BREAKING NEWS - MISSING WITCH RETURNED HOME UNHARMED AS SEARCH FOR CRUMP CONTINUES
12 January 1983
KINTBURY, BERKSHIRE - The Flint family are overjoyed today as their missing daughter returns home. Twenty-six-year-old Rosalie Flint disappeared after attending the annual Yule Ball festivities held at The Crystal Pavilion on Friday 24th December, an eye witness recalled seeing Miss Flint leave the ballroom floor with an unidentified man before vanishing without a trace. Her mother Lotte Flint reported her daughter missing on Saturday 25th December after Miss Flint failed to return home in the early hours as was expected. Her return concludes a nineteen day search for the missing witch. The Flint family have been very vocal about the disappearance of their youngest daughter, inviting media into their homes to discuss Miss Flint and drum up support from the public to help find their missing daughter. Miss Flint’s brother Decius Flint, 30, has been one of the lead voices in the search for his sister, handing out fliers around the country and speaking publicly until she was found this morning. “We’re so overjoyed she’s home,” Mr Flint told The Daily Prophet. “We are never letting Rosalie out of our sight ever again, she is truly so special to us all,” Mr Flint continued. “My sister and I are incredibly close, I don’t know what I would do without her.”
Miss Flint’s disappearance remains puzzling for the Ministry. According to a source in The Department of Magical Law Enforcement who wishes to remain anonymous, Miss Flint was found in her bed in the early hours of Tuesday morning with no idea how long she had been missing. “It’s all a bit strange if you ask me,” our source told The Daily Prophet. “I think she must have been knocked out or something, stinks of that Silas Crump. In the current climate she’s lucky to be alive.” Despite our insider believing notorious werewolf Silas Crump, 38, is to blame for the disappearance of Miss Flint, the Ministry are not prepared to comment further on if they believe Mr Crump snatched away Miss Flint over two weeks ago. “We are so pleased Miss Flint has returned home to her family safely,” Head of The Auror’s Office, Alicia Avery-Jones said today in a statement to the press. “The Ministry are doing all that we can to keep the British wizarding public safe but we are asking everyone to remain on guard and stay alert. We have our most esteemed Aurors working on the Crump case and can confirm he will not remain at large for much longer. The Ministry, Wizarding Britain and it’s leadership remains safe and stable.”
The Daily Prophet requested further information on the Crump case including if the Ministry had any further leads or had located the whereabouts of the Minister’s eldest son Harrison Bagnold, 32, who has not been seen since Miss Flint went missing. Representatives for Mrs Avery-Jones and Minster for Magic Millicent Bagnold declined to comment.
((Thank you all for your likes and your reblogs. Your support means the world to me. Thank you to @sinfulwonders for betaing this mess of a chapter. I do apologize that it took so long to come out.))
Rated: M
Summary: Amateur Detective Shuichi Saihara knew that searching for the "Usual 16" wasn't going to get him anywhere. The disappearances weren't being tracked in any news outlet, and very few families even tried to come forward to ask for help, let alone to report them missing. Yet, Shuichi can't shake off the feeling that there's a reason behind the disappearances, and he's close to the answer.
He just didn't realize that the answer was going to hit close to home, in more ways than one.
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Both Shuichi and Kokichi stared perturbed as they watched the hand slowly fade out from existence. Neither of them moved, or breathed. Shuichi could feel the cold sweat break out on his forehead and on his neck, his hand gripping onto Kokichi’s hand tightly enough to break fingers or bone. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the screen. He watched as all the other players were frozen solid with the same expression painted on their faces. Thoroughly terrorized and silently crying as they realized what their fate could be. A killing game. Until now, until seeing that, Shuichi didn’t realize the gravity of the situation. He knew that time was against them, he knew that the votes counted. He knew tha the motives and the murder were all part of it...but seeing it come to life. Knowing that this was the end for someone who decided to try to get out…
Shuichi felt his throat go dry and everything felt too real and not enough. He felt Kokichi try to dislodge his hand from his and he realized that he was making it harder for Kokichi to escape. He quietly detangled his fingers from his boyfriend’s and watched as Kokichi left his room. He didn’t doubt Kokichi was going to go to the restroom and empty out his stomach. It was a brutal execution. It was…
There were really no words for what this was. Shuichi numbly shut the laptop’s cover and placed it underneath his bed, as though hiding it from view would make what he saw disappear from his mind. The room was spinning and blurring in and out of his vision and Shuichi reached up to rub his eyes of the tears that were starting to fall down his cheeks. His shoulders hitched and his stomach dropped another rock into the bottomless pit of anxiety and depression. He curled in on himself, unable to stop the tears or the sobs that flowed. He was scared. He was terrified. He didn’t realize, he didn’t think about how far Danganronpa was willing to go for excitement, for entertainment. He wanted to be sick, he wanted to scream.
A murder was a mercy in that game, Shuichi was starting to realize numbly. It was a horrible, terrible mercy. Mercy wasn’t supposed to look like violence. A mercy killing usually was quicker, painless. Like knocking someone out with the gas and trying their hardest to slit their throat, despite knowing that it wasn’t going to work.
The execution wasn’t a mercy. It was torture. It is a punishment, just like Monokuma called it. Just like he had warned everyone ahead of time. Get caught, and it wasn’t a fast death. It wasn’t anything that the students could come up with on their own.
Shuichi felt something tug at him, reminding him that maybe he should check in on Kokichi. He watched it too. He was suffering by himself, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t find any reason to move. His body continued to shake and he continued to cry and his thoughts were just spinning over the same scene again, and again, and again. Stuck on an endless loop. A repeat. It was probably a mercy that Danganronpa muted the screams of the tortured.
The door creaked open and Shuichi used what little energy that he had to look up from his knees to see Kokichi coming back. The shadows of Shuichi’s room gave Kokichi’s face a darkened mask. His eyes were clear of haze or any type of emotion, a facade that wasn’t well fitted around his face yet. He quietly got back into the bed, snuggling as close as he possibly could to Shuichi. He leaned his head against his shoulder and mindlessly started to rub circles into his back and shoulders, and then letting his hand trail up to massage the side of Shuichi’s neck. Shuichi could feel how swollen his neck felt from the lingering touch, and he melted into the embrace as though he were a puddle, trying to gather as much warmth and comfort as he could from his boyfriend. He also reached, and gripped onto Kokichi’s arm, reaching for any little hug that he could give.
Neither of them broke the silence that covered them like a weighted blanket. It was hard to find a way to shift around the smothering tension. Shuichi wanted to break the silence and wanted his brain to stop looping Yadori’s skating.
The bears and how they skated, skated, skated.
How she slipped and fell.
How Monokuma prepared for that, using it as a way to turn the thermostat up.
Her falling into the melted ice.
Her being unable to reach the surface because of the weight of her skates, and being froze over.
Her drowning underneath the surface as-
“Stop.” Kokichi whispered and the thoughts quieted just a little. He could feel it in the background noise in the back of his head, but there was a more present sound that he could hear. He could feel Kokichi adjust his hold and Shuichi caught his scent, breathing in soft as he let it relax him just a little. “Breathe with me, beloved.”
Shuichi knew he was hyperventilating but he couldn’t stop the train now that it was going. His chest and shoulders ached. Everything felt too close and real, and too far away and fake. There were black spots that were just at the edge of his sight, and he could only assume it was from the panic and not from the silhouettes clamoring for his attention. He could hear Kokichi breathing, loud and steady. He tried to follow the pattern, but it was...it was a lot. Everything was a lot. It took a few tries, but soon enough they were breathing in and out the same song and Shuichi let it lull him into a state of wanting to fall asleep, and being wide awake.
“Let’s try to sleep.” Kokichi’s voice was still ever so quiet against the thick blanket of doubt and fear. Shuichi held onto it as though it was the only way out of the darkness that was his thoughts, that was reality. The boys maneuvered themselves so that they were lying down, and Kokichi reached over and turned the light off.
Neither of them dared to close their eyes, but neither of them were willing to break the silence again.
X
When morning broke, Shuichi wasn’t sure if he had been chasing Kokichi through more rooftops that he thought was possible, or if Honor got a little too over-excited about teaching Shuichi how to defend himself. His stomach felt punched. His eyes were irritated and itchy, not enough rubbing in the world soothed the pain and only made the swollen skin worse. His body complained and cried out, remembering that he spent all night in an anxiety attack that just wouldn’t fade. Nothing about the morning felt inviting. He knew for a fact that school was a far away option right now, and he knew that Kokichi was probably feeling the same. He could smell breakfast cooking, but instead of feeling his stomach wake up to hunger, it twisted painfully and reminded him that food was probably not the best idea at the moment. He rolled over to his side and saw that Kokichi was lying on his back, absently staring up at the ceiling, his arms crossed under his head.
Telling him good morning felt like a joke. It tasted like salt and sand in his mouth. Shuichi swallowed it back and decided not to. Instead he reached over and gently tapped on Kokichi’s stomach. Three small, lingering taps. Kokichi didn’t startle, nor was he fazed when he looked over at him. His eyes were as bloodshot as Shuichi’s felt. How long had he stayed up with his own tears and demons? It made Shuichi twist in distress. Neither of them had words.
What they saw felt like a nightmare, a bad dream that could rival someone's sleep paralysis for a month. Shuichi could still see bright blood underneath a layer of ice and a hand banging against it, pleading for mercy. Pleading for help.
He tried to shove it all to the side. To later sort through it. He couldn’t afford to skip class again, and he didn’t want to rely on Kokichi either. They both had universities that they wanted to get into, if they could. Well, Shuichi did. Kokichi was...very much someone that lived on the edge. Whether or not he was going to go to college was just as up in the air as what dinner plans might be tonight. Never known until the last minute or so.
Shuichi could barely taste the food that he was eating, let alone keeping track of grabbing his things. Nothing felt real. He wasn’t sure the room he was in was real. He wasn’t sure if he was in or out of his body. Shuichi’s gaze went from trying to get his things together, to the backpack that was still on his chair. His gut twisted uncomfortably. He needed to text his uncle about that. He should have done it yesterday, but had gotten distracted instead. He knew that going to class was important, he knew that he needed to get the grades. He could drop the backpack off afterwards, but…
Time wasn’t a luxury they could afford anymore. Shuichi knew the game would continue to roll now that someone had been brave enough to shed first blood. He abandoned his backpack in favor of grabbing Aki’s. Kokichi had already left. They went their separate ways to school anyway, and even though Shuichi tried to walk him as far as he could, Kokichi knew that he didn’t like to feel late to anything, and tended to leave anyway.
He picked up her bag, feeling it’s weight in his hands. Shuichi wondered how much this was going to help, and how much of this was just going to hinder the investigation. Shuichi wasn’t sure if his uncle was aware of how Danganronpa worked, and since he was voting and actively a part of the chat logs, Shuichi knew that he was guilty by association.
Being a detective was going to be a far off dream if he got caught, or if someone figured out that Shuichi was a part of the game. Shuichi loved his job but….
It wasn’t worth the secrecy. Shuichi shifted the bag onto his shoulders and decided to go to his uncle’s agency. He could feel the cold sweat against his skin as he headed outside, but there wasn’t time for take backs or second guesses.
Two deaths were enough. Two deaths were too much in Shuichi’s mind. He should’ve been faster. Not that it would do anything. If all of his theories were true, and Danganronpa really did have a hand in the government or in the police force, then there was a good chance that all of the evidence that Shuichi collected thus far was just collecting dust on someone else’s desk.
Even if it was unethical to do their own search for their own family member, Shuichi couldn’t scramble up a good reason to hand it off to someone else.
X
The detective agency was a hole in the wall building that was squished in between two large office buildings that were imposing and harsh. As many people walked by, barely anyone took a good look at the building. His uncle had a superstition that they shouldn’t be found until someone absolutely needed them, and the statement was accurate. More times than Shuichi could count when he was a child, did a woman or a man walk into the agency, never knowing that it had been there for years, requesting a case or a missing person’s file or something. Most of the time it was adultery cases, and most of the time were easy to solve.
It was easy money, but it was also a challenge. The name Saihara threw weight around, but it also threw grudges. It made Shuichi wonder if Danganronpa held such a grudge. He honestly couldn’t see why. He was the only one working on the Usual 16 and wasn’t getting anywhere at the time.
He opened the door and blinked at the disarray of the office. Ando-kohai was standing by the door with a steaming cup in his hands. His tie was loose around his neck and he looked flushed and overheated. The A/C was humming loudly in the background and there were plenty of papers and files that were scattered on the floor, covering the dark brown wood like an area rug and taped onto the white walls. No strings yet, which was a good thing. If the strings came out, Shuichi would have to worry if the old method of fanning things out and using the computer for visual aid wasn’t doing enough.
Ando looked and Shuichi could count new wrinkles that lined his normally youthful expression. There was also a line of grey that was starting to streak through his hair prematurely. There was a twitch to his fingers and Shuichi had a feeling that Ando was going to wind up in the hospital from a heart attack or worse. “Hey Shuichi-kun, shouldn’t you be in school?”
“Ah um...I wanted to talk to my uncle for a bit but uh…” Shuichi glanced to see that his uncle was currently sitting in the middle of this mess. Both office desks were shoved up against the wall and the chairs were stacked precariously against each other. Shuichi had no doubt that it would take one firm slam of the door for both chairs to crash down. The window blinds were open and the sun glared off of the white paper like snow.
His uncle, meanwhile, was staring at the mess as though it was a large jigsaw puzzle that needed to be put together. Shuichi wasn’t sure on how to begin a pathway to his uncle. There was literally no room to step, let alone disturb the papers. Deciding on a different method, Shuichi reached down and tugged off his shoes so that they wouldn’t get marks on the paper, and carefully made his way towards his uncle, trying to mindfully step where he thought he could.
“Please make a walkway.” Shuichi pleaded when he finally got to his uncle’s side.
“Shhh.” Koji murmured softly. “I think I almost understand this. Maybe.”
Shuichi looked down and tried to make heads or tails of what he was seeing that would cause an explosion of paper. From what he was seeing, it was all the suspect lists that Shuichi had made for the Usual 16, and all of the papers that they were in. He caught sight of the bird sanctuary that Kokai had founded and was a part of, as well as Chatani’s award for her manga that she penned.
“He’s been at this for hours now, and he said that fifteen minutes ago.” Ando said helpfully from the door. “I got placed over here for being a distraction.”
“You are!” Koji gave Ando a look. “Your theory makes no more sense than pigs flying.”
“What theory?” Shuichi asked, his finger curling against his chin.
“My theory was that these kids all were part of something huge. You know, like the awards and making records, being on Broadway, the works.” Ando explained and Shuichi could follow along that logic. “But with Aki-chan not having that type of exposure, I thought that maybe it was a grudge.”
“But why would Danganronpa have a grudge against you?” Shuichi’s mind was already spinning. Could that really be the case? If so then...was Akamatsu the performer that collapsed the same day of the Smash Tournament? Then where did Aki go that day? Busking? Did someone scout her just by watching her on the street?
The air went still and Koji’s head whipped around to face him. Shuichi felt a little shocked at the expression that shadowed over Koji’s face. He had never seen him so angry before. No, this wasn’t anger. There was a lot more behind the heat. However, Shuichi couldn’t focus on that, already tugging on his hat to try to avoid the confrontation that was going to happen anyway.
“I know that you got an email from them.” Koji said slowly, carefully. “But what made you connect these 16 kids to that?”
Shuichi took a breath. “I uh...I saved the link.”
“Oh kid, no.” Ando whispered from his spot.
Koji closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “What did you see?”
“The 16 that you’re trying to find. All of that that I gave you? Or sent to you? They’re all in a game called Danganronpa. It’s...it’s a killing game.” Shuichi adjusted his hat, trying to keep his gaze low. “Kokichi-kun and I...we watch it. Aki-chan is in it. She lost her memory. She’s going by Mayumi-chan.” Taking the opening for what it was, Shuichi carefully removed the bag from his shoulders. “Aki-chan knew that she was being followed. She left behind this and a charm bracelet. I have pictures of the crime scene.”
“Why didn’t the police grab it?” Ando mused. “If it was left out in the open like that, someone would have had to report it.”
“Aki-chan shoved her backpack behind the dumpster, unless someone was actively looking for it they wouldn’t have found it. Her charm bracelet was broken.” Shuichi swallowed. “She...either didn’t tell Danganronpa her name and they’re going with the flow of it, or they know exactly who she is, and they’re still going with the flow because she’s not opening her mouth to say who she is. Regardless, Danganronpa relies on the students to lose their memory so that it can be manipulated somehow. As far as I’m aware, Aki-chan -no- Mayumi-chan, has literally nothing to her name.”
“No memory,” Koji mused thoughtfully. “Manipulated into something that they want instead.” He covered his mouth with his hand, looking at the files. “But why these kids?”
“There’s a gimmick that they use called “Ultimates”. Whatever they’re talented for, or known for, that’s what they’re going to use.” Shuichi felt his heart race against his chest, and he felt dizzy. He should’ve eaten more, or he should’ve just called it a day and stayed in bed. He still could… “They force these kids to kill each other. There’s...there’s already been a couple of deaths.”
“Oh fuck.” Ando hissed and Koji bowed his head. “Saihara-kun, who were the two deaths?”
“Chatani-san and Yadori-san. They’re known as the Ultimate Mangaka and Figure Skater.” Shuichi said and Koji immediately started shuffling papers around.
“What was their motive?” Koji asked.
“Um...it was supposed to be a way to get their memory back but it escalated into Yadori-san thinking that she had to protect her classmates from Chatani. I think Chatani was just trying to keep herself armed and ready for an attack on her.” Shuichi explained. “I...don’t know much after that. They stopped recording after showing the execution.”
“......I feel like that only leads to more questions.” Koji sighed, running a hand across his face. “Sixteen…” He mused thoughtfully as he looked at the papers before him. Shuichi could swear he could see gears turning around his head. “And they picked Aki. Why? If anyone made papers, it would’ve been you, Shuichi-kun.”
“It goes with my theory though doesn’t it?” Ando pointed out helpfully, “Aki-chan was the bait.”
Koji seemed to be deep in thought for a moment before a lightbulb went off in his head. “I wonder if it had something to do with the Kamukura technology custody battle that happened a year ago.”
Ando made a soft noise, “Keiko-chan certainly tore them down didn’t she?”
“I’m wondering now if Jabberwock had an inkling this was happening, and that’s why they suddenly started clamoring for their technology back. It was meant to be used in a virtual therapy world so that people could recover from trauma.” Koji mused. “I wonder if that technology and Danganronpa have something in common, but I’m not sure. It wasn’t on a lease or anything...so perhaps it was stolen and recently resurfaced? I’ll have to see what the details are from her.”
The back and forth of the conversation left Shuichi feeling as though he didn’t have all the cards in his hands. Jabberwock? Kamukura technology? Just what did those two things have to do with Danganronpa? He didn’t remember his aunt taking on a case like that, but then again...Shuichi didn’t usually pay attention to his aunt’s cases. It was less about puzzle solving, and more about having the better argument. “Unless Jabberwock gave that technology over fifty years ago I doubt it.” Shuichi frowned, he wasn’t sure anymore what sort of wavelength was trying to get on. “This is their fifty-second season of doing this.”
“That can’t be right can it? Fifty years?” Ando spluttered. “That’s before the-”
“We’re looking at fifteen years max.” Koji cut through. “But I honestly doubt that Jabberwock would leave their technology behind like that. I think that there’s something more that’s happening. Five years is my max. I’m willing to gamble that it’s been closer to three.”
“Keiko-chan should know when the technology was brought over…” Ando mused. “That should give us a relative timeline, right?”
“If I can get her to fork over the papers, we might get somewhere. But then if that’s the case, then...why didn’t they pick Keiko-chan or myself?”
“You’re not a kid.” Ando waved it off. “Sounds like to me this Danganronpa group has a niche. I mean who's going to be horrified at an adult doing a murder spree? A teenager forced to kill another kid sounds much more terrifying.”
Shuichi thought about Chatani’s slit throat and how Yadori tried to make it as painless as she possibly could. He thought about the blood water. His stomach twisted and looked away, feeling nauseous and ill. Kids killing kids would make for a more entertaining show, wouldn’t it? Adults killed each other all the time, doing the littlest, reckless thing. “They want to make a statement.” Shuichi said, “Either that or they’re testing something, but I just don’t know what either of those could be.”
“You shouldn’t be watching.” Ando paused. “Um...that actually makes me want to ask...why did the invitation get sent to you, Saihara-kun? Instead of Saihara-senpai?”
“I feel as though that was a deliberate choice.” Koji mused. “Make the adults fret and wonder and perhaps they thought we wouldn’t believe Shuichi-kun or Ouma-kun for coming forward about it.”
“I also think it has something to do with my other theory.” Shuichi tugged his hat. “...What are you doing with the evidence, Uncle?”
“When I think I have something, I send it to my colleagues that are in the police force who have a criminal detective on board, why do you ask?”
“I think you might want to change tactics. Danganronpa has a hand in the police force. Why else can sixteen kids go missing without so much of a warning? Especially when they made local papers?” Shuichi pointed out.
The silence was deafening and Shuichi let out a low breath. Koji let out a low breath. “I hate calling in favors.”
Shuichi felt lost, but Ando looked over at the phone. “She’s gonna yell at you, or she’s gonna tell you told you so.”
“Her and Keiko-chan are going to say something.” Koji sighed. “Shuichi-kun...you should go to school. I...have to think.”
Understanding that his presence wasn’t needed anymore, Shuichi nodded. “I’ll see you soon Uncle.” He promised before running out of the building.
X
A bento was gently set before Shuichi and he looked up to see Takahashi was sitting across from him. Shuichi dealt with the anxiety of being at school late. Thankfully his teacher was understanding that he was trying to recover from a missing person’s case and decided to let him off the hook, but Shuichi wasn’ relying on that to happen every time.
Takahashi didn’t say anything as he opened his own bento. Shuichi knew that he shouldn’t feel surprised. Takahashi occasionally brought an extra lunch. Whether he had a knack of intuition that told him if Shuichi forgot his, or if it was just because he was waiting to share it with someone that needed the food, Shuichi never had the heart to ask. He knew that there was no way to refuse it too. The last time he tried didn’t end well, and he knew that Takahashi never meant any insult.
“Thanks.” Shuichi doubted that the bento would taste like anything. He barely could remember breakfast and school was dragging along at snail's pace and his energy levels were about in the negatives. Too many people staring, too many questions buzzing, everything just felt like it was too much and too loud. He pulled the bento apart and he was greeted with an array of colorful food and rice. “Thank you for the meal.”
“It’s really nothing.” Takahashi responded as he took his apart as well, showing the same arrangement. “Did something happen last night?”
Shuichi blinked, “Why specifically last night?”
“You were with us the other night and you seemed okay...I mean...as okay as you can be.” Takahashi clarified. “Last night...something must’ve happened. Ouma-kun made us worried with his messages in the D.I.C.E text group. He just said to be kind to you is all.”
“O-oh.” Shuichi looked away. “It’s nothing.”
“I won’t pry, this isn’t pancake night.” Takahashi promised. “Just...I’m here if you ever want to talk.”
God how to explain the craziness that was his life? Shuichi gently nudged his chopsticks against a sausage roll and watched it shift back and forth in place as he tried to gather his thoughts. His stomach grumbled, irritated that he was barely eating anything. Yet when he placed the food in his mouth, he barely could taste the flavor. His stomach whimpered, as though begging to change his mind, but Shuichi knew he needed to eat...even if he didn’t feel like it was a good idea.
He couldn’t talk about the case, that was confidential and he wasn’t sure how much he should be able to share. Now that he...thought about it...Shuichi looked over at Takahashi who was calmly eating, not breaking the silence between them for any superficial reasons. “Takahashi-kun?”
“Hm?”
“Who...was Aki-chan to you?”
“Did Ouma-kun put you up to that question?” Takahashi teased as Shuichi raised his hands up defensively. “I’m kidding. He’s been bugging me about that too. I mostly ignore him, he blows up my phone and then probably comes crying to you about it.”
That must’ve been half of the time Kokichi only vaguely said that D.I.C.E was bullying him. Shuichi shook his head. “I was just...trying to figure something out.”
“She’s a good friend.” Takahashi said simply, “and like I told her...I’m not really looking for a relationship.”
“You told her that?”
“She confessed not too long before this happened,” Takahashi pursed his lips together. “I didn’t say anything to anyone about it because I didn’t want to look as though I had something to do with it. Before I realized it was a kidnapping, I legitimately thought she took my words to heart and decided to do what she wanted to do for graduation.”
“To...what?” Shuichi blinked.
“To see Japan for what it was worth without anyone to hold her back. Not that she thought you or her family were hindrances. I think she just….wanted to be someone that could be free for a little while. Not worry about the Saihara name...and all that comes with it.” Takahashi shrugged. “You know, just a couple of days ago, Ouma-kun asked me what I’d do if I found out Saihara-san lost her memory.”
“Ouma-kun doesn’t hold back his questions, does he?” That was...a little harsh.
“I didn’t mind it. He knew that I already lost someone to memory loss once, so…” Takahashi nonchalantly took another bite of his food. “I suppose this time I came prepared. I mean, Saihara-san is still a treasured friend. She’s been good to us, good to Ouma-kun. You both have been. To abandon her when she can’t remember us is...well...expected if we don’t adjust. My grammy lost her memory. It was...rough. My parents thought she was selfish for forgetting them, for forgetting me, but...at the end of the day I think maybe I was the selfish one instead.”
Shuichi could only tilt his head in confusion, waiting.
“I stopped thinking of her as grammy and started to learn about her as Mei.” Takahashi replied. “I learned that her favorite color was purple, and she liked having the blinds up because the sunlight hit just right and made her room look bright and cheerful. She liked porcelain tea sets more than cast iron because it’s prettier and more welcoming. Cast iron was more for businesses and for formal tea ceremonies.” He looked up at Shuichi, chopsticks hanging slightly from his fingers. “My grammy hated having the blinds up, she thought that’s where all the dust came from and didn’t help matters. Grammy was also very strict. She was the type that was always after me for my grades. She was kind of disappointed that I decided on this high school when I took my entrance exams.”
He wasn’t lying about anything that he was saying, but he also wasn’t in any sort of distress talking about it. It was though he was talking about the weather. Shuichi wondered if that meant he was good at hiding that his question bothered him, or if it meant that this was...something that happened a long time ago and was easy to talk about now.
“So in short, I would start from square one and build back up again. Maybe that means we’re friends. Maybe we’ll want nothing to do with each other. Maybe the pain will be too much for me this time, and I’ll have to say goodbye. Maybe she will.” Takahashi shrugged, going back to eating. “There’s really no telling how that’d go until it actually happens. But it’ll be harder for you, because of all the little things you two would have between each other. The inside jokes, what annoys her, the small things you guys used to do for fun. It all can be so drastically different and you’ll hate it. You’ll get frustrated. She’ll get frustrated. She’ll get upset. Just...start from square one. All of you started like that at one point in your life.”
“You make it sound easy.” Shuichi was a little...in awe of him. “When...did all of this happen?”
“Two years ago. It’ll be the third year come Christmas.” Takahashi replied simply. “It sucks my present was a dead grammy and a friend but...well...both Mei and grammy liked Christmas so...they had something in common at least. It wasn’t easy. Believe me, it sounds easy but it’s really hard. You want to compare and contrast. You want to dig and try to find just a little something that means she’s not completely gone or completely disappeared.” He looked at Shuichi. “Don’t. It’s not worth the torment. Again easier said than done, but...you’d thank yourself for it later.”
“Right...I am sorry for your loss.” Shuichi murmured.
“I’m not.” Takahashi smiled lightly. “Who ever said death was the ending to life anyway? It doesn’t make sense when you think about it.”
Shuichi wasn’t sure if he could share that sentiment, but he was grateful for the optimism all at the same time. He just wished that he could follow that advice, come whatever ending was to come.
((Thank you so much @sinfulwonders for betaing this chapter for me. You’re always so kind. Also thank you all for the reblogs and for the likes. Just a heads up, not only is this chapter long, but it does contain two deaths that may be disturbing to you. Please be advised.))
Rating: M (Violence)
Summary: Amateur Detective Shuichi Saihara knew that searching for the "Usual 16" wasn't going to get him anywhere. The disappearances weren't being tracked in any news outlet, and very few families even tried to come forward to ask for help, let alone to report them missing. Yet, Shuichi can't shake off the feeling that there's a reason behind the disappearances, and he's close to the answer. He just didn't realize that the answer was going to hit close to home, in more ways than one.
Previous Next
You can read this underneath the cut or at my A03
Shuichi knew that the tranquility wasn’t going to last, but he did his best to milk it anyway. He let Kokichi drag him out of the house, in clothes that would make anyone do a double-take. They hung at the ice cream parlor for a little bit, Kokichi smearing a bit of his ice cream on Shuichi's cheek when Shuichi sniped at him too much and didn’t let him get away with any of his lies. He let Kokichi sneak him into a movie theatre without paying, trying to ignore how his hands sweat with nerves and how his heart continued to pound and race even though he knew that there was little to no chance that they were going to be caught when the movie started. He let Kokichi drag him all over the city, trying to find an arcade that Trick wasn’t at so that they could have some fun.
Shuichi played Yu-Gi-Oh at home, and bartered with Kokichi to go up against him with Smash. Kokichi bantered with Koji, with Keiko, and tried to fill as much light and laughter in the living room as he possibly could. For the first time in a long time, Shuichi had forgotten about the case that he was working on.
It really didn’t surprise him when they were in his room, sitting on the floor, playing slap jack when his phone went off. It wasn’t just his phone either, Kokichi’s phone also went off at the same time. Both of them looked at each other and they both dived for their respective cellular devices. Shuichi half-expected it to be D.I.C.E. He thought that Shuffle might’ve already found a building to hop into, and was going to send the GPS coordinates with a “don’t be late”. He would’ve preferred it honestly to the Danganronpa email that was staring at his face. It’s Voting Time!!!!
Shuichi felt his stomach twist and the room spin uncomfortably. His throat squeezed tightly as he opened the email.
Pick a Death!
Falling?
Drowning?
It was...vague. Shuichi pursed his lips together as he read the question again. Both of them sounded painful, and neither of them sounded quick. Shuichi could imagine the fear and panic from both of the deaths. He knew from his time at the agency that both of those were common suicides. Most of the time those who decided to jump usually picked to jump into rivers, or off of buildings so that there was little to no chance of second-guesses or take backs. The worst suicides were those who decided that it was best to jump in front of a train. Plenty of people went into Aokiagahara Forest because it was quieter, secluded, and less people around to try to talk them out of it. Of course Shuichi knew there were people who constantly wandered the forest to see if they could offer their assistance, their shoulders and ears.
This didn’t sound like a suicide however. Shuichi was certain that the death was going to have to do with a murder of some sort. Falling would be the quickest, but the luring would be hard to do. That person would have to trust the other a lot, especially if they were being coaxed to the edge. Shuichi doubted anyone in that group could call themselves that close. Yuya might fall for it, because she was hyperactive and friendly. Shirogane might, just because she would want to fit in. If Aki wanted to exploit her friendship or if Kokai thought that he could kill Aki or Rantaro, he might be able to convince them to get close and personal with the edge of a building.
He was very certain that Oda would laugh in someone’s face if they tried. Everyone else was too paranoid and not willing to trust anyone with a ten foot pool.
That meant that the most likely way to die was to drown. Shuichi didn’t recall anyone mentioning a pool or a body of water that was nearby the school. The courtyard had a fountain, but...the water would be too shallow for a proper drowning. Shuichi pursed his lips together. It meant a stronger chance of survival. At the same time, Shuichi could easily be misjudging how deep the fountain was.
He didn’t want anyone to die. He didn’t want anyone to suffer. He looked over at Kokichi who was staring at his phone, his thumbnail being bitten between his teeth. His eyes were focused on the small screen, and his brows were furrowed. He was distressed and Shuichi worried for a moment that something happened at home. Kokichi’s parents rarely ever reached out to him in worry or in care. They pretended that he didn’t exist, and Kokichi...well...he tended to like the idea that he didn’t exist. It meant less problems for the three of them, even if Shuichi wished otherwise.
It didn’t mean that his parents didn’t surprise him. Sometimes, Shuichi knew that they’d reach out, only if they thought they could manipulate him to go back home for whatever reason. He sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case. He looked back at the email, and his heart stuttered. How was he going to watch this when Kokcihi was with him? He couldn’t. He couldn’t risk Kokichi looking at it either. No it was best to vote and it was best to delete the email. It was best to pretend that the episode wasn’t happening…
He wasn’t sure he could watch it, knowing that it could be Aki’s murder that he was actively voting for. He wasn’t sure he could watch it thinking that Aki actively murdered someone. He doubted both of those routes, but they were in a killing game. The two day deadline was up.
Someone was dead and he knew it.
Someone was going to pay for it, and he knew that too.
“Shuichi-chan?” Shuichi jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up, trying to hide his phone away from Kokichi’s gaze. He knew that outed him as suspicious immediately. Kokcihi’s gaze flicked, Shuichi wondered what exactly crossed his mind, before a smile played at his lips. “You spaced out there for a minute, beloved~. Did something happen?”
Shuichi had his suspicions on Loki being Kokichi, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to go down that rabbit hole yet. Especially since the voting was actively trying to goad people into picking someone’s demise. There was no right way to respond to the email. Someone was going to die in whatever the majority decided on, and as much as Shuichi loved and wanted to protect his cousin, he wasn’t sure he could vote for someone else’s death too.
Aki wouldn’t want him to. Shuichi knew that this could bite him in the ass later, but...Aki wouldn’t want him to vote. Not this. Motives? Probably a way to help. Murder? He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t find a reason. Danganronpa wanted him to be an accomplice. He wasn’t going to push someone into hell. He wasn’t going to do that to the victims or their families. With that firm resolve in mind, he gave Kokichi a slight smile. “Danganronpa.” He admitted. “It uh...it was a weird email.”
“I bet...you okay?” Kokcihi pursed his lips tightly. “What did they want?”
“Something I couldn’t give.” Shuichi wished that he had more confidence in his words. He knew that sounded shaky and false, even to him. “It’s okay. I just...it was...a lot.”
“Okay.” Kokichi murmured quietly. “Let’s forget about it for now then. Come on beloved!” He suddenly grabbed Shuichi’s arm and started to pull on him. “Let’s go annoy Keiko-chan in the kitchen.”
“She’s going to hit you with a spoon if you annoy her while she’s cooking, Kokichi-kun.” Shuichi admonished as he let himself be tugged out of his room and out towards the kitchen.
“Then it’s all in good fun!”
X
Later that night, Shuichi woke up. Being a light sleeper that he was, he was used to being woken up at strange times in the middle of the night. Sometimes, Aki couldn’t sleep and suddenly would start playing music as softly as she could in her room. Sometimes, Kokichi would have nights where he tossed and turned and would accidentally kick him awake. Sometimes, Shuichi’s brain just decided to randomly go on high alert and remind him that he was alone in his room and that for whatever reason something was amiss. Shuichi glanced over to the side to see if it was the Kokichi situation when he registered that the boy wasn’t even in his bed.
He reached over to the side and felt the sheets. They were slightly warm, which meant that Kokichi had left and his side was starting to become cold. He must’ve been up for a while. Shuichi carefully pushed himself up into a sitting position and reached over to his bedside table to turn the lap on. The room immediately flicked into soft yellows and irritated Shuichi’s eyes and head as he rubbed the sleep away from the corners of his eyes. Kokichi wasn’t anywhere in his room. Did he think he would be too much of a disturbance and decided to go out into the living room?
Shuichi looked over at his desk and noticed that his laptop was missing. Shuffle mentioned last night that Kokichi would take his laptop and would drag it down to the living room and watch it. Feeling as though he was about to step in on some private mystery, Shuichi walked out of his room with his heart pounding in his ears. This could be his chance to figure out once and for all if Kokichi actually watched the show. He had his suspicions, he had some of the evidence to back up his claims, but nothing would be as concrete as this. He kept his footsteps light and attentive, making sure to keep his back against the walls and keeping note where the shadows are. It was easy to slink into detective tracking mode, even in his own home.
He could strain to hear the little things that the house hid when no one was paying attention. Keiko was asleep down the hall. The small creaks and groans the house made as it settled down into the earth. The small noises that were made outside, the humming of faraway traffic. He noticed that the living room light was on. The table side of it anyway, since the glow didn’t reach too far towards the hallways or the kitchen. Shuichi peered over the corner, and saw Kokichi on the ground cross legged, his laptop up.
There was an investigation that was happening. Shuichi’s eyebrows furrowed as he decided to let his presence be known. “Danganronpa?”
Kokichi jumped six feet in the air and he scrambled to find some way to save his face, despite that there was no way he could recover from the jumpscare. “Shuichi-chan!” He hissed, pulling his headphones off. Shuichi hadn’t noticed that they were missing or that Kokichi was wearing them. He was still a little shell-shocked that Kokichi was watching the show. “What are you doing?” He whispered. “Go back to sleep, beloved. I’ll-”
“You watch Danganronpa.” It wasn’t meant to sound like an accusation. He didn’t want Kokichi to look at him like that. His neutral expression was just breaking enough that there was a hint of fear that was in his eyes. He was thinking that this was going to be a showdown of some sort. Shuichi didn’t want a fight. He didn’t want a confrontation that didn’t mean anything. “I do too.”
“I know you do, beloved.” Kokichi sighed, his shoulders relaxing only a fraction. “I see you in the chat logs.” He looked at Shuichi and Shuichi could see the anxiousness. The fear. He was just as afraid of this game as Shuichi was. Yet he was watching it by his lonesome. Shuichi wondered if it was because Kokichi thought he needed the sleep, or if he was worried about the same thing he had been worried about previously. About whether or not Aki was the murderer or the victim. “Aki-chan’s still alive.” He paused the recording and stood up, taking the laptop with him. “We should move this into your room. We can talk there.”
Shuichi nodded and they headed back into his room. They got comfortable on his bed, Kokichi placing the laptop between them and tossing the headphones to the side. Shuichi gave him a small glare for it, those were his good noise-cancelling headphones but Kokichi wasn’t paying attention or caring. He quickly adjusted the volume so that it was comfortable before hitting play. “Should I go back to the beginning?” He asked, hovering his mouse over to the replay button.
Shuichi shook his head and Kokichi took his hands off of the computer, and instead found Shuichi’s under the covers. Rantaro was looking around the crime scene and Shuichi’s throat bobbed when he saw the body of the mangaka on the floor. A scalpel lodged deep into her throat. It looked like someone had tried to slit her throat, but either changed their mind last second, or didn’t realize there was a proper way to do it without getting the weapon caught.
“So Shinigami-san was wrong in thinking the chemist was the murderer.” Kokichi mused softly. “I don’t think this would be her thing.”
“Could be the doctor since I’m sure that’s one of his supplies.” Shuichi mused thoughtfully. “Oh they found the bottle of the chemicals used to knock someone out...or kill them.”
“I think it was a knockout. If it was a killing proportion, then why get stabbed in the neck?” Kokichi theorized as Rantaro started to badger his classmates about alibis and where they were. Shuichi noticed that Aki was looking around the room too, casually going over to Rantaro when she found something to help move the case along.
The scene of the crime was interesting too. It was in an abandoned classroom. If the mangaka was going to die somewhere, Shuichi would’ve thought that her lab would’ve been the prime spot. Someone wanted to have a chat. “Did they figure out the time of death or anything?”
“So far, we don’t know much.” Kokichi murmured. “Apparently this is something new they're trying out.”
“What do you mean?”
“According to some of the backlogs that I was reading before the recording showed up,” Kokichi gestured vaguely to the screen. “Monokuma used to tell the students the time of death, type of death, and little other factoids. This time, Monokuma is giving students free reign. I suppose it’s because they have a doctor on their talent team.”
“How do you feel about the talents?” Shuichi asked softly.
“Hmm...nothing really. It’s just a gimmick isn’t it? I bet that’s why Monokuma isn’t exactly being helpful. If the doctor does a botched up job, well...that means that everyone gets killed besides the blackened riiight?” Kokichi drawled softly. The violinist, Akamatsu if Shuichi remembered her name right, came back with Yadori and gave Rantaro a slip of paper that merely said the words midnight on it.
“So they were meeting up in the classroom.” Shuichi concluded. “To talk probably.”
“About what? Did someone know something? Kind of pointless to start having secret meetings now.” Kokichi scoffed a little. “Honestly some of these kids have no clue what they’re doing.”
“You don’t either, Kokichi-kun.” Shuichi winced a little as Kokichi gave him a mock offended look.
Bing. Bong. Bong. Bing sounded through the computer’s speakers and both of the boys’ shut their mouths as Monokuma appeared in the monitor, looking pleased as the cat that got the cream. “It’s now time for the class trial!” He sounded overly gleeful, like this was the best part of the game. The murder was just the cherry on top of it all. He directed the students towards the elevator, and Shuichi watched as fifteen students climbed into the cage like device and go down deep into the underground.
The trial room wasn’t like anything Shuichi had seen before, and he and Kokichi both had been in court rooms. The podiums were like witness stands, all in a circle facing each other so that there was no way to try to hide anyone’s expression or their actions. Everything was for everyone to see. There was one podium in particular that had Chatani’s death portrait, a large X painted in a bright red substance that looked suspiciously like blood.
The room itself was a little insane looking too. Black and white tile reflected a blue light that came from the ceiling, bouncing off of stained glass windows and mosaiced down to the ground. On a red and gold chair sat Monokuma and down in front of him like jury members waiting to hear the deceivsiness of the trial were the loudmouth Monokubs that Shuichi rarely paid attention to.
The rules were simple. Discuss until there was nothing left to discuss. Vote and pray that it was the right answer. If it was wrong, everyone but the blackened would die. Vote correctly and the blackened would die and everyone else would live.
“Usually in trials everyone’s on the witness stand has to say their name and their ultimate.” Aki suddenly spoke up. “And since we know that this is being recorded, we may want to do that just for it to be on the record.”
“Didn’t realize you were the Ultimate Lawyer, Mayumi-chan.” Oda teased.
Aki paused. “My name is Mayumi. I don’t have a last name. I’m the Ultimate Guitarist. I’ll also be bold enough to say that I’m pleading innocent too.”
Everyone in the trial froze. Kokichi let out a high pitched noise that sounded like he was trying to hold back a snicker or a laugh. Shuichi watched as everyone looked at each other, a little nervous. A little less thrilled with the idea that they might be recorded, that someone could actually use this in an actual trial.
“My name is Maeji Sena. I’m the Ultimate Cheerleader.” Shuichi remembered her credits being fun. Her background was usually a gym of some sort with a bunch of people in the stands. He knew about the cheerleader part though mostly because her yellow and blue pom poms that she carried with her gave her away. She was a nice looking girl too. With a side ponytail and a couple of the same colored ribbons. Her uniform supported the color theme. “I’ll also be bold and say that I’m pleading not guilty.”
“Wow. This trial is going to go by so fast.” Shimahara stated, looking completely bored out of his mind. The sparkles of his shirt caught the light of the stained glass, making it shimmer brilliantly. The looks that his classmates were giving him however, were enough to make him shrink. “Fine, fine. My name is Shimahara Yuji. Ultimate Dancer. Ultimate bored out of my fucking mind. I’m not a part of this. Can we move on?”
“Dick.” Yuya grumbled, flapping her sweater sleeves nervously around her body. “Heyo. I’m Yuya Chika and I burn things for fun!”
“Innocent.” Everyone said together at the same time.
“Yuya-chan can’t be a murderer because we’d have a burnt body instead.” Yadori giggled, though there was something off in her posture. Shuichi noticed that she was too tense for that to be genuine. The laugh also sounded shrill, like a panic. “Okay, okay. I’m Yadori Miki. I’m the Ultimate Figure Skater. I’m pleading not guilty.”
“Yeah maybe we should all just agree that we’re all going to say not guilty and maybe not do that.” Oda sighed, taking out a monocoin and flipped it. He watched it fall down to the ground and bent to pick it up. “So you all know me-”
“Pretend we don’t.” Aki cut through quickly.
Oda gave her a small look. “Okay I’ll humor you. Oda Touru. Ultimate Thief. I’ll steal anything so long as it benefits me somehow.”
“Maybe not everyone’s not guilty after all.” Ajishi gritted her teeth. “Ah, right. Forgive me.” She cleared her throat and adjusted herself and her posture. Shuichi had to admire how quickly she threw on her persona. “My name is Ajishi Misa and I’m a chemist.”
“Ougai Eiji.” The doctor quietly murmured next to her. “I’m a doctor. We should try to remain objective while we’re on trial.”
“We’re not...always going to go around the circle introducing ourselves right?” A boy asked. He wore the same sort of uniform the thief did, but his had a bit more of a flair to it. It was fitted loose on him and Shuichi felt like all he was missing was the cape. “I’m only stalling, I'm sorry. My name is Nakaji Katsuji. I’m the Ultimate Actor.”
“Ultimate could be murderer got it.” Shimahara deadpanned.
“Now, now.” Rantaro quickly held his hands up. “Let’s not get into a fight. We’re all in the same boat here. My name is Amami Rantaro. I’m the Ultimate Adventurer.” He looked over at Kokai. “Your turn.”
“I’m Kokai Seijo. I’m a falconer.” Kokai nervously adjusted his gloves. “I’m na a murderer eider.”
“So now it’s my turn right?!” Shirogane asked. “My name is Shirogane Tsumugi. My talent is being the Ultimate Cosplayer. I’m not surprised if no one remembers me.”
“You’re right. No idea who you are.” Shimahara deadpanned.
“Well you didn’t have to be so mean about it...but I get it.” Shirogane winced.
“Why didn’t anyone think to kill you off is a mystery.” A girl with blonde hair spoke up. Shuichi really did try to rack his brians, the familiarity of her just bothered him sometimes. “My name is Akamatsu Kazue. I’m the Ultimate Violinist. Let’s solve this mystery together.”
“Horrible catch phrase.” It was a teasing tone and a gentle smile that graced that sentence. The boy had on a heavy utility belt and it was full of different kinds of equipment. His hair was all over the place, and he looked to be in the same boat as Yuya when it came to burns. “So formally I’m Gonoji Yoshitaka, but you guys can call me Yoshi-kun. I don’t care.”
“That leaves me. I’m Kai Yako. I’m the Ultimate Singer.” Kai mused, shifting on his feet.
“Oh. Right I was supposed to say that I was the Ultimate Electrician. Sorry.” Yoshi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
“Now that we got that all squared away, and it’s on record.” Rantaro spoke up, “We should start by talking about the obvious.”
Ougai straightened his tie. “To slit someone’s throat effectively, you would go from ear to ear with the head tilted downwards to expose more veins. Tilting it up, you expose the knife to different obsticals and instead of making a fast clean death, you made the victim suffer and you fuck up the kill. You don’t look dramatic. You look like an amateur. We can rule out myself and Ajishi automatically for it if that’s the case.” Ougai paused. “Also there were some defensive wounds that were on Chatani-san’s body. Indicating that there was a struggle.”
“Okay so we’re dissing the culprit before we even start, cool.” Oda drawled. “But sorry doctor and chemistry teacher, but I think you two shouldn’t count yourselves out just yet. We know the murder weapon was a scapal. Therefore it was one of yours. I’m thinking the doctor did it. Anyone else?”
“What would the motive be? The flashback light?” Yuya tugged on her sleeves nervously, winging and flapping them around, nearly hitting her peers that were next to her. “I mean, we don’t even know if it’s real or not. Monokuma could’ve just said to throw all of us off.”
“Yes, but that does not mean that someone else would believe the lie.” Ajishi adjusted her goggles over her eyes. “Let’s hypothesize that someone’s motive is the flashback light. Let’s hypothesize that they believed that there was a memory in there that they wanted back.”
“If we’re accusing me first, I can easily say three things. One, I have an alibi. Two, if I’m going to murder someone why would I pick the most obvious weapon that can be pointed out to me? I know more ways to murder someone and get away with it than to do a botched job and leave my own work too behind. Three, I don’t care about the flashback light. I don’t care about my lost memory. If anyone should be worried about their memories, it’s Mayumi-san who doesn’t have a single thing to her name.” Ougai gestured over towards Aki, who was mindless chewing on her finger.
She froze like a deer in headlights, and bit at her nail a little harder, but otherwise stayed silent.
“Why woul’ she go af’er Chadani dough?” Kokai frowned, tugging on his gloves and keeping his gaze down. “We dun dalk da her much.”
“If she was going to go after anyone, it’d be Oda-kun you’re right.” Akamatsu said, as she held her pointer finger up in the air. She had another hand on her hip and she immediately turned the conversation. “So we need to start looking at people who are close to Chatani-chan and who would want to hurt her.”
“So basically all of us and none of all all at the same time.” Oda rolled his eyes as dramatically as he could. “Because none of us are really all that chummy with each other, violin.”
“She’s the weakest member here though, isn’t she?” Yadori asked as she was redoing her hair, trying to pull it back into a nicer looking bun. Her hands were trembling, Shuichi noticed. She wasn’t trying to meet anyone’s gaze. If anything, she was trying to distract, but why? Shuichi covered his mouth with his hand, gazing on Yadori as though she could hold all of the answers. Maybe he was wrong, but...she was acting not herself for certain.
“Where was she during the investigation?” Kokichi murmured and Shuichi felt his heart plummet down into his stomach, icing his veins in the cold realization that Yadori was a suspect. She had acted weird when Ajishi confronted her classmates about her missing things too. Too stiff. Too afraid. Oda was too calm, too certain. He didn’t care that he was an accomplice. Only the murderer was going to get punished. He could do whatever he wanted and help whoever he pleased.
It made Shuichi wonder if Oda had a bigger part to play than the “Ultimate Thief”.
“Wow.” Tsumugi drawled, looking insulted. “That’s just plain rude right there. Chatani-senpai’s a strong person. Both inside and out. You didn’t know this, but when Chatani-senpai writes any kind of manga, she does her research. From experimenting with eating disorders to actually going to the gym and working out to be as buff as she can as a female, and asking male bodybuilders to pose for her to practice the anatomy. She isn’t someone that’d just lay down and take a hit.”
“Eating disorders aren’t exactly what you’d consider strength here.” Shuichi muttered, mostly to himself. He heard Kokichi snort beside him and he felt his cheeks flush. He was used to being by himself while he watched the show. He forgot that sometimes he mumbled to himself to get the gears rolling in his mind. That being said though, Tsumugi had a bit of a point. Her determination and perseverance would be considered a strength. If she hadn’t died, she would’ve made it a lot longer than she had, that was for certain.
“Is anyone else disturbed that she actually goes that far for her writing or is that just me?” Oda asked, looking around at the trial circle.
“I mean, I’m a performer.” Nakajima said, picking against his tie as he undid it and was re-doing it. “I also have to determine what weight I have to be if I’m going to be an accurate representation of my character. I destroyed my body in many ways and I recovered it in many ways.”
“I’m not much but a singer, but even my appearance gets me a side-eye every now and then.” Kai rubbed his neck.
Maeji shifted in her stand, “I mean, I was once told to lose some weight if I wanted to be caught easier during the pyramids or any of the tosses, but I never took them into too much consideration. It was a...thought though I’ll...admit that.”
Shimahara just sighed, “Yeah. All of us have body issues. I did the same. It’s stupid. Can we press on now?”
“Dear god, please get therapy, all of you.” Oda’s complexation paled.
“One of us cannot, she’s dead.” Ajishi frowned at Oda. “And also please stop being so insensitive.”
“We’re getting off topic.” Rantaro quickly intervened. “We’re not getting anywhere if we get sidetracked. So we know that whoever killed Chatani-san didn’t know how to slit a throat. We know that they managed to get into Ougai-kun’s lab and get the weapon. We also found a bottle of the mixture Ajishi-san told us would make a knockout gas rather than a poisonous one.
“To be on the safe side,” Ougai commented, “My lab is never locked.”
Everyone stared at him. Rantaro folded his arms and gave him a small look. “You mean to tell me that anyone can go in and grab what they can from your lab?”
“My lab is a medical facility. For me to close it could be hazardous to anyone. I want there to be free reign in case someone gets hurt or needs something and I’m not awake to provide. That being said, I do normally keep my door unlocked too.” Ougai explained. “So that if someone does have a need for me, they can get me as fast as possible. I’m used to not sleeping a lot, so I’m easy to alert.”
“Do we know when Chatani-chan died?” Aki asked, her voice wavering as she tore another piece of skin from her nails. Shuichi watched in muted horror as blood dripped down between her fingertips.
Ougai also looked pained, “Please stop chewing your nails, Mayumi-san, you can’t play guitar like that. Also...I can only give an estimate. I’m no way a coroner. My theory is that Chatani-san met her demise around twelve ten or twelve thirty.”
“So a thirty minute chat.” Oda mused, “What would they be talking about that could take so long?”
“Girls are like gossips. They never shut up.” Shimahara shrugged.
“I knew Oda-kun was a dick, but you, sir, are an asshole.” Yuya frowned, putting her hands on her hips. “Maybe you two should go find a room after this is over and get some of that aggression out.”
“Fucking ex-”
“We’re getting sidetracked again!” Rantaro snapped. “Will you guys cut it out, this is serious. If we don’t figure it out, all of us are dead.”
“Is that really a bad thing though?” Yadori asked, looking apprehensive. “I mean…we’re forced to die anyway. Isn’t this...quicker?”
“Wow.” Yuya stared at Yadori. “You have no balls.”
Yadori spluttered.
“I’m kinda sad really. I thought we were friends.” Yuya pouted, kicking at the stand and placing her hands behind her back. Her eyes looking downcast and her expression clearly betrayed. “I thought that you liked hanging out with me.”
“O-of course I do! I just…”
“Would rather want us dead than alive is all.” Aki muttered. Her finger was bleeding profusely now and she was already going on to the next one.
Shuichi couldn’t remember a time where Aki actively bit her nails. She was always so careful to make sure that they were short, but...had that been to resist the temptation of biting them? He was going to have to figure out how to ask about that habit to his uncle and his aunt. He couldn’t imagine Danganronpa being able to implement new habits, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure what this game was capable of.
They stole everyone’s memory and forcibly removed Aki’s for everything including her name. He couldn’t imagine it just stopped there either.
“Da no’ said dat dey were gonna mee’ up a’ midnigh’.” Kokai broke the conversation, his voice a slow thoughtful drawl. “We know dat dey had da abli-lie da use da chemical da knock ou’ Chadani-san.” He pulled the gloves. “We know dat dey dun kno how da kill eider.”
“You know I don’t know if this would help but here’s my theory.” Ougai suddenly snapped his fingers. “The culprit and Chatani-san both agreed to meet up at the classroom at midnight. The culprit already knew that Chatani only had few friends and therefore wouldn’t be missed. They used the knockout chemical mixture to make the death painless as possible, only misjudged on how to properly slit a throat. The throat is slit and the dead is done.”
“So we’re thinking the chemical was used on Chatani-san. Okay so we’re thinking that this was a mercy killing.” Akamatsu mused, coming back some of her hair as she looked to the side. “God, my sister’s much better at figuring out mysteries like this. I just can’t come up with anyone that’d go out of their way to hurt her.”
“Alibis then.” Rantaro nodded, “We should get those cleared out so that we can figure out who we need to start looking at.”
“Hold on a second.” Oda broke the conversation, looking at Rantaro with a deep frown on his face. “Why aren’t we questioning Mayumi-chan?”
“What do you mean?” Rantaro deadpanned.
“She’s the one with the lost memory, right?” Oda gestured. “We know that the flashback light would be the motive. Why are we ruling her out?”
“I never said that she was ruled out.” Rantaro frowned at Oda, his arms tightly folded against his chest. “What I can determine though is that Mayumi-chan wouldn’t go after Chatani on the mere fact that neither of them are close.”
“We’re stuck in a killing game. Should closeness really be a reason here?” Yadori frowned.
“Then why hasn’t anyone gone after Kokai-kun? Shirogane-san? Mayumi-chan if she’s such an easy target.” Rantaro gestured. “It’s because they’re all connected to someone yeah? A little bit of a threat. Shirogane-san and Chatani-san were probably the only friends that actively hung out all the time.”
“I don’t recall anyone asking me to hang out as of late besides Amami-kun, Mayumi-chan, and Kokai-kun.” Shirogane nodded. “As plain as I am, I’m not surprised that I’d be ignored in the background, but it was nice to see that Chatani-senpai saw a fellow fan and was willing to let me pick her brain so to speak.”
Kokichi let out a suffering sigh, “They’re going around in circles.”
“Yadori-san isn't helping that fact and neither is Oda-kun.” Shuichi murmured, watching the trial dissolve back into disaster. “Amami-kun’s on the right track though. Killers aren’t likely to kill strangers. They’ll kill people they’re familiar with because it’s easier to figure out routine. Getting trust means it’s easy to get them to do what you want them to do.”
“What’s your big detective brain thinking then?” Kokichi asked and Shuichi could feel Kokichi’s gaze on him.
“I think that it’s weird that Oda-kun stole the chemicals. I think it’s weird that Yadori acted strangely in the breakfast hall.” Shuichi murmured. “I wonder...Chatani-san had the chemicals in her possession. She had it there that night when she met up with her killer. I bet it was a struggle and a fight to get both murder weapons away from each other. Chatani-san isn’t strong physically and was most likely overpowered. She was easy to knock out and kill after that.”
“Psychology says that memory and personality are one in the same. If the brain is tempered with in any direction, the personality can change with it.” Aki agreed, speaking around a bleeding middle finger. Shuichi and Kokichi both stared at the screen as everyone else looked over at her. She continued to chew as she spoke, her words muffled against skin and blood. “Closeness isn’t a factor, I agree with Yadori-chan. We can’t rule any one of us out. If we were out in the real world then yeah, it’d be weird for a stranger to go up and murder someone, but that’s not what’s happening here.” She took her finger out of her mouth, blood lingered on her lips as she looked at everyone. “So here’s my thought. I find it weird and strange that Chatani-chan’s body has defensive wounds. While I know some of us are performers and have skills in makeup, I think that we should all offer our own bodies to show whether or not we have the bruises or scratches. Of course, I can always out you now if you’d prefer.”
“What do you mean “out”?” Oda asked, folding his arms.
“We know that Chatani-chan wasn’t late for the meeting, she was right on time because the murder took place around twelve ten to twelve thirty. Without an actual coroner to say anything about it, we can only go by a guess or two. I’m sure Shirogane-san can confirm that Chatani-chan wouldn’t be late to any kind of meeting because mangaka’s are always under strict schedules. Right?”
“That is right!” Shirogane proclaimed, looking excited. “Mangaka authors are used to working towards extreme deadlines, very rarely do they miss. Therefore, the meeting went exactly as planned.”
“What does this have to do...with anything?” Kai asked, looking perplexed. He wasn’t the only one that was lost. Even Rantaro was giving her a mild look.
“Because if the murder was about the flashback light, we would’ve found it in either Chatani-chan’s lab or her room. Both were negative.” Aki explained, looking at Yako. “Which means that’s not the motive. But...if I recall from all the meetings we had. Chatani-chan would always mention that a murder could happen. In particular, the conversation about the chemicals.”
“Now that you mention it,” Rantaro placed his hands on his hips, looking peeved. “I do recall Oda-kun getting upset with you about calling him out for stealing it.”
“Now wait just a-”
Aki barreled on, ignoring Oda’s protests. “Who else acted weird during that conversation, Amami-kun?”
“Yadori-san.” Shuichi breathed just as Rantaro spoke the name. The figure skater was always antsy around the mangaka. Especially when Chatani would mention that there was a method of killing, or that the chemicals and the imbalance of them would be a waste to use. “That makes sense.”
“You and Aki-chan go like seven different hoops and I feel like I’m stuck on level one world one.” Kokichi pouted a little. “How did you get Yadori from all of that?! There’s literally no proof unless…”
“Kokai-kun probably has it. Either that or Aki-chan is hiding her own piece of evidence. This isn’t a real court. Not everyone is going to want to show things off. They’re going to want to put the killer to the back of the wall and force them to see the truth of their crimes.” Shuichi gripped Kokichi’s hand. “This isn’t a game of who's going to go to jail. This is whether or not they survive for the next several hours.”
“But I never really spoke to Chatani-chan so...why would it be me?” Yadori frowned. “How was I acting strange to get the suspicion?”
“Because every time Chatani-san mentioned the flashback light or the chemicals, you tensed up as though you were waiting for her to act on it.” Rantaro continued. “You also keep looking away from us. I mean all of us aren’t exactly thrilled at looking at each other in the eye and accusing each other of killing one of our classmates, but you also said something that threw all of us for a loop. You thought it was a good idea for all of us to suffer and die.”
“I...I was only thinking-”
“That’s some balls right there. Really big cajones.” Shimahara narrowed his eyes at Yadori, and Shuichi watched her cower. “Because if it was the other way around and someone else had said that would you agree?”
“I just…”
“So we weren’t friends.” Yuya sounded tearful. “You wanted us dead so that you could go and get the flashback light, is that what you were after?”
“Chika-chan no, please.” Yadori begged, looking at her friend, tears springing to the corner of her eyes. “That’s not true. None of what they’re saying is true. I have an alibi. I was asleep like everyone else, I promise. I promise. I didn’t hurt anyone. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I was just trying to protect you. I swear.”
“So you did hurt someone.” Rantaro watched Yadori freeze on the stand. Horror started to carve itself around her face as she realized that she dug her own hole trying to assure Yuya that she wouldn’t go out of her way to hurt someone.
“You don’t get it.” Yadori whispered. “You don’t understand. You guys don’t…” She took a deep breath. “If you think you’re so clever, then come out and accuse me. You don’t have any proof. Everything you're saying is speculation. THIS IS BULLSHIT!” She suddenly screamed, gripping onto the stand like a lifeline. Shuichi felt himself back up a little away from the laptop, staring at her in surprise. The composure that she was was breaking at the seams. “I’D NEVER HURT CHATANI-CHAN. NEVER EVER. Yes I was worried about her being a murderer. Yes I went to check on her to make sure that never happened. BUT DIDN’T DO A DAMN THING TO HER! IF ANYONE SHOULD BE WORRIED, IT WOULD BE WHOEVER CHATANI-CHAN WAS GOING TO GO AFTER! SHE HAD THE BOTTLE OF THE MIXTURE IN HER POSSESSION!”
“But how do you know that?” Rantaro demanded, not daring to let Yadori escape his gaze. “None of us knew who had the chemicals in whose possession. You were there that night.”
“IF I WAS THERE THAT NIGHT THEN WOULDN’T MY CLOTHES BE BLOODIED?” Yadori shrieked. “HOW ABOUT YOU ACTUALLY GIVE ME SOME PROOF BEFORE YOU START COMING AFTER ME?!”
“Oh is that it?” Oda asked casually as he decided to fling a piece of fabric into the middle of the circle. Said fabric, Shuichi noticed, was one of Yadori’s leotards. The bright blue soaked in red. “Oops. My bad. I guess I should’ve been a little nicer and handed it over to everyone before this whole trial.”
“Where did you get that?” Yadori hissed. “You’re trying to set me up you-”
“I don’t like it when people try to toss me under buses. I don’t particularly care that you went off and killed Chatani-chan, but I thought it was cute you decided to try to assure us that you wouldn’t “hurt” anyone at the time very clearly admitting that you did. Also, I thought it’d be fun to watch you sweat a little. You almost got away too. Shame.” Oda taunted, looking completely smug. “Maybe next time I’ll team up with the investigator squad. They make things so much more interesting than you trying to act innocent.”
Shuichi watched Yadori’s expression break, and he knew there was no way for her to recover from this. Rantaro took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, “Here’s how this all went down.” Rantaro mused. “Yadori-san got concernend after the fifth or so time Chatani-san mentioned a murder happening or taking place or even hinting that a murder could have occured. She decided to ask Chatani-san to come meet her in the classroom at midnight. Yadori-san knew she might be dealing with an unstable individual so she snuck into Ougai-kun’s infirmary lab and stole a scalpel from his place. Considering that Ougai-kun does plenty of patrols around the campus, it wasn’t hard. She waited until midnight and at first tried to resolve things peacefully.”
Rantaro looked each of his classmates in the eye as he tried to sum up the case. “But Chatani-san was prepared too. She was paranoid that she might be the next victim or that someone would find her as an easy target. Using the chemicals that she asked Oda-kun to steal, and listened to Ajishi-san’s advice, she was going to knock out her supposed culprit and get help. Somehow someway, it became a struggle. Whether Chatai-san saw the scalpel or had an idea that Yadori-san might be her culprit, or that Yadori-san assumed the bottle and the cloth held the lethal amount of chemicals inside, we don’t know for sure and maybe won’t ever know.”
He folded his arms tightly as he stared right at Yadori. “But it became a struggle, didn’t it? You guys fought and you managed to get the cloth first. You could have left her there, and continued on, but no. You used the scalpel, and tried to slit her throat. Either you were too overzealous, or you really had no idea what to do. You ran off after the deed was done. You weren’t at breakfast this morning because you were trying to find a way to discard the bloodied clothes. However, while everyone was trying to find Chatani-san, Oda-kun came across your dumping grounds and decided to hold onto it for whatever reason. You joined up later and helped us find Chatani-san. All in all, the clues point to you, Yadori Miki, the Ultimate Figure Skater.”
“More accurate than I can say.” Shuichi agreed. “Yadori-san was the murderer.”
“Jesus.”
“You were the murderer of Chatani Shinko, the Ulitmate Mangaka.” Rantaro concluded. “It was...you this entire time.”
“.....I thought she was going to kill me.” Yadori sobbed quietly, falling apart in the witness stand. “I didn’t know what to do, I panicked. I thought about getting help, but I was afraid to turn my back. What if she was faking. What if, what if…” She trailed off. “You guys wouldn’t get it. I have so much waiting for me at home. I...I was going to be in the Olympics. I was….I was going to be someone. Someone famous. Someone that no one could look down upon ever again! I worked so hard...I worked so hard…”
“Yadori-san…” Yuya whispered.
“I killed her. I stabbed her in the throat and then realized I could have slit it and I was trying to fix that mistake only it was too late.” Yadori whimpered, covering her eyes in shame, still sobbing. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Monokuma cackled from his stand. “Well now it’s voting time! Don’t go picking the wrong one now!”
Shuichi held his breath as he watched the votes get counted. He looked over at the chat log, seeing how many people were commenting about how they were kind of disappointed that Yadori didn’t make it through. Many of them were poking holes in the discussion that was happening, making fun of everyone for one mistake or another. Yet that wasn’t why most of the people in the chat were there. The trials were just like popcorn. A small snack to the bigger finale.
Monokuma hit a red button with a small hammer and everyone paused with a breath as an old fashioned 8-bit screen appeared. A small miniature Yadori standing in the middle of Monokuma’s path before being dragged off. The loading screen disappeared just as a metal grip attached itself to Yadori’s neck and physically hauled her onto a skating rink.
Everyone stared in shock as Yadori was in the middle of an ice rink. A spotlight flashed on top of her in a darkened room. At first it was peaceful. Yadori skated as fast as she could towards the exit door and yanked it open. At first she was greeted with a dark hallway that was still covered in ice. She was just about to move when she was suddenly shoved to the side and a bunch of monokuma bears appeared onto the rink, skating and recreating some of the twirls and catches.
She was about to try to skate through the herd of many Monokuma cubs, but she lost her footing and slipped onto the ice rink. Everyone watched in muted shock as she was being run over and sliced by ice skates. Her screams were muted, but if they were anything like the one she let out in the trial, Shuichi didn’t have to use his imagination. While the monokuma bears were busy tearing her body apart by thinking she was part of the ice rink, the camera momentarily disappeared and showed the real Monokuma at a thermostat, turning the heat up so that the ice rink would start to melt.
Soon enough the monokuma bears got bored and disappeared back into the hallway. She was left on the rink, bloodied and cut. She slowly got herself up on her knees, blood splattered onto the ice as she started to get up onto her feet. Her clothes were torn in a way that looked a bit fanservicey for Shucihi to be comfortable with. She was holding herself up as blood continued to spill down her body. She wobbled and tried to skate towards a different area, trying to keep towards the wall of the rink, a trail of blood following her wake. Whatever she was holding must have had an electrical current going through it, because she was zapped and was forced to let go.
Uncertain where to go, and thinking the other side might be safer, Yadori slowly started to skate her way painfully towards the otherside.
“Oh no.” Kokichi whispered.
She got to the middle of the rink. The ice was thin enough that it cracked ominously underneath her weight. She was in too much pain to try to skate faster and she fell into the water. Monokuma quickly turned the thermostat down…
All anyone could see was red blood going to the surface of the ice, and a small fist banging at the bottom of the ice for a while before sinking downwards.
((Thank you all so much for the likes and the reblogs and the support. Thank you to @sinfulwonders who works tirelessly with me to beta this. I also wanted to apologize for not updating. As, you all know I was busy with shipweek but I also had a family matter that was very crucial. I am grateful that you all cherish this story as I do. Without further ado, let me continue))
Rating: M
Summary:
Previous Next
You can read below the cut or at my AO3
It was the first time Shuichi entered Aki's room since her disappearance, and there was still a heart-sinking feeling that stuck with him as he looked at the place. The faint scent of blackberry and vanilla hung in the air, and the smallest little knick-knacks hadn't been moved or fixed. Her desk was still the organized mess that it was, a planner even folded to the week that she went missing. The planner had different colored inks scrawled across the page, each color symbolizing priorities, and reminders written in quick shorthand. Her curtains draped closed, as they were when she wasn't in the room. There was a corkboard hung on the wall with pictures thumbtacked into its surface. Many of them were of D.I.C.E, of family photos, and some of just him and his cousin. There was only one picture on there of just her back to the camera, and her profile hidden with a wide brim hat. She was walking down the beach with her hands clasped behind her back. The wind must've been blowing since her hair was all over the place. It was a stylistic photo, and the only one he knew of that could wield a camera like that was Ovetere. Which meant this must've been a spontaneous trip that some of the D.I.C.E members took, or they had met up somehow and just decided to mess around with the camera.
His attention left the board to the laptop that was sitting idly on the desk. He knew that this day would come sooner or later. Digging up secrets, he couldn't think of any that Aki would keep, but Takahashi told him one already. She wanted to travel around and keep a distance between her and the Saihara name. Shuichi couldn't fault her for it. He sat down at the desk and turned on the laptop, noting with amusement that the surface covered with different kinds of stickers. Her collection was endless, and it was everywhere. On the consoles of her video games, on the corkboard, on the laptop. He knew if he dug around her bookshelf, he could find her albums of stickers. He waited for the computer to load as he looked around her room again. His furniture matched the dark aesthetic of trying to keep his place as cold and minimalist as possible. Her furnishings were light wood and reflected the light from the overhead fan and the sunlight when she opened the curtains.
He could almost hear the soft twang of her guitar playing, and he could just visualize her sitting on her bed with her guitar on her lap, curling around it as she focused on practicing a chord or a song. It was a typical scene—a standard memory. Even before Kokichi showed up in their lives, him reading in her room while she practiced was commonplace. It was hard to believe that during fits of insomnia, he wouldn't hear her play anytime soon—no random knocking on doors to check in on each other and trek up to the vending machine.
Shuichi saw that her laptop was password-protected, but he didn't need to be a hacker to know what it was. He typed it in out of memory and stared at the desktop picture. It was last year's New Year shrine visit. Their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders -Shuichi had to bend down to compromise the height difference-, and they were grinning at the camera. Shuichi's smile is a little more timid and shy, and her bright and beaming. She wore a yukata even though it was freezing and that she should've worn a jacket, and Shuichi bundled up in a scarf and earmuffs. They had taken the picture away from the crowd, but close enough that it could still be seen a little in the background, showcasing the line and the people who were trying to get a wish.
It startled him to see that this was the picture on her laptop. He didn't think that anyone kept the photo besides Keiko or Koji. He didn't remember Aki requesting the picture, but maybe he hadn't paid attention when he got dragged into the embrace. He felt his eyes burn and a lump form in the back of his throat as he tried to swallow past all of it. He needed to stay focused. Right now, traversing memories wasn't going to solve this case.
Just like that, however, his mind decided to be helpful and remind him that Takahashi said that she was planning to leave the Saihara household. Bracing himself to find nothing but apartment searches and universities for music, he got himself back upright and went onto her internet.
If anyone wanted to know anyone, whatever they searched on their history told a fair amount of their story. Composing contests, youtube channels dedicated to guitarists and musicians, discussion forums on music...a twitter. Shuichi didn't doubt that Aki networked, trying to see who would bite if she was actively trying to leave, but...there was not a thing that she recently posted on her account that said anything about wanting that. The youtube videos she watched were of people that she admired and actively supported. There was nothing to indicate that she wanted to leave.
If she was bait, chances were, Danganronpa didn't have a clue until they started researching a little more heavily into her about who she was or didn't have a clue at all since Aki was firmly silent about her name. If it wasn't bait...then, Danganronpa really went out of their way to try to find her. Shuichi just couldn’t imagine his aunt making such a massive wave with a case that it would result in something dramatic as a kidnapping. At the same time, considering that it was nothing more than a snuff game, and everyone was a contestant....he couldn't put it past them. Everything was a possibility right now, and until he heard more from his uncle or his aunt about the Jabberwock Case, nothing was set in stone.
It didn't fit with Danganronpa's MO. They went after local celebrities, and they stuck with local newspapers. Unless...Shuichi cupped his hand over his mouth as he tried to put himself into Danganronpa's shoes. If they were so slighted about the case that his aunt took, that they were willing to go out of their way to remind the police and law force what kind of power they would be granted...then it wouldn't bother them to research Aki. Take her hobby, and her talent...and taunt her with it as they did with the rest of the contestants. Only instead of being accomplished, they were belittling the fact that she wasn't, and that pissed Shuichi off.
He confirmed once again that there had indeed been a "reason" for the kidnapping. Shuichi felt confident that Danganronpa just didn't randomly take her from the street. Now to confirm the other piece of the puzzle. He opened her Discord as well as he decided to scroll as much through her history as he possibly could, she seemed to have kept it clear and clean most of the time. Getting on to her Discord, he noticed that she was only a part of two servers, D.I.C.E, and the Musician Symphony.
The Musician Symphony wasn't an active group, but he could see that there were people that occasionally touched base. Going through the backlogs, Shuichi noticed that Aki tended to lurk more than participate in this server. He roamed through the channels before figuring out that the entire reason why she was there was to see what other people were doing and supporting them. He saw some of the tweets people were posting onto the channel. Some had been re-tweeted by her as a boost. She went through the youtube videos and commented on them, but she'd never discussed how she came across them.
There was a notification on a familiar icon. Shuichi clicked on it, already having an idea of what he was about to walk into.
[ Shuffle: Shuichi-chan-san's telling me that you're missing. You're not missing, right? You're home, or you're late or something… ]
[ Shuffle: Aki...please just go home? Please? If you guys had a fight or something, I know Saihara-chan-san will be willing to hear you out...or Ouma-sama-san! ]
Those were all...on the day Aki was reported missing. Shuichi closed his eyes and let out a soft breath.
A couple of days later, Shuffle tried again to reach out.
[ Shuffle: I know that this isn't going to reach you, we don't know where you are, but I feel like I have to say something anyway. ]
[ Shuffle: I'm really, really scared Aki. ]
[ Shuffle: I'm scared we're going to find you dead. I'm afraid that we're going to find you traumatized. I'm worried that you're...not going to be the Aki that we all know and love. ]
[ Shuffle: I feel so dumb. ]
[ Shuffle: I should've done something. ]
[ Shuffle: Called you, met you closer than the intersection. ]
[ Shuffle: I'm such a terrible friend. Asuka says that I'm not. Tohru says I'm not. Everyone's saying to me that I'm not. ]
[ Shuffle: But I can't even help our leader like you can, Aki. I don't think Saihara-chan-san can help either. ]
[ Shuffle: he just sits at his laptop, all scared. ]
[ Shuffle: Maybe I should just ask for a pancake night. ]
[ Shuffle: There's no point in talking to a ghost that's not gonna reply. ]
Discord didn't shed any new light. Not that Shuichi was expecting it. He clicked off the website and rubbed his eyes, trying to think. Danganronpa knew that something was up. They knew that they were being investigated or that someone was poking around. Getting called up by Jabberwock over the technology only made them paranoid. It was the only theory that Shuichi had that didn't feel like he was stretching to reach a conclusion.
Maybe they thought someone was getting suspicious over the newspaper clippings and decided to target using other methods? If that was the case, then who got close enough to make Dangnaronpa sweat? Shuichi curled a finger against his chin. He doubted his uncle was the one that pressed them against the wall. At the same time, the theory that Ando had about Aki being bait was...still useful even if Shuichi hesitated to believe it.
Just what was happening on Jabberwock? What was the technology that was apparently stolen or lost? Why would Danganronpa admit to having it? Why would they even use their name?
What was their cover story? Shuichi sat straighter. A gut feeling stirred into his stomach, and he decided to just see if he was right. Instead of going into her history tab, which he knew would have nothing, he scrolled through her bookmarks. They were neatly categorized and organized from music to school work, and the abundance of files told him enough that everything had a place. There was one folder that was hidden in the music section; however, that caught his attention.
Travel Plans
Clicking on it, Shuichi saw a list of hotels and maps that were in her bookmarks. They were hot spots in each prefecture. Touristy areas as well as places that were off the beaten path. Shuichi picked one from the list, and saw that there was a museum that was dedicated to the Tragedy. It had been one of the several areas that had been annihilated. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to assume that Aki was looking at history. Her interests were vast: psychology, history...the Tragedy was just both lined into one common event. There was a stigma that surrounded people who studied it and there was shame around those who talked about it. There was an underlying fear that it could happen again, or would happen again. No one wanted to teach the subject besides a quick overview, just in case.
It was probably the same shame that kept Jabberwock Island from being talked about too. Shuichi pursed his lips together as he decided to click on Jabberwock Island’s website.
The screen turned black, and for one horrifying moment, he thought he was going to see the emblem of Danganronpa spin around in a loading mode. Instead, what appeared to him looked to be like a flower with five sharp petals that were in a circle. As the page loaded, a flower petal colored itself a bright magenta. The page finally came into view, and Shuichi could not believe what he was seeing.
Welcome to Jabberwock Island.
The header had a large white font, and the picture was of the island's map of six islands. The tiny main island that was in the middle of it, and the five larger sections that made up the home. It was an island that was a few months away on a ship, and a decent six-hour flight from Japan.
He quickly found the "history" tab, and he stared in surprise as he read the blurb.
"An island that once used to be an amusement park was abandoned during the Tragedy in 20xx. The Future Foundation had renovated the amusement park into a military base in 20XX and had used it to help rehabilitate the Despair 15, otherwise known as the Remnants of Despair. The Despair 15 have decided to stay on Jabberwock Island after the Tradgey's conclusion in 20xx and self-exiled themselves from Japan. What used to have a horrible history is now flourishing with tourism and immigration.
Hinata Hajime is the island's current Leader alongside Nevermind Sonia, who has strong political ties to the Novoselic Kingdom in Europe."
Shuichi doubted that a website mostly created to try to get traffic into their island would talk about the technology that they once housed or the people that were on the island. The Tragedy. Despair 15.
Despair 15….
Did...Danganronpa has some sort of history with the Tragedy or with the Remnants of Despair? Shuichi never heard of someone mentioning the Despair 15 before, or of them being called the Remnants of Despair. Shuichi leaned back against the chair, the gears in his mind whirling. Remnants of Despair and Danganronpa. The missing technology. Something prodded in Shuichi’s mind to dig deeper at this.
First thing first: there was one person that he could talk to during the game that would probably offer him some insight about the event. Maybe there was something that was glossed over in class that would bring all of this together.
The second thing that he had to worry about was that Aki was going around to explore where the Tragedy hit the hardest. Her knowledge that she knew about the Island and in turn knew where the Remnants of Despair were located. Not only that, but it was odd to Shuichi that Dangaronpa and Jabberwock had a connection involving the Kamukura technology.
It pained Shuichi to think about it. How much didn't he see because he thought everything was okay? He thought about her statement in the first episode or two. When she proclaimed that she felt lighter. I keep thinking about the cars. I keep seeing them. He didn’t ask where, did he? His stomach turned iced and he felt the world darken at the corners of his eyes. He assumed she was talking about the school, and Aki, who probably didn’t want him to worry any more than he already was, went with it.
He clicked out Aki's computer and shut it down. He went back to his room and booted up his own computer. The darkness of his room helped with the small headache that was starting to pound behind his left eye. He hated stress headaches, and he didn't want to get off track to get medicine when he was so close to the finish line. At least, a finish line of one mystery.
Usually, the episode started at the dining hall when everyone was gathered, but to Shuichi's surprise, the episode started in a room that gave off an unsettling vibe. There was a large monitor that hung from the dorm's ceiling with prominent speakers, which amplified the volume. There weren't any windows in the dorm, and even if there were, the windows would be slated and bolted down so that there was no thought, no hope for escape. The bed was pushed up against the wall. There was also a desk that had a fair amount of papers on it. It's a dorm room, it was neat, and Rantaro was sitting on the edge, running his hand through his hair deep in contemplation.
There was a soft ring of a doorbell, and Rantaro picked his head up. There were superficial circles under his eyes that spoke of a hard night's rest, and he looked disgruntled. He rubbed his eyes and stood up, walking over to the door and opening it. "Kokai-kun?"
"Sorry, da bodder, you." The Ultimate Falconer gave a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He, too, looked as tired as Rantaro looked. "I jus' wanna check in on you."
"I think there's a lot of other people that you should be worried about, I'm fine," Rantaro assured gently. "How are they?"
"Dunno. Came da loo' a' you." Kokai gestured, "You are na fine, an' dat's o' ay." His drawl was a little worse than Shuichi remembered. He wondered if it was from the exhaustion, or if Kokai wasn't trying too hard to speak correctly. He still didn't know where to place that accent...if that even was one. "I was gonna fin' Mayumi-chan an' Shirogane-san."
"Shirogane-san is probably heartbroken," Rantaro murmured. "...Why don't we go looking for them together? How about we start with Shirogane since she's the one that was probably hurt the most? Maybe we can work our way around the school as well."
"Dat' sounds good." Kokai nodded firmly and stepped out so that Rantaro could leave the room. "Where da begin?" He frowned. "I' dough of maybe her lab, bu' I'm na sure where id is."
"It should be in our monopads." Rantaro took the said monopad out and started tapping on the screen.
"I ha' nology," Kokai grumbled. "Pre' y sure id ha'es me do."
Rantaro blinked, and he looked at Kokai curiously. "You... don't look at the monopads?"
"I can' ge' id da work!" Koka gave his monopad to Rantaro. He merely flicked the screen, and it turned on. The look of incredulity was astonishing, and Shuichi couldn't help but laugh, just as Rantaro chuckled. "I have done dat a dousands dimes! How?!"
"Maybe it's because I'm nice to it?" Rantaro offered as he handed it back to the flabbergasted student. "If you talk to it nicely and you touch it kindly rather than poking and prodding at it, it may be nice to you, and you can actually see where everyone is."
"Id shows you where people are?" Kokai blinked.
Rantaro quickly went through his and proceeded to show him a map. Shuichi frowned deeply, cupping his hand around his mouth. It was a little...eerie that students could keep track of each other. A good thing for a victim to have an understanding and a warning ahead of time. He had to doubt if anyone would use the monopads like that. Maybe some did.
While they were busy talking about the monopads, Shuichi turned his attention to the chat room and decided to see if Shinigami was on.
[ Seeker: Everyone's so quiet today. ]
[ Shinigami: Good evening, Seeker-san. It has been quiet. I have not seen Loki-kun around, which is to my pleasure. How are you? ]
[ Seeker: Struggling with History homework. ] It was probably a good thing that Kokichi wasn't in that chat room. Shuichi knew that was a terrible lie, but he hoped that it was hard to tell through the internet.
[ Shinigami: Perhaps I can be of assistance? I am a scholar of sorts for cultural history. I may not be able to tell you a whole lot of whatever you are trying to accomplish, but I may be able to clarify a few facts. ]
[ Seeker: We’re learning a bit about the Tragedy. I don't really know what to look for online. Any advice? ] Shuichi had to cringe at how bad that lie sounded. He wasn’t getting any better at this.
[ Shinigami: The Tragedy is a complex subject, but...let me see if I can't put it into more... more detailed terms. No one is certain of how the Tragedy began. Some say it started with Hope’s Peak Academy, and the unethical human experimentation that they were doing. Some say that there was a group that made something called Despair Disease and decided to spread it around. My belief, as well as other scholars, is the fact that it was a combination of all these things at once. There were experiments done, just not by the Academy. The Despair Sisters had a hand in it as well.]
[ Shinigami: Allow me to further the conversation about the disease. It would twist the personality into something that was the opposite of them or enhance a part of the depending, and they would act on it. Some were liars, some would follow orders to the death, and some were….some were actively trying to become the same as the Remnants of Despair. Unfortunately for them, the longest they could survive the fever and the dehydration, along with the hallucination, was about three days. ]
[ Shinigami: It was rumored to have happened anyway. Some survivors claim that they saw the disease with their own eyes. ]
[ Shinigami: You have to understand the Remnants of Despair and the people that befell the chaos were….people that would actively torture and kill victims. Torture that included but certainly did not stop at unethical practices of doctoring and experimentation. ]
[ Shinigami: The Tragedy came to a conclusion after the Despair Sisters met their demise during the Hope's Peak revival. ]
[ Shinigami: It took five years after that to rebuild, and another ten to fully recover. ]
[ Seeker: I see. Why is it hard for people to study the event without being cast in a terrible light? ]
[ Shinigami: Humans are afraid of things that they can’t control or predict. The Tragedy was one such instance and there’s a fear that someone will think it’d be a good idea to bring it back. Scholars like myself are even warned to tread carefully around the Tragedy, as there was once a superstition that even mentioning it, let alone studying it, would cause the Despair Disease to flare up again. Ludicrous yes, but...people want to pretend that it’s not as scary as it is. ]
Shuichi let out a long breath as he let the information sink into his mind.
[ Seeker: Does Danganronpa have anything to do with the Tragedy? ]
[ Shinigami: No. But they were inspired by an aspect of it. ]
Shuichi thought for a moment that Shinigami would go off again and give him the information, but for some reason, that wasn't happening. Shuichi had a feeling that even if he pressed, Shinigami wouldn't say. It must be something to do with his contract about watching the killing games and writing that paper of his.
There was something about those games then that they were mimicking or were trying to do. Despair 15...
Would it really be off of the mark to think that Danganronpa was attempting to see if falling into despair would be as easy as the Tragedy made it appear? Would it really be off of the mark to think that someone thought that the Remnants of Despair weren't all on Jabberwock Island?
Hope's Peak Academy...Shuichi grabbed his notebook and quietly wrote down the name. He was going to have to do more digging. Here he had hoped that the mystery would be done and over with, but Danganronpa was good at keeping the questions coming.
They were good at keeping an audience captivated at the screen.
It appeared that Shirogane was indeed in her lab, the boys took a daring look at each other, probably preparing themselves for hysteria, or tears, or other things. Shuichi wondered if he was going to cringe at how they would try to comfort her or be moved that they actually attempted. Rantaro was the one that decided to be brave and knock on the door.
It took a few tries, but Shirogane appeared, looking distraught and heartbroken as Rantaro predicted. Her cheeks were covered in tear stains, her nose was running and red. Her eyes are blotchy and swollen. She did her best to look presentable, but even the Ultimate Cosplayer couldn't hide her misery. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this. I know I'm being so boring right now and-"
"Enough of that." Rantaro frowned as both of the boys moved to be in her lab. The area reminded Shuichi of the backstage or a green room of a show. She had racks of different types of costumes, some of which the backlog chat were animatedly discussing who their favorite anime characters were, and whether or not she'd reference them later in the long run. "Hey...can I hug you, Shirogane-san?"
"I'm all crying and snotty!" Shirogane cried out, her cheeks stained red. "You couldn't-"
"I offered." Rantaro gently coaxed, "Come here." Shirogane didn't seem to be able to hold her ground as she walked towards him as though hypnotized. Kokai watched from the sidelines as they hugged, and Shirogane sniffed. "It's okay," Rantaro whispered, gently stroking her hair. "It's okay. I'm so sorry, Shirogane-san. Yesterday was horrible. For all of us."
"I just wish Chatani-senpai said something." Shirogane whimpered. "I could've done something. I could've told her not to do it. I could've told her to wait. I could've…"
"Done nading." Kokai gently broke the conversation. "She made ‘er choice an' she knew dat id hur' people. Chatani-san an' Yadori-san did deir bes'. Dey wan'ed da escape. Id was a price dey paid."
Rantaro gave him a sharp glare, gripping a little tighter around Shirogane's shoulders and quickly shook his head, as though to warn him about going further.
"No, I know." Shirogane gently pulled away from Rantaro, wiping her eyes and trying to gather herself. "It's just like Death Note when L died, you know? You had all of this hope that they'd wind up friends only for it to be backstabbed and proven wrong." Rantaro and Kokai gave her blank looks, and she giggled nervously. "I'm sorry I don't know how to put it any other way. I'll be okay now. Just gotta keep my chin up. Like Naruto. Believe it!"
"I mean...if that's what makes you feel better." Rantaro rubbed the back of his neck. "It's okay to feel sad though Shirogane-san. We're here to support you no matter what."
"Thank you. You two are excellent friends to me. I'm so happy that a boring and dull girl like me has someone like you two." Shirogane beamed brightly.
"I'm surprised that Mayumi-chan hasn't come by to see you." Rantaro frowned deeply. "I wonder if she's okay."
Tsumugi waved it off. "I told her to go away." She looked down at the ground, distraught and upset. "I said some things...I was really, really angry. I'm a lot calmer now than I had been. I'm sure she's upset with me."
"I dob dat," Kokai assured softly, "Songbird isn' da type da hold a grudge. She understands. Promise."
Shuichi wanted to nod empathetically. While she could be found curled up against someone's door if they were having a hard time, she knew when she wasn't wanted and did leave people alone. Sometimes she knew when someone was just saying it, just to say it rather than mean it. He could remember the times she sat next to him, arms draped around his shoulder as he went through an anxiety attack, trying to shield him. Trying to comfort him. She never wasted her words, she was more than happy to stay silent and just be there.
Tsumugi nodded as well, seemingly getting a hold of herself. "I'll have to make it up to her. Oh, ask her what kind of cosplay she'd do." She looked at the boys. "Please?"
"Sure." Kokai agreed, and Rantaro also nodded his agreement. "Bu' are ya goin' da be okay?"
"I'll be fine...I just...need today is all…" Tsumugi looked at the ground for a moment. "Have you checked in on Yuya-san?"
"No." Rantaro folded his arms. "You think she might need someone to talk to?"
"She loved Yadori-san, so I imagine she'd be just as heartsick as I am over Chatani-chan." Tsumugi shrugged helplessly. "I don't know if anyone's willing to reach out to her since she's a little out there."
[ Loki: Awwww, is this going to be another boring episode? So lame!!!!! ]
[ Shinigami: Ah, that's right, you missed the brutal execution and murder episode, didn't you? ]
[ Loki: Oh no, I saw that with my boyfriend <3. We were ecstatic that the two more boring ones died first. Looks like it wasn't the chemist, after all, Shiny! ]
[ Shinigami: Much to my displeasure, but I still hold the belief firm that she'll be a culprit sooner or later. ]
[ Loki: Are you still thinking that the cosplay chick and guacamole are going to be the survivors? ]
[ Shinigami: You know, my bet on Shirogane-san is wavering just slightly as Mayumi-san has proven herself to be survivor material. At the same time, I have a different theory about her. ]
[ Loki: Are you going to tell? ]
[ Loki: Hey! ]
[ Loki: Hey! ]
[ Loki: Hey! ]
[ Shinigami: it really is a shame that we're merely separated by a screen. I would love to tear your vocal cords out. That being said, yes. I do have a theory. Yes, I will share it. My first theory is that Mayumi-chan is a Mastermind. ]
Aki? A Mastermind? That was too far off the grid. What good was a mastermind that couldn't remember that they were a mastermind? That just...does not make any amount of sense. It would be a cheap shot as well to try to get her murdered.
[ Seeker: I highly doubt that. ]
[ Shinigami: Granted, that does seem a bit off. My other theory is that she is going to be playing this season's Traitor. ]
Shuichi wondered how much of this was a hidden message, and how much of this was Danganronpa's actual plan. He was going to have to get his uncle to ask about those case files sooner rather than later. He was going to have to see for himself just what kind of an impact this case had made, and why they'd get so angry only to find Aki.
It made him worried about why they didn't bother to go after him…
Unless…
If that was indeed the case, then this was beyond fucked up. Shuichi decided to stomp that theory down until he had more concrete evidence to say that was the case. For now, he needed to focus on what he actually had and what he even knew.
"Danks. Can dat ding find her?" Kokai asked as both of the boys decided to exit the room. "Yuya-chan may na wanna 'alk da us."
"No, but we should try and let her know that she and Shirogane are in the same boat so that they have a support system." Rantaro frowned. "Then we can see how everyone else is doing. We may come across Mayumi-chan that way too."
"...Why do ya care?" Kokai frowned suddenly.
Rantaro froze, and for a moment, Shuichi thought he wasn't going to try to reply. "Do you have any siblings, Kokai-kun?"
"Yes." Kokai nodded. "I have a sis."
"Older or younger?"
"Does id madder?" Kokai frowned a little but thought for a moment. "I'm de old one."
"So maybe you'll get it kind of," Rantaro muttered softly to himself. "Let's just say... I'm an older brother too."
"....Wow." Kokai paused. "You're a bedder, big bro 'han me."
"Why do you say that?"
"If dat was my sis cryin' in dere." He gestured towards the lab behind him. "I'd dell ‘er da suck id up loser."
Shuichi covered his face with his hands and groaned loudly. Rantaro let out a startled laugh, as though he hadn't been expecting that.
[ Loki: Wooow. That's cruel. Then again, I'd do the same thing easy peasy. ]
Instead of bantering, Shinigami went oddly silent. Shuichi wondered if this was an intricate subject for the person on the other end of the computer. Not everyone had a good or decent relationship with their sibling.
Shuichi thought back at his relationship with his cousin. He couldn't keep track of how often his cousin went after him and made sure that he was okay. How often she talked him down from an anxiety attack after an anxiety attack, how often she saw him cry. He couldn't remember the last time he saw Aki burst into tears. They fought...but Shuichi couldn't even call those fights. Everyone around them, Kokichi included, tended to say that they acted as though they were on a debate team.
Shuichi remembered when Aki made him cry. He couldn't remember the fight, but he remembered her words: at least my parents didn't abandon me like a puppy at someone's front door. Shuichi held a grudge against her for a while for it; he wondered if he got her back. She always seemed to have such a firm grip on herself...it made Shuichi worry. He couldn't remember the last time he saw her cry.
He turned his attention back to the episode. Rantaro and Kokai were at a tiny little shack that was pretty far away from any of the school buildings. The shack looked as though it were about to crumble. It was barely being held up by anything but nails and some wires. Gonoji was standing on a ladder outside. His pliers were in his hands, and Yuya was standing outside, hands on her hips as she watched.
"What are you two doing?" Rantaro asked.
"Oh, hey, guys! What's crackalackin?!" Yuya grinned, turning to face them. She looked as though she just had gotten a little fried from something. Her clothes were smoking slightly as well as the ends of her hair. "I was trying to fix up my lab, but the wires were all messed up, so I asked Gonoji-kun if he could take a gander at it! Voila!"
"Da need help?" Kokai called up.
"No man, I got it." Gonoji grinned as he jumped down from his position on the ladder and looked at Yuya. "I think we might want to ask Monokuma to give you a better lab. This isn't exactly safe."
"But, it's gonna burn down anyway." Yuya pouted. "What good is a good building if I can't burn it down? The outdoors is my lab anyway, not that tiny little thing."
"Okay, okay!" He laughed, holding his hands out. "I get it. Well, I'll get out of your hair then. You got company, and I don't want to be in the way."
"Actually, I was going to come to find you anyway," Rantaro gave them both a kind smile. "I was just...seeing how you two were doing. Since...yesterday."
"I'm a firm believer that when things go bad, they go bad," Gonoji said simply. "Work keeps the demons away. I'm grateful that I was able to provide it too. I may just be in my lab trying to do something or another." He looked at Yuya. "Unless you think that Shimhara might want me to make the lights brighter on his stage or something."
"God, I don't know with that dick." Yuya frowned. "You can try, but he might just tell you off for thinking that his place is less than perfect."
"Or call ya da help." Kokai's shoulders slumped slightly.
"Now, now, it was a bad day." Rantaro gently chided. "Let's give him a chance to redeem himself."
"Oh, there's no redeeming people like him, Ran-Ran, but you sure as hell can try." Yuya scoffed. "Good luck, Gogai-kun I don't want to be you."
Gonoji laughed but walked off without another word. Rantaro and Kokai watched him leave before turning back to the arsonist, who was looking at her shack with a big smile plastered on her face. Yuya looked exactly like Kokichi would when a big idea hit, and decided to cause problems on purpose. Shuichi wouldn't doubt that her knowledge of fire and explosives would also go into firecrackers and gunpowder.
"You sure you're okay? Shirogane-san…"
"Yadori-san lied to me." Yuya broke Rantaro off. "I know you mean well, but... I'm not really grieving here; I'm fucking furious. I'm gonna lit a bitch and watch it burn. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to do that, which gets the message across. You dig me?"
"You're scary." Kokai let out a short breath. "I dun wanna be on your bad side."
"Aw. You're lovely, Kokai-kun." Yuya beamed, "I don't want to be on yours either. So let's make a promise to not make promises, yeah? They're just gonna get broken in the end. If you excuse me, lads, I have a date with a fire extinguisher. Later, crocodiles."
".... That's not exactly how that phrase goes." Rantaro watched her slam the door of the little shack, and it rattled violently enough that it threatened to fall.
"'Elling her dat will be a mis'ake." Kokai winced, sweating beading down the side of his face. Shuichi didn't doubt that at all. Yuya was stubborn for the sake of it. Talking to her when she was angry wasn't going to get anywhere. She might want to speak when she calmed down some, but...Shuichi couldn't blame her if she decided to hold a grudge. He didn't like people lying either. Kokichi was terrible at it, he drove Shuichi up the wall, but there were differences in the lies that he told and the ones that Yadori had said.
There was a difference in someone murdering to protect someone, and killing because they thought it was the right thing to do. Shuichi tugged on his hat, despite that there was no way they would be able to see him.
The episode ended without any mention of the flashback light, but Shuichi didn't doubt that was going to be the next thing to be touched upon in the next few episodes. That is if no one decided to go after each other without needing much more than a reason. It was disturbing how easy it had been for the first murder to take place. Just a seed of doubt and that was that it took for two people to wind up dead.
That flashback light may not have to even try hard at all to get the rest of the group paranoid enough to kill each other. Shuichi quietly logged off of Danganronpa, his mind whirling over the information that he had received, and the knowledge that he was slowly obtaining.
It wasn't going to be a comfortable night tonight.
X
[ Stolen Heart: I don't think Aki-chan would be a traitor, do you? ]
Shuichi glanced at the corner of his phone to see that it was nearing three in the morning. Currently, he was trying to figure out a way to sleep, but his mind kept mulling over the information that he had gathered from the game and from Aki's laptop. He couldn't help but feel the same disconnect that most families felt when they were confronted with evidence that the person that they loved wasn't who they thought.
At the same time, Shuichi didn't really ask her about any of it. If he had...would he still be surprised? Maybe. He doubted Jabberwock would've come up in conversation. Regardless, he decided to respond to Kokichi despite how late it was at night. He needed the distraction, and perhaps so did his lover.
[ Me: It's more of a possibility than a mastermind. ]
Shuichi closed his eyes as he rested the phone against his chest, feeling the exhaustion creep upon him. Just how badly did Keiko fuck Danganronpa over?
That night he had the weirdest dream of a train going by, Aki was dangerously close to the edge of the stop. Her hair violently whipping across the wind. He remembered reaching out. He didn't remember the conversation, but he remembered her turning her head towards him, and a simple sentence crashed him awake.
((Thank you so much once again for the reblogs and for the likes. Have a small interlude as we progress into getting heavier topics. We’re close to the point of no return ya’ll. Thank you again so much @sinfulwonders for betaing this chapter for me and for sticking around with me. I know that I’m asking a lot of you, and I wasn’t expecting the story to take me on the whirlwind that it’s decided to go on. I’m glad I get to travel with you))
Rated: M
Summary: Amateur Detective Shuichi Saihara knew that searching for the “Usual 16” wasn’t going to get him anywhere. The disappearances weren’t being tracked in any news outlet, and very few families even tried to come forward to ask for help, let alone to report them missing. Yet, Shuichi can’t shake off the feeling that there’s a reason behind the disappearances, and he’s close to the answer.He just didn’t realize that the answer was going to hit close to home, in more ways than one.
Previous Next
Shuichi could feel his phone buzzing insistently in his pocket, threatening to numb his ass from all of the vibration as he could hear someone going off. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out to see that there was a texting conversation between the D.I.C.E members, which...baffled him. It was late at night, and most of them slept in the same house. If they were going to have a conversation, it would’ve been easier for them to just go down to the living room, turn on a T.V low and talk that way.
[ Shuffle: 《《o(≧◇≦)o》》Pancake Night! ]
“Oh.” Shuichi murmured to himself. He looked around his surroundings before he went up against the wall to get out of everyone else’s way if they were walking. The streets were still empty, and no one was out and about, but he’d rather be safe than sorry.
Pancake night. It wasn’t a phrase he often saw since he was usually caught up in detective work. Aki didn’t usually go to them, but at the same time he didn’t know what her habits were at night. He knew how to tune out the smallest of sounds so that he could hyperfocus on whatever needed to be done. Whether it was cases or homework, or fighting on discord about whether or not his theories were correct or were false.
He knew what it was and what it meant.
He waited on baited breath to see if anyone was going to answer it. He glanced at the clock on his phone and pursed his lips when he saw that it was nearing three in the morning. No one was going to be up at this time, were they?
[ Honor: I’m up. I’ll come. ]
[ Deuce: I’m supposed to be on bedrest, but I’ll come. ]
[ Solo: Count me in as well, I can’t sleep. ]
Shuichi inwardly debated. He was heading home, but the diner wasn’t too far away from where he was either. He didn’t have an excuse as to not going, besides that he was socially anxious. He hadn’t really spoken to Takahashi since the kidnapping as well. A sinking sensation bloomed in his stomach and the guilt immediately hit. He didn’t mean to ignore him. Especially since Kokichi was having him watch the games.
[ Matador: I can come...if you want me to ]
[ Shuffle: Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ ]
Shuichi’s lips curled into a small smile, knowing that was all the approval he was going to get from her. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and adjusted Aki’s bag. He might as well go ahead and get going to the diner, rather than heading home. As long as he has her stuff, it’ll be alright. Besides, if he went home and dropped it off, he doubted he would go back out again.
The trains were already stopped for the night, and luckily Shuichi never minded walking anyway. The city was calmer when there were no people around. Easier to breathe in, easier to take in the sights like he was supposed to. The neon of the signs were blinding, bouncing off of the walls and reflecting off of asphalt, cars, and windows. There was a feeling of excitement, despite not being one for adventure or adrenaline. Shuichi supposed it was just how the city managed to ensnare people.
The diner was on the corner of an intersection with a red roof and wide open windows. It was easy to peer in and see who was all in there, and what they were doing. He could see the D.I.C.E members already crowded around a booth, a place already waiting for him if he so chose to walk through the doors.
He wiped his hands against his pant legs, feeling them sweat and shake out of nerves. He adjusted his hat and walked in. The smell of bacon and pancake batter hit him hard enough to make his stomach growl, reminding him that it had been a long time since dinner that he ate anything.
“Shuichi-chan-san!” Shuffle greeted widely and Shuichi immediately felt overdressed.
Everyone was in some sort of style of pajamas. Whether they were wearing a t-shirt with flannel, or an entire get up that was too cutesy for his taste, they didn’t seem to care or mind that they were in public. What was also a little funny was that everyone had some sort of bedhead to match. Shuffle’s hair was barely in her pigtails, the flyaway ends were all over the place. Shuichi knew his cowlick was bad, but it wasn’t being compared to Takahashi’s right side of his hair sticking up right and smashed.
Out of all of them, Shuichi knew that he looked better dressed since he was still in his day clothes, and he was wearing a hat over his eyes. He walked over to the booth and slipped in, everyone scooting and adjusting so that he had plenty of space. He set the bag down and rested it against his feet so that he wouldn’t forget it when it was time to leave.
“We already ordered a double stack of pancakes, Saihara-kun.” Takahashi spoke, his voice low and drowsy. “So unless you want something else, you’re covered.”
“Ah uh thank you.” Shuichi pursed his lips together. “Um...are you okay, Fujiko-san?”
“I was just lonely.” Shuffle answered, though her voice didn’t match the smile. Everyone was giving her a look and her smile slipped off of her face. “I…”
“Pancake night.” Deuce said, brushing his blonde hair out of his eyes. “Is a sacred hang out where we’re supposed to not be okay.”
Honor nodded firmly, leaning forward with his elbows resting against the table’s surface. He was eyeing Shuffle as though he could get her to talk by getting into her personal space. Shuichi watched as she shrunk. “So, what’s going on?”
“It’s just…” Shuffle thought for a moment and Shuichi wondered if it was going to be about Aki. Was it going to be about how much they all missed her? Shuichi wasn’t sure he could stick around for something like that. “Is anyone else worried about Ouma-sama-san?”
The silence fell hard and Shuichi felt lost. He spoke to Kokichi just the other day but...it had been a weird encounter now that he thought about it. Kokichi did like to have sex, it wasn’t that new. It was the way that it happened, it was how...weird the timing had been. Now that he thought about it, Loki signed off that day saying that he was going to go hang out with his boyfriend.
Shuichi looked around the table, each of them wearing a face of guilt and of thoughtfulness. Everyone was racking their minds about what Kokichi was going through, and how much he might’ve changed. Guilt started to gnaw at Shuichi’s stomach. He hadn’t been paying attention, if they were the ones to catch it first hand.
“Aki-chan’s disappearance hit him hard.” Deuce said after a moment. His words were careful, measured. He glanced over at Shuichi, and looked away. Shuichi couldn’t help but to feel cold. “I...get why.”
“I feel like it doesn’t have anything to do with that though.” Shuffle frowned. “Like, I feel like he’s restless. Impatient. Like he’s waiting for something to happen and he has to wait for it to happen.”
“Powerless isn’t exactly Kokichi’s way of handling things.” Honor said slowly, “Just like it’s not ours.”
“It has something to do with the email, doesn’t it?” Takahashi asked, and everyone froze. Shuichi turned and looked over at him. Takahashi was playing around with the utensil wrapper, folding and re-folded it until it was starting to fall apart in his fingers. “I tried to track the I.P address, but...whoever’s behind it aren’t amateurs. I’m not that good of a hacker.”
“So he’s going to try a different route then…” Shuichi shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the thought.
Takahashi could only shrug in response.
“I’m not going to be surprised if he’s going to ask us to break in and enter a random building any time soon, but I am thinking about offering it first before he can come up with a plan.” Shuffle admitted. “We haven’t been hopping lately.”
“Hopping?” Shuichi echoed.
“Going from one abandoned building to the next. You came with us once. Chi-chan forced you to come, remember?” Shuffle asked, tilting his head.
It wasn’t like he was going to forget that moment any time soon. The nerves about going trespassing had nearly made him want to pass out all on it’s own. He wanted to impress Kokichi and show that he could be apart of something amazing, but he also wanted to tuck tail and run away as fast as he possibly could.
He was...kind of grateful that he had stayed. It was the first time he learned that D.I.C.E weren’t just pranksters, vandalizers and petty thieves. Shuffle and Trick showed off that they were called that for more than just the card theme. They knew how to break dance and it had been incredible to watch them tear the floor.
It was the first time he watched Kokichi be the king that he always claimed to be. He had the highest vantage point. He usually was up on cabinets, he would find tables and stack a chair on it if he could. He would find a way up into the rafters, wherever he was going to be, he was high above everyone, just so he can make a grand entrance.
He remembered when Kokichi jumped from the rafters in front of him. How Kokichi’s smile was sharp and wide, like a predator who found his prey. Shuichi had shrunk in his gaze, unable to meet it, but feeling the excitement in his heart, the butterflies in his stomach twisted and fluttered uncomfortably.
D.I.C.E were comfortable in the night, hiding in the shadows. They ruled it comfortably, knowing the fastest routes to get out of any danger. Kokichi was smooth enough to talk their way out of any sort of danger, but he was also clever enough to have a few backup plans. Not all of them were told. Some of them were just made right on the spot and Shuichi felt weak just watching him work.
“It’s not going to be a good distraction, but it might help.” Deuce said slowly. “I mean, he has a lot on his plate, keeping me and Trick on the down low. I keep telling him that he doesn’t have to hide us, that our parents aren’t going to be looking, but he’d rather be safe than sorry. I heard him talking to you about it.”
Shuffle let out a low noise, “I’m just sad.” She said quietly and Shuichi could hear her kick the booth. “You know? I just...I don’t know what to do with Ouma-sama-san. I don’t know how to help with Chi-chan. I feel lost.”
“Just be you.” Honor said after a moment, and Shuichi nodded his agreement. There was really nothing that she could do.
“I want to offer to look at those emails.” Shuffle admitted, “I want to...do something. I know that he’s watching something on the laptop. I see him sometimes in the living room, with the headphones on, just staring at the computer. Biting his thumb.”
“Offer to sit with him.” Honor advised, but Shuichi felt his heart sink.
It was an idea if Kokichi wasn’t watching what he thought he was watching. “Uh,” Shuichi cleared his throat as all the attention was once more on him. He wanted to melt underneath the table and disappear for a week. “I-I think you should let him be. Offer him company yeah, but don’t be surprised if he uh if he decides that he wants to be alone.”
“I guess that’s fair. It’s probably a coping mechanism.” Shuffle slumped. “I just...want to do something.”
No one knew how to respond to that. Shuichi felt sympathetic towards her. “We’ll get him out of the house.” Honor finally said gently, and the rest of D.I.C.E nodded. “We’ll get Saihara-kun to come with us too.”
“Ah uh why?!” Shuichi blinked, a little taken aback that he was suddenly thrown into this conversation.
“Because you’re not doing well either.” Takahashi said bluntly, staring at Shuichi. “We don’t talk much at school, and perhaps that’s my fault, Saihara-kun. But lately you’ve been distant, not yourself. You usually get like that when you’re on a case, but you bounce back. This time, it feels like you're far away. Ouma-kun’s mentioned it to us before.”
Deuce’s voice immediately went shrill. “Shuichi-chan doesn’t love me anymore! He’s not affectionate like he used to be!” He looked at Shuichi. “Okay so I’m being a little overly dramatic. I know that he broke into your house and got all hot and heavy-”
“He’s not ashamed of showing off his scratches.” Takahashi explained as Shuichi felt his cheeks burn and flush down his neck. He could feel a cold sweat on his forehead and he adjusted his hat, trying to hide away from this conversation. Of course Kokichi wouldn’t be ashamed about their exploits. Hell, Aki’s made a dry comment or two when she caught a hickey.
“-But that is so beside the point. I think you two need to just...do something to get your mind off of things.” Deuce continued, as though Takahashi hadn’t said a word. “It’s not good for either of you to continue the way that you are. So come hopping with us. We’ll find a good building, we’ll have a party, it’ll be great.”
“Throw in some good music and a bunch of food and we got ourselves a deal.” Shuffle beamed. “Right, Shuichi-chan-san?!”
“I don’t really...I’m not…” Shuichi shook his head. “I’m not much of a party person, you guys know this.”
“So stick to the wall.” Deuce shrugged. “Stay in the shadows. Watch Ouma-kun be weird as hell and love him from afar. God knows he’s going to pull you out and do something with you when he thinks you’re being boring anyway.”
Shuffle grinned, “It’ll be fun.”
“It’ll be torture.” Shuichi sighed but he nodded his head, reluctantly. “Alright, I guess I’ll go. Only if he comes.”
“Sounds like a deal. Now how the hell are we going to convince Ouma-sama-san to do something crazy with us?” Shuffle mused.
“We use Saihara-kun against him the same way Saihara-kun used Ouma-kun against us.” Deuce replied, as though he was saying “duh”.
Shuichi was never glad to see a stack of pancakes appear before them and have the conversation drop into a different conversation of where they should start to look for buildings, and what type of building they should go for.
Shuichi left Pancake Night with a top 3 weird list of abandoned buildings to look at.
X
The door was unlocked and Shuichi’s heart pounded in his chest as he slowly let the door creak open. The foyer was still dark, as well as the living room and the kitchen. He could hear soft snoring coming from down the hall and he knew that his aunt and uncle were still asleep. That being said, Shuichi was certain that he had locked the door behind him when he went out. He slipped his shoes off and adjusted the backpack on his shoulder. He locked the door behind him before going all the way in.
The morning light was starting to break through the horizon, pushing the shadows back into corners and lighting up the room in a golden light. He could hear the birds starting to wake up from their perch, and the traffic starting to gain speed and frequency outside. Noises to indicate that people were starting to wake up from their sleep.
Shuichi threaded over towards the phone where the pad of paper was, and saw that his note had been ripped from the pad. Someone must have woken up in the middle of the night and saw that Shuichi had left the house. He hadn’t meant to leave for so long, but he did assure in his note that he had his phone on him. Worried, he quickly took it out from his pocket and checked to see if he missed anything. There weren’t any new calls nor were there any texts.
Maybe he had been careless, or maybe his aunt or his uncle had sleepily thought that Shuichi might’ve forgotten his keys and unlocked the door that way, but he wasn’t too certain about it. He crept towards his room and slowly pushed the door open, only to breathe a sigh of relief.
Kokichi was sitting on his bed, holding a pillow against his stomach. He was fighting to keep his eyes open. He wore a light purple crop top and pink and lime green boxers. His clothes were strewn all over the floor, like normal. Shuichi noticed that there were a couple of days worth that were on his floor. He wouldn’t doubt that if he looked in the bathroom he would find a toothbrush and some of Kokichi’s toiletries.
His parents must be home. With Deuce and Trick taking up so much space in the house, Kokichi must have decided to just stick with going to him and staying the weekend. He didn’t doubt that he might bounce around and go to Takahashi’s place as well since Takahashi rarely lived with his parents. “Hey beloved.” Kokichi murmured sleepily. “How was Pancake Night?”
“Stressful.” Shuichi answered as he carefully set the backpack in his chair. He walked over towards his closet and started to get ready for bed, feeling fatigue roll over his body like a heavy blanket, trying to coax him to sleep. “What are you doing here?”
“Came over to bother you, saw you were gone. Saw that you went to Pancake Night.” Kokcihi replied, his voice sorophific and inviting.
Shuichi felt his lips curve into a smile as he changed into his night clothes, not caring that the daylight was attempting to break through his window. He sat down next to his boyfriend and leaned his head against his shoulder, breathing in his scent and letting the tension in his shoulders drop. Kokichi scooted as close as he could against Shuichi and curled into him, still relaxing against the pillow.
Pancake Night still echoed in Shuichi’s mind, but they were too tired for that kind of conversation. He let his fingers trail down Kokichi’s back, gently stroking his skin and the fabric of his crop top. He finally maneuvered Kokichi to lay down, taking the pillow and putting it underneath his head before following the suit, tossing the blankets over them.
Shuichi moved so that he was spooning Kokichi, wrapping his arm around his waist and bringing him close towards his body. He kissed Kokichi’s neck and he could hear the D.I.C.E leader laugh softly. “When we wake up,” Shuchi said quietly. “I wanna talk to you.”
Shuichi spluttered a laugh and he tucked his nose against Kokichi’s neck. “Good night, Kokichi-kun.”
“Good morning beloved.”
X
Shuichi felt something against his forehead and he knew that if he opened his eyes one of two things were going to happen. Either he was going to wake up in the middle of a doodling fest on his face again, or he was going to wake up to Kokichi’s forehead being pressed against his, trying to startle him awake. It wasn’t all the time that Kokichi would try to scare him awake, but it was a favorite method of his to use. The ice cubes were a dirty trick and they both knew it.
“Awww man.” Kokichi pouted when Shucihi’s eyes fluttered open and he just smiled. “Here I thought you were going to try to headbutt me.”
“Sorry. I guess I wasn’t all that tired enough for you to scare me.” Shuichi offered. “How long have you been awake?”
“All morning. Sheesh, Shuichi-chan, you sure sleep a lot don’t you? I woke up right at the crack of dawn!”
“That’s a bold-faced lie, I came home at the crack of dawn.” Shuichi gently flicked Kokichi’s shoulder and Kokichi rolled off, pouting as though he just got pinched.
“You’re being mean to me!” Kokichi whined. “I didn’t do anything to you yet.”
“Yet.” Shuichi repeated, amused and in love and...his smile faded as he really took in Kokichi. “You look like you didn’t sleep.”
“I slept just fine, thanks.”
“I thought you hate lies and jokes.” Shuichi said slowly and he watched Kokichi’s face go neutral and blank. Shuichi was worried. Shuffle hadn’t been wrong to be concerned. Kokichi’s wide eyes were a little narrow with sleep and fatigue. Even though he was hyperactive, there wasn’t the same dramatic flair to his actions. If Kokichi was really in the mood to prank Shuichi awake, he would have done something new, not something that became a little bit of an inside joke to them.
It troubled him. “Shuffle-chan...asked for Pancake Night.” Shuichi said cautiously. Kokichi was unpredictable when it came to confrontation. He could either back down and stay silent, or he would lash out and run away. Kokichi wasn’t much of a fighter, and neither was Shuichi for that matter. He hoped that this wouldn’t turn into one. “We talked about you.”
“I figured.” Kokichi subconsciously bit at his thumb nail. “I’m a terrible leader for letting my subordinates get worried about me like that.”
“I think you’re a wonderful leader, which is why they are worried like that.” Shuichi said slowly, “Is...is it about Aki-chan? About Deuce-kun and Trick-kun?”
“It’s not important.” Kokichi said, with a soft sigh. He looked at Shuichi and usually it was the kind of look that would get Shuichi to drop the subject. Kokichi didn’t open up because someone asked questions. He opened up because someone accepted him and he wanted to talk. Shuichi knew that him trying to pry wasn’t going to help here. “But I appreciate that you worry, beloved.” Shuichi felt his hand being squeezed and he looked back to see Kokichi had gotten back on the bed, sitting close to him. “I’m just sorry that I made you sick with worry.”
Shuichi doubted that he was going to get more from him about what was going on. He doubted that he could press about it. Instead, he decided to change tactics. “They were talking about going hopping.”
Kokichi blinked and he pressed his finger against his cheek. “Just because I’m feeling down?”
“So you are feeling something.”
“I’m feeling a lukewarm sense of affection, but I’m pretty sure that’s just because the sun’s hitting me.” Kokichi replied as he dived into Shuichi’s arms, laying on his lap. “So I better soak it up now.”
“Haha.” Shuichi snickered a little as he threaded his fingers through Kokichi’s hair. “So you like that idea then. To go hopping.”
“Are you going to be there?” Kokichi asked, turning around so that he could stare up at Shuichi upside down. He reached up and cupped Shuichi’s cheek, rubbing against the skin with his thumb. “If you are I might go.”
A part of him really wanted to say no. Parties weren’t his thing and with this case and Aki being in a killing game, it felt wrong. It felt irresponsible. He had so much that he needed to do, and yet he also knew that Aki would’ve told him to go. She would shove him out the door, and try to get him to talk to someone. Widow would join him at the wall, Aki would attempt to keep up with Shuffle and maybe get dragged into a ballroom dance with Takahashi. Shuichi would watch Kokichi come towards him, dramatic and foreboding, dancing around with words and playful banter rather than music and steps.
It just didn’t feel right to have fun when she was in a game that wasn’t. It didn’t feel right to be able to do something, when she couldn’t.
But he also knew the world didn’t stop for anyone. Not for her and not for him.
“Do you want me there?” Shuichi finally asked, keeping his voice steady.
“Would I ever not want you by my side?” Kokichi replied easily. “You wound me, Shuichi-chan.”
(I hope no one minds the early update, but due to a paper that I have to get done on Saturday, I thought it was best to post this now as I won’t have time to write until Sunday. As always thank you @sinfulwonders for your beta-reading and thank you sunflower_8 (do you even have a tumblr, where are you?) for helping me as well. You two are so lovely and I’m so grateful. Thank you thank you. Thank you for reading, for reblogging, and for liking my chapters as well. You’re all so kind.)
Rated: NSFW (Danganronpa I’m sorry)
Summary: Amateur Detective Shuichi Saihara knew that searching for the “Usual 16” wasn’t going to get him anywhere. The disappearances weren’t being tracked in any news outlet, and very few families even tried to come forward to ask for help, let alone to report them missing. Yet, Shuichi can’t shake off the feeling that there’s a reason behind the disappearances, and he’s close to the answer.He just didn’t realize that the answer was going to hit close to home, in more ways than one.
Previous Next
You can read this below the cut or at AO3
“That’s a face."
Shuichi startled as he looked over to see Kokichi peering at him from underneath the hat. His expression was mischievous and teasing, but the violets of his eyes spoke volumes of worry and concern. He didn’t hear Kokichi approach the school’s gate. He supposed he was a little out of it. Staking out places and trying not to get caught, added to the excitement that they won a tournament, he was starting to feel socially drained. He was surprised he didn’t fall asleep during class. He knew that the circles under his eyes were going to make Kokichi force him into another “skip class for a day” situation if he didn’t find a way to get sleep tonight. “I’m sorry.” Shuichi murmured as he tugged his hat down. “It’s been...it’s been a week.”
Kokichi flicked the hat’s brim up a little. “Looks like you’re about to get turned into a ghost or a corpse at this rate.” The joke was a little off, but Shuichi didn’t blame him for it. “I thought we agreed that sleeping was a good thing, Shuichi-chan. Good dreams! Do I need to break into your house again?” They started walking away from the school and headed down towards the street.
“You’re going to break into the house no matter what I say. I’m surprised you haven’t lately.” Shuichi paused and he looked at Kokichi, who suddenly started biting his thumb. “Are...are Deuce and Trick okay?” They were the ones everyone was most concerned about, considering their home life. It wouldn’t surprise Shuichi at all if Kokichi was trying to stay out with them to prevent them from going home, or at the very least trying to find ways to shelter them.
“They’re fine.” Kokichi replied, waving off the concern expertly. “We’re just trying to think about the place of attack. The hospital was a hit. Did you see the newspapers?! They still haven’t figured us out yet!”
“I did. My uncle nearly had an aneurysm over the phone when he called me.” Shuichi smiled lightly. “He knew immediately that it was you. Deuce-kun needs to change his signature.”
“Ugh, of course he’d give us away.” Kokichi groaned as he rolled his eyes. He brought his arms up over his head and leaned into the casual posture. “But you know, maybe we should keep the signature. You know, just in case someone else wants to try their hand at mystery solving. It isn’t fun if the Saihara’s are always on the case.”
“Oh believe me, we have our rivals.” Shuichi accepted the teasing. “I just don’t think we care too much.”
“You wouldn’t, which is either a testament to how good you are or how uncaring you are. I on the other hand adore my rivals.” Kokichi let his arms down and he immediately grabbed onto Shuichi’s arm, holding him close to him. “After all if that’s how I met you then maybe someone in my group will fall for their own rival. Then our group can get bigger. We could rule all of Japan. With you by my side. What do you say?”
“You’re insane and I love you.” Shuichi offered.
“Boring.”
“I love you or that you’re insane?” Shuichi raised an eyebrow.
“The love you part, duh. I already know Shuichi-chan loves me. He loves me so much, he did all that dirty work for me without too much of a hassle. He did ask too many questions though.” The grip on his arm only tightened, and Shuichi knew that Kokichi was lying. Well, he was lying about thinking the “love” part was boring. He was pretty certain everything else he was saying was true.
As they walked, Shuichi noticed a black car turning a corner and his eyebrow lifted slightly. Remembering the conversation that he had with Aki the other night made him concerned. Considering that he didn’t see whether or not they had a plate on them or not, he decided to give the benefit of the doubt for now. Kokichi cleared his throat and he realized that he must have spaced again.
“I’m coming home with you.” Kokichi proclaimed.
“Ah, what?” Shuichi blinked.
“I’m coming home with you. You’re acting weird and I don’t think you’d get on the right train without me.” Kokichi carefully dislodged himself from his arm and slipped his hand down into Shuichi’s hand, intertwining their fingers. “You’d be all discombobulated if you got off at the wrong station.”
“Are you sure you’re talking about me and not about Shuffle-chan?”
“She’d like the adventure too much and she’d call us if she got really, really lost. Shuichi-chan isn’t all that bright. You’d try to solve the mystery before you called us to tell us you got lost.” Kokichi pouted. “And leave me and Aki-chan to worry.”
“You’d worry. I think Aki-chan would just laugh at you for being scared.”
“Waah!” Kokichi let him go as he burst into tears. “You’re so mean to me! I’m just worried about you and you’re laughing at me!”
“Ah, I’m sorry Kokichi-kun. I’m sorry!” Shuichi’s neck turned hot as he could feel the gaze of the crowd lingering on them. He wanted to hide and he wanted Kokichi to stop making a scene. “Please stop crying, I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. I’m glad you’re worried about me. Honest.”
“Nishishi.” Kokichi’s tears immediately dried as though he hadn’t been crying in the first place. Shuichi still was trying to figure out how he could do that on command. Not even his mother could cry on demand, which was saying something considering she was a talented actress of her time.
Shuichi wanted off of that train of thought as fast as he possibly could. “You really are acting out of it. Did a certain someone try to contact you?”
“Ah no, I think that hasn’t happened in some time.” Shuichi shook his head. “Just a lot of thoughts. I’m sorry.”
“Well. No need to fret anymore. I’ll make all those worries and thoughts disappear when we get home.” Kokichi clung onto his arm again. “It’s the least you can do for making me cry, and maybe if you got some sleep.”
Shuichi sighed loudly.
X
Aki wasn’t home yet. Shuichi had put that thought away as he was busy trying to keep Kokichi from doing anything too insane. That meant being subjected to game after game, and trying to keep up with any riddles that the D.I.C.E. leader could find either on the internet or something that he made up on the spot. Right now, they had just finished building a blanket fort and both of them were snuggling, practically lying on top of each other.
“Hmm, it’s almost eight. Should we order takeout?” Kokichi mused. “I haven’t heard the door open, and Aki-chan isn’t back yet I don’t think.”
“Eight?” Shuichi glanced over sleepily to see that Kokichi was holding his phone in his hand, staring at the home screen. “Can you send her a message asking if she went to your hide out or something? See if she wants something or if she’s eating with friends.”
Kokichi nodded and Shuichi listened to the obnoxious beeping sounds of the buttons being pressed. He knew that Kokichi could change that in his settings, but for whatever reason, Kokichi wanted the most annoying thing he could find. He was just grateful that it was no longer the duck sounds.
Of course that theory went out the window as the phone blasted a horn sound through its speakers. Shuichi startled, staring at the phone and then back up to Kokichi. Kokichi nonchalantly flicked his thumb against the screen. He could hear his own phone going off in his school bag, but Shuichi felt too comfortable to move away from Kokichi or the fort that they had built. The bluish light tinted Kokichi's face and casted a shadow of concern and worry on his eyes.
“Kokichi-kun?” Shuichi watched as Kokichi moved so that he was sitting up right, legs immediately crossed as he leaned forward, his phone practically pressed up against his face. The concern only turned Shuichi’s blood cold and he quickly scrambled out of the fort to go to his backpack, ripping it open to dive for his phone that was somewhere deep in the abyss. He hated that his backpack could consume anything that was small. He was certain that he had a good assortment of blue and purple pens somewhere down there at the bottom, but he couldn’t find them, nor did he ever put in the effort of actually turning his back upside down.
He felt the vibration before he could feel his phone. He snatched towards the phone’s direction and yanked it out, ignoring the many papers that flew out with it. He saw that there were several notifications on his screen from the D.I.C.E chat, but also Discord was surprisingly blowing up too around the same time. There was also an email that he received. He only glanced at Danganronpa, before deciding to ignore it for now. It was probably spam or some type of advertisement, and he wasn’t about to get into that when he was too concerned about why Kokcihi was suddenly on alert.
Shuichi quickly got on to the D.I.C.E’s chat and saw with a sinking heart why Kokichi had turned so pale.
[ Widow: Masashi-kun and Touru-kun are the hospital, so there’s no one at the hideout. If Saihara-san really did come by to visit us, she would have probably left as soon as she saw the lights were off. ]
[ March: Do I need to be down there. ]
[ Widow: No. We have it under control. We’re getting them out of that house. ]
[ Solo: Ouma-kun is more than welcome to stay here. I know Saihara-kun will undoubtedly want him at his place too. I’m concerned about Saihara-san. That’s abnormal. Wouldn’t she be home? ]
[ March: Shuichi-chan’s worried. He’s also reading this chat. ]
[ Matador: I’m sorry to hear about Masashi-kun and Touru-kun. If we need to be there, we can be there. I just have to find a way to let Aki-chan know that we’re there. I’m worried. She would have responded to the chat by now. ]
[ Shuffle: (,,꒪꒫꒪,,) But I thought Chi-chan was home. ]
[ March: Explain. ]
[ Shuffle: (ó﹏ò｡) Aki-chan didn’t walk with me to school today. ]
Both Kokichi and Shuichi looked up at each other at the same time. Shuichi felt his heart drop into his stomach. It was nearing twelve hours then. He knew that the first few hours would’ve been critical if someone was going to be saved. Reporting it now would be a shot in the dark, but at least a chance.
Shuichi let Kokichi handle the D.I.C.E chat. Meanwhile he sent a text to his uncle, his thumbs hitting the wrong keys as his hands shook. He didn’t realize the screen was getting blurry until he felt something warm drip down his cheeks. She told him. Just a few nights ago, she told him that she was worried. She told him that she was afraid that there was someone following her.
Shuichi hadn’t done a thing. He should have encouraged her to report it. He should have told her that she needed to call their guardian. She could have been saved. Aki could have been saved. If he just had…
[ Uncle: Breathe, kid, I already texted Keiko. I’m going to swing by the police department and file a report. Best to do it and be wrong, than to be right and never have a chance. Chances are, Aki forgot to tell us that she had somewhere to be. ]
Shuichi really hoped that was the case, but he wasn’t sure about that. Trying to distract himself, he decided to go back towards the D.I.C.E chat, and saw that Kokichi already ordered them to stay where they were, and to take care of Deuce and Trick. Shuichi didn’t have any energy to feel angry for them. He really hated that the system had let them down like it had, and he really hoped that they were okay. He really hoped that his Uncle was right and that Aki was okay. That she just was late. That she did just forget.
He also knew that if she had been, Aki would’ve texted. He also knew that if she was anywhere near her phone, that entire conversation would have had her concern in it too. She probably would have echoed the same offer Shuichi gave full heartedly about needing to be there, if they had to be there.
“Shuichi-chan?” Kokichi said quietly and Shuichi looked up to see that Kokichi had crawled out of the blanket fort and was sitting next to him. His hand was hovering between them, as though he wasn't sure if he could grab onto Shuichi or not. Shuichi bowed his head and Kokichi immediately opened his arms towards him, dragging him to lean against his body.
“What happened to Masashi-kun and Touru-kun? Did anyone specify?” The lump burned at his throat as he attempted to speak around it. His stomach was twisted into so many knots, Shuichi wasn’t sure how to start untangling them. He could feel Kokichi tremble underneath him, or maybe it was just him shaking like a leaf and unable to get a hold of himself.
“To put it mildly, parents suck.” Kokichi answered as he flicked his thumb against the screen.
Shuichi nodded, understanding. He tried to think about what they needed to do. What could they do? There was absolutely nothing either one of them could do. Kokichi could go to the hospital. Kokichi was their leader, but Shuichi also knew that trying to tell Kokichi to leave while he was like this wasn't going to happen. Kokichi knew how to be stubborn.
“What about Aki-chan?” Kokichi decided to press softly. “What did we decide to do?”
It shouldn’t warm his heart to hear Kokichi refer to himself as family, but Shuichi needed the support. “Uncle Koji’s coming home. Aunt Keiko’s already been informed. We’re…” He swallowed thickly, feeling a renewed burning in his eyes as tears threatened to spill. “We’re reporting her missing.”
Kokichi nodded solemnly as he pulled away from him and started brushing away at his tears. “We’ll find her.” He said after a moment. “She’s one of us. She’s easy to find.”
“Yeah?”
“Pfft, you really doubt me don’t you?” Kokichi’s voice raised a little. He held his finger out, pointing at Shuichi. “Did you forget that we’re a team of ten thousand strong?!”
“N-no.” There were only eleven members. “Then why don’t I ever see them at the meetings?”
“How the hell am I going to stuff that many people in our house? Jeez, Shuichi-chan, it’s called Discord. You should know it by now.” Kokichi huffed and Shuichi faintly laughed. “Honestly the audacity you have to doubt your own boyfriend, let alone your own leader .”
“Sorry.” Shuichi quickly bowed his head, and he could feel Kokichi shift. “So. You think that she’ll be found?”
“No doubt about it. So come on Shuichi, let’s go back into the fort yeah? I’m sure Koji-chan and Keiko-chan will prefer it if you didn’t worry over stupid things.” Kokichi gently took Shuichi’s hand. “Besides, what can you do right now? All we have is people telling us that she’s gone. Nothing to say where. Nothing to say who. Until we get that information, what can we start doing? It’s the city, not the wilderness.”
Shuichi couldn’t deny that Kokichi was right. There really was no way to figure out where she was at the time. He felt his phone buzz next to him and he reached for it automatically. Another email from Danganronpa.
Frowning, he decided to open the email app. He could mark it a spam so that he could focus on more important things. Just as he reached the inbox, he saw the complete subject box. The first email that was sent had the subject line of: Thank you for your tribute and your impending participation. Which felt as ominous as it sounded. The second email had the line of: Are you ready for a game of thrills, chills and kills?
“What’s wrong?” Kokichi asked and Shuichi angled his phone towards his boyfriend’s direction. “Um...what?”
“That’s my impression too. I don’t…”
Kokichi yanked the phone out of Shuichi’s hand. “If I reply to the spam email, do you think I’ll be as famous as that English comedian back in the U.K?”
“No? They’re probably going to think that you’re doing this to be like him to begin with.” Shuichi wouldn’t mind it if Kokichi tried to send a prank back at them. Maybe if he did that, he’d be left alone.
“Thank you for your tribute and participation,” Kokichi suddenly read aloud, causing Shuichi to look at him. “As you know, this game only happens once a year and with the best choices that were picked from judges. We had over thirty auditions this year, and it was hard to narrow down the choices to just sixteen.” He paused and Shuichi felt all color drain from his face. Sixteen. Kokichi glanced at him before continuing. “We hope that you will continue to participate in the game as you have done in the previous years. If this is your first time getting this email, congratulations on being a part of the Danganronpa family. We hope you enjoy your stay.”
“What.” Shuichi replied, staring at him like he just grew another head.
Kokichi quickly deleted that email and went to the next one. “Dear Danganronpa Fanatics. Welcome back to the fifty-second game! The rules have changed slightly due to audiences wishing to take more of a role in our games. We are so excited to share what we have in store for you. As you are aware, we have opened our doors to allow family members who are close to the contestants to have a special invite so that they can watch and participate too. Isn’t that exciting? Bear in mind that the audience and the family members are going to be anonymous, meaning that you will not know who is who during this time to make the voting fair. Yes, that’s right! Voting time! You will not be voting during the class trials unfortunately, as that is for the contestants to deal with. Instead, you will be voting anywhere from favorite colors to motive videos.”
“Motive videos?” Shuichi asked weakly. “Game? What do they mean by class trials?!”
“I don’t know.” Kokichi bit his thumb as he stared at the email. “It goes on to talk about that the voting is majority rules, and that you can only influence the game so much. You may get a chance to do a video talking directly to the contestant, but you have to be aware that the motive videos may be switched among the players, so you may want to choose words carefully. Jeez, for a spam email, they sure decided to go the dark route, didn’t they?”
“I no longer think that’s spam.” But what else could it be? Shuichi never heard of Danganronpa before. He doubted that his cousin would have even known about it either. They didn’t go around looking for things like that, at least he didn’t think she would. Then again, missing people always had secrets. He glanced at the wall that his computer desk was pushed up against. The very same wall that he could hear her guitar. Missing people always had secrets that even the closest relatives didn’t know about.
He never thought that there would be a day he would have to investigate his own cousin. He never thought that he would have to dig out her secrets. He looked at the phone that was resting in Kokichi’s hand, seeing the words that were printed on the screen. He doubted about the auditions. He doubted that there was such a thing.
Takahashi said it best, didn’t he? That if he was going to kidnap, he would scout out his potential targets. That was what those black cars were for.
“The Usual Sixteen.” Shuichi murmured quietly.
“Please tell me you’re not thinking about trying to use a case to distract you. I’m right here.” Kokichi pouted, but the mood didn’t match. He was trying, and Shuichi appreciated it.
“No, that’s wrong.” Shuichi shook his head. “I was thinking...Danganronpa specifically mentioned that sixteen were selected out of the thirty that they scouted.”
“Yes…” Kokichi agreed slowly. “You think that…”
“The Usual Sixteen were in Danganronpa. But why? If it’s a game, shouldn’t they have returned home?” Shuichi pursed his lips together. “That’s what bothers me about it.”
“There’s a link in the email.” Kokichi glanced down at the email. “We could...turn it on...confirm our suspicions.”
“...I think I’d like my uncle to take a look at it first.” Shuichi determined. “I’d rather have him know that I got these emails and see what his professional opinion is. Chances are, we may not have a choice but to hand over my phone as evidence, because of the links that are on it. They may be able to trace something.”
“If that’s what you want, beloved. I won’t stop you.” Kokichi sighed as he handed the phone back to Shuichi. “But can you send me those emails to my phone regardless?”
“Why?” Shuichi’s brows furrowed.
“I want Solo-kun to see if he can’t trace it.”
“I mean…” He trailed off. The police were sometimes too slow and if Aki was a part of it, then they needed to know now before something happened. “I guess.”
(Thank you all so much for the likes and reblogs! Also thank you so much @sinfulwonders for beta-reading my chapter, also for telling me about the tagging system. Jesus I didn’t know that was a thing. Also, I’m changing the rating on all of my chapters from NSFW to mature as there is really nothing Explicit in my chapters thus far and probably won’t be. I maintain my position that ratings can change depending on what happens and as new information appears (like the tagging, jesus I still can’t believe no one told me. It used to be it was either sfw or nsfw and there was no in between...You’re so wonderful to me <3. Early update once again, but who knows why >:D)
Rated: Mature (language, murder, descriptions of violence, sexual language)
Summary: Amateur Detective Shuichi Saihara knew that searching for the “Usual 16” wasn’t going to get him anywhere. The disappearances weren’t being tracked in any news outlet, and very few families even tried to come forward to ask for help, let alone to report them missing. Yet, Shuichi can’t shake off the feeling that there’s a reason behind the disappearances, and he’s close to the answer.He just didn’t realize that the answer was going to hit close to home, in more ways than one.
Previous Next
You can read this below the cut or at AO3
The house no longer felt the same. The missing sounds of the guitar were still too much and the scattered conversation between him, his aunt, and his uncle all felt forced and unnatural. Shuichi remembered how he interviewed the families who were missing and how they always said the house felt strange without them. Like there was a piece missing. It wasn’t the absence of routine. It was a literal piece and Shuichi wished that he never knew what it felt like.
It was raw. It was a constant reminder that she wasn’t there. It wasn’t just the missing guitar, it was the fact that his aunt was at the stove. It was his uncle that was at the living room table with files scattered and a furrowed brow. It was the strained silence that held too many words that Shuichi knew needed to be said, but no one was daring to say them. It was a loss. Calling it a heavy cloud of grief and of worry didn’t even make sense. It was more like a ghost. Every phone call was a jolt, a prayer, a hope. It was a spark that was easily extinguished and left a sour taste in the back of his mouth.
Shuichi pulled his hat over his eyes, and glanced down at the ground on the train. He didn’t want anyone to take a look at him and pester him for answers he didn’t have. Class was the same way, the same averted gaze. The teacher drowned on and on and he couldn’t grasp what was being talked about. The day both moved like molasses and moved at supersonic speed and he wasn’t sure which one he preferred. He just wanted the world to stop. He wanted to figure out this case.
On spur of the moment he decided to ditch the rest of his classes. They weren’t doing him much good mentally, and he wasn’t focusing. It was better for him to leave before someone figured him out, and asked him to go see someone. It wasn’t that he disregarded those who worked in the mental health field, it was just he had bigger fish to fry. He was going to have to figure out a way to get a new phone so that he could keep in contact with D.I.C.E and everyone else. Aki wasn’t going to be able to get a hold of him, but he sure hoped that she wouldn’t think he was kidnapped if she heard the wrong voice at the end of the phone.
Getting home was a surprise in itself. He didn’t remember getting on a train, but he remembered being around crowds of people. He didn’t remember turning at the corner like he usually did, but he did remember to stop at the park bench and wait a moment to see if someone was going to run and catch up to him. He also forgot that his aunt was home, and that he outed himself that he had skipped.
Soft padding of feet alerted Shuichi to look up to see that his aunt was standing at the foyer, hands on her hips. Her lips were pursed but it was easy to see that it was out of worry, not out of shame. The word “plain” echoed in his mind the last time his father spoke about his aunt. She wasn’t exotic with the different hair colors like himself or his uncle. Black straight hair, almond eyes that could pierce through any one’s soul. Much like she was doing to him now. Despite being home, she wore a professional button up blouse that was a wine red and black dress slacks.
Instead of arguing or telling him that he should go back, she stepped down into his space and hugged him tightly. Shuichi froze at first, feeling everything in him tense up and his skin prickled at the feeling. He could smell the soft scent of her perfume that she constantly wore to work. He brought his arms up and sank into her embrace, hugging her back.
“We’ll get through this.” Keiko spoke. Shuichi didn’t realize how similar his cousin and his aunt spoke. The same lit to their words, the same gentle tone. She pulled him away and she gently moved his cap so she could brush some of his hair out of his face. Her eyes were watery, red rimmed. She had been crying recently, and probably all day while he was at school. “Koji went to the station. See if he could find anything. You might’ve provided a lead with those emails.”
False hope wasn’t like his aunt, but they were grasping at anything really. Shuichi couldn’t blame her for that. For wanting to find some sort of hope. For finding some sort of peace. It was torture not knowing what was happening. Shuichi pulled his shoes off and decided to go back into his room.
The only way to know anything, Shuichi sat at his desk and pulled the laptop close, was to dive in. He braced himself for the worse, and he also braced himself for a spam email that’ll give his computer a thousand viruses. God he could imagine how hard Kokichi would laugh at that. Solo probably would have tried to contact him on his phone to warn him. Considering he requinished it to his uncle for evidence, he wouldn’t have gotten the message and Kokichi wasn’t ditching class. Or if he was, he probably was checking in on Deuce and Trick.
Keeping a mental tab open that he was going to have to visit too, he logged into his email account and froze when he saw a third letter from Danganronpa. The subject line made his blood freeze and his stomach feel hollow. It’s Voting Time.
The letter simply asked one question: What would the first round’s motive be? The answers that Shuichi were greeted with were appalling at best.
Fight For Your Loved Ones
Memories You Think You Forgot
Reasons To Live
“What the hell.” Shuichi whispered softly to himself, staring at the choices. He still didn’t know what the hell the motive was supposed to be for. He had meant to go into the link, to see what he was missing. Instead he was greeted with this and his heart rate accelerated. He could hear it throbbing in his ears and his stomach only buckled under the pressure of anxiety. He felt nauseous. It didn’t help that there was a time limit. He had until six in the evening to decide what it was.
Were these motives supposed to be reasons to escape? He would have thought that the “escape” would be reason enough. Using that as his own motivation, he clicked out of the email and he went into the second one with the invitation link. He clicked on it and pursed his lips together as his screen suddenly went black.
Well. That answered that question didn’t it? He was about to close his laptop and see about talking to Takahashi to fix it when an emblem of a crest appeared. The rest looked like a high school’s crest that was vaguely familiar to Shuichi. It had a checkered background of black and white. There was a pen going diagonally to the left and a jagged red gash that went the other direction. The crest was crowned like royalty and on either side was adorned with angel wings.
Shuichi could suspect that the crest was mocking someone or something. There was just...a bad feeling that etched into his psyche and told him to stay on guard. The screen disappeared turning back to black when it reappeared.
There was a chat log on the right hand side of the computer that was already taking off. Shuichi noted that there were a lot of banned comments that took up most of it. There were only three rules that were being stated. No pleading, no complaining, and no online bets.
Shuichi blinked slowly at the chat log before he turned his attention to the screen. The location looked to be like a dinning hall. There was a long table that had exactly sixteen seats and a kitchen in the nearby background. There were no windows, but the light overhead was bright enough to mock sunlight. There was also overgrowth that was happening in the corners of the room. Were they in a place that was abandoned? Inside the dining hall, there was a green haired boy that was talking to another boy. His brows furrowed, he could’ve sworn he saw that green-haired kid somewhere. When the camera moved to a different angle, the lightbulb appeared.
“Amami-kun?” Shuichi spoke softly. “But we thought you were in Japan…” He trailed off. They had been right in thinking that he was in Japan. But now it made sense why they couldn’t find him. He was also one of the Usual 16.
Same with that boy that he was talking to. He wore a black and blue flannel shirt and torn up jeans that had grass stains at the knees and mud at the hems. His boots were covered in it, meaning that he walked around hiking trails and forested areas quite a lot. His hair was an untamed mess that was a result of all the trees branches trying to snatch at him. Shuichi also noted that he wore brown heavy duty gloves. The kind that bird trainers would wear at the zoo.
“-Don’t think anything has happened yet.” Rantaro spoke. He had a tone to his voice that was soft and unassuming. A casual dialect. “So I don’t think we have to worry much about Monokuma's planning, Kokai-kun.”
Monokuma? Shuichi blinked slowly. He glanced at the chat log to see if anyone was going to answer that question, but all he saw were mockery and laughter. These were people who’ve probably seen more than their fair share of this kind of game if they knew what to expect.
“I jus’ don’ like the fac’ dat we’re all here and dat we dunno wha’s goin’ on.” The heavy accent made Shuichi’s head spin. He was really going to have to listen hard to understand what he was trying to say. “Dat bear ding really makes me a nervous willy. ‘Elling us dat dis is a killin’ game.”
Shuichi felt himself lurch backwards, his hands gripped in front of his desk. A killing game? Then that meant that the class trials were to figure out something. Was this supposed to be a game of real life murder mystery solving?! Then that would explain why no one was connected to each other. Why put family members in the same room when all they would do was try to find ways to save each other, or kill for each other?! Shuichi brought himself back into the conversation.
“Yeah that was a bit weird and unsettling.” Rantaro agreed. “For now our main focus is to figure out a way out of here. I know that we already split into groups, but do you wanna come with? You don’t have to if you’d rather stay out of it. I get it.”
“Nah, I’ll come.” Kokai agreed, tugging on his gloves nervously. “I dunno how much help I’ll be, bu’ if I can see or do somethin’ I dun mind.”
“Thanks partner. I’ll be relying on you.”
The blush on Kokai’s cheeks was flaming red and Shuichi glanced at the chat log again to see that more comments were going off.
The camera changed to another group. Two girls were in a grassy hallway with springtime flowers that were blossoming. The windows had the sun shining through the glass, pouring onto the ground and lighting up the area with its rays. One was wearing a sparkling leotard that caught the light and shimmered everytime she moved. Her blond hair was tied in a tight knot on the top of her head. She had an athletic build and she stood in a way that told Shuichi that she was used to being in a poised position. Either she was a ballerina, a dancer, or something else entirely.
Her accomplice was a messy looking character. Her ends of her hair were singed and she had a black streak that went across her cheek past the bridge of her nose. She had a lot of black marks on her clothes, and a lot of burn holes too. Her socks were over stretched and hung at her calves and she also had a plaid red black skirt. Her shirt had floppy long sleeves that were torn and burned as well. She had bandages wrapped around her fingers and hands, and she was twirling a lighter in between her fingers. Shuichi blinked slowly. If he didn’t know all of the members of D.I.C.E he wouldn’t have been surprised to find out she was one.
“That bear gives me the creeps.” The girl with the lighter spoke. “But you gotta admit he’s a cutie too. Do you think if we light ‘em up he’ll let us go?”
“I don’t think that’s how that works, Yuya-chan.” Yuya. Shuichi quickly grabbed his notebook from the side. He quickly jolted the name down. He just needed to see if anyone was going to be on a first name basis. “So um…” She shifted nervously. “Can I ask you something?”
“Do you wanna ask me how many buildings I’ve burned down?” Yuya stopped twirling the lighter and suddenly flicked it, scaring the other girl into jumping back a few feet away. “Nyahahaha! Sorry!” She extinguished the flame. “What was the question?”
“Why do you burn down buildings?”
“Would it surprise you if I told you I never did?” Yuya blinked at her as she twirled the lighter. “I think the only reason I got Ultimate Arsonist is because I set fire to my house once. By accident thank you.”
“H-how on earth?”
“Curious to know the same.”
The girls screamed and Rantaro and Kokai approached. “Sorry.” He waved casually. “Didn’t mean to scare you girls into a fright. You okay?”
“Amami-kun you’re like a ghost you know that?” Yuya pouted. “So you wanna know the story too huh? What about bird boy over there?”
Ultimates? Arsonist? Shuichi was starting to wonder if he could keep up with all of the information that was being poured out to him. What was an Ultimate? What did it mean in the context of the game? He didn’t hear about any house burnings in his area but...if they were all taken from different prefectures….then there had to have been a house burning recently that caught everyone’s attention. He was going to have to look that up later. If he could get a better name than just “Yuya”. Depending on where she lived, there could be plenty of them running around or just a few.
“Okay well since you’re soooo insistent. I guess I’ll spill. It was a cooking accident.” Yuya sighed as she folded her arms around her waist. “And just so happened that it was near something electrical and kaboom!”
“Sounds scary.” Rantaro had the same expression as the girl and the other boy that was next to him. Shuichi also couldn’t hide his own surprise. That was terrible luck. “Glad to see that you’re okay.”
“I got some major burns for it, but I’m walking!” She pounded at her chest. “Nothing gets me down. What about you Amami-kun? Since we’re being all chummy. How did you get your Ultimate title?”
“Haha.” Rantaro rubbed the back of his neck. “I suppose it’s because I often travel.”
“But you’re not the Ultimate Tourist.” Yuya pointed out. “You’re the Ultimate Adventurer. So there’s a story there.”
“Maybe.” Rantaro shook his head. “Personally I don’t really see it as a story. You know. Going off into the wilderness.”
“Oh that kind of adventurer.” Yuya pouted. “And here I thought you’d be looking for something. Like treasure.”
“Haha. Maybe I am and I just haven’t stumbled upon it yet.”
“Sounds like you Amami-kun. We already know why bird-boy’s bird boy-”
“Shuddup.” Kokai frowned.
Ultimate Adventurer. That fit with the fact that he was trying to go around the world and find his family. Shuichi paused in that thought process as the hand that cupped around his mouth slowly fell in realization. Ultimates weren’t “Ultimates”. That was just a fancy title. No, what connected these people together wasn’t how close they were. It was the accomplishments.
Every single person in that room, in that game that was being played out before Shuichi’s eyes, accomplished something. Which meant that they were in newspapers or they were in some sort of local event that gathered. They somehow caught Danganronpa’s attention. He just had to figure out where that point of interest was.
He looked at the chat log to see that some of them were annoyed with Yuya. Some thought she was cute. Some were commenting on Rantaro and whether or not he would last in the game. Some thought he was cute. Some thought he was bland. There were also comments about the girl too. Shuichi barely caught the word Maeji before he scrambled to write that down. He would have to wait and see how the game progressed to get her “ultimate” and see if he couldn’t find her.
Shuichi couldn’t deny that the fire and the description of it helped narrow down his results. He couldn’t open anything in a new browser since the game took up the computer screen, but he could wait until it was over, or at least until he decided to log off. He noted that there was a timer on the side of the chat log. He carefully wiggled his mouse and dragged the pointer over to it to see that it was the amount of time left before the voting polls were closed. He still had time.
He chanced a look at the chat logs, just to see if there were more banned comments. Instead his eyes were greeted to a simple conversation, but one that held meaning.
[ Loki: Maan so lame. How long are we gonna have to listen to them chat about how to get out of the stupid building? ]
[ Shinigami: This is the first episode of sorts, Loki. We’re still trying to get to know who the players are and who we want to show our support to. Hence why there’s such a long time for us to vote. They want us to feel something for these people. They’re going to allow them the luxury of feeling safe for now. The real game begins with the votes are cast. ]
[ Loki: Ugh you’d think they’d be able to do it without us. ]
[ Shinigami: The audience did request more of a presence. ]
Which was why the emails were sent. Which was why the timer was a constant reminder that they had to decide everyone’s fate. He watched the group split apart again after a chat and wander away. He knew that paying attention to every little detail, every little piece of the conversation could lead to something bigger, but he was also filled with worry, with dread.
Right now, it appeared their motive was simple. They were trying to escape or trying to find a way to get out. Shuichi could understand why they had to split up. The area that they chose to use for the game looked pretty big. They would need all hands on deck if they wanted to figure out a way out. If there was a way out. Shuichi wasn’t sure about that. Chances were it was a one-way ticket. There was no traditional way of getting out of there.
He was right when the camera took them outside. The dome shape barrier was enough to tell him that these people who were behind the game were smart. Dreadfully clever. They thought things through, they had to. They had 52 seasons to mess up. How many made it out alive? How many all died before they could reach the entrance? Shuichi pursed his lips together as he tugged his hat down slightly.
The camera focused in the courtyard by the fountain. There were two people that were wearing white lab coats. One wore the safety goggles and had different colors splattered all over her coat. She had her cotton candy colored hair tied in a ponytail and she kept a navy mask over her mouth too. Her features were...obscured heavily. The other one who wore a white lab coat wore a suit underneath. His tie was fixated at his neck and he had a couple of pens in his pocket. He carried a clipboard and his hair was slicked back since he couldn’t very well tie it.
They looked much older than the other classmates, but at the same time Shuichi wondered how much of this was due to what they were wearing. Now that he was thinking about it, it was a bit odd for them to be wearing such clothing. He doubted those were the clothes they were stolen in. If anything, Shuichi was starting to get the idea that this was a horrible game of “dress up the part”.
They were being mocked for their talents and they didn’t have a clue.
Shuichi was also starting to get the sense that the camera favored following around one particular student, but he couldn’t tell if it was the boy with the accent or Rantaro. The camera zoomed in on the conversation just as Rantaro and Kokai appeared to them. “Yo.” Rantaro greeted as he approached. “Did you two find anything?”
“So far our research fails us.” The woman spoke as she adjusted her goggles. “We had a hypothesis that said that the entrance could be outside somewhere rather than indoors, but we can’t seem to figure out where it could be. We supposed that it could be a manhole, but looking at it...we verified that it wasn’t the case. Our reasoning is that the manhole would be too...obvious.”
“Obvious in the sense that the mastermind or whoever thought of this game would think that we’d have the same idea.” The man spoke. “Ajshi-san thought so too, but we can’t come up with any other leads.”
“I also had a hypothesis that maybe someone might know more. I attempted to talk to one of the Monokubs, but they accused me of attempting to cheat.” Ajishi frowned, as she tugged up on her gloves. “I guess that proves my hypothesis correct even though I can’t exactly prove anything. Attempted repeats will probably get me killed. Ougai-san also convinced me not to go further in my research. I’m inclined to agree. I’m not good with people. I’m good with chemicals.”
“And depending on how bad things can get, if we have someone here that can at least help make medicine using my knowledge, it’ll be half the battle.” Ougai nodded sagely. “We’re too important to just risk.”
“I get that.” Rantaro replied. “So not the man hole then. Sucks. Would’ve thought that would be our way out.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Any other ideas?”
“None that I can think of so far. But we’re attempting to come up with an idea. Our thoughts were to use Yuya-san’s ability to the maximum. However, we’re unsure what would be good to break this dome. I have never seen anything like it. It’s thick to the touch.” Ajishi rolled her shoulder as she spoke. “I’ll have to see if Yuya-san has even worked with something like this before, and if she knows a way to make it explode. It could be our only way out.”
“That is if it doesn’t count as school property.” Ougai spoke just as a black and white bear appeared on the screen.
It was one of the most hideous creatures Shuichi had ever seen. The white side looked like a normal stuffed bear. The black side on the other hand had a red gash for an eye that looked vastly similar to the emblem that had been on the screen not too long ago. “What do you mean it’s not a part of school property?!” He yelled, in a very over the top high pitched tone. “If it’s on school grounds, it’s school property.” He changed tune quickly into a nervous wreck. “You youngsters and your rebellion phrases. I thought you would get over yourselves. I told ya, you ain’t leavin! That’s just a pipe dream! You know how to get out!”
“Murder isn’t our forte. We don’t have a killer among us.” Aijshi spoke up sternly. “You caught people who are pacifists in nature.”
“What do you know about being a pacifist?” The bear asked, suddenly curious. Shuichi was starting to get whiplash on how all over the place this animal was. What even was this creature? This couldn’t be real. That had to be the made up part about this show. “Anyone here has a potential of killing. But what do I know? I’m just a lonely stupid bear.”
“Besides escaping, what other reasons could we have to murder?” Rantaro spoke up, his voice just as firm as Ajishi’s. His arms were folded tight against his chest as he stared down at the bear, unphased by the creature’s looks or his wording. “There’s nothing.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?” The bear suddenly sing-songed. “But I’ll tell you one thing. Ya ain’t leaving by trying to explode those things. We knew that grabbing an arsonist was going to make us look bad.”
“Whose we?” Ougai suddenly spoke up with interest.
“Uh oh.” Just like that he disappeared.
“Wait just a moment!” Ajishi shouted before slumping, her goggles slipping half-way down her face. “He ran away again. Just as he was about to let something important slip.”
“Dun’ ya dink it’s weird dough?” Kokai suddenly spoke up. “Dey planned for an arsonist.”
“Yes, I thought the phrasing was strange myself.” Ajishi suddenly perked back up, adjusting her goggles back onto her face. “Which means they prepared that there would be a chemist and a doctor among you as well. We should tread carefully. That animated bear may be on to something. Anyone has the capability of murder, that is correct. There is not a single person among us who is a detective.”
Shuichi’s heart lurched in his chest. Did that mean that she wasn’t in this game? At the same time, he had to stamp down that hope. He already knew that everyone had a talent that meant they accomplished something. Aki never did anything with detective work, so there was no way that would be her accomplishment.
It meant that he knew now what kind of motive that bear was looking for too. That motive vote was to either persuade people to kill or to persuade people to keep stalling the game. Shuichi cupped his mouth with his hand as he moved his mouse and clicked on the timer and saw that the vote was also embedded into the website. They must have come to the thought that not everyone was going to vote first or be able to escape out of the computer screen.
If Aki was going to commit a murder, Shuichi knew that she’d do it if she thought he was in danger. Which meant that he had to be very careful about what his choice was. Loved ones were out. He couldn’t afford to be the reason. He didn’t know if Aki suffered from depression like he did. She didn’t show that to him. He had no choice, Aki had developed a sixth sense of when he was down and unable to get out of bed. She would’ve caught him this morning looking like a wreck.
It would be amusing if it didn’t make his heart ache. That left with one other choice that didn’t make much sense to Shuichi. Memories. What could she have forgotten that the Danganronpa knew about and wanted to torment her with? It was a flip of a coin, but it was the safest alternative than either one of the previous options. He clicked the vote and held his breath.
Nothing happened besides a thank you screen. Shuichi let out the breath, both grateful that he didn’t have to see the cumulative results so far, and a little miffed that he couldn’t see what everyone else wanted to happen. He was also starting to see why the anonymity of having family members mingled in with the audience was a huge thing. The audience could try to rig it into their favor. That was why the rule of pleading and complaining was one of the hard rules of having comments banned. No one wanted to hear them plead and empathize with them. They wanted the game.
He heard his aunt calling for him and Shuichi reluctantly decided to close the laptop shut. He hadn’t realized that time had gone by so quickly that it was nearing dinner time. He was going to have to figure out a way to start jumping in on the chat conversations as well. If anyone was going to slip what was happening with the motives or with the contestants, that would be the place to make waves.
He just would have to come up with a good user handle.
X
Unfortunately when he got back to the room, the game was already over. At the very least, the website was down and everyone was still chatting in the logs, reminiscing on what was happening. Shuichi leaned back in his chair, content to lurk around. So far the only ones that were on were him, Shinigami and Loki.
[ Loki: So tell me Shini-shiny how long have you been watching the games for? ]
[ Shinigami: Never call me that again, otherwise I’ll tear your tongue out. As for how long I have been watching, this will mark my third year. I was invited through...different means you could say. ]
[ Loki: So you’re someone with a family member that offed themselves or something? ]
[ Shinigami: Your crudeness astounds me. No. Danganronpa was not so lucky as to get someone from me. Instead they got something better. I am a scholar, you could say. I was offered a chance to see what a real life killing game looked like. My observations are...anonymous. So if I were to publish a paper, I cannot mention anything. So, you could say that it would be futile for me to even attempt to document such a tragedy. Yet here I am, bound to do so. ]
[ Loki: Sounds like a bore. Do you have any idea of who might win this thing? ]
[ Shinigami: If I were a betting man, I would say the Traveler and the Cosplayer may have a chance. ]
Cosplayer? Shuichi decided that if this was the time to talk, it couldn’t hurt. He missed too much apparently.
[ Seeker: Sorry I’m new...but what do you mean by cosplayer? I think I missed them. ]
[ Shinigami: It is hard to keep up when there is new blood and everyone is trying to introduce themselves. You must have come in after the fact. The Ultimate Cosplayer is named Shirogane Tsumugi. She is...I hate to say...not as insane as the rest of her class. A typical wall flower if you ask me. Which is why no one will think to murder her. Unless of course the Ultimate Mangaka wishes to not have a fan among her midst. It’ll be interesting to see that death play if that’s the case. Other the other way around, considering some cosplayers are such huge fans...they hate the canonical work the author put in. Warping it and turning it into their own works of literature. ]
[ Seeker: There isn’t by chance a list of names and ultimates is there? ]
[ Shinigami: It’s considered too risky. You just have to be able to keep up I’m afraid. Though I’ll happily name drop who I am talking about. I have no qualms in discussing who may win or lose. Shall I indulge you on who I think may be our first victim? ]
[ Loki: Enlighten us Shiny. ]
[ Shinigami: It is times like these I wish I were a mod. Regardless I shall spill. I believe our first victim will be none other than Yuya Chika. ]
Shuichi couldn’t place that for a second. The girl was hyper sure, but he didn’t get the vibe from her that she would just commit murder or be a vitcim. Then again, maybe they would want her gone because of her talent to make things explode. It was a dangerous talent to just run around unchecked. He wrote the name down in his notebook regardless.
[ Loki: Hmm but who’d be her murderer? ]
[ Shinigami: I hazard to say that is a toss between the chemist or the figure skater. Did you not see the way she jumped away from the flames? I have no doubt that Yadori Miki could have a trigger and that Yuya caused it. It could be an easy motive to murder. Yuya demonstrated a danger, and she could easily fall into the mindset that she’s protecting people by taking her out of the game. Ajishi Misa on the other hand may take the arsonist out simply because Yuya is too close to her element of study, and people who study in scientific fields don’t usually like sharing titles. ]
[ Seeker: That’s an awful lot of maybes though. ]
[ Shinigami: Ajishi likes to be the smartest one in the room. She uses language in a way that indicates that she should be the only one using the jargon. She stayed close to the doctor, Ougai Eiji because they share similar fields but his is less about chemicals and more about the human body. He has to rely on her for medications to be made if medications can be made. ]
[ Loki: Ew. Power trips. I hate those. ]
[ Shinigami: But it is a good motive for a murder no? Ah speaking of motives and murder, I was curious about the voting poll that we participated in. I will not ask you what you voted for, as that is between you and Danganronpa, but I must say I was a bit...surprised at how tame it was. ]
[ Loki: Yeah me too! I thought we were going to be voting methods of death or something! ]
[ Shinigami: That could still be the case. After all, we are only voting to see what will push these contestants into the brink of despair. We haven’t exactly gotten through the first round. ]
[ Seeker: What do you mean “first round”? ]
[ Shinigami: It means what it means. ]
[ Loki: Yeah Seeker, pay attention! ]
[ Seeker: I think you two misunderstood my confusion. How can this be “first round” when nothing happened? ]
[ Shinigami: Ah you are correct. I did misunderstand. My apologies. No, it would be better to say this was the “first day”. Everyone is trying to get their bearings and understand what is happening. The hopelessness of no escape will start to eat at them by the third day. Monokuma usually is nice to allow that many days respite before the games begin. I suppose it is also his cruelty. We get attached to the contestants as the contestants get attached to each other. Then it all goes to hell for lack of a better term. ]
[ Loki: Ugh. So we have to spend three days watching them get chummy with each other? Gross. ]
[ Shinigami: Sounds like you only came for the murder and gore. ]
[ Loki: Uh duh? ]
[ Seeker: We already met everyone though correct? And this is...just us trying to get one on one time with them? To deepen connections? Why would they go so far if it’s a killing game? Wouldn’t it be better if they were handed weapons and say go off? ]
[ Loki: ^ ]
[ Shinigami: You really are new to this game aren’t you Seeker? Loki? I had pegged Loki to be a veteran, I was sorely mistaken. Well, considering that we aren’t kicked off the website yet, I can indulge you for a moment. Allow me to explain. There is a theme that goes on in these games. The most common is the fight between what is more powerful, hope or despair. There are some themes where the fight is different. For example, there was a season that dealt with living in the past or living for the future. There was a fight about whether or not memories were important to a person’s personality. There was even a fight, though I wasn’t around to witness it, on reality versus fiction. As you can see, there are plenty of things that this game prides itself on. Hope versus Despair is the common theme because it’s the easiest to implement. How can you cause despair? Get attached to these people. Let these people get attached to each other. Craft a motive that is to cause heart ache. At first no one would ever think that murder will cross each other’s minds, but we know differently. ]
[ Loki: What’s the TLDR version of that whole wall of text you greeted us with? ]
[ Shinigami: Rudeness doesn’t get a TLDR. ]
[ Loki: WAAAAAHH and here I thought we were FRIENDS ]
[ Shinigami: You must be insufferable in your real life as you are online. I cannot picture this any other way. ]
[ Shinigami: Before we part, I will give you some advice. Vote as early as you possibly can and if you are an insomniac, I recommend watching the episode that was playing live around midnight. They edit out the bits that don’t mean much, and you get hints in between the pauses about what this game’s theme or even what this game’s motive is about. ]
[ Loki: So what we’re watching is the live version? ]
[ Shinigami: Live versions start at nine in the morning depending on where you are. The episodes that are recorded are edited and put out by midnight. ]
[ Loki: That’s an hour of editing. ]
[ Shinigami: I imagine they edit along the way so that they can do that. Not everyone has the day off like I do, anot not every day I can make it to a live session. That is not to say that they do the recordings for me, but you get the idea. ]
[ Loki: Well it’s no skin off my nose, but I’m bored now. So I’m gonna say bye bye and hang with my boyfriend :D Goodnight. ]
[ Shinigami: Pity your boyfriend. ]
Shuichi couldn’t help but to laugh a little at that and he also decided to sign off since there was nothing else he could think of doing. He had a good amount of leads though and he felt confident that if he could gather all of that evidence up, he could present it to his uncle and the game would end before the first motive appeared, or at the very least before the first murder happened. Right now though, he needed to start looking at the ultimate titles he did have down and figure out their history.
(Thank you all so much for the reblogs and the likes, you guys keep inspiring me to create this story. It’s a very intense and taxing story, and I still admire those who can write thrillers and mysteries. If you have any comments or suggestions, I’m always thrilled to listen.
Thank you @sinfulwonders for betaing me. You always manage to reign me in and point out when I get to excited and go down a plot hole I can’t get out of!)
Rated: Mature (Themes of kidnapping)
Summary: Amateur Detective Shuichi Saihara knew that searching for the “Usual 16” wasn’t going to get him anywhere. The disappearances weren’t being tracked in any news outlet, and very few families even tried to come forward to ask for help, let alone to report them missing. Yet, Shuichi can’t shake off the feeling that there’s a reason behind the disappearances, and he’s close to the answer.He just didn’t realize that the answer was going to hit close to home, in more ways than one.
Previous Next
You can read this under the cut or at A03
[Seeker: Shinigami-san, I have a question I’d like to ask you, if it’s at all possible. ]
[Shinigami: I can attempt to answer. ]
[Seeker: Is it common for them to forget their names in the game? ]
Shuichi held his breath as he watched the chat log fly through different people’s opinions. He had managed to get into a DM with Shinigami, and somehow Loki managed to invite himself into the chat as well. He supposed that while he had been watching the recorded episode, something must have changed between the two users. He wasn’t about to press and pry however, he had bigger fish to fry.
[Loki: Yeah I was wondering that myself the other day. I thought it was common, so I didn’t ask. Haha. ]
Shinigami did call out Loki as a person who was new, but Shuichi wasn’t too certain about that. Maybe not new in the sense that he just got into the game, but maybe new in the sense that he had been in and out and was just recently back in? It was hard to tell. Some of these users had been around for years. Some of them griped about how different the chat log was, and how the rules were stupid about not complaining. Of course that instantly got them banned. Shuichi glanced over at the episode that was playing. Currently, Rantaro was making his rounds, checking in on the other players.
Currently, Rantaro was conversing with Yadori as they walked down an overgrown hallway. “I got into it when I was really small. I guess I just liked that I felt like I was flying, I could do anything! Every single spin and twirl, I always want to try to go higher, last for longer.” Yadori explained, as they turned a corner. “One day, I hope to be in the Olympics!”
“Sounds like you have a lot of work cut out for you, Yadori-chan.” Rantaro gave her a lazy smile, but it was full of pride. A type of smile a brother would give to a sister. “When we make it out of here, I’ll be sure to swing by one of your performances. I bet watching you would be a treat.”
“Mhm! Yes!” Yadori beamed. “I’ll have to make sure to save you a ticket.” She tugged on a strand of her hair as she smiled shyly. “It’ll be nice to have a friend support me in the stands. I’m used to it just being my parents, and people who I thought were my friends.”
Rantaro frowned, folding his arms as he spoke. “That’s not cool.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think so either. I broke off with them a long time ago. Still...it hurts thinking that they were hanging around me for my fame. Rather than because they actually cared about me. I tried teaching one of my friends how to skate once.” Yadori tugged her hair sharply. “It didn’t work.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah.” The silence was heavy between them for a moment. Shuichi could feel the tension between them. Awkward and tight. If he could leave that situation, he would’ve, but the cameras were still rolling. Clearly there was either more to say, or they were waiting for some sort of bombshell. “You know...I admire Yuya-chan.”
“Yuya-chan?” Rantaro was bit taken aback, and Shuichi couldn’t blame him. “Why?”
“She’s fearless.” Yadori gave a nervous giggle, pulling her hair and then twirling it from left to right between her fingers. “She has this “I’m going to do what I want” type of personality. All you can do is watch her go after it. I got to go into her lab the other day. I never saw so many explosives and different fire hazards in my life. I told her she could burn that lab down so easily...she said that she knew.”
“I’m going to have to keep an eye on her.” Rantaro mused. “Last thing I want is for her to get hurt.”
“I think she’s very used to getting hurt.” Yadori commented. Rantaro sent her a look and she wilted a little. “I’m not saying that’s a good thing, Amami-kun. But I am saying that she’s used to it. Probably a bit too much.”
“Like an addiction?” Rantaro frowned. “I wonder…”
“You two!”
Both Yadori and Rantro looked away from each other to see that Ajishi was coming towards them, looking fierce and red. Her hair was a mess, her ponytail was falling apart. Her goggles were slipping off of her head and her mask was down and under her chin. “I would like to ask you to meet me in the dining hall ASAP.”
“Uh...why?” Yadori blinked.
“Just do it!” She snapped before she turned on her heel and walked off.
Shuichi blinked slowly. That wasn’t typical Ajishi behavior. Rantaro folded his arms against his chest, his eyes narrowed at Ajishi’s retreating back. “Something has her twisted.”
“That was terrifying.” Yadori pursed her lips together. “I wonder what happened...do you think everyone’s going to be there?”
“If it has something to do with the killing game, we probably should go.” Rantaro agreed. “I doubt anyone wants to go up against her wrath right now.”
“Oda-kun might.”
“Oda-kun’s reckless in his own right.”
Shuichi turned his attention away from the conversation and looked over at the chat log. He knew that when Shinigami had a lot to say, it was best to let him type it all at once, rather than trying to get a word in edgewise.
[ Shinigami: I understand that I should probably keep this brief as there is a character limit and it took me sometime to figure out what facts I should omit. Allow me to preface this with, it is not uncommon for Danganronpa to want to do something new with their series. Like I have stated before, they usually change it up by themes, but they also change it up by talents. There has been a case where a class has effectively stalled the game, only for them to wind up dead. But that is not the question you’re asking and I’m digressing. ]
[ Shinigami: Usually the gimmick is that there is a person within the group that does not know what their talent is. Their memories are usually a little more jumbled than the rest of the groups, but other than that they are in the same boat. No advantage, but plenty of disadvantage. Many times, those who have that gimmick are treated like the “mastermind” of the game. The entire reason that they are playing. Of course that has only been done once and with success. Other times, it has not been done, due to its predictability. You can imagine the ratings went down. ]
[ Shinigami: Most people again who have this gimmick can remember basic memories. Some of them can remember if they had family and friends. Some of them can remember nothing. It really depends on the person. That being said, this is the first time where they have done a gimmick where the person has no idea of their identity, but knows their talent. Not only have ratings gone up, but a lot of people are speculating over the fact that she may be the next one to die, or the next survivor. As everyone likes an underdog to win. ]
More entertainment. Shuichi frowned deeply as he read Shinigami’s words.
[Loki: We’re still not going to get a TLDR version of that are we? ]
[ Shinigami: I believe Seeker-san was the one that asked the question. ]
[ Loki: I’m calling favoritism. ]
A loud slam startled Shuichi into looking back over at the episode, jarred out of his thoughts. Everyone was seated at the long table, besides Ajishi who was looking livid standing at the front of the dining table, her hands flat on the surface. “I have a strong hypothesis as to what this is.” She said darkly, “But if you confess now, your sentence will be light, I assure you.”
“Oh no!” Oda spoke up. “Whatever are we going to do?! What’s our punishment, Ajishi?” His school uniform, aside from Shirogane’s, was plain as it possibly could be. Easily mistaken for a popular middle or high school depending on his age. The emblem of Danganronpa was on his left breast pocket. The only thing that seemed off about him was his actions and his words, they were far too comfortable in a killing game.
“I have yet to decide but it will not be pleasant.”
“I think we should know what it is we’re about to be punished for.” Yadori spoke up, leaning back and staring at Ajishi. “You can’t just accuse people and tell us that we’re going to get hurt.”
“No that is accurate I cannot.” Ajishi took a deep breath. “Who broke into my lab to steal a valuable set of chemicals? Specifically, chemicals that if you use the wrong proportions, will turn into a hazardous gas that can kill us?”
Everyone froze.
[Shinigami: Oh that would be a new way to murder someone. I don’t think anyone has attempted a gas as of yet. Though then again, the victims are usually limited to one person until Monokuma gets bored and gives a daily double, so to speak. ]
[ Loki: Sooooo the gas would be technically breaking school rules. Right? ]
[ Shinigami: Depends on how they use it. They can use the gas and lock a room. They can use the gas in someone’s lab. It’s not illegal until someone spills their plans to Monokuma. ]
“What’s this? A gas? Wohohoho! How exciting!” Of course, speaking of the devil would make him appear. His kubs weren’t trying too hard to be a part of the show, then again, Shuichi had a feeling that they were a recent gimmick and they were trying them out slowly. Introducing it to the crowd, gauge the audience's reaction to them, before adding them more and more. “That is a way to cause a murder!”
“That is if they use the wrong proportions!” Ajishi cried out, slamming her hand against the table violently. “If you use the chemicals correctly and with care, you can knock people out instead.”
“That is interesting. So someone’s wanting to knock someone out then.” Oda spoke up. “Who here has something that they want so badly in the outside world, that they’d straight up try to kill all of us all at once?”
“Hahaha! If that happens, that’d be too boring. You’re only allowed to kill one person. One murder for you!” Momokuma spoke up. “After all, we can’t have a class trial if no one’s there to point fingers and accuse each other. That would make me a very sad bear.”
“So we have to kill one person, survive being accused, and we get out.” Chatani spoke up, her pen up against her bottom lip. She looked among her peers. “So then getting those chemicals was a worthless idea.”
“Getting, Chatani?” Oda echoed. “Do you have something to hide, sweetheart?”
“Call me that again and I may just ask whoever stole them to use them on you.” Chatani replied, her eyes narrowed at Oda. Shuichi shrunk in his chair at her gaze, knowing full well it wasn’t at him, but still feeling it’s effect. Oda, on the other hand, laughed as though she was just making a joke.
“Pupupupu! Looks like you all are in trouble! Don’t forget that you’re all underneath a time crunch.” Momokuma teased, but clearly knew that his presence was no longer needed, and disappeared as fast as he reappeared.
Shuichi pursed his lips together as he watched everyone else look at each other, or stare absently at the table. “M-maybe you should tell us how the chemicals work?” Maeji offered hesitantly, her usual chipper demeanor was subdued and hesitant. “That way if someone did grab them, and were going to use it correctly...they know how?”
“I’d much prefer to get them back.” Ajishi frowned deeply. “It is irresponsible for me to just leave it like that.”
“Don’t you think it’s irresponsible to let us play with them without knowing the instructions?” Oda asked lazily. “Because that’s what I’m thinking is happening here.”
“Well now you’re just making me hypothesis that you are the one that stole the items.” Ajishi snapped at Oda. “Where did you take them, thief?”
“I admit I am a thief, you got me there.” Oda grinned, all teeth and too wide for anyone’s comfort. Shuichi wanted to back away from the computer and away from him. He was a dangerous individual. “But giving something back ? A little naive of you don’t you think? Consider them a loss and move on. Just tell us how to use them properly so we don’t accidently kill everyone here.”
“Unless, was that the point?” Rantaro questioned and the room went still. Not a single person wanted to open their mouths, everyone once more were looking at each other with suspicion and with hesitance. Anyone could be a murderer, and now someone had the means to become one.
Ajishi whimpered, falling back away from the table. Her earlier sign of aggression disappearing at the admission. She looked around at the table, her eyes welling up with tears and her cheeks turning a bright red. “You are all awful people.” She finally said, her voice cracking. “Using chemistry to hurt people rather than to save.”
“We are in a killing game.” Ougai spoke up, his voice cold and distant. He leaned back, arms folded against his chest as he leveled his gaze at the chemist. “Not a single person here can be considered innocent. Not even a doctor. Not even you.”
“I would never kill!” Ajishi shouted.
“Says the chemist who doesn’t know that her own little hobby’s being used.” Oda taunted. “It appears that she doesn’t-”
“Half of the blue. A couple of drops of the pink!” She suddenly held her head, gripping at her strands. Tears streamed down her face as her shoulders hitched in time with her sobbing. “Just...please don’t use them to kill people! I’m begging!” She whimpered. “You don’t need a lot to knock someone out. A fast...a fast dab on a cloth will knock them out for approx-approximately ten minutes.”
“See?! Was that so hard?!” Oda beamed.
“I hate you!” She screamed. “I hate all of you! I hope you all rot in hell!” She suddenly stormed out of the dining room, slamming doors behind her as she went. The echoes rang against Shuichi’s brian.
[ Shinigami: So I was wrong in my assumption that she might be the murderer. Unless that was an act. Then that was well performed. ]
Shuichi didn’t have any words to describe how he felt about that. He was positive that Ajishi so far wouldn’t commit a murder. If she was going to, then she would clearly stay away from her hobby, which was smart. It would cast a lot of doubt off of her, and she might be able to buy herself some time. If she was good at framing people, her chances of survival just might increase.
“So.” Rantaro spoke up. His tone and the way he spoke was casual and laid-back, but Shuichi could hear the sharpness in his voice. “Does anyone really want to confess who took that set of chemicals, or are we going to be playing hard to get?”
“She might’ve misplaced them.” Yadori shifted in her seat uncomfortably, her gaze turning to the table. She didn’t look like she wanted to be there any longer than she had to. “I don’t know why she thought accusing us was going to get anywhere, or threatening us. Punishment? That’s just too cruel. We’re already being punished enough, aren’t we? Just by being here?”
“We didn’t ask her where they were stolen from.” Aki’s finger curled against her chin. “We didn’t ask her if it was from her lab or from her room.”
“Oh? And why does that matter?” Oda asked, a languid lit to the words.
Aki didn’t spare him a look. Instead, she turned her attention to Rantaro. “I think that her chemicals are taken from the lab. Her lab has a lot of ventilation going through the ceiling, so if anyone knows the pathway up in the ceiling, or even knows the keycode that she has on her door, it’s easy to get in. I know that Ougai-kun has unlimited access, but he wouldn’t steal.”
“Already striking him off from your-”
“You would though.” Aki’s attention turned to Oda. “You and I both know the air ducts. I know because I saw you go through them.”
“....” Oda’s face went carefully blank.
“I don’t know what you plan to do with them,” Aki said slowly, “or if someone begged you to steal them out of a dare. But I hope that you can live with yourself with whatever comes next.”
“Are you threatening me, pretty bird?” Oda asked, his voice low and quiet.
Shuichi’s attention turned towards Yadori who suddenly had frozen. Her eyes were wide with shock, and she was quietly trembling. He wouldn’t doubt that she was squeezing her hands into fists against her skirt underneath the table. She was sweating at the accusations that Aki was flinging. He leaned back slightly in the chair, pursuing his lips. If he didn’t know better, Oda got those chemicals for a reason. Yadori somehow knew something, or she was afraid that she was going to be the next victim. He didn’t recall Oda and Yadori conversing much through the few episodes that he saw, but at the same time, Shuichi didn’t catch most of the live-version. The edited version probably snipped all of that out. Trying to make it look more exciting than it was.
“No one is threatening anyone.” Rantaro quickly interfered. “Knock it off the both of you.”
“I dink y'all need da cool down,” Kokai said, folding his arms against the table. A lot of energy looked as though it was being drained from his very being. He slumped over the table and Shirogane who was sitting next to him this time patted his back kindly.
“I think that we all need to settle ourselves too. This is just like Detective Conan! We just have to retrace our steps and everything will work out. Besides, I don’t think any of us really have it to murder anyone.” Shirogane agreed cheerfully. “We should keep our heads up high and beat this game using peaceful measures.”
“Well. I’m done being accused of doing something I didn’t do.” Oda snipped as he stood up. “Later losers.” He walked out of the dining hall, and little by little everyone trickled out besides Rantaro, Shirogane, Aki, and Kokai. The four of them sat in the dining hall, silent.
“What are your guys thoughts?” Shirogane asked. “I’m thinking that we should do something to lighten the mood. It’s a bit heavy right now. I wasn’t expecting that sort of confrontation. I thought I was being forced back into an EVA.”
“I have no idea what that is, but you’re right we can use a bit of a break.” Rantaro laughed. “You know a lot of anime don’t you?”
The conversation dissolved into nothing but chatter, and Shuichi’s mind was still swirling around the mystery. He knew that there was really no point in trying to solve it right now. That was their mystery. He couldn’t go through the screen and tell Aki whatever answers he came up with, even if he wanted to. God did he want to. This wasn’t her forte, this wasn’t...she wasn’t like her dad or like him. She stayed away from detective work.
Yet somehow, Dangaronpa took one look at her and thought that she was a good candidate for whatever that they were planning. He glanced at the clock in the corner of the screen and saw that it was starting to get late. Soon enough the school announcement would come on and say that it was nighttime.
[ Loki: Mayumi-chan sure has some balls on her doesn’t she? To call him out like that? Oda-chan wasn’t expecting that much was he? ]
[ Shinigami: I may have to revise my thought process on who the two survivors are going to be. She’s smart, as though she hangs around thieves often. She also explored the air ducts, something that not very many participants ever do. No one ever sees any reason to go up there unless the riddle tells them that’s where the next flashback light could be. ]
[ Loki: Want to ramble on what a flashback light is? ]
[ Shinigami: How about I make you suffer instead, and you get to find out for yourself? We’re almost at the crescendo. I have no doubt that tomorrow morning, we’ll be looking at our first class trial. Most people are probably already calling in to work as we speak, only if to get to be a part of that glory. Humanity is beautiful when faced with an adversary and I have yet to be disappointed in how the participants of the game react to it. I wonder how they will fare when faced with death and uncertainty? ]
[ Loki: Not sure, but I bet Mayumi-chan has a few tricks up her sleeve to keep her alive. ]
[ Shinigami: I see. So if you were someone that took gambling pleasure, your money would be placed on her, yes? ]
[ Loki: I’d go a bit farther and stick my life on it. ]
It was a bit strange to see that exchange. Shuichi didn’t really get the hunch as to who Loki could be. At first he thought it was Kokichi, but he again decided against that theory. It could be Takahashi, taking on some of Kokichi’s traits in hopes of throwing off suspicion, but he doubted that too. He didn’t want to bring attention that he might know someone in the chat, as he knew too well that it could be used against him.
Just because Danganronpa went after people in newspapers and local celebrities, didn’t mean that they didn’t look at the chat logs. It didn’t mean that every word Shuichi typed was a step closer to them thinking about using him, or him getting closer to Danganronpa. This was the closest he ever had gotten to closing a case. He just needed to keep his cousin alive for a bit longer, and to figure out where Danganronpa’s headquarters were.
He had to figure out how Aki went missing. Where they picked her up, and began the trail where her’s ended.
Without saying too much of a goodbye, Shuichi closed the website, and leaned back against the chair, trying to gather his wits. One thing at a time. The mystery that was happening in the school couldn’t be solved right now. That was on the participants to figure out.
Right now, Shuichi got up from his chair and grabbed his hat from the bed, tugging it down harshly. He had a trail to track.
X
The city at night was always a strange sight to be around. There were little to no people that lingered on the sidewalks or walked down the streets. The white noise of different conversations blending in together was absent, making every noise amplified. Shuichi could hear the sounds of a cat running through an alleyway, knocking things over. He was certain there were raccoons as well trying to make some mischief. The police might’ve already scoured the area that Shuichi was heading down, but he didn’t care. If his theory was correct about Danganronpa, then the investigation wasn’t as thorough as it could have been. He stuffed his hands into his pocket, unfamiliarly familiar with the route that he was going down on.
He only walked Aki to school a handful of times. Each time was strange to him, like he was going against his nature. It was new, shiny, and it made his heart race despite that there was nothing that could harm him. It went against his routine and his nature, so he was always struck dumb at the twists and turns that the path took. His school was more heart of the city, while hers took shelter away from the main streets, nestled in the outskirts of residential areas. The apartments and houses that lined the streets showed off a different spirit than the neon signs and the flashing lights of main streets and shops.
The silhouettes that were cast by the buildings made the streets feel empty and abandoned. There were some houses and apartments that still had a soft yellow light glowing from their windows, but with the curtains drawn so that no one was looking outside, and Shuichi couldn’t look in. He didn’t mind that all that much, but he still felt as though there were eyes that were lingering on his back, watching his every move as he walked through the streets, trying to keep his mind focused on what he was there for.
The moment he got to the intersection, he looked around. It was a tight spot where the cars could only go in two lanes. There were usually more people riding bicycles going down this way. He had seen cars have a few jams because of how slow the lights were to change from red to green. He watched the walk sign turn on and he ignored it.
Shuffle told him that Aki didn’t make it to school, and he knew that this was where they would have met. Shuffle just lived down the road if he turned a hard left. Widow was in the opposite direction on the right. Widow didn’t usually go their direction for school, she normally took a different route. However, with the cars going by and Aki was paranoid, he didn’t doubt that Widow woke up early to walk her and her girlfriend to their school.
Which told him that she didn’t make it to the intersection. That was fine. It was good to get familiar with the old route. To get familiar with the surroundings before he decided to dive in. He walked back towards the beginning, right where he and Aki would normally split off. He closed his eyes, he took a breath, and then he started walking, his hands still stuck into his pockets as his eyes stopped taking in the sights, and starting taking in more of the nooks and the crannies. He let his feet carry him to where he needed to go while his mind sharpened, trying to think of what could have happened that day. Aki didn’t make it to school. She had no idea that she wasn’t going to see the gates. Which means that wherever she had been taken, it was quick and it was somewhere along this stretch.
Every alleyway that he crossed, he stopped momentarily at the mouth of it, peering in the darkness like he could peel back the layers and see what happened. Usually nothing. A dumpster if he was lucky. Usually it was just clean with some vandalism that wasn’t D.I.C.E’s doing. He made mental marks that they might want to hit these spots a little more than the outlandish “let’s vandalise near a hospital” plans Kokichi sometimes put up with.
He walked up the street and then pretended to freeze. If anyone was going to be following, they would start soon after the third or fifth alleyway that he passed if not just randomly turning from a storefront or from around the corner of the houses. Instincts were ingrained in both of them to be aware of their surroundings. To check in with their vibes. A gut reaction of “something is wrong”.
Aki would use a compact mirror. She’d pretend to fix her hair. She probably saw the black car, or someone behind her that immediately turned alarm bells on. Shuichi glanced over across the street. There could be a way to get to school from that direction. He didn’t know. Aki might’ve thought. She could have taken out her phone, plugged in her school address and tried to find a new route that way, or she could have gone on whim and prayed for the best. He looked to the side, a convenient alleyway, with a turn.
She would run down here, she’d toss her bag because she would want some piece of evidence of her disappearance somewhere. The bag would land somewhere against the wall. The pursuer already knew of that plan of action, probably knew that she was going to bolt. They had been silent, trying to stalk, but she’s too observant and they took notes on that. She was going to make it hard on them if she was just kidnapped off the street. It was easy to herd someone to go down an alleyway. It was easy as making them feel as though it was their only option of escape.
She didn’t even make it to the cross section. His eyes dropped to the ground to see a broken charm bracelet. Before he picked up the charm bracelet, he took out his new phone and got to the camera section. He snapped a few pictures of the charm bracelet and the location before he bent down to make sure that it was safely back in his possession.
He looked around the alleyway, trying to envision the scruffle. Shuichi wouldn’t call himself paranoid, but Aki had her moments. She lived looking over her shoulder. Whether she was trying to run a shoplifting heist with D.I.C.E, or was dragged into tagging a wall or a building with Deuce and Kokichi, she was always on alert. Kokichi complained about it sometimes, about how she didn’t let herself go and have fun. Like everyone else was supposed to. Shuichi never saw her relaxed unless she was playing on a stage, or...if she was in the killing game.
Which was why he decided it was odd that there was no caution tape around the area. Which made him suspicious about why he found the charm bracelet, when the police should have easily spotted it first. Spurned with that idea in mind, he walked over towards the dumpster, not needing to pull it open to verify his thoughts. Aki wouldn’t throw away anything. She would hide it.
He got on his hands and knees, mindful of any glass that was shattered around him and looked to see that there was a backpack wedged tightly against the wall and the dumpster. It was being squashed, the fabric wrinkled and looked as though it was tempted to tear. He scooted himself up close against the wall and weedled his arm through the opening. His fingers brushed against the fabric a few times before he managed to catch a bit of it. With careful and patient pulling, he coaxed the backpack out from its hiding place. He could hear the wall catching onto the fabric, scraping it loudly against the silence of the alleyway. It made him wince at the sound, but he didn’t want to get distracted and lose what grip he had on it.
It popped out after a while and he made a soft noise in the back of his throat as he looked at the backpack’s fate. There were some holes, some tears. The backpack was scruffed up, the brown leather didn’t want to hold up against the weight of a heavy dumpster and the wall. He carefully unbuckled the backpack and upturned it to see that her things were still in there. Her phone, her D.I.C.E scarf that had been hastily thrown in. Sheet music scattered about along with her homework packets and notebooks. Pencils threatened to roll back underneath the dumpster, but Shuichi caught them in time. They were cutesy and usually disallowed in school, but Aki was careful to keep her head down low. Her notebooks were covered in stickers that she didn’t care for or wanted to keep. Her student I.D., her wallet with a bit of money still tucked in, it was all there.
Shinigami said that it was a gimmick. Shuichi covered his mouth with his hand thoughtfully before adjusting his hat, unsure. There were too many possibilities. He wanted to believe that it was just a gimmick, that Danganronpa was just having a little too much fun with the idea of having someone not know who they are. The other possibility is that they were using that as a cover. Just because he was having a hard time figuring out where they heard of her didn’t mean anything. Chances were, they knew exactly who they took. Whether it was to appease the police force that they were so tied up with, or whether it was for saving their own necks, they thought it was best to conceal her identity, and with it, anything that she might’ve held dear.
The second thing was that since Aki was so paranoid, she clammed up. She gave a false name to Danganronpa. She told them that they got the wrong person, and without her student I.D, they couldn’t confirm or deny her claims. Shuichi couldn’t really buy into that theory, but...if she was paranoid...she might’ve stuck with the idea to stay silent about herself anyway. He covered his mouth as his mind spun. He closed his eyes, trying to get a clearer, better picture.
It could have been all three events. Aki staying silent, Danganronpa decides to go her route because of entertainment value and it would keep the police off their back. Aki didn’t know that they were going to do that, and accidentally helped them create the perfect alibi. Her stuff was missing, which was no skin off their nose because “Aki” was missing. Everyone else in the world would look for “Aki”. With the blouse, the clean jeans, who spoke her mind but was mostly quiet.
They weren’t looking for Mayumi, with the messed up hair, the mismatched arm warmers, the torn jeans, the quick to accuse.
How much of that was Aki acting? He never thought his cousin could act, let alone keep up a facade. Kokichi could. Kokichi was a master at it. Most of D.I.C.E were. Maybe she picked it up from them?
How much of that was Danganronpa trying to make a quick buck? What was the purpose of taking these kids and putting them into a killing game? A snuff film sure, but Shuichi had his own suspicions that there was something more deep in the rabbit hole too.
There was a soft throbbing that was starting to hit just behind his right eyebrow and Shuichi winced. There were too many unknown variables, and there were too many questions that were starting to surface again. He could only go with what he knew, and that meant taking the bag with him. It meant telling his uncle what he knew about Danganronpa and seeing his thoughts about it.
Shuichi carefully gathered up the papers and the pencils and placed them inside the backpack with care. He made sure to fold the D.I.C.E scarf as well as he could and tucked it in there as well. Once he was certain that he didn’t miss anything, he slipped the charm bracelet into the bag as well. He shifted onto the balls of his feet and hauled it up and over his shoulders, putting it on. He left the alleyway behind, knowing that he was going to have to come back to it another day and see if he couldn’t figure out what direction they might’ve taken her.
