What if it Repeated? (Oumasai/Saiouma)

Chapter 22- A Different Side

The night had ended better than he could have hoped. By the time they had decided that staying out any later would look suspicious, Shuuichi felt somewhat lighter. It hadn't taken long before they had completely abandoned their important discussion of the mastermind's motivation for this challenge and delved into a more lighthearted and joyful chatter about who knows what.

It was surprising how well the three of them had become closer these last couple of days. Even though Kokichi and Miu often threw what seemed to be foul languaged banter at each other they both seemed surprisingly cheerful despite it. What was more, was that Kokichi had cornered him later when the three of them had bid each other goodnight to ask him to meet him at 5:00 outside his dorm room. Shuuichi hadn't managed to get anything else out of the boy except another hasty grin and a goodnight. He was apprehensive about going, not knowing what Kokichi might have planned, but he found himself waiting outside the door as requested a couple minutes early.

He had just met with Kaito who had handed him over the book Monokuma had given him begrudgingly.
"I dunno what that bear's done to it," is what he had said during the exchange. He was early so he had some time to peruse the book. The cover didn't look to special, not even a title. Curiously he flicked through the pages and stopped somewhere in the middle. It seemed like an ordinary book except everything it contained was related to scientific fields based around... he gasped. This was what he and kaito had been looking for the entire time. For Monokuma to give Kaito what they had been wanting was extremely suspicious.

He flicked to a different page and stared. The whole page consisted of in depth instructions. He nearly dropped the book as he scanned the contents. Everything they needed was written in this book. His heart beat seemed to pick up drastically. This couldn't be real. The mastermind had planted this. There was no possible way it was real. If the mastermind had wanted him to have this book the only logical explanation was the whole thing was an extremely elaborate prank designed to make him slip up.

At this point in time it was probably best to keep the book to himself. If it was an attempt to disrupt the invention he didn't want the other two to think it was the real deal. It looked pretty real to him so he wouldn't doubt the others for questioning if it wasn't actually factual.

"Sai. Ha. Ra!" A flock of purple hair crept into his vision from below and poked him softly. Shuuichi jumped and nearly dropped the book on the head of the perpetrator, but managed to keep the book from falling by the tips of his fingers. How had Kokichi managed to sneak up on him so easily? "Is that the book Kaito was meant to give you?" The boy asked his eyes still sparkling from the thrill of scaring Shuuichi. Shuuichi nodded, turning the book over in his hands to show the boy.

"I'll look at it more later." He saw Kokichi's eyes follow the book as he brought the book behind his back and out of the way. He shouldn't show him the contents of it yet. "What did you have to tell me?" Kokichi's eyes flicked back up to him in an instant.
"More of a question really. Well anyways,  I feel we got off to a bad start so I wanted to start over maybe." A bad start? Kokichi had seemed kind of cold the first time they had met and the few days preceding that. But could that really be considered a 'bad start'? Shuuichi's confusion must have shown on his face because Kokichi continued, "I could tell you were annoyed by me, soooo do over? Maybe?"

Shuuichi let out a breath and frowned. So that's what he had meant. He thought Shuuichi had been annoyed by him? Was that why he was so cold to him from the beginning? Why hadn't he said anything? He would have refuted that instantly.
"I'm not annoyed by you..." he felt a tinge of heat lick at his cheeks as he said it. There was no reason for him to be flustered by simply saying that. He had said far worse in the past without so much as batting an eye. Kokichi quirked an eyebrow, eyes surveying him closely.
"Really? Whelp! I still want to start over!"