different | pregame saiouma

4

we arrived, and ouma went straight to the place where the drinks were. i saw him grab at least three pantas before walking to a snack aisle.

i decided to get peanut butter rice cakes since it's the best flavour (take it from the author) and some sweets.

the short boy came up to me with five pantas and... a small piece of pie, yuba, and dipping sauce. that was surprising- actual food. i was happy it was kokichi buying it though!

we put our things on the counter and the person working scanned our items. i offered to pay and did, then we took our stuff and headed back.

when we went inside, i sat down at the table with my bag of food and took out the rice cakes. kokichi did the same, except with yuba and sauce.

'so you got some food?' i asked, although the answer was obvious. 'shuichi.....' he said my name whilst closing the fridge of panta.

'do you think i have an eating disorder?' wait, does he not? i was sure this boy did- 'uh.. i don't know.' 'i just.. forget to eat often, that's all. and when i do remember, i'm usually not hungry.' he clarified.

ah. i understood that. i forgot to eat every once in a while. '...back then, it was more severe, but i'm better now.' he continued, tasting the food.

eventually, we both finished. i ate everything i bought, and ouma ate all but the piece of pie, so he put it in the fridge.

the boy had told me his problem with eating was "more severe back then". now i was very curious as to what he was like back then, since my friends warned me of his sadness, etc.

i excused myself to go to the washroom so that i could ask my friends about this issue.

shuichi: guys
keebo: you texting before us. that's a first 😀
kaede: you're right, keebo.. what's up shuichi?
shuichi: can you guys please tell me what kokichi was like back then?
kaede: WHY, DID HE DO SOMETHING?
shuichi: NO 🤦‍♂️ i'm just curious since i'm beginning to learn more about him
kaede: hm ok. well there was just a rumour going around about his parents abusing him since he was always bruised and then he disappeared for a few days. when he came back he was just kinda rude to some people and didn't talk much.
keebo: bro wrote a whole book
kaede: KEEBO I SWEAR...
keebo: ROBOPHOBIC
shuichi: well thanks for the information. gotta go for now
keebo: bye shuichi!
kaede: bye shu

i understood everything other than ouma randomly disappearing and... being rude? how could he be mean to anyone? it didn't seem like him.

i didn't want to come out out of nowhere and ask him about it; maybe he'd tell me after a while. suddenly, i heard a knock on the door.

'hey saihara, are you okay in there?' ouma asked. 'i'm fine, sorry, i'll be out there in a second.' i waited for the sound of footsteps to disappear before leaving.

i entered the living room and no one was there. maybe he was in his bedroom. i entered what looked like one and was correct.

the short boy was sitting on his bed. his room was somewhat dark and a little messy (less messy than mine) and the walls were a dark grey.

for the remainder of the next few hours, we talked about random things and watched danganronpa. before i had to leave, i attempted to say goodbye, but.....

kokichi had fallen asleep on me.

fuck. this relationship was moving really fast. i wasn't complaining at all, but still- it was unexpected. suddenly, i got a text from my mother.

mother: shuichi, will you be home soon?

i guess i had to be now.

shuichi: i'll be back in a few minutes

i took a look at the boy in my lap for a minute before kissing his forehead and slowly getting up, trying not to wake him.

luckily i didn't, and i went to the front door and unlocked it, then made my way back home for the night.

being next to kokichi was one of the best experiences i'd had in a while.