Entertaining a Small Thought

2nd Arc Part 9: The Insect Meet and Greet Set Up

"Gonta! Rinny has agreed to help us!" Kokichi chirped happily as we entered Gonta's research lab.

"Oh, Rin! Gonta glad you help with Insect Meet and Greet! Gonta already know Rin like bug friends, so Gonta happy you agree to help." Gonta said happily.

"Y-Yeah. Happy to help. That's me. Friend of all bugs..." I replied hesitantly. I might not have a problem with lying with good intentions, but it just feels wrong to lie to Gonta. That's when I turned to the other person in the lab, the one I didn't think would be there. "So, why are you here, Ryoma?"

"Hmm, same as you, I assume," Ryoma said as he pulled his hat down his head. "I've made an arrangement with Kokichi, so I'll help out with this little 'meet and greet'."

My eyes widened when I heard that and I turned to Kokichi with surprise. There's only one reason Ryoma would make a deal with Kokichi.

"Kokichi...do you have..." I began as my eyes moved to Ryoma before going back to Kokichi.

"Nee-heehee... Maybe, or maybe not." Kokichi responded. "Now, Gonta, I'm sure you want to get started right away. Make sure to catch as many people as you can!"

"Yes!" Gonta nodded before his entire presence changed. A new fierce aura surrounded him as his eyes flared an angry, stern red. "Gonta do his best to get friends to love Gonta's bug friends!" With that, Gonta took off like a man on a mission.

"He looks terrifying..." I muttered.

"Well, now that Gonta's out doing his thing, let's discuss what you two will be doing!" Kokichi said cheerfully. "You both will be doing the same thing as Gonta and bringing people here, though you won't be doing it as forcefully as Gonta. I'm confident that Gonta can get tons of people on his own, but since it's Gonta, I have to expect he'll screw up in some way and won't be able to get everyone, so I want you two to pick up the slack. I'm not expecting too much. Just help Gonta or bring someone here yourself at least."

"And what about you?" Ryoma asked.

"I'll be preparing things here. We'll need some things before the Insect Meet and Greet officially starts, so I'll be getting those before setting them up." Kokichi told us with a smirk. "Besides, I doubt anyone would follow me here."

"True... You're not exactly popular here." Ryoma sighed. "Right. We'll get it done."

"I knew I could count on you guys!" Kokichi smiled widely. "Welp, I gotta get to work. I wish you both the best of luck." Kokichi said as he left the room, leaving me and the former tennis pro alone in the lab.

"...So Kokichi has your video, and you agreed to work with him just to get your hands on it?" I asked him.

"That's pretty much it, though I'm not the biggest fan of working with Kokichi." Ryoma sighed. "I didn't intend for this."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I tried to swap with Kokichi. He had my video, and ironically, I had his." Ryoma told me, making me gasp in shock.

"What are the chances of that...?" I muttered.

"Who knows? Perhaps it's just dumb luck." Ryoma replied while pulling down his hat. "Either way, I tried using that to my advantage to get Kokichi to give me my video in exchange for his, but he rejected the offer, saying that he would instead let me watch the video if I helped him. I didn't really have any other choice but to agree, since Kokichi kept refusing any other offer." Ryoma then turned to me with a curious look of his own. "What about you? I would have thought you were the last person to help someone openly says he wants a murder to happen."

"It's not like that. That's not what Kokichi is trying to do, at least that's what I believe."

"And what makes you so sure about that?"