Work Text:
“You want me to make a what?” Iruma asks, raising an eyebrow. Saihara feels his face heat up in embarrassment, before repeating his previous statement.
“Ah— a lie detector, Iruma-san,” he says. “One that isn’t visible upon sight.”
Iruma gives him a level stare, before narrowing her eyes. “What kinda kinky shit could you do with that?” She asks, crossing her arms. Saihara flushes even further, because he did not have any dirty intentions behind the favor. She takes his silence as an answer.
“Does this have something to do with the gremlin?” She asks suspiciously, and Saihara winces. Well… that’s true, but he’s not admitting it.
“I-it’s not!” He insists. “It’s just— an idea. If you can’t make it, that’s fine, too!”
Iruma snorts, jabbing a finger harshly into his chest. “Shut up, Shyhara, who do you think I am? Of course I can make it, by tomorrow, even!”
Saihara holds back the sigh of relief that threatens to slip past his lips, nodding in agreement. “…Thank you, Iruma-san.”
And with that, Iruma pushes him out of her research lab.
As per school rules, all of the students meet up right after the morning announcement to have breakfast together in the dining hall. Saihara, however, takes a different route, heading to Iruma’s research lab first.
When the doors to her lab open, an object is immediately shoved into his chest. He blinks, before bringing his gaze to the object that now sits in his hands.
“There’s your shit,” Iruma remarks, yawning. “That was a bitch to finish, by the way.”
Saihara observes the object, turning it in his hands in surprise. It resembles a bangle: it looks exactly like one, actually. However, he has to assume that it has some sort of secret function implemented inside, based on the jagged line that runs down the middle.
“Thank you again, Iruma-san,” he thanks the inventor, and she waves him off.
“Eh, it wasn’t too hard,” she says, which completely contradicts her previous statement. Saihara decides not to point it out. “Anyways, I’ll show you how it works.”
“You slip on the bangle like you would with any other,” she explains, and Saihara follows along. The bracelet fits nicely around his wrist, not too big or small.
“It doesn’t run on battery, so don’t worry about it dying or anything,” Iruma adds, pointing. “Basically, if someone lies, then the bracelet tightens around your wrist within a few seconds. If they tell the truth, nothing happens. Simple.”
Saihara hums, impressed. He has to admit… the idea is quite genius, and it must’ve taken a lot of thinking to actually make this work. He owes Iruma one for sure.
“This is… perfect,” he marvels, turning his wrist. Iruma snorts.
“Of course it is! I made it, after all,” she boasts, and for once, Saihara agrees.
Now, the reason he had asked Iruma to make the lie detector in the first place: a certain ultimate supreme leader that goes by the name of Ouma Kokichi. Someone who revolves around lies, but has definitely spoken the truth more than one would think.
That’s the issue, however: while Saihara can sometimes figure out whether what he says is the truth, or a lie, he can never be certain. He’s always wondered if his inquiries were right, but that thought is further heightened when Ouma began to very obviously flirt with him.
He had assumed at first that it was just Ouma’s personality, but realized soon enough that Ouma doesn’t act this way with anyone else in the school. This is enough to make Saihara grow a bit suspicious, but it can very well be Ouma toying with him, since Saihara’s likely the easiest to hang around.
Examples of his flirting will vary from “You look good today, Mister Detective!” to, “It’s because I love you, Saihara-chan~!” Each time Ouma says these, though, Saihara almost thinks it’s the truth. Until he realizes that Ouma is pretty much known for his lies, so it can just be Ouma lying to get a kick out of his reaction. Though, he figures that it’d be a bit mean for him to do so… because through this blatant flirting, Saihara finds himself growing an attachment to the supreme leader. As in, he’s almost 100% sure he has a crush on the smaller boy. Which doesn’t help whenever Ouma starts flirting with him out of nowhere.
A part of him feels as though Ouma is telling the truth, but that’s cancelled out by the part of him that believes it’s a lie. Hence why he asked Iruma to make him the lie detector.
(It may or may not have taken two hours of constant persuasion… but it was necessary.)
Saihara sits in the dining hall, picking through his breakfast, when Ouma skips inside, wearing his usual grin. The moment their eyes meet, Ouma’s grin seems to grow even wider, and the supreme leader hurries in his direction. Saihara tries not to bring his gaze to the lie detector around his wrist, as to not draw any attention to it.
“Saihara-chan!” Ouma exclaims, draping himself over his shoulders. Saihara feels his face heat up, before coughing into his fist.
“Good morning, Ouma-kun,” he greets, keeping it somewhat civil. Ouma hums happily, setting his chin atop Saihara’s head, and he swears his heart skips a beat.
…Isn’t this a bit too close?
“Saihara-chan smells good today,” Ouma murmurs, and Saihara waits expectantly for the clench of the bangle around his wrist. Nothing happens.
Nothing happens?
So, he really does smell good? Or is the lie detector not working? He has to hold back the squeak that threatens to slip past his lips, but that gets even more difficult when he notices Ouma’s finger point towards his wrist. The same wrist that he’s wearing the lie detector currently.
“What’s that, Saihara-chan?” Ouma asks, and a sense of dread pools in Saihara’s chest. “A bangle? I didn’t know my beloved wore jewelry!”
“Uh— I just decided to try something different today?” Saihara offers, and winces when he hears how unsure he sounds of himself. His bracelet tightens at his own lie, and he shifts his arm to hide it. Ouma falls silent, and Saihara just knows that he’s suspicious, despite being unable to see his face.
“Something different, huh…” Ouma mumbles to himself, and Saihara is just barely able to pick it up. “Well, if Saihara-chan wanted to turn into a spoiled child, I guess I can’t do anything about it!”
Sahara feels his face burn at the implication, even though knows Ouma’s joking.
“I wouldn’t say I’m… spoiled,” he answers after a moment, and Ouma hums happily.
“Nooo, Saihara-chan, you’re totally spoiled,” Ouma remarks mischievously, and Saihara can practically hear the shit-eating grin on his face. “At least, I think so.”
And suddenly, he feels the distinct clench of something around his wrist. His eyes dart towards the lie detector, widening when he sees that it had worked. So, he establishes two things:
One, Ouma doesn’t think he’s spoiled. And, more importantly…
Two, Iruma’s lie detector is working just as intended.
“Hmm? I didn’t know you wore glasses too! Wow, you look cute in them!” Ouma exclaims, and Saihara jumps at the sudden declaration. He swivels his head around to meet the supreme leader’s gaze, the other’s purple eyes glinting with excitement.
It then comes to Saihara’s realization, yet again, that the bangle around his wrist hadn’t tightened at the compliment.
“T-thank you, Ouma-kun,” he stammers. He doesn’t have a name for the emotion he’s feeling now. Flattered? Embarrassed? Surprised? Doubtful? Maybe all four at once. Ouma tilts his head to the side, giving him a curious look, and Saihara’s caught between feeling wary, and panicking because he comes to the (already established) realization that Ouma is extremely cute. And he has no right looking that way, with his shit-eating grin and roundabout lies.
(Not that Saihara’s complaining, of course. Ouma is nice to look at.)
He suddenly realizes that Ouma is waving a hand dramatically in front of his face, trying to get his attention.
“You’re usually not this spacy, Saihara-chan. This is the second time today!” Ouma observes, and Saihara shakes his head insistently.
“I just didn’t get much sleep last night,” he replies quickly. Which is actually true, because he stayed awake most of the night due to anticipation of Iruma’s invention. Ouma gives him a level stare, before shrugging.
“Staying cautious around me, aren’t you?” He remarks slyly, and Saihara winces. “Smart.”
“I-it’s not that!” Saihara objects. Yet, he supposes that Ouma is right in a way… but probably not in the way he’s thinking.
Ouma shrugs, looking unfazed. “Well, I don’t care anyways,” he says. Saihara almost believes him, before he feels the tell-tale clench of the bangle around his wrist.
So, Ouma’s interested, huh…
“Anyways!” Ouma suddenly chirps, changing the subject abruptly. “Momota-chan accused me of mixing yellow hair-dye into his shampoo! How rude, I’d never do something like that!”
And, when the lie detector tightens again, indicating that it’s a lie, Saihara figures that he can learn more than what he bargained for. Of course, he’ll keep the information confidential… he’s not very keen on outing Ouma anyways.
(Hours later, he comes to find out a lot about his own classmates… a lot more than he ever wanted to learn about them. But, he supposes that what he’s doing must come at some cost.)
It happens when they’re hanging out together during free time: Saihara reading a random book from the library, and Ouma messing around as per usual.
“…You’re acting awfully suspicious today, you know that?” Ouma remarks, frowning, and Saihara freezes from where he sits on the couch. Ouma sits across from him, most likely waiting for an explanation.
“H-how so?” He asks, and is unable to stop the stutter that slips past with those words. Ouma nods eagerly, crossing his arms adamantly.
“You’re just being really secretive, y’know?” He observes, narrowing his eyes. “I wouldn’t expect that from someone who’s buddy-buddy with all our classmates.”
“Eh?” Saihara stares dumbly when Ouma shrugs. “I am?”
Ouma snickers. “Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if the others hadn’t noticed yet, but I obviously have. Perks of being a liar! I know my own kind, after all.”
“W-wait!” Saihara stammers, frowning. “But I’m not lying.”
From the unimpressed look on the supreme leader’s face, Saihara concludes reluctantly that Ouma had already figured out that was a lie too.
“Now that’s definitely a lie,” Ouma grumbles. “You think I couldn’t figure that out?”
Saihara flushes in embarrassment, smiling sheepishly as the lie detector indicates his own lie. “S-sorry.”
“What? I’m worried, actually, because I like you a lot, Saihara-chan, and would be really sad if something happened to you!” Ouma exclaims enthusiastically, and Saihara freezes. That sounds very exaggerated, and Saihara is almost certain it’s a lie. Then, Ouma counters it by saying, “Of course, that’s just a lie. I absolutely hate you.”
Saihara doesn’t even process the fact that Ouma’s first statement is actually the truth, until the bracelet around his wrist tightens at the second statement. Two determining factors, which can only mean…
“Y-you like me?” Saihara repeats, face heating up. Ouma blinks, before frowning.
“No, I actually hate you. I’m using you just so I can use you for your brain, obviously,” he answers blankly. And Saihara likely would’ve known it was a lie, even without the lie detector with him, clamping around his wrist.
That is unfortunately when Ouma’s eyes slowly trails down to the bangle. His eyes narrow, and then his lips part slightly. Saihara feels the familiar sense of dread pooling in his stomach as the supreme leader continues to stare. Then, his hand darts out before Saihara can even begin to process it, and grabs at his wrist.
Saihara freezes in surprise as Ouma brings the hand closer, as though inspecting his bangle.
“…I’m the Ultimate Detective,” Ouma says out of nowhere, and Saihara feels the familiar tightening of the lie detector. When he sees a look of recognition pass Ouma’s eyes, Saihara realizes that the angst other must’ve been testing it out. But how did Ouma even figure…?
“H-how did you—?” Saihara begins, his heart beating wildly in his chest, and Ouma snorts.
“You’re not as subtle as you think. A lie detector, Mister Detective? That’s like cheating, you know,” Ouma chastises, poking at the bangle. Saihara flushes.
“N-no? I had a reason…” he mumbles quietly, his embarrassment overpowering his other senses. Ouma pauses, frowning.
“What’s the reason? You’re trying to figure out if one of us have a motive to kill or something?” Ouma remarks slyly, and Saihara quickly shakes his head.
“No! Not that. I-I wore it because I wanted to know if you mean what you say to me,” he blurts out quickly, and then instantly regrets it because that’s quite literally exposing himself to his entire reason for having the lie detector in the first place.
“Hmm… if I mean what?” He asks, sounding curious. Saihara falls silent, biting his lip, and Ouma seems to realize what he’s referring to, going by the way he grimaces.
“The compliments, huh…” Ouma remarks, and then he visibly freezes. His face turns noticeably red, and Saihara blinks. Suddenly, Ouma’s expression reverts to his familiar happy face, grinning, but Saihara notices that it’s a bit strained. Why?
“W-wow, this lie detector thing must be faulty!” Ouma says, and the stutter that leaves his lips doesn’t slip past Saihara. “I didn’t mean anything I said before, just so you know.”
Saihara feels the bangle tighten around his wrist, and he frowns. “Ouma-kun, you don’t have to lie, you know,” he says. He considers adding more to that, and the part of his brain that wants to overpowers the part that doesn’t. So, he says it.
Quieter, he mumbles, “Because I like you, too…”
Ouma obviously hears, his eyes widening. He then narrows them, before taking a step back.
“That’s a pretty mean thing to lie about,” he accuses, frowning, and Saihara internally swears. Well, he hadn’t expected Ouma to believe him right off the bat, but how else would he get Ouma to accept the fact that Saihara is actually head over heels for him?
Then, he remembers.
He has a lie detector, after all. Which seems to be perfect for this predicament.
His brain clicks, and he hurries to turn his wrist towards himself.
Saihara quickly slips off the lie detector, and holds it towards Ouma. The supreme leader stares at him in confusion, before taking the hint and holding out his hand, and Saihara slides it around Ouma’s wrist. Then, he holds both of Ouma’s hands in his own, ignoring the startled sound that comes from the other’s throat, staring into his purple eyes.
“Ouma-kun,” he whispers, breathless. He can feel his heart thumping inside his chest, and can only hope that it’s not loud enough for the other to hear. “I like you. It’s the truth, isn’t it?”
Saihara brings his gaze carefully to the bangle around Ouma’s wrist, watching. Ouma stays completely still, and then he seems to finally realize that nothing happened. Basically meaning that Saihara isn’t telling a lie. Which also means that Saihara does indeed like him.
“You… like me,” Ouma repeats dumbly, sounding dazed. Saihara nods firmly, his lips thinning into a line.
“Do you believe me…?” He asks quietly, biting his lip. Ouma pauses for a moment, before answering.
“No. Of course I don’t believe you,” he answers flatly. Saihara feels his heart drop at that statement, before his eyes reach the bangle that Ouma’s still wearing. When he sees that it indicated a lie, he lets out a loud sigh of relief, one that he didn’t even bother trying to hold in.
…And there, Saihara realizes that he hadn’t thought this out far enough. He’d only really expected to see past a few of Ouma’s lies, not confess. Which speaks for their awkward silence now.
He hears Ouma mumble something under his breath shortly after, and Saihara swears he hears something that sounds suspiciously like “If you don’t do something, I will.” He only manages to process it after Ouma slips off the lie detector, setting it onto the table, and knocks him over in a tight hug.
“H-huh!?” Saihara exclaims, surprised, and Ouma looks at him with furrowed eyebrows. Saihara holds back a squeak as he comprehends that Ouma’s face is mere centimeters away from his own.
“…Don’t think I’m not mad at you. I still am, for using such an off-handed trick, Saihara-chan,” he accuses, and Saihara doesn’t have a chance to respond before a pair of lips cover his own. His eyes widen, before his mind processes that this is actually happening.
(Maybe he’s been thinking of this scenario for a while… it’s even better than he had imagined.)
((Behind the two of them, sitting on the table, the lie detector clamps around nothing.))