Chapter 2: What's Going On?

The three teenagers stood in front of the police station, waiting for someone to act. Shuichi was in front, his hand hovering over the metal door handles leading inside. To his left, the front window that previously displayed the gold logo of the Hope City Police Force was shattered into a million pieces by a pickup truck. Shuichi could see his nervous-looking reflection in the still-intact glass on the doors. He wasn't sure what he was scared of, exactly. His hopes were already crushed by the comatose-looking building.

After a little more hesitation, and a sharp glare from Maki, Shuichi pulled open the doors and stepped into the lobby of the police station. The overhead fan was still on from whoever inhabited the room last, rustling various stacks of paper on the front desk. More pieces of glass glittered on the dark blue carpet, worn down from many visitors and workers over the years, and stained with spilled coffee. The chairs in front of the window were disrupted by the bumper of the pickup truck jutting through the hole where glass once was. Shuichi was suddenly thankful for years of training from his uncle, otherwise, he would have no idea where to go next. With a faint determination, he set off down the dark hallway behind the front desk.

After turning a corner into another hallway only illuminated by a window with the blinds drawn, the third office on the right was his uncle's. The smell of freshly-brewed coffee and smoke was familiar to Shuichi as he stepped inside the dim room. In the center of the softer and less-stained brown carpet was the regal-looking oak desk he remembered fondly from his childhood. It was the place where his uncle did all of his work, and the place where Shuichi's child self dreamed to sit one day. Now he realized the work of a detective was more dark than what it seemed to a ten year old.

Behind the desk were rows of file cabinets, filled with countless numbers of case files, ranging from theft to murder. And in one corner near the bottom, insignificant among the other drawers, was one marked with the letters "S.S.". Shuichi pulled it open. It was his drawer, after all. The papers inside, although measly when compared to the others, had been a major part of Shuichi's life, and took up much of his free time over the past seven years. He quickly flipped through their yellowing edges and recalled memories that were buried deep in his mind. His first case, his most dangerous case, his easiest case, his latest case…

"What are you doing?" Maki's emotionless voice surprised Shuichi, causing him to jump up and slam the drawer shut. She was standing in the doorway, blocking what little light came in from the hallway. Although her eyes were shaded, Shuichi could still detect the same hostility she showed earlier. The same hostility he'd been forced to face in the eyes of those he arrested… Shuichi averted his eyes, finding something to stare at on his uncle's desk.

"Sorry, I just wanted to see if anyone was here," Shuichi said, nervously scratching his neck.

"Well, obviously no one is going to be inside a drawer," Maki scoffed. "We don't have time to waste. We need to find other people and interrogate them until we know exactly what's going on here."

Shuichi sighed. He didn't think anyone would know what was happening no matter what, even if they were the smartest person alive. Anyways, none of them knew if anyone else was even here. They didn't know if anyone else was even alive. Shuichi unwittingly shivered, despite the warmth of the office.

"So let's leave. Nothing's going to happen by just standing around here," Maki said before turning and walking back down the hallway. Shuichi listened to her footsteps get more muffled before he realized something. Even if there was no one here, there were still tools he could use. Well, at least attempt to, since he was afraid of it.

He pulled open the biggest drawer on the wooden desk, revealing the clutter inside. A pile of unimportant papers and pens covered the object Shuichi was searching for: a safe. He tossed the papers onto the floor, silently apologizing to his uncle, but hoping he would understand if he knew their situation. The black and white keypad was soon exposed, and Shuichi paused. He knew his uncle told him the password. He always told him it was okay to open it in case of emergencies. His uncle probably figured an emergency would be an out-of-control criminal or an intense hunt, not whatever this was. But it was definitely an emergency, no matter how you looked at it.

The password was something passed down by generations of detectives, his uncle told him. From what Shuichi could remember, it was created by his great-great-uncle or something at a crime scene. It was a number written by the culprit in her own blood when she was murdered by another killer… It was a complicated case, and a very famous one. 11037! That was it! Shuichi hastily pressed the numbers, twisted the handle, and the safe popped open with a satisfying click.

Shuichi's heart skipped a beat when he saw what was inside. His uncle's favorite weapon, which he used in the many infamous fights between him and his spiteful enemies. He gently picked it up with sweaty hands. He'd never held it before, but knew how powerful it was. There wasn't a single person who survived against it in all of his uncle's years working. Shuichi felt like he didn't even deserve to hold it. He was nowhere near as capable as his uncle. He barely had any experience shooting, either.

"What the hell are you doing now?" Maki demanded, back in the doorway. This time, she looked even angrier. Shuichi muttered apologies as he grabbed its holster from the safe, closed the drawer, and carefully attached the gun to his belt. "What do you have there?" Maki asked, approaching Shuichi and staring at his new weapon with a curious look.

"Ah, it's nothing… just in case we need to protect ourselves, I guess…" Shuichi said. He took a step back when Maki reached a slender hand out to touch the gun. At the movement, she glared at him again.

"Let me see it," Maki said.

"What? Why?" Shuichi asked.

Maki sighed and placed a hand to her forehead. "Are you actually going to use it?"

Shuichi paused. "M-maybe." He was still unsure of himself, but he definitely didn't trust the dangerous girl with this gun.

"Well then give it to me. I know how to use it."

"How do you know how to use a gun?" Shuichi half-shouted in his shock. The only people permitted to carry guns in Hope City were police officers, and he was sure none of the officers had the name "Harukawa" or even looked remotely like the girl in front of him.

"That's none of your business, okay? Just give me the gun." Maki made another lunge towards Shuichi, but he quickly stepped back again, tripping into the file cabinet and grunting in pain. His back would never recover after today.

"It's my gun. There are more in the room down the hall!" Shuichi shouted as he and Maki continued dancing around the room.

"Guys!"

"I don't care. Why should you get the best one? I want it!" Maki was almost able to grab it that time. Shuichi tripped over his own feet, stumbling to the ground.

"Shuichi! Maki!"

"It's my uncle's! You wouldn't have even been able to get it without me!"

"Oh really?" Maki kneeled in front of Shuichi, her eyes those of a hunter whose prey was below it, about to die. Shuichi tried to cower further into the carpet.

"Stop it!" Himiko screamed, suddenly in the doorway. Maki turned to face her, and Shuichi took the opportunity to scramble to his feet and put the desk between him and his attacker, breathing heavily the whole time.

"What do you want now? I thought I told you to wait out there," Maki asked, rising to her feet as well.

"Well, I was sitting there, but then… I saw the monster again! He's outside!" Himiko quieted her voice with every word. Shuichi stopped breathing. That couldn't be possible, right? He looked to Maki, but she only stared at Himiko with an uninterested look.

"You really expect me to believe that?" Maki asked, pacing towards Himiko. "What are you trying to pull? It's not funny." She backed Himiko against the wall in the hallway, staring her down.

"No, I swear I'm not lying!" Himiko insisted. "Come and see!" She pointed down the hallway.

"I'm not falling for your tricks."

"Maybe we should just go see," Shuichi stepped between the two, avoiding eye contact with Maki as much as possible. "I mean, I've got the gun if it's a trap and anyone tries to attack…" He waited for Maki's verbal beating again.

To his surprise, she simply sighed and backed away. "Fine. Whatever. But if you trick me, Himiko, I will kill you." Maki turned and stalked down the hallway, back towards the lobby.

Himiko swallowed audibly and trembled. Shuichi looked down at her, feeling sympathy for the tiny girl. After all, he knew what it was like to be prey to Maki. It could only be worse when you were half a foot shorter. "It's okay, Himiko," Shuichi tried reassuring her. "She didn't mean it. I'll protect you, don't worry." He nearly blushed at the sound of his own voice. He wasn't used to comforting others, and it made him feel awkward when he did it.

"It's fine, I'm not scared of her. I'll just use my magic to hold her back if she tries attacking me," Himiko said. "But the monster… I tried casting some powerful spells on it before and nothing could defeat it. Thankfully, my protection spell worked. It couldn't even get close… But my MP is too low to cast it again right now…" Himiko seemed strangely proud when talking about her magic.

"Ah… right," Shuichi said. If nothing else, he could humor her for a while. Together, the two followed Maki's path to the lobby.

In the lobby, Maki stood near the window, hiding her body from the outside using the truck. She peered over the hood, scanning the street outside with an experienced gaze. After a second, she backed away and approached the two, giving Himiko a critical look.

"There's nothing out there," Maki said. "You're lucky I don't hurt you right now, Himiko. I'm tired of hearing your lies."

Himiko looked like Maki slapped her across the face. "But… it was just there a few minutes ago! And I didn't cast any spells to hide it or anything!"

"Enough with the magic stuff!" Maki yelled, causing Himiko to flinch back. Maki took a threatening step forward, but her foot hit something soft. It was the bag of opened candy. Maki scowled at the inanimate object before picking it up and throwing it at Himiko. It hit the small girl's chest, then fell back to the ground. Neon pieces of gummy candy scattered on the otherwise dull carpet, much to Himiko's dismay. "Maybe it's sugar that's making you see hallucinations."

"Holy shit." Shuichi said the words before he could realize what he said. Maki narrowed her eyes at him, having forgotten he was there. He was staring straight ahead, out the window-turned-hole. His yellow eyes sparked with something Maki noticed right away: fear.

Maki whipped around to see what he saw. Outside on the street, only about twenty or thirty meters away, was the strangest-looking creature she'd ever seen. From this distance, she couldn't make out the details, but it looked robotic and animalistic at the same time. It had no head, but had two large arms and two short legs, which it stood on. It also had a long tail. So the six arms and eight legs Himiko claimed it to have were a lie, but everything else seemed to be true. It was scanning the ground, following the path on the sidewalk they took to reach the station, and it was getting closer with every second.

"What the-" was the only thing Maki could get out before her arm was roughly grabbed and she was pulled behind the large front desk. Only when they were all on the ground, cowering under the desk, did Shuichi let go of her. He was sweating now, and shivering. His eyes had a haunted look to them. And Himiko didn't look any better. She was curled up, her back resting against the desk, and her short arms were wrapped around her legs, pulled tightly against her chest.

"That's the monster… I told you…" Himiko slowly moved her fearful eyes to Maki. "I'm out of MP. I don't know what to do."

"Shit…" Shuichi muttered again. "What do we do?" He asked, and Maki could only assume he was talking to her.

"How am I supposed to know?" Maki whispered back. "I don't even know what that thing is!"

"It kinda looks like a robot…" Shuichi whispered. Maki noticed how he was gripping his dark jacket, pulling it up slightly, exposing the similarly-colored holster.

"The gun. If you give it to me, I can try shooting it."

"Are you crazy?" Shuichi flicked his eyes to her. They were burning with fear and confusion. "It's all metal! I don't know if the bullets in this gun can even shoot through that! And if it doesn't work, then that thing will probably get mad!"

"Listen, I can kill it! You have no idea who I am-" Maki stopped herself. She couldn't tell them her job. Especially the detective boy. He wouldn't like it at all. He'd probably forget all about their situation and lock her in a cell on the spot.

"Well who are you, then?" Shuichi asked.

Before Maki could respond, the sound of crushing metal caught all of their attention. Being the closest to the end of the desk, Maki cautiously peeked her head around the corner. The robot was attempting to crawl over the crashed pickup truck into the building. It was obviously a hard task for such a big creature, since its various body parts kept getting stuck on the window frame. Maki let out a quiet breath before moving back under the desk.

"It's crawling inside," she announced calmly, despite feeling her heart beating. She hadn't felt like this in forever. It frightened her, but made her feel exhilarated at the same time.

"What?" Shuichi whispered. Himiko let out a cry muffled by her hands, now pressed against her mouth. "What do we do?"

A loud crash followed Shuichi's words. Maki peeked around the corner again. The robot was now inside, facing the hole it crawled through. If she had to guess its height, the thing was probably about ten feet tall, since it had to crouch just to fit in the room. Maki looked around for anything to use to escape. Then, it hit her. The bag of candy, still lying where she had thrown it only minutes before. With one swift movement, Maki grabbed the bag and retreated back under the desk.

"What's that for?" Shuichi asked.

"We're going to run," Maki said. Steeling her nerves, she silently rose just enough to look over the edge of the desk. She ignored Shuichi's quiet pleas for her to sit back down and Himiko's muffled cries. The robot was inspecting the door, specifically, the door handle. Could it see fingerprints? Maki hoped not. She took a deep breath, knowing she had to act now or never. Then, with all her strength, she threw the bag of candy out the broken window, praying that her plan would work.

She could hear the bag land with a crackle in the glass outside. The robot immediately snapped its head up and hesitated for only a heartbeat before it charged back out the hole it crawled in through. Maki thanked her plan for not betraying her before grabbing Shuichi's wrist and dragging him up. He gasped quietly before quickly turning and grabbing Himiko, half-pulling, half-carrying her.

Maki started running, dragging the two slower teenagers behind her. "Is there a back entrance?" She asked Shuichi as they continued down the hallway.

"Uh… yeah… just… turn left at the end here," Shuichi gasped through breaths. Maki nodded and did what he told her to. At the end of the hall, she could see light seeping through a small window above a door. They burst out into the morning air, but they didn't stop running until they were a block away from the station, in the opposite direction they came from.

The three stood on the sidewalk, hands on their knees, breathing like they just ran a marathon. "So… what really is going on here?" Maki asked the question no one knew the answer to. Shuichi and Himiko didn't even bother looking at her. "Nevermind… I guess that doesn't matter anymore… Let's just keep going."

Author's Note:

Hey guys. Thanks for reading my story so far! I hope you're liking the idea. It's kind of weird, but I've got a lot of plans for it, so hopefully I can keep it entertaining. It's probably gonna be pretty long, so if you don't like that, then maybe you won't like it. I'll try to update as much as possible, but school work might get in the way. Also, don't be afraid to criticize me or give me advice on my writing, since that's the whole point of me doing this.

Did you hear about the news of the monthly updates for Danganronpa? Hopefully this means another game sometime soon…