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Little Leader

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Dec 21st, 2017
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  1. No…
  2.  
  3. Not now...
  4.  
  5. Not after everything I’ve done…
  6.  
  7. I can’t just let it all go to waste and die…
  8.  
  9. Cold and alone…
  10.  
  11. Just like Saihara-chan said…
  12.  
  13. It’s what I asked for…
  14.  
  15. So why does it hurt so much?
  16.  
  17. ”Kokichi!”
  18.  
  19. *gasp*
  20.  
  21. The boy’s eyes opened quickly to see the figure of a slender young girl looking down on him, her face blurred slightly by the sunlight shining upon the two of them.
  22.  
  23. Getting used to awakening, the boy raises his hand over his eyes and gets a clear image of the girl with the sunlight blocked off.
  24.  
  25. Her knees were slightly bent down and her hands were clasped as her arms droop downwards. Her crystal blue hairs and innocent smile looked the boy in the eyes patiently as he examined her strawberry blonde pigtails, pale skin and tied up brown blazer.
  26.  
  27. ”Oh, Ren-chan… Good morning.”
  28.  
  29. ”Morning? It’s one in the afternoon, silly!”
  30.  
  31. ”Huh?”
  32.  
  33. The boy lifted his head to see the leaves above him were giving him shade before turning his head to notice he’s been leaning on a tree. He didn’t seem to be holding anything to suggest he was doing something before he fell asleep.
  34.  
  35. ”Ah, I guess it is. I must have dozed off.”
  36.  
  37. ”Yeah, Masayuki told me to see where you went.”
  38.  
  39. ”Oh shit.”
  40.  
  41. The boy quickly got to his feet and tightened up loose ends on his gakuran.
  42.  
  43. ”No need to rush to your boyfriend, Kokichi. You weren’t missing for long and we still have less than half an hour of break left.”
  44.  
  45. ”Alrighty, but…”
  46.  
  47. ”Huh?”
  48.  
  49. The girl noticed the boy looking down trying to hide his face brightening up.
  50.  
  51. ”...He’s not by boyfriend.”
  52.  
  53. The girl cracked a smug grin before the two walked back over to their friend.
  54.  
  55. ”Heh. Sure thing.”
  56.  
  57. The boy’s name is Kokichi Ouma. For such a short height and childish appearance, he sure isn’t a very cautious person and is usually seen as a troublemaker and an attention seeker. He ends up getting held back in glad and get his friends in trouble sometimes along with it. However, despite this, Kokichi has an imagination that matches his childish appearance rather well, said imagination often causing him to doze off.
  58.  
  59. The girl’s name is Ren Sasaki. A bubbly friend of Kokichi’s who refers to most of her acquaintances by their first names while Kokichi refers to her by her first name. While she may not agree with some of the choices her friends make, her loyalty convinces herself to play along with them. While not necessarily energetic, it’s rare for her to frown or speak in a more negative light without joking around.
  60.  
  61. Both are currently at the age of 15 not too far into the start of their first year of High School. They’ve been friends since Middle school and have always been there for one another.
  62.  
  63. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  64.  
  65. “Hey, you found him.”
  66.  
  67. The two ran back to a much taller figure standing by the vending machine holding two cans in his hands and one on his head, Masayuki Kobayashi.
  68.  
  69. ”Kobayashi-chan! Did you get my favorite?”
  70.  
  71. ”Before I answer, don’t you have something to say?”
  72.  
  73. Kokichi’s smile dropped to a frown. He started looking at the ground, curling his arms around his back and twisting his ankle back and forth before reluctantly but finally giving in, tilting his head back up and looking Masayuki in the eyes.
  74.  
  75. ”I’m sorry for wandering off...”
  76.  
  77. ”Good.”
  78.  
  79. Masayuki handed Kokichi his can while giving a light toss of the other can towards Ren, who caught it successfully with both hands. Masayuki took the can off of his head to have for himself.
  80.  
  81. Suspicious, Kokichi popped his can open first and had a sip. The taste gave him an expression that caused his eyes to sparkle.
  82.  
  83. ”Boba tea! You know me so well.”
  84.  
  85. ”I… I thought it was panta.”
  86.  
  87. Ren sighed as she looked down at her feet with guilt. The boys could only chuckle a little.
  88.  
  89. The three decided to sit down by the bench nearby under the shade from the sun. They felt the cool frozen up can in their two hands to quickly distract from the strong heat that day, followed by Ren rubbing the can against her cheek to cool down.
  90.  
  91. ”Ahhh… It feels so good…”
  92.  
  93. ”Aren’t you being a little over dramatic? The weather’s fine.”
  94.  
  95. Masayuki asks followed by Kokichi speaking up.
  96.  
  97. ”I’m pretty sure she doesn’t actually find it too hot. It’s just Ren-chan being her usual self.”
  98.  
  99. Once they got comfortable and started to actually start drinking their boba tea, the trio ended up normally conversing. Kokichi had both of his legs on the bench along with the rest of his body on the left while Ren’s legs were off the bench and kicking the air back and forth a little on the right. Masayuki was sitting on the bench normally compared to them right in the middle.
  100.  
  101. ”So did you get into any trouble today, Ouma-kun?”
  102.  
  103. ”Not today.”
  104.  
  105. ”Well, we’ll see about that, since we’re only three quarters into the day.”
  106.  
  107. Kokichi looked across to the other two faking a disappointed expression.
  108.  
  109. ”Aww, you two doubt me that much? I thought we were friends.”
  110.  
  111. ”Nah, I hate you.”
  112.  
  113. Masayuki joked back before slightly changing his tone, leaning backward on the bench and holding his can above with one hand.
  114.  
  115. ”On a serious note, did you take my advice?”
  116.  
  117. ”Hm?”
  118.  
  119. Kokichi’s smile eventually dropped and he looked away from Masayuki.
  120.  
  121. ”Yeah, I thought you knew what I was talking about.”
  122.  
  123. Ren perked her head up.
  124.  
  125. ”What’s this about?”
  126.  
  127. ”I told Ouma-kun to start talking things out with his folks, but it looks like he didn’t listen.”
  128.  
  129. ”You don’t know how hard it is to speak up.”
  130.  
  131. ”I understand that it’s hard, but if it’s bothering you so much you’re going to have to confron-”
  132.  
  133. Masayuki’s voice is cut off by the loud ring of the bell.
  134.  
  135. ”And we’re late.”
  136.  
  137. Kokichi said as he quickly got up, ignored what was just said and put on a smile. Ren looked disappointed.
  138.  
  139. ”That was quick…”
  140.  
  141. After her mumbling, she also got up and both she and Kokichi stared back at Masayuki waiting. After glancing at Kokichi for a short while, he also stood and the two went off to class.
  142.  
  143. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  144.  
  145. Due to being in a separate year level by a year, Kokichi and Ren had to part ways with Masayuki and return to their classroom they luckily share main subjects with while Masayuki descends to the next floor for his class.
  146.  
  147. Unfortunately, the two encounter trouble happening in the classroom. It seems the teacher hasn’t arrived.
  148.  
  149. Slam
  150.  
  151. “Huh?”
  152.  
  153. The two looked over to see a boy slamming his hand against the wall next to a smaller girl’s head and looking down upon her. There was clearly some harassment going on.
  154.  
  155. ”And you’re still refusing to pay up?”
  156.  
  157. ”...”
  158.  
  159. ”What? Do you want me to kill you?”
  160.  
  161. The girl didn’t say anything.
  162.  
  163. ”Jocks are at it again...”
  164.  
  165. Ren tries to turn her head on the situation only to realize Kokichi wasn’t in her view anymore.
  166.  
  167. ”That’s enough, Sano.”
  168.  
  169. ”Kokichi!”
  170.  
  171. Ren turned to see Kokichi walked in closer to the conversation and was staring the main jock in the eye standing straight. She hadn’t seen him so serious before.
  172.  
  173. ”...Heh.”
  174.  
  175. ”Ah…!”
  176.  
  177. After violently punching the girl in the gut causing her to fall down, the jock walked up to Kokichi stared him back.
  178.  
  179. ”Did you say something?”
  180.  
  181. ”...”
  182.  
  183. Kokichi just stood there staring back with the same expression. In reality, he was too frozen to move. He didn’t know what to do or say. He knew he wasn’t strong enough to go through with this.
  184.  
  185. The jock pets his shoulder and walks by him.
  186.  
  187. ”Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
  188.  
  189. Kokichi’s fist clenched and the jock walking by him couldn’t see Kokichi gritting his teeth revealing his incisors and his eyes daggering.
  190.  
  191. Once the jock completely passed by, Kokichi ran towards the girl to see if she was alright.
  192.  
  193. ”He’s gone now. Did he get you too badly?”
  194.  
  195. The girl’s long brunette hair stopped overshadowing her face to reveal her amber eyes, inner plats in her hair style and her… Disappointing chest size.
  196.  
  197. ”You’re not from this class, are you?”
  198.  
  199. ”...”
  200.  
  201. Without saying anything, the girl ran outside of the classroom.
  202.  
  203. ”Hey, wait-!”
  204.  
  205. The homegroup teacher returned and everyone including Kokichi had to return to their seats. Kokichi had to put his thoughts on the girl aside and go back to his seat.
  206.  
  207. He sits next to Ren who tries not to say anything about the incident, but it was quite obvious she was thinking about it.
  208.  
  209. Kokichi could clearly hear that jock chuckling in the back. He was probably staring at him but he didn’t want to confirm his suspicions.
  210.  
  211. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  212.  
  213. Kokichi and Ren exited the school gates walking back home with bags on their back along the white footpath. The two had similar routes to take to get to their houses, Kokichi’s being the closer of the two.
  214.  
  215. ”Why… Did you have to speak up to him?”
  216.  
  217. Kokichi didn’t have to be a genius to figure out what she was talking about. He stayed quiet.
  218.  
  219. ”Come on, don’t shut out on me. Explain yourself.”
  220.  
  221. Kokichi couldn’t stay silent forever.
  222.  
  223. ”He threatened to kill her.”
  224.  
  225. ”You… You know he wasn’t serious, right?”
  226.  
  227. ”Stuff like that isn’t something to joke about, alright?”
  228.  
  229. ”If you got a loooong life ahead of you if death threats are what causes you to do reckless stuff.”
  230.  
  231. Ren held her hands on the straps of her backpack and looked up at the sky with an exhausted expression.
  232.  
  233. ”I don’t know what we’re going to have to do with you, Kokichi.”
  234.  
  235. Kokichi turned his head towards her with a seemingly slight smile.
  236.  
  237. ”The same could be said for you.”
  238.  
  239. ”Huh!?”
  240.  
  241. Ren perked her head back down and looked Kokichi in the eyes, slightly mift.
  242.  
  243. ”Well, I might be a little bit of a shit stirrer but you’re easy to manipulate and also not the sharpest tool in the shed. Not necessarily dumb but not specialized in ways to mentally or physically fend for yo-”
  244.  
  245. ”I get it.”
  246.  
  247. Ren puffed up her cheeks and turned her eyes away from Kokichi.
  248.  
  249. ”No need to lecture me on how much of a horrible person I am.”
  250.  
  251. ”I don’t think you’re a horrible person. I’m just pointing out your weaknesses.”
  252.  
  253. ”Well then, stop that.”
  254.  
  255. Now that they were settled, Ren remembered something and turned to Kokichi with a more curious expression.
  256.  
  257. ”By the way, what did Masayuki mean by that?”
  258.  
  259. Kokichi’s eyes widened up a little followed by uncrossing his arms and looking right back at Ren again.
  260.  
  261. ”Of course, you immediately figured out what I was talking about. He’s been giving you advice to deal with your parents, right?”
  262.  
  263. After a long sigh, Kokichi gave in.
  264.  
  265. ”Yes, but I haven’t been taking it.”
  266.  
  267. ”And why is that?”
  268.  
  269. ”Exactly the same reason you just said. Everyone needs to be confronted with something they’re not ready for and this is what applies for me.”
  270.  
  271. Ren’s eyebrows curve a little.
  272.  
  273. ”Are you… Afraid of your parents?”
  274.  
  275. N-No, it’s not that, I just… I don’t know how to talk to them. I could try but my voice will restrict itself too much for them to hear me.”
  276.  
  277. Kokichi puts his hands in his pockets and looks down at the floor while walking.
  278.  
  279. ”I mean, would it hurt you to speak up?”
  280.  
  281. ”Probably not, but I can’t bring myself to do so just yet. I don’t think we’ve had a talk as a family in a while, actually.”
  282.  
  283. Ren perked her head to the left a little.
  284.  
  285. ”That’s sad. I’m sure they love you deep down inside. You just need to talk to them about it and they’ll understand.”
  286.  
  287. ”I’d like to believe they love me, but they don’t really convey that very well if they do.”
  288.  
  289. Ren looks down at her feet alongside him and fails to see what’s ahead. She walks into some bricks lined up with her forehead.
  290.  
  291. ”Oof!”
  292.  
  293. ”Welp, guess we’re here.”
  294.  
  295. Ren leans back and rubs her head staring at the brick stool with a mailbox flap on it. She then looks up to see Kokichi was home. It was a single story house with a large tree on the left and some flowerbeds on the right as well as a gate in the middle to get through the concrete pathway to the door.
  296.  
  297. Kokichi steps forward, but not before turning to Ren and giving a wave.
  298.  
  299. ”I’ll see you tomorrow.”
  300.  
  301. Before he can go further, he’s surprise hugged by Ren from behind.
  302.  
  303. ”Yeah, see ya!”
  304.  
  305. She let go of Kokichi and parted ways to the right on the way to her house which was pretty much around the corner. Kokichi watched her walk by before walking inside.
  306.  
  307. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  308.  
  309. Upon entering his house door, he immediately found himself in the lounge. The walls were chestnut brown wood and the carpet was dark green and rough. The television was on the corner facing the two arm chairs and coffee table nearby.
  310.  
  311. Nobody seemed to be in the lounge right now so Kokichi removed his shoes and left them by the shoe rack, also revealing that he’s not wearing socks. Kokichi walked over to the back of the lounge and into the hallway.
  312.  
  313. ”Okaa-san! I’m home!”
  314.  
  315. No answer, as usual.
  316.  
  317. Kokichi strolled down into the back room. On the right was a door leading to Kokichi’s bedroom.
  318.  
  319. Upon entering, Kokichi put his backpack on the floor, shut the door behind him and sat on the bed. His room was rather simple. He had some floor space in front of the door to drop belongings onto, a cabinet right in front of his bed which was on the left side of the room alongside a window and a closet which was on the right side of the room.
  320.  
  321. He had a double sized bed with a rather small black and white checkered blanket. He had a single pillow which was shaped like a turtle, although coloured purple. Next to the pillow was a horse mask. Kokichi looked at his cabinet to see a large purple piece of fabric dangling off the edges. Light purple on the inside with a fluffy tinge and dark purple on the outside with a shine to it.
  322.  
  323. After examining for a bit, Kokichi decided to go through his cabinet to find his camera. It didn’t take long and he prepared the camera in front of his face. Suddenly, Kokichi managed to twist his face in spectacular ways. His eyes hollowed out into twisted black circles, his mouth twisted to match his eyes, his skin turned dark purple and the locks of his hair sprung up further before taking a picture.
  324.  
  325. The moment the picture was taken, flash covered his vision only to reveal his face was completely fine and back to his childishly innocent expression when the flash faded off. He took the picture out and shaked it around a bit before putting the camera off.
  326.  
  327. Kokichi looked at the picture to see a demonic soul sucked from hell in the form of a facial expression and then placed it in the front pocket of his bag to use the next day.
  328.  
  329. Kokichi walked out of his room, through the hallway walking past the bathroom, laundry room, kitchen, parent’s room and brother’s room and back to the lounge to see that three familiar faces were inside.
  330.  
  331. Kokichi’s mother and father sat in the lounge chairs with his brother standing on the side leaning against the wall. Only his brother noticed him walk in as he turned his head towards him.
  332.  
  333. [C]His skin was as pale as Kokichi’s, but unlike Kokichi’s gloomy purple eyes, his eyes were fiery red as well as his hair being an incredibly dark shade of brown. The bang in front of his hair had a spring to it, similar to the springs on the sides of Kokichi’s hair.
  334.  
  335. ”Oh, Kokichi. I didn’t notice you got back from school already.”
  336.  
  337. His voice was gentle but mature. Fitting for a brother figure. Kokichi looked at his parents, back at his brother and gulped.
  338.  
  339. ”Y-Yeah. I got back before. Hey, Raiden.”
  340.  
  341. Kokichi wanted to try and start a conversation, but he was worried what would happen if he got curious about what was going on with his brother’s life.
  342.  
  343. ”Ouma-kun! Did you hear about Raiden’s upcoming performance?”
  344.  
  345. Too late. Kokichi’s mother had already spoken up.
  346.  
  347. ”...No, I haven’t.”
  348.  
  349. ”Ah, then let us explain!”
  350.  
  351. Kokichi listened to his parents ramble on about Raiden’s next performance which didn’t sound anymore different than the last one. Raiden is a musician, with his main instrument being a saxophone. He’s well known around the town and is also frequently talked about in the female population of the town.
  352.  
  353. His music wasn’t to Kokichi’s personal taste so he never cared for it. He also definitely didn’t like watching his parents gush over it all the time.
  354.  
  355. ”...Fascinating.”
  356.  
  357. Kokichi turned around to hide his miserable face.
  358.  
  359. ”Call me when dinner’s ready.”
  360.  
  361. Kokichi walked off back to his room. He wasn’t even sure if his parents were even done talking about the performance yet. He shut the door behind him and jumped onto the bed back-first looking up at the roof and his feet dangling off the side.
  362.  
  363. He couldn’t stand his mother’s high pitched voice praising Raiden like the second coming of christ. He couldn’t stand his father’s muttering and nodding to everything she said.
  364.  
  365. ”...By the way honey, how was school today?”
  366.  
  367. Kokichi muttered out loud.
  368.  
  369. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  370.  
  371. After dinner, Kokichi sat down on his bed pondering to himself.
  372.  
  373. He remembered that boy harassing that girl and punching her in the gut. Sano was definitely in their homegroup. The girl, however, seemed to be from a different class of Kokichi’s. His psychology class. Aya Tamura. She’s a shy type who he rarely sees talking to anyone.
  374.  
  375. ”Didn’t know she was the silent type…”
  376.  
  377. Kokichi gave a sigh before looking up fearlessly.
  378.  
  379. ”Whatever. I’ll show that asshole…!”
  380.  
  381. Kokichi’s neck perked his head into straight position when he soon heard the door open. In came Raiden.
  382.  
  383. ”Hey Kokichi. Do you mind if I come in?”
  384.  
  385. ”...”
  386.  
  387. Kokichi’s silence didn’t express any negative or positive emotions. He seemed more-so surprised.
  388.  
  389. ”Sorry.”
  390.  
  391. Kokichi’s brother closed the door behind him and sat beside Kokichi on the bed.
  392.  
  393. ”I don’t mean to be rude, but I feel like we should be able to talk about this… Are you jealous of me?”
  394.  
  395. ”Huh?”
  396.  
  397. Kokichi didn’t seem to confirm or deny anything. His expression didn’t imply if he felt good or bad about what Raiden was saying.
  398.  
  399. ”You want some affection, right? Some love? A family?”
  400.  
  401. ”...”
  402.  
  403. ”I’ll just say that you still have a family, because I’ll always be here for you.”
  404.  
  405. Raiden rubbed his hand onto Kokichi’s hair a little causing the boy to squint.
  406.  
  407. ”Because… I’m your brother.”
  408.  
  409. Raiden gave a giant smile to Kokichi whose face turned into awe.
  410.  
  411. ”I know I don’t act like it, though.”
  412.  
  413. Raiden got up from the bed and began to walk out the door.
  414.  
  415. ”I’ll try my best, but if I’m not enough, maybe you can try something big to impress our folks.”
  416.  
  417. Before Raiden left, he grew a bigger smile.
  418.  
  419. ”I’m sure they’d appreciate your effort.”
  420.  
  421. Raiden shut the door behind him. It was a quick conversation, and barely counts as one at that. However, Kokichi was awestruck on the bed staring at the door Raiden exited from.
  422.  
  423. That final advice. He didn’t know what about it gave him hope nor did it give him any ideas, but he was strangely enlightened by it.
  424.  
  425. ”...Huh.”
  426.  
  427. Kokichi decided to get some early rest, got into his nightwear and tucked himself under the blankets of his bed. He hugged onto his horse mask as he used it as a teddy bear.
  428.  
  429. Kokichi fell peacefully into sleep easily.
  430.  
  431. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  432.  
  433. Once break started, Kokichi waited outside of his homegroup classroom pretending to leave and waited until every student and the teacher left from sight. He then used the hairclip from his pocket to open the doors again and sneak inside.
  434.  
  435. Upon entering, Kokichi found the desk of that jock from yesterday. He unzipped the bag dangling from the chair and took out his Psychology book. He opened it up to the last page it was written on and left it open on the desk.
  436.  
  437. Kokichi went over to his own bag and took some tape and the photograph he took yesterday from his front pocket. He used to the tape to stick the photo on the blank page on the left. He made sure to scribble out any signs that the face in the photo belonged to him like some of his hair and scarf leaking into the picture.
  438.  
  439. He closed the book, placed it back in the bag and zipped it up like if he never touched it. He put the tape back in his front pocket, zipped it up and placed his bag next to his own desk. He then exited the room like if he was never there.
  440.  
  441. Upon exiting the room, Kokichi stopped and then thought up an idea upon what he’d just done.
  442.  
  443. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  444.  
  445. ”A… Secret organization?”
  446.  
  447. Masayuki gave a very confused smile sitting on the bench beside Ren, who seemed simply curious to what Kokichi had to say.
  448.  
  449. ”That’s right!”
  450.  
  451. Kokichi stood in front of them pointing his finger towards him with a confident smile.
  452.  
  453. ”I want to serve justice for those who deserve a bit of a punishment by playing a bit of a game with them! A hidden organization serving justice from the shadows, kind of like a phantom thief! Doesn’t that sound like tons of fun!?”
  454.  
  455. ”It sure does, but… Is this just some sort of club you want to hold?”
  456.  
  457. Masayuki was still finding something like that hard to belief. Kokichi had quite the imagination.
  458.  
  459. ”Well, there’s more bad people out there than just the school, isn’t there?”
  460.  
  461. Masayuki sighed.
  462.  
  463. ”Then that would mean you’d have to serve justice to the entire world.”
  464.  
  465. ”Oh… That’s an amazing idea, Kobayashi-chan!”
  466.  
  467. ”Huh?”
  468.  
  469. ”Imagine travelling the world serving justice behind an evil persona by causing those people a little bit of havoc. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
  470.  
  471. ”Fun, yet highly dangerous and highly difficult to do.”
  472.  
  473. ”Which is just perfect!”
  474.  
  475. ”What?”
  476.  
  477. ”What’s the fun in doing something when it’s too easy? The difficulty just makes you more proud when you pull it off!”
  478.  
  479. Masayuki sighed once more and looked at Ren. She hadn’t said anything the whole time.
  480.  
  481. ”What do you think about all of this?”
  482.  
  483. Ren looked up with a rare expression. It was a worried and slightly disappointed expression.
  484.  
  485. ”If you went through with that, does that mean you’d leave us?”
  486.  
  487. Kokichi dropped his hand with a surprised look but then followed up with a smile before walking up to them closer.
  488.  
  489. ”Of course not. In fact, I want you two to join me.”
  490.  
  491. ”H-Huh!?”
  492.  
  493. ”I don’t want to do this alone. I want us to start an organization with you guys together and expand from there.”
  494.  
  495. ”So you expect us to just abandon our normal lives for your own pleasure?”
  496.  
  497. Kokichi’s smile dropped.
  498.  
  499. ”You know that’s not the case. I’m asking this for your sake as well. It’s no secret you’ve got nothing to gain here.”
  500.  
  501. That’s right. Masayuki moved out at a young age after having to deal with abusive parents as an only child and now pays for his school funding and apartment rent. Ren on the other hand is the only girl in a household of 12 brothers and a single parent due to her mother passing away.
  502.  
  503. None of them were happy with their home lives and their school lives weren’t anything to brag about. They’ve always just had each other.
  504.  
  505. ”And that’s…”
  506.  
  507. Masayuki stood up and walked directly towards Kokichi and placed his hand on his shoulder before looking up.
  508.  
  509. ”Exactly what I wanted to hear.”
  510.  
  511. Masayuki had a gentle smile. One that signified gratitude. Kokichi gave a smile back and Masayuki took his hand off of Kokichi’s shoulder before scratching his head a little.
  512.  
  513. ”I was just testing you quickly. After all, being a leader involves selflessness and not attention.”
  514.  
  515. Masayuki turned to Ren.
  516.  
  517. ”Are you in for it?”
  518.  
  519. Ren didn’t say anything. She just looked up with a confident and determined face and nodded. She tried to look proud and intimidating but she instead came off like a cute angry cat.
  520.  
  521. ”I don’t want to do things too immediately, but let us know when you’re ready to do it. After all, there’s probably no going back for you once you do it. Alright?”
  522.  
  523. Masayuki advices.
  524.  
  525. “...I understand.”
  526.  
  527. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  528.  
  529. Kokichi sat at his desk in psychology class holding a voice recorder waiting for the perfect moment. He was the first to enter the class and awaited the other students.
  530.  
  531. Other students came in along with that Aya girl and that Sano kid eventually came in too. Sano sitting down at his desk put a huge grin on Kokichi’s face which he had to hide from him or else he’d suspect something.
  532.  
  533. The teacher came in and called out everyone to open their books out to their latest page. Kokichi got his book out and opened it as soon as he could so he could catch Sano’s reaction in time.
  534.  
  535. ”3, 2, 1…”
  536.  
  537. Kokichi pressed the record button on his voice recorder and soon grinned at the satisfying scream fly across the room.
  538.  
  539. Most of the students immediately looked back at Sano’s position while Kokichi hung his head back with his eyes shut in relief. A little prank to give someone their kumuppins.
  540.  
  541. Once Kokichi opened his eyes, he was a little surprised to notice Aya was chuckling at her seat. That’s probably the first time he’s seen a happy emotion out of her. He couldn’t help but smile.
  542.  
  543. Once the heat died down, the teacher resumed class.
  544.  
  545. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  546.  
  547. ”Hey, Mama! Mama!”
  548.  
  549. After school, when Kokichi got home, he was standing outside of his brother’s room calling for his mother, who was instructing him with practice.
  550.  
  551. ”Hey, Mama! I was wondering if I was allowed to go down the street for a short while!”
  552.  
  553. He couldn’t tell if she couldn’t hear him or she was ignoring him, but she wasn’t responding either way.
  554.  
  555. ”Ma-!”
  556.  
  557. ”God damn it Raiden! You missed the note!”
  558.  
  559. His mother screaming stopped Kokichi cold. It’s not the first time he’s heard her screaming at his brother but that doesn’t stop it from being sudden.
  560.  
  561. Eventually, Kokichi gave up and decided to go down the street himself without permission.
  562.  
  563. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  564.  
  565. Kokichi was placing his fingers on his chin squinting one eye and cocking his head to the side innocently staring at the hats in the clothing store.
  566.  
  567. He examined them to check which one would be fitting for a leader. Of course, he went with the purple cap the moment he saw it and bought it.
  568.  
  569. While he was walking out of the store, a familiar figure approached him. Sano.
  570.  
  571. ”Augh…!”
  572.  
  573. Sano pushed Kokichi’s back to the wall in place.
  574.  
  575. ”It was you who put that in, wasn’t it!?”
  576.  
  577. Kokichi recovered from his sudden attack and then looked at Sano for a few seconds before giving a smug grin and chuckling.
  578.  
  579. ”Heh.”
  580.  
  581. Of course, that wasn’t a good response. The jock kee’d Kokichi in the stomach.
  582.  
  583. ”Of…!”
  584.  
  585. He then picked Kokichi’s small body up by his wrists and ankles over his shoulders and walked him towards the nearest dumpster.
  586.  
  587. ”H-Hey!”
  588.  
  589. Sano didn’t hesitate to chuck him inside said dumpster and close the lid before storming off.
  590.  
  591. It took a little while for Kokichi to recover enough strength to get up. He opened the dumpster lid and found another familiar face staring back at him.
  592.  
  593. Aya. It seemed she was walking past and witnessed the event.
  594.  
  595. ”...Somehow, I think that thing is a fitting place for you.”
  596.  
  597. Kokichi could only laugh.
  598.  
  599. ”Did you see how ass mad he was about that? What a loser.”
  600.  
  601. Aya was surprised by the reaction.
  602.  
  603. ”You’re not upset?”
  604.  
  605. ”Why would I be? I’m glad he proved that I got a reaction out of him. Serves him right for what he did to you.”
  606.  
  607. ”Right.”
  608.  
  609. Aya looked down at her feet before looking back up at Kokichi.
  610.  
  611. ”You might want to get out of there. There’s a lot of cockroaches and spiders in those things.”
  612.  
  613. ”Hyaaah…!”
  614.  
  615. Kokichi immediately forced himself to jump out of the dumpster, causing him to plummet onto the floor.
  616.  
  617. Kokichi really hated bugs.
  618.  
  619. ”And yeah, just as I thought. You had something to do with the fit he pulled in class today. What did you do?”
  620.  
  621. Kokichi got to his feet.
  622.  
  623. ”Oh, nothing, I just pasted a disturbing face in his psychology book.”
  624.  
  625. ”Oh. Is he easily frightened?”
  626.  
  627. ”Well, what do you think of this?”
  628.  
  629. Kokichi twisted his face identically to the one in the picture causing Aya to jump back. Kokichi changed his face back to normal.
  630.  
  631. ”A-Anyways… What I’m saying is you probably shouldn’t pull that again. Some kids are related to members of the mafia around here, you know?”
  632.  
  633. Aya made a good point. The mafia in their town was a huge problem.
  634.  
  635. ”I should know because… My Dad’s a member.”
  636.  
  637. ”Huh?”
  638.  
  639. Aya spoke up about her homelife. Her Dad’s a member of the mafia clan and has done some awful things. However, one thing that set Kokichi’s mind off was…
  640.  
  641. ”Including murder.”
  642.  
  643. Kokichi ran up to Aya, placed both of his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye which wasn’t much of a challenge since she wasn’t much taller than him.
  644.  
  645. ”You need to get out of there.”
  646.  
  647. ”What?”
  648.  
  649. ”No matter what, you shouldn’t associate yourself with a killer.”
  650.  
  651. ”I-I know, but… I don’t have anywhere else to go…”
  652.  
  653. Kokichi’s eyes lit up.
  654.  
  655. ”Nowhere else, eh? That’s such a coincidence…”
  656.  
  657. Aya looked back at Kokichi, intrigued by what he had to say.
  658.  
  659. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  660.  
  661. Kokichi couldn’t be happier to already have received another recruit. He wonders how many other people he can save from the horrors of the world and give them the care and affection they deserve. After all, he knows the feeling of longing to be cared for and giving affection.
  662.  
  663. He didn’t just stop there. Kokichi went into his closet and took a dirtied white shirt and pants that he hasn’t used in a long time. They were pretty basic.
  664.  
  665. Kokichi took out a pair of scissors and added scratches and cuts to the shirt, entirely removing the collarbone and even cutting straight through the front layer of the left side and patching it back up with badges and clips. While he was at it, he decided to add randomly coloured buttons to it.
  666.  
  667. He went back into the closet to find a box containing a bunch of white straps. He took two of them and attached them to his pants. To make sure they don’t fall off, he decided to sew them on.
  668.  
  669. Kokichi stood up on his two feet and looked at his outfit. He liked it but felt like something was missing. He turned to see a certain style he liked on one of the bed’s fabric. He wanted to use it.
  670.  
  671. As a result, he ended up cutting his blanket into a bunch of different squares that he was pretty sure reached the double digits in quantity. However, he only needed one.
  672.  
  673. After he put on the outfit, Kokichi folded the fabric diagonally wrapped it around his neck from both sides causing a triangle shape to form on his neck and made a knot of the two sides under the triangle shaped flap.
  674.  
  675. He just made himself a scarf.
  676.  
  677. Kokichi looked at himself using the mirror in his closet. He looked like a pathetic street rat. He loved it. Kokichi then put his hat on and then checked himself again. Not perfect, but liked what he saw.
  678.  
  679. Kokichi let out a yawn. It looked like all that stuff was a bit too much work for one day and decided to go to bed with what he was wearing… The issue is that he cut up his blanket into a bunch of rags.
  680.  
  681. Kokichi decided to lay on the bed with no blanket to warm himself up. He tried hugging onto himself to get some more warmth.
  682.  
  683. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  684.  
  685. Kokichi and Raiden’s mother heard a knock on the door. She answered to see Masayuki was there.
  686.  
  687. ”Hello there, sorry to interrupt, but Ouma-kun left his bag inside of the classroom.”
  688.  
  689. Masayuki was holding up Kokichi’s bag for his mother to see.
  690.  
  691. ”Ah, I see. His room is at the back of the house so could you please hand it over to him? I’m a little busy right now.”
  692.  
  693. ”Sure thing.”
  694.  
  695. Masayuki entered Kokichi’s house for the first time and went to the back of the house and took a right to Kokichi’s room. What Masayuki didn’t expect was for Kokichi to be asleep at 5:30 in the afternoon with no blanket.
  696.  
  697. Masayuki stayed quiet not wanting to interrupt him and placed the bag on the floor. Upon doing so, he noticed the pieces of scrap clothing and scissors on the floor. He then realized what he was wearing wasn’t pajamas, but something he made.
  698.  
  699. He even noticed the little hat.
  700.  
  701. ”Oh, Ouma-kun…”
  702.  
  703. Masayuki didn’t want to leave Kokichi cold all night, so he got the idea to take one of the clips from his cabinet and take the large dangling fabric down. After arranging it a little and using the clip to hold it in place, he moved Kokichi’s head up a little to slip on what he just made for him.
  704.  
  705. Luckily, he didn’t wake him. What Masayuki made was a cape to match his hat, and also to use as a blanket that night and keep warm.
  706.  
  707. Masayuki gave a light smile before slowly and carefully leaving the room, and eventually the house.
  708.  
  709. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  710.  
  711. ”...Huh?”
  712.  
  713. Kokichi woke up that morning to feel a warm fabric covering his body. He slowly sat up and examined himself. He found the purple cape on himself.
  714.  
  715. He stared at the collarbone for a little while before turning his head to find the rest of the cape. Smooth, warm and matching fabric.
  716.  
  717. Kobayashi-chan…?
  718.  
  719. ”...Aha!”
  720.  
  721. Kokichi grabbed onto the edges of his cape and tugged them inwards to snuggle inside of his cape like a blanket. He couldn’t have but smile brightly squinting his eyes from joy.
  722.  
  723. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  724.  
  725. A few weeks past and Kokichi was ready. He had already designed similar outfits to his own, lumped the leftover fabric pieces made from his blanket with said outfits and secretly packed everything he needs.
  726.  
  727. Masayuki said he had the money earlier that week. He felt like it was time. He was told to meet up with Ren and Masayuki by the school and get to the airport, which wasn’t too far away from town. He also had to bring Aya along and introduce her to them.
  728.  
  729. Kokichi dragged the bags he kept hidden in the closet out and snuck into the lounge early that morning. He put his shoes on and tried not to make the door creak when he opened it. He looked back behind him to get a last glimpse of his old home.
  730.  
  731. ”Goodbye, Raiden.”
  732.  
  733. He didn’t bother saying goodbye to his parents and left the house.
  734.  
  735. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  736.  
  737. And from that point on, Kokichi’s life changed.
  738.  
  739. He and the others ended up accomplishing just what Kokichi wanted.
  740.  
  741. A secret organization going across the world serving justice to whoever they consider a bad person, sometimes even good people for fun, with him being the leader of them.
  742.  
  743. The pranks they pulled included petty theft, framing other people for crimes that neither of them committed and even faking crime scenes like robberies and their own murders.
  744.  
  745. Of course, not everything they did was necessarily illegal. They could just pull some minor vandalism or pull some regular pranks.
  746.  
  747. And it wasn’t just Kokichi, Masayuki, Ren and Aya. New members were recruited as time went on. Kokichi extended a hand to people in need of a family life whether it was a street rat, an orphan or someone in an abusive household.
  748.  
  749. Including two brothers, a seductress, a washed up musician and others, the society consisted of 10 members, Kokichi included.
  750.  
  751. After a day’s work, the group decided to make their way through an alleyway and through a hidden back door painting over to back the brick wall. Inside said door was a little shack that contained a few back rooms, which were luckily able to block out a lot of sound so the members could have their privacy when they needed it.
  752.  
  753. ”Ahhh…”
  754.  
  755. Kokichi stretched his arms out yawning.
  756.  
  757. ”You tired?”
  758.  
  759. ”...Maybe.”
  760.  
  761. Kokichi looked back up as Masayuki with one eye open and a crooked smile. Masayuki chuckled.
  762.  
  763. Kokichi walked into the top right corner of the room and jumped into the hammack dangling there tied between the wall and the tall cabinet. Kokichi laid down onto the hammock and Masayuki stopped to say goodnight.
  764.  
  765. ”Sleep tight, little leader.”
  766.  
  767. Kokichi fell peacefully into a sleep. He knew by morning that he’d have to plan another prank and put his goofy clown mask back on.
  768.  
  769. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  770.  
  771. ”Kobayashi-chan...”
  772.  
  773. ”Hm?”
  774.  
  775. Kokichi and Masayuki sit on the railing of a balcony three stories from ground. Their legs and dangling down and they put their masks on the flaw for a little while.
  776.  
  777. They were on another spree but decided to enjoy the view.
  778.  
  779. ”Are you proud of how things have gone?”
  780.  
  781. ”What do you mean?”
  782.  
  783. ”Are you glad that I formed DICE with you and Ren?”
  784.  
  785. Masayuki stares into Kokichi’s eyes with a gentle smile.
  786.  
  787. ”Well, what do you think the answer is?”
  788.  
  789. Kokichi placed his finger on his chin and squinting his eyes a little looking up at the tall figure.
  790.  
  791. ”Hmmm… Hmmm…”
  792.  
  793. Kokichi was tilting his head side to side for a full 30 seconds repeating the same noise over and over again. Masayuki eventually gained an obviously fake smiled and eventually pieced together Kokichi was fucking with him.
  794.  
  795. ”I’m glad you formed DICE.”
  796.  
  797. He had to break the truth or they’d be there all night.
  798.  
  799. ”Yes!”
  800.  
  801. Kokichi clenched his hand and grinned out of the delight of victory.
  802.  
  803. ”Why did you ask anyway?”
  804.  
  805. ”Well, you said it yourself. A good leader has to satisfy his subordinates or he’s not even a leader.”
  806.  
  807. ”Ah, so you actually do take my advice.”
  808.  
  809. ”Of course. Don’t you understand me?”
  810.  
  811. ”I’m allowed to keep in check, aren’t I?”
  812.  
  813. Masayuki looked down at the pavement below. They were very high up. Kokichi couldn’t read Masayuki’s expression.
  814.  
  815. ”After all, even the best people can change.”
  816.  
  817. ”Huh?”
  818.  
  819. Masayuki looked up and smiled at Kokichi once again.
  820.  
  821. ”So it’s good to know you’re the little leader we all know and love.”
  822.  
  823. Masayuki gave Kokichi a tap on the back, or more so a push that wobbled Kokichi forwards.
  824.  
  825. ”Ahh-!”
  826.  
  827. Masayuki caught him easily before he managed to fall without losing his smile. He brought Kokichi backwards and left him standing behind the rail of the balcony in safe zone.
  828.  
  829. Kokichi did not seem amused, with his face and cheeks puffed and his fists clenched.
  830.  
  831. ”What was that for!?”
  832.  
  833. ”Relax, it was just a prank.”
  834.  
  835. ”It wasn’t funny!”
  836.  
  837. Masayuki couldn’t help but laugh.
  838.  
  839. ”You sound like a little kid having a tantrum. I thought you’d act older for your age.”
  840.  
  841. ”Hey!”
  842.  
  843. The two looked behind them from being called out to hear one of the recruited DICE members, Seiji, call out to them.
  844.  
  845. ”We’re getting ready to leave now. We’ve rearranged almost everything but never stolen anything just like you asked.”
  846.  
  847. ”Good work, Nishimura-chan!”
  848.  
  849. Kokichi and Seiji gave each other a thumbs up. Kokichi and Masayuki picked up their masks and got ready to head out.
  850.  
  851. They thought the halls were empty only for a sudden shadow to run past them.
  852.  
  853. ”Eii!”
  854.  
  855. Kokichi realized he was just grabbed and pinned against the wall.
  856.  
  857. ”Leader!”
  858.  
  859. After hearing Ren call out, Kokichi recovered and looked up to see a familiar face looking up at him.
  860.  
  861. ”Explain yourself. Now.”
  862.  
  863. The figure called out.
  864.  
  865. Kokichi could only reach out his hands and take off his mask as soon as he could to show his face.
  866.  
  867. ”K-Kokichi?”
  868.  
  869. ”R...Raiden?”
  870.  
  871. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  872.  
  873. The group somehow managed to get out of there and settle down back to their base with Raiden, after his and Kokichi’s awkward reunion. Kokichi trusted him enough with the base.
  874.  
  875. ”A detective?”
  876.  
  877. ”Yeah, that’s right. I was asked to look into you guys.”
  878.  
  879. Raiden looked up at Kokichi who was sitting down on the lounge chair with his legs crossed and arms tucked in between.
  880.  
  881. ”I just didn’t expect to find… An old friend.”
  882.  
  883. Kokichi then remembered.
  884.  
  885. ”H-Hey… Did Mama and Papa… React when I was gone?”
  886.  
  887. ”...”
  888.  
  889. Raiden stayed quiet. Not a single word. Kokichi eventually knew he wasn’t going to answer and just looked down sadly at his feet.
  890.  
  891. ”So with that, I’m abandoning this case.”
  892.  
  893. ”Huh?”
  894.  
  895. ”Well, I don’t want to sell out my own brother now, do I?”
  896.  
  897. Raiden got up from his seat and gave his brother a pet on the shoulder.
  898.  
  899. ”But I’ll be sure to stop by and visit.”
  900.  
  901. Raiden let go of his brother’s shoulder and headed towards the exit.
  902.  
  903. ”After all, I’m sure that you want your family again.”
  904.  
  905. Raiden closed the door behind him and was out of sight.
  906.  
  907. Masayuki tried to hide his annoyed expression from Kokichi who luckily seemed to fixated on the door, and muttered.
  908.  
  909. ”He already has his family…”
  910.  
  911. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  912.  
  913. It had been a week since Kokichi’s reunion with his brother. He hasn’t seen him since, or at least until today.
  914.  
  915. Kokichi was strolling nearby the alley and found a stray kitten. He started clicking his fingers for it to come closer towards him and succeeded.
  916.  
  917. ”C’mere, kitty.”
  918.  
  919. Kokichi scratched under the kitten’s neck from the front and the back and then proceeded to pet his back. The kitten began to purr and lay down on his side. Kokichi rubbed his hand across it’s silver fur gently and smiled.
  920.  
  921. ”Mhm…”
  922.  
  923. Strays don’t come by often, but Kokichi always liked to befriend them since they brought out his feeling of being a child again. Although, he mostly preferred cats.
  924.  
  925. ”Hey.”
  926.  
  927. ”Huh?”
  928.  
  929. Kokichi looked up to see Raiden had returned.
  930.  
  931. ”Ah, you’re back.”
  932.  
  933. Kokichi left the kitten alone and stood up to face his old relative.
  934.  
  935. ”Is this awkward for you?”
  936.  
  937. ”Well, not exactly… If anything, I’m sort of relieved.”
  938.  
  939. Kokichi looked up at his brother with genuine empathy.
  940.  
  941. ”After all, you were the only one who felt like family.”
  942.  
  943. ”Same to you.”
  944.  
  945. Kokichi and Raiden decided to hand shake.
  946.  
  947. ”Which is why I want you join me.”
  948.  
  949. ”What?”
  950.  
  951. Kokichi stood back a little.
  952.  
  953. ”Join my business.”
  954.  
  955. ”Your… Detective business?”
  956.  
  957. ”Yep. Imagine it. Two brothers reuniting and working together to solve cases and making the world a better place.”
  958.  
  959. Raiden closed in on Kokichi and have him a soft hug while whispering in his ear comfortingly. His tender voice almost put Kokichi to sleep. Then Kokichi snapped out of it and focused.
  960.  
  961. ”S-Sorry, but… That would mean I would have to abandon DICE.”
  962.  
  963. Kokichi leaned back so Raiden would release him from the hug.
  964.  
  965. ”So you’d rather be a petty criminal rather than a good person? What kind of justice is that?”
  966.  
  967. ”It’s not just about justice. It’s about having a family.”
  968.  
  969. ”I thought I was your family.”
  970.  
  971. ”You… You are, but… No, you used to be, but-”
  972.  
  973. ”Confused, I see.”
  974.  
  975. Raiden closed in on Kokichi’s ear once again and whispered.
  976.  
  977. ”I felt a little article in the storage room of your hideaway.”
  978.  
  979. “Huh…?”
  980.  
  981. Kokichi’s eyes widened up and looked back up to see Raiden was already walking away with a final turn back to his little brother with a sorrowful side glance.
  982.  
  983. ”Just remember I’m doing this all for your sake.”
  984.  
  985. ”M...My sake?”
  986.  
  987. Kokichi was stunned as he watched his brother walk away. He didn’t even react to the kitten rubbing against his leg some more.
  988.  
  989. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  990.  
  991. That night, Kokichi sat around in the main front room while the other members were busy. He was thinking all day on whether to take Raiden’s advice or not.
  992.  
  993. ”It… It’s probably nothing.”
  994.  
  995. He finally decided. He got up and walked towards the storage room. However, he found an unexpected face there.
  996.  
  997. ”Kobayashi-chan?”
  998.  
  999. ”Oh-!”
  1000.  
  1001. Masayuki got up in a panic after being caught digging through the pile.
  1002.  
  1003. ”Ouma-kun… What are you doing here?”
  1004.  
  1005. ”What are you hiding…?”
  1006.  
  1007. Kokichi tried to bend over to see what Masayuki was obviously hiding behind his back. A report of some kind.
  1008.  
  1009. ”Oh nothing, it’s just, uh-”
  1010.  
  1011. ”Did you… Overhear the conversation me and Raiden have?”
  1012.  
  1013. ”Uhh…”
  1014.  
  1015. Before Masayuki could notice Kokichi was right behind him and grabbed onto the report. Masayuki tried to grab him and take it away but Kokichi moved out of the way and read it in time.
  1016.  
  1017. Kokichi’s eyes faded and widened the further he read, and his eyebrows and mouth dropped further.
  1018.  
  1019. Kobayashi Masayuki, age 13, admits to the murder of his parents, court excused it due to the abuse the child was under counting it as self defense.
  1020.  
  1021. Masayuki started to tremble as Kokichi turned his head towards him looking betrayed. This whole time, his most trusted member defied the one rule years ago, yet decided to keep it a secret from Kokichi this whole time.
  1022.  
  1023. ”...You liar.”
  1024.  
  1025. After changing expression from betrayed to angered, Kokichi through the report on the floor and ran out of the storage room.
  1026.  
  1027. ”Ouma-kun, wait!”
  1028.  
  1029. Masayuki went running after him and outside of the house. He didn’t know how far Kokichi had gotten in the alleyway or what directions he’d taken, but he needed to do something.
  1030.  
  1031. Kokichi ran as far as he could and took as many alternate routes as he could. He wasn’t leaving DICE. He wasn’t even leaving Masayuki. He just needed to take in what he just learnt. A time to reflect. Until he was stopped in his path.
  1032.  
  1033. A familiar figure awaited around the corner.
  1034.  
  1035. ”Raiden!”
  1036.  
  1037. Kokichi ran towards him but stopped at a fair distance.
  1038.  
  1039. ”I… I need to tell you something.”
  1040.  
  1041. ”Oh? You’re willing to join me?”
  1042.  
  1043. ”No, not that, but…”
  1044.  
  1045. Kokichi heard a puddle go off like someone stepped onto one behind him and immediately turned around for defense only to be grabbed by his wrist by some weird man in a black and white suit and shaggy black hair.
  1046.  
  1047. ”Wh-What?”
  1048.  
  1049. ”Ah, don’t worry. He’s a friend of mine.”
  1050.  
  1051. Kokichi looked back at Raiden to see his expression changed. It was one he hadn’t seen before. It was a cheeky grin that almost made his eyes look like they were glowing.
  1052.  
  1053. It was an expression of ill intent.
  1054.  
  1055. ”Agh-!”
  1056.  
  1057. Masayuki heard Kokichi’s voice sounding distressed.
  1058.  
  1059. ”Ouma-kun!?”
  1060.  
  1061. Masayuki ran towards the sound of the scream but ended up having to search through several alternate pathways to see where he was.
  1062.  
  1063. Kokichi’s actual location was surrounded by three men similar to the one that grabbed him, his arms being wrapped around by one of them and his mouth being covered by another, only letting his muffled squeeks make it out.
  1064.  
  1065. ”Mmph…! Hmmm…!”
  1066.  
  1067. If Masayuki heard him, he’d probably mistake it for a rat. Kokichi tried to ignore the men feeling across his face and body and looked up at his brother who was on a call with someone.
  1068.  
  1069. ”Yeah, I got him. He wasn’t actually that hard to catch like I thought… Yeah, I’ll bring him over.”
  1070.  
  1071. Raiden hung up only to hear his little brother trying to make out words.
  1072.  
  1073. ”Mmmhmmmhmmm-!”
  1074.  
  1075. ”I’m guessing you’re a little confused.”
  1076.  
  1077. Raiden turned to Kokichi and started to explain the situation.
  1078.  
  1079. ”The short version? I’m going to kill you. The long version? This was a setup. I’m no detective. Actually, you remember that mafia organization that was recruiting members and doing paid deeds back in town? Well, sometime after you abandoned me, I happened to join that mafia. And what did I do? I sort out to get back at every member of my family.”
  1080.  
  1081. Kokichi’s muffling came to a stop after that.
  1082.  
  1083. ”Aww, did I surprise you? That’s right. Mama? Papa? I got rid of them. At first I felt satisfied, but it was lingering on me for over a year. I thought about how I never truly got revenge, since there was one more whiny, ungrateful bastard out there still breathing.
  1084.  
  1085. But I guess I got lucky when I found a documentary of that DICE organization of yours. I knew it was you the moment I saw you, no mask can hide that. I immediately figured out the patterns you guys go and pretended to encounter you by coincidence. And you fell for it without second thoughts! What a lucky day for me! Oh yeah, and while I visited your little hideaway, I was the one who left that article in your storage room. It looks like that friend of yours figured out I was trying to convince you to abandon him… Do you understand now?”
  1086.  
  1087. One of the men grabbing onto him let go of his mouth.
  1088.  
  1089. ”You… You’re a monster.”
  1090.  
  1091. ”Oh please, you know those old geezers had it coming. And now it’s your turn.”
  1092.  
  1093. ”Hnng-...! No!”
  1094.  
  1095. Kokichi kicked a little, knocking his hat off.
  1096.  
  1097. ”Heh.”
  1098.  
  1099. Raiden walked over behind Kokichi and the men and picked up the hat. While they were all distracted, he knocked his tape recorder to the ground gently.
  1100.  
  1101. ”You think I’d let you knock away evidence like this? That’s right, I caught onto what you were doing.”
  1102.  
  1103. Raiden didn’t notice the tape recorder on the ground and proceeded to walk incredibly close up to Kokichi. The kitten Kokichi was playing with that day was watching his abduction on the side.
  1104.  
  1105. Kokichi looked up at Raiden with hateful eyes. He didn’t know whether to be scared or angry.
  1106.  
  1107. ”Now, Kokichi…”
  1108.  
  1109. Raiden placed his finger tips onto Kokichi’s chin and lifted his head.
  1110.  
  1111. ”...Let’s go home.”
  1112.  
  1113. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  1114.  
  1115. ”Ouma-kun!”
  1116.  
  1117. Masayuki kept looking around and refused to give up until he found Kokichi. He wanted to apologise. He wanted to apologise for keeping from him for so long. Is he even still in the alley?
  1118.  
  1119. Could… Could he have left us for…?
  1120.  
  1121. Masayuki shook his head and deleted that thought.
  1122.  
  1123. ”Ouma-kun!”
  1124.  
  1125. Masayuki eventually came across the kitten from that today.
  1126.  
  1127. ”...Mew…”
  1128.  
  1129. The kitten stared up at him and then ran around the corner. Masayuki took the stupid yet brilliant idea to run after the kitten. Upon doing so, he ended up finding Kokichi’s tape recorder.
  1130.  
  1131. ”Oh no.”
  1132.  
  1133. Masayuki picked up the small tape recorder with his hand and reluctantly pressed the play button.
  1134.  
  1135. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  1136.  
  1137. Masayuki ran back to the shack furious.
  1138.  
  1139. ”Boys, put on your masks, we’ve got a rat to catch!”
  1140.  
  1141. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  1142.  
  1143. ”G… Grrhhmm…”
  1144.  
  1145. Kokichi groaned before opening his eyes and realizing he’s laying on his side. Kokichi lifts himself slowly. He looks around to see a pipe on the wall in front of him. He looks around further to see he’s inside of some sort of dungeon with huge dark grey bricks surrounding the area.
  1146.  
  1147. ”Ah, you’re awake?”
  1148.  
  1149. Kokichi turned to see two red eyes looking through the gap of the iron door.
  1150.  
  1151. ”Raiden!”
  1152.  
  1153. Kokichi ran towards the door and gave the handle a tug. As expected, it was locked.
  1154.  
  1155. ”Let me out of here, you asshole!”
  1156.  
  1157. ”But why would I do that? I wanted to bond with you a little more before you die.”
  1158.  
  1159. ”I’m not going to die! I have 10 subordinates who can-”
  1160.  
  1161. ”And what makes you think your disappearance wasn’t interpreted as you abandoning them?”
  1162.  
  1163. Kokichi stopped and dropped to his knees.
  1164.  
  1165. ”But even without that, you’ve been taken all the way back to Japan. You’re back in our home town where we grew up. I thought it’d be a tragically fitting farewell.”
  1166.  
  1167. Raiden then threw a living spider into the cell Kokichi was in causing Kokichi to scatter back into the wall.
  1168.  
  1169. ”...!”
  1170.  
  1171. ”Ah, I remembered you were afraid of bugs, so I brought you a friend.”
  1172.  
  1173. The spider was harmless and just crawled around but Kokichi made sure to keep his distance.
  1174.  
  1175. ”Now, how about we catch up for a while? Like brothers do.”
  1176.  
  1177. Kokichi got back up and ran to the gap of the door.
  1178.  
  1179. ”You’re not my brother!”
  1180.  
  1181. ”And who is? Kobayashi-kun? That traitor?”
  1182.  
  1183. ”You’re one to talk…! They’re more of a family then you or our parents were.”
  1184.  
  1185. Raiden grabbed Kokichi’s wrist and slammed the arm onto the the bottom of the gap of the door.
  1186.  
  1187. ”Argh…!”
  1188.  
  1189. Raiden then pushed onto Kokichi’s chest and pushed him to the floor.
  1190.  
  1191. Kokichi looked up at Raiden’s devilish smile. It was probably the first time Kokichi has ever been looked down upon.
  1192.  
  1193. ”Looks like we’ve got company. See that camera in the corner? If you’re not alive by the time I deal with this and come back, then I’ll always have the footage of your death.”
  1194.  
  1195. ”What?”
  1196.  
  1197. Raiden covers up the gap making the room go dark. Then Kokichi quickly notices the pipe goes off with water shooting out.
  1198.  
  1199. ”Oh no…”
  1200.  
  1201. Kokichi starts desperately banging on the door.
  1202.  
  1203. ”Raiden! I can’t swim! Please don’t do this!”
  1204.  
  1205. Kokichi tried to calm down, held onto himself and slided himself back to the floor shivering.
  1206.  
  1207. ”I don’t want to die…”
  1208.  
  1209. Kokichi wants the pipe go off further and further as the room slowly flooded.
  1210.  
  1211. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  1212.  
  1213. While his face wasn’t visible to the public at the moment, the determination in Masayuki’s eyes could be seen by anyone. He didn’t know much about Raiden, although he remembered his few brief encounters with him and Kokichi talking about him a year ago, but it didn’t matter how much he knew about him. He had crossed the line the moment he got his hands on Kokichi.
  1214.  
  1215. He no longer cared about earning Kokichi’s forgiveness, or even that he’d remain the leader of DICE. All he cared for at that point was for him to be safe.
  1216.  
  1217. ”Are we lost?”
  1218.  
  1219. ”No, we can’t be lost. Just keep moving forward, and we’ll find him.”
  1220.  
  1221. ”This guy is Ouma-kun’s brother, right? So he’s probably being hidden somewhere in the back.”
  1222.  
  1223. They ran past so many cells with Masayuki leading. They wouldn’t give up no matter what.
  1224.  
  1225. ”Looking for someone?”
  1226.  
  1227. The group all turned around to see Raiden casually standing before them.
  1228.  
  1229. Nobody spoke back.
  1230.  
  1231. ”It appears you’re probably not on good terms with me. So how about we make a deal?”
  1232.  
  1233. ”A deal?”
  1234.  
  1235. ”Well, I direct you to where Kokichi is, and I get to have the girl.”
  1236.  
  1237. ”Kyah-!”
  1238.  
  1239. They all turn to see Ren’s wrist being grabbed by one of the henchmen from before.
  1240.  
  1241. ”Sasaki-san!”
  1242.  
  1243. ”Also, you better hurry up with that decision because Kokichi isn’t going to pull through much longer.”
  1244.  
  1245. ”You…!”
  1246.  
  1247. Masayuki looked back at Ren, only to notice there’s a small taser-like toy on her fingertip. He took a deep breath and put his trust in Ren.
  1248.  
  1249. ”Alright, we’ll take the deal.”
  1250.  
  1251. ”Perfect.”
  1252.  
  1253. Raiden walked across the halls. They didn’t trust him one bit but they were curious where he was leading them towards.
  1254.  
  1255. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  1256.  
  1257. When Ren was dragged out of sight, she used her finger tip to electrocute her captor giving him to fall the ground and let go of her.
  1258.  
  1259. ”Tee-hee!”
  1260.  
  1261. As a result, she ended up finding a narrow path leading to a different room.
  1262.  
  1263. She went into the room across to find some sort of computer room.
  1264.  
  1265. ”Perfect!”
  1266.  
  1267. Ren strolled across the room to learn it’s basically empty. Luckily, her and Masayuki had the receivers on their ears in case they seperated.
  1268.  
  1269. Ren looked at one of the computers to see they were security cameras. She ended up finding the location of the rest of the DICE members and where they were being lead.
  1270.  
  1271. She kept an eye on that camera but searched the other computers to find Kokichi’s cell.
  1272.  
  1273. Sure enough, she found it and it wasn’t looking good. The water was risen halfway through the room and Kokichi already raising his chin.
  1274.  
  1275. ”Masayuki!”
  1276.  
  1277. She placed her finger on her receiver and spoke through it.
  1278.  
  1279. ”Yeah?”
  1280.  
  1281. ”They’re trying to drown Kokichi.”
  1282.  
  1283. ”Those…!”
  1284.  
  1285. ”Keep your voice down. And from the looks of it, that punk is not leading you in the right direction.”
  1286.  
  1287. ”Right. Thanks for letting me know. Give me the directions.”
  1288.  
  1289. ”Alright.”
  1290.  
  1291. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  1292.  
  1293. Masayuki touched Aya’s shoulder and whispered to her.
  1294.  
  1295. ”As expected, he’s leading us to a trap. If I sneak outta here, could you go along with it and warn the others?”
  1296.  
  1297. Aya nodded.
  1298.  
  1299. Due to said nod, Masayuki jumped behind the pole on the wall so Raiden wouldn’t notice he was missing and the others walked out of sight, making it safer for Masayuki to find the cell as long as he could avoid the other members.
  1300.  
  1301. ”Alright. Aya’s on patrol of keeping the others safe. Now where’s Ouma-kun?”
  1302.  
  1303. ”Take a left.”
  1304.  
  1305. Masayuki followed the instructions to plan.
  1306.  
  1307. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  1308.  
  1309. Masayuki finally managed to follow the directions to Kokichi’s cell, which was actually in a single room altogether. The gap of the door was covered, which makes sense with what Ren said they were doing to him.
  1310.  
  1311. ”I’m here.”
  1312.  
  1313. ”Right… Oh no.”
  1314.  
  1315. ”What do you mean, oh no?”
  1316.  
  1317. ”You need to get him out of there right now.”
  1318.  
  1319. ”Is he dead!?”
  1320.  
  1321. ”Well, he’s not moving.”
  1322.  
  1323. ”Oh god...!”
  1324.  
  1325. Masayuki found the keys next to the cell and immediately opened the door with them. Of course, a bunch of water slammed into him and skidded him across the room, also making his mask slip off. Although, he didn’t seem too bothered by it and immediately got up.
  1326.  
  1327. ”Ouma-kun!”
  1328.  
  1329. He got up and ran towards the boy laying on his side completely soaked and unconscious.
  1330.  
  1331. ”Oh god, please don’t be dead!”
  1332.  
  1333. He felt his chest and luckily felt a heartbeat.
  1334.  
  1335. ”Hack-!”
  1336.  
  1337. Kokichi coughed up some water and opened his eyes.
  1338.  
  1339. ”Koba… Yashi-chan?”
  1340.  
  1341. ”Oh… Oh thank god!”
  1342.  
  1343. Masayuki held his hand around Kokichi’s head and then immediately gave him a kiss on the lips, which Kokichi was surprised about at first, but eventually returned.
  1344.  
  1345. ”Gross!”
  1346.  
  1347. Ren interrupts the moment through the receiver and the boys break apart.
  1348.  
  1349. ”Also, things aren’t looking good.”
  1350.  
  1351. ”The others?”
  1352.  
  1353. ”Yeah, Aya’s not good at staying defense.”
  1354.  
  1355. ”Oh no.”
  1356.  
  1357. ”K-Kobayashi-chan! Wha-!?”
  1358.  
  1359. ”Look, all 9 of us came over to save you and we kinda left the others with your brother.”
  1360.  
  1361. ”You left them with Raiden!?”
  1362.  
  1363. Kokichi immediately went up and running only for Masayuki to grab onto them.
  1364.  
  1365. ”Let go of me!”
  1366.  
  1367. ”I’ll see what’s up with them. I’m… I’m not losing you again, okay…?”
  1368.  
  1369. ”Kokichi, I’m in the computer room so I can see all over this place. I know where the exit is.”
  1370.  
  1371. ”See? You need to calm down, find Ren and then get out. I’ll find the others and won’t come back until they’re safe, alright?”
  1372.  
  1373. ”B-But…!”
  1374.  
  1375. ”I just need you to trust me!”
  1376.  
  1377. Kokichi calmed down and looked at Masayuki.
  1378.  
  1379. ”O-Okay…”
  1380.  
  1381. ”Here.”
  1382.  
  1383. Masayuki took off his receiver and gave it to Kokichi.
  1384.  
  1385. ”Follow her instructions to meet up and get out, okay? Don’t get sidetracked.”
  1386.  
  1387. ”Alright… Brother.”
  1388.  
  1389. Kokichi looked up with a broken smile.
  1390.  
  1391. Masayuki couldn’t smile. He had to find the others. Luckily, he remembered his way back.
  1392.  
  1393. Kokichi followed the instructions given to him from the receiver.
  1394.  
  1395. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  1396.  
  1397. Masayuki found his way back to when he last saw the others. Luckily, it was a straight path where they went. However, he ran out of luck when he opened the door at the end of the hall.
  1398.  
  1399. ”Going somewhere?”
  1400.  
  1401. Raiden was right in front of the door.
  1402.  
  1403. ”God damn it!”
  1404.  
  1405. ”So you thought I didn’t notice you leaving, eh? I really thought you’d be smarter than that.”
  1406.  
  1407. He kept walked forward, closing in on him, while Masayuki took a step back the further he got.
  1408.  
  1409. ”What have you done with the others?”
  1410.  
  1411. ”...Well, at least they’re not dead.”
  1412.  
  1413. ”...!”
  1414.  
  1415. ”So, I’m taking it you’re mad at me. I revealed your secret, kidnapped your best friend and tried to kill him, and now I’ve got the closest you’ve got to a family. Oh, you must hate me, right?”
  1416.  
  1417. Masayuki stopped walking back and stood his ground.
  1418.  
  1419. ”Why yes. Yes, I do hate you. I think you’re sick, manipulative, deserve to rot, and quite frankly, you look like a shitty sonic OC.”
  1420.  
  1421. ”That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”
  1422.  
  1423. Raiden was close enough to hold onto Masayuki and then get close to his face. Masayuki’s eyes widened when he found out what he was going to do upon lifting up his bangs and opening his mouth.
  1424.  
  1425. ”Augh-... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!”
  1426.  
  1427. Masayuki dropped completely to the floor, holding onto the bloody hollow socket.
  1428.  
  1429. ”M-M-My… Ahhh…!”
  1430.  
  1431. Raiden spat out the eyeball from his mouth and looked down at Masayuki with no remorse. He then placed an item down next to him.
  1432.  
  1433. ”By the way… You forgot your mask.”
  1434.  
  1435. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  1436.  
  1437. ”Oh shit…!”
  1438.  
  1439. ”What? Sasaki-chan, what’s happening!?”
  1440.  
  1441. ”I-I-I can’t…! Look, just get outta the-!?”
  1442.  
  1443. Ren’s receiver went static.
  1444.  
  1445. ”Sasaki-chan!? Sasaki-chan! Please, answer me!”
  1446.  
  1447. Kokichi realized the receiver on the other end was busted and placed his hands over his face.
  1448.  
  1449. ”Please, god…! Don’t do this…!”
  1450.  
  1451. ”So… Are you satisfied?”
  1452.  
  1453. ”...Huh?”
  1454.  
  1455. Kokichi looked up to see Raiden in the other room.
  1456.  
  1457. ”Raiden!”
  1458.  
  1459. Kokichi ran inside without second thoughts.
  1460.  
  1461. ”What have you done with them!?”
  1462.  
  1463. ”With who? Your little friends?”
  1464.  
  1465. ”...No. I’m asking what you did to my family?”
  1466.  
  1467. Kokichi looked up at Raiden with an expression full of both sorrow and wrath.
  1468.  
  1469. ”Heh. Don’t worry. They’re not dead. In fact, they’re in this room.”
  1470.  
  1471. ”Huh?”
  1472.  
  1473. Raiden pointed to a black cloth covering a huge amount of space in the room.
  1474.  
  1475. ”They’re right behind there.”
  1476.  
  1477. Kokichi gave no second thoughts and went running.
  1478.  
  1479. ”There’s a catch though.”
  1480.  
  1481. ”...Ough-...!”
  1482.  
  1483. Kokichi felt the hard kick of his brother’s foot lunging into his chest and throwing him back away slamming onto the floor.
  1484.  
  1485. ”They’re more of a prize if you don’t end up getting killed by me.”
  1486.  
  1487. Kokichi got up to his feet and looked back at his brother fiercely. If that’s what it took, then he’d endure all of the pain.
  1488.  
  1489. Kokichi ended up getting picked up and thrown by his brother before he knew it, hitting into the wall.
  1490.  
  1491. ”Hack-...!”
  1492.  
  1493. Kokichi slid down to the floor but immediately jumped to the side when his brother went in for another kick, resulting in him kicking the wall. Kokichi tried to crawl away only for his leg to be grabbed and dragged towards his brother.
  1494.  
  1495. ”Hnnng…”
  1496.  
  1497. Kokichi wasn’t even in pain yet, but was terrified as to what was going to come.
  1498.  
  1499. His fear was justified when Raiden stepped on Kokichi’s back and then twisted his shoe.
  1500.  
  1501. ”Ahh…! Ahaa…!”
  1502.  
  1503. The brother then stood on his neck and stepped down further.
  1504.  
  1505. ”Gah! Ahh…!”
  1506.  
  1507. Kokichi slowly raised his body up, even with his brother’s foot on his neck and took the first chance to get out of that position and run for it.
  1508.  
  1509. He didn’t get far when he was grabbed and thrown once again straight to the floor.
  1510.  
  1511. Kokichi trying to get up is knocked down again by Raiden bringing in weapons. He had a tasar to electrocute him, a knife to stab his thigh and hip and a gun to shoot through his hand. Three attacks he used back-to-back.
  1512.  
  1513. ”Ieehh…! Hack-! Ahhhh!”
  1514.  
  1515. Despite all the pain, there was no full screams. Just helpless whining.
  1516.  
  1517. Despite this, Raiden noticed Kokichi still attempting to get to his feet despite the wobbling and the pain.
  1518.  
  1519. ”Hnn...nnng…!”
  1520.  
  1521. Raiden grabbed Kokichi by the neck and lifted him up.
  1522.  
  1523. ”Gough…!”
  1524.  
  1525. ”...Why didn’t you go this far for me?”
  1526.  
  1527. ”Aaaah…!”
  1528.  
  1529. Kokichi couldn’t even be surprised. Raiden was choking too hard for him to react properly.
  1530.  
  1531. ”All that time, I put my damndest into being a good son and being a good brother, only to be stressed around by my own parents calling me an accident at birth just for getting something wrong in a practice and only caring about me for my talents! Only to be abandoned and left with those assholes so my brother can be a good-for-nothing fucking clown! Do you know what that feels like!?”
  1532.  
  1533. ”Geugh…”
  1534.  
  1535. Raiden threw his brother once again into the wall. And despite everything, Kokichi still managed to get up struggling.
  1536.  
  1537. ”You’re still going? Ha. All of these for a bunch of criminals!?”
  1538.  
  1539. ”You’ve… Got that… Wrong…”
  1540.  
  1541. ”Huh?”
  1542.  
  1543. ”They’re more than just criminals…! Aha…! Like I… Said… They’re my family.”
  1544.  
  1545. Raiden grabbed onto Kokichi by his cloak and pinned him against the wall.
  1546.  
  1547. ”They’re your family? And what do I get? I tried everything just to-”
  1548.  
  1549. ”Look!”
  1550.  
  1551. Kokichi coughed upon yelling but it was the only way for Raiden to calm down.
  1552.  
  1553. ”I’m… Sorry that I ignored you. Or that I left you. You didn’t deserve that, but… I just wanted a proper family. Our parents were always focused on you, never me, they didn’t ca-”
  1554.  
  1555. ”So you left me with them, to deal with all the stress they put on me, all because you were a little attention whore!?”
  1556.  
  1557. ”That’s not-”
  1558.  
  1559. Kokichi was thrown one more time hitting the middle of the floor.
  1560.  
  1561. Upon hitting the floor, his cape fell off along with it.
  1562.  
  1563. ”Ah…!”
  1564.  
  1565. Kokichi stared at the cape that lay on the floor and then he looked down covering his own face.
  1566.  
  1567. ”What’s up with you now?”
  1568.  
  1569. Raiden ran right in front of Kokichi and pulled his chin up to see…
  1570.  
  1571. Tears.
  1572.  
  1573. Lots of tears strolling down Kokichi’s face.
  1574.  
  1575. ”...”
  1576.  
  1577. ...How utterly boring.”
  1578.  
  1579. Raiden smirked.
  1580.  
  1581. ”...Bor...ing?”
  1582.  
  1583. Raiden went to snatch Kokichi’s hat off only for Kokichi to grab onto it tightly from both sides, shaking limply.
  1584.  
  1585. Angered Kokichi isn’t giving him what he wants, Raiden grabbed one of Kokichi’s arms and twisted it backwards.
  1586.  
  1587. ”Ahhha…!”
  1588.  
  1589. This caused his other hand to reluctantly let go of his own hat out of impulse. Raiden then took the hat off and then let go of Kokichi’s hand.
  1590.  
  1591. He let Kokichi watch him throw his hat to the position of his cape and smiled about it, Kokichi trying to wipe his tears away.
  1592.  
  1593. ”I said your little comrades are behind that cell, and they are, but you know what else is in this room? The exit.”
  1594.  
  1595. Raiden pointed to the exit right behind Kokichi at the back of the room.
  1596.  
  1597. ”B-But I’m not leavi-!”
  1598.  
  1599. Raiden grabbed onto Kokichi’s neck again and started choking him.
  1600.  
  1601. ”Ehh… Ehhh…”
  1602.  
  1603. ”Leave, or I’m killing you and them!”
  1604.  
  1605. Raiden let go of Kokichi’s neck and then got up waiting for Kokichi’s decision. Kokichi was trying to reach out to the covered cell, which had blood pouring out from underneath it.
  1606.  
  1607. Kokichi eventually gave in and stood up.
  1608.  
  1609. ”Just… Don’t… Hurt them…!”
  1610.  
  1611. Kokichi ran through the exit door.
  1612.  
  1613. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  1614.  
  1615. Kokichi lay down in the nearest alleyway in the pouring rain. His stab and gun wound still bleeding. Raiden took him there to kill him, yet spared his life. He could figure out he had second thoughts about killing him and held back, but he couldn’t forgive him for everything he did.
  1616.  
  1617. He just wanted DICE to be safe. He didn’t want them to die.
  1618.  
  1619. ”I’m… I’m not… Boring, right?”
  1620.  
  1621. Were they safe?
  1622.  
  1623. Were they unharmed?
  1624.  
  1625. Were they alive?
  1626.  
  1627. ──────── ∘°❉°∘ ────────
  1628.  
  1629. Were they even real?
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