Chapter Text
“…What?”
Kazui had been staring for three minutes, and he was sure even after ten he wouldn’t have found a better response to the sight before him.
Shidou was sitting on the hallway floor looking up at him with a desperate expression as Amane and Fuuta circled him in strange costumes, the first pouring glitter on his head while the second was ready with a cardboard tube to hit him with if he tried to stand up. Both of them were chanting “repent, repent”, though it was hard to tell if either of them were being serious when they had such wide grins on their faces. At the sound of his voice, the two stopped their circling.
“Mukuhara Kazui,” Amane nodded her head in greeting before gesturing to Shidou with a proud expression. “The evildoer has been marked as a sinner. He can no longer spread his heresy to the unknowing.”
Hoping for any kind of explanation at all Kazui turned to Fuuta, who was doing his best not to make eye contact. It only took moments for him to break with a sigh.
“The shor-”
“Great leader.”
“Sorry, the great leader ,” Fuuta rolled his eye at the title, “needed a bad guy for our game, and it’s not like Mahiru fits the bill.”
“A game.” Kazui repeated.
“I’m the priestess spreading the word of god, and Fuuta-san is my knight who protects me from evildoers when I reveal their sins,” Amane lifted up the glitter container. “With this.”
“Please help,” Shidou pleaded from the floor. “I have work tomorrow.”
Just for that, Amane sprinkled more glitter in his hair.
Well, that explains the costumes . Fuuta had a blanket tied around him like a cape, roughly drawn pictures of the sun were taped all over the fabric as well as his eye patch. Amane herself had the same symbol on a paper crown. Kazui would have to have a talk with the two of them about that later to make sure this game of theirs wasn't enabling some of Amane's more… concerning habits.
“Wait, where’s Haruka?” Surely they hadn’t dragged him into this game as a first evildoer. They couldn’t have, right?
“He’s fine,” Kazui breathed a sigh of relief as Fuuta spoke. “We could've all played video games together if he was here, but he’s at his sketchy friend’s hou-” he was interrupted as he barely dodged a fist worth of glitter.
Wiping off the glitter that stuck to her hands off on Shidou’s coat, Amane gave Fuuta a disapproving look. “Fuuta we have to be polite to Muu-san, otherwise we can’t teach her-”
“That excess leads to sin, yeah, I heard you the first five times.”
“Five…?” Amane paused thoughtfully, “I was sure it was seven now.”
As the two began to argue, Kazui spotted Mahiru wheeling her way out of the kitchen with a fond smile.
“Isn’t it nice? They’re bonding!” She said, coming to a stop beside him.
“Why did you let this happen?”
“Do you remember when Shidou made me get my flu shot?”
It was hard to forget. It had been barely a month ago. Mahiru had gotten so sick he and Shidou had to spend three days sleeping in shifts in case she needed any help. It was a nightmare from start to finish.
Mahiru just smiled up at him, the picture of pure innocence, the same sun symbol drawn proudly on the back of her clasped hands. “He promised I wouldn’t get sick.”
Ah, fair enough .
Try as he might, Shidou couldn’t get all of the glitter off before going to work. As he stepped into his classroom he tried to ignore the stares, but he couldn’t ignore the giggles of one specific girl in the front row.
“Kirisaki-sensei, did you do something with your hair?”
“Yuno you’ve been a wonderful babysitter.” Just for a moment Shidou let his exhaustion show. “Please, never leave glitter in my house again.”