Motive Gone Wrong (Danganronpa V3)

Chapter 16: Truth or Lies

Kokichi and Tenko are trapped and Kokichi doesn't know how to face the truth.

The only sound Kokichi could hear was Tenko swearing under her breath. The ear-piercing screech of jarring metal came to a halt, leaving the tunnel in ominous silence.

Kokichi stood besides Tenko, violet eyes fixed onto the monitor screen. It had changed.

WELCOME

"A trap created by Monokuma..." Kokichi murmured, hand hovering over his belt of grenades. He only had two; he had to make them last.

IF YOU WANT TO PROCEED, YOU MUST ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION

Kokichi raised a single eyebrow. 'Questions?'

"Wow~ Monokuma must really be desperate if he thinks a pop quiz is gonna st-" He was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Tenko speaking urgently into the walkie talkie, updating the assassin and the astronaut on their current situation.

"Yes, we're in the underground tunnel..." She stammered as she looked at her whereabouts wildly. Similar to a cornered animal, Kokichi mused from the sidelines.

Kaito's loud voice sharply broke the silence, confirming the duo that they would be there as soon as possible. 'Soon' wasn't good enough in circumstances like these. In fact, they needed to get out of there now.

FAIL TO ANSWER A QUESTION TRUTHFULLY AND THERE WILL BE PUNISHMENT

There was the catch Kokichi was looking for.

"Punishment?!" Tenko cried. Kokichi looked back at her for a split moment. He almost felt bad for her that she was paired with him to complete a task which involved 'telling the truth'.

He felt himself unclamp one of the two grenades he had strapped to his belt and place it in Tenko's palm. He didn't look at her face but he could guess what sort of expression she was wearing on her face.

"What... What is this for?" She asked, taking the grenade while still staring at him in the eyes. "I have my Neo-Aikido!"

"They're for emergencies, remember?" Kokichi turned back to the monitor. "Sure, you have your karate or whatever, but it's not gonna really help you if you find yourself surrounded or something."

Tenko narrowed her eyes, but her expression didn't show any spite or aggression to the boy, just confusion.

They turned their heads back to the monitor; the screen had changed once again.

QUESTION:

WHO IS MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU?

That was... a highly unexpected question. Then again it's one which had meant to have been answered in their motive videos. Kokichi couldn't remember DICE as well as he had hoped. Their names were all blurry, unfamiliar. The memories they spent together felt like a puzzle which still needed to be pieced together.

"That's easy!" Tenko bellowed, "My answer is Himiko of course! Who else could it be?!"

Kokichi waited for something to happen and take them by surprise if by some miracle that wasn't the right answer. Luckily, their surroundings remained silent which led Kokichi to believe Tenko had said the truth.

The screen briefly screen, flashing green while reading the word 'TRUTH' before it reverted back to the original question. The manhole hadn't opened. They were still trapped down in the underground tunnel. This could only mean that they both had to answer the question truthfully before they could leave.

Suddenly, the walkie talkie began making static noises causing Tenko to jump. She tentatively picked the device up.

"I'm just updating you freaks," Miu's obscene voice yelled loudly through the speaker. "That you have, like, half an hour left to complete this."