"...What am I even doing?"
Shuichi mumbled those words under his breath as he sat down in the courtyard grass. It was the middle of the night, but even after doing some training with Kaito and Maki, he couldn't bring himself to fall asleep. He was definitely exhausted, but it was like his body refused to let itself relax.
Even as he lay back in the grass to stare up at the vast, star-filled sky, Shuichi was keenly aware of just how much he was shivering. It was like someone was running ice up his back, and no amount of blankets could keep himself from trembling this badly. Perhaps it was the adrenaline from the exercise, but with how much stress this entire ordeal has been on him, physically, mentally, and emotionally, Shuichi wouldn't be surprised if his body was nearing a breaking point.
Shuichi tried taking deep breaths to calm himself down, but the shuddering caused him to take sudden gasps of air. He vaguely wondered if Maki and Kaito would be awake to help talk him down, but he quickly stifled the idea.
"Don't even bother Shuichi." He told himself under his breath. "They're probably asleep by now, and don't deserve to be woken up at this hour." Seeing as the open air wasn't helping him at all and his thoughts were just getting worse, Shuichi shifted to stand up, about to head back inside and try and force himself to sleep.
Almost immediately after he turned around, a sudden glare of light shone directly in his face. It was impeccably bright and scared him half to death that he fell back onto the grass.
"I swear I didn't break the rules!" Shuichi yelled as he covered his eyes, swearing he thought he was in trouble with the Monokubs. Or worse, Monokuma.
"Shuichi?"
The light that shone on his face immediately shut off and Shuichi blearily opened his eyes. Heavy rapid footsteps made their way over to where he was, but they weren't as large and threatening as the Exisals. And thankfully they weren't the soft footsteps of the stuffed bears either. Then, just what in the world was that?
His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness again as he saw none other than Kiibo standing next to him, offering a hand to help him up. His eyes faintly shone a light shade of blue as they stared down at him. Normally, it would be terrifying to see glowing eyes staring down at him in the middle of the night, but Shuichi felt oddly calmed by the sight of the Ultimate Robot. Shuichi gratefully took the robot's hand and pulled himself back up to stand. His heart was still racing from the borderline heart attack he just had, but at the very least, he was in good company.
"I'm sorry Shuichi, I thought I heard something out here." Kiibo apologized. "What are you doing up?"
Shuichi gave a weak laugh under his breath. "Thought some night air would help me get to sleep. Now I'm even more wide awake than before."
Kiibo seemed to take notice of Shuichi's shuddering, bringing a free hand to rest on the Ultimate Detective's back as they turned to head inside.
"This is unfortunate. I was going to say some tea would help, but the dining hall is closed during nighttime..." Kiibo thought aloud. Shuichi nodded. He had the same realization earlier, and noted to himself to keep a stash of tea and a hot water dispenser in his dorm for the future.
"It's okay Kiibo, I think I just need to lie down."
"Shuichi, I understand that you want to handle this on your own, but I don't feel comfortable leaving you like this." Kiibo argued.
