✧ Chapter 35 ✧
[ Enduring All the Pain ]
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Kokichi was sitting in the garden, glumly staring at a piece of paper in his hand. He sighed, twirling a pencil around with his finger. What was the best way to confess to Shuichi? Seriously. Was he really worth the risk? Hell yeah. Anyway, the purple haired boy knew that the detective was attending some extra lessons, and Keebo was in the dorm room, trying his best to control the mess in there. It's.. probably the popcorn machine's fault. Probably.

Kokichi  yawned, scratching his left arm and placing the blue pencil behind his ear. Above him were the branches of a tree he thought was rather pretty. It bloomed with pale yellow and red flowers, which occasionally drifted down to land on the soft green grass.

Kokichi swung his legs, kicking at the dirt. In front of him was a pool of water, allowing him to stare at his reflection easily. He saw a teenager, long, curled out purple hair almost touching his shoulders and dark purple eyes. With his usual checkered bandanna and school uniform, he looked slightly messy.

He sighed, reaching up to pull his hair together and held out a rubber band with his other hand. He's never learnt to tie his hair before, but after five tries, he managed. He recalled the time when he was living with his foster family, before he ran away from home to form DICE.

No one taught him much. So he had to learn it all by himself. His family wasn't abusive or anything. It was just empty, for fear of getting arrested. He remembered the forced smiles and the fake laughter. The loneliness and the darkness. The fear and the guilt.

Kokichi gazed down at the pond, this time, seeing a teenager with his hair tied back. He looked ridiculous, but he kinda liked it too. His hair was obviously messy, since he didn't brush it. Kokichi sighed, running a hand through his hair as he continued to look at his reflection.

"I didn't expect you to be the narssistic type."

A new voice startled him, but he chose not to show it. Kokichi glanced behind him to see Kaede standing there, a smile on her face. He felt slightly disappointed that it wasn't Saihara, but he pulled out the rubber band. Ouch.

"What do you want, Akamatsu-chan?" he twirled the accessory around, "Wanna play a game? Sorry to disappoint ya, but those are reserved for Saihara-chan." he grinned.

Kaede just gave him a small chuckle, "I just wanted to talk. About both of you, actually."

Kokichi's enthusiasm shifted to mild curiosity. "Hmm? What do you wanna know? Talking to a liar like me isn't really going to help, ya know."

Kaede nodded, her smile fading slightly, "Yeah, I kind of knew you'd say that. It's about your.. admiration for Saihara. Save for a better word." Kokichi raised an eyebrow, suspicion creeping into his mind, "What do you mean? I don't like him." he lied.

"It's pretty obvious. After all, I'm his best friend," she told him, "Look, all I want to do is to protect you. Both of you." she added. "I don't know what I'd do if.. you and Shuichi get taken away."

Kokichi felt suspicious as Kaede continued to look at him with her light purple eyes. "Whatever are you talking about, Piano Freak?" he scoffed, "Saihara and I are just.. friends." he forced out.

Ugh, he just friendzoned himself.

"You hesitated there," she laughed, "It's alright if you don't want to talk about it. Besides, I don't want you thinking that I'm the traitor you're looking for."

"You're not?" he asked with a small smirk, "I'd peg you as the traitorous type, you see. Offence included."

Kaede gave him a sad smile, "Do you really think so? Then you've got that wrong, Ouma. Friendship.. it's important to me. So I assure you, I'm not a traitor."

"Then who is it?" Kokichi blurted out, folding his arms as Kaede walked across the grass to stand beside him. "I just want to know who it is. Magenta eyes. Monokuma hoodie. Whoever it is, they're after Shuichi!"

Kaede sat next to him on the grass, "Kokichi.. do you really care for him that much?" she asked, "And quiet down or else people might hear us."

Kokichi looked at the girl, who seemed genuinely concerned. He found himself spilling everything... the frustration of loving someone but unable to in a place like this.

"I do.. care for him," Kokichi looked at the bandage around his finger, the one Shuichi had tied for him, "But I don't know if he'd ever feel the same way I do. We can't love each other, Akamatsu..."

"This world, this whole universe is torture.. isn't it?" he fixed his gaze on his finger, "Being unable to love. But what can we do? Nothing."

Kaede smiled sadly, placing a hand on Ouma's head and making him hide his eyes in the shadows of his hair, "Don't give up now, Ouma. Who knows if one day, love will be legal again?"

Kokichi tried to detect any lies in her sentence, but he was distracted by something else. The purple haired boy turned his head slightly, trying to find the source of the interference.

"-why don't you tell Shuichi how you feel?" she suggested to him, "And whatever you do, don't lose confidence in yourself."

Kokichi looked at her reassuring smile, before breaking into a wide grin, "You- you fell for that?!" he giggled, "I didn't know you'd be THAT dumb, Akamatsu-chan!"

The pianist blinked, momentarily confused as she stared at Ouma. He got up, brushing the grass off his pants and sticking out his tongue. "You really thought I have feelings for Saihara-chan? Think again!"

"Ouma- wait, were you lying?" she demanded as the purple haired boy winked, "Yep!" he said loudly. "All I said was a lie. So don't believe anything I say."

Kaede sighed, running a hand through her blonde hair. "Alright, I understand. You're a compulsive liar after all." she looked slightly insulted. The leader nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! You know me.. anyway, thanks for the pep talk, I greatly appreciated it!"

He spun around on his heel, leaving Kaede behind. "Ouma, wait!" she called but he ignored her. Kokichi gazed up at the clouds, his mind deciding if he should go with the second part of his plan. He maintained his grin as he took large strides towards the dormitory's front doors.

However, as soon as he was out of her perspective, he dropped his wide grin. Ouma turned around slightly, taking out his Monopad nonchalantly and using its surface as a mirror.

In the reflection, he saw a figure with magenta eyes hiding behind a pillar, watching his every move.

...

The traitor was watching.

Kokichi eyes widened as he and the traitor made eye contact, their magenta eyes meeting his. The purple haired boy turned, staying defensive as the hoodied figure walked towards him. Their strides seemed to convey confidence; Kokichi couldn't help but want to punch the person's smirk right off their face. No violence. He reminded himself as he stood before the traitor.

"What do you want?" Kokichi asked with a small growl, "Leave me alone would you?"

The figure chuckled, "A brave attempt, Kokichi Ouma. But you're a liar, and therefore, you hide behind your lies."

"It's none of your business what I do, traitor," he empathised the last word, "All you need to know is that you have to fuck off." (Whoops, forgot to warn you- is it too late?)

The figure laughed again, tilting their head slightly to the right, "I'm not scared of you, Ouma... in fact, we're friends, aren't we? You love me, after all."

Kokichi froze, his heart momentarily skipping a beat, but he quickly recovered. This wasn't Shuichi. The person was lying, trying to get him to admit. "If you're trying to play mind games with me," Kokichi broke into a smile, "Go ahead. Liar versus liar."

The person raised their hands, "It's no use, Ouma. I know everything about you, actually. You can't stop me."

Without a warning, the person quickly leapt forward and slammed Kokichi against the wall behind him. The purple haired boy gasped, not expecting that attack. He tried to pry the figure's strong fingers off his neck as the person smiled beneath the shadow of the Monokuma hoodie.

"No one to save you now.. both Akane and Nekomaru was scared off by those weaklings, Fuyuhiko and Pekoyama. But now that they're not here..." the person tightened his grip around Ouma's neck, "I can interfere."

Kokichi took a shallow breath, his back against the wall and glaring at the person. "Seriously.. why do people like to pin me against walls.." he muttered, starting to become lightheaded.

The person chuckled, "You're pathetic, Ouma. You almost confessed just now didn't you? You actually love someone. But you don't want to say.." the person held a knife against his throat, pressing it against his skin. He was starting to get weak due to the lack of oxygen

"I've got news for you.. you're nothing. No one will ever love you." the person smiled, "Might as well kill you now- AUGH!"

Kokichi suddenly dropped to the floor, sliding down the wall as he held a hand to his throat. He gagged and coughed, trying to get air into his lungs. "..."

Looking up, he saw the familiar figure of the Ultimate Detective.. his fists clenched and facing the hooded person who was kneeling on the ground, a hand to his throat.

"If you ever touch Ouma again," Shuichi spoke in a chilling tone Kokichi had never heard him use before, "You'll have to answer to me."

♥ End of Chapter Thirty-Five ♥