Searching for the Melody/Saimatsu

Chapter 1: Part 1: Shuichi

Chapter Text

Shuichi Saihara walked into the restaurant, the gorgeous and sleek interior was something he wasn’t used to seeing. If you may ask what he’s doing there, he’s helping with an investigation. Their detective team suspects that the piano player at the restaurant has been stealing tips. So, Shuichi was sent there to inspect her and take notes while she’s working.

He told the hostess who he was and she brought him to a table close to the pianist.

“Would you like to eat or drink anything while you’re here, Sir?” Asked the waitress.

“No thank you, I’m here on duty after all. Maybe later though..” His words trailed off as he took a glance at the piano player.

She was dressed in a floor length, sheer pink gown. Though he couldn’t see her face, he could almost sense her beauty. Her blonde hair was illuminating and it looked like there was a glowing ring that traced her body. The beautiful melody she played made all of Shuichi’s thoughts of the investigation disappear. Shuichi stared at her in awe, amazement, and admiration.

As he listened, he didn’t even realize he had zoned out. The waitress asked him,“I brought you a glass of water, free of charge. But would you like anything else?” Shuichi blinked a few times before answering her, slightly embarrassed.

“Uhm, the water is fine, thank you,” He replied and looked back at the piano player.

“The person playing the piano is Kaede Akamatsu. She’s why you’re here, right?” The waitress asked suddenly when she noticed his staring.

“Yeah… I haven’t gotten the chance to take many notes yet, her playing is just so encapsulating.” The waitress just hummed in response, like she knew something no one else did.

She patted Shuichi’s shoulder before leaving. That confused him slightly but he decided to not overthink it. He took out a notepad and started jotting down things about Kaede, but it was difficult to think of this gorgeous woman to be a thief.

Enough time had passed that Kaede went on a break. Shuichi checked his watch so he could write down the time she went on break, just to realize he had been there for well over two hours!!

“How long does she work…” He muttered to himself. He glanced at the small box on the grand piano that she just sat at. Out of pure and probably stupid curiosity, Shuichi stood up and walked over to the box.

It had two holes at the top of it and writing on the box. Pointing to the right hole, it said “Tips” and “Classical Song Recommendations” on the left. He raised an eyebrow at seeing that she also received tips. But without even thinking, he pulled out his wallet and slipped a $10 bill in it. He didn’t know why, but his body just did it without thinking beforehand..

“Thanks!” A voice said from behind him. He turned around quickly and saw the same girl he had been staring at for the past two hours. His face heated up, he tried to speak but no words came out when he opened my mouth.

“U-uh…” His voice was meek even though he didn’t basically say any words. The girl just giggled and blushed slightly before speaking again.

“I’d love to sit and chat with you, but I have to get back to my job.” Kaede said and stared into Shuichi’s eyes. Though his hat covered the majority of them, his grey eyes still were visible.

Shuichi snapped back to reality when she sat down and said a short goodbye before returning to his seat. An embarrassed mess. He buried his face into his hands and tried to refocus, but then he heard Kaede start to play music again. The sweet sound of the piano set shivers down his spine. He; for some reason, was now able to go back to working. Shuichi wrote down how she was asking for tips, never got up from the piano other than for breaks, and how she went straight into the staff’s room for her break. There was zero evidence that she had been stealing tips or even money for that matter.

Another two hours passed and the restaurant seemed to clear out. Shuichi stood up from his table and placed a $50 bill on the table as a tip for the waitress. Even though he didn’t order anything, he was taking up one of the tables in her section so it’s only fair to tip.

Anyways, he walked outside and waited for Kaede to leave. He wanted to talk to her about the rumors of her stealing. As she stepped outside, he turned on the small microphone he had in his back pocket (For legal reasons, recording their conversation would help get her out of trouble).

“Hey, can I talk to you before you go to your car?” Shuichi walked to Kaede, and she turned to look at him.

“Of course. But can we make this quick? I’d really like to get home...”

“Mhm. My name is Shuichi Saihara and I’m part of the Detective Agency of Hope’s Corporations. I bring this up because I’d like to ask you a few questions.” He asked, trying to be as proper as he could be while talking to her.

“Oh! Okay… go ahead…” Her whole demeanor had changed.

“How long have you been working here as a pianist?” He asked the first question.

“I used to work in the mornings but that was up until… I think 6 months? I then changed to doing nights. So, as a pianist, I’ve been working here for a year and a half,” She answered as he wrote down what she said.

“Just two more questions, have you ever taken… how should I phrase this-”

“No, I haven't ever taken the waitstaft’s tips. Some of them are trying to frame me because I broke up with one of the waiters. He lost his job there and everyone is trying to get me fired too,” She shot back and cut me off. Has someone asked her this before?

“Well I guess that wraps up all my questions. Thank you for your time,” Shuichi responded and then turned to leave, and to also turn off the recorder.

He turned around and walked away, sighing in relief. Though, he couldn’t help but turn back to Kaede. She just stood there in the dim lighting from the restaurant, watching him as he walked away. Her eyes were slanted and downwards, but she made eye contact with Shuichi. Was it pity? Distrust? Or just plain confusion? Neither of them knew why each other's eyes looked so… sad.

Chapter 2: Part 2: Kaede

Summary:

Chapter Text

Kaede walked into her small apartment and walked into her bedroom. Her home was organized, very organized, just like her life. But the past few weeks, her life has somehow gotten quite messy. First with her and her boyfriend’s messy breakup, now she is being investigated by the police?

More and more thoughts bubbled up in her head as she got ready for bed. To begin, she always would change out of whatever she wore that day and into more comfortable clothes. Which were sleepwear for the most part. Afterwards, she wiped clean her makeup and brushed through her blonde hair. One of the many thoughts she thought of was who that boy was.

“Shuichi...” Kaede mumbled to herself. She had never met him in her life, and they barely spoke, but she just felt like they connected. His grey eyes were eyes like she’d never seen before. They spoke a million words just looking at them. Even though they were mostly covered by his hat, she could still make eye contact with him.

She could feel her face heat up at the mere thought of him. What was going on with her? This is the same way she felt when… “I should… call someone.” And with that, Kaede picked up her phone and scrolled until she found one of her friends’ numbers.

“...And so Shuichi is the main thing that’s been in my mind since he like… tipped me– Or maybe when he investigated me!” An hour later, Kaede has managed to yap to her friend about this mysterious boy.

“What’s his last name again? You said he works at a detective agency or something, right?” Kaede’s friend, Maki Harukawa, asked.

“Shuichi… Saihara?... Yeah! Shuichi Saihara!” She answered after thinking for a moment. Once Maki heard who he was, taps on her phone were audible. “What are you typing? I heard you–”

“I found out where he works using a website, which also has his contact information.” Maki had cut her off with an answer. But that made Kaede raise an eyebrow, literally.

“Uhm… why did you look him up?” Kaede asked, kind of wary of what Maki was capable of.

“Because knowing you, you’d probably be too scared to ask for his number if you were to meet him again. That or you just would like to ask him stuff about this investigation.” That response resulted in an annoyed sigh from Kaede. That just made Maki giggle to herself.

“I guess… don’t send me the number though, I don’t want him to think I’m stalking him.”

“Well, you mentioned earlier about how you wanted to go to his workplace and ask questions about the investigation.”

A small back and forth occurred between the two girls, but it ended in Maki being correct about Kaede wanting his number. After their call and Kaede staring at Shuichi’s number, typed into the ‘Phone’ app. She just sat there, debating whether or not to call him. Different excuses popped into her mind. For example; It’s late, he’s not going to answer a random number. What if he thinks she’s weird, what if he forgot who she was, and worst of all, what if he really thinks she took all the money? On the flipside, though, she has a singular excuse to call him.

“I just want to talk to him,” She thought out loud.

But she pondered for too long, she just decided to save his number in her contacts and she’ll go to the station tomorrow to speak with him… in person. For now, though, Kaede really needed some sleep. She flicked off her nightlight next to her bed and turned on some alarms for her in the morning. As she drifted off into sleep, Shuichi and their strange interactions replayed in her mind.

Bright and early at 8:00 AM, Kaede was up! She groggily walked to her kitchen and poured herself a cup of green tea. After drinking the tea, though, she was really awake! Kaede found an outfit and laid it out on her bed and then took a long shower. All of her showers were long because she didn’t work until later in the day. That being, either at the restaurant or other miscellaneous jobs.

When she finished her shower, she changed into her preplaned outfit and started getting ready. Her makeup looked the same it always did, natural yet elegant. Along with her hair, just straight down and parted to frame her face. She tried to look very casual even though she wasn’t going to the police station for a casual reason. She was going there to see a boy, for crying out loud!

After a long hour and a half of getting ready, Kaede was ready and drove to the police station. She opened the door and walked up to the front desk. “Hello! I’m here to talk to one of your detectives. His name is Shuichi Saihara.” Kaede jumped straight to the point. She was overflowing with confidence, which maybe wasn’t a good thing considering she was at a police station.

“Alright, he’s in his office, but may I ask who you are? I’d like to see your driver’s license or personal ID," Said the person working at the desk. Once Kaede handed him her driver’s license, he looked at it and typed a number into the small lane-line phone that was on the desk, and told them, “Hello, a woman named Kaede Akamatsu would like to see you. Her name pops up on the current case you’re working on. Can she come to your office?” Kaede stood there, patiently waiting and eavesdropping on their conversation. To her surprise though, they actually let her go to his office!

“Straight down and on the left, at the end of the hallway.”

Chapter 3: Part 3: Shuichi

Summary:

Chapter Text

Shuichi sat at his desk, reviewing the notes he’d taken last night at the restaurant when his office door had a soft knock against it. “Come in!” He projected and the door creaked open. Even though he was expecting Kaede, her casual appearance made him almost fall back in his seat. She looked different yet so similar to how she did last night.

“Good morning! Can I sit here?” Kaede spoke. Her voice was angelic, it was music to his ears.

“Yea, go for it. What’d you like to talk about relating to the investigation?” Shuichi asked with a smile. He grabbed a piece of paper, along with a pen, and was prepared to jot down whatever she said to him. As for Kaede, it seemed as though her mind had gone blank once he asked that. “Uhm..” Shuichi waved his hand in front of her face.

“Oh! Sorry…heh, I’m here because I’d like to talk to you about who has been telling you about me stealing money. Because, like I said last night, I’ve never done such a thing. I’d like to get to the bottom of this case and not get fired. Especially because of some nasty coworkers.” She spoke her mind and Shuichi admired that. He smirked to himself and wrote down her question onto the paper. He then looked up the case file onto his computer.

“As much as I’d like to tell you, their personal information is something I can’t disclose…during work anyways. But it’s a group of people who work at the same place as you,” Shuchi uttered, causing Kaede to sigh. Then something dawned on her!

“Wait, ‘during work’? Does that mean if we hung out outside of your work hours, you could tell me?” She said in a soft yet cheerful tone. Shuichi blushed slightly, thinking a girl would want to actually hang out with him?

“Yes! I mean,” He spoke without thought, thankfully he caught himself. With a short cough to clear his throat, he reworded his answer. “I think that’d be…alright.” His reworded response made Kaede laugh. Her smile was brighter than the moon when it’s full, which just made Shuichi’s heart skip a beat.

“Well then, maybe we should talk more about this case when you’re off work?” Holy smokes, Shuichi can’t contain himself! He looked to be the same shade as a fresh red rose! Kaede, on the other hand, was bombarded with confidence with how he was reacting to her words. With no response in the given fifteen seconds she gave him, she slid her hand towards the paper, and took the paper he was using to write on. And wrote her number. “Let me know your answer. I hope to see you later! See ya, Shuichi!”

With that, Kaede took her leave. “B-bye..” Shuichi murmured out, barely. By time he said that, Kaede was halfway out the door. She winked at him and closed the door, concluding their ‘meeting’.

Shuichi leaned back in his chair, in disbelief at what had just happened before his very eyes. He picked up the paper and read her number. Reading it until he could come to terms with what had just happened. A girl, a very breathtaking girl to be exact, had given him, a mediocre at best guy, her number!? What was going on? Was he in a twisted reality? This was causing his head to start spinning.

After ten minutes of pondering on what to do, Shuichi ended up saving her number but not texting her. Since he had to get back to his work on inspecting the case. He really hoped Kaede hadn't been taking any money, and that hanging out later wasn’t going to give him a bias on if she’s guilty or not. Nonetheless, he went back to work.

Reviewing previous taken notes, listening to the recording he had taken, and rereading the statements given on why she’s suspected of stealing, all that jazz. Whilst doing so, he just couldn’t get his mind off of Kaede.

And he couldn’t until he found himself, sitting in his car, right after work had ended, and his finger hovering over the ‘Send’ button. He typed up a meek little “Hi, it’s Shuichi.”, but he was debating whether or not to send it. With the little amount of confidence he had in him, he sent it.

As soon as he sent it, he turned his phone off and started driving back to his house, too scared to see what she’d sent back. That is if she responded.

He listened to the radio, trying to get his mind of the girl. Her hair, her eyes, her outfit, her makeup-

"Cut it out, Shuichi! She's just a girl..." Shuichi banged his head against the steering wheel whilst at a red light, then accidentally honked his horn at the person in front of him, "Just my luck."

Once he arrived at his home, he was caught off guard by his roommate, Kaito Momota, to be building a pillow fort? While blasting Imagine Dragons ?

“Uhm, Kaito? What are you, uh, doing?” Shuichi stared at his roommates' actions, full of pure confusion.

“Hey! You’re home! I’m building a rocket ship out of our pillows and cushions we have!! I went into your room to take your comforter to use as the floor because it’s thick and matches!! Hope that’s cool with you!” Boasted the man. He was sitting in the rocket ship and reinforcing the walls of it. Shuichi walked in and placed his things down on their kitchen table, still confused.

“Uhm…why?”

“Because! If I’m going to really go to space, then it’s better to be prepared!”

“Kaito, you’re going on a work trip…on a plane? Correct me if I’m wrong, but-”

“I know that! But one day,” Kaito looked out the window that was in their living room. He stared at the sky, the setting sun causing it to have a purple shade. Shuichi sighed and smiled at his friend. He calmly grabbed his things and went into his bedroom.

He sat on his bed, now a mess because Kaito stole his comforter and messed up his once made bed. He went from sitting to lying on his bed, staring at his phone. Staring at Kaede’s message.

“Hey!!”

Chapter 4: Part 4: Kaede

Summary:

Chapter Text

Once Kaede sent the message, she flipped onto her stomach and buried her face in her pillow. It was around 6:30 when she had sent the message, and she was a mess until her phone buzzed. Signalling that someone had responded to her!

She raced to unlock her phone and see who the message was, and to her luck, it was Shuichi! Both of them exchanged friendly small talk, saying things like ‘How are you?’ and ‘How was your day?’ . There’s only so much you can ask someone until you have to get to the reason why you texted them in the first place.

Kaede bit the bullet and texted, “I have work tomorrow, but that starts at 6! So if you wanted, we could meet each other for lunch? Or breakfast? Really anything before I have work!” then awaited Shuichi’s reply.

Not too long after sending that, Shuichi responded! He agreed to meeting up for lunch the next day. After agreeing to the plans, they wished one another a goodnight and closed off their conversation for today. Little did they know, that wouldn’t be the only conversation either of them would have with each other…

Kaede woke up bright and early, as she did most days, and started her day by doing her normal routine. Have breakfast, pick out an outfit, shower, and get ready! And today was no different. She laid out a black and lace top on her bed, and placed a black skirt with a thick white trim that was coated with black lines to represent a piano.

After doing so, she turned on the shower and sooner or later, her bathroom was filled with warm air. Her shower was normal as it was everyday, but she made sure to use her better smelling body wash. Her makeup looked the same as the day prior, just with more time put into it. Why was Kaede acting like this? This wasn’t a date…right? She was treating it like it was a date, when neither of them agreed to it.

“It’s just a time for us to exchange information, outside of work, not a date!” She told herself as she grabbed her white backpack and went out the door. But her mind kept treating it as such. Was she really falling for a boy she barely knows?

Once she walked into the diner that they agreed to meet in, she noticed Shuichi already sitting down at a booth. So, she skipped over to the booth and slid into the seat across from him.

“Hey! Sorry I’m late, hope you didn’t wait too long,” Kaede apologized, but also snapped Shuichi out of his thoughts. He hadn’t even realized that she sat down.

“No, it’s okay. I just came early to get us a seat. This place gets crowded quickly during lunch time,” He replied ever so shyly, earning a playful eye roll from the girl in front of him. They both laughed alongside each other, like they were old friends. Shuichi cleared his throat and directed their attention to the case, “Well, you wanted to talk about the case, right?”

Kaede nodded and started shooting out questions about who told him about her stealing money. “So, who from the waitstaff told you about me stealing money?” She asked first.

“Lets see, the names were: Tsumugi Shirogane, Miu Iruma, Kokichi Oma, and…I think that was it. All three of them stated that ‘They were speaking for the majority of the waitstaff, but the others didn’t want their names tied to this.’” Shuichi wrote down their names onto a notepad. He slid the notepad across the table for her to read their names. Kaede gasped upon hearing those names,

“Hold on, Miu? She works at the bar! Why is she saying that I’m stealing tips?”

“I was just told that she had seen it happen from the bar, and that you were caught taking money out of her tip jar,” He replied whilst he nervously stirred his water with the given straw. The girl rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed this time, at his words. She huffed out an annoyed breath and asked another question,

“Did you get a chance to look at the security cameras? I know that the restaurant has them-” Shuichi was caught off guard by what she just said.

“Wait, the restaurant has security cameras!?” He asked, cutting her off by being shocked by this revelation he was just informed about. Kaede raised an eyebrow, confused, before slowly nodding.

“Yes, we have them. The manager just doesn’t let anyone look at them without reason. He doesn’t tell people about the cameras because he’d like to see what’s going on at his business and wants to see how we truly act. I’ve seen the cameras before though, it’s a long story on why I have, but I have and I’ve known about them.” Shuichi was getting more confused by the second at what Kaede just told him. He had to process this before they could continue talking about this.

“So, the three who told me about you stealing tips didn’t know about the cameras? Or did know and just didn’t tell us?” He asked.

“I know that Tsumugi knows, she’s seen the cameras like me. I’m guessing the others knew but just didn’t tell you?” Kaede answered truthfully, causing Shuichi to be MORE confused. He jotted down what she said and thought more about the case.

“Well when we asked if there were cameras, they all told us that there were none. And that statement right there is enough for me to know that they are trying to get you fired..” Shuichi said and then stood up from his seat, “I think that I’ve gathered enough information about this case, and I doubt you’ll be in any legal trouble. I'll contact you if anything happens though, or if we need your statement.”

“Wait- Don’t leave just yet!” Kaede rose from her seat in the booth and grabbed Shuichi’s wrist, stopping him from fully exiting their small booth. He looked back at her, and gave her a confused expression.

“H-huh!?”

“Uhm..thanks for meeting me. Maybe we could, you know, have lunch again? Like for real next time?” She spoke. She looked away and twirled her hair, slightly scared of whatever he'd respond with. But she bit her lip and looked back at him with a weak smile.

“Uh..Sure! I’d like that…Kaede.”

Chapter 5: Part 5: Shuichi

Summary:

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“Oh my god, bro,” Kaito stood from his seat, shocked at this story that Shuichi just told him. “So, you’re telling me that these people, set up the girl, what was her name-”

“Kaede. Her name is Kaede,” Shuichi cut Kaito off, slightly annoyed because he was in the middle of working and only told Kaito the story because he had to tell someone about it. Or else he’d explode later on. And, low and behold, Kaito was the only person willing to listen.

“Yea, her, so- they’re telling you all this misinfo about the case, and she’s straight up denying it? That’s crazy, dude!” He exclaimed, rushing over to where Shuichi was. The boy rubbed his face, both in tiredness and annoyances.

“Mhm, I’ll have to talk to the higher ups about this case more,” Shuichi said as he gathered his things and started to head into his room. “Being a detective is so tiring.” Kaito heard him mumble to himself as he walked into his bedroom, leaving Kaito alone in their living room.

Shuichi then plopped onto his bed and melted into the mattress, not even caring that his bed was unmade. He still had so much left of his day, but he had no motivation to do anything.

“You should email the other people working on this case about Kaede’s statement,” Said one part of his brain, while the other said,

“Just tell them tomorrow, you’re off the clock anyways.” The boy rolled onto his stomach and buried his head into his pillows, sighing. This case wasn’t even that hard, it was just so much more than he was used to. And the prime suspect? She was the only thing he couldn’t stop thinking about, and not even because of the case.

Shuichi shut his eyes tight, breathing his own scent that stained the pillows. Any normal person would’ve thought he was trying to suffocate himself, but this was normal behavior for him when he didn’t know what to do. He gripped the sheets of his bed tightly, then slowly letting go of them. He repeated this action more times than he could count.

It felt like three seconds and three hours at the same time, his head was starting to hurt from how hard he was thinking, but it’s not like he cared either way. Shuichi was just, well, what was he do-

Ding!

A notification made time for Shuichi stop for a moment. He groaned and rolled onto his side, reaching out to grab his phone. He rubbed his eyes, blinking a few times at how bright his phone screen was.

“Hey! I know we just saw each other, but I was wondering if you wanted to come to where I work? I know that I’ll be playing the piano, but it might help you get statements from my coworkers. The choice is yours!” Kaede. Kaede wanted him to come to her work. He shot up, the quick change from a lying position to a sitting up one made his head ache more.

Before he knew it, he was texting her with one hand and putting on his jacket with the other. “Yo, what’s the rush? Weren’t you just complaining? Where are you off to?” Kaito entered from his bedroom, confused by the quick footsteps.

“Kaede! I’m going to her work! For…for the case,” Shuichi beamed. He put on his hat and slipped into his shoes. “See you later.” He ran out the door and shut it loudly behind him before Kaito could even respond.

He drove to the restaurant, parked his car, and looked into his overhead mirror to make sure he didn’t look like a dork. Or, too much like a dork. He hadn’t even noticed that his black eyeliner was smeared. He didn’t wear a lot, but enough for it to be noticeable if you were to look hard enough. Shuichi licked his thumb and tried to fix it up, but to no avail, the smear marks were still there. And now worse.

The wave of anxiety rushed back to him when he banged his head against the steering wheel. The only thing he even thought to do was to smear it on both sides, or to cover it with his hair. But neither option seemed too liable. Guess he just had to walk into the restaurant, but at least he had his hat. Right?...

Upon walking into the building, he was greeted with a sweet smile. “Good evening, Sir! Do you have a reservation?” Spoke the lady. She had on a name tag that read, “Angie Y.” She had a friendly demeanor, and just looked happy to be there.

“No, but I’d like to personally interrogate some of your coworkers. Interrogate sounds harsh-, but I mean no harm. I’m from the Detective Agency of Hope’s Corporations, and I’m the lead dete-”

“Oh, you! Yes, yes, follow me right this way. I’m sure they’ll be willing to talk to you,” Angie said as she led him through the restaurant, and into the staff room. As they walked, Shuichi looked around the place. He glanced at the bar, and saw a girl with hair similar to Kaede’s but- wow. Are those real? “I hope you know, Kaede is a very sweet girl. I wouldn’t think she’d steal money, and Atua a thinks so as well!” He was snapped out of his thoughts by Angie’s words. Even though he didn’t know of any Atua, he decided to just brush it off. He hummed and then spotted Kaede in her natural element.

“Wow…” She looked like a goddess, or an angel sent by the Heavens above. It’d be hard to not admire her, he was caught in a trance. Encapsulated by her beauty. Her hands gliding across the keys, each note played with so much passion and love. He couldn’t help but look, no, stare at her in awe.

“Here we are!” Once again, he was brought back to reality when he almost got hit in the face with a door. If Angie hadn’t been holding the door for him, he surely would've gotten hit.

“H-hi. I’m here to get a few statements," Muttered Shuichi as he walked in and looked at a group of people lounging around.

Chapter 6: Part 6: Kaede

Summary:

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Kaede let out a deep breath and stood from the piano, since she had to go onto break. She brushed off her sparkling dark purple dress, and made her way to the staff room.

Upon opening the door and seeing Shuichi, she found herself caught in a place between time and space. She slowly walked in, no one noticing her, and she couldn’t take her eyes off of the detective that sat there. She had barely ever seen him, and seeing him doing the thing he’s trained to made her heart skip a beat.

“Oh, hey Kaede!” Spoke one of the people in the room, bringing Kaede back to life. Kaede blinked a few times and saw Tenko, one of her coworkers, standing up from a seat and she skipped over to Kaede.

“Hi Tenko!” Kaede responded in a happy, yet still dazed voice. She watched as Shuichi turned his head to see Kaede, and she noticed how he took a double take on her. His eyes were beautiful, she wasn’t used to seeing them since he always had on his hat. He still wore it, but his eyes were just barely peeking through. “What are you guys up to?”

“I-I’m just interviewing some of your coworkers… I decided to take your advice,” He muttered, turning his body to face hers whilst still sitting. A smile was forming on his face, but it looked tired, like he was trying to be polite.

Kaede, being the girl she is, waltzed over to where he sat and pulled up a seat next to him, leaving Tenko awkwardly standing there. “Did you get a chance to talk to the three who,” She started talking but then looked back at Tenko, debating whether or not to say their names in front of her.

“I’ll have to chat with you again, Shuichi! I have to go back to waiting tables. It was nice to talk to you though,” Tenko said, sensing Kaede’s discomfort. She turned her heel and walked out of the room, leaving the door to shut loudly.

“To answer your question, I didn’t… But I got to talk to some other people-”

“Who!?” Kaede cut him off out of nervousness, she then covered her mouth quickly. Shuichi giggled and tilted his hat upwards, exposing more of his gimmering eyes.

“Their names were Angie Yonaga, Tenko Chabashira since you just saw her, and I spoke some with a girl named Kirumi Tojo. But her and I’s interaction was short, as she was just in here to grab a few things,” He said, tapping his fingers against the table, his anxiousness was promident and clear as day, “All of them said that you haven’t ever been stealing tips, or anything for that matter.”

Kaede sighed in relief, a smile reappearing on her face, “That’s good news! But while you’re here, you should try to talk to them.”

“I would, but I haven’t seen any of them. Or, at least seen any of them enter the break room,” Shuichi muttered, sounding disappointed in himself and his work.

“Well, if it helps,” Kaede started, a glint of hope in Shuichi’s eyes appearing, “I’m pretty sure that Kokichi has a break in a few minutes, so hopefully you’ll get to talk to him!”

The name rang a few bells in Shuichi’s head, and it looked as if a lightbulb went off. His eyes lit up and he quickly started jotting something down on his notepad. And Kaede peered over his shoulder and caught a few glances at his writing. His handwriting was neat, but the words seemed to be slurred together. Yet, still readable. “Kokichi: Talk to him during break about Kaede + investigation. P.S. Ask Kaede if she wants to-” Then Shuichi caught sight of Kaede watching as he wrote.

“Sorry, I was curious about what you were writing,” Kaede admitted and then stood from her seat. She dusted off her dress, even though no dust was there. Afterwards, she walked behind Shuichi’s chair and patted his shoulders, “I’m gonna go get a drink then go back to work, good luck on your own work!” She whispered slightly into his ear before turning around and walking out of the staff room. She caught a glance of Shuichi watching her leave, which made her heart flutter.

Kaede walked to the kitchen of the restaurant, and grabbed a cup. She filled it with water and ice, and swallowed it. The water was refreshing, and she let the ice sit in her mouth if she hadn’t already swallowed it. Kaede then put the cup in the sink. It was full of other dirty cups, but she didn’t have time to clean it. Whilst walking out of the kitchen, Kaede bumped into someone.

“Hey, what were you doing in the kitchen?” Miu asked. Aka, one of the people that convicted Kaede. She had on a pair of darkly washed shorts and a white button up. She also had an orange bow tied around the collar of her shirt, along with a similar bow that helped keep her hair up in a ponytail. (A/N: THINK HER PREGAME OUTFIT!)

“I was just grabbing a drink before going back to the piano, why?” Kaede wondered.

“Well, it’s just-” She stuttered and tried to gather her words, “You haven’t actually been stealing tips, right!?”

“Uh…no?” Miu sighed in relief, automatically believing her words. None of this made sense to Kaede, why was Miu now asking? Should she tell Shuichi? Kaede, trying to save herself from more stress, opted to just discreetly walk away and back to her piano.

Upon arriving at the piano, Kaede sat down and cracked her fingers. She watched people around her notice that she was back, and they shifted in their seats to watch her. A wave of performance anxiety overcame Kaede, but she felt as if she was used to this. This happened to her a lot when it came to performing, but this felt different.

The pit in her stomach grew bigger and bigger, her hands slightly shook as they hovered above the keys. She knew the keys so well, and she knew the music even better. What caused her to be so nervous? Was it seeing Miu, or embarrassing herself in front of Shuichi?

She then noticed, out of the corner of her eye, Shuichi exiting the staff room and staring at Kaede. She felt a weight being lifted off of her chest, and her hands stopped shaking. It was almost as if the fear disappeared once she caught notice of him. And suddenly, she started playing the music like it was the last piece she could ever play.

Chapter 7: Part 7: Shuichi

Chapter Text

Shuichi sat in the chair, watching Kaede leave the room. But the aroma was still noticeable in the room, and on his shoulders. He was starstruck by the woman who’d just interacted with him. With a sigh, he turned his attention back to the table he had just been writing at. He erased his ‘P.S.’ because he wanted to save himself from remembering how Kaede almost found out about him wanting to ask her on a date. Shuichi groaned into his hands, resting his elbows onto the table.

He was caught off guard when the staff room door opened, and laughter filled the room. Two men walked into the room, one was shorter and had black hair with purple highlights. The other person was much taller, had green hair, and listened as the other person laughed, “Oh my god, that is so funny!!” Snickered the shorter one.

Shuichi flinched at the sudden sound and turned to look at them. He stayed silent, but watched as they laughed and talked. Neither seemed to notice Shuichi, “Heh, yea,” Agreed the other. Before he could even finish his sentence, he glanced at Shuichi. He looked Shuichi up and down, with confusion more than anything. “Who are you?” He asked, bluntly as ever.

“Oh! I’m Shuichi-” He cleared his throat, trying to gather his words, “I’m Shuichi Saihara, I’m here to get statements on a case I’m working on.”

The two just looked at each other, exchanging glances at one another. They seemed to be communicating through their eyes, but Shuichi had no clue what about, “Well, I’m Kokichi, and this is Rantaro. We have zeeeerrrroooooo clue what case you’re talking about-” Exclaimed the shorter one, who Shuichi now knew as Kokichi. Kokichi stretched out the word ‘Zero’ a little too much for it to sound like the truth.

“What? We do kno-” Rantaro started to contradict what Kokichi said, but he then got his arm whacked. Shuichi raised an eyebrow, he wanted to know what they’d have to say about the case.

“Yeah, we don’t know anything about this case. We have to go now, since our break time is almost over. Right, Rantaro?” Kokichi stated. He grabbed Rantaro’s arm, and started to walk out the staff room.

“No you don’t,” Shuichi protested, causing the two to stop in their tracks. They both looked towards him, and he could feel a wave of anxiety come over him. “I, uh, I was told by someone that you didn’t just get onto break until a few minutes ago. Correct?”

Kokichi rolled his eyes, annoyed that the detective saw right through his lie, “Okay, yea we just got on break. So what? Who even are you?”

Rantaro put his hand on Kokichi’s shoulder. “We should see what he has to say,” Rantaro told him, but his chill demeanor got nowhere around the boy.

“I just want to talk to you two about this case. It’ll only be a few minutes, I swear!”

“Fine, what do you know!?” Sighing Kokichi, he walked over to the table where Shuichi sat, with Rantaro following short behind.

After talking to the two, Shuichi had over two pages worth of notes on just their statements, reasons, and what could be lies. Rantaro had less to say, he mostly sat there and looked pretty. He seemed bored listening to Kokichi talk, or like he wasn’t as engaged in the conversation. After he said what he had to say, Rantaro played with his hair, got up multiple times to get a drink, and tapped his fingers against the table.

Compared to his counterpart, Kokichi, he was more relaxed and chill. Kokichi, on the other hand, was jumpy and wanted to get out of the conversation as fast as he could. He’d explain things in a short manner, be very snappy, and worst of all, lie. The lying made things extremely difficult for Shuichi to know what was correct and not, since the lies contradicted each other.

In the end, Shuichi sucked as much information as he could out of the two, but it left him stranded on what to do and not to do. Some of the key points he got were, ‘Kokichi was convinced by an unnamed person to try to get Kaede fired, Rantaro knew who she used to date, but hates him, the person she used to date is named Leon Kuwata, they were in a small band together, Kokichi and Miu aren’t friends and don’t talk outside of work, and neither one of them knew that the restaurant own security cameras.’

Shuichi wrote down both Rantaro and Kokichi’s numbers, only in case he ever needed to contact them, and they were on their way. “Thanks for this, I’ll be sure to update you both if anything else happens relating to the case.”

Kokichi rolled his eyes, more in a joking way than before. “Yeah, uh huh, sure.” Rantaro let out a chuckle and hummed in response to Shuichi’s words. They both walked out of the staff room and presumably went back to work.

Now with more than enough evidence to tell his agency, Shuichi decided to head out. He grabbed his notepad, pens, and the few business cards he brought with him. He stepped out of the staff room, softly closing the door behind him. His attention was brought to the grand piano that was in the middle of the restaurant.

Kaede sat there, she seemed to be in a dazed-like state. Her hands were ever so slightly trembling and her eyes were shut tightly. Shuichi hadn’t had a clue as to why she, probably the best piano player he’s ever gotten to meet, was so nervous.

He stood there, debating whether or not to go closer to her. His eyes locked onto her. The chandelier made her dress sparkle like the brightest star in the night sky, and her glowing hair resembled beams of light. She looked like a Greek Goddess, awaiting to be made into a statue.

The longer he stood there, fawning over her, she turned her head to look at him. Their eyes locked, everything around them turned into nothingness, they were drifting in a void that only held each other.

Even though it was only for a mere few seconds, it felt like years. Years he’s been wishing for since he discovered what love was. He yearned for those few seconds. Her dazzling eyes turned back to the piano, and music erupted in the hall.

Chatter had stopped, it was like a concert hall. Only the best of the best are allowed to play. Each note was played with such power, Shuichi was engulfed in the music. He was engulfed in Kaede, in love.

Chapter 8: Part 8: Kaede

Summary:

Chapter Text

“Thank you, thank you!” More and more dollars or coins were dropped into Kaede’s tip boxes. Piles of people were handing her business cards, hand shakes, or some other form of gratitude. Though she liked it, Kaede couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by how many people enjoyed her piano playing.

Her face was flushed with red, and she was beaming with thankfulness. “Hey, you need help carrying all that?” Kaede swiftly turned around, Shuichi standing behind her. He held out his hands, ready to grab anything she needed to. With a quick nod, his hands were overflowing with things she was given.

They both walked out of the restaurant, trying to escape the crowd. Tip box in Kaede’s hand, whilst Shuichi held the business cards, sheet music, and written letters that had people’s numbers on it.

Once reaching outside, they watched as the parking lot was almost empty. The sun had fallen, and the moon rose. “Do you want me to walk you to your car?” Kaede turned to look at the boy, the shadow from his hat covered his eyes too much for her own liking.

“Why don’t you show your eyes as much?” Her hands found their way to the rim of his hat, softly touching it with her fingers. “Your eyes are so pretty,” She thought out loud, not exactly wanting a response.

He moved his hand that didn’t hold as much stuff to hers, trying to brush her hand away from his hat. “I don’t like making eye contact with people, it’s a long story…” She moved her hands away from his hat after hearing his words, slightly feeling a tinge of guilt and embarrassment.

Kaede cleared her throat, a weak laugh following after. “Well, it’d be a huge help if you helped me bring all this stuff to my car.”

Both of them smiled at each other, genuinely. Kaede tilted her head slightly, and started walking to her car. Shuichi took that as a sign for him to follow her, so he did just that.

The trunk of her car was lifted and they both put their items neatly in it. They stood in a comfortable silence, listening to the cars drive by. Her hand slightly brushed against his as they put things down, and sparks flew. Before they closed the trunk, Kaede took notice of Shuichi looking at some of the papers. His face looked concerned, his eyebrows were scrunched together and his eyes drooped downwards. “What’s wrong?” She cut the silence with a knife, he looked at her as soon as she spoke. His mouth quivered slightly, and he looked as if he was debating what to say.

“It’s nothing,” His voice sounded annoyed, he averted his eyes away from her and they darted to the ground. The once comfortable silence has now turned to the complete opposite. Kaede placed her hand on his upper arm, she looked at his face with worry. She didn’t even care he wasn’t looking back at her.

“No, is everything okay? You can tell me-” She tried to make the air less tense with her words, but her voice was coated in worry. Shuichi had cut her off, he lifted his hat upwards and looked her in the eyes, that was his way of cutting her off. They made eye contact once more, only this was for longer than before.

Kaede couldn’t help but notice their surroundings. It was just them, alone in an empty parking lot. The stars and moon as their main source of light. The sound of the cars seemed to become quieter, the space between them begged to get smaller. Neither one of them dared to move though.

Shuichi sighed, he looked back at the ground. “I just-” He stopped in his tracks, bringing one of his hands to his face. Kaede didn’t speak, she didn’t want to jump the chase and cause more embarrassment. “I just saw how many people gave you their numbers and stuff…” He shrugged his shoulders, but there was a sniffle in between his words. “I’ll just go now. It was nice to see you tho-” He started to walk away from her car, quickly closing the trunk.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to herself. Her hand moved from his arm to his hand in the fast movement. By accident though, their noses ended up being just an inch away from one another. “Don’t go, Shuichi.” She pleaded, and he couldn’t help but look at her. Kaede staring into his eyes, drowning in them. “I don’t want any of their numbers, or anything they gave me…” Her voice was in a hush.

Every breath Shuichi breathed out, Kaede breathed in. They felt each other's body warmth. One of their hands was being held by the other, whilst Kaede had her free hand on his shoulder and Shuichi’s was just loose. The more they looked at each other, the more both of them wanted to kiss each other. Until, they did. Kaede did, actually. She moved her face towards his and kissed him. Even though it was only for a few seconds, it was long enough for him to enjoy every part of it.

Afterwards, he laughed, wiping his welled up eyes. “Were you crying?” She laughed alongside him. He nodded and laughed a little more.

“It was only because I thought you’d go ahead and date one of them…” His confession made her laugh more. Kaede hugged him tightly, lightly scratching his back.

Her nails left his back, and her arms did too. “Well, I don’t plan on it.” The wink left Shuichi’s heart aching. “But, I think I should get going since it’s late.” Her eyes looked towards the sky, and so did his.

Shuichi nodded and grabbed one of her hands with both of his hands. “Me too, drive safe please!”

She giggled and nodded, “You too, Shu.” Their eyes locked again, but Kaede just left a soft kiss on his cheek. “I’ll text you when I’m home, okay?”

He grinned like a little kid, smiling ear to ear. “Mhm, I will too.” Kaede found how hard he was trying to hide his happiness as cute. She turned her heel and walked to her car door.

As she opened the door and sat inside, she inserted the key in to turn it on. From looking in the rearview mirror, Shuichi walked away from the car and seemed to be in the direction of his own. And for Kaede, she couldn’t have been happier that she suggested he come to her work.

Chapter 9: Part 9: Shuichi

Chapter Text

Once Shuichi got home, he placed his things in his room. His notepad, pens, pencils, and business cards were dropped onto his messy bed. He kicked off his shoes in his room, slid himself out of his jacket, then lightly placed his hat on his desk.

Looking at the time on his phone, he noticed that it was half past ten, and still hadn't eaten dinner! Departing from his bedroom, Shuichi walked to the kitchen and started to take out the things needed for his small dinner.

He grabbed four pieces of bread, placed a frying pan onto the stove, turned on the stove, and turned back to his bread. With grabbing butter out of his and Kaito’s shared fridge, he sliced off a few inches off and smeared them onto the bread.

As Shuichi was putting the bread pieces onto the frying pan, Kaito wandered out of his bedroom. “Why are you making food at 11 PM?” He wiped his face with his shirt sleeve, his eyes hanging downwards as he walked over to the stove.

“I’m making two grilled cheeses, I got home not too long ago.” Shuichi flipped the pieces of bread, then saw his phone screen light up. A text from Kaede appears. He grabbed the phone and started to text her back, but also checked the time as he typed. “It’s not even 11, it’s only 10:45.”

Kaito rolled his eyes, opened the fridge, and grabbed a bottle of water. “Same thing, dude. I’m going to start my nightly working out sesh, and you should join me.” He poked Shuichi’s, albeit weak, arm. Within the same second that he touched his arm, Shuichi pulled it away and gave his roommate an annoyed look. Which caused Kaito to laugh. “If you want a girlfriend, you might as well, right? Right!?”

Trying to ignore him, Shuichi grabbed a few pieces of cheese and a bottle of water to drink with his dinner. Shuichi put the pieces of cheese onto the faces of the fried bread, and then put them back onto the stove. Afterwards, put them onto a plate. Shuichi slid his phone into his pocket, balanced his drink and plate in one hand, and ventured off into the confines of his bedroom. (A/N: This is really funny cause my friend had to help me write him making a grilled cheese since I wrote it COMPLETELY wrong…)

Shuichi sat at his desk, and laid everything neatly on said desk. With every bite he’d take, he’d text Kaede. And with every sip he drank, he’d text her too. His heart skipped a beat when she asked, “Do you want to call? I just got done with my dinner, and I know it’s late butttt?” Not to mention, her double texting and adding a heart emoji. He texted back as fast as he possibly could, it being a ‘yes’ of course, and that began their call.

As soon as the call started, it was a little awkward due to Shuichi eating his dinner. Sooner or later though, he wrapped it up and their conversation on nothingness carried on. They talked about each other's job, the investigation, and random pieces of trivia being sprinkled everywhere, it was like they were teenagers again.

The later it got, their conversation slowly shifted. There was less just talking and more flirting. Kaede seemed to be an expert at getting Shuichi to stutter, pause, or have to just tell her to shut up. Aka, she was good at getting the boy flustered. Though they weren’t on a FaceTime call, his voice made it clear.

“K-Kaede!” He pouted once she commented on how he was always dressed so formally. Her words were , ‘You’ve dressed so nicely every time I’ve seen you, it’s adorable!!’ His response just added fuel to the fire, making her giggle.

“Oh and your hair! I know you’re always wearing that hat but,” She paused, like she was thinking of something to say. Suddenly, Shuichi heard a muffled scream. “I can’t get enough of you!!!” Turns out, Kaede screamed into her pillow at the thought of him. Did he know what exactly she was thinking of? Nope. Did he want to know? Of course!??

With a laugh, Shuichi rolled onto his side, bringing his phone along with him. “I just don’t like it when other people see me with my hat off…eye contact isn’t for me.” His voice softened, just saying what he thought. Shuichi’s eyes traveled to his alarm clock that sat on his bedside table.

As for Kaede, she was on the verge of sleep. She wasn’t putting too much thought into her words, so what he said caught her off guard. “Well, I’d love to see you without it someday.” Her breathy voice, only audible since she was near her phone’s mic. Almost like a whisper, to herself and Shuichi.

After a short yawn from Kaede, Shuichi took that as a sign that he should let her go to sleep. “Maybe, someday. But you sound tired, and it’s late.” He rubbed his eyes, pulled his blanket closer to cover more of his body, and took another glance at the clock. “It’s almost two in the morning, you should get some sleep.”

Before he could continue his goodnight speech, Kaede spoke before him, “Can we hang out soon?” That question alone made Shuichi turn a light shade of pink.

“Y-yea!” Shuichi rubbed his eyes whilst responding, the drowsiness was setting in and he felt as if he could pass out at any moment.

Kaede’s voice was so soothing, yet also tired, that it made the boy want to listen to it to fall asleep. “Okay, we can-” She was interrupted by a yawn, Shuichi softly laughed at this. “We can plan this out tomorrow. Goodnight Shu, I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

Shuichi wished her well once more and then hung up the phone. He placed his phone onto his bedside table and rolled onto his back. Now that he wasn’t on the phone with Kaede anymore, he felt much more lonely than normal.

Staring at the ceiling and walls, he glanced at his familiar room. His walls were painted with posters of things he liked. For example; There were band posters, some art from shows or games he enjoyed, things related to his detective work, and some small motivational posters.

His therapist had told him to make his room a comforting place where he could relax, and to decorate it to his own preference. Even if it all clashed in colors, style, or size, he didn’t care as much as others would.

With another roll, Shuichi ended up on his side, staring at his desk. Scattered papers, some in stacks, pens littered it, and his plate and empty bottle of water sat idly on it. The mess made him anxious, but he didn’t really want to clean it right now.

The last roll made Shuichi lay on his stomach. His face was staring out the single window that was in his room. Normally, the curtain was closed and blinds down, but he forgot that he opened them prior to leaving the house today. “You need to let some sun in! Your room is so dark and gloomy, dude,” Kaito had said to Shuichi before he left for the day. Causing him to open them.

Ever so slightly could Shuichi see the stars, they coated the night sky. They were like sprinkles on a chocolate cake, or like someone spilled glitter on a black rug. The more he stared, the more it made Shuichi realize why his roommate loved space.

“Maybe Kaito could tell me some good stargazing spots, so I could take Kaede..” Shuichi mumbled, burying his face into his pillow. Remembering her voice, her touch, her kiss, Shuichi fell asleep shortly. Falling asleep whilst thinking of someone he loved was surely a feeling he could get used to.

Chapter 10: Part 10: Kaede

Summary:

Notes:

Chapter Text

Kaede’s eyes slowly opened, peaks of sunlight beaming inside of her room. She threw one of her pillows over her eyes, trying to fall back asleep. She didn’t have to work tonight, or today in general, so she wanted to sleep as much as she could.

Her body turned to face her wardrobe that was parallel to her bed. It was a dark brown wood, as was some of her furniture in her room, and a mirror sat atop of it. There were pieces of jewelry on it, her signature white bag, and some other things.

Next to her wardrobe was her closet. That’s where she kept her elegant dresses, shoes, jackets, and other formal wear. It was a small closet, big enough to fit more than one person. Probably around two, but it’d be very cramped.

The plush pillow was enough to keep out the light, yet it couldn’t keep away the noise. Kaede’s phone buzzed softly. With an exhausted sigh, she lifted the pillow off of her eyes and reached to grab her phone. The sunlight blinded her as soon as the pillow disappeared.

“Good morning, Kaede! I hope you slept well last night, sorry I kept you up tho :,)” Her memories rushed back to her. She now realized why she was so tired! Kaede and Shuichi called late into the night.

Tapping onto the screen quickly, she responded to him. “Good morning!! I woke up to your message, but that’s okay! I hope you slept well because I sure did!!” While she waited for a response, she stretched her arms outwards and rubbed her eyes. She moved her body and let her feet touch the cold wood floor under her bed. The cold feeling road it’s all the way up her body, making her want to rest more.

Embracing the feeling, Kaede walked to her kitchen to brew herself a cup of tea, patiently awaiting a reply. “Oh sorry! I’m currently at work, so I’m sorry for not being able to respond quickly :(“ Her eyes scanned the message, catching how he couldn’t stop apologizing.

She let her mind think on what to say as he made herself a cup of tea. The heat from it was rising into the air, then fading into nothingness. She dropped a few sugar cubes into the cup, mixing it until the sugar disappeared. All while staring at his message; her sleepy brain couldn’t conjure up a good reply.

Slowly, she brought the teacup to her rosy lips, sipping it. The sugar and heat from it surely woke her up more than she thought it would. She sighed, bringing her eyes back to her phone and Shuichi’s message. Her feet shuffled and she sat down at her, albeit small, dining room table. Kaede placed the cup down onto a coaster and typed up a message for the boy.

“Don’t apologize!! It’s okay, I needed to wake up anyway! We can text more when you’re on break or something, don’t want you to do poorly at work! :)” After sending the message, she scrolled on her phone as she drank her tea.

It wasn’t long before she was done with her tea, the caffeine from it was enough to make her feel full. So, she didn’t have to eat breakfast. What she did have to do was run some errands… Standing up from her seat, she walked over to her sink and placed the teacup into it. Then, she made her way back to her bedroom.

Currently, she was just in her sleeping clothes; An oversized T-shirt and some pajama shorts. Obviously, she could not wear this to the grocery store. She pulled her blankets up to her pillows, fluffed up said pillows, and neatly made her bed. After that, she pulled some clothes out of her drawers and laid them on her bed.

Now that everything was ready, Kaede turned the notch in her bathroom, turning on the shower. Normally, she’d take showers after running errands, but that’s when she has work. The mirror and glass that was in there slowly turned foggy, yet it was a perfect temperature for Kaede.

Not too long after getting into the shower, she stepped right out. Her hair was dripping water down her back and towel. She ran her hand over her mirror to reveal herself. Whilst still wearing the towel, she started to brush her teeth.

Once she was fully clean, she changed into her clothes that she picked out prior to her shower; a pair of blue jeans and an off the shoulder, cream sweater. Today, since she didn’t plan on seeing anyone, she decided to not go with any makeup. But to tackle her wet and messy hair, Kaede blow dried it and brushed it out.

After all of that was done, she grabbed her signature, white backpack. And went on her merry way! Down the stairs to her apartment, into her car, she started driving to the grocery store.

At the store, she pulled out her list of items. Over the past week, she had been writing down everything that was needed. Her list had: Milk, basil leaves, dish soap, soup, and things to make sandwiches. Most of her dinner was eaten at the restaurant, or easy to make things. As a pianist, she never wanted to damage her fingers, so she tried her hardest to steer clear of anything that’ll hurt them.

The shopping trip was fairly short, given how little she had to buy. But while taking a short detour in the candy aisle, she ended up spending more money by accident. The girl bought herself some gummies, and some chocolate that seemed like something that Shuichi would like!...

Mentally, she slapped herself for having that boy on her mind 24.7. She wasn’t like this with her old boyfriend- Actually, Maki would probably argue that. Kaede was crazy about him! He was so different from her, but she loved that about him. Oh god, Maki would hate knowing that the thought of him still gave her some butterflies.

Physically, Kaede slapped herself. Thankfully, no one saw her since she was in her car. She rested her head on the steering wheel, groaning in frustration. Her ex-boyfriend, he wasn’t the worst man ever, but he broke up with her for another girl. That same girl was in their band!

Within their band, there were four of them. Kaede on keyboard, Leon Kuwata on the drums, Ibuki Mioda as backup singer and guitarist, and Sayaka Maizono as lead singer. They all came from different backgrounds, all with different levels of skill, musically speaking.

They all would play music for fun, and sometimes would record their songs. The trouble in the band came when talk of producing their songs came up. Sayaka fought hard to not do it, stating how it’d ruin her current music career. Going as far to threaten to quit!

Somehow, she convinced Leon to go along with her, and they left the band. Not too long after quitting, Leon broke up with Kaede so he could go date Sayaka.

As if on cue, Kaede’s phone buzzed. Snapping her out of her thoughts, she reached for her phone and rubbed her teary eyes. “I’m currently on break, and wanted to ask if you were free tonight. My friend knows this one place that I think you’d enjoy. Get back to me whenever you get the chance!”

“Oh sure! I’ll be free tonight!! Just give me a time and I’ll make it work! ^^” She replied. A part of her was slightly stingy, but the rest of her was screaming to trust Shuichi!

“Let’s see where this goes,” Kaede spoke out loud to herself as she turned on her car, and started driving home.

Chapter 11: Part 11: Shuichi

Summary:

Notes:

Chapter Text

Reading a statement? Take notes. Making a call? Take notes. Shuichi was spending his whole morning reading documents from the investigation. His colleagues were working on contacting Tsumugi Shirogane. But to avail, she wasn’t responding in any way. Not through her phone number, email, or even calling the restaurant. So the only thing he could do now was review everything, again.

He clicked his pen continuously, eyes scanning his notes. Shuichi had to try to piece this together, but he didn’t know how to. Rumors of this case started sprouting between everyone working on it, some of them saying that Tsumugi might bring this to court!

No one had a motive as to why Kaede would steal, or as to why Tsumugi would plant this idea in everyone’s head. Through Shuichi’s own work, he’s concluded that Tsumugi might’ve started this because of Kaede and Leon’s breakup, but-

God, that name sent shivers up Shuichi’s spine. Especially given the fact that he knows Leon. Small world, huh? Shuichi only knows him because Leon worked at a record shop that he liked.

Whatever, he shouldn’t be on Shuichi’s mind. He had bigger things to worry about. Like this case! He grabbed a piece of loose leaf paper, and started to group his notes together. Since they were all on different pieces of paper, his desk looked like it got hit with a tornado.

His paper was grouped by: ‘Who, What, and Why’. For example, he’d write Kokichi Ouma down in the ‘Who’ collom, then write what they know in the ‘What’ column , and finally, write their reasoning in the ‘Why’ column. As for Kokichi, his ‘Why’ column just had “ N/A” In it, because he didn’t want to give his reasoning.

Shuichi repeated this simple formula for everyone he had talked to. Saving Kaede for last. His eyes stared down at everything in relation to her that he wrote, but it all looked like a fuzzy mess. Every time he tried to recall their interactions, he couldn’t help but feel himself turn red.

So instead of writing her down on his paper, he decided to take his lunch break early. Shuichi pulled out his phone and gave his friend Kaito a call.

“Hello? Is this Kaito?” Shuichi asked, then sighed, of course it’s Kaito! That’s who he called.

“Uh, yea? What’s good, sidekick!?” His smile shines through the speaker, automatically causing Shuichi to crack a smirk. Though the nickname Kaito had for him was childish, Shuichi has found it funny since he was first given it.

“I have a question,” He started, his eyes staring at Kaede’s name in his notes. His fingers started fidgeting with his pen, clicking it as he collected his thoughts. “I was wondering if you had any good stargazing spots?”

On the other end of the phone, Shuichi heard Kaito audibly gasp and it sounded like things were shuffling around, “Yea, sure! I actually have this one girl that I was thinking of taking there! But, since you’re my sidekick, I’ll let you go there first! I’ll send ya’ the address when I get the chance!!” He boasted, some of his words sounded like he was talking to himself, but Shuichi paid no mind to it. He was just happy to have a place.

“Thanks,” Shuichi responded. A part of him was curious on who this girl that Kaito mentioned. It’s been a while since Kaito had a girlfriend, or one that Shuichi has known about. And even though he wanted to ask about who she was, he decided to keep his mouth shut until she was brought up again. Knowing Kaito, she would be if he really liked her. “Well, I have to get going. I’ll talk to you later, see ya!”

Half of that was a lie, he just needed an excuse to leave. Not like talking to Kaito was bad or anything, it’s just he wanted to text Kaede. “Gotcha! See ya later!” Kaito responded and then hung up their call.

Now that that was over, Shuichi opened his messaging app. Even if Kaede wasn’t at the top, it wouldn’t be hard to find her. Shuichi rarely talked to other people outside of work, so he didn’t have that many contacts.

Opening Kaede and his messages, he wrote her a message, “I’m currently on break, and wanted to ask if you were free tonight. My friend knows this one place that I think you’d enjoy. Get back to me whenever you get the chance!”

Once the message was sent, he felt butterflies inside of his stomach. Most of it being fear as to what Kaede would respond with. So, he slipped his phone into his pants pocket and made his way to the break room.

Still fearing to check his phone, he grabbed his lunch and sat in his everyday seat: the back corner near the emergency exit. There wasn’t a real reason as to why he’d always sit there, but he just felt the most comfortable there. Maybe it was because no one sat there? Or because he's right next to a door?

After laying his food onto the table, that’s when he finally checked his phone. To his surprise, there was a response! A part of him didn’t think that he'd get a response, his worries were sometimes a huge factor in whether or not he’d do things. Her response was short and sweet, but it was enough to make Shuichi put his phone down to calm down.

“Oh sure! I’ll be free tonight!! Just give me a time and I’ll make it work! ^^” Was her answer, and it made Shuichi’s heart beat faster than it was when he sent the message! Shaking off the oh-so great feeling, he had to figure out some things. Not too bad, right?

Is what he told himself as he ate his food. It was cold since he was storing it in a fridge that workers could put things in. His lunch was basically his breakfast – He was going to eat it this morning, but because of last nights’ activities, he woke up too late.

Interrupting his thoughts, there was a soft tap on his shoulder. Before he could react, they pulled a chair next to him, sitting down. “Hey, how has your case been going, Mr. Saihara?” The person was one of the higher ups in his field, she mainly worked on murder cases.

He swallowed his food, “It’s been… Uhm, it’s been going!” He tried to laugh it off, pulling his hat lower to his face. Her lilac eyes never broke eye contact. She rested her gloved hands on the table, no food in front of her. Shuichi sighed, looking back at his food, “A lot of my statements contradict each other, and it’s been hard to get more information.” He confessed.

The coworker Mrs. Kirigiri, otherwise known as Kyoko Kirigiri, looked at the table and her hands. “If you need any help with it, you know that me or Mr. Naegi doesn't mind helping,” Her monotone voice always gave Shuichi chills, and a large part of him was always nervous about asking for help.

Mrs. Kirigiri and Mr. Naegi would always offer their help, but he never understood why. They were so talented in discovering things that were well hidden, so why would they look out for someone like Shuichi? The boy just looked at his food, all of these negative thoughts made him lose appetite, even though he hadn't eaten all day.

Bringing him back to the world, Mrs. Kirigiri stood up from her chair. “You know who to find if you need it, just don’t let it consume you, okay?” She pushed her chair in and walked off, not looking back. He looked back though, staring at her as she walked.

Her words stuck to Shuichi, and seemed to silence all of his negativity, for now. It was like his antidepressants, so eventually they’d wear off. But for now, he had to use these precious hours to his advantage!

By that he means he’ll quickly plan out Kaede and his date! Wait, was it a date? “I always let the girl decide if it’s a date!” Is what Kaito would always say, so maybe he should go by that rule?

Chapter 12: Part 12: Kaede

Summary:

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Upon arriving home, Kaede began putting away everything she bought from the store. On her way home, she had bought some fast-food. It was easier than making food once she got home, and the fullness from the caffeine had started to wear off.

Since there wasn’t much that had to be put away, Kaede flopped on her couch, scrolling through her phone. There were more things she could do, but she didn’t feel like it. Not because she’s ‘Lazy’ or ‘Broke’, but simply because she wanted to stay home. If she wasn’t going to go see someone, then why’d she go?

The coldness outside was getting to her, it was causing her to sleep longer and move slower. It was also awfully dark out; mentally and physically. The flowers were dead and everything was quiet. It was miserable for someone like Kaede! She was so bubbly, so the winter always hit her like a brick.

She rolled onto her side, scrolling through her phone. It was half-past noon, and everyone was working. Kaede made a point to take off every Wednesday if she could, since Wednesdays were the slowest and it was right in the middle of the week. But because of that choice, it meant that she had nothing to do on Wednesdays.

While she scrolled, she couldn’t help but feel the urge to play the piano. Normally, she’d try to play it at least once a day, mainly because she wanted to hone her skills. Although she was already outstanding at playing, she wanted to play for her passion.

That ever growing urge caused the girl to swiftly stand up; throwing her phone onto the cushions and racing to her guest room; also known as where she kept her piano. In there stood a grand and sleek instrument. Its exterior was polished, clean, and dazzling.

As Kaede took her seat on the leather stool in front of the piano, she opened the lid to reveal shiny keys. Her back straightened up in an admirable posture, her eyes lidding to admire the beautiful white and black before her. Her fingers splayed over them. Without thought, her fingers danced gracefully along it as her feet lowered onto the petals under it.

Her playing filled the void of silence in her apartment and within her mind; it erupted in random beauty, for she wasn’t using any sheet music. Some would say she’s playing from the heart, since her playing sounded magical; like something straight out of a fairy tail.

It was a rare occurrence in which Kaede would play the piano without something to go off of, normally when she was feeling a wave of heavy emotions, and she’d often cry her eyes out when that’d happen. But right now, she feels fine! The notes match and aren’t sporadic.

In the middle of her melody, her key sense of hearing made her stop. Her phone, still buried within her couch cushions, was ringing. Her fingers suddenly came to a pause, still pressing down onto the keys that were just played. The notes faded out, like a ripple in a pond. The atmosphere in her apartment became still once more as she looked in the direction of where her phone was.

Almost bouncing up from her seat, Kaede skipped over to her phone. The ringing was starting to get annoying, nothing like her music from just moments prior. Kaede picked up her phone to see who was calling her: Maki!? Without giving it a second thought, she accepted the call and put the phone to her ear.

“Hello?” An innocent call out, what was Maki doing calling her?

“I need your help,” Maki’s normally serious demeanor seemed to have hitched up a notch. “This guy-”

“You’re talking to someone!?!? And you never told me!?” Kaede cut her off as she started walking to her bedroom.

Maki sighed over the phone, “Yes, but he’s nice. He asked me to come over to his place tonight, and I don’t really know what to wear.”

Finally, the time that Kaede has been waiting for since the two became friends. “Oh!? Are you going to, you know-”

“No!! No, no… He’s not like that…” It’s almost like Kaede could feel Maki’s blush through the phone.

While Kaede listened to Maki tell her about this mysterious boy, she started grabbing some clothes from her closet, “Okay, so what time are you going to his house?”

There was a slight pause before Maki started talking again, “He said he’ll pick me up at 4 and bring me home at 9.”

Looking at the time, there was surely enough time for what Kaede was planning, “Gotcha, give me 20 minutes-” A thought appeared in her mind: what was she going to do about hanging out with Shuichi? She cleared her throat, “I’ll be over in a little bit to help you get ready. But I might have to leave randomly– I have some plans myself!”

On the other end of the phone, Maki laughed, “Well, okay. See you then.”

Kaede hung up the phone and scrolled to Shuichi’s contact. She typed up a text, “ Hey!! I’m going to a friend’s house to help her get ready for a date. I’ll still be free tonight, so don’t sweat it!! Just give me a time whenever you get the chance! :P xoxo” Her heart fluttered a bit when she sent the ‘xoxo’, but her confidence got in the way of worry.

Now that the message was sent, she packed a few more things into a bag. Maki didn’t have that many ‘ Girly’ things, so whenever events came up, Kaede would come to the rescue by bringing items to help her out! So she was packing some dresses that she thought Maki would like, makeup, and some accessories for her long twin tails. After that was all finished, she grabbed her everyday backpack and drove to Maki’s house!

Once Kaede got to her place, Maki basically pulled her inside, “That took longer than 20 minutes.” Her red eyes pierced into Kaede’s, her stern voice was almost as cold as it was outside.

“Sorry!” Kaede put her hands up in defense, slightly giggling before walking deeper into Maki’s living space. “Soo, want help getting ready?” She twirled around to look at Maki, who looked not prepared in the slightest.

All she got was an embarrassed Maki, “I guess…” They walked into Maki’s room, Kaede throwing her bag of supplies onto her desk.

“So, tell me more about this boy?” She threw her off guard, Maki just closed the door. Clearly not wanting to give Kaede a response.

“I should shower first, you don’t mind waiting, right?” She had just completely ignored her question! Kaede flopping onto her bed, cuddling up next to one of her pillows.

This action caused Maki to laugh softly, laughing at Kaede’s childish behavior. “Fine, but don’t take forever,” Kaede pouted, grabbing her phone and scrolling on it. Maki sighed, walking away and turning on the shower.

After hearing the shower turn on, Kaede checked to see if she had any unread messages, hoping to see one from a certain someone. To her disappointment, he hadn’t even read the message. Though, she should cut him some slack, since it’s not only the middle of the day, but she also sent him the message when he’s currently working!

But, even the mere thought of hanging out with him made her giddy. Maybe that’s what she was trying to convey when she was playing the piano, playing something that just felt right. Whatever, Kaede didn’t have time to think about him! She had to help Maki and her date!

Before long, Maki walked back into her room. Her hair was out and almost seemed longer without her normal scrunchies. She had on an oversized white T-shirt and a pair of shorts, “What do we need to do to get ready?” She asked, twisting some of her hair around her finger. Her question was blunt, straight to the point.

Kaede smiled and looked at Maki’s choice of outfit, “Is that what you plan on wearing?”

An array of denying followed, Maki waved her hands in front of her, “No!! This is just what was comfortable. I’m obviously not going to wear this.” Her flushed face slowly turned to an annoyed one, “Can you just help me?” She huffed out, done with Kaede’s shenanigans.

Instead of replying, Kaede shuffled through her bag. Out she pulled two dresses that she had brought. She shoved them into Maki’s face, “Pick! They’ll hopefully fit!”

Maki’s eyes narrowed onto the two dresses, concentrating like a cat, carefully looking at them and calculating different factors of them. After a few seconds of thinking, Maki pointed at one of the dresses, “This, I like the sequins.”

So much thinking for such a short response? Kaede pushed the dress into Maki’s hands, “Go try it on!”

The dress fit Maki and she looked amazing in it, or at least Kaede thought so. Now that she was wearing the dress, Kaede prompted her to sit on the toilet seat so she could do her hair and makeup. While she did, she got to learn more about this person she was going to see tonight.

Turns out that the T-shirt that Maki wore earlier was his, and they met at a gym? “Really? A gym?”

“Yes, he saw me and said that I looked cool, or something. He’s such a dork,” Maki’s eyelids were closed as Kaede applied eyeshadow to them.

As well as that, Kaede also learned that he was a massive space dork. In her words, at least. But he wanted to take her out to dinner, and, get this, to ‘Test the waters’!

“He told me that it can be a date if I want it to be, so I don’t know,” She played with the hem of the dress she had on.

Kaede handed Maki a tube of lipgloss, then checked the time, “Well he should be here soon, so consider if you want it to be one or not.” She showed Maki her lock screen, the time reading 3:56. As if on cue, a notification rang on her phone as she showed her the time.

“Shuichi texted you,” Maki rolled the lipgloss in her hand.

She pulled her phone back to look at it, seeing that he did, in fact, text her! “ Do you think that you’ll be able to meet me here at around 7 tonight?” With his message, an address was attached. The place to meet was a normal park, but that surely couldn’t be where he wanted to take her.

Nonetheless, she trusted her gut, acknowledging the fact that he’s a nice guy. Sure, they’ve only known each other for a few days, but she still thought highly of him.

A knock on the door of the apartment brought Kaede back to reality, both Maki and her turned to look where the source of the sound was coming from. Without speaking, both girls walked towards the door. Another knock occurred once they arrived, and Maki cautiously opened it.

“Hey Maki Roll!” He stuck out his hand, smiling upon seeing her. He then turned to look at Kaede, “Hey there! I’m Kaito, are you one of Maki Roll’s friends?”

Kaede nodded and put her hands behind her back, “Yea! It’s nice to meet you, Kaito. I’m Kaede.”

Kaito stared at her for a second, and then at Maki, and back at Kaede, “Hm, that name sounds familiar. Do you, by chance, know someone named Shuichi?”

Notes:

Chapter 13: Part 13: Shuichi

Summary:

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Finally, a long day causes a long time for relaxation. After he sent Kaede the details about tonight, he decided to turn his phone off so he could concentrate on this case.

It turns out that two out of three of the people that stated that Kaede was stealing money, that they didn’t participate in it willingly. Shuichi had Kokichi’s number from when he questioned him and Rantaro, so he called him. The call with him went a little like this:

Kokichi was having a normal day at work, serving tables and taking orders, when one of the checks read, ‘Don’t trust Kaede. She steals. Contact me,’ with a number next to it. Kokichi apparently didn’t contact them and told Rantaro about this, but nothing was done about it. Afterwards, someone had seemingly gotten Kokichi’s phone number and was holding information about his Secret society: D.I.C.E ? No more information about that, er– group, was given. But because of this, Kokichi decided to join the group of people that think Kaede is stealing tips. Though Kokichi doesn’t know who exactly the ringleader of it all is, he thinks it's either Miu or Tsumugi.

That concluded their conversation, and now two main suspects are on the table. It’s not about if Kaede is or isn’t stealing tips anymore, it’s about who is framing her. After calling Kokichi, Shuichi did some searching to find Miu’s number. Since they didn’t talk to each other, Shuichi doesn’t know a thing about this girl.

Miu was a lot more difficult to get details on, as she would threaten to hang up every time Shuichi didn’t give her an answer that she found to be the ‘truth’. Well, either threaten or insult him, harshly. Shuichi couldn’t tell if he liked a trolling bastard or a mean woman, but it wasn’t his place to speak. But from what Shuichi gathered from their phone call; she was working at what might be her full time job, a mechanic’s shop, when someone came in and said they’d leak intimate images of her from years ago!? As well as that, she also got the same note as Kokichi did. Honestly, hearing that broke Shuichi’s heart. Onwards, her story was almost word for word as Kokichi’s.

From the calls, Shuichi has concluded that neither Kokichi nor Miu are the leaders of this, as both didn’t ever bring up Kaede’s name in their story! Apart from the notes that they got, no negative words about Kaede were said. Further putting Shuichi at ease. But now with so much evidence and no responses, it is now clear that Tsumugi might be the culprit. Looking at the time, dealing with her might be tomorrow's problem. Shuichi had to get ready to see Kaede!

He packed up his things, slipped on his jacket, and he locked his office up. Shuichi turned his phone back on, seeing that Kaede said, “That works just fine! But could you maybe pick me up?” Picking her up sent chills down his back, this was really starting to feel like a date. The more he thought about it, it really did seem like a date. He asked her, they’re going somewhere at night, and he’s driving!

Not only did he get a message from her, it appears that Kaito also texted him. It, too, didn’t seem like much, but Kaito sent, “I meet your gf!! She’s supa nice!” Along with a few thumbs up emojis. Wait, girlfriend!?! Kaito met Kaede!?

Before he could type up a response that sounded like a cry for help, his eyes that were glued to his phone caused him to run into someone. Within a blink of an eye, Shuichi ended up on the floor with his hat next to him. Before him sat a man with golden hair and what looked to be a tailored, black suit.

“Oh- I’m so sorry..” Shuichi leapt up to his feet, and reached out a hand to help the man. His shaky hand got swatted away pretty quickly, and lapis-like eyes stared at him, annoyed. Whoever he was, he didn’t seem familiar to Shuichi.

“Don’t bother with it,” He stood up quickly and dusted off his suit. “Look where you’re going next time, commoner,” He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and turned a heel, walking to Mrs. Kirigiri’s office. Who was that guy? And better yet, who is the woman sitting outside of Mrs. Kirigiri’s office?

Upon seeing that guy, the woman stood up and fixed her dress. She had long, almost purple, messy braids, a black button up, with a matching, formal, black skirt. ( A/N: THINK OF ONE OF HER BETA DESIGNS) She seemed to go from zero to a hundred when seeing the man, yet he looked unsatisfied. Both of them had sticker name tags; on the female’s reading, Toko F. and the man’s read, Byakuya T. Nonetheless, whatever business they had doing here wasn’t Shuichi’s, and he had to get home.

After getting into his car, he texted Kaito back, “She’s not my girlfriend!! Why did you even see her!?” Knowing Kaito, it’d take a while for him to respond, so he should head home. He had about two hours until he had to pick up Kaede, so that should be plenty of time to get ready!

News Flash: It was not plenty of time. Shuichi is all ready to go, dressed in black jeans, a generic band T-shirt, and a dark blue zip-up hoodie. He had showered and cleaned his room, you know, just in case. Probably not though, since Kaito mentioned something about wanting to be alone at their place tonight. Whatever, but here’s Shuichi, trying to clean up his car while looking at the clock every few minutes.

Normally, his car was clean-ish, but since someone will be in it, he wants it to be spotless. It looks fine right now, but Shuichi does not want Kaede to nitpick it… He threw away everything that he deemed worthless, grabbing a soft blanket in the process, and shoved the rest into his closet. 6:48, surely that’ll be enough time to get to Kaede’s.

Bingo, bullseye, right on the money! Shuichi was right on time! He pulled up to her apartment complex building, and started heading up. She’s never seen him dressed like this, maybe he was too casual!? Or maybe she’d find him weird because he doesn’t have his hat on? He had to shake off those feelings before ringing her doorbell.

Deep breaths in, and out, and go! He rang the doorbell and tried to look confident. He took a step away from the door and let his arms hang at his sides, slightly rubbing his nails on the fabric of his jeans.

Opening the door was what might be a fallen angel; she had her hair half up-half down, a dark purple dress with black embroidering of music notes and scales. She had black flats, along with a white purse. Shuichi didn’t mean to do what he did, but he looked her up and down, admiring her. He was so underdressed, it was pathetic.

His eyes came back to hers, softening. The buzzing glow of the overhead light wasn’t accentuating her true beauty, but she still dazzled like diamonds. “Oh… um,” was the only form of speech that he could muster. His hat would normally cover his flustered expressions, without it though, he was helpless.

Kaede took a step out of her home, closing the door behind her, “Word of advice, Shuichi: say ‘It looks great’ and don't make a big production out of it.” Her voice sounded like she was teaching a child a lesson. She locked the door and placed her key into her purse. “Are you ready to go?” She smiled at him, radiating warmth.

He took a deep breath and looked back at her, “R-Right, yeah... It looks great. It, ah… It goes great with your hair.” He looked away from her, playing with the zipper on his jacket.

She cocked an eyebrow and followed after him, slightly blushing too. She caught up to Shuichi and followed him down the stairs, “You think so? I-I didn't see that one coming…” Half of her words here muttered, but Shuichi didn’t think much of it. Her eyes made their way up to his hair, “You're looking great too, Shuichi. I see you don’t have your hat!”

Kaede leaned on Shuichi’s car, looking at him. He sighed and opened the car door for her, “Yeah...thanks.” She sat in the passenger seat and he drove, of course. “The drive won’t be too long, so you can play music,” He handed her his phone, now unlocked, and she started looking up songs and queuing them.

Classical pieces started playing, none of which Shuichi knew the names of. Not once has he ever listened to piano classics in the car, but here we are. Her purse was on her lap and she tapped on it with her fingers. Shuichi looked over to her, and her eyes were closed, she looked so relaxed. He couldn’t look as much as he wanted, since he was driving, but her fingers played to the song.

“Can you play this piece?” The song was coming to an end, as he didn’t want to interrupt her. Her eyelids lifted, it looked like she was just taken out of her zone. The next song started playing, but she turned the volume down.

“Yea! This is one of my favorites, it’s Sonata No. 16 by Mozart,” She boasted, her nails running across the leather seat cushions. Shuichi turned the steering wheel and pulled into the park’s parking lot. “If you ever came over, I could show you more songs that I can play on the piano,” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her wink. That wink shot him like a gun, he gripped the wheel tighter and he sighed, embarrassed. All Kaede did was laugh at his state.

They pulled into a parking spot and he turned off the car. “I’d love to hear it,” Shuichi unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his side door, rushing over to her side. He opened the door for her and closed it after she got out, “Let me grab something from the back, and then follow me.”

Shuichi grabbed the blanket from the backseat and approached her. The nights were colder and longer, so bringing it not only meant that they’d be warm, but they also didn’t have to sit on the icy grass. He motioned for Kaede to follow him, and he led her to the spot where Kaito told him. It was an area in the park where the bright streetlights didn’t ruin their moment.

The clouds showed mercy tonight, so the stars twinkled above them. Shuichi laid the blanket down, sitting down and patting for her to sit as well. She sat down on her knees and scooted closer to Shuichi, “I brought you something.” Within her bag, she pulled out chocolates. Kaede handed him the bag, insisting he take it, “You seem like the type of person to like candy like this… Please don’t tell me you’re a licorice type of guy…”

Both of them chuckled, and he opened the bag. The chocolate was delicious, or maybe it just tasted like that because he rarely ate sweets. “These are great, Kaede!” He took another and ate it, “Thank you.”

Her eyebrows scrunched together in envy, “Give me one, I bought them after all!” She wrapped her arms around his jacket sleeve, and it might’ve been the little light that they had, but she looked adorable. Shuichi grabbed another chocolate from the bag and put it in front of her mouth. A few seconds of awkward silence later, she ate it. Her eyes turned to stars, “Those are so good!!”

Notes:

Chapter 14: Part 14: Kaede

Summary:

Notes:

Chapter Text

Sparkling stars twinkled above them, the hushed whispers of wind passed them occasionally. Their hands would point towards them, exclaiming how they can see certain constellations or planets. “Look at that one, it kind of looks like a snake!” The tips of Kaede’s fingers pointed to the Hydra constellation.

Shuichi’s eyes followed her fingers, sighing in the process, “I can only see the kite and Big Dipper…” He leaned back, his hands resting on the blanket. Kaede crossed her arms, giving him an ‘Are you serious?’ look.

“Here… Look,” She grabbed one of his arms that was supporting him. Her hand wrapped around his wrist, positioning it where the constellation was, “Don’t you see it now?” His skin under hers was warm, since his jacket was keeping in all of his body heat.

Her eyes stared up at the sky, admiring the stars. Though she was looking at them, her mind was full of Shuichi. His warmth, his skin, his presence. In the dark and quiet area, he made her feel safe. “I do…” His voice was soft, his arm relaxed under Kaede’s grip.

Their whole… Date? Hang out? Whatever it was, it was comforting to Kaede. She’s gotten so comfortable with Shuichi in the few days that they’ve known each other. It’s like she’s known Shuichi for years, when in reality, they’ve only scratched the surface. Kaede lowered his arm, not pointing it at the sky anymore, her hand still holding his wrist.

Next to her, Shuichi fake coughed, seemingly trying to break the silence, “What… er, what time do you want me to bring you home?” The two looked at each other, Shuichi wasn’t moving his arm away from her’s, and she was watching his face shift from relaxed to anxious.

In response, Kaede moved her hand to his, softly rubbing his knuckles. She took a deep breath and closed some of the gap in between them two. “Would you like to… Also come over?” She whispered, only for the two of them to hear.

Being so close to Shuichi made it impossible to not see his eyes. His grey eyes met hers, time slowing down whilst doing so. They were so beautiful, so why hide them? “W-Well, it's just that... I mean, going to your place is…” His voice shook slightly, but he matched her whispering. Shuichi looked away while talking, a light blush growing on his face.

She tilted her head, watching the embarrassed boy before her. Kaede tightly trapped his hand under hers, “What?” Crickets. The chillyness of winter might’ve caught up to her, or maybe it was the no response, but she was starting to feel the hairs on her arm stick up. More silence equals more thinking, until it clicked, “W-Wait a minute! No, I didn't mean it like that!”

Now both Kaede and Shuichi were blushing, awkward… Timidly, Shuichi turned to look back at her, “I don’t mind coming over…” Whispering once more, but now with pink-tinted cheeks. Normally, Kaede was an expert at eye contact, but for once, she felt like she couldn’t take it.

Kaede smiled, she leaned closer to Shuichi. His jeans felt cold next to her bare legs, but the rest of his body radiated heat. She didn’t even realize how cold she was until her arms hooked themselves onto his arm. The cozy feeling she got when being so close to him brought her back to all of her previous relationships, but this one felt different. They weren’t even dating, barely even flirting, but now he’s coming over to her house?

Without thought, she gripped his sleeve harder, stealing all of the body heat from that arm. “Uh… Kaede?” He stared at her, grabbing his jacket. Their eyes met again, but it looked like gears were turning in his head. Then, Shuichi shook her off of his arm, not too harshly, but enough to convey that he wanted her to let go. “Are you cold?” That simple question caused Kaede’s shoulders to drop, she sighed and nodded. Giggling softly.

His hands moved to her exposed arms; icy cold. He lightly traced her skin, feeling how cold she was, slowly repositioning them to her shoulders. A tingling feeling followed his actions for Kaede, butterflies being born out of comfort. Shuichi rested his soft grasp on her, looking at her. The stars hanging above them made enough light to be able to reflect off of his eyes, leaving a mesmerizing glare.

Even though She loved to stare at Shuichi and feel his hands on her body, inevitably he had to move them. But for a good cause! He took off his jacket and handed it to Kaede. “Won’t you get cold now?” Kaede slipped herself into it, the freezing temperatures disappearing. She looked at his arms, not much mussel. But, that makes sense.

He scratched the back of his head, looking in the direction of which they came, “D-don’t worry about it. If I do, then we can just get in my car… Right?” Shuichi looked back at Kaede, blushing again. He relaxed back onto the blanket, slowly inching one of his hands closer to hers.

Calm silence coming back, Kaede looked to where his car was parked, knowing that that was the ticket right to her apartment. But, what would they even do there? He could listen to her play the piano, they could watch a movie, or, there’s another option. Then again, the former two seem better for the state of their current… Relationship.

“I don’t want you to get cold now,” Kaede started, slowly standing up. She grabbed her purse and put out a hand, “Come on, let’s go!” She looked down at Shuichi, watching as he turned 50 shades of red before reluctantly taking her hand.

Once he stood up, he squatted back down and rolled up the blanket. Though it was covered in dried dirt and grass, he didn’t seem to mind having some of it get on him. “Ah, okay!” He turned to look at her, ready to go, and Kaede followed him to his car.

Of course, the drive wasn’t too long. Shuichi got to listen to Kaede talk about instruments like the piano! Sometimes she thought that she talked about it too much, but that was only because of the nickname she’s earned: Piano freak. Bleh, such a gross name.

Shuichi opened the car door for her and lent her a hand to help her get out, the small gesture was heartwarming. As classy and put together Shuichi was, he sure was shy and awkward. It’s not like that’s a bad thing, but he contrasted with Kaede, since she was very bright and extroverted. Then again, Kaede was friends with Maki.

They walked up the flights of stairs and arrived at her front door, Kaede searched for her key in her purse. A few seconds later, she pulled out her key and unlocked her door. “Here we are! Sorry if it’s messy… I wasn’t expecting guests,” Kaede twirled her locks of hair and slipped off her shoes. She walked into her half-kitchen, leading Shuichi.

“Your house is nice,” Shuichi followed suit, his eyes exploring their surroundings. There were pictures of Kaede and her family, some of her and friends, her place was decorated in small house plants, yet staying tidey. Kaede was keen on keeping her living area neat, but sometimes she’d accidentally slip up.

She walked deeper into her small kitchen, flipping the switch on her electric tea kettle, “Would you like some tea?” Her voice was warm, soothing like the tea she was about to brew. As Kaede waited for a response, she pulled out a small box, filled with different types of tea bags.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shuichi had walked next to her, watching her movements diligently. Kaede listened as he cleared his throat, “Sure..” She smiled to herself, and went to reach for two teacups. He peered over her shoulder, and she felt his breath on her neck as he spoke once more, “Do you have black tea?”

As amazing as this was, Kaede needed to know if Shuichi liked her back. Ignoring the fact that they’ve kissed before… And been on a couple dates… Kaede’s breath hitched slightly when the tea kettle clicked; A sign that the water was ready. She hummed to herself, “Yea, I think I do!”

Shuichi continued to stand behind her, sitting his chin on her shoulder. He stayed perfectly still as her fingers searched the box for black tea. She delicately grabbed a tea bag for both black and jasmine, and placed each into their respective cups. Her hands grabbed ahold of the kettle, and slowly poured the heated water into the cups.

The steam from the water faded into nothingness, bringing up a smell to further relax the atmosphere. Neither had to say what they were feeling or thinking, they were basking in comfort. She placed the tea kettle back onto its original place, and took a step backwards, prompting Shuichi to lift his chin from her shoulder.

“Can we sit down?” He broke the silence, lifting his cup of black tea. Kaede turned around, accidentally clinking her cup with his. He hadn’t realized how close he was behind her, causing him to blush. As did Kaede.

She giggled at their predicament, “Sure!” Kaede skipped past Shuichi, brushing her shoulder against his lightly. He followed after her as she led them to her couch, both placing their cups onto coasters that sat upon the coffee table. Kaede practically pounced onto the couch, sinking into the cushions and her throw pillows. Shuichi chuckled, and respectfully took a seat next to her. She then reached for the TV remote, clicking a few buttons to turn it on. “Wanna watch something?” Her voice cheerfully asked, still staring at the screen before her.

Before Shuichi could respond, an almost silent buzz came from his pocket. He pulled out his phone, and sighed in Kaede’s direction, “My roommate, Kaito-... He’s calling me..” His face read annoyed, but his voice said guilt. He cleared his throat, “Sorry… Can I take this?”

Kaede softly bit her bottom lip and hummed, “Yea! I hope everythings okay..” She put the remote on the table, and scooted closer to Shuichi, not caring that their knees were touching. He brought the phone to his ear, and she leaned closer to listen. Any normal person would call her rude for blatantly eavesdropping, but Shuichi didn’t seem to mind.

Though it was still difficult to hear, Kaede was still caught off guard when Shuichi groaned and randomly stood up. He hung up his phone and turned to Kaede, “I’m sorry… Kaito wants me to get over there. To help him out, or something…” Shuichi weakly laughed, still obviously irritated.

She sighed, and stood up as well, “Well, let me at least walk you to the door, right?” Her voice was soft, still hopeful. Shuichi nodded, and they walked to the front door.

“I had a lot of fun tonight, Kaede…” Shuichi murmured, putting his shoes back on. He stood up and opened the door behind him, feeling the cold breeze hit him harshly. Kaede giggled behind him, and she grabbed ahold of his bare arm. “Hm-”

Without a thought, Kaede pulled him into a kiss. Her hand slid down his arm and intertwined their fingers. It seemed like Shuichi also wanted this kiss, because he melted into her, taking her free hand with his own. Now both of her hands were held with his, holding onto each other tightly. Kaede pulled away slowly to catch her breath, still letting the tips of her nose touch his. They breathed in each other's breath, the small space between them was hot.

Once they both were okay now, Kaede’s hands found their way to his face. She cupped his face and kissed his cheek. “Drive safe, okay?” Kaede whispered, and planted another kiss onto his cheek. He seemed dazzled, off in his own wonderland. It wasn’t until she pinched his face, “Shu???”

Finally, he blinked a few times and looked at Kaede, smiling. He gulped, “Y-yea… I will, thanks, Kaede…” She let go of him, and watched as he stood in her doorway. “I’ll text you later?”

Kaede nodded, “Mhm, sure. Bye, Shuichi!”

Chapter 15: Part 15: Shuichi

Summary:

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The drive back to him and Kaito’s house was empty. No music, no talking, no Kaede. Shuichi’s mind was in another place, thankful he knew the way home well enough to not put thought into it. Which meant he was able to think about Kaede.

He thought about how she didn’t move when he rested behind her or how she looked in her dress. She really was a sight for sore eyes. Shuichi wanted to stay at her apartment longer, but he couldn't. Over the phone, Kaito said something along the lines of him taking his date out for a little bit, but he had forgotten his keys. So here he was, leaving a fallen angel alone, because his roommate forgot to bring the house keys.

Mentally, Shuichi felt so stupid for leaving Kaede. But if he had told her why Kaito had called him, he knew she would’ve told him to go help him anyways. If only Kaito could've brought his key with him, or they had a spare – Though, keeping a hidden extra key would be hard. Since they live in a small apartment complex.

It wasn’t much longer before he pulled into his normal parking spot, next to Kaito’s black coupe. He parked, and found two people sitting outside of his front door. His roommate, Kaito, dressed in an unbuttoned, white shirt, a red shirt underneath it, and jeans. As for the other person, she had on an off the shoulder, maroon dress with sequins, and sheer black leggings.

Both of them were watching some video on Kaito’s phone, the girl seemingly less engaged than him. Shuichi slowly approached them, trying to be quiet, but the girl looked right up at him. Her piercing red eyes stabbed his. “Kaito, I think he’s here,” The girl never broke eye contact when she spoke, Shuichi shivered as she stayed locked onto him.

“Oh! My sidekick is here!” Kaito jumped up, and jogged up to Shuichi. “What took you so long?” He lightly smacked his back, smiling cheerfully. Behind him, the girl slowly crept up. She crossed her arms over her chest, noticeably cold from the chilly weather.

Shuichi sighed, walking to the door and unlocking it, “I left as soon as you called me…” His voice was heavy, still missing Kaede. The warm air from inside gave him whiplash, reminding him of how it feels whenever he gets home from work.

Kaito and the girl he was with followed Shuichi, Kaito slightly pushing past him. “Let me introduce you guys to each other!!” He kicked off his shoes, smilingly like a child.

“I’d rather not-” The girl objected, neatly placing her black flats next to Kaito’s sneakers.

Rather than listen, Kaito pointed to Shuichi, “This is Shuichi!! My sidekick, friend, roomie, whatever!” He motioned for Shuichi to come closer to them, stopping him from making a French Exit.

Cautiously, Shuichi turned back to look at the pair, and took a few steps closer, giving an embarrassed wave. “Hello, I’m Shuichi…”

The girl slowly looked him up and down, studying him with her eyes. As a detective, Shuichi has seen people do this when trying to figure out who he was, or what he was trying to do when investigating. Suddenly, she looked at him, “Are you Kaede’s friend?” She asked bluntly.

That was not the question he was expecting, a light blush forming onto his cheeks. “Uhm… Yes?” He was still perplexed by the question, but agreed either way. “Why do you ask-”

“I’m friends with her, and she’s told me a bit about you,” She stated nonchalantly, not wasting any time in beating around the bush. The air hung heavy with tension.

Trying to fix the uneasy mood, Kaito cleared his throat, “Well, this is Maki-Ro…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but instead looked at the girl next to him. Kaito chuckled, “Maki!! This is Maki. Maki, this is Shuichi!” Somehow, his giddy attitude was able to clear the air of awkwardness.

Shuichi gave her a sideways smile, “It’s nice to meet you, Maki… I’ll leave you two alone-” He turned around, ready to make a B-line to his door.

But, his roommate's booming voice brought him to a halt, “What? No, Shuichi! You should hang out with us!” Upon turning around, Kaito had playfully swung his arm around Maki. “We can all hang out!!”

From the looks of it, neither Maki nor Shuichi wanted to. Shuichi wanted to get to his room and get ready for bed. It was half-past eight, still early in the evening, but he wanted to start winding down for the night. Not to mention, he was planning on talking to Kaede!

Maki looked back and forth between the two boys, then darted her eyes to the digital clock on their stove. Shuichi mentally took note of her quick movements, no matter how small they were. The way she was acting was similar to the type of people that Mrs. Kirigiri or Mr. Naegi would deal with. Serious, short-worded, silent, and speaking more with her eyes than mouth. What could Kaito see in her? Well, that’s kind of mean, given the fact that Kaito and Shuichi are friends.

After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Kaito shuffled his feet in an impatient way, rolling his ankle and picking at his ear. “I guess…” Finally, someone spoke up. Maki placed her arms behind her back and looked at the two boys. “But we better not be doing anything stupid,” She spat out, looking at Kaito.

Her words managed to make Shuichi huff out a laugh, pressing his lips together and looking at the floor. “You got it, Maki-Roll!” Kaito grabbed her wrist and marched over to Shuichi, “Come on, guys!!” He dragged both to his bedroom.

Once they got there, Kaito turned on his TV that he bought for his room, flopping onto his bed and melting into it. Shuichi took a seat in the middle of the bed, sitting criss-cross (apple sauce). As for Maki, she took a seat at the very edge of the bed and next to Kaito. “Are we going to watch something?” Shuichi asked, looking at the various space and astronomy things in his roommate's room.

“Yea! You guys can pick something, I’ll go make us popcorn!!” Kaito jumped off of his bed, throwing the remote where he previously sat, before exiting the room.

The two of them looked at each other, not knowing what to say or do. Shuichi guessed that Kaito left the room to force them to talk to each other, but what was he to say? So, instead, he reached for the remote and started flicking through the movies.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Maki’s side eye, having a cat-like expression. Shuichi gulped nervously, feeling his body tense up, finding it difficult to find a movie with her staring at him like that . “Are you going to pick something?”

He blinked a few times, snapping his head to look at the girl. Her words were blunt, raw of any emotion. “I don’t know what to watch-” As Shuichi tried to defend himself, Maki snatched the remote out of his hands within the blink of an eye.

Maki’s fingers moved rapidly over the buttons, going to the search bar and looking something up. Under her breath, she mumbled something. Being too quiet and incoherent for the boy to hear it. Shuichi raised a brow, curious as to what she said.

“What was that? I’m sorry, I didn’t hear it-”

“I said that you don’t seem like Kaede’s type at all,” Maki had caught him off again, not moving her eyes from the TV screen. She moved her legs onto the bed, sitting on them and relaxing some into the bed.

The answer she gave only further confused Shuichi, “What do you mean by that?” His voice shook slightly, fearing that Kaede didn’t like him. But, every time they hung out, she seemed to enjoy his presence?

There was a cold silence between his question and her response, feeling like it was dragging out on purpose. She sighed, finally speaking, “It’s just… Her last boyfriend was the complete opposite of you.” Her voice faltered, slowly dying down, “It’s not my place to say what happened, but he sort of took advantage of her.”

In response, Shuichi felt his heart rate speed up slightly. He knew that there wasn’t anything meaningful he could say at this moment, so he kept his lips sealed. Soaking the newly given information. He nodded his head slowly, tugging at his, now bare, arms. Remembering that Kaede still had his jacket.

As if just on time, Kaito barged into the room, “I’m back!! It took a while to make all of this, but it’s done now!” He placed two bowls of popcorn on his bed, then ran back to the kitchen to receive drinks for the three. “Did you guys pick a movie!?” Kaito hollered from the kitchen, racing back to the pair.

“Yes,” Maki softly smiled at him, pointing her nude painted nails at the screen. Shuichi watched as Kaito sat right next to her, placing one of the bowls of popcorn in his lap.

Shuichi scooted backwards in the bed, sitting next to Kaito’s pillows and resting his head on the headboard. He pulled his knees closer to his chest, putting his phone in his lap and bowl of popcorn next to him. On his phone, there were two notifications.

One was from Kaede, reading, “Hey! I forgot that I had your jacket, so I’ll give it back to you soon… Also, was everything okay with your roomie? :(“ His heart fluttered at her message, loving how caring she was. Not even noticing the movie had started.

Now, onto the other message. His fingers hovered over the notification, deciding to open it before replying to Kaede. “Kaede Akamatsu, December 7th of last year.” Was all the message said, with a video file attached to it. It was from an unknown number, none of the numbers being familiar to the boy.

He could feel his heart beat start to speed up, losing his appetite and thirst. Shuichi gripped his phone, almost leaping from the bed. “Hey, what’s the rush?” Kaito noticed immediately, pausing the movie and looking at his roommate.

“I-it’s nothing, I have to go, sorry,” Shuichi’s eyes flickered between the blood red and lilac purple before him, looking at him with the utmost confusion. After he frantically spoke, he bolted out of the room and into the secluded space of his room.

Upon getting there, he locked the door behind him and threw his phone on his bed, unsure of what to do. In the midst of the chaos, Kaede sent him another message, “Leaving me on read? Really, Shu?”

Notes:

Chapter 16: IMPORTANT INFO

Summary:

Chapter Text

Hello!! You do not need to read this, but I’m making this because I don’t want things to get out of order and/or all jumbled… First off, a quick apology for if this list doesn’t make sense… I just wrote it up because I realized that I needed one…

This supposed list I speak of is important timeline things for this fanfic. So sorry again for not making this sooner!! This is actually my first time writing a long (ish), like all of my other fanfics haven’t ever been finished or they haven’t been 20k words!?!?!? Like, sorry, but that’s a lot for someone like me! Normally, I lose motivation when I write stories, which results in me dropping it or abandoning it. Which actually happened to this story, which is why I didn’t post for like a few months… Anyways!! Onto the list!

Kaede:

⟢Two jobs: Clothing store and pianist

⟢She works at the clothing store on Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and sometimes Sundays

⟢She works as a pianist everyday except Wednesday and Saturdays

⟢Kaede works at the clothing store from 9-4

⟢Kaede works as a pianist from 6:30-10

⟢She is 27 in the story

Shuichi:

⟢He has one job: Detective

⟢He works on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays-Fridays

⟢He works from 7-5:45 most days, sometimes at different times because he does a lot of work outside of the office

⟢He is 27 in the story

Extras:

⟢The story takes place in mid-late January

⟢The story starts on a Sunday (Yes, I know, that makes things kind of weird. My pacing is ass and I know it)

⟢THH cast: All 30

⟢SDR2 cast: All 29

⟢V3 cast: All 27-28

⟢Dispair/Hope kids: 16-17 (It it gets brought up)

So this list is getting posted on both AO3 and Wattpad so anyone reading it has it, as well as that, I have this in another tab on the Google Doc where I’m writing this! I hope this helps clear up some things, and it helps things in the future!! Ask any questions, and I’ll try my best!! Thank you for reading :D

Chapter 17: Part 16: Kaede

Summary:

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After seeing that Shuichi ignored her message, she decided to turn her phone off and take off her makeup. As soon as he had left her place, she changed into some bloomer shorts and zipped Shuichi’s jacket up as a shirt. It was soft on the inside, had been well kept, and its color reminded her of blueberries. As a result of her thinking, her smile softened at the thought of Shuichi, feeling a few ounces of guilt for her passive aggressive message.

She shook off the feeling, or tried to, wiping a makeup wipe over her face and removing everything she did for seeing him. Then putting various moisturizers and oils onto her face and neck. Still not hearing a peep of a reply from Shuichi, only feeding into her guilt.

Kaede sat on her bed, looking at the time. 8:48, it read. She didn’t want to go to sleep just yet, instead she wanted to stay up talking to her lover boy, Shuichi. The tips of her toes reached for the floor under her bed, reminding her how cold and lonely she was. Kaede turned on her phone again, seeing now that Shuichi hadn’t even opened her most recent message.

As she looked at him and her messages, she wanted to call him so badly. Just to see what the holdup was, or even to hear his voice. The guilt in her stomach turned to worry, anxious thoughts of if he was alright. Her finger even hovered over the call button, debating if it was worth it or not…

Suddenly, three bubbles popped up on Shuichi’s end, showing that he was typing something. “Sorry, something came up. I won’t be able to call or text tonight, but I can tomorrow.” She stared at the message, rereading it multiple times. All of that worry just for that? That ?

“Oh, don’t worry! Hope everything is okay and I’ll talk to you tomorrow morning!” She typed up with a sour expression on her face, only throwing her phone onto her bed right after sending it. Kaede had zero reason to be annoyed, but she couldn’t help but feel a ping of jealousy that she wasn’t worth his time, tonight at least.

The poor girl went to sleep with those thoughts, sleeping restlessly. She twisted and turned all night, barely getting sleep too. And today, she actually had to work her day and night job. Just her luck, huh?

As a result of not being able to rest, Kaede had gotten out of bed an hour earlier than she normally would’ve. She doesn’t have to go into work until 9 AM, but here she was; getting ready for work at 6 AM. As always, Kaede turned on her shower and picked out clothes to wear today.

For her day job, she worked as a clerk at a clothing store. It wasn’t hard to do, so she could savor her energy for in the evenings. Though she worked almost every night at the restaurant, she only works at the clothing store on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Occasionally on Sundays, too. Yes, weird work schedule.

Because of her barely sleeping that night, she caught herself wanting to doze off in the shower. The hot, steamy water hitting her bare back was total relaxation, feeling the soft pellets wash off her vanilla scented soap. She already washed her hair, face, and basically her body, yet Kaede didn’t want to leave the shower. As water fell onto her golden hair, she couldn’t help but remember the sole compliment Shuichi gave her about it. She reached to grab the ends of her hair, twisting it around her finger and letting the droplets of water fall onto her feet.

An alarm dinged on Kaede’s phone, bringing her pleasurable thoughts to a close. Kaede turned the notch on her shower, turning the water off and she tip-toed out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself, of course. She swiped a hand over the foggy mirror, staring back at her were her warm, plum eyes.

She snapped out of her drowsy trance quickly, and began getting ready for the day. As she was working at a boutique, she didn’t feel the need to dress up in anything more than business casual. So, she put on a light pink, baby-doll shirt and some light blue jeans. On top of the shirt, she put on the zip-up hoodie Shuichi had given her.

It wasn’t long before Kaede was ready for the day, but she still took her time. It was now 8:25, meaning she had enough time to get to work and pick up something to eat! She already had packed her lunch from last night, after Shuichi left, so she was all ready to go!

Shuichi… Kaede’s nails tapped on the steering wheel as she waited for her car to heat up. She couldn’t help but think about him, especially with his abruptness last night. And the sudden leave? Even if it was because of his roommate, she felt so much uneasiness.

“Maybe I just need something in my stomach…” She muttered to herself as she drove out of the parking lot and to her favorite coffee shop.

Once she arrived at the store she worked at, she flicked on all of the lights, unlocked the front door, and placed the more expensive things out on display. She put her lunch into the fridge in the staff room, and let ‘her’ jacket hang on a coat hanger. Thursdays are normally slow days, but her enthusiasm was enough to get anyone to buy anything!

Her coworker for that shift came waltzing in, another blondie. Kaede and her weren’t that close, as all the girl would talk about is her love of the occult… But she sure was a pleasant entertainer! “Good morning, Kaede,” She gave a short curtsy to her.

“Oh! Hey, Sonia!” Kaede’s eyes flickered to her, and then back to the register. She opened it with a key and began counting money, listening to the sound of Sonia’s shoes disappearing into the staff room. Though she was an odd girl, she could lure in so many customers with just her presence!! But to Kaede’s knowledge, she barely worked. Guess it makes sense, a princess from a foreign country doesn’t have time for jobs…

As soon as the clock hit 9:30 AM, a regular pink-haired boy walked in, “I-is she here yet!?” He placed his elbows on the table Kaede stood behind, slightly leaning over to look at her.

In response, Kaede shoved his face away from hers, “The store just opened and you already want to see her?” She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“W-well, yea! I also want to buy something!” He smiled widely, showing his shark-like teeth.

“You better buy something,” She rolled her eyes, huffing out an annoyed breath. He nodded quickly, and started walking in circles around the store. This was a small boutique store, selling mostly feminine clothing and jewelry. But with the looks of this guy? It’d be a shocker if he bought something here for himself.

After around 15 minutes of impatient pacing, he ended up leaving. Sonia only came out of the staff room once the coast was clear. “Good riddens, thank you Kaede. I wish there were something I could do about him,” Sonia fiddled with the mannequins as she spoke, receiving a giggle from Kaede.

It being a Thursday, it was slow. There were a few people here and there, who all succumbed to Kaede and Sonia’s amazing salesperson skills. Kaede checked her phone, hoping for an unseen notification from the one person she wanted to hear from, but was met with radio silence… Bummer.

The bells on the door jingled, making Kaede stand up straight to see the new customers, “Hello! Welcome to Twilight Syndrome! How may I help you-” She was caught off guard by the familiar faces, not expecting to see them .

Leon and Sayaka, stood in the doorway of the boutique. Obviously, neither of them expected to see Kaede, and Kaede didn’t expect to see them. Sayaka’s eyes looked back and forth between Leon and Kaede, before whispering something into his ear.

“It’s been a while, Kaede…?” Sayaka took cautious steps, her hand dragging Leon behind her. “I didn’t know you worked here,” She smiled softly, her eyebrows narrowing downwards. Behind her, Leon’s eyes looked around the store, not really paying attention to their conversation, purposeful or not.

Kaede hummed, “Yea…” Her uneasiness was apparent, bluntly showing how much discomfort she was feeling.

Sayaka’s hands fell to her sides, pinching her leggings anxiously. She coughed under breath, causing Leon to stop daydreaming and stand by her side. He played with his hair behind him, not even looking at Kaede. Even though they went out for so long, he looked like a stranger to Kaede.

“Hey- Look…” He started, still looking away from Kaede. “I’m sorry… I hope you’re doing well…” Leon muttered, almost like his words were forced.

“Leon!” Sayaka scolded him, being able to tell he was only giving a half-assed apology. The way they both interacted felt eerily similar to how Kaede and Leon spoke to each other in serious situations. Him only saying things out of convenience, while not truly meaning what he’s saying.

Both of them bickered for a little while, only ending when Sayaka said, “I’m sorry, we can deal with this another time!” She dragged Leon behind her and out of the door.

“Oh! Okay!” Kaede shouted as she watched them exit, curling her hands into fists. Not even out of jealousy, but just… Anger at how he acted towards her? At the sudden appearance of them? And maybe a little bit of jealousy.

Sonia watched that whole thing unfold, but didn’t have a clue about the context. “Hey, Kaede, are you alright?”

She shook her head, overwhelmed slightly, “I’m fine, I’m fine… Give me a second, okay!?” Kaede grabbed her phone and raced into the staff room, whipping the extra water that started to flood her eyes. She sat down at a table in there, and pressed a few buttons on her phone without thought, then brought her phone to her ear.

“H-hello? Kaede?” That, oh so, familiar voice spoke from over the phone’s speaker. The same voice she longed for since he left her apartment, the voice she wished she found more beautiful than her piano. Shuichi Saihara.

Notes:

Chapter 18: Part 17: Shuichi

Summary:

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

That night, after blowing off Kaede, Shuichi just stared down at the messages he was receiving. Trying his hardest to process what was happening in the videos, or even what to do. He almost took screenshots of the messages on instinct, and he saved the videos to his phone. Shuichi raced to his desk, swiping away his disoriented, scattered papers.

At his desk, he reached into his work bag to pull out his computer. On his computer, he emailed himself the screenshots and videos, making sure that they don’t get lost, as if that could even happen. Though whatever he’d do right now wouldn’t mean he’d get paid, he still felt the need and motivation to do this right now!

As much as it hurt Shuichi to watch the videos, he had to. Multiple times, actually. He watched as Kaede stole bills from the cash register, poured tip jars into her purse, and went as far to break into lockers in the staff room! Each video was from a different angle, but it appeared to be from a corner up high. Which meant it was security camera footage…

He analyzed each video, pausing at random frames to write down notes. Of course filling out a whole page in his notepad in a matter of minutes. Shuichi didn’t know what to do with the random number that texted him, as they didn’t send anything after seeing he read the messages. Was he supposed to block them? ‘Report Junk’? Or, the most nerve wracking option: text them back.

It was too late for this!! He even heard the front door open and close, meaning Maki had left. Shuichi could work on this tomorrow, right? At work, in his office, with impatient stares from his colleagues and higher-ups. But there was no time for that, right?! He had to get to the bottom of this now, even if his life depended on it!

So, that’s what he did. He didn’t leave his desk, not even once the morning birds sang. Shuichi fought the urge to pass out many times, but anxieties woke him right back up. Even once his everyday alarms started playing, he didn’t stand up from his desk, just staring at his work. Even his handwriting progressively getting worse, and random doodles on the sides of the pages.

Finally, the rising sun crept its way to his room, now helping to illuminate his room with his desk lamp. The loud steps of his roommate started, hearing Kaito walk into the kitchen and do his mindless activities. Normally, Shuichi wouldn’t be awake for this, or at the very least, he’d be getting ready. But obviously, neither was the case.

Case! Shuichi had to get back to the case, he had to stop zoning out or getting distracted! Or maybe he should get ready so he can get to work and continue working there! A ‘Knock, knock!!’ caused Shuichi to blink out of his thoughts.

“Hey, dude! You awake yet?” Kaito knocked again, growing antsy for a response.

Shuichi stood up from his uncomfortable chair, his legs slightly wobbling under his body weight. He dragged his feet to the door, opening it slowly. “Y-yea?” Shuichi said groggily, whipping one of his eyes.

Kaito looked at him with a sorry expression, “Did you sleep?” His tone was half jokingly, half serious. He grabbed the side of the door, opening it wider and seeing the poor state Shuichi forced himself to be in for the past 8-10 hours. “Geez, Shuichi!!” Kaito forced himself into Shuichi’s room, slightly shoving him out of the way.

“Hey! Stop it!” Shuichi’s eyes sprang back open, and he began trying to push Kaito out of his room. “What are you doing here?” He grabbed the tips of his dark blue hair, running his fingers through his split ends.

“I just had a hunch and went to go check on ya! I didn’t hear the shower running, so I assumed something was wrong, you know!?” Kaito crossed his arms and looked down at his desk. Papers everywhere. “And it seems like my hunch was correct. Did you even sleep, bro!??” He pointed a finger at Shuichi in an accusatory way.

He rubbed his eyes, smearing the eyeliner he hadn’t taken off, “I did…” Shuichi mumbled, taking shaky steps towards Kaito. “Can you please get out of my room?” His voice was soft and quiet, almost like a beg or plead.

There was a silence in the room, and the two looked each other in the eyes. “Fine. I will, but only because I have to get ready for work,” Kaito never broke eye contact, his strong gaze never daring to falter. “But you better call out of work and rest up today.”

With that, Kaito left the room swiftly, almost slamming the door behind him. Shuichi just stared at his now shut door and thought about Kaito’s words… Maybe he should take the day off. He did just stay up all night working on… Well, work.

Shuichi’s shoulders dropped, and he began getting ready for bed…? Whatever it was, he was getting ready for it. By that, he whipped off his smeared and faded ‘Makeup’, changed out of his jeans, and melted into his sheets.

From his bed, he stared at his desk. As badly as he wanted to get up and do something related to it, he had to stop himself. But if he couldn’t do anything, his coworkers might.

So, through his phone, Shuichi e-mailed his boss, Mrs. Kirigiri, about his missing status today. He felt some guilt for lying, but he had just written how he didn’t feel great today. Hopefully that was a good enough reason to miss work… Once that was all over, he pulled his blankets and covers over him, shielding the sunlight from his view. And within minutes, Shuichi was fast asleep like a baby.

The silent buzzing from his phone woke him up, his eyes fluttering open and closed repeatedly. Whilst buried under his blankets, almost in a cocoon, he grabbed his phone, glancing at who the caller was. Kaede .

Because he was still practically asleep, his mind didn’t immediately jump to the case, so he joyfully accepted the call. “H-hello? Kaede?” His voice basically whispered into the speaker, still waking up from his slumber.

“Shuichi!?” Her voice was loud, frantic, almost like a cry for help. As if magic, Shuichi sat up in his bed and put his phone closer to his ear.

“Kaede...?”

Over the phone, he could hear faint and quiet crying? He stayed silent, awaiting a response. “I…” Her voice was cut off, he could tell she didn’t know what words to say, or how to say them. “Can you come over here?” She asked, breaking the silence once more.

It wasn’t long before Shuichi arrived in front of Twilight Syndrome. This was the address Kaede sent him once he said he'd come see her. The store seemed to sell the same type of clothes Kaede wore; Dark purples, light pinks, nudes, and denim. He quickly walked inside, as the clothes he threw on weren’t the best for the cold January brought with it.

He had on dark blue jeans and a long sleeve, black graphic T-shirt. With how fast he left, you’d expect him to not bring his baseball cap, but low and behold, he had it. Other than that, he didn’t really have anything else he’d normally have.

A girl with long, blonde hair, much like Kaede’s, approached him once he walked inside. “Hello! Welcome to Twilight Syndrome!!” She beamed and smiled, but not in the same way Kaede did…

“Hello,” Shuichi waved to her, nervously scoping out the store in hope of spotting her. “Do you know where a girl named Kaede is..?

“Shuichi!!” Almost on cue, someone hollered for his name from the back of the store. The saleswoman who greeted Shuichi spun around from the sound. She jogged to a door that hugged the wall, presumably the break room.

And there she was, Kaede peeking out of the door and speaking to her coworker. Shuichi just stood there dormant, feeling like he was watching paint dry. Slowly, Kaede went back into the room and shut the door behind her, causing the other worker to come back to Shuichi. “My deepest apologies, she was explaining to me that she was leaving work and her reasoning. Kaede has told me that you’re Shuichi, yes?”

“Yea… Is she okay?” Shuichi twisted the cuff of his sleeve around his wrist as he anxiously watched for Kaede to exit the door.

As for the worker, she walked behind the counter and tapped a few buttons on the computer, “I sure hope she is.”

Before either of them could continue this awkward conversation, Kaede walked out of the room and raced up to Shuichi. “G-gah!” He yelped when she swung her arms around Shuichi’s neck, hugging him as if they hadn't seen each other in months.

“Kaede, I just clocked you out, so you are free to leave,” The other girl spoke, her smile apparent through her voice, even though neither of them were looking at her. Once she spoke, though, Kaede said basic pleasantries to her and dragged Shuichi out of the boutique.

The cold air hit them harshly, great storm clouds even covered the sun, which all only made Kaede want to cling to him harder. “Kaede… Are you okay?” Shuichi turned to face her and grabbed her shoulders tightly, but out of concern more than anything.

In front of him, there was a Kaede he had never seen before. Her puffy, red-tinted eyes, with a nose matching in red. Once their eyes met, Kaede’s eyes softened with his gaze, the quiet and calm atmosphere around them solidified their trust. She brought one of her hands to her face, using the back of her hand to whip her tear-stained cheeks. “I'd be a mess if you weren't here,” Her voice let out a weak laugh before she continued to speak, “I just had some things today, that weren’t too great, but I’m feeling a bit better now.”

After she finished speaking, she took a step closer to Shuichi, wrapping her arms around his torso and pulling him into a hug. Without thinking, he copied her actions. No words needed to be said, no moving needed to be done. It was just Shuichi, Kaede, and the falling snow.

Notes:

Chapter 19: Part 18: Kaede

Summary:

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

She rested her head on Shuichi’s shoulder, breathing down his neck. Kaede had missed him so much, even if they were only apart for a couple hours. Maybe it was the whiplash of seeing Leon and Sayaka, or him leaving so quickly last night. Nonetheless, they were together once again.

Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours. Neither wanted this moment to end, but poor Shuichi was shivering over here. Which enevenably caused Kaede to pull out of the hug. Shuichi moved his hands back up to her shoulders, running chills down her spine from his icy touch. Physically and mentally.

Kaede watched as snowflakes landed on the rim of Shuichi’s hat, then soaking into the fabric. “You still have your hat, huh?” She sighed, bringing her hand to it and tracing the embroidering on it.

He looked to the side of them, to where the parking lot was. “Sorry,” Shuichi tilted his hat down closer to his face, only to cover his face more. Only to her dismay. Kaede could tell she embarrassed him over his hat, but she was determined to know why he wears it.

Once he started looking at the cars, they fell into a comfortable silence again. Shuichi slowly removed his hand from her shoulder, holding it out in front of him, palm facing upwards. Kaede grabbed his other hand off of her body, intertwinning their fingers together. She took a few more steps next to him, and watched as snowflakes fell into his curved hand. “Look, Shuichi! It’s snowing!!” She exclaimed, resting her head on his shoulder. Kaede pulled herself closer to him, and cuffed his hand in both of hers.

Shuichi blinked a few times, looking at his hand, “Oh, it is!” He smiled and looked up at the sky. “I should’ve guessed, just look at the clouds,” Shuichi sighed, then brought his attention back to her. “Can we go inside somewhere? It’s really cold out here…”

“Mhm, yea, sure!” She didn’t let go of his hand, leading him to the parking lot, “Where’d you park?”

“Me? It wasn’t too far,” Shuichi tried to not trip over his shoes as he was dragged behind Kaede.

Her eyes darted around the area, trying to spot his car. It wasn’t long before she did, though! The moment she saw it, she strutted up to it and finally let go of Shuichi’s hand. “Can we hang out for a little longer?” She slightly pushed Shuichi into his car’s side, causing him to rest against it; Still standing, of course.

He tilted his head to the side, staring back at Kaede and the little predicament they were in. Shuichi cleared his throat and looked at the pavement under their feet. It was coated in specks of snow, ice, and water. “Kaede… It’s snowing,” He murmured under his breath.

Instead of the nice, peaceful, and calm silence they had earlier, now things were awkward. “Oh! Yea..” Kaede sputtered, trying to act like she was thinking about that. “We don’t have to go anywhere though, right?” She took a step closer to Shuichi, causing him to be almost trapped between her and his car. He looked up off of the ground, but then shot his eyes back down. For he was way too flustered to make eye contact.

As Kaede awaited a reply, she laced her fingers with Shuichi’s. She took another, only smaller, step closer to him. Their kneecaps were touching, but she didn’t mind. Actually, Kaede enjoyed making Shuichi an embarrassed mess, but she wasn’t expecting to be able to do it so easily. Still, he didn't utter a word.

“Geez! Don't get all quiet on me now! I'm super embarrassed now!” Kaede sighed, releasing him from her grasp. She shuffled backwards from him and played with the zipper of his jacket. She giggled to herself, staring at the ground like him.

Back to the dreadful quietness, but, thank god this one didn’t last long enough to result in a skewed goodbye. Without a word of warning, Shuichi grabbed Kaede to bring her back to him. “Wh-whoa! K-Kaede, wait! Careful!” Shuichi blinked a few times just to open his eyes to see what happened. With the sudden movement, Kaede ended up only pushing him up and against his own car. Their arrangement was much like before, only with them being closer.

They stared at each other, noses touching. Because of how quick everything happened, his hat had flown off his head and landed on the pavement. Not that Kaede was complaining. She adored his monotone eyes, even if she’s only seen them a handful of times. On the tips of their noses, more snowflakes landed on them. Guess Kaede has a better reason for why her nose was red, right?

Who knows how long they stayed there, melting in each other’s eyes. Their breathing slowed and their hearts beat in a rhythm Kaede only wishes she could play. With their hands holding each other’s, bodies pressed against each other, time will only tell until they do something. Kaede took the bullet, slowly moving her face closer to her loverboy’s. She planted a kiss on his lips, a kiss full of passion. Only to be reciprocated by Shuichi’s, of course.

A minute or so later, Shuichi moved his head to break out the kiss. He took heavy and deep breaths, Kaede weakly smiled at him as she did the same. “Can we get into your car now or something? It’s freezing out here!!” She breathed out, crossing her arms over her chest to show she was actually cold.

“Oh! Right,” Shuichi searched for his keys in his pocket, then unlocked his car. Since they were on the passenger side, he opened the car door for Kaede.

She sat down in the leather cushions, her body tensing up with how cold they were too. Shuichi closed the door for her, and she watched as Shuichi kneeled down, picking up his hat. He then raced to the other side of the car and threw his hat over his messy hair. Once he got in the car himself, he inserted the key into the car, turning it on in a matter of seconds. And before long, Kaede was absorbed in the warmth.

Shuichi turned on his phone and handed it to Kaede. “You can pick some music,” He smiled as she took the phone from him. Kaede ran a hand through her hair, feeling the melted bits of snow on parts of her scalp. She began looking up different songs and adding them to the queue, hearing Shuichi rub his hands together. Presumably to warm them back up.

Not too long later, a calm piano piece started playing. Liebestraum No. 3 by Franz Liszt; one of Kaede’ favorites. The title, Liebestraum, means ‘Dreaming of Love’, which might be why she decided to play it, or why she loves it so much. She relaxed more into the leather seats, and she turned to look at Shuichi. “Hey, Shuichi,” She spoke over the music softly, resting the side of her head on the seat to get a better look at him. “Did you have work today? I was sorta surprised when you were able to come here so quickly…” Kaede chuckled to fill the awkward gap as he thought.

“I did… But I didn’t go,” Shuichi mumbled, keeping his gaze on the steering wheel instead of looking at Kaede. He still had his hat on, which seemed weird to Kaede. Even in the car, he has it on?

Kaede sighed, still looking at him intensely. “Why not? Is everything okay?” Her voice got louder as she questioned him, concerned why he’d skip work. Shuichi of all people too…

The song started to die down, and Waltz No. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich, began playing. Though Kaede liked the song, and played it because of that very reason, she turned the music down. As it wasn’t fitting the mood that started growing. “I don’t really know, myself,” Shuichi brought his knees to his chest, seemingly not caring about messing the cushions. “I skipped work just so I could work,” He forced a laugh, lowering his hat.

“Now that’s just stupid,” Kaede giggled, reaching over the cup holders to hold Shuichi’s hand. “Is that why you couldn’t call or text last night?” She mumbled, tightening her grip on his hand.

He sighed, taking his hat off and throwing it harshly on the dashboard. Kaede jumped slightly, letting go of his hand in surprise. Shuichi wrapped his arms around his knees and sat his chin on his knees, watching the falling snow. “The case I’ve been working on, your case, has been tiring,” Shuichi started, his lower lip slightly quivering. “I’m confident in my work so far, but last night, there was a wrench that screwed everything up.”

“Shuichi?”

“Someone sent me videos of you stealing, and…” He turned his head to look at Kaede, and she finally got a good look at his face. There were tear stains at the corners of his eyes, deep purple eye bags under them as well. His gambogeish grey eyes drowped downwards, struggling to make eye contact with Kaede. “And the videos, they must’ve taken hours to edit-”

Kaede sighed, sitting up straight in the seat. “I did not steal any tips, how many times do I have to say it!?” She let her anger speak for her as she huffed out an angry breath, “Who sent you the videos?” Even though she was on the brink of yelling, it certainly wasn’t at Shuichi. It wasn’t at anyone, really. Her built up frustration with this whole ordeal has been catching up to her, and she has hated it from the start. So to hear that more is unraveling before her very eyes was sickening, to her at least.

There was more silence, Kaede mentally crossed her fingers in hopes it’s just because he’s taking his time to find the right words. “I don’t know,” He looked back at his steering wheel, voice trembling. “I don’t know the number, it must’ve been a fake. I’m almost certain that you didn’t steal anything, all of my evidence points to that conclusion.” Shuichi traced the sewing lines on the seats anxiously.

She didn’t know what to say. She wanted to promise him that everything will be okay, but she doesn’t want to make herself seem more guilty, or causing him to have a bias in this.

“I’m sorry,” Their eyes met again when he spoke, and if only time could stop just then. As he closed his eyes, then looked away once again. “I’m scared… I’m scared to find out the truth of this case, in the small chance that I’m wrong…” He took his shoes off of the seat, and looked down at his lap. Shuichi gripped at the fabric on his jeans, even Kaede could see how tense he was.

Kaede sighed and reached for his shoulder. “As much this case annoys me, I can see that it’s killing you on the inside,” She tried to smile, but she just couldn’t when seeing how upset he was. Her hand on his shoulder slowly rode down to his hand, and she pulled it off of his jeans. “But, I think everyone is afraid of learning the truth. But the people who are willing to find the truth are the ones who can decide their fate.” Shuichi lifted his head just enough to see her, even if it meant his bangs were over his eyes. “If you never know the lies from the truth, then you can't choose a path. You won't even know you're on a path. So... Fight for the truth... Even if this is frightening. I know you can do this!” She smiled at him as brightly as she could.

He just stared at her, then sighed. Shuichi slid his fingers in between Kaede’s and smiled. “Thank you, Kaede.”

She leaned as far as she could to Shuichi, having to sit on her knees to reach him. Kaede pressed her forehead onto his, forcing him to look at her. “Now, go into work tomorrow and blow everyone away, okay??” She giggled softly, closing her eyes.

“Heh… Alright then,” Shuichi sighed, closing his eyes as well.

Notes:

Chapter 20: Part 19: Shuichi

Summary:

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Wow! Your place is really nice!” Kaede exclaimed as she followed Shuichi into him and his roommate's apartment. She slipped off her shoes, along with Shuichi, then stood idly; waiting for something to happen.

After sitting in his car for a short while, they decided they should go somewhere before the snow picks up. So, they got into their respective cars and drove here! Credit to Shuichi for noticing, as the ice on the roads made it hard enough to get here. Imagine if they tried to do such a thing with the abundance of snow now?

In the little time it took to drive here, snow had begun piling up on the side walks, covering the already wilting flowers. Storm clouds covered the sky, dropping cold crystals. Even with how dark it was getting, obscuring how the snowflakes looked, it was still beautiful to see.

Harsh winds banged against the windows in Shuichi’s living room, causing Kaede to flinch slightly. “Make yourself at home, I don’t know when Kaito will be home, though.” Shuichi led her deeper into his apartment. “Sorry about the mess in the living room, Kaito was… Doing something,” He sighed, too embarrassed to even look at his roommate’s creation. Kaito had aligned sofa cushions to make a small tent, with a projector sitting outside of it. Since this wasn’t here when he got home yesterday, he assumes Maki was forced to help with it. Kaito’d be lucky if he got a call back from Maki, Shuichi thought.

Kaede giggled, taking a few steps towards Kaito’s fort. “What even is this?” She dropped to her knees and lifted one of the blankets slightly, peering inside of it. Shuichi sighed and jogged up to her, sitting next to her and looking inside.

There laid Kaito’s laptop, multiple blankets, and turned off fairy lights around the perimeter of the inside. The ‘roof’ of the fort was a fully black blanket, while the others were different shades of purples, blues, pinks, and greens. So, according to his observations, it appeared that the tent was supposed to emulate star gazing, or some sort of space simulation. The laptop most likely was so Kaito, and whoever, could either play music or watch something during their small ‘experience’. Though it looked strange on the outside, it was cozy and interesting on the inside.

They both sat there, admiring what Kaito made. To be honest, it was almost impressive how elaborate it was. That’s what Shuichi thought, at least. Kaede seemed to be lost in thought as she stared at the cosy fort he made, prompting Shuichi to stand up. He made his way to his half-kitchen and turned on him and Kaito’s coffee machine. If you don’t put coffee grounds into the filter, it’ll just ‘brew’ hot water. Meaning, it was a perfect way for Shuichi to make the two of them hot chocolate!

Before long, Kaede stood to her feet and walked back to Shuichi’s side. With her hands behind her back, she led with her head and a smile. “You’re making me a warm drink now?” Kaede asked smugly, joking as she stared at the two mugs in front of the coffee machine.

Shuichi smiled, sliding one of the mugs closer to Kaede. “If that’s alright with you, of course,” He agreed and looked at Kaede. “Is hot chocolate good?”

More snow and wind pounded against the windows, obscuring any sort of view they could’ve seen. Kaede sighed and leaned on the counter Shuichi was making their drinks on. “It’s fine. The snow out there is really picking up, huh?” She crossed her arms over her chest, huffing out an annoyed breath. “It’ll be a pain driving home in this if it keeps up,” Kaede murmured to herself, making it barely audible to the boy.

“What was that?” Shuichi clicked a button on the machine, hot water then falling into his mug. He turned his attention back to the steaming water, and tilted his hat lower onto his head.

She pushed herself off of the counter and clutched her mug in her hands. “It’s nothing!” Kaede exclaimed, a few pellets of sweat forming on her head. With her quick movements, Shuichi couldn’t help but take notice of her strange behavior. “I was just talking to myself,” She gave a weak smile to him.

His cup of burning water was now full, and it was Kaede’s cup’s turn. “Oh, okay,” Shuichi scratched his head through his hat, flushed face as he looked to his side. “Could I have your cup now?” He didn’t even look in her direction when he spoke.

“Oh! Yea!” Kaede gasped softly and handed him her cup. “I was just… I was just thinking how it’ll be hard to drive home in this weather, you know?” She looked at his face, knowing he wasn’t looking back. Her sympathetic tone of voice only caused Shuichi to blush more. Especially because he thought he knew what she was getting at…

Neither of them knew what to say, so Kaede watched silently as Shuichi made her a cup of hot coco. He sprinkled mini marshmallows and whipped cream on top of hers, but opted for just mini marshmallows on his. All done within the time span of three minutes; three minutes of awkward silence. Kaede started to open her mouth, to say something to cure the atmosphere, but was caught off guard by Shuichi. “Do you want to stay the night?”

Maybe it was how sudden his question was, but Kaede couldn’t help but snort a laugh. “How bold of you,” She smirked, bringing her cup to her lips to take a sip.

“Tha-that’s not what I meant!!” Shuichi put his hands in front of his chest, squinting his eyes tightly. “I mean that if it’ll be hard to get home then… You know,” He mumbled, looking towards the tiles of his kitchen floor.

That statement of his only made Kaede laugh a bit more, covering her mouth slightly as she giggled. “I mean, sure?” She composed herself enough to say that and looked into the melting whipped cream and dissolving marshmallows in her cup. Right now, everything was so peaceful, calm even. The falling snow, the warm drink, Kaede’s presence. If he had died and this was Heaven, he wouldn’t be upset. Even if that meant she’d tease the hell out of him for his flusteredness.

Shuichi just smiled, a light blush forming on his cheeks when she responded. His eyes glanced at the clock, 5:25. The time… Shuichi felt there was some importance to the time right now. He’d normally be wrapping up whatever he was doing that day at work, probably thinking about how icy the blacktop will be and how it’ll be unsafe to drive home. He brought his pointer finger to his chin and pondered for a moment. Work…

Damnit, that’s right! How will Kaede get to work in this weather? The realization that she’d have to leave hit him like a brick, an invisible finger trailed down his spine, giving him a nervous shake. He sighed at his newfound thought, letting his smile fade quickly as he thought about it.

Another loud bang of wind slammed against the window, causing the pair to bring their attention to it. Out of the corner of Shuichi’s eye, he watched as Kaede twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “Oh, darn!” She snapped her finger into a point, letting go of her hair.

“Kaede?” Shuichi looked at her again, expecting she had come to the same conclusion he just did.

“I can’t believe I forgot, but I have work tonight!!” She placed her mug onto the counter and sped walked to the front door. “I’m sorry, but I’d get in serious trouble if I called out so late-” Kaede grabbed her shoes and slid them on her feet, placing her hand on the wall next to the door for balance.

Who knows where he got the bold idea to do what he did, but Shuichi grabbed her wrist, the same hand she was using to shuffle her shoes over her feet. “Wait!” He pulled her forward slightly, causing her to almost fall into his arms. His hat flew off his head, landing softly on the floor. Normally, he’d race to pick it up, but he had more important matters at hand, now. As klutzy of a guy he could be, he was astonished at his newfound balance. Though, he struggled to not get too distracted by the glint of fear in Kaede’s doll-like eyes.

“I have to go there-... I’m sorry-” Kaede tried to untangle her arms off of Shuichi’s body, accidentally grabbing hold of him when she thought she’d fall seconds prior.

“No, you can’t. The roads are probably covered in snow by now, Kaede,” Shuichi stated, cutting her off in the process.

She looked away from his face, staring at the door shyly. Shuichi felt as she relaxed in his arms in the chilly silence. She opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but closed it once the words got caught in her throat.

Shuichi took this time to glance at the digital clock on his stove, just barely in his line of vision. 5:36. “What time do you start work?”

The question made Kaede look back at Shuichi, oh, how he wanted to melt in her eyes. He wasn’t the type to like eye contact, avoiding it as much as he can, but it was different with Kaede. “At 6:30,” She breathed out, weakly smiling at Shuichi.

Now, was he going to be stubborn and convince her to stay with him longer, or see if he can help her. “Call your boss and see if you can still make it into work, I’ll check the roads to see if it’s safe to drive. Is that okay?” Shuichi requested, choosing the latter, of course. He quietly helped Kaede find her balance and let go of her. Even though the heater was on in his apartment, he’s never felt colder than he did when he had to release her.

Kaede looked at him, a sweet sparkle in her eyes appeared. She pressed her lips together and nodded, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “Alright then. Give me a second, ‘kay?” After typing something on her phone, presumably her boss’s name, she brought her phone to her ear and bit her lip as it started ringing. Shuichi nodded slowly, stepping away from her and back over to his hot chocolate. Well, less of a ‘hot’ chocolate, and more of a room temperature chocolate.

Notes:

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NovaPulses on Chapter 4 Sat 26 Jul 2025 02:25PM UTC

THEY'REE SOOOO CUTEEEEE urghhh kaede has such a crushhhhhh

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NovaPulses on Chapter 8 Sat 26 Jul 2025 02:39PM UTC

AUQUWHEHEHAHA awuuuegahhhhhhsh mtmemmamrmrme so custttee eTHE KISSSSS URGHHH KAEDEEEEE YOU SLYYY

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1. S (WaterSupporter) on Chapter 8 Mon 28 Jul 2025 03:34AM UTC
  
  AHHH
  
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number1saimatsuenjoyerX3 on Chapter 9 Fri 30 May 2025 01:18AM UTC

MAKE MORE. PLEASE FEED ME I'LL DIE PLEASEEEEEEEEE.

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1. S (WaterSupporter) on Chapter 9 Mon 09 Jun 2025 06:55PM UTC
  
  UR LEGIT THE MAIN REASON I CAME BACK TO WRITING THISSS 3
  
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2. 1. number1saimatsuenjoyerX3 on Chapter 9 Mon 09 Jun 2025 10:29PM UTC
    
    BRO THANK YOUUUU I STARTING SCREAMING HELPPPPPPPPPP SJJDDNDNDNFNFNFNFNFNFBFN
    
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number1saimatsuenjoyerX3 on Chapter 10 Mon 09 Jun 2025 10:40PM UTC

ahhhh new chapter!!! ts so peak also what's with the closet foreshadowing lmao /hj

Last Edited Mon 09 Jun 2025 10:47PM UTC

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1. S (WaterSupporter) on Chapter 10 Mon 09 Jun 2025 11:44PM UTC
  
  shhh idk what ur talking abt…
  
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number1saimatsuenjoyerX3 on Chapter 13 Sun 06 Jul 2025 05:23PM UTC

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY TS SO PEAKKKKKK

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1. S (WaterSupporter) on Chapter 13 Thu 10 Jul 2025 04:21AM UTC
  
  posted another chapter 4 u X3
  
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number1saimatsuenjoyerX3 on Chapter 14 Thu 17 Jul 2025 12:00AM UTC

YAY. PEAK CHAPTER. OMG DEADASS MY FAV CHAPT SO FAR THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUU

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1. S (WaterSupporter) on Chapter 14 Wed 23 Jul 2025 06:44AM UTC
  
  YAYAYY
  
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twotime_nr1_kinnie on Chapter 17 Fri 01 Aug 2025 10:41AM UTC

AUGHH THIS IS TOO GOOD I NEED MORE

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1. S (WaterSupporter) on Chapter 17 Tue 05 Aug 2025 03:33PM UTC
  
  AHHH TYTYTYTTYY58R31
  
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number1saimatsuenjoyerX3 on Chapter 18 Tue 05 Aug 2025 06:56AM UTC

I'm inhaling the story atp THIS IS GREAT WE NEED MOREE

Last Edited Tue 05 Aug 2025 06:56AM UTC

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1. S (WaterSupporter) on Chapter 18 Tue 05 Aug 2025 03:33PM UTC
  
  YAYAY
  
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