Truth and Lies

Sweet and Simple

Saiouma Week 2023
Day 7: [Birthday]

Shuichi slowly opens his eyes as he stares up at the ceiling above him. Blinking a few times before yawning, he sits up and rubs his eyes as his blanket falls to his waist, making him shiver from the cold.

Something felt off. Not anything bad, but it just felt strange. The morning announcement hadn't gone off, so what time was it? The detective leaned over and grabbed his Monopad, opening it to look. 5:45 AM. It was still pretty early, but there was no point in going back to sleep. 'Might as well get up.'

Shuichi got up and got ready for the day with a quick shower, teeth brushing, the usual morning routine. After buttoning up his jacket, he checked the time once more, finding it was still only 6:15. He may as well go for a walk around the school, just to check if anything else had happened, as well as to just get his blood pumping for the day. Maybe Iruma would have found something in the big computer room.

He walked around the school yard once, finding nothing, before heading inside. While he knew there probably wouldn't be anything on the first floor, he still felt something was pulling him over. What's the worst that could happen?

Probably death or a body. But hey, everyone was asleep, so those chances were low.

The bluenet walked down the hall to the dining hall, knowing it wouldn't be open yet. However, once he rounded the corner, he found the door open. Strange, did someone leave it open the night before? It felt possible, but with how strict Monokuma was on dining hall hours, he would've closed it if left open.

Then, why was it open? Was the mastermind in there? No, that'd be too obvious, they wouldn't be that careless.

Still, he couldn't get the thought out of his head. Why was the door open before it was supposed to be unlocked? Shuichi had to know.

Being careful of his footsteps, he slowly walked over to the dining hall door. As he got closer, he heard a faint sound coming from inside. Humming, almost. Once he was closer, he could hear what they were humming: Happy birthday.

Happy birthday? Was it someone's birthday? Being stuck here was awful, but having to spend your birthday here as well sounded worse.

The detective gently opened the door a bit more, thankful it didn't squeak, before peeking in a little to catch a glimpse of what was going on. The sight was a shocking one, but it grew into one of sadness.

At the table sat a figure with white clothes and dark purple hair. A muffin of some sort sat in front of them, but off to the side enough for Shuichi to see it, the muffin having a lit candle on it. The figure had their back to the door, but it was obvious who it was. For all his shit, he really couldn't feel bad for Ouma at that moment.

"Happy birthday, dear me~ Happy birthday to me." Ouma sang softly, moving his head side to side slowly in the beat of the song. After he finished, he sat still for a moment. The detective assumed he was making a wish, as he blew the candle out right after.

"Happy birthday to me indeed."

Shuichi bit his lip. Ouma was in the dining hall before 7am, and that could mean a number of things. But he didn't want to jump to any of them just yet. He didn't know if doing this would get himself or both of them in trouble, but he needed to talk. He also couldn't stand the lonely sight of Ouma anymore.

After a deep breath, Shuichi opened the door more and slipped in. "Ouma?"

The liar jumped and snapped his head in his direction, pushing the muffin behind him, out of his sight. "Saihara-chan! What are you doing here?" "I could ask you the same." The bluenet walked over to the male, but was quickly stopped when the black and white bear popped up in between them, visibly fuming.