Who We Were Before

An invitation

Kokichi looked a lot more stable once he started eating the toast Shuichi had prepared for the 2 of them, the blush on his cheeks gradually beginning to fade. The taller boy felt bad for teasing Kokichi so much but the look on the smaller boy's face had been priceless, he just couldn't pass up the opportunity. He had no idea where that burst of confidence had come from but it was entertaining for sure. Nonetheless he should probably start up a conversation before things got even more awkward.

"So Miu's house for a sleepover tonight?" He wasn't sure if the words were more of a question or a statement. Nonetheless, he was curious about what exactly Miu had wanted.

Kokichi's eyes lit up as they met Shuichi's, all traces of embarrassment gone from his face as if the moment had never happened.

"Yup! Apparently Rantaro is planning on throwing a part for everyone in a few days so Miu recommended our little group have a sleepover so we can fill you in on some things you'll need to know before we face everyone again. As you can probably guess, those who made it later into the game still aren't too fond of me. Miu, Gonta, Kaede and Kirumi have all done a really good job at defending me, but now that everyone's out, it's gonna be even more difficult."

Shuichi shot him an understanding expression. "Because now that Maki and Himiko are back, they're going to try and convince everyone that you're dangerous. Is that what you're getting at?"

Kokichi nodded, his face becoming solemn. "Exactly. I'm not too worried about Kiiboy or Tsumugi, neither of them were particularly awful to me but Murdergirl and Magician are a different story. It would be a dream come true if they both had my back, since you 3 are survivors and the others almost look up to you in a way, but I know that out of everyone it could've been, they were probably the worst 2 options to make it to see my grand plan fail. And both of them have connections. Tenko and Angie were both close to Himiko so they'll both listen to her and Kaito will listen to Maki so I'll lose what support I had from him as well. As far as protection goes, once Maki comes back..." he couldn't even finish his sentence as he choked up.

"...it's possible she may actually try to attack you." He nodded again, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. Shuichi reached across the table to rest his hand on one of Kokichi's. The smaller boy looked up at him with a shocked expression, pink lightly dusting his cheeks as the bluenette smiled and laced their fingers together.

"Don't worry. As long as I'm by your side I won't let her hurt you. Or let anyone hurt you for that matter. You've been through so much already the least they can do is hear you out."

Kokichi mumbled a small thank you as Shuichi pulled his hand away. His smile returned to his face as he dug into his breakfast once more which made the taller boy chuckle.

"So is there anything I should know about the others before I meet with them tonight? I already know all their injuries but is there anything else? Any topics to steer clear of?"

"Well for starters, a general rule of thumb around any of the killing game participants is to not mention the killing game at all so you don't bring back any traumatic memories. So of course we immediately yeeted that rule out a second story window!"

Shuichi nearly choked on his water from the nonchalant statement.

"Nishishi yeah it may sound weird, but honestly, none of us really see the point in pretending it never happened. It's as much as a part of our life as any other and much like anything else, it's something we have to overcome together. Honestly none of us really mind joking around about stuff that happened as long as nobody shows any signs of discomfort. After all, if you can't laugh at your own trauma, how are you supposed to heal?"

He...does have a point I suppose.

"Honestly I agree," Shuichi responded almost immediately. "Yes it was a horrible experience and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy but you're right. We can either let it control us, or we can make the conscious decision to overcome it together."