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"Oh, Shuichiii~!"Shuichi sighed, lifting his head from the cafeteria table. He hadn't been able to work the morning sleep out of his eyes yet: he had tossed and turned for a good while the previous night, and as a result, didn't get much sleep. Not having the energy to walk back to his room, the detective had planned to take a quick nap in the cafeteria after everyone had finished breakfast and left for this morning routines. That plan, however, was disrupted when a familiar sing-song voice called out his name, as the voice's owner skipped into the room and approached Shuichi from the back. Shuichi rubbed his bleary eyes, suppressing a yawn. "What is it, Ouma-"A purple hardcover book was shoved in Shuichi's face. The shiny gold lettering announced the title to the young detective:"Let It All Out".Shuichi blearily blinked, his tired mind working to process the sight in front of him. "What's this...?" Ouma slid into the empty cafeteria chair next to him, impishly grinning. "A book, duh! It was in my room when I woke up a while ago, along with a bunch of other books. I think those stupid bears left them there. I was planning to throw 'em away, but it turns out it's actually reeeally interesting! I thought you'd like it, so I brought it here for you!Shuichi eyed the Supreme Leader suspiciously. Ouma wasn't the type to give gifts out of his own free will. The way Ouma was looking at him, wide-eyed with excitement and anticipation, immediately raised red flags, the ones that told him to run away and scream for help, find a friend to protect him from whatever nasty plot Ouma was up to now.However, when he laid his eyes on the book, intrigue and curiosity overrode his creeping suspicions. The cloth binding of the book was totally blank besides the title decorating the front. Not even the author's name was listed; just those four words that made up the title of the story. Though the expansive library in the school building's basement held enough books to keep him busy for weeks, he hadn't really gotten the motivation to drag himself down to the dusty mess of papers and cloth to dig for a good story among all the junk stored down there. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to use some time to read whatever this was. After all, what was the worse Ouma could do with a book? Figuring just a little peek inside wouldn't hurt, Shuichi cautiously took the book into his hands, shooting the shorter boy a wary, suspicious look. Ouma responded to his cautious aura with a bright smile. "Go on, Shuichi! Read it, read it!"Ouma suddenly latched onto Shuichi's arm like a leech, refusing to let go as he bounced around, looking at Shuichi with pleading puppy eyes. The way he slowly, painfully, tightened his grip with every passing second Shuichi remained silent, however, betrayed the innocent look he was trying to put on in front of Shuichi.Shuichi sighed again, more of a groan now. It didn't look like he could escape whatever diabolical plot Ouma had devised this time even if he wanted to, judging by the way he could feel the blood in his arm beginning to get cut off by Ouma's death-grip grasp. Relenting, he opened the book to page one with his free hand, smoothing down the paper. He was surprised to see his own name on the paper. Shuuichi woke up at three in the-"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"Before he could process the next word, a mighty war cry echoed through the cafeteria, startling both himself and Ouma. Next thing they knew, a purple blur had dived right in front of them onto the table, slapping the book out of Shuichi's hands roughly. The book flew across the room, landing on the floor with a loud "thud", while the purple culprit skidded across the table and slid off the other side, knocking over a chair as he came crashing to the ground with a yell.Not even a second later, Shuichi felt Ouma being yanked roughly off of him with a yelp, tearing the smaller boy's stubbornly tight hands away from Shuichi's arm like it was nothing. The young detective quickly breathed a sigh of relief, stretching his fingers to coax blood to flow through his sore and thoroughly squeezed appendage again. "Do you wanna die?" He heard Maki's familiar voice growl, low and threatening, behind Shuichi. Turning around to face the assassin, he found her grabbing Ouma by the back of his shirt collar, fingers no doubt digging into his neck by the way Ouma was wincing and leaning away from her grip. When Ouma reached back to try and pry her hands off him, she only mercilessly pressed her fingernails into Ouma's skin even more, eliciting a pained yelp from the Supreme Leader. The way her crimson eyes were burning with silent anger told Shuichi that Ouma likely didn't stand a chance of getting out of her grasp anytime soon."Shuichi! Shuichi, my dear, dear sidekick..." Suddenly, Kaito's raspy voice could be heard, calling Shuichi's name in an almost desperate manner. Turning his head towards the source, Shuichi found the Super High School Level Astronaut's head poking up from the other side of the table, giving Shuichi a strange, almost terrified look Shuichi had never seen on him before. Kaito, who was still on the floor after his ungraceful fall off the table, scrambled to his feet, quickly straightening out his clothes. He staggered his way over to Shuichi, surprising the detective when he suddenly forcefully clapped both his hands onto his shoulders, squeezing them tightly. "Do NOT read that book. It is filled with more horrors than you have ever seen in your life." He warned in a low voice that Shuichi had never heard him use before."W... What? Kaito, Maki, what are you-" Shuichi was at somewhat of a loss for words. He wasn't entirely sure exactly what had just happened in front of him, nor did he understand at all why Kaito and Maki had suddenly barged into the cafeteria like there was a ticking time bomb in the room.Kaito, however, either didn't hear his words or didn't care, as he cut off the smaller detective by roughly shaking the detective back and forth frantically by his shoulders, not caring that Shuichi was yelping at the sudden force jerking him around mercilessly. Shuichi suddenly wished Ouma was the one clinging onto him now. At least he wouldn't be making him feel like throwing up his breakfast."Did you hear me, Shuichi?! Me and Maki Roll, we just saved your life! Don't waste the chance we got you!" He hissed at a slightly queasy looking Shuichi. "Whatever you do, under ANY circumstances, DON'T READ THAT BOOK."The sheer amount of emphasis put onto that statement should have probably warded Shuichi off from pressing any further. Still, maybe it was the nausea talking, but suddenly his curiosity was raising its head again. "Kaito, Maki, I don't understand. Isn't it just a normal book-"Kaito shot a harsh glare his way, shutting down Shuichi's sentence mid-way. "Shuichi, seriously. Don't ask questions here, alright? Just... trust us. Ouma, that little devil," Kaito growled as he glowered at the now grinning Supreme Leader still in Maki's grasp, "he made us read that stupid thing yesterday. And..." Kaito made a gagging noise, finally releasing the (extremely thankful) Super Duper High School Detective to make a show of pretend-puking onto the ground, heaving and wheezing out empty air dramatically to prove his point.While Shuichi tried to ignore his spinning vision, he caught Maki nodding earnestly in agreement out of the corner of his eye. It was surprising to see the usually stoic assassin expressing her opinion so strongly (well, strong for her, at least). Noticing the detective's gaze, Maki cleared her throat with something like embarrassment, stilling her motions stiffly. "Trust us on this one, Shuichi." She narrowed her eyes as she yanked on Ouma's collar, getting another whine from the Supreme Leader. "No one should ever have to see what's in that... that monstrosity of a book." She hissed the last few words, glaring intensely at Ouma. "Whaaat? Kinda harsh, don't you think, Little Miss Assassin?" Ouma pouted, crossing his arms. "Besides, I would never give anything like that to my best friend Shui-" Ouma's overly sweet and innocent tone was cut off into a choke when Maki's other hand shot up to grab at his throat, squeezing it lightly, but still just enough to have Ouma writhing around to frantically fight off the icy assassin's vice grip. "Do you ever shut up?"Shuichi glanced over at the discarded purple book lying in the corner as Maki wrestled with Ouma. Despite all the previous warnings he had gotten, he couldn't help that itch of wanting to know, wanting to find out exactly what was going on with that book and the rest of his friends. Maybe this was that 'detective's instinct' his grandfather always went on about when they were working on a case together.He figured one more question couldn't hurt. He took in a deep breath, one that caught the attention of Kaito, who had finally finished with his faux-puking session. "Um, I get that you guys don't want me to read it, but could you two at least tell me what's inside the book? I kind of just really want to know now... for curiosity's sake..." He sheepishly admitted, chuckling awkwardly at the end to try and ease the awkward tension he was feeling. "Y-You don't have to tell me the full thing, of course, especially since you guys seem so uncomfortable with it, but... maybe just a quick summary or something...?"Kaito and Maki's heads snapped up at the question. Clearly, Shuichi had hit another weak point. They exchanged stern looks with each other, seemingly communicating with each other without even speaking. Finally, after reaching whatever telepathic conclusion to their discussion, Kaito broke the silence, sighing as he brought an arm up to rub the back of his neck. "Man, Shuichi, weren't you listening at all? It's... bad. Like, really bad." He bit his lip, avoiding his sidekick's curious, prying gaze."Well, what's in it that makes it so bad?" Shuichi pressed on, not letting up just yet. Possibilities and scenarios played out in his mind as he imagined what could be inside that mysterious book. "There must be something special about it that got Ouma so excited about me reading it. Was it the story? Or the writing style? Actually, wasn't my name in there? Maybe-""L-Look, Shuichi," Kaito cut Shuichi off before he could start rambling. "It's just... well, it's... it's something that..." Kaito stumbled over his words, obviously unsure of what to say. To Shuichi's surprise, Kaito's face was beginning to flush a bright red as he shuffled his feet restlessly. "The book... the story is...""It's nothing you should know about, Shuichi." Maki cut in sharply, swooping in to save a very thankful Kaito as well as release an even more thankful Ouma. "Don't worry about it. Actually, forget it ever existed in the first place. Something like... like that was never meant to be read by people like... well, as naive as you, Shuichi." Though Maki's voice remained as serious as ever, Shuichi was surprised to spot a similar, faint pink hue to her cheeks, slowly turning her cheeks redder by the minute. Was there something in the air? "Kaito, could you go grab that stupid book so we can go burn it later? I-""Boo, you two are no fun!" Ouma suddenly piped in, completely unfazed by Maki's previous strangling attempt if the mischievous grin back on his face was anything to go by. "If you guys won't tell him, I will! See, Shuichi, that book is all about se-"Maki's hand moved to Ouma's throat again, but to everyone's surprise Kaito got there first; the Super Duper High School Level Astronaut had shrieked and sprinted across from Shuichi to Maki and Ouma in what seemed like less than a second, throwing out his arm to clamp his hand around Ouma's mouth before he could say another word. "N-N-N-Nothing! That book is all about nothing, Shuichi!" Kaito yelled in an unusually high-pitched squeaky voice, putting a bit too much strength into his grip as he shoved his rough, calloused hand into Ouma's face, successfully muting him besides a few alarmed, but muffled cries for help.Maki let her free hand fall to her side, seemingly satisfied that the little Supreme Leader was quiet now. "Nevermind, then. We'll take care of this problem," She jerked on Ouma's collar again, getting another muffled whine that was completely ignored, "first before we come back for that book." Maki let another glare loose, this time burning holes into the innocent-looking purple book still lying in a corner of the room. Kaito nodded, a vengeful look in his eye as he glared down at the still defiantly struggling Ouma.She then turned to Shuichi, staring him down with her regular terrifying expression. "In the meantime, we're trusting you not to touch that book while we're gone, Shuichi," She stated with commanding authority in her voice. Shuichi couldn't help but be reminded of a parent leaving their child home alone. "It's for your own good that you don't read that thing. Seriously."Without another word, Maki spun on her heel and dragging a whining, struggling Ouma out of the cafeteria, with Kaito trailing behind, cracking his knuckles menacingly.With the three gone, Shuichi was now alone in the room. Despite his words, despite the warnings, despite the expectations on him, and despite his good conscience, Shuichi found his eyes and attention slowly drifting towards the book still lying, lonely and beaten-up in the corner, tempting him as a complete enigma that had somehow riled his friends up enough to bring such chaos to the otherwise quiet day.Slowly, but surely, Shuichi got up and walked slowly, step by step, approaching the book. He squatted to sit down next to it, heaved the purple hardcover pages onto his lap, and flipped to the first page, the one Kaito had gone to such lengths to keep away from him.Did he feel a tad guilty? Yes, of course he did. But... Shuichi had resolved himself to become the type of person to find out and face the truth head-on, no matter how difficult or hard it would be. And that, as Shuichi reasoned while scanning the page, meant allowing himself these small moments to allow his curiosity to get the best of him. Besides, it couldn't be that bad... right?When Gonta walked past the dining hall later that day, he was surprised to find Shuichi curled up in a corner of the room, arms hugging his knees, staring wide-eyed in disbelief and shock at a thick open book laid out in front of him."Oh, Shuichi! What are you-"Shuichi jumped, snapping his head to face Gonta with wide, terrified eyes, as if afraid he was being caught doing something he shouldn't have. "Oh. Gonta." He sighed in relief, his shoulders sagging down.
Gonta blinked. "Shuichi, are you okay? You look tired... are you sick? Should I get you some medicine? Do you need the bathroom?"Shuichi visibly flinched at the mention of the bathroom, though Gonta couldn't guess why. "I'm... I'm sorry, Gonta, I can't talk right now. I... need some time alone." He muttered, avoiding his friend's gaze.The monotone, low voice Shuichi was speaking it didn't sound like Shuichi at all. Gonta wanted to push further about his friend's well-being, but when he noticed his friend's pale complexion and slightly trembling hands, he stopped himself. "Oh... okay, then. Gonta will leave you alone for now!" He threw on his most reassuring smile, hoping to at least make his friend feel a little bit better. "Get better soon!"He quickly hurried away from the dining hall to leave Shuichi to his own devices. Behind him, he heard the flip of a page and Shuichi groaning in what sounded like physical pain. Gonta continued turning around and checking on his friend again, but at that moment he saw Kaito and Maki headed down the hallway towards him. "Oh! Kaito, Maki! Good timing!""Hey, Gonta, my man!" Kaito enthusiastically greeted, a bounce in his step as he strode up to the larger man. Even Maki offered a polite nod of the head as a greeting. "What's up? Did something happen?""Oh, not to Gonta!" Gonta shook his head. "It's Shuichi! Gonta just saw him in the cafeteria, and he wasn't looking so good... could you two check up on him? Gonta doesn't want to disturb him, he looked really bad..."At this, Kaito's grin dropped off his face, while Maki immediately tensed up. They glanced at each other, sharing some silent thought, before turning back to Gonta. Kaito sighed. "By any chance... was he reading a book?""Yes! How did you know, Kaito?" Gonta gasped. Was another one of his friends magic, like Himiko?Maki and Kaito, however, grimaced at the response. "I told that idiot not to read it..." Maki's icy tone snarled. Without waiting for Kaito, she took off, dashing past the two men towards the direction of the cafeteria."O-Oi! Wait for me, dammit, Maki Roll!" Kaito followed shortly after, not even bothering to say goodbye to Gonta as he ran after Maki.Gonta frowned. Had he gotten Shuichi in trouble? He didn't want that to happen! But, if Kaito and Maki could help him, maybe it was for the better...Gonta shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "Agh, Gonta is getting off track! Let's see, where did Ouma-kun want to meet with Gonta at again...?"At least he had that to look forward to! Ouma had left him a note that morning, telling Gonta he wanted to meet up with him to show him a new collection of books he had found, and also mentioned that he wanted to gift him any book he wanted. Gonta was ecstatic! He was excited to see what cool new books Ouma wanted to show him. He was hoping that a book with insects would be available, but any gift from his dear friend would be welcome.Gonta hummed a tune as he headed down the hallways, excitedly thinking about what kind of special books Ouma had in store for him.