Shuichi was struggling to pull himself up off the ground as he assumed the near to fetal position, his legs crammed up against his chest with his arms wrapped around them. He looked a little like a hibernating animal.. apart from the key fact that he was shivering and shaking uncontrollably as if his muscles were inducing spasms one after another after another after another. He was as pale as a sheet, his once already pals skin replaced by one that was near to ghostlike.

dead_inside_tm dude. So perfect thank you for taking time out of your day to do this for me. It's marvellous. You nailed the perspective on this, which is actually pretty difficult to do. I just feel bad for Shuichi though.. agh I'm conflicted. Anyway go comment and follow and just enjoy the art. 

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Kokichi was at first a little confused by the other's actions, wanting to know whether he was just too cold or something along those lines. But as he slid off the bed, he noticed the face of his beloved absorbed engulfed by fear and terror. "Shuichi.. ah uhhmm, calm down!~ it'll be okay!" He was never good at this no matter how much he had tried and practiced. He had gotten better over time but that was definitely down to Shuichi's efforts. He had made him better. 

He himself was panicking because Shuichi was panicking and that began to vicious circle of panic as it went back and forth between the two, both attempting desperately to calm the other down all the while panicking themselves.

The panic circle went on for a few more moments before Kokichi completely gave in and just hugged Shuichi best he could, stroking his back in a calming way, "Jeez.. just calm it right now, that's an order! And you can't refuse an order from the Ultimate Supreme Leader!~"

The detective choked out a few sobs, but somehow managed to hold back the majority of his tears. They weren't tears of sadness or of joy for that matter.. if anything, they really didn't have any reason for being there. The more he thought about why he was crying, the more conclusions he made, which only make him cry further.

If he had died, there wouldn't be the availability of having a third chance at things, not like he would ever want one of those if he was given the opportunity. He could have died in that hallway, and bled out, his blood oozing out of the precise incision as if it was soy sauce; that reality wasn't one that he wanted to face up to, but for some reason he couldn't shake it from his mind.

It seemed so real in his mind, similar to an out of body experience. It rang familiar with if a player had got a 'bad ending' game and they were kicking and screaming that the main character got killed off from the rest of the cast prematurely.

This trance was shattered as he felt Kokichi's beautifully painted purple nails dig into his sides and what could have been a whisper reach out to him, "Shumai! Wakey wakey, you're crying.. comon tell me what's up, no excuses!"

His eyes fixed on Kokichi. He was real, wasn't he? Yes. Definitely. The heat of his body was too convincing for a robot or a figment of his own imagination. Sometimes, Shuichi thought that he could be clinically insane, suddenly thinking that he was trapped within some horrific and twisted work of fiction, dictated by someone tapping away absent mindedly on the keys of their computer. If he ever got out of here, he needed psychological help if thoughts the like that continued.

His mind was going into overdrive and despite his attempts, no matter what he did, he could not take control over his body.

That's when he realised. He was having a panic attack.

Kokichi jumped at the sight and went into his completely serious mode for the first time in such a while. It felt almost alien to him now, yet he had to go there. Panic attacks used to be his forte before he met Shuichi, so he knew everything about them like the back of his hand.

"Breathing!" He yelled out, quickly realising how stupid and sudden that sounded. "Concentrate on your.. breathing! Just count from like 3 to 18 or something, slowly right through your mouth. In through that nose and out of mouth nice and deep."

Shuichi rapidly nodded but failed anyway.

Kokichi put a stern hand on the detective's chin to redirect his gaze towards him. "Look at me and breathe, comon it's like the basics of being a human. Don't tell me you're a robot now~ But if you were, then it would answer one of the most important questions of all time, do robots have dicks?"

The detective laughed a little, but that only resulted on him coughing and making his breathing heavier and raspier.

"Oh crap, no, no.. okay, I won't make jokes anymore since I don't want you to die." He gestured his hands around before making an effort to calm the other down properly this time.

After a few failed attempts and a few more struggling gasps for breath, the liar finally was able to calm Shuichi down. It was clear by his body language that he didn't want to talk about the cause of it, and despite Kokichi's questions, the answer was simply a shake of the head or a too stern 'No'.

"Soo.. Shuichi, I know you don't wanna tell me but, pwetty pwease?~"

"We're not safe here," Shuichi was immediately thinking of back up plans and next steps, knowing from experience that dwelling on the past would only lead to discord. Kokichi had told him that a while ago, that if he kept dwelling on things, he would only torture himself and ultimately go insane.. there was no point dwelling on the past, "I have an idea, however I don't think you'll like it. It's a little stupid and a little risky, but I don't see another way."

The past had made him who he was, but it didn't define him in any way, shape or form. Same with Kokichi. He may never stop lying, but there was some trust now built into him that wasn't there before.

"Nishishi, I like it when you come up with silly ideas~" he smirked, taking the detective's hint and headed towards the door with a flourish. Shuichi opened the door instantly, then paced over to the room of the Astronaut's. The plan was stupid, but maybe it was so stupid that the cosplayer hadn't even thought of it.

He knocked. A loud voice was heard from inside before the door slammed open wide.

"Shuichi!" He greeted him with a wide smile before turning his attention to Kokichi who was also staying there, "..And Kokichi! What brings you two here? Not meaning to be rude but this is pretty out the blue, 'pessically how I reacted to you two, but if it's what you want, who am I to-"

WarmApples you guys either have really innocent names or really.. not. Just an observation I made lately. Anyway, art. PERFECTION. The positioning is perfect as are the just 'done with life' facial expressions. Ahaha, I love it. Go follow, comment and stwuff.

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The detective spoke with a reasonably neutral expression with no sign of second guessing himself, interrupting Kaito, "Tsumugi Shirogane, she is the mastermind. Get Kirumi and Maki into your dorm room and destroy all cameras, I'll help you with that."

"H-Huh?!" Information overload. One minute he was apologising and the next, this?! He couldn't really take it all in but mindlessly agreed anyway with only one question. "How'd you know and be so sure?"

Shuichi took a deep breath and spoke with words that really did catch Kokichi off guard this time. "I've lied to you Kaito and I'm sorry for that. I'm from the future, an alternate timeline if you will, where the game has already ended but only three people survived. Now can we please come inside?"

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The cosplayer was standing in her lab with a confused smile of elation plastered onto her face. Nanokumas must have been something that the detective had overlooked before; they were only in the open plan areas such as the kitchen and dorm entrance and could only be listened to live which was a pain at times. She had only caught the end of what Shuichi was saying but was lucky enough to have heard his little monologue about alternative timelines.

Now she knew the secrets of the character known as Shuichi Saihara. Team Danganronpa had promised her and the people of the outside world that this game would have a twist in it, but a redemption and second chance ark, that was unheard of. The audience must be getting a kick out of this.

What a shame that all the students still thought that this was real.