Kokichi leaped through the door and slid against the tile floor swiftly. “I made it!” he exclaimed.

“You still have, like a minute, Kokichi,” Himiko informed him. “You didn’t have to rush.”

“You could’ve taken all the time you wanted,” Maki said. “You could take ten minutes, and you’d be marked tardy and receive a punishment.”

“Maki,” Kaito said, “chill.”

Maki just shrugged and looked away from Kokichi.

“Wow, what a friendly welcoming to my entrance,” Kokichi said sarcastically, giving them one of his strange grins.

“Is Kaede in here?” a familiar, out-of-breath voice said.

Kokichi turned toward the doorway and saw Shuichi in the doorway, bent forward, his hands on his knees, and he was panting. He obviously ran here as fast as he could.

“What do you want, Shuichi?” Kaede scoffed in a snotty tone.

“Oooooooooooooh!” Kaito exclaimed like a child.

“Stop it, Kaito,” Kaede demanded.

Sheez, Kokichi said internally, Kaede's been pretty crabby ever since her fight with Shuichi.

“Kaede…” Shuichi sputtered. “I need...to talk...to you.”

“Then sit,” Kaede said, motioning at the desk next to her.

Shuichi sat down, then the class bell rang.

Kokichi quickly ran and jumped into his seat.

The teacher entered the room, holding a stack of papers.

“I've finally graded all of your papers,” she said. “When I call out your name, come and retrieve your paper.”

She started spitting out student names. “Himiko...Kaito, Shuichi...Tsumugi...Kaede... Kokichi, Tenko…”

When Kokichi heard his name, he quickly stood up and got his paper. He was expecting an average grade. Nothing too outstanding, but not bad.

“Sweet, I got a B!” he heard Tsumugi Shirogane exclaim.

“Nyeh, I got a C+...” Himiko muttered.

“Don't feel bad,” Tenko Chabashira said, leaning over Himiko’s desk, “I got a D.”

“How can you laugh at that?” Himiko asked, somewhat shocked.

“My parents don't care if my grades are good,” Tenko answered. “As long as I don't get an F, they're cool. And Tenko doesn’t fail!”

Kokichi slowly flipped over his paper, feeling his heart beat quicker, worried about what he was going to see.

It was a solid F.

Kokichi's eyes widened in terror. “An F?!” he muttered to himself. He began to cry. He had no parents to hold the failure over his head, but he still hated to get bad grades.

He took out his pencil, closed the loop on the F and added another so it looked like a B. It was obviously fake, though.

He looked behind him and saw Kaede had a smile on her face. She and Shuichi must've made up.

“Yay, I got an A!” Kaede exclaimed, her arm around Shuichi.

“Me too!” Shuichi replied.

“I-I got a B,” Kokichi murmured.

Tenko glanced over at Kokichi, walked over to his desk and took his paper out of his hands.

“T-Tenko, what are you doing?” Kokichi asked.

Tenko rubbed her finger on the B and some pencil lead came off on her finger. “Aha!” she exclaimed. She grabbed an eraser and rubbed it all over the B until the faux pencil marks were gone and Kokichi's true grade was revealed.

“An F!” she shouted. “I knew a male such as you--” she pointed directly at Kokichi and annunciated the word “you,” “--couldn’t possibly get a B on a paper such as this.”

“You failed, Kokichi?” Maki asked.

“N-no!” Kokichi lied, ripping his paper out of Tenko’s hands.

“I could hear Tenko,” Maki said. “Typical.”

“What's typical?” Kokichi asked.

“You failed the paper,” Maki said.

“Maki Roll…” Kaito warned.

Maki ignored him. “You fail everything else that you do…” she continued.

“Maki, stop…” Shuichi pleaded.

Kokichi felt the tears well up in his eyes quicker.

“...so of course you'd fail this silly little paper,” Maki continued, ignoring Shuichi. “I'd be surprised if you got an F+.” She smiled. “Another fail. Looks like your life isn't going anywhere, Kokichi. Want my help with that? I could end this suffering for you--”

Kaito quickly placed his hand gently over Maki's mouth. “That's enough, Maki,” he said.

Kokichi stood up from his desk, letting his hair droop over his face. He walked over to the teacher’s desk. “May I be excused from class momentarily?” he asked politely.

“You may,” she replied.

Kokichi burst out the door, sat on the ground next to the door, and began sobbing.

It was the hardest he had ever cried in a long time.

…

Shuichi grew worried about Kokichi. He left the classroom twenty minutes ago, and still had yet to return.

“Did you realize how long Kokichi's been gone?” he asked Kaede.

“He left?” Kaede asked. “I never noticed.”

She didn't sound sarcastic, which confused Shuichi.

He rose his hand in the air. “Erm...excuse me,” he said.

The teacher turned to him. “Yes, Saihara?” she said.

“May I go use the restroom?” he asked politely.

The teacher simply nodded and then continued the lesson.

Shuichi stood up from his desk and exited the classroom.

He looked down at the floor and saw a hand.

His eyes followed the arm that the hand was attached to and saw Kokichi sitting against the wall, next to the classroom.

Shuichi walked in front of Kokichi and knelt down on the ground and looked at him. The ends if Kokichi's hair was wet, his eyes were closed, and his face looked drenched.

Shuichi gently touched Kokichi's face, and it felt sticky, as if he had been crying.

But Kokichi was strangely...sleeping.

“No turning back from this now…” Kokichi mumbled slowly in his sleep. “I'm prepared...lower it, Kaito…”

Shuichi was confused. Is Kokichi having a nightmare…? he asked himself. Is it that... Danganronpa thing again?

Kokichi suddenly screamed. It was a scream resemblant to one of someone in excruciating pain.

Shuichi covered Kokichi's mouth out of instinct and grew more worried about him.

Kokichi snapped awake. His eyes were red and puffy. He must've been crying a lot. He was breathing heavily.

“Ko-Kokichi…” Shuichi stuttered. “Are you okay?”

“I just died, Shuichi,” he replied. “In the sequence...I just died…”

“Oh no! What happened?”

“Kaito shot me in the arm with a crossbow. Then Maki burst in and shot me in the back with a poison arrow. She went to shoot me with another, but Kaito blocked it and it hit him. Blah blah blah, antidote was given to Kaito and all that, but I took his jacket, put it in a hydraulic press, I got into it, and I got crushed. Right as I got squeezed by it, I felt the pain, which made me scream, and it awoke me. I think it means the nightmares are over, but...help me, Shuichi! This...this is torture! It's not just in my nightmares where everyone is hurting me. It's real life, too! And I never did anything to anyone! Please...help me...Shuichi…

“Everyone laughs at me for screwing up. Even without boundaries to cross, I still cross them and make mistakes. People are sadistic when it comes to me. They enjoy my suffering. They adore my pain.” A painful smile formed on Kokichi's face. “They want me to have pain? Mentally, they already give me. Physically, I have that, too.” Kokichi rolled up both sleeves. On one arm, it was decorated in bruises and scars from getting beat up. On the other arm, scars from self-harm.

“Look at me, Shuichi,” Kokichi muttered. “I'm in intense pain. I'm suffering. I feel like I may die. You...you're the only peace for me. You make me happy, Shuichi. Please, help me.” Kokichi rolled down his sleeves and wrapped his arms around Shuichi.

“Save me from what may come,” he whispered.

Kokichi quickly let go. “Ahaha, I got ahead of myself there,” he said, smiling. “Sorry if I worried ya, Shuichi.”

“Wh-what?” Shuichi sputtered.

Kokichi shook his head. “I need your help, Shuichi,” he said, but he seemed to be talking about something else. “Love me, Shuichi. Save me from the abyss. Leave Kaede. Take me, Shuichi. I love you.”

Shuichi scratched his head in confusion. Has Kokichi gone mad? he pondered. “Woah, woah, what happened to this Danganronpa nonsense you were crying about?”

“Danganronpa what?” Kokichi asked. Then his eyes rolled up and then they closed.

Shuichi heard soft snoring. Kokichi had fallen asleep again.

Poor Kokichi, Shuichi said in his head. He lifted up Kokichi and carried him over his shoulder. He opened the classroom door.

“I found Kokichi,” he said.

…

Kokichi awoke to the sound of the class bell ringing, his face against his desk.

His head jerked up. “Uh, the answer is 57.2!” he shouted.

“Kokichi, class is over,” Shuichi said. “And we’re not even in math.”

Kokichi rubbed his eye and looked down at his desk. He saw his failed paper in front of him and he suddenly remembered.

He stuffed the paper into his letter bag, stood up, and ran to the teacher. “Um...is there any way I can retake the paper?” he asked her.

“No, Kokichi,” his teacher replied. “It’s a final grade. Nothing can be done, Kokichi. Now, move along to your next class.

Kokichi sulked out of class, his head down.

He felt a poke at his shoulder behind him.

He turned around and saw Maki. She grinned. “I hope you outlive all of your relatives,” she said.

Kokichi felt tears in his eyes, but he smiled. “Joke’s on you, I already have,” he said.

As Kokichi walked away, Maki stared at him, a look in her eyes she had never had before when looking at him.

She felt just a little bit sorry for him.

Kokichi continued his journey to his second class and hid his face from everyone.

Suddenly his “death” and those “hurtful words spoken to him by Shuichi” resonated in his mind. He continuously told himself, It was just a dream, it was just a dream, it was just a dream… but nothing would sedate him. He could feel a twinge of pain from the “press” as he dreamt it and it lingered in his mind. It was just a dream, it never happened to me… he reminded himself. Why am I suffering like this? What have I done wrong?

He suddenly sunk down to his knees in a loud thump.

The entire hallway turned to him and gasped.

“Kokichi…?” he heard a few familiar voices whisper somewhat cacophonously.

He felt his vision fading and his breath get heavier.

Some students stepped closer to Kokichi, closing the circle around him more. They felt as if they should help, but they didn’t know what to do.

“Kokichi!” Shuichi’s voice called from the crowd.

Kokichi looked up and through his fading sight, he saw Shuichi jumping up and down, trying to make his way to Kokichi.

“What do we do…? Kaede asked, her face turning blue.

“I don’t know…” Kirumi muttered in response.

Rantaro took action and quickly scooped up Kokichi. “Let’s rush him to the nurse’s office,” he said, a look of determination in his eyes. He turned around and ran towards the direction of the nurse’s office. “Today I am Runtaro!” Rantaro shouted, and he sped up.

Kaede, Kirumi, Kaito, Gonta, and Miu ran after him.

Kokichi felt his consciousness slip away, and suddenly everything went dark.

...

“What is the meaning of this?” Kiibo exclaimed, following them.

“Something happened to Kokichi!” Rantaro answered, continuing to run.

“You should not be running in the halls! Someone may get hurt!” Kiibo warned him.

“Look, Kiibo,” Kirumi began, “we need to get to the nurse’s office as quick as we can. We have no idea what happened, but I don’t know if we want to find out.”

“Fine, but I am going to stick with you guys,” Kiibo replied, caving in, and he began to run with them.

“G...guys!” Shuichi called from a distance, out of breath, “w...wait for...me...!” He ran after them.

Nobody heard him shouting.

“I...I know what...happened to him…! If...if you just...wait for me...I’ll tell you!”

Still, nobody acknowledged Shuichi, and they continued to run.

Shuichi grew impatient. He inhaled heavily, then sprinted down the hall. He felt light-headed, as he was out of breath, but he had to get there quickly. Even if he passed out, he’d still make it there.

The office door closed behind the others, and Shuichi quickly reopened it and dramatically leaped through the door and ran after the others more.

The momentum caused him to run into Kaede.

Kaede jerked around. “Oh...Shuichi!” she said. “When did you get here?”

Shuichi held up his index finger to signify he’d answer in a moment. He panted heavily, extremely exhausted. “I...j...ust...got...h...here…” he whispered. “I...ran...so...so fast...I’m...out...of b...breath…where’s...Ko...kichi…?”

“In there,” Rantaro responded, pointing at the door they were standing in front of.

“I...I know...what happened...to him,” Shuichi said.

“What happened?” everyone else in the office exclaimed at the same time.

“Kokichi...he has these nightmares...with all of us...in this weird game where...we have to kill each other...some messed up stuff happens in those dreams...I think the game is called...what, Danganronpa or something? Some things that happened really scared him...something in it scared him so much...it wouldn’t leave his head...and he freaked out so much he fainted...so, no worries...Kokichi is okay. Just fainted.”

A large sigh of relief came from everyone.

“Thank goodness!” Kirumi exclaimed.

“So, Kokichi is okay?” Kiibo asked.

“He should be fine,” Shuichi answered, having regained more of his energy. He walked over to the nurse’s office door and knocked.

The nurse came over and opened it. “Hello,” she said.

“Is Kokichi Oma in here?” Shuichi asked her.

“Why, yes,” the nurse responded. She motioned toward a door inside the office. “He is resting in here. I’m not exactly sure what happened to him. By any chance do you know?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Shuichi responded. “Kokichi has these terrible nightmares that are connected. Something occured in one that scared him so bad, it wouldn’t leave his mind. It scared him so much, he fainted.”

The nurse delicately nodded. “Thank you,” she said, and she stepped out of the way so Shuichi could enter.

Shuichi quietly walked into the nurse’s office and opened the room door. He saw Kokichi, barely conscious, on the bed. He had white adhesive wrapped around his knee, and there was a small pink circle. He must’ve hit his knee on the floor hard enough to make it bleed.

Shuichi sighed and walked over to the side of the bed and stared at Kokichi. He looked half-peaceful, half in-pain.

Poor Kokichi, Shuichi thought. He must be in so much pain right now.  I’d hate to have nightmares like that, watching all my friends die in front of me. Well, they should be over for him, at least, now, since he died. Sheesh. Crushed in a hydraulic press. What a brutal way to go. Well, at least it wasn’t real. Oh, man, if it was real…

Shuichi put his hand on the side of Kokichi’s face and felt something wet on his cheek. He was crying again, Shuichi realized. Wow, Kokichi keeps a lot bottled up. He’s normally so...upbeat and happy. Always has a big smile on his face, always willing to talk to everyone, always so happy to see me, Kaede, Rantaro, everyone. And he loves to lie, then reveal it was a lie right afterward, and occasionally contradict his previous statement and make me wonder if it was ever a lie in the first place. He loves jokes, and making people laugh. He’s probably one of the happiest people I’ve ever met.

But, in reality, he’s not the happy, cheerful, joking person he appears to be. He actually seems to not normally be happy, unless he’s around someone else, and his smiles must be fake. He’s been crying a lot lately. He’s been occasionally expressing his feelings to me, and telling me he’s suffering, and constantly asking for help. I don’t know how to help him, though. I want to, but I don’t know how.

He also...apparently has had a crush on me for the past couple of years?

I don’t know how I feel about that exactly.

I love Kaede, I think. But...who knows? I may be wrong. What if I...have the same feelings? Is that why I’m always so flustered by his silly “romantic gestures” and why I say the things I do?

No. No way. I can’t possibly love him.

Besides, even if I do, what would I say to Kaede?

...

Kokichi’s eyes slowly opened. He saw Shuichi standing in front of him. His eyes quickly widened and he sat up, causing Shuichi to remove his hand from his face. “Oh, hi, Shuichi,” he said. “What happened? Why am I in the nurse’s office?”

“You fainted,” Shuichi responded.

“Why are you in here with me?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Kokichi stared into Shuichi’s eyes and felt a small smile, but also tears. It’s nice to know you care, he said internally, but I know you don’t care that way, the way I care about you. If only I could be with you, Shuichi. But, people like you don’t love people like me. And besides, you deserve better than me, anyway. I love you...so much, Shuichi, but I don't deserve you. The odds of you actually returning my affection is one in a million. You go ahead and stick with Kaede. She's a way better partner for you than me.

“Something wrong, Kokichi?” Shuichi asked. “You look upset.”

Kokichi smiled. “Oh, it's nothin’,” he lied. “Nothin’ important.”

“You're thinking about me, aren't you?” Shuichi guessed.

Kokichi stared at the floor. “Bingo,” he sighed.

The door opened. Kokichi's and Shuichi's heads turned toward the door and they saw Kiibo.

“How are you two doing in here?” he asked. “The others are concerned for Kokichi. Should I tell them he is okay?”

“I'm perfectly fine, Kiiboy,”  Kokichi said, giving a thumbs-up. “Physically, anyway.”

“We are happy you are feeling well, Kokichi,” Kiibo said, smiling slightly. “We don't want you to get hurt.”

He began to exit the doorway, then popped back in. “Hold on, what do you mean that you are only physically okay?”

Shuichi walked over to the door and grabbed the knob. “Forgive me for this, Kiibo,” he said, and he closed the door on the robot.

“Wh-why did you...do that?” Kokichi asked, rubbing his head.

“I know you didn't want to answer Kiibo’s question,” Shuichi replied. “You don't want to tell anyone about this.”

“Actually, Miu fought it out of me.”

“Huh?”

“Miu wore me down until I told her. So, she also knows. But she promised not to judge me or tell anyone else.”

“So, only Miu and I know?”

“Ding-ding-ding. Right you are, Mister Ultimate Detective.”

Shuichi walked back over to Kokichi.

Kokichi spontaneously grabbed Shuichi's hand. “Shuichi, I have a question to ask you,” he said.

Shuichi's face turned a light shade of red at Kokichi's touch. “No, I will not marry you, Kokichi.”

Kokichi laughed. “No, not that kind of question, silly!” he said. Then he became more serious. “I wanted to ask...if my feelings for you are...by any chance returned now? I mean, since you seem to be hanging out with me more, and you talk to me more, and your face turns red every time I touch you. Do you...like me back, Shuichi? And be honest.”

Shuichi squeezed his eyes shut. “I...don't know,” he admitted. “I'm sorry, Kokichi, but whether I like-like you or not is a current mystery. And besides, even if I do, I love Kaede, and I'm with her.”

Kokichi let go of Shuichi's hand. “Ah,” he said. Then he smiled. “It's okay. I understand.”

Shuichi nodded and turned around to exit the room.

Kokichi smirked and said one last thing to Shuichi before he stepped out the door.

“You know, Shuichi, as an expert liar, I can always see through lies. Nice try, Ultimate Detective.”