Love and Lies [Saioumami]

Light In The Dark

Curled up in a fluffy blanket, Kokichi held his knees to his chest, shivering. The basement had been freezing lately, so he had taken a few warm showers in the en suite to keep himself from dying from hypothermia. His stomach no longer screamed for sustenance, he'd passed the worst of the weeks with no food. He managed to keep himself alive for longer by drinking tap water from his bathroom occasionally. At least I would've lost some weight, I guess my parents have treated me.

A deafening bang sounded from above, startling the boy. He looked up to hear another bang on the basement door rattle the room. Kokichi shook from cold and fear, wrapping the blanket tighter around himself for protection. Mother and Father must be mad that I haven't been cleaning the house. Surely they'd just unlock the door... Unless they want something else to blame on me.

Kokichi listened to the splinter of wood as a loud crash replaced the banging. Footsteps hurried down the stairs, the owner kneeling in front of Kokichi and hugging him tightly. "Oh, Kokichi, I was so worried about you! Have you been down here the whole time sweetheart? We've been looking everywhere for you for weeks!" Looking up at the person, the male faced his mother who had manufactured concern and joy plastered all over her face.

"Hello, can you tell me what happened?" His mother detached herself from the boy, giving room for a police officer to kneel before him and ask questions. Someone must've reported me missing or something.

"The door locked behind me when I closed it. I fell down the stairs and smashed my phone so I couldn't call anyone to help." Kokichi chattered, feeling the urge to sink into the corner. No, there's a hole in my story. "Also, I tried knocking on the door but I know no one hangs around this part of the house."

"Do I have your consent to do a quick check-up?" Kokichi nodded at the officer, loosening his grip on the black blanket. Following the tasks he was given, Kokichi followed the light in his eyes, walked in a straight line and grabbed the pen held out in front of him. "Alright, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong, just make sure to eat and drink water and you should be fine. I'll take care of all the paperwork from here."

Watching the officer leave the basement, Kokichi noticed his mother's happy and relieved facade drop, replaced with disgust. "Why must you always reappear when we don't want you? God, you're annoying." She spat at the male before ascending the staircase, stopping at the top to say one last thing. "You'll pay for a replacement door out of your own pocket." Smirking, she turned again and stepped through the broken wood, out of sight.

I guess I'm going gambling tonight. Kokichi sighed, taking his blanket and wrapping it around himself again, shuffling towards his bed. Hearing two familiar voices, he turned to see Rantaro and Shuichi entering the basement and approaching him. "I'm so glad we found you, I thought the worst happened." Shuichi's voice trembled as he wrapped Kokichi in a tight hug, one that said he was afraid to let go.

"What happened Kokichi? You've been missing for almost two weeks. This is becoming concerning," Rantaro's brows furrowed as he took Kokichi's hand in his.

"They locked me down here, it wasn't an accident," Kokichi whispered, aware his parents could be eavesdropping.

"Why didn't you message us, we've been trying to get into contact this entire time," Shuichi mumbled, removing his head from the purplette's shoulder. Kokichi simply pointed at his dresser, where the remains of his phone lay. "Oh, did they break your phone?"

"No, I did, it was an accident," Kokichi mumbled. The three stood in awkward silence, unsure where to go with the situation.

"We filed a missing person report," Shuichi mumbled, filling in the silence. "Two days after you went missing, we were worried someone had kidnapped you again. You weren't coming to school, and your parents were never home when we visited so we didn't know what to do."