Needle and Thread - Oumasai

Story time

Kokichi ran down towards Shuichi, but Rantaro grabbed his arm, holding him back, "Stay away, low rank."

The green-haired male walked over to the unconscious Shuichi, with the expression of fake concern all over his face, "What happened? Is he okay?!"

Another one of the students started to call out for a teacher, and it didn't take too long before one came out into the hallway.

"Everyone, go to your classes! Give him some space!" the teacher yelled and helped Shuichi to the nurse's office. Despite the teacher's words, Kokichi followed after them quietly, not wanting anyone to realise that he was there.

Amami frowned as he saw Ouma trail behind Saihara and the teacher, but gave up trying to prevent him. Shuichi was placed down on a bed in the corner of the room whilst Rantaro walked over and spoke to the nurse, still faking his concern, "He suddenly fainted, do you know why?"

"It could of been due to a number of factors; he could not of been eating enough, getting enough sleep or it could just be stress."

Rantaro crossed his arms, obviously fed up with this whole situation as he left the office. Kokichi flashed the green-haired student a smirk as he watched him exit the room and walk down the hallway, knowing that even Rantaro wouldn't dare try and assault him right outside the nurse's office.

After making sure Rantaro was out of he way, Kokichi opened the door and stepped through the doorway.

He caught a glance at Saihara before the nurse stood in his way, stopping him from entering the room.

"You cannot enter. A low rank like you would contaminate the place."

Ouma's eyes narrowed, hearing her speak, "Then I'll stay right here~" he widely grinned at her.

"Leave before I give you a reason to come back here."

Kokichi clenched his fists, knowing that there was nothing he could do in this situation without getting himself hurt.

The nurse crossed her arms and scowled down at him, keeping a cold gaze as he walked slowly away. He gave her occasional glances to see if she was still standing guard at the door, and she was.

~~

Shuichi managed to sit up, blinking at the sudden light which was forced in front of his face.

"...h....huh..?"

"Don't try to speak. Are you aware of what happened to you earlier this morning? A simple nod with suffice."

Shuichi paused before nodding, "There.. was a f-fight.."

"Are you aware to who it was between?"

The blue-haired male knew without a doubt who was involved in the fight; It was definitely Kokichi and Amami. He also knew that if he were to explain that it was Ouma, a low rank, then he would be in danger. But for as Rantaro, he didn't care in the slightest of the repercussions for him.

"It was d-definitely.. Rantaro Amami a-and.. a low rank s..student.."

"Do you have a name for that low rank student?

"No, not that I can recall," Shuichi shook his head, looking straight at the nurse.

"If you really can't remember, then I suppose there is no reason to keep on questioning you. I just want to tell you that your uncle has been informed and he is going to bring you home."

The woman walked over to Saihara with a cup of water, "You will be taking the rest of the day off. Make sure you get lots of hours of sleep, okay?"

Shuichi took the water and took a short sip, wanting to steady his nerves. His shoulders lifted and his fingers curled up as he saw his uncle standing in the doorway, his arms crossed, "Let's go."

Saihara kept his head down as he walked out of the school with him and got into his car.

His uncle started the car and pulled out of the school's parking lot.

"The school informed me that you fainted."

Shuichi contemplated what his next choice of words was going to be, "I-I must of b-been too warm.."

"They also informed me of a fight occurring at the same time. I take it that you were not involved?"

"Of course not, that would be extremely irrational."

"Are you hiding something from me Shuichi? If so, I would state it now before I find out myself."

Saihara's heart rate increased dramatically; He could hear his heart pounding, "N-No.. w-what would I.. have to h..ide?"

"State it now, Shuichi."

"T-There's nothing.. Nothing at all."

His uncle raised an eyebrow, doubting his nephew's words, but dropped the subject as he began to drive.

The car moved quickly, but it was still too slow for Shuichi's peace of mind. It was an environment that he hated being in: a small, confined space, locked from the inside. He wanted to claw himself out and escape as soon as possible. Saihara slightly played with the red string on his finger to comfort himself.

Shuichi waited a couple of moments after the car pulled into the driveway before getting out, not wanting himself to seem too eager to escape. He quickly walked up to the house, fumbling with his own set of keys before finally managing to open the door, his uncle following behind him.

The door slammed shut.

The navy-haired male caught glimpse of the candle on a nearby cabinet, the flame brightening up the large room.

"You chose the right one. It looks perfect in this room," His uncle stated, walking past him and into the study, "Come in here, there is something that I wish to show you."

Shuichi felt his entire body tense up as he obeyed his instructions and walked into the room, stopping in the doorway. He noticed his uncle sorting through draws, pulling out odd pieces of paper and admiring them, before putting them back into their compartments.

This seemed to go on for a few more minutes before he finally found what he was looking for, turning to Shuichi and giving it to him.

Saihara stared at the image with wide eyes.

"Please tell me who is in the picture."

Shuichi stumbled over his words, "I-It's.. m-my.. it's y-ou and.."

"Without stuttering." The older man instructed harshly.

"It's you and...my.. dad."

"Ever since your father was a boy, he always liked to play outside with his toys. Typical behaviour of a younger child," his uncle had a warm smile on his face that quickly turned into a frown, "This was a habit which I thought he would outgrow with age, but he never seemed to stop. There was one item, one piece of equipment, that your father always found intriguing; It was an old, wooden swing, attached loosely to one of the branches of our oak tree. I don't believe you've ever seen it, but it was rather magnificent."

Shuichi felt disturbed as the man told this strange story.

"He played on the swing every single day for 4 years, never tiring of the rush of adrenaline as he managed to haul himself higher and higher into the clouds. This sensation of freedom drove his grades to slip and his rank to fall, but he never stopped playing on that swing," the uncle cleared his throat and slid the picture closer to Shuichi.

"One night, there was a terrible accident however, and the grand old oak tree, out in the field was set alight, it's branches slowly burning. I remember hearing your father scream out, wanting to run towards it to put it out, but I knew that there was nothing anyone could do to save that swing. That swing was a distraction and it seemed that soon after the fire took ahold of it, your father's grades increased, as did his rank."

He let out a chuckle and brightly grinned at his nephew, staring him right in the eye, "You and him are so alike, Shuichi, so very alike. Don't ever find yourself too high up in the clouds, otherwise the flames will bring you back down."