✧ Chapter 55 ✧
[ A Beautiful Lie ]
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[ Kokichi's PoV ]

"Ouma!" Kirumi rushed forward and suddenly embraced me into a hug. I froze, not expecting this sudden gesture. "Oh thank goodness you're alright.." she sighed as I slowly hugged back, surprised to feel myself turn red.

No one had ever been this happy to see me before.. "Hey mom, it's unusual for you to be so clingy.." I managed to say after I pulled away from her.

"Degenerate male.." Tenko greeted me with a small smile, as Himiko waved at me from behind her. Most of my classmates were here, amongst some other students I've seen around, but knew their names.

Tsumugi was here, holding up a roll of fabric with Gonta behind her. I was really surprised to see the blue haired girl, honestly. But then again, she was always a sucker for romance and loved to secretly ship people together.

"Shouldn't we be careful with him?" Komaru Naegi suggested as Toko stood beside her, wielding her electrical stun gun with clasped hands. The nerdy looking student seemed to be wearing a bandanna around her neck, much like mine. And I wondered what was it's purpose. After all, I believed in various purposes for different types of accessories.

"It's alright, Remnants," Komaeda held up his hands to settle everyone down. He was obviously one of the leaders of this place. "I've questioned him enough, and I can officially say that the Hospital has removed his memories."

"So can we.. lock him up? He's still dangerous.. him and his lies.." Himiko spoke up, dragging her words with the same speed as a sloth moves, "He could be lying about having his memories being removed.. but I have a spell we can use.. it could kill him but-."

I stepped back as Nagito shook his head, "No killing, remember, Himiko. Now everyone, do your usual jobs. And this time, please don't let Kirumi do it all by herself.." he looked around the place, making me realise that I have not even seen the state of the 'Hideout'.

The stone hallway we had exited from had opened up to reveal that the Hideout, appeared to be a cave. Yellow fairy lights were strung everywhere, making the pale grey rocks turn into beautiful hues of dark gold and yellow. Reminding me of a particular individual's eyes..

On the floor, there were empty drink crates everywhere. Some were broken in half, others were still intact or barely hanging by a few splinters. There were also different coloured bunk beds strewn everywhere and hammocks hanging with the help of some cleverly placed boxes.

This Hideout seemed to be a place where refugees went. Or people who needed a place to stay. Run down, and barely suitable for human habitation. But judging by the many white chalked tally-marks lining the walls... the occupants of this place must've been staying here for quite a long time.

"Ouma." I heard Keebo say my name, bringing me out of my thoughts. "You okay?"

Am I okay? I haven't heard those words in quite a long time. I smirked, "Well duh, except, I'm hungry.. I haven't had a thing to eat in ages and I swear, this time, I'm not lying."

"I'll bring you some food, Mr Ouma.. don't worry," Kirumi said seriously and wandered off. I realised that everyone seemed to be wearing a sort of necklace around their necks. It glowed with faint blue light, it's surface reflected with rainbow colours. Hey.. that reminded me of that time where Monokuma announced.. Miss Chisa's death..

My heart pained slightly, but I brushed the feeling away. Wait- how did I remember that? I frowned, looking at the palm of my hand. Hmm..

"Komaeda!" I flinched as soon as that vaguely familiar voice called out. I turned, half expecting to see annoying Piano Freak but instead, was greeted by a girl with long lavender coloured hair and almost the same shade of eye colour. She had on a open black jacket over a white shirt, with a layered skirt and black boots.

"What is it, Kirigiri?" the albino asked, worry on his face as the girl whispered something to him. The two exchanged glances and ran off without another word. I watched as they walked off to a slightly opened doorway, which was left open carelessly.

"Oooh, a open doorway?" I whispered to Keebo, who was playing with a fidget cube, "It's practically inviting me in!"

"Judging by the looks on both Nagito's and Kirigiri's faces, something serious must be going on.. I don't think we should be eavesdropping, Ouma.."

I waved a hand absentmindedly and ran off to follow the pair. Behind me, I heard Keebo mutter to himself and judging by the sounds of his footsteps behind, he was following along. It's a good thing too, since if I got caught, I'd use him as an excuse. Just kidding, I'm not that evil..

Making sure that no other Remnant was watching us, I cracked the door open slightly and slipped into the room. "C'mon you big oaf!" I whispered to Keebo, who rolled his eyes. "I know I may be slightly chubby, but-."

"Shhh!" I swatted at his arm to shut him up, creeping into the hallway. The corridor was lit by a single light bulb, casting shadows across the hall. The layout was similar to the outside, but scraps of yellowed papers were pinned to the walls along with drawings of complicated machines. There were blueprints scribbled alongside the minuscule handwriting as well.

But two words at the end of each paper seemed to be repeated over and over again: 'Regain Serum.'

"The heck?" I whispered to Keebo, who was analysing the walls as well. "Sounds like some crazy psycho.."

Keebo nodded silently in agreement as we followed Nagito and Kirigiri. The place soon started to look tidier the deeper we explored into the space. Whiter, neater stacks of papers, a mug of coffee sitting on a shelf along with what seemed to be a digital camera.

Nagito and Kirigiri stood before a brown haired teenager, who seemed to be bandaging his own arm rather clumsily. "What happened?" I heard Nagito whisper to the stranger as Keebo and I hid behind a large crate of objects. Lucky for us, we were able to hear their conversation despite the distance..

"Kamukura, of course.." he replied sullenly as I watched Nagito take the roll from him and help. "It's fine, Ko. I can handle this on my own."

"You just got your arm stabbed by Kamukura, Hinata-kun!"

Hajime Hinata? Oh, that explains it..

There was a pause as the brown haired student sighed, letting Komaeda handle it. From the way he was acting, this Hajime guy seemed to be a stubborn kind of person..

"Anyway, I called you two in because.. I.. failed to save the other Mastermind.. Maki Harukawa is currently missing along with him. Kamukura retreated, and there seems to be another person we have to track down as well. Kaito Momota."

"What are we waiting for?" The cool tone of Kirigiri's spoke up. The girl always had a voice of a leader, with a gifted ability to make everyone drop what they were doing and immediately listen to her.

Kinda like me, since a Supreme Leader needed to have a strong voice like that. "Surely we can find the three without too much trouble-."

"It's risky now that Kamukura knows we're around the premises." Footsteps echoed throughout the room indicated that Hajime must be pacing around. "It's not safe staying underground like this. So I propose we have to gather everyone who wants to fight, and get that other Mastermind back.. there's safety in numbers."

"Hopefully," Komaeda spoke up, his voice light and slightly breathless, though I wondered why, "Shuichi Saihara has enough sense to not reveal the secret of the serums. With Ouma's memories gone once more.. he would not be much help would he?"

Not much help? How insulting..

Before Keebo could stop me, I moved the box away, making it fall with a loud crash. But of course, that was intentional. I pushed myself off the floor and faced the three taller people. "Excuse me?"

I expected them to flinch, or jump with shock, but they didn't even seem surprised. "I should've known." Kirigiri murmured as Nagito eyed me from behind the lenses of his glasses.

"This is a private matter, Kokichi.. leave."

"Awww come on!" I whined, plastering a devilish smile on my face as the trio exchanged looks, "Don't be like that, this concerns me too, you know! I'm willing to do whatever it takes to solve this awesome mystery!"

"That's definitely a lie," Nagito countered so quickly, I felt slightly hurt. Huh. I wasn't even lying. I spread my arms, grinning.

""What makes you say that, fluffy head? Don't trust a liar like me? That's good! But first things first, I wasn't lying, so don't jump to conclusions!

Include me in this little plan of yours," I continued, "And together, we can find the true Mastermind behind this and shut it all down!"

"You still don't get it do you?" Hajime's low voice interrupted my speech, his left eye momentarily turning a deep shade of crimson. "You're the Mastermind, you and Shuichi Saihara. You're still in denial."

I smirked at him, "No I'm not in denial, I'm just planning ahead. All I'm saying is that we have to stop the one true Mastermind behind this.." with that said, I pointed right at a poster I noticed earlier.

"He's right," Kirigiri sighed, looking at the poster of Junko with distaste, "She's a manipulator, a schemer and she's very much dead. However, she's also alive in the eyes of the Traitors. If they get their hands on the two most important serums, despair will reign again."

"Which is why we can't let them win!" Keebo announced, pushing up his green-tinted glasses, "They took Love away from us.. and now we have to get it back."

I couldn't help but laugh at how corny that sounded, "Is that the best you can come up with Keeboy?" I teased as Hajime sighed, "Let's just get to the point. We will take everyone willing to fight, and head over to save Saihara, Harukawa and Momota."

"Nuh uh." I held up my hand to stop Nagito from nodding, "Wont too big of an army attract attention? Why not a small group? Doesn't that sound logical?"

Hajime shot me a look of skepticism, "I suppose.." Man, his eyes were unnerving.. "I'll take Izuru again," he continued before anyone could object, "His fighting skills.. is too much for anyone to handle."

"Right, show off," Nagito smirked, holding the brown haired boy's hand with his own, "But you're injured aren't you?"

"I'm fine, Komaeda, just get the others." the tightness of his voice made me realise he was lying.. but apparently, the others didn't realise. He then glanced at me, as if reading my thoughts.

However, I faced him head on, looking right into his emotionless eyes. A flicker of worry flashed across them for a moment.

"The rest of you can go on outside," I suggested to Nagito, Kirigiri and Keebo, "I need to talk to Hajime Hinata here."

Keebo hesitated, but he seemed to understand. Both Kirigiri and Keebo left, except Mr. Fluffy Head, who crossed his arms. "If it concerns Hinata-kun, I'm staying in here." he muttered stubbornly as Hajime seemed to hold back a flinch which caught my attention.

"It's alright Ko.. I promise." he smiled wearily, reaching over and kissing the albino on the lips. I should have given them some privacy, but I found myself thinking about Shuichi- I could feel my face heating up- jeez..

"Now just let me talk to him, alright?" the crimson eyed male smiled reassuringly, holding Nagito's hand before letting it slip out of his grip. The white haired boy sighed, before reluctantly leaving Hajime and I alone. I faced the stranger before me, thinking of ways to begin what I wanted to say..

"What do you need to talk about?" Hajime asked, sitting on a black stool, leaning forward. Even though he was dressed so simply, he radiated a sense of calmness and I felt inclined to tell him everything I knew. I didn't know him.. and yet, I did.

"You're holding something back, aren't you?" I decided to ask cautiously, making him advert his eyes. No eye contact.

"I suppose it's no use lying to you. Nothing seems to escape your sight does it?" he chuckled. Avoiding the question.

"Answer the question. What's wrong with you?" I demanded, folding my arms behind my back and putting on a wide smile. "C'mon! You can tell me anything. I won't tell a soul."

Hajime glanced at me, as I showed him the most trustable expression I could muster. "Fine," he muttered after a silence. His eyes flickered from green to red for a bit, as if he were collecting his thoughts, or as if he were confused. "I was fighting Kamukura back at the Hospital. And.."

I tilted my head, watching as he pulled a small syringe from his back pocket. It was empty, but it seemed to have held pink liquid at some point. "..." My eyes darted up to look at Hajime's empty expression.

"When we fought, he injected me with the Reverse Serum.." Hajime admitted, his fingers tightening around the syringe, "And now.." he glared at the floor, "I won't remember Komaeda."

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Okay, now that was bad news. And even worse, I didn't know how to react to news like that. I couldn't say: 'Oh, get well soon.' Like, what kind of jerk would do that?

I shifted my weight from foot to foot as Hajime ran a hand through his hair before sighing once more, "I suppose it was fate. Komaeda and I lost each other once, and now I'm going to lose him again."

I wasn't going to leave him like this.. sure, he may look all serious and impolite (ish). I don't see why Komaeda likes him, however, I could tell that this weird brunet guy loved that weird albino a lot. Heck, he even brought Fluffy Hair back from the dead with the Revival Serum.

A small table in the corner caught my attention, making me walk overt examine it, "..." Picking up a small glass test tube, I noticed the initials: "S.K." taped to the side with white masking tape.

"Hey Tsun Tsun hair," I smirked at Hajime, who looked up with mild annoyance, as if he were offended by the nickname, "What if I told you I can try to regain your memories?"

A total lie, since I didn't know what the recipe of the Regain Serum was. Heck, I cant remember anything. But things were at stake here. The least I could do was give Hajime a bit of hope..

Damn it Past Ouma, why do you have to make things so complicated?

♥ End of Chapter Fifty-Five ♥