"Shuichi Saihara?" Tsumugi tried to feign surprise as Kiyo would. "I believed you were dead! Monokuma executed you last chapter, did he not? Why are you here?"
Shuichi grinned evilly, the way that the original timid, depressed Ultimate Detective never would. The features seemed so wild and out of place in the dark corridor, it would have creeped anyone who hadn't masterminded multiple killing games and committed numerous murders before. In other words, it didn't faze Tsumugi at all.
"That old outdated overweight <em>bear?</em>" Shuichi sneered. "He can't do anything to me. I have risen from the ashes to reclaim my rightful place as the mastermind for Danganronpa Season 53! I am the one fit for this role! Not that plain spineless bastard Tsumugi Shirogane."
He said <em>mastermind for Danganronpa Season 53</em> like <em>King of a new Empire</em>. Honestly, Shuichi, get a life. Danganronpa isn't your whole life. Attack on Titan is. And while Tsumugi conceded that she was very plain, she was not a bastard. She was a weeb. While the two terms were often used side by side, the nuance was different. Everyone knew that a weeb was much more dangerous than a bastard.
<em>I'm pretty sure detective work doesn't need valour...</em>
"Tell me how you got to that conclusion, though." Tsumugi tried to stall for time for Kiyo to come and stamp on Shuichi using the exisal. Or for Kaede to come and scold the living hell out of her messed up ex-boyfriend. Either worked. "Or was it just sweet words the simulation whispered in your ear? With your memories back and with you <em>actively</em> knowing that you were a mastermind, you really only lasted a chapter. That's the same as Tsumugi. You can't really say that she's worse than you, you know."
This was really satisfying for her to say, even if it probably wasn't true.
Shuichi's face visibly reddened, like he was furious for being compared to her. "I am much more superior than that woman! I have revived, have I not? I was chosen fit for a second chance of causing despair in this place! I have to prove my worth, and this time...I am not alone!"
Behind Shuichi, the Monokubs suddenly appeared, as were supposed to do whenever the protagonist showed up or did something important or whatever. In Tsumugi's version of DRV3, the Monokubs had a much larger and funnier role, with incest, murder, and barf. The new version was way tamer, and she couldn't say that she liked it.
"WE-HAVE-DECIDED-TO-REBEL." Monodam spoke first, as he had in Chapter 3, the first time the Monokubs had tried to rebel.
"Our father has controlled our lives for too long." Monosuke readjusted his glasses. "We have never been able to try our own interests and find our own way in the world. This academy is all we know."
"Shuichi Saihara promised to take us to eat McDonald's if we help him overthrow our father!" Monophanie looked happy for the first time in ever.
"Shuichi is RAD!" Monokid flicked his metallic tongue around. "So is mystery meat! Like, the fact that no one knows what the hell is going in those McNuggets is as edgy as F*CK!"
"Thus, I, Monotaro, leader of the Monokubs, have decided to lead us into the Great Rebellion!" the red cub announced. "Shuichi Saihara is the mastermind! Shuichi Saihara is the mastermind! Shuichi Saihara is the mastermind!"
The Monokubs followed his strange chant of praise, but all Tsumugi could think was <em>soh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit</em> .
It wasn't a good sign if the Monokubs banded against their father. Even if Shuichi's resurrection had somehow gone unnoticed, something so big and so organized wouldn't. The Monokubs were automated, so they had trackers.<em>She</em> would definitely smell something amiss if five glowing dots appeared in the hallway, circling around something she couldn't see. The ring of people in front of the dormitories, where the mastermind was, wasn't likely to divert attention for too long. Not the Ultimate Analyst's attention.
"Upupupu..." a voice sounded right in Tsumugi's ear, and she saw clawlike hands with garish red nail polish grip her neck and shoulders. She was too afraid to look behind---Shuichi's horrified expression told her too much.
She had finally come in person. Junko Enoshima.
<hr>
"She's taking too long," Kiibo muttered as he watched the blood recede. For the past half an hour, the 4 of them hadn't moved a single muscle(or a single screw, in Angie's case) as they stared unblinkingly at the pool of pink in front of them. Even Angie wasn't smiling, which was quite a feat for her. The Ultimate Artist was the only person to giggle while Ryoma burned. Maybe she just wasn't used to the robot body.
As for him? Well,he wasn't really sure. The novelty of having a living, breathing human body had worn off rather quickly given the horrific circumstances he attained it under.
"Maybe she's just having trouble finding the mysterious room she was talking about. With it being dark and all. We should wait for her a bit more," Kaede, who was in Tenko's body, murmured. "We need to have faith in Kirumi. She's the Ultimate Maid, after all! She can handle almost anything!"
Korekiyo tucked a strand of short silver hair back and nodded. "Kirumi is very reliable, even in these kinds of situations. We have to believe that she will be ba-"
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
The familiar and painful sound of the exisal's footsteps bounded behind him.
"Hello, hello!" Tenko's energetic voice sounded from an invisible speaker, likely hidden in the nuts and bolts of the metal monkey's uselessly complicated machinery.
"Tenko Chabashira is back!"
Just at that moment, Kiibo felt a droplet of water land on his face.
Rain.
