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The room was almost silent, the only sounds being the soft heartbeat monitor, the oxygen machine pushing the air into the patient’s lungs, and the quiet drippings of the IV. A blonde laid her head on the foot of the bed, sleeping quietly.
The door opened and a blue-haired male walked in. He looked at the sleeping blonde and frowned slightly. The doctors said she’d been in here since she woke up, only leaving for her therapy and the patient’s checkups. The nurses even brought her meals.
No matter how much the staff tried, they couldn’t get her to leave Kokichi’s side. How could they? They were engaged to be married, after all.
Shuichi walked over to the sleeping girl and shook her a little. “Kaede, it’s time to wake up.” She groaned softly, shifting slightly and stretching herself on the bed, yawning and opening her eyes. She looked up at the bluenet, blinking slowly. “What is it…” She suddenly perked up and looked at her lover, hoping Shuichi woke her for him.
Kokichi’s eyes were still closed, his breathing mask still on his face.
“The others asked me to come get you. They’ve arranged something for you.” “I’m okay. Thank you, though.” The male sighed. “I know you’re waiting for him to wake up. But you should try to take your mind off it. It’s your birthday, after all.”
It was, wasn’t it. She honestly didn’t keep track of time since she woke up from the game, aside from the fact it's been 5 weeks since she woke up, 3 of those spent in Kokichi’s room, waiting for him to wake up.
“I’m fine, Shuichi. I don’t care that it's my birthday, it’s not the same without him.” “Would he want you to be like this? Isolating yourself from everyone, depressed and just waiting for him?” Kaede suddenly stood up, the chair she was sitting in being pushed back, almost falling over. “You try being kidnapped with your fiancé just a month before your wedding, forced into a killing game with no memory of each other, and watch each other die in awful ways.”
She put her hand just below her neck, giving focus to the scar around her neck. “I was hanged. He was crushed. We didn’t ask for this, but here we are.” “Yeah, I know. I watched it all first hand. But we’re fine now. Danganronpa is done, no one else will suffer, and that includes you and Kokichi. But what I’ve learned from this situation is to not hang on to the past. We have to move on, for ourselves and for everyone we left.”
Shuichi looked at her with a determined look. She was honestly a bit surprised. The Shuichi she left behind was shy and didn’t have a shred of confidence. She knew what happened, Team Danganronpa forced them to continue watching for the despair aspect, which obviously hit particularly hard on her because of Kokichi. But she also watched Shuichi grow into a real detective. She just wasn’t used to it being directed at her.
Kaede looked over at her sleeping fiancé, who still hadn’t moved an inch, before sighing. Shuichi was right. Kokichi always wanted her to be happy and not worry too much. Yeah, he didn’t mind, but he would never want her to spend all her time worrying. Especially today.
It was just weird. They had spent every birthday together since they met. So spending one while he was in a coma was strange. But, again, Kokichi wouldn’t want her to waste today. Maybe she did need to take her mind off things.
With a sigh, she turned to the bluenet and nodded. “Fine. But I can’t promise I won’t be thinking about him.” Shuichi smiled. “That’s alright. I understand. But try, okay?” He put his hand out to her and she took it, walking out with him, not noticing the slight twitch from Kokichi’s hand.
The two walked through the white hallways of the institution, their steps being the only sound. Kaede kept her eyes on the floor, her mind going back to Kokichi. What if something happened while she was gone? Out of everyone, his body had the most trauma from his death, aside from maybe Korekiyo, due to the nature of their deaths. The doctors said he was lucky to still be alive from such an experience, even if it was all virtual. Korekiyo woke up though, so they had hope. He had made a lot of progress, but there was still a chance his health could take a turn for the worse.
He may stay in a coma for the rest of his life.
Before she could continue down that rabbit hole, Shuichi suddenly stopped, making her stop. He had brought her to the cafeteria. They must be throwing her a surprise party for her. The male didn’t say it was a party, only that they arranged something for her, so she could only assume it was one.
“You should go in first.” Yup, just fueling the suspicions.
She nodded and opened the door. The lights were turned off. But as she walked in, they suddenly turned on and everyone jumped out from behind the tables.
“SURPRISE!”
All their voices together filled her ears as she looked around, pretending to be surprised. It was the least she could do for them. Everyone stood in their issued pajamas and slippers, but with the added party hats on their heads. Streamers and balloons decorated the small area they were in in the cafeteria, with “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” on the wall next to them and food on a table nearby.
Even through all the trauma, they still threw a party for her. She couldn’t help but give a genuine smile, the first one she had in a long time.
“Thank you, everyone. This is amazing.” Kaito came over to her and gave her a rough side hug, almost crushing her head. At first, she was upset that he woke up before her lover, but he didn’t suffer from the same body trauma, so she no longer resented him. His hugs were actually comforting in place of her lost love.
“We’re sorry it isn’t enough, we could only do so much while we’re stuck in this facility,” Kirumi apologized, bowing a little. “Oh, Kirumi, it’s okay. I’m glad you guys did anything.” “Of course. Why wouldn’t we celebrate our fearless leader?” Kaito smiled, squeezing her.
Leader, huh? She wasn’t a leader. A true leader would be Kokichi. He did what he could to end the game, albeit too late. But he did better than her anyway.
Kaede shook her head. She promised she would try to be happy, and try to enjoy the party. It would be difficult, but she could manage.
She was Kokichi Ouma’s fiancée. She could manage a small lie.
And that’s what she did. She smiled, she talked with her friends, she ate cake and drank punch, she played the party games they had like Hot Potato and Pin the Tail on the Donkey (Gonta won, which was a sweet treat). Kaede felt like a kid again and she could only think about how much fun Kokichi would have if he was here with her.
Kokichi…was he doing okay? He was alone in his room, no one would know if he was awake or if he was even doing okay. Should she go back? The party was still going with smiles everywhere, they could keep it going without her.
But she wasn’t able to keep thinking on that, as she saw a few nurses and a doctor run by the cafeteria door. She wouldn’t have minded if it weren't for the fact that they ran in the direction of Kokichi’s room. She knew it was Kokich’s room because it was where those who were still in comas stayed, and he was the only one still in there.
“Kokichi…” Kaede whispered, dropping the item she was holding from the Hot Potato game and quickly ran out of the cafeteria. She heard the others yell out, but she couldn’t hear what they said.
Only Kokichi was on her mind as she ran down the hall.
She slipped a few times from the slick floor and her slippers, but she made it to the room. She ran in, but was immediately stopped by orderlies. “You aren’t allowed in here, get out.” “No, please! Tell me what’s going on, tell me if he’s okay!” “We can’t let you in, get out.” The orderlies proceeded to try dragging her out, but they stopped.
Looking behind her, she saw the group had followed her to Kokichi’s room. Gonta and Tenko looked at the orderlies with intense eyes. “Let her go.” “Kaede is Kokichi’s love. She deserves to see him!” “It’s not our choice-” Kaito stepped forward in front of the other two, a determined look on his face.
“Kaede has been waiting for something to happen. She has been taking care of him since the end of the game. She may not be family, but she deserves to know what’s happening.” He walked forward and was now right behind Kaede. “Let. Her. In.”
The two orderlies looked between the three before looking at each other. They knew they couldn’t let her through, but they didn’t want a violent outbreak. Without much of a choice, they let her go, allowing her to run past and into the room.
“Kokichi!” The heart rate monitor was running fast and the oxygen machine was speeding up, like Kokichi was hyperventilating. Something was definitely wrong.
The nurses turned to her, as well as the doctor. “What is she doing in here, get her out!” The doctor ordered, only for Kaito to enter. “She’s staying.” “She can’t-” “She. Stays.”
Deciding not to argue, especially considering the patient needed his attention, he said nothing more and turned back to Kokichi. Kaede stayed to the side to not get in the way, Kaito standing behind her, worried as well.
The blonde quickly hugged the male, beginning to cry. “He has to be okay…he has to be…” Kaito put a hand on her head, making her look up, tears beginning to fill her eyes. “He’ll be okay, Kaede.”
Just then, a sleepy groan was heard, making the two look over. Kokichi was grimacing, unlike his normal blank face. His eyes suddenly opened, blinking a few times to get used to the light.
“What the fuck is happening…” He spoke, his words slightly muffled from the oxygen mask.
That’s what broke Kaede. His face moving, his eyes open, his speaking.
Although the nurses yelled at her, she ran to the bed and threw her arms around Kokichi, hugging him as tightly as she could.
“You’re awake…you’re awake!” She cried.
Kokichi freaked out and weakly pushed her away, his eyes wide in fear. The blonde backed away, confused, and now feeling sorrow. “Are…do you…”
The male looked at her, blinking a few times. “K…Kaede…?" She nodded and he relaxed a little. “Princess..I’m sorry, just…the tight feeling made me…”
Now she felt guilty. How did it not register that he still had trauma from that crushing feeling. “I’m sorry, dear. I got excited and…” He reached his hand out to her and she gently took it, not wanting to scare him again.
“How are you feeling, sir? Any sickness, pain?” Kokichi groaned, now realizing other people were there. “I’m fine. Can I be alone with my princess now?” “Sir, we-” Kaito looked at him with almost a dark look. It even scared Kaede a little. The doctor caved, growling a little. “Fine. You may be with her for now. But we will come back for a checkup in a bit.” “That’s fine. I just want some time with her.”
The doctor left and the nurses made sure he was comfortable before following, leaving Kaede and Kokichi with Kaito in the corner, everyone else trying to peek through the door.
Kokichi looked up at Kaede and smiled weakly. “So none of it was real..” She shook her head. “It was a simulation. They kidnapped random, happy people, erased our memories, and put us into something called the Neo World Program. Luckily, Shuichi’s uncle was able to piece it all together and reach us just in time for Shuichi to end the game.” “I remember the kidnapping…but the rest…thank you for telling me.” Kaede leaned over and kissed his cheek, making him smile just a bit more.
It was then they remembered Kaito and everyone else. Kokichi scowled a little. “Go away, leave me and my princess alone.” The others decided to do so, with the more respectable ones having to drag the others away to leave them alone, with Kaito being the last one.
“We’ll clean up the party, and when he gets better, we’ll throw another one for him.” And with that, the astronaut left.
“Party?” Kokichi turned, confused. Kaede took her chair and sat next to him. “Yeah, they threw a party for my birthday. I only went so their efforts weren’t wasted. But you waking up is the best gift I could ask for.”
Kokichi looked at her for a moment, processing what she said. “It’s your birthday…?” She nodded, a few tears spilling. “Yeah. You were right on time. But why’d you have to make me wait?” He smiled at her softly. “You know me. I’m unpredictable. And I knew I would be the best thing to happen today.”
The blonde giggled and softly squeezed his hand, not wanting to trigger him. “Well, you were right. The party was fine, but having you makes today even better.”
Kokichi motioned her over, making her get up and get close to his face. He lifted his oxygen mask just a little and pecked her lips. She couldn’t but smile and peck back before sitting back down.
“I love you, Kaede.” “I love you too, Kokichi.”
The purple-haired male groaned, trying to move. Kaede helped him move, which was to the side a little, leaving room for her. She laid down next to him carefully and cuddled close, being careful with any squeezing. He leaned his head on her shoulder, blinking a little. “You sleepy?” He nodded. She slowly wrapped her arm around the back of his head and gently petted his hair, making him more sleepy. She held his hand with her free one and continued petting.
“Happy birthday, Princess…” Kokichi whispered as he fell back asleep for a little nap. Kaede smiled and softly kissed his head.
“Thank you, Kokichi. For the best present I could ask for.”