Chapter Text
“Sweet Korekiyo, you know they wouldn't celebrate such a special day for us…”
Her voice never sounded right coming out of his own mouth. No matter how much lipstick Korekiyo spread sloppily on his mouth, or how long he grew out his hair, he would never hear her voice again.
“Why would you care about my birthday…?”
Not that he ever had her voice to hear to begin with. Everything was fake- a simple story made for the entertainment of others. It was something Korekiyo had yet to come to terms with.
“You're my little brother, Korekiyo… of course I care”
Still, she always had a way with words. Even some of the harshest truths could come out sounding so appealing whenever it slipped off her tongue. He could almost remember how loving her voice was whenever she would read him stories of adventurous heroes and evil Queens late at night.
“You don't care, I know you don't…”
Her wicked laugh rang through his head like a loud bell. It banged against his head and made him shake uncontrollably. She was part of his execution. She betrayed him, left him for dead. She never cared for him or his sacrifices. So why… Why did her voice still sound so welcoming?
“My sweet Korekiyo, that's just what they want you to believe. You know the truth, I was-”
Flick
Korekiyo looked over to the bathroom door with wide eyes, getting a glance of his hunched over position and smudged makeup in the sink mirror as his eyes adjusted to the light. In front of the door, a man looked down at him with the same matching, wide eyes. This man would be Kaito Momota, someone whom he had the misfortune of sharing a room with.
As they looked at each other in a piercing, awful silence that lasted too long for comfort, Kaito finally let out a disappointed sigh.
“Dude, it's 3am. You nearly scared the shit outta me whispering up in the bathroom until I realized it was you! What're you even mumbling about anyways?”
Kaito asked, leaning against the frame of the door. His tired eyes shot through Korekiyo in confusion and frustration, a jarring reminder of what his sister had told him.. They wouldn't ever celebrate such a special day for them, especially knowing what they know. It was foolish to assume otherwise. Korekiyo stood up and fixed his posture, feeling much too cornered for comfort by the other male. Korekiyo cleared his throat before speaking.
“Nothing that would be of your concern…” Korekiyo said, lifting his mask up over his red painted lips as he finally looked away from Kaitos' plum colored eyes.
“ ‘Matter of fact, it is my concern. You're talking to her again, aren't you?”
A silence grew between them once again, though Korekiyo could only hear her voice echo through his head.
Such a nosey one, isn't he?
She was far from wrong- Kaito always had his callous fingers in everyone else's issues. Somehow, he thought it was his responsibility to fix everything, even if it truly didn't need his input in the first place. This complex to fix everything only grew worse outside of the killing game, as Korekiyo observed.
“...Perhaps, though I find myself stuck on why it's any of your business” Korekiyo snapped back.
“Dude, you've gotta stop talking to her! She's not good for you, you know that!” Kaito said, his voice becoming more raised and passionate. Korekiyo could feel his heart race with a kind of anxiousness only found when he got loud, though to his surprise, he kept his composure fairly well.
“Oh, and somehow talking to the others is better? Would you prefer it if I talked to you ?!” Korekiyo asked, spitting the word ‘you’ like acid in hopes Kaito would melt away.
“Yes, actually!” Kaito defended, firm in his decision.
“Even at 3am?!”
“Even at 3am!”
And once again, Another painful silence rose, like a humid fog that seemed to suffocate Korekiyo. It was only now that Korekiyo realized that he had been anxiously tapping his fingers against himself. The urge to shove Kaito out of the door frame with all of his might and lock himself inside the bathroom was strong. His optimism was like clown makeup- while the other could smile and laugh and cheer everyone up with phony words and phrases, at the end of the day, it was all nothing more than makeup. Still, something about it was slightly admirable…
Don't tell me you're falling for such a fake act of kindness, Korekiyo… you know he's just manipulating you.
Korekiyo knew he shouldn't open up to Kaito, of all people. They came from such different upbringings, and believed in such different things, it would be hard for Kaito to even comprehend what had Korekiyo so tangled up in. Still, even if his kindness was all an act, so was his sister's kindness. His sister watched him die in the game, and actively contributed to his demise. Kaitos' kindness may be a fraud, but the tears he shed at every execution were real. They were filled with passion, with fear and anger, and a stir of other emotions Korekiyo found beauty in. His sister wasn't even real, both literally and metaphorically…
There would be no difference in talking to Kaito over himself.
“...It's my birthday,” Korekiyo muttered, finally looking back at Kaito.
Kaitos' hard gaze softened, his bushy eyebrows curving upwards.
“Oh, shit- uhm.. happy birthday dude..!” Kaito said, a slight smile coming up on his face.
“Is it really, though? I remember today being my birthday, though unfortunately everything I've come to learn is nothing more but a story- A written piece of work designed to bring others joy and discomfort and everything else that comes with being a mere character destined to die…” Korekiyo found that he was tapping his fingers against himself again as he spoke.
“I mean… you seem like a Leo to me. But that's not important- even if it's not your “real” birthday, it's still your birthday! What do you typically do to celebrate?” Kaito asked, stepping a little closer to Korekiyo.
“It's none of your concern… What would there be to celebrate anyways?” Korekiyo asked back.
“Plenty of shit! Y'know, a lot of people don't take their birthday seriously as they get older, but it's the firm belief of the Luminary of the Stars that birthdays should be celebrated like it's your first!” Kaito said, speaking with his hands before positioning them on his hips.
And there it was. Unlike Korekiyo's dripping eyeliner and smudged lipstick, Kaitos clown makeup was perfect and sharp. The confident, hyper masculine voice he put on fit his phony words like a large, cartoon glove.
How beautiful.
“So, I guess the better question would be what would you want to do today?”
Korekiyo thought for a minute. What would he want to do?
“There's a bookstore a few blocks from here, or so I've heard… if it weren't for these circumstances, I would have taken a look.”
“Well, why don't we go over there in the morning?”
“We?”
“Yeah, we! It's no fun being all alone on your birthday!”
Korekiyo would've been annoyed if it weren't for how pure of heart Kaitos' statement was.
“...Very well.”