This chapter was fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

I kept editing IT, then re-editing it. The same sections. Over and over again.

But it is here. A whole chapter of Kaito and Kokichi bantering and discussing the killing game. Enjoy!

Someone knocked on his door.

Kokichi looked up from his papers and braced himself.

It was time.

He hurried out, slamming his door shut behind him.

Kaito gave him an inquisitive look.

"I changed my mind. Let's talk out here." He explained.

"Kokichi, this isn't really private." Kaito said.

"I don't trust you enough to let you in, Momota-chan." Kokichi muttered. "Let's go to your room."

"Okay. I don't mind. C'mon." Kaito beckoned him over.

"What do you want out of this meeting exactly?" Kokichi said, unable to move.

"I want to continue our alliance."

"And you want to force me to be your friend?"

"No, Kokichi. I understand your hesitation. If you really don't want to be my friend, then let's be just be allies of convenience and work together to end this killing game." Kaito said, sounding sad, but resolute.

Kokichi frowned.

"You can't beat Monokuma by yourself. Not after Shuichi's death…the trial showed me."

"…" Kokichi's jaw dropped for a moment. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Let's just go to my room." Kaito sighed and stepped away from him.

Kokichi hesitated.

He didn't want Kaito to leave-

"Stop!"

"What's wrong?"

"Momota-chan…"

"Kokichi, if you need a moment…it's okay. If you want to do this tomorrow…. that's also okay. Take all the time you need." Kaito smiled softly at him.

Kokichi stared at him, analysing his expression.

There was no malice in it.

Can I really trust him? Really accept his help? He thought, sick hope curling in his belly.

He hated being alone. Every second of it. Bottling up his emotions without anyone to confide in. Suffering and despairing as the bodies piled up and his paranoia increased.

He missed D.I.C.E desperately. His fake family.

In contrast, Kaito was real.

Kokichi could mock him, make him laugh, enjoy his company.

He'd never be able to do that with his clowns. Not that he'd ever done that with them in the first place.

His eyes fell to the floor.

He'd failed. Completely and utterly failed. To stay aloof from his classmates.

He should've never opened up to Kaito, not even a little bit.

He took a deep breath

You can't change the past. So why worry about it?

He grabbed Kaito and dragged him back to his room.

The astronaut didn't put up a fight. He just accepted it. Grinning his dumb grin.

"Momota-chan, I'm not showing you this because I trust you, but because I have no other choice." Kokichi babbled as they entered his room.

"Of course."

Kokichi rolled his eyes and released him.

Kaito's eyes went wide as he took in his surroundings; the board of suspects, the overflowing stacks of paper, the piles of boxes, the dartboard, and all the other assorted crap.

"You- you did all this?" He mumbled, voice barely above a whisper.

"Who else?" Kokichi snarked.

"Yeah…" Kaito wandered over to the board and peered closely at it.

Kokichi sighed. He should've known that this would be a problem.

"Why have you written "suspicious, ugly, and annoying" next to my picture?" Kaito pointed accusingly at his photo.

"I was too tired to change it last night." Kokichi demurred.

"Ah."

Kaito looked at the other photographs, freezing when he saw Shuichi's.

It was in the upper right corner of the board, far away from the others, circled and surrounded by question marks.

"He's the only person I didn't find suspicious." Kokichi disclosed.

"Why?"

Kokichi shrugged.

"He was less annoying than everyone else."

"Kokichi…"

"It's complicated Momota-chan. I'm not going to tell you everything." He smirked. "I'm gonna redo this whole room after you leave. So, say goodbye to this mess."

Kaito pursed his lips, then nodded.

"Let's talk."

They sat down.

Finally. Kokichi crossed his legs and leaned forward.

"Do you really want to continue our alliance, Momota-chan? Are you prepared to do what needs to be done to end this killing game?"

"I am." Kaito said earnestly.

Are you? Well…

"Monokuma will give us the next motive tomorrow."

"So, Harumaki was right…what are we going to do?"

"Nothing."

"Whuh?"

"We can't stop the next murder Momota-chan. Even if we foil the next motive, Monokuma will keep throwing new ones at us until one of them succeeds."

"Can we do anything?"

Kokichi tapped his fingers against the armchair and hummed.

"We need to keep acting normal. So that our classmates don't suspect anything. It's the only thing we can do."

Kaito was silent for a moment.

"I can do that." He said, managing a small smile. "Pretty easily."

"We can keep fake-flirting with one another." Kokichi widened his smirk.

"I only do it because I know it makes you happy."

"Nah. You get off on it."

"You're such a brat."

"That's enough. I don't want to get side-tracked. We need to talk about more serious things. Like how we're going to take advantage of the current situation to gather info about the killing game" Kokichi said.

"Wait…are you suggesting that we take advantage of our classmates' despair?"

"Momota-chan, we need to see how people act. How they'll expose their truest selves. What I mean is- Akamatsu-chan was right. There is a traitor, a mastermind, in our class." He revealed.

"So, that's what the board was for…" Kaito glanced at it.

"The only people I've somewhat discounted, aside from our dead classmates, are Tojo-chan and Hoshi-chan. The mastermind wanted both of them dead; for the former to kill the latter."

"Why?"

For entertainment.

"I'm not sure why." He lied smoothly.

Kaito frowned at him, then sighed.

"The mastermind never wanted Shuichi to die."

"No. His death was a blow to them. I think he was a big part of their plans."

"Why?" Kaito repeated listlessly, shaking his head. "Just…why?"

Kokichi almost didn't answer him.

But there was no point in hiding the terrible truth from Kaito. He would figure it out soon enough.

"They wanted him to investigate the murders and lead the trials." Kokichi explained. "They don't want the killing game to end too early. They want to keep it going for as long as possible. It's…it's like a reality TV show. If you get my drift."

Kaito flinched and gripped his chair tightly, staring at him numbly.

"Kokichi, is someone watching us? Are- are they enjoying our suffering?"

Kokichi nodded.

Kaito glared at the floor and started shaking.

"It's okay to get angry. I was very angry when I realised the truth." Kokichi encouraged him.

"Thank you." Kaito said, taking a shuddering breath. "This is just…shit. We can't tell any of the others."

"I know." Kokichi said. "At least…not until we make progress in uncovering the mastermind."

"Just when I think I understand things, it all gets even more fucked up."

"You're telling me." Kokichi joked.

"Kokichi, whatever you're planning, I'll help in any way I can." Kaito promised.

"Even murder?" Kokichi said, trying not to sound too disgusted.

"Why would we- no." Kaito scolded him. "Don't joke about this."

"I'm not joking." Kokichi stated. "Momota-chan, we have to beat this killing game, whatever the cost."

Kaito gave him a horrified look.

"I'm going to ruin things for those sick fucks. Even if it goes against my personal morals. Are you willing to do the same?"

Kaito hesitated for a moment, then nodded sharply.

"Yes. Whatever it takes, I'll do it."

"Really?" Kokichi pressed further.

"Kokichi-yes. I mean it." Kaito said, sounding exasperated. "Just promise me one thing; murder is a last resort. We'll only consider it after we've exhausted all other options. Okay?"

"Whatever Momota-chan." Kokichi chuckled.

He cocked his head.

"Are you going to tell me your secret Momota-chan?"

"No." Kaito said measuredly.

"I want to know- "

"The answer is no." Kaito glowered at him, eyes shining with determination.

It was so severe, that Kokichi was briefly stunned by it.

You really are something Kaito Momota…

"All right. You can tell me when you're comfortable enough to share it. I don't think it's really relevant at the moment."

"Is it really okay if I don't tell you?" Kaito frowned. He hadn't expected him to back down so easily.

"Yes. Now let's get on with things."

Kaito nodded eagerly.

"At certain times, I'm going to need you to distract the others while I go off and do my own thing."

"You mean snoop? Sneak around and look through people's things?"

"Yes, Momota-chan."

"I can do that. I just need to learn how to lie convincingly." Kaito said, acting nonplussed.

"I can teach you."

"Thanks."

Kaito furrowed his brow.

"I just had a thought, if we're going to keep acting "normal", we should spend some time together every day. The others think we're friends…or rather, that I tolerate your company. If we stop hanging out, they'll think that something's wrong."

"We can spend one meal together every day and "hang out" every now and then." Kokichi agreed.

Kaito clasped his hands together, rubbing his knuckles.

"Can we also meet up at night?" He requested. "Not every night. Just…sometimes."

"Whatever for? Do you want to hook up?"

"No! I- it helps me cope."

"Fine." Kokichi said. "Does looking at the stars make you feel better?"

"Yeah. And well…not being alone." Kaito confessed.

I can relate to that.

"If you want to meet up at night, just tell me during the day."

"Thank you…can I tell you about my visit with Iruma?" Kaito offered.

"Please do. How suspicious was Kiibo acting?"

"Kokichi…"

"He's a robot. Just like Monokuma. And for all we know, his "inner voice" could be a link to the outside world." Kokichi declared.

"I know. I'm not disagreeing." Kaito said slowly. "I just need to get used to being suspicious of everyone."

"Tell me what happened in the computer room. Everything. Even if it seems insignificant."

Kaito outlined the whole meeting to him. In exquisite detail.

"That was very helpful. Thank you, Momota-chan." Kokichi said sincerely.

"You're welcome." Kaito said, sounding relieved.

"What the fuck is a "VR computer"?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, The mastermind definitely created the computer room for Iruma-chan. So that she would see the "VR computer" and plan a murder around it."

"Really? But she cares about Kiibo a lot. Would she really sacrifice him for her freedom?"

"She could just be pretending to care about him." Kokichi looked at him pointedly.

"What? I find that very hard to believe. It's like saying that Gonta is faking his gentle personality."

"Well, he could be. Feigning ignorance and idiocy to make us all let our guards down."

"Kokichi…I- okay." Kaito shifted in his seat uneasily.

Kokichi snorted loudly, trying to distract him.

He didn't want Kaito to catch on to the possibility that all of their personalities could be fake. Just like their memories. His worldview had been shattered enough for one day.

"Going back to Iruma-chan. I know it's hard to believe that she could be capable of murder, because of Kiibo, but I believe that she is, if the circumstances are right. She thinks her inventions are the future, and that she needs to escape so that she can "enlighten the world" or some bullshit."

"When you put it like that, I see your point. But Kokichi, she could help us." Kaito proposed.

"I've thought of that to." Kokichi chuckled lowly. "I'm sure, if I asked very nicely, she'd help us. She likes having her ego stroked. Heck, she probably misses her old classmates, because they validated her genius all the time. Unlike us."

"No. I'm sure that if I asked her to help us, she would. She likes me better than you."

"Hmm. That's actually a good idea." Kokichi stroked his chin.

"Actually…" Kaito fiddled with the leather of his seat. "I think I can get through to her and discourage her from murdering anyone."

"Momota-chan, stop being so naïve."

"I'm planning to spend more time with her. So, I may as well try. Even if she is a pervert." Kaito argued.

"Fine. Just wait for the next motive." Kokichi said, sensing that he couldn't dissuade him.

"All right."

"And don't do anything stupid."

"I won't." Kaito grinned at him. "Because I'm very smart."

"Could've fooled me." Kokichi shrugged.

"Oh, you're way smarter than I am."

"Hmm. Maybe you aren't that dumb. You know who your betters are."

Kaito laughed.

"We're going to defeat this killing game. Together."

"I'm not so sure about that." Kokichi said quietly.

"You're not alone Kokichi."

"Seriously Momota-chan? That cliché? You're my ally, not my lover."

"What about friend?"

Kaito sighed.

"I don't know. I'd rather not get attached. Faking a friendship is fine, to fool the others. But otherwise…"

I want to be your friend. I'm just too afraid to say it.

"It's okay. Let's just keep going as we are."

Kokichi nodded, trying to relax.

"So, is that it?" Kaito said.

"I think we're done. You can leave." Kokichi dismissed him.

Kaito nodded and got up.

"Oh! Can I cook you breakfast again tomorrow?" He asked.

"You really want continue cooking for me?" Kokichi narrowed his eyes at him in disbelief.

You really want to waste all that time and effort on me.

"Sure. It keeps me grounded. Reminds me of my grandparents."

"Okay then! Momota-chan is my new mother!" Kokichi crowed.

"Nah. You'll have to return the favour at some point."

"As I told you earlier, I don't know how to cook."

"That's okay. If you each me how to lie, I'll teach you how to cook." Kaito jibed.

"Sounds like a deal." Kokichi played along.

"Yeah."

"Let's split. I need to do some planning. And you need to do…whatever."

"Sure thing…partner." Kaito winked at him and left the room.

Afterwards, Kokichi deflated completely and lay back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

What the hell have I gotten myself into? He asked himself, trying to process the fact that, yes, he had an ally in the killing game.

What if Kaito was the mastermind? What if he had just fucked everything up?

No. From here on out, I have to go all in. He realised grimly, shooting up and racing to his whiteboard.

He removed all the photos and erased everything, scrubbing harshly until the board was completely clean and pristine.

He had to start anew.

He placed Kaito's and Shuichi's photos next to each other, in the far-right corner of the board.

He wrote ally? next to Kaito, then stepped back.

It was missing something.

He added (not that ugly).

Howzat?