Little Do You Know

Coming Out of My Shell

The six friends walked home in the group, all trying to make small conversations to lift the tension. Kokichi refused to speak, but he occasionally hummed and grinned with the odd joke. Akamatsu grasped his hand, refusing to let go during the walk home. He didn't enjoy it, but it wasn't bad, he just wished it were Saihara holding him.

Everything played through Kokichi's mind in fragments. He remembered Sasaki kissing him, Sasaki crushing Saihara's hand and the two locking eyes across the café like a horror movie. Then Sasaki's threat. Kokichi froze in place, the words echoing like a bad dream. He'd prefer if it was. Akamatsu stopped, accidentally tugging him as she hadn't noticed his pause. "What's wrong, Ouma?"

Kokichi slipped his hand from Akamatsu's and grabbed Iruma and K1-B0. No one complained as he dragged them out of earshot, standing behind the group. The others didn't try to follow and Kokichi could cry out of relief. Both of his friends stared at him, waiting for an explanation but not pushing. "He said he'd tell my boss if I didn't do what he wanted... I can't lose this job..."

No one told the rest about Kokichi's connection to Sasaki. Kokichi wasn't ready to admit it when he'd calmed down and wasn't as vulnerable. They'd find out when the time came. Unfortunately for him, Kokichi knew the topic would come up again since Sasaki escaped. Saihara didn't carry handcuffs on him at all times so he didn't have a chance to detain the stalker, meaning he escaped easily. Everyone had to talk to the police since a report would be filed, but Kokichi hid and refused to say anything.

"Isn't that a good thing?" K1-B0 asked. "You'll be free."

Iruma shook her head. "No, it's not. You never truly leave things like this when you get sick fucks like Sasaki as clients. It always follows you." Kokichi wanted to tease her for the perfect support, but she wasn't wrong.

"My boss isn't exactly a good person, either," Kokichi added. "Plus, I know him personally..." Iruma and K1-B0 frowned at him, not subtly urging him to continue. Rolling his eyes, Kokichi turned his back to them. "Forget it, I shouldn't have said anything."

He stormed forward, pushing through Amami, Akamatsu and Saihara as he continued walking alone. Kokichi hated this, hated being vulnerable. There were so many secrets bubbling away inside that he ended up letting too much slip to people he didn't fully trust. Iruma and K1-B0 were nice enough, and they earned some trust, but not all of it.

Perhaps he could trust them... If he thought about it, no one had done anything to hurt him so why was he still pushing them away? Habit, maybe? Besides, he'd bonded with the six by now, even if it was through trauma.

Both he and Iruma had an obsessed stalker, jobs in the sex work industry and suffered self-esteem issues. Amami and he found family members dead in brutal ways. He and K1-B0 had trouble understanding things and emotions. K1-B0 malfunctioned occasionally, which was how Kokichi felt as a result of his disorder. Not that K1-B0 knew of that, of course. Akamatsu revealed that she used to self-harm years ago, which was how she knew to check Kokichi's arms when they found him on the roof. Morbidly, the roof incident helped Kokichi bond with his saviours too.

Saihara, on the other hand, was different. They hadn't exactly bonded, but Kokichi admitted he was head over heels for the detective. He'd never reciprocate, but Kokichi could imagine that their friendship would grow into more. Hell, the detective was the first person to offer Kokichi help and organise therapy sessions for him. Kokichi wanted that help, he wanted stability, but not by therapy. All he needed was someone to trust, that alone would make him happy.

Kokichi began scratching at his arm through his sleeve, remembering each situation that brought him closer to friends. Each memory made him numb. He couldn't feel the cool air or the pavement beneath his feet, or the fingers digging into his sleeve. Hopefully scratching would be a relief.