Work Text:
So, it was just a normal day. So normal it wrapped back around to abnormal. Normally, something would have gone wrong by now. Kokichi wasn't the type of person to let peace and quiet exist for too long.
It was almost worrying to the people in his adjacent dorms, so accustomed to his chaos the lack if it was anxiety-inducing. Either Kokichi was hurt or upset, or something truly terrible was festering in that fucked-up little brain of his.
Meanwhile, in saferoom, far from any eyes...
*Bang!*
"It's the bear himself!
The living legend!
IT'S MANGY!"
Two confetti cannons semi-loudly burst, scattering multicolored shreds of paper everywhere. Kokichi was smiling as wide as usual, his arms outstretched towards the door Mangy walked in through. Applause of mixed levels, from slow and respectful, to fast and enthusiastic could be heard. A few people cheered, albeit at a lower volume than usual.
Slowly, Mangy walked into the room, with a neutral expression, frowning. He saw DICE members staring at him, clapping for his arrival. His ear twitched a bit, but nothing happened otherwise. He had no reaction, aside from looking at them.
Admittedly, the attention was a bit embarrassing, and Mangy never liked being the center of attention, but it was something Kokichi really wanted to do. And admittedly, it felt nice, knowing that ten ("thousand") people were excited to see him.
He gave the room a casual wave, a small one.
"Hello everyone."
Speaking in his formal tone, he didn't expect much h of a reaction. In retrospect, he should have known he was wrong.
"WOOOO!"
"YOU'RE THE MAN!"
"So glad I showed up today."
"Worth the traffic laws I had to violate!"
But you don't have a car...
Mangy's ears folded over his earholes, his head hurting a bit from the noise, his expression growing a bit more distressed.
Kokichi, seeing him wince, turned to his organization, clearly disappointed.
"Aw cmon, guys, you know he's sensitive to noise. Level it down a bit."
"Sorry..."
"Our bad."
"We got excited."
"It's fine everyone." Mangy waved his hands, not wanting anyone to be upset over him or his hearing.
"Um, boss?"
"Yah, what's up?"
"Why'd you call us here?"
Kokichi blinked, confused.
"For... Mangy's entrance? I needed an audience for cheering and stuff."
There was a palpable silence, where no one spoke, moved, or even blinked.
"Yeah, I wanted to practice hyping him up before he walks into a room."
"Is... is that why we got called here?"
"We thought there was a stakeout today."
"If anyone deserves to be hyped, it's him. He deserves a crowd of cheering fans. He's so cool, dude. He's like an honorary member."
"Really?" Mangy was pretty happy to hear that. He got to meet everyone in the gang, was allowed in their safehouses, and helped them with their "grand schemes," so he wasn't too surprised, but it was a pleasant feeling nonetheless.
"We should make him a outfit."
"Make it like his suit. All his clothes are just variants of tuxedos and ties."
"That's... a lie, right?"
"No, he swam in a suit. Let's get him a checkered tie, too."
Admittedly, he felt pretty happy about being a part of DICE. He thought about it a lot, but he doubted he was as close as they were, after the years they've been through together. He knew Kokichi was his best friend, and he truly cared about his ten comrades, but it was nice to hear the gang felt so positively about him as well.
"Alright, let's run it back. Mange, leave the room and come back in. I think i can do better this time."
Well, it was nice while it lasted. It'd be hours before he'd get to go home, but it was nice to do his friend's a favor. Well, 76 favors, for every time he entered the room.
Well, he wasn't doing anything today anyways.