He removed the letter from the envelope and reached the next piece of paper, neatly entitled: 'Trustworthy," and read down the extremely short list.

Unfortunately for him, there was only one name on that list. And that name was Maki Harukawa, the ultimate child caregiver.. or so she told everyone. It was pretty obvious to Kokichi that Maki wasn't really the Ultimate childcare giver. Her attitude, her general demeanour, they all pointed to something else more malicious than she was first gave the impression of.

She was a liar as much as he was. Maybe not in the action of messing with people, but a liar is judged on how often they lie, and how large or damaging the lie is. Maki had been lying since the start of the game about her entire talent.. and personality as a secondary effect of the lie.

Plus.. after their fight before where she had effectively blamed him for Shuichi's death, he didn't have a single positive or nice word to say to her.

Yet still.. she was the only name on the list, so Shuichi hadn't given him any other alternatives whatsoever. Unfortunately, Maki was the only person who could help him locate the mastermind and make them pay for everything they had ever done and regret that they were ever born in the first place.

Kokichi started to tidy everything away, back in the original places, when he discovered another letter; of course. Maki's version of the letter. The temptation to open it was nearly overwhelming, he nearly gave in but managed to stuff the letter into his pocket before he gave in to his almost jealous temptations.

~

As soon as he stepped out of the room, the huge wave of paranoia finally set in, like a driving force striking into his very skull. This must have been what Shuichi had felt like every single minute, of every single day he was walking around and living.. That thought was enough to make a freezing chill flow through his spine, as quick and as severe as lightning.

_Sophah drew this amazing comic. Can you believe that this entire thing took just under three days?! The text, the drawings.. everything is extremely well done and professional! I love their choice of colours and expressions, especially the close up ones of Kokichi.. it shows him doubting himself! Please follow them!

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There were the odd students around.. but Kokichi knew that he had to move around quickly, one, because there hadn't been a body discovery announcement yet, and two, the mastermind. Whoever they were.. they had been incredibly discreet, almost invisible.. Meaning that they had to be almost hidden into the background.. or extremely outgoing. Nevertheless, he kept moving; if he stopped or paused for a minute, they could spring an attack on him.

He had to stay alive for Shuichi.

Kokichi took advantage of his childish staure and personality, managing to dodge and tease everyone who he came across, until he either escaped away from them, or they walked away from him themselves. The liar didn't have any time to waste on the artist, the robot or the cosplayer, so he pretty much blanked them and moved on his way, struggling to maintain the crooked smirk that he always wore.. although that smile wasn't completely fake anymore. That smile symbolised the need for revenge, the unhuman craving to see the person who made Shuichi fall, pay with their life.

The intent was almost murderous.. yet he couldn't do it. What would Shuichi feel towards him if he killed someone innocent accidentally.. or if he actually killed the mastermind.. would he look at him in disgust or in sincerity.. congratulation or loathing .. would the love that he had for him, that he was completely sure that Shuichi had for him.. disappear within seconds?

He shook his head and focused onto keeping his act up as he giddily skipped towards the hospital room, slipping through the door as subtly as he could, making sure that no one was following.

Almost as soon as he stepped through the door, he felt a pair of harsh eyes meet his own, along with a knife against his neck.. yet he didn't flinch. He was more than used to Maki's way of doing things by now, not to even be surprised when she wielded the deadly weapon. "Is this how you treat all those kids you look after?~ Personally, I prefer sweets."

He exhaled sharply, snapping the knife back down to her side, slipping it into the top of her thigh high red socks, then walking swiftly away from him, to the complete other side of the room. "You're wasting my time. What do you want?"

He rummaged around is his pockets before throwing her letter onto the floor. "My Shuichi left you a letter, don't know why though. If ya want it, it's there on the floor."

Maki eyed the letter and quickly swiped it up from the floor, opening it with her nails with expert precision. Kokichi watched closely as he eyes scanned down the letter, grimacing as he spied her face starting to soften.

There were three minutes of painful silence before she spoke again, but it wasn't what Kokichi was expecting to hear. "How many letters were there? Was it just this one, or were there more?"

His reply was instant, crossing his arms as he spoke. "Mine was first, then yours, I guess, but they were the only two."

"Are you sure you checked thoroughly? I do not want you to of done a half assed job and missed something crucial. Not like I wouldn't expect it from you, Kokichi." Maki's voice was a low but harsh scowl, as she began to reach for her knife once again.

That was it; Kokichi couldn't and was not going to hold back. "Yes, I'm fucking sure I checked. Not like you did anything," he began to walk towards her, a revenge filled smile carved into his face, ",cuz you've just been sitting here watching over a boy you can never have for yourself. He loves me, and will never love you.. ever."

She grimaced, her stare on Kokichi hardening with frustration. Her hand was still on the knife, but other than that, she seemed to have control over her actions, and hadn't done anything reckless or unplanned yet. "I don't have time for your attempts at insulting me. But the letter did include some hints towards the mastermind, did yours?"

Kokichi put his hands behind his head with a yawn, "Duh, of course, I'll figure it out on my own~ I don't need your help!"

"Stubborn. As much as I hate this, in the letter, apparently you're the only person I can trust, so you don't have a choice." She walked swiftly to the corner of the room and picked up her monopad, then handed it over to Kokichi. He was obviously confused, yet took it anyway, "Uhh, why are you giving me this?" The liar looked down to set his eyes upon a list of students names, some being crossed out.

"Let's work together to find the mastermind, to put an end to this game. If you'd rather work on your own, you know that you'd have less of a chance." She looked him up and down, huffing in anticipation.

Kokichi knew that he didn't have much of a choice if he wanted to kill the mastermind; to get his final revenge. But with Maki, as much as he hated the idea, working together would give him the best shot.

"I'll take you up on that offer~ For Shuichi."

She nodded and paced over to him. Now, the final plans were finally in motion, the final chess pieces had been placed.. the final game was afoot.  

An assassin and a liar working together for a beloved detective they both shared against a horrifying and malicious mastermind.  

neoncoloredvomit :Instagram did this amazing art. Everything stands out perfectly, especially the crosses on the dead student's faces.. it looks simply mysterious which totally fits what this scene is! So please, please go follow them on insta! The rest of their artwork is really really good!

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