Love and Lies [Saioumami]

Welcome Home Kokichi

Groaning as he sat up, Kokichi stretched out his limbs, hearing them crack as he stood up, leaning against the bed to help him walk. He'd been resting for a few days, in and out of sleep constantly with only a few chances to eat in between. Momo told him to stay in bed, but it was starting to eat away at him that he could only watch videos on his phone every waking moment to pass the time. Kokichi felt like he began fossilising with the inactivity.

Taking each step as slowly as he could to ease the pain, Kokichi paced the bedroom. He felt like his wounds weren't healing. Every cut on his body was bright red or weeping, and the bruises had developed into a mix of deep purple, black and blue, but Momo said he was getting better. It wasn't the first time his parents had attacked him together or used a knife to cut him. They'd kicked, punched and scratched him his entire life, but it was the first time he'd been beaten badly enough to stain the walls and floor in blood. Kokichi never wanted to believe he was being abused, but the attack had been enough for him to run away and get help, it just happened that Rantaro had been his knight in shining armour.

He stopped pacing and surveyed the room, having not left it for a few days, it was all he knew during recovery. Occasionally Shuichi and Rantaro filled the silent void, but most of the time he was alone to 'recover'. Rantaro told him it was his now. He and his father had put all of his stuff away, decorating the walls with bands and movies Kokichi enjoyed, a graduation picture of the three smiling and hugging hung on the wall above the bed. Despite the horrible memories of that night, I still love that photo. I don't look great since we took it right before Rantaro did my makeup, but we're so happy together.

Having the urge to do something productive and different to pass the time, Kokichi picked up the small trinkets littering the shelves. He rearranged them, creating multiple displays before he finally settled on one he liked and moved to the next shelf. Hearing chatter outside the bedroom, Kokichi frowned and reached out to open the door before it opened on its own. Rantaro jumped into the room and quickly shut the door behind him, frowning at his boyfriend. "What are you doing out of bed? You need rest!"

"Oh come on! I've been doing nothing but resting for fucking days, I'm sick of sitting around doing nothing!" Kokichi argued, wincing as he threw his arms in the air out of instinct.

"You're going back to bed," Rantaro frowned, gently wrapping his arms around Kokichi's shoulders and leading him towards the bed. Kokichi rolled his eyes and rolled onto the blankets, wincing as he did. "I have a surprise, something from the family as a welcome! Do you want to see it?"

"No way! I hate surprises," Kokichi pouted, crossing his arms. Chuckling at Rantaro's confused expression, he put a finger to his lips and smirked. "That was a lie!"

"Thank God, let me go get everyone!" Rantaro jumped over to the door. Wait, everyone? As the door opened, Kokichi watched every member of the Amami family enter the room. He felt a little intimidated with everyone surrounding him but smiled at how warm they all seemed, even Yachiyo, the one who looked like a stereotypical angsty teenager.

"Cookie! We missed you!" Two young girls cheered, struggling to climb on the bed. Their sisters laughed as two helped Kimi and Miki onto the bed, the two running towards Kokichi and hugging him tightly. Kokichi grinned from ear to ear as he ruffled their hair, tolerating whatever pain necessary so the girls could hug him.

"Hello, you two! What's going on?" Kokichi asked, the two girls snuggling into his arms as they clutched to him.

"We want to welcome you to the family since you're staying with us now. Our home is yours," Mr Amami smiled, the entire family smiling at the boy. "It's a tradition to welcome new members of the family with gifts." Gifts?

"O-Oh no you don't have to do that-" Kokichi started, Sakura gasping and throwing up a hand to point at him.

"Don't you dare try to stop this from happening! You've been through a lot and we are all going to do this whether you like it or not!" She pouted, her free hand on her hip as the other hid something behind her back.

"Let's go down the line, we all have something for you."

~💙/💜/💚~

"Thank you all so much, this is amazing!" Kokichi smiled, glancing at the items all resting on his bed.

"We'll leave you to continue resting now. If you ever need anything, we're all more than happy to help!" Mrs Amami smiled, ushering the children from the room as everyone waved goodbye. Kimi and Miki each hugged Kokichi one last time before jumping off the bed and running away, Rantaro closing the door behind them.

"Rantaro..." Kokichi mumbled, feeling tears drip down one side of his face, soaking his eyepatch on the other.

"Kokichi! What's wrong? Are you alright? Did something trigger any bad memories?" Rantaro worried, rushing to his boyfriend's side and pulling him into a hug.

"No no, it's nothing bad! I'm just, really really happy! Thank you so much!" Kokichi laughed through his tears of joy, clutching to Rantaro's chest. "I suppose I should put everything away." 

"I'll help," Rantaro broke the hug, picking up some of the objects from the bed. Kokichi looked around at everything, feeling more happiness than he thought possible. Sakura and Momo had both given him a mix of accessories similar to Rantaro's, a style Kokichi enjoyed wearing. Yua made a heart sculpture with everyone's names in it out of wood. Sonaka worked with Yukire to create a painting of space. Chizuko gifted Kokichi a box full of makeup, somehow having matched his skin tone perfectly. Yachiyo bought a large, super soft plush toy that stood at Kokichi's waist. Rikoho, Izusa and Adeha made a drawing of the entire family, Kokichi included.

"I don't know what to say, this is... No one had to do this, I though I'd just sort of be the hermit of the house," Kokichi chuckled, looking around his room as the gifts all on display. Nothing aside from his soulmates would be as important as the gifts. "It's weird that I'm a part of your family though, considering our relationship and all."

"Well you're not being adopted, you're just living with us," Rantaro chuckled, lifting Kokichi bridal style and placed him on the bed again. "How are you feeling?"

"Let's just forget about all of that for now, okay? I want cuddles!" Kokichi wined, making grabby hands at Rantaro. The Ultimate Adventurer rolled his eyes in a joking manner, climbing beside Kokichi and pulling him into his arms. "Hey, 'Mami?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

~💙/💜/💚~

Thought I'd include a little description of the Amami kids here! They won't all appear much so just if anyone is curious!

Rantaro ~ 19
Ultimate Adventurer

Sakura ~ 17
Ultimate Chemist ~ Twins with Sumomo

Sumomo (Momo) ~ 17
Ultimate Doctor ~ Twins with Sakura

Yua ~ 15
Ultimate Carpenter

Sonaka ~ 14
Ultimate Astronomer

Chizuko ~ 13
Ultimate Improviser

Yachiyo ~ 12
Ultimate Archer

Rikoho (Riko) ~ 10

Izusa ~ 9

Adeha ~ 8

Yukire ~ 6

Kimi ~ 5
Twins with Miki

Miki ~ 5
Twins with Kimi