Chapter Text
“Ranpo. You have been requested by the police to help with a case.”
Ranpo Edogawa, 26 years old, and the Greatest Detective the world has ever seen. Said man looked up to who had spoken to him, his eyes meeting with Fukuzawa.
“Again?” He sighed. “What is it this time?” He grumbled, crossing his arms.
Fukuzawa sighed. “They suspect it has something to do with a high level ability user.” He stated.
“Nothing new.” Ranpo grumbled, unwrapping a lollipop. “They’re just being lazy! I’m sure they could do it on their own.” He complained.
“It’s an infiltration mission.” The president added, handing him a file with some documents. Ranpo took it with half-assed enthusiasm. He briefly flicked through the few papers in the document.
“A highschool?” He asked, glancing at the President.
“As I stated, it’s an infiltration mission. Apparently there’s been a few murders there lately, and they need an insider.”
“Why me then? Why not Atsushi? He looks the part.” He grumbled, to which Fukuzawa narrowed his eyes. “Simple fact of who’s best suited, which is you. Hence why they requested you specifically.”
“Ugh. Fineeeeeeee!” He whined, dropping the files on the desk in front of him.
“So, this is Hope’s Peak? Seems way over budgeted.” Ranpo grumbled as the building came into view. He double checked to make sure he had his glasses. With a small haircut and a more appropriate outfit for this mission, he looked just like a highschooler. At least it was still in his style.
It took a good 15 minutes to walk to the building from where he was dropped off. The entire journey was full of beautiful scenery. Bright gardens and neatly paved roads lined Ranpo’s vision as he walked.
He grumbled again as he took in the tall building. Well. Better get this over with. He stepped through the front gates. He was only a few steps in when a wave of nausea came over him. He stopped suddenly, but it was too late. His vision blacked out.
Ranpo woke up after who knew how long. He instantly felt that something about this place was off. Wrong. After a quick glance around he could tell that his intuition wasn’t from nothing. Metal plates lined the classroom he was in, making it impossible to tell what time it was. He automatically stood up and examined the plates. They were made from pure iron, no way was he going to be able to take it off. Directing his attention to the rest of the classroom, he spotted a door a bit back, hidden, but unlocked.
Deeming the rest of the room useless he made for the door and opened it quickly. Long hallways extended on either side of the door. Doors to what he could only assume were other classrooms, likely just as empty and worthless as the one he woke up in.
For now the best thing he could do was choose a direction and walk. He kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. The only thing he noticed was more and more doors.
After a good few minutes, or maybe hours? Ranpo couldn’t tell, nor did he really care, he came across a larger door, in which he could only assume led to some important place. Ignoring everything else around him, he B-lined for the doors and flung them open. With such a dramatic entrance, everyone in the room quickly turned their attention to him.
So. He wasn’t the only one. Nearly everyone in the gym, the room he was currently in, eyed him with curiosity, but more importantly, caution.
“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!” Some dude with a pompadour yelled at him. “ARE YOU THE ONE BEHIND ALL THIS?!” Ranpo blatantly ignored him, staring straight up at the podium in the front.
“Kekeke~” A shrill, annoying voice was heard in the room, coming from under the podium. “I’m offended!” The black and white bear shot up from under the ground. “I was the sole mastermind behind this place!” He said brightly. Too bright for the situation, but considering what he just said, it wasn’t too surprising.
“And before you ask, no, I’m not some high-tech Build-A-Bear reject! I’m your principal, Monokuma!” If the students weren’t shocked by the robotic bear, they were definitely shocked by that statement.
“W-wait… Monokuma!” Some brown-blondy girl called out. “I-Isn’t this a bit unnatural for a school..?” She asked. “H-How long are we supposed to stay here?”
“Right on the money! Look at you go!” He cackled again. “To answer your question, you’re staying here for the rest of your lives!” He said flamboyantly.
A moment of silence passed before everyone started clamoring loudly. “Woah woah woah!!! Calm down! If the idea of staying here indefinitely doesn’t tickly your fancies, there is an alternative!”
Well, that shut everyone up pretty quickly. Ranpo had a feeling that the alternative wasn't going to be any better.
“So, you wanna get out? Well there is a way!” The bear paused for effect. “Good ol’ fashioned murder!” He called out after a second.
“What?! You have to be crazy to think we’re just going to do that!” Pompadour dude yelled out.
“Hehehe! That’s the rules of the game my dear boy~! To escape, you simply need to murder one of your classmates and get away with it! Easy peasy!”
So. This was a murder game was it? Unlucky for the damn bear, Ranpo was part of this class.
“You damn bear!” Pompadour dude grabbed the bear and shook him. “No way in hell are we going to become murderers!” He yelled.
“HEY, HEY, HEY! The school rules explicitly state that no harm must befall the principal!” Monokuma yelled, flailing in the brash guy's hand.
Suddenly stopped he laughed again, and a faint beeping came from inside the bear. Crap!
“TOSS THE BEAR! NOW!” He yelled out, along with a purple haired girl. Pompadour was briefly stunned.
“H-huh..?”
“THROW THE GODDAMN BEAR NOW!” Ranpo yelled out again, snapping Pompadour out of his frozen state just in time to throw the robotic bear before it blew up.
“W-what…?” Pompadour stared at his hands, obviously terrified.
“That damn bear isn’t joking. He fully intends to let us kill each other.” Ranpo said, crouching near the fallen pieces of Monokuma.
“Right again! Kekeke~” The bear popped out of the ground again. Ranpo quickly spun around to face the bear. “Consider that a verbal warning. To all of you.” He said, robotic smile widening. “You’re all dismissed!”
Ranpo glared at the bear for a few seconds after he disappeared. He quickly turned around to face Pompadour. “You.” He snapped, jabbing a finger into his chest, “Need to lose that ego. If any of you want to survive this, we need to work together!” He snapped, facing the rest of the students.
“Hey… Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?!” Pompadour snarled from behind Ranpo. Said person looked over his shoulder. “Ranpo Edogawa! The Greatest Detective the World has ever seen!” He proudly announced. He got a few odd glances, and a few impressed ones. Only one person seemed to believe him without seeming naive.
“You! Purple hair! What’s your name?” He asked boldly. She stared at him for a moment.
“Kirigiri.” She said with a calm, nearly emotionless voice. Ranpo nodded.
Three days had passed, full of investigating the first floor. Nothing major to note, the entire floor was designed to be able to support people for a long time. Every day without fail Ranpo had been dead last to arrive at the Lunch Room. The morning of the 4th day, he woke abnormally early for him. Something in his gut told him today wasn’t going to be nice.
It was 9 AM when the Principal came on over the speakers.
“All students! In the gym! ASAP! Hurry your little butts up now!”
It wasn’t long before everyone was in the gym, anxiously waiting for the update.
“My my! You guys are so boooooring!” The principal made an annoying appearance. Ranpo rolled his eyes. “Since you goody-two-shoes seem so determined to not kill anyone, I’ve decided to give you all a special welcoming present! Now get walkin!”
“H-Hey! Are you stupid! Where are we going?” Some simp looking girl with dark purple hair yelled.
“The computer room! Duh! Now hurry up! We ain’t got all day!” Ranpo’s uneasy feeling only deepened as they all began to make their way to the Computer Room. He picked up pace until he was standing next to a short blond-y. Looking at her, it was obviously a dude dressed in, well, a dress. Just looking at them and one could tell they were much too soft for something like this.
“Hey.” He glanced sideways at them. The two had previously never talked, so they looked at Ranpo, confusion clear on their face. “I have a bad feeling about this… Just be prepared for the worst.” He said quietly. They gave him a small nod and a smile, a touch of worry was there.
It wasn’t long before they all made it to the Computer Room, where they were treated to different CD disks with their names on them. Ranpo picked up his and examined it closely. He glanced to the crossdresser he had warned earlier. So, their name was Fukisaki. Good to know.
Ranpo took an empty seat and put in the disk. The computer took a moment to start up before a video started to play. It showed Fukuzawa and Yosano in the Agency. Ranpo’s face brightened very slightly seeing them.
“Ranpo, good job getting in, although I am proud, I am not surprised.” Fukuzawa said calmly with a smile.
“Haha! Hey bro! Good job getting in!” Yosano piped up from behind the couch. Ranpo smiled again. It was a short lived joy, suddenly, the screen glitched out and the area where Fukuzawa and Yosano were was suddenly deserted. The couch was torn to shreds, the agency where they were was completely broken down. Through the windows you could see a raging fire outside. It seemed like everyone else’s videos were similar. He startled slightly when a girl in the very back suddenly screamed.
Ranpo narrowed his eyes, then looked around the rest of the room, everyone else had equally traumatized faces. He quickly walked over to Fujisaki and placed a hand on their shoulder. They quickly looked up at him, tears streaming down their face.
Ranpo had never been one for comforting, so he remained silent.
Once Fujisaki had calmed down, Ranpo and them got out of there. They walked the entire way back to their rooms in silence. Once they arrived at Fujisaki’s room, he let them in. “...Try… to uh.. Get some sleep.. You’ll feel better in the morning.” He said awkwardly. The video wasn’t as bad for him as for others, mainly because he knew that whatever was going on, the ADA could handle themselves. The shorter nodded quietly. “Thank you..” They said and closed their door.