× || Gaining Confidence !

“Over a hundred years?” he asked, in surprise. Regardless of whether that’s the norm for ghosts or not, that sounded like an extremely long time. The way the other’s hand reached out to touch the back of his head didn’t escape his notice, nor did the way he turned away for a moment. Murdered….

“…That’s not the kind of thing someone should pressure you to talk about just because they’re curious,” he gently told the other, slowly shaking his head. “Forgive me. I might have made it sound like I’m just curious about your ‘ghost story’ earlier, as some people put it. If you’d like to talk about it, I’m willing to listen, but only if you’re okay with that. Talking about the incident of your own murder can’t be easy, not when it’s something that shackled you for more than a hundred years.”

Moving to finally close the door he’d left open, he turned back to the ghost with a soft smile. “You’re not some sort of attraction, you know. I’d like to know more about you, as a person. You can tell me about the incident if you’re comfortable with that, or we can talk about something else. I want to know what you prefer, Shuichi.”

"Ah... have no worries, Cain: I know you did not mean it like that." Because frankly, the more a person would try to pry, the less likely he'd want to tell them about his past in the first place... "If would only give vague details if someone was trying to pry too much, anyway." Or just scare them off, but he really would rather not go along with any rumors that he's some 'terrifying' spirit haunting the school..

As he watches Cain close the door, he thinks silently for a moment. He's never really had a chance to tell someone the full story. Having to bottle up this guilt and regret for so long only contributed to being unable to leave this building. Maybe it'd do good to confide in someone about it. Someone like Cain, who doesn't treat like a monster or attraction... "...You truly are so kind, Cain. Thank you. But... I think I am willing to talk about it with you. Maybe... talking about it, could help, honestly.. Though I apologize in advanced for dark it is."

He first goes to sit on top of a desk. He rests his hands on his lap and intertwines his own hands together. "...To begin..." He softly exhales. "Back in my time, I used to be a detective who worked under my uncle, who owned his own detective agency. The cases we did were nothing too drastic or big, mostly small ones like finding pets, background checks, that soft of thing... along with infidelity cases. From what I can remember..." Since it's been so long.... "My client was a woman, who suspected her husband of cheating. Her suspicions had been correct: we caught him with the woman he was cheating on her with. My client, when she saw that... It broke her. She flew into a rage and attempted to kill them both. While the mistress survived... it was only because the man sacrificed himself to save her. I remember how much I hated for myself for how everything played out."

Even after so long, he can still envision the grizzly sight of the husband's body on the ground, covered in blood and stab wounds. How horrified he looked while the client was taken away by the police. Everyday he wondered what he could have done to prevent it all.... "And then... fast forward to when the daughter of the client and deceased husband found out what happened... and that I was the detective behind that case. I... cannot remember the full conversation word for word, but I still remember clear as day... how much hatred and anguish were in her eyes. How rightfully angry at me she was for how horribly the case turned out. I mean, after all: her mother was in jail and her father, dead! It was natural she would hate me! And then...a-and then..."

He hugs his arms and darts his eyes away. "She...attacked me. I tried to escape, but to no avail. It felt like everything happened so fast... how I suddenly found myself on the ground, when she, I believe, threw a chair at me. Then as she got on top of me, those eyes, brimming with even more malice and hatred, were the last thing I saw before my vision was caked in red. And this indescribable pain being bashed into the back of my head by a bludgeoning weapon: over....and over........and........over......"

He purses his lips. That look in the girl's eyes still haunt him to this day... "And alas... that is how I died. In this very school, all those years ago......all because of my incompetence as a detective. Leaving behind my poor uncle and aunt, who must have been so devastated when my body was discovered. Even in death, I couldn't forgive myself. And so... I still find myself here, to this day: wallowing in self pity and regret. ...I'm the worst, right? All because I didn't react fast enough to stop that woman from murdering her husband. Then everything that transpired, would have never happened. Hahaha...."

"N'awww, Shumai thinks that i'm such a troublemaker for deserving a pair of wings and a halo~ Well, well, Mr. Detective... do you think that I need to sharpen up my target practice and aim my arrow at you, ooor... were you hoping to take me as your fallen prisoner and try getting me to talk? Huh? Well? Shu-i-chi, you know that no matter what you choose... i'll always be on your mind, huh?"

He smirks and, with a quick nudge up of his feet, reaches to hold his face in his hands.

Or was it? No matter if he meant to or not, this one does occupy his brain a lot! Most of the time, wondering or worrying if he got himself into some kind of trouble, but still.. "A-Also, no matter what I choose, you probably would still-!!"

A surprised gasp cuts himself off when Kokichi goes to cup his face. Even if he wanted to, he can't dart his eyes away, now..! "...P-Purposely do whatever to drive me crazy... but hey, don't pin the blame on me!"

It's as Shuichi said: It didn't seem like he hated it. In fact, from picking up the very faint noise of purring in addition to the touch behind the ear, the supreme leader felt a sudden jump somewhere from within him.

Happiness? Joy? A form of bonding moment with his beloved vampire guardian that, maybe in some situation later on, would find this somehow soothing. If it was affecting Shuichi so much, then why was Kokichi also feeling pleased by this?

A moment later, he felt a warm nudge of his hand and Kokichi easily felt his lips tick into a satisfied smile. Repeating the motion and gliding his hand overtop of the feline's furry little head once more.

"It looks like I found your 'reset button', Shu-mai~! You see, you're not putting up a fight at all. In fact, you said so yourself. You're enjoying it, like a good creature of the night should."

His tone adding a little know-it-all to it, he simply ends the tender little moment with moving his hand down and giving Shuichi's cat form a tempting 'chin scritch'.

"See, I can be generous... but I wonder if it works the same way on your human form. It's good to know if i'm going to be responsible for you, you know."

It almost made him sound like he's being clingy or something! Like a cat..... But surely, the vampire wasn't, right? He wonders, as if the chin scritches Kokichi starts giving him didn't feel super nice and immediately wants more of that, too.. Even if he tried to hide the purring, that'd be impossible with how much his body was vibrating and how louder he was..

"Y-Yes, thank you... And, um...." Would this feel just as nice in his human form? Then again... it's not like anyone's ever gave him chin scritches or rubbed his head in that form.... That'd probably feel just as nice as it does in his cat one.. But there was no way in the world he'd ever say that out loud; he'd die a thousand deaths before that happens! So instead, he continues his sentence with:

"Wh-Who can say...? It's not like I've really, um... received this kind of affection in my human form; just this particular form whenever someone approaches me, thinking I am just some random 'stray' cat..."

"I was told doing this would 'assert dominance'."

A snap decision just like that--- Man, being Lucifer's army commander sure did have it's perks! Whole Castle with a bunch of rooms... Naoki could do whatever he wanted! Not like Lucifer checked on him anyway-- As long as he was killing gods and pursuing the Reason of Chaos, that's all that matters.

Sprouting his wings, he kicks off into the air as he listens to the rest of his orders. "Aha, I'm sure that will be all the motivation they need to get it done in that time frame. A pool party does sound like it'd be fun: you can count on me! I will assemble the best possible crew to get everything done. I will be right back-!"

If Naoki had nothing else to say after that, then Shuichi quickly flies out the room. Shuichi knew the land pretty well to know where to find the specific demons Naoki requested. Then for food... He's sure a certain fire dragon comrade and friend would be more than happy to help with that. Maybe he can even ask Izuru to help him find the best seafood! He knows he'd be able to.

“It actually makes me a little happy to know I can touch your hand like this. I thought it would phase through, but that just goes to show that there are a lot of misconceptions about ghosts. Nice to meet you, Shuichi!” Followed by him enthusiastically shaking the other’s hand with a laugh. “I’m told my skin runs warm, so maybe we can achieve equilibrium together,” he joked, then hummed at the ghost’s observation.

“It would be pretty rude for me to come to you of my own accord and then act fazed when I do run into you, wouldn’t it? Just because I’m not familiar with you doesn’t mean it’s okay for me to treat you disrespectfully. You seem like a nice person,” he reasoned, with a thoughtful tilt of his head. “Ah, but I guess I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little excited to know more about you. You don’t need to tell me anything you’re not comfortable with, of course. I’m just curious about why you chose to stay around here.”

As he listens, Shuichi nods along before he answers. "Funny you say that, because often, that is what happens when others intentionally seek me out. Instead of reacting with excitement like they seemingly would, they either react with shock, fear, or both, before running off. Sometimes, they don't even have to see my actual body: a shadow or an apparition of myself is sometimes just enough to scare them off.... but I've more than grown used to it. However, I'm grateful that you're not treating me like a monstrosity. Thank you, Cain. I'm glad you think so; you are a nice person as well."

If only the other students were like Cain... maybe he could be more welcoming to them. "Oh, I don't mind if you were still excited to see me. At least you're actually staying to talk to me. Ah, and, well...." At his question... his hand subconsciously goes to reach up and hover just above the area of the back of his head. The part where.. that scar is.... "I don't mind talking about it; however, it's not... anything good; rather... dark, you could say. The reason I am still here... is because of the 'mental' shackles that keep me in place, you could say. A self imprisonment for over a hundred years...."

     𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬, would it be mean of her to tease him? Devon mentally scolded herself as soon as the thought crossed her mind! She should be a comforting figure instead of someone who poked fun at him for such a cute and honest reaction, shouldn't she. Ah, the temptation...

     The doll chuckled softly at his flustered state, before she took a few steps to get closer to him to invade his personal space a little just enough to raise a hand to gently ruffle his hair. Nevermind that she was slightly shorter than him, even with her boots that had minimum heels. The touch from her side wasn't as soft as one would expect from a fellow human but it wasn't unpleasant, as she was delicate and mindful of the gesture itself.

     ❝ I believe love will find a way to change those cowardly aspects of yourself. Once you find that person who will make your heart race... You'll find out unexpected sides of yourself that you hadn't taken notice of prior to that cataclysm ❞, Devon had released him from her ruffling. However, his hair was definitely messier than before which prompted her to chuckle again, as she decided to fix it as she carried on with speaking her thoughts. ❝ Humans can be surprisingly selfish yet not quite ill intended. It's akin to... a sense of duty, of protecting their loved one intertwined with the desire of becoming their cynosure, too ❞.

Did he even have such things, he wonders? Maybe he will just have to find out one day, he supposes.... Shuichi probably would've fixed his own hair after she got done ruffling it, but since she decides to do so, he sits still for her. "I see.... But it's understandable, right? That you not only would want to protect someone you love, but... Also wanting their attention a lot. It's probably always a nice feeling... If the person you like, admired you just as much, I'm sure..."

While they were moreso close friends than objects of romantic admiration... He kind of felt this way with his small circle of close friends, Kaito, Kaede, and Maki. In his own way, wanting to look out for and protect them...and wanting to be as important to them as they are to him; though he'd be too shy to ever admit that out loud...