Archive of Our Own ^beta

"S-So…"

They all stared, waiting for him to deliver a topic that was worth their drive to his house, their time wasted while he hesitated.

"...Uhm… Ah…"

One of the pairs of eyes got up, and he immediately felt panic. Was he taking so much time that someone was just getting up and leaving?! But it wasn't until he felt a firm, familiar arm around him and a strong, bold voice he got to hear daily that he realized his boyfriend, Kaito, had come to his rescue. He put an arm around Shuichi, just standing there in support of him.

Shuichi's good friend, Kaede, sat up in her seat and smiled warmly at him. "You got this Shuichi," she said. "Just… J-Just breathe."

Shuichi couldn't ever get used to the rasp in her voice. He couldn't get used to anything that Danganronpa had done to them. Shuichi had to live with his heightened anxiety every single day, and it made something as simple as mustering the courage to go outside that much harder. He saw firsthand how badly Kaito and Kokichi had been affected; Kaito's weak lungs had given him bad asthma, Kokichi's entire body bruised so easily he could barely be touched, and all three of them had more nightmares than any sort of dreams.

Shuichi fidgeted with his fingers, probably a bit more aggressively than he should. "I… I was thinking… since Kokichi's birthday is… n-next w-week… W-We could all… s-since we're his f-friends–"

"A couple of us are more than his friends," Kaito said with pride in his voice, the arm around Shuichi tightening. Shuichi smiled weakly and nodded.

"Y-Yeah… B-But I was thinking we could all… m-maybe… since he lost D.I.C.E., we could all… m-make him a new one..? A-A new D.I.C.E.."

Rantaro raised a brow. "Like, we become D.I.C.E.?"

Tsumugi clapped her hands excitedly, though she had to be gentle with how fragile her body was as well. "Oh, that's just plain wonderful! Could I make the costumes?"

Everyone had been unsure about Tsumugi after the game, especially those who were there for the last trial. Surprisingly enough, Kaede was the first to forgive her under the reasoning that she was manipulated by Team Danganronpa, too, and that resenting her would only cause more negativity. It was Kaede who coaxed the others into seeing that point of view, and gradually the Ultimate Cosplayer was forgiven. Rantaro still felt uncomfortable around her, but he managed to put that aside for the most part.

Kaito grinned widely. "That's a great idea, Shuichi! And Tsumugi should make the costumes if she's up for it."

Tsumugi nodded determinedly. "But… does anyone have a picture of what the costumes look like? I just plain couldn't remember from that long ago…"

K1-B0—who now just spelled his name as 'Kiibo', seeing as he wasn't a robot in reality—perked up. "Ah! I have a photographic memory, so I recall what the D.I.C.E. uniforms looked like!"

"T-They all looked something like Kokichi's… B-But each of them had s-something different…" Shuichi added.

"I found it," Maki piped up, getting the attention of everyone around her. She held up her phone for the others to see, and surely enough, the exact same image that Kokichi's motive video had shown, featuring Kokichi standing with his gang. Looking at that photo, seeing him look so unflappable and tenacious… Kokichi tried his best to be that same guy, but it wasn't effortless anymore. Kaito seemed to be thinking the same thing as he smiled softly at the picture. Kiibo pointed at the phone with his metal arm.

"Yes, that's it exactly!" he confirmed. Shuichi had no idea how Kiibo could stay so positive. He woke up from the simulation to realize that he wasn't a robot but an amputee, missing both of his legs and one of his arms, and realizing that Team Danganronpa had titled him the Ultimate Robot because of his prosthetics. Needless to say, he was upset about it at first, but the others, namely Kirumi and Rantaro with all of the money they had from work and inheritance, paid as much as was needed to get him the most advanced prosthetics that they could, including the Esper Hand and K-4 prosthetic legs. Kiibo was immensely grateful to everyone for chipping in as much as they could to do that for him, and he was constantly doing everything he could to repay his friends no matter how often he was told that it wasn't necessary.

Himiko picked at the hem of her skirt—something she had developed a habit of doing, whether she was feeling anxious or not. "Nyeh… I'll cast a level 20 luck spell on the clothes when Tsumugi's done with them…"

Tenko clapped her hands from her place beside Himiko, pumping her fists up and down in a cheering motion, trying to convey her support and excitement as much as she could, being mostly mute. Angie, who was sitting on the other side of Himiko, smiled brightly. "Angie can… can use her skills however she n-needs to!" she offered cheerfully, her voice raspy and broken like Kaede's.

Ryoma chewed on the candy cigars Kaede had given him in an attempt to help him quit smoking. He reached out a hand and Angie passed him a notepad and a pen. He scribbled something down and held it up. 'We need a distraction for Ouma-kun so he doesn't know this is going on. I could have him bail me out again.'

Kirumi, hands folded and as polite as ever, shook her head. "While we do need a distraction, breaking your parole is not a wise decision, Hoshi-kun," she said calmly. Ryoma nodded and leaned back in his chair, passing the notepad and pen back to Angie.

"Okay..! I ca-can't keep quiet anymore!" Miu shouted. Kaede jolted and put a hand on her girlfriend's thigh.

"Miu..!" she said disappointedly. Those who suffered damage to the throat in the game like Kaede, Miu, Angie, Tenko, and Ryoma—though Ryoma's vocal cords just stopped working after he was drowned and nobody was sure how to fix it—were supposed to keep from speaking too much or putting strain on the throat until they had the chance to heal.

"Iruma-san must not speak too much! Very bad for her!" Gonta said passionately.

"If you mind your well-being, Iruma-chan, please refrain from speaking so much," Korekiyo advised.

"Let's just… get to work alr-ready! Where is that… l-little shit anyways..?" she whined.

"Kokichi? He's hangin' out with Komaeda-kun, but he should be back any time now," Kaito replied. Shuichi nodded.

"Y-Yeah… But I agree. T-Tsumugi, if you wouldn't mind… m-maybe… starting on the co-costumes as soon as you can…? And A-Angie, we'll call you to-tomorrow—i-if you want—to help decorate."

Tsumugi and Angie nodded with smiles as everyone got up and started to leave.

The next week was filled with careful planning. Kaito and Shuichi managed to balance spending time with Kokichi, keeping him both accompanied and distracted and getting preparations ready to be set up. Everyone had meetings with Tsumugi getting measured for costumes and then fitted in them. Shuichi nearly cried when he saw himself with the checkered scarf Kokichi loved so much around his neck, imagining how happy his boyfriend would be when he could see it, too.

Banners, streamers, tablecloths and various decorations meticulously made by Angie were hidden away in one of the basement closets that Kokichi never used, and all of the food for the party was made and kept by Kirumi until the day of the party. Kaito and Shuichi had asked Nagito to take Kokichi out on his birthday for a couple of hours so they could get everything prepared, and Nagito was more than happy to have some time with his friend on his birthday.

And on the 21st of June, as soon as Kokichi left with Nagito, the phones of 13 Ultimate students buzzed, and the plan was set into motion.

Angie arrived first with Tenko and Himiko, and they helped Kaito and Shuichi to set up the decorations at the house while Kiibo and Miu helped Tsumugi bring the many outfits there as well. Gonta brought a few of the only bug that Kokichi liked—pill bugs—and put them in their yard, making sure that the bugs had everything they would need to live there. Kaede got an electric piano set up where the festivities would be and practiced some of the songs she was asked to play while everything else was being set up, helping occasionally where she was needed. Rantaro, Korekiyo, Ryoma, and Maki helped Kirumi bring in the plentiful food that she had made and put them on the foldable tables that had been set up.

After all of that was done, everyone got changed into the outfits that Tsumugi had made. Certain people had modifications on their uniforms—much like the original D.I.C.E. uniforms had—like Gonta and Korekiyo, who both got hot extremely easily after their executions, so Tsumugi made Korekiyo a uniform with thinner, lighter fabric and made Gonta a sleeveless uniform. Tsumugi made Kiibo's outfit with a silkier material to keep the prosthetics from catching on it. And so they stood there in front of the door, all dressed up with party decorations throughout the first floor of the house and food on tables and counters.

Shuichi fidgeted with his fingers. "K-Komaeda-kun said t-they'd be here… W-What if something ha-happened..?!"

Kaito wrapped a comforting arm around Shuichi and squeezed him. "Nothing happened! You know Komaeda-kun, he starts to ramble."

"A-And Ouma-kun can s…stand it, someh-how," Miu said sarcastically.

Rantaro looked at the others confusedly. "Stand what?"

Kaede smiled at him. "Komaeda-kun's rambling," she informed him, and Rantaro nodded in understanding. Shuichi was sure that he heard it, but Rantaro did have serious short-term memory after the game. He was never the guy to miss a word of what someone said, always attentive and guarded, even if he didn't seem like it. It made Shuichi's heart ache whenever he forgot something, especially something important. He could only drive short distances anymore, and it was always better to have someone with him even then because he would forget where he was going.

"Well, happy birthday, Ouma-sama!"

The voice from outside—undoubtedly Nagito's—suddenly cut through his thoughts. His gaze immediately snapped to the door, and the aura in the room became much more excited. Then a loud groan followed, and everyone tried to keep their giggles quiet.

"I told you, Nagito, you can call me Kokichi. You don't get to pull that 'sama' shit on me unless you're my boyfriend," he said, mumbling as he fiddled with the key in the lock.

"Who the fuck forgot to unlock the door?" Kaito whispered. Himiko grabbed the hem of her shirt with an indignant 'nyeh…' and averted her gaze.

"I'm honored you would even consider me a candidate!" Nagito chose to reply.

"Ya know what? I take it back. Hinata-kun can keep yo—" Kokichi finally got the door open and stepped inside, immediately stopping in his tracks when he saw his classmates standing there and watched with a completely shocked face as they raised their arms and cheered happy birthday to him. He was dead silent, lips parted slightly like he wanted to speak but couldn't find the words, eyes scanning his friends that looked just like his memories.

"D…D.I.C.E….?" he finally mumbled after a moment, still completely stunned. Kaito stepped forward and put a very careful hand on his shoulder with a slightly amused yet soft smile.

"Hey, there… You like it?"

After he finally processed what was going on, what was before him, and the effort his friends all put in for him on his birthday, tears instantly sprung to his eyes and he smiled. "What the hell is this? This is… This is the– the shittiest party I've ever been to…"

Kaito's smile became more relieved. "Glad you like it. It was Shuichi's idea."

Kokichi's eyes shifted over to Shuichi, who had already reverted to picking at the scarf around his neck. Kokichi walked up to Shuichi and wrapped his arms around him, resting his forehead on the navy-haired boy's chest. "Thank you…" he said softly. "I love it." Shuichi carefully placed his arms around Kokichi, too, overwhelmingly relieved that he didn't hate this thing he'd put together.

"It's ab-about to… get better!" Miu said. "We got… a w-whoooole f…fuckton 'a food!"

Tsumugi nervously stepped up to Kokichi, hands behind her back. "Uhm, i-if I may…! I made a little something personal. I know it just plain can't make up for everything, but… I thought you might like it." With that, she held out a hat, large and black and almost exact to the one that Kokichi wore in his motive video, and a cape to match.

Kokichi laughed in pure disbelief and took the two items. "Holy shit! This is… just like it!" He gave an appreciative smile to Tsumugi, and the Ultimate Cosplayer smiled back. Kokichi managed to get the cape situated on himself. Kaito grabbed the hat and put it on Kokichi's head, twisting it back and forth to ruffle his hair. Kokichi smiled and put his hands on the hat, adjusting it. Once he was all dressed up he took a step back and observed the 15 students before him. And the longer he looked, the more his eyes watered.

"Thank you… All of you. This is the best!"

Kaito and Shuichi both stepped forward and wrapped their arms around Kokichi, making sure to be as careful as they could when handling his fragile body.

"Ahm… Should I go now, Ouma-sama?"