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With great power comes great responsibility.
As the Prince of Epsilon, Kokichi Ouma finds himself in a rather powerful position, that much is a truthful inference to make.
Is he responsible?
Not entirely.
If he truly was as mature as he painted himself to be, then he wouldn’t be creeping around in the kingdom’s cathedral past the moment shimmer fell on lover’s lake. (He can’t tell the time in rising sun, sun peak, falling sun, half sun and whatever the rest of it is so he measures how late it’s gotten with the sparkles in that stupid fish habitat.)
But, is he really at fault here? Somebody has to understand his reasonings, right? He can’t simply wonder within his castle walls anymore, poking fun at people for a good kick out of it, trying to ignore the thoughts. His curiosity to understand these forces of ‘evil’ is starting to weigh out every kind deed he’s accomplished in psychostasia.
At some point down the line, Shuichi Saihara’s soul was set ablaze by Pyre Magick, and the witch was never to be seen again. His eyes were taken from him post mortem, and his corpse was buried deep beneath this cathedral, cold and alone with no oxils to pay the Prophet Angie to ensure a safe travel to the afterlife.
That’s what he was told to believe whilst growing up. That’s how the tale goes when you start to wonder why things just aren’t going your way.
But why was he killed, is what Kokichi thinks to himself when he’s half asleep in the garden with his head resting against a blackthorn tree one day. And he hasn’t been able to get that thought out since, because not once does that silly old narrative ever elaborate on why an angry woman named Tsumugi Shirogane decided to abuse her gift to burn some witch to crisp.
So after months upon months of Kokichi’s exploration of the castle’s library to seek information - and finding nothing of the sort - he arrives here. It’s the only place that holds the answer to all of those questions that were always supposed to be stuck in the dark.
Kokichi fixes his eyes on the prize, his eyes shining at the sight of it.
It’s nothing pretty. It’s worn down, and struggling to stay put with all of the rips and tears around its edges. The two golden scroll thumbs at either side of the parchment look old, too, despite gleaming in the red-green-blue light from the stain glass window, and having well known protection sigils carved into them.
Even though it is centuries past its ‘expiration date’, the excitement about how close he is to holding the knowledge this scroll possesses is strong within Kokichi’s bones.
Slowly, he reaches out his hands to lift the glass casing that rested on top of the scroll, his breath caught in his throat..
And quickly gets thrown on to the ground by a sudden shift beneath his feet. He squeals as the ground quakes and rumbles, and he quickly reaches his hands out to grasp something, but end up slamming his nails against a smooth polished surface instead. He moves his arms about stupidly in attempt to grab one of the benches as he gets pushed straight across the room until his back hits a hard, stone pillar.
The shaking stops.
His heart pounds in his chest as he grasps the nearest thing, and hoists himself back on to his feet. His eyes immediately shoot back up to stare at the scroll, wondering if some sort of godforsaken creature had jumped out of it. He swallows his spit when nothing makes an appearance.
What kind of Gaia Magick was that..? I’ve never seen anything like it..
For a good minute, Kokichi does nothing but contemplate heading back to the castle and hiding away. He fishes for his amethyst pendulum in his pocket, hangs it above the palm of his hand, and just as he was about to ask it whether leaving this place was a good idea, he gets angry.
Why the fuck should I give in to some random Magick force that appeared out of nowhere!? I’ve come all this way, and I still want my questions answered!
He shoves the pendulum back in his pocket in a sudden burst of emotion, and stomps towards the glass case again. He stands five steps away from it, and produces a glowing ball of light in his hands. He stretches his arms apart and pulls it into a long rope.
Using the most of his brain power he has left, he throws the rope towards the glass, and wraps it around the fragile material. The ground betrays him once again, but he’s determined now, and he won’t run away. He’ll figure this mystery out one way or another.
He continues to snake his rope around the glass, over and over again. He places his hand on to a nearby wall, and tries not to slip as his legs tremble.
A flicker of hope runs through his body when finally he hears a loud shatter, followed by an even noisier slam. His poor rope tumbles to the floor, and splashes against all the shattered glass, wetting it through. Water hits his face, and he begins cursing himself for the type of Magick he’s been stuck with.
Though the negativity doesn’t last too long, because the cathedral has stopped quaking, and the scroll is his!
Kokichi picks up his feet and runs over to the pathetically battered relic, and gasps when he picks it up, being careful with it as if it were some kind of infant. His fingertips run over the parchment, and he begins to read the writing etched into the top.
‘MALLEUS MALEFICARUM’
As he moves down the text, it seems to be a summary of Gaia Magick and how that links to herbal medicines. It goes into detail about poisonous plants, but just as Kokichi gets to the juicy part about how Shuichi Saihara was actually the founder of these nasty toxins, the most unexpected things happen.
The first is that Maki fucking Harukawa herself steps into the room, and the second is that the scroll vanishes. Like, actually vanishes out of his hands into thin air.
“What are you doing here and what in Junko’s name just happened.” Maki asks without a question mark, her gaze cold and her tone empty. “Where is the scroll.”
Kokichi looks down, shakes his hands around to check that yes, it had really disappeared, and then screams. “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!?”
When Maki steps forward, her armour click-clacking every time she moves, her expression is just as shocked as Kokichi’s, though it’s mixed in with some form of hatred. To say she’s his knight, she doesn’t like him very much. “I was sent by your mother to find you, and you’ve managed to steal one of the most important pieces of history and then loose it.”
Still stunned and worrying for his life, Kokichi tries to do what he’s best at; lying.
“Th-That lame ass scroll?” He laughs shakily, “that was one of those thingys that say a list of hymns. Kaede makes tons of those all year every year! Remember that she changes it up every pink moon?? That’s probably the most unimportant part of this place, Harumaki.”
She grits her teeth, and Kokichi has a feeling that he’s royally fucked up.
“I honestly can’t believe you. You’ve seriously messed up this time.”
“Wow! Speaking like that to the Prince of Epsilon isn’t very knightly of you-“
“Shut up.” She answers him blankly. “Don’t even look at me. You worry everyone about your wellbeing, and then bareface lie to me when I go out of my way for you.”
“Lie to you? I’m being as truthful as I can!” Kokichi grins.
“You do understand what mess you’ve caused, right? The power that scroll holds is beyond a mortal’s comprehension. Letting that glass shatter was the same as letting Shuichi Saihara’s soul go free.”
“His soul was burnt to a fucking cinder!” Kokichi snaps, “and you want my truth? My truth is that I think this whole situation is stupid! We blame our issues on this witch every single sabbath yet we can’t understand why he was killed!”
Maki doesn’t shift. She just says, “You have five days to tell the head of the cathedral the truth about what happened or you’ll be stuck lying.”
“…What?”
“You need to figure this out.”
Kokichi takes a step closer to her, a strong feeling of nervousness taking over his mind at the implications behind that revelation. “Maki, what are you talking about?”
“That’s something I can’t tell you.”
Suddenly, he begins to feel drowsy and oddly warm.. actually, it’s more than warm.
It burns.
“Kokichi?” Maki tries, holding her arms out in case he were to fall. He grips on to her shoulder with little strength.
He says something to her, but his voice isn’t heard. His eyes go blurry, and a loud ringing sound screams in his eardrums. He takes another step forward, and everything feels unbearably hot.
The cosmos fades to black.
When he wakes up, he’s surrounded by burning herbs, black candles, divination cards and a ring of salt.
This isn’t where he’s supposed to be, undoubtedly so. He shifts around, jerking himself awake to look around. Maybe his mother decided to use him as an offering after she figured out what he did or something.
But that’s not right either, because this doesn’t resemble a castle at all. It’s nothing that he’s used to.
The walls aren’t stone or brick, they’re made out of wood. Thick blankets were nailed into the roof, most likely for extra insulation, there’s a lantern everywhere you turn and there’s books piling up on a slanted shelf next to the open doorway.
He’s in a bedroom. A witch’s bedroom.
The memories of the scroll and Maki’s weird threat come back all at once, and he feels sick to his stomach. He moves some of the junk out of the way, desperately trying to be quiet.
Too late.
A man in a blindfold walks into the room, a tray in his shaking hands. His steps are gentle, and slow. Kokichi can’t actually tell if he’s walking at all, because his feet are hidden by a pair of long black flowy trousers. He has flowy sleeves on his white button up, too, and they drape down to his hips.
Wait, why is he getting distracted about how gorgeous this guy is!? He’s been fucking kidnapped, and he’s in a witch’s coven!
“Don’t panic.” Says the man, and Kokichi’s nerves ease almost immediately. “I believe you know who I am.”
Kokichi looks at him for a moment, and becomes very aware of the fact he’s wearing a blindfold. Of course he noticed this before, but..
His eyes were taken from him post mortem,
“Holy fuck.. you’re Shuichi Saihara. But there’s no way-“
Shuichi places the tray down on his lap, and takes a seat on one of the wooden chairs just beside the bed. It looks like it’d struggle to take his weight with the pathetic excuse for legs it has, but it doesn’t make a sound.
“You disturbed the scroll.” Shuichi says instead of answering, totally ignoring Kokichi’s shock. The teacup on the tray pushes itself closer to him, though nothing had touched it. “You should drink something.” The witch continues.
The prince picks up the cup hesitantly, but doesn’t take a sip. “You’ve poisoned this! Do you think I’ve got shit for brains or what?”
Shuichi smiles. “Well, Mercury and Jupiter are especially afflicted within your horoscope, I’ll tell you that.”
Kokichi narrows his eyes, even though Shuichi can’t see it happening. (Can he see??) “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly my point.”
Right. So he was being called stupid.
“I read your scroll, Shuichi. I’m not drinking poisoned tea. And poison is so last year. If you wanna kill me, you should hang, draw and quarter me!”
Shuichi laughs, “You’re humorous, Kokichi. That scroll was written by the person who killed me. Everything there is untrue - ah, well.. I did find poisonous plants, yes, but I never once hurt anyone.”
“Well that’s bullshit. Anyways, let’s actually address the problem here. Why am I inside your slaughterhouse? And where is the scroll? And why am i cursed or whatever? And didn’t your soul set on fire? And how do you know my name!?”
“You’re inside my house because I need to save you, the scroll is in my kitchen because I transported it back to me after you began to read over it, you’re cursed because you’re involuntarily bound to me when the next total lunar eclipse occurs, my soul did not burn with my body because I was a lowly mortal before I died, and I know a lot of things, Kokichi.”
That was a lot to unpack, but the thing that plays on his mind the most was the part about his curse.
“I’m.. bound to you?”
“Yes. Aqua Magick lines up with the Sun, which is what you have. I have Gaia Magick, which lines up with the Moon. Any mortal that reads over that scroll is automatically connected to me by an interwoven force. In the next five days, a total lunar eclipse will happen. Unless you admit what you did to the current possessor of the scroll, you’re stuck with me I’m afraid. Well.. stuck with me mentally, not physically. You’ll be forced to lie for the rest of your lifetimes.”
..So that’s what Maki was talking about, huh. Kokichi leans forward, closer to Shuichi.
“When are you letting me go back home? I’ll admit it. I’ll tell the truth.”
“Tomorrow. That is if I save you by tonight.”
“Do I look like a damsel in distress-“ Kokichi begins, but quickly realises his mistake. He shoves a hand over his mouth and quietly apologises. “Sorry..”
Instead of being upset like expected, Shuichi snorts. Kokichi’s cheeks flush a little at the sight. “I can very much see, so no need to apologise. I do have a third eye. And no, you do not strike me as a damsel in distress, but you’re alarmingly unwell. If I were to transport you back to your kingdom in this state, you would surely die.”
Kokichi rolls his eyes. “Alarmingly unwell? I feel fineee! I feel on top of the cosmos, actually.” He was lying through his teeth. His head was throbbing, his legs were weak and his mouth felt so dry.
“You should drink that tea.”
“I’m thinking about it.”
Kokichi pushes the cup up to his lips the moment after he says that, and drinks a good bit of it. He jokes with Shuichi, “If you’ve slipped me some belladonna I’ll have my knight on you.”
“Hm. Maki Harukawa wouldn’t follow any of your orders at the moment, so I don’t have to worry about that. And well.. if she could even find my location, I would hand her all of my precious lapis.”
Kokichi turns to the curtains behind him at that last comment, and he tugs them open only enough for him to peer outside.
It was.. nothing but snow. Thick sheets of soft white ice and snowflakes cover the ground for miles and miles. The only life out there was the boreal trees that were all clumped together, swishing in hypnotic side to side movements.
“But.. your Gaia Magick.” Kokichi says, turning back around. “There’s barely any variation of nature out there.”
“My Magick is no use to me now that I’m dead.” Shuichi sighs. “Souls can’t do anything with their gift. A gift comes with a physical form, which I do not have, and will continue to not have for centuries.”
“Shuichi?”
Kokichi needs to ask this. If he couldn’t find it in the scroll before it unfortunately evaporated, then he could possibly find it out now. After all, he’s speaking with the witch himself. There’s no lies, right?
“Hm?” Shuichi hums whilst dunking a soft cloth that rested beside him in a bowl of moon charged water that sat beside the bed on a shelf.
“Why did she kill you?”
Shuichi pauses for a moment, before getting back to wringing out the access water in the fabric. He answers with an unsure tone. “I think.. I think she was misunderstanding Junko’s intentions.”
“The Goddess Junko?” Kokichi asks, groaning when Shuichi gently moves his hair out of the way and places the cloth against his forehead. The ability this man had to fluster him was so strong, and need he remind himself that Shuichi is both a witch and fucking deceased.
“Yes. She is a very vengeful goddess, and Tsumugi seemed to misinterpret Junko’s wish for despair. Junko’s look on despair was supposed to be aimed towards accomplishment. If you died in despair, it shows you’ve accomplished the hopeful things during your life.” Shuichi explains, unbuttoning Kokichi’s blazer when he seems to catch on that he’s far too warm. “Tsumugi took that in some other way.. and now I am here.”
Kokichi feels much closer to Shuichi now that he knows that, stupidly enough. He always had a feeling that Shuichi wasn’t the disgusting negative thoughts in everyone’s heads like some people painted him out to be. He was just a healer that died due to somebody else’s mistake.
He shimmies forward so Shuichi can remove his blazer properly, and then finished the rest of his tea. The tray goes beside the bed on some old oak wood stand.
Kokichi watches curiously as Shuichi takes something from underneath the bed. It was a lime green slimy substance inside of a glass jar.
“This is going to take care of the aches you have. Alright?”
The prince nods in approval, and pushes the bedsheets out of the way so Shuichi could have better access to his legs. He was already in shorts that day, thankfully. When the liquid slowly gets poured down his thighs and knees, he shakes at the cool temperature.
Very awkwardly, Shuichi rubs it in with his ever so cold hands, trying not to make this any weirder than it already is. He runs his fingers over Kokichi’s lower thighs, trying to be as gentle as he can.
“I’m not made of porcelain, y’know? Here-“ Kokichi places his hand over Shuichi’s and drags it to his upper thigh.
When that torturous ordeal was eventually over, the two of them seemed very thankful indeed. After Shuichi forces some gross herbal medicine down Kokichi’s throat, it was about time for him to leave.
“That medicine was created using Gaia Magick, by the way.. so it should work quickly.”
Kokichi grins up at hm playfully. “Thanks! You’re a lovely witch doctor, Shuichi. It’s such a shame you’re not in my kingdom to treat me like this all of the time. Forced marriage would have nothing on me..”
“H-Huh?” Shuichi stammers, and if he had any blood, he’d be blushing right now.
“Nothinggg! Anyways, is that everything?”
What Kokichi expects is a yes. But that’s not quite what happens, because Shuichi just fidgets with his sleeves and mummers something incoherent. He has this hesitance surrounding him.
“What? You’ve gone all shy.”
“I-I have to..” Shuichi kneads the bridge of his nose. “I have to kiss you.”
Kokichi blinks, then blinks again. “I’m sorry what-!?”
“L-Listen, I can’t explain to you why, okay? It’s sort of like a seal to make sure that-“
No matter how much of an explanation he was given, he was already cackling. “Oh man! Shuichi wants to kiss me! The Shuichi Saihara!” when he calms down, he smirks. “You know I am the Prince of Epsilon, right? I don’t just let anymore smacker me on my lips.”
Shuichi pouts, and it might just be the cutest thing that Kokichi’s seen, but fuck admitting that to anyone. “I don’t want to kiss you. I have to kiss you. It is a seal for my Magick to properly work. If I don’t, you’ll be stuck here.”
Kokichi snickers. “Okay sure, sure. We’ll go with that.” He beckons him over with his hand, and guides him on to his lap, mostly sarcastically.
Shuichi sits himself down, and moves in slowly. Kokichi tucks a strand of hair behind his ear, and cups his chin. He guides his lips to his ever so slowly, and for a moment the cosmos pauses, just for the both of them.
Shuichi doesn’t do anything for a second, and his breath tickles against Kokichi’s lips. When the prince gets sick of the suspense, he grabs on to his shirt and closes the gap between them both.
Their lips lock, the warm and fuzzy feeling tingling in Kokichi’s stomach. He closes his eyes and allows himself to embrace this affection, even if just for a moment. He runs his fingers through Shuichi’s navy locks and moves closer without realising it.
Shuichi’s hands rest on his hips mindlessly, and he pulls back for a breather.
Kokichi shifts some of the candles and herbs out of the way, and tugs Shuichi on to the bed by his collar. He kisses him once again, though this time it’s less awkward and more meaningful. Shuichi crawls on top of him and whimpers against his lips, his fingers intertwining with Kokichi’s.
Kokichi’s the one to brake contact this time, but he doesn’t like the thought of Shuichi leaving just yet. He shoves his head into his chest and wraps an arm around his waist.
“So, is your Magick finally sealed?” He teases him with a Cheshire grin.
“I would.. I would say it is.” Shuichi agrees, his voice lower than earlier. “I’ll um.. I’ll send you back when you’re ready for it tomorrow.”
“Well, for now,” Kokichi tugs him closer, “stay here with me?”
And despite all of the trouble that Shuichi had to endure for these past few hours, with his everyday life literally being flipped upside down, he agrees with the offer wholeheartedly.
“I’ll stay here with you.”
Because it’s nice to have someone who listened to those twisted stories and actually took their time to question why.
It’s nice to have someone around that wanted to understand.
..Even if that person is the snobby, lying Prince of Epsilon.
And for Kokichi, it’s nice to have someone who doesn’t listen to his carefully put together deception and groan with hatred.
Even if that someone is the infamous, unlucky witch in all of those tales.