The Nature of a Lie
My entire body is burning with a feverish heat, radiating from where the poison tipped crossbow bolt had punctured my back. Thinking about it, it was lucky that Maki hadn't severed something important in my spinal column. Or maybe it wasn't luck. She was the Ultimate Assassin after all. She'd gone out of the way to use a poison arrow she clearly wanted me to survive an initial attack.
But what had she been going on about? Remnants of Despair, Hope's Peak, Junko Enoshima? None of it was making any sense.
Kaito was looking at me as he sat on the edge of the hydraulic press, sliding his arm out of the sleeve of his coat. The wound was looking bad, but it was starting to close up. The blood there had a sickly yellow tinge to it but he'd drunk the antidote. He was going to be fine.
All the feeling in my legs suddenly gave for a moment and I have to grab the guardrail beside me keep myself upright. I can't worry about Kaito right now. He'll live. He'll be fine. My time is running out. And even as I think that I can see Kaito moving to get up. I thrust my hand up and fix him with a glare.
"D-don't," I manage to gasp, pulling myself to a standing position. "I don't… I don't n-need your help!"
The pain was burning hotter now as I fumble for the camera and start fixing it into place on the guardrail looking for the best angle. I had to work fast now. Time is short now. Kaito's looking at me nervously as he lies back on the hydraulic press. He shouldn't. It would be pointless if he died right now. I at least have to survive until I shut off the camera. Just one minute. One minutes is all that's needed and I won't have to push myself anymore.
"You ready or what?" Kaito calls out to me. I glower back at him.
"Sorry that my imminent death is causing you some delays Kaito!" I snap back. That little bit of effort drained me of something more than energy and I feel myself slump against the control panel, breathing heavily, my body shaking, the heat burning hotter and hotter under my skin.
"You don't look so good up there!" Kaito calls out again.
It's all I can do not to roll my eyes at the stupidity of that statement. I open up the viewfinder on the camera and look down at Kaito, the shaking in my body getting worse and worse. I gave Kaito a shaky shaky thumbs up and press the record button on the camera before pressing on the down button for the hydraulic press. The press whirs to life and I have to hold in a sigh of relief. I wasn't sure if Miu's electro-bomb had disabled the press. I knew it had disabled the press's infrared fail-safe mechanisms.
The press sunk slowly down down down closer and closer and closer to Kaito. I have to admit Kaito can hold one hell of a poker face. I expected him to at least flinch as the press started moving but no. He really has a lot of faith in me. Or maybe he realises that he has no choice in the matter.
There's a moment where my vision goes dark and my breathing stops. I shake my head and shudder as I look through the viewfinder on the camera. I have to stop the press before the camera. Stop the press before the camera. All that I could see of Kaito now is his forearm. I slam my palm on the stop button for the press before hitting pause almost instantly after on the camera.
Both machines stop in place and it's all I can do not to drop to my knees. I feel more than see kaito wriggle his way out from inside the press. He's at my side almost instantly, trying to help me get to my feet. I try to push him off but my body is so heavy and weak. I grit my teeth and steel myself.
"You sure you want to go through with this?" Kaito asks.
"You really are an idiot if you're asking that," I groan as I turn to walk down the steps. "Just get ready."
I collapse to the floor, crashing against it and groaning even more. I push myself to my knees before Kaito manages to reach me. I curse the efficiency of the Strike-9 poison and fight the urge to vomit.
"Need a hand?"
I jerk my shoulder out of Kaito's grasp and nearly lose my balance. I sigh and turn to him, gripping at my coat.
"Just help me with this idiot."
He glares at me, but I could see right through him and that false malice. He hates my guts there's no doubt about that. I think everyone left hates my guts, thinking I'm the mastermind and all. But Kaito's always had a bit of grudge against me. Stupid idiot can't take a joke. Still I don't suppose I can blame him. And right now that gung-ho need to save his friends is exactly what I need to fight Monokuma and the true Mastermind.
It takes some maneuvering and way too much time for my liking but I finally get my coat off with Kaito's help. Kaito bundles up the coat and takes it away to the bathroom at the back of the hanger as I stagger towards the hydraulic press on my own. I hear the sound of water hitting the tiled floor of the bathroom and then the toilet flushing.
I sigh. I really liked that coat and now Kaito's gone and flushed it down the fucking toilet. If her were smart he would've taken it into the Exisal with him after… after… I gulp and look at the hydraulic press before me. I straighten up and nearly hit my head on the upper half of the press. I look into that cold cold unforgiving darkness that resides between the two giant metal slaps. At Kaito's coat which I'm supposed to lie on any second now.
I'm really going through with this aren't I? I think to myself as I perch on the edge of the hydraulic press and begin to maneuver myself onto Kaito's coat, careful not to disturb how it was positioned. Any discrepancies between filming would be incredibly suspect.
Still, I have to admit, Kaito's coat is really nice looking. And as I lie on top I find out it's super soft as well. Guess we're both making sacrifice plays today aren't we Kaito?
Kaito's moving around by the control panel, probably making sure that I'm in the right position. He calls out instructions to me on how to position my arm but it's like he's shouting from the next room now. Had it always been so dark under this press? And it's funny but you'd think my heart would be hammering away in my chest like a battering ram given what I'm about to do. But, it's actually getting slower.
"Remember you're getting into the red Exisal when… when you're done here," I call out to him. I hear him give a small snort of dismissal.
"I know what colour Exisal I'm getting into Kokichi."
I smirk, satisfied in the knowledge that even now I can rile him up good.
"Ready?" I call out to Kaito, summoning up my strength just to raise my voice. I can't see Kaito but I can picture him in my mind's eye. He's looking at me with something akin to pity and distrust. Before I can snap at him to just press the button he calls out to me again.
"Look. I know we never really saw eye to eye at all. And I know that you'll never give me a straight answer in a million years. But I gotta ask, even if it's just so I can tell myself I did." I pause, not sure if I'll make it long enough to hear Kaito's question, but I don't interrupt. I'm not even sure if I can anymore. "Just answer me this Kokichi… Out of this time you've been here… with us… did you care about any of us?"
Damn you Kaito.
He can't see my face. There's no way he can see my face. I couldn't see his face whilst he was under here.
And yet even now I remember them all. I see Shuichi, Himiko, Tsumugi and the bucket of bolts that is Keebo, probably at this moment preparing their own rescue mission for Kaito. I see Maki, probably curled up in a corner somewhere wracked with guilt. I see Rantaro, Ryoma, Angie, Tenko and Miu. Kaede... Kirumi, Korekiyo... Gonta…
I force my face into the widest most sadistic possible grin and summon up all the spite left in my soul and let out the harshest cruelest laugh my bitter little body can produce.
"Of course I didn't you goddamned idiot!" I call between gales of laughter. The laughter peters out soon however, replaced by whimpering chuckles. Or maybe they were just whimpers. Even I don't know. It won't matter in a few moments anyway.
Nothing will matter in a few moments.
"You done?" Kaito asks. His voice is cold. Good. I don't want him having any sympathy for me. I want him to kill me after all.
"Don't screw this up idiot," I manage to croak out at the end. "If you lose this for me, I'll kill you."
"I'll keep that in mind," Kaito sighed. I hear the clack of the button and the hydraulic press starts whirring. And then it starts moving closer towards my face. That unforgiving cold dark metal. Was there oil dripping off of it down onto me?
Oh.
I'm crying.
That's weird.
Guess I can't lie to myself huh?