The Loveliest Of Lies Chapter 1, a dangan ronpa kibou no gakuen to zetsubou no koukousei fanfic

Firstly, THIS IS NOT A VR SIMULATION. WHEN CHARACTERS DIE, THEY DIE.

Secondly, I have purposefully not read any "alternate killing game" V3 fanfics, only post game fics. If I happen to repeat the same story beats/plot twists as another author, it was not my intention.

Moving on…

This is the first time I'm writing some of these characters. I've had drafts of fic where I've written Kokichi POV and Kaito POV, but nothing concrete.

So, if anyone is OOC, please call me out on it.

I'm mainly writing this fic, because I wanted to read one like it, and when I couldn't find it, I decided to write it myself.

I love Shuichi (I meant it, he is my fave DR protagonist!), but he had to die for this AU to happen.

Title taken from a song from Over the Garden Wall.

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending"-C.

Maki heard a sharp knock on the door of her lab.

Sighing, she put down the knife that she had been polishing (which she had only been doing to occupy her mind), and answered the door.

It was Ryoma Hoshi.

He was sucking on a candy cigarette and was trying to appear nonchalant.

He didn't fool her. She could see the dull hope in his eyes.

He wanted answers.

He wanted his motive video.

Somehow, he had found out that she had it in her possession.

Maki sighed again.

Ryoma had her motive video underneath his right arm.

She needed it.

"You up for a trade?" He asked roughly, not bothering to state the obvious.

"Hoshi-san, it's the middle of the night." She said slowly.

"And? Everyone else has gone to sleep. No one else is around. Gonta finally stopped chasing them. They're all exhausted." He informed her.

Maki shut her eyes.

She knew that if she gave Ryoma his motive video, then his hope would be snuffed out and he would become suicidal.

Emotionally, The Ultimate Tennis Pro was on a knifes edge.

She didn't know why she was hesitating. She should just swap videos with him and let him leave. It wouldn't be her fault if he killed himself.

"Look…I don't want to show the others your motive video. I respect you Harukawa-san, even if your talent- your real talent is a dangerous one. So, that's why I'm giving you a choice." Ryoma said suddenly.

Maki opened her eyes and scowled at him.

She found his fake respect annoying.

Ryoma didn't care about her. He just wanted his motive video.

Ryoma gave her a desperate, pleading look.

Maki huffed.

She made a decision.

"Look, it's too late to have this discussion now. Come to me tomorrow morning- before breakfast- and I'll swap videos with you. I mean it." She stated stiffly.

Ryoma frowned.

"Harukawa-san…" He trailed off unsurely.

He didn't know if he could trust her. Rightly so.

Ryoma was a smart person.

"Hoshi-san, everyone else is asleep, right?" Maki said.

"Yes." Ryoma said.

"So, even if you wanted to, you couldn't show my video to them. Not without waking them up and making a big fuss. Ergo, there's no point in discussing this now. Get some sleep and we can swap videos tomorrow, okay?" She argued.

Ryoma continued frowning at her for a few moments, his brow furrowed in deep thought, before he relaxed and nodded.

"Fine. I respect your decision. I can wait a few more hours." He agreed.

"Goodnight Harukawa-san."

He turned and left.

Maki quietly shut her door and took a deep breath.

Peace and quiet.

Finally.

She would give Ryoma his damn video tomorrow, and then he wouldn't be her problem anymore.

Hopefully, the others would help him.

She couldn't.

Kirumi Tojo solemnly watched Ryoma Hoshi walk away from Maki's lab.

Everything was set up for her murder.

She had spent hours painstakingly putting it all together.

However, by not going to his lab, Ryoma had easily derailed her plans.

Out of all their classmates, she needed him specifically.

It was a cold, calculated, decision.

Ryoma was the most depressed.

She had been counting on his suicidal tendencies to make him an easy murder victim. He wouldn't resist her and she would be able to kill him easily….

However, by talking to Maki Harukawa, he had somehow regained the will to live.

After setting up her murder, Kirumi had been tailing Ryoma all evening. All the way up to the Ultimate Child Cargiver's lab.

The layout of the corridor had forced her to stay far away. So, she hadn't been near enough to hear their conversation.

Ryoma had left the encounter full of determination.

Too much determination for Kirumi to safely approach him.

He would have fought her off, or just run away. She knew he was speedy. She had seen him outrun Gonta.

It would've been a waste of her precious time.

So, there was no point in approaching him. She would just be giving herself away.

Kirumi bit her cheek.

She should wait, but she couldn't afford to.

Her plan depended on certain events that had transpired that evening.

Chiefly, Gonta's "Insect meet and greet".

In the chaos, everyone had been scattered around the school for several hours.

Therefore, it would be extremely hard for anyone to prove their alibi.

So, she had to improvise; pick out another victim, carry out her plan, and hope for the best.

There were plenty to choose from…

She took a steadying breath

As much as she hated it, she had to murder someone.

Her people…all of Japan were depending on her.

She remembered the first-class trial…

Shuichi had been a capable detective. He had worked out Kaede's plan and even exposed her motivations.

Reason and logic were his forte.

Valuable weapons that would be sorely missed in a future class trial.

She steeled herself.

She had a new target.

8 hours later-just after 8:30 AM.

Kaito rang Shuichi's doorbell.

No one answered.

He rang it again.

Still, no one answered.

Kaito frowned and pressed his ear against Shuichi's door.

He couldn't hear anything.

No snoring. No footsteps. No running water from the shower.

Nothing.

He rang the doorbell one last time, then stepped back and sighed.

Maybe Shuichi will respond to knocking? He thought desperately.

"Shuichi, you in there?" He called out, knocking loudly on the door.

"Everyone else has had breakfast. They've gone to the gym for Yumeno-sans's magic show." He added, knocking again.

He stopped and crossed his arms.

He didn't know what to do.

His instincts told him that despite all of his knocking and ringing, Shuichi wasn't in his dorm room.

After the events of the previous evening, Kaito was worried about his sidekick.

Something was wrong.

"Momota-san!" someone yelled.

Kaito whirled around.

It was Tsumugi. She was waving at him from the dorm entrance.

He quickly approached her.

"They sent me to get you. Yumeno-san is about to begin." The bespectacled girl said.

"Oh? Everyone's at the gym?" Kaito asked.

"Well, nearly everyone. Momota-san, what's wrong?" Tsumugi asked quietly. She had noticed his concern.

"It's Shuichi. I can't find him. He's not in his room." Kaito told her.

Tsumugi widened her eyes.

"Oh. I don't know where he is. Umm, why don't we look for him after the magic show?" She suggested.

Kaito nodded.

They left the dorm together.

Outside, Kaito froze. He'd had an idea.

Tsumugi gave him a worried look.

"Shirogane-san, I'm just going to check the cafeteria quickly. Maybe Shuichi somehow got past me and went to get a late breakfast. He might not even know the magic show is about to begin. Tell the others I just need a few minutes." Kaito said.

Tsumugi nodded.

"Sure, but please be quick. I don't think Yumeno-san can wait much longer." She said.

She smiled at him and went ahead.

Kaito released a breath that he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

Everything would be fine.

He would find Shuichi and take him to the gym.

He duly made his way to the cafeteria and entered it from the outside.

Unfortunately, Shuichi wasn't there, but a very tired Kokichi Ouma was.

The Ultimate Supreme Leader had dark circles around his eyes and he was yawning profusely.

He was sitting at farthest end of the table, eating a small piece of toast.

Kaito must've been quieter than he thought, because Kokichi flinched slightly when he announced his presence.

Kokichi plastered a goofy grin on his face and leapt up.

Leaving his toast behind, he hurtled towards him.

Kaito grimaced and braced himself.

Kokichi didn't barrel into him. Instead, he stopped right in front of him and pointed at him accusingly.

"Momota-chan!" Kokichi yelled. "What brings you here? I thought everyone else had left."

"Ouma-san, I'm looking for Shuichi. He didn't come to breakfast this morning and his room is empty. Yumeno-sansmagic show is about to begin and I don't think he'd want to miss it." Kaito revealed.

To his astonishment, Kokichi did a complete 180 in his mood.

The smaller boy frowned and stood up, drawing himself up to his full height.

"Are you sure that Saihara-chan wasn't in his room?" He asked seriously.

"Yes. I even rang his doorbell three times-in fact, I tried everything. He's not there." Kaito said.

"It's not like Saihara-chan to miss out on all the fun." Kokichi said, his tone half-serious, half-joking.

Kaito stared at him. He had no idea how to read the other boy, which was infuriating and annoying, but now wasn't the time to get caught up on that.

Shuichi was missing. And Kokichi seemed to agree with him that it was serious.

More serious than just shrugging it off as Tsumugi had.

"No, it's not like him at all. Something's wrong." Kaito agreed.

Kokichi opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Kirumi entered the room from the interior entrance and walked up to them.

"Yumeno-san is about to begin her performance. She does not want anyone to miss it." The Ultimate Maid informed them.

"Thanks mom!" Kokichi said loudly.

He was grinning like a child. His seriousness had vanished.

Kokichi ran back to his toast and hurriedly ate it, before he returned with the empty plate and thrust it at Kirumi.

She took it without complaint, but Kaito noticed that her movements seemed a bit stiff. Almost as if she hadn't wanted to take it.

"See you both at the gym!" Kokichi yelled and ran off, leaving him and Kirumi alone.

"Tojo-san, have you seen Shuichi?" Kaito said, deciding there was no harm in asking her before he left.

Kirumi went still, but there was no change in her facial expression.

"I haven't Momota-san. I'm sure that he'll turn up soon. Go the gym. You can look for him after the show." She said slowly.

She took a deep breath and smiled at him warmly.

"I'm sure that he's fine. Get going. I'll be there in a moment."

Kaito returned her smile. He found her strong presence reassuring.

"You're right. He probably just went looking for clues." He said, feeling relieved.

He left the cafeteria and made his way to the gym.

Everyone else was there, aside from Shuichi, Ryoma, and Maki.

Maki must still be in her lab. And Ryoma…well, he's been hiding away in his room a lot. He really wants his motive video. He's probably still looking for it. Kaito thought as he went to sit down with the rest of his class.

Kaito didn't know who to sit with. He had planned on sitting with Shuichi…but as the detective wasn't there, he settled for perching on the edge of the group. He greeted everyone with a wave and a smile.

Most of his classmates ignored him, but Gonta flashed him an apologetic smile and awkwardly waved back. He looked very guilty.

Kaito gave him a nervous smile and looked away.

The big guy had given everyone a serious run around the night before.

Kaito himself had been forced to hide in various bathrooms all night, only narrowly avoiding capture.

It was almost midnight when he had ventured out and realised the Ultimate Entomologist had stopped chasing everyone. He had run back to his dorm room and locked the door behind him.

Falling asleep had been surprisingly easy. He had been too exhausted to avoid the call of the sleeping world.

He looked at the stage.

There was a large glass tank with a timer and a red curtain. On the left, there was a ladder, while on the right, there was small staircase.

Above it, a smaller glass tank was suspended from the ceiling. It was teeming with piranhas.

He looked up at them and shivered. He could feel their beady little eyes watching him.

Suddenly, Kokichi appeared out of nowhere and sat down next to him. Right next to him in fact.

Kaito blinked and scooted away, unconsciously giving the other boy more space.

Kokichi smirked at him, but didn't say anything.

"Attention everyone! The Amazing Himiko is ready to astound you all! Thank Atua!" Angie suddenly announced. She'd appeared from behind the glass tank.

Everyone clapped.

Himiko walked out and stood next to Angie. Despite wearing her usual lazy facial expression, she was radiating nervousness and was sweating profusely.

"Today I will be performing the Extreme Water Magic, Underwater Escape Act. It's a very difficult feat of magic." She shouted.

"In order t-to raise the stakes, I have a time limit of exactly one minute to use my magic to fight off and escape the deadly fish." She continued, her voice finally wavering a little.

"Piranhas! Yumeno-chan, that's too dangerous." Tenko argued , rather predictably.

"Don't worry, I have my magic." Himiko countered.

"Yumeno-chan…" Tenko trailed off.

"Chabashira-san, Atua is watching over her. There's nothing to worry about." Angie said quickly.

Tenko glared at her, but backed down. She was crying.

"Are you ready, Yumeno-chan?" Angie asked the Ultimate Magician.

Himiko nodded and climbed up the steps.

"When the timer starts, The Amazing Himiko will jump into the water tank. Then her lovely assistant-me! - will draw the curtain close and release the deadly Piranhas! Please clap for her everyone!" Angie shouted.

More clapping.

Kaito was totally transfixed by the performance.

He had forgotten everything else.

Although he was usually deathly afraid of the supernatural, he wasn't afraid of Himiko's magic trick. As much as the magician liked to boast that her magic was real, he knew it was staged.

However, even he was in suspense. He didn't know how she would escape the glass tank.

"Yumeno-chan, please be okay!" Tenko blurted out.

"Even I can see that Yumeno-san is nervous." Kirumi said, a concerned edge to her voice.

"Don't worry everyone, if Yumeno-chan is gobbled up by the piranhas, it'll still be amazing!" Kokichi said curtly.

Everyone glared at him. Even Himiko lazily glared on him.

"Don't say that." Tenko muttered.

Angie clapped loudly, getting everyone's attention.

"Please be quiet! The Amazing Himiko is finally ready to perform! Don't distract her." She instructed.

The whole audience fell silent. Even Tenko. Although, she didn't look too happy about things.

"Here I go! The timer will start as soon as I hit the water." Himiko yelled.

She took a deep breath and jumped into the tank, causing a loud splash!

Her small form was warped by the thick glass.

The timer started counting down.