Chapter Text
You couldn’t stop thinking about what had led you to the low of having to dig through the garbage to find a decent meal. You were a great detective, not that well known, but you were amazing at your job. Your goal was never to catch the criminals, but to simply find the truth, and you never made a show of it. People are always searching for narratives, stories of the good guys winning and beating the opposition, getting the stolen items was never enough for people. That was why you weren’t well known. Obviously you did catch criminals, but your main goal was finding the truth, once you found the heart of the matter, often the criminal needing therapy or they had no other choice, you’d do all you could to help them outside of sending them to prison, something others often looked down at you for, calling you naive. None the less you could still solve cases decently quickly and your expertise was analyzing people, figuring out how they saw the world. That was what had gotten you called on the Phantom Thief Dice’s case.
Almost nothing was known about Dice, not even if it was a group or a single individual. All that was known was that a pair of colorful dice would be placed on the target, whatever number the dice landed on was how many days before the item would be stolen in the night, a very childish looking replica in its place. A figure in the brightest of white and purest of black was spotted at each scene. The police always gave chase for this individual, but they always escaped whether it be via smoke bombs, a grappling hook, motorcycle, paraglider, colorful weapons with the most harmless of ammo such as glue or curtain string lights. After that the same number of days as before the items would be returned, unharmed as if it were never touched in the first place.
You had been assigned to the case for a year. In that time, you were sent across the globe more times than you could count, going from crime scene to crime scene, never getting even a glimpse of the phantom thief yourself. Though you were hired for your way of going about cases, many were upset that you were more so studying the thief then working to catch them. You knew to catch a person like this you needed to know their motivation, think like them, and a few times you were close to catching them, but all attempts ended in failure. In the end, you were fired, not even getting a paycheck at the end of it all. That’s what you get for being a private investigator instead of a government detective. So, what were you going to do, sue them?
What a joke.
You bitterly chuckled as you sat on a park bench coming up empty handed. You hated this. Stranded in a foreign country, knowing next to nothing of the language and not having enough money in your pocket to at least get a morsel of food or afford a room at an inn. You hated this so much… and you were scared. You stared down at the clenched fists in your lap as you just let the whole situation sink in. Your breathing slightly hitched as you lightly trembled. You shut your eyes tightly, feeling it all welling up. The frustration, the fear, the sadness, it all kept welling up. This just all hurt so much.
“気を付けて!”
“… what?” Though your eyes were blurred and glossy from tears you could see the sakura petals that flittered and fluttered in the air around you, the boxes of crayons, paint brushes, paint bottles, and other such art supplies strewn atop you, the bench and even the ground. There was also a man who shakily pushed himself off said ground, a rather large half-full bag beside him, it’s contents spilling out. He looked up to you with a smile. “ニシシ、ビックリ。” Once off the ground he held out a hand to you. “初めまして、私の名前は大間幸吉です。” Taking a step towards you, he slipped on some of the round brushes, falling over. He simply lay motionless on the ground for a moment before quickly sitting up, laughing to himself. Those soft pink petals absolutely covered him, most gently entangled in his purple hair. His smile only grew hearing he had drawn even a small laugh from you. You helped him to his feet after quickly wiping the tear streaks from your cheeks.
“あなたの名前を教えて？あなたはこのあたりで新しく見えます。ああ！あなたは外国のスパイですか？彼らは私を捕まえようとしているエージェントを送りましたか？私は怪盗であり、世界で最高のリーダーです！” “Uh, I’m sorry, I don’t- uh, wait!” You quickly scrambled for your travel phone. “Oh, you don’t even speak Japanese?” There wasn’t even a hint of an accent on his tongue. “Uh, y-yeah. Are you a foreigner too?” “Yeah, definitely! I’m from Atlantis! Sent by my people to take back our treasure that was stolen from us!” “What? … That’s so ridiculous it’s almost amusing.” “Hey! Don’t lie! I hate liars! If you have to lie at least get better at it, you’re smiling!” “Okay, fine, it’s kind of amusing. Compared to my thoughts at least.”
“I’m Oma Kokichi, and you are?” “Vivi-,… Last name, then first name. I’m Kiernan Vivian.” You weren’t going to give this guy your real name, so you used the fake identity you were given when you arrived in Japan. You still found the name you were given to be odd. Vivian though in the past was considered to be a masculine name, then gender neutral, in modern times it was almost exclusively feminine. And Kiernan was very masculine. You never understood why they didn’t give you more gender neutral names so you could more easily disguise yourself without drawing attention or having to make up a name on the spot then having dozens of names to remember because you couldn’t just be given a convenient, non-binary name.
“Kiernan Vivian. I’ll call you Vivi, and you can call me Kokichi, since you’re used to using first names.” “Uh, okay, thank you?” He then plopped himself beside you with flair, seemingly not caring about the art supplies beneath him. It seemed that there was personality in every action, even in the smallest of movements. It was rather captivating. Not just that but everything about the man. He wore rather colorful clothing with clashing patterns that would make even the most uncaring for fashion cringe. Nonsensical layers like a striped long-sleeved shirt under a tie-dye crop top with kanji on it. Tall, mismatched socks and short tights. Even his hair. It seemed to defy gravity and curl up at the tips. Likely he was someone with endless confidence in order to be so loud yet not act odd in any way. Now you wondered what kind of confidence he had, was it self-destructive, or was it self-preserving.
“Hey Vivi, can I ask you something?” “Ummm, sure?” “Have we met before, because you seem reallllllllllly familiar. So familiar I tripped over my own feet when I saw you!” As he spoke, he leaned in towards you getting face to face. You tried to not show you were uncomfortable, not leaning back in response yet, he quickly backed off even scooting a little away. Did he catch some hint and reacted to that? A flicker of your eyes or something? Every action he took was deliberate and he was hyper aware of his surroundings. Just happening to trip seemed unlikely but you could just as easily be getting the wrong impression of the guy. “I don’t think so.” “Really? Oh! What if we’re long lost childhood friends separated by time, or, OR! You have amnesia, and that’s why you don’t remember me! Oh, my poor sweet Vivi, such a terrible fate for as great of friends such as we!” Leaning back he posed dramatically placing the back of his hand on his forehead with his eyes closed. “I’m pretty sure all my memories are intact.” Looking up to the sky you smirked, letting your mind run wild. “Or it could be a conspiracy!” Kokichi gasped! “A conspiracy!? No!” “Yes! When I was but a child I saw something I should not have, the Atlantin government not wanting the dreadful secret getting out banished me from my true home under the sea and I was forced to make my way up here, but soon I shall reclaim my true memories and return, unveiling that corrupted secret that lay in wait!” “Ah! How could they! Not my best friend!” Rather playful, wasn’t he.
“Ah!” “Is something wrong?” “It’s teatime!” You looked to him in slight confusion. Japan had a teatime? “C’mon Vivi, we got to go!” He quickly scrambled to gather all the supplies, dumping it all into the bag. Before you could say anything, Kokichi had already taken your hand and was dragging you away. “Wait! Hold on! I can’t pay! I don’t have anything on me right now!” “Whatever, we’ll figure something out. Let’s just go!” Though reluctant, you were curious as to what Kokichi had planned.
The two of you sat across from one another in a small tea shop. Being unable to read anything Kokichi… translated? For you? He gave the teas descriptions instead of just stating the name like ‘dark, robust liquid ash’ or ‘snow water’. You were able to puzzle out his descriptions and he thankfully ordered for you, so you didn’t butcher the Japanese language.
“So, have any work lined up?” “Huh?” Resting his chin in one hand with the other the tips of his fingers lazily traced the rim of his cup. “A foreigner in a foreign land. You must have had something planned, but it fell through, didn’t it?” “… Yeah. You could say that I guess.” “Don’t you have any way to get back home or…” “No offence, you seem like a nice guy, but I just met you. I don’t exactly want to talk about my financial stability.” “Oh?” A long sigh drew from his lips, looking rather disappointed. “That’s too bad. If you were looking for work, I could help you. I have lots of connections. Whatever you specialize in, I can find someone who could use your talents.” “Hmm?” Fine, you’d bite. “Connections? What sort of connections?” “To all the big names! I have the yakuza under my thumb! If it wasn’t for me, they’d be fighting nonstop! I also control all the world’s governments! The world is my oyster and I can do whatever I want! I can find a nice cozy place for you easily.” “You rule the world, do you?” He stared at you for a moment as if waiting for something… Then his eyes slightly widened. “Huh. Most people would have called me out on my lie or ignored me altogether. And you’re definitely of sound mind too. Yet you play along with me.” Taking a sip of your tea you looked out the window. Your mind wandered back to your old work, the criminals you captured… “The way I see things, everyone sees the world from their own perspective. Every person has their own personal truths. I don’t believe you rule the world, but it’s entirely possible that you believe it. The real truth could be you do rule the world, even if to me it’s not the truth and the opposite could be the case too, but no matter what the real truth is, it won’t necessarily effect our perception of the world. You could still believe you rule it and I could still think you don’t. The only way a person sees the world is through their own perspective, no other. A child’s imaginary friend may not be tangible to us, but that friendship isn’t any less real to the child. People can have any number of phobias, Xanthophobia the fear of the color yellow, we may see it as a silly fear, but that color still strikes real terror into people with that phobia. No matter how silly the worry seems, in a way, it’s still very real to the person with that fear. So even if it’s not the real truth, in a way it is real, because it’s the only way you experience the world. So who am I to teach you how I see the world, mine could be just as faulty as yours if not more so. I believe that as long as with your perspective you don’t act in such a way that harms others, there’s no need to do anything about it.”
Kokichi stared at you, seemingly absent mindedly… “Huh… So that’s why…” He smirked, though there was a softness in his eyes not reflected in that sharp smile.
“Hey, want to be my assistant? I’ll pay handsomely.” “Excuse me?” He looked absolutely giddy, leaning over the table a little with that beaming smile and sparkling eyes. “Yeah! You see I’m an investor. Movies, companies, charities, festivals, you name it, I’ve invested in something in the category! And I invest in anything I know has potential, or I just like, and I like you! It’ll be fun!” His expression shifted to something dark, something sinister, something that embedded a deep fear in you instantaneously. When he spoke next his voice reflected that terrifying, threatening presence. “Or not, who knows…” Smirking he leaned back in his seat. “Life is a series of chances and now, you have the option to take a chance on me. So…” He beamed, unable to contain his excited laughter. “Will you!? Hey, hey! So, what is it? What do you choose! Will you take a chance on me? Huh? Will you? Will you!” “I-I, uh… You don’t even know if I’ll make for a good assistant.” “Silly, I’m not keeping you as an assistant forever… Okay, maybe I will, buuuut, it’ll work like this. You be my assistant, I see what you’re good at, and I’ll offer you positions in places I know could use your skills! No experience required!” “I, uh, what about the details and stuff?” Taking a colored pencil out of his pocket, Kokichi began to write on a napkin before passing it to you. “Here’s how to contact me. Now, enough business talk, this is the mandatory tea break, we’re supposed to be relaxing right now.”
The tea was absolutely lovely, mild and calm, just what you needed. It was warm, comforting, the air constantly filled with silly banter between the pair of you. There was not a moment left to think, just the moment to be lived in. In the back of your mind you wondered if Kokichi was doing this on purpose, making this atmosphere to lull you in. This entire situation was awfully shady… but it was most certainly an intriguing development and… admittedly seeing him smile and wave goodbye, asking you to think on his offer, you already missed him. He certainly left an impression on you, and you seemed unable to take your mind off him, puzzling out what his own aim was.
As night began to fall you found yourself meandering by a lakeside. You watched as the water rippled, a warped reflection of the crisp night sky, the moon full and stars bright. Rather beautiful one might say. Pulling your phone out of your pocket you sat down, placing it before you. Hugging your knees to your chest you looked to your phone then to the lake over and over till finally up to the sky. You had no idea when you’d receive your next paycheck, and bills were coming up soon. Perhaps this was just the development you were waiting for. And a little extra income couldn’t hurt should this be a faulty endeavor.
Taking the folded napkin from your pocket you entered the address into your phone. You were immediately taken to a garish site that looked to be a poorly slapped together wiki page. The text was neon, the background blindingly bright colors. There were several links at the top you could hardly read due to the lack of color contrast. The only understandable thing on the entire page was a single image near the top. A person appearing to be dressed as a clown in a business suit stood beside the only legible words… ‘New feature! English translation for our newest, and definitely not only considering joining member, Vivi!’ My how considerate. ‘ENLIST TODAY: We are an leading-’ Guess this wasn’t the best translation, or a rush job. ‘- evil organization looking for creative and hardworking new team members. BENEFITS INCLUDE: free wifi, dental plan, discount wigs, nuclear war, cool masks, tiny cars, flexible hours, yu-gi-oh! Starter set, world domination, balloon animals, paid vacation, crimes.” And there in the corner was an insignia of sorts spelling out ‘DICE’ in a warped fashion with plain text stating ‘DICE’ under it.
… was… was this seriously going to be easier than you thought? This convoluted plan to sneak into one of these groups was working!? Soon after starting the DICE case you found some strange connections, connections that made you believe this case was connected to an individual who was possibly connected to a group, if not worked as a middle man between groups. Was this your mysterious individual you wanted to investigate before you were fired!? All your leads, especially these strange connections were so vague you only had scraps to go by but… It was already all paying off!? Your instinct to delve into this was correct? But you couldn’t celebrate just yet, you needed to dive into the bank accounts and transactions to be sure if this truly is one of the groups you set your aim on.
… This was too easy, something was wrong… but you had no choice, if you wanted to learn more, you had to jump in headfirst. Maybe this endeavor would yield much more than you dared to dream… or you were simply being toyed with which was entirely likely. Or coincidence, that was another possibility. Switching to dark mode you were finally able to read the top links. ‘sign-up, forum, community, e-mail, ???’ When you clicked on any of the links it just brought you to the same home page, or at least to a page that looked exactly the same. You were no expert on coding, but you thought to check it out. Comparing it to screen shots of website codes and you found some oddities in the website’s code. Seems you had a puzzle to solve. Things got extremely in-depth. You had to take screenshots and brighten up images to see hidden links, opening images in notepad seeing the true file names and the names of photoshop layers, and using those as hints, gathering all the oddities in the code and finding the hints it held, combining everything together you got the real address to send your resume and information.
Meanwhile Kokichi sat there clacking away at a computer, stopping in his tracks hearing a notification on his phone. Excitedly he tapped the screen, seeing exactly what he wanted. He beamed seeing you had accepted his offer! “This will be so fun!” He quickly flipped through your info, not caring for what you put in. Instead he dug in deeper, wanting to see which real page you sent your information through. “… You went through the code one? Nishishi.” Holding the phone to his chest he leaned back, looking to the ceiling as he kicked the table, himself rolling away on the wheeled chair. “Oh, Vivi. I didn’t take you for the directly roundabout type.” Throwing his heel down he stopped spinning, it landing on a mini fridge. He kicked it open before taking out a glass bottle with a purple drink inside. With a twist of the cap a hiss sound seeped out. “Hmm, now…” As he took a sip of his drink, he pulled some small items from his pocket. “how long shall this prologue be?” Kicking the minifridge he was sent rolling back. As he spun and rolled, he limply tossed the items which clattered on the long, barren side table. “1, 6, 2, 0, 8, 20. Aw. Only thirty-seven days? Boo!” Quickly collecting the D20, D12, D10, D8, D6, D4 he stuffed them back into his pocket. Slumping into his seat he took another sip. “Wait! I can roll the ten again! You always roll the ten twice!” He quickly felt for the dice, before pulling it out, holding it between his middle and pointer finger, smirking. “Let’s see where the dice lands.” He then tossed it up high in the air, his gaze never wavering from the plastic. It landed, bouncing several times before spinning on a corner. On the edge of his seat he clutched the armrest and glass bottle. Then… “Two!? Come on! Just thirty-nine days!?” Crossing his arms, he was rather huffy. “Oh well. Just have to make the most of each and every moment, and I do my best work under tighter time restraints, so this works out. Better get started!”
You stretched, a light pop coming from one of your joints before you flopped onto your back. So, should you really sleep out in a park? You didn’t exactly have much choice. If you wanted money, you’d have to use your real identity and… you’d be in serious trouble if you tried using it just yet, you were under cover. Not like you had much money anyway, but you could at least rent a room for the night. Then you heard the distinct ding sound of your phone. You had but one notification, an e-mail titled ‘YOU’RE HIRED!!!! Maybe… OPEN TO FIND OUT!’ Upon opening the message, you found only an address. After placing the address into a map app, you followed it’s directions.
To your baffled amazement you arrived at a gorgeous hotel. Not being used to this extravagance you were honestly terrified to step inside, fearing accidently breaking something and being saddled with debt. “Vivi! You made it!” Kokichi hopped up from a sofa and dashed to you. “H-hi, Kokichi!” This was insane, what were you even doing!? You swore there were sparkles surrounding Kokichi because of that beaming smile… or it was probably because of how absolutely everything in the building was shined with not a scuff mark on a thing, even the floor! Taking one of your hands into both of his, he eagerly dragged you to the sofa he was just at, a small pile of papers sitting atop it. “Let’s get to the nitty-gritty. This is your contract! Just the usual things of selling your soul to me for unlimited power, sign our name in blood on the dotted line, all that stuff in the legends and myths about making a deal with the devil.” He waved his hand dismissively before placing both his hands behind his head, turning away no longer paying attention like it was already a done deal. Carefully looking through the small stack of pages you found it was surprisingly simple for a contract, and everything was catered for your benefit. “… This is rather generous.” “I take care of my people. Treat people with some basic human decency and they work hard for you in return! But that’s a lie! It’s to lull you into a false sense of security so I can be a total dictator and treat you like dirt! You’ll be my slave and do my every last bidding!” You glanced to him for a moment raising a brow. “Hmm, you’re quite the interesting dictator then, tell me is being a dictator a part of your demonic heritage or just your preferred management style?”
There it was again. Being a liar Kokichi could instantly snuff out his own kind and yet… clearly you were hiding something but when it came to his lies, when you play along with him… You lied and didn’t at the same time. You didn’t believe Kokichi, yet you also did. You were an anomaly Kokichi couldn’t quite get a read on. He had to keep someone so dangerous close. And more importantly he wanted to get to know you. Even if you didn’t have that fascinating viewpoint, he still would have wanted to help and learn about a person who searched through the garbage for food. What had led you to such a state, what circumstances got you to lose your last job, why did you accept a job in a foreign country that spoke in a language you knew nothing of. And that look in your eyes, you tried to remain calm, but you were desperate. He couldn’t just leave you like that.
“This only lasts for thirty-nine days?” “Yep! I will find you more permanent work in thirty-nine days. Doesn’t matter what your experience is I’ll find something that’s the right fit for you!” “What about college or other education requirements?” “It’ll be fine, I’ll deal with it, or we’ll deal with it.” You continued to meticulously read over every last word, almost not believing what you were reading. “The mandatory tea breaks these are in addition to regular breaks?” “Uh-huh.” “And we have to have tea during tea breaks.” “Yes!” “What if teatime rolls around but I’m busy?” “Oh, that’s stated in the subsection riiiiight here.” “Ah, okay… and I notice the job description itself is rather vague. Just personal live-in assistant…” “Well it has to be! I’m going to be testing you on any and all skills I can think of, so you’ll be doing a lot.” “Wouldn’t it be more efficient if you just based your tests on my resume and previous job experience?” “Oh Vivi. So young and naive. I remember when I was like you, the days of my youth like the scent of fresh lemons!” “Lemons? Huh, didn’t know Atlantis had any, or would it be from where demons come from?” “…” Were… were you going to keep track of his lies? Having a good enough memory to keep track of them all would be a useful skill. “YEAH! Lemons were created by me! The horror of making something that could instantaneously scrunch up a person’s face, disfiguring them for all of eternity was something I could not resist!”
Arriving at the end you couldn’t believe how legitimate it all was. No contract could be this in favor of the worker and be real, right? There had to be some sort of catch you missed. Or perhaps you just always got really bad contracts? Though, good or bad, it didn’t matter, you needed to investigate this man and the possibly connections he has. “Well… I don’t see any reason to not sign.” “Yay! Oh Vivi, this’ll be so great!… For me. This is going to be a living hell for you! Nishishi.” You just deadpan stared at him for a moment. “Are you sure you should be saying things like that before I’ve even signed?” “You’re going to sign anyway, so I can say whatever I want!” “Eh, true.” “… Huh… You don’t even pretend to deny how desperate you are! I like that! Honesty is the most important trait to have! That’s why I’ve never lied before in my life.” “Well, before you did say you hate liars, and I already screwed up before by lying so that’s out the window.” “…” Taking the pen he held out to you, you immediately signed. Gently taking the papers from you, he held them to his chest so tenderly. Softly smiling, he held out a hand to you. “I’m glad to have you abord.”
You can learn a lot about a person from a simple handshake. His grip was firm, but not tight. His palms weren’t clammy or dry, rather soft actually. Just as from your impression before, he was confident, not a single hesitation. Even his every movement, blink of the eye, twitch of the lips, everything seemed to have a meaning, he was purposely doing so, yet it was not fake. A strange, warped mixture of falsities and honesty. It seemed he didn’t believe his own blatant lies. He was honestly lying not trying to hide it was fake. Were those honest lies there to hide true lies? The lies he wanted you to believe were true.
So… thirty-nine days to learn more of this man. Even if this got you nothing on the Dice case, at least you’d have an intriguing time.
Suddenly he had an iron grip, dragging you off the sofa and ran with you outside. “You’ve just made the worst mistake of your life Vivi! Nishishi!” Looking over his shoulder he smiled so brightly, the city lights casting his features in a soft, golden halo. Again, he was honestly lying.