Amused, Kokichi followed Kaito behind the bushes, briefly holding up a little wave to let Nazumi know that they were alright. It wasn’t always the easiest to communicate, with the distance Nazumi had slowly grown as the months of her being his bodyguard continued, but…they’d found a way. And…honestly? Even if he knew she was always nearby…he really appreciated it. Feeling, at least partially, that he really was just…on his whims, deciding to walk around town on his own. The freedom he’d carved out for himself while sneaking out, but with the reliability of knowing there was someone who’d be by his side in a split second if anything happened. 

Of course, in times like these, he already had another person right by his side, but…

…but that was what they had promised. 

Kokichi had smiled, confused, as Kaito took his hands and knelt, but very soon his eyes widened in wonder and a light blush painted his cheeks. Their vows, of that whole day, really felt like the things they each had chosen. Words and promises that were just…them. Kokichi still cherished them, but…they had been words between two strangers who barely knew each other. Barely knew what marriage and their lives would be. Strangers who were determined to make things work and protect each other, but strangers nonetheless. 

Now? They were husbands who had been married for a year with two kids and a new fiance, who had experienced unbelievable hardship and…still decided each other were worth it. 

Kokichi’s eyes swam as Kaito talked, a soft, adoring, grateful smile on his face. Hearing that that warmth and grace he felt wasn’t him alone, that as much as he woke up everyday trying to be better, not just for himself, but for his family, Kaito was reaching for those same heights. 

That, for better or for worse, though it felt better and better…they were determined. 

Sniffling, Kokichi chuckled a wet laugh as he lifted Kaito’s hands, placing a kiss to his wrist before holding them more firmly. “I do, Kaito. I swear it… I’ll love you for the rest of my life, and for everything I can after. Our future…the only way I see it is with us together. I…”

Huffing a little, Kokichi shook his head, his voice coming out in a whisper as a nervous blush darkened his cheeks. “...I did this for Shuu-chan once. And I’ve wanted to wait…wanted to give you time I haven’t always been fair about with our partner. But…Kai-chan? Can I share with you my love?”

Kaito gave Kokichi a mildly confused look, tilting his head slightly as he said, “...yes? I’ll take anything you want to give me, beautiful.”

Kokichi nodded and closed his eyes, focusing on the large, warm hands in his. Focused on the mind in front of him…never far, really. Kaito was always in his thoughts. 

There was so much that Kaito said that Kokichi felt too… Even more than he just…couldn’t explain. So…he wanted to share with no ambiguity.

{The feeling of standing in the sun…even more after a long, dreary winter. A heat that could almost burn, for how much you were unused to it, but…even so, it gave you hope. It filled you with invigoration. A will to put on your shoes and go outside, leaving the mundane safety you knew, not on blind faith but…because you wanted it so badly. 

Because you had found the will to not just be alive. But to live.}

{A deep, deep feeling of love. Not just the passion or attraction and carnal pleasure (those there’s plenty of that too) but…the love of a best friend. A true partner in life, someone right by your side whose words meshed and flowed with yours, even if they were at odds. A steadiness right next to you that wasn’t going anywhere, that you could rely on with the same absolute faith that you’d help them too.}

{An older, muted guilt. Like a patch of mud that, at one point, could swallow you whole into its depths…but now…there was life coming out of it. Growth. A deep desire to be better than the person you were yesterday, to be better than the horrible mistakes you had made. A desire to be the source of smiles and peaceful moments basking in the sun, more than the tears and closed, dark spaces.}

{A light, not blinding but all consuming, making you feel weightless, a sense of faith like seeing illuminated stained glass in a temple. That faith declaring that the impossible was possible. That, together, they could achieve anything.}

Kokichi took a deeper breath, squeezing Kaito’s hands as happy, devoted tears dribbled out of his eyes.

Kaito’s eyes widened, and his breath caught slightly… but he relaxed. More prepared this time, as his adrenaline upticked, a rush of intense, vibrant emotions that he couldn’t hope to control or regulate rushing through him, Kaito taken for the ride as he braced himself through it.

That was it. The look that Kaito was always trying to aspire too, that Kokichi gave him sometimes. The look that made Kaito feel like a sun… made him want to be better. To live up to it. To be what Kokichi believed he was.

All that, but laid bare, naked, running through Kaito in a way he couldn’t confuse or defend against or possibly recreate, the whole feeling just entirely Kokichi. 

Kaito laughed through his tears. What else could you do, when you felt like that, but laugh? Laugh at the absurd beauty of life. Is that what his ‘Kichi felt like? How was he not, just, constantly laughing? If just to use the energy that came with feelings that intense? It was like sparks on his skin…

Kaito kissed Kokichi’s hands again, before standing up, drawing him into a tight hug, his hand on the back of Kokichi’s head and his other arm around his back, just… wanting to enclose around him. Hold him tight. Keep him safe and secure and always there.

“...” Kaito suddenly chuckled, the sound cheerful and tight and wet, “You showed Shuichi that? Geez, no wonder he decided to propose. I’d want to tie that down too. When you realize what you have? I’d want to hurry along claiming you too…lucky me, I’ve already got you. Very lucky, your Kaito…”

Kokichi joined in on his husband’s laughter, pressing into the hug and drawing Kaito close as well, though there wasn’t any gap to close. The two of them, crying and laughing like weirdos in the glass museum’s display garden…

Sniffling, though there was a wide grin on his face, Kokichi nuzzled against Kaito’s shoulder. “It’s a little different… You and Shuu-chan are different people, so I feel differently, but…essentially, yeah. That’s how I feel, Kai-chan… I know I can’t always get the right words…so I’m lucky I can explain myself like this.”

He shook his head, hugging tighter around Kaito’s back. “I’m the lucky one, really… Somehow I’ve managed to find you? The person that makes me feel like this… That I love so much that I don’t think I’d ever really be ‘me’ without it… I love you, Kai-chan. I want to love you forever.” For as much of forever as they could get away with. 

“...I know how scary things can be these days… But there are still a lot of wonderful things. Thank you for letting me show you one.”

“Scared? Who’s scared? Your Kaito is fearless in all things.” Kaito chuckled, kissing against Kokichi’s head before pulling back a little, mostly needing to wipe his face as he chuckled again, “I love you too, beautiful. I was a little embarrassed to try this, but I’m glad I did it now. That was… enlightening!”

Rolling his eyes at himself a little, he leaned down and gave Kokichi a small kiss, before asking, “Maybe don’t tell our Shuichi that Kaito went ahead and did a fake proposal the day after his cool real proposal, though. I was feeling a little envious, and you know how he is… he’ll tease me about it relentlessly. I just wanted to get a chance to ask and it be, like, ya know…” Kaito shrugged, “wanted too. We’re getting another chance at our wedding. I wanted another chance at our proposal.”

Laughing, Kokichi leaned into the kiss before letting his hands trail down Kaito’s arms, releasing him from the hug but retaining contact. “I won’t…honestly, it was so sweet that I’d start to cry if Shuu-chan started teasing us about it. While the timing is a little early?” Kokichi shrugged. “This is our anniversary proposal. Something just for us, this time, instead of dozens and dozens of people watching, both of us given a script.”

Instead of Prince Momota declaring his proposal to Prince Ouma…they were Kaito and Kokichi, affirming their love. 

Sighing, letting those happy feelings still buzz around him though he carefully wiped his face, Kokichi hummed softly. “...I dunno if it’s quite been an hour yet, but you wanna start wandering back in the direction of the hotel? We might see somethin’ cool on the way.”

“Yeah, let’s go. Hopefully Maki and Shuichi have gotten their fill of being Mean Girls for a day.” Kaito chuckled, putting his arm around Kokichi’s shoulder and heading back around the bushes…

…oh man he hoped no one saw them go in or out, people might get the wrong impression of why he had dragged Kokichi in there. Whoops. He had just impulsively wanted some privacy to do something sappy… ah well. 

Placing another little kiss against Kokichi’s temple, Kaito murmured happily, “My sweetie ‘Kiiiichiii~, who is so sweet and sometimes sleeps and when happy gets all weeeepy~... pfff, Shuichi’s right. I totally missed my calling as a bard. Who wouldn’t want such beautiful put together rhymes? I’m a genius.”

Kokichi giggled, rolling his eyes a little as he snuck a kiss against Kaito’s cheek while it was in reasonable kissing range. “The world’s really missing out. And if you put together something on a hurdy gurdy? Or asked Piper to accompany you? People would be lining up out the door to get a listen.”

-

They had really only walked for a little while, getting out of the garden, before a familiar blue and pink figure approached. Waku looked amazing and absolutely smugly delighted, wearing the robes Denji had made for her and her hair up but cascading to the side, decorated and kept up with long silver pins with little dangly crystals. 

Letting out a wolf whistle, she nodded in approval, checking out her friends’ duds. “Wooow, now look at that! Definitely showpieces if I’ve ever seen them. And your yukatas are pretty too.”

Kaito would have had some smug, smart-aleck reply… had he been capable of getting his jaw off the floor, just gaping at this woman, who was… this could not be his Waku. 

“Holy shit, lady, you stole my friends outfit, but, like… you’re fucking killing it, so I’m not even mad!” Kaito finally managed to get out, the joke coming out in a near rambling pace as he shook Kokichi lightly, pointing, “‘Kichi, that’s Waku!”

Kokichi let out a little laugh and leaned against Kaito fondly as Waku preened under the praise. “Hey, Waku. Seriously…Kai-chan told me that he’d seen what you commissioned, but…wow. You look amazing. Really weren’t kidding about trying to kill it out here this year, huh?”

Smirking, Waku nodded as she posed a little for Kaito’s benefit, showing off her outfit--she’d paired some powder blue round-toe flats with her yukata, and she had a little dark blue striped cinch bag to hold her things. “I did tell everyone. So far, the flustered confession count is at five, though I’ve gotten way more compliments. Denji is probably passed out with her girlfriend, but I’ve been putting in the work promoting them. They’ll be happy when they sleep off all the stress in a week.”

“By the way,” she smirked more, leaning in. “It’s not quite a little birdie that told me, as much as the talk of the town even during a festival--congratulations!! One of you finally bucked up, huh? Should’ve figured it’d be Shuuichi.”

“I know, right? Our Shuichi knows what he wants and just goes and gets it.” Kaito grinned, leaning forward and eyes practically sparkling as he gushed, “Five confessions?? Please, Waku, my friend, please, I need to hear about them, my last two confessions were the two guys I had a kid with, they’re givens, I need to live vicariously through you, were they cute??? Were they awkward??? Were they awkward and cute???”

Kaito was absolutely enamored with Waku right now, and it was only holding Kokichi’s hand that hadn’t automatically drawn Kaito to her side, just eagerly wanting to sit and drink with her and hear about how her day had been going. Kaito just happy to see his friend, honestly. 

Kokichi rolled his eyes a little. “Man, and here I thought my confession was sweet…”

Snickering, Waku went over to Kaito’s side herself, gesturing for them to keep walking, since they were obviously headed somewhere when she spotted them. “Sorry, Kokichi--just can’t stand up to spontaneity.”

“One of them, I’ll give,” Waku started, holding up a finger, “Was an admiration confession. Like the chocolates you might give a cool upperclassman on Devoted’s Day. There was this girl, definitely a teen, maybe fifteen or sixteen? She had really pretty hair, was very sweet. She said that I was really pretty, and her heart…” Waku shrugged a little. “It wasn’t quite a crush-crush, you know? But the kind of thing where you see someone gorgeous or really impressive, and you just fall in love with them as a person a little. That was super flattering, I’ll be honest.”

“Awww,” Kokichi cooed, laughing softly. “You’re right, that is really sweet.”

“...you have a fan.” Kaito summarized, peering at Waku with a damn near offended air, clearly envious as he said, “You get that, right? That was a fan-girl.”

Waku’s smile up at Kaito was oozing with smugness, feeling his envy. “Well, who wouldn’t be? Still…it made me happy to inspire that sort of wonder in her. She said she was enjoying the festival with her family, so I hope they’ve been having a good time.”

“There was this guy, just…” Waku rolled her eyes, “So full of himself, but…in a good way, you know? I can’t say I’ve ever gotten a confession by someone balancing during a handspring…”

Waku continued on from there, explaining the confessions she’d gotten. All truthful, but maybe a little more elaborated for Kaito’s sake, both because he was an excellent person to tell those things to, all his reactions and comments very fun, but also because…he genuinely liked to hear about them. Waku had often found fun in spotting people psyching themselves up for confessions, but…

…maybe this was the first year she was really trying to bait them for herself. Call it inspiration from a good friend.

Kaito listened with all the attention of a stay-at-home midwife listening to a beloved soap opera just as the character they knew had been evil all along FINALLY showed plainly that they were, gasp, EVIL ALL ALONG! And just loving every second of it, laughing and awwing in all the appropriate places, actively imagining each story as Waku told them. 

“God, ya know, in another life? With all the love and devotion to my husband in the world,” Kaito stressed, giving Kokichi a sheepish, beaming smile, before he sighed, “I’d have totally given you a messy confession today, Waku. A friend of mine coming out here looking like that. Oh, god, you’d have been pre-Kokichi Kaito catnip. Man, how would I have confessed… in this daydream, I want to establish that you and I are still friends before this, because I fell in love with my friends constantly, so I get that advantage of already knowing you. Hmmm… how would I have done it…”

“Hey! I recognize that red and purple! Guys!” 

Kaito startled out of his thoughts, looking across the pathway and seeing Souda waving to them from around a garden wall, smiling with all his sharp, dangerous teeth (man, that was another feature Kaito found, just… alluring. If only for the challenge) as he waved them over. Kaito grinned, the group crossing the path as he said, “Souda! Hey, Happy Zenith!”

“What? Oh, yeah, Good Zenith Day!” Souda tried, shrugging, having barley learned the name of the holiday before he suddenly found himself in the middle of it, but enjoying himself anyway for the holiday he had barely been aware of before that day. Smiling viciously, he gave them a wink and a thumbs up as he said, “You guys coming this way for the contest? I’ll admit, considering Kay-boy here? I thought you’d be steering clear of this whole area!”

Kaito blinked, “Uh… why?”

But even as he said it, he sniffed, and his eyes suddenly widened… the heck was that scent? It literally filled the air and almost on instinct made his eyes water, what was that…?

Kokichi rolled his eyes a little before sharing an amused look with Waku, the both of them knowing that it was incredibly true. And not something either of them were going to mention to Shuuichi. While Waku wouldn’t’ve taken him up on it--what she’d said to him before was true, about her not feeling like she was in a good place to have a steady relationship right then--she did enjoy the ease of her friendship with Kaito, and she’d rather not provoke the cold rage of his fiance. 

They all looked over in surprise at being called out, and Kokichi broke into a grin, reaching high to wave back at Souda before they trotted over. “Happy Zenith!!” Waku, in turn, followed, but simply regarded the man with intrigue.

And learning the reason Souda was there…

Kokichi laughed through a small groan, shaking his head a little. “So this is where the pepper expo is this year, huh? Lemme guess…” He sniffed a little at the air, the powerful, sharp smell slicing his sinuses. “...chili, salsa, there’d probably be raw peppers, of course, and…there’s usually something with a spice powder. Hot peanuts, maybe…”

Kokichi gave Souda an amused look. “You’ve already signed your safety waivers?”

“Is that what those papers were? Never signed one before, just put my name down and signed the stuff they said I needed to join.” Souda snickered, giving Kaito an amused look as the taller red head just looked increasingly more grave, “Ah, what? Not feeling it? Totally understandable, I wouldn’t want ya to cry in front of your partner again…”

Souda looked over at Waku like he had just seen her, before whistling, though without the confidence that the motion really should have conveyed. He whistle like he was shocked, a purely honest reaction as his eyebrows shot to his scalp and he crossed his arms like he was half-trying to convey confidence and half suddenly trying to hide himself as he said, “W-wow! Hello there, miss… what’s a pretty woman like you doing with…”

“...” Souda suddenly looked horrifically offended as he looked to Kaito, shouting furiously, “NO! You can’t keep dating all the beautiful people around here, you’ve already got two!! And you’re already hanging out with that dime with the red eyes all the time… leave some for the rest of us, you fiend!!”

“Woooooah, Souda, noooooo, pull the brakes man. This is Waku! I told you about her, remember? The girl I thought it’d be fun to drink with us? She’s not really looking for anything like that, don’t be weird, man, I want us to be able to hang out.” Kaito laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck… before saying, face lighting up in determination, “I haven’t even had a chance to confess yet! Which I just figured out how I’m gonna do it!”

“Waku Harai!” Kaito said, ignoring Souda’s increasingly offended squawks as he turned to his friend, grinning determinedly, “Let me prove my affection! By eating a pepper in your name!!”

Kokichi just shook his head with a sigh. Honestly…those papers were just to ensure that someone couldn’t sue the people making the food, growing the peppers, or the people putting on the contest/nerdy meet and greet--making it clear that you were choosing to eat something potentially quite dangerous and assuredly uncomfortable of your own volition, and you couldn’t blame anyone if you needed to go to the hospital. It didn’t seem like that was even on Souda’s radar at all, so…it’d probably be okay. 

However, there was something else that was very much suddenly on Souda’s radar. 

Waku’s eyebrows raised a bit as Souda…got very nearly close to cat-calling her, grinning in amusement particularly as Souda started berating Kaito for collecting pretty people. Enough to start straight out guffawing as Kaito took his turn too.

“PFFF-HA!” Laughing, she shook her head and held up a hand, her fingers splayed as she added two more sequentially. “Six and seven! Damn, I didn’t even get a chance to see those coming--you win this time.”

Still full of mirth, she gave Kaito a cool look. “Kaito, you will actually have to leave the festival and chill out in an emergency room if you eat one of the peppers here. If you manage to find a bell pepper somewhere, sure, go nuts.”

“And-” she continued, giving Souda a friendly look, raising her fist for a fistbump, “Yeah, I’m Waku--it’s nice to meet you, Souda. Kaito’s said you’re a cool person. I’m looking forward to seeing you throw up and cry after trying some of this stuff.”

“Ha! Me, cry!? W-watch, Miss… do you mind if I call you Miss Waku? I’m calling you Miss Waku! It just fits!” Souda said, grinning wide– before getting bonked on the head by Kaito. “Ow, what!?”

“Dude! Be cool! I vouched for you, god damn. Call her Waku!”

“B-but look at her! She’s a ‘miss’ to her core- ow!” 

Kaito huffed, rolling his eyes, taking Souda’s ear in his hand and saying to Waku, “I swear, I promise, he’s cool. I guess he’s just not used to talking to pretty girls. But! Okay! I will find the least spicy thing there, out of respect for not ending up in the hospital and ruining husbands day! And I will taste it! As a sign of my devotion!”

“I-I’ll eat a WHOLE pepper, Miss Waku-ooooow-ow--ow!”

“I swear, man, you’re embarrassing me. I’m gonna shove a pepper down your throat just to shut you up.” Kaito warned him, twisting his ear some more, before looking imploringly at Kokichi, “‘Kichiiii? Can I go taste a pepper to do a dramatic confession to Waku, pleeease?” 

To Souda’s credit, and probably a good sign for any future friendship, Waku just continued to look highly amused by his fumbling, earnest attempts to talk to her. Earn her favor. Do what he needed to talk to a pretty girl. It was pretty cute. 

Sighing, Kokichi shook his head and started to round the garden wall. “We’ll see if there’s anything mild, though I doubt it in this crowd… This is literally the type of scene where people go to brag and nerd out about the new super peppers they’ve managed to grow, hun.”

As they got over to the tables and little pop up…honestly, Kokichi was a little worried about Kaito even being able to stand near the cooking station. Even just a few feet away, Kokichi could already feel how spicy the chili was, and looking at a few of the peppers on display…tiny, shriveled little dark red things…ooph. This was the sort of thing Souda said he was looking forward to, but he hoped he’d be alright. 

…the medical station and milk jugs he spied in an ice box were things that…he wasn’t sure made it all more or less foreboding. 

As he expected, he could nary spy even a habanero. 

“I think we might have to find a pepper somewhere else, hun…”

“Aw, you guys aren’t too late to sign up!!” a chirpy voice called out. 

Turning, Kokichi and Waku looked over to see an eager-looking young woman, her teal…orange? Hair tied up into twin ponytails with a chitinous-looking band-accessory, matching the spike bands and metal cuffs around her arms, neck, and legs. The red liner around her eyes was wild, and the strapless red dress she was wearing was…er, supremely ruffled and extremely short. Though, despite her intense appearance, the look in her eyes was friendly, eager and light and…

Well, more than a little ravenous. She had been watching over all the food, ready to eat already. 

…oh god, where was Maki??

Kaito looked around, wide eyed, wingman vibes going WILD. Maki. Maki-roll! Maki-roll he found one!!

God, of course she wouldn’t be here right now, she’s off being mean at happy people with his handsome fiance. Gah! Looking back with obvious regret on his face, Kaito said to the beautiful, fierce drangesque lady, “It’s not too late to sign up? Good! G-good! There’s a lot riding on this for me, I’m trying to win this pretty ladies affection,” Kaito informed her, pointing to Waku appreciatively, showing her off, before saying seriously, “What is your least burny thing here?”

“And I will show my affection by eating the most burny thing here!” Souda insisted, looking determined, though his face turned red as he said, “Though if it impresses you too, that is ALSO a win for me!!”

“Dude! If you’re gonna be weird to Waku at least focus!” Kaito scolded, though he said to the woman, “You do look great today though! I love bands and cuffs, that is a BOLD look!”

The woman gave a half puzzled look to the men, confused more by the content of Kaito’s words, and confused by Souda’s manner of saying them. “Huh, don’t usually have people asking for less spicy stuff… I can see what we got, though! I’ve been waiting for aaages for everything to finish up…” She pouted over at the cooking station. 

She perked up at Kaito’s compliment, though an older woman over by the cooking station called out before she could say anything, her accent…similar to Ikuo and Nazumi’s, but just like how both of theirs differed from each other, it still wasn’t quite the same.

“Oi! Manny! Ya better not be scarin’ folks off again! Food’ll be ready in five, like I said!”

“They’re askin’ ‘bout things, Ma!” the woman, ostensibly Manny, called back before turning back to the others. “Well, thanks. Like she said, the chili and gumbo--”

Ah, gumbo…close on his guesses, though, Kokichi thought. 

“Are still cooking, but the salsa’s been ready if you wanna try it! A little appetizer before the contest,” she giggled, giving Souda a wink. 

Kokichi…looked a little worried. “I dunno if that’ll be down your alley, hun…”

“We’ll have some salsa!” Souda shouted, throwing his arm around Kaito’s shoulder, who was starting to look increasingly nervous, his left eyebrow twitching as Souda pulled him closer to the food in question. Kaito took a fresh breath and flinched, covering his mouth and nose with his hand as his eyes watered more. Suddenly rethinking his life choices.

“Miss Waku! Are you watching!?” Souda called back, paying a copper into a tip jar– the salsa was apparently free, but donations were welcome– before getting a small little paper cup, a bit of the salsa in it, his own face also pretty red and starting to sweat from the fumes. Seeing Kaito’s increasingly wary expression, Souda whispered to him, “Hey, man, come on! We said we were gonna do this, right!?”

“I haven’t signed any of their paper things yet…” Kaito whispered back, wondering if he could use that as an excuse to back out. “I’m supposed too, right?”

“You’re royalty! Sign the papers after, if anyone even bothers to make you! It’s not just Miss Waku watching us, ya know, your husbands watching too!”

“Nnnn… ‘Kichi will be upset if I pass out…”

“What kinda man are you??? Just don’t pass out! Here, watch, I’ll show you how it's done!”

“Dude, maybe you shouldn't–oof, whelp, there you go.” Kaito winced, watching Souda dip his finger into the salsa and shove in his mouth a huge dollop. Kaito swallowed some sympathetic nausea as he watched this, feeling queasy just in sympathy. Oh geez…

Kaito’s eyes wandered down to Souda’s finger, and he noticed warily, “Dude, your finger is red… can you feel heat on your hand? Souda? …Souda?” Kaito looked warily at Souda, “...Souda? You good?”

“nnnnnn-aaaaaa-AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”

Oh, Waku was watching alright, and as Manny collected a set of waivers for Kaito--she wasn’t actually working for the contest, but…well… Amanda Ander was a known quantity in the spice-lover community--Waku crossed her arms and leaned against Kokichi’s shoulder, ready for the show. 

“Oh, he’s got a good scream.” And what a show it was, Waku snickering lowly at the fall of hubris as Kokichi gave his husband a wide-eyed tight look, very insistently imploring him to not follow Souda’s lead. 

“Aw, lil guy…” Manny wasn’t laughing, but there was a certain pitying sympathy in her fanged smile as she quickly trotted over, setting the waivers by Kaito but handing Souda a pint of milk, patting his back a little, though she took the hand he’d dipped into the salsa. “I’ll repeat when you can actually hear me, but we gotta clean your hand off--you do not wanna rub your eye with this stuff, believe me.”

Glancing to Kaito, she gave him an eager smile. “I’ll eat yours if you don’t want it.”

Kaito looked at Souda, then at the salsa cup, then Souda, than the cup…

“Please,” Kaito said, grinning sheepishly, “Thanks.” 

Handing the scary woman her salsa, Kaito swallowed in horrified nausea as he watched her swig it back like a shot, literally swaying in place a bit at the display as the now terrifying woman wiped her mouth and then continued to take the sobbing, writhing Souda away like it hadn’t affected her at all. 

Going back to Waku and Kokichi like a dog with a tail between his legs, Kaito sighed… before dropping into a submission bow, “Wakuuuuuu…. I caaaaaan’t….”

Kokichi watched in horrific astonishment as the woman just knocked back Kaito’s salsa and took Souda over to the medical tent. He didn’t go chasing after spice, but he did know how hot the food here would be--if Souda’s reaction alone wasn’t enough of an indication. How did she have tastebuds???

Shaking his head a little, Kokichi just watched as Kaito laid himself out for Waku. She snorted a bit before nudging Kaito’s arm with her foot slightly, and squatting to offer her hand to him to get up. “I wasn’t expecting you too, and you did the responsible thing. Your friend took care of the show, anyway. Check on him tomorrow, if you guys are close enough for that? His stomach is still gonna be in knots.”

“C’mon, let’s go find a bell pepper for you to impress me with. You ever have the goat cheese stuffed ones, Kokichi? They’re really good with, like, pita chips.”

“Ooh, that does sound good…”

Kaito whimpered, taking the hand and following Waku up back to his feet, idly brushing the dirt off his robes (again) before taking Kokichi’s hand, looking regretfully over his shoulder at where Souda had been taken away too. Poor, brave, stupid bastard… he’d check on him when he was off baby duty tomorrow. He’d ask Shuichi to find out where he lived. 

“...’r bell peppers really hot too?” Kaito whimpered, though anything stuffed with cheese didn’t sound too bad. Kaito liked cheese… whimper. 

Kokichi nodded solemnly, letting out a wistful sigh as they shuffled over as a group, not wanting to subject Souda to an audience during his pain. At least that woman had her focus on him. “I’d find myself really impressed if you ate one, hun. I think you could do it, but…I dunno. It might be close.”

More like he’d overheard more than one culinary debate on whether it was any use at all to use them in dishes since they were “tasteless to the point of just being bulk”. Not that he really agreed. A nice red bell pepper? Sweet and crunchy and a nice addition to anything from a good salad to a dip to just veggie snack time. 

-

“It sounds like it just wasn’t spicy.” Maki pointed out dryly, as Kaito huffed, deeply offended at her lack of shock and awe at his harrowing spice journeys. 

“It was too spicy! I just handled it like a champion! ‘Kichi! Bell peppers are spicy, right!?” Kaito demanded, walking with Maki and Timothy as Shuchi held Kokichi’s hand up ahead, Nazumi walking with the group as the mentors– Nekomaru considerably more buzzed now then when they had separated earlier– trailing along behind. “Tell Maki!”

“They are,” Kokichi called back, nodding seriously. “I get a little nervous sometimes when we have veggie soups--I never know if there’s gonna be chunks of bell peppers that’ll ruin my whole night. You wouldn’t believe how many Scovilles they are.”

Zero. They were zero. They didn’t even have capsaicin. 

As the day went on, there was a message that started being sent out from all the stages between sets, and then sometimes in the middle of them. Three PM, the water fight was going to start at the east end of Ramnas Park. Go to registration there before 2:30 if you want to participate.

So…at a close two o’clock, that’s where the group was headed. And…for the first time, Kokichi was going to participate in the waterfight. 

“It’ll probably be hard to get equipment,” he hummed to Shuuichi. “People bring stuff from home, get it checked out beforehand to be cleared, and…like I don’t think the stuff they provide is that bad, but I think we’re out of time to get anything extra.”

“Hm,” Shuichi hummed back, leaning against Kokichi a bit as he said, “Somehow… I think it’ll be okay… if we’re not allowed to ‘commandeer’ equipment from those with butterfingers, you might want to inform Maki and Kaito early. Just a warning.”

“See? See? There was spice! I could taste it.” Kaito insisted, and he meant it. One hundred percent. The power of suggestion was a serious thing, as he shuddered, “I nearly threw up. But I managed it! And, oh man, Maki, there was this woman there–”

“I know, you said. Waku looked nice.”

“No! No, a different woman! She was terrifying! Absolutely your type!”

Tim, who had been idly playing fetch with Chase, looked up at that. Still, he kept throwing the stick that his pup would run off to grab before returning to the group, only wrestling with Tim a little bit as she returned the stick, Tim considering that new piece of information. Chase, in turn, dealt with the old puppy dilemma… want fetch! But no take stick dad… but fetch, dad! Throw stick! 

No take stick. No. Only throw.

“...do you date women, mom?” Tim finally just asked. 

“Usually,” Maki responded, “Though I’m not really planning to date anyone at the moment, Timothy. Your father just likes to daydream about setting me up for romances.”

“I thought you dated dad though?”

“Who told you about that?” Kaito asked, genuinely curious who had brought that up to Tim, before snorting as Tim glanced at Shuichi. Ah. “Your mom likes both men and women. So does your dad, for that matter. We have that in common.”

“Your taste is way more indiscriminate than mine.” Maki said dryly, Kaito just shrugging at that, before Maki said to Tim, “...do you have any opinions, about the idea of me dating?”

Timothy shrugged. “Not really.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to get along with someone who’s unkind to you. It will matter, what you think about them. I don’t plan to date anyone who can’t so much as get along with my kid. They sound like a waste of time.”

“Really?” Tim asked.

‘Mhm.” Maki said, turning her red eyes on him as she said sternly, “Though I won’t tolerate you being unkind either. Understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good… and still, all that aside, it’s not really a factor right now anyway. I’m not looking to date anyone, Kaito.”

Kaito leaned in close, whispering in her ear, “You don’t have to date her–”

Maki rolled her eyes, pushing his face away. Whaaaaaatever, Momota. She wasn’t looking for that either. Not right now.

Kokichi snorted softly. “They’ll go over all the rules when we register, and probably briefly when everyone starts, but…yeah. I’ll mention it. There are usually caches you can find on the route, or with a little exploring. We won’t be on a team, but…I hope we can find something cool.”

A little curious, Kokichi listened in on the parent talk, smiling a little at Maki’s reassurances for Tim. It wouldn’t be the easiest thing, dating new people with a kid, but…well, Maki was right. It was a fast way to see if someone was going to be a waste of time. 

(Personally, he couldn’t see that fire-breathing woman with Maki. That pitying look she’d given Souda wouldn’t go over well with Maki, and…well, she was really into spicy food. Maki would probably agree with Kaito that a bell pepper was spicy if they framed it that way.)

(Maybe they could make good friends, but…there still wasn’t much of a basis to start from.)

“Can’t believe how insanely lucky I got from the dating pool,” Kokichi hummed, squeezing Shuuichi’s hand. “First two people I ever dated? Married one and I’m marrying the other. A perfect batting average.”

“I could maybe make the argument I’m in the same boat, but when it comes to just ‘didn’t date anyone, now married’? You probably have a cleaner break between the two parts of your life,” Shuichi said, smiling lightly as he squeezed back. 

“We doing this water sport thing?” Oliver asked, looking to Kyoko.

“You may if you’d like. I plan to sit out. I’ll watch from the sidelines.” The purple woman said simply, looking over her shoulder and frowning disapprovingly, “What are you laughing about, Neko?”

“NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING!” Nekomary snorted, waving his hand dismissively, “IDLE THOUGHT! DON’T MIND ME!”

“Do you plan to join?” Kyoko asked him.

“SURE, WHY NOT? ALWAYS LIKE A LITTLE PLAYFIGHTING. PLUS!” Nekomaru leaned in, whispering to the girls conspiratorially, “My girl things I’m just gonna accidentally break her sweet bouncing baby boy if I so much as breathe around him wrong. He’s gonna be participating! I’ll show her I can play nice with the kid!”

“Can you?” Oliver asked point blank, giving Nekomaru a raised eyebrow, “You do get her whole thing is she doesn’t want you to train him, and you train as often as you breathe. You gonna just let the kid play?”

“I’M FUN! I CAN JUST HANG OUT! KIDS LOVE ME!”

Maki’s ears pricked at that, hearing ‘kids’ clearly, and she said to Tim, “When we play, you stick with me. Understand?”

“Yes,” Tim said, looking to Kyoko as he said, “Miss Kirigiri, would you watch Chase while we play?”

“Of course.” Miss Kirigiri said, the group getting to the field this was apparently going to take place in, looking around for a place to sit… “How do I make her come with me? Do you have a leash?”

Tim looked down to Chase, catching her attention, before nodding at Kyoko.

Chase barked, then headed to Kyoko, sitting at her feet. “Wow, that is a well behaved dog.” Oliver said, genuinely impressed.

“Well, that’s true,” Kokichi giggled. “Shuu-chan was just bein’ smart, having a more standard trial run.”

Already out in the middle of the field they could see scattered groups of people, not necessarily waiting for the race, but taking advantage of the cordoned off area to fling and splash water at each other, getting a break from the rays of the sun. 

Along with just…getting to participate in something so big at all, Kokichi was excited for that part too. He was more than a little sweaty, even with the shade breaks they’d taken. 

Getting over to the registration tent, signing up and starting to listen to the involved spiel of the rules--Kokichi would be worried that this was a bit pointed, but one of the other volunteers had sighed as the salt-and-pepper speckled man sternly started checking them him, this apparently something he’d been doing with every contestant--Kokichi perked up as he glanced at someone coming up over the crest of the hill, waving a little before turning back to the guidelines. 

Ikuo, making his grand appearance with a…sizable bag in hand.

Oliver watched Kyoko’s eyes follow Kokichi’s wave and focus… before laughing lightly, ending in a small sigh, “Have fun, darling~”

“Be safe.” Kyoko responded automatically, heading over to where Ikou had parked himself. 

As the group signed up and listened to the rules– what?? What do you mean, no contact?? How are you supposed to disarm people???-- Kyoko went up to Ikou and gave him a small, polite bow, “May I sit?”

“‘A course,” Ikuo nodded back, tipping his hat. “Hope y’all’s Zenith’s been nice, Miss Kirigiri. Know ‘Kich’s been pumped ta share it with y’all fer months.”

Acknowledging the bag at his feet, Ikuo gave a fond nod towards their large group under the registration tent, even from afar seeing how…well, pretty much everyone but Kokichi’s gazes sharpened dramatically as they took in the map of the “in bounds” area, a stretch between and including two different parks, with the “prize” pedestal hidden somewhere. But…given the ‘race’ nature, most likely in the other park. Unless…

“Di’n think they’d be doin’ much shoppin’ jus’ fer this, so I brought a few doodahs. Thinkin’ Maki ‘n Shu’chi migh’ enjoy the range ‘a water balloons.”

“Shuichi and Maki both prefer quick takedowns, relying on speed and maneuvers that will disable their opponents immediately. As they do not have access to those techniques in this setting, I imagine ranged attacks would be preferable,” Kyoko agreed, considering the group in question as she mused, “Prince Kaito tends to prefer the ‘fastest way forward is through’ method, opening himself up to all sorts of damage on the basis of the idea that ‘he can take more than them’. Foolish, except historically accurate. For a royal, he can take a considerable amount of punishment. Mind you…”

She leaned in, as if sharing a secret with the man, “I expect in a challenge specifically like this? Kaito is wearing a considerable amount of new clothes. He may not be shy of pain, but this challenge may be uniquely interesting to him because he may prioritize keeping dry over the race. I’ll be interested to see how that goes.”

“What about Kokichi?” She asked curiously, watching them be shown where the starting point is, “How will he fare?”

Ikuo nodded, finding the analysis of Shuuichi and Maki to be consistent with the people he knew them to be. With the race being non-contact? And a hit of water meaning a brief “frozen” moment? Shuuichi would probably want to be as far as he could manage from the splashzone. Maki too, for practicality, but she would likely opt for a mid or close range option as well, just wanting to keep herself adaptable for any situation she might find herself in. There was one water shooter in the bag that Ikuo had picked up, immediately thinking of Maki when he saw its relatively small size, compared to the extra water storage it could hold. 

Though, with Kaito, there was a little huff of a laugh from the man. “Could’n’ find much resemblin’ a water sword, an’ there’s less aplomb t’ a washcloth, though they do get handy later on. ‘E’ll find a way, though. Always does.”

Smirking a little, Ikuo let Kyouko in on a little secret of his own. “Kich’ tol’ me ‘e made sure ta get Kaito robes that’d be fine wi’ a bit’ta water. Dunno if Kaito knows that, though.”

Looking over to his son, Ikuo nodded a bit, fondness in the depths of his eyes. “Coul’ surprise me, bu’ I don’ think ‘e’s gon treat this as a fight, or as a race. Maybe next year ‘e woul’, but…”

“This is ‘is fir’s one. Part of th’ fun is gettin’ splashed ‘n soaked, an’ Denj’ made his clothes specifically with the figh’ in mind. ‘E’s prolly gonna try an’ get in the thick ‘a things, givin’ an’ takin’ as much as ‘e can before time’s up.”

“Ah, I see. In my experience, it’s always the small ones that get underfoot the most. I’ve always believed there was something emboldening in everyone around you being giants. If all hills are mountains, what’s the difference in the climb? Might as well climb them all.” Kyoko smirked slightly, looking down at Ikou as she said, “I hope that’s not an unkind observation. I mean it in an admirable way.”

Over at the group, Kaito frowned as he looked between the assortment of ‘weapons’, scratching his cheek a little as he said, “So this is a race. Okay… and if you notice yourself getting wet, you have to stop moving for… what was it?”

Ikuo shrugged a bit, something half-amused in his eyes. “Ain’t no bother ta me, or ta ‘Kich’ in m’eyes. No hidden secret we’re smaller folk--means we gotta get more creative ta reach higher shelves, but ain’t more different than most are to each other.”

“Ten seconds,” one of the aides answered. “We largely expect people to adhere to the honor system, since there’s no point in the game otherwise, but moderators around the area will be looking out for people breaking the rules. Not freezing or not taking the whole time are usually given chances of reasonable doubt of the perpetrator just not noticing, but infractions of purposeful contact or harm with another contestant will mean the perpetrator will be asked to leave the game.”

“If you or someone you notice needs help or medical aid, you can call for it and raise a hand with this gesture,” Almost like you were counting to the number two, but with the fingers together, “And one of the moderators will come to help. If you see someone holding this gesture, they’re exempt from participation, so you shouldn’t aim for them. Moderators will be wearing this red arm and headbands,” they nodded towards where Nazumi was getting a set of them herself, having brokered a deal to follow Kokichi through the course as a moderator, “So you will be able to quickly identify them. There’s no point in aiming for them either.”

“Oooookay.” Kaito said, still looking mildly uncertain, as Maki picked up the sponges with a mild look of disdain, “I know it’s not teams, but can one of us bring a… bucket or something? Feels like these guys might be a ‘one and done’ sort of deal…”

Kyoko, idly reading Kaito’s lips, leaned into Ikou and said, “They’re starting to whine about the equipment available. Go, this is your hero moment.” 

The moderator gave Kaito a dry look, but answered, “Buckets are acceptable equipment as long as, of course, you’re not throwing the whole thing at someone. There are various ‘water stations’ across the play area for re-fills, the trade-off being that you’re out in the open in a known area.”

Snorting softly, Ikuo tipped his hat to Kyouko before getting up. “Obliged fer ya cue, ma’am.”

Heading over to the kids (and Nekomaru and Oliver) Ikuo gave the group a small wave. “Don’t go committin’ too soon, Kaito. I did some shoppin’ fer y’all t’day, so I’d ‘ppreciate if ya took a look befer crushin’ m’ heart.”

“Dad…” Kokichi laughed, giving his dad a fond, thankful look. “Thank you!”

“Oh, good. I thought we were heading into battle unarmed.” Maki said.

“Not a battle! Just a race.” Kaito insisted, as Shuchi and Timothy went to peek into the bag, Shuichi immediately going for the water pump while Maki, peeking over his shoulder, whispered to him to pass her the small pistol, while Timothy grabbed some wash cloths, “We’re gonna go out there and be nice, guys. Good race, in good fun!”

“WHO WENT AND NEUTERED YOU, PRINCE KAITO?” Nekomaru laughed, clasping Kaito on the back, ignoring Kaito’s small murmur of ‘I actually can’t remember the docs name’, while Oliver considered the water balloons and recharge, “WHAT, NO COMPETITIVE SPIRIT LEFT? RELAX, THIS WILL BE FUN!”

“We’re not going to make fools of ourselves, Kaito, it’s fine.” Shuichi smiled, “Don’t worry, Mr. Nidai is correct. We can get a little competitive without it being weird.”

Kokichi nodded, backing up Shuuichi’s reassurances. “It’ll be alright! There’s gonna be other really competitive people too. We all listened to the rules--they’re comprehensive for a reason! If everyone follows them, then…no one’s gonna get hurt, and it’ll be fun.”

“Aaah, I’m really excited!” he chirped, hopping a little as they walked away from the tent, heading over to where Kyouko and Chase were to wait until the race began, seeing groups of other people start to come by too. “I can’t wait to get drenched!”

Ikuo chuckled a bit, gently ruffling Kokichi’s hair. “Yer not even thinkin’ ‘a goin’ fer th’ pedestal, huh.”

“Maybe! But more by happenstance if I do,” Kokichi giggled, admitting with a shrug. “I just wanna explore for the caches, and stay where the bulk of people are. I’ll be running interference!”

Seeing his family all picking their, uh, ‘tools’ of choice, Kaito, who kneeeeew it could get… weird. They could be weird. Which was fine! Kaito just didn’t want it to ruin Kokichi’s fun, cause his husband had been looking forward to this for months, this being one of those ‘wanted it his whole life things’, and Kaito was going to be damned if Luminary bullshit was going to ruin this for him.

And ‘Luminay bullshit’ was mostly ‘Kaito bullshit’, historically, so to keep himself from doing anything stupid… “Ya know, I think I’ll just take these two sponges! Take my shots if someone gets close, just enjoy the running part!”

“You have fun with that.” Maki said, giving the pistol (pistols, of course, being a well known term specifically used for small water pumps, and nothing else in particular) an experimental shot, “I’m going to go destroy people… within the rules.” Maki clarified, noticing the look the coordinator was giving her, “Of course.”

Kokichi gave Kaito a soft, mildly worried look, but…well. If that’s how he felt most comfortable, he wasn’t gonna bring it up. He’d watched people go through the race without anything before, so it wasn’t like Kaito was really handicapping himself much. If he was going to focus more on defense than offense, then more power to him. 

For his own kit, Kokichi picked a washcloth and a one-handed watershooter, something not quite as small as the pistol Maki had chosen, but something he would be able to steady without both hands. Hopefully all her tips about aim would help him out. 

More and more people started to come over to the park, wielding their own shooters and balloons and, yeah, buckets, some quite large and probably meant more for a one-time goof than to really be used. Most of the participants looked to be teens or young adults, though there were more than a few middle-aged folk and a few even older, and a good scattering of younger teens and preteens. Kokichi smiled softly, seeing an enthusiastic girl about Tim’s age hopping around who he presumed to be her dad.

It was almost time. 

Turning to his family, Kokichi gave them all a bright smile. “Hey, good luck! I hope you guys have fun, doing this for the first time.”

“Try not to drown, Kokichi.” Maki said simply, pumping her small pistol dramatically, “Out there, we’re all in for ourselves… except for you Tim, stick with me.”

Tim nodded, putting some of the wet washcloths in his overall pockets, “Got it.” 

“Good luck, everyone.” Shuichi smiled sweetly, “Kaito, Kokichi, if either of you shoot me, you’re not sleeping in the bed tonight.”

Nekomaru and Oliver glanced at each other, smirking slightly, Nekomary holding a large water pistol and Oliver holding a bag of water balloons and a refiller.

Kaito took a breath, holding his two wet sponges in his hands. Alright… this will be fine… don’t get competitive. Just run a good race, try to avoid getting wet…

Kaito glanced at the coordinator,  “...go?”

There was something of a ceremony, one of the coordinators standing out in front of the crowd as the clock counted down to 3. No contact! Freeze if you’re hit! Hold a hand up if you need a medic! Stay within the cordoned off areas in the two parks! First person to grab the ribbon on the pedestal at the end wins!

And with that?

“GO!!”

And the crowd was off, people dashing forward as one of the folks with the big buckets flung water high and wide over the whole crowd, causing a ruckus of laughs and teasing boos. And for the people who managed to make it out first thing?

Kokichi cackled as he darted away, eyes wide, attentive and delighted.

Ikuo, back on the bench now, watched him fondly. Happy to see his son living the life he wanted. 

“Let’s see what they do…” Kyoko mused, crossing her legs and watching curiously, as the group, among a cacophony of other people, bolted forward, many of them yelling n excited war cries. 

Shuichi kept back as Maki and Timothy rushed forward, Maki only slowing down to give Tim a chance to keep up with her. Kaito, at first just on instinct, raced ahead to try to keep up with Maki and Kokichi, before remembering he was just going for a jog and slowed himself down, now in the middle of the pack. 

“I would say… that the gentlemen in the p-coat is about to attempt to make trouble for Maki and her boy,” Kyoko said, patting against her own blouse for a moment, before pulling out a small silver flask, opening it up and taking a small sip, “I expect it will not work out for him. Vodka?” She asked, offering Ikou a sip.

On the field, an enthusiastic man wearing a p-coat in the hot summer because of the aesthetic cackled as he tried to throw a water balloon at Maki. Timothy, opening up his washcloth, jumped in front of her and caught the balloon midair by catching it in the soft middle of the cloth, closed the cloth, spun it like a sling and hurled it back at the guy, splashing him– the man in turn giving a dramatic, “GWAH!” in turn– as Maki nodded approvingly, though pulling at Timothy’s arm briefly when Tim spent too long marveling at his success. 

“Much obliged, ma’am,” Ikuo hummed, tipping his hat as he took a sip. He didn’t often indulge, but there was something nice about a little burn on a hot day. Especially to pair with his impressed nod at the fancy maneuver Tim pulled off. “Nice work… ‘Kich’s told me tha’ Tim’s ‘bout mid durin’ their tumblin’ days, but ‘e’s def’nitly picked up some creativity from it.”

Breaking away from the crowd just a little, Kokichi started running sideways, changing direction to go explore somewhere else. Though, he kept his eyes on others, arm quick to lock on to people heading after Maki and fingers quick with the pump trigger. 

Range was about to become an issue, though, as someone a little farther back aimed towards the head of the pack, letting loose a long stream of water higher into the air.

The stream caught the front of the herd, none of them having been prepared for someone literally at the front to stop and take aim at those behind them. But some people don’t wanna win, they just wanna watch the world burn (or, in this case, get a bunch of people wet) and one of those people (a thirteen year old girl giggling with delight) froze easily six people at the front. 

Which wasn’t a ton, but it was enough to severely slow down the people behind them, suddenly dodging frozen bodies left and right, trying to push forward without tripping on anyone. Maki, seeing Tim was clear, but coming across a frozen man in front of her, judged his height, knew she couldn't make that leap in her yukata… and with a quick slice from a blade that was there and gone in an instance, she sliced the side of the yukata open and, having the room to leap now, jumped over the man.

She knew she was super exposed mid-flight… and when she landed, gave Kokichi a small, appreciative nod, the prince having frozen two people who had tried taking their shot at the ex-assassin, before she continued on with her son. 

Meanwhile, at the back, Shuichi was keeping an eye out, looking for his own shot– to do what, he wasn’t sure yet, maybe aid one of the others, maybe cause some mischief himself, but suddenly found himself surrounded by three very old women, gray hairs wild and warm, mischievous smiles on their faces, massive water pistols in their hands and trained on them as the ring leader snickered, “Sorry, sonny. We know we can’t get to the front, so we have fun making sure you youngens can’t linger in the back. Time to reap your rewar– ahhhhh! Oh, fiddlesticks.”

All three women squealed as water balloons pelted them, each one landing on their chests with precision, as Oliver came up behind Shuichi, giggling and pushing him forward, “Come on, they’re right! Get in there with the rest of them kid!”

Shuchi gave her a startled look, before nodding, moving forward more to the mid-lines before the ten seconds were up and the old women could target him again.

“You ever participate in these games, Ikou?” Kyoko asked, putting her flask away after another sip, “You seem young and able. I’m surprised you’re not in the thick of it with them.”

Kokichi just grinned back at Maki before training his eyes back on the crowd, giggling at the antics of everyone just…sloshing and shooting water everywhere. Competitive, but mostly…just having a big ol’ cool down session while the sun was at its most cruel. 

“No’ in this one, nah, least fer a long time,” Ikuo shook his head. “While I was ‘round, ‘Kich’ was mostly too young fer it, though we di’ squirt ‘n splash water at each other elsewhere. An’ now…”

Ikuo shrugged a little, watching the proceedings. “Dunno. Got excited ‘nuff ta see all ‘em doin’ it I di’n’ even think ‘a signin’ up. I like bein’ able ta watch. Haven’ done it since befer ‘Kich’ was born, but…I get more fun outta seein’ folks have their fun.”

There was a flurry of horsey laughs from the middle of the park, Kokichi having dodged one, two water balloons, but the third exploding into his thigh, followed by a small stream of water hitting him in the chest, not having expected to hit and only had because he’d frozen. Calling out a ‘nice hit!’, honestly…the water was more refreshing than anything. He could catch back up in a moment.

Kaito, as Kyoko had predicted, was mostly trying his damn best to not get wet, playing it extremely safe and mostly keeping away from large groups that would prove too tempting a target as he kept an eye on all his people, grinning slightly as he watched Kokichi’s excitement at being hit. Aw, cute… okay, Kokichi’s good, Shuichi’s partnered with Oliver, Maki and Tim were racing ahead, where was…

“HA HA HA HA, WHAT’S GOT YOU RUNNING SCARED, PRINCE KAITO!?” Nekomaru asked, Kaito whipping around and staring down the face of his massive water gun, Nekomaru looking pleased as punch to have snuck up on him, “SCARED OF GETTING WET? THAT WON’T DO! HERE, I’LL HELP YA OUT,” Nekomaru snickered, clearly enjoying himself, “IT’LL BE JUST LIKE GETTING YOUR FIRST KNICK IN A SPARE! ONCE FIRST BLOODS DRAWN, AIN’T NO REASON TO TO BE SCARED OF THE PAI–”

There’s no more apt description for what happened. Kaito just… punched water at him. 

It was pure impulse, throwing his arm forward and, clenching his right hand into a fist, squeezing the sponge, the water splashing out and, uh… ‘punchng’ Nekomaru in the face. The massive man looked in bafflement at Kaito, who blinked back, both of them surprised at what he did…

“Heh heh heh…” Nekomaru cracked his neck a little, an ominous grin on his face, “You got ten seconds, your grace.” 

Kaito bolted for it.

“Hmmmm,” Kyoko hummed, watching Nekomaru’s murder aura go from ‘static’ to ‘lightning’ while Kaito ran as fast as he could to put space between them with fond interest. She was glad to see them enjoying themselves. “What about when you were younger, before Kokichi? Did you enjoy things like this with family?”

“Sure, bein’ a tyke m’self, though we di’n’ have nothin’ grand as in th’ city,” Ikuo nodded, watching Kaito absolutely book it, Kokichi bolting into movement again as his seconds were up, launching himself back into the crowd. “Couldn’ see competitions ‘a dressin’ up work-horses here, but I got some fond mem’ries of it. Ain’t got thing li’ cliff divin’ out here either.”

“Sure ya know, since Shu’chi’s got it from somewhere,” Ikuo said lightly with a bit of fond humor, “Bu’ after those years, I mostly was th’ entertainment. S’ppose it’s jus’ a diff’rent facet, but I liked seein’ all th’ tykes havin’ fun watchin’ back then too. Tryna somersault their li’l hearts out after a show.”

“Wha’ ‘bout yerself? Ya strike me as an observer through an’ through, but ya got anything in partic’lar that revs ya competition?”

Kyoko nodded, patting the other side of her jacket, looking for something… before finding a silver, intricately designed cigarette case. Taking it out, long, extremely thin, cigarette. Carefully, putting the case back, she took out a small napkin, embroidered with a little light purple ‘K’ on its edge, before taking the edge of her thumb nail and, carefully keeping it on the napkin, she cut open the cigarette. 

With the open cigarette, there was the faintest smell of dry nicotine. Kyoko, leaving the napkin in her lap, took a small sigh of a breath, letting the scent drift up… “Apologies.” She said, shrugging lightly, leaving the napkin there, “I know nicotine is rare here. I’ve learned since the border to not light these here. But the scent of them gives me a sort of comforting placebo effect, if nothing else. I tend to find it eases my nerves when I’m away from my team.”

Looking curiously at Ikou, she smiled softly, “Shuichi does come by it honestly. And I’m afraid what stokes my competitive fire is the thrill of the chase, finding a truth asked, regardless of the consequences. The fulfillment of matching up to my purpose and birthright. That, along with nicotine, has proven my two main addictions difficult to appease, here in Dicea. One due to difficulty, the other due to ease.”

“For instance,” Kyoko smiled, giving Ikou a warm, if slightly sheepish look on her usually cold, distant features, her lavender hair glistening playfully in the sun, “I was able to find very little information on your family. But I imagine that’s going to prove less a ‘secret’ and more just no one ever thought it was worth writing down. May I ask?”

Ikuo regarded the case, and then cigarette curiously, though he just nodded at her explanation. There were designated smoking areas, for those that partook, but…generally, she was correct. Unless you were in an outdoor area of a private residence, or one of those areas, smoking just…wasn’t a common thing to see in Dicea, and especially smoking nicotine. It was good she found an acceptable substitution. 

For her other passion in life, though…

Ikuo laughed softly. “Yer boy’s mentioned much ‘a th’ same--can’t say I wish it was much diff’rent though.”

He nodded, knowing well this was likely the interview Shuuichi had warned him about but…well, he didn’t mind. Maybe it still wasn’t much of a chase, but he didn’t mind indulging. “Grew up in Foncett--li’l farmin’ village off t’ th’ north-east. Farms do a li’l ‘a ev’rythin’, ‘spec ta feed the folks there, but we di’ do more wi’ raisin’ cattle ‘n root vegetables. Lived wi’ m’ Ma an’ Pa, Ma’s sisters an’ their fam’lies, and m’ Pa’s folks.”

Ikuo gave Kyouko a considering nod. “Foncett’s th’ type ‘a place that folks don’ tend ta leave, least back then. Ya grow up, find ya place ‘mong the folks you’ve known fer decades, then raise ya own fam’ly. Liked it well ‘nuff, I s’ppose, an’ I ain’t got things ta complain ‘bout, but…” He shrugged. “Weren’t fer me. Felt th’ itchin’ ta go explore th’ worl’ I knew was bigger. Still talk wi’ m’ folks, but even happy wi’ more stability these days, ‘m happier out here than back there.”

“Mmm,” Kyoko hummed, watching Oliver and Shuichi freeze the locked in combat– now literally– Kaito and Nekomaru as they splashed them, and quite a few unlucky people around them, before making a run for one of the refill stations. She wondered if they were getting along, then, and let the scent of the nicotine settle her tightly wound nerves as she said, “So, a country lad striking out for the adventures and opportunities of the big city. A common story, even in Luminary. There’s always the appeal of the large unknown. And what’s more large and unknown than the press of thousands and thousands of people, each and every one a labyrinth upon themselves, all carving space in the same forty acres on top of each other? The appeal is madness when you spell it out, but I honestly can’t comprehend why anyone chooses anything else.”

“Nekomaru disagrees. He’s quite fond of the fantasy of being a hermit in the wilderness somewhere, living off the land and never speaking to another soul if he never has too again,” Kyoko said, watching the seconds pass and Nekomaru try to shoot Kaito again, who dodged by ducking down but, his sponges replenished by Shuichi and Olivers attack, doing two more jabs of water in Nekomaru’s direction, forcing him to step back to dodge them, “But then, his ventures to go meet people unlike himself were always unhappy things. It can’t be helped that his lifestyle affected his desire to get to know people at all.”

“I often worried my charge might come out the same way. Living in fear of other people is a waste. Dreadful and boring. It’s incredibly difficult, to insist on wariness and paranoia in all things and people, but not to succumb to endless, crippling fear. Sometimes I believe if it were not for Kaito and Maki, I would have failed in that with him,” Kyoko said, breathing in the nicotine, mixed and matched with the scent of water in the warm air, before saying with almost idleness, “According to rumors and certain case files, my charge had some difficulties getting to know Diceans when he arrived. Found himself in dreadful company. You weren’t around for that, yes?”

“‘S understandable,” Ikuo nodded, adjusting his hat. “Worl’ takes all types, even if Mr. Nidai’s story’s a diff’rent case. At a point, we all jus’ haf’ta find what gives us peace. An…I can’t claim ta know much ‘a anythin’...bu’ I hope you an’ ‘im find ya peace. Though, y’all are ‘ready takin’ advantage ‘a th’ new.” Clearly, from their extended vacation in Dicea at all, first in their careers if he understood right, and in Kyouko’s relatively public relationship with Oliver. 

“Shu’chi’s a good kid,” Ikuo said with a soft fondness. “Can’ particularly call any of ‘em, my Bun included, social butterflies, but ‘e’s gotten some good friends. The casual folks people need fer a chat an’ a smile.”

…and for the less beneficial people… Ah. He wondered if Shuuichi knew this was the path his mentor would take. He’d give him a heads up later. For as much as Shuuichi and Kyouko seemed to be working on things between them…Ikuo was loyal to Shuuichi first. And something like this was his business to tell. 

It was with a disappointed sigh Ikuo adjusted his hat, nodding somberly. “Was befer I came back, ye. Maybe this’ll jus’ give ya more ambition fer th’ chase but…I don’ know much ‘bout it either. Shu’chi di’n’ wanna talk ‘bout it, an’ I respect that. Th’ whole business wi’ the cult an’ th’ epidemic…” Ikuo shook his head, a slight tightness in his lips. “...M jus’ thankful it weren’ worse. Bad ‘nuff as it was.”

“I see…” Kyoko said, gently laying her nail in the small plant bush on her lap, idly displacing it and folding it to send up a fresh scent, the scent maybe slightly different then Ikou might be used too for cigarettes. Nicotine plants did grow in Luminary, but only the most durable variety had managed to flourish in the dry climate, the veins thick and the leaves sharp and brittle, the overall scent they gave off slightly more acidic than Diceas. Kyoko was running out of ones that had the comforting familiarity she desired. She was not looking forward to trying to substitute Dicea’s. Perhaps on occasion she’d try their marijuana plants… carefully. A drug that dulled her senses wasn’t an ideal substitute, but it’d be better than her taking more shots of her flask, a habit she already regretted but had been her vice since her teens years. Pot would make her dim, but the alcohol would make her incompetent.

She could go purely sober, certainly, but she wasn’t looking forward to the aggressive edge she’d feel, trying to pursue it. Oliver always insisted that the anger would go away if she gave sobriety time, but Oliver had never had to deal with addiction issues before. Had simply taken advantage of others vices, never indulging herself. Kyoko tried not to envy it.

“My charge hasn’t spoken to me about it either. I believe Shuichi is under the impression I must know everything already.” Kyoko said… before admitting, “He’s not wrong. I know the details. I don’t need the facts of the case. My question is more curiosity on the climate that allowed it. I cannot determine, just yet, if Shuichi’s situation arisen from his own paranoia, successfully hiding it, the influence of other parties, successfully pulling strings, or a bias against my charge that allowed said events to occur, and in turn, would allow for further harm to come upon him in the future.”

She said this, expression cold, distant… before she smiled at Ikou, “But, then, first hand accounts can be very difficult to get when those in question have something to hide. I had hoped, as someone who was not there, and thus no personal wrong-doing to embarrass you, if you might ease some of my fears? I won’t ask you to air the castles dirty laundry, as I know these people matter to you, and I respect that. All I ask is: is my Shuichi in danger at the castle from an incident like this again? In your opinion?”

Ikuo was loyal to Shuuichi…but he did think that he--and Maki too, in her own ways--thought of their mentors as…superhuman. Always focused on the job, though their love for their kids were undeniable. But the aura of mindgames and competence would always come first. 

There was certainly a delicate balancing act to consider, but…Ikuo didn’t think that was quite right, especially after meeting the mentors. Kyouko really was worried about Shuuichi. This wasn’t a mindgame--at least, mostly--and it wasn’t a dig to go harass someone who was already dealing with the consequences of their actions, regardless of how Luminaries felt about their appropriateness. 

Still, he was loyal to his boy, and it was his story to tell. 

“I understand,” he tipped his cap. “There weren’ a day tha’ wen’ by I di’n worry ‘bout how ‘Kich’ was doin’, even with how things’d calmed down when I left… It ain’t easy lettin’ yer boy fly free, ‘specially if he’s already gotten hurt.”

Sighing, Ikuo gave her a soft look. “From how ‘e an’ ‘Kich’ talk ‘bout it…it was a sitch tha’ got outta control, tha’ they di’n have any help with, both from folks wantin’ ta give ‘em space, an’ from not askin’ fer it.”

“However… Well, I know y’all are skeptical of it, but the kid’s’ve been puttin’ in th’ work fer therapy.” Ikuo smiled proudly, watching Kokichi snap his washcloth quickly and catch three people in the spray. “They know they have help, an’ where ta find it, an’ how ta recognize when someone’s tryna prevent ‘em from gettin’ help.”

“Th’ future ain’t somethin’ anyone can tell fer sure. But…if somethin’ on par with a drug addiction? Or talkin’ wi’ cultists came ‘round? I trust that they’d be able ta get the help they’d need this time. No’ lettin’ it get to th’ point it did befer. I can hope fer th’ best, an’ I do, but…more than that, I trust that they’d be able ta get each other outta any hole they migh’ stumble into.”

…Kyoko had to respect it. The man was good at saying quite a bit without giving anything particularly useful away. Hm.

In truth, Kyoko didn’t have all the facts. Not all the ones she wanted, anyway. She had an incomplete list of names that Ikou hadn’t added anything too, nor did she have a better idea of who was anti-Luminary within the castle, Ikou not giving any hints of rumors. Which, could mean he didn’t know. But if he suspected, he hadn’t given them up to her, not even to appease her maternal concern.

Hm. 

When it came to things like bias? Things like casual cruelty, the sort of thing that only proves deadly in the most important moments, or builds up over time, slowly breaking a person down, no one ever actually writes anything down. Casual bias was difficult to pin because those who had it rarely ever did anything that was, one, strictly illegal, or two, easily pin-pointed as strictly because of the bias. 

In Kyoko’s experience, it usually ended up being crimes more like… well, turning a blind eye when something could be done to help a person they disliked who was in danger. Quietly enjoying and gently encouraging someone’s failure. To put it as a metaphor? They would never set someone on fire, but if you happened to catch ablaze, they wouldn’t waste spit to put you out.

Those sorts of people? Could only be found by rumors. Word of mouth. People tended to know, almost on instinct, who that was among them. But no one wrote it down. Thus, Kyoko kept poking and poking, gently prying, hoping to get the lean in as someone whispered, “Well, of course they’d never do anything, but mr or miss so and so’s never really been a fan…”

Kyoko didn’t plan to do anything in particular with this knowledge. She simply tried to collect it in hopes she could pass it on to Shuichi before she left. Give her charge another defense of knowledge, before her skills became distant and useless to him. But no one was giving anything up, so far. The Diceans incredibly close knit.

Hm. Well, she had tapped Ikou. At least that was one more person off the list. 

Smiling at him, she said gracefully, voice gentle, “I appreciate you indulging what I’m certain sounded like accusations. I apologize. As you said, it can be difficult to not worry over a charge you’ve left behind. And Shuichi experienced all of these issues unfortunately during a period of time I could be there for him the least. I suppose I’m overcompensating a bit, to make up for my absence. I imagine you must know the feeling.”

“It ain’t no thing,” Ikuo bowed his head to her. “All we wan’ is fer our kids ta be well. Harder thing than it should be in this worl’, seems like. …specially here.”

He sighed softly, looking out at all the people flinging water at each other, laughing and smiling together. He hadn’t known everyone who fought in the war, obviously. But…being around ten years did give you more than a few familiar faces. A recognition for the empty moments in someone’s eyes, or a moment to look after an injury. 

“...ya know, th’ kids were right worried ta meet me. Though’ I’d hate ‘em, since I’d jus’ come back after a decade ‘a fightin’ their kin.” Ikuo leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I ain’t really th’ type, ‘spec’ly after what I’d seen…but that worry ain’t unfounded.”

“However…it ain’t a surprise.” He looked back at Kyouko, the sun shining in tired brown eyes at the odd angle. “Fer better or fer worse…folks ain’t quiet. Subtle, maybe, jus’ ‘cause we’ve left th’ fightin’ ta th’ battlefield, but…it ain’t a surprise.”

“...’magine it ain’t too much of a bother, but folks’ve left ya ‘lone?”

Truthfully…?

“Yes,” She said, giving Ikou a small nod, “Beyond a few uncomfortable questions from curious strangers? Myself, Nekomaru and Oliver have all had quite a delightful, uneventful visit. I’m quite fond of your museums, personally, and Oliver requests to walk through the gardens nearly every day. Nekomaru, in turn, has found himself mildly addicted to your spas and massage parlors, enjoying the pampering.”

“Most people don’t recognize us as Luminary,” Kyoko said, shrugging a little. “Not surprising, we are neighbors. I imagine that in the grand scope of the world, our people are literally cousins. There’s no obvious physical difference between us, and unless you’re looking for it, our accents aren’t even that notably different either, not in comparison to city accents and country accents, in either country.”

“And when it does come up? And people do recognize it?” Kyoko said, watching fondly as Nekomaru, for reasons she didn’t entirely understand but she was certain was strategic in some way, hoisted Timothy over his shoulder and let the kid use his water gun to shoot behind them while Nekomary and Maki made a bolt for another refill station, Kokichi and Kaito, it seemed, giving chase with others in a makeshift truce, “It’s very strange, but as knowledge crosses the borders, I’ve found saying I am a former indentured gives me an almost free pass even among the most distrusting or repulsed. As people learn about the program here, once they discover our roots, their tone and inflection immediately changes. Sympathetic and sweet, like how one might talk to a frightened animal, almost… and talks of Luminary?”

Kyoko chuckled slightly, a genuinely amused, if cold, look on her face, “If they were already so inclined towards that way of thinking? They seem to take it as a given, when they start insulting my home and my people, that I must feel the same way. How could I not? When by the very nature of my place in it, I must by sheer sense of self-worth, be an enemy to the people who demeaned and subjugated me. Certainly, I’d be mad or brainwashed to feel any other way about it, and since I seem to have a good head on my shoulders, people speak to me easily and casually about how terrible and horrifying my birth country is.”

“It’s easy to go along with them, and I usually do. Creating enemies casually is foolish, and, well… perhaps I am an enemy to my home? I aided in the revolution. For almost the whole of my life… but I never considered myself an enemy, doing so.” Kyoko said softly, “I was just someone trying to make things better. I never had an intention of being ‘other’. Of displacing my family through my revolutionary actions… but from the way Maki and Kaito speak of it, from how he speaks of it, Shuichi has denounced Luminary entirely. It was a side effect of my actions I had not expected…”

Kyoko blinked, before looking surprised at herself, suddenly uncomfortable as she said, “I apologize. I speak quite a bit, but I hadn’t meant to… that was more candid then I intended. I do not usually speak of such things, if you could be discreet on my feelings on the subject, should anyone ever ask.”

“Tha’s good ta hear,” Ikuo said quietly. “E’en th’ small stuff can wear on, bu’...’m glad that y’all’ve been able ta enjoy yer vacation.”

That was the thing, about living in a place like Dicea. They were all inclusive! Everyone was free to live their lives as they liked!

…as long as you became Dicean. Given, that definition could be pretty wide, but…it meant that there were certain parts that a foreigner had to throw away or hide in order to find peace. In some cases, it was even easier to be from another continent, simply because Diceans had less to be on the lookout for to find things that were ‘other’. Luminaries, for all that they were physically the same, for all that everyone on the planet had a heart (even metaphorically for the folks who didn’t physically), really got the short end of the stick just…because they were close. Because they had forged their own culture, and just enough of it was known in Dicea to be recognizable to those that were looking, but not enough to inspire greater understanding. 

Unfortunately, Ikuo couldn’t tell Kokichi that his anxieties were just all in his head. 

A little surprised, but accepting of Kyouko’s vent, Ikuo just gave her a nod. “No words’ll touch even th’ tip of a lamb’s ear.”

“...bu’ if yer interested ‘n some real outsider’s words…” Ikuo sighed softly. “...think Shu’chi was ready ta leave Luminary behind since ‘e crossed th’ border. There were a few things still tyin’ ‘im--you, tha’ Yuta lad, brief moments ‘a belongin’... But, from what I understand, ‘e was mad from th’ beginnin’ ‘bout Maki investin’ hersel’ in a figh’ ‘e no longer saw as their problem. Wi’ you no’ talkin’, an’ Yuta comin’ here…could see ‘im jus’ wantin’ ta leave Luminary behind as a place ‘a pain.”

“...a country ain’t a person. It ain’t Aiichi, no more than i’ was Leon ‘r Byak’ya ‘r Kaede. Know that were somethin’ ‘Kich’ struggled wi’ fer months, tryna be kind ‘bout his support fer y’all in th’ revolution in Kaito’s face…” Ikuo sighed, but there was something of a smile on his face. “Think you an’ m’ boy migh’ be more alike than ya think, ma’am.”

“Up ‘til now…people who know ‘ve gotten a real bias--only Luminaries they know ‘r the ones that hated or were scared ‘nuff in Luminary that they made a desperate chance ta be anywhere else. Some folks migh’ be feelin’ like they’re bolsterin’ solidarity, easin’ feelin’s ‘a failure or betrayal. Others,” Ikuo scoffed, “R jus’ racist. Bu’ ‘specially now…folks ‘r righ’ fools ta think there ain’t things in Luminary ta be proud of.”

“There are quite a few things my kingdom has to be proud of.” Kyoko agreed, nodding, “One being a recent, long time revolution finally taking hold. Though, I imagine the difference between one Momota holding the throne versus another might not be inherently obvious to anyone who lives outside our culture, as that’s another question I’ve gotten from the curious and callous. But the difference is simply this: Kaede used the public to put herself on the throne. And by doing so, is a glaring, public symbol the common man can hold the elites accountable, and put who they like in charge.”

“Queen Kaede took quite the risk, doing it how she did. Having Byakuya assassinated, along with his parents, would have been a much quicker and less messy process, and no one could have denied it to her once it was done, even if everyone knew she had had them killed,” Kyoko mused, “The fact that she chose to have Bykuya overthrown, rather than murdered? To take control by the will of the people. Half the common love her for it, and the other half fear her now for what she’s willing to do, but either way, it’s a symbol that the elite couldn’t hold power without us. Now common who fought for the queen are holding positions in office, are heading departments, some have even gained nobility by being gifted land stricken by nobles with terrifying reputations. Luminary just did a reshuffling of our entire system of government, by the will of the common… I’d say we have quite a bit to be proud of.”

“...indeed, we don’t indulge in water sports back home as much as you do here. I thought the concept was a little odd, at first, but having seen it now, I can see why Diceans enjoy it so much.” Kyoko said, “Seems refreshing.”

Ikuo nodded, smiling slightly. Not quite as cut and dry, but…he had heard similar sentiments, at least, from Kokichi. A few passing remarks from Aiichi too, now that he was thinking about it. 

Honestly, the people who couldn’t see the revolution for the accomplishment it was--though, on the whole, Diceans did see it as something worth celebrating--the questions and all that…it just came from a place of being spoiled. It was a good thing for their home, that they couldn’t understand the struggles that Luminary had been, and still was dealing with, but…it meant that it was harder to really see the rest of the world. Diceans looked at Luminary and said, ‘well, duh, of course power comes from the greater people! Hey, why isn’t literally every issue you have solved? We did it, why can’t you?’ And they didn’t stop to consider that Diceans had been working to their present for hundreds more years. That change, while some could be dramatic and rapid, mostly took place on a scale of centuries. 

The steps Luminary had taken in the revolution they’d won, the risk Kaede had taken for the new shape of their leading force…it was huge. An accomplishment to be glowingly proud of. 

“Seems silly ta do in th’ mi’l of a desert,” Ikuo hummed in turn. “Folks woul’n be so eager if we were in th’ mi’l of a drought…but we’re lucky. Go’ th’ chance t’ spare in coolin’ down in th’ mi’l ‘a summer in a creative way. …oh.”

It was barely even a wince, as muted as it was, as Ikuo spotted Kokichi skidding on the wet grass and falling back. Though, it wasn’t even a second before he was lifting his shooter again, catching all the people who’d tried to leap on his opportunity by surprise.

“Your charge is determined to ruin his clothes,” Kyoko smirked, “Though all of them look drenched. Perhaps we should make certain towels are ready for them when the game ends.”

Meanwhile, on the field…

God it was madness out here! Why was everyone coming back!? What was even at the pedestal, certainly someone had the thing already! 

Truces had been formed and broken. Friend and foe backstabbed and rescued with equal whim and determination, no one entirely certain how the race was going, no one entirely certain who was ahead. At one point Kaito thought he had been near the pedestal, only to look around and see nothing but clearing, mud, and water pistols taking aim. Was the pedestal moved?? What was happening?

Either way, Kaito hoped Shuichi didn’t know who had, uh, ‘punched water’ at the back of his head. Kaito could do it, but truthfully he was too big to sleep comfortably on the window seat. He basically had to sleep in a ball to make it work.

Kaito’s own method was as straightforward as it was impractical. Use other peoples attacks to refill his sponges, and punch the air to splash people in close range. He had considered several times just going to the outskirts, getting out of the way, but… there was something about knowing he had full sponges to use. He kept going back in the fray, just wanting to spend the last of his ammo, and then refilling on the same impulse.

And then, just as randomly as he had been missing the pedestal, Kaito looked up, and realized it was ahead. 

With the only thing, at least this exact second, in between Kaito from the finish line a small, muddy, whinnying prince who couldn’t seem to care less that he had a clear path to the pedestal. 

This was a BLAST!! Kokichi had always looked on with varying degrees of envy when he watched the water fight, but…man, was it even more fun than watching made it seem! Water flinging every which way, filling the air with it in a much more pleasant way than the humidity… Already Kokichi was getting ideas about water in the air that you could swim through, pooling in orbs and streaks in the air that would be tricky but a delightful puzzle to paint. 

At this point, he was fully drenched, though not feeling waterlogged thanks to whatever genius fabric Denji had decided to use for his clothes--though, the same couldn’t be said of his socks. When everything was said and done, it would be nice to dry under the sun and lay his shoes aside…maybe with a snack or something. 

But! That was for the future! And the present was begging for his attention!

Laughing up a storm as he ran around willy-nilly, Kokichi looked around for his next target, having run a bit away from everyone. But, well, not everyone. Raising his shooter, Kokichi let out a dramatic sigh, though his brilliant grin never faltered. “So it has come to this, my love.”

Kaito huffed, water dripping from his hands, mud over his pretty new EVERYTHING AUGH and sweat on his brow, glancing around as, in half a second, a dozen different scenarios came to mind. Should he offer to team with him? Encourage Kokichi to go for the pedestal? No, no, look at him, this madman didn’t want the prize, he just wanted the war. Should he retreat, try to go around the long ways, out of reach of Kokichi’s shooter? 

…who was he kidding.

Kaito knew the only way was through. 

Kaito adjusted his stance, lifting his arms up, not clenching his fists but lifting his shoulders up, his whole body tensing as Kaito, again, quickly glanced around… before he grinned back at his husband. Fierce and wolfish.

“Careful, ‘Kichi,” Kaito said, “There’s a Luminary invader here.”

And with that, Kaito’s stance relaxed, and he dashed forward, trying to close the distance between them.

Kokichi’s grin only grew wider.

It had caught him off guard, back then. Thinking he was going to just…play around with someone a little, have them teach him a thing or two. Never realizing that for all his badgering of travelers, he had never really been prepared to hear something that was actually different.

Kokichi had been stressed beyond belief, had never purposefully exercised, ate like crap and slept even worse. He’d thought that, in a moment, he’d meet the end of his life. 

He was someone with a lot of issues, but…problems could be solved, and he was getting help with them. When he had time, Kokichi went running in the mornings with Tim and Chase, and when he didn’t, found a little time almost every day to go through something of a workout routine. He ate regular, round meals, and while sleeping could be a little sporadic, taking care of an infant, he still found at least eight hours somewhere at night. 

And Kokichi was looking at his best friend. 

Laughing his signature bray, Kokichi relaxed and sped to the side, trying to create more distance as he led his shots, trying to catch Kaito in the spray. 

However, as he circled around, something caught his eye, and Kokichi’s mirth dropped into surprise. “Oh! There it is! Kai-chan, win!!!”

There wasn’t a lot Kaito could do about the spray behind him beyond just keep running, Kokichi’s cackles filling the air as Kaito, almost as a sixth sense, leapt into a roll, catching himself in the mud and grass and rolling back onto his feet, his knees protesting but Kaito using the momentum to push back up and continue his bolt. He heard his husband shout at him to win, and Kaito’s breath hitched with adrenaline as he ran for the pedestal, tunnel-visioned and heart pounding like a drum in his ear, almost there, almost there–

Maki. 

Kaito had no idea if Maki had been waiting by the pedestal for prey or if she was chasing the prize herself and had only just happened to get there the same time as Kaito, but the woman was suddenly there, aiming her small pistol at him like a crossbolt between the eyes. Kaito threw himself to the side to avoid the first blast, jabbing out, right hook, hoping to catch her in the splash. He could assume he didn’t, she didn’t stop moving, and sleeping and sliding in the mud Kaito hit out with his left, and there! That one got her! He saw it!

But he slipped in the grass, topping over, a frozen Maki still training the pistol on him, eyes wide and focused as she waited for her ten seconds to blast him, come on, he wouldn’t get up and moving in time, come on–

Tim, soaking and covered in mud, who repaid his debts, said to Bianca, who had helped him reclaim his weapons when he had accidently dropped them in the middle of a rampaging crowd– his parents deadlocked behind him– “Ya wanna just call it a tie?” 

He nodded to the ribbon, the two kids having managed to get through all the adults when everyone had been distracted fighting each other.

The girl looked over at Tim, giving him a shrewd wink with a grin, though the effect--depending on who you asked--was a little ruined by the way her short blond hair was plastered around her head. Regardless, the way she’d tell the story to her sisters later would make it seem like a perfect, suave moment. 

“Both our hands at the same time? Sounds good to me! Looks like everyone else is a bit busy.”

Giggling a little at the adults, Bianca and Tim ran forward and did a small leap, two hands touching down on the blue prize ribbon at the same time--much to the on-looking Kokichi’s snickering delight. 

And, at the same time, from the trees nearby, came a sharp, high-pitched, “PWOEEEEEEEEET!!!” A whistle that was soon echoed by others farther away across the two parks, signaling that…

“Congratulations!” Katsuki grinned, hopping down from the tree. “This year’s annual water fight has been won!”

Maki and Kaito blinked, looking to the pedestal in stunned confusion…

“He has my last name, technically that’s a victory for me.” Maki decided, lowering her pistol and reaching to help Kaito up.

“Hell no!! I get to claim half that parental success, at least!!” Kaito griped, letting her do so, actually relying on her weight a little. God, everything was wet and slick. And not in the sexy way. His clooooothes…

Kaito, entirely unselfaware that a version of himself covered in mud wasn’t, uh… unattractive, huffed in disappointment, getting up… before turning to Tim and some other cute kid, both apparently sharing the prize?? Awww, “HEY! HELL YEAH, THERE’S MY KID!! GOOD JOB TIM!! GOOD JOB, uh…??”

Tim sighed, face red a little, as he called out, “Bianca!”

“BIANCA!! GOOD HUSTLE OUT THERE!”

Maki didn’t cheer, but her pleasure was still obvious regardless, a small smirk on her face as the people who had noticed that the game was over and stopped splashing each other gave out loud cries of congratulation. Well, most of them, there were a few people loudly groaning too, apparently more people than Kaito would have thought also actually trying to win by that point, rather then just ignoring the prize. Kaito was glad at that, it meant he hadn’t been the only one confused where the damn thing was. 

…hm.

Hmmmm…

Maybe Hot Kaito would be getting an alternate costume soon. 

Kokichi knew he was Looking, but he wasn’t that obvious about it, and he could easily…you know, willingly tear his eyes away from his dripping and mud-caked husband to grin at the kids, giving them a round of applause. “Congrats, you two! Good win!”

Bianca beamed at the praise, holding the ribbon up victoriously with Tim before pressing it into his hands. “Thank you, Mr. Tim’s Dad! Oh, oh, you can head over to the tent to claim our prize, but I gotta go find my family first! I’ll see you there, Timothy!”

She trotted off, giving a last wave to the redhead, Katsuki’s gaze burning into the girl before nodding at the royal family. “Co-Prize Winner Bianca is correct--you may go to the management tent at the start of the race to claim your win; something I will corroborate as the person entrusted with watching over the pedestal. Often there is a fresh ribbon in reserves if this one becomes too damaged, however as there are two winners, you may decide among yourselves what prizes you wish to own.”

“Oh, that’s neat!” Kokichi hummed, before looking around. “...have you guys seen Shuu-chan? Think we should just meet him over there? Since that’s where Ikuo and Kyouko are waiting, still…”

Kaito looked around… before raising his hand, grinning and waving, Shuichi and Oliver heading over, Nekomaru already heading back to where Kyoko had been sitting. Timothy, who gave his ribbon a small, pleased look, before heading over to Kaito, not, like… looking for affection, but standing right next to him and, of course, bravely tolerating affection as Kaito grinned down at him, brushing the mud out of his kids hair and asking for a step by step retelling of how Timothy had gotten up there! And who was the new girl?? New friend!???

As Kaito gushed over Tim, Maki and Shuchi headed to Kokichi, Maki grasping Shuchi’s face in her hands first– left, right, check the eyes… before moving onto Kokichi. Left, right… “You two good?” She asked, stepping back and giving them further appraising looks, Oliver snickering at her antics in the background, “I saw you both take a spill a few times.”

“I’m good,” Shuichi shrugged, before smirking, “Though, one of my spills made me consider the med tent before I realized it was just a twinge, and I think Drake’s hiding out over there. I can’t decide if I want to try to sneak up on him or something.”

“I’m fine,” Kokichi smiled brightly, putting his hand over Maki’s for an affectionate moment. “Didn’t twist or hit anything, just tripped. Who would’ve thought, wet grass is slippery, right?”

“Ahh, but it does feel nice,” he sighed, closing his eyes to face up at the sun. “This really is the perfect way to cool down on a hot day. …’cept for maybe ice cream. There’s not a lot that beats out ice cream.”

Shaking his head with a small snort, Kokichi went to Shuuichi’s side to find his hand, not caring about his wet, muddy mess since…well, they were all kind of in the same camp. “We’re gonna be heading that way anyway--Tim’s name is goin’ down in history! And I’m sure Drake would like to see you today regardless.”

“Honestly,” he rubbed the back of his head, “I just hope he’s alright. He’s super accident prone, right? It always sucks when someone gets hurt during stuff like this.”

“He’ll be fine,” Shuichi said dismissively, squeezing Kokichi’s hand when his fiance found it, “Drake gets knocked down, but he never gets knocked out. I think being accident prone has made him very good at managing accidents, honestly.”

“Kid, I don’t agree to this.”

“You’re going to be my stallion,” Timothy casually explained, fully stepped onto Kato’s feet while Kaito gave him a mildly irritated look.

“Tim, I’m wearing sandals.”

“Valiant steeds have a rough lot in life.” Timothy sighed sympathetically.

“Alright, ya know what, fine, come on.” Kaito huffed, grabbing the kid from his waist and picking him up, putting Timothy up on his shoulder and securing him there with one arm as he headed back to the group, “Come on, our mighty champions gotta go do the winning gracefully thing! After that? I need a nap, that was a lot. Anyone up to drying in the sun after this?”

“Kokichi said we’re getting ice cream.” Shuichi said, tone and expressions suddenly demur, stepping closer to Kokichi.

“Oh, Kokichi did, did he?” Kaito asked, raising an eyebrow at his husband.

Kokichi looked over at his husband, blinking wide and innocently, and, unlike Bianca, the sort of ‘drowned cat’ look only served to increase the effect. “I did say it would be nice… Sitting and drying in the sun while we get something in our stomachs to refuel from all that? Now that it’s all over, I am getting kind of tired…”

“It doesn’t have to be ice cream,” he smiled sadly at Kaito. “We could find something else… It’s just…really hot, you know? Hottest point of the day… It would be nice to sit with a cold, sweet treat. Like the stories you guys’ve told me about shaved ice in Luminary.”

Kaito looked into the cuteness void… and rolled his eyes. Reaching over and ruffling Kokchi’s hair, he said, “You’re both ridiculous. Guys, it’s a holiday, you don’t gotta double whammy me to get ice cream. Just say we’re going to get ice cream, you weirdos.”

“We’ll join you for ice cream, but I told Tim we’d check out the rides and the game stalls before the day was over, so we’ll probably head there next.” Maki said, reaching over almost mindlessly to pet Chase, as Kyoko and Nekomaru and Ikou headed over, “For now, let’s go collect Tim’s prize.”

-

Kyoko, Nekomaru and Oliver had headed out, hungry for more solid foods then they had been eating by that point in the day. Maki and Timothy had, indeed, grabbed ice cream before heading to the rides, encouraging the guys to meet them there if they were up to it after resting. And Shuichi and Kaito brought back ice creams for Kokichi and Drake, Shuichi handing Drake his bowl as he said, “You sure we’re not keeping you from anything? We really do just plan to sit here for a bit, it’s not going to be terribly exciting.”

“No, uh…” Drake chuckled sheepishly, nodding a thanks to Shuuichi and Kaito for the treat, “They said I probably should still be sitting and just…not doing anything too strenuous for a while anyway. No concussion! But I, uh…did hit the ground kinda hard.”

Kokichi was laid out on a bench, across the adjoining table from Drake, sunning himself while his drenched shoes and socks were drying out on the pavement. Thankfully, Ikuo had brought along a few towels, though they were mostly being used now to keep the benches clean than to maybe partially dry one of them. While he hummed happily at the provided ice cream, giving his own thanks, he sighed sympathetically to Drake. “I’m glad you’re not feeling dizzy or nauseous, though… Unlucky break.”

Drake just shrugged a bit with a sheepish smile. “It happens. Though…congratulations on the proposal, you guys! That’s really incredible!”

“Thank you!” Kaito shouted. He needed to shout to be heard, because once he had sat down, he had put aside his own small cup of ice cream and, shaking himself out of the top part of his yakuta, was currently trying to force the under armor off his head.

“Kaito??? What are you doing???” Shuchi asked, alarmed, Kaito having started doing this quickly, barely giving Shuichi time to react as Kaito finally popped his head out, muttering how he kept forgetting the damn collar clasp as he pealed the muscle shirt off his arms. 

“It’s all wet handsome, I need to dry it.” Kaito explained, laying the under armor down beside him before laying back, sitting in the grass by the bench rather than on it himself, letting the towel protect him. Opening one of his eyes to peek at Shuichi’s scandalized expression, he snorted, “Shuichi, I’m still literally wearing more clothes right now then I would in a bathing suit, what’s the issue?”

“Nothing,” Shuichi said, face reddening, but too self aware to say something like… well, like it gave a different impression, being dressed in a robe that was barely clinging on around your waist, then in a bathing suit which, by its definition, was a whole suit! Kaito looked half dressed! Put your clothes back on!”

Huffing, trying to ignore him, Shuichi turned back to Drake, grinning sheepishly, “I’m sorry that happened, Drake. I’ll be honest, when I saw you at the tent, I assumed you had stubbed something again. Hitting your head though. Oof.”

“Thanks!”

Mmmmm…could use more mud. But Kokichi wasn’t opposed to getting a look at bare Kaito chest. Maybe next year they’d bring extra clothes, but Kokichi wasn’t actually that uncomfortable. His socks were really the worst of it. 

Drake nodded a bit. “It’s a fair assumption--I wouldn’t be surprised if I had jammed a finger along the way and I just didn’t notice. But…yeah.” Bashfully, he rubbed the back of his neck, still a little cold from the ice pack he’d had on his head for the latter half of the fight. “Grass is slippery, I didn’t manage to catch myself right. They really weren’t kidding about the moderators coming over if you did that signal, though. I think she’d carried me about halfway to the tent by the time I realized it. Though…that’s kind of on me. She did all the concussion check stuff before she moved me at all.”

“That’s good,” Kokichi huffed lightly. “It’s really dangerous to move someone with a head injury--even if you are in the middle of a bunch of people moving.”

“Dude, you must have a balance issue or something,” Kaito sighed, stretching out and looking pleased with himself as he baked beneath the rays. Yesssss… cook… “You should let me try to teach you to dance or something, teach you where your limbs are. I bet with enough time and practice you’ll develop the grace you need to stop tripping all over yourself.”

“I don’t know, Kaito. You’ve never seen it happen. I swear, it’s like the universe goes out of its way to throw things in front of him.” Shuichi said, licking at his ice cream before giving Drake a sympathetic look, “Well, has the rest of your zenith been alright, at least?”

Drake sighed, lamenting. “I’ve been checked out, and all my ear rocks are in order and everything… Maybe I’ll try dance, though. Can’t hurt to give it a shot.” Well, it could, but the threshold of ‘hurt’ he’d take as an acceptable risk towards finding something out was pretty high. 

Maybe it was just the mood he was in that made him consider dancing, though. He always got a little nostalgic during festivals. 

Nodding with a small, happy smile, Drake explained a bit about his day. “This is only my second Zenith in Usott, but it really is something else. I’ve been drifting around between a lot of the stages, listening to music. It’s really crazy, the things people come up with for their sound… I hit the market too, seeing the artisan section? I got…uh…”

For a moment, Drake carefully rooted around in the bag he had with him--his school bag, Shuuichi would notice--and brought out a few items. “I got this new glue? Well, new in that it’s a recipe that’s specific to the person that made it… I thought I’d give it a try in some of my projects. And I got a new succulent too, but I wasn’t leaving anything to chance and brought it back home already. Oh, Shuuichi, you m-might think this is cool…”

Moving the small object over so his friend could see, it was…on first look, a small tube, but upon closer inspection, it was a series of small lenses all stacked on top of each other, able to be flipped out and in for your desired magnification. 

“They called it a multi-lens? I know magnifying lenses are a little stereotypical, and I don’t know how much it’d actually come in handy, but…it seemed neat.”

“Ooooooh,” Shuichi said appreciatively, giving the lens an openly inquisitive look, reaching over and gently pressing a new lens in place and watching the magnification change, even from his angled position, “Some stereotypes are true, admittedly. And when it comes to powders and fingerprints or the angle of the fray of tears in fabric?” Or skin, “A good magnifying glass is is priceless. I even have a purely decorative one at home, a… little too large to carry to cases, but a nice…”

Practically able to feel Shuichi getting lost in his head, Kaito called out, “It’s a nice little symbolic trophy for finishing his first case by himself! Detectives like their magnifying glasses, embrace the stereotype!”

Shuichi’s expression cleared up, nodding as he ate more ice cream, “Exactly. It’s a nice, symbolic thing… but that?” Shuichi said, gesturing to Drake’s lens, “Probably genuinely helpful, I’d take care of it if I were you.”

“I got some stuff from the market too, Drake!” Kaito called up, patting at the tote laid out beside him, “Some shoes and some earrings and… oh!” 

Kaito sat up, peering around and up the bench to give the three men a grin, focusing on Drake as he asked, “Hey, want me to read your future?”

He had figured there was some attention to detail that the multi-lens would be helpful with, but…it was nice to hear the opinion of someone actually in the field--or, had been, anyway. Was still a detective in all but license. 

“Oh, that’s cool! That…really seems like a nice way to be like, yes! You’ve done it!” Drake laughed a little, brushing off his own hyped up enthusiasm. Though, as he looked over to see the things that Kaito had bought--and Kokichi just chuckled, amused with the confirmation that Kaito had disappeared to buy the earrings--there…

It was a very, very rare expression that crossed Drake’s face, as Kaito offered to tell his future. Almost…a smug, amused indulgence. The kind of face that…honestly, humans probably weren’t used to--the expression of someone with the experience of centuries going to indulge someone who wasn’t even a quarter of one. 

“...well, brought up like that, I have to say I’m intrigued, if nothing else…”

Kokichi glanced at Drake, just a moment of curiosity in his eyes.

Kaito interpreted the expression as, ‘Aw, that’s cute, lets see what he’s on about’, which, ya know. Fair. So, grinning, Kaito opened up his bag, pulling out the bag and the book, waving Drake over as he said, “You come to me, I’m comfy down here. Come on, come on, come on, I’ll read your fortune, take the journey.”

“Kaito, he literally hit his head.” Shuichi reminded him.

“He’s fine! Actually, give me a second, I gotta… read this…” Kaito murmured, opening up the book and… what was…? Oh, right, the loose leaf paper was supposed to teach him how to use this, alright, alright… “Okay, this doesn’t seem that hard! Let’s do this!”

Drake hummed in interest, carefully stepping around the bench to sit by Kaito. With no mishaps! He didn’t have them all the time…just a lot. “Oh…tarot cards? I guess if you’re reading up, you haven’t really used them before. Just a curious purchase, then?”

Kokichi laughed, turning around to watch. “The woman Kai-chan got ‘em from was real good at business, I’ll give her that. We were chatting for a bit, and she offered up this eclectic deck for a steal, considering it’s still a deck. And she wrote up a little meaning guide too.”

“Mm, then thinking of a future of sales, then?” Drake laughed softly, Kokichi snorting in agreement. “Still, I see why you’d get it, then. Um…I guess I don’t really have any specific questions about the future, so should you just give me a general reading?”

“A general reading…” Kaito mused, reading over the paper, “...I mean, the little setups she doodled in don’t have names, at least not that she wrote down, but the simplest looking one seems to be three cards in a row. And she said basically I can ask, like, whatever, so… general…”

Kaito pouted, trying to think what that actually meant… before shrugging, “Eh, let’s just say the question is ‘your general future’, not worth overthinking. Okay! Are you ready to be dazzled? To be amaaazed! To know all! Leeeeet’s… just draw I guess?” Kaito asked, re-reading the instructions before, shrugging again, he drew the three top cards, and, one by one, put them face down in front of him. Shuichi and Kokichi peeking from th bench, eating ice cream and watching with amusement.

“Alright, card number one… Three of Pentacles!” Kaito announced, three lines of light intersecting into a triangle, the cover glossy, if frayed at the edges, grinning triumphantly at it… before muttering, “Okay, so what does that… mean…”

Opening up the book, it took Kaito a second to realize how the symbols were sorted– there were four different sections, it looked like? Okay, and getting to the pentacles section… ah, there we go. Three. Three up or three down? …oh, like, right side up or right side down! Wait, was that from Kaito’s perspective or Drakes? Uuuuuuuh, he’d just go based on his perspective, the cards didn’t know Drake would be sitting there, it didn’t matter…

Kaito peered at the description. Read the loose leaf page. Back at the description…

Man, he had gotten ripped off. The description was literally half-written out bullet points, and the explanation on the page was ‘take the basics and flourish it!’ O…kay… “Teamwork!” Kaito started, pointing dramatically at Drake with one hand as he held the book with the other, thinking quick as he said, “A challenge awaits your future, but you’ll knock that challenge out of the park, because of the power of… friendship! The people around you are going to come at your call, and they will rally around you, all of you working together to… kick that challenge’s ass! So says the cards!!! Or at least this first one!”

Now…Drake knew he was a little of an outlier, when it came to psychics. Clairvoyants, specifically. Though, maybe saying that there were outliers would give someone the wrong idea, as…ways to tell the future? Came in all shapes and forms. 

A lot of clairvoyants could do things with purpose, drawing the edges of the universe into and around themselves and going through every possible conclusion to get the best guess of what could happen next…and a lot didn’t really go through that whole rigmarole every time. But…a lot of them used objects to focus their questions--where all the ‘metaphysical’ tropes came from. Crystal balls and tea leaves and bones and, yeah, cards. 

Drake, on the other hand… None of his insights into the future were purposeful, really. His visions came in dreams, unbidden and…often confusing. But that’s how the future tended to be. 

All that to say…no, he hadn’t really messed around with tarot cards himself. But he had known people who had, being at the weird intersection of being a non-human with ‘magic’ powers. 

Drake chuckled softly. “That’s pretty positive, actually! I can happily accept things going well because of the power of friendship. Honestly, with how my luck usually goes, I was expecting, like…somehow three Tower cards.”

“Heck yeah, fuck tower cards!” Kaito blindly agreed, knowing nothing about them. “Alright, card number two!”

Kaito peered cheerfully at the card for half a second, before recoiling from it slightly, frowning, “...yeaaaaah, no.” Kaito decided, putting it back on the deck.

“What? Nooooo, commit!” Shuichi insisted, laughing lightly as Kaito gave him an uneasy look, “What? It’s fine, this is pretend, remember? What did he get?”

Kaito sighed, picking the card off the pile again and putting it face up, a hand drawn, charcoal smeared skull on a yellowed, tattered paper peering up with a somber grimness. Death and some dashes with an X that Kaito couldn’t decipher, though he eventually found it in the book as he read, in different coloring that suggested to Kaito the merchant had added this in last minute before selling it to him: No, relax, you’re not going to die.

Reading the bullets, Kaito said, “Something important about your life is coming to an end. Not your life itself! Just, uh, like… a transition period? A big change is coming, and it’s going to affect you in an irreversible way…”

“...but you don’t gotta worry about that, because, again! Your friends got you!” Kaito insisted, scooting the death card closer to the pentagon, grinning as he reassured, “Whatever big end is coming? You’re not in it alone! Everyone’s got you! We won’t let you down!”

“Nice save, Kaito,” Shuichi encouraged, partly teasing as Kaito gave an uncomfortable, slightly too loud laugh.

Kokichi had a feeling what Kaito had seen when he’d so quickly put it away, but seeing him flip over an unmistakable Death card was too much! He had to turn away, cackling into his ice cream. He knew enough to know that the Death card wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but…really? Drake’s luck was something else. 

In turn, Drake had simply sighed when he saw the card. “Typical, really…”

“Still, those cards do fit pretty well together,” he mused. “I’m going to have a big life change, but my friends will help me see it through? It’s like a grade school PSA play.”

…for people not actually using the cards to tell the future, they were often used as a point of self reflection. 

…Drake really liked this life. Being in Usott, being friends with Shuuichi and studying up on getting an actual certificate for something… While they didn’t actually age, vampires could usually swing a good range, just calling it getting lucky with genetics. Getting a license for something wouldn’t be totally useless for him, though…the more specific they were, the harder it was for their network to covertly renew them for “new” lives. But it wasn’t like he was planning on being a detective forever anyway. 

Unfortunately…Shuuichi and his family wouldn’t be the friends helping him through, if anything happened and Drake needed to make a new life. It was always the hardest part, he’d been told, and had found even in his relatively short life, leaving people behind. Having them leave you. 

But he did have the vampire network. And, to a point, other magical networks too, though they didn’t talk that often. And he had Usami and Souda now too, even if the most they’d talked was pleasantries and Drake talking about his experience renting an apartment in the city to Souda…but even if Drake didn’t have to part from the eccentric man by secret, Souda was human too. 

…this was really depressing to think about. Maybe he’d self-reflect in a more boring century. 

“Alright…let’s see where the last card leaves me. Hopefully still on a positive note.”

“I mean, it can’t be worse, right? …no, I’m not apologizing to an egg!” Kaito insisted, before Shuichi could finish getting it out, turning the last card.

It was a hyper realistic drawing of a woman, with flowers in her hair and long, yellow hair, with no eyes and a soft, sweet smile, while a blazing sun burned behind her. “The Sun.” Kaito said, tilting his head at the card a little, before saying, “Well, that doesn’t sound bad! Suns are great! Let’s see what that means.”

Finding it after a moment, Kaito read the bullets… “Abundance is in your future! And, like, the good kind! Whatever trouble these two cards are talking about?” Kaito said, waving his hands over the other two, much more pleased to give this bit of news as he continued brightly, “It’s all got a happy ending to it, Drake! Your future is looking bright! Nice, high five!” Kaito said, putting his hand out to Drake. 

His life truly was a cosmic joke. 

Vampires weren’t actually hurt by the sun--as evidenced by him sitting under it at that very moment--but the myth was just so pervasive that…well, it was a bit funny, wasn’t it?

Friends, Death, Abundance… Honestly, Kaito could be telling the story of his past, rather than his future. 

Drake laughed and gave Kaito’s hand a good slap! Their high five satisfactory, and none of Drake’s finger were even jammed or bandaged to make it more awkward. “Ah, finally a fortune teller I can recommend! That was fun, thanks for the reading, Kaito.”

“Oooh,” Kokichi called over, “Lemme see that Sun card! It looks really nice!”

“Fiiiiiine, but be sure to give it back! Or else no one else gets abundance in their futures ever again! Don’t doom us all, ‘Kichi!” Kaito insisted, grabbing the sun card and leaning over to pass it up to Kokichi. Card delivered, Kaito flumped back onto the ground, murmuring to himself as the sun beamed down at him, “Awwww, yeah. Kaito Ouma Momota, out here delivering good news and buying ice cream. Killing it, today.”

-

They ended up parting with Drake after a while, heading over to the rides to meet back up with Maki and Tim--and, of course, go on more rides. They made their way over to the game stalls too, Kokichi seeing the stall that Nadya had won the nanodile from and winning himself a sorbet seal. It was a fun, teasingly--and sometimes seriously--competitive time, but eventually, as time always did, their stomachs gave the cue that it was time to move one.

And, as he’d been talking about for weeks, Kokichi had a plan.

Going over to one of the longer stretches filled with food stalls and pop-up restaurants, they were far from the only ones deciding on dinner at that time, but Kokichi wasn’t exactly hustling as he took a deep breath, taking in the wonderful mix of smells. And, as they got closer, to the specific ones associated with yakisoba. 

“Mmm…so, I know you guys haven’t tried it but…seriously! It’s so good! A festival staple! But…I mean…if you don’t like it, we could get something else too, but how many servings should we get, since I dunno if we’d wanna get back in line after our turn…?”

“Get as many as you like, beautiful, I’ll eat through it all. I’m starving.” Kaito sighed, his arms around and over Kokichi’s shoulders, standing behind him and resting his head on the top of Kokichi’s head, “All this has taken a lot out of me.”

“It smells good, at the very least. I reserve the right to just randomly go get something else though. Kaito can eat my serving if I don’t like it.”

“If you guys want, I can wait in the lines,” Kaito shrugged, looking up at the sky, watching the sun inch ever closer to the horizon. They still had maybe two hours of sunlight left. Plenty of time eat their food, take their time, decide where they wanted to see the lights. “Unless your orders are super specific and complicated and require me to repeat words I don’t recognize, cause you both know I’m terrible at that.”

Kokichi smiled softly and ran his hands up and down Kaito’s arms with an affectionate touch. Honestly, he was starting to feel worn out too, but in the best way. Like he was gonna hit the hay in the most luxuriant way that night--which he’d have to do a little later, since he had first watch for Miya. But! Cuddling with his baby after a day like this? Top-notch. 

Getting to eat one of his favorite seasonal foods was a pretty good thing when he was starving too. 

“Mm, let’s all get a serving then? It’s savory fried noodles with vegetables and your choice of protein--I can’t imagine any of you guys would hate it…and worst comes to worst, we can take some home, I guess.”

Looking around as they slowly shuffled forward in line, Kokichi snorted softly. “Hey, look over there,” he pointed to the next stall over. There was a person just going ham on a flattop, flipping and cutting and steaming and layering… “Those are the cabbage pancakes I was talking about. Regardless of how you feel about eatin’ them, it is cool to see ‘em get made.”

Kaito watched the stall vendor cover the grill (grill? Kaito wasn’t sure what it was called. Outdoor stove?) in noodles, each one bundled in fistfuls, before the whole thing was covered. Then the vendor, with practiced, casual ease, started throwing all these spices and herbs that Kaito vaguely recognized and then felt like, uh, maybe he didn’t?? But he did recognize the eggs… hmmm, if Kokichi liked these so much, Kaito didn’t think it’d be impossible for him to replicate… he could learn it…

It didn’t take long to grab their food, and now that Kaito was actually looking at his okonomiyaki, and… “It’s kinda like a really weird pizza.” Kaito decided, poking at it. “If pizza was made with pancakes and just… stuff.”

“You can have fun with your weird pancake pizza,” Shuichi shrugged, twirling his yakisoba and cutting it into smaller pieces. “I wanted to just go with something I knew was familiar. And this just reminds me of those pad tais Kokichi’s gotten us.”

Kokichi, taking a break from stuffing his mouth with noodles and swaying happily, gave Kaito an amused look. “I think I told you, but the old Tradean word for those pancakes is, like, ‘as you like it’. I guess people can get really creative and put whatever they want on pizzas too, but…I just see it more with cabbage pancakes. What stuff did you ask for, hun?”

Giving Shuuichi a nod, Kokichi munched on a red pepper he snagged from his, frankly, overflowing boat of yakisoba. “Sorta, yeah? It’s a different type of noddles, and a different flavor profile, but…at the end of the day, it’s noodles cooked in a specialty sauce with veggies and meat. Or tofu. Or just eggs. But…that’s kinda the options for most things you can customize. Gotta have options for every food restriction somewhere.”

“...okay, so I know you guys don’t have noodle soups in Luminary, but…fried noodles? Anywhere?”

“I mean, spaghetti, obviously,” Kaito shrugged… before his eyes suddenly narrowed. Realizing… “We have had spaghetti here, right? Like, just normal pasta? Angel Hair, ravioli, fettuccine, zitis? Uhh… Shuichi, what’s that really thick one… you almost choked on it at twelve–”

“Pappardelle.” Shuichi filled in immediately. Carefully cutting up his noodles. 

“We must have, right?” Kaito said, now searching his memory, “Dicea has just… pasta?”

Kokichi raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, like we got that nice spaghetti for Shuu-chan’s birthday, right? And we have ‘make your own’ pasta nights…well, not a lot, but often enough.”

“...though, what the hell is ravioli? Or ziti?”

“Right! Thank you, see, normal food.” Kaito nodded, feeling validated, “Normal pasta.”

“Admittedly, thinking about it, much less normal here then it was in Luminary. These sorts of noodles we see all the time around here,” Shuichi pointed out, nodding towards his plate, “But the stuff we had for my birthday? Until someone asked me what my favorite foods were for my birthday, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone just casually eating it here.”

“I feel like pastas were on that menu at that really nice place Kokichi took me too on a date once… mind, everything there had a, like, ‘someone read a book about Luminary once and tried to replicate it’ kinda vibe. Heavy furniture, decorative wood panels over stone material, metal everywhere… man I love that restaurant, we should go back.” Kaito sighed, happy with that memory, though at Kokichi’s question, “Ya know, like, uh… Stuffed Shells and, uh, what are those things called, those giant ridged noodles you could knock a person out with–”

“Manicotti.” 

“Yeah! And, uh…” Kaito shrugged, “Like, lasagna and stuff? Ya know, just pasta that ya kinda stuff things inside like a sandwich and seal all the sides of it, sort of thing. Pasta prisons.” Kaito smirked, pleased with that weird but apt comparison. “Oh, and, uh, to be clear, I didn’t answer earlier about what I put on my weird pizza, cause… I don’t… actually know. I picked a random word on the menu suggestions thing and hoped I’d get lucky… I don’t dislike it. There’s mushrooms in it… I think. And seafood. Something tastes ‘from the ocean’-y.”

Kokichi snorted. “I don’t think there really is a type of ‘normal’ noodle here. The pasta you’re talking about is from the south, stuff like yakisoba and ramen is, just, really old recipes, stuff like pad thai is from the east…just a lot of similar but different cuisine from all over.”

That’s how he felt about a lot of food, honestly. To the point that he didn’t really consider anything else. People made certain foods depending on what they had available, then that food became a staple of that place because people grew a taste for it, then as the recipes got popular, they were attributed to that place. Nothing really ‘standard’ or ‘normal’ anywhere. 

“Mm, I noticed that, but the place we went with Temp specializes in noodles like that,” Kokichi nodded. “I’d be curious getting pasta at that steakhouse we went to, though. I certainly wouldn’t mind going back.”

Kokichi still looked a little confused as Kaito explained more about the, apparently, hole in his noodle knowledge--though, okay, he knew what lasagna was, so…less about the individual noodles and more about the whole of things--though he laughed a little at Kaito’s pancake decisions. “If I had to guess? Either squid strips, shrimp, or fish flakes. There’s probably fish flakes in all of them, though--pretty common for ‘em.”

“Again! Not bad! It’s just a little weird. And, like, packed,” Kaito laughed, tearing the pieces off with his hands, because he has assumed it was hand food, popping in piece by piece, but wiping his hands off with a napkin after each time, because it was kinda messy and, like… maybe it wasn’t hand food… ah well, he’d know better next…

… Kaito looked around, confusion obvious on his face.

“Everything alright?” Shuichi asked, not alarmed, but more waiting for Katio to ask for help remembering a specific word that was on the tip of his tongue. That sort of idle, unalarmed confusion on the tan red-heads face familiar.

And, indeed, when asked Kaito looked to Shuichi, grinning and saying immediately, “Yep! All good!”

Then he blinked and said, getting up and, taking his food with him, saying cheerfully, “I gotta go pick up Miyako.”

And then he was off.

Kokichi nodded--cabbage pancakes were really like that--and started chowing down on his noodles again, but as Kaito started acting…weird. And immediately left to go to their daughter…

Humming lowly, Kokichi scooted over on the bench they’d claimed and rested his head on Shuuichi’s shoulder, giving off the impression of a calm, affectionate moment between two partners. 

And he reached out. 

{Is everything okay? Kai-chan just got up out of the blue to pick Miya up.}

{He did? I’m giving the babies a bath, they decided a fun thing to do would be to vomit on each other. I don’t know who started it, but they both finished it. Miyako didn’t seem thrilled with bath time, but I thought she was bearing through it fine…}

{Oh shoot okay no yeah she sent out a tether. Hold one moment, I’ll see if I can detangle it. I guess she was less pleased with bathtime then I thought. Has he gotten far?}

“So…” Shuichi looked at Kokichi, then the direction Kaito left in, raising an eyebrow as he asked, “...did our daughter kidnap my fiance? Am I reading this right?”

{Oh no but that’s hilarious, though I hope she hasn’t been too much trouble.}

{Nah, he’s walking fast, but we can catch up with him.}

Opening his eyes, Kokichi sighed softly before picking up his food, giving Shuuichi a nod. “Right on the money, Mr. Detective. Though…it is getting a little late--we were prolly gonna go pick her up after we ate anyway. I’m gonna catch up with Kai-chan and give him the rundown. You coming?”

“Mmmm, if you can handle it? And you two are going to go pick up Miyako? Maybe I’ll just meet up with you both back at the castle.” Shuichi said, closing up his food to take back, “I can take yours too if you want. We are watching the lights from the room, right?”

“Yeah, Maki-chan said it was gonna be to the west, so we should be able to see it--lookin’ like clear night tonight too.”

Considering the option for a split second, Kokichi shoveled in as many noodles as he could into his mouth before leaving the container with Shuuichi, giving him a thumbs up and a muffled, “NNn nnu!” before running off in the direction Kaito had left, keeping his eyes open to see his husband.

Thankfully, even walking with purpose, Kaito hadn’t gotten all that far away, and before Kokichi was even done chewing he trotted up to Kaito’s side, giving him a little tug on his sleeve as he tried to clear his mouth.

“Hm?” Kaito asked, looking back at Kokichi, giving him a fuzzy but pleased look, on impulse reaching to take Kokichi’s hand, before continuing on in the direction of Temp’s place as he said, “Decided to join me, babe? Gotta go pick Miyako up. Such a grumpy baby~ Got to…”

Kaito stopped, a dazed, confused look on his face, looking around like he wasn’t… entirely?? Certain where he was??? …before looking down at his food and saying, “Oh, wait… we were eating…”

Swallowing, Kokichi nodded, giving Kaito a soft look as he squeezed his hand. “Yeah. This is the longest Miya-Miya’s been away from us…ever. I know Temp’s taking good care of her, but I think she’ll really be getting to the point of missing us about now, huh. How about we go pick her up then head home to chill out and watch the lightshow? Shuu-chan’s already headed to meet us there.”

Giving his husband a soft, yet pointed look, Kokichi nodded again.

Kaito gave another uncertain, confused nod, mostly mimicking Kokichi as he tried to catch up with what had happened… before relaxing. “Yeah, yeah! Alright, let’s go get little Miyako. Then we’ll watch the light show, it’ll be nice.” Kaito grinned, getting back into step as he laughed lightly, “Aw, impatient Miya. Okay… have you checked in with Temp since this morning? Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I popped in a few times--already getting my hover parenting in,” Kokichi laughed softly. “Things are alright, but you are still firmly her favorite to get a bath from. Apparently she and Addie decided to have a vomit match against each other and Miya wasn’t a fan of the consequence of that action.”

Kokichi kept his tone light--though it was never hard to, when talking about Miyako--though he soothingly rubbed his thumb down the side of Kaito’s hand. Thankfully Kaito didn’t seem that freaked out, but…still. Tethers.

“We can ask about her day when we get home,” he snickered. “See how her first playdate went.”

“We can?” Kaito asked, looking surprised, “...oh! Right! We can! Aw, that’s so neat.”

The two walked for a bit, Kaito still kind of… running over what just happened in his mind. He felt like a kid looking over putty. Twisting it between his fingers, crushing it into shape, smoothing it back into a ball, only to crush it between his palms again… just idle deconstruction, reconstruction, deconstruction, reconstruction…

“...I didn’t feel any different.” Kaito said, not alarmed. Just reshaping the putty into a new shape, inspecting it, “That’s wild. I thought I just decided it on my own, it just made sense to me to just go. Wild.”

Kaito, after a moment, sighed, “Man, teaching her to not do that to people is gonna be a process. I wonder why my sword lady thing didn’t work. Or maybe that defense only works against Tengan?”

“S’why it’s so hard to notice,” Kokichi said softly, a slight frown growing on his face from…well, other instances than the ones his daughter caused. “What’s there is you, you know? Or becomes you. It’s a lot easier to get people to do what you want when they think it’s their idea. It’s true for politics, and it’s true this way too.”

There was…more to it than that, but nothing Kokichi felt comfortable enough elaborating more on than he already had. It was risky enough saying the things they were.

Sighing, Kokichi shrugged a little, a little line between her brows. “...I’ll have to ask her. We’ll all have to have a conversation about it… But my best guess is…well, everything there is you. And do you want to tell Miya no to things?”

“No,” Kaito said automatically, his gut instinct. But then he added in, “But I still should, sometimes. Our Miya’s gonna need dad to be a little dictator, sometimes. Or I’ll end up letting her make bad choices for herself while she’s still too itty-bitty and dumb to know better.”

Smirking, Kaito clarified, “Don’t tell Shuichi I said that. I know Miyako’s not actually dumb, and our Shuichi wants her to be a little prodigy already, but, like… her brain is still developing mush, essentially. She’s three months old: if she’s not allowed to be dumb now, then when?? Got to let her be her little dummy truth~”

“But, unlike our sweet bouncing baby love, I am not an idiot,” Kaito mused, “And I think what you’re saying is if Miya asked me to do something, I just let her. Right?”

Kokichi nodded, though he snorted a little. “Her development is pretty amazing for her age but…that’s the whole thing. ‘At her age’. She’s still an entirely self-focused, poorly retentive, curious monster…like she’s supposed to be right now. That gut feeling is gonna be hard to fight against, but…for her sake, it’s something we need to do.”

“...it’s a little more involved than that, but…essentially, yeah,” Kokichi sighed, leaning against Kaito’s arm as they walked, keeping his voice low. “She hasn’t seen her favorite people since this morning, everything’s new and uncertain, and right when she’s at her peak of frustration, she…essentially whines all of that at you, demanding to come home, without explaining any context? I don’t think any of us would want to say no, you know? And…unfortunately for you and Shuu-chan…you just…can’t ask for context if she goes to you.”

“So what you feel is our little girl upset and needing you so…of course you’d make the decision to go to her.”

“Hmmm… well, we’ll figure it out.” Kaito said, watching the sky change color slightly, maybe another hour of daylight left. “Every kid comes with something, and I’ll be honest, for my more, like, uh… chronic anxieties? There are worst things then knowing your husband and daughter have twenty-four seven access to you. Like… if something’s wrong? What are the odds I’ll just not know anymore, ya know? And, one day, our baby love is going to know to not stress out her poor dad so much.”

“I mean, definitely not before she takes a decade of my life.” Kaito snorted, “But, ya know… eventually.”

Kaito hummed, fairly content with that revelation… before he suddenly groaned. “Darn it. I was going to try to seduce Shuichi into being a perv with me today and I forgot. Gah. Nekomaru’s right, I am neutered, damn.”

“That is true…” Kokichi said softly, rubbing the side of Kaito’s hand. “...we still need to talk more about boundaries… I just…haven’t wanted to overwhelm you. But…yeah. No matter what’s going on…I’ll be able to reach you. And, well, Miya’s already figured that out, but…she’ll be able to do it with more thought later too. Hopefully we’ll be able to convince her to honor the boundaries.”

It was such a…freak accident. But…Kokichi would never be taken away and have the fear that he wouldn’t be found. Wouldn’t have the fear of his family assuming the worst. And…he wouldn’t have to fret over the worst when they were gone anymore either. Phonelines were incredible, but…Kokichi could have an instant response, if he really needed one. 

It really was a gift. 

Raising an eyebrow, Kokichi looked up with a snort. “Today was you forgetting? Hun, you teased him like, once an hour at least.”

“Because he thinks my outfits sexy! Babe, if I thought you were as smitten with this outfit as I know Shuichi is, I’d have spent all day trying to fluster you too. You guys are adorable flustered.” Kaito grinned, entirely blatant about his motivations, “But because it’s you, even if I was trying to fluster you all day, I wouldn’t actually try to seduce you. You don’t like that sort of stuff, not in situations like these. That was a hard lesson to get through your brute of a husbands skull, but I got there. I wouldn’t tempt you into something you truly find, like… undesirable, ya know?”

“But I think Shuichi could be sold on it,” Kaito said, eyes narrowing with intrigue, clearly having put some thought into this as he said, “Like… the last time we were together? Shuichi basically beat me over the head with the idea that I don’t have to treat him like, well… like he’s not interested in experimenting with stuff. Like, it really seemed like it bothered him, that I don’t try more things or test my luck more with him. So! Knowing how much he likes me in this? Day after proposing to me? Figured I’d test my luck and try something daring… and I forgot.”

Shaking his head at himself, Kaito muttered, “I’ve lost all my game, babe. Who forgets to take a shot at their newly minted fiance? God, just call me a prude and… what does prude even mean? I was gonna try to make a pun, but I realize I don’t know why sex-adverse people are called prudes. Prunes? Call me a prune, I’m only a favorite among old people.”

He’d save Hot Kaito Mud Version for a special treat, then. 

Cooing softly, Kokichi pressed against Kaito’s side, nuzzling his head against his arm. “I do appreciate that, hun. And I did get a Kai-chan Super Duper Spectacular Romantic Moment today--I’m pretty psyched about that.”

“Though…it’s not like the day’s over yet,” Kokichi shrugged, something sly glittering in his eyes. “He might not wanna go far, since he’s already heading home, but…well, I’ll be with Miyako. It’ll be dark. There’ll be a lightshow in a couple hours so it’ll be a nice mood… Ya never know.”

Suddenly, Kokichi sniffed before turning his nuzzle into a butt against Kaito’s arm. “And please! I’m younger than you, and you’re my favorite! You’ve got game--you’re just not being super incredibly horny.”

“But I could have been, ‘Kichi. Horny potential: squandered. Total missed opportunity.” Kaito sighed dramatically, before smirking down at Kokichi, bringing up his hand and kissing his pinky finger as he joked, “Ya know, Maki was making fun of me for not being ‘fun’ anymore? Just cause I didn’t feel like trying to bully people into getting my way. Isn’t she the worst? But she’s right, I am losing a lot of my ‘fun’ qualities. I am working every day to becoming a responsible, rational adult, who doesn’t over drink or over shop or start fights or do any other random, impulsive habits. And now I’m just ‘forgetting’ to do the one fun vice I still let myself have? Very uncool, no one’s gonna want to hang out with me anymore.”

“Well, except you… and you are pretty cool too… Waku wants to hang out, she’s cool. Um… Maki is not cool, she’s just a mean girl who makes fun of me and my new lame, responsible ways… Shuichi’s pretty cool…” Kaito snorted, ‘Souda is not cool, but I kinda love that about him. He’s so enthusiastic about trying to be cool. Ya know the sort? Man, I have no idea who he actually is yet, but this weirdo mask he’s got on is fun at least. Hopefully he’ll actually let me get to know him someday, but I’m enjoying the fake for now…”

“Mm, I think you can be both very fun and very cool without those things,” Kokichi hummed, turning Kaito’s hand over so he could sneak a kiss to his knuckles too. “Maybe just ‘cause of my lost fun habit of pestering people just trying to get some shopping done. Or making big, annoying messes that half the time I’d be cleaning up anyway.”

“I guess we can just mourn our personal coolness together, while being baffled since we think each other are super cool. With our big collection of dork friends who are also super cool,” Kokichi laughed, before nodding. “I hope he’s doin’ alright from the salsa earlier. As far as I can tell, he just wants some new friends in this new city he’s in. He’s lyin’ about some stuff, but…well, most people do, and he doesn’t seem nervous or malicious about it. I don’t think I’m quite as wild as he’d wish in a friend, but he’s still cool, puffed presentation or no.”

“Speaking of cool friends, though…” Kokichi lightly skipped through the last couple steps up to Temp’s house and knocked on the door, trying to ride the line between being heard and not freaking out the kids.

It took a second, but…

To give him credit? Temp only looked mildly frazzled as he opened the door, and the sound of two wailing babies became immediately prominent as he said, deadpan, “She did not like me taking the tether off.”

Kaito grinned sheepishly, reaching forward and taking the startled Temp into his arms, pulling him into a hug and patting him roughly on the back as he said, “I’m sorry about that. Thanks for the help though! Both with babysitting and, like, brain stuff. Awwww, are there two very cranky babies here? Let’s go see the cranky babies…”

Kaito followed the sounds of screams, finding the nursery again and finding the two itty bitty babies, both in new blankets, likely having destroyed the ones they had been wrapped in when Kaito had left. Both Addason and Miyako were getting to the age where clothes was a real option, but for now, blanket wraps and fresh diapers was the most practical thing for the babies to wear, since they were constantly dirtying themselves. Kaito sighed, sympathetically as he saw the weepy, frustrated, freshly bathed babies, reaching down…

“Awww, my little wee babes. Come on, none of that, Addason, your poor dad must be exhausted by now. And Miiiiyaaaa~” Kaito called, resting his hands on their stomachs, rubbing their tummies as the kids wailed, “First of all, kid? Rude. Very rude. Second, Dad’s sooooorrrryyyyy… did you miss us? We’re here now. Come on…”

Kaito continued to murmur to the wailing babies, though he grinned as their wails got broken up a bit by Kaito patting their stomachs a bit, pat-pat-pat, and then rubbing their stomachs a bit as they both quieted down to give him equally bewildered looks, Addason pouting and tired, Miyako grumpy and offended, but quieting down a little as Kaito chuckled, rub-rub-rub, “Such grumpy, mean babies. You both get it from your aunt Maki. Miyaaaa~ Addiieeeeee~”

Temp watched this with exhausted amusement, before looking to Kokichi, “Have a good day?”

Ooooh boy. Yeah. They were going to have a hell of a time trying to convince Miyako not to use her Empathy for literally everything she wanted. She was a learning sponge right now, but also three months old and even telling her, ‘please don’t do that, darling’ was something she would forget in an hour. Welp… One day at a time. 

Kokichi gave Temp an apologetic look as Kaito did one greater and pulled him into a hug. And while Kaito left to go work his own magic on the babies, Kokichi gave his friend a fond look. “Really, thank you for everything today. As far as I’m concerned, it’s already been implied, but whenever you need someone to watch Addason? We’d be more than happy to do it. That’s a godparent promise.”

“Today was incredible,” Kokichi laughed softly. “We did everything I’ve always wanted to do during Zenith, plus more I never even considered. I announced our engagement at a confessional! And my nephew went up to do one too.” 

Kokichi perked, getting excited. “Oh! Oo, and he won the water fight this year! It was a tie with a girl who he teamed up with, it was really sweet. And sloooowly but surely I’m sneaking traditional foods into my partners’ diets,” he snickered. “We were having yakisoba, and Kai-chan had a cabbage pancake when Miya-Miya decided she’s had enough.”

“Trust me, I will be certain to take you up on that.” Temp smiled, yawning for a bit before laughing lightly at Kokichi’s explanation of his day, “I apologize that Miyako interrupted traditional food time. That’s, just… such a bummer,” Temp said, accent slipping back and forth slightly from his waking self’s inflections and the Templars inflections, figuring that now that everyone present knew both sides that it didn’t really matter which one he did, “I was trying to keep track of what she was doing, but, well, when two infants decide they’re going to try to out-gross each other, it’s hard to focus on anything else.”

“Was our Miya a terror all day then?” Kaito asked, now just straight up massaging the babies little bodies, rubbing Miyako’s right foot with one hand and massaging Addason’s left hand with his other, the babies quieting down, Miyako looking up curiously at Kaito, while Addason started to blink sleepily.

“They had a few cute moments. Addason’s been more tired then Miyako today, and while Addason was napping Miyako, at some point, seemed determined to try to reach out to him. Admittedly, it was likely because she wanted to munch on him again, but it looked like she wanted to hold his hand, and that was very cute.” Temp smirked, “Miyako’s quite a little personality already. Addason doesn’t like to be alone very much, but he doesn’t like surprises or being startled either, and he gets so overwhelmed any time something he doesn’t expect happens. I thought that was quite a handful, but Miyako’s absolute certainty that everything’s going to go exactly as she expects is… equally hilarious as it is difficult to keep up with.”

“She’s my fussy little princess.” Kaito said softly, seeing Addason start to drift off and, it quiet now, grabbing his little fox and putting it beside the baby, before reaching in and grabbing his girl, picking her up and grabbing her lamb as he said, “Okaaaay, Miyako. I hope you had some fun with Addie today, but it’s time to go home~”

Kokichi shook his head a little. “The whims of an infant are no one’s fault--we just gotta do our best to soothe ‘em. We still got to eat, and Shuu-chan’s takin’ the rest of our leftovers home.”

Watching Kaito soothe two wailing infants into sleepy contentedness was something pretty incredible. And while Kokichi wouldn’t hold a grudge over his daughter and her friend’s more grumpy moments…it was very cute seeing them calm and tired, hearing about a burgeoning friendship, even if it was just a grasp for contact in any fashion. 

“Miya-Miya’s certainly one of a kind,” Kokichi hummed, watching fondly as Kaito scooped her up. “Shuu-chan’s leagues ahead of us, when it comes to being realistic with her, but she just gets so offended when, no sweetheart, it’s not time for playtime in Dad’s head, sorry,” Kokichi shook his head a bit at Miyako. 

Sighing, Kokichi turned back to Temp and gave him a grateful smile. “Again, thank you so much. It’s about time we let you get some rest, but if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Have a good night, Temp, and happy Zenith.” 

“Happy Zenith. Let me walk you out.”

A moment later, diaper bag in hand, Miyako tucked away in a sling around Kaito’s chest, now dead asleep as she listened to his heartbeat, Kaito chuckled, “Man, you keep mentioning this mental play time thing. Did that happen often? I swear, ‘Kichi, I have no memories of this. Like, even knowing it happened, there’s no sense of familiarity.”

“Only once,” Kokichi admitted, “But it was memorable enough that it was something she managed. I get the impression from her sometimes that she wants to do it more--mostly that she just wants your attention one way or another.”

He cast a fond look to their daughter, shaking his head, before he sighed. 

“...that’s kind of what I was talking about before. That…familiarity? And awareness? That’s the difference between people like you and Shuu-chan, and people like me and Miya. That’s the reason I get so nervous about things…because, unless I do that thing I only learned how to do, like, a month ago? Then…you just have no idea anything even happened.”

“Aw, that’s alright, babe…” Kaito shrugged, looking down at his husband for a moment as he said, “It’s like with anything, ya know? Like… it’s just gonna end up coming down to trust. Like, knowing someone can do this big, like, thing to you and you really can’t do anything about it? We all do that, or, go through that, everyone has something they can do to just completely take advantage of or hurt someone else. But, like… we trust each other not to do it, and do our best to not accidentally do it, and, well, sometimes it just comes down to deciding to let it go when someone fucks up… messes up, messes up, no cursing in front of even wee sleeping baby…”

“Anyway, what the heck was I trying to say…” Kaito paused, gathering his thoughts. He was a little worn down, not to the point of being confused or incoherent, but definitely to the point where his thoughts were lagging a little, “...I guess maybe it’s a little more alarming if you do make a mistake, admittedly. Cause I wouldn’t know until you told me, if you decided to tell me at all… which, sure, you can, like, delay sometimes… to an infuriating degree… but!” Kaito said, lighting up, “You do always tell me eventually. So far! As far as I can tell! And as pissed, uh, ‘peeved’ as I get about the delay, like, I still appreciate that you tell me stuff eventually! And… god this isn’t what I meant to talk about, I’m literally just trying to say I trust you and I know you’ll handle it responsibly, and I mean it, but like…”

Kaito rolled his eyes, largely at himself, as he said tiredly, “Well, it’s like my strength, muscle wise. I told you I’d never take advantage of it… again. And I mean it. And you know I mean it. And I won’t… but shits happened in the past and so there’s always that caveat. But like… we’ll both do better in the future. We’re working on it. We can trust each other… sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble about all of that, I had no idea what I was saying till I had already gotten off course. I’m beat.”

He supposed that was right… There was the issue of knowing, which Kaito pointed out, and to Kokichi that did feel like a major difference, but at the end of the day…people were all different, and with that came certain advantages and disadvantages. With no held bars, there were countless fields in which a person could seriously hurt another, and…the reason why that was just the case constantly, all the time?

Was because, as a society, they decided not to. As people that loved and cared about each other, they decided not to. To hold back and consider other people, to trust one another to care, and to believe in each other when mistakes did happen, and to forgive. It wasn’t a perfect system, but…it did tend to work. 

Kokichi was quiet for a moment. He was pretty worn down by the day too, but… Shyly, tentatively, he looked up at Kaito. “...with your permission, I’d like to check on Madison later, to make sure everything’s okay. But…if you wanted? I could stick around a little longer and we could…talk. Or…look at anything you wanted.”

Kaito really was trying, but when Kokichi asked about checking in on ‘Madison’, he had paused to think, wracking his brain. Madison, Madison… did Kokichi have a new friend named– oh! Saint Madison! 

“Oh! Uh…” Kaito glanced down at Kokichi, brow furrowed in concern, “...it’s not gonna hurt you, right? You guys said you did stuff with Shuichi and Maki the day I had to rush you to medical for another migrain…”

Kokichi smiled slightly and pressed to Kaito’s side. “As long as we’re not trying anything new and crazy? The only thing it’ll be doin’ is keeping us up a little longer--and in no way do I plan to keep us up the whole night.”

“What I did with Shuu-chan and Maki-chan…” Kokichi hummed, trying to think of a way to explain it. “...when I just visit? Without you guys remembering? That’s nothing to me. And…having you remember is like…keeping up a light jog. It’s pretty easy, now, though if I do it forever I am gonna get tired. What I did with Shuu-chan and Maki-chan that day was…jogging while carrying both of them. That’s something I’m able to do, there, but…well, it sounds as absurd as it’d be if I did it right now. It was too much, especially like…jumping from a jog to multi-hundred pound transportation. That’s why it got so bad for me.”

“Oooooooh,” Kaito said, nodding, “But it… wouldn’t be that for me. I’d be, what, a… normal jog? A walk? I trust whatever you tell me, babe, but… I really don’t want you to get sick just cause I’ve got a sword lady in my head you want to check in on. You promise me this isn’t you downplaying?”

Kokichi nodded, before he let out a soft snort, not wanting to wake Miya, though she seemed out for the count even with the festival still going on around them in the dimming evening. “For you, it’d be a jog, and I’ve stretched and hydrated for it. Just for Madison, though? It’d be like getting up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. So easy I could do it three-quarters asleep. Though I will be awake, since I gotta be mindful and all that.”

“Alright… alright, sure,” Kaito nodded, “I’ll admit, I don’t really know what to expect. The only thing I remember, like, em…” Kaito suddenly looked around, not sure if anyone was close enough to hear them, “Well, the only thing I remember is a cat and, like… tentacles? Or vines. That’s what it was, just a bunch of vines in, like, a dark place. I don’t think I really even comprehended anything was happening until I woke up, like I thought I was just dreaming.”

“And, ya know what? I’m not gonna ask what to expect either. I’m just gonna overthink it either way, so…” Kaito shrugged, “Whenever you’re up to it, babe, sure. Full permission.”

“But lights first, tonight,” Kaito grinned, running his thumb over Kokichi’s knuckles, “And don’t do it if you’re tired. Everything can wait. It’s been a great day, Kokichi. A great couple of days… we can relax. There’s nothing urgent that needs doing… well, unless Miyako disagrees. Then it’s all urgent, but, no accounting for that! It’ll be fine.” Kaito laughed, squeezing Kokichi’s hand, “We got this.”

Kokichi laughed softly, looking over at Miyako’s scrunched little baby face, gently tucked towards Kaito’s chest. Resting in Kokichi’s favorite place, able to listen to Kaito’s heartbeat. Kokichi would easily miss the show if their daughter needed them, but…barring that? They had one last amazing part of Zenith to experience. 

-

Earlier…

Shuichi wasn’t in a hurry, and his movement reflected that. Like Kaito and, though Shuichi hadn’t had too much chance to see it for himself, Maki as well, Shuichi was feeling pretty relaxed after a series of good days. Oh sure, Kaito teasing him all day was infuriating… but in a way that Shuichi was kind of enjoying. Maybe he could understand a little better now why Kaito liked to be frazzled and flustered, even if he knew it wasn’t going to go anywhere. It was fun, like he and the older prince were playing a game. 

And Kokichi seemed, just, to be having the time of his life, it was hard not to get caught up in his joy. It had just been a nice day. Everyone was in a good mood, and Shuichi, feeling at ease, took his time walking home, feeling the warmth of the setting sun and the chill of the rising night play through his hair, the activity and laughter of the crowd around him not feeling alarming or aggressive. Nice…

There wasn’t really anything urgent about it, but Ikuo figured Shuuichi would do well having the knowledge. 

After taking the supplies the others didn’t want to be carrying for the rest of the day and helping clean folks off a bit, Ikuo headed out again, continuing on his rounds of catching up with friends and enjoying the first Zenith festival he’d been to in a decade. But as the evening wore on and the sun started to set, Ikuo started making his way back home, hoping to catch his family before they really settled in for the night. 

Instead, on the way, he saw Shuuichi by himself, and Ikuo decided to take the opportunity.

“‘Lo, Shu’chi. Mind some company on th’ road back?”

Shuichi, surprised but un-startled, looked over to Ikou, nodding his head to him lightly as he said, “Hello, Ikou. Of course. If you’re looking for Kokichi, he’s going to meet us back in the room… or, me.” Shuichi laughed lightly, shaking his head. He was alone so rarely when he went out these days, the ‘us’ had come automatically, “He and Kaito just went to go pick up Miyako from Temp.”

Refocusing on the path, Shuichi asked, “Your first Zenith back. Has it been a good one? I know we’ve monopolized Kokichi’s time, I hope we haven’t put you out too much.”

“Did mean ta check in on y’all, but righ’ now ‘m headin’ back m’sel’. Been a full day,” Ikuo nodded. “Bet Miss Miya’s had en’nuff ‘a t’day too.”

Giving the younger man a kind look, Ikuo nodded shortly. “Nah, Bunny an’ I talked over our plans--I know how damn excited ‘e was ta show y’all ‘round. Bunny an’ I’ve had Zeniths befer t’gether; this is y’all’s first one. There’ll be plenny ‘a time t’ spend t’gether goin’ forward.”

“Di’ get t’ see a lotta friends, an’ it’s nice seein’ th’ city in full swing--migh’ seem like a lotta th’ same, festival t’ festival, but there is somethin’ diff’rent ‘tween it all.” Pausing, Ikuo looked over at Shuuichi. “...gotta chat in wi’ yer mentor, too. Nothin’ worl’-shatterin’, but…though’ you should know she’s lookin’ fer info ‘bout yer struggles last year. An’ th’ folks who made ‘em worse.”

“...” Shuichi sighed, reaching up to shuffle his bangs around a little, “Thank you. For telling me, I mean. I wish I had a… healthy way to… respond to that.”

“......” Shuichi pulled out his journal from one of his stange, large sleeved, pulling the pen from the middle of its spine off and sighing as he opened up the journal, jotting down a few notes before asking, matter of factly, “May I ask, roughly, what information you provided?”

The two of them had an odd relationship, dancing between genuine care, ego, habit, and plans. But Ikuo stood by what he had done, and he was standing behind letting Shuuichi get as much information from this as he could. It was his own, after all. 

“Sai’ I di’n know all that much ‘bout it,” Ikuo hummed. “Tha’chu di’n wanna talk ‘bout it, an’ I respected that. Gave th’ gist that y’all tol’ me it was a situation tha’ got outta hand an’ y’all di’n get th’ help ya needed. She was mentionin’ that she’s worried ‘bout ya bein’ ‘round enemies, an’ we talked a bit ‘bout the biases Diceans tend ta have. Don’ think she was much assured.”

“She’s trying to work out the culture of danger for someone like me in particular.” Shuichi said dryly, jotting down another note, before gently tapping the end of his pen at the corner of his lip– never on it, Maki had given him a very uncomfortable rash once, proving to him why you don’t indulge in oral fixations when a bunch of people with poison were studying your habits– as he thought about Ikou’s information… “Likely she’s focusing on cliques and departments, areas where the opinions of the individual will more easily effect the will of the group. Once she knows which groups are already established, she discovers the most influential members of that group, and then…”

Shuichi paused, before laughing lightly, “Well, back home that information would be provided to the parties that asked for it, or would be used to help us determine who was likely most actively responsible for a large group crime. The ringleaders, if you would. It was exceptionally important to do that, when you knew a large group was responsible for something that happened, because if you don’t offer a scapegoat? The entire group will suffer. Better to hand the royal guard and the elites two or three people and say ‘them. They are responsible for the actions of the many. Destroy them and the others will never dare to do it again’. And sometimes that was enough.”

“But Miss Kirigiri can’t provide that sort of protection for me here, and I can’t enact that sort of protection myself. I’m not sure what knowing who would turn against me in a crisis or sabotage me here would really accomplish. I already avoid most people anyway.” Shuichi shrugged, “What, am I meant to avoid them harder? …actually, she likely expects I’d keep tabs on them. Six months ago I likely would have. But I’m tired now…”

Shuichi was mostly talking to himself, by this point. Not to be dismissive to Ikou, but as he jotted notes in his shorthand into the journal, he just tried to put himself in his mentors headspace and… just couldn’t see a way what she was doing would be useful. Shuichi was at the whims of others, here. Regardless of what Maki believed, knowing the source of the danger didn’t always help. Sometimes it was just… needlessly depressing.

And it’s not like he couldn’t have found out himself, Miss Kirigiri. Geez…

Ikuo nodded slightly, adjusting his hat and letting Shuuichi talk out his thought process. Scapegoats had a bad rap, at least in all the groups he’d been a part of. Not the people themselves, but the concept. And, hell, you could see that reflected in their justice system too, looking at the very cases Kyouko had likely looked at. In the cult case, those three had had expedited cases because of the murder and kidnapping charges, and through those came the knowledge that they were responsible for nearly all of the planning when it came to the drug epidemic and parties in the old brewery, but they were far from the only people who went through the courts on that case. It was found out that only a small handful had anything more to do with the havoc than just hearing about a wild party and hanging out, but…still. Almost everyone who had even stepped foot in the brewery had at least been questioned. 

However…the system and society that did those things could afford to look into exactly who was involved in what. In a system like Luminary’s? Scapegoats were necessary. Even if there probably were cases of the type that made Diceans grimace when they thought about the concept. 

It was too naive to think there would never be another big disaster, that Shuuichi and the others would never be in danger again. But…what was there even to prepare for, other than just following the law as usual? Finding out about the folks in the castle who didn’t like Luminary? Shuuichi was well aware about at least the surface feelings people like Kirumi and Hideki had. And…well, despite his personal feelings, Hideki had been working to the bone and fighting tooth and nail to hammer out rights and passageways for immigrants and visitors. Social change was still a ways away, but…legally? Luminaries would find themselves protected. 

All of the kids’ friends? Considering who they were making friends with, it was pretty easy to tell if they were feigning everything for some nefarious plan. 

So just…people in town? Ikuo supposed so, but…as Shuuichi muttered to himself, that was an exhausting way to live. Maybe it was the safest thing you could do for yourself, distrusting every person you saw. But it did make it much harder to see the everyday decency most people showed. 

Thinking for a moment, Ikuo hummed softly before asking, “D’ya feel in danger here?”

“Not how you’re thinking about it.” Shuichi said automatically… before his expression winced. “Actually, no, I apologize. Kokichi and I, well, the whole family, really, have had that sort of conversation a thousand different ways now, so sometimes I feel like I just know the beats of this particular conversation to the point of arguing both sides. But I’ve never heard your thoughts on danger and Dicea and all of that, so… I apologize, that was a mind-ready impulse. Our therapists are really trying to break that habit in our group.”

So, thinking about the question… “It’s somewhat confusing, because I am always comparing danger in Dicea to danger in Luminary, and the translation isn’t always one hundred percent. For instance, the odds of being physically attacked here are significantly lower than they were back in Luminary. Not one hundred percent less likely, historically, deadly mass riots occurring two decades ago isn’t exactly a clean criminal record for an area, but still less likely enough that I could understand the argument that it isn’t worth worrying about, comparatively. So in ways, I feel less in danger here.”

“But I feel more in danger here than in Luminary in my ability to be prepared for a violent confrontation than I was at home. We don’t carry weapons here. People seem to live by the philosophy of passively accepting hatred under the assumption it will never escalate, which can leave me feeling a little… well, again, unprepared as a group. Self defense has consequences here that wouldn’t be a factor back home and need to be taken into account for.”

Shuichi paused, before amending, “Except… none of that actually really seems to matter, in action. The members of the castle are all exceptional fighters and incredibly brave, entirely willing to throw themselves into conflicts en mass, without weapons. In that sense, I suppose the ‘preparedness’ of a group doesn’t matter, because at least among the castle residents? You have physical self defense down to an artform. Your guards are flawless to the point of being almost mystical… I’m mostly thinking of Katsuki admittedly,” Shuichi smiled, thinking of seeing her back at the race. He had been so caught up in things he had forgotten to say hi, he’d have to rectify that if he could today, “She’s a bit of an outlier, I’m aware. But my point is ultimately that Diceans are extremely brave, extremely coordinated, and a little reckless, but… in a way that works very well for self-defense and the defense of the group.”

“So, knowing if something were to happen in the future, that I as an individual would not be able to take care of myself very well?” Shuichi shrugged, “That can feel alarming. But I can recognize that doesn’t actually mean I’m at the whims of whoever would decide to harm me, so long as the group is available. Which I imagine was likely the point in why Dicea developed this skill the way it did. Honestly, Luminary was similar, if only in the sense that allies made you stronger. It’s not that jarring of a cultural difference. Just still one to get used too.”

Ikuo gave his son-in-law a curious look, but allowed Shuuichi to explain his thoughts more clearly. It made a lot of sense that he’d have already had this conversation ad nauseum, considering the kind of year it’d been. 

Mostly…Ikuo was just straight up asking an unelaborated ‘yes no’. Asking, as Shuuichi felt, if he felt like he was in danger. If yes, then…yeah, there was a point in taking more safety measures. If no, then…no, there wasn’t. 

But it wasn’t that cut and dry, even when it came to just feelings. 

Laughing softly, Ikuo gave Shuuichi a warm look. “I can tell ya’ve been talkin’ ‘bout this a lot. Ya’ve expressed yersel’ well.”

“...maybe a way of thinkin’ ‘bout it is tha’ yer allies aren’t necessarily folks ya know well. Or, on th’ other side, that the groups ‘a allies ‘n others jus’ aren’t as defined as ya’d find in Luminary…an’ they can change dependin’ on wha’s goin’ on. Imagine that can feel scary, feelin’ like ya can’t really depend on anyone who ain’t gon’ be on yer side hundred percent ‘a th’ time.”

“Folk are encouraged ta think fer themsel’s, ta no’ believe that there are ever thing tha’ ‘r always true. Don’t stop folks from findin’ things like that fer themselves--jus’ that those things can be wildly diff’rent, person ta person,” Ikuo shrugged. “Also means tha’ folks can make a lotta dumb decisions. Laws ‘r there ta keep those from gettin’ outta hand, but it can’t cover th’ smaller things. Lotta folks cope wi’ that by jus’ decidin’ hurt feelin’s ain’t worth makin’ a big deal of--words ‘a hogs ‘r just snorts. Migh’ confront someone, an’ it’s usually a sign how they respond whether they’re jus’ an asshole--and if they are then…they jus’ ain’t a person worth havin’ in yer life.”

Ikuo shrugged again. “Ain’t a satisfyin’ conclusion, I guess. An’ yer righ’ that…yer fam’ly an’ friends can talk ‘bout culture ‘til th’ cows come home, but society’s jus’ somethin’ yer gon’ haf’ta cope wi’. Bes’ advice I can offer is wha’ yer already doin’--don’ fill yer life wi’ assholes.”

“Exactly,” Shuichi said, finishing jotting down notes before tucking his journal back up into his sleeve, “I’m certain that’s where Miss Kirigiri is getting hung up. The best thing I can do right now is just stick with the people that have already been vetted. And don’t let strange women into my room anymore.” Shuichi said, something grimly humorous in that, as he continued, “And I suppose don’t go to sketchy warehouse parties or… well, specifically bars with Kaito. And I’m not exactly able to do anything like any of that anymore, now that I have an infant to look after. Really limits the amount of danger you expose yourself to, the less places you go.”

“Honestly, I’ve personally just learned to stop thinking about it all that much. Watching Kaito obsess over how to handle danger here has made me a little… it just doesn’t seem worth the exhaustion he puts himself through. It really is mostly fine here, and again, we really don’t do anything that invites danger into our lives. I feel confident Miss Kirigiri isn’t going to find assassins or rebel leaders among the castle staff… at least not ones that aren’t retired from that in some way, shape or form. And unlike Kaito, I don’t care if people are secretly calling me names or don’t like me, or even verbally get in my face about being Luminous, or anything like that. That part, at least, is absolutely less dangerous here than it was in Luminary, and I survived being hated in the desert kingdom just fine. It’s really all…”

Shuichi shrugged again, “Just, not a big deal.”

Ikuo raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t exactly what he meant. It wasn’t, ‘be wary of assholes, so stay with the people you knew’, but more, ‘live your life as you’d like, but don’t be scared or precious about dumping people when you saw colors in their puzzle you didn’t like.’ 

People weren’t expected to be friends. They were expected to stay out of each others’ ways. 

But, at least where he was in life right then, the former might just be how Shuuichi did want to live his life. Even in their few talks about his life in Luminary, Shuuichi never painted himself like the type to go chatting up people for friendship. And it wasn’t like the man was afraid to say no, or at least ditch a situation to return to folks he knew. 

“If ya feel comfortable that way?” Ikuo nodded, “Then there’s no reason ta search fer more. S’what it comes down to, at the end. If yer happy wi’ yer life, then yer doin’ somethin’ right.”

Shuichi agreed with that, and honestly, felt a little better to have said all of that. In the group conversations, Kokichi and Kaito… could be difficult to get a word in edgewise, sometimes. When they were both doing their own impromptu endless monologues about philosophy and the cultural interpretations and their grapplings with their own sense of morality and how to mix and match it in a way that didn’t leave them furious with each other. It could often be a lot of Shuichi just sort of… watching. Waiting for them to tire themselves out.

It was nice to get to monologue himself about stuff that he ultimately didn’t really think even mattered that much, what they thought of it. Well, maybe to Kokichi, since he’d be king one day, but even then, not really? If Shuichi understood it right, Kokichi wouldn’t be able to just change laws to match his own personal belief system. This was just the system in place already, and they were all living in it. It didn’t matter if you didn’t agree. It’s how it was.

(Maki of course would argue against that until she turned blue in the face, but Maki was a crazy person who Shuichi still mostly believed had gotten lucky. You just had to accept things as they were. Just… get over yourself, crazy dragon lady.)

“Thank you for telling me about my mentor, and thank you for letting me talk your ear off as we walked home,” Shuichi said, both of them entering the front entrance of the castle, Shuichi giving Ikou a small smile, “And thank you for not trying to prove me wrong, if there was anything to prove. Like I said, we talk about things like that… a lot. So much. Just, a stupid amount, among the four of us. Everything becomes an argument. It can be exhausting.”

“Course,” Ikuo hummed, tipping his hat a little to Shuuichi. “Ain’t ‘bout ta tell ya yer feelin’s ain’t happenin’. Yer fam’ly, Shu’chi, so…I s’ppose this is my way ‘a lookin’ out fer ya.”

Looking up towards the stairs, Ikuo gave a little nod. “Well, we’re both headin’ in th’ same direction, I reckon, so it ain’t ‘ta jus’ yet, bu’ I am havin’ tea wi’ Bunny t’morrow, so I’ll hear all about y’all’s day then. Please pass on m’ hi’s t’ th’ fam’ly when they catch up with ya, an’ I’ll leave ya be,”

-

It started with slow, thinly spreading lines of blue light. 

Kaito was holding Shuichi, the two leaning against the left side of the, Shuichi curled into him and resting his head against Kaito’s neck, angled to watch the lights outside the window. In the distance, laughter and music was still audible, even from their open window, and Kaito was enjoying listening the distant noise of the crowds. But as neat as the lights were, which were starting to turn orange as they circled slowly through the sky, Kaito found himself looking at Kokichi and Miyako more, Miyako sucking contently on her pacifier, glancing outside sometimes but her gaze going everywhere, jolting in little bursts of energy against Kokichi’s stomach as he held her, watching the lights.

Giving his husband and daughter a fond look, Kaito felt Shuichi shift against him, leaning more fully on his neck… “You’re going to fall asleep.” Kaito predicted softly.

“No I’m not.” Shuichi murmured sleepily, every blink long and heavy.

“Yes you are,” Kaito snickered, rubbing his finance’s arm as he said, voice still soft, “Our Shuichi’s gonna fall asleep before our infant daughter, ‘Kichi.”

“Miyako got a lot more sleep today then I did.” Shuichi huffed, “And I’m still gonna outlast her.”

The window seat wasn’t exactly made for three full grown men, but they made it work, and it wasn’t like any of them were adverse to cuddling right then. It was cozy, all squished together and Kokichi found that he quite liked it. Snuggled with his family, watching beams of light streak colorfully into the sky.

She could probably comprehend it even less than the colored light from her mobile, but Kokichi was glad it was looking like Miyako was enjoying the show too. Rubbing her back, Kokichi laughing softly, tearing his gaze away as the light started to starburst out, mimicking the fireworks they’d popularly replaced to Shuuichi’s sleepy, comfortable expression. “She did get quite a few more nap times than we did. I wouldn’t blame Shuu-chan for falling to the grasp of sleep before this little bundle of energy.”

“...it is really amazing, though,” Kokichi murmured, turning back towards the show. “What luck, getting to see it from home.”

“I’m not gonna fall asleep though,” Shuichi said, his eyes closed. “I am wide awake.”

“I’ll put you to bed when you fall asleep, handsome.” Kaito promised, kissing his forehead, “But yes, you are absolutely gonna fall asleep. It’s okay. There will be more light shows… though I like this one. It’s very pretty.”

Kaito watched red beams dance around the sky, before asking, “They do this every Zenith then? The light shows? I don’t think I saw this at the other festivals.”

“Mhmm,” Kokichi softly hummed, starting to rub little soft circles into Miyako’s back. Her tiny little back, though growing every day…he could barely believe how small she was when she was born, and that was barely any time ago. “They do ‘em for Zenith and Hanami for sure every year, unless it’s raining, but people tend to postpone the whole festival if the weather’s bad. We just missed Hanami’s this year since we went home early.”

“They do ‘em for some other festivals or big events too, but it’s not always a constant…just what people wanna pay for and set up, yanno? But…yeah. Hanami and Zenith get lightshows, Harvest gets the pumpkin lights, and Unity has the castle Unity tree.” Kokichi smirked a little, though it quickly turned into a look of wonder at the shooting flowers in the sky. “I mean…you know, but us Diceans love to party, and love a good showpiece.”

“I like the decorations you all put up for all the different festivals.” Kaito agreed, rubbing his fingers up and down Shuichi’s arm, smiling slightly as he felt Shuichi shift again, one of his eyes literally just pressed into his neck. Yeah, his fiance was absolutely not watching the show. “We don’t do it very often, back home. I think I can only think of… two holidays that we put anything up? Does colored powder lingering everywhere for a week count as putting up decorations? It might.” Kaito chuckled.

“Oh, man, you know what I want to show you someday?” Kaito said, watching white beams of light shoot into the sky, something shooting up with it that seemed to sprinkle down, like shards that shimmered in the light. Kaito wondered what it might be. It’d have to be something Diceans would consider safe… ice? Shooting out shards of ice to catch the light and melt on the ground? He wouldn’t ask, he felt clever to guess that and didn’t want to be proven wrong. “Novoselic’s got a few holidays that are beautiful. They put these lights in their waters, like, candles. They do it by the thousands, and they fall down these waterfalls… it’s really pretty. Could be a life goal, taking a trip to watch the lights go down the waterfalls.”

“Miiiiyaaaa~” Kaito whispered to his daughter, Miyako’s eyes looking up at him. She had started to do that, starting to recognize her name, getting a little excited to be directly addressed as she wiggled excitedly in Kokichi’s arms, “Do you want to go see the lights in the water someday? When you’re older? Novoselic is beautiful, Miyako, with cities on the water. I think you’d like it…”

When what a holiday actually meant could be such a personal experience, Kokichi figured that the way to unify everything was just…to make it a spectacle. Put up decorations and put on events and make it something for people to enjoy even if they didn’t care much for that specific holiday. Maybe it commercialized it a bit, but…well, it didn’t seem to be a problem yet. 

Kokichi watched like stream down, almost like a facsimile of what Kaito was actually describing. Laughing a little at Miyako’s wiggles, Kokichi propped her up a little more to see Dad better. “That sounds incredible… I would love to see that someday. The only time I’ve seen Novoselic wasn’t exactly…a vacation, so it’d be nice to get to appreciate it properly.”

“...I really like home, and I think I’ll always be biased towards Dicea, but…there are places I want to travel to. Or just…that I want to travel, and it matters less about where we end up than just…getting to see somewhere really cool.” Smiling Kokichi looked down at Miyako, giving the top of her head a soft kiss. “For her own traveling escapades, Miya-Miya did really well today. Iiiii’m proud of youuu, Miyaaaaa~”

Kokichi laughed a little more. “I think I’m gonna be beat tomorrow, but I do wanna take her on more regular walks. If she can spend most of the day with Temp and Addie? I think we can take Daddy-Daughter time on the road more often.”

“We’ve all got our biases. I still think fondly about the city,” Kaito shrugged, before clarifying, “My capital city, I mean. Very different from here. I think I’d struggle to explain it to you. Lots of big buildings and tight alleys. Just, massive. I don’t know if you’d think it was pretty, but I always thought it was beautiful, even with all the things wrong with it. And there was plenty wrong with it. Cracked windows were everywhere cause of the wind and debris, a lot of poorly maintained pathways, a lot of parts of the city that were dangerous or dirty, even by our standards…”

“But I don’t know… it was my whole world, ya know? It felt natural, there. And I thought the city was beautiful, especially at night. God, I loved walking the city at night… looking back, it wasn’t safe. In comparison to walking around at night here? If we do ever visit home, you only get to wander certain parts of the city at night, I won’t hear any argument. A lot of it just isn’t safe. But it was still pretty.”

Kaito watched sudden flashes of green light up the sky, and he said, “It’s very pretty here too, though. Different. But pretty.

“I do think it’s pretty,” Kokichi said softly. “It’s so different from Usott that…yeah. I don’t know how to explain it either… But…there’s a joy in it that I know I wasn’t just getting from you guys. All things considered…we probably will visit it once, and if we do? I really wanna make the most of that trip. See everything I possibly can in the time we’re there.”

“With safety advisement,” he nodded to Kaito. “I never really got to see it at night, though. If that’s your favorite time? Then I’ll look forward to that.”

…he was glad that they lived in Dicea, though. For a lot of reasons. 

“...the world is really big,” Kokichi hummed. “Don’t think we’ll get to see all of it, but…there’s still plenty to explore.”

“Ahh, right, right, you saw it with Shuichi, didn’t you…” Kaito considered this, before smirking, shifting his weight as he said, “Speaking of Shuichi…”

Shuichi hadn’t last long, and was out. Kaito knew this not only because of the steady breathing, but from the small line of drool he could feel starting to collect on his neck. Carefully adjusting himself to pick Shuichi up, he took a steadying breath, before murmuring, “Alright, bed time, handsome. Be right back, beautiful.”

Shuichi murmured unintelligibly, his eyes fluttering open briefly before closing again as Kaito hefted him up, bringing him over to the bed and laying him down, looking him over. He was already in his pajamas, so that was alright. Kaito was literally just hanging out in the robe now, open, having taken everything else off but content to leave that piece on as he headed back to the window, chuckling, “It was a long day, I’m not surprised he’s worn out. What about you beautiful? I can take both shifts tonight if you’re tired…”

Kokichi hummed a soft affirmation before adding, “And a little with you too, a few times. It was the first thing I ever saw of your mind, actually. You were reading in an alleyway, wearing…really boringly colored clothes, but they did seem cut well for the heat. And a cape, of course.”

Kokichi had changed out of his yukata, having his own Kaito moment of getting trapped in the straps and various limb holes. He’d had just enough time to wipe down himself a bit--not enough to shower--but it was more than enough until his usual morning shower to be comfortable, and when he resumed his evening duty with his daughter, Kokichi was wearing pajamas, a large, soft t-shirt with flamingos on it, and blue and white striped shorts. 

But while he was wearing pajamas, Kokichi wasn’t planning on sleeping anytime soon. 

Snorting, Kokichi gave Kaito a dry look before turning back to the window, seeing, like…a grid cone of lights wave away and together in the sky. “I’m all set to snuggle into the window seat, but I’m all good for my shift. And youuu have sleep meds to take to get a full, good night’s rest tonight. No skipping out on that tonight.”

Kaito grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, “Yeah, yeah, I know…”

It was mostly hit! But sometimes miss, when Kaito took his sleeping tablets. It wasn’t that he forgot, it was more just… some nights knowing he’d be hard to wake up was harder to accept, then others. If he started the night feeling anxious? Then sometimes taking the tablet felt like a betrayal, Kaito putting his own health before his families safety. So sometimes he just… didn’t.

That was only sometimes though. Most of the time he did. And the more he did the more he understood why he had too. It really did help.

That said… “Not until I see this whole light show. Shuichi can wait till the next festival, but I wanna watch this one till the end. I’m not letting Miyako outlast me, at least.”

“Oh! Oh…” Kaito suddenly said, peering at Miyako as the lights outside turned pink, then red, then blue, “Miyako… did you enjoy your day with Temp and Addie? Can you… I mean, she can’t understand me, right?” Kaito asked, looking to Kokichi, sheepish again. “You guys talk in like… emotion?”

“That’s fair,” Kokichi chuckled. “I’m not gonna be that much of a stickler. I remember getting so upset as a kid when I’d fall asleep before the show. Miya-Miya is already getting a head start on me there.”

Kokichi watched the lights with quiet satisfaction for a moment before he gave Kaito a soft look for his question. “She can’t, not really. She probably knows you’re talking to her, since she’s looking at you right now,” And, sure enough, she had looked over at hearing Kaito say her name, “But…she doesn’t really have much of a concept of language yet. Everything about a baby is just…raw. New. It’s just luck I happen to have the exact ability that lets me connect with people that way.”

“That said…”

Kokichi looked down at Miyako, smiling softly as he reached out, easier to do with her than anyone else, even other Empaths, he’d found. Maybe because he’d been doing it so instinctually since she was born. 

{Good day, Miya-Miya? Temp and Addason are friends--were you happy spending time with them?}

{Strange toy.} Miyako mused, seeing Addason in the projection Kokichi sent out, {Different food smell.}

She couldn’t define the difference, but Kokichi would be able to sense what she meant. Addie smelled like different food. Baby formula, rather than nectar. She kept wanting to taste it on him, it was weird.

And as for Temp… Miyako pouted, looking deeply offended as she felt, {Evil, terrible man. Sent Red Big Heat away. Wouldn’t let her put things in mouth. Gave bath. Did feed and she liked the bouncing and singing, but overall? Terrible, 0/10, would smack and did.}

Kokichi couldn’t help the series of soft snorts that erupted from him, holding Miyako close and cuddling her. “Oh-ho-ooo, nooo, Miiiyaaaa~ We don’t smack people who give us baths~”

Shaking his head a little, still absolutely tickled by her day, Kokichi gave Kaito an amused look. “She thinks Addie is a weird toy--he smells like formula, rather than nectar, so that’s why she kept trying to eat him. She was curious what it tasted like.”

“And she is not a fan of Temp.” For how absolute the sentence was, the amusement in Kokichi’s voice was more than enough indication that it wasn’t anything on Temp’s end. “She thinks he’s horrible for making you go away, and that he wouldn’t let her put everything in the world in her mouth, and for giving her a bath.”

“Though,” Kokichi smirked, “Apparently he sang to her? And she liked it, but not enough for making Dad go away, but I’m absolutely asking him what he sang next time we hang out.”

{Awww, my baby. I’m very proud of you for sticking around with weird smells and mean men that bounce and sing to you but aren’t Dad or Dadda. Tomorrow will only be with them and Daddy, okay? I promise. I love you very much, Miya-Miya.}

Kaito lit up, “Babe, babe, she’s smiling again. Awww, look at my happy, smiling girl… Miyako, are you happy with daddy? Awww, my brave, strong little girl… had such a strange day.”

Reaching over to lightly brush some of her hair aside, Kaito promised, “It might take some time, Miyako, but one day you’ll understand why we leave home and meet new people. Even if they taste different and do strange and annoying things. Addie and Temp are just the first of lots and lots of new people, and I promise, one day, you’ll be happy that you did. Addie’s not a toy, but you’ll see, someday, my little sweetbun… he’ll be better than any toy.”

“Your friends will be better than anything.” Kaito murmured, smiling as Miyako tried to catch his hand, likely wanting to put his fingers in her mouth despite the pacifier doing an entirely adequate job, “They’ll make it all worth it.”

“...she can’t understand me.” Kaito said softly, “Could you tell her dad loves her? Dad loves her so much.”

Kokichi couldn’t tell if it was because he’d shared his love, or his pride, or just because he promised that she would be around her favorite people all day tomorrow, but…whatever the cause, Kokichi loved to see Miyako’s smile. His darling daughter… The world was even bigger for her, and today she took a very important step. 

One day she’d come to appreciate the bouncing and singing of the world, and the people by her side… Honestly, Kokichi wondered what Addie thought was happening, as he was getting devoured. It was going to be a very fun story when they were older. 

Smiling sweetly at Kaito, Kokichi returned his gaze to Miyako. {Dad loves you so much, Miyako. One day he’ll be able to tell you directly, but…for now?}

It wasn’t quite the same. Probably even things that Miyako was able to feel on her own. But…in this soft moment between them as they watched lights glitter through the sky like multicolored stars, Kokichi shared some of the ambient feelings he got off of Kaito when he was with their daughter. His utter love and devotion and pride.

“...” Miyako blinked curiously… before her little nose scrunched up, her eye upturning slightly, “Hee~”

Kaito’s chest tightened, eyes immediately burning red as he grinned wide. He asked in a hushed voice, ‘Oh, oh, that sounded a little like a laugh, right? Miya, are you getting big enough to laugh? Was that your first laugh? Or are you farting? Miyaaaaa~ Oh, please, laugh a little…”

Kaito sighed, Miyako back to just sucking her pacifier, that apparently all she was up to giving them today. “That’s alright…” Kaito brushed Miya’s hair some more, “I love you both so much…”

Kokichi’s eyes widened and a delighted smile grew on his face from that little sound. Something so close to a gurgly little baby laugh… Though, he was still quick on the draw to steady her pacifier when it started to drop. Making the sound was just enough to loosen her grip. 

Though, he still sniffed the air as a precaution. 

…

Clear. 

Shaking his head fondly, Kokichi settled more against Kaito’s body, snuggling against him. “I love you too…and, of course, Miya-Miya too~” he cooed, adjusting his arm under her to re-secure his hold. “My incredible husband and smiling, maybe laughing baby…and our snoozing fiance,” Kokichi laughed, looking over Kaito’s shoulder to the bed. 

“...today’s been amazing. Yesterday was amazing…” Kokichi leaned back, watching swirls come down from the heavens. “I’m so blessed…”

‘Atua be pleased,’ Kaito thought in his head, playing with Miyako’s feet a bit before looking out the window again. The lights spinning and dancing, sometimes letting out those showering little shimmers that reminded Kaito a bit of fireworks, people cheering in the distance as the music played. 

It had been a great day.

-

As excited as Kokichi was, he still waited until he tagged out with Shuuichi before even thinking about visiting Kaito. For one, he wanted to give Kaito enough time to really settle into sleep in case he’d end up keeping his husband up, but also, while he wanted to believe it’d be okay? Kokichi didn’t want to chance not registering the alarm or Miya’s softer fussing if she needed anything because he was too focused in his head. 

He and Miyako had ended up sitting by the window for a while longer after the show ended and Kaito headed for bed, the little lady not ready for sleep after a snoozy day and…while he’d lucked out once on his daughter’s sick farting pranks, he wasn’t so lucky later. 

But? When he traded out with a drowsy Shuuichi, giving his fiance a kiss on the cheek, Miya was out for the count, clean and bundled in a light, soft blanket. 

And settling down himself…

He’d gotten clear, explicit permission this time. No fooling or sneaking around for Kokichi, no sirree. Kokichi opened a portal to Kaito with a straight back of confidence, excited to really, truly share this with his husband.

“No, no, you don’t understand, I have to return this library book,” Kaito said, giving the librarian an imploring look, fussing with the book in hand nervously as he said, “They’ve already taken three toes, I seriously cannot lose any more toes.”

The librarian sighed, giving Kaito a long, tired look as she said, “You’re gonna have to finish the book essay, then.”

“I can’t, I tried, the lines keep turning into worms!” Kaito insisted, pulling out a piece of paper and opening it up, little black squiggles falling out from the page and onto the counter as the librarian watched dispassionately, “I’d write the paper if they stayed! Can’t you just give me a break? I can’t keep this book another night!”

The librarian sighed, rubbing her temple, before pointing up, “Here, I’ll make you a deal. If you can put it back where it’s supposed to be yourself? We can forget the paper.”

Kaito looked up, and up, and up…the bookshelves a mountain, literally. He could see snow at the peak. “...it’s sorted by section, right? What section is my–”

“The top.”

“Damn.”

Saint Madison wasn’t ‘watching’ this, perse. No more or no less then she was always keeping an eye on Kaito, ready to intervene when the ribbons reappeared. But while this was at least, in some manner, a nightmare, it wasn’t the heart pounding, nerve screaming type of nightmare that had made her start trying to suppress Kaito’s awareness during nightmares. It was just a normal, like, weird dream. Nothing to worry abou–

She twitched. Looking to her right, she asked plainly, “Do you just miss being growled at by dogs and threatened by vines and swords?” She asked Kokichi, raising an eyebrow.

“Not particularly, though I’m always happy to see you guys all still working right,” Kokichi smiled up at the saint. “But! This time I got express permission to come! By Kai-chan while he was fully awake and understanding of what I was asking, and what it would mean…as much as he understands the concept as a whole.”

Kokichi regarded the book mountain with slight amusement before he looked back over at Saint Madison, giving her a slightly worried look. “...but I did want to check in on you anyway. Miyako made a tether to Kai-chan today…and Temp severed it. I already told Kai-chan my guess but…I wanna ask you straight. What happened?”

Saint Madison sighed, “Kaito told me no. The second he felt her, he gave her permission to be there and went to go check on her. I was still arguing with him when The Templar arrived. And then I vined him up until he explained he was sent by you to undo the tether and then leave. So I let him undo the tether, and he was gone immediately afterwards.”

Looking down at Kokichi, she asked, “Should I have handled it differently?”

Kokichi nodded, a sense of understanding in the movement. He thought so. But…as for what Saint Madison should’ve done?

Kokichi hummed softly. “...honestly, I’m not sure. It feels like a good call, to defer to Kai-chan’s judgment, but…Miyako sporadically creating tethers to him, especially if Temp or I aren’t there to tell him he’s being tethered? Neither of them are really ‘talking’, if that makes sense…”

Crossing his arms, Kokichi looked up fondly to where Kaito was valiantly trying to climb the book mountain. “...he told me that he’s gonna have to put some lines down when it comes to Miya… I think we should all have a talk about how he’d like you to handle our daughter reaching out to him. It’s a choice he should make, what boundaries he wants to set.”

“Agreed,” Saint Madison said, eye narrowing… “Alright, I see the memory you’re referring too. But we’re asking Kaito if he still wants you around. My job is to defer to him in all things, and he’s allowed to change his mind at any point. There is no ‘blanket yes’. Understand?”

With that said? Saint Madison waved her hand a little–

Up on the book mountains, Kaito was grumbling that he was almost up to losing another toe at this point, cause he was not dressed for mountain climbing and this damn snow was going to freeze off his dick– AHH! 

Vines wrapped around him, Kaito stiffening– oh no, one of those dreams again– and bracing for his clothes to disappear, he was a little surprised when he was gently brought back down to the floor. As he was lowered, the dream shifted and went strange, colors bleeding into each other, the book disappearing from his hands as Kaito was let down in front of Kokichi and, uh… Saint Madison?

A sudden memory of vines and the golden cat– “I give him permission to be here, don’t vine my husband!” Kaito shouted, looking alarmed.

“I completely agree,” Kokichi said easily. While he was excited to be able to fully share this side of himself with Kaito? It was still Kaito’s mind. A place that was fully his, and even if Kokichi was given permission, he was still an intruder. At any second Kaito had the full right to change his mind about Kokichi being there, and Kokichi would go. 

Kokichi smiled at his husband as the dream started to fade away, and he gave a soft laugh, taking a step forward to take one of Kaito’s hands if his husband wanted. “It’s okay, hun--we just wanted to double check that you’re still okay with me being here. It’s something that you can decide on at any moment.”

“But if it’s okay, we did wanna have a conversation with you,” Kokichi nodded to Saint Madison. “About the ground rules and boundaries you want when it comes to Miyako.”

Kaito, his initial alarm over, looked around uncertainly, ‘...so we… are dreaming then, right? Or, we’re… in my head? Maybe that’s the same thing…”

Kaito peered at Saint Madison, the woman a dead-on impersonation of what he thought Saint Madison looked like, based on her visages. But there was something in her expression, in the way she stood… “Maki?”

“No.” Saint Madison said, looking distinctly unimpressed with the guess, “I’m a defense Kokichi Ouma made to protect you from outside influence. My name is Saint Madison. I am at your service, Prince Kaito… so long as the service you want is protection. Which I’m going to do either way, really.”

Definitely Maki. Wild. Kaito grinned up at her. Man… he almost forgot how much he loved taller women… with a big ass sword and go fuck yourself eyes… “You’re amazing.” Kaito decided dreamily.

“I am.” Saint Madisona agreed, “Now focus before I knick you with this sword. Miyako, boundaries. Speak.”

Kaito frowned, taken out of his admiration, nibbling on his lower lip a bit, “...I think, honestly, I’d feel a little guilty saying she can’t call out to me if she needs me. That’s what these tethers basically are, right? A form of communication for empaths?”

Kokichi had looked on with not a small amount of humor as Kaito and Saint Madison finally got to have a proper introduction, but, like her, he easily got to business. 

“Sort of,” Kokichi nodded slightly. “But…it’s a more…involved kind of communication. When I’ve shared things with you, that’s not through a tether--I’ve focused onto “you” and I’m aware I’m sharing things. A tether is like…having a constant, passive connection--it’s not something that’s ever “off” until the tether is severed. Miyako creating a tether to you would mean that she’s always getting feedback from you of your feelings, and that she can “tug” on you without having to reach out first.”

Thinking for a moment, Kokichi offered, “The difference between her having a tether on you, and just reaching out in single intervals? Would be like having a bell constantly above your head that she can ring, that also gets shaken by you moving around, and her getting fussy across the room…but the room is just wherever you are.”

“Her not having a tether would mean reaching out to you is a little more work, but…with how powerful she is, that’s probably a good thing, and it’s not actually making it difficult for her to reach you. And, as another father,” Kokichi sighed, fond but exasperated, “I don’t want to encourage her into pulling people whenever she wants something. She can physically ask, or send a less invasive sign if we’re farther away.”

“A bell, huh…” Kaito sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, before turning to Saint Madison, “What do you think, divine?”

“I have no opinions.” Saint Madison said stiffly.

“What, really? You… look like you have opinions.”

“All my opinions would be something either you or Kokichi would think of, or, an opinion that you would imagine Maki Harukawa to have, or, an opinion you would imagine a saint of Atua to have.” Saint Madison explained, shifting her sword across her shoulders as she shrugged, “So you, very specifically, asking me what I think? Would just be me saying to you what you’re already thinking.”

“...right, okay, but like, even that just now? You explaining that to me?” Kaito said, pointing at her and then to himself, “I wouldn’t have been able to articulate that. Like, I didn’t know I knew that. Did I know that? Or did Kokichi know that?”

“Your surface consciousness was not aware of it, but if you had all the information provided by Kokichi and your forgotten memories, and then stopped to think about it? That’s the conclusion you would have come too.”

“...okay. But…” Kaito sighed, brow furrowing as he closed his eyes for a moment, “...okay, but if I asked you for your opinion, then that could just be a new, like, way to think about it, right? Like, talking to you could give me clarity on how I feel about it?”

“...” Saint Madison puffed out her cheeks a bit, looking annoyed, “...you shouldn’t give Miyako unfiltered access to control you. It’s not fair to you, and it’s not, mentally, good for her. Having total and unchallenged power over people inspires the worst in people. Miyako might grow up to respect boundaries and be well adjusted despite having an unusual amount of control and influence over you, but you know from experience, she likely won’t. Power is addicting. Control breeds narcissism. Unless you insist on boundaries early, and forever? You will turn Miyako into the monsters the rest of your family was.”

Kaito winced at that, “...yeah…”

…honestly, Kaito was right. Saint Madison was made to be a protective defense, but if Kokichi was there to support Kaito’s consciousness? Then…she was essentially a construct in every other way too, considering she could speak and learn. Asking for her opinion was…basically like a really fast, cut and dry form of meditation. 

Not something to entirely rely on, because people really needed to use introspection and critical thinking in everyday life, but…it could be a good way for Kaito to sort out his thoughts sometimes. 

Especially for hard truths. 

Kokichi sighed softly, essentially agreeing with all that, even if…he wouldn’t have brought some of that stuff up. Closing his eyes for a moment, Kokichi rested a hand on the back of his neck. “...Miyako has a wonderful, incredible gift, and there’s so much she’ll be able to do with it. She’s our special little girl,” he smiled at his husband.

“But like with any huge power…people can abuse it,” Kokichi frowned softly. “Powerful Empaths can do…horrific things. I trust us to be able to raise Miyako right…not just when it comes to her gift, but in just…being a person. I feel like we’ll be able to nurture her to be kind and understanding and purposeful…but we do need to make choices to do that. It’s not something that’ll happen ambiently.”

“We can’t be the people to show her that it’s okay to mess with people’s heads just because she wants attention or some other need… She deserves attention and to have her needs surpassed, because she’s our daughter, and we love her…but she needs to learn healthier ways to ask for it, than to ‘bodysnatch’ you.”

Kaito fussed with his knuckles, twisting them uncertainly… “Is there any way we can, like, vet when she’s using the tethers? Like… like what if she’s choking? And needs me to come immediately? Isn’t a tether ideal in that scenar–”

“Miyako would not know how to treat an obstruction in her throat,” Madison argued, “If she had control over your body, you risk doing her first impulse, which could be anything. You could find yourself shaking her, trying to dislodge it.”

Kaito shuddered, “She falls into some water and can’t get to shor–”

“If she doesn’t know how to swim, maybe you won’t know how to swim when she pulls your body.”

“I… but it’d be important to know, right?”

“Kokichi just explained it. Miyako can still call to you. She just can’t control you without the tether. And in an emergency? Miyako is not the one who should be in charge.” Saint Madison gave Kaito a stern look, “In an emergency situation. The danger is in not having control of yourself. There is no compromise there.”

“...” Kaito sighed, running his hand through his hair, “...damn. I guess… yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Ugh, I don’t like it. I feel shitty, denying her anything… but alright. You guys are right. Or, uh, Kokichi’s right, and you and I, uh… look I just have to think of you as someone else for right now, it’s tough to get my head around it.” Kaito shrugged, “Anyway, yeah. We can establish that boundary, no baby tethers… um, but what do we actually do about it?”

“You? Nothing else. Next time I see a tether from Miyako, I’ll cut it.” Saint Madison explained, “It’s literally what I was made for.”

“Right…” Kaito’s eyes widened, “Can you… alert me when that happens? Is that possible? That way I know Miyako was trying to get a hold of me?”

Saint Madison considered this… before looking to Kokichi, “Can you make me a bell?”

Kokichi frowned, seeing the thread in Kaito’s hypotheticals, but Saint Madison hit the nail on the head right away. There was a difference between creating a tether and just reaching out. Miyako was likely creating tethers because she had the raw power to do it easily, and she didn’t see the point in getting less than exactly what she wanted. Vaguely, Kokichi was reminded of some of his own struggles, being explained to that things some Empaths never had to worry about since they just didn’t have the power for it, Kokichi now had to train himself out of. 

Again, he felt lucky to be so prepared for at least some of his daughter’s specific struggles as she grew up. 

“In an emergency, Miyako needs her dad, not herself,” Kokichi echoed Saint Madison’s point, nodding at Kaito. “We’re her parents, we need to be able to take care of her.”

Honestly, Kokichi would think Miyako would just try to reach out again if her attempts to tether Kaito were foiled, but…it’d make things faster to make a ‘shortcut’ for her just notifying him, at least while she didn’t really know the difference. Nodding, Kokichi took a breath a focused for a moment, feeling out Kaito’s mind. Like his initial defenses, a way to alert the conscious mind…

After a moment, a hefty copper bell appeared in Kokichi’s hands before he let go of his breath and handed it over to Saint Madison. “Alright…that should work. Hopefully it won’t be too startling, but it should, like…call you to attention, you know?” he shrugged at Kaito. “And…you’ll know that that means Saint Madison is ringing it, and because we’re having this conversation now, that means that Miyako is trying to get ahold of you.”

Giving Kaito a half-amused look, Kokichi gently nudged his side. “You know our daughter so…you know that won’t always be an emergency. Everything from being a little bored to her lamb being on the other side of the crib to her blanket being twisted a little wrong around her is all gonna be an emergency to her. It’s not a reason to ignore her, but…it is a pattern to not be panicked every time she calls to one of us. As she gets older, I’ll teach her more about being an Empath, and she can be more specific in her calls.”

“Well, look… if it drives me crazy? We’ll turn off the bell.” Kaito grinned, putting his arm around Kokichi’s shoulder and pulling him in, giving him a quick kiss, “We can turn off the bell. But for now? It’d make me feel less like I’m ignoring Miyako when she needs me. And, like… Ikou said it was helpful, sometimes, what you could do! This wouldn’t be helpful in the same way it was helpful for him, but having an alert in my head? Maybe it’d be helpful in ways we can’t foresee yet.”

Or maybe Kaito’s head would just be full of endless ringing and it would drive him crazy. In which case, whelp… he’s go to Kokichi, sheepish and embarrassed, and ask for it to be turned off. It’d be fine either way.

“Alright. That established?” Saint Madison said, tucking the bell through her belt, “Kokichi Ouma, it’s time for you to g–”

“What?” Kaito asked, giving Saint Madison a mildly offended look, “No. This is my head, you can’t kick my husband out just cause you’re done talking, divine. If Kokichi’s going to leave, it’s cause he’s ready or I’m asking him to leave. Understand?”

Saint Madison considered him… before bowing, “Of course. Please excuse me, your grace.”

And with that, Saint Madison vanished. Kaito blinked, looking around… “Oh, shoot, I didn’t insult her or something, did I? Can, uh, mind defenses get offended?”

This was just their first iteration, and…well, it wasn’t quite like putting in defenses. Kaito was aware of this, and was the person to suggest it. As soon as it got to be too much for him? Kokichi could pop in that moment and fix things. There was no waiting or silent observation. 

And maybe it would help some of Kaito’s anxieties to know immediately whenever their daughter wanted him. 

Kokichi gave Kaito a soft look as he insisted that Kokichi could stay, and taking one of his hands Kokichi laughed softly. “I mean, she does have a personality, so yes…but she also is you, so it’s…not any offense that would have consequences, if that makes sense. Her job here is to make sure you have full control and domain of your mind--if you make a decision, then that’s the law here, and it’s her job to uphold it.”

Raising an eyebrow, Kokichi grinned slyly. “Honestly, I think she just didn’t wanna stick around to see us bein’ lovey and gross with each other…and that her attention is better spent keeping track of things, if we’re done talking.”

“Well… I mean, if she’s just me pretending to be someone else? Then I’m sure she’s fine. I’d understand why I’d get annoyed with that, cause, uh… I did. And was.” Kaito blinked, wrapping his head around that, “...yeah.”

“... wait, are we being lovey dovey?” Kaito asked, looking startled at that, looking around the melted landscape as he said, “Sorry, sorry, not in a ‘oh no’ sort of way, more of a… give me one second, I am still not entirely certain where we are, or… when? I was… returning a library book…” Kaito looked down at his feet, which were suddenly bare, as he said, “But I am not missing toes, because…oh! Oh, this is that stupid library dream I used to have all the time in high school.” Kaito realized, huffing. “Okay, so, what actually happened last…”

Kaito looked around, before murmuring to himself, “The mountain’s a new touch… why is everything melty?” he asked himself, frowning at the weird, saturated and melting colors around them, like a watercolor painting dipped in water. “...can I change things around here? I mean… we’re dreaming, right? I’ve never been able to control lucid dreaming’s environment, but, like, this… has got to be a little beyond lucid dreaming, right?”

It did get confusing. For interactions, it was just easier to take memories and constructs as different people, but as Temp had once said…they weren’t new life. Everything in a person’s mind--unless an Empath put something of themself there--was your mind. Just…playing games of imagination. 

“It’s kind of an inevitability, with us,” Kokichi shrugged with a self-aware grin. “If we’re together? And not going through a total crisis? We’re probably gonna get all lovey on each other.”

Looking around the melted dream, Kokichi nodded slightly, leaning his head against Kaito’s arm affectionately. “I mean…that’s essentially it. Everything we’re doing right now is real, in the sense that we’re having a real conversation and I’m actually Kokichi, and you’re actually Kai-chan. But…everything we see and every place we are? It’s just your imagination.”

“Shuu-chan’s really good at lucid dreaming while I’m supporting his consciousness, but it can really vary, person to person if they’re not an Empath or another kind of psychic,” Kokichi shrugged. “But…since I am here? If there’s something you wanna do, but can’t manifest? I can give you a nudge.”

Kaito considered that, looking up curiously at the colors. It really was bizarre, but… it was kind of hard not to accept it when you were directly looking at it. Literally stepping in it–

At that thought, the colors all suddenly dropped around them, splashing onto the ground, rolling and mixing together, like a shallow pool of translucent paint, building up around their ankles. Kaito was both startled by this but at the same time not surprised, because that was exactly where his thoughts had gone when he made the observation of standing among the colors. What they’d look like falling like rain, shimmering like droplets against Kokichi’s fair skin, shifting and rippling around Kokichi’s legs.

Pretty…

“Okay,” Kaito said, running the back of his palm through his goatee, brow furrowed as he said, “I think I get it. Okay…”

Kaito looked at the white void around them, unable to see the borders of the universe, and with that thought the pool of water started to run, shifting forward lightly as the water moved like a slow, easy river. Offering Kokichi his hand, Kaito followed the flow of the river curiously– and as soon as the thought it was a river was there, little, colorful fish swimming against the tide moved past them like they had always been there– and Kaito kept walking till he found the edge of the world, the waterfall falling light and easy as Kaito went to the edge of the water covered platform, peering curiously over the edge, the white fading into black as the colorful water fell and disappeared beyond where Kaito’s eyes could reach. A dark void– like space.

Kaito blinked, and saw little twinkles of stars down below them, and whispered, “Huh.”

The thing was…Kokichi knew he was spot on when he noted that Kaito had a rich inner world. His husband’s imagination was truly a thing of beauty--though it could be a double-edged sword at times. Where some people struggled with visualization, or how to proceed in a fantasy, Kaito was swept up in a fully fleshed out, if not entirely logical, scene before he knew it sometimes. 

And for being in a place where those were the rules of reality?

Kokichi was really in for a treat. 

He startled slightly as the colors fell around them, but…the liquid color wasn’t even cold, like rain could be. As it fell into a pool around their feet, it was cool, but like…stepping into the pool of a shallow fountain. Comfortable and at the perfect temperature that it was practically begging you to play in it. 

That pool soon turned into a stream, and Kokichi smiled at the little fishes that soon populated it, little rainbow fish in their own rights. And at the end of that stream was…endless possibility. 

Giggling softly, Kokichi pressed to his husband’s side. “I think I told you, but I made Chibi Kai-chan space in my head. I haven’t spent too much time there myself, but…it’s really wonderful. Being able to float in the void and see distant stars and planets… It’s not entirely right, but the whole thing is filled with sparkly stardust, and when the space whales swim through it’s incredible.”

“Space whales…”

Kaito, in fact, did not actually know what a whale sounded like. So the sound was like the rumble of an earthquake, and there was a sense of wind moving in a distance, like hearing the movement of an oncoming storm. 

Kaito knew, of course, what was coming… and grinning wide, he said to Kokichi, “Babe, do you trust me?”

“Of course; always and forever, hun.” Kokichi smiled sweetly back at Kaito, though there was a glimmer of excitement in his eyes, ready to go on an adventure for whatever was next.

“Ha! Alright.” Kaito grinned, pulling Kokichi into his arms, “I’ve got you.”

The reason Kaito pulled Kokichi into his arms, is cause he knew what he wanted to have happen next, and even if Kokichi trusted him, Kaito knew it’d be startling when the floor beneath them suddenly elongated out, sloping downwards as a roar of water behind them suddenly rushed behind them. Kaito fell backwards, eyes wide as he grit his teeth, heart thumping as they slide down the make-shift waterslide, the water pushing them in a rush as the slide ended, but they kept going. 

Wind rushed up around them, Kaito holding Kokichi close, and even though he knew what was coming, he felt his breath catch as a distant object below them first appeared, and then rapidly got bigger, a massive whale with pink, translucent skin that shimmered with the debris of ice, layered against it like scales, kicked it’s massive back fin as it sped up at them, opening its mouth as the rumbling sound got louder.

After this point, Kaito didn’t actually know where they were going. He just assumed they’d end up somewhere. And on that faith, what happened next was Kaito doing what Kaito did best: letting his imagination run wild.

As they were swallowed by the whale, the pink translucent flesh quickly becoming dark, before flashed of light rushed past them, like they were rapidly going down a tunnel with slits of light carved into its side for ventilation. It felt like falling down a spiral of black and white stripes, which made Kaito think of gneiss rocks, which made him think of caves and minerals. The fall, at some point, felt like like a descent downwards and more like they were being propelled forward, and briefly Kaito’s vision was blinded by sudden light.

But as the light settled, Kaito found himself in a cave full of crystals and minerals, pinks and purples and white stones shimmering against the walls as Kaito, like he had taken a very long jump, landing in the center of the cave. As they landed, Kaito carefully put Kokichi down, musing aloud, “I thought the whale might spit us out somewhere in space. Man, I’ve only been doing this, like, five minutes and I’ve already let this get away from me.”

Grinning, Kokichi put his arms around Kaito and kept all arms and legs inside the ride as they started speeding out from the waterfall, flung into the void. Kokichi had never been to a waterpark in real life, but his giggling thrill as they zoomed was probably more fun than anything that existed in reality. 

Especially with being eaten by a giant space whale, traveling through sections of light and…landing in a crystal cavern straight out of a fantasy novel. 

Laughing freely as Kaito put him down, Kokichi spun in the cavern, taking in all the beautifully shimmering stones. “Wooow… It’s like the hot tub room pumped up to a million! I always knew Kai-chan could come up with brilliance idly, but you’re really going there!”

Returning to his husband, Kokichi took Kaito’s hands and kissed his knuckles before looking up again at all the crystals. “It might not be purposeful, but…you really are a natural at this.”

Kaito grinned, a little flustered, as he said somewhat dismissively, “What? Nah, I’m sure you see stuff like this all the time… I’m just playing around a little. It is pretty though… it’s kinda amazing, how real it feels.” Kaito admitted, leaning in to give Kokichi a small kiss in turn, before turning to the cavern, wandering over to the wall and putting his hand on one of the pink quartz crystals, feeling it’s hard, cool, smooth surface… before chuckling as he snapped the end off, showing Kokichi, “Not that it’s realistic. Quartz crystals like these? Really tough to break. Hell, it’s hard to even scratch them. You can’t do it with just anything, you have to use specialized tools. I know that because–”

This time, Kaito was startled, his whole body jerking with sudden nerves as there was laughter in the distance. 

Walking with a man who was indistinguishable, even looking at him dead-on, a young Kaito, covered in dust and soot and wearing some protective overalls that were clearly too big for him, not necessarily in height but in bulk, a thirteen year old Kaito listened to the man explain, “Alright, your grace. So it’s still going to be more than a bit of hard work, but you can cut most any mineral with this saw blade. See these?” The man– and suddenly Kaito remembered what he looked like, an older man with a fat neck and tired eyes, but a good nature kindness to him that had made Kaito feel at ease with him when the priestess’s had dropped him off… what had been his name…– showing the newly minted teenager the discolored edge, “These are diamond tips. It’s a hell of a process to make something like this, but diamonds are harder than any other mineral or rock out there, so you want to cut it? Diamonds the sure-fire way to do it. Be careful though– human skin and bones are way less sturdy than a quartz stone. It’s like any other blade: you keep an eye where your hands are at all times.”

“Okay…” Young Kaito murmured, staring at the saw with wonder, before grinning excitedly, “Can I try it now?”

“Ha! Forgive me, your grace, but let me show you how to do it first. So, first of all, you wanna put it at an angle…”

Kaito watched this in open astonishment. “...but the cave didn’t look like this.” Kaito recalled, looking a little confused, “It was mostly, just, like… gray rock and dust, with little patches of crystals that you kinda had to dig through and clean to see properly. I’ve never seen anything like this in real life.”

“You’d be surprised how little I or the people I’m hanging out with get to playing around,” Kokichi softly laughed. “I think I might be an edge case there, when it comes to Empaths, but…it’s always felt like there were more serious things to get to. I’ve been called out more than once for not even thinking to enjoy the little things.”

Kokichi accepted the hunk of pink quartz, looking over it with a soft coo. He may not super be into crystals, but a pretty rock was a pretty rock and Kokichi was all about shiny things. Though, he did look up as a memory started playing out. 

Aww…little young teen Kaito… How many times had Kaito gone to mining facilities? If none of them were combined, this was the third one Kokichi could just think of off-hand that Kaito had told him about. Maybe that was more normal in Luminary, but…it was still kinda cool and novel to Kokichi. 

Especially this time, actually getting to see it play out. 

Coming to Kaito’s side, Kokichi put a hand on his husband’s back and rubbed it a little. “It’s probably entirely made from fantasy, then. Or…maybe parts are from the feelings of being in real caves, the excitement of seeing crystals, or enjoying the vibe of bein’ in a cool cave.”

“If you’re surprised by it, then I do think it’s a little surprising that this cave didn’t turn into your memory of the real one as that memory played out,” Kokichi gestured to the young Kaito and man, “But…there are so little concrete rules here. Thoughts aren’t exactly bound by logical constraints, you know?”

“Huh…” Kaito watched as the man showed Kaito, uh, the younger him, how to cut into the quartz, starting the slow and difficult process of cutting pieces of the minerals from the stone… before it occurred to him, “Oh. This isn’t just good for fantasy stuff, huh? We could, like… go to real places.”

Kaito’s stomach squeezed uncertainly. A longing that was only matched by a deep seated dread. Maybe he… shouldn’t…

“...hey, ‘Kichi.” Kaito siad, focusing on his husband, ignoring the strange mix of memory and fantasy that came so naturally to him. Taking his husbands hand and bringing it up to place a kiss on the back of it in turn, as he asked. “Tell me a lie.”

There were a lot of things Kokichi knew Kaito wanted to share with him. But…they had all the time in the world.

Smiling at the request, Kokichi hummed and squeezed Kaito’s hand, thinking for a moment. “Hmmmm… What to tell you…” The possibilities really were endless…

“Ah! Hee hee,” Kokichi giggled, giving Kaito a sly look. “You’re always on the lookout for ‘vague bodies of water’, aren’t you. That lagoon we found in the Giant Sequoia Forest on the Dicean-Ronpan border really was something.”

“It was the middle of our big road trip across the continent, remember?” Kokichi prompted, not pushing for scenery yet, just letting Kaito paint the picture he felt most. “We’d gone to see geysers and art museums and flower fields and really specific dance clubs--that glow in the dark one is a story we should really reminisce over sometime.”

“But those giant trees…it was really amazing. Like being on another planet, almost.”

There was– briefly– a shimmering haze around them. To paint a picture in a medium they would not understand, it was like the flickering static of an old tv, the radio connection getting twisted up as the antennas pointed ever so slightly off. The sort of knee-jerk reaction Kaito would find it easier to hide in the real world, but here was a little more obvious, if not at least extremely quick.

Briefly, just briefly, trees black as charcoal, with silver leaves and silver vines surrounded them, looming. The silver roots stretching onto the pathway, reaching for them–

But Kaito quickly got it under control, and the dead forest shifted into something friendlier. The darkness less oppressive and threatening, the sky now painted in soft hues of pink and purple, either the rising or setting of the sun, as the pathway became less rock and dirt roads but more the well worn trails of people who had wandered the woods before them, each slightly trodded grass root an invitation to go deeper, a reassurance of safety. Your seniors have gone this way before. Go. See the world they opened up for you.

And the trees weren’t silver, but it was difficult to see what color their leaves were, because they went up, and up, and up, until their leafy tops were distant, dark clouds among the pink sky. And there was so many of them, going as far as the two could see, and they could see far, the trees spaced out apart from each other, each one, as massive as it was, still with so much more room to grow.

The light shone down on them in patches, but while most of what surrounded them was the forest full of giant trees, ahead of them Kaito could see a large, lit area, unburdened by the shading of the trees. The setting or rising run shining still down on an incredibly still, light-blue, almost teal color, that sparkled in every spot the light touched. 

And as Kaito saw the lagoon ahead, he and Kokichi started walking the trail towards it, as Kaito mused, “Oh, right… right, the lagoon. It was really big, but we found this little, like, half moon crescent bit of land that had this small tunnel that led out to the rest of the lagoon. I remember really wanting to check it out, cause it felt like this closed off, secret place… like, if mermaids were gonna live anywhere in a lagoon? This looked like the place they’d hang out, ya know?”

Kaito grinned down at Kokichi, “Then you ended up telling me a bunch of obscure facts about mermaids and how they’d want more open water then that and that the lagoon would probably not make a very suitable habitat for them, and I remembered just thinking, aw… my cute little nerd. Knowing all these obscure fantasy facts. Didn’t know you were an empath yet. You actually knew what you were talking about!”

Kokichi hadn’t picked a forest arbitrarily. At least, not entirely. The idea had come to him, and while he had a brief moment of consideration, planning on letting it go… It would be nice if they could make better memories around forests. 

Maybe it was a little haughty of him, especially seeing that flicker of a place he’d only heard stories about, but had so completely changed their lives…

But this did seem like a fun thread to follow. 

Kokichi let out a little sound of wonder as the scene filled out around them, the trees giants reaching up into the sky, the colors of the sky itself promising magic and intimacy, and the lagoon! Oh, it was better than Kokichi had imagined, grasping the concept from the ether. The water so clear and turquoise in the light, shifting to a rich, deep blue in the shadows, and the alcove made by the land-bridge turning it into a special, private place…

Giggling at his husband, Kokichi entwined their fingers and headed more towards the water, enchanted by the slight foam on the shore. “I know what I’m talking about as much as I can as a person who’s never met a mermaid--and even then, I’m sure Shuu-chan knows even more than me, with how much he’s been studying up…”

“It does fit their popular aesthetic, though, doesn’t it,” Kokichi hummed, looking around. “Like…coming up out of those rolling waves, perching on that rock over there,” he pointed to a flat rock just barely peeking out over the water, looking like it was made to be an aquatic platform, “Greeting the world above…”

Kokichi glanced at Kaito, humor in his eyes. “You ever hear the fairytale about the mermaid that came to the surface looking for love?”

Kaito, briefly, considered the possibility of a mermaid crawling up the rock, peering at them with wide, fishy eyes and with webbed, scaled hands, giving them a wave…

But he dismissed the idea before it had time to form. He liked just spending time in this strange place with Kokichi, and if he made a mermaid to talk to them, he had a feeling he’d get caught up in the fun of that. Had to keep his head on his shoulders for his husband, couldn’t let his imagination run off on him that hard. 

(But, in his mind, he knew that somewhere in that large lagoon were little merpeople, enjoying the space and safety and warmth of their beautiful home. Either unaware or unconcerned by their visitors.)

Though, for Kokichi’s question… “No?” Kaito asked, trying to think back and not able to think of any stories like that, “Not that I recall, anyway. How does it go?”

He asked this as they walked the shore line, Kaito enjoying the softness of the muddy sand and keeping watch for shells and rock, of which there were a few– it made the place feel real, to him– as he held Kokichi’s hand, his husband, bare foot now, walked the water side of the shoreline, looking over to the rock Kokichi had pointed out and idly walking in its general direction, though it was out in the water by quite a bit.

Noting that he wasn’t wearing slippers anymore, Kokichi smiled to himself, and put his first bit of nudging to work. Now, Kokichi was wearing short cuffed shorts, the kinds of things that would be nice to wear while going on an easy hike and walking around, but definitely showing off his legs--something his anklet highlighted too. And, tucked into his shorts, he was wearing a loose, deepcut tanktop, just a plain blue to compliment his light green shorts, but had tiny embroidered flowers along the hems. 

Nothing too crazy, but a little bit of fun. 

Looking over the shells and rocks in the sand, Kokichi traced the side of Kaito’s hand with his thumb as they walked. “The story follows the lore that sometimes pops up about mermaids not feeling the same emotions we do--and in particular, that they don’t feel love.”

“In the story, a young mermaid girl has an argument with her father, because she believes that true love exists--that a mermaid can feel love. Now, the girl had always been a rebellious sort, so her father makes a deal with her--gain legs, go to the surface, walk among humans… If, in three weeks, she cannot prove that true love exists, she must return to the water and never surface again, never defying his rules.”

“The girl is steadfast in her belief, and takes the deal, and…” Kokichi snorted softly, looking up at Kaito. “Well, you know how hard it is to move to another country. Now imagine doing it as another species who had never met any humans before.”

“In her optimistic struggles, though, the girl befriends two human girls, and she explains her quest to them. And…they agree to help her out as much as they can.”

Shaking his head, Kokichi shrugged a bit before pausing, reaching down to get a better look at a pretty spiral shell. “There are a lot of versions of the story, and at this part I think every re-telling goes wild, describing the hijinx the mermaid goes through trying to woo other humans. It can get pretty silly.”

“But…eventually, the three weeks go by, and even with the dates she’d managed to score, nice moments with people…none of it was love. And the mermaid has to go back home…usually pulled by some weird agreement curse that I really doubt any actual mermaids can do.”

“However it happens, though…the mermaid is distraught,” Kokichi continued softly, looking out into the surf. “Because she was wrong, because she has to return to a place she wasn’t happy in…but mostly? Because she now has to leave her two friends who had stuck by her through everything. Who had risked their own social reputations, and maybe even safety in some stories, just by knowing and hiding a mermaid, all to help her…and now…she could never see them again.”

Kokichi leaned into Kaito, pressing against him as he looked up with a small smile. “And in the final hour, when they’re saying their goodbyes, sometimes while the mermaid is being ripped away…the human girls are crying with the grief of a friend about to be lost. And…they tell her they love her.”

“And everything stops.”

“Because, at the last possible moment, the mermaid won the deal.”

Kokichi grinned a little more. “She had found true love.”

When Kaito had noticed Kokichi’s outfit change, he had spent a moment admiring it… before it suddenly occurred to him he could have new clothes.

His mind suddenly went wild with possibility, basically running through a market through his mind, where he could afford anything again and he could have it right away and it would always fit him and– gah! No, no, not those clothes, they were hiking in the woods, he had to be a little practical… not those… those neither… pfff, right, maybe if it was snowing…

Then, thinking of what Kokichi had said about seeing him in ‘really boringly colored clothes’, Kaito snorted, before thinking, okay, some sort of mix between Luminary and Danganronpa fashions… there had been these beautiful soft capes in Danganronpa that Kaito had decided against because they were cut so small. But now he regretted not taking advantage, the small capes would have done just fine in Dicea’s less sun-stained environment, Kaito should have guessed they were smaller in Danganronpa for a reason. So one of those small capes, a nice golden stone color that reminded him of the caves… and a black, loose v-neck shirt, tucked into into a white wrap, with dark-tan pants that tightened just mid-calf, his feet bare still, a small, blue tabard with golden lines hanging from the front and back of the wrap. Fancy~ but not something too outlandish for walking around outside.

None of this took long, Kaito thinking about it for only a couple of seconds before coming up with an outfit he was pleased with, then listening to the story Kokichi told…

And, admittedly, Kaito got a little emotional. His eyes actually burning red a little as he chuckled, “Aw… ouch, Kokichi, is that how that story actually goes? God, I feel like that story could have been costum made to punch me in the gut.”

Kaito shrugged, chuckling a little, as he said, “Cause, like… of course I’m thinking of Maki and Shuichi, you know? I know Shuichi’s my fiance, so it doesn’t fit perfect anymore, but the guy was my best friend for a lot longer than that. And, like, having two friends who just… really, genuinely love you? Who’d go through hell and high water, just cause it’s you?” Kaito sighed, closing his eyes as he smiled a little… before groaning as he wiped his eyes, “Come on, it’s literally, like, my head. I should be able to control when I cry or not. It’s a biological function, not a mental one! That’s so stupid…”

…okay, so this cape was kind of cool too. It was an earth tone, which Kokichi didn’t generally find that exciting, but there was enough gold to it that it just…looked like silky heaven to touch. Demure, but luxurious. The rest of Kaito’s new outfit was a little less understated, but Kokichi definitely found himself Looking. 

Laughing a little, Kokichi hugged around Kaito’s arm, nuzzling his husband. “I promise! That part’s not actually a lie, that’s how the story goes in every version--if someone made a story where the mermaid gets with one of the people she tried to date, that’d kind of defeat the point of the story.”

Kaito might call him weepy, but he had his own teary moments plenty, and Kokichi pressed a kiss to Kaito’s arm, cooing at him for a moment before his smile softened. Thinking of their family. “Yeah… I always thought that tale was really beautiful, ‘cause of that… Love isn’t just romantic love, you know? And I can appreciate a ‘true love’s kiss’ story like anyone, but…stories about the love between friends, or, fuck, familial love? Those are the stories that really stick with me.”

Closing his eyes for a moment, Kokichi enjoyed the residual heat of the day on his skin, the lapping sound of waves right by them. “...I should find a good copy of that story to read Miya. I dunno where it would’ve come from, if it was a library book or what, but I have this image in my mind of a book that glittered with sparkly blue scales… Kind of like the copy of the magic folk book I got, but, like…made to kind of be cartoony. And flat.”

“We can ask the new librarian guy. Work wise, he seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Was able to help me and Miyako find the kids section of the library during the heatwave… which, okay, saying aloud is not super impressive, but I got the impression he could have done more! Still gave me a ‘competent’ vibe!”

Looking around, Kaito said appreciatively, “Ya know, I keep forgetting this is fake. It feels so real. I can taste the water in the wind, hear the leave rustling from the top of those trees… wait,” Kaito said, looking to Kokichi, “I missed it in the story. Why does that rock over in the water specifically make you think of this mermaid story?”

“Admittedly, I’m spending less time in the library these days, but Malcolm’s always been helpful when I need to track down reference books,” Kokichi nodded before snorting a little. “I think we’re both still a little weirded out seeing each other during the day. He’s been the evening shift librarian for a few years now, and, well, I’d have to literally be too exhausted to work to stop me, so more than a few times I’d come in at night and ask him for help. He’s been doing well as head librarian now, as I hear it.”

Kokichi had kind of lost the “story” part of his lie right away, as the scenery came in. Seeing it right in front of them? It was more enticing to explore the secluded lagoon and chat than it was to come up with a new narrative. 

He still had ended up telling a story anyway.

“Oh…” Looking over to the rock, Kokichi laughed a little to himself. “I guess there’s no real connection. It just looks like a good place to perch out of the water, and you mentioned mermaids, and…that’s my favorite mermaid-based fairytale, so I thought of it. It looks like…a meeting place of above and below water, doesn’t it? A place for two worlds to connect.”

“Oooooh,” Kaito mused, peering at the rock out there… before saying, “it was weird when that foot path rose up to it, wasn’t it?”

The water started to ripple, little bubbles, and up, one by one with little ‘pops’, emerged little stone foot paths, some a mere step apart, others needing a little hop to make it, all that led to that rock. For added ‘mystical’ effect, there were little lines that twisted into little mandala designs on top of the flat-top footpaths, the briefly glowed bright blue before dimming back into the light gray color of the rocks.

Kaito gave Kokichi an exaggerated little ‘O’ face of surprise, gapping and gesturing to the pathway exagerattedly like ‘the fuck??? Is that shit??? Wild’. Who could have seen that coming? No one.’

At first Kokichi gave Kaito a curious look--because there wasn’t a path out to the rock--but then -  Oh. They were continuing the story.

Watching with interest--because it was pretty cool--as the stepping stones appeared, Kokichi gave his husband a fond look before humming and nodding. “It was pretty crazy--made me feel like a chosen adventurer. So…of course we had to check it out, since what kind of adventurers would we be if we didn’t!?”

Giving Kaito’s hand a squeeze, Kokichi turned towards the stepping stones and started going over them, easily hopping from step to step, just like the obstacle course he’d navigated with ease. 

In the real world, he might take more precautions before doing something like this--especially if they were magic stepping stones--but…he didn’t have to worry about not being able to swim here. Even if Kaito’s logic still made him sink, Kokichi was powerful enough to save himself, even if that meant making a premature goodbye from Kaito’s mind.

Pausing on one of the stones mid-way to the rock, Kokichi turned and gave Kaito a coy look. Beckoning and fond.

…did Kaito just want an excuse to see Kokichi jump around in shorts?

…….. Well, yes, obviously. But he still was glad it looked like Kokichi was having fun, Kaito smirking at that little beckon and… okay, look, his husband got these looks on his face sometimes that just made Kaito, like, caught up. Flustered and longing, when his husband held himself with all the confidence and self assurance of… well, of a prince. Kaito, above all, had always been a sucker for confidence.

Stepping out onto the rocks to follow, Kaito could see immediately he was at an advantage for the pathway he had set up mostly randomly. Long legs coming to the rescue, as he stepped from pathway to pathway with ease. He kept his eyes on Kokichi as he moved from rock to rock, an ease and grace in this environment that he had entirely lacked at the obstacle course, but matched his practice and confidence in dancing. He knew where his feet were. He didn’t have to look.

And Kokichi was more fun to watch. Looking like a fairy, jumping across the surface of the water…

The thing about being in someone’s mind, particularly a non-Empath was…that it was all them. So, as he hopped from stone to stone, looking back every now and then to see Kaito gracefully striding across them too, Kokichi could feel the warmth in the air that had nothing to do with the setting and/or rising sun. 

That flustered, pleased fondness…it was a nice feeling. 

So when Kokichi finally made it to the big, mostly flat, smooth but not slippery rock in the lagoon, he plopped down at the side, letting his legs dip into the clear blue water, taking in the sights with pink cheeks. 

“It keeps happening, you know? You guys keep showing me things that look like the best fantasies I could think of. The flower field Shuu-chan proposed to us in…and just look at this, Kai-chan,” Kokichi gestured out to the rest of the lagoon, too big to see the other side, though they were looking through the peephole of the land bridge. “This place is incredible…thank you for showing me.”

Kaito went to follow Kokichi, sitting beside him and sighing as he let his feet dip into the water, leaning back against the rock as he rested on the palm of his hands, “I don’t think I can take credit for this. I wouldn’t be able to do anything like this without you doing, like, head magic stuff. Shuichi actually went and found us an awesome fucking hill to woo us into marriage with, gotta give him credit for the effort. But…”

Kaito smiled, shrugging a little as he admitted, “It’s actually really nice? Kinda amazing, actually, to be able to… show someone? The things I see in my head. I mean, I can always try to explain it to people, but… well, I can’t do what you do. I can’t really paint a picture of it. Even if I tried, there’s thousands of little details I’d end up leaving out just cause, like… it sounds hard.” Kaito laughed.

“So getting to show someone? I don’t know… it’s a unique kind of gift you can give me. Something I could have never been allowed to do without you sharing what you can do with me. How lucky am I?”

Watching the water hit against the side of the tunnel lightly, the distant horizon of the lagoon in their window ahead… Kaito smiled somewhat wanely, “I just remembered. You’ve only just fallen asleep, haven’t you. You must be tired…”

Kokichi laughed softly. “That’s fair--I’m really touched with what Shuu-chan did, finding us a place like that. But…still. You being able to imagine such…incredible things like this?” Kokichi leaned fondly against Kaito, watching the water, seeing what could be ripples in the distance of some creature breaching…or could just be waves. “I might be able to make it more conscious, but everything here is you, hun. Your world is beautiful, and…I still count myself lucky for you allowing me to see it.”

“...for a long time, I never really…had fun with my abilities,” Kokichi softly hummed, putting his hand over Kaito’s. “Some of the lessons Alter Ego gave me were fun, but…everything just…felt so urgent. I couldn’t control my abilities at all and…the whole reason they found me and explained everything was because I kept doing…batshit crazy stuff by accident. And every time we got a grasp on something I’d do, it seemed like there were ten other problems to address first. It felt so important to be able to control myself, to protect myself and others and learn everything at once.”

“Then…one day…I forget what we had been doing otherwise… Temp asked me if I had ever looked back at my memories. And…even something that small, that most realized Empaths could even do…I never even thought to try.” Kokichi rolled his eyes at himself and smiled softly. “He showed me a memory of baby turtles hatching. And we just…hung out. Watching something beautiful…getting to share something special, that people like us have the ability to do…”

“The work I’m doing is important, and I know there’s still plenty to learn and work on controlling in myself…but I want to have fun too. To do the things that are special to my abilities.”

Turning slightly, Kokichi gave his husband a sheepish look. “...I probably should let us get some real rest soon. But…can we watch the water just a little longer?”

Kaito leaned forward, turning his hand up and taking Kokichi’s hand in turn, squeezing it gently, “Course, babe. I know I don’t have any real responsibilities as your prince consort, but… if I did? I’d count being a place you can relax and have fun as one of them. I know you’re worried about, like, taking advantage of me and stuff, but… I like having you here. I think this is an incredible thing to do. So, when you do want somewhere to just… play with the things you can do? I’d love it if you came here. I’d get to watch and cheer you on.”

He really loved Kaito. Romantic and friendly and familial love. Love of humanity. 

“I don’t think I’d feel good about being that comfortable,” Kokichi laughed. “I think I’d rather us play together…do things we can both be a part of. But…thank you. That’s a lot of trust to put in me… I love you, hun.”

“...would you wanna keep dreaming about this when I go? Or should I let you sink into whatever’s up today in the Kai-chan Brain Game?”

“Can you pick?” Kaito asked curiously, looking a little surprised at that. “I mean, I’m not sure what I was expecting. That you’d leave and it’d just be darkness, which, huh, is a little weird saying that out loud. Or maybe… back at book mountain?”

Kokichi shrugged a little. “It’s not a hard pick. Mostly…I’d leave a copy of myself made from your memories here, so it’s not as startling to you when this all becomes…less lucid, I guess. When I did that with your tadpole kid dream, it sounded like that dream continued on…though, that was your dream originally from the start. I’m not sure if you’d keep dreaming here just ‘cause it’s on your mind now…”

Kokichi paused before shrugging again. “I could probably influence you more to keep dreaming about this, but…I mean, dreams are gonna do what they’re gonna do, when there isn’t a little psychic busybody there to poke his fingers into everything.”

Kaito genuinely found Kokichi’s powers fascinating, and now that there wasn’t that crushing sense of betrayal overlapping all of it in Kaito’s mind, he suspected he could literally sit and listen to Kokichi explain what he could do, like, actually all day, and find every second of it exciting…

…but halfway through Kokichi’s explanation Kaito’s eyes suddenly went wide as he said, “Oh my god, can you leave me with one of the daydream Kokichi’s??”

Kokichi’s gaze went highly amused. “Yeah. Anything you’ve ever thought of? I could find if you let me dig for it.”

“My, Kai-chan,” he smirked, “Am I setting you up for some morning excitement?”

Kaito was already beat red, actually letting go of Kokichi’s hand to dig his palms into his eyes as he made a long, keening sound in the back of his throat. Oh nooooo… this was too much power….

“Oh no, which one? Cause I rarely dream about them! Like, dreams are mean and stupid, they never give you exactly what you’re looking for, and they come with weird rules, like you have to stick your dick into an ink pot and that’s sex somehow, or you need to wait until your partner puts a special oil on you and then you never get to the sexy times anyway! All anticipation, no action.”

Grasping his cape and putting it up over half his face now, Kaito peered at Kokichi, trying to decide, in this rare and glorious opportunity, which one… “God, tyrant Kokichi could be a lot of fun. Especially tyrant Kokichi with mind control powers.” Kaito said, eyes widening, practically sparkling as he said, “Or… space pirate Kokichi, he could go take me to see the whale, and we could have a sword fight, and it’s close for a second there but I knock the sword away, and he’s so impressed by my skills…”

“...” Kaito’s face suddenly went pale, “Do you see the daydreams going to dig for them? Uh… forest, like, species community Kokichi gets… kinda weird. Like, I spent a long time daydreaming about that one, the worldbuilding aspect of it and stuff, how a hive of Kokichi’s might function, it got weird. I don’t know if you should see that one…”

Kaito’s eyes suddenly got vague and distant as he said, “Oh, there was this one Kokichi that started in a dream. It didn’t go anywhere, but he was wearing these really sexy Luminary clothes, and he was like… well, I was sitting on the Luminary throne, and he was like… my royal consort, and he was all sweet and demur… maybe that ‘Kichi. That one’s not too embarrassing for you to see, I think…”

Kokichi watched fondly as Kaito grappled with the most difficult decision for a guy like him. Given the opportunity to have exactly the dream he wanted…what would he choose?

“If I make a temporary construct--or, for something like finding memories, I’d probably just summon Chibi Kai-chan, since that’s his job--then…like, technically?” Kokichi’s voice went a little high-pitched as he shrugged, “I know? But it’s like…I’d barely get a glance, seeing it’s not the right thing, and I would ‘forget’ it immediately. I could dig up that memory in myself after that but…like, I have no reason to. I wouldn’t want to.”

After soothing Kaito’s concerns, though, Kokichi looked a little sheepish himself. “Oh, uh…yeah. That Kokichi was me, actually.” And he did know for sure, the daydreams not strong enough to manifest, but Kaito’s meaning clear between them. “That…was the night we got rid of Tengan.”

Kaito looked startled at that, his expression now conflicted between… horny and concerned? How… should he feel about that? Should he ask for the story behind what happened? He knew Kokichi had to distract Tengan for some plan to work, but…

Kaito couldn’t help the shiver. He didn’t think Kokichi would choose to distract the old man like that, so he’d assume there was some sort of context he was missing. It just disturbed him, the idea that… had he been watching? Kaito couldn’t remember all of that dream, it had come to him in disjointed flashes that night, the throne room being the thing that stood out to him– though, thinking back, he did remember having a flash of a nightmare that night too, Kokichi bleeding… but Kokichi being sexy and Kokichi in mortal danger were, like, staples of his nights, nothing entirely standing out about either moment overall– and how sweet and full of love and trust Kokichi had been, looking up at him like a priceless treasure who knew he’d be well taken care of and protected…

Kaito would never claim Kokichi’s sexuality as only for him to see and enjoy, even if Kokichi would prefer him too, because that felt possessive and, honestly, too needlessly stifling on a man who’s virginity, first relationship, and marriage Kaito had claimed. If Kokichi had ever told Kaito he wanted to sleep with someone else just for the experience, Kaito might have felt a little jealous, but wouldn’t have hesitated to give his blessing, so long as Kokichi was safe about it. It only felt fair, considering all the experiences Kaito had gotten to have before Kokichi.

…but that said? Tengan wasn’t allowed that part of his husband. Especially when what had attracted Kaito to that Kokichi– heh, his Kokichi– was the appeal in knowing he could dote and pamper him to his hearts content, and Kokichi would enjoy every second of it, happily letting him in…

Kaito decided not to express any of this though. Instead, once his initial shock was over, he laughed at himself and leaned in for a kiss as he said, “Of course the Kokichi I’d end up picking was one that was just, like… actually you. I’m so easy… if it’s okay with you? Seriously, if you don’t mind? I’ve always been disappointed that dream didn’t go longer. I’d love to explore that one more. You, happy and in a nice outfit, are easily one of my favorite ‘Kichi’s… daydream wise, I mean. Real life wise, you win, hands down, no contest.”

Kokichi didn’t regret that night. Not in the slightest. Really, the only thing he wished was different was that he hadn’t hurt himself so badly, and that he had told Kaito sooner. Other than that? Kokichi would stand by that night. 

He knew he had been trying to be coy, but…it was kind of flattering that it had ended up being one of his husband’s favorite daydreams. 

Kokichi could feel Kaito’s slight conflict, but…well, everything had turned out alright. And maybe right now wasn’t the best time to talk about what had happened that night, not when they were talking about settling down for sleep. 

Laughing softly, Kokichi kissed Kaito back and held his hands. “Well, that is nice to hear, that I win real life. Do you wanna hang out here with that Kokichi, or go back to the throne room?”

Kaito bit his lower lip a little…

“Here,” he decided, flushing a little– and not thinking about why going back to the throne room felt difficult right in this moment– as he gave Kokichi a pleased, sheepish grin, “If you’re sure. It’s not weird? You don’t have to leave me with a daydream Kokichi to, like… I can just let dreams be dreams, if it’s weird… it won’t make you uncomfortable?”

Kokichi shook his head before giving Kaito a…well, Kaito would recognize the look as Kokichi’s ‘bedroom eyes’ before he leaned in to steal one last kiss. “My husband loves me and thinks I’m sexy enough that, given the choice to dream about anything, he still chooses me? That’s beyond flattering, Kai-chan. It’d be my pleasure to make that happen.”

“I love you, Kai-chan.”

And with that…Kokichi changed clothes, a much sweeter, though no less interested look on his face as he snuggled up to Kaito’s side, comfortable on the somehow waterproof and jewel-encrusted pillows strewn on the rock. “This is incredible, Kai-chan… I never could’ve dreamed of coming to such a beautiful place--thank you for taking me here, my king…”

Kaito flushed red at that, his body tensing with arousal… and hoping it was still his Kokichi he was talking too, he put his arm around him and kissed the top of his head, saying, “Anything, for my greatest treasure… I could never deny you anything… I love you, Kokichi…”

And maybe Kokichi left before that moment. Or maybe it was just after. But Kaito felt himself get lost to the dream, and felt warm and loved and comfortable, holding Kokichi in bed, pretty dreams playing in his head.

-

“Hey buddy,” Kaito said, looking around a bit as he said, “Ya know, you scared us… no one knew where you were.”

“I’ve been here.” Tim said simply, petting Chase who’s head was in his lap, digging his toes into the soft muddy spot next to the pond on the outer side of the wall, “I’m always out here.”

“I know, I know, you’re allowed. Just, I thought you’d be with Miss Haneda, so when she said she hadn’t seen you yet…” Kaito sighed. Honestly, if it had taken longer to find him, Kaito would be more pissed. But this had literally been the first place he checked, and lo, here his kid was. Sitting next to him, Kaito placed a hand on his back and shook him a little, saying, “You gotta let someone know where you are, or it’s gonna stress me out, okay? You can come out here all you want, just make sure someone knows where you are… big day, huh? You excited?”

Tim shrugged.

“It’s not uncool to admit you miss people, Tim. Especially to people who probably really missed you.” Kaito told him gently, “It’ll make them feel less silly, if you admit you felt the same way.”

“They probably didn’t miss me.” Tim decided, ignoring Kaito’s surprised look as he shrugged again, “They were busy with stuff. Camp things. Other kids. It’s fine. That’s what happens. You get separated and you stop thinking about each other. It’s normal.”

“...Maybe. Especially if you know you’re never going to see them again, that’s probably a… healthy way of looking at it. Not every friendship gets to last forever.” Kaito agreed, trying to pick his words carefully, “And no one’s wrong for that. It’s not a moral failing to let a friendship end gracefully… but the girls are coming back. Like, literally today. And like I said, they’re probably just as excited to see you as you are them… are you excited to see them?”

Tim shrugged… before nodding. “Maybe.”

“Did you want to try visiting their houses later, see if they’re not too tired to say hi?”

Tim shook his head no.

“Why? Don’t want to overwhelm them?”

“...they said they’d meet me here.” Tim explained, looking embarrassed as he explained, “When they got back. I don’t know when. They coulda forgotten. It was a long time ago.”

“Oooooh… that’s why we’ve been out here all morning, huh?” Kaito mused, absentmindedly rubbing Timothy’s back. “... well, ya know, if they don’t show up, it’s still okay to go and see them instead. You know how it is after a long journey, sometimes all you want is a shower and to just smother yourself in your blanke–”

Chase noticed first. Her head popping up, tail thumping violently, before she was up, running full speed off into the distance. 

Kaito watched as Tim was up to his feet next, his expression pinched, as off in the distance, wild pink hair glistened in the sun, waving enthusiastically as dark eyes beside her turned upwards, giggling and kneeling down to catch Chase before she got there.

“TIM!!” Cali screamed, looking thrilled as she beamed at him with all her teeth, Kimiko petting an overjoyed Chase beside, “TIM!!! WE’RE HERE!!!”

And Timothy stared at them and realized all at once how hard the last two months without them had been. How restless and bored and lonely he had been. How jealous he had been of the vague ‘other’ camp kids, wondering if any of them had managed to replace him. If Cali and Kimiko thought about him as often as he thought of them.

And it wasn’t loud enough for them to hear, but Tim whispered to himself, “I missed you guys.”

And he ran to go meet his friends.

-

Things were still a little hectic, but, slowly, Kokichi was starting to get a beat on his life again. And…one thing on the docket, that was a bit overdo, was making good on his promise to a certain jester. 

Mikado was more than happy to make some time, and they agreed to meet up at the magic shop he worked at, and get a drink at one of the sit down areas in the store…and explaining the plan to his partners, Shuuichi wanted to come too (Kokichi figured it was in equal part wanting to get more information about magic, and to keep an eye on Kokichi) so…that’s what they were doing!

It was a huge contrast with the last time they were walking to the store, sunscreened up and hiding under a sunhat--at least for Kokichi--rather than trudging through snow. But the feeling of relief coming into the store was just as magical. Returning a few greetings they garnered (though the store looked just as busy as it had last time) Kokichi looked around, hoping they hadn’t been too early and Mikado was still on shift.

“Behold!” a nasally voice drawled from the back of the story, to a group of fascinated onlookers, most of them children, “The floating chandelieeeer! Be amazed…” 

The small magician– uh, mage– gestured dramatically, though with a certain lack of energy, as a chandelier that had been hanging from the ceiling last time Kokichi and Shuichi had been there, lifted from its resting place on the floor, spinning majestically as people gasped, oo’d and ahh’d, watching the crystal chandelier rise with apparently no strings or chains, before settling in place above them all, bringing in new, bright light for the crowd as, all at once, dozens of candles on the chandelier lit up by themselves. 

Everyone seemed very pleased and excited by the spectacle, though one kid called out, “My friend said it’s lifted up by magnets! Is that right?”

“...it’s magic…” the young magician grumbled, before looking towards Kokichi and Shuichi, and, the show done, heading to the back room as she called in, “Master! They’re here.”

“Thank you, Himiko, one moment, one moment…” the tall, lanky blond man with slightly curly hair and light, yellow eyes stumbled out, looking far less majestic and magical then he looked in his mindscape, just wearing business casual clothes and a loosely tied yellow tie, scratching at his temple a bit as he said, “Ah, hello there. I apologize for the delay, give me one more moment, I’m sorting inventory in the back. Five minutes, tops.”

Kokichi watched suitably impressed at the show the short woman put on and…well, it seemed a bit odd she would insist it was magic if it actually was, but he was accustomed to odd quirks, and considering that was the point of the store? No one would think too much about it. There was something…almost disappointing thinking it was just magic, though it was still cool, rather than a sneaky mechanism…

Though…he supposed magic did have an explanation behind it, just with different rules than most folks were used to…

Giving Mikado a small wave as he briefly came out of the back room, Kokichi offered an understanding smile. “It’s no problem! We’re a little early, I think. Shuu-chan and I will snag a table!”

Mikado nodded, heading back into the room. Shuichi looked around curiously. Frowning a bit. “...this place confuses me way more now than it did the last time we came here.”

Kokichi looked around the shop, the decorations and just…bits and baubles still charming, but far more intriguing now. He nodded as they went over to the little side area, getting a table that would be comfortable for three people. “Yeah… I think that’s just a testament to their skill, that I can’t tell things apart, or if they’re all one or another…it’s kinda cool, in a new way.”

“From what I can tell, people are kind of split on things like this,” Kokichi gestured, meaning that even just in the Empath community, but probably other magical communities as well, people had a lot of different opinions on if it was alright to use magic ‘commercially’. If it was appropriate to use around unknowing humans if they thought it was just some trick. 

Personally, Kokichi thought it was kind of delightful that Mikado could use his gift to bring to life a storybook moment for people, and do it accurately for those that wanted it, but, well…he could understand why Alter Ego called him a jester. 

“I kinda like it, though, even when I didn’t know. Makes the world feel more fun.”

“Right, but…” Shuichi gestured to the small ‘try it at home’ boxes lining up the wall to the right of their table, “Those things over there? That’s not ‘magic’, those are tricks. Anyone can do them. Watch, hold on.”

Shuichi stood up, heading over to the wall, looking over the boxes with a familiar, discerning eyes, before picking one that was suitably challenging, bringing the box back to the table and, with no more ceremony, opening it up on the table as he explained, “This is an ‘advanced’ set, right? These are specifically for the kind of person who’s put a lot of time and thought into tricks like these. People genuinely interested… and these are still just slight of hand and mostly misdirection tricks. Like, these?”

Pulling three separate metal rings up, Shuichi showed how each ring was separated, no lines on the ring, all solid, before putting them together and with a jerk, trying to pull them apart, all three rings connected together, “All this is is just that two of the rings are solid, which are the ones you let get personally inspected, and the middle ring has a cut. You make sure the two outside rings catch on the middle one, and there you go, ‘magic’. Which is fine, except it’s, you know… not. So why do they bother? And this one, you take all these ribbons, right, and you–”

“Uuuuuh… hey.” Himiko said dryly, coming up to the table, giving Shuichi a blatantly annoyed look, “You’re not allowed to open those without buying them first… duh…”

“Oh, um… I was just looking inside, I wasn’t intending to–”

“Nuh uh. Not gonna fly. You open it? You buy it.” Himiko said, adjusting the extravagant hat on her head as she drawled, “And stop talking so loud. Those might be minor enchantments, but they still deserve the respect of their secrets… two silver please.”

Shuichi frowned, “...enchantments? These are tricks–”

“Two silver for the enchantments, please.”

Kokichi watched with amusement as Shuuichi dove right into merchandise, but…well, sleight of hand tricks were cool, regardless of the point he was trying to make. Kokichi wouldn’t mind getting a set of ‘em. Maybe the kids would get a kick out of messing around with it for an afternoon. 

And even knowing the trick, Kokichi laughed softly as Shuuichi nonchalantly put the rings together, giving him soft applause, though, when Himiko came over he gave her an apologetic look and pulled out his purse, taking out two silver. “Sorry about the hassle.”

“Though…honestly, I don’t see why them being ‘tricks’ makes them any less special,” Kokichi shrugged, giving his fiance a fond look. “Whether you’ve worked on your dexterity and showmanship, or you’ve put in the work for bigger enchantments…it’s all still a skill. And half the fun I’ve always found for sleight of hand was trying to figure out how it’s done - that’s something that’s…just not as fun for the bigger stuff,” he laughed sheepishly. “I know then it’s just gonna be, like…a bunch of physics I don’t understand. I was always so terrible at it in schoolwork…”

“Both kinds are fun, just in different ways. And this is a store--there would probably be more of an issue selling things that are harder to explain.”

Himiko easily accepted the two silver, giving Shuichi a blatant ‘I’m watching you, mister’ look before heading back to the rest of the store. Shuichi huffed a little, sitting down at the table with his apparent new prize, which he idly sorted through, seeing what else was in here as he said, “Right, but… I mean, I suppose that makes sense. That they’d need to sell things… but how would it not drive them crazy–”

“Oh, I see you both made a purchase already! Of course, I thank you for your patronage.” Mikado said, something that sounded vaguely like the sort of flourish he’d put in his empath persona, had his slightly tired gaze as he sat down subdued the illusion. For being so dramatic and demonstrative and over the top s he was in his mind, he seemed in real life almost sickly looking, pale despite the summer heat, a little over worked and sweating slightly as he sat down… before he laughed at himself a little, “Shoot I forgot the coffee. If you all will give me another moment, I can go start a pot…”

Kokichi supposed that would have to be a personal stance, but…in a way, he could ask Shuuichi why he enjoyed detective novels, if none of it was real. Though, he did know that it wasn’t a perfect comparison. 

Perking up as Mikado came over, Kokichi gave his…maybe friend? A slightly concerned look. “Do you want any help? I mean, I understand if it’s an employees only area, but…still. You did agree to use your break time to meet up today.”

“Help?” Mikado asked, looking amused at the idea, before shrugging as he stood up, “I’ll accept company, if your fiance here doesn’t mind waiting. Congratulations on that, by the way. The engagements been the talk of the town for the last few days.”

“Thank you,” Shuichi said, bowing his head lightly, before sighing, looking back at his new purchase as he said, “I don’t mind waiting, no. I’ll see if I can’t put this box back together. Otherwise getting it home later is gonna be a hassle.”

“We’ll provide a bag, of course.” Mikado said, “But, if you don’t mind. Come, good prince, you can help me pick which coffee we’ll be enjoying this fine midday.”

And then, louder, he shouted over the din, “Himiko! I’m making coffee if you want some later!”

“Kaaaay!” Himiko called back, ringing up some costumes at the counter.

The backroom was very utilitarian, a non-decorated space filled with boxes and half-sorted inventory, the flooring cement and no tiling for the ceiling to speak of, the space entirely barebones when it was first built. There was a small half-kitchen like area in the far back right corner, and Mikado led Kokichi there as he said, “We have vanilla, hazelnut, peppermint, and regular. I think we technically have decaf somewhere, but it’d be an old bag by this point, when I was trying to quit caffeine. I don’t think coffee beans, or, fake coffee beans I suppose, goes bad though, we can dig it up if you’d rather that… oh.”

Mikado looked back to Kokichi, raising an eyebrow, “Your fiance. How much does he know?”

Beaming his thanks for the congratulations, Kokichi followed Mikado to the back room, seeing Nazumi drift through the store from afar to keep an eye on him. Though…well, even if Mikado wasn’t a friend, Kokichi couldn’t sense any malcontent on him. Mostly just…minor fatigue. Which made sense, considering how busy and popular the store was. 

Chuckling softly, Kokichi shook his head a little. “I think Shuu-chan would give me the cold shoulder for a few days if I insisted on decaf--it’s really been the joy of his life, getting to have caffeine again. The hazelnut sounds really good, if you’d like it too!”

“...and he knows everything,” Kokichi smiled slightly at Mikado’s look. “And he’s super into learning about magic, by the way--that’s why he wanted to come along today, less of a ‘suspicious of me getting coffee with people I’ve met only a handful of times’ thing.”

Sighing slightly, Kokichi rubbed the back of his neck. “It was…kind of a time, me getting my memories back. And…it’s still kind of a process. Surprise, surprise, it’s kind of hard to remember everything I’ve remembered over the past year. But I’m glad I can start making good on some of the promises I’ve made.” He gave Mikado a pointed nod. 

“Hazlenut it is, then.” Mikado said, sounding pleased by this as he filled the pot, putting in the water and placing a filter for the beans before letting it heat. Resting against the counter, Mikado shrugged sheepishly, “Give it a moment, this part’s just a waiting game.”

“Well, since we are talking, full disclosure?” Mikado glanced at the door, before saying softly, “I’d ask you to watch what you say around Himiko, my apprentice. Only discuss things she brings up herself, or I bring up around her. Her knowledge of all of this is… spotty. And done so purposefully.”

Mikado smiled, something fond, if tired, as he explained, “She’s not an empath or anything like that. No inherent magical ability in any sense of the word. But what she is is observant, and when she was a kid, she noticed fairly quickly that there was something legitimate about some of my illusions. She spent basically all of high school coming to the store every weekend, asking to volunteer, buying and learning every trick in this store, trying to capture the things she knew I was doing but couldn’t prove… she graduated last year, and came straight to me, begging to be taken on as an apprentice, and by that point? I was more concerned about her endless searching for magic taking her to dangerous places without a guide. So, I took her on.”

“But I’m revealing the greater world to her gradually, over time. Like I said, she’s tenacious. Anything I even hint at, she suddenly wants to know everything about it.” Mikado sighed, rubbing his temple slightly, “The gods forgive me if I mention ‘fairies’ are real and she suddenly ends up in a pocket dimension somewhere, never to be seen again. Or show her where to buy enchanted artifacts and she somehow ends up with a damn monkey paw. It’s a delicate process. Just… if she talks to you, keep that in mind, please.”

Kokichi’s eyes widened slightly (they had been talking vaguely on purpose, and if she knew about magic literally at all, the things they had been talking about were well within that realm) (but, wait, if she couldn’t perform magic, then those really were tricks?!?!) but he nodded, taking the warning and plea seriously. Though, after a moment, a fond smile graced his face. “I certainly haven’t been as delicate, but…I think she and my fiance might be two peas in a pod, then.”

“There was this book I found in the castle archive,” Kokichi started to explain. “I don’t know how it ended up in the collection, or why the author wrote it, but it details…I don’t know. Hundreds? Of different peoples in it, explaining abilities and general regions they live in and…all sorts of things. A friend of mine managed to find a copy of it and Shuu-chan’s been studying it like he’s cramming for an old-school entrance exam.”

Pausing, Kokichi tilted his head to the side. “I think he has other magic folk or inclined friends too, since he gave me a recommendation for a place to get a gift for Kai-chan. I got him this super cute animated dragon figurine from Alchemy and Augury? Very cool place.”

Mikado laughed lightly, something longing in his voice as he said, “Ah, I know that store. That was the sort of store I envisioned making myself, one day. This–” Mikado pointed to the storage room, full of toys and tricks, “--had just been to establish myself, originally. Get enough funds to set up an underground store I wouldn’t have to put on any paperwork or present for loan reasons. But that was a long time ago, and, well…” Mikado shrugged, “The kids love this store. By this point, I feel like trying to convert to actual magic would be a bit of a waste. No other stores quite like the one I’ve accidentally built here are around, so… worst fates to have, then to accidentally become successful in a career only adjacent to the one you were pursuing.”

“But! That’s enough about me.” Mikado said, the coffee dinging at them as he brought out some mugs leaving a fourth one out but pouring three, handing one mug to Kokichi and carrying the other two as he smirked, looking slightly more like his masked inner-projection as he said, “I am keenly interested in hearing about how this awakening has gone in detail. Come, come, it will be safe enough to talk out there more or less plainly, the stores always so busy and loud with children, and people tend to be dismissive of any bits and pieces they get as ‘magician’ talk. Now… uh oh.”

As they headed out of the door, Mikado looked exhausted as he saw, speaking in hushed whispers over their table, Shuichi and Himiko were excitedly talking about something, Shuichi explaining something in detail as Himiko nodded, that usual exhausted, determined look on his apprentices face…

…shit.

That answered Shuuichi’s question from before, he supposed. But…he agreed with Mikado’s peace with the business he’d made--Kokichi could remember how over the moon he’d been to come to the shop last winter, how excited the kids were. And, as amazing as it was…Alchemy and Augury wasn’t the kind of place that would bring out the whole family, jumping through the snow and excitement. Hell, he’d probably have trouble convincing Kaito to get through the door, with how grim the decorations and some of the merchandise were. 

Mikado’s shop was something special, and that was something to be proud of, even if it wasn’t what he had set out to do. 

(...that was interesting though… Setting up a system so magic shops could be held accountable and get the loans to start up? That was…something quite uniquely suited to Kokichi’s skillsets…)

“Not just the kids that love it,” Kokichi laughed softly. “Far be it from me to tell you what to specialize in, but…this is a really incredible shop, Mikado.”

Taking one of the mugs and heading back to the table, Kokichi nodded, prepared for the embarrassment of admitting what happened, though what they returned to was… Well, a warning given a little too late, he supposed. 

Smiling sheepishly Kokichi came to his husband’s side. “Seems you two have found common ground?”

Both Himiko and Shuichi looked up from their hushed conversation, eyes sparkling with fresh knowledge… though Himiko squealed as Mikado swatted at her, getting up from the chair as he insisted, “Back to work! The store’s not going to run itself, go, go, and we are talking about whatever you two spoke of after your shift is over! Go!”

Himiko made an annoyed little ‘nyeh’ sound, before shuffling back to work, Shuichi looking a little confused as Mikado glared at him. “What?”

“What did you two talk about?” Mikado asked, left eye twitching.

“...squid people?” Shuichi said, looking suspiciously back as he said, “She had never seemed to have heard of them before. I was explaining what I knew. Why?”

Mikado sighed, putting Shuichi’s mug down in front of him before practically collapsing into his chair, muttering himself, “Fine. That’s fine. There’s no ocean around here. What can she possibly do with that knowledge to put herself in danger? Ngh…”

When Mikado explained to Shuichi what he had explained to Kokichi, the detective looked… less than impressed. “So, you have to promise to watch what you say around her. Agreed?”

“Agreed.” Shuichi said easily.

“...you promise?” Mikado asked, feeling less than reassured. 

“I promise.” Shuichi said just as easily.

“...” Mikado narrowed his eyes, before saying, “I actually can’t read someone’s emotions unless I have my hands on them or a connecting object. So… I either just have to trust you, or ask your husband if you’re lying…”

Shuichi shrugged, sipping at his mug, “I’m certain my fiance will vouch for me. I’m a very sincere person. I don’t treat breaking promises lightly.”

Shuichi was lying out of his ass.

Kokichi sighed, giving his fiance an exasperated look as he sipped his coffee. “Shuu-chan… Mikado’s been looking out for Himiko for a long time. I had a total mental breakdown getting my memories back, and that’s not even counting all the freakouts I had while I was initially learning things. Himiko might choose to follow her curiosity and that’s her choice, but right now, someone who cares about her is asking us in earnest to be more considerate with the information we chat about.”

“If you and Himiko decide you wanna nerd out about things, then…that’s something you can decide together,” Kokichi shrugged, knowing that it probably wasn’t what Mikado wanted to hear, but…he wasn’t the younger woman’s parent, and after having his own issues withholding information from loved ones, Kokichi was more inclined to let people decide for themselves what they want to hear. “But for now…can we have some discretion?” 

Shuichi took a long, loong, looooong sip from his mug…

“I am the most discrete.” Shuichi said simply, looking undisturbed by either argument, “I’m an ex-royal detective, Kokichi. I know how to keep a secret. You both have nothing to worry about.”

They did. They had everything to worry about. Shuichi wanted to keep talking about squid people.

Mikado decided he’d try working this out from Himiko’s side then, cautioning her against spending time with the ex-detective– oh god that wasn’t going to work out Himiko could be a dog with a bone sometimes– as he took his own sip of coffee, rubbing his temple a little. “Alright, so… I’m curious. Did you ever sort out the… ‘pieces’ thing?” He asked, gesturing to Kokichi, something snarky entering his expression, looking a little more like his empath persona as he leaned in curiously,  “There’s been no ‘waves’ from you in quite some time. I must say, it’s gotten a little boring in the community lately. You were the first and last bit of juicy gossip in quite some time, and now you’ve seemingly fallen off the face of the earth, at night. I hope this doesn’t mean you’re out of tricks, dear magician.”

Kokichi sighed. Well, at least Mikado knew what was coming. He’d never seen Himiko out in town--that he could remember--but…Kokichi would keep an eye out for the young woman too. As much as Kokichi knew he didn’t really know the actual depths of Shuuichi’s thirst for knowledge, he was less worried about his partner getting into magical trouble. Maybe that would be a fault one day. 

But, regardless, they were here to talk magic anyway. 

Laughing softly, Kokichi gave a soft nod. “I did, yeah. After coming to talk to you, I did get that routine sorted out. Though, I wouldn’t say that that was the only greater impact I’ve been having.”

Looking a little sheepish, Kokichi rubbed the back of his neck. “I know it’s a little out of your wheelhouse, but have you heard of an E-dome?” E meaning ‘Empath’, obviously. While they could get away with having a magician’s chat, Kokichi felt like the specific word was a little too pointed.

Mikado snorted, “Have I heard of it… yes. Yes, I’ve heard of it. Difficult trick, requires an exceptionally high level of skill.”

“Out of your reach?” Shuichi asked, looking genuinely curious.

Mikado sighed, nodding, “Most things are. I can read through touch, and I have full control over myself, but as far as raw potential goes, that’s all I’m capable of.”

At that, Shuichi nodded sympathetically, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, that’s how the cards land sometimes. And I’ve made the most out of what I am capable of, which is sometimes all we can ask of ourselves.” Mikado shrugged, before returning his gaze to Kokichi, “So, a dome trick. What of it?”

Kokichi’s sheepish look didn’t leave, as he tapped his mug. “I keep doing it by accident. Once it blew up enough that my mentor had to come check on me, and…a more recent time I know it was big enough to…er…affect our room and out into the hall. I think I’ve been able to keep it…more contained than those times, most of the time now…”

Mikado tilted his head at that. A dome… well, admittedly, if it was strong enough, Mikado himself might not have recognized it if he felt it, just assuming it was how own feelings spiking up. It was hard to notice a dome for what it was when you were caught up in it entirely, simpler for others big enough to see it from the ‘outside’, so to speak. “I see… I didn’t notice it, but I believe you, it sounds like your wheelhouse. Now, I’m curious, have you tried doing it on purp–”

“You talk like you can notice when Kokichi does things.” Shuichi interrupted, journal in hand, coffee steaming half forgotten beside him as he peered at Mikado, “What does that mean?”

“Uh, hmm…” Mikado considered ignoring the question, wanting his own curiosity sated, but… ngh. He recognized that expression. Oh dear. There was two of them now… “Using certain high level tricks creates a sort of ripple wave of power that those sensitive to that particular style of trick can notice, and sometimes even follow to their source. Kokichi, especially in this last year, has been letting out quite a few ripples, which is why his mentor was sent to guide him in the first place.”

“Sent by who?” Shuichi asked, scribbling that down.

“The greater magician community–”

“A whole community of people doesn’t decide on anything. Is this some sort of counsel? Committee?”

Mikado sniffed slightly, looking mildly offended as he said, “The community. Perhaps in Luminary it’s different, but here the e-community speaks in a large group discussion and comes to a decision–”

“Kokichi, have you ever been a part of these discussions?” Shuichi asked, turning to his fiance. Full interrogation mode.

Kokichi didn’t really want to create and Empathy dome on purpose, but…unlike some other things, he did see a use case for it. Being able to break up a fight? It would be really helpful to calm people who otherwise weren’t in a place to be able to listen to reason, and solve things before they escalated. Maybe he could test some of it…

There was really only one person who had confronted him about testing things, anyway. 

Kokichi looked on with slight amusement as Shuuichi got his head on a trail, and he shook his head a little at the question he was posed--something he, honestly, should’ve found out more about ages ago. “No. I only know a few magicians, and I’ve only ever talked with them directly, or had someone mention them off-hand. Though…”

There, Kokichi trailed off with a sigh, almost reflexively starting to rub his temple. “...I can’t say I’d be super pumped to have big community meetings, though they’d go on a lot faster than the ones we have in the castle. I’ve been on paternity leave for ages and still I can see how exhausting that would be… I wonder how Great-Grandad did it…”

Mikado’s eyes widened curiously, “Great granda–”

“So, why hasn’t Kokichi been invited to any of these ‘community’ discussions?” Shuichi asked, refocusing on Mikado, who sighed. “And if you can feel ripples, shouldn’t Kokichi be feeling activity from other empaths as well?”

“Slow down there, detective.” Mikado said dryly, sipping from his mug, “If you’re looking for a conspiracy, I’m afraid to say you’re in for a disappointment. It’s simple, really: people who don’t need to exert actual effort into their tricks don’t let out a wave. The more training and experience they have, the less noticeable their actions are. Most magicians strong enough to let out a ripple have been training to not do so since childhood. So, ripples like Kokichi’s are rare, at least in this area.”

“As for discussions, all the discussion’s the community has had lately have been about Kokichi.” Mikado shrugged, “Again, situations like his are an anomaly. The only newly awakened magician we’ve had since him has been one of the refugee kids, and the anomaly volunteered to teach her before discussion could even occur. So. He’s just not had an opportunity to be a part of the discussions. No more, no less.”

“So that’s why…” Kokichi hummed. He supposed it made sense. If you were dropping objects into a pool, then the larger the object, the bigger the splash and resulting ripples. However, really pro divers, despite a person being relatively large, had honed their craft enough that they could dive with barely making a ripple, despite the large displacement. 

He was neither a pebble nor a skilled swimmer, so…what Kokichi had been doing over the past year was full-on belly-flopping, stinging skin and all. 

And he had already gotten the impression that the community didn’t all gather together for every little thing--there were so many different opinions that he doubted that they’d ever be able to come to any sort of consensus for more specific guidelines or decisions. But taking care of their own? That was the strongest desire Kokichi had felt consistently from the community. 

Turning to Shuuichi, Kokichi gave him a soft look. “My mentor’s been keeping a good eye on them--we chat for check-ins, every now and then.” 

Then, back to Mikado, Kokichi nodded, giving a clarification. “Yeah, I only heard from one person, but apparently my great-grandad, Nellis Ouma, was a magician too.”

Mikado looked briefly confused, before recalling, “Oh, right. You’re an Ouma. Of course, I don’t know how that slipped my mind. Here I am thinking ‘oh, maybe I’ve heard of his grandfather and can tell him something about him,’ but Leader Nellis?” Mikado rolled his eyes, “Obviously.”

“... is that obvious?” Shuichi asked, trying to read the general vibe Mikado was giving off. Uncertain if this was meant to be ‘famously no one knows anything about him’ or ‘famously everyone knows everything about him’. 

“Obviously Kokichi’s grandfather would have been a magician, considering it’s an Ouma. It’s a bit of pride for the magician community, how many Ouma’s historically have skills in magic tricks. To varying degrees of raw potential, of course, but it’s still a long lineage regardless. Honestly, the Ouma family has been one of the reasons magicians have had such a stable history here, in Dicea. It can get… fairly dicey, in other parts of the world, especially the farther back in history you go. But Dicea? Has always been magician friendly, even back in the day when…” Mikado tried to think of a good substitute, “‘mimes’ and ‘clowns’ were being cracked down on so hard.”

Shuichi’s eyes were wide, hungry for knowledge, as he jotted all this down, “I see, I see. So other than Nellis, who–”

“If I must remind you both, this little visit is meant to sate my curiosity.” Mikado said dryly, looking to Kokichi, “As was literally the deal. Can I get a question in edgewise, with my very limited lunch break?”

Kokichi’s eyes widened. …there were more? It had been astonishing, learning that Nellis had been an Empath too. Knowing that he wasn’t actually the only person in his niche position, that he’d had a forefather go through it before him. But…learning that there were even more?! To the point it was common knowledge in the community that a ton of Oumas were Empaths?

For a moment, Kokichi just sat there, dumbfounded, before he looked up and gave Mikado a semi-helpless shrug. He had warned him of Shuuichi’s curiosity. “Ask what you wanna ask, and I’ll do my best to answer. Though…you are the only person I’ve met so far that’s been so knowledgeable and open to discussion about these things… If you wouldn’t mind, could we make plans for the future to talk more too?”

Mikado smirked slightly at that, though it wasn’t a condescending expression. More knowingly exasperated, as he said, “Even in Dicea, magicians are so… defensive of their secrets. It’s a part of our culture, I’m afraid. But then, you see signs all the time, that things could be on the edge of big changes… we live in interesting times, Prince Ouma.”

“But, that said: I’m unusual in how much I enjoy speaking openly about these sorts of things. Even if Shuichi here is under the impression I’m some tyrant keeping secrets from curious young women, I’m really quite, how I’d put it… ‘progessive’, about sharing information. Less hung up on our history, recent or otherwise.” Mikado shrugged.

Kokichi nodded slightly. Until recently, with all the Empaths working for the Indentured Program? It wouldn’t be safe to even do things publicly through greater intent, or…however it was that all the Empaths in the community gathered to talk. Let alone meet physically. And while it was safer than ever…Kokichi still couldn’t be sure that none of those Empaths now free to do as they wished wouldn’t try to sell out someone in the community they had been forced to be an enemy to. 

Unfortunately…there were too many avenues for someone to benefit by tearing someone else down. And so secrets were kept. 

“Well, I really appreciate it,” Kokichi gave Mikado a grateful nod. “Considering my less than average introduction to everything, it often feels like I’m playing catch up with what everyone else knows. But I don’t intend for this to be one-way--I made a promise and I’m keeping it.”

“...it is a good warning too not to just start chatting, even with someone who knows the tricks of the trade,” Kokichi sighed. “I guess I can get a little too excited about that.”

“The world is a big, strange place. But, I’ve found that being willing to take the risk of talking to new people? Of exposing yourself, a little? It’s the best way forward.” Mikado said, smiling tiredly, “Especially if you want to succeed at something that you don’t have endless, raw potential for.”

“So, what questions do you have for Kokichi, then?” Shuichi asked, deciding that was also a new way to gather more information. 

Mikado considered Shuichi, before gulping, gulping, gulping his coffee… “Oh dear, I’ve finished my coffee. Shuichi, could I trouble you to go refill my cup?”

Shuichi narrowed his eyes.

Mikado smiled, “Assume I’m being kind to your fiance. If he wants you to know, he’ll fill you in, won’t he?”

Shuichi looked even more tense at that, his lips thinning slightly… before he huffed. Taking Mikado’s mug and, bringing his own too, heading to the to the back.

Watching them go, Mikado said once they were clear, “So, any more issues with Tom and Katsuki?”

Honestly, Kokichi agreed, and not just when it came to magic. Opening yourself up to others was a risk--that vulnerability to make a real connection could be terribly, horribly exploited if your gamble was wrong. But…what you could get in return? Were the things that made life what it was. The reasons for being a thinking, dreaming being. 

As Mikado sent Shuuichi away, Kokichi looked between them with some concern, but…well, Nazumi was watching. And he really would tell Shuuichi later. 

…even for something like his shards.

Sighing softly, Kokichi shook his head. “No. I haven’t been showing up unannounced to anyone either, but…I haven’t felt or summoned anything when it comes to those two. I think I can more purposefully…like…” Kokichi furrowed his brow, thinking of a way to explain. “...not consider those pieces a part of me anymore? When I’m doing other things. I mean…we saw that Katsuki-chan was alright, when we checked in, and…well. I think I could live happily never seeing Tom again…” And while there still was a little guilt in his eyes, the dry, tired look on Kokichi’s face clearly overpowered that. 

“...really, the domes are the only major things I’m struggling with, these days. When it comes to magicians’ tricks, at least,” he rolled his eyes. “Shuu-chan and my sister-in-law, Maki-chan already knew, at least to an extent, of what was going on, but…when I got my memories back, telling my husband was…not the greatest.”

Mikado sighed, looking openly disappointed as he said, “Someone born with the ability to seemingly do the impossible… and of course all anyone can focus on is training him to do less. It will never not disappoint me. What I would do in your position…”

Mikado waved his hand dismissively, “Well, like I said before, that’s just how the cards landed. Also, ah… the Luminary Prince a rhabdophobe? Not surprising, but I have to imagine incredibly difficult to manage.”

Well.

He was doing more. 

But they weren’t ready to let the cat out of the bag to the community just yet.

Though, Kokichi blinked. “...a what?”

“Rhabdophobe. Rhabdophobia?” Mikado said, like it should be obvious, before summarizing, “Afraid of magic?”

“Oh. Oh. Uh, no…” Letting out a little laugh, Kokichi sipped at his coffee, a slower drinker than, well, at least Shuuichi had naturally been. “Kai-chan actually thinks my tricks are really cool. There’s still a lot to explain, but…he’s been taking all that really well. It’s just…”

Kokichi sighed, giving Mikado a tired look. “...this is more personal stuff, so…please don’t treat it as gossip, okay? It wasn’t even about me being a magician…it was that he was the last to know, and I had been hiding it from him. I know there’s the technicality that I was one of the last to know too, but…I had enough wiggle room to find a way for Shuu-chan and Maki-chan to find out and…I just didn’t put it together for my husband too. He was…rightfully angry about that. But we’re working things out.”

“Ah, spouses. Tricky, to balance them and work… I assume.” Mikado shrugged, “I wouldn’t know. Relationships never came naturally to me and eventually I lost interest entirely. But it’s always seemed very difficult to navigate, from the outside looking in. But, of course I won’t gossip about that. Do I come across as a gossip?”

Looking curious, Mikado asked, “Exactly how long ago did you ‘wake up’? Have you been juggling this for a while? It’s been… I suppose actually not that long ago since we spoke about all of this. Mid-spring? Was it not long after that, or not long before this?”

“Not maliciously,” Kokichi snorted, “But you do love learning and trading information, and I know that, despite efforts, my personal life is something a lot of people consider gossip-worthy. But I appreciate your consideration.”

For a moment, Kokichi’s gaze blanked out as he tried to remember how long it’d been. It felt like months, honestly…

“...it’ll be three weeks on Friday,” he more groaned than sighed. Barely even half a month… At least he wasn’t handling things intensely slowly. This was still a reasonable grace period to handle all of his business…right?

“Wow. Shuichi really proposed to you quickly after that, huh? Though, I suppose two weeks is a good enough grace period…” Mikado peered at the back door, before realizing, “Where is your detective fiance? Coffee doesn’t take this long.”

Sighing, Mikado got up, saying, “Come on, this will go more smoothly if you’re there too.”

“Well, he had known for a bit longer… We talked about it during my private performances too, so…” Kokichi shrugged a bit. It was complicated, but that was just the kind of people they were. Shuuichi had told him that his impetus to propose was feeling Kokichi’s love so it made sense to him. 

Snorting softly, Kokichi rose and followed after Mikado. “He’s probably snooping, or trying to talk to Himiko again. I don’t think I really sold how much he’s super into this stuff…he’s super into it. And when Shuu-chan gets an idea, he’ll follow it ‘til the ends of the earth.”

Kokichi smiled softly. “...it’s nice seeing him so passionate about things again.”

“Well, my apprentice is putting on another show,” Mikado said, pointing out the disappearing box, she and one of her part time co-workers working the show, the counter being run by another part timer, “So thankfully that’s off the table. And honestly, it really is basically magician tricks here. I don’t know what he could be imagining he’ll find…”

Heading into the back, Mikado looked around, the mugs over by the coffee machine, sans Shuichi, as the blond huffed. Going around the boxes, Mikado headed to his office, opening the door and fully expecting to see the detective snooping…

No one there, either.

Scratching his neck a little, Mikado looked around, “...Shuichi?”

A muffled, “In the bathroom!” came from the backroom bathroom, the door firmly closed.

Ah. Well, Kokichi wouldn’t put it past Shuuichi to be looking at something privately in the bathroom--though he had a feeling the most interesting thing in the office would be sales records--but…he really could just be using the bathroom. 

…or looking at employee information and finding Himiko’s address to contact her later. Which was a felony, and Shuuichi knew that. 

…he didn’t want to prosecute his fiance, and he knew Shuuichi wasn’t trying to hurt Himiko; just collaborate with a fellow curious mind when it came to magic. 

Sighing, Kokichi gave Mikado a small smile. “You still want that refill?”

Mikado huffed: he supposed he couldn’t argue with someone just impromptu needing to use the bathroom. Especially after coffee. “Sure. Anyway, as I was saying, relationships seem tricky. And especially balancing relationships with people not members of the community… well, even just having an apprentice on the outside of it is a trial. I can’t imagine a spouse.”

Pouring a fresh mug, leaving Shuichi’s behind if he wanted it, Mikado headed back out into the store with kokichi as he said, “And to answer your earlier question, yes, I’d be up to answering more questions for you. I’ve made it my business to know more than the average person, everything about our community. Most of it entirely for my own curiosity, but informing you would make some of my lifelong efforts… mildly more useful then they already were.”

“We’re still kind of at the start of it all, but…yeah. Mostly I’m just trying to be as open with them as I can and…hope that that’s at least a step forward in solving any issues that come up.”

Giving Mikado a grateful look as they sat back down at their table, Kokichi smiled. “I really appreciate it. Honestly…even knowing there were more Oumas than me and Nellis in the community is…mind blowing.”

Thinking for a moment, Kokichi grinned as he realized something that would probably be pretty interesting to the nosy Empath. “Hey, I’ve revamped my lobby since you’ve seen it last. Want a look?”

Mikado did, indeed, look immediately excited at this prospect. Smiling inquiringly as they settled in, “If you don’t mind, of course I would love too. If you don’t mind,” Mikado put his mug aside, putting his hand out on the table, leaving it palm up as he said, “Give me your palm. Honestly, I just need a connection to make contact, but it’ll look like I’m reading your palm. Which is preferable to it just looking like I’m holding hands with the recently engaged and still relatively recently married prince.”

Kokichi snorted slightly and offered up his palm, resting his arm lightly across the table. “I’d say so, yeah. Even if he’d get it, Shuu-chan can be a little jealous too.”

Relaxing, Kokichi found his zen in a sort of middle state--comfortable enough that his lobby wasn’t going to kick Mikado out, but not fully letting him in his mind. Kokichi knew how to hide things even without the lobby as a front, but…still. They were doing this for the lobby specifically. 

Because the circus was back in top form, baby! It had been for a while, admittedly, but Kokichi was still proud of his creation. The whirling tornado stacks of cotton candy his mannequins carried around, the golden light of the air, tents and attractions all around… Kokichi had actually kept at work with it, and now there was more than even to wander through and marvel, keeping his guests entertained or distracted. 

He was pretty pleased with the pink elephants you could find walking around some of the back areas, those critters treated very kindly in his headcanon, despite circus animals in most cases being banned in Dicea.

Mikado looked curiously around, his body in the real world murmuring as he traced his finger across Kokichi’s palm, “Oh, yes… I see in your life line… a joy in the whimsical…”

And in the dream, he mused as he watched people riding along very tall wheels as they juggled large pins, “You are really into this circus theme. Let me guess… you were one of those kids that was planning to run away every other weekend.”

“Sorta,” Kokichi laughed softly. “It was a really tempting idea, but I knew I didn’t have it in me to leave my life. I’ve always loved the idea of circuses, though. Makes a lot of sense, being raised by an ex-acrobat.”

His lobby wasn’t influenced by his real time thoughts--something like that would leave too many holes--but a pyramid of acrobats could be seen around a tent flap, the mannequin on top posing dramatically before they all rolled out from the formation like an explosion, the ones on the bottom popping up onto their feet to catch some of the ones who had been higher up. 

“Mmm,” Mikado nodded, tracing his finger down another line of Kokichi’s hand, “I see… an appreciation for physical feats in your love line. Perhaps it was inevitable that you and your arranged betrothed would end up getting along. I could imagine him fitting right in in this environment.”

Mikado said, watching one of the mannequins wearing a leotard pick up massively oversized weights one handed. “Right in.”

“What’s happening?” Shuichi asked, raising an eyebrow as he sat back down, sipping at a freshly poured mug of coffee.

“Palm reading.” Mikado explained, “So far I’ve worked out your fiance is whimsical, and that he enjoys physically impressive feats, specifically acrobatics.”

“He also likes intelligence,” Shuichi said, huffing a little, “In case you didn’t see that in his palm, it’s true. Intelligent, pretty and sophisticated are also his type. Just so everyone is aware.”

“Kai-chan says it fits me more than him--while I’d be pretty please, I think he’d be pretty put out to be called a clown.”

Kokichi looked over, fond, as Shuuichi joined them, though he had to keep down a laugh. His jealous Shuu-chan~ 

“It’s a lot of work to put on a circus, and not all of the skill is physical adeptness,” Kokichi hummed, giving Shuuichi a sweet look. “Though, I’d think I’d need to put more work in if my circus was a reflection of my actual feelings.”

While he had only ever seen drawings of them, there was a life-sized tiger walking on the other side of a fence from the patrons, its head lifted regally and coat soft and shiny, absolutely striking with its stripes. A couple smaller mannequins watched it go by in awe, tapping each other in excitement.

“Hmmm…” Mikado looked around idly… and just to see. Absolutely certain he wouldn’t be able to get far, but just to see how far he’d get, he started to expand himself. Looking for the entrance into the rest of Kokichi, looking for holes and back rooms…

It was probably good stress testing, all things considered, but…well, Kokichi had other ways to do that. And it was a little fun to be able to flex the power of his lobby--Mikado had had that, right, his excitement at getting to boot other Empaths. 

Knowing it wasn’t malicious, at first, just a mannequin with a big top hat and stick on mustache came up to Mikado--where his presence was mostly located, anyway--and started waving its finger, managing to look quite disapproving despite not having a face.

Mikado smirked, both in the dream and in real life, as he echoed in both places, “I may be low level, but you’ll need to work a little harder than that.” 

“Harder than what?” Shuichi asked, looking curiously between the two empaths, both of them looking almost vacantly at Kokichi’s palm.

Mikado felt the seam, and looked towards the direction of the circus tent, seeing a ticket booth over there. Ignoring the mannequin in the top hat as he started walking towards it, whistling to himself.

Kokichi shrugged a little. “You’re not my enemy--there’s no reason to go for overkill. There’s no reason to use force when a more peaceful option would work.”

“I agree.” Mikado smirked, “Which is why I only sent one fish after you.”

“Touche,” Kokichi laughed softly.

As the projection Mikado ignored the first mannequin, what happened next would honestly probably be a scene from particular people’s nightmares. Instead of being confronted by one mannequin, every one in the lobby stopped what they were doing and focused on the intruder. Not really doing anything (yet) but just…staring with their flat, wooden heads. A few coming closer, crossing their arms or looming. 

But, really, the actors in the circus weren’t Kokichi’s offensive part of his defense. They were just, well, actors, there to fill the world up and entertain his guests until he could check his sign-up sheet and meet with them. The first mannequin was there to warn that feeling out for cracks wouldn’t be tolerated. The others all focusing in on the intruder were to make them uncomfortable, give them the sense that they weren’t going unseen. 

Kokichi had a few ways to really make people leave, but there was one that was quite nearby. 

There was barely a sound, and only a flash of slitted golden eyes in the dark before the tiger jumped forth from the crowd, tackling Mikado to the ground with a growl. And…

Well, Kokichi wasn’t a fan of gore. So the last thing Mikado would remember seeing would be a large maw of knife-sharp teeth and warm, humid breath on his face. 

Admittedly, when Mikado had been surrounded by more mannequins, he had been a little… genuinely uneasy. One part of being an empath that couldn’t do much outside of himself was that, well, experiences like these? Where he was exploring and playing around in another empaths mind, seeing what they could do? Were rare. 

So, as uncomfortable as the mannequins made him, Mikado couldn’t bring himself to back off yet, endlessly curious to see what Kokichi could and would do…

And, admittedly, he did not see the tiger coming.

In the real world, it would have looked like Mikado just suddenly full body jolted for no reason, pulling his hand back like Kokichi had burned him, taking a deep, frightened breath… but as he let the breath out he laughed, sweating slightly but giving Kokichi an openly amused look as he said, “Okay, okay. Effective. Your hand is very interesting. Thank you for letting me explore, that was a lot of fun.”

Shuichi watched all this with a mildly amused look, sipping on his coffee. Empaths, man… nosy weirdos, all of them. They made a strange breed. Not like Luminary Detectives, who did all their snooping elegantly, and with purpose… like rapidly reading as many files as you could on a toilet seat. Like a respectable snoop.

He hadn’t found much, except for some inconsistent spending records that made Shuichi think that every now and again, Himiko tried ordering items that she suspected were more magical in nature from certain establishments, only to not buy from there again when it proved to just be more magic tricks. Shuichi would have to ask her what her criteria for choosing which establishment to try was. Did she know about the Augury store? He was curious to find out.

Kokichi giggled softly, taking his hand back as he gave Mikado a grin. “It was my pleasure! I haven’t had a reason to try that out before other than, yanno, tests while setting it up. I’m glad it worked.”

Taking in stock of the world around them again, Kokichi found that Shuuichi looked like he had figured out what they were doing. Good… He hadn’t wanted to leave his fiance in the dark, but it was a little hard to focus on two things at once, even if Kokichi hadn’t been focusing too hard on his lobby. It was supposed to be able to work independently from his focused consciousness, but…he was curious too. 

“It’s been a real work in progress,” Kokichi shrugged with a smile, “But…I think it’s really something I like now. You’ve gone to the circus before, Shuu-chan, though…I can’t say it was in full working order when you did…”

“I remember that,” Shuichi said confidently, because of course he did. Who would forget something like that? Such a memory! Of which he would remember in detail, because Shuichi, so long as he was conscious for it, has an above average memory, with specifics for detail, as was his lifelong trainings goal. “It was nice. I’d love to see the updated version though, whatever that means.”

Mikado sighed, glancing at a watch on his wrist before saying, “I have to get back to it, we have a sorting in a half hour that I need to set up for.” the man sighed, standing up.

And, like a mask he was an expert at taking on and off, the exhaustion eased out of his face, his shoulders straightening and a cocky gleam to his eyes as he said, flourish in his tone, “It’s time to bring the magic to life again~ If either of you need anything, please, don’t hesitate to ask… so long as you have an interesting story to trade. Saihara.”

“Hm?” Shuichi hummed, sipping the rest of his coffee.

“Don’t make a menace of yourself. Himiko doesn’t need the encouragement.”

Another sip. “Of course.” 

Kokichi--who had perfectly timed finishing his coffee right then--smiled up at Mikado and gave him a grateful nod. “Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Mikado--I’ll be sure to poke ya and trade somethin’ juicy. I hope the rest of your shift goes well!”

And as he strode off to head back to work, Kokichi nudged Shuuichi with slight reprimanding amusement, though he didn’t mention it again. “D’ya wanna get more candy? I do wanna get some more of those trading cards.”

-

Kaito hadn’t prayed in the shrine much, since the big fight.

He still went there. By this point, he suspected people would be more worried about him if he didn’t lock himself up in the shrine a little bit every now and again. He went for an hour or so, every few days, on his time off, letting his loved ones know where was going, promising to come out soon. And he did, never overstaying his welcome, no one needing to come looking for him. He was being good. He was being good.

But it was easier, to keep track of the time now, because for the most part when he went to the shrine he just sorta… sat there. Picking at his nails. Staring at the wall. Not really thinking about much. Every thought he had tended to just sort of trail off. Never inspecting anything too long, letting each trail go as soon as it so much as felt slightly uncomfy. He didn’t feel much of anything at all, really.

Kaito wondered if he stopped talking to Atua, if anything would change at all.

The thought trailed off. Kaito stared at the cracks in the wall, having never bothered to get any of the damage in this room fixed or plastered. Its scars were a part of his shrines history. It showed that his faith was active. It showed that this space mattered to him. It showed–

If he never did any of the rituals at all, would anything have ever changed?

Had the practicing of his faith ever mattered?

Had everything he had given up in pursuit of his faith mattered at all?

Had any of it matter–

The thought trailed off.

Kaito did something he didn’t do very often. He started to bite into his nails a little. Gnawing at them with the edge of his canines. He had always thought his canine teeth were an attractive feature about himself. He could remember being a kid, grinning with all of his teeth into the mirror, feeling like a fierce animal. Then, as a teenager he had gotten a little insecure about it, cause Byakuya and Kaede didn’t share that trait with him, and they were the (not dogs) smart ones, so maybe it wasn’t good to have that animalistic trait…

Kaito literally couldn’t remember their name. One of the endless partners Chad always managed to dig up for them. But they had gotten fixated on Kaito’s teeth, running their finger on the pointed edges as they gushed about them, and while it had been a little strange and silly feeling in the moment, Kaito had never stopped viewing his teeth as a sexually attractive part of himself after that. Sure, maybe he wasn’t smart, like the princess and Heir Apparent, but he was sexy. He had that going for him.

… but his sexuality hadn’t been his greatest prize. That had just been how he made friends. How he socialized. 

Kaito had always thought one of his greatest strengths was his faith. His honest and determined devotion. His faith was one of his great virtues. The fact that it had brought so much difficulty in his life only proved his faith, made it more valuable. It had value. It gave Kaito value. The kind of value no one could take from him…

…except maybe it hadn’t.

Maybe none of it had mattered.

Maybe something Kaito had put so much work into and taken such pride in had just been… Kaito sitting in a room and talking to himself. Making others uncomfortable in his sincerity. Making people sad in his insanity.

It had been easy to not worry about that when Kaito knew no one really knew the answer. That was what ‘faith’ meant, after all. But knowing there really were… answers… ones that could stand outside of belief, ones that didn’t even rely on proving a negative?

There was an afterlife.

A divine system.

Kokichi knew what it was.

… what if it… wasn’t Kaito’s?

……. Atua, please… if there was ever a time to just… reach out to him. To reassure him. The answers didn’t have to be perfect, they just… they just…

Kaito was so tired of heartbreak.

He wasn’t sure why that thought was the one that did it. But all the sudden Kaito felt all the ‘give a shits’ leave him and he stood up, feeling foolish. Atua didn’t speak to him when Kaito spoke to him for hours, why would Atua speak to him while Kaito just sat quietly and waited. Atua, like always, was going to provide him nothing. He… might as well just ask Kokichi. Who cared. What did it matter.

Kaito went to go look for Kokichi.

It was early afternoon, so that meant it was Daddy-Daughter time. And while that could look like a lot of things…Miyako was still a little, barely two month-old baby, so that meant, most of the time, she was still going to be sleeping. And so, to pass the time, Kokichi was sitting in the window seat with his leather-bound journal with the first page filled with Shuuichi’s love note, and he was sketching. 

Trees, mostly. Giant, golden trees that spread light across a land with its falling leaves; small sprouts, their slender trunks weaved into intricate braids; hulking knots that grew limbs and settled in place to defend their brethren…

…he’d read about ents, before. He wondered if they were in the manual…if they were real. There had been an extensive section on ancient nymphs, and wood nymphs had been included in that… He wondered if, like how sirens and mermaids had descended from water nymphs, there were creatures that had descended from the forest guardians…

Kokichi looked over as their bedroom door opened, brightening as he saw Kaito, but…clearly able to feel the…apprehension on him. Or…the… Something, that was wrong.

Giving his husband a gentle look, Kokichi asked, “Hey, hun. How’s it goin’?”

Kaito grinned brightly, giving their sleeping Miyako a quick glance before heading to Kokichi, leaning down to give him a quick kiss before sneaking a peek at his drawing, “Hey beautiful. It’s going fine, just felt like coming back to the room. This the latest piece?” Kaito asked, giving the drawing an openly admiring look, “Pretty. I love the detail on the bark.”

“I’m mostly sketching, just playing around with ideas but thanks, hun. It’s always nice to get a compliment,” Kokichi laughed, looking pleased. 

He scrunched his legs up more from where they had been supporting his journal--it still wasn’t the ideal posture, but leaning back against the wall and drawing on his propped up legs was at least a little better for his back than leaning over--to make room on the window seat. “You wanna join me? It’s a little dreary out, but I kinda like the ambiance. And I’ll be in prime position if it rains later.”

“An invitation from the heir-apparent himself? How could I refuse?” Kaito smirked, taking the opening Kokichi made for him and bringing up one leg, letting the other one rest easy against the floor as he leaned against the other wall, watching the scenery a little. It was dreary. 

There was a sudden pang in Kaito, an old, sad memory of thinking that Kokichi had spent his whole life looking out this window… before he remembered that his husband hadn’t. Kokichi had gone out all the time. Being trapped in the castle had been in his head. Which, was sad for a whole slew of other reasons, but… Kaito didn’t have to resent the view. It was a good view. The room wasn’t a cage.

Maybe he was just feeling bad. He hadn’t felt that twinge of resentment over Kokichi’s situation in a while. It was sometimes just an impulse. An ugly little stain on his psyche that Kaito was still trying to scrub away.

Kaito had such a hard time changing his mind once it was set.

But he was trying to be better. Things hurt less the less mentally inflexible he was… he assumed. It sounded correct. Kaito was still pursuing it.

Realizing he had gotten lost in his head watching the view, after awhile Kaito refocused on Kokichi. “Hey, babe… you up to talking a bit? We don’t have too. I don’t want to interrupt you drawing.”

Smiling, Kokichi nudged his foot against Kaito’s for a moment before going back to his drawing, adding little snargly roots and dirt clumps to the bottom of the knot warrior.

He had promised to take his partners’ words over what he picked up from them. To an extent, he couldn’t help mind-reading, and…honestly, Kokichi didn’t want to deny that part of himself. He was an Empath. But he could keep himself from acting on the assumptions of what those feelings meant. 

Kaito seemed like he had a lot on his mind, but…Kokichi could wait until he was ready to talk about it. And, for this time, at least, his patience seemed like the right call. 

Blowing the excess graphite off the page, Kokichi lowered his legs until he was sitting criss-crossed, and he gently closed his journal, giving his husband his full, gentle attention. “I was mostly fiddling with what I’d put down, at this point. I’m always up for talkin’, Kai-chan. You have something on your mind?”

“Maybe,” Kaito admitted, shrugging a little as he scratched at his goatee… before he chuckled, “Wow, how do you even ask someone this? It’s a weird question. Or, at least, asking like this is weird. Sorta feels like there should be more… gravitas or… incense burning… you ever burn incense, ‘Kichi? Probably not, the smoke’s probably not good for your lungs. ”

Kaito seemed to muse over the Kokichi/incense question a bit… before he asked, “So, is Atua real?”

“Not really,” Kokichi laughed softly. “I kinda like some of the smell, like for particular ones, when I’ve smelled it on people’s clothes, but…pretty much, if there’s any kind of particulate in the air, it’s gonna bug the hell out of my lungs. Like…I’ve been able to burn a candle and be fine, that amount of smoke is alright, but I can’t get away with much more.”

He was trying to keep things a little lighter, make whatever Kaito was mulling over easier to ask, but when he got the question out… Ah. So it was time.

Kokichi straightened and gave Kaito an exceedingly gentle look. “Yes, Atua’s real.”

“I’ll let you know straight out…I don’t know everything,” Kokichi prefaced, voice soft. “Honestly, I doubt even people like Temp have all the answers… I get the feeling that’s just the deal with gods. I’ll tell you everything I know, but…know that I can’t answer everything, and there might be more nuance to the things I do know. And…we do have resources to answer those questions, okay? So…we can just take this all one step at a time.”

Kaito didn’t know what he felt. It had been a jolt, whatever it was, a little spark of electricity in his gut, but… honestly, beyond that, he couldn’t define it. Relief? Dread? Triumph? No idea. It hadn’t really felt like any of that. It occurred to Kaito that he had felt something ‘new’ in his adult life, and wow. Weird. Just when ya think you’ve got the basics figured out.

“No pressure, ‘Kichi. I’m not sure how much it matters anyway.” Kaito admitted, fussing with his knuckles, sincere in every word. “I mean, it might… but not really. Atua’s never asked anything of us. In a way, him existing or not doesn’t… change anything, really. Not for a god who doesn’t interfere. Right?”

Kaito brought his thumb to his mouth, gnawing at the nail a little, gaze distant and distracted, “...so Atua’s real then… I mean, that’s what I believed. It’s what I hoped. So that’s… good…?”

“...” gnaw, loosening and sharpening the edge of the nail, before breaking a piece of the nail, reaching over to push a bit of the window screen open as he left the nail piece drop, saying as he did so, “So, is he the creator god?”

Kokichi just looked at Kaito for a moment before shrugging. “I mean…most people go through life not really knowing about gods, so…I think you’re right there. One way or another, we all live, and we all die, and…” Well, they’d get to that part. But Kokichi gave Kaito’s leg a soft little nudge. “...but it doesn’t mean they’re irrelevant. That faith is irrelevant, alright?”

Sighing softly, Kokichi rubbed the back of his neck. “...no. I’m admittedly a little fuzzy on the details…but when people have talked about a creator, they talk about them separate from Atua. So I don’t think they’re the same being, no.”

There it was again. What was that? That weird little electric ‘tug’ in his stomach. It hardened his shoulders and swelled his chest, just ever so slightly. Kaito couldn’t tell what it was, it wasn’t even a bad feeling really. Just a sudden, core tension. There and then released in an instance.

“...” Kaito looked out the window a bit. Was it dreary cause it was going to storm? Probably, right. Kokichi had said rain. Kokichi was usually right… ngh. Kaito’s gaze darkened a little as he asked, “So, did the Dicean Atuans have it right? Whore god?”

“...honestly, I don’t know,” Kokichi said softly, feeling…a weird tension from Kaito, but…only in bursts. He knew that this conversation was going to be hard. Going from faith to…acceptance, or trade, or…whatever was never going to be easy. 

“No one I’ve spoken to that knows all this has ever addressed Atua with a title…other than calling him your god, since they knew you’re Atuan and that’s how I would know things.” Kokichi paused, before smiling softly. “The things I know for sure about Atua? He stole a dragon, and he’s very, very kind towards people grappling with their death.”

Kaito idly rubbed the jagged edge against the skin of his knuckles. Not enough to damage, not even kinda. Just lightly feeling the edge of it as he gave Kokichi an openly confused look, “...what, like… Maki? What? Atua stole Maki?”

Kokichi, despite himself and the conversation, snorted a little in amusement. “Yes? I know that much, but…I don’t understand it fully. It’s god stuff.”

He shrugged, but then sobered, giving Kaito a serious look. “...to explain more fully about things… Can I tell you about what I know about death? I would understand if you’d prefer not to know.”

Kaito snorted, his expression twisting slightly into something wasn’t quite a grin… before he coughed. Clearing his throat, Kaito pulled his expression back together, as he said, “Of course, babe. Man, wouldn’t it be wild if I said no? What kind of hypocrite… but yeah. Absolutely! Spill, what’s death all about?” Kaito asked, leaning forward and resting his chin on his hand, giving Kokichi a curious, pleased look.

“It wouldn’t be hypocritical. Sometimes it’s just easier not knowing.”

But, that said, Kokichi took a breath. “...everything dies. Even so-called immortal beings will one day pass. Because…that’s how our universe keeps going. When something dies, it gives its life essence--soul, spirit, being, whatever you want to call the thing that makes something alive--back to the universe to be made into new life.”

“However…for beings with sapience, with ego, like us, it’s not that easy to just…let go,” Kokichi gave Kaito a soft look. “And gods cannot just…create new life. So…that’s where the afterlife comes in. The ultimate goal is…to find peace with giving your essence back to the universe to be reborn.”

“Calling it ‘the’ afterlife is a bit misleading, actually. There are a lot of afterlifes--gods all deciding in their purview what to do. Because…gods have claim to people.” Kokichi gave Kaito a nod. “Their chosen.”

“When you die, you go to the afterlife your god set up. Sometimes it’s making a deal and working for them. Sometimes it’s for a different purpose. Sometimes, your god hasn’t set up an afterlife, so…you would be left adrift.”

“But that’s what I meant, when I said Atua was kind,” Kokichi smiled. “He set up the trials and paradise to help his chosen cope and relax a bit after their lives, before, at their own pace, giving their essence. But…it’s not just his chosen that get to go. It’s anyone who doesn’t have another place…and even people that do, but are bound to someone going to paradise.”

Smiling lovingly, Kokichi extended his pinkie and touched it to Kaito’s wrist. “...because of that, I’ve heard that some complain about Atua ‘stealing’ people, but…well, the gods can fight that out, if they really care that much, as far as I’m concerned.”

Kaito brought his palm up, catching Kokichi’s hand lightly, running his finger across the side of Kokichi’s pinky, his gaze softening. It sounded… complicated. More complicated then the stories and truths Kaito had grown up with, but… there was something to knowing the trials had been real. That paradise was still on the horizon, for him and his loved ones…

…for awhile…

Kaito suddenly snorted, “The reincarnation guys had it right?? Man, if you had asked me, other than Atua, which divine system I would put coin on in a bet? I would not have put any money on reincarnation. I’ve always thought that was such a strange concept. The sort of thing people who wanted to feel special with, like, really low effort would use as an excuse to say they were so-and-so in a past life… fuck, maybe they were? Those guys were right?”

Kaito chuckled, giving his husband an amused look as he said, “And before you say it, yes, I know I’m a jerk. What right do I have to mock anyone’s belief. But, like, considering they’re right, that officially means I am punching up now, so I’m pretty sure I can say whatever about them. Hippy dippy, wishy washy reincarnation peeps… oh sure, go with the middle answer, of we all die but, like, not really. Just in every way that could… matter to us…”

Kaito burst into tears.

He took his hands away from Kokichi and hid his face behind his palms, trying to hide himself. Embarrassed. He hadn’t even felt that coming. Wild. Wild. That one had hit him like a brick. The deep-rooted fear of his mortality shaking him to his core. 

Oooooh. Oh. That was that feeling. Okay.

Kaito was afraid to die.

Huh.

The terror rolled over him in waves, and Kaito did his best to not think about it. Don’t think about it. Your feelings feeling daughter and husband were right there, don’t–

“Sorry, I need to use the bathroom, be right back.” Kaito said from behind his hands, getting up and heading to the bathroom. Hoping the door and wall would somehow block them from his terror.

Honestly, from how Temp and Alter Ego had talked about it, it was less…direct reincarnation. Souls not kept together whole-piece, but rather the energy of life dropped into a big pool, and every time a new being was born a cup of that pool became them. Considering that gods could dictate the afterlife so personally, there was probably a chance there were some people reincarnated directly, but…if the whole point was to keep energy flowing, then that happening to every living thing seemed a bit…like a weird way to do it. 

(It wouldn’t be the first time the Feeling Soul would think something like that, and it wouldn’t be the last.)

As Kaito talked, despite his humor, Kokichi felt that tension clench again and again, until… He looked over in concern as Kaito burst into tears, feeling a wave of mortal terror from him, but right as Kokichi leaned forward, Kaito fled. 

…and maybe he did need some time to process (Kokichi definitely had) but…

No one should be alone, when it came to death. 

His expression tightening, Kokichi followed Kaito and sat outside the bathroom door, silent for a moment before he sighed. “...I’m right here, Kai-chan. I won’t be going anywhere.”

For however his husband needed him.

Kaito was trying really hard to turn it off, but fuck. 

Kaito had believed. He had truly, one hundred percent, his entire life, believed. Even if it didn’t make sense. Even if it was hugely impractical. Even if it was self-important wish fulfillment based on the words of a religion made in a country that had everything to lose and no hesitancy in promising its followers impossible things to keep them at ease and maintain power… he knew all that. He had heard every argument. Had sat through every eye-roll, every baffled, nearly disgusted look, as people over and over and over had tried to explain to him all the obvious, blatant, nearly undeniable ways his beliefs were stupid and delusional and based on nothing.

But Kaito had believed anyway. Because you couldn’t prove a negative, and no one had proven– he had thought– that any other divine system was actually in place. So, really… what did they know? He was allowed to be comfortable in his beliefs, cause no one could really prove him wrong. They could only point out the obvious flaws and try to berate him into changing his mind. And when Kaito had realized that, ignoring them had been easy. No one knew better than him. Why should he defer to them?

Already, he could see how Kokichi’s explanation made more sense. Energy being recycled to keep the universe going. Wasn’t that what happened with all physical matter as well? There were no new atoms. Only old atoms recycled and morphed and made anew, but nothing was actually new. It all had history that you could track back and back and further back still, and the only thing that ran out was your tools failing you or your formulas needing work. Never the material itself. There was always more…

Why should the divine work any different?

…but Kaito had believed it had. That people were special. Atua’s chosen, the only things that would never, truly end, protected by their creator, who loved them dearly…

The trials had been supposed to be to let people get along with each other. To prepare everyone for eternity.

…the trials were meant to prepare people to die? Not to die. To cease existing. In every way that mattered.

Kaito didn’t want to give his energy back to the universe. He didn’t want to give up any of his loved ones to the cycle. He didn’t want to even consider it. He just wanted to live. He wanted everyone to live…

Maybe what he wanted was stupid, and what the universe gave him was ‘fair’. He didn’t care. He still felt like it wasn’t. He felt like a petulant child on the verge of a tantrum. He wanted to scream at people. Scream at how unfair it was.

“...’m sorry, ‘Kichi.” Kaito finally managed to gasp out, curled up against the door, knees against his chest, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to freak out…Miya hasn’t woken up, has she?”

It dawned on Kokichi then that he was probably the worst person to try and help Kaito through this, if not for the love and dedication he had for his husband. Because…he couldn’t remember a time when death hadn’t been present in his life. Religion had always been spoken of in hypotheticals in his formative childhood, and while Kokichi had certainly had a bit sit down talk about physical death…none of it had been a shock. 

Kokichi’s first moments alive had been surrounded by death. He had been on its doorstep for the first year of his life. Constantly, throughout his early childhood, people had been terrified of it catching up with him. Barely into his years of retentive memories Kokichi had come face to face with what it meant for other people to die. He was constantly bombarded with it conceptually as the war waged on. 

His whole life Kokichi had faced that, randomly, unfairly, people would leave, and that was that. There was nothing more they could ever do. 

So it was important to carry their memory, and preserve that last piece of them. To prove that their time alive on this planet had mattered. 

Facing that there was something after that moment? That even now some of those people may still be around, albeit in a way Kokichi couldn’t interact with? He had his own mixed feelings, sure, but…ultimately, it was something he found beautiful. Instead of being ripped away…people were given a chance to find their peace. 

He had never had any expectations that death didn’t exist, or that people would, in one way or another, be around forever. And he and Kaito both knew that. There was nothing Kokichi could say that would be meaningful towards the belief his husband had always had. That had been the one thread keeping him together, at times. 

“She’s still asleep,” Kokichi reassured, still able to hear her little baby sleep sounds. “And…it’s okay. You can freak out. This is something to freak out about. You’re not hurting us with your pain, okay? I just…”

…he sighed. 

“...I always felt like my mom was stolen away from me. Sometimes it still does feel like that, honestly…” Kokichi shifted onto his side, leaning on the door. “...I don’t know what god claimed her. I don’t…really know what happened to her, and I probably never will. But…knowing that there was a pretty good chance that…someone is taking care of her? That all the things she never got to do or say, all the things left done in life…that it wasn’t just left as a massive, horrible regret for her? That one way or another…she’s finding peace?”

“...that’s really comforting, to me. Knowing that people will be happy.”

“... I know,” Kaito said miserably, staring at his knees as he said, “I know. I’m being stupid. I know. I can’t even imagine what this news meant to you, honestly. Was it bad? That feels insane to me, but I can recognize how… wrenching it is, to not get what you were… hoping for, I guess… expecting at least. I should be happy Atua exists. I should be happy, grateful, paradise exists. I know. I know.”

“....... I was hoping I’d get to meet her some day.” Kaito whimpered, digging his forehead into his knees, a shudder of grief rocking through his body. “I wanted to tell her how amazing you were… what if she’s not there… what if they’re all not there…”

Kaito grit his teeth, tears burning down his cheeks, as he said, “I was supposed to see them all again…”

“It’s not stupid,” Kokichi stressed, glaring at the door for a moment before he sighed. “...it was weird. Most of my hopes and peace with nothing being after death…came from being in a really bad place, mentally. And…I mean, I guess if you’re truly at peace, you can just go straight into nothingness…”

“...but these days…it’s more of a comfort, knowing that we’ll have extra time, when it’s all done. That we’ll have all the time we need.”

“...honestly, though, talking to a god takes a bit of the mystique out of it.”

Closing his eyes as he felt a wave of grief, boiling in his gut and stinging his eyes, Kokichi took a breath before speaking again. “...there’s no way to know for sure, as far as I know. But…you still might see them, Kai-chan. Do you think they would be able to move on, knowing that they’d never see you again? Would never get to have just…one more conversation?”

“...even for the most callous…I couldn’t imagine anyone leaving any business unfinished, if they had the option. There are so many people in the world, hun. The universe can wait a little longer to have some of its energy back.”

“And…you’re Atua’s chosen,” Kokichi murmured. “I think he’d know you’d never be able to move on without seeing them. If he stole a dragon to be one of your best friends…I think he’d encourage everyone to hang out in paradise a little longer to see you.”

“...okay, but why did he steal a dragon?”

Kaito leaned his head back, thumping it against the door a little, staring at the ceiling now. He was starting to feel tired. Full body crying sucked.

“...it would be a weird coincidence if Atua stole a dragon and I became friends with her by, like, sheer coincidence.” Kaito murmured, glaring at the ceiling, “...what does it mean to be the chosen family of a whore god? If he is a whore god, I mean. Where does a whore god even fall in, like, terms of hierarchy… does he have claim over Luminary because he’s a powerful god, or is it literally just Momota influence… ugh. This sucks.”

Kaito thumped his head lightly against the wood again, as he pouted, “I liked knowing all the answers. Now I have questions beyond ‘what cool thing did this saint do’. Oh no, if Atua’s, like, trying to get people ready to stop existing, I bet all of the saints are gone now. Noooooo I’m not gonna get to meet any of the saaiiiints.” 

Kaito was whining now, and he thumped down onto his side, not caring at all as he laid his face against the cold tile of the bathroom floor. All the cool people from history he was going to meet… the fantasy of one day being an old soul himself, greeting new people and finding out the cool stories of the future… if the point of the trials was to get people ready to stop existing, he bet most people didn’t hang around paradise for long. Maybe long enough to say hi to anyone still there, and then, ‘poof’. Gone…

Kaito winced at the idea that out of all his friends and loved ones, like… Shuichi was practical. Maki didn’t fear death. Kokichi was sometimes looking forward to it… actually, shit, so was Shuichi…

….ngh. Maybe he’d feel different about it someday. But right now? There was no way he was keeping up with his family. They’d go back to the universe so much faster… Kaito shuddered with grief at the idea. With mortal terror. His family going somewhere where Kaito could never save them… his worst nightmare…

“.....I don’t know what it means, to be a champion of a whore god.” Kaito murmured, blinking tiredly, “If I even am. People call Atua my god? Like, in a general way, or…are the Momota’s meant to rule Luminary? Atua’s not a creator, he doesn’t own the concept of existence itself, is he, like, allowed to claim a whole kingdom. Did he ever want too? Does he talk to us? Is he why I’m such a god damn slut?”

Kaito closed his eyes, remembering Hideki saying his religion was abusive, another shudder running through him… and he realized, “I may need help.”

For all that the Red Dragon’s deal had been to restore balance to the Flora (and…fuck. Fuck. He’d only just remembered that now.) Kokichi didn’t know why Atua had spirited that soul away in the first place. He was eternally grateful that Maki was alive, but…it did beg a few questions, if you were in a questioning the universe mood.

And while he didn’t know for sure for sure…Kokichi thought that Atua’s claim over Luminary was because of people saying it was so. But…because they did, and they made worship, then he actually did get claim over the people of Luminary. 

But…

“...okay,” Kokichi said softly. “...I can ask Temp if he’d talk to you about this stuff? He’s…a lot more knowledgeable than I am, especially from a religious aspect. Or…did you want a different kind of help?”

“I mean, talking to Temp would help, but like…” Kaito laughed weakly, “I’m, like, legitimately practically tonguing this dirty ass floor, ‘Kichi. And don’t get me wrong! I am used to doing some dirty stuff! I am the opposite of afraid of germs! Cause I can be reckless. Cause I thought I was gonna live forever. I thought everyone was gonna live forever…”

“...” Kaito closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead against the tile, trying to cool his brain a little, “...no, I think I need, like, uh… maybe Miss Crystal or Doctor Mariah or… fuck, maybe Seiko with a sedative… I don’t feel good…”

Kokichi’s eyes widened. 

Okay. Okay. 

…Miss Crystal was Kaito’s usual one-on-one therapist, but…they couldn’t talk about things candidly. Dr. Mariah it was…

But Kokichi couldn’t leave either Kaito or Miyako here alone. 

“Okay, I’m getting help,” he said firmly, before closing his eyes, reaching out to a mind he knew well.

{Shuu-chan, come back to our room. Kai-chan and I were talking about death and gods and I need to get Dr. Mariah, but I don’t want to leave him alone. Bring any backup you think you’ll need.}

Obviously there was no answer.

Kaito groaned, feeling nauseous as another shudder of self-hatred and grief ran through him. A whore god… he was champion to a whore god. Maybe. Gross… god how had he ever been that delusional? Oh fuck. Oh no, Miyako… his beautiful baby girl, what had he done to her… maybe it didn’t count if she didn’t have the Momota name. Maybe she was more Saihara and Ouma. She barely looked like him anyway. Lots of people were born with darker skin, it didn’t mean it was Kaito’s genes. Maybe she wasn’t even his.

Kaito shuddered again, curling up at that. Gross… disgusting… what did that even mean? His mentor had said it meant they protected whores and concubines, but Kaito had always thought that was just his god being generous. Being kind. When he had kept himself hidden from his people, to claim under his protection the lowest of the low… what a kind and benevolent god, to take such a humiliation on the chin, and be there for the people who would need him most… what a great and powerful creator…

Kaito shuddered. He didn’t feel good. He didn’t–

A key in the door, and Maki and Shuichi walked in. “Make sure you take Nazumi with you,” Maki said, looking around and assessing quickly, before heading to the bathroom door, since Kokichi was sat against it, “Being in a hurry for someone else’s sake doesn’t mean you get to put yourself at risk, especially if you’re hurried and distracted.”

“What’s happened?” Shuichi asked, even though he technically knew what happened, the situation coming in clearly through intent as he went to offer Kokichi a hand up, “We handling a break down?”

Kokichi nodded, giving the bathroom door a worried look as he stood, getting his shoes on. “Yeah… Kai-chan was asking me about the gods, and we started talking about the afterlife and…yeah.”

“I’ll bring Nazumi,” he gave Maki a nod, “But I’ll be back as soon as I can. He’s…”

It wasn’t helpful to mindread. But literally anyone could tell this. 

“...he’s not doing alright.”

With that, Kokichi slipped out the door, meeting Nazumi in the southern gardens before hoofing it out into town, heading towards Dr. Mariah’s office. 

-

When Kokichi entered the building, the receptionist, looking dreadfully bored, said without looking up, “Appointment name?”

Even with the dire situation, Kokichi couldn’t help gawking for a moment. His family would never believe him. 

“Um, I’m Kokichi Ouma, I’m one of Dr. Mariah’s regulars,” he quickly explained, looking at the receptionist in astonishment. “We have a family emergency right now and I was hoping to speak with her if she’d free?”

The receptionist– who could be best described as a relatively attractive, if a bit thin, fellow who exuded the colors yellow and orange in every aspect of him– glanced up, before blanching a little. Sitting up ram-rod straight, eyes widening and looking around… before huffing in obvious, embarrassed exasperation. “Ah… yes, um, give me one moment.”

The man, shoving his hands into his pants pockets and basically shuffling away– again, a feeling of embarrassment radiating off of him– he headed down the hall, giving the office a small knock before peeking his head in… and Dr. Mariah headed out, giving Kokichi an appraising look, before whispering something to her receptionist, who nodded sulkily back. That managed, she hurried over to Kokichi, looking around… before sighing, “I suppose I’m making a house call, then?”

…he wondered what that was about. Maybe just being embarrassed about never being around for their appointments to the point of not recognizing a regular? Well, he hoped the guy wasn’t in a bad sort. It was just a coincidence. 

And, honestly, Kokichi was more preoccupied with giving Dr. Mariah an endlessly grateful look. “If that’s alright. I’m…not sure if Kai-chan would be able to make the trip. Emotionally, I mean…”

Dr. Mariah, ever so slightly, relaxed at that. “Oh, good. I mean, not good that Kaito’s in crisis, but I was briefly worried something had happened and we had run out of time on Miss Harukawa… not likely, but still. Good.”

Dragon-emerging, existence-erasing worst case scenarios dodged, Dr. Mariah went to a door behind the desk and, opening it up, pulling out an elaborate, beautiful cloak, putting it around her shoulders and tying it with a small, dainty bow, the cloak meant to protect her beautiful and exceedingly fragile clothes from the potential upcoming storm, grabbing the massive umbrella Kokichi would be familiar with as well as she said, “You’ll explain to me the context on the way. Come along, Kokichi, don’t dawdle.”

-

…so, Kai-chan was on the ground in our bathroom,” Kokichi finished up, leading Dr. Mariah to their room. Hopefully his family was still there, though he couldn’t think of where else they’d go. Maybe the med bay, in the worst case, but he would hope that someone would’ve stopped him on the way in to tell him that his husband was in the med bay. 

“Um…please excuse the mess…we weren’t really planning on guests today…” Kokichi mumbled as he knocked as a warning before unlocking the door. It wasn’t too much of a mess, a couple shirts on the ground, a half-finished puzzle on their table, and of course Miya’s baby station though they made sure to keep that clean. 

Oh, he hoped Miya was still sleeping through this…

“And then, the lamb did a backflip, and stuck the landing, and the dragon was sooooo impressed she said…?” Shuichi paused, finishing making the lamb do a backflip, before nudging Maki, who looked half as miserable as Kaito, and whispering, “Maki. Your line.”

“What line?” Maki asked, blinking tiredly.

“Maki, you’re supposed to make something up.” Kaito said dryly, looking irritated, “You know how this works.”

“Yes, and I know Shuichi keeps passing me the difficult lines because he keeps not thinking of anything and–”

As Kaito’s expression grew more irritated, Miyako, laying against his stomach and sitting in his lap and hands, started to whine, brow furrowing as her eyes started to wetten, “‘eeeeeeh!”

“And the dragon said… good job, lamb.” Maki said, holding the dragon figurine, which was looking at the backflipping lamb curiously… or at least it could be read that way, it looking in the lambs general direction, “You won the competition, and now you get… what was the competition for again?”

“Eternal life.” Shuichi sighed.

“Well, that seems loaded, who decided that?” Maki asked, before watching Kaito’s expression– and with him, Mikado’s expression– darken at that, saying ‘brightly’, “Oh yes. A worthy prize. That a dragon can… totally give away. Absolutely. It is done.”

“Wooo!” The lamb said, shaking in Shuichi’s hand.

Kaito’s expression eased a little, and Miyako went back to gurgling contently. Dr. Mariah watched this and whispered to Kokichi, “Do they not actually know we’re here, or just really don’t care that we’re seeing this? Either way, the question leads to a lot of interesting psychology insights.”

“We know you’re there. We’re just trying to keep…” Maki glanced up at Kaito, who was letting Miyako play with his fingers with a tired, downtrodden look on his face, “Miyako calm. It’s been hit or miss.”

This wasn’t the first time Kokichi had stumbled upon his family playing theater and he’d gotten to play more than a few roles himself, but while the scene was usually endearing, right now it just…was a little depressing. But that was why he’d gotten help…and now he could help Miyako too. 

Sighing softly, Kokichi joined his family and gave Miyako a fond, loving look, before turning that to Shuuichi and Maki. “Thank you two for coming over here so quickly and holding down the fort. I’m sure Miya’s been enjoyin’ an extra Lamb Theater Production.”

Looking to Kaito…well, he couldn’t blame Miyako for wanting to cry. It looked like Kaito was spent on tears for the time being, but…the feelings remained. “Hey, hun…I’m back.”

“Hi Kokichi.” Kaito siad blankly, bouncing Miyako a little as she whined, “Maki and Shuichi are trying to distract me with puppet theater and guilt over freaking out my daughter to keep me calm.”

“He’s exaggerating.” Maki said… before shrugging, “But not by much. Admittedly, he did ask us to take Miyako somewhere else, but Shuichi worried about leaving me alone here to handle Kaito, so then Kaito tried to leave, and that seemed like a bad idea, so then we took him hostage by giving him Miyako, and then we proceeded to distract with puppet theater.”

“So what, in fact, was he exaggerating about then?” Dr. Mariah asked, giving Miyako a curious look– huh, there was the potential focus of a divine plan… but that wasn’t her purpose here. Still interesting, though.-- as she took off her cloak and, looking around pointedly…

“Hi Dr. Mariah.” Kaito said dryly again, before saying, “You can put your things on the back of the desk chair, if you want. Sorry. The staff don’t take things places here… or work for us, really. We have no staff. And also nowhere to bring your things. Maybe the closet?” Kaito said, the idea just occuring to him, “If you give me a moment, I can put your things in the closet.”

“The desk chair is fine, Kaito.” Dr. Mariah said, stepping around the mess and putting her cloak over the desk chair, leaning her closed umbrella against the chair, “No one’s answered my question. How was he exaggerating?”

“...I guess, by the letter of the words, he wasn’t. But his tone suggested it was worse than it was.” Maki said, “What does it matter?”

“When I bother to make a housecall for a crisis situation for a person, if the very first thing I’m told upon arriving is he’s ‘exaggerating’,” Dr. Mariah said, smoothing out her dress, “Then it’s important to establish everyone’s headspace. And so far, what I’m getting is ‘annoyance’, from everyone involved.”

Honestly Kokichi wasn’t really getting annoyance. His friends seemed more tired than irritated. But…they had a similar issue to him, the thing he had realized sitting on the other side of the bathroom door. Confronting the reality of death…wasn’t some impactful a trusted loved one took them aside to explain. 

Maki’s life had been surrounded by death, in a different way Kokichi’s had been, and to save herself, she had to confront and be alright with the concept quickly. Shuuichi, too, had it seeped into his world, but…if Kokichi knew his fiance, he figured it was more of a helpless acceptance than a personal decision. Shuuichi was face to face with how suddenly and meaninglessly a person could be ripped from the world. 

And despite both being Atuans…neither of them had put much stock in the religion. 

Asking them to sympathize with the first time they comprehended death would…just be cruel. And wouldn’t work. 

“...I’m worried about you, hun,” Kokichi said softly. “Not about upsetting Miyako, though I’m glad you all are trying to help her, but…this isn’t something that can…really be solved. And…I’m worried about you.”

“I’m sorry ‘Kichi… to be fair, I am doing way better now then when you left.” Kaito said, tapping Miyako’s hands ‘cheerfully’, saying as he did so, “Like, I know I said I needed help, but that was before little lamb won the talent competition with that sick backflip. I’m sorry you came all the way out here Dr. Maria–”

“Not even kind of going to work.” Dr. Mariah said, hearing a sudden patter against the window as she glanced over to it, seeing the rain starting to fall as she said, “And beyond having a duty to answer any emergency call from my patients, there’s not a lot of incentive for me to leave now. So, I suppose we’ll both simply have to bare with it and talk this out anyway, whether someone’s ‘exaggerating’ or ‘over it’ or not. Now…”

Dr. Mariah looked around the room, looking unimpressed, as she said, “If there somewhere more… comfortable for us to speak?”

“More comfortable than their bedroom?” Maki asked, going to put the dragon figurine back on the shelf.

“Do you want to use my office?” Shuichi asked, “Or, maybe Kokichi’s?”

“Absolutely not. Unless you all forgot there’s a reason I converted my roof garden to a meeting space.” Dr. Mariah said, looking to Kaito, “Is there a place you’d feel comfortable discussing this?”

Kaito blinked tiredly up at her, face washed out and strained from his crying fit earlier, “...we talk about serious things in the closet and bathroom, mostly.”

“No.”

“You sure? It’s a really big tub. Do you wanna see?”

Dr. Mariah turned to Kokichi, saying sternly, “Give us another suggestion. And it doesn’t have to be a large space, as Maki and Shuichi are not invited to this discussion–”

“Rude/Why?” Maki and Shuichi said respectively.

“Because not every breakdown needs the peanut gallery to make light of things.” Dr. Mariah said simply, giving the two a slightly scolding look, “And also, Kaito needs to be somewhere where he’s allowed to emotionally emote without worrying about frightening his daughter.”

That was true, and Kokichi did nod consideringly at that--not face-down on the bathroom floor asking for a sedative was a step up. But Kaito had asked for help, and he still needed it. Even if he wasn’t in the ‘wild freakout’ stage of a freakout. 

But as for a place to talk… Kokichi gave a mildly surprised glance to Shuuichi and Maki as they were excluded, but…

“...we could go to the greenhouse? It’s close to being outside, while not being in the rain and…I mean, it’s pretty big, so even if someone pops in to get produce, we could still have privacy being on the other side of the room.”

“Yaaaaaaay,” Kaito said, clapping Miyako’s hands for her as he said, “Let’s go have another break down in the greeeen houuuuse. Oh!” Kaito actually suddenly lit up at this, saying, “It’s close to the anniversary of our last green house meltdown… like, okay, it’s sort of like… full circle, you know? Thematically? Maybe it’s perfect?”

“Our lives aren’t a story, Kaito, they don’t have to make thematic–”

“Annnnd done. I know how this goes, if I let you all continue, you’ll end up in an in-depth discussion about story narrative structure.” Dr. Mariah sighed, heading over to Kaito and–

Miyako suddenly looked up at Dr. Mariah. Staring at her with a stunned expression. Dr. Mariah froze in place, staring back. The baby stared at her. The therapist stared at the baby.

{...needs nectar.} Miyako decided.

Kaito winced, a bell ringing in his head. He gave his kid a baffled look, “What? I am right here. What? What do you need?”

Miyako frowned, trying again. {Demon hungry. Feed nectar.}

Ding.

“Do you need a change?” Kaito asked, leaning down to sniff. 

Shuichi sighed, reaching over, “I’ll take her. Go, do greenhouse stuff.”

After the first indication--he guessed, anyway--Kokichi listened in on his daughter’s needs and…

It really wasn’t the situation for it. But Kokichi just barely put a hand over his mouth, turning to stifle his chortles. Oh his sweet daughter…

“M-Mi-Mi’s okay,” Kokichi snorted out, though he didn’t explain much more as Miya was passed over. Maybe he didn’t need to worry so much about his daughter seeing other people as people. 

“Okay– Miya,” Kaito scolded, as more dings went off in his head, Miyako starting to fuss in Shuichi’s arms, “Why just me?? Try that on someone else.”

Ding! Miyako pouted. 

Kaito sighed, standing up and stretching a little, he said, “Man, I look like a mess. Hopefully, no one sees me. I don’t need anyone saying anything about my ugly crying face. I say that jokingly, I may lose it if anyone says anything. Did anyone get me that sedative?”

“You don’t need a sedative.” Dr. Mariah said simply, “Alright, lead the way. To this greenhouse.”

-

Kaito shifted uncomfortably, feeling way less confident they should have done any of this as they climbed the stairs and got to the greenhouse, the rain on the glass above, despite all of his joking before, eerily familiar as they found somewhere relatively clean to sit. “I really am sorry about all of this. I know all of this is really stupid.”

“...” Dr. Mariah raised her finger, saying with a little sigh, “Hear that?”

“What?” Kaito asked, giving her a wary look.

“That is the sound… of no one agreeing with you as a joke, and accidentally reinforcing your insecurities.” Dr. Mariah sighed again, the sound content. “I will break them of that habit someday. But I didn’t feel like navigating it today. Based on what Kokichi told me on the way here, there’s nothing stupid about your feelings right now. In fact? At the risk of sounding like a one trick pony?”

Dr. Mariah tucked her dress beneath her knees, settling down elegantly onto the ground as she said, every word serious, “This particular situation? Is unique. And difficult. And you need to respect that, or you’ll never work through it.”

Kokichi loved Shuuichi and Maki, of course. He was marrying Shuuichi; naturally he liked Shuuichi’s personality and humor and…at times his way of diffusing tension really did make things easier. But sometimes it made conversations impossible to finish, and sometimes…well, Kokichi could sometimes see the questions whirling around Kaito’s head. 

Hopefully they would be able to help Kaito navigate this with just the three of them. 

Kokichi settled on the gardening cushion he’d pulled out--one for each of them, in fact--and gave Kaito a worried nod as Dr. Mariah made her foreword. “Coping with the scope of the universe… I can’t even fully relate to your position, hun, that’s how nuanced it is, but…even that part of it? Alone, it’s…really difficult. What you’re feeling isn’t…trivial. It’s real and important and…that’s why I got help. You asked for help, and I got it, and I want to help you however I can. I’m with you all the way.”

“I know, babe, I just…. I feel silly about it now. I don’t even know what I was hoping to get from this…” Kaito admitted, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked around the green house uncertainly. Had it always been this… small? It had felt massive, the last time he was in here. Was that really the last time he had been here… oh! No! He had set up the indoor picnic! For that one holiday…

…yeah, that’s right. A bleeding, wet Maki had come in from that direction and…

Kaito sighed, rubbing his forehead as he closed his eyes. Tired… why did it always happen like this? After awhile, Kaito had to assume that he was just inviting shit like this into his life. There was only one common variable, as Shuichi might put it.

“Let’s discuss that, actually.” Dr. Mariah said, fishing out her journal from her blouse, pulling it out but laying it closed on her lap, tapping against it lightly with her well polished nails, “I know I encourage you all to do it, so perhaps it’s simply… well, I won’t put ideas in your head. Let me just preface this by saying historically you all don’t make use of emergency therapy sessions. Either individually as a group. Why was this time different?”

Kaito scratched the side of his face a bit, considering the question, “...I don’t really know. I just… I kept fighting the urge to do something…” regret and shame flashed through  Kaito’s eyes, “...I know I’d regret. I guess. I needed help to not do it.”

Dr. Mariah nodded, not unsympathetically, as she said, “You’ve struggled with suicidal ideation before, it’s not surprising that–”

“Woah, what?” Kaito asked, eyes widening with genuine shock, “Are you crazy? I mean, no, no, it’s not… ‘crazy’ to, uh, think about killing yourself, specifically, or… like, not a ‘bad’ crazy, other then, all the… bad ways it could end up. I’m not calling anyone crazy.” Kaito stressed, doing his absolute best to not glance in Kokichi’s direction, “Not what I’m saying. But, no. Who would want to die!? Death is just one more step to the universe peer pressuring you into… killing yourself! That’s crazy! Who would want to start that!?”

Kaito’s voice was pitching up, his eyes widening, clearly that train of thought getting him down the path that had set him off last time, the abuse of his knuckles actually a little painful looking as he absentmindedly pushed his fingers as far to the right as he could, mindlessly cracking them as he said, “I don’t want that. I’m really susceptible to shit. I don’t want to be talked into killing myself. I don’t want to do it. I can’t believe the trials are–”

“Let’s breathe.” Dr. Mariah said gently, raising her hands slightly, motioning them down as she said, “Take a moment. I promise, we’ll get into everything. But take a moment… I apologize, I assumed. What was it you didn’t want to do. Why did you call for help?”

Kaito fidgeted with his fingers, taking some nervous, settling breaths… before he admitted, shame-face, “...I wanted to go destroy my shrine.”

Kaito winced, like saying that out loud was some grave offense, his body language becoming more withdrawn as he said, guilt radiating off of him, “I kept… getting this image of just going to my shrine and throwing my blood offerings onto… I dunno. The table, the floor. My effigies of the saints. I started thinking about how I…” Kaito chuckled, it not a happy sound, as he said, brow pinched, “Made it some big ‘point’ to get everyone to agree to raise Miyako Atuan… great. Great. Raise my daughter to the… whore suicide god. Great. Good job, Kaito, great choice for your family, as always… fuck.”

Kokichi’s eyes widened, alarmed, but…throughout all the grief and horror he had been feeling from Kaito…though it was definitely a possibility, from those feelings…he hadn’t thought Kaito was suicidal. Because…the exact thing that scared him was death. Kaito had been expecting to exist forever--even a great shock like this wouldn’t push him to go running to the end. 

And, it seemed, Kokichi had been right, but…destroying his shrine? Kaito really would’ve regretted that. But…the things he said afterward…

Kokichi chewed his lip a bit. “...I don’t know if this is actually…something that matters to say? But…I don’t think I explained myself clearly. From my understanding…the trials and paradise and every other afterlife aren’t trying to pressure people into returning their essence. It’s just…a holding place, with various things to do, until someone is personally ready for that. Acceptance isn’t really…true if it’s something you’re forced into.”

Kaito’s expression did something complicated. And while in the past it was enough to say that, in the face of a powerful empath and a demon who could taste feelings in the air?

The expression was a sudden rush of hurt, and guilt at that hurt, and then pushing all of that down as fast as he could. Kaito feeling something he didn’t like, or necessarily agree with, and wanting to smother that feeling as soon as he could. He was happy. It was all over now. Complaining about it would only hurt his loved ones. He was fine.

Dr. Mariah sighed, wishing she had some tea to offer everyone. Sometimes it was enough to take micro-breaks– just enough to fuss with a cup in your hands, take a sip, compose yourself– which is why she usually had refreshments offered nearby. But, alas. Maybe in the first longer break, she’d suggest they collect some cups and water. 

The fact they might not be there long enough for anyone to need a break didn’t occur to Dr. Mariah. With this group? She always assumed it was going to run long.

Though, with religion… “My own personal history with religion has been…” Dr. Mariah considered the wording, “...encouraging in regards to needing to learn more about it. And to understand it in the way Kokichi does.”

Kaito scoffed a little, saying, “I can’t say why that’s not likely true, because I don’t want to out my husband on anything he doesn’t want to share. But I think Kokichi might have a little more personal experience with gods than you do, Dr. Mariah. No offense, it’s not a competition.”

“I’m aware of Kokichi’s experience with Bathul.” Dr. Mariah said, not looking offended, though there was some satisfaction in seeing Kaito’s shock, “As much as Maki is aware of what happened, anyway. We’ve discussed it. And, yes, meeting a god… is rare. Seeing one is rare, but having a discussion? Honestly, the only thing more baffling then everything that’s happened to this group is the knowledge that a significant portion of it has only happened in this last year. It’s…”

Dr. Mariah paused, a thought, not for the first time, crossing her mind… but she banished it. She didn’t think it had gotten to that point yet. So instead she said, “It’s understandable, if you feel foolish to be taken off guard by the realities of your own mortality, as an adult. I’m certain most of us think we’ve gotten to a comfortable understanding of ourselves, and then the universe finds a way to pull the rug out from under us, and many of us react far less gracefully then we would have guessed before it happened. That’s understandable, all by itself.”

“But considering it’s just one more thing in the lineup of ‘Things’,” Dr. Mariah said gently, taking a risk to introduce a problem she suspected without letting them bring it up themselves as she said, “Not to mention it harms a view of something that you very specifically brought here with you from Luminary, which has been more than a difficult part of your life this last year. Something you were counting on for its consistency? That’s difficult, Kaito. I’m honestly a little surprised you’re not in a worse mental state, then just wanting to make a statement in your shrine, that only you will see. You’re not wicked, or even blasphemous to show resentment to your religion in the private place you worship. Everything I know about Atua? He would not view that as a denouncement. He would simply see you’re struggling. You’re allowed to struggle.”

“...you’ve met gods?” Kaito asked. Looking half like he didn’t believe her, and half like he was hanging on her every word.

“If you don’t ask me to explain how?” Dr. Mariah said, leaving it there.

“...have you met Atua?”

“No.” Dr. Mariah said simply, “But I know his reputation. He’s–” and even calling him ‘him’ wasn’t entirely right. The whore god was gender-fluid, but… well, ‘he/him’ had stuck in Luminary, and she supposed adding in that fact would do little more than be needlessly distracting, “-- a ridiculous person. A–”

“Careful,” Kaito said, his eyes flashing, a sudden growl in his throat as he said, “That’s still my god you’re speaking of… even if he isn’t what I thought he was.” Kaito said, deflating slightly, the angry edge bleeding out.

“...he’s a ridiculous person, but he’s ridiculous in the same way I suspect you think of Kokichi as ridiculous.” Dr. Mariah said gently, continuing on regardless, “Or perhaps even Maki, though, your husband is a more apt comparison. He’s a god with a savior complex. He’s a minor god, at that. There’s many gods, with a variety of abilities and origins and… well, the term ‘God’ is actually more technical than most sentient beings not among the divine give it credit for. Not all gods are the same. Atua, as far as I’ve always understood it, is only a god because a Creator god dubbed him one.”

Kaito’s eyes widened, and despite his feelings, he couldn’t help but lean in. Kokichi had said, earlier, that Atua ‘stole’ a dragon, and was known for ‘stealing’ people… it would make sense, he supposed, if Atua wasn’t powerful enough to create things, he’d have to steal them, but… “Wait. Dubbed him one? What does that mean he was before?”

Dr. Mariah shrugged, “As far as I know? He was human.”

Kokichi gave Kaito another worried look, feeling that burst and then…like arms pushing back a wave, trying to stuff that hurt away. Kaito didn’t need to keep his pain away, even as volatile as it could be. That was the reason they had left Miyako with Shuuichi and Maki. But…Kaito didn’t want to explode in front of him either…

He had been about to back up Dr. Mariah’s credibility when it came to god knowledge--he didn’t totally understand, but he knew that she had been around for a long, long while, and that demons were direct creations of gods (according to the book, at least)--but…well. He gave her a half-tired look. Calling their exchange about Maki and Bathul a discussion was…a little generous. 

But as Dr. Mariah started to get really into the subject, filling in gaps Kokichi just hadn’t known… He blushed a little, kind of…uncomfortable at being compared to a god (or having a god compared to him), especially Atua and said to Kaito, but…

He sat back in astonishment. He…supposed he couldn’t see why that wouldn’t be possible. Rubbing his jaw a little, Kokichi hummed. “...how is that different from gods giving favor to someone? If they get relative immortality and powers, that kind of favor… Is there a difference that really matters?”

“I don’t know?” Kaito said, looking alarmed as he said, “I don’t know!? Does it!? I… but he’s supposed to be a god!”

“He is,” Dr. Mariah agreed, “Now. Many gods start out as mortals. In fact, there’s theories that all gods do. That the original creators either left or, potentially, even died a long time ago. Like I said, the term ‘god’ is technical. They’re not a… ‘race’ or a ‘species’. It’s more a…” Dr. Mariah shrugged, “‘job’ though I am certain there’s plenty of gods who’d strike me down if they were to ever hear me say it. Like any group, you have your prideful, your stupid, your lazy and your cruel among them… but like any group, you have your hardworking, your dedicated, your kind. And Atua?”

“He’s… largely what you hope for, when you imagine a god.” Dr. Mariah said, “He was– and again, this is second-hand knowledge, but it’s reliable second-hand knowledge, I don’t give it to you with the possibility that it could be false– a dedicated being of some kind a long time ago who apparently did something, the actual act is lost to time, to get a god capable of passing on powers attention, and he was named the God of Whores and Concubines. He would be given the official godly duty of taking care of a subgroup of people that, due to some nitpicky details of other gods rulings and definitions of what being ‘worthy’ was, kept disproportionately being ‘punished’ in the afterlives for their lives. Either because they weren’t ‘good’ enough or they were ‘bad’ enough or their lives couldn’t let them fulfill some random task or another, people whose jobs or lifestyles indebted their bodies to others? Kept disproportionally getting punished for it. Atua was supposed to fix that.”

“...I don’t understand,” Kaito said tiredly, running his hair through his hands, “Atua… he’s the god of Luminary. I was raised to view him as a creator, a god above all pretenders. How did he go from concubines to… trials? And kingdoms?”

Dr. Mariah opened her mouth… before closing it, “I can’t speak for Luminary. Or why that happened. That would be guess work on my end. But trials? The trials are what made Atua famous.”

“See, Atua was given the classification of ‘God’, but that didn’t mean he was provided with every power any god has,” Dr. Mariah explained, knowing that this had become a lecture and was maybe not the point of this visit, but… well, maybe knowing all of this would be good for Kaito’s mental health. If not now, in the long run. Knowledge was power. Kaito could use it to help himself, as he was grappling with another aspect of his world falling apart, “It just meant he had a seat at the table, so to speak. He has very little actual abilities. I know he can shapeshift. He can give specific people the abilities to read people through desires. Some say his predecessor might actually be partly responsible for succubi–”

Kaito twiched, but didn’t ask.

“Thought that’s admittedly a rumor. Everything else? Abilities he’s given his saints, help he’s given his chosen and champion, paradise, the trials…” Dr. Mariah smirked slightly. Atua’s story was well known, because, well… everyone loved a good underdog story, as she said, “Traded, earned, or stolen. From other gods. Almost everything Atua has accomplished, he accomplished the hard way. Negotiating with people for things he needed, earning favor for things he desired, and stealing things for, largely, his people… who, over the years, Atua has redefined ‘people used for their bodies’ in such a broad, all encompassing way that I’m not entirely certain he considers anyone outside of his realm of responsibility. Whether for work, service, labor, the mind, decoration, sex. Everyone’s being used in some way for their body. And Atua, through the use of trials and paradise, seems to have made it his personal mission to make certain anyone and everyone is taken care of in the afterlife, regardless of which god they served in life, or if they have that gods favor or not. Like I said… a savior complex.”

“......” Kaito looked at his knees, then up at the ceiling, and then at Kokichi… before sighing. Flopping backwards, butt and hips lifted slightly by the cushion as he just let his hair and head thump into the soil. “Yeah, that’s what Kokichi was saying… I mean, not in that much detail, but…”

“...... it doesn’t sound like a bad thing, when you guys put it like that.” Kaito murmured, staring at the stormy sky, “I guess if I’m going to be lied to by my religion, it’s for the benefit of someone who’s not, like… a monster. I guess.”

Kokichi had called Atua kind before, with the understanding he had, but given more context… Atua was a person who, for some reason or another, was given great perspective and…well, moderate power, and was made to be the solution to a problem other people had made. 

Not stopping there, though, he had looked at what created the problem and…didn’t want to see people suffer. He wanted to take care of them, a purpose he had been given, and while it had come with limitations…he found them unacceptable. So…he did everything he could, looking to others, getting help where he could, making plans, finding a way to get what he needed one way or another, and…created a solution that didn’t leave anyone falling through a pocket. 

Honestly…Atua was pretty cool. Maybe he’d follow in Waku’s footsteps, start doing little ‘cheer’ prayers every now and again. 

Just sitting, absorbing all that for a minute, Kokichi looked over when Kaito fell back, a little worried but…not feeling as violent storms in Kaito, at least right then. 

“...from all the ones I’ve heard about…I don’t really think there are any big religions that have it all “right”,” Kokichi hummed softly. “I don’t think that’s the fault of anyone…most people just don’t know. That’s the power of faith. But…maybe it’s just me being hyper-secular, but…I don’t think having it all “right” is the point of organized religion. There are some bad takes that come from that but…at the end of the day…isn’t it supposed to be having a community, and a sense of belonging, to make sense of…life? The universe? All this crazy, batshit stuff that we’re just…left to figure out on our own.”

Honestly, a minute ago he’d have felt differently about it, but something about hearing someone else say it aloud made Kaito impulsively go, “It didn’t have to be right. I wasn’t… asking my religion to be perfect. I just…”

Kaito sat up, giving them both frustrated looks as he said, “How does all of that equal Luminary? How does that equal my family!? Hey!?” Kaito said, not addressing the two people in the room, but standing up, looking around and sputtering, “HEY!? ATUA!? Now’s the FUCKING TIME, asshole! Ooooh, look at me, I’m some… mortal who became a god to save people from being hurt for their bodies, and, what… I’m too good to fucking answer the questions of one of my chosen family!? We’re not gonna talk, huh!? Nothing to say!?”

“My country ran on SLAVERY!” Kaito shouted at the ceiling, the wind of the storm pelting against the roof as he snarled, “WHAT!? That goes with your divine plan!? My family murdered each other! Why didn’t you save any of them!? Why didn’t you talk to them!? Sent them a vision! Why do we have to get high for you to send us visions!? You’re just some dude! My whole LIFE fell APART because of you, and you… if you’re not some almighty creator god with an ineffable plan, but actually just some guy with an entirely effable plan, why didn’t you… SPEAK UP FOR ME! WHY DID YOU FORSAKE ME!? WHY DID…. AUGH! ANSWER ME!!”

Dr. Mariah waited patiently, as Kaito huffed, his chest heaving as he glared at the empty room, waiting… before he suddenly laughed, “Fuck, what, did I need to give you more to be worth your time? I was a Momota. I was devoted. I was even a FUCKING SLUT, since THATS what seems to get your fucking JOLLIES OFF! And you still won’t talk to me!? What the hell else do I need to be!?”

Nothing… Kaito groaned, running his hands down his face, as he grumbled, “Fuck, I’m insane… he’s not answering because he’s not listening. He probably even can’t. Cause he’s just some… common thief. Or he’s fucking earning favors on his fucking back, I bet.”

Dr. Mariah raised her eyebrow at that. Once was a side effect of being angry. But that was more pointed. A clear distaste for Atua’s title specifically. Hmm.

Instead, she said, “...a lot of people lose their faith, after they learn about the gods.” Dr. Mariah said gently, as Kaito turned to give her a tired look, “It’s not usual. You shouldn’t feel guilty.”

“... I haven’t lost my faith.” Kaito muttered, despite all evidence to the contrary, as he went to go sit back down, “I wish the jerk would just… answer. I feel like I’m angry about a thousand different things right now. I’m scared about what it means to ‘return’ to the universe. I feel like an idiot to have believed in something so stupid for so long, and I feel worse than that for not being able to cope with something everyone else figured out as kids… and I resent that Atua won’t talk to me, because let’s be honest, he has interfered in my life, even if not directly. Being a Momota is a fucking curse. And before anyone says shit about all our wealth, I’d like to remind them of all the god damn bodies surrounding us… surrounding me… everyone keeps dying.”

Kaito’s expression broke a little at that, as he sat down, putting his head in his hands as he murmured, “Death was never a good thing, but… that’s just because the trials are such an inconvenience. They take a long time. But… everyone’s supposed to be happy after that… why would happy people leave?”

…it wasn’t necessarily about religion, that had gotten Kaito so badly. Though…the cycle of death definitely was a big factor there. 

Kaito wasn’t just a devout Atuan. He was a member of the family that was seen as direct representatives of God, their chosen to lead and guide a nation of people. And that was something Kaito had believed wholeheartedly…along with the belief that Atua loved them and their people. 

And love had to mean care and good things so…the Momotas, as the earthly arms of Atua, had to be taking care and doing good things for Luminary. That was God’s Will, and there simply was no other way. 

But Kokichi could remember even from the first few months of their lives together, Kaito struggling with that belief, and his physical knowledge that…it didn’t add up. 

Kokichi startled a bit as Kaito started yelling at the ceiling, challenging and berating Atua and…

(...it was such a small thing in comparison. But…the project he’d put into the works…maybe it wasn’t too late to change plans…)

…personally, Kokichi believed that none of it had been Atua. It had all just been…people. Exerting their force on the world, as was their plane. Kaito’s life had been ripped apart by…people. 

But there was the question of how Atua became attached to the Momotas in the first place. But finding someone who would know seemed like…more of a task. 

As Kaito quieted down again, breaking over death again… Kokichi remembered Temp. He remembered 400 years. 

“...eternity is a really, really long time,” Kokichi sighed softly. Unsure if this…wouldn’t just be another thing that would alienate his husband. “If…all my needs were met, and I was around all my loved ones, and there wasn’t any…meaningful conflict? I would be happy staying like that for a long, long time,” he smiled slightly.

Before taking a stealing breath. “But…eventually…on a timescale I can’t even–”

Kaito’s face went long, and he immediately scooted over when he realized where Kokichi was going with this. Pulling Kokichi into his lap and holding him, as he begged, “Please, ‘Kichi… not right now. Please?”

Kokichi sighed, feeling that deep, gutting pain and fear, and he nodded, pulling Kaito into as much of a hug he could from his lap. “...okay.”

“Not right now.”

“I’m sorry,” Kaito murmured into Kokichi’s hair, holding him tight, “I’m sorry. I’m sure you have a point. I’m sure you’re right. But the idea… really hurts right now. And I just…”

Kaito was just now straight up holding Kokichi, Dr. Mariah quietly watching this, trying to decide when to intervene, as Kaito said, “I’m not so ignorant that I can’t see the good parts of this. I just… I’m tired of compromise. Of seeing the bigger picture, or letting go of delusions, or just straight up being proven wrong. I just… I feel so torn to shreds.”

“We can explore that,” Dr. Mariah agreed, before saying both sternly but gently, “But you know using Kokichi as a physical crutch will make it more difficult for you to express yourself. And in the future, we do try to discourage interrupting others when they need to express themselves too. I know this is a unique situation, so it’s fine for this time. But that won’t always fly.”

Kaito gave Dr. Mariah a grumpy, unhappy look… before sighing. Giving Kokichi a small kiss on the top of his head before disentangling himself from his husband, going back to his cushion. Already missing Kokichi as he said, his mind just partially on his husband, “...you remember when you were the one always breaking down and crying? Man, what a fucking 180… I feel like I’m constantly losing it. I’m exhausted. I just want it to stop.”

It felt incredibly in bad taste at the moment but…Kokichi couldn’t help but think of the story of the Everhood. A group of people who found a magical realm where they could all live forever and do incredible things…eventually opening it up to the whole world to join. They found adventure and happiness and fun…but eventually? After eons and eons… Some folks just couldn’t take it. Others were subjected to cruel experiments, morals lost when death would never come. The world twisted and morphed by lethargic, perverse desires… Until the story happened, following the tale of one who had been tasked with the greatest and most horrible quest--to kill everyone in the Everhood. 

Some were grateful for their end, others fought it bitterly, fighting with everything they had, either for their friends, or for themselves. Some weren’t quite sure what was happening at all. 

But at the true, true end? Everyone got their catharsis. Anger and bitterness, a last conversation with a loved one, one last chance to say that their lives had been meaningful…

…before it was time to be reborn for the next adventure. 

Even without his darker days…Kokichi knew that he wouldn’t be able to take being Kokichi forever. Even being a person that had grown into their best self. One day…it would be time to close his book, and let another start being written. 

But that didn’t have to happen for a long, long time, and not while his husband was still in the middle of his own story. 

Kokichi gave Kaito one last squeeze and a soft look before he let out a humorless breath. “...that sounds about right, yeah. But…I did make it out the other side, Kai-chan. And you will too.”

“...will I?” Kaito asked, looking genuinely doubtful.

Dr. Mariah latched onto that, asking, “You’ve never struck me as a pessimist, Kaito. And despite what you can sometimes insist on, believe or not, I’ve never actually tagged you as unrealistic either. Your ‘delusions’ as you call them tend to be the results of the world as you understand it being laid out in as clear an answer as you can muster. The only point where you seem to struggle is letting those results go without comment, and that usually is because you don’t quite understand the new evidence yet.”

“...so?” Kaito asked, giving Dr. Mariah a genuinely exasperated look, “What does that mean? I mean, I appreciate the vote of confidence, I think, but I’m really not in the headspace to decipher a bunch of philosophy shit. Can you summarize for me?”

“You don’t have a habit of coming to conclusions randomly.” Dr. Mariah said, not offended by Kaito’s blunt rudeness, recognizing the signs of exhaustion, “You do tend to have difficulty communicating what leads you to the conclusion. But you’re not as impulsive as you think you are. And you don’t do things randomly. So your doubt comes from a real place that’s worth analyzing.”

“....Dr. Mariah, you’re awesome, you’ve done a lot to help our family, but you’re wrong. Me getting ‘gut’ instincts about things and following it to the ends of the earth is literally, like, a defining trait for me.” Kaito said, giving her a dry look as he said, “It’s something I accept about myself. I do act impulsively and I do get delusional. What is my whole fixation on Atua if not ‘delusion’? You think I never heard counter-arguments? People never tried to correct me? I believed in everything I was told about my religion, and I defended that belief on nothing.”

“I know the good advice is when someone tells you something about themselves, believe them… but I don’t. In our sessions, once we’ve discussed your beliefs and your gripes and your insecurities, that’s just never been the case. It’s always something.” Dr. Mariah said, “Let’s figure out what it all is this time. It’ll help you manage your feelings more effectively. And it’ll give Kokichi and I the information we need to help.”

Kokichi knew from recent experience that, when in that place, it far more easily felt like everything would be falling apart forever and you’d never feel happy again…but that was just part of the sucky experience of being in that place. If you were given help and willing to take it, then…eventually, you’d wake up one day just…thankful. Feeling your normal be something that makes you smile. 

It was something wonderful to work towards, and so, so worth it. 

And Kaito was no fool. Stubborn to a fault sometimes, just like the rest of them. Unable to explain himself sometimes…but…those gut feelings weren’t actually based on nothing. And…defending a belief on nothing was the foundation of faith, and Kokichi was far from thinking that everyone who participated in religion was delusional. 

So…they just had to find the reasons.

Kokichi nodded, turning to Kaito more. “Even when I haven’t been able to understand at first, your feelings always have reasons, Kai-chan. Ones that, honestly? Sometimes I feel like a damn idiot to have overlooked,” Kokichi laughed, though the regretful tone in it was clear. “You might have strong gut feelings, but…you don’t act randomly, hun. And I’m in for the long haul.”

“You’re not an idiot.” Kaito said immediately, tensing at that… before he relaxed, feeling a little less… well, defensive, hearing it from Kokichi, as he said, “I just make it difficult, sometimes. And…I don’t know, I feel impulsive and like I don’t think it through sometimes. Maybe my gut instincts aren’t based on nothing, but…”

Kaito suddenly laughed, shrugging a little, but looking genuinely amused as he said, “Shuichi’s my best example of it. Our guy spends half the time thinking I’m some dumbass who couldn’t tie my shoes without help, to thinking I’m some sort of Machiavellion type, ya know, like some nefarious strategist with a blue/orange mentality.”

Dr. Mariah blinked, “What?”

“Oh, uh, maybe that’s a Luminary saying, Blue/orange, where you can’t figure out someone’s morals based on what they do? Machiavelli, famous strategist… anyway my point is that Shuichi goes back and forth from thinking I’m a dumbass to thinking I’m just playing at one. And, admittedly, I feed into both those ideas sometimes, but… I’m usually not either, ya know? I’m just trying my best and sometimes that works out and sometimes I end up coming across like an idiot. I’m not really either…”

“If you bring this up because you suspect I’m making the same mistake, banish the thought. You having reasons for your ‘impulses’ doesn’t make you a strategist. It just gives your actions more credit than I believe you give yourself.” Dr. Mariah said, before insisting, “and your response to Kokichi’s promise it will get better was doubt. Why doubt that? He’s not incorrect, and I know you’re reasonable enough to come to that conclusion yourself as well. It will get better, especially since you’re putting the work in.”

“...” Kaito looked away, scratching his chin… before frowning. Not liking where his thoughts lead…

… he couldn’t just hide things cause it felt unfair to his husband… “...I don’t think I disagree with that, exactly. Just… comparing our situations. Because…”

Kaito sighed, giving Kokichi a pleading look as he said, “None of it was easy, what you did, Kokichi. And, honestly, I still get a little sick about it, sometimes, when I think about everything that’s happened to you. It eats me up, sometimes… but for you…” Kaito shrugged tiredly, “When your world got ripped apart? When all of your beliefs got torn down around your ears and your delusions fell away… you were better off for it. Like, legitimately. You woke up out of a nightmare only to find out things were okay… that’s not what’s happening to me.”

Kaito shrugged again, looking tired, “I know I exaggerate some of it. I think… the anger at Atua is just my gut reaction, of just being disappointed and let down again, I don’t even know if I think Atua’s wrong for any of this. He sounds like someone worthy of worship, honestly, and I never expected him to do anything before… Atua doesn’t interfere, ya know?”

“But this is just one more thing,” Kaito murmured, pressing his palm against his eye as he said, “And I… I’m not going to get to wake up in a world where everything’s suddenly better. Where it turns out my family loved me all along, and my people were good, and the system I had devoted myself to had been worth it and worthwhile… this whole year has been just event after event after event where some new thing I once took joy or pride in is taken from me, ripped into its bare parts, and given back to me as this ugly, awful thing, with everyone looking at me like… didn’t you know? Didn’t you know how bad it was? It was so obvious, how did you not know?”

“...how does that get better?” Kaito asked, staring at nothing as he said, “And, god… if even Atua can be made less? If even that was something that wasn’t what I thought it was… nothing feels safe. Or sacred. And it doesn’t feel like it’s ever going back to what it was. And, maybe that’s fine, because I’m not back in Luminary anymore. Who cares if my home is shameful and ugly and less? I don’t have to live in it…”

“...I’m just in shreds.” Kaito said again, hugging his stomach as he leaned against his knees, “I woke up, and everything is worse. And I don’t… think that gets better…”

That was true. Kaito wasn’t living in a depression whole, and needed help seeing the birds in the trees. He had…been living a traumatic, difficult life, and had been coping to live as happily within it as he could. Maybe at times he had taken it further than necessary, though Kokichi would forever blame Tengan for that part, but…it wasn’t wrong, how Kaito had lived. 

It was just…he wasn’t in that position anymore. And while it wasn’t waking from a nightmare to something pleasant, while parts of reality had been a nightmare…

…it didn’t mean everything was terrible. Even if realizing that your stability was gone for good was terrifying. 

“...I don’t think Luminary is shameful, ugly, or less,” Kokichi said softly. “There were things wrong there, and there are things I don’t understand, but…there’s a lot for Luminaries to be proud of, and there’s a lot of beauty, and there are things of substance.”

“...you have had things of pride taken from you,” he admitted. “And…that’s horrific. The pain you feel is genuine and understandable. And…yeah. Maybe for some of those things, you won’t be able to get them back, or be able to look at them fondly again.”

Kokichi looked off to the side, something a little tired in his gaze. “...sometimes that’s just…a shitty part of going through life.”

“But it is a part. And…I truly believe that you still have things to hold in pride. And that you’ll find even more. And that some of the things that hurt now you’ll be able to look back on with peace or fondness later. There’s still so much beauty and purpose in the world waiting for you…that’s what I mean when I say it gets better.”

“Not that the pain will be erased. Just…that we’ll find purpose and happiness again, even if it looks different.”

“Maybe nothing is sacred,” Kokichi shrugged. “This year I just found out I’m a psychic and that there’s magic everywhere in the world. This week I found out that Oumas have a long and strong history of being Empaths. Maybe in a month I’ll find out something new that changes my whole worldview. And…it’s okay to feel hurt and lost in that feeling…but eventually everyone needs to decide to take the next step forward.”

Kokichi smiled grimly off to the side. “...as Maki-chan would put it, ‘adapt or die’. Though…I think it’s less actual death and just…being stuck. Being left behind as the rest of the world changes around you because…well. One constant I actually believe in is that nothing stays the same. Change will happen with us or without--we just get to choose how we react to it.”

“...the being psychic thing and, like, being awake through a coma stuff is kind of a mixed bag, huh.” Kaito said, giving his husband a wary grin, “You’ve had a hell of a year too. Honestly, I don’t even really know how to conceptualize, just… waking up with super powers, one day. Especially for someone like you. You don’t even like power. It probably freaked you the fuck out, the more powerful you were. Which is a shame, cause you wear power so well–”

Kaito’s expression dimmed slightly at that, before he huffed, turning away, “Sorry. I always have to make something fucking… flirty or whatever. Shitty habit. But… yeah. I can see what you mean. And, fuck, I have to keep remembering that this all just happened, basically. I feel like such a fucking overdramatic freak, for it all still bothering me, but this just. Happened. All of it. Like, fuck… if I’m tired and stressed out and feel overwhelmed, well, shit, there’s your reason.”

“Exactly,” Dr. Mariah said, looking a little smug, “Because your impulses aren’t impulsive. You don’t do things randomly. If you give yourself the respectful amount of serious consideration you deserve? And actually give yourself the benefit of the doubt? You’re not irrational, Kaito. Things have been hard. And things will get better, or have a different context, a few years down the line. Time does help, as trite as the saying is.”

“...man, I feel like I’ve literally given Kokichi that advice, word for word.” Kaito grumbled… before snorting to himself, rubbing his face a bit as he said, “Ugh, it’s always harder to hear it, right? Ugh…”

There was a pause… and Kaito’s expression suddenly turned guilty, looking to Dr. Mariah as he said, “You probably had other things going on today.”

“That’s not something you need to concern yourself about.” Dr. Mariah said simply, “Though it says good things that you’re calm enough to consider it. I know this isn’t ‘solved’, but I think we’re making progress out of it being a crisis. How do you feel about your shrine?”

“...less destructive.” Kaito admitted, “Still wanting answers… I wish he’d just talk to me…”

… Kaito’s whole body suddenly tensed, as he said, all at once in a rush, “Someone definitely talked to me as a kid, I wasn’t hearing voices, it wasn’t my imagination, why couldn’t it have been Atua? Maybe he did? Maybe he used to and he stopped. It wasn’t me being crazy, or my imagination running wild, or anything like that, I heard it, my entire childhood! Why won’t he talk to me again!?”

They all had a hell of a year. Honestly, it felt more like a decade, sometimes, but…this time last year, Kokichi had been doing final fittings for his wedding robes. He…honestly couldn’t think of any major thing that hadn’t changed in the past year. 

…but change wasn’t going to stop. It didn’t mean that they couldn’t be left reeling from it, and the change in the past year was exceptional, but…still. 

Kokichi looked over in a quiet fondness when it seemed like Kaito was calming a little, but immediately after… Kokichi sighed a little, looking like he really didn’t want to be saying what he was. “Maybe. But we also don’t know if it was the Flora hivemind you were hearing.”

“I know!” Kaito said, throwing his arms into the air, looking pissed as he said, “I know that! But maybe it was my god! Spending time with me! Taking care of me! That makes more sense! That’s… way less creepy! So much less creepy! It’s…”

Kaito let his arms drop, looking defeated as he said, “They were nice to me. Did it have to be a creepy sex thing? Did everything always have to be a creepy sex thing? Uh, what did we decide to call her in public… I can’t remember. Theodosea? Our Flora confidant told me if I was being fed spores as a kid, I was being prepped to be a fucking seedling, or whatever they’re called. A breeder, basically. They said it like there was no other possibility, that’s the only reason…”

“So, what? My god talking to me, the thing that got me pushed into giving my inheritance up… all of that were Flora being weirdly nice to me? So that Tengan could convince me to fuck my brother!? That’s what all that was leading too!?”

“Woah, woah woah…” Dr. Mariah put a hand up, looking genuinely surprised, before she calmed her expression, “Hold on, forgive me… we haven’t discussed this before. This seems… like a very heavy topic. I think we should consider taking a moment and grabbing some refreshments, letting Kaito get his thoughts together, before we go into this. I think going full into this without water or tea–” or a break, “--would ultimately be unwise… Kokichi, where can we find cups? Do we need to go down to the first floor?”

Kokichi just watched Kaito go off with a grimace. There was a reason he hadn’t wanted to bring it up. It was just…another really shitty thing in a line of unimaginably shitty things, if it was true. Maybe it really was Atua that…had spoken in a lot of different voices in Kaito’s head and played with him…even if the plane gods operated on was entirely too big to comprehend, and…Atua sounded busy enough, trying to ensure that every sapient being in existence would be taken care of in their afterlives. 

…was Dah’et just Atua? Maybe. 

Kokichi blinked. …they really hadn’t gotten into all of that, huh. 

Running a hand through his hair, Kokichi nodded. “I mean…if we wanted tea, it might be faster to go to my office on the third floor--we have a kettle set up there, and plenty of mugs.”

Kaito, who had been on a roll, almost wanted to argue against the break. To insist they continue, wanting to hold onto this anger, to get into this fight–

And he winced as he realized, ah, okay, yeah, he did need a break… sure, he was angry and wanted to fight someone, but taking that out on either Kokichi or Dr. Mariah was unacceptable. Entirely unacceptable, for literally every reason you could think of. Their literal only crime just being the two people in front of him, trying to help…

God, he wished he could just punch his problems away. Or, fuck, execute them. Send them to a dungeon, a thousand feet deep in the ground, and leave it up to a guards discretion if they lived down there. God, sometimes he wanted to be a Momota. 

But not really. Those things hadn’t made his family happy, it had hurt a lot of innocent people, probably. Definitely. And eventually that mentality had caused his family to self destruct entirely, the only survivors Kaede, and the family literally not in the country.

(No. Byakuya’s alive. You forgot.)

Kaito felt himself deflate at that. Right, Byakuya was alive… and really only three people had died in their family due to in-fighting, at least as far as Kaito was aware. He had always been assured Kaede’s fathers death was an accident, though people had gotten very vague with details about the man entirely, let alone how he perished. Same with Sonia’s parents, though her grandparents, Queen and King Nevermind, were still doing fine. All of Kaito’s grandparents were in Novoselic, who he had visited a few times in his youth, except for the ones in Kimigashine, who Kaito had never spoken too but he was assured were fine.

He had plenty of family left, really. They were just all spread out and estranged and were maybe keeping distant to very specifically not end up in his parents and cousins situation. The same way Kaito would always hesitate to bring his own family back to the capital. Being around the capital suggested you wanted to keep an eye on the throne. Much safer to be far away and harmless.

As Dr. Mariah and Kokichi discussed tea and mugs, Kaito sat and thought about his family. It really wasn’t so bad. He had plenty of family left, most of whom were, he could assume, happy and healthy, and sometimes when he wasn’t too furious to think about her Kaito could remember he loved Kaede. Things weren’t so bad. Maybe he shouldn’t be so angry…

(... how did he get from thinking about his fucked up excuse of a childhood, furious and wanting to fight someone, to thinking about his surviving family members and feeling like he had no right to be angry? What was even happening in his brain? He was so tired… he didn’t want to be this unhappy… there were good things. Kokichi was a good thing–)

“--aito?”

Kaito blinked, looking up, “Hm? Tea? Yeah, sure, tea sounds good.”

Dr. Mariah shook her head, repeating, “Would you like to wait here?”

Kaito wanted to bury himself in this soil, “Sure. Let’s do it.”

Kokichi gave Kaito a long worried look. He was in a calmer place, for sure, but…a long way away from fine. But they’d get through it. Things would be okay one day. Gently, Kokichi put his hand on Kaito’s shoulder affectionately before taking lead. 

“Okay, see you soon, Kai-chan. I love you. We’ll be taking the east wing staircase, Dr. Mariah,” Kokichi started to guide. He would be physically leading, of course, but…it tended to be a nice courtesy thing to give people a general idea of where you all were headed. Minimized accidental collisions too. 

…there was a part of him that felt bad about being the person to bring all this up. But he had asked Kaito if he could, and Kaito had asked him to explain what he knew about the gods. He was done hiding things from his husband, even if they were things that really hurt. Maybe it would’ve been better to have better support around from the start but…they’d gotten help regardless. It would be okay. 

…Kokichi sighed softly.

-

By the time they head back up with the beverages, Kaito is already arguing that he really didn’t think the Byakuya stuff was a part of the Atua stuff anyway, and if they weren’t directly connected, it was probably a waste of time to discuss it anyway.

“We don’t have to discuss anything you don’t want too, Kaito. But it’d be ill advised to, one, dismiss a connection when that was where your thoughts led, and two, decide that something with that great an effect on you doesn’t bare discussing at all.” Dr. Mariah said simply, having followed Kokichi downstairs, but had given into her natural desire to head the group on the way back up, Kaito holding the tea tray.

Sure, sure, Kaito argued, but, see, here’s the thing, he wasn’t even sure why he had brought that up, because, here’s the thing, nothing had actually happened. Like, literally nothing, at all, barely anything had happened, they’d literally just be talking about hypotheticals, so there was nothing to discuss that was even affecting Kaito. 

“I think I’d be interested to know how the… ‘scenario’,” Dr. Mariah said carefully, no one else in the hallway but not willing to risk thin walls, “even came to mind in the first place, then, if nothing actually happened. As I spent quite a bit arguing before, you don’t do or say things randomly. If you said that was the intentions of the mans actions, then I believe you.”

Kaito had nothing to say to that, a little… surprised by how surprised that statement made him.

No one had believed them.

He winced as he realized that thought came with it a bunch of hurt feelings that he hadn’t even realized he had about the situation. He hadn’t even been the one to say anything. Kaito hadn’t even wanted to say anything, at any point, in their childhood. Byakuya had said it. And their parents hadn’t believed him, because Kaito–

Kaito’s thought trailed off, but a feeling of alarm ran through him. Oh, shit. He actually, really didn’t want to talk about this…

As Kaito grappled with the realization how very, very, very little he wanted anyone– anyone– to know about this stuff, Dr. Mariah tasted it in the air and quietly led the way back to the greenhouse, considering her options. Perhaps it’d be responsible to let him clam up and let this particular issue go… maybe with enough time he’d open up about it willingly?

But that was the thing, he had opened up about it. And Dr. Mariah had made him stop for a break, and in that break Kaito had convinced himself to not talk about it. If he had been about to have a breakthrough of some sort, and Dr. Mariah had sabotaged it…

Push or don’t push… which was her responsibility… she was technically not responsible for anything regarding Kaito’s personal therapy, actually…

When they sat down on the cushions, the storm going strong above them, the wind howling now, Dr. Mariah sipped at her tea before asking, “Have you spoken about this to Miss Crystal?”

The taste radiating off Kaito told her before he did. “...No.” Kaito said, shrugging, fussing with his mug, “It’s never been relevant.”

Dr. Mariah doubted that. Okay… “Have you talked to anyone about it?”

“...” Kaito tapped his fingernails against the mug, before saying, “I… was trying to prove a point to Kokichi once. And, I wanted to prove to him that it’s, ya know, it’s not a big deal, when stuff like this happens, like, it doesn’t mean anything, because sometimes, like… my head gets full of these like…” Kaito wouldn’t say ‘fantasies’ because he’d rather fucking die then admit that sometimes the daydreams seemed to violently shift, temporarily, to that stuff, before Kaito managed to bury it again, though thankfully not in the last year, at least. “Dreams. I have dreams, sometimes. Of, like, what things might have been like, if…”

Kaito waved his hand vaguely, both tense and uncomfortable and trying to play it off as flippant. “Ya know.”

“I don’t.” Dr. Mariah said, because Kaito hadn’t actually explained much of anything yet, before she glanced at Kokichi, giving a beat to see if there was anything he could add to that.

As much as sometimes connections he had made had concerned Kokichi at times…he had taken his promise to Kaito seriously. He had never told anyone about what Kaito told him in the closet. Not even to people he once thought Kaito would never even conceptualize. 

Kaito had explained it to Kokichi…

And he had talked about it with Togami. One of the only things he respected the guy for. 

Kokichi sighed softly and gave Kaito a soft look. “...you know Dr. Mariah’s never going to tell anyone, not even Shuu-chan or Maki-chan. And she’s not going to think differently of you for knowing.”

“...you said the one person you did talk to about this helped you out a lot, Kai-chan,” Kokichi gently tried. “But…it’s been years since then. And…if it’s still something that stresses you out when you think about it? I…think it would be good for you to safely revisit talking about it. With someone. It doesn’t have to be now, or with us, but…you deserve to have help, hun.”

Kaito’s chest tightened at the mention of Togami. Togami had promised him he wasn’t a freak, and that none of it had been his fault… and Kaito had really needed to hear that. Especially from the only person he had ever told. It had been enough, to tell Togami and hear it wasn’t his fault. Kaito, until Kokichi, hadn’t even felt the impulse to tell anyone about it ever again, after that. Not even Kore.

And Kaito loved to talk about everything so, fuck, that was saying something.

He hadn’t minded talking about the study sessions with Kokichi, though admittedly that had been… hard. And also wasn’t really something he told people about. But when he had brought it up, where was it… at the park? It had been a relief, to talk to someone about it. And maybe that was just the… saint in his head cutting things, he didn’t know. Kaito honestly still had no idea, what parts of his personality were his and what had been a side effect of the conditioning. He’d like to believe he had found it easier to talk to Kokichi about the study sessions because it was Kokichi and Kaito could trust Kokichi loved him, that he’d have done it even without tall, beautiful sword ladies, but…

But this? This was definitely not due to conditioning. Kaito just fucking hated this.

…if not them, though, who?

Why did it have to be anyone! Kaito had barely talked about this to Atua. Because he didn’t like to think about it! Because there was nothing to think about! Nothing had happened! Nothing had happened.

………had he really had to stand in front of all those people and give up his claim and be called crazy and incompetent and end up being sent away from home and, fuck, all the ripple effects of all of that… just because Tengan had wanted too…

Kaito wanted it to be Atua. If it was Atua, none of that was as pointless as it all was. If it was Atua, Kaito had lost everything because of his faith and devotion, and not because… it wasn’t fair. 

(Kokichi doesn’t deserve to hear about this stuff. You already make him so fucking sad. Not that this made anything worse because nothing had happened, but fuck, stop being a trainwreck of god damn misery on your husband, for fucks sake.)

Kaito fussed with his knuckles, before turning to Kokichi and saying, “...I don’t want to talk about it. There’s really nothing to talk about, seriously, nothing happened. Hell, the only reason that idea is even in my head at all is cause Byakuya had a bunch of, uh, ideas about things and with the spore stuff… but nothing actually happened. I’m fine. I’m really fine.”

Kaito said this to both Kokichi and Dr. Mariah, forcing calm onto his face as he said so, trying to prove it to them, either unaware or really not grasping that they could both literally feel/taste how very not fine with it he was. Not fine with it to the point where, wow, he could not talk about it to someone he loved and someone he respected. Nope. Not happening. Not happening.

“...besides,” Kaito said, voice sounding a little weak as he decided to divert, “This Atua thing is more important, right? It’s why I called for help. I don’t… want this to ruin my faith. My faith matters to me, I value it… I don’t want to be this angry about things.”

Dr. Mariah knew, just knew, that Kaito’s faith, and she suspected, his resentment to Atua’s new status as a whore god, directly tied into this thing with his brother, because that was exactly the series of events Kaito’s thoughts had led too, and he didn’t do things randomly… but she could admit she had messed this one up. She shouldn’t have derailed his train of thought, she had given him time to talk himself out of it. That was her mistake, and pushing it now would just lead to more mistakes. 

So, she said, “We don’t have to talk about it, but Kokichi is right. You deserve to get help with anything that hurts you, and if this is hurting you? Miss Crystal, myself, your family, no doubt some of your friends… it’s not a burden to admit you need to talk about something, and none of them, or myself, would think less of you. When you’re ready, utilize us.”

Kaito nodded miserably, as Dr. Mariah sipped her tea. Okay… how to get him to a good head space when she couldn’t discuss the root of the issue… “You say you want to be in a good place with your faith. What does that look like to you? What’s a best case scenario, from this point on?”

Kaito paused, a little startled at that, before thinking about it… “I guess I just want to feel the same way about it that I did before this.” he admitted.

“How did you feel about it?” Dr. Mariah asked, “Why was it so important to you. There is no wrong answer.”

“...” little by little, Kaito shook off the fear and temper of thinking about Tengan and Byakuya, and refocused on what was, admittedly, much happier parts of his childhood. Things he valued, even outside of the voices, “...I respect my priestess’s… the ones back in Luminary, but I mean, I respect all members of the gold tabards. Um, though they don’t call themselves that here. I just… it’s devoting a good part of your life, to be a priestess, or, uh, a priest, and I’ve always respected and admired them for it. I want to keep doing that… and…”

Kaito thought about it some more, “...the temples and shrines always made me feel safe. Like it was okay to be a little unhinged and a little wild and then everything would calm down and still be fine. Places of worship protect you, things are okay, in there… and… Atua doesn’t interfere, and he doesn’t…” Kaito’s face fell a little, “...talk to you, but he hears your prayers, and the saints listen in too and… well, maybe those last two things just aren’t true… I like to think Atua’s listening, even if he doesn’t talk. I never feel alone or ignored, when I talk to him. I’ve always felt like he’s just… right there. Just out of reach, but not gone…”

“...maybe that was always just wishful thinking on my part.” Kaito murmured, “I never needed much from him. I just wanted to feel like he cared. I still want to feel like he cares.”

“About you, personally?”

“...” Kaito nodded, looking shame-faced. “Yeah.”

One of the first things period Kokichi had learned about Kaito was his love for his religion. It might not be one of the first things Kokichi would talk about to describe his husband to other people, but it was integral to who Kaito was as a person. His understanding might change, but…losing that faith entirely would be…losing himself. 

Kaito didn’t want that, and Kokichi didn’t want that for him either. 

Thinking about the things Kaito wanted from his faith…

Kokichi gave Kaito a soft look. “...he still might. From everything I’ve heard, he definitely cares about you generally, but… I mean. We don’t know how he became attached to your family. But whatever that’s about…you still are his chosen. Bathul referenced you as if you were ‘claimed’ by him. If another god can acknowledge a claim like that as something worthy to mention…then it means that Atua does care about you, hun.”

“And the priests and priestesses…the ones here might not worship with the same intent you do, but they’re still dedicating their lives to faith. And all the priestesses in Luminary haven’t…disappeared. They’re still there, still doing their lives’ work.”

But for the temple… The Atuan temple in Usott would never quite be a spiritual home to Kaito. It was too public for him to really feel like he could go completely off the wall and be okay. But…

Kokichi looked a little stressed, chewing on his lip before giving Kaito an apologetic look. “...we’re still going to see the temple in town, when it gets opened up, but…” Kokichi sighed, looking off to the side. “...I wanted it to be a surprise…but maybe that’s just being too selfish… But…for a sacred place…could I ask you to wait? …man that sounds so shitty…”

At this, Kaito couldn’t help but give Kokichi an openly curious look, though he couldn’t help his immediate, “You’re not selfish.” before he even really registered what Kokichi was talking about. “...wait? Wait for what?”

Kokichi sighed. It had looked…perfect, kinda. The projection had said work would be completed right before Kaito’s birthday. A place of faith freshly minted right for Atua’s week…

…but it wasn’t fair to keep his husband in the dark. 

“...you know how Oumas have the clearance to make major changes to the castle?” Kokichi mumbled. “I…put in a design and work order. For a private temple.”

Kaito’s eyes widened… before he said, “OH MY GOD THAT’S WHAT YOU MEANT BY SURPRISE!”

He suddenly threw his hands over his ears, saying insistently, “I don’t know, I didn’t hear anything, new temple, who heard anything about a castle temple, I don’t know anything about a castle temple! Wild! Such a weird rumor!” 

He said all of this with a wide, excited grin on his face, his cheeks flushed red, forgetting in this moment the aches in his body and the all too recent grief that wracked through him as he just got caught up in the idea of HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT KOKICHI WAS MAKING HIM A TEMPLE!!

No, no, except of course he wasn’t, because it was a surprise, his husband was surprising him with a castle temple, AHHHHHHHHHH!!! Kaito was getting a room! Kaito was getting a whole ass room! Was it a room? “It’s not a closet, right?” Kaito asked, half-joking and half-double checking, because the last one had been a closet, “This entirely hypothetical surprise castle temple is bigger than a closet?” 

Despite not getting to unveil it the way he wanted--though, honestly, he had been planning to bargain with Shuuichi to keep the surprise sooner or later, because undoubtedly his curious boyfriend would wonder what the heck all the construction on the fifth floor was--Kokichi looked over with a fond, pleased blush on his face, seeing Kaito’s excitement. 

“It would be bigger than a closet, yes,” Kokichi smiled softly, gazing at Kaito with nothing but love in his eyes. “All of the physical considerations we talked about for your rituals during Atua Week would be things I’d take into consideration, making a design and consulting with architects and engineers for a final plan. …as would be other things we’ve talked about, when you talked about the royal temple, and how you wanted to decorate your shrine here.”

Kaito’s eyes were sparkling, his brain already providing iteration after iteration of what the castle temple– the castle temple– might look like by the time it was done. Some of it was immediately too extravagant because that was just what Kaito’s mind did, but he knew he’d love anything, fuck, he had learned to love his paint storage closet, he could love anything Kokichi put together, because it was going to be an actual temple that his husband had put together with Kaito in mind and–

“Fuck, I don’t deserve you.” Kaito knew, reaching over and collecting his husband, Dr. Mariah quietly watching all of this as Kaito drew him into a hug, holding him tightly because he was just so excited and maybe Waku would want to visit sometimes! Maybe with an actual real temple he could even convince Timothy to pray every now and again! He could get lemonade and cookies! 

And he wouldn’t have to bring Miyako into that shrine with bean bags and posters and try to convince her that Atua really was a being worthy of gravitas and dedication who really would look out for her in the afterlife because he had promised and you could believe him and…

Kaito’s eyes burned red as he held Kokichi, saying still very happy but also so fucking relieved and fucking sad but so grateful, “I’m sorry I ruined the surprise by being a mess. I love it. I don’t know anything about it, I promise, I’ll be so surprised when it’s ready!”

Kokichi let out a little breath, overcome with the happiness and excitement and gratitude and love coming from his husband, his eyes burning a little. And he hugged back with everything he had, shaking his head. “You didn’t ruin anything. It’s still going to be a surprise to see…and I would love to make you happy over being surprised any day. I just…want to make you happy, Kai-chan.”

And maybe some of it was just…too little too late. Maybe some of it would look like an empty gesture, trying to patch over wounds that were too deep. But…Kokichi had gone with his plans and proposals hoping to make good on so many promises that he’d dropped the ball on, when it came to Kaito. He wanted to make his husband happy and feel safe and have a space to be him. 

He deserved better than a closet, no matter how good the ventilation was.

Dr. Mariah didn’t want to interrupt a moment like this– even if she couldn't’ really feed on anything here– so she sat and watched patiently for awhile as Kaito gushed, clearly more than happy with the surprise. He tasted like candy, the kind with zest and sting. He tasted like warm soup, though she couldn’t put her finger on anything more specific to it than that. He tasted like warm, chocolate cookies and fresh baked bread. 

He tasted excited, relieved and loved.

But as things started to calm down, and she could start tasting another thing as Kaito got a little too invested in cuddling up to his husband in a good mood– it’s the lust, Kaito, Dr. Mariah can’t let you do it cause your head always goes there, focus– Dr. Mariah got Kaito’s attention by asking, “It seems, that even with your faith shaken, a gesture like this still means a lot to you.”

Kaito grinned somewhat sheepishly, resting his head against Kokichi’s as he shrugged at her, “Kokichi’s making me a room. That means a lot to me. Kokichi doesn’t even believe in that kind of thing, he always sounded like he thought that tradition was stupid. It means a lot to me that he did it anyway… uh, for context, Ouma’s seems to always eventually add rooms to the castle for their partners, historically. At least all the Ouma’s I’ve heard about. I always thought that was sweet, but I never thought Kokichi would do it… it means a lot to me, since I don’t think he’d have done it if he didn’t know how much I’d like it.”

“That’s good. But the temple itself?”

“...I know there’s a lot of things I need to get my head around, about my religion now.” Kaito sighed, “That’s not something I think I can just settle in an hour of talking about it. That’s something I just need to work out for myself, what it all means to me…  but, yeah. My first impulse was to be excited about having a new place to worship. That maybe I could share my worship with others… which I guess means I still value worship. It still matters to me. I don’t know entirely why yet, but…”

Kaito grinned warily, shrugging against Kokichi, who he had in no way let go of, “I don’t do things randomly, right? If I still want to, I must have a good reason… I just haven’t worked out what it is yet.”

Dr. Maria looked between Kaito and Kokichi and then back again, and nodded, standing up and wiping off her dress, “With that? I feel like it’s officially crisis averted. How do you both feel?”

Kokichi snuggled into Kaito’s hold, the feelings he was getting from his husband--even if there were still twinges of the others--just…a total relief, compared to earlier. And…well. He had gone into the project with Kaito in mind, wanting him to like it. But…it was nice to get the confirmation that he really did. 

It wasn’t necessarily for partners, that Oumas added rooms. Sometimes it was just utility, seeing a need that could be filled with what had been intended to be an all-purpose hub of community. Extra rooms or the auditorium for meetings, the kitchens to feed people, the greenhouse to grow food and not have to rely on larders or the market constantly…

But others were made for specific people. After all…loving to the point of invention, even if just making a plan for a room wasn’t exactly that…it was something intensely beautiful. 

In the current age, Kokichi just…hadn’t been able to think what he’d need to add. All his predecessors had done so much… He didn’t think it was stupid, as much as…he just couldn’t see himself doing it. 

But…he’d been serious when he called Kaito his muse. His inspiration. 

Kaito’s relationship with his faith was something he’d need to keep thinking on. Temp had said that it became more complicated, once you knew. Maybe at this point the two of them would benefit from a conversation about what it meant to be religious without the unknown. But…it was still Kaito’s. 

Smiling up at Kaito, Kokichi gave him another squeeze, before giving Dr. Mariah a grateful look. “I feel…hopeful. Like this is something that we’ll be able to handle more easily going forward. Your faith is going to be a personal evaluation, hun, but…I’m going to be right beside you, and support you every way I can. That’s my vow to you.”

“I know. Thank you.” Kaito said, giving his husband an adoring look, before managing to tear his eyes away from him as he looked to Dr. Mariah, “And, I know how this will sound, because sometimes I just say this, but… I’m fine. I feel happy, honestly. And maybe being surprised by an awesome gift is a band-aid, but…”

Kaito shrugged, “Honestly, it kinda just feels like that pulled my head out of water, ya know? It’s so hard to not just feel gradually worse when you’re upset. It builds on itself, ya know? You start upset, and then every little thing you say, think, do… and a lot of things that happened around you? All just piles onto it. Until you’re not just upset about one thing, but it becomes a bunch of things that, all by themselves, you were handling, but now just feel too much… that’s a hard cycle to pull yourself out from. Hell, I wanted a sedative, but help and a fucking castle temple is a hell of a subsitute for one… and yeah. Just feeling better makes all this seem a little easier to manage, honestly. That’s not, like… the wrong way to cope with that, is it?”

Dr. Mariah smirked, “I don’t think we can rely on Kokichi doing massive construction work every time you feel down, specifically. But getting your feelings into a less alarmed or explosive place by doing something fun or calming before trying to tackle the issue again? That’s just another definition for ‘break’, and yes, so long as it doesn’t slide into ‘avoidance’, I advocate heavily for that sort of coping mechanism. Problems aren’t solved all at once. Problems shouldn’t feel debilitating the entire time they exist. You’re allowed to put down a problem, reset, and come back to it later with a fresh head and a calmer mind, and should.”

“And when you feel like you can’t give yourself that break? Asking for help is always, always, a valid first step. You are surrounded by people who love you, Kaito. You asked them for help, and while I didn’t appreciate how Maki phrased it, they still all came to your aid. A puppet theater with your daughter is, at least somewhat, its own type of break. Your husband went into the city as quickly as he could to get me. And I came. You should expect that level of support when you need us, and you got it.” Dr. Mariah gave Kaito a warm look as she said, “You’re a very lucky man, Kaito, even being someone who deserves said luck. I know things are difficult, but I hope you recognize that. You are surrounded by love.”

Kaito leaned his head against Kokichi’s nodding, “...yeah. You’re right. I know. Thank you.”

And then, giving Kokichi a quick kiss, he said, “We should walk the doctor out. It’s polite.”

Getting yourself out of that spiral…that was a good way to think about it. Sometimes it could feel really cathartic to just word vomit issue after issue, cry and wail and just let yourself lose it…but sometimes that doubled down on itself, and there wasn’t really a space “after” where you would get that resolved feeling. Lifting your mood through other means so you were in a better place to approach the issue again…yeah. Yeah, okay. 

Taking a big gulp to finish off his tea, Kokichi nodded and started getting up from his place in Kaito’s lap, collecting their mugs. “Of course! The walk back is a little more than one flight this time,” he laughed softly, before giving Dr. Mariah a respectful nod. “Thank you so much for coming out. If there’s anything you need to make the trip home more comfortable--or even just to enjoy the castle a bit before you do-” Kokichi could still hear light rain pitter-pattering on the glass above, “-then we’ll accommodate all that we can.”

“It should be alright,” Dr. Mariah said, glancing up at the ceiling, noting, “The storms clearing up anyway.”

-

…was this what people talked about when they spoke of sacrifice for the greater good?

Even asking that, Drake felt just…wholly overdramatic. He wasn’t even sure it was a greater good--Miyako was born and…well, he hadn’t gotten any clues to say how the way she would be raised would influence her triumphs. And Shuuichi’s new fiance blowing his lid at the gods wasn’t…exactly hugely important, in the grand scheme of things. 

…but he was Shuuichi’s partner. His family, and best friend of over a decade. Drake knew how horrible it could be to have your entire life shattered before your eyes, and he knew he was one of the lucky ones. There were people that just…could never quite recover from that. He didn’t think Kaito would be one of those people, considering the family he had around him, but…

There was still no way to tell if their family really knew about everything. Having a turn of faith didn’t necessarily mean that, though…it did seem kind of pointed, in his vision. But…Drake couldn’t rely on assuming that they just knew everything. 

He really liked this life. He liked going to university and lurking around in college parties and…having friends. Someone that didn’t see him as a kid or a pity case. Or who looked at him with open scorn. Drakon…didn’t want to give this up. 

He knew trying to feel around for information from Shuuichi was just…a total dumbass thing to do. But it wasn’t like he was particularly close with anyone else in his family, and it seemed like even more of a stretch to ask Nadya about it all so…

Drake offered out an invitation to Shuuichi to go to one of the cafes they used to study together at. Just to catch up and hang out. 

Honestly, Shuichi was both thrilled, and a little relieved.

Things weren’t ‘bad’ at home, but there was this tension that would come and go. Their dynamics were just a little… off. Maki was spending more and more time with Timothy, which was good, but Shuichi half suspected Maki was taking him and the girls to all these places less because school was right around the corner and more because she didn’t feel like trying to navigate the random weirdness either. 

Kaito would be fine and fine and fine, and then just suddenly, randomly seem to waver, and considering the last few blow ups, it was hard not to feel like a random stresser wouldn’t send him explosively freaking out again (maybe that wasn’t fair, the last few things not ‘small’ things, but that was what it felt like. Like any random little tense thing could ruin the day.). Meanwhile, Kokichi was holding things together as best as he could, but sometimes Shuichi could see the sheer strain of trying too start to get to the Dicean prince, which made Shuichi feel guilty because he wanted to help more too, but honestly had no idea how to ease any of this by doing more than what he was already doing, which was trying to keep things light and calm…

And none of this was strictly ‘bad’. It wasn’t all the time. But the potential for something bad felt like it was always there, and Shuichi… appreciated a friend inviting him out and getting a break from it.

So when he found Drake at the cafe, he gave him a genuinely happy smile, sitting down with him and asking, “I hope you haven’t been waiting long. Did you order already?”

Drake lit up a little when he saw his friend, despite the nerves twisting in his guts that had been there since he’d woken up that night a few days ago, stressed out even having a vision of that much desperate rage. Seriously…he hoped he never got on Kaito’s bad side. The guy was terrifying. 

“No, I just got here a minute ago,” Drake assured. “I ordered, yeah, but…I wasn’t sure what you’d want, so…” The vampire shrugged sheepishly. “I did get one of those berry muffins you seemed to like, if you wanted it. No pressure, though!”

Shuichi smirked a little at that, “Full pressure, I demand berry muffins. I love the way they sprinkle little sugar crystals on the top here. I’ve never had a muffin that crunches when I bite into it before, but it’s a far more delightful experience than I would have guessed.”

Happy with his muffin, Shuichi still went to go order his coffee, and was bag in a moment, having gone hazelnut this time, spending a glorious minute just smelling it and letting it warm his hands as he asked, “If we’re not counting Zenith, it’s been a moment since we’ve just hung out together. Is everything well?”

Drake quickly nodded, more out of habit than any nerves, sipping his iced mocha. Blood tended to be more on the rich side, so he enjoyed mixing it up with lighter things. “Yeah! I finished summer quarter a little bit ago--it tends to be around ten weeks, rather than the four month regular terms, b-by the way--and…it was good! One of my classmates in my Neuro-displays in Society class was…she’s cool. I think you and Cheri would be on the same kind of wavelength.”

“She’s studying psychology, so I don’t know if you guys would end up in the same classes, but…I dunno. You might see her around campus,” Drake shrugged. 

“I’ve been visiting a little more with my aunt’s friend too,” he said with the same amount of casualness, but…

…no. He couldn’t be that blatant with Miss Usami, even to gauge Shuuichi’s reaction. She was risking a lot, and Drake respected her for it. 

“She’s from waaay up north, so it’s been interesting to hear how things are different.”

Smiling softly, Drake asked, “How’s Miyako doing? You said that she was starting to respond to her name?”

“Perhaps we’ll share a class here and there,” Shuichi said non-committedly, having been thinking differently about school lately. Something Kaito had said during one of their therapy sessions– wanting to argue that Shuichi’s life experience had earned him credits to his desired degree already– making him think differently about the process entirely. Shuichi still needed to learn Dicean technicalities and law culture, but… he had already been a detective… “I was actually thinking of experimenting with different types of classes this upcoming semester. Just to see what was out there.”

“But, that said, your friend sounds nice. I’d love to meet her, if only because she’s a friend of yours.” Shuichi smiled, “And a northern Dicean, hm? You seem to have family everywhere. Or, friends of families, at least. It must be fun to pick their brains.”

Shuichi scoffed a little, as he said, “She does, but who can hold her attention is so far very heavily biased. I always knew I was going to be her less exciting parent, but I didn’t think it’d start immediately. The only time I can hold her attention is when I’m making her stuffed animals dance and do tricks.”

Admittedly, Shuichi was trying to communicate with her just as often with thoughts as he was physically, and maybe that couldn’t compete with Kaito, who was constantly idly touching her and talking to her, or Kokichi, who could actually communicate with her on an empath, level, but… gah. Watch, they’d all see. When she was talking. That’d be his time to shine. But as someone for whom physical contact was always an afterthought and no clear way to express empath based ideas, Shuichi was currently the least interesting person to their infant, unless he was holding something she wanted.

“It is very cute though, watching her eyes shoot to you when she recognizes her name. Honestly, I’m quite impressed that she can keep straight all the different things we call her. Mi-Mi, Miyako, Miya. She’s responding to all of them… and while we haven’t had a giggle fit yet? Definite sounds of laughter. She’s not quite there yet, but she’s getting the hang of it.” Shuichi said, pride clear in his explanation. His baby was developing, thank you very much. 

Drake’s eyebrows raised a little, both in surprise and in interest. Experimenting with classes just for the hell of it hadn’t really…been the impression he’d gotten from Shuuichi during their one semester together…but, given…the guy had been pregnant and still adjusting from a life-changing move. Maybe now he just…had the confidence to seek out more from his academics. 

Hopefully they’d still be able to take classes together though… His new friendship with Cheri was something he valued too--as was her advice on how to deal with psychic-based headaches--but…Drake just wanted to be able to be with all of his friends. For however long they had together. 

“Ooh…do you have an idea of what you’d want to take the next semester you come back? Or are you gonna wait for the class registry to come out? And, heh, yeah, I guess,” Drake chuckled. “Aunt Nell tends to meet folks from all over, since she’s a healer. It’s kind of a horrible idea to have a summit, like town reps to, since…you’d be shit out of luck if you needed a healer during it…unless you were there, I guess, which in that case, you’d be in the best equipped place in the country… But, uh. Yeah. Healers have smaller conventions and, of course, medical journals, so they can keep up with new developments…”

Settling with his drink, Drake laughed a bit at the news from the baby zone. The person who would one day finally bring his people justice…though it was a lot easier to think of her as Shuuichi’s precocious daughter. 

“She sounds like she picks up things really quickly,” Drake praised, giving his friend a smile. “I know babies are like sponges, but…still. She sounds like she’s picked her pace and is happily plodding down it. I’m happy for you, Shuuichi; your daughter sounds wonderful.”

“She is,” Shuuichi agreed, sipping at his drink… before sighing, “Actually, would it be trying if I were to… talk about things at home a bit? I can’t get into a lot of details, but things have been sort of up and down lately. Honestly, our small infant is the least hectic thing going on in our lives, lately.”

Drake blinked, feeling… He supposed that would be a bit of tension, huh. 

Giving his friend a slightly worried look, Drake nodded. “If it’s something you want to talk about, or vent for a bit? That’s more than fine with me, dude. Are…you all okay? I haven’t heard anything about Prince Kokichi getting sick again…”

At that, Shuichi looked a little pleased, as he said, “Health wise, Kokichi is doing very well, actually. It’s been slow going, but he’s getting back to, well… not ‘regular’ weight, but regular enough for him. He exercises more than I can be bothered too, though I really should follow his lead if I want to shed this excess weight, which I do.” Shuichi pouted, his weight nowhere near where it was full pregnancy mode, but still thicker than he was used too, “And, honestly? Events that not long ago I would have assumed would have driven him to the medbay, physically, doesn’t seem to affect him that much. Not heart-attack-wise, anyway. I mean, you saw him at Zenith. He’s in great form, it’s uplifting to see.”

“No,” Shuichi sighed, adjusting his hat a little, “It’s Kaito. Kaito… had a crisis of faith the other day. It was inevitable, our religion basically doesn’t exist here, not how we understand it, so without the reinforcement of Luminary temples, it was inevitable Kaito would start to doubt things. But his faith means a lot to him, so his questioning it is more then just philosophical musings, it’s a full blown… crisis, basically. We had to ask a therapist to make a house call at a certain point, it was bad. And this is right on the tail of a massive family fight about a month ago, which was on the tail of a fight between him and Kokichi during the heat wave…”

Shuichi blew air upwards, trying to blow his hair out of his eyes, as he said, “Thank god nothing has actually gone wrong this summer, because even after a relatively nice and steady few months, these three incidents have been exhausting. It sometimes feels like now that the rest of us aren’t having crisis after crisis, Kaito’s decided to just have every meltdown that’s been building up and just doing it all at once… and maybe that sounds a bit whiney and isn’t entirely sympathetic to him, but…” Shuichi sighed, rubbing his temple, “He’s just been a lot, lately. And I’m not him. I’m not good at managing things like this. Normally I’d count on Kaito handling things like this. The shift has made things… difficult.”

Drake hadn’t gotten to really see the prince at all during the water fight, but given how drenched he was while skipping around afterward…that was a good sign of someone not being as frail as the dwindling rumors could paint him as. And he did look much healthier these days than when Drake had seen him during his attack, though he knew how night and day those comparisons were. 

No, it was just…what he’d seen. Which wasn’t so much of a ‘just’. 

Drake nodded as Shuuichi explained the situation--a pretty reasonable explanation without alluding to anything else, he had to say--and a sympathetic look grew on his face. “I don’t think that’s as much whiney as…just what might be happening, Shuuichi.”

“Sure, I-I don’t mean that Kaito’s deciding to have a rough go of it because he can--that’s not what I’m saying!” he quickly explained. “But…if you all were going through crisis after crisis, and he was in emergency mode all that time? Now that things are steadier…all this probably literally is all of his stress that’s been building up that whole time.”

“And…people need to get that stuff out, one way or another. I don’t mean any disrespect to your fiance, because that’s not his situation at all, but…constantly repressing stress is how early, unexpected heart attacks happen. Your body literally can’t take being that unhappy or stressed out all the time.”

“...but it’s not easy being on the other side of things,” Drake nodded, giving Shuuichi a sympathetic look. “Especially if you’re not used to it. It’s never pleasant, seeing a loved one struggling, and…even without that empathy, it’s hard being around a person that’s…moody or volatile or…whatever in that vein. It doesn’t mean that you should abandon them, but…it’s going to be hard on you too.”

Drake tapped his fingers on his cup for a moment, looking at the band-aid on his index finger. Thinking. 

Looking up with a slightly apprehensive look, Drake leaned in towards Shuuichi, lowering his voice. “...he didn’t find out about that cult that Nadya’s mom grew up in, did he?”

“Oh, no.” Shuichi said quickly, looking physically pained as he shook his head, grimacing around his next sip of coffee, “No, and, honestly, I know I’ve said this before, but I am reinforcing this one: never tell him. I don’t even think he’d try to do anything about it anymore, I think it would just be one more thing that would, just… defeat him. Turns out Kaito’s ‘chronic hero syndrome’ doesn’t actually beat out reality beating you over the head over and over…”

Shuichi, again, winced at himself a little, “Sorry, sorry, that was unkind too… I’m just frustrated. I don’t know how to help him. He should be happy right now. I proposed to him not that long ago! Kokichi promised him a gift that he can’t stop gushing about! From what she says, he and Maki have been sorting through some things they’ve been needing to talk about for ages! The kids are happy, Tim’s thrilled his friends are home, Miyako’s doing great… things can’t actually get better, I don’t think. Things are good, right now! I just wish Kaito would let himself relax into it.” Shuichi huffed, leaning his head back a little, glaring at the brim of his hat, “I keep trying to think what Kaito would do if it were me and I was him, because… he really does have this way of making things seem under control and okay, when you’re spiraling… but I think some of that is just charisma. I don’t know how to replicate it.”

Shuichi stared at the brim of his hat, before refocusing his gaze on Drake, asking seriously, “Do you think giving him a vacation from us would help, or is that just me wanting him to go away and fix it himself? I’ve been mulling over the idea for awhile, and I honestly can’t tell if it’s a good idea or if I just want it to work. What do you think?”

Yeah… It was one thing to know a Cosmic Truth. It was another to face the decisions people made on their own under a god’s name. It was a tricky line, what that actually meant, since worship was the thing that gave a god power, to a point, but Drake had heard of cases of gods renouncing their worshippers’ actions. A lot of tricky stuff, there. 

Not to say the situation at hand wasn’t. 

Honestly Drake did think Shuuichi was being a little unfair, but…well, he didn’t have enough information. “I mean…at least from when we talked during Zenith, he is happy about all that stuff. But being happy about some things doesn’t mean you can’t be sad or frustrated with others, and…maybe him freaking out over something is his way of relaxing…you know? Like…he doesn’t feel like the world is going to break apart if he crumbles right now, so all the stuff he’s pushed to the side is hitting him now.”

“Still…that can be a problem if it keeps on for a long time…”

Sighing softly, Drake considered Shuuichi’s idea. “...it might be good for him to get out for a little while but…I dunno if a proper vacation would be the thing to do. Kaito is…from what I can tell? The very definition of a ‘family man’,” Drake chuckled lightly. “Maybe this is a little presumptuous about your partner, but…I could see him more easily getting bummed out missing you guys, than being able to personally work out his issues without an audience.”

Again, Drake paused before giving his friend a tentative look. “...I don’t wanna assume things, but…have you just…asked if he wanted to talk about it? And just listened?”

“...” Shuichi gave Drake a tired, guilty look, before confessing, “I’m afraid I’ll just say something that makes it worse. You’ve heard the last few things I’ve said… I keep doing that. When his parents died…”

Shuichi’s shoulders fell, his long eyelashes looking more pronounced as he stared down at the table, shamed by this as he explained, “His parents died, and as much as this embaresses me to say to you, since I respect your opinion… I keep taking these mean little potshots at him, about it. I’ve been doing it for a year. He’s asked me to stop, he’s yelled at me for it, sort of, once, even our therapists keep calling me out on it. Dr. Ford’s never seen Kaito and I have a conversation, and even he worked out I was doing it, before I ever brought it up.”

“I haven’t been… a very good friend to him, ever since I became his boyfriend.” Shuichi admitted, this being something on his mind since… honestly the very beginning of this relationship, “It used to really bother me, how the dynamic changed between us when we started dating… his standards for me just got lower. Which could be because of the relationship, or just because of the events of the last year, I don’t know, but… I started getting really comfortable with those lowered standards. And now it’s this terrible habit. I just casually say all these terrible things to him…”

“Before? Back in Luminary, I think what would happen is something would happen to Kaito, and he’d invite me out somewhere, usually for a drink, or a walk. And he’d vent to me, and I would just… listen. And encourage him when I could. He’d ask me for advice and, I was shy, but I’d always try to give him some, but I’d never really push. Honestly, I was always just so flattered he wanted to know. Kaito was a little… bigger then life to me, for a long time. I think, before it became a crush, what I felt for him was a little… hero worship. He could make mistakes, but he couldn’t really do any wrong, if that makes any sense at all.”

“But then those feelings became romantic, and this year happened, and…” Shuichi sighed, saying quietly, “Sometimes I think there might be something wrong with me. I’m dating Kokichi and I don’t treat him like this. But I’m mean to Kaito, and I just worry I’ll make a mistake and… do it again, which at this point, is just unacceptable.”

Drake gave his friend a concerned look, and…well, listened. 

It…didn’t seem like a case of falling out of love, which was relieving for a lot of reasons, not least of all that Shuuichi had just proposed to the guy. But…there was a change of perspective. 

“...that sounds really difficult,” Drake said after a moment, giving his friend a soft frown. “Having that faith shaken for someone so dear to you, and then just…seeing yourself not where you want to be. It sounds like you do know exactly what you can do to support your fiance but…it’s harder now. Things are different.”

Putting his chin in his hand--wincing slightly as he plopped down a little too hard--Drake considered the other patrons in the cafe. “...it can be really tempting to do everything you can get away with. It…can almost be a really relaxing way of life, honestly… It’s freeing. But…usually if you’re a decent sort…somewhere along the way, you might start seeing yourself as someone you don’t like very much.”

“You can just…deal with that. Or…you can set standards for yourself.” Drake looked back at his friend. “I’m not…telling you to do that, um… And it’s definitely not something that even works for everyone in that position… It takes a lot of self-motivation and discipline… But…”

“...if Kaito isn’t setting standards for you that you like…it’s not up to him to decide how you act,” Drake said gently. “And…while it might not be potentially explosive, like saying something cruel to his face…not being there for your partner out of fear is a problem too.”

It…really felt like he was getting preachy, here, especially when he had been wanting to see how much Shuuichi knew of the world, but…his friend had asked him for his ear. “...you guys go to relationship counseling, right? I’m sure your therapist would have some ideas to offer you, if you feel like you don’t know what to say to Kaito.”

Maybe it was preachy, but Shuichi appreciated hearing it. He gave Drake a fond look as he said, somewhat exasperated, “Oh, I am certain she has ideas. I’m just waiting for ‘homework’ to become a thing again, I think she just hasn’t wanted to overwhelm us since Miyako. And she wouldn’t even let Maki and I come when she was giving Kaito crisis therapy. I think she’s just waiting for an opportunity to give Maki and I a bunch of, uh… personalized advice. Especially when it comes to Kaito.”

“...and I say all of that like it’s a bad thing, but it’s not. I’m glad she’s trying to watch out for him.” Shuichi said, “But you’re right. I can’t wait for someone to fix me, or Kaito to change, or for me to just… suddenly be better. There’s something satisfying in just saying and doing whatever I feel like, knowing I can, but… I shouldn’t. I need to make rules for myself.”

“I don’t think I can ever be the person I was again… too much has happened.” Shuichi admitted, “But I can aspire to mimics the parts of myself that I miss, the parts I admire from the old Shuichi, and hope those become habits instead… thanks for hearing me out, Drake.”

Huffing, Shuichi gave Drake a knowing look as he said, “Though, I’m sure you didn’t invite me out to coffee to play therapy, with me. On a bit of good news, I think I’ve also made a new friend, though we’re still working out getting to know each other. Her name is Himiko. We have similar interests, specifically around her job at the magic shop, the one that does the sortings? And the little shows and sells all those story merchandise? I don’t think you’d be interested in our hobby, for whatever it is yet, but she’s an… interesting person to hang out with regardless. Honestly, with the exception of magic tricks, she might be the grumpiest, laziest person I’ve ever met. It’s… weirdly fascinating.”

There were only a few ways to proverbially turn back time and be the person you were before certain events and growth…but they weren’t very pleasant things. And in the community tended to be things only worth undergoing in the case of someone experiencing severe trauma they just…couldn’t function with anymore. And even then there were people that argued against that use case too. Knowledge was power and…purposefully stifling your own knowledge was a terrible thing to do. 

“Of course,” Drake smiled softly. “You’ve always been a good friend to me--of course I’d want to hear you out and…you know, talk my ass off with armchair philosophy,” he laughed sheepishly. 

Though…ah. 

Ah. 

Drake hadn’t heard anything about that shop being, yanno, real magic, but…hm. 

“Oh, really?” he raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you were interested in magic… Any particular part, or…?”

Take your chance, Drakon. This life isn’t over yet! “The idea of magic is pretty interesting to me…though I guess magician tricks aren’t really the same thing.”

…okay, yeah, it’s too scary. 

“That’s certainly a unique combination,” Drake laughed quietly. “I’m glad you’ve made a friend in a niche you two enjoy!”

“You would not believe the amount of crimes in Luminary that people tried to get away with using really basic magic tricks,” Shuichi scoffed, rolling his eyes, “Just, convinced that they could convince us the crimes was the work of demons if we couldn’t somehow work out, oh no, how the murder happen when the person was alone in a locked room? Everyone who left saw the lord still had his key on him, it couldn’t have possibly been a simple sleight of hand trick to make it seem like he had given his son the key but actually hadn’t, so of course both their alibis were ‘air tight’.”

“... okay, yes, I just wanted to brag about that one a little,” Shuichi smirked slightly, sipping at his coffee, “‘Magic’, ‘demons’, and an accomplice to give you an alibi. Everyone thinks they’re invincible if they have those three things. Some of them have the audacity to even get cocky with the detectives, like ho-ho-ho, you know we did it, we know you know we did it, but how can you prove it when everyone saw me give him the key. Tsk. Criminals are stupid.”

“So, yes. Himiko has a lifelong passion for magic tricks, and seeing the store? Made me remember that I enjoyed that aspect of my job, once.” Shuichi smiled, “It’ll be nice revisiting it under less dire terms.”

Aaaaaah he knew this was a bad idea!!! Trying to judge sensitive information from one of the best liars in the kingdom?! Probably! AAAAAAAAH!

“That sounds ridiculous,” Drake laughed, shaking his head a little. “If it weren’t connected to an actual crime, it sounds like a lot of fun to figure out, but with stakes? It’s just like…get over yourself, man…”

Nodding, Drake smiled fondly, sipping from his coffee. “I hope you’ll show me a trick if you end up learning some. I can’t say I have a long history of scrambling towards town shows if there was a magician in town, but it’s still cool.”

AAAAAAAAHHHHH!

“You know…mentioning that story kind of made me think of it, even if they’re totally not for the same demographic,” Drake laughed sheepishly. “I was looking around for some cool new pots for my succulents? I got one that looks like a world turtle at Alchemy and Augury--that place is more, like, witchy aesthetic than magic tricks, but it was still pretty cool.”

…more like he just felt like a walking stereotype, and even more if he actually bought anything. But there were a few cool things he found the time he perused one of the more magic-friendly stores in town.

Shuichi lit up at that, “Oh! We actually got a figurine from that store ourselves. Kokichi got Kaito a dragon figurine… it was sort of an apology gift.”

Shuichi looked a bit troubled at that, as he said, “It was my idea. Upon reflection, it was… maybe not the most, um… we were just trying to lighten his feelings on things. But, again, it feels a little bit like a bandaid… sorry I keep going back to talking about that, you’re just an excellent listener, Drake…….”

Shuichi’s eyes suddenly lit up, as he said, “You are a very good listener. And you’re a good friend. And I believe I can trust you.”

…

???

They did have regular figurines there, he knew, so…ugh, and it did seem like the place Shuuichi might end up scoping out innocently…

“There’s nothing wrong with trying to lighten things, as long as you didn’t feel like everything should be resolved from the gift,” Drake shrugged, giving Shuuichi a small smile, but…

…

The last big secret Shuuichi had confided in him was a secret baby, so…this could really be anything. Drake knew better than to keep his hopes up for the one thing he was trying to see. 

“I mean, I would hope so,” Drake laughed nervously, giving Shuuichi a sheepish smile. “I consider you a close friend so…I hope I could inspire that kind of faith in return.”

“You do.” Shuichi said, looking him over as he said, “And you’re very pretty, and quick to flattery, and the stumbling and accidents thing is very endearing…”

Leaning forward, entirely serious, Shuichi said, “Could you take Kaito on a pretend date?”

Drake blinked.

…really out of nowhere.

Blinking again, he gave Shuuichi an uneasy look. “Like…one that he knows is pretend too, right? Because… Shuuichi, honestly I don’t feel comfortable even pretending to woo your fiance. And I doubt he’d appreciate it either, past just the being a compliment part…”

“And…I’m not sure if being a proxy for you listening is…a great idea…”

Drake’s mouth went through a few wobbles as he considered the idea more, though. “...but if you all did want an excuse for him to…get out of the castle for a bit? I wouldn’t mind hanging out with Kaito for a few hours, and setting stuff up for that. Maybe it’d let him vent more…and I really don’t mind that…”

“No, no, no, not a real date, I don’t want you ‘wooing’ him.” Shuichi said, waving his hand dismissively at that, “I just know… look, Kaito, when he was feeling down, would take his friends out and just… lavish them with attention,” Shuichi said, shrugging, “They weren’t ‘dates’, but everyone also kind of knew they were. He just enjoyed dating. And, admittedly, maybe trying to reconnect him with an old sense of normalcy that he himself isn’t pursuing is… foolish.” Shuichi admitted, brow furrowing a little, “But I’m also confident that Kaito would never pursue something like this on his own anyway. Specifically not to upset me. Kokichi too, but I’m a little more… pouty when he lavishes affection onto other people.”

“If I set him up on a ‘hangout’ session that he knows that I know he’s going to act like a total flirt on? Maybe he’ll feel more comfortable relaxing and doing that, because obviously I’ll be…” Shuichi frowned, before shaking his head with a self-offended look, “Obviously I’m okay with it, cause I do trust Kaito, regardless of how seeing him looking at other people makes me want his attention. And, honestly, I don’t even know if you like men. Do you like men? It really doesn’t matter to me either way, again it’s just…”

Shuichi huffed, “I don’t want to be the reason Kaito doesn’t feel comfortable around people. I watched a woman named Bailsong try to do that to him and Kaito let her make him miserable for all of a month before he started breaking up with her. And breaking up with that woman was a process. I remember thinking how strange it was that she didn’t realize she was pushing him away with her possessiveness. I don’t want to make that mistake.”

“...I suppose just asking you to take Kaito out somewhere for a bit to get him out of the castle is a less dramatic way of asking you for help though.” Shuichi admitted sheepishly, “Sorry about that. One thing myself and my friends have in common is we all tend to have a flair for the dramatics.”

Drake still didn’t think this was the exact path… If Kaito did feel like making a fun day to pull himself out of a funk, well, he had two people dedicated to him that would probably be pretty happy to go out and have a fun time. Shuuichi wouldn’t be preventing that because…he would be the person Kaito lavished attention on. 

Maybe it wouldn’t be exactly what Shuuichi planned, but…Drake could invite his friend’s fiance to hang out somewhere cool and…be open to talk. Or be a distraction for a while. 

Shrugging a little awkwardly, Drake mentioned, “I dunno, really… I haven’t really felt that kind of attraction to anyone,” in…a very, very long time, “So I might just be on the ace spectrum. I’m not exactly longing for a relationship either way, so it doesn’t bother me much.”

But then he sighed, giving Shuuichi a smile. “If it means anything, I really don’t think you’re being…controlling to Kaito. You’re not preventing him from hanging out with his friends, right? You all were just talking about how he’d met up with friends during Zenith. And…I don’t think I would be all that comfortable going through the motions of a date, but…I could just set up a hang out for us. If nothing else…I think it would be nice to get to know someone so dear to you more.”

Shuichi nodded, “See? Even if you weren’t ace, that right there is why I know Kaito would be entirely safe in your hands… and no, I don’t think I’m being controlling either. I try not to be, I don’t think it’d accomplish anything other then straining our relationship. I just…”

Shuichi gave Drake a tired smile, “Maybe I should just take him out on a date. This is going to sound terrible, but it’s just occurred to me in this moment that that didn’t even occur to me, because I don’t think we’ve ever had a ‘going out’ date for just the two of us before. I literally thought of setting up a pretend date for him before it occurred to me  I should take him out somewhere. Dr. Ford will have a field day with that.”

“But, thank you. I still think getting out of the castle and taking a break from us might do him some good. He talks to Waku pretty regularly, a housekeeper at the castle, and I know he’s made a bar friend, but Kaito doesn’t socialize much out of us and them here. I think getting out with you could be refreshing, if nothing else. And obviously I would absolutely owe you a favor in turn.” Shuichi said, taking a sip of coffee before asking, “Have any requests in mind?”

Honestly…yeah. Kaito would probably be elated if Shuuichi asked him out. But there was no reason they couldn’t do both ideas--just give Kaito as much support as possible during this time. 

And as for a favor…

…how about continuing to raise your daughter happily and healthily so she’ll take down the nation of assholes to the east?

“Um…nothing pops out, right away,” Drake laughed softly. “How about I just ask the fiance of my good friend if he’d want to hang out and get to know each other better, and then I can rely on you as a friend later down the line if there’s something I see I need help with. We can just…be good to each other, yeah?”

“That’s decent of you. I think I’d have used a favor to request help for your next difficult assignment.” Shuichi smirked slightly… before laughing, covering his mouth a bit as he gave Drake a pleased look, “You’re very patient. Thank you, Drake.”

Drake let out an agonized sigh as he faced palmed. “I should’ve asked for that…”

-

“You…” Kaito raised an eyebrow at Shuichi, Miyako sitting on his hip as she leaned against his legs, Kaito scrunched up in the window seat and playing ‘infant existential experimenting’, otherwise known as ‘peek-a-boo’. The books all swore by it, but Miyako didn’t seem to understand the point of it, mostly just staring at him and giving him a baffled look every time he revealed his face, coo’ing. At one point, Kaito’s head dinged. He wondered if maybe she was trying to stop him from being weird. Sorry kid, there’s no tethering that. “...want me to go out with Drake? By myself?”

Shuichi nodded enthusiastically, a steely, determined gleam in his eyes as he said, “Yes. I asked him, and he gave a very enthusiastic yes.”

“...you asked Drake to hang out with me?” Kaito asked warily, reaching out to trying a little ‘patty-cake’ instead, otherwise known as ‘strategic baby high fives’. Miyako didn’t seem to get it, grabbing at his fingers and trying to pull them up to her mouth. Kaito let her.

“Stop that.” Shuichi scolded, though he ignored Kaito ignoring him as he let Miyako keep sucking and chewing on his fingers as Shuichi kept on determinedly, “Why not? You like Drake.”

“Sure,” Kaito shrugged, “I’d totally get going out with you and him. But I don’t think I’ve ever had a one on one conversation with this guy… oh, you know what, I lie. Once. I think I talked to him when I was dropping you off to school once. He asked me if class had started yet.”

“You forget the names of people we grew up with, but that you remember.”

Kaito shrugged. “Give it a day, I’ll forget again. Are you trying to make me feel better? Because as much as I love and appreciate you, handsome, I actually feel fine. We don’t have to do any special ‘Kaito’ stuff, okay? Kaito’s fine.”

Shuichi glanced over at the closet, which was still half torn apart, Kaito having randomly deciding he was going to reorganize it for the last three hours, before getting distracted by Miyako whining for him. Kaito’s eyes followed Shuichi’s eyeline, before he frowned, “I’m allowed to do home projects and still be fine.”

“You were scrubbing the bathroom top to bottom before this.”

“Dude, someone’s gotta clean. The housekeepers don’t come in here anymore, you want things to get moldy?”

“The housekeepers don’t come in because you keep insisting you’re taking care of it.”

“I’m not wrong to just want to do something useful!” Kaito snapped, before taking a deep breath as Miyako whined, in… out… “Sorry baby. Dad’s okay~ Dad’s just grumpy, everything’s fiiiiine~”

Shuichi narrowed his eyes at Kaito, feeling the impulse to say something snipey… before recalling, come on. Don’t be mean just because the idea occurs to you. Control, set your own standards… “Kaito, I think doing something fun, for yourself, without having to think about any of us would be good for you, and Drake is a friend of mine who I would like you to get to know more.”

“I think there’s a contradiction in that statement that you’d see yourself if you thought about it for a second,” Kaito said, though he said it softly, not entirely feeling up to starting a fight about this. Louder, trying to get ahead of Shuichi deciphering what Kaito meant, he said, “I do things for myself all the time. Most everything I do is for myself.”

“Like what?”

“Well, for instance, last night I walked behind you guys when we were all climbing the stairs, and got to enjoy the view. That was a great time. You should wear shorts like Kokichi, by the way. Just throwing that out there.”

Shuichi rolled his eyes, “Look, would you just agree to do this? Kokichi’s going to be back with Maki any minute to go do this voting thing, and I already told Drake you’d hang out with him this afternoon.”

“What?” Kaito said, giving Shuichi a baffled look, “You already made plans??”

Shuichi winced, “Come on, Kaito, please? I didn’t think you’d be so against it. It’s just going out for a few hours and relaxing, I thought… do you not like Drake?”

“Dude, Drake’s fine, I just…” Kaito sighed, rubbing his temple. Relax… Shuichi was just trying to help. Kaito could remember springing random plans and get togethers on him as teenagers all the time. If Shuichi learned this from anyone, it was him. Ugh… reaping what he damned sowed… “...ya know what? Maybe getting out of the castle for a few hours would be nice. Alright, sure. It’ll be fun. Thanks, Shuichi.”

“Oh? Good!” Shuichi said, lighting up, “You’ll have a great time, Drake is very nice and very interesting, he’s like Kokichi in that he always seems to know all these random trivias about things. Oh, wear something nice too, Really dress up for it.”

“Wha–?” Kaito started to ask, but he heard the key in the lock and decided to let it go as he sat up, cradling Miyako against him as he watched the door.

Kokichi came into the room with a smile, though his eyebrows raised as he saw how their closet had exploded out into the room. When he’d left Kaito had been deep cleaning the bathroom…which were the two things Kaito had done that spring, when he felt strung out. 

…well, it had only been a few days, and Kaito was allowed to still be off-kilter. Coping was a long process, and it wasn’t done all at once. 

Still, Kokichi offered a more gentle smile when he refocused himself. “Hey, are you guys ready? They said they’d have room for us, now.”

Some ballots were mail-in, but considering they lived in the castle, it was generally easier to vote in person. They’d get their ballot, go in a privacy cubicle, fill it out, slip the ballot in a sleeve, then…! They were done! And would fulfill their civic duty, expressing their opinion for the direction of the country. 

Kokichi knew his family wouldn’t care that much, and that the average person didn’t care much either, but…to him, it was so exciting!! 

“We’re ready.” Kaito said, looking distinctly unready as he looked around vaguely for a shirt, a lot of his clothes strewn on the ground or laid out on the bed, whispering to Miyako, “Which shirt, baby girl? This one? Thiiiiis one?” he asked, pointing to a random shirt and watching Miyako’s expression, who was just staring at him, chewing on her own hand as he asked, “No? How about…. That one? Alright, if you insist.”

Putting on the shirt– it was a white t-shirt he used as an under shirt for his button-ups,-- Kaito went to step into his slippers as well as he said, “Alright, let’s do this! Maki, Shuichi, you guys excited?”

Maki shrugged, “Depends on what’s on the ballets. I think the guard uniforms could probably use an update. In that I think the guards should have uniforms.”

“Why?” Kaito asked, Shuichi grabbing his hat, which he was wearing more infrequently now, putting it on and throwing on a comfortable blazer as they headed down, “You used to say that guards having uniforms were stupid because it made it easier to tell them apart and and navigate aroun– oooooh. Maki, don’t do that.”

Maki rolled her eyes, “That’s not what I mean, I mean armor-wise. It seems to vary pretty wildly how armored up any particular guard is going to be. I think there should at least be a minimum enforced on them, like maybe some sort of under armor.”

“I have a feeling that’s not up to a vote. That’s probably just managed by the head of the guards.” Kaito mused, looking to Kokichi as he said with a grin, “But! I know roads are gonna be on there! Right? Road stuff?”

They were just going downstairs, and what Kaito was wearing were things Kokichi would think was appropriate, but…Kaito choosing just an undershirt? 

…a day at a time. 

Kokichi snorted a little at the possible interpretation of Maki’s concern, but…honestly, she did have a point. “Guard uniform isn’t up to a national vote, you’re right, but…you really could bring it up with Captain Kaname, or submit it as a concern to the paper or at a town meeting. It’d probably take a little bit for anything to happen, since any change to the Guardforce has to at least notify all the other branches, but…that is a good idea. If it’s something that could cut down on people being injured? Then I think they’d bring it up to a discussion, at least.”

“But, yeah, the roads decision is definitely gonna be on the ballot,” Kokichi nodded, returning Kaito’s grin. “Probably some other policy stuff, like budget agreements or tax proposals--the exact wording can get a little confusing, but there’s usually a more brief breakdown underneath each issue so it’s understandable no matter your familiarity with legal parlance.”

A chance under Aiichi’s term, actually. There were always issues of voter fraud and collusion and lobbying, but…when people could easily understand what they were voting for? It cut down a lot on people accidentally showing their ballots, just to ask what the heck an item meant.

“We’re gonna go vote on budgets, Miiiiyaaaa.” Kaito coo’d at her, having grabbed her baby bag on the way out, just in case, and other than loosely wrapping her in a blanket to keep her warm in her diaper, baby was also ready to go! “What do you think, baby girl? What do you think our international border policy should be? We gonna keep those filthy…” Kaito paused, realizing he didn’t have an insult in mind, as he asked Kokichi, “Hey, is there a Luminary specific slur here?”

Maybe it shouldn’t have been as surprising a leap as it was for Kokichi to hear, as Kaito just thinking about votable policy, but…it was obvious, just as immediately uncomfortable Kokichi looked. 

He’d been out of the office for a while, but…he still tried to keep track of what was going on. And despite people voting on it before, despite being in a peace treaty that the Dicean people really needed (though Kokichi would sincerely doubt Kaede would be itching to start another war with them)...there had been another wave of…talks and sentiment. About foreign policy. 

Looking to the side, Kokichi rubbed the back of his neck, visibly uneasy and uncomfortable, as he mumbled, “...Naries. Really…just any sort of term that conveys violent tendencies…”

“Naries?” Shuichi asked, more startled that it was a word he wasn’t familiar with… before his brain immediately added in ‘Lumi’ and he blushed, “Oh, Lumi’naries. Of course. Obviously. Wasn’t confused about that at all.”

Kaito smirked at Shuichi, “What’d you think it was?”

“N-nothing! I immediately knew it was just a shortened word for Luminaries!”

“Could have been some type of ‘fairy’? Fairies with an n…” Maki hummed, trying to think as she said, “Not sure if there’s a meaning I could come up with that would make it violent. Nudging-fairies? Narcissistic-fairies?”

“If you believe the book, that’s all of them.” Shuichi mused. 

“Oh, maybe ‘Saires’?” Kaito grinned, “Savage fairies? Or… Daries? Desert fairies? Are there desert fairies?” Kaito asked, looking to Shuichi, who shrugged. Hadn’t come across anything like that in the reading yet.

“If we’re going to be insulted using a comparison to a ‘mythical’ creature, fairies seems lacking anyway.” Maki decided, having literally been the one to come up with the comparison and being entirely unimpressed with it now, “What’s a more apt, insulting comparison?”

“Golems.” Kaito decided immediately, barely thinking about it. “Creatures put together by slapping around some mud and putting fire to it, then feeding them really basic information to make them just basically functioning enough to do simple tasks for uncaring masters. Luminary golems. Nailed it.”

“That’s pretty good.” Shuichi agreed, feeling a little competitive and trying to come up with a different one, “... maybe… hmm… shoot… harpies? Screeching, aggressive winged creatures? Admittedly, I can’t think of why they’d specifically represent Luminary well, beyond being famously aggressive. What do you think, Kokichi?”

…that wasn’t what ‘Naries’ meant. 

Sure, it did come from Luminaries, but…well, it was the kind of stretch that was common to think of as clever in Dicean narrative. They were called ‘Naries’, because they had Nary a moral. Luminaries had no respect for life and were just destructive, cruel, killing machines…according to the slur, and the people that used it. 

Even during the height of the war, Kokichi hated hearing it. 

“I don’t think golems are really an insulting comparison,” Kokichi said softly. “They’re protective beings, at the end of the day, and it’s really incredible to be able to create life like that…”

“...I dunno. I don’t really like thinking of any species of magic folk like they can be wholly representative of something bad…”

Kaito gave Kokichi a grin, “Aw, it’s a hollow comparison, babe. And, well… insults are insulting. Doesn’t make them true, but offensive is a given. So, yeah, if you wanted to insult both golems and Luminaries? Compare them to each other and then laugh. Successful being a dick to both parties!”

“Are you… trying to teach Kokichi how to insult people?” Maki asked, raising an eyebrow at Kaito, “Because he knows.”

“I honestly have no idea what I’m trying to do.” Kaito admitted with a small shrug, bouncing Miyako a bit, who was starting to fuss. “I guess just say that I know the comparison isn’t fair when I made it. But, then, that would be implying Kokichi didn’t know I was trying to be insulting which… hmmmmm…”

“I don’t mind that you insulted Luminaries, but I do have issues with the generalization of species. If only because the book makes so many of them and it becomes easier to read the bias in the explanations the more I read it.” Shuichi mused, “No one’s ever really ‘one’ way as a whole group, but the book sure seems okay wording it as if they are.”

“I think you guys are ignoring generalizations for a culture versus generalizations for individuals.” Maki said, “Knowing some generally standard traits of a people in certain locations is a must if you want to travel safely through it. Not everyone there will fit the description, but knowing what the basic expectations of that area are is still invaluable, even if its relying on generalizations and stereotypes.”

“Okay, but that feels like you’re implying a bunch of negative things. There are good stereotypes too, right? Like, most Diceans are nice… or at least non-violent.”

“No, see, right there. That’s why I don’t think generalizations work right.” Shuichi argued, the three of them now fully getting into the debate as they headed down, “Because they’re misleading. We know for a fact most Diceans aren’t nice, but we also know societally they really push for non-violence. And even then, that’s not everyone, and assuming it has gotten us hurt before.”

“But ignoring it and treating everyone here like they’re the same as Luminaries level of violence has also gotten us hurt, if not physically than our reputations,” Maki pointed out.

“Isn’t that just generalizations again, but under the expectation that people are largely like the people we grew up with, rather than the stereotypes we associate with them?”

“I… yes,” Shuichi answered Kaito, though he said it slightly like a question, trying to work it out in his head, “Projecting self-stereotypes? But even if that’s the case, it’s still largely unhelpful, because it’s like ‘mind-reading’ but on a bigger scale.”

“Again, I disagree. Ignoring known social generalizations just means you’re going into a situation willfully blind. Go in with the basic understanding of the culture, adjust from there. That’s what adapting is, anything else is willful ignorance.” Maki argued.

It was crowded downstairs, and Kaito started to get nervous as they got close to the crowds, “Guys, we should stop talking about this.”

Honestly, Kokichi felt like insults were most effective when they were actually true. Not just…saying something about a person but with a demeaning tone. Because…well, that’s how you made slurs. It’s how you started to generalize all people under that flag and create a culture of shame around it. 

Maybe it took the bite out of banter but…honestly, Kokichi would rather be kind than witty any day. 

Kokichi listened to his friends debate about generalizations as a whole, though, and he felt his mood lighten up again. “I think where the book falters more is that…it’s a single point of reference. Some of the stereotypes may actually be true for a majority of a population, but without knowing any individuals, or being able to look at any other references with greater observation, there’s no way to tell how many of those assumptions were made from the author’s personal bias, or just their sample size, or if it’s an actually cogent observation.”

“That’s kind of the trouble with the whole thing, I think,” he mused. “Learning cultural norms and general patterns are just…learning about life. Integrating yourself into it, if you live there. But as soon as you assume things are wholesale one way or another, either buying into a stereotype, or completely trying to take people as individual cases, you’re going to find yourself in trouble…or at least being rude to folks.”

For example…Kokichi thought it would be pretty Dicean of them to keep talking about the point among the people gathered in the hall to get their votes in. But…there was no point to debate if someone was uncomfortable speaking up. Gently, Kokichi pressed his head against Kaito’s arm before leading his friends over to one of the offices they were using for voting stations, waving a little to Sakura--not Hina’s fiance, it was a pretty common name--as he’d asked her about what time they could come in to cast their ballots. 

Sakura Utaga was one of the social relation managers at the castle, and was a certified moderator and counter for national votes. She was a woman of pretty average height with whirly periwinkle hair…and was absolutely ripped. Not bulky, but in the button-down muscle shirt she was wearing it was easy to see the definition in her shoulders without even flexing. 

Looking the group over, Sakura nodded. “Prince Kokichi told me before you all didn’t need any accommodations, but I’ll ask in person--do you need any mobility or sight accommodations for your vote? And, also, I need to check your IDs, or other identifying documents, please.”

Kaito realized he was staring just a beat too long– ooooooh… shoulder bulges…– before he held his infant daughter up defensively, saying behind her, “Can I bring Miyako in with me?”

Maki, in turn, looked blankly at the woman… blankly… blankly… before looking blankly at Shuichi, who huffed, pulling out her ID and handing it to her as he said, “You know, I’ve been waiting months to see if you’d notice you had lost this. Literally since the day after you got back.”

“Why should I worry about keeping track of that when I know you have it?” Maki asked, taking the ID and immediately handing it to the woman, Shuichi handing her his as well.

“Because you didn’t know I had it???”

“Of course you did.” Maki said dismissively, “I lost it when you guys brought my clothes back up to my room when I was recovering, it wasn’t on my desk, IE, you had it.”

“You’re literally rationalizing that now, you havn’t thought about your ID in months–”

“Guys, no fighting, there’s a lot of people here.” Kaito snapped over his shoulder, before returning to grinning at the proctor, waving Miyako up and down a bit as he said, “Little baby voter?”

Kokichi brought out his ID--and Kaito’s too, since he was quite busy holding up a baby--for Sakura to inspect, the woman taking a careful look at each and comparing them to the four voters in front of her, and the names on the registry she’d turned to after meeting with Kokichi beforehand. 

Some people might say it was a little overkill, since Kokichi was obviously the heir apparent, and these were clearly his family members, though Sakura had never run into them personally before, but! Not giving this due diligence was a fool’s game! 

Giving Kaito a half-amused look, Sakura nodded. “She’s not going to be a voter, but you may bring her into your privacy area.” Gesturing over to the pop-up privacy dividers on a few tables and desks, Sakura started to explain as she passed out ballots and pens. “Please take all the time you need, but please refrain from talking until you’ve turned your ballot in, tucked inside the privacy sheet. And while we literally can’t stop you,” she rolled her eyes, “Please refrain from discussing what you voted for in public until the voting period has concluded next Thursday.”

“Please completely fill in the bubble next to the single option you want to pick, unless otherwise stated in the item itself. If you wish to change your choice, ‘X’ out the discarded option and fill in the one you’d like. Do not write anything on your ballot except where it may ask you to write in an answer. When you are finished, we have refreshments here,” she indicated to a separate table holding cannesters of water and iced tea, along with sugar cookies, onigiri, and some kind of fruit pastries, “And you can expect to see the results of the vote on the main notice board and the official city papers within the next two weeks.”

“Do you have any questions?”

“Nope~” Kaito grinned, tucking Miyako against him again– admittedly, he could just ask someone else to hold her while he was in the booth, but in the same way it had taken Kokichi being notably uncomfortable a few (dozen) times before it occurred to Kaito he should stop, Kaito’s first thought of ‘pick up’ never tended to go much farther than that initial impulse before that was just… what he was doing. Baby small and easily pickable. Pick up baby. Done.

Shuichi nudged Maki, whispering in her ear, “We’re gonna talk about it, right?”

Maki gave him a short, no-duh look, before whispering back, “They probably just mean, like, public speeches and influences and stuff, not friends chatting… and if not, who cares? Gotta catch us first.”

Shuichi laughed lightly, whispering back, “Chase us on rooftops, forcibly trying to separate us when they realize we’re breaking the rules?”

“Hope you brought your baton, it’ll be a fight.” Maki smirked back, the two just thoroughly enjoying tittering to each other as Kaito gave them a dry look, not able to hear what they were saying but knowing, 100%, they were talking shit. 

Looking to Kokichi, Kaito gave him a small kiss, before saying, “So, sure you don’t want to tell me real quick how you want to vote on the road thing? Kidding, kidding,” Kaito grinned, before turning to the proctor, “Can we just go into any of them?”

Kokichi and Sakura both gave Kaito dry looks at the joke--buying votes was a big deal--before Sakura nodded, Kokichi giving Kaito one last affectionate squeeze and stroking back Miyako’s hair. “Yes. Thank you for exerting your civic duty.”

And so…it was time to vote. 

There was the item of the roads, of course. Explaining that this was not a vote on the design or pathing of the roads, but a vote to gauge whether the project was worth pursuing, giving loose estimates (that were subject to vary, but that the populace would be kept aware of all the changes) of the time and cost pursuing the project would take. Considering it was a MCP--Mass Civic Project--it meant that there would be no additional cost for taxpayers to start the research, and was considered part of the tax fund that was already paid to do these sorts of things. 

It would be a lot of work, but…the world moved ahead, whether you were ready or not. People could make all sorts of arguments of whether being more connected with the world was a good thing, but…it was happening, and Kokichi didn’t want to see his people being left behind. Greater ease for trade and travel, not only internationally, but between cities would be huge for commerce, and would eventually cut down on travel and shipment costs. And…hopefully it would be good for increasing people’s understanding of each other. 

Kokichi filled in his bubble indicating that he was in favor of pursuing the project of creating new roads for Dicea.

Because he had a lot of time to think about it already, when Kaito saw the roads question, he marked ‘yes’ pretty much immediately, his eyes trailing to the other things on the voting docks with increasing less certainty. Kaito had sat Miyako on the table, and was leaning in to let her comfortably rest against his shoulder and chest, her head laying against his neck as she tried to reach up and grab his goatee first, then making a few attempts at grabbing his pencil as he tapped it against the table.

“...Alright, Miya.” Kaito whispered to her, tapping at her foot a little as she gurgled, “One strong little baby kick for yes to increased funds for agriculture, two baby kicks for no… what do you think…”

After a moment of tapping at her foot, Miyako idly kicked back, though only once, still mostly just wanting to grab his chin hair. Kaito nodded solemnly. He voted yes for agriculture spending, even if he couldn’t really see how on earth Dicea could want more farmland by this point. Even the city was covered in small gardens and crops. But, well, Dicea valued plants, so more money towards them would probably make people generally happier… and either way, Miya had spoken.

Maki glanced over the paper, saw nothing about the guardforce and mostly lost interest. She voted yes on roads, and not understanding the rest of them really, just lined out the questions entirely, choosing not to vote on them.

Shuichi read the questions with more care than Maki, but he also was just generally voting yes. He gave a general yes to everything, since the proposals seemed to be coming from an administration that had a decent head on their shoulders, so if they were proposing it in the first place, it was probably fine.

Kaito noticed a proposal about no longer needing to know last residence to get approval on new leases, and because he had a different form of education then Maki and Shuichi, realized, ‘Oh, yeah. There it is. That’s how you’d figure out if someone trying to get home ownership or rent approval is from Luminary, right now. If they have a foriegn previous address or refuse to give one. I’m betting they’re having the same problem for Indentured’s when it comes to job history right now.’

“What do you think, Miyako? Wanna make sure immigrants can’t be refused rental and homeownership approval?” Kaito whispered to her, tapping at her foot… and scoffing a bit when she kicked twice, “Young lady, rude. Not everyone can live at the castle you know. Thought I raised you better than that.”

Kaito marked yes.

Kokichi was, by far, taking the longest of his family to vote. Had he known about most of these issues beforehand, even being a part of admin meetings to discuss them in-depth? Yes. Was he still going to read each item to the letter of the law to decide for himself just how he wished for the country to progress? You bet your ass.

Honestly, he was taking forever on the agricultural budget just because he was trying to math it all out, seeing if the projection stated in the item was actually fair to their farmers. For the past year, but especially just in the past few months, there had been an intense, emergency strain on their farmers to come up with extra produce. On top of the original trade agreements with Luminary, if Aiichi really had been covertly supplying extra food, and then on top of that made an official offer when the freak famine happened… Their farmers were used to a steady demand for local produce, and certain, steady exports to Danganronpa, Novoselic, Novis, and very particular exports to a few of the countries in Astraz (namely Wonderland and Borderland, though they were in more talks with Kimigashine these days) considering most produce wouldn’t survive the trip. 

Now with a neighbor that desperately needed help and was close enough that pretty much anything they could send would survive…

This tax proposal was just a way to redefine how many funds they could give to their farmers with this new demand. A steadier way to fund them, than quickly calling for as many grants and donations they could manage on the fly. 

The projected number was very close to the minimum…but it would be enough. 

Kokichi filled in ‘yes’, before tucking his ballot in the privacy sleeve and looking up, a little embarrassed to see his whole family lounging quietly by the snacks. 

“Wave to daddyyyyyy~” Kaito said to Miyako, cheerily raising her little baby arm and having her wave when he spotted Kokichi fretfully glancing over at them as he finished his ballot. “Hi daddyyyyy~ did daddy do his civic duties? Yes he did~ Just like baby did~”

Sighing with a bit of embarrassment, Kokichi waved back to his daughter--had to be an example of socializing!--and turned his ballot back to Sakura, where she filed it away with the others and marked his name off the registry list, quietly thanking him for his duty. 

Going over to the refreshments, Kokichi snagged a cookie before giving his family a sheepish look. “Sorry for taking so long. You guys ready to go?”

“It’s fine. Maki and I are probably going to gossip about what we voted on in a bit,” Shuichi said, before looking to Kaito and asking, “Should we ask Maki to cover for you for the midnight to morning shift? I’ll take the afternoon and evening shift since I volunteered you to go, but if you think you’ll be tired…”

“What time am I supposed to meet him? If it’s early enough, I can probably get back before six anyway.” Kaito shrugged. 

“No, that’s not the point! I want you to be able to run a little late if you want too…” Shuichi pouted, still a little annoyed Kaito wasn’t jumping into this idea with as much enthusiasm as he had imagined.

Maki gave them a curious look, as she spoke up, “I can help babysit if you guys need someone on feeding and diaper duty tonight, but why is Kaito going to miss a shift and be too tired for his other one?”

“Shuichi’s set me up on a play-date.” Kaito informed them, tone dry, if a little amused, while Shuichi just gave an offended little squawk at the description.

“Its not a play date! It’s a non-date!” 

“...what?”

“I mean, it’s a chance to hang out with someone,” Shuichi corrected himself, “Drake and I were talking and it came up, entirely organically, that he and Kaito should hang out. So I told Drake Kaito would spend some time with him today at three.”

“Three? Yeah, I can get back for my shift no problem.” Kaito said dismissively, lifting Miyako up and giving her stomach little kisses as he said, “Gonna come back from dad playdate and enjoy evening baby playdate~”

Miyako rewarded said belly kiss by grabbing his hair now that it was in reach. “Ow-ow-ow miya please”

Kokichi gave his partners a curious look before Kaito--and then Shuuichi even more--explained. And while Shuuichi was being a little weird about it… Kokichi gave his partners a smile. “That sounds wonderful! Aw, I’m a little jealous--it’s nice to have an excuse to get out and have fun. Tell us all about it when you get back, hun!”

Laughing softly, Kokichi reached up to gently rub Miyako’s back. “Aw, baby, nooo, don’t tug on Dad’s hair, c’mon…”

“Do you guys know where you’re going? Or is it just some time to hang and see what sticks?”

{Mine.} Miyako thought contently, mostly ignoring dad’s attempt to pull his hair out of her grip, though she did enjoy backrubs.

Just accepting that this was his life until Miyako lost interest, Kaito did his best to keep her steady next to his head as they climbed, wincing as she idly tugged every now and again, “Heck if I know, I found out about this about five minutes before we came down. Actually, if you want to, ‘Kichi, I’d love if you came wi–”

“But, buuuuuut, this is a nice chance to have a break from everything here. No castle stuff, no family stuff… this will be good for you.” Shuichi decided, a chilly gleam of certainty in his eyes, “You’ll enjoy this.”

Kaito gave Shuichi a wary glance. What was happening here… did Shuichi think Kaito was unhappy being around them? Hmmm… oh! He suddenly felt pressure ease on his head, and bringing Miyako back down once his hair was free, Kaito thought, well, if it’d put Shuichi at ease, sure. Though, “Maybe the four of us can go out and do something soon? Like, together, we’ll get a babysitter, make sure Tim’s good, and we can just… I don’t know, hang out somewhere in the city together?” Kaito asked hopefully, looking at his friends, “Don’t get me wrong, the festivities were great. But we barely saw you, Maki-roll, and all four of us hanging out in the room is… well, it’d be novel to go do something that’s just for us. Maybe see if they have anything new at that moving picture theater or something?”

Kokichi’s smile widened, though he rolled his eyes a little. {Yours, but don’t hurt Dad. We don’t hurt people we love.}

…that was the hope, anyway.

Kokichi gave Shuuichi another curious look as he insisted on this happening as he set up. Kokichi had never gotten any bad vibes from Drake, the few times they’d spoken, and Kokichi knew the last thing Shuuichi would want would be to set Kaito up for some trap. Maybe…this was just his fiance’s pride, wanting things to go according to his plan. 

But maybe he’d talk a bit with Shuuichi while they were spending the afternoon together. 

“Oooh, I’d love that!” Kokichi cheered. “Shuu-chan, Maki-chan, we should totally do that sometime. It was incredible! We could go out for food too!”

“Sure, sounds like a plan.” Maki shrugged, glancing at Kaito, before she asked, “Do you want me to come?”

She ignored Shuichi’s glare, as she said, “I don’t have to be with you, with you, but if you don’t know where you’re going, it’d be safer too–”

“No, I’ll be okay.” Kaito said, entirely certain, “Drake’s a good guy, and the vibe I get from him is that if he’s gonna go anywhere, it’s probably gonna be a museum or something.”

“Museums can be dangerous.”

“Sure, if I talk to anyone. Or go anywhere alone without heading home. And I’m not gonna do any of those things.” Kaito shrugged, “I’ll go out with Drake, hang out with him somewhere quiet, and be back in a few hours. It’s not gonna be a thing. I can look after myself.”

“Do you want the backpack?”

“What, the one with the poison testers and the first aid stuff?”

“Yes.”

“... will it make you feel better if I bring it?”

“It might.”

“Will you promise not to stalk me if I bring it?”

Maki pouted at that.

“Maki…?”

“.......... you won’t leave the city, and you’ll be back before nightfall?”

“Yes, yes, and I’ll have the backpack.”

“Fine. Then I won’t stalk you.”

“Ey! Look at me, ‘Kichi, going out without a babysitter. High-five!”

Kokichi snickered softly and gave Kaito his high-five. “Congratulations, hun. I hope you and Drake have fun, though if you guys end up seeing your armor in the art museum I’m totally dragging you back there one of these days to see it again. And I know it’s not your style, but the guards on patrol really are there to help out any folks that ask.”

-

Drake fidgeted in the entry hall, feeling a little too put upon with all the people there to get their votes in. He’d mailed his ballot in during pre-voting, not wanting to perjure himself or anything while waiting--and he’d wanted to do some research once he had the actual wording of all the matters--so…he was just there. As a friend to someone in the castle. Wearing a nice button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and nice slacks that weren’t too warm and his hair tied up neatly and…uh…a boutonniere of white and soft red flowers. 

It wasn’t a pretend date but…Shuuichi had asked him to make it special. And flowers made things special. 

He’d already been stopped at the stairs, security a little tighter today because of the influx of visitors, and someone sent word up so…

There he was. Standing off to the side trying not to make eye contact with anyone and making it weird. 

Honestly, Kaito hadn’t really been up to getting dressed at all today. He had more or less been prepared to just clean everything idly all day. A clean, tip-top home would have let him feel like, well… things were more generally under control. More specifically, that he had things generally under control, cause look! He had decided to do something, and now things were done! Boom! Master of the universe! 

But as the time limit got closer and Kaito was still reorganizing the bookshelves rather than getting dressed, Shuichi started reminding Kaito that Drake could end up taking him somewhere nice and he didn’t want to feel out of place, right?? And that had gotten Kaito into gear, picking out some clothes with Shuichi’s encouragement…

Honestly, he had thought he was still a little overdressed when he headed down in a sleeveless, soft white v-neck hoodie, wearing the sandals he had bought at the festival (and thoroughly cleaned since then) and wearing light tan cargo pants that went to mid-calf (because the outfit reminded him a little of what he had worn in the dream, though it was far less extravagant), along with his thin golden chain necklace that was too nice for the rest of the outfit, and the nicer shell earrings Amber had made for him over the last year.

It was a nice outfit. Coming down the staircase, Kaito felt attractive in it, like it was good for walking around the city on a warm summer afternoon. 

Seeing Drake’s outfit? He froze. Shit. He was underdressed.

Giving Drake, his outfit, the flowers (flowers??) and then Drake another look… Kaito flushed, before offering quickly, “Uh, I can go change…”

Drake jolted, having spaced out a little in the time he was waiting for Kaito, though when he looked up he frantically waved his hands, though stopping with one to avoid being too rough with the flowers. “N-No! No, you look nice, Kaito! I’m sorry if I give a…different impression from my clothes… Um…”

With a bashful smile, he offered the boutonniere to Kaito. “I really don’t mean anything, like, more from this but…when Shuuichi and I were talking, we…wanted to plan something a little special for you, you know? I hope it’s not too weird--I really do just want to get to know you a little better.”

“Ah, if you were interested, I was thinking we could go to a wine garden?”

“Oh?” Kaito asked, taking the flowers, giving them a still somewhat baffled look… before laughing. Giving Drake an amused, wide grin as he said, “Aw, geez, dude, I don’t know what my guy told you, but you don’t gotta… well, it’s not that flowers aren’t, ya know…”

Kaito didn’t know how to say to Drake that buying flowers for him felt a little ‘date-y’, since he was 100% sure that’s not where Drake was going with this. Did Shuichi say Kaito liked flowers? Was it just… oh! Maybe that was just something Drake did when he hung out with people and wanted to make a good impression. Aw, that was sweet… “Ya know what, nevermind! They’re great, man, I love them! Actually, these would look great on the nightstand, do you mind waiting five minutes for me to bring them up to the room?”

Though, Kaito’s eyes lit up as Drake said– “A wine garden? Dude, what the heck is a wine garden? Is that the same as a vineyard? That sounds amazing!”

…he’d made it weird, didn’t he. What had Shuuichi told Kaito this was going to be? Did he lead with the same pretend date premise? Because it really wasn’t, but that’s the direction Drake’s head had gone when he tried to quickly brainstorm over the last day how to make a special outing for Kaito. 

He’d gotten the boutonniere because he thought getting a bouquet would be too unwieldy, but if Kaito was just going to bring it back up anyway… “Uh, sure, I…”

Drake offered the prince a sheepish grin. “It’s not quite, though w-we could probably arrange to head to one of the vineyards if you wanted to go! A wine garden is…basically an outdoor pub? But you get more space to yourself, and there’s usually a band playing and…I mean, I’ve found it’s pretty nice to hang out in, especially after, you know, being in libraries for hours… Though I guess you’re not really in that boat, even staying close to home to watch over Miyako…”

Kaito’s eyes widened as Drake described it, trying to imagine it. An outdoor pub for wine… that made so much sense! At least here in Dicea it did, Luminary didn’t have too many outdoor-garden based anything in it, unless you were visiting a manor and one of their carefully maintained gardens. More than anything, it sounded like something uniquely Drake, since Maki liked pubs but didn’t like wine, Shuichi liked wine but didn’t like pubs, and Kokichi liked gardens but didn’t like pubs or wine. He couldn’t imagine Waku or Souda taking him somewhere like that so…

“Drake, that’s awesome! I mean, I can’t, like, drink drink, you know how it is, I’m on that dad-life, but that still sounds like so much fun!” Kaito grinned, idly playing with the flowers… before realizing he didn’t know what he was playing with, looking down and his hands automatically fussing with what, upon further inspection, seemed to be a bobby pin… that seemed like an impractical way to tie some flowers together… “Wait, are you supposed to wear this?” Kaito realized.

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Drake nodded. “There’s plenty of non-alcoholic drinks and food too, it’s…just kind of a nice place to vibe? I mean I… It’s a nice place to talk? Like…there’s enough going on that silences aren’t as awkward, but you don’t really have to worry about people bumping elbows with you, you know?”

Drake, at least right out the gate, didn’t want to ask Kaito if he wanted someone to vent to. Though he knew the man was going through things right now, it was too presumptuous to call out. But…even just chatting to socialize, like this was sort of supposed to be anyway…that was a thing.

“The boutonniere is made for that, but, I mean…” Drake shrugged a little. “I just thought it’d be a little more convenient than carrying around a bouquet or something like that. Or that you don’t have to feel expected to find a vase and change out the water all of a sudden. You don’t have to wear it, though! I just…thought it would be a nice gesture. Since you’re up for hanging out with me today, all of a sudden.”

Kaito was nodding absentmindedly, half-listening to Drake ramble as he looked over himself, trying to work out… 

Tucking a part of his hoodie into his pants, Kaito pinned the flowers to his waistband, the flowers pinning the dip of the hood, showing brightly their red and white flowers against the white fabric around his hip as Kaito asked, “Well? Is that a strange spot? I kind of like it, though admittedly I don’t think people will get to see it that well if I’m sitting… maybe more to the side a little… yeah, like that! There we go. Is there a mirror anywhere around here? Darn… alright! I’m counting on you, Drake, you are my mirror! How do I look!?” Kaito demanded, putting his fists against his hips and leaning his shoulders  slightly to the left, keeping his stance to favor his hips to the right, grinning triumphantly at him. “Does it work?”

Taking his role seriously, Drake looked Kaito up and down before smiling approvingly. “It’s definitely unique, but I think it works. It reminds me a little of those dancers that wear the coin wraps? I know any decoration on their hips is just supposed to accentuate their movements, but it’s a nice look overall.”

“Hell yeah! I could see this totally becoming a trend! Everyone’s gonna be pinning flowers to the top of their pants once they see this in action! Good job, Drake!” Kaito grinned, thumping the smaller man on the back enthusiastically, using that as an opportunity to grasp his shoulder and encourage him towards the door, “Alright, let’s go! The day awaits!”

Kaito took a happy little sigh as he felt the sun on his skin, taking a deep breath of the fresh air as they stepped outside the castle, before grinning brightly at Drake, “Hey, I have a habit of leading even when I’m not sure where we’re going, so let me know if I start doing that, kay? Otherwise, I seriously might just lead us into a random direction. Shuichi let me get away with that waaaay too many times before he finally took me seriously when I said he needed to just, like, reel me in sometimes. And as his friend, I expect you to reflect his assertive walking attitude, got it! You got this, I believe in you! Lead the way! Don’t let me overtake you!”

Drake grinned at the praise, happy that he hadn’t gone too far over the top with the flowers. He was trying to let Kaito have a nice day out of his head…or be a listening ear if the guy wanted to vent and get it more settled in his system. Drake knew he’d fail at both if he tried to ride a middle line so…he’d just keep things light unless Kaito brought up that he wanted to talk. Or he gave enough of an indication towards Drake’s hunch. 

Though, Drake was getting the seeds of a new hunch. 

He’d talked with Kaito before, though admittedly not a lot, and they were at very varied points of Kaito’s life. And though Shuuichi’s descriptions of his partner were biased…

He and Kaito didn’t know each other well enough at all for Kaito to start actually treating Drake like a proxy…but the words, encouragement, small, enthusiastic statements… It didn’t have to be on purpose, though Shuuichi had said that Kaito was more than willing and capable of presenting himself certain ways to people… More likely than not, this was probably a face of friendliness towards someone he couldn’t be comfortable with yet. Still observing. 

A really interesting face for it, he had to admit.

Ducking sheepishly, Drake nodded. “A-alright then! Er, we’re heading west, just…so you know the general way we’re going. It’s on Coral Avenue, not too enclosed by buildings so…it really does kind of feel like getting invited to a backyard get-together…at someone who has a real dedication to their yard’s house.”

Honestly, calling it a garden wouldn’t give the right idea if someone had seen the other public gardens in Usott. The wine garden looked like a lot of small, iron curled tables generously spaced from each other among flower bushes and the occasional tree, an open stage off to the side, a band playing light, upbeat music that wasn’t too intrusive, but pleasant to listen to. 

Showing their IDs to get in, Drake perked before turning to Kaito. “Oh! Um, everything’s on me today, so please get whatever you like!”

Kaito looked around, pleased with the environment. He liked it, it felt classy and intimate, and the music was a really nice touch. There was a little fountain with gentle trickling water near one of the corners too, and finding himself drawn to it, Kaito laughed at Drake’s offer to pay for everything, throwing his arm around his shoulder and giving him a gentle shake as he said, “Man, paying for everything too? I can’t tell if you’re just a gentleman or Shuichi threatened you with something, but either way, I’m flattered! Hey, let’s sit over here! Gives us a nice view of everything, and I can tuck this backpack next to the bush. Feels sorta out of place otherwise.”

Going to sit down, Kaito did indeed take off the backpack, laying it down and looking around cheerily, adjusting his chair so that he was sort of leaning against the table, his body naturally leaning towards admiring the environment. Though, when they got the menu…

Kaito knew, without a doubt, which wines on the menu were worth getting and which ones weren’t, and while some real top end stuff wasn’t worth its price-tags, only priced that high because of difficulty to get too, the one he actually wanted, from Wonderland, was also pretty expensive… “How about this one?” Kaito offered, picking a cheaper, but still not bad, red wine, noticing the food and asking cheerfully, “Oh! Can we get a platter too? Is that too weird? Fancy cheeses and breads aren’t exactly a ‘meal’, but they really do go great with red wine… oh! Unless you’re a white wine kinda guy? We can do that too, I like both! Worthy selections, each!”

Drake just shrugged sheepishly--this was partially for Shuuichi’s benefit, though there was no threat involved--and followed Kaito over to the table he pointed out. It was more towards one of the sides, near a fountain, and…well, it did give a nice view of the whole garden. Private, but still a part of things. 

Peering at the wine Kaito selected, Drake hummed softly and nodded, wondering if Kaito had selected one of the more affordable wines out of courtesy too. “That sounds good to me! Honestly, I mostly end up drinking Tealeaf wines if I have any around--one of the effects of being a college student, I guess,” he laughed. “They’re not bad by any stretch, but I think the context is gonna be stuck in my brain forever.”

“Let’s get a platter, yeah,” Drake nodded, glancing around the garden to make sure he knew where the “kitchen” area was. “This isn’t exactly lunch or dinner time, but,” he shrugged, “I didn’t want to pressure you to stay out too late. I get that fatherhood tends to come with a regular bedtime.”

“Tealeaf wines? I’m gonna guess from context it’s corner-store wine,” Kaito grinned, giving him a small wink as he said, “Better clear that up quick, or I’m just gonna take you as a ‘box-wine’ guy from now on, and trust me, you can do better. You’re at least a two silver wine guy.”

Drake chuckled bashfully. “Ah, no, it’s Tealeaf Vineyard? Just out of town, kinda northeast. They’re legitimate and all but, uh… There’s a pretty intense party scene there. A little much for me, but I’ve ended up with a few bottles here and there from when I’ve gone to help pick people up. It’s…definitely an experience.”

Asking Kaito to hold on just a moment, Drake jogged away to place their order, nearly tripping over a rosebush, but thankfully that seemed to be enough to appease his luck when he came back with two bottles (one water) and two glasses intact, their food going to come a moment later.

Kaito felt a rush of longing at the idea, a college party vineyard not far from here? That sounded like fun…

Kaito let the idea go, chuckling to himself a little. He wasn’t that kind of guy anymore. It just literally wasn’t reasonable. Maki would at best tolerate it, and he suspected the same for anyone else he thought to invite (barring maybe Waku and Souda, but he had to be careful not to accidentally trigger Waku’s stressers, and… well, actually, Souda might really enjoy going to something like that… noooo, what would he even do there with a guy like Souda? They’d egg each other on into making asses of themselves, it’d go poorly.) and like Drake had pointed out. Parenthood came with a bed time.

Still! Maybe he’d visit one day for… research! Had to make certain he knew what was going on, when Timothy was a teenager and trying to sneak to places like that! Kaito had to know what the level of danger was, if he caught him doing something like that! Yeah! Responsible parenting!

Absolutely determined to visit– for research purposes– the area once before Tim got old enough to start sneaking around, Kaito grinned cheerfully by the time Drake was back, taking his glass and saying, “Cheers! Thanks again, man. Don’t get me wrong, I know Shuichi pressured you into this, the guy seemed to really want this to work, whatever this is. But I still appreciate the effort you’re putting in. This place is really nice!”

Wine poured, Kaito took a sip, humming happily at the taste, before finally asking with a small, knowing smirk, “Alright. You’re one of Shuichi’s ‘vent’ friends, right? That’s good, I’m glad he has you, but I have to ask. How much do you know?”

Drake poured himself a glass, swirling the deep red wine a bit. He could remember days of privately mocking the nobles that did that sort of ritual, he could remember days cringing out of his mind enough not to be caught dead--ha--drinking red wine, but…well. It turned out that aerating wine actually did something to it. And red wine was relatively tasty. 

Taking his own sip, Drake gave Kaito a sheepish, half-apologetic look. “He said you were having a rough time with a crisis of faith. He’s really worried about you and…this was one of his ideas for supporting you--giving you a fun day out, or…” Drake sighed, honestly a little embarrassed. “Getting to talk to someone who was out of the loop.”

“But…I don’t want to pressure you,” he shrugged, carefully placing his glass on the table. “I mean…I’m open if you did want to vent to someone but…everyone goes through things their own way. I’d be just as happy getting to know my friend’s fiance a little better today.”

“Aw, my sweet, awkward guy.” Kaito chuckled happily, barely noticing he swished his drink, having been doing it mindlessly his whole life, “I appreciate that he’s thinking of me… even if this is kinda weird. And, it’s not you that’s weird! Just so we’re clear. It’s just been a long time since anyone’s set me up to meet someone and didn’t go with me, ya know? Sending us alone? Feels like I got set up for a blind date.”

“Though, my Shuichi doesn’t seem to recognize I have my own vent friends… well, one, but she is top notch! I don’t know if you visit the castle often, but have you met a pink-haired girl named Waku? If you do, say hi to her, I promise, she is super cool! She can be a little nervous and skittish and–” stabby and run-away’y, “--if you catch her on a difficult day, but seriously, that does not represent her on a normal day, and, like, on a great day? Waku kicks all sorts of ass! Seriously, if you ever meet her, take the time to talk to her, she’s awesome!”

Done gushing about his favorite Dicean friend, Kaito continued, “Actually, there’s lots of cool people at the castle, again, if you’re ever just hanging around and want some tips on who to get cozy with? There’s a chef there, intense orange hair and the softest pink eyes, her names Chako, she can come across as standoffish but she’s actually really sweet and patient, don’t let her attitude fool you. Hajime! Hajime’s really cool, he’s super good under a crisis, I know that’s a weird thing to comment on, but seriously, it’s one of his best features, you can count on this guy. He’s also really good with kids and likes to play games. Um, Lake! She’s a guardsman, doesn’t work strictly at the castle, but if you see her around, she has this long green hair, always rocking the cape game, she’s friendly, though she can be a bit forward sometimes. Don’t worry, she’ll back off if you show her how uncomfortable you are… unless you’re injured. Who else…”

Kaito’s not sure when his mind went from ‘brag about friends’ too ‘hook up Drake with cool new people,’ but he kept on as he said, “Denji’s sort of famously hard to get along with, but honestly I think they’re just an introvert rather than actually, like, difficult to get along with. It just doesn’t look like it because they’re so damn flashy and loud and, heh, aggressive, but their actions scream ‘would genuinely just like things to be sorta calm and unintrusive’. I think you’d be right up their ally, cause you’re pretty calm and unintrusive, ya know? As a compliment! Like a tranquil pond, sorta vibe. Mmmmm they have a girlfriend who’s also super sweet, and again, another ‘strong introvert’ feel. I could see you all quietly sitting in a room together, enjoying each others company while doing separate things.”

“Oh! And obviously Kokichi and Maki, though you’ll have to forgive Maki’s… lot of things. Maki tries, but she’s pretty insecure, she can have a habit of trying to push people away before they have a chance to reject her. She really starts to shine once she starts to relax, it just, frankly, requires talking to an asshole first.” Kaito grinned, chuckling a little, before saying excitedly, “Oh, and Kokichi and his friends are great! They’re such a squad! Seriously, you just want to have a good time with good people, hang out with Kokichi and his friends, they’re damn picturesque, you’d love it I’m certain. And a sweet guy like you? His friend Amber would devour you. In a good way!”

“He did kind of phrase it that way at first,” Drake awkwardly chuckled. “Though always calling it ‘pretend’, don’t worry. I think Shuuichi sees me as…such a ridiculously low threat person that I was the one he was okay suggesting this. I appreciate his trust, but I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or an insult…”

It was to the point Drake felt a little bad about the things he was hiding from Shuuichi, but…well, that was the kind of life people like him had. Sure, there were cases where people were candid with each other, but they tended to be on the rare side…and either ended in the other person being turned, or in devastating loss for the person left behind.

Listening to Kaito list off all his friends--and family’s friends--Drake smiled warmly, not needing to be that kind of psychic to see how genuine Kaito’s love and admiration for the people around him was. He understood Shuuichi’s worry and frustration, but…Kaito was far from alone in navigating this rough patch. He just needed to utilize those people, which might be where the problem was, but…still. He had a good basis. 

“It sounds like you’ve built quite the social circle,” Drake laughed softly. “They all sound like cool people--and I’ll definitely say hi, if we bump into each other. And…you know, I recognize them. But…that’s really good to hear. As a dear person to Shuuichi, I was concerned but…it does sound like you have a support system around you.”

“As someone looking in? Your family is really tight knit--it’s really sweet to see.”

“Drake! I’m surprised at you. Are you suggesting you couldn’t immediately recognize all those people based on name and hair color description alone?” Kaito grinned, tsking as he sipped his wine, “You would have needed a very patient assistant at Luminary dinners, I’ll tell you what.”

Kaito suspected that was a joke Drake wouldn’t understand, not familiar with the customs of Luminary elites, but… whatever. Some jokes were just for him, alright?

“Ooooh, so that’s why Shuichi specifically called this a ‘non-date’. Sorta came out of nowhere, honestly… ah well, I’m sorry about the awkwardness, Drake, honestly this is entirely my fault. Shuichi spent our whole damn lives listening to me talk and talk and talk about dates and crushes and lovers… seriously, like, the poor guy put up with it day to day. I mean, that was all back when he was my best friend and not, ya know… my fiance.” Kaito said, rolling his eyes a little, “Like, if I had thought anything was going to happen between us, I probably wouldn’t of… well, anyway, some things ya can’t take back. Honestly, I’m lucky Shuichi doesn’t, like… have worse habits regarding me. I don’t know how I’d date someone like me either! Do I need to worry about him falling in love with someone else, do I need to worry about him sleeping around? Should I be okay with it if he does, am I bad friend for wanting him to be a good fiance?? Have I been too controlling, should I correct, am I overcorrecting???”

Kaito trailed off, before chuckling, “That’s how I imagine his thought process goes. Which, don’t tell Dr. Mariah, our therapist, she hates when we try to guess what each other are thinking like that. But, I mean, our Shuichi overthinks things, he always has. And if I was overthinking me? That’s what I’d think.”

“Honestly? If he was gonna try this, I’m actually, like, deeply relieved it was you.” Kaito admitted, giving Drake a wary grin, “Because, though you seem like a great guy! I don’t know you yet. So I haven’t had a chance to fall in love with you yet. Makes a gesture like this way less complicated, trust me. And hopefully, with this tried, this idea will have gotten out of his system.”

“A toast! To not being in love with each other!” Kaito decided, raising his glass and saying that way too loud.

Drake snorted softly. Ugh…he was glad he’d never needed to do that kind of schmoozing. His parents had always been stressed out of their minds after the lord hosted those kinds of parties, the blatant animosity masked by coy politeness always feeling worse for the people who could be pulled in to be made an example or as a statement. 

Honestly he bet most people he’d had classes with had already forgotten his name, just having a vague memory of ‘that guy that knocked over a desk that time’ if they remembered him at all. And that was more than fine by him. 

…there was a bit of self-deprecation, to what Kaito said, but…nothing alarming. Really not even the kind of thing a therapist might claw into, if they heard it. And while their actual therapist might be warning them off that sort of behavior, Drake gave Kaito an impressed and amused look. “From all the things he’s told me? You’re not too far on some counts. Though I suppose that shouldn’t be surprising, considering how long you’ve known each other.”

It was Drake’s job to help ease things between Shuuichi and Kaito as much as it was to help Kaito out of the funk he was in--namely, barely his business at all, but…he did feel an impulse to…at least be on the lookout to help the betrothed get on the same page when there was an opportunity. 

Jumping a little at Kaito’s volume, Drake gave the prince an amused look before raising his glass to the toast as well. “To having a mutual person we care about, who worries about us.”

“I think Shuuichi was relieved to hear I wasn’t going to fall in love with you either,” he laughed softly. “It’s truly no offense, I can see why Shuuichi and Kokichi are heads over heels, but I’m just not inclined that way.”

Kaito sipped his wine, giving Drake a small, curious look…

“You know, I got that vibe from you too.” Kaito grinned, leaning in and looking at Drake warmly, “But! The things I know about you? Shuichi hasn’t told me a lot. Tell me about yourself, Drake! I know you’re a detective hopeful yourself, right? That’s a dramatic course in life to commit too, I wouldn’t have pegged it for you! What drove you to it, what’s your passion?”

Well…it was less helpful for judging things but…good for friendship. 

“I am, yeah,” Drake laughed awkwardly, pausing to thank the person that brought over their platter of cheeses and breads. “I’ve been interested in law since…I was in middle school, I think it started… There weren’t a lot of big cases in the tiny town I’m from, you might imagine, but…you’d always hear things about workers petitioning for better rights, or nuanced assault cases that took months in court… It sounded fascinating to me…”

“Then, as I learned more, well,” Drake smiled sheepishly, sipping his wine. “If I don’t cut the picture of a detective, I fit one as a lawyer even worse. And…I knew I’d never be satisfied working on that end of the law system; I’d just be too biased and…too eager to get on the scene and talk with clients. And that’s exactly what detectives do, so…that’s where I ended up.”

“...I really appreciate how much the laws in Dicea…actually allow you to help people? And if I’m going to be learning all this stuff anyway, I might as well use it to help folks.”

Kaito swished his wine, happily munching on a piece of cheese. Hmmm… interesting wording…

“What do you mean, you couldn’t be a lawyer? Why not!? You’re more put together than every lawyer here I’ve ever met! You’d knock everyone in the field here out of the park!” Kaito insisted, feeling the impassioned flames of ENCOURAGEMENT run through him… before he chuckled, “Though, detectives are much cooler. I’m biased, obviously, but I could see you picking detective just to be in an awesome career that genuinely needs good, intelligent, dedicated people like yourself to help people! Lawyers…” Kaito shrugged, something bitter flashing through his gaze, “They don’t have to be much.”

“Also, sorry, where did you grow up again?” Kaito asked, grinning at Drake, “I feel like Shuichi’s mentioned it, but it’s totally slipped my mind.”

Huh. Sure, Drake wasn’t Katlyn’s biggest fan, but…even for the people most exasperated with her black and white morals, he didn’t think it would spark that much dismissive disdain. 

Something to consider.

“I’m pretty happy with the learning track so far, at least,” Drake grinned, before giving a soft shrug. “We haven’t talked all that much about my hometown, at least in specifics. I was born in Theria, a farming town down south. It’s been…different, living in a big city, but I’ve found I like it. Will probably end up visiting my folks more than they come here to visit me, though.”

Giving Kaito a half-apologetic look, he continued, “Shuuichi’s told me you, him, and Maki all grew up in NGP. I get it if you don’t want to talk about Luminary but…I am curious. How do you find it, going from capital to capital? Despite the title, I…don’t think they would be particularly similar.”

Kaito grinned, “A southern country farm boy, huh? I see.”

Finishing his glass, Kaito decided to chase it with some water– he really didn’t want to overdo it and make it difficult on his family when he got home– as he laughed lightly, “Honestly, it’s like stepping into a different world. Sometimes I look around here and get this sudden sense that I’m smack dab in the middle of a fantasy book, ya know? The air tastes different, and that never stops. The skyline is different, the trees are different, the water tastes different… things you didn’t realize were even possible to change. It’s an experience.”

“And what being the ‘capital’ means is different too. Our capital is the economical center of the country. Where the money comes and ultimately where it goes. Its wealth is unequal. Dicea’s capital, while very nice! Like, really, this place is great! Isn’t that much nicer or greater than a lot of places we passed through getting here. Which I think just means the economy is more even among the country, then Luminary. But still, it was surprising. I really wasn’t sure what to make of it when I first got here. Honestly, I barely thought about it, I think I was kinda in shock. One of those things that felt weirder to me over time because I was letting myself notice it more. But! Now I’m getting more used to it, so the culture shock is wearing off.” 

Kaito grinned at Drake, saying, “It’s the culture shock that gets you, right? How’d you deal?”

Drake had been suspicious to a comical degree, when he first saw Dicea. Living in a desert his whole life, even if the estate his parents had worked for was kept with greenery, to suddenly see a place that was just…bursting with life? For a long time he’d been paranoid he’d somehow gotten lost and was on the wrong side of the Dicean-Ronpan border, but…no. Diceans were just really into green living. He supposed they’d all just keep tumbling down the hills without plants to stabilize things. 

The wealth had been unequal in Drake’s day too, but…centered more like a lot of little whirlpools, always trying to skim more off the edges of its neighbors. How Kaito described it in the modern day, it was more like a sinkhole. 

How many times had the capital burned down? Or been dismantled by fighting? Drake wasn’t even that old and he was still surprised that he’d seen more than one account of it. 

“I think I know what you’re talking about,” Drake nodded consideringly. “I didn’t stay long in the towns between Theria and Usott but…I mean, in some ways, everything here is just…bigger? More people, more space, you can’t sit on your roof and see a farm…”

Drake laughed a little. “Well, maybe you can at the castle. My apartment has a nice window view of the street.”

And…the culture shock… Well…

“I’d like to think I’m adjusting fine, and…I’d wager it’s easier for me since I didn’t move countries,” Drake shrugged, sampling one of the cheeses. “But…it’s a lot louder here. Used to take me off guard all the time… I was used to being hollered at but…I’d gotten used to the person calling me being someone I’d known forever, you know? And here it’s just…everyone. People you might not even ever see again, even if you both live here.”

“People are a lot more hassled too. Did me no favors, feeling like I’m disrupting the big city hustle and bustle being a slow as molasses country boy. That one’s been…harder to tune out.” Drake sipped consideringly from his glass. “I guess… My apartment’s comfortable for me, and I like living here. But…I’m always going to be where I grew up, you know? I don’t think I’ll really consider myself an Usotter, but…that’s okay. There’s room to feel that way and still be happy. And I don’t think home’s going to feel the same anyway when I go back because…I’ve changed. Maybe that’s a little sad, in a way, but as long as I’m somewhere I can be comfortable, I’m more excited to live the future, than be stuck in the past.”

….. Kaito relaxed. 

He had been starting to get paranoid. Dumb. Why the hell did he just assume anyone who wanted to spend time with him was lying to him, these days? Drake hadn’t sought Kaito out, Shuichi had literally asked the guy to spend time with him. 

And for a moment there, Kaito could have sworn the guy was Luminary. Borderline ready to just straight up accuse him of it. But that answer had sounded so sincere, Kaito couldn’t bring himself to doubt it. So what if Drake had laughed at his joke and talked about Dicean laws like they were ‘other’. He had probably just laughed to be polite and just used some weird wording for the law stuff. 

Not everything had to be some big conspiracy, Kaito. Just… relax. 

“Yeah, my friend Hina, she grew up in Luminary, but has lived here for a long time now. And she went back home for a, uh, a visit recently, and when she came back? She said that too. That home wasn’t the same. That going back just makes you realize you’re, like, permanently displaced… I can’t imagine I’ll feel the same way. Luminary’s my home, I can’t imagine feeling like an outsider there. But, well…” Kaito shrugged. “We’ll see, I guess.”

“Hey, as someone I’m on a ‘non-date’ with? Can I just say, you are uniquely gorgeous, around here.” Kaito grinned, feeling himself relax more now that he had dismissed the idea that Drake was up to something, “Like, you know that, right? Maybe this is a ‘no duh’ thing for me, since we grew up in such different places, but you’re so damn exotic looking to me, and I cannot get over it. I keep looking at you and changing my mind if your hair is a deep dark blue or a gray or even a really off green in certain lights… it’s incredible, I just love it.”

Luminary was going through a lot of changes. Had gone through a lot of changes. If Drake was assuming Kaito’s friend was around the same age, then if someone after a decade or two felt like Luminary wasn’t quite home? …well, it wasn’t a one-to-one with anyone’s experience, but…

Well, even the mountains erode away. And yet, the people of Luminary would still stand proudly. 

Raising an eyebrow at the conversation turn…ah. Drake could see what Shuuichi meant by Kaito’s flirting tendencies. Still, he gave the guy a thankful smile. “Thank you. I’m pretty sure my hair’s blue? I don’t think it’s as ‘ocean-y’ as Shuuichi’s, but we’re pretty close, I think.”

Giving Kaito a curious look, he said, “You know? Shuuichi explained how you could just take people up and fawn over them, but I don’t think I really had an idea about what he meant until today. You’re a very practiced people person--that’s a really incredible skill.”

Kaito flushed a little at that, laughing as he rubbed the back of his neck, “Ah, I wouldn’t call it a skill. Thank you though! But it’s easy, to be nice to people. People just give you a bunch of reasons to gush, and you just tell them about it, ya know? I wouldn’t call it a skill, specifically cause, like, when I don’t like a person, it’s really hard for me to not talk about that too, ya know? A real people person could do both, I think.”

“But! Thankfully, enough people are so naturally awesome that I can do what I am actually skilled at, which is gas them up! Give them a hand up, push them forward, support them! I can’t do it with nothing, it’s always up to the person in front of me to have something I can work with, but when they do? That’s where I get to shine!” Kaito grinned, looking genuinely excited to talk about this… before laughing a little sheepishly at himself, “Well, I can’t do as much anymore. But I still try! Uh, try being the key word, I don’t always succeed anymore… most of the time I’m just trying to support my family, these days, but…”

Kaito felt bad to lower the mood, especially when he had just been getting hyped up, as he sipped at his wine and shrugged, looking uncomfortably at the roses as he said, “It’s hard to be there for other people when you’re, like… losing it yourself. I mean, you know, that’s why we’re here in the first place. Shuichi setting me up on a play-date cause Kaito’s losing it… again.”

“Look, at the risk of being a little too personal right now? And I’m sorry if I am, I know you and Shuichi were hoping I’d open up to you, but, like, this really isn’t actually your problem and I’d totally respect that… anyway,” Kaito waved his hand slightly, looking embarrassed as he said, “This year has been a… struggle. For me mentally. Not always! I have mostly up days! I think. But I’ve been low enough to like… well, worry my fiance enough to ask his friend to get me out of the castle.” Kaito chuckled, before giving Drake an earnest look, “Which I’m thankful for, by the way. Not for my own sake, though this is nice! But, seriously, the fact that Shuichi has someone like you that he could ask that of? That means a hell of a lot to me, that you’re there for him like that. Thank you for taking care of him, Drake, Shuichi is lucky to have someone like you.”

Maybe Kaito was candid about the people he didn’t like, but being able to gas up the folks he did, or even people he barely knew still was something pretty amazing. Maybe it wasn’t something Kaito had practiced and honed for his own purposes, but it still was a skill. 

Drake had…no idea how they’d managed to loop around, but…hell yeah! He mentally high-fived himself, getting another chance this organically. Maybe he had just needed to open up enough for Kaito to feel comfortable doing the same. 

Drake shrugged a little. “It might not be my personal problem…but I still care, and I’ll still listen. If getting to vent to someone whose problem it isn’t helps? Then I’m happy to be that person, Kaito. And…well, if Shuuichi trusts me enough to offer something like this, then I hope that’s enough credibility to prove I’m not going to talk about it with anyone else.”

More than just the vision Drake had seen…this past year had been rough for Kaito. For their whole family, really. Moving to a new country, being the associated victim of a drugging, having your parents be murdered by your brother, getting an assualt charge, having the victim of that charge be murdered by the same people that kidnapped your husband, being kidnapped by a foreign spy, watching the turmoil in your home as a civil war raged…

If Drake was right about what he’d seen, it was a little surprising Kaito hadn’t had a more normal crisis of faith sooner. So…the sympathy Drake nodded along with was genuine. 

As was the flattered look that came over his face, when Kaito spoke about his friendship with Shuuichi. “Ah, well… You’re welcome, I guess. It really…doesn’t seem like something I should be thanked for… I’m grateful for Shuuichi’s friendship myself,” he smiled softly. “He’s been a really good friend to me…I can only hope to be one in kind.”

“And…part of that is caring about the people he loves,” Drake nodded to Kaito, before his face grew more serious again. “I’ll admit I don’t know the full story of…anything. Even the stuff that was in the papers. But…shit, Kaito, no wonder it’s been a struggle. It’s morbid, but…I don’t think there’s a lot of people out there who would’ve survived the year you’ve had.”

He gave Kaito a stern look, really stressing that point. “It’s okay to be upset about where your head is, but…no wonder. You survived…that’s an accomplishment by itself. Healing from there is no cakewalk either, which I’d hazard is what you’re feeling now, but…for all that you feel you’ve struggled, you’ve succeeded at something huge.” 

Kaito chuckled nervously at that, “That’s another thing our therapist keeps saying. The situation is unique. And difficult. You have to respect it for how hard it is, so on and so forth… it doesn’t feel like that sometimes, because everyone around me is going through, if not the exact same thing, then similar things. And sometimes it feels like everyone else is fine now and only I’m still… acting weird.”

Kaito thought about not saying any more than that, but, well… Drake was nice to talk too, and it’s not like this was that damning as he admitted, “I have to take these sleeping tablets now? They, like, totally knock me out for eight hours, sometimes it feels like I’m taking a tranquilizer. And I have trouble controlling my emotions… I get, like, randomly…” Kaito winced, having been about to say ‘scared’ but his pride not letting him, substituting, “Nervous. I keep waiting for the next thing. The next, like… heart attack or assassin or death or big, life-changing secret just blowing up in my face all of the sudden… I get randomly, like, really… shakey and, uh, just I’ll be sitting somewhere and out of, like, nowhere! It’s like, oh, I guess we’re just obsessing over this memory now! And you’re just sitting in it, and there’s nothing you can do about it but just… live in it.”

That had gone from him just admitting he was taking sleeping medication to spilling his gut about more than he had meant too, and he stopped himself, laughing sheepishly, “Sorry, uh… yeah. It’s hard not to feel like I’m being melodramatic. Honestly, barely anything even happened to me, like, individually this year. A lot of this year has just been watching horrible things happen to my family, both here and abroad. Like, even the things that happened to me personally? Not that big a deal. Did you hear about the incident where this guy I used to know tried to, uh, run off with me? I literally slept through 90% percent of that. I left the castle after doing something terrible to my family, sat in a warehouse moping for an hour, he showed up, knocked me out, and that’s it, that’s all I remember before waking up back at the castle. It was my poor family who had to deal with the nitty-gritty details of all of that. Kokichi and Maki and our friend Nadya, well, you know Nadya, all acting really bravely! Shuichi literally dragging me home.”

Kaito shook his head, pouring himself some more wine as he laughed nervously, “I don’t have any moments like that. Big ‘hero’ moments. When I was in trouble, my whole family worked together to help me. Them? I just stood around uselessly while everyone else did all the hard work… oh! Katsuki! That’s another person you should absolutely remember to say hi too if you’re in the castle. She’s blond, she’s a guardsman. She really struggles to communicate well, but like Hajime, she’s incredible in a crisis! Super good person, she’s definitely someone you should hear out, even if you can’t understand what she’s saying!”

It was a good thing to stress. Most people in a lifetime wouldn’t have to go through a fraction of what Kaito and his family had gone through in a year. Their therapist telling them that this all was insane was underlined point number one, he bet. 

Drake had thought to say a few things, but…Kaito just kept on going. And…more than just a friend’s partner, Drake was worried for Kaito personally.

“Kaito…I’m not your therapist. And even just finishing up a psychology class doesn’t qualify me to say much of anything. But…if I read what you’d just said in a textbook--the trouble sleeping, volatile emotions, spontaneous nerves, constant anticipation of crises, flashbacks…” Drake gave the prince a concerned look. “...I’d say they were listing all the most common signs of PTSD. You’re not…failing. You’re acting and feeling exactly like someone in your position is going to act.”

“And…something I’m a little more qualified to say?” Drake sat up a little more, his expression growing more serious. “Legally speaking? That’s bullshit, saying that not a lot happened to you. If something traumatic happened to your family, even if you weren’t present for any of it? Even if you only heard about it afterwards, after you know how it all turned out…that still happened to you. Maybe not physical things that could be charged, but you would still be entitled for compensation due to the trauma and hardship. You don’t have to be the person with the knife in their gut to be affected by an act of violence.”

From there, Drake’s voice softened slightly. “...having your family around to help you is a really wonderful thing. And…call it a hunch, but I bet if you asked them, your family would be talking over each other to list off examples of you standing proud in that hero moment for them.”

“It just…might not feel that way, as you remember it. As it might not feel that way as you remember it seeming looking at them.”

“In the face of true horror? It’s not about grand acts of bravery, even if that’s truly what something is. It’s about desperately wanting to live, or wanting other people to live, that it spurs you past frozen limbs to act.”

“And…you, and Shuuichi and Kokichi and Maki and your daughter…are all here,” Drake smiled softly. “So…you acted. You survived. What you’re going through now, as horrible and…like failure as it feels? Are the scars of acting to survive. You aren’t failing, because you already succeeded.”

Kaito nodded, fussing with his drink, pressing his knuckles against the thin part of the glass as he said, “Yeah, my other therapist, Miss Crystal, keeps throwing that word around a lot too…” Honestly, Miss Crystal had basically not diagnosed him ‘officially’ with a bunch of stuff because Kaito kept basically begging her not too. It was foolish, but he kept remembering Kokichi’s look of horror as they read through his medical jacket, reading all the things the healers had listed as potentially wrong with him, mentally…

Kaito hadn’t really understood Kokichi’s discomfort, back then. Had just wanted to support him through it. But he got it now. He knew, somewhere, was a medical jacket that Miss Crystal was adding too all the time, listing down all the things wrong with him… it made him deeply uncomfortable. 

Though, everything else Drake was saying… Kaito gave Drake a wane, but appreciative, smile, “Yeah, I think you’re right, if I asked them I bet they’d see it differently. It’s kinda a tough thing to ask though… like, hey, guys, was I actually as entirely useless as I remember being during all the times you were in mortal danger, or… ngh.”

Kaito sighed, letting Drake’s encouragement wash over him… before giving him a small smile, “You know, you really do sound like someone who knows what they’re talking about. Maybe this is too forward, but did you get all that from class, or… I don’t know. You sound like someone who’s gone through a thing. Or maybe you’re just really good at empathizing.” Kaito snorted, rolling his eyes, “If so, good on you. Lately, I’ve come to realize a good empathiser? Basically a super power. Seriously, it’s insane, what just knowing how someone feels about things and being able to see from their point of view can let you do. It’s an amazing talent to have.”

It…really did sound like Kaito had all the help he needed, from multiple sources. He just…needed to work through it. Let himself be helped, and consider the things people were trying to explain. He definitely had it in him. Just…ups and downs, like he’d said. 

Drake turned a bit bashful as Kaito said it sounded like he knew what he was going through--887 CT (Collective Time) had been a hell of a year for Drake--but he…paused, as Kaito started talking about empathy. 

It was innocent enough, a good, general quality for people to have, but…

…describing it as a superpower? Describing that as pretty intimate empathy?

The things he’d heard Kaito say in the vision could be a coincidence. Shuuichi befriending someone who worked at a magic shop could be coincidence. Kaito admiring potent empathy could be a coincidence. 

…could all three?

“I think I just get a little overexcited for certain concepts?” Drake carefully chuckled. “Seems common, for people like me. And…yeah. What a crazy psychic power, Empathy could be.”

…see if he takes those.

Kaito’s next sip of wine went very still… for a moment. Before he continued sipping. Staring at the fountain water for a moment, before musing aloud, “Ya know, it’s a really good wine.”

“......” Kaito started to tremble, and that almost made him want to just laugh out loud at himself. Speak of the devil and it fucking appears. The devil, in this context, being his stupid, useless fucking reaction to stress. Why was he trembling? If this was as bad as he thought it was, he shouldn’t be trembling! He should be… rising to action! Threatening Drake, saying something like ‘how dare you’ or… ‘Don’t even think about coming after my family’ or…

Or even more than that! Dragging him away! D-doing what needed to be done, because, because, oh fuck, oh fuck, did he just out Kokichi? Oh no, please, it had just been a joke it had…

“....” Kaito took another uncertain sip of wine (wait, this did taste okay, didn’t it? It didn’t taste rotten. There was no way, right? Maki had said the tabs could test for it now…) and he listened to the music as he tried desperately to think of anything he could do… before finally just settling on murmuring, “If this is you wanting something from me, you can have it. Just leave them alone.”

Drake’s eyes widened for a moment before he shrank a little. This was delicate from all sides, he had to remember. 

…but for someone to open up to you, you had to open up to them. And…Drake just had to trust that this wasn’t…Goodbye Usott. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he murmured back just as softly. “Just…you know how…dangerous this can be. Talking openly. If you’re not sure what someone knows…”

Drake took a small, steadying breath that he didn’t need. Not trusting himself not to break the glass, so he held onto the edge of the table. “...you said like I sounded like I was talking from experience, when I was describing trauma…and you’re right.”

“I think your experiences might qualify, actually, but…there aren’t a lot of more traumatic things to undergo than your own death.”

“.....?????” 

It wasn’t actual silence. It was more just a noise that was hard to describe, but definitely conveyed ‘the fuck are you on about?’ as Kaito made a small little strangled sound, looking at Drake with no more clarity then they had started with. “.... I don’t know what that means…”

There was a part of Kaito that wanted to ask for them to get out of here, and another part of him that knew it was far safer to be here among other people then it would be to leave with Drake and follow him anywhere else. Though… Drake had talked about danger? Maybe that hadn’t been a threat, maybe he was just trying to gauge what Kaito knew. Okay… hell, Drake might not even know about Kokichi and Miyako, but still know about empath stuff! Kaito couldn’t make any assumptions right now. He couldn’t put his family into danger. Careful…

Drake let out a little nervous sigh, rubbing his thumbs along the edge of the table. If he was this far in… Fuck. Just fuck this up like you do everything else, Drake. 

“Kaito…Shuuichi really is a dear friend to me,” Drake said softly, something almost…pleading and lamenting in his voice. “None of that was ever a lie. Just…if I’m wrong here…please let him know that. Even if you think I’m crazy.”

Glancing around, Drake hunched over their table a little more, lifting his glass to his mouth to distort any vision of the words. “I’m a vampire, Kaito. And a clairvoyant.”

“.....”

“........”

“...........oh.” Kaito said weakly, sipping at his wine as his mind raced, “Like the… sexy kind or the… open peoples throats kind?”

Drake gave Kaito a bewildered look, though no tension had released from his body. “...I haven’t bitten anyone in over a century, if…that’s what you’re asking?”

“..............I guess it was, yeah.” Kaito said, taking another small sip of his wine… before deciding ‘fuck it’ and gulping the rest of it down, reaching over to the bottle and pouring himself some more as he said, “A century huh? I mean… that’s… that’s a while ago. I hope you weren’t unkind about it. It can be scary, when someone bites you and they’re mean about it. Sometimes I worry about that. You shouldn’t scare someone like that. It’s not a good thing to do to a person.”

Kaito’s brain was spinning, as he took another sip, considering the pros and cons of good and bad biting– he loved to bite during sex, but he hoped he never scared or hurt Kokichi doing it…– before his brain finally let him peek back at the mythology based hole that had just opened up to his right as he said, “It’s a really sunny day out today. Are you, uh… you’re not… burning? Or… sparkling. Those always seemed to be the two options…”

…this was just as terrifying in how bizarre everything suddenly was. 

“I mean…back in the day there were ways to do things consensually…” Drake mumbled. “Lotta weirdos out there that didn’t mind… I need to eat but I’m not gonna risk some asshole with a taste for vengeance coming after me…”

“...sparkling????”

Sighing, Drake sank miserably into his glass. “...that’s all just a myth. It’s just something that got popular in fiction and…well, it makes it easier to hide. I can cross running water too.”

“Oh, well… that’s good.” Kaito murmured, “...I mean, if you were, uh, like, vamparized in Novoselic? With all that running water around? Would probably be really inconvenient. Impossible to leave the city. Any of them, really, or at least the ones I visited. Novoselic is mostly on the water. Have you ever visited? I feel like it’s a waste if you haven’t by now, you’re, like, kind of on the… older side. I mean, I think, if I had a century to spend, I’d visit… anywhere. Once. At least.”

Kaito took another little shuddering breath, taking a long sip of wine… before suddenly growling, “If we were somewhere else, I’d have fucking socked you across the face by now. If you were going to tell me all this anyway, what the fuck was all that shit just now about being from the fucking country? What, is it just fucking fun to see what you can get me to believe?”

He said all this quietly, and because he had noticed Drake do it earlier, he kept his glass in front of his mouth. But now that the initial ‘oh shit shock’ was fading, the anger had peeked its head. 

Maybe for the more ambitious among them, but Drake just…preferred to live quietly. Safely. Watching in awe as the years passed and the world changed around him. He hadn’t gotten to the state of perpetual boredom that he’d heard about from elder vampires, so…he was going to enjoy his slow life while it suited him. 

Drake flinched a bit in the face of Kaito’s anger, but his brow furrowed. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to tell you… I’ve been trying to see if you or Shuuichi knew about this stuff, but if you hadn’t? Then, yeah, all that was my life. It’s not about you. I’ll do what I can to survive, and appreciate the chances I have for friendship, but ultimately…everyone’s going to forget, and I’ll move on to my next ‘life.’ That’s how these things go.”

But after a moment, Drake sighed and rested his forehead on his head. 

“...shit. I’m sorry, Kaito… We were literally just talking about how stressed out you’ve been…” Another sigh before he looked back up, more tired. “...look. My actual past…doesn’t really matter. Shuuichi’s my friend, and that friendship now means more than a life that just…doesn’t exist anymore. If you guys do want to know that stuff, I’ll tell you…” Drake glanced around. “...ideally not in public, if I can have that choice. But…since you know about this stuff, that means you have your own secrets so…I’ll trust you to keep mine.”

“It might all seem different to you, but…” Drake looked around nervously again, sighing. “I’m pretty young for a vampire, you know? I don’t want to die yet…”

Kaito was, admittedly, more pissed at himself than anything. He should have just trusted his instincts… he felt stupid. He had known something was up, but nooooo, it’s all just in his fucking head… fuck, though admittedly, he had thought Drake was some sort of refugee trying to keep it under wraps. Vampire?? How is anyone supposed to guess vampire?? Not to mention clairvoyant which Kaito hadn’t even begun to think about. 

Kaito was trying to look at the world more rationally and be less paranoid and jump to conclusions less and the universe awarded him a clairvoyant vampire for his troubles! God, he just couldnt’ fucking win.

Kaito ran a hand over his face, listening to Drake… before giving him a dry look as he said, “What? You want me to follow you somewhere? To tell me about a ‘life that no longer exists’? Drake, man, you have to hear how suspicious that sounds, right? And I just watched you lie to my face effortlessly, and then hand-wave it as ‘irrelevant over time’. So. With that glowing review under my belt… whatever you have to tell me had better be real fucking compelling, or I’m taking this cheese platter and I’m going home.”

He had really tried to keep in mind all the pressure that had been closing in on Kaito, but…for real?

Drake huffed softly, trying to temper his own temper. “And you have to stop making five leaps for every once piece of information people give you. Technically, you already have followed me somewhere. Because your worried fiance doesn’t know what to do for you himself, so he thought the next best thing would be setting you up for a distraction out in town with someone he knew would listen to you.”

“Of course I’ve been lying.” Drake grit his teeth a little. “You think I’m going to tell every human that remarks on the weather that I’m a creature they think uses humans as livestock and only exists in horror novels?? But who cares about the name of the town I grew up? None of that informs who a person actually is, and other than keeping wraps on the things that’ll get me killed? I’ve never lied about any of that.”

Drake didn’t have a beating heart, but something in his chest was hurting anyway as he felt his eyes burn. “I really like this life, Kaito. Shuuichi is the best friend I’ve had in decades. But if you’re just going to be an asshole about everything and refuse to trust my intentions, then I’ll tell you I know how to keep myself safe. You can tell Shuuichi I won’t actually be gone, I don’t want to hurt him, but just…fuck off, man.”

“Do not bring up the fact that Shuichi asked you too… nrgh!” Kaito growled, grabbing several cheese pieces and shoving them into his mouth all at once, before slumping back into his seat and crossing his arms over his chest, chewing them aggressively, trying to give himself a fucking second before he lost his lid. Gah! One of those cheeses did not go well with the others! Gah! 

When he tried to swallow, he realized belatedly that it was a few too many cheeses, and he gave Drake a ‘one second’ hand motion before thumping himself in the chest, forcing the mess of incompatible cheese down his throat bits at a time… and when his throat was finally clear, said, “Would you stop fucking talking like you’re about to go on the run tonight? Why the hell does telling me anything equal that? I’m not going to fucking attack you for being a, a…” Kaito grabbed his wine and just put the glass in front of him, not even pretending to take a sip as he glared at him from behind the glass, “vampire or whatever! What, are you going on the run because I want to hit you in the face!? I’m not even going to do that, do you have any idea what kind of probations I’m still fucking on?? Because I don’t, and I’m too scared to ask by this point!”

“And, frankly, I’m getting to a point in my life where I think it’s more likely that if I haven’t found out someone I know has recently and easily lied to my face about something, it’s way less likely they haven’t done it, and waaaaaay more likely I just haven’t found out about it yet. So, yes, you have a good reason! You don’t even owe me the truth! We’re barely friends by this point! But I’m still a little fucking sensitive about it– hi!” Kaito said, his whole demeanor suddenly cheery as one of the employees, noticing things were suddenly tense in the corner, started to approach them in concern, offering any assistance as Kaito grinned back, “No, no, everything’s fine! These cheeses are amazing by the way! Actually, my date here just offered to buy me another bottle of wine, to go, please, if you wouldn’t mind grabbing it.”

Grinning cheerily at Drake, Kaito said, “Buy me another bottle of wine and we’ll go, okay~?”

He knew Shuuichi would be…less than pleased, when Kaito told him all this. And he knew Kaito had a right to be upset. Even if people were always doing it, it still hurt to be lied to. Well…at least in this kind of culture--in Luminary or…at least what he had heard of Novoselic, it was pretty expected that the person talking to you would be lying to your face. 

Drake shot Kaito a hurt, still angry look. “I’m not scared of you physically attacking me. It would really suck, but I’d get over it. I’m scared of you telling people because you think I’m out to get you or something like that. I’m not gonna stick around for the fallout of that, if you feel like nothing I’ve done the whole time I’ve known you guys means anything.”

Drake looked over at the employee that came by to check on them, still looking a bit tired and hurt but giving them a softer, more apologetic smile. It really sucked, having to be the person intervening. 

And…

Contrary to…a lot of things? Drake didn’t blame the Momota line for what happened to Luminary. But they were still nobles. 

Kaito was still a noble. And it really showed. 

Cringing at the face Kaito put on, Drake sighed and nodded. “Neither of your partners strike me as particularly avid drinkers, but it would be a nice souvenir to bring back to them, huh. Yeah, could I buy a bottle of Crimson Storm ‘15 corked to bring back? Thank you so much, sorry about the concern.”

“Souvenir? Maybe the bottle itself, sure.” Kaito mused, watching the employee go to fetch the item before giving Drake a dry look… before chuckling to himself. “...you don’t want me to tell my partners, right? That’s what’s got you thinking you’re about to make a run for it?”

Drake gave Kaito a slightly aggravated look. “No. I’m full assuming you’re going to tell Shuuichi, Maki, and Kokichi everything. And when I first said anything, I was banking on the assumption that because you know about this stuff, they do too. Maybe that would’ve bit me in the ass, but it was the chance I was taking because…”

He sighed, running a hand through his bangs. “...I wanted to help.”

“I know going around spreading personal information is one of the worst things in your eyes,” Drake grumbled. “But…guess what? That’s what you do to someone you’re really pissed at and want to hurt. And it would destroy my life. You never fuckin’ know who decided their hunter family legacy is more than fantasy…”

Kaito had, immediately, felt a sense of repulsion at the idea that he’d spread Drake’s vampire thing around to the public, and had been about to tell him no?? Of course he wouldn’t, he wasn’t a monster! But… somehow, Drake knew how Kaito felt about it anyway.

And still thought Kaito was going to do it.

Kaito felt himself deflate at that, leaning back in his chair and grabbing a piece of cheese, but just fretfully playing with it… before muttering, “Man, I’m not going to destroy you just cause I’m fucking annoyed at you… let me ask you this. Let’s say I, hypothetically, told everyone in the kingdom, hey, you won’t believe what this guy is. When the mobs come after you, with their pitchforks and torches and, uh, I don’t know, stakes? Tell me honestly… would it even occur to you. To scream to the mob, ‘hey, maybe take a real close look at the Ouma family, if you want more weird things to attack’? Would you do that, for revenge?”

Drake blinked at Kaito for a moment before wilting, pressing a hand over his eyes. “...Kaito, I didn’t know that… Well, now I can make the connection that it’s Kokichi, though for all I know it could be Aiichi too…”

“You didn’t know– nrrrrrrrgh,” Kaito whined, literally bringing up his knees to his chest, balling up into the chair and shoving his face into his hands, burying himself into his legs as a very muffled, “nrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh” got through his cacoon.

Chiming in with his own groan, Drake just rubbed his face for a moment before sighing. “...well, the answer’s no, still. Pointing at others wouldn’t spare me, and…I already died to a mob once. I don’t want to do it again, or put anyone else through it. You destroying my life here isn’t worth revenge…it’d just make me really sad for a long time.”

“Look…”

“Right! Right.” Kaito interrupted, miserably looking up from his human cocoon of shame, gesturing his hands up in a fretful attempt to get Drake’s attention again, “That would be… so shitty. Right? Terrible, petty, evil thing to do to another person! I, one hundred percent, think that would be crossing a line! So much so, that I’m trusting you’re a decent enough person to not do something as crazy as that… even if, by this point, it’d literally be entirely my own fault, since apparently you didn’t know…”

Shrugging tiredly, Kaito said, a little desperate, “You know I think that’d be a terrible thing to do to a person. Can you just… give me the benefit of the doubt that I won’t fucking immediately go and do the worst possible thing to you? I’m not a fucking villain.”

Drake rubbed his temple, looking more tired than hurt now. “...people rarely think they are. And…I don’t make a habit of trusting the lines people draw in the sand. In a desperate situation, there’s no telling how far a person will go. I’m training to be a detective, I’d be a fool to believe otherwise.”

“...you thought I was threatening your family, Kaito,” Drake sighed. “Despite how careful I was trying to be…almost any way I could bring this stuff up to you or Shuuichi…you guys would take it as a threat. Throw away every single thing I’ve done because I lied about something else. And…you know, that makes a lot of sense. In so many situations, doing that would end up saving your life. But I’m not a villain either,” he groaned.

“To save your family, I don’t doubt you would give yourself a moral injury and do something you think is unthinkable. Family is precious…they’re worth sacrificing for.”

Something…old and bitter ran across Drake’s face as he looked to the side before his expression softened into something that looked more natural for the supposedly young man. “...I really do just…want to help you guys. I care about Shuuichi…so I care about all of you too. I’ve just…seen too much to let myself sacrifice myself again. I want to live.”

Kaito winced at that. He had thought Drake was threatening him… had been ready for whatever shitty power play it was going to end up coming down too. It was always shitty power plays… it had been Kaito’s first instinct, and it had been so strong that Kaito had immediately given up. Whatever stupid thing it was going to be, fine. Just don’t let it hurt his family.

Later, when he had time to obsess over it, he’d be ashamed of how little he had wanted to fight. All he had wanted was for it to just… not hurt.

“...yeah, well, maybe we’re both dealing with fucking…” Kaito winced, always struggling to say it candidly, even in private, so saying very softly like the universe itself wouldn’t here, “ptsd and all that… shit…”

Kaito was going to continue, but the employee came back with the wine, asking them if they’d like anything else. Kaito grinned brightly and told them thank you but no, they’re about to head out, this place was great, thank you! Before gabbing a napkin and starting to pile cheeses onto it, because he had forgotten to ask for a to-go box before she left and he was too embarrassed to call her back… and as he bundled up some of the cheeses, he said, “Look, my cards on the table? I’m not going to tell anyone because my gut instinct is still that you’re a good guy. And, believe it or not, I don’t have to tell my partners shit. They wanna keep every secret under the sun from me? I’m not about to lose any fucking sleep not telling them about you, if you don’t want me too. So long as you’re not going to hurt them, and I don’t think you will? Then… I don’t have to tell them, okay? And I’m not about to parade it for everyone and anyone to hear.”

“That doesn’t stop being true if you decide to leave off in a huff or whatever. But, I don’t want you to run off and just fucking do that stupid ‘bygones be bygone in hatred’ shit everyone here loves so much. You want to talk about this? Because I do… even if Maki would fucking kill me if she knew I was ready to go fucking follow you into some private place somewhere right now. Cause, just so we’re clear? That’s really fucking stupid of me, and I know that… but I wanna do it anyway.”

Kaito shrugged, “That’s everything on my end. Everything else is up to you.”

Drake sighed, a little defeated. “...yeah. Yeah. People who go through wars usually do.”

He had thought about making up some story about a grandparent who had lived through some of the religious persecution in Dicea, when they had talked about PTSD, but…by then Drake had started to get an inkling about things and…if he was really deciding to go for it? He didn’t want to make up any more stories. 

He had his own to tell and…well, people in the community didn’t tend to want to hear about things from barely 250-year-olds. That was barely a blink of an eye to some. 

Drake gave Kaito a slightly worried look as he declared he might not tell Shuuichi and the others as a given--...maybe there was more to ‘lying’ there, then--but he nodded. “...okay. I’ll talk. But…I do agree with that being stupid--I just don’t want to go into details about things in public, you know? So…could we go to the castle? Or some other place you’re more comfortable? Put that in your hands… It’s not a perfect system, but it does give you a little more power.”

“...and what I am or not, you could still probably fight me off fine.”

Tying the napkin up, Kaito went to grab the backpack, saying dismissively, “Of course I could, I’m very strong! I work out! I’m capable in a fight! Just cause everyone’s had some edge against me this year, doesn’t mean I can’t protect myself! ‘M not fucking… stupid or hapless or useless or…”

Kaito’s thoughts had wandered, and he grunted, realizing he was sounding crazy out loud and not just strictly in his head. Pull it together… “...we can’t go back to the castle. To talk about private things, I mean. He wouldn’t mean too, but… anyway, I think distance helps, maybe, so… sorry, I’m not making sense. Stuff I can’t say too loud here either.” Kaito admitted, shrugging as he put on the backpack, mindlessly adjusting the flowers pinned to his waistband before trying to think… where was ‘private’ that wasn’t the castle… private but still relatively safe that wasn’t the castle…

“... back home, brothels were pretty safe. Having secret meetings in the brothel rooms was, like, a stereotype there.” Kaito muttered, scratching his chin awkwardly, looking to Drake, “Private, but with security in case things got out of hand… do uh… do strip clubs have the same reputation here?”

He’d really screwed this up, huh… If Shuuichi still deigned to talk to him, Drake would have to really make a good apology. He supposed he could empathize more with his friend not knowing what to say for fear of his fiance blowing up, though. 

Collecting their dishes to bring back to the bin by the ‘bar’ Drake gave Kaito a flat but uneasy look. “...I’m not going to a strip club with you, Kaito. I would say sorry but…no. Especially with you calling me a date ‘cause you’re pissed. Here…pretty much, if you’re renting out a back room in a club, people only think you’re doing one thing.”

“...and also, no offense, but I’d feel weird about teasing all the succubi around bringing you by. It’s much harder for poor folk like them to get a consistent, good meal.”

Kaito just… peered at him for a bit.

“.... we’re going to just blow past that. I think. Yeah.” Kaito decided, nodding to himself, “Gonna walk right by that one. But fine, do you have a… coven or? …ya know what? Fuck it, let’s just go into the park or the woods somewhere, by this point if you did anything nefarious, like, whatever.” Kaito grumbled, tucking his wine bottle under his arm, “Just, fuck it. Let’s go.”

The woods felt way too much like a warning sign even to Drake, who really wasn’t planning anything, so while the parks didn’t really feel safe enough…they ended up at one, Drake choosing a shady tree for them to sit under. Somewhere more enclosed would be safer, but…the gazebo in the park would just make their voices carry farther. So a tree away from other people would have to do. 

After they sat, for a moment, Drake just fidgeted with his fingers before sighing. “...I guess I can start with…introductions.”

Bowing 50 degrees--a little too casual for servants, but more deferring than equals--Drake said softly, “I still prefer to go by Drake, these days, but my given name is Drakon Soga. I was born to Neil and Eithne Soga under service to the House of Wright, in what is now Chonis, Luminary. I am 253 years old.”

Kaito, who had been in the middle of trying to uncork the wine bottle by biting into it and pulling, gave Drake a mildly startled look, canine teeth still dug into the soft brown mesh of the cork… before feeling slightly embarrassed, scruffling onto his knees to at least give Drake a slightly more proper bow back rather than just tilted his head… before snorting.

“I KNEW it!” Kaito laughed, sitting back down onto his butt and going back to trying to pull the damn cork off as he grinned, “Ya know, before the whole ‘vampire clairvoyant’ thing, I thought I had you pegged as a Luminary refugee? I basically asked you about where you grew up to see if I could confirm my suspicion before just straight up asking you if you were. I thought maybe that was why you and Shuichi got along so well, if you were Luminary and just didn’t want people to know… you were so convincing though. But I called it! At least in my head. I’m gonna say that’s calling it…”

Pop! Yessss… he had gotten the cork off… though, it was only polite to offer Drake the first swig, quietly offering him the bottle as Kaito said, “Two hundred and fifty-three years ago… that’s older than my family’s reign. That’s… hard for me to imagine.” Kaito admitted.

Drake looked at Kaito in surprise before swaying to the side with a groan in the face of his laughter. “Seriously? After almost 200 years here you think I would’ve assimilated more…damn. At least I know it’s something to work on now… I think most people just brush off any weirdness when I mention my mom was Luminous.” Which was true. Just not in the way people would assume. 

Straightening back with a sigh, Drake gave Kaito a shrug and a contemplative look. “It was for me at your age, too. Sometimes it still shocks me, but…you kind of get used to it. Especially when other “immortals”, and here Drake actually did make air quotes with his hands, “Still treat me like a kid. ‘Throw your weight around when you have another thousand,’ they say…”

A little more carefully, Drake gave Kaito a soft look. “But… Yeah. Using that as a benchmark… I mean, I was there when that all kicked off, so…yeah.”

“Did you want to drink any of this wine?” Kaito asked, gesturing with the bottle again.

“No thanks,” Drake offered a small smile. “I do like the taste, every now and then, but…it’s all just empty calories, you know?”

With that settled, Kaito took a swig from the bottle, wiping his mouth before a dribble could spill onto his nice, white hoodie, as he said, “You don’t seem Luminous, if that’s what you’re worried about. Ya can’t just ‘smell’ the ‘Narie on you. You just laughed at my Luminary joke that in basically anyone else here would have had them asking questions or giving me an uncomfortable, disapproving look. And you said you admired Dicean laws. Honestly, the sort of thing I don’t think other Diceans would have ever noticed. It gave me strong ‘I admire the law because I’ve seen it worse’ vibes, which, well, law wise… I mean, you know.” Kaito shrugged, taking another sip, “They haven’t.”

Sighing, looking around the park… Kaito said, “Look, if I seem like I’m not taking this seriously enough? It’s cause I’m trying not to panic again, okay? I told you, I’m really… struggling with my emotions, especially these days. And I wasn’t kidding before, I really don’t know, legally, how much wiggle room I have left in Dicea. I really can’t afford to be having big, public arguments, or acting crazy or… I don’t know what I’m allowed to do or not? My husband casually mentioned to me once the travel ban I’m under, like, a month ago, and I didn’t say shit about it because I was too embarrassed to admit I didn’t know I had a travel ban. I think I have a weapons ban, maybe? But I’m afraid to ask, because, like, I own a sword, it’s in my closet, it’s important to me and I’m worried if I ask someone will remember they’re supposed to come take it from me… I’m just really trying hard to keep my head down…”

“...again. My head is all over the place right now. I’m sorry if I seem irrational, or, uh, am irrational. I’m trying to get my head around the idea you’re two hundred years old and young. I will have relevant questions in, like… a second or two, just give me a moment…”

Pulling out the napkin of cheeses, Kaito put the napkin and untied it on his knee, looking at the wine, the cheeses, Drake, then the wine again… before offering sheepishly, “Uh, if you’re… hungry? I mean… I bloodlet a lot…”

All as once Drake’s eyes bugged as he gave Kaito a startled, incredulous look--that was…not something he ever expected to hear from Kaito of all people--but…then he sighed. Considering the points. The second one really was up to interpretation--he wasn’t the only one, even among humans, who had taken an interest in Dicean laws for what they were--but…yeah. It was enough, just as Drake had taken Kaito and Shuuichi’s innocent comments too. 

He needed to break that habit before it got someone into serious trouble. 

And…Drake deflated more, looking…ashamed as Kaito circled back to their earlier conversation. “...I am sorry about flipping out on you. I swear I really did just…want to help out like Shuuichi asked, and be someone you could talk to. Guess I have my own thresholds for consideration too…but the last thing you need is another person taking that out on you.”

“...though you should at least talk to your husband about your legal restrictions,” Drake nodded with a serious look. “The best way to not get in trouble with the law is to know how it applies to you. If you know where the lines are, then you don’t have to worry about doing anything by accident.”

Stretching out under the shade of the tree, Drake gave Kaito a small smile. “I doubt your god would mind, and I appreciate the offer, but…I’m alright. We have our own ways to keep fed, and I really don’t feel directly from people anymore. Just…too much room for error. But thank you.”

“Okay, good, cause, like, I know this sounds weird, but being bitten sounds waaaaay more erotic then buying a back room at a strip club. To me, anyway.” Kaito said, relaxing as he went back to his wine and cheeses, “Like, I might feel embarrassed if Shuichi knew I went to a strip club without asking him first, but I’d feel guilty if I wasn’t telling him you got all up into some Kaito-veins. Feels intimate, ya know?”

Popping a cheese into his mouth, Kaito contemplated things. Two-hundred and fifty… three, was it? Years ago? Huh… Kaito gave Drake an uncertain look, because he wasn’t sure if this was a silly question or not, but… “My god? You’re Luminous, but not Atuan?”

“Can be,” Drake shrugged noncommittally. The stances on what it meant to feed and be fed upon were…incredibly varied. But since Drake was firmly on a blood pack diet, and didn’t talk much with any donators…he’d distanced himself from the discourse. 

Knowing that this was a rather hot button issue right now, Drake gave Kaito a careful nod. “That’s true. There…” 

He really didn’t want to have a big miscommunication again… Sighing, Drake shifted to face Kaito fully. “...I was telling the truth when I said I don’t know the whole of what you’re going through right now, and Shuuichi did say you’re having a crisis of faith. I can tell you about my experience and knowledge of religion in Luminary before the plague, but…” His look went softer. “...you are going through a lot right now. Do you feel like you can listen to all that right now?”

“I’m not going to…lock you out of this discussion, if you say no. I’ll just wait until you feel like you’re in a space where you can hear it.”

“...dude, I don’t think I’m ever getting better.” Kaito said quietly, nibbling at his cheeses as he stared across the field, “Kokichi says feeling like things don’t get better is just… part of it. But I don’t know. It’s so hard to imagine I’m ever not going to be a mess again. I mean, you saw me. I get so fucking angry and emotional…”

Kaito shrugged, “All that to say that, like, I feel fine now? As fine as I usually do, anyway. I’m just a guy sitting here, eating some cheese, already trying to think about how I’m going to apologize coming home tipsy, if maybe not outright drunk…” Kaito frowned, before very deliberately pointing to one part of the bottle, a quarter from the top, and murmuring to himself, “Shouldn’t drink past there. Should still be okay by that point… I think. Don’t really drink a lot anymore…”

…his eyes suddenly widened. Something Drake said hitting him as Kaito looked at him. “You were alive during the plague.” He realized.

…yeah. Yeah, it was like that. 

Looking over to the bottle, Drake sighed, looking around for the mutilated cork. “Shuuichi’s going to be even more pissed at me than he already will be if I send you home drunk…” 

Though when he looked back up at Kaito’s realization, Drake nodded grimly. “I survived the plague.”

Kaito pouted as Drake found the cork, handing it back to him… before sighing, not entirely without a whiney little huff, as he put the damn thing back on. Darn it, he just wanted to get drunk and punch a tree and take a nap… maybe looking at his partners naked, if he was really up to dreaming. Little naked drunk nap time. That sounded great…

Kaito gave Drake a wary, look, subconsciously touching his own neck. One piece of history that had remained hammered in and well-told was the horrors of the plague. That it had wiped out one-third of Luminaries population before the spread had finally started to recede. That it had only been the Momota’s brave revolution, supported by the hidden creator god, that had saved the people from succumbing entirely under the corrupt and wicked oligarchy’s mishandling of the spread…

Kaito had a lot of questions surrounding all of that. Some very important… but the first thing Kaito thought to ask was, “Was Molly Malone a real person??? Do you know? I don’t think she was, but I’ve known people who were convinced they had records of her existing somewhere. She was a story, right? She definitely wasn’t a Momota?”

Admittedly, Drake wasn’t too versed on what had managed to make it into history books and family stories--he was betting not a lot--but…there was no way the plague hadn’t made it. It was too recent, too big. It wasn’t just something you had heard about, or maybe knew a friend of a friend who’s family member had died… It surrounded you. You didn’t know just one person that had died, you knew a handful. You cried at night from loss, and wondered if you were next. Your life already felt like it was over if you coughed, and Calliope above if someone heard you…

Drake sighed. 

“As far as I know, there wasn’t an actual person named Molly Malone,” Drake started, looking off to the side. “But her story was absolutely based off real people. And no way any of them were Momotas…”

Drake closed his eyes. “...no one found out until too late. Way too late. That the plague spread through body fluids. So…because of that, sex workers were by and far more effected by the plague than any other group of people. Looking back, and knowing how history tends to work? It was just…pure luck. Bards hearing of sex workers dying and dying…and writing songs of them. Creating the character of Molly Malone, pointing out the injustice most of us were living under, expressing the anger we all felt, watching our friends and families die around us with nothing we could do… And knowing that the people who could maybe do even a little were saving themselves first, if they did anything at all. Even made things worse, for some of us…”

Another sigh turned into a chuckle, for once Drake sounding like his age as he shook his head. “Bless the Momotas. They owned most of the brothels, at the time. That’s why Atua was their patron god… Whatever a noble house was in charge of, they had a god to represent it--that’s how they all got off acting like they were better than the rest of us… The Momotas saw people’s sympathies for sex workers through the bardic stories, and they saw an opportunity for change. And with money to back us, with a leader we could safely organize under, we made that change. Finally, things would be fair and just for Luminary. For Luminae!”

For a moment there, Drake’s voice got impassioned, his hands going into fists at his sides as his body grew taute with pride! …before it deflated, and a more subdued expression took back over the fierce one he’d shown. “That’s what we thought, at least. What we were promised. I was out of the fight by the end, anyway… But…no. We were just turning another page in a repeating story we were all too young to see.”

“Nothing would change. Not with the Flora still pulling every string.”

Kaito listened, enchanted, as Drake’s whole… energy seemed to change. If Drake had just straight up told him he was a member of the revolutionary, Kaito might have only agreed just to be polite while secretly thinking Drake was exaggerating, but… for a moment there, he had looked like someone capable of something like that. Someone greater than himself… and Kaito was sad to see him deflate. To become less again. Smaller, less certain, tired. 

But the last thing he said wiped away all Kaito’s thoughts of the previous things.

Nervously, Kaito nibbled on one of his few remaining cheeses, leaning against the tree as Drake talking to him, tucking his knees up against himself. If Kaito could see himself, he might scoff, curling into the tree like some child against their mothers hip, eating cheese sadly while trying not to… over?? React? And as usual, when that thought came to his mind, wondering in all sincerity how someone ‘over’ reacts to news like that… but, well, whatever. The position made him feel a little better. There was no one but Drake around to impress, and he had a feeling Drake wouldn’t care much.

Resting his head against the bark, Kaito thought about it… before sighing. “I’m sorry. I don’t really understand. The… Flora bit. Obviously. What did Danganronpa have to do with anything?”

Drake sighed, something bitter and genuinely angry in his gaze, though he didn’t direct it at Kaito. “Danganronpa,” So Kaito had found out that much, at least, “Has been using Luminary as a colony for…millennia. Ever since that bitch of a queen took over… Apparently, every couple hundred years, when things are looking just a little too stable in Luminary, they do something to…fuck it all up.”

This time Drake did look over to Kaito, his gaze tired and…hurt, hurt from the weight of thousands of deaths. “The Scorch-Lung Plague was their latest idea from that.”

“....” Kaito stared at Drake, curling his arms around his stomach. A rush of dread running through him. Luminary was a… colony? Of Danganronpa? Had been for… thousands of years?

Kaito briefly wondered if he could trust Drake.

Because wasn’t that too much? Wasn’t it? That was too much, how would… how would Kaito not know that? He was the second son. Raised in the castle, among the heirs. Sure, he had been less than them, but… his family must have known that. He must have known that. That was too much, too big. How could…

… “I’m sorry.” Kaito murmured, wanting to go into a submission bow but too scared too. Scared of being taken up on it, scared of being judged. Aware it wouldn’t be enough anyway as he said, “I’m sorry. I should have known. I should have done something. I’m so sorry…”

Kaito wasn’t stupid. He could pick up context clues, he didn’t need it all spelled out for him. If Flora had had something to do with the plague, then they had something to do with the Momota’s. And Kaito hadn’t known, but no part of him could believe his father hadn’t. It was the ruling monarch’s job to know things like that, so… so the Momota’s had failed. They were supposed to protect Luminary and hadn’t. One of his families revolutionaries, one of the people who had fought with them, was telling him. And his family had failed him.

Kaito was sorry.

For a moment Drake just looked at Kaito, before his gaze softened. “It’s not your fault, Kaito. It’s not your family’s fault. There probably was some stuff that was, but…not on the grand scale. That was Danganronpa’s fault. That was Head Bitch Junko’s fault, for actually treating humans like livestock.”

“...if there is one perspective I can give, despite being quite young…is that people are quick to forget the past,” Drake mused, looking out at the park. It was a really beautiful day. “They’re quick to assume that things are better than they ever were, that people are smarter, more enlightened…that’s what progress means, right?”

“But…that’s not true. There are technical discoveries, scientific discoveries, that allow groups of people to understand things in new ways, that maybe their predecessors had made incorrect assumptions without…but the people of the past weren’t…stupid. Or irrational. And all the discoveries that people make are only possible because of the things people in the past proved.”

“My people weren’t stupid, to overthrow the oligarchs,” Drake said, his voice firm. “Even if they weren’t really the people running the show. The Flora…they’re masters of information. Why do you think there aren’t any written records of them, even in fantasy, like there are for practically every other group of magic folk? Junko knows that a constantly rebuilding society is going to be easier to control than a stable one. She’s done this countless times to our people.”

“Kaito,” Drake sighed, “...your family is at fault just as much as the people in Luminary two thousand years ago are. If they were trapped by the Flora then, and never managed to escape since? Then…it’s insanity to expect that your Momotas could’ve broken the cycle. It’s not your fault. And it’s not going to be your cousin’s fault, with whatever Danganronpa’s planning to do with her Luminary.”

“...one day our people will be truly free. But until then…and even after? It’s not our faults for not doing it sooner.”

Kaito tensed at the mention of Kaede, a feeling rocking through him for her that he hadn’t felt in, well, nine months now: concern. Worry. Did she know? She must. She was queen, how could she not know…

Kaito quietly contemplated this for a bit, trying not to rush his thoughts. He felt like if he thought too fast, tried to question or explain or even just muse too quickly, he’d… well, probably end up losing it again. Maybe crying. Maybe making a bunch of empty promises he couldn’t keep, like that he’d do something about it or… something. Something. He was still the… well, he wasn’t the second prince anymore, but he was still a Momota! Didn’t he… have to do something?

What he did say after a while though was, “Your people weren’t stupid. Even if the results aren’t… what you hoped for, people like you? Who are willing to, ya know… actually disrupt their own lives to make things better? To fight against their abusers, and…” Kaito winced, giving Drake a newly uncomfortable look as he realized, “...you died for it. For the war… didn’t you?”

Drake nodded, back to that old sad, subdued state. The revolution hadn’t been for nothing, but…it really hadn’t been what they had hoped for. It had been at first, and…Drake had been so proud, watching it from the shadows. 

But then the demon scare started. And all magic was lumped under that umbrella that didn’t even really resemble demons in the first place. And then the program started…which was…fine at first. Until the first wave of contracts expired and…they realized that people weren’t actually released. Until you started to hear about people disappearing…which did happen before. But now…it was a lot of people from the program. And then the Empaths started disappearing and…his sire said it was time to go. 

“I did… I…” Drake closed his eyes as he felt an old pain he tried not to think about too much these days. “...I really believed in the efforts. Lord Kaiden…he was so inspiring. You know…you’d always wish for a nice lord, when a new one became the head of house. Or…not even nice, even someone that ignored you was fine enough, but… He was kind. And he listened to input from…anyone. It didn’t matter if you’d been born a brothel attendant or scullery maid or a baron! If you had an idea for the effort, I mean…they might not go through with it, but he at least listened.”

“My parents were scared, though…or…they were…” Drake took a deep breath. “Dad died from the plague before…yeah. But…my parents had been in service to the Wright House their whole lives… As had their parents, and their parents before them… Sometimes, before, you’d hear of smaller uprisings…people unable to take shit any longer, and not deciding to try their luck with a kinder lord next time, like most people did ‘quietly and sensibly’ by killing the current lord in secret…” He snorted there. “All of those…never worked. You’d hear stories of new gallows having to be built, because the bodies were left there as an example…usually just for the head butlers and such. The rest just left in the gutters…”

Wiping his face, Drake took another breath. Man, he was getting so off topic… 

“...my parents never left the estate. And when it was time for the Wrights…when…” Though he was covering his eyes, one single tear dropped to the ground as his voice went strangled. “...I believed in the revolution… But my mom was there, Kaito! They…they always said that by the time we raided, if anyone was still standing with the lord, then they had made their decision, and were an enemy…needed to be taken out just like the rest of the diseased oligarchs… Maybe that was a sign that it wasn’t quite the change we were hoping for…”

“She wasn’t an enemy…she was just scared…”

For a moment, Drake just shook his head. “...I never found out if she escaped. If…if I’d bought her enough time. When I woke up, my sire just said that she was more focused on getting me away before they burned my body…”

At first, Kaito had felt something he hadn’t had a ton of reason to feel in a long time now, but… at the description of his, what… great? Great-great? Grandfather, Kaito had started to swell a little with pride, listening intently as a Momota was discussed like he was an actual, good leader, even as a lord. Feeling, briefly, reassured that, well… they hadn’t been the bad guys the entire time…

But wars were complicated, and so were people already frenzied by violence. General Juzo had once told Kaito that sometimes the hardest part of a battle was to convince the assholes among your own people to stop fighting, even when the day had been won. Not all of them needed reigning in, but enough… and Kaito knew that was only worse when the asshole was the person in charge. Giving permission for atrocities the people below them would have never considered otherwise.

…you shouldn’t hurt people for the sin of being loyal. Of wanting to quietly serve their stations. The burden of execution should fall on the fallen leaders, not their people. You shouldn’t punish others for a quality you’d hope to see in your own people…

Kaito wanted to weep, but he didn’t. He saw the pain in Drake, discussing his mother, caught in the crossfire of other peoples battles, and while he hadn’t had the burden of seeing it in person like Drake did, god he could understand that pain as he reached over and pulled Drake into a hug. Holding him tightly against himself as he said, “I’m so sorry… I know you did everything you could. That wasn’t your fault. You were so fucking brave, to fight for her…”

“I don’t know if she escaped, but I promise she’s okay.” Kaito whispered, holding him tight. “I promise everything’s okay. She’s okay. I’m so sorry it happened at all though… you both deserved more than that. I’m sorry.”

Drake didn’t shed another tear, but he leaned into Kaito’s hug, nodding his head a few times. It hadn’t been his fault, and it hadn’t been hers. It hadn’t even been Kaiden’s or Lord Wright’s. It was just…what war was. How life was, sometimes. Random in its blessings, random in its tragedies. And you just…had to survive. And appreciate the good times when they came. Try to be a good time for other people. 

That was something he had really liked about Dicea. These loud, abrasive, proud people… You might get shouted down like nothing in your life, but a hand from the same person would be offered to you if you needed it. By large, they tried to be good times for the people around them. And if not that, they at least tried not to be bad ones. 

“I know… Thank you,” Drake took in one last shuttered breath before laughing at himself. “Thank you. I don’t even know why I’m breathing like this…I don’t need to breathe. And I was supposed to be comforting you today… Man, I’m really bad at this…”

Kaito chuckled, not feeling any particular reason to let go, leaning back against the tree and just taking Drake with him– he’d let go if Drake pulled away, but that was up to the twig himself– as he said, “Don’t worry about that, I didn’t actually need comfort. I’m always just upset until I’m not. It’s always just a waiting game… I really do think they’re okay. I think they’re all okay. If they… wanted his help, I guess? Or maybe just accepted it if offered, I don’t think Atua would have turned his back on the fallen enemy. Which your parents weren’t, but… that long ago? I bet they’re relaxing in paradise by now.”

Or they were… gone. Which was still something Kaito was struggling to get his head around, but… if they were gone, then… they had been ready to go? And… maybe that was okay? 

In Kaito’s gut, he knew he didn’t really feel that way. But logically, that still meant they were okay…

“...it was good that someone rescued you. Your, uh, ‘sire’? I imagine that’s a tough choice to make.” Kaito murmured… before laughing slightly as he said, “Unless you're me, and you just kinda adopt someone and don’t comprehend that’s what you did until, like, two damn months later… was your sire like me? Just grabbing someone on their deathbed on impulse and figuring out what that meant later?”

“That does make it hard on your partners, when they want to do something to help,” Drake weakly laughed. “If they just have to wait? I can imagine that helpless feeling…”

“That’s a nice idea,” he sighed, pulling back from Kaito’s hug then. “My mom always wanted to see the mountains…go hiking. It’d be nice for them to finally get their well-earned vacation…” There was…more to that, but…Drake would circle back.

Snorting softly, he shook his head a little as a fond look entered his eyes. “No…my sire is a very calculated woman. She did very well for herself in Luminary, before everything. She didn’t turn many--as most of us don’t--but…she definitely had a type. We don’t turn kids, but…young people who desperately didn’t want to die, but put themselves on the line anyway? Because there was something more important than even the life we valued so greatly… I don’t remember having ever seen her in the revolutionary forces before, but knowing her, she was certainly there. And seeing what I did…I certainly fit that bill, for once.”

“But…speaking of the forces…” Drake gave Kaito a careful look. “...you mentioned ‘an enemy of Atua’... Kaito…I went to every meeting I could. Spoke with Lord Kaiden himself a few times. But…I don’t think I ever heard anyone mention Atua the whole revolution. At the time…the patron gods of the houses were more…interesting trivia, if anything, outside of some handwave-y mention of having a god’s favor. Sure, you’d hear of a house or two being devout to their patron, but…it was pretty rare.”

As stated before, Kaito easily let Drake go when he pulled away from his hold, readjusting himself to sit more cross legged now, leaning his elbows against his knees and interlocking his hands as he listened to Drake…

There were some things Kaito understood from context clues alone. But being told some things, straight to his face and point blank, still contradicted his world view so drastically that Kaito couldn’t actually comprehend it as he frowned. “What do you mean… how did you miss it? The whole reason the people backed the Momota’s as the new royal family was because they were appointed by Atua. His worship and revelation as a creator god was the driving back-bone of the revolution. I mean, the Molly Malone story started the fuel, but that was all just the build up to Atua revealing himself to the masses… you were still around for the appointment of my family’s first king, they must have had the coronation in one of the Atuan temples?”

Okay… Here it is…

Drake took a deep breath--the habit really was hard to kick. “...the drive for the revolution was revenge for the mishandling of the plague, and revenge for how everyone of a lower class was treated by the Houses. The Momotas promised to upheave the social order and give people the chance to prove their worth to make better lives for themselves--a meritocracy, where your status would be proved by your capabilities.”

“Because the Momotas gathered people, gave us a safe place and a name to gather under, gave us direction and opportunity… They had a leg up, because people were already sympathetic to sex workers, the trade the Momotas controlled, but…it could’ve been any house, if they had shown any sympathy or drive for the working class.”

“And when all the other houses were dead or subjugated? …well, our new leader would be the person who had done the most in the war, right? They had proven themself through merit…and nothing could’ve happened without Lord Kaiden. I heard, at the last battle at the last remaining house, the cheers of victory started chanting his name, declaring him King Kaiden! The best of us all! Long live the King! …by then…people didn’t consider him a noble,” Drake over-dramatically sneered, showing the sentiment for the former house leaders at that point. “No, he was much better, a peer, a man among men that had led us to victory, that would rebuild Luminary into a golden age of justice and equality! Our True King!”

Drake was quiet for a moment before giving Kaito an apologetic look. “...I’m saying this as a hypothetical, Kaito, not…referencing anything in particular. But…you know, when something really awful happens…something unimaginably terrible…how horrible that feels? Like you’re losing your mind… Like you can’t believe it… And you’re just asking why? Why? How?”

“And then…someone tells you…it’s okay. This was supposed to happen… This was God’s Will. And…the horrible thing still happened. But…even as a cruel act…if it had a purpose? If…it had to happen, if there was a plan for something greater…maybe not something you can understand, but for something greater, you know…it stops feeling as bad? And you feel like you can breathe again?”

Drake sighed. “...Lord Kaiden and his clan just inherited a wounded nation of people… People who were tired. Tired of death, and disease, and fighting… People who had believed in the war, had been the biggest supporters! Now looking around at what they had to rebuild…looking around to see that their loved ones were still dead. Realizing that all the pain they had didn’t just…go away now that their former lords were dead… And people started asking why? Why did we do that? Was it even worth it?”

“...and the Momotas, our saviors, the people we thought were the best among us…said yes. Yes, it was worth it. Don’t let your pain now make you forget how bad things were. It still hurts but…this was all for a plan. God’s Plan. Atua’s Plan, to free us all, because he loves us. Because we are his beloved creations, and we, the Momotas, as Atua’s chosen family, for he was always our patron god, knew this plan, and guided you. And don’t worry…all the people who couldn’t make it are okay. Atua’s taking care of them too, because he loves them, and they will be happy together in paradise, where you will see them again one day too. We are God’s people.”

“...Atua didn’t demand the war, Kaito,” Drake said softly. “The war was blamed on Atua.”

Kaito had nodded tiredly when Drake had asked if he knew the feeling of needing it all to mean something. For the pain to have a purpose. Yeah, he… definitely knew that feeling…

But Kaito felt a sense of nauseous run through him when Drake parrated back to him the… philosophies that Kaito himself used to get himself through hard times. Felt himself want to recoil away from Drake, pulling his knees up and resting his chest against them, feeling… defensive. For a moment, it almost felt like Drake was mocking him. Mocking his beliefs, his coping mechanisms…

…but Drake didn’t know those sides of Kaito. Did he? He and Drake, before tonight, honestly barely knew each other. Had Shuichi told him? Was Shuichi mocking him to his friends? Mocking Kaito’s faith? Drake now using that against him?

…that would require both Drake and Shuichi to be far crueler people then Kaito knew either of them to be. But Kaito almost wanted to believe it. Better that, then to hear his faith mimicked back to him as war propaganda… post war propaganda…

Kaito wanted to feel angry. He wanted to shout at Drake. He wouldn’t be mocked! Kaito wasn’t going to put up with it! You could do a lot of things to him, but he drew the line at Atua! His faith was important! He needed it! He needed it. Cause…

But the old anger wasn’t coming to his rescue like it usually did. And so the hurt and grief just ravaged him, unchallenged, Kaito shuddering under the pain of them, the muscle on the back of his neck taut and pulsing, feeling like he was choking on his grief sa Kaito finally managed to get out, “That… doesn’t mean it’s not true. Momota’s can… Atua sends us visions. If he didn’t want the war, he would have told us to stop. And… everyone is okay. Us, them… he takes care of all of us. It’s not a lie. It… if it comforted people, then isn’t that… a good thing? Because it’s not a lie. It was… maybe exaggerated and…”

Kaito suddenly remembered all the little statues. Little dancing winged women, men with long earlobes, the dog-beast with the large teeth beneath the bell tower. Drake saying that everyone had a god of some sort, that it wasn’t uncommon. Minor gods that Kaito, after a lifetime of dedicated devotion to religion, still barely knew the names of…

“...were there other temples?” Kaito asked quietly. “To other gods?”

That was his question, but what Kaito really knew he should ask, what he knew it was important to know was…

… what had happened to the other religions? Kaito knew what it would take to get him to convert to a different religion. It wasn’t promises of a happier ending… it would take so much more than that…

Drake nodded a bit. “Paradise exists, and Atua does take care of people. He has one of the best reputations among gods, as I’ve heard. And…others might argue a different point but…personally, I think what your family did was needed. Luminary was a nation of grief after the war. How you and I feel? That feeling I described? That was everyone, Kaito. People needed something to believe in again. Religion often becomes that thing, and the promise of a god that loved you and took care of you and your loved ones after death is a beautiful thing. Of all the ones I’ve heard of? I think Atua is one of the best gods to pray to. They may not be able to save you in your life, but…you’ll be taken care of in death.”

Taking Kaito’s question, Drake sighed softly. “Not commonly… Faith was…a pretty private thing, in those days. You could believe what you wanted, but having a day off to go to church? Or having days off for religious holidays? Or having practices you just can’t do because of religious reasons? Oh no, that won’t do…” Drake rolled his eyes a little. 

“Organized religion was mostly for the wealthy…and, well. They died. We killed them.” Drake sighed, looking off to the side. “And everyone who had personal faith? Well…it was usually easier to explain that sorry! Your god was following Atua’s guidance all along, so if you don’t want to talk to a middleman, might as well pray to the main god themself! Here, we’ll show you how! Doesn’t it feel great, being surrounded by a community that believes in the same thing, and that thing is love?”

“...and it really does. Community feels amazing…and it was what people needed so badly… So people converted. Maybe still prayed to their old gods, but…acknowledged that they were just minor gods, and they were praying to them for minor things, because Atua was so busy… But he’d still listen to prayers, because she loves us. And…it felt a lot better, to be part of the group. Than to die on your hill of your god being the real god in charge.”

“...religion is important, Kaito,” Drake sighed softly, looking at the prince with a gentle look. “It’s how the gods do…anything. They need people to believe in them. Gods are nothing to a non-believer, and the only way they can effect anything on earth, in our lives, is through their believers.”

“But…other than Pelora, that insane bitch?” Though, admittedly, Drake was mostly parroting that part from what he heard from other vampires. “Gods don’t…make religions. They don’t set the rules for what people do. If they did…well, Pelora makes a compelling case otherwise, but I really do believe…if they did, we wouldn’t call them gods. We’d call them kings. People make religions. And through that worship, gods can make changes. Maybe your family does get visions from Atua, it’s not unheard of. But…any actions they take are their own. Atua can’t make them.”

Admittedly, Kaito felt himself sigh in relief at Drake’s explanation, especially at the beginning. He had been afraid of something crueler. Hideki’s assessment that Katio’s religion was abuse still hurt, after all of this time, and fuck, he hadn’t wanted more evidence proving him right. He just… hadn’t wanted to ignore the possibility either.

Because he was a chosen of Atua, and Kaito still believed that that… meant something. He didn’t entirely know what, but… he should know if his religion was abusive.

“...that makes sense. Atua’s never promised to interfere in our lives. Our lives are ours, he just… he just roots for us and promises to catch us when we fall. The final fall.” Kaito said, staring at the grass, feeling the breeze around them pick up. It felt nice…

“...I’ve thought about that so much. Why Atua doesn’t interfere. Debated it with people, even sometimes felt like I got… something resembling answers in my visions, though they’re so… hard to decipher, later. And people…” Kaito shrugged sadly, “No one likes to talk to me about my visions. They’re trying to protect me, I know, I…”

Right, Drake might have no idea. So Kaito said– because why not, Drake had told him so much today. And Kaito wanted to return the favor, to be open with him, but… so many of Kaito’s secrets weren’t actually his to give away. He didn’t know how to repay this level of trust…– “I was forced to give up my claim to the throne, because I was convinced Atua was talking to me. It scared people, seeing me talk to the air and talk about him like we had just had a conversation that morning. I was too old for it, it just looked like to everyone else I was having chronic hallucinations and no one knew what to do with it. There was other stuff too, but that was the big one. And one day, long after it stopped mattering, the voices just… stopped. And never started back up again.”

“So, I thought long and hard about why Atua not only stopped talking to me, but maybe never started… by that point I was convinced it had all just been me, like, making myself crazy. By sheer willingness to believe, ya know? My imagination running wild. And I was pretty upset, because if Atua could talk to Momota’s, but hadn’t, then… couldn’t he have told my family I was just going through a phase? Or told me he wasn’t talking to me when it wasn’t his week? Or… couldn’t he have helped me at all?”

“...the conclusion I came too was that, I mean… look what happened to me for just thinking Atua was talking to me? I became obsessed. People found me alarming. It had such a huge impact on my life, just the belief… Atua probably can’t interfere because, like… just anything he did would have so much consequence. We’d be at his whims. If not willingly, then because of just the sheer effect of the belief, because once a god starts telling you things, what the hell else would ever matter? I think Atua doesn’t interfere because he knows it’d sabotage us… the way it did me. And he wants better for us.” Kaito said, hugging his knees… “And using his name as a justification of a war? And the restructure of a government? Doesn’t that just kinda… prove it? If he really didn’t endorse the war, if he really doesn’t interfere… he probably does that to protect us. Because he loves us.”

“...” Kaito nodded to himself, feeling confident in this interpretation as he said it aloud. “Atua be pleased.”

That was…all true. Not propaganda. The fact of free will was just…that the gods had to leave people be, for the most part. But there were certain things they could do and…for the ‘good’ ones? Supporting humans in the background was what they did. Taking over once earthly concerns couldn’t touch a person anymore. 

Drake’s eyes widened a little, as Kaito shared something…intensely personal. In certain cultures…if a child declared they were hearing the voice of god? They would be heralded as a prophet, given the world on a platter as much as people could provide for them, desperate to hear meaning. …but for non-believers? That was a sign of insanity, at the most practical, and a dangerous future power move at most paranoid. For the Luminary Drake had heard about over the last few decades, even with a Dicean filter for a lot of it? The last thing people who wanted power at any cost wanted was to be thought unstable and ripe for usurping, or for a dissenting voice to be believed.

Regardless of whether it was Atua or not--though if it was…what a horrible burden to put on a child--something horrible had been done to Kaito. To have what was supposed to be his chance ripped away because of selfish self-preservation.

“I’m so sorry, Kaito…” Drake murmured, but Kaito was on a roll. 

And what he came up with? Drake smiled softly, his eyes crinkling a little. “Atua be pleased.”

“I think your own faith matters more, but…from what I’ve heard, that seems to be the case. Direct interference just…makes everything worse, even with the best intentions.” Drake shook his head a little. “...I told you I’m a clairvoyant, right? It’s the same thing with that… The second you try to take a prophesy into your own hands? It’s destined to fail. Because you changed the course of the future by having knowledge of it, and acting on that knowledge.”

“Yeah, I was going to get around to asking about that. I figured, ya know… one thing at a time!” Kaito laughed, though admittedly the laugh was a little strained. Clairvoyance. Wow. “But, I guess that does answer the first thing I would have wanted to know, which would have been, uh, can you change the future.” 

“Constantly.”

“You can! Good to know!” Kaito laughed, rubbing his eyes as he groaned through his chuckles, “This is so weird. You’re weird. You know you’re weird, right? Am I allowed to point that out?”

Drake huffed a small laugh. “Yeah, I know, and you are… Man, I’m exhausted… Are you this tired? Can I ask, if you let Shuuichi know, to…give me a day, before going through all this again? I don’t think I can right away…”

“I am so tired. I can’t wait to take my sleeping tablet today,” Kaito admitted, rubbing his face… before giving Drake a mildly concerned look as he said, “I wasn’t talking out of my ass earlier, dude. Look, I love my partners. I’d do anything for them. But they’ve been… real casual about keeping big secrets from me for the last year. For a secret that’s not even really mine to give away? I won’t tell them if you don’t want me too. I don’t owe them that. Especially if it's not going to hurt them not to know. And if they’re pissed at me about it in the future? Good.”

“...though, in all honesty, I don’t actually know if that’s a promise I can keep.” Kaito admitted, shrugging somewhat uncomfortably, “Like I said before, he doesn’t do it on purpose. He’d never do it intentionally, I’m certain of it. But, uh… at the risk of saying even more secrets that aren’t mine to give away but I kinda already accidentally hinted at cause I thought you knew already so also holy shit please don’t tell anyone about it… sometimes just thinking something around one of my family members is basically saying it aloud. So…”

Kaito shrugged. “I mean, I don’t think I need to elaborate more than that for it to be obvious why I can’t really promise to keep anything a secret from them. I can try though. If you ask me too. It just really might not work.”

Drake gave Kaito a slightly concerned look--he hoped one of their therapists was working on that--before he sighed. “But I do. To Shuuichi, at least. He’s placed a lot of trust in me, and while all the parts he trusted are still real…if you all know about this stuff? Then I want to be honest with him. I could at least give him a heads up the next time we step into a fairy ring, that way.”

…Drake wasn’t…sure if Shuuichi would still want to be his friend. He knew that Shuuichi’s trust was easily lost, and…even for Kaito, never regained. But he valued their friendship and…especially if Kaito couldn’t keep it a secret forever, he didn’t want to sully things by not choosing to tell Shuuichi first. 

…Telepath or Empath, though Drake would bet on the latter, considering what Kaito had said earlier, but…it was safer for them all to not speculate. 

“I promise I won’t tell anyone…anything related to all this stuff,” Drake gestured vaguely. “But for my end of all that… I think Shuuichi might actually believe me, if you vouched for me too. Or…maybe would have a slight chance of not thinking I’m trying to threaten you guys…”

Kaito smirked at that… before saying, “Okay, how about this. One thing I… probably do owe my partners is telling them I fucked up and you know about Kokichi. You did know, like, by now, right? Did I just fuck up more? I have to tell them that. But what I’ll say about you? Is that, to Shuichi, that you told me something in confidence, it’s a big deal, but you wanted to be able to tell him yourself when he was ready. But to just give you a day because you’re tired and wine drunk. I added that in for flavor, figured maybe he’ll be less eager to knock down your door out of curiosity if you’re hungover.”

“And Shuichi… let’s face it, my Shuichi’s crazy in a lot of ways, but he and I have different flavors of neurosis. I think your biggest concern will be him taking out his journal and starting to work out which questions he’s going to grill you on and what experiments he wants to run. So, uh, just be ready for that, really. That’s going to happen.” Kaito said. Certain. “...will all of that work?”

Drake nodded, half amused and half apologetic. “I have a guess, but I know for sure that he’s involved in all this…stuff. Um…please pass on that I’m sorry for finding out.”

Smoothing out his bangs from where they’d gotten ruffled from Kaito’s hug, Drake sighed fondly. “Yeah, I figured that if he didn’t hate me after this, experiments would be the next thing on the docket. I don’t mind, as long as he’s not…you know. Planning on cutting me open or anything.”

Giving Kaito--and the wine bottle--a sheepish look, Drake rubbed the back of his neck. “...I’m not sure how comfortable I’d be with you giving the impression I’d get drunk while trying to give you a nice day out. Even if I failed on that account too. And Shuuichi would find out that’s a lie sooner or later… Everything else is okay, but…can you just tell him I’m emotionally exhausted from crying in a park, and unless he just wants to watch me sleep, we can talk tomorrow? He still might knock down my door, but…that’s the truth of it.”

“Hey, man, if we hurry, we can still get wine drunk.” Kaito said, eyeing the wine bottle with a determined gleam… before sighing, “Nooooo. No. Little baby Miyako needs you to be responsible, Kaito. Speaking of which…” Kaito pulled out a small pocket watch, giving it a glance before sighing, “Well, I’m gonna be a little late, but honestly I feel pretty lucky this all only took a little less then three hours. Felt like we’ve been talking all damn day… alright. You’re tired, I need to get home for my shift, we should call it a day. I’m sure I still have so many questions for you, but fuck if I can think of them right now. I’m wiped.”

Kaito said all of this while getting up, offering Drake a hand up as well as he said, “This date was… weird! But nice. You’re a good guy, Drake, I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time. You don’t have to walk me back or anything like that, I’m just gonna head straight to the castle. You good getting home yourself? Don’t need someone’s help inviting you inside?” Kaito grinned.

“No…shut up. It’s been, like…sixteen hours. Three…what a joke,” Drake griped, groaning as he took Kaito’s hand and stood up, straightening his clothes. “No…I phrased things weird and got way too defensive. You’re a good guy too, Kaito, and I dropped the ball being good to you. But…I’m glad you gave me the chance to explain myself. And…thanks for listening.”

Drake offered the prince a small, bashful, but grateful smile. It had been…a long time since he’d talked about the war at length. About his home, when it had been home. It was exhausting…but a part of him felt lighter for having talked about it. 

Rolling his eyes a little, Drake shook his head. “It’s my home, I can invite myself in. You get home safe, Kaito. I’ll…see you tomorrow, maybe. We’ll see how that goes. Tell everyone I don’t want to be burned if Shuuichi kills me.”

Turning on his way with one last wave, Drake sighed with a small smile. Miyako…praise be her name. Best of them all, hopefully. But…one day. For now…she was just a baby with three very loving dads, and a loving family around her. And for a long time she would just be a kid, growing up maybe not normally, but, hopefully, happily. 

She could save the world some, far off day. She deserved to have a normal life first, as much as she could. 

He could wait.

-

Kaito wasn’t drunk, but he still kinda wished he was as the castle finally got to view. His re-corked wine bottle tucked away in the backpack, and while Kaito’s reflex’s were in no way hindered, he could feel the small cotton in the front of his mind that suggested getting through what had to have been roughly four glasses of red was, uh, still too much to be totally comfortable for the rest of the night. He wasn’t drunk, but he was tipsy. 

And unfortunately being tipsy made him aware enough to know… uh oh… he had really messed up, hadn’t he.

Not in telling Drake specifically, Kaito didn’t think. He had left that conversation feeling fairly confident he could trust Drake, both with his own and his families secrets… but that didn’t matter, really, when he had given up the secret by mistake. Just, acting like a dumbass… Kaito felt the nervous twist in his stomach of knowing that, not only would his family maybe be, uh… a little upset with him, but that they’d be right too. Tonight might… suck…

Oh well. You had to live with your mistakes. 

His acceptance of how badly this might go didn’t negate his nerves at facing it, so when he unlocked the door to the bedroom, calling in gently, “Hey, I’m back!” he said it maybe just a tad too loudly, wincing as he said quieter, “Anyone napping?”

“Nah, we’re just hangin’,” Kokichi replied, putting down his sketchbook. No idly sketches that day--he had just been fiddling what was…probably upwards of his twentieth drawing of Miyako? Though, some of his doodles were barely anything, so he wasn’t quite sure where he wanted to draw the line, but it could be said that already Miyako would have plenty of reference for how she looked as an infant. 

Grinning over at Kaito…there was the absence of the…scratchy, almost cotton-y cloud that had been undulating around Kaito the last few days, but in its place…

Kokichi popped up from the bed and headed over to Kaito, reaching out to touch his arm affectionately. “Welcome back, hun. Did… How was your hangout with Drake?”

….aaaaauuuuugh. Shit. Guilt. 

Shuichi, who was still feeding Miyako– a feeding Kaito was technically supposed to do, it a bit past six, but Shuichi had reminded himself that he had been hoping Kaito would get caught up, just enjoying himself too much– looked up, smiling as he was about to greet him too… before frowning. “...were you crying?”

“Hm?” Kaito asked, grinning as he used the edge of his thumb to massage his admittedly somewhat swollen eyes as he said, “Yeah, but not, like, a lot or anything. Drake and I got to talking, I got emotional, you know how it goes. Everything’s fine.”

Pulling Kokichi into a hug, Kaito just enjoyed holding him for a moment… blegh. Yeah, there was the guilt again. Better to just get this over with. 

“Hanging out with Drake was nice! He’s an… interesting person! And very nice. And, uh, I have to tell you guys about some stuff. I… actually, kind of a lot happened? And everything’s fine…” Kaito stepped back from Kokichi, rubbing the back of his neck as he said to him, warily, “But I made a mistake. Uh… a serious one, though, again, everything’s okay.” He was pretty sure.

…that guilt made him nervous. 

Sometimes the ambient feelings he got were so intermingled and specific that Kokichi could only think to describe them, if he was tasked with doing so, with a sensation, or perhaps a bizarre metaphor. 

Other feelings were almost startlingly clear. And while the guilt coming from Kaito wasn’t quite the dream lagoon, it was still a clean pond. 

“...you made a serious mistake, but it’s okay,” Kokichi repeated after a moment, giving Kaito a half-worried look. Glancing around back to Shuuichi and Miyako, before looking forward again to Kaito, Kokichi slowly asked, “...everyone’s safe?”

For some reason, Kokichi literally just asking that made Kaito doubt his trust in Drake. 

…no, no, he wasn’t being misguided. He wasn’t. Drake had been, uh… definitely telling him the truth about everything by the end there. Definitely. Definitely. The guy was a 253 year old vampire who had fought in his family’s revolution, died in it protecting his mother, was a clairvoyant, and, uh… just… just happened to be… Shuichi’s friend and…

……… uh…… definitely wasn’t fishing for information or plotting anything or… he just wanted to help. Yeah. Uh…….

… no. Kaito had to trust this was fine. Because it was so, so bad if it wasn’t fine. 

Fussing with his hands, Kaito grinned warily, was about to confidently assure him yep, everything was safe, and instead said, “I think so?”

“Okay, okay, listen, I know how this is all going to sound, but Drake promised–” well, no, but Kaito was talking off the cuff and was trying to convey the sense Drake had given him as he continued, “-- that he has no ulterior motives!”

“... ulterior to what?” Shuichi asked, absolutely baffled by this. 

“To just helping you out, Shuichi, like you asked him too! He wanted to hang out with me, and encouraged me to vent to him, and we were talking and… I-I misinterpreted something he said as him threatening me with the knowledge that Kokichi’s an empath?” Kaito said, subconsciously taking a step back. “And because I thought that’s what he said, I… accidentally told him Kokichi was an empath. But but but, he knows about that sort of stuff already, he has his own things he’s dealing with, and he promised to not tell anyone anything!”

Kaito got that out as quickly as he could, not wanting to give anyone a chance to panic… and uncertain how good of a job he did as he listened to silence.

…Kokichi could feel Kaito’s nerves shooting to the moon. He hadn’t come back in a panic, so…that meant something, but it in no way meant that everyone was safe, or even that Kaito was safe. His husband, at least at one point, would be ready to fight the sun if he saw it putting up fists, but the second even the possibility of mind games came up, any response was…up in the air. 

So…Drake apparently just wanted to help--which seemed in character for him--but…

Kokichi paled, his eyes widening in alarm. Silence falling for a few moments before he clasped his hands in front of his stomach. 

“...did he…need help with something? Like…was he reaching out to you?”

“No. No. It was literally just a mistake, I was being really dumb and I got paranoid, I was, uh, saying essentially how lately I had found empathy to be a really impressive talent someone could have, and he was like, ‘yeah, wouldn’t it make a crazy psychic power’ and I was like, ‘oh shit, he’s trying to tell me he knows the secret’ and I don’t know… people don’t say things like that, ya know, unless, like, they’re about to start cackling and saying ‘ha you thought no one knew but I knew and now I have all the cards’ and so I–”

“Wait, wait-wait… Drake?” Shuichi said, sounding more than a little doubtful, Miyako whining as she got tired of the bottle, Shuichi putting it aside to burp her over his shoulder as he said, “You thought Drake was threatening you? So you told him about Kokichi… but he already knew about empath things? He has his own things?” Shuichi asked, looking bewildered. “Drake?”

“...okay, in hindsight, he might have said the psychic thing to see if I knew about psychic things… but I think he’s sincere in that he’s not going to tell anyone! It was honestly just a miscommunication!” Kaito said, wincing as he stared guiltily at Kokichi, not liking the way he was trying to become smaller as he said to his wilting husband, “Drake’s a good person, I don’t think this was anything more than a really, really contrived coincidence and… and I’m really sorry… it was a mistake…”

…honestly Kokichi didn’t know if it was better or worse that Drake already knew about psychics. If he didn’t then…maybe he wouldn’t have believed Kaito… It’d be bad enough to take as a weird joke, but…

Kokichi had never gotten any animosity off of Drake, at all. He was genuinely fond of Shuuichi, and while he was an incredible liar…none of the stuff he was lying about set off red flags to Kokichi. It was all always home life, and…well, plenty of people had plenty of reasons to not want to get into that kind of stuff, or had just gotten used to lying about it to avoid big blowouts. He was not lying about his constant rotation of injuries, the few times he’d briefly explained them to Kokichi, so it wasn’t like he was covering up abuse…

…if he did know about psychics, then…maybe the lies were to protect that. In that case…Drake probably was a great person to keep that secret. 

However…

Kokichi turned up his anxious gaze at Kaito. “...Kai-chan… You know that…that can put me and Miya in…so much danger… You can’t do stuff like that…”

Kaito twitched, and because some habits were hard to break, while he didn’t throw himself into a bow or anything, he still very carefully went down onto his knees, tucking his ankles under himself as he said earnestly, “I know, I know, I’m so, so sorry, Kokichi, I… it was a mistake, I just misunderstood and… I promise, I promise, the next time I think someone knows, I’m not going to say anything, I’m just gonna keep my mouth shut and come straight home and just tell you if I think someone knows something, okay? I promise, this will never happen again. I’m so sorry.”

Shuichi frowned… before sighing, looking grim as he said, “Kokichi, Maki and I should go talk to him.”

Kaito winced at that. He had promised Drake he’d try to give him a heads up, a day to rest, but… somehow he got the feeling that if he told Shuichi he had promised to give Drake 24 hours to prepare… shit, shit, had he been tricked? Wow, in retrospect, that had all been really sketchy.

Kokichi sighed, not looking any more comfortable, but he put a gentle hand on Kaito’s shoulder. “...we can work on that stuff. What to do if you feel like someone knows something, if you feel like they’re trying to threaten or corner you. But…you can’t tell people that stuff on the assumption they already know.”

His shoulders tensed and tucked, Kokichi looked over at Shuuichi, something crestfallen coming over his eyes. “...he’s still your friend, Shuu-chan. If he’s been lying…knowing about psychics is a good reason to. It’s what we’re doing too. His feelings for you have never been anything but sincere.”

“...don’t hurt him. And don’t threaten him. Don’t get arrested. But…” Kokichi sighed. “...you should go talk to him. I can watch Miyako.”

Keep an eye on her, though he knew Maki’s dragon had the protection of her mind down on lock.

“He is my friend. That’s why I’m not asking Maki to go check alone.” Shuichi said, both to be grim, but also because god dammit, Drake. He had pushed for this hangout! The whole point was for Kaito to forget all the stuff that had been stressing him out for the last month, and now he was back, on his knees, pleading for forgiveness about empath shit! That was the opposite result! You had one job, Drake!

Kaito felt like he should at least make an attempt to follow through on his promise to Drake, but one glance by Shuichi when Kaito started to speak up silenced him. All the certainty and reassurance he had left the park with had fizzled immediately in the face of Kokichi’s fear, Shuichi’s frustration, and Kaito’s sudden, deep reminder that fuck this was an important secret, his husband and daughters lives depended on a secret like this. Why had he been so stupid? 

But as Shuichi passed off Miyako and finished putting on his blazer, Kaito stood back up and did manage to say, “He really didn’t do anything wrong, he really helped me out, honestly. He’s a good guy, you weren’t wrong to set me up with him.”

Shuichi huffed, rolling his eyes as he said, “Would you both relax? I’m bringing Maki specifically cause Drake’s a friend of mine and I don’t think he’d do anything to any of us. I need someone not as biased as I am. That’s it, that’s the only reason I want her to come. Otherwise, I’m going to go find out what all this was about… unless you’re going to tell me what his ‘thing’ is?”

“.... he’s going to tell you, I promised to let him tell you though. It’s not a bad thing. He was really exhausted when we parted ways, he might–”

“I’ll be back.” Shuichi said, closing the door behind him. Then he called through the door, “I’m just going to tell Kokichi everything that happened when I get back, so… do with that what you will.”

Kaito waited to see if Shuichi had anything else to say, but when there was no more discussion… he let out an uncertain breath. He had… really messed today up…

-

Drake sighed as he heard firm knocks on his apartment door. It was more likely than not, he knew…he just wished he’d gotten a little more time…ugh, he was sure his eyes looked terrible…

“It’s open!” he called out, simply opening his eyes from where he was laid out on his small couch, his left leg propped up on a few pillows on his coffee table, an ice pack covering the sprain brace he’d managed to find in his cabinet. Along with the new bandages on his arms and a prominent one on his cheek, already Drake looked different from just an hour earlier at the park. 

Drake’s one bed apartment was…cozy. Lively, in that there were more than a few potted succulents wherever there were windows, small projects all over the place that were bright and personalized the way DIY projects could only be, a bookshelf absolutely packed with thick law and history books… His couch and mismatching ottoman were nice, but obviously bought secondhand and the fire grate was clean and in good shape. 

It wasn’t like it looked like a rental at all, but…well, it wasn’t as personalized as the princes’ room.

Opening the door, Shuichi called in gently, “Drake. We need to talk. I’ve brought Maki.”

Maki was basically as caught up as Shuichi was, and while her expression was serious, taking a quick look around, before settling herself to lean next to the doorway of Drake’s bedroom, quietly crossing her arms and just observing… honestly, Maki was not as alarmed as she otherwise might have been. Mostly cause, well…

Look, when your best friend says that his mind reading fiance didn’t think Drake had any malicious intent, and your other, equally paranoid best friend kept insisting Drake hadn’t given him the impression anything was wrong? Maki was diligent and self-confident, which might have made her dismiss Kaito’s assessment, but Kokichi could read minds. Maki wasn’t so egotistical that she’d dismiss the assessment of a superhuman ability she couldn’t even imagine being capable of.

She was just here because, A. Shuichi had asked her too, so of course she would, B. maybe even mindreaders missed things so she should be a ‘just in case’ backup, and C. Drake might not know he was an enemy– and thus Kokichi and Kaito wouldn’t have been able to tell it based on him–and was being manipulated by a third party, which was where the real danger was.

With that in mind. She asked dryly. “Do you have a bathroom connected to your bedroom? May I use it?”

Shuichi, in turn, gave the apartment his own cursory look around, before heading to the couch, at least looking a little uncertain as he said, somewhat sheepishly, “Kaito told us you were resting, but… I hope you can understand I had to come speak to you? May I sit?”

While there was no doubt he looked absolutely drained, Drake still offered the siblings a small smile as they entered. There was a reason he’d left his door unlocked, after all. 

“Yeah, Maki, if you go down that hall, my room is the first door on the left, then immediately left inside there’s the bathroom. Go ahead.”

And looking to Shuuichi…he gave his--hopefully still--friend a tired, understanding look. “I get it… I thought I may as well ask Kaito to ask you guys to give me a day but…this seemed more likely, regardless… Please sit, though…I’m sorry I don’t have better accommodations. Even if I was half expecting you guys, I, uh…haven’t really had time to prepare anything for guests…”

“Thank you.” Maki said, before heading down the hall, set on checking every part of the apartment for signs of other people, dagger in hand. 

“Thank you…” Shuichi echoed, sitting down, before giving Drake’s leg a concerned look, then looking over his arm and face, “...Kaito mentioned that he had mistakenly thought you were threatening him. Drake, I know you get into accidents, but… Kaito didn’t get into a fight with you, did he? You can tell me if he did, I can take care of it.”

Drake chuckled softly, feeling…warm. Hopefully that was a sign of better things. “No, Kaito didn’t do all this,” he gestured to his injuries. “He did say he wanted to punch me in the face, and I thought he was threatening to expose me but…no. We got that stuff sorted out…eventually.”

Drake sighed there, shrinking a little before Shuuichi. “...I’m really sorry, Shuuichi. I did want to help Kaito out…and I think by the end I really did! Maybe?! But…I fucked up a lot of stuff. I…guess I’m not as good a listener as we both thought.”

Shaking his head a little, Drake rubbed the bandages on his arm with…more than a little embarrassment. “But, no, all…this stuff happened after we parted ways… There’s a pothole on Cherry that…I guess they’ve only just taken the bricks out of…” Drake looked to the side, his cheeks not showing any color, but certainly giving the impression that they would if it were feasible. “I-I mean…I’ll be fine of course, but…yanno. Just gotta ice things for the night.”

Shuichi sighed, shaking his head a little as he pulled out his journal. “Honestly, Drake, I’d worry about you more if you didn’t just constantly survive things like this. I argued recently that your accident prone nature just made you exceptionally good at handling accidents, but… well, now I have all sorts of avenues for theories! Let’s go through them, shall we?”

Opening up to Drake’s page, Shuichi said, “Alright, don’t tell me, don’t tell me. Half of the fun is in the deduction, after all… first of all, Kaito told me that you were aware of empath abilities, but were not aware of Kokichi’s empath abilities until he told you about them. Is that correct?”

Drake smiled slightly. Point to Kaito, then. It made sense he’d know his fiance better. 

“That’s correct,” Drake said softly, though despite Shuuichi telling him not to spell it out, he still added, “I had…a personal inclination to be on the lookout for signs that you might know about this stuff when we had coffee, so between that, your mention of your new friend from the magic shop, and Kaito making that joke about Empaths…it gave me enough clearance to act on what I knew I wanted from the start, to be more blatant on my end to ask if you guys knew.”

“...though,” Drake gave Shuuichi an apologetic look, “You just confirmed right now that Kokichi is an Empath. From everything Kaito said, I was still between Empath and Telepath, though I was leaning towards the former.”

“To be entirely honest, I am unclear on the difference between telepaths and empaths.” Shuichi admitted, shrugging a little, “But, that’s going to lead to my next question anyway, which is that I need a very clear, very concise explanation of everything you know about my family, so that we don’t have any more ‘miscommunications’ like that. As for what your situation is, I feel confident that if you weren’t aware which one Kokichi was, that means you’re not one yourself. So we can take ‘empath’ and, I suppose, ‘telepath’ off the table…”

Shuichi tapped his pen on the cusp of his cheek, before saying, “You fell down a manhole, and came out with a sprained ankle… so, you’re not invulnerable. I feel like I would have noticed if you had additional strength by now too. But, you survive all these accidents… you wouldn’t happen to be affected by spores?”

Drake nodded slightly. “As it relates to magic, I know Kokichi is an Empath, and…because you and Maki are here, and Kaito is the person I talked to, that you four at least have some knowledge about magic, with you in particular pursuing a directed interest in it. Kaito might’ve alluded to King Aiichi having some ability, but there isn’t enough evidence to say for sure, and it’s safer for everyone if I don’t try to speculate.”

And other than that… Drake frowned at the mention of spores. “I’m not, no. Again, it’s speculation that I’m not going to deeply go into, but considering Kokichi was kidnapped by Remnant of Despair cult members last year, and you all had varying possible involvements when it comes to knowledge, I have a feeling you know more about poppies than what was written in the papers and medical journals.”

Shuuichi was wrong about the strength thing too, but…they could get to that.

…King Aiichi had empath abilities??? What hadn’t anyone told him? Annoyed, Shuichi made a mental note to scold Kaito later for not keeping Shuichi in the loop on king supernatural stuff. 

But, more importantly, Drake didn’t know about Miyako. So when Maki came back, Shuichi passed her his notes, letting her see what he had gotten down, and tapped his pen next to M=/n. Giving her a meaningful look.

Maki stared at it… before leaning into him and whispering, “Just whisper it in my ear, I can barely read your short-speak.”

Shuichi glared at her– he had tried to teach her! For moments like these, she should know how to read his code!-- before covering his mouth and mouthing at her, “Miyako no.”

“Oh. Okay.” Maki said, looking to Drake, giving him a dry look… before saying, “I’ve been informed I’m not allowed to threaten you. So I won’t.”

With that said, Maki went to go stand by the door again. Leaning back and observing. 

Shuichi refocused on Drake, considering everything… before nodding. “We do know a lot about poppies. To the point where I’d be a little surprised if anyone can tell us anything new about them. And, Drake, I’m aware this isn’t fair, to put the burden of proving themselves on you, but… Kokichi’s empathy is a serious secret. Kaito told us that he accidently gave it up purely by chance, which isn’t your fault. And you were only talking to him because I asked you too, which makes this all even more of a coincidence…”

Shuichi gave Drake an uncertain look, as he said, “But you also having your own ‘thing’, as Kaito put it? Feels like one coincidence too many. And Kaito is… historically fairly easy to confuse. We just need to know that this wasn’t orchestrated. I’m sorry to accuse you of anything, but… I also can’t ignore my suspicions on blind faith. I hope you can forgive me if my suspicions prove frustrating.”

…that was particularly kind. Drake wondered if that was a request from Kaito or Kokichi. 

Refocusing on Shuuichi, Drake nodded before he gave his friend a weak, tired smile. “They’re not frustrating…I get it. Secrets like these are really dangerous…and when you’re protecting more than just yourself, you have to be even more careful. If shit hits the fan, you have to examine every splatter to find the trajectory.”

“...I know it seems convenient. And for part of my defense? The magic community, as a whole, is really big, Shuuichi. It’s not uncommon to randomly bump into someone, or meet someone in an innocuous way, and then later figure out that you’re connected by knowledge. Or never figure out that second part and just end up living in parallel. That’s just…how the conventions around secrecy work here.”

Sighing, he gave Shuuichi a mildly sardonic look. “And believe me, once you figure out my deal, I know how damning that would make me look even more.”

“But other than that…I really don’t have anything more than my word.” Drake frowned, looking a little…shamed. Smoothing the bandages on his arm. “None of this was orchestrated… I was interested in law before we met, and I didn’t know who you were when I walked into our class in winter.” Which…wasn’t the whole truth, but it was true. “Being your friend…I never planned on it, more than just wanting to be a good classmate to you. And our friendship is really something precious to me, Shuuichi…”

“I don’t wish any harm on you or your family, nor any other plan that someone might construe as…” Drake huffed, circling his wrist vaguely. “...I don’t know. Greater plans? Using you guys for any purpose. I just…want to keep being your friend, and as part of that, being on good terms with your family. Help out when I’m asked, be concerned when one of you are struggling. That’s it.”

Shuichi smiled at that, giving Drake a fond look… before looking to Maki. “?”

Maki shrugged, “You should have brought the mind reader. I’m just going to kill him if he tries anything.”

Shuichi sighed, “You said you weren’t going to threaten him, Maki.”

“That wasn’t a threat.” Maki said simply.

“Don’t mind her.” Shuichi said, looking back to Drake as he laughed lightly, “Honestly? I’m not that worried about this, Drake. And that’s half because it’s you, and if you have a malicious bone in your body, then I’m a terrible detective, because I’ve never so much as noticed a hint of it. And I’m a pretty good detective.” Shuichi smirked… before shrugging, “And the other fifty percent of it is my best friend is an assassin and my fiance is a mind reader, and we all live in a castle surrounded by guards night and day. I’m not saying we’re invulnerable, that’d be incredibly foolish. But the odds do feel slightly in our favor when it comes to unexpected attacks against us. Again! Nothing against you! It’s just our circumstance is… really reassuring, honestly.”

“Don’t get over-confident, Shuichi. Danger is everywhere… though, I’ll admit, if it was Drake, he’d be playing an overly long game of it. You’ve known him for a while now. And I didn’t get any sense of anyone else being actively here.”

“I’m a detective, Maki’s an assassin, Kokichi’s an empath…” Shuichi sighed, giving Drake a slightly sheepish look as he said, “And I know this is going to sound unkind but… Katio’s sort of our weak link, here. He assured us it was all a mistake, that you hadn’t pried it out of him, but… I got concerned. Kokichi was really alarmed Kaito gave up the secret, and I feel responsible, since I set up the hangout… I needed to come confirm things one way or another.”

“But I believe you… and now I’m just more curious what your deal is more than anything! Okay, let me at least try a few guesses before you tell me… not spore issues, not an empath… are you a different species from us? Maybe… smart, charming, some of your features, resistant to fatal accidents… fairy? Are you a fairy?” Shuichi asked, eyes lighting up with interest.

Depending on how seriously Drake took the comment, it legally was a threat, but…well, he’d expected this too. He wasn’t going to go crying to the guardforce about Maki. 

There was something of a wince on Drake’s face as Shuuichi described Kaito as the weak link, but…it wasn’t a bad thing that Shuuichi felt so confident in his safety, if his assumptions on Drake turned out to be wrong. He was just glad they weren’t, for all their sakes. 

Nodding apologetically, Drake sighed. “He’s…not the greatest at keeping secrets under stress, is he… Again…all that was my fault. I knew that he’s been stressed out and in a bad place, mentally, and I should’ve been more prepared for that when things actually got hard. Instead I lashed out and we both assumed the worst of each other. I’m glad we sorted it out, and thankfully the last thing I want is harm to come to Kokichi or the rest of you. You’ll get there, but…in part, I’m relying on you all to keep the same discretion with my own secrets. I understand that need.”

Drake blinked, doing his not-blushing blushing thing again, softly murmuring, “Charming? My features??” before snorting a soft laugh. “No. Fairies freak me out, man. You saw how much of a wreck I was at that art installation, and that was me holding things together to not freak out my two human friends.”

Shuichi’s eyes widened in wonder, “Something happened at the art installation?” He asked, leaning in with interest, pen at the ready.

Maki, in turn, narrowed her eyes. “What happened?”

Drake gave Shuuichi a mildly surprised look before waving his hand a little at Maki. “It was nothing dangerous! For how scary they can be, fairies are sticklers for deals--it’s how their magic works. That contract we signed at the beginning ensured no harm would come to us.”

“It’s just…startling, when you find yourself in a fairy ring, when you weren’t expecting it,” the vampire sighed, deflating a bit. “All those exhibits were…people being spirited away into a pocket realm for a few minutes, acting out the scene, believing it was real, then being sent back. A pretty harmless display, honestly, but…”

A complicated look came across Drake’s face. “It’s just audacious.” 

“So that’s what it was!” Shuichi said, opening up to a new page and writing ‘Fairy Rings’ at the top, murmuring to himself as he wrote, “I even recognized that the displays felt too realistic. Was my not recognizing an illusion as being dramatic enough to be impossible part of the magical contract, or is that a natural rationalization impulse? Can rationalization overcorrect that dramatically? It would make sense if that was the case, there’s so much magic in the world, that despite all the seemingly day to day evidence its existence should constantly leave around, the average person still doesn’t recognize it as magic unless specifically having it proven to them? It feels nonsensical, but is the idea that there’s an additional magical component that keeps people blind to the truth not more nonsensical in comparison? Rationalization is the more straightforward answer, so while it doesn’t paint our sense of reality in a flattering light, it would–”

“Shuichi,” Maki sighed, “I don’t want to be here all day. Just ask him what he is so we can determine how dangerous this actually is.”

“Don’t be a spoilsport, Maki,” Shuichi pouted, going back to Drake’s page, though he whispered to his friend, “We have to discuss fairies more later. Pocket dimensions are fascinating… but Maki’s right. Drake, you're my friend. And, on top of that, Kaito knows what your deal is and argued your defense before I left… I think I can trust that whatever you tell me won’t affect our friendship. Which, you keep saying, means a lot to you…”

Shuichi smiled back, “I still appreciate that you took Kaito out, even if you absolutely entirely failed at the point of it. You still tried. I don’t have a lot of friends I think I could ask that of. You really came through for me… and stumbled, horrifically. But I don't ask my friends to be perfect. I’m flawed too. So, with that said… you can be honest with me. I wouldn’t use this information to hurt you. I swear it.”

To Drake’s level of understanding? It was a mix of both. Rationalization did the heavy lifting, but…well, it depended on the kind and strength of magic in question, and the intent of the person performing it, but…generally? Magic just sort of…nudged an unknowing person--they didn’t necessarily have to be human, though humans by far had the greatest percentage of people who weren’t aware of magic--towards their particular flavor of rationalization. And by the time that person was done thinking through what they had just experienced, they would’ve convinced themselves that it was…tricks, or a miracle, or otherwise unexplained phenomena that just happened in the world. 

It was as much an insight into psychology as it was the nature of magic, honestly. 

“I’d be happy to talk about this til the cows come home. Lord knows I was just as hungry for this kind of knowledge when I was your age.”

It was a more blatant hint, but it sounded like Shuuichi was wrapping up his guesses anyway. 

Giving Shuuichi a soft look, Drake bowed his head appreciatively. “That means a lot to me, Shuuichi. I trust you all with my safety.”

“Put shortly…I’m a clairvoyant vampire.”

Shuichi and Maki both stared at him…

“The kind that bites people?/Like Alice Cullen?” Maki and Shuichi both said at the same time, before giving each other annoyed looks.

“What kind of vampire doesn’t bite people, Maki? Why even ask that?”

“I only know two things about vampires, and it’s that they bite people and they burn in the sun, and Drake doesn’t burn in the sun, so maybe he doesn’t bite people.” Maki pouted, blowing out her cheeks a bit, before asking, “Who the heck is Alice Cullen?”

“...the… vampire in the sexy vampire romance novels by Toko Fukawa that Kaito loved so much back in middle school?” Shuichi explained, looking a little embarrassed now as he said, “She could see the future? That was a fairly well known series at home, didn’t Kaito gush to you about them too?”

“I wasn’t listening.” Maki shrugged. “And don’t blame it on Kaito that you know who she is, you wouldn’t be embarrassed if you hadn’t read it yourself. Just own it.”

“Who’s embarrassed? It was a popular novel in its time.” Shuichi grumbled, before looking back to Drake, processing… “Do you sparkle?”

Drake just sort of watched Shuuichi and Maki for a moment before sighing, shaking his head. “You leave for a few years and despite demon craze Luminary gets sexy vampire books… That’s what he meant by the sexy kind…”

Groaning softly, Drake looked tiredly at the siblings. “I…I mean, I have the capability to bite people, but I don’t do that now days--I don’t know of any vampire that does. I have never heard of those novels, or that character, but if she’s a future seeing vampire? Then maybe? But I don’t sparkle. And vampires aren’t affected by the sun more than any human would be--that one’s a myth.”

Only looking increasingly tired, he continued, “And the other big shocker that…guys? On another day, I’d go through the whole production for you, but…I just talked through the biggest event of trauma in my life for a few hours, and then I fell into a hole in the street. You can tell Kaito I give him permission to go more into it if you guys want more, but, quickly? I was born in Luminary, and I’m 253 years old.”

“What?”

“No. No.” Maki said, pushing herself off the wall as Shuichi looked ravenous for more information, heading over to him and grabbing his shoulder tightly as she said, “No. Anything that happened over two hundred years ago, regardless of the location, is not the danger. You brought me here to help, this is me helping. Go by the door.”

“But… but Maki, he would have been around for the–”

“Door. Now.” Maki said, heat starting to wave off of her, Shuichi giving her a distinctly unintimidated look… before sighing. Closing his journal and standing up, going to stand by the door as Maki turned her eyes on Drake, the heat still rolling off of her. And while it was probably just the movement of her turn, it almost seemed like her hair was lifting by the push of own body heat as she said, “Kokichi’s vouched for you. Kaito’s vouched for you. Shuichi trusts you.”

“I think you’re up to something though.” Maki said plainly, red eyes almost shining in the shadow of her bangs as she said, “I think you’re old. And clairvoyance… that’s future-seeing, isn’t it? I don’t know if I believe in something like that, not really. But if you believe you have that, you must have some knowledge of future events, in some capacity, and that makes you older than us, with more knowledge than us, who’s befriended our most analytical family member, and then managed to have free access to our current most emotionally compromised family member.”

“Maybe you don’t mean any harm by it. I don’t plan to take any action based on this, because I can’t confirm if you have dangerous intent… but you are dangerous. And you do have some intent. And I’m keeping an eye on you. You do not have free reign of me and mine. I am watching.” Maki said, “That’s your warning.”

Sorry for adding more to your plate again, Kaito. 

Drake listened quietly to Maki’s thoughts…her warning, and…

Well…it was along the same lines as his thoughts on the lies he’d told Kaito. At the end…it didn’t matter much. What did his intent matter, when his success, and everything he was trying to accomplish would be never giving Maki a reason to see him as an enemy? Would be Shuuichi and his daughter and the rest of their family by proxy living happily and healthily? If his intent meant the same thing as pure selfless friendship then…there was no point either way to it. Letting them know what he knew would just…be putting that prophesy at risk, while ruining the thing that was making him the happiest he’d been in a long time. 

So Drake just nodded, smiling slightly. “I told you knowing what I am would look more damning… I believe you, Maki. I’m trusting you all with my life and safety. Doing anything with yours would be suicide for me…and death is a long ways off for me, ideally.”

“Can you guys flip the knob lock on your way out? I can get up but…it hurts.”

Maki raised an eyebrow, but admittedly, she was… mildly impressed. Not with the sprain, that was ridiculous, who the hell falls in a man-hole, but… well, yeah. Otherwise she was impressed. Diceans had a tendency to dismiss her threats out of hand, which while frustrating, mostly made them seem foolish to her. Drake seemed to understand her, but wasn’t worried anyway. Interesting…

She’d keep an eye on him. Like she had explained, Drake knew more than they did, as a given, based on his age and abilities. Shuichi could feel safe, that was fine. But one of the reasons he felt safe, as she had heard him explain, was because Maki was around, along with Kokichi and trusting in his own abilities. She would live up to that confidence. Even if intellectually she was at a disadvantage, Drake wouldn’t have a free pass at them. She would remain vigilant.

Giving him a small nod, Maki headed to the door, while Shuichi gave her an exasperated but fond look. He was honestly… thrilled right now. His friend was a vampire! From Luminary! From 250 years ago! And knew stuff about fairies! Oh, hell yes was Shuichi picking that brain later! What a find! Wow!

Though he gave Drake a slightly worried look as he said, “Do you need anything before we go? Water?”

Drake shook his head, though he gave Shuuichi a fond look. “I’ll be fine, I told you. Here’s a bonus--vampires heal pretty quickly. I just need to rest for the rest of the day, probably. You want me to come by tomorrow? Since I’m on break until fall term, my schedule’s pretty free.”

“Yes! Absolutely!” Shuichi said, lighting up again, “I have this book that I’m going to need to go over with you, in detail.”

Maki rolled her eyes, pushing Shuichi as she said, “Come on, magic-nerd. Honestly, you’re going to become insufferable, I can just tell. At least pretend like you’re not slobberin–”

Whatever else she felt like scolding Shuichi about was lost, as the door locked close.

-

Ding.

…ding.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

“Miyako, there is literally nothing I can do for you here, sweet-roll. You still only have two hands.” Kaito winced, he and Kokichi both offering Miyako a finger each hand, and Miyako suddenly challenged with the most trying puzzle of her life.

How does one… hold all desired objects, with only… two hands…

She was certain there was a way. One part of her problem solving work-through had so far been to grasp each hand as she saw it, hoping to have all of them. When that failed– again, the two hand for four fingers issue– she had tried doing that again, but quicker. Like she could grasp onto the free fingers while still holding the other fingers if she was just quick enough. But alas! When looking back at the previously captured fingers? Suddenly free again. It was baffling. She had already captured those fingers! Why were they not being held now??

Step two had been trying to tether red big heat. That had failed. Step three had been trying to tether purple cool heat. That had failed. Step four was trying step two again, because dammit it had worked before, she just had to keep trying. 

Ha! Caught them! Caught another… dammit. Now the other hand was free. How did this keep happening?

Kokichi was keeping up a very admirable attempt at not laughing in his daughter’s face, seeing, and feeling, her absolute dumbfoundedness and slight frustration as she fruitlessly tried to capture their fingers. It was much more fun than trying not to just…freak out. Which he wasn’t at the stage of anymore, and hadn’t totally been when Kaito told them, but…still. The anxiety wasn’t nice. 

Kaito hadn’t meant to. And…well, Shuuichi and Maki would double-confirm it when they came back, but Drake was a safe, trustworthy person; someone that would be okay to include in the information. But…they wouldn’t always be so lucky, and as much as he wanted to…this wasn’t a secret they could make mistakes with. Kokichi forgave Kaito personally, but…well, they did have to buckle down more. Kokichi had already pulled out that book series he’d loved as a kid.

But for now they were quite busy giving Miyako the hardest puzzle of her life. 

“Aw, I think you got pretty close that time, lovely. Pulling our hands closer together makes sense to get all of them at once, doesn’t it?” Grinning, Kokichi shifted, letting his hand follow Miyako a little as she tugged him, though she let go of her own accord when she turned to Kaito’s. When she did, Kokichi gave his husband a sheepish look. “The bell’s okay? I think she’s really getting the ‘asking for help’ part of problem solving, but she does need more work on the ‘verbally’ subsection.”

“I’m so curious what she thinks it’d accomplish.” Kaito admitted, wiggling his fingers in her grasp as Miyako looked briefly triumphant… before she confused herself by grasping his left hand finger with two hands, apparently losing grasp of the fact that she had in fact already had a hold onto it, giving the the finger a bewildered look, glancing at the other fingers as she tried to figure out the next step. “Would I be extra hands? Cause, that would make sense, in a morbid, like, body-snatcher kind of way… need four hands? There’s an extra two. But then there’d only be two fingers available. Could be her first taste of overcorrecting.”

With a determined, if frustrated, little gurgle, Miyako abandoned Kaito’s left hand finger, swinging for Kokichi’s right hand finger, grabbing it, but failing entirely to hit Kaito’s right hand finger, despite Kaito not moving it at all. Kaito moved it closer to make it a little simpler on her as Miyako grabbed for it again. 

Kaito didn’t know what to say to Kokichi.

He had fucked up. Worse than that, he had honestly fucked up. Drake hadn’t tripped him up, no one had been conspiring against him, Kaito had just… blown a big secret by stumbling all over himself. All Kaito could offer were apologies, which he’d gladly give endlessly, but they weren’t helping cause Kokichi wasn’t angry with him. He was just… scared. 

And Kaito didn’t know what to say to Kokichi’s anxiety. Because anything he could think of saying? Would, while attempting to diminish Kokichi’s fears, would subsequently diminish the severity of what Kaito had done. As in, if he said something like ‘things were going to be fine’ or ‘this isn’t as bad as it seems’, while that’d be entirely reasonable comfort for Kaito to give if literally anyone else had given up the secret? It coming from him? Specifically right now? Felt far too much like Kaito was trying to dismiss what he had done as ‘not a big deal’. 

So with Shuichi and Maki off to do damage control, and there being nothing to do but sit and stew in Kaito’s mistake… Kaito didn’t know what to say. 

So, eventually, he said, “So, I promised Drake not to spread his secret. Specifically, I said I’d let him tell Shuichi what was what. And Shuichi said he was going to come back and tell you what was what. So… do you want me to just tell you? Cause I will. I wasn’t going too, but… he knows your thing, so… feels kinda fair, honestly. That you know his.”

“Maybe? I don’t know if it’s even that logical… She might just be thinking, oh, I have a problem? Make Dad fix it! Even if she doesn’t know what ‘fixing’ it would be… Do you think we should bring our hands in more? She’s already problem solving very well,” Kokichi cooed the end, giving Miyako a proud look. For a two month old? She was already well on her way to genius status.

…

Kokichi sighed softly. “Even if I’ll find out anyway, and even if he said it was okay for you…” Kokichi paused there. He had been about to say that he would be fine waiting for Shuuichi and Maki to come back, but…there wasn’t even a moral stance. If Drake was telling Kaito, was okay with telling Shuuichi and Maki, then…it would be bizarre if he would want to exclude Kokichi from all that, especially with what Kaito let slip. So…now or in a handful of minutes…it didn’t matter much. 

And…maybe it’d start feeling better if Kaito got to do something in a…not apology. 

“...you know what? Yeah. Tell me.”

“Okay. so… actually! This might not be as freaky to you as it could be! Cause you did say you already knew someone like this… but I was too freaked out to ask about it.” Kaito admitted, shrugging a little, wiggling his finger tantalizing as Miyako grabbed both of Kokichi’s fingers. “But apparently he’s a clairvoyant? He says he can see the future. We didn’t get into it much, but I did ask if you can change the future, and he literally answered ‘constantly’. So, if you were wondering, I guess the future isn’t a fixed thing.”

“Um, other than that… he’s a vampire. Though not the kind that kills people.” Kaito added in quickly, giving Kokichi a nervous glance, “And he was really worried about telling me that he’s a vampire, just so you know. I got the impression he was expecting me to, like, round up a mob right then and there. Maybe the last few times he told on himself hadn’t ended well, he seemed really convinced of it. Or, ya know…” Kaito shrugged again, looking back to Miyako as he said, “He was worried about me specifically. I did tell him I wanted to hit him. But that was more because I was embarrassed, not cause he’s a vampire… I didn’t! By the way! I didn’t hit anything!”

Kokichi rubbed the sides of Miyako’s hands as she captured him, giving her a little prize for her task, though he listened to Kaito seriously. And…a clairvoyant, okay. That…made things safer. Though as Kaito mentioned the clairvoyant that Kokichi already knew, he smiled softly. “It is kinda nice to know that concretely… The person I know is self-admittedly not the most reliable with what they glean, but their overall explanation did kinda give the impression that the future isn’t something set in stone.”

…but it wasn’t just being psychic, and Kokichi’s eyes widened in surprise. 

That…was something really important to keep under wraps. At the cost of nearly anything. 

“...whoa…” he said softly, just…kind of looking into the middle-distance. “...a vampire. Huh. And…I guess he’s fine in the sun…either that or the community’s figured out damn good sunscreen…”

Kokichi’s mouth scrunched to the side. “...unless he’s just never used it before, I never got the impression from him that he can enthrall people. That would basically be having another psychic power on top of his clairvoyance…”

“Enthrall what-now?” Kaito asked, kicking his legs slightly, all three of them on their stomachs as Miyako spent that little baby energy, getting ripped both in her sweet chubby little baby body and her mushy, but still clever, little baby brain. “I didn’t read a lot of vampire books growing up… I got into one series but that was honestly mostly for the werewolves. Werewolves are cool… do you think werewolves exist?”

Kaito blinked, trying to guess what enthrall meant… and giving up as he asked, “What does enthrall mean?”

“Mm,” Kokichi nodded, starting to wiggle his fingers again to entice Miyako back. “Werewolves are real… People talk as if something really big and tragic happened with Dicean werewolves, back in the day, but I’ve never found out what it was. And…”

Kokichi blinked as a memory came to him, before giving Kaito a half-apologetic look. “And one of the…pieces that make up your soul? I guess? Her name’s Akane, and she’s a werewolf.”

He knew they couldn’t just move on from that, but still Kokichi tried to answer Kaito’s question. “Enthralling is…like, magically charming someone. In books, it’s usually described as…like, being put into a mind-space where everything is warm and comfy and, sure, don’t mind at all, doin’ what you’re asking, vampire! It’s a form of mind-control, basically.”

“...oh, yeah. That didn’t happen to me, I was a lot of things when I accidentally gave up your secret, but ‘warm and comfy’ wasn’t… it.” Kaito said, his words slow. Staring at Miyako for a moment before he said, “Ya know, I’ve had a lot of reason to think about it this year. But I really try to assume that when I’ve done something terrible, it was my decision. I feel like, with everything, it could be… really easy to explain a lot of my actions as ‘not mine’. But I don’t really think that’s true. And it’s important, ya know? To… recognize when you’ve done something wrong. Even if you can’t make it right. Life has been so weird, and there’s been a lot of… weirdness with my mind, I know, in particular, lately. But I can’t assume that. That’s important. Unless proven otherwise, my actions are my own.”

“.... sorry, I’m really trying to not be weird right now, have we… what? About my soul?” Kaito asked, giving Kokichi a worried, uncertain look, “If this is something we’ve talked about before, I don’t remember it. What?”

Kokichi nodded a bit with a quiet sigh. There were things his friends had done that really, truly weren’t their faults, even if it was their body and their mouths. But…these days? And times before, too…unless proven otherwise, their actions were their own. And had to be respected as such, for better or for worse. 

Maybe that would be its own conversation, and it had been before, but Kokichi just groaned softly, dropping his head for a moment. “I don’t remember either… I literally just remembered that it’s another thing I have to tell you, because I found out when I was sleeping…”

Looking up with a gentle expression, Kokichi prefaced, “You’re you. 100% Kai-chan, okay? And this isn’t…going to act like an illness or anything, like it would cause you problems in the future… This is how you’ve been, so…it’s you.”

“Knowing what I do now about souls? I’m more confused than I was before, but…” Kokichi sighed. “...there’s this concept, called a shard. A shard is a piece of a person’s soul that’s given to another person, and, eventually, becomes part of their soul. It’s an extremely taxing and difficult and potentially dangerous psychic ability to undergo.”

“Sometimes, it’s something small.” Kokichi smiled fondly. “The first time Alter Ego saw me really hurt? They were so worried for my life, so they gave me a small shard--a bit of their life energy to pull me over the hurdle, help me recover more quickly. I made them promise not to do it again, that I have a lot of help in the physical world to help me heal…but it was a very kind thing for them to do, and I’m grateful.”

“Sometimes it’s…bigger.” Briefly, mild regret passed over Kokichi’s face. Not for what he’d done, but…how he did it. Not being aware when he did. “I’ve given two shards to people before--back before I knew any Empath stuff. It was just…instinctual, for the people I saw that were hurting and struggling so much… Those shards were more substantial and…well…with shards like that, it’s not…so much that it’s a dominant person with a little helper, or even two people coexisting peacefully, but living in the same body.”

“In that case…they become three people… The original person, the shard that was given to them…and the new person they are together. And…well, I’ve heard that in eventuality, though I haven’t seen it yet, that new person is just…who that person is.”

“And…very, very rarely…there’s a person that wasn’t a person before, that got shards…but is actually a person that is all shards.”

Giving Kaito a gentle look, Kokichi explained, “...I don’t know what camp you fall into. The person I know that was born from shards is truly unique, and when looking at you…you two have similarities, but your cases aren’t the same. At the end of it all…Kai-chan is Kai-chan, so I don’t think scrounging around for some sort of hyperspecific label is helpful. Honestly at that point, it could just be your name.”

“But you do have shards. They are you, a part of you, but…they were also once other people, with different lives. So…I can talk to them, and…well, when I talked to Akane-chan, it was like talking to you but you were a werewolf and also a lady. I’ve…only waved at Caleb, but the vibe I get is all you too.”

“Oh… okay.” Kaito murmured, following Miyako’s grip as the baby decided she was sick of the puzzle and would rather just chew on the finger she could get, thanks. “...I don’t really know what to make of all of that. Are… some people just born that way? Maybe that’s just part of the reincarnation thing, like, maybe it’s not always… seamless? Or… you’ve… made people? That’s…”

Kaito blinked. 

Think very carefully about your next words.

“...a heck of an accomplishment. They needed your help? I… bet it helped! That’s… wow! Um!” Kaito tried to do the mental dance of not being too obviously worried about what that meant for himself without suggesting that Kokichi had done anything wrong as he said, “Maybe that was what happened to me too? Maybe something was wrong and someone helped me?” For his own sanity Kaito very carefully didn’t think about Tengan, “Or… maybe I helped these two people? Or, whoever I was, helped them? Maybe? I don’t know how that would work, I’m just spitballing, but maybe whatever it was, it was helpful, ya know? I’m allowed to think that.” Kaito said, that last part mainly to himself, as he sighed, leaning his head against his arm as he let Miyako nibble on him, “...Akane and… Caleb? Akane and Caleb. Those are nice names… Akane’s a werewolf lady?”

“As I understand, you’re pretty rare, but…it’s definitely possible that people are born that way,” Kokichi hummed. “From some of the stuff Akane-chan said, and…what I know about how gods operate? If Bathul is any indication for others? Then…I think they might’ve been specifically chosen for you. Like…Kai-chan is hand-crafted from the gods.”

Kokichi gave his husband an adoring look, before looking more sheepish. “I wouldn’t say I’ve made people, no… What I did… The people I reached out to are a little different from how they were before, but…I guess I’m trying to say, the person they were originally, and the ‘new’ third person are…practically the same. Just…one with…a fixed, severe mental problem that kept them from living normally, and…while I don’t really understand it, the other given free will. The same people, but…now with choices they weren’t able to take before.”

Sighing softly, Kokichi nodded. “She is. She’s really cool… I mean, of course she is, ‘cause she’s you, but…still. She wanted us to go on a date.”

…hand crafted by the gods?

…wow that was a heavy statement. Kaito was almost baffled how easily Kokichi said that. Kaito was… specifically designed by the gods? Which gods? Atua, right? Kaito couldn’t even fathom the implications if it were any other one, so…

Why?

To make what? Kaito was a mess. He didn’t feel like something carefully made. He felt like something slapped together and then thrown at a wall. And, like… stomped on for good measure. What kind of god went out of their way to make a temperamental, overly emotional, borderline useless if not actively a hindrance asshole like Kaito? Literally the only thing Kaito successfully knew how to do was take care of people… and that was still just, like, riddled with mistakes. Today being an obvious example. But only one of many.

Kaito was momentarily distracted from his insecure musing as Miyako gurgled unhappily, starting to grow sick of tummy-time. “Okay, okay, baby-girl. You did really good today, come on Miya.” Kaito coo’d, picking her up cradling her in his arms, bouncing her a little as he said, “You were so good. You were very patient, dad and daddy are so impressed. Miyaaaa~ My good Miya…”

He smiled lightly, Miyako immediately starting to look sleepy, tuckered out after a hard workout… before Kaito looked up at Kokichi curiously, “Were we sexy?” 

Getting up with a small huff, Kokichi smiled brightly at Miya, passing along his pride to her. A little stronger, smarter, and more coordinated every day. 

Though, he gave Kaito an amused snort. “Akane-chan is a woman, so…I didn’t really think so, no. But she seemed impressed with how hot she was, and, well, she’s someone that…if she wasn’t literally you? Then I’d be more than happy to spend a lot of time with. But, I mean, we do, so…” Kokichi shrugged a little, trying not to overly confuse himself. 

Kaito tsked at that, giving Miyako a small sniff as he realized: yep. Changing and then bathtime. Heading over to the changing table, Kaito rolled his eyes as he said, “Of course, the only person who can tell me if wolf me is hot is the gay guy. Just my luck. I bet I was hot. What do you think, Miya? Would dad make an attractive werewolf lady?” Kaito coo’d at his daughter, before visibly flinching as he undid her diaper. “Oof, wow. Those are some workout poops if I’ve ever seen it. Good job, Miyako. Ugh. Don’t let dad’s grimace fool you, this is a sign of a healthy and, ugh, happy Miyako~” Kaito assured her, starting to clean her up.

“You said you waved to Caleb? What about him? Were we hot?” Kaito asked, now just kind of having fun with the question. He knew his husband was telling the truth, but it felt very… not real, to Kaito. He didn’t feel like three different people. Did he count as one of the people? Was he two different people wearing the same meatsuit, or was there an ‘original’ Kaito they had been added too? Or was it all the same thing? Why would a god design someone like Kaito? Was he a mistake? Or was he supposed to come out like this? Was that even the right kind of question?

All of that were tough questions based on a thing he could barely conceptualize in any meaningful way. He’d rather just know if he was attractive.

Kokichi shrugged a little, though he stood nearby to pass Kaito anything Miyako needed for change time. “I mean, I could show you what she looks like, and your bi ass could determine if you’re hot. Though, I think at one point she described herself as having a ‘smokin’ bod’ so…I’d be inclined to say yes.”

“Caleb… Well, I did only see him for a moment. But I thought he was pretty,” Kokichi nodded, smiling softly. “He’s a redhead too, but even bigger. Everything about him seemed to say ‘kind and gentle’ though--like how you get when Miya’s about to fall asleep she’s so snoozy, but she’s fussy because she hasn’t actually fallen asleep yet.”

Kokichi knew the timing wasn’t great. Kaito was already struggling with his faith. But even if he was trying to meter stuff out more…if he remembered something in a moment, it felt bad to keep it from his husband any longer. He didn’t want to do that anymore.

“...Mm, I did see Akane-chan as a wolf first, and…wolf form? She’s a pretty dog. Very fluffy and comfy.”

“Bigger? Bigger how?” Kaito said, voice full of suspicion, though, hmm… did he want to see what they looked like? He couldn’t help but be curious… would it harm anything to know? They weren’t… real. Uh. Maybe? Or… wait, Kokichi had said they used to be other people. 

…god fucking dammit was Kaito made up of ghosts??

He felt a bead of sweat at the corner of his hairline from that. Uuuuuuuh well, okay, if we’re looking at it that way, wasn’t everyone full of ghosts? One ghost, anyway? Nnnnnn– he was just going to not think about that. That was… okay, but, no, wait, did that mean Caleb and Akane didn’t get a chance to enjoy paradise?? They better have gotten a chance to enjoy paradise! Kaito was going to be so pissed if Atua went and, like, highjacked two other people to make Kaito before they got a chance to live their lives! Afterlives! Whatever! It was only fair! Or, were they alive again? Through Kaito? …maybe, but Kaito still didn’t feel like it was fair. Part of being alive was living your own life. If Kaito woke up tomorrow and didn’t know his own name, or remember Kokichi, or know that he missed Shuichi and Maki, wasn’t aware of his children… then it wouldn’t be Kaito who woke up tomorrow. It’d be someone else. And that wasn’t fair.

And while Kokichi had in no way done anything wrong, Kaito stiffened as he insisted, “I’m not a dog.”

“... I mean, obviously.” Kaito muttered, finishing wiping down Miyako before picking her up again, taking the little nudy baby as he said, “Babe, could you help me set up a bath for Miyako? Thanks… and yeah, I guess I’d like to see what they look like. My bi ass will be able to appreciate them. Like fine wines… hopefully very fine wines. Oh, I brought back some wine if you want any.”

“He’s bulkier, like…I dunno. Working muscle-wise, I’d say. Like, he’s not built like he was a bodybuilder, but maybe like he was doing strength competitions. Or had some sort of job he did a lot of heavy labor for. He looked like he could lift you with ease, is what I’m saying. And I couldn’t quite tell, but he might be taller than you too.”

Kokichi was just kind of…chatting, making sure the diaper bin was firmly secure, before he jumped, looking over at Kaito, a little startled. That was… Quickly, Kokichi nodded, echoing, “Obviously. I think I’d have some questions if it turned out you were a…well, physically a werewolf all this time. Just ‘cause Akane-chan is, and she can turn into a wolf, doesn’t make you a dog.”

…Kaito would talk about it if he wanted to. It wasn’t like they were going to quit therapy any time soon…

“Yeah, I got it,” Kokichi hummed as he went over to the bathroom, propping open the door more as he started running the sink, waiting for the water to warm up. “Oh…I might want a sip, yeah. Thank you, hun.”

“Okay…” Akane was a little easier to send a “picture” of, but…Kokichi had only seen him for a moment over Kaito’s shoulder so…Caleb’s “picture” was basically that.

Kaito stilled, for a moment, Miyako gurgling in his arms as Kaito stared at the wall, more looking at the mental images Kokichi had just dropped in more than anything…

“...oh you have got to be kidding me, they’re both so much better looking than me.” Kaito whined, genuinely distraught as he gaped at the two beautiful people that had just been dropped into his memories like he had seen them himself. “What? We had those two as options and came out with this?” Kaito asked, looking in the mirror and giving himself a genuinely offended look as he said, “What happened?? Holy crud, did you see their builds!? They’re both built like damn statues! Or, at least the kind of statues I’d make, anyway! Fudge, I’d kill for either of their figures!”

Then, putting the little baby tub bucket thing in the sink, letting it fill up, Kaito changed gears as he coo’d gently to Miyako, “Miiiiyaaaa~ it’s bathtime. Are we going to be good for bathtime? Won’t it feel nice to get good and clean after a heavy workout and a good poop? Miya?”

Miyako blinked suspiciously up at him. She had not decided yet if today was a good day or not for bathtime.

Kokichi snorted softly and looked over at his husband fondly as he collected Miya’s baby soaps, placing them on the sink counter. It wasn’t something wholly surprising, But even so…

“Man, some people really have the world,” he sighed. “In contention for the Hottest Man in the World and still he thinks there’s room above him. Akane-chan and Caleb are nice looking, but Kai-chan. Have you looked in a mirror?”

Very obviously, Kokichi looked his husband up and down before letting out a quiet wolf-whistle--only quiet because he didn’t want to startle Miya, who was persnickety about baths on a good day. 

Going over to her, Kokichi rubbed his thumb gently over the center of her forehead, smiling. “It’ll be nice, Miyaaaaa~ It’s comfy and warm and Dad pays so much attention to you, and then you’ll get to have the perfect nap, tired out and nice and clean. Honestly, I’m jealous~”

Kaito was a sucker for flattery, at least when it came to his looks, and he puffed out his chest a bit, the strain on his face from his difficult day looking a little less ugly to him as he had to stare at it in the mirror, glancing up at himself as he prepped Miyako for her bath. He was attractive, yeah… though, fuck, Caleb could throw him around, and Kaito would thank him for it. And while Akane’s fucking picture-perfect knockers were the first eye-drawing thing about her, that in no way meant every other thing about her wasn’t breathtaking to look at. Those dark green eyes that had stared fiercely at Kokichi, a wide, wolfish grin that had looked playful and like she wanted to devour him at the same time…

Oh! Yeah, huh. He guessed the version of them both he was seeing were the ones looking at Kokichi. Caleb’s gaze had seemed quietly fond, though there was something in the eyes that seemed stained with an old sadness. And Akane had been full of excitement and passion. Both of them had looked at Kokichi with an intimate familiarity.

…well, Kaito supposed that made sense. If they all really were the same person, they probably loved Kokichi too.

He hoped they were happy, being him.

Miyako was distracted from her growing fussiness about the possibility of bathtime as she focused on Kokichi. Purple cool heat, waving over her mind again… she yawned a bit at the soothing touch against her forehead. A nap sounded good…

…eh? Eh? No. Water was not for napping. Big heat you are doing it wrong.

Ding ding ding!

“Geez, I hope you were nicer to Ikou than Miyako is to me, ‘Kichi.” Kaito sighed, Miyako looking grumpy as Kaito carefully lowered her into the bath, immediately getting started with the soap– Miya sometimes relaxed into the bath after some soap massaging– as he whined, “Why doesn’t she ever try that on someone else? It doesn’t even work on me anymore, you think she’d move on to Shuichi or Maki or something. Or at least Shuichi. I guess Maki would be a little tough for, like… dragon related reasons…” Kaito paused, thinking about it, “...maybe Dragon!Maki isn’t letting her tether out much. Is that possible? I mean, I could see literally any version of Maki deciding to not let Miya tether to Shuichi, but Kaito? Hilarious, go nuts kid.”

“From the stories he tells me, and the memories I looked at, unfortunately I can say that I wasn’t,” Kokichi smirked, looking upon his daughter with pity as she was subject to bathtime. “And…she does do it to me sometimes, but I don’t let her tethers stick around. It would be safer for her to keep one on me, since she’s not going to be able to influence me without my knowledge, and…maybe that’s a conversation we’ll have when she’s older, but for now I just don’t want her to get the idea that it’s an okay thing to do to people without asking. She has no issue reaching out to me, and I’m looking out for her all the time, so…just doin’ it the one-and-done way works for us.”

As for their other family members…

Kokichi hummed consideringly, leaning against the sink counter to be nearby for any dad or baby needs. “...I’m not sure if that’s something dragons can do, though it wouldn’t shock me. But…my best guess is that it’s on Miya-Miya’s end. You’re the one she always looks to first when she’s upset and wants something. I’d believe that continuing mentally too. She already knows Shuu-chan isn’t gonna indulge her as much.”

“Our Shuichi’s the tough parent.” Kaito agreed, looking fond at the mention of their fiance as Kaito soaped up Miyako, before trying to endear Miyako to bathtime a little bit by gently splashing the water, “See, Miya? Water’s fun. You can hit it and it goes sploosh. Boom, boom-boom! No?” Kaito said, Miyako just giving him a huffy look. “Too tired? Alright, we’ll try again next time. Next time you feel like playing? I’m going to show you the joys of bathtime. We’ll get acting like a happy little mermaid yet. Let’s get all this soap off, Miya~”

“A part of me’s glad that she wants to reach out to me.” Kaito admitted, asking Kokichi to pass him a hand-towel, wiping down Miyako as he said, “I just… feel like I can be useful taking care of the kids, ya know? And thankfully it comes naturally to me, none of stuff like this ever feels challenging. Tedious sometimes, sure, but… not challenging. I like taking care of people.” Kaito shrugged, before giving Kokichi a wary grin, “And better to be useful cleaning up Miyako, then, like, cleaning you up cause you can’t move again… I like feeling useful, but man, I hate that you go through stuff like that. I know it’s… a little unrealistic, but I hope we’ve seen the last of that for a while.”

Outside, the bedroom door opened and closed, and Maki called out, “Kaito, Kokichi?”

“Giving Miya a bath!” Kaito called back. “How’d it go?”

“He’s Alice Cullen!”

“...oh yeah. I guess he is.” Kaito mused, finishing wiping Miya down.

“I can’t wait until we can let her play with rubber ducks… There are some really cute ones I’ve seen around town.”

Kokichi gave his husband a soft look. “You’re really good at taking care of her. The kids. All of us… If people had stats like a game, people would be blown-away with how stellar your ‘care-giving’ stat would be. It’d be a game-breaking choice, to bring you on the squad.”

“And…yeah. I hope so too.”

Kokichi turned to peek out towards the door a little, giving Shuuichi and Maki a wave before he raised an eyebrow…and then groaned. “...oh my god, that is her deal, isn’t it… Ugh, I had forgotten I ever read those books…” 

“Toko, man. She’s good at getting you sucked into, just, the stupidest shit.” Kaito grinned, feeling himself relax a little at the casual, chirpy tone Shuichi had returned with. He doubted Shuichi would seem so happy if he had left Drake feeling suspicious… or if Maki had murdered anyone. Kaito had wondered if she might. He wouldn’t want her too, but… if it meant protecting Kokichi and Miyako? Kaito could see Maki making that sort of sacrifice, dealing with the fallback of something like that for them. Leaving Kaito to take care of Tim and deal with the fallout.

Or maybe that was just him half… hoping. That she was still willing to do something like that for him. Partly because the thought did make Kaito feel a little safer, knowing he had someone like that in his court, partly because he sometimes worried about Maki mentally, these days. Not that her going around murdering people was ‘healthy’. But it was very… her. And since Maki didn’t seem to do much these days that wasn’t specifically taking Tim somewhere or doing a favor for one of them…

Kaito knew it was hypocritical to worry about that, since, like, kettle, meet pot. He wasn’t unselfaware. But he was still worried about her anyway. And still took comfort in the idea of her protection. Duel him.

Still, taking the towel Kokichi handed him, Kaito picking up Miyako and wrapped her up, draining the water and wiping her down, giving her a small kiss on the temple as Miyako yawned sleepily in his arms, the trials of the fingers, tummy time and baths finally done with. Still, despite Shuichi’s cheerful tone, Kaito still found a hint of nerves in his stomach as they left the bathroom, asking them, “So, uh…?”

“Maki wants to keep an eye on him in general, but I feel fairly confident Drake’s harmless.” Shuichi shrugged, sitting on the bed and giving Miyako a fond look before returning his attention to them, “He’s just so… sincere.”

“He’s an old man who’s used to lying to people and presenting himself as harmless. Giving him blind trust, even by this point, is foolish.” Maki argued again, giving Shuichi a stern look, “And I still don’t think it’s a coincidence that Kaito told him our current biggest secret within an hour of being alone with him.”

“That… is admittedly not a point in his favor.” Shuichi mused, before shrugging, “But, I honestly think that was mostly my fault. I literally asked Drake to be somebody Kaito could talk too, what on earth did I think was going to happen? What else would Kaito possibly want to talk about right now? Of course he was going to say something.”

Kaito gave Shuichi a dry look as he put Miyako to bed, the baby falling asleep before she ever hit the crib as Kaito unwrapped her towel, making sure she was dry before putting her in her blanket, “I didn’t… vent about it, Shuichi. I… that’s not how that happened. I didn’t volunteer the info, I thought he already knew and, uh… accidentally told him when I was yelling at him for confusing me.”

“That’s not better. You know that’s not better, right?” Maki said, raising an eyebrow, Kaito glaring at her for a moment… before breaking eye contact first, grumbling something about knowing it wasn’t better as he sat at the window seat. Maki turned to Kokichi, “He catch you up on the situation? Vampire, clairvoyant, Luminary?”

Kokichi was already feeling a little better about at least the fallout of this particular situation, but seeing Shuuichi and Maki come back unbothered was the delightful nail in the coffin. Drake would keep their (his) secret, and they’d keep his. And Kokichi would make sure Kaito was better equipped to get himself out of stressful situations. 

Though, there was one thing he looked around curiously at as his friends talked. Nodding to Maki, he hummed before squinting. “He did, but…how old is Drake, exactly? I guess it doesn’t matter too much on the trustworthiness side of things but… How old?

“Two hundred and fifty-three years old.” Shuichi recited, still looking delighted with this.

“He keeps saying he’s young. I guess he means young for a vampire.” Kaito mused, shrugging, “I don’t know how long vampires live. Forever?”

“Till someone kills them,” Maki mused… before looking a little offended at the looks as she said, “I’m just stating that as a fact. As far as I’m aware, anyway. I don’t know anything about vampires, that’s just… what I’ve heard. Vampires live until they’re killed.”

“Wooden stakes to the heart, fire… silver based weapons?” Shuichi guessed, frowning, “That might be werewolves. I should look into it… though it feels weird to try to discover ways to kill my friends species.”

“I think anyone would die if someone set them on fire, or stabbed them with wood or silver. By that point I think it’d be easier to define vampires by what doesn’t kill them… drowning? I guess they can’t drown?” Kaito said, looking morbidly curious, “Drake said he doesn’t have to breathe. Hard to drown something–”

“Someone.” Shuichi corrected.

“--Someone that doesn’t need oxygen.”

Two hundred and fifty three years… That…would’ve been during Oasis Ouma’s time as leader? Wow… And if other vampires were commonly significantly older? They were historic treasures in themselves! 

…supposedly, anyway. Considering how often you would have to do a ‘life reset’ to avoid being found out, and then how many memories you’d have to discard… Could vampires do that? If not…how did they cope? Were vampires able to change their appearance, or change other’s recognition of them, so they could ‘age’, or were their resets even shorter? What a stressful way to live that would be…

Going down his own thought experiment, Kokichi tuned back into his family and snorted softly. “Water pressure might still be an issue, though, but getting to that point would be a whole thing…”

Kokichi frowned softly. “...is he doing okay? I would assume that all magic folk have found ways to live but… I can’t help thinking about how difficult it all is, without overhead systems working for you…”

“Well, he fell into a manhole between when Kaito saw him and us visiting, so technically he is ‘not okay’.” Shuichi said, “Though he also said he heals quickly, so his sprained ankle should be fine. Beyond that, I’ve never gotten the sense Drake isn’t fine.”

Kaito frowned at that, “I mean… the guy spent an hour basically harping on about how he was going to have to go on the run because I knew what he was. I… couldn’t really get my head around why, when he was saying it. I mean, yeah, vampires are, like, technically mythical monsters, but it's not like the guys a demon or something. I didn’t want to immediately hurt him for it… though, admittedly, my first worry is he might eat me.” Kaito admitted uncomfortably, “That’s probably difficult to live with. People assuming you’re gonna bite them.”

Kokichi’s eyes widened in worry as he heard what happened to Drake in the short time between leaving Kaito and seeing Shuuichi and Maki (he didn’t know Drake quite enough for the shock to stop showing up, despite all the stories Shuuichi had told) though he frowned slightly at Kaito. “You’d want to immediately hurt a demon?”

Kaito gave Kokichi a slightly startled look. “...yeah? Demons are evil. All they do is hurt people. It’s literally their purpose, to hurt people.”

Kokichi frowned a little more. “The book said that they feed on negative emotions, so they might have an inclination towards making people upset, but…it’s not like all we do is farm and raise livestock. They probably have lives outside of getting food… And if Drake is a vampire that doesn’t bite people, then there are probably demons that eat negative emotions that they didn’t cause.”

Kaito glanced at the ‘mythology’ book, sat open on the desk, before his brow furrowed. Saying slowly, not trying to be upsetting, but not sure how to explain it any better, “...but they’re… evil. Like, if they didn’t want to hurt people for their food, they wouldn’t, sure. But they do. Their demons. They don’t have good traits.”

Maki and Shuichi watched this curiously. Shuichi hadn’t believed in demons before a few months ago, and Maki had always kinda believed in demons– Nekomaru had definitely believed in demons and magic and would send Maki with basic defenses and warnings about ‘magical’ defenses on jobs, and while Maki wasn’t sure any of it had worked, she could never prove any of it hadn’t worked either. She was still alive, after all– but she also knew better than to assume anyone was all evil or all good. Maki had fought a revolution knowing she’d need the support of sympathetic elites, and she had fought knowing that some indentured and commoners would actively work against her. She knew it would take all kinds to win and danger could come from anywhere, and had survived her whole life with that same level of adaptability.

All that to say, both of them had already quietly decided to themselves demons were probably the same as the rest of the species– some good, some bad. But Kaito hadn’t thought about it at all yet. Demons were bad. Demons had always been bad. What more was there to think about?

…he’d had a hunch. And…honestly, this wasn’t even Kokichi hypothetically defending Dr. Mariah. But…if demons were his people?

Some people were pretty horrible. Sometimes they were beyond help. But it was Kokichi’s duty as an Ouma to care about all Diceans, even if they were horrible, and to keep extending help until the last possible thread. It was his vow. And maybe convincing his husband that black and white morality didn’t apply here wasn’t the hill it was smartest or worth his time to die on, but…well, Kokichi was already plotting ground.

“...how do you know that? Have you met a demon?”

“No.” Kaito frowned, “Demons haven’t walked among people in a long time. There hasn’t been a confirmed case of demon involvement in Luminary basically since Drake was there…” 

Kaito glanced at the book again, before getting up and picking up the book, heading back to the window seat as he said, “I didn’t even know demons were in this thing. I haven’t read much of this. Where are demons…”

Maybe Drake would be able to have more insight on that, but…Kokichi could imagine the guy was getting some much needed rest right about then. They could ask more about the world later. 

“If you’ve never met one, then there’s no way to tell what any given demon is like, personally…” Kokichi sighed. “And just ‘cause there haven’t been reports in Luminary doesn’t mean they’re not around, there or other places. Maybe they just got better at hiding, since everyone called them evil…”

Kokichi followed Kaito over to the window seat, though he had at least skimmed the section on demons before. Traditionally a very old species, closely related to angels, incubi, and succubi, as they were all beings that fed on other creatures’ emotions. Demons fed on emotions like anger and sadness and grief, while angels fed on contentment and pride and compassion, incubi and succubi getting the whole range of sexual passion. 

Oni, as the group as a whole was called, were basically the same species otherwise. They had a limited capacity to shapeshift, though only into themselves (which was a strange concept with little explanations), and could subtly influence other species with generally lower psychic resistance, like humans, mermaids, and ogres, and were traditionally kept in service (though that service was described many ways, from slavery to an honored purpose) to gods, though onis freedom were ensured millenia ago. 

There were…some less than nice comments about the sexual promescurity of incubi and succubi, and how ‘fair-weather friends’ angels could be, and that demons were instigators…but as Kokichi read more of the book, he could recognize those parts as the author’s glaring bias.

“...what the heck is an angel?” Kaito muttered, looking through the ‘oni’ section with a more than biased eye, raising an eyebrow at the type of demon he had never heard of before. 

“Basically demons, but feed on good emotions. Or, ‘positive’ emotions.” Maki supplied, having laid down next to where Shuichi was sitting, staring at the ceiling now. “You remember those statues around the west end of the city, how so many of them had pretty, feminine looking people with wings? I think those are actually meant to be ‘angels’.”

“Really?” Kaito asked, looking curious at that, looking over ‘Oni’, reading the descriptions alongside Kokichi… he frowned, “Okay, sure, but these things aren’t ‘demons’. These are just, like, emotion vampires. They’re just using the same word as demons. It’s confusing.”

Shuichi blinked, a thought running through his head… he looked to Kokichi, “Kokichi, you can ‘make’ people feel certain emotions, can’t you? You calmed me down once, I remember. Can you do that with any emotion?”

Kokichi blinked at his family in astonishment. Sure, he’d never heard them use the term before, but… “Wait…you guys don’t have ‘angels’ in Luminary? That’s…” He blinked again, a more considering look on his face. “...I guess the saints would take over that niche, now that I think about it…”

The ultimate depictions of ‘goodness’, what you could call someone for peak flattery, in one religion, the thing all people should strive for in their lives, being “good” enough to be an angel after death… Huh.

But…if the actual demons weren’t what Kaito thought of as demons, then…

Kokichi had just been about to ask that, before he looked up at Shuuichi, a complicated look on his face. “I mean…hypothetically, yeah. I can create Empathy Domes, which we talked about with Mikado, which…are kind of like feeling something so strongly I get other people to feel it too. But…if I really focused on someone? Then, I think so, yeah. I could make them feel whatever. Emotions are chemical, if I wanted to think about it physically, and not metaphorical so…just engage the glands and neurotransmitters that produce that chemical.”

Shuichi frowned, looking a little less giddy now, his high from talking to Drake ebbing away as he considered that… but Maki said it before Shuichi could finish getting his thoughts together as she said, “There’s a danger. Though, probably not actually for Kokichi specifically. Trying to kidnap the heir-apparent of Dicea is insane, especially for a reason where literally any random empath would make an adequate substitute. But if Oni really are becoming exceptional at hiding themselves? That’s how I’d do it.”

“How you’d do what?” Kaito asked, reading the succubi and incubi pages maybe a touch more closely then the others, brow furrowing over it. Drake had said there was a possibility that Atua had something to do with the creations of these ones…

“How I would keep ourselves fed and hidden. Capture one empath? Or, I suppose, if we’re being generous, make a deal with one? Just have them make a dome in a crowd and feed on your emotion of choice for as long as you want.” Maki said, “You’d never struggle to find the emotion you need.”

“I don’t know if that’d work in just a random crowd.” Kaito said, looking up from the book to glance at Shuichi and Maki before looking down again, “The book gives you the impression the emotions need to be strong for them to be able to feed on them. What, you’re going to just go into a random crowd at the market and make everyone there suddenly miserable for no reason and no one will notice? Seems unrealistic.”

“The Empath community is becoming much bolder, when it comes to protecting our own,” Kokichi said quietly, finding logic in Maki’s concern. It just…didn’t feel great, to know another angle someone might want to cause harm to people like him through. 

(Not to mention that if his hunch was right… Demons probably found much more social ways to get their fix. And to do it ‘ethically’.)

“With Luminary Empaths being kidnapped the way they were…” Kokichi sighed softly. He hadn’t heard much of what was going on with his foreign brethren, but…he was happy for them. Whatever sort of people they might be. “Well, that’s why the community is so secretive. How Alter Ego first phrased it, I was scared for ages that the second I told anyone I’d be doomed… But other Empaths I’ve talked to have let family members know, so. Just perspective, I guess.”

Though… Creating an Empathy Dome in a crowd… Dozens of people all suddenly feeling miserable…

Kokichi crossed his arms, frowning in thought. “...only pretty powerful Empaths can create domes, and…they’d be putting themselves at a lot of risk, making them too often. This…does call into question events of mass hysteria, but…if they were connected to the events, regardless if someone could prove it was Empathy…they’d be in a ridiculous amount of danger, exposing themselves like that…”

“Yeah, exactly.” Kaito said, thinking about it himself, “If you wanted to do it safely, you’d just, I don’t know… be somewhere where people feel strong emotions a lot. Like… a play. If I was an emotion leach? I’d put on plays. Something that entices the right emotions.” Kaito said, not saying his real first thought, which would be, like… at least for the succubi and incubi, a brothel house. Or strip club. If you wanted it ‘ethically’, that was all he could think of as options.

“But, yeah. These aren’t demons. Demons are creatures that lesser gods send to torture humans. To make their trials harder. And just to be a dick to Atua. It’s like… a job.” Kaito said, shrugging, “they probably got these guys confused for demons cause they, like, followed bad emotions and stuff.”

Kaito might not’ve said it, but Kokichi nodded. “Yeah. Like I know some succubi work at strip clubs, and some are escorts. It’s kinda like a win-win for them, it sounds like--give people the experience they want, get paid for it, and get a meal at the same time.”

Going back to demons, though… Kokichi sighed softly, not always as endeared with Kaito’s habit of forcing the things he believed were the ‘real’ ones, and everything else, regardless of how many people believed it, or if there was definiable fact, was confused. But his husband really had been forced to believe a lot of other things, lately so…that wasn’t part of Kokichi’s hill that day. 

“That’s…kinda intriguing, actually,” Kokichi hummed, leaning back against the wall around the window seat. “If the trials and paradise are for those Atua claims, and…anyone whose god doesn’t care about setting up an afterlife? Then…what’s the point? If Atua’s considered to have a savior complex, then why would other gods go through that effort, when they don’t even yoink people who might qualify for their domains?”

“Because they’re evil.” Kaito shrugged, having never needed more of an explanation for why minor gods and demons would want to fuck around with humans, though if he had to guess a motive, “And maybe they’re jealous… or…”

Kaito frowned. Oh. Right. He had literally forgotten… Atua wasn’t a creator god. Hell, he was a minor god, based on how Kaito knew that definition. He was a near powerless thief… hm. “...wait, okay, you guys met another god right? Bathul? I heard that right, right? God of Thieves and Rogues?”

“Hm? Oh, no. God of Death and Trade.” Shuichi corrected, “Temp worships him, remember? That’s why he does all that memorial volunteer work and runs the crematorium.”

“Right. Right… do you guys think Saint Meridan’s story is true then? Bathul tried to hook up with her to spite Atua?” Kaito asked, looking uncertain. “That… made more sense before. Now it feels like a weird thing for a major god to do to a minor god. Like… really petty. Also, Atua probably couldn’t give anyone super powers, huh?”

“Maybe he asked a different god to give her super powers?” Shuichi guessed, trying to keep an open mind for Kaito’s sake, “Maybe Bathul gave her the power for Atua, and the story just got a little weird retelling it?”

Kokichi never really liked discussions of nature. Sure, there were things certain people were inclined towards, and there were some people out there that were just malicious because they found it fun. But Kokichi would always firmly believe they were the exception to the rule, and there was no way anything resembling the amount of beings needed for a species could all be that way. 

Nature was a quick hand for hand waving actions. For giving up any pursuit to change or hold accountability. It was a way of saying, oh, sorry, you’re just mindless, and there’s nothing to do about that. Even creatures without higher sapience could learn, could change. 

Evil was an action, not an attribute. 

(Kokichi did want to give Kaito the benefit of the doubt, but…describing demons as reasons people would have harder trials? It…really sounded like the way he always thought folktales came to be. People not wanting to be held accountable, so they made up a supernatural reason for it.)

But as Kaito seemed to remember some of the discussions they’d been having lately…

“Oh, Dr. Mariah did mention the saints, when she talked about the things Atua bartered for, when it came to abilities,” Kokichi piped up. “Maybe…yeah. Atua bartered with Bathul to give her powers, for some reason, and…that’s just how the story changed over time. Or…maybe the story’s like what happened to Atua? He took notice of her, and thought she’d make a good god so he asked another god that could actually make that so.”

“Huh. Weird…” Kaito sighed, losing interest in the book as he leaned back against the window, glancing over his shoulder at the long drop down into the bushes and grass below, before asking the rest of them, “So, we’re… good on the Drake thing? Demon talk aside, we’re all cool with our resident vampire?”

“I still plan to keep an eye on him.” Maki said, “But it’d be easier to keep tabs on him the closer and more often at hand he is. So if you all want to continue to be friends with him, that just makes my job easier, honestly.”

“It’s not your job, Maki, though I appreciate you wanting to look out for us.” Kaito corrected her, not wanting Maki to fall back into that trap again, “Shuichi?”

“Drake’s fine. He’s a friend of mine, and I don’t think that’s changed with this new information. Plus, now he’s so useful.” Shuichi gushed, eyes widening with excitement for a moment, “So much information. But… we should talk about what happened with Kaito.” Shuichi said, the excitement bleeding out as his expression turned more serious, “Though I’ll admit, I’m not sure how to approach this… Maki?”

“Hm?”

“Any ideas how to deal with Kaito’s slip-up?”

“Probably don’t talk about it like he’s a charge waiting on his mentors punishment, for one.” Maki said dryly, Shuichi blanching at that as she shrugged at his expression, “Kaito’s not a child, or a pet, and probably the only reason he hasn’t asked you to stop with that tone himself is because he feels guilty. That won’t last. You’re going to piss him off. And my next suggestion would be asking for Dr. Mariah’s help. Cause I don’t understand what happened either.”

“I just got confused.” Kaito muttered. “It’s not that complicated.”

Kokichi nodded his assent. “He’s given us a life-changing secret in return for ours. And, arguably, he’s even put himself at more of a disadvantage, since he’s trusting four people to protect him, while we only have to consider one. And…he’s Shuu-chan’s friend, and truly feels that way. I’m willing to put my trust in him.”

Among those trusted that did let it slip, though…

Giving his friends a look, Kokichi nodded slightly, pressing his hand against Kaito’s arm gently for a moment. “Kai-chan and I talked a little about it while you guys were out. And…one of the best things I can offer?”

Kokichi nodded towards three small novels now on the nightstand. “Constant denial, even if you’re positive someone has you cornered, and those…are one of my favorite book series when I was a kid--Psychonauts. It’s all about psychics and going on psychic journeys to help people and uncover mysteries, so…if someone’s really insistent? Get excited they’re talking about a book you remember fondly, and keep things firmly in the realm of fiction.”

“...through my own fault,” Kokichi said softly, looking a little ashamed, “No one has a reason to believe I’ve told you anything. If you stay adamant that someone’s just talking nonsense, or fiction? It should at the least make them leave you alone or back off until we can get help.”

“Yeah! Yeah, see, that makes sense.” Kaito said, huffing a little as he crossed his arms over his chest, giving Shuichi and Maki both a slightly annoyed look, “I don’t need, like… lessons on how to keep a secret. And that’s a perfectly good plan from now on, if I slip up anything, which I won’t, it’s like ‘oooooh, ya know, psychonauts. Which psychic acrobat kid with a daddy complex did you think I was talking about? Obviously just that one.”

“That can’t be what that books about.” Maki mused.

“No, seriously, when Kokichi was explaining to me the story. It’s like one for one. It’s crazy, guys.” Kaito said, before looking more determined, “But this isn’t happening again, is the point. I won’t screw up again. I swear it. No one has to worry about me messing up, I am gonna be on top of it.”

Kokichi originally just nodded along, though as Kaito said ‘one for one’--”Hey, wh- What do you mean, ‘one for one’?!”

But…ultimately. 

Kokichi let out a sigh and leaned over to kiss Kaito’s head. “I’m going to trust you, Kai-chan. You know how much is at stake, even if we managed to get lucky this time. I’m going to trust you to not make another mistake.”

“Yeah! Yeah… thanks babe.” Kaito said, both relieved and a little guilty. He really did just kinda… count on Kokichi’s forgiveness, all the time. Constantly. 

But, like Kaito had said earlier. He had to own his mistakes, even if he couldn’t make up for them. Sometimes all he could offer was his guilt, which he knew Kokichi didn’t really want, but… Kaito couldn’t prove himself all at once, and he didn’t want to be someone who wouldn’t want to punish himself for hurting his family. He didn’t want to be the kind of person who could just shake stuff like this off.

So, guilt on the inside (hopefully without Kokichi noticing too much) and determination on the outside! 

“I still think we should bring it up with Dr. Mariah. But, then, maybe that’s just because of my own session this morning.” Maki admitted, “She’s on the brain.”

“How’s that going, by the way?” Kaito asked, rubbing Kokichi’s back a bit.

“Eh. Lot of leading questions. Occasional emotions. Reminders that it's okay to feel the emotions. You know how it goes.” Maki shrugged. “I don’t hate it.”

“I’m for that,” Kokichi nodded. She usually had good insight when they explained how they handled certain things. And it would be nice to have something else on the docket considering the emergency session they’d had. Though this was kind of Kaito-forward too. But…it would be good to talk about, regardless. 

Humming softly, Kokichi shuffled closer to Kaito, claiming a small spot on the edge of the window seat to encourage more backrubs. And, looking up at her, Kokichi smiled proudly at Maki. “I’m glad. I can only say from my own sessions, but while the leading questions can feel a little weird, they are pretty helpful for getting me to eventually find the right path…since otherwise i can just keep talking about everything forever,” he rolled his eyes.

“What? Noooooo. None of us can talk forever…” Kaito said, smirking at the rest of them before saying, “Though, personally? I’m kinda exhausted… is anyone planning to be here for the rest of the night? I don’t mean take over my shift before it ends, I just mean, like… wake me up when she needs anything? Seriously, it’d help.”

“I can stay. But I really will wake you up when she needs changing. I’ll feed her off shift, but dirty diapers are all you.” Shuichi said.

“I’ve kinda been here all day, ‘cept when we all left this morning, so while I’d be tempted to continue the trend…” Kokichi sighed with a small shrug. “I think I’ll go see what my family’s doing, see if someone’s free. Maybe I’ll coax my father or my uncle into leaving the office for a break. Dinner isn’t too long from now, but still…”

“I wonder what we’re having…” he idly hummed, rolling his shoulders a little as he prepared to get up.

“Hey, hey, real quick, before you escape.” Kaito said, putting his arms around Kokichi and pulling him back, giving him kisses, at first just cutely, and then far too cutely, until Maki gave an obvious, mildly disgusted sigh, “Shut up, Maki, it’s our room. Anyway…” Kaito gave Kokichi another little kiss, before resting his forehead against Kokichi’s temple as he said softly to him, “Thank you for being patient with me. I love you, Kokichi.”

“I love you too, Kai-chan.”

-

True to his word--in multiple ways--Drake smiled sheepishly at the guard watching over the stairs to the residential areas at mid-morning, only the plaster on his face still there, and only with a slight limp. The entry hall was still pretty busy, people who couldn’t make it the day before getting their votes in now, but thankfully Drake had seen the short blond before on his trips to the castle, and he was given entry up to the third floor west wing. 

Sure…it probably wasn’t, like, too long since breakfast but… Even if they had cleared him to an extent, Drake still felt like there was ground he needed to make up, when it came to the royal family. So…balancing a drink tray of various coffees and teas (the most he could remember from the family’s orders), Drake apprehensively looked at his full hands before…lightly kicking at the princes’ door.

“I’ve got it,” Shuichi assured Kokichi, heading over to the door, before glancing over his shoulder at the bed.

Kaito was still out. Out-out. But that wasn’t surprising. He had taken his tablet after his shift. He’d only start waking up a little after noon. Unless there was something he specifically had to be up for in the beginning of the day, he usually got most of his sleep in during the morning and noon. Though he had slept in between shifts midnight last night, and a little during his first shift too. The guy was tired.

Still, Shuichi wondered if he should have woken Kaito up to let him know Drake was probably coming over… eh. It was okay. Kaito needed the sleep, Shuichi would fill him in on anything he missed.

Opening the door, Shuichi smiled… and immediately gave the platter of glasses a knowing, worried look, “Should I take that from you?” He offered immediately, a little astounded Drake had gotten them up the stairs to begin with.

“Yes, please,” Drake said in a slightly strained voice, looking at the drinks with more than a little apprehension. “I kept thinking I was going to pour them all over myself every step up…”

Once Shuuichi took the drinks into safer hands, Drake let out a little relieved sigh before smiling into the room at Shuuichi and Kokichi…and the sleeping Kaito. “Oh, good morning…sorry if I came by too early…”

“Morning, Drake!” Kokichi chirped, giving the guy a wave. “Nah, Kai-chan just sleeps late since he stays up for Miya-duty. Though…cause ‘a that, as curious as I am about things…would you guys wanna talk in Shuu-chan’s office? I gotta keep an eye on Miya, and it’d be kinda weird to be chattin’ here when Kai-chan wakes up.”

“Oh, no, I don’t mind…”

“Good, good. I’m still so glad you came.” Shuichi smiled brightly, putting down the platter on the desk, before heading over to Kokichi, giving him a small kiss before saying, “You don’t need anything before I go?”

Kokichi hummed and snagged what looked like a nice black tea from the tray before beaming into Shuuichi’s kiss. “I think we’re all good. I’ll send word if anything happens, but you two enjoy yourselves and say hi to Nini for me. Love you.”

“Okay. Bye Miyako, be good for your father. Bye Kaito.” Shuichi said goodnaturedly, giving a small wave to the red head, who was absolutely sprawled out on the bed. Shuichi had always thought that was curious, how a sleeping Kaito seemed to just know he was alone in the bed. He never sprawled out when one of them was in it. But alone? It was like he was trying to bear hug the mattress. 

It was cute. Shuichi gave them all a fond look, before grabbing a coffee and heading out, “Come on, come on. The guards didn’t give you a hard time, did they? Things have been pretty busy here because of voting. Have you voted yet?”

“Bye, Kokichi,” Drake waved, taking his own coffee from the batch as the prince waved back at him. Honestly…he was pretty relieved. He figured the others had passed on his sincerity, but…it was scary, having your secret exposed. He was glad the prince didn’t seem to blame him for it. 

“Ah, no, not today,” Drake softly chuckled, following Shuuichi’s lead to his study, though he’d been around enough to know where it was. “That, uh…I think his name’s IQ? Or a nickname, at least… He’s seen me before, when I’ve come to visit you, so I wasn’t shaken down or anything. I don’t blame the guards for being more careful when it’s busy like this, though…”

“Yeah, I voted a few weeks ago, through a mail-in ballot. I make sure to get ‘em in early, just in case anything goes wrong. It seems like it’d be more simple for you guys, though, since you just have to go downstairs… Did you all vote yesterday?”

“I did, or, we did. First time I’ve ever voted on anything.” Shuichi admitted, leading the way to his office, which didn’t take long. He opened the door for Drake, sipping at his coffee as he headed over to the terrarium, happily checking over Nini, who was sunbathing in the ‘tree’. “It was interesting, though admittedly I didn’t have much opinion on anything on the ballets. The leaders seem to know what’s going on though, Aiichi and his staff seem to have a good grasp of Dicea. I imagine with the war over, they’ll be able to do all sort of new projects they otherwise didn’t have time for… I like to think I’ve arrived in Dicea at the beginning of some upcoming prosperity.”

Looking to Drake, eyes shining with interest, Shuichi asked, “Have I? I imagine voting is very interesting for you, since you have an idea what those decisions will actually lead too. Anything interesting coming up?”

Drake nodded--from what he knew, there wouldn’t be much of a need in Luminary for voting. Even if he could see the upper classes having unofficial votes of sorts to organize together…mostly to stop things from happening, if he had to guess. Rich people were like that. 

But though they were beholden to the majority…national votes in Dicea were fascinating. The potential power every person could theoretically hold…

Giving Shuuichi a fond look, Drake nodded as he considered what the world looked like right now. “There’s an argument to be made that war breeds innovation, but…it’s just different kinds than what comes during peacetime. I mean…you could probably extrapolate what new road paths would mean for connecting Dicea and its neighbors… And the new ecological surveys and tech demonstrations means that people are continuing on with ever understanding the world around us more. With more people having an easier time getting in contact with each other, an a priority on learning about the world, something’s going to happen. It’s just hard to tell if it’s good or bad until it’s over.”

“Though…I think we’ll be on a good swing.” Drake took a seat on Shuuichi’s window couch, a soft look on his face. “That proposal about not having to declare a place of last residence to get a lease or mortgage… That’ll make things a lot easier for both the magic community, and for immigrants.”

“Historically…Dicea hasn’t been the most…welcoming, with their foreign policy… With the social views. And there are places around right now that are…pretty extreme. But if this policy passes…it’ll mean that the majority of people are…I guess you’d call them progressive. And it would mean things are tangibly a whole hell of a lot safer for immigrants.”

Shuichi looked mildly surprised at that, “Oh, is that what that was about? I did wonder what the point of it was. I suppose I’m glad I ticked yes on that. Though, if I’m honest, I didn’t say no to anything. I assumed there was a reason it was being proposed at all.”

Sitting on the couch with Drake, Shuichi smirked at him a little, before saying, “But don’t think I didn’t notice that none of that sounded like a… prophesy? Would that be the word? Come on, this is still new and exciting for me! Isn’t there anything you’ve ‘seen’ that you can tell me about?” Shuichi asked, leaning in, voice full of curiosity, “I know that doesn’t mean it’s going to come true, just because you saw it, but it’s still fascinating. Any future events worth talking about?”

“It’s not the worst way to vote, honestly,” Drake shrugged. “It’s been a long, long time since any party’s tried to slip their own, personal agenda into a national ballot. Municipal ballots are a different story, but those have gotten cracked down on in the past decade or two too.”

Drake gave Shuuichi an amused look, finding it…well. It was a little funny to think that his friend was already assuming Drake’s observations of the world were governed by his gift. Sure…some of it was, but still.

Chuckling, Drake rubbed the back of his neck while he gave Shuuichi a sheepish look. “Honestly, I think you’d find most of my visions kind of boring… Unlike a lot of other clairvoyants, I can’t control the topic of what I see. Oh, uh, I see the future in dreams, so… It’s just random stuff. Like…I knew I should come by the castle with a gift, and it turned out to be your birthday. Or I saw that I managed to bring my notes to class.”

“Generally…the further out the ‘event’ is, the…less clear it is,” Drake explained, something a little frustrated on his face. “Even something a few days ahead can be…really vague. And that’s blown up in my face, once or twice…”

“...but as for…any ‘major’ prophesies?” Drake gave his friend a considering look before…well. It was an odd look. A little vindictive, but…mostly just excited, and wholly unable to contain that excitement. “I don’t know how much Kaito ended up passing onto you… But the Flora are going to get a new leader. I can’t tell if it’s something that would happen in your lifetime or the next generation…but comparatively? It’s soon.”

Shuichi gave Drake a startled look at that… sipped his coffee… before saying, “You absolutely need to tell Kokichi that.”

“Flora really worry him.” Shuichi explained, relaxing as his mind shifted to this new topic, “You know, Kaito actually thought he knew about Flora before the rest of us… or, he believed he knew of a terrible breeding program in Danganronpa, before the rest of us. And he said that he largely didn’t tell us not to worry us. I didn’t think there was anything worth worrying about, for me in particular, even if thinking about people going through what I went through en masse is… sad.” Shuichi admitted, something heavy in his expression, ‘...but not something I’m not used too. I’m indentured, or, was indentured, after all. Growing up in abusive programs is old hat to me. But I understood why he kept it from Kokichi. Kokichi’s heart breaks for the world… literally. The amount of times I’ve seen his heart fail him just from pity alone…”

 Shuichi smiled, a little sad, a little happy, as he said, “I don’t know if your prediction would completely ease his fears for what Danganronpa is today, and what it has been… but knowing that change is coming relatively soon? Or at least is likely to come relatively soon? That might be genuinely comforting to him. I know you said you can’t see it clearly, but would the new royal, or, leader, or whatever it will be, the new head Flora… will they be better? I don’t know how redeemable Flora can possibly be, I’m nowhere near as optimistic about them as Kaito is, but…” Shuichi just sighed, “If you know as much about Flora as I do, then you know what I mean. Do they get better?”

Drake perked but…he wasn’t that surprised as he nodded. Even more than the ability he had, Kokichi was an intensely empathetic person. If he knew about the horrors that the Flora had inflicted onto millions of people…then of course it was going to be something that troubled him. And…like it was for Drake, even knowing that the Flora were going to continue to hurt people for a while still…it was immensely relieving to know that it wouldn’t be forever. That there was answer and…they just needed to wait for it.

(Or raise their daughter into a kind person, but still.)

Sighing a bit at the Indentured Program, Drake was able to smile a little at Shuuichi’s question. “Considering the feelings I got were that everything I hate about the Flora were eradicated? Yeah. The future isn’t certain, but…I’m confident that the next monarch is going to be better. Start the road to the Flora’s redemption by example.”

Drake looked forward, his gaze more sober. “...there’s no taking back all they’ve done, under Junko’s hand…but grudges can’t last forever. I can hate Junko’s influence, and all the specific Flora that keep preying on Luminary over and over…but if all that changes? If none of those people are around anymore? Then I can’t hate Flora. They would be two fundamentally different groups at that point.”

“Grudges can last for a little while. I know that I don’t exactly weep every time I hear things are difficult for all the ‘not-Kaito’ elites in Luminary.” Shuichi laughed, sipping at his coffee… before his eyes bugged out, “What? What about Luminary??”

Drake took a second to realize what Shuichi was asking, another second to realize they were not all on the same page, and then a third second to sigh… before he started to explain. 

Shuichi took a moment before he scrambled for his journal, writing down in short-hand code everything he could as Drake explained, mind spinning. Luminary was a colony of Danganronpa who was using Luminary’s population to fuel their human-based breeding program. A breeding program that was so important to them that they regularly reset Luminary’s entire government and culture just to make it easier to keep the human funnel to Danganronpa growing strong…

Shuichi raised a finger. “Wait, wait… that sounds perfect.” he said, brow furrowed… before blanching, looking a little self-disgusted as he meant, “I mean, I mean, not that it’s a perfect situation, but… that’s a perfect plan. I know how big and chaotic the Indentured program is, you could lose thousands of people regularly and no one would notice. And I know for a fact that not everyone changed manages to survive long enough to have a child, so that cuts down the imported people to its survivors, and then those probably have a limit to have many children they can have. So that lowers the overall number too, but… Flora are durable, right? And live a long time, and that country is huge already. How many new children do they regularly need?”

“I mean,” Shuichi sighed, theorizing aloud to himself more than anything, “Why attack Dicea? If Luminary is already a perfect breeding program for them? Were the death cults apart of that? Or was that things getting out of hand? Because now Dicea is aware of poppies, which puts Danganronpa and their breeding practices at risk. Shouldn’t hiding and securing the poppies be their number one priority, since secrecy is one of the ways they can securely control Luminary and their breeding program?”

Drake nodded, something dark and grim in his expression. “Even in a system like what Dicea has, people still go missing. With so many people in a large area, it’s inevitable, and the Flora have perfected taking advantage of that. And keeping Luminary from ever truly stabilizing to the point where all those disappearances would be looked into is just…all part of that.”

His lip curling a little, Drake groused, “It’s not even about keeping a stable population--their numbers when the Head Bitch got in power…yeah, they really did need help rebuilding, but…just looking at them while I’ve been alive? Their population is still growing exponentially, all while being the largest and most populous nation on the continent, bigger in both regards to the other three combined. It’s not about balance--it’s about that monster figuring that humans are either good for making more Flora or for being mulch. There’s always warnings about taking care of yourself once you get into the upper hundred, but Junko’s the worst example of going absolutely insane in old age.”

But…even with the insane pace, Luminary would still be enough to accommodate that. And the cult’s failure in Dicea put Flora at more risk than ever for continuing to operate in the shadows. 

“In my opinion?” Drake sighed, letting some of that antipathy fade, “The death cults were literally the name. Stir chaos, try to kill as many humans as possible, and if they managed to find a seedling among all the destruction? Hey, how lucky… Junko wouldn’t care enough to stop that… I think they just all underestimated how close-knit Diceans are. And that there was a particular detective too curious and with friends that loved him too much to let him be taken away…” At that, Drake gave his friend a small, fond smile.

“I don’t know the whole of it, but I know that all of that was a nightmare for you… But…Shuuichi? You not being managed by the cult and managing to find a doctor that could help you, while your family kept the cults or any other Flora from kidnapping you? Her reign isn’t over yet, but…you made the continent unfathomably safer for humans…and now, other folks too, since we’d be able to get that medicine without having to risk outing ourselves during testing. You…literally knocked over a huge domino leading to the Flora’s downfall.”

“Ha. Well…” Shuichi looked pleased, if sheepish at the same time. Tucking his hair behind his ear as he shrugged, “Dr. Ford said something similar. I don’t… know if I feel that’s entirely accurate. Honestly, sometimes I think those three idiots, Tom, Itch and Aba, did more for the poppy situation than anyone by being stupid enough to be so brazen about it. People knew what they were doing long before my situation became known, thanks to ‘smarter’ people than me…”

“... I didn’t even pick my doctor.” Shuichi recalled, something sad coming across his face… before scoffing. Sipping at his coffee, “Sorry, I apologize, I can… I hate talking about her. Not because it’s ‘traumatizing’ or anything, but sometimes I feel like all I do is talk about her… I hate that she still takes up so much space in my mind. How many times can you say ‘this situation made me upset’ before you’re just… a skipping vinyl?”

Shuichi didn’t say Nao’s name, because god, it was not the first time Shuichi had talked to Drake about her. Not all the nitty-gritty details, but mostly about Shuichi’s conflict with how he was handling the situation with her. Drake didn’t know the details of The Week, but he knew Shuichi hated that he still thought about it with Capital Letters.

“I might change my mind again someday, but…I think that might be the best way to think about it. Or…that it’s a good sign if the person you’re praising thinks about it like that?” Drake shrugged with a small smile. “Means you aren’t about to deal with a hero complex, or someone that’s taking credit for other people’s accomplishments. There are a lot of people who contributed and are contributing to giving the Flora what they’ve long had coming, but…you are one of those people, Shuuichi. And that’s still something positively noteworthy.”

Even if what had actually happened was something he might rather forget. Drake hadn’t known anything about the former castle librarian before he met Shuuichi but…even not knowing the details? She sounded like a piece of work. 

“I think the actual answer is until that vinyl becomes background noise that you never really focus on anymore…but. Yeah. Yeah.” A sympathetically sad look came across Drake’s face before he sighed. “But…yeah. That’s the deal with the Flora, in a nutshell. You know?! You know… It’s such a petty thing in comparison, but they took our catacombs over too? It’s just insulting…”

“Right, catacombs, immortals hiding things, fire?? Sensitivity?” Shuichi guessed, giving Drake an inquisitive look. “I’m assuming setting you on fire would be bad. It usually is. But, honestly, certain parts of our culture, knowing that Flora was designing things to be convenient for them? Makes way more sense. No wonder we consider cremations disrespectful and gross. It’s one of the few things that could actually endanger a Flora.”

“And the catacombs… you bury someone, behind a literal door, body undisturbed… Flora could literally go through the whole funeral process and just get up and leave that night once everyone’s gone. And who’s going to open up the caskets to check if they’re still there?” Shuichi mused, forgetting his insecurities with Nao as he thought more about the Flora things, which was comparatively easier. “Fascinating. I wonder what else is for their convenience… wait, they used to be your catacombs. Before the demon scare pushed everyone out, what other kind of magical communities did Luminary used to have?” Shuichi asked, giving Drake an earnest look. “Maybe knowing who used to live there would explain some of our culture.”

Drake nodded, sipping from his coffee with a mildly annoyed look. Sure, he’d only been in his fifties when their group left Luminary, and most of that had been spent in hiding while he learned about his new life and…well, tried not to be spotted by anyone he’d known, since he’d died pretty publicly… But they were still their catacombs, dammit! Vampire claimed!

“I can take fire better than a Flora can, generally, but, yeah, being put in a crematory? No way I’d survive that.” Pausing, Drake nodded as Shuuichi hit the nail on the head about a practice still in use today--though with different twists these days. If you were lucky enough to “die” in a town that had someone in the community as a mortician? Absolutely golden. “Exactly. It’s disrespectful to move the dead! So…move along please, nothing to see.”

Snickering quietly, Drake hummed, trying to remember all the folk he…generally knew about in the area. “Um…well…er, they call them all “oni” over here, but I think the term’s caught on more generally--so, yeah, a ton of them. Witches, though they usually have a better time hiding in plain sight, and Djinn…oh, rock golems had a very pretty strong communities out in the deserts, I heard about…and some heat elementals too.”

“You know, I never thought it was weird at the time,” Drake hummed, “But there were like…no werewolf communities in Luminary, as far as I knew. Very strange, when you look at all of them here…but I guess it makes sense they’d prefer more forested areas to call home.”

“Fascinating. So, a lot of what Kaito would call ‘emotion leaches’, Vampires, a lot of communities that would thrive in an emotional and blood-friendly kingdom. Witches I know less about, though I do find them fascinating…”

Shuichi lit up, before looking a little mischievous, nibbling his lip a little, looking like he wasn’t certain he should say anything… before leaning and saying softly to Drake, “I’m thinking of trying ‘spells’ myself. Maybe. Just a few little ones!”

Lighting up, Shuichi said, “I met someone else who has her hands on a spell book? She hasn’t had much success in making it work, she really tries at it, but she by her own admission really struggles with the mathematical aspects of it. Apparently there’s a lot of math to the formulas and deciphering times and dates, not to mention apparently most spells are written like riddles specifically to discourage people from casually trying them… which is why we’re not doing it casually! We’re going to try the, the, the shit–” Shuichi smiled, feeling enthusiastic as he mimicked some of Kaito’s language, “--out of these spells! Do you wanna try them with us?”

Drake’s eyebrows raised a little--’leeches’ was usually…a fairly unkind way to describe vampires, so hearing it used to describe oni was…novel--before he looked at Shuuichi with even more surprise. Which…turned into mildly worried interest. 

“Er…I try not to fiddle with magic much--it has a nasty habit of blowing up in your face. But…I think I’d still like to cheer you guys on.” And maybe hurry them away from any literal explosions. “Magic can be taught, but…that’s really an undertaking, if you guys are trying to teach yourselves. Usually you’d wanna ask a mage or… Well, wizards can be kind of obtuse…and weirdos. The guy that runs Augury and Alchemy might be the nicest witch I’ve ever met, but he still tries to ask me to pay in venom even when I’m buying just normal stuff…”

Shuichi’s eyes widened, “Do you have venom??”

Drake’s eyes widened before he gave Shuuichi a sheepish look. “Ah, yeah. I have glands just behind my fangs, kinda like some kinds of snake… It…like, chemically is, but calling it venom makes it sound scarier than it is… In application, it works like a minor sedative and antibacterial serum. If I bite a person, my glands activate and the venom drips into the wound, making the person pain-free, a little lethargic, and keeps the wound from getting infected. In large doses, though, that’s the trigger for passing on vampirism.”

“Fascinating. So in theory, if you collected your gland venom and dosed a drink, you could turn someone into a vampire without ever biting them at all.” Shuichi said, scribbling in his journal, tapping the end of it just off his lip as he mused, “Why would a witch want that… maybe it’s an ingredient in specific spells? Or if you needed an alternative to morphine… oh! This isn’t an accusation, just purely a curious question: can you enthrall people?”

Drake nodded a bit. “Both are reasons, I’d think. Witches tend to use ‘physical magic’--using the physical properties of magical items for…whatever it is they want. They still use ‘intangible’ or ‘personal magic’, but usually more as a way to stabilize or combine physical items, or maybe as a catalyst… I think you’d have to ask a witch or someone who studies magic more to get more of an explanation that that, though. As I said…I try to stay away from that stuff.”

Enthralling was a more expected question though--much more than the whole ‘sparkling’ thing. Laughing lightly, Drake shook his head. “Nah. I mean, you hear rumors about ancient vampires mutating and getting various abilities, but I’ve never heard anything confirmed. If anything, I’d say that myth would just come from a really charismatic vampire…or someone trying to pass off blame of how horny they were for a vampire and blaming it on magic.”

“Darn. I mean, probably good, because that’s one less thing for Maki to worry about. But still… darn.” Shuichi huffed, looking very disappointed that they couldn’t explore weird charisma magic, “But, again, that makes things easier on all of us. Not that you would abuse enthrall magic, but it’s better to not have to facter that in. I wonder if there’s a enthrall spell in my friends book…”

Giving Drake a sheepish look, he said, “A part of me wants you to try these spells with us specifically to be a voice of reason, if I’m honest. All of this? Magic, spells, species…the world is so much bigger, than I ever imagined it. I’d read fantasy books, sure, sometimes because I wanted too, most of the time because Kaito had begged me too, wanting to talk about them with someone. But I always read them with this level of… cynicism. Because it was such escapist fantasy, the idea that there could be these… big, beautiful things that defy reality.”

“Not to mention this idea that anyone could do it? That’s  what I always loved about spells in fantasy books… you didn’t need to be born with it. It was literally just education. And you could defy the cosmos, if you learned enough…” Shuichi shrugged, “That’s so tempting, isn’t it? Who wouldn’t be tempted by that? Magic at the palm of your hands. Who wouldn’t want that if it was in front of them? …more people than I could expect, I suppose. I know I’m too enraptured by this, I can already feel it. So I need someone who is more grounded about all of this than me. And I recognize that.”

Drake couldn’t help snorting at his friend’s disappointment a little, but…he did know where Shuuichi was coming from. Knowing just how…full and amazing the world was? Everyone had their view that they wanted to throw themself into. 

“Oh, there’s plenty of like-minded folks out there, and not even just the power hungry,” Drake hummed, nodding. “Just…people who are fascinated with what’s possible. With what those applications would actually mean for the world. Who want to live their lives exactly as they’d always dreamed… There are countless reasons to be enamored with magic, and to want to study it, just like any other field.”

“...but it does count to have a good teacher. Or at least someone with a fire extinguisher.”

Laughing softly, Drake shrugged. “There’s a reasons mages tend to form in-person communities. Since their magic comes almost entirely from themselves? With all the math and understanding and probably a dozen factors I don’t even know… More than even having people passing that knowledge on, it really helps to grow up in that kind of environment. To be immersed in magic all the time. It’s not impossible to learn on your own…but it is pretty difficult.”

…that’s why he supposed warlocks went down the paths they did, but…he wasn’t going to suggest to his dear friend to strike up communion or an accord with ancient, powerful beings. 

“Well, we do actually know an empath that, according to my friend, might as well be a witch. Or, at least he knows a lot of technical things about magic and can apparently point us in the right direction, if we can just get through to him.” Shuichi said, looking determined, before laughing lightly, “We’ll work on him. I just want to explore this stuff. Kokichi can do all these amazing things, Kaito loves fantasy… I want to learn amazing things I can show them.”

“...also, have you… ever heard of ‘body changing’ magic?” Shuichi asked Drake, looking a little genuinely embarrassed, “There’s certain things about my body that I’m not thrilled with. I think if I could find a spell that changes my body? I’d probably try it.”

“I’ll wish you luck convincing him,” Drake snickered, though…Shuuichi’s sentiment was legitimately sweet. He knew his friend enough to know there were more selfish reasons he was so interested, but…wanting to share beautiful things about the world with his family? There were few better personal reasons Drake could think of to take up an undertaking like magic. 

And…selfish, too, was far from meaning detrimental.

Drake understood his friend’s embarrassment, but the look he fixed Shuuichi with was serious. “It’s possible, through a few different ways, but…I’ll say now, don’t ask a demon or fairy. Even if they’re not trying to screw you over, their magic works in really detailed and specific trades. It’s far safer to make a deal with the person casting the magic, and not the magic itself.”

“And…that said, I’d warn you off of experimenting with yourself.” Drake gave his friend a deeply concerned look. “Magic is finicky. It’s one thing to make an object you’re messing with explode…it’s another to make your body the subject of an accident. If you wanted to wait until you’ve mastered magic enough that you know you’d get the spell right? Then…okay.”

“But if you’d want it sooner…ask a witch. Be honest and specific about what you want and…the worst they can say is no. They’re not bound by deals, like fairies and demons, but all the ones I’ve ever met keep by them honestly. If they can’t deliver exactly what you’re asking for, then they won’t try to sell you dishonestly on something else.”

Shuichi grew somewhat fidgety, eyes widening in slight excitement, though there was something… nerve-wracking. In talking the specifics of how it’d work. 

When he thought about himself, it was still his old body that he pictured. His chest didn’t repulse him anymore, and he knew Kokichi and Kaito liked his ass and his hips, he knew even the extra weight on him was attractive it in its own sense, and that if he really wanted to firm himself he could work out. He knew all of that, but… even if he did lose the weight, the hips and ass and chest wouldn’t go away. And even if they were attractive to his partners and even others…

Shuichi didn’t feel like he was looking at a stranger anymore, when he caught glimpses of himself in the mirror. But that didn’t mean his appearance didn’t make him uncomfortable. He just wished he looked on the outside what he saw himself as on the inside. He missed the person he had been. 

Even if he kept the hips– and there was a part of him tempted to keep the hips, even if it was entirely because he saw Kaito and Kokichi looking sometimes– his chest still just made him unhappy. He had tried, once, in the room by himself to feed Miyako with them. Just hoping the act of doing it would make them less weird to him, to serve their function. But he had shuddered in repulsion, bringing Miyako’s face up to them, and had immediately replaced it with the bottle. Maybe it made him a bad father. He didn’t know. He just hated it.

…also fuuuuuuuuuck his dick, holy shit, Shuichi literally had to place it on the lid of the toilet when he took a shit because otherwise the tip of his dick was going to end up in the toilet bowl water. And to pee when he was sitting down required he bend it, because again, just letting it fall!? Toilet dick! Auuuuuuuuugh! 

“I’ll ask a witch,” Shuichi said somberly, thoughts of toilet dick water resolving his nerves, “Would you vouch for the figurine store witches?”

It wasn’t always easy being honest about what you wanted--which was why Drake figured the storybook character of the ‘wicked witch’ was so popular. It was hard getting a desired result when you didn’t have all the information you needed…and yeah, there were some witches that just didn’t appreciate being swindled or ridiculed and decided to give some karmic justice. But especially for “urban” witches? It was safer to not mess with people for no reason and not be exposed. 

“Er…I’m not sure if any of the employees besides Anbai are witches but…yeah. I’d vouch for him. He’s very talented at what he does, and considering he chooses to sell novelties, but thought of ways to make sure the secret wouldn’t get out? He has enough consideration to not skip by weird side effects. Have a consult with him, though, and really decide if you think it’s going to work out. The phrasing is a little weird, but…don’t impulse buy.”

“Of course, of course. And if he can’t do it for me, well… one day I might be able to do it for myself.” Shuichi said, entirely certain, writing down one final note in his journal before closing it with a satisfied sigh. “Shuichi Saihara, learning spells… what a strange reality I live in…”

“... no one’s going to be able to take advantage of me again.” Shuichi said, something hard in his gaze. A thought he had been having for a while now, but he felt comfortable enough to say aloud now. Not because people were good and they’d stop, and not because he could rely on others protections, but because– “No more ‘programs’. No more ‘obvious lies’. No more… just everyone around me deciding things for me. No more sharing. Never again. I’m not going to be the kind of person people can do things like that too anymore. And I’ll be able to teach Miyako too. We will not be the kind of people anyone can overpower or take advantage of. Knowledge is power, and we’re going to know everything.”

“...but not in a ‘super villain monologue’ sort of way,” Shuichi corrected, hearing himself, “Just in a, ya know… ‘empowered’ sort of way.”

Drake’s gaze softened. Magic wasn’t…the answer to everything. It couldn’t do everything, despite the way some people pointed to it as an excuse. There was always a trade off, there was always cultivated skill, and still…there were still limits. The word “impossible” wasn’t just an entirely conceptual thing. 

But knowledge was power. And there were new things being discovered about magic every day, even if Drake wasn’t keeping abreast with it. And…with all the ways Shuuichi had been hurt, with what his world looked like these days… He didn’t have to take anything anymore. He wouldn’t have to be helpless in the face of tragedy (mostly). And he could do it without sacrificing a very real, very important part of himself.

“I believe in you, Shuuichi,” Drake smiled, entirely sincere. “And, if you’ll let me, I’d like to help where I can. Even if that means shooing you and your friend away from trying to grow a fairy ring. I’d like to think part of that journey into empowering yourself if someone pointing out when the water’s deeper than you can swim right now.”

Shuichi relaxed, smiling back as he put his hand on Drake’s shoulder, “Thank you. I know I can count on you… maybe to not be Kaito’s vent friend, necessarily, but to be a good friend to me anyway.” Shuichi laughed, before giving Drake a teasing look, “I’d be more upset with you if I didn’t know how Kaito can get, I’ll admit. But you saw what I mean, right? According to Kaito you both ended up in a ‘you’re gonna betray me’ fight, so you saw for yourself why I’m struggling to get through to him. He’s so emotional, and every wrong word just… blows up so fast.”

Drake gave Shuuichi a more sheepish look, grinning awkwardly, though he sighed. “Yeah, no, I get it. There is a point where he’s willing to vent, but…he oscillates a lot between trying to deflect onto another person--which might just be to me, since we didn’t know each other well, and…it is an ask to vent to a stranger, sometimes--or working his thoughts back up into anger without really…saying anything. Or not enough to get an idea…though, again, he couldn’t really get into stuff, so I see why.”

Another small sigh, though Drake shrugged a little, a look not without sympathy in his eyes. “He assumes the worst of people…because, it sounds like, for a long time, people were the worst to him. You can only be bitten so many times before you start avoiding dogs, and all that. He’s emotional and, it looks like, is used to being punished for that. Maybe it’s just from the outside…but the patience your other fiance has seems like the right path towards getting through to Kaito. It doesn’t seem like he needs someone to always say the right thing…he just needs someone who won’t leave or yell when you both say the wrong thing.”

Shuichi sighed, leaning back into the couch as he nodded, “Kokichi does have a way to getting through to him, I’ll admit. You know… in the beginning, I was fairly convinced Kokichi’s influence over Kaito was purely hierarchical. That his words worked on Kaito because, in Kaito’s mind, they were supposed to work. So he just let them. He and Maki often did their heaviest communicating while sparring, and he and I… well, we’d just take turns listening to each other. Which I want to get back too, like I told you, but it’s just been a struggle lately to just… let him talk.”

“But Kokichi? They talk constantly. And I know it’s not just a lot of one listening and nodding along, they have these long, actual conversations. It can actually be exhausting listening to them, honestly, their back and forths can go on for hours, and they just go through every emotion in the book sometimes, laughing, than angry, then crying, then commisterating, back to laughing… so on and so forth. Sometimes they get so angry the conversation falls apart, but most of the time? They just have this way of getting through to each other that… I can’t really replicate with either of them.” Shuichi admitted, frowning as he realized he was out of coffee, getting up to go grab some tea. 

“Oh, sure,” Shuichi said, wordlessly offering to bring Drake a drink too before heading back to the couch, “we have conversations and they both confess things to me, me to them, I’m not saying I don’t communicate with either of them at all. It’s just, in comparison to how they talk to each other? They’ve only known each other for a year… it’s incredible, sometimes, listening to them talk. And a little intimidating. Kokichi really does seem to know how to unravel Kaito and get him to speak honestly about things without just insulting him. And Kaito always seems to know how to get Kokichi out of his head, pulling him back from the brink when things are getting too honest. They both just play off each other so well… it’s hard not to feel inadequate sometimes.”

“And asking you to try to de-stress Kaito for me, just because I feel like I make things worse sometimes, when I’m trying to help him… that was foolish of me. I’m sorry I put you in that position Drake. That’s another reason I can’t really bring myself to be upset with you. It really wasn’t your fault.” Shuichi said, giving him an apologetic look, “And I still appreciate that you tried.”

It was why it was baffling, as infrequent as it was these days, to hear people lament and gossip over the princes’ relationship. For anyone even spending ten minutes with Kokichi and Kaito together is was at times disgustingly obvious how deeply in love and genuinely committed to each other they were. They might’ve only known each other a year, but they were deeply entwined with each other. 

“People all have different dynamics with each other…but I can see how it would… Feel like not enough, sometimes, if you see them like that. You’ve already said you’re thinking on it, so,” Drake shrugged a little, “But…as long as you’re honest with them? I bet they’ll be honest with you too about how you guys communicate.”

And getting Drake to act as a stand-in wasn’t…the most open thing. 

Sighing, Drake rubbed the back of his neck. “I like to think I helped with something, considering he did seem a little more at peace with his relationship with Atua by the end, there…but I really shit the bed with, like, everything else. I have apologized to both of you, so I won’t keep throwing myself a pity party, but… I mean, I’d always give it a fair shot, if you’re asking something reasonable of me, Shuuichi. You’re my friend.”

“I know,” Shuichi smiled, “I trust you. Thank you.”

-

Kaito didn’t mention to Kokichi that it was All Saints Day. He just told him that he was going to head to the shrine for a bit. Kaito hadn’t mentioned any of the religious holidays since Atua’s week to Kokichi, not as they were happening. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t mention them. He just didn’t, and Maki and Shuichi never brought them up either. He could guess they just didn’t want to be bothered with it.

And maybe that was why Kaito didn’t mention it. He didn’t want to be a bother. 

Closing the door behind himself, Kaito knelt down in front of the alter and bowed low, whispering his love and appreciation for the Saints, thanking them for their deeds and praising their sainthood. Straightening up, Kaito considered the blood bowl, feeling an almost itch on his skin, wanting to give… but he was still trying to think of how he was going to raise Miyako into the religion.

Something that was just more complicated, the more Kaito learned about Atua. His skin still crawled a little, thinking of his precious daughter worshiping a whore god. He was starting to reconcile with that for himself, but… Kaito worshiping a whore god actually made sense, really. 

(What else was Kaito for.)

But Miyako? Miyako was better than that. Sure, he could teach her to just focus on the ‘trials and sheer desire to help people’ aspects of Atua, absolutely. That was the version Kaito had grown up on, after all. 

But would he be wrong to teach her those aspects, while pushing Atua’s title under the rug? 

Kaito fidged on his knees, grabbing The Good Book and thumbing through the stories inside. The next step on the holiday, at least for the personal side of it, was to start thanking the Saints for individual things that Kaito was grateful for in the last year, that they would reflect in their own stories… but he might just spend this time asking Atua about what to do about teaching Miyako, since–

His thought process was interrupted with a knock. Kaito gave the door a startled look, before opening it up… “Shuichi?” Kaito said, eyes widening, before glancing down, “Do you need help with Miyako?”

The baby gurgled contently in the sling, and Shuichi shook his head, “No. I just thought we might join you?”

“...really?” Kaito asked, giving Shuichi a mildly uncertain look as he stepped aside, letting Shuichi come in, before realizing that with the two of them and the three bean bags that it was going to be too difficult for Shuichi to get on his knees too. 

Shuichi watched, fond, as Kaito rushed to try to stack the bean bags in a way that allowed more leg room, as Shuichi said, “Why not? It’s Miyako’s first Atuan holiday. I thought she could listen to us tell the stories… if we’re not imposing?”

“No! Of course not! Uh, I mean…” Kaito finished stacking the bean bags, pushing them into the corner as well as he could, before giving the shrine a mildly embarrassed look, “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting anyone to join me. Moments like these? I’m really looking forward to Kokichi’s present.”

Shuichi carefully got down onto his knees, Kaito kneeling next to him, and the two went through the first part of the ritual together again, Miyako trying to pull Shuichi’s buttons off as they did so, before spending some time regaling Miyako with tales of the Saints. What they did, and how it reflected this last year. And Kaito forgot to ask Atua about how to approach raising Miyako into the religion. He was still worried about it, but… it felt less pressing in the moment. Just enjoying the holiday with Shuichi and his daughter.

-

It hadn’t even been a full week since Kokichi had run into town and brought Dr. Mariah to their home, but…since they’d had a full, proper session? Even despite her saying it’d be good to try and make regular appointments again, it was…maybe four weeks since the four of them had talked to Ikuo, made sure Miya would be looked after, and headed into town. 

“I’m telling you, I really saw her receptionist!” Kokichi declared impassionedly, gesturing with his hands a little as they walked, now able to tell that part of the story since things weren’t as pressing. “The dude had the warmest, brightest color palette I’ve ever seen, and he seemed terrified to see me. I really do think he’s been avoiding us on purpose.”

More thoughtfully, Kokichi hummed. “It didn’t seem, like, true terror, more just nervousness… Maybe he’s just too intimidated to talk to us… Or maybe he was embarrassed not to recognize me as a regular. That’s kinda what I thought at the time.”

“I’m not saying you didn’t see someone. I’m just questioning if you’re sure it was the receptionist? By this point I’d be less surprised if some random person had just happened to walk in that day, told Dr. Mariah you had arrived just to be helpful, and then disappeared into the streets to never be seen again.” Shuichi teased, mostly just enjoying Kokichi’s outrage at their doubts. 

Shuichi was just teasing, but Kaito was genuinely doubtful, frowning as he said, “Maybe?? Or maybe it’s a new receptionist? Maybe Dr. Mariah finally replaced the old one, and this guy was just nervous because he was new? That’d feel so random, for him to just finally appear out of the blue…”

“Unless Kokichi’s right, and he really had been dodging us for some reason.” Maki said, raising an eyebrow, “It better be for a good reason too, for Dr. Mariah to allow him to do it. You made a joke once that he might be anti-Luminary, Kaito…”

Kaito frowned, “... no, I don’t think so. Dr. Mariah wouldn’t hire and protect someone like that. I think. To the point where he refuses to even serve us? I could see maybe her allowing her employee to be snippy, but avoid us entirely?”

“He could be new, I guess…” Kokichi hummed, narrowing his eyes a little in thought. “They seemed to have the whole ‘employer-employee’ familiarity thing, and he seemed…honestly kind of bored at the desk. And honestly more surprised to see me when he looked up. And…well, considering I said we were having an emergency, that’s reason to be a little more alarmed than usual…”

“And I think we would’ve heard something about it, one way or another, if he was really that anti-Luminary to the point of avoiding us… Especially since Dr. Mariah always seems kind of annoyed when she sees he’s not there. Great filing system or no, that is concerning.”

“I have a feeling it’d be off topic, but we could ask her about it,” Kokichi shrugged, before skipping forward to open the office door for his family.