.
Shuichi Saihara:
Shuichi was many things: he was smart, kind, empathetic, intuitive, handsome, loving, punctual, prepared, selfless, but he was not aggressive, or violent in the least.
So when he’d slammed his fist into the wall beside your head, you’d yelped, your hands flying up to protect your face instinctually, fearing the worst. Shuichi never missed a beat, immediately gasping while his brain rapidly processed and registered his outburst and your defensive reaction all at once. He grabbed you by the shoulders greedily, pulling you into his chest. His head was already buried in your shoulder, sobbing with guilt. He hugged your waist so hard you might’ve snapped in two.
“S-S/O...S/O, S/O…no no no…” He wept. “Please, please I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. That look on your face. You- you were scared of me!!! I shouldn’t have- I was stressed, I was so damn tired and stressed and a-after that trial, I just can’t- I couldn’t-!”
“Shuichi!” You grabbed the sides of his face, forcing him to look at you. His navy blue hair stuck to his wet face, which was puffy and flushed pink. He was a mess, and obviously tearing himself apart inside. “Shuichi, shh~” You brushed the hair from his forehead.
“I would never, NEVER hurt you,” his voice cracked. “I’m so stupid! I’m so, so sorry. I love you…SO much. I’ll never let my emotions take over like this ever again. Please, please forgive me…or-or don’t, but I just need you to know, I would never hurt you.” He took your hand, sniffling before kissing the back of it. “I would never hurt you.” he whispered, a broken man.
“I know, Shuichi. Everyone has their moments. You’ve never harmed me or even talked harshly to me before. This was a fluke…” He shook his head, not wanting to allow himself any excuses. He was so hard on himself… “Shuichi, we found a dead body today then watched someone die. You do most of the work during the trials. I would think you were inhuman if you didn’t get over-emotional at times…”
“But, you didn’t do anything to me! You simply were trying to talk me down. When I saw that look in your eyes…the fear, directed toward me, the one who is supposed to love and protect you… I… I’m such an asshole.” He began to cry again.
Your sensitive little detective.
“I will always be here to talk you down. I will always be here for you, Shuichi. I love you, too, so very much. You are forgiven.” You kissed his cheek softly.
Rantarou Amami:
“No… NO NO NO!” Rantarou ran past the table you were sitting at, falling to his knees in front of the broken tripwire in front of him.
“Rantarou? W-what’s wrong?” You put down the book you’d been avidly reading and rushed to your boyfriend’s side on the other side of the library.
“S/O…babe… please tell me this tripwire was already broken when you got here…” He knew it wasn’t, that sliver of a chance the only thing stopping him from exploding.
“Uhh…well, no. I got here about thirty minutes ago a-and I stepped on it. At first, I thought it was a trap, that I was gonna be the next victim, but nothing happened, so I just found the book I wanted and-”
“Uggghhh,” Rantarou groaned, running a hand across his face and standing. His face was slowly turning red.
“What’s wrong, I-”
“What’s wrong? Are you kidding me?! Monokuma’s motive time limit is almost up! How are you here reading away the night like-”
“Why are you getting so angry with me?” Your voice faltered. Rantarou was not the type of person to lose his cool easily, and he never yelled at you, never even used a bitter or irritated tone of voice. Where was this all coming from? Your adrenaline started pumping. You must have fucked up big time to cause this reaction.
“S/O, that trap was our last chance to save whoever the victim will be this time! It was hooked up to cameras and in the perfect spot for the mastermind to trip the wire on the way to their hideout! How-” he was quickly growing more and more pissed off, “ -why are you even here?! We all agreed to stay in the dorms until sunrise!”
“Why are you here then?!” You snapped back. You felt that his anger at you was unjustified. He broke the agreement with your peers, too, and set up a trap without telling anyone, but expected everyone to avoid it?
“I-” he ran a hand through his green locks, “- forget it! That’s not important! Someone is gonna die tonight and now I don’t have time to set up a new trap!” He screamed in your face.
“Well that’s not my fault!” You were starting to feel yourself break, feeling extremely guilty for some reason, cornered, and on edge.
“Are you fucking kid-” His hands flew up in an exasperated gesture, and you backed away, flinching.
Rantarou’s rage instantly melted away. He put his hands on his hips, tears threatening to fall from his eyes but he refused to cry in front of you. Not here, not now. He breathed in deeply for a few seconds, turning away from you before pulling himself together. He then approached you pulling you into a gentle hug. He felt idiotic. “Hey, I was bein’ a dick. You couldn’t have possibly known I set the trap, and there’s always a margin of error, anyway. None of this is your fault. Everyone here is under a lot of stress. I’m sorry for losing my cool, but babe…” he pulled back, and you looked up at him. “Seeing you flinch away from me like that…man, that was awful. I would rather die than have you ever look at me with fear in your eyes. I will never hit you. Please, never worry about that.” He stroked your cheek. “I will never push or shove or kick or hit or-” He picked you up, tickling your sides and eliciting a giggle from you, before swinging you up into his arms in a bear hug. “Or ever, ever hurt you in any way.” He kissed your forehead. “I might bite’cha though…” he cooed. You shook your head, grinning.
“That fight was stupid, let’s just forget it.”
“I agree. There’s still the time limit though…”
“There’s nothing we can do about it, now Rantarou, except be the best people we can be.” You met his eyes, trying to let him know that you were there for him.
“What we can do is lock ourselves up in your dorm room, and barricade the doors after checking for traps and murderers.” He chuckled in that sexy, deep voice of his, the one that made you swoon every time. “And I’m gonna protect you. You’re not gonna be a victim as long as I’m around. That’s a promise.”