Hiding In Plain Sight

The Perfect Housewife

"The key is here, there's only the one so please be careful not to misplace it," Shuichi explained, dropping the spare house key into a bush next to the entrance. Opening the door to his previous home, Shuichi waited for the seven to enter before locking the door, pulling the curtain closed over the tiny window. I left the laptop at the shopping centre where we found Gokuhara, that way if we were being tracked, police would think we were living there. Hopefully.

Shuichi watched the group explore, carefully pushing aside shattered porcelain and belongings. I suppose I should clean up for everyone. After ensuring all the windows and curtains were closed in the home, Shuichi made his way to the kitchen, picking up plastic cups and broken dishes from the floor. Snatching a garbage bag from the cabinet, Shuichi threw anything unsalvagable into it, taking pride in the clean area. It's the first time I've been able to clean like this on my own will, maybe I'm not so useless after all.

Throwing out any expired food, Shuichi came to a realisation. We need more food soon, all the supplies we brought aren't going to be enough. I suppose that means going to steal again, I need to get used to living like a criminal now. "Saihara, everything that's sharp in the house, they've all been locked away. Why?" Harukawa asked, appearing behind the male.

"Um... No reason, just how it's always been," Shuichi stuttered. If they all know the true reason, what would they think? Would I be kicked out of the group, left to fend for myself? I'd die on my own. Harukawa glared at the male before disappearing, leaving Shuichi alone again. It's a little weird that everything's still locked away, I would've thought the police would check everywhere. I wonder why they wouldn't look through every crevice for clues on the Ultimates' locations or something.

Shouts and loud laughter caught the males attention. That's coming from the bedrooms, is someone laughing about me? Leaving the bag of trash behind, Shuichi climbed the staircase towards the bedrooms, finding Rantaro, Shuichi and Akamatsu in his. Kokichi held a plush toy with the appearance of an orca, Shuichi's favourite animal. "Put it down Ouma! You shouldn't mess with Saihara's stuff!" Akamatsu pointed a finger in the small boy's face.

Kokichi only laughed in response, "it's so cute though! I bet Shuichi cuddles it at night!~"

"H-Hey!" Shuichi frowned, approaching the male and snatching the toy from his arms, holding it tight to his chest. "Yacchi isn't a toy."

"You named the thing?!" Kokichi laughed, his hands resting behind his head. "That's a little childish, huh? Imagine behaving like a child."

"You're one to talk Ouma," Akamatsu pouted. "He can name his plush if he wants to. By the way Saihara, what does Yacchi mean?"

"I don't know, it's just what Uncle called him, so that's what I call him," Shuichi explained. The male blushed from mortification, realising everyone might now dislike him.

"That's adorable! Yacchi is like your comfort object, right? I have something similar, except I played the piano to comfort myself," Akamatsu smiled. Shuichi nodded, embarrassed to admit he needed a soft toy to calm himself down in his early twenties.

"Awe, Saihara~Chan's blushing! How adorable!" Kokichi teased, his malevolent grin holding back the faint pink tint to his cheeks that Shuichi noticed.

"Don't be embarrassed Sai, I have a flower pillow that acts as the same thing as Yacchi," Rantaro smiled, slapping a hand on the male's shoulder. Shuichi sighed, nodding in appreciation to the greenette as he slipped Yacchi underneath his dark grey bedsheets. I suppose I should clean up, my room is just as trashed as the kitchen was. Picking up the books thrown haphazardly from his bookshelf, Shuichi realised a few pages were bent and ripped from the careless handling, squeezing at his heart.