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‘Someday’ is a foreign concept to Kokichi.
Someday you’ll go back home , they said.
Someday you’ll be integrated back into society , they said.
What was the point? What was there to it?
He only stared absentmindedly as the classmates he shared hell with looked so…excited, so happy for that undefined ‘someday’. He couldn’t bring himself to hope, he was the only one who couldn’t bring themselves to hope.
Or so he thought.
Everyone was so happy, cheering and talking excitedly, wondering when they could see their families and loved ones again. Kaito would crush Maki in his bear hugs, Kaede would squish and squeeze Rantaro and even Korekiyo wasn’t without a smile.
“Someday we’ll get out of here! Right Shuichi?” It was of pure thought to turn to look at the detective, despite the fact that his mind was thrown to the wind before. He could see the other boy smile and nod, eyes closed and face lax. At first glance.
It was only because he was a liar that he noticed the strain in his smile, despite how small it was, the look in his eyes so lost once he opened them, as if he were in a whole other world from them, a whole other universe even.
It didn’t sit right with Kokichi.
So at the end of the day, when everyone was saying their ‘see you later’s and ‘talk tomorrow’s, Kokichi zoned in on the detective, who shuffled away from the group silently, a far off expression on his face.
Kokichi’s queasiness didn’t settle, even then. So he followed him, just to be safe. He walked hallway after hallway after the ex-detective, who seemed to stumble along without destination.
At some point, it led to the roof.
Maybe it was instinct, when he noticed Shuichi staring up at the stars so late at night. Maybe an urge as a leader, the feeling in the pit of his stomach, the voice in the back of his mind, whispering. Talk to him, talk to him, talk to him.
You won’t regret it.
So he did, he talked to Shuichi.
And when he finally got Shuichi to spill the beans?
“I can’t help but think…what will we do afterwards?” The thought struck a good point, because Shuichi always made good points. Kokichi would tilt his head, ask him to elaborate, and Shuichi would sigh, and shake his head, saying it didn’t matter as much as Kokichi knew it did.
And so he decided, there’s no need to pry. They don’t have a timer, not every secret needs to be out, not so quickly. Not even at all.
“Someday then,” He smiled, catching the gray-eyed boy’s attention. “Tell me someday, Shumai! Capiche?” He leaned back on the bench, the other staring at him in slight confusion, before he simply huffed and smiled.
“Okay,” He mumbled, offering his own smile. “Someday.”
…
Someday, people would say.
Kokichi stared at the house before him, tilting his head as he eyed the other boy already there. It was a shocking coincidence, probably a good one, probably a bad one. Who knew his other self shared a house with his beloved. He was truly a lucky one.
Shuichi shuffled in place as he watched the uniformed men at work, helping him take his stuff inside. He glanced towards Kokichi, sheepishly looking away as he ducked inside with a duffle bag around his chest, cradling it close like it meant something.
Someday they’ll get out of here , they said.
Well they’re here now. That’s nice, he supposed.
Moving in wasn't difficult, simply gathering their stuff and finding which room was theirs originally. What was weird, was the fact that despite the rooms being cleared by the foundation of anything really…. Danganronpa , there were still some personal belongings that struck him as odd.
Like the oversized sun hat hung up on Shuichi’s bed frame. It was in complete black with lovely golden accents, even gold chains hanging off the sides. Shuichi had taken great interest in it, like any ex-detective, fumbling with it in his hands before hesitantly sliding it on his head. It looked good on him, very good, really. Despite hats being his emotional support, Kokichi wouldn’t mind the other wearing that more.
“You really like that hat, don’t you?”
“It’s my favorite, why wouldn’t I?”
Kokichi ignored the flashback his mind provided, and found another thing in his own room. It was two picture frames in gold, holding them both up to look at each other.
Kokichi didn’t know whether that was a good idea or not.
One picture, it was a picture of them. Him and Shuichi, or rather yet, the Shuichi and Kokichi they used to be. Shuichi was laying arms folded in Kokichi’s lap, the hat flopping on his head as Kokichi held it up with a smile, the other had…a very neutral expression on his face.
His own hair was longer, he took notice. A small ponytail and white, baggy jacket with the dice logo on it, the sleeves sliding down to his elbows. They were also in the living room, and if he had to guess, someone took the picture for him.
Just from that picture he could tell there was a bit of a sassier air to Shuichi, his legs folded on top of one another with only one booted foot hanging off the couch. Kokichi himself still had that playfulness, peeking under the hat to look at Shuichi.
He had to admit, it was a cute picture.
(He didn’t want to acknowledge the DICE picture…not yet.)
“Kokichi?” Said boy turned to Shuichi, who was peeking into his room from the door frame. “Can we…can we talk?”
So they did talk.
And they picked up from the last conversation.
What were they to do now? After everything was said and done?
Shuichi would explain, questioning what they were supposed to do now, now that there’s no longer a drive to the day. He had to wonder what they should do now, what was their goal?
He was thinking of the future.
Kokichi simply spoke up;
“We’ll know someday.” Maybe this was the meaning of someday. It was the proper meaning of it though. To have something happen at some undefined point. Maybe they simply didn’t need to know when anymore. Because everything was on a timer. But now? It wasn’t.
They could do whatever they wanted, without a single thing to fear, without the thought of death looming over them everywhere they went. So that’s fine. It’s fine.
Because it’ll happen someday.
…
It’ll happen someday , they said.
Kokichi sat there and cried.
“Boss! W-why are you crying!?” He sat there as the tears slipped down his face, staring off as if this wasn’t real. Because it couldn’t be real. It just couldn’t be. They weren’t there, all nine of them, worrying their asses off because he’s slipping a few tears. Shuichi sighed, shaking his head with a smile, patting the twin haired one’s back. Clubs.
“He’s fine. Just give him some time to realize it’s actually happening.” He hummed, fiddling with the sun hat on his head. When had he started wearing it more often? Familiarity? Yes, just keep his gaze away from the clowns that stood before him, masks off, smiling faces.
And then Jack, dad he was with his stupid afro hair, decided to break his heart.
“We missed ya, boss.”
And the dam just broke, and he was sobbing, and he was grasping at people, crying his head off. Because they were here, and they were real, they weren’t fake, not an illusion of the simulation.
They existed, they were right there and he had them now.
“Shuichi! Come meet my gang!”
“You really want that so badly, don’t ya?”
He cried way more than ever that day. And it was all Shuichi’s fault, hunting them all down on his behalf, getting them to come racing here at the drop of a penny, every flight paid by money given to them by the Future Foundation.
He was so kind. Why would he do this to Kokichi?
“We love you, boss!” Knight cried, long brown hair so real as he hugged her tight, shaky cries stuttering as he buried his face. He knew them, they were here, because Shuichi decided to be a stupid asshole and break his heart with overflowing relief.
“We love you so much, pumpkin!” Hearts, their lavender fiend of a pretty woman, hugged him from the side, creating a chain reaction of more hugs to be a dogpile as Kokichi eventually tipped over, all of them laughing with tear-filled eyes.
Kokichi saw Shuichi from the corner of his eye, hand pressed to his cheek, smile soft and meek. But it was so full of happiness, so full of relief in that one, pricelessly beautiful face.
‘Someday,’ he thought. ‘I’ll get down on one knee and…’
…
“Someday, I was wondering if you would marry me?”
Shuichi had crumbled to the ground in tears, a smile so shaky on his face as Kokichi was before him, down on one knee, asking him to marry him after those long, long years…everything.
The banner was set, the streamers falling down, the flower petals scattered everywhere on the beach, and the two in the midst of the starry night.
“Y…Yes, Oh my god yes , Kokichi!” Shuichi wailed, throwing his arms around the other, who shut the ring box quickly to make sure the ring didn’t get jostled out, hugging him tight.
The sun hat he wore covered them both, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was the way Shuichi kissed him. With so much happiness, so much unrestrained joy, so much, so much .
And he said yes. And it happened Someday.
And Kokichi was crying, Shuichi’s makeup stained but he didn’t seem to care. He could hear DICE hollering in the distance and he turned back to yell a playful note.
“I GOT ‘IM, GUYS! I GOT MY FOREVER HONEY!!”
Shuichi laughed sobbing as he leaned against Kokichi’s chest, shoulders shaking as DICE screamed and cheered, jumping around and high-fiving each other.
“We’ve got our Queen!!” Clubs cheered, throwing out confetti from her pockets as Shuichi snuggled Kokichi close.
This was his someday, apparently.
His someday, was the best day ever and forever. That was no lie.