“Ha, ah, so Toshio was a ‘Baaaaby~’ type,” Kaito laughed, mimicking (again, with the eerie accuracy Kaito was capable of, sounding weirdly close to Amber’s deep, rich, but distinctly feminine tone) the hype woman herself, squatting down to wash his hands in the water as he decided he was done tossing stones. He’d much rather watch Kokichi skip them as he started to shuffle back out of the water, back to the bank. “He does sound like a good time. But, yeah, as someone who’s been the hype man once or twice myself? It’s not fake, but… it does take a loooot of energy, and more than a little bit of ignoring your own aches and pains. Can’t be the downer if everyone’s looking at you for how to pace themselves.”

Sitting on a rock, Kaito sighed, tilting his face up into the sun and enjoying the heat as he said, “And once the happy guys down? Fuck, everyone’s down then. Toshio probably really appreciated Hideki’s mood not, like… depending on him. If he’s not gonna let loose either way, well, then Toshio doesn’t have to worry about sabotaging him. That can be nice, having someone be consistent and independent like that.”

Tilting his head, Kaito guessed, “And I bet Hideki had his fun side too, without being dragged in. Maybe Toshio just inspired it more out of him, but like I said, if Toshio was anything like me? Being around someone who is un-fun is a buuuummmeeeer. You don’t have to spend time with someone who has fun the same ways you do, but, like… I don’t know, there’s a kind of person who just makes fucking everything you do a chore, ya know? In my head, that’s an ‘un-fun’ person. I bet Hideko wasn’t that to Toshio.” 

Kokichi laughed a bit at Kaito’s impression, and while he had initially worried about drying times, he wasn’t fussed about following Kaito out of the spring. Just a few more rocks, then he’d follow, but…he was enjoying this. Skipping stones, and the conversation, even with the less than…soft and fluffy subject. 

Huffing a small laugh, Kokichi shot Kaito a slightly strained smile before skipping another stone. “...back in the day? For anyone that knew Hideki-ji as more than just…someone to make an appointment with? He was literally only an un-fun person, by that definition, to my father. And that was to keep Aiichi focused on actually getting work done, and not sneaking off to go chat up people in town or popping into classes and workshops going on in the castle.”

“School wasn’t always, like…the most fun thing ever, but Hideki never made it frustrating, or like something I wanted to avoid. He was a really great teacher…” Kokichi took a small breath, going quiet for a moment as he closed his eyes, feeling the water move around his ankles. “...they really liked dancing. Going out to dances, clubs too, just randomly in town… I couldn’t tell you how many times my uncles would pull me aside for a dance party. That’s something I definitely picked up from them.”

“They never argued in front of me, but, god, they were constantly bickering. Going back and forth and debating…” Kokichi smiled slightly, just turning a stone over in his hand now. “I think I told you Hideki-ji used to go to debates a lot… Toshio-ji would go to support him, when he could but…I’d say half the time, even if neither of them were a debater? They’d end up having just another debate between them on the sidelines.”

“And they loved trivia… I told you how they used to set up trivia games during Unity. Any game going on, or even just seeing something neat in a book, or hearing something in a passing conversation…” Kokichi shook his head, just…taking a breath for a moment. “My uncles were fun. Both of them. And they were always fun to me.”

Belatedly, there was a small sniffle, before Kokichi skipped his last stone, making a whopping six skips as he turned to tread back to the big rock they were keeping their shoes on. “...I really miss him. Both of them, at that time, really.”

Kaito gave Kokichi a long, soft look, listening quietly, though his chest tightened a little at certain points. Kaito knew that sometimes there was nothing you could do in the face of grief, that there weren’t any words or actions that would really… provide what you really wanted to give them.

Because what Kaito wanted to give Kokichi was his childhood back. He wanted to give him uncles who were there, or unchanged. Fathers that were doting and devoted. A body that was healthy and without the weight of a kingdom or a war that Kokichi had no control over but always felt the responsibility of. His mother.

Kaito couldn’t give Kokichi everything his husband deserved, and all he could really offer was a safe place to speak. Kaito could really only listen…

So, quietly, he did.

Sitting on the large rock, Kokichi stretched his legs out, wiggling his toes a little to better acclimate them from the cold water, and he leaned against Kaito’s arm, just being close for a moment. “Thanks, hun. For listening.”

There were a few things he could say but ultimately what he landed on was humming softly. “...I hope I get to introduce you to Toshio-ji in paradise one day. I really do think you two would’ve liked each other a lot.” 

There was no telling if Toshio had been claimed by another god, but…for the other half of things, Kokichi couldn’t see any world where Toshio would be okay with moving on without getting to see Hideki one more time. So…until his other uncle passed on…there was at least that insurance that Toshio was still around. Probably making all sorts of friends in the afterlife. 

“Do you know what you wanna do after we dry off? I’d be up for doing some shopping, if you’re interested.”

Kaito smiled at Kokichi fondly, giving him a small kiss against his temple, “Once we’re dry? Yeah, let’s do some shopping. You can fulfill your life-long dream of spoiling a guy who grew up with all the money in the world. Let me be the handful I was always meant to be,” Kaito smirked, nudging his husband and giving him a wink, “Spoil me~”

Rubbing Kokichi’s back a little, Kaito considered just keeping it to himself, but… “...is… is your dad okay? I mean the kingly one, Ikuo is a treasure and I have no doubts he’s got his shit together.” Kaito said, entirely confident in this… mmm… Ikuo all confident and self assured and wearing a well fitting shirt… Focus! 

Shaking his head a little, Kaito clarified, “Like, I’ll be honest, if Hideki was the one mentoring Aiichi? And he didn’t have any other authorities? That kinda sounds… bad for a person. Like, if Aiichi wasn’t literally the king? I’d be… concerned. Hearing all of that.”

Kokichi laughed softly, and nuzzled against Kaito, pleased with the kiss. “Dunno how spoiling I can manage, but I did make sure I filled my purse before I came to find you. But treating my Kai-chan to things that make his eyes light up and make him walk with his chest out? That sounds like a perfect way to spend the afternoon.”

And they had moved a bit onto lighter subjects, but…

Kokichi sighed. “I’m concerned especially ‘cause he’s leader. Like…I’m standing by the idea that you have to be a little messed up to do this job, but…”

He frowned, leaning against Kaito comfortably. “...we try to be more…open and candid with each other, these days. About everything. But…I can tell there’s some stuff he’s holding back. And…I get it, you know? You should be able to be emotionally honest with your kid, but they shouldn’t be your confidant. Even when they’re an adult too.”

“...there were others in admin,” he said softly. “From Fuse’s appointment. Hideki-ji wasn’t the head secretary, when my dad became the leader…though he was already making a name for himself, being a damn good secretary. Just…all of them have retired at this point. People don’t…tend to stay in those positions their whole lives. Don’t blame ‘em, really. ‘S too stressful.”

“But…” Kokichi shrugged a little. “Hideki-ji and my dad were always…closer to each other. Cause they’re close in age, ‘cause Aiichi met my mom because of Hideki and Toshio…” Kokichi sighed. “...’cause they were…kind of the only people each other had, when they lost all their friends.”

Kokichi watched the water dripping off his feet. “...I don’t think my dad’s okay. And…I don’t think there’s…really a way to make it okay. But he’s been looking for a new trauma therapist. Been keeping me in the loop, with how that’s going.”

Kaito nodded hesitantly. Right… he should probably stay out of it. What was he going to do, cheer up the literal King? With what? What could Kaito offer? Did he even want to offer anything? There was a part of him that still didn’t quite forgive Aiichi for… everything.

Silly. Kaito’s weird impulse to just ‘fix’ people was tugging him in a dangerous direction. Just ignore it, Kaito, there was nothing you could do.

… Kaito huffed at himself, annoyed. Dumb. Dumb, weird impulses. Focus on your husband. Giving Kokichi a grin, Kaito put his arm around Kokichi’s shoulders, pulling him in tight as he said soothingly, “Well, I’m glad he’s taking steps to take care of himself. Therapy’s always interesting. At the very least he’ll have some exciting evenings, if his therapy sessions are anything like ours.”

Holding Kokichi, Kaito just enjoyed keeping him close, placing soft kisses against his head and the side of his face, breathing in that sweet lavender scent, mixed the scent of the stream… before Kaito snickered against Kokichi’s skin, pressing his head against him as he whispered lowly, “Damn… wrong type of ‘vague body of water’.”

…maybe that would be the thing to help his husband and father’s relationship. Honestly, Kokichi wasn’t sure how much worse it could get, with Kaito’s determination to at least not be outwardly hostile to Aiichi. He’d see how it went. 

“I don’t think there are any therapy sessions like ours,” Kokichi snorted, cuddling against Kaito. “Getting really emotional and drained, sure, but…that’s what Dr. Mariah keeps saying, isn’t it? That we’re unique and absurd. Even with my dad’s unique circumstances I don’t think that his sessions would be comparable to ours.”

Kokichi smiled into the kisses Kaito apparently decided it was time for, returning his own whenever pieces of Kaito came close enough to smooch. However, he just rolled his eyes and gripped Kaito’s shirt, pulling him into a proper kiss, albeit briefly, at his whisper. “Not even close, hun.”

Kaito grinned dreamily at him, entirely content with his line of thought as he was pulled into a more direct kiss, kissing him a few times back between little snickers, “One of these days that little loophole is gonna work out for me. I’ll find the vague body of water of your dreams, ‘Kichi~”

“I think we’ve already found the dream body of water,” Kokichi snickered back, giving Kaito one last smooch before turning his head to just snuggle, though there wasn’t anything he could or would do about Kaito going back to kissing his head. “And the dream anything else is on the table too, you know.”

Kaito laughed at that, still kissing at Kokichi’s head before resting his chin against him, letting Kokichi nuzzle against his neck as he held him, “Yeah? I mean… I’m not not interested. Just so long as you remember that, like, your health and sleep and comfort and… just all of it comes first. You know me, I’m a brute, you gotta keep me on a leash or I’ll just go wild… especially on you.” Kaito laughed lightly, holding him close, “I mean, fuck, ‘Kichi, you let me pick things and you’ll end up in cat ears in the woods somewhere. Thank goodness I let my partners pick things so much growing up, apparently I’m a freak.”

Kokichi shook his head a little, nosing against Kaito’s chest. “That’s not that weird. Not compared to a lot of things any given person might like, anyway. At a certain point, everyone being weird just means no one’s weird.”

He put his arms around his husband and held him close, taking a deep breath of Kaito…in all his deep wood and honey and hair gel and springwater scent. “...I really love you, Kai-chan.”

Kaito laughed, just enjoying himself as he teased, “Sure, I’ll remind you that you said that when we’re looking at increasingly ridiculous costumes for you over the years. Aw, my patient, sweet, understanding husband… fuck, I haven’t gotten any of the onsesies for Miya I’ve wanted.”

Kaito frowned, whip-lashed by his horny daydreams to his cute, paternal daydreams. He wanted baby ooooonesiiiies. Baby/Daddy matching outfits… cute…

Kissing Kokichi’s head, Kaito sighed against him. “I love you too, beautiful. With all of me. Thanks for coming out with me today.”

“You still have time,” Kokichi hummed, caught less off-guard by the sudden switch. “It’s not like we’re really dressing her in anything yet. Our little nudist is still blanket-or-bust. Though…we probably should start soon, just to get her more used to it.”

Smiling against the kiss, Kokichi pressed close before looking over to grab his shoes and socks. He wasn’t quite ready to put them back on, but…close. “Thank you for thinking up something so sweet. Today is by no means over, but…it’s been a blast so far. I’ve really liked getting to reminisce and just…hang out with you today. It’s different than when we’re just lounging around our room.”

“It’s nice, right!? Fresh air, out on the town! Don’t believe the rumors, we have lives outside of the baby.” Kaito laughed, spreading his arms wide, before resting back on his palms, stretching out his legs. “I don’t know, I love it. I love spending time with the family too, but, Dr. Mariah’s right. We need breaks sometimes… does this count as a day off for you? I mean, I’m here too.”

Kokichi chuckled softly, rubbing his legs. “I don’t think it’s quite what she was talking about but…I’m gonna count it. It doesn’t feel like I’m…responsible for anything today. Like…”

He shrugged a bit. “Course I wanna make you happy today but…we’re happy ‘cause we’re hanging out together. I should take time away from you sometimes too, but…being with you right now is really nice. …kinda feels like I’m talking in circles, but I know what I mean, at least and…I’m counting this as a day off.”

Closing his eyes for a moment, Kokichi took a breath with a smile. “...I’m really looking forward to having that party with our friends, even if it’s something I’m kinda putting on. So far everyone’s said they can make it.”

“I dunno, ‘Kichi, I’m a lot of responsibility. I think there’s seriously some days Miyako takes less work than I do.” Kaito laughed at himself a bit, before getting up and going to collect his own clothes and shoes. Putting his blazer back on before working on his boots, Kaito mused, “That should be a lot of fun. It’s a pretty large group, isn’t it? Should I be trying to find a baby sitter for Miya, or is it alright for her to come to the dinner party? Is Tim old enough to babysit, yet?”

Kokichi snorted and started putting his socks on as Kaito moved away--he wasn’t particularly concerned about the water in the pond but…he’d just be thorough washing his feet when he took a shower that evening. 

“I’m hoping that Miya will be alright coming for a bit of the party, but it’s not something I’m banking on. I was talking a bunch with Temp, and my solution is that part of the room that I’m renting for us? Is gonna be sectioned off into its own room that we’re gonna set up for the kids, and take turns having ‘quiet time’ and looking after them. My dad volunteered to be one of the people keeping an eye on them, and Temp said he was cool with that, so everyone should be able to have a nice time at the party together.”

Giving Kaito a side-glance, Kokichi shrugged with a small smile. “Honestly, I think it’s more of a Miya-age thing than it is a Tim one. She’s still young enough that if anything happens the best thing Tim can do is get one of us so…it’s safer just to have an adult with her right now. But…I dunno. Once she’s old enough to start crawling around? If he wants to, I trust Tim to watch her for short periods of time. He’s already really good with her.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Kaito said, full of pride at that, before he– with a dramatic SWISH– put on his cape, clasping it closed and carefully adjusting it to hang off himself just right, standing up and showing himself off to Kokichi for inspection, before relaxing. “That all sounds good, and awwww, it’ll be super nice to see Miyako and Addason reunited. Hopefully this time she won’t try to eat him. Cute little bitty babies at our cute fancy dinner party… speaking of kids?”

Kaito went to taking Kokichi’s hand, giving it a squeeze before they started climbing up the path that had led them down here in the first place, “Should I invite the girls, if for nothing else then for Tim’s sake? Otherwise he’s going to be the only non-baby kid there. Man, what’s the rest of the castle even doing, how are we the only ones with kids.” Kaito sighed, shaking his head, “These people gotta catch up, you’re basically a baby yourself and you’ve got one and a step-kid. Tell ‘em chop chop! More castle babies!”

“I’ll be amazed if she doesn’t still think he’s a strange toy,” Kokichi chuckled, finishing lacing up his shoes. “It’s gonna be a bit before she’s really aware of people as, like, separate, thinking entities, but, hey, if she doesn’t spook the being next to her? That’s a win.”

“Aw, that’d be great!” Kokichi grinned, taking Kaito’s hand, pressing against his husband affectionately as they walked. “I can’t promise there’s gonna be too much to do, but there will be music, and we can tell ‘em that they can bring any game they wanna play. There’ll probably be room for even, like, moderate running around type games, since I’m renting Ballroom C--even with space for dancing, and the food tables, we’re gonna have plenty of space for whatever.”

Rolling his eyes, he nudged Kaito’s side a little. “In fairness, not a ton of people are living at the castle right now, compared to historical precedent. And, like…how many people we know are even in relationships? And I’m not pressuring my sibling into having a kid--I’m gonna soak up their freetime availability for babysitting as long as I can.”

“Mmm, that’s true.” Kaito mused, taking Kokichi’s nudge as a chance to snake his arm around his waist, pulling him close, “Gotta love that free babysitting potential… alright, fine. But it’s your families fault when Miyako ends up bringing a ton of pets home because of the loneliness of being the only kid her age at the castle. You ready for random pet lady-bugs and lizards? Cause that’s what we’re setting ourselves up for, ‘Kichi. A life of creepy bugs and reptiles that our baby brings home, claiming to love them with allll her heart.”

Kokichi sighed tragically. “Our girl is going to learn deep disappointment so early… She’ll know my fear of bugs, and yours of reptiles, and discover that no amount of puppy-dog eyes are gonna make those feelings go away…at least on my end.” Kokichi looked up with an amused glint in his eyes. “You have already relented once into getting the ball rolling with Shuu-chan getting a reptile. Me? If our girl is as sweet as she’s showing already, she’s not going to play dangerous games with Daddy’s heart.”

…

Kokichi rested his head against Kaito. “...I hope she makes a lot of friends. I mean…we’re hoping with Temp more than anything that she and Addason become friends, of course, but…I hope she makes more. That…home isn’t a place she feels lonely.”

Kaito gave Kokichi another startled look, before his expression softened. Rubbing his waist lightly from where Kaito had him wrapped around, he said softly, “Are you kidding? Our charming, beautiful, intelligent baby girl? God, we’re going to be so annoyed with the little entourage she’s going to collect. How are we supposed to host that many kids for a birthday party? So much work, our baby has no idea how much she makes her poor parents slave.”

Squeezing Kokichi to his side a little, Kaito said softly, “I’m sorry. I know that was an unkind thing to say. I didn’t mean it. Our Miyako is never going to be lonely. Her world is going to be full, and busy, and exciting. I promise. Miyako’s going to get everything we didn’t. I swear it.”

Kokichi smiled slightly and pressed his head against Kaito’s chest. “That’s what I’m hoping for… I just…want her to be happy. Happy and safe and accomplished…not only at peace with herself but happy. Proud. I know we can’t make her life nothing but happiness because…well, that wouldn’t be happiness at that point, but…fuck, I never want her to have lives like ours.”

Sighing, Kokichi rubbed Kaito’s arm before looking up. “...you think she’ll be happy living in the castle?”

“Why wouldn’t she be? We both were.” Kaito mused, before glancing warily at Kokichi, “I mean, for the most part, right? In a lot of ways that counted? My whole world was a castle too, growing up… I mean, admittedly, I had way more space to myself then Miyako ever will here. But I don’t know if all the extra space really added anything or not. There were really only, like, three rooms I regularly used. Everything else was just decoration more than anything.”

“But there are a lot of people who will be nice to her at the castle, and a kickass library with, just, Kokichi, the kids section of the library! It has tiny little tables! Like a little baby office, with toys in the corner…” Kaito grinned brightly, clearly delighted with whatever future Miyako baby office daydream he was indulging in, “She’s going to love it there, it’s so cute. Reading her little kid books and doing her little kid studies. And the gardens around here are nice and it’s not that far from the park or the market… castles’ a great place to grow up, seems to me.”

Was that the whole of Kaito’s beliefs? Well, no. But Kaito was deeply afraid of other people, sometimes, these days. Afraid of the world in a way that he hadn’t been when he first arrived. And he knew not all of those fears were necessarily… urgent? Most of them would always just be in his mind, from now on. It could never get as bad as it got this last year…. It just couldn’t. It couldn’t… the worst had to be behind them. Miyako would have it better. Tim would have it better. Everything that had happened? Outliers… it had to be… “She’ll be the happiest little princess ever.” 

Kokichi sighed and ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the ends a little bit. “Yeah… My unhappiness was never really because of the castle, for how much I could resent it at times… In terms of location and things to do, it’s incredible. And…it’s always been my home, so I’m always going to have a bias in loving it.”

They had the library, the sauna and hot tub lounge, all sorts or rooms outfitted for activity from the mirrored dance studio to the padded tumbling room, they had a big backyard and gardens around every other perimeter, and there were always classes and events going on.

It was just…

Kokichi sighed again. “...I think I’m doing that thing again, where I’m just…superimposing stuff as, like, an ‘always’ state of being. I just…get sad, and nervous, when I see how unhappy you guys are here sometimes…but I know that’s not the whole story. And I don’t know if any of us would be happier finding a house in town. It’d be weird getting in the habit of cooking all our meals.”

Kaito frowned at Kokichi, stopping their trek upwards as he forced Kokichi to look at him, grasping his husbands shoulders and saying, sternly and clear, “I. Am not. Unhappy.”

“...okay? I’m not unhappy, Kokichi.” Kaito frowned, really wanting Kokichi to understand this as he said, “And if I was, that’s still not your responsibility. If I was unhappy, I’d owe it to me to work on the things that are making me unhappy. Kokichi, I’ve never been, just, blanket-statement, ‘unhappy’ in my life. Because I can’t live like that. Your husbands a simple guy, he chases pleasure. I’m still chasing pleasure. I’m happy here, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”

Relaxing a little, Kaito took his hands off Kokichi’s shoulders, rubbing the back of his neck a little as he shrugged, “It’s just complicated, sometimes. Happiness isn’t an all or nothing thing, you gotta work on it. Sometimes things come along that make it hard… but that doesn’t make life unhappy. Just gives it… challenges.”

“And I don’t think I could go anywhere without facing challenges. Not in Dicea, not in Luminary, hell, dying would throw me right into the trials. That’s literally made of challenges. You have to be ready to find your own happiness in that, there’s just… no other way to live. Not that I can see. Just cause I’m sad sometimes, or angry sometimes, doesn’t mean I’m unhappy. You don’t have to worry about that, not for me.”

Kokichi looked up at his husband and…he knew Kaito was right. How many times had they had this conversation? Kokichi knew that he hadn’t ruined his friends’ lives by stealing them away into Dicea, he wasn’t trapping them in an unhappy arrangement with him, and he knew that they were just going to shut up and take something they weren’t satisfied with in life, not anymore. Sure, there were times were complaining was more childish than a stress management technique but…they weren’t going to sit idly with downcast eyes while he thought everything was fine. 

He knew this. 

Sighing, Kokichi smiled softly up at his husband. “Yeah, I know… And I will still say it is my responsibility to support you and listen and act within my means to make changes that we think are worth trying out for our happiness…but that’s not the same thing as “making you happy”. And, like I said, ‘happiness’ all the time isn’t really happiness anymore. It comes in waves.”

Taking Kaito’s hand, Kokichi started up their walk again. “I just…worry. Anyway. About everything, all the time… Kinda the main ‘thing’ about anxiety.” He snorted softly before looking out ahead over the path they were taking. “...I worry about the hard things being too hard. About what you have to give up to overcome challenges. About that price being so high that it calls into question whether it’s even worth overcoming…but that’s not even a fair question, because expecting people to just lie down and die is unacceptable. But so is living having given too much.”

“So…I start thinking about what can change. If we’d be happier with our own property, but…then I start feeling bad because…I could certainly learn to be happy living somewhere else, but I really love living at home, but…not so much that it would be something I’d choose over someone else’s discomfort and…” Kokichi let out an annoyed breath. “And it’s just that over and over and over until I just feel like a horrible person that’s making you actively unhappy.”

Kaito looked down at Kokichi, letting his husband lead the way, just following the slight pull of his grip, not trying to steer either their pace or the conversation. Honestly, Kaito loved to hear Kokichi talk like this. His husband shared so little, sometimes, kept things very close to the chest. He wasn’t sure if it was a quality in Kokichi that his husband was even aware of. Kaito felt like so often he just overwhelmed Kokichi with, just, all of himself, all of his thoughts and fears and concerns, and Kokichi, in turn, sometimes seemed so… unflappable. Impenetrable. 

And he suspected Kokichi didn’t realize this because Kokichi’s feelings were often like a flood. Bright and vivid and so strong and hurtling that it was easy to drown in the waters, the damage it left behind lingering on long after the water had dried. Kokichi standing in the wreckage of his emotions with a tired, shame-face look, as if, ‘okay. That was all of it this time. I’m done now’. The dam going up, slowly building to the next flood…

This wasn’t a flood. Today Kokichi just seemed to be genuinely comfortable talking about his feelings, and Kaito was grasping at that little faucet of water like a man dying of thirst. He wanted all of his husband… anything Kokichi had to give.

All that to say, Kaito tried to stay quiet as Kokichi talked, worried any random word would disrupt Kokichi’s thinking and his husband wouldn’t bring this up again, maybe for months, maybe forever. 

…but darn it Kaito had such a hard time not turning any random response into a self-absorbed anecdotal monologue, and one was already coming to mind, and damn it just let Kokichi talk he might not feel like it later! 

So, considering his words carefully, trying not to rant, Kaito said after a beat, “...So, is the issue that you think I want to live somewhere else then? Does this… have to do with the fact that I didn’t live in the Luminary castle before I came here?”

“Honestly, I don’t think there really is an issue. Not a real one,” Kokichi sighed. “I mean…I’d hope you would tell me if you wanted to live somewhere else. I can’t exactly leave the city because of work, but…we could try to work something out, at least. It’s just…my anxiety seeing you in moments of sadness or unease or listlessness and being, ey! DANGER! THIS IS A PROBLEM! YOU SUCK, FIX THIS OR YOU’RE THE WORST!”

“But that’s not what that stuff means,” Kokichi shook his head, rolling his eyes a little at himself. “Really, I should just ask you if there’s anything we can do to make things easier, or I can try to get you your favorite foods if it’s just a tough day, or…offer to go on a walk, or give you a massage or…any number of things that actually includes me listening to you, rather than trying to singlehandedly upheaval our entire lives ‘cause I think that would make the bad days less bad.”

Kokichi sighed again and gave Kaito a mildly embarrassed look. “...I just want to take better care of you, and…I’m still working on being better at it. That’s all.”

Kaito winced at the sudden volume, before laughing a little, glancing around instinctively to see if anyone was around to see that before relaxing. They were alone, Kokichi was fine. Running his hand through Kokichi’s hair a little, Kaito smirked at him a little, “Geez, ‘Kichi, just wanted to show off those pipes of yours a bit? You startled me, beautiful.”

Taking Kokichi’s hand again, Kaito brought it up, giving it a small kiss at the back of his pinky, “You take very good care of me. If anything, I struggle to really show you how much I appreciate what you do for me. Your Kaito is really….” Kaito sighed, shrugging, “Constantly ‘in the moment’. Maybe. I don’t know, I’m trying to say that when I’m feeling something, it’s hard not to feel it with, like, all of me. I think sometimes that makes it seem worse than it actually is. Usually when I’m upset about something, like, an hour later I’m more just mad at myself then anything about how much it had upset me. Feels like a failing… and the bad feelings don’t always need to be fixed. Sometimes I just need a minute to be up my own ass.”

“And, before you point it out, I’m gonna go ahead and get ahead of you by saying, yes, I know I do it too. Like, waaaay more than you do. But, fuck, I wouldn’t be happy if I wasn’t trying to fucking fix things. My Kokichi is feeling bad? Well, fuck, gotta throw everything at you until you feel a smidge better, even if honestly what you probably want and need is just to be left alone and allowed to rest for five fucking seconds. I wish I was as patient as you, with other peoples problems. At least you let us have them. You don’t go out of your way to be like ‘no, you’re not allowed to have problems, ever, without it being an Event’.”

“...you know, I left the castle in Luminary cause I was unhappy.” Kaito admitted, shrugging, “But I was unhappy. For a little while there. I was tired of Byakuya micro-managing my life, wanted to get distance from him… ha! See, even a conditioned Kaito could manage himself a little bit.” Kaito bragged, genuinely proud of it, “And when I first got here? I wanted to leave badly. But… I also thought you were trapped in here with your abusers. So, I mean…” Kaito grinned tiredly, “That was mostly me just wanting to fix your unhappiness. Again. If you’re happy here? Then there’s no problems.”

Kokichi gave Kaito an apologetic look--he hadn’t thought it was that loud, but the emphasis was necessary, in his eyes--and stole Kaito’s hand when he dropped Kokichi’s from the kiss, stealing a hand kiss for himself. Though, he couldn’t keep from snorting softly. “We both really do have savior complexes, huh. I mean, I didn’t think Dr. Mariah and Dr. Egami were saying it for lip service, but…sheesh.”

Smoothing his hair back, Kokichi took a small breath. “...so, we’re both happy, for the most part. Carving out the happy moments in life, and having things be okay more than not. And the castle isn’t a bad place to live. Miya-Miya will be happy living there. And…that’s the extent of that.”

“Look at us, just two nervous people-pleasers,” Kokichi grinned softly, nudging Kaito’s side. “What a pair… But, okay, for my own Kai-chan-pleasing endeavors…anything over here you wanna take a peek in?” Kokichi pointed down a near street, a bunch of different clothing and shoe and personal item shops nestled in next to each other, making the street colorful with bright signs advertising their wares.

Kaito gave the street a keenly curious look. Subconsciously Kaito touched his shirt, knowing it was foolish, he really did have plenty of shirts, but… “Can we go clothes shopping?” Kaito asked, “Just for a little bit! Just a… just a few…”

And Kokichi was perhaps indulging him too much, because it was the third clothing store Kaito had wanted to visit, nothing they found being quite right but plenty of things being tried on anyway, that Kaito finally found something that genuinely piqued his interest as Kaito came out of the changing room. “Oh my god, okay, maybe I’ve just been trying clothes on too long today, but tell me this doesn’t look amazing.” Kaito beamed, showing off the koi-fish pattern shirt, which hugged his chest and waist in a delightfully pleasant way even without any tailoring touch ups, Kaito twisting too and fro to show himself off, earring a pair of dark jeans with it that he had been trying on with a few things now as he said, “I mean, I’d need to buy some black and red tennis shoes to really complete the look, but… what do you think? Think Dr. Mariah’s koi-fish would accept me as one of their own?”

Kokichi had given his husband a bright smile and led the way towards the clothing boutiques, fully prepared for what he was initiating. They’d stick to their budget, of course, but…well, part of being financially stable was being able to buy new clothes without having to fret. Maybe not commissioned clothes, or anything super high end, but not mainlining second-hand stores either. 

And, god, Kokichi loved how Kaito looked shopping. So excited and focused and…just genuinely enjoying himself. Something Kokichi was always overjoyed to see. So…three shops in, Kokichi wasn’t nearing the end of his patience by any stretch of the imagination. 

Kokichi was lounging comfortably in one of the seats right outside the changing rooms, giving his feet a small rest during the in and out he knew Kaito would be at for a while, but he sat up in interest at the latest shirt Kaito presented, eyes attracted to the bold colors. Not exactly bold by Kokichi’s wardrobe standards, but colorful and saturated in a way that Kaito didn’t dress all that often, at least not in accessories. 

Laughing slightly, Kokichi nodded in approval. “You’ve certainly been making headway in earning their friendship. Aw, Kai-chan, I really like that shirt. You should absolutely get it!”

And while Kokichi had encouraged his husband to get a few other things too, he had a feeling Kaito might actually go for this one.

Kaito puffed up a bit at that, just, really liking how this particular outfit felt around him. It felt especially good for summer, maybe he could give the blazer and cape a break for the day… it just wouldn’t go with the boots. He had to find a good pair of tennis shoes, preferably ones that matched the colors…

And after a while, keeping his old clothes in a bag, Kaito was wearing red and black tennis shoes, dark black jeans, the koi fish patterned shirt, and was currently eyeballing some jewelry, a golden bracelet, thick and square. Reminded him of bracers a little bit, though nowhere near the size… it’d look nice with the red…

….mmmmmm nooo, he didn’t need it. It’d be too expensive, Kaito couldn’t spend more for a bracer-like golden bracelet that would really only look perfect with one outfit… Kaito tore his eyes away from it, grinning at Kokichi as he asked, “You sure you’re not looking at anything yourself? There’s a lot of cute outfits we’ve past that you’d look great in.”

Kokichi turned away from where he had been idly looking at some of the necklaces on display, enjoying the way some of them sparkled. They weren’t in a proper jewelry shop, not like Amber’s, but, hey, a guy could like glittery things of any caliber. 

He gave Kaito a small shrug and a grin. “Maybe, but I’m good. I haven’t noticed myself wishing I had any particular kind of clothes, and, I mean, I just got those really nice shoes for my birthday. I don’t need anything, and I’m not really the type to shop for anything more than that, yanno?”

With a small breath and pink cheeks, though, Kokichi leaned more into Kaito’s space, lowering his voice. “...and one of our stops later is prolly gonna be something I’m gonna end up wearing, so… Yeah.”

Kaito flushed a little at that, his mind suddenly flooded with mental images… but he bit his lip a little. “You know you don’t… have too.”

And keeping his voice low, he explained, “I don’t mean because you don’t want too or you’re, like, doing too much for me, or anything. I mean… I’d get it if you’d rather not own things like that. I mean, we have dream stuff… dreamy stuff, the stuff of our dreams.” Kaito whispered hurriedly, not sure if anyone could possibly be overhearing him but not wanting to risk anything, “Already. Knowing that, I feel sort of bad, asking you for anything more…”

And Kaito was conflicted to say that, because, as fascinating as the idea of playing around with Kokichi’s powers was, Kaito still wasn’t sure if he was entirely convinced an experience like that could beat, just… actually holding Kokichi in his arms. Oh, it felt convincing enough, holding Kokichi, while they were dreaming! But… Kaito could admit that he was conflicted at the idea that sex might end up being a strictly imaginary thing for them. For convenience’s sake.

…but it was convenient! Was the thing! So even if Kaito had reservations about the idea, how could he not suggest relying on it when it’d make things so much easier on his husband, who so often ended up dirty and sticky and black and blue and would be mortified if anyone saw he had sex toys…

Kaito was conflicted, essentially.

Kokichi gave Kaito a soft look and pulled him into a hug for a moment. “I mean, we have Miu’s wedding gift for us, so that ship sailed a long time ago. But…even if we have our dream scenarios…that’s just something in addition to the…here and now stuff, how I see it. It’s not a replacement, just…another thing.”

Taking Kaito’s hand, Kokichi gave it a squeeze. “...I know we talked about how hearing no can be hard, but…at least for things like this, I think you take it a lot better than you give yourself credit for. You’re allowed to ask for more, hun. You’re allowed to ask for everything.”

“...but I can’t promise to give you everything,” Kokichi said with a small smile, giving Kaito’s hand another squeeze. “There will be things I’ll say no to. But…it’ll be okay. And you never know what I’ll say yes to, that I wouldn’t have thought to bring up on my own. I promise, I’ll let you know if I get uncomfortable or overwhelmed, or even if I’m just not feeling in the moment. But you don’t have to feel like you’re taking too much just from asking.”

“Okay,” Kaito whispered back. He believed Kokichi, he did. It was just… 

Kokichi bursting into heartbroken tears while Kaito was just collapsed on top of him, enjoying his own good feelings… Kaito had a feeling he’d never really forget how that felt. His sheer horror at himself. His ‘Kichi looking small and overwhelmed and helpless against him…

Kaito could never really not consider himself at his worst, and he didn’t want to be the kind of guy who’d have forgotten it by now anyway. It was basically a year later, but Kokichi’s dignity and comfort deserved more time than that, before he stopped worrying about overstepping again. Kaito pushed Kokichi’s boundaries too often, even now. 

But! Kaito also knew he had to trust Kokichi too. If not for his own comfort, then entirely for Kokichi’s. His husband was asking him to take him seriously, to respect him. Kaito would never deny him that, not if he could help it. 

“Okay. I trust you. Just… always tell me? Please. Even if I am a pouty little brat about it.” Kaito smirked, kissing Kokichi real quick, before giving him another quick kiss on the cheek, “Your comfort matters more. You can laugh at me as I sulk, I’d totally deserve it. Hell, I might even be into it.” Kaito snickered, mostly joking.

“I will, I promise,” Kokichi said sincerely, pressing to Kaito before rolling his eyes a little. He did want to make sure that part, at least, was unfettered by banter. “Though, I think Shuu-chan is better for that last bit. He has told me my ‘authoritative’ look is more silly than anything.”

If there was anything for Kaito to get out of his disappointment being mocked, Shuuichi would probably be a better spur for it. Their partner was awfully pretty, even when he was scoffing. 

But…as bad as they had all been to each other…Kokichi really believed that they had learned some things over the past year. And from those lessons, they could be better, and hold each other accountable when they slipped up. It would be okay. 

“All that to say…yes. I wanna go check those things out later,” Kokichi murmured to his husband.

Kaito nodded happily, his mind now filled with daydreams about Shuichi… before he smirked at Kokichi, “Okay, but, like, how later is later? Cause, like, otherwise it’s just me here wanting to go back and get that needlessly excessive bracelet at that store. I’m not that strong Kokichi, that jewelery calls to me. I could use a distraction.”

Kokichi snorted and took Kaito’s hand, bringing it up to kiss his knuckles. “Let’s find ourselves a distraction, then.”

And for as confident as Kokichi felt suggesting it, and how sure of himself he was in wanting to get the sorts of things Kaito had talked about…by the time they actually found an adult store? Which Kokichi only found in the first place by guessing there might be some near some of the strip clubs, by the way, Kokichi was already cherry red as he opened the door, holding it for Kaito and doing a nervous little gesture to let him pass first. 

It wasn’t that embarrassing! Plenty of people went to these businesses! Hell, even without his mission to protect Kaito in mind, he’d been less flustered actually heading to the strip club, but something about just…a merch store, essentially? He just hoped they would be able to find what they were looking for here.

Kaito gave Kokichi a pleasant, thankful nod, before heading inside, giving the store an earnest look around… before he immediately laughed. “Oh my god, what is that. ‘Kichi, check this out, look at it. Oh that’s so disturbing…”

Kaito had immediately headed over to a display where a fleshlight– a sort of suction cup designed for a dick– had been made up to look like an eerily realistic lipsticked mouth. Like, a faaaar too real looking mouth on a black tube, Kaito snickering at it as he reached over to poke the lips, snickering harder as he shuddered, “Oh no, that’s too real. I feel like it’s going to talk to me. Oh fuck, wouldn’t that be amazing? You pushed a button or something and it’d say some sort of, like, standard, lewd phrase… excuse me! Miss!?” Kaito called to the clerk, who looked up from her inventory check at the counter, “Do these things talk?”

“...no?”

“Damn. Wasted potential.” Kaito pouted.

Shuffling in after Kaito, Kokichi managed a sort of nervous titter as he half-grimaced at the…probably silicon mouth. “That’s…huh. I guess some people would really be into getting as much realism as they can but…I dunno. Too weird for me. If it’s not my actual partner, I don’t think I want anything looking like a human…”

Kokichi huffed softly and rubbed his cheeks, shyly glancing around and trying not to just stare at the ground. “So…uh… Where should we look? Down…there?” Just taking a total guess, Kokichi pointed over towards a shelf making a corner against one of the walls, seeing that there were some boxes on the shelf. Could be anything, but…it would probably come in a box, right? Otherwise they’d need a good amount of sanitation supplies when they got home too…

Kaito looked curiously at what Kokichi was pointing at– there was usually a display item showing what was in the boxes that they would actually buy, but there was no display that Kaito could see for that particular section. Curious, Kaito took Kokichi’s hand– and he could see how flustered his husband was, but thought maybe if he didn’t draw attention to it Kokichi might gradually get more comfortable– heading over to that area. What were in the boxes…

Kaito frowned, realizing why the boxes didn’t have a display. Sounding equipment… Kaito hadn’t liked this practice even before he had found out what had happened to Shuichi, and seeing them now just left a bad taste in his mouth, as he picked up one of the boxes, inspecting its image and back before showing it to Kokichi, “Uh… this isn’t really my bag, but if you have an interest… I mean, we could compromise on something, though I wouldn’t feel entirely comfortable…”

Kokichi looked at the product image on the box, and…that didn’t look like even a normal butt plug. Shrugging, Kokichi gave Kaito a slightly uncomfortable look back. “...I’ll be honest, I don’t even really know what this thing is. I just…don’t know where we’d find what we’re looking for?”

Trailing off a little, Kokichi looked around the little section they were in, trying to get a glimpse of tails, or even just butt plugs in general, to tell them they were in the right place. “...I’ve never been to a place like this before, Kai-chan. We’re still working through the condoms Maki-chan shoved at us. An’ I’d prolly just get more at Seiko’s anyway,” he mumbled.

Kaito grinned, though he felt a little bad at Kokichi’s soft ‘confession’. Not that Kaito hadn’t already known that, but, aw… moving closer to Kokichi, blocking his body from view a little of other store patrons, Kaito whispered against him, “If this is too much, I’m not going to be upset if you just want to wait outside. Sorry, I can see you just want to be in and out, I was gonna look around, but we can get what we came for and leave. You’re not letting me down wanting to go back outside…”

Taking a steeling breath, Kokichi shook his head against Kaito a little. “No… This is a couple’s thing, you know? I just…don’t know what to do with this stuff. Literally for some, but just browsing…I dunno.”

Rubbing his cheek again, Kokichi looked up with a small smile. “So…what do you wanna look at?”

Kaito chuckled lowly, giving Kokichi a small kiss against his forehead, “Well, these things? I’ll be honest, they’re not my speed, so I think they’re definitely not your speed. Let’s go ahead and just put these back.” Kaito said, putting the sounding box back on the shelf with a small wrinkle of his nose, before taking Kokichi’s hand as he looked around excitedly. 

What did he want to look at… “Oh man, ‘Kichi, okay, you have to see this thing. Come look at this.” Kaito said, pulling at his husbands hand and going to openly gawk at a few bdsm suits on some mannequins near the sounding equipment, the corner of the store a stark black contrast to the bright, colorful costumes on the corner opposite it. Pointing to the black, sparkling, full body gimp suit, Kaito whispered to Kokichi, “These suck. These suck so much, it’s like just being tied up in a bag, it’s totally dark and you can’t really move or do anything to, like, even communicate… I know some people who love stuff like this because they enjoy being totally helpless. Not my thing, personally, like, for myself or for my partners either, I think it’s too impersonal. You can’t see anything. But they’re always so wild looking.”

Kaito looked with open appreciation at the different suits, some of them because he liked them, but most of them because damn, were they wild, before his eyes grazed over to the bright, happy colored opposite corner… and he poked Kokichi, pointing, “I spotted the tails. Over there, see those furry pastel colors over there. They’re buttpugs pressed into the wall, we probably have pick the actual butt plug attachments separately. Let’s check ‘em out?”

Honestly, probably a blanket truth. There might come a day where Kokichi discovered something he liked that Kaito wasn’t into, but for the time being…not at all. And he really didn’t count Shuuichi’s food thing--Kaito wasn’t sexually into it, but it wasn’t something he minded, and Kokichi knew that Kaito liked seeing the two of them happy and engaged. 

Heh, they were all engaged now. 

Cracking a small smile at the barely-joke, Kokichi followed Kaito over towards a set of mannequins, looking at the…garb curiously. And wrinkling his nose as Kaito explained it more. “That does sound horrible. I guess I could conceptualize why some people would like it but…eugh. It’s nice that it sparkles, though. Might as well be a fun design.”

Kokichi turned to follow Kaito’s next indication, blinking in surprise at the damn array he saw. He was expecting some variety, if they were able to find them at this store, but…not an entire wall of different styles of tail. Just on an initial look he could see dog, fox, cat, bunny, even a few lizard tails… And while some were more naturalistic colors…

Kokichi let out a little ‘huh’ noise as he took in some of the neon colors, among varying designs of striped or spotted fur. 

“...so, cat, right? Any specifics more than that you have your heart set on?”

Kaito looked around the wall, taking in the different colors and styles, peering at the little accessories on the shelves around them– matching ears, paws, collars, pins? Oh, Kaito nearly laughed to himself, nipple clamps. Obviously– before returning his gaze to the tails themselves. Trying to imagine Kokichi in a few different ones… his face starting to burn a little as he said, “Well, obviously it’s gotta be one of the more colorful ones.”

Looking around, making certain no one was close enough to embarrass Kokichi saying this, he nudged his husband, “I don’t know, beautiful. Any of them calling to you? It’s gonna be yours~”

Kokichi sighed softly, rubbing a red cheek as he looked back to the section of cat tails. Spots or stripes wouldn’t look too out of place on a cat tail, though…as much as he liked the colors normally, Kokichi didn’t think he could opt for any of the neon colors. It would just…feel too silly. But that didn’t necessarily mean he could only go for naturalistic colors.

Reaching out to the furry wall, Kokichi touched some of the tails, pleased with the soft texture. They were pretty light too--he figured it could get kind of annoying having ‘em flop around too much, if they had a weight to ‘em. 

Lifting up a lilac short-hair tail with grey and black spots, Kokichi looked back at Kaito. “What about this one?”

Kaito reached over Kokichi to pet the tail a bit, putting his fingers through it… before imagining Kokichi with it. 

Bringing his hand back, Kaito put his hands over his eyes, snickering to himself as his face turned beat red. “Oh noooooo… that’s going to be so fucking cute.”

Collecting himself, Kaito looked around the boxed accessories, looking for the matching set, before pointing it out to Kokichi, “So, if we’re going with that one, it’s got matching ears and paws. You already told me you don’t want a collar, so as much fun as the idea of a little bell around your neck clanging out to a rhythm is,” Kaito snickered, giving Kokichi a small kiss against his cheek at that, “We won’t get a full set with those, but we can still buy things individually. After that point, it’s just what you’d want or feel comfortable with.”

Considering the accessories, Kaito pointed out, “I have a feeling you wouldn’t like the paws. You wouldn’t get to do much with your hands. Do you think you’re a nipple clamp kind of person? I’m not, personally, but I know a lot of people who swear the constant pressure does things to ‘em. I never noticed a difference.”

While his face was still red, Kokichi smiled, happy to see that Kaito definitely approved. Collecting a boxed version of the tail, along with ears--it looked like they had ones attached to hair clips, and ones on a band, and while the band would stand out more, it probably would stay on better--and…a bell, huh? Well, there were other ways to do that, than have a collar on…

Looking at the paws, Kokichi sighed softly before shrugging and getting that box too. “Probably not, but…I mean, I could wear ‘em at first then just take ‘em off when we get into stuff. It’s the imagery for you, right? I can do that for a little bit.”

“...not so sure with nipple clamps though,” Kokichi wrinkled his nose. “I like when you guys play with ‘em, but…I don’t think I’d like constant stimulation, especially if it’s just pressure. Kinda sounds like it’d just hurt.”

Kaito’s mental image of Kokichi suddenly added in paws, and he nodded very seriously, patting Kokichi on the back as he said, “Yes, yes, certainly no harm in trying it, very wise, this is why you’re an Ouma.”

Then he fucking giggled, clearly just delighted as he offered to hold the items for Kokichi, shrugging at the nipple clamp comment, “That’s what I thought, honestly. It just kinda hurt, and after awhile, you don’t really feel anything. Honestly, there’s a lot of sex toys that I think people only use because they like the idea that they can, not necessarily because it makes anything feel any better… I mean,” Kaito gestured to the tails, “Example number one, really. None of this stuff will make anything feel any better, but man, I just think it’s fun~”

And this was way more fun than when he had tried this with Kore. Honestly, comparing this and looking back to how Kore had introduced this idea to Kaito? Kore had just always made everything so… dramatic. Like, Kaito knew it was just Kore’s aesthetic, but sometimes it had felt like Kore did things, introduced ideas to Kaito, specifically with the idea in mind that Kaito would be uncomfortable with it, but would go along with it anyway. Like some of the fun would be in making Kaito nervous first, before they laid down the groundwork… his dog tail, collar, all of that, had just shown up in a damn wooden chest that Kaito had been left to find and open up himself while Kore was setting up, Kaito just left to infer what they were doing for awhile before they actually talked about it.

And if it had been any other animal, Kaito would have probably let Kore get away with it. Hell, even with the dog stuff, he had almost let Kore get away with it. But… it had just freaked him out too badly, when it was time. And Kaito had felt like an asshole, Kore having to put ‘Kaito’s gift’ away…

Kaito hadn’t minded any of it at the time. But now, with something else to compare it too… that had all kinda sucked. Kore shouldn’t have been so melodramatic about it. And calling it a ‘gift’??

The memory prompted Kaito to whisper to Kokichi as they headed to the buttplug attenchments themselves, to look for one that would suit Kokichi’s frame and temperament, “Look, even after we buy these? You know you can say no later, right? It’s literally never too late to change your mind on this, okay? Right?”

The buttplugs were a variety of material and sizes and shapes, and some of them had vibrator settings, while others advertised temperature settings and some advertised their function for ‘all day usage and vigorous activity’.

Kokichi nodded a bit, giving his husband a soft look. “As important as that part is? There’s more to sex than just sensation. Especially with an established partner. Presentation just…adds to the whole thing. I know Shuu-chan makes fun of us sometimes for how we talk, but I consider that presentation too. It’s just…fun. Setting the mood.”

You just couldn’t rely on presentation to carry everything. But they’d learned that lesson, and Kokichi didn’t see it happening again. 

Kaito seemed to be thinking the same, and Kokichi gave him a firm nod, leaning against him affectionately, since their hands were a little busy at the moment. “Course. And if we try it once and I’m not into it? Then I reserve the right to use what I can for crafts projects. But I’ll still be glad we tried it.”

Getting to the buttplug attachments, Kokichi had to take another centering breath, looking at the equally wide assortment with a sort of…lost look. “Uhh…I don’t think we need anything that fancy. And…um. I think I want something smaller than you…”

…mostly ‘cause he still wanted that special feeling of Kaito pushing into him, which Kokichi would be astounded if it didn’t happen when they got around to trying all this stuff out. But he couldn’t say something like that in public!

“Hmmm, something smaller than me…” Kaito mused, looking at the assortment, pointing his finger out as he looked at some of the medium sized butt plugs and asked, “Like, a lot smaller, or just a bit…” Kaito’s voice trailed off, before giving another patron a dirty look, nodding his head to silently tell him to fuck off. Go on, move along, you can be curious but Kaito did not want some lookyloos making his husband uncomfortable. Go… alright. “How about this one? Or, do you want a vibrator function? This one will just open you up and sit, low function, basically decoration.”

Kokichi turned redder as he looked away from the footsteps he heard, half hiding his face with a hand before glancing up at the plug Kaito pointed out. It didn’t seem significantly smaller than Kaito, so they would still have to work him open a little to get it in, but probably not again if Kaito wanted to fuck him after, so…

He let out a little breath. “I don’t think I want a vibrator in it. Just sitting seems good for me. I mean…”

Flushing even more, Kokichi shrugged a little, though there was a small smile on his face as he leaned in towards Kaito more. “...we could always come back for more attachments if I want something more robust later.”

Kaito grinned wide at that, incredibly pleased as he said, “Hell yeah we can. My ‘Kichi can have anything he wants. Alright, let’s go with that one then. Easy, simple, nothing too complicated.”

Kaito found the corresponding box, double checking the specs to make sure it was the right one, before putting it with the other items he was holding in hand, before looking around, seeing lots of things he was interested in, but not wanting to overload his husband who seemed to finally be getting comfortable with this. Though… he glanced around again before asking Kokichi, “Hey, I know we’re here for stuff for you to wear, but you know if you have any requests for stuff to try on me, I’m, like, all about it. If you wanted me to wear something or wanted to try something on me? Like, now or later. You can always propose it. Anything here you’d want to see me in?”

Kokichi smiled softly at Kaito, though at his question… 

Even after all this time, Kokichi sometimes felt like a novice in his own sexuality. Most of the time, he was happy just…doing whatever they were doing. It never felt like anything was missing, or that anything sparked his curiosity when they were together. So nothing specific really came to mind, but…

…he and Kaito had talked about roleplaying in the bedroom before. Kokichi definitely wanted to see Kaito in a pirate get-up one day, but the actual costume that came to mind… He wasn’t sure Kaito would want to go for it, but he might be okay with certain elements.

“Uhh…” Kokichi said, unsure, though he flashed a shy grin at his husband. “It’s not something we’d get here, but…do you think you could try styling your hair in a pompadour sometime?”

Kaito was honestly a little surprised to realize Kokichi was going to request anything at all. He had made the offer knowing Kokichi didn’t really think like that, but he had just wanted to make certain his husband knew he had the option…

What the heck was a pompadour?

“Sure,” Kaito said automatically, tilting his head a little as he asked curiously, “Uh, remind me what that looks like?”

Watching Kokichi’s hands mimic the sort of pull back, bouncy wave, Kaito’s eyes widened, “Oh! Yeah, I’ve seen those around here. Back in Luminary too, there was actually a lot of guys in the guardforce who loved that look. Ha~” Kaito laughed a little, not laughing at Kokichi, but clearly having fun with imagining it as he said, “Sure, that’d be a lot of fun. If anything else comes to mind that would add to it, let me know, beautiful.”

“Alright, then…” Kaito gave one last look around, sighing a little sadly. Damn, here and then gone so fast. He hadn’t even had a chance to look at… oh! “Oh, shoot, I gotta get something for me and Shuichi, actually. Hold on, come on, we gotta go look at the dildos.”

Guiding Kokichi to the dildo section of the store– and holy FUCK was there, just… SO MUCH variety of dildos– Kaito started looking around seriously, murmuring to himself about size and adjustments and maybe some balm too…

…yeah, he could figure. 

Mondo’s was probably the most unique (and hair gel-ridden) pompadour Kokichi had ever seen. He could still remember Shuuichi’s little suspect drawing, the pompadour featuring front and center. Kokichi wondered if his particular style had come around from trying to outclass the styles of the other guards, or if it was something from his gang days. 

He supposed he could ask, but…it was just idle curiosity more than anything. 

Giving Kaito a shy nod, Kokichi looked mildly surprised as Kaito remembered one more item and he followed him over to the, er, robust dildo section, just looking around in astonishment before giving Kaito a dry look. “Balm for sure. If you’re getting this for what I think you are…get every preparation thing you can.”

“Mhm. Mhm.” Kaito hummed seriously, looking over the options as he said quietly, “This time we’re doing it right. No dumb desperate horny brain or weird, like, lessons stuff. Shuichi has a big, beautiful cock and he deserves to get to use it. Gonna make myself a god damn cock-sleeve if I fucking have too… alright, this one here to start, and this one… phew, god, it really is gonna take that many, isn’t it. Fuck…”

Kaito fussed over the various sizes he needed, each one meant to help ease him open until he was safely ready to take The Beast. None of them were fancy or anything, they were all just simple silicon of ever increasing size, the final one just a little smaller than Shuichi… and god it was a fucking hammer. Kaito once again cursed his lack of love for size kinks, dammit, this was gonna be way too much in him… but he’d learn to love it! So that Shuichi could have options! 

Then, just as seriously, he got several more different types of lubes and healing balms, looking over his stash before, on a whim, grabbing a cock ring his own size. He wasn’t in the habit of using things like that, but if sleeping with Shuichi was going to take this much work every time? Kaito figured he’d get something that would help him last for however long Shuichi wanted to indulge himself.

(Shuichi had never mentioned the rings. They just hadn’t come to mind, when he was explaining his history with Nao to Kaito.)

“Okay. That should work.” Kaito said determinedly, double checking the supplies, “Yeah… yeah, I don’t think I’ve forgotten anything. It’s gonna work this time. I’ve got this.”

Kokichi nodded sternly, though not really to Kaito. Just…in general, wanting his partners to be safe. There was literally no physical way Kokichi could ever fit around Shuuichi, but…there was a possibility for Kaito to. Even if…with every subsequent dildo he picked up, Kokichi grew a little more worried. But as long as they were slow, and careful, and had all the supplies they could ever need…it could happen. And while Shuuichi didn’t seem that put out most of the time…well, he had seen Shuuichi’s face when Kaito had tried to deep-throat him, as poorly as that had gone. 

Sighing softly at their purchase size, Kokichi looked over the prices around the dildos Kaito had gotten, pulling his purse out with a hum. “...uh, I know I said I’d get the tail ‘n stuff…but could we go halfsies on the full purchase?”

Kaito laughed sheepishly at that, “You’re sweet, but I can actually get all the Shuichi stuff. And I can help with the tail stuff too, you’ve been paying for everything today, honestly, I could probably buy the whole thing and it still wouldn’t make me even with what you’ve spent already. You can pay for all the normal date stuff and I’ll pay for the sexy stuff?”

Kokichi let out a soft little chuckle. “I’ll agree to that. I’m glad we found what we wanted, though.”

-

“Alright, Miyako. Let’s see if I can be the one that makes you giggle…”

Shuichi, after a moment of consideration, stuck his tongue out at his daughter.

Miyako stared blankly back at him. Idly opening and closing her hands. Miyako was not entirely conscious that she had hands yet, but she did quite like to grab things, and she idly flexed that reflex as she considered trying for Food Smell’s hair.

“No dice? Alright… how about this then?”

Shuichi widened his eyes really wide, wrinkling his nose.

Miyako stared at his hair. That’s right, Food Smell… come a little bit closer…

“You are a very tough audience, Miyako. Come on, all Kaito did was think at you, just… would Little Lamb help?”

Nooooo, come back! Come back! 

Shuichi blinked, staring distantly at nothing. Before turning around, going back to Miyako and leaning in… “Ow! Miyako, no. Bad empath. Owwww–”

The door unlocked behind him, “We’re home~ And I brought gifts!”

Kokichi held the door open for Kaito--since he had insisted on carrying all their bags--and grinned into the room, before realizing what he was seeing and snorting with a sympathetic groan. “Oh noooo, Miya-Miya… Aw, c’mon…”

Quickly trotting over to Shuuichi, Kokichi gently tried to coax their daughter’s hands from his hair. {Miya, please let go of Dada, that hurts when you pull.}

“How long have you been stuck, honey? Aw, naughty Miya… Doesn’t have my hair to pull on anymore and she’s getting antsy.”

Shaking his head, Kokichi did manage a sheepish smile to his fiance. “Different than what Kai-chan’s talking about, but we did briefly stop by a pastry shop, and I got you some mango bread, if you’d like it.”

Miyako frowned, holding tighter. She had just claimed her prize. Why interfere, father?

But with Kokichi’s help, the hair did slide out of her fierce little baby grip, Miyako quickly appeased with Little Lamb as her dads passed that to her to hold instead– which was always adorable, since Little Lamb wasn’t actually all that much smaller than Miyako herself right now– while Shuichi rubbed his head with a wince. “Not long, literally just before you both walked in. She did tether me to get to it though. Naughty baby, just you wait till time-outs mean something to you, young lady…”

“Aw, I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it.” Kaito laughed, putting down the bags on the bed before going over to give Shuichi a kiss against his head, “Maki been helping out?”

“She has,she brought up lunch and such. You brought mango bread and gifts?”

“Kokichi doesn’t know I wasn’t just talking about the mango bread… but yes. We got you mango bread, and other things.” Kaito grinned, before amending, “Things I will actually probably keep in my shrine, thinking about it. No one else is ever in there… except Waku sometimes but she wouldn’t judge…”

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. “Judge what? And how was your guys’s day? Did you end up recreating everything, which was the impression I got that you were going for.”

Miyako really didn’t mean anything by it, but that didn’t mean it was behavior they should encourage. Pain was still pain for the recipient, and there were plenty of other things for Miyako to gleefully grab. And that she could get by other means than by tethering. 

Humming softly, Kokichi reached out to rub Shuuichi’s back a little, feeling touchy since he’d barely seen his fiance that day. “If we’re worried about it becoming a habit, I can set up for us to discuss with Griffin what to do if Miya tethers, like I did with Kai-chan and Saint Madison. This is one of the first times she’s done it to you, though, huh?”

Or at least one of the first times Shuuichi had mentioned it. 

But…still. That was something for later. 

Snickering a little at Kaito’s barely there hints, Kokichi happily hugged Shuuichi’s arm before digging into one of their bags, getting out the pastries. “It was incredible! Kai-chan was so sweet, setting this all up… Yeah, it was, like, following in the footsteps of stuff we did? We met at a fruit stand and got breakfast in the garden, then walked around a little--oh!”

Kokichi perked, his hand flying up to his ear, grinning wider when he realized the flower was still there. “Yeah! And Kai-chan picked one of my flowers for me, and we went to Sakura-chan’s pub, and, oh, Shuu-chan! She’s been trying to recreate Luminary brew! And then we went to the aqueduct, but where the spring under it is? And we skipped stones for a while before we went shopping.”

“Oooh, ooh, Kai-chan!” Kokichi waved his hand excitedly. “Spin! Shuu-chan, look at the shirt he got!!”

Shuichi listened to all of this patiently, dutifully ooing and humming in proper astonishment as Kokichi regaled him with tales of their day, and watching in equally proper appreciation as Kaito put his arms out and did a proper spin, showing off his new outfit. “Very nice,” Shuichi said appreciatively, putting his arms around Kokichi’s shoulders and holding him close to himself as he said, “I’m going to guess you bought it for him.”

“Course he did. Kokichi treats me right,” Kaito said a tad smugly, smoothing his shirt down a little before his grin got even wider, a full on smirk emerging out of it as he said, “I bought Kokichi some stuff too though. Wait till you see it. It’s very cute.”

Shuichi raised an eyebrow at that, “Why did you say it in that tone of voice? Like you’re about to start cackling?”

“Its kind of a super-villain cackling sort of situation. But if the supervillains goal was to buy something cute for his husband! Come on, come on, come take a look.” Kaito encouraged, waiving Shuichi over to the bed. 

Shuichi gave Kaito a fond look, before giving Kokichi a small kiss, “It sounds like you both had fun, I’m glad. I’m equally glad you’re back though. I’ll admit, I got a tad jealous, knowing you too were out having a date. I missed you.” Shuichi confessed, before pulling himself off Kokichi and going to see whatever Kaito wanted to show off.

Kokichi hummed happily as Shuuichi held him close, putting his arms around his waist in a loose hug. He did need time to himself, and time with people who weren’t his partners, but…well, there was a reason they were his partners! Kokichi loved Kaito and Shuuichi a lot, and coming back to them after a day apart always felt like things clicking back into place. Even if having them out of place wasn’t a bad thing. 

Shaking his head a little, Kokichi turned red as Kaito started goading Shuuichi over into seeing his purchases, but he easily relinquished their finance. Though, it was nice hearing that Shuuichi had missed them. His face softening--though not quite returning to his usual color--Kokichi smiled. “Our date was incredible…but I missed you too. M glad to be back with Shuu-chan.”

“I would say we could do something for the anniversary of us meeting too, but, uh,” Kokichi snorted, rolling his eyes a little. “Trying to copy that day kinda sounds like a nightmare. Wouldn’t be opposed to sock skating down the halls though, in a very, very loose interpretation.”

“You know, no one’s ever tried to beat my record of prince hurling.” Shuichi said idly, not feeling either as traumatized or as sentimental about that first week as his partners were. Maki stabbing him in the barn had been the most vivid thing he could remember from the first part of their living here, and so much stuff had happened afterwards that even that nightmarish memory paled in comparison, but… even the good things were sort of only idly remembered for Shuichi. 

While there were certain things he found harder to let go of then others, for the most part, Shuichi was probably the least sentimental out of their group, up to and including Maki. Hell, especially Maki, though he knew she’d argue it endlessly. Shuichi would like to celebrate his partnership with Kokichi and Kaito, but, honestly, the upcoming marriage dinner was enough festivity for him, even if that technically had nothing to do with him. 

Though, if there was something he’d like to celebrate, it might be the first time the three of them had been ‘together’ that hadn’t been driven by drugs. Or maybe Shuichi just kind of wanted to eat some stuff off of Kaito or Kokichi and was looking for an… excuse…

Shuichi’s mind had been idly on sex– honestly the most honest word for it, ‘idle’, as it had literally just come to mind and he would have likely stopped thinking about it in a moment– but that still hadn’t mentally prepared him for… “How did you fill up two bags of this!?” Shuichi finally managed to stammer out, looking entirely scandalized as he gave Kaito a befuddled look, “Kaito, what happened, did you rob the place and just snatch things at random??”

“What!? This isn’t random, each item was picked with loving care!”

“There’s like three different sized dildos in here!”

“Shuichi! Not so loud,” Kaito scolded, glancing at the crib while Shuichi huffed in annoyance, “And yeah, I picked those out cause I need them, alright.”

“Three? We already have one.”

“Handsome, when I say I picked those out for me, I really mean I picked them out for us. Trust me, you’re going to appreciate this someday. Also, look! Look at the cute thing I got Kokichi!”

Shuichi gave Kaito a dry look– what the hell did they need four dildos for?? Before looking in the other bag, and giving it an equally bewildered look, taking out the box. He looked at it for a long moment, honestly not sure what he was looking at, “...are these pieces for a cat costume?”

Kaito chuckled lecherously, “He’s going to look so good.”

Kokichi snickered softly. “Hey, you’re right--if it wasn’t established as Prince Hauling, then it doesn’t count as an entry. Woooow, I can’t believe I’m engaged to the world record holder for Prince Hauling with a maintained record for almost an entire year. I really am the luckiest guy~”

Shaking his head a little as Kaito and Shuuichi started to go through the other bags, Kokichi checked in on Miyako, reaching into the crib to gently stroke her little arm. Needing break time to not be in charge of an infant was a sort of break Kokichi felt a little more pressingly than the breaks he needed to take away from his partners, but he had missed Miyako too. Their sweet, determined, expectant little girl…

{How was your day, sweetbun?} he asked, adoration laced into every concept. {Dad and Daddy had a lot of fun. We’ll tell you a lot of stories about how important today is when you’re older. Hopefully with even more fun stuff to tell.}

Though, he did glance up as Shuuichi looked through Kokichi’s bag. Coloring, Kokichi gave his fiance a small shrug, cheeks pink. “Kai-chan has a hunting thing. I said I’d try it out, at least.”

“A hunting thing? What does that mean?”

“Okay, okay, before you say anything, let me explain–”

Miyako, who was now contently nibbling on Little Lamb, looked up at Kokichi, feeling the intent come off him with her little infant understanding, absorbing what Kokichi passed on. Dad and Daddy had {made each other laugh, told stories, eaten, visited a friend, thrown rocks, talk, sad, happy, laughing, embarrassed, gone shopping, clothes, toys} and as she listened Miyako happily kicked her feet a little, feeling their second-hand joy.

Then, as best she could, she sent back {Do you wanna go upside down~ Dragon bouncing on knee, tummy time with dada, nectar, soft words with dada, sunlight at the window, Food Smells hair.} her own day with, again, more happy little kicks

“So, wait… I don’t understand. Are you going to be chasing him in this costume, then?”

“No! That’d be impractical, it’d hurt his insides.”

“Then why is it a ‘hunting’ thing?”

“Uh, I don’t know… cause I’ll have already caught him? Can’t it just be enough that he’s going to look cute and sexy as hell?”

“I’m not making fun of you Kaito, I’m genuinely interested in your thought process. I’ve been listening to you talk about sex our whole lives, where did hunting come from?”

“Oh, uh…” Kaito chuckled, shrugging, “Let me put my other clothes in the hamper, give me a second, and if you’re actually asking? I’d actually love to talk about it a little.”

Kokichi laughed softly, smiling down at Miyako and watching her kick, still rubbing her arm. {That sounds wonderful, Mi-Mi; I’m glad you had a good day too.} 

It sounded like Shuuichi and Maki had a full day of fun Miyako time too. Honestly, Kokichi would never quite get over Maki’s ‘baby voice’, and getting the impression of it, along with the huge perspective shift, from Miyako made it seem like a little baby roller coaster. 

Settling by the crib, not quite feeling like leaving Miyako yet, even if she was settling down, Kokichi looked back at his partners with a soft expression that probably didn’t match up all that much with the discussion matter. “I know we talked about it a little, but I’d love to hear ya too, hun. ‘Specially if you’ve thought about it more since then.”

“Well, I mean, obviously none of its important,” Kaito said somewhat sheepishly, feeling like something profound was expected of him and fairly certain he didn’t have any real substantial insights to offer, “Beyond, ya know, you guys knowing where I’m coming from, I guess. Boundaries! Understanding~ All that good stuff.”

“Mmhm?” Shuichi hummed, looking around the boxed items again– he noticed a smaller box, but didn’t pay it much mind, distracted by the boxes that had more eyecatching designs advertising their contents– and, just, absurdly curious, he opened up the cat costume items, taking them out one by one and inspecting them. “You’ve always had a thing about having sex in places you might get caught, that wasn’t  just a Marcus thing. Is this connected to that?”

“Oh, wow, maybe??” Kaito asked, sounding genuinely stunned by the idea as he put his boots away in the closet, sniffing at his cape before deciding, yeah, he had sweat into it too much, that needed to go into the hamper with the rest of it. “I mean, maybe… like, maybe that’s me imitating the feeling of being hunted? Wow, that really could all be connected…”

Kaito thought about, first of all, telling Shuichi about Akane. He didn’t know if Shuichi knew about Kaito being made up of pieces of other people… but he honestly wasn’t sure if he wanted to think about himself like that. As a collection of old dead peoples interests. He didn’t know anything at all about Caleb, beyond that he was huge and handsome as all hell, and all he knew about Akane was she was drop-dead panty-wetting tent-pitching gorgeous and, like, she was also a werewolf. Which… maybe had something to do with what turned Kaito on?

But again, Kaito wasn’t sure how comfortable he felt equating it to that. He wanted to be his own person, first and foremost. And he wasn’t even sure if Akane still… existed? In a way where who she had been would affect Kaito at all. He genuinely didn’t know, and at this point he didn’t feel comfortable guessing.

So he was going to assume the ‘hunting’ idea was his and his alone. For now, at least. Akane and Caleb weren’t a part of the equation.

“I just… I like the excitement! I love feeling like I’m overcoming some sort of… physical challenge, I guess? The excitement of chasing after someone, or being chased, even if it’s not, like, something that’s actually physically happening… like why I like flirting so much.” Kaito realized, grinning wide as he went back to the bed, sitting next to Shuichi with a little bounce, “A lot of the fun is in the back and forth, will we, won’t we, like… game of it all. I like the challenge.”

“Sure… but how does that equal Kokichi in a cat suit?”

“It doesn’t have to be just Kokichi, we can totally suit you up too handsome–”

“Hard pass.” Shuichi said immediately, raising an eyebrow, before glancing over at Kokichi, “No offense. I’d just feel ridiculous. So is Kokichi a cat you’ve… caught, theoretically, or…?”

Kaito hummed, taking a moment to think about it… before he flushed. Laughing sheepishly, as he admitted, “...I think… well, one, the imagery is super cute and I think that’s fun. But two… ah, geez…”

Shooting Kokichi a sheepish glance, Kaito shrugged, “I think there’s a real part of me that’s purely attracted to Kokichi’s, like… willingness to try it? The, uh… again. The ‘will they, won’t they’ of it. We’re long past the challenge of flirting, but… there’s still a lot of fun, new things we can tempt and goad each other into. And I kinda like the excitement of that, for its own sake. The thrill of the chase.”

It didn’t exactly have to be earth-shattering, so it wasn’t that kind of important but…stuff didn’t have to be for Kokichi to want to know. Or for Shuuichi to want to know. It was just the fact that it was something about Kaito, thoughts he’d put an order to in his head, that made it something they wanted to pay attention to. Because Kaito was important. 

And Kokichi was always interested in getting a clearer picture into the person his husband was. Sure, that picture wasn’t static, but a deeper understanding at any point would help make every picture down the line make more sense. So…Kaito’s excitement over the potential of getting caught being related to ‘the hunt’? Very intriguing too. 

At Shuuichi’s immediate denial of trying out outfits, Kokichi just shrugged with a half-grin. “None taken. Believe me, some of the tails ‘n accessories ‘n stuff I did a hard swerve on for the same reason. It might just be my own weird lines, since purple is still out there, but, like…a big ol’ fluffy neon green tail with hot pink stripes? I’d never be able to get in the mood.”

But it turned out that his prediction of being in the mood at all was the key. 

Humming a bit, Kokichi nodded, shooting Kaito a smile. “I can’t say I feel much of a risk with it all, but…I mean, I kept telling you today, and I’ve told you guys loads of times before. I’ll at least consider anything you wanna bring up. And if it’s something I don’t have an immediate aversion to? I’ll try it once. Never know unless we try.”

“My Kokichi’s too good to me~” Kaito grinned, his voice soft and happy, his gaze on Kokichi pointedly more focused and intense… before his concentration broke as he turned excitedly to Shuihci, “And speaking of trying, all that other stuff? That’s for me and you.”

Shuichi raised another eyebrow at that, taking out a very small dildo, and then taking out a very large one and comparing them to each other, before giving Kaito a pointed look. “How?”

“It’s to…” Kaito glanced at the crib, “let you touch me on the inside, Shuichi.”

“Oh, Kaito, are these to gap you?”

“Well, if you want to be crude about it, yes.” Kaito pouted, before giving Shuichi an earnest, sheepish look, “Come on, you’re not a little excited by the idea? You don’t wanna, uh… use your guy at all?”

“It’s not that, just… we seriously hurt you the last few times we tried it, Kaito.”

“No, no, see, look,” Kaito opened up the bags some more, showing Shuichi the balms and lubes he had gotten with the dildoes, explaining, “That’s why I got so many. I you increase the size little by little, take your time, use the proper aids? You can stretch yourself to ridiculous sizes without hurting yourself. It’s really just a game of patience. And once we learn a process that works for me with you, it’s something we have the option of doing literally forever.”

“Kaito–”

“Shuichi, you’re marrying me.” Kaito stressed, reaching over and taking his fiance’s hand, squeezing it earnestly as he said, “And I just… don’t want you to be stuck with only handjobs for the rest of your life. I can barely get my throat around you, that hurt when I tried to do it and I almost passed out around your dick–”

“You did pass out around me.”

“-- for like a second! But that’s my point. Kokichi can never even hope to adjust to you, he’s too thin. Like, you’d probably actually break his hips trying, and no way he’s swallowing you either. That means, if I’m not willing to learn how to do it for you? It… really will just be handjobs for the rest of our marriage, for you. And, maybe you haven’t noticed, but… I value sex! I think its fun, and stress relieving, and brings you closer with your partners, and it’s fun, and… I know you could go the rest of your life not getting to use your body any way you feel like. But I just don’t want you to have too.”

There was silence for a moment… before Kaito leaned in and whispered, “Plus, I think you’d fucking wreck me and that is, just, so exciting. God I just want you to destroy me.”

Shuichi laughed at that, pulling back and looking more than a little embarrassed as he said, “There it is, I knew it had to be something like that. Honestly, Kaito… you can just admit you like the idea of being topped sometimes.”

“I can have multiple reasons to do anything.” Kaito huffed. “And I have a wide range of tastes that having two incredibly attractive, enthusiastic partners can together more than fulfill all sorts of hopes and dreams I have.”

It wasn’t quite that Kokichi understood his partners’ points--not even that this was really an argument--but…he understood the broad stances. Shuuichi, most of the time, didn’t think it was all that much a big deal that he couldn’t penetrate his partners--there were plenty of ways to have sex that didn’t involve that, and it wasn’t something that he deeply yearned for or anything. And Kaito didn’t want them, as lifelong partners (ideally, in terms of what the purpose of asking for marriage was) to have it so Shuuichi never had the option, when there still was a way. 

It was just…something that would take care and patience, but those were things that they had. 

Kokichi giggled a bit at the more “selfish” reason, even if he hadn’t heard what Kaito whispered to Shuuichi--he got the gist enough. “True! And…like, it’s not really like we’re planning on using any of this stuff tonight, as much as I might like to,” Kokichi sighed, giving Miyako a pointed look. “But it never hurts to have on hand, if the desire comes.”

Shuichi nodded, while Kaito groaned, laying his head against him as he whispered into Shuichi’s shoulders, “Miyako, you don’t know what you’ve done to me… I should have screwed you both every single day before she got here, what was I thinking?”

“I believe we were either going through or trying to recover from multiple huge points of trauma at the time,” Shuichi reminded Kaito dryly, patting him on the back, “Not the most alluring atmosphere, sometimes.”

Kaito just whimpered at that. God, he couldn’t even reliably masturbate here anymore! Miyako, auuuuuuuuuugh… “I may need to visit my shrine for, like, thirty minutes, at some point.” Kaito muttered, glancing at the bags before admitting, “I might break in a toy.”

“Sure. Though, I don’t know… Kokichi and I might decide to fool around with some alone time, maybe enjoy some of that hand stuff you’re lamenting so much?”

“No… you’re just trying to get a rise out of me, right? You wouldn’t?”

Shuichi sighed softly, “Maybe if we did, it’d be better if you never found out. In fact, I’m certain of it, we’d keep it to ourselves.”

“Oh, SURE! Leave me WONDERING!” Kaito mock-shouted, collapsing on the bed and, because Shuichi had brought it out to look at it, grabbing the tail and clutching it to his face, groaning as he buried himself in the fur. Shuichi did a small little laugh, giving Kokichi a small wink at that.

Kokichi nodded along with Shuuichi’s answer. Oh, sure, there had been times when they really tried, but…being caught in the whirlwind of their lives, or recovering from the aftermath didn’t always open up the road to considering having fun at night. 

But, here they were. Looking after a baby that would be too curious about things they’d wish she didn’t know for a long time. 

As Shuuichi goaded Kaito, Kokichi could only snicker softly, giving Shuuichi a fond look before directing a small sigh at Kaito. “Careful with the tail. There’s no way I’m handing that over with our laundry, and I don’t know if I’m up to winging how to clean it today. Do I need a brush for it? Should I get a brush?”

Kaito’s eyes popped open at that. “Oh… yes. Definitely… get a brush. You should definitely brush it, that’d be… great.”

“...” Shuichi poked Kaito in the side, who was just staring at the ceiling, clearly very lost in his head, “So it’s really got nothing to do with you just liking Kokichi in cat suit, huh?”

“We should test the cat ears too.” Kaito murmured, ignoring Shuichi, “Make sure they, ya know… fit. As you brush it. That makes sense.”

Kokichi rolled his eyes a little and gave Miya a soft final pat before heading over to the bed, rifling through the boxes for a moment before he pulled out the cat ears headband, smoothing out the tufts on the ears before sliding it on straight down, trying to let his hair better obscure the band.

And…mm. Not too tight, wasn’t squeezing behind his actual ears…good. Not a headband he’d be begging to take off immediately. 

Giving Kaito a dry look before looking to Shuuichi, Kokichi nodded seriously. “It’s got everything to do with me dressing up like a cat, too. It’s right on the precipice of sexy-cute and I’m-Gonna-Die-That’s-Too-Cute.”

Kaito had immediately sat up when he realized what Kokichi was doing, grabbing a pillow and clutching it against him as his eyes just fixated on his husband. His gaze didn’t so much as waver as Kokichi adjusted the headband on, though his face pinked a little. Not at all at what Kokichi was saying because, quite frankly, there was no part of Kaito really listening to either of them now as Kaito murmured entirely too him, “It’d be really fucking cute if, like… Shuichi brushed the tail while Kokichi was wearing it, too… that’d be amazing… Kokichi could be wearing that ankle bracelet of his, Shuichi could be wearing… nothing…”

Shuichi watched Kaito curiously… before reaching over and pretending to scratch Kokichi behind the ‘ears’, just running the tips of his fingers through his hair. 

Kaito lit up RED and just gave a high pitch whine, burying his face into his pillow. Stooooooooop, they couldn’t even dooooo anything!

“You may have a point.” Shuichi agreed, looking to Kokichi and giving a small, approving nod as he said, “They do look cute on you though. Is it heavy?”

Kokichi really, sincerely tried to keep his face neutral, but…could you blame him??? When Kaito was so flustered by a cat headband!? He really couldn’t be shamed for the obnoxious snort that left him, or the twitches at the corners of his mouth, pulling up into a smile. 

Awwww, his cute husband~

Deciding not to tease Kaito anymore, Kokichi shook his head and removed the headband, offering it up. “Not at all. Like, I can obviously feel the band, and that there’s something on my head, but it’s all pretty light. It seems pretty well constructed though--they even bothered to make the “inside” of the ears all fuzzy.”

Shuichi took it, looking it over curiously, touching the inside of the ears. Soft. 

He briefly considered trying it on himself, if only to try to fluster Kaito further, which was a preferred pastime for Shuichi… but honestly, his next impulse after that was more appealing, as Shuichi leaned over and, without warning, placed the cat ears on Kaito’s head.

Kaito looked up from the pillow, looking up as if he’d be able to see the ears himself… before pouting as Shuichi suddenly started laughing, far less reserved about it then Kokichi had been. “Aw, come on… of course it’s gonna look stupid on me. I don’t have the face for something like this.”

“I-it’s amazing,” Shuichi laughed, just absolutely delighted with Kaito’s disbelieving pout beneath it, “We have to sh-show Maki. She’ll lose her mind.”

“Uh huh…” Kaito tilted his head curiously, “Do you think she’d try it on? Like, just for a second. I bet she’d look adorable. Like an angry murder kitten.”

Kokichi looked on in surprised bemusement as Shuuichi changed the tables and plopped the ears on Kaito, his smile breaking through at the sight. 

“Awwwww, Kai-chan!” Kokichi cooed, laughing softly. “I think your hair kinda obscures them, so it’s not the best effect, but they’re cute on ya! You could totally pull off a cat costume if you wanted. Just wait, the year Miya-Miya wants us to do a family Harvest costume all together? You’ll be rockin’ it.”

Looking over to the door curiously, Kokichi snorted and raised an eyebrow. “I doubt it. It’d turn into a ‘you’d have to catch her to put ‘em on’, and you guys’ll start running through the whole castle again.”

“We should show Maki-chan, though,” he chuckled, moving towards the door. “Do you know if she’s in her room, Shuu-chan? Or hanging out with Tim?”

“I’m not sure, I haven’t seen her since she had lunch with me,” Shuichi admitted, though he watched Kokichi leave to check her room curiously. Looking to Kaito, he said, “That’s a surprise.”

“What is?” Kaito asked, taking off the headbands and inspecting the cat ears up close, still thinking it was pretty damn cute. “That Maki probably wouldn’t put these on? I bet I could talk her into it!”

“No, that Kokichi would want to show her.” Shuichi shrugged, before pointedly glancing at the bags of toys as he said, “Individually or at all. I mean, costume or not, it’s a sex thing.”

“It’s not that surprising. I can’t remember the last time Kokichi got shy talking about that stuff in front of Maki. She’s, ya know…” Kaito shrugged, “An exception. Which I’m glad for, I like Kokichi having people outside of us to talk about stuff like this too. It’s not good to make your partners the only people with insights or opinions on your sexual life, they’re too biased, the views too narrow. Ya gotta have people to talk too.”

“Mmm… how have things been with you and her lately?” Shuichi asked, though they probably didn’t have time to get into it. “I know things were coming to a head for a minute there, you both talked to me about it… the feelings still bothering you?”

“Nah, not like it was. Tide is out, I think…” Kaito shrugged, looking a little shamefaced as he whispered, “I’m sorry if we made you worry. We weren’t going to do anything. It was just getting… uncomfortable. I think we both had to talk about it.”

“I get tha–” Shuichi’s words died, the door opening up again. 

“What do I have to see, then?” Maki asked, following Kokichi inside.

Kokichi turned after holding the door for Maki, ready to see her reaction, but…

He pouted. “You took them off? Kai-chan, c’mooooon, be a sport.”

“Huh? I thought you just wanted to show her the ears!” Kaito sputtered, though Shuichi was quick to take the headband from out of Kaito’s hands and proudly put them back on him. “They don’t look cute on me, they’re for ‘Kichi.”

“Well?” Shuichi asked, rubbing Kaito’s back as he shot him a dirty look, “What do you think, Maki?”

Maki hummed, looking at Kaito… before her eyes glanced to the left, where the other boxes and opened items were. And, to Maki’s great credit, she did not comment on any of them, but did reach out and pick up the box of paws, looking at it… before tossing it to Kaito. “Put those on too.”

“They’re not my size!”

“Ball up your hands then, it’ll fit. Do it, kitten.” Maki looked to Shuichi, “Help him out.”

Shuichi snickered at this, rolling his eyes a little but opening them up, “We’ll see if they can fit on, they really are sized more for Kokichi’s hands. Ball up your hands, Kaito, as small as you can make them.”

“You guys are, just, all of you are the worst. This is meant to be cute Kokichi time!”

“Yeah, the ears on you,” Kokichi chuckled, shaking his head a little before looking on in satisfaction as Shuuichi completed the picture. He didn’t think there was anything utterly hilarious about seeing Kaito in the cat ears--they were just cat ears--but from the enjoyment Shuuichi got out of the image, and how it flustered Kaito, Kokichi had been excited to include Maki in the tomfoolery too. It hadn’t even entered his mind that there were a bunch of sex toys on their bed. 

Hopping up to sit on their bed across from Kaito, Kokichi crossed his arms and looked on as Maki demanded the paws too, looking a bit cheeky himself. “Well it’s cute Kai-chan time instead. I told you it’s apparent to everyone. We didn’t even need to bring it up in a poll for Sakura-chan to agree, and now Shuu-chan and Maki-chan agree too. Face it, hun, you’re cute.”

Kaito gave his husband a dry look as Maki and Shuichi continued to cheerfully force paws onto his hands, “Uh huh. Adorable.”

It was a tight fit, but eventually they managed to push the paws on, and while Maki wasn’t full on giggling like Shuichi was, there was an obvious, amused smirk on her face as they both stepped back to admire their handy-work. “Alright. Go ‘nya’.”

“N-yoo fuck yourself.” Kaito responded, automatically following that with, “Sorry, Miyako.”

“Think you could pick up anything like that?” Shuichi asked curiously. 

“No? My hands are literally closed into fists right now, what could I pick up?”

“Here, try this.” Maki said, looking around before grabbing a half-full glass of water and passing it to Kaito.

“Maki! There’s water in that!” Kaito grasped, struggling to pin the glass between his paws as Maki shoved the glass against his chest.

“Better hang onto it then, huh?”

“You’re the worst.”

“...do you think if he walked around like this, anyone would comment on it?” Shuichi asked, voice hushed but eyes sparkling, “Or do you think people would pretend not to notice to be polite?”

“No!”

“I bet he’d get compliments. Like everyone would just decide Kaito was making some sort of fashion statement.” Maki mused, “Try drinking the water.”

“I should have stopped being friends with you both in middle school.” 

Kokichi didn’t bother stifling his giggles that time, cooing and laughing over the cute image Kaito made. He knew he’d have his turn eventually so he didn’t feel that guilty over it--Kaito had wanted to get the costume for the express reason of it being cute, after all. 

Snorting a bit at Shuuichi and Maki’s teasing, Kokichi shrugged. “Compliments I could see, but also a lot of people just staring, wondering what the hell we’re up to now. It’s not like Kai-chan’s dressed in a full costume, though the fish shirt does kinda match, but that’s not really the vibe for us going to a costume party or anything. And, like…we’re nowhere near Harvest, so it’s not even putting pieces together for that. So people would probably just think we’re being weird again.”

“But you don’t have to go test that,” Kokichi shrugged again, giving Kaito a softer smile. “You are very cute with the pieces, but…I mean, they’re not supposed to make anyone uncomfortable. I just wanted to make sure Maki-chan caught a glimpse before we put everything away.”

“Speak for yourself, I vote we get Kaito to walk around downstairs like this.” Maki said, squinting menacingly at Kaito, “Maybe get as far as the gardens.”

“Let’s see how many conversations he could get through seriously before someone just directly asks him what’s going on.” Shuichi agreed.

“Yeah, no.” Kaito rolled his eyes, grabbing the edge of one paw with his teeth after he tucked the glass of water between his thighs, pulling it off, “You two are sadists, did you know that? I mean, I’ve always known that, because I grew up with you, but I just wanna make sure you know that.”

“It’s not sadism, it’s a social experiment.” Shuichi decided, tapping his journal in his inner pocket as he said, “It’s only sadism if we don’t take notes.”

“I just think it’s funny when you get all huffy and loud like that,” Maki shrugged, tilting her head slightly as she tapped at her chin a little, “Which, yes. Could be sadism.”

“Well, ha ha, hope everyone got their fill.” Kaito said, taking off his other paw now and laying them both down on the bed, drinking from the glass now before placing it back on the nightstand. “Maki, you wanna try the ears?”

“No.”

“You’d look so cute!”

“Did you all have a good day out then?” Maki asked, looking to Kokichi.

Kokichi just shook his head a little. It was all in good fun, and as much as Kaito could be, well, pressured by social pressure, he could say no to his friends, and Kokichi would be there for backup. He was getting kinda cozy on their bed anyway, after a day out on the town. 

Lighting up as Maki deflected onto him, Kokichi nodded emphatically. “Yeah, it was a blast! I was telling Miya about it and she said you guys had a fun day too.”

“We kinda followed in the footsteps of when we met,” Kokichi nodded to Kaito fondly. He then went on to explain in a similar fashion that he had to Shuuichi just a bit ago, explaining all the places they went and the foods they ate, though this time he went into a little more detail.

“So I guess I could…guess? Since you guys really did live in a desert. But…have you guys really never skipped rocks before?” Kokichi asked, leaning forward a little towards Shuuichi and Maki.

“No. I’ve never thought of it before.” Maki shrugged, while Shuichi seemed to ponder the question some more, “Though, I feel like I’ve heard of it before. Doesn’t Novoselic do that?”

“No, Novoselic skips coins, which makes sense to me.” Shuichi corrected, though he looked to Kaito for confirmation, “Right? They skip coins. Isn’t that one of the games they play for the Ruto tournaments?”

Kaito nodded at that, “Yep. Never saw anyone do it with rocks though. But, yeah, I mean…” Kaito rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging at bit at Kokichi, “I mean, obviously we have bodies of water and stuff. Ponds and marshes and beaches and stuff. A lot of fountains. But we just don’t… play with water like that, I guess? I mean, we know of water-based games and water parks and stuff like that because of Novoselic and Kimigashine, so it’s not like stuff like that isn’t known to us. We just don’t really do it ourselves.”

“I wonder if we know of games and things that Dicea doesn’t?” Shuichi wondered, running his hands through his bangs a little, moving them out of his face, “I feel like there must be, right? Dicea doesn’t have a desert climate in the slightest, there must be something we do that it’d just never occur to them to do here. Though, I am struggling to think of an example…”

“We eat lizards?”

“That’s just you and your friends being gross Kaito.”

“You say that like you wouldn’t eat a lizard from a vendor who was just literally doing what we do but then selling it to you.”

Maki suddenly thumped her fist into her hand. “Wind sailing.”

“...oh, shoot, maybe?” Kaito realized, nodding, before looking to Kokichi, “You guys do wind sailing?”

Ruto tournaments??? Now that sounded intriguing. Kokichi would have to see if there was anything he could find about that. …or just ask his friends, but he could put a little effort into educating himself. 

He hummed softly as Kaito explained that Luminary wasn’t actually completely water barren--it made sense, even if Kokichi did still temper his expectations with the fact that it was probably less water than in Dicea. And…well, he only knew of a few water parks in Dicea, so it wasn’t a totally common thing, but…things like skipping rocks? He wouldn’t exactly call that playing with water…but he supposed to his friends it was. 

He’d heard about eating lizards before, but…

“Wind sailing?” Kokichi raised an eyebrow, thinking about it for a moment. “I mean…we have sailboats that…yanno, move from wind power. But something tells me that’s not what wind sailing is.”

“Okay, so, on the outskirts of the city? There’s these… well, we call them dry-beds. It’s these really huge swaths of land that are just packed sand and rock. They’re like entirely level, flat canyons, if that helps visualize them? We have these mountains there that… I mean, they’re not like those.” Kaito said, gesturing to the mountain landscape you could see outside the window, “They’re shorter, with flat tops. Sorry, it’s hard to describe, we have a lot of the same words for things that honestly seem pretty different to me, I wish I had better words.”

“Anyway,” Kaito said, waving his hand dismissively, “So you have these wagons, or carts, I mean, if you’re doing it you’ll probably end up calling it a ‘yacht’ but, like…” Kaito rolled his eyes, “Again, kind of a misleading word. So you have a wagon with sail attached to it, you go out to the dry-bed, and on windy days? Which is most days in Luminary, you use the wind to sails your yacht around the dry-bed.”

“It can be a lot of fun! You can get so much speed on those on an average day, and so long as you don’t lose the wind, you can go for miles, just running around the canyon. It’s also a pretty decent way of getting around, but unfortunately there’s not a lot of places to go in those areas.” Kaito laughed, “They’re not super habitable, and most of them are so large that crossing the whole thing takes planning and a lot of risk, no matter how fast you are. And you can’t efficiently catch the wind with really heavy loads so… it’s mostly just for fun. Not a ton of practical use.”

“Not that people don’t try.” Shuichi mused, “You hear about secret bases in the dry beds all the time. Buried under the sand. There might be something to those stories, if you could successfully build it, it’d be a very safe place to hide people or contraband. Or, at least contraband, living out there would be miserable.”

“So? Anything like that, babe? You guys use wind for any travel stuff?” Kaito asked curiously. 

It was hard, when they had grown up in such different places, that they had grown up with the same words meaning such different things in practicality. There was a way for them to bypass the need for syntactical semantics, but…instead, Kokichi just closed his eyes, trying to imagine it on his own. 

Large, flat, hollowed out canyon beds…dusty and windy with rock and coarse sand. Small, flat-topped rocky hills. And in the midst of them, hauling out a wagon with a sail and just…going. Like sailing on land. Wind sailing. 

Opening his eyes, Kokichi grinned wide, his eyes glittering in excitement. “That sounds incredible! I know I’m probably not imagining it quite right, but…it seems really cool!”

“But other than for sailboats?” Kokichi shrugged with a small grin, shaking his head. “No. I mean…I’ve heard of people landsurfing around some of the hilly areas, but for larger scale travel there isn’t really a…novelty way to do it.”

After a moment, he amended, “Unless you wanna count dog-sledding, or sledding in general, but that’s more of a winter necessity, than novelty. Though there are competitive races ‘n stuff, so people do do it recreationally.”

“Right! Sledding! With all of the dogs!” Kaito said, proud to know about this one personally. “Like, so many dogs you guys, at least… ten dogs!”

“Yeah, no amount of dogs is ever going to make coming back down the mountain with Tim like that not an incredibly rash and stupid thing to do.” Maki told Kaito flatly. “I’ll still never know what the hell was wrong with you.”

Kaito shrugged, a tired look flashing across his expression, “I dunno… I was convinced I was going to come back and something would be wrong with Kokichi or Shuichi. Just, ya know… something. Pulling that baby out of that ladies arms… shit sticks with you, ya know? Fuck, I think if that had been Shuichi and Miyako, just… she was probably only holding that baby because she was in the middle of midnight feeding. Their whole futures right in front of them and then out of nowhere…”

Kaito’s fists clenched, a tight, pained expression on his face… before he let out a shaky breath, standing up to go check on Miyako as he murmured to himself, “I’m sure her trials are going well. The babies fine. He’ll never know anything else. He’s still got his dad.”

“Well… that’s thoroughly depressing.” Shuichi sighed, rolling his shoulder a little. “But, we’re alright. And Miyako and Kokichi are, like, super people, so if anything we’re all even safer than normal.”

“Yeah, everyone’s fine.” Kaito agreed softly, looking down at Miyako, who had at some point fallen asleep, her face nestled into Little Lambs side. 

It had been insanely dangerous, and Kokichi did wish, in a world where the outcome was unclear, that Kaito had just waited for the snow to calm down to come down with the rest of the group…

His expression softened, feeling the grief and worry and fear roll off of Kaito for a moment. 

…he understood why Kaito had done it. Overcome with an unshakable worry that the people he loved were suddenly going to be gone? Hell, Kaito had been there for Kokichi’s reaction to all that, and he hadn’t even seen anything physically. 

Even knowing that death wasn’t truly the end…it was still scary. Having to leave your loved ones behind, sometimes in awful and traumatizing ways… Death may not really be the end, but a person’s life on earth was still sacred. And losing that was still horrible. 

“We’re all okay,” Kokichi said quietly as well, giving Kaito a gentle look for a bit. 

He sighed softly. “Kai-chan and I actually ended up talking about it earlier. But…man. Anxiety sucks.”

“So quit it.” Maki very helpfully advised.

“Much easier said than done.” Shuichi huffed, before raising an eyebrow at Maki, “And don’t pretend like you don’t have it too.”

“I’m in full control of my emotions.”

“How many times have you cleaned your weapons or updated the medicine bag this week?”

“Don’t see why it’s relevant.” Maki said, before again using Kokichi to dodge as she asked him, “Do you want to do knife throwing tomorrow? The weathers good and I’ve discovered a tree in the south garden that people won’t notice us practicing at. Get out of my room and the basement.”

“Maki, could you not play with Kaito’s dildo when you talk to us?” Shuichi asked dryly, watching Maki idly pick up the smallest of the dildos and idly twirling it around her hand, likely just keeping her hand busy as she thought about her knives, like how she’d play with them idly. “It’s incredibly surreal to watch.”

“I’m about to bring those to my shrine anyway. Do you guys think I could find a chest anywhere? Then I’d have a sex-chest.” Kaito said, lighting up at that, “At least for the stuff I got for Shuichi. I somehow get the feeling we’ll never use them if I keep them here.”

“But you feel good about your chances in the shrine, huh?” Shuichi asked, sounding amused.

Kaito grinned, “We have to show respect to my whore god somehow, Shuichi.”

Kokichi snorted softly, but didn’t take the bait. It always drained him more than made anything fun. Anxiety sucked. You just had to find ways to manage it as best you could, and safely ride out everything you couldn’t help. So you didn’t end up doing things like staying up for days on end or taking a nine-year-old and a puppy through a snowstorm.

Perking, Kokichi gave Maki a nod. “Yeah, that sounds great! It’s been such nice weather lately, it’ll be nice to enjoy it while practicing. I dunno if it’d necessarily level up what we’re doing, but it’ll be interesting to practice in a new environment anyway.”

Honestly, Kokichi had just…not really noticed Maki playing with one of the dildos. Not that he hadn’t noticed Maki messing with something, but just that he didn’t put any focus into it. And when Shuuichi did, Kokichi could only flush and rub the back of his neck awkwardly. 

Giving Kaito a shrug, he hummed, “I mean, it’s a way to keep ‘em tidy. You already have containers for snacks and first aid in there too, right?”

“Yeah, but I wanna proper chest for these. Like, a treasure chest! For treasure!”

“Let’s ask the kitchen staff, they might be aware of where to find extra containers,” Maki said, tossing the dildo back into the bag before standing up, stretching, “Though, if you’re looking for something fancy, you’re probably out of luck. Maybe a small wooden chest.”

“You think so?” Kaito asked curiously, kissing his fingers before rubbing them over Miyako’s forehead, before heading back to the bed and collecting the appropriate items. He’d leave the Kokichi stuff here, they’d tuck it away in the closet. Same as Kaito doubted he’d get Shuichi to play with the dildos in their bedroom, he was confident he couldn’t get Kokichi to play with his new items out of the bedroom. It was all just knowing his partners habits. 

Bagging up the items, Kaito considered it before grabbing a pillow case and putting the bags in the pillow case, tying it closed. “Let’s drop these off in my shrine, and then go chest hunting! Come on, Maki-roll, we’re on a mission!”

“Are you even going to ask Kokichi if he’s up to taking next shift?” Shuichi asked.

“Oh, I kinda assumed neither of you were going anywhere for a bit. Uh, Kokichi, you going anywhere?” Kaito asked, his bag of goodies over his shoulder.

“You might be able to find a cool chest at a furniture shop, or getting it commissioned,” Kokichi hummed. Though, seeing that it was ‘clean-up time’, he shimmied off the bed and started gathering up the cat costume, figuring he could just keep all the items in the bag for the time being. He could think about a more permanent storage solution later. 

So, costume, Kaito already put his clothes in the laundry…oh!

Humming, Kokichi grabbed the other pastry they had grabbed for Maki, a honey sesame bun, and handed it over to her with a smile. Though, he gave Kaito an amused look for his assumption. “Nah, I’m sticking around--and taking next shift. Shuu-chan and Maki-chan were real nice to take over for this morning and afternoon, so I’m more than happy to do my part now. Miya seems like she’s happy chillin’ out right now anyway.”

“You two have fun,” he laughed softly, waving his friends off as he headed to the closet. “I’ll see ya later. We doin’ dinner?”

Maki easily took the bread, popping it immediately into her mouth and nodding at Kokichi’s question as she went to grab the door with her mouth full of bread. Shuichi, remembering his mango bread, went hunting for that as Kaito called back, “Course, we should go downstairs for it as a group today, I’m sure some of yours will wanna know how today went, “Kichi. Anyway, I’m not gonna be all day, I’ll be back. Love you guys!”

“B’uye, ‘aito.” Shuichi said through his own mouthful of bread, giving Kaito and Maki a wave before relaxing into the bed. “‘Uddle?” he asked asked Kokichi, opening his arms to invite Kokichi in.

“Love you!”

…right, uh, his… As much time as Kokichi put in to spending more time with his family…er…he hadn’t exactly told anyone but Ikuo, and by extension Lake when Kaito had talked about it that night they all got drunk together, about how he and Kaito had actually met. It was truly okay now, but…Kokichi still felt like everything from those first few days were supposed to be a secret. There wasn’t anything anyone could really do right now if he talked about how Tim had poisoned Kaito and Kaito had gone on a rampage…but that initial feeling of the treaty talks being immediately called off still stayed his tongue.

He should probably tell them. Someday. 

Placing the cat costume behind some boxes in their closet, Kokichi checked in on Miya sleeping peacefully away before grinning over at Shuuichi, speeding over to the bed. “Absolutely!” he chirped, immediately cuddling into Shuuichi’s arms. 

Putting an arm around his fiance’s waist, Kokichi sighed happily. “...thanks for holding down the fort for us today. It was really nice. Though I’m kind of excited now for my and Shuu-chan or Shuu-chan and Kai-chan taking day dates together.”

“We should do it soon.” Shuichi agreed, pressing close to Kokichi as he rested his arm around his shoulders and down his chest, holding him loosely as Kokichi laid against him, “Where would we go on a date though… have we?” Shuichi realized looking a little genuinely uncertain. “Ever actually gone on a date?”

Shuichi asked, but he was also trying genuinely to recall. Certainly they must have, at least once…

“Not just the two of us,” Kokichi hummed, closing his eyes as he took in Shuuichi’s warmth and scent. “We don’t really head out into town by ourselves that often… Mostly it was just us walking back home after your classes. You might make an argument that some of the times we stopped at restaurants together could be dates but…I’m kinda of the camp that you have to intend for it to be a date for it to be a date.”

Opening his eyes, Kokichi gave Shuuichi a curious look. “Where would you wanna go, for a date? Or do, if we wanna do an at-home one? Kai-chan and I went to a steakhouse once that I think you’d like too, even if you don’t verbally yearn for like, steak ‘n stuff like Kai-chan does.”

“...” Shuichi ran the tips of his fingers up and down Kokichi’s chest, thinking, “...I’d like to do something you and Kaito haven’t done. Something that’s just us.”

He said that, but he had no real ideas to offer yet. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine something they could do together. And when his imagination, predictably, failed to produce anything immediately, he switched to analyzing the data he already had. 

Kaito and Kokichi had already done [Aquarium + Steakhouse + Casual City Walk + Hot Tub + Club (- points for retroactive terrible danger) + moving pictures + other dance club + third dance club= Food, dancing and water not particularly original options. Take that and subtract it from things both Shuichi and Kokichi historically like? Classes + Art (- Shuichi’s realism limitations) + Food (Desserts and sweets that Kaito would be adverse too) + Music (- Dancing from Shuichi’s end) (+ Similar unusual music tastes) =...

Shuichi blinked, “Maybe we could find those squid musicians and see where they’re playing? Have a date there? Listen to some music and have a few pastries.”

“Yeah,” Kokichi said softly. “I don’t really feel like those things are…like, off limits? But I’d like to find stuff that’s just…all us.”

And it wasn’t like they were hurting for options. Despite all he and Kaito had done, there was still just…so much to do in the city. And it seemed that Shuuichi was already thinking of some. 

Kokichi’s eyes widened in excitement. “Ooooh, that sounds great! I did want to see what gigs they have coming up… If we end up going to one at the Neptune, there is food there, but it’s mostly, like, bar food? So we might wanna scope out a cool bakery to stop at beforehand and bring our own food…oooo that’s exciting!”

Nuzzling against Shuuichi’s chest, Kokichi let out a more subdued hum. “...I know you’re not all that into drinking, but… Amber told me about some of the vineyards in the area? There’s one that’s also a burial ground and cultivates mushrooms too that I was kinda interested in checking out. And I know Kai-chan would hate it the whole time. Would…that be something you’d wanna do?”

“...and Kai-chan and I have talked about it, but…we can have dream dates too,” Kokichi murmured softly. “He took me to this really beautiful lagoon, once, though it wasn’t exactly a date. And like that cafe you took me too…if you’re up for it, I’d love to do more stuff like that.”

“I don’t terribly mind drinking, it just… makes me sleepy.” Shuichi yawned, nuzzling into the pillows, tracing the tips of his fingers up and down his fiance, “And I usually only drink with Maki or Kaito, even back in Luminary. Just a little drink, then a little nap… I feel like all I’ve proven is yes, I’m not a big drinker.”

“But,” Shuichi mused, glancing down to Kokichi and raising his eyebrows, “A burial ground mushroom vineyard? That sounds… sort of eerie. I kind of love it. And you’re right, Kaito would be miserable there. I’d be more than intrigued.”

“And dream dates… those are always fascinating.” Shuichi admitted, looking at the ceiling now, “I can’t recall taking you to a cafe, I have to assume that was before I was remembering your visits. But I can imagine, if I were to choose a cafe in Luminary to take you, which one we’d have gone too. There was this one, just outside the castle front gate, that I loved to visit because it was calm and peaceful and pretty, close to home… I bet it was that one I took you too.”

“... a lagoon?” Shuichi asked, sounding genuinely curious, “I am certain Kaito’s never been to a lagoon. You two visited a memory of a lagoon?”

Kokichi nodded, kissing at Shuuichi’s shoulder. “I mean…I was planning, whenever and however I’d visit I’d bring back a bottle, just for the novelty. But I don’t think I’d drink much, even if it’s just wine. I just think the idea is pretty cool. Learning about the history and how they care for the fields and process wine and just…being in the atmosphere.” 

Which were just the vibes Kokichi thought Shuuichi might like too, and it seems he was right on the money. 

Looking up in surprise, Kokichi’s eyebrows knitted a little, though…he figured he wasn’t that concerned. “Oh…I was talking to you-you for that one… It was one of the times I visited to try and explain everything--you made up some meat pies for us to try while we talked. But…I guess even if it is your surface consciousness, it’s still hard to retain everything as ‘not a dream’.”

Kokichi paused, blinking. “...is that why Kai-chan says I nibble in my sleep?! ‘Cause of imagination food? Uuuugh…”

Well…it didn’t seem to be much of an actual problem. Just a little embarrassing for Kaito to watch what his body decided to mirror. 

Sighing, Kokichi cuddled back against Shuuichi. “Not a memory. You know Kai-chan has an incredible imagination--when you apply all that visualization into what’s essentially a lucid dream? Any place Kai-chan can imagine, he can take us to. I just…stabilize it a little. Fill the cracks that a wandering mind might not be able to normally focus on.”

“...in actuality, I could make places for us to go too, but that requires exerting influence over your minds and…I’d rather not do that unless I have to,” Kokichi shrugged, giving Shuuichi a small smile.

“Did we?” Shuichi asked, looking genuinely surprised. “Oh… I’m sorry. Maybe the memory will come back to me.”

Frowning at having lost that memory– and while Shuichi did remember, he believed, all the following visits Kokichi had done for him, this one specifically was still alluding him, even as Kokichi reminded him of the specifics– Shuichi hummed slightly in response to Kokichi’s explanation of Kaito just… making places up to visit. Fascinating… 

“Perhaps you and I can plan out where we’ll visit before you stop by to visit?” Shuichi offered, tapping lightly at Kokichi’s back now, the smaller man slooooowly inching closer and closer to just being on top of Shuichi. “Have a goal and a place in mind. That way we won’t have to rely strictly on my imagination. We could maybe look at a travel book and pick some places? Read up on it till I have a good idea of what it might be like?”

It wasn’t…really like Shuuichi to forget anything he had actually experienced. The only things Kokichi knew off hand Shuuichi forgot were because of trauma and…well, he wouldn’t say that talk had gone especially well, but he didn’t think it was anything traumatic. He really hoped not…

But the mind was a confusing and complex thing. Maybe it would just come back to Shuuichi later. 

Humming happily at the back taps, Kokichi laughed softly. “That sounds like half the fun already! Date part one; research. Ooooh, that would be so much fun! I’ve always loved imagining what other places might be like…and then actually getting to walk around your best guess? I can’t wait!”

Quiet for a moment, Kokichi nosed against Shuuichi’s neck. He couldn’t actually take a nap, not when he was on Miya duty and not right by the alarm, but he could rest. Just soak in the lazy ambiance of lying in bed with his fiance. 

“...there was one person I dream hopped to, when I was little. Alter Ego and I found the memory when we were looking for certain things… Even now, I have…no clue where that person was from. Nothing about the architecture or their clothing I have any sort of beat on. It’s…kind of incredible that, in a way, the world is at my fingertips…even if there are places I’ll never be able to see with my own eyes.”

“I feel like this is something I’d just imagine Kaito saying, but…” Shuichi rested his hands on Kokichi’s back, holding him close to himself, resting his chin on the top of Kokichi’s head, “If anyone deserved it? It’s you. Your childhood was needlessly stifled. And you're someone with a fascination for the beautiful things in the world… if the world gave you the ability to go anywhere? To be anything? In the same year that you felt truly comfortable to walk openly out your front door?”

“Then it’s simply fitting.” Shuichi sighed, closing his eyes, feeling the clawing itch of a nap coming over him, “The universe correcting itself.”

Kokichi closed his eyes, smiling against Shuuichi’s shirt, and, for a moment, he held Shuuichi tighter. Not in anxiety or tenseness, but just…in gratitude, he supposed. For such a sweet sentiment. 

“That’s very poetic. I feel like you guys give me too much credit sometimes but…I like that one.”

“...one of the most beautiful things about being an Empath, I’ve found, is being able to share memories with people,” Kokichi said softly, gently rubbing Shuuichi’s side. “Of course I would love to be able to form my own impressions of things, of places, but…there’s a reason I haven’t planned any vacations on my own, other than, yanno, it’d be a dick move when we have a baby at home.”

Kokichi chuckled softly. “I love seeing places as other people see them. Sharing those impressions. I might not be able to get mine, but…being an Empath lets me see other people’s at the most clear, intimate level. And…I love that. I love seeing a place, and feeling the peace, or sense of home, or busy energy…it’s beautiful.”

“Miyako will only be young for a while. She won’t keep us from traveling forever, and I have no doubt that as she gets older you all will be more and more tempted to show her the world.” Shuichi murmured sleepily, “And as you’ve said yourself… being an Ouma is important, but it’s not the end all, be all of the system. I’m sure you will get to travel yourself, if you want too. The castle will survive without you while you’re gone.”

“But seeing the world from others perspectives? That does sound nice.” Shuichi said softly, “I hope you’ll share the memories you collect with me. I’ve never enjoyed traveling, but… that sounds like a more than reasonable substitute.”

“...I know what it seems like,” Shuichi whispered, on the verge of sleep, “But I’m actually wide awake right now.”

“I can’t wait… She might enjoy home most of all, but…I hope she finds the world beautiful and fascinating,” Kokichi murmured. “When we can start traveling with her…it’s going to be so much fun.”

He hoped, anyway. But there would always be more ways for their daughter to explore too. 

Rubbing Shuuichi’s lower back, Kokichi smiled against his sleepy lover, making his voice even more subdued. “It’d be my pleasure… Even another person’s take is more fun shared.”

“...yeah, okay,” he smiled, deciding not to call Shuuichi out and tempt his fiance into staying up out of spite. “I believe you.”

“That’s good,” Shuichi murmured, taking a deeper breath, his eyes fluttering slightly behind his closed eyelids, “Just wanted to make certain you knew. Didn’t want you waiting around, thinking I was going to…”

Whatever Shuichi was trying to reassure Kokichi of, it faded with his next breath. Shuichi out like a light.

More successful than he had been earlier at stifling his laughs, Kokichi silently snickered, reaching over to pull up one of the light summer blankets on their bed. He had to be awake for Miya, but…even with Shuuichi asleep, this was still nice. 

…one year, huh? 

And despite all that happened…Kokichi wouldn’t have it any other way.

-

Kokichi had asked Maki over knife throwing lessons– to which he honestly was actually notably getting better–if she would mind helping him out with a… play date problem.

“If you mean Timothy, if you heard from Kaito we’re going to the pond tomorrow, you heard right. I plan to make a bit of a day about it.” Maki shrugged, going to collect the knives Kokichi had thrown, all but one sticking this time. He was improving… she’d have to start challenging him in new ways soon… “The mentors are coming as well, along with the girls. If you’d like to try bringing Miyako, you and the boys are of course welcome to come along.”

Kokichi waited patiently at his spot, as was their arrangement, quite happy with this round though it didn’t keep the mildly surprised look off his face. “Oh, that sounds like fun, thanks Maki-chan. If she’s in a good mood, we might try for it. But…uh, that’s not what I’m asking about.”

A little sheepishly, Kokichi rubbed the back of his neck, smooth and moisturized from the generous amount of sunscreen he’d made sure to lather up with before their lesson. “I mentioned it kind of offhand once, but…the, uh…little memory helper I made has been asking me about setting something up so he can visit you. And…I was wondering if that’d be something you’d wanna do, some night.”

“It does take up sleeping time, so I wouldn’t recommend it the night before we’re doing anything that’ll take a lot of attention, but…” He shrugged a bit with a small grin. “I think my mentor would like to come along and meet you more properly too, if that’s alright.”

Pulling the last knife out from the plank of wood leaned against the tree, Maki’s eyes glanced around the dense area in the southern garden they were hiding away in– in truth, Maki didn’t know if these lessons were still secret or not. Not from Kokichi’s family or from the great public. She vaguely remembered a conversation where Kokichi had wanted to keep his abilities to defend himself under wraps, which she approved of, but she didn’t know if that translated to being wary if, say, Aiichi or Lake walked by.

So, for now, she was just airing on the side of caution, keeping a frequent eye behind them before offering Kokichi the knives again, “Ah, I recall you mentioning this before… it’s still very stupid. You’re aware of that, right? It’s like a part of you wants to hang out with me, but we’re literally hanging out right now.”

Stepping behind Kokichi, Maki considered the plank, and how Kokichi was getting better at landing the shots… “I’ll make you a deal.” She said, tucking her hair behind her ears, “You get the next five in the board? We can stop lessons early and do this playdate now. You need to practice doing mind jumps while awake anyway, from what I hear. Trade one training for another.”

Kokichi sighed through a chuckle. “I know. And I know that getting attached to constructs can be really dangerous, but…I dunno. It’s not like I’d keep asking forever if you said no, and…I mean, I do like hanging out with you!”

In all honesty, he’d had even more conflicting feelings about indulging Chibi Kaito after meeting Miku and Amaina. On one hand…it was nice to see another person with such a friendly personal relationship with their construct. And the fact that both Amaina and Chibi Kaito were both partially another person…it felt nice, having that living memory of a dear friend living with you. 

On the other…he really didn’t agree with just letting Amaina wander through people’s heads for fun, regardless of what Miku’s views on the practice was. The fact that she made certain compromises with it to keep Amaina from getting restless was…concerning. Not quite for Miku’s behavior but…seeing what getting too attached to a construct could mean, when you stopped treating them like they weren’t a part of you. 

Maybe asking for the playdate was another step on that slippery slope. But…at least for now, Kokichi didn’t see there being any harm in it, if Maki was on board. 

…and it could serve as good practice with someone he trusted. 

Raising his eyebrows slightly, Kokichi smiled. “I’ll have to do my best, then. …I dunno if my mentor will have time in the middle of the day, but…I can ask at least.”

“...given that I make these,” he smirked, taking the first knife from Maki. 

“They’re a mind cat. What could they possibly be busy with?” Maki asked, genuinely curious. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she said, “Your technique is solid, now. Repetition will only improve it, but if I had to give a correction? I’d advise you to now focus more on the strength of your throw. Remember, for anything physical, it’s technique first, strength second, and then you can start to get fancy with it. Learn the basics, push yourself on those basics, and then we can have fun with it.”

It was a speech Kokichi was familiar with, but only because Maki was in the habit of giving it regularly now, after training Tim so long. Her kid, especially at the encouragement of his friends, needing reminding of why Maki made him practice the same basic steps over and over and over again, instead of teaching him, as Cali would put it, ‘sick roof dropping throwing tricks’.

You show off to a group of nine/ten years olds one time and suddenly they all want to jump off roofs.

“Well…” Kokichi trailed off, his voice high. Considering the brief few interactions his mentor had had with his family, Kokichi understood that it could just be that Alter Ego hadn’t gotten around to telling the complex story about who they were, but…also it was entirely Alter Ego’s story to tell, entangled with Hiro’s safety. Kokichi didn’t think his friends would start off on a trip across the entirety of Luminary, or use any connections they had to learn about Hiro, but…remaining anonymous, or as just a mind cat in their eyes was…probably safest.

Sighing a little, Kokichi shook his head. “It’s complicated. But one of the easier answers is that…my mentor is really active in the community, learning what people have discovered. They’ve been really at it, trying to get enough knowledge to help me with my weirdness, and then to figure out stuff for Miya. I’m really grateful, for all they’ve done…”

Again, Kokichi shook his head, clearing his mind for the second dagger. The first one had landed, easy enough, but…it wasn’t dependent on one. Just the next one, always. 

“Just like drawing,” he hummed, taking in Maki’s advice. “Right…alright.”

Focus more on strength…but don’t forget everything he’s learned and honed. That was the foundation of everything.

Two daggers in.

“Good,” Maki encouraged, watching the knife embed itself into the wooden plank with a splintering crack. It wasn’t that far off from the last one either, which Maki considered a good sign. It meant that Kokichi’s aim wasn’t entirely random down to the smaller details, he was refining the movement. Someday he’d be able to put the knife wherever he desired, so long as conditions were stable enough.

Maki knew Kokichi did this training purely for exercise and the fun of learning the skill, but she couldn’t help but imagine how he could utilize it in the practical sense. Knives scared people. Perhaps even unreasonably so, people hardened to dangerous lifestyles unflinching in the face of a bolt or a bludgeoning weapon or fists that intended to follow through… but a knife? Maki had been trained to intimidate people with knives over every other possible weapon, because knives were pathologically intimidating. Perhaps because they didn’t promise a quick end to the fight. 

Maki had told Kokichi that with knife throwing it was actually difficult to kill people, even by accident. That it was the same for most blade injuries. What she didn’t explain was that for fighters, that could be a bad thing. That a fight with immediate repercussions at least meant the suffering wouldn’t linger. A knife in skilled hands just meant that a person had options, for how long the fight was going to go, assuming you could successfully disable your opponents more deadly weapons.

Kokichi would never use a knife to torture someone. Maki doubted Kokichi would ever use a knife, period, no matter how she trained him. But the important part was that if someone saw him throw one, with accuracy and ease? 

They wouldn’t have any reason to know he wouldn’t. And that could give Kokichi an advantage in a fight, if only as a delay tactic or an extremely solid bluff. 

“...did you catch any of that?” Maki asked, more curious than anything else. 

Breathing slow and steady, Kokichi took the next knife and repeated the steps. The torque from his core, the agile direction his wrists could provide, the shifting of his weight between his stanced feet. He usually just used the motion of his arm in the top-facing arc to do most of the work, but now he focused on putting more energy and strength into his bicep, working even more alongside his drawing comparisons as he worked more on putting his whole arm into the motion. 

Eeugh. Well, it was still in the plank, but way more to the right. He still needed more work putting everything together. 

Taking the fourth dagger, he looked back at Maki with a blink before smiling slightly. “Not really. More intense emotions are…like things I can’t really stop myself from noticing, but idle thoughts for the most part…”

He shrugged before taking a moment to focus. Ahhh, good. Back in the cluster. 

“Now that I know what I’m doing, I read those by accident way less. I mean…” He gave her a small shrug. “I feel just, like, normal Maki-chan stuff from you right now. Paying attention and thinking ahead, working through worst-case scenarios ‘cause…you care. And you know how bad those scenarios can be.”

Pausing for a moment, really thinking about the sort of ambient things he felt from his sister, Kokichi hummed softly. “...you’re thinking about the purpose and uses of me learning to throw knives, right?”

Maki nodded, curiosity sated, “Mmhm. My mind was on one track long enough that I thought it might be a good way to gauge how much you just pick up regularly. That’s good that it came out even as clear as that, honestly. I’ve put some thought into what emotional based telepathy might be like, and I’m less than pleased at the idea that you’d only notice if someone had violent intentions because that’s how they were feeling.”

Maki glanced down at Kokichi, reaching over a giving him a small squeeze on his shoulder as she said, “Maybe don’t share this with Shuichi, as I know how much your abilities comfort him. Shuichi has been far more relaxed about everything since he discovered what you could do, danger-wise, and frankly he’s sort of useless when he’s worried anyway. Good at deductions, but working through fear is not his strong suit, not without assistance.”

“But, all of that said? It’s important, I believe, to recognize the limitations of what you can do. That way you won’t be blind-sided in the future.” Maki said, squeezing Kokichi’s shoulder some more, as she admitted idly, “And this, just so you’re aware, is me just gathering information to better help and protect you in the future.”

And before giving Kokichi his next blade, she squeezed–

Kokichi gave Maki a slightly dry look. “I know I, personally, don’t have the best track record, but I don’t think that’s the best way to look at it, Maki-chan. I’m not just…wholly relying on my abilities, and closing my eyes to everything else. It’s just more information I can use. It’s less I’m gonna just skip along when someone’s stalking me ‘cause they don’t feel anything--it’s more I have the ability to…vibecheck, I guess, when someone’s not violent, but they’re thinking about it.”

Which was more than a lot of people got, honestly. It was a good tool, and Kokichi was glad Shuuichi found solace in it. He didn’t think it was exactly the safest practice for his fiance to wholly rely on if Kokichi could pick something up, but…well, he’d been worried about his friends’ paranoia since he met them. If believing in one more failsafe let Shuuichi relax, the Kokichi would take it. 

But Maki wasn’t so trusting. 

It wasn’t like a ping or anything. As the point was, there wasn’t really any normal emotional warning Kokichi got. No sudden emotional aggression or determination or anger or…anything. Just calm. 

But Kokichi wasn’t just relying on his abilities, and while there weren’t any emotional red flags, what Maki was saying could very well be the damn Luminary flag. 

“Hey, Maki-chan-!!”

Kokichi quickly shifted his weight back, trying to guess and follow how her hand was squeezing--and tugging--him. He wasn’t strong enough to counter however the hell Maki wanted to throw him around so…better to follow. If he was quick enough, and she didn’t do anything else he might be able to…fuck, go back in a somersault or something.

“Hm.” Maki hummed, noting Kokichi’s sudden alarm and the shifting of his body. She eased her hand, the test easily enough fulfilled by that. “What brought that on? Did you know I was going to hurt you, or just guess?”

Kokichi stumbled back as the pressure was suddenly gone, now just off balance himself, and he gave Maki a dry look. “Couldn’t even wait until I was done with the last dagger, huh? You know, if you didn’t want to do the other stuff, you could just tell me.”

Sighing, Kokichi’s look somehow became even drier. “...Maki-chan. I love you, but you literally said this was gathering information--pertaining to the fact we were literally just talking about my ability to perceive threatening intent. I don’t have to be an Empath to see that warning sign.”

Maki raised an eyebrow, smirking a little, “Entirely context clues then. Are you sure you want to make that your answer? It only incentivises me to not warn you, next time.”

“And I still want to see you finish throwing daggers. You only have two left, and practicing after being distracted is a vital form of practice. Of course you don’t have too,” Maki admitted, shrugging, “I can never make you do anything, your grace. It’s entirely up to you if you’re fed up.”

Kokichi nudged her arm a little. “And lying to you won’t make you feel any better about being able to know I’m safe. Just avoid the stairs for sneak attacks, for me? I’ve had enough of falling on them for a long time.”

It was very faint, but he’d still gotten a scar on his knee from his breakdown almost a month ago. He’d noticed Kaito starting to kiss it when he got affectionate on his legs. 

Sticking his tongue out at Maki, Kokichi huffed and got back into position, rolling his shoulders once to focus again. Taking the dagger--torque, wrists, bicep, arc. 

A satisfying thunk, right by the others.

“Very good.” Maki said genuinely, nodding. And she meant it. There had been a version of Kokichi not that long ago who would have given up at the first sign of push-back, his pride sending him huffing away. Being able to complete a task while upset was valuable. Though, it likely helped that Kokichi didn’t actually seem all that upset by her push-back, this time.

“I will try to test it properly at some point, just so you’re aware,” Maki said, giving Kokichi a surprisingly soft look from the corner of her eyes, though Kokichi likely couldn’t see it, “I know I’m not an empath, and my ability to help you is limited because of that. Honestly, I can only guess at some of the pitfalls you might face with your abilities in the future, or how you might be able to utilize them to help yourself… but I can’t really bring myself to ignore it either, just because I’m not knowledgeable on it.”

“I have a theory,” she said, looking back at the plank, “About Drake. And I don’t want for you what I believe has happened to him.”

“I don’t know how valid the theory is, but Drake gets himself injured on a daily basis, usually in egregious ways. He’s constantly injured, and badly.” Maki mused, passing Kokichi another knife, “... do you know why it’s easier to beat nobles in fights than it is to beat a random peasant, even if one has formal fighting training and the other doesn’t? It’s because they rely on tools that, in theory, are supposed to protect them, but in practice, don’t. They swing a sword in careful, practiced motions, for years, and go into a fight knowing their footing, knowing their wrists, and knowing the names of all the positions… and then their heart starts to thump and the hearing starts to whistle  and the very first true blow against them overwhelms their minds. And all the advantages they have become detrimental muscle memory. They can’t adapt to a new style of movement or to their bodies limitations or… and any real attempts to let them learn these things are usually worthless, as the safety measures they put in place to protect them ruins their endurance training.”

Maki sighed, shaking her head, “My point is, Drake has an advanced healing capacity and clairvoyance. He has tools and training that others don’t, and hes come to rely on them too much. Injuries have less long term consequences for him, so he learns to protect himself less. Clairvoyance becomes an additional sense for him, one that blinds him to the dangers right in front of him. These things make his ability to adapt become more and more inflexible. He can protect himself, I know this because of his background. But I would bet good coin and several laps around the castle that he was only accident prone decades after being turned. And that was because the weaknesses of him learning to use his abilities were never factored into how he initially practiced using them, and in practical, day to day situations, became painfully mis-used muscle memory.”

“I don’t want that for you.” Maki explained, “And I’m glad for how you think about it already, as simply one more tool in an arsenal of others. But you also have to be aware of how the expertise and use of that tool can be a weakness for you. You have to learn its shortcomings, preferably before someone like me comes to take advantage of them.”

“Hey, I’ll take the heads-up. But…that doesn’t mean I’m gonna be sneaking around every corner, you know?” Kokichi said softly, taking the last knife. “I can’t live like that. Maybe some people can, maybe it really is the safest way to live, but…I’ve lived distrusting everyone around me before. And all it led to was the most miserable years of my life, and me hurting myself more than anyone even tried to. If we want an accurate example of me being able to defend myself from a surprise attack, then…I’m just gonna live as I’ll live. And we’ll see if I still can.”

Preparing for his last throw, Kokichi listened to Maki’s theory. And it made sense, something that Kokichi could figure from his own common sense, even if Maki could provide actual examples and explanations. Learning by the book was a good way to learn the basics of a new skill but…there was a reason they said experience was the best teacher. Even with equal access, not everyone would follow the book, and not everyone would play by arbitrary, or even agreed upon rules. 

Learning the reasons would, ideally, give you the best directions to adapt to, but that core skill was…well, core. At the center of everything. 

Kokichi couldn’t say if that was the case for Drake. The man had always seemed embarrassed or annoyed by his injuries, if he was thinking about them at all. He probably had his own story, but Maki’s theory really wasn’t out of nowhere. 

Thonk!

Kokichi turned his back to the cluster of four knives in the plank, with another a bit to the right, giving Maki a soft look. “You know I always appreciate you looking out for me. For all of us. So…thanks. I’m still learning my gaps, and my limits too…but I know Maki-chan will pull me back if I start getting too cocky with what I can do.”

Maki gave an approving look at the latest knife, patting Kokichi’s shoulder as she said, “Come on, take them out of the wood with me. I want you to see how much they’re lodged in.”

Would knowing improve Kokichi’s skills in any way, shape, or form? …no. But Maki had always thought there was something extremely validating, in seeing how much effort it took to dig the knife back out. A physical proof of the strength one had put into the throw. 

“Do one at a time, and see how I pull it out?” Maki said, showing Kokichi how she gripped it, the potential swing away from herself, “If it comes off easier then you expect, that way you don’t accidentally knick yourself. Always be aware of where the blade will go based on how you’re holding it, and you’ll never have to be afraid of it. And once we clean this up?” Maki said, pulling the first knife out, before stepping back to let Kokichi do it himself, “You can take me where you’re the expert. And you’ll keep me safe there. I trust you.”

Kokichi jogged over to the plank, standing by the side for a moment as he observed Maki pulling the knife out. It was a rule for all blades, never cut towards yourself, but it only became more pressing advice the sharper the blade was. And the more force you had to apply to it. 

Nodding slightly, Kokichi gripped one of the daggers, making sure there would have to be some real funky stuff for it to swing at him from that angle, and he tugged, making sure the blade was pointing away from his body. And…Kokichi blinked, smiling. …it hadn’t come away with the barest tug. 

With a little more effort, he got to work pulling out the daggers. 

Though, he couldn’t help a little snort before giving Maki a sheepish look. “I really value that trust, Maki-chan, and I’ll always do whatever I can to keep you safe in the mindscape, but… If I’m being honest? I don’t think there’s literally anything I can do that would be able to put you in danger, at least directly.”

Smiling a little more cheekily, Kokichi set the daggers down to start putting them back away in the little carrying bag Maki had gotten for him. “Like…please don’t make fun of them, but I know my mentor was scared shitless the first time they visited you. You’re an imposing figure, to people like us.”

Maki sighed, taking the knives from Kokichi as he set them down for her, cleaning them off briefly before securing them in his carrying bag, “That’s always where the danger is, so far. You have to remember, Kokichi. Whatever it is you all see in there? I’m not conscious of it. If there’s something powerful and dangerous in my mind? I’m not… controlling it, and I may be just one more thing it’s devouring.”

Once the knives were put away, Maki picked up the plan and, for now, just set it aside, glancing up at the sun before settling down by the tree, patting the space beside her in the shade of its leaves, “A dragon might be a powerful, overwhelming mental force. And maybe someday that will make me powerful. But for now? Don’t mistake my calm as being in control of the situation: I don’t know what’s happening. The only thing I know is that the danger is in the people around me assuming I do. That because the dragon knows what is going on, so do I. I don’t. I feel very helpless to this situation, honestly.”

Maki shrugged at that, letting the wind blowing through the trees cool her as she stared as the dense bushery, hiding them away from prying eyes. “I don’t really know what to do.”

Kokichi sighed softly and sat down next to Maki, realizing his mistake. The dragon was Maki…but also not. Also sort of…a rogue part of her mind that could hurt her badly. It probably wouldn’t…but it could. 

“Sorry,” he murmured. “You’re right… But I still stand by what I said. I’ll protect you while we’re…like that.”

Taking a deep breath, Kokichi sent a non-urgent request by intent to his mentor. Asking if now would be a good time to more properly meet Maki, as they were going to be experimenting with the mindscape a bit. 

But in the physical world, he gently took his sister’s hand, squeezing it softly before giving her her space again. “You seemed to have some trouble when I came by when you were awake before. I won’t say it’d be best if you fell asleep, but closing your eyes might take off some of the more jarring sensations.”

“Then…well, I’d say don’t try to fight me, but,” Kokichi snorted, shrugging a little. “It’s easier said than done. I’ll give it a shot, trying to be less intrusive so it’s more comfortable for you but…I’m not going to force you into anything. I’ll back off if you don’t want me there.”

“But for now…just try to relax.”

And taking a deep breath himself, Kokichi…let himself zone out a little, trying to keep his eyes open this time. Be less of an essentially asleep liability while he was doing this. And he reached out, Maki’s mind familiar and very easy to pick out. 

Maki squeezed his hand back, momentarily, before putting her hands against her skirt, the comforting weight of her own knives there as she stared out into the bushery. She’d rather learn to juggle, not wanting to leave Kokichi defenseless out here, but… well, there wasn’t an urgent reason to keep watch, right now. Sure, they were protecting his secret, but… well, if someone saw him with knives and had a comment, Maki could be her other purpose in this friendship: She could be his backup, there to enforce what he decided would happen next.

So, giving one more cautious glance around, Maki settled back into the tree, bracing her arm slightly against Kokichi. 

Go far away in your mind… sometimes it is better to be nowhere. To be nothing. Your body is a distant thing. Your surroundings are no longer your responsibility. Just for now. Just for a moment. Be less than you are. Be small. Be invisible. Be empty.

Be nothing, precious girl.

You cannot hurt nothing.

Maki felt herself go far away…

-

The mountain stirred, briefly. 

Massive, red eyes opened seemingly from the rocks parting, the air shifting into a gail as the ground rumbled from its movements. The Dragon, briefly, lifted its head. She stared down at Kokichi, gaze impassive. Her breath was warm, filling the air with heat in deep, steady breaths.

The Dragon remembered Kokichi was coming to visit. Her gaze was calm. Searching. 

{...Kokichi’s (friend [brother <hoard>]) presence is accepted. The cat is accepted. The ridiculous little creature you plan to bring with you is accepted.}

{Little Wisdom… (friend/brother/hoard)}

{Miyako (duty [Quest <Everything>]) remains guarded.}

{Be kind to my small flame. I will protect her (me [us]) if she calls.}

The Dragon did not ask Kokichi if he understood. She had spoken clearly. Instead, she huffed out a warm breath, closing her eyes as her chest rumbled. She closed her eyes, and the mountain stilled.

And just like that, the lobby was gone, and Kokichi found himself with access to the rest of Maki’s mind. Maki tucked away inside.

“Seeing her move is never not the scariest thing I can possibly imagine.” Alter Ego shuddered from beside Kokichi’s leg, “I’ve seen it a few times now and it still makes me feel like I’m going to wet myself. I don’t even have a physical body like that. It’d literally just be me involuntarily embarrassing myself visually out of sheer terror.”

Kokichi looked up at the dragon, smiling slightly at the acceptance he felt. She was Maki…but also not. And Kokichi wouldn’t dream of crossing either of them. All the hopes and promises Kokichi had for Maki--her protection, giving the world around her a structure she could relax in, wanting nothing but happiness in the long, many days ahead--well…they were for the dragon too. Because she was Maki…but also because she was her. 

And her protecting his daughter was nothing to sneeze at either. 

Giving a brief moment of gratitude back, before the dragon let them in…huh. It wasn’t the first time someone had called him “wisdom”... He didn’t get the impression it was just a compliment or observation. He wondered why…

Snorting softly, Kokichi lowered himself for Alter Ego to perch in his arms or on his shoulders. “She’s really something, huh. Maybe I’m just…kind of numbed out by her agreement? But seeing the dragon…I can understand some of Maki-chan’s worry. Buuuut that seems a bit much for an introductory visit.”

Laughing slightly, Kokichi felt out for Maki’s surface consciousness a little…surprised to find her in a…void? And it wasn’t like a physical form of her, real. Just a more condensed feeling that he could recognize as her surface. 

In the physical world, Kokichi blinked slowly, looking over Maki’s still form. 

“Uhhh…Maki-chan? We’re here to visit.”

Outside, Maki didn’t stir.

Inside, there was a small echo.

“Maki-chan  Maki-chan Maki–”

The sound bounced around the void, so vividly that it felt like a physical presence, rather than merely a sound. If a part of Maki hadn’t liked the message, or wanted to ignore it, the bouncing would have disintegrated into nothing, only heard as the faintest whisper to Maki’s surface consciousness. But Maki wasn’t alarmed by the message, and she let it in, frowning as her still awake body tried to cope with being still awake and her trying to ‘relax’ herself into her mind…

“Give me a minute.” She muttered in the real world, “I’m trying to fall asleep.”

Alter Ego, seeing Maki murmur that same message in the void, which seemed to consume the sound as she said it, tilted their head curiously. “We could nudge her into sleep, if that’s what she’s trying to do.” Alter Ego offered, looking up to Kokichi, “That’s within our realm of possibility. Calm her emotions, encourage her body to sleep.”

“Or you could just give me a minute, cat.” Maki muttered in the real world, her eyes moving behind her eyelids, trying to cope with the sensation of being somewhere but… not. The feeling of people around her who weren’t. Ugh. This was going to take some getting used too…

…that was bizarre. Kokichi wondered if that’s how it always sounded, if he wasn’t supporting his non-Empath friends’ consciousnesses, or trying to go undetected. It was a little startling, if he were honest, even knowing exactly what it was. No wonder Maki was annoyed. 

Trying not to laugh “aloud”--or aloud either--Kokichi gave his mentor an amused look, silently sending intent right to them, rather than “speaking” and distracting Maki more. 

{She did this last time too. We talked about maybe doing this while she was awake, but I think that might just be too confusing. But she really means a minute--Maki-chan can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, if she needs to.}

More affectionately, Kokichi ran a hand down his mentor’s form. {It’s nice to see you, by the way. I’m glad you could come.}

{Of course. Temp and I are– or, were– testing out a tether cutting construct for Addason, as perhaps a possible replacement for maintaining the shield? Unfortunately, we just don’t think it’d have the speed and range of blocking off a hivemind, so at best it might be utilized to protect against other empaths, but not much else.}

{So far the shield is our best bet. It’s just a matter of finding something to maintain it. A constant source of power that won’t rely on Temp or I’s strength. We reached out to Thalia for ideas and she said she’d contact her mother about finding an object of power for him. If we’re lucky it’ll be something a baby can wear.}

{We know there’s a tattoo we could put on him that will do the job, but… Temp doesn’t want to do it for obvious reasons. Up to and including that permanently removing the kid from the hive feels cruel, on the long term. That and giving a baby a tattoo sounds horrifying.} 

Kokichi gave his mentor a sheepish look. {Ah, sorry for pulling you away. Even though I’m aware that it’s a decision you’ve made, and you could’ve said no, I still feel minor guilt at instigating the decision that prompted you to part from important work with our friend.}

…sometimes anxieties could be a mouthful through intent.

{Yeah, that sounds pretty bad… I’ve read about cultures that often pierce infants’ ears, and even that’s pretty horrific to me… Even if it’s something they won’t remember, or even reversible like that…you’re still altering someone’s body before they can consent, and it’s still pain.}

Kokichi sighed softly. {I’ll start looking for things about maintained power, then… I was still working on the shield itself. Especially ever since that mishap with Amaina. I feel like I can make a damn good shield, but there are still too many cracks for people to get through. But if we’re confident enough with that, then I’ll start focusing on something else.}

{Between the three of us, I’m confident we can make a thorough initial shield. We just need a power supply that can equal the amount of initial energy it’d take, long term. It looks like we still have a few months to figure this out, thankfully Addason is not an early bloomer.}

Maki sighed… her body relaxing…

She opened her eyes in the void. Normally she wouldn’t have, moving to a different spot in her mind immediately once she fell asleep. But she had visitors, and so her mind adjusted to wake her where they were– because whether Maki realized it or not, being a dragon did give her certain control over her own mind– as she suddenly became conscious in the void…

And her breath hitched. Eyes widening and looking around in sudden, horrified alarm. No, no, no, no–

Alter Ego’s fur stood up when the area around them suddenly shifted, accommodating Maki’s psyche as the space became solid, and smaller, and…

“Meow.” The cat said carefully, stepping forward in the cramped space, purring softly, trying to be soothing they repeated, “Meow…”

Maki, younger than Timothy when they had met him, with thin arms and knobby knees, peered at Kokichi and Alter Ego through the darkness of the small room. Maki was sat near the grate, because sometimes the grate offered clues. Little voices, smells, once music. The grate was a reminder that things outside of the room existed. That there was something to survive for.

Maki stared at Alter Ego, glancing up Kokichi, stared at Alter Ego. “...your cat is broken, mister.” Maki told Kokichi, a certain accusation in her tone. She was not impressed with a cat that couldn’t meow properly, and thought Kokichi was strange to keep such company.

Uh-oh. 

As soon as Kokichi felt Maki fall into sleep, he had been prepared to support her, probably easier this time, especially since he had the dragon’s permission to be there, but at the sudden rush of panic all around them…

“Shit…!” Kokichi quietly muttered, having to quickly shuffle in to the small space forming around them. 

…Shuuichi had talked about a small, dark room. Shadows lived in the dark. 

This wasn’t something he was ever supposed to see. 

Wincing in apology, that he’d no doubt make properly once Maki was…more herself, Kokichi let out a small, soft laugh. “They are one of a kind… I’m sorry for being here, Maki-chan. This is your business… Do you want to leave this place?” 

Not getting into the small Maki’s space, he offered a hand. Something Maki was not obligated to take at all.

Maki glanced down at the hand, suspicion in her gaze. Always kinda a mixed bag, being taken out of the room. There were a lot of things on the other side of the door that could make her want to rush back in. This wasn’t one of her handlers, but that wasn’t saying much. They could be using someone she didn’t recognize for some specific reason…

“Meow.” Alter Ego tried again.

Right. Cat. That was more… difficult to rationalize around. Why was there a cat? It was a nice cat too. It kept purring. Maki liked cats, well enough. They darted around alleys and could be seen using the overhead walkways, and her younger siblings would get excited when one came by, always hoping kitty might let them pet… 

(“Do you think we can get her to make cat noises?” Kaito grinned, while Shuichi helped get her to drink water, both of them finally let out of school, “That’s be fucking cute, right?”)

“That creep, he’s always had a cat thing.” Maki realized, the sheer judgment in her voice negated slightly by her own high, soft childish tone… before she looked down at herself and scrunched her nose a little, “Outrageous. I was never this small.”

Looking back up at Kokichi, Maki sighed as she took his hand, standing back up to her full height as she gave the room around her a distasteful look, “Threw me right into a nightmare, hm? Well, that’s one way to keep me on my toes.”

“It was an accident. I believe waking up in darkness may have tri–”

“I didn’t ask.” Maki said, cracking her neck slightly, “Anyone have any requests for a better place to go?”

Kokichi laughed, a little more relaxed as things seemed to settle in. “He does seem to have a fascination, huh.”

Helping Maki up, Kokichi gave her an apologetic look--and feeling--before humming in interest. “Could we go to those trees we climbed on the way to the coast? I feel like that’s kinda dreaming small, considering we could go anywhere you remember or can imagine, but…it seems like a nice place to talk, right?”

“I’ll bring Chibi Kaito when we’re settled too,” he nodded. “I get worried about him facing off against other Empaths…and while that’s not your case, I’ve never really brought him into another mind. Other than that projection,” Kokichi shrugged. “I bet he’s gonna be really excited.”

Maki nodded. She didn’t ask how she was meant to do it. It seemed obvious to her. The only thing she couldn’t do was force them to come, the empaths out of her realm of control, so Maki looked to the door of the room and, giving it an entirely unimpressed look, opened it with an ease that her child self would have envied. 

Inside the room a beam of moonlight filled the space, the sound of crickets and twittering of birds invading the space, wet soil and robust bark carried as a scent through warm wind. Her hair blowing in that wind slightly, Maki glanced at the other two, “Go ahead.” She said, gesturing to the open door, before walking through it herself.

When Alter Ego walked through, the door was gone behind them, the cat finding their balance easily among the branches. Along with the smell of nature, there was a clear scent of smoke, a campfire in the distance, surrounded by two caravans. Maki leaned against the base of the tree, crossing her arms and glancing down at the campground, instinctively checking on them, before she looked up at the mess of brilliant, bright stars, densely circling the bright crescent moon. 

She took a deep breath…. In… and out… “Right. The playdate. And my chance to meet properly the mind cat.”

“Alter Ego.”

“I hadn't forgotten.” Maki said, taking another steadying breath… before looking to Alter Ego, “Is this safe? What he’s doing right now?”

Alter Ego leapt from one branch to another, sitting with a refined, feline grace on one of the thinner branches. “In what sense?”

“If I treat his little imaginary friend as its own person, I’m not inadvertently driving Kokichi insane, am I?”

Alter Ego’s ears twitched, tilting their head a little as they thought about it. “...beliefs on that are… mixed. The most I’ve managed to gather is that there are pros and cons, to developing a constructs development. Think of it as the same pros and cons as indulging a child's imagination: a highly indulged, practiced imagination produces a rich one, which the child can use for creative problem solving, story creation, empathy, even, able to more easily imagine experiences outside of themselves. Worth fostering, and components become stronger the more you foster them. More adaptable.”

“The cons are what you imagine: imaginations running wild. Delusions, inability to cope with reality, skewed priorities. Constructs become more sophisticated the more developed they are, but they also become more difficult to train the adaptability they have, and sometimes constructs can develop in unexpected ways that put the empath, or the people around them, in certain risks, or simply makes it impossible for the construct to do the job it was created for. And the more we indulge the construct, the more possible that is, for it to become harder to control.”

“If you’ve ever told a story, and halfway through you realized the characters were not going to act how you had planned them too, and there was no way to correct it without breaking the story entirely?” Alter Ego said, golden eyes shimmering in the moonlight, “Then you’ll understand what it means, to have a construct grow out of control.”

“...” Maki looked to Kokichi, “So I indulge you and your construct becomes stronger. Better. But risks becoming wilder. You okay with that?”

Kokichi took a deep breath of the night country air as Maki seamlessly opened the door, smiling at the familiar scene. As awful as the end of that trip had been, the beginning really had been something incredible. And…overall, he couldn’t feel like he regretted it. 

He approached the trees, spinning a little in the moonlight just for the heck of it, but he paused, listening to Maki getting risk assessment. And the way Alter Ego explained…that was a much easier way to conceptualize indulging a construct. And, well, for being his husband, as he knew him as an adult, Chibi Kaito did have some childish tendencies. 

Facing Maki, Kokichi nodded with a smile, the expression mildly sad. “Chibi Kai-chan is excellent at what he does, and…when he acts on his own, collecting memories and bringing them to me… When I’m sick, those really are ‘light in the darkness’ moments. And…yanno, I’m fond of the little guy. There’s a reason I’ve kept him around from when we first made him.”

The sadness grew, accompanied with a solemn seriousness. “...but if it gets to the point where I’m…worried and stressed about taking care of him? Or people will get hurt because of him? He’s still me. And he can still become base essence again. I’m not going to put people in danger, or neglect the real world, to play pretend.”

“But, yanno,” Kokichi shrugged. “I couldn’t see the harm in this, and it’s not like Chibi Kai-chan is demanding a playdate. He just asked. And you agreed. So…it’s okay.”

He thought, anyway. 

And with that said, Kokichi reached into himself--finding the practice leagues easier that pulling an actual person somewhere, despite having never manifested a construct somewhere else before--and…

（⌒▽⌒）

(⌒▽⌒)☆

°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

The construct formed in front of Kokichi, at first still, before seeming to burst into life, sparkles and small stars lighting up the around around him as he joyfully transferred and projected into Maki’s mind. He leapt into the air, glowing slightly, before landing back down on the branch… and squealing slightly in alarm, because ah shit! Not a flat surface! Not a flat surface!

Squealing in musical notes, Kaito– specifically Chibi-Kaito– turned around and clutched at Kokichi’s legs, using Big Kokichi to steady himself. Phew… what the heck…

Maki raised an eyebrow. “Kaito’s not afraid of heights. You shouldn’t be either.”

♪♬You don't have to be afraid of heights to find just poofing onto a tree alarming, dammit!♫♬

“Sorry, he can’t really speak. Unfortunately it seems to be some sort of hiccup in his development.” Alter Ego explained.

Maki raised an eyebrow, “I can hear him.”

ɾ⚈▿⚈ɹ

( ﾟ∀ ﾟ)

=33==33(ノᗒᗊᗕ)ノ ♬MAKI-ROLL!!!♬

The small construct ran from Kokichi’s side, running towards Maki in obvious joy, ecstatic to see his friend again. He glomped onto her leg, rubbing his face against her, holding her tight as he made small, happy bell sounds into her socks. 

“Oop!” Kokichi quickly leaned forward, using his hands to steady Chibi Kaito even as the construct clutched onto him. He…should’ve seen that coming. Trees weren’t the best place to suddenly appear, and Chibi Kaito didn’t have the luxury of Kokichi’s logic to do all the regular cartoonish antics he was used to. Here, he had to abide by Maki’s rules. 

Though not all of them were limiting. 

Kokichi blinked in surprise before laughing softly as Chibi Kaito zoomed over to Maki, giving Alter Ego a nod. “You know, I hadn’t thought about it, but Maki-chan’s projection was able to understand Chibi Kaito in Shuu-chan’s mind too. It might be a Maki-chan thing.”

“Still, well,” Kokichi laughed. “You know, but--Chibi Kai-chan, Maki-chan, Maki-chan, Alter Ego.”

“A little late, but fine. Nice to meet you all.” Maki said, mostly giving Alter Ego a small nod, before leaning down to offer Chibi Kaito her arm. The small construct quickly latched onto it when he saw it, giving Maki a look that was openly adoring, even if it was currently upside down as Maki lifted her arm up, giving Chibi Kaito a curious look. “You’re very small.”

♪♫♫!!

“I think you’re misusing the word ‘mighty’.” Maki informed him, grasping him by the arm before pulling him right side up, letting the chibi sit horseback on her arm as Chibi Kaito beamed at her, “Now… what on earth do I do with you?”

♩♪♭~

Maki flicked the chibi in the forehead, not dignifying that with a response. Instead, she looked to Kokichi and Alter Ego, giving them both what qualified for Maki as a bewildered look, “So…?”

Alter Ego licked their paw a bit, rubbing it against their face as they said, “He just wanted to see you. If anything, it was probably just Kokichi recognizing a projection of his husband would want to see you, at some point. Since I’m fairly certain the desire didn’t come from my understanding of your husband.” he said, wording that last part directly to Kokichi, “It had to have come from yours.”

Chibi Kaito, not content to be talked over, carefully tried to get to his feet on Maki’s arm, but slightly too big to pull that off well– at least in Maki’s idea of weight and gravity– he mostly just sort of managed to perch awkwardly on his knees as he shouted to Maki, 🎶!!!

“You at six feet couldn’t beat me in a spar, you’re out of your mind if you think you can do it like this.”

₍₍ ◝(•̀ㅂ•́)◟ ⁾⁾

While Kokichi couldn’t exactly understand Chibi Kaito, he’d always been able to get the gist of things. And…it was sweet, seeing him with Maki. 

Exactly the sort of thing Kokichi would expect. 

Kokichi gave Alter Ego a sheepish look. “I mean…probably, yeah. A lot of the time, it’s easy to just think about Chibi Kaito as doing his own thing, but…at the end of the day, his personality is based off my memories of Kai-chan.”

“Kai-chan adores you,” he nodded to Maki, “So…of course Chibi Kai-chan would want to say hi. Hang out for a bit. Offer to spar even though he comes up to your shin.”

Letting out a breath, Kokichi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I know you made fun of me before about worrying about if he gets lonely…but I do worry. It’s something I worry about a lot with the actual Kai-chan so…that all tracks. He and Chibi Kokichi seem to have a lot of fun in my head, but…he just gets so excited when he sees you or Shuu-chan.”

Maki hummed at that, giving Kokichi a searching look at that… before taking Kaito by the scruff of his jacket, holding him up to her face as she said sternly at him, “Is that what’s happening? Are you projecting Kokichi’s concerns about Kaito?”

♩♪!

“No. If anything, you’re small Kaito. You came second, you don’t get to claim the name.”

(｡•́︿•̀｡)

“Don’t give me that look. It’s non-negotiable. And if you push it too far, I’m going to give you a stupid nickname that you’ll just have to live with.”

(˵¯͒⌢͗¯͒˵)

Alter Ego watched this all curiously, tail flicking to and fro as he watched Maki and Chibi Kaito, as far as the feline could tell, negotiate what Maki would call Chibi Kaito and his real life counterpart. As far as Alter Ego could tell, Chibi Kaito was now trying to challenge Maki for the right to be called Kaito and real Kaito ‘Big Kaito’, but it was a little hard to follow, only getting Maki’s responses and Chibi Kaito’s body language for context. 

After a bit, Maki huffed, rolling her eyes as she tucked the Chibi under her arm, “I guess we’re sparring. Can you get down the tree, Kokichi? I remember you were actually pretty adept at it, but I don’t know if dream logic would make it easier or more difficult…”

Kokichi shrugged a little helplessly. Chibi Kaito wasn’t just a projection of Kokichi’s concerns about his husband, but…when it came to loneliness? It broke Kokichi’s heart to hear that, at least some of the time, when all of them were off doing their own things, Kaito just…sort of waited for them to come back. To need him again. Kaito was more than just what other people defined him as, but…sometimes it felt like Kaito didn’t believe that very much. 

So…yeah. He worried about Chibi Kaito being bored or lonely, and he wanted his construct to…have friends. Be able to go on little memory adventures. Not…end up sitting in a garden, staring at nothing. 

Huffing a small laugh at Maki and Chibi Kaito’s bickering, Kokichi offered his friend a grin. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” And there was more he could elaborate on that, between the fact that even if her logic would make it harder, he could still exert some of his own power to help him, or the fact that whatever you believed was true, but…well, that second part was exactly why he didn’t elaborate. If Maki believed he could get down alright, then he would be able to. If she didn’t have a reason to overthink that, then it’d still be true. 

So, crouching on the branch he’d been sitting on, Kokichi started heading down the limbs, before hopping down the big jump, falling into a crouch to absorb it better. He then looked up, holding his arms out to Alter Ego. “You wanna come down too?”

Alter Ego gave Kokichi a mildly amused look, before walking out of view, around the corner of the tree.

Then, on the lowest branch, they reappeared, just as Maki had jumped off it and landed next to Kokichi, Chibi Kaito in tow. She looked up at the cat, who seemed to be settling into laying out on the branch, tail flicking lazily… and she nodded. Yeah, that seemed about right. Cats always just seemed to go where they wanted to be. Physics never seemed to be a factor in the equation. No surprises there.

Dropping Chibi Kaito, who landed dramatically on his feet and one hand, Maki went to go give him space, heading about ten feet off before stopping and turning back. “Standard rules? Kokichi, can you ref? Or should we make it the honor system, if you can’t keep up with our movement?”

Chibi Kaito wobbled to the other side, his movement and stride exaggerated as he adjusted to carrying a sword and shield along with himself, suddenly wearing a sturdy leather armor, well crafted and marked with the insignias of his family. This memory of Kaito, at least, came from Alter Ego, who had seen him spar in that exact outfit. Or at least some of him had.

Kokichi snorted softly. Cats would be cats. And Alter Ego would probably be able to see things better from up high anyway. 

As Maki asked him to referee, Kokichi opened his mouth to agree before he paused. This was Maki’s mind so it’d look…real. “...well, for one, I have no idea how your mind is going to project what speed looks like, so just from that it’d probably be better to do the honor system, but…”

Kokichi looked a little worried as he tugged on the back of his hair. “...you mark points by hits, yeah? Or if you could get a hit in. The…only other time I’ve seen you do this I…got kind of sick. So maybe I shouldn’t watch…closely, at least.”

“You guys okay with that?” he asked the combatants.

Maki and Chibi Kaito gave each other a glance. 

Maki shrugged, “That’s fine with me, we can keep track of our own hits easily enough.”

♩♪ ♩♪?

“Shouldn’t you know that? You’re literally him.”

ƪ(‾_‾)ʃ

“Tiny tot here wants to know if it’s just the sight of blood that knocks you out?” Maki asked, looking to Kokichi, “Would it help if there wasn’t blood? I mean, this is all basically make believe, I can’t imagine it’d be difficult to just ‘turn off’ blood. Or change it to something ridiculous, like… explosions of glitter.”

“Chibi Kaito is punting size. Would a spar between you two even get to the point of actual injuries?” Alter Ego asked, curious.

Maki shrugged, “He wants to fight. You have to respect the fighter. Even if he has no chance of winning… much like real life Kaito.”

♪♫♬♬♮!!

“Not that they’ve ever seen. Can’t prove it.” Maki smirked.

“I mean…it’d probably help,” Kokichi hummed. “Without blood, it’s hard to tell, from an outside perspective, if you actually made contact which…does make me feel better about everything.”

He just…didn’t like seeing his family hurt each other. He knew that’s not what spars were to them…but it was all he saw. 

Leaning back against one of the trees, Kokichi snorted in amusement. “I mean, Big Kai-chan could prove it if he showed me the memory…but as it is right now, you’re right. Maki-chan’s won every fight I’ve seen.”

“Want me to count you off, at least?”

“Sure,” Maki said, adjusting her hips, keeping her hands near her skirt. “On three.”

Chibi Kaito beamed happily, clearly excited. He nodded enthusiastically! 

Alter Ego, very curious about all of this, watched closely. Curious how a construct would react to this specific scenario, battling in someone else’s mind…

“On go--three!” 

Maki didn’t know it, but there was still a very real part of her that saw herself a certain way, when she was fighting. 

She shifted her legs again, and this time the skirt was both more flowy and shorter, an obnoxiously cutesy bow on the front of her blouse as she brushed subconsciously two overly-long twin tails over her shoulder. She was in flat heels, because she had learned to fight in heels should she need to in an emergency, and her sweet demeanor was cut brutally by the heat and bloodlust that started to radiate off of her.

“Two!”

(つ･･)つ¤=[]:::::::>

Chibi Kaito stared at her a bit… before he suddenly laughed. A small, happy bell sound. 

And then in the next second he was bigger. Tanner. A version of Kaito that Maki was more familiar with then Kokichi was, his skin burned darker then it had ever been in Dicea, sun-kissed in the same way that Maki herself was darker in color, though Kaito’s skin was more naturally browned under long term sun exposure. His muscles, while not in any way laxed in Dicea, clearly firmed and swollen from recent, heavy exercise, more regularly than Kaito could keep up with right now. Kaito’s face lit up with aggressive excitement as he bared his teeth at Maki, wearing fancy dark leather armor more suited for outdoor fighting as he steadied his shield and sword. His expression challenging her to approach him.

 “One!” 

And, inexplicably, there was… music?? Maybe because Maki was starting to associate spars with dancing, more and more lately. It wasn’t music they had heard on the record players though. It was the sort of music you’d find on tournaments back in Luminary, heavy drums meant to keep the contestants moving and excited onlookers.

For a brief, beautiful moment Maki was home again. One of the parts of homes that, if she allowed herself to ever think about it, she missed.

“Go!!”

And then all of her reflection on the moment was gone, as Maki bolted forward, throwing a dagger to force Kaito to bring his shield up to protect himself, keeping the dagger at bay but blinding him as to where she was going next.

Alter Ego watched as Kaito swung out to where he thought Maki might be going, and while he wasn’t wrong, haden’t adjusted for her jumping high, the movement of his swing already in motion as he brought his shield up to protect himself as she fell down towards him. Maki landed on the shield, kicking it hard and causing it to thrust backwards, Kaito punching himself in the face with a grunt, but recovering extremely well as he swung backwards when she had to jump off, forcing Maki to duck into a roll immediately in order to avoid the swing, leaving her on the ground. 

Kaito turned quickly, trying to swing at her while she was down, but Maki rolled onto her knees and threw another dagger, her second, and Kaito brought up his sword to knock it aside, but just missed it, the dagger cutting just outside the leather guard around Kaito’s neck.

“Hit.” Maki said.

Kaito pouted, before glaring at her. She was two daggers down. That was the name of the game with her. He had to lower her resources. 

For those brief few moments as he was counting down, Kokichi was fascinated by what was happening. While he hadn’t exactly gone on any deep dives, the nature of the soul, what made a person who they were had become a lingering, practical question. And while it wasn’t everything, memories certainly were a lot of who a person was.

(But. Not everything. Kazuo was missing some memories, but not everything. And yet, they were a completely different person. Kokichi knew that was due to tampering, yes, but…he really doubted that it was those memories that made the difference.)

But considering their importance, it was no wonder that memories were connected to everything in the mind--the higher mind, at least. Though things like survival instincts were both learned and became second nature. So…with Maki preparing for a spar against her dear friend…the memories that showed up were intimate, and closely linked with the concept itself. 

Maki’s old look, from when this had been life. Kaito in the same boat, not a Chibi form, but someone Maki had fought against countless times. Luminary, from the dry, crackling heat in the air, to the drums pounding in their chests--at least, that’s what Kokichi could guess. They did have a nostalgic feeling to them. 

But then it was time. 

And…Kokichi wasn’t such a pacifist that what he saw disgusted him. Even not the scripted, expected forms that Maki had talked about nobles doing, and the highly practiced exhibitions he’d sometimes seen from masters of various weapons and martial arts, there was still an art to fighting. 

Dr. Mariah hadn’t been too off thinking that dancing could perform a similar role. 

Even if some of the swings made his lips tighten, Kokichi still watched, fascinated. 

Kaito reached down to help Maki up, grinning at her as Maki gave him an amused look back, both giving each other distance as they reset. If the fight was heated, they wouldn’t bother with this part, but this was purely for fun, so both gave the other a minute to collect themselves, Maki ignoring her fallen blades, content with the four she had left. Some of the challenge was in not getting back the resources after all…

Alter Ego looked down at Kokichi, and as was the fickle nature of a cat, decided they wanted lap time over high branch time, getting up and, stretching a bit, running down the bark of the tree, looking up at Kokichi with an expectant gaze. {Lap.} Alter Ego projected, his feline face a little smug at his pushyness.

Kokichi looked down and raised an eyebrow before snorting, sitting down to make a lap for Alter Ego to lie themself into. “I know being in another person’s mind shouldn’t affect you that much, no matter their beliefs, so this is just you in a mood, huh? You’re lucky we’re friends…and that I like cats so much.”

Because for while Alter Ego now had a lap to sit in, Kokichi now had a cat to pet. And pet he did so, gently straightening some of Alter Ego’s fur. 

“...I know they have since, but it’s been nearly a year since I’ve seen Maki-chan and Kai-chan spar,” Kokichi hummed quietly, not wanting to distract the combatants. “It was right after he got poisoned, and Maki-chan wanted a crack at him for the grief he’d put her an’ Shuu-chan through before that. General Juuzo had a turn right after so…you might’ve heard about it, actually.”

“I am in a mood~” Alter Ego admitted, curling up happily into Kokichi’s lap, purring slightly at the pets, “Something about ‘meowing’ at people always reminds me that I’m, well… a cat. And that comes with certain promised luxuries. Like laps. And pets.”

Listening to Kokichi’s musings, Alter Ego tried to remember if they had heard everything. Being five people could make memories a little… confusing, sometimes. Because Alter Ego was, in a way that mattered, not individually any of the pieces that made him up. And it was sometimes tricky to think of their history in an individual, personal sense, not unless one of his shards was pushing that information up because something had triggered their attention. 

He remembered their memories easily, when his shards were thinking specifically about them. Asked about them without that internal prompting? It was always a little trickier. Alter Ego let the observation run through him, giving his shards a chance to think on it and send a thought to him, or, trigger a thought in him, if they so desired…

Mondo, Taka and Chihiro looked up.

“We heard that he had done a submission bow to you.” Alter Ego recalled, the ‘we’ unbidden, before the memory started feeling more personal, meshing together into ‘Alter Ego’ as he relaxed, “The prince sparring with the general and at the assassin was pretty common, especially over a six month journey, that wasn’t newsworthy by itself. But the gossip mill went wild that Prince Kaito had publicly thrown himself into a submission bow to his betrothed. That was scandalous, people were still talking about it even after we left, theorizing over what had happened. We knew it had something to do with him missing the announcement banquet, and drinking, but a submission bow? Something more had to have happened, something we hadn’t heard about.”

Kaito laughed boisterously, Maki startled as Kaito made the bold choice to swing his shielded arm around her back, pulling her into himself and against the sword he held in front of his chest, the sword pressing to her neck. It had been a bold move because, while Maki had just thrown her dagger, Kaito had bet on being faster in closing the distance between them then she could be drawing her next dagger. Not to mention that if he wasn’t entirely committed to following through on the attack, Maki could easily use the blade pressed against her against him, pushing it back into his throat.

It was the kind of move you only risked during playfighting, too reckless in a real fight. Maki gave Kaito a dry look at that, the man grinning cheekily down at her. Before opening his mouth, “H~i~t?” 

Maki blinked, looking genuinely stunned at the strange, inhumane, like… melody that came out of Kaito’s mouth, before she ran her hand over her face. She had actually almost forgot who she was fighting… geez…

Noting the sudden uncertainty in Chibi Kaito’s face, Maki nodded, “Hit. Good job.”

Kaito beamed at her, before letting her go, stepping back. Maki’s reminder of who this was affected him, Kaito’s demeanor, his faze, his eyes, all visually softer looking. Like in that moment Kaito, though still physically more or less as big as Maki had projected him, had grown a little younger. Something uncharacteristically childish in his gaze.

Maki relaxed. Right. She was playing with a construct, helping it grow. Helping it develop the ability to adapt and problem solve. Something that looked like Kaito, but was… well, not. The childish aspects to her new mental projection making it easier for Maki to make that distinction as she said, “Alright, one point each. Let’s see if you get lucky again.”

Kokichi sighed softly, nodding a bit. “Yeah… I’d never heard of a submission bow before that, I was so confused what the hell Kai-chan was doing. I think ultimately it just made things harder for us down the line, but…I understand what he was thinking. While he’d gotten poppy poisoning, he went on a rampage, threatening one of our friends, and…to varying degrees, trying to kill me, Maki-chan, and Shuu-chan. We managed to confuse and redirect him enough for Maki-chan and Shuu-chan to knock him out but…it was pretty intense. I understand why he’d want to make some big public apology for that, even if we couldn’t say anything about it at the time.”

Watching the next round of the spar, Kokichi’s eyebrows raised in astonishment at the ballsy play Kaito made, essentially pulling Maki into a sword-hug. That was a hell of a play to try…but he’d seen Kaito do similar things. Go for broke on chances, moving his body with utter belief. 

It was a confidence he really loved to see on Kaito. Kokichi wished he saw it more. 

He observed in interest as Maki seemed to remember that this wasn’t actually Kaito, and…huh. Her mental compensation was…a little weird, honestly. But it’d still give Chibi Kaito enough of a size advantage, as compared to his usual size.

(...was Chibi Kaito going to get the ability to be a Big Kaito from this??? Kokichi wasn’t sure he could handle that.)

Alter Ego turned their golden gaze up at Kokichi, surprised at that, “Kaito attacked you? Before we signed the treaty? Wow, it is amazing that the war ended at all, honestly. You royals seemed to be doing everything in your power to disrupt it as much as you could.”

Alter Ego was teasing, but… they also kind of weren’t. With only one exception, the literal child, all of the problems and pitfalls from the trip, around the treaty, even their return home, had been from the elite members of their group. Influential people who just couldn’t seem to get it together, to play nice for even a comparably small amount of time, to get the job done. As far as Alter Ego could tell, the only reason the war had ended at all was because King Aiichi had kept things on course. The Luminary Party elites, including Kaito, all acting recklessly or flippantly, and everyone below King Aiichi, including Kokichi, taking similar jabs or acting flippantly despite the seriousness of the situation.

It could be… frustrating. As someone who had watched all of this from the perspective of just the serving workforce around them. If a soldier had treated a matter like this so casually, so self-servingly, they would have been lashed and discharged, and Alter Ego believed that such a thing would have been earned. 

It wasn’t about ego. Just do the job.

But… that was a feeling from a past life. One that Alter Ego had no real desire to throw into Kokichi’s face. Besides, Alter Ego trusted that when it was Kokichi’s turn to lead, which someday it would be, he’d treat such situations with the same steadfast seriousness his father had. Perhaps not using the same methods, but in an admirable way that took his own ego out of the equation. That put the work first.

At least when the situation was as serious as the treaty had been.

Alter Ego winced, as Chibi Kaito was tripped and thrown bodily against his back, the air escaping his chest with a gasp, Maki taking the opportunity to kick his shield off his arm and kick it further away from them rather then taking the hit. Chibi Kaito saw his chance to stab into Maki’s back, bringing his sword up and fully intending to stop it before it made contact.

Maki took a step backwards, recoiling from punting the metal shield away, and seethed between her teeth. A small cut slicing into her back as she stepped into where Kaito was going to stop the blade.

Glowing purple confetti shot out of her back with a small, triumphant horn sound. Maki shuddered, looking over her shoulder as glitter covered Chibi Kaito’s sword, before she glared at Kokichi and Alter Ego, “Who did that?”

“Sorry. I did.” Alter Ego confessed, looking amused with themself. They were in a playful mood that day.

“I still believe it wasn’t his fault, though…I mean, there’s a reason we didn’t tell anyone,” Kokichi sighed, some old regret pulling at the corners of his frown. “He doesn’t even remember any of it… As far as his experience was, I took him into an empty meeting room ‘cause he was feeling hot and dizzy, and then he woke up with a bunch of new injuries… As horrific as some of it was…I can’t blame people for what they did on Poppy.”

He knew maybe that wasn’t fair to say to Alter Ego, of all people, but…it was how Kokichi felt. Lawfully, sure, people would be tried under inebriation considerations, but personally he just…couldn’t. The drug made people make the worst decisions they could. Kokichi didn’t blame Kaito for what happened either time he’d seen him on it. 

Rubbing his temple a little, Kokichi sighed again. “...honestly all I cared about those first few days, until it was signed, was making sure the treaty went through. Putting up with Tengan being a creep and doing everything he could to scare or jar us, Kai-chan’s poisoning, discovering Tim…even sending Katsuki-chan after Shuu-chan and Maki-chan was…literally the least I could do. All to get a paper signed…”

“...not that it probably would’ve mattered if Byakuya hadn’t killed Leon,” Kokichi grumbled, not exactly heated, but…just tired, he supposed. That all their efforts would’ve been for nothing, in another world. 

Just…the same thing that had gotten his uncle killed. Trying to reason with a person who didn’t care about reason.

A little caught up in more depressing thoughts, Kokichi startled a little at the horn and glitter explosion, looking at the scene before him, before snorting and scratching behind his mentor’s ears. “...you’re right, it’s not as bad with confetti.”

Alter Ego didn’t strictly have eyebrows to shoot up, but they did do an adequate imitation as he gave Kokichi a startled look at that. King Leon had been planning to go to war again?

Maki sighed, rolling her eyes as she tried to reach behind herself to check on the wound, knowing conceptually that she wasn’t actually injured, but feeling the need to look…

But Chibi Kaito was already up, leaving his sword behind as he fretted over her, putting his hand on her back to see the injury had been close to the spine. He made a small, musical whine, looking worried, Maki’s medical knowledge flooding his head as he checked her over… 

＼(°o°；）♩♪!!?

Maki looked back at Kaito’s slightly exaggerated features, too big eyes and softer lines to his usually fairly square and hard features only exaggerating his worried expression as another soft, worried musical note escaped him. Whatever he had done to speak earlier apparently required more concentration then the construct could give it right now. 

“Relax, I’m fine. The injury isn’t real. See?” Maki said, turning around and lifting the back of her shirt, showing her clear skin, though some glitter was left behind. 

Chibi Kaito reached forward to touch the spot where the wound had been, before sighing dramatically…

༶ඬ༝ඬ༶

“Stop that.” Maki said stiffly, watching Chibi Kaito start to tear up, clearly overwhelmed still with the remembered seriousness of an injury near the spine like that. Maki looked grumpy as Chibi Kaito pulled her into a hug, softly sobbing against her shoulder as she looked dryly at Kokichi, “This is you. I’m blaming you for this.”

Kokichi shrugged a bit. “I probably am to blame. I didn’t try to make Chibi Kai-chan like this, and we made him before Kai-chan’s been quite so sensitive, but we all know I’m sensitive. Almost anything can send me into tears, and the little guy’s gotten some of that, it seems.”

But he did seem to bounce back relatively quickly, so Kokichi wasn’t so concerned. Maki could accept a teary hug for a bit. 

And for the other apparently shocking thing…well, it never got the chance to happen. 

Running a hand down his mentor’s back, Kokichi half-shrugged to them as well. “I mean…I don’t know for sure for sure. I’ve never spoken to the guy. But…more than a few people have either straight out told me, or taunted me, or stressed over the fact that…he would’ve. Considering that he likely started the war for personal reasons, and repeatedly ignored people saying that the war was detrimental to Luminary until all the elites ganged up together when we sent that treaty proposal? If he could keep up that anger for 15 years, it wasn’t gonna fizzle out in one.” 

Alter Ego sighed, shaking their head. “Outrageous. If the revolution hadn’t risen up against Byakuya’s regime, the whiplash of going from war, to treaty, to war again probably would have done it. I wonder if the Momota family in its entirety would have survived that takeover, especially considering King Leon likely wouldn’t have quietly surrendered when push came to famine.”

Hypotheticals, entirely, but it was sort of interesting for Alter Ego to muse on. The world outside of the empath one was far away from them, even if it had been deadly personal for his shards. It felt a little bit to him like talking about the politics of a foriegn, far away country. Interesting, but not immediately alarming.

“Are you done? Stop crying.” Maki whined, patting Kaito on the back, “Do you want to finish the spar?”

ਉ_ਉ

“...” Maki sighed, “You have two points. Do you want to just say you won?”

≧(´▽｀)≦!!!!

Chibi Kaito beamed at Maki, picking her up at the waist and spinning with her, before putting her down and giving her a kiss between her eyes, Maki looking startled at that, before her face turned red and she pushed him off herself. “Go. Back to your husband. Now.”

(°∀°)b

Chibi Kaito gave her a beaming grin, before he turned, in the next step, puffing back into his true Chibi form, running back to Kokichi, bells ringing out as he informed Kokichi of his victory! His triumph! He beat her!!

♡✧( ु•⌄• )

Clinging onto Kokichi’s waist, Chibi Kaito rubbed his face against him before beaming up at him. He won! Did you see!?

Kokichi sighed and silently nodded, still petting Alter Ego. It was a world they would never have to traverse, thankfully, but…

It was frustrating. 

As Alter Ego had pointed out, Kokichi had made his own selfish mistakes when it came to the treaty, but…he was someone that had spent his whole life cherishing his country. Learning what it meant to be a leader, what it meant to love as a leader, how he should treat and listen to people and protect them and do everything he could to uplift and support the lives they wanted to live. 

And it was frustrating that…apparently every single other leading power he’d heard of since treated their people like idle belongings instead. Cheap toys to amuse then toss away when they broke, or even if the leader just became disinterested. 

It was just…so…disrespectful. And disgusting. And frustrating. 

How were they supposed to reach out to the world when, institutionally, no one in the world wanted to play fair? 

Subtly, flecks of orange shimmered around Kokichi’s body, betraying his stress over the subject, but he took a breath and calmed as it seemed the spar was over, and Chibi Kaito came running over. 

Kokichi grinned and put an arm around his tiny husband, cheering. “Yay! Good job, Kai-chan! You did some really crazy stuff--did you and Maki-chan have fun?” His eyes flicked up, giving Maki a warm look as he asked.

Chibi Kaito enthusiastically gave Kokichi a play by play re-enactment of how it had gone, despite knowing damn well Kokichi had sat and watched all of it, playing up his own daring moves while humbly admitting Maki’s own triumphs as well. Maki huffed, tucking her hair behind her ears, and as she did so her image changed, the sharp ends of her bob pointing out as her jacket nustled securely around her shoulders again.

A more dangerous looking Maki, who had, arguably, lived through much gentler times… arguably.

Giving Kokichi an amused look in turn, she smirked, shrugging. “He’s a good sparing partner. Though hopefully next time he can get through it without crying about one small injury.”

♫♬♬♪!!!

“You didn’t hit my spine, I would have been fine, confetti or not.”

(;¬_¬) This bitch.

Maki stretched her arms over her head, sighing contently as she felt little cracks in her spine… before looking at Kokichi. “What’s around us right now?”

Kokichi nodded along with Chibi Kaito’s excitable bells, humming and gasping at…well, his perceived rhythm of the musical sounds. It felt like he could understand more of them, at least, and he was happy to indulge his construct. While giving him a congratulatory back rub as well, now both of his hands busy attending to the small creatures surrounding him. 

But they weren’t his only surroundings.

At first, Kokichi just blinked at Maki in confusion, before understanding lit up his face and he nodded. “Not much, honestly. Bees have still been coming and going from the flower beds to our left, and a little while ago some birds flew out of the tree. I, uh…”

He flushed, giving his friend a sheepish look. “I…haven’t really been able to turn my head, unless there was something that’s catching my attention already. It’s really hard to focus on…everything.”

Maki nodded at that. Better than she could do right now, being, ya know… asleep. Still, she turned to look at Alter Ego, “Any advice for him?”

Alter Ego blinked, “...on the head turning thing?”

“Yes.”

At this, Alter Ego himself looked equally sheepish, “...I don’t have a ton of personal experience balancing a waking body while I’m in here. Uh, though…”

Alter Ego’s ear twitched, looking briefly vacant before, reluctantly, crawling out of Kokichi’s lap, turning to face him, “If you’d like an impromptu lesson, Hiro would probably have some very good advice on this.It’s quite literally his default setting, these days, though… even he isn’t quite the same as a regular empath experience. He’s not really dividing his attention, part of his attention is just on permanent loan, to me.” 

Maki sighed, crossing her arms, “You should find someone who can give him actual advise then. Don’t say Temp. If Shuichi’s guess is right, he’s been doing this too well for too long, there gets a point where something becomes so ingrained and easy for you, learned so long ago, that it’s hard to teach it anymore. You need to find someone who’s learned to do it themselves in the last fifty years.”

Alter Ego gave Maki an amused look, “What, you’re suddenly an expert on the cons of living centuries?”

There was a sudden rumble through her mind. Maki’s eyes seeming glowing red in the darkness as she peered down at Alter Ego, who’s fur suddenly stood on end, suddenly remembering who he was talking to…

“Actually, that was just advice my mentor gave me once.” Maki shrugged, the rumbling easing to nothing, Maki looking for all intents and purposes like she hadn’t realized anything was happening, her eyes calming down too as she said, “He said experts were useful, but the older they got the more they forgot what it takes to actually learn the subject. You want to find the sweet spot of someone who knows what they’re talking about but hasn’t forgotten how they learned it.”

Ah, well… Alter Ego’s situation wasn’t really…applicable. And while Kokichi appreciated the offer, he was done segmenting himself for a while. He probably would benefit from Hiro’s advice but…maybe once Kokichi had some help getting more of the basics down. 

Amusedly watching Maki demand lessons on his behalf, Kokichi found his breath catching for a moment as her presence heated…but it was easy to let go when the dragon settled again. 

And…well, he supposed he did have an idea of what to do. 

Giving Maki a nod, Kokichi hummed with a small smile. “Well, Mikado literally constantly divides his attention for a job, so, yanno, he might have a tip or two to pass on. I think he’d enjoy another gossip session as payment too. Dunno if I have all that much to say, but…I can figure something out.”

It wasn’t exactly within the last fifty years but…Kokichi had been thinking about getting in touch with Madam Yubaba again too. Not really for advice, though the old woman had plenty to give, an asking audience or no, but…

…he was curious. About his great-grandfather, about the legacy of Empath Oumas, about the common trend older beings kept referring to him as… He wasn’t quite bold enough to go asking literal gods about his back-of-the-mind curiosities, but…he could spend some time with someone who had seemed happy for momentary company.

Alter Ego sighed, somewhat in relief. There was a reason he hadn’t offered Kokichi any training on this yet. It was training they really weren’t qualified to give, even with their matching power levels. Alter Ego could be the most powerful empath in the world, but it still didn’t substitute the fact that he was not, even by a stretch of the definition, a organic-based person. 

He was a creature of empathy, in its purest form. Something more than a construct, and he liked to believe, something more than the sum-parts that had made him. 

(When Kaito was ready to start asking questions– serious questions– about his own existence, Alter Ego was looking forward to having those talks with him. Alter Ego suspected that such conversations would be as cathartic to him as it would be to Kaito. Alter Ego was just waiting for Kaito to be ready.)

Maki, in turn, just huffed a little. “Your ‘jester’ friend is a little ridiculous himself, but, if he has the answers you seek? Good. Glad you can make use of him. Shuichi’s friend certainly makes him sound capable enough.”

It wasn’t a weekly occurrence, but it was often enough that a young ‘mage’ named Himiko kept meeting up with Shuichi during his free time, the two trading and discussing the latest things they had learned. At one point Maki had allowed them use of her room to gush over Kaito’s moving figurine, and when she came back, the room had smelled of something acidic, Himiko and Shuichi desperately tearing down Maki’s planks to open up the window and air out her room from their attempt at a ‘potion’. Maki hadn't’ asked what the potion was meant to do, and instead had spent twenty minutes berating them for not taking more precaution before the potion had gone wrong, insisting next time they do the tests in Shuichi’s office, after explaining to Maki what to expect and letting her safety proof the damn place.

Look, sometimes your pseudo-brother and his weird-ass magic obsessed friend just decided to try random potions in your room and ended up destroying furniture in the attempt. Maki’s life was weird. She adapted.

Looking to Chibi Kaito, Maki hummed a bit, thinking of Kokichi’s fears that the small construct was ‘’lonely’, based on ‘Big Kaito’. And after a moment of consideration, she said, “You. Here.”

Chibi Kaito nuzzled Kokichi one more time, but it was telling that he didn’t hesitate to come when called, running up to Maki’s feet and looking up at her with adoring eyes. Maki sighed at the look– honestly. Kaito’s love for her was hard to ignore in any form he was in. Could he not just chill out, like, a little bit?-- and squatted down, considering how to do this…

“You’re a memory retrieving construct?” Maki asked.

The chibi nodded enthusiastically.

“... go find memories of me and Kaito hanging out. Having fun.” Maki instructed him. “Take them back with you. Next time you’re bored, you can hang out with the Maki in them. You can even make her your size, I don’t care. It’ll be Kokichi’s problem, having a mini-Maki running around.”

Chibi Kaito’s eyes went wide with excitement… before he turned back to look at Kokichi. Quietly asking permission. It was memories that weren’t his, after all, and he’d be bringing them back into his empaths mind. Chibi Kaito wouldn’t do that without express permission.

Kokichi laughed softly. “I think he’s too much of a gossip for his own good sometimes, like how Shuu-chan is with his curiosity, but…sometimes that’s what’s needed for progress. And at the end of the day, I trust him. He’s a good person.”

And he really did trust Mikado. Kokichi knew, at this point, that…he would probably have to explain the full story about Katsuki and Tom one day. He’d explained a little to Kaito, during their talk about shards, but…he’d been vague. Knowing that what he’d done, and specifically to whom would be a big subject on its own. 

And Mikado was one of the few people who knew that story, and had been key in Kokichi finding out for himself. He hadn’t been pelted with guest book visitations, so…he figured that Mikado hadn’t passed that story around the community all that much, and at least now, it was discretion he appreciated. 

Kokichi looked over as Maki called Chibi Kai-chan, fond at first, before his eyes widened in surprise at her offer. That was…

He could assume she knew, and was offering anyway, but still, Kokichi gently explained, “That means I’ll know those memories too. Maybe not…all at once, but they’ll still be in my mind. Are you…” Kokichi sighed softly, looking to Chibi Kai-chan. “Bring them back as objects, then Maki-chan can see which ones you found, and she can approve me knowing them. I’ll…be able to put up enough blocks while you’re looking and while she’s reviewing that I can…pretty much not know.”

He glanced back up at Maki. “Is that okay? That’s…pretty much as lenient as I’m okay being.”

Maki had known what she was offering, but she nodded at that compromise, unconcerned either way. What she suspected was that the construct would come back with memories that came from before Dicea. Things Kokichi and Alter Ego couldn’t know. And she hoped that such things would help stabilize the construct.

After all, Kokichi knew Kaito loved Maki, but he had only seen them interact for a year, and it was a… hard year, at that. Kaito and Maki’s relationship not at its best, not even close. She had to imagine that was difficult, sometimes, to equalize. Why love and miss someone who had spent so much time hurting you?

Maybe more context, more memories to draw from, would help.

“Well? You heard him. Get going.” Maki told the small construct, who nodded, giving her a thumbs up.

(^-^)b

(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

With that small expression of determination, Chibi Kaito ran towards the campground, disappearing into one of the caravans. Maki watched him go curiously, before going to sit with Kokichi and Alter Ego.

Alter Ego looked at her curiously. “...you know,” They said, tilting their head, “I thought you’d have more questions for me.”

“About what?” Maki asked, tucking her legs beside herself. “Nothings come to mind.”

“Who I am?” Alter Ego said, “Where I come from. My abilities, my intentions.”

“I know some of it already.” Maki admitted, shrugging, “Kokichi’s never explained about you in an entirely clear way, but I know you looked into what happened to the Luminary party. I know most everyone is dead, but the children managed to escape, and I got the impression that if you weren’t specifically helping with that, you were keeping an eye on it to make certain it was done. I know you helped Kaito and Shuichi with their conditioning, and that you would have helped me with mine but dragon shenanigans occurred.”

Alter Ego’s ear flickered. “All of that is true, yes. I didn’t interfere with the rescue of the children, but I did want to know what happened to them. What happened to all of them.”

Maki nodded. “I can appreciate that compulsion in a person.” Maki seemed to consider not saying anything more about it, “...what happened to the rest?”

Alter Ego glanced at Kokichi. “...the rest of the party?”

“The surviving ones, yes.” Maki said, “What’s happened to them.”

“...it’s not all good news.”

“None of it was good news.” Maki shrugged, “But considering everything that happened to our friends? The death cults and pollen? Tengan’s influence? The Togami situation… things in Danganronpa have a way of ripple affecting back to us in inexplicable ways.” Maki sighed, cracking her neck, “I’d rather know what’s happening over there before it comes to poison Shuichi again or kidnap Kaito.”

Alter Ego hesitated. “...perhaps it could be a private conversation.” Alter Ego offered, looking to Kokichi. Offering to keep him out of depressing news.

Kokichi smiled fondly as his little construct ran off. It would be a little strange, having someone else’s memories in his head, but…ones of his friends enjoying each other’s company? It wasn’t seeing the world as someone else saw it, like he and Shuuichi had been talking about, but it was feeling a relationship that he saw from the outside. And…that was just as special, as long as Maki was consenting to it. 

Shifting a little as Maki came to sit with them--it was a little funny, the two of them sitting together under a tree in two ways--Kokichi got a little less vigorous with his pets, not wanting to make things awkward with his mentor trying to talk seriously. Though, maybe that ship sailed for Maki considering they were a cat. 

But that didn’t mean serious talk couldn’t happen anyway. 

Kokichi sighed softly, giving his mentor a gentle look. “...if you don’t want to tell me…I mean, I can’t leave without Chibi Kai-chan, since I’d take him with me when I go. But…after that. I mean, I’m already looking after Maki-chan’s body.”

He blinked slowly. “...I don’t want to suddenly wake you up, but we might have to shift soon. The shade is shrinking and I don’t want a repeat of last time.”

Maki nodded, again, unconcerned. So long as all of them were together, then it just needed to be the one of them, burdened with knowledge. Well, two, probably, Maki would inevitably tell Shuichi about it. So long as someone was prepared for danger? Then they’d be okay.

“Let’s see how quickly this construct of yours can work. If you need to move before he can get the job done, well, that’ll encourage him to be quicker about it next time, won’t it.” 

Almost as if he heard the challenge, there was a little musical sound, before there was a sudden thunder of hooves…

And, somehow, from the opposite end of the hills came down Chibi Kaito on horseback, a large, dark stallion with furious, black eyes, thundering down the hillside with powerful, sure footing. Maki snorted slightly, watching the horse and the chibi dodging around trees as they got to the evened out part of the area, coming from the woods as she stood up to meet them. “Hello again, no one.” Maki greeted, running her hand up the snout of the wild mountain horse, who huffed in mild frustration at her, “Still cross with me? Understandable, I took you a long way from home… alright. Let’s see what you found, Kaito.”

Chibi Kaito happily showed her a collection of items he had brought up in a satchel. Maki hummed, picking them up one by one…

“And then the demon rears it’s sickle, and I, the mighty Saint Momota, Luminary of the Stars–”

“Get’s captured.” Maki said, kicking her legs against the stage-end, watching Kaito wave a long candle like it was a sword, “At least, she will if you’re trying to knock back a sickle attack with that stance.”

“What? What’s wrong with it… okay! Fine, I fail to block the sickle, and the demon brings it to my neck! Gasp! The danger! Is all lost!?” Kaito gasped dramatically, sticking his tongue out like he was gasping for breath around something closing around his throat, “Oh nooo, if only Saint Momota had a devout sidekick to aid him in his time of need!”

“...”

“I saiiiiid,” 

Maki rolled her eyes, a small smirk on her lips as she reached down for one of the unlit candles herself, the two stealing them from the ritual site as she got off the stage, “Yeah, yeah. Fine. But Saint Carnage is no one’s sidekick, as she leaps down from the rafters–”

Maki smiled at that, giving the candle an affectionate look before putting that in the ‘keep’ pile. A few more items quickly followed it: An arrow from a competition. A pocket watch from a night hike where they had daydreamed about their futures. A moth from a memory of Maki taking Kaito down a parkour path she had worked out for herself, feeling cool and impressive as she showed him how to jump from rooftop to rooftop and watched him look at her like she was flying…

Then she picked up a long, white cloth and gave it a startled look, before raising an eyebrow at the chibi. “Are you kidding? You bold little idiot. What, did you think me and your husband wouldn’t notice you taking this one?”

(¬‿¬;;)

Maki rolled her eyes, lightly bonking the chibi on its head. “Well, at least your husband knows you well. Reckless moron.”

Tossing the cloth aside, Maki looked through a few more items, and was a little surprised to find a record player, a much more recent memory coming to mind. “...you want this memory?” she asked the chibi, frowning, “Really? It’s not the happiest memory.”

Chibi Kaito held the record to himself, shrugging. Maybe it was around hard conversations, but… it was a memory of them dancing together. Of things getting a little better between them, after everything was… hard. Maybe not a ‘happy’ memory. But a good one.

Maki sighed… “Let’s take the context of the conversations away, but you can keep the dance and the memory of closure, okay? But those are Big Kaito’s feelings. He’s allowed to keep those private.”

Chibi Kaito sighed, holding the record player close for a second… before nodding. The record player changed. Became smaller. Smoother.

“Alright,” Maki sighed, straightening up. “Kokichi, want a final say in these? If not, let’s finish this and get you out of the sun. Alter Ego, you and I can talk more later.”

Kokichi snorted softly, but as they saw Chibi Kaito and the black wild horse thunder through the trees, he… Well, Kokichi looked a lot how he did outside, in the physical world. His body relaxing and his gaze unfocusing, though it wasn’t like he just flopped over. His hand still remembered to keep up the rhythmic petting down his mentor’s body, but there wasn’t any variation to it, Kokichi entirely on auto-pilot. 

It was easier, having Chibi Kaito go through the memories, but with Maki “opening” them right in front of him, it was better to…dissociate, essentially, and return when they were done going through. 

And it gave him time to blink his slightly dry, real eyes, taking a better look around the little nook of the backlot they had claimed. Looked like there was the end of a patrol looping around the castle…that was fine. 

…ambiance, like how he and Maki were talking earlier. Childhood fun, pride, wonderment, solidarity, love, awe…hm. No. And…a sort of bittersweet catharsis…

Kokichi blinked, startling, just looking up at Maki for a moment like he’d totally missed what she said before he blinked again, rubbing the back of his head. “Oh… I got far enough away to not get the context but…all the associated feelings with those memories are really nice. I’d be honored to have you share them with me, Maki-chan.”

“...except for that one, Kai-chan,” Kokichi made a displeased expression at his tiny husband. “I don’t need to know about Maki-chan’s love life! Other than what she wants to physically tell me! I don’t need any of those memories, and just ‘cause I know the real you well, it doesn’t mean this you needs to either!”

(◕‿◕✿)??

What? What had he done? Chibi Kaito had never done anything horny in his life, ever. Obviously.

Maki rolled her eyes at the little, putting the items back in their satchel before taking Chibi Kaito from the scruff of his jacket, dropping both him and the satchel onto Kokichi’s lap, Alter Ego giving a small, offended meow as the chibi was dropped on top of him. “Alright. Enough playtime. Alter Ego, hit me up tonight. Kokichi, go wake me up.”

Alter Ego pushed their way out of the now crowded lap, giving his paw a little lick before saying, “I will. Thank you for inviting me today, Kokichi. I’ll see you later.”

“See ya, thanks for coming,” Kokichi grinned, giving his mentor one last pat behind the ears before putting an arm around Chibi Kaito and giving Maki a nod. “See you on the other side.”

-

While he’d just been slightly more aware, Kokichi still sucked in a deep breath as he focused all of himself back on the physical world, rubbing his eyes a bit. Ooph…blinking. Blinking was something he’d need to ask Mikado about. Aaaaaaag. 

Shaking out his head, Kokichi placed a light, gentle hand on Maki’s arm, softly calling her name. Nothing too startling, he hoped. 

Maki opened her eyes, and there was a brief moment where she couldn’t remember anything, all of it hazy and distant…

But after a beat, the memories focused. Cleared. Maki took a sharp little intake of breath, ignoring her impulse to immediately check her surroundings for danger. It wasn’t necessary right now, she knew where she was.

Rubbing her eyes, Maki sighed, looking over at Kokichi, “Well, that was an experience.”

“It always is, huh,” Kokichi giggled, giving his friend a fond look before taking another deep breath and stretching his arms in front of him. Though, he soon gave her a curious look. “Do you remember it, like…clearly? You guys seem to, right after but…I dunno. Shuu-chan and I were talking, and I referenced an older conversation we had while I was supporting him, but…he didn’t remember it at all. Or, at least the part we were talking about. I’m…not really sure how well these kinds of memories stick around for you guys…”

Maki paused, trying to think if there were any gaps in her memory. “...it’s not like a proper memory. Some of the edges are fuzzy. But I don’t think there’s anything I’m strictly not remembering. What memory did Shuichi forget?”

“Like a memory of a dream, then, probably,” Kokichi hummed softly, before refocusing himself. 

“One of the first times I was trying to explain everything to him,” Kokichi explained, looking a little sheepish. “We were talking about dream dates, and how, technically, only the limits of his memory and imagination limit where we can go. At that time, he took me to this lovely cafe in Luminary but…he doesn’t remember ever showing me a place to go.”

“Hmmm…” Maki rubbed out her shoulders, “Interesting… and you were speaking to his surface conscious, I assume? I feel like I remember him telling me about that as well. It’s not like Shuichi to forget things, and that feels like a fairly major memory. Sure it’s not that bastardization of me you have in his head?”

Maki gave Kokichi a mildly amused look, as she said, “You know, Kaito said his conditioning construct, the saint, seemed to be based on my mannerisms. That’s two constructs modeled on me, Kokichi. Did you do that on purpose? A girl could think you have a fixation.”

“I’ll probably talk to Griffin about it… I know that he’s been a little slower at recalling information ‘cause they have to fight off his conditioning every time, but…I wasn’t sure if memories from your, essentially, dreaming self just…have a shelf life. But asking really is an option to take.”

In the face of Maki’s teasing, Kokichi could only give her a soft look. “You make our guys feel safe. They trust you so…that means the construct will work. You’re not actually omniscient and all powerful…but you’re still larger than life, even for the people who know you intimately, Maki-chan. To all of our detriment, sometimes.”

“Plus, Griffin is half Alter Ego, and I didn’t try to base Saint Madison off you,” he shrugged. “I was appealing to Kai-chan’s supreme belief in an icon of protection and defense. Honestly, the fact that she acts like you is probably more him than me. I was just…hoping for a miracle.”

Maki sighed, leaning back against the tree. “Protection and Defense… honestly, I went and gave everyone a complex. I didn’t mean to…” Maki looked at the shifting light of the sun, “I never meant to be this ‘force’ in their lives. Sure, I’ve always been the one to double and triple check safety protocols, and the one to come fight when either of them were being targeted, but… both of them did the same for me. It never felt onesided. It was just what we did for each other.”

“Honestly, I think it was rehabs that pushed it into problem category.” Maki admitted, shrugging a little, “Keeping Kaito in a room, having Shuichi unable to leave my side… it was necessary. I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t. At least not based on everything I knew at the time. But it put such a strain on us. Changed the dynamics. I felt like a nightmare come to life, some days. They’d look at me and wince when they caught me looking back…”

Maki frowned, troubled by those memories. She rubbed her temple, sighing in frustration, “And if they didn’t trust me? To protect them? I don’t think either of them would have ever let me have that much control over them. Kaito could have bullied his way out of medical hold if he really wanted too, he stayed because I assured him I was taking care of it. Shuichi could have refused our conditions, how could we have possibly forced him to keep to them if he really wanted to refuse? They just… trusted me. Even when I hurt them doing it. That’s arguably too much power over their psyches, I have. I’m not a saint who always knows what she’s doing and always has the right answers… I’m just their paranoid friend who’s slightly better at surviving than the average.”

Rubbing her temple some more, Maki sighed… “If you want? I’ll keep a journal of times you visit me and see if those memories fade over time. That way if that’s an issue, at least we’ll know. Maybe ask Kaito and Shuichi to do the same thing, since ‘dragon’ nonsense may skew the results.”

Kokichi gave Maki an apologetic look, but…well, he had already called it out. There was having pride and confidence and trust in someone, like how Kaito had gushed about Maki and Shuuichi to him initially. Then…there was how they had started to treat Maki, acting as if she were an invincible, one-person army, capable of everything, even bending the universe…

They were trying to step back away from that, but Kokichi couldn’t ignore that that was the perception that came up in his friends’ psyches. And for their purposes of creating something that was meant to be adaptably invincible in their minds? It was a really helpful perception. 

But not for treating Maki as a person. 

“What we needed during those times was to survive, so…you were a good person to go for that,” Kokichi smiled wanely. “...maybe it was just…how constantly dramatic everything was, that dramatized you too. Maybe it’s more simple than that. We’ve gone over our regrets what feels like ad nauseum by this point…but I am sorry for how it all hurt you. Changed your relationships.”

Even with memories of how things had been before…Kokichi was still Kokichi. Even if he saw what happened, felt the bleedover of how his friends had felt…he still hadn’t lived their lives for the past two plus decades. He wasn’t going to be able to understand the terror or grief of having something so comfortable it was a reliable part of you just…change. But he could acknowledge that that terror and grief existed. 

Humming at the idea, Kokichi nodded after a moment. “I think that would be really helpful. I…” 

Kokichi huffed, puffing his cheeks out, though his look was more bashful than pouty. “...I feel like this is gonna sound just…so me. But I’m really curious about how the Empath community keeps its history. I know there are records in the magical community, but considering some of the stuff my friends and I have had to find, it’s not consistent or accessible. Or even that reliable. I know that because of what we are, records don’t necessarily have to be physical…but that just makes it even more important to record and distribute knowledge. So…grand discoveries don’t just…vanish.”

“I think Shuu-chan will be more than happy to participate in what’s essentially a magical experiment, even if it’s less exciting than some of the stuff he says he’s getting into,” Kokichi laughed.

“You should know, at some point I’m going to make some grand gesture to remind Shuichi that he needs to be careful with that stuff.” Maki sighed, pushing her hair behind her ears, “And I’m going to need you to back me up on it. Shuichi’s so excited about this stuff, we need to ground him a little for his own good, or he’s going to accidentally blow up the castle someday.”

“And there’s nothing you should be sorry for.” Maki shrugged, “It’s not your responsibility to manage us. We’re The Reaper, the Boogieman and the Wild Prince. Some infant from Dicea was never going to strong-arm us into making good decisions, and he wasn’t going to be able to manage Luminary paranoia. Especially with a bunch of shadows in his own head.” Maki huffed, reaching over and poking Kokichi’s temple, “You weren’t ready to take care of anyone, let alone people like us. Nothing that happened was on you.”

“You didn’t even know us… if anything, I often feel guilty how much of our business we put at your feet. Or, at least how much of my business I put on you.” Maki admitted, resting her shoulder against his, “I still don’t know why. You and I? We make no sense… I trusted you. Still trust you. Value your opinion and insight on things you really know nothing about… even your failures never changed my mind on that. I still look at you as someone I can rely on. As someone I care about deeply.”

“Sometimes it feels like you just… fit.” Maki mused. “Like a part of me looks at you and is aware of something the rest of me isn’t. Like…”

Maki sighed. A little annoyed with herself, “...like you and I knew each other from another life. As ridiculous as that sounds. I don’t think reincarnation works like that, not really. I’m sure this is just me being ‘romantic’. Foolish. But that’s what it feels like sometimes. Like I met you and already knew you.”

Kokichi chuckled softly, pulling his feet away from the encroaching sunlight, even if he wasn’t wearing sandals. He thought Shuuichi’s interesting in learning and experimenting with magic was really great! And…without Mikado able to teach them anything but concepts and particularly Empathetic concepts, he and Himiko really were out on their own, since…well, Kokichi didn’t know about any magic scholars, though he figured they were out there. But for how great an asset curiosity and experimentation could be, it was as great a flaw as an asset sometimes. 

He just…really didn’t want it to bite Shuuichi in the ass again. But they’d be able to look out for him better this time. 

He gave Maki something of a dry look at being called an infant, but…he knew the point she was making. He had made mistakes with his family, and the situations they were in, but…when it came to the dynamics between them all? There was only so much he could do, in any direction. 

(And, as they had all argued at one point or another, he’d gone above and beyond trying to help them with personal problems that weren’t his responsibility to try and fix. Or hear out, even.)

But among them all, he and Maki…

It made no sense. Their personalities and backgrounds shouldn’t have allowed them to be friends, let alone consider each other siblings. Kokichi had spurned Maki’s trust, and yet…she still did trust him. He believed in her even knowing the easier options. 

“...I suppose it’s possible,” Kokichi shrugged. “From all I’ve learned, things like…wholesale reincarnation are pretty rare, even taking into consideration our unique circumstances. Maybe…there was a part of the energy that made me, that lived in what was once Luminary, and knew your dragon ancestor. It’s kind of a sweet thought to think that parts of us were friends a long time ago.”

He shook his head with a small, sweet smile. “I don’t know. Sometimes with you guys… I feel so deeply, and I’m so certain that everything is right. Maybe there’s some universe alignment…maybe it’s just this life. But…I’m grateful to know you now, either way.”

“I suppose, in the end, it doesn’t really matter why it works.” Maki shrugged, “Just that it does. It really could just be coincidence, or us being irrational freaks. Maybe it’s universe nonsense. I am an heir to a dragon and you are apparently naturally one of the most powerful empaths in the world. It wouldn’t even be the weirdest thing to happen to us. And as far as I can tell, there’s no danger to it, so…”

Maki shrugged. If it wasn’t dangerous, who cared.

And then she laughed at herself a little. Cause obviously she did. She had brought it up first, and she was fairly certain it wasn’t even the first time she had brought it up. It just kept coming to mind. The bizarreness of her and Kokichi.

What a ridiculous person she was.

“... Alright.” She said, making no attempt to move. Content to sit against the tree for a moment longer as the sun slowly overtook them, “My ten year old’s been missing since this morning so I better go make certain he’s not making a nuisance of himself somewhere.”

Kokichi snorted, a calm amusement in his face. “Who knows, maybe I’ll discover some grand conspiracy in my efforts to look into Empathetic history. Or maybe it’s just us, and we got really lucky in the weirdest way possible. Still.” He copied her shrug.

…it was a really nice day out. For as much as he adored the crispness of fall, the magic of winter, the fresh fun of spring…he did love summer too. Maybe he wouldn’t miss the heat as much, but he did like these sorts of days. 

“Should I take the plank to the basement for storage, then?” Kokichi asked, not getting up either. “We probably would be fine to keep it out here, but it’d suck for a sudden drizzle to start rotting it.”

“Hmmm.” Maki hummed, thinking about it, “If you think you can manage it, sure. Just don’t trip carrying a plank the size of your going to the basement. Your partners would never stop whining about it.”

“...if I were an empath?” Maki said, closing her eyes, “And I was trying to store records? I’d collect it and put it in a place only other empaths could get access too. Maybe in the mind of some… creature or something. Something old. Something that wouldn’t forget. Something you could hide and protect.”

“There’s a place like that for Luminary assassins.” Maki murmured, her voice incredibly quiet. “A place only we could find. Information hidden there, for generations, that only we can interpret… you have to be old enough. Survive long enough. And have someone vouch for you, to see it. I’ve been once…”

She opened her eyes, gaze far away, “Names. Markers. Jobs, who they were, what they were worth, who ordered them. Pieces of history that many important people believed were buried and burned and lost to time, collected little by little by the tools they thought incapable of such… sentimentality.”

“... there I go again.” Maki whispered. “I trust you with too many things, Kokichi. One more knife to cut me with. It’ll be my own fault, if you do. Foolish girl.”

“I’ll be careful,” Kokichi nodded. He mostly just wanted to be helpful. If Maki was making plans to go check up on Tim, well, then he could take care of something she would otherwise have to finish up before them. He was mostly planning on checking up on Shuuichi anyway, seeing if he needed anything while he was on Miya duty. And for as much as he just kind of wanted to hang out with Shuuichi…maybe after that he should…draw or something. Do something by himself for a little. 

Some days indulging his hobbies was a joy he did without a second thought. Others, it was stern discipline to not constantly be around his family. 

Kokichi’s eyes slid over to Maki, his brow furrowing as she explained what her approach to a secure history archive would be. Forgetting wasn’t an issue. No one truly forgot anything, as Alter Ego had once told him, and even in the case of someone like Temp, who had to lock memories away to stave off insanity…that was still locking, not throwing away. All those memories were still there, if he truly needed to find them. 

The issue was…life and time, really. Because as Temp had told him, even immortality wasn’t truly that. And while there could be the case of passing down that archive…that was too risky. If the predecessor suddenly died. 

…Aiichi had said he thought he’d have years to learn everything. He had been flattered that Fuse thought he was prepared enough to go to a boarding school for his formal education, and he had been okay going because…there would be years. Fuse was young, healthy. He would come back after learning what the school thought world leaders should know, then he’d learn the ins and outs of what made a Dicean leader. 

He’d barely been at Hope’s Peak for a year before she died. And all of that personal history was lost. They had writings and standards still but it wasn’t the same. 

And that wasn’t even going into the ethics of it all. If a creature with a mind had all of Empath’s history in it…it would never get to live its own life. Even for keeping a secret…that wasn’t a fair compromise, or sacrifice, in Kokichi’s eyes, and he doubted the community would be able to come to an easy consensus. And given that it was supposed to be a history…if there was a divide, then it would never be a complete history. 

But for a less magical solution, it really was a perfect idea. 

Kokichi’s eyes widened slightly in alarm as Maki told him something he…really didn’t think she should. And even she seemed to catch that. He was honored, but…

Kokichi sighed softly and gently pressed his shoulder to Maki’s for a moment. “...I know I don’t have the best track record…but I never want the things you share with me to become a liability. I don’t want your trust to hurt you, or be something that’s considered foolish.”

“...I’ve never tried, outside of the involuntary stuff about me only knowing things while I’m asleep,” Kokichi huffed, “But…I do know people who could help me lock that knowledge away, if it’s better for me to not know. Or…be able to access that knowledge without a ton of work.”

Maki’s eyes shifted towards Kokichi. Giving him an indecipherable look… 

She reached over and flicked him between the eyes. 

“Mmg!” 

Kokichi whined, giving Maki a pouty look as he rubbed his forehead. “You could just say you trust me with it!”

Maki huffed, rolling her eyes. “I don’t trust you with it. That’s why I’m foolish. But I didn’t give you a blade just to cut me with. Honestly, you do a long, self-indulgent rant about irrationally trusting someone to the point of considering it might be fate, give them an important secret, and they think I, what? Misspoke?”

“Honestly, I waste my time on you.” Maki rolled her eyes again, but this time they stared up, staring at the sky as she sighed. “When your kingdom sent your ambassadors to deliver treasure and broker peace that was, by all right, already secured, they apparently spent a considerable amount of time unearthing dirty secrets. Trying to ‘purify’ us from the inside. Expose corruption, create change, our foriegn saviors.”

“And they discovered the hard way what secrets matter. How my people treat our sins.” Maki whispered, an authority to her voice that Kaito had long lost. Had maybe never had. A kingdom left behind, perhaps, but Maki would never not feel a sense of ownership to it. A sense of duty or responsibility. 

Dicea was home, but Luminary was hers.

“Corruption is one thing. Expected. Just how politics work… but blood feuds? Blood feuds matter. And they don’t expire. Assassins are a time old position in Luminary for a reason. We’re deniability. We’re secrets. We’re how they get away with it without families burning each others homes or tearing each other apart… and there is a place in Luminary that assassins know, where the evidence of all those blood feuds? They all exist. Proof. Of crimes elites have been guarding for generations…”

“And now you know that the information exists. And someday…” Maki shrugged, “Maybe that information will protect you. Maybe you can use it as the weapon your ambassadors were trying to invent themselves. One more failsafe for Kaede to do an adequate job… if you ever feel the need to use it.”

“...you can bury the information if you like. Maybe I’ll still be around the day you need it and I can tell you again.” Maki mused, “But I handed you a blade because I want you to be safe. And I just hope you don’t cut me with it.”

He really should know Maki better than to think she would have instant regrets in a time like this. Not never, because while she did stand behind most of her decisions, simply being a human with certain desires meant it would happen, time to time. But not while they were sitting under a tree on a sunny day, nothing pressing going on. Not while they had time to think. 

Kokichi sighed softly at the mention of the ambassadors. Knowing what he did now, it was a miracle no one had tried to take them out, treaty or no. And ironic, considering all the propaganda of the heroes Luminary thought themselves to be that Kokichi had hated them for. 

…but he did understand it. After discovering the power structure and people involved with the LRG, which came from reports of corruption and money laundering and the sorts of things the ambassadors had found out about in Luminary, the entire thing was torn down. And…as a result, things became safer in Dicea. Better for their most vulnerable. 

It just…wasn’t how things were in Luminary, though. And it’d been too late to recognize that. The hope that Luminary would be too busy with internal affairs that would ultimately lead to more peaceful outcomes, to deal with Dicea anymore was…naive. Only Luminaries could spark Luminous change, and they had. 

Kokichi took a small breath and nodded, treating the information with the seriousness it deserved. “...you always have been trying to fill my arsenal, more and more, since we met. I don’t want to have to use them…but I know better to be safe than sorry. I hope I never hurt you with it either.”

“You’re a small, sweet child who cries at baby penguins, is the head of my brother and best friends family, keeper of the castle my child lives in, and someday will run a kingdom.” Maki shrugged, “The mind reading thing helps, but forgive me if I don’t want the man who’s responsible for the protection of so many of my loved ones to be just a smidge overpowered.”

“Here’s a secret, Kokichi… it can be very fun being overpowered.” Maki smirked, “The rare times it happens. People give you this look. They try to make themselves seem bigger and more imposing than they are, try to bluff you… it can be fun, letting them talk, knowing things are going to go exactly as you’ll have them go.”

“And before you get horrified, trust me. I’m not talking about any of my kills. Feeling overpowered in those situations is how you end up a dead, cocky idiot. No… I mean sports.” Maki said, suddenly looking a little excited, her face lighting up a little, “Facing down a team or fan who despite all the evidence thinks they still have a chance? Very fun.”

Kokichi snorted softly. “I think I can accept that. It makes it easier to protect everyone if I don’t have to have a eureka moment just to get some tools.”

Oddly enough, Kokichi hadn’t been thinking about Maki’s kills as an example, and maybe oddly again, he just chuckled at her excitement, an almost guilty giddy look crossing over his face as he brought his knees up out of the sun. 

“I get that. I…” Kokichi snorted, shaking his head a little. “My uncle’s an asshole, right? I mean…I’ve known him long enough to know that’s just how he talks, but he sounds super smug and assured in debates ‘n stuff.”

“...there was this awful book series I loved when I was little. The writing is engaging enough, it’s a fun enough time, but the plot is just…atrocious. But it really appealed to my pre-teen desires and I ate it up. I actually think there’s more books in the series now, but I fell off ages ago, once I was old enough to realize how ridiculous it all was.”

Kokichi chuckled lowly. “But…fantasy series for pre-teens, right? Something kind of modern, it wasn’t out when my uncle was that age. I still get a kick out of the damn look on his face when I kicked his ass just info-dumping like a madman for my literature class…”

Continuing to snicker, Kokichi sent a small scene to Maki’s mind, a younger, less tired, Hideki looking absolutely appalled and distraught as a triumphant Kokichi indicated to a horribly complex chart on a board, mouth going a mile a minute.

Maki put her hand to her mouth, turned her head, and gave a small, silent titter. “Oh no.” She snickered, giving Kokichi an amused look, “That will be the look on my face, inevitably. I want to give Timothy credit for being the one to do it, but let’s be honest, that enthusiastic little idiot Cali is going to do something incredibly impressive and put me in my place just some random day… and it’ll only be her because Kimiko will have mastered not being seen by that point.”

Maki said this with a tinge of exasperation, but there was a radiating sense of pride coming off of her. Her ‘Little Assassins’ starting to return to training, in an unofficial sense, and Maki thrilled to see their break hadn’t erased the progress they were making. She and Kaito were trying to divy the ‘training’ between them, training being ‘just some physical activity’ that she and Kaito were using to low key have them practice little parkour and endurance and fighting techniques.

Running her hand through the top of her hair, pulling it all back before letting it all fall on her face again, she smirked, “Kaito’s gonna be so mad I’ve seen something like that and he didn’t. Ugh, he’s going to whine that I got to spar him and he didn’t get to spar me. He’s going to be such a brat.”

“What was the series, by the way?” Maki asked, looking to Kokichi, “Something I could shove in front of Timothy?”

“I feel like my face was kind of like that when Kimiko flipped herself upside down on the display shackles in the library archive,” Kokichi laughed, a fond, proud look on his face. “Though maybe not the same feelings. It was incredible seeing her pull it off, but I was terrified she was gonna drop herself on her head or something. They really are a daring bunch.”

He’d get that horrified pride at how exceptional your kid was from Tim and the girls first, undoubtedly, just from the age advantage, but, damn, when Miyako got older? He had a feeling it would happen with her abilities, just as he had kept doing to Alter Ego, but she would have plenty of opportunities in the physical world too to astound him. Kids were really something else. 

Shrugging, Kokichi snorted a bit. “Hey, he’ll always have the option to ask me to set something like that up for him, and it’s not like he can’t just ask you either. Even if the mention of actually sparring makes him kinda twitchy these days. He might get all pouty about how he’s sworn off sparring but…I dunno. I think it doesn’t count against that if it’s essentially a dream.”

Giving Maki an amused look, Kokichi shook his head a little at himself, a little embarrassed in that way you got when thinking about the things you liked as a pre-teen. “Kingdom Hearts. It might be too silly for his tastes, but there is a lot of action in it, so he might like it. There’s a whoooole bunch of convoluted history and subplots about an ancient war and a group of people trying to stave off the darkness of the universe…but it mostly follows this twelve-year-old trying to save different worlds and find his friends.”

After a moment, Kokichi smirked. “If he ends up getting into it, I’d prepare to have him and the girls asking to get long leather coats. And maybe hearing them refer to each other by code numbers ‘n stuff.”

“Well, it’s not like I can’t sympathize. Empathize? Relate.” Maki smirked lightly, “I mean, you know it personally. We all like to pretend to be the characters in our childhood stories. Speaking of, did the memories get through? I know I offered them, but I wasn’t sure if transferring memories was actually something we could do. Figured it was worth the attempt.”

Maki laughed quietly again… before her face calmed. Her cheeks pouting out a little, but it not the slightly embarrassed look it usually was. It was a small look of frustration, blowing out her cheeks a bit before letting it out in a little puff, “...he does get a bit skittish about sparring now, doesn’t he. He keeps swearing we’re going to have a proper spore over certain things, someday, but he puts them off… and the last spar we had was fairly tame, considering I was offering myself up as punishment. Kaito was just going through the motions, he barely let us talk…”

“...I don’t regret it.” Maki sighed, shrugging slightly, “But I may have been too rough, our last serious spar. I had wanted it to leave an impression, but…”

Maki shrugged again, looking tired. Unintended consequences.

Kokichi snickered with a fond, gracious look, before he nodded, enjoyment twinkling in his eyes. “Yeah, I have ‘em. It’s not like it all hit me like a slap, like when I got my memories back, but…it’s like having a lot of old memories that I hadn’t thought about in a while? But something reminded me of them, so I get that…like, broad impression of all of them, and can think back on them if I wanted to.”

He shrugged sheepishly. “Maybe a little complicated, but--yes. It worked. Thank you.”

Taking a breath, Kokichi ran a hand through his hair, pulling some of it away from his scalp for a moment. “...I think it might be a bandaid moment, if he wants to spar again. And, yanno, I’d respect it if he didn’t…but so often he’ll talk about wanting to spar someone or check out their skills, and there’s such a tone of admiration and excitement in his voice. So…I don’t think it’s really that he doesn’t want to. I think that he just…doesn’t feel comfortable sparring. For, probably, a variety of reasons.”

“...which might include your last serious spar,” Kokichi gave Maki a gentle look. “Or it might not. But you don’t have to regret something to want to soothe the scars left by it.”

“You don’t have to regret the action to regret everything that came from it.” Maki said, like she was quoting someone… before giving Kokichi a dry look, “Individual therapy is a nuisance. Group therapy I can spend two-thirds of the time just letting you and Kaito talk about things. By myself? It’s just me. It’s very difficult to not talk when that bite-sized woman just sits there, staring at you.”

“Hm… don’t know how to soothe that sort of thing though.” Maki mused, looking at the castle… before taking a deep breath and finally standing up. Offering Kokichi a hand as she said, “Maybe I’ll ask him the next time we’re dancing.”

“Can’t relate,” Kokichi snickered. “Dr. Egami and I keep having to extend sessions ‘cause I won’t shut up. We’ve gotten very good at finding placeholders to pause our conversations and get back to so I don’t end up leaving Shuu-chan and Kai-chan scrambling for a babysitter.”

Taking Maki’s hand, Kokichi stretched out his back with a sigh, giving his friend a warm nod. “You’re not alone in doing it--you have other resources, of course, but it’s gonna be partially up to Kai-chan too. Best way to find out what someone wants is to ask ‘em.”

Giving his wrists a roll, Kokichi went over to the plank and hefted it up, carrying it across his arms and chest. He’d have to change position when he got to the stairwell, but it was easier getting it into the castle like this. “Thanks for the lesson, Maki-chan. Say hey to Tim for me.”

-

“Do you know how many toes you have, Miyako?” Kaito whispered to his daughter, freshly changed and freshly eaten, she and dad at the window sill, the window open and the sun beaming down on her as Miyako coo’d softly. 

Kaito wiggled the toes, touching their very edges and pushing them back and forth, as he whispered, “You have one, two, three, four… see this one? This is your big toe. It’s not very big yet, but one day, it will grow, just like Miya, and you know what’s going to happen my sweetbun?”

Kaito kissed the bottom of her foot, before sighing dramatically, “You are gonna stub it sometimes and it’s gonna suck. Every. Single. Time.”

Kokichi looked over fondly as Kaito cooed over Miyako, even his whispers audible in the quiet room. It was another calm, balmy day, a little more cloudy than the one before, but the sun still managed to shine down onto streets and faces. 

He still had a few more weeks of mandatory leave, but Kokichi still had his personal mailbox for his perusal, and while there was usually nothing terribly interesting, sometimes there were cool things. So as he, Kaito, and Shuuichi lounged in their room, Kokichi rifled through his letters, feet swaying through the air as he laid on his stomach. 

Until the stopped fast, lowering to the bed as a small, solemn, “Oh…” escaped Kokichi’s mouth.

“Mm?” Shuichi hummed, looking up from his book, which he was taking notes off of at the desk. Looking back at the bed, he asked, “Good ‘oh’ or bad ‘oh’?”

“So, you see, Miyako,” Kaito whispered to her, petting her little baby belly as he gossiped to her quietly, “What dada just did was not assume it was bad, even though daddy said that in a sort of, ‘ooph’ sad kind of way. So it probably is bad news, but you have to ask if it was good or not both to not assume, but, also to not corner them. You ask to give them a chance to say no, even if it’s yes.”

Miyako gurgled at him. Kaito nodded, “I know, it’s complicated. Trust me, give it time, I’ll teach you how to properly read a room.”

Shuichi gave Kaito a dry look. Kaito had been in a weird mood that day. Not a bad one, but a little zoned out. Which was fine for a quiet day, but not if something was actually wrong. But he ignored him, giving Kokichi a concerned look. “?”

Kokichi glanced up at Kaito briefly before sighing at the letter in his hands. “Keita Rivers passed away…”

Shuffling himself into a sitting position, Kokichi knew that wasn’t much of an explanation for his partners, but for a moment he just looked sadly at the letter. “He’s…he was the town representative of Corbra. Was for a while, on and off, since he kept getting voted back in, like, every other voting term.”

Kokichi swallowed, rubbing the back of his neck with a small, sad smile. “Corbra is one of the closest towns to Usott, you know? Just north. So…I mean. I guess that’s just…I’ve met him personally. He…he was a cool guy. Wonderful community leader.”

He took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it go. “...we’ve been invited to the funeral. I-I mean…it’s addressed to me, but…it’s extended to the family…”

“Oh,” Shuichi sighed, giving Kokichi a soft look as he pushed his chair back, standing up and going over to the bed, placing a gentle hand on Kokichi’s knee as he leaned in, giving him an even softer look as he said, “I’m sorry to hear about that, Kokichi. Corbra? That’s a shame… when is the funeral?”

Kaito looked over at them from the window, frowning slightly, “It was good of them to think to invite you. It’s a close by town? How close is close?”

Kokichi nodded silently and leaned over to press against Shuuichi, taking another breath. “It’s on the 20th… And, like, really close, it’s a three hour drive, thereabouts. Literally once you get past the fields and farms around the city, you’re in the outskirts of Corbra.”

“...sorry,” Kokichi sighed softly, running a hand through his hair. “It’s not like we were close or anything. It’s just… It’s sad to hear. A lot of people are going to feel his absence.”

Kaito nodded quietly, playing with Miyako idly as he tried to remember what day it currently was. That was enough time, he was pretty sure, to not feel like they were rushing their way there. What was it, a little over two weeks? They could make that work… If Kokichi wanted to go.

“Well, I mean… a three hour trip? That’s entirely doable. Wouldn’t even be that challenging to plan.” Kaito mused, giving Miyako his finger to suck on as he asked, “Do you want to go? We can make it happen.”

“It’s alright, this was someone you knew.” Shuichi said softly, scooting over and putting his arm around Kokichi’s shoulder, pulling him into a hug, careful to not crinkle the invitation, “You don’t need to apologize.”

Kokichi gave Shuuichi a soft, thankful look as he snuggled down into the hug, taking in his fiance’s comfort. “...I’d like to go… Keita was a really great person--I’d like to pay my respects. I think I have a few memories that people would like to hear.”

He knew he had a habit of sandbagging himself, but Kokichi couldn’t help the sheepish look on his face as he glanced at his partners. “He once mentioned to me that he was Solus. Would…you guys be okay going to a service for another religion? I mean, we still need to look after Miya, and she still gets a little freaked when the dining hall gets a little too noisy so…it’s fine, if not.”

Kaito frowned looking at Miyako, before glancing at Shuichi, who gave him a look back. They weren’t having a secret conversation, but both were trying to get a read on the other, working out what they themselves felt like saying. 

It was Kaito who broke eye contact first, looking back to Miyako as he said, “I mean, I don’t mind doing a ritual for another religion. The ideas never freaked me out before I found out other religions were, uh, kinda also true, and now that I know they are, it’d feel kind of mean-spirited to just refuse them out of principal. But, uh, should one of us stay here with Miyako? Or we could get a babysitter… Maki should go with us. Nazumi too, I mean, obviously, but… shouldn’t she? Maki, I mean.”

“We could ask her how she feels about it.” Shuichi offered, not saying but clearly thinking about all of their discussions on not relying on Maki to be ‘working’ all the time anymore. “... if it has to be one of us, we could argue that I should go because of the engagement.”

Kaito sighed, looking frustrated with himself. “It doesn’t matter, there’s no hierarchy, my role isn’t a… ya know, like a ‘thing’, it’s fine. Just, I can stay with Miyako if that makes it easier, I can go if Kokichi wants me there, either way. Totally up to us. It doesn’t matter our roles, okay?”

Giving a small little breath of air from his nose, Kaito steadied himself before picking up Miyako, putting her against his chest in the hopes of soothing a nap out of her as he asked Kokichi, “So, do you have a preference, beautiful? One of us, both of us… you know you can even go alone, if you don’t want to drag any of us with you. You’re allowed to take trips without us.”

Kokichi nodded slightly. He wouldn’t mind in the slightest if Maki--and likely Tim, then, since it was going to be while Haneda was on vacation--wanted to come on the trip…but she would be going as their friend, not as security, regardless of any security checks she did. It wasn’t something they could just assume and completely rely on from her. 

“...I think it might be safer for someone to stay with Miya,” Kokichi nodded to himself. “I think it is a good idea to get her slowly acclimated to travel as she gets older but…if she’s still working on just going around our home, I don’t think she’s ready for a day trip, especially a long one.”

But as for who should stay with Miyako…

Kokichi sighed a little. “I mean, even an ‘alone’ trip would have Aunty still with me, but…I think I’d like at least one of you guys there. Even if you guys didn’t know him…I’d like the support.” Kokichi turned a little red. “...and even if I can take trips by myself…I’ve never been to another city without you guys. It’s…kind of daunting, if I’m honest.”

Again, Kaito and Shuichi looked at each other.

“...okay, so…” Kaito patted Miyako on the butt, thinking it through, “...maybe it’d be a good thing for Shuichi to go too. Like, it’s a social event, outside of the festivals its the first formal event Kokichi’s been invited too. Shuichi, as the newly betrothed, should escort him.”

Shuichi rested his head against Kokichi’s head, rubbing his arm up and down, “I don’t mind going, of course. But don’t forget Kaito, that sort of thinking–”

“Isn’t necessary here, right, right, I remember, I just said it myself.” Kaito huffed, patting Miyako’s back before kissing the side of her face, getting up to start pacing the room, speaking softly to soothe her to sleep, “But either way. I’ll be on dad duty! Especially if Shuichi and Maki are both going, big, strong dad’s gonna stay and watch baby, isn’t he? Isn’t he, Miya? Dada, Daddy and Auntie will go on a sorta sad day trip and I will stay and bounce baaaaabyyyyy. Miyaaaa~”

Kokichi relaxed against Shuuichi and nodded slightly at…what sounded like Kaito’s decision, trying not to shake off Shuuichi’s head. “We still need to ask Maki-chan, remember. And…well, if you’re staying here, Tim’s prolly gonna wanna stay too. It might be fun for him to check out another town for a day, and Maki-chan might think that way too, but…it’s up to what they’re feelin’.”

Staying quiet for a moment, he sighed. “It is gonna be a formal event. Probably still not as formal as you guys might think formal is, but…still.” Kokichi turned, squishing his face into Shuuichi’s shoulder. “...’s usually respectful to wear black or white or both, to funerals… Most your suits are, so…that should work fine.”

“I understand.” Shuichi said, “Is there anything I should prepare? Considering everything, I think it’s a good idea to not assume our funeral rites go the same way, so if there’s anything people would prepare beforehand, I likely don’t know about it.”

“Maybe that’s something Kokichi can explain later, Shuichi,” Kaito said, glancing over at his husband and fiance, placing another kiss against Miyako’s head again before heading over to the bed, leaning over to place one against Kokichi’s, “I haven’t said it yet, so I’m sorry to hear about it too, beautiful. Actually, if you knew him, there’s probably a few people in the castle getting the same bad news, huh… I have Miyako if you want to go check on everyone.”

Kokichi was grateful for Kaito’s intervention, despite how excited he usually was to explain customs. He just…didn’t have it in him right now. Someone he knew and respected was gone and…it hurt. 

But it didn’t hurt him alone, and grief shared and confided made it easier to bear. 

“...yeah. Yeah.” Kokichi took a breath and nodded a little, slowly straightening out of Shuuichi’s arms. “I…I think I’ll do that. Thanks, guys…I won’t be out too long.”

There would probably be a section in the obituary pages in the paper in the next few days. Letting people know by large. The papers tended to only include people from the specific town the paper was in, or nearby at least, but…public figures were a little different. Even if the other town reps were probably being notified in various ways. Keita had always been really active in reaching out to the other leaders, keeping them all on the same page or asking for advice or participation. Even more newly elected officials had probably had a few personal moments with him. 

…it occurred to Kokichi then that his father might be planning on going to the funeral too. Not just officially, but, like Kokichi, because of the personal connection. 

…he hadn’t gotten to talk to Keita, considering everything. At least at the wedding itself. At the announcement dinner, he’d talked to dozens of representatives who’d made it to town in time, mostly from nearby towns. He’d been too concerned with finding a potential poisoner, and too bitter over what he perceived to be mocking compliments to really remember much of what they’d actually talked about. 

He’d talked to the old man since, but… 

Shuichi looked a little worried, and Kaito got the sense that he was considering volunteering to go with, or arguing against Kokichi doing anything. So Kaito said, “Take all the time in the world, Kokichi, this sort of stuff doesn’t have a time limit. Tell everyone my condolences, and let us know if there’s anything we can provide.” 

“Yes, of course.” Shuichi said, backing off, squeezing Kokichi’s hand real quick before letting him go, “I’ll talk to Maki about the funeral, but otherwise, go be with your family. We’re here if you need us.”

Kokichi slid off the bed but immediately turned, wrapping his arms around Shuuichi in a firm hug. “Thank you… You guys are the best, you know?” Smiling slightly, he kissed Shuuichi’s cheek before turning to Kaito and Miyako, taking a little more care in hugging Kaito since he didn’t want to squish Miya, though he gave her a fond backrub for the moments he was in it. 

“I love you guys…be safe.”

Kokichi took a breath as he stepped outside the room, pausing to rub his eyes for a moment. Okay. Okay. It was going to be alright. It was okay to hurt and be upset…but it was going to be alright. 

He started heading down to his father’s office.

“Love you too beautiful!” Kaito called out, watching the door close as Shuichi called out the same. Kaito sighed as it clicked shut, before murmuring to himself, “Good… I mean, not good, but good. Good. This is a good way to learn how to do this. Good…”

Shuichi raised an eyebrow at that, “What?”

“What? You want the first personal death we have to help Kokichi through to be someone from the castle? His fathers?” Kaito said, shooting Shuichi a weirdly aggressive look, “Mr. Rivers, Atua watch over his passing, has done us a favor. This is the best way we could learn how to do this without, like… hurting him.”

“...It’s cruel to think of it that way, Kaito.” Shuichi said softly, before getting up, “I’m going to go talk to Maki. Do me a favor and don’t repeat that sentiment to anyone else.”

“Sure,” Kaito murmured, bouncing Miyako gently, watching Shuichi head out. “I won’t repeat it…” 

Kissing the side of Miyako’s head, he whispered to her, “But not saying it doesn’t make it not true. There are much worse ways to learn how to handle grief in a new relationship. Ways that hurt… this is good. It’s good… Atua be pleased…”

-

If Hajime was honest, if you had asked him before he heard the news, he probably would have assumed that Keita’s passing wouldn’t affect him that much. He had seen the man in passing a few times over the years, and he had been kind and approachable, made idle conversation with Hajime, but nothing too close. One more visitor to the castle.

He didn’t think the older mans passing would affect him so much, as Hajime leaned against the guardrail of the stairs, watching people stop and talk to each other about what had happened as a pit sat in the bottom of his stomach. Keita had just been one of those names you always heard in every event… it hit Hajime that an era had ended…

Weird, to feel so troubled by that. Hajime wasn’t prone to sentiment. Keito would be replaced, his work picked up by someone new, who would have quite a large shoe to fill, but inevitably would. Hajime wondered what Corbra was like right now. The atmosphere must be hectic…

Glancing over, Hajime saw Kokichi heading downstairs, looking troubled. “Get the news?” Hajime sighed, giving him a nod.

Kokichi nodded solemnly as he came over to the guardrail, joining Hajime for at least a moment. He was heading to talk to his father but…Aiichi was just one on the list. It seemed like the news broke more broadly within the castle already and…it felt better to be with someone. 

“Yeah, I just got a letter…” Kokichi sighed softly before giving Hajime a tiny smile. “Looks like I’d just need to step outside my room to hear anyway, though.”

Reaching up, Kokichi gently squeezed Hajime’s shoulder. “How are you doing?” Because you didn’t have to be close to be affected, despite how Kokichi had apologized to his partners earlier. And even for the smallest sorrows, it was good to reach out.

Hajime shrugged lightly, giving Kokichi a small smile, “I suppose I’m just surprised. I knew the man was getting on in age, but he really didn’t show it. Guess it’s the sort of thing that can hit you all at once… he lived such an accomplished life.” Hajime mused, looking back down at the people running around, some going on with their days, some gossiping, the atmosphere slightly dreary despite the sunny summer day. 

“I can’t help but wonder if that was a comfort, right at the very end. If he looked back at it all and was filled with pride… how about you, Prince Kokichi?” Hajime asked, returning his gaze to him, “I imagine paperwork wise things are about to get a little complicated at the impromptu new election, but I’m certain I’ve seen you both talk at length, in the dining hall. Will you be attending the funeral?”

Kokichi nodded, his eyes lowering a bit as he turned as well to look at the people down below on the stairwell. Though, there was still a small smile on his lips. Because, for all how loss felt now…it was amazing to have lived, and for your life to have touched others. 

“I think Keita was in his eighties…but I literally only know that from paperwork. He’d always do the old man grumble ever since I first met him, but it never really felt like…age, you know? Just experience. Though it is a little weird to separate those things…”

Crossing his arms over the guardrail, Kokichi nodded again. “Yeah… Shuu-chan, Kai-chan and I were starting to talk about making plans for it. Who’s gonna watch Miya and who wants to come with me, and all that. I gotta coordinate with my father, too. For, like, official goodwill only one of us would really need to go, but…we’ve both known Keita for years, professionally and not. I don’t think either of us are gonna miss the funeral.”

“Ah, right. I should probably go offer my services to the boss.” Hajime realized, pushing himself off the rail and straightening his tie, reminding himself he was working at the moment. “Not that Kirumi won’t already be there, but I can’t just assume, you know? And your father can take things so personally sometimes… it’s important to make certain he’s eating. He’ll forget if someone doesn’t remind him and he’s caught up in something like this.”

Hajime looked over to Kokichi, before– with only some hesitancy– reaching over to pat Kokichi on the back, “The castle can handle you both leaving for the funeral for a day. And if one of your partners is staying here to watch Miyako, I don’t plan to make the trip myself, yet. I might change my mind after a talk with Chiaki, seeing how she feels about it, but if I’m still here that day I’ll make certain they have an extra hand available.”

Kokichi sighed softly. “I imagine it’s gonna be even busier when the news breaks in the paper, but if everyone in the castle knows…yeah. Despite all the refreshments in his office he sure forgets that they’re there for him too, huh. Should probably nag him about not staying up all night again too…”

Smiling at the back pat, Kokichi gave Hajime a grateful look. “I’d appreciate that, Hajime. Miya’s been doing pretty well when one or two of us have been away for a bit, but it does make me feel better to know more helping hands are nearby.”

Considering they were heading to the same place, Kokichi walked along with Hajime, quiet at first before he gave the older man a curious look. “...Kai-chan said you guys kinda settled things…but are they? Like…we good?”

Hajime gave Kokichi a mildly confused look, “I… perhaps? Sorry, could you be more clear about which issue you were worried about?”

“Maybe I’m reading into things too much… My therapists say I have some of the worst habits of mindreading,” Kokichi huffed lightly, rubbing the back of his neck, before giving Hajime a gentle look. “About knowing what was going on with Shuu-chan, last year. Kai-chan was pissed at you, then when we were doing that whole letter exercise I sent you over and prodded you guys to actually talk about it rather than just feeling bitter and guilty.”

“...I dunno,” Kokichi said more softly. “You just kinda seem…unsure, sometimes. About where you stand with me. So, that makes me unsure too.”

“Ah, yes.” Hajime sighed, a mildly frustrated look on his face, having not thought about that for some time now and annoyed at how much it still… affected him. “We… sort of talked. It was a quick discussion, and honestly neither of us spoke very much, Shuichi did most of the talking. It was mostly Kaito and I staring at each other while Shuichi insisted there was nothing to be mad over, until we both finally agreed with him.”

“... you always like to imagine, that when things becomes serious, and someone needs your help, that you’d react admirably.” Hajime said, giving Kokichi a small, wary smile, “And I think for a lot of us, we get to live comfortably in the ‘maybe’. Sure, maybe in the emergency situation, I’d be terrible, and might even make things actively worse, just making all the wrong choices… but maybe I’d be amazing. I’d be incredibly helpful, or maybe I’d really give it my all, maybe I’d make the hard, uncomfortable sacrifices, to help the person in front of me who, in that moment, really needs it…”

“There is nothing more humbling than coming across the ‘maybe’ situation, and finding out for certain what you’d do.” Hajime said softly, his shoulders falling a little, “To lose the ego that comes from the ‘maybe’. Maybe I’d be compassionate, maybe I’d be heroic, maybe I’d be up to the challenge… so much of my self-confidence depended on the ‘maybe’. And now knowing how I would actually act? Coming across a bad situation and realizing I just wanted to … not think about it? And pretend that nothing was happening because any other reaction was inconvenient? To me?”

“I’m still pretty ashamed of it. I can understand why Kaito was struggling to forgive me for it, and honestly, I’d understand if you felt a certain way about me for it as well. I’ve been using the incident as sort of a baseline for my future actions. Trying to be better than that moment. But its humbling, how much willpower it takes me, to be better than that moment. It doesn’t come naturally to me. I have to work for it.” Hajime said, frowning a little as he thought about it, “...Do you think it came naturally to Keita? I can’t imagine him making that same mistake. Sometimes it feels like some people are just born able to handle situations like that… like it's a natural talent that I just wasn’t lucky enough to be born with.”

While he watched his step on the stairs, Kokichi looked over as Hajime spoke, his own shoulders falling too, though not just from picking up what Hajime was giving off. There was an emotional empathy--and he knew that was just what the word meant, but Kokichi had never been afraid to play with definitions--but also an intellectual one. 

Kokichi sighed softly. “I’m not happy that you didn’t tell anyone, but…I don’t blame you either, Hajime. And…maybe that just sucks, but…I think using that time as a baseline to surpass is just…”

He shrugged, offering a weak smile. “Learning. And you have learned. I can’t even say for your personal life, but…when you’ve been caught in more of my family’s messes? Ever since then, you’ve always stepped up to keep people together and calm and…you’re reliable, man. That’s the kind of person you are to me. And that doesn’t change because of the time you weren’t--if that was a point that made you look at yourself and want to change then…that’s a good thing. And says good things about you.”

With another sigh, Kokichi rubbed his arms a bit. “...that’s the whole concept of Dicean leaders, isn’t it. That the Ouma line can just…look at a baby and see that natural talent, that capability to step up when things are hard. But history shows us that that idea’s bullshit, and treating someone like they already have that capability, and never giving them the tools or lessons to learn how to do it is dangerous.”

Kokichi’s expression darkened in disappointment before clearing. “That’s why all the leadership positions not for the leader are elected. So people don’t have to believe in intangible maybes, and can instead weigh the prospects of people who’ve already shown how they react…even if reactions are never like…records that can only be surpassed.”

“...sorry for the tangent,” Kokichi groaned out a short laugh. “But…I mean, after long enough? I believe that some of it came naturally to Keita, of course. It becomes muscle memory. The guy would barely bat an eye at news of burst sewage pipes. But I really doubt it started out that way. Compassion and bravery aren’t emotions, they’re choices. Ones that become easier to make, and more natural to choose without thinking the more you choose them.”

Hajime nodded slightly, a sharp tilt to his head, “That’s fine. The tangent, I mean, can’t call what I just did anything else either. You make it easy to talk, Kokichi, you’re a good listener.”

Though, one point of Kokichi’s speech caused Hajime to give him a slightly confused look, “...but the Ouma line works though. The boss is an incredible leader, and so will you be, and so was Fuse, and all… well, almost all, that came before her. And the one Ouma that was banished is believed to have never actually been actually part of the Ouma lineage anyway, the False Ouma.” Hajime’s expression wasn’t zealotry, Hajime didn’t have that level of faith or adoration in him. But it was belief, as he said, “Perhaps the elections make sense for the smaller leaders, but the Ouma line? You are gifted.”

“...though, admittedly, even being born gifted doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cultivate those gifts, train them.” Hajime conceded, as they got closer to King Aiichi’s office, “You can’t rely on talent alone, but… the Ouma’s are inspiring. At least, I’ve always found them inspiring…”

Hajime suddenly blushed a little, a strange coloring on his usually fairly serious face, as he said softly to the prince, “When I was young? Before I understood there was only ever one heir at a time? I used to daydream that I’d be the next Ouma. Lots of people do. That King Aiichi would look at me one day and say ‘You. You’re the next one’. I knew a lot of kids who had that same daydream, and we’d argue with each other about who’d actually make the best Ouma. Silly kid stuff, but I still remember the sheer awe I had for your family, growing up.”

Kokichi huffed, honestly a little irritated. “I know…but the fact that there was a banished Ouma, and ones that stepped down due to demand, and ones that just fucked off? I’m more inclined to believe that there are just a good amount of people at any given time who would be great leaders, and some of them just happen to shuffle into the Ouma line. Not to mention that it’s something of a self-fulfilling prophesy that, hey, if you’re raised into a certain idea of leadership, you’re probably going to abide by those values as you grow. Even with the track record, I still call it weighted coincidence.”

“Maybe it’ll piss off the egos of some of my predecessors, but no one is born anything, let alone gifted,” he sighed. “There are certain genetic advantages, sure, but even those don’t necessarily dictate where your limit will be, just where your starting point is. Everything a person is is dependent on what they do, and what a person does is taught and learned. And without those tools…they’re going to struggle under expectations.”

Due to the meddling of gods, Kokichi could concede that maybe that wasn’t always 100% true across the board, but…he sincerely believed it was more true than not. Fate wasn’t a predestined path, and whatever a person did was a choice. At times not fair choices, but still choices. 

…but he also knew the mythos that surrounded the Ouma line. And, while for other kids it had been the exciting fantasy, for Kokichi it had still been his pride. 

Kokichi grinned and nudged Hajime’s side a little. “That’s really cute, you know? For all that my philosophies point otherwise…it still is an exciting idea. Even if the actual realities of leading probably aren’t what most people would want to daydream about.”

Hajime laughed lightly, looking sheepish, “It’s the same excitement of that sorting hat thing they do. Something can just look at you and see something special in you? A literal born leader? If the Ouma legacy achieves one thing, it definitely draws the best of the best to the capital, and makes people physically active at official events. Because, again, maybe the leader will see you, and just suddenly know…”

“It’s a romantic, silly idea. But I’ve always enjoyed it.” Hajime said, before stopping respectfully outside of Aiichi’s door. It was open, but Hajime could hear voices inside, the leader already speaking to someone. It sounded like Kirumi, at least one of them, anyway.

Kokichi nodded in agreement. A lot of things were cyclical, but…at least in this case, it was far from a bad thing. If Oumas inspired people to be invested in their neighbors' well-beings? That was the point, really. 

Humming softly as Kokichi heard the same voices Hajime did, he stopped to wait by the door too. Usually there wasn’t an issue over popping your head in if it was an open-door meeting, but…well, it was just polite to respect someone’s time and privacy, even if they didn’t have a need to ensure privacy. It wasn’t like he was on a time limit. 

-

Really, there wasn’t a lot of official business for the capital to do, in light of the news. Not yet, anyway. Keita’s family and community would be handling the matters of his death, the local administration would be putting together an emergency vote, while the Corbran head secretary would be taking over representative duties for the next few months as people applied, the election happened, and they would get settled into the position. Until the position was filled, or unless they were specifically asked for help, castle administration had nothing to do.

But the leader had a whole lot to do. Especially with such a well-known and beloved figure like Keita, there would be a lot of people reeling from his death. His family most of all, naturally, but out at the fringes, it was Aiichi’s duty to offer comfort to anyone who came to him looking for it. To soothe concerns about what would change in Corbra (not a whole lot, tangibly). To encourage people to bond and cherish the lives around them in this time of grief. 

…and he should find people of his own to share his with too. Aiichi was the leader, but…he was still only a man. And no one person should have to carry everyone’s grief alone. 

Rather than the calm, open, compassionate face he put on for guests, Aiichi simply smiled tiredly at Kirumi, appreciating her concern. “Thank you for checking up on me, Kirumi, again. I don’t exactly have a complete ledger today, but I promise, I’m not going to miss lunch.”

He hadn’t missed breakfast, and he wouldn’t dinner either. And…while they still had a workday, Aiichi had asked Hideki if they could spend some time together after work. He really was trying to take his therapist’s advice to heart.

Kirumi, her hands in a polite, servitude ball in front of her waist, gave the boss a look from her clear, gray eyes that could only be described as ‘regretful’, tipping her head demurely to the side and averting her gaze as she said, “Are you certain there is nothing else I can provide for you, boss? It is no trouble, I am eager to perform my duties, especially during such… troubling times. I am quite skilled in fulfilling all requests, if there is something unorthodox that you worry might be out of my skillset… for instance, if you needed me to, say, travel to Corbra and…”

Whatever Kirumi was going to offer, the thought escaped her as she could practically feel the presence of Kokichi outside the room, glancing over her shoulder as her instincts warned her that a royal was waiting on her. Feeling compelled to announce his presence, Kirumi returned her gaze King Aiichi, bowing her head slightly as she said, “Boss, I believe Prince Kokichi is here. Shall I send him in?”

Even trying to “perform” less, that still earned a small laugh from Aiichi, warmth in his eyes as he gave Kirumi a slow bow of his head, having learned that the woman wasn’t much of a touchy-feely type from her peers, though she’d never complain of it. “Kirumi, you’re very sweet. How many times have you even made kitchen trips for me today? Four? And we’re hardly running low. You’ve always had exceptional work ethic, with the skills to back it up.”

“I just…don’t…”

Aiichi cut himself off, eyebrows raising in surprise as he glanced at the empty doorway, only to see Kokichi--with Hajime in the back?--peeking in at the sound of his name with a sheepish look. 

“Aw, Kirumi, I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation, it’s alright.”

…Kokichi looked okay. 

Looking back to Kirumi, Aiichi shrugged slightly, giving her a smile. “It doesn’t look like I’ve suddenly gained a line outside. What are your feelings, Kirumi?”

How did she feel?

Kirumi shifted slightly uncomfortably at the question. She felt the need to serve. She saw her employers needing things and wanted to provide it for them. She wanted to control everything and fulfill everyone's requests in that control.

“I am actually quite adept at paperwork and leadership positions. If Corbra, until the emergency re-election, needed a temporary head of office to represent your point of view–”

Hajime, who had been peeking over Kokichi’s shoulder, suddenly laughed, the sound shocked and incredulous. “Is Kirumi trying to volunteer to be Corbra’s temporary town representative?” Hajime whispered to Kokichi, sounding absolutely gobsmacked at that, “Wow, the sheer balls on her. How does that thought even enter her mind? To not even think it but to voice it aloud…”

Hajime shook his head. Just, baffled, at the courage and reckless stupidity of that. 

“-- then of course I’d accept such a request with the same tenacity and dedication I’d show any request made of me.” Kirumi offered, bowing her head again.

Aiichi’s smile didn’t dim, but there was something a little sad in his eyes. “Your dedication to serve is certainly something that the people in Corbra would benefit from, as we do here, but you know it doesn’t work like that. I have no input on the leadership of any community, unless there’s a matter of illegality involved. And it would be counterproductive for my view to be represented there as…I’m not a citizen of Corbra. Even though so much of the work is similar, no community should be assumed to be a copy of any other.”

“You’re a remarkable woman, Kirumi,” Aiichi said softly. “I have no doubts you could achieve anything you deem worth achieving, and I would always be delighted to put in a good word for your credibility. But the Corbran administration has not asked for backup, and Keita’s community has only asked for thoughts and love. There isn’t help to give them until that changes.”

Kokichi just shrugged a little, giving Hajime a half-amused smile. “Kirumi would probably take up being leader if someone asked it of her. She wants to get things done--whether people like or need it or not, sometimes.”

Hajime hummed slightly at that. Still finding it difficult to get his head around. Kirumi just… thought she could lead? It seemed like all she really wanted was permission. It was a mentality Hajime hadn’t seen on many people before. 

Kirumi didn’t sigh. Was too professional for that. But there was another small look of regret on her face, before it evened out into its usual, professional, stoic beauty, “Of course. Your wisdom, as always, is appreciated. Just always know that I am ready if such a need should arise.”

Kirumi courtesy’d, before standing straight again. “That was all I had on my mind, boss. If you have no more duties for me, I’d be remiss to keep young Kokichi waiting any longer.” 

“I do appreciate it, Kirumi,” Aiichi said softly. “Your duty is a kindness to others…even if it isn’t always to yourself. Take care.”

Kokichi gave a sheepish smile and a little wave to Kirumi as she left the office, before letting Hajime go before him as they went into the office. Even if Hajime had remarked exactly the situation they’d seen, he still might want to say hello. 

“Hey, dad,” Kokichi greeted, plopping down on the arm of one of the office couches.

“Ko, Hajime--a pleasure as always,” Aiichi greeted in return, warm and seemingly teetering between work- and personal-mode. In the gauging moments, seeing what his son and the housekeeper needed from him. “I take it you two have gotten the news.”

Hajime nodded, “I was sorry to hear it, boss. Keita will be missed, he was exceptional at what he did. And…” Hajime smiled sheepishly, “I came with the same mentality as Kirumi. Not to run a whole town, I mean, but just to see if there was anything you needed from the staff right now. Anything I could help with.”

Aiichi snorted slightly, giving his son a validating look before refocusing on Hajime. “Have I really been that terrible at taking care of myself during other big events? Though, I do understand the desire to be helpful in an uncertain time.”

“Thank you for checking up on me, Hajime, but I think between every person who’s come about the news has been one of our friends asking if I’ve eaten or showered or slept or…” Aiichi trailed off, making a vague ‘etcetera’ motion with his hand. “It’s a good thing, but it does make me worry about how much trouble I’ve caused you all in the past.”

Kokichi scoffed softly. “I won’t declare otherwise, but care doesn’t mean trouble.” He never knew his dad to have guilt issues, but Kokichi wasn’t gonna let an opportunity to shut down that thinking slide. 

“Not wrong,” Aiichi quietly laughed, before looking back to Hajime. “There’s nothing I need at the moment, thank you. How are you doing, Hajime?”

Hajime seemed to put some thought into the question. “Well, I was telling Kokichi earlier, it’s upsetting to lose anyone like Keita. He was such a force of good for the community. But… I can’t help this strange since that his death marks a turning point. There are quite a few good leaders who are on the older side… it’s a reminder that the newer generations are need to live up to the legacies given to us. It… feels strange to think of it like that, but I do. Like this is a reminder that we’re meant to be stepping up now, if that makes any sense?”

Aiichi smiled softly, nodding. “It does, and I think that’s a wonderful sentiment to have from all of this. It’s simple to realize that time moves forward but…it does come as quite a shock to really understand what that means. To see a new generation come into their own,” he sent a fond look to Kokichi, “And to watch the last one leave. And…ultimately realize that it’s now up to you to fill the gap they left.”

“I looked up to Keita a lot,” Aiichi hummed, reminiscing. “He was taking a second term in office, when I became leader. Pretty much all of the reps were older than me, of course, but there was just…this no-nonsense, hot-headed guy bursting his way into the capital to see what this ‘dumb baby’ thought being a leader was,” Aiichi laughed. 

“While I hated being called a kid, which he did constantly, I remember being so relieved. Like…wow. This guy’s got it all figured out. Especially in those early days, I owe a lot of how I figured out how to do anything to Keita. Our towns have always been well-connected, but the mail system really got a workout back then.”

Kokichi gave his father a soft look. He had figured something along those lines, from how he had seen Aiichi and Keita interact over the years--though Keita had been prone to pull the ‘dumb kid’ lines on nearly anyone--but…

“...that’s a really great connection,” he murmured. 

Aiichi nodded, bittersweet. “He really got it. He’s always been like a miracle worker for Corbra, but…he was always aware that wisdom is only half-used if you never share it. It can be daunting, looking at figures that seem almost legendary…but everyone has always only ever been a person.”

Still true even with the few notable cults of personality in their history. 

“The things they did have been just to live. They’ve passed the torch to us, but there was never any trick to carrying it. We just have to use the lessons they’ve given us.”

Hajime sighed, nodding his head. “It’s made me a bit melancholy, all of this, but truthfully it’s a little astonishing, how many people I’ve seen already today who are mourning him as a person, rather then just the leader. It seems like everyone has some story of when he visited, passing on a good word or a good piece of advise. A lot of the staff were fond of his visits. I’ve heard a small memorial’s already started to be built over in the east garden. Not a permanent one, of course, but apparently someone’s put his name in the dirt near the rose bushes, and people have started leaving little tokens around it. It’s amazing how quickly it happened. He really touched a lot of people here.”

“But, I simply came to offer my services. I don’t want to be in the way, if you and Kokichi need to discuss the logistics of attending the funeral?” Hajime prompted, offering himself to be dismissed if they desired.

It was just the kind of person Keita was. A good ol’ busy-body Dicean, loud and proud and looking at the world around them. Ready to treat it kindly. 

“I’m sure his family will get a kick out of that,” Aiichi laughed a bit, before rolling his eyes good-naturedly as he said, “I think I’ll take my walk out by the east garden to see it, then, when I make sure to get out of the office to stretch my legs and get air.”

Though, it was almost comical, how both Oumas leaned forward at the same time, insisting in their own ways that Hajime wasn’t in the way, never a bother. Snorting, Kokichi gave his dad a sheepish look, nodding to indicate that was the reason he’d come down, but…he still didn’t want to just kick Hajime out. 

But some people asked that way for their own out. 

“Your stay is never over-welcome, but…that is something we should discuss,” Aiichi nodded back to Kokichi. “Thank you, again, for coming to check up on me, Hajime.”

Hajime gave both of the Ouma’s a mildly amused look, but he stood up. “Thank you for your time. Please let me know if you need anything.”

At that, Hajime headed out.

It wasn’t really like they had been waiting for privacy--the door was still wide open, after all. And it wasn’t really like they had been wearing masks either. It was just…kind of like what Kaito had been talking about, being the hype guy. The presentation just took a little extra energy, and when the happy guy--or the person people were looking to to say it was all going to be alright--was down, then everyone was. 

Aiichi walked over to the couch, smoothing back some of Kokichi’s hair. “Hey, Ko.”

Kokichi slid off the arm and buried his face in his father’s chest, hugging him. Taking a deep breath as his eyes burned. Not fiercely, not like there were sobs bubbling up in his chest but just…tears on their way. 

Sighing, Aiichi put his arms around Kokichi and rested his chin on his head, the family embracing, taking the moment to be close, to get comfort from each other. “...you never really think the last time you say goodbye will be the final one. It can be a pit of the stomach, 3am thought, sure, but…in the moment, you never really expect it. There’s always next time.”

Unspoken between them was the, ‘Until there isn’t.’

“I spoke with Crowe on the telephone this morning. Keita’s grandson. I don’t remember if you two ever met…” Aiichi trailed off.

“I don’t think so,” Kokichi said, muffled into Aiichi’s soft hoodie. “Keita said that he’d started coaching at one of the high schools, last time we talked…”

Aiichi hummed in affirmation. “...it wasn’t sudden and unexpected, he said. So…they had time to get the family together. Crowe is definitely Keita’s grandson--even telling me about it all, he still griped about housing all the cousins for a while.”

Kokichi snorted wetly, and the father and son just stood together for a few more moments before Kokichi pulled back, wiping his eyes. Aiichi rubbed his back, and the two actually took a seat on the sofa Kokichi had perched on before. 

“We’re thinking that Shuu-chan’s most likely gonna come with me, and Aunty Nazumi too, for bodyguard reasons. And Shuu-chan’s gonna ask Maki-chan about it,” Kokichi explained.

Aiichi nodded, though there was a mildly surprised look on his face. He could definitely understand Kaito wanting to hang back and care for their daughter, since it did seem too soon to take her on a trip like this, but especially with the rest of their family going…it was still a little surprising. 

“I may as well ask to ride with you, then, since there isn’t much reason to rent out another carriage,” Aiichi asked along with the explanation, Kokichi humming a small sure, though Aiichi expected he’d talk to his partners about it later as well. “If I’m going, it kind of traps Hideki here, but he’s said he’s alright stapling his condolences onto me.” Both Oumas shared a snort at that. 

“Do you know if anyone else in admin is going?”

“I know Mikaku’s sticking around town--his great niece got the flu and he wants to be available if something comes up,” Reasonable. “And Ryouhei asked me to pass along some written word, so I believe he’s not going.”

The others didn’t really know Keita all that well, even in comparison. 

Kokichi sighed and slumped against Aiichi’s shoulder. “...I never knew about the mentoring stuff he did for you. Just the kind of thing he’d do…and it does make me feel better that there were more people looking out for you. That you weren’t entirely just…fumbling around in the office.”

Aiichi laughed softly. “I fumbled plenty, though that’s not to make light of the mistakes I made. There was so much I wish that Fuse had been able to teach me…but I wasn’t alone.” He gave Kokichi a soft, concerned look. “Our world isn’t just in the castle.”

“I know. We talk to reps all the time, and it’s not even just them that have things to say about the government,” Kokichi hummed. “It’s just…hard to see it like that, sometimes. I think getting back to work will help remind me, honestly.”

Aiichi raised an eyebrow. “...you’re not coming back to the office early, you know.”

“Pfffffbt!” Kokichi blew a raspberry at his father. “I know, you old jerkface! I’m just saying!”

The laughter that came through the open door wasn’t tinged with sadness, for once that day.

-

“Okay, Miyako… let’s see if we can’t make daddy smile today.” Kaito whispered to her.

She stared back at him. Her innocent gaze far more challenging and intimidating than she probably would ever be aware she could be. Kaito held her like a bomb that might explode, every movement careful. Calculated and slow, each step causing him to hesitate like this time, this one, might be the wrong move. He had no idea what she was thinking, as she stared up at him with that simple, blank curiosity she had. 

As he finished tucking her arms in, he carefully started buttoning her up… and sighed in intense, genuine relief as Miyako didn’t seem at all bothered by the sudden presence of ‘clothing’. Finally carefully tilting her head up to pull the hood over, before stopping to admire his work.

Kaito’s eyes watered. A little wolf baby looking up at him, kicking the air idly as she flexed her arms in her usual uncoordinated fashion, entirely undisturbed as Kaito blubbered at her. Oh god, it was so fucking cute!

Where was Little Lamb?? Okay, there, tuck Little Lamb next to her– hell yeah, she instantly had it. Grabbing onto Little Lamb, her little kicks getting more excited as Kaito stared at her with fierce, overwhelmed joy. 

She giggled, feeding off of Kaito’s emotions. Kaito’s joy increased ten-fold as he whispered to her, “You’re not allowed to brag to your little baby friends, but Miyako? You are the best baby. Hands down. Perfect in every way.”

Aiichi hadn’t been the only stop Kokichi had planned to make when he set out downstairs. Aiichi was the only person he had actual business to plan, yeah, and while it was important for them to start making those plans ahead of time so they wouldn’t be left scrambling right before the funeral, it felt…less pressing, than exchanging hugs and questions of concern and quick, fond stories. 

Even though Shuuichi had told him that he could take as much time as he wanted, Kokichi really hadn’t planned on being out for the whole day anyway, so it was only around two hours later when he was heading back to their room, more tired, but a little more accepting of what had happened. 

As he got out his key to unlock the door, Kokichi paused, smiling faintly at the explosion of joy happening in the room. He was glad someone was having, like, the best day…and it’d be nice to see how. 

Unlocking the door and stepping through, Kokichi tried to be quiet, not wanting to accidentally wake Miyako up if she was taking a nap. “I’m back.”

Kaito grinned wide, turning to Kokichi and saying urgently, “‘Kichi! ‘Kichi, come look! She’s being so calm! She’s even giggling! She’s not crying or anything!”

Kaito– admittedly somewhat forgetting what he was trying to cheer Kokichi up for– waved him over excitedly, Miyako laid out on the changing station, Kaito having thought it was the easiest spot to try this. 

Kokichi couldn’t help but mirror Kaito’s grin, his excitement infectious even to a non-Empath. Quickly--but still quietly--striding over, Kokichi peeked over at the changing station and--

“Ohmygod!” he whispered, though there were definitely hints of a squeal as his eyes went starry. “Look at her! Look at you, Miya! Our little wolf cub, all snuggled up!”

Kokichi shook Kaito’s arm a little, trying not to let his giggles get loud. “Kai-chan, she’s so cute!”

“Right!? She didn’t fuss or anything, Kokichi, not even a little bit. Are you gonna be a little fashionista, Miyako?” Kaito asked her, leaning over to give her a quick kiss to the cheek, nuzzling his nose into her hood a little as he said, “Are you gonna be like dad and like your clothes? Hmm?”

Again, Miyako was almost entirely reacting to their feelings as she giggled again. This time harder, a near shrieking thing as she looked up at them, just, endlessly amused by whatever was happening with them. Big weirdos. What had them in such a good mood?

Kokichi closed his eyes as he leaned against Kaito, his bright grin gleaming on his face. “I love hearing her laugh now… I think she’s just entertained by how happy we are to see her looking like the cutest, sweetest baby in the world, buuuut,” he cooed, peering more over at Miya, only not touching her ‘cause Kaito was all over her already, “You should knoooow, Miya-Miya! You are the cutest baby!”

“...it is really relieving to know she’s fine with clothes. It’ll make some transitions easier, I think.”

“You are the cutest, most beautiful, most handsome, most sweetest, most–” 

Kaito suddenly remembered mid-praise why he had wanted to surprise Kokichi with this, murmuring, “--precious baby in the world… just like daddy.”

Reaching over to take Kokichi’s neck, Kaito gently drew him in a little, giving him a small kiss on his cheek, rubbing the back of Kokichi’s neck soothingly, looking for little knots of muscles to soothe out as he asked, “I know it’s been a tough day. I doubt it’s over, but I had hoped you’d stop in and let our Miya here brighten your day a little. How are you?”

Kokichi blinked and looked up at Kaito at his not-quite pivot, red lightly dusting over his cheeks as he sighed, leaning more against his husband. In very different contexts and ways, sure, but…jeez. First Hajime, now Kaito…

“She really has,” Kokichi smiled adoringly at their daughter, “And…I’m feeling better. Talking with everyone…it’s been good. And the memorial people put together in the garden is really nice. It’s…incredible, hearing how much Keita touched so many people’s lives. Inspiring.”

“Prolly gonna talk more in depth about it, when we actually put actions to planning, but my father’s gonna tag along with our group for the funeral. He’s the only other person from admin, it sounds like, that’s planning to go so…it’ll make things easier to go as a group.”

“Oh!” Kaito said, eyes lighting up a little, “You’re going to travel with the king? That’s… a big deal! Isn’t it?”

Reaching over to pick up Miyako– who kept her grip on her lamb doll as he brought her to his chest– Kaito cradled her against him as he gave Kokichi an earnest look, “I mean, a day trip with your father… that’s way bigger than board game night. That’ll be a hell of a bonding experience! I mean… if you want a silver lining, I mean. I know the reason behind traveling is unfortunate, but that could be great for your relationships.”

Kokichi knew it was just how Kaito sometimes just referred to his father, but…still. He couldn’t help the impulse in him that said, yeah, it was a big deal, but not because Aiichi was king. But Kaito already knew that. 

Smiling slightly, Kokichi nodded. “I don’t really expect that we’ll be chatting with each other much during the funeral, but there’s still the travel time. It’s going to be the first time I’ve ever traveled with him… Regardless, it’s gonna be some kind of experience.”

“...like, if they have an issue with it, I’d bring it up with my father, but…” Kokichi shrugged a little. “I’m hoping it won’t be too awkward between Shuu-chan and my father. Maki-chan too, if she decides she wants to come. Shuu-chan’s always turned down every invitation I gave for stuff with Aiichi so… I dunno. I just hope it doesn’t leave someone on edge for the whole trip.”

“It’s just three hours, but…” Kokichi sighed, looking more tired. “It’s three hours.”

“It’ll be good for you guys.” Kaito said with certainty. Bouncing Miyako slightly in his arms, Kaito cradled her with one arm before putting his other around Kokichi’s shoulder, pulling him in and kissing at his head, “Maybe it’ll be uncomfortable, sure, but it’ll be a chance for you all to bond! To grow closer.”

“And don’t forget, there’s always a spot at the front of the carriage for a passenger, so, like… you could always totally abandon them all to the awkwardness and just sit at the front with whoever’s driving.” Kaito grinned cheekily, rubbing the back of Kokichi’s head, “Or even drive yourself! Oooh, I bet that would impress the crud out of the king. Seeing you managing the horses? Show him how capable you are!”

Miyako was currently grabbing one of her ‘ears’ with her free hand and was, valiantly, trying to work out how to get it into her mouth. It was slightly trapped between her head and Big Heats chest, but she was pulling at it with all her little baby strength. She’d get it at some point.

“Hopefully,” Kokichi sighed with a small nod. He didn’t really have high hopes for his chosen family’s relationship with his father but…well. Maybe it was just a pie in the sky dream anyway. But he did hope that they could just…have a normal conversation? One day? 

One day. 

Kokichi leaned his head back into Kaito’s hands, snorting softly. “I haven’t been able to practice much, but I think I am getting better at driving. I might wanna do it anyway, or at least keep the driver company. I like getting to sight-see on trips. Even if mostly we’ll be going through farmland and outskirts.”

Glancing over at their daughter, Kokichi smiled, reaching over and stroking her cheek a bit. “Deciding what bit you wanna try and eat, sweetroll? Can’t say I think wolf fur would taste very good.”

“Do you wanna hold her a bit, ‘Kichi?” Kaito offered, looking down adoringly at her, “Since you probably gotta go back out soon? Go ahead, I wanna gush over you two a little…”

“...and…” Kaito hesitated. Again, this was his chance to learn. To test. If he got this wrong, this was the time to do it… “I would… love to hear about Mr. Rivers, some more. If you wanted to share anything.”

“I don’t really have to,” Kokichi shrugged. “Like…I’ll probably go get lunch for us, if you wanna finish out this shift with Miya, but other than that…not much. I would go check on my father again, but apparently every person in housekeeping is making a point to pop in on him, so…I think he’ll be okay.”

Still, he nodded eagerly and graciously accepted his daughter, kissing her on her cute hooded head and feeling her little warmth and heat. 

…time kept on going. And with it, you would say hello to new people, and say goodbye to old. Taking and sharing bits of them all as you lived. 

Kokichi glanced up at Kaito before a soft smile broke out on his face, and he nodded again, swaying slightly as he held Miyako. “...he had a really big family. I only met his wife, once at a gathering, but he talked about them all all the time. Three kids, Whitney, Bylur, and Leonie, and apparently they all had a bunch of kids too… Mrs. Rivers, Riley, has this…this really well-known convenience store in Corbra, and it’s a family store… A lot of the grandkids moved away, but Leonie’s son, Crowe, the, uh, the two of them have been running it, though I heard Riley still looks over things. Last time Keita was over, he was telling be about how Crowe took up a coaching job at one of the high schools over there…”

Kokichi snorted softly, rubbing circles into Miyako’s back as he gave Kaito a sheepish look. “...I guess this is all…more just kinda town gossip, than stuff about Keita, but…” Kokichi shrugged a little. “He always had this sort of…playful aggression? I guess…”

Kokichi blinked a bit. “...thinking about it now, he’s…he was kinda like Maki-chan, how they’re invested in sports. Corbra was a really big contender in the high school sports leagues, for a long time…volleyball, mostly, but they have had good basketball and swim teams over the years. Keita used to coach too, at the school his grandson’s coaching at now. He used to gripe and pretend to get all bitter that Usott’s pro leagues sniped all of the good high school players from Corbra, and that’s why our teams usually make it to nationals.”

Kaito chuckled at that, sitting on the bed and watching Kokichi and Miyako, trying to imprint them in his memory. Cute… beautiful and cute. Seeing Kokichi with Miyako safely tucked in his arms, her golden gaze meeting his amethyst eyes. Was there a prettier image anywhere? Kaito doubted it.

“Yeah, the sports peeps always have a little edge to them, I’ve found. And, ya know, I’ve noticed Diceans really do like volleyball. At least around here they do. Even outside of the last festival, I feel like I see volleyball sets up and in use at, like, every park I’ve been too here.”

Strong start. Careful as we go… “Did you know any of his family personally? Do you think you’ll end up making a phone call there before you go, or would it be in bad taste by this point?”

Kokichi nodded a bit. “It’s kind of a pain to set up if you have to do the whole thing, but if you just have to bring a ball? Then it’s a really fun, casual game to do if you’re having a park day, or wanna get some exercise with friends. Doesn’t take as much space as baseball, less equipment than tennis, easier to do in Usott than swimming, since we don’t have as many areas for it than some other cities… Maybe it was just kind of a cyclical thing, if it got really popular at one point, so the city made courts and permanent net pikes, then, because the equipment is around, it’s popular to play…” He shrugged. Volleyball was fun to watch, so he wasn’t complaining. 

Starting to add a slow spin to his baby-swaying, Kokichi shook his head gently. “It wouldn’t be in bad taste, but…like I said, I only met Riley once, and I never met any other Rivers. Aiichi has, though. Said he talked to Crowe this morning. Prolly sending his condolences, and hearing if there was anything we could do over here for support.”

Kokichi was quiet for a moment, before he sighed. “...it’s not uncommon, after a death, for the family to want to sponsor a research grant, or donate, if it was ‘cause of illness. Not everyone has disposable income like that, especially setting things up just…within the family. We can’t really for everyone, but…at least for Reps, sometimes admin finds a sponsor on the family’s behalf. It’s not the only way to support a grieving family, of course but…it is a kind gesture to ask, at least.”

“Oh? Was it because of an illness then?” Kaito asked, the words out of his mouth before he could think about it.

Internally, he winced. Direct question. Tsk, tsk, Momota… very rude. Still, another little chance to understand, as Kaito searched Kokichi’s expression, looking for any clues there. 

Kokichi mildly half-shrugged, doing his best not to jostle Miyako with the action. “I guess you might call it that, but…old age, mostly. Was enough of a sign that they could get the family together.”

He sighed, closing his eyes as he gently pressed his cheek to Miya’s head. “It…sucks… But…there’s something a little better about it, I think. Having all your family around for the end, getting to have your last talks. It…it gives me some peace. Knowing that he hadn’t been alone. Just…loved throughout it all.”

“...sorry,” he sighed again, turning to give Kaito an apologetic look. “Even for this, that’s really morbid…”

Kaito gave Kokichi a mildly curious look at that, tilting his head slightly, “What is? No, I don’t think so… I mean, isn’t that the ideal? A full life, surrounded by loved ones, preferably still… ya know, mentally all there?” Kaito grinned, “Hell, that’s how I want to go. If I had to choose, I mean. Make me an old guy who’s kind of a little bit sick of being alive by that point, Miyako and Timothy asking me all the questions they realized they never did till then, giving them poignant answers half the time and random bullshit the other. Our grandkids sad and learning how all this works. Our great grandkids really bored and wondering why the hell everyone’s sitting around that old farts bed for so long…”

Kaito didn’t say the part of the daydream that actually hurt. Wondering who among Kokichi, Shuichi and Maki might be there. Would it be all of them? …some? Would Kaito end up the last one? Would he be leaving behind just Shuichi to do the last bit on his own?

That was the only part of the fantasy that hurt. And it was one of those things Kaito hoped time would prepare him for. But everything else? “Your friends ending sounds damn near idyllic, if I’m honest. I’m happy for him. I hope his afterlife is just as beautiful as his life was.”

The guilt eased out of Kokichi’s expression and he smiled softly. Like he said, what it sounded like for Keita was the best outcome, but…he just didn’t…want to make Kaito sad. Give him that same despairing, grieving look he sometimes got when thinking about all the death that happened around them over the past year made a connection to the day the rest of them would go. 

But…it seemed like this was an okay thing today. 

Kokichi let out a little breath, nodding. “It does, and I hope so too… Keita was a really amazing person--whoever’s looking after him now better be doing a good job. Otherwise they might just be looking at someone trying to take it,” he snorted. After a lifetime in and out of public servitude? Keita wouldn’t stand for afterlife mismanagement. 

Going over to the bed, Kokichi lightly sat next to Kaito, tilting his head onto his arm as he rubbed Miyako’s back, just…kind of deciding not to care yet about the chunk of shirt he could feel her sucking on. This one didn’t pill off little bits of fluff, so it should be okay for a little bit. “...it’d be amazing to see our great grandkids, one day, wouldn’t it.”

“Well, one of these little munchkins have to give us grandkids first. Who’s it gonna be, Miya? Who’s dad gonna have to bully for some grandkids? You or Timothy?” Kaito asked Miyako, glancing down at her from Kokichi’s front– Miyako drooling all over Kokichi’s shirt, nibbling on the bit she had managed to grab– as he put his arm around Kokichi again, “Miyako, one of you at least has to give me one grandchild, or dad’s gonna nag you about it till you need to bring it up in therapy someday~ Just warning you now, sweetbun~”

Kaito was joking… mostly. And he would probably be ‘joking’ for the rest of his kids lives too, looong, looooooong after they were sick of Kaito ‘joking’ about how he needed grandkids, dammit.

“I guess I am guaranteed one grandkid eventually. Feelings baby will have to pick their own feelings baby someday.”

Kokichi snorted softly, adjusting Miyako in his arms gently. “As incredible as it’d be to get to meet our grandkids and great grandkids, there’s still a long, looong time of just bein’ kids for our tykes. Life happens and I’ll always support you, sweetbun, but I recommend having kids later than 20,” he cooed at his daughter. 

Or she could just want no kids, especially for what had to happen for Flora to have kids. But Kaito was right. They were guaranteed at least one grandkid. 

Kokichi’s face went penceive. “...Hajime and I were talking earlier. Bout Keita, and a lot of stuff. Got me thinking a little more, I guess…it doesn’t feel right. Asking a child to give up their life to lead.”

“Then don’t,” Kaito said, looking entirely unphased, “Just tell me in secret who our little baby Ouma is so that I can love and adore them. Though, my love might admittedly come across much weirder and creepier without the context of, like, ‘you are my little feelings child and you already make dad and daddy so proud but no pressure’.”

Chucking to himself a little, Kaito sighed as his laughter settled, running his hand through his hair as he said, “Though, all joking aside? We’ve discussed this before, and I still fully support you not doing that to feelings baby. Especially…”

Kaito frowned… before saying softly, “Especially considering we… can’t offer them much. Being royalty in Dicea? It’s… mostly a burden. There’s not a lot of upsides, but you all still have all of the downsides of royalty. And they might already have… ya know. Parents. A life outside of us. And if that’s the case? If they already have a loving family and a life of their own and all we can offer them is just… burden and hardship?”

“Then no,” Kaito said softly, looking at Kokichi with some honest regret, “We shouldn’t tell them. Even if it means we get to be in Feelings Baby’s life less.”

For a moment, Kokichi looked at Kaito, before he smiled softly and settled against his husband. From everything he had heard about the “feeling”, Kokichi knew it could happen at literally any time. It could be any person. An infant, or maybe someone even older than him, as insanely rare as that might be. 

But one thing he could control was how he approached the discovery of his heir. How he would raise or mentor them. 

“I’ve told you before that you have to be a little crazy to do this job,” Kokichi murmured, resting his head against Kaito’s arm. “People really respect it…Hajime was talking about how common it is for kids to play pretend, daydreaming that they’re the next heir. But the realities of what it asks of you…it’s not something I’d wish on anyone else. No matter how proud I am to do my part.”

“...but it is a job, still,” Kokichi nodded, matching Kaito’s gaze. “Not always one that you can put down at the end of the day, but…who knows how that will change in the future. If I can make sure that my heir’s childhood is just a childhood? Even without me in it…that’s what I want. For them to be themself first, and a leader as a choice they choose later.”

“Mmhm,” Kaito said, meeting Kokichi’s gaze before closing his eyes, leaning forward to rest his forehead against him, “Unselfish choices… I think Waku said to me once that we grow up to be the people we needed as kids? That’s what we needed… adults in our lives who picked the unselfish choices. Put us first… even if it made things harder for them.”

“So, yeah. Even if it’s tougher on us? Training the new leader, loving them from a distance, keeping the secret until they’re ready… that’s our unselfish decision! Right?” Kaito asked, opening his eyes and grinning wide, looking at Kokichi with a renewed determination, “We’re gonna be unselfish parents! Miyako, you better be ready for parents that are gonna give it their all!”

Miyako chewed on Kokichi’s shirt, her little woof-hoodie falling back and to the side. Her expression lacked the appropriate awe and gratefulness for Kaito’s declaration, but, well, that was kids for ya.

-

To say Aiichi was surprised was something of an understatement. Sure, Kaito had come to him at various points over the past year, but…on a normal, day-to-day basis? Kaito never talked to him, and even if they waved or nodded (or bowed) passing in the hall, there was always a nervous gleam in the younger man’s eyes. 

So…for Kaito to offer up some time for them to spend together? Aiichi almost wondered if Ko had had a fight with him, though it’d be a strange day for his son to insist someone spend time with Aiichi, at least without himself as a buffer. 

Even with things slowly getting better, Aiichi understood that. 

That wasn’t to say there wasn’t a buffer, though Aiichi was far more delighted to spend time with her as well to ever refer to her as such. Aiichi had spent some time playing with and cooing over Miyako over the past few months but…primarily only invited to do so by Kokichi. While his partners weren’t there. And Aiichi didn’t think that was by accident. 

Maybe this was a good sign. 

The sun was shining, but mild, and Aiichi smiled adoringly at his granddaughter as she seemed to happily bask in it on the picnic blanket they’d put down in the backyard. “Kokichi mentioned that you had convinced her into a onesie before, but she seems remarkably relaxed. I remember Ko despising any attempt to put more than a blanket around him, in the early days.”

While Kaito had bought many, many, just, faaaar too many overly cute and outlandish outfits to put Miyako in over time, Shuichi’s good sense had eventually grounded Kaito’s, and they had also gotten a series of far more reasonable and modest clothing that would be good for a traveling baby. Miyako’s current onesie was a simple, blue one that didn’t cover her legs, merely buttoning around her diaper, and was short and comfortable around her arms. Kaito could admit that for emergency changings and being outside, these ones were far more functional… if less adorable.

But! That was alright. Miyako herself more than made up for it, as Kaito carefully reapplied the sunscreen on her as Kaito said politely, “Yes, your grace. She was very good through it! And so cute, I couldn’t believe how patient she was. Hopefully it wasn’t a fluke, we haven’t experimented with it too much since then.”

“It’s honestly baths she seems the most fussy about. She gets really cranky during them, and it feels kinda random if she’s going to just quietly get through it or, uh, let us know how displeased she is with it. Which boggles my mind! I can’t remember ever not loving baths. Who doesn’t love baths?” Kaito asked, directing this last question at Miyako, who coo’d contently as he rubbed the lotion in, always remarkably pleased to be directly in sunlight. 

The lotion finished, Kaito wiped his hands on his pants, before looking around at the assortment of goods he had brought. He had begged the kitchen for snacks and foods that they’d recognize as Aiichi’s favorites, and he grabbed the pitcher of lemonade, moving to refill Aiichi’s half finished cup, “Was Kokichi a bath baby? Your grace?”

Still hadn’t moved away from the ‘your grace’ stuff. But there had been baby steps. Aiichi swore there were a few moments in those first few months Kaito had tried calling him by his name, or even no name at all, but…well. They’d get somewhere someday. 

“Ah, more fond of staying dry then,” Aiichi chuckled, smiling a little more at the coos Miyako let out. His granddaughter really was the sweetest little thing. 

“Oh, thank you, Kaito,” he nodded to Kaito again, noticing him fill his glass, before laughing lightly. “As long as the whole crew was there? No complaints, other than maybe pouting when he had to wait in the tub for another moment to throw down safety towels onto the soaked floor.”

“He got rid of them some time ago, but Ko had a fleet of ducks to accompany him at bath time. Maybe as his faithful crew over bubbly waters, or his beloved people founding Foam Island.” Aiichi grinned, fond of those memories. “A bubble bath and toys and he never minded much. He hated sponge baths a lot more, but I believe there were other reasons for that.”

There wasn’t too much to be happy about being too sick to even lie in a tub.

Kaito grinned at that, imagining baby Kokichi and his army of ducks. Cute… maybe bath toys would help? Or at least one bath toy, just something that would help Miya have something to look forward too when it was bathtime. 

“‘Course ‘Kichi’s early playtimes was all leadership themed. She’s only a little thing right now, I don’t think she has a preference either way, but most of our playtime with Miyako has been fairy-tailed themed. We just have all these fairy-tale based books around, her nursery is full of all these animal motifs, and fairy tales have just been on our mind in general, lately, so a lot of it is bleeding into Miyako’s playtime. I wonder if that will affect her later?” Kaito mused aloud, trying to think about his own stories growing up…

“I have no idea what kind of stories I was told as an infant, but most of the stories I can remember earliest were all adventure themed. Brave knights and valiant saints, defeating evil and saving the day! Not super realistic, but I think it’s pretty reasonable to say those stories had an effect on me. That’s why I’m curious how the fairy-tale stuff might affect her someday… what about yourself, your grace?” Kaito asked, peering at Aiichi curiously from the corner of his eyes, “I’m assuming you started the ‘leadership’ playtime stuff for Kokichi. Was that the kind of stories you grew up with?”

Placing down his lemonade after a sip, Aiichi nodded proudly. “The nursery you three put together is truly astounding! It truly feels like stepping into a magical pasture. Of course, she’s staying in your room, but I could understand how the vibe of it all contributes to the fairytale theme.”

“Which is very sweet, by the way,” he grinned at Kaito. “What a gift for playtime to be for her. I can imagine grand adventures were for you as well.”

Though, at Kaito’s question and assumption, Aiichi looked a little sheepish. “Actually…Ikuo and I had always started out with more ‘animal’ based games for Ko. The ducks were friends in a pond, that sort of thing. But…before long, Ko would always start trying to ‘send’ them out, delegating tasks…though, it would be more fair to say he just liked the story aspects more. Being a fearsome pirate braving unexplored waters is exciting! …it just always seemed to come with certain decided realities, for Ko. No discovering a mystical island until the sails were raised, the anchor chain oiled, provisions packed.”

Aiichi shook his head a little, a small, loving smile on his face. “I know I have far too many biases for people to take my word of it, but he’s really always been like that. An adventure could never just be an adventure--there had to be a real world around it. But all those parts had always seemed like part of the fun to him so…I was happy to participate.”

“And, wow, no,” Aiichi snorted. “One of my caretakers was very into mythology, so my childhood stories were filled with the whims and trials of gods and goddesses and their creations. And I was generally more inclined to see what the other kids were doing and fill the roles in their games rather than starting up my own. I’ve played a lot of house in my day.”

Kaito, seeing Miyako taken care of and King Aiichi’s cup filled, finally went back to his own glass, lemonade as well, sipping at it quietly as he watched the king. Kaito was trying very hard to be relaxed, he was… but there was an instinct in him to not let himself be too relaxed around Aiichi. A niggling in his mind that if he wasn’t a little tense, wasn’t a little over-eager, wasn’t a little wary, then he wasn’t showing the king the proper level of respect. The proper level of fear. 

Kaito knew, intelligently, that this was incorrect and the worst choice for Aiichi in particular. That knowledge didn’t make it any easier for him to disregard a lifetime of training that Kaito, partly to allow himself the room to think, was falling back on as muscle memory, while he inspected the king. 

Though, Kaito smiled again, warmed by more stories of Kokichi’s youth. Little pieces of his husband that Kaito was always eager for, as he chuckled, “Kokichi’s still like that. We tell each other these little ‘lies’, sometimes? We call them lies, they’re basically just when we feel like making up memories. And your Kokichi always has to add these little, like, clarifying details.” Kaito chuckled, rolling his eyes affectionately, “Not only what we’re eating, but why we’re eating it, who paid for it, little, like, details about how our actions and choices affected the restaurant or where the food came from or what our disposal of it went. Really small things that really have no place in a fantasy, but I think would just bug Kokichi endlessly to not establish it, ya know? The ripple effects of our choices.”

“But I’ve always liked it.” Kaito said fondly, grinning wider, “Helps me live in the stories he makes up. Makes it feel real. He’s a talented story-teller, your Kokichi. I can imagine playtime was very involved because of that. Though…” Kaito looked curiously at the king, a little more fully this time, “Mythologies? Was Atua ever a character in your stories?”

It was great to hear that all those little nit-picky tendencies when it came to details had never left how Kokichi used his imagination. Though, it made sense. Kokichi was an artist, and Aiichi could see the care being put into not just the greater composition, but in his portraits? The little nooks in the corners of a person’s lips, or the haphazardly natural gradients of individual leaves on trees. And in his work, Kokichi took every step of any process to their truest capacity, paid attention to every sentence someone wrote in a letter. 

He knew that kind of attention and demand of details were things that could, at times, make his son’s anxiety worse, but…it was like Kaito said. They made things real. 

With a fond smile, Aiichi nodded a bit. “When those Adventures of Link stories came out? I swear Ko might’ve just written dozens more in the series just in his head. With a complete reference encyclopedia right alongside it. I feel as though he could’ve made a whole career as a fantasy artist, if he wished to do so. Though, if he hadn’t decided to take the oath, I feel like he might’ve followed in Ikuo’s footsteps more.”

There was something…a little tricky here. It had been a mistake, ultimately, that Aiichi had tried to engage Kaito before by talking about his parents. The people they had had in common, maybe giving Kaito some interesting stories he might not have gotten from his parents before. Maybe well-meaning, but Aiichi should’ve known even then that Kaito’s parents were a hot button issue.

And…to an extent, so was religion. He just…had to be careful.

“Sometimes,” Aiichi said gently, giving Kaito a half-smile. “Usually when the game was, ‘go help put the younger kids to bed’, or hidden lessons about not getting into fights with people that disagreed with me,” he snorted. “I believe Babylon, one of my primary caretakers, was a creationist, and quite a devout one at that. She would often use the gods as examples or impetus for our behavior, kind of instilling an ‘actions are divine’ outlook on things. Not very holy actions to come home with a black eye, you see.”

Kaito nodded at that, a little curious. He hadn’t looked into too much what Atua really looked like, as a persona, in Dicea. He had heard ‘Minor Whore God’ and had immediately gotten discouraged from looking any further into it. Hell of a downgrade from ‘One True Creator God’.

But, knowing the trials were still real? At least for those willing to put themselves through them? It had eased some of Kaito’s defensivess on the subject. There was something interesting, in the idea of seeing how Atua, if he appeared, was portrayed in other religions. Sort of like… seeing the main character of a story you loved appear as a side character in another story. Weirdly fascinating, even if the writer got them wrong.

But, as weirdly interesting as that was, Kaito had put this all together to get to know Aiichi more. To make an effort so that Kokichi didn’t feel the need to carefully keep them separate. So, let’s see…

“You know, I keep being told about this temper of yours.” Kaito admitted, giving Aiichi a curious look… before his left eye suddenly twitched, “Uh, if that’s alright for me to mention! And not in a negative way, people usually bring it up as a token of your passion and protectiveness towards others! Which is admirable! Um… so I take it that’s a quality you’ve had since you were young? Fights in your youth?”

Aiichi snorted, before straightening, as if a little surprised at himself, before giving Kaito an apologetic look. “Sorry, I know this isn’t the easiest for you--I don’t mean to make light. It’s simply that my temper isn’t something I’m particularly proud of.”

The leader shrugged a little. “In the middle of it, it feels as you said--a swell of passion and protectiveness. It feels righteous. But I know that it tends to leave more messes to clean than it fixes, literally and figuratively. It’s something I’ve tried to work on, over the years.”

Sighing, Aiichi took another sip of his lemonade, looking down to gently stroke Miyako’s arm for a moment. “I took the concept of ‘intolerance for the intolerant’ to the extreme, particularly in my youth. Though, I’ll admit I can have something of a vindictive streak even now. It was why I was particularly supportive of your compagne to distribute the court case against Ms. MacAvoy,” Aiichi nodded, still feeling grateful for what Kaito had done. 

“I got in far too many fights, growing up,” Aiichi rolled his eyes. “I couldn’t abide by even the slightest actions of disrespect, and considered my intervention to be just, as by disrespecting the peace of someone else’s life, they had already forfeited their own right to respect. An awful outlook to have as a blanket mentality, really. I’m lucky I’d managed to convince myself to turn it from fists to words as I grew older.”

Aiichi gave a side-eyed little look. “Mostly.”

Kaito sighed, giving Aiichi a mildly tired but appreciative look at that, “Thank you again for the advice on that… I don’t know how much good it did anyone, but it made me feel a little better about things, if nothing else. I just wanted to make certain my actions wouldn’t reflect poorly on Kokichi, more than anything else.”

Picking up Miyako– who was starting to blink sleepily, her toes curling up with her knees as she seemed perfectly content to fall asleep in the sun– Kaito ignored her offended little huff of breath as he reached into the bag and pulled out her bottle. It was that time now, or at least just about, and if Miyako was about to fall asleep Kaito didn’t want to have to wake her up in roughly ten minutes. Better to let her eat now and then get dosey in the sun. Bouncing her a little in his arms, he offered her the nipple, which she grumpily ignored for a moment, as he asked, “Did they make you go to anger management therapy? Or did you never have an incident, like, that big. I’m not certain how typical my case is, since we did kinda make things worse for ourselves by running and kidnapping a guy… I feel very grateful to Kokichi that my consequences weren’t worse, really. I got off easy.”

“We might never know for sure, as is the case with preventative measures,” Aiichi shrugged, though there was a small, proud smile directed at Kaito, “But I like to believe that you’ve helped a lot of people. People need to be able to trust they’re getting the best care possible from their healers--it’s the whole purpose of them. Making sure that no one else will be scammed by that woman is respectable, in my eyes. And I believe Ko has similar views as well.”

Not because Aiichi was simply assuming, but because they had had a few talks about Ms. MacAvoy. And Kokichi both looked, and said he felt more at peace, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to pull what she had on him anymore.

Watching as Kaito got Miyako ready for a meal, Aiichi shook his head a bit. “Thankfully I never had an incident that got me in trouble with the law, no. Being a child definitely helped me in that regard,” he snorted, “But I did go to youth counseling. Think…more of an all-around therapy, but trained for children. And, particularly the counseling I went to, “troubled youths”.”

“I think they let me off more than I should have been,” the leader mused, “considering I wasn’t really lashing out, in a more traditional sense, because of grief or envy concerning being orphaned. I never started fights. Even if I was the first to get physical, there were always witnesses vouching that I had done so to defend someone else. Which was true. But…” Aiichi trailed off, honestly embarrassed, “Teasing--or mocking--someone for being a crybaby doesn’t equate to getting a broken arm.”

Giving Kaito a mild look, Aiichi shrugged. “From the reports I read, those parts weren’t really the issue. Though I’d wager both Ko and the healer’s testimonies that it wasn’t a kidnapping helped. You were simply directing a healer to a place where they could work on the injured party.”

“It was more the case that you used a weapon in a potentially fatal manner, and proceeded to continue to injure the other party past resistance and consciousness,” he said softly, work-mode just as easily provoked in Aiichi as it was in Kokichi.

“Tch. Fucker got back up, didn’t he.” Kaito muttered, the memory sparking the old anger in him again… before his eyes suddenly widened, and he remembered he was holding his baby in his arms and the king was also right there as he said quickly to basically both of them, “Sorry, sorry! That… misguided gentleman recovered. Which, uh, theoretically good!” Kaito said, unable to bring himself to say it was actually good. The guy had kidnapped Kokichi the next day, after all. 

Kaito had never saw Budd’s face, after he had caved it in with that glass.

He regretted that, a little. He bet Budd looked stupid without some of his front teeth.

Kaito let himself indulge that thought for a moment, before sighing. If his hand wasn’t full of baby and bottle, he’d double check he had his pebble in his pocket. He knew he did have it there, he never forgot it, but it made him feel better to remind himself it was there. Keep that temper in check, Momota.

“But, yeah. I regret that whole incident a lot,” Kaito said, that part at least entirely honest, “I ruined Kokichi’s trip. I mean… the trip was probably already ruined, since the death cult had caught up with us there. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that been if they hadn’t shown up, I would have still ruined the trip. I should have kept Kokichi in mind, regardless of anything else. If I had given myself, just, a second to think about it. Just a second to remind myself why we were even there… it doesn’t matter what they said. That trip had meant so much to Kokichi, and I…”

Kaito’s shoulders fell, the regret for all of that weighing him down a little. Miyako, finally deciding she was maybe a little peckish, started sipping at the bottle, unconcerned about the regret pouring off of Big Heat. All the Bigs got like this every now and again. The feelings would pass soon enough, they always did.

“I have to apologize for my missteps with all of that, your grace. I never apologized to you for ruining your sons trip. I, uh… was a little afraid to talk to you back then, when it all happened. But I really am deeply sorry for it. I should have taken my responsibility and oath to you more seriously, I swore to you I’d watch over him during his first trip, and I failed.” Kaito said, bowing his head a little, “I beg your forgiveness.”

Aiichi’s eyebrows raised, his expression falling into concern. “...he’s dead, Kaito. Not by your hand, but…still.”

Aiichi hadn’t exactly been thrilled with the three Brockmans, what with the actual kidnapping and endangerment they’d put his son through, but…they were dead. It wasn’t always the easiest thing to do emotionally, but…anger was wasted on the dead. There was nothing more to get from them, and it would only provoke your own regrets.

…like what was happening now, it seemed. 

Aiichi sighed. 

“...I won’t say I wasn’t disappointed in you,” the leader said softly, something a little tired and a little sad in his gaze. “You promised me my son would be safe. But…there does come a point where promises are no longer personal, and the incident during your trip definitely qualifies for that. Maybe you could’ve brought along more security detail, but bringing that up rests on my shoulders as well, and…I wasn’t asking you to be Kokichi’s warden, Kaito. If you had…maybe those cult members wouldn’t have gotten him. But it wouldn’t have been a pleasant trip for either of you either.”

Very, very gently, moving slowly as not to startle his son-in-law, Aiichi rested a hand on Kaito’s shoulder. “...I forgive you, Kaito. You still brought my son home alive. You’ve made him happier than I’ve seen in years. And that trip…”

Aiichi sighed, bringing his hands back to himself. “...it was your trip too, you know. And it was ruined for you when a bigot decided to celebrate your parents’ deaths. Even if you hadn’t gone in for retribution…Ko is sensitive to those sorts of things. He would’ve picked up on your pain. You might’ve still found wonder and happiness later, as you did before the kidnapping, but it still would’ve been a mark on the trip. And that wasn’t your fault.”

Kaito’s eyes followed Aiichi’s hand before it made contact, and while he didn’t really believe Aiichi was going to hit him, he was very aware they were alone here and that was just as good as a closed door and his arm may have covered Miyako more, shielding her body a little… but he didn’t flinch when Aiichi touched him, and Kaito was pretty happy about that as he listened. 

Kaito kept his head bowed until the hand left, before allowing himself to straighten, giving Aiichi a searching look. “Thank you for your understanding, your grace… I’ll always regret how it went and what I did, but I appreciate the mercy of your forgiveness for it.”

Kaito was vaguely aware that asking for that forgiveness was in itself rude, here… but he’d have felt too guilty to not do it. That custom was one of those things it’d take a while for Kaito to learn how to actually practice it. Maybe if someone just straight up shouted at him about it at some point he’d make more of an effort to actually practice it.

“Yeah, he would have worried. Kokichi’s sweet like that… actually,” Kaito grinned, amused by his imagination, “I know Kokichi was nearby when it happened. Kokichi was the one who told the authorities what Budd had said, he heard it himself. If I hadn’t lost it? Honestly, Kokichi might have. Kokichi will sometimes just, get, wildly reactive on my behalf.” Kaito said, half self-conscious, half-bragging, “Prince Kokichi takes no shit from people. That one was okay, Miyako, because it was a compliment~”

Miyako ignored her fathers teachings, finishing up her bottle and now sucking at air. Taking the bottle away, Kaito grabbed a napkin and threw it over his shoulder, bringing up to burp her against it, “...Your grace, may I say something potentially uncomfortable?”

Aiichi smiled softly. He was…hesitant, these days, to make many comparisons between himself and Kokichi. He knew it was something that had annoyed Kokichi before when he’d done it, but at the time he had chalked it up to teenage angst--as he had with too many things about Kokichi. But now that he knew all that resentment had been real…he didn’t want to make his relationship with his son any harder than it already was. 

So, to himself, he could think: Like father, like son. Fighting on other people’s behalf when they saw injustice. Kokichi had just never gone through a phase with his fists. 

He laughed quietly at Kaito’s allowance for the swear, before he gave his son-in-law a soft look. There were…a lot of things that this could be. “Of course, Kaito. I am trying to get better at confronting uncomfortable truths.”

Even with permission, Kaito hesitated a little, giving the King a wary look…

But then Miyako spat up on his shoulder, and as Kaito coo’d at her a small “Good job,” before cleaning up, that little disruption made him feel a little less on edge about things as he said, “The first day Kokichi and I met, he thought you had compelled me to insult him. Like, literally ordered me to do it. He really believed it… it was an alarming introduction to your character. I know if I were to ask Kokichi why he thought that, he’d say it was his sickness getting to him, but your Kokichi also tends to take a lot of responsibility for things on his shoulders…”

Kaito hesitated, wiping Miyako’s mouth before letting her lay back down, intending to check her diaper in a moment. Miyako didn’t really have to be awake to change her diaper, Kaito had found. “...I’m not accusing you of anything, your grace. It’s just something I can’t help but think about, when you say you used to get into fights defending other people from being talked down too. I can’t help but think you’d have socked me, if you saw myself and your Kokichi’s first interactions for yourself, but Kokichi was convinced you’d have approved. Just… that’s difficult for me to mesh together. Those two realities. If it’s alright for me to say so.”

Aiichi deflated a bit, but heard Kaito out. There…were a few things Kaito could mean by ‘insulted’, that didn’t mean just calling Kokichi names, so he might have to ask for clarification, but… That did seem to be the most possible use of the word, if applied to all the little whispers Kokichi and Kaito had shared at the first lunch they had together. Maybe what had happened afterward, to get them to use the excuse of Kaito being too drunk to attend the announcement dinner. 

Though…he thought Kokichi had looked more worried than insulted then. 

But…still. Kaito had, in some way, been unkind to Kokichi and…Kokichi had thought that Aiichi had put him up to it. 

Aiichi sighed. “I don’t want to say that everything that happened was completely made up in my son’s head. But…there have been more than a few things he’s said to me in recent months that break my heart to hear he thought.”

“...sometimes what’s justice to one person can be injustice to another,” Aiichi tiredly nodded to Kaito. “I never want to think I…purposefully tried to bring my son misery, but…I have done it. Not being there for him in the right ways, not paying enough attention, not seeing the signs I should.”

“...I had made requests of the castle staff, in the past,” Aiichi sighed, looking gloomy as he admitted this. “Asking people to treat my son kindly. To be aware of the signs of his health declining, and get help if they see them. I…could understand if at times it could get patronizing. Or even alarming, such as that time you came to me about Lake knocking Ko out. Knowing that I had asked people to act in such ways? Perhaps that was enough for him to point the finger at me, for the incident you’re citing. I suppose the only person who could say for sure is Kokichi, though you are right.”

Aiichi put his chin in the palm of his hand, looking out at the garden. “...he hasn’t hesitated to call out rightful blame on me, during our talks of how things have gone, over the years. But…he’s never mentioned anything about…when you two met? Maybe it’s something he hasn’t seen a need to get into yet.”

Maybe it was something he…didn’t actually blame Aiichi for.

“He might be trying to protect me.” Kaito shrugged, petting Miyako’s legs as, tummy full of food, she started yawning, getting comfy and cozy again laying out in the sun. “I acted shamefully with Prince Kokichi, a few times in the early days. It was a lot of culture difference stuff… I offered to do a training spar with him. Kokichi…”

Kaito hesitated. He had been careful to word everything so far so that Aiichi could interpret it happening at some point during the proposal day, hoping if he left it vague enough the man would come to his own conclusions about the timing. But this was another one of those things were Kaito didn’t know if… Kokichi and Aiichi had talked about this yet or not… did Aiichi know Kokichi was holding sharp objects these days? That he not only managed weapons but actually owned quite a few, all gifted by his Luminaries?

Would Kokichi want Aiichi to know he had held a sword?

“... and when he refused me, I grew angry with him. I thought he was trying to insult me, so I tried to draw him into the spar by pushing him. And when he refused me again, I called him a coward. He thought that you had asked me to remind him he was weak… but he wasn’t. He made his choices and he didn’t let anything I did manipulate him into choosing otherwise. He was extremely capable in that moment and I was an idiot for assuming it was cowardice and not Kokichi protecting his pride. Not to mention everything else he was dealing with at the same time… I’ve never tried to spar him since those days.” Kaito said quickly, giving Aiichi a newly nervous look, “That was just me thinking Luminary practices crossed the border. With the exception of when I was drugged, I’ve never fought your son, your grace.”

Okay technically one time Kaito had shoved Kokichi off his lap in the memorial garden but like Kaito was only willing to risk Aiichi hitting him in the face so blatantly right now. Miyako wasn’t even in his arms anymore, if the king was going to beat the shit out of him now was the time to do it. Why tempt him more?

Aiichi could only imagine how difficult the cultural barrier was--his own circumstances during school were unique. Despite two Luminaries being some of his closest friends, the nature of everyone in the school having different ideas of normal made things, at times, difficult to get across. 

Though, as Kaito roughly explained what had happened, Aiichi’s expression only grew more puzzled. Sure, his son was a pacifist but…he had watched spars between members of the guardforce for years. He could see Kokichi not wanting to bother with people who had regularly trained that way for years, but with someone his own age offering… Maybe Kaito’s physique had given him too many warning signs that there would have to be too many handicaps on Kaito’s side for Kokichi to feel it was worth it? Maybe…

But as for the instigation itself…

Aiichi squinted at Kaito, just…baffled. “...I’m willing to admit, at the very least, to a lot of misinterpretation but…trying to goad Ko into a spar, expecting he’d refuse, and then calling that weakness is…for one bizarre, and something I’d never do. Not just out of principle for my son’s mental health and self-esteem but…folding to peer pressure, especially in terms of a fight, just…isn’t a quality I would want anyone to have.”

…it didn’t seem like Kaito was exactly telling the truth. But he wouldn’t press. Kaito might’ve done some…some things Aiichi wasn’t a fan of, while he was drugged, but Aiichi couldn’t hold those instances against him. And otherwise, he trusted the man to have not hurt Kokichi enough to the point Kokichi wouldn’t tell Aiichi just to protect Kaito. 

Kokichi might not have told him because he didn’t care to, or he didn’t think it was Aiichi’s business, but…not just to protect Kaito. 

Sighing, Aiichi gave Kaito a gentle look. And very purposefully didn’t reach out towards him again. “Well…I guess all that’s to say--no. I wouldn’t do something like that, and I don’t know what I would’ve done to make Ko think that I did. That’s…something to ask him about during our next game night, I suppose.”

Kaito would have to warn Kokichi that Aiichi was going to ask about that, then. Didn’t want his husband to be taken off guard, especially with the lie he had weaved around it. Maybe Kokichi would tell his father what really happened, revealing Kaito a liar, but Kaito wasn’t entirely worried about it. 

After all, Aiichi was king.

He probably already knew Kaito was lying, and was just letting him.

“Alright… I wasn’t really accusing you of it,” Kaito said, though admittedly he just meant ‘to his face’. That’d be incredibly rude. “But I appreciate the clarification. It’s just something that really bothered me in the early days. I was very concerned for Kokichi’s well being, when it came to the staff and you, and while he’s assured me a thousand times over since those early days that the perception I had was…” Kaito tried to think of a better word than ‘gas light’, because despite what Kokichi thought Kaito really didn’t think it was a term relevant to what had happened between them. Kokichi hadn’t meant to, so that made it a… “A misunderstanding, I still appreciate hearing it confirmed by you. Kokichi can be a little overly forgiving, for my sensibilities, I just wanted to make certain he wasn’t… being too generous.”

“...what role did you used to play in ‘house?’” Kaito asked, genuinely curious. “The kids in Maki’s orphanage always made me play, just, the weirdest roles. I was a storeclerk a lot, and a milkman way more than you’d ever think was relevant.”

Aiichi nodded, a small smile on his face. “I can imagine that it would be incredibly alarming, if I had been the sort to do something like that. That…certainly gives some context to last year. Thank you for giving me enough benefit to explain myself.”

Going along with the subject change, Aiichi snorted fondly, though not without a certain memory of teenage exasperation. “They changed around, as you might imagine, but most often? The dog. One of the more clever solutions to ensure they didn’t have to listen to me talk.”

Kaito gave Aiichi an openly alarmed look, as he sputtered, “They made you play the dog!?”

“M-yeh??”

“Oh! Oh, sorry, sorry Miyako, dad’s sorry.” Kaito said, quickling going to rub and pat Miyako’s belly, her looking around in disgruntlement, blinking blearily, “Dad didn’t mean to raise his voice, he’s sorry. Miya~aaaaa. Miya~aaaakooo.”

Miyako momentarily soothed– though belly pats better keep coming, Red– Kaito gave Aiichi a sheepish grin, “Oh, but, ha… I mean, it’s fascinating, since no one knew you were royalty then! Wow, could you imagine… someone you punched in the face once when you were eleven, or, h-ha, someone y-you acted like a dog for or something, finding out you were royalty when you hit sixteen… people you knew must tell all sorts of fun stories about you!”

Aiichi jumped slightly at Kaito’s sudden raise in volume too, before sending a sympathetic look to the suddenly awake baby. Though, it looked like dad had it all under control. 

…he wasn’t…really sure what about that got Kaito all nervous, though. 

“Well…I wasn’t royalty back then,” Aiichi shrugged a little, keeping his voice gentle. “I was just some busybody, loudmouth big kid trying maybe a little too hard to help entertain the younger kids at Lighthouse.”

“There are plenty of stories about me from my childhood, though,” he snorted softly. “Fuse used to talk to all the kids when she’d bring me back to hang out with my friends-” Though his claims of that had…been a little exaggerated. He had been friendly with plenty of the kids that came and went from Lighthouse but…he wouldn’t exactly have called any of them friends. Past the sense he used the term for these days. “And she’d devour any embarrassing stories or shit talking the others wanted to give her. She was very much the teasing sort, and once she had ammo? A few months of impressions couldn’t save me from her wrath,” he chuckled.

Though after a moment, he gave Kaito a more serious look. “Of friendly--and I do mean that genuinely--teasing, I mean. Fuse was always exceedingly kind to me.”

Even if he had only regularly lived in the castle with her for a year, it was the first place he’d really felt like home.

“Oh, well, you weren’t recognized royalty then. But that just makes your childhood more fascinating… can you tell me what it was like?” Kaito asked, feeling his nerves calm down a little the less shocked by the dog comment he was. Aiichi had just been playing a game with other kids. The context was… different. No one was trying to shame him. 

It wasn’t something the two would, just… weirdly have in common. It was different.

“I mean being recognized by Queen Fuse.” Kaito clarified, rubbing Miyako’s feet, who was back to falling asleep, “That must have been such a huge moment… I heard you were in the middle of preaching about something in the street, and man, in that moment, for the leader of your kingdom to stop you and declare you their heir… that must have been so validating. Just… real, honest verification that your ideas were right. I can’t even imagine what that must have felt like…”

“Well, right, as decided by someone I greatly respected, which is as right as anything could feel in those days, but…you’re right on it.” Aiichi grinned, his gaze going far away and fond for a moment. “It was…incredible. It’s something that every kid dreams of--you’re doing your own thing and suddenly the leader is right there and they pick you. And…it actually happened to me. I thought I was dreaming, honestly.”

“I had seen her before,” Aiichi started, a warm, fuzzy feeling of nostalgia apparent in his eyes. “Not just around town, because everyone did, of course, but while I was out pestering people. Sometimes just passing by, but sometimes she listened for a little bit and…I couldn’t tell you how…exciting that was. The leader, listening to me…wow. I always tried to get to my best points, when I noticed she was there.”

“Then, one day, I was talking about cosmic harmony--the concept that our lives are not divided as individuals, and rather that we are all people living on the earth, and should respect each other for that as we would respect ourselves--and…she just stood there, listening to the whole thing.”

Aiichi snickered softly. “I must’ve been quite the sight. I was trying so hard not to stare at her the whole time, and I had always tried not to…rush, or mess with the structure about whatever ridiculous idea for a speech I’d gotten into my head for that day, but she was there the whole time. So this visibly nervous, gangly thirteen-year-old eventually finishes his bit, trailing off awkwardly and…I wasn’t really sure what to do at that point.”

“And she came up to me. Said I was well-spoken, really good at keeping going when people would just walk by or roll their eyes. She said that she hadn’t noticed me going back to old speeches, and I was astounded she even remembered the things I’d talked about,” Aiichi laughed. “She asked me where I had learned these things, where I did research…we talked for a while, it felt like days, though there’s no way it was over even an hour.”

And before she had even said anything more, it had already been the best day of Aiichi’s life, at that point. Even Babylon and Charl, for how good they were to him, raising him…it never felt like anyone really…listened to him. It was very obvious that most people that knew him actively tried not to. Called him annoying and a hypocrite, or simply dumb and attention-seeking. Crazy, a few times, with some of the first kids he’d been at the orphanage with, when he excitedly told the big kids about the dreams he had of an amazing woman with hair like pink clouds telling him things. 

The comment about attention-seeking wasn’t necessarily wrong. Aiichi had really believed everything he talked about--and the accusations of hypocrisy were more…he knew that there was so much better than how he was--but…he had just wanted someone to listen. 

And Fuse had. 

“I had told her I lived at Lighthouse--it’d come up in conversation--and…the next day, she showed up at the orphanage,” Aiichi said softly, still some of that love and excitement from years past in his golden gaze. “I came down in the morning and she turned to me from talking with one of the caretakers and…she joked about how the castle wasn’t really much of an upgrade in privacy, but they had a super secret hot tub so that was enough to tip the scales, right?”

“And I didn’t even care. I didn’t care if she just wanted to adopt me, or if she was really asking me to be her heir. I said yes in a heartbeat.”

Kaito listened in open fascination, grinning as the story went on. It really was a story right out of a book, inspiring and warm as some of the best stories could be. Kaito rested his chin on his fist, leaning and listening attentively, imagining it as Aiichi told it. “Wow… I can’t even imagine the songs they’ve written about you already. I hope we can find some of them soon, they must be amazing.”

Grinning with more of his teeth, Kaito snickered as he said, “I think I can imagine, at least somewhat, why my father was so taken in by you. A fascinating history, a strong, determined attitude, pretty… fuck, it probably wasn’t even just my father. I have to imagine people just flocked to you.”

Kaito, once again, winced only after the words were out of his mouth. Glancing down at Miyako, internally apologizing for cursing again, before also turning red, leaning away from Aiichi and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he sputtered out, “Oh, uh, that’s… sorry, that was a step too forward. I didn’t mean to speak that out of turn, especially on a relationship that complicated. I apologize.”

Aiichi snorted softly. He…wasn’t as much a fan of personal music these days, but…maybe just some bardic tune outlining events wouldn’t be as bad. Though…hearing about the riots or the war in song sounded…pretty awful, still. 

He was a little surprised to hear Kaito bring up Leon himself--and especially to call Aiichi pretty--but his gaze softened as the man immediately backtracked. He took a moment, trying to sort out his words, even if he knew the silence after an apology couldn’t feel great to Kaito. 

“It’s alright, Kaito. In honesty…it’s…boosting, I think, to hear you just…talk comfortably. I know it’s not the sort of thing that feels appropriate to you but…it does make me feel better, and less like a burden on your presence.”

“Even for things about Leon,” he said softly. “I would hope my peers at school were more interested in the things I had to say than just intrigue over who I was, but…kids will be kids. And…”

For another moment, Aiichi seemed to debate with himself, before giving Kaito a bow of his head. “I don’t believe I’ve apologized for it so…I apologize. For talking about my youth with your parents and aunt so casually, before. I should’ve been more attentive to your discomfort.”

Kaito’s immediate impulse was to tell King Aiichi he hadn’t offended him… but that wasn’t true. And Kaito couldn’t bring himself to pretend it was, even to the king. 

But he did appreciate the apology. As much as he was surprised by it. He hadn’t thought the king had noticed… but that was foolish. They weren’t a part of a hive mind, and the King didn’t know everything, but Kaito should still assume the king was paying attention to things happening right in front of him. Of course King Aiichi had known. 

“Thank you, your grace. And I know… that I’m supposed to speak casually with you. It really bothers Kokichi that I don’t. Honestly, I think I shave a day off my husbands lifespan every time I call you ‘King’ Aiichi.” Kaito chuckled softly, shrugging, “Just one of those things that stress him out. That’s partly why I asked you to sit with me out here. I mean, also to give you more time with Miyako! Because she is your granddaughter and that should be encouraged!”

“But, ya know… to also get past this idea that you should only come see her when I’m not there.” Kaito said softly, his expression troubled at the confession, “Like I said. Kokichi tries to protect me a lot. It’s sweet, and I appreciate him thinking of me, but… I know that he tries to keep us separated because you make me uncomfortable. And, you do.” Kaito admitted with a small shrug… before grinning at the king, “But just avoiding you is never gonna fix that. And I don’t want to not be a part of Kokichi’s other family just because I’m, like, nervous and polite around you guys. It’s okay that you all make me nervous! I’m allowed to be nervous!”

Kaito was starting to raise his voice again, not really angry, more just passionate, before remembering he had just gotten his snoozy baby to calm down and bask in the sun, as he lowered his voice again with another small shrug, “I don’t need anyone to, like, tuck me aside or hide me away. I love my husband, but… he can be kind of a doofus sometimes. And if he’s going to keep trying to protect me that way, well… guess it’s up to me to make a nuisance of myself and start harassing you guys myself.” Kaito laughed, a small, embarrassed flush to his face, “Nervous and polite and all.”

Aiichi nodded slightly, giving the sleepy baby in Kaito’s arms a fond look. He was grateful every time he saw her that Kokichi wanted him to be a part of her life. That he hadn’t completely destroyed his relationship with his son to the point he wasn’t allowed to see her. Some of the requests Kokichi had asked of him had…hurt. But he understood that his son was in the right to make them. Miyako was Kokichi’s daughter. 

“It’s okay to be nervous,” Aiichi agreed, his voice gentle. “And…I truly appreciate you reaching out to me. Letting me see Miyako. Even wanting to be there more for my son and the rest of your immediate family, I know I’m not going to be able to be the kind of person that can pop in every day. But all the time we do spend together I cherish.”

“There’s a certain idea of…Dicean politeness, I suppose you’d call it, that says the best thing you can do for someone that’s uncomfortable around you is to not be around them. But especially in terms of family, that’s not the sole option available, and not always the one that leads to the greatest harmony.”

Aiichi sighed softly. “I know it’s not fair for the burden of proof to always be put on your shoulders…so I’m going to try my best too. But…for example, me overstepping my bounds talking about your parents,” Aiichi nodded, gesturing a hand. “I had no idea I’d done so until Kokichi told me how uncomfortable you’d gotten. I genuinely thought you might enjoy hearing, possibly, some stories about your parents you hadn’t heard from them. But I was wrong, and I hurt you. And I didn’t know until someone a little smarter pointed it out.”

“So…if I am welcome to spend more time with you all? Please let me know when I’ve overstepped your boundaries. It’s okay to be nervous, but I never mean to make it worse.”

Aiichi paused for a moment, his gaze a little dry. “Hideki might. But he’s kind of an asshole. Calling him out on it will usually get you an apology if you want one, though.”

Oh! Kokichi had told him! Awww… his good husband, looking out for him…

Kaito, briefly, considered making some sort of joke at Hideki’s expense… but he suspected if he tried the joke would end up being too harsh for someone King Aiichi cared about. Also, none of the jokes Kaito could think of were actually ‘funny’, and more just ‘griping through sarcasm’. Which Kaito didn’t think was fair, because he and Hideki had already tried to settle their differences… or well, Kaito had tried and Hideki had been willing to meet him halfway. Quarter way. The man had been present for the conversation and hadn’t made anything actively worse. That had to count for something! 

Sigh… maybe Kaito would try again later.

Though, looking at Aiichi with a far more forgiving state of mind than the last time Kaito had thought about this– willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, basically– Kaito tried to imagine what scenario could have possibly convinced Aiichi that dropping a bombshell like ‘your fathers crush on me’ on his old friend/worst enemies newly orphaned son was ever a thing to just mention casually and…

“Did you think I knew about your and my fathers, uh… personal history?” Kaito asked, genuinely trying to understand. “I don’t always understand Dicean culture, though I’m really trying, so… I’m only asking to have a better understanding of what kind of boundaries I’d need to bring up. Some things seem obvious to me, but, that could literally be the title of my life this last year: It Seemed Obvious.” Kaito grinned, keeping his tone light to show he was mostly teasing.

“Honestly? Yes,” Aiichi said, just aware enough of the situation to look sheepish about it. And it was that same ‘just enough’ that he didn’t say what he actually thought directly. “People change but…from what I knew of your father’s personality, it was…something that I really thought he would’ve talked about to you. Even with the war.”

Because…well. Leon had loved talking about himself. Usually pumping himself up a bit, but most of the stories he told and comments he made were grounded somewhere in reality. Aiichi really thought that somewhere along the way Leon would’ve made some comment about avoiding the shitshow that was Aiichi’s life, or spinning it like Aiichi had been chasing him throughout high school. 

But, while Kokichi hadn’t gone that into it…Aiichi had been beginning to get the impression that Leon--or Sayaka, or Ibuki--hadn’t really…told their kids anything about the past. 

…not that Aiichi had for Kokichi either, at least when it came to Hope’s Peak. It wasn’t a good excuse but…for a long time, while Kokichi was young, that part of his life had just…stung, considering the brand new declarations of war. And after long enough…he had just wanted to forget it. And it became habit. 

Seeing Kaito, having better relations with Luminary and…well, unfortunately Leon and Sayaka’s deaths made it easier to look back on those times. 

He wondered if Ibuki would ever want to talk to him again. …probably not. They were in their forties and had been friends as teens. It was just…too long, and there had been too much that happened. 

(Sometimes he had wondered if Sayaka or Ibuki had ever wanted to talk with him again, but didn’t out of solidarity for Leon. He wasn’t sure which option hurt more.)

“I’m sure the same could be said of many of our actions on the other side of that,” Aiichi chuckled back.

Kaito nodded. That made a lot of sense. If Aiichi had thought it was old knowledge to Kaito? Way less fucked up. Not even that stupid, honestly, Kaito had assumed Kokichi knew about Hopes Peak Academy, after all. Just assumptions, making things harder on both ends.

“Honestly, my father and I didn’t have conversations like that. I mean, he would talk to me about stuff, but… well, I couldn’t tell you much about him as a person, really. I really only had actual conversations with him… well, no, that’s wrong. I really only listened to him talk in the war room, and when he showed me how to paint figurines. To make a little model city.” Kaito said, leaving out what the model had been of as he went to pour himself and Aiichi more lemonade, “I loved painting figurines with him. I still do it now, it’s one of my favorite hobbies. He was so proud that I could get those little details in the eyes, and I understood shading after only one lesson… it was the happiest I had ever made my father.”

“But, I only knew that because he wasn’t angry, like, at me when we did that stuff.” Kaito said, shrugging a little, his gaze far away, “My dad only had one emotion, and every other emotion was filtered through it. He was just… angry. All the time. Sometimes he was happy angry, and sometimes he was bored angry, just, those emotions passed through this really tense, explosive aggression that could go off at any minute, for any reason. But most of the time? He was just mad. At everything and everyone. It consumed him… so you just didn’t say anything out of turn around him. He’d talk, you’d listen, that was it. At least that’s how it was for us. Me and him. Byakuya would try to talk to him and dad would talk over him. Some of his generals could get through to him sometimes, but usually not for long before dad just dismissed them out of hand. Dad just didn’t listen to anyone… I thought things were different between him and my mom, at least in private. Mom never said much around him, but she did a lot of things and I always assumed they were having private discussions about it, her pitching the ideas and him approving.”

Kaito sighed, shaking his head, “Nope. My mom and I had a real conversation for once, right before I left. Turns out she had learned the importance of ‘asking forgiveness, not permission’. She gave me all this advice on how to handle your son, actually, and I just realized listening to her that she and dad weren’t talking either… dad just… didn’t listen to anyone.”

“...” Kaito almost said ‘except the Head Secretary’, but he didn’t dare bring up that man to King Aiichi. Not after what had happened to Kokichi. So instead he looked over at Aiichi and asked, “Was he always like that? Just so… angry? And, like… self absorbed? He’d talk about your days in school sometimes, and he always made you sound like this distant, head up his ass, pretentious asshole that was impossible to get along with. I couldn’t believe you said he had a crush… but it kinda reconctexualized some of the things he said about you, to me. Like… like maybe he had really wanted your attention…”

While some of the things Kaito said were kind of…sad and alarming, Aiichi nodded excitedly as he mentioned figurines. “Ah, yes, Kokichi told me that you paint figurines. He’s said you’re incredibly skilled. If…it would be alright, maybe the next time I swing by your room to spend time with Miyako, you could show me some of your work? I would love to see them.”

Sayaka…maybe it was another layer to it, how it worked with her husband and the kingdom she’d moved to, but Aiichi knew she had learned that lesson far before she and Leon had gotten married. There were many rumors about Novoselican culture, and Sayaka’s cunning had always seemed like the peak of them. 

It was…disappointing to hear how much she had needed it in her adult life.

As Kaito plainly asked what Leon had been like, Aiichi sighed, an old sadness somehow tinging even worse, knowing more about who his friend had become. 

(...’did I make you mean, or were you always that way?’ indeed)

“He had it,” Aiichi said softly, something a little dead in the tone before he bolstered himself. C’mon, man, it was over twenty years ago… “I apologize if this is too much, but…he was my best friend, Kaito.”

Aiichi gave another sigh before he shook his head a little, straightening out his thoughts from the sadness and betrayal. “He always had a temper, and he tended to be self-focused, yes, but…I wouldn’t describe it to the point you described. He was angry a lot, like…he felt he both had something to prove to the world, and already owned it. But I…thought I’d see him in moments of genuine happiness, or calm, or sympathy unfiltered by anger. He wanted to be in the spotlight of everyone around…but he cheered the loudest for others’ accomplishments, and he could focus on others in need with a sort of unshakable resolve.”

…and he had listened to Aiichi. All the time. And it really felt like the insecurities of a teenager to think that…maybe Leon felt burned by someone he had…”wasted” so many moments listening to, so he resolved not to waste his time on anyone ever again.

Maybe that was something to bring up in therapy. 

Aiichi snorted softly. “I won’t argue the picture he painted of me in our school days, but in the correct context, he was right next to me for all of that.”

“... well, maybe dad was still like that?” Kaito mused, his shoulders falling a little as he heard Aiichi describe a man Kaito had most assuredly never met, “But just… not with us. Maybe he had been unhappy…”

Kaito suddenly rolled his eyes at himself. “Hell, maybe the guy had a tumor, pressing down on his damn ‘common sense’ lobe. He sure as heck acted like it.”

Kaito suddenly laughed, a barking, nervous thing, bringing up his palm to cover his eyes slightly. Giving Aiichi a nervous, embarrassed look between the gab where his palm and his eyes met, he shrugged, still laughing sharp, barking giggles, “Sorry. Kind of a cruddy way to talk about dead family, but, like, seriously. Would that not make, just, the most sense?” 

Aiichi’s eyebrows went up in surprise, but there was something mildly amused in his expression. It was incredibly dark, but…well, that’s what Leon had become. All of the worst parts of himself with the good barely if ever shining through. 

“I’ll admit, there were times where I thought similarly,” Aiichi huffed softly, still recognizable as something of a laugh. Though, something sad seemed to dampen even the gallows humor as he looked at Kaito. “...I’m sorry he wasn’t the person I knew to you. I know it’s not exactly something to express sympathy for…but I do.”

Kaito shrugged, the giggles dying down as he  rubbed Miyako’s little toesy’s, even though she was well asleep by now. “I’m sorry your friend turned into a weird nightmare asshole who killed your family and went to war with you. It… really sucks when that happens.”

“Anyway, it’s not your fault my dad was an angry creep. I’m still happy blaming my hypothetical tumor scenario, honestly. Mom? Mom was just… stressed out and unhappy. I know Shuichi will say otherwise, and maybe I’m just biased, but I don’t think my mom was crazy. I think she was just the type of unhappy that makes a person act it… I hope the trials are helping them both. Maybe they’ll go back to the kind of people you knew, when you were young… what was mom like? The person I knew was… she was trying. She was, I know history won’t remember her that way, but the woman I knew was trying to be a leader, and it always looked like everyone around her was doing everything in their power to stop her. She was… paranoid and cold and distant, usually, but man, if I had the rug swept out from under me as much as she did… heh.” 

Kaito grinned wryly, “...Actually, yeah. I get it. Sometimes when things go wrong and they just keep going wrong? God, it can feel like your brain is rotting, or overheating, or… it’s hard, to be your best, when it’s all so bad. Heck if I know why dad was that unhappy, but mom? I can see how she got that way.”

“It does,” Aiichi sighed. And it wasn’t the same but…it was ironically painful that Kaito kind of knew what that felt like. Aiichi wasn’t privy to all their personal hurdles, but…he didn’t think Maki had exactly turned into a nightmare asshole, even if some of her decisions had been painful. But at the very least, Kaito and Maki’s version seemed to be getting a happier outcome. 

Aiichi had heard less of how Sayaka had been in the past few decades. He had sent letters of joy and congratulations all for her and Leon’s wedding announcement and the births of their sons…to get no response back. And in Dicea, there were far fewer rumors about her than Leon. 

He knew that rumors were some of the worst ways to get news about Sayaka specifically, but…it was all he had, really. 

“I hope so too,” Aiichi hummed. And while he didn’t exactly believe in the Atuan afterlife, he did hope that wherever they were, whatever form that was, they would find peace. Get to have some of those carefree, happy feelings he believed they enjoyed in their youth. 

“Your mother was an exceptionally skilled actress, so while I can said she never seemed paranoid in those days, I may just be wrong,” Aiichi started, cracking a small smile, “And she could be downright frigid if you got on her bad side. It was impressive to watch, sometimes. I don’t think it’s exactly what you mean, but…she could be distant then too, but I wouldn’t call it a defensive distance. Sayaka always seemed like she was three steps ahead of everyone, eyes locked on some goal that she’d put everything she could into. She absolutely knew how to get people to underestimate her, but your mother was one of the most strong-willed people I’ve ever met.”

Aiichi paused, more of a smile growing on his face, though it tinged sad. “She was an incredible singer. I’m a bit biased to say my wife’s voice will always be my favorite but listening and watching Sayaka perform always felt like a once-in-a-lifetime, spectacular event.” Even if they tried to have band practice at least three times a week, even if that just turned into hanging out talking about music. “I believe she mentioned to me that performing arts weren’t something she could really pursue at a professional level but…I truly believe that she was one of the world’s best hidden artists.”

Kaito grinned at that, crossing his legs as he leaned over to finally check Miyako’s diaper. Come oooooon, no whammies, no whammies, no whammies– “Darn.” Kaito sighed, reaching over to drag the diaper bag over. “Sorry, I have to get this done. Did you have any of the sandwiches? The kitchen gave us sandwiches! Should I wait to change the diaper till after you eat? If so, could you eat, like… quickly? Diaper rash and all of that…”

As Kaito prepared a new diaper, he said, “She had a voice, didn’t she? She could make this sound, I never hear anything like it. This really clear, like, crystal sound… I know that’s not a good descriptor, but I don’t know how else to describe it. Like her voice just crystalized through the air… like high bells! That’s what it is, she can hit those high notes. She would just do it randomly sometimes, when she was happy. She ran her hands through my hair and just, like it was nothing, like it was easy, would let out those high, crystal sounds…”

“Oh? Did you know Kokichi can sing?” Kaito asked, smirking at Aiichi, “Bet you didn’t. He’s so damn shy about it, it’s so cute, but he’s got the sweetest little voice when he’s singing to Miyako.”

“It’s certainly been quite a few years, but I’m not scared off by diapers, Kaito. I wouldn’t want to deny Miyako any comfort either.”

Of all the things Kaito had not gotten from his parents, Aiichi was happy to hear that Sayaka had still shared her voice with him. She truly had a gift that she had honed and practiced to the divine. And…well, he was glad she was happy enough, at least in moments, to sing. “Wonderful…”

Though, as Kaito went on to gush about his husband’s voice, Aiichi couldn’t help his laugh of delight. “Ah, truly? I’ve heard him sing as a child, but nothing since…aw.” Despite it being something his son hadn’t wanted to share with him, Aiichi had an overly fond look on his face. “Miyako, my wife, was the same way. She had a lovely soft voice but got so flustered when other people were around. One of our friends would always invite her out to karaoke nights and prod her for hours to build her confidence enough to sing something.”

With a softer smile, he sighed. “...she sang to Kokichi too, while she was pregnant. I’d joke sometimes that he was already in love with her voice and that’s why he kept waking her up in the middle of the night.”

He had never been particularly self-conscious about his voice, though he hadn’t thought he was amazing. Being compared to Sakaya when they switched vocalists for certain songs had certainly…been humbling. But those few quiet moments when he and Miyako had softly sung together to their unborn son…those were precious moments that didn’t need comparison.

“Pfff, Shuichi used to say Miyako would kick him in the stomach, and he’d get so mad at me when I told her it was okay if she needed to make a little room. Said I was going to teach her it was okay to beat him up. And ya know what?” Kaito leaned forward, kissing Miyako’s belly as she did her soft little baby snores, “Shuichi was r~iiiight. You have strong little baby kicks. Don’t you? Strong, mighty baby kicks. Are you a strong, mighty baby, Miyako? Strong, sleepy, might baby? Okay, let’s get that poopy diaper changed~ yesss, let’s do that~”

Kaito coo’d and gushed to his daughter, pulling out the diaper and keeping her legs up to wipe her down. Miyako didn’t so much as stir, incredibly used to this process, to the point where she didn’t deem it worthy to be awoken. Not for mere changing. 

“So Kokichi’s mom also has a good singing voice. He comes from good genes… actually, you probably don’t know this.” Kaito realized, glancing over curiously at Aiichi before refocusing on changing, “I mean, I was never as serious about it as she was, but your wife and I have astronomy in common. My classes in university were for the most part all military based, but when I was allowed to take extra curriculars on top of it, like, I took every astronomy class they’d let me take. I was obsessed for a long time there. Space was just… fascinating, you know?” Kaito grinned, eyes going a little distant, “Like, it all sounded impossible and unreal, and then you’d look at the formulas and see the evidence and it’s like, oh… it really could be like that. And we find it out in a thousand ways that you’d just never expect, like how we use light to determine what kind of matter could push through it at certain time and distances and how we can use that knowledge to theorize what distant planets are made of and how far they are and we can track the patterns of their rotations and when you double check it all works!”

Kaito’s voice had risen in passion for a moment, looking excited, lit up… before he chuckled, refocusing on Miyako as he said, “Miyako, nooooo. That’s so mean, I just put that diaper down. Did you have to wait? Darn… alright, well, I have more, hold on…”

They had found out that Kaito had been in university when the treaty had, well, torn him away from that. Even if it was for a track they couldn’t provide much education for, Hideki had still gotten an idea of what his transcript looked like, and had talked to the university in Usott about transferring his credits. They’d probably need to get his actual transcript to actually see what sort of credits he had, but…well, Kaito had only ever gone to the university for Shuuichi. 

Aiichi couldn’t exactly blame him for not wanting to continue his education. 

The leader regarded Kaito curiously as he expressed his interest in astronomy, and as the younger man spoke, Aiichi’s expression only got softer. The passion and curiosity, wonder at the beyond…

Leaning over, Aiichi got out a spare diaper from where he’d seen Kaito pull the one before, handing it over to make things a little easier on him. “Maybe not to the point you pursued it but…it really sounds like you’re just as passionate as she was.”

There was a small chuckle from the older man. “What distant planets are made of… Mia must’ve explained to me how the process worked a dozen times, but, well,” he snorted, “If you did that for me, you might discover my head to be some of the densest material in the universe. But…god, I loved listening to her explain it.”

“Thank you~” Kaito said, taking the fresh diaper without looking at Aiichi, cleaning up the last diaper before opening up the new one, “And I’m sure she explained it just fine, but it’s really not that tough. So, certain temperatures creates these certain wavelengths of lights, right, which creates a range of colors from red to blue. Now, depending on the color, we can–”

Kaito went on like that idly, regurgitating what he considered the most basic parts of astronomy as he finished cleaning Miyako up. Buttoning up her one piece, Kaito went to place little kisses against her face– Miyako suckling the air a little in her sleep, undisturbed by Big Heat kisses– as he finished, “And there’s different rock materials that have different levels of hardness? And light passes through them easier, delaying the light enough that by the time we can see them, it will be just the right temperature to show what kind of material it went through. See? Miyaaaaa~ Isn’t that easy? Miyako, you are only three months old, and you understand light travel, yes? Yes you do, of course you do, you are daddy and dada’s very smart daughter, it’s a very simple concept when someone else has done all the hard work figuring it out for us, hmmm?”

“She’s such a sleepy baby.” Kaito sighed, picking her up and wiping his thumb over her forehead, checking her temperature, “Want to hold her a bit, your grace?”

…

…

…yeah, still no. He got that…colors meant things, and that light could mean distance, and light could pass through objects, but…none of those concepts really…fit together in his head. But that was alright. He would listen to the people who did get it. 

Aiichi didn’t really think he was dumb. He did well enough in school, and there were plenty of things he had to know and figure out for work, and even if he knew he carried a lot of his duties with charisma, it wasn’t the only thing he contributed. Just…higher concepts were hard to grasp sometimes. Immaterial things always seemed to come so much easier. 

So he just kind of…nodded along with a fond look, similarly to how he always would for Miyako too. 

This Miyako would probably understand it one day too. 

At the offer, Aiichi gave Kaito a hopeful look. “If that’s alright with you.”

“Of course, this was a chance for you to bond with baby, after all.” Kaito said, passing King Aiichi Miyako. Kaito had gotten to the point with Miyako where, while he wasn’t at ‘play hard with her, throw her in the air, be a dad roller coaster’ levels yet, Miyako didn’t seem impossibly fragile to him anymore. So he put her between his hands– and god, even taking into account how she tucked her legs and arms instinctively against herself, it was still incredible to him she could fit in his grip like that– Kaito held her out for Aiichi to take, simply cautioning, “Just remember her neck and head, okay? She’s getting stronger with it every day, she can hold it up on her own for tummy time, but she still has a lot of that infant ‘rag doll’ thing going on.”

“Here you go, Miyako. Go to grandpa. Be nice to him, he’s king, you know…”

“Of course,” Aiichi said softly, nodding. And as Kaito passed her over, Aiichi held her so gently. Supporting her head and neck, tucking her against his chest, and just…holding her as if she were the most precious thing in the world. Considering that she was his granddaughter, she kind of was. 

It wasn’t that Kokichi hadn’t let him hold her. He had, a few times, actually. And Aiichi had been over the moon for each of those times as well. 

(It just…seemed, sometimes, that Kokichi was reluctant to hand his daughter over. Even being the only one in the family who--up until today--actually invited Aiichi to spend time with Miyako. He wouldn’t blame Kokichi but…sometimes it felt like a matter of time before his son asked him to not come around casually anymore.)

(Aiichi…didn’t know what he’d do if Kokichi decided to move out of the castle.)

“Hello, Miyako,” he said softly, eyes only for the sleeping baby in his arms. “Gosh, you’re getting bigger every day… Your dads must show their love minute upon minute.”

“The red dog story!” Kaito grinned, lighting up, “I know that reference! Kokichi mentions it all the time! I really gotta find that book, it apparently really stuck to the guy. Gotta make sure he can read it to her… did you read to him? Or was that Ikou who got that dog stuck in his head?”

Aiichi glanced up in surprise before smiling softly, rocking Miyako gently. “It’s quite the well-known kids’ series around here. I would wager that there was some cultural zeitgeist that cemented it in Ko’s head, but…I believe Ikuo was likely the person to read it to him the first time.”

“I did read to him too,” Aiichi said more softly. “A lot while he was sick. Sometimes I’d manage to sneak away from work in time for a bedtime story. …not as often as I should’ve.”

Kaito leaned his head against his palm, watching Aiichi with Miyako curiously. Something appraising in his stare. “...maybe.” Kaito whispered, though something in him winced to say it. 

“I’ll be honest, if that’s still alright.” Kaito said, scratching the back of his neck, watching Miyako sleep soundly in Aiichi’s arms, “... I can’t really guess, what your and Kokichi’s relationship was like, growing up. Honestly, I’ve kind of given up on thinking that I know. I love Kokichi, and despite what he thinks, it’s not that he… lies to me, or anything. He’s really not that liar he thinks he is.” Even if he loved to hold back information. That wasn’t the same as lies, or at least Kaito didn’t think so. Or at least Kaito didn’t think so right now, while the anger over all of that had long since passed. “But everyone talks about his childhood a little differently. And every time I think I have a clear picture, or a real grip on it? Every time I hold it up for scrutiny? I’m always entirely wrong about it. Like, seriously, it’s unbelievable, how many times I’ve talked out of my ass to someone thinking I have a grip on what Kokichi’s life has been like, only to be shown I had no idea what was going on.”

“All that to say… maybe? I should agree and say you should have been there more? Or maybe you were there plenty and you’re not giving yourself enough credit for what you managed. Or maybe you didn’t but you really tried and it just wasn’t going to work. Or maybe you didn’t try but you’ll spend the rest of your life convinced you did… with all due respect.” Kaito said, giving, very briefly, a cold, frustrated look to Aiichi… before he let it go, shrugging as his face melted into sheepish uncertainty, “I don’t know. I don’t have a place to judge. But you seem to have gotten it together now! I shouldn’t speak for my husband, I know you both have things you’re working through, but you should know that I’ve seen plenty of moments where Kokichi, whether he notices or not, adores you. He respects the crud out of you, and sometimes I even think he likes you.”

“And that’s more and more lately, so… whatever you two are doing over board game  nights? You should know it’s working. He seems so much happier, with you.”

Aiichi frowned slightly. Twenty-one years was a long span of time to consider every moment of, and even more when you tried to consider the perspectives of dozens of people. The truth was, while there was a consistent timeline of events, everyone who had been a part of Kokichi’s life would tell the story a different way. 

And in a way, every account would be true. Kokichi had been neglected and isolated, his mental illnesses left to fester without intervention until he believed the whole world hated him. And…also, he had been adored and loved, constantly nagged and included by the people around him. Life was just…complicated. 

Maybe Aiichi was being too hard on himself, but…looking back at his own perspective said he wasn’t. And listening to his son explain his feelings said he wasn’t. And in a way…that mattered more than figuring out the history; Kokichi had been hurt, so…it was time to put in more effort and try to make amends. 

…fuck, he was really trying. 

Something in Aiichi’s face brightened as he smiled, relief smoothing out some of the wrinkles in the corners. “Yeah? I’m glad…”

“...Miyako and I were so excited when we found out she was pregnant. Looking back, it wasn’t the most stable time in our lives to be parents, but when we got the news…none of it mattered. We were going to be parents!” Aiichi chuckled, reminiscing. “Kokichi had always been such a blessing to us. Our little luck…”

He sighed. “...and he’s always been. I love my son…I’m so proud of him. But…I think I left those feelings implicit for too long, and they became dusty and unreadable. Clear to me, but…not to him. And at that point…it’s not much better than lip service. I’m glad that I’m doing better by him these days… Actually making it count.”

“Yeah, I get that. The action part is hard.” Kaito sighed, rubbing his fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp a bit. He had put his hair up, wanting to look himself for the king, but he had overdone it. He’d have to wash the gel out before he went to bed tonight, it wouldn’t sit like this. “Though, I actually struggle with the, like… I don’t know. The ‘trusting he gets it’ part? Like, I am on overcompensation mode, one hundred percent, all day every day. If Kokichi isn’t aware that I worship the ground he walks on, does he even know I like him at all?”

Kaito rolled his eyes at himself, letting his hand drop as he shrugged, “It can kind of make communication tough, when you assume that, like, refusing to speak to your partner for an hour cause you’re ticked at him is gonna be some soul crushing, end of world nonsense. And it’s not Kokichi who makes me feel like that, it’s me who makes me feel like that. Ya know, the last time Kokichi was sick I made him sit in a steam bath and spit into a bucket for like thirty minutes, rather than just let him sleep? Auuuugh, I’ve always got to be ‘fixing’ things, it’s so stupid, I don’t know how he puts up with me. I wish I could just trust him to know I’m thinking about him without throwing myself into his face all the time.”

“Maybe Lake’s the good middle ground? Lake adores the guy, and she brings him flowers when he’s sick, and she lets him know she’s thinking about him without, like, being around all the damn time. And Kokichi seems to adore Lake. Even when I was ticked as all hell at her, and Kokichi wasn’t really defending anyone from me and my interpretations, he still defended her… oh!” Kaito looked at Aiichi, eyes wide and curious, “Did you raise Lake? Was that a thing? Or did she just grow up in the castle? Was it Ikou?? Who raised Lake? Which one of you is responsible for how loud she is??” Kaito asked, loudly.

“It’s not a bad personality trait, to be a ‘fixer’,” Aiichi mused. “In fact, I would say that Ko’s the same way. And…for your specific example, considering the nature of the flu he caught, I think clearing out his congestion was a great help too.”

But it could get tiring for all parties involved, when someone constantly needed to be ‘fixing’ or ‘giving’. Aiichi could remember how much he threw himself at Miyako, adoring the sweet, brilliant woman, and feeling such a desperate hope that she’d notice him, or at least feel flattered or helped by the things he did. And up to a point, it was how they got together--even with Toshio and Honoka’s nudging, Miyako had been so terribly shy that if Aiichi had been more subdued, nothing would’ve happened. But…there came a point, where his kind, soft-spoken wife (girlfriend at the time) told him that it was just…too much. She loved him, but her entire life couldn’t be him, and it wasn’t like her love was going to stop when she was focused on something else. When she was problem-solving on her own. And…when it was a problem he could help with, she had let him know. 

He had always still been trying to impress her, up to the end. But…he had toned it down a little. 

(Miyako might say that making her an observatory in the castle wasn’t exactly toning it down.)

However…there were examples of more moderate (though not less strong) affections around them. 

Aiichi chuckled softly, humming lowly and comfortingly to Miyako at Kaito’s jump in volume, though he figured the infant might be used to it. “I honestly think Lake’s ‘loudness’, in personality and actual volume is just entirely her. But…well, legally she was a ward of the state, but Miyako and I, and then Ikuo all tried our bests to look after her.”

“It’s not really my place to talk too in-depth, but she was…not exactly trusting of anyone trying to perform a parental role,” Aiichi carefully said, giving Kaito a slightly remorseful look. “She opened up, as the years went on, especially in the sibling role she had for Kokichi, but…even later, she was adamant about her independence.”

“Of course, it’s not very safe or ethical, or simply right to have no one caring for a child--but…well, I suppose we just had to be a little sneaky about it.”

“Okay, but, low key? Like, very low key, I’m a little embarrassed to let this become a rumor or anything like that,” Kaito said, putting a finger up to his mouth and tapping his top lip a few times, “There’s this little girl Timothy hangs around with, named Cali? We’re not actually raising her, cause obviously she goes home every day and they put food on the table and they send her to camp, but… seriously, some days? I feel like I’m sneaky raising her. She’s over all the time, myself and Haneda do homework with her and Tim constantly, she trains with us, she spends as much time as she can here… I’ll be honest, I’m getting attached. Hopefully her home life will calm down a little, things have been hard there this year, and she’ll probably want to spend more time there when it does, but… I’ll miss her when that happens. She’s such a little spitfire, god I love that girl. I wish I could mentor her, but I’m not actually, ya know… in any careers. Whoever ends up snatching her as a ward is going to be so damn lucky, she’s gonna make them so proud.”

“And I’m sure you all did the best you could for Lake. Her and that weirdo Denji, coming in to work at, what… thirteen? You were preaching in the streets at thirteen… heh.” Kaito chuckled, “I want to make a ‘thirteen is a busy age’ here joke, but honestly, most of my friends were working in their careers at thirteen too. Wasn’t Kokichi doing administrative stuff by then? Or was that sixteen… honestly, I may be the only person I know right now who was not working at thirteen. I don’t even remember what I was doing then? Definitely wasn’t preaching in the streets… I think I might have been going through a ‘weird fashions’ phase. And, like… throwing sticks off walls.”

Kaito chuckled, most of this clearly making fun of himself a little, as he gave Aiichi a somewhat crooked grin, “I don’t remember exactly what you paid for my dowry, your grace, but I’m sorry if you didn’t quite get your money's worth. Definitely not as cool as your kid… though Shuichi definitely is. So it kinda worked out.”

“Ah, yes, Cali,” Aiichi nodded, humming his familiarity. He hadn’t exactly had any in-depth conversations with the girl, but he had seen her around, and especially with Timothy, and Tsumugi’s daughter Kimiko. Though, he gave Kaito something of a curious look. “...Kaito, as we would use the term in Dicea…you already are mentoring her. Raising is not simply left to parents, and…from everything you’ve just said, and what I’ve seen? You’re doing a marvelous job of it. You’re a consistent, supportive force in Cali’s life, giving her guidance and love. What more could there be?”

Shaking his head a little, Aiichi gazed down at Miyako, stroking her arm in little movements from his thumb. “Kokichi took the oath at fifteen but…with the perspective I have now? I think you were doing the most age-appropriate things of all of us. Our child labor laws are the way they are to protect the need and trends in agricultural communities, but…children shouldn’t have to worry about working. They should simply get to be children…throwing sticks or annoying people in the street as they please.”

Aiichi had been partially joking at the end of his stance there too, but the mirth faded from his face at the thing he…didn’t really hear as a joke from Kaito. He gave the younger man a concerned look. “...Kaito…we didn’t…buy you. The exchange of goods between Dicea and Luminary was of equal value, a show to communicate that we were open and willing to trade again. I…”

Something complicated came across the leader’s face. “...I love having you here. You’re an exceptional person, and I’m proud to call you family, even if it’s just on paper between us. I know Ko wouldn’t want to think of life without you. Your marriage was meant to be protection for the commitment of peace between Dicea and Luminary--for both sides--yes, but…you were never meant to be objectified.”

…something in Aiichi knew, logically, that if he had known more about what the marriage looked like in Luminary, what marriage in general meant there, he shouldn’t have included it in the treaty proposal. But…he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Because it was a lie. For some reason, deep in his gut…Aiichi felt like Kaito had needed to come. Like that decision was the remaining thread on the feelings he sometimes got that felt like the universe was going to collapse. (...like that woman with the cloud hair apologizing for the steps he had to take, a horrible wisdom to have.)

Kaito, entirely unconscious of his movement, leaned forward a little, eyes widening ever so slightly. Hungry. And while the expression was rude at the highest level, Kaito couldn’t help the openly searching gaze he gave Aiichi, looking for clues in his face and body language for… context, really. Protection? Was that it? Had that been the reason??

Kaito had thought he had gotten over all of this. Needing to know why he was here. Needing purpose, that wasn’t just… his father playing out some fantasy? Maybe?? And even then, Kaito was only just assuming. Putting context to a thousand horrible little clues that all stacked together to make his life not only meaningless, but derogatory. The sum total of the lack of agency in Kaito’s life being little more than, if people weren’t thinking about him at all, were viewing him as just some… outlet. 

And Kaito opened his mouth to calmly ask if his original assumptions, explanations, for being here had been correct: was he brought here to marry Kokichi because it had seemed wise to have a member of the Luminary royal family living within the castle to maintain peace? Was Kaito meant to bring a Luminary perspective to policies, at least for trades between the kingdoms? Was he here to ensure that his family would think twice before trying to invade again, either through better relations or even potentially a hostage situation? Was he here as a symbol to the Dicean people that Diceans had won the exchange, not only getting the treaty but a son of the family that had terrorized them for so long? Had his presence mattered to Dicea, and that was why they had added him to the treaty, and why his own family hadn’t fought to keep him? Had that been the point? The purpose? 

Was that why he was supposed to be here?

But that wasn’t what he said. Eyes a little too wide, a sudden shock of anxiety like electricity through his back, and Kaito asked, “Did you bring me here to be something nice for Kokichi before he died?” 

Knowing it was wrong even as he said it aloud, but having never been entirely able to let go of the idea, because so far it was the only thing the Dicean people had ever asked of him, assumed and demanded, so… had that been it? “Did you know about my reputation before you asked for me? Was that why?” Kaito asked, gripping his hands close around the picnic blanket, and looking… young. Young and insecure and uncertain, a young idiot of twenty-three who had spent the last few years having no idea what was going on and doing his best to pretend he was someone who could handle all of this as he insisted, “You can be honest with me, I won’t get angry. I just need to know.”

Even with the not-really-joke, Aiichi could’ve assumed from that that Kaito’s views on the purpose of his marriage were…touchy things. But Aiichi didn’t know how touchy, how desperate he was until Aiichi touched the subject, and Kaito looked ravenous. Like a dying man seeking religious salvation at the last moment. 

Though, at the actual question Kaito asked? It was only the very young baby in Aiichi’s arms that kept his voice at a reasonable volume, even as the color drained from his face in horror. 

“What?”

Aiichi could only reel for a few moments, voice dying cracked in his throat as he could only look at Kaito with ever more horror and concern at the things his son-in-law said. But…Kaito’s own expression snapped him out of it. Father or not, Kaito was still barely out of childhood, and Aiichi was the adult here. 

Taking a breath, Aiichi gently put a hand on Kaito’s knee before returning his hold on Miyako. “No. No, that’s not why I asked your parents about a marriage. Doing so would be wholly disrespectful towards your autonomy, and my son’s well-being. I have a lot of fears centering on Kokichi’s mortality, I’ll admit, but I would never use another living being as a slap-on bandage for happiness.”

Aiichi would want his son to be comfortable at the end, but…nothing in the world would be able to make up for his life. Aiichi couldn’t and didn’t want to buy his son solace.

“...it’s irresponsible of me, but I didn’t know anything about you until a few months before you arrived, Kaito,” Aiichi said gently. “The reason I proposed the idea to your parents, and what they wrote back to me about, was the idea that because we would be tied to each other through family, it would be more incentive for our countries to work together, or at the very least not declare war again. Personally, I hoped that your presence and involvement would improve our foreign policy and cultural understanding of Luminary, so potential conflicts would be resolved before they could begin. Your family wrote back that it would be a chance for you to have a more involved role politically, considering that you likely would never rule in Luminary, due to the succession line. That you would bring foreign expertise, and be able to use it.”

“...I’m sorry if you felt used. That was never the intention, past those expectations I said.”

Kaito’s eyes lit up.

…they had thought he’d get a chance to be more politically involved?

Kaito’s mind raced, trying to reconceptualize everything. Okay, okay… that made sense! Sure, his mother had only talked about how he’d need to support his husband and need to try and protect himself at the same time, and Kaito had known that being a Prince-Consort meant he was responsible for trying to support the kings political ambitions as well, but maybe Kaito had just been trying to keep his own ego out of it too much. 

Kaito frowned suddenly. Had Tengan been… being honest then? Kaito had assumed that Tengan had been playing games, mostly. Sure, the Head Secretary was supposed to speak as the king would, and in theory if Tengan had told him to try to gain political power for Luminary’s benefit then, theoretically, that was the kings will as well… but it had sounded like treason, even right from the beginning. And committing treason would put Kaito in danger, and as troubled as Kaito knew his parents were, he didn’t really believe either of them would send him away only to ask him literally last minute to endanger himself among strangers, far from any aids, with both of his escorts specifically sent away on top of it.

Kaito had never really entertained the idea that it hadn’t been entirely Tengan just… being Tengan. 

… no. Even if his parents had been hoping for Kaito to find some political foothold here, he still wanted to believe that they wouldn’t have put him in that position, specifically. His parents had been negligent, not sadistic. Even when Kaito had believed that his father had approved of Tengan’s lessons as a child, it had been under the assumption that Tengan’s lessons had some greater purpose. That they were, if not making Kaito better, than improving his brother, and thus improving Luminary’s future.

Kaito didn’t mind being used. He had grown up being used. His comforts had always been that he was being used with purpose. And when he had really started to understand the true purpose of his childhood lessons, this last year, it became easier to believe that his father just… hadn’t known. Because he would have never let that happen to Kaito. Not if he had known. Kaito wanted to believe that.

“...” Kaito suddenly laughed sheepishly, feeling weirdly flattered and embarrassed about that, as he said quickly, “Oh? Uh… I mean, I don’t really have an expertise. I stopped being trained for inheritance at twelve. Uh, I mean, kind of earlier than that, that was just when it was official. I was raised around politics, not in it. And, you don’t have to apologize, your grace, it’s not your fault I didn’t know that. It’s just the first I’m hearing about it!”

“When I was told in Luminary what was happening, it was very much just me being told, ya know… pack your bags, you’re leaving on this date. Well, no, originally it was just a possibility, but that was only for a little bit. It felt like one day I was told my marriage was a possibility, that an offer had been made, and like a week later I was told it had been accepted and confirmed. And myself and my brother were brought to my parents so they could kind of officially confirm it to me, and my mother told me it was necessary. That the marriage had been a requirement for the treaty, and that the end of the war required me to go, that it would be me fulfilling my duty.”

Kaito blinked, a little lost in the memory, “...and maybe they would have told me more? But my father and Byakuya started arguing over it and I got a little… freaked out. I didn’t want to be the reason they were arguing, they both had such… tempers. They’re so reactive… I think I hoped that if I was entirely okay with it and didn’t ask any questions, they’d stop fighting…” Kaito shrugged, looking tired, “You know how that ended.”

“But, yeah, trying to keep the peace, I didn’t ask anything more after I was initially told I was coming here. My mother gave me some advice eventually, but it was all how to be a good consort for your son. So I think I really got it in my head that I was here for Kokichi. Which would be fine… I just wanted to know for sure. It’s been on my mind. It’s actually a huge relief, to find out there had been reasons.” Kaito laughed, grinning sheepishly at Aiichi again, “I was inventing a lot of reasons in my head and, well, you saw just now. Some of them got kinda depressing. Thank you for telling me, your grace.”

It wasn’t surprising, especially now, to hear that Luminary hadn’t been particularly…comprehensively sincere, in their correspondence. Hell, from the beginning Hideki had obsessively looked over every word, looking for meanings and double meanings and omissions and straight out lies. Some of the things he listed as possibilities were so conspiratorial that even Mikaku had given the secretary worried looks. 

Aiichi understood why. Even the most outlandish theories were better said aloud, just so they would be able to look for clearer warning signs to protect their country. And Hideki had already lost someone to assuming there wasn’t any subtext. Aiichi wasn’t in that camp this time around, they had tried to place so many safeguards, but…he had still wanted to be optimistic. Hope that Luminary would see… Hope that Leon would see how badly both their countries were suffering, would want the best for his son. 

Would have some of that ambition for greatness that Aiichi had once admired. 

He had been foolish to think any parts of his friend remained, though. Or…perhaps just naively hopeful. Even if Aiichi really didn’t want to think assuming a parent would want the best for their child was naivete. 

“...you’re a wonderful person, Kaito,” Aiichi said softly. Knowing the man wouldn’t want his pity. “Your family’s blessed to have you. I can’t claim to speak on any of their behalfs but…if you had been my son from the start? There wouldn’t be a day where I wouldn’t be overcome with just how proud I am of you.”

He wished Kaito had been given more choices, or at least explanations. Had been valued for his love and desire for peace. Hadn’t had to be the person mediating against explosive disaster, especially as the youngest. 

Nodding slightly, Aiichi offered a gentle smile. “If you ever wish to see more context-” Harder proof than just Aiichi’s word, “We have copies of the letters proposing and discussing the treaty in the archive. I don’t know how much more they would explain than what I’ve told you, but you may be able to glean something the administration had not. Because you do have more expertise than you give yourself credit for, my boy.”

Kaito immediately nodded, not hesitating for a second as he said, “Really? Yes, I would love that, absolutely yes.”

Kaito… wasn’t sure what to do with Aiichi’s pride. He literally, honestly didn’t know what to say to it. Other than Kokichi and, like, literally his therapists, Kaito didn’t hear that that often and he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react to it. It wasn’t that it made Kaito nervous or uncomfortable. Just, what do you say when someone’s proud? 

…b-besides! Aiichi hadn’t said he was proud of him! Dumb, that was dumb, Kaito had just been reaching, Aiichi had said if he was his kid, he would have been proud of him. Not the same thing. Was it? No. Hm…

Cracking his knuckles a little, Kaito said– knowing this was stupid and he was just setting himself up but whatever he was allowed– “Uh… would it be alright to see all the letters, between you and my parents, uh, in regards to me? If there is any? If it’s not confidential, I mean.”

It couldn’t make up for the letters Byakuya had taken from him, but maybe with context he could discern maybe what his parents would have written to him, hypothetically. Like, the nice stuff, not the rest of it. Kaito would absolutely take second-hand account hypothetical parental approval! Hell yeah! 

Grinning, giving Aiichi an openly pleased look, he offered, “Also, I know she can get heavy after a bit. Let me know if you’re getting tired, your grace, I’ll be happy to take her back.”

Aiichi nodded, smiling gently. Regardless of how his childhood had been…it was clear Kaito had still loved his parents. And without getting to go to hte funeral, and then the twice over overhaul of the Luminous castle…there likely had been very little closure Kaito had access to that wasn’t just processing his own feelings. Even with how impersonal those letters were…they were still something. 

(...from Sayaka, at least. It was clear there had been a few different people involved, but Aiichi had never noticed Leon’s handwriting on anything, other than a few signatures at the bottom of certain documents. There had at least been two letters he recognized in Sayaka’s hand.)

“It’s mostly marriage discussion, but you’re more than welcome to look at them. Since I know exactly what they are, would you like me to collect them from the archive after this, and I can drop them off to you at your room?”

Aiichi looked down to Miyako, just taking in her drooly, sleeping face for a moment before nodding, gently moving over to hand her back to Kaito. “Thank you for allowing me to hold her. She’s absolutely precious.”

Kaito easily accepted her back, murmuring to her, “Heeeey, Miya~aaaaa. Such a good sleepy-sweety… little sweet-bun.” Before looking up to Aiichi, nodding his head vigorously, “Absolutely! Uh, if it’s no trouble, your grace.”

“It’s not at all,” Aiichi shook his head with a smile. “And…thank you for inviting me out for this. To spend time with you and Miyako. I’ve really enjoyed our time together.”

Kaito grinned brightly at Aiichi. “Absolutely, your grace. Same.”

-

Shuichi finished feeding Miyako, quietly telling her he was proud of her and commenting idly that she smelled like coconut… before looking over to Kaito, “You know you have to give her a bath tonight, right? We can’t leave the lotion on overnight.”

“I will, I will, I promise. She was such a good little baby, out there sunning with the best of them…” Kaito’s voice trailed off, peering at the latest letter he had opened up, “... So, section 3, part A: Upon completion of the marriage, transcripts of the wedding, which will start transcription upon the start of gathering, and will finish when the groomsman retires to bed… oh! Aww, do you think this means mom and dad wanted to try to feel like they were there?”

“They probably just wanted to ensure everything was on the up and up, in regards to the treaty and–” Shuichi started, before glancing over at Kaito, seeing the pinch of his brow, eyes trained onto the letters like he was solving advanced calculations, “...maybe they also thought it was a good excuse to see how your big day went?”

“Yeah! Right? Maybe?” Kaito said, looking at the covers of the other letters as he said, “But I guess whoever was writing the transcript probably stayed with the main party, since I don’t think anyone stuck near me and Kokichi, like, the entire day. Not after the exchange of rings, I mean, I felt like Kokichi and I were left to our own devices after that.”

The rest of that letter was about the early negotiations of the dowry exchange. Seemed like it was mostly Luminary’s side discussing a price and Dicea agreeing to match it. Then discussion of who was going to propose to who… Kaito wondered if who proposed had the same implications here as it did in Luminary. He wondered if he had been given the responsibility of proposing just cause Dicea hadn’t cared either way? Hmmm… “This stuff is fascinating.” Kaito murmured, moving onto the next letter.

“Honestly, I’m a little surprised you weren’t present for a lot of these discussions. They didn’t keep you in the loop at all?” Shuichi asked, “I know you went to meetings about it.”

Kaito shrugged, opening up the next letter, “I mostly zoned out unless someone was talking directly to me.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t feel like my business.” Kaito said, not missing a beat as he started reading the next letter.

Kokichi lounged on the bed, an odd expression on his face. It was interesting, going through the negotiation letters again--or, rather, watching Kaito go through the letters, since, as much as he had tried to pretend the marriage wasn’t happening, Kokichi had still been a member of administration, and he had been a part of all those meetings. It was more interesting now, though, knowing that while they had tried to use such clear and specific language, the culture barrier still had both sides talking about such different things. 

“I mean…it would’ve been pretty easy to watch us from afar,” Kokichi hummed. “After we signed the treaty, we just danced, went to the side to talk, then, presumably, headed to bed. Someone could’ve logged all that without being right next to us.”

Kokichi’s face soured a bit, wanting to say that it was Kaito’s business, it was his damn wedding and life being discussed…but he knew it hadn’t felt that way. So instead, he asked the other thing that had been rattling around his head since Kaito mentioned it--as if he hadn’t already asked twice before. 

“...he really said he’d’ve been proud to be your dad?”

The first time Kokichi had asked, Kaito had been mindlessly recounting the conversation to them and had just quickly answered, “Mmhm,” before continuing, not thinking too hard about why Kokichi had asked. Assuming Kokichi just had mis-heard him and wanted to confirm.

The second time, Kaito had given Kokichi a concerned look before answering that, yeah, Aiichi had been trying to reassure him, and it was just a hypothetical… and the temptation to go back to the letters had let Kaito let it go when Kokichi had just hummed at his explanation. 

Third time? Uh oh…

Kaito fidgeted with the edge of the letter, glancing up at Kokichi, “Yep. He did… I mean, you know how I get. I get all, like, sad and monology, I was probably sounding pathetic and he just was feeling bad for me. It didn’t mean anything, ‘Kichi… and we talked about you, too!” Kaito reminded him, grinning, “You were a little leader, right from the start! Delegating tasks to your little ducks! Super cute!”

Kokichi frowned, his brows drawing in. Just kind of…confused by the acrid pit in his stomach. 

Because…it felt bad, and annoying to hear Kaito keep saying that it didn’t mean anything (sure, he’d only said it twice, but…he said it both times like he was trying to reassure Kokichi) because…it obviously did! Kokichi had asked for what exactly Aiichi said, and while he might’ve once thought his father’s praise and recognition was just fluff, he knew that when Aiichi talked about pride, he was painfully sincere. 

So…Kaito should give himself that credit!

…but why did that feel bad too? Why did he actually feel soothed that they had talked about him during their bonding time? Their bonding time that Kaito had specifically set up to bring Aiichi around more. 

Kokichi’s brows drew in more as he chewed on his cheek, that acidic feeling in his stomach still burning away…before his eyes widened in baffled shock, his nose flaring in disgust.

“...oh, what the fuck?”

“...I think I’m jealous my dad loves you??”

Kaito gave Miyako’s crib a nervous glance, wondering if it’d be worth reminding Kokichi Kaito didn’t like hard curse words around the baby… before deciding that wasn’t a battle he felt like having at this exact moment as– somewhat reluctantly– he put down the letter he was looking over, putting it aside in the pile before scooting over to Kokichi. “H~eeeeey, come on… your dad doesn’t love me. Tolerates me! Maybe! And if he more than tolerates me, it’s still only tolerating, in comparison to how he feels about you.”

Kaito put his hand carefully on Kokichi’s ankle, rubbing the muscle there, grinning as he chuckled slightly, “And that’s a silly thing to say, I know, but ya know what? Probably not that inaccurate, if, again, we’re comparing me and you? Your dad adores you… I think.” Kaito said, it suddenly occurring to him he didn’t know if Kaito was allowed to say something like that. Was Kokichi at a point in their relationship where he was recognizing Aiichi, uh… liked his son??

Kokichi’s face only darkened more, though there wasn’t any pointed anger in it. There was still that veil of frustrated confusion over it all. “...stop putting yourself down. If he said everything you said he did…and he always gets so…happy when you or Shuu-chan go up to him… He loves you. And you can’t compare affection.”

“...and I know my dad loves me,” Kokichi grumbled, only feeling worse at that ‘I think’. Just…reminded again of how everything he was feeling right now, even if he didn’t understand it, he knew enough to know it was all his own fault. “I’m his pride and joy. I know that.”

Ever since the first time Kokichi broke down hearing it, Aiichi had been sure to mention that he loved and was proud of Kokichi almost every time they saw each other.

Kaito moved his little rubs from Kokichi’s ankle up to his calf-muscle, massaging it as he said gently, “I’m not putting myself down, suggesting your fathers love for you dwarfs any affection he has for me. That’s just true. But, alright, that’s not helpful. Ya know what might be helpful? Remembering that the only reason Aiichi feels anything for myself or Shuichi is because we’re yours. Of course he’d feel affection for anyone who brought his son happiness. Because he loves you… Shuichi, bud, back me up here.”

“I think it’s cute, Kokichi’s jealous.” Shuichi said, ignoring Kaito’s dry, disapproving look as he sat at the window seat, opening it up to let some air in, “What? It’s not a side of him we see too often. It’s sweet, especially considering how much effort Kokichi’s been putting into this relationship this last year. I get it. You put all this time into something, it feels so insurmountable, and then Kaito just goes in and talks to someone for a half hour and is suddenly ‘best friends’ with them.” Shuichi huffed, rolling his eyes, “It can feel a little ridiculous.”

Well…sure. Knowing his father, Kokichi could figure that Aiichi was coming to love Kaito and Shuuichi as people, but…he put in the effort to get to know them as people--if only from afar--because of Kokichi. And because they made him happy, that created a new layer of love. 

But…

Kokichi looked over at Shuuichi before pouting, pressing his face into his crossed arms as he looked away. “...this is dumb. I want you guys to be able to have a positive relationship with my father. ‘S what I’ve been hoping to be a possibility for ages.”

“This isn’t dumb, would you stop that?” Kaito huffed, now scooting up to rub his back. Massaging the muscles around the bones of Kokichi’s spine, trying to ease the tension there as he said, “You know what else he said? He said he called you Kokichi because he and your mother felt so lucky to have you. And he said he loved you, and he was so proud of you… and he said you were smarter than him.” Kaito grinned, before leaning in and whispering, “Which, I think is also true.”

Kokichi closed his eyes, weathering the shudders going up his spine as his back was forcibly relaxed, the tension going up against an opponent they had never won against. It was good, but damn was it a little overstimulating at first. 

Though, he only buried his pout in his arms more, even as his cheeks colored. “...I know… He tells me all the time, and I can feel it off him too. I know my dad loves me.” And he did believe it. Felt it emotionally, and accepted those feelings. That’s why feeling jealous over this was just…so confusing, and annoying. 

“...and I do think I’m smarter than him too,” he mumbled. “Maybe not wiser, on certain things, but I’d be more concerned about him being leader if a 40-year-old wasn’t wiser than a 21-year-old.”

Kokichi sighed. “...I just have daddy issues, surprise, surprise. Spent ages thinking he hates me, so even knowing that he thinks the world of me, and wanting my partners to have a good relationship with him, I still feel…insecure and bitter, and that’s so annoying.”

“... is it just because I’m tall?” Kaito asked, giving Kokichi an innocently concerned look, still rubbing his back as he said, “Cause I can be shorter, ‘Kichi. I could walk on my knees? Shuichi, do you think if I asked Hajime to tailor my shoes for, like, knee-size?”

“Sure. You’d have to get your pants shortened as well.” Shuichi pointed out. “Or maybe just buy more shorts?”

“Shorts might do it.” Kaito agreed, nodding, before giving Kokichi an overly exaggerated earnest look, “Would it be enough to just be your size, babe, or should I hunch and make sure I’m shorter?”

Kokichi looked over his shoulder with a withering glare. 

“...I’m commissioning Miu for a shrink ray.”

“That would definitely be easier on my knees in the long run. You are wise, beautiful.” Kaito praised, leaning over to give Kokichi a quick kiss on the cheek, before giving him a more sincere earnest look as he said, “Look, babe… it’s okay to feel however you feel about this. If you’re feeling jealous? Well, that’s how you feel, that’s alright. But…”

Kaito sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he debated with himself, “...look, beautiful. There’s no way to say this without sounding like I’m putting myself down, but… you’re incredible. Like, it’s hard to keep up with you, that’s how incredible you are. I’ve had my moments, feeling insecure trying to measure myself up to you.”

“You know, I had this conversation with Hideki, once? It wasn’t a nice conversation, but I feel like you should know… people here are constantly trying to prove themselves to you.” Kaito told Kokichi, his voice soft. Gentle, “People want to live up to your expectations. To the bar you set. It’s, like, a thing for the people here. At least according to your uncle, who doesn’t exactly minc words… you’re not the exception, you’re literally the goal. Their Light… and ya know what, I think that’s even affected your father, to an extent. I told him you seemed happier with him these days, and he looked so relieved, by the idea… he’s very much in the mentality of earning your love, right now. To be who he always should have been to you.”

“I don’t know… you’re allowed to feel jealous. But there’s no real competition here. You’ve won, already. Everyone in the castle loves and respects the crud out of you. They’re always just looking for chances to prove it to you.” Kaito said, rubbing Kokichi’s back, “There’s no comparing us, in their eyes.”

Kokichi frowned and looked away, eyes tracing a pattern on their bedspread. 

The thing was…Aiichi was right to feel like he had to earn his love…sort of. Because…Aiichi had always loved him so much. Kokichi could feel that whenever they talked about the past. And it wasn’t some twisted love, like a love of ownership, or an idea of love. But Kokichi was still emotionally neglected, and even if everything worse than that was in his head? He still felt it, and Aiichi was still partially at fault for his part in it. 

Aiichi did have to put work into repairing their relationship. And he did, and it was good, and Kokichi was happy. 

…but everyone else?

Kokichi’s eyes narrowed, his face crumbling a little. “...but there should be. Not…a competition, ‘cause that’s dumb but…there shouldn’t… There shouldn’t be just this…blanket idolation of me, and disregard for you. That’s not…true to who we are as people.”

Pressing more into the bed, Kokichi’s voice grew smaller as a realization sunk his heart. Because…it sounded so…childish, and ungrateful… “...I don’t want to be their “Light”. I just wanna be me. …and for people to get around to loving me anyway, once they know me.”

Kaito blinked, glancing over at Shuichi, who gave him a small, tired smile back. Shuichi was going to let him handle this, it felt more like their conversation than anything. Kaito pouted slightly at Shuichi, but wasn’t that put off, really, thinking about what he should say next…

“...there’s this kinda shorter guy in the kitchens, green hair, freckles. Used to not be terribly thrilled with me but has been getting kinda nicer, and usually is the one that puts together your desserts when I go and ask for things specifically for you, like pancakes and stuff– and no, I won’t hear that they’re not desserts, they’re literally just breakfast cakes… shoot, what’s his name?” Kaito asked Kokichi. “You have any idea who I’m talking about? Green hair, green eyes, freckles?”

“They are breakfast pastries and they are made for breakfast!” Kokichi grumbled into his arms, before he sighed. Shorter guy, green hair, green eyes, freckles, kitchen staff, focuses on desserts…

“...Oren? He kinda mutters to himself when he’s in deep thought?”

“That’s right! Shoot, how long has Oren been here? He knows exactly how you like your breakfast cake, it’s gotta been a minute now…”

Kokichi looked over suspiciously, not knowing where this tangent was going. “...somewhere around two years now. He got a job right out of high school ‘cause he wanted a practical place to cook while he was trying out culinary school.”

“Uh huh… oh, ya know what! Not who I was thinking of, there’s this person in the washroom, I saw her when Waku showed me how to iron. She keeps her hair in those big hair loopy things, she’s new, I’m certain of it, you probably have no idea who she is yet…”

…there was another point to this, since Kokichi couldn’t think of any context where Kaito would get those two confused. “...Katarina? Haneda-chan was talking about how the housekeepers were gonna be training someone new, since Kerry left.”

Kaito chuckled, leaning over to kiss the back of Kokichi’s neck, “Katarina… course you knew that one. I wish I could throw a harder one at ya, but that’s literally the newest person I can think of. My good Kokichi…”

“When Hideki and I were talking? We were discussing people like Waku. Like Katsuki or Fuyuhiki or your big dumb oaf of a husband, me. People who do know you.”

“And if you’re just discussing the people who I hear call you ‘Light of Dicea’? It’s the people in the castle. Who you’ve known for years and years, and even when you haven’t, you’ve still gone out of your way to have a conversation with them. Learn their name, learn their birthday, put a little mental note to yourself to find out their favorite food so that when it’s time to celebrate you celebrate properly… geez, ‘Kichi… no wonder you make all of us feel so insecure. Your standards for what it means to ‘know’ you are so damn high. It’s a marvel I even count. Is it cause I touch your butt sometimes? Is butt stuff the key to being acknowledged as someone who knows ya and loves ya anyway?” Kaito chuckled into the back of Kokichi’s neck, before kissing him again, “Pretty high bar there, ‘Kichi.”

Kokichi wanted to argue that those were just…facts. Not things that really made up a person. Not their feelings or aspirations or…

But Kaito had already cut him off from that argument--or…rather Kokichi had done it without thinking. Kokichi could probably count the number of conversations he’d had with Oren on one hand, but immediately what did he point out? A unique habit, a goal, and why he had even come to the castle in the first place. Sure, he didn’t know the cook well, and those were all things you could find out in a first conversation if you asked the right questions, but…it was more than the absolute basics. And Kokichi had put the effort into asking those right questions. 

In treating Oren as more than just a random, faceless person. 

Kokichi shifted on the bed, scrunching right, then left, before he sighed. “...I barely know me. So…how are other people even supposed to?”

“Damn, I’m stumped.” Kaito mused, looking over to Shuichi, “Bud? Any time?”

“No, no, that argument is fool proof.” Shuichi called back, having relaxing into the window seat, looking cozy against the fading sun, “Mind you, as a detective, I like a man of mystery. Probably why I asked him to marry me.”

“Makes sense,” Kaito nodded, laying himself out to– heavily– lay out across Kokichi’s back, ignoring the little ‘oof’ of air as Kaito mused at the ceiling, “But what do you think, Shuichi? If Kokichi is unknowable and ineffable, but he’s jealous that King Aiichi dared give me some time and approval… what does that make me? An open book? Simple to understand?”

“You do wear your heart on your sleeve a lot. I decided to ask you to marry me anyway, despite you being kinda easy to figure out.”

“Ah well. At least I’m easy to love.” Kaito sighed dramatically. Certain to make himself a little heavier on Kokichi as he talked.

Kokichi gave Shuuichi a dry look, but it turned out that turn of his head came in handy, as Kokichi was suddenly squished even more down into the mattress, letting out a small grunt. 

Though, even with it getting harder to breathe, Kokichi still scowled. Even though he couldn’t exactly turn his head to look at Kaito anymore, body laid out as he was trapped under his husband. “You deserve a-all the time and approval! That’s wh…why it’s dumb that I’m feeling like this. A-and you’re as complex as anyone e…”

Kokichi sucked in a breath with a little whine. “Kai-chan, get off; something just twinged in my back,” he said very quickly.

“Ah, shoot, okay–” Kaito quickly hurried off, carefully to mostly use his arms rather than push up on his back, giving Kokichi a worried look as Shuichi laughed lightly at the window, “Are you okay? Does it hurt? Where does it hurt??”

“Kaito, did you just break my fiance by laying out on him?” Shuichi asked, looking amused.

“Shut up, no! Did I?” Kaito asked, starting to sweat as he fretted over Kokichi.

It was quiet for a moment, before there was a small sniffle, Kokichi not moving a muscle. “...I-I think you broke my spine…”

“Oh my god, oh fuck, shit, okay, stay right here, don’t fucking move, I’m gonna run for a healer– Shuichi, stop laughing, stay with him okay, I’m gonna run to–”

Shuichi rolled his eyes, “Kokichi, don’t let him run out of this room.”

There was a harsh snort before, careful not to arch his back, Kokichi rolled over onto his side, finally facing Kaito to give him an amused look. “I’m fine, Kai-chan. Don’t actually get a healer.”

Still carefully, Kokichi slowly sat himself up with a grimace. “...but I really do think I had a weird muscle spasm or something. I’m like half your weight, hun, careful squishin’ me.”

Kaito gave Kokichi a bewildered, somewhat frustrated look… before taking a breath, listening to Shuichi laugh lightly at the window again, “I… yeah, okay. But let’s not play those kinds of jokes, okay? Fake-out medical emergencies aren’t fun Kai-chan jokes, okay? Geez…”

Kaito sat down, rubbing his temple as he muttered, “What was I even talking about… oh, yeah. People like you Kokichi, I don’t know what to tell ya. It’s just something ya gotta learn to live with.”

Kokichi gave Kaito an apologetic look before nodding. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his arms up to start stretching out his back without twisting. “Sorry… I won’t make ‘em again.”

Though while he was very careful about his posture, Kokichi could still divert his gaze to the side. “...yeah. …I’m sorry I got jealous of how much my dad likes you. I…I really do mean it, when it’s something that I really want for you,” Kokichi softly pleaded, wanting to get that across without ambiguity.

“...you gonna keep reading through the letters?”

Kaito sighed, still rubbing his temples. “Mm?” He hummed, giving the letters a tired look, before looking over at Kokichi, seeing him try to ease out whatever spasm had happened in his back, “...no, it’s alright. I’ll read them later. Let me help you with your back, beautiful. Do we have any of the good lotion around, the hermit stuff?”

Kokichi shot over a guilty look before sighing. “Yeah, it’s in the cabinet under the sink. Should be close to the front.”

…it was important to talk about feelings but…Kaito had seemed so interested going through the letters. Shuuichi too, and now he was pretty checked out just…’cause Kokichi had to go make it all about himself.

“Alright~ Good lotion time.” Kaito sang-songed out, grabbing the pile of letters and putting them together in a quick, random stack, going to put them on the desk before heading over to the bathroom. “Kokichi back time, and then I’ll give Miyako her bath. Lotion on, lotion off… is that serendipitous?” Kaito called out of the bathroom, grabbing the lotion.

“What, like some sort of harmony of lotion? The cycle of lotion application?” Shuichi asked, raising an eyebrow, before stopping Kaito as he started to head back to the bed, “Would you pass me the book on Fantasy Physics?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve got you, uuuuuh, here.” Kaito said, looking through the book case before finding it, passing it to Shuichi, who gave him a thankful nod, before Kaito continued back to the bed, “Alright, babe, you know the drill. Shirt off! Do you need help taking it off?” Kaito asked, putting the lotion bottle beside him on the bed.

“Maybe, since we weren’t really expecting it. No one expects the 260 husband ground pound.”

Taking a deep breath, Kokichi moved his arms in slow, wide motions mostly out of his sides, trying not to scrunch his back too much as he started shucking his shirt off. “Think I got it…yeah, it’s all good.”

“What kind of physics are you readin’ up on, Shuu-chan?”

“It’s a book on, ‘theoretically’, how magic might function when subjected to the established laws of physics.” Shuichi said, opening up to where he left off on last time, “I’m not sure how accurate any of it is, but I figured some of it might be helpful in the future, if only as theories from someone who either knows better or has at least put more thought into it than I have.”

“Hmm,” Kaito hummed, mostly to let Shuichi know he was listening as he covered his hand in the lotion, closing it up before scooting to Kokichi’s side. “Alright, here we go. Deep breaths… let’s get those ache and pains out, huh? My poor ‘Kichi, with his big brute of a husband all on top of him. I forget how teeny-tiny my babe is… teeny tiny waste, teeny tiny stomach, teeny tiny butt~”

“Still a good butt though,” Kaito reassured his husband, patting Kokichi’s bum a bit before returning to pressing his thumbs into Kokichi’s back.

“I feel like that’s something hard to quantify, as a broad subject,” Kokichi hummed softly. “Since there are so many different kinds of magic. Like…the dragon statue Kai-chan has is super different from my heart necklace. They’re both magical items, but I’d hardly call them similar.”

Taking a deep breath, Kokichi rolled his eyes a little before they abruptly widened, a little groan escaping him as Kaito applied more pin-point pressure. “Nnng… Good. But Shuu-chan still has the best butt.”

“I think you’re asking more from the book than the author is offering,” Shuichi laughed lightly, flipping through the pages. “It’s more just certain magic hypotheticals that the book seems to be exploring at its own discretion. Not a complete, all comprehensive guide.”

“I mean, no argument.” Kaito said, “In regards to Shuichi butt. I have no opinion on the physics of magic.”

“That surprises me a little,” Shuichi admitted, looking over to Kaito, “I really thought, when magic became a part of our lives, that you’d be… honestly, even more intrigued by it than I am.”

“Yeah, I mean… yeah.” Kaito frowned, brows furrowing a little, “Ya know, if you had asked me before, I think I’d have totally agreed with you? Like, this should be something I’m obsessed with. I’m just… not.”

“Why not?”

Kaito shrugged, taking his palms and putting the slightly bit of wait into his arms, rubbing down the wide part of his back, “I dunno. Honestly, I haven’t thought too much about all of this outside of, like, what it specifically means for all of us. Take care of Kokichi, take care of Miyako, take care of Maki… Shuichi, you have any magic stuff I need to think about?”

Shuichi thought about the potions he and Himiko tried to put together. “...no?”

Kaito nodded, “Just handling it all as it comes.”

Kokichi chuckled softly, before returning to his deep breathing. He found a lot of ‘thought exploration’ books fascinating, but he did have to say he preferred encyclopedias and thorough guides. The use of having any random question, and knowing just the book that would have the answer. There was nothing that was actually complete, but most things were good enough for his purposes. He supposed using reference books for work so much made him biased. 

Shuuichi was probably going to get a more rounded idea of everything magic by how he was reading everything he could get his hands on cover to cover.

Kokichi groaned softly as Kaito ran a knuckle down the long muscles in his back before sighing, starting to feel it ease up. “It’s…all a lot. Can be easier to focus on just what’s right in, ngm, front of you. I always get curious when you talk about new things, Shuu-chan, but…ah. But I already feel like my attention’s pulled in a million different directions. Feel like I have to focus on the problems in front of me before I can indulge curiosity.”

“Aren’t you, like… trying to learn how to cure conditioning and wrap baby brains in protective domes?” Kaito mused, rubbing little circles now, focusing on the bits that that he had noticed were more tense than the rest of the back, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, your advice is still technically correct. But let’s not pretend you follow it, ‘Kichi.”

Tilting his head slightly, Kaito realized, “I think somehow I became the reasonable, grounded member of this family. At least when it comes to, like, magic and general expectations. You all remember what my big, unreasonable requests were? Don’t leave us to die if anyone asks ya too and don’t hide murder plots or the fact that half our immeidate family is literal mind readers. Like, I’m super loud and emotional, but you guys are the weirdos who keep bringing these huge things into our lives.”

“What did I do?”

“You ate drugs cause you thought they were giving you superpowers, don’t give me that. ‘What did I do’. Please.” Kaito grumbled, rolling his eyes.

“Those are the problems right in front of me,” Kokichi groaned before he sighed. “...but you’re still right. The difference is I just feel guilty when I indulge curiosity half the time, and the other half I get frustrated that I don’t have the luxury of indulging more.”

Kokichi winced at Kaito’s requests, still feeling guilty at how badly he’d failed his husband, but a knot in his back spasming under Kaito’s knuckle quickly distracted him before he could wallow in anymore self-pity, provoking a small whine in his throat before a relieved sound followed.

And…maybe it would just be another unwelcome huge thing, but…

“...Alter Ego said that at this point, he and Temp are confident that between the three of us, we could make a shield for Addie. So…now we’re just looking for a power-source for it. We should still have a while, but…I think we’re getting close.”

“Good~ That’s good.” Kaito said, genuinely. He adored little Addason, with his big eyes and his sweet, shy temperament. Kaito had to be much more slow and soft spoken around Addason then he ever had to be for Miyako, but the kid would reward ya with the biggest smile if ya did. “I’m sure you guys will figure it out. You’re all very capable, and you’re working together. It’s really just a matter of time, for you.”

“I’m sure there’s no resources I know that you all don’t, but I’ll keep my eyes out for anything that could help.” Shuichi promised, planning to make another trip to the magic shops they knew of with Himiko soon. He’d have to be subtle about why he needed it, but he’d ask around for anything that fit that criteria. Magic power source, small, easily transportable… or at least long lasting and able to hone to it from a distance? There’d be something out there.

“My poor ‘Kichi’s back… this is just from now? Me laying on you?” Kaito asked, starting to feel some doubt about it as he asked, “Have you been stressing out about something, beautiful? Or just your body doing its thing?”

Kokichi hummed, nodding gently, though he did look over to give Shuuichi a thankful smile. “Thanks, Shuu-chan. And…yeah. I feel like we’ll be able to do it…I’m just…ng, anxious to figure it out. I promised to help protect Addie, and I’m not going back on that.”

Just…some kind of power-source that they didn’t have to remotely focus on, and that wouldn’t be a drain on Addason. Poor kid didn’t deserve to be a battery to have the privacy of his own mind. …or to have his option to one day connect with others like him taken away.

Sighing, Kokichi groaned softly. “The catalyst was definitely you…but I’ve been a little tense lately,” he admitted sheepishly. “Just…stressed about everything, as usual, so my body does its thing.”

“...been thinkin’ about the temple opening next week.”

Kaito hummed, a deep, rumbling sound deep in his throat. Right. The temple… “It’s pretty nerve wracking, huh?” Kaito admitted, focusing on the base of Kokichi’s neck and shoulders, feeling the thin muscles move easily beneath the push of his thumbs and the turn of his wrists as he said, “But it’s going to be good. It’s a nice, small building, it’s working with one of the humane animal sanctuaries as additional city-farmland, it’s got prayer rooms and temporary housing–”

One aspect that Kaito had learned, and really liked, when he had been drunk and struggling with the differences between Luminary and Dicean Atuans at the bar, was that Atuan’s in Dicea considered being a sanctuary for domestic abuse as part of their practices. It had been true in Luminary too, in the sense that priestess’s regularly volunteered and put together programs specifically for victims of sexual abuse in mind, as that had been one of the primary ethos of Atua from the very beginning. You had to protect people used for their bodies, and that included involuntary use.

(Luminaries disconnected thinking when it came to Indentured’s were probably shown no more clearly than in that statement. There was a reason Luminaries had such heated reactions to being accused of being slaves. In their minds, there was a difference between the temporary contracts of indentured and slavery. You weren’t being ‘used’. It was an exchange… just one you couldn’t get out of.)

(Kaito could see the fallacies there now. If anything, it was almost– no, not even almost, it was– more alarming to Kaito now that these things were still issues, in Luminary, now that he could see the flaws himself. Cause without his own royal bias and the effects of his conditioning, Kaito couldn’t see how others… didn’t? See the issue?)

(Did they, and were just too afraid to say anything?)

(...maybe Kaito would talk to Kaede about it…)

“And I think it looks really nice, based on the designs! It’ll be really cool to see the finished layout.” Kaito mused, “...the only thing I was really nervous about was maybe, like, the occasional hate crime. But I don’t really think that’s gonna be an issue anymore. Not that I’ve noticed, anyway.”

Kokichi hummed, nodding a little though he tried not to move too much under Kaito’s hands. His husband was always careful with him, but, really, the last thing he needed was the muscles in his neck deciding to rebel too. 

He hadn’t seen a lot of the design of the city temple, other than the general building layout, mostly while they were getting permits done. Sometimes he’d taken a detour when he’d be out and about in the city, watching the construction with a few other onlookers. And…well, he had needed some help with his own plans. It had been months and months ago, since the design plans had needed to be finished, and he knew Dicean Atuans didn’t really worship the saints but…if there were any depictions or trends, he had wanted to get more knowledge. And, at the time, he had still wanted it to be a surprise for Kaito, so…he couldn’t just ask him. 

Part of him was regretting that now, but…at the very least, he thought the designs were pretty and tasteful. 

Sighing, Kokichi leaned back into Kaito’s hands. “I talked with Behemoth a while back about that… Other than stories about people bein’ idiots to sex workers, there weren’t really any incidences that seemed like hate crimes…but a lot of people didn’t even know there were Atuans in Dicea.”

“I haven’t been in on meetings, obviously,” he grumbled, “But I know that there’s gonna be extra patrols around the temple after it opens. Just in case.”

At the window, Shuichi laughed lightly, not looking up from his book as he said, “Relax, Kokichi. Parols nearly here for you. Then it’s back to work and freedom for you.”

“Just in time, hm?” Kaito said, leaning down to place a little kiss against the back of his husbands head, “My poor, antsy husband. Yeah, I was worried about that too, when I first realized how little about Atuans were known here… you know, when you first told me, I considered suggesting a temple not be made at all? I was worried it’d put my people in danger, obligating them to out themselves… but they seemed really into it, those few days I was talking to them. Atuan Diceans seemed really practical to me, when it comes to worship here, but… I think they like having a place specifically for them. Instead of renting out the room over at the all purpose worship center.”

“The what?” Shuichi asked, glancing up at that.

“Oh, right, you haven’t really looked into all of that. There’s these, like, spiritual buildings in Dicea? They’re basically placeholders for religions in the area that don’t have their own specific buildings. That’s where Atuans have been meeting and doing their rituals here. I took Savannah there to check it out, they were preparing a bonding ceremony. It was sweet, this married couple had been waiting years to do their bonding ceremony for their dog to pass. They collected the blood and did the ritual a week later. I never thought about that before, waiting on bonding ritual for a beloved animal to die, we usually pick animals based on type back in Luminary, not necessarily personal pets. Apparently it’s the way people usually do it here.”

“What did Savannah think?” Shuichi asked, putting down the book now, looking over a little concerned. Shuichi’s lack of love for all things Luminary didn’t mean he wasn’t aware what a blow the move to Dicea had been for the young acolyte. 

“I mean… I think she’s still a believer. But you know… being a priestess here versus one in Luminary means different things, and she’s just a kid, really… I know losing the ‘gravitas’ of a big temple and all the bigger than life grandness of it all kinda dimmed her enthusiasm. But, that’s okay! She’ll find a new career in life, other passions. I bought her a makeup kit and one of those tutorial books when I was bringing her back to her foster family, she was staring at it when we stopped by a store… I was feeling bad, wanted to get her a gift–” Kaito grinned, shrugging sheepishly, “And I dunno, you guys know how I am. I see a kid show interest in something and am just immediately imagining their whole future. Maybe she’ll be like Stacy, get into fashion! Or, maybe she’ll be like June, become a muse! Savannah has lots of options… she’ll be okay.”

Kokichi made a little face, though he turned to give Kaito a kiss in return. Technically his leave was for freedom, making sure that there weren’t big, pressing things for Kokichi to stress over when he had a newborn that would be taking up most of his time. But, well, not having the work in front of him didn’t make Kokichi stop worrying--it just made him stress over all the things he was missing. 

He was still going to be working reduced hours once he was allowed back to work, but…he really was looking forward to getting back in the swing of things. 

Kokichi knew it was a…hard pill to swallow, what Atuan worship looked like in Dicea. Even so, there was something that settled more in him, hearing about how bonding ceremonies went here. He could get the symbolism in the Luminous way, but…trusting a beloved friend, a family member, to look after you and lend a paw in the afterlife? Not cutting any life short, but just…adding more significance to the end? There was something sweet about it that Kokichi hadn’t felt about the other way.

But, ultimately, his opinions on the religion weren’t of much significance, at least compared to those that actually practiced. 

But Kaito was looking after Savannah, the way he looked after all the kids. 

Shifting around, Kokichi leaned against Kaito’s shoulder, pressing a kiss to it. “That sounds like a really wonderful gift. I wonder if we’ll get to see any of her experiments, next time we see her around. I never got any hard yes’s, but the offer was still open, if any of the kids and their foster parents wanted to come by for the party-part of our party on Sunday.”

“I think the kids aren’t looking to join in on a fancy adult dinner party.” Kaito chuckled. Also, he was pretty sure the foster parents were trying to spare them having to host suddenly thirty-three kids at the party. Kaito was actually vaguely worried that the kids would just… decide last minute to show up. He’d make certain to keep an eye out.

Seeing Kokichi shift and relax, Kaito smiled warmly into his kiss, before asking. “How you feeling, babe? Any twinges? Problem spots?”

“You know, we are gonna have dinner, but I really think we’re talking about different things when you guys keep calling it fancy,” Kokichi mused, having thought about the different ways he and his partners talked about the upcoming party. In a way, he had planned it to…be their wedding reception gone right. Something just for them, an actual celebration with their friends and loved ones with music and games and, yeah, a nice dinner. 

But, still, it was more of an adult affair. He understood why kids wouldn’t be all that interested, even if Tim and the girls were going to be there. 

Sighing, Kokichi cuddled up against Kaito’s chest, happy to soak in his husband’s warmth and love now that his back was all loose. Though… “Nnm. I mean…I wouldn’t say no if you wanted to rub my back more…but Miya-Miya does need her bathtime.”

“She does~” Kaito said, still idly rubbing Kokichi’s back, placing warm kisses against the top of his head as Kokichi nuzzled into him. “Lotion on, lotion off… oh!”

Kaito suddenly lit up, taking Kokichi’s shoulder and shaking it a little– just, not learning his lesson at all here– as he said, “Let’s try something! ‘Kichi, what if you took a bath, and we put the sink bath thing on the water? It floats, you know! Maybe Miyako will like the bath more when she sees Daddy relaxing and enjoying himself in it?”

Kokichi raised his eyebrows--and, really, for how much he looked like Miyako Sr., he really did take after his father in other ways--before snorting, leaning into Kaito’s space to kiss around his jaw in a burst of affection. Then, just as casually, he nodded, stretching his arms. “Yeah, let’s give it a shot. It might soothe her to think that I’m holding her up and she’s not just floating, too.”

“I’ll go start the water~” he hummed, shimmying off the bed.

“Yes, alright, we’re gonna do this,” Kaito grinned, scooting off the bed and heading over to the crib, peeking in. “Miyaaaaa~. Miyak~ooooo. Please don’t yell at me, we have to wake up for baaaaath time.”

Kaito glanced at Shuichi, “Think she’ll kill me?”

“I think she’s asleep and cosy and you’re about to wake her up to do her least favorite thing.” Shuichi smirked.

“It’ll be fiiiiiine.” Kaito whispered, leaning into the crib gently rubbing Miyako’s stomach as he whispered, “Miyaaaaa~”

“...??” Miya’s eyes blinked open. She stared at Big Heat. “.....m’weh?”

DING! 

DING! DING! DING!

Kaito sighed, picking her up as she whined belligerently, face turning red as she glared at him with wet eyes. “I know, I know, you didn’t wanna be awake. But come on, we’re gonna take a bath. Gonna take a bath with daaaaddyyyyy. Doesn’t that sound exciting??”

Shuichi blinked… before putting down his book. Getting up and heading silently over to Kaito, going to Kaito and reaching over to take Miyako from his arms– “What’chya doing, buddy?” Kaito asked, reaching over to gently grab Shuichi’s wrist, squeezing it slightly as he grinned, “You awake there bud?”

Shuichi blinked again, frowning, “...was gonna put her back in the… crib?”

“Nope~ Go back to reading. Hey, hey, you.” Kaito said, looking down at Miyako as he let Shuichi’s wrist go, booping Miyako on the nose as her face grew more thunderous, “No. Not gonna help, sweetbun. Guess what? Bathtime.”

“We’eeeeeeeeh!” Miyako whined, as Kaito headed to the bathroom. 

Kokichi started filling the tub, making sure the water was nice and warm--though an appropriate warmth for a baby, even if it’d only reach her by ambient heat--and opting to just go with bath salts, rather than any bubble soap. No errant bubbles getting in his daughter’s mouth, no matter if the foam might enchant her. 

He had other ways of doing that anyway. 

Hearing Miyako whine, Kokichi gave a sympathetic chuckle as he stood, meeting her and Kaito as they entered the bathroom. “Aw, my poor girl. Awakened from peaceful unconsciousness to the worst of realities. I really should’ve whined for more backrubs.”

Cooing, Kokichi reached over to smooth her wrinkled little forehead, gently reaching out with all the usual Miyako-directed emotions. {We need to get the slippery stuff on your skin off, Miya--it’ll make sleeping more comfy. And this time you get to have a bath with Daddy. We can get all comfy with nice-smelling things while Dad gets that dopey look on his face as he feels love at us.}

Miyako pouted at Kokichi, though admittedly face pats and the flow of familiar feelings did help a little. Plus, Miyako just liked when Daddy was around. Soft Heat was a reassuring presence, and while she enjoyed how much fun Big Heat was and really enjoyed when Food Smell did her feedings– he had an easy, calm presence that Miyako basked in during food time– she admittedly found Soft Heat to be the one she was currently closest too, if only because she could actually sort of communicate with Soft Heat. He felt like a companion, rather then something comfy like Food Smell was, or something fun like Big Heat, or protective like Dragon.

So, seeing in her minds eye Kokichi amusedly share with her that big dopy look Big Heat sometimes got, especially when Miyako was in Soft Heat or Food Smells’ arms, did make her kick her feet somewhat happily, even if she knew what was coming as Big Heat took her diaper off, cleaning her up and tossing it aside before carefully dipping her into the BOX OF WETNESS.

Miyako whined, kicking her legs some more, not a fan of how the BOX OF WETNESS sloshed around her chest and stomach. It’s not like she hated water exactly. It was more that water was still so… strange and weird feeling. She didn’t like how she couldn’t predict what it was gonna do as she moved and shifted around the bath, and no matter how she kicked, she couldn’t get it off. It moved like it was something alive, but she couldn’t feel anything from it, and that was weird.

She had never seen anyone else in the WETNESS before though. She peered curiously out of the BOX, seeing Soft Heat was, indeed, in some… bigger BOX OF WETNESS. She could see it move and ripple around his chest. Weird…

“Well, she’s not crying at least.” Kaito mused, as he started to wash off Miyako’s legs, Miyako entirely ignoring him as she stared at Kokichi like he was some bizarre puzzle.

Kokichi gave his daughter another sympathetic look as she whined, Kaito getting her ready for her bath, and in the same time, Kokichi got himself ready as well. He’d already had his shirt off from his massage, and while he wasn’t thrilled to wash off the infused lotion that always calmed his muscles down, Kaito had rubbed it in pretty thoroughly. He’d probably only be washing off excess, but…still.

Settling into the bath, just enjoying the warmth around him for a spell, Kokichi smiled at the baffled look on Miyako’s face. “At this point, a distraction might be just as good as convincing her that baths aren’t all that bad. Though…she’s just kind of confused seeing someone else in water. Probably baffled that someone else would subject themselves to such an uncomfortable feeling.”

Quickly, his eyes flicked up to Kaito’s. “Uncomfortable in that it’s weird and unpredictable--she’s not hurt from it.”

Still… Kokichi hummed to himself, before bringing his hands to the surface of the water, clasping them almost like making a fist and cupping it. Then, careful not to aim at Miyako at all, he squeezed, causing a stream of water to jet up out of his palms like a fountain. Half-grinning, he tried to gauge her reaction.

Miyako’s eyes widened, the first time Kokichi did it catching her off guard badly enough that her entire baby body did a little jerk. “Miya?” Kaito asked, cleaning off her feet… before snickering as she started to kick excitedly.

“Nyeh!” Miyako exclaimed, her body wiggling in the water, watching. Waiting for Kokichi to do it again.

Surprise, but not a bad kind. Then…excitement.

The half-grin turned into a full grin as Kokichi sent out another jet, the water arcing over the bath before dropping neatly into the rest of the water. “Aw, Mi-Mi, all we needed was to give you a bathtime show?”

Another jet, just slightly in a different direction. 

“...I still can’t tell if this is just a distraction, but, yanno, I’m hoping that this is the butterfly wing of a love of water.”

Kaito was listening, but only barely. He was far too enthralled by the squeal of laughter from Miyako as she wiggled violently in her mini-bath. 

Shuichi opened up the door, peeking in, “There’s a lot of giggling happening in here… how?”

“What do you mean, how?” Kaito grinned, looking over from the side of the tub, “Kokichi’s out here doing crazy bath tricks, and Miyako is being an excellent audience.”

“How do you both keep managing to make her laugh?” Shuichi grumbled, like Kaito hadn’t just explained, watching them from the door-frame, “You know how many times she’s laughed at something I’ve done? None. Zero times. Why? I’m funny.”

“You’re sarcastic, sure.” Kaito said, smirking… before bringing his shoulders up and ducking down, making himself a little smaller as he grinned cheekily at Shuichi’s glower, “What?? She’s gonna love your sene of humor, when she’s, like… sixteen!”

It was a little difficult, considering he had to make sure she could still see the streams over the side of her little bath, but Kokichi managed three shorter jets all in a row, just bobbing up to entrance his daughter. Just enough variety to keep her entertained, but nothing too different that would startle her. Honestly he could probably just keep with the regular jets, as was the attention and retention span of a three-month-old, but…still. He’d do his best. 

Even much to the jealousy of his fiance. 

Kokichi looked over, giving Shuuichi a mildly apologetic look. “Your humor does excel verbally…which isn’t something Miya really appreciates much right now. And…it’s less that we’re doing something funny, and more just…kind of surprising, but not scary? Just something exciting.”

“Like showing her water isn’t completely chaotic and uncontrollable,” he grinned, aiming a bigger jet at the tub wall. 

Miyako giggled, gasping as she stared in bewildered joy at another jet stream. What? How… she kicked the water and slapped it, and while it was still a little weird and alarming as it ripped and waved around her, she still found herself mimicking– at least, as much as she could tell– Soft Heats movements. 

Control the water. CONTROL THE WET!

“Look at my little splashy baby. Little giggly sweetbun,” Kaito coo’d, wiping her arms, “I love how she’s barely aware I’m here. Look at her, she’s so enraptured.”

Kokichi laughed, feeling warm and light at the feelings he could only describe as ‘joyus revelation’. Ooooh, her learning things was going to be an endless delight. 

He kept up the jet streams, content to be entertainment. “I think we might need to have an extra towel on standby during bathtime. ‘Controlling the wet’ is probably going to mean water going everywhere her buff little baby muscles can put it.”

Looking back over to the doorway, Kokichi jerked his head, beckoning Shuuichi in. “You know how to do this? I think Miya-Miya’s gonna be amazed if both Daddy and Dada can control the wet.”

Shuichi pouted a little, before heading over. Shuichi could be just as crass and young and aggressive as either of his partners, but Kaito had always found there was a sort of controlled elegance in his movements as he tucked himself down by the bath, ankles together and legs nestled against his side. Leaning over the side of the bath, Kaito watched those long, slender fingers dip into the water, mimicking Kokichi’s movements before…

Miyako giggled loudly, splashing harder. YES! THE WET OBEYS! MASTER THE ELEMENTS! 

“Oop, alright, you’re right, now we got a splashy baby. Oookay, where’s a towel?” Kaito said, wiping some of the water off his face as Miyako cackled at two of her fathers great mastery over the sea. Grabbing a spare towel, he wiped off his face before putting it down on the ground, going back to finishing wiping Miyako down– can’t forget her back and the back of her legs and her little tushy-patootie– as he chuckled, “You guys are gonna kill me, you know that? Too cute… Shuichi, you wanna get out of those clothes and into the bath too–?”

“No.” Shuichi said, casually breaking Kaito’s heart. Smiling as he made Miyako squeal in delight, repeating the water trick with little squirts, he said, “But it is nice to see Miyako enjoying bath time. Hopefully this will make things a little easier in the future.”

It wasn’t really like a handout. More like the situation was just perfect. Shuuichi was feeling disgruntled that he hadn’t made their daughter squeal in delight? Well, Kokichi did need help keeping her entertained for the duration of bathtime. Bing-bang, perfect. 

And the smile on Shuuichi’s face was perfect too. 

“Childhood is all about deception,” Kokichi snickered. “How many boring or weird things can we make into games? …do you guys think it’d be too much if I made her really big fountains in her dreams later?”

Shuichi raised an eyebrow at this, “Am I a terrible father if I say ‘yes’, because than she won’t find hand fountains all that impressive anymore?”

“Aw, come on, handsome, there’s a difference between seeing something in your dreams and seeing it in real life. Crazy dream fountains won’t compete with dada and daddy bath tricks.” Kaito grinned, running his hands through Miyako’s little puff of hair before saying, “But, I think I’ve got everything. So, I think that’s enough bath time for my sweet baby girl. C’mon, sweetbun, time to get warm and dry~”

“Nyeh!”

“Oh, sure, we complain to dad when we go into the bath, now we complain to dad when we get out of the bath. Dad’s a big mean brute who just doesn’t let his princess do what she wants, huh? Mmhm,” Kaito huffed playfully, picking Miyako up and wrapping her in a towel, standing up with a small grunt of effort as he asked, “Would you guys clean up her bath, please? Or, just leave it, I can get it when I get bac–”

Shuichi rolled his eyes, “I’ll empty it and put it away, Kaito.”

“Thank youuuuu~” Kaito called back, heading over to the changing table to put powder on Miyako’s booty and get her in a fresh diaper. “Kokichi, let me know if you’re back still hurts when you get out, we can put more work into it!” He called from outside, as Shuichi went to grab the bath bucket.

Kokichi snickered softly. Admittedly, he had the same thought before he’d said anything. He thought there was still room to admire both, and…well, after seeing that it was possible, Kokichi was pretty sure their daughter would be commanding the waves to her whims in her dreams regardless. Maybe he’d give her some bubbles there instead. 

His duty done, Kokichi reclined out in the tub again as Kaito bundled up Miyako and took her away, just watching Shuuichi for a moment as he grabbed the small bath. “...you sure you don’t want a bath? Admittedly, I’m mostly just in here ‘cause I wanted to help with bathtime, but…yanno, I always like spending time with you. And the water does feel really nice.”

Shuichi dumped the water, cleaning it out with fresh water for a bit before placing it in the cabinet beneath the sink. Heading back to the tub, he sat on its edge and dipped his fingers in again, giving it a considering look, “I suppose I could. Technically it’s my turn to watch Miyako, but somehow I doubt Kaito would hold it against me… I suppose I could for a bit.”

Shuichi didn’t want to be in the bath long, but while it was warm it’d be nice to sink into for a bit, let the scent and heat soothe him. And Kokichi was offering, which was always nice. Already in pajamas and intending to put them back on when he was done, Shuichi unbuttoned his top, sliding it off and folding it before placing it on the countertop. He slid himself out of his pants and boxers in turn, folding the bottoms but tossing the boxers in the linen as he went to the door, peeking it open, “Kaito, could you bring me a fresh pair of underwear when you have a moment? I’m going to get into the bath after all.”

“...can I watch??”

“You can watch the baby, yes.”

“Do you hear that, Miya? Do you hear how they bully your poor dad? Everyone in the family gets to be a nudist but me. Well, let’s put you in your new diaper and then you and I can be decent and clothed and judge the weird nudey–”

Whatever Kaito and Miyako were going to judge was lost, as Shuichi closed the door, rolling his eyes a little before heading back to the bath. 

Slipping into the bath– there was plenty of room, it really was a large tub, even without them making space for each other– Shuichi sunk into the soapy water and sighed. He didn’t immediately come in to snuggle with Kokichi, instead taking a moment to enjoy that weightless feeling of hovering in shallow water, stretching out as far as his legs would let him against the ceramic walls, before turning over and laying on his stomach and arms, submerging his face right up to his nose before blowing small bubbles into the water a bit, blue hair cascading around his face as he just enjoyed the heat around him for a bit… before blinking his golden eyes open, looking up tiredly at Kokichi. “‘R r’u’ eughin’ a’y ‘e’rr?” He said under the water, the noise muffled and barely discernible.

“Yesssss!” Kokichi quietly cheered, throwing his arms up in triumph before he scooted in the tub a bit, preemptively making more room for Shuuichi. He knew Shuuichi could easily say no to him, but he also knew that Shuuichi was a little more likely to consider Kokichi’s idle requests than Kaito’s. Kaito would casually shoot his shot, Shuuichi would roll his eyes and take it in the same vein as a joke. Kokichi might bring the same thing up actually as a joke, and Shuuichi would consider it. 

There was a part of him that worried over that a little but…well, it was all while none of them were being particularly serious, even if the ideas were genuine. 

Giving Shuuichi a little peace as he undressed, Kokichi tipped his head back in the bath, closing his eyes with a soft hum as he ensconced himself in warmth. He snickered a bit at Kaito’s griping from beyond the door, but he didn’t look up until he felt the water displace, looking on adoringly as Shuuichi got comfortable. 

Maybe a bit playful in his own right too. 

Kokichi raised an eyebrow and laughed softly. “Didn’t quite catch that, honeypie. Am I what?”

Shuichi smiled beneath the water, before pushing up on his shoulders, pulling his face out of the water and resting his chin in his hands as he asked him, “Are you feeling any better now? I know we ended up teasing you a bit about it, but you did seem pretty concerned about the ‘people liking you without knowing you’ idea. Are you okay?”

Kokichi sighed, and despite the space Shuuichi made for himself--and that Kokichi had made too--he couldn’t help scootching closer to his fiance. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just…something to go over in therapy again.”

He made a face, resting his head against the side of the tub. “I just…get all in my head, sometimes. Self-worth is a slow journey, and I know pushing people away just makes it worse, but…it feels relieving, in the moment. Like I’m finally doing something right, denying that people can have a positive opinion of me, when…everything about that is totally wrong.”

Kokichi shrugged a little, giving Shuuichi a small smile. “I’m just lucky I have two lovely, amazing guys by my side to tease me when I have my head too far up my own ass.”

“We can be kind of insufferable, at times, but we do mean well.” Shuichi smiled, reaching over and putting his arm around Kokichi’s hip, pulling him into a small hug as he rested his head, briefly, against Kokichi’s lower chest… before laughing his small, light laugh, scooting up as he said, “No offense, Kokichi, but you’re a little tricky to lay on. All hard edges. I suppose if my body offers one advantage, I make a nice, soft pillow.”

Laying back against the tub wall, Shuichi encouraged Kokichi to scoot up close to him, wanting to put his arms around him and hold him a bit, “It can be a little strange, sometimes, to see you talk about yourself like you’re a burden. You work very hard, you’re diligent, kind, thoughtful… fairly far from a burden. But, I suppose it makes sense, when you think of the amount of time you’ve spent sick in bed… I imagine after the fiftieth time someones needed to help you get dressed, it’s hard not to develop a complex about it. But you should know that you’re not a burden, even with the sickness taking its toll on you. I feel that way, and I’m confident everyone else does too… you more than make up for it, when you can.”

Shuichi paused… “And that’s my speech on that, I guess.” Shuichi smiled, shrugging a little sheepishly, “Sorry. I just wanted you to know.”

Kokichi scoffed and rolled his eyes, though there was a fond smile on his face the whole time. “Hey, I’m working on it. You’re really trying to make me jealous again, huh?” Still, he took the invitation eagerly and cuddled up to Shuuichi’s side, laying a soft kiss on Shuuichi’s cheek before he settled. 

“...I guess it might’ve started with my health,” he said quietly, his arm loose around Shuuichi’s soft middle. “It’s hard to feel like a person when for stretches you’re barely one… But what always made me feel worse was…when I didn’t make up for it.”

Kokichi bit his lip, not…exactly eager to delve into these feelings…but he felt like he had to say them. Just for himself. “It’s one thing, when I’m too sick to even be conscious. But…all the times where I was just…a brat? Leaving home for hours without telling anyone, or sulking to myself or…” His voice lowered, and Kokichi looked away in shame. “...or when I tried to get rid of myself? I know that not all of those were…like, my full, informed choice. Mental illness is still illness. But…it still feels like I had more of a choice with them.”

“...and it really sucks. Getting a chance to live and try and make up for stolen time and just…wasting it. Letting down everyone’s expectations for me…not taking my role or life or relationships seriously and just…melting down. I know what to do now is really make up for it, but…it still hurts, thinking about it. And it makes me feel like a bad person.”

“Mm… I don’t think you ever had to be perfect to make up for when it was hard to help.” Shuichi said softly, putting his arms around Kokichi and settling in, enjoying the feeling of his chilled warmth against the heat of the water and Shuichi’s own soft body heat, “I know sometimes my beliefs come across as a bit ‘defeatist’. Maki and I argue over it constantly. But being good enough at something doesn’t mean you have to be perfect at it. I think… when we say we’re ‘doing our best’ at something? People have a way of assuming that means ‘we’re pushing our limits to be the absolute best at it’.”

“You know, growing up, I used to agonize over every little mistake I made as a detective. Every moment I looked stupid, or said something wrong, or failed to get the evidence or testimonies I was gunning for? It sent this wave of panic and shame through me, and then that night I’d obsessively watch my dreams, looking for ways I could have done better. Over and over and over… it was so anxiety inducing. Constantly being compelled to analyze myself, to pick myself apart and ask ‘how could I have done it better’. And every mistake wasn’t actually a ‘mistake’. It was just another moment where I let laziness or carelessness win, where I ‘chose’ to just not ‘try hard enough’.”

Every other word was stressed with a layer of sarcasm, Shuichi frowning at the memories, clearly frustrated by the way he used to view the world… before he sighed, “But you know what being forced to watch yourself make mistake after mistake after mistake does to you, after a lifetime? …you either go insane, or you learn to forgive yourself for the mistakes. You acknowledge that your best didn’t make you perfect, or even close to it. Sometimes your best was just not making worse mistakes, and that had to be enough… Kaito actually put it really well, that one day with Dr. Mariah. When we were reassuring Maki?”

“She couldn’t have been perfect even if she had pushed herself to her absolute human limits… and no one should have ever asked her to come even close to pushing herself that hard anyway. Doing our best shouldn’t look like us pushing ourselves to our physical limits in some pursuit for perfection, using up every hour of the day in some useful and well thought of way, never wavering in the face of exhaustion or stress or self-doubt… and I know you don’t feel like what you were doing as a kid was you doing your best. That you’ll look back and analyze all the ways you could have done better. But here’s the truth to that mentality… what you did? Was still you doing your best. Because the version of you living those days didn’t have the advantage of looking back and analyzing what you did and growing from there. You now have the resource of wisdom, of time. You, back then? Didn’t… you were a kid still trying to figure it all out.” 

Shuichi kissed the top of Kokichi’s head, “That was you doing your best.”

Almost a year ago? Kokichi would’ve felt an embarrassed recognition. Because he had thought he had failed by not being perfect. By not emptying out the admin letters every day, even if he got insanely close on the days he didn’t manage it; by not going to court and charming and reassuring people with a confident grin like his father; by being a horrible friend and brother and son, constantly pushing his loved ones away and screaming at them. 

Now…it was pretty much just that last point. Kokichi hadn’t failed, hadn’t been a burden because he wasn’t perfect. He was a burden because he had been constantly hurting himself and his loved ones and…

…after all that, and even now, trying to repair the relationships he’d broken…he just couldn’t understand why they stuck around. 

Kokichi felt sympathetic to the story Shuuichi told, could empathize with the anxiety, but… “...I hate that my best was someone who wanted to kill themself.”

Shuichi shrugged, “Our best sometimes isn’t very good. But I still think it’s something we should forgive ourselves for. And you wanted too, but you didn’t. You’re still here. You can try to tell me that didn’t take effort and perseverance, and I’ll look at you like you’re out of your mind, because I know for a fact it did. When things are weighing that heavily on you? …it takes your best.”

Nudging Kokichi a little, Shuichi said softly, “Does it count as having to ‘try’ at living, if you had just never felt like that to begin with? Kaito can’t understand that. Maki can’t either. They’ve never wanted to die, so what do they know about what it means to fight to live? At least with yourself… I don’t want to glorify our thoughts, I don’t think they’re necessary for growth or to be strong, but feeling the pull and being here anyway? How can anyone suggest that wasn’t our best? How is that anything less than perseverance and strength?”

It was less, these days, but…Kokichi had long since grown accustomed to the feeling. Feeling the pull, as Shuuichi put it… It was like riding a poorly balanced see-saw that desperately needed maintenance too. The fear of death and pain, the conviction that he deserved it, the wish for everyone to be happy, the wish for him to, if not be happy, then at least not hurt…it all pulled and tugged until Kokichi was constantly off balance, molded into a shape he barely recognized. 

…but he hadn’t fallen. And while sometimes that felt like chance…it hadn’t been. 

Kokichi sighed, taking a deep, shaky breath before letting it out heavily again as he hid his face in Shuuichi’s shoulder. “...why are you always so smart? And right?”

“...it still doesn’t feel great, looking back. But…you are right. And it’s…it’s not exactly a revelation. If it’s something I wouldn’t get mad a kid for, then…it’s not fair to be mad at the kid I was.” Another sigh, as Kokichi nosed at Shuuichi’s bicep. “...feelings don’t always care what lessons you’ve already learned, though. But…I’ll be okay. And I have a lot of people to remind me it will when I forget.”

“Heh… just do me a favor and remind me of all that the next time I’m feeling sad and melancholy and like I’m not good enough for anything.” Shuichi smiled, looking pleased that he had managed to help though. “It helps, to hear it all from someone else. It sounds fake when we say it to ourselves. That’s why Maki and Kaito were such a good thing for me, growing up. Kaito would just say good thing after good thing after good thing to me, ‘gassing me up’ if you know the phrase. And when you hear it enough times it’s hard to just entirely ignore it. And for myself and Maki, that’s basically what lamenting is for us. We just sit and talk to each other about our fears and gripes and insecurities, and say ‘yeah, that does suck. No, it’s not the end of the world. Yes, we’re okay’. It’s just nice to hear it from other people.”

Shuichi rolled his eyes, “I went through a long phase where I had to teach myself to, admittedly… take a complement. Kaito bullied me into that. And I do mean ‘bullied’, he would get mean about it. I think sometimes he felt like he was fighting off some alternative personality in me or something, like his friend was two people and whenever the ‘hates himself’ Shuichi showed up, Kaito had to get aggressive and intimidate him away… I say ‘I think’, that’s literally how he described it to me once in the eleventh grade. He’s always had this thing about compartmentalizing personality traits into, just… different people. ‘Hates Himself Shuichi’ was an enemy. It could get a bit silly.”

Kokichi sucked in one more deep breath before his breathing pattern settled. He snuggled in even more against Shuuichi, putting a leg over one of his and tracing shapes over his hip. There were definitely hearts in there, but they were a little too chaotic to all be called that. 

“I mean, I did promise to, and I’ll promise again,” he softly laughed. “Talking about it makes it real…but realistic too. Less daunting.”

Huffing quietly, Kokichi nosed more against Shuuichi’s arm, pressing into the soft bit above his armpit. Predictably, Kokichi was snuggling and slugging his slow way into Shuuichi’s lap. “I’d say that sounds like him, but…if he characterized himself like that, then, yeah, duh. Kai-chan protects what’s his, even from themself. …he really can get aggressive about compliments, huh.”

Shuichi laughed lightly, feeling Kokichi’s slow but inevitable climb. Awake or asleep, Kokichi was always going to try to use Shuichi as a bed, apparently, “He can. One of his best and worst traits… and honestly, I’m only teasing when I say worst. It can be a little exasperating sometimes, but having someone aggressively try to argue how amazing you are tends to be a net-positive, all things considered.”

“Hearing it from you is quite nice too.” Shuichi said, a small smirk on his face, closing his eyes as he settled into his inevitable fate as a body seat for his fiance, “I am very smart, really. Miyako will be able to appreciate that, someday… I just have to jealously get through her infatuation for her ‘fun’ parents first. You jerks.”

“A little overwhelming,” Kokichi nodded in agreement, gently trailing Shuuichi’s calf with his foot. “But good overall.” Kokichi had really needed that kick in the pants when he was at his worst, and for that kick to be a fierce deluge of affection? It really felt like a miracle, sometimes. 

Humming kindly, Kokichi shifted over a little more, his face resting in the divot of Shuuichi’s collarbone. “She does get dazzled by us…but she really loves you too. I think the best way to put it is…she likes your calm vibes. But she will get to appreciate your humor and cleverness when…you know, she can actually understand what we’re saying.”

“Need to work on her language skills. She’s already three months old, if we don’t have her reading by five months, are we even trying?” Shuichi joked lightly, musing on the idea of having ‘calm vibes’. That sounds nice… speaking of calm vibes, the bath probably wasn’t actually the best place to take a nap, but man, with Kokichi on him and the warm water feeling like a heavy blanket, Shuichi was starting to feel himself drowse a bit…

There was a small knock at the door. “You guys doing sexy things?”

“No, Kaito.” Shuichi called back, eyes still closed.

“Kay… can I come in?” Kaito asked hopefully from behind the closed door, “Miya’s asleep.”

“I guess it’s reasonable to not be so surprised, but she’s already really emotionally intelligent,” Kokichi hummed, feeling proud. “Even with a bit of a cheat sheet, recognizing that people have needs, and wanting to help them? She’s already sprinting ahead of her baby peers.”

Kokichi had slid up a little, now properly perched in Shuuichi’s lap as he tucked his face into his fiance’s neck. One of his favorite places to be, honestly. Miya wasn’t the only one who loved Shuuichi’s calm vibes…though Kokichi liked them when they weren’t as calm too. 

Peeking an eye over the side of the tub, Kokichi hummed consideringly. “...I’m okay with it. We could leave the door open a crack, if she needs anything?”

Shuichi smirked a little, “You’re so much less of a tease than I am. Didn’t even occur to you to make him beg for it, hm?”

“Hey, I can hear you! I have my ear pressed to the door!” 

“Come on in, Kaito.” Shuichi called back, giving Kaito a fond, amused look as magenta eyes peeked in through the crack, staring at Shuichi suspiciously, “What? I wouldn’t tease you if you didn’t like it.”

“Historically not entirely true… but I do understand what you mean.” Kaito grinned, walking in– leaving the door open behind him– as he headed over to the bath, sitting down beside it and leaning against the wall as he peered in at the two of them, “...you guys have no business being that cute when I’m not around to gawk at you.”

“I’m sorry to tell you, Kaito, but Kokichi and I don’t stop being snuggly when you’re not around to witness it.” Shuichi smirked, running his fingers up and down Kokichi’s back, “It’s relentless. We’re unstoppable.”

“Nope,” Kokichi said, popping the ‘p’. “I can tease, but when it comes to my favorite people wanting to spend time with me? The ‘yes’s are out of my mouth before I can think, ‘cause that’s how much I wanna spend time with ‘em too. Meaning you an’ Kai-chan, of course.”

Making a happy little sound as Kaito came closer--and Shuuichi started stroking his back, Kokichi tightened his arms just a little around Shuuichi’s waist. “I’d say we might even be more cuddly when you’re not around to see it, but I’m mostly counting all the mornings you let us sleep in together. Shuu-chan’s just magnetizing--I can’t pull myself away. And I don’t wanna.”

“And here I thought you two snuggled together in the morning to try to break my resolve to get you up.” Kaito said, giving the two an amused look… before his vision drifted a little. Little butt island was back…

Blushing a little bit, Kaito reached over and patted Kokichi’s butt, “I swear, you barely have anything back here, and it’s amazing how it still floats to the top.”

Kokichi lifted his head from Shuuichi’s neck, giving Kaito an amused look. “I am lying on top of our fiance, and I didn’t fill the bath right to the top since I was worried about Miya… Though, even saying that, I dunno what difference it’d make. Regardless…” He shrugged a little. “It’s less I’m floating, and more Shuu-chan’s just propping me up.”

Pat-pat-pat, “...huh?” Kaito asked, blinking at Kokichi, “You said something?”

“Kaito…” Shuichi scolded. “We were enjoying a nice, peaceful bath. Stop molesting Kokichi.”

“There are just little butt pats.” Kaito grinned, before laying his hand heavily on Kokichi’s ass, pressing him against Shuichi a little more as he submerged his lower half, “See, and now he’s warm. I’m helping.”

Shuichi scoffed, bringing up his knees, pushing Kokichi’s legs up a little so that his fiance was now more sitting in his lap rather than laying out, “Don’t worry, Kokichi. I’ll protect you from the lecher.” 

Kokichi rolled his eyes and tucked his face back into Shuuichi’s neck. Don’t wanna listen? Fine, no Kokichi face for Kaito. 

And maybe his time for teasing had just been delayed, as Kokichi easily moved his legs when he felt Shuuichi shifting, giving an approving little hum into his neck. “My hero~ A lecher and a big ol’ grump that just wants to mess my back up again so he can get his hands back on me. Can’t believe it.”

“But good thing I have my sweet, heroic stud to keep me safe.” With another happy hum, Kokichi pressed a kiss into Shuuichi’s neck where he was hiding. And, yanno, just enjoying having his face nestled against his partner.

“Hey? What?? Shuichi’s not your heroic stud, I am! I have the ring and everything!” Kaito insisted, pointing insistently at the Green Lantern ring, which he had felt like wearing today. He didn’t wear it every day, but every now and again it’s sturdy weight and thick shape felt reassuring, and Kaito liked to twist it around his fingers when he was in thought. “Shuichi doesn’t have a hero ring!”

“I’m the best kind of hero there is. One who does it without expecting a trophy.” Shuichi said, tone proud and noble, before turning up his nose a little, “You wouldn’t understand, Kaito… as the nefarious evil do-er who broke Kokichi’s back–”

“I didn’t break it,” Kaito pouted, shooting Shuichi a huffy look, “and if Kokichi’s feeling gooey and loose now, it’s cause I massaged his back and made it lotion high.”

“Wha?” Shuichi asked dryly.

“Yeah, man, wizard-hobo puts cannabis in that stuff, I’m basically just getting Kokichi’s muscles high.”

“You have got to learn Mikaku’s name.”

“I know, I know,” Kaito huffed again, leaning his head down against his arms, watching Shuichi and Kokichi snuggle, Kokichi all tucked up against Shuichi and happily burrowing into him…

(Kaito had never brought up the idea because it felt like it’d be far too difficult for Kokichi to do it well and he was worried asking him to attempt it would make both his husband and fiance feel bad when it didn’t work, but in the confines of his mind? He idly daydreamed of his hand sliding possessively and appreciatively up Kokichi’s thin back, fingers pressing around the bones of Kokichi’s spine in a small attempt to soothe and reassure him as Kaito thrust into his backside. Kokichi’s moans halted and smothered by the length and work of Shuichi’s cock, his body a bridge between the two as he and Shuichi took his husband from both ends…)

Kaito looked away from them, blushing again as the daydream pushed its way in again. Wouldn’t work. Shuichi’s dick was too big for something like that, Kokichi would get hurt. And even if he tried to do it with just handjobs and licking, Kaito knew he’d be making his husband work too hard for it on the other end. It’d be too much… damn, it was a nice daydream though…

Gah! Get your head out of the gutter! Sure, Miyako was asleep, but you never knew! 

“Kaito?” Shuichi asked, amused, as Kaito buried his bright red face into his arms and groaned, “Keeping it together, over there?”

“Fiiiiiiiine.” Kaito said, giving Shuichi a weak thumbs up, “You’re both just pretty and I got into my own head. I’m fine.”

“You’re both my heroes,” Kokichi insisted petulantly. “Shuu-chan’s just a bigger hero right now, since Kai-chan’s decided to go down a dark path.” A perverted path of patting his butt and not listening to anything he said. Fun in the right context, and not even particularly annoying in this one, but…still. Kokichi could have his own fun taking solace in his fiance. 

“And that’s exactly your plan! Break my back, make it up to me with the best massages in the world…it’s a masterful tactic.” Snuggling more into Shuuichi’s neck, Kokichi sighed. “...and I really don’t think that’s how CBD works. I’m no chemist, but I don’t think relaxants are exactly the same as getting high.”

“...getting a good high is pretty relaxing, though. I should ask Mikaku-jii about those edibles, sometime…”

Probably not for a bit, though. They were pretty busy, even if it would only be something like an evening off. But parents didn’t exactly get days off. 

Kokichi looked over as Shuuichi did at their flustered lover, having gotten the idea of Kaito’s feelings, sure, but… Kokichi narrowed his eyes, looking at Kaito intently as he leaned on Shuuichi, but, ultimately, he just relaxed back down into his former position with a sigh. “...I know you got a horny daydream…but I couldn’t get anything more than that. Didn’t really seem fantastical, though…”

“The fantasy would be you having a bigger mouth, I think… hey, ‘Kichi,” Kaito grinned lazily, “Open your mouth real wide and go ‘aaaah’ for me?”

“Don’t, it’s a trap.” Shuichi whispered, sounding distinctly unconcerned as Kokichi relaxed back into him. 

Kokichi raised an eyebrow, before pouting, blinking a few times before his eyes got noticeably shiner. “...think you’d say I already have a big enough mouth as it is.”

Kaito raised an eyebrow right back at him, smirking, “You have a pretty, intelligent, verbose mouth, ‘Kichi… but it’s itty-bitty, like the rest of you. At least itty-bitty in comparison to other things…”

“...” Shuichi’s brow suddenly furrowed, “Hey.”

Kaito snickered, burying his face again, “Shut up, you can’t prove what I was thinking about.”

Kokichi had been trying to egg Kaito on again, admittedly, but the start of crocodile tears dried up as he just looked up at Kaito in confusion. That, paired with Shuuichi’s interjection…

This time the dejection on Kokichi’s face was far more sincere. He tipped his head back down, resting his forehead on Shuuichi’s shoulder as he hugged around his waist. “...I really would blow you if I could… I’m sorry…”

Shuichi gave Kokichi a startled look, before hugging him tighter, giving Kaito a far less amused look as he said, “You just had to, huh?”

“Oh, no! No, no, come on now, that’s not what I was… okay, that is what I was saying, but it’s not a problem.” Kaito said, looking increasingly guilty as he looked up, putting his hands up like he could push the topic back into the metaphorical box as he said, “I was literally just daydreaming about one scenario that being able to blow Shuichi would help with, and it’s, like, not an issue that it can’t happen. And you don’t need to be able to blow Shuichi, ‘Kichi! I’m gonna do it!”

Shuichi rolled his eyes, “No one needs to blow me. I don’t care. It’s not a problem because I don’t have some deep-seated urge to watch either of you swallow me. It doesn’t matter. And you take care of me in lots of fun, exciting ways Kokichi.” Shuichi insisted, kissing the top of his head.

He’d already had too many pity parties today--maybe it was just that kind of day for him--so Kokichi knew he couldn’t just let this turn into another. He knew it wasn’t that much of a big deal, and honestly it was the most absurd issue he’d felt that sinking feeling in his chest for today, but…still. 

Sighing, Kokichi nuzzled against Shuuichi and smiled into his skin, making sure his fiance could feel the expression. “Yeah…yeah. It is something I wish I could do but…it’s not the end of the world, and I’m not letting you down. I think things are just getting to me easy today…though you might’ve been able to notice that already.”

Peeking back up over Shuuichi’s shoulder, Kokichi pouted at Kaito. “...my mouth is a perfectly fine size.”

“It is! A perfect, leaderly, speech making, beautiful, intelligent, uh–” Kaito paused, trying to think of more, non-sexual compliments to give to a very nice mouth in general… before failing entirely as he added in, “Kaito-sized mouth! For Kaito-sizes! Annnnnnd Shuichi has a perfect Kaito sized dick too! Perfect sizes, all around!”

“You literally choked yourself out on my dick, Kaito.”

“I just need practice.”

“He’s ridiculous.” Shuichi sighed, resting his head on top of Kokichi’s, “Are we sure we want to marry him?”

“Kokichi is already married to me! A-and you got me a ring! No take-backsies!”

Kokichi just stared at Kaito before huffing in amusement, snuggling back down against Shuuichi. Kaito was ridiculous, but he was their ridiculous guy, that had really trechant moments of wisdom too. Even when the subject turned sexual. 

Nodding gravely against Shuuichi’s shoulder, Kokichi sighed. “I’m bound. Shuu-chan can still run if he doesn’t care about verbal agreements, but in this case I think he’s a bit of a fond masochist. This is the web we’ve spun ourselves into, and now there’s nothing to do but enjoy the view.”

“...though you enjoy it more, don’t you?” he asked dryly, though not without a smile, peeking back up at Kaito.

Butt-island had returned, peeking up as Shuichi had drifted down into the water, Kokichi more on his side now as he laid on top of him. Kaito’s eyes jerked back up towards them as he caught Kokichi’s gaze out of the corner of his eyes. “What? No! Wait, or is the answer yes? Yes?”

Shuichi laughed lightly, “You do it on purpose, don’t you.”

Kaito grinned at that, all teeth as he shrugged, “Come on, the fun is in not knowing, right? You love it.”

“I’ll figure it out someday.” Shuichi swore, giving Kaito an openly fond look, “You have a thousand tells… I just wish I could tell when you were playing them up. Damn.”

“I can’t help it, handsome. You make it so rewarding. I like being your dumbass.” Kaito admitted, shrugging a little more sheepishly, “It’s fun. And I gotta get my kicks somehow, since Miyako’s gonna cock-block me into the damn sun, I swear. This infant is kicking my ass. And you two are both going back to work soon too… I’m gonna miss you guys.”

Shuichi sighed, leaning back, “...maybe. I should. I will. I just… I’m having second thoughts about becoming a detective again.”

Kokichi snickered softly, adjusting himself in Shuuichi’s lap a bit as his fiance shifted. The water was still plenty warm for now, but it was likely getting to around the point it’d start feeling lukewarm. Still, he wanted to soak up as much bath-cuddle time as he could--it felt pretty rare these days. 

Scheduling, even on leave was…hard. Kokichi looked back up at Kaito, a softer look on his face. “That’s true, but…I mean, I’m still gonna be home. I know it’s not the same, but you all are always welcome to come to the office. And at least for a while, I’m gonna be on reduced hours, so I’ll still be around most of the time.”

As much as he was going to miss lounging around with Kaito so frequently, though…Kokichi was still eager to get back to work. There was no delaying that for him. 

But Shuuichi’s plans might be different. 

Kokichi shifted again, laying himself more across Shuuichi’s body as he rested his head on his shoulder, tilting to the side to face Shuuichi. “...do you wanna talk about it? I know you’d kick ass bein’ a detective here…but it’s far from the only path you can take. We’ve talked about that but…yeah.” 

…never really…seriously. Even though Kokichi had talked about how the sky was the limit for what his family could pursue as careers…for Shuuichi, it always seemed that the conversation had become ‘be a detective, or do nothing’. 

“I think so… I’m just not sure what else I could seriously do. I know I want to go to school. I do. And I value the work and skills I developed as a detective in Luminary. I’ll never really not think of myself as a detective, I think, regardless of what certificate I have or not. It’s just one of the things I am, regardless if the people around me recognize it…”

“But?” Kaito asked, as Shuichi trailed off. 

“But thinking of myself as a detective doesn’t mean I like detective work.” Shuichi sighed, looking frustrated with himself, “I don’t like getting people into trouble. I don’t like sending them to whatever consequences they’ve earned, even if it’s justice. I don’t like that responsibility. I like being able to help people, to help the victims, but… people are still upset and hurt and devastated, even if I can bring them closure. You don’t solve the case and become a hero and everything is suddenly better. You solve the case and the people who were already hurt are still hurt, the people who hurt them are hurt, and the only comfort you really have is that, theoretically, maybe you stopped someone else from being hurt in the future… it’s depressing work.”

“Okay…” Kaito frowned, thinking about it… before nodding, “So forget detective work! You already did your time! You helped plenty of people, even if no one ever let you feel like you did! You don’t have any obligation to do detective work anymore, you’re Shuichi Saihara! You can do anything you put your mind too! Right, Kokichi!?”

Kokichi wasn’t often in the habit of referring to Shuuichi as such, but…he was right. Regardless of what he was legally allowed to do in Dicea, he still was a detective. No matter what certifications he got, or what he decided to do with his future, no one would be able to take that away from him. 

…but it did beg the question of what Shuuichi did want to do with his future. 

As Kaito brought him in, Kokichi nodded emphatically. “If the practical work is something you don’t like? Then you don’t have to do it. Your skills aren’t only good for being a named detective, and deciding to do something else won’t be wasting them. All your skills and experience are muscles you’ve built up, and even if you end up somewhere you don’t use them the same way, you’ll still have a leg up having had them in the first place.” 

“That said,” Kokichi trailed off with a sheepish look, “You will probably have to do some trial and error to find out what you do wanna do. It might seem discouraging at times, but…there can be a really wonderful freedom to having the world at your fingertips. Finishing out your classes for the detective course is something I think you’d enjoy but…if you want my advice? Check out classes that are in all sorts of courses. Talk to people about the sorts of things they do, or want to do. You never know when you’ll find something that speaks to you.”

It was pretty standard advice, honestly, but after saying it Kokichi immediately looked a bit bashful. “...I think it’d just be the same thing as detective work for you, but…when you said it might not be something you wanna pursue anymore, the first thing my mind went to was paranormal investigations.”

While Shuichi made a thoughtful little ‘huh’ sound, Kaito gave Kokichi a bewildered look, “Paranormal investigations… what, like, a ghost hunter? There’s no such thing as…”

Kaito paused, lips thinning. Hm. Hm. Hm. Terrifying. He’d think more about it later.

“...why ghost hunting!?”

“I think Kokichi just means supernatural things altogether.” Shuichi explained, still mulling over the idea, “And… certainly something like that must already exist? At least here in Dicea? You all live among all sorts of supernatural people, but considering they’re all in secret? There has to be moments where there’s conflicts between the supernatural and the, uh… natural? For lack of better terms. And keeping the secret doesn’t mean those issues don’t need resolving… you can’t count on groups to self-regulate, not when keeping the secret will trump stopping the issue, so there has to be someone out there playing middle-man.”

“It does seem like kind of an all-purpose term… In fiction it almost always just means ghost hunting, but in the context of the supernatural being real and diverse as it is? Shuu-chan’s right on there needing to be a mediator.”

Kokichi shrugged a little. “My therapist’s sister is a paranormal investigator. He’s described it as, like, her going to so-called haunted places and, like, disproving stuff, or helping people who think they’ve been cursed, but I know she’s an Empath, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more serious stuff she does.”

Shuuichi…mostly seemed to be thinking about the concept, so that wasn’t necessarily interest. And Kokichi knew he had a tendency to push too much, but… “I could ask for her number or address, if you two wanted to get in touch?”

“Yes,” Shuichi said, barely even hesitating. Though he flustered a bit, looking more sheepish and uncertain as he gave himself another second to think about it, “If that’s not silly…”

Kaito had two seconds to think quite a lot of thoughts.

Did he… want his capable, handsome, intelligent, father of his child going around mediating supernatural elements? Uuuuuuuuuuuuh. 

It can’t be any more or less dangerous than criminals! Normal, every day criminals! …that Kaito and Maki had had to spend so much of their childhoods protecting him from those… and Kaito didn’t know how to protect Shuichi from paranormal stuff…

But Shuichi was capable! And strong! And intelligent! And he may… want to do it. 

And that mattered more than all the other stuff. Maybe. Yes! Kaito would support his fiance in whatever he wanted to do, and, uh… they’d take the problems as they came. They could handle it. Kaito was on it.

“Silly? What’s silly about it? I think that sounds awesome!” Kaito grinned brightly, shoving all doubt into the back. “And there’s no harm in talking to someone who’s already doing it successfully, ya know? And they’re, she? She? She’s another empath, right? That’s a great excuse for our ‘Kichi here to meet her too! It’s a win on all sides, that’s super exciting!”

Shuichi relaxed a little, smiling as he said, “It kind of is, isn’t it… I suppose I could keep going to my detective classes to better understand how supernatural stuff might mix and mash with our laws here… I suppose I can keep going to school and doing that while I’m figuring this out.”

Kokichi smiled, nodding along with Kaito’s support. (They could talk about that spike of worry later. It might not even come to be an issue, after all…though even if it didn’t, it was probably still worth talking about.) “I mean, I didn’t exactly bring it up as a joke suggestion. It may sound like one to people who don’t know, but…if it’s something you truly enjoy? Then screw what other people think.”

“She’s…sort of gotten in contact with me before,” Kokichi smiled awkwardly, ducking against Shuuichi’s body. “When Alter Ego was asking around for people that might be able to help with my memory issues, she offered her help specifically for me. I didn’t end up talking with her, but…I’d like to thank her for the offer, if nothing else.”

His smile brightening up, Kokichi nuzzled against Shuuichi’s shoulder and neck, littering him with kisses wherever he could touch. “That sounds like a plan! I’ll ask Dr. Egami for Kitty’s contact info our next session, then we can get in touch. And when Shuu-chan feels like he’s in a good place for it, he can go back to school.”

“And I know you’re Mr. Dad-Guy,” Kokichi continued to steamroll, lifing a hand out of the water to point at Kaito, “But I’m still gonna vie and cheer for you getting your community needs too!”

“One of your empath friends is named ‘Kitty’, and it’s… not the actual cat.” Kaito murmured, shaking his head a little… before his eyes narrowed, “Unless she is a cat? There is a precedence for it.”

But his musings on cat and cat related names was interrupted as he gave Kokichi a mildly startled look, before saying, “I have a community. It’s all of you guys. And I hang out with Waku and Souda sometimes too… though admittedly I need to be better about inviting Souda out. You guys think Waku would want to go to the temple opening with us?”

Kokichi just shrugged a little. “It’s not impossible, but I think I’d be surprised if my therapist’s sister was a cat. She might project herself as a cat, though. People can project themselves as anything, I think… Empaths without qualifiers, and non-psychics as long as it’s truly how they see themselves.”

With…possibly some exceptions. Shuuichi was really good at having his pre-poppy appearance in his mind, though Kokichi was a little more incline to think that was just because Shuuichi was still used to thinking about himself that way, even when faced with his current reflection. Maybe it was just easier when the projection was a version of yourself you really had been physically. Then the non-physical ones were just belief, like Thalia. 

…though, in all honesty, he had no idea what was going on with her. A plant-cat was kind of intense for a self-picture. 

Smiling, Kokichi nodded, though he pointed again to Kaito. “Right! We are your community! I’d be kind of sad if we weren’t. But…we’re just one of them. And we’re just a few people, even counting Waku-chan and Souda.” It was perfectly fine to find yourself with a small handful of friends--it was kind of an ask to form deep relationships with a ton of people. 

But people needed communities. Family, friends, people that shared similar hobbies, activism… Even if they had only asked for tokenism, Kokichi was thinking about encouraging Kaito to look into joining the elementary school’s PTA this upcoming year. It was…a very gentle thought at this time, though their conversation had pushed him into talking about his worries over Kaito’s social well-being again. 

But even if Kaito was more isolated than Kokichi thought was good for him, he still did have friends. And that was important too. “She might. Crowds kinda freak her out, but…well, I don’t think the opening’s gonna be, like, packed-room levels. Couldn’t hurt to ask.”

“I’ll ask,” Kaito agreed, dipping his fingers into the bath… before blinking as he brought his hands out, flicking the water off a little as he asked, “Are you guys planning to stay in here longer? I can drain and refill the water a bit, it’s kinda cooling on you.”

“I’m getting out when ‘Kichi is.” Shuichi responded honestly, yawning, “I only came in to keep Kokichi company. And he only came in to keep Miyako company. So really, everything else is just us being extra.”

“It is,” Kokichi hummed in affirmation, catching Shuuichi’s yawn. Hmmm…he hadn’t done a ton that day, but after a massage and a bath (and a few near emotional breakdowns) a nap sounded nice. He could go visit Miyako…probably not hang out with Alter Ego. While Hiro seemed to manage it, if it was just something social, Kokichi tried not to call on them during the day. 

“Buuuut I think we should get out,” he sighed, kissing into Shuuichi’s neck one last time before carefully rolling off his fiance, trying not to jab any of his sharp boney bits into him. “Kai-chan? I wasn’t really thinking about it when I got in--would you get me some sleep shorts and a pajama shirt? I think I might just hang out here for the rest of the day.”

“I’m on it, beautiful. Be right back,” Kaito said, getting up and heading out. 

Shuichi, getting one last squeezing hug in before shifting up, letting Kokichi get his bearings first before he reached over to pull the drain. As the roar of the water filled the room, Shuichi stretched his arms over his head, letting his back pop-pop-pop a little, before sighing as he relaxed. “Today feels very relaxed. I know it was kind of busy and emotional for the both of you, but I’ve gotten nothing done today and and I don’t feel like getting anything done either.”

Schlicking the water out of the longer bits of his hair, Kokichi stood to start sloughing off the excess water from his body, grabbing one of the towels they kept on the side. “Sometimes ya just gotta have days like that. If you feel like it, you wanna keep cuddling in bed? I don’t really feel like reading or drawing or whatever right now.”

There was a part of him that guiltily groused over his…other hobbies, but…well, by asking for pajamas, Kokichi was already committing to staying in their room. Something he could easily change at any moment, he knew, but sometimes it was hard to really go against that.

…and it wasn’t like it was gonna be ready in time for their party anyway. And even that was kind of an arbitrary deadline.

“I may take a nap,” Shuichi admitted, running his hands through his hair, squeezing out the excess water, “Which you are welcome to join me. Though maybe I shouldn’t, actually. It’s my turn to watch Miyako… but I’m so sleeeeeeepyyyyyy.”

“Someone tired?” Kaito chuckled, heading back in with Kokichi’s spare clothes. Placing them on the countertop, Kaito headed over to Kokichi, giving him a cheeky grin before, giving him a kiss on his forehead, he stole Kokichi’s towel and vigorously rubbed Kokichi’s hair with it. 

Kokichi had just stepped out onto the bathmat, squeaking as his towel was rudely stolen from him and a tornado formed around his head. He reached out, holding loosely onto Kaito’s arms to center himself as he whined. “Heeeeeey! Kai-chan! Stooooooop!”

“Whaaaa? What’s the matter?” Kaito asked, giving Kokichi an innocent look as he paused his ministrations, grinning down at Kokichi as he lifted the towel to peek under. “Just wanted to make certain you’re warm and dry, beautiful.”

Giving him another kiss, Kaito put the towel around Kokichi’s shoulders, before heading over to the tub, where Shuichi was starting to pull himself up. “No, nooo Kaito, no towel shenani– oh.”

Kaito gave Shuichi his most charming smile– and he knew damn well what he looked like when he was putting effort into it– as he offered him his hand, “Here, let me help you up, handsome.”

Shuichi flustered a little, eye twitching. He was too naked for this shit, seriously. Though he swallowed, cooling his expression as he nodded, taking Kaito’s hand and letting him help him up and out of the tub, watching with some amusement as Kaito made a show of going and grabbing a towel before offering it to him, “Thank you, Kaito.”

“Of course.” Kaito said, still giving him that specific grin as he took Shuichi’s hand and– valiantly ignoring Shuichi’s flustered, baffled expression– giving him a simple, elegant kiss on the back of his hand, bowing his head and closing his eyes as he did so, “I’m at your call.”

Then, giving Shuichi a small, wolfish grin, he turned and said brightly, “‘Kichi, get your booty into some clothes already, ya little nudist! Hut-hut-hut, let’s goooo!” He insisted, scooping up Kokichi in his arms and heading out into the room to– regardless of what state of dress he was currently in– throw him onto the bed.

“More like you’re trying to give me a concussion, is what!” Kokichi huffed, though there was a playful grin on his face as he reached down to smack Kaito’s butt as he turned, finishing drying off. 

Maybe it was just seeing them naked, maybe it was the plethora of serious talks they’d been having that day, but Kaito was kinda in a mood. Not the mood, Kokichi didn’t think, though, barring Miya, Kaito would likely enjoy being there, but a mood.

Interesting.

Kokichi had just gotten his underwear and shorts on before Kaito scooped him up, eliciting another squeak as he wiggled in his husband’s grasp. “Hey, Mr. Playing to the Audience! What’s the rush?! Got somewhere to--ooph!”

He let out a little grunt as Kaito tossed him on the bed, shaking his head as he gave his husband a curious look, but, ultimately, everything could wait until he put his shirt on. 

“What audience? I just want to see my partners all comfy and cosy~” Kaito said, grinning cheerily as he knelt at the side of the bed, much as he had done by the tub, resting his chin in his hands and giving Kokichi an adoring look as he said, “...you’re breathtaking. You know that? Anyone ever tell you that? It’s only not fair. A natural leader, well educated, intelligent, wise, patient with his poor brute of a husband… did you have to be breathtaking at the same time? Could you not have left anything for the rest of us, beautiful? You and Shuichi just took up all the good traits a person could have, the rest of us just gotta stumble around in your wake.”

Even recently having talked about the less than great things Kokichi thought about himself, he still blushed lightly at Kaito’s praise, rolling his body around so he was back on his stomach, reaching over to cup Kaito’s cheek adoringly. “I think you’ve told me once or twice.”

“Though, thankfully good traits aren’t a limited resource. If they were, I’d be concerned for the world, because a guy so thoughtful and passionate, observant, kind, devoted, clever, loving, and, of course, cuter than anything…if those things were in limited supply, then I’d just point to you any time someone wondered where everything went.”

Kokichi gave his husband a wink, leaning forward to place a kiss on Kaito’s forehead.

Kaito laughed, giving Kokichi a pleased, flushed grin, flattered as he leaned into the kiss. “Charmer.”

“Who’s charming?” Shuichi asked, newly clothed and using the end of his pajama sleeves to get some water out of his ear as he came out of the bathroom. 

Kaito’s gaze turned to him and refocused immediately, getting up with a flourish and heading over to him, pulling him in by the waist and taking his right hand as he said, “You are, handsome~ Charming and sophisticated and poised. Come here,” Kaito insisted, pulling Shuichi easily into a small, slow two step, moving slow and easy so that Shuichi could keep up as Kaito guided him into the dance, “Look at you… aren’t I lucky? God, if I could have ever taken you two to a masquerade or a ballroom party? I’d have been the envy of everyone there.”

Shuichi, a little surprised at the rush of activity, decided to relax and lean into it, resting his head and chest against Kaito as he let him sway into a small dance as he huffed disbelievingly, “A dance in Luminary? They’d have turned their noses up at me…”

“They’d have pretended too, certainly.” Kaito admitted, moving in slow, easy turns, knowing Shuichi would feel like he was gliding across the room a little. A good dance partner could make you feel like movement was effortless, as he whispered into Shuichi’s ear, “But you want to know a secret, Mr. Saihara? People were enchanted by you. Lords, ladies, Kaede, me. Even Byakuya was relieved when he heard it was you, because he respected your abilities. People admired you from afar, something awe inspiring and untouchable. The terrifying beauty of the Boogieman… and lucky, lucky, impossibly lucky me? I managed to take and tame and offer myself to that enchanting, terrifying shadow with the golden eyes…” 

Kissing Shuichi on the cheek, Kaito suddenly pulled him into a slow, easy dip, Shuichi staring up at him as Kaito grinned, fierce and possessive as he said, full of aggressive pride, “and I would have been the envy of all those elitists snobs who looked at you and only dreamed.”

“...” Shuichi looked away, flustered and now a little shy, “Kaito.”

Kaito laughed, pulling him back up, “Too much? Or just too on the nose?”

“Shut up,” Shuichi muttered, leaning against him again, “You’re stupid, sometimes.”

“Happy to be a dumbass for you, handsome~”

Kokichi giggled softly. It maybe was a predictable play and response, but Kokichi didn’t think it was a bad habit to immediately start thinking about all the qualities he admired in Kaito when his husband complimented him. Kaito was certainly a romantic, and while Kokichi didn’t think he necessarily had the charm for it, he still wanted to make Kaito feel as loved and appreciated as he made him feel. 

As he made them both feel. 

Kokichi rolled onto his side with a soft, fond grin as he watched Kaito sweep Shuuichi up into a dance. Maybe it really was stereotypical of Luminous royalty, Kokichi didn’t know, but the approach Kaito was taking to his Shuuichi-appreciation was something Kokichi firmly recognized as the princely approach. A sort of complimentary elegance that was cemented in classic fairytales.

And while every kid’s preferences were different, it was a rare few who hadn’t fantasized about being treated like that. 

Even just watching his partners Kokichi started feeling flustered and gooey, and he couldn’t help his light laughter as Shuuichi half-heartedly griped over it. It was a little too hard to ignore Shuuichi’s actual feelings on the matter.

Kaito laughed at Shuichi’s grumblings, moving him into another soft, easy spin, before pulling him back and whispering into Shuichi’s ear a request to kiss him. Shuichi, face a burning, flustered mess at this point, muttered back of course he could, he didn’t need to ask, they had kissed what felt like a thousand times now. But his heart upticked as Kaito placed his index finger under Shuichi’s chin and, gently, pushed his face up to meet Kaito’s, Kaito’s breath lingering against Shuichi, just shy of kissing him for a moment as he gazed into his eyes… before tilting forward and drawing Shuichi into a warm, chaste kiss. Resisting the urge to laugh as he felt a small shiver run through Shuichi’s body, Kaito able to feel it through the hand on the lower part of Shuichi’s back.

Who knew what Kaito was going to do next. Kaito didn’t. He was just enjoying himself for the moment, being a daydream come to life for his partners, at least for as long as he could manage it… but a small sniff in the air turned ‘Dad Mode’ back on as Kaito laughed, kissing Shuichi on the cheek, “I think Miyako’s made me a mess. May I take my leave of you?”

“K-kaito, I mean,” Shuichi said, looking flustered and taken off guard, trying to remember why he found all of that so baffling as he tried to get his thoughts in order, “I… it’s my turn, I can–”

“Not at all, I’m already up. Go, lay down, you said you were gonna take a nap, right? I’ve got this.” Kaito promised, giving him a third kiss, before disentangling himself and heading over to the crib, whispering, “Miya, you couldn’t have given it even an hour after a good bath time to not make poopsies? I think you just like making dad clean up messes.” he scoffed, picking up his smelly, soundly sleeping daughter, off to change her diaper again.

Shuichi sighed, rubbing his hand over his face before shaking his head, heading to the bed and flopping down onto it, next to Kokichi, “I swear, he’s so random sometimes.”

Oh. Oh my. 

Kokichi felt his own face turning red, just from the carryover he was getting from Shuuichi. Paired with the spontaneous excitement from Kaito? WHooh. It was getting a little warm in there, huh. 

But, as it was their daughter’s wont to do, she lived up to her role as a five-year cockblock. Not that they were exactly going to do anything anyway. 

Kokichi looked over as Shuuichi joined him on the bed, smiling softly as he put a light arm over Shuuichi’s waist. “Maybe it’s a little random, but…not really. We all have some relative free time right now, things are going alright…it makes sense that this is a perfect ‘make partners happy’ time.”

“...so you’re into the fairytale princely-type, huh? I think it suits Shuu-chan.”

“Noooo. Shut up.” Shuichi groaned, covering his face, “Who said I have a type. I just… no.”

Shuichi pouted behind his hands, before hearing a small yawn from the likely still sleeping Miyako, hearing Kaito whisper soothingly to her as he changed her diaper. Sighing, he sat up and watched Kaito work for a moment, before giving Kokichi a sheepish look, “... maybe I like… elegance a little bit. Kaede…”

Shuichi paused, not certain if this was correct to talk about. He suspected Kokichi didn’t like Kaede. He wasn’t sure why, but the way Kokichi said her name sometimes made him think so. Shuichi knew he had cautioned Kokichi that Kaede was using Maki, that she wasn’t trustworthy, but… Shuichi had always considered her a good person who did bad things. But still a good person. She was just someone who would destroy you, on her way to whatever idyllic goal she had in mind.

It was complicated, Shuichi’s feelings for Kaede. You never truly forgot your first love.

“... she was a princess. And she behaved like a princess, that was part of her charm. She was well spoken and charismatic and elegant and poised and put together, something straight out of a book… and then she’d look at you with this particular smile and square her shoulders and say something harsh. Or shockingly raunchy. A beautiful princess, who when she spoke plainly to you, made you feel special in that plainess. Like you were getting to see a secret, human side of her… so among the very limited pool of people I’ve been attracted to over the years, then, yes… maybe I do like the fairy-tales, a little. People who seem bigger than life.”

“...it was rare, seeing Kaito act like a prince.” Shuichi admitted, speaking softly, though he wasn’t sure Kaito couldn’t hear anyway, “Not like Kaede or Byakuya. I guess the truth is I’ve never seen him act like that if it wasn’t some sort of performance for someone, and I haven’t seen him do anything like that since my, uh, second puberty… it was surprising.” Shuichi whispered, covering his face a little, burning red a bit, “I wasn’t ready for it.”

“But,” Shuichi scoffed, giving Kokichi a dry look, “If that’s what this is, then what’s your type then? Cause he’s just acting like a goofball with you.”

“Even if it’s not for romance or attraction, everyone has a type. Or a lot of types,” Kokichi giggled. “Even if you’re the type to make friends or admire every person you come across, there will inevitably be certain personality types, or certain behaviors that appeal more to you. It’s what having a personality does.”

And for the kind of person Shuuichi was, wanting to be taken seriously and respected and valued in his own, at times, stoic way, elegance made sense for him. 

Just…not the connection Kokichi had made from people. 

He knew Shuuichi had once had a crush on Kaede, and that despite the more difficult relationships she had with Kaito and Maki these days, she was still an important person. But…still. Kokichi couldn’t keep his lips from twisting at her name. 

He knew it was something of a double-standard, considering all the things he had managed to forgive in other people. But he just…couldn’t bring himself to even consider forgiving her, on the occasions he thought about her at all. Maybe it was her own feelings of not feeling like she deserved forgiveness that made it harder.

Despite all the misgivings Kaito had about his own progress, he was trying. Fuck, was he trying all the time. And…because of that, Kokichi could forgive him. Wanted to work with him for something better. 

For a person convinced of their own cruelty, with resignation to simply live with it over and over, despite knowing that it was cruelty… He knew Shin was in a better situation, these days, and Kaede had something to do with it. But Kokichi still couldn’t shake the horror of the desperation Shin had felt, and that Kaede was only convinced to let up because Shin was determined to be useful. 

So…he couldn’t really say that hearing that Kaede made people feel special by not putting up an act for them really improved his picture of her any. Especially since she had admitted that that lowering of barriers itself was an act. 

…but he didn’t say any of that, and he got what Shuuichi was saying. 

Kokichi hummed a little, nodding. “It is the sort of thing I can’t really see people doing naturally. But it kinda feels like the fact of it being a performance makes it even more special. Like they’re putting in that extra effort for you, you know?”

Though at the question of his own type… Kokichi snorted, rolling his eyes. “Shuu-chan, you’re a detective. I wanted nothing more than to be a clown growing up, and I hate being treated delicately.” At first, anyway.

Over at Miyako, Kaito let out a small, laughing breath, listening in on them as he finished cleaning her up. He’d never get over the way they talked about him sometimes. The detective and the literal mind reader, wondering what it meant when Kaito acted out a ‘type’ to them. He was just playing around. He got what they wanted wrong as often as he got it right. He guessed he had been doing a good job that day.

Placing a small kiss against Miyako’s chest– which she yawned sleepily to, still not rousing for any of this– Kaito went to put her back down, making certain she was settled… before turning on them, huffing a small, mockingly offended air, “Babe, did you just call me a clown?”

“I think jester would be a better term,” Shuichi mused, smiling at Kaito’s offended gasp, “It feels more royal.”

Kokichi looked up at Kaito, barely moving his head as he offered up a lazy smile. “High praise, I know. But you deserve it, hun.”

“And, maybe, but it feels weird thinking of anyone as a jester other than Mikado, with how that’s, like, literally almost the only way Alter Ego ever refers to him,” Kokichi shrugged at Shuuichi. “I don’t think it’s that silly to use his gift how he does, but, yanno. Literally everyone in the community has different ideas about the ‘should’s and moral implications of our gifts. Did I ever tell you about Madam Yubaba? Now that was a visit a long time coming when I had it.”

“Madam Yubaba?” Kaito asked, curiously heading back to the bed, sitting on its edge and drawing his leg up, “I don’t think I’ve heard this story. Shuichi?”

Shuichi shook his head, “Doesn’t ring a bell. Mind, my memory isn’t what it used to be.”

Kaito raised an eyebrow at that, scoffing, “”Handsome, you taking a minute or two to remember things isn’t having a bad memory. Get on my level, scrub.”

Shuichi rolled his eyes, “Your memory would be fine if you bothered to stop and think about it for a minute or two, Kaito. You just give up if the memory doesn’t come back to you immediately.”

Kaito stuck his tongue out at Shuichi, before pointedly giving Kokichi his attention again, “You were saying, beautiful?”

Maybe it was just because he’d already reached his daily quota of useless guilt, but Kokichi didn’t send Shuuichi any quiet, apologetic glances at his admission. Instead, he just chuckled fondly at his partners before propping his arms up under himself. “So, she’s this lady that’s apparently pretty notorious in the community for gearin’ up big lectures out of the blue to other Empaths. She’s really of the idea that we shouldn’t do anything concerning non-Empaths, and that it’s manipulative and borderline abusive if we do. She’s also kinda racist towards magic folk,” he shrugged, mouth twisting to the side.

“So, be me, doin’ all sorts of stuff trying to learn my abilities, plus all the stuff that I used to do unconsciously, and, like, no wonder she’d have some words for me, right? But she came to talk while I was awake, and this was before I really had any major defenses.”

Kokichi chuckled lightly, rolling his eyes. “That’s when I got that super random panic attack while we were in town that one time, Kai-chan. I’d set up a defense system just enough to let me know that someone was trying to get into me, but not enough that I’d actually know what that was, yanno? It was rough.”

“So, when I went to sleep later, I wasn’t exactly in the best mood to meet her,” he snorted. “Was pretty rude, but, yanno, she threatened Chibi Kai-chan, so fair’s fair. We ended up chattin’ for a while--she’s not so bad, and she does have a lot of wisdom to pass on to others but…everyone makes their own decisions about what to do, you know? She said I was more polite about sayin’ it than my great-grandad, at least.”

Kaito thought back. Panic attack in the city… oh, he did remember that! It had felt like it had come out of nowhere, and Kaito supposed that, as far as Kokichi was concerned, that was because it had. Kaito frowned, a little disturbed that his husband had been being… mind…invaded? Right in front of Kaito, and Kaito had had no idea. Neither had Kokichi, which was just bizarre. What a weird life, his husband was living. 

Shuichi, though, huffed, looking genuinely annoyed as he asked, “She threatened Chibi Kaito? Why? Isn’t he, like, doll-sized? It’d be like threatening a small dog–”

“Or, like, literally any other tiny creature.” Kaito grumbled. “Lots of options to choose from.”

“-- what would even be the point? And not using your empath abilities at all?” Shuichi huffed, clearly, like, actually offended by the idea, “That’s ridiculous. What a waste of a gift that would be.”

“Uh… I mean…” Kaito rubbed the back of his neck, giving Shuichi an uncertain look, “...I mean, obviously there are exceptions. And of course I trust Kokichi. But, like, as a rule of thumb for empaths? It doesn’t sound… terrible.”

“What? Kokichi never using his gifts at all??”

“No, I mean… I don’t know what I mean, nevermind. I haven’t thought about it enough.” Kaito said, rubbing the muscles in the back of his neck as he shrugged nervously, “Either way, she shouldn’t have given you a panic attack trying to give you advice, Kokichi, that’s insanely irresponsible. Though, your great grandad… what, from Queen Miyako’s side?” Kaito asked, giving Kokichi a curious look. “Queen Miyako had empaths in her family?”

“It’s not quite a double standard, I do get her point there, but it’s close to one, huh?” Kokichi huffed dryly. “For all that she’s an advocate of keeping magic far away from non-magic folk, apparently anyone on the magic side is fair game without consideration. I said she had points, but there’s a reason I don’t agree with her completely.”

“But…honestly?” Kokichi glanced between his partners. “That question is something that I’d been struggling with for a long time, and it’s still something I ask myself time to time. I have a gift, and while having ability isn’t a sign of purpose, I’m not the type to just…have it casually. I want to be able to help people, so much that I did it severely overstepping my bounds unconsciously. Helping people with their conditioning? Sure, some of that process may be an invasion of privacy, but…I stand behind my convictions that what people can get out of it is worth the trouble.”

Kokichi sighed softly. “But not just…free reign. That’s why Temp and Alter Ego and I have our system of not going to anyone alone, and for quickly letting at least a part of the person know what’s going on, and asking for their consent. And…why we haven’t visited any kids yet,” he said a little softer, something like a wince in his face.

“Something Alter Ego told me early on is that…there aren’t any laws, when it comes to being an Empath, so we all have to choose what we believe in, and stick by it. We all have a line…it’s just wildly different where it is, person to person.”

Looking up at Kaito, Kokichi shook his head with a small, excited smile. “No, through the Ouma line. Mikado told us, apparently, that there’s a good history of Oumas being Empaths, and the last one that was, was Nellis Ouma--Fuse’s predecessor.” 

Kaito’s eyes widened slightly at that, “...there’s a history of it through Ouma’s?”

Scratching through his goatee, Kaito considered that for a moment, “...is that likely? How common is being an empath, around here? I mean, the Ouma’s aren’t related by blood, so isn’t them sharing a common trait like that unlikely?”

“I feel like someone mentioned to me once that empath abilities actually aren’t that uncommon. Just the level of power they have. One of the kids is an empath, even.” Shuichi said.

“What? Which one?”

“Lorene?”

“Little Lorene?? Wow… I would have guessed Tyrone.” Kaito mused, looking in wonder at that, “Does Maki know?”

Shuichi nodded, Kaito giving a small sigh of relief. “Well, alright then. Good to know. We’ll keep an eye out for Lorene then. But, okay then, so being an empath isn’t that uncommon then. And there’s been a lot of empath Ouma’s then?”

Kokichi hummed, nodding then and now to confirm--it wasn’t that uncommon, yeah one of the kids was an Empath, yeah, Maki knew. Kokichi…couldn’t actually remember telling Shuuichi, so it was likely that Maki had been the one to tell him, but all the things that made Maki a safe person to tell applied to Shuuichi, and now Kaito too, so…it was alright. 

“Alter Ego and I have been thinking that Waku-chan is actually an Empath too, but low power enough that it’s not…” Kokichi made a face, because Waku’s situation was…a little unique, just by the force of her personality. “Well. It’s obvious she does know something, since her telling me about her heart reading was one of the first things I ever knew about her, but I don’t think she has the capability for…self-realization in her consciousness. So she can’t do any of the ‘travel’ stuff like I do.”

But, anyway. 

Nodding, Kokichi hummed in interest. “Apparently. We had other stuff to talk about at the time, but that’s something I wanna ask Mikado about the next time we hang out to gossip. He said that it’s a point of pride for the community, and why Dicea has been relatively safe for psychics throughout history. I didn’t know that either so…I’m hoping to learn more.”

“Yeah, I’ll be honest, when you told me about empaths, one of my first, like, coherent thoughts about it was that it’d explain Waku.” Kaito nodded. Couldn’t self-realize? Well, that was alright, what she could do was still very cool and impressive. Not as impressive as his husband, but like Kaito had said earlier: high bar.

Kaito grinned a little, hearing about Kokichi going ‘gossiping’. Awesome… Kaito knew it was WAY less of an issue these days, but Kokichi’s earlier, uh, ‘discomfort’ with thinking about people liking him without getting to know him brought back to Kaito how badly he had wanted Kokichi to have friends, once upon a time. Friends that weren’t his crazy new thrust upon him Luminaries. Seeing the guest list for the wedding anniversary filled Kaito with a hell of a lot of pride, seeing all the people Kokichi knew and wanted to celebrate with. It was gonna be a packed house. 

“Well, it’ll be interesting to hear about it, whatever you learn babe. Right, Shuichi? …uh…”

Shuichi had, out of nowhere, pulled out his small journal and was furiously writing inside of it, updating his empath information. A long history of Ouma empaths, huh? Fascinating, fascinating. Maybe it wasn't purely just empaths, could there be more supernatural beings and practices within the Dicean leadership? If you add that plus the history of secrecy, minus special interests–

“We’ve lost Shuichi.” Kaito whispered to Kokichi.

Kokichi snickered, worming his way farther up the bed to nuzzle at Shuuichi’s shoulder. “I really thought he was there when Mikado told me? But Mikado kinda cut off a lot of Shuu-chan’s questions, since I really was there already to pay back a favor. In all honesty, I’m not really sure what gossip I can trade for my own questions.”

He sighed a bit. “I can’t tell him about the anti-conditioning measures, not yet. I suppose the story about my visit with Miku might be interesting, though, and what I’d tell him wouldn’t really be revealing anything he isn’t already…kind of involved with.” He already knew some of Katsuki’s…uniqueness, so it wouldn’t really be spreading around someone else’s business. 

“...Maki-chan and I were talking about how…like, I wanna try and find Empaths’ histories, you know? Or…at least Dicean and related Empaths. Or at least find a way to collect histories,” Kokichi snorted, knowing that he was purposefully casting a large net. “She said that if people really wanted to keep it secret and safe, hiding it in some sort of eternal being would be the way to go, since, like, Empaths would be the only people able to access it, you know? But…”

Kokichi frowned and crossed his arms, laying his head down on them. “...that seems really cruel. I’m hoping to find just…journals or something, to get a head start on preserving oral histories.”

“Maki’s always had a pretty dark imagination. Our games of pretend as a kid could get a little scary.” Kaito admitted, scratching the back of his neck a bit, “I mean, they were a lot of fun! But man, I remember there was a period of time where getting me to burst into tears was, like, the goal for her.”

Shuichi paused, thinking back… before giving Kaito a somewhat sheepish grin, “Oh, right… I remember that. Sorry… it was kind of cute sometimes, though…”

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize, half the time you were the one trying to reel her in.” Kaito grinned, before his eyes widened with excitement as he said, “Oh my god, do you remember when we went to play in the Third Floor South-West Wing?” 

Shuichi shivered, “Okay, that was admittedly a tough one for me too. If only because I was certain we were going to get into trouble being there.”

“Ya know, I was having some really, like, recurring nightmares about walking around a haunted house? I swear, it was all based on that damn wing.” Kaito chuckled.

“...oh,” Shuichi mused, “...okay, so, I hope this isn’t a big deal…”

Kokichi glanced at Shuuichi for a moment. That…certainly sounded like an invitation to tell about that time. They had briefly gone over it before but…well. It was important to be honest. 

“...is that what it was based on…?” Kokichi softly hummed. “I have to say, I certainly didn’t recognize the area, even if there were clearly things based on this castle in it.”

Sending Kaito a sheepish, apologetic look. “...you know that time I got really sick ‘cause I was balancing Shuu-chan, Maki-chan, and you? And I said it was ‘cause Saint Madison called me ‘cause you were having another nightmare to the point you basically weren’t sleeping? It was a haunted house nightmare.”

“Oooooh…” Kaito blinked, before saying brightly, “Oh, good! I mean, maybe not good? Those nightmares were always kinda silly in hindsight, but as far as things for you guys to walk in on, they’re pretty harmless. Weird, like, ghosts hanging around, dead people, a monster just hanging around places… pretty corny stuff, really. It wouldn’t be scary at all if it didn’t feel, like, real, ya know?”

“I get a lot of weird, silly dreams like that. Like, they feel super stressful and serious when I’m having them, and then I wake up and look back and it’s like… why was that so stressful? Or scary?” Kaito mused, “Oh man, my dreams got really intense when I first got to Dicea too. Like, I wasn’t dreaming that hard about stuff back in Luminary, but when I got here? Weird dreams galore! I had this one dream once about, uh… I think it was a puppet show? But, like, a sexy puppet show, but in a really creepy way. And they were asking for volunteers for, like, sexy puppet murder, and Kokichi volunteered and I was freaking out.”

Kaito caught up in retelling the story, put his arms up, his vision distant as he relived the memory, explaining excitedly, “Like, I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I knew my husband was about to go get puppet murdered, and I think… he disappeared? Or shrunk? Anyway, you were suddenly gone, Kokichi, but the puppet murder show still needed a volunteer, so I had to go and…”

Kaito frowned, tilting his head, “I think I might have woken up from that point? Now, thats a nightmare I wouldn’t have wanted you guys to end up in the middle of. Too much surreal sexy puppet murder theater.”

“...wow.” Shuichi said, after a moment, “I’m glad we got the haunted house too, then.”

Silly, not actually scary stuff, but…intertwined enough with the stuff that was that it was stressing Kaito out to the point he was running on nothing. A creepy haunted house, sure, a scary enough nightmare, but nothing too bad when you woke up. 

The certainty that if you didn’t have eyes on your kids, something terrible was going to happen to them? Not as easy to brush off. 

…a sexy murder puppet show?

Kokichi looked over at Kaito, bewildered. “...you really do have the weirdest dreams. Like…I’ve literally seen other people’s dreams, and I can still say yours are bizarre. You really have a one-in-a-million kind of imagination, hun. The tadpole kid one was pretty tame, as stress dreams go, and still that was pretty surreal.”

He paused there, chewing his lip. It…was something he had been meaning to tell Kaito about. Again. With him knowing, this time. And…Kaito tended to take that stuff easier…at times these days. Maybe this would just catapult them into another difficult conversation but…

“I saw one of your brother’s nightmares, once. It was pretty tame.”

Kaito stiffened a little… but this wasn’t the first time he had heard of Kokichi visiting his brother. He hadn’t hurt him, and at the time that had been enough for Kaito. To just know Kokichi hadn’t… taken anything out on him. Or tried to ‘fix’ him. Kaito was pissed at Byakuya at the moment, for a lot of valid reasons, he thought, but… he still didn’t want Byakuya hurt. 

Conditioning or not. Kaito loved his brother.

“Oh yeah?” Kaito asked, massaging his own shoulder muscle, easing some of the tension of his back forcibly as he stretched his neck to the side, “Heh, that guy… uh, let me guess, he was dreaming of, uh…” Kaito grinned warily, trying to think of a funny example, “He… showed up to a business meeting naked. Or, not even naked, his clothes were wrinkled. Or, uh, heh… used the word, uh, infinitesimal when he actually meant, like, infantilization. Heh?”

Kaito grinned warily at Kokichi and Shuichi, trying to prove: look! Look! He could make fun of Byakuya! Guy was super stuffy, right? Lame. Loser. Kaito could totally make fun of Byakuya, just fine. See??

Kokichi looked up at Kaito with a guilty expression, his own shoulders tensing just from the complicated stress he was feeling off of him. “...I didn’t mean to bring it up to…I don’t know. Be difficult. Or trash him in front of you. If you don’t wanna talk about him, we can move on.”

A bad gamble, then. Damn. But he knew he was taking that chance, bringing Byakuya up. He’d still decided to take it. 

“No, it’s fine, I mean… it’s not like he’s dead.” Kaito said, glancing away uncertainly at that, “It’s fine to bring him up. And you guys can trash him. He’s…” Kaito licked his lips, looking for the answers to his unasked questions somewhere vaguely to the right of the room, his gaze flicking through the air as he tried to organize his thoughts, “... the worst. Sometimes. A lot.”

Shuichi wasn’t sure what, if anything, he should say. It was times like these he wished Maki was here. Maki was better with this stuff, with Kaito’s stuff in particular, than Shuichi was. He either pushed too hard or refused to push at all. Shuichi wasn’t good at managing Kaito’s various moods.

But maybe silence was the actual answer forward anyway, since after a moment Kaito frowned, looked down at his lap, and said, “It was something King Aiichi and I have in common. I realized that when we were talking… Kokichi, I don’t know if your fathers told you this, but apparently he and my dad were more than, just… weird infatuated acquaintances, at least on my dads side. Aiichi said they were best friends.”

“...I mean, obviously Byakuya and I were never best friends.” Kaito muttered, shrugging, “But we had our moments. He… cared about me. I felt like I knew a side of him other people didn’t, you know? I mean, I know he was… always cruel to other people. And I know he didn’t exactly treat me gently either. But I saw him at his best, ya know? I really believe that. He looked out for me. He looked out for me when it was hard to do that, in ways no one else was. I knew him when he was small, and sometimes he’d play with me, and… we were friends, sometimes. When it was allowed. I got to see sides of him no one else did…”

“King Aiichi saw that with my father. Sides of him I never knew. Sides of him most people would have never even guessed had ever been there…. And you think maybe those sides will win out? Maybe the kind, protective, brilliant part of him that you know is there will win out in the end, and he’ll be the best version of himself you know he can be. He’ll be the person he showed you, to other people… but instead that person just goes away. Time goes by, and you stop seeing those qualities at all. Time goes by and they just get worse and worse, and suddenly, like, you’re at war! Or, civil war, for us. And people you cared about are dead! Like… people you really care about are dead, people who should have been protected because you loved them! If he loved you? He should have made the hard decision to protect those people, just because it mattered to you! That should have been enough!”

“And if my father ever actually loved King Aiichi. Then everything the last sixteen years… just proved his loved sucked. That sort of garbage love isn’t worth anything. It doesn’t matter.” Kaito frowned, rubbing his temple, “And I just… don’t know. I can see how garbage my fathers love for Aiichi was, from an outside perspective… but I just…”

“...should I feel that way about Byakuya?” Kaito said, entirely too himself. “I mean… he killed out parents… and he lost the throne. He killed our parents and lost the throne in, like six months. Just… that should be enough, shouldn’t it. For me to hate him. It should be.”

He was the worst most of the time, but…that didn’t really matter. Kokichi couldn’t care less about Byakuya most days, but who he did care about was Kaito. So if Kaito got stressed out and uncomfortable then…they didn’t have to talk about Byakuya. 

But it was always more complicated at the actual issue. 

Kokichi frowned softly, giving Kaito his attention as he talked. Aiichi had talked about how he and Leon were more than just classmates that knew each other, and of course he’d mentioned Leon’s infatuation. But…best friends? People could define their friendships in all sorts of ways, but…as Kokichi knew it, the vulnerability and connection that best friends had…

…he supposed he could see it, in some of the stories his father had told. Even if Kokichi couldn’t connect that person with what he knew of Leon at all. 

But that was just it, wasn’t it. 

Kokichi’s eyes widened a little as he recalled something else from that night he and his friends had checked in on Byakuya. How Temp and Alter Ego had called Byakuya obsessed with Kaito. 

Leon had started a fifteen-year war and an all-consuming hatred for Dicea because of an unrequited crush. 

…like father, like son. Garbage love. How many times had Kokichi thought about that concept, in regards to Byakuya’s “care” for Kaito?

But it was never that simple. 

Kokichi sighed, reaching out to put a hand over Kaito’s. “‘Should’ isn’t a concept that can practically affect emotions. You either feel something or you don’t. Sometimes what you feel is really confusing, and you can’t quite understand it, but it’s still not something you control, or can guide along a certain path. It’s what they keep saying in therapy, right? You can’t control your emotions, only how you handle and respond to them.”

“Despite everything he’s done…if you don’t hate him?” Kokichi shrugged, “Then…you don’t hate him. Your choices can only come in when you’re deciding what to do about that.”

“... but what if I’m just brainwashed?” Kaito said quietly.

“Well,” Shuichi said, before hesitating. What to say, what to say… “I mean, if we’re not taking into account conditioning? Which we’re not anymore, right? Then I think it’s fair to say that… I believe you’re no more brainwashed than any normal family is towards each other? I knew when Miss Kirigiri finally had a chance to speak to me, I’d forgive her. That was why I refused to speak to her. And that has nothing to do with conditioning, I just… trust my mentor. And would want to believe what she said and forgive her.”

“That’s true…”

Kokichi nodded, petting Kaito’s hand a bit. “Even when I was at my worst…the idea that my father hated me hurt so much because I still loved him. Even when I thought that he was the reason my life was a nightmare…there were days where I felt like I’d forgive everything if he just said he loved me.”

“...that sort of trust can be really dangerous,” he said softly. “And that’s part of why it’s so hard to get out of domestic abuse. Even if the person really is a nightmare…for all the times they’re not? You still want to hold on to that hope that the times they’re not is the real them, and one day they’ll just…snap out of whatever’s making them horrible.”

“But that trust isn’t inherently bad, or dangerous. It’s the foundation of love. It’s the desire to stick with someone when times are tough, and neither of you are at your best. It can be used as a tool of manipulation, but it’s not manipulation itself. Sometimes it’s hard to tell that apart. But…it’s never your fault for wanting to love, and for loving.” Kokichi’s brows furrowed a little, his gaze serious as he tried to make himself clear. “Love, and having trust in relationships…it’s what makes us alive. It’s not something that’s ever your fault.”

“Yeah…” Kaito stared at his hands a bit… before sighing. Shaking his head at himself. “Sorry guys. I got really in my head there, for a second. Byakuya’s a tough subject, I still don’t really have all my feelings figured out there. Sometimes I feel like I haven’t actually processed everything that happened. I cannot tell you how many times I had to remind myself all of it, like, actually happened. I keep forgetting, and I think partly I just don’t want to believe it. Doesn’t make it stop being true.”

“And sometimes sticking through the bad stuff is honestly worth it! It was for you guys, and, ha,” Kaito gave them both a sincere, if slightly sheepish, grin, “You both definitely did it for me. Was patient, I mean, through the hard times. I didn’t make it easy on either of you. I don’t want to be a Leon or Aiichi to either of you, so… I won’t be. I promise. You guys can count on me, and if you can’t? Well, Maki will give me another earring.”

“I thought that was just for when Kokichi pissed her off?” Shuichi reminded him.

“Nah, that woman just likes to give me earrings now. I don’t think it helps that she doesn’t, like… staaaab me anymore. As much.” Kaito shrugged, “Anyway, again. Sorry I’ve been a bummer.”

Kokichi nodded sadly. In some ways, it was easier for him to process the last year. Yes, he was still experiencing that Luminary-specific horror, but…Leon and Sayaka weren’t his parents, Byakuya wasn’t his brother, and Kaede wasn’t his cousin. Kokichi didn’t even know all the names of Kaito’s exes that had been kidnapped. He hadn’t grown up in a country only to see it fighting itself. It was still shocking, and horrific, and Kokichi still felt pain because of the pain his loved ones were going through, but…it was so much worse for them. 

So…if Kaito was having trouble processing the last year? Like…no fucking wonder.

But it didn’t make it not true. 

“Hun, you’re not even close. I’ll take that promise, and issue one of my own, but…there would have to be a lot of drastic changes to your personality for you to get like that.” And maybe that was Kokichi’s own loving bias, but…well, he couldn’t help how he felt. 

“And no worries,” he shook his head. “I told you, I didn’t bring Byakuya up to make things difficult for you. I just…lost the gamble on whether it’s a day where it’s easier to talk about him. And that’s okay.”

Kokichi went quiet a moment, before rolling onto his back, starfishing on the bed a bit. “...I think I might’ve told one of you before… It wasn’t a dream, but Temp showed me a memory of baby sea turtles hatching, once. It was incredible.”

“That was me,” Shuichi said, smiling at Kokichi, “And I still think it’s a sweet way to use your abilities, and would love to see something like that myself.”

“Oh! Shuichi, Kokichi told me you were struggling to remember something, like, huge?” Kaito asked, giving him a curious look, “Like, some sort of dream date?”

Shuichi gave Kaito a startled look, before giving him a slightly uncomfortable look, “Yeah. I remember it now, but that day? I had honestly no idea what he was talking about. It just suddenly came back to me literally days later.”

Kaito laughed, before looking a little apologetic at Shuichi’s offended look, “No, no, sorry, I know it’s not funny, but like… seriously, that’s how most of my memory works. I think it just works that way sometimes.”

“It did come back?”

Kokichi let out a little relieved look, before giving Kaito a more sheepish one at his explanation. That…yeah. Giving Shuuichi a slightly guilty smile, Kokichi shrugged, “Ah…he is right. I like to think my memory is kinda decent, but there’s definitely times where I just…blank on something, then randomly days later I remember it.”

“I was worried that because I wasn’t that used to supporting consciousnesses, that I’d done it wrong, and those memories would be lost to you, or that something else had gone wrong, but, uh…” Kokichi laughed awkwardly. “...it never occurred to me that you might just…have a normally working memory, now. If still insanely sharp at most times.”

“No, it’s alright, I was worried about it as well.” Shuichi said, smiling slightly, “And there is a sort of… dream quality to it too. Honestly, I think that was part of the problem. It happened at night, in my dreams… which means it didn’t show up in my dream cycles. I only saw it once.”

“Oh, yeah… that makes sense.” Kaito said, scratching his face a little… before with an exaggerated sigh, he laid down and flopped his arms over both Shuichi and Kokichi, squeezing them closer, “My Shuichi’s super power. If anything, maybe your memory is even worse than mine? Cause you gotta see the same thing, like, four times to remember it~”

Shuichi twitched, squishing up against Kokichi due to Kaito’s grip, “No. My memory is fantastic.”

“When you see something four times in a row.”

“I… no.” Shuichi pouted.

“It’s alright, Shuu-chan,” Kokichi said sympathetically, snuggling happily right up against Shuuichi. “You did have trouble remembering that one day when you had a stress dream at night instead of looping. I still think your memory, like, long-term is really good, though. And within the day.”

“Between the three of us, and Maki-chan rolling her eyes at us intermittently, I think we’ll be okay on the memory front,” he hummed, at peace. “As long as we never forget Miya’s birthday or any of her school events or her favorite color any particular week.”

“Or her homework.” Shuichi added.

“Friends,” Kaito mused, resting his arms around his partners, “And her little friend events.”

“I think she’d forgive us if we forgot about her homework,” Kokichi snorted, chuckling softly. “Though friend stuff, not so much. But hey, she might end up bein’ the rare kid that likes homework. Even if I have a bigger feeling we’re gonna have a hell of a time trying to explain why she shouldn’t pluck answers out of her teacher’s or classmates’ heads.”

“Or, ooooor… we teach her to do it responsibly.” Kaito said, shifting over and taking his arm back, resting his head in his hand, grinning at them, “No, no, no, hear me out. Like… school is meant to be training people to, like, effectively utilize knowledge, right? If everyone could do what you guys can do, don’t you think it’d be part of the curriculum? And not in a ‘just pretend you can’t’ kinda way. You have to learn to use your resources!”

“...you’re just trying to justify all the grades you got changed growing up.” Shuichi said dryly.

“It was a resource I had and as royalty, my ability to pull strings was a skill I needed to develop!” Kaito sputtered, turning red in the face.

“And so you never actually learned the material you were supposed to, and never gained the motivation and discipline to enjoy learning even for subjects that didn’t grip you,” Kokichi said, an eyebrow raised. Though, right after, he shrugged. “But if I can guess anything about the Luminous education system, you guys don’t get much of a choice about the curriculum you’re learning, nor have the opportunity to contest it. If school isn’t so much about learning, but rather a game to play to see who can follow arbitrary rules the best to get the best score then…yeah, who cares.”

“But as someone who can get knowledge from other people…I’m not encouraging Miya to do that in school,” Kokichi frowned. “I don’t care what her grades look like--I care if she’s learning.”

Kaito stiffened, slightly, frowning at Kokichi. His face still red, Kaito rubbed the back of his neck a little, chewing on the inside of his mouth a little with his canine teeth… before letting out a breath. “Yeah, alright. I mean, it’s not like Luminaries came out stupid, but… sure, whatever.”

“I’ll admit, I’m still learning how to navigate Dicean classes,” Shuichi admitted, not as offended by Kokichi’s dismissal as Kaito clearly was… admittedly, if only because he had always felt like one of the smarter people he had known in school. “But I do enjoy the discussions they encourage. Mostly it’s fun to see where everyone else is at, in their understanding of the material. Sort of build up on it.”

Kokichi frowned, looking at Kaito for a moment before his expression softened in regret. “No, I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. I don’t think people who went through the Luminous education system are stupid. I meant, like…”

He tilted his head a little, trying to better articulate himself. “...it’s like you said. Pulling favors was a skill that you had access to, and would be expected to do well--so, the system encouraged you to make use of it. That’s the goal you were working towards, and the school system rewarded and facilitated it. That’s the purpose.”

“I’m sure there were plenty of people who understood and absorbed the material being taught, and therefore would do well in higher education for those topics, or in fields for them,” Kokichi nodded slowly. “...but that wasn’t the purpose facilitated by the school system. That means, if you wanted to succeed in the system, it’s up to the individual to find their own motivation and help for the work, or to seek out other options to improve their grade, not really having to do with the pursuit of subject knowledge. It’s just learning different things than the course material.”

Kokichi glanced nervously between his partners. “Does that…make more sense?”

Shuichi nodded, again, not personally offended by any of it, while Kaito was still in his own feelings, pressing his thumb into his knuckles as he eased the tension in his fists. Man, his hands always felt so tense. Like if he left them alone too long, they’d stiffen and turn to stone. 

But, as offended as he had been, was this a fight Kaito actually wanted to have? It wasn’t like Kokichi hadn’t corrected himself. Kaito just needed to calm himself, shake off that initial wave of frustration and its ripple effects. He hated the way his emotions affected him. Building up like acid, and then he had to take the steps to, like… clean himself out. Otherwise it just lingered. 

Besides… it wasn’t like Kaito disagreed, perse. He could understand what Kokichi had been trying to convey.

He just didn’t like feeling like he was being called stupid. Not for real. Sure, he wasn’t fucking… Shuichi, or Byakuya, or Kaede levels of smart, but… whatever. 

Rubbing the back of his neck, Kaito let out a small huff of air, before nodding. “Yeah, that makes sense, babe. Just another way our countries are different. Timothy seems to like it well enough. I don’t know if he’s enthusiastic about any particular subject yet, but he’s got room to explore it, right? That’s a good thing.” Kaito said, grinning a little as he shrugged, “It’ll be fun seeing what finally ends up grabbing his attention, ya know? Miyako too. I hope they both find subjects they just, like, fall in love with.”

Kokichi still shrank away a bit, almost able to taste something bitter in the back of his throat from Kaito’s feelings. He…he’d teased too far initially, then. He really didn’t mean to say he thought Kaito was stupid. Regardless of what schools said, it was obvious that Kaito could excel in subjects that grabbed him, and he didn’t have an issue grasping difficult topics. 

Kokichi was mostly teasing that…well, Kaito was smart because of Kaito, not because of school. So…it hadn’t mattered what his grades were, or how he got them. 

“...I don’t think you’re dumb,” Kokichi said softly, before going along with the transition, nodding. “I hope so too. Sometimes a person’s passion isn’t something they find at school, but…it’s a really great feeling when it is.”

Smiling shyly, Kokichi chuckled, smooshing his face into the bed. “I remember the first time Hideki-ji and I started an art history course…it was all I lived and breathed for weeks. It felt like the world had brightened and opened by several degrees and I was eating up as much of it as I could.”

“Art history. Maybe I should take an art history class?” Shuichi mused, adjusting himself against Kokichi to more easily cuddle against him, Kaito seeming content to just lie near them now, “We don’t share an art history, so basically anything and everything they’d show me would be relatively new information to me. That can be pretty interesting. Kaito?”

“Hm?” Kaito asked, bringing up one of his legs, putting his arms around it and pulling it back, stretching out his thigh muscles a little, “Art history? Sure, it would give you and Kokichi stuff to talk about too, I think that’s a great idea.”

“Do you think you’d want to take a course at some point? Just take a random class?” Shuichi asked. “Not go for a degree, but just to take the class itself?”

“Uuuuh… maybe? Taking that cooking class for a while was interesting. Learned how to make pie crusts and stuff, that was cool… shoot, maybe I should take some sort of parenting class? They had parenting classes in Luminary, I just never even thought about them here. I wish I had thought about it before Miyako was born, do you think it’s too late by now for it to be useful?” Kaito asked, brow furrowing as he considered it. 

Kokichi made an interested noise before he nodded eagerly, his cheek rubbing against the bed, even with how he snuggled more into Shuuichi. “That’d be really cool! Oh, don’t let me backseat your education, but if you end up seeing a class taught by Dr. Zenderle? My uncle and I used a lot of her work when I was doing my courses, and I’ve seen nothing but stellar reviews for her as a professor.”

He was pretty sure she was still doing circuit work for universities, when he was looking into stuff for Shuuichi. It would probably be easy enough to find her work, but it would be very cool if Shuuichi managed to have her as a teacher. 

Making another approving noise at the idea of Kaito taking classes, Kokichi nodded. “Honestly, I think as long as we’re parents--which, like…hopefully forever? Then there’s something in it that’ll probably be useful. And you could probably bring helpful ideas and perspectives to it too, as a parent of a ten-year-old and a three-month-old. If you’re interested? Then go for it!”

Kaito gave a small laugh at the ‘hopefully forever’ comment, snorting as he said, “Watch, our kids just someday, like, go on strike with us. Denounce us as parents for a week to get us acting like blubbering, desperate messes.”

“What made them go on strike?” Shichi asked indulgently, filing the name ‘Zenderle’ away in his mind.

“I kept insisting on hugging them in front of their friends, and they are officially ‘too cool’ for that.” Kaito grinned, “They just decide I’m a pushy nag and decide to strike just to make me sad. You two get caught in the cross-fire.”

Shuichi huffed at that, “Unlikely. You’re already the favorite of both of them.”

“What? Not with Tim, I’m not, he fucking worships the ground Maki walks on, I don’t even come close!”

“He respects Maki. You’re the one he goes to when he wants attention. Watch, I’m going to end up having the same problem Maki has right now, in ten years. Competing with the ‘fun’ parent.”

“You’re fuuuuun.” Kaito promised, before smirking, “And Kokichi’s gonna be the fun parent. I’m gonna be the stick in the mud pulling sugar from both of your grips.”

“It’d break my heart. I’d annoy Miya-Miya so much with just how sad I’d always be around her, and she’d have to put my shielding lessons to use.” He said shielding, even knowing that that technique was for stopping people from feeling you, but…well, he didn’t really have a technique for not feeling other people ambiantly, so he didn’t know what to call it. The ‘cover your ears’ technique, maybe. And maybe by the time she was old enough to be exasperated by her parents’ love, he’d have figured it out.

Though, it was relatively low on his priorities. 

Snorting, Kokichi tightened his hug around Shuuichi a little. “Fun eating habits is but a facet. I’m still sticking with the idea that we all have clear weaknesses, and the kids are gonna exploit us in every way they can, and try even for all they can’t. That’s why I keep saying we have to stay strong as parents!”

“...plus, Miyako absolutely considers you ‘the fun one’,” Kokichi said bluntly, giving Kaito a nod. 

Kaito snorted, “Well, thankfully it’s not tough to entertain a three month old.”

“Speak for yourself.” Shuichi grumbled. 

“Alright,” Kaito sighed, sitting up and running his hands through his hair a bit. “Fudge, I need to figure out what I’m doing with this evening. Shuichi, you’re still taking that nap?”

“I might,” Shuichi admitted, a little more awake now than he had been in the bath, but it wouldn’t take much to get him back in that drowsy mindset. “If you don’t mind?”

“It’s fine with me, I wasn’t planning to go anywhere. Actually, thinking of it now…” Kaito glanced at the letters on the desk, before scooting off the bed, going to grab them, “I’m just gonna go read more of these by the window. If either of you need anything from me, don’t hesitate to ask, but I still really want to see what else was written between my parents and Aiichi.”

Shuichi considered Kaito for a bit, “...is there anything you could read in there, that would make what happened actually better?”

Kaito frowned at that, hesitating… before rolling his eyes, “Look, the honest answer is yes. Like, literally anything that isn’t ‘the only reason I’m here is to give my estranged father masturbation material’, okay? Literally anything. The bar is not high. Okay? Just… it helps. I don’t care if it makes sense to anyone else, or doesn’t seem like enough from an outside perspective. I need this. Okay?”

Shuichi didn’t look guilty, at the question or the reaction. He didn’t feel guilty. It had been an honest, if difficult, question. So he just nodded. “Okay.”

Kokichi smiled a little at the pseudo-swear word and snuggled closer to Shuuichi when he decided to keep the nap plan. He knew his opinions and usage of swearing was a lot looser than what Kaito was trying to do…maybe he should put more effort in, even if he wanted to teach Miya about context early. She wasn’t just his daughter. 

He wasn’t sure if he’d actually fall asleep, but cuddling with Shuuichi while they lounged in the room sounded nice. Even if…

…it was hard, not to feel guilty, even if Kaito was mostly mad at Leon now. At this point, Kokichi felt like there would always be a part of him that would be overly aware of his part in everything. But…he could not make his guilt Kaito’s problem, and they could heal together. 

“...hun? If there’s anything interesting you’d wanna share…I’d like to hear about it, and your thoughts, like we were doing earlier.”

“If you’re still awake, sure, babe.” Kaito said, heading over to the window and, giving Miyako a quick checking look over, sitting down. Bringing up his legs to cross them over, reaching over to open up the window a bit, let in some cooling air. 

He knew that this stuff was really only actually important to him. He didn’t care. Because it was important to him. He knew his obsession with dissecting his parents reasons for sending him here was far too late, and pointless, and that ultimately the answer wasn’t going to be anything nice. Nothing that would justify everything that had happened to Kaito. Kaito knew there was no actually having the conversations with his parents he wished he had had when they were alive.

It was too late for Kaito to have a real relationship with his parents. It was too late for either of them to be proud of him. To be happy he was their son. To finally feel like he had ever earned their love, chasing after approval they were never even purposefully keeping from him. He had really just… mattered that little. 

Kaito didn’t care.

Kaito would take what he could get. 

Now, where had he left off… right, so, transcripts would be until the groomsmen both retired to their quarters… Kaito wondered if his parents had actually had a chance to read those transcripts. What had he said that day? Hopefully he hadn’t come across too frazzled on paper… hmmm, what else…

-

Their wedding had been nice, if terrifying. The reception fun, but…more of a city party, than anything specifically for Kokichi and Kaito. And that was fine! It was even more of an ‘end of the war’ party, than a wedding reception really, but…it had still been their wedding day, and Kokichi wanted to do something for them. 

So while other people could celebrate or recognize one year of peace in their own ways, the Ouma-Momota-Saihara family could hold a celebration of their own. And Kokichi was nothing if not an organizer. 

He had rented out one of the castle ballrooms--named so, not because they were specifically dance halls for balls, but simply because they were large, open rooms that could be sectioned off with moving panels, and…well, could be used for a ball if anyone wanted to throw one. Like he’d explained before, part of the room had been sectioned off as a ‘quiet area’, suited for when Miyako and Addason had had enough of the festivities, but it wouldn’t force their parents to skip out entirely. There was comfortable, clustered seating around the hall, as well as to the side, where a few bigger tables held refreshments--first just general snacks and drinks, but later would have the proper dinner Kokichi had arranged. 

A few extensive and insult-laden letters with Miu (who, just like with their actual wedding, couldn’t attend due to the never-ending mountain of work she always had to do), Kokichi had set up an…odd-looking system with a record player, something Miu had called, and then Kokichi had distilled ‘amp and speaker linking’, allowing for music to be played across the whole hall, but not obnoxiously loud anywhere. And it allowed for hours of music still in Kokichi’s budget, where hiring a band for multiple sets, or multiple bands would…uh… Not.

(...he had elected to not tell his partners how much he’d budgeted away for the party.)

The decorations weren’t exactly professional, as Kokichi had done them himself with a little help from Hajime, Kirumi, Ikuo, and Waku, but they were nice. The ballroom wasn’t transformed, but the streamers and balloons and draped fabric did give the whole thing a nice, fun vibe. There was another seating area with more than a few boxes Kokichi had squirreled away from the games room and…

Well, all that was left was the guests. 

Kokichi’s hair had grown out enough that he wore the non-former-shaved part in a small ponytail, and his wide-shouldered starfish-print shirt (tucked into rainbow-striped shorts, naturally) fluttered around him as he anxiously paced the ballroom, waiting for people to arrive, his glittery purple shoes barely making a sound on the floor. 

The guest list was…extensive, and most people had said they could come! But…still. There was an anxious knot in Kokichi’s stomach that showed up right at noon, an hour before he said the party started, that whimpered that…what if…no one came…

Kaito snickered at the table he was sitting at, finishing up twisting little paper flowers, taking his time with them and making them look nice as his fingers twisted and fluffed them with expert, small craftsman ease, once Waku had showed him how to make them. Waku, Kirumi, Ikou and Hajime had all gone to finish up some last tasks, both for the party and for the castle, before coming back to the party, and now that it was just he and Kokichi in the large ballroom? He could see the anxiety starting to weigh on Kokichi. It was always tough to host…

Putting down his latest paper flower, Kaito said, “Come here, beautiful, before you wear out your shoes.”

Back in Luminary, Kaito would have organized his outfit to either reflect the theme of the party, or to be an accessory or compliment his partners outfit. And Kaito had, briefly, considered trying to do that with this party… until Kokichi had shown him the outfit he planned to wear. 

Yeah. Kaito loved his husband. But he wasn’t going to try to match that. 

Still! Kaito had, in the name of love, resisted his desire to go full armor for an event like this, and he had even found an outfit that was!! Quirky? Or, maybe quirky was the wrong word, since Kaito was pretty sure this was considered a somewhat formal outfit for Dicea, but when Kaito had gone shopping for a new outfit for the party– because of course he had to buy a new outfit, he still had his standards– he had gone back to that shop where he had bought his outfit for the festival.

And he had seen the big, colorful, flowy robes and thought, ‘Oh, Kokichi’s gotta be into this.’

Did it say something about Kaito that he bought an outfit he thought was a little goofy looking because he thought Kokichi would be into it?

Yes.

It said that Kaito loved his husband, okay????

And totally respected his sense of fashion.

Totally.

Kokichi sighed and turned around to head over to his husband. It had been something of a surprise, when Kaito showed him what he was planning on wearing. It…wasn’t Kaito’s style, like, at all. But…hell, he’d branched out with his Zenith yukata--maybe he was just experimenting. 

And it wasn’t like he didn’t look super cool. 

The slit pants and tunic-style shirt, all with a big robe? Kaito really looked like a fantasy character. 

Plopping down in a chair next to Kaito, Kokichi sighed, his eyes still doing jittery, nervous little checks around the room. “I’d hope these shoes wouldn’t wear out that fast--custom stuff tends to not be fast-fashion.”

“...do you think…people will have fun?”

Kaito rolled his eyes as Kokichi plopped himself in a nearby chair, reaching over and grabbing a leg of the chair and dragging Kokichi’s chair around, turning him so that Kokichi was right in front of him, Kaito placing his legs on either side of Kokichi’s chair. Kokichi now right in front of him, Kaito leaned forward, placing a small kiss against the edge of Kokichi’s lips, giving him an amused look, “Yes.” Kaito said, “Wanna know why?”

Kokichi pouted, not assuaged by the kiss, though he did look a bit reproachful. “Because everyone coming is our friends, and they care about us, and just hanging out together is fun,” he said with a sigh.

Kaito laughed, giving his husband an openly proud look, “Babe, if you already know, why are you worried? This is gonna be great!”

Kokichi pouted more and gave a little whine, though there was a glimmer of humor in his eyes now. “Anxiety doesn’t work like that, you know! I know that when everyone shows up it’s gonna be a blast, and all my worrying is gonna be silly, but…” He huffed shortly. “Until that happens? I’m gonna keep thinking about if no one shows up, or they do, but they’re only hanging around out of politeness and will take the first excuse they can to leave, and then talk all concerned to each other about how lame everything is…”

…how a stupid shut-in thought ‘fun’ was something so boring and lame…

And he did know that none of his friends thought like that, and were excited to come and celebrate his and Kaito’s anniversary, but…well. Until people showed up, that’s what his mind was going to fill the time with.

“‘Kiiiiiichiiiii,” Kaito laughed, wrapping his arms around his husbands shoulders and drawing him into a hug, patting his back a bit, “If people don’t come to the super cool party that you’ve been planning for weeks? Babe… I will beat them up. All of them. I will make them wait in a line and, one by one, punch them in their stupid, ungrateful faces. Kay~?”

“Kai-chan, those are our friends!” Kokichi gasped, scandalized. Though, he just shook his head with a small laugh and relaxed into Kaito’s hug, pressing his face against the nice, smooth fabric of his robe. 

“I know I’m stressing over nothing…but thanks, still.”

“Oh, have we missed the whole ceremony?”

Looking over his shoulder, Kokichi grinned, seeing Nadya and Drake walk into the ballroom, the former with a playful look on her face from the mild joke. They were both dressed nicely, though nothing too wild or eye catching, but there was something notable, especially with the two of them side by side. In a change of style, Drake had pinned his hair up completely in a bun, while Nadya had let hers down in loose “french” braids falling over her shoulders.

“Hey!! Nadya-chan! Drake!”

Kaito glanced over his shoulder, before grinning wide, giving them a wave as he said, “Hey guys! Our first arrivals! Hold on, let me free my husband so he can go run over to you.”

Grabbing the sides of Kokichi’s chair, Kaito pushed it away from himself, creating a space for Kokichi to get up and move now. Standing up and stretching his arms over his head, Kaito grabbed some of his paper flowers, tossing them on tables as he walked past them, towards Nadya and Drake, “You guys are early! Though, for Kokichi’s sanity, gotta say you got here right in time. He was just making me swear to spar anyone who wasn’t thirty minutes early.”

“Is that so?” Nadya asked, tilting her head a little as she looked around the empty room, a smile lightening her features as she took in the decor. “The two of us ran into each other and decided to walk together--we had theorized that we would not be first, as a portion of your friends and loved ones all live within the same local.”

“Bet that also means there’s not a lot of reason to hustle either,” Drake shrugged with a more sheepish grin.

Just as Kaito said, Kokichi scurried over as soon as he managed to get his feet back on the ground, embracing Nadya warmly and giving Drake a gentler side hug. “I’m glad you could make it, early or whatever! Shuu-chan’s upstairs hangin’ with Miyako, but he prolly’ll be down soon--easier to acclimate her little by little than just comin’ down while the party’s swingin’.”

Nodding, Drake turned to Kaito, half-raising his hands and fidgeting for a moment, like he couldn’t decide what to do with them, before he waved meekly. “Hi, Kaito… Happy anniversary. I-I mean, to the both of you, but…yeah!”

“Yeah, I’m sure they’ll be here soon. They also had to get dressed.” Kaito mused, glancing upwards like he might be able to see his escorts getting dressed through the floor. Kaito had, after some negotiation, convinced Shuichi and Kokichi to let him buy Miyako a cute little baby dress. The negotiation being if Miyako tried to fight her way out of it, they had to take it off. Kaito still hadn’t seen her in it and was hoping she’d play nice long enough to let him gush, at least.

(Also, Shuichi and Maki had been looking smug, about something. He didn’t know what they had planned, but he was looking forward to whatever it was, considering they both seemed certain he’d like it.)

Giving Nadya a warm handshake, he thanked her enthusiastically for coming, before giving Drake a slightly curious look… before grinning wide, grabbing him by his shoulders and pulling him into a tight (very tight) hug, slapping him soundly on the back as he said, “Hey! Thanks Drake! Glad you could come! You injured?”

Kaito was half teasing, half serious, as he pushed Drake’s shoulders out and gave him an appraising look, searching for signs of his latest inevitable accident.

Snickering a bit, Kokichi started explaining to Nadya the dress Kaito had gotten their daughter. “She’s been pretty unfussed about clothes so far, which we're taking as a resounding success since she definitely knows how to throw a fuss, but, like, we’re not gonna expect her to like everything, or for long amounts of time. Clothes are still on a novelty basis right now.”

“I will hope to see what Kaito has picked out, then, but will keep my hopes realistic,” Nadya giggled. “It has been a few weeks since I have last seen Miyako--I can only estimate the leaps and bounds she has made in the intermediate time.”

Drake’s eyes widened as Kaito pulled him into a hug, wheezing a little at the tightness, though he returned the gesture. He knew things were…somewhere around square for all of them, but he still didn’t feel great about how he’d left Kaito the last time they saw each other. But he was still fond of the guy, either way, and if hugs were the way to go, then…hugs!

“H-ha, no, I’m alright,” Drake coughed sheepishly, getting his needless breath back when Kaito released him. “Managed to make it here all in one piece. Nadya did manage to pull me back out of a bird’s, uh…bathroom path, though. Really owe you for that one,” he joked, Nadya rolling her eyes fondly, but giving him a gracious nod.

“Good man!” Kaito said, thumping Drake’s shoulders, before grasping his shirt and saying, “Come on, I’ve got a few more paper flowers I need to make. You can give me a hand.”

As Kaito, Drake, Kokichi and Nadya chatted in the ballroom, soft footsteps plotted into the ballroom, and after a loud yawn, “...oh. I’m early, aren’t I?” Chiaki sighed, giving a lazy glance around the room, before pouting, “Hajime isn’t even here… was a lame guy. Letting his girlfriend get here first.”

Kaito actually wasn’t sure who this person was, for a second, before she mentioned Hajime, and he lit up. Still not remembering her name, but knowing it was Hajime’s girlfriend as he said from the flower table, “Oh! Hi! You’re early!”

Even with just two people, Kokichi’s prediction came true. It was so much easier to not let his brain make monsters of his friends when they were right in front of him. Even feeling better about everything, though, Kokichi was excited for everyone to show up.

So, when the next person did, Kokichi perked up and trotted over just like before. “Chiaki-chan!! Aw, Hajime-chan was here earlier, helping set up--he said there were a few things he needed to take care of before party time.”

Giving her a hug as well, Kokichi pulled back with a devious look. “I swear, with all the people coming, we’re absolutely getting a game of Love Letter going, and then I’ll finally take a round from you. It’s gonna happen.”

Chiaki, returning the hug, gave Kokichi a small, slightly smug smile, “....I’m looking forward to a challenge. It’s tough being the best, you know? Need more excitement in my games.”

Chiaki! Right! Kaito knew that. “Chiaki, we’re killing time making some last minute decorations before more people show up! Come on, come make paper flowers with us! See if you can make any more elaborate than mine, I’ve been practicing for, like, an hour! I’m basically an expert now!”

“....sure.” Chiaki smiled, shouldering her backpack as she headed over to the table, “Crafts isn’t really a game, but I appreciate the sentiment."

Kokichi led her over, making light introductions since he didn’t know if Chiaki, Drake, and Nadya knew each other. Drake didn’t at all, giving her a shy, but friendly smile, while Nadya had seen Chiaki in passing, commenting a bit on their shared connection through Hajime, even if Nadya didn’t know him that well either. Though, they both got a giggle as Nadya recounted their first meeting, Hajime’s surprise at seeing a baseball pro at the castle.

It really wasn’t all that early before one, so it was no surprise when the door opened next, and Ikuo and Waku returned. Even if he had just seen them a little earlier, Kokichi still ran over to greet them, and Waku returned the greeting with matching enthusiasm. With a grin, she pulled his momentum to make the two of them spin in a little tornado before launching him over toward Ikuo, laughing as she called out, “Happy anniversary!”

And, easy as pie, Ikuo caught his son, giving him a big ol loving bear hug. “Happy anniversary, bunny. Glad I coul’ make i’ ta this one.”

Kaito grinned, having just finished placing the paper flowers he, Drake and Chiaki had been fussing with on the last of the table decorations– and okay, yes, Chiaki’s had ended up looking pretty damn good once she got the hang of it– holding up one of the ones he had made as he said, “Waku, look! Finished them! They look good, right!?”

Putting them down, Kaito considered Ikou for a moment before– somewhat self consciously fixing his overly large, flowy robe– Kaito trotted over to Ikou and Kokichi and, putting his hands overlapping in front of his waist, he bowed low, “Welcome, Ikou. Thank you for coming.”

Then he straightened up and grinned sheepishly, “Sorry, father in law stuff. Figured I should do it at least once for our first formal family event!”

Greeting the others--Waku knew Nadya through work, and Chiaki through Hajime through work, and Drake as Shuuichi’s weird skittish friend--Waku came over to look at the finished flowers, nodding in approval. “They look great! Knew we could leave them in experts’ hands while the work bell rang.”

Rolling her eyes, Waku sat by Chiaki. “Hajime’s caught up in supervisor stuff--apparently there was a set of sheets that got shredded, so he needs to log the inventory for it.”

Ikuo watched Kaito’s formal display with mild surprise before he regarded Kaito warmly. “Clear as a sixth month’s day. ‘Llow me ta do son-in-law stuff then.” With that, Ikuo pulled Kaito into a bear hug as well, the touch just as loving and protective and cherishing as the last hug Kaito had gotten from him. 

Though, when Ikuo pulled back, he gestured to the tote bag hanging from his shoulder. “Know y’all have yer own, but I packed an extra baby bag fer Miya an’ Addie, jus’ in case. Gon’ go set it up in their room, but I’ll catch right back up with y’all in a shake.”

Kaito was a little less taken off guard this time, easily leaning down into the hold and actually managing to hug back this time, a small, pleased grin on his face. Cute… and, little baby stuff! Straightening up as Ikou released him, Kaito straightened his tunic a little, about to offer to help Ikou, when he caught sight of Maki and Shuichi walking in.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Kaito didn’t know what to look at. Because it was brightest– and because she was his sweet saintly sweetbun darling baby girl– Kaito’s eyes took in Miyako first, who was determinedly chewing on the bottom of her little yellow dress, and judging by the little wet spots on different parts of the bottom of her dress had been tasting different it for a bit now, as Shuichi gently tried to pull it from her grip. But once Kaito was done drinking her in, he refocused on his escorts…

Cause escort, in this moment, for Kaito, was the right word. And Kaito hadn’t realized how it might affect him, seeing his friends in the outfits they had been supposed to wear to his wedding. Maybe it wasn’t actually all that shocking that the effect was ‘immediate red eyes’ as he gave them both a weak wave, “W-wow! You guys… look amazing!”

Maki, wearing a formal, modern day Luminary dress– tight corset laces, puffy red skirt, squared, puffy long sleeve black shirt– still managed to look like she was radiating murderous intent, the sweet, feminine, cutsy dress looking dangerous as Maki, her hair recently touched up by Denji, pulled sharply and cleanly in all directions. She looked Kaito over and raised an eyebrow. “What are you wearing?”

“Be nice, I think it’s cute.” Shuichi whispered to her, having been feeling somewhat insecure in his own outfit till he saw the look on Kaito’s face. Shuichi had needed, well… literally the entire outfit resized before it could fit his new, uh, curves, and he had worried that his size somewhat took away from the sleek, seamless look he had been going for when he and Miss Kirigiri had first put this outfit together, back in Luminary, for the big event. But, Hajime had spent a considerable amount of time with him, making sure the sizing was perfect and flattering, and while it still didn’t look how it was, Shuichi had still liked the finished result well enough. “Glad there’s still not many of us here yet, it took us longer to get dressed than we expected. Was worried we’d be bringing Miyako to a crowd.”

“Ooooooooooooohh!!”

Kokichi did a little dance as he trotted over to the rest of his family, eyes wide as he took in the outfits Shuuichi and Maki had on. He’d known they were planning something special, but…

(An old, old memory hit Kokichi. Shuuichi inviting him into what had been his room for the first time, gifting him the kerchief that he still treasured. He’d only seen the outfit for a moment, but…it was enough for recognizability.)

They were wearing the outfits they’d brought for the wedding. 

A sudden soft sentimentality came over Kokichi’s expression before he closed the distance, giving Miyako a soft kiss on her head. “You guys look fantastic! Awww, I know you’re not usually one for dancing much, Shuu-chan, but we gotta get one song, please? A jacket that sleek looks like it was made for some fancy footwork.”

“Or just swayin’,” he said more softly, giving his fiance a wink before he stole a side hug, not wanting to squish Miyako in a full one. 

Shuichi smiled, leaning into the hug, though his arms were too full of restless baby for him to hug back, “I could be tempted, Kokichi. I see you managed to make the sound system work?” Shuichi asked, looking genuinely curious at the wired he saw tucked away on the walls, “You should show me the finished project. I don’t have much of a mind for electronics, as I hear they’re calling it these days, but I still find it pretty fascinating.”

Kaito went up to Maki, giving her a hug, which she allowed, before he grinned brightly at her, “I loved that dress. I’ll admit, I did wonder if it survived the wardrobe purge. I was sad at the idea that I’d never get to see you wear it properly.”

“It’s not that infantile, in comparison to all that other garbage I owned.” Maki mused, looking down at herself, “And it’s already got all the compartments I would want in party dress, so it made sense to keep it. Why rebuild all the practical elements of my clothes from the ground up?”

“Sure, makes sense,” Kaito chuckled, assuming this meant Maki was armed to the teeth right now. Fair enough. Looking around, he asked, “Where’s our kid?”

“Meeting the girls at the front gate. I’ve warned the guards to keep an eye out for any signs of a band of dumb, non RSVPing children and to send message to me if they think they saw them. I swear, if those dummies decide to just ‘swing’ by without sending word, I’m going to create a moat around this whole damn castle, dug out by all the laps I’m going to make them run.”

“Be niiiiice~” Kaito laughed, reaching out and mindlessly straightening Maki’s clothes, who tried to do the same for him and frowned, Kaito’s clothes extremely resistant to smoothing down or straightening, “I’m sure the kids aren’t going to want to crash a grown-up party.”

Kaito chuckled, before refocusing on his fiance and little girl, immediately de-volving into gibberish baby talk as he said something??? Probably??? About how good both of them looked. Shuichi watched with some amusement as Kaito gushed and babbled incomprehensibly at them, saying something among the gibberish about the outfit looking great around his hips– sigh. Kaito.-- and tapping at Miyako’s nose as he called her his little sunshine baby, blubbering over her.

Miyako just stared up at him curiously, chewing on her dress. Clothes hadn’t been a major hindrance yet. Mostly, clothes had just given her closer, more convenient clothes to eat. Shuichi sighed, fruitlessly trying to pull the cloth out of her mouth again, saying, “Himiko, would you pass me her pacifier, it’s in the right side of the diaper bag… Himiko??”

Shuichi looked behind himself, confused, “...Himiko?”

From just outside the entrance door, Kirumi said, “I believe Shuichi is calling for you.”

“Nyeeeeh?” Himiko’s head peeked out from the other side of the door, giving Shuichi a bewildered look, “What?”

“The baby bag? You… you offered to carry it when you met us at the stairs?”

“...ooooooooh, yeaaaaaah.” Himiko said, putting her index finger against her lower lip as she looked distinctly uncomfortable, “I… may have left it at the stairs. I got distracted talking to Kirumi here.”

Kirumi also peeked over, Shuichi giving her a wary look as Kirumi gave him a nod, “Apologies. We’ll go fetch it at once.”

“Do I hafta fetch it too? Sounds like a one person job…. Ehhhhhh.” Himiko whined, Shuichi shooting her a glare, turning to follow Kirumi to the stairs.

“Who the heck is that?” Kaito whispered to Kokichi.

Kokichi nodded, though he rolled his eyes with a slight scoff. “Miu diagramed the whole dang thing for me, so I just needed to match the pictures. It’d be insulting how much she put it into “baby infant language” if I didn’t know I’d probably catch the whole thing on fire otherwise.”

He had…thought about contacting Souda for some help, but…well, he hadn’t asked a lot from a lot of people for the party. Plus it had been awkward enough sending him the invitation, not wanting to seem like he’d searched around so much for his address--though Kokichi had. 

Kokichi smiled as Kaito gushed over Shuuichi and Miyako, and hid a different smile as he noticed Drake wave a little, then seem to wilt in anxiety at all the people getting Shuuichi’s attention. His fiance really was a popular guy. More than Kaito had seen in person. 

Tilting his head to the door she’d left, Kokichi explained, “That’s Himiko Yumeno, Shuu-chan’s magician friend? She’s Mikado’s apprentice too, they work together at that magic shop with the sorting ceremony we went to with the kids.”

The next people to burst in the door didn’t need as much of an introduction.

“BABY BRO-BRO!!! CONGRATS!”

Her voice booming enough to fill the hall, Lake ran over to Kokichi and scooped him up into a spinning hug, Nazumi following up with a fond, love-struck look.

Shuichi and Kaito backed up quickly as Lake barreled through like a runaway horse, Shuichi noticing Drake and Nadya now and, considering who he should greet first, decided to head to Drake, since Chiaki and Waku were caught up in a conversation with Nadya. Kaito, in turn, looked around. People were starting to drizzle in. A little bit of background music would be good right now. Just something to give the gathering a sense of purpose. 

He’d ask Kokichi himself, but his husband was currently being smothered in a bear hug, so looking around for Ikou, who had helped him out… “Oh, Ikou! Hey, did Kokichi already set up some background music on the speakers? If not, where did you guys tuck away the records, and, uh, hooooow do I put one in without breaking everything?” Kaito asked, grinning brightly at the older man.

Kokichi laughed brightly as his sister manhandled him around in the air, hugging her back. Lake had been at their wedding, but she had been working and hadn’t really been able to chat. Nazumi had been there too, but…well, he just hadn’t chatted with a lot of people of his own will. 

That’d be another change this year. 

“Thanks, Nee-san,” Kokichi grinned as Lake finally set him down, taking the chance to give Nazumi a hug of her own. It looked like the two of them had dressed up too, Nazumi wearing a peach jumpsuit with small embroidered flowers in the fabric with a sleek silver cinch belt going through the middle loops, while Lake was wearing a high-waisted silvery skirt and a warm red crop tank top, her long hair styled up in a hairbow on the side of her head. 

“Would ya look at that,” Nazumi said fondly, petting Kokichi’s hair back. “Married a year already. Time flies don’t it?”

As Kokichi chatted with his sister and aunt, Ikuo gave Kaito a nod as he returned from placing his baby bag in the quiet room. “Should be a record already in th’ player--got more ‘n a box.”

He nodded again as he led Kaito over to the main player, a perforated box next to it (and out of the way of the mess of plugs and wires coming out of it) filled with records. “Shoul’ be fine ta change th’ records out normally--Bunny jus’ put in a mellow one ta start; figured  it’d be good fer folks tricklin’ in. Sound good ta ya too?”

Meanwhile, Drake gave Shuuichi another little wave as he came over, giving him and Miyako a smile. “Hey, Shuuichi--Miyako too. You, uh, you guys look nice. I don’t mean to assume too much but…are those clothes from Luminary? I don’t think I’ve seen that kind of style around here before.”

“Ah, yes.” Shuichi said, looking a little shyly down at himself, “It’s not the sort of outfit you’d see people just walking around in, in Luminary. It’s too hot for one. But for special events? We have a lot of dark, heavy fabrics for our formal clothes. Couldn’t tell you why, officially, but I’ve always thought it’s meant to be a bit of a flex by the wealthy, the ability to wear stuff like this in a desert climate… though, if you look at very old fashioned Luminary outfits, it’s an entirely different idea. You could be covered in cloth and still basically look naked, it was so sheared… sorry.”

Shuichi laughed lightly, looking embarrassed as he bounced Miyako in his arms a little, “I’m over explaining myself. I didn’t get dressed up very often, even back in Luminary, and I haven’t worn anything like this since I’ve gotten here. I’m a little self-conscious right now. So I’m just… overexplaining myself. You look nice. I like your hair up like that.”

“Shuichi! I brought the baby bag! Just like you told me.” Himiko drawled as she trotted up with the bag half her size, “See? I did it!”

“Thank you Himiko. Now, the pacifier?”

“....eh?” Himiko pouted, “Where was it again?”

“Front pocket, to the right corner?”

“...being your friend is a lot of work.” Himiko whined, looking exhausted.

Kaito, to Ikou, nodded, squatting down at the machine and, after some small hemming and hawwing to himself, nodded at the older mans explanation, “Yeah, that’s what I was going to do to. Just figured I’d give our guy a hand, since he’s greeting people. Alright, heeeere’s hoping nothing blows up!”

As Hajime walked in, Kirumi beside him, he looked around– spotting his girlfriend– and started heading towards her when he startled a little, hearing music come from out of nowhere. Woah…. Freaky. 

Outside, Amber, Stacy, and Temp were delayed from getting there on time, as the three of them coo’d and gushed and tried to calm Addason down, who was already, just, overwhelmed from a trip across town. Giving the three grown ups weak, watery eyes from his baby carrier as they made funny faces at him and tried to soothe him with his small toy fox. 

“Geez, that dog barking really caught the little guy by surprise, huh?” Amber sighed, watching the baby hiccup, still looking in the verge of a breakdown, though so far they had been able to stem the tides a little.

“It did… maybe I should get a dog.” Temp murmured, making the little fox doll nuzzle into Addason’s face, who mostly ignored it as he whimpered. “That way he’ll get used to animals?”

“Maybe a cat? Cats are very calm.” Stacy pointed out.

“...” Temp pouted. He liked dogs.

As he was just considering cheating a little and soothing Addason with some emotion projecting, two small shadows came up behind them. “...you guys don’t know how to make a baby stop crying?” Glen asked, raising an eyebrow, looking distinctly unimpressed as his own infant sibling– wrapped up in a harness on his stomach– looked curiously at the grown ups, quiet and calm. “What are you, baby sitters?”

“Glen, let’s not make enemies.” Piper scolded quietly, before smiling brightly at the gaggle of adults, “Can we try? We have a lot of experience with loud babies.”

“Meaning no ‘loud babies’ allowed.” Glen huffed.

Temp gave the two children an amused look– he’d be willing to bet he had more experience with babies than either of them… but, admittedly, many of those practical baby experiences were now behind a ‘don’t drive Temp insane with the vastness of time’ wall in his brain, soooooo. “Certainly. Give it a shot, kids.”

The adults stepping back to let the kids give it a go, Glen and Piper squatted down in front of the carrier, giving the weepy eyed baby a little look… before Piper whispered to Glen, “I bet it’s the hands and feet.”

“Yeah.” Glen agreed, reaching in to readjust the blanket loosely grouped behind Addason, in case he needed a wrap, to cover his arms, hands and feet. Not a wrap, just covering. As Addie kicked lightly against the blankets, he stared up at Glen, kicking a little more…

His expression calmed down a little. Still a little disgruntled, but not about to lose it.

“...okay, what was that?” Stacy asked. 

“We don’t know.” Piper shrugged, “Sometimes skittish babies just get more skittish when their hands and feet are exposed. Covering him up calms him down. One of those trial and error things.”

“Well, it seems to have done the trick, for now, anyway. Thank you both for your help. Sorry, your names were…?”

“We didn’t give any.” Glen said simply, nodding to Piper, the two content to move on now as they headed off. 

“...rude. But I love the style.” Amber smirked, “Alright! Let’s get to this party!”

Drake nodded, interested because it was Shuuichi, of course, but also…hell, sue him. He was curious about how the culture had changed. He remembered seeing lords and ladies and other members of the oligarchy draped in layer upon layer of fine, light fabric during fancy occasions--he couldn’t even fathom seeing something like what Shuuichi, or even Maki was wearing at the time. He doubted using such dark, dense fabrics for clothes was a thing period. 

Showing off that you could wear something so warm definitely seemed like a rich person thing, though. 

“You’re alright, Shuuichi,” Drake smiled gently. “Considering Kaito’s reaction, I figure hearing that you look nice doesn’t help the nerves much, but…you do. And, uh, thanks…”

Drake trailed off as a petite red-headed woman came up, quickly recognizing her as Shuuichi’s (relatively) new friend. She definitely was as unique as Shuuichi had said. She seemed a little…w-well! He should introduce himself regardless!

With less fanfare, Sei entered the ballroom, glancing around quickly before making his way to Maki. It wasn’t exactly a gaggle of kids, but she had asked for a heads up. “Miss Harukawa. A few of your siblings are here--two preteens and a baby.”

“Those little shits.” Maki said, crossing her arms. “Stab them.”

“Maki! Not a good joke!” Kaito called out literally from across the room.

“Spare the baby.” Maki said grimly. “He will learn from their suffering.”

“Not a fun joke! She is joking!” Kaito called out from the other side of the room still, though he was quickly closing the gap. 

The kids hadn’t actually been that far behind Sei, but they had stopped to chat with the three younger children, Timothy, Cali and Kimiko, Chase at Tim’s side, the three ten/near-ten year olds drawn in by the older kids baby. Having two full years on the other children, Glen and Piper looked at the three of them as the damn near infants with all the thinly veiled exasperation they could muster, letting them ask their question with hassled sighs.

“What’s his name?”

“Gabriel.”

“How old is he?”

“About as old as you.”

“Nuh uh!”

“Does he want to pet Chase?”

Glen and Piper both looked down at the dog… before saying yes. The baby probably wanted to pet Chase.

“Congratulations on the wedding, Prince Kaito,” Piper remembered to say as the six children went to a corner to properly let Gabriel pet Chase, all five of the older kids mostly ignoring the adults around them– including Maki’s seething glare– though Timothy seemed to remember Miyako last minute.

Heading over to Shuichi, he said, “I found a friend for Miyako.”

“I see that.” Shuichi replied, smiling fondly at him.

“Can I take her to him?”

“Sure, but, remember, he’s a little older–” Gabriel had to be about seven months, give or take, “So she can’t do the same things he can. Protect her head and neck and if he grabs her… well, don’t let him grab her. Understand?”

“Kay.” Timothy agreed, before taking Miyako in his arms and, with a determined look on his face, heading back to introduce her to one of her new friends.

“Maaaaaybe that will be the limit of surprise children?” Kaito said to the still seething Maki, standing close to her to keep any, uh, jokes from becoming realities.

Sei hadn’t stuck around long, needing to get back to work, though he did wish Kokichi and Kaito a happy anniversary. And while Kokichi was of a similar mind when he joined Kaito and Maki--to Kaito, that is--he just sighed softly. “I did invite them. And knowing them, I figured that they still might come without letting us know. Really glad we set up the other room now, though, even if Gabriel seems alright.”

…he just hoped their foster parents knew they were there. Probably, right? It was a good trek to the castle from their orchard…

…maybe that’s not something to leave as an assumption. 

Though, as Kokichi took a single step towards the kids, the doors opened again and Kokichi’s face lit up, even if he dithered for a moment. But…well, the kids were already there. A few more minutes would be okay. 

Heading over to Temp, Stacy, Amber, and Addason at a more sedate pace, not wanting to startle his godson, Kokichi smiled widely at his friends. “Hey! I’m glad you could make it!”

“Temp. Step back.” Amber ordered. 

Temp gave her a dry look. He took a step back.

“More, mooooore.” Amber said, waving him off, “Shoo.”

Temp sighed, stepping back several more feet and, giving her a dirty look, lowering the cover of Addason carrier a bit, pouting.

“Good… BABY!!!!” Amber squealed, Stacy giggling as she watched the taller woman sweep Kokichi up in a spinning hug, “You got MARRIIIIEEEED!!”

Kokichi giggled brightly, swept up in another enthusiastic hug and returning it with all the feeling he could, just…happy and caught up in his friends’ happiness. “I did! And we’re finally getting around to a proper party for it. And you could come to this one! An improvement all around.”

“Heck yeah it is! Also, awww, Stacy, look at how nice the place looks!” Amber gushed, looking back at Temp, “Temp! Look at how cute everything is!”

“Oh? Are we done screaming?” Temp asked, giving Amber an amused look, though he had gotten a bit distracted by the kids and infants in the corner, the kids apparently amusing themselves by introducing Chase to two fascinated infants. “The place looks great, Kokichi. Thanks again for inviting us. I’ll try not to be too distracted by Addie all day, but you know how that parent life is.”

“Awwwww, let me see my godbaaaaaby,” Kaito enthused, certain Maki was contained before heading over to Temp, giving the infant a genuinely excited look as he peered into the baby carrier, vocabulary immediately dissolving into baby gibberish as he reached in to play with Addason’s feet beneath his covers, “Heeeeey, Addie, do you want to meet Chase?” Kaito finally managed to say clearly, Addason giving him a bewildered look as Kaito played with his feet, “Want to hang out with Miyako and… other baby? Want to be best friends with Miyako and anonymous new baby??”

“I’d be careful with that, Kaito.” Amber warned him, “Addie doesn’t seem all that fond of dogs.”

“But Chase is a very good dog who is very good with little curious babiiiieees~” Kaito gushed, him and Temp fussing over Addason for a moment.

Amber rolled her eyes. She had given her warning. Before turning back to Kokichi, “Alright, spill, baby. Who’s who?”

Kokichi blushed lightly, the last of his liar-pants anxiety sputtering out. Everyone here was here because they wanted to celebrate and hang out with them. Even the kids, to an extent. And the party was cool. “Thanks, guys.”

“And that’s really how parent life is,” Kokichi softly chuckled. “My dad and I have the other room set up, and he brought a full extra bag of stuff for the kids, so we shoooould have everything we need.”

Smiling fondly as Kaito came over to greet the newcomers (primarily Addie), Kokichi snickered quietly and nudged Amber as he pointed over the room, starting from one side. “Okay, so, the three talking over there are Hajime, Chiaki, and Nadya--Nadya’s the one with the braids, and she’s my administrative assistant, and also on our city’s baseball team; Hajime has the short brown hair and he’s a housekeeper here; and Chiaki has the curly lilac hair, she does a lot of stuff for that cool gaming shop/arcade on the south side. Hajime-chan and Chiaki-chan have been dating for aaaages. Nadya-chan has a boyfriend too, but he lives in Zogel so he’s not here today.”

“Then, well, you know Shuu-chan, and the two talking to him are some of his friends. Drake, the guy in the button down, he met in their college course over the winter, and Himiko, with the big hat, well…” Kokichi shrugged with a grin. “It’s kind of a long story, but she works at that novelty magic place on Rose, and I have a friend that works there, so when we were hangin’ out, and Shuu-chan came too, he and Himiko hit it off.”

“You know Miyako, of course, and the red head is Tim--I don’t think you guys’ve really met, but the girl with the pink hair is Cali, and the other with the black is Kimiko, and then the two other big kids, and the other baby are some of Maki-chan’s siblings--Glen, Piper, and little Gabriel.”

“Mmm, Waku-chan’s over there, with the pink braids, then…ah, you’ve met my dad and Nazumi, and they’re with my sister Lake, and Kirumi, who’s also a housekeeper here and…”

Kokichi cut himself off as the door opened again, grinning as he waved to his uncle and father, who simply waved back, seeing that Kokichi was in conversation. “Well, now Hideki-ji and my father.”

“Full house! Wow, are more people coming than this? I’ll be honest, baby, the way you described it, I imagined this was gonna be, like, a small house party sort of thing.” Amber laughed, looking around enthusiastically at the big space, before musing, “Though, I suppose this is your ‘house’, so I guess I’m not wrong. God, I am obsessed with Nadya’s biceps though. Wish me luck, I’m about to go mingle… hey! Slugger!!”

As Amber called out to Nadya, heading over Nadya’s group, Stacy giggled again before rolling her eyes, looking around herself… giving a familiar nod to Nazumi before focusing on Maki, who was watching the kids from a distance…

“What is that dress??” Stacy whispered, eyes widening, before bee-lining to Maki’s direction. 

Temp– desperte to get his kid to like dogs– headed over to Chase’s group, Kaito chuckling and wishing him good luck, before looking to check on Kokichi. Ah! The King and Head Secretary had arrived. Ooooooh, gotta love those conflicting impulses. He should go greet them formally, be a good consort, or, no, he should go greet them casually, be a good husband, or, no, he should go say something mean and passive-aggressive, and be a self-serving asshole. Hmmmmm.

What would Kaede do?

Kaito grinned wide, heading over quickly and putting his hands on Kokichi’s shoulders from behind, saying enthusiastically to him, ‘Come on, babe, let’s go greet your father and uncle!”

Kokichi shrugged sheepishly. “I wanted to make sure all our friends could come--a lot of people we only met this year so…this is our first big party! We should still have a few other people coming, though.”

Looking around shiftily, Kokichi stood on his toes to playfully whisper, “Kai-chan’s friend Souda-kun is coming. He’s single, but, like 5’6”. Sorry.” With that, he sent her over towards Nadya with a bright grin, looking over as Stacy’s eyes grew twice over and Temp…good. It looked like everyone was mingling… Okay, so next…

Kokichi looked up in surprise as Kaito put his hands on his shoulders, before he gave his husband a soft look, and started heading over to his father and uncle. “...thanks, hun.” It really seemed like Kaito’s lunch with his father had made things…at the very least, a little more bearable between them, so while he wasn’t holding out on anything for his uncle, it was still improvement. 

Trotting over the last few feet, Kokichi embraced first his father, then his uncle, thanking them for coming. He knew scheduling would be difficult for them in particular, regardless of the day he held the party on but…well, they had put in the effort. Leaving some of the other secretaries and admin assistants in charge, but with an open call to come get them if an emergency happened--a good plan, in Kokichi’s eyes. 

“Happy anniversary, Ko, Kaito,” Aiichi greeted warmly, muttering a heartfelt, “I love you,” when Kokichi came in for his hug. “Thank you both for the invitation.”

Hideki nodded at that sentiment, ruffling Kokichi’s hair as the younger pulled away. “I’m happy I could come celebrate you two. It looks like you really put things together for this fete.”

Kaito kept a step behind Kokichi, but kept the grin on his face as he fought the desire to bow, saying brightly, “It’s great to have you both! I know you’re both busy, as is understandable, but I hope you’ll be able to stay at least for a game. Kokichi’s got quite a few planned, and a lot of them are group games, so every extra player is vital! You’d be sorely missed!”

Kokichi colored lightly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Ah, well… I mean, it’s not, like, clap your hands, everyone let’s come play a game, sort of thing. I’m gonna try and get some started, so people have things to do, yanno, and…”

Hideki huffed a light laugh. “Why are you trying to justify yourself? You’re hosting. If you’re setting up Fire Tower, I’m out,” he rolled his eyes, “but we’re not going anywhere, Kokichi. Barring the whole city collapsing, we’re yours for the afternoon.”

Aiichi gave the younger men a conspiratorial look. “He’s just mad he always loses first. But I’m looking forward to the games, then, if we’re all planning on having a few sessions.” Aiichi gave Kaito a nod. “I don’t know if the two of you have played it together, but Ko’s a little monster at Mancala. Not exactly a group game for tonight, but be advised. Always count your beads.”

“Understood, your grace.” Kaito grinned, before saying to Kokichi, “Actually, ‘Kichi, I know a few, like, large group games. Maybe we could try one? As far as a ‘everyone come and play’ sort of thing. Don’t worry, it’s not drinking games.” Kaito promised… before confessing, “Though, admittedly, literally all of the ones I can think of are very ‘Luminary’.”

Well, no. They were based on subterfuge and crimes, but turned into games. Which, before Kaito had come to Dicea, Kaito would have called ‘Mafia’ style games. But he had a feeling his point would come across if he just called it Luminary.

Kokichi lit up, excited at the prospect of new group games…even though the reason he’d backtracked on his uncle and father was because…well, it was kinda juvenile, wasn’t it. It wasn’t like Kokichi wanted to gather everyone in a circle to play something like Duck Duck Goose, but…they were adults! And sure there actually were some kids there, but it felt…odd. 

…even if it sounded like a lot of fun to him. 

Still, he gave Kaito an eager nod. “We might as well propose it to people--it’d be fun if we could get a group together. Let’s wait until everyone shows up, and people can get drinks or snacks or whatever first, then let’s ask.”

Which was getting very close to time anyway, as the door opened again, Chako’s flaming hair unmistakable as she held open the door for a tall man with long pale green hair tied back in a half braid, carrying a couple covered trays. Kokichi hadn’t asked their guests to bring anything, and had in fact specifically asked for no anniversary gifts, but…well. You could take chefs out of the kitchen…

Kaito saw Chako come in with her friend’s hands full of trays and, bowing his head to Aiichi, said, “Please excuse me.” Glancing at Kokichi as a quick courtesy before hurrying over to Chako.

“Hey, Chako! Food?” Kaito grinned, giving her an openly friendly, relaxed look before turning to the green haired man, “Here, let me take one from you. Where you guys going with this, main table? I didn’t realize ‘Kichi had ordered more food from the kitchen this early.”

“He didn’t,” Chako sniffed, before giving a long-suffering look towards the man. “See? I told you. Kokichi said guests’ presences would be a present, no more needed, but nooo, a--”

“A proper guest always brings a gift to the host,” they said together, the man retaining a calm expression, if mildly amused as he allowed Kaito to take one of the trays. “Hello, Kaito, thank you for the help. It’s wonderful to finally meet you--Chako and my work schedules do tend to make it hard to meet friends. I’m Pallu, Chako’s partner.”

He couldn’t exactly extend a hand, at least until they reached the food tables, but Pallu still gave Kaito a bow of his head, his serene expression friendly. “We knew Kokichi wouldn’t let his guests go hungry, but I couldn’t bear showing up without bringing a little something. There’s cheese appetizers coated in nuts, smoked sausage and olive mini-skewers, and baked pepper boats on the tray you’re holding, while this one is an assortment of rolled truffles--Chako’s told me that your husband and fiance have prominent sweet tooths.”

Kaito’s eyes widened, hopping on the back of his feet as he put down the platter, “Oh! The famous Pallu! Oh, uh,” Kaito was quick to bow his head back, before giving the taller man a beaming grin, “Yes, they love sweets, and they adore anything your partner makes. Seriously, it’s so exciting to finally meet you, I feel like I’ve been hearing about you on and off for months. Chako has been incredibly generous with her time with me, I can’t tell you how fond of her I am! Thank you so much for coming.”

Though, that said, he looked to Chako and said suspiciously, “Are you staying? I’ve never seen you around at festivals or anything like that, are we actually going to get some quality Chako time today??”

Chako crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at Kaito before efficiently helping straighten things on the table. “Of course I’m staying, you invited me. I like working, but, what, I’m going to blow off my friend’s anniversary that he specifically invited me to, to go do dishes? Please.”

His arms now free, Pallu put an arm around Chako, giving Kaito a kind smile. “We had more than a few conversations with Kokichi about scheduling. We both managed to get a shift off for this afternoon, so we’d love to continue to celebrate with you.”

Across the hall, it turned out that Chako and Pallu weren’t the only people who had brought food, but…uh…

There was a clearly tempted look on Kokichi’s face before he shook his head at Mikaku, the older gentleman nodding easily and putting the gift baggie back in his side bag. Even without the kids there, it wouldn’t be a good idea to put those on the table.

Kaito gave Chako an enthusiastic look at that, before starting to drill Pallu on his life, curious about the man that Kaito had, honestly, listened to a lot of relationship advice from Chako based on this person by now. So he was curious to get to know him!

As Kaito chatted with Chako and Pallu, Shuichi– keeping one eye on the children corner– chatted with Himiko and Drake, Maki dryly obliged to answer a ton of Luminary based fashion questions that she hadn’t thought to ask any of them yet. Temp, inspired as he petted Chase while holding Addason’s hand– Addie seemingly not knowing what to do with himself and just blubbering, uncertain if he was going to cry or not– regaled the kids with a story about hellhounds, demon dogs who could be sent in Bathul’s name to hunt on people who had broken their vows and promises, as Bathul valued all trades. A religious story, but Temp, knowing his audience, told it as a horror story, and the kids listened in fascination, caught up in the tale of dogs on the hunt, as Chase panted and rolled over for belly rubs. 

Miyako, though she liked Tim well enough– who she called Fussy Hands, as Timothy often shifted her around, worried she wasn’t comfortable– was considering when she was going to decide to demand one of her parents back, but kept getting distracted by her fascination by the return of Weird Toy and a new weird thing, which she didn’t have a good name for yet but so far was just Calm Mind. Gabriel did not have a lot going on upstairs, but he seemed very chilled out, which was a pretty new type of mind for Miyako to graze upon. Like, this kid did not give a fuck.

Hajime and Chiaki were listening in fascination to Amber and Nadya, Amber having, entirely by accident, pulled out discussion of Nadya’s baseball career by calling her ‘slugger’. Meanwhile, Kirumi had sidled up to Aiichi and Hideki, and while she was not strictly working right now, was listening in in-case she overheard them needing anything.

Things were…things were going well! Kokichi no longer felt the dread of anxiety that his friends were going to hate the party, but…well, he was the host, and it was the host’s job to make sure that people kept having a good time. Thankfully it looked like most people were easily chatting in groups that conjoined and split off like a social lava lamp, but every now and then Kokichi zipped over to someone, starting up a conversation, and making sure they had a new partner before he left again.

Not that that was really routine. It’d only been a little bit before Kokichi noticed that it had been a good while since anyone else had come through the door. Not everyone who said they’d come were there, but he hadn’t really been expecting that. The “official” hours for the party was around eight hours; purposefully so, to fit around all the difficult schedules he had wanted to accommodate for. There likely wouldn’t be a time where every single person on the list--because he had made a list, and gave it to the guardforce office to let them know--would be at the party at the same time. 

Still, with it seeming like the first wave was settled in…then it was time for more purposeful entertainment. 

…Kokichi shifted on his feet in indecision for a moment before scurrying off to find Kaito. A game, or music…? A game, or music…?

Maki, in a fit of desperation, had finally dragged Stacy to Kaito, and Stacy and Kaito had ended up gravitating to Waku, the three of them adamantly discussing various fashions. Maki, then, ended up over at the kids corner, which was less the kids corner now because Maki had taken Miyako from Timothy, and Glen still had Gabriel while Temp had Addason, and the three of them chatted a bit while Timothy, Cali, Kimiko and Piper started an enthusiastic game of tag through the ballroom, using the massive open space to its full advantage.

Kaito, looking around to check on things, saw Shuichi, Himiko, Drake and Nadya all chatting by the refreshments while Hajime, Chiaki and Amber seemed to be enthusiastically talking to Aiichi, Ikou and Hideki about something, everything seemed to be going well… “Oh, hold on, hold that thought Stacy. Kokichi’s making the ‘needs his husband’ face. Be right back guys.” Kaito half-heartedly promised, knowing if Kokichi needed him to do something he’d do that instead. 

Meeting his husband halfway, Kaito opened his arms and encouraged Kokichi into a hug, whispering, “‘Kichiiiii, it’s going so welllll. And these are just the timely people! Wait till the latecomers get here, they’re always the rowdiest ones.” Kaito laughed, grinning cheerfully.

Kokichi happily went into the hug, nuzzling Kaito a bit as he grinned shyly. “It is, isn’t it. I’m glad everyone seems to be having a good time…but, uh…” He gave Kaito something of a pleading look. “It’s a good time that’s settling! And I don’t wanna interrupt people, but I don’t want everyone to run out of things to talk about too soon, and it’s been a bit since anyone new came in, so I thought…”

“Should I put some dance music on?? O-or do you wanna propose one of the games you were talking about? Or maybe I could start setting things up by the board game area, or-”

Kokichi shrugged a little, giving Kaito a slightly overwhelmed look.

“Hmmmm…” Kaito looked around at the group, “While the group is still relatively small? Maybe a game? Pfff, probably can’t play never have I ever, huh?” Kaito laughed, giving his husband a wink as he said softly, “Would scandalize both of your poor dads. Dancing would be good when more people get here, so you wanna try one of those big group games I was thinking? Before the group gets too big to do even the big games?”

Watching the kids playing tag– Cali straight up tackled Timothy, though in her defense it was because Piper had dodged out of the way– Kaito chuckled, “Though, the kids do make the kid games look like fun too. None immediately come to mind, but those are options too.”

Why not? It wasn’t a drinking party, and Kaito knew games like that would be a treat for his husband, who didn’t get to play games like that as a kid. Besides, it was their party. They could do what they wanted.

“Here, let me explain to you some of the games we used to play at parties in Luminary, see if any interest you…” Kaito said, before explaining games like Drug Dealer, Mafia, Werewolf (“Yeah, they’re basically the same concept, just Mafia’s is more complicated”) and Two Truths and a Lie.

Kokichi rolled his eyes a little. There were plenty of ways to play Never Have I Ever without any scandalous topics, but uh…he didn’t trust the group to manage it. And with not only his parents, but his kids around? No way. 

Unbeknownst to him, there was something almost like a pleading hope that shown in Kokichi’s eyes when Kaito mentioned playing kid games. He didn’t think much of their group would be too into playing Octopus Tag or Red Rover--which was probably a bad idea in a group of grown adults of various sizes, and a lot of very competitive ones at that--but…other kinds of games like that?

Kokichi listened raptly as Kaito did quick rundowns of some Luminary games, nodding eagerly. Two Truths and a Lie seemed like it’d have the same pitfalls as Never Have I Ever, and it wasn’t exactly like he was trying to make icebreakers for the group, while Mafia and Werewolf (he had just asked for clarification, since they only had Werewolf Trials, or a similar enough game with a similar name in Dicea) were a little too static for the still pretty engaged conversations they had around them. Drug Dealer, on the other hand…sounded like an even less engaged version of Ghost Party, and would bring a little bit of fun while letting people still chat and roam as they liked. 

Nodding once to himself at his decision, Kokichi looked up at Kaito with a smile. “Drug Dealer sounds like fun! D’ya wanna help me go around and ask who wants to play?”

“Sure, though I’d say ‘let’s see who we have to bully into having a good time’,” Kaito chuckled, cracking his knuckles determinedly as he said, “I’ll go grab Maki and the kids.” 

Maki was easy, but surprisingly enough, it was the kids Kaito had to sell the idea to. Timothy had never played the game before, and seemed a little self-conscious about it when Kaito had been surprised at that. Kaito remembered the hard way that just because he and his social groups had been familiar with it, making it a ‘Luminary’ game to him, didn’t mean everyone in Luminary had the chance to learn it, and it took a little maintenance and reassurance to finally convince Timothy he wouldn’t ‘bog down the game’ learning, cause, like… everyone’s learning! Only he, Maki and Shuichi had ever played it before! 

The girls joined in when Timothy said he was up to it, and Maki had taken Glen to bring Miyako and Gabriel to Temp, who was soothing Addason after his son had finally gotten sick of ‘puppy’ time. “Watch the babies during the game and I’ll make certain someone relieves you afterwards.” Maki negotiated. 

Temp gave her a wary look, “Three babies all by myself?”

“Don’t be pathetic, what are they going to do, overpower you? I’m offering a trade, you babysit during the game, I’ll put in the legwork to find someone to babysit during the next thing. Is it a deal or not?”

“Why don’t you just trade that you’ll watch the babies during the next thing… okay, okay, fine. Deal.” Temp said quickly, as Maki heat started to build dangerously. 

Miyako wiggled happily in Maki’s arms. Mmmm… warm.

Hajime raised his hand when Kaito and Kokichi finally managed to gather everyone, “Okay, so, wait… how do we play again?”

Chiaki answered, having only needed to hear the explanation once as she drawled, “We’ll all be in a big circle, and someone will go into the center to be the guard. Someone in the circle will be a drug dealer, and when that person catches someone’s eyes and noticeably winks at them, that person will announce, ‘The Deal is Done’ and keep their hand raised to show they’re already winked at. The person in the center has to figure out who the drug dealer is before everyone has drugs.”

“Okay, so… how do we decide who’s who?” Hajime asked.

“Pack of cards!” Kaito exclaimed, having pulled the pack of cards from Kokichi’s pile of games, “It’s easy. We’ll go in numerical order, 2 to king. Everyone gets a random card from the pile I’ve put together,” Kaito explained, handing out cards one by one, “And if you have the ace, you’re going first as the guard and also getting one more card. Ace will go to the center, be the guard, 2 will be the drug dealer. When the ace finds the drug dealer, 2 will then go to the center and be the guard, and 3 will be the drug dealer, and so on and so forth! The goal is for everyone to get to play both a guard and a dealer at one point, and to get through the rounds as quickly as we can!”

“What if we win!?” Cali asked, jumping up and down enthusiastically, “What if we sell ALL the drugs!?”

“Mmmmm, then the drug dealer still gets to play guard after the end, but we’ll do something fun for everyone who actually manages to win their rounds,” Kaito mused, grinning at the kids enthusiasm, “I’m not sure what it is yet, but we’ll come up with a prize. Any questions!?” Kaito asked the group, looking around.

It turned out to be pretty easy to get almost everyone to play. Kokichi supposed some of it was because it was their party, so people would be inclined to follow his and Kaito’s leads but…also! It was a game! And games were fun! Especially if everyone else was going to be playing one. 

(And, well, Kokichi would’ve liked to play a game with his dad too, but like he always did, it was almost like Ikuo was the Empath out of the bunch, sensing Temp’s trepidation. He could probably handle three infants but…it wasn’t a good idea to leave your kids’ safety and comfort to ‘maybe’s. There would be other games.)

Listening to Kaito (and Chiaki’s) greater explanation, Kokichi nodded along, before he raised an eyebrow, glancing over the crowd of people they had. More than 13, less than 26, so it would get real confusing to use cards… Snorting, Kokichi trotted over to the table they had been making decorations on, grabbing some cardstock paper. “Regular cards is kinda hard with 23 people, so lemme just…”

It didn’t take long to make and distribute the number cards, and before he knew it, they were all situated in a circle. 12 was…kind of annoying, to go right in the middle, but it would give him a few rounds to really see how the game went. At least he wasn’t last. 

Aiichi didn’t chuckle--he had a better poker face than that--but he did find it funny. He hoped he would do a good job bringing them home. 

With a bright laugh, Lake bounded out into the center of the circle, striking something of a pose with her hands on her hips, shoulders squared like she was still wearing a cape. “HA! I hope my actual guard duties’ll gimme a leg up. ALRIGHT, DRUG DEALER! BE YOUR SNEAKIEST!”

Nazumi shook her head fondly, leaning over towards Stacy. “Lake can’t even find honey when it’s front an’ center in our pantry. This’ll be a long round.”

Stacy giggled, giving the bodyguard a fond look at that. “Maybe pretending it’s drugs will inspire her?”

Amber cracked her knuckles, looking competitive as she said, “Oh, this will be interesting. Come on, guardsman!” Not noticing Cali, standing next to her, deciding to mimic her pose, Timothy and Kimiko joining in playfully, all three of them holding Amber’s power stance.

Kaito, in turn, felt a burst of excitement run through him. Okay! He was first dealer! He was going to show everyone how it was done! Alright! 

Seeing Lake look around, flashing her hero pose at people, Kaito looked around… before deciding he’d be sneaky and do someone right next to him. Nudging Kokichi’s shoulder, he looked down at him and gave him a wink.

The nudge was, perhaps, a little obvious, but Kokichi still grinned, raising his hand as he said, “The deal is d-”

“CAUGHT YA, KAI-GUY!”

For how much Lake was garbage at finding things, it didn’t mean she was inattentive. It’d be a real strain on her job if she was. While sometimes Lake couldn’t see things right in front of her face, she’d always had great peripheral vision and…well, yeah. The nudge was terribly obvious. 

QoQ??!

Kaito sputtered, shocked she had caught him so quickly. She hadn’t even been looking his way! What, did she have eyes on the back of her head!?

Shuichi laughed lightly, while Hajime clapped enthusiastically, “Hey, nice job Lake! Expected of our resident guard!”

“Uh, yeah!” Kaito said, deciding to be a good sport as he laughed, heading out to the center, “Only a great guard could have caught me so quickly! Nice job!”

Lake laughed brightly, holding her hand up for a high five as she and Kaito switched places. “Thanks! You did pull some risky stuff, dude--I respect it. Would’ve been legendary if it worked out.”

Happily, she ruffled Kokichi’s hair as the next round started, watching Kaito in the middle. 

“The deal is done,” Hideki rang out, raising a hand. Soon followed by Kokichi, once again, then Shuuichi, then Pallu, but-

Kaito frowned, seeing Kokichi raise his hand, then Shuichi, who wasn’t that far off, but then Pallu was all the way on the other side, and Kaito didn’t see anyone winking or acting suspicious… but it was so quick, and–

(Shuichi had looked down.)

“Kirumi?” Kaito guessed, looking to Kirumi, who’s eyes widened ever so slightly… before she smoothed down her dress, smiling slightly as she bowed her head ever so slightly. 

“I see I have given myself away somehow. Pity, I had hoped to get further. May I ask what I did that tipped you off?”

She hadn’t done anything. Kaito just knew there were very few people here who might make Shuichi feel uncomfortable to stare them in the eye without withdrawing. Seeing Shuichi look uncertain had just given Kaito a hunch. And while he wouldn’t explain it was Shuichi, Kaito grinned, shrugging, “A hunch. Felt it in my gut. But three deals made! You’re in the lead so far!”

“Better than one.” Piper laughed lightly, giggling harder when Kaito shot her an exaggerated pout as he went back to his spot within the circle, Kirumi heading to the center.

Kirumi sighed, “Beaten by a hunch. Well, I guess I suppose games take all types of strategies. Alright, let’s see…”

The next few rounds went rapid fire, and Kaito was fascinated to see who this came naturally to and who else was really struggling with it. Pallu managed to get two before Kirumi saw him literally pointing at someone, catching him. Then Pallu had found Glen immediately, the poor boy’s pride clearly hurt though everyone assured him he was still learning how to do it and everyone was struggling. 

Glen then found Kimiko immediately, who had taken it in good stride– and insisting with a giggle that she had managed to make a deal with Chase, but Chase hadn’t called out the deal– before skipping to the center. 

Poor Kimiko took a while to find her dealer, five people making deals before Kimiko had joyfully shouted, “Stacy!” If Kaito thought that maybe he had noticed Cali and Tim start pointedly looking in Stacy’s direction as Kimiko looked, he didn’t mention it, as Stacy took getting found in good spirits, heading to the center and giving Kimiko a little high five before looking for her dealer. By the time Stacy got up there, everyone was starting to really understand the rhythm of the game, and people were relaxing and having fun with it, enthusiastically claiming their deals and laughing as Stacy spun around, looking for signs and patterns as five people were made deals with before she finally spotted Waku just looking exceedingly smug. 

Waku then hurried to the center, while Himiko watched from the sidelines. Musing to the older man as she watched people run in and out of the center of the circle, “That looks exhausting.”

Mikaku chuckled softly, having found a comfortable state to watch the game in. He was by no means baked but, naturally, he had to taste test his brookies before bringing them. Kokichi had looked awfully tempted, but Mikaku understood his decline, and instead promised to save a couple for him another time. 

“There’s no actual requirement to run, but having people so excited does make it seem more intense than it is. It makes the game more fun, for everyone playing it, rather than someone doing the bare minimum. Though someone doing that might be able to find fun regardless.”

…Ikuo and Mr. Lar had gone to the side room with the infants, and everyone else was in the circle, focused on the game. There literally was no one close enough to hear…or eavesdrop. 

Mikaku regarded the young woman next to him with a side look. 

“...your equipment is just as important as your ingredients, when you’re potion brewing, by the way.”

To Himiko’s credit, her expression didn’t notably change, at first… but to her discredit, that was because her reflexes sucked, as after a moment of looking at him, she started to notably sweat. “Eh? Ehhhhhh… p-potion brewing? Shuichi and I didn’t… brew potions in Maki’s room a few weeks ago! Wh-who told you that??”

But then, after a moment, she peered suspiciously at the older man from beneath her massive hat, and asked, “...what kind of equipment material would you use, then? If you were hypothetically also not doing all of those things.”

Timothy sat in the center of the circle, giving a wary look around. “Come on, Tim, you can do it!” Cali shouted, “Catch that drug dealer! Don’t let us buy drugs!!”

“We’re too young, Timmy! It’ll stunt our growth! Save us!” Kimiko agreed, jumping excitedly. 

“Okay, okay,” Timothy grumbled, looking around warily…

“The deal is made!” Glen called, not looking at anyone in particular, arms crossed.

“The deal is made!” Piper called out, smiling softly, her gaze briefly looking over at the other side of the circle. 

Timothy looked over his shoulder, saw Drake looking around, “...shoot,” Tim muttered, “What’s his name? Uh! You! Clumsy guy!”

“Mr. Soga, Tim.” Maki said, shooting Timothy a warning look.

“Mr. Soga!”

Mikaku smiled softly. “I’ve had my fair share of pot meltdowns too. You start to pick up the smell after a while.” And the ambient prickle of residual magic in the air, but…there had been less of that. Likely because Himiko and Shuuichi--and maybe Maki?--were just starting out. 

“For most, you’ll want a heavy cast iron pot--there’s a reason cauldrons are stereotypical. The only trick to it is researching if what you’re making reacts with iron; if it does, you’ll want a heavy-bottom copper pot instead. Having the pots thick makes it less likely you’ll end up with a puddle of molten goo halfway through the process, if something goes wrong.”

“Next time you all try something out, ask me for a meeting. I can show you some of my other equipment.”

Drake startled a little as Timothy called him out, looking sheepish at the moniker the kid remembered him by. Giving a little laugh, he shook his head, “Uh, no, sorry. I know Waku called me out immediately but, uh, I already had my turn.”

It had been…a little embarrassing, honestly. He’d barely even gotten halfway through a wink before the petite woman had spun around, calling him out. Maybe she was a lucky one that had a sixth sense that actually helped in social games--it wasn’t like Drake could exactly take a nap in the middle of the game, and even then it was completely random if he’d actually predict anything. 

Kaito had been thrilled at how quick Waku had gotten it, giving her a thumbs up when she had hurried back to her spot in the circle. Then Drake had found Tim pretty quickly as well, and it looked like now Timothy was a little confused of who still could be drug dealer.

So, to be clear, he called out to Tim, “Tim, think of everyone who’s already been the drug dealer as, like, white noise you’ve gotta shoot away! They’re just distractions and more opportunities for the drug dealer to make deals! Think about everyone who hasn’t gone, okay kid! You got this, I believe in you!”

Kaito blinked, before saying sheepishly, “Uh, also, the Deal is Made!”

Tim pouted. Really? While his father was making a damn speech at him? This dealer had some nerve. 

“‘Shooting’ white noise and distractions is certainly an interesting way to think about it,” Shuichi mused, Timothy glancing at him before looking away. Shuichi winked at Chiaki.

“The deal is made!” Chiako called out, “....that’s nothing. Hajime told me once that he felt like a samurai when he’s having arguments with people, cutting down their words with a sword. It was weird.”

“Hey! I just meant it could feel like that as in, like, an actual battle! That’s not that weird.” Hajime insisted, “The deal is made!”

“Mmmm…” Shuichi looked around for another potential deal, saying casually as Timothy looked around– hoping his casual speaking would make him less of a suspect– “...you guys ever imagine that when you’re making choices, you’re actually just driving around in a carriage, looking for–”

“It’s Uncle Shuichi.” Timothy sighed, looking behind himself, annoyed he hadn’t got it immediately. “He’s talking too much.”

“That’s my boy!!”

It was harder to see, since Shuuichi was right next to him, and also taller than him, but Kokichi figured out who the dealer was in, it turned out, a very similar way Tim eventually figured it out. Shuuichi had been relatively quiet during the game, other than calling out his deal, and while he would naturally respond to Kaito’s weirder comments…

Talking would draw attention to you, so that meant a lot of eye contact. And, for everyone responding, that would draw attention to them as well so…

When both Chiaki and Hajime had a deal after they’d spoken, then Shuuichi talked again?

Kokichi giggled as Tim figured it out, giving him some light applause. But he wasn’t totally relaxing. How lucky~ He was going up against Shuuichi. 

Shuichi headed to the center, congratulating Timothy, before peering at everyone around him. Alright… this should be simple enough. Shuichi was, after all, trained in the art of–

“The deal’s been made.” Chiaki called out.

Shuichi zeroed in, looking at her eyeline than searching around, okay, just focu–

“Deal’s been made!” Stacy called.

Okay, that’s fine, only two, it must be coming from this angle–

“Deal’s been made!” Piper called.

Oh, okay, maybe not that direction–

“Uuuh, the deal’s been made!” Kaito called out hesitantly.

“Why did you hesitate?” Maki asked, Shuichi’s eyes automatically heading towards her as she stared him dead in the eye, “The deal’s been made.”

“The deal’s been made, Mr. Shuichi!” Kimiko called.

Shuichi thought he was seeing the pattern now, next would be the opposite side, probably Chako–

“The deal’s been made.” Hajime called.

Motherfucker, where is– “You!” Shuichi realized, shooting his head back at Kokichi, pointing dramatically at him as he restated, “It could only be you!”

It had taken Shuichi waaaaay too long to notice, but when he caught people’s eyes, the kids were always looking mostly straight on while the adults’ eyes seemed to be either lowered or rising. It had to be Kokichi. His height would fit.

… seven deals later. Gah!

Though Kokichi had never played Drug Dealer before, he really loved games like this. Social deception, and the like. Outside of those precious weeks when people got snowed into the castle, he never really got to play them, but he loved the thrill all the same. 

That said, he hadn’t expected a long run, facing up against Shuuichi--it was exactly the sort of deduction that his fiance was trained to notice. But, as Kaito had recently teased…maybe not the first go around. 

Kokichi snickered loudly as Shuuichi called him out, his snorting whinnies filling the ballroom as he jogged over and wrapped Shuuichi up in a hug. “Hey, hey! Did I get ya good, Shuu-chan?! I knew your good brain would pick up patterns too well, so I really had to get strategic with it.”

Shuichi was trying to be a good sport, hugging Kokichi back… but Maki and Kaito both snickered at the sheer look of disdain on the detective’s face, as he patted Kokichi’s back, “Good job, Kokichi.” Shuichi pouted.

“Aw, come on, handsome, he had you spinning circles! At least you both didn’t get caught the first deal.” Kaito laughed, rolling his eyes at himself.

“So I have to beat seven?” Maki mused, “I can do that.”

Chiaki hummed a bit, tilting her head slightly, “....... I don’t know. That’s pretty challenging. It’s a good run.”

“Game’s not over yet! Come on, you guys! Kick my husband’s ass!” Kaito cheered, “I believe in all of you!”

Sending Shuuichi back with another squeeze--he’d make it up to his guy later--Kokichi lightly bounced between his feet, eyes wide as he looked around excitedly. He was gonna put things together! Pay attention! And not rely on his abilities!

(Honestly, it was probably a combination of Drake’s notoriously bad luck and Waku’s abilities that she found him out so quickly. But Waku was known for being observant, and Drake was a good sport, so…it was alright.)

Taking a breath, Kokichi…very carefully tried out one of the things he had been working on idly. His umbrella but…backwards. Not trying to keep people out, but rather, trying to keep his greedy little unconscious hands to himself. He let the breath out, and-

“The deal has been made!” Nadya chirped, right before both Cali and Kimiko joined in together. They were right next to each other, so it meant it was someone they could both see clearly…

“Deal’s made!” Nazumi chuckled, her gaze piercing into Kokichi. 

Chako, Maki, Glen…

Kokichi dropped the umbrella as he grinned, immediately feeling a familiar competitive spirit. “Not lettin’ you beat me yet, Chiaki-chan!”

Chiaki gave Kokichi a slightly startled look… but unlike Shuichi, she found it easy to smile fondly at being found, her competitive spirit not easily bruised as she said softly, “You have to admit, I had you on the ropes for a moment.”

“Wow, Kokichi and Chiaki are both really good at this.” Kaito whispered to Shuichi, who glowered at nothing. Kaito smirked, putting his arm around his fiance and shaking him a little before pulling him into a side hug, “Keep making that face and it’ll stick, handsome.”

“Clearly I need to do my observation exercises again.” Shuichi sighed, letting him lean into Kaito as Kaito laughed into his hair, giving him a small kiss.

“Yeah, maybe! I’ll help ya, it’ll be fun. Now quit pouting, sulking is only cute to a point. Chin up~”

Shuichi gave one last final pout for good measure. But when Kokichi came back, Shuichi smiled at him, giving him an approving nod, “Nice job, Kokichi. Chiaki’s a tough competitor.”

Kokichi gave her a bright grin. “You never do make it easy. Good luck on your guard turn!”

Returning to his partners, Kokichi stood on his toes to quickly peck Shuuichi’s cheek before turning his eyes back to the circle, not wanting to cheat. “Thanks, sweetie. Chiaki-chan is a real beast at, like, every game I’ve ever played with her. I’m kinda amazed I could catch her before my record at all.”

Though…there was something they hadn’t exactly thought through, when they were deciding on turns. The exact advice Kaito had given Tim. With every round that went by, it would be easier to guess who was the dealer, as the number dwindled one by one. 

Easier to guess if you were paying attention, at least. 

The game continued on. In a surprising show--in Kokichi’s opinion anyway--for going up against Chiaki, Nazumi managed to sneak out a respectable five. Cali gave a good show for the kids, smashing Tim’s record of two with four deals…though looking at Nazumi’s eyes, Kokichi had a hunch his aunt gave the girl one extra. Not too much of a pity play but…well, Kokichi just hoped no one would tell Cali later. She caught Hajime after four as well, and while Kokichi would always call Chiaki the super duper ultimate level gamer of that household, Hajime made an impressive deduction, catching Chako right in the act. The chef had huffed, but pressure didn’t get to her head as, unfortunately for Maki, she never got the chance to beat seven, and had a score of four as well. 

Though, with the small handful of people left…Kokichi didn’t expect the next round to take long at all.

Maki headed out, glancing at Piper, Amber, Hideki and Aiichi, her blood red gaze flitting between them with the sort of paranoid quickness that someone who had once regularly had to dodge knives and crossbolts was suited for… and before Piper had even had a chance to decide who she was going to wink at, Maki said, “Piper.”

“Wha… but I didn’t–”

“I never was able to teach you how to not speak with your body.” Maki said, crossing her arms and shrugging, “If you want to work on it later, we’ll do some training.”

Piper sighed at this, Glen patting her sympathetically on the back, before whispering to her good luck as Piper headed out. Right, okay, so there was only a few dealers left… wait, who was left…?

Piper fidgeted nervously with her fingers, as one by one, the people around her announced they had made deals. At first just normally, but then everyone started shouting, sending her encouragements and advice. All the noise maybe not as helpful as they intended, as a few more people announced their deals… “Oh!” Piper realized, seeing Amber grinning imploringly at her, “Uh, you! Miss!”

“Heck yeah!! You got it!” Amber cheered, Piper giving a small, embarrassed laugh as more cheers joined in with Amber. 

Piper was a little stunned when Amber– very much a stranger– came up to her and, without hesitation, hugged her tightly, shaking her side to side a bit before, with a loud SMACK, kissing the top of her head. “Nice job! It’s tough keeping track, isn’t it? Alright, scoot yourself back, let Miss here kick some tail!”

“O-okay!” Piper stammered, flustered by the attention, as she scurried back to Glen’s side. Piper’s face burning bright red while Glen gave her a baffled look. 

“Alright! Three left! Let’s finish this strong!” Amber smirked.

“...I think I’m starting to see an issue with my ‘card’ method.” Kaito whispered to Kokichi, giving him an embarrassed grin.

“Amber at least seems to still be having fun with it,” Shuichi mused, the tanned skin woman cackling wildly as she looked around dramatically. 

He didn’t call out encouragement while her turn was going on, seeing that Piper was flustered enough, but Kokichi did give the girl a sympathetic smile when he announced his deal had been made. For some, keeping track of who was left was second nature. For others…having a mental list of 23 people and randomly subtracting a person one by one, especially when you didn’t know most of the people… It was tough. And he thought Piper did a good job for the task she had. 

Kokichi watched with a warm look as Amber cheered Piper on, before he glanced up at Kaito, chuckling softly. “In fairness, I didn’t think about it either. But I don’t think anyone’s too put out by the balance. Makes it kind of amazing Lake-nee managed to catch ya right away.”

He snickered a little more, squeezing Kaito in a quick side hug to show he was just teasing before he focused back on the game. “Am-chan can make anything fun, I’m positive. Her vibes? Immaculate.”

Amber might’ve said three left, but there were only two people the dealer could be at that point. And, honestly? It was pretty impressive that Hideki managed to sneak by with the three people he did. 

However…that meant that the next dealer could only be…

Hideki gave Amber a gracious nod as he took his spot in the middle of the group, his pale green gaze locked onto Aiichi--who, predictably, didn’t seem fazed in the slightest--before he let out a small sigh, a faint smirk on his lips. Closing his eyes, he called out to the group. 

“Someone tell me when to stop.”

And, rapidly, he began to spin.

“Hm.” Maki hummed. A note of approval in her voice as the older man started to spin in place, while Shuichi gave him an interested look.

“....ooooh,” Chiaki mused, touching her lower lip curiously, “That’s a clever way of solving the end of the line issue.”

“Dude, I’m worried he’s gonna make himself sick.” Kaito frowned, adjusting his flowy robes a little before, mostly out of concern– well, concern for the party, in regards to old man spinning vomit– he shouted, “Stop!”

Kokichi, who knew his uncle very well, simply rolled his eyes a little, though he didn’t say anything aloud. He didn’t want to dampen his family’s intrigue towards one of his more controversial family members. Even if his uncle was a filthy show-off. 

Toshio would be proud. 

Hideki stopped right as Kaito said so, only swaying for a moment as he stopped his body’s momentum on a dime, but seemed steady after that. Once again, he spoke to the group. “Alright, Aiichi, start the game.”

Hideki hadn’t opened his eyes. 

“The deal’s been made,” Pallu said calmly. Hideki immediately turned to face the direction Aiichi was. 

“Deal’s been made!” Lake chirped.

Hideki pointed directly where Aiichi was standing, his eyes still closed. “There.”

Shuichi clapped, nodding approvingly, “Very nice. Very impressive.”

“Wait,” Kaito frowned, a little lost, as he glanced between his husband and fiance, “How did he… did I miss something?”

Aiichi laughed and came forward, clapping his old friend on the back as he slung an arm over Hideki’s shoulders. “You’re going soft, old man. Let me get an extra for my ego, hm? I’ll never not be amazed how you can do that…”

Shaking his head a little at the display, Kokichi gestured to the circle. “None of us changed spots after Hideki-ji went into the middle. He didn’t know which way he was facing after he was done spinning,” though Kokichi had a hunch that Hideki was purposefully not paying attention to that, just to make things more interesting, “So when Pallu called out, Hideki could figure out what part of the circle he was looking at, and where my father was, then he probably used Lake’s voice to narrow down the exact positioning.”

“A reeeeal show off move,” Kokichi scoffed fondly. “If we hadn’t drawn numbers by chance, I’d say he planned it.”

“It’s a good exercise in memory and spatial awareness… maybe could be worth having the kids practice it?” Maki mused, turning to look at the kids, who were losing their minds at what they had just seen. As far as the five kids could tell, the shit they had just seen him do was basically magic, Glen and Piper arguing with each other, trying to work out exactly how he had done it, Kimiko and Cali loudly demanding to know how it had been done while Tim just nodded enthusiastically with their demands.

Kaito scratched the back of his neck a little. He guessed that was pretty impressive… more impressive the old geezer hadn’t blown chunks, though.

But! The MOST impressive thing was– “Chiaki! Kokichi! Come on, to the center!” 

Kaito took Kokichi’s hand, dragging him along, gesturing enthusiastically for Chiaki to meet them there, before taking her hand too and lifting them up to the crowd as he said, “Our winners!! With a tie of seven’s between them, Chiaki and Kokichi are our Ultimate Drug Dealers!!”

“Heeeey,” Hajime laughed, clapping, “Congratulations! There’s my girl!”

“You’re total degenerates, Mr. Kokichi, Miss Chiaki!” Kimiko squealed, throwing her hands in the air and twirling. “Scoundrels!”

“Lake! Arrest them! Tackle them, before they get away!” Cali shouted, pointing and jumping.

(...Toshio really would’ve been proud at the cocky display. Something proud and impressive without tearing anyone else down. Something that got kids to excitedly demand an explanation.)

(Hideki had thought for a moment about asking the group to shuffle themselves, and then deducing things that way, Aiichi’s points taken out of contention. It would’ve been harder for Hideki to figure out, undoubtedly, and would’ve made it more of a game for him. Hideki had always been a selfish bastard but…for as much as he felt stuck in his teens and early twenties…the reality was that he was in his forties, and he had grown up, at least a little.)

(It was more fun for everyone else if he didn’t make them do anything, and instead did a little ‘magic trick’.)

He headed back into the circle with Aiichi as Kaito pulled Kokichi and Chiaki into the middle, watching as Kokichi cheered, throwing up his arms in victory as he laughed. 

“Good game, Chiaki-chan!” Kokichi laughed brightly. “You know, I’ll take a tie…as long as we play more later to really find a winner between us.”

Egged on by Cali, Lake let out her booming laugh and mimed rolling up her sleeves before pointing to Kokichi and Chiaki. “FOUL-DOERS! Distributing controlled substances without a license is a felony! Submit yourselves to arrest peacefully!”

Carefully letting go of Kaito’s hand, Kokichi stuck his tongue out at his sister. “You’ll never catch me alive, pig!”

And with that, the siblings moved. 

Kaito stood perfectly still as, for a brief moment, he and Chiaki were used as barriers, Kokichi and Lake ducking and weaving back and forth around them, before with a cackling giggle, Kokichi bolted off, Lake in hot pursuit. Kaito literally felt wind blow against him after a second, Kokichi and Lake’s collective speed ridiculous, as he lifted his hand uncertainly towards them like he might be able to catch them, “Uuuuuh–”

“Go! Go, run! Run Prince Kokichi!” Glen, of all people, shouted enthusiastically, his face red– and a little white in spots, his excitement getting to him a little, forgetting to control his breathing– as he shouted, Piper keeping a close eye on him. 

Meanwhile, seeing two of the humans run, Chase decided, whelp. Guess we’re chasing now! And she bolted after them, barking enthusiastically. In Temp’s arms, Addie gave increasingly grim looks as barking filled the air, Gabriel zoning out quietly in Temp’s lap while Miyako wiggled excitedly in Ikou’s. 

“Chase! Come back here!” Tim shouted, running after her, Cali and Kimiko goodnaturedly joining in as they both ran after him. Chiaki, in turn, looked to Nadya and said, “Between you, me, and Maki, who do you think could catch up to the front of the line first?”

Maki didn’t answer. She just bolted. Cause she was a cheat like that.

“Uuuuuh,” Kaito said again, watching the line of people running around the ballroom get increasingly long and hectic, glancing at Shuichi, who just shrugged at him, “... ya know what? These people have a lot of energy to burn. Let’s go put on some dance music.” Kaito decided, heading over the player.

Kokichi, as Kaito had known for over a year now, was fast. Had always been, even with the bouts of sickness that kept him in bed and sabotaged his lungs. Perhaps some of his speed was something inherently Kokichi but…well, nature and nurture went hand in hand. 

And for all the days Kokichi spent in childhood zooming around, there had been someone right by him, matching him step for step. 

So…you could say that Lake and Kokichi were damn near blurs…but that didn’t necessarily mean they were running with all their might. 

“GET BACK HERE, VILLAIN!” 

“Not a chance, blackguard! Gotta be faster than that!” 

Even with all the chaos of others following their chase, Lake and Kokichi taunted each other through laughs. At least, until Lake got one last taunt out before the music started. 

“CALLING ALL BACK UP! We’ve got a runner!”

And before Kokichi could taunt back, he was swept off his feet, held up in the air--though just by a couple inches--as his arms were trapped, another set of steel-strong arms holding him firmly looped around them. Letting out a loud sound of alarm as Lake quickly tried to skid to a stop, she soon let out a laugh. “Katsuki! Hey, when did you get here?”

“I arrived at 12:00 pm, right as party preparations began, Guard Lake Meo.”

Kokichi could only giggle in his friend’s arms. Of course–

Chase was a very good dog. But this very good dog was being chased by three rambunctious children and three racing women trying to run past the three children, and really, there was no stopping for her, as she leapt into Lake’s back.

And then Timothy crashed into her.

And then Cali and Kimiko managed to dodge around and crashed into Katsuki’s legs. 

And then Chiaki fell as she stumbled around the many legs on the ground, and while Nadya caught herself in time with her strong legs, Maki– not maliciously. Purely on instinct– used Nadya’s back as a launch pad, jumping off her shoulder and realizing: whelp. Guess she was about to land on Katsuki and Kokichi. RIP Kokichi.

To her credit, Lake only staggered a little from the year-old black lab jumping into her back. It was the ten-year-old crashing into her off-balance form that sent her to the ground as Chiaki joined in. 

Nadya was much more used to sliding to stop herself than stopping on a dime, but she staggered a bit under Maki’s weight and, well…Katsuki had stayed upright under the onslaught of the two girls, but couldn’t easily move without shoving them or dropping Kokichi as Maki sailed in the air towards them. 

And in that split-second decision, Kokichi hiked his knees up, hoping that Maki would be able to grab on.

Across the room, the door gently opened, Seiko timidly talking more to herself than to the room at large, “Sorry for the i-intrusion, I just wanted…to…” She trailed off, staring at the heap of people on the ground in astonishment.

Jaunty music was playing, as Maki was balancing trepidatiously on Kokichi’s knees, clinging onto him as she sat in his lap, while Kokichi was held in Katsuki’s arms. Katsuki, in turn, standing cheerfully in a pile of bodies, while half of the rest of the room hurried to all of the fallen people, going to look after them and check in on them, while a dog barked excitedly, running circles around the large fallen group. Kaito, standing over by the record player, rubbed the back of his neck a little, watching Shuichi be among the group to rush over to check on the fallen, and feeling pretty confident they were all probably fine, he looked over his shoulder to the door.

“Oh!” Kaito grinned, giving Seiko a wave, “Hey! Glad to see you made it, Seiko!” He called, though his eyeline went over her head and said, “Hello, Mr. Nidai. Miss Kirigiri, Miss Luna.”

A big, heavy hand clasped Seiko’s shoulder, as a voice above her boomed, “HA HA HA HA! COME ON, LITTLE LADY, LET’S NOT BE A ROADBLOCK! WE’VE GOT TO GET IN THERE, KYOKO’S KID IS MARRYING THOSE TWO IDIOTS!”

“You shouldn’t call royalty idiots, Nekomaru,” Kyoko scolded slightly, heading in as well and raising an eyebrow, “...Huh.”

“Why not? It’s fun! Let Nekomaru live out his rebellious spirit, it’s about time~” Oliver giggled, clinging to Kyoko’s arm before looking around with an excited smile, “Oh wow. Is everyone dead?”

Seiko let out a small, startled squeak at the heavy hand and loud voice behind her that had really not been there a moment ago, how??? Before she quickly scurried into the room, indeed not becoming a roadblock. “A-ah, my apologies. Um, hi, Kaito, happy anniv-versary.”

It helped that Maki was hanging on with her own strength, but, uh…they hadn’t done morning training in a long, long time. He was still keeping her up, as the people coming to help started to untangle everyone on the floor, but already his legs were starting to shake. 

Even though his face was blocked by her torso, it was impossible not to hear Nekomaru’s voice, and still within Katsuki’s arm-lock, he gave a wave towards the door. They said they would, but it was still nice to know the mentors had showed up.

“HA! STILL GOT SOME LIFE IN THEM YET!” Nekomaru said approvingly, chuckling good naturedly as Maki tried to work out how she was going to wiggle out of Kokichi’s lap without, like… stepping on someone. 

“Hee-heeehee,” Oliver giggled, resting her head on Kyoko’s shoulder as she said softly to her, “Lots of interesting faces here.”

“There are.” Kyoko agreed, her tone flat. Neutral. 

“You recognized the good healer?”

“Of course.”

“What about the dedicated maid?”

Kyoko gave Oliver a dry look, “I only indulge leading questions so long. You know this. Get to your point.”

Oliver smiled warmly at her love. “Seeing them in person again giving you any doubts? We could still do something…~”

Kyoko glanced between Seiko and Kirumi, her eyes narrowing for a second. Tempted… before looking to Shuichi. Who was checking over the kids, brushing Kimiko’s clothes off as Maki finally managed to get off Kokichi’s lap, Kaito wandering over to check him over and congratulate Katsuki on remaining standing. “...no. I will not risk his place here. We’ve already agreed.”

“Kirumi killed a lot of people.” Oliver reminded her softly.

“We all have blood on our hands.” Kyoko shrugged.

“She nearly killed you.”

“Until she saw a little boy throw himself in her way.” Kyoko said, looking up at Nekomaru, who was standing silently on her other side, absolutely listening, teaming with an electric, murderous energy. Really only looking for permission, as she said softly, “If anything, I owe her a debt. For sparing me.”

“She owes you a debt, for living.” Nekomaru said, a wide, mean smile on his face, all teeth as he said, “If she had killed you, I would have found her and ripped her apart. And eventually… she would have died.”

“Same.” Oliver said softly, holding Kyoko’s arm tighter.

Kyoko sighed softly at her two friends, shaking her head slightly, “We’re not here for vengeance plots. We’re here to ensure our wards are happy and safe. They are. Any actions on our part to call blood rights would endanger them. And Kirumi’s seemed to have put the past behind her.”

“I’m shocked Kaito can even be in the same room as her.” Nekomaru muttered.

“I’m not. The prince repressed those memories almost immediately. I never heard him talk about it after what happened.” Kyoko shrugged, “I suppose seeing her in person didn’t bring them back. Likely for the best. And the healer… do I really have to go into why we don’t touch the healer?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Nekomaru huffed, “She’s got Shuichi’s medicine, if he ever gets sick again. I know. Still think she deserves a bit of roughing up though. Her and her friends.”

“We’ve already agreed… now. I can see our wards staring at us. They’ll only let us talk privately like this for awhile before they start trying to read our lips or overhear us.”

“Let’s say something really embarrassing and see how long it takes for them to regret it.” Oliver smirked.

“...you’re truly something else, sometimes.” Kyoko said fondly… before she smirked, “Alright, let’s do it.”

Over at the decreasing pile, Maki and Shuichi were peering at their mentors, who were off in a corner assessing the room and discussing… before Shuichi blanched first. “Gah! What? Why–”

Maki twitched, “Oh, okay. I thought maybe I was starting to wildly misinterpret, but you’re seeing it too.”

“They’re in public!” Shuichi squealed, his face turning bright red in horror, before he covered his eyes, “No!”

In a big group of people, it was a lot harder to pick out individual feelings. Sometimes there was a flash of something, like the excited expectation the dealer would have during the game, but mostly…all around Kokichi were just muddled feelings of fun. 

So it did make differing feelings pretty noticeable to pick out. 

Murderous intent…despite all the issues they’d had, and the kinds of personalities his family had, wasn’t something Kokichi felt all that often. But it had been enough for him to recognize. By the time Maki had been able to get off his lap, and Katsuki had been able to set him down--now both his arms and legs a little shaky--the feeling had waned somewhat, but…still…

Kokichi lightly trotted over to the mentors, giving them all a smile--that didn’t reflect his mild nerves at their feelings at all--before mimicking the bow Kaito had done for his father. “Mr. Nidai, Miss Kirigiri, Miss Luna; thank you all for coming. I’m happy you’re all able to celebrate Kai-chan and my anniversary together.”

While the mentors had been happily fucking around with their nosy children– Maki and Shuichi both deciding to grimly hide their face in Kaito’s chest, who gave them both bewildered looks– they pulled it together when Prince Kokichi approached and did a remarkably well done and timely bow. While Kyoko and Nekomaru were a little caught off guard by the token of respect, they all returned the bow in turn, though in this moment only Oliver crossed her hands over her waist, not feeling like a true parent deserving the token at an event like this. Kyoko and Nekomaru’s hands, however, were brought into fists by their sides. 

That done though, they straightened up, Nekomaru saying cheerfully, “OF COURSE! WE WOULDN’T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD! WE WERE JUST CHECKING ON SOME THINGS BEFORE WE GOT HERE!”

They had been checking the parameters, talking to the kitchen staff, and talking to the guardforce respectively. Nothing too terribly intrusive. Just enough to feel like if something fishy was going on, they’d have a good sense of alibis and atmosphere if they needed to look into things later. Spare themselves the headache of relying purely on testimonies later…. If something happened. Which so far it didn’t seem like it would.

“It’s quite a…” Kyoko tried to think of an appropriate but still flattering word as she looked at the very informal party, “... comfortable gathering you’ve put together. Oliver and I are always looking for more reasons to dance together, so I expect we’ll get to enjoy this clever sound system Dicea has cooked up. It really is remarkable.”

“It is~” Oliver said, looking around curiously, “I think these would do amazing in my pubs and bars… would you mind if I took a look at them at some point, your grace?”

“We did arrange the party time to be pretty long,” Kokichi lightly laughed. “We were really hoping to get a time for everyone to at least be able to stop by, so there’s not really any expectation for people to be here the whole time.” Even if he had stressed a bit about people showing up for the beginning. 

Nodding excitedly as Kyouko and Oliver commented on the sound system, Kokichi opened up his body language, offering to walk the mentors more into the greater part of the party if they chose so. Though he figured Shuuichi, Maki, and Kaito would be coming up sooner rather than later. 

“Not at all! I am a little unsure about some of the wires, so I’d recommend not touching too much, but I have the set of diagrams I used still here if you’d like to see a more thorough breakdown,” Kokichi grinned brightly. “We could get a copy made too, if you’d like to bring it back with you.”

Olivers smile twisted at the ends, eyes shining with delight as she said, “Please, your grace, that’d be wonderful.”

It’d be so good for business.

Kaito, eventually managing to soothe his scandalized escorts, led the way to the mentors and– again, as he had done for Ikou and Aiichi– formally bowing to the parents of his fiance, Maki bowing slightly and Shuichi lowering his head, before Kaito straightened up and grinned, “You’re here! But you’re too late, we played this great game, I think you three would have loved it. Have you played drug dealer?”

Oliver gave out a startled, barking laugh at that, the sound strange from her usual light, knowing giggles, genuinely taken off guard. Though the light giggles soon followed as Kyoko gave her girlfriend a withering look at that, before saying, “We’re familiar with the game, yes. That’s quite alright, we’re here to show support for the marriage of my ward’s fiances, in whatever way you choose to celebrate that. Meaning to say we don’t mind whatever we’re doing, here.”

“SPEAK FOR YOURSELF KYOKO. MAKI! BABY GIRL, WHERE’S THE BOOZE??”

Maki shrugged a little, “Kokichi, Kaito and Shuichi have to watch the baby after this, and I suppose no one else felt it was right to bring alcohol if the hosts weren’t drinking.”

“SOD THAT, IT’S A PARTY! YOU’RE ALL, WHAT, EARLY TWENTIES STILL!? GET A BABY SITTER! KAITO, YOU GOT SOMETHING STASHED AWAY AT LEAST, RIGHT!? SHARE WITH AN OLD MAN!”

Kaito laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head a bit. “Nope. I don’t have any stashes.” 

“YOU’RE A DISGRACE!”

“C’mon, Mr. Nidai, it’s no fun being the only drunk guy at a party…” Kaito grinned, flushing a bit at Mr. Nidai’s openly judgy look, before saying, “You’re welcome to bring your own alcohol to drink, if you really want to.”

“NAH, SOMEONE AROUND HERE’S GOT SOMETHING, I’M CERTAIN. JUST GOTTA FIND THEM. CONGRATULATIONS ON THE ANNIVERSARY, YOUR GRACES!!” Nidai said, going around them and heading into the crowd, intending to sniff out booze.

…there were two things a startled laugh like that, that garnered a death stare could mean. First, that Oliver, for a split second, thought they were talking about actual drug deals…or that something romantically scandalous happened between them once involving the game. Both options were stories he’d likely not ever hear. 

Shaking his head with a little chuckle, Kokichi shrugged. “Still, I hope you’ll enjoy yourselves. You’ve already mentioned dancing, of course, but we also have games over by the other cluster of tables over there, and you’re more than welcome to play anything you like.”

It was true that he, Kaito, and Shuuichi hadn’t planned on drinking during the party, but during his planning, considering there would be an indeterminate amount of kids around, Kokichi had decided to just play it safe and not have open booze around. He didn’t discourage others from bringing alcohol, no more than he said generally that no one needed to bring anything, but…still. 

…and he didn’t quite think marijuana would be down Nekomaru’s alley. 

Thanking Nekomaru for the congratulations as he headed off, Kokichi…kind of wanted to turn to Kaito, say that in the vein of dancing…eh? Eh? But the work of a host was never done…and it really seemed like it was the next wave of people coming in. 

The only way to accurately describe how Denji entered the ballroom was to say they burst in, for how much they didn’t actually smash the door into the wall. But there was a certain grandiose swagger that Kokichi’s sibling had--only accentuated by what looked like a pale purple silk brocade suit with a more luxuriant velvet vest underneath, with velvet detailing on the suit itself--as the strode in with Andromeda on their arm, looking around the room for barely a moment before striding over to Kokichi. Andromeda could very well be wearing a gown, if not for the obvious fact it was a two piece outfit--a one-shouldered silver top with a matching open skirt, the shown-off inside fabric the same as Denji’s suit, giving them each distinct styles, but clearly meant to match. 

“Kokichi! Kaito! Happy anniversary!”

Kaito looked at Denji and Andromeda, then over at Shuichi and Maki, and then down at himself.

…damn. How did he end up underdressed at his own damn party??

Still! He’d be a good sport about it, as he grinned, giving them both a welcoming nod as he said, “Hey, welcome! Glad you both could make it! I love the outfits, did you make them?”

Denji puffed with pride, while Andromeda squeezed their arm with a small, proud smile. “Of course I did. Since the last merchant rotation, I’ve had so much fabric from Luminary I’ve been dying to make something from, and your party was the perfect excuse,” they winked at Kokichi. 

“I’d been thinking a lot about the construction ideas we talked about, Kaito,” they then nodded to the guy, “And while it would simply make the ensembles one and done in a Dicean climate, I did take them into account. I really was amazed to find a brocade that’s actually able to breathe.”

Andromeda nodded, her perpetually tired expression still looking pleased. “I can’t say I really know anything more than what Den’s told me, but if Luminous fashion is anything like this? All the girls at the club are probably gonna swarm the next international market.”

Kaito’s eyes widened at this, stepping towards both of them and– maybe a bit more brazenly than he really should have– immediately feeling up their clothes as he said, “Oh, this is Luminary silk?? Wow! It’s so much material, do you have any left?”

He hadn’t recognized it by sight, but feeling it? Yep, there it was. That airy, smooth fabric, perfect for skin-beating suns and movement. “Kokichi! Come feel this! This is what I’m talking about!”

“Oh?” Kokichi came up curiously, waiting a moment while Denji extended their arm, allowing him to feel. It was so smooth…and so light. It kinda seemed like Denji was wearing a tissue that’d just blow away, even if he could feel some of the lining underneath in some parts. “Huh…”

Denji rolled their eyes a bit. “It’s not entirely silk. Even aside from the print, but likely because of it for structural reasons it’s a poly-blend. The merchant I bought it from is obviously used to people less discerning, since they kept trying to sell it as pure silk--along with the price tag that would come with it. Ridiculous.”

“There’s not a ton left of these two,” they nodded to the main fabrics of their and Rom’s outfits, “But I did buy a few different rolls.” Smirking, they added, “If you’re interested in a commission, you absolutely know where to find me.”

Kaito’s mind immediately wandered into the ‘fun Kokichi costume’ territory of his brain… ooooh…. Or maybe a nice vest! Or a small cape for next winter…

Shuichi– while Maki was in the corner convincing Hajime to watch the infants for a bit, fulfilling her end of the deal with Temp– was walking past Kaito and Kokichi when he reached out to tap Kaito’s shoulder, saying as he passed, “Hina and Yuta are here.”

Kaito looked up, giving an enthusiastic wave as Shuichi went to meet Hina, Sakura and Yuta, who had all just come in, “Hey guys! You got here just in time, I’m about to show everyone how good Kokichi’s two-step’s gotten since last year! Come meet everyone, we have…”

Kaito looked at the ever increasing crowd of people and, humming to himself a bit, he decided on, “Uuuuuh, well, we have lots of people, but… hey! Amber! Could you introduce our other friends here to everyone!”

Amber laughed, “I literally just met half these people, so… sure! I love a good game of blind leading the blind! Hi, I’m Amber… who the heck are you three?”

Hina and Yuta, just finishing giving Shuichi hugs and asking how the big day was going so far, laughed as they introduced themselves to Amber and Stacy, trailing along behind her. Meanwhile, Sakura and Temp, both trailing behind their respective groups, found each other stepping to the side and quietly introducing themselves to each other, chatting about their energetic friends as Amber and Hina found themselves almost immediately and enthusiastically discussing the food at the table, and Yuta and Stacy passed back and forth some polite, easy small-talk, ‘how do you know the princes, what do you do,’ that sort of thing. The group had a synergy, and Kaito hoped it’d make easy friends of them as he looked back to Denji and Andromeda, finally backing away from them a step and letting go of their clothes. 

“Well, I might take you up on that offer. Summer’s ending, but having some more silk options to play with next summer would be nice! And like I said, you two look fantastic. You guys planning to dance?”

Kokichi looked over, beaming with a wave as he spotted Hina, Yuta, and Sakura. They’d already had a sweet anniversary moment with Sakura, but…Kokichi still felt like it was special. Sure, they weren’t thick as thieves, but Kokichi was thankful and happy about the relationships, old and new, with that group.

With everyone in the room, really, plus all the people yet to stop by. It had been a hell of a year…and while Kokichi usually said that with a sort of despondency, this time it was joyus. 

Seeing everyone start (and continue) to mingle and get along, Kokichi pressed fondly to Kaito’s side.

Though, at Kaito’s question, Andromeda looked away, a little embarrassed, while Denji grinned, snaking an arm around their girlfriend’s waist. “Can’t say I’m much of a dancer, but we did agree to a few. Kokichi, you look like you have ants in your hideous pants, so…shall we all head to the dancefloor?”

Kokichi sent a semi-nervous look to the door, almost expecting another person to come through, before he looked up at Kaito with a guilty, eager smile. “You picked out some good music. Can we?”

“Hm? Yeah babe, I’ve just been waiting for you.” Kaito laughed, surprised by the uncertainty on Kokichi’s face. “Come on, I’ve been looking forward to this all week!” 

And it was true. Kaito grabbed Kokichi’s hand and, without a backward glance to anyone else, led his husband out onto the dance floor. No one else was really dancing yet, people were just sort of lingering and talking to each other as the music played, but Kaito didn’t really care about that. Cause, honestly… this wasn’t about them.

There hadn’t been a lot of genuinely happy moments, on their wedding day. Kaito had felt lost and stressed out on the verge of attacking people the entire day. And while he shouldn’t have been doing it, he should have been out riding into the dark after his lost escorts… dancing with Kokichi had been the best moment of that day, for Kaito. A brief moment where they had felt young and energetic and excited about what being married to each other might actually mean.

It had been the first moment where marrying Kokichi had actually seemed… fun.

And Kaito was happy to have so many friends there, this time. Surrounded by a community of people that he, at the very least, was familiar with, and at most, adored with all his heart. And he was happy that it was a joyous occasion, not lined with danger and threats and heartbreak and uncertainty. And he was happy they were joined by their family, up to and including Maki’s siblings, Kokichi’s parents and siblings, and Maki and Shuichi’s mentors, their children, and Shuichi, their fiance. Kaito couldn’t have imagined a room like this, full of people like this, a year ago. It would have felt impossible.

That was all great. It was genuinely amazing.

…but Kaito, at least right now, as he grinned down at Kokichi and put his hand on his lower back, drawing him close for a moment, just wanted this, as he pulled him into an easy two-step at first, whispering, “Wow… I really managed to hold onto someone as wonderful as you for a whole year, huh? How the hell did I pull that off?”

Kokichi’s smile burned brighter at that, more at ease getting into position than he was a year ago. It still wasn’t as often as he’d ideally like, but they’d gotten in a lot more dancing practice, than a bored, lonely kid bogeying down alone in his room. He hadn’t felt clumsy at their wedding--Kaito was far too good a dancer and instructor for that--but…this time, it was clear how much more comfortable Kokichi was, getting into the dance. 

Waiting a moment to find the beat in the middle of the song, Kokichi followed Kaito’s lead, his feet lightly tapping forward and back as they danced. 

“Probably something along the lines of how I didn’t manage to scare you off after a year,” Kokichi smiled, rubbing a small circle into Kaito’s arm, where his hand was perched. “I was right, you know. I’ve gotten so used to the ring I barely notice it. But it makes me smile every time I do.”

“...I love you, Kai-chan. Happy anniversary, to one of the best things that ever happened to me. To us.”

“I love you too, ‘Kichi.” Kaito whispered, leaning down to give Kokichi a quick kiss… before the song picked up its tempo, and Kaito, excited, started playing with their movements, pulling Kokichi into twists and twirls, and this time occasionally able to step into a movement Kokichi himself started. Hopping and spinning and dancing, their feet sometimes barely touching the floor, and Kaito barely conscious of it as around them more and more of their guests joined in, happy to take the hosts lead.

“Do you want to dance?” Shuichi asked Maki, who was watching the dancing from the sidelines, mostly watching the kids. Timothy had two left feet and performance anxiety on top of that, and was barely moving, but Cali had grabbed his hands and was excitedly hopping and spinning around, no doubt in her own mind as sophisticated and coordinated looking as any of the adults dancers, while in reality she was mostly just hopping up and down and shaking their arms. Kimiko, in turn, had gotten into a dance with Piper, and seemed to be living for twirls, Piper happily indulging her.

“Sure.” Maki said, taking his hand and letting him lead hre down the dance floor. Maki could dance– she could dance extremely well– but she knew Shuichi couldn’t, and let him lead her into an easy sway, the two ignoring the tempo of the music. “Well, we did it. Took us a year, but we made it to the wedding.”

“I bet the wedding was boring anyway.” Shuichi said, smirking slightly at Maki as they took an easy turn, “We had a much more exciting couple of days. Got to travel a bit. Had some exercise.”

“I tried to murder you.”

“Tried being the key word. I survived an assassination attempt by the Reaper. They should give me a medal.” Shuichi huffed. “Instead all I got was a baby.”

“She’s a very cute baby.” Maki complimented, “And she came with two fiance’s, so I think you came out alright on this deal.”

“She is very sweet. But you got a spelling bee champion as your wedding tragedy’s consolation prize, which I am a bit jealous of, honestly.”

“I did get pretty lucky, didn’t I.” Maki mused, “I’m going to push Timothy into being top of his class, just to spite you. Miyako will have a lot to live up to.”

“Hah,” Shuichi smirked… before leaning into her a little, giving her a small hug as he said, “It’s been a weird year.”

“It really has been.” Maki murmured, “...do you regret coming?”

“No.” Shuichi said easily. “You?”

“No.” Maki said… before admitting, “Though Maki from a year ago would assume I was lying. I didn’t see this coming at all.”

“Same.” Shuichi sighed, before rolling his eyes, “Kaito’s parent harem. No one could say they predicted that one.”

“Fuyuhiko would claim it, but that little shit always thought he was right about everything, and he would have twisted every teasing little comment he made about us as some sort of ‘profound prediction’.” Maki huffed, “You make someone a gang leader and suddenly they think they know things.”

“I wonder how he’s doing.” Shuichi said, letting Maki push him into an easy spin, though he had to duck down a little to get under his own arm, “Maybe we should call him?”

“Miss arguing pointlessly that much, huh?” Maki smirked, Shuichi laughing lightly with her, the two going back into their easy sway. “... I don’t regret coming, but I’m glad it was with you. All of this would have been really difficult, on my own. And Kaito was so caught up in his own world for a few months there… I’m glad you’re here.”

“Sap.” Shuichi teased. “What sort of assassin has ‘feelings’.”

“Why don’t you get a clue and deduce that stick up your ass.” Maki shot back… before the two laughed lightly at each other. 

They danced with each other, easy and comfortable… before Shuichi whispered, “Okay, but seriously, how long are our mentors staying?”

“I don’t know.”

-

The game was something fun to do, for sure, but as the dance floor filled, it was clear what the main event of the party was. It was expected to see a lot of the couples dance, Lake and Nazumi jivvin’ it up, Chako and Pallu working their way across the floor at a more sedate pace, seeming to just use the time to talk, Kyouko and Oliver hand in hand. But there were a few more interesting pairs, even before the couples split for more combinations. Nadya’s physical proficiency seemed to be a perfect counterbalance to Drake’s fumbling, as she led him through a few simple steps, Ikuo and Hideki not moving around the room much, but going through a good bit of fancy footwork together, and…

Waku snickered quietly, nudging Haneda’s arm--who’d showed up quietly while people were distracted--and nodding to the blatantly shocked look on Kirumi’s face as, apparently, Aiichi asked her to dance. They never really tried it on purpose, because then it would just feel cruel, but there was something between a bet and eager gossip among the housekeepers to see anything that would startle the usually stoic woman. 

Waku figured she’d hit the floor at some point, but for now she was indulging in one of her favorite pastimes--people-watching. And, in particular, her friends, and friends’ friends, all having a good, goofy time together. And it looked like the complexity would only increase, as she noticed the door open again. 

Given that the hosts were rather occupied, Waku slinked off to go greet the newcomer herself. They were acquainted, after all.

Souda, living on the streets of Danganronpa, had always had certain… daydreams. About what he might dress in if he ever went to a flora event. And, well, now he had extra spending money and a party to go to and he wasn’t just a human among flora, sooooo~

Souda slunk in, strutting, and while he didn’t get the attention Denji did when they burst in, in his heart, there had been massive applause and gape mouth staring as he lowered his hat dramatically, chains bouncing against his hips as he popped his sharp, wide red button up collar around his dark blue jacket. 

His shoes were the most expensive part of his outfit, and they clicked against the dancefloor as Souda looked around, hands in his pockets and leaning back dramatically. Oh, yes. Fresh. So fresh. Gonna have the girls crawling out of his– “Ah! Miss Waku!” Souda sputtered, almost falling backwards, “You’re here!”

Waku grinned in light amusement. He really was an interesting guy. “I do live here, and Kaito and Kokichi are my friends. Hey, Souda, how’s it going?”

She nodded out to the dancefloor--while she had dressed up a little, changing out of her regular work clothes into a blue and purple watercolor-like babydoll dress, Waku had just kept to her usual braids--explaining, “Kaito and Kokichi are a little wrapped up in each other right now, but they’ll probably come over to say hello sooner or later. You missed the group game we played earlier--some Luminary game called Drug Dealer. Kokichi and Chiaki,” Waku pointed her out in the crowd, “Tied for the win.”

“Other than that, you haven’t missed much.”

“Drug dealer, huh?” Souda asked, trying to immediately put himself back together as he lied, “Oh, yeah, I know that game. Used to play it all the time, I was sort of infamous among my friends for being impossible to beat. Shame I missed it, I coulda schooled you all in how to really play the game.”

“Uh huh,” Waku nodded, just…intrigued with such a weird, blatant lie. “I was pretty happy with my five, I have to say, but it was more fun being the guard. Even if I only was for, like, half a second,” she snickered, completely unabashed with how quick she ended Drake’s round. The guy needed to be more sneaky!

“Maybe you’ll get to show off if we end up playing something else--Kokichi got a board game corner all set up and everything,” she nodded over towards the area. 

“But for now, people are pretty happy dancing.” Giving Souda an inquisitive look, Waku half-shrugged. “You wanna join in?”

“W-with you!?” Souda asked, looking borderline scandalized, but also deeply intrigued, his eyes sparkling and pink burning his cheeks as he said, “U-uh, sure! I mean, of course! I’m gonna show you a great time, Miss Waku!”

“I’m gonna vomit.” Shuichi muttered to Maki, the two close enough to overhear them. “Could he not?”

“Don’t throw up on me, this dress came with a bunch of specific cleaning instructions and I threw them all away, I think it’s doomed the first time it goes through a wash.” Maki smirked, taking Shuichi’s hand and leading him off the dance floor as she said, “Let’s go settle your stomach with some food.”

“Do you think anyone will yell at us if we dig into the cake?”

“They could certainly try, if they’re ready to die.”

They hadn’t had any specific ceremony for their wedding cake, since the reception was as much a party for the city as it was for them, but that was one thing Kokichi hadn’t really wanted to “fix” for their anniversary. There were two sheet cakes, much in the style their wedding cake had been since…well, it was the easiest way to easily make sure upwards and around 40 people could all have some. 

So all that was to say, if Kokichi saw Shuuichi and Maki getting cake…he’d probably pout and whine, all the way until he got a slice himself.

And unlike last time, it wouldn’t be ruined with any terrible company. Or drugs. 

Ever amused, Waku gave Souda a grin and nabbed his hand, leading him out to the dancefloor. Waku wasn’t much of a dancer, but she didn’t really get the impression Souda was either. It’d be fun. 

Laughing as Kaito threw him in the air, Kokichi tore his eyes from his husband just long enough to make a pleased noise. “Oh, hey, Souda-kun made it!”

“Ha! Got a view of the crowd from up there?” Kaito joked, face flushed red and skin glistening with sweat as he and Kokichi danced energetically between each other, Kaito putting his hands underneath Kokichi’s armpits and– everyone having learned by now that the two needed some space when they danced– swirling him around as Kokichi’s feet left the air, using the spin to take a look… “Aw, look at that! He and Waku are dancing! Awesome! … I hope he’s behaving himself.” Kaito chuckled.

Pulling Kokichi in by the waist, Kaito was about to dip him, when–

A sudden spotlight, right where he and Kokichi were dancing. The music suddenly off. Kaito blinking blearily through the sudden beam of light as he wondered, where the hell had the spotlight even come from, had they rented a spotlight?? 

“Kaito Momota!” Tangouai said from the banisters– oh look, there were banisters over there– hair dramatically blowing in wind that only seemed to exist for him as he pointed dramatically, “I’ve come! To continue our great feud! I challenge you to– AH SHIT WHAT THE FUCK!?”

“Mr. Nidai, no! He’s not attacking, this isn’t an attack!” both Shuichi and Maki insisted, running after the large assassin as he glared up at the banisters, looking genuinely befuddled. How the hell had that hatchet missed, he had had the attacker right in his sights…

Not noticing any movement from Katsuki, Nidai could only look in bafflement as Tangouai stared at the large throwing hatchet that had lodged itself into the wall beside his head, as he stammered out, “U-uh… is now a bad time, or…!?”

Kokichi squinted in the sudden light, having known in his heart of hearts that this was coming. He hadn’t been able to find contact information for Tangouai, so the man hadn’t necessarily been invited…but Kokichi knew. Where there was music, and Kaito tearing up the dancefloor, his rival would appear. So when he had given the guestlist to the guards, he mentioned that Tangouai might show up, and that it was fine for him to do so. 

They, evidently, weren’t the only people he should’ve warned, but in Kokichi’s defence, he had no clue how he should’ve broached that with the mentors. 

(From the dark, Katsuki gave Tangouai a thumbs up, even if he wasn’t looking. Projectile defence was such a fun puzzle, every time.)

“It’s okay, Tangouai!” Kokichi called up to the banister. “I’ll go start the music again, you and Kai-chan can do your thing. Just give me my husband back at some point tonight, alright?”

“Kay! Uh, congratulations on the anniversary!” Tangouai called, looking around, “... I need a second to get down from here. But then! I challenge you, Momota!”

“Fine! I accept your challenge! … how the heck did you even get up there!?” Kaito called up to the banister.

“I mean, you can just watch me get back down, that’ll explain it!” Tangouai called back.

As Kaito and his rival both figured out how to get Tangouai down from the banister, and the mentors were brought up to date about their history, Shuichi and Maki went back to their plates at the table. Gesturing Kokichi over, Shuichi asked, “Wanna eat with us and watch people dance for a bit?”

Shaking his head in exasperated fondness, Kokichi went over to the record player, letting out a relieved breath when he saw whatever dramatic tension Tangouai had brought with him hadn’t messed up the sound system. They had been pretty close to the end of the record anyway, so…heh. Yeah, that one would do.

Nodding his head a little as the swing with extra enhanced beat started to play, Kokichi noticed Shuuichi’s gesture and jogged over, wiping the sweat from his forehead as his eyes grew. “Oooh… Hey, no fair, you guys started on cake without me? Laaaaame.”

Having gone to the side even a little before Tangouai’s interruption, Aiichi chuckled a little as he heard the type of music Kokichi had put on. “I believe this might be a pointed message towards you, my friend.”

Hideki rolled his eyes, but rolled up his sleeves as well. A slight glimmer of excitement in his eyes. “Little brat.”

Kaito, for a moment, looked a little lost. He didn’t… know this kind of music?? How were you supposed to dance to this… shit, if Tangouai knew, he’d end up leading the dance and win…

Thankfully, as Tangouai climbed down, Kaito had the brief respite– and sheer absurd reality– of watching Hideki lose his god damn mind to this music. What the hell… okay. Sure! That made sense! Kaito could–

A hand gripped his wrist and before Kaito realized it he was pulled towards Tangouai, who smirked at him with all of his teeth. Kaito scowled at him, but let himself be led for a bit, trying to get a grasp of the movement. Okay, okay… it was all in the joints. Knee joints were doing all the movement, and big swinging motions in his arms, like swinging your fists.

Yeah! He got this! Bring it on! 

“You were dancing a lot. And I was hungry.” Shuichi said, sounding not very guilty at all as he bit onto his fork, taking another pleased hum as the taste of the cake. “I just had a baby, I can have all the cake I want.”

“Can’t use that excuse forever.” Maki said, looking over to Hajime, who was earnestly trying to entertain three very awake, lively infants, Chiaki absolutely destroying them in a game of peek-a-boo. Assured the babies were fine, Maki looked at the dance floor, watching Tangouai and Kaito ‘face’ each other again, Kaito learning swing as he went but catching on quick, Hideki boogying and shimmying around the dance floor like a strange dance-floor cryptid. “...”

Shuichi smirked. “You should dance with Kaito after this.”

“That would be so mean.” Maki sighed, having been thinking the same thing, “Tangouai actually thinks he’s Kaito’s dance rival. It’d be crushing.”

“You’re right, it’d be pretty brutal… go out there and steal him from him.” Shuichi smirked harder, looking absolutely delighted with the idea. 

“...maybe after my cake.” Maki mused. Looking to Kokichi, she asked, “Having fun?”

Kokichi snickered like a damn maniac to himself as his uncle took to the beats like catnip. He and Toshio had always been good dancers, but it was always just shocking how well Hideki took to that particular genre. Toshio told him that Hideki had gone after one of the most technical styles (while still being a ‘freestyle’ dance) due to his rivalry with Honoka. Hideki had refused to let even the fallacious argument of Honoka being right just because she could keep time while hopping around stand. If she could throw her weight around stepping and tapping, then he’d swing. 

Getting his own cake, Kokichi happily plopped himself down next to Shuuichi. “I dunno, I really think you can use that excuse forever. If you take out the ‘just’ eventually, I guess. And if you never let the healers tell Kai-chan what your blood pressure and stuff look like.”

Had Kokichi actually been the last person to rat Shuuichi out? Yes. Was he also all in favor of Shuuichi eating how he please? Of course! They would just need to settle into a training routine again…eventually. 

Laughing softly at Shuuichi goading Maki on, Kokichi gave her a fond look as he nodded emphatically. “Yes! So far, everything’s been a blast. I’m really glad we could pull this all off…and that everyone’s enjoying it.”

“Absolutely. Good food, good music, good compan…” Shuichi sighed as Hajime, out of nowhere, picked Miyako up and stared bee-lining towards the dance floor, his expression blank as he headed in Kaito’s direction, “Maki, you’re quick, could you go stop her? And Kokichi, remove the tether. Thank you both.”

Maki put down her plate and quickly hurried out into Hajime’s direction.

Kokichi echoed Shuuichi’s sigh before closing his eyes. He had been practicing keeping more awareness of his surroundings, but…well, he was trying to be quick here. 

{Mi-Mi, do you want Daddy and Dada?}

Feeling Miyako’s influence was easy, these days, so it wasn’t an issue severing her tether more on “her” side, rather than having to feel out for Hajime.

{Big Heat.} Miyako explained, since clearly Soft Heat was simply confused, as she reached to put another tether on Hajime.

“Hey, hey. You, come back here.” Maki sighed, stepping in front of Hajime among the dancers, ignoring the curious looks as she snapped in Hajime’s face, “Wake up before I stab you.”

“Wha… what?” Hajime asked, looking around in confusion, Miyako pouting in his arms. “Huh?”

“Kaito can’t take her right now. Give her to me, go back to watching Addason and Gabriel, stop trying to get out of your work.”

“I… right, sorry. I don’t know why I thought now was a good time to give her to Kaito?” Hajime said, giving the dancing man a bewildered look, Kaito clearly caught up in something as he passed Miyako to Maki. “Sorry about that.”

“You’re forgiven. Go, back to the infants.” Maki scolded, before heading back to the men, Miyako starting to wiggle unhappily in her arms.

{No! Red!} Miyako whined. Didn’t they understand? She was trying to get to Big Heat. This was the wrong way! Idiots. 

Uh oh. If they didn’t do something fast, the quiet room would probably become a tantrum room. If Kokichi didn’t just bring her out of the ballroom. 

He nipped the second tether in the bud, before sighing softly. {Dad’s busy with something right now--like when he leaves our room for a while. When he’s done, we can ask him to come play, okay? With words, not with intent. It’s mean to use intent with people who can’t send it back.}

…he’d explain that more when she was older. Right now, he was more worried about her tethering any and every person in the room…and them noticing.

“She’s set on Kai-chan,” Kokichi quietly murmured to Shuuichi.

Shuichi sighed, “That just means she wants something fun, right? Let’s try to distract her and if it doesn’t work, we’ll grab Kaito.”

Maki headed back to them, ignoring Miyako’s stink-eye in her arms as she said, “Your weirdo daughter needs discipline. Considering she is three months, though, I have no discipline ideas to offer. And, thus, I am ‘out of ideas’.” She informed them dryly, handing Kokichi Miyako, who proceeded to turn her irritated little baby glare at daddy next. This was the wrong heat source. She had been enjoying her game of peek-a-boo from the strangers, but it had mostly made her want her usual playmate. 

Why shouldn’t she get exactly what she wanted, immediately when she wanted it?? “M’eeeeh….” she grumbled warningly.

Oh boy. Oh boy.

Kokichi took Miyako, giving Maki a small, thankful smile as he gently bounced his daughter. Usually, three-month-olds didn’t need to start learning lessons like “patience”. But three-month-olds couldn’t usually impress their needs onto people to the point they acted like puppets. Kokichi wanted Miyako to have time to be a kid--to be a baby--but…she couldn’t tether people. 

{Miya, your dad is dancing right now. Dancing is really fun, do you wanna try it? Maybe when he’s done with his friend, Dad will wanna dance with you too.}

He passed on the exhilarated joy that he’d just had, dancing with Kaito, and stood up, starting to gently spin. 

Woah. 

Miyako stared at Kokichi gape-mouthed bewilderment. That was a new feeling. It was like ‘do you wanna go upside down~’ times TEN. What the heck.

“...awww, that’s really cute though.” Shuichi said, expression softening as he watched Kokichi swirl with Miyako. He wasn’t entirely certain why Miyako looked like her little baby mind was being blown, but he guessed she was having a good time. There was a certain sparkle in her eyes. 

Maki laughed– a small little chortle– as she raised an eyebrow, “I’m assuming a daddy/daughter thing just happened, but good job. She looks thoroughly distracted.” Maki observed, watching Miyako, after a moment of astonished gape mouthed staring, started to wiggle excitedly. Just as convinced she was dancing elegantly as Cali had been earlier. 

Kokichi caught his friends’ eyes with a small smile before refocusing on Miyako, starting to slowly move her up and down a little while they spun. He…really hadn’t been convinced that would work but…

…aw, she liked it. Maybe his hopes of being able to share a love of dancing with her would come true. 

Laughing softly, Kokichi gave his daughter a beaming smile, speaking along with his intent. “Yeah, just like that. Aw, you’re already a great dancer, Mi-Mi, Dad’s gonna get so proud and excited you’re gonna make him cry again. It’s fun, isn’t it? You know, Daddy used to put music on and boogie away, just to myself. I wasn’t very good, but it made me happy. Any time you wanna dance, give us a wiggle and a coo, alright? And your dads will dance with you.”

A happy little wiggle, wiggle, wiggle– “B’wahgh!”

“Ew.” Shuichi said, nose wrinkling, watching Miyako as she gave them all an innocently blank look, only mildly inconvenienced from spitting up all over her front, “Well, time to change her out of that dress, I guess. Here, Kokichi, give her to me, I’ll go change her.”

Maki, in turn, took out her black handkerchief and handed it to Kokichi, “You have a little, uh… yeah. There.”

Kokichi laughed softly, giving Miyako a fond look. “I hope that’s not motion-sickness, but even if it is, your dads will still dance with you.”

Passing her over to Shuuichi, Kokichi accepted the handkerchief from Maki, wiping up the baby goo that landed on him. Luckily it wasn’t all soaked into his shirt so it’d probably be fine. “Thanks, guys… Is it that bad? Like, I’d be fine normally, but…think I should change?”

It was just upstairs, anyway. It’d be okay to slink away for a few minutes. 

“...I’m glad she seemed to enjoy dancing. I was worried we’d be up against a full-on tantrum, for a moment there.”

“Looks fine to me.” Maki said, taking the handkerchief back and balling it up, before shoving it into Shuichi’s pocket.

“Hey!”

“You’re heading upstairs, throw it in the linen for me.”

“Whatever,” Shuichi pouted, “Come on, Miyako. Let’s take a quick trip upstairs, change your clothes. I’ll probably take the opportunity to feed her too. Be right back.”

Maki watched Shuichi head out, briefly considering if maybe she should follow him… nah, it was okay. The castle was on pretty tight security today, and Shuichi was just going upstairs. Danger was minimum.  Looking to Kokichi, she asked, “Wanna go show up Kaito and his ‘rival’?”

Good enough, then. 

Giving Shuuichi and Miyako a wave as they left, Kokichi looked up to Maki in mild surprise for a moment. But just a moment. He wasn’t sure if they would’ve ended up dancing at the wedding, if everything hadn’t been a disaster, but…he could hope so. And he could make it so now. 

Snickering, he offered his hand to Maki, opening up to the dancefloor. “They’ll really be destined to never win at their own competition at this rate. Let’s steal the show, Maki-chan!”

“Good.” Maki smirked, taking his hand, “That’s the right attitude.”

“Dude, it’s about the knees, which means we have to give each other space, which means neither of us can lead, okay?” Kaito insisted, having decided this was true after stealing glances at Hideki enough time, “Otherwise we’d be kicking each other!”

“No, see, watch my feet, you just dodge if you can keep the beat that the lead sets, which means the beat I set, so–”

“Oh, sure, the only way to show me how to do it requires that you ‘have’ to lead, that’s convenient– oh, hey babe! Hi Maki!” Kaito said, noticing his best friend and his husband were heading their way, “Did you guys need something?”

“Time already up?” Tangouai asked, looking a little disappointed. They were just getting their rhythm! 

“No, you’re both fine. We’re just here,” Maki said, giving Kokichi a few inches of space, holding his hand at a distance as she– surprisingly enough– bowed to him, before readying herself as the next song started to play, “to show you how bad you are at this.”

And as the music swelled up, Maki shifted her feet to the swinging electric sound with a practiced ease she had no right to, squeezing Kokichi’s hand in warning before pulling him and ducking under his arm before finding herself where Kokichi had been standing, once again repeating the footwork, trusting Kokichi to either keep up or add his own little flourish on his end. 

The thing was, Kokichi hadn’t been a good dancer. He’d learned a lot after a year dancing with Kaito, and he had always been unable to keep music from coursing through him, so he often added his own flair to whatever he had learned from Kaito, but anything he did himself? Was probably going to be a little awkward. 

But Kokichi had been watching the Swing King himself for far longer than a year. 

Comfortable following Maki’s lead, Kokichi gave Kaito a wink before he bowed back to Maki. Keeping with the beat, he kept his movements simple at first, just seeing what idea Maki was working with, but with the first iteration explained?

…well, all that was far too technical to really convey what happened. Matching Maki’s footwork, Kokichi shuffled and jived, grinning brightly as he used their joined hands as a pivot-point, letting the tension swing them around and spin Maki, the two of them in sync. 

“...dude,” Tangouai whispered to Kaito, “They’re fronting on us.”

“I knooooooow, aren’t they amazing!?” Kaito gushed, before seeing Tangouai’s judgy look and coughing, “Uh, I mean, darn… them! Let’s… beat them?”

“There we go.” Tangouai smirked, grabbing Kaito’s arm, “Follow my lead.”

“Oh, uh huh, sure.”

When Shuichi eventually came back down with a newly cleaned Miyako, now dressed in a simple one piece, he wasn’t sure why he was surprised to see most the party had stopped and was now just openly watching Maki, Kokichi, Kaito and Tangoai seemingly trying to outdance each other. Oh, there was still dancing, but it was also clearly just a show by this point, everyone caught up in the four’s sheer enthusiasm. Again, not sure why he was surprised. It was very ‘them’.

Though, he more genuinely surprised to see Behemoth and Voirrey, who seemed to have come into the room and were just quietly watching the spectacle. “Oh, hello.” Shuichi greeted them, heading over as he spotted them, “Priest Bullworth, correct?”

“Got it in one. And I recognize you, Shuichi. Please, call me Behemoth, and this is my associate, Voirrey. Apologies for crashing the party, I wanted to deliver a present for the princes on behalf of the temple, and Voirrey here was nice enough to walk me after work, so I didn’t want to waste too much time trying to throw myself into what’s going on over there.” Behemoth chuckled a little, showing Shuichi the small box he had as he asked, “Is there somewhere I could drop this off the princes might see it?”

Shuichi considered the man uncertainly. The last time he had seen him, he had helped him out, but Shuichi had had conflicting feelings about the ripple effect of that help for a long time. He had resented Behemoth for a long time there for overstepping and performing a sort of justice that Shuichi hadn’t been comfortable with… and he knew if he brought that up with the man, the large gentleman would have no idea why Shuichi would have wanted to bring it up at all. It just wasn’t how Diceans thought. 

But, well… Shuichi had already decided that if John was being ostracized that hard, he must be a repeat offender. And honestly, Shuichi didn’t want to look into it any more than that. He had found peace with the rationale he had come up with, and didn’t want to re-start his uncertainty about everything that had happened. Besides, John was probably fine. Shuichi had heard from the grapevine that his sibling, Kerry, was apparently looking into being a sailor. The world was a big place, John losing one opportunity wasn’t the end of his world. 

So, shifting Miyako in his arms, he nodded, “How about over here on the table. Did any of the guards take a peek inside, by the way? I don’t mean to be paranoid, and obviously I’d never accuse you of anything, but it is a fairly important gathering on a somewhat emotionally charged day… I feel obligated to ask if anyone’s looked through it.” Shuichi frowned, knowing maybe just directly asking them was the wrong approach, but hoping he’d spot a lie if either of them chose to offer one.

By the time Shuuichi returned to the dance scene-turned show, even Hideki was on the sidelines, taking a breather himself while he looked on appraisingly. Not really to judge; it just looked like they were having fun. It was a nice sort of competitive spirit to see. Kokichi had said that Kaito and Maki were quite good dancers. 

Over to the side, Voirrey chuckled softly and nodded to Shuuichi’s question. “Guard Okuniji intercepted us--after Guard Ainara did the first time. Looking at the gathering now, it makes sense why there’s a guestlist. However, we were permitted to come in so Be could drop off the gift.”

Giving Shuuichi an oddly knowing look, she continued. “And Ainara didn’t just let us in because we’ve met the princes, by the way. Apparently Prince Kokichi mentioned a few people that might come by, and Behemoth was one.”

It seemed like a weird amount of security for an anniversary party, even for the Heir Apparent, but…well, there had been some really horrible rumors about the princes’ wedding. And an awful court record to back some of them up. 

Thankfully, looking at the dance competition happening in the middle of the room, it seemed like this party was a happier one.

Shuichi relaxed, not noticing any tells of a lie– Behemoth showing the taped up line of someone having recently opened up the bottom of the box helped too– smiling slightly as he said, “Thank you. Here, let’s bring it over here. You said this was from the temple?”

“Yes. The Ouma’s have done a lot for Atuans lately, and with the new temple opening we thought we should send a token. And Kaito’s an Atuan, and we know there’s some sort of specific Luminary Atuan tradition.” Behemoth said, putting the gift down on the table, “I thought it was nice, when I heard about it. Little dark, but so is everything from your side of the border. No offense.”

“None taken.” Shuichi shrugged, “You’re talking about the iron, right?”

Behemoth nodded, “Yeah. Anyway, after I heard about it, I asked around, and it turns out a lot of Atuans around here practice the iron ritual, either cause they’re from Luminary or whoever taught them Atuan practices was from Luminary, like their parents or grandparents. Felt a bit bad that apparently they didn’t think they could share the practice with the rest of us, so, I don’t know… taking steps to be more inclusive, I guess. Made a bunch of the things myself, thought I’d gift one of my nicer looking ones to the princes on behalf of the temple.”

“They’ll love it.” Shuichi said, bowing his head respectfully, “I know you said you didn’t have time to waste, but we have food if you want to wait to speak to them yourself. They’ve been dancing for awhile now, I’m sure they’ll take a break soon.”

“Nah, that’s alright. Don’t want to keep Voi here, what with her being nice enough to make certain I get home to my girl alright.” the over six foot wall of a man said, “You be sure to tell them our congratulations, and we’ll see them at the temple opening. Also, first I’ve seen of the famous Miyako, so congratulations on her too. Princess, right? She go by her title?”

“Uh, no. Just Miyako.” Shuichi smiled wanly, not bothering to explain she won’t be a princess for long. “Thank you.”

Behemoth wasn’t the only person wanting to give a gift to the princes, not quite despite Kokichi insisting that there was no need, but to the side of it. 

Quite different from her usual attention-getting ways, a pair of bright blue eyes peeked into the ballroom, a little disappointed to see both princes busy…but also delighted to see them busy, pausing on her mission in awe for a moment just to watch the spectacular. And, thankfully the person she didn’t want to alert was watching too. 

Spotting Shuuichi, Tomomi slipped into the ballroom, quickly and quietly making her way over. “Shu-chu, hey!” she stage whispered, the actual volume not really needing to be that quiet, since the music covered it well. “I gotta scoot before the Head Secretary sees me, but all of us in the office wanted to wish Kichi and Kai-ty a happy anniversary!”

Shuichi gave Tomomi a startled look, before laughing lightly, “I’ll pass it along. I’m sure they’ll be glad to know you stopped by.”

“Here, if you need help sneaking back out, just walk beside me. No one will be able to see around me.” Behemoth smirked, giving Shuichi one last nod before they headed out. 

Mikado walked in as the three walked out, sighing as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. That had been a long day at work, but he had managed to get the store closed in time, and he was only a little late after taking a shower and getting dressed. Alright, now– “Gah!”

“You shouldn’t react like that.” Alter Ego said, flopped out on the floor, stretching, “People are going to think you’re seeing things.”

Mikado’s eyebrow twitched, unable to project intent to the astral being, and thus unable to talk to them without, as they said, looking like he was talking to the air. So, instead, he made a point of stepping through them– “Hey!”-- as he brought his own gift to what, as far as he could tell, was the gift table. 

There was cheering in the distance, and as Mikado looked over, it seemed the dancing had reached a slow down point, the music slowing down a little and people breaking off into smaller groups, some still dancing and a few chatting and laughing. He saw Kaito laughing with some orange haired man Mikado wasn’t familiar with, before waving at him as the other man called something a ‘tie’ and headed off, looking pleased with himself. Kaito looked around before spotting Mikado, and giving him a wave too, Mikado waving back as he looked around for his assistant. No sign of her… maybe she was napping under a table.

Tomomi gave Shuuichi a pleased smile, and passed on what she’d come for more than just words, risking the head secretary’s annoyed ire. As befitting the scribes who made it, she handed over a high-quality card, before winking and giving Behemoth a smile, making use of his offer to get back to her office unscolded. 

As the music slowed, Kokichi laughed, giving Maki another bow. “W-wow, that was a lot of fun! You got some real moves, Maki-chan!” It was different, but just as fun as dancing with Kaito and…well, to be honest, until they’d stopped and Tangouai called a tie, Kokichi had forgotten they were competing. 

…but having two wild dance sessions with barely a break in-between…he was gonna get his anniversary cake, damnit!

Starting to head off the dancefloor, Kokichi followed Kaito’s wave with curiosity, before he lit up at what he found. “Mikado! You made it! I’d give you a hug, but, ah, I’m kinda sweaty right now.”

“Hello there~” Mikado smiled, giving Kokichi a small wave, before huffing, “I nearly tripped on your cat coming in, by the way. Tell them it’s very rude to just throw their little kitty bodies in the way like that.”

“He’s just mad that he can’t talk to me with his mind.” Alter Ego mused, sitting on top of the tiered cake, tail flicking lazily behind them.

Kokichi snickered softly, glancing over to see where Alter Ego decided to be. That, and Mikado’s gripe… “Cats really gonna cat, huh. Well, this is one of your first, if not the first big party. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”

Shaking his head a little, Kokichi turned back to Mikado. “Still…I’m glad you’re here. I know there’s not really an easy time to schedule something like this considering business hours.”

“Himiko was…” Kokichi glanced to where he had last seen the woman but, uh…well, that was a few dances ago. “...well, she was here a bit ago. Do you want any cake? Or drinks? I swear, there’s some universal conspiracy to keep me from wedding-related cakes…”

“I’ll take a drink, and then I’m going to wander around and see if I can’t find Himiko. Honestly, the places that girl can end up.” Mikado sighed, shaking his head, “Thank you again for inviting me, I’ll admit, I was a little surprised. I supposed feeding you to a fish or two is not enough to get me banned from Ouma gatherings?” Mikado smirked, following Kokichi to the drinks.

Kokichi laughed, getting himself another piece of cake since…well, no going back to unsupervised food. Even at his own party. “Honestly, I think that sold me more on you--other than, yanno, the fact that you have a ton of really great advice you’re willing to share.”

“...I dunno,” he said more softly, giving Mikado a gentle shrug. “I feel like at this point I can call you a friend. So…of course I’d wanna invite you to the party we invited all of our friends to.”

Mikado, in the dreamscape, could control his expressions with near eerie precision… but in real life? 

He blushed beet red, looking incredibly flustered and pleased as he laughed awkwardly. “Oh? Well, that’s… thank you. That’s nice to hear. I suppose I consider you a friend as well.”

Looking around, seeing the odd assortment of people around, he smirked, “Maybe I can do some dramatic readings for your guests here. I do the fantasy school book houses at work, but I’ve found if you make it sound fancy enough, people love to be grouped into any sort of mystical category. People enjoy the attention and they love trying to interpret why they’re this or that. You, Kokichi Ouma! Based on my readings aaaare…” 

Mikado put his hand near him, reaching in, obviously looking for an animal that Kokichi appreciates or associates with–

Kokichi had really hoped he wasn’t just grasping at something that wasn’t there. He really did consider Mikado a friend, if maybe one that they primarily talked “business” with, but…when it came to Empathy, that business tended to be intensely personal. And, well, he liked Mikado’s spark. The guy was neat. 

(Was it fitting that Kokichi found friendship in a notorious “jester”? Probably)

It was nice to hear it went both ways. 

Chuckling as Mikado decided to put his flair for the dramatic to work, Kokichi gave him an amused look, before pointedly glancing at Alter Ego. He could feel the intent for an animal clearly so… “I think that one’s a little too easy.”

(It was true that, even with his immense love for penguins, and fascination with sea urchins, Kokichi appreciated cats most of all. Alter Ego had a large paw in that, but even before he had known his mentor, Kokichi had always loved them.)

(But that was just the surface. Given the highly specific question Mikado was feeling for…even as deeply buried as it was, he just might be able to feel another answer.)

(An answer from hundreds of years ago, dozens of lives ago, where a man and a Roc were so intrinsically entwined with each other, it was a travesty that their souls hadn’t become one.)

(Granted, that soul already had a lot going on.)

“… huh?” Mikado said, looking briefly genuinely confused. Okay…

But! He was a performer for a reason, and he wasn’t going to take the easy answer of just accepting the answer provided. It was about taking context and creating a dream out of it. Making something that the participant could theorize over and chew on. So… cats, and the ocean, and… massive ocean/desert birds? Lots of ocean symbology, but a fierce love of cats, and a… distant? Almost foriegn familiarity with rocs…

“You’re a griffin, nesting on the ocean reefs, where the high cliffs meet the steep slopes.” Mikado decided, flouring his arms as he painted a picture of a cliffside, with the ocean waves crashing below, the warm uplift of air blowing above… but, like, with vague hand gestures, “You wander the grasslands in the night, checking on your pride before resting beneath the full moon, and in the morning, you spread your wings WIDE and follow the warm uplift of the wind, soaring over the ocean floor! That is the creature of your soul.”

“...nah. Griffins have the weird front talon things.” Alter Ego said disapprovingly, “Like, well, Griffon. I can’t imagine you with talons like that.”

Mikado twitched, “But, like, specifically a griffin with paaaws.”

It was a few beats later, but Kokichi’s eyebrows shot up with surprise as Mikado started talking. He pretty obviously loved cats, but…huh. Maybe Mikado had felt some other stuff too. 

It did paint a nice picture…Kokichi had always been fascinated by the descriptions of coral caves. 

“So a cat with wings and a bird head,” Kokichi giggled, before he gave Mikado an approving nod. “Very cool--you know, it’s literally how we met, and what you do for a living, but you really are very good at that. I can think of a few folks here who’d get a kick out of you schmoozin’, if you wanted to do some party tricks.”

…Kokichi hesitated a moment. “...uh. But. I would recommend not doing it for my husband, fiance, or sister… Er, the brunette in the red and black dress.”

{I took care of the ribbon problem, but there’s…} The intent fizzled out for a moment. {I’m sorry I can’t tell you for safety reasons right now, but it would be safer for everyone if you didn’t. If they end up asking, wolves for Kai-chan and…well, he’d probably be the only one to ask.}

Mikado nodded slightly, showing he understood. “Like I said, it’s a fun party trick. And it’s a nice excuse to get to know people in small, harmless ways. But, alright… let me go find my assistant real quick, make certain she’s not causing trouble. Enjoy your cake, hope you get to finish it.” Mikado smirked, before heading off.

“...nyeeeeeh.” Came from beneath the table, “...i’sse gone?”

Sending Mikado off with a wave, Kokichi got one mouthful in before he blinked, looking down at the table. “...were you hiding from him on purpose?”

“.....yeaaaaaaah.” Himiko drawled, rolling over on the floor and poking her head out from under the table cloth. The rims of her eyes red as she took a long, loooong, loooooong sigh… before giggling. “My master will be mad at me.” She giggled. Staring blearily up at Kokichi. “He’ll tell me to go home. But, I’m, ya know…. Viiiiiiibing.”

“You are welcome to stay for as much of the party as you want,” Kokichi half-huffed with a smile, “Even if you do fall asleep. Do you want a pillow? I think we have a few extra in the side room.”

Just like he didn’t expect people to be there for the whole 8 hours, Kokichi didn’t expect any of his friends and family to keep a charged social battery for the whole time either. Sometimes you needed a nap! Sometimes that was a lot of the time, when you were Himiko.

Out of curiosity, Kokichi hummed and tilted his head towards her. “...has Mikado done some of his readings for you? Even knowing what he’s doing, it’s still pretty interesting.”

“Mmmmm~” Himiko smiled lazily, nodding after a moment, “My master’s readings are incredible. His magic potency is astounding. I heard him say he was reading people inner-familiars? He said I was a koala… but a pretty one, with cat ears, and red fur. Though I think that was just because I was a little disappointed to be a koala. Master’s readings are real, but he’ll embellish a little if he thinks it’ll make you happy. He’s amazing like that.”

Stretching on the floor, Himiko laid out, humming happily to herself… before saying conspiratorially, “If you want to chill out, Kokichi? Mikaku’s got some treats… I was looking around to tell Shuichi about them, but I got sleepy and laid down. Shuichi would like this stuff, I’m certain. He’s got that vibe to him.”

“He is considerate, huh,” Kokichi laughed softly. “A red koala with cat ears…that sounds like a fascinating creature. I might have to draw it out sometime to really visualize it.”

Though, as Himiko talked more…oh. Oh. That’s why…ah. 

Well, Mikaku wouldn’t hand off anything that would be dangerous, even for petite folk like him and Himiko. She would be alright, if even more nap-prone than usual. 

“Ah, yeah, grandad asked me if I wanted some earlier. I’d love to, but even if everyone made it, I’m still hosting,” Kokichi shrugged a little. “And you’re right--Shuu-chan does like this stuff, even if he hasn’t had any here. Do you want me to pass the word onto him? I could get you a drink on my way too--weed doesn’t really dehydrate you that much, in my experience, but it’s probably a good idea.”

“Y-eaaaaaaaaaaaah.” Himiko drawled, lifting up her hand perching it up, waiting for a drink to be delivered promptly. Go on. Hut-hut. On the double.

As Himiko waited for her drink to be delivered, Hajime and Chiaki were chatting at the table, having briefly discussed why Hajime had tried to bring Miyako to Kaito– “I don’t know, it just felt like it made sense? Maybe I just need some potassium.”-- before eventually discussing if they wanted kids in their own future– “....not… really?”-- when Timothy approached them. 

“Hey, uncle Hajime.” Timothy greeted, though he had clearly stopped by to check out the two more unfamiliar babies, looking curiously at Gabriel and Addason. Gabriel was sound asleep, having lost interest in the strangers and the strange noise, but Addason was wide awake and staring at everything like it baffled him. And not necessarily in a way he approved of, as Timothy asked, “Addie seems… stressed.”

“Yeah, I think that’s just his face?” Hajime guessed, looking a little sheepish, “He doesn’t seem to relax… ever.”

“....but he’s not crying. Have to give him credit for that.” Chiaki pointed out, as Timothy peered down at the wary infant. 

Timothy’s mouth scrunched to the side a little. He held Miyako just fine, but beyond her, Timothy didn’t have much experience with infants. He wasn’t even sure if he liked them much, really. But he didn’t like a baby looking that obviously distressed, and finally he offered, “Uncle Kokichi said there’s some sort of baby quiet room or something. Maybe he needs a break. I can sit with him in there for a while.”

“Uh, if you’re okay with that?” Hajime said, looking around for Temp and the two Luminary children as he said, “Let’s give all the babies a break, then. Let’s go find their parents and let them know we’re utilizing the quiet room.”

Timothy nodded, picking up Addason as Hajime took Gabriel, the two heading off.

Timothy went to Uncle Shuichi after a moment, informing him that Temp, he, Addason, and Glen were all going to spend some time in the quiet room, and asking if he and Miyako wanted to join them.

“Aw, it’s nice that you’re looking out for the babies, Timothy.” Shuichi smiled, while Maki approached from the wide, sipping on some sort of juice.

“He’s Miyako’s brother, it’s expected.” Maki corrected, though she gave Timothy an approving nod, “You want me to sit with Miyako in there? I did a lot of dancing, I could use some sitting around.”

“Oh, um…” Shuichi looked down at Miyako, who seemed perfectly content to sit and do nothing, now that she was freshly changed and freshly fed, “...sure, why not. It’ll give me a chance to mingle. Thank you, Maki.”

“Sure. Hand her over.” Maki said, taking Miyako and heading to join Tim and Addason in the quiet room.

While people certainly were still dancing, the whole format was much looser than it had been, and more people were getting food or just relaxing to the side, chatting with the other party-goers. Ikuo was more than happy to join them, feeling proud at just…the vast array of folks that his son considered friends. 

Looked like there was someone new to the party too, and while Ikuo couldn’t be totally sure, he had a hunch. Heading over, Ikuo gave the man a terse nod. “Hey, yer Mikado ain’t’cha?”

“Mikado extraordinaire, wizard of Pighead! Sorter of houses and purveyor of fantastical  goods, annnnnd~” Mikado snickered, stopping himself mid-flourish as he offered Ikou a hand to shake, “The guy who owns the magic-tricks store down on 5th. Nice to meet you, how do you know me, mr…? Or was my guess right and it’s from the store?” 

“Ikuo Kauzaki,” Ikuo introduced, shaking Mikado’s hand. “An’ I knew ya ‘cause that one’s mine,” he nodded out towards Kokichi, balancing a drink and his cake in his arms while he spoke briefly with Shuuichi, nodding his head back towards one of the refreshment tables. 

“Since y’are who y’are, I gotta thank ya, then, fer lookin’ after m’ boy. Bunny don’ always tell me th’ details, but ‘e’s said ya’ve helped ‘im outta tricky spot ‘r two.”

Mikado raised a slight eyebrow at that, not… entirely certain what Ikou might have meant. There was the obvious thing, of course, but the obvious thing couldn’t be confirmed, sooooo– “I’ve given him advice for things here and there. Does it count as doing my duty to the country if I help the heir-apparent find novelty gifts for his family?” Mikado smirked, flouring his hand before doing a slight bow at his waist, just ever so slightly tipping forward as he said, “If so, you can consider me a diligent patriot!”

“Now, Ikou– if it’s alright for me to call you Ikou? Anyone not the king himself who can claim Kokichi as ‘his’ must be a fascinating fellow himself! Would you allow me to do a reading? If you give me your palm, I could tell you hints of your past and peeks of your future! If you let me touch your head, I can tell you which personality type you best fit into, fantastical or otherwise, if you wished! If you let me touch your chest, I can look into your heart and tell you the path to your greatest desire!”

And more importantly, Mikado could tell if Ikou knew what empaths were. Always an important bit of information, that one.

Giving a slight nod as the okay for using his given name, Ikuo hummed lightly. “‘Kich’ di’ say ya were th’ dramatic type. Suits ya.”

He could just tell Mikado what he knew, but…he could have some fun too. Offering his palm, he gave the younger man another quick nod. “Ain’t too fussed ‘bout what th’ future holds, but it can be fun ta ruminate. S’all in th’ interpretation, wi’ these things, ain’t it?”

“Ah, a brave man~” Mikado smiled, taking Ikou’s hand and running his thumb over Ikou’s palm, “Guessing the future is easy. Riskless, or at least no more risky than anyone guessing the future and hoping to make plans on ‘maybe’s. If the future doesn’t come true? Well, you have time to restructure how you viewed it. Adjust your expectations, your priorities, and by the time the future gets here? You can claim you knew what was going to happen all along. Or that no one could have ever seen it coming. Either way. Riskless.”

“But the past?” Mikado mused, running his fingers down Ikou’s hand lines, “Now that’s  a tough place to look. Set in stone. Inflexible. Our lives 'receipts’ as it were. We’re never in a position of power, with the past, never given the benefit of the doubt. The most we can do when discussing our pasts is negotiate with reality. Weave little lies around it, little deceptions, little delusions. But none of that actually changes what happened, or the ripple effects of those actions. And the bravest thing we can do is look back at the past and stare it directly in the eyes, on its own terms.”

As Mikado spoke, he searched…

He had rules, about this. He couldn’t dig too deep, not without permission. And, for the most part, he only looked for things the person had agreed to share. In this case, waves of Ikou’s past. The fact that he poked around for knowledge on the concept of empaths felt a little less invasive. It was just searching through Ikou’s vocabulary, seeing how he defined that word. And how he defined empath was: a person who either naturally or makes the choice to understand others feelings, and empath: basically psychics but with emotions.

Which? Fair.

“Interesting, interesting…” Mikado murmured, running his fingers down Ikou’s hand as he let out another little probe. Shallow thoughts on the past. Ikou’s history…

“...I see a dodging and weaving. Of leaping and trusting that hands and feet, as strong and sturdy as your own, would catch you when you fall. Both physically, and emotionally~ I see a family, both found and otherwise, who were there for the greatest highs and the more trying of lows,” Mikado said, peeking into Ikou’s life with his troupe, before going back to the farmland, peering at the vague flashes of memory as he continued, “I see a life of wonder. Friends, big and small– very small– enriching your worldview, showing things that before them? You had never expected could be true, but once you knew them, you could not imagine a world without.”

“These experiences were everything. You owe much to them.” Mikado mused, dropping forward, lips quirking a little at the bittersweet memories of a frail, astonishing child who looked at Ikou like he was his whole world, “They prepared you for future trials. Frightening moments that took strength. That took understanding… but ultimately lead to some of the happiest moments of your life. Of love. Of purpose. A lifetime of learning, prepping you for the one lesson you truly needed to be prepared for, your greatest test…”

Mikado raised his eyes to Ikou’s, smiling warmly as he squeezed Ikou’s hand a bit, “And you passed it with flying colors. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. Your past rings those words true: you succeeded.”

The guy really was a talker--the kind of performer in all the ways Ikuo wasn’t. He could do a standing backflip and balance on the sole of someone else’s foot, even teach little kids how to somersault, but Ikuo had never weaved stories for his audience. Just for one, and that audience never minded if his voice was subdued. 

Calm as Mikado searched him, Ikuo cracked a small smile at what he saw…and how Mikado decided to express it. Very classic fortune teller style. 

He gently squeezed Mikado’s hand back. “‘Ppreciate tha’ view from ya. Can’ say I was perfect, but I tried, and…well, you know ‘im. Think I did well ‘nuff. Still tryin’ ta be good ta all ‘a them these days.”

“Ya got quite th’ gift fer this,” Ikuo hummed, squinting his eyes a little at Mikado. “Get why folks from all over ‘r clamerin’ fer a peek.”

“What can I say~ It’s a talent.” Mikado laughed, letting Ikou’s hand go and shrugging, much of his performative flair abandoned now that he knew Ikou would have an idea of how he performed his ‘tricks’. “And it pays the bills. Oh, sure, the store makes sales just find, but people come for the performances. Draw them in sawing a person in half or telling their future, and hope that as they’re looking around they find themselves wanting to impulse buy novelty dice.” 

“Speaking of the store and magic tricks… have you seen a young woman, red hair, about this high?” Mikado asked, putting his hand to just above mid waist, “She’s my assistant, I know she was here, she left the store to come and I don’t think she’d have just gone home instead. I’ve been looking for her since I got here, she can be a little… reckless.” Mikado sighed, looking around again, “She seems harmless cause mostly what she wants to do is sit around and sleep, and then you take your eyes off her for five seconds and she’s neck deep in some wild nonsense.”

“I know tha’ deal,” Ikuo sighed knowingly. Sure, the Bunny Men had had their own performances, and people who paid specifically to see them, but there were a lot of gigs for them to perform for a greater event or company. They did tend to pay a lot more, and give more breaks than when the troupe set something up for itself. 

Listening to the description, Ikuo glanced around the hall. “Mm, Shu’chi’s friend. Di’ see ‘er earlier…talkin’ wi’ Mikaku, but…haven’ fer a bit. Know how it can be wi’ th’ adventurous types; I’ll keep an eye out.”

Mikado thanked the small, stoic– at least visually, anyway– man, before the two continued to talk about performance life.

Inside the quiet room, Timothy was quietly telling stories to Addason, who did seem much calmer now to be out of the cacophony of noise, and seemed to be soothed by the even, calm tempo of Timothy’s voice. Glen, having been dancing at one point and his nerves a little shook from all the activity, had joined them to get his breathing under control while holding Gabriel… and at some point that had resulted in both him and Gabe sleeping in the corner, the two brothers entirely passed out. 

Miyako, still, seemed uninterested in sleeping, but she also seemed content to just lay quietly in Maki’s arms. If Maki had to guess, Miyako was entertaining herself peeking into the brains around her, observing their emotions. It was the only way to explain the pleased, interested look in Miyako’s eyes, as she did little more than comfortably lean into Maki’s stomach as Maki sat cross legged, observing the boys. 

She didn’t hear the door open. It seemed impossible that she didn’t notice her arrival… but Maki glanced over at familiar legs that just seemed to appear beside her. She didn’t greet Katsuki. The woman tended to only show up when she needed something, and Maki was quietly waiting to hear what it was.

Katsuki technically wasn’t on duty. She and Lake had specifically asked for time off so they could enjoy the party without needing to keep awares of everything, but…even when Katsuki wasn’t on duty, it never felt much different. Legally, yes, and she had never gone in for an arrest while off duty, but…personally? There was no way to…turn ‘off’ the way she kept her gaze widened to pay attention to everything around her. To purposefully seek out positions where she’d have the best vantage point. To listen to that sense in her head that kept telling her to watch and listen. 

But that wasn’t to say she wasn’t having a good time. It’s simply what life was. 

As she came into the side room, Katsuki sat down a comfortable distance from Maki, giving the woman a smile. Though, she noted that Maki looked expectant, if patient. “I noticed you all had come here for some rest,” she said more softly than her usual timbre. “I wanted to spend some time with you as well.”

Friendship did take effort, after all.

Maki gave the woman an ever so slightly surprised look, before glancing at the boys. Glen and Gabe were still out, and Timothy had done little more than glance up curiously when he heard Miss Okuniji’s voice, before returning to speaking softly to Addie, regaling him with stories in a neutral, even tone. Miyako gurgled contently in Maki’s arms, and everything was calm.

…alright.

Returning her focus to Katsuki, Maki considered her quietly. Not sure what to say. Katsuki had always felt like a disturbing mirror, to Maki. Maki, only everything Maki had once been ‘supposed’ to be. Supernaturally efficient. Genuinely unknowable. Almost mechanical, in her mannerisms and movements. A true shadow of the night. 

And their only job together had reinforced all those similarities, while also highlighting all of Maki’s shortcomings. Maki entirely unable to keep up, to compete with her, and even upon reflection, study, unable to see why. Katsuki seemed to so effortlessly beat her.

It had infuriated Maki, at first. Her pride badly bruised. But time had gone by. The war making the events at the beach, not unimportant, they had been ludicrously important, but still just… one more challenge in a year that had nearly overwhelmed Maki with personal challenges. Hadn’t lessoned its importance, but had certainly lessened its impact. And with its lessoning, so had Maki’s frustration with Katsuki been lessoned.

Katsuki seeking her out was strange. Why spend time with Maki? Maybe to spend time with Miyako?

Peering curiously at Katsuki, Maki tried to think of something to say. She knew almost nothing about Katsuki at all.

“... you and Kokichi seem close.” Maki observed, ignoring Miyako’s attempts to pull Maki’s fingers to her mouth, pulling them away from the little baby grip and reaching into the diaper bag for a pacifier before Miyako could stew in her outrage too long, “Do you regret not being able to attend the wedding?”