Let's make a deal - {Mastermind Shuichi Saihara x Kokichi Ouma}

Uncertainty |Chapter 10|

|~ Maki Harukawa ~|

Kaito returned to me in the courtyard without Shuichi. He sighed and shook his head.

"He's not comin' out. Says he's really tired and isn't up for training tonight." Kaito groaned. I let out a breath.

"Something's going on with him. This is suspicious." I murmured. Kaito stared in the direction of the dorms, thinking.

"Y'know, he's been hanging out with Kokichi a lot recently..." He spoke up. I turned to him. "Yeah, he has. Is something going on with them?" I asked.

"I dunno, but maybe... ugh, I don't even wanna say it..." He pinched the bridge of his nose. I raised an eyebrow. "Maybe we should... start inviting Kokichi to train with us..." He groaned.

I froze up. I didn't want to have to spend more time than necessary with that brat, but we might be able to figure out what's been going on if we do. I sighed.

"Fine."

"Huh?"

"Let's do it."

|~ Kokichi Ouma ~|

I yawned as I woke up. There was something warm holding me. I opened my eyes and saw Shuichi with his arms wrapped around my torso. I attempted to wiggle out of his grip and he just pulled me back down.

"Stay." He groaned, his face nuzzling into my hair. I sighed, holding onto his arms. He was thin, but damn he had a strong grip.

"Shu, we need to get up."

He froze. He was silent.

I glanced in his direction. "Shuichi? Are you okay?"

He snapped out of whatever trance he was in and shook his head. "Ah... yeah, I'm fine. Sorry." He removed his arms and I sat up. I stretched out my arms and I felt the weight on the bed shift a little as Shuichi sat up as well.

As I slid out of the bed, I heard Shuichi speak behind me. "I'm going to go get you some of your clothes. You can use my bathroom while I'm gone if you need to." I nodded and slipped into the bathroom.

After locking the door, I leaned on the sink to let myself properly process what happened last night. Shuichi comforted me, and we cuddled. He kissed me...

Unconsciously, my hand wandered to hover on my mouth. Last night felt so comforting... I felt so safe... I felt... happy. Shuichi promised me my friends are safe. I smiled a little.

As long as Shuichi is alive, they'll be safe. As long as Shuichi is alive, I'll be safe. My fingers tapped on my upper lip. A knock at the bathroom door interrupted my thoughts.

"'Kichi, I got you a few sets of your clothes."

I clicked open the door. He handed me one of the sets and I saw two more folded on his bed. I smiled. "Thanks, Shu." He blushed and got a weird look on his face.

"... Shu..." he whispered. I blushed a little and rolled my eyes. Getting on my tip-toes, I lightly flicked his nose. "You dork, it's just a nickname."

He snapped out of his trance and chuckled a little bit. I set the clothes on the bathroom counter. "I'm gonna take a shower if that's okay," I said. He nodded.

"I'll be in the dining hall, see you there." He pulled me in and kissed my cheek right next to my eye. I smiled and instinctively wrapped my arms around his torso.

"See you there," I said before letting go of him. He waved and left his dorm. I let out a hum as I released a breath. Somehow, the fact he was the mastermind didn't bother me as much anymore.

It's definitely a bad situation, but... he doesn't lack empathy, he cares a lot about me and cares about my friends because of that.

I started the shower as I undressed. I guess my feelings about Shuichi are pretty conflicted.

|~ Shuichi Saihara ~|

Once I arrived in the dining hall, Kaito immediately came up to me with Maki in tow.

"Shuichi! We've noticed that you haven't been coming to training as often, so to encourage you, we have a proposition!" He said, grinning. I sighed.

"Okay... what exactly is your proposition then?" I asked. Maki sighed and rolled her eyes.

"We've agreed that if it'll motivate you to come to training, then we will invite Kokichi too! You two seem to get along pretty well, and we're willing to tolerate him if it helps you!" Kaito exclaimed. He held out his hand for a handshake.

"Whaddya say?"

I thought for a moment. If I agreed, then Kokichi and I wouldn't be able to have the same little dates as last night with just the two of us. On the other hand, I'll be able to spend time with him every night, plus, Kaito and Maki might start to like him more.

I smiled and took his hand. "Sure, that sounds good." Kaito grinned and roughly shook my hand to the point I thought he might rip it off.

"Great! I'll tell him as soon as he gets here!"

I sighed and sat down. As Maki and Kaito chatted and bickered, I let myself think. I wondered how Kokichi would react to this.

My mind began to wander and I began to imagine how Kokichi would look during training. I felt my face heat up at the mental image and I dug into my breakfast, in hopes that nobody would notice.

I hope he says yes...

Word count: 910