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This was a bad idea from the beginning. A terrible one.
Her knees knocked together as she adjusted her position on the couch for what had to be the hundredth time, pushing her face further into the soft cotton of Kokichi’s sweatshirt. Her ears perked up as the sounds of screaming faded into silence and she shifted her face so that one eye peeked out, settling on the TV.
Big mistake.
The killer raised his machete and she dove back into the sweatshirt with a small squeak, grabbing Kokichi’s hand in a vice-like grip as more screaming and the sounds of machete hitting flesh filled the room. Miwa’s own squeak was drowned out by Toudou’s much louder yelp of fear and Mai’s own groan of disgust at the mindless violence undoubtedly taking place on the screen. Kokichi and Kamo were quiet and she thought that she might have heard one of them sigh, though it was impossible for her to be sure. Momo had said that this was one of the tamest movies she owned and if this were true, then Miwa would hate to see the rest of her collection.
Team bonding was important, yes, and she liked watching movies with all of them, but did it have to be horror? Miwa couldn’t be the only one who held objections to this genre of movie. Definitely not, given that a very freaked out Toudou had been unsuccessfully hiding behind a less freaked out but still disturbed Mai since the five-minute mark had elapsed. Even Kamo flinched at the jump scares, though he also complained about the inaccurate splatter patterns and had even held a brief conversation with Kokichi over a different criticism until Momo had threatened them both with bodily harm for talking.
Kokichi and Momo were the most unaffected by far, albeit for entirely different reasons. Momo, the self-proclaimed “horror (particularly slasher film) enthusiast” was on the edge of the armchair with a bowl of popcorn in her lap, completely engrossed with the events playing out on the screen. Kokichi….well.
“Nishimiya, no sane person would go and have sex in the woods with their partner while there was a murderer running loose at their camp.”
Miwa felt his calloused hand squeeze her own reassuringly as he complained. Seconds later, however, she found herself pushed back as Kokichi raised his arms to his face, presumably to defend himself from the popcorn that Momo was throwing at him in response to his criticisms.
“Muta-kun if you make me pause this movie, the things I do to you will make this movie seem like a children’s story.”
“He’s right, though,” Kamo interjected. “They should be staying inside and waiting for the police to come. Or, they should leave camp in one of the cars. There are ways out of this situation and they aren’t fully exploring all of their options.”
Kamo quickly quieted at the look on Momo’s face, though Miwa could see Kokichi roll his eyes at her senior out of the corner of her eye. Momo looked very close to strangling the two, but then another scream erupted from the TV and she snapped her attention back within the blink of an eye while Miwa buried her head in Kokichi’s shoulder. The movie was supposed to be almost finished, but the end felt nowhere in sight as the violence dragged on.
Finally.
“Is it over?” Miwa mumbled from her place against the sweatshirt. She didn’t want to look.
“Yeah, you’re okay now. It’s just the credits,” Kokichi responded, shifting slightly on the couch.
She slowly removed her arms from around his shoulders and sat up on the couch, blinking rapidly to adjust to the room. Toudou had already gotten up and was pacing behind the couch, muttering something about rewatching a Takada-chan interview and greet before heading to bed while the others remained in their seats. Mai and Kamo were on their phones while Momo watched the credits. Kokichi had his head against the back of the couch with his eyes closed, his lips parted as he sighed heavily.
The room was still dark as well, as no one had bothered to turn on the lights. Each entrance seemed like a gaping maw with the unoccupied furniture and kitchen appearing as ominous shapes in the darkness.
Suddenly she wished that they hadn’t closed the blinds.
“I’m going to bed,” Mai announced with a dramatic sigh as she rose from the couch. “I hope everyone sleeps well tonight.”
Miwa knew that she hadn’t imagined the lazy smirk directed at her after that statement. Kamo followed suit a moment later and Toudou also left, leaving her, Kokichi, and Momo, though her senior was scrolling on her phone and paying them no mind.
“-going to bed. Will you be alright, Miwa?” Kokichi said, his gaze turned towards her.
She blinked. She must have missed the first part of what he said. Kokichi was going to bed though, and that would leave her alone with Momo, who was not paying any attention. In reality, it would just be her. In the darkness. Alone.
“I’m going to bed as well! Goodnight, Momo!” Miwa said hurriedly. “We can walk to our rooms together!”
Kokichi nodded and stood up, stretching. “Sounds good. Night, Nishimiya.”
A hum and a waved hand was her response and they left right after that, walking to the dorms in silence. The silence, however, only seemed to make the shadows worse, as every unknown shape took a sinister form that seemed to leap out at her from the darkness, making her move even closer to Kokichi. She was tempted to take his hand like she had before, though that was during the movie when she also had her head buried in his shoulder to hide from the violence.
“Miwa?”
Somewhere along the way, Kokichi had stopped while she continued, lost in thought. She turned around and watched him walk to her with a concerned expression.
“Yes? Sorry Muta-kun, I was distracted.”
“Are you doing okay? You seemed scared during the movie and you’ve been really tense during our walk back,” Kokichi said, scratching the back of his neck.
“I-I think so.. That movie was just scary. I know it wasn’t real, but it doesn’t make me feel any better walking down the hallway. It makes me think of the killer waiting for the people right off of the campground paths…” Miwa trailed off, looking around. She wished she hadn’t reminded herself of that fact, as every closed door could have a killer lurking behind it waiting to strike while their backs were turned and-
A warm, calloused hand slipped through her own, squeezing it gently.
“Hey. It’s going to be okay. It was just a movie. And besides, you’re really strong, Miwa. A killer wouldn’t stand a chance against you after all of your training,” Kokichi said gently. It was difficult to see him in the dark, but when she felt him pull away, she followed, keeping their hands together.
“Do you mind, or would you mind, if we kept holding hands? I just. I would rather not walk alone and this would really help!” Miwa rambled, feeling her cheeks heat. The one saving grace of the darkness was the fact that her facial expressions couldn’t be seen. Thankfully. Kokichi froze, and Miwa waited for him to say no and pull away, though the moment never came.
“Of course, Miwa. I wouldn’t mind at all, it’s fine,” Kokichi said quickly.
“Great!”
They lapsed into silence once more and resumed walking, though now occasionally their shoulders would brush as they walked and Miwa could breathe easier, focusing on the warmth of Kokichi’s hand and his soft footfalls instead of the darkness surrounding them.
His room was before hers and they stopped there. Kokichi let go of her hand to open the door and took the first step in before stopping and turning to face her.
“Do you think you’ll be okay tonight?”
Miwa took a glance down the dark hallway and shuddered slightly. She liked having the last room at the end of the hall, though this night alone was enough to make her wish she hadn’t picked it. Not only that, but the thought of being alone in her room was far from reassuring. Not when her mind was still racing and she was too tense to even consider sleeping.
She took another look at Kokichi. His hair was in a low bun and his sweatshirt was rumpled where her fists had been curled tight in the fabric. She opened her mouth and closed it once, taking a deep breath.
“Actually, do you mind if I stay with you for a bit tonight? I think it might help if you could tell me about some of your criticisms of the movie, Muta-kun.”
Kokichi blinked and was silent for a moment before nodding and standing aside to let her in. “Of course, Miwa.”
Miwa ran her hand along the wall and flipped the light switch on as soon as she found it, illuminating the room in a yellow glow. She had been in Kokichi’s room before and she was pleasantly surprised to see the cacti that Mai gifted him sitting on his windowsill, looking even healthier than before. His engineering and math textbooks were neatly organized on his bookshelf next to his other books as well and she skimmed the titles before moving her attention back to Kokichi, who had sat on the floor while she looked around the room. She sat down next to him and laid her head against the bed behind her, sighing softly. It was quiet in here as well, but a comfortable quiet. She was still far from calm, but her body felt lighter now.
“Where do you want me to start?” Kokichi asked.
Miwa thought for a moment. “From the beginning, if you’re okay with that, Muta-kun. Thank you.”
“Of course. Hmm. I guess in the beginning, the fact that the counselor heard that the camp was supposedly cursed but still decided to keep walking through the woods was really bad. Why would you walk in the woods after you were specifically told that people were murdered there?”
That was a good point. “She didn’t seem like she was really paying attention to anything the caretaker said. That was also a bad choice,” Miwa responded.
Kokichi smiled. “Yeah! I don’t think she was the smartest. None of them were, though. Why would you split up when there’s a murderer? Plus people going out to have sex in the woods where the murderer is supposed to be is just asking to be killed. It’s like they left all their common sense at home before going to this camp.”
She laughed at his insult before pulling her knees up to her chest as a small shiver passed through her. Winter was not yet over and while she did wear warmer clothes, it didn’t prevent the cold from affecting her.
Kokichi, of course, noticed.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
“Just a little. Don’t worry about it,” she replied. However, Kokichi was already reaching behind him to pull a blanket off the foot of his bed.
“Here.”
Miwa shifted forward and wrapped one side around her left shoulder before moving closer to Kokichi and letting their shoulders press together before putting forward the other side of the blanket as a small offering. He blinked and a small dusting of pink appeared on his cheeks as he took the blanket and wrapped it around himself, leaning into her slightly.
“I don’t think I ever want to go to summer camp,” she said after a long moment. Kokichi’s shoulders shook slightly as he laughed and she joined in as well, the sound filling the silence.
“Neither do I. It looks more dangerous than what I’m comfortable with,” he replied. “If I had to go, I might just send a Mechamaru unit and call it a day.”
“It would be much safer than going in person, though I think it would be better just to go somewhere fun like the beach. The beach is safe from…..murderers like the one in Momo’s movie.”
Kokichi hummed, stretching his legs so they protruded out from the blanket. “Murderers like the ones in the films that Nishimiya loves don’t exist in real life. I think that’s partly why people love them so much. By making fiction weirder and more gruesome than reality, people feel safer. Plus, some people enjoy the macabre and violence. Movies like this just bring these interests to the spotlight.”
“Plus in Nishimiya’s case, she sees things much scarier than that every day,” he added. “Though I still don’t get why she likes such cheesy films. Me asking that would likely result in a painful death, though.”
Miwa winced, thinking back to her senior’s threats earlier in the evening. While the movie didn’t make her feel safer—pretty much the opposite, she could understand how others felt that way. For her though, she felt safer in the moments after, in moments like this. The shadows on the wall still made threatening shapes and Miwa was too afraid to look past the blinds and look at the dark courtyard, but each passing moment made her feel more relaxed. She wasn’t ready to face the prospect of spending the night in her dark room alone yet, but she was still calmer than before.
“Do you want some tea? I...I think I would like some tea,” Miwa said.
“...sure.” Kokichi rose from his place on the floor and stretched, Miwa following suit. Before walking out, she grabbed the blanket from off the floor and wrapped it around her shoulders. Even if it didn’t protect her from imaginary murderers, it kept her warm.
The walk to the kitchen was much easier than she expected it to be, though Miwa still kept her eyes forward and avoided thinking about the spaces that she couldn’t see and what could be lurking in said areas. Occasionally, she would bump into Kokichi and he would turn his head to give her a small smile, distracting her from her thoughts for a brief second.
“What tea would you like?”
“Hmm?” Miwa blinked. She hadn’t realized that they were getting close to the kitchen. “Oh, um, probably chamomile tea. Thank you.”
“Of course.”
Kokichi flicked the lights on as they entered and immediately went to one of the cupboards, pulling two mugs off of a shelf. Miwa filled the kettle with water and turned it on while Kokichi grabbed two bags of tea, one chamomile, and one jasmine, and placed them in the mugs. She leaned against the counter and he joined her, staring out the window above the sink. The stars were out and she could see rays of moonlight dimly illuminating the courtyard. The open space brought her no comfort and she turned back to looking at Kokichi, whose eyes were closed as he rested his chin against his chest. He looked younger than he normally did. The circles under his eyes weren’t visible and his normal frown was gone, replaced with slightly parted lips and eyebrows that lacked the furrow in-between that she was so used to seeing.
He looked….at peace. That was the word. Peace.
The kettle started boiling and Kokichi moved away to pour the tea, giving one cup to her before taking the other for himself. It warmed her hands while she waited for it to steep and after a few minutes, she raised it to her lips and took a small sip. They drank quietly for some time until Kokichi broke the silence.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better, I think. Less anxious than before. Still not great though.”
“It takes time to calm down. It’s still dark as well, which I imagine doesn’t help.”
“It doesn’t, but there’s nothing I can do about that.”
They lapsed into silence again until Kokichi put his cup in the sink and she did the same before following him out of the room back in the direction of the dorms. It was even easier this time and she could walk without fearing the shadows. Mostly. A rustle in the bushes outside made her jump and bump into Kokichi, who chuckled at her small fright. A giggle turned into soft laughter at her own expense, echoing through the almost empty hallway. She was still terrified, yes, but she could get through the night. Like before, they stopped at his door and he lingered in the entrance, staring at her with a soft expression.
“Do you...would you like to come back in? We can talk more. Only if you want of course,” Kokichi said quickly.
She was doing better than before. But…
“Yeah! I would, thank you.”
She wasn’t ready to be alone tonight. Her chest was still too tight and she felt like a rubber band waiting to snap despite the amount that she had already calmed down. It was a process. A long one, it seemed.
Miwa paused at the threshold for a moment. “Muta-kun?”
He turned back to face her, a questioning look on his face. “Yes?”
“Thank you for helping me.”
Kokichi smiled at her. “Whenever you need help, Miwa, I’ll be here.”
“Thank you. And Muta-kun, the same goes for you.”
She walked in his room again and instead of sitting on the floor like before, she sat on the bed and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. The bed dipped and she didn’t have to open her eyes to know that Kokichi had settled next to her, but she did regardless. And just like before, she gave the other side of the blanket as an offering and moved closer to him as he accepted it, though this time they seemed to be closer than they were before.
“What do you want to talk about?” Kokichi asked quietly.
That was a good question. She wasn’t sure. After a moment though, she decided.“What did you think was the cheesiest part of the movie and why?”
“Well, let me figure out where to start. There’s a few moments that could easily take first place on most cliche moments.”
She watched him think hard about the question and smiled as he groaned and shook his head, remembering the moment he hated most.
“Ah! I think I’ve got it. It’s a….moment.”
She giggled at the pained expression on his face, no doubt caused by his remembrance of what was likely a very cheesy moment. Yes, everything would be alright in the end. Miwa was sure of that.