Artifice - The Copycat Killer

Chapter 4: Of Explorers And Pianists

Morning came and Kokichi was cuddled up to Shuichi so snug the detective was almost reluctant to get up. He was snoring softly and drooling all over his white top, but Shuichi didn't mind. He thought Kokichi's sleeping face was cute but, unlike his shameless boyfriend who was happy to stare, he didn't want to seem like a creep, so whenever he felt like Kokichi may wake up he looked away.

Making an effort to keep his movements to a jolt-making minimum, he retrieved his phone from under his pillow. There was a message from Kyoko waiting for him telling him to meet her at the café at nine.

It was almost time, but he didn't want to go. That would mean waking Kokichi up from his peaceful slumber and disrupting how quiet and relaxed his entire form was - eyelids still, lips slightly parted, hair sprawled out across his shoulder - Kokichi looked so angelic when he was sleeping. An astronomical contrast to who he was when he was conscious. Shuichi didn't want to take his eyes off of him.

"I know you're staring at me," came a mumble, "I'm just too cute, aren't I?"

Shuichi shoved Kokichi off gently and pressed his face into his hands with an embarrassed groan.

Kokichi rolled over onto his side. "It's OK, Shu. You can keep looking if you want."

"Shut up, you're evil," Shuichi said, getting up to get dressed. "I'm going out in a bit. Is there anything you want for breakfast before I leave?"

He put a finger to his chin as he watched his boyfriend remove his shirt. "Well maybe there's one thing..."

"Yeah?" Shuichi could recognise that tone of voice anywhere. He held his breath to brace himself.

"OK, so I want a stack of pancakes absolutely drowned in syrup, and not the cheap stuff! I want the nice stuff we got from that fancy restaurant we went to that one time. Oh! Oh! And I want olives and sliced mangos and some buttered bread and a bit of salsa! But not together, that's just gross. Oh yeah, I want some cheesy fries too, like the mozzarella ones and uh, onion rings but I don't want the onions, just the rings. And..." He continued his list of demands until Shuichi wisely evacuated the bedroom. "Hey! Where are you going? I'm not done!"

"Cereal is in the cupboard!" Shuichi called back.

"I'll put the milk in first! And I'll microwave it!"

"Please don't." He promptly shut the door behind him as he made his leave for the café.

It was only ten minutes later he burst through the doors of the homely café, warm and busy. In the corner of the room Shuichi could see Rantaro and Kyoko. He hurried to join them.

"Morning!" the explorer beamed, "Kyoko bought you coffee, here, you should thank her." He slid the mug over to him.

Shuichi returned the smile. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," she hummed dismissively. She passed the conversation back over to Rantaro.

"OK, so now that you're here we can start. It's sort of a long story," he said, "but every word I'm about to say is true. I was out one night on my yacht looking for an eighth sea when I got caught up in the midst of a devastating storm. The rain was merciless, the wind was harsh and the waves were choppy. Suddenly I was thrown overboard into the cold, treacherous clutches of the sea. When I regained consciousness I found myself washed up on a beach I didn't recognise. At first I thought I was stranded so I decided to search for help. I soon found myself lost in a forest of palm trees but I continued walking to find a way out, until I came across a shady group lurking amidst the green. I thought maybe they could help me, until it was clear what they were doing. I tried to leave as quietly as possible, but they saw me and chased me out. I escaped, luckily, by sneaking on a boat leaving the port and I was able to return home. Now they want me dead because I saw something I shouldn't have."