Chapter Text
Gonta Gokuhara was a child prodigy.
He learned quickly and precisely. He memorized details and facts with ease. He took in years of studies and lessons within a fraction of the time it would take the average person. By every sense of the human word, he was a genius.
Yet, everyone treated him like a fool.
His upbringing was unique in that Gonta practically raised himself in the wilderness. He discovered what plants were edible, hunted for his own food, and grew stronger with each passing day. He was in the wilderness for ten years all by himself before he was discovered again by his family. At first, they were kind to him—but quickly, things devolved into them scolding him for his existence as a "wild child" and his "inappropriate behavior," causing tension between Gonta and the Gokuharas.
Yes, Gonta was different than the Gokuharas. He wasn't "proper," wasn't "tame," nor did he want to be. He didn't enjoy the lessons his parents forced him to take, the language they forced him to relearn, the absolutely unnecessary human social system that defied everything he had learned all on his own… No, nothing about Gonta was the same as the rest of his family. He was a genius, but they treated him like a wild animal.
He was only a Gokuhara in name, and nothing more.
Eventually, trying to correct his family and their rich friends became too much of a hassle for him. If they were going to treat him like a dumb ape anyway, he might as well act the part.
And act the part he did.
Slowly, he started using more direct and simple language. Started to pretend to fall behind in his studies, pretended to be bad at his lessons. Somehow, everyone believed him without a second thought—assuming that his previous accomplishments were all flukes, good luck, or somehow cheating the system.
It baffled Gonta how easily they believed the lies.
So he started experimenting more with lies. He started telling little lies at first, like releasing a bug into his mother's room and insisting he had no idea how it got there. Then he started to escalate the concept of "lying" further and further, until he was telling the lie that he was raised by wolves in a nation where wolves had gone completely extinct.
It was astounding how easy it was to lie and get away with it when everyone thought you were a dumb child who was too pure to even attempt to lie.
Lying became second nature to Gonta, and he could lie just as easily as he could breathe. The lies he told were fun and outrageous, and yet, no one ever questioned him. It was almost funny how easy it was to fool the other humans around him.
But then, Gonta was kidnapped.
The area was large, but structured like a bird cage—eerily similar to one his parents kept a pair of songbirds in, actually. He would often look at those birds and wonder if being hunted would have been a better fate for them, and he was sorely tempted to give them that fate a few times… but now? Now he was the one in a bird cage.
And he wasn't alone.
Several other high school students were in the cage with him, all of them just as lost and confused as the last. They would often come up to him with hesitation, ask him some questions, and then leave. Every so often, Gonta would be able to tell them his funny little lie about being raised by wolves, and they too would be foolish enough to believe him.
"Ah, yes—I was raised by wolves," he lied once again. "They are my forest family, and I want to become a gentleman for them!"
The logic never made sense, but humans were so, so stupid. They believed anything they heard if it sounded "genuine" enough. Gonta quickly picked up on the vocal tones one might describe as "genuine" and imitated them perfectly. All the humans he met would answer with astonishment and amazement, never questioning him once.
That was, until someone did question him.
"So… you gonna tell me the truth now, or are you gonna commit to the bit?"
Gonta could hardly believe his ears. The person who he had already dismissed as another one of those stupid, arrogant humans had spoken in a flat, monotone voice that made his heart skip a beat.
"Um…?" Gonta started, morphing his "surprise" into "confusion" with ease. "I'm sorry, I do not understand—"
"Man, you're pretty good at lying," the boy interrupted him. It baffled Gonta as well, since that was one of the strict "human" rules he had been previously forced to follow: never interrupt someone, no matter how quickly you've finished their sentence in your head. "I bet everyone else believes you about the whole 'raised by wolves' thing! I'm jelly, I wish I could lie that good!"
Gonta struggled to hide his bewilderment and surprise. Not only had this boy broken a very important human social rule, but he was also implying that a human taboo was… desirable? "Umm…"
"Well, don't worry! I don't plan on telling anyone your secret!" The boy chirped as he linked his fingers behind his head, grinning ear to ear. "It's not like anyone would believe me anyway—I'm also a liar, but even when I'm telling the truth, very few people actually believe me…"
The boy quickly turned around. "Welp, I'm gonna go look around—catch you later, wolf boy!"
Gonta felt his heart stop for a moment, his mind racing. Then, almost impulsively, he called out, "Ah, wait! I do not understand what you are saying, but… what was your name, again?"
The boy stopped in his tracks and spun around, a practiced smile plastered onto his face.
"Boy, you really are going to stick to that story, aren't you?" he grinned. "You're not gonna fool me so easily!"
"But—"
"Anyway, you wanna know my name?" he interrupted again. "Well, okay! Since you're very interesting, I'll tell you!" The boy's grin grew wider. "It's Ouma Kokichi."
The boy—Kokichi—didn't give him much time to react before he was spinning right back around and running away, faster than Gonta had seen any average human run. He could probably catch him if he chose to, but…
"Ouma… Kokichi."
The name rolled off of his tongue in the same way any human name did. It felt unnatural, harsh, and even a little grating on the ears. Yet unlike most of the human names he barely remembered, this one echoed in his mind.
Ouma Kokichi. The boy who didn't believe his stupid, outrageous lie.
Ouma Kokichi. Ouma Kokichi. Ouma Kokichi.
The name became an obsessive mantra in his head, one that nearly drowned out all of Gonta's other thoughts. He stood there, probably with a dumbfounded expression, just staring at the spot where he last saw Kokichi's grinning face.
Ouma Kokichi. Ouma Kokichi. Ouma Kokichi.
Gonta slowly turned back around, his own expression blank, as he started walking in the opposite direction. His heart was was pounding like he was running.
He would have to make sure to find that boy again later.