"Hey, come back here!" Kaede and I had walked into a classroom on the first floor to see if there were any students. We didn't expect to see a small male chasing after what I think was a robot.

"Come on, let me touch your body! I've always wanted a robot as a friend!" Kaede looked surprised. "A robot?" The two had finally noticed us and the robot looked displeased. "Are you another robophobe? I have a recording function and I can see you in court." Okay, I was not aware robophobia was a thing.

"Wait, are you an actual robot? Are you a Monokub?" The robot looked to be even more pissed by Kaede's question. "I am not one of those toys! I am not an ordinary robot." He then went on to introduce himself as K1-B0, or Kiibo, and he was the Ultimate Robot.

'An actual robot, huh?' The other person in the room, a short male with purple hair, seemed mad that Kiibo introduced himself first, so he went ahead told us his name. Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader. After he said that, he went on to tell us that robot breath smelled like gasoline, even though Kiibo then said he ran on electricity.

Kiibo told us how he was just the same as them with a learning AI, so when he was created, he was basically a baby. Kokichi then asked the random question if robots had dicks, which I found weird, but kind of funny. Of course, I would never admit it.

"Ok, I can understand how Kiibo is the Ultimate Robot, but what about your talent, Kokichi?" An evil grin grew on the male's face. "Oh, I'm just the supreme leader of an evil secret organization." I raised an eyebrow. If he really was a high school student, judging by his height, how was he the leader of an organization already. A secret one, at that.

Kaede looked shocked. "Yeah, my organization has over ten thousand members!" Kaede looked like she was about to say something, but Kokichi cut her off by telling us he was a liar after all. "Wait, so you were lying just now?" "Oh, the part about the secret organization is true." "Soooo, what's true?" He chuckled and it sounded like the noise a horse makes. "I'm not telling youuuuu." I was kind of curious myself now. Maybe I could pry the truth out of him soon. I don't know how long we'll be here or if we'll see each other when we get out, but I'll see what I can do.

"So, what's the name of the organization?" "Um, it's a secret, Emo Hat. It IS a secret organization. Of course, you've never heard of us since it's a SECRET!" Kaede crossed her arms. "That's probably a lie too." "Just ignore him," Kiibo said. "I sure everything he's been saying is a lie. He's a far more suspicious person than me." "Of course you're not a suspicious PERSON, robots aren't people!"

Kiibo groaned in frustration. "Are you going to punch me with a rocket?!" Kokichi asked excitedly. He wants to get punched? By a rocket, no less. He certainly is a strange one. When Kiibo said he didn't have that function, Kokichi looked bored. "Boo, that's boring."

Kokichi looked over at me before walking toward me. I was a good 6 inches taller than him, so he had to look up to get a look at my face. His face was very close to my chest and I averted my eyes so I didn't look into his. I heard him giggle. "Someone's shy. I can tell you're going to be fun." I looked back down at him in curiosity, but at that point, he got bored and walked out.

"That was weird. Anyway, come on, Shuichi. We have to see if there's anyone else." Kaede grabbed my wrist and began dragging me somewhere else, the little liar was still on my mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I laid in my bed, looking up at the ceiling. I was still trying to wrap my head around what has happened these past few weeks. Kaede killed Rantaro, Kirumi killed Ryoma, Korekiyo killed Angie and Tenko, and Gonta killed Miu. Then, just yesterday, we found out the Earth was destroyed by asteroids, and Kokichi was the mastermind behind all this.

The moment those words left his mouth, I thought I heard my heart shatter. All this time, someone I thought of as a friend when no one else would, was the reason for our pain. All for his entertainment.

But, the more I think about it, the more it doesn't make sense. Of course, nothing about that boy made sense. Everything he's told me, they didn't seem like his normal lies. I've been able to tell the difference between his lies and truths for the most part, and when he said he was the mastermind, it felt like he was forcing himself to believe it.

I didn't want to believe he was the mastermind. He just couldn't be.

I gripped my pillow tighter, thinking about all the time I spent with him. No one trusted him, but I tried to make an effort. There had to be a reason he lied and I intended to find out why.

"Saihara-chan, you have to believe me, I'm not a bad guy! I only act like it so you guys don't go soft!" I looked down at the supreme leader with a raised eyebrow. He was a little weird, but I had nothing better to do. "You wanna hang out for a bit?" I asked, a bit nervous.

Kokichi looked at me with big eyes before crying crocodile tears. "At least you understand me, Saihara-chan!" He let out a loud sob before he stopped crying altogether. We talked for a bit about random stuff before Kokichi brought up an interesting point.

"I must ask, why are you talking to me? I'm the Ultimate Supreme Leader, y'know." He did his signature laughter and for some reason, it put me at ease. "You say that, but I still don't believe you. What's this organization you talked about before?" "Yeah, I told you I'm the leader of a secret organization. It's pretty impressive, it has over ten thousand members!"

'Ten thousand? I don't know any organization like that. Then again, this one is supposedly secret.' "My organization controls the entire world. It's behind the scenes, of course." What is he, the Illuminati? "All the mafia is under my control. I have to keep my eye on them or they'll get into turf wars and that's trouble for everyone."

I looked at him with a suspicious look. 'Okay, this boy is a high school student, but he runs the world. I have to remember he's a liar, so all of this could just be another prank.' Kokichi kept talking about how else he ruled the world. How he blackmailed politicians and had subordinates around the world.

I just let it all sink in, nodding to make it seem like I was listening. "Of course, now that you know about us, you must die!" I froze in place and looked at him wide-eyed. "Wh-What?! B-But I didn't even ask you do tell me that!" Kokichi paused for a moment before smiling innocently. "Oops, I can be such a ditz."

He thought about it for a moment. "Fine, I'll let you live. For now. But you will be on my radar until I decide otherwise." Before I could say anything else, he chuckled and walked away, leaving me to process what the hell just happened.

That was how I was drawn in. That's why I stuck with him for so long. He intrigued me. I wanted to solve the mystery behind everything he did, everything he said.

I smiled slightly before realizing what I was doing. This boy is the reason for our suffering. That's why he did everything he did! To keep this damn game going!

Even so. Why do I still feel incomplete? Why do I feel like I should go after him?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kokichi pulled out a knife from his back. How the hell did he hide that?! More importantly, why did he have a knife?!

"Time to commit seppuku, Saihara-chan!" His smile stayed on his face as he said that. I gulped the building saliva in my mouth, sweat dripping down my face.

A moment later, he laughed and dropped the hand with the knife to his side. "I'm just kidding! It's for the game!" I let out a breath, not realizing I was holding it. "What's the game?"

In an instant, Kokichi slammed his hand on the table. "It's called the knife game!" Before I could ask about it, he began stabbing between his hands, going incredibly fast. It made me nervous.

"You put your palm on the table and stab the space between your fingers. Easy peasy." That sounds very dangerous. But I had to do it or he would kill me. I swallowed dryly and nodded. "I'll go first."

With that, he began, going off slow before spreading up. As he got faster, I saw how focused he was. I had never seen him this serious before. But at the same time, I was scared he would chop a finger completely off.

"OW!" The knife stabbed his middle finger, blood beginning to ooze from the cut. I immediately grabbed his wrist, examining the cut. "Don't move, I'll take care of it." We were in the cafeteria and there was a first aid kit.

I grabbed it and opened it, starting to tend to the small wound. Even though I was dabbing alcohol on it, Kokichi was laughing, like this was the funniest thing in the world. I wrapped a small amount on gauze around his finger, making sure it stayed on.

"There. Are you okay?" The male looked at his finger like he was checking his nails. His smile seemed to be permanently on his face. "It wasn't that deep, but thank you for treating it!"

"Anyway, I lost. Damn it!" "But I didn't even go..." "I messed up, so you win by default." Kokichi leaned back in his chair. "Plus, I already fulfilled my objective of killing you." I looked down at my body, seeing nothing that indicated a life-threatening injury, and I died inside a long time ago, so he couldn't mean that.

"I'm still alive, Kokichi. Unless I'm a ghost..." "No no, that's not it. Weren't you worried when I cut my hand?" I nodded hesitantly. "See? I made your heart DIE of worry." "I wouldn't say that." "But think about it. After I said I would kill you, I was on your mind the whole time, right?"

He chuckled. "Now you'll never ever forget me for the rest of your life. I stole your life, so now I'm satisfied. I don't need to steal your life anymore." I looked at him for a long minute. Toying with me would be putting it lightly. I still had one more question, though.

"If you hadn't messed up, would you have still have made me do play?" Kokichi looked at me before standing up. He placed his hands on the arms on the chair, trapping me. His face was close to mine, our noses just centimeters apart.

"Of course not. I never wanted your life to begin with. At least in the way you think." He smirked. "I purposely stabbed my hand just so you wouldn't have to. I don't want you to get hurt. You mean too much to me."

Before I could say anything, he closed the gap between us, his lips on mine. My eyes widened, but I didn't try to push him off. I relaxed and closed my eyes, giving in to the kiss and placing a hand on his cheek.

After a moment, he pulled away and looked into my eyes. I knew I was a blushing mess since my face was hot. Kokichi smiled softly. "Now, along with your heart, I steal your first kiss. What else could I maybe steal?"

With that, the supreme leader stood up straight and sauntered out, not glancing back. Why did he kiss me? He didn't say it was a lie, but he didn't say it was true. I placed my fingers on my lips, which still tingled. I could still feel his lips.

I looked back at the door. Even with that, I still fully don't understand him. But, maybe I don't need to. Maybe I understand him enough. Maybe he needs to do the rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stood outside the new building where Kokichi was holding Kaito hostage. The others had come up with a plan to get Kaito back together using the Electrohammers. They were planning to kill Kokichi, but I couldn't let that happen. I still didn't believe he was the mastermind and I wasn't letting them kill him if he wasn't.

I picked up the hammer and walked into the building, going through the maze-like halls. I got to where the Exisals were guarding Monokuma. I couldn't get into the hangar without setting the alarm off, but maybe I could get in with an Exisal. Surely he wouldn't miss one.

Quickly making a move, I ran at the Exisals and swung the hammer at one of them. It shook a little before it shut down. The other Exisals didn't seem to notice. Dropping the hammer, I climbed into the machine and began operating it the best I could. I was able to get away from the others, which still didn't notice me, and made my way to the hangar.

The top was closed just enough where no one could seem, but not enough that I'm locked inside. I stood on the metal slab and the hangar's force field deactivated, the hangar door opening. Through the gap, I could see two figures I assumed were Kokichi and Kaito. I moved inside just enough that it wouldn't trigger the alarm before I opened the hatch. The sight in front of me was shocking.

Kaito held a crossbow in his hand and Kokichi had an arrow lodged into his upper right arm. Both looked at the Exisal and I saw their face go from confused to shocked when they saw it was me. Kokichi was reaching for something in his pocket. I quickly jumped out of the machine, surprised my ankles didn't shatter, and charged at him, grabbing his left wrist. He was holding the remote control to the Exisals.

"Drop it." Kokichi looked surprised at my new found confidence before dropping the controller, which I kicked away. "Shuichi, why the hell are you here?" Kaito asked, taking a step forward. "I'm here to talk some sense into Kokichi." I still hadn't let go of his wrist and it seemed he couldn't move his right arm. That or he made no effort to make me let go.

Kokichi smirked. "Talk sense into me? Whatever do you mean, Saihara-chan?" "You know damn well." I put my hand in my jacket, but Kokichi grabbed my arm, making me stop. "It's not a weapon. I've come to talk, not to fight." He narrowed his eyes at me and let me go, letting me pull out the object.

It was the Flashback Light we got the day before, the one that said we were students of Hope's Peak. That Kokichi was a Remnant of Despair. If I used this on him, I could see if he really was what he said.

The other two looked at the light confused. "When did you get that?" Kokichi asked. This confused me, but then I smiled mentally. The mastermind is the one making these, so if Kokichi didn't even know about this, he couldn't be the mastermind.

"We got it yesterday morning. Neither of you were there, so I brought this. Maybe it will help this whole situation." I let go of Kokichi and turned the light on, the world began to warp. I had already seen all this, so when the light turned off, I wasn't that surprised. Kaito looked shocked and angry. Kokichi, on the other hand.

"What? No, this can't be right." He grabbed his head and fell to his knees, looking to be on the verge of tears. "Kokichi is a Remnant of Despair?!" Kaito's voice boomed and he began stomping toward the shorter male, but I raised my arm to stop him. "Shuichi, what are you-" "Just watch."

Kokichi's mask was completely off. He looked like a child who just saw his parents get murdered right in front of him, his fingers entangled in his hair and muttering to himself. He was having some sort of breakdown.

I glanced at Kaito, who seemed confused at Kokichi's sudden attitude change. "Just as I thought. He isn't the mastermind nor a Remnant." "How did you-" "When you spend as much time as I did with Kokichi, you pick up on a few things."

I dropped my arm and walked over to the shaking figure, kneeling in front of him. Kokichi noticed and looked up at me, fear and confusion in his eyes. "I can't be...There's no way...." I shushed him softly and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down enough so he could talk. I could feel him relax at my touch and I helped him take deep breaths. Kaito had walked over as well but stayed a foot away, giving us some space.

When Kokichi was finally calm, it seemed he didn't bother to put his mask back on. He just sat there, looking at the ground, contemplating what he just saw. I remembered the arrow in his arm, so I grabbed it and yanked it out, making him yelp and hold his arm. "Sorry." I threw the arrow away and looked back at Kokichi, his white sleeve stained in red now.

"Could you talk to me now, Kokichi? Will you tell me the truth?" The purple-haired male glanced up at me, his tearful eyes clashing with my pleading ones. He looked over at Kaito, then back at me before sighing.

"Fine. It's true, I'm not the mastermind. I'm not a Remnant either. That would go against my organization's policies and my own morals." I felt my body relax. My suspicions were cleared. Now, for my next question. "Why did you lie? What were you planning to do?" He looked away, hesitant. I placed my hand on top of his, smiling at him.

When he still wouldn't look at me, I scooted closer and grabbed his chin, making him look at me. Without thinking, I placed my lips on his, just as he did days ago. Kokichi tensed up before relaxing, beginning to kiss back and putting a bloodied hand on my chest. A moment later, we pulled away for air. I could see Kokichi was blushing, but he smirked. "You're so bold, Shumai." I snorted at the nickname.

"Um, guys, remember me?" We looked over and saw Kaito, rubbing the back of his neck. I forgot he was there. I blushed a little and muttered a quiet apology before turning back to the shorter boy. "I guess I can tell you. My plan fell apart the moment you came here anyway."

With that said, he began telling me everything. How he had snapped when Gonta died, how he was planning an unsolvable murder, and how he was trying to end the game this whole time. He even said he lied to himself about enjoying the game. In reality, he hated murder and hated how we were forced to do it. That would explain why he broke down when he remembered being a Remnant.

While he talked, I could tell he was being honest about everything. Gonta died because of him, of course he would snap from the guilt. He really did want to end this game, just like we did.

I couldn't help but begin to cry. This whole time, we misjudged him. We all believed he was enjoying our suffering and hated him for it. We even believed he was the mastermind because he didn't like him. I was just as much at fault as everyone.

Kokichi brought his hand up and held my cheek. I just cried harder and pulled him into my chest, burying my face in his neck. I was going to be covered in blood, but I didn't care. The male rubbed my back. "It's okay. My plan required for you guys to hate me. I wasn't supposed to get attached either. But plans don't always go accordingly. Hell, I fell for you."

I sniffed and pulled away just enough to look the supreme leader in the face. He fell for me? As in, fell in love? Was that what this feeling was? Did I love him?

I smiled to myself. "Yeah. I guess I did too."

Kaito had finally come over and was kneeling next to me. He put a hand on my shoulder and smiled softly. "I should have trusted you from the start, Shuichi. Sorry for doubting you." "It's okay. I doubted myself for a bit. But if you've taught me anything, it's to go with my gut sometimes."

I looked back down at Kokichi, who had rested his head on my chest, but was not fully asleep. All this stress must have tired him out. At that moment, I knew exactly what we had to do. "Kokichi." He looked up at me with his eyelids half shut. "We're going to end this killing game and get out of here. Without any more death. I promise."

Kokichi smiled and nodded. "I trust you, Saihara-chan. I always will." As he laid his head on my chest again, snuggling into my warmth, I thought about what would happen if the plan worked. I wanted to be with Kokichi for the rest of my life. That's all I want right now. And with him by my side, I'm sure we'll end this whole thing.

I intend to keep my promise.