Unforgettable // Amasai //

5- Something's Missing

A/N: New update after half a year! Thank you guys for all the support, I'm excited to continue this story!

// Third Person POV //

Monday eventually rolls around, and Shuichi accompanies Rantaro to his 8 a.m. World History class.

As they walk through the hallways, someone calls out for Rantaro.

// Rantaro POV //

"Excuse me sir!"
I turn around to see a boy with very light blonde, or maybe even white hair, pale skin and blue eyes speaking to me.
"Would you happen to be Rantaro Amami?" He continues.

I glance at Shuichi, who seems to be in a state of pure shock...
"Yes, that's me. You must be Kiibo, right?" I respond.

He looks surprised and says, "How did you know? I don't recall ever speaking with you before, sorry..."
I look back at Shuichi again, "I've got a friend who knows you."

"Oh! That's exactly what I was planning to ask about. His name's Kokichi, right? Does he have some sort of grudge against me?"

I'm not sure if I should be surprised.
"Not that I know of, what's he doing to you?" I reply. There's no way he's angry. Quite the opposite, really.

"Oh, um.. he hasn't done anything directly, I've just noticed him... frequently staring at me from across the room or the hall recently," he admits, looking a bit nervous.

Could he be any more oblivious? Part of me wants to just tell him how much of a fucking simp Kokichi can be.
"Why don't you ask him yourself? It would probably be easier to clear things up if you confront him directly," I advise.

"O-oh, that's a good idea, actually.. sorry for troubling you!"
He begins to walk away until I speak up, "Hold on a second, Kiibo. I need to ask you about Shuichi Saihara."

He takes a moment to think. I notice that Shuichi is shaking, I can only imagine how anxious he is right now.. I want to hold him tight and comfort him.. that sounds a bit weird, but it's probably just my older brother instincts kicking in from having so many younger sisters, haha...

"I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about.. my apologies."

...
I don't think I'll be attending class today.

// Shuichi POV //

"C'mon, I'll help you up!"

A young Kiibo stands on top of the brick wall surrounding his grade school's playground.

"What if you fall?" my younger self asks, extremely scared of him or his friend getting hurt.

"It'll be ok, just trust me! There's enough room up here to climb onto. I'll go down on the other side first, and then I'll catch you!" Kiibo reassures.

My past self reluctantly agrees, and takes hold of his best friend's hand. I watch as the Kiibo from long ago lifts the boy up onto the top of the wall. Kiibo jumps down to the other side, excited to explore the area that was behind the playground walls.

"I'm scared," the younger me cries.
"I'll catch you, I promise!" Kiibo responds, opening his arms with a cheerful, innocent smile on his face.

And then I jumped down.

There are times when I feel so much emotion that it begins to feel numb.
It's like standing barefoot in the snow with the outside temperature below freezing. You feel cold, scared, alone. You feel a burning sensation until you can't feel a single part of your body, and you collapse.

I suppose right now is one of those times.

I'd say I'm pretty good at reading people. Their expressions, body language... it's usually not hard for me to figure them out. I'm sure I'd know right away if Kiibo was lying. But right now his face is painted with some sort of uncomfortable confusion.

Was everything up until now even real? Or was it some fabricated story that I tricked myself into believing?

Suddenly, Rantaro speaks up, "That's impossible. Hasn't he been your best friend since childhood?"

Kiibo responds with, "I never had any friends in all my years of grade school and junior high, so I think I'd know who my best friend was if I would have had one..."

"You can't be serious! Dark hair, yellowish eyes, shitty at Mario Kart?!" Rantaro shouts. I can't help but smile a bit at his last comment.

Kiibo's eyes widen in surprise, and he softly asks himself,
"Am I... forgetting something?"

Sorry for the slight cliffhanger lol, the story is getting a bit more serious now!
Thank you for reading!