#Beta Kaede I wish you were there!

[maxences-hat]

Kaede beta design looks so good we were robbed, SO

I fused it with the current one

I just interpreted the colours cause it’s black and white

The designs, look how good she looked!!! Look at her boots! Her hat! Her cute braid! LOOK AT HER!!!!!!!!

[chunksworld]

Swim

IZ*ONE Kim Minju x Male Reader | (Tags: Smut)

A/N: #BreedMinju. Thank you to Kaede for beta reading as always.

————————

You never imagined in your wet dreams, in all of the times you masturbated to her, or even that time you drunk texted her a picture of you shirtless after one too many drinks at the bar that the woman you met inside the elevator during your first day at the company some two odd years ago would be in your apartment watching some rom-com from the 90s that you are too inebriated to remember the title of. Your heart is pounding, partly because of the double serving of triple shot espresso you perhaps shouldn’t have drank this morning and partly because she looks devastatingly stunning in that white shirt that completely conceals whatever shorts she maybe wearing underneath which further accentuates those long legs of hers—

“I don’t remember the TV facing this direction, unless there’s something on my face?”

Shit.

Aside from her God-given physical features, it’s the way she can toy with your feelings and flirt with you so effortlessly that always leaves you wanting for more. Every single little interaction with her is an adventure on its own; the way she would wink at you every time you pass by her in the office, the way she would walk up to you to fix your tie while telling you how your perfume “smells like the oceanside on a summer day” —whatever the hell that means— or how she would always give you words of encouragement with that bright smile of hers during stressful days. 

It should mean something, has to mean something. Right? You can’t ask anyone for advice either, not when you’re the only two people born on this side of the century in your department. Your coworkers are either divorced or having a midlife crisis, and quite frankly, you might be having a quarter-life crisis if such a thing exists. You can’t stay professional any longer, and you are more than thankful that you’re not at the workplace right now because the thoughts swimming inside your head are absolutely not safe for work. And it’s all because of this fucking woman that’s laughing as if everything is sunshine and rainbows: Kim Minju. 

It doesn’t help that she’s the prettiest woman you know. even more so than the handful of girls you’ve hooked up with during college. Evidently, you are not the only one that shares that sentiment because you don’t miss the old way some of your older male coworkers would give her a certain, disgusting look that you wish to erase from your memories and you know she deserves better than them. She deserves someone like you, but you don’t exactly know if that feeling is reciprocated. But as to how far you can push your luck, you haven’t found out the answer to that yet—perhaps tonight is the night. 

“Are you still with me? Or did my goddess face lure you in too deep?” 

That now makes the two of you not paying attention to the movie—granted you’ve already seen it at least a dozen times during college when you were a hopeless romantic but who are you to turn down Minju when she specifically requested it? Plus, that’s not your concern at this very moment when she scoots ever so closely to you and the heat her skin radiates is enough to burn you. “Honestly, I don’t blame you if you have a crush on me. I sort of have that effect on guys.” There’s that fucking wink again, and the way she pouts her lips as if she is posing for a selfie. “I admire your resilience though, most guys would have me moaning their names on their bed already by this point.”

“Not funny, Minju.” It really isn’t, not when she’s mere inches away from you and if you were just a bit more drunk now those irresistible lips of hers would be meshed with yours now. You try to look away but you can’t, they captivate you to no end and you don’t even want to look away now—the sheen on those cherry red lips, the way they stand out against her milky white skin, the way she then bites her lower lips as to tempt you even further, the way sweat slowly drips down the side of her face and to her neck and you think they’d look good with your bite marks all over them.

Even if you look down, her succulent thighs and legs are all that will pervade your senses and you won’t be able to stop thinking about how you just want to rip whatever garments she’s wearing underneath and have her spread her legs while you eat her out like she’s your last meal on Earth. “You can’t just keep doing this for years and not expect me to make a move eventually.”

“Then what’s stopping you, hmm?” 

Minju somehow shifts even closer to you, her lips practically brushing against yours, her eyes staring deep into your soul, her hands resting on your thighs. She probes into you even deeper, much deeper than any other time and emergency sirens are popping up in your head. There have been many close encounters like this, way too many for your liking. 

The way she would wear pencil skirts on certain days and make it her mission to bend over in front of you as much as possible to show the unreal curvature of her ass—then proceeding to smirk as if she doesn’t know how much your cock wants to burst through your pants. The way she would purposely bump into you and pretend to fall so you can pull her into an inadvertent hug. 

Or when she would wear those dresses that hug her curves tightly during galas and she would give you a courtesy hug for a second longer than corporate policies would allow. Or when she kissed you during Christmas party last year and claimed that she had to do it because you two were “underneath a mistletoe.” 

It all has to end tonight, because God forbid you have to spend another night alone on your bed making a mess while you shoot ropes after ropes all over yourself thinking about her. It’s exhausting having to play these games with her when you’re 99% sure she is into you and you have to take action now before someone else does.

“Minju, I don’t think you’re ready for what I’m packing down there.” You test the waters even further, carefully studying her facial expressions while trying not to get lost in her eyes. It’s quite a difficult task when the alcohol is hitting you harder by the minute but when a sly grin appears across her face as if to challenge that statement, you know you have her right where you want her.

“Oh trust me, I know what you’re packing down there.” Minju glances downwards at your erection and your sweatpants are doing a poor job with how it’s about to poke through your pants. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be spending my Friday night here when I could be hanging out with Chaewon and Yujin.” It’s getting dangerous now, her hands traveling down your body and cupping your length through two layers of clothing.

And honestly you might as well be naked now with the way your cock reacts to her touch —your tip is leaking heavily and your breath starts to shorten. “So what’s it gonna be? You can’t tell me you have a different plan for how this night is going to end.” You can’t push back any further, you won’t push back. You take the first dip, lips pressed hungrily onto hers and she takes this opportunity to swing her legs over and straddle you on your couch—the movie in the background is long forgotten and all you care about right now is her.

You straighten yourself up and wrap your arms around her waist possessively; two years of pent up sexual frustration finally coming to an end and you make the most of it. Her lips are everything you’ve dreamed of; soft and sweet and succulent and you can’t help but think about how they slot in with yours perfectly as if you were meant to kiss her all this time. Your hands travel to her face to cup her cheeks, pushing her head deeper into yours and you notice her hands encircling around your back. 

You take a break to catch your bearings, staring deep again at her now lust-filled eyes and you get a front row seat to the facial expression you’ve been dying to see for forever now.  She moans into your mouth when one of your hands slides underneath her dress shirt to feel her smooth skin and the ridges of her abs which itself isn’t a surprise—what is surprising is the lack of bra when you travel further upwards and you come into contact with tits that you are sure is perky and round. “What a fucking slut, Minju. No bra?”

Your suspicions are confirmed when you practically rip the buttons off her shirt and throw it somewhere in your living room and your mouth waters at the sight of her breasts, they are definitely not the biggest you’ve seen but the way they sit on her perfectly shaped body with all of her curves and intricacies is more than enough to make up for it. “What’s the use of wearing one when I knew we were gonna end up like this anyways?” But before you could dive down to taste them you find your shirt being removed as well and the hunger in your eyes is mirrored by the way she’s staring down at your own pack of abs. 

“I mean if I had it my way I would’ve told you to be shirtless already with only your boxers on before I came over but you can’t have everything in life right?” She is as handsy as you, those delicate fingers mapping your chest and your stomach with every little touch as if to decipher where her lips would go later. But you absolutely cannot wait any longer, grabbing her hand and placing it on her sides while you devour her nipples. Taking her left breasts between your lips while massaging the right one and the whimper of your name that escapes her lips is downright sinful while you alternate between the two. 

You lick, slurp, and at times even get your teeth involved—just anything that can get her squirming and writhing on your lap is enough to fuel you. Even more so when she pushes your head deeper into her chest and she’s moaning “more please, fuck” in between whimpers.

Minju is one needy girl and that’s one fact that you find out quickly when she starts to grind on your hips and you can feel just how warm and wet her shorts are. You inadvertently bite on her nipples and she screams your name at the sensation. You utter a “sorry” in response but it doesn’t really matter when she gets off of you and you think you’ve absolutely screwed up. Fucking great. She stands up and you are about to give a more sincere and heartfelt apology but those thoughts are quickly washed away when she removes her shorts and then her panties.

“I want to see that cock. Now.”

You don’t waste a single moment before you proceed to do the same thing to your undergarments and the sight of her fully naked in front of you causes you to leak even more precum with your cock freely exposed to the air. Minju looks hot—which in itself might be an understatement with the way she’s fucking you with those wide eyes of hers, the way her nipples are glimmering under the lights of your living room thanks to your saliva, the way her abs contract with every breath she takes, the way those stocky thighs are slick with her essence. Forget those wet dreams because none of them could match witnessing the actual Kim Minju naked in real life in your apartment.

Minju squeals when you drag her back down towards you to make her straddle your lap again. No more games, no more foreplay, you slowly sink her down your cock and drink in her moans when she buries her face in your shoulder. She is suffocatingly tight, extremely wet but tight and you almost spill mere seconds after finally inserting your entire length inside her. You wince slightly as her manicured nails press into your shoulders and eventually your back. “Fucking—shit—If I only knew—” 

Your pace is slow and methodical, even though you want to just pound her into oblivion and have her screaming to the point your neighbors will complain the morning after. She is Minju after all and she deserves that respect, but as to how long you can control yourself you don’t know. For now, you are content to just have her in your arms and revel in this moment that you’d never thought would ever come. Just feeling how your cock molds perfectly inside her and how her small bunny hops gradually increase over time and her face becomes lost in pleasure is more than enough.

Especially when you feel every inch of her goddess-like body pressed against yours when she arches up to you; her thighs bouncing against yours, her abs grinding against yours, and those breasts pressed against your chest. “—so deep, fuck—harder!” It’s about time you take control and you do just that, you plant your feet to the ground and you grab handfuls of her asscheeks with each hand before thrusting up in time with her thrust and Minju’s gone completely delirious now. 

Gone are the coherent sentences as they are now replaced by expletive-filled chants of pleasure. She’s damn near crying on your cock, tears welling up in her eyes due to pleasure and so you pull her face away to get a glimpse of her sweat-misted face and how her eyes are unfocused. You don’t know what came over you but you feel your heart skip a beat seeing such surreal beauty up close and personal so you pull her in for another makeout session, continuing your long and hard thrusts while your tongue ravages her mouth much like your cock does with her pussy.

“Fucking hell, we should’ve done this sooner.” Another kiss on her lips, then another lick of her nipples—make that two licks, no in fact, you devour them once more. It’s becoming clearer that they’re starting to become your favorite part of her body and it’s completely justified. “ I can’t believe I had to jack off to your pictures when you were just one call away.” The woman in question doesn’t respond but she blushes, the raw honesty of your words is enough to reveal that shy and demure side of her again despite the situation you two are currently in. 

Minju just brushes her hair aside in response while looking away, taking the initiative to bounce on your cock and you let her take over once again. “W-Well I’m here now—“ A particularly hard thrust deep into a certain spot inside her has her clenching around your cock much tighter than usual, you take mental note of this “—I hope I’m as good as advertised.” Of course she is and even better than whatever scenario you were cooking up inside your head, but instead of showing it through words you just smile at her and hope that it’s enough to show your admiration and you let your body do the talking.

You’re noticing how tired she’s becoming being on top so you don’t waste any more time and pick up the pace while still letting her guide the way. It’s silence between the two of you aside from the sounds of passionate lovemaking and that is just enough to push you two closer to the edge. You feel her clench tighter around you again and likewise you can feel your balls throbbing in anticipation too. It’s been a stressful week at work and there’s no better place to unload than inside her welcoming pussy. You’re just as close to her as reaching your orgasm and it’s becoming extremely difficult not to do anything but to burst inside hers. 

Forget the lovemaking, you lift her up by her asscheeks and stand up from the couch and you immediately feel her limbs coil around your body as she gasps at the sensation of being fully seated by your cock. You start to thrust up again, this time more relentlessly without the restrictions of the couch and she’s leaking even more now and you can actually feel her juices stream down your cock and you know she’s extremely close. “D-Don’t stop, please. Don’t you ever fucking stop!” She’s bouncing much higher than before, almost completely unsheathing your length before she crashes back down on it again and now she’s actually crying in pleasure. 

“Hnnghhh! Fuck! I can’t, I can’t—” There was certainly no way she was going to last any longer. “—G-Gonna cum on your cock!” And a few more of those wild thrusts is all it takes to set her off, going limp and forcing you to grab hold of her even tighter so she doesn’t slip off—a task given difficult given how much sweat is emanating both of your bodies but you don’t care especially when all of those juices causes you to slip out of her for a minute and you don’t care about the mess you two are making on the floor at this very moment when you’re about to follow her with your own orgasm. 

“Such a fucking good girl for me, Minju.” You slide back inside her, this time it’s easier thanks to the lubrication she provided and you can’t help but grit your teeth and close your eyes. It’s too much, all of this. What transpired tonight and what it means for your future. It’s all too much to handle and you can’t hold it any longer. You’re about to give her the biggest load you’ve ever given anyone.  “You deserve all of this, I’ve wanted you so fucking bad.“ All she can do is nod as she is still sensitive from her own orgasm but with the way she’s wrapping her arms around you tighter she wants it as badly as you do. “Gonna fucking cum inside.”

“Please! I want your hot—hnggh—I want your cum. Please. When a beautiful woman like her gives you such a permission you don’t waste it, you hold her tight as you begin to pump ropes after ropes of cum in her pussy with every deep thrust. You don’t want to stop cumming, can’t stop cumming—your legs going weak and forcing you to sit down on the couch while you continue to unload deep inside Minju. It feels fucking euphoric, feeling your load drip back down to your cock and balls as that seemed to drain the soul out of you. 

You’ve been holding back from the moment you first saw her all those years ago and there’s no better feeling than this, not even a promotion could rival how addicting having sex with her feels and you want more. You want to continue diving into the ocean that is Kim Minju even if it means drowning, nothing else matters but her.

As if to try to coax more cum out of you, Minju continues to grind her hips while kissing you. This time it’s much more slow and gentle while you lay her on the couch and hover on top of her. It’s beautiful how her hair, though disheveled, cascades down her shoulders and fans out on the cushion below. 

Her limbs are still wrapped tight around you, your softening cock starting to harden while you begin to fuck her once more—you’re making a mess of the couch with how you’re fucking your cam back into her but it doesn’t matter when she’s going to be filled again. “You still have enough cum for me? I’m surprised.” 

You place kisses on her neck this time, making sure to leave marks dark enough that no amount of foundation can conceal it once Monday comes around. Surprisingly she doesn’t protest, perhaps she does want everyone to find out about you two. “Guess I didn’t do a good job of draining you, huh?” You respond by fucking her harder into the couch, feeling the furniture creak and move with every thrust and you render her speechless once again. 

Lean down to capture those bouncing tits in your mouth and continue to work her to another orgasm which wasn’t difficult to accomplish considering how sensitive she still is. It didn’t take long to set you off either and you unload whatever remaining load you have, which is still plenty considering you almost passed out with how much you left inside her just ten minutes ago.

She urges you to sit up on the couch again and she gets off of it to kneel down in front of you before then taking your flaccid cock in her mouth to clean you off. The sight is pornographic, the way she shows off your combined juices on her tongue before making a show of swallowing it all. “Hmm, we taste good together. I don’t mind having some more of that.”

Minju gets off her knees to sit down right beside you and the way her naked body glistens under the natural light outside your apartment is an unparalleled sight that has your heart swooning and doing backflips. “Well, I’m free this entire weekend.” And perhaps shooting your shot when all of this has already happened is quite a ridiculous predicament to be in but you don’t want to be selfish after all. Surely a girl like her has plenty of suitors you’re not aware of and you don’t want to tie her down especially when nothing is official yet.

“I guess I could be convinced.”

Those ten seconds of silence felt like an eternity. But it was all worth it the moment she gives you that smile that makes your heart race even faster. And despite kissing her for what seems like a million times already, this one has special weight. As if to tell the world that the most beautiful woman you have ever known and perhaps will ever know is now yours and there’s nothing that could change that. Screw all of those disgusting old men with their mid-life crisis because your quarter-life crisis just ended in the most satisfying way possible.

You’re embarrassed by the way you whine the moment you don’t feel her lips on yours anymore but you are quickly consoled the moment she stands up and turns around to flaunt that perfectly shaped ass of hers. Suddenly, blood rushes to your cock again as if you didn’t cum twice already. 

“Come on, take me to your bedroom.” Minju eyes you like a piece of meat once again when she pulls you up to your feet. 

“There’s one more hole you forgot to fill.”

[foryoupeko]

Random Miu quotes from media I’ve been watching lately:

Miu about (redacted): BTW our mastermind is a predator, AND I LOVE IT

Miu about KIIBO: Our relationship can only be described by tags on porn hub

Miu about the monokubs: Hard to love, but even harder to hate

⚙️

Random Miu quotes based off my DND character:

Korekiyo: Will you stop calling me a beta male cuck sucker?

Miu: I thought you were going by masc pronouns today, you genderfluid fuck

Korekiyo: the gender was not the problem

—

Kaede: (fucking dies)

Miu: how long does a mourning period last, because I got other shit to talk about

Maki: is it about you?

Miu: what else would it be?

—

Miu: (takes off her skirt)

Gonta: why?

Miu: because it would be embarrassing to have an unintentional panty shot

Kaito: so you’re solving the first half of the problem… but not the second half

Miu: thanks for explaining it to the kids in the back

Kokichi: I wish there was kids here, then we could file this under a criminal offense instead of unnecessary fanservice

—

Miu: I’m literally gonna just stay outside for the whole fucking time. Good luck with your plans, DM!

Tenko: Who is she talking to?

Angie: God.

—

Shuichi: Does anyone have any insight on this?

Miu: You know how Dog’s heaven is Squirrel’s hell?

Himiko: Where are you going with this?

Miu: Well I was just thinking, if I wanted to suck God’s dick, would he enjoy it? Or would it be that my heaven is God’s hell?

Himiko: I think you just described a crime

Miu: ITS GOD. I can’t do shit without his consent.

Tenko: why are we assuming God is a man?

Miu: That’s not the conversation we’re having here!

Shuichi: I’m gonna go back and solve this murder.

—

Kirumi: I appreciate your enthusiasm but you’re being overzealous

Miu: Did you just call be a jealous bitch

Korekiyo: Do you even know what a book on your skin feels like?

Miu: I don’t fuck books? Why did he say it like that?

Ryoma: As much as it pains me to agree with Miu, why did you say it like that

[cheesecakemermaid1048]

What was your first exposure to Danganronpa?I believe I saw some fan art once.

Which was your first Danganronpa game?I watched walkthrough of v3

Did you have a character you hated at first, and then fell in love with? Who and why?Himiko,I hated her at first but after third chapter she grew on me

Which character can you absolutely not stand?

Which character would you hypothetically die for?Kokichi

Do you have a fan character? Tell us about them! I dont have alot of ocs but one that currently on my mind is Kiko Kokorohime,Unlucky student.

You get the chance to reassign five characters new talents. Who do you choose, and which new talents do they get?

Who is your favorite protagonist?Shuichi

Who is your least favorite protagonist?Makoto

Which was your favorite trial from THH?Chapter 5

Which was your favorite trial from SDR2?Chapter 5

Which was your favorite trial from V3?Chapter 4

What is your OTP?Saiouma

What is your NOTP?Shipping Junko with one

Which character do you think could benefit from a total rewrite?Hmm,Kokichi,I love him but I think they should have flesh him out more.

Do you have any ideas for a Danganronpa murder? Share!

List five headcanons for your favorite characters! Kirumi is Ace,Kokichi bites his nails as coping mechanism,Tenko didnt know she was lesbian and assumed she was REALLY liked hanging out with girls,Kokichi messes with kaito by spouting out flat-earth theories,and Shuichi first questions his sexuality when he meets kaito and later on Kokichi when he realized his feelings

How do you feel about fangames?Love them!I feel like they are underrated and often dont get acknowledgment they deserve .Some of them are really good!

What kind of fantasy creature would you make [X] character?I would make toko into harpy.

What is your favorite aspect of Danganronpa?The mysteries and how outlandish they can be.

What do you think could be improved about Danganronpa?The story is kinda mess and toning the fanservice.

What’s a setting you’d love to see for a Killing Game?Locked room mystery

Which are your top three favorite beta designs?Kokichi,Maki,and Hiyoko

Which character do you most identify with?Chiaki

Which character surprised you when they were revealed to be the blackened?Gumdam

Which character did you expect to be the blackened, but wasn’t?Himiko at second trial.

You’re placed in a Killing Game as yourself (who you are now, no perks). How far do you believe you’d get?

Who is your preferred rival?Kokichi

Talent swap time! Which two characters do you think would benefit best from a talent swap?Kaede & Hiyoko

Whose design do you enjoy the most? Ibuki

Whose design do you dislike the most?Tsumigi,it was bit bland

Which two characters from different games do you believe would get along the most?Chiaki & tsumugi

What is your favorite interaction from the Talent Development Program?Kokichi & mikan

What is your opinion on [X] character?Hm,Toko alright not favorite

What is your honest opinion on the end of V3?I do like it though I feel like it needed some work.

Which character do you wish had more screen time? Why?Rantaro,he was interesting character and I would loved to learn mroe about him.

Have you ever wanted to run a Killing Game yourself? Sort yeah.

Which character do you feel is too popular amongst the fans, in your opinion?Hmm,in my honest opinion Kokichi.I love him but I feel like he bit overhyped.

Which character do you feel deserves more love?Kirumi & Mukuro

Do you celebrate character birthdays?No

What is your opinion on Ultimate Talents being similar to low-level super powers?Ulimate tennis player

How do you feel about the Danganronpa fandom as a whole?Neutral,Every fandom has their up & downs but based on what I heard I try to stay away from them.

Which is the most offensive Danganronpa character, in your opinion?No one comes to mind

How do you feel about the anime?It alright for the msot part

What is your opinion on Ultra Despair Girls?It's good game excluding those CERTAIN scenes

What are some of your pregame headcanons?Shuichi WAS extremely social awkward and doesnt know how to talk to people.Tsumigi is fatherless.Kokichi was bullied & wished to be someone greater.Kaede listen to piano version of punk music

What are some of your Remnant of Despair headcanons?I dnt have many headcanons at least on canon remnant of despair.But here one from au I have been working on where v3 students are remnants .Kokichi wears clown mask wheenver he feels like his smile is slipping

Do you have any rare pairs?Mukuro x Maki,Kirumi x Celeste,and Maki x Rantaro

Which is your least favorite installment?killer killer

Which is your favorite installment?v3 killing harmony

★彡 Danganronpa Asks 彡★

What was your first exposure to Danganronpa?

Which was your first Danganronpa game?

Did you have a character you hated at first, and then fell in love with? Who and why?

Which character can you absolutely not stand?

Which character would you hypothetically die for?

Do you have a fan character? Tell us about them!

You get the chance to reassign five characters new talents. Who do you choose, and which new talents do they get?

Who is your favorite protagonist?

Who is your least favorite protagonist?

Which was your favorite trial from THH?

Which was your favorite trial from SDR2?

Which was your favorite trial from V3?

What is your OTP?

What is your NOTP?

Which character do you think could benefit from a total rewrite?

Do you have any ideas for a Danganronpa murder? Share!

List five headcanons for your favorite characters!

How do you feel about fangames?

What kind of fantasy creature would you make [X] character?

What is your favorite aspect of Danganronpa?

What do you think could be improved about Danganronpa?

What’s a setting you’d love to see for a Killing Game?

Which are your top three favorite beta designs?

Which character do you most identify with?

Which character surprised you when they were revealed to be the blackened?

Which character did you expect to be the blackened, but wasn’t?

You’re placed in a Killing Game as yourself (who you are now, no perks). How far do you believe you’d get?

Who is your preferred rival?

Talent swap time! Which two characters do you think would benefit best from a talent swap?

Whose design do you enjoy the most? 

Whose design do you dislike the most?

Which two characters from different games do you believe would get along the most?

What is your favorite interaction from the Talent Development Program?

What is your opinion on [X] character?

What is your honest opinion on the end of V3?

Which character do you wish had more screen time? Why?

Have you ever wanted to run a Killing Game yourself? 

Which character do you feel is too popular amongst the fans, in your opinion?

Which character do you feel deserves more love?

Do you celebrate character birthdays?

What is your opinion on Ultimate Talents being similar to low-level super powers?

How do you feel about the Danganronpa fandom as a whole?

Which is the most offensive Danganronpa character, in your opinion?

How do you feel about the anime?

What is your opinion on Ultra Despair Girls?

What are some of your pregame headcanons?

What are some of your Remnant of Despair headcanons?

Do you have any rare pairs?

Which is your least favorite installment?

Which is your favorite installment?

[crimecaro14]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi Characters: Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi, Iruma Miu, K1-B0 (Dangan Ronpa), Raiden Shogun | Baal (Genshin Impact), Harukawa Maki, Momota Kaito, Akamatsu Kaede Additional Tags: Vision Hunt Decree (Genshin Impact), Memory Loss, spoilers for 2.0 Archon Quest I guess, Play Ayakas 3 wishes for a bit of context, long story short losing your vision is bad, Inazuma (Genshin Impact), Angst, Established Relationship, but memory loss, Reunion, musou no hitotatchi, this happens way before the Traveller goes to Inazuma, Aged-Up Character(s), like mid-late 20s, Hurt No Comfort, no beta we die like hillichuls Series: Part 2 of DRV3 Genshin AU Summary:

"You really don't remember our multiple trips through the mountains of these islands, solving puzzles, fighting back to back... the countless nights we gazed upon the stars, chatted until the sun was rising again and... got closer to each other...?"

Two months ago the Raiden Shogun announced the Vision Hunt Decree, causing confusion and fear among her people. No one knew what losing your Vision meant, but they were sure to find out.

Hearing about those circumstances Shuichi abandoned his study journey to return to his partner back in Inazuma, hoping he was fine.

[takonei]

Just a wonderment of mines.. but like.. what would the Beta!Au be like in a HPA!AU???

I have to know if the babies will be happy, I have to.

I’m supposed to write chapter 5 what the fuck

But if what you wish is a decent amount of happy chemicals for them, then here we fucking go, all the HCs that came to my mind. Will contain spoilers up to the end of chapter 4.

Back to Hope’s peak with the Beta AU crew!

Shuichi Saihara

Was scouted like a normal human being

Could take a break from some of the annoying clients, so he gladly accepted

He doesn’t have a specific group of friends, he hangs out with everyone

Although the ones he hangs out with the most are Miu and Kaito

Usually gets average grades (but excels in history and literature). Not that smart but he ain’t a full dumbass.

Had a crush on 70% of his class at some point

But no one knows that of course. Except Miu because mom knows all.

He is happy here, and less lonely than before since he gets to see nice people more frequently.

Rantaro Amami

At first, refused the invitation

Then his crew mates insisted he at least gets a proper education and friends

After some time, he finally accepted

He met Ryoma, his best friend, who accepted to help him create improved ways to transport tools and do operations

He is on good terms with everyone in the class, surprisingly (or not) and is often the one trying to solve conflicts

Class representative. Gets good grades in biology and English and that’s it because he is an uncultured swine.

Will absolutely fucking not retire from his war medic career after school.

Miu Iruma

Also refused the invitation at first

“I have a kid to take care of, screw yall”

She accepted when HPA offered to give her a slightly bigger dorm room for both her and her son.

HPA thought about getting him to the elementary section of the school but he was just a normal kid

She still sometimes gets out at night to do her artworks, although less than before

Still has a crush on Rantaro, although she tries to get past it because she knows better than to try to get into a romantic relationship with an aromatic person

Huge fangirl crisis when she realized Kaito was in her class

She became the mom of the group and adopted like 90% of them

Dumbass but decent in literature, for some reason.

Kaito Momota

His gang was very supportive when he got the letter

That boy will make the family proud

Never tried to hide his prosthetic leg

Not like he could, since he had to take different PE classes adapted to him

Huge fanboy crisis when he realized Miu was in his class

Big bro(tm)

Actually gets along pretty well with Tsumugi, who helps him be better at scientific mechanical stuff.

Above average in science, but is a legit dumbass in the rest of the classes

Kaede Akamatsu

Gladly accepted the letter.

After all, Hope’s Peak is such a great high school! She couldn’t refuse.

She tries to be friends but isn’t that good at it. She appreciates everyone, but mostly hangs out with Maki and sometimes Tenko and Shuichi.

Still an absolute disaster lesbian with a crush on Maki.

The two end up like how you would expect them to be. Pining but never actually asking.

She sometimes asked Kirumi for advice (she doesn’t know why her specifically, though. According to Kaede she’s the only one who would give nice advice despite having 0 experience in romantic relationships).

After countless tries they finally end up together, which was absolutely not a surprise.

And anyone not supporting them will feel the wrath of 4 experienced fighters + karma.

She’s very glad she got to meet them all.

Overall nice grades in everything that isn’t science.

Will remain a writer after high school since this is her passion.

Maki Harukawa 

Accepted, although a bit hesitant to leave her siblings.

But it’s fine, they said. They can still see Maki on week-ends.

She isn’t the social type, and ends up hanging out with only Kaede and sometimes Tenko and Shuichi.

Still very gay, although she takes a lot of time figuring out her feelings for Kaede. Good thing Tenko exists.

She likes the ambiance of the academy, even though she gets to practice her talent a bit less.

Sometimes the others come to her to ask for additions to their uniforms. It doesn’t bother her to do so as long as they are not rude.

She actually recreated the vest for the uniform to feel more comfortable.

Average grades, but does better in literature, for *cough* some reason.

She will gladly continue her hobby after graduation and perhaps create her own fashion brand.

Tenko Chabashira

Joyfully accepted the invitation!

She may have trained a lot already, but surely Hope’s peak would have athletes to help her train, right?

She loves to talk with the others! It feels like a great class.

She is usually the one organizing events, Rantaro approving most of the time.

Much like Shuichi, she tends to talk to everybody, not just a specific person.

Although she is closer to Gonta, Shuichi, and sometimes trains with Kirumi.

Her grades are a bit below average except in PE, where she excels.

Tenko is aiming for the Olympics after graduation, to perhaps win a gold medal. Her classmates really encourage her for this since she is more than capable of it.

Kokichi Ouma

Still has 100% of his trauma, unfortunately

Immediately accepted the letter

At least he would have a stable place to live and could easily avoid other, people, right?

Wrong.

Himiko is here all the time to help him get through this

And he partially manages to! But that’s also thanks to Kiyo.

His classmates also do their best too

And that’s how all rodents got banned from the class.

They tried to ban them in the entire school but apparently they can’t, to everyone’s dismay

He doesn’t really know what to do after graduation. At least Himiko will help him make a decision.

Grades not that good but he is doing his best

What did you expect from someone who never went to school, honestly?

Himiko Yumeno

Oh, to study astronomy a place that isn’t a hospital room? Sign me up!

She was so happy to meet new people

And immediately became friends with almost everyone

Her parents were worried her condition would not be taken seriously but she presented Rantaro to them.

It’s not his expert field but he can still get stuff done

She spends most of her time with Kokichi, trying to help him with his issues.

She also suggested him to open a nice and cozy coffee shop after graduation but he refuses because of the possibility mean clients will get karma’d.

But it’s okay, she will still help him find his path.

Science nerd, good grades but sucks at history

Basically a “Intelligence 100 Wisdom 0″ person.

Korekiyo Shinguji

Although he was a bit hesitant at first because he didn’t want to leave his sister, he accepted the letter anyway.

He still continues to see her almost on a daily basis to make sure she holds up well.

The others were a bit hesitant to talk to him at first due to his creepy aura, they learned how to trust him.

He often has people come to him for advice, mostly Kokichi, Himiko, Angie, Kaede and Shuichi.

He may not show it, but he really appreciate the others’ presence.

Overall good grades.

Tsumugi Shirogane

Was not surprised to see the letter coming to her home.

After all she was already considered ultimate prodigy, she just didn’t officially have the title.

Her colleagues regretted seeing her go but it was for the best. After all it’s only 3 years.

She actually likes it a lot here. They let her do her own research.

The classes are pretty useless for her since she already learned everything, but still goes because the principal told her she had to, to her dismay.

She gladly accepts to help someone, the only condition being that they must be motivated for this.

Excellent grades everywhere except PE. It’s very rare to see her have a grade below 95.

She will go back to the science facility she worked in after high school.

Ryoma Hoshi

Took some time before deciding to go to HPA.

After all he couldn’t leave his crew mates that easily. But just like Rantaro, they insisted he get a proper education and friends.

He doesn’t warm up that much to others, aside from Rantaro.

He still enjoys it here. Too bad the inventors and mechanics tended to be a bit too eccentric for his taste.

He helps Rantaro bringing back better stuff on the battlefield.

Smartass in science and English. Much less in literature and history. 

Won’t retire after high school. After all, his place is on the battlefield, not in a factory or a lab in the city.

Kirumi Tojo

She accepted the letter quickly. She could take a break from the exhausting missions.

She still sometimes had to take up to a month long break from school to get a mission done from time to time.

Unlike Maki in UTDP, she didn’t hide her talent to everyone. She told everyone rather soon that being a maid was just a cover.

The others still have doubts about her, but they got to warm up to her enough with time.

She still hid her CIP from everyone but Rantaro, though.

The more time she spent at the academy, the more she started to think she could retire after.

To perhaps have enough money so she could be settled for life.

That’s not an easy task for sure. But perhaps HPA could help her with it.

Good grades in most of the fields. Especially PE.

Angie Yonaga

owo what’s this? A possibility to get a life outside my island? LET ME IN-

Finally a possibility to settle in somewhere else and get a better life

Especially in Japan! She is really interested in seeing the culture here.

She still considers the culture from her home very important despite her past, but she tries to mix it with Japanese culture when working.

After all, she is the ultimate craftswoman! This is no hard task!

Thinks she will open her own shop here after graduation. Where people could appreciate foreign culture.

She doesn’t have grades that good, but tries her best!

Gonta Gokuhara

To be scouted by Hope’s peak was the achievement he didn’t expect.

But hey, he wasn’t complaining!

He really likes it here and can study more than he ever could.

Unfortunately he couldn’t study rodents due to... complications.

More accurately, he preferred studying them when he was absolutely sure Kokichi couldn’t see him. Mostly at night in his own dorm room.

He has rather nice grades, especially in biology and PE.

He knows he will continue with his talent after high school, which isn’t a surprise.

K1-B0

Has no clue what he is doing here.

There are better robots out here, he’s sure of it.

But whatever. Being scouted here is good too.

He sometimes try to warm up to his classmates, but he is pretty antisocial.

Most of the time it’s with Ryoma, though.

What is he even going to do after graduation? Who knows.

Gets grades generally above average.

Took me long enough! Hope that’s what you were looking for~

[puropoly]

Kokichi Ouma for the character ask thingy!

you know what? IT’S PURPLE FUCK FRIDAY

My otp for them: shit you know what? back in the days I used to really be into shuichi/kokichi since canon tends to lead fans to think kokichi was in love in him, and probably was. And it’s a cute ship! because of those meaningful scenes, which were scarce, where kokichi acted like a reasonably normal human being instead of a dipshit rat as usual; however, one day I was reflecting on the possibilites of kaede being the main character and meditating over possible interactions between kaede and kokichi….and ever since I’ve started to REALLY enjoy the idea of these two together, and I think it became my fave kokichi ship ever since. It’s also double purple combo which is completely my shit too so how could i not ship it

My brotp for them: ohhhhh i would have killed for more kaito and kokichi moments, in which death wasn’t involved, that would’ve been nice….a tall guy and a very short guy. exquisite, typical comic duo

Any other ships: WEIRD but i do like himiko/kokichi as well. the tiny….must be together. it’s (ariana grande voice) equality (i also really liked the scene where kokichi cut himiko’s bullshit through angie and tenko’s trial, as crude as he was)

Their best friend: shuichi man…kokichi being the uncesant playful rat he is, putting shuichi to test, shuichi unconsciously enjoying his puzzles, that’s chef kiss. It’s also really nice to see scenarios where kokichi learns to trust someone, since trust is an opposite characteristic to his whole decoy

My favorite nickname for them: EL KOKI

My favorite AU of them: just one where he’s the leader of DICE and executes delightful clown crimes together

My favorite outfit they wear: so i hate his ridiculous white suit, tf are those metal things hanging from his scarf? - i somewhat wish they’d kept his beta design instead

or this badass skeleton hoodie

Defining color: 

Would I date them: no…there can only be one clown in a relationship, otherwise it’s an aberration. everyone knows that

First impression: he looks like a bastard i like him

Current impression: he is a bastard i like him

Which Pokemon starter they’d be: not a starter but obviously he’s a purrloin

[queenofmoons67]

something wild (calls you home)

Fandom: Tiger and Bunny

Summary: When Kotetsu goes missing, the other heroes lose themselves searching for him, while Kotetsu himself tries to tell them he’s the dog Bunny took in.

Relationships: Kotetsu & Barnaby; Kotetsu & Everyone

Word Count: 2689

Hey everyone! I've been working on this fic for months now, and I'm proud to say that I finally finished it! It comes in at over 13k words, and five chapters. I'll be posting one every Wednesday!

Each chapter is told from the point of view of Kotetsu and one other person, who will be named in the chapter title.

Kotetsu is turned into a kai-ken, which is a dog breed famous for their tiger stripes!

Thanks as always to my beta @bookdancerfics, for their encouragement and editing, and for getting me into Tiger and Bunny in the first place.

I do not own Tiger and Bunny, and the fic title comes from Lindsey Stirling’s song “Something Wild.”

Chapter 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5: Kotetsu and Barnaby

Kotetsu woke up with a splitting headache, wondering what on earth Antonio had let him drink the night before. Except… Kotetsu furrowed his brow in thought. He hadn’t been drinking. He had gone for a walk and heard—screaming? Or something similar. Either way, he definitely remembered the spandex of his mask under his fingers, the soft press of it against his face. He had put it on for something, and then… Kotetsu groaned. A giant, aching blank.

At least he was relatively safe, though. Light pierced his head even through his closed eyelids, so he was outside somewhere, not held captive in a warehouse. The main question was where, and was he injured enough that he would need to call a taxi. All of his bones ached, and his muscles felt like someone had treated them like a rubber band.

Opening his eyes, Kotetsu stared up the brick wall of an alley into a clear gray-blue sky. Someone’s white-leafed plant waved gently on a breeze, and—

Kotetsu blinked. Still white-leafed. He blinked again. Still white-leafed, and even for an alley in the city, this area was remarkably void of almost any colors. Kotetsu slammed his eyes closed tightly enough that he saw sparks, held them like that for a solid thirty seconds, and opened them again.

The plant still had white leaves. Why did the plant have white leaves?! Determined to figure out what was going on, Kotetsu tried to stand up, only to stumble back down when his legs didn’t move quite right. They were shorter than he was used to, bending in a way they weren’t supposed to, and—and there were four of them?

Kotetsu started whining in panic, a high-pitched noise that should not be coming out of his throat and turned into a bark of disbelief.

Kotetsu decided to blame that panic for the fact it took him a minute to realize he had just barked. Like a dog.

Kotetsu twisted where he sat, not trusting his legs at the moment, but determined to get a full picture of what his body looked like.

His body twisted a lot more than he was used to. He was able to scramble around enough that his eyes faced his back—his fur-covered, hotdog-shaped, tail-attached back. Kotetsu whined again, and the tail tucked itself into his side, whip-thin and shivering.

What was he supposed to do now?

Barnaby wandered the streets staring at his phone. He had texted Kotetsu two hours before, wondering if the older man wanted to meet up for a movie or something, only to get nothing in return. If it was any other person, he wouldn’t worry, but this was Kotetsu. As a hero and a father, the man was religious in always having his phone on his person, volume on the ringer turned all the way up. And every text got an immediate response. Always. Even if it was just a thumbs up. Barnaby had asked why once, because it bordered on excessive, and Kotetsu had rubbed his head sheepishly.

“I can’t be there for Kaede in person most of the time,” he explained. “But I can be there virtually. If my daughter at least knows that I listen to her, that I hear her—I hope that she’ll come to me when she really needs that. But it kind of carried over into my texting with other people, too.”

Barnaby had snorted a “kind of?” He had grinned to ease the blow, and tucked the little piece of Kotetsu into his head. Now, he kind of wished he hadn’t.

“It’s just two hours,” he muttered, glancing at the clock on his phone, down at the lack of new texts, and then up at the building before him—Kotetsu’s apartment.

“It’s just two hours,” he told himself, climbing the stairs. “Everyone else would tell you not to worry. And they’d be right.”

“It’s just two hours,” he muttered, fishing the extra key Kotetsu had given him out of his pocket.

“It’s just two hours,” he thought to himself, staring around at an empty apartment. Dirty dishes were stacked in the sink, and examining them showed traces of an old dinner—but not that old. Probably from that night. And Kotetsu’s favorite shoes and jacket weren’t at the door, and there had been no sign of a break in.

“He probably went for a walk,” Barnaby said aloud. His voice echoed in the quiet, and with Kotetsu’s phone gone with the shoes and jacket, it did nothing to convince him his partner was alright. Barnaby settled on the couch. When Kotetsu came in, he would be waiting.

Barnaby jerked awake to the sound of the neighbors yelling next door. Momentarily confused as to why his glasses were still on, he glanced around and stilled as his memory came back—but Kotetsu obviously hadn’t. The tv he’d turned on after an hour was still on, the doorway shut and empty. And most telling was his glasses. He didn’t know why Kotetsu had picked the habit up, but the man tended to take them off and put them on the nearest flat surface for him when he fell asleep first.

Barnaby rubbed sleep from his eyes, then rushed for the door. There was no need for coffee; he was wide awake already.

Barnaby didn’t return to his own home till late that night. He and the other heroes, officially given permission to worry after Kotetsu didn’t show up and Barnaby told them about the previous night, had spent the day split between combing the streets, contacting anyone who might know where their coworker was, and taking care of regular hero work. When it neared midnight, and almost sixteen full hours of work, Agnes had charged in and barked that they would start separating the search for Wild Tiger into shifts. She would take shift one. Everyone else was sent home.

Staring up at his own building and remembering how he had done the same at Kotetsu’s the night before, Barnaby wondered why he had even bothered coming this far. He was going to spend the night on the streets, no matter what Agnes said—though he supposed he could use some fuel first. With that in mind, Barnaby took the elevator up, and came to a sudden halt at his own front door. Curled up, sound asleep and firmly blocking his way, was a medium-sized orange and black dog.

Kotetsu woke to a hand nudging his shoulder, first softly, then harder. “Mmm,” he groaned. “Okaa-san, just a bit longer…”

“Dog,” a familiar voice ordered. “You have to get up.”

“Buuuny-chan,” Kotetsu whined. “‘M not a dog… ‘m a Wild Tiger… and what are you… doing here?” He trailed off as he opened his eyes to a black, white, and yellow Bunny staring down at him. “You look horrible!” He exclaimed. “Huge bags, Bunny, huge, and, and why do you look like you’re in an old movie? What have you been doing?!”

He tried to scramble up, needing to poke and prod his partner for any hidden injuries, only for his legs to slip out from under him. He fell to the floor with a yelp, and only a quick hand from Bunny kept his head from smacking into the floor.

“Careful, dog!” Bunny cried. “Honestly, I have enough going on without worrying about you, too.”

Kotetsu didn’t answer him. The fall from too many legs, the repeated “dog” calls from Bunny, and his own sudden colorblindness had all combined into one huge reminder that, oh yeah, the Tiger had been turned into a dog.

The panic startled another whine out of him, and he stared up at his partner with wide eyes, tail softly slapping the ground behind him. He had barely managed to figure out his legs enough to drag himself to Bunny’s, only for his partner to not show up for hours and hours. But he was here now. Bunny was here now, and they would figure something out together.

Kotetsu whined, then tried to get his legs to work again. They had gotten him here, right? They could work again, and then—

“Whoa, there, dog!” Bunny warned. The man laid a hand on his shoulder, pressing down gently but firmly. “Don’t you remember what happened last time?”

Kotetsu barked. Of course he did, but—

“Then take it slow.” Bunny stared down at him sternly, and Kotetsu huffed. Well. He supposed he could do that much.

Barnaby watched for a second, eyes narrowed, as the dog tried to struggle to his feet before caving and reaching to help. One arm around the dog’s chest, the other under his butt, lift, and—

“Come on,” he coaxed, bending his wrist awkwardly to pat the dog’s shoulder the best he could. “Put your legs down. I can’t hold you forever. That’s it, there we go.”

When he was sure the dog was holding his own weight, Barnaby took his arms away and crouched down on his heels.

“Are you injured?” He muttered, peering at the dog’s legs and petting him. “I don’t feel any hot spots… Sore, maybe?” He looked to the dog’s head, and found him staring back with wide eyes. “Though I don’t know why I expect you to know… or answer me,” he realized with a sigh. The heroes had split up to cover as much ground as possible, only really talking when necessary they were so distracted with Kotetsu’s disappearance. Considering Barnaby had grown used to the man’s constant chatter…

Something cold nudged his arm, and Barnaby looked up to find the dog looking up at him. The dog barked.

Barnaby let his hand come up to rub at the dog’s ears, closing his eyes. “You’re not Kotetsu,” he murmured. “No matter how much I wish you were.”

The dog barked again.

“But I am,” Kotetsu barked. “Bunny! Bunny it’s me!” He wagged his tail as fast as he could, till he had worked up the full body wiggles he had seen real dogs do, trying to create a giant “look at me” sign. “Bunny! Bunny! Bunnnnny!”

Bunny managed to crack a small smile. “At least you’re feeling better,” he noted. “And probably not injured after all, moving like that. Are you ready to come inside?”

“I’d feel a lot better if you realized the dog with tiger stripes was Wild Tiger,” Kotetsu replied.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Bunny stood, back cracking—seriously, what had his partner been doing all day—and opened his apartment door before standing to the side.

Instead of moving, though, Kotetsu eyed the suddenly long way between himself and the door. “Uh… Bunny-chan? I don’t think I can walk that.”

“Come on, dog.” Bunny made clicking noises with his tongue, and waved a hand.

“Seriously, Bunny?” Kotetsu muttered. Though he supposed he had to try walking again sometime… He took a step forward, then quickly took another one when the first threatened to send him to the ground. And then another, because that was his paw almost right out from under him, and by the time Kotetsu passed through the door he was running full speed ahead for Bunny’s arm chair.

In hindsight, maybe Kotetsu should have realized that barely being able to walk also meant jumping was out of the question. As it was, Kotetsu tried to gather his legs under him, failed, and scrabbled at the floor till he finally managed to turn and slide, heavy and fast, into the side of the chair. Panting, Kotetsu flopped to the floor and prepared for Bunny’s laughter.

None came.

After taking a minute to regain his proper breathing skills, Kotetsu lifted his head and peered across the room. He almost lost those skills again. Bunny stared back at him, leaning against a closed door, with tears in his eyes. Sniffing, the man took off his glasses to wipe his eyes before replacing them and moving toward Kotetsu.

“Kotetsu would love you,” Bunny sighed.

“Eh?” Kotetsu blinked.

Bunny slumped into the chair, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his knees. His eyes stared right into Kotetsu’s, green and piercing. Kotetsu couldn’t help but sit up straight, forcing his front legs to hold his weight and bring his head closer to Bunny’s level.

“Bunny?”

“We couldn’t find him,” Bunny whispered. “We spent the entire day looking for Kotetsu, and we couldn’t find him. I should still be out there, but—” Bunny’s hand curled into a fist “—but I need sleep and a break. And now you. I can’t just leave you here when you need help. He wouldn’t want that. Even when you’re just a dog.” Bunny bowed his head into his clenched fist, his voice breaking on the last word, and Kotetsu’s heart broke with it.

Oh. That was—of course they had looked for him. He had been exhausted by the time he made it to the apartment, who knew how long it took him to get there, let alone how long he had slept undisturbed on the doorstep. And his coworkers—his friends—his family had spent that time looking for him, stressed out of their minds.

Kotetsu whined, horrified he hadn’t tried to find them. Nevermind that his legs still didn’t work properly, or that Bunny hadn’t even recognized him yet—he should have done something.

“Bunny,” he whined, and nosed at his partner’s hands. “Bunny, look at me. It’s not your fault.”

Bunny raised his head, and Kotetsu rested his head on his partner’s hands, gazing up at him with eyes that, he hoped, expressed how much he cared for Bunny.

Bunny smiled softly—achingly—just one corner of his mouth lifted, the other frozen stiff. “You have to belong to someone, dog,” he said, shifting his hands so Kotetsu’s head rested on just one, the other lifting to a spot just behind his ear and scratching. “You’re too well-behaved otherwise—well, minus the attack on my chair.” He snorted, but his hand kept scratching, and Kotetsu kept his head there. It was a little weird, but if it was what his partner needed at the moment… if it was what he needed, Bunny could pet him all he wanted.

And ok, Kotetsu could see why real dogs liked it.

As much as Barnaby thought the dog probably needed to rest, he also wasn’t about to leave the dog in his home unattended. It was as much about the health of the dog as it was the safety of his home. He still wasn’t completely convinced the dog wasn’t injured, so he’d rather have him where Barnaby could keep an eye on him.

Though of course that was easier said than done. After granting himself a half hour to cleaning up, a half hour to food, and another half hour to sleep, Barnaby tried to coax the dog to the door. Instead, the dog rolled over on the floor and pointedly closed his eyes.

“Dog,” Barnaby called, toe tapping a bit in annoyance. “Now isn’t the time for sleep.”

The dog’s tail thumped once, and Barnaby couldn’t help but imagine a stern “yes it is.”

Barnaby’s toe tapping intensified. “I need to look for Kotetsu, dog. And I’m not about to wait till morning.”

The dog rolled over again, looking up at him with wide brown eyes, and Barnaby’s shoulders released tension he hadn’t realized they’d had. Walking over, he knelt next to the dog and rested a hand on its side.

Lowering his head to make eye contact again, he whispered, “It’s important, dog.”

The dog’s eyebrows shuttered together before relaxing again, and Barnaby sighed. Somehow, it felt like he was having an argument with an actual person.

“I’ll call a friend to join me, and you can get dinner,” he promised.

The dog barked, jowls open and smiling, before fighting to get his legs under him again. Smiling back, Barnaby steadied his shoulders before climbing to his own feet.

“Still a bit wobbly, huh, dog?” he asked. The dog’s shoulder leaned against his upper calf as they walked together, step by step, out the door to the elevator.

Next Up: Kotetsu and Nathan. Bunny betrays Kotetsu by sticking one of Kotetsu’s own stinky socks in his nose. Ew, Bunny!

Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! If you did, please leave a comment!

And if you missed it up top: This will be updated every Wednesday!

[crazynekochan]

Omegaverse Fantasy AU: There are two kingdoms, one far more prosperous than the other, but the less prosperous kingdom has an skilled army, and a climate & terrain that would make any sort of military campaign pure misery (like if you combined Russia in the winter with the Vietnamese jungle) so they keep the peace by consistent trade for magical resources and technological components that the less prosperous kingdom can’t really use that much but the more prosperous one desperately needs if they want their very advanced magic-tech to keep running.

In the less prosperous kingdom, Mechana, omegas are not very well respected and seen mostly as wanton hussies that need to be controlled lest they shame their families, excepting some border towns. Heck, in more rural and poorer towns, having only an omega child is seen as a sign of weakness on their sire’s part (it’s not true, but this is superstition; stuff is never true). Quite unfortunately for Kazuichi and Mikan, as they both live in those sorts of rural towns and their families take out their frustrations on them.

In the more prosperous kingdom, Novoselic, omegas are pretty much the ideal mates and even common-born omegas can rise to the level of nobility through marriage. To abuse an omega is seen as a great disgrace, especially with the quite low omega birth rate making them very valuable as martial assets (though the omega has final say in who they marry, since they’re going to be stuck with their mate til death do they part). Some nobles are even willing to pay top dollar for the chance to mate an omega.

Seeing a golden opportunity to make some money (pranks and housing get expensive and half the organization was dirt poor before they joined), Kokichi and his organization DICE (which actually does have 10,000 members) create a business to bring omegas over from Mechana to Novoselic and arrange their marriages to high-ranking and/or wealthy sires, with the omegas getting full say in who they meet with and eventually mate, of course. No one’s quite sure if this is considered human trafficking, since the omegas are willingly going, but no one’s gotten arrested for it yet so it’s not against DICE rules.

The DICE agents in Mechana make habits of going into the regions where omegas are more likely to be treated poorly and they ask around about which families have omega children that they want to get rid of. When they find families willing to give up their omega children, they trade the kids for a hefty chunk of gold (which is a hunk of copper with some gold dust on it, of course) and then leave town when the omega is ready to leave (in the case of some highly abused omegas, right after the ‘gold’ changes hands). That the families most often suffer quite unfortunate “accidents” after the DICE agents are at least a couple miles away is a complete coincidence, they swear.

When the DICE agents (for this trip, Miu, Kaede, and Kaito, though they’re technically volunteers) come to Kazuichi’s village, Mr. Souda quickly volunteers Kazuichi up in exchange for the “gold”. Kaz would protest but defying his father rarely ends well and this is an opportunity to get away from his father and a village that has never treated well in his entire life, so he packs up his meager things and climbs onto the DICE covered wagon.

They head out and arrive in the nearby town where Mikan lives, while Kazuichi is lying on his side in the back of the wagon in pure misery from motion sickness, while Kaede is busy trying to use her healing music to help him fix it, if not stop him from barfing all over the back of the wagon (they have another town after this, then they have to get through the border and the smell stays in the wagon, no matter how much you clean).

Mikan comes aboard, very meek and shy, and quickly give Kaz some healing herbs that, while he’s still a bit dizzy, fixes his nausea. And when Kaz thanks her, she starts crying since no one had ever been that nice to her, much to the worry of everyone else in the wagon (Miu wishes she made the “accident” befalling the Tsumikis bigger, just for that).

Finally, they get to the last town on this trip, which is actually quite well off compared to the other towns in the region, the kind of town that Kazuichi and Mikan would define as a small city (it’s closer to a mid-size town, really). Miu is staying with the cart this time and is actually getting to know Mikan pretty well and has gotten on with Kazuichi like a house on fire. They’re in the middle of messing around with a test engine, with Mikan providing worried commentary, when they hear a massive argument approaching them from the town square entrance. 

They turn and see that Kaito and Kaede are in the middle of a quite nasty yelling match with an alpha male with long dark hair and blood red eyes, while a brunette omega male is pulling on the mystery alpha’s sleeve to keep him from actually punching Kaito. As all the omegas are quite easily terrified, they hide and watch the argument by peering around the wagon cover hole.

The alpha is Izuru, who is very much against his brother going off with some shady alpha and beta woman to have god knows what happen to him. Hajime wasn’t really sold so much as he volunteered, since their family was greatly in debt and they very much needed the money they would get from DICE (Kaito and Kaede gave them actual gold after hearing their story), which Izuru vocally opposed all the way from their home to the square, where the argument has reached a boiling point. 

Izuru notices Miu, Mikan, and Kazuichi peering at them from the cart (and they immediately go back into hiding because scary angry alpha) and gets angrier, convinced that this is actually an omega trafficking scheme (and it technically is, they haven’t worked out the whole “is this legal” thing yet). Because they’re causing a scene and this might actually turn into a fight, Kaede speaks up and suggests that Izuru come with Hajime as an escort, since that would prove that this isn’t a trafficking scheme (what idiot traffickers would bring the highly overprotective alpha brother of one of the omegas they’re trying to traffic, after all?). Hajime agrees to get Izuru to calm down, which makes Izuru reluctantly agree, giving threatening glances to Kaede and Kaito all while wishing their parents goodbye and getting in the wagon. 

Kaz, Mikan, and Miu all scoot as far away from Izuru as they can in the (not very roomy) wagon, but Hajime is much more personable and by the time they reach the border checkpoint, they’ve all become friends. They get let through the checkpoint relatively quickly and, after another day’s worth of travel (by which point the herbs that Mikan gave Kazuichi have all run out and worn off, so now Kaz is suffering from motion sickness again), they all arrive at the DICE Matchmaking Service HQ (which looks a lot like a love hotel, something that makes Izuru distinctly unhappy).

They finally disembark and are greeted at the front by part-timers Komaru and Aoi, who usher them to the rooms that they’ll be staying in while the matchmaking process goes on. When the group has gotten settled, they have dinner and meet with Shuichi and Kyoko (who are the part of the screening process for the agency) after. They meet individually, with each omega telling the two detectives what they want in a partner (Mikan apologizing and crying all the while) and the two detectives note their reactions, special traits, and personalities to better check for compatibility. 

When their meetings are done, the detectives wish the newcomers good night and head to Kokichi’s office with their findings. After giving Kokichi the basic rundown of each omega’s personality and appearance, Kokichi turns to his big board of sires and planned matches, looking extensively over it until he places some cautious pins and string connecting Kazuichi to Gundham (the princess’s best friend and the court animal trainer/sorcerer), Mikan to Ibuki and Chiaki (Ibuki (alpha, sorry) is a very famous bard and Chiaki is one of the most prominent gamers/mages in the continent, looking for a third in their relationship), and Hajime to Nagito (Grand Duke and the king’s nephew on his mother’s side). After looking over the connections, Kokichi tells Kyoko to tell Gundham, Ibuki, and Nagito in the morning that they’ve got a match.

Kazuichi and Mikan have never been in housing this nice or had food that good, so they’re really happy but scared about what the future may bring. Hajime and Izuru, who are still pretty cautious about this whole enterprise but needs to put on a brave face for Kaz and Mikan, who are much more nervous, act pretty happy too but when Kaz and Mikan are asleep, they have a quiet discussion about what would happen if this turns out to be a terrible idea. Izuru swears to protect Hajime before he gets hurt, they hug and then head to sleep, a bit worried and already preparing ways to escape with all of them alive and intact in case this goes sour.

(AN: And that’s where I’m ending it because good god, I need to sleep. I’ll probably send more asks about this Matchmaker AU, but this initial set is way too long for an ask chain. Please leave some feedback!)

—

Mod: I am so in love with this. I actually read this one a few times over the last few weeks. Though I always go “poor baby” when I read it, because I feel so bad for them all ;-;

Anyway, that is a very awesome idea and sadly the first time I saw it in such a way. I saw many prompts and fics with such omega matchmaking services, but they never were voluntary on the omega’s side. So it’s such a wonderful change to see one where it’s all about rescuing omegas from their bad homes and letting all the say in their hands

Kokichi would be so boss at his job at finding the perfect match, since he is after all a very analytical person and deeply caring, even if he never really shows it. But by god he would have the time of his life making the omegas’ shitty families miserable for mistreating their children for their dynamic (What would make it even more badass if we added in my personal HC that Kokichi would also be an omega, but that is of course up to you) Also great call to have Kyoko and Shuichi do background checks on everyone who comes into the matchmaking service to make sure that everyone is safe

Truth to be told, I could actually see Sonia funding DICE’s projects since she does have a high sense for justice. And also because her best friend and cousin are after all also trying to find a match through the service

I loved how you put in Izuru and why Hajime decided to go there. It fits them both well, and the thought of Nagito later on trying to court Hajime while Izuru is literally giving him death stares since he doesn’t trust him for a moment is funny as hell. Btw. there is no need to feel sorry for having a character have a dynamic that isn’t my personal HC. This is your story and I’m not some dictator who decides on headcanons ^^ So in short, feel free to change things up as much as you like ♥

I wonder how the courting of all the characters would look like, considering the background of how they met and especially their characters. I could imagine Nagito not feeling like he is actually deserving of someone like Hajime, while Izuru is as mentioned giving him constant death glares. Gundham is seriously questioning just what in god’s name made him sign up at the matchmaking service when he gets the note that they found a match, which he really doesn’t believe, until he meets Kazuichi and his brain just deep fries. While Mikan would probably hit it right off with Ibuki and Chiaki, however her trauma would be the biggest problem in their case

[lordyouko]

5(inukag) and 32(kogakag)..... 😁😁😁😁😁

@oitreedeb That is one hell of a pick.

@n0vic3-4nastasia Bless you for giving me an excuse to write more inucest. I’ve never written A/B/O dynamic before but I’ll give it a shot.

What @oitreedeb and @n0vic3-4nastasia chose kind of go together and novice- asked for #1 with inucest so I decided to combine all of them in a sort of short ficlet.

@oitreedeb - *grumbles* making me write Kou/Kag. Finnee.

Here goes:

5. bad sex/sex fails (Inu/Kag), 32. Forbidden love (Kou/Kag), 1. A/B/O (inucest)

_________________________________________________________________

“Mmf! Inuyasha! What the hell are you-”

Inuyasha hastily let go.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, “Are you ok?”

Kagome huffed, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face. “My god, Inuyasha, don’t you have like the vaguest clue – you know, how stuff… works?”

“I do,” Inuyasha protested. “Here, let me just-”

“No, no that’s ok,” Kagome said quickly. “Don’t worry about it. I mean clearly, you don’t want to.”

“I do want to,” Inuyasha tried again. “Of course I do, otherwise why would I be here in your bed-”

“You tell me,” Kagome retorted. “Why are you here? Because obviously, some parts of you don’t want to be.”

Inuyasha turned red then, and sat back, scooting away from her supine body.

Kagome raised herself onto her elbows, her shirt falling open carelessly where he’d clumsily unbuttoned the top few buttons, revealing her lacy bra barely covering her shapely breasts. Kagome noticed he didn’t even look at them once. In a corner of her mind, she wondered if he would have noticed if Kikyou had been lying here in her place.

“Because… I want to be with you,” Inuyasha replied, not meeting her eyes. “And – now it’s clear that – that I can’t.”

“Inuyasha,” Kagome said, voice becoming a little high pitched, a sinking feeling settling into her stomach. “What do you mean you can’t? If it’s a problem of – you know, performance, it happens to all guys sometimes…”

Inuyasha laughed hollowly. “No, no that’s not the problem. I – Kagome, I can’t because… because I’m an omega.”

“A- what?”

Inuyasha sighed, colour still dusting his cheeks. “It’s bad enough I’m a hanyou, and a bastard, but looks like that wasn’t enough for the universe because it decided to shit on me some more by also making me a – an omega-“

He glanced at Kagome; she still looked completely clueless. He swallowed hard. Damn, this wasn’t something he wanted to be explaining to the girl he had planned to spend the rest of her life with.

“An omega is a youkai that’s – that’s destined to be claimed by an alpha,” Inuyasha explained softly.

“Claimed?” Kagome repeated dumbly. “What is this, some feudal Japan thing? Because I’ll tell you, just because hanyou aren’t socially accepted doesn’t mean you have to-”

“This isn’t a society thing, Kagome,” Inuyasha interrupted, irrationally irritated by her defending him. “It’s my body. It’s – just the way it works. There’s not much I or anybody else can do about it.”

“You’re telling me the course of all youkai lives are predetermined from birth?” Kagome asked disbelievingly.

“No, not all,” Inuyasha said. “In fact, most youkai aren’t any of those things. They can choose who they want to be with, and who they become– ” bitterness laced Inuyasha’s voice. “But it’s not all bad for all the youkai who are born a certain way. Alphas have it made; it raises the honour of a family to have an alpha born in it. My father was one. And  –”

Inuyasha paused and with a short breath, changed the subject. “Anyway, omegas are just the opposite.”

“Ok,” Kagome said.  “So maybe if I-”

“Kagome,” Inuyasha said harshly. “You’re human. There’s nothing you can do.”

Kagome flinched, suddenly uncomfortably with the flinty look in his eyes.

“So what does that mean for you and me?” she asked softly, straightening up and beginning to button up her shirt.

Inuyasha swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat. “I –“

He lowered his head and let his bangs cover his eyes. “I can’t be with you…”

She’d been expecting the words, but they still felt like a stab to her heart. They were, after all, dashing away hopes she had been holding on to for so long.

“How long have you known?” Kagome asked, averting her eyes from his. “That you’re – you know-”

“…since I was a kid,” Inuyasha said. There was a moment of silence but Inuyasha didn’t elaborate. Kagome knew he was holding something back, but right now, the details weren’t seeming all that important.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” she whispered. “All this time… you strung me along..”

A muscle twitching on his mouth was the only indication of Inuyasha’s pain. “There – there are no omegas or anything among humans, and I’m hanyou so I thought maybe… if I tried really hard I could-”

Kagome felt some of her anger melt away at the heartbreak in his voice.

“I never wanted to hurt you,” he whispered. “I really – I really wanted to be with you…”

Kagome made a soft despairing sound, and Inuyasha sprang to his feet; in a trice, he was at her window.

Kagome sat there dumbly on her bed. A part of her wanted to go after him, wanted to stop him from leaving like this, but she found she couldn’t move. Her body suddenly felt so heavy and she was so tired-

She knew he would have scented the tears that were gathering in her eyes. He didn’t turn around.

Kagome sat there on her childhood bed where he’d left her and finally let the tears escape.

____________________________________________________________________

Kagome debated never again returning to the feudal era. She had almost decided never to jump down that well again, when it occurred to her – her life there hadn’t been all about Inuyasha. She had friends there, friends who would be hurt if she just vanished from their lives without saying goodbye.

So she went. One more time.

She hadn’t anticipated how quickly her friends would be able to read her desolation on her face. It took them no time to notice how upset she was, and how standoffish and ruder than usual Inuyasha was and they put two and two together – they were broken up, for good.

Then there was all the consoling and the kind words, and Kagome had never before known those things could make one feel like bashing one’s head against a wall.

So she fled.

Away from Sango and Miroku and Shippou and Kaede, away from anyone who wished her well.

She didn’t know where she had ended up when she stopped at last, winded, and dropped to the grassy floor.

She didn’t cry; that’s all she had done for so long, after all. Inuyasha entered her thoughts unbidden, and she felt the tears gathering like dark clouds in her chest, but she didn’t allow them to her eyes.

Instead, she concentrated on breathing, one hand clenching in the dirt beneath her fingers. She watched a drop of sweat slide off her forehead and mix into that dirt. It vaguely occurred to her that Kikyou probably never got all gross and sweaty like this.

“Kagome.”

The sound of her name, here, in this time, out in the middle of nowhere startled her.

She looked up and her heart leapt into her chest.

“Kouga,” she said, and was surprised to find her voice raspy and small.

Alien blue eyes clouded over with concern and Kouga knelt down next to her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Kagome looked down at her hands, and could not answer.

The wolf leader didn’t press her; instead, he came to sit cross-legged next to her on the ground.

“So what are we staring at?” he finally asked, turning to look at her after a while when the silence got oppressive.

“Are you alpha omega whatever too?” Kagome asked, without preamble.

Kouga drew back in surprise at the question. Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome saw his reaction. She knew she was being rude, but didn’t care right now. She sort of hoped she had offended the wolf, and he would leave her alone in peace. She sort of also hoped he would stay here with her and drive away some of her loneliness.

“I’m a beta,” Kouga answered, to Kagome’s surprise.

She huffed a laugh, resolutely refusing to meet his eyes. “So you can’t be with humans either, then,” she muttered.

“Why do you care?” Kouga began teasingly, but stopped when he saw she wasn’t taking the bait.

“It means I can be with alphas and omegas. I can be with whoever I want to be,” Kouga explained. “Except an omega that’s been claimed by an alpha.”

“But no humans,” Kagome added snidely.

“Humans too,” Kouga said quietly.

Kagome’s head snapped towards him. “Really?”

“Yes,” Kouga said. “Why, what’s brought this whole �� mmph!”

He had to brace a hand on the ground behind him when Kagome kissed him suddenly.

Blue eyes were wide as saucers when she drew back. “Kagome-” he whispered, fingers brushing disbelievingly over his own lips.

Kagome said nothing; she just looked at him.

After a moment, Kouga leaned down and took her in his arms, lowering his head to meet their lips once more.

Kagome’s hand clutched at the fur-lined armour on the wolf’s chest, and it occurred to her that this was wrong.

Terribly, awfully wrong.

She had only just broken up with the boy who she’s planned to spend the rest of her life with. And she wasn’t the girl who did this kind of thing. She didn’t jump from one boy to the next.

She should be mourning the end of her relationship with dignity and then, only after a large number of months had passed, should she even begin to think about being in another relationship.

Kouga’s tongue entered her mouth, gently but surely, and Kagome decided she absolutely did do this kind of thing.

After all, if the first love of her life could break her heart without ever being with her, the least she could do was this.

And now, at least she had a reason to keep coming back to feudal Japan.

_______________________________________________________________________

A/N: That was the first ‘chapter’. @n0vic3-4nastasia - the inucest will be in the next instalment. 

And, surprisingly, I’m having fun writing Kou/Kag. So @oitreedeb thanks for giving me a chance to write a pairing I never would have otherwise gone for ^_^

This will also be up on FF and AO3 soon.

[ao3feed-danganronpa]

To lose ones Vision

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3nA1eod

by CrimeCaro

"You really don't remember our multiple trips through the mountains of these islands, solving puzzles, fighting back to back... the countless nights we gazed upon the stars, chatted until the sun was rising again and... got closer to each other...?"

Two months ago the Raiden Shogun announced the Vision Hunt Decree, causing confusion and fear among her people. No one knew what losing your Vision meant, but they were sure to find out.

Hearing about those circumstances Shuichi abandoned his study journey to return to his partner back in Inazuma, hoping he was fine.

Words: 2812, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of DRV3 Genshin AU

Fandoms: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Major Character Death

Categories: M/M

Characters: Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi, Iruma Miu, K1-B0 (Dangan Ronpa), Raiden Shogun | Baal (Genshin Impact), Harukawa Maki, Momota Kaito, Akamatsu Kaede

Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi

Additional Tags: Vision Hunt Decree (Genshin Impact), Memory Loss, spoilers for 2.0 Archon Quest I guess, Play Ayakas 3 wishes for a bit of context, long story short losing your vision is bad, Inazuma (Genshin Impact), Angst, Established Relationship, but memory loss, Reunion, musou no hitotatchi, this happens way before the Traveller goes to Inazuma, Aged-Up Character(s), like mid-late 20s, Hurt No Comfort, no beta we die like hillichuls

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3nA1eod

[takonei]

Beta AU - Main story: Chapter 2, deadly life (Part 2)

Note of the author: I think we all know where this is going. Let’s just skip to the end Let’s-a-go!

Chapter 2: The wolf and the lamb - Daily life

...

Monokuma, just like last time, explained the rules of the class trial, even though they remembered them from last time.

No one wanted to talk first. Just like last time, they weren’t sure about what the ‘murder weapon’ was. Rantaro had said that something didn’t make sense in their discoveries, but Shuichi couldn’t bring this up as the first thing to talk about.

Tsumugi fiddled with her hair. “We know that Kaede was poisoned, but since I was looking in a lab where products weren’t missing, I guess you guys found things on your side?”

Kirumi was the first to speak. “None of the cleaning products in my lab were used. Himiko, Angie and Kokichi can testify to this.”

“Correct! The only product used was a laundry detergent bottle, but Kirumi said it was because she finished it yesterday when she was doing the laundry.” Himiko continued.

“Can we be sure about this though?” Tsumugi raised an eyebrow. “There is a possibility a part of it was used for something else.”

The maid maintained her elegant posture. “I cannot fully prove this, I am afraid.”

Keebo looked at the blue haired girl. “We should talk about the alibis later, let’s just hear about whether the groups found anything or not in the other labs.”

Ryoma tapped his fingers on the podium. “We can safely say that nothing was missing in Rantaro’s lab.”

Angie raised her hand. “I know! We went through Miu’s lab and some of the products were missing!”

The street artist stiffened. “W-what type of products?”

Kokichi fiddled with his hood. “It was both raw ingredients and perhaps finished products. And the lab looked like it was cleaned recently.”

Kiyo narrowed his eye. “Weren’t some of you in her lab yesterday with the portraits?”

Angie looked up to the ceiling. “Now that you mention it I did watch Miu prepare some of her paint in the lab.”

Kaito chimed in. “Well, that should be enough to prove that she didn’t use her products for this!”

“No one said anything about her poisoning the drinks, you know.” Tsumugi interrupted. “You are quick to defend her, did something happen?”

The two’s hearts visibly skipped a beat.

“I didn’t do it! If I wanted to why would I use my own products? That’s suspicious as hell!” Miu yelled.

The girl with glasses shrugged. “I’m just saying we should keep that in mind for later.”

Shuichi tried to regain his composure. “Anyway, did anyone else try to look for another place where something could have been used as poison?” he asked.

Rantaro leaned on his podium. “I was busy guarding the corpse with Miu and Kaito, so I couldn’t do much on my own.”

Himiko frowned. “Hey, who made this drink anyway? Like it appeared in the fridge but now I’m curious.”

Kirumi crossed her hands. “It was two days ago. I am the one who made this drink with Miu. She had suggested a pool party with a few others, if I recall, and I accepted to help them.”

“Aw, man... I wish I was invited...” Shuichi heard Himiko mutter. He restrained himself from telling her otherwise.

Keebo concluded. “So nothing too serious, then.”

Rantaro fiddled with his necklace. “Not really. We were just chatting at the pool for a while.”

Maki looked at him. “Who was there exactly?”

Shuichi couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about this whole story. “There were Kiyo, Rantaro, Kaito, Miu and I.”

“That explains a lot then.”

Everyone turned to Tsumugi.

“I don’t know what you guys are winning by doing this, but I don’t like it.”

Kaito glared at her. “What’s that supposed to mean? Can’t we enjoy some of our time here?”

“I’m just saying...” she said.

“That it’s not exactly productive to hide Miu’s attempt murder on you four.”

The room felt silent.

How did she know?? Did she see them? If she knew about this, did that mean she was the culprit?

“Huh?” Miu muttered, eyes widened.

“Is... Is it true, Miu?” Maki asked.

The four almost victims were silent.

“I’m disappointed. We’re supposed to look for the truth and you guys try to hide such an important detail.”

“H-Hold on! There’s no way Miu would do this... Right...?” Himiko turned to the accused.

Her podium went forward.

“I...” she muttered, her voice shaking.

“You organized the pool party, made the drinks with Kirumi and poisoned it with the products in your lab.” Tsumugi explained.

“I-I didn’t-” she tried to get the prodigy’s attention.

“After that, Kiyo, Rantaro and Shuichi went to your lab to destroy the products, but you kept a part of it on you if necessary, and poisoned Kaede with it.”

“Tsumugi, that’s enough.” Rantaro interrupted. “What do you gain from this?”

Her expression didn’t change. “Everyone’s lives, of course. Face it. We didn’t find any trace of poison anywhere else. The products came from her lab and she is the one to know exactly how to use them. Unless you have a reason to defend her?”

“First of all, how do you know all that? Were you perhaps spying on us and saw an opportunity to snatch some of the poison?” he replied, clearly skeptic of Tsumugi.

She took out her monopad. “That would be a shame if there was a possibility to know each of us’ location at all times. Just two days ago I was looking at my monopad and saw Kiyo, Shuichi, Miu, Kaito and you at the pool, then suddenly only you and Shuichi went to her lab, followed by Kiyo. Do you think I’m stupid enough to believe nothing happened?”

Silence fell once more on the courtroom.

“Besides we can now safely say she watched her motive video before everyone else and lied to us.”

Miu was shaking, tears filling her eyes. It was like words were stuck in her throat.

The blue haired girl still looked at the panicking Miu. “Well? Do you have something to s-”

“Tsumugi, I’m sorry but could you shut the fuck up for a second?”

Everyone turned to Rantaro, whose words shut Tsumugi up instantly.

“Excuse me?”

It was Rantaro. No one had ever seen him mad, but just hearing him say that absolutely shocked Shuichi. “You claim that because she used the products once, she would do it again, none other than two days after the incident?”

“Reverse psychology. It would be way too easy if it was her so we would brush off the theory. She used that tactic to convince us she is innocent. Face it, Rantaro. The poison comes from her lab. She is the only one who has full knowledge on what to use to kill someone instantly.”

“You know anyone can read a label, right? It’s literally written on the bottle if the product kills or not.”

“She is the one with the key to her own lab, you know?”

“ENOUGH!!!”

Miu yelled. She was gripping her podium so tightly Shuichi was wondering if it would break.

“I... It’s true. I can’t deny the truth I...”

She took a deep breath.

“I tried to kill Kaito, Shuichi, Rantaro and Kiyo two days ago with the products from my lab. And frame it on Kirumi.”

Her voice was shaking.

“But I didn’t kill Kaede! You have to believe me!”

“Show us some proof you didn’t do it and I’ll accept it.” the prodigy didn’t back down.

“Actually...” Shuichi started. If he let Kaito or Rantaro talk they would get nowhere. “Kiyo, Rantaro and I are the ones who cleaned up Miu’s lab after the incident. And Kaito and I were the ones who cleaned up after she finished our family portraits.”

He looked at Tsumugi with fake confidence. “And after visiting Miu’s lab during the investigation, the only products gone were the ones we used the day before.”

It was half a lie, but he had to do it.

Rantaro rested his head on his hand. “So? That’s enough proof for you?”

“I’ll accept it for now.”

He sighed.

Shuichi was silent. He glanced at Maki. Her eyes looked empty. He caught them watching the spot at his right. At Kaede’s portrait, black and white with a red cross drawn over it.

He felt really bad for her, but he understood her silence.

Himiko hesitated, but she asked. “But... Why did you guys hide such important evidence...? I wanna believe that you aren’t the culprit but at least we deserved to know...”

“And then?” Rantaro asked. He wasn’t mad. It looked like a genuine question.

“What do you mean?” the petite girl responded.

“Imagine us coming to you all and say that Miu tried to kill us, how would you react?”

That was the same as two days ago. The same question.

“I think I understand where you’re getting at.” Ryoma said. “No one would trust Miu anymore, she would most likely isolate herself, become the next victim or framed as the culprit when she had absolutely no chance of redeeming herself?”

That was a blunt way to put it. Shuichi didn’t even think of it this way. He wanted to tell him that’s not it but...

“Ohh... Ryoma, I knew men were insensitive but that’s just harsh.” Angie said, her eyes on the smaller man.

Shuichi noted that he should try to talk to Angie after the trial about this, but now was not the time.

“Am I wrong, though?” he asked. “If everyone else knew about what she did, that’s the perfect opportunity to pin the crime on her. Although...”

He glanced at everyone in the courtroom.

“I’m starting to suspect one of the ‘pool party’ members is the culprit.”

Shuichi froze, then looked at the rest of them. Was he suspecting Kaito? Was it Kiyo? Was it Rantaro? Was it him?

“I understand the fact that you suspect us, Ryoma. Are you suggesting we should talk about our alibis?”

“If none of you have any objections.” Ryoma added.

Shuichi knew something was wrong. He thought about what Rantaro said earlier.

“Something clearly doesn’t make any sense in what we found.”

What did he even think about?

“Should we proceed?” Keebo said.

Then it hit him.

“Alright, so-”

“Wait!”

Everyone turned to Shuichi.

“What is it?” Maki asked.

“I was thinking about something... Do you really think the poison was Miu’s chemicals?”

Tsumugi sighed. “Nothing else was missing in the products, how would it be something else?”

“No it’s just...” he took a deep breath. “Back when we were in the kitchen examining the beverage we noticed something...”

“By we, do you mean Kiyo, Rantaro and you?” Kokichi asked.

He replied. “Yes, since Miu’s... Incident is out I think we should concentrate on this problem for now.”

Rantaro continued. “Are you talking about the odorless drink?”

Shuichi nodded.

“When we smelled the drink, it didn’t smell like the ones we almost drank the other day. It smelled like whatever alcohol was originally used to make a normal drink.”

Maki spoke. “H-hold on, are you saying the original drink wasn’t poisoned?”

Angie chimed in. “Nope! I poured myself a glass of it yesterday, and I’m alive as far as I know.”

Miu nodded. “When I... Did the thing I didn’t poison the drink itself, I just poisoned the glasses themselves.”

Shuichi turned to Maki. “The point is, we got to know what those poisoned drinks smelled like. And the odor between both was clearly different.”

Kiyo confirmed. “Agreed. The smell was way stronger two days ago.”

Keebo hummed. “Yes, but couldn’t the smell have faded away?”

Miu sighed. “I don’t know if my testimony counts, but that stuff doesn’t loose it’s smell easily.”

Angie hummed. “I may not paint a lot, but paint has its own unique odor.”

Rantaro tapped his fingers on the podium. “Besides if the drink was covered like it was here I don’t think the smell would escape much.”

Kirumi raised an eyebrow. “So we were wrong about the murder weapon this whole time?”

Shuichi sighed. “I guess so...”

Kaito looked clearly annoyed. “So that whole ‘let’s reveal what happened two days ago’ was absolutely for nothing??”

Miu talked before anyone else could. “No. I think... I think we needed to talk about this. If the culprit tried to frame me that could be a major clue in the case and...” she dryly chuckled. “At least I got something off my shoulders.”

“I don’t see how exposing your crime would make you feel better, but whatever.” Tsumugi sighed.

“That’s besides the point.” Kiyo replied. “It’s fine to find who attempted to kill, but we have to remember our motive.”

Shuichi perked up. He almost forgot about that. “You mean there is a possibility the culprit tried to pin the crime on their accomplice?”

The therapist nodded. “That’s most likely what happened. We have to think and act carefully.”

Ryoma looked at Shuichi. “So if we keep in mind that the real culprit knew about Miu’s murder attempt, they’re still most likely from the pool party group.” his gaze shifted slightly to Shuichi’s right side. “... Or Tsumugi.”

The girl stopped fiddling with her hair. “And why would I reveal Miu’s murder attempt then? We know there was an accomplice. Why would I reveal to you all the main part of our supposed plan, assuming Miu chose me of all people to escape with?”

The small man shrugged. “I don’t know, you tell me, miss reverse psychology.”

“Could we please proceed to the real subject here?” Keebo asked, annoyed.

“You were awfully quick to throw your accusations at Miu. Almost as if you wanted everyone to vote for her.” Ryoma continued.

“I’m trying to make things easier. I am confident in my talent and my logic.” she replied.

“Guys! Just-” Himiko tried to separate them in vain.

“You really are trying to brush off all accusations off of you. We don’t even have concrete evidence that you were involved yet, and you are already awfully on the defensive. Do you have something to tell us?” he countered.

“As I just said, at least I’m trying to move forward in this case, unlike some of you here.”

“SHUT UP!!!”

Everyone turned to Maki. She was gripping her podium. From the look of things, she just wanted silence. Unfortunately she wouldn’t get it until the end of the trial.

“None of you are making it any better. Just shut up.”

She got a brief glare from Tsumugi. Surprisingly, Ryoma was silent.

Angie put her elbows on the podium, head resting on her hands. “Do you suspect Tsumugi as the culprit, Ryoma?”

He groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I said she was on the suspect *list*, not that she was the main suspect. Do you even listen?”

Shuichi tried to calm the tension. “We said we were going to talk about the real poison, since we proved that the paint wasn’t used as the poison here.”

Kokichi reluctantly continued. “But we also said there weren’t any other product that could have been used as poison missing...”

Himiko perked up: “That’s right! We searched through the labs over and over and nothing was missing aside from Miu’s products!”

Tsumugi crossed her hands. “But can we be sure we can trust the presence of the products?”

Kirumi raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

She regained a calm posture. “If Monokuma asked us to do the trial, that means the poison was in one of the labs we searched in, correct?”

The was a rhetorical question.

“Say Monokuma.” she turned to the bear. “Let’s suppose someone takes something from a lab, how much time has to pass before you refill the products?”

Monokuma laughed. “Why that is an excellent question! If something used as a poison is taken from a lab, I will wait 48 hours until I refill it again, unless it’s used, then in that case I won’t replace it! I can’t let any of you take stuff just so no one can commit felony with it, bear’s word!”

Kokichi’s eyes widened. “Does that mean someone can steal poison, wait two days to use it so they can use the presence of the product in the lab as an alibi?”

Tsumugi smiled. “I think our little mystery is solved.”

Maki narrowed her eyes. “So the poison could come from either Kirumi’s lab or Rantaro’s lab, so long as they took the poison two days ago?”

Shuichi put a finger on his chin. “That sounds plausible... But does that mean that anyone could be the culprit then?”

Kiyo looked at him. “The accomplice rule was only implanted yesterday. So someone took the poison after supposedly watching their motive video in secret, and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike, then came the accomplice rule, and they most likely chose an accomplice to do the work with.”

Kaito his head slightly. “But where did the poison even come from then?”

Kirumi closed her eyes briefly. “The products of my lab are constantly used. I highly doubt it came from here.”

Shuichi thought about the only other possibility.

Tsumugi crossed her arms. “Which leads to my number two suspect of this case. Someone who acted quite strangely ever since those videos came up.”

Shuichi’s heart skipped a beat. She didn’t mean...

The blue haired girl turned to her right.

“Do you have anything to tell us, Rantaro?”

[takonei]

Beta AU - Main story: Chapter 2, deadly life (Part 3)

Note of the author: Boi it’s been a while. But I can’t just leave that trial without finishing it. This trial is not over yet.

This part is a bit shorter but that was the only way I had to end it properly.

Chapter 2: The wolf and the lamb - Daily life

...

Shuichi’s heart skipped a beat.

He didn’t want to believe it but there was so much against him. He denied it for so long, but everything made sense. The way he led everyone after the motive videos appeared, him being a witness to the Miu incident, perhaps the need to go back and help soldiers on the battlefield, letting everyone investigate knowing full well no one would find any evidence against him...

Rantaro was silent. He was studying Tsumugi’s expression. Shuichi noticed he shot a quick glance at someone accross the room, but didn’t know who exactly.

“I see that you decided to make me the main suspect.” he replied.

“You could have taken away strong medical products to use in case you needed, and used the rule of the 48 hours for your advantage.”

He closed his eyes briefly. “I can see where you’re coming from, but that theory would have been plausible only if I knew about this rule at the time.”

Kaito tightened his grip on the podium. “No one knew about the rule until now, that could have been a coincidence!”

Rantaro raised a hand. “She is right to suspect me though. Monokuma isn’t a fully reliable source, so I could just lie about my ignorance and he wouldn’t say anything to help you.”

He continued. “But if as you say, I’m the culprit, then explain how exactly I proceeded to kill Kaede, from the day we got the motive videos to the moment I killed her.”

Tsumugi raised an eyebrow, but didn’t question Rantaro’s attitude. “The day we got the motive videos, you watched yours, and knowing full well what it contained, you decided to pretend you didn’t watch it. You went to the dining hall and prepared your plan. Everyone more or less trusted you at the time, so convincing everyone into locking up the tablets in your lab wasn’t a difficult task. Since no one could have access to your lab, you snatched a bottle of strong chemical from your lab and since you were in charge of your own lab, no one could see the disappearance of the product. Last night you or your accomplice poisoned Kaede and we wouldn’t have noticed a thing.”

The green haired boy put a finger on his chin. “While your theory is quite elaborated I can count 3 false claims that can be proven wrong.”

“If I recall, Monokuma said he would replace the products 48 hours after the person took it if no murder was committed, right?” Keebo asked. “If Rantaro took the product the moment we got the videos, Monokuma wouldn’t have replaced it since the murder was committed last night, and not this morning.”

“Yup! 48 hours without murder, not less, not more! I’m quite meticulous, you know??” Monokuma cheerfully added.

“Or Rantaro could have taken the product as a test the day his lab opened, in case he needed it. That would explain the replacement.” The blue haired prodigy added.

But Rantaro still had more to say. “Second off, that’s assuming I watched my video beforehand.”

Himiko chimed in. “Yeah! We saw his motive video with him! He was genuinely concerned, he didn’t know about the video, I just know it!”

Kokichi nodded.

Tsumugi’s face was enough to say that she didn’t think the two were smart enough to see through a potential lie. “And what about your third point? Because supposing Kaito is your accomplice, you two would cover each other’s alibis. So that point isn’t exactly valid.”

Rantaro didn’t flinch. “That’s not what I was about to say. What I meant was...”

He smirked.

“You’re assuming I had the key to my lab two days ago.”

Tsumugi fell speechless, much like the rest of the group.

“Excuse me?” she asked, a clear look of confusion on her face.

“You heard me.” He said, a hint of pride in his voice. “From the moment we locked the videos in my lab to the moment we took them out to watch them, I did not have the key to my lab.”

Kirumi frowned. “Explain yourself. We all put trust in you to guard the tablets and you’re saying you didn’t have the keys to your own lab? You’re gonna have to give a better excuse.”

“Except I can testify to that.”

She turned to Ryoma.

Shuichi was confused. “Hold on, you had the key to Rantaro’s lab?”

He nodded. “After locking the tablets in his lab, Rantaro came to me and asked me to keep the key instead of him, in case someone tried to take it away from him.”

“Precisely.” Rantaro confirmed. “I trusted Ryoma to keep the key. He had it on him from the moment I locked up the tablets to the moment we brought back the tablets yesterday morning. I think the ones in the dining hall when we got them can testify to that.”

Shuichi wasn’t here the entire time, but he remembered Rantaro and Ryoma coming back together with tablets. Of course he assumed Ryoma had only came with him to help carrying the tablets, but if Rantaro didn’t have the key, the situation was actually Ryoma unlocking the lab for Rantaro.

After a few nods from the ones in the dining hall at the time, Rantaro glared at Tsumugi. It wasn’t a strong glare, but the annoyance was clearly visible. “Are you satisfied now?”

“Ryoma could have done the-” she tried to defend her argument.

Rantaro put his elbows on the podium and put his face in his hands. “I didn’t know about the 48 hours rule, I didn’t have the key to my lab because I gave it to Ryoma, Kaito can confirm my alibi about the time of the murder, I didn’t watch my video beforehand, something that both Kokichi and Himiko can confirm...” He lifted his head and turned to her. “What more do you need??”

Shuichi stared at the Rantaro who just snapped. “If you, the ultimate prodigy with high intelligence, stay fixated on the fact that I potentially did it, we’re getting nowhere! So could you please listen to me for one second instead of thinking I’m some kind of genius mastermind even though I have nothing to gain from escaping??”

Miu looked baffled. “... Huh?”

He put his fist on his heart. “I am a war medic, A soldier. I don’t work in hospitals, I work on battlefields. While I do wish to get back to my crew to help them, what will they think of someone who sacrificed 14 teenagers just to help soldiers destined to fall at some point?”

He turned away from Tsumugi to face everyone in the room.

“While I’m not working as a soldier right now, I consider this academy my battlefield, and you are the people I swore to protect at all costs. And the only enemies I see are the mastermind and Monokuma, that I swear on my life and honor to defeat.”

“And betraying even just one of you would be the death of my honor and pride. And to call myself a soldier would be an insult to all my fallen comrades on the battlefield away from here.”

He slightly turned back to Tsumugi. “You can call me whatever name comes to your mind. You can tell me I’m creepy, ominous, stupid, ugly, or anything, but never try to insinuate I would betray my own honor to get out of this place ever again.”

He narrowed his eyes. “And I would rather die than to betray this loyalty I swore to myself.”

No one dared to say anything after that. Shuichi felt a little guilty for not believing him. Rantaro had explained to him the very first day about his duty and intentions. He really hoped he was not resentful.

“While I can also pledge my allegiance to you all as a soldier...” Ryoma was the first to speak after Rantaro’s speech. “... I think we should consider the very last option we have. I wanted to believe it had nothing to do with the case, but we don’t have a choice, do we?”

He turned to Keebo. The robot quickly glanced at Kirumi. Her expression was unreadable.

“Please do not get mad at us for hiding this fact, we simply thought that it would be preferable not to create a similar situation to before, with Miu’s incident. But we have no choice but to talk about the last possibility when it comes to what was the poison.”

Kiyo raised an eyebrow. “And that is?”

Both Keebo and Ryoma turned to Kirumi. The maid let out a sigh.

“The poison came from my lab.”

Shuichi blinked. Kirumi said earlier that it wasn’t the case, did Keebo and Ryoma try to cover her? More importantly, how did they know?

“Hold on! We could have avoided this whole debate whatsoever! You knew it was from your lab?” Miu yelled.

“When I said the poison didn’t come from my lab, I was talking about the cleaning products. But the real poison comes from my lab, I’m certain of it.”

“Kirumi... Do you have real poison in your lab?” Shuichi asked.

Himiko turned to the taller woman. “Hold on! Kirumi’s a maid! Why would she have poison in her lab?”

“Because her talent as a maid is a cover.” Ryoma replied.

“Her real talent is ultimate mercenary.”

Kirumi glared at Ryoma for a second then sighed. “This was the main reason why I didn’t want to show my motive video. If everyone knew about my real talent and methods of elimination, my lab would have been raided several times by now, and each and every one of you would have been suspicious of me from the start, just like Tsumugi was suspicious of Rantaro and Miu.”

“But now you’re even more suspicious!” Kaito yelled.

Angie put her elbows on the podium and placed her head on her palms. “What I want to know is how you knew the poison was from your lab when you never checked during the investigation as far as I know~”

Then Shuichi remembered. “Wait... When I left the library I met you in the hallway, but you never told me where you were going...”

She lowered her head. “Precisely. I was heading to my lab because I had my suspicions my secret was out and wanted to check. And one of the bottles was indeed missing.”

Angie tilted her head to the side. “Checking your lab alone? Suspicious coming from a trained-”

Rantaro leaned forward. “We’ll talk about her talent later. Kirumi, what type of poison was missing from your lab?”

“An odorless, transparent poison. It kills the target in a matter of minutes. Which would match with the real poison, if as you say, the beverage didn’t smell that much.”

Kiyo put a finger on his chin. “Then whoever used it knew about your real talent.”

Shuichi frowned “Then it leaves us with 3 main suspects, which are Kirumi, Ryoma and Keebo.”

The three podiums went forward.

Tsumugi put her elbows on her podium and crossed her hands. “We need your alibis for between 8 PM and 12 AM. Do not even try to lie your way through.”

The three suspects exchanged glances.

“Kirumi, you told me earlier you were in your lab from 9 PM to 10 PM doing laundry. You had time to get the poison, right?” Keebo said.

“And what exactly would I gain from telling you all about the disappearance of the poison? I know the suspicions are on me, but I prefer telling the truth right now.” she confidently replied.

“We could talk about a gamble, and a way to pin the crime on someone else. Such as Keebo or me.” Ryoma added.

“We know the culprit tried to pin the crime on Miu, so that can’t be it.” Keebo said.

“Ryoma, you were close to Rantaro, you could have told him about Kirumi’s talent and him telling you about the Miu incident, meaning you two are the accomplices.” Kirumi suggested. “That would come back to Tsumugi’s theory.”

“And I would go back to what Rantaro said. We’re no war criminals. Besides I learned about the Miu incident as the same time as you all.”

“If we keep accusing each other we’re getting nowhere.” Keebo said. “And... I think I can back up Ryoma’s alibi.”

The smaller man nodded. “I was talking with Keebo in the warehouse from 9 PM to around 11 PM. After that Keebo had to go back to charging so we went back to the dorms, and we saw no one out.”

Keebo narrowed his eyes. “That would mean we both are clean, right?”

The two boys’ podiums went back, leaving only Kirumi at the center.

“One minute.” The mercenary raised a hand. “As much as I doubt the person in question did it, I think we should still include them in the suspect list.”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if any that’s the case for other people, but...”

She trailed off, then decided to finish her sentence.

“The motive video I got wasn’t mine.”

This was a scenario no one had ever thought of. They all assumed everyone had theirs. But if Kirumi was telling the truth, then there was indeed a 4th suspect. But why would everyone get their own videos except Kirumi and whoever had her video?

Miu didn’t seem to buy it. “How can we know if you aren’t lying? You hided the fact that poison was missing from your lab all along and let the others accuse Rantaro and I!”

She ignored the street artist. ”While I cannot say for certain the person who got my video watched it, or even did the crime, I feel like I should share this information.”

Shuichi stared at her, worry in his eyes. “W-Whose video did you have?”

“If someone else knew my real talent aside from Keebo and Ryoma...”

She turned slightly to her right.

“... Then it would be you, Maki Harukawa.”

[takonei]

Beta AU - Main story, Chapter 2, daily life (Part 3)

Note of the author: To write is to suffer.

Also a week ago I had a test where I had to do a 70 word max commentary on something and that reminded me of the fact that I reached 20k words with this, and I’m not even done with chapter 2 smh

Chapter 2: The wolf and the lamb - Daily life

Day 7 since the beginning of the game. 7:00 AM.

Just like a few days ago, Shuichi couldn’t sleep well due to the upcoming event and what happened te day before. He stared at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity before deciding to get dressed and perhaps join those who have already woken up.

When he finally got out of his bedroom, he saw Miu going out as well. He caught up to her.

“Hey...”

She almost jumped at his presence. “Don’t lurk on me like that, jeez...”

That was absolutely not the case but none of them were in the mood for bickering. They walked to the dining hall in silence.

After a while Miu mumbled in a very low voice: “I’m sorry for yesterday.”

Shuichi took a while to think about a correct response. “Just make sure to talk to Kiyo about this.” She nodded.

There were surprisingly more people than expected. Kirumi, Keebo, Kokichi and Korekiyo were there.

“Good morning.” Korekiyo said, looking at the two.

“Sup.”

“Good morning...” Shuichi responded. “No one was able to sleep, huh?”

“This morning will be stressful for all of us, it’s normal.” Rantaro’s voice was heard as he entered the room, his hands full of tablets. Ryoma was behind him with a part of the tablets as well.

They put the tablets on the table. Shuichi and Miu helped them sort the kubs pads by group. The rest of them arrived one by one to eat their breakfast.

The morning announcement rang and the only people not there were Kaito and Himiko, which was weird considering Himiko’s energetic nature and Kaito was not exactly lazy.

About 15 minutes after, everybody was there. None of them really knew if they were impatient or didn’t want to see their videos.

They separated to make sure no one would hear other videos. After watching the videos, they were ordered to go back to the dining hall.

Shuichi’s group went to his lab, Rantaro’s group to his lab, Kirumi’s group to her lab and Kaede’s group to her lab.

There weren’t any chairs in Shuichi’s lab, so they sat on the floor to make sure everyone could watch.

Shuichi asked if any of them wanted to watch their video first.

“Me. If you guys don’t mind.” Miu said, the regret in her voice.

After making sure he took the right one, he put it down for the others to watch.

Miu Iruma’s motive video What is your motive!?

Miu took a deep breath. She was faintly shaking.

“Who’s the most important person in *your* life? And now without further ado...”

A picture appeared on the screen.

The kid was not older than 4 or 5 years old.

Shuichi glanced at her. her eyes were red and he could see tears form in her eyes.

“Miu Iruma, the ultimate Street artist...

Famous all around the country for her *marvelous* fluorescent paintings in the streets.

Contrary to popular belief, she wasn’t seeking fame and fortune. Her goal was to protect the only person she truly cherishes, her adopted son.”

Shuichi took a deep breath. He hoped the other videos don’t make them as emotional.

“Our team has managed to get in contact and talk to him. He misses his dear mother terribly, what kind of kid wouldn’t after all? Let’s hear the poor, lonely child’s cry for help then!”

That was just sadism at this point. No wonder Miu completely snapped after watching this. She had a hand on her mouth, holding herself back from breaking into tears.

“Mommy?”

The kid, “Kaz” as she called him, appeared on the screen, sitting on a couch. Miu closed her eyes and faced the ground.

“I don’t understand what’s happening but I believe in mom! I know she can do this! Don’t ever give up! Mom is the strongest mom I’ve ever known, I’m sure no matter what happens, she'll be able to surpass it, I love you mom!”

Kaito pat her back in confort. It was hard for them to watch this, but they couldn’t even begin to imagine how she felt.

Monokuma’s voice continued. “He believes in his mother more than anyone else. Will Miu be able to gather enough strength for him?

Ah, yes... One more thing...

Shortly after our discussion, that brat suffered an unfortunate accident.”

The others frowned.

“What kinda accident? It’s a secret! Find out for yourself. Puhuhuhuhu...”

The screen went black. Miu was clenching to her stomach. She wanted to scream.

Kiyo was most likely thinking about something to calm her down. He set the tablet aside. “We can pause for a moment if you need some time.”

She took a deep breath. A shaky breath. “Don’t- Don’t worry about me. Continue if you want to.”

Kiyo didn’t back down. “The others will understand if we spend more time in this room than we intended at first.”

She nodded, looking at the ground. About five minutes later she had calmed down enough to start another video.

“Is anyone volunteering to watch their video?” Kiyo asked.

“I... I think I can handle it.” Kaito said. He was unsure, but so was the rest of the group.

“Alright. I’m turning on the tablet.”

Once again, the screen lightened up to show the video.

Kaito Momota’s motive video What is your motive!?

Kaito took a deep breath. He was trying to hide his nervousness, but it really showed on his face.

“Who’s the most important person in *your* life? And now without further ado...”

The picture had Kaito with a motorcycle and a gold medal, with his grandparents proudly smiling at their grandson.

“Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Biker...

While he is possibly one of the most loyal member of the biker gang he considers his second family, how could you possibly forget his real one?”

Kaito clenched his fists, but said nothing.

“Thaaaaat’s right! He gave a major part of the money he earned to his own grandparents. How adorable!

I mean his parents couldn’t even do the job of taking care of their own son, yet same son takes care of his grandparents. How ironic!

... Or not.”

Kaito’s expression was unreadable.

“What kind of son would abandon his family while an unfortunate event is affecting them in the worst ways possible?

What happened, you may ask? Find out for yourself! Puhuhuhu!”

The screen went black.

There was a short silence that felt like an eternity.

Shuichi was hesitant, but he spoke first. “You okay...?”

Kaito took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m fine. We can talk about this later, let’s just move on.”

Kiyo raised an eyebrow an stared at him to get at least a glimpse of emotion. He sighed.

“Shuichi, do you wish to see your video now or do you want me to go first?”

He nodded. “Let’s just get this over with.”

He didn’t tell the others about the feeling that something would go wrong very soon. But he couldn’t say anything. After all Kaito and Miu already showed their videos, that would be unfair for them to stop there.

Shuichi Saihara’s motive video What is your motive!?

“Who’s the most important person in *your* life? And now without further ado...”

Shuichi took a deep breath.

A picture of a middle aged man, a young woman about 20 years old and Shuichi himself appeared. He recognized them as his uncle and his cousin.

“Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Violinist...

He has made his own reputation thanks to his parents, ironic considering the fact that the the boy probably saw them less times than I saw dead bodies in a killing game.”

Shuichi winced.

“Since those ‘2popular4you’ idiots weren’t capable of taking care of a single person they left the poor child to his uncle, who took care of him like his own son. Such a nice family, right?”

A wave of nostalgia hit Shuichi. The time spent with them between concerts, the games he used to play with his cousin...

“But all good things come to an end! Those two got taken away in an unfortunate accident.

But what kind of incident? It’s for you to find out!”

The screen turned off. Shuichi was lost in thoughts. He wanted to say that he would get them back no matter the cost but yesterday’s experience made him reconsider his words. Perhaps that’s what Kaito was thinking too after he watched his own video.

He didn’t realize how long he’s been thinking until Korekiyo put a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah- Yes, I’m fine. Just... Nostalgic.”

He faintly heard Miu say “I get you.”

Kaito looked at Shuichi with unease. Like he wanted to say something to reassure him but didn’t find the words to do so.

Korekiyo took the last tablet in his hands. “I guess it’s finally my turn.”

He took a deep breath and turned the tablet on.

Korekiyo Shinguji’s motive video What is your motive!?

“Who’s the most important person in *your* life? And now without further ado...”

The picture featured him and a young woman a bit older than him.

“Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Therapist...

Able to help people et through the worst traumas the world could inflict. A genius dedicated to heal psychological scars...

Even for his own sister who had sunken into insanity before his precious help. He dedicated his entire life to help poor traumatized sister.”

Kiyo was completely silent and unreadable, it was almost scary.

“She was already borderline psychotic without her sweet brother, but now that he disappeared... Puhuhuhuh! I can only imagine the consequences!

But the wild lady didn’t enjoy her brother’s absence very long due to an accident. But what accident? See after graduation!”

The last video was over. Kiyo retrieved the rest of the tablets. “Before you ask me, i’m fine. Seeing the rest of your videos prepared me for mine.”

He stood up. “Once again, if any of you need anything, I’ll be here.”

Shuichi stood up as well. “You sure? I don’t think that’s very healthy to put the sake of everyone else on your shoulders, even for you...”

He shook his head. “I can assure you I’ll be fine. I will talk to you if it’s necessary, since that’s what this group is for.”

Miu and Kaito joined them. “So... Should we go to the dining hall?”

Shuichi nodded. But Kiyo looked at Miu. “You two go without us, I need to talk to Miu first.”

Miu gave them a weak thumbs-up, leaving the two boys.

As they were walking, Shuichi turned to Kaito. “You heard Kiyo... If you need any help he or I can talk to you. We’re in the same boat, right?”

The biker turned to him, then smiled. “Alright bro. We’re the ‘our parents are garbage and decent people in the family took care of us’ gang, right?” He extended his fist.

Shuichi chuckled and fist bumped Kaito. “Hehe, kinda...”

After seconds of silence Shuichi was still nervous. “Do you think the others are okay?”

Kaito scratched the back of his neck. “Well I hope so... Can’t guarantee anything though.”

They reached the dining hall to see both Kirumi and Kaede’s groups. However Rantaro’s group was still absent.

They were all more or less neutral, or hiding their expressions. Kaede, however, didn’t look well. Maki was patting her back in comfort. But judging by the silence of the room, now was not the time.

Kirumi raised an eyebrow. “Where is the rest of your group?”

A voice came from behind them. “Right here.”

It was Kiyo, with Miu. They looked around and noticed Rantaro’s group’s absence as well. “I see that Rantaro, Kokichi and Himiko did not return.

Keebo looked puzzled. “I don’t really get it, they were 3 and yet they’re the last group to come.”

Kirumi crossed her arms. “Our group was the first to come, and we were only 3. Tsumugi, you said your group watched the videos all at once almost without pausing.”

She turned to Shuichi. “I assume that’s not your case?” her eyes were fixed on his’ like he was her prey.

“Y-Yes, Kiyo suggested to take a breath between the videos.”

Talking about Miu’s reaction was a bad idea, for now.

They waited the last group five minutes before they entered the dining hall. Rantaro looked nervous, Himiko was trying to hide her distress and Kokichi’s eyes were almost as red as Miu’s when they finished her video.

Kiyo hesitated for a moment but spoke anyway. “If any of you need support or therapy sessions I’ll be available. However I cannot force you. Just consider the offer available anytime.”

Kokichi nodded. Rantaro weakly smiled. “Thanks a lot, Kiyo. Your help is more than welcome.”

Shuichi exhaled a breath. But he couldn’t stop feeling nervous. What did those three even see in those videos?

Maki lifted her head. “And now? Is there anything we should do about the videos or-”

“Oh, I know!!” a high pitched voice was heard.

Monokuma popped up out of nowhere as usual.

“Sheesh, you guys were slow watching those videos, I almost wanted to break in those binge-watch sessions. Waiting was bor-”

“Get to the point already.” Rantaro ordered.

The bear laughed. “Puhuhuhuhu! I’m glad you said so!”

He jumped on the table to make sure everyone was listening.

“Watching you guys cooperate to fight despair was interesting, really! Which is why it gave me an idea... For a new motive!”

Shuichi’s eyes widened. “What?”

“You heard me, music-boy! You guys talk so much about cooperating and helping each other, it gave me a splendid idea!”

“Let me present you... The accomplice perk!”

The others looked at him nervously. No one liked where this was going.

“Here are the rules. The next blackened, if they manage to get away with their crime, will be able to take one person with them, and they will graduate together!”

This was the last thing they needed. They had just watched their videos. They knew each other’s secrets. Monokuma knew they were watching the videos. Without realizing it, they all fell into a trap they hadn’t anticipated. 

“Now do what you want with this, I just want a crime with an accomplice or something. I haven’t seen these in decades!” He disappeared, leaving everyone to themselves.

...

“Well fuck.” Kaito broke the silence.

“No human language can describe the disappointment I'm feeling right now.” Kiyo added, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Shuichi turned to Ryoma. He was reading something on his monopad. After a few seconds he left the room with one of the tablets, presumably his own.

“Where are you going exactly?” Kirumi asked. Ryoma didn’t give an answer. The others were confused.

They heard glass shattering, an object thrown to the ground and stepped on. Shuichi and Rantaro rushed to the kitchen and saw Ryoma, his kubs pad on the ground, shattered to pieces. He looked at them with the most neutral expression possible. “Mind giving me a hand?”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “You’re planning on destroying all the tablets?”

Ryoma took the large pieces off the ground. “It’s not against the school rules. We watched the videos. No need for them anymore.”

Rantaro narrowed his eyes. “At least let’s discuss it with everyone.”

They returned to the dining hall to see the others confused. “I was already planning to do this before Monokuma’s second motive. Now is just another reason to do so.”

“H-Hold on! We can’t just destroy them like that!” Miu exclaimed.

“The sooner, the better. I smashed my own tablet. Feel free to do so as well.”

Shuichi was hesitant. “What if... We want to keep at least a souvenir of the people on it? To at least give us some strength to continue...” he trailed off when he saw Kokichi walking off to the kitchen and coming back with about several sharp knives. He proceeded to destroy his tablet without a word as the others were watching. Himiko kept her gaze on the ground.

“Do what you want with your tablets, but I’m not watching this again.”

Shuichi could read a small bit of satisfaction on his face.

Kirumi took hers and did the same. “I get that some of you hold some people close to your heart, but some of us aren’t that lucky.”

Tsumugi destroyed her tablet as well. “It’s for the best.”

Shuichi looked at his reflection on the black screen. He didn’t want to forget them. He really didn’t.

Rantaro spoke up. “Miu, Angie, you two are quite skilled in the field of art, right?”

Miu nodded. Angie kept swinging her legs under the table. “Yup! Yup! Let me guess, you want us to recreate their portraits so we can destroy the tablets anyway?”

“Yes. We’ll have to do without their voices. It’s just to make sure no one watches someone else’s video outside of the groups.”

She hummed for a few seconds. “I’m okay with this, but first!”

She stood up, put the tablet on her chair and smashed it with the giant paintbrush she carries at all times. The tablet was almost perfectly broken in half.

“Done! If you need my help to create something for you, just ask!” she said almost too cheerily for someone who just destroyed the last connection she had with the outside world.

But Shuichi was more surprised to see Kiyo destroying his tablet. From what the video said, he didn’t hate his sister from the look of things. But he shouldn’t assume how he was feeling.

Rantaro himself put his tablet on the ground. He made a quick salute. “So long, partners.” he smashed the tablet several times to make sure it didn’t work anymore.

“It looks like half of us already destroyed their tablets. It’s a good start. I know this won’t solve everything but if we can get them out of the way that would be better.” he added.

To everyone’s surprise, Kaede threw the tablet on the floor to destroy it.

“I... I miss my family. I really do. But...”

She looked at the rest of the group with a newly found confidence. “I don’t want it to make me do things I’ll regret. So if destroying these will help us move forward... Then so be it.”

Rantaro sighed in relief. Maki looked at her, surprised by her -friend-’s words, but she was not mad.

Keebo smiled. “The I’ll take care of it as well.” about ten seconds later, his tablet was no more.

There were now 5 kubs pads intact: Kaito’s, Miu’s, Himiko’s, Maki’s and Shuichi’s. They all looked at each other. The peer pressure was growing, and Shuichi was holding onto his tablet more and more tightly.

Rantaro approached him. “Hey, we suggested the idea of at least keeping the portraits. You don’t have to feel pressured into destroying the tablet right now.”

Shuichi smiled. “Thank you. I just... Think I need a reminder of why I’m fighting against this killing game. So if Miu can make at least a sketch of my family portrait that would be really nice.” He looked at her with a genuine smile. Her eyes widened for a few seconds before smiling back.

“Alright, if any of you wants some family portrait, I’ll be in my lab for the rest of the day making them.”

Rantaro smiled at her. “Thank you for your service Miu.” He turned to the rest of the group.

“I’ll go with them to make sure everything goes smoothly. If any of you need Kiyo’s help or advice, don’t hesitate to ask him. I’m counting on you all to maintain this group together.”

He turned to the ones with their tablets still intact. “Miu, Kaito, Himiko, Maki and Shuichi, we’ll go to Miu’s lab for the portraits.”

“Oh! Oh! May I join??” Angie raised her hand.

Miu chuckled. “Alright, Twinkle! Show me what you got!”

They left to the street artist’s lab. Shuichi didn’t feel good going back after... The previous incident, but he didn’t have a choice. He looked at Miu, she was chatting with Rantaro. At least she looked better than after watching her motive video.

He noticed Himiko being rather silent. He decided to start the conversation. “You okay?”

The small girl lifted her head. “Oh, don’t worry! I’m just worried about... You know...”

“Your family?” he finished. But she shook her head.

“No, I’m worried about Kokichi.”

Shuichi didn’t expect this. “Oh... Right...”

“I know he isn’t a bad person... I just know it... But he is so convinced that he is I just... Don’t know what to say to him.”

Shuichi had absolutely no idea on what was on his video. He wasn’t in the right to ask, and Himiko was certainly not in the right to tell him about it.

“I don’t really know that much about him but...” he put a hand on her shoulder. “Stay by his side. It’s easy to tell he likes you, you know?”

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

He hummed. “I talked to him the other day, he doesn’t really get why you like him so much, but he doesn’t complain. I guess he is just very shy and anxious?”

Himiko clenched her fists, but more in a determined manner than an angry one. “Then I’ll help him overcome it! I know he wants to better himself, so I’ll help him!”

Shuichi smiled and ruffled her hair. “You’re a good person Himiko. I’m glad he has someone like you to help him.”

She wiped a small tear in the corner of her eye. “Oh! I’ll ask Angie to add him on my family picture!”

Shuichi chuckled. “Also, try to encourage him to seek out help to Kiyo if he hasn’t already. We have the Ultimate therapist with us. That’s quite convenient.”

She hummed. “I will!”

They arrived at Miu’s lab. Angie turned to Miu. “Soooo how do we split the work?”

Miu clicked her tongue. “Depends on how they want to stylise the portrait. Either something fancy with you, or something modern with me.”

Himiko jumped. “Angie! Can you do mine?”

She smiled. “Of course!”

They shared the work. Miu would work on the family portraits of Shuichi, Kaito and herself.

Angie took Himiko and Maki with her.

The rest of the morning was spent finding ideas. Angie may not have her lab open, but Miu had enough materials to make the portraits.

Kirumi brought them lunch so the girls wouldn’t loose their focus.

Miu’s group brought paint to Shuichi’s lab to do her work. Shuichi had gathered several music sheets and after taping them on the wall, Miu used them as a canvas.

Shuichi was very impressed by the final result. It was easy to see that Miu put her whole heart and soul into it.

“So? How’s that for you?” she proudly asked.

Shuichi felt tears in the corner of his eyes. “It’s really impressive. Thanks a lot, Miu. I’m really glad you accepted to do this for me. That means a lot.”

She looked at her with a weak smile. “Don’t sweat it. I can only get what it’s like to miss your family.”

Shuichi looked at the portrait for a good thirty seconds. Thankfully Kaito and Miu didn’t say anything.

“I think we should move on. Let’s just find something to smash this thing.” he broke the silence.

After destroying the tablet they saw Angie working on an impressive portrait with its frame, all made using origami. Rantaro was observing, since he didn’t have the necessary skills to help.

Then went on Kaito’s family portrait. Surprisingly he didn’t want something too different from reality, so Miu simply made a reproduction of the picture offered by the kubs pad.

Angie, Himiko, Rantaro and Maki left for the latter’s lab.

Kirumi had come to clean up the broken tablets. When asked where she was even putting them, she said Ryoma could use some of the components with some tools from the warehouse, but that it was fine since there was no possibility to recover the parts containing the videos specifically, or just being able to watch any video at all.

She had stayed to watch Miu paint a part of the giant walls. The portrait of her son was astonishing. If Shuichi’s family portrait was wonderful, hers was simply divine.

Kirumi had just assumed it was her little brother, so Kaito and Shuichi went along with it since it was easier to explain.

By the time they were finished, it was about 6 PM. Kirumi also took the broken pieces of Maki’s tablet.

The evening came, and everyone felt definitely better than they were at the beginning of the day after Monokuma announced the second motive. After all, all of the tablets were destroyed, which lifted the anxiety the majority was feeling.

After dinner, Shuichi, Kaito and Rantaro went outside to talk.

They were mostly relieved that Miu had managed to calm down. Kiyo even told them that she would get a therapy session the next day after the morning announcement and breakfast.

However Rantaro felt off.

“Is something wrong?” Shuichi asked.

He lifted his head to look at him. “Oh, nothing. I’m just a bit anxious about what Monokuma will come up with next. To make sure everyone gets along is a challenge here.”

He chuckled. “Even back on the front lines we cooperated more. But that doesn’t really matter now.”

Kaito smiled. “Hey, it’s not the best situation, but we can manage! Look at us today, we managed to open up even more!”

He extended his fist. “We’re doing good, so let’s just continue sticking with each other. Man’s promise?”

Rantaro laughed. “Whatever you call it. Man’s promise.” he extended his fist as well.

Shuichi was a bit nervous, but did so anyway. “Yeah. Man’s promise as you say.”

They left to go back to the dorms, but Shuichi decided to go to his lab for a while, to look at his family portrait one last time.

Even after hours it was still eye candy to him. She really had managed to capture their essence, and even his passion for violin with the music sheets used as a canvas.

After a few minutes he left his lab.

Just when he was about to go to his room he noticed Kaede, visibly nervous, leaving her room.

“You okay?” he asked.

She almost jumped. “Yes, don’t worry about me I’ll just... Go write on my notebook. It helps me relax.”

Shuichi was almost not convinced. “If you say so... Just don’t wander too much in the hallways, alright?”

She smiled. “Of course! It’s only to clear my mind. Those times have been quite stressful, you know?”

He nodded. “I know... But how can you be inspired in times like these?”

She chuckled. “You know, sometimes it’s less about inspiration and more about a way to mentally escape this cage. A sparrow may be nothing but a prey to a man, but it will fly further than the man will ever be able to.”

Shuichi smiled. “That’s a nice way of thinking.”

“Oh well, maybe I’m just rambling. See you tomorrow!” She left.

Hopefully tomorrow would be fine.

...

Day 8 since the beginning of the game. 7:30 AM.

Shuichi woke up feeling rested. He felt the worry slowly fading away, and more and more determined to end the game.

After dressing up he walked to the dining hall, only to see that no one was there. He couldn’t even ask himself why he was alone when he heard it.

The cursed music, and the voice he resented more than anything.

“Ding dong, dong ding!”

“A body has been discovered!”

“Everyone, please gather at the library!”

Shuichi froze.

“What...?”

He didn’t even think. He rushed to the basement, only to see Kirumi, Rantaro, Kiyo and Ryoma looking at the table that he could not see because of the pile of books.

He slowly approached them. That’s when he saw it.

On one of the chairs rested the inanimate body...

... Of Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate writer.

[takonei]

Beta AU - Main story, Chapter 2, daily life (Part 2)

Note of the author: Fun fact! This was one of the first scenes I imagined when I was making this AU. This is where the fun begins. :)

Chapter 2: The wolf and the lamb - Daily life

Day 6 since the beginning of the game. 7:30 AM.

Shuichi felt like he slept better than the previous night. The sun was shining through the window, it was enough to wake him up. He rubbed his eyes and glanced around his room, looking at nothing in particular.

It was then that he noticed something on the table of his room. A colorful pad that didn’t look like his monopad.

He took the tablet to take a look at it. There was written “Kubs pad” on the back. He frowned, and when he touched the screen, the tablet lightened up and a video started playing.

On the screen he could recognize his own silhouette on a teal-blue background, with written in flashy letters:

Shuichi Saihara’s Motive video What is your motive!?

And Monokuma’s voice talking cheerfully. “Alright! Back by popular demand, it’s time for the motive video! Who’s the most imp-”

Shuichi turned off the tablet. He stared at the turned off gadget with wide eyes.

“What even was that?” he asked himself. Perhaps talking to the others about it would be a good idea.

He got dressed up, put the strange tablet in his pocket and left his room.

Keebo was in the hallway, with a similar tablet in his hand.

“Hello Shuichi. Nice to see you up.”

Shuichi’s eyes were still on the tablet. “You got one of these too?”

Keebo looked at the item. “Yes, it was on the table this morning, when I was done charging. However I turned it off when I saw ‘motive video’.”

The other boy sighed in relief. “I’m not alone then.”

The two went to the dining hall. Tsumugi, Korekiyo, Kirumi, Ryoma and Rantaro were already here. There was a pile of 5 of those tablets on the table.

Korekiyo sipped his tea and put down his cup. “You also had those ‘motive videos’ I see.”

Keebo showed his’. “I can see that you gathered the tablets. Do we have to put them here?”

Rantaro shrugged. “The others didn’t watch theirs either, so for now we’re putting them here until we decide what to do with them.”

Ryoma was tapping his fingers on the table. “Kokichi went back to his dorm to get his. Speaking of which...”

The small boy appeared with his tablet. “I got it.”

The three put their tablets with the others. All they could do was wait for the others.

Shuichi wasn’t too much in the mood to talk, so he listened to the nearby conversations. Maki was talking about how she thought she had a strange dream but didn’t remember any of it, Ryoma and Rantaro were talking about the latter’s lab and Kirumi was telling Keebo about traditional meals she learned to cook for her job.

About 15 minutes after the morning announcement, everyone was there, and all of the tablets were reunited.

Angie was swinging her legs under the table. “Shall we watch all those videos together? At least we’re sure no one hides anything from anyone!”

Kirumi was visibly not pleased. “If those videos are about the most important people in our lives, watching them would mean falling into Monokuma’s trap.”

Ryoma looked up to the maid. “Stop sugarcoating this. I’m sure at least one of us already watched their video and decided to pretend they didn’t.”

Kokichi’s voice was almost unheard. “I would still like some privacy...”

Everyone started debating. Rantaro suddenly got up and asked for everyone’s attention.

“I understand some of us want some privacy about our personal lives, but those videos will probably make us remember important elements from our past and perhaps the Ultimate hunt, and we can’t exactly completely ignore them.”

He continued. “I discussed the issue with Korekiyo to know what could be a good compromise to reach. Some of us would like to keep their life private, which I understand perfectly, since we didn’t live through the same things. However it is a risk we have to take if we want to recover at least a bit of our own memories.” 

Kirumi raised an eyebrow. “So? What is this solution you suggest?”

Korekiyo responded. “We create groups of 3 or 4 people trusting each other enough to show their videos to the group. We fix a moment to watch those videos, and after that no one is allowed to talk to anyone outside their group about what they saw in the others’ video. Of course you can show your own video to the rest of us if you want to.”

Shuichi put a finger on his chin. That sounded like a doable plan. He didn’t have much to hide, but he hoped the more reserved people were okay with this.

“Do any of you have any objections? Please speak up if that’s the case. I wish to hear the opinion of everyone.” Rantaro’s voice sounded gentle yet confident. Shuichi would be lying if he said he didn’t envy him.

For about ten seconds everyone just glanced at each other. From Shuichi’s point of view, Kirumi and Kokichi were not comfortable, but were not saying anything. That, of course, didn’t stay undetected by the medic.

“Kirumi, do you wish to say anything?” he asked.

She sighed. “I would very much like my personal life not to be revealed to anyone, but I suppose I don’t have a choice.”

Rantaro fidgeted with his necklace. “Unfortunately it wouldn’t be fair to ask everyone else to reveal it and let one person watch the video by themselves. We established the rule that no one in the group was allowed to talk about what they saw in the others’ video outside of their group.”

Everyone was staring at her at this point. “Fine. I accept.”

“What about you, Kokichi?” Rantaro asked.

The small teen got startled. “Oh, it’s just um... Do we really get to choose the groups?”

He smiled. “Yes, we’ll just try to make sure the groups are composed of 3 or 4 people of our choice.”

Himiko gave him a pat in the back. “If you want we can be together in a group, we just need someone else!”

He smiled faintly. “I... I accept, then.”

Rantaro exhaled a breath and smiled at the group. “At least we’re getting somewhere.”

It took them a while to decide, but the groups were formed.

The first group were Shuichi, Kaito, Miu and Korekiyo.

The second group were Kokichi, Himiko and Rantaro.

The third group were Ryoma, Kirumi and Keebo.

And the last group were Maki, Kaede, Tsumugi and Angie.

They decided to watch the videos the next day morning, to leave the groups more time to get to know each other better.

At least they managed to get through this, for now. Kaito asked where the tablets would go, in case someone tried to watch their video.

They decided to lock all the tablets in Rantaro’s lab. Since a majority of them trusted him, he was chosen to keep the key to the lab.

~ Time skip, my old friend ~

5 PM.

Shuichi couldn’t help but think about the motive videos Monokuma gave them this morning.

After spending some time alone in his lab, he decided to go outside for a bit. He came across Kokichi carrying a small bag and Himiko without her coat on, the cloth rather used like some sort of bag.

“Oh, hey Shuichi!” Himiko joyfully said.

Shuichi blinked in confusion. “What are you two doing?”

“We were with Kaede yesterday at the casino and somehow the machine we were playing with broke and gave us a ton of monocoins! So we’re using them.”

Kokichi scratched his neck. “I feel like I’m to blame for this...”

She giggled. “Don’t be sorry, we got all these cool items, and since the MonoMono machine broke as well we got to keep the coins we used!”

The smaller boy was embarrassed by the events that happened, but he didn’t look really sad about it.

“I mean Kaede got a ton of coins too, I think she bought some sort of key?” she shrugged. “I didn’t pay too much attention to it.”

Shuichi knew exactly what she meant, but preferred to stay silent about it.

“So you guys got all of those items from the MonoMono machine for free?”

Himiko smiled with glee. “Yup! And it was things either I or Kokichi liked! Cool, right?” she elbowed him.

Kokichi stuttered. “R-Right...”

The two went their way and Himiko waved at Shuichi. “See ya later!”

He didn’t really know what to do before dinner, so he joined Rantaro outside. They talked for a while before Kaito approached them.

“I was looking for you two!”

Shuichi blinked. “Do you need us for something, Kaito?”

“We’re gonna have drinks at the pool, wanna come?”

Rantaro got up and brushed off the dirt on his coat. “That would be nice. Who will be there?”

The biker looked enthusiastic. “There will be Miu, you two and I. Oh and Kiyo decided to join in as well.”

Shuichi sighed in relief. At least it wasn’t too much of a big thing. Not that he hated the others, but a hang-out session with a few “close” friends felt more comfortable for him than a giant party.

They walked to the pool and saw Kirumi and Miu holding drinks entering the building.

“Oh, Kirumi is joining too?” Shuichi asked.

Kaito shrugged. “We simply asked her to help us with the drinks, I don’t think she is gonna stay though.”

When they opened the door, the two young women were setting the drinks and snacks at the table.

Miu waved at them. “So you guys came, huh?”

Rantaro smiled. “I figured it would be nice to chat as a group of friends, so yeah.”

Kiyo was observing the pool area. Rantaro called him so they could sit down and chat.

Kirumi left, saying she didn’t want to disrupt their group, and that her task was done.

The drinks had bright colors, but that was to be expected by cocktails. Korekiyo took the glass in his hands to observe the gradient.

“We really should thank Kirumi for her hard work preparing these.”

Kaito laughed. “But hey, we won’t know if they’re good unless we drink!”

They all cheered, to forget about the killing game just for a few minutes.

Shuichi approached the drink to his nose to smell it. The alcohol smell was strong, but the fruit smell was able to cover it up a little.

He looked at the others, they hadn’t touched their drink yet. Rantaro and Korekiyo were talking about the pool area’s aesthetic, but Miu was looking at her drink with unease, and just when he was about to ask her what was wrong, her gaze shifted to Kaito approaching the glass to his lips.

It felt so sudden. Miu got up, slammed her hands on the table and yelled.

“DON’T DRINK THIS, IT’S POISONED!!”

The rest of the group was startled by the sudden reaction, especially Kaito, whose eyes shifted from the drink to his best friend, who had tears in the corner of her eyes and was visibly trembling.

There was a small moment of silence that felt like an eternity.

Rantaro was confused, but managed to mumble out “What are you-”

(BGM)

He didn’t finish his sentence when Miu abruptly sat back on her chair, elbows on the table and her hands covering her face. She broke down in tears, mumbling things to herself.

“I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorry-”

Kaito spoke up reluctantly. “Miu… What… How did you…”

The grip she had on her hair tightened. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

The boys looked at each other. No one really knew what to say. Rantaro smelled the drink and frowned. He made the others understand that it was definitely not alcohol for a cocktail.

Kiyo took a deep breath and set the glass down.

“Should we assume you are the one responsible for this?”

Miu’s head slowly fell down on the table, arms crossed to cover her head, and nails digging in her skin. She was still shaking and sobbing to herself, but she nodded.

“I’m… I…”

Shuichi was still trying to process what just happened. Did Miu just try to kill them? Rantaro looked pensive, Kiyo was silently observing the crying Miu and Kaito was shocked, to say the least. Shuichi felt bad, that must have felt like a huge betrayal for him. His best friend trying to kill him, and even if she seemed to regret it, the will to kill was there. In those colorful glasses.

It took her a while to even begin to calm down and cease the tear-filled muttering. When she raised her head just out of her arms, Shuichi noticed a part of her make up was smudged and her eyes were red. She didn’t even dare to look at any of them.

Since the others had been silent, Rantaro asked her the question everyone wanted to ask.

“Why…?”

She flinched at the question.

“I… Kaz… I’m- I’m sorry-”

She couldn’t even form a single sentence correctly through her sobs.

“Kaz… Would have never wanted this… What am I doing...?”

Korekiyo stayed calm and tried to interrogate her despite her current state. “Would you please tell us who is ‘Kaz’?”

She tried to recompose herself, unsuccessfully.

“Kaz…”

She rubbed her eyes.

“He’s- He’s my son- I watched my motive video this morning and I saw him and I knew I had to escape to protect him and I saw my chance with my lab opened and and-”

She was just rambling at this point. Kiyo told her to calm down one last time, but that made her completely enraged.

“HOW CAN YOU TAKE THIS SO LIGHTLY?? I TRIED TO KILL YOU ALL!!” she yelled at no one in particular, getting up from her chair, still in a panicked state.

“I-I-I tried to kill you all with homemade poison from my lab I organized this whole party to kill you and blame it on Kirumi and-and I didn’t even hesitate to do so because I watched my motive video and lied to you all but I just want to see my son again he needs me and I miss his precious face and and and-”

Tears were running down her face. She had completely broken down.

Kaito tried to get her attention but that turned out pretty unsuccessful.

“Miu, calm down! Look at me-”

“HE WOULD HAVE NEVER WANTED ME TO KILL ANY OF YOU!!”

Silence filled the building once again.

She fell on her knees and laughed to herself.

“What am I doing…?”

Kaito got up from his seat and got down to face Miu. He put his hands on her shoulders.

“This… Is a lot for me to take in, I will admit. To think my best friend tried to kill me.”

She winced at the last sentence.

“But that best friend also backed down and regrets what she has done. She did this for her family, and even though it will take a while for us to completely get over this, I can’t blame you for wanting to fight for your family.”

She looked up to him, but that didn’t seem to reassure her very much.

Shuichi himself was a bit doubtful by the statement. Of course the one to blame would be Monokuma and the mastermind for putting them through this but… At the same time he can’t help but feel like Miu really was responsible for this incident.

Kiyo seemed to be thinking. “I don’t think you are entirely to blame, but you still had your part in this. I think the best option would be to talk about this once all of us managed to stand back from the situation.”

Rantaro hadn’t say a thing. He didn’t look mad but he was certainly not happy.

Miu wiped away her tears. “I… I know this may sound selfish but…”

Rantaro turned to her.

“Can we… Keep this between us? I know I don’t deserve it but please…”

The others glanced at each other. Rantaro was stirring his glass. “What do you think, Shuichi? You’ve been quiet for a while.”

He was startled by Rantaro’s sudden question. His gaze wasn’t making things better either. “I- uh….” he paused. “I think… We should at least make sure the products used for this are taken away and the poison destroyed.”

Rantaro nodded. Shuichi turned to Kiyo. “And Kiyo’s right. I think it should be better not to make anym- any bad decisions with emotions taking control of us.”

Miu, sitting on the ground, clenched the trembling fists resting on her legs, tears filling her eyes even more. Those same emotions pushed her to act this way, and saying this just reminded her of her lack of self-control.

Rantaro stared at her for a few seconds before turning to the rest of the group. “So to sum this incident up, we keep quiet about this for now, destroy the materials and wait for tomorrow to decide what we do?”

The others nodded. Rantaro got up from his chair and briefly looked at the two best friends before turning to Shuichi.

“Us two should go to Miu’s lab to get rid of the materials. You okay with this Miu?”

Her eyes didn’t even move. She simply muttered. “Yes. Do what must be done. That’s… What I deserve at the very least.”

He gestured to Shuichi that they should go and leave them alone for now. The blue-eyed boy turned back to Miu one last time to see her wiping her tears with Kaito at her side.

They closed the door and headed to the lab. They had so many questions but both knew it would be better to wait for the next day to ask her about it. Or maybe Korekiyo, who stayed at the pool, would probably be able to get to know what was going on with her.

-

The walk was silent, just like the time the two were meeting the other ultimates about a week ago. But it felt different. They had just escaped death because their attacker didn’t manage to get through her plan. She was so close, if she reacted just a few seconds later and the situation would have been a disaster.

“Hey…” Shuichi said. Rantaro slightly turned his head.

“What do you think of all this? You didn’t say much back then…”

His friend took a few seconds to think about an answer. Or more likely, to wonder if his thoughts were worth being told.

“What is done, is done. Miu tried to kill us but couldn’t bring herself to actually do it. We’re alive and that’s what matters. We should focus on making sure no one else gets their hands on the poison.”

Shuichi’s eyes widened. He didn’t know what to expect, but it was certainly not this. “You… Actually don’t plan on telling anyone about this?”

“No.” He replied. “The less people know, the better it is. This entire academy reeks distrust and fear of being killed. If we talk about this incident the others will snap just like she did, and some probably won’t back down before actually committing the act.”

“That’s… One way to think.”

But Shuichi remembered what the monokubs said the day before. “But... The monokubs said they would refill products if someone tried to destroy them.”

Rantaro started thinking. “Honestly I don’t think that will be the case for certain situations. But for now just the prepared poison should be destroyed.”

Shuichi hummed in agreement. They were forced to trust Miu not to try anything again. They could only hope Kaito and Korekiyo would be able to calm her down for the time being.

Rantaro turned to him. “Ever wondered how you were able to guide the others during the class trial?”

He had thought about it, it was a bit strange to him. “I don’t really know why. Tsumugi said I was leading the debate but… I’m just an average guy. I’m a violinist, my talent doesn’t even have anything to do with leading. I’m bad at this.”

The green haired boy hummed. “You know, I talked about this with Kiyo, yesterday.”

Shuichi blinked.

“To him it was normal for the others to follow your lead. And I agree with that. I mean…” he chuckled.

“Let’s be honest here. We’re the two leaders of the group, you and I. But my influence is more… Direct. I got the group to cooperate, to get organized, you know the deal.”

“My influence has its limits. I think you realized it by now, but I saw how the others looked at me during the investigation and trial. I’m completely indifferent when it comes to people dying. I’m used to it after all.”

“Even just now, the reason I asked you to say what you think is because they would most likely listen to you.”

Shuichi was confused. “But why?”

“You have that compassion. That innocence the others have. You felt bad for Gonta dying. For Tenko dying. You have that kindness that I lack in those stressful situations. People are more drawn to you because of that natural kindness. That humanity. You can keep calm but still have that feeling of compassion. That’s what the others are looking for in the trials. Someone to relate to, who doesn’t sound and look like an experienced murderer.”

Shuichi was surprised to hear Rantaro talk about himself this way, but it made sense. Of course he wouldn’t try to take advantage of this in the future, however it felt strange to be considered a leader by Rantaro himself.

“That’s what Kiyo told me. That it was more about instinct than a concrete feeling.”

He nodded. Of course the therapist would know what he’s saying. Shuichi had to assume this role as a leader. A role that Rantaro couldn’t fill completely.

Rantaro stopped in his tracks.

“From now on that’s our job to keep this group together. This is gonna be hard, I know, but it’s necessary.”

He fidgeted with his necklace. “Let’s be honest here. We won’t all get out of here alive, and I’m 100% sure another murder will occur in the next few days. But if there’s anything I’m trying to do in those times, it’s to make sure the group doesn’t completely loose it.”

“You and I will be the leaders from now on. So I’m counting on you to help me with this.”

He extended his hand.

“Deal?”

After hesitating, Shuichi shook Rantaro’s hand.

“Deal.”

They arrived at the street artist’s lab. It was time to take away the products, even though they knew she wouldn’t try again after this incident.

It was just to make sure.

They entered the lab. Nothing looked like it had been touched yet from a quick glance, since everything was clean. Rantaro went to the lab bench. That’s when he noticed small droplets of water in some of the glassware.

“That was definitely used recently. At the very least today.”

“Do you think she has more of the poison in the lab?”

Rantaro shook his head. “Even though she planned this in a hurry, she still covered up the evidence. She most likely threw the surplus away. Perhaps...”

He turned to a white plastic bottle labeled “bin”. He grabbed it and stirred it for a few seconds to judge how much liquid was in there.

“There isn’t much, but it’s still something.” Rantaro said as he looked at the sink.

Shuichi frowned. “I know nothing about those products, but there’s a reason it’s kept in a separated bottle, right?”

The green-haired boy sighed. “I know, but it’s either someone gets their hands on this and could try to use it and frame Miu, or we risk polluting who knows where since we don’t know where those pipes lead.”

“Fair point.”

Rantaro poured the transparent liquid into the sink. It’s smell was stronger than the “cocktails” from earlier, most likely because there was fruit juice to cover it.

He went to one of the shelves and opened it to see many bottles labeled as toxic or inflammable. “As for the ingredients we can’t do much because the Monokubs will replace it, right?”

Shuichi nodded. “I don’t know when they’ll replace it, but they will do eventually.”

“I see.” he closed the drawer. “Then there isn’t much to do anymore for now.”

Rantaro didn’t say a thing as he walked to the exit, passing by Shuichi.

“Oh and...” he stopped in his tracks and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Tomorrow you and the rest of your group will watch Miu’s motive video. I’m not supposed to know about this, so from now on pretend this event never happened. I don’t know anything about her motive video and will not know about it unless she talks to me, and make sure to inform the others about this. Got it?”

Shuichi actually got scared by Rantaro’s sudden reaction, but he nodded. “G-Got it.”

Korekiyo entered the room right after.

“I see that you’re done with the ingredients?”

Shuichi approached the two others. “We did what we could do, but if we steal things the monokubs will refill it.”

The tall young adult put a finger on his chin. “I see. I’m also done talking to Miu, she is alone with Kaito as far as I know.”

Rantaro was quick to respond. “So? Has she calmed down?”

“We agreed on doing therapy sessions so she can cope with the situation. But of course that will be after we officially watch her motive video.”

He nodded. “Alright, we’re good to go for now. Oh and-” he turned to Shuichi.

“You two make sure we left nothing in the lab. I got something to check.” he said as he left.

Korekiyo asked if he could take a look at the lab. They stayed in it for a while, searching in every shelf if anything looked like poison.

After about 10 minutes, they left to join the rest of the group. They will have to pretending nothing happened.

They found Kaito and Miu going back to the dorms. Miu seemed to have calmed down enough for now.

Shuichi and Kiyo decided to stay outside to talk about something other than what just happened. Even though Kiyo had a threatening aura, it was pretty relaxing to talk to him.  It’s like you almost wanted to trust him immediately. No wonder he was called the ultimate therapist.

About two hours later, they ate dinner. The atmosphere was tense, mostly because of the upcoming day, but the most cheerful ones were able to bring back a few smiles.

Shuichi decided to take a walk before going to bed. After all tomorrow he would watch Kaito, Korekiyo and of course Miu’s votive videos. He was nervous at the idea of this “motive video compilation”, but it was too late to go back.

But he had a gut feeling this wasn’t going to go as planned. Everything seemed way too convenient.

"You good?”

Shuichi got startled. It was Kaito, right behind him. “Don’t scare me like that...”

He laughed. “Sorry, man.”

Kaito sat down next to Shuichi. “Today was... Special.”

Shuichi nodded. “I don’t really know what to think about this. I don’t even know if I can trust her anymore.”

He nodded in understanding. “We... Talked after Kiyo left. But it’s like I both do and don’t get why she did this.”

“... I think we should let her talk to Kiyo. Either she is genuine in her regret, or Kiyo will be able to tell if she’s lying.”

Kaito leaned back to lay on the grass. “I really want her to say the truth. I want to believe in her.”

Shuichi turned to him. “If it’s not too personal, how did you two become friends so quickly?”

He chuckled. “We’re mutual fans, y’know? I’ve been admiring her work ever since she started and she is a fan of the family! We knew each other’s names and when we met here, it just sort of clicked.”

The violinist raised an eyebrow. “The family? Is she your long lost sister?”

“Haha, no! That’s how I call the gang. They’re like family, but like a man family. They taught me everything I know. I may have missing memories, but I never forget the family.”

Shuichi weakly smiled. “Man family? What is that supposed to mean?”

“We’re all men in the gang. It’s kinda like a rule. And if you’re not a man, then become one." He chuckled. “Manliest shit I’ve ever seen.”

Shuichi blinked. Perhaps he didn’t want to know more about the gang, considering that he is not exactly the definition of a ‘man’. But if Kaito considered them his family, then good for him.

The two went their ways, to their dorms. And hopefully wake up mentally prepared to watch those motive videos.

[ao3feed-danganronpa]

Home

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2WAcXI1

by Anxious_Ash

"So, I'm assuming our theory was right? You're a trans guy?" Shuichi asked, looking at Kokichi wish a soft smile. 

 "Nope! You were completely off! I'm actually an alien that doesn't like this human disguise."

 "Alien!? Really!?" Kaito looks at Kokichi in awe, clearly excited at the thought of knowing a real alien. 

 "No. Y'all were right about the theory, I am a trans guy." Kokichi walked back to the couch and sat down, looking at them while crossing his arms to cover his chest. Having to deal with stuff like this is far too tiring to keep standing.

 ------------ Trans Kokichi Ouma comes out to Kaito and Shuichi, kind of? They figure it out on their own but he kinda confirms it, ig? Aaaaa, summaries are weird.

Words: 1531, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Momota Kaito, Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi, Iruma Miu

Relationships: Momota Kaito & Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi & Saihara Shuichi, Hoshi Ryoma & Momota Kaito

Additional Tags: Trans Male Character, Trans Saihara Shuichi, Trans Oma Kokichi, Trans Momota Kaito, Bonding, Home, LGBTQ Themes, Gender Dysphoria, Author Is Sleep Deprived, trans author, that isnt a tag and Im disappointed in all of you, Not Beta Read, No beta we die like Kaede Akamatsu, author has did/osdd

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2WAcXI1