Little Do You Know

Ball in a Court

"Let me just confirm. You have trouble understanding things, to put it simply." Saihara asked as the two slowly walked along the pathway toward the academy.

"Yeah, sounds are the worst. It's like I hear what you're saying, I just don't know what the words mean." 

"Ah, okay. You also have trouble reading?"

"Yeah, I guess. When there are a lot of words I end up losing focus and not understanding anything. It's the same with instructions." 

"What do you mean?" 

"If I'm given too many instructions, I'll remember one and forget the rest. My limit is three things. That's why I follow procedures all the time, like getting ready in the morning. Muscle memory and all." Kokichi stared at the academy as they walked, passing by trees that loomed over them. Saihara convinced him to return to school before the lunch break ended. "Oh, and if you tell anyone, I'll rip you apart limb from limb and turn your insides into bird feed."

Saihara laughed. "I promise I won't tell anyone." He raised his right hand in the air. Kokichi joined in the laughter as they reached the school, making their way to their friend group.

Everyone turned to stare at them as their laughter diminished, including Momota and Harukawa who'd finally rejoined their friends despite Kokichi's daily presence. Amami and Akamatsu shuffled to the side, giving the two newcomers room to sit. Saihara pulled out his lunch, beginning to eat the food now that he had a chance. There wasn't too long left of their lunch break now, thanks to Kokichi's stunt.

"Hey, Ouma?" Iruma interrupted the silence, popping a small, Tojo-made onigiri into her mouth and chewing loudly. "Why'd you run off, Shitdick?"

"I forgot something at the dorms," Kokichi huffed. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"What about the argument with Saihara?" Amami asked.

Kokichi and Saihara locked eyes, mouths parted in an attempt to explain but neither spoke a word. "Sheesh, awkward," Iruma chuckled.

"Anyway," Akamatsu interrupted with a loud cheer. "Ouma, are you going to eat lunch?"

"I ate at the dorms." He winced at the hurried tone, his words merging into one long breath.

"What's with your eye?" Harukawa asked the question that was no doubt on everyone's minds.

Rolling his eyes, Kokichi noticed everyone's eyes on him whilst eagerly awaiting an answer. "I have heterochromia, stupid heads." Everyone nodded and immediately returned to their food as if nothing happened. Oh, that was surprisingly easy... Kokichi had expected at least one person to question him further but no one cared. They accepted it and moved on without any issues... Perfect. Maybe some things did always work out for the better.

The school siren rang throughout the academy grounds, making students grab their belongings and head to their next class. Kokichi jumped, startled by the sudden sound, idle chatter and wind all playing at full volume in his head. Saihara grabbed the smaller man and rubbed his shoulder, easing Kokichi's brief fright within an instant. They smiled at each other.

"Just fuck already!" Iruma screamed. Kokichi and Saihara jumped, scrambling far away from each other. They hurried to their feet and brushed off their clothes, ignoring the rosy hue spreading across their cheeks. Something about it made Kokichi smile more and he found himself staring into Saihara's eyes again, the two continued to grin as they walked to class.

 .·:*¨💜༺ ༻💙¨*:·.

Kokichi threw his bag to the ground and jumped onto his bed, his face planted into the pillow as he groaned. "I fucking hate college!"

"Come on, we should work on that report before it's too late," Saihara suggested.

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"Fine!" Kokichi cried. He flipped over onto his back - well, he tried to... before falling onto the floor with a loud grunt.

"Ouma!" Saihara hurried to his side, helping the man sit up as he rubbed a forming bump on his head.

"Shoo, shoo!" Kokichi huffed as he waved the man away. "You're like an overbearing mother!" Standing and ignoring the mild pain, Kokichi grabbed his notebook and pen to start planning the report due in a few weeks. Why Saihara insisted they do it now was beyond him, Kokichi still did everything in a fit of intense, last-minute anxiety.

They sat on their beds and Kokichi listened to the sound of Saihara's ballpoint pen scratching paper. He seemed to understand what to do yet the same couldn't be said for the supreme leader. Groaning, Kokichi began to doodle a small star to pretend to do the work, hopefully making Saihara happy.

"You have to analyse the themes in the movie and explain the, uh, evidence, so to speak." Saihara's voice interrupted Kokichi's worry but the pen strokes never ceased.

"Explain."

"Well, if you think that there's a theme of crime for example," Saihara began as he placed down his pen. "Then you need to explain what makes you think that, using evidence in the movie."

"Boring!" Kokichi whined. He couldn't resist thinking about the fact that Saihara used analogies linked to detective work. How oddly adorable.

Despite the resistant exterior, Kokichi wanted to hug Saihara tight enough to make him burst like a balloon. Now that he thought about it, Saihara's explanation had a lot more significance than the assignment information sheet. Maybe opening up about everything helped, it seemed to be working in his favour. Was that the fact that he let someone past his boundaries, or was it the fact that he let in Saihara of all people? Shaking the thoughts away, Kokichi began writing.

A ding interrupted Kokichi's train of thought as he glanced over to Saihara. The detective picked up his phone, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Oh? Did someone send my beloved, virgin Saihara-Chan nudes?~" Kokichi gasped and threw his belongings onto the bed. "Is Saihara-Chan finally getting laid?! How much are you paying them?!"

"Ouma!" Saihara gasped, grabbing a pillow and chucking it at the smaller male who caught it with a laugh. "I am not paying anyone to have sex with me!" Kokichi raised an eyebrow, earning a laugh from both of them. "Do you... want to know what it is?" He asked, glancing at his phone screen.

Kokichi shrugged, not wanting to pry too much. Even though he loved to rile people up and annoy them, privacy was still a boundary that people didn't always need to overstep. Turning to stare at his notebook, Kokichi heard faint chatter. With a lack of background noise, Kokichi could understand every single word (albeit a few seconds after the phrases were spoken).

"Well, he's always kind and caring, but he's protective when he needs to be. He's always there for me and helped me out of a crisis. Plus he's hot."

He froze, refusing to meet the gaze that bore a hole into the back of his head. "I'm going to kill Amami with a fucking shot put," Kokichi muttered under his breath. That's why those two talked at the beginning of lunch break like they were dealing drugs.

Taking a deep breath and trying to will away his mortified blush, Kokichi took a quick peek at Saihara to see the stupid detective smirking like The Devil. His eyes widened - that expression being the last thing he expected to see - and he hurried to curl into a tight ball, knees to his forehead. If only an endless void would open up and swallow him whole.

The bed beside him dipped but Kokichi refused to move. Maybe he could make a break for it and never return to Hope's Peak Academy, or Japan for that matter. A hand pried one of his from his cocoon of shame, two soft lips pressing against his delicate skin. His head shot up from where it rested on his knees to stare at the detective cradling his hand. Saihara smirked and reached forward to brush a lock of hair behind Kokichi's ear. "Ouma, will you be mine?"