✧ Chapter 52 ✧
[ Was to Rely On You ]
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[ Shuichi's PoV ]

"It's no use trying to get away, Shuichi.."

Kaito, my best friend whom I've trusted for years, who was watching me fail over and over again.. was talking to me once again.

He looked unconcerned as I tried, once again, to pull my arms out of the cold metal links which were holding me down. The temperature in the room was low, and my fingers were numb. On the glossy white floor, I could clearly see my reflection.

A pale blue haired teenager.. with metal chains weighing him down and a bandage wrapped hastily around his head stared back at me. I couldn't recognise myself..

A loud click made me tear my eyes away from the floor to look at Kaito once more. He was standing by a control panel, with a array of buttons and lever arranged on it like a complicated puzzle. His hand was holding onto a yellow lever, and I held my breath.

"What are you.. doing?" I managed to whisper, my voice uneven and wobbly. I was so tired.. I could barely stay on my feet. "What have they done to you?"

"Correction." he replied as he started to push the lever up, "It's what have you done to me. You and your little motto to rid the world of Love.. just because you couldn't get what you wanted."

As he pushed the lever, the warmer the metal cuffs around my wrists became. "That wasn't me!" I tried to protest once more, though I knew it was futile, "I don't remember-."

"That's not an excuse," Kaito replied simply, as the metal became even warmer, starting to become uncomfortable. "Your past actions have consequences.. don't believe me? Watch this.."

He pulled the lever to turn the heat down, but leaving it slightly warm against my skin.

"As a precaution.." he smiled slightly, gesturing to a red button at the corner of the room, "You can't reach the 'off' button over there.."

The pressure in my throat died as soon as the metal cooled. But I knew I was just prolonging the inevitable. The magenta haired teenager gestured to the polished white wall in front of me, which suddenly flickered to life. A projection?

Of.. myself.

I watched as a video played, it's audio grimy and barely intelligible. The time stamp on the right hand corner read that the video seemed to be more than six years ago.

"My name's Shuichi Saihara, leader of Team Danganronpa's newest project. I plan to spread this message across the world, and to stop Love."

The boy on screen clenched his fists, staring up at the camera with a shaky smile, he was dressed in a striped uniform of some type, and a familiar hat covered half his face, "If no one loves, the world will be a much better place. Won't it? No more fighting. No more wars. Because wars happen when your love for something makes you want to protect it."

"So I say, help me to bring people in and.. save them all, the Reverse Serum enables you remove memories of your loved ones. Those who were rejected, those who can't find love. And those.." the boy's voice wavered as he took a shaky breath, "Those who fall in love too easily."

There was a pause as the boy's hands hung by his sides, just staring up at the camera. There was a quiet murmur in the background and the shuffling of papers. A shadow towered over the old Shuichi, who stood his ground.

"Is that all you want to say?" A feminine voice behind the camera whispered so quietly, I had to strain my ears to hear her. "It hardly seems to be.."

The Shuichi on the screen held out something in his hand, a piece of paper with complicated diagrams, "This is the blueprint of the one of three serums I made.. the Reverse. I will be willing to test it out on myself, to prove that it works. You can afterward, retrieve my memories with another serum I created, the Regain."

"The ingredients used for this is quite.. complicated. And I am the only one who knows of it. These are just prototypes so.." he looked at the person behind the camera with a rather hopeful expression. There was a flicker of insanity in his eyes, as if he would do anything just to get what he wanted. "And I have a friend to help me as well, so this project will be in good hands.. I promise!"

There was a pause as I saw the Shuichi on screen suddenly look slightly uncomfortable, as based by the silence which followed his last sentence. There was a tapping sound on screen, as if the listener were drumming their fingers on a table.

Was I really the one who started all this?

"Upupupu..consider the deal done," the voice purred after a few minutes of silence, "This will cause so much imbalance.. so much despair." At the last word, the mood in the room seemed to turn to a slightly different atmosphere, sending chills down my spine.

"Come along, Shuichi Saihara, let's talk."

With that, the projection came to and end. It clicked itself off and I was once again facing Kaito who was holding a syringe. I didn't realise I had sank to the floor, my legs giving way as my heart pounded against my ribs.

Kaito suddenly pushed the lever up, catching me off guard. With that gesture, the metal circled around my wrists become warmer once more.

"What are you going to do?" I asked, my arms starting to itch as Kaito waved a colourless liquid filled syringe in the air. "Funny you should ask.. sorry about this Shuichi.. I truly am."

"If you're sorry, then help me!" I tried to move backwards but was rooted to the spot. "Kaito, you're not insane, alright? You're my best friend and I-."

Kaito's hand suddenly wavered, him just giving me a look of bewilderment. I froze, the heat making me try to place my hands on the ground to avoid contact with the metal. "..." He dropped the syringe, making it fall to the floor with a loud clatter.

"Shuichi?"

His voice sounded softer, more confused than angry. I raised my head, and realised that he was holding a hand against his left eye.

It seemed to be his usual purple hue again. Not the same shade as Ouma's but just a bit lighter. However, on his right, his eye was still tinged with magenta.

"Kaito?" I asked, straining against the restraints as he continued to cover his left eye. Was this my chance to escape? My hands pulled at the chains once more, but the pain made me hold back.

"H-Holy shit.. I-I.. I don't have enough time till he regains control again.. this is some weird sci-fi fantasy crap but.."

His eyes were fixed on the metal links around my hand before they darted toward the red button at the corner of the room.

"Damnit.."

He cursed hoarsely. His eyes appeared tired as I tried to regain my breath. He took a step towards the red button, each step seemed to cause him pain. Kaito seemed to be holding something back, in his mind.

Seeing my friend in pain.. it was the worst torture of all. I didn't want to go through this again. Since after watching Kokichi slowly lose his memories of me..

The links around my wrists soon burned, scalding me the more I moved.

I waited for Kaito to press the button, but he seemed to just stand before it. So close yet he didn't seem to want to push it. His hand fell from his eye as he turned.

Both his eyes were magenta again, brimming with tears which trailed down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry Shuichi." he smiled smugly as he removed his hand away from the button.

"Kaito! Please, just stop!" I pleaded, unable to stand the pain of the burns as he continued to watch me with emotionless eyes. Was he faking it all along just to taunt me like this?

"I know I was the Mastermind-." I gasped, clenching my fists as my wrists burned, "I'm so sorry for everything I've done and-."

"Save your last words to yourself." Kaito suddenly hit the button, making the metal cool. "Until you decide to tell me about the serums, you're staying here."

"But I don't remember! I swear.." I tried not to move my wrists, for the pain was really unbearable. It felt like fire, but not burning down to your muscles, more like only on the surface. "Please Kaito, just get me out of here.."

The magenta eyed student's gaze landed on me, but in his eyes, I couldn't see any trace of pity. No emotions at all. "Like I said," his magenta eyes glinting by the lights, "You're not getting out till you tell me the secrets of the serum. You and Ouma. Just because he's not here, doesn't mean we're done with him."

"Rest well, Shuichi Saihara.."

With that, he turned and walked towards the exit, slamming the door behind him. I slumped on the ground, my wrists red and hurting. Using my fingers, I held my burning skin and couldn't help but let the tears fall.

Ouma..

Where are you?

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[ Kokichi's PoV ]

"This is so fun," I said monotonously as my footsteps echoed throughout the darkened hallways, "I'm having so much fun."

"Kokichi if you want to be sarcastic, I'm not going to stop you. But I have to admit, that's the most boring thing I've ever heard you say."

With each step I took, I mentally counted the number of times Keebo turned a corner to find himself in a dead end. So far, we found at least ten.

"But I'm really having so much fun." I smirked, obviously lying as my weird friend shone the flashlight across the vast array of doors.

The scientist and I were roaming the hallways of Hope's Peak, since we had sneaked out past curfew. Mostly Keebo's fault. It's definitely Keeboy's fault; don't look at me.

"Just.." the scientist sighed tiredly, pausing for a moment to take off his glasses and wipe the lenses with his shirt. "Help me find a door labeled as 11037. If I recall correctly.. something's kept in here.."

"Something?" I empathised the word, 'thing'. "I hope it's something fun. Like a toaster full of cheese. Or a magic mirror. Or even better! A genie!"

The other student looked as if he were regretting bringing me along, judging by the look on his face. I snickered to myself, loving to tease him. He's such a great guy..

Keebo held up a device, which seemed to be a small screen. As he waved it around, the screen appeared to be dark and nothing was showing up upon it.

"Hey Keeboy," I poked his elbow, making him move the device up a little higher than he intended, "Don't you think you should find an 'on' switch for that thing?"

The blue eyed boy shrugged, moving his arm away and continuing to move the blank screen along the wall.

I grudgingly followed him, thinking to myself as Keeboy worked. Shuichi Saihara. The name sounded familiar every time I whispered his name out loud.

My head didn't hurt as much as it used to whenever I thought about the strange mysterious 'Ultimate Detective' though. Was that a good sign?

"Here." Keebo shifted the now glowing screen, placing a hand against a door. On the top left corner, a bunch of numbers had been scratched out by what seemed to be a knife.

I aimed my flashlight to the numbers labeled as 11037. Huh, it seemed like that gadget Keeboy has was a searching tool of some sorts. Man, that was helpful.

"Would that device help me find my missing socks?" I asked innocently as Keebo stopped, his hand still against the door.

Uh.. what?" he sounded insulted.

"I mean," I gestured to my feet, where I was wearing a pair of shorts and sneakers. "I. Don't. Have. Socks." I empathised as Keebo looked like he wanted to either pick me up and throw me out the window, or laugh.

"Ouma, we're about to discover something vitally important and you want to talk about socks? I'm so done with you."

I grinned. Success! I winked at the guy and pushed him aside. "Let's see what Past Ouma has found!" I said cheerfully and suddenly stopped in my tracks.

In front of me, was a dark room which contained a single person. No, not a person, it was more like a small figure. Around it, boxes were piled up to the ceiling, and a broken surveillance camera lay on the ground.

"Somebody help me!" A high pitched voice cried as Keebo hit his hand against the wall, trying to find a light switch.

I narrowed my eyes and stepped forward, moving towards the voice which was still crying for help. Huh, the voice sounded unfamiliar. Behind me, Keebo was still looking for the switch but my curiosity burned, making me put one foot in front of the other.

"Jeez," I finally stood before the small rabbit mascot, who was looking up at me with terrified eyes, "Can you be any more annoying?"

She had a crescent shaped pin on her left ear and soft, fluffy pink fur. The bunny seemed about the same height as Monokuma, but she was wearing a dress. Imagine Monokuma as a rabbit, with pink fur, a puffy princess looking dress, and you have this.

"I-I've been stuck here for ages!" the pink rabbit wiggled her feet, her arms bound to her sides with coarse ropes. However, her eyes scanned the room uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with me. "Thank goodness you found me, nice boy!"

"Hmm nah, I'm not nice," I told the rabbit as I took out my penknife to cut her free. At the same time, I heard Keebo hit a switch, and the lights flicked on. I gripped the knife in my hand, not letting my guard down for one bit.

"Uh.. Ouma?" I heard Keebo say rather softly.

I sighed, breaking my concentration for just a moment, "If it's something important, just tell me immediately, Keeboy, don't just say my name." I dropped the frayed ropes as the rabbit bounced to her feet.

She suddenly pointed right at me, "Now Komaeda!"

I blinked, about to say something when someone slammed into me, making the knife fly out of my grasp.

"Ouma!" I heard Keebo gasp as the rabbit leapt at him. "Time to take you down!" she exclaimed to him, hitting him over the head with a stick she had conjured up. "What the-?" Keebo yelped, ducking as she swung at him once more.

I focused on the new person who was holding me to the ground. "Wow seriously, can't you just give me a break for once?" I demanded as his expression didn't change.

"Kokichi Ouma." Nagito Komaeda narrowed his eyes, his shoe not lifting from my chest. "You dare show your face here."

The presumably deceased student's red irises glowed faintly behind his rectangular framed glasses. He had on a black hoodie, which had a slashed symbol across the hood. The hoodie looked rather big on him, but Komaeda carried himself with as much confidence as a man who won a lottery. Meaning: he's a snobby looking guy.

With a simple grey shirt and black pants, he looked like an omen of death himself. I held up my hands to show I was unarmed, "Hey Nagito. All you're missing is a scythe. And what's up with the wardrobe change? You don't look like yourself."

"People change all the time, Ouma," he applied more pressure on my chest, making me slightly breathless, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you where you lie, Mastermind."

I was about to retort when the words died in my throat. The heck?

"K-Komaeda!" the rabbit was hanging upside down, held up by Keebo who was holding a screwdriver at the same time. "You're going to kill him! Remember the rule!"

Komaeda's eyes narrowed slightly as he seemed to process her words, "Sorry Usami.." he replied after a minute, lifting his foot slightly as I took a deep breath of air. "Now can you talk?" he directed the question to me.

"No, you dumb witted fool," I glared at the towering teenager, "I don't know how to talk." There was a tense silence as Nagito, the man everyone assumed to be dead, regarded me with a expression of disgust.

"Don't be sarcastic," he pushed up his glasses, "It's all for the sake of love, hope and despair.. now enough with the idle chit chat.."

He suddenly held out a knife, its blade glinting by the light above and pointed the end at me, "Give me a good reason as to why I shouldn't kill you, Kokichi Ouma."

♥ End of Chapter Fifty-Two ♥

A/N

My sincere apologies for not making this story interesting enough >~<. I have a bit of a writer's block and am trying to work my way around it. I have the ending half written out, I just need to finish it up, edit it, etc. So I apologise, I promise I'll give every character the ending they deserve. :) *insert ominous sounding music* dun dun dun. Anyway:

P.S Me love Beta Nagito. Makes sense now? Um..No? Whoopsies. XD