Chapter Text
When Kokichi came out of Miu’s lab, carrying a heavy-looking sack behind him, he actually looked genuinely surprised to see her.
“Aw, man,” he said, tilting his head. “I thought for sure no one would be up yet.”
“And I thought you had at least enough of a moral compass to not loot a dead friend’s lab,” Tsumugi said, frowning. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she leaned against the wall of the lab.
“It’s not looting, it’s collecting,” Kokichi said, eyeing her for a moment before letting the heavy bag sink to the ground next to him. “She made these for me, so I’m just picking up my order. It’s her own fault she decided to plan to murder me, so I wouldn’t feel guilty even if I was straight up stealing from her.” He grinned. “Besides, robbery is really nothing in the grand scheme of a supreme leader, don’t you think?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Tsumugi sighed. “Someone as plain as me can’t imagine what it must be like to have no conscience.”
That was enough to drop Kokichi’s mask a little, she noted. His expression dipped briefly back to that blank, blunt look he’d take on sometimes, when he’d suddenly get serious for just a short while. It was always interesting to watch the little changes.
“So, how’d you find me here at the crack of dawn anyway? Even Shuichi hasn’t bothered to find out what I’m up to. It’s been hurting my feelings, really.”
Tsumugi allowed a small smile. “A plain girl like me might not take up much space in a place like this, but I have been told I’m rather perceptive. Being a wallflower makes it easier to see the bigger picture, I suppose.” She paused. “You might out-stealth the others here, Kokichi, but even I notice when food goes missing from the kitchens. Staying up late and rising early, and food still vanishing between those two times? We’re all pretty tired at breakfast these days, but none of us have been getting up that early. It was plain to see who the culprit had to be. From there, all I had to do was get up early and follow you here.”
“Maaan, you got me there,” Kokichi said, grinning wide again. “You’ve been pretty good at pretending to be an average dumbass, but you really do like being clever and showing off, huh? You know, I can respect that. Keeps people on their toes.” His eyes narrowed, turning his expression into a smirk. “Fine. You’ve got me to yourself. Clearly you didn’t tell anyone else, because no one has jumped out of the bushes to kick my ass, so what did you really want?”
“Why are you doing this?” she blurted out, taking a step closer to Kokichi, who looked perfectly unperturbed. “Killing Miu instead of asking us for help, throwing Gonta under the bus like that, all of the lies from the start… And now, whatever it is you’re taking from Miu’s lab. All the secrecy.” She bit her lip, breathing in. “What’s your plan?”
“Is that all?”
Tsumugi blinked. “What...?”
Kokichi gave her another blank look. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? I’m playing the game.”
“No,” she said, pursing her lips. She knew better than anyone else at the school that he wasn’t really playing the game. He was pushing it, trying to break it, throwing wrenches into the gears she had carefully and meticulously set up and oiled herself. “I… I don’t think you are. At least, not the way Monokuma wants us to.”
“Oh?” Something in his eyes shifted again, and he stepped closer. “What do you know about what Monokuma really wants?”
“I just don’t think you’re taking this seriously,” Tsumugi said quickly, glancing aside. “You… you let Gonta die. I understand that you wanted to stop Miu from killing you, and I suppose I can’t prove that you were lying about your intentions as the Killing Game Busters if you really did want to save us from a fate worse than death. But even if that was the truth, why… Why would you sell Gonta out like that? You knew,” she inhales, “you knew perfectly well that the trial could only end one of two ways. Either Gonta would die, or everyone else, including yourself, would. If this was all to end the game and have Gonta be the sole survivor, why would you want the mystery to be solved?”
Kokichi blinked, tilting his head. “Because I’m a liar. Did you forget?”
Tsumugi narrowed her eyes. “So you’re saying you really just wanted to sacrifice Gonta to keep yourself from dying?”
“You weren’t this upset with anyone else for having someone die for their own selfish reasons,” Kokichi replied, calm as ever. “Why does it matter what my reasons were?”
“The others died for what they did.” She gritted her teeth. “They were punished for it. They played the game.”
“So you’re upset that I got away with it?” A curious smile played on his face. “I mean, you’re the first person to even want to talk to me after the trial. Maki would kill me on the spot if I actually came to the meals, or anywhere, really. Don’t you think that counts as a kind of punishment?”
“Only if you didn’t want it that way.” She crossed her arms again. “You don’t seem that bothered by it. If anything, I’d plain guess you’re just happy no one’s getting in the way of whatever you’re plotting next.”
“Oh, I know. I’m a very good liar, after all.”
Kokichi took a quick step back, grabbing the sack and hauling it off, giving a jaunty wave. “Have fun with whatever you peons are getting up to without me. Oh, and I’ll kill you if you tell anyone about this, got it?”
Tsumugi stared at him as he walked off, clenching her jaw. She didn’t get what she came for, but it was a start. “No, you won’t.”