Entertaining a Small Thought

5th Arc Part 1: Different Viewpoint

5th Arc: Journey without Feeling or Fulfillment

Daily life

...

...

...What? What is this?

Rin stared at the multiple screens in front of him with a crude mixture of confusion, loathing, and terror on his face. His eyes had shrunk to be as small as they could get as they shook and darted about within his head, not being able to focus on any one thing in front of him.

He wanted to throw up. He just might if he didn't tear his eyes from the screens, but he couldn't. He couldn't stop staring at it.

What he was seeing was making him physically sick. He couldn't stop shaking, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't move, or even speak. He was completely frozen in his tracks by what he had found. The flickering light of the room swayed as it seemed to spin around the now dizzy Rin.

"This...can't be real. This can't...be the truth..." Rin sputtered as he held a hand to his mouth. "Damn it... Damn it...!"

"DAMN IT!"

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The morning after Maki was declared the blackened, everyone gathered in the dining hall, as always.

...As always? Was that was this was?

No, that wasn't possible. Not with what happened the day before. Kaito's death from an illness he kept hidden. Gonta being killed by Maki out of anger. Maki's execution. Kokichi's descent into madness and cruelty. Rin's fury and hatred now being aimed at everyone. Nothing could ever make things like they were a few days ago.

There was no cheer in the air either. Just a heavy sense of tension was in the air as everyone ate quietly.

It did not help that two people were abstaining from the group breakfast. Kokichi wasn't there, which was honestly a relief for everyone. However, Rin was also not there, which only served to worry people more.

Shuichi had no idea what to do. He could only sit there beside Kaede and Rantaro as he ate his own meal, albeit at a snail's pace. He was just as affected by yesterday's events, after all.

Kaito...Maki...

"So...what are we going to do now?" Tenko asked, finally starting up a conversation in a nervous voice.

"That...is the question now, I suppose." Kirumi let out a small sigh as she put her cup down.

"I suppose our first concern is obvious," Rantaro said with narrowed eyes. "Kokichi and Rin."

"Ah...!"

Shuichi couldn't help but gasp when Rantaro said those names. Nervous energy shot through him, sending chills down his spine as he remember the faces those names belonged to. The twisted smile of malice, and the cold, crimson eyes like a predator.

"That's right. Both of them were acting completely different at the end of the trial yesterday." Kaede muttered as she held her arm. "I'm worried about Rin. He was so angry with us."

"He even tried to kill Kokichi in front of us. His mental state concerns me. The stress might have become too much for him what with everything that has happened now." Keebo noted with a frown.

"Where even are Rin and that degenerate anyway? I haven't seen either at all." Tenko grumbled, her voice tense and angry whenever she spoke the names of the absent people.

"I haven't seen them either. Even if I did, I'm not sure I would know what to say to one or the other. I might have just run away." Kaede admitted sheepishly.