Shuichi woke up. Never had a Thursday felt so good before. He was packed with energy and excitement for when he finished work and finally would be able to meet up with Kokichi again. But it wasn't just a meetup, it was a date. 

He stayed lying in bed for a few minutes just staring at his ceiling before he managed to pull himself up to get ready for work. He wandered over to his wardrobe to get his clothes when he saw his old outfit from the Killing Game he was forced into 7 years ago. Shuichi laughed to himself "Why did I keep this?"

As he was about to put it back, he paused for a minute. "Why did I keep this?"  He thought about it for ages then realised. "Huh..." He muttered, "Maybe I can move on after all..."

Shuichi sighed, took a deep breath, then grabbed his old outfit. 

He stared at it for a little while then decided to put it on. "Maybe if I confront it, I'll start to get over it." Shuichi thought. The memory of the Killing Game always kind of lingered at the back of Shuichi's mind but maybe, just maybe, he could find a way to move past it and be able to maybe start a new chapter in his life. 

The uniform didn't fit as well as Shuichi remembered but he decided that it was because he had grown up since the killing game had ended since he'd last worn it. He was 17 but was now 24. The outfit didn't look ridiculous and instead was quite smart, definitely smarter than his usual plain black suit. 

Shuichi wandered over to the living room but as he was, he saw Tusaki. Shuichi was startled, although Tusaki had a key to Shuichi's apartment, he was normally warned before he turned up but this time it was without warning.

"Why are you here?" Shuichi asked, sounding surprised. 

"I wanted to pay my Nephew a visit." Tusaki replied calmly, "Am I not allowed?" 

"Of course you are! Sorry Uncle...I just wondered why you're here.." Shuichi defended. 

Tusaki laughed then paused for a minute and looked Shuichi up and down. "Why're you wearing that?" 

Shuichi sighed. "I uh..." 

"I get it."Tusaki interupted, "Who's it for?" 

Shuichi was a little bit taken back but he was used to his uncle jumping to conclusions about things. And being right about everything. It wasn't a coincidence that the day of his date with Kokichi was also the day Shuichi decided to try and move on from the past. 

"Well...their name is K..." Shuichi stuttered.

"Ah! I was right! I thought so." Tusaki interrupted triumphantly. 

Shuichi rolled his eyes then cleared his throat. "Can I ask you something?" 

Tusaki turned around and looked puzzled. He scanned Shuichi up and down. His face was blushing and red and he was fidgeting with his hands while looking down towards the floor. 

"What is it?" Tusaki questioned. 

"Can you get a key cut for this place?" 

"A key?! Why?" Tusaki said, sounding startled. 

Then Tusaki put the pieces together. Shuichi liked someone...obviously. And he was willing to change from them so maybe the key was for them? Were they really that serious? 

"Ah, right. Straight away." Tusaki declared, "When's the date?" 

"It's after work toda—-" Shuichi said without realising that he had never mentioned a date in the first place. "Wait.." Shuichi denied.

"You really need to stop being so easy to read." Tusaki laughed, "I'll get it done by 4:30 today." 

For a man of around 80, Tusaki still had a great sense of humour and a specific niceness around his demeanour. It was really nice to know that he was still himself even when he was getting older. He then waved goodbye to Shuichi and left the apartment.

"What just happened?" Shuichi murmured to himself.

Shuichi stood around for a couple of minutes before checking his watch and seeing the time... "Shit..." Shuichi murmured as he dashed out the door. 

It wasn't until he had gone out of the building that he remembered that he had left the door open. Dammit. He ran back to the open door and swiftly closed it then locked it. 

"You're late.." The two female police officers flirted, "Did someone keep you up?"

Shuichi had indeed arrived 20 minutes late but it was only his own time that he had wasted. He ignored them as usual and headed to his office. When he arrived, he slumped down at his desk and laid there for around 5 minutes before a voice piped up. "Sleeping? Really?" 

Shuichi shot up to see Maki in the doorway of his small office sector. She greeted him with a sincere smile then hoped for him to invite her in. 

"Oh Maki...sorry...come in.." Shuichi stuttered. 

Maki walked into the office then closed the door behind her. She then started to close all the blinds in the room, shielding the room from everyone else's views. When she had finished, she started to walk over to Shuichi slowly. Shuichi felt an obligation to stand up and face her. Maki came closer to Shuichi but she was so difficult to read, he couldn't tell what she was planning. 

Maki then ran towards Shuichi and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry.." Maki seemed to say with lots of emotion. Shuichi had never seen Maki so emotional before, it caught him off guard. 

"Don't worry about it, it's alright... seriously." Shuichi hugged back. 

Maki hugged him for a few minutes before letting him go and dusting herself down. She then realised what Shuichi was wearing. "Why are you wearing that?" Maki questioned. 

"Oh umm...I just felt like I needed to confront some old demons.." Shuichi replied, smiling.

"Why're you so okay with me all of a sudden?" Maki asked slightly awkwardly.

Shuichi sighed. "Well..I just think that you're my friend and I overreacted...I just wasn't in a good place when you first talked to me." 

Maki smiled, laughing slightly. Shuichi hadn't seen Maki smile in a long time but it felt like forever. 

"You found Kokichi yet?" Maki sighed, afraid of the answer, "If you haven't, it's okay, just stay strong." 

"He kind of found me..." 

Maki froze. "He's back..." 

"HE'S BACK! OH MY GOD SHUICHI THATS AMAZING!!" Maki shouted, full of excitement. 

Shuichi laughed. Maki's excitement was hilarious to him as he knew how much Maki hated Kokichi or used to hate him at least. The fact that she was excited that he was back just defied everything he knew and Shuichi couldn't stop laughing. 

"Stop that. It's....irritating." Maki rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Stop laughing?" Shuichi smiled, still giggling slightly. 

"Yes, exactly." Maki moaned. 

Shuichi laughed for a couple more minutes then managed to get himself together. "Wait...Maki." Shuichi queried.

"Yes?" 

"No offence but why are you here?" 

Maki chuckled slightly then tensed up slightly. "Okay, here goes..I'm going to say this really quickly because it's going to be really awkward afterwards and I need to get it over with."  

Shuichi smirked at Maki, he knew that Maki got awkward about lots of situations and especially about relationships.. 

"I want to ask Kaito out." Maki exclaimed quickly before walking swiftly the other side of the room away from Shuichi as quickly as she could. Maki then rested her head against the wall and waited for Shuichi's reply. 

"Kaito actually texted me earlier saying that he was heading over..." Shuichi said nervously, "He's going to be here any minute now..." 

"No,no,no,no,no.no.no.no.no.no.no..." Maki panicked.

Then, due to Kaito's perfect timing, he appeared in the doorframe. "Hey Shuichi! What's up?!" 

"Crap,crap,crap,crap."  Maki frantically thought to herself.