Kaito woke up with a start, lurching forward and grasping for his neck as he fell forward.
What the hell?
What just happened?
Tsumugi… is the mastermind?
Kaito didn't realize he was hyperventilating until, he felt Ryoma grasping his shoulder, yelling at him to breathe breathe
Kaito forced himself to breathe, following Ryoma's distant instructions of "Breathe in.…" a pause. "Breathe out…."
Kaito took one last deep, shaky breath, before looking up at Ryoma. Wait Ryoma? But where was Tsumugi? Was he… back in the classroom? Again? How in the name of all things space related was this happening? He had… died… right? But hadn't he already died? Why did he keep coming back to this classroom? Why did no one recognize him, or anyone else for that matter? How did-
"Hey. Hey! Are you with me kid?"
Kaito blinked a few times, clearing his head and refocusing his vision, before noticing Ryoma snapping his fingers, right in front of Kaito's face, making Kaito flinch back.
"H-huh?"
"You fell out of that locker, choking on air and hyperventilating, then you just kinda froze and started staring at nothing like a weirdo. I was trying to get your attention." Ryoma shoved his hands into his pockets. "But you look… better… now I suppose. So. D'you have any idea where we are?"
Where we are? Of course I know where the hell I am, the question is why the hell don't you? Kaito forced a grin, despite the grim situation. "No, sorry about that dude. But don't worry!" Kaito smashed his fists together, a gesture he had picked up a long time ago, when his grandpa got mad when Kaito punched a hole in the wall one too many times. "I'm sure we'll find a way out of here soon! At least I hope so…" Kaito said the last part under his breath, but by the weird look Ryoma gave him, he was worried for a second that Ryoma had heard him, at least until Ryoma shrugged, and started walking towards the classroom door.
"Whatever you say, kid." And with one last odd glance, Ryoma disappeared out the door, leaving Kaito alone with his thoughts.
So Ryoma… really doesn't remember. How could this be? How could Ryoma not remember, but Kaito could. And if Ryoma doesn't remember… does that mean no one else will remember either? They didn't remember last time, but… how could they all just forget? After all they went through, all the fun times, all the… betrayal… murders… executions… who was Kaito kidding? Maybe it was better that no one else remembers, that would lead to a whole mess of distrust and probably more murders. But still, just because it's better that no one remembers, that doesn't explain how they're looping, or why Kaito remembers. Was it the maste- Tsumugi's doing? Didn't she say something about wiping his memories? But if that was the case, why didn't she wipe his memories this time? And how was she even wiping memories in the first place, or at least attempting to? No, this doesn't make any sense!
Kaito slams his fist against the locker he had fallen out of, leaving a dent that somehow just made him more frustrated. Even if Tsumugi managed to somehow wipe their memories, how was she sending them back in time? How was she reviving all the dead students? She couldn't, there's just no way she was able to do this. So then how? And why could he remember? Why him? Kaito didn't understand, and it was pissing. Him. Off.
Before Kaito could punch the locker again, the classroom door squeaked open, making him turn in surprise.
"Hello there. I heard a noise coming from here a little bit ago, and I thought I'd come check it out. Are you ok?"
Rantaro Amami, the ultimate mystery as far as Kaito was concerned. He had died first during… whatever that first run of this horrible game was, and Kaito had hardly even gotten a chance to talk to him, never mind find out what he was like, or whether he was a cool guy or not. He seemed pretty nice, but looks could be deceiving. If he had learned anything during that game, it was that. But Kaito refused to let this game change who he is, and who he is is Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars! Even crying children adore the great Kaito, and Kaito won't back down from anyone, no matter what!
"Oh yeah! I'm good, just uh, confused! Yeah, I have no idea where I am! You wouldn't happen to know, would you?"
Rantaro stepped fully into the room, leaning onto a desk casually. "I have… an idea, but I'm definitely not a hundred percent sure, so I'll keep it to myself for now."
That got Kaito's attention. What did Rantaro know? No one had any idea about the killing game at this point, so why did Rantaro….
"Oh really? Well I think you should say something to someone if you know where we are, but I get it if you don't trust me, I am a stranger after all!"
Rantaro threw Kaito a half smile. "Yeah, you are a stranger, but to be fair, I'm just as much of a stranger to you."
Kaito barely caught himself from arguing. He did know Rantaro didn't he? He had died first, and in the time he was alive, the two definitely didn't spend a lot of time together but… Kaito didn't like to think someone died without anyone even knowing who he was, and what he was like. If he could go back, he would have talked with Rantaro more. Wait. He did go back. This was his second- or third, chance, a chance to do things differently, a chance to try to help the people he couldn't get to before, a chance to-
"Hello? Are you okay?"
Kaito was startled out of his thoughts when Rantaro spoke.
"Oh, sorry, my bad! I tend to space out a bit sometimes." Kaito apologized. When had he started spacing out so much? "But anyway, about what you said, maybe we can change that!"
"Change the fact that we're strangers?"
"Yeah! Who knows how long we'll be here, it'd be smart to team up and stuff, y'know? What do you say? Friends?" Kaito held out his hand.
Rantaro was quiet for a moment, seemingly contemplating, before smiling again. "Sure, why not, right?" He reached out, grasping Kaito's hand, and giving a surprisingly firm shake.
/
The now duo finally left the classroom. Kaito wasn't too excited to walk down these halls again, but he was more determined than ever before, determined to escape, and determined to help in whatever way he could, and armed with the knowledge he had of the other 15 students, especially who Tsumugi really was, he felt like he could really make a difference.
Kaito and Rantaro walked around the school, meeting everyone else, and Kaito hated having to pretend not to know anyone. It was hard to not pounce on Shuichi and Maki, showering them with high fives and hugs, but one look at Maki's gaze, which had gone back to being cold and empty, and Shuichi, who was back to clinging to Kaede's side like a lost puppy, and who was wearing his hat again, reminded him he wasn't in the same timeline as before. It hurt him to see his friends, who had been loosening up, back to being closed off, but he decided he would just have to help them again, and everyone else, as many times as he would have to, every time he looped.
The whole time, from the point the monokubs made the announcement for everyone to gather around in the gym, to the announcement of the killing game, to the appearance of Monokuma, to the rules being announced, it all felt like a blur. Kaito still spoke up, rather loudly most times, but he refrained from attacking Monokuma this time around, not wanting to bother at this point, he already knew it was futile. It almost felt unreal, going through all this again. It was giving him a major sense of deja vu, as if a distant memory was being relieved, which he supposed was true.
It didn't seem to take as long as he remembered before everyone was gathered in the secret tunnel, Kaede telling everyone to work together, and how if they really tried and believed, they could get through the secret passageway and escape.
"Hey, Rantaro. Do ya really think we can escape if we get to the end of this?" Kaito asked, keeping his voice quiet.
"Hm. I'm not sure. I doubt it would be that easy, but I don't see why we shouldn't try. And look, Kaede seems to think it's possible, so why not try?" Rantaro nodded towards Kaede as he spoke.
Kaito nodded, grinning. "Yeah! I'm sure we'll escape now!" Kaito turned back to Kaede and the others, who were discussing the passageway. Kaito knew this wasn't a way out, but having hope that a way out might be right through this tunnel, brought needed hope to the others, and he refused to be the one crush that hope.
Even with Kaede and Kaito's own encouragement, everyone gave up going through the tunnel after the 7th time, everyone feeling beat up and tired. Kaito had refused to slack off, and still tried as hard as he could, along with everyone else, but he still couldn't get far, nevermind to the end. It was beyond frustrating. Everyone retired for the night after an announcement from the monokubs saying it was nighttime, but not before agreeing to meet in the dining room at 8 am the next morning.
Kaito wasn't excited to go to bed alone, but thankfully he fell asleep rather quickly, and he wasn't plagued with any nightmares from the first loop, though he did have an odd dream about a constellation that looked like a spider with Kokichi's head.
The next morning went just like it had all that time ago, with Monokuma announcing the first blood perk, and telling us to get with the killing already. Everyone thought Monokuma died for a while, but again, their hopes were crushed when he popped up again, just to announce a time limit. Kaito spent most of his time with Rantaro. Rantaro wasn't too talkative, but Kaito did learn that Rantaro apparently had a ton of sisters. 12 to be exact. When Rantaro first told Kaito, Kaito almost fell over, having 12 sisters would be insane.
The days passed way faster then Kaito would prefer, and before he knew it, he was gathering a group of the strongest students, in hope of a chance to fight back if they really were attacked at the end of the time limit, music from the monitors in every room blaring loudly. It was when he saw Rantaro looking to sneak out of the room, presumably to go to the library, Kaito realized he could save Rantaro, and Kaede. Kaito rushed over to Rantaro, and spoke loudly, to gather the attention of everyone else, so that Rantaro couldn't escape.
"Hey Gonta! Maybe you can show Rantaro how you would defend yourself against an attacker? I bet you could use some pointers, couldn't you Rantaro? Sense you don't remember even as much as the rest of us do, you could at least use some pointers before we have to actually fight."
"Yes! Gonta would be happy to help!" Gonta said, all smiles as he walked over. "Gonta will show everyone how to defend against mean bears!"
"I don't need help from a degenerate like you!" Tenko yelled. "I'll hit all of those dumbass bears with all the moves I've got! Hiyah!"
"I'm fine on my own, too." Maki said, turning away.
"That is fine! True gentlemen only help if needed and wanted!" Gonta said, completely unaffected by harsh words that went over his head.
"Uh, I don't need any pointers either…." Rantaro started, but Kaito cut him off.
"No way man, I insist! We can't have anyone going to battle without being at the top of their game!" Kaito clapped a hand on Rantaro's shoulder, and shoved him forwards a bit towards Gonta. "You all get started, prepare however you need to! I'm just gonna run to the bathroom real quick, then I'll come right back and join you!"
"Should you really be going alone?" Gonta asked. "Gonta will go with you!"
"No, no, it's fine, really! You just focus on helping Rantaro, okay?"
Gonta nodded. "Ok! I will help Rantaro, like true gentleman!"
With that, Gonta grabbed Rantaro's arm, and pulled him to another corner of the room, no doubt about to show the shorter boy how to punch in the nicest way possible. Kaito didn't miss the suspicious looks thrown at him by Rantaro, and by Maki, but thankfully no one stopped him as he left the room.
Kaito of course not not, in fact, go to the bathroom. Instead, he made a beeline for the library. It didn't take him long to get there, and as soon as he did, he threw open the doors, before stopping to quietly close them, realizing it wouldn't be ideal to be caught here, right after he said he was going to the bathroom.
Kaito walked through the library, trying to remember which bookcase had been the secret entrance. It turned out to be pretty easy to find, since there were scratch marks in front of it. He grasped the shelf, and pulled the bookcase easily sliding away, revealing the secret door. Almost immediately, the camera that had been hidden in the shelf across from the secret entrance flashed. Kaito looked over, and waited a moment, listening intently. A moment later, a second flash came, and a moment after that, crash the shot put ball that had killed Rantaro hit the ground hard, making Kaito flinch. He hadn't even heard it coming, thanks to the music, and something about that made Kaito feel off, but at least it hadn't landed on Rantaro's head this time.
Kaito sagged with relief, glad he had saved Kaede and Rantaro, but now what would they do about the time limit? Would they all really die? Kaito didn't have much time to think about it, as he realized he needed to hide, or find a way out of the library fast, before Shuichi and Kaede came barreling in, and decided he was the mastermind. He couldn't risk going out the main door of the library, since Kaede and Shuichi could be right outside, so that left one option: hide. Kaito started desperately looking around for a place to hide, but before he could do that, he heard a noise behind him.
Kaito whirled around, eyes widening when he saw Tsumugi in the now open secret doorway, holding another shot put ball.
"You really messed things up for me y'know! You weren't supposed to die until the fifth trial, Rantaro was supposed to die here, since he's too much of a liability!" Tsumugi made a big show of sighing. "Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to pin your murder on him instead, and I'll worry about that brat Kaede later. But for now, I'm afraid you just plainly have to die."
Before Kaito could move, or even yell, Tsumugi was there in front of him, much faster then she should have been, bringing the ball down on his skull.
This is what he get's for trying to be a hero agai-