Chapter Text
At first, Shuichi had some doubts about Kaede’s whole cookout plan. It seemed a bit far-fetched as a way to lure out the mastermind. I mean, what exactly about setting up a bunch of grills in the courtyard and seeing who would cook the best would set the mastermind off?
Indeed, Monokuma seemed to be just as ecstatic about the event as Kaede was. “Puhuhu, a cookout you say? Well, I guess you kids are just at that age! The age of chasing painties across the warm sand, lathering each other in sunscreen, and of course, topless swimming!”
Now, Shuichi was pretty confused about whatever Monokuma might’ve meant by all that. That was until he found himself on a luxurious beach with grills galore, set to the sound of crashing waves. It took a second for the flashback light to kick in and for him to remember that Monokuma had knocked them all out and brought them here, fully supporting their plans so long as they “Kept things PG! This is a family show after all!”
Despite that being Monokuma’s command, Shuichi couldn’t help but notice that between their journey on the SS Kuma and their arrival at Jabberwock Island everyone had been changed into swimsuits, and not all the modest kind. Looking down at his chest Shuichi saw that, in fact, he too was naked from the waist up. Panicking, he quickly slammed his hands down on his head to make sure. Yup, hat was still there. With that fear out of the way Shuichi wiped off the first stage of sweat from his forehead, the first of what was going to be a long and hot day.
The first thing that hit Shuichi as he stepped off the dock was a beachball, off-side his jaw. Still hurt like hell. “Ow!” He yelled, quickly turning around to the most likely origin of the projectile. There, smile from ear to ear, was a slender midget in black and white boxers: Kokichi Ouma.
“Hahaha! Oh, you should see the look on your face Shuichi.”
“Hey! What was that for?” Shuichi rubbed the point of impact to make sure there was no penetration. Didn’t look like it, he’d be alright. But his investigation of ground zero only got Kokichi laughing more, practically bellowing with his little lungs.
“Awww, did you really think I hurt you Shuichi-kun?” He chuckled, finally stopping his roaring to speak. “C’mon, lighten up! Or you’re never going to win the first motive.”
“The… motive…?” Oh wait, that’s right! On board the ship, Monokuma had told them why they had been kidnapped. It was to take part in a cooking show, one of life and death, though no one knew how literal the bear had been about that.
“The motive, or rather challenge, is to see who the best beach griller on this island is!” Kokichi explained, his arms held triumphantly. “And if getting hit with a beach volleyball hurts you that much, then I really don’t think you have any place on the beach.” His finger rose to his lips as he said that, like a sideways shh.
What a queer face, thought Shuichi. “Yeah, maybe you’re right…”
Kokichi looked at his resigned face with bewilderment. Eventually this bewilderment became anger, confusion, and then finally boredom, all with such rapidity that Shuichi struggled to keep up. Eventually it settled on a kind of solemn resignation, as Kokichi concluded “Well, I don’t know what I was expecting. See you on the sand detective boy!” brought a bit more life into his face, but quite frankly it seemed hollow.
What was that all about? Shuichi didn’t have any time to think before something else hit him; a blast from a water gun. This time he felt confident that the wetness on his trousers was water and not blood, so he turned immediately, and with more confidence, to Kaede Akamatsu. “Kaede!”
“Hey Shuichi! How about this beach, huh?” She giggled lightly. Much more welcoming. “Have any of the Monocubs given you a tour?”
Shuichi shook his head. He had just woken up on the dock, seemingly. “All of this just for a cookout?”
Kaede nodded. “Apparently this show is a big deal or something, the ‘biggest show on TV’, but I don’t know if I believe that.” She shrugged. “Just a cooking show, right?”
Shuichi nodded. “That does seem a bit unlikely…” though perhaps he was underestimating the appeal of beachside barbeques. “It’s not my type of show that’s for sure.”
Kaede giggled once more. “Yeah, I figured.” What was that supposed to mean? Not wanting to explain what Shuichi failed to say out loud, Kaede took him by the hand and began pulling. “C’mon, I’ll show you around.”
And show she did, man was there a lot to see. First, of course, the sea, blue and salty. Shuichi saw Angie and Tenko playing around in the water, or well, Angie was playing, Tenko seemed to be doing some kind of aikido training. Then there were the various quadrants of the beach. The first was the sunbathing spot, where some like Himiko hit from the blaring ball under umbrellas, and others like Korekiyo took the full blast for “enrichment.” There were the volleyball nets, from which Kokichi had attacked Shuichi, though he was now absent, and finally the grills. 8 of them, and not small ones either.
Wait, 8? Immediately upon confirming the number with a second glance Shuichi’s detective intuition got to work. 8 grills, 16 students, that could only mean…
Before Shuichi could tell Kaede his conclusion, the TV embedded in the sand lit up. Plastered on the screen was none other than the school’s headmaster/bear. Shuichi and Kaede froze and he opened his mouth to speak, something he did not have to do, but liked to for dramatic effect.
“Students! I’m sooooo glad you’ve been enjoying yourself at our wonderful beach-retreat. But the time for the first motive is upon us! Head over to the dock for another explanation of the rules. Skipping out is subject to punishment! Puhuhu, see you there!” When his address ended the screen turned back to black. Kaede and Shuichi looked at one another as it did.
“Guess the tour is ending here…” Kaede concluded.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Said Shuichi with an air of worry. Having seen the others enjoying themselves so much he felt as though the others might have forgotten what had brought them here, the danger Monokuma and the cubs presented. But he knew Kaede would understand. And so neither of them hesitated in retracing their steps back to the docks.
They were the first to make it there. Monokuma was seated on some sort of throne of seashells, while the Monocubs were playing beach volleyball with Kidkuma as the ball and Monodam as the net. They said nothing to the bears and they said nothing to them in return, with the cubs preferring to talk and play amongst themselves, and Monokuma hardly moving. After a minute or so the others began to trickle in, slowly but surely, and then Kokichi came dead last. “What took you guys so long?” He asked.
Everyone there just rolled their eyes and kept their head fixed forward. Either to Monokuma, or the beautiful wave that was just behind him. Really it was primetime perfect the way the monochrome bear was played directly against the sunlight. Using the aura such a position gave him, Monokuma began to speak.
“Ahem. As you all know, you were invited to this island for one purpose: a cookoff!” Monokuma raised his claws in the air as he spoke, knocking a shell off his chair and into Monokid’s head. “That means challenges! From seeing who can make the most hotdogs, to who can make the finest smoked steak in the shortest amount of time, we have no shortage of fun challenges for your first motive.” Seemingly feeling content with himself, Monokuma brought his arms back down, his children grieving over the loss of Monokid.
“Now, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, we only have eight grills. That’s because you’ll be working in teams of two! The teams are as follows…”
“Akamatsu and Yonaga”
“Yumeno and Chabashira”
“Harukawa and Momota”
“Shinguji and Tojo”
“K1B0 and Shirogane”
“Hoshi and Gokuhara”
“Amami and Iruma”
Oh no. “And finally, Saihara and Ouma.” Shuichi took a deep gulp. Really, he should’ve figured this halfway through the list. Now he was left there standing awkwardly, as everyone moved with varying levels of excitement to their partner.
Shuichi did not move, because his was staring at him, with that same wide grin as he had seen that morning. And this time it didn’t look like it was going anywhere. This was going to be a long beach day…