Extra-long chapter because I love you guys! Thank you for reading/commenting/being awesome!
And hooray! I managed to update this in less than 5 months!
When Kaito and Kokichi arrived at the courtyard, they were surprised to see Gonta, Ryoma, and Himiko huddled around Tenko on the back lawn.
She was showing them some Neo-Akido moves.
Stepping forward, she grabbed an imaginary opponent, and then hefted them over her shoulder and to the ground in one fell swoop.
Himiko leapt up and tried to copy her, but only succeeded in tripping over herself and slamming head first into the grass.
Kokichi ran towards them, laughing brazenly.
Kaito went as well, wincing heavily.
Himiko sat up and glared stormily at Kokichi.
Kaito paused. He still wasn't used to her new-found expressiveness.
Tenko helped her to her feet and then glared at Kokichi as well.
He laughed again and smirked at them.
Himiko sighed and quietly thanked to Tenko.
Tenko blushed deeply and reeled backwards, trying to compose herself.
Himiko didn't mock her and just smiled at her softly. A far cry from her old behaviour.
She's really trying hard. Kaito reflected.
Ryoma rolled his eyes and stepped forward.
"Did you two find anything useful?"
"Not really. We discovered Shinguji's lab, a strange computer room that Iruma is interested in, a few ramshackle rooms with holes in the floor, and a storage room that belongs to Monokuma- it's filled with tons of miscellaneous boxes filled with weird shit." Kaito said, omitting the more dangerous object they had found.
"By "weird shit", Momota-chan means murder weapons." Kokichi revealed bluntly, giggling loudly.
Gonta winced. Himiko and Tenko exchanged worried looks. Ryoma just shrugged.
Kaito glared lightly at his companion.
Kokichi glowered back at him, daring him to say something.
Why did he do that? Shouldn't we have kept the information from them? In case one of them is planning a murder… Kaito trailed off inwardly, immediately feeling guilty for suspecting his classmates.
No. As much as he hated it, he had to be slightly wary of them.
Kaito softened his expression and nodded, accepting Kokichi's decision.
Kokichi winked at him comically and turned back to the others.
"Have you used all of the objects that the Kubs gave us?" Ryoma asked.
"No. We still have the scroll. That's why we came here…Tojo suggested we might be able to use it on a ninja statue that's next to the trial grounds." Kaito said.
"Can I be the one to use the scroll? I want to see if its magic." Himiko said excitedly.
"Sure." Kaito said, handing it to her.
He led them to the ninja statue.
Himiko skipped forward and put the scroll in its mouth.
The ground started to rumble.
Several trees fell away rather dramatically, and a small building rose out of the ground. It was a dojo.
"A dojo! Finally!" Tenko screamed joyfully, jumping up and down.
"Finally?" Gonta echoed, squinting at her with abject confusion.
"It means that I have a real place to work out!" Tenko explained loudly.
"Can you please stop yelling?" Ryoma sighed.
"Sorry." Tenko mumbled, grinning sheepishly.
"Hey, this means that you can show me some proper akido moves!" Himiko piped up.
"Y-yeah." Tenko stuttered, blushing furiously.
"That's a great idea Yumeno-chan! I mean- you're going to need to learn how to defend yourself. Cos' you're the weakest person here. That makes you a prime target for the next blackened." Kokichi mocked her.
Tenko paled and scowled at him.
"Hey, hey. Kokichi is just being…well, Kokichi. Y'know he loves making fun of us. All of us. Actually, I think it's a great idea. Chabashira, if you trained Yumeno, the two of you could become closer." Kaito said, stepping in-between them.
"I want to be Chabashira's friend and learn Neo-Akido from her!" Himiko said loudly, beaming at her friend.
"Th-thanks." Tenko stammered, reddening even further.
"Thank you Momota." Himiko said, smiling at him.
"You're no fun Momota-chan." Kokichi huffed, feigning annoyance.
Kaito laughed.
Tenko took a deep breath, managing to compose herself.
Gonta cleared his throat nervously.
"Can Gonta learn "Neo Akidoo" too? And become Chabashira-san's friend?"
Tenko frowned and opened her mouth-
"Of course, you can!" Himiko assured him.
Tenko blinked in shock, then smiled woodenly at Gonta.
That's fake as fuck. She's barely tolerating his presence. But if she's doing it for Yumeno, then who am I to judge. Kaito thought.
"You're a degenerate male. B-but I'll try to be your friend. If Yumeno-san wants it." She said slowly.
"Then Gonta will do his very best." Gonta declared, oblivious to her discomfort.
Tenko bit her lip, but brightened up when Himiko cheered and hugged her close.
Ryoma chuckled deeply, enjoying their happiness.
Gonta was overcome and hugged the two girls close.
Tenko flinched, before smiling again.
Kaito pursed his lips and looked at Kokichi, curious at what he thought of the scene, and froze.
Kokichi was staring blankly at the hugging trio.
Kaito immediately recognised the expression from the trial. Kokichi was very worried about something.
"You okay?" Kaito whispered, sidling over to him.
"I'm fine." Kokichi said, grinning at him vibrantly.
"Kokichi, don't lie to me." Kaito said.
"I'm not lying to you. I'm just depressed about them." Kokichi thumbed urgently towards the girls and Gonta.
"Huh?" Kaito frowned.
"It can only end in tears." Kokichi quipped.
"Ah." Kaito said softly, feeling stupid. "Can we do anything?"
Kokichi shook his head.
"Can we discuss this later?" Kaito asked.
Kokichi nodded minutely and widened his grin.
Kaito stepped away and waved his hands at the others until he'd gotten their attention.
"Come on everyone! We need to find the flashback light! It must be in Chabashira's lab!"
"I agree! Stop wasting time Gonta and help us search." Kokichi said.
"Gonta sorry." Gonta wailed, releasing the girls.
Himiko huffed, while Tenko seemed relieved.
"It shouldn't be too hard to find. The building isn't that big." Ryoma said, adjusting his hat.
Everyone entered the dojo.
Ryoma was wrong. It was huge. Far larger than it appeared on the outside.
Tenko, Gonta, and Himiko ran in and started excitedly looking around.
Ryoma cautiously followed them a moment later.
But Kaito and Kokichi stayed behind, deciding to study the room first.
It was a real dojo; with dummies, numerous platforms, and a lower area filled with even more training equipment.
There was also a giant statue- a giant dummy at the end of the room.
"Want to look around?" Kaito said
"Duh. Let's check out main area for now. Observe the others." Kokichi said.
Gonta and Ryoma were busy inspecting the dummies, while Tenko and Himiko were having an avid, albeit quiet, discussion about Neo-akido.
"Momota, come here." Himiko suddenly whispered, beckoning him over.
Kaito stilled.
He looked at Kokichi, who waved him off, before approaching the two girls.
"What is it?"
"Why are you spending time with Ouma? I mean- I know he helped in the trial…but why do you want to be his friend?" Himiko asked seriously.
"Well…" Kaito trailed off, unsure of how much he should tell them.
Tenko and Himiko both leaned closer, eager to hear his answer.
"I- I guess I just enjoy his company. And I don't want him to be alone. And I also want to keep an eye on him in case he does anything." Kaito finished lamely.
"Is he replacing Saihara?" Himiko said blithely, giving him a concerned look.
"W-what? No." Kaito mumbled, remembering his dear sidekicks' death.
Himiko scrunched up her eyes, trying to figure out what she had done wrong.
"I meant that- is he replacing Saihara as your sidekick? To help you solve the killing game? Or is he really your friend?" She rambled, making things even more awkward.
Kaito swallowed and unconsciously stepped back.
Himiko stopped talking and chewed her lip, realising just how much she had messed up.
Tenko also clammed up, unable to intervene.
"Yumeno, Momota already explained why he wants to become Ouma's friend. His reasons are sound. Due to our situation, we need to stick together but we also need to be suspicious of one another. As we decided after the trial." A kind voice said.
Ryoma walked up to them with his hands in his pockets, giving Himiko a pointed but caring stare.
"R-right." Himiko squeaked. "Sorry Momota."
"No need to apologise. I understand your reticence." Kaito said quickly.
-beat-
"So, Chabashira, if this is your lab, does it resemble the training space you have back home?" Ryoma said.
Tenko blinked, surprised by his question.
"Y-yes. I mean kinda. This dojo is way bigger than the training room at the monastery [1] . We- the monks and I- even had to make our own dummies and training equipment."
"Monastery?" Kaito pressed.
"Oh, didn't I mention that? Well, I grew up in a monastery with a group- an order of monks. My master was the head monk. He taught me Neo-Akido and how to be a disciplined practitioner of the martial arts." Tenko explained, almost rambling.
"How did you end up there?" Himiko said, staring at Tenko with wide eyes.
"My…my parents gave me up. They sent me to the monastery for being unruly. Apparently, I had anger issues as a child. They couldn't take care of me, so they let someone else do it." Tenko said slowly.
Kaito swallowed.
Woah. I- I remember, after the trial, Chabashira said that she hadn't known her parents…
"That's awful." Himiko said. She reached out towards Tenko, hesitating for a moment, before gently touching her right arm.
Tenko smiled sadly at her, managing not to blush.
"It wasn't all bad. I was quite young, so I don't remember them. My master was my real father. And the other monks were my uncles. They taught me everything I needed to know, and more. Otherwise, I still attended school and received a general education."
"Hmmm." Ryoma intoned, suddenly grimacing.
"Hoshi?" Kaito said.
Ryoma curled his bottom lip.
"Just thinking about something Ouma said after the trial. But it isn't important."
He gazed steadily at Tenko.
"What else did they teach you? Aside from Neo-Akido?"
"Lots of things. Mainly life skills. The monks even taught me how to fix the plumbing-" Tenko laughed, "Once, one of them had a stupid accident. He'd brought a radio to the bathroom- "
"Are you guys finished?" Kokichi rudely butted in.
"Huh?" Tenko muttered.
"We need to find the flashback light. We can't afford to waste time. That includes you as well, Momota-chan." Kokichi chided them.
Kaito scratched the back of his head.
As much as he hated to admit it, Kokichi was right.
"Yeah, sorry Kokichi."
"You should be. If I wasn't here to remind you of just how serious our situation is, you wouldn't get anything done." Kokichi said grumpily.
"I'd better get going. Sorry to cut things short Chabashira. I'd love to learn more about your past some other time." Kaito said sincerely.
"I understand." Tenko stared sullenly at the floor.
Himiko, who was still holding on to her arm, squeezed it.
"I have an idea; I think we should let Momota and Ouma search the lab on their own, while the rest of us do our own thing. If we all searched this room, we'd just get in each other's way." Ryoma suggested wryly.
"That's an excellent idea." Kaito grinned.
"Let's do it!" Himiko perked up, giddily throwing her arms up into the air.
"All right." Tenko said, turning to Kaito. "Just make sure Ouma-san doesn't break anything."
"Will do." He promised.
"Hey Gonta, come here." Ryoma called out.
The giant man happily sauntered over, giving Kaito and Kokichi free reign of the lab.
Kaito straightened up and started searching.
Kokichi was only a few meters away from him, poking and prodding a dummy. He seemed quite annoyed.
Thankfully, after less than a minute, Kaito made an interesting discovery.
A set of five buttons on a wooden post at the back of the stage.
"Hey Kokichi! Come here!" He shouted.
"What is it?" Kokichi hurried over.
Kaito pointed at the buttons.
"Ohh! Good find! Let's press them all and see what happens!" Kokichi said gleefully.
"Wait- "
But it was too late.
Kokichi lunged forward and eagerly pressed the first button.
There was a startled gasp behind them.
Kaito and Kokichi both whirled around.
The dummies had moved.
They were now in an offensive stance with their arms raised.
"Cool!" Kokichi said.
He went back to the buttons and pressed the same one.
The dummies stepped back.
He pressed the next button.
The dummies blocked their chests.
Kokichi pressed the third button.
The panels on the walls closed.
Without pause, he pressed the fourth button.
Everyone shrieked as the platform abruptly rose up into the air.
Kokichi hurriedly lowered it.
"Stop messing around!" Tenko yelled angrily, once everything had stopped moving.
"But there's only one button left!" Kokichi protested.
"This is my lab. Not yours. I want- "
Kokichi pressed the last button anyway.
A loud clunk! resounded around the room.
"That came from the lower level!" Kokichi said, then smirked. "Race you to the bottom Momota-chan!"
He located a ladder and hurried down it.
Kaito sighed and went after him, although much more slowly.
"Kokichi?" He called out once he was at the bottom.
It was very dark. He couldn't see anything-
"Over here!" Kokichi mercifully answered.
He was close by.
Kaito went around the corner, almost tripping once or twice, and found Kokichi scowling at a pile of boards.
"Are you okay?"
"I can't find it. This is the last possible place it can be!" Kokichi said angrily.
"The flashback light…?"
"Yes, the Flashback light. What else would I be looking for? A fucking elephant?"
Kaito raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry." Kokichi said, sobering up. "I just…I just want some answers. Even if they are manufactured ones."
"I understand. Why don't we tackle this task together? Two heads are better than one." Kaito offered.
Kokichi nodded.
It was the storage room all over again, except instead of boxes filled with random crap, it was piles of random crap.
At least there isn't too much of it. Kaito thought as he pushed aside some hurdles and blindly searched behind them.
Touching something- a box, he grabbed it and yanked it towards him, only to fall backwards in shock when he saw it was a familiar red chest.
"Well done Momota-chan!" Kokichi said, hurrying over.
He yanked the chest open and, snickering in triumph, grabbed the flashback light and hoisted it up into the air.
Kaito eyed it warily.
Kokichi noticed his apprehension and nodded sombrely at him.
"We need it Momota-chan. At least this one."
"I know."
They shared an awkward glance.
Kaito looked away first.
"Let's get everyone together." Kokichi suggested softly.
"The gym?"
"The gym."
Fifteen minutes later.
Kaito watched as everyone traipsed into the gym. Next to him, Kokichi was busy studying the new flashback light, turning it over and over in his hands, ignoring everyone else.
Most of his classmates regarded the light with either fear or apprehension, or a mix of a two.
Only Korekiyo, Kirumi, Ryoma, and Maki kept their cool.
Kaito sucked in a deep breath.
"Well…is everyone ready?"
"Gonta is ready!" Gonta declared loudly.
"So am I!" Himiko said.
"Can we please get the fuck on with it?" Miu snapped furiously.
"I agree with Iruma-chan. Let's fucking do this!" Kokichi shouted.
"F-fine. I-I just want Yumeno-san to be all right." Tenko said.
"Chabashira, I'll be fine. You don't need to baby me." Himiko comforted her.
Tenko hesitated, then nodded.
"Press the button Ouma." Himiko demanded.
Kokichi grinned and pointed the flashback light at the group.
"Wait a moment." Kaito beckoned, feeling worried.
"Momota-chan?" Kokichi said, freezing completely.
"Oh. Umm, are we sure that we want the new memories?" Kaito said slowly, supressing a smile. He had a feeling that Kokichi wouldn't have stopped for anyone else.
"Everything will be all right." Kokichi jeered, sounding overtly sarcastic.
"Quit it Kokichi."
"Ohhh, Momota-chan is such a baby- "
"Can you two please stop arguing!" Tsumugi chastised them. Her face was very red.
"Please. It's getting very annoying." Korekiyo backed her up.
"I agree." Maki said quietly.
"You're making me even more anxious." Kiibo said.
"Get a room you two." Miu jeered.
"That's a good idea Iruma-chan!" Kokichi said.
"Please Kokichi. Not now." Kaito covered his mouth with a hand, trying desperately not to laugh.
"Are you not interested in me Momota-chan?"
"No."
"Not even a little bit?"
"No. Look- you can use the flashback light now. I don't feel nervous anymore."
Thanks to you.
"Well, now you've made me nervous Momota-chan. I don't want the new memories. They could be dangerous- "
"Ouma, get on with it!" Several people yelled.
"Jeez. No need to scream at me. I'll "get" on with it." Kokichi said defensively, pointing the flashback light at them again.
"Everyone, prepare to be traumatised…even more!"
He pressed the button.
Kaito flinched.
Everything went white.
He remembered.
- He was in school, chatting with his friends about the Ultimate Hunt.
He was just an ordinary school student. A nobody.
"Can you believe that all of the Ultimates have vanished?" His friend said.
"Serves them abandoned us." His other friend said. "What do you think?"
Kaito laughed harshly.
"I'm just sad they aren't around any more. I would totally turn them in for the prize money."
"Same." Both of his friends agreed.
The school bell went.
"See you guys tommorow." He said, waving at them lazily, before grabbing his bag and leaving the school.
He whistled as he left the gates and walked into the parking lot, not noticing the large black van slowly approaching him.
Suddenly, a group of men in black masks leapt out and grabbed him.
Before could even scream, they covered his mouth with something and put a bag over his head.
He passed out.
The scene changed.
He was in a laboratory, strapped to a cold, metal, seat, surrounded by wires and beeping monitors. There was a helmet on his head, keeping him in place.
"W-where am I?" He said, trying to struggle against his restraints.
"Don't worry. You'll remember everything soon." A soothing voice said.
"Let me go. I'm-"
Something crackled to life. The helmet on his head buzzed.
Kaito screamed as his head convulsed.
He remembered everything. Including everything he didn't want to remember.
Kaito returned to the present, slowly blinking through what he realised was tears.
Cursing, he dried his eyes and took a shuddering breath.
Then he noticed something odd.
The room was quiet. Too quiet.
Looking up, he winced when he saw how lost his classmates looked. Even Maki was slightly pale.
Only one of them was unperturbed.
"That was…interesting." Kokichi said calmly, before bursting into laughter.
Of course. How else would he react? Kaito thought. Unless he's hiding his emotions again…
"Everyone, stop being so pathetic and pull yourselves together. That was nothing." Kokichi said harshly.
"It wasn't nothing!" Tenko retorted. "It was horrible!"
"Gonta can't believe it. Gonta left family." Gonta said.
"Those memories…it's all a joke. One. Big. Joke." Kokichi snarked, but Kaito caught an edge of something to his voice. Almost like desperation.
Is Kokichi trying to give us advice?
"You're wrong. It's our past. So, it is important." Himiko said defensively.
"Uhhh, earth to Yumeno-chan, Monokuma is giving us these flashback lights." Kokichi explained flippantly.
"B-but maybe he wants to restore our memories so he can mess with us." Tsumugi mumbled. "I-I mean…I don't understand anything. Why are we here? Why us?"
"It's going to be all right, Shirogane-san. We'll find a way to beat Monokuma and we'll get out of here." Kiibo consoled her.
Tsumugi smiled at him.
Kokichi rolled his eyes dramatically.
"Seriously, you guys are so pathetic. This is a freaking killing game. Stop being so disgustingly trusting."
"If we don't trust one another, we'll never get out of here." Ryoma said, staring him down.
"Huh." Kokichi muttered.
"I'm not disparaging you Ouma. Far from it. We do need to be more serious about this, but we also need to work together. At least to some extent." Ryoma said.
"That's nice and all. But I'm not working with Kiibo, because he isn't human. For all we know, he could be a glorified security camera that's directly controlled by Monokuma." Kokichi said, scowling at Kiibo.
The robot started to tremble.
"Leave him alone." Miu came to his defence.
Kiibo smiled at her.
"Shut up skank." Kokichi responded.
"Ouma-kun. Stop it. You're just stirring up trouble for no reason." Kirumi said.
"Or what? You'll try to kill me? Just like you attacked Saihara-chan?"
Kirumi gritted her teeth.
Everyone paled and stepped away from her. Except one person.
"Tojo isn't going to hurt us. She understands that she's failed." Maki stated.
Kirumi blinked and stared at her in abject shock. Kaito found himself doing the same.
"Nishishi. Do you have a crush on her Harumaki?" Kokichi said, chuckling and putting his hands behind his head.
"No. I just understand the position she's in." Maki said without skipping a beat.
"Oh?"
"Because Tojo failed…she has a chance to take stock and realise that what she did was wrong, and change her ways accordingly." Maki explained.
Kaito shut his eyes and sucked in a deep breath.
He trusted Maki, but he hated Kirumi.
If Harumaki can move on and become a better person, then so can Tojo. I have to stick up for her-for them.
"I agree. I'm not saying that we should all give her a chance, but we- we shouldn't shun her."
Several people gasped while others chuckled nervously.
"Obviously, we still need to keep an eye on her. I think it's best if we let Harumaki do it."
"Wait? You're being serious?" Miu said incredulously.
"I am."
"Are you sure Momota-kun?" Kiibo asked, completely shocked.
Kaito nodded confidently.
"Harumaki can keep her in line. She's…well, she's on an equal footing to Tojo. Let's keep it at that."
Maki jerked her head and frowned at him.
Kaito grinned listlessly.
Her lips curled ever so slightly upwards, before she shook her head, becoming serious once more.
"Well, if you're sure, then I'm sure." Ryoma said, shrugging. "But I still don't trust her, so I'm staying away from her. I suggest everyone else does the same. Aside from Harukawa."
"That's obvious." Himiko muttered, scowling at Kirumi. "She got Angie…and Saihara killed."
"Yumeno-san…" Tenko trailed off. "Remember what Yonaga-san said, about Atua. She-she wanted us to be strong!"
"Y-yeah!" Himiko managed a small smile.
Kaito raised his head. He felt inspired by her.
Stepping forward, he glared passionately at his classmates.
"We ALL need to do our best! We can't afford to give up now! We're going to defeat Monokuma!"
The room was silent for a few moments and then everyone started to cheer.
Kaito grinned uneasily at them while Ouma rolled his eyes and huffed.
I didn't mean to get so zealous. Am I playing right into Monokuma's hands?
"Kukuku. Momota-kun has done so much for us. He's almost our leader." Korekiyo said.
"We would be lost without him." Ryoma acknowledged.
"I would've given up a long time ago if it wasn't for Momota-kun! My inner voice agrees!" Kiibo thumped his chest.
"I-I'm not…" Kaito squeaked.
"Yes, you are Momota-chan. You're even more of a Supreme Leader thanI am. Everyone is listening to you. They reallydepend on you." Kokichi said, the barest hint of caution in his voice.
Kaito quickly pulled himself together and laughed cheerfully, pretending it was nothing.
"I'm not a leader. I just want to uncover the truth of this killing game."
"We all do. And I have a feeling that we'll have to deal with the next motive soon." Maki said.
Kaito sobered up.
"I don't think Monokuma is going to give it to us today." Maki stroked her chin. "I think it'll be tomorrow. He'll try to catch us off guard."
"So, what should we do now?" Tsumugi asked timidly.
An annoying laugh echoed throughout the room.
"Maybe you guys should have an orgy?" Monokuma suggested, appearing in the centre of the room.
"That's a great idea!" Kokichi yelled.
"What do you want Monokuma?" Ryoma said.
"I'm here to give you the next motive!"
[1]Yes, I know she actually lived in a temple with a group of priests, but I personally prefer Monk/monastery. Almost the same thing and I find a group of warrior monks more interesting to write than a group of warrior priests.
You're all going to hate me next chapter. Just stating that now.
Hope you're all doing well! Sending hugs!