the punishment motive (completed)

17

okay so obviously life fucked me over
so now over a month later, you shall receive this chapter 💅
(TW: mentions of self harm?)

kaede couldn't stop her hand from moving to her mouth, her eyes wide.
"...what do they mean, they 'know'? does this have to do with..." she stopped herself, the name of the missing boy dying unspoken on her tongue.
shuichi did his best to nod as he continued to shake, thoughts of what terrible fate kokichi may have met overwhelming his mind.
there were shuffles as ultimates got closer to read the words written on the paper, each of their faces paling as they made the connection between the note and kokichi's absence.
the silence was deafening, a dark aura emitting from the students present for kokichi's plan on exposing the mastermind. there were endless possibilities as to what happened to the panta-loving leader- he could've been dead for all they knew.
the cafeteria remained silent even when the monocubs appeared, ready to cry out their arrival until they set the tension in the room.
standing awkwardly, the cubs looked at one another, oblivious to the reason for the uncharacteristic silence of the fifteen teenagers.

"time for the trial~! puhuhuhu"
shuichi shot up from his bed, hoping he didn't hear the hetero-colored bear.
a trial? but there was no body found...

unless..

that unfinished thought was all it took for shuichi to throw himself out of bed, sprinting out of his room without closing the door behind him.
his legs carried him swiftly down the hallways until he ran into the firm chest of a certain robot.
kiibo flinched, then held his hand out to shuichi who was now on the floor.
"are you okay, saihara?-" he began, but was cut off by the dark-haired teen's quiet sobs.
concerned, he knelt down and placed his hand on the other boy's shoulder, gently rubbing shuichi's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.
"..w-was a body...discovered.?" shuichi stuttered out, his gaze fixated on the floor as he watched his tears fall.
kiibo now understood his friend's fear, and he exhaled softly.
"no, but we've run out of investigation time. our only clue as to what happened was the note."
shuichi breathed deeply to calm himself, and once he knew he wouldn't fall to the ground in a heap of tears, he stood and slowly made his way to the elevator with kiibo.

descending into the unknown events that would play out in the trial had never held such a grip on kiibo, but because ouma was involved, he couldn't help but feel the weight of his dread and concern.
images of the dark-haired teen flashed through kiibo's mind, his gravity-defying hair, his sharp and witty eyes, his pale skin, all these features of ouma continued to play in the robot's head. he wished they'd stop, since all they did was make him more nauseous. not because ouma disgusted him, but rather the thought of what might have become of the leader.
was he being held hostage somewhere? tortured? was he...
kiibo shook his head to clear his thoughts, refusing to even think of the possibility that ouma was...no longer among the living.
facing forward, he was met with the sight of the trial room, his fellow ultimates hesitantly spilling out into the room to go to each of their places.

everyone took a turn saying what they thought might have happened to kokichi, each assumption growing worse as they went on. maybe he was tied in a closet somewhere, maybe he was tortured to death. we didn't know.
"a-atua says he is sure that ouma-kun is f-fine..." angie tried to comfort the others by speaking for her god, yet to no avail. no message from atua could cut through the tension and uneasiness in the air.
no one was more on edge than kiibo and shuichi. kiibo, because he was worried for the boy that made his days in that nightmarish building a bit more bearable. shuichi, because he had been able to piece together what happened. the note, the punishment, everything was coming together. all of the students reacting to these things. worry, confusion, and one more. a sense of accomplishment.
imagine that you learned the truth about someone in the room- they were a heartless murderer and they killed someone very dear to you. also imagine you were the only one who knew, and no one else would believe you. you'd be all alone. there's be no point in existing if you were alone.
that was how shuichi felt as his world began to crumble, the muffled sounds of ultimates arguing back and forth blurring his senses. there was only one figure among them that didn't fade.
it was her.
the girl with long, blue hair and oval glasses. the girl who fit in too easily. who lied to everyone and herself and said she wasn't special. that she was plain.
that just wasn't true. she was special to millions of people watching them. she gave them this sick and twisted entertainment, forcing teenagers to go against each other in a blood bath for some fucking money. that girl was watching him, adjusting her glasses and giving him a look that said 'go ahead'. shuichi could feel the eyes of their viewers now, watching and waiting for him to reveal the monster behind the disappearance of kokichi ouma. waiting for him to bring the blue-eyed girl to justice. their pressuring gazes burned through his skull, making electricity spark through his body.
fine, he'd give them what they wanted.
"shuichi, are you okay?"
kaede's voice rang out among the muffled arguing, all going silent as shuichi looked up to kaede. her eyes were shining with worry, and all eyes were on him now. just like the eyes of those who were drawn in by the suffering of ultimates who were just kids.
we're just kids. we didn't do anything.
those were the thoughts that ran through the detective's mind.
"i know.."
his quiet voice resonated in the trial room. the blue-eyed girl still had that look, like she was encouraging the detective to reveal the truth.
taking a deep breath, he began.
"it all started when we voted for someone to be punished. no, it was before that. they were always keeping an eye on him, watching his every move. waiting for him to reveal what he knew. i noticed it and didn't say anything. now i regret that so much- if i had acted back then, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation. kokichi would be here. he'd be okay."
those words made the robot flinch, fearful of what shuichi's words implied.
"they've always been there. they're the one who rigged the votes to make sure kokichi got punished. they're the ones who kidnapped him and hid him away."
everything hurt at this point. his throat stung from trying to keep quiet. he wanted to scream but he couldn't.
"hey, you don't have to keep going-" rantaro spoke, noticing that shuichi wasn't breathing well.
the detective shook his head, and continued.
"they've been waiting to cut him off because he knew too much. kokichi was gradually learning who the mastermind was, and he figured it out. that's when they decided to take action. the only reason i'm still here is because the mastermind wants me to reveal who they are. they're right here, they've been blending in with the rest of us, hiding behind the word 'plain'."
he clutched his chest through the fabric of his clothes, breathing heavy and tears threatening to spill from his golden eyes.
he looked around at all the people that he had met while he was trapped in this hell- their eyes were dark with the colors of fear and disbelief.
he probably looked about the same, but he wasn't worried about that.
out of all the people that could have brought this terrible fate upon them, leading them to their inevitable deaths one by one.
out of all the people that could have forced them to watch someone they didn't deserve to consider a friend be tortured out of his god damn mind at the mercy of sharp needles and murderous machines.
out of all the people...
that he considered a friend.
his heart rang out with sorrow as he spoke, bringing forth what he hoped was the end of the trial.
"tsumugi shirogane, you are the mastermind!"
laughter.
"puhuhu~, good job mister ultimate detective! you're right- i've been watching kokichi ever since he got here. he was too smart to be left unchecked, so i got rid of him as soon as he figured out i was the mastermind!! it was a bummer, though! i was hoping i'd get to play with him longer, but he was weak and died too quick~..." tsumugi purred, her blue eyes appeared to be glowing.
"what did you do to him??!"
himiko spoke after being silent after so long, tenko and ryoma soon joining in. then it was everyone, screaming out at the blue-eyes girl, demanding to know what she had done to their fellow ultimate.
taumugi just laughed again, and pointed up to the ceiling.
"watch."
suddenly the ceiling opened, and something soaked in bright blood fell out.

hey, keep your head up! you'll be back to being yourself soon enough!
you'll be alright!
i'm sorry, just know we're here for you!
i'm here if you need anything!
kokichi ran through the darkness, pain infused in his body. he get sharp stings at every angle, and those phrases kept repeating.
why?
why was it that no one cared until the accident??
they don't care. they just want to make themselves feel better, right? they don't know anything!!
they're never there for me! they just want to boost their own egos and be able to say 'i'm such a good person, offering condolences to a person i've never paid attention to until today!'
he hated being able to feel the sting behind their words, their true thoughts.
die.
you should've died in the accident, too.
they didn't deserve to die protecting a weakling like you.
why don't you just jump off a cliff?
stab yourself in the chest.
pull your organs out.
feed yourself to the animals and become what you really are- a meal for dirty rats.
die.
die.
die.
die.
diE.
dIE.
DIE.
DIE!
it's okay.
kokichi looked up from his tear-filled eyes, his body bleeding from all the stab wounds.
in front of him was an unfamiliar boy. he was pale and had a black school uniform with a black hat. his hair was white and he had aqua eyes that calmed the pain in his own heart. the boy offered him his hand and a gentle smile.
let's leave this place.
together.
the boy pulled kokichi into a hug, and the black-purple haired boy accepted it, letting his tears fal freely as he felt the warmth of the boy's embrace.
his own attire changed from his school uniform to white clothes with a checkered bandana, and the boy he was hugging became more metallic. but it didn't bother him. he was just happy that someone was there that really felt like they cared.
with that thought in mind, he felt the boy's form fading, along with his own body. it didn't matter though.
memories of the world flashed through his mind, along with memories that weren't his. people he didn't know, but he did. a shy boy with golden eyes and a pure heart. a girl with brown hair in ponytails and a secret. and that boy. the pale boy that saved him from himself.
kokichi closed his eyes as he let himself fall into darkness, his eyes catching the view of a circle of teenagers watching him fall. he recognized the three from his memories, and gave them a slight smile to show he was okay. he was happy.
he was free.

i thought that if we exposed tsumugi, and ended the killing game, we'd finally be free. we'd be able to get out of this twisted world. that we'd be able to walk out of here hand-in-hand and be able to say that we survived together. to forget everything that happened and live our lives away from this chamber of death.
in a way i was hoping it was all a nightmare, just a stupid dream.
i'd wake up and be in my own room, in my own home wherever that was.

i'd have a normal life, i wouldn't be the ultimate i̶͉̍́͐̔͛̑̽̎͘͘͝t̸̛͎͇͇͓̜̱̾̀̈̄͊͜'̵̭͕͓͊͂̈́̾͆̇͂̓͐̎̀͗͝͝s̵̡̫͈̤̗͙̖̙̍̉̕ ̷̟̗̝̮̰̥̩̗̯̭͊͊ͅṉ̷̈́̈́͠ỡ̴̮̼̈́̄̓̊͆̅̄̄̏̍̀͝ͅt̴̼̰͌̒̍̈́̆̍̾̈́͘ ̴̡̝̪͔̪̞̈́̆͗̆͗̒́̊͠͠r̴̡̢͓͓̪̪̞̺̞͗͌͜ē̷̠̯̜̖̞̦̼̹̖̓̆̏͐͌̃̍̀̾̆̎̕͝ͅȁ̶̢̙̮͔̬̭̜͕̻̖͋̄͗̊̍͆̐̎͐͘͝ͅl̵̡͍̬̯͗̒̀͌̽̑́̅̓̑͗

they'd all still be alive. we'd all be friends and live happily without the trauma of whatever this twisted killing game is.
but that hope died slowly as we all stood there, helpless, watching the body fall to the floor in a heap of bright magenta, the silence only disrupted by sorrowful wails coming from a certain ultimate robot.

kokichi ouma was dead.