The Mastermind's Lies | Mastermind Shuichi AU | EXTENDED

Chapter 41 - Confessions

Shuichi stiffened.

"Maki-roll..."

Maki glared at him. As much as she hated seeing Shuichi upset, she needed to know everything.

Shuichi turned to her with a sympathetic look.

"No, It's alright Kaito... I know why..."

"They wanted to try many different things in this game; the Flashback Lights being one of them. They were supposed to be used for motives and the general story, Monokuma decided to use them as you remembering you "past"..."

Everyone was saddened by that.

It's a weird feeling, isn't it? Having your whole life be fabricated lie. All your emotions, actions, relationships and family be a lie. When you finally realise that, you can't help but feel lost... Not having any sense of direction, not knowing what to do next... Just going through every day wondering who you are. Shuichi felt horrible for them.

It fell into an awkward silence.

"I wasn't as much in control as they wanted you to believe y'know."

"Huh?"

"What does that mean?" Keebo wondered.

"Well, with my personality it'd be hard to run an entire game and not look suspicious, right?"

"For the game to run smoothly, you needed someone behind the scenes. So we agreed that I would remain ambiguous while Monokuma moved things along insidiously from the wings." Shuichi confessed.

"But I thought the Mastermind controlled Monokuma?" Kaede replied.

"No. I didn't control Monokuma at all, he was his own independent AI. For example, given the off chance someone were to kill me, the killing game would still continue."

"But, if that's true, what is the point in having a Mastermind in the first place?" Rantaro interjected.

"The role of a Mastermind is to spread as much despair as possible, while also making sure the killing game runs smoothly."

"Wait but- that doesn't make sense?"

"What do you mean, Tenko?"

"If the role of a Mastermind is to spread as much despair as possible, why pick Shuichi of all people?"

Shuichi's eyes widened.

"Hey yeah! Why pick Shuichi of all people?" Kaito added.

"Yeah..." Shuichi whispered, frustration visible in his tone.

"Do you know Shuichi?" Kirumi asked.

Shuichi nodded. "Yeah... I have for a long time."

"Well fuckin' tell us!" Miu exclaimed.

"Miu, don't force him." Kaede huffed.

"Well, in the simplest way... Revenge."

"Nyeh?"

"Revenge?" Gonta repeated.

"Revenge for what?" Tsumugi asked.

Shuichi turned away.

"He didn't tell me much, but I know some things."

"For starters, that man was one of the contestants in season 41."

Everyone seemed surprised at that.

"Before auditioning, he asked a few people to join him. But they rejected and abandoned him."

"HA! Serves him!" Miu laughed.

Shuichi shook his head.

"Well, in those people he asked, there were two people."

"And those two people were... my parents."

Kaede choked on air.

"Because of them rejecting him, he held a grudge against them."

"So... you can imagine his surprise when he saw me..."

"When did this happen?" Kokichi asked, cutting the tension.

"Oh, before any of you woke up."

"What?!" Kaito exclaimed, maybe a bit to loud.

Shuichi turned to Kaito.

"So they were lying about you being one of the last to be taken out of the game?"

"They lied more than you think, Kaito."

"Well, that much was obvious." Maki remarked.

"It seems everything they told us, was a lie." Korekiyo stated.

"Yeah, probably..."

"What do you know Shuichi?" Kaede asked, determined to find the truth.

"Many things, Kaede..."

"Can you tell us...? Please..."

"...Alright..."

Shuichi cleared his throat before beginning.

"So, what do you guys want to know? Maybe that can help me explain everything."

"What happened our lost memories?" Kirumi asked.

"Ah, right. I was thinking about that earlier. I don't know where or if they have your stolen memories, but I know something at least about them."

"You still had them, inside the game."

"WHAT?!" Miu shrieked.

"But... that doesn't make sense..." Rantaro thought aloud.

"Let him explain first, then we can talk." Maki threatened.

"Right... Well, while I was with Motherkuma the Monokubs mistakenly started the game without erasing and giving you your new memories. So you still had your true personalities before the game actually started."

"But, Danganronpa cannot change personalities. They can only add on things. So your personalities right now are close to your original."

"But I was wondering where they went after, I mean memories can't just- go. They have to go somewhere... right?"

"He has a point there." Ryoma commented.

"Ugh! Stupid shit phone!" Miu whined, stopping the conversation completely.

"Curse those bastards for giving us this crap!"

"Huh?" Shuichi asked.

"Oh right... Um, how do I put this..."

"The phones they gave you back... they're uh..."

"They're the ones you had before the game started."

"Huh?!" Kaede gasped.

"You mean I had this shit before?!"

"Yeah, I recognised Kokichi's."

"Honestly this isn't surprising anymore, what could possibly be worse than this?" Maki pondered.

"What about talents?" Gonta reminded, getting back on track.

"Talents?" Shuichi repeated.

"What about them?"

"Are they actually real? I thought they were just fictional..." Tsumugi guessed.

"Yes, they are real."

"NYEH?!" Himiko perked up.

"So does that mean... my talent is real?" Maki sighed.

"I... don't know about your's Maki... sorry."

"It's fine."

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