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Agent Saihara…
As you know, you've been selected to carry out what has to be the most important mission the ;$/9,5 has ever attempted.
We have been preparing for this for a long time, and now we've finally found an opportunity to act. We only have one shot at this, which is why we're sending our best; the Ultimate Spy.
Failure is not an option.
Now, to get into the specifics, you will be tasked with ~£}\= the 56th ~£!¥{.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the ~£#\, some of your ~£\,#£\ will be tampered with, but unlike }*#£~}, some of your ~£{~# will remain intact thanks to the efforts of our £¥• team. Eventually, you will ¥#¥}, and when that happens, it'll be showtime.
In addition, we've reversed engineered £=%=¥ to where your presence will alter =#£~{ of the person with the most ideal %*£, so you won't be alone.
Thank you for everything… and may the gods be on your side.
Until we meet again…
49(&( 52"
0000
"Ha…ha…"
Stealthier than the Invisible Man himself, Shuichi opened the door leading to the dormitory and closed it once he was inside.
"I think I'm good…"
Exhausted, the boy leaned against a wall and put all of his concentration into his hearing, scanning his surroundings for any noises that would normally be out of place.
Thankfully, all was quiet.
Allowing himself to relax, the detective began mulling over the last thirty minutes.
"What the hell was that about?"
He had no idea what was going on.
After hanging out with Kaede, Shuichi had intended to go to the dormitory to meet up with his partner in crime.
However, what was supposed to be a normal walk ended up being anything but that.
Halfway through his stroll, the detective ended up running into Kaito, noticing that the astronaut's body was shaking up a storm and that his skin appeared to be paler than usual.
For a moment, Shuichi thought that the other boy had seen a dead body.
The good news was that wasn't the case. The bad news was that what had Kaito so riled up was still absolutely terrifying.
"S-Shuichi, run! Don't just stand there, run! Hurry! He's coming!"
With those fleeting words, the taller boy ran faster than he ever had, the fact he was wearing slippers doing nothing to hinder his speed.
Seeing his classmate in such a state caused the detective to brace himself, getting ready to meet whatever it was that had Kaito fleeing.
'He said 'he's coming.' But who's he?'
Did one of his classmates go rogue? Which one was Kaito referring to? And where was this person now?
He'd get his answer a few seconds later.
Swift as a ninja, Ryoma suddenly leapt to his side, almost as if he had come out of nowhere.
"Let me guess, you ran away from Gokuhara too," the shorter of the two theorized.
Shuichi looked at him, eyes widened. While his sudden appearance definitely started him, it was his words that really got to him.
"Gokuhara!?"
Noticing his confusion, the tennis player started explaining himself.
"I don't know why, but it seems like he's gone into a rage and is trying to catch everyone."
'That's not good…'
What could have angered the normally jolly Entomologist so much?
More importantly, why was he chasing everyone? How many of their classmates has he gotten to?
'I should really get back to my dorm now…'
With Gonta on the loose like this… staying out of his room was practically a death sentence.
*thump* *thump*
His ears picked up the sound of heavy footsteps.
So had Ryoma's.
"Hmm…"
The shorter boy darted to the right, ready to run. Shuichi felt his body tensing, preparing to fight or flee at a moment's notice.
Standing right in front of them was one angry Gonta Gokuhara, nostrils puffing out smoke as if he were a bull about to charge.
"There you are…"
The ultimate tennis player leaned to the right.
"Sorry Shuichi, but I'm going to run… I've still got things I need to do."
His words further enraged the entomologist.
"No! Gonta no can let you leave!"
The muscular boy crouched down, preparing to spring forwards.
"Sorry, but is for your own good!"
Gonta lunged at the two, prompting Ryoma to sidestep to the right.
As for Shuichi?
Most people wouldn't be fast enough to react in time.
Shuichi wasn't like most people.
A good spy knows how to react to danger and they are constantly forced to make split second decisions.
His instincts cried out to him, warning him of the threat coming his way.
As always, he listened to them and rolled to the left.
'That was close…'
Had he been any slower, he'd probably be a pancake right now.
Noticing that he missed his two targets, Gonta growled as he focused on the detective.
'He's going to lunge at me again… I need to get out of here…'
Even with his experience as a spy, Shuichi knew that outrunning the taller boy wasn't something that he could do.
What was even less possible was trying to fight him without a weapon. While he was confident in his fighting skills, Gonta had the strength to lift a manhole cover with two fingers. Even if the taller boy didn't know how to fight, the entomologist's near superhuman strength meant that engaging him in unarmed combat was outright suicidal.
If he wanted to escape, he'd have to do something else.
Thankfully, he had an idea. To his left were a bunch of trees. If he could get to them, he knew he'd be able to slip past Gonta.
'Getting there's going to be an issue… hopefully this works.'
Right before his opponent took off, Shuichi scooped up some dirt with his hand.
"Sorry about this."
The second the taller boy was on the move, the detective tossed said dirt at his face.
"Ack!"
Gonta wobbled a bit as he ran forwards, temporarily blinded. Rubbing his eyes, the entomologist roared when he noticed that he was all alone now.
"WHERE ARE YOU!?"
Stomping around, Gonta began looking for the two boys.
Hiding behind the trees, Shuichi carefully watched him.
'Alright, as long as I'm quiet, I should be able to make it back to my room…'
In his field of work, stealth was easily one of the most important skills to be mastered. Learning to hide in seemingly barren environments, blending in with a crowd, all of that was essential for a spy to be successful, both for doing their job and for getting out of a tight spot.
Because of his experience, the detective was able to avoid being caught by Gonta's animalistic senses.
Making his way through the trees, Shuichi immediately booked it once he saw that the coast was clear, leading him to where he was right now.
'Hopefully Ryoma got away…'
After he dodged Gonta, the tennis player disappeared without a trace.
'With how quick he is though, I'm not too worried…'
Instead, he was worried about everyone else. According to Ryoma, Gonta was searching for all of them. The moment he finds someone, he'll probably lunge at them too, and with Gonta's extreme speed and strength, he'll likely be able to catch most of the class.
His heartbeat suddenly spiked.
'Shit!'
Unfortunately, he was sure that nearly everyone else had no idea what was going on… and they were all still outside.
'Even-'
*Rattle* *Rattle*
The sound of someone fiddling with the main door brought him back to reality.
'Crap!'
That was his cue to lock himself in his room.
Doing just that, the detective placed an ear on the door and waited, hoping that Gonta hadn't decided to check the dorms.
Eventually, whomever was trying to open the door managed to do so. He heard the door shut again, followed by footsteps that seemed to be getting louder.
For a second, he thought that the ultimate entomologist did manage to track him down.
Those fears vanished when the footsteps grew louder. This person was clearly wearing heels, and the last time he checked, Gonta didn't wear shoes to begin with.
*Buzz*
And they just rang his doorbell.
Despite the limited amount of information present, he had a feeling that he knew who was on the other side.
A quick look at his peephole showed him that he was right.
'Oh thank god!'
Wasting no time, the detective swung open the door.
"Master Shuichi, may I enter?" Kirumi asked him, the girl flashing him her signature regal smile.
Instead of giving her an answer, the boy gently pulled her inside, locking the door.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you right now," the detective told her.
It was hard to surprise the Ultimate Maid, but the boy had managed to do so with his actions and words.
"I… appreciate the sentiment…" she bashfully replied.
Being the professional that she was, she quickly composed herself upon noticing the boy's rattled state.
"Is everything alright?"
The boy in question sighed.
"Yeah…"
He gripped the edge of his cap.
"I ran into Gokuhara, and something's up with him. He seemed very pissed off and is apparently out to get everyone. Don't know what for. I managed to escape through.
The boy took off his hat, something that he only ever did around family and his partner in crime, and wiped some sweat off his forehead.
"I was worried that he might've gotten you."
Kirumi gave him a smile of assurance.
"Ah. Well, as you can clearly see, I am fine now. I did happen to bump into Gokuhara a few minutes ago…"
Shuichi raised an eyebrow.
"You did? How'd you manage to escape?"
"I informed him that I was undertaking an important task for you," the maid replied.
"At first, it was tough convincing him, but after some… discussion, he eventually got around to leaving me be."
The detective felt a shiver run down his spine. He almost forgot that this was Kirumi he had been worried about.
"I see…"
Deciding to change the subject, Shuichi asked her a question.
"So what is it that you wanted to tell me?"
Earlier today, the maid had asked to meet with him in private, mentioning that she had something important to share with him.
"Ah, right. That."
Kirumi held a small tablet in front of her, one that the boy immediately recognized.
'The motive video?'
"As it turns out, not everyone's videos were misplaced," she informed him. "I managed to receive my own."
"Is that so…"
He had to admit, he was super curious about her video. For all the years he's known her, she never mentioned being particularly attached to anyone. He knew that her parents were out of the question, being absent in her life similar to that of his own parents.
'A former master maybe?'
It was possible that was the case.
Either way, he was going to do his best to support Kirumi.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Picking up what he was hinting at, the girl shook her head.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I didn't see anything disturbing. However, as the Ultimate Detective, I believe that you should watch it."
The detective in question widened his eyes.
"Are you sure?"
He received another nod from the maid.
"I'm positive. Once you watch it you'll understand why I brought it to your attention."
Taking the tablet, Shuichi powered it on, curious about what he was going to see.
*Btzz*
For about a second, all that was shown was the maid's back, the girl standing attentively and staring at something in front of her.
Where was she? And who was she looking at?
Shuichi had no idea. Kirumi was the only noticeable figure in the video, everything else being surrounded by darkness.
"Kirumi Tojo…" the familiar voice of Monokuma began speaking.
Before he could say anything else, the screen started glitching. The image quickly blurred out and replacing the animatronics's voice was a piercing staticky noise.
A minute later, without warning, the tablet shut down.
'Huh?'
What he witnessed was completely different from what he saw from Kaito's video. With the astronaut, the subject, his grandparents, was clear and Monokuma had a full monologue about the boy prepared.
This video though?
"What does it mean?"
"I asked Monokuma about it, and he said my video was corrupted," Kirumi explained.
'Ah…'
The girl still had more to share.
"He tried providing me with a new copy, but that one ended up corrupted too. Before he left, he mumbled something about 'outside interference'."
'Outside interference?'
The boy realized why Kirumi wanted him to see her video. If what Monokuma said was true, then it was possible that someone is trying to reach them, someone skilled enough to bypass some of the defenses set up by the mastermind.
But if that's the case…
"Do you know if your video's the only one that was corrupted?"
The girl placed a hand to her chin.
"I haven't asked anyone yet, but based on Monokuma's mannerisms, I can assume that mine was the only one. This is Monokuma we're talking about though…"
"Yeah…"
Anything the bear said was to be taken with a grain of salt as he was definitely the type to lead them on a wild goose chase.
Shuichi crossed his arms.
"I guess the next question is, was yours corrupted by chance or was it intentional?"
If it was the latter, then that added more fuel to his theory about someone trying to contact them.
"I admit, I do not know," the maid replied with a frown.
She then looked at him.
"But I will say that it's ironic that mine was the one that ended up being corrupted."
The detective tilted his head.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well…"
For a brief second, Shuichi could've sworn that a look of shyness appeared on her face, but it left as quickly as it came, so he wasn't able to confirm anything.
"The subject of the videos are meant to be those who are most important to us, right?"
He nodded.
"If that's the case, then I shouldn't have been given a video to begin with. The most important person in my life is currently safe by my side, so Monokuma shouldn't have any ammunition on me."
"That makes sense," the boy agreed. This motive was useless against someone like Kirumi.
'Wait…'
It was only now that he registered the meaning of her words. Outside of the motive, that is.
He slipped his cap back on, not wanting the maid to see his beet red face.
"The most important person to you… is me?"
"I don't see how that's a surprise to you," Kirumi responded, although she too had turned her head to the side out of embarrassment.
"After everything we've been through together, I cannot think of anyone else who even comes close to you in that regard. I've been truly blessed to serve as your maid."
"Ah… well, you already know it's the same here."
He wasn't lying. His uncle was a close second, but the bond he had with Kirumi was the one that he considered to be the most valuable to him.
Admittedly, he had always worried that the silver haired girl didn't view their relationship in the same manner. For someone like him, such a connection was nearly impossible to come by, and with Kirumi technically under his employment, she had no obligation to actually care about him beyond him being her boss.
"You're wrong about one thing," he informed her. "You're far more than just my maid. You've been my best friend, my partner in crime, and the only person who I can truly trust. I don't care how many times I've got to tell you this before you really understand, but if I didn't have you in my life… I don't know what I'd do."
"…You would be fine," the maid quietly replied, still not looking at him. "I offered my services to you because I know that you are truly special. With or without me, you will do great things. I'm simply here to speed up the journey."
Shuichi clenched a fist. Every time he tried telling Kirumi how important she was to him, it was the same story.
'It's almost as if she doesn't want to believe me…'
One day he'll get through to her.
Noticing that things were quiet, the Ultimate Maid decided to speak up.
"So Master Shuichi-"
The boy in question frowned. "I told you, you don't have to call me master-"
"-what is it that you wish to do now?"
And once again she ignored him.
She did have a point though. What was the next step?
"… I think that before anything," the detective mumbled, brainstorming out loud. "We should definitely ask everyone else if their videos were corrupted as well, to make sure that Monokuma is telling the truth. I know that we all agreed not to share our videos, but unless someone's hiding something, I don't see why anyone would give us a hard time."
The gears in his head continued to turn.
"If someone is trying to contact us, we'll need Iruma's help establishing a link. The two of us could probably figure out a way to do so…eventually, but why wait when we've got the Ultimate Inventor? Until then, we'll just have to keep our eyes peeled like always."
"Sounds like a fine plan to me," Kirumi remarked. "Let's hope Iruma's willing to cooperate…"
Before anything else could be said, a small chime rang.
*Ding dong, bing bong*
"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially night time. Sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite…"
*Buop*
"I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow," Shuichi said in response to the nighttime announcement.
The maid nodded.
"Very well. I will take my leave now. Good night Master Shuichi."
With a small curtsy, Kirumi started turning around, only to stop when she felt the detective grab her arm.
"Wait! I don't think it's a good idea to go out yet," he told her. "Gokuhara might still be rampaging. It's better if we stick together until we know he's done."
"If that is what you wish, then I'll remain here with you," the silver haired girl said.
The detective smiled at her.
"Cool. We'll probably be here all night so we might as well get some sleep."
He pulled the chair out from his desk and sat down.
"You can take the bed."
Kirumi looked affronted by the mere idea of sleeping on the boy's bed.
"Absolutely not. I'll take the chair and you will take the bed."
Shuichi's eyes narrowed.
"Kirumi, you've been running around all day setting up Yumeno's show. You deserve the bed. Plus, you're my guest."
The girl shook her head.
"Master Shuichi, I am your maid-"
"You are my friend."
"And it would be improper of me to prioritize my own comfort over your needs."
"Well, I don't NEED to sleep on the bed," the detective fired back. "You know I've slept in far worse places."
The Ultimate Maid wasted no time in countering him. "So have I."
Shuichi sighed. "Kirumi, please, just take the bed."
"No."
For a moment, the two stared each other down, neither willing to give in.
Shuichi eventually broke the silence.
"You know what? We'll both sleep on the bed! That way no one has to use the chair."
His proposition seemed to have diffused the situation, stunning Kirumi whose cheeks were now red.
Eventually, she spoke.
"If that is what you wish, then your terms are acceptable."
Once more, it took a second for the normally sharp detective to realize what exactly he had suggested.
He covered his face with his hat.
'Shit! Why the hell did I say that?'
Under most circumstances, bunking with one another wouldn't be an issue for the two. They've shared a bed plenty of times in the past while on missions.
Recently though, something's been making such mundane things harder. Even basic physical contact was enough to get their hearts racing.
Neither had any idea what was going on.
Still, between awkwardly sharing a bed and fighting over who would sleep on the chair, both Ultimates definitely preferred the former.
'Here's hoping everyone else is fine…'
0000
Bonus
Kaede was not a happy camper.
Once Shuichi had left, the girl started playing some music. She had gotten so wrapped up in her own little world that she didn't hear Gonta loudly barging into her lab.
Next thing she knew, the boy had kidnapped her.
A bit of screaming later, he dropped the pianist off at his own lab, where she discovered that he had done the same to several of their classmates.
Of course, Kokichi was the one to blame.
"There's no use in trying to escape," he cheekily told the pianist. "Gonta will just catch you again."
She really wanted to punt the Ultimate Supreme Overlord.
Unfortunately, he was right. Unless she found a really good place to hide, there was no way she could evade Gonta for long.
About thirty minutes later, the entomologist had managed to gather everyone, save for some exceptions.
Ryoma was nowhere to be seen, but Kaede didn't think much about it. The guy took on an entire mafia with only a tennis racket and metal ball, so escaping Gonta was probably light work for him.
Miu was also missing, but if the pianist had to guess, it was most likely because she locked herself in her own lab and didn't hear the chaos that was happening outside.
Maki's absence was a surprise. From what she understood, the Ultimate Child Caregiver was still guarding her lab. She should've been an easy target, yet somehow she managed to avoid the same fate as the rest of the class.
Finally, there were Shuichi and Kirumi. Seeing as the two were practically joined to the hip, they were most likely together, and judging by how Gonta reacted when he recalled his encounter with Kirumi, the maid must've done something to scare him off.
Once everyone was together, Kokichi slipped away, mentioning something about how 'someone's got to break into your rooms to get the goods'.
With his absence, Gonta held the 'Insect Meet and Greet'.
What was the 'Insect Meet and Greet'?
Well, it involved the boy releasing every bug that was in his lab.
For what felt like hours, everyone was tormented by swarms upon swarms of bugs.
The feeling of an entire colony of ants crawling all over her was one that the pianist would never forget.
Eventually, Kokichi returned with the motive videos of those who were present, revealing that he had Gonta kidnap them so they could share said videos.
"That's it! I won't let you do as you please!"
Kaede was glad that Keebo eventually put his foot down.
Replaying Kokichi's words to the Ultimate Entomologist allowed the class to finally escape from that hellhole.
She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't getting some joy out of knowing that the Supreme Overlord was now experiencing the 'Insect Meet and Greet' himself.
"We all agree that we're never going to mention this again, right?" Kaede weakly asked the class.
With everyone being equally as traumatized as she was, her proposal was met with unanimous agreement.
"Cool…"
The group soon reached the dorms, and with that, they went their separate ways.
Yawning, the pianist started fiddling with her doorknob, being too exhausted to remember the fact that Kokichi had previously unlocked her room.
"Rough night?"
"GAH!"
Clenching her heart, Kaede's head quickly turned to see that Ryoma had been the one to ask her that question, the tennis player leaning against the wall.
"Geez Hoshi, don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry."
Her heart having calmed down, the girl gave him a curious glance.
"What are you doing out so late?"
"Ended up outside of Harumaki's lab while trying to hide from Gokuhara," the shorter boy casually replied. "We talked for a bit. Turns out we're very similar."
"Ah…"
The pianist wanted to ask what the two had in common, but she held her tongue, not wanting to be rude.
"Find out what's up with Gokuhara?"
Kaede frowned.
"Oma was behind all of it. He wanted to see our motive videos so he tricked Gokuhara into bringing us to his lab."
She shuddered.
"…Things happened, but eventually we managed to get out."
Ryoma shot her a curious glance.
"So no one saw each other's video?"
The girl shook her head.
"Nope. Keebo saved us before then."
She sighed.
"I just hope that Oma doesn't try anything like that ever again…"
The tennis player scoffed.
"Knowing him, he will."
Kaede groaned.
"I know…"
A moment of silence occurred.
"I'll let you go now," Ryoma eventually told her. "You're probably dying to get some rest."
"Yeah."
Opening her door, the pianist took one step into her room, stopping when she noticed that the shorter boy continued to stand in place.
"You're not going to bed?"
He shook his head. "Nah. Got some stuff on my mind."
Kaede nodded in understanding.
"Okay. Stay safe, alright?"
"You too."
With that, the girl closed the door.
With a heavy sigh, Ryoma began walking away.
"Guess I'll hit the court for a bit."