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Disaster strikes approximately an hour into Kaede’s party.
Kokichi had left his seat unoccupied for only a second. A second . He left to grab himself a drink. When he returned, his seat…
His dear, precious seat had been taken. His dear, precious seat next to Kaito had been cruelly stolen from him by Kaede. Kokichi, of course, was extremely caught off guard by this betrayal. He thought Kaede was a decent person—before he saw her in his seat.
Okay, sure . He’s currently in Kaede’s house, so yes , that seat technically belongs to her more than it does to him. But still. Kokichi had gone out of his way to secure that seat before it was time to watch films. He had fought tooth and nail to get that seat, (read: He had sprinted across the room and dove into the seat once he realised Shuichi was about to claim it, causing Shuichi to stumble into Kiibo, who had done a rather lame job keeping them both standing.)
Blood , no, oil was almost shed for that seat, and now Kokichi has lost it because he made the foolish decision of leaving it unattended for 0.1 seconds.
If only he had ordered someone to grab him a drink instead. If he had, he’d still be sitting next to Kaito. Now he has to sit somewhere else because there’s only one seat next to Kaito, and Kaede’s currently in it.
He could demand Kaede get out of his seat but the thing is, Kokichi stupidly promised Kaito that he would be on his somewhat best behaviour tonight. Besides, Kaito looks like he’s enjoying the conversation he’s currently having with Kaede. Whilst Kokichi is a professional at interrupting conversations—and just being annoying in general—irritating Kaito wasn't something Kokichi planned on doing tonight. Shocking, he knows.
This is simply horrible . He’s a good person. Kokichi wonders what he did to deserve this.
Whilst he ponders why the universe is so cruel, Tenko sidles up next to him, her hand wrapped so tightly around a glass cup, it’s a miracle it hasn’t shattered.
There’s anguish in her eyes. Kokichi follows her gaze and realises she’s also staring at Kokichi’s seat. Kokichi prepares himself for war before realising that no, Tenko isn’t staring longingly at his seat, but at Kaede, who is still in Kokichi’s seat. Phew . For a moment, he thought he was going to have to battle Tenko for his seat—and that’s something Kokichi wants to avoid.
“I claimed that seat first,” Kokichi grumbles before taking a long sip of his drink. He continues to stare at Kaede and wonders what it’ll take for her to move. Maybe he can convince her someone is trying to kidnap her piano; that’ll surely get her on her feet.
Tenko sighs loudly. It becomes obvious that she ignored what he said because she laments: “Tenko was hoping she could watch movies with Akamatsu tonight. Tenko’s been trying to ask Akamatsu if she wants to sit together, but… Ugh , Tenko can’t just ask such a personal question like that with so many people around!” Tenko then realises that she's just complained out loud, to a guy no less. She promptly steers the conversation into a different direction. “Anyway, how dare Momota hog Akamatsu!”
Kokichi opens his mouth before wisely closing it. Tenko is wrong. Kaito is not hogging Kaede; Kaede is hogging Kokichi's seat.
As Tenko continues to grumble, Kokichi is struck by a realisation. He wants his seat next to Kaito back, and Tenko wants to sit next to Kaede. Maybe if they work together, they can both get what they want. Kokichi grins to himself as he pictures himself back in his seat, next to Kaito.
“ Ew , you look ugly when you pull that face,” Tenko suddenly tells him. She narrows her eyes. “What are you up to? You only ever pull that expression when you’re up to something.”
Kokichi ignores her slanderous lies. “I have a proposition for you.”
Tenko scoffs and turns on her heel. “No thanks—”
“You want to ask Akamatsu if she wants to sit with you without everyone overhearing, right?” Kokichi says before she can walk away. He smiles to himself as Tenko abruptly freezes. “I can make that possible, so long as you help me.”
“...You’ve got Tenko’s attention,” Tenko tells him as she looks him up and down, suspicious yet intrigued.
Kokichi’s smile becomes crooked.
“I still cannot believe Ouma launched himself into that seat. He saw that you were about to sit down,” Kiibo complains whilst Shuichi tries to smooth out a wrinkle from his shirt.
Shuichi offers Kiibo a tired smile. “I can.”
Luckily, Shuichi didn’t get hurt after he stumbled. The only thing that got bruised was his ego, which is next to non-existent in the first place, so really, no damage was truly done. Besides, Kiibo caught him, which Shuichi counts as a win.
Shuichi should be more mad but he wants to focus on enjoying Kaede’s party, which he’s been excited for all week. Instead of spending the evening going over cold cases like he had originally planned, he’s going to watch festive films with his friends—and Kokichi.
“Ah, Shuichi?” Kiibo’s attention is laser-focused on Shuichi’s collar. The robot reaches for it before straightening it out. Once he’s done, he offers Shuichi a wry smile. “There, now it looks like you never fell in the first place.”
Shuichi smiles warmly. “Thanks, Kiibo.”
Kiibo places his hands on his hips, proud. “It was no problem, Shuichi! I’m just glad I was able to help!”
Shuichi feels something fond swell in his chest. He cannot wait for the films to start so he can enjoy a nice and relaxing night with his partner and friends. And Kokichi.
The detective glances around the living room, soaking in the festive atmosphere. It’s obvious that Kaede and Kaito (who arrived early to help Kaede set up,) spent a lot of time preparing the living room for the party. In the corner of the room is a large christmas tree, which has been decorated with star shaped baubles. Shuichi has a sneaking suspicion Kaito’s responsible for those. Across the back wall are twinkling fairy lights, which have been set to pulse light gently. Christmas ornaments are scattered around the room. Felt snowmen line the top of the fireplace and glittery baubles have been strategically placed into every nook and cranny. Shuichi also spies a couple of presents underneath the Christmas tree, wrapped beautifully by Kaede.
Even the food looks delicious. Whilst she wasn’t able to make it tonight, Shuichi knows Kirumi helped Kaede prepare a couple of dishes earlier today. There’s a tray of sliced meat. A bowl of wrapped sweets—which looks significantly less full than it had when Shuichi first arrived, is by a plate of Christmas tree shaped cookies. There’s lines of cubed yellow and orange cheese, grapes and salami on wood boards. The star attraction, in Shuichi’s opinion, is the large chocolate cake, which is sat at the centre of the table. There’s also other miscellaneous snacks for everyone to indulge in as the night goes on.
Of course Shuichi can’t help but feel proud of Kaede and Kaito. The living room looks perfect.
Tonight is shaping up to be a good, stress free night.
Shuichi idiotically makes the mistake of noticing Kokichi and Tenko conspiring in the corner of the room.
Tenko is nodding and jotting something down whilst Kokichi whispers to her. See, if a stranger walked in and saw this, they’d assume nothing ominous is going on. Shuichi, however, is not a stranger. He knows Tenko, and he knows Kokichi. Tenko has zero reason to be listening to Kokichi so intensely, and Kokichi is clearly up to something; he’s wearing the same smile he wears before he’s about to say—or do—something outrageous.
Shuichi withers. Pandemonium is the last thing he wants tonight.
“Shuichi?” There’s concern in Kiibo’s voice. “Are you okay?”
“He’s up to something,” Shuichi tells Kiibo, gesturing at Kokichi and Tenko with a nod of his head.
Kiibo observes Kokichi and Tenko quietly before asking, “Should we stop them?”
“Interfering now isn’t the wisest choice,” Shuichi answers. “We don’t actually know what Ouma is scheming. For now, we should keep an eye on them. There’s a slim chance that they could be merely talking, but…”
“Nothing is ever that simple with Ouma,” Kiibo finishes for him. “Very well. Let’s keep a close eye on them. If it becomes obvious they’re going to cause problems, we’ll intervene.”
Tenko is trapped between a rock and a hard place.
Ever since Kaede invited her to her party, Tenko has been daydreaming about sitting next to Kaede whilst festive films play in the background. The thing is, Tenko has been struggling to figure out how she can sit next to Kaede without making herself look desperate. She can’t just sit down next to Kaede without a reason why! She’d look stupid if she does that.
There’s been a couple times tonight that there’s been a spare seat next to Kaede. Tenko, however, has always lost her nerve before she could sit down next to her. Kaede is… well, she’s ethereally beautiful, and Tenko knows the pianist is completely out of her league. Kaede is perfect and Tenko is… Tenko. But Tenko can dream, can’t she? Maybe there’s a universe, or some obscure timeline, where Kaede also likes Tenko, and they get to sit together all the time.
Basically, Tenko has been wanting to sit next to Kaede all night and has been struggling to find a way to end up next to her—until now.
By a strange turn of events, Kokichi ends up being Tenko’s knight in shining armour. Or, well, knight in hideous Christmas jumper (someone really should tell Kokichi that yellow is not his colour.) He offers Tenko a plan, a plan that includes luring Kaede away from Kaito (and thus saving Kaede from Kaito’s boring blabber. Yes , the stars sure are pretty, Katio. But do you know who else is beautiful? Kaede. Now stop hogging her, spaceboy.)
Kokichi’s plan, however, is something Tenko is hesitant to follow. See, Kokichi wants to convince Kaede that her piano has been kidnapped. (Yes, that’s right, kidnapped , not stolen. Does Kokichi not know that pianos are not sentient? Tenko isn’t sure.) And sure , Tenko can easily picture Kaede panicking at the thought of her beloved piano being kidnapped, well, stolen.
Whilst Tenko wants nothing more than to sit next to Kaede, she also doesn’t want to traumatise her. Tenko would rather die than upset Kaede. Kokichi’s plan sounds effective, but also cruel.
Hence the reason why Tenko is trapped between a rock and a hard place.
“We’re not actually going to kidnap her piano,” Kokichi tells her, causing Tenko to blink as she’s rudely ejected from her thoughts. Her anxiety must be evident on her face. “We’re just going to make her think it’s been kidnapped, is all.”
“Akamatsu really loves her piano, though,” Tenko says. “What if this backfires horribly and Akamatsu ends up super upset?”
“Then you’ll be able to comfort her,” Kokichi easily answers.
He pushes open the door to Kaede’s piano room, which is upstairs. Whilst it isn’t a huge room, it’s big enough for Kaede’s piano to fit inside comfortably. Her piano is next to a large glass window, which is currently shut. Cream curtains have been tucked to the sides, granting Tenko a view of a snowy night sky.
When Kokichi spends a little too long staring at Kaede’s piano, (well, he looks at it for a couple seconds, but thanks to Tenko’s anxiety, time no longer makes sense,) Tenko stands in front of it, defensively. She feels strangely protective over the piano, even though it’s not in any danger.
“Tenko wants more than anything to spend time with Akamatsu, but she isn’t sure she can go through with this plan,” Tenko admits. “What if we alter it a little? Maybe we can convince Momota that someone has stolen…” Tenko searches the room desperately. “Maybe we can convince Momota that someone has stolen the moon !”
“The moon? Don’t be so despicable,” Kokichi responds. “Besides, getting Akamatsu to move is our goal—not Kaito.”
Tenko squints suspiciously at Kokichi. “Why Akamatsu specifically?”
“Because,” Kokichi unhelpfully answers. He claps his hands together loudly, seemingly satisfied. “Anyway! We need to get a move on. I’m pretty sure Shinguji wants to start the films soon, and we need to get Akamatsu to move before they do.”
“You never did explain why you want Akamatsu to move,” Tenko points out. “Now that Tenko thinks about it, we should be trying to get Momota to move instead. Why should Akamatsu give up her seat just because Momota doesn’t know how to stop yapping—”
Tenko falls silent once she notices the crooked smile on Kokichi’s face. Ew, he really needs to stop making that face; it makes him look even worse than he already looks.
Kokichi stares at her like she’s just said something unforgivable. “We’re getting Akamatsu to move because she’s a seat stealer, that’s why.”
“A seat stealer?” Tenko blinks. “Wait, you want to stage a kidnapping because Akamatsu… sat in your seat?”
Before Kokichi can respond, the door to Kaede’s piano room bursts open. Shuichi and Kiibo stumble inelegantly inside.
As Shuichi gets over his shock of suddenly falling, Kiibo jabs a finger at Kokichi and declares, “I knew you were up to something! I’m afraid I can’t allow you to kidnap…” Kiibo pauses before turning to Tenko. “Who is Ouma trying to kidnap?”
“Akamatsu’s piano,” Tenko answers.
“Akamatsu’s piano!” Kiibo parrots before pulling a face. “Wait, pianos can’t be kidnapped.”
Kokichi lets out a quiet sigh as he begins to massage his temples. “Astute observation, Kiiboy.”
“What are you planning, Ouma?” Shuichi asks, more fed up than angry. He checks Kaede’s piano for any damage. Once it becomes abundantly clear it’s fine, Shuichi frowns. “Akamatsu put a lot of effort into throwing this party. Please don’t do something stupid to ruin it.”
“Geez, you’re all so dramatic,” Kokichi huffs. “And so mean, too! Akamatsu isn’t the victim here, I am! Actually, I want to report a crime!”
Shuichi raises an eyebrow. “You do?”
Tenko rolls her eyes. “He’s upset because Akamatsu sat in his seat.”
“She stole my seat from me,” Kokichi retorts, clenching his fist. His eyes shine like he’s about to burst into tears.
“Just like how you stole the seat from me first?” Shuichi points out dryly.
Kokichi miraculously remains silent for a beat before asking, “Did someone say something?”
“Wait, I’m confused,” Kiibo says, looking like he’s somehow experiencing a headache despite that being impossible. Impressive. “Ouma wants to kidnap Akamatsu’s piano all because she sat in his seat?”
“No, I wanted to stage a kidnapping,” Kokichi corrects him before clicking his tongue. “If you’re going to accuse me of committing a crime, at least accuse me of the right one.”
“...Right,” Shuichi murmurs, exasperated. He turns to Tenko, a crease between his brows. “I just don’t know how you’ve been involved in all this.”
Tenko huffs defiantly, crossing her arms. “Tenko would like to make it clear that she wasn’t actually going to go through with Ouma’s plan once she thought it through. Upsetting Akamatsu is the last thing Tenko wants to do!”
“But why listen to Ouma in the first place?” Shuichi asks her.
“Because…” Tenko turns away, embarrassed. “Tenko also wants Akamatsu to move. For different reasons, though! Tenko doesn’t think Akamatsu is a seat stealer.”
“She is ,” Kokichi insists with a pout. “And if you guys aren’t careful, she’ll steal your seats too.”
Tenko glowers at him. “Tell one more lie and Tenko will flip you into next year.”
Kokichi shrugs. “At least it’s December.”
“Why do you want Akamatsu to move?” Shuichi asks her.
Tenko searches his face for any judgement. All she sees is confusion and a hint of sympathy, causing her to bristle. She does not need Shuichi’s sympathy, thank you very much. “Tenko…” She squeezes her eyes shut with a grimace. She’s not sure if she’s prepared to reveal her deepest, darkest desire—especially to a group of guys. Ew.
“Geez, Saihara. You can’t just ask a girl such a personal question like that!” Kokichi shakes his head disapprovingly at Shuichi, who sighs loudly. “Now shoo , we’re busy.”
Shuichi does not shoo. Instead, he studies Tenko’s expression silently before offering her a gentle smile. “Chabashira, is it that you want to sit next to Akamatsu?”
Tenko’s face turns an impressive shade of red. She rushes past Shuichi and slams the door shut. As it closes with a crash, Tenko hisses, “ K-Keep your voice down !”
“Ah, I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Shuichi tells her, his smile turning sheepish.
“He did,” Kokichi whispers conspiratorially to Tenko. “You should flip him and Kiiboy out the room before they ruin everything.”
“Hold on, you were planning on helping Ouma steal Akamatsu’s piano all because… you want to sit next to Akamatsu?” Static fills Kiibo’s eyes. “I am failing to find a logical explanation for all this.”
“Woah, did you break Kiiboy?” Kokichi asks Tenko as he circles Kiibo, intrigued.
“Tenko didn’t do anything!” Tenko insists, although she does spare a nervous glance at Kiibo. “If anything, you’re the one who broke him!”
“Kiibo isn’t broken,” Shuichi sighs. “Even I’m struggling to wrap my head around Ouma’s plan.”
“It’s pretty straight forward, Saihara,” Kokichi chirps, holding up a finger as he begins to explain. “Chabashira is going to tell Akamatsu that her piano has been kidnapped and Akamatsu is going to be like oh no, my beloved piano! This is a tragedy! I must remove myself from Ouma’s seat—which I horribly stole from him because I’m a huge meanie—immediately so I can check on my—”
“But Akamatsu would never fall for a lie like that,” Shuichi interrupts, narrowing his eyes.
The corners of Kokichi’s lips quirk up. “Whilst that’s true, Mister Detective, Akamatsu will likely come upstairs to check on her piano anyway. Alone, too.”
“And why do you want Akamatsu alone—” Shuichi abruptly covers his mouth with his hand, causing Tenko to raise an eyebrow.
“Why did you stop?” Tenko asks him.
“...Momota was right. The impossible is possible,” Shuichi murmurs to himself, his voice muffled because his hand is still blocking his mouth.
Tenko frowns. “Eh?”
“You’ve figured it out, haven’t you?” Kokichi says to Shuichi, a twinkle in his eye. “My masterplan. My magnum opus. My—”
Kiibo suddenly springs back to life, static no longer in his eyes. It becomes clear that he didn’t hear a thing whilst he was glitching because shakes his head disapprovingly at Kokichi and says, “No matter the reason why you want to steal Akamatsu’s piano, I won’t let you!” The robot abruptly leaves the room, his voice loud as he cries, “Akamatsu, Ouma is trying to steal your piano!”
“Sheesh, did his professor never teach him that snitches get stitches?” Kokichi complains. Despite grumbling, he doesn’t make any move to chase after Kiibo.
Tenko, however, springs to life and rushes after Kiibo. “Kiibo, stop! You’ll end up upsetting Akamatsu if you tell her something bad happened to her piano!”
“Thanks again for helping me set up,” Kaede tells Kaito, who grins in response.
“We make a pretty good team, don’t we?” Kaito admires the living room proudly, his arm draped over the back of the couch. He looks the definition of relaxed.
Kaede nods in response. It’s undeniable that they’ve done a good job transforming her living room into a winter wonderland. Sure, cleaning up is going to be a pain, but she can worry about that later.
In fact, tonight has been going so smoothly, she’s not had to worry about anything . Which, well, is a Christmas miracle considering who is at her party. Not to name any names, but she’s a little surprised that a certain purple haired prankster hasn’t caused too much disruption.
Although, speaking of purple haired pranksters…
“Where is everyone?” Kaede asks Kaito, who blinks in response.
Kaito scans the room before frowning. The only person he can see is Korekiyo, who is currently sorting through a pile of DVDs. “Do you think we missed something?”
Before Kaede can open her mouth, she hears footsteps thump down the stairs. Kiibo appears in the doorway, which he uses to balance himself, pressing his hands against the doorframe.
“Akamatsu! Ouma plans to kidnap—”
Tenko suddenly materialises with a cry, crashing into the robot. Tenko scolds Kiibo, and Kiibo argues back. Their words jumble together, causing Kaede’s eyes to swirl as she struggles to figure out what’s being said.
“My piano… kidnapped Ouma?” Kaede eventually asks, causing Tenko to snap her mouth shut and Kiibo to stare at the pianist strangely.
“Uh, no ? That’s impossible,” Kiibo tells her. “Although, if that ever did happen, I would thank your piano—”
Tenko almost trips over her feet as she dashes over to Kaede and places her hands on the pianist’s shoulders. “Akamatsu, your piano is fine! Tenko promises!”
“I… Okay?” Kaede thinks about going to check on her piano just in case before pausing, taking in Tenko’s appearance. She seems frazzled, like something is bothering her. “Is everything okay, Chabashira? You seem… anxious.”
“Tenko is fine! And so is your piano!”
“Why do you keep bringing up her piano?” Kaito asks, peering past Tenko so he can look at the staircase. He spots Shuichi and Kokichi heading down the stairs together. Kokichi seems relaxed, almost amused as Shuichi shoots him strange looks. Shuichi looks like he’s trying to solve an impossible puzzle—and failing miserably.
Kaede also notices Kokichi and Shuichi heading down the stairs. When she clocks Shuichi’s expression, she chews her lip, concerned. “Can someone explain what’s going on?”
Kiibo opens his mouth but before he can say anything, Shuichi gives her an answer. “I needed help figuring out what to get you for Christmas, so I went into your piano room to search for inspiration. I probably should’ve asked for permission first. Sorry…”
Kaede shakes her head. “No, it’s fine! I trust you, Shuichi!” She turns to everyone else before asking, “...but why did everyone else end up in my piano room, too?”
“I was making sure Saihara wasn’t causing trouble, of course,” Kokichi tells her. “I saw him sneak upstairs like a criminal, and followed him—”
“Tenko was making sure Ouma wasn’t causing trouble,” Tenko declares.
Kiibo opens and closes his mouth like he’s a fish out of water, lost. “But that’s not…”
“Kiibo, how about we find somewhere to sit before Shinguji starts the films?” Shuichi suggests. He places a hand on Kiibo’s elbow and gently guides him away.
Kaede watches their backs, unconvinced. She looks at Tenko, who’s covered in a nervous sweat. She then looks at Kokichi, who has his hands tucked behind his head whilst he whistles a little too innocently.
“...Chabashira, can you come with me for a second?” Kaede asks, standing up from her seat. She heads upstairs to her piano room for privacy, and is pleased when she spots that no damage has been done to her piano—not that she thought anyone would damage her piano in the first place.
“D-Did Tenko do something wrong?” Tenko asks her, wringing her hands together nervously. “Tenko sincerely apologises if she’s upset you—”
Kaede quickly stops her. “I just wanted to ask if you’re okay. I’m… a little confused about what happened downstairs, but that doesn’t matter. You seem stressed, and I want to help.”
Tenko turns a dark shade of red as she shakes her head. “Tenko is fine, she promises! You don’t have to waste your time worrying about her—”
“Worrying about you would never be a waste of my time,” Kaede responds firmly. She reaches forward and clasps Tenko’s hands into her own. “If something is bothering you, then please tell me. I’ll try my best to help!”
“I-It’s nothing, really,” Tenko murmurs, her face somehow turning redder. Kaede swears she sees steam rising from Tenko’s hair. “Tenko was wondering if… Akamatsu would like to…”
“Chabashira?”
“Tenko was wondering if Akamatsu would like to sit next to her whilst the Christmas films are on!” Tenko blurts out before her embarrassment takes control. “If Akamatsu doesn’t want to, that’s okay! Tenko will understand! In fact, forget that Tenko even asked. Tenko will show herself out… of the country, actually—”
“I’d love to,” Kaede answers before Tenko can continue rambling. “In fact, I was on my way to ask you before I got distracted.”
“You mean before you got held hostage by Momota,” Tenko grumbles.
Kaede giggles, shaking her head. “Actually, it’s the opposite way around. I asked Momota earlier if he could sit on the couch and keep it reserved so I could have it during the films.”
Tenko stares at Kaede like she’s just accidentally spoiled a major plot twist. “You… did?”
“Yeah! The couch is my favourite seat, so I wanted to claim it,” Kaede admits. “Besides, I know Saihara, Kiibo and Shinguji are fine sitting anywhere, and Momota brought some bean bags for himself and Ouma—” Kaede’s eyes widen. “Wait! I knew we forgot something! Momota put the bean bags in my room earlier whilst we were decorating! We must’ve forgotten to bring them back down after we finished.”
Kaede practically sprints from her piano room and bursts into her bedroom. Sitting innocently on her bed are two purple bean bags. Kaede tries to pick them both up at once but due to the sheer size of them, fails. Before she can drop them, Tenko plucks one of the bean bags from Kaede and hugs it to her chest.
“If Tenko had known about the bean bags from the start…” Tenko murmurs under her breath.
Kaede fights her way around the bean bag so she can look at Tenko properly. “Did you say something?”
“N-No!” Tenko readjusts her grip. “Anyway! Let’s get going before Shinguji starts without us!”
Kokichi all but catapults himself onto the couch the moment Kaede and Tenko leave. Kaito watches Kokichi, baffled. Sure, the couch is comfortable, but Kaito had no clue Kokichi was that big a fan of it.
“Seriously, why did you end up upstairs?” Kaito asks Kokichi, who lets out a content sigh as he gets himself comfortable. “And practically everyone else, too?”
Kokichi, unfortunately, doesn’t seem to be in the mood to satisfy Kaito’s curiosity. He instead allows his eyes to flutter shut and places his hands on his stomach, resting his feet on the coffee table.
“Uh, Kokichi?” Kaito prods Kokichi’s arm carefully, rolling his eyes when Kokichi blatantly ignores him. Kaito shuffles to the edge of the couch, not wanting to get too comfortable. After all, he brought bean bags for him and Kokichi to sit on—
Wait. The bean bags. He forgot to bring them down after decorating.
“Would you believe me if I told you I was doing a good deed?” Kokichi cracks an eye open with a pleased smile. “I wasn’t lying when I said I was keeping an eye on Saihara.”
“Sure,” Kaito responds, unconvinced. “And the truth?”
Kokichi gasps and pretends to clutch non-existent pearls. “Are you accusing me of lying ? Me? How cruel of you, spaceman. I promised I would be on my best behaviour tonight, didn’t I?”
Kaito narrows his eyes. He supposes Kokichi hasn’t been too bad tonight—aside from racing across the room to steal Shuichi’s seat from him. However, there’s a question Kaito really wants to know the answer to, more out of curiosity than anything else.
“You gonna explain why Kiibo said Akamatsu’s piano, uh, kidnapped you?”
“Kiiboy said that?” Kokichi asks, more amused than surprised.
“Well, Akamatsu thought he did,” Kaito says before shaking his head. “Either way, clearly there was some sort of misunderstanding.” Kaito looks Kokichi up and down, suspicious. “The thing is, Kiibo sounded pretty concerned—and don’t say you haven’t been in Akamatsu’s piano room tonight. I know when you’re lying. What’s the real reason why so many of you ended up upstairs?”
“Oh? Are you saying Saihara lied about the reason why he was in Akamatsu’s piano room?”
“Something just isn’t sitting right with me,” Kaito admits. “And it’s not like I think my sidekick is up to something, but I can tell when he’s lying. He wasn’t able to look Akamatsu in the eye earlier.”
“Hmm, maybe I should be calling you Mister Detective instead,” Kokichi says. “ Fine , if you must know, Chabashira and I went to Akamatsu’s piano room together to talk privately. Saihara and Kiiboy followed us because they’re nosy busybodies.”
“Wait, why did you want to talk to Chabashira privately?”
“Because we were collaborating. At least, I thought we were collaborating.” Kokichi shakes his fist. “But she betrayed me at the last second, spaceman! Even though I was doing her a favour!”
“...Eh?”
“Remind me to never recruit Chabashira to become my minion in the future,” Kokichi sighs. “First Akamatsu steals my seat, then Chabashira stabs me in the back. Tch … They deserve each other.”
Kaito wisely ignores most of Kokichi’s grumbles. “Wait, what do you mean Akamatsu stole your seat?”
Kokichi clicks his tongue. “Remember when I stood up earlier to get a drink and left my seat unoccupied for, like, a millisecond? As soon as my back was turned, Akamatsu stole my seat. I’d be impressed if I wasn’t so wounded . Akamatsu is a horrible host.”
Kaito opens his mouth to defend Kaede before pausing. Oh yeah, he never told Kokichi about the bean bags— and that he’s been reserving the couch for Kaede.
Ah.
“Actually, Kokichi…” Before Kaito can finish, he spies two bean bags floating down the stairs. Holy shit , does gravity work differently in Kaede’s house? Then he spots legs growing from the bean bags, then arms holding the bean bags and oh, nevermind, there’s not been a scientific breakthrough at Kaede’s house. Kaede and Tenko are carrying the bean bags.
Kokichi also spots the purple bean bags and watches quietly as Kaede and Tenko get closer. The pianist drops the bean bag she had been carrying onto the floor before wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.
“Momota, you forgot to bring these down earlier!” Kaede tells him, breathlessly.
Kaito stands up so she can sit down, causing Kokichi to stare at him strangely. The astronaut laughs loudly and takes the other bean bag from Tenko. “I knew I had forgotten to do something!”
A crease appears between Kokichi’s brows. “So all this time, the real seat stealer was…?” Kokichi’s attention zigzags between Kaito and the bean bags. He remains silent, even when Tenko looms over him with her hands on her hips.
“ You !” Tenko huffs. “Honestly, so much confusion could’ve been avoided if Momota remembered to bring his bean bags down earlier.”
To avoid Tenko’s stink eye, Kaito extracts Kokichi from the couch and kicks the bean bags further down the room to create distance. Kaito sits down on his own bean bag with a satisfied sigh whilst Kokichi sits down silently.
From the corner of his eye, Kaito spots Shuichi and Kiibo sitting down on a pile of plush cushions near the fireplace. They both seem happy with their seats.
“Maybe I, ah, should've told you about the bean bags earlier,” Kaito says to Kokichi, who purses his lips in response. “Knew you’d want something comfortable to sit on whilst the films were on, so I thought I’d be smart and bring them with me.”
“...I suppose they’re adequate,” Kokichi responds with a sniff. He sinks further into his bean bag, clearly content. “And I suppose I’ll let Akamatsu off the hook just this once.”
Kaito scoffs. “Even though she’s literally done nothing wrong?”
“Details, details…”
Kokichi shuffles his bean bag close enough so he can rest his head on Kaito’s shoulder, causing the astronaut to roll his eyes fondly. Kaito plops his cheek against the top of Kokichi’s head in response.
Getting Kokichi to admit that he’s been dramatic would take a miracle, so Kaito accepts this is as much of an apology Kokichi is going to give. And, well, Kaito supposes he should take a little responsibility for tonight’s… misunderstanding , too. If only he remembered about the bean bags earlier…
“For our first watch…” Kaito jumps when Korekiyo steps in front of the TV, a DVD in his hand. “I found this rather intriguing festive documentary we can watch before the films.”
Kokichi pouts and grumbles under his breath, “I thought Akamatsu said all we were watching tonight was films?”
Kaito nudges him. “Maybe he found something good? He did say it was festive.”
Korekiyo places the DVD into the DVD player before sitting down crossed legged near the TV, sitting so close that the TV reflects in his eyes. From what Kaito can tell, Korekiyo seems excited.
Kaito raises an eyebrow when The Grinch appears on the screen.
“Does Shinguji not know that Mister Grinch isn’t actually real?” Kokichi whispers to him.
“I dunno,” Kaito responds, keeping his voice low. When Kokichi opens his mouth to undoubtedly tell Korekiyo that The Grinch is not a documentary, but a film, Kaito stops him. “Shh, don't ruin this for him, man.”
Kokichi somehow finds the will power to bite his tongue. When Kaito accidentally locks eyes with Kokichi a few moments later, he has to swallow down his own laugh.