Work Text:
Episode 21 [Late Night Chat]
[DINING HALL 2:44]
Characters Present:
○ Kazutoshi Kamimura
○ Ken Hasegawa
Character POV focus:
Kazutoshi Kamimura
Kazutoshi sighed, leaning more on the table at which he was sitting. He could hear footsteps in the hall and turned just in time to see a certain boy in a fancy suit walk in. Alright, someone who won't murder him.
He spoke up in a soft, almost playful tone when the other guy noticed him. "Well, well, well," Hasegawa snickered in response, heading to sit with him. "Hey." "Looks like I'm not the only one who couldn't sleep.”
“Yeah, I don't get how anyone's sleeping at all. I get we're all tired, but…” He kept his eyes on his hands as he picked at his clean nails. Hasegawa pulled a chair out to sit beside him.
“Yeah, no, I'm with you. I'm not going to let my guard down around any of these people.”
“And yet here you are in the dining hall in the middle of the night?” Oh, he's sassy, Kazutoshi wasn't expecting that from him.
“Th-that doesn't count, you're different. You're fine.” That earned an actual chuckle from Hasegawa. His laugh is nice, he's got to keep getting him to do that.
“What?”
“Well, I mean, like- you're not an obvious freak like Hama or Yamai or Okazaki or any of those guys. I can sit next to you comfortably and not worry about if you'd stab me or something.” Hasegawa’s smile dropped a bit, and his face had the lightest flush, it was an interesting expression.
“I- guess I'm flattered?” Kazutoshi couldn't hold in the soft laughter bubbling up. This guy was fun, not even doing anything, and his reactions were enough to make Kazutoshi smile. He wanted to know more about him, something about him.
“You're welcome. So we already talked about me, what about you? What do you do for a living?”
“Oh, um i-im actually just a student right now. I'm unemployed.” But he's in a fancy suit, nepo baby then? He doesn't really act like one, though.
“Unemployed in a suit that nice?”
“Well, um, th-this is mostly just for TV. I don't really wear it any other time.” Oh? Goes on TV often enough to need an outfit for it but isn't employed? Maybe the nepo baby assumption was closer than he thought.
“TV? What do you do on TV?”
“I go on quiz shows. Talk shows too, sometimes, if I’m invited.” Oh, so a famous nerd? God, there are a lot of famous people here then.
“No shit, seriously? So we've got at least 4 famous people in here?”
“'Famous' is a bit of a stretch. I don't think people really care about quiz shows that much. ”Nah, he’s too humble.
“Nah, it totally counts. I dunno if you're up there with MikiMiki, the lead singer of Smoker Motion, and thee Chiba Airi, but you're up there.”
Hasegawa smiled more from his compliment. God, he’s pretty.
“Thanks, Kamimura.”
“Kazutoshi’s fine.” He doesn't mind the idea of getting closer to this guy, he's cool, he's funny, and he's probably really smart. Yep, that's his reason, nothing else.
“Then you can call me Ken.” Cool. Awesome. Kazutoshi was very chill and normal about this.
“Sounds like a deal… I wonder when we’ll get out of here.”
Ken yawned, clearly tired, but he was too, so he didn't comment on it.
“Hopefully sooner than later.”
“Got anyone important you're waiting to get back to?” Family? Friends?... A girlfriend?... A boyfriend?
“Well um- My mom, mostly. I'm pretty close with my family, so I hope they're already looking for me.” Alright, cool. His prodding wasn't noticed, he doesn't seem weird at all for asking.
“They definitely are. And on the bright side, if they're not, somebody's definitely looking for Chiba, so we're going to be found either way.” Ken had a soft smile, looking directly at him, he didn't seem to do that a lot. It made Kazutoshi’s chest feel tighter.
“I’m liking the optimism, it’s a good color on you.”
“I’m a ray of sunshine.” Ken rubbed his eyes, his smile falling away as he seemed to remember why he was in here. “I… might try to fall asleep again. Do you think those bedroom door locks are as pickproof as the rabbit said?” Kazutoshi frowned and brought up his own paranoid thoughts.
“Now hold on a minute, did the rabbit say that? Or did Kimura say that?” Ken paused, and he suddenly looked much more nervous.
“...Shit, now you've got me paranoid.”
“Maybe she just told us their pick proof so that we feel safe. Then, in the dead of night, bam! She picks your lock and stabs you in the neck. You're dead.”
Ken fidgeted with his hands and looked at the double doors to the hall. “Should we be sitting in the dormitory hall right now? At least then we can see if anyone tried anything. We'd be some extra security.” Maybe Kazutoshi freaked him out too much. It’s good to be cautious, but now Ken might never sleep.
“Are you serious? What are we going to do if somebody starts murdering?”
“I mean- y'know, stop them?” That's… a little too optimistic…
“You think you can take Hayashi down if you need to?” Ken definitely looked like he was in the stronger half of the group, but Hayashi? Hama? There's no way.
“God no, but like… maybe Wada?” Kazutoshi thought about the tiny guy.
“Yeah, we could probably take Wada.”
“I just think that maybe if we were sitting right there, nobody would try anything…” Kazutoshi grimaced.
“Do you think somebody's going to try something?” It was quiet, a very uncomfortable quiet.
“I-i don't know. It scares me to think about it too hard. Like, a day stuck in here isn't enough to make me start killing people, but I can only speak for myself. I-i don't know how anyone else thinks.”
“Yeah, I get it. I don't feel great about it either. How long can a group this big be in a space this small before someone just loses it?”
“Right, but- when I think about it that way, it turns into this question of whether or not I need to act first to make sure I don't die.” Kazutoshi could see the other boy's hands shake a bit before he brought them back together and in his lap to self-soothe.
“You're not going to die.” Kazutoshi wanted to believe that. So he stubbornly would.
“It's… easy to say that on day one though.”
“I think we're both just tired right now, and we're having dumb, tired thoughts. You're not going to die, and you're definitely not going to kill anybody.” Ken glanced back at him and sighed.
“R-right, right.”
“I promise I won't let anybody murder you.”
Ken covered his mouth, clearly hiding a grin. “Says the guy who just admitted he didn't think he could fight anyone but Wada.” Pfft- this asshole-
“Hey! Don't misquote me! I said I could fight Wada with your help.” They both broke into soft laughter. It was a nice break from the tension from a few seconds ago.
“But if Wada or Kimura or whoever does try to kill you, I promise I'll jump on their back or something. Buy you some time to run.” He could definitely do that much. Dying to save a pretty guy definitely didn't suit him, but it wasn't the worst way to go out.
“Alright, well, if Wada kills me, let it be known that I want you to be the one who cleans up the crime scene.” God, that's so dark it almost sounded romantic.
“I'd make it spotless, I assure you… As insane as this sounds, I'm glad you're here, Ken. Not like in a way where I'm glad you're in a murder school, but like… Glad I met you, and I have somebody to talk to who isn't a total weirdo.” Ken had that soft look again, but it was more awkward this time. Like he wasn't sure how to respond to that.
“I’m… flattered? I think.”
“You should be. I think I'm going to go lay down for a bit, my head's starting to feel swimmy.”
“Want me to come sit by your room? I've got nothing better to do right now. I'll keep your lock protected and unpicked.” What? Is he Kazutoshi’s bodyguard now? He's not fully against the idea as long as the bigger guy doesn't push it.
“That’d be great. If Wada shows up though, start banging on the door.”
“I will, I promise.”
“I’m holding you to that.”