{HIATUS} You're Perfect for Me" // A Saiouma Story

4 - The Detective's Journal

I walk down the school hallways beaming because of the nurse's approval of my request to leave school. While everyone else is in class, I'm about to be on my way home. Something about that makes me feel like smiling.

I decided that I'd explain the situation to Kaede and Tsumugi before leaving. I could just text them, but I really don't want to distract them from class with full-on text conversations. I simply asked if I could meet them outside after their classes ended to talk to them, and they eagerly agreed. I'm happy that they're willing to hear me out after I disappeared without warning or reason.

As I wait for them to get out of class, I begin to rummage in my backpack, looking for something to occupy me while I'm outside. After a few moments of feeling around, I pull out one of my most prized possessions: my journal. It was gifted to me by my uncle Makoto for my last birthday and I've been writing in it almost every day ever since. Inside its pages lie my greatest desires, darkest secrets, and most intense emotions. I take my journal with me everywhere so I can capture my feelings right in the moment.

There's also normal diary entries, I guess.

I flip through the book and open to the first clean page I see. I start to write about my day, my surroundings, and the encounter I had with Kokichi earlier. Something about him intrigued me, and I just had to document that feeling. The last time I felt so curious was...

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The bell chimes loudly and students start to flood into the hallways and courtyard, hurrying to their next classes or searching for their friend group. I spot Kokichi among the crowd, and an impulse surges inside of me. Something makes me want to approach him again...

"H-Hey!" I shout after gaining enough courage to do so. "It's Kokichi, right? Thank you for checking in with me earlier." I smile awkwardly, but he doesn't even meet my eyes.

"I wasn't checking in with you," he says harshly, continuing to walk in the other direction. My face flushes with embarrassment. This conversation is not going as expected...!

Usually a response that cold would shut me down completely, but I still felt strangely determined. "Really...? Then why did you leave the bathroom immediately after talking to me?"

Kokichi's eyes widen, but he quickly masks his surprise. He lifts his eyes to meet mine and smiles widely. "I was lying~! I did go in to check on you. You just looked so sad when you left class!" He giggles childishly and grasps my hands suddenly. He leans in close, never breaking eye contact. "You're all better now, right?"

Ignoring my quickly reddening face, I muster out a response. "Y-Yeah!"

Kokichi, satisfied with my answer, pulls back happily. "Good! Then smile~!" I obliged, sending him a small smile.

"We're here, Shu!" Kaede calls to me, running up to me with Tsumugi by her side. I turn to say goodbye to Kokichi, but he vanished once again. "Is anything wrong? Is there anything we can do to help?"

"T-Thank you for worrying," I say. "I'll be okay. I'm going to head home early, so if you need anything please text me-"

"We should be saying that to you!" Tsumugi pouts. "Don't hesitate to ask us for help!"

"I won't," I smile. "Thank you! Oh, and could you tell me if there's any homework later?"

"Of course! Take care of yourself!" The two wave as they begin to head to their next class.

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Time skip:
10:14 a.m.
┕━━━━━━━☝︎━━━━━━━┙

When I arrive home, nobody's there. The bleak, lifeless interior of our home reeks of dread and nervousness even when nothing has happened. This feeling will always be here.

I head upstairs to my room and throw my bag onto the ground. There's still plenty of time before school lets out, so I should have plenty of time to myself for now. I take out my journal to update today's entry. I add my recent encounter with Kokichi while humming a tune. I make sure to draw a simple sketch of him so I won't forget what he looks like. Not that I would forget or anything... his flashy outfit and flamboyant (yet inconsistent) personality makes his voice linger in my mind.

After a few more hours of silence and relaxation, I hear the front door open. This must mean-

"Shuichi! Get down here!"

"Yes, Mom," I sigh. So much for peace.

"I just got off the phone with your school. They said you were sick," she explains as soon as I'm downstairs. "How long have you been home for?!"

"A few hours," I respond. "But I feel better now-"

"Did you work out when you got here? This wouldn't have been a problem if you were stronger," Mom interrupts. "You're so thin. Nobody will ever want to be with you if you look dead all the time."

I bite back a sarcastic "thanks" and simply nod. Arguing with her never ends well.

"Maybe you should talk to that green haired guy. He's so fit for his age!" she continues.

"He's an adventurer, Mom. He moves around a lot," I say.

Mom rolls her eyes. "If he can do it, you can too. I'm tired of seeing you looking so weak. It's embarrassing."

"Ah..." I say, feeling my heart sink. Mom finds any little thing to shame about Tsumugi and I. She'll look for our most minuscule flaws, and sometimes she'll just make things up on the spot to have an excuse to belittle us. Just like like she is right now. I'm not underweight at all, and I'd say I'm at least capable of defending myself. There's no reason for Mom to body-shame me or anyone else. But as much as I wanted to say that to her face, I simply muttered, "I'll work harder," before excusing myself to use the restroom. I stay there for several minutes, trembling as I wait for my mom to go away. Once I finally hear her retreating footsteps, I run upstairs to my room as quickly as possible. I don't want to face her again.

I don't understand why her words bother me so much. It's to the point where I'll avoid her for as long as I can just to go without hearing her insults. I shouldn't be doing that... we're family and we need to get along. Maybe she's just trying to help. That's what mothers are supposed to do, right?

Letting out a long sigh, I slump onto my bed and reach for my journal. This is going to be a long entry.

Word Count: 1124