Love and Lies [Saioumami]

I Need Help but Don't Comfort Me

I can't stop running, I have to keep going. Kokichi stumbled over his own two feet, running as fast as his legs would carry him throughout the academy. He watched as the disgusted faces of his peers caught up with him despite how far he ran. Having already tried to escape, Kokichi had found every exit useless, it was as if each door or window had been painted onto the wall.

Finding himself in a classroom, Kokichi slid underneath a desk next to the inner wall, panting and shaking in fear. He had no clue why his classmates were chasing him, a few even had knives and had attempted to kill him. I don't blame them, I'd kill me too, given the chance. "Kokichi?~" A voice sang as the boy watched two feet enter the room. Trying to stifle his cries, the boy slammed a hand over his mouth and nose. The desk above him flipped, Kiibo standing over the boy with a devilish grin on his face. "Found you!~"

"No please!" Kokichi screamed, scrambling to his feet and finding Shirogane, Gokuhara and Yumeno blocking the door. Frantically glancing around, he knew the only way to escape was through the wall of bloodthirsty students. Swallowing his fear, Kokichi rammed his tiny body into the trio, breaking through and dropping to the ground with a loud crack. Without any time to think, Kokichi started running, stumbling over himself as he pushed off the ground and ran down the hall.

He glanced behind him as he continued to run, slowing down to a jog when he noticed the deserted academy. A loud boom shook the ground, jump-starting Kokichi's adrenaline as he heard a crowd of footsteps running towards him. Terrified, the boy jumped to the nearest hiding space, a locker on the wall, and jumped inside, his claustrophobia screaming at him to leave the metal box. I don't remember the academy having these big lockers, but I'm safe here so I shouldn't complain.

Peeking through the slits in the metal, Kokichi watched his classmates run past him. Letting out a sigh of relief, the boy came to regret it as he heard shouting approach. A shadow blocked his view of the hallway before the locker thrust open, Kokichi collapsing to the ground. He looked at the shadow to see Harukawa glaring at him, the corners of her mouth upturned in a tiny, malevolent smirk. "Get away from me!" Kokichi screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice only coming out as a whisper. 

Flying to his feet, Kokichi continued sprinting, a blade ripping the sleeve of his shirt as he narrowly evaded the attack. Bolting up a flight of stairs, he noticed no one followed him from the first floor. He continued sprinting down the neverending hallway, with no doors available for him to run inside, and no objects to hide inside or defend himself. Running for hours, he skidded to a stop, a wall blocking his path.

Turning around to run back down the hallway, Kokichi bumped into Shuichi. The entire class stood in a row, blocking off the only exit Kokichi had. Kokichi kicked and screamed as Rantaro and Shuichi each grabbed one of the smaller's arms, dragging him towards the wall. Upon the roof, a noose hung over an ordinary classroom chair.

Kokichi wondered where the noose and chair came from, as he hadn't seen anything in the empty hallway earlier, but that thought soon fizzled out as Rantaro and Shuichi tied his hands behind his back. Everyone threw insults at the supreme leader as his body lifted into the air. Rantaro and Shuichi forced the boy's head into the noose, his feet resting on the chair. He watched in horror as his soulmates grinned at him, kicking the chair from underneath him.

~~~

Kokichi jumped up in his bed screaming, sitting in a pool of sweat as he panted and attempted to calm down, realising he only had a nightmare. Looking around the room, he familiarised himself with his basement to calm his overactive mind, but it wasn't enough. I should talk to someone, who's awake right now? Shuichi never sleeps, I'll try to call him.

Sniffing and wiping away the tears from his cheeks, Kokichi turned on the lamp at his bedside to locate his phone. With shaking hands, he opened up his contacts and found Shuichi, pressing the button to call the other boy. "Kokichi? What's going on?" Woah, he has an amazing sleepy voice.

"Nothing!~" Kokichi felt bad about waking the boy up but needed an excuse to call him.

"It's two in the morning, are you alright?"

"Perfectly fine Shumai!~ I'm just being my annoying self! Nishishi!" Kokichi grinned, staring at his ceiling.

"What's wrong? Are you in danger?" Shuichi's voice rose in fear and desperation.

"Nope! Just wanna piss you off!" In some strange manner, Kokichi felt calmer just talking to the boy, Shuichi's voice chasing away his fear from the nightmare.

"Whatever's happening, I'm here to help Kokichi. Everything's okay, take deep breaths and focus on yourself. You're here, alive and breathing okay?" Listening to Shuichi's words of wisdom and comfort, Kokichi sighed, smiling to himself as he brought his knees to himself. The nightmare was a thing of the past now, all anxiety and horror the dream caused had diminished.

"Thanks Shuichi, I'm gonna sleep now, night-night!" Kokichi cheered, hanging up the call and putting his phone to the side, turning off the lamp again as he curled up underneath his doona. The happiness from hearing Shuichi's voice in a time of need brought a warm, fuzzy feeling to Kokichi's chest as he fell into a comfortable sleep.

~💙/💜/💚~

Kokichi searched the academy grounds for his girlfriend before school started, finding her and Kirigiri talking in the courtyard. "Hey, Celestia, we need to talk, now."

"Hello Kokichi, what seems to be the matter?"

"Your mum took me out yesterday to talk. I might've told her about the actual situation and it turns out she had no idea about us. Your dad lied to her and said I forced us into it to de-gay you, she had no idea." Kokichi kept his voice low, knowing only Celestia and Kirigiri could hear him. "She also might know about you two, but she accepts you! I'm so sorry I realise I shouldn't have let her find out about-"

"Kokichi. Stop talking." Celestia took his hand in hers, smiling as they locked eyes. "She's already spoken to me and everything is perfectly fine. Kyoko and I wanted to tell her the truth soon anyway."

"Thank God," Kokichi smiled, preparing to continue the conversation before Shuichi and Rantaro barged into it.

"Kokichi, are you feeling alright after last night?" Shuichi asked, putting a hand on his shoulder before realising the situation. "Oh, sorry, did we interrupt something?"

"Not at all, what happened last night?" Kirigiri questioned the three.

"Just me calling in the middle of the night to be annoying, nishishi!~"

"Oh, Kokichi, are your parents in jail after what happened?" Rantaro asked, referencing the hospital visit. Kokichi kept a grin on his face to hide the pain, knowing his story had to change in the situation. During the time in hospital, Kokichi had found out that his classmates had filed a domestic abuse report against his parents on his behalf.

"Nope. They paid a few people off and got the investigation dropped. Don't fight my battles for me and this won't happen." Kokichi's grin turned into an entitled 'I told you so' expression. Unfortunately, the boy wasn't lying as usual, but luckily he'd weaselled out of punishment by manipulating his parents into believing the investigation was only a precaution for him ending up in hospital under their care.