Never Really There

Chapter Seven: The Answer to Nothing

The boys had returned to the apartment, but this time, not as just regular roommates. This time, they were boyfriends, and both boys were overjoyed to have the other's heart. After the usual routine of Kokichi not eating, but Shuichi didn't want to fight with him. After Shuichi ate, the two  oys sat down in the living room. "You really need to start eating more Kokichi, I love you and now that your my boyfriend, it's even harder to see you not eat..." Shuichi really did care very much for the liar, not just because they were dating, but because he didn't want anything bad to happen to Kokichi. "Fine, tomorrow at dinner, I'll eat more, I promise... But only because I love you!" These words relieved Shuichi. Maybe he could find out why Kokichi doesn't eat, and even help him. Shuichi wasn't going to bring up that topic though, so instead changed it. "I'm going to tell Maki we're dating tomorrow-" "WHAT? SHE'LL KILL ME FOR SURE!" Kokichi wasn't completely wrong, there was a great chance the assassin would kill the liar. Shuichi thought that it's only fair for her to know, she is one of his friends after all. The boys decided to watch a movie to spend some more time together. Halfway through the movie, Kokichi's head rests on Shuichi's shoulder, his eyes closed. The shorter boy fell asleep, and the taller boy couldn't help but blush, Kokichi looked so calm and peaceful in his sleep. Of course, Shuichi wasn't going to wake him so he soon drifted off to sleep himself. Once more, he was in his dreams. This time, he was in a room with... Himself? "When will you realize it?" Realize what? What were these dreams? Should Shuichi of continued to keep track of them? "Your only hurting yourself and others around you," the other Shuichi spoke in an emotionless voice. A blank expression plastered on his face, his gaze on Shuichi. What did this all mean? "You know he's not______, you know he's really _______, but some part of you wants to believe it's not true. When will you learn?" With that, the other Shuichi disappeared. Some of his words fuzzy and difficult to comprehend. These dreams were providing Shuichi with the answer to nothing. Whenever something important happened in the dream, it was always cut off. "You know I'm right, you have to accept it sooner or later" the other Shuichi then faded away, leaving Shuichi alone. Why did these dreams have to be in riddles? The detective needed to solve his major problem, but that's difficult to do when your unaware of what the problem is. Soon enough, Shuichi appeared somewhere else. He was in a room with... a hydraulic press... "Take a good look at the scene," the other Shuichi returned. It was Kokichi's death, he was reliving the blood and pain of the scene, and mostly the guilt. Shuichi wanted nothing more to just wake up, he didn't care if this was an important part of his dream. He didn't want to look at his boyfriend's dead body for even a second longer. Wake up Shuichi, just wake up! He still remained in his dream. "Tell me what you see," the other Shuichi didn't seem fazed by the scene before him, almost like he didn't care. He just stared at it blankly. Shuichi began to state the things he sees,"I see a hydraulic press. The blood spilling from Kokichi's body..." Tears started to spill, he couldn't bare it anymore. "That would make Kokichi what?" The other Shuichi tilted his head while waiting for his response. "Dead..." almost inaudible, Shuichi said the dreaded truth of the scene,  but it wasn't the truth in the real world, right? The other Shuichi hummed response while the real Shuichi finally snapped. He had pinned the other Shuichi to the ground, crying and demanding answers. "JUST TELL ME THE MEANING BEHIND THIS DREAM ALREADY! IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A WARNING? A PUNISHMENT FOR MY GUILT? ANSWER ME!" The other Shuichi simply smiled in replied and said "Your a detective, figure it out yourself!" With that, the dream ended. Shuichi finally woke up, it's still late at night so he tried to fall asleep again, this time he had a dreamless sleep.