Love and Lies [Saioumami]

Remorse

"No no, sin is opposite over hypotenuse, not adjacent," Rantaro smiled, pointing out Shuichi's error. Kokichi couldn't help but grin at Shuichi's pain as he glared at the homework in front of him, the grip on his pencil could snap it at any moment.

"You brought this on yourself Shu~Shu!" Kokichi laughed, returning to marking Shuichi's chemistry homework.

"I know, I'm just getting confused with this, I hate math," Shuichi groaned. "Fuck trigonometry, this is way too difficult!"

"Maybe this will help," Rantaro took the pencil from Shuichi and drew a small diagram. Shuichi's face lit up with relief as he studied Rantaro's notes.

"That makes a lot of sense now!" Shuichi leant over and kissed Rantaro on the cheek, filling out the sheet of trigonometry homework with ease. A knock on the door interrupted the trio's tutoring session, accompanied by an elderly woman entering the room with shaking hands.

"Apologies kids, is Saihara Shuichi here? I've been looking for him everywhere," she begged, her eyes wide with a plea for any answer.

"That's me, what do you need Ma'am?" Shuichi asked, pushing away the small portable table where his homework sat.

"Oh hun, I'm so sorry for what happened to you, I've been trying to find all the victims of the incident my son caused." The woman hobbled towards Shuichi, reaching out to envelop him in a tight hug. Shuichi's body tensed but soon relaxed as he realised the woman meant no threat. What's happening? There's no way she's going out of her way to all the victims, that's insane. "My son was the truck driver that hit the building, I want to spread the word that he meant no harm."

"He killed twenty-three people, injured sixty-seven," Kokichi deadpanned, glaring at the woman. Something felt wrong about the situation, he couldn't help but distrust the woman.

"I know, and I'll never be able to fix that, but I'll do anything I can to help on behalf of my son. I'm an old woman, I'll use all the time I have to help anyone affected by this." She smiled at the three men, her eyes holding nothing but remorse.

"Here, sit down," Kokichi stood from his chair, helping the woman sit down as he stood next to Shuichi's bed.

"Thank you, young man, you're so kind. I want to let you all know that my son was an amazing, caring man, he never intended harm. He had a heart attack when driving, and he's never had any history of heart problems, I don't know why he had to die," the woman's breath hitched as tears pricked her eyes. Rantaro stood from the bed and approached the woman, rubbing circles on her back as she cried.

"He still killed and injured a lot of people, you can't forget that," Kokichi snapped. I know she's trying to be nice and all, but this can't be fixed. The damage is already done.

"Kokichi, it's alright. I know you're mad but it's not her fault, alright?" Shuichi smiled, reaching out his arm to pull his boyfriend into a hug. With Kokichi being on his left, Shuichi sighed and gave up, knowing he couldn't reach his right arm around to hug his boyfriend properly. Rolling his eyes, Kokichi briefly side hugged the bluenette, keeping his attention on the weeping woman.

"Sweetie, your arm, that wasn't my son's fault, was it?" She asked, covering her mouth with her hand, handkerchief dabbing the tears from her cheeks.

"Um, well, no it wasn't his fault, but it happened during the incident," Shuichi mumbled, staring at his lap.

"I'm so sorry for this, I should've stopped him from going to work that day," she sobbed. She's blaming herself, I should've guessed. I wonder if she's apologising on behalf of her son, or just to make herself feel better?

"It's not your fault, or his, or anyones. What happened was an accident with horrific outcomes. Don't be too hard on yourself," Shuichi smiled at the woman. Before she could answer, a nurse hurried into the room and knelt in front of the woman, holding her shoulders.

"Ma'am, you need to get back to your room, you shouldn't be in here."

"Okay darling, I'll go, goodbye now," the woman smiled. As she left, the nurse escorting her turned to mouth an apology to the boy's, leaving the trio to each other's company. Letting out a deep sigh, Shuichi rested his head against the bed, modified to a seated position.

"I feel horrible for her, losing her son like that... How'd she know my name though?" Shuichi mumbled, staring at the ceiling.

"Don't think about it, come on, hug time," Kokichi grinned, waving Rantaro over for a three-way hug. They held each other tight, clutching away the negativity and emotions. Shuichi pushed the two off of his body, glaring at his lap.

"I can't even hug you both anymore, I can't do this for the rest of my life!" Shuichi shouted, throwing his arm into the air. Before his boyfriends could comfort the male, his phone started ringing with Akamatsu's face flashing on the screen. Wow, he's only just been given back his phone and she's already calling him again, we told her not to bother trying! "What do I say?"

"Pretend you have a cold, I think we sold that lie pretty well," Rantaro grinned, glancing at Kokichi. Nodding, Shuichi answered the phone and greeted the woman who screamed so loudly Kokichi and Rantaro could hear her voice with ease.

"Hey Kaede, how are you?"

"Shuichi! No one has been able to reach you for weeks! What's going on?!"

"I've come down with a cold, I'm sorry. Uncle took my phone away so I could get better." Coughing to add to the lie, Shuichi looked at the men for approval. My beloved has come so far, he's getting better at lying now!

"I'm so sorry, I know how you get when you're ill. How about I bring you some meds? That might help!"

"No no, it's alright, Rantaro and my uncle are helping me. I don't want to get anyone sick if I can help it. Thanks for the offer!"

"I understand, well I'll leave you to get better, I hope you feel well soon!" Akamatsu cheered, hanging up the call.

Groaning, Shuichi threw his phone back to the table beside him. "Lying is difficult."

"No, it's not, just hold it in and cry it all out when you go to sleep! It does wonders for insomnia," Kokichi laughed. "Let's get back to your homework, Rantaro and I have to leave soon."

"Do we have to? Trigonometry is the spawn of Satan." Shuichi frowned, wrapping one arm around his body in an attempt to cross them.

"Let's go over your chemistry homework then. It's... Um... Something," Kokichi frowned, enjoying the look of dismay falling over Shuichi's face. "You only got one thing wrong!" Shuichi rolled his eyes, the three laughing as he snatched his quiz. "Stop assuming you're dumb, you dumbass!"

"I guess I'm not so bad at chemistry..." Shuichi smiled to himself, staring at the paper.

"Or maths, you're understanding it now that you have that diagram," Rantaro smiled, slipping beside Shuichi in the hospital bed. Kokichi pulled up the spare chair and sat next to the bed, close enough to rest his head on Shuichi's lap.

"Guys, I'm still allowed to graduate, right? This situation won't change anything, will it?" Shuichi mumbled after a few moments of silence. Kokichi followed his despairful gaze to Shuichi's stub of an arm, the skin still tender and healing.

"Of course you are babe, nothing is going to change, things will just be a little bit more difficult for a while." Leaning on Shuichi's shoulder, Rantaro played with a blue strand of hair that always stuck out above his head.

"Why would they deny the top student in our class to graduate?" Kokichi asked, hoping to help his boyfriend see sense. "Listen, Ran~Ran and I will be right there with you when you walk across that stage, and you're going to feel so stupid for ever thinking you'd never graduate. You're a damn detective at eighteen for fucks sake!" Ignoring the remaining homework and earlier intrusion, the loving trio continued to enjoy each other's company, lifting their moods before the visitors were forced to leave for the day.