Work Text:
shuichi stepped into the room, footsteps heavy. it'd been almost a week since the 5th class trial, yet there was still something on his mind.
he glanced around, and caught sight of the machine. the hydraulic press.
it looked brand new now, clean and shiny, as it was before the 5th case. the blood had been all cleaned up, gone, never to be seen on it again.
yet, he felt weird seeing the sparkly clean hydraulic press. it was almost like something was missing. missing from beneath there.
as much as he never wanted to admit it, he still felt his presence in there. it stayed there. laughing, smiling, frowning soundlessly. he knew it was there, but at the same time he almost didn't.
he stepped forward and placed a shaky hand on the machine. his heart felt empty, like something was missing.
kokichi.
why?
he detested kokichi. he had enough of his lies. now he was finally gone, so he should be happy, right?
an image of the liar flashed in his mind. short, smirking, coy, purple haired boy. he still heard his little smug laugh echoing somewhere in the back of his mind.
shuichi's head was a mess right now. it had been like that the past few days. something just didn't feel right.
he never got to pay respects. no one paid respects to him actually, he was everyone's enemy. but shuichi kind of felt indebted to do so.
he never got to see how kokichi looked like just before his death. he had no idea what exactly happened - he only had vague details from kaito, supported by his imagination.
the blood in the hydraulic press that day scared him. but presently, it scared and comforted him at the same time.
now it was just empty.
he slapped his forehead. he was acting up... kokichi was dead. gone. never to return again. he should've been glad.
but instead, he couldn't feel happy.
he didn't understand at all.
but all the thinking was making his overworked brain hurt even more.
so instead, he took out the flowers he'd brought.
he gently placed them on top of the press and uttered a silent prayer.
an apology. but not exactly one.
he walked out soon enough. the smell of remorse in there was suffocating.
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night time.
shuichi settled into his bed and pulled the sheets over himself. trying not to think of kaito, kokichi, anything that would keep him up.
his eyes shut almost immediately.
his brain didn't.
his eyes fluttered open not long after closing. he awoke to a black space.
a small figure stood still in front of him.
"hey."
"it's been a while, hasn't it?"
the figure was smiling. but he wasn't happy, shuichi could tell.
"heh, did you miss me?"
shuichi kept silent.
he watched as the boy's clothes flashed nonstop. from his usual white uniform to....
what?
kaito's coat..?
an arrow. pink splotches.
oh.
"you still haven't come to terms with my death, huh?"
"saihara-chan."
shuichi looked away. the figure was blinding, despite the absolute darkness of the black space they were currently in.
"fine. so be it."
silence.
"don't worry. we'll see each other somewhere else. it's just a matter of time."
silence again.
"don't cry. don't miss me."
no response.
"maybe i shouldn't have lied so much."
the voice turned bitter. an empty laugh that didn't belong was heard.
"i'm sorry."
"goodbye."
and he vanished.
shuichi had so much to say to him in actuality. so, so much. but the words vanished.
it'd be ok though. they'd see each other in another place. sometime. in future. then, he could tell him everything.
he really hoped it would work like that.
but things never work out the way we want them too.
it was too late.
he was gone.
the black void started fading away before he knew it.