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The hallways of the academy felt more joyful now. After yesterday’s exploration people regained new energy to ease the pain of Rantaro and Kaede’s passing. Everyone pretended from the start like nothing had happened, like they could easily move on. Of course that proved to be a useless effort. It was impossible to forget the bloodshed, but lingering on it all wouldn’t do anything either. If anything, the group had to upkeep their promise to make it out together. Or to at least try.
So after Monokuma allowed new parts of the academy to be explored with new research labs opening, connections bloomed further. Kokichi and Gonta hung out particularly often, and Himiko appeared to be a popular person as well. Shuichi had found himself new friends too; Kaito and Maki. But a special relationship would not remain with just them.
Perhaps Kaito’s energy had rubbed off on him, but Shuichi actually felt motivated to talk with other people. He needed it. But where to start? The tennis player? The robot? The invento- No, not the inventor. Perhaps…
He softly knocked at the gothic door to Kirumi’s lab, and entered. Her lab truly mesmerized him. The room gave off an antique vibe. Victorian, to be exact. Large red drapes dressing the tall windows, the golden chandelier’s warmth spreading over old wooden furniture. The only thing that continued to throw him off was the family of dolls seated at the dining table. Not that he couldn’t tell they weren’t real from a mile away, but it simply felt eery.
None of this seemed to be particularly created to hone the talent of a maid - aside from the dolls, he supposed. It more so played to the Victorian image Kirumi adored. She had described that during the era, employing a maid was considered a status symbol. To be truthful, having someone like Kirumi working for you definitely must mean you were of a high status.
But the room had more to offer. Behind the white wall a whole other room was hidden. 8 washing machines stacked upon each other in two rows occupied it, along with vacuums, pressure washers and whatever else one could possibly picture finding in a washing room. And all of them brought satisfaction to the room’s owner that only she could get from it. It was then also no surprise to see she was currently examining the items with great attention.
He walked towards the area, once again softly knocking the wood in case she hadn’t heard him before. “Hey, Kirumi.”
The girl turned around, her dress swaying along in the movement. Her usual polite smile presented itself to him. “Good day, Shuichi. How are you- Oh my…”
“... What?”
She approached him, her eyes focusing on his face. “You should have told me sooner.”
“... Told you what?”
“Your cheek,” she said. “I told you to let me know if it started hurting again. Or perhaps that is why you have come to see me?”
Yesterday’s first one-to-one talk with Kirumi began with her concern over his ‘injury’ as a result of Kaito slapping some sense into him. It hadn’t bruised at all, but she was not one to make assumptions and instead checked in with him. She accepted his response, but was very keen to let him know she would help if the situation were to change.
He gave a bit of an awkward smile. “Nothing has changed since yesterday…”
She pursed her lips. “Nothing has changed… Shuichi, your cheek is clearly redder than usual. It should be treated.”
Surely his cheek hadn’t reddened at all. Although Shuichi did not put enough effort into his looks to notice any daily changes in his skin, surely he would’ve noticed if it had gotten red. Then again, perhaps it was such a light tint change that nobody but Kirumi could notice.
Her attention to detail was almost inhuman - if one were to theorize Kirumi was the cyborg rather than Keebo, it would not be that much of a stretch. From the intense precision in ingredient amounts for cooking to the erasure of every microscopic spot of dust, nothing escaped her eye. Not just her vision, her entire body had been trained to the point it was like a sixth sense. Just yesterday when the first wall collapsed to open the pathway to a new part of the academy, she instantly sensed a change of air. Stagnant air drifted from the damaged wall, something she correlated to people not having been beyond the point for a long time. Not even Shuichi, a detective, had noticed such a thing.
So if Kirumi said your cheek was looking redder than usual and required aid, could one really argue against that?
The two moved towards Shuichi’s room on her request, where she asked him to get comfortable in a seat and wait for her eventual return. It did not take long before she returned with a small basket filled like an on-the-road drugstore. She put it on the table and swiftly turned to Shuichi.
“Does your cheek hurt at all?” she asked.
“No, I don’t feel anything.”
“Also not when it is touched?”
“Um, I-”
Kirumi leaned slightly forward, dabbing the tips of her gloved fingers against his cheek. Her touch held a strange combination of strength and softness. Although she was careful about it, Shuichi could feel her fingers puffing his cheek, all whilst the soft fabric of her black gloves caressed his skin.
“Does this hurt?”
“Um… No, not really…”
“You do feel rather warm.” She retracted her hand.
“I do…?”
“Yes.” She turned towards her basket again and sighed lightly, rummaging through the items. “Perhaps it would have been better if we immediately put ice on it after the trial, although I do understand that was not your first concern… But that is alright. I know of methods to make existing bruises disappear faster as well.”
Once having found what she needed, she turned towards him again, holding a small container of some kind of cream. Shuichi tilted his head a bit at it. “What’s that?”
“Vitamin K cream,” she swiftly responded, pulling the other seat closer to Shuichi’s and settling herself down in it. “Vitamin K is an essential nutrient that helps with blood clotting. I would like to ask you to gently rub this onto the bruise at least two times per day.”
“Okay, I will.” He held out his hand to grab the item, expecting he had to take it, but that was not the case. Instead, Kirumi went on to do something he never expected to witness.
She took off her glove.
Kirumi’s gloves were to her what Shuichi’s hat was to him up until recently, what the galaxy coat was to Kaito, what the witch hat was to Himiko; a piece of attire that cemented her identity. Most likely the gloves were for sanitary reasons rather than something like the intense anxiety of looking people in the eye, but even with the short time passed it was shocking to think of her without. Because of that Shuichi couldn’t help but immediately stare at them. Were they rough from cleaning, or instead incredibly soft?
He didn’t have to wonder much longer, as the next shocking action came.
Shuichi jerked up as soon as her fingers touched his cheek with the cold cream, she immediately pulling her hand back.
“Wh-what are you doing…?!”
“I am applying the cream.”
“Y-yes, I could tell, I mean… Why are you doing that?”
“To help heal your bruise.”
“No, I understand, I-... I just mean, I can apply the cream myself, you know? You don’t have to do it.”
Kirumi’s face grew stern. “Shuichi, I am a maid. I said I would treat your bruise, and as such I intend to see that task through to a fault.”
Maid or not, Shuichi could easily do this himself. Surely Kirumi knew that as well, that's not what this was about. She was committed; too committed perhaps. He really wanted to further convince her that such a thing was not necessary, to try and make her understand, but he knew that would be a fruitless effort. He had already figured out these things were burned in her system, and changing that was a near impossible task. If anything, opposing would offend her. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel awful.
So he played along and leaned back forward, Kirumi’s touch quickly returning to meet. He fidgetted his fingers a bit as she carefully rubbed the cream onto his skin. It was incredibly quiet, and Shuichi found himself returning to his old habit of not looking anyone in the eye. A certain kind of strange nerve swirled through his chest. It was only now that he understood why Kirumi said his cheek felt hot.
Once done, Kirumi pulled back and closed the lid of the container with pursing lips. It was hard not to notice Shuichi’s skin only warming up more. It was far more serious than she had anticipated.
“Hm… Shuichi, how do you feel about pineapple?”
“... Pineapple?”
“Yes, I would like to recommend you to eat pineapple for now. It contains bromelain, which can help reduce the severity of bruises and reduce inflammation. Upping your general fruit intake would be good to obtain some extra vitamin C. That too promotes reduction of inflammation.”
“... You even know about chemistry?”
“It’s important to be aware in order to take care of my masters. I find this to be common knowledge for a maid.”
Shuichi caressed his chin a bit. “Common knowledge, huh? You seriously impress me with everything you know.”
“Is that so?”
“Medical experience, chemistry knowledge, and you can even notice stagnant air almost in an instant, immediately being able to connect it to a possible explanation…” He smiled sheepishly, “Maybe you should be the detective instead.”
“You flatter me,” she softly smiled back, a light giggle escaping her lips, “but I am hardly a detective in the sense you are. Crime solving is not my forte.”
“Well, your logical thinking was very helpful during the trial... Not everybody has it in them.”
“I enjoy reading a good detective novel, so I suppose I have snuffed up some experience that way.”
“Don’t talk yourself down, Kirumi.”
“Of course not, I simply mean to say that I am a maid at the end of the day, and you are a trained detective. I doubt we could simply switch tasks and both deliver quality service.”
“Ha, yeah… I don’t think I would make that great of a butler. Whereas you… Honestly, you have a lot of qualities that I lack… so… maybe you would actually do a better job than me.”
Her eyes squinted, a sigh escaping her lips. The usual neutral expression she held morphed into one of compassion, or perhaps it was pity? “Shuichi… You are very humble. It is one of your best qualities, but it is also the one that holds you back the most.”
“... Huh?”
“I would appreciate it if you saw yourself more for what you truly are. You are good at your job - after all, Ultimate Talents are not given along in the purchase of a pack of butter. You also proved your worth during the investigation and trial - and you should be taking pride in that. Do not diminish your accomplishments.”
Shuichi’s brow furrowed a bit. What accomplishment? He might have managed to uncover the truth, but it was an understatement to say it hadn’t left him feeling proud. He wished he had some other kind of talent. A talent that could actually prevent a murder, rather than putting a band-aid on the wound.
He couldn’t take her words to heart for that reason. And she realized that too.
“Perhaps I should rephrase… Shuichi, the reason I am able to push through it all and serve is because I think about the class's needs first. I think about how I must take care of them, how I must take care of you,” she put the cream in his hands, and forced his hand to close by folding her own around his. “Please take care of me in return, will you?”
His eyes went wide and met with Kirumi's. There was something about the way she said that, the way her voice rolled off her tongue like honey, the way she touched him - both literally and figuratively. It’s like a shock had been sent down his spine that awoke all his senses and assured everything would be all right.
He put his free hand on hers, and squeezed softly, “I will.”
The corners of her lips curled up, creating a smile. A far more genuine smile than the customer service one she gave everyone else.
“I should go now.” She let go, stood up and set the seat back in place, “For the coming hour I am scheduled to help Gonta look for bugs in the courtyard. However, please do not hesitate to approach me if you need anything.”
“Of course… Thank you, Kirumi.”
He gave her a knowing smile. She never brought him to his room for his cheek in the first place.
“Think nothing of it,” she took the basket and left.
Shuichi's eyes followed her movement for a bit, before turning to his hand. He opened it and examined the container.
The cream would probably not help against the butterflies in his stomach, would it?