"Forbidden Love" (Saiouma/Oumasai story)

•Chapter 16: Truths and betrayals•

“I found this in your room.”

Shuichi stayed still, eyes welling up with tears, blurring his sight. His mouth felt dry, the words were stuck in his throat, he was unable to move. His world turned black as despair consumed his thoughts. This was it. This was the end of it. There was no way out of this one. Why had he been so dumb? Why did he even leave that out in the open in the first place? He thought no one would be there except for him but it was so stupid either way. Why did he even take a photo with the boy? Why did he even stay with the supreme leader? Why did he even befriend him? How did this happen? When did this happen? Why couldn't he just leave him? Give him away? He would have gotten so many problems off his shoulders. He wouldn't have to worry about anything. He should just-

"Shuichi!" The world came back, and the suffocating thoughts dissolved. He noticed he had fallen to his knees and that his uncle was staring at him concerned.

"I-I-I...I swear I-I don't know..." He whispered, tears streaming down his cheeks.

The man sighed, walking up to him and sitting besides the boy, patting his back.

"Stop trying to make desperate excuses, it won't work..." He said soothingly, his tone not fitting the words that came out of his mouth. "Are you two friends?"

Knowing it would be completely pointless to lie, he nodded. He just wanted to run out of there, to scream till his throat burned, to cry and cry and never stop. Why did he feel this way? Was it because he was afraid of getting in trouble for protecting a criminal? Or was it because he didn't want Kokichi to get hurt? He didn't know anymore.

The purple haired boy was the only one who he could talk to without being shy, spending so much time with him made him drop the stuttering and finally talk clearly. They had known each other for six months now, not a long period of time, but their friendship had changed so many things within the detective...

"Shu... there's something you have to know about Ouma..."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••

He ran down the streets. No, it couldn't be true... He refused to believe it!

He clutched the sheet of paper he was holding in his right hand, crumpling it.

He couldn't see clearly, the speed he was running at and his watery eyes didn't let him, but he perfectly knew where he was heading.

Shuichi kneeled down on the grass, in front of the manhole, and knocked the special melody on the iron cover. Some seconds after it opened, but the detective wasn't going to go down, so instead he yelled,

"K-Kokichi! P-Please! Get up here!" His sobs made his sentence unclear, but he knew he was understood when he listened to someone climbing up the ladders.

The small boy jumped out of the hole, giving the other an eye closed smile.

"Hey Shumai! You need me again for stealing something~?" He then opened them, his happy expression washing off once he saw the other. "S-Shuichi? What's wrong?" He lowered his eyes and stared at the paper the taller male was holding.

"P-PLEASE! TELL ME IT'S NOT TRUE!" Saihara cried, the liar returned his gaze to look at him with sad eyes.

"Oh...you opened the files right? You figured it out already...right?"

A knot formed in the detective's throat.

"W-w-what? S-so it's true?! You killed my parents?!"

"I...I'm sorry..." The short male whispered.

Suddenly, something clicked inside the golden eyed boy's brain. It all made sense now... The expression Kokichi wore when he saw the photo of Shuichi and his parents, the look of desperation and sadness when he told him that catching him was the only way he could get information about his parents' killer, the thing he was about to tell him once they were able to get the files... How hadn't he noticed? Why hadn't he realized that earlier? Weren't detectives supposed to be smart? To figure things out? Or was he so blinded by the friendship between them two?