Refrain

Piqued

Kiibo had always been naturally observant. He would never consciously try to get into people's business, but sometimes he would find himself paying heed to the tiniest details, ones that others wouldn't even bat an eyelash at. This trait of his wasn't necessarily a bad thing, however, he wasn't sure what to make of his current predicament.

Ouma had always struck out as an odd fellow to him. Even at their first meeting, he did nothing but tease and make fun of Kiibo for being a robot. He would ask inappropriate questions, and generally fool around seemingly without a care in the world. He had previously thought that this was the epitome of his strangeness, but he would've never expected him to be such a far cry from normal.

He was only walking down the hallway towards the dining room - nothing unusual. It was morning and he was required to show up for breakfast. As he made his way, he noticed someone near the end, crouching in front of a tall metal pole. He recognized the all white attire as belonging to Ouma.

He was perched low on the ground, looking as if he were hiding from something. Kiibo nearly didn't question it, walking past him as if he hadn't seen anything. Turning the corner though, caused him to see what exactly Ouma was fixated on.

There were other people in the room, but the short boy's gaze seemed to be set on one space in particular. Saihara was at the far corner, having a lively conversation with Akamatsu. He saw the girl making a whole lot of hand movements, animatedly talking about whatever it was she was interested in. Kiibo was too far away to hear them properly.

Somewhere in the middle, Saihara interjected with his own statement. Akamatsu giggled at this, suddenly grabbing his palm and placing her hand on top. Saihara began sputtering, his cheeks going red in what he assumed to be embarrassment-

CRACK. A loud noise interrupted his observation. Kiibo turned around, looking for the source of the disturbance. Just as he was about to head back, he heard someone call his name.

"Kiibo-kun? What are you doing?" Shirogane called to him. He was startled, not noticing her there before.

"Oh, Shirogane-san. I think I might've forgotten something, so I'm going back to my room." He came up with a lie from the top of his head, hoping it would deter her of any suspicion.

"Hm, I see. We'll be waiting!" She waved to him, heading back to the cafeteria.

Kiibo let out a sigh. He turned back to the hallway, walking towards the pole. Ouma wasn't there anymore, a sizeable crack in the metal taking his place. There was an indentation in the hard material, and if one looked close enough they could see the grooves of someone's fingers.

He figured that this was where the loud noise came from. Did Ouma do this? And how much strength did he have to actually dent a giant metal pole? He paled with horror at this frightful realization.

Or at least, he would if he could. Deciding that there was nothing he could do at the moment, he went into the cafeteria to join the others.

- - -

"Alright, is everyone here?" Akamatsu stood at the front of the table. Her stance was reminiscent of a teacher taking attendance.

She garnered sounds of affirmation. The people who were tired from waking up in the morning muttered quietly, while the more energetic people flailed their arms around to get her attention. Akamatsu still did a quick scan of the room to make sure.

"...Ouma-kun is missing?" She asked out loud, puzzled by the boy's absence. He was usually late, but he'd never outright skip a morning meeting.

"Maybe he got killed?" Angie blurted out.

Shirogane froze, "Please, don't say such things!"

"But it might be true. The killing game just started, so a murder is going to happen soon. That's what god is telling me!"

"Well, we don't know if he's actually in any danger or not." Akamatsu started, sweat dropping at Angie's usual antics. "So can anyone go check if Ouma-kun is in his room?"

Kiibo suddenly stood from his seat, "I will."

"Huh? But weren't you there earlier?" Shirogane piped up, taking her attention off of Angie.

"Y-Yes, but I didn't look much at his room. I promise I'll be quick!"

Akamatsu nodded her head, "Okay Kiibo-kun, please go look for Ouma-kun."

He left the dining room after she sent him off, wiping the sweat from his face. He had caught Shirogane's eyes narrow at him in doubt, and quickly turned around so he wouldn't have to be under her discerning gaze any longer. She might've been even more observant than he was.

He wondered why he had volunteered to check on Ouma. Perhaps he was still curious about the incident in the dining hall. He passed by the metal pole just then, shivering from the ominous aura that seemed to emit from it. He quickly made his way down the hall so he wouldn't keep his friends waiting, and to get away from the pole.

Luckily for him, the boy's room was right beside his, so it was easy to find. Climbing the stairs, he headed to the left of his door where Ouma's room was. He noticed that his door was slightly ajar, but rang the doorbell anyway.

"Ouma-kun! Are you in there?" He yelled, knowing that he would be able to hear him through the door's crack. "Ouma-kun?"

After a few minutes of waiting, he reached for the doorknob. He was about to go in, until the door began opening itself.

"I'm here, I'm here." Ouma stepped out, closing the door behind him. He looked completely normal. "Geez Kiiboard, no need to scream for me. Did you want to see me that badly?"

"N-No, I was sent here to look for you. Did you forget about our morning meeting?!" Kiibo pointedly asked.

"I didn't forget."

"Then why-"

"I was taking a shower," Ouma interrupted, putting his hands behind his head. He began walking down the stairs, "I just wanted to freshen up before eating breakfast!"

Kiibo followed him, frowning at the obvious lie. There's no way he could've taken a shower with the short time between being in the hallway and going back to his room. And if he really wanted to get ready, why didn't he do it before coming out?

Still, he decided not to ask him anything. He wanted to learn if what he saw was just an illusion or misunderstanding.

He let his thoughts and questions float around in his mind for the rest of the day.