cld yu do shiftr!shuichi nd norm sized ouma? hhsjsjx btw i. love yr writing sm...!!!!
Thank you sm hun I'm glad you enjoy my stuff! And you've got such good taste, the world needs more of shifter anxious detective hhehehehhhahaha
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Word count: 1700
Summary: No one else has, but Kokichi is sure he saw something strange about Saihara, and he won't rest until he's proven right or wrong about the oddity.
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He wasn’t as surprised by sudden, uncharacteristic outburst as he was by the fact that Shuichi must have grown a good few inches while he’d been yelling.
Tense, Kokichi let his gaze wander over the class and his classmates. Most seemed discomforted by the usually meek detective’s mood shift, none seemed otherwise bothered by his changing height. Had they not noticed? Kokichi found that hard to believe. He knew to differentiate between his eyes tricking him and truth standing right in front of him; the truth of the moment was that he’d decided to sneak up on the emo boy from behind to scare him, and succeeded so well that instead of being loosely scolded like he’d expected, he’d gotten yelled at more harshly than a parent who’d caught their kid doing drugs. And while scared and angry, Shuichi Saihara had grown at least three inches in height and had been still getting taller.
Kokichi didn’t bother the boy more several days after the uncanny accident. He sat at the back of the classroom like a silent bystander, and watched. He’d heard the boy tell his pianist friend that conducting an investigation was easier when there was an answer to confirm rather than a question to answer. That much was true; it was much easier for Kokichi, since he knew, to catch the signs. Everything made more sense, from the way the ultimate detective hunched over when he felt nervous, to the way he’d straighten up when something made him smile or laugh, yet never seemed any taller or shorter despite the difference in stance.
If it was creepy at first, it became fascinating for the supreme leader to watch over his classmate and understand the logistics of his strange ability. The highlight of Kokichi’s day was to observe the others interact with Shuichi, predict what they would say and how the strange boy would react, and watch as his predictions came true and Shuichi shifted in posture and readjusted his hat; sometimes so large it fell over his eyes and sometimes too small to fit on top of his head. His changes in height seemed to follow his emotions more than his will, and the accident that had occurred between them a few days ago was a testament to that.
When his curiosity grew disproportionate, Kokichi decided to put his newly acquired knowledge to test and challenged himself to make the boy’s height change beyond any possible denial. Either he could slowly befriend Shuichi, make him feel safe and happy in his presence until he loosened up, or he could give him another good scare that would send his head flying to the ceiling. The choice was easily made.
It started slow. First, Kokichi sent a few ominous stares at the detective, which were only met with annoyance and stubborn ignorance. Then came the letters left on his desk; ‘I know your secret,’ ‘Isn’t your hat too small for your head?’ ‘Wanna watch "Honey I shrunk the kids" together?’
Shuichi didn’t come to class for two days after that. When he came back, more distant and avoidant than ever, Kokichi decided to drop the theatrics and catch him in the act as fast as he could before he slipped out of his fingers again.
By late afternoon, when most of their classmates had left, only he and Shuichi stayed in the classroom; the latter waiting for him to leave the room so he could leave safely after. When Kokichi didn’t move from his seat and made it obvious enough he wouldn’t budge, it was Shuichi who quickly gathered his belongings and slunk out of the classroom. Kokichi followed.
The hallways were dark and vacant. Four walls met neatly and threatened to enclose around the taller boy who kept his eyes downcast and pace quick. From behind, Kokichi’s footsteps echoed in the empty space. The tension was palpable and Kokichi relished the feeling, his heart pounding in his chest and blood roaring in his ears. The atmosphere had nothing to envy to a horror or thriller movie. Kokichi was starting to doubt his decision, good thing. If he felt so tense then Shuichi must have been on the verge of breaking out.
Like the most cliché thriller teen movie, Shuichi sped around a corner and tumbled in the boy’s bathroom. What a bad move, Kokichi could’ve almost thought the detective wanted to be caught like that. He seized the opportunity, and took his sweet time to follow after his prey.
Whistling a merry tune, Kokichi skipped over to the only closed stall. He knocked several times, following the rhythm of his tune for added annoyance, but Shuichi didn’t say a word. He could hear rapid breathing beyond the wooden door, and he could already see the tip of a familiar hat poking out from the top.
Kokichi bent down and peeked under the door. “Hey, Saihara? What shoe size do you wear?” He didn’t respond, didn’t move. “I don’t think even my clown shoes could fit you.”
“Kokichi, I don’t know why you’re following me, but please leave me alone.” There it was, the small, wavering voice, begging for him to keep the secret. A grin came over the leader’s face.
“Oh, fine, fine. I'll even do you a favor and tell our classmates how you can totally change height, and then they'll leave you alone, too.”
There was a sputter, the knob moved, and Kokichi backed away just in time for the door to be nearly ripped off. A second too late, and the smaller boy would have been knocked down.
Kokichi scooted back until his back was pressed against a wall, unable to control his fear for a split second. Shuichi emerged from hiding; his head met the ceiling with a thud. He was much taller than anticipated, at least four times as tall as himself. He looked like a real life giant; one that could snatch the smaller leader’s entire leg in a fist. One wrong move could cause the worst accident; one purposeful attack to him could send him to the hospital.
Shuichi gasped and stumbled a few steps back, cornering himself. His hands shot up to head level like some murderer caught red handed, face twisted in fear, and Kokichi was immediately able to push his own fright to the back of his mind, reminding himself of who exactly he was facing. Still, it was easy to remember what kind of person Shuichi was, but it was hard to keep in mind when he was still growing taller by the second.
“Please don’t-” he didn’t even look him in the eyes, instead keeping them shut as he curled in on himself and laced shaky hands over his head for protection. The ceiling whined and cracked, ready to give out at any moment under the inhumane force. Kokichi took a few steps away, staying safe and out of arm’s length of the too large boy. “Don’t freak out- Don’t tell anyone- Please!”
For a second, Kokichi felt like Bill, the lizard from Alice in wonderland. He had to get out; he didn’t want to end up like the lizard from Alice in wonderland.
Thankfully though, his emo Alice wasn’t blocking out the exit with his elbow, and Kokichi was able to slip out of the room in the next second without being stopped. Morbid curiosity kept his feet rooted right at the door, and he listened for the commotion. There was ragged breathing and feverish mumbles, the creaking and cracking got louder and louder till it reached a monstrous, terrifying peak, and Kokichi debated for several moments whether or not he should go back in. But when he was sure he would hear the ceiling fall off and his hand had already grasped and twisted the doorknob, ready to jump in action should he help the other boy get out, the commotion subsided, slow at first, until there was nothing but deafening silence lying beyond the door.
Kokichi’s grip remained tense on the knob. His entire plan had built up to that very moment. He’d made a grandiose mess, but he couldn’t leave without taking at least one last look at it; all villains looked back at their explosion in the climax.
Breath still hitched in his throat, Kokichi pushed the door open and poked his head in. Save for a few cracks on the walls and ceiling, the room looked fine. Shuichi didn’t look as fine; hunched over a sink and eyes glued to his shoes, breathing heavily and body trembling. Taunts easily came to Kokichi’s mind in dozens, but he didn’t have it in him to tease the messy-looking boy anymore at the moment. “Man…” He breathed out.
Shuichi’s eyes snapped to him, wide with fear for a second, until his gaze settled more firmly on the shorter boy’s face. Slowly, his face clenched up in a frown, the deathly pale tint to his cheeks disappeared under bloody crimson. He straightened up, shoulders tense, and breathed in.
“Get out!”
Kokichi didn’t flinch at the screech. That reaction was to be expected. Still, it wasn’t his fault Shuichi was so bad at pushing the reset button to his feelings; Kokichi had just done so at that very moment. Without another word and like a good villain owning up to his evil deed, Kokichi retreated and closed the door. Maybe he should have gone the anticlimactic route and let the boy alone.