Love and Lies [Saioumami]

Congratulations To The Graduates!

Kokichi took a deep breath as he watched Shuichi talking to their classmates. It'd been weeks since Shuichi told his three friends about his amputation, now he'd told the entire class. He'd been walking around without fear of people finding out, if anyone stared at him weird he looked the other way. 

God, I'm fucking exhausted, I wish I could sleep right now. Having spent every night gambling to afford his graduation fees, Kokichi hadn't slept for what felt like years. "Hey, stay still, I'm going to mess up your makeup," Rantaro held Kokichi's chin in his thumb and forefinger, patting his face with setting powder.

"Do you have to hit my face like a drunk father?" Kokichi chuckled, earning a concerned frown from Rantaro.

"Just let me spray this on your face," Rantaro put his makeup away, spraying a rose-scented liquid over Kokichi's face to set the product. "Come on, fix your gown." Kokichi rolled his eyes as Rantaro fussed with his graduation gown, straightening it out.

"God you're worse than a grandma, I look fine!" The two stared at each other, smiling as they shared a brief hug. "Good luck Ran~Ran!" Hearing the call for everyone to settle down, the graduating students made their way to the seats in front of the proud families and Hope's Peak Academy staff. Surveying the crowd, Kokichi noticed the displeasure darkening his parent's faces, Kaho buried in her phone. I don't blame her, this shit is boring.

The three classes of graduating students listened to the fake speeches of pride from their principal, perking up at the mention of the awards. "Alright, the awards go to the student with the highest grades for each subject. Our first award for English is for Fukawa Toko." Everyone clapped as the shy woman took her place on the stage, clutching her deep violet braids as she shook hands with Monokuma, looking towards the photographer who took her photo. Oh God, please let me get four awards, I don't care if it's impossible, I need to make my parents proud.

"Biology, Ouma Kokichi," Monokuma called. Yes! I did it! That's one down. Grinning, Kokichi snuck past his classmates, stepping up on stage and following the same procedure Fukawa did. Leaving the stage, he slipped the award package of a few papers and a pin underneath his seat, taking a deep breath as he crossed his fingers to receive three more awards. "Chemistry, Saihara Shuichi." Placing two fingers in his mouth, Kokichi whistled as loud as he could, cheering for his soulmate as he collected his award.

"Mathematics, Komaeda Nagito. Business, Togami Byakuya. Humanities, Asahina Aoi. Health, Tsumiki Mikan. Physical education, Owari Akane. Visual arts, Yonaga Angie. Computing, Fujisaki Chihiro. History, Ludenberg Celeste." Oh no, there's only one award left. I've failed, my parents are going to kill me. "One last award, the overall student of this year is Kirigiri Kyoko!"

Kokichi zoned out, lost in terror as he imagined what would happen when his parents took him home. He only realised the celebration was over when everyone around him stood, the male grabbing his single award and leaving the group of crying students hugging their friends for the last time. "Hey, Ouma, over here!" Iruma shouted over the noise, waving over the no-longer Supreme Leader.

"What do you want, bitchlet?" Kokichi rolled his eyes, approaching his classmates all grouped together.

"We should all hang out together one last time as a class! I mean, everyone is going to stay friends!" Akamatsu beamed, her fists punched into the air with vigour. "It'll be fun! We can just go out drinking for a few hours together for our last day as students!" Kokichi grinned, excited to hang out with everyone. Without having a chance to respond, he held a hand on his shoulder, threatening to turn his collarbone to dust. 

"Kokichi would love to, but he has to come home. I'm sorry for taking him away," he heard his mother apologise, the sickly sweet tone gritting his teeth. Being yanked away from the group, Kokichi's mother dragged him to the family car with a grip rivalling a professional bodybuilder. Hitting his head on the car frame as he was thrown into the vehicle, Kokichi hissed in pain, rubbing his throbbing head as he pulled his seatbelt on with shaking hands.