Daffodils

Chapter 2

Kokichi woke up under Kaito's thick blanket and laying in his firm mattress. Kokichi struggled to get up, falling back to a push against his chest. "Stay down, Kokichi!"

"Kaede, what if he throws up again! He'll choke!"

"Gah-! KOKICHI GET UP-!"

Kokichi groaned, getting up. "Stop yelling, piano freak... god..." he muttered, sitting up.

His eyes widened as he realized who he was talking to. "WHA- KAEDE?! SHUICHI?! WHAT'RE YOU EVEN DOING HERE?!"

"Kaito told us everything! We were so worried for you!" She said, taking Kokichi's hands in hers. "How're you doing?"

Kokichi yanked his hands away quickly, glaring at the astronaut who sat in a chair beside the bed, sleeping soundly. "I'm fine."

Kaede hummed in response, obviously not believing him. Shuichi sat beside Kokichi, his heart beating much faster as he tried to calm himself down. "Kokichi," he started, "who is it?"

"What? Who's who?"

Shuichi sighed. "Do you know who triggered your Hanahaki?"

Kokichi's gaze flashed towards Kaede, shooting back to Shuichi and back to her. "No."

"Stop lying, Kokichi!"

He rolled his eyes, stepping out of bed and grabbing his phone as he began to walk out of the room, eyes glued to the screen. "Why should I tell you anyway?" He asked, walking into the kitchen and stealing a cold pork bun from the fridge, putting it on a paper towel and tossing it into the microwave.

"Because we might be able to help!" Kaede said, Shuichi in tow. "If we can get you to confess to this person, maybe they'll say yes and you can-"

"Trust me, hun, you don't want that." He said as the microwave began beeping.

Before he could take the few steps back to the microwave, Shuichi grabbed his arm, pulling him away from his warmed-up goods. "Kokichi, we just want to help!"

"Well, maybe I don't want your help! Ever consider that?!" He screamed, yanking his arm away.

A door opened at the end of the hall with a loud creak. "Is everything okay out here?" Asked Kaito's grandmother in her soft, higher pitched voice.

Kokichi bowed respectfully, Shuichi and Kaede following suit. "Yes, everything's alright, Mrs. Momota!"

She smiled. "Well, you two are always welcome to stay for dinner."

Shuichi and Kaede looked at each other, then at the time on Kaede's piano key watch. "Sorry, we have a reservation already!" Kaede said sincerely.

When Kaito's grandma left, they both turned to Kokichi again. "Look, it's okay if you don't want our help but at least let us know just in case we see an opportunity to make this better before the surgery, okay?" Kaede begged.

Kokichi, in the middle of grabbing the pork bun out of the microwave, threw it to a floor in a fit of anger. "Fine!" He yelled, jabbing Shuichi in the chest with his index finger. "I like you! I have for the longest time but for the Ultimate Detective, you're insanely dense!!" He turned to Kaede, "and I didn't want to tell him because I didn't want to make things awkward between us but here we are!" He yelled, stomping on the food. "NOW LEAVE ME ALONE."

He stomped out of the house, slamming the door behind him. It was then that Kaito ran out of his room, bed head worse than usual and drool running down his face. "What happened?!" He asked, half dazed.