Beneath the Mask [Oumasai]

Chapter Ten

Shuichi's POV

Kaito disappeared behind the small window of the hangar's bathroom. That was the place Kokichi kept the astronaut after kidnapping him. We promised to bail him out of there the next day. I felt like I had nothing else to do, so I decided to head to the dormitory to get some sleep, as the sun had gone down a long time ago.

But something odd caught my attention. An Exisal heading inside the hangar. For a moment, I just stood there, thinking if I should go investigate or mind my own business. The number of Exisals guarding the entrance got reduced by one, making it somewhat easier to sneak past them. It would have been still dangerous though.

All of a sudden, I heard a distant scream, most likely coming from the hangar. That was the moment I couldn't resist my curiosity anymore. I wanted to know what was going on in there. Fortunately, the Exisals took positions where I'd be out of their eyesight if I went inside. I knew it was now or never. Gathering all of my courage, I strided towards the entrance of the hangar.

When I peered inside, I saw Maki standing there with one of her arms held out. She didn't move at all. I could hear her talking, but only faintly, as I stood far from her. Without thinking too much about it, I tiptoed further into the building to get a better view and understanding of the situation.

I snuck past the hydraulic press, stopping at the painting machine. From there, I could clearly hear the conversation going on between the assassin and...Kokichi. I got a good view too, but what was going on turned out to be far worse than I imagined. I saw Kokichi kneeling on the ground, Maki pointing her crossbow at his head.

"...I'll count to three. If you don't start answering, I swear I'll kill you," the assasin threatened.

My blood ran cold. I knew the supreme leader claimed to be the mastermind, but I wouldn't have thought Maki would try to end his life. I wanted to call out, to get her to stop. But no sound came.

"Why..." Kokichi tried to say something, but he was cut off by Maki.

"One."

"Why are you...starting up the...killing game...again?" His voice sounded shaky and he seemed to struggle to breathe. His face had a rather concerning shade of purple, almost like the tips of his locks. Also, he was sweating bullets. It didn't take long for me to realize that those were most likely the symptoms of poisoning.

"Two," the assassin's voice rang out in a warning.

I stood there, petrified. Like my whole body turned into a cold stone statue. I knew that if I stayed like that, Kokichi would be killed in a cruel, merciless way in front of my own eyes. There had to be something I could do, but not with my feet rooted to the ground like that.

The short boy raised his chin with a deep breath."I guess you like to kill...that much."

"Shut up!!"

At that moment, I finally snapped out of my frozen state. Like a rabid dog who broke free of his chain, I dashed forward. I collided into Maki, right when she pulled the trigger, causing the arrow to fly past Kokichi's ear. We both fell to the ground with a painful thud. Pain exploded in almost every part of my body, both from the fall and the collision. As she fell, the girl dropped her weapon and it slid across the floor with a loud clatter. I got a hold of it before she could and tossed it far away, out of her reach.

She glared at me as she got up, her blood red eyes burning with rage. "Why did you do that?! Do you want to die?"

"I..."

Maki grabbed my collar agressively. "Why are you defending the mastermind?"

"He's...not the mastermind," I replied, averting my gaze. I couldn't stand to look into her scorching pair of eyes.