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Shuichi stared at the ceiling while laying on his bed. He had done some training with Maki that night, but he didn’t feel quite at ease when Kaito was still hiding away in his room. The student council was also worrying him. It felt like everything was getting out of control.
Shuichi almost drifted off when he heard his doorbell ring. Maybe it was Kaito? He slowly removed himself from his bed. The doorbell rang again as he walked over. Yawning, Shuichi opened the door to see the glint of a knife charge at him. He stammered backwards; the blade skimmed his side, it stung, but he was lucky to not get stabbed. With wide eyes, Shuichi looked towards his attacker while quickly backing away from him. Korekiyo swiftly shut and locked the door behind him.
“K-Korekiyo!?” Shuichi clutched his side as he retreated towards the corner of his room.
“My apologies that it had to be this way, Shuichi.” Korekiyo approached him.
Shuichi tried to recall what his uncle had taught him about self defense. He frantically looked around and grabbed the table lamp from the desk. Korekiyo was closing in and Shuichi aimed to swing the lamp at his head. Korekiyo held up his free arm to block the swing while he thrust the knife towards him. What Korekiyo wasn’t expecting was for Shuichi to kick his legs out from under him instead of hitting him with the lamp. The misdirection worked, and Korekiyo fell hard against the ground with a loud yelp. Shuichi took his chance. Without looking back, he ran and locked himself in the bathroom. Seconds later, he heard Korekiyo pounding at the door.
“Shui-” Korekiyo hacked. “Open the door now!” His breathing sounded ragged and he kept coughing.
The pounding against the door gradually grew weaker. Shuichi heard metal clash as Korekiyo tried to use the knife against the lock. He watched as a small puddle of blood grew under the foot of the door.
“Sorry… dear sister…” Korekiyo rasped out before stopping his assault on the door. He heard the knife clatter against the ground.
Shuichi stayed huddled against the wall of the tub. His body shook while his mind trudged slowly. It was quiet outside of his own breathing now. Why did Korekiyo attack him? Did he leave? Why was there blood under the door? Why was the puddle still growing? Shuichi tried to get a hold of his breathing to bring it down to a more reasonable pace so he wouldn’t pass out on the bathroom floor. After that… he waited. He didn’t know if it was safe to leave. Was Korekiyo hurt or was he faking it to draw Shuichi back out so he could finish the job? Shuichi looked back down at himself, there was blood staining down the side of his now torn pajama shirt. That’s something he could focus on fixing instead of thinking himself into a spiral.
Shuichi slowly inched towards the sink cupboard, he opened it up and reached for the first aid kit. He pulled out the box and lifted the lid, revealing the supplies inside. He took off his ruined shirt and set it on the ground. The cut was thankfully shallow, but it was still fairly long. The band-aids were not going to cover it… the Monokuma faces printed onto them also made them less appealing. Shuichi cleaned the wound (ouch) and then covered it with some gauze that he held in place with medical tape. The tape ended up pinched in some places because he had trouble keeping his hands steady while placing it. This was definitely going to hurt a lot more later when the adrenaline would wear off.
Shuichi felt cold. He almost died, Korekiyo nearly killed him. If he had made one misstep, he would have been murdered.
Shuichi didn’t want to know what laid on the other side of the door. Korekiyo was still holding the knife when he fell- When Shuichi tripped him. There was too much blood under the door. The wet coughs went silent a while ago now. He didn’t want to face the truth behind the door, but he couldn’t stay in here forever.
After… Shuichi couldn’t tell how long, he finally stood up. He picked up the lamp again and unlocked the door. Shuichi braced himself and turned the knob; he slowly pushed open the door. It only opened a few inches before it hit something. The door wasn’t wide enough for him to squeeze through.
“Sorry.” Shuichi mumbled before cautiously opening the door with more force, pushing what lay behind it across the floor. There was enough space for him to get through now, he carefully stepped around the blood. He looked at the ground, there was no denying it.
Korekiyo was still there, motionless and laying in his own blood. His throat was cut open, the mask covering his face down to his neck must not have been very sturdy. Did that happen when he fell?
Did that make Shuichi responsible for his death?
Shuichi felt sick. It was horrifying enough that he… killed Korekiyo in self defense. But, being in the killing game, it meant that Shuichi was going to die anyways for this mistake. He would never try to kill everyone else just to save himself. Which meant he would have to confess and get executed.
…
But the investigation and trial only got initiated after the body was found. If no one ever found the body, there would be no investigation, no trial, and no execution. Shuichi’s only option was to hide the body until the killing game was over. But where?! With the student council roaming about, he couldn’t move the body without getting caught. Shuichi didn’t even know if he could stomach moving Korekiyo’s corpse anywhere. His breathing was getting frantic again, he needed to calm down. What could he do without leaving his room? It was far less likely for someone to stumble upon the body if it stayed in his dorm, what a horrible idea. There weren’t many places that he could hide an entire person in here, especially someone as tall as Korekiyo.
Shuichi looked around, the closet would be too noticeable if someone were to open it, and all of Shuichi’s clothes were in there. Under the bed was equally terrible, anyone could see that, and he would never sleep again. The empty dresser under the TV wouldn’t work with all the separate drawers in the way-… If he took out the drawers and deconstructed them, he could place the planks inside with the body. And, if he glued the outward facing side of the drawers back into the frame, no one would be able to open it, nor were they likely to notice something being out of place in his room.
“Okay… okay…” Shuichi mumbled to himself. He would be okay, he just needed to bring some supplies back to his room. He needed glue, some bags for the body, tape to seal the bags, and a screwdriver for the dresser. All of those items were likely to be in the warehouse. If they weren’t, then he would be screwed, and then everyone would find out and despise him and then he would die- It was fine, Shuichi was fine, he would just have to sneak into Miu’s lab if that was the case. Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out.
For now though… he couldn’t just leave Korekiyo’s body to bleed out all over the floor. He hated the idea of having to pick up the dead body, but he had to. Shuichi crouched down and picked him up, he struggled as he dragged the corpse around to get through the door. Inside the bathroom, Shuichi pulled Korekiyo’s body up and laid him down in the tub. Now any more blood would go down the drain. The rest of it though… there was blood on the floor, on the door, and on his hands. Shuichi turned on the sink and washed the blood off. After drying his hands, he shakily reached under the sink again, this time for cleaning supplies.
Was this how Kaede felt when she killed Rantaro?
Would she hate Shuichi for killing another one of their friends, even if he didn’t mean to? He didn’t mean to, he swears. He was so sorry. If someone found the body, he would confess immediately, he swears, he promises.
Shuichi picked up the mop bucket and placed it under the sink faucet. Normally, the bucket is supposed to be filled from the faucet in the tub… but that’s not available right now. It was already so disrespectful to treat Korekiyo’s body this way, and then to hide it as he planned. The least he could do was to avoid soaking it in water. Shuichi blinked and noticed that the bucket was overflowing, he turned off the tap and poured the excess water back into the sink. He hauled the bucket off the sink and onto the floor. Blood probably needed more than regular cleaning detergent… but he didn’t really know much about forensics, especially the clean up part. It would have to do. Shuichi wet the mop and got to work soaking up the blood on the floor.
Shuichi remembered coming back to Kaede sweeping the classroom.
Inside the bucket was red, he needed to change the water. Shuichi walked over and poured the watered-down blood into the toilet. He should probably clean it too afterwards. He filled the bucket with fresh water and detergent and then went back to mopping. Shuichi’s side was starting to hurt, which he deserved the pain, but he should be careful not to hurt himself further by putting too much stress on it. Did any of his own blood get anywhere besides his shirt? Shuichi walked over to the doorway, he didn’t see anything. He returned to the mop bucket, the next spot he had to mop was where Korekiyo ended up falling and stabbing himself. There wasn’t much, most of the blood had been around the bathroom door.
How much did it hurt? Did Korekiyo bleed out or stop breathing first? He mentioned his sister, was Shuichi going to have to tell her what happened when everyone escapes from here? What would he tell his Uncle? Would he understand? Would he throw Shuichi out like his-
The floor was clean, now he needed to clean the door. Would the mop suffice? It should be fine. The door didn’t take long to clean. His room smelled like chemicals. What’s the next step again? Pour the water out, clean the bucket, clean the toilet, don’t look at Korekiyo’s corpse in the tub, and change into clean pajamas. Clean, clean, clean, and clean.
Shuichi sat on his bed, he felt unclean despite the fresh clothes. He felt like throwing up from the smell and from everything else. But he didn’t want to go into the bathroom again, not with corpse in there. It was still dark outside; it would be suspicious if he left at this time, and the student council would get on his case about it. There was no way he was falling asleep tonight. He laid back and stared at the ceiling.
Shuichi imagined himself getting caught, confessing, the quick trial, and his execution. Monokuma loved making people suffer horrific, personalized executions. What would his own be like? Would he be trapped in an escape room? Would he be placed in a game of Clue? No, there was a level of irony to a detective being guilty, and that twisted bear would capitalize on that somehow. Maybe he’d be placed in a suspect lineup where they’d shoot every other suspect before shooting him?
What would he say to Kaede if he saw her again? No amount of apologizing could make up for breaking their promise, for murdering one of their friends.
The room was brighter. Shuichi looked towards the window, the sun had risen a short while ago. He should probably get an early start, he didn’t want to stay in here much longer anyways. Shuichi only went to the bathroom for deodorant and to brush his teeth, he tried to ignore the body. He put some fresh gauze over his wound while trying not to disturb the clotted blood. After that, he put on his day clothes. Shuichi was ready to leave, all he needed to do was to go to the warehouse and come back. He slowly breathed in and out before exiting his room.
The hall was empty. Usually someone was out here in the morning, ready to talk. It was probably too early in the morning for that. Shuichi actually wasn’t sure what times everyone woke up at. He was usually the last to rise with the morning announcement. It surprised him that even in this horribly stressful place, he still woke up late.
“Good morning, Shuichi!” Gonta called out to him.
Shuichi jumped. “H-Huh?” He hadn’t noticed that he was already halfway to the school. “U-Um, good morning, Gonta.”
Gonta paused after he got closer to him. “Is Shuichi alright?”
He’s on to him- “I’m fine!” Shuichi replied quickly.
Gonta looked concerned. “It is okay if Shuichi is not fine. Shuichi can tell Gonta.”
Shuichi sweated nervously. What could he tell him to explain his… behavior? His looks? He didn’t know what Gonta noticed. “Sorry, I just… had a nightmare, is all.”
Gonta frowned sympathetically, “Gonta sorry about that. Can Gonta help?”
Shuichi didn’t deserve Gonta’s kindness. “No, thank you… I’m going to, uh, walk it off.”
“Okay… Gonta always able to help if Shuichi asks.” Gonta said.
“Thanks. See you later, Gonta.” Shuichi continued his way to the warehouse.
The school felt weird without passing by anyone in it. Shuichi got into the warehouse without further interruption. The last time he was here was with Kaede, right? She picked up the shot-put ball from here. How did Shuichi not notice it happen? Was he blind? Was he stupid? What sort of detective doesn’t realize when the person next to them is plotting a murder? He only ever found the truth when it was too late.
Could he have prevented Korekiyo from dying if he hadn’t cowered in the bathroom? He had the first-aid kit, would it have been enough? Even if he didn’t succeed, he could have tried. But he didn’t… because he was a coward.
Ah, Shuichi’s vision was clouded. He wiped the tears from his eyes and stuffed the screwdriver in his pocket. He should postpone any spiraling thoughts until he got back to his dorm. He had gathered all he needed, so he left the warehouse.
Tenko spotted Shuichi entering the hallway, “Morning, Shuichi, what are you- Eh?!” She pointed to his face, “What happened?! Which awful male made you cry?”
“Huh?” Shuichi had stopped crying in the ware- oh, right, his eyes were probably still puffy. “Ah, um, its nothing.”
“It’s not nothing if you’re crying about it. You dumb males think you have to pretend you don’t ever cry, but Tenko knows better. Now tell her what’s going on.” Tenko crossed her arms.
What does he tell her? If he wanted what actually happened to stay secret, he had to be consistent with his lies. “I had a nightmare this morning is all… it’s not a big deal. It’s just bothering me still.”
Tenko looked… both disappointed and relieved. “Is that all? Making a girl worry over nothing, tch, how typical.”
“Ah, sorry… I’ll just be going then.” Shuichi said and started walking away.
“Was it about Kaede?” Tenko asked.
Shuichi glanced back at Tenko. Pity. She was looking at him pity in her expression. “I… don’t want to talk about it.” He turned back continued walking.
Shuichi didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to spin a bigger web of lies. He especially didn’t want to get Kaede involved in it. He was already a bad friend for breaking their promise, he didn’t want to make it worse.
“Hey! Wait a second! What were you doing in the warehouse?!” Tenko shouted at him.
Shuichi felt his heart drop. “U-Um.” What could say?! “My, uh…” Think of something! The things he had could generally be used for fixing things. Fix. The. Chair. “My desk chair in my dorm is wobbly… I grabbed a screwdriver to tighten it.”
Tenko squinted at him. “At seven in the morning?” Is that how early it was?!
“The, um, nightmare woke me up early… and I wanted something else to focus on.” Shuichi lied.
Tenko seemed to buy it. “Alright then, but don’t wake any of the girls from their beauty sleep. Especially Himiko, she’s so tired all the time.”
Shuichi nodded. The rooms were soundproof anyways. Korekiyo relied on Shuichi not being able to cry for help. It didn’t help him in the end.
Shuichi walked back outside of the school again, this time passing by Maki who seemed surprised to see him.
“Shuichi?” Maki looked around and then back at him. “Is Kaito finally leaving his room again? Did he drag you out this early for something?”
“Ah, sorry, no. I haven’t seen him.” Shuichi answered.
“Oh.” Maki looked a little let down. “Then… why are you heading back this way?”
“I needed to grab something from the warehouse to fix one of the chairs in my dorm… But I’m up early for other reasons.” Shuichi rubbed his eyes. “I’d rather just… get back now instead explain, if that’s alright.”
“That’s fine, I guess.” Maki sighed. “Try knocking on Kaito’s door later, see if he’s alive and all.”
Could someone have killed Kaito? He was the least likely to be noticed gone with all the time spent hiding in his room. When was the last time they saw Kaito? Could Korekiyo have gotten to Kaito before Shuichi? What if-
Maki hesitantly tapped his shoulder. “Calm down. Why are you freaking out? I wasn’t being serious, I only suggested you check on him.”
“O-Oh.” Shuichi was being too obvious with his emotions. Everyone was going to find out, they were going to kill hi-
“Shuichi?”
“S-Sorry, I gotta go.” Shuichi walked past her and towards the dorms. He didn’t look back, he didn’t want to meet her gaze. Would it be one of annoyance? Confusion? Pity? None of them could be good.
Shuichi had hardly noticed that he was already in his room before he stood in front of the dresser. He started pulling out the drawers one by one, placing them on the floor. Grabbing one of the drawers, he started removing the screws and placing them inside the frame. After all the planks were separated, he placed them flat in the bottom of the dresser.
For some reason, Shuichi thought this would take longer. He wanted this part to take longer, the next step he was stalling involved… the body. He had not even dared to look in the direction of the bathroom since he reentered his room. Now it was unavoidable, Shuichi took out the bags and tape from inside his jacket and carried them with him into the bathroom. He unfolded the first bag and looked at down Korekiyo’s corpse, he didn’t deserve to be put in a trash bag. Unfortunately, that was where he was going. Shuichi winced as he folded the body in half to fit inside the bag. He sealed it shut with tape and grabbed the next bag. One bag seemed more at risk to tear or wear down from… decomposition. So he wrapped the body in yet another bag, sealing this one shut with tape as well.
After sealing one last bag around the body, Shuichi hauled it out of the tub and onto the ground. Weak, stupid, coward couldn’t even carry it to the dresser, he had to slide it across the floor carefully instead. It was difficult, but he managed to push the bag in through one of the larger drawer gaps. He walked over to pick up the knife and his bloodied pajama shirt, he placed them both inside the dresser. Now, time for the glue.
Shuichi glued each side of the detached drawer fronts and slotted them back into the frame of the dresser. He was careful applying it; super gluing his fingers together would be too noticeable. All there was now was for the glue to dry and seal the makeshift casket.
It was done. Korekiyo wouldn’t be found, there would be no investigation, no execution.
Would Shuichi’s uncle be proud? Would he be horrified? Would he forgive Shuichi or would he never trust him again? He just wanted to go home. He wanted his friends to stop dying. Shuichi directly killed Korekiyo. He indirectly killed Kaede and Rantaro by suggesting the idea of the mastermind. And, he killed Kirumi by solving Ryoma’s murder. Shuichi being a detective only made things worse, his truths kept leading to people’s deaths. Korekiyo probably only wanted to kill him because he’d uncover more terrible truths. It was easy to avoid getting your murder plan found out if the detective was the one murdered.
And now here Shuichi was: lying and covering his tracks to save himself. Hiding the truth because it would hurt him like it hurt everyone else. When they realize Korekiyo is missing, would it hurt them less to not know? To forever be in the dark about what happened? Would they feel betrayed to know that Shuichi killed him? Would they look at Shuichi like he did?
The morning announcement went off.
How long had Shuichi been sitting in front of the dresser for? It was around seven when he talked to Tenko. Had it really been three hours since then? He couldn’t stay in here all day, he didn’t want to either. But he really wanted to avoid being around anyone for a while. They might find it suspicious if he skipped breakfast though… Even without Kaito there. Thinking about it now, he should go check on Kaito like Maki asked him to.
Shuichi pushed himself off the ground. He should wash off his face before going out, walking around while looking like he just cried would gather a lot of unwanted attention. Hopefully the water and time not crying would make his face look normal again. Shuichi glanced at the tub, it was empty. It didn’t feel empty. He could still see the blood swirling down the drain despite nothing actually being there.
Shuichi left the bathroom and then his dorm. He walked over to Kaito’s door and rang his doorbell.
The door creaked open. “Sidekick. Sorry, I’m still not f-feeling well. I’ll come to breakfast another time.” Kaito was still being a scaredy cat over the necronomicon business then…
“Oh… sorry.” Shuichi watched the door close again.
Shuichi really wished he could have Kaito’s reassurance right now. He was usually so positive and could bring up everyone’s spirits easily. Shuichi just wanted to hear him say that everything will be okay. He can’t believe it otherwise.
It will have to be another breakfast without Kaito. Shuichi left the dorm building and walked straight to the dining hall. The dining hall was as noisy as it usually was for breakfast. Korekiyo only really jumped in to conversations on the occasion, usually bringing up an interesting if somewhat unsettling point about anthropology, otherwise, he tended to keep quiet the rest of the time and watched. The absence felt glaring to Shuichi but no one else seemed to pay any mind. Angie and Kaito weren’t around either, so maybe that’s why they didn’t take note of it. Shuichi walked into the kitchen and grabbed himself a bowl of plain cereal. He felt too sick to eat anything flavorful.
Shuichi glanced at the knife block, there was one missing. He knew where it was.
Why did Korekiyo try to kill Shuichi? Had he done something to offend him? The motive at the moment didn’t even call for anyone to die, the opposite in fact. Was it something he said, something he did? Would he ever know?
Kokichi nudged Shuichi’s bowl. “Can’t eat without Kaito around to tell you to?” Shuichi didn’t notice when Kokichi sat near him, let alone when he sat himself down. He needed to stop spacing out.
“Shut up.” Maki said to Kokichi. She looked at Shuichi's bowl. “Why are you not eating?”
“I’ve had a few bites… I’m not just very hungry right now.” Shuichi poked at the cereal with his spoon.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Hm… How is Kaito anyways?”
“Ah, the same… He said he wouldn’t be coming to breakfast.” Shuichi answered.
“He’s being dumb still… But why are you acting weird this morning?” Maki asked pointedly.
Gonta spoke for him, “Shuichi had nightmare.”
“A nightmare?” Maki asked.
“Oh, Tenko caught Shuichi crying about it earlier.” Tenko affirmed.
Shuichi buried his face in his hands, why did the conversation have to turn to focus on him. Especially over his ‘nightmare’.
“Oh no! Shuichi don’t cry, Shuichi is safe with friends.” Gonta said.
“Nyeh, he’s not crying, he’s embarrassed.” Himiko pointed out.
Miu leaned over her own breakfast. “An embarrassing nightmare, hah? What kind of fucked up wet dream did you have?”
Kokichi grimaced. “Ewwww. I’m trying to eat breakfast here. How about you go choke on your toast instead of speaking.”
“Ch-Choke?” Miu stammered.
“At least I don’t have to worry about choking.” Kiibo mumbled to himself. Right, he doesn’t eat… or breath.
“I can fix that.” Miu quickly said back to him.
“Wha- How is that a fix?” Kiibo asked puzzled.
Shuichi stood up from the table. He was… done being involved in this conversation. He walked over to the trashcan and dumped the rest of his cereal out, what a waste. His side hurt and his head hurt, he felt so tired. He didn’t get any sleep last night, did he? Maybe he should go back to his dorm and sleep through the afternoon… on second thought, he didn’t want to go back in there.
It took a couple seconds for Shuichi to realize he was being dragged away by someone. “Huh?”
“Wow, what a delayed reaction. I outta lace your coffee with caffeine.” Kokichi snickered.
Shuichi blinked. “I didn’t make any coffee… and coffee already has caffeine in it.”
“No wonder you look so terrible. You should fix that stat.” Kokichi was still dragging him along, they were going down the hallway inside the school.
“But the… the kitchen is back in the dining hall.” Shuichi didn’t try to resist being dragged either. It was starting to hurt his side though.
Kokichi brought Shuichi to the game room in the basement. “You’re going to have to beat me if you ever want to have caffeine again.” He stood on a broken DDR machine.
Shuichi sighed, Kokichi was being Kokichi. There wasn’t really a point to arguing, was there? He was too worn out to think of a response anyways. “Fine.”
Kokichi raised an eyebrow. “’Fine?’ You should take this more seriously. Caffeine withdraw is life threatening.”
“Yep.” That was obviously a lie. Shuichi rubbed his eyes, he thinks if he closed them long enough, he’d fall asleep while standing. He might have an actual nightmare after all that’s happened.
Kokichi huffed at him, “Maki’s right.”
Shuichi tilted his head. “Huh? About what?”
“Oh, you know, you acting weird.” Kokichi looked at his nails. “The crying, the obvious lack of sleep, avoiding almost all eye contact, and-” Kokichi stepped closer to Shuichi, “-that weird chemical smell hanging around you.”
Shuichi paled. “W-What?”
“A nightmare didn’t do all that, did it?” Kokichi stared at him, Shuichi couldn’t tell what emotion laid behind his eyes.
What should he say?! How could Shuichi forget how observant Kokichi was? Was there any getting out of this? Did Kokichi already figure everything out? Was he going to tell everyone? Was Shuichi going to die? All of that work was for nothing. Kokichi already knew and now everyone would know and he was going to die. He was going to die. Now he was crying in front of Kokichi. Great going, that definitely didn’t make himself look less suspicious.
Kokichi stepped back, he didn’t seem to be expecting Shuichi to break out into tears.
“S-Sorry.” Shuichi’s voice wobbled.
Kokichi kept staring. “…What for?”
“Everything.” Shuichi wiped the tears from his face.
“Hmm…” Kokichi stood there for a moment before turning around. “Eh, this isn’t fun.” He started walking away.
“H-Huh?” Shuichi watched him leave.
“Come find me when you’re not going to be all boring.” Kokichi said before closing the door.
…
Was he safe? Or… Augh. Kokichi was so confusing. Shuichi really wished his life wasn’t on the line for this. All he really wanted to do after everything now was to lay down for a while (his side was hurting). The AV room had a couch right? Shuichi walked to the back of the game room and opened the door. It was empty inside. He walked over to the couch and laid down on the opposite side of his wound. Maybe Kokichi was out there right now tattling on him. Everyone would barge in demanding to know to why he killed Korekiyo. That or… Kokichi won’t say anything, regardless if he’s figured it out or not. What is going to happen now that Korekiyo is dead without an investigation?
Staying awake was really difficult, he thought it would be harder to with a guilty conscious. He did do a lot of physical work on top of pulling an incredibly stressful all-nighter though… Shuichi closed his eyes and drifted off.
…
Shuichi’s neck felt sore when he woke up. He had moved into a new position during his sleep as well. His side felt wet… oh no. Did the cut reopen while he was asleep? Shuichi sat up and lifted his jacket to see that his button-up had a some blood on it; the gauze had shifted out of place. He was so lucky to wear a dark jacket as part of his uniform, but he still needed to get back to his dorm to change the shirt, it was unsanitary even if it stayed unseen. That was two shirts ruined now.
What time was it? Shuichi checked his monopad… It was already past two?! How did he manage to sleep for so long? That meant he completely skipped over lunch. His stomach did feel empty, he hardly ate that breakfast. He should go eat something so he wouldn’t feel sick later. It was still going to be hard to eat without an appetite though…
Shuichi made his way back to the dining hall and into the kitchen. He didn’t spot anyone on his way over. Maybe the student council was busy with something? There was nothing in the pantry he wanted to eat. He supposed that he could grab one of the apples to tide him over until dinner. Shuichi spotted the knife block again. Had anyone noticed that one of the knives were missing yet? The dining hall closes at night, so that meant that Korekiyo had to have stolen the knife in advance.
Why. Why did Korekiyo try to kill Shuichi? Korekiyo apologized in advance before attempting to murder him, but he didn’t sound sorry in the least. He only sounded sorry when he was dying, and that was to his sister.
Shuichi picked up the apple and washed it off in the kitchen sink. He took a bite and chewed slowly, his brain didn’t seem to want him to swallow anything. He chewed until most of the flavor was gone.
Shuichi’s friends were going to hate him once they find out. The weight of keeping Korekiyo’s murder hidden was too much for him to bear. Once they all get out of here, he’d tell them. This truth was awful, maybe his friends would be better off not knowing, but Shuichi didn’t want to live with this lie. Blaming his own guilt on an innocent nightmare instead of what actually happened felt really shitty. Afterwards, they could do a proper service for Korekiyo. Even if he did try to kill him.
Korekiyo had no hesitation in hurting him, that was very scary. Korekiyo was off-putting at times, sure, but Shuichi didn’t expect that from him. He even listened to Korekiyo talk about anthropology before, he thought they had gotten along. Were any of Shuichi’s other friends ready to kill him with just the right motivation? Would they feel no remorse? Was there something wrong with him that made it easy?
“…Is that apple making you cry?” Maki asked Shuichi. When did she get here?!
Shuichi needed to stop crying in public so damn much. “No… sorry.” He turned his face away from her.
“Is it about that nightmare?” Maki questioned.
Shuichi stayed quiet.
“You weren’t at lunch.” Maki stated.
“Sorry.” Shuichi mumbled.
Maki stood there for a moment before speaking. “If you’re not going to tell me what’s wrong, I’m going to leave you be.”
“Sorry.” Shuichi said more quietly. He couldn’t tell her.
Maki sighed and then left.
Shuichi was alone with the apple again. He had only taken a few bites, but he was done, he couldn’t eat anymore. He tossed the apple into the trash. He’s ‘eaten’, he’s slept, and he’s hidden the body, now what? Shuichi didn’t think he could currently contain himself if he tried to hangout with anyone. Maybe he should go find a more isolated spot…
The shrine of judgment, most people steered clear of here if they weren’t actively mourning. Shuichi stared at the waterfall that hid the elevator. Monokuma might curse him out for having such a boring trial… Actually, he hasn’t seen Monokuma at all since last night. Shuichi was bound to be annoying the bear by deliberately making sure no one found the body. Perhaps it would count as interfering with the murder if he showed up to criticize Shuichi. At least he gets some peace from it…
Shuichi sat on the edge of the fountain and kept watch of the waterfall. How many times was it going to part for the elevator? How many times would someone die here before they get out? He broke Kaede’s promise but… he still had to try and stick to it.
Should Shuichi have let Korekiyo kill him? Would that have been better?
No… It was selfish to think that, to want to be free from the blame. That would just throw his friends under the bus if Korekiyo was trying to kill him to escape. He didn’t even need to frame anyone, all he had to do was make sure the majority vote was not on him. Not to say Shuichi’s friends weren’t smart, but they really struggled to communicate with each other properly during the trials. He wondered if they would believe him or not about killing Korekiyo.
What would Kaito think of him? He seemed unphased by Maki being an assassin. Would he not care? Training is going to be difficult with the cut on his side now.
…
Shuichi forgot to change his shirt and fix the gauze! He quickly got up and walked back towards the dorms. He was so out of it even after getting some sleep. Could there have been something more important he missed?! He hoped not. Shuichi got into his dorm, he looked around to see if anything appeared out of place. After checking the room, he went and picked out a new shirt.
The glue to the dresser should be dry by now, where was he going to hide his shirt?… Shuichi didn’t strictly need to, it’s only the body that needs to stay hidden. But leaving it around was bound to draw questions if found. It’s dirty laundry so… Shuichi moved around the clothes in the laundry basket, placing the ruined shirt at the bottom. That should be good enough, for now at least. Shuichi changed the gauze again, this time with more tape, and put on a brand new shirt. Shuichi hoped that this time the gauze would stay in place.
Shuichi glanced at the dresser before leaving the room. It was time to head over to the dining hall for dinner… he was not looking forward to it. Would Kaito finally leave his room and join everyone? He wasn’t sure. Shuichi pushed open the door to the dining hall and saw everyone moving about. He still didn’t have much of an appetite, so he decided to wait until some of the others had finished their business in the kitchen and see what was left. He mulled over his options, nothing looked appealing. Depending on how things go… this could be his last meal. The thought only made his stomach sour more. Shuichi opened the fridge, there was an array of premade food. Blueberry jelly… that seems okay.
Shuichi walked over and sat down at the table with the cup of jelly. He spaced out while eating, letting the conversation go by. He only zoned back in when he heard Korekiyo’s name.
“Has anyone seen Korekiyo around today?” Tsumugi asked.
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen him at all today.” Kiibo said.
Gonta shook his head. “Gonta has not seen Korekiyo.”
“I’ve been in my lab all day, but I didn’t see that freak at breakfast or lunch.” Miu said.
Everyone gave their own testimony about not seeing Korekiyo that day.
“Ah, I haven’t seen him either.” Shuichi lied.
“If no one has seem him, should we go look for him?” Kiibo asked.
“Hmmm, the effigies are almost ready. Atua says we should focus on the necronomicon instead. Korekiyo can wait till after.” Angie decided.
“So we’re going to just ignore the possibility that something could have happened to him?” Maki asked.
“Atua says that there is nothing to worry about~” Angie said back.
“If Atua says there’s nothing wrong, then he must be okay.” Himiko supported her.
“That’s right! Korekiyo is fine if Atua says so. Maybe he visited the dining hall at odd times today.” Kiibo suggested.
“I don’t give a crap about what this Atu-ass says, but I’m not wasting my time going on a search party.” Miu stated.
The student council adamantly refused to search for Korekiyo and that was that. This seemed to work in Shuichi’s favor but… it still made him nervous all the same. Shuichi finished his dinner and quietly left the dining hall. He really wasn’t in the mood for socializing, especially with the cultist behavior going around.
“Shuichi.” Maki called out from behind him.
Shuichi turned around. “Maki?” He didn’t notice her following him.
She paused for a moment before speaking. “Are we going to look for Korekiyo?”
“Huh? I… wasn’t planning on it.” Shuichi looked at the ground.
“Really? I thought you would want to.” Maki questioned him.
“I mean… I suppose we should go look for him.” Shuichi backtracked. “It’s just with the student council hanging around… we might not have much time to look tonight before the curfew anyways.”
“You want to put off looking for him?” Maki asked.
“I- um…” Yes, because he already knows where to find him.
Maki glared at him. “Do you not know how serious the situation we are in is? Or have you decided to play pretend like everyone in that student council.”
“It’s not like that…” Shuichi said quietly.
“That’s what it looks like to me.” Maki said.
Shuichi grasped for a motivation. “I… don’t want to get on their bad side.”
Maki sighed. “Sometimes I don’t get what Kaito sees in you.”
Ouch. “Sorry.” Shuichi felt his eyes water. He normally didn’t have such thin skin, but with everything going on…
Maki grumbled. “Whatever. It’s not like I care that much about everyone here; I just thought you would.”
“I care.” Shuichi did, he cared so much. That’s why he could hardly keep himself calm. “I’m sorry.” He wiped his eyes.
Maki blinked at him. “Are you… crying again?”
“Sorry.” Shuichi apologized again.
“You’ve been acting like this all day…” Maki paused. “Is there… another reason you don’t want to look for Korekiyo?”
Shuichi’s throat tightened, he kept his eyes trained on the ground.
“Shuichi, do you know where Korekiyo is?” Maki asked seriously.
…
“You know where he is.” It was no longer a question. She knew.
Shuichi broke. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please don’t tell- I-I don’t want to die. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“Knowing you, it was an accident, wasn’t it?” Maki sounded sorry for him.
Shuichi nodded. “I hid him after but- I just- I’m sorry. Please don’t tell anyone. If they find out, if they find him, then…” Shuichi would be dead.
Maki tried to comfort him by awkwardly patting his shoulder. “We’ll figure something out… I wish Kaito was here right now, he’s better at this.”
“Do you hate me?” The question slipped out before Shuichi could stop it.
Maki squinted at him. “Are you asking me if I would hate you for accidentally killing someone? Me?”
Shuichi realized which ultimate he just asked. “Ah, sorry.”
Maki looked towards the dorms. “I don’t hate you, and I don’t think Kaito would either if he doesn’t seem to hate me.”
“I…” Shuichi felt unsure about the last part.
“Let’s go drag him out for training.” Maki said.
“H-Huh? But he’s-”
“Being a wuss? I don’t care, but I think you should talk to him.” Maki started walking.
Shuichi followed. “Okay… Um, do you think… I’m going to die?” His voice trembled a little.
“…I don’t think you would want my answer.” Maki replied.
“Oh…” Shuichi drooped.
“It doesn’t matter. Kaito will probably say something like ‘you’ll live forever bro’, but you know… sometimes believing in what he says is… nice.” Maki smiled softly.
Shuichi hummed in agreement. Kaito always managed to give them hope after Kaede passed.
Maki stopped in front of Kaito’s door. “We’re here. It’s time for payback.”
“Payback?” Shuichi asked, confused.
Maki spammed Kaito’s doorbell relentlessly.