☆ opposites attract | saiouma fic ☆

twenty-one | truth

☆

"So, Shuichi, before I share my idea with you, I think we need to address the elephant in the room first. Kokichi's secret. Um... just how bad was it?" Kaede asked, her voice riddled with compassion.

She was giving Shuichi a rather sympathetic look. The air was now a bit tense in his room, but that was to be a bit expected given the circumstances. He'd just have to deal with it for now.

Shuichi winced. "I mean... I don't know the story in detail or anything, but my mom told me enough to give me an inkling, you know? Apparently, it was an act of revenge that got him expelled."

"So, like... he was a victim, and he got back at the person targeting him?"

"Exactly."

"Geez, he must've hurt that person bad to get expelled over it... but why would he want to hide something like that? It was only self defense, right? That's definitely not as bad as all of these made up rumors about him."

"I... I'm not entirely sure. But what should I do? I shouldn't just hide the fact that I found out, right?"

To that, Kaede vigorously shook her head. "Definitely don't hide it from him, okay? Just tell him up front. I know it's scary, but... you gotta do it. Seriously."

"Yeah... I'm just anxious. If he got mad at me, I don't think I could be able to handle it, you know?" Shuichi muttered sheepishly, beginning to tense up.

Upon hearing that, Kaede's sympathetic look faded into one of firmness. Gently, she took Shuichi's hands in hers. "You're overthinking it. Maybe he'd be irritated if it was anyone else, but it's you. He's taken a liking to you more than anybody else in the school, hasn't he? I'm sure that he'd know you didn't have any bad intentions."

Shuichi's face began to flush. "I... I guess you're right. Thank you, Kaede. I'll talk to him about it tomorrow."

"Good! I've got your back, okay? You can do it." She smiled reassuringly, giving his hands a gentle squeeze before slowly letting them go. "Now, you said you wanted to clear his name, right? I think I can help you with that."

"How so?"

"I know you don't do well with social gatherings, so you can always refuse this... but I was thinking that we could plan a hangout with our class? Usually we're always cooped up in a classroom, so this takes off the stress of work, and it could give everyone a better chance to get to know Kokichi! Tomorrow, we could even ask him to help us plan it if that'd make you more comfortable?" She offered.

Shuichi hesitated.

It didn't sound like a terrible idea, in fact, it was pretty solid, but still... there was a lot of room for disaster when planning a gathering for such a chaotic class. Another fight could easily happen.

But, on the other hand, if things ended up going according to plan and people did get to know Kokichi better, at least a few people would stop believing those rumors so easily.

...Plus, he knew how much Kaede loved things like this, so he didn't want to let her down either.

Weighing his options, he came to a conclusion.

"...Okay. Sure, we can do that." He nodded slowly.

Kaede let out a gasp of excitement, clapping her hands before giving Shuichi a big hug, which prompted the both of them to fall back down against the bed. "Yay! Thank you, Shuichi!"

"Kaede! Ouch, be careful..." He chuckled, letting out a small sigh of content before hugging her back.

But, as they laid there...

It kind of reminded him of the way Kokichi clung to him when they were napping together in the cabin yesterday. Was it weird of Shuichi to say he missed that feeling a little bit? It was warm, comfortable, and Kokichi's sleepy face was kind of... cute? Although, his face was pretty cute no matter what, wasn't it?

No.

He shouldn't think things like that. This is the second time already.

"Shuichi, you're super red. Are you okay? Did I hurt you? I guess I did get a little too excited just now... that's my bad!" Kaede steadily sat up, gently prodding Shuichi on the cheek with concern evident on her face.

"Huh? Oh, no! It's not your fault, Kaede!" Shuichi frantically shook his head, not even realizing his face had gotten red. "I was just lost in thought about something, I'm sorry."

Curiously, she raised an eyebrow. "Something? Or someone?"

"Ah- I- um..." He began to stammer, trying to think of something to say. "I... don't know?" He muttered, voice unstable, digging his grave deeper and deeper with every word.

"Wait... Shuichi, you haven't fallen for Kokichi already, have you? Please say no, I'm gonna owe Rantaro and Korekiyo so much money!"

"Kaede, I'm..." Shuichi began, and then paused. He blinked. "...You- you three were betting on this?!"

Kaede swiftly looked away, beginning to whistle and twirl her hair in an attempt to feign her innocence. "Ah... maybe? Just a little bit?"

Shuichi could only sigh.

He was far past the point of embarrassment right now.