a/n: im not proud of this at all i just wanted to write something for shuichi's birthday asdfghjkjhgfdsa
Shuichi's birthday was a...tricky time of year, to say the least.
They had all woken up from the tragedy of the killing game near the end of August, so along with his birthday, he and everyone else had to deal with the anniversary of such a tragic/relieving time. It brought back memories he didn't really want to resurface, and though he was surrounded by the friends that were once pronounced dead, he couldn't help but feel unsettled celebrating his birthday in this climate.
It also didn't help that the popularity he had in the Danganronpa "fandom" practically tripled around this time of year. Because of the anniversary and because of his birthday, it was almost too much sometimes. He couldn't even go out anywhere without being swarmed by fans. Sometimes they even visited his house!
And to add onto that, he had decided to start actually doing some detective work, since he might as well put his skills to work. This led to a huge amount of new cases coming to him, as everyone wanted The Shuichi Saihara to help solve their mysteries.
Due to the hectic nature of this time of year, he actually hadn't thought much about his birthday much.. Yes, he knew that it was coming up, but he was distracted, and rightfully so. There were lots more important things on his mind than his own birthday.
He actually almost forgot it was his birthday, only being reminded by the abundance of texts he had received from his fellow "cast members" at midnight. It brought a smile to his face that they all cared, especially when they all admitted they were planning to drop whatever they were doing to come visit him. Still, Shuichi had just been so tired lately, so he told them he was just going to relax for the day, put aside all his work, turn the lights off so any fans would think he wasn't home and have his birthday party tomorrow with everyone.
Well, everyone except for... Kokichi.
Nobody from the cast had physically seen him in over a year. When he woke up from the killing game, he locked himself in his room, and didn't come out for anyone. Despite everyone's attempts to reach out, he just didn't answer. And Shuichi had only ever seen him once during a mandatory group therapy session.
He remembered feeling a pang of guilt when he saw him then.
Kokichi was clearly in terrible condition, he was exhausted, blank-faced, and fragile. Nothing like how he was in the game, not at all.
Shuichi wanted to help but..soon after, Kokichi had just...disappeared. Gone. Apparently, he had moved out of the place they were all staying, and refused to come back to see anyone. He accepted the therapy he was supposed to take online but nothing else. No one knew where he went.
The last time he interacted with Shuichi was when he sent him a birthday card in the mail. A little note was attached, saying "Happy birthday, beloved! Sorry for all the killing game stuff, but it's okay, you won't ever have to hear from me again!"
The note was quick, but extremely worrying. It sounded like a goodbye. Shuichi was increasingly concerned for three whole months, checking every website for rumors of where he would be, before eventually Kokichi resurfaced on the internet.
Shuichi still didn't know where he was now, Kokichi's social media might have started to grow to be extremely popular due to his character in the game, but his location was always shrouded in mystery. Plus, he barely ever posted and when he did, it was edited, any landmarks or signs of where he would be were nowhere to be found. Like he wanted nobody to find him.
