Chapter 6: Despair

The Ultimate Detective's jaw dropped to the ground. He stared at the purple-haired mannequin in absolute shock. This is Kaede's room, right? He looked around frantically. Classical music posters lined the walls, and there were scores of music littered about the floor. Yeah… seems like it… wait, so HE wrote the note? But why? As these questions raced through his mind, the mannequin began rock back and forth, giggling uncontrollably.

"Ehehehe….EHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHA!"

Kokichi let out another one of his evil laughs as he examined Shuichi's bewildered expression. He paused, grinning evilly before pressing a button on his phone. Shuichi then heard Kaede's voice coming from the speaker:

"C-come in!"

"eheh…AHAHAHAHAHA!" The Evil Supreme Leader pointed a jeering finger at the detective as he cackled uncontrollably. Between short breaths, he huffed out a few words:

"I huff can't believe hehe! you fell for it!" He giggled again as he played the audio recording once more "You really are a shitty detective, Shumai! Ahahahaha!"

Shuichi curled his fists in anger as he stood before his enemy. For the first time in his life, he was tempted to hit someone out of rage.

"Kokichi!" he shouted. "What the hell are you doing in Kaede's room? Explain yourself! Why did you bring me here?"

The other boy regained his composure before answering:

"Bring you?" He asked, in mock confusion. "Well, technically, I didn't bring you. Your stupidity brought you."

Kokichi looked as his fingers with a cockily bored expression as Shuichi shook with rage. It's all his fault. The detective thought as he felt his fists clenching tighter. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have had to quit training with Maki, and Kaede and I would still be friends! It's all his fault! Shuichi yelled as he charged the evil in front of him and swung out his arm.

"Why are you doing this to me?" He shouted as Kokichi dodged and slipped past him towards an open window. "What did I ever do to you? I thought we were friends!"

"Awwww, but we are friends, Shumai!" Kokichi gave him a cute smile while putting his hands behind his head. "I just don't like liars, that's all! Yep, you and Maki are just really terrible liars. Liar liar pants on fire! If anything, I'm helping you!" His normally facetious smile suddenly turned blank.

"As for the real reason… I already told you, didn't I? I want you… to feel DESPAIR."

As the Supreme Leader breathed out those last words, Shuichi felt his blood curdle in his veins. A chilling wave of malice suddenly engulfed him, sweeping all his previous anger and pain away and leaving only fear. He felt chills as he took in his former friend's malicious aura. Despair? That doesn't make sense! What's his real goal! I can't think about that now… is he gonna kill me?! Shuichi shivered as he thought of what would happen next. Normally, he wouldn't ever consider the possibility of being murdered by someone so childlike, but after being exposed to this malevolent side of him, Shuichi wasn't so sure.

Kokichi snapped the tension like a glow stick with an innocent chortle. His eyes lit up as he found what he had came for on the floor by Kaede's bed.

"Hey, hey, Shumai! You'll never guess what I just found! C'mon, take a look!"

He then bent down and picked it up, and tossed it to Shuichi. Astonished, the half-witted detective caught it before stretching it out in his hands before him, his face turning scarlet as he realized what it was.

Kokichi continued to address him in an innocent tone as he saw the bright hue on Shuichi's face.

"Look, look," He gushed, like a 10 year-old showing off a new toy. "Isn't it amazing? The thing of your hopes and dreams… mmmmm. It smells like a wet baby that wiped its bum with lavender! Although it's a bit too moist…" His lips curled up to his eyes as he gestured encouragingly. "Go on, take a whiff!"

Meanwhile, Shuichi's mind had completely crashed. Here was something that he had never expected to see in his lifetime, something that he, no that EVERY male in Hope's Peak had surely dreamed of. The Holy Grail of manliness glowed in his hands. It's so…soft. And kinda moist… Shuichi allowed himself to indulge in the abhorrent desires that leaked out of his unconscious before the rest of his brain snapped him out of it. What am I doing?! It would be bad if Kaede saw me with this! I have to get rid of it! Shuichi looked around anxiously for the proper place to put it as he heard the door lock clicking behind him.

"Nishishi, Gotcha!" As if on cue, Kokichi dashed out the open window and slammed it shut behind him. Shuichi's muscles locked as he watched the door take years to open. He already knew what was coming next.

SHIIIIIIIII-

"SHUICHI?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY-" Kaede screamed in shock before her eyes darted down to the object he had in his hands. The pianist's mouth opened wide as she gasped, tears forming in her eyes and her face turning crimson. Her lips trembled, the fragile bond between them finally shattering to pieces after being whittled down and cracked for weeks. Shuichi flinched as if he had heard it break, the fragments scattering about on the floor, too many to put back together. Absolutely mortified, rivers flowed down Kaede cheeks before she shrieked:

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING WITH MY PANTIES?!"

There was no way out of this. Shuichi may have been an idiot, but at least he knew that. There was no way she would believe him. All he could do was stand there, his hands trembling as he saw betrayal cause the color of Kaede's dull eyes to fade from pink to grey while more and more of his classmates peeked in from the hallway.

The broken-hearted pianist, once full of hope, trembled as she collapsed to the floor, crying. I want to disappear… That wish was all she could think about as her sensitive teenage brain processed her nightmarish situation. Despair flaunted itself on her face as she slowly looked up at her former friend. Shuichi extended his hand.

"Kaede, look-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She swatted him away. His touch reminded her of all the times she had laughed with him, all the tender moments they had had as he listened to her play piano in the music room, all the times she had tentatively touched his hand or urged him to believe in himself. The flood of happy memories slapped her like a striking wave. As if to say, "Wake up, it wasn't real". She had been naive. Was it all a lie?

"JUST SHUT UP SHUICHI!" Kaede rose unsteadily, her legs shaking. She took a shaky breath as everyone watched her fall apart; the frustration, pain, and jealousy she had felt over the past month spilled out like vomit for everyone to see. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, putting every last ounce of strength she had into her voice, now wobbly with uncertainty.

"Wh-who are you?" Kaede's world crashed around her as she questioned everything she had felt when she was around him. "I used to think you were kind, gentle, passionate, shy, talented, brave, and considerate. I used to think you were the kind of person I could share my first kiss with. I loved you." Shuichi's eyes widened in surprise. Kaede liked me?! Her lips quit trembling as a bit of determination seeped into her voice.

"Whenever someone would call you shy, or make fun of your lack of confidence, I would get upset. I told them that they didn't know you at all. I wanted them to understand just how amazing you were. But I wanted you to see it most of all. I knew that you were an awesome detective. I used to feel that I was the one person who saw you for who you truly were, that I knew you better than anyone else. Isn't that stupid?" She laughed a little as she felt more tears welling up.

"But now I see that I was wrong." Despair burrowed itself deep into Shuichi's heart as he heard those words. He fell to his knees, a single drop of water running down his blank face.

"I was such an idiot. I didn't know you at all. You're nothing like the person I thought you were. You're disgusting. I mean, wh-what are you even doing?! You sneak out onto the field and f-f-f-f-FUCK Maki and now you're stealing my underwear? YOU'RE JUST A PERVERT! WHERE THE HELL DO YOU GET OFF?!"

Kaede stopped venting and started sobbing into her hands. Wait, Maki on the field?! But that was a misunderstanding! Shuichi sniffled as he attempted to explain.

"K-kaede, what happened on the field was-"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! JUST SHUT UP SHUICHI!" Kaede screamed into her palms, her eyes running out of fluid. She glared at him vindictively. "You're a perverted asshole."

Meanwhile, Shuichi was completely destroyed. Kaede, his angel, the person he looked forward to seeing the most every day, now despised him and called him an asshole. Furthermore, she liked him! And he prevented himself from seeing it. It was too late now. Even so, Shuichi gave it one last shot.

"Kaede-"

"JUST GET THE HELL OUT!" With the grip of an Amazon, Kaede forcefully grabbed Shuichi and shoved him out, the door slamming behind him. She sank to the ground, her arms wrapped around her knees. I can't believe I trusted him…

On the other side of the door, Shuichi found himself face-to-face with the Peanut Gallery.

"Seriously, dude. Not cool." Rantaro shook his head in disgust as he burned the image of Kaede's panties into his mind for future use. "You're such an asshole."

Other murmured similar statements. Words like "freak" and "pervert" surrounded him as he stared at their shoes. But one heavy voice silenced the others. Kaito stepped forward, darkness covering his face. He rested a solemn hand on Shuichi's shoulder before asking in a hushed tone.

"So…what was Kaede saying about you and Maki?"