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There's no reason to live. There's no reason to live. There's no reason to live.
He couldn't move. It was too cold. Shuichi's thoughts were mixed up. He thought about how Oma took Kaito away, how Himiko cried when they saw the outside world, Harukawa's glare…
No… Maki… was she mad at him for letting Oma take Kaito away? Was she thinking about Kaito right now? Shuichi stared at the light, it was too bright. He wanted to it to stop.
… why was he still breathing? Shuichi forced his eyes to stay open, he didn't want to remember. But he remembered it anyways.
A shot put ball next to Amami's lifeless body, Kaede hanging by her neck, Hoshi's body floating in the water, the sickening crunch heard when Tojo's body came crashing down…
Tears fell from Shuichi's eyes. He couldn't wipe them away. So many people were gone, and it was all for nothing.
Angie surrounded by her own creations and Himiko's face when she saw Chabashira’s body, Shinguji's promise to watch over everyone as a ghost…
The dried up tears on Iruma's face… Gokuhara willing to die for a crime he couldn't remember committing…
It was too much too bear. Shuichi was painfully aware of how much Kaito hated him for making everyone aware Gokuhara was the culprit. So why… why should Shuichi suffer?
He couldn't remember how he managed to get up, or how he had a knife in his hand. Of course, he remembered the latter, and thought of Kaede.
How after her death he couldn't cope. How he slipped out his room and grabbed a knife and Monokuma let it slide. How in the morning he was going to end the pain…
How Kaito stopped him by dragging him to eat with everyone.
He had put the knife in an unused drawer with the thought he'd put it back later. He never did, whether it was because he was going to continue later or because he forgot it, stayed in there, almost forgotten.
Almost.
“He wouldn't care.” Shuichi thought. He tightened his grip as he forced himself to look at the mirror. The detective was a mess, his hair was messed up and he looked extremely tired. But that wouldn't matter in the end. He'll just be another body that'll be tossed away. His death wouldn't even mean anything, Monokuma couldn't execute a dead person.
It'll all be over… soon…
------
Maki’s hand hovered over the doorbell. Shuichi had yet to come out of his room, and the assassin knew if no one went in he’d probably stay there forever. Yumeno, Kiibo, and Shirogane had managed to not drown in despair; they knew what they needed to do.
They had to free Kaito.
In order to make sure their plan could work, they needed everyone to cooperate. That's why Maki decided to go get Shuichi, she was the only one besides Yumeno who was very close to the detective.
She pressed the button, she couldn't hesitate knowing that Kaito could be in trouble. A minute passed and no one came to the door. Maki waited a little more, she knew Shuichi had a hard time getting over things that happen in the academy. As she waited for Shuichi, her mind drifted to when she trained with him and Kaito. Maki couldn't help but laugh a little, they were an unlikely trio that became friends because of Kaito.
Five minutes into waiting she rang it again. And again. And again. She rang it in a manner similar to how Kaito would do it, furiously pressing the button until someone answered. She started to worry. “Maybe he's asleep.” Maki thought. Please god, let that be it. As she considered breaking in, someone tapped her shoulder. The assassin nearly put them in a choke hold before realizing who it was.
“Ahh!” the cosplayer screamed. Maki apologized, and tried the doorbell again. Shuichi had to have woken up by now. Shirogane's scream alerted Kiibo and Yumeno, who had rushed in. “Neyh, we thought something happened to you Shirogane!” Yumeno said. While Shirogane explained to the others how she accidentally startled Maki, the assassin was getting annoyed. Her ringing the bell was even more obnoxious than when Kaito did it to her, so why wasn't Shuichi opening the door?
Unless…
She tried to open the door, but of course, it was locked. “Harukawa, what are you-”
“Shut up and help me open the door!” Maki yelled, quieting Kiibo. She heard Yumeno say something about not having enough mana or something, how was the doorknob not breaking yet?
“Hey, hey stop that!!”
Maki and the others turned around to see an enraged Monokuma. “What the hell are you guys doing? This is considered breaking the rules ya know?” Maki gave the bear one of her scariest glares. “Open. The. Door. Now.”
The bear looked at Maki and the door. The others watched him laugh. “Upupupupu! And why should I unlock it?”
Yumeno suddenly understood why Maki was in a hurry to open the door. “Because Shuichi might be in trouble! He had a hard time getting over Akamatsu's death, and he helped me get over Tenko's. With Momota gone he's suffering and we have to help him!”
Monokuma grabbed a tissue from… wherever he kept tissues and started to “cry” (those tears had to be fake). “To think that you went from being too tired to do anything to standing up for your friends! That's some good character development right there!” Maki rolled her eyes. The more time that's wasted, the less time they might have to help Kaito. “As a reward for getting this far in the killing game, I'll open the door for you!” Monokuma told Yumeno.
The robotic bear walked over the door and took out a key. The minute he opened it, Maki and the others rushed inside. “Upupupupu!”
No one could speak. No one could move. All they could do was stare at Shuichi's lifeless body and the blood that surrounded him.
“Ding dong dong ding!”
Maki teared her gaze away from Shuichi to look at the monitor in his room. Monokuma had left and made it back to his office.
“A body has been discovered! Everyone continue what you were doing before!”
When the monitor shut off, Monokuma came back to the room. Yumeno tried to wipe her tears away, but they kept coming. “Why… why would you brush off his death like it was nothing?”
“Well, his death was a suicide so there's no point in making a big deal out of-”
“No.” Maki said. “Huh? You say something?” Monokuma asked. “No, it wasn't a suicide. Shuichi wouldn't do that.” Monokuma laughed as he walked to the body. He picked up a bloody knife that was underneath it and showed it the students. “Then explain why there are no signs of a struggle? And why the blackened didn't bother taking the knife?”
Maki already knew why. But she couldn't accept it. She didn't want to. How could he… why would he…
She knew the answer. Shuichi wanted the pain to end, and he got his wish. While Maki stood there unresponsive, Monokuma continued speaking. “Anyways, there's no point in making a big deal out of a suicide since Saihara is the blackened. And since that's the case, no one is gonna get executed and that's boring!”
“So, Momota and Oma will have no idea that Saihara died?” Kiibo asked. “Correct! They'll most likely believe it was me messing with everyone.” Monokuma said. With that, he left the students there, closing the door behind him to give them privacy.
Yumeno sniffled. “So… that's it? Shuichi's gone and that's it?” Kiibo's eyes darkened. “We cannot mourn over Saihara just yet. We need to get Momota, and then we can grieve.”
“Y-yeah, but who's going to tell Momota?” Shirogane asked.
“I'll do it.” Maki said. Kiibo looked at her with sympathy. “I can go instead Maki. I know it might be hard for you.” The assassin shook her head. “No, this is something I should tell Kaito.” “Ah, I guess that would make sense.” Shirogane said. “You, Saihara, and Momota were extremely close!”
Extremely close.
There was no denying that Maki had gotten close to those two, she was even able to say that they were her friends. While the others tried to discuss their next course of action, Maki grabbed Shuichi's blanket.
“Eh, Harukawa what are you doing?” Shirogane asked. Maki didn't reply as she took one last look at Shuichi. She didn't want to say it, but the detective looked peaceful. She couldn't rewind time, but she wished she could. If she didn't hesitate to visit him, would he still be alive? Would he have helped out?
She couldn't change the past, all she could do was move forward. Her only worry was if Kaito couldn't handle it, that was something she'd have to deal with on her own. Maki decided to do what she did best, lock her feelings away.
She put the blanket over Shuichi, he wouldn't have wanted all the attention.
------
“Maki roll! Over here!”
Maki whipped her head around to see where the voice was coming from. She was checking out the Exisal the others prepared. She looked at the open window not too far away from her. If she remembered correctly, she overheard Shuichi say that the window was where the bathroom was. She ran up to it and peeked inside. “Ah!”
She let out a sigh of relief as she saw Kaito’s face looking back at her. She didn't even care that he was calling her that stupid nickname. “Kaito!” she nearly screamed. She lowered her voice, remembering where she was. “Keep it down Maki, Oma might hear us!” She watched Kaito pause as he looked away, most likely checking to make sure Oma wasn't about to come in. “Is he close by?” Maki asked. The astronaut shook his head. “No, I'm locked in the bathroom but Oma's right outside. It won't be good if he sees you, he has the Exisals with him.”
Maki nodded. The Exisals were the reason she was scouting the area in the first place. “Wait… so what are you doing here?” Kaito asked. “I'm getting you out of there.” she replied. “What? All by yourself?” Kaito asked, a little shocked. “No, I just offered to scout the place. Tomorrow, everyone is going to come get you out.”
“Not everyone…” the assassin remembered. She was supposed to tell Kaito about what happened to Shuichi, but how could she? As she thought of ways to break the news, Kaito spoke up. “Hey, is everyone alright? I heard the discovery announcement but then Monokuma said to not pay attention to it. Was it fake?”
She couldn't. She couldn't tell him that there were now only two people in their training group. Even if he was still mad at Shuichi, it was a truth that he shouldn't have to hear just yet. “Yeah, Monokuma played it to mess with us.”
Kaito expressed how relieved he was to hear that. “Thank god, I was worried something might've happened to you or Shuichi.” “Yeah,” Maki said, hoping the subject would change soon. “We're both alright.” However, Kaito wasn't ready to let go of the topic.
“… Is Shuichi still mad at me?” the astronaut asked. Maki shrugged in response. She knew Shuichi was upset, but she didn't know if he forgave Kaito before… before leaving.
“Well, can you tell him I'm sorry? I know he was just doing what had to be done but I didn't want to believe him at the time. I wanted to tell him I was sorry, but I couldn't, and my sidekick deserves an apology!” Kaito beamed as he gave Maki his request, it was clear he was ready to make amends with Shuichi. The assassin could only nod and say she would do it. Kaito gave her another smile.
“Thanks Maki Roll. Oh, and tell him not to give up! I know he must be having a hard time, but let him know that I believe in him!”
Once again, Maki could only nod. She had to follow through with her lie to the end, no matter how painful it may be. “Man, I can't wait to see Saishu!” Maki couldn't help but wonder if Kaito knew what that nickname meant. “Saishu?” she asked. “Well, I gave you a nickname but I never gave one to Shuichi! I think he'd like it.”
“I should head back to the dorms.” Maki said. “The others might need help getting ready.” Kaito nodded. “Yeah, it might be better if you leave now, in case Oma comes back.” Kaito stuck his hand out the window, and Maki did the same, giving the astronaut a little handshake. “Be careful, alright Maki?” With a final nod, Maki left the Exisal hangar feeling a bit guilty. Kaito… she could say Shuichi died before they executed their plan.
Lies get found out eventually, but a white lie wouldn't matter that much… right?
The next day, Maki woke up and left her room without her electro-hammer. She could just say she didn't want to use an unfamiliar weapon. Besides, everyone was ready to free Kaito. As she headed towards the dining hall, she looked at Shuichi's room. “I'm sorry.” she said and continued walking. When she made it, she saw everyone with their electro-hammers and determined looks on their faces. They had to free Kaito, they couldn't give up!
“I assume we are all ready?” Kiibo asked. The group nodded and headed to the Exisal hangar. As they got closer, Maki’s guilt increased. No one knew she went out at night, and there's no doubt that she'll be the blackened. She knew she'd have to accept it. She watched the others get worried as they saw that the shutter was open. Everyone ran inside, and Maki mentally prepared herself to see Kaito's corpse. Instead… she saw something much worse.
Blood seeping out of the hydraulic press.
The remaining students stood by the hydraulic press in shock, the electro-hammer falling out of Maki's hand. She already knew it was him who was killed. One of the sleeves of his jacket was hanging out. Getting crushed to death… Kaito didn't deserve that.
“Ding dong dong ding!”
Everyone thought they had heard the last body discovery announcement, but the sound played once again.
“A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, a class trial will commence!”
“Not again…” Yumeno said. Kiibo walked up to Maki, who was still unresponsive. “Harukawa, are you alright?” “I'm alright. We have to start investigating before the trial starts.” The assassin spoke curtly and opened the Monokuma file. While she doesn't believe in Gods like Angie did, or in the supernatural, she wonders if Kaito’s ghost met Shuichi.
She did feel a little bit better knowing that there was a chance she wasn't the blackened. All she had to do was convince everyone it was Oma. That rotten Remnant of Despair.
------
Maki glared at Oma, who was sitting inside the Exisal. There was no doubt it was him in there. She watched Oma intensely, waiting for him to say or refute something so she could contradict him. Instead he pointed at where Shuichi would stand during the trials. Like how the other deceased students portraits’ had something on them, Shuichi's had magnifying glasses in the shape of an x. “Hey, where'd Shuichi go?” Oma asked. “You mean Saihara.” Maki corrected. Someone like him didn't deserve to call Shuichi by his first name. “Yeah, yeah, I meant Saihara! But where is he? Is he also gonna help spice up the trail?” Oma questioned.
Monokuma smiled. “That's right. You only heard the body discovery announcement. Well, since you're curious, I'll tell you.” Monokuma pointed at Shuichi's portrait. “Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective, is dead!” “Why would you tell him about Saihara?” Kiibo asked Monokuma. “Y-yeah, Saihara isn't even relevant to the topic.” Shirogane added. “Sorry, Harukawa.” Maki didn't bother responding, she knew talking about Shuichi wouldn't help progress the trial. She was, however, more interested in how Oma reacted.
“Eh?” was all the supreme leader said. “What's wrong, Oma? Wouldn't the mastermind be happy that someone died?” Shirogane asked. Oma was quick to give his response. “Well, I
did
say that I wanted the killing game to stop.” “Yet, you still killed Momota.” Yumeno replied. “Yeah, that's also true.” Oma said. “But I am surprised! I didn't think Monokuma would actually lie to me!”
“It’s not a lie!” Monokuma exclaimed. “Saihara did die, and it was so sad too. Killing himself rather than having someone else do it is quite boring.” After Monokuma spoke, Maki noted how, even though he was in the Exisal, Oma seemed shocked. “So… you're saying Saihara committed suicide?” Monokuma nodded. “Yep! And there wasn't an execution, so can we get back to the class trial?”
“Oma probably asked so we would get distracted.” Yumeno said. “But we have to keep going, for Momota and Shuichi's sake! We're gonna end the killing game!” Shirogane nodded. “Well, we already know that Momota was the victim, so all we have to do is vote for Oma.”
“Was it really that simple?” Maki thought. She quickly discarded that train of thought. Oma was the culprit, it was clear as day. They just had to vote for him and they'd be alright. “Very well then.” Maki said. “Monokuma, we're ready to-”
“Hold on!” Kiibo yelled. “Eh? What's the matter Kiibo?” Shirogane asked. “Hurry up, we need to end the trial.” Yumeno added. “Before we vote, how do we know Momota didn't commit suicide as well?” Maki stopped glaring at Oma to glare at Kiibo. Kaito wouldn't do something like that, he would never. “Where's that coming from? Momota wouldn't do that!” Yumeno yelled. “I understand we all want to vote for Oma, but it’s possible that Momota did it to…” Kiibo stopped talking, and the air got tense. “Hm? Did it to what, Kee-boy?”
“He did it to join Saihara.” After Kiibo said those words, the room temperature seemed to drop a couple degrees. “Nyeh? He did it to join him!?” Yumeno gasped in disbelief. Shirogane spoke up, a shocked expression on her face. “I don't want to say it, but it is possible. After all, Harukawa did
tell Momota about Saihara
.”
“Nishishi! That's actually wrong, Shirogane!” Oma yelled. The students stared at him in shock. Maki could only avoid Oma's gaze. He was a liar, so why would he call her out? “Why would we believe anything you say, Oma?” Kiibo asked. The supreme leader laughed. “Well, obviously I would know because I overheard Momota talking with Harukawa.”
Maki tried to refute his statement, but Oma kept talking. “While they talked, Harukawa never told Momota about Saihara. In fact, he asked her to tell Saihara not to give up and to keep on living!” Maki didn't look anyone in the eye, Iruma's portrait looked more interesting. “I-is that true, Harukawa?” Yumeno asked. Maki stared at the mage and begrudgingly answered. “Oma is right. I never told Kaito about what happened to Shuichi.”
“I-I see…” Kiibo said. “I assumed that if I was correct, then after Momota died Oma crushed his body for fun.” Yumeno made a sound like she would throw up. “Wow, Kee-boy I can't believe you would say Momota would do something like that!” Oma said. Maki shut him up, but then Yumeno asked her a question. “Hey, Harukawa… why didn't you tell Momota?” “I wasn't sure how he'd react, so I wanted to wait until after we rescued him to tell him.” the assassin said.
“Can we continue the trial?!” Monokuma yelled. “We've been talking about Saihara for almost eight paragraphs!” The students ignored Monokuma since he wasn't making any sense. “Gotta say though,” Oma started. “While I wasn't really going to tell you guys about Harukawa's lie, I thought I should! Ya know, to honor Shuichi and all that.”
“You can't call him by his first name!” Yumeno said. “Huh? Why not? Shuichi and I were actually really
really
close!” Oma exclaimed. “Don't pay attention to him, Yumeno. He's still trying to prolong voting time.” Kiibo said. Maki looked over at Monokuma, who had fallen asleep. “Well, I guess you're gonna have to wake Monokuma up.” Oma said. “Aww, it's too bad the trial is ending so soon! At least I'll get to see
Saishu
!”
… wait.
“Hold on.” Maki said. “Eh? What is it this time?” Shirogane asked. “That name.” Maki said. “Oma, why would you say
Saishu
?” The leader didn't respond. “Harukawa, I understand you might be upset, but we should hurry up and vote.” Maki shook her head. Shuichi never hung out with Oma, except for the one time Kaito locked himself in his room. Why would he call Shuichi-
“I have no real reason why! It sounds cute, don't you think?” The leader responded. There was something off about the way he said it, and Maki had a good reason why.
“... He would've loved that nickname.” The assassin said. “Oh no!” Yumeno. “She's having sad flashbacks! I would know, I get them too.” “He wouldn't have minded if you called him that, Kaito.” Monokuma perked up at this. “Huh? You're saying that Oma isn't the one in the Exisal?”
“Kaito is the only one who ever called Shuichi
Saishu
. He said it when I last saw him.”
“Man, I can't wait to see Saishu!” Maki couldn't help but wonder if Kaito knew what that nickname meant. “Saishu?” she asked. “Well, I gave you a nickname but I never gave one to Shuichi! I think he'd like it.”
The person in the Exisal was silent. “This entire time you could've let us vote for you and the game would end. But instead you gave us hints and tried to drag the trial out because you didn't
want
us to vote for Oma.”
Finally, she heard his voice. “Yeah, I guess you got me.” The Exisal opened to reveal Kaito, eyes stained with old tears. “Hey Maki Roll.” The students gasped, and Maki swore she heard Monokuma give a tiny gasp. “What? It was you?!” Yumeno yelled. Kaito gave them a smile, but it was clearly fake. “Yeah, I killed Oma.” The astronaut explained Oma's entire plan to everyone. He didn't leave anything out; telling everyone about Yumeno bringing him the crossbow, Maki shooting him and Oma with Strike-9 poison, Oma pretending to drink the antidote, and how Kaito cooperated with Oma to end the killing game.
“We wouldn't have known about that if we voted right away.” Shirogane pointed out. Kiibo didn't look convinced. “Why would you just admit it? You could've ended the game for us!” Kaito's fake smile faltered. “Well, Oma made me a pretty accurate script of the trial so that I'd know what to say. But he never thought about what'd happen if Saishu wasn't around.” After saying that Kaito chuckled.
“Saishu's a great detective. In all honesty, I was a bit jealous of him. He always tried to reveal the truth, no matter how painful it was. He was the reason Oma made the script in the first place, Saishu's skills would determine if the plan would work.”
Everyone looked at Shuichi's portrait. Kaito spoke of him so fondly, and everyone remembered their own experiences with the detective. “So, after learning that I lied, you got salty.” Maki realized. “W-well I wouldn't call it me getting salty. It was more like I was pissed at you for thinking I couldn't handle the truth.” Kaito sputtered out.
Monokuma yawned loudly. “Well, we know who the blackened is. Can we vote now?” Kaito grinned and gave Monokuma a thumbs up. “We're all ready!” Yumeno screamed at Kaito for saying they were ready, but it was too late. Voting time began.
Voting Time commence!
Results: Kaito Momota
Correct!
Shirogane started playing with her fingers. “That just confirms that you did kill someone. Why would you-”
“Shut up!” Kaito yelled. “The impossible is possible! All you gotta do is make it so! I know you guys can end this!”
Tears started to form in Maki's eyes. The rest of students were already crying (or on the verge of tears in Kiibo's case). Kaito kept going. “I believe in you guys, and I know you can get through it. You may not have me or Saishu with you, but you'll find a way!”
“Upupupupu!” Monokuma cheered. “Before we begin the execution, I have something to announce!” He pulled out two crumpled up pieces of looseleaf. “Whoops, they got a bit crumbled up. Anyways! This is Saihara's goodbye!” “His goodbye?” Shirogane asked. “He must have wrote this before he died.” Kiibo said. Monokuma cleared his throat and began to speak in his best Saihara voice.
To whoever reads this,
The first thing I want to say is that I'm sorry. I know what I'm doing is pretty selfish but everything just hurts. It's too painful to reveal the truth and all the truth does is tear us apart. But I want you guys to know you all mean the world to me.
Himiko, we bonded over the fact we had both lost people. I lost Kaede, and you had lost Chabashira. Together, we worked hard to move on and not fall into despair. I'm sorry that I won't be able to help you from here on out, but keep expressing yourself. Never stop smiling.
Shirogane, we didn't really hang out that much. Yet, I know the last thing you'd want is another murder. Please, forget about me so that the truth won't hurt you.
Kiibo, you were a great friend. You believed in my detective skills, and while you can't lie to save your life, you had my back. Never forget that I'll always be there for you. Don't let anyone be robophobic to you.
Maki, at first I didn't think we'd ever become friends. Because of Kaito, I'm proud to say that I've gotten to know a lot about you. You're strong, so I know you'll be able to get over this, but help Kaito out for me.
Kaito… I don't know if you're still mad at me. But I want you to know how much you've helped me. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been alive for so long. You saved me, and I won't lie, my feelings for you aren't… pg-13 I guess. I love you Kaito. I love you… I guess it doesn't matter if you return my feelings anymore. That aside, you know how after training we'd just look at the stars? Everytime you look up there, know that I'll be looking back at you.
Forgive me,
Shuichi Saihara
Kaito was crying. The assassin rarely saw him cry, so it was a sight she wasn't prepared for. He wiped his tears away and tried to smile. “Well, I guess me dying means that I can go return his feelings.” By this point, everyone had broke down, and Monokuma was enjoying it. The bear threw the paper, and Yumeno caught it. “Now then,” he said. “I have a very special punishment for Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut.”
Maki couldn't take it. She latched onto Kaito, not caring about what anyone thought. Everyone lost someone close to them… and now she was about to lose the only two people she could call her friends. Kaito hugged her. “Take care, Maki Roll.”
“Let's give it everything we got! It's punishment time!”
------
Maki went back to her room with Kaito's jacket over her shoulder and Shuichi's old hat on her head. She'll never forget them, and she swore that she'll find the mastermind.
She'll make whoever’s in charge pay.