Midnight Waltz

Chapter One

It had always been the same dream. It starts out in an abandoned theater, completely dark. After a minute, the stage lights would flash on to reveal a boy. He was short and wore all white except for a long black cape with a tattered hem. A strange clown mask would cover his face as he would sway in Shuichi's direction, awaiting his arrival. He'd walk to the stage and take the mysterious boy's hand. Then, They'd waltz, a conversation without words. It was melancholy and dark, but erupted a tiny hopeful spark. The sweetly sad dance would continue until the clock would strike midnight. In a flash, the boy would disappear, the only thing left was a note. Until we meet again, detective.

As soon as it ended, Shuichi jolted at the jarring sound of his alarm, angrily demanding he wake up. He sat up and looked at the clock, already knowing the time it displayed. Humming the music from his dream, he swayed to the bathroom to get ready. All his routine consisted of was the basics like brushing his teeth and changing. His brain was always too focused on one thing, figuring out what that dream meant. It was puzzling to say the least, how could he dance with a complete stranger in his dream? The last part of Shuichi's routine was to get coffee and walk to class. The coffee part was easy, but going to class was a struggle.

"Hey, Shuichi!"
The voice he had come to memorize called, sounding like the beautiful melody of piano music. "Good morning Akamatsu!" She gave a frown, "How many times have I told you to call me Kaede? We are friends, after all." Shuichi awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, a slight blush on his face. Kaede giggled, she knew he wasn't entirely used to having close friends. He was a loner, yet a popular girl like Kaede still managed to make her way into his life. It was nice and all, but he always felt weird about being friends with someone popular. It didn't quite feel right since he was practically a nobody. "Ah, sorry Kaede!"

The pair walked through the campus of their highschool, Hopes Peak Academy. After a bit of walking, their journey was interrupted by a short girl. "U-Uhm Saihara? Thanks for helping me find my pet the other day!" She scrambled, pulling a small heart-shaped box from her bag, "this is for you!" The gesture surprised Shuichi, as he had never really had people give him gifts let alone chocolate. Then it hit him, it was Valentine's day. His already mediocre mood turned more gloomy after the girl left, being reminded of his least favorite holiday wasn't exactly what he'd planned.

"Seems like someone's got an admirer~" Akamatsu teased

"It's just gratitude chocolate.."

Kaede noticed the sudden melancholy air surrounding them, only then realizing why. "It's already Valentine's day? Wow, this year is going fast!" She giggled, hoping her natural cherry aura would lighten the mood. It didn't do much.

"Oh, this is my class," Shuichi muttered, "See you Akamatsu!" And with that, they parted ways.

The lecture wasn't very interesting. Shuichi was never one for chemistry or anything science related, he preferred the English based classes, unlike most. Due to the naturally boring nature of a PowerPoint presentation, Shuichi started to daydream about his nightly waltzes with the mysterious masked boy. Before he knew, the bell rung and he still had no leads.

The walk to his next class was fairly normal, except for the short puff of purple hair obviously following him around. The sound of footsteps stopping made it clear he wanted his attention. "So you're the infamous school detective I've heard about," the boy piped, "Wooooow~ you're a lot lamer in person!"

Shuichi sweat dropped.

"Uhh, do I know you?" He was short, with a white uniform and a checkered bandana-like scarf. Shuichi felt a familiar aura from the boy, but couldn't quite place it. "Nope!" He happily exclaimed, "But I know eeeeeeeverything about you~" Shuichi blushed. Quiet Snickers could be heard from the shorter as he watched the flustered boy. "Wow, you're so easy to tease!" That amongst other snarky teases accompanied Shuichi as he made his way to his study period.

"Are you ever going to introduce yourself or are you just going to keep insulting me," he puzzled. The shorter boy looked like he was deep in thought. Then, he suddenly sprang back to his energetic norm, "I guess I can reveal my identity to you." He paused for suspense, "I'm Kokichi Ouma, professional Saihara stalker!"

The look of shock on Shuichi's face was priceless. "Just kidding! I've just heard the rumors going around." That wasn't entirely reassuring. "Alright.. Ouma. Why did you follow me all the way here?", "We're in the same class, dummy! Besides, I wanted to meet my precious Shumai~"

"S-Shumai?!"

"Calling you Saihara is booooring!" He welled up a few crocodile tears, "Does Shumai not like my nickname for him? Huhuhu..." Shuichi frantically tried to relieve him until he shot up, completely normal. Well, normal for Kokichi. They finally both sat down, Kokichi deciding to sit mere inches from Shuichi.

"Shuumaiiiiiii!" Kokichi whined, "Stop ignoring mee!" Shuichi gave an annoyed huff, "Stop bothering me, I'm trying to study." "But studying is for losers!" Shuichi glanced over at the table they shared, then back at Kokichi. "You might want to consider studying, you got a five out of twenty on your math test." More fake tears welled up in Kokichi's eyes as he complained about Shuichi 'bullying' him. Shuichi wasn't entirely sure he'd make it through the rest of the day.