Memories Can Be Deceiving

Chapter 11

Kokichi had spent the past week bouncing back and forth between Kage and Kaito's dorms, as well as hanging out with Miu and Kiibo. Who'd have guessed he'd be so social?

Kaito had apologized to Kage in person, kissed their forehead, and promised that things could go back to normal soon. It brought Kage's spirits up, and they'd even sat together at lunch that morning. It was tense, but it was progress.

On Kokichi's side of things, Kaito's suggestion had been working. He'd become less nervous about showing him his arms, too, though the shame was still there. It kept him from doing anything that he knew he'd regret late at night after he felt his bones being crushed for the hundredth time.

He spent the morning and night with Kage. They still needed to be taken care of, and Kokichi understood. He did, too. Between lunch and dinner, he was with Kaito and evenings he spent with his friends. It was a good system, and it ensured that he got enough time with everyone he cared about. Being imprisoned in a hospital sucked, but he might as well use the time to be around people important to him. He'd become as much of a sap as Kage.

"Kai-Chan, what are we going to do today?" Kokichi clung onto his boyfriend's arm, grinning. Really, no matter who he was with, a lot of the time, they just watched TV or something. Having more people to do stuff with didn't increase the amount of stuff that could be done, unfortunately. Kage had started reading a lot while he was gone, but Kokichi couldn't focus long enough to get through a single page.

After his door was shut, Kaito held out his hands. Kokichi nodded and rolled up his sleeves, proving that he was clean, as was now a routine. Kaito ruffled his hair. "Good job, Kichi."

"Mhm! You know how I had another checkup yesterday? Well, they gave me some shots, so you should really kill them cause it hurt. But, anyway, my chance of getting a heart attack is down 50%!"

"That's awesome, man!" Kaito hugged him tight.

"Kaito, stop!" Kokichi gasped, heart rate spiking unexpectedly.

Kaito let go of him, holding his shoulders instead. "Woah there, calm down, Kichi. You're okay, I've got you. What's going on? Did I hurt something?"

"I-No, I don't think so. Nothing hurts." Kokichi leaned his head against Kaito's chest. "You just squeezed me too tight. It felt like I was getting crushed again. I dream about it every night, you know. It wasn't your fault, just dumb PTSD."

"Fuck, dude, I'm sorry." Kaito rubbed his back gently. "I won't squeeze ya so tight again. You okay now?"

"Mhm." Kokichi hugged Kaito loosely, which he copied. "I forget about it sometimes, but I guess I didn't this time. Makes me claustrophobic too, I don't like it. I probably won't ever get over it, really."

"That's just fine." Kaito stroked his hair. "Hey, I'm just glad you're alright now."

Kokichi wiggled out of his grip in favor of dropping himself on the bed, stretching as he lay on his back. "It is awesome, though, that I don't have to worry so much about dying. Especially since I do have such bad nightmares, I was worried for a while they'd be the death of me. But you can't get rid of me that easy!"

Kaito chuckled and sat beside Kokichi, who wiggled closer to have his head on Kaito's lap. "Glad to hear it. I see they finally gave you your clothes back. It's fucking stupid how long it took them to look through everything to make sure we weren't trying to bring in cameras or something."

"Ugh, yeah, like forgive me for wanting something other than my Danganronpa uniform or dumb white hospital clothes. I'll be damned if I was going to wear those any longer than necessary."

Kokichi had been a but surprised by his wardrobe, though. It wasn't that he didn't like it, of course, but it was outside the realm of what he tended to wear.