Nightmares -Saiouma/Oumasai-

-78-

"My theory is about Kaede and the first murder case for Rantaro." I stated. Some of them raised their eyebrows or even gasped, but that's not what I was focused on...I was worried about how Shuichi is reacting to all of this. Because he and Kaede were good friends before she passed and she was the one who helped him gain a little more confidence in himself. Granted, she was the main reason I didn't confess earlier...but that was also because Kaito was hella protective of his 'sidekick' after the trial...and after he punched him. God, Kaito really needs to control himself better sometimes.

After a brief silence passed I continued, "I was always suspicious about how Kaede 'killed' Rantaro. Meaning, the way she 'killed' him didn't sit right with me. I was thinking while Shuichi and I were eating dinner about the whole first trial and it hit me, what if the shot put ball missed its mark?" I put one of my hands on my chin before speaking again.

"Because Kaede didn't have control over the shot put ball after she threw it into the vent, Rantaro could have moved. And why he must have moved? It's because of the announcement, even though we used the announcement as evidence that Rantaro didn't hear the shot put ball coming, he must have moved to face the screen for the announcement. When he turned back to look back at the camera the shot put ball must have been sitting on the floor behind him...and with this evidence we collected from the secret room thanks to Maki and Kaito-" Shuichi cut me off as he found out what I was getting at.

"Then when the plan didn't work, because the time limit was so close, Tsumugi, or should I say the mastermind, came in and used the shot put ball to kill him," Shuichi clarified.

"But then why did Maki and Kaito find another shot put ball in the secret room along with his monopad?" Keeboy asked right before I interjected.

"That's because Tsumugi had a backup plan for if Kaede's plan were to fail." I said before Himiko spoke up. I could tell Tenko wanted to say something as well, but she didn't interrupt Himiko...like she did with me in the goddamn second trial...

"So, Tsumugi was waiting in the secret room then? Waiting for her plan to play out?" She asked.

"Well, that's the thing, if she was waiting there and was planning on interrupting the plan, then she must have found out about the camera intervals...because in the photos we had gotten from Monopiane we found that there were only the two people who put them up, meaning Shuichi and Kaede, as well as Rantaro." Maki said looking over at Kaito for a moment.

"Yeah! Since this Monopad seems different than all of ours it must have been something Rantaro started out with!" Kaito said, making Maki facepalm.

"Kaito, we went over this, Rantaro's ultimate talent was the ultimate survivor." After she said that Shuichi's eyes widened just as some of the others did. So, if he was the ultimate survivor...he must have survived something similar to this...or maybe even...

"This does bring on the question as to why, and what his Monopad stated when I looked through it earlier, Rantaro must have been a part of another killing game...and then he joined this one for some unknown reason..." Maki added making the room go quiet once more. All of this...must be why Tsumugi was always one of the more vocal ones in the trials, sure she may not have talked the most, but now that I think about it...all the times she cried or said things were cruel...she is the one running this, so that was all bullshit.

"W-why would s-she do this?" Himiko asked with some tears coming to her eyes. Tenko wrapped an arm around her shoulder and whispered sweet things into her ear to try to calm her down.

"She was lying the whole time." Keeboy stated, with his brows furrowed. I have never seen him get mad before...oh jesus...

"Is there anything else anyone wants to bring to the table before we all leave for our rooms?" Maki asked before Kaito added,

"We should try to keep these meetings short so they aren't as suspicious." He said in his same quiet tone.

"So...this whole game could have ended in the first trial..." Shuichi said with tears coming to his eyes. I couldn't really see his face very well because his hair was covering it...but I could tell by his tone that he was coming close to crying.

"..." The whole room was silent for another long and tense moment. He is right about that, if we were able to find all this out before she would have been killed and then we could all leave this place...

"Well, let's leave it at that, best of luck to you all! See you tomorrow!" Kaito said in his normal cheery tone. I frowned and looked back over at Shuichi who just stood up silently pulling me up with him, before he walked out of the room without another word.

"Shu, baby?" I asked when we got in front of my dorm room. He didn't say anything to me still, he only pointed at the door knob. It took me a moment to understand what he meant by this, but after I figured it out I pulled my key out and unlocked the door.

The silence was suffocating to me...and I hated it...it was like this tension was falling on my shoulders, getting heavier by every minute that passes...I hate it...please say something, Shuichi? I need to say something! I opened my mouth but no words came out...goddamn it! Talk!

"S-shuichi," I finally said breaking the silence as he sat on the bed with his hands in his lap while his head was still down.

"Yes..." He whispered in a cold tone that made me flinch. Is he mad at me? I slowly moved towards him and tried to place a hand on his shoulder, but he only moved away from me. This hurt me, having to see him like this, I wanted to know what was bothering him so I could help in some way.

"Don't..." He said again with the same tone. I sat down on the floor by the bed and leaned against his leg. I didn't say anything because his new mood was scaring me. I didn't know what to say...and for the first time, I felt afraid of Shuichi..I trust him, but this is scaring me. All of the memories come back to my mind of all the past relationships that failed because of me...all of the memories of being hurt emotionally and physically by the people I considered friends.

After a few more moments of the torture, Shuichi spoke quietly. "This is all my fault..." He whispered. His voice was quiet like a summer rain hitting the dry cement.

"Why is it all your fault?" I asked trying not to just smother him with compliments, because I know right now that's not what he needs to hear.

"If me and Kaede were a second faster we could have seen her...we came into the room right after the door closed...so only if-" His voice was cut off by his own sobs as his hands moved to his eyes. I slowly stood up and moved in front of him. I pulled his head into my chest and gently stroked his hair.

"Today has been a pretty intense day...but know we all make mistakes, and honestly I don't see that as a mistake you made...I see that as something that puts the blame partially on all of us, if we were quick to believe your plan then you could have made it sure, but it was the beginning of the killing game and we were all untrusting." I said moving one of my hands to trace circles on his back.

"Why don't we get some rest and talk about this tomorrow ok? You seem tired my beloved, and I know you get a little grumpy and clingy when you are sleepy," I gently grabbed his hand and slowly pulled him off the bed so he was standing by me. His other hand stayed over his eyes as he wiped his tears away. He didn't say anything to me but I already knew what he wanted.

"Let's get you changed into your pajamas so we can go to bed," I grabbed his pajamas and handed them to him. It took him a moment before he started to change into them. I knew he didn't want to have to be away from me even if it was for a small moment, I knew this because when he is tired he is clingy.

"Look at you, good job at getting changed, now let's cuddle until you are able to get some rest," He nodded and wrapped his arms around me and moved with me over to the bed. I got in before him and held my arms out for him to come to lay next to me. After he did he slowly opened his eyes again and kissed me.

"T-thank you Kichi...I..love you..." He whispered before he fell asleep. I smiled and kissed his forehead before I moved my head into the crook of his neck.

"I love you most my beloved, have a good rest," I let my eyes slide closed and let the worry float off of my shoulders as sleep consumed me.

-I have no idea what to say--Thank you all so much for reading! I'm going to try to start getting this story onto my channel after I get a couple more oneshot recordings/videos done! Stay safe lovelies!!-

-ShuichiOuma010-