Alternate (Shuichi Saihara x fem reader)

Chapter Five: Deadly Life

"No..." I heard Maki mumble. When I turned to look her her, though, her expression was totally blank. The Monokuma Files were distributed, and the investigation began.

"Wait, everyone has an alibi, right?" I asked. "The sleepover! We should've all been in groups of three or more, right?" I asked.

"Actually, no!" Keebo, who was being held by Shuichi, spoke up. The detective hurriedly handed him off to me for the discussion. "Shuichi and Kokichi had an argument, and Kokichi ran off afterwards. A few minutes later, he came back and informed us of...this."

"So the lovers' quarrel pretty much tells us who the culprit is, right? Kokichi did it! Case closed!" Miu flipped her long hair as she made the claim. "I know, I'm a genius."

"Wasn't me!" Kokichi chirped.

"We get it, you can lie, sheesh."

"Can we please just investigate?" Maki asked nervously. "Everyone has an alibi except Kokichi. Which means," she looked at me, "you aren't needed here." It reminded me of when we first got here, how she wanted me away from her. It was because she was scared. Because she didn't know who to trust. Now she was reliving that fear.

"Maki, are you going to be okay?" I asked. She looked coldly at the body and began helping with the investigation.

"Of course. I deal with corpses all the time. That's all this is." She didn't investigate the body though—just what was around it.

"Let me know if you need anything," I said, turning away. She hummed.

"Y/n, Tsumugi is becoming unstable and prone to panic attacks," Keebo told me. "May I ask you to bring me to her to make sure she's okay?" I nodded and promptly handed him over to the cosplayer. I had to stop and think for a minute. Without the need for an alibi list, I was basically useless. I didn't have the first idea of what to do during the investigation, but I decided, if there was one thing, I could help the girls understand more. Maybe there was a connection made before the groups dispersed that I could uncover by explaining the two sides. Of the boys, Kaito was dead, Shuichi was already knee-deep into the investigation, and Keebo was keeping Tsumugi from having a panic attack. So that left...

"Kokichi, can we talk?" I asked.

"For free?"

"Yeah, thanks!" He wasn't offering, but I accepted it like it was one. We walked a bit of distance from the group, but remained nearby. "So, can you walk me through what happened over there?"

"Seriously? You want me to tell the full truth with no payment?"

"You would? Thank you so much! I'm so glad we're growing as friends enough to do this." I smiled as I spoke, but he just took a long sigh.

"I'm a master manipulator, but right now I'm losing, huh..." he mumbled. "You're weird. Fine, I'll tell you what happened." I readied my pen and paper. I had one, I guess. Shut up. "It started normally. As you know, Kaito was sick at the time, so it was just me, Shumai, and Keeboy. We all got settled in to the library, and we played games for a while. Eventually, I suggested poker, but in exchange for chips, we wrote secrets on papers and used that as currency! Oh, and Keeboy watched. So lame, he doesn't have a body so he can't DO anything... anywayyy, after a few hands, we opened the secrets we collected from one another! Poker is all about lying, but Shuichi actually did pretty good! Maybe he's secretly a liar too, just like me~! Neeheehee! Ah, the perfect couple. Wouldn't it be great if his feelings for you were all a lie? And I could be with him? Hmmmm? Oh, your face is scary. Back on topic! So he opened one of my secrets, and TOTALLY lashed out! It was scary, even scarier than your face just then! Then, well, I got scared and fled. I thought I saw something shiny in the courtyard, then BAM! Kaito's body was there! So I ran back to tell them, and sure enough they were still together, talking about the fight, and I rushed them over to the body and now we're here!" I struggled to keep the pen up with his speaking.

"Very thorough, thank you, Kokichi. What was the secret?"

"It was a SECRET, dumbass! Not even remotely related! God, keep your head on! Are there even brain cells in there?" He started knocking on my head, relentlessly. "Helloooo? Brain ceeeeells?"

"I get it, stop that!" I rushed back to the rest of the group. I didn't want to bother Shuichi, but it looked like I might have had to. Before I did, though, while Shuichi was still investigating the body, j caught a glimpse of a red fabric buried in a bush. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a uniform. A red skirt, with a yellow-beige vest and black overshirt. All stained with blood.

"What's that?" I heard Tsumugi ask nervously. "That can't be..."

"Time's up! Everyone gather at the court—oh, you're all here! Perfect!" Monokuma danced on over to us and opened the elevator. "Well, let's get this show on the road! Who killed Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut? I'm too excited for words! Puhuhu!"

Reluctantly, we all got on the elevator and descended to the trial room. I was far from knowing anything—not why a certain uniform was in the courtyard, nor why Kokichi had found the body there, I didn't know a thing. Regardless, the doors opened, and we held another trial.