Hiding In Plain Sight

Another Big Step

"Are you alright?" Akamatsu fussed over the woman. Why is she so hell-bent on helping her? We don't know who she is. I'm sure I'm wrong though, I usually am.

"I'm fine, it's my power. I can possess animals, but my body goes limp," the woman explained.

"Can you prove it?" Shuichi's eyes narrowed, holding no empathy for a possible bounty hunter.

"Saihara!" Akamatsu gasped, turning to him with a disappointed expression.

"I can, I expected to be asked to prove myself, I understand why. By the way, my name's Yumeno Himiko," Yumeno smiled, lying on the ground. Shuichi watched as red sparkles floated around her eye, the woman's body lifeless as a bird fluttered down to the ground, cawing at them. Taking a closer look, Shuichi noticed a red sparkle around the bird's eye moments before it flew away, Yumeno sitting up as she came to. 

"Sorry, I guess I judged you too harshly," Shuichi mumbled, staring at his feet in shame.

"It's okay, I understand why. I shouldn't have followed you like that either, so I'm sorry," Yumeno yawned. The three awkwardly stared at each other, wind rustling the plastic bags in Akamatsu's and Shuichi's grasps. "I'm tired now, I might go to sleep," Yumeno sighed, curling up into a ball.

"Do you have a place to live Yumeno?" Akamatsu asked, stroking the woman's hair like a mother. Without wasting her breath, the red-haired woman shook her head. "Would you like to stay with us?" Nodding, Yumeno crawled from the floor, following the overenthusiastic Akamatsu. Shuichi followed behind, lost in his own thoughts as the two women developed their sparking friendship. What would've happened if it were a bounty hunter following us, or an undercover cop?

<--o--🩸--o-->

Taking the food from the plastic bag, Shuichi placed everything into their respective areas in the kitchen cabinets. "Why do we have to steal things? Can't we just pay, I mean, this is just ruining our already bad reputation," Kiibo sighed.

"Do you have enough cash to live on for the rest of your life?" Rantaro sighed, resting his elbow on the counter.

"We can just pool all our money together, right? If all of us take everything we have out of the bank, that'd be enough, right?" Kiibo paced around the kitchen and dining room. He'd been ranting for hours about how unethical it was to steal, not to mention the fact it was illegal.

"Kiibo, all of our bank accounts would have been seized by now. Even if we were allowed to take our money out, they'd just call the police to capture us whilst we're there." Taking off her glasses, Shirogane rested her head on the marble countertop, her long, sapphire hair falling in front of her tired face.

"If we use cards to pay, they can be tracked, so that's out of the question too. This is our best choice to survive right now. Once we escape this mess, maybe we could grow our own food and change our identities?" Shuichi offered a goal to the group, not believing it to be possible. It doesn't matter if I think we'll live through this or not, what matters is their happiness and morale.

"Yeah! That sounds pretty fun!" Akamatsu cheered, the despair around the group lifting a fraction.

"I'll start cooking dinner guys," Shuichi mumbled, taking out ingredients he needed whilst everyone went off to do their own thing.

"Ah, Saihara, would you prefer me to cook tonight? It is the least I could do to repay you for all that you have done," Tojo bowed slightly to the bluenette. 

"I- Uh- Are you sure?" Shuichi stuttered, unsure how to approach the situation. "You don't have to repay me for anything, I really don't mind cooking."

"I insist, I cannot think of any other way to express my gratitude," Tojo insisted, a warm, motherly smile plastered on her face. Sighing, Shuichi returned the smile, although hesitant to give away his coping mechanism so easily. She seems insistent, I shouldn't be so selfish.

"Alright, use whatever you need. I won't be joining you tonight," Shuichi left the kitchen, slipping into his bedroom to pass the time. Picking up a book from his shelf, he slipped into his armchair and started reading, vaguely aware of a few others entering the room after him. Glancing up, he noticed Rantaro and Kokichi sitting on the floor in front of him, moving his attention back to his story. Without having a chance to find where he left off, Kokichi crawled underneath his arms and sat in his lap, straddling the bluenette. "U-Uh, hi Kokichi?"

"Hi Emo Boy," Kokichi chuckled. Shuichi felt his face heat up, watching Rantaro attempt to stifle a laugh. "Imagine getting so embarrassed over your boyfriend hugging you. Although, are we boyfriends if we haven't told anyone?~"

"S-Sorry-" Shuichi mumbled, placing his book to the side so he could hold the purplette clinging to him like a koala.

"It's fine Sai, he's just teasing you. Come on Kokichi, don't bother him," Rantaro glared at Kokichi like a father pretending to be mad. The two argued together, Shuichi zoning out as he clung tight to Kokichi, a wave of despair overtaking his body. "Hey, Shuchi, are you alright?"

"Yeah, you're gonna crush me to death!" Kokichi laughed.

"It's not fun worrying if I'm going to wake up tomorrow, or if I'll ever see you both again whenever we part ways. Life's too short to be living like this, none of us deserves what happened to us..." Tears dripped down Shuichi's cheeks to Kokichi's shoulder, feeling Rantaro's arms wrap around the two in a three-way hug. "I could wake up tomorrow to find you both dead, or maybe the police find where we are and shoot us all. All I want is to live without fear, I'm sure we will one day, right?"

"Of course we will, everything is going to work out," Rantaro whispered, kissing the top of Shuichi's head.

"Yeah! Especially with our cool superpowers!" Kokichi chuckled, nuzzling his head into the crook of Shuichi's neck.

The three held each other, comfortable and warm in their arms. A surge of confidence fuelled his veins as he listened to Rantaro's words of encouragement, bringing forth the urge to speak a few words he'd never uttered to his secret boyfriends. "Rantaro, Kokichi, I love you."