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No one was in particularly good spirits after the second trial. Monokuma's beckoning the remaining students to the gym didn't help, especially considering that had been here Ryoma's murder took place.
But seeing as Shuichi didn't particularly feel like dying that day, since Kaede wanted him to keep going and all, he got ready and headed to the gym, knowing that Monokuma was about to announce the next motive.
"Hiya, delinquents!" Monokuma chirped.
Many of the remaining students groaned, whether it was because it was early in the morning or because they weren't in the mood for Monokuma's antics, the detective wasn't entirely sure.
"I have a shiny, new motive for all of ya'!"
"Like we're gonna keep up your stupid game!" Kaito snarled.
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Luminary of the Idiots." Kokichi sneered.
Kaito snarled, his hands curling into fists. "Why you little-"
"Save the violence for the killing! Maybe this motive'll do you some good!"
"Fat chance of that." Someone in the back scoffed.
"Yeah!" Another student agreed.
Maki simply glared at the murderous bear and said nothing.
"Okay! Now that yer all quiet, I can announce the motive. Back by popular demand, we have the Despair Disease!"
"Despair Disease?" Korekiyo repeated slowly in his silky yet oddly unsettling voice.
“Popular demand?” Shuichi repeated questioningly.
"Seriously? Sounds lame." Miu snickered.
"Atua has never heard of such a sickness, so it must not be real!" Angie announced brightly.
Monokuma seemed irked by the doubtful responses. "Oh, it's real alright! Real contagious too! It completely changes your personality, so who knows what kind of killings could happen! Upupupu!"
Shuichi stayed silent, trying to wrap his mind around the theoretical possibility of such a disease and whether it could have an impact as drastic as a third murder.
"Symptoms will start poppin' up tomorrow morning, so good luck! Happy killing!" And with that, he and the Monokubs disappeared, leaving the students on their own.
Everyone seemed pensive or troubled after his exit, and rightfully so, considering the motive drop.
"What kind of a motive is this?"
"It can't be that bad... can it?"
"What do you think, Saihara-chan? Will this disease be the death of one of us?" Kokichi asked, sounding a bit too eager for Shuichi's liking.
"I... I'm not sure. I suppose we'll just have to see what happens tomorrow." He responded quietly, hoping that Monokuma was simply bluffing.
***
Shuichi knew something was wrong the minute he opened his eyes.
His body was hotter than usual and he was covered in cold sweat, but emotionally, he felt... oddly good.
He didn't even cringe like he usually did when he looked in the mirror. For once, his oddly feminine eyelashes and body didn't bother him, especially not after he applied his usual coat of makeup. He even added a bit of extra length to his eyeliner, even though all of the precise action just exhausted his already tired body.
He didn't even think twice about not wearing his hat. He wanted to show off his eyes for once.
Of course, as he was about to leave his dorm, it occurred to him that his behavior was far from what it usually was. Ah, I must have gotten the Despair Disease, then. He quickly deduced. But even so, I'm the only one who has any detective experience, so I can't deprive my classmates of that, especially not when I can actually make deductions without second guessing myself.
So, with his mind made up, Shuichi exited his dorm room without another second of doubt.
***
Shuichi immediately noticed that Kokichi wasn't at breakfast. The observation greatly disturbed him, so he took it upon himself to check on the violet haired gremlin, even though he already had an idea of what was going on.
He was too focused to pay attention to Kaito's confused yells for him to come back or Miu's vulgar insults hurtled in his general direction. His mind was already made up.
He rung Kokichi's doorbell. "Ouma-kun?" Wow, he didn't even stutter. He was impressed with himself.
"Ah! S-Saihara-chan!" Even with his voice muffled by the door, Shuichi could still hear the exhaustion in the liar's voice.
My prediction was right. Kokichi must have the Despair Disease too. Of course Monokuma would go after him; he's always testing his patience, after all.
Despite already knowing how Kokichi was, he wanted the purple haired boy to say it to him of his own free will. "Are you alright? You weren't at breakfast."
There was a long pause, but Shuichi remained patient.
"N-no..." Kokichi gasped.
Shuichi heard a sudden noise immediately after the confession.
Did he just slap himself?! Anger bubbled up inside the detective upon hearing the muffled noise.
"Koki-"
"Now's... really not a good time." Kokichi cut him off, sounding uncharacteristically anxious. "Please Shumai, just go..." He implored.
Shuichi, however, had no intention of leaving, especially after he heard the leader slap himself. "Because of the motive?"
Another pause.
Shuichi sighed softly, gently pressing a hand on the door. "I won't make you respond if you're not comfortable... but... just know that you're not alone."
Another pause.
Shuichi took the silence as an opportunity to unbutton the top of his uniform. He was getting more and more uncomfortably hot as the morning went on.
“I…” Kokichi took a deep breath. Shuichi was slightly surprised that he seemed so genuine. “I don’t want to be alone right now…” The liar admitted shyly. The detective saw his bare feet walking closer to the door.
Shuichi couldn’t help but smile at that. “Do you want me to stay with you?”
The purple haired Ultimate offered no verbal response, simply opening the door and staring up at Shuichi with large, amethyst eyes.
Kokichi looked about as rough as Shuichi felt with dark circles under his eyes and sweaty skin that was somehow pale and flushed at the same time. Despite that, Shuichi would have taken the opportunity to admire how pretty he was if the detective hadn’t noticed the redness around his eyes.
“You’ve been crying.” Shuichi observed.
Kokichi didn’t even try to deny it. “I can’t lie. I’ve been trying all morning.” It obviously pained him to admit as much, but Shuichi was glad he did. It made him happy to know that Kokichi trusted him, even a little.
“That’s why you weren’t at breakfast.” Shuichi pieced together.
A spark of Kokichi’s usual, joking manner returned to his eyes. “Oh, were you looking for me, Mister Detective? I never meant for my beloved Shumai to miss me!”
Shuichi’s eyes widened. He can’t lie, but he still called me his beloved. Luckily, Kokichi didn’t seem to notice his own slip up. Shuichi wasn’t sure if the supreme leader could take that kind of embarrassment in his current state.
Kokichi dropped his smirk, shifting to a much softer, but more genuine smile. “That’s the first time I’ve been able to feel… okay all morning… you really are good at that.”
Shuichi wasn’t entirely sure what he was referring to, but he just went with it. “So… can I come in or are you gonna just stare at me all day?” He teased.
Kokichi’s face went red. “Okay, w-what the heck?! D’you have some sort of Confidence Disease right now?!” He yelled, clearly flustered.
Shuichi shrugged. “Actually, I do.”
“Oh… wasn’t expecting that…” The normally compulsive liar chuckled nervously. The shorter male stepped aside and let the detective in.
“Mind if I use this for a sec?” Shuichi pointed to Kokichi’s bed.
The leader raised a brow. “Uh… go ahead?”
Without warning, Shuichi flopped face first onto the unmade bed, not moving after colliding with the mattress.
“You okay there, Shu?” Shuichi could hear him trying to keep the worry out of his voice.
The detective groaned. “I’m sick and sleep deprived, what do you think?” His voice was muffled by the mattress and sheets.
After a moment more, the navy haired boy lifted his head, motioning to Kokichi. “And did I mention touch starved? Get over here; I need cuddles.”
Kokichi was obviously surprised by the blatant confession, but he was more than willing to close the door and crawl onto the bed next to Shuichi.
Shuichi sighed happily. “Are you okay if I hug you?”
Kokichi nodded and yawned, his own tiredness catching up with him.
Shuichi discarded his long sleeved top, throwing it carelessly on the floor. He took off his shoes, as well, leaving his pants and white collared undershirt.
“You can take that off too if it’s as uncomfortable as it looks.” Kokichi mentioned, nuzzling into Shuichi, shoulder.
The usually anxious detective smirked seductively. “Don’t tempt me, Kokichi.” But despite his flirtatious tone, he threw his shirt on top of his other top and almost instantly drifted off thanks to his sickness induced weakness.
I was going to do detective work, but the odds of someone committing murder with such a lousy motive are pretty low. No one will commit a murder unless they’re desperate… With that thought, Shuichi fell into a comfortable and deep sleep.
***
Shuichi was eventually awoken by a loud knocking at the door, followed by angered shouting.
“OUMA I SWEAR IF YOU DID SOMETHING TO MY SIDEKICK-“
Shuichi grunted in annoyance that his precious time with his crush had been rudely interrupted. “Kaito, relax! I’m fine!”
The astronaut stopped pounding on the door. “Sidekick?” He asked, confused. “What’re you doin’ in there with him ?”
Shuichi rolled his eyes. “We both have the disease. We’re quarantining.”
“Oh…” The astronaut paused. “that… actually makes sense. You sure you’ll be okay staying with the liar?”
Shuichi couldn’t help but cringe when he heard the disdain in Kaito’s voice when he thought of Kokichi. “Of course.”
“Uh… alright then, bro. Someone’ll bring you guys stuff if you need anything. If you do, just message me on your Monopad, or something.”
“Will do. Thank you, Kaito.” Shuichi listened as the astronaut’s footsteps grew quieter as he left, not fully satisfied until he was sure they were gone.
“He knows we could technically quarantine separately, right?” Kokichi asked, popping an eye open to show that he was no longer asleep.
Shuichi sighed. “I have no idea; it's Kaito, after all.”
Kokichi groaned, rubbing his temples tiredly. “This sucks. How long do you think we’ll have to stay like this?”
“Until Monokuma ends the motive.” Shuichi responded almost automatically. “But that won’t happen until the bear realizes that making people sick doesn’t really inspire murder.”
Kokichi hummed thoughtfully. “I hope that doesn’t take too long. I wanna lie again!” He pouted.
“I wager it’ll be a few days at most. Monokuma isn’t exactly known for being patient .”
Kokichi sighed, shifting slightly to more comfortably hug Shuichi. “Well… I think I can wait a few days… as long as you keep cuddling me, that is.”
“I don’t think I have enough physical or emotional energy to leave.” Shuichi smiled, making the supreme leader chuckle before resting against the bed head, leaning against Shuichi.
“We don’t have to tell anyone about this, right?” Kokichi questioned. “I want to keep this moment between us. The others are just so obnoxious sometimes.”
Shuichi laughed tiredly. “Oh we definitely don’t have to say anything.” He agreed. “Once this is all over and I’m back to normal, I’ll be dead from embarrassment.”
With that decided, the two happily drifted off to sleep once again, taking the time they had to forget about the killing game and just focus on cuddling.