The Liar And The Detective

Chapter 1

(A/N: This is my first time writng something like this so any and all constructive criticism is welcome, also, the only other place this story should exist is on Tumblr, so if you see it anywhere else it is stolen)

Shuichi couldn’t move, he couldn’t even breath. All he could do was stand and stare at the now closed piano. The brightly colored blood dripping out from between the piano keys and the large wooden cover looked as if it was almost mocking him. He closed his eyes tightly, wishing with all his might that it would somehow fix everything and that when he opened his eyes again, Kaede would be standing right infront of him. Just as she had been doing moments before, before he was forced to watch as she was slowly executed right in front of him and every other person that she had tried her best to inspire, before he had been forced to watch the panic on her face grow as she was slowly deprived of oxygen again and again while doing the very thing she used to love so much. He was shaken out of his shock by a hand on his shoulder. It was Maki, she nodded to him solemnly before helping clear everyone out along with Kaito who was trying not to be too loud as he told everyone to give Shuichi some space.

He heard them all pile into the elevator, he heard the elevator doors close, the sound of metal hitting metal echoing in his ears. He heard the elevator take his classmates back up to the courtyard, he listened until the steady dripping of the blood from the piano was the only noise left in the room. Only once he was sure that they had all left did he let himself fall to the ground, all of his emotions finally spilling out. A raw anguished noise akin to a sob erupted from his throat, it was full of emotion, sadness, regret, and anger. Anger towards the killing game, anger towards monokuma, and most of all, anger towards the mastermind for pushing kaede to the point she was willing to commit a murder. As he sat there, drowning in his emotions he didn't even realize he was still screaming until his throat became sore from the strain. He rubbed his eyes in a futile effort to stop the tears that kept running down his face in a never-ending stream. His mouth stuttered open. 

"I'm sorry Kaede, I'm so sorry." he said as he cried.  He had no idea how long he stayed there on the ground, sobbing and pouring his heart out with endless apologies and promises to end the killing game no matter what it took, to not let her death be in vain

When he finally ran out of tears and composed himself enough that he no longer felt he was falling apart at the seams, he got up and slowly walked over to the elevator, almost breaking down again over the memory of kaede from only hours before. Once he was back to the courtyard he instantly made his way to his room, not even Kokichi daring to intercept the poor boy who looked dead on his feet. Once he got back to his room he decided to lay down on the bed and try to sleep, half hoping that when he woke up, all of this would turn out to simply be a nightmare. The haunting melody of Kaede's execution serving as a soundtrack in his nightmares. 

The next morning when he woke up, all the memories of the day before came rushing back to him. Rantaro’s death, the murder trial, and Kaede’s exucution. No! He refused to cry over that again, he had his time to mourn, he made a promise to Kaede that he would end this killing game, no matter the cost! With this motivation he got up and began to get dressed. He put on his uniform as he normally would, but right before he could grab his hat he stopped. He promised Kaede he would help everyone escape, there’s no way he can help lead everyone if he's too scared to even make eye contact with them. He decided to leave it, he would be better. For Kaede.

He made his way to the door, he took a deep breath to calm nerves. He opened it and began walking towards the cafeteria to meet with the others. As he walked down the hallways that were overgrown with weeds and vines, he ran the pads of his fingers over the peeling wallpaper, feeling the texture of it as his hand gilded over the wall. As he rounded the corner he was met with the one person he was dreading to see the most, Kokichi. While Shuichi himself didn't know very much about the boy, he had been in his presence in the past long enough to know that no matter what Shuichi did to prevent it, he was sure to comment on the sudden subtraction from his normal wardrobe. 

“Hey Shuichi!” Kokichi said as soon as he saw him, he ran up to the detective waving excitedly like a child. “You finally got rid of that emo hat!” he said exaggeratedly excited, “is this ‘cause Kaede died or whatever?” he asked in an overly friendly tone. Shuichi froze, he had been expecting this of course but it didn’t mean he was ready for it. 

“W-, what's your deal Ouma?” he asks, he asked quietly, the emotions from the day before rushing back. 

“Whatdya’ mean?” kokichi replied innocently. 

“I mean, what’s your deal.” he said more confidently. “You constantly choose to antagonize us about the smallest things just to get a reaction out of us” he said. 

“Well of course i do, its just so fun to see the looks on your stupid faces!” he exclaimed, not the least bit phased by Shuichi's abnormal behavior. As Kokichi said that, an idea popped into Shuichi's mind. Normally he would have dismissed it as soon as it came but not today, today he was far too tired to care about consequences or reactions and so he let go. 

“Are you really that desperate for attention?” he asked Kokichi, and the reaction was instant. The playfulness drained out of his face, and was soon replaced with anger. 

“I-” 

“You know what I think?” Shuichi cut him off before he could get any further. 

“I think that you’re so scared of getting close to anyone here knowing that they could die at any second, that you purposefully try and sabotage any chance you could possibly have to be our friend but at the same time you crave attention from others because you’re scared of being forgotten, and so you pull pranks and put up a front to convince everyone that you don’t need anyone and that you’re better off alone. Only, that’s not true is it? Or did you do such a good job of lying to everyone that you even convinced yourself?” Shuichi asked him, staring down at the liar. As much as Kokichi tried to hide his true reaction, Shuichi would see his little micro expressions that told him he was right. He could practically hear the wheels turning in kokichi’s brain trying to both hide his true reaction and to see how to best react to that in a way that didn’t destroy the image he had created for himself. After a short pause Kokichi finally replied.

“Wow Shuichi, you really dug deep there huh? Oh well, this game is getting pretty boring so you can just end your turn now” he says as he starts to walk away, obviously deflecting and trying to get out of the situation. 

“Ouma!” Shuichi called out before he left.

“What is it? I'm very busy you know, the work of a supreme leader is never done” Kokichi snaps as he turns around to look at the other boy 

“Don't underestimate me, no matter what I do or how I act. I'm still the ultimate detective. And that in itself is worth something, ultimate titles aren’t given lightly,” he reminded him before he turned around and began walking once again towards the cafeteria leaving a reeling kokichi in his wake as he tried to process what had just happened.