Chapter Text
Kaito nervously took a left turn while he was searching for the right house. After another minute of driving, he slowed down and for the last time he checked if he arrived at the correct address before parking his car. The house had simple white walls and the pathway towards the main entrance was decorated with flowers. The only thing Kaito found out of place, that the blinds on the windows were all down.
Weird. Maybe he wasn’t home?
But the guy did say he would be home until nine p.m., and it was barely three at the time. Preempted by a deep sigh, he walked up to the main entrance and knocked. For a minute Kaito was met with silence. He was about to knock again when the door finally opened, and a small boy appeared before him. His purple hair was a mess, and his matching purple eyes were piercing at Kaito. He was pale - hell -, he didn’t even look like he was alive, which wasn’t helped by his small frame either.
"You must be Kaito Momota, right? I’m Fukuro, nice to meet you!" Said the boy with a cheery voice.
"Yeah, that’s me... But I was told that Kokichi Ouma lives here?"
" Ohh... He died a few days ago. I didn’t know he had any future plans... Anyways, I’m his brother."
Well, this is awkward. Wait! How did Fukuro know he was Kaito if he didn't know about his brother's plan? Kaito was at a loss of words, truly, but even before he could’ve said anything Fukuro started to laugh.
"Ahaha you should see your face! I’ll never get bored of human reactions. I lied, I’m Kokichi Ouma, and you better get used to this. I’m a liar after all."
Kaito already wanted to punch the guy, but he knew he had to contain himself if he wanted to live here.
"I- uhm… Okay, noted. Well then, nice to meet you, Ouma. Can I ask, why are all the blinds down? I almost missed the address thinking no one’s home.”
"Oh, it’s a secret. But since you will live here, I’ll share it with you. My skin glows in the sunshine. This is the skin of a killer, Momota." Said the boy with a straight face.
"I’m sorry, what?"
"Don’t tell me you didn’t understand my Twilight reference!"
"You mean that movie about vampires and stuff? No, I have never watched it. I’m more of a sci-fi guy."
"Well, that explains the stupid space themed jacket."
"My jacket is NOT stupid!" Kaito was really close to punch him – again - but he took a deep breath instead and moved on with the conversation.
"Anyways, where can I put my things? You said I will have a room already furnished, so can you show it to me?"
"Of course, space-case follow me! But I’m not gonna help you with bringing your stuff in."
"Looking at you it’s understandable…"
They continued their bickering for a bit, but after showing around Kaito and clarifying that he is not allowed in Kokichi’s room, the smaller boy immediately left to disappear in said room. It didn’t take long for Kaito to move his things in then arrange them, and after he officially claimed his new space, he decided to send a message to his friends.
Me: Hey guys I just finished moving in
Shuichi: That's great to hear! How is your roommate?
Harumaki: good
Me: He is a total jerk so far, but I need the place, so I’m gonna suffer with him
Harumaki: do you want me to talk with him
Shuichi: Don't take it in the wrong way Maki, but we don't want Kaito's roommate dead
Harumaki: i didn't say i would kill him
Harumaki: not yet
Me: Thank you Makiroll, but I can survive living with him
Me: I mean I have to
Kaito wanted to tell more to his friends but then a knock on his door interrupted him.
"Hey space boy, I’m going to work, don’t miss me too much." Kokichi winked at him and before Kaito could’ve reacted with anything he was already out of the room.
Kaito decided that he should have dinner - usually he has his meals every day at the same time, but today was so busy he didn’t even notice his hunger or the fact that he missed his usual dining time. He went to the kitchen, even though he knew he didn’t have any food for himself yet, he thought he could find something Kokichi had and pay it back for him later. Yeah, it seemed like a perfectly good plan, except when he opened the fridge it was completely empty. Maybe Kokichi only eats instant food - thought Kaito, as he opened the cabinets just to find the same nothingness. Only one cupboard had something in it and even those were just a few mugs and plates.
Well, this was definitely weird, but Kaito prides himself for being a rational guy most of the time, and he knew everything has a good explanation. Maybe Kokichi just finished everything and didn’t have the time to go out and get groceries. Or he usually dines out. Or on his way to work... Yeah, countless logical explanations, moreover, at least it explains why the smaller boy is so skinny. Maybe he has some weird relationship with food and barely eats. Kaito convinced himself that there is nothing weird going on here and decided to go out to buy some groceries to fill up the void which was their refrigerator.
On his phone he searched for a shop that was still open in these late hours, fortunately he found one, so he chose to take a walk there.
"Good evening!" Kaito greeted the old lady behind the counter, who responded quietly. He picked up many kinds of food, mostly healthy ones - an astronaut trainee must stay in tip-top shape after all. When he felt like he had everything he needed for a few days he proceeded to pay for them.
"It’s rare to see a new face in these suburbs. Where do you live, young one?" The old lady started conversing with him, while checking his stuff.
"I live not far from here. My name is Kaito Momota… Ah… Do you perhaps know a certain someone called Kokichi Ouma? I moved into his house."
"Oh? I rarely see him, but let me tell you, ever since he moved here, he hasn't changed at all! I live in his neighborhood, well, from now it’s also yours, and I swear I’ve never seen his blinds up on his windows! Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen him out during the daylight either. He is a weird one for sure."
"So, this is not something new. I thought he was trying to prank me or something… Well, thank you for telling me these, Miss."
"It’s always good to have a chance to chat with the youngsters. If you need anything, feel free to come to me, Kaito."
"Thank you, Miss..."
"Mitsuri."
Kaito nodded and left the shop. He gazed up at the starry night, wishing he was up there. The main reason why he left his small home village and settled down away from his grandparents is to become closer to his goal. He got into the local university here, where he can receive all the necessary knowledge to become an astronaut in the future.
Of course, his grandparents were worried that taking care of himself alone will be too difficult, also that his illness will get worse. Kaito hated when his grandparents were fussing about his illness, even if the doctors said that he’s not healthy enough to become an astronaut, he knew that this was his destiny. He was so desperate to achieve his dream that he even cheated on his exams secretly, which was quite the challenge to carry out, but a friend of Kaito had an associate, who was said to be a “pro”, and as it turned out that wasn’t an exaggeration. Even if Kaito prided himself for being rational, he too had deep desires in life, which happened to acquire something he didn’t have.
Lost in his thoughts, Kaito almost passed by his new home. After he went in, he put away the groceries, made a quick meal and finished his other night routines before going to sleep.
"Good morning, sleepyhead~" said a happy voice right next to Kaito's ear.
"Wha- What are you doing in my room?!"
"Nishishi, I was planning to choke you, but you looked so peaceful I didn't have the heart to do it." said Kokichi with a face that looked eerily genuine.
"Dude, what are you talking about?"
"I'm just lying, you know. I came here, because I heard your stupid ringtone for the third time yet no sound of you waking up."
"Oh. I don't know what happened, I always wake up to my alarm. Strange…"
"Yeah yeah, whatever, the apples you bought are really tasty. Will you buy more today?
"The what- Wait, did you eat my food, you little-"
Kaito - yet again - had the urge to hit this guy, but he came so far with his anger management, he couldn't let it win. So - yet again - he took a deep breath.
"I don't mind if you eat from my food, but please don't eat everything."
"Oh? I didn't eat all of the apples."
"Then why do I need to buy more??"
"Because I will eat all of them later, nishishi."
And with that, Kokichi dashed out of the room leaving a confused and angry Kaito behind. Man, this is gonna be difficult.
Kaito got ready for the day and walked out of his room to get breakfast. Kokichi was already in the kitchen, sitting at the table while cutting an apple. Thinking about it, maybe him eating Kaito’s food wasn’t that big of a problem. Kokichi looked like he could definitely put up with some more weight on himself.
"Why were the fridge and the cabinets empty? Don’t you eat at home?"
"I don't need to eat real food. I feed on the soul of the innocent."
"Stop with the bullshitting, please. If you will eat my food, the least I want is a decent answer."
"Calm down, big boy. I do eat on my way to work, and I also eat at home, I just have my own fridge in my room." said Kokichi disappointed. He clearly didn't like being honest.
"You have your own fridge?? That actually explains a lot."
"So.. You have been thinking about me? So romantic~" said Kokichi with a flirty voice.
"Dude, stop saying shits like that!" answered Kaito, feeling the embarrassment swelling up in him.
Kokichi just laughed at him and continued cutting the apple, but Kaito still had one question.
"So uhm.. How old are you?"
"Nineteen. Or do you wanna know how long I have been nineteen?"
"I'm sorry, what?" Kaito fully believed Kokichi made this sentence to joke around, but he couldn't help but think about what Miss Mitsuri said.
"I know I look as youthful as ever, that's part of my charm."
"No.. I meant you don't look nineteen." lied Kaito. He really just wanted to know why Miss Mitsuri said Kokichi never changed.
"I always get that. I'm short and skinny, so most people assume I'm a middle schooler or something. It's quite troublesome, but I didn't lie when I said it's part of my charm. Easier to fool people when you look innocent. If you really wanna know, I look like this since I was like fifteen, minor changes happened, of course, but the overall picture is still the same.
“Oh also, you are too easy to read. Next time try lying better to a liar."
With that, Kokichi stood up and walked away, leaving the sliced apple on the table. Later, when Kaito checked on the food he had, he only missed one apple from the basket.
Before college started, Kaito wanted to meet with his friends, so they arranged a meeting in the city.
"Kaito, you are finally here!" Shuichi hugged him, which Kaito returned with a bear hug. He was more than happy that his shy and usually insecure friend was expressing his feelings now. The same could hardly be said about Maki, who hated physical touch, and usually Kaito was the only one whom she tolerated. Kaito walked over to Maki and spread his hands for a hug. After all, he didn’t want to force her, even as much as he loved being close to his friends, he still wanted them to feel comfortable. Maki walked up to him and let him hug her, which made the girl blush a little.
After their greetings, they all went to a coffee shop.
"How have you guys been?" began Kaito with a simple conversation starter while they were looking at the menu.
"My uncle has been giving me more cases lately. I'm happy that he trusts my skills this much, but I'm so scared of failing him." said Shuichi with a worried voice.
"Listen, sidekick, you are the best detective I know. If your uncle thinks you can manage more detective work then I'm sure as hell you are capable of doing them."
"How many detectives do you know?" asked Maki with a flat tone.
"That doesn't matter, Makiroll. I know even if I had a thousand detective acquaintances, Shuichi would still beat them. You are awesome, dude, you better believe me!" continued Kaito with his hero talk.
"Thank you, Kaito. I will try my best."
"And you too, Maki, whatever you do I know you are killing it."
"Poor choice of wording." Maki replied.
At first, Kaito didn't even realise what he had said, but then it hit him.
They don't talk about Maki's life that much, it's quite the sensitive topic. When they first met, Maki said she works as a babysitter, but as months went on Shuichi started to question if that's actually the truth. After some persistent convincing, Maki said that she will tell them the truth if they promise they won’t share it with anyone.
Maki's real job is somewhat of an assassin, but she usually doesn't kill her targets, just takes them to a secret organisation which she can't talk about. Both boys were scared at first, but Kaito didn't want to give up on Maki, and Shuichi always trusted Kaito's gut feeling.
One day when only the two of them were together, Shuichi told him he asked his uncle about Maki's case and according to him there is nothing for them to worry about, and they shouldn't think about it either. Honestly, both of them felt bad for doing this behind Maki’s back, but it definitely helped their relationship in the long run.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it."
"I know. I think it was funny." said Maki, still with a straight face.
"Hi, I'm Kaede and I will be your waitress today. What can I get you guys?"
After they told their order to Kaede they didn't talk much, they decided to wait for their drinks instead so they won't be interrupted again.
"How is your situation with your housemate going?" asked Shuichi.
"He is still being really weird. Today, he woke me up and told me some odd shit. He said he would eat my apples but none of them were actually missing. Seriously, who says petty jokes like that? But I would like to think that he is not horrible, and instead of eating the apples he cut them for me."
"Ahh.. He sounds like a mischievous person."
"That sounds like a great description of him. At our first meeting, he straight up told me he is a liar."
"I truly don't understand why you didn't just move in with one of us." said Maki dismissively.
"It's not like I didn't want to, it's just I don't like big cities. Also, I don't want to bother either of you. Shuichi already has a roomate and you don't have a spare room, I can't live with either of you."
“I would have solved it somehow, I don't want you to suffer with some idiot."
"Makiroll, it’s fine. I’ll manage it somehow."