Yubi's Dangandump!

A Liar, My Liar (Omasai) - Prologue

I still remember it so clearly, so vividly. Her hand desperately reaching for mine as she was so cruelly pulled away from me, pulled toward her imminent demise. I hadn't dwelled on her death... I couldn't have dwelled, even if I wanted to.

And then I lost Maki Harukawa and Kaito Momota in one fell swoop.

And then my life shattered before my eyes.

I locked my room door, my hands shaking. Kaito had helped me accept Kaede's death... Maki, she had always been there... but now she wasn't. Neither of them were, and it was because of one mistake I made.

That mistake destroyed everything.

I still remember Maki's last words to me... "You'll never be anything, and you know it. You should have died instead of Kaede -- she would have been a much more promising detective than you."

And then Maki walked out.

And then everything changed.

I slowly made it to my bed, sitting down. It wasn't just my hands -- my entire body was trembling like a terrified Chihuahua. I didn't know what to do... when I felt like this, Kaito could always make me feel better. Sometimes, he could even make me smile or laugh.

Smiling? Laughing? Those two prospects sounded foreign to me now... like a long-ago, forgotten technology that was lost to time.

I wanted to scream or cry, but I could do neither. I was too scared to make a sound. I was too scared to even breathe.

We were the only ones left... Tsumugi, Himiko, Kokichi, Keebo, and I. Everyone else was dead.

"Everyone else was dead." Those words made me sick... ready to puke. But it didn't matter anymore. If I threw up, no one would care if no one would know. If I were poisoned, or my heart just instantaneously stopped, no one would care, either. They would probably think, "Ah, that Saihara's dead. That's one less person I have to worry about. That's one less person who can kill me tonight." Would it even be so bad if I died, too?

...I was having a panic attack and I knew it.

I lifted my hand to wipe away my tears, but was only greeted by dry, raw skin. After all, I had been crying for at least... how long had it been, since they died? A day? Two? I'd lost track of time, just like how I'd lost track of my life. There were no more tears left to wipe away.

I slowly stood. I couldn't just stand here and do nothing... surely there was something I could try to do.

That was when those... words popped into my head.

"Be my friend instead!"

...Why?

Why did I think of that?

Why did I think of him?

I wasn't going to find a replacement for Kaito and Maki, and I wasn't going to try to, either. If I wanted a good friend... well, Tsumugi Shirogane existed. She was always nice to me. And K1-B0, despite being a robot, was very nice as well. And Himiko, too, would be supportive, having gone through the same trauma I had.

So why was Kokichi freaking Oma the first person who came to my mind...? I wasn't that desperate. I wanted nothing to do with that guy, and despite Kaede's last wish, if we did all get out of here... Kokichi was probably the only person who I would never talk to again. After all, Gonta and Miu did die because of him.

Ah... these thoughts weren't getting me anywhere. Maybe I could just take a walk around the school, clear my mind, maybe vent a little. I slowly walked across my room, opening the door as I did so. Careful to lock it behind me, I slowly made my way out of the dormitory and down the hall.