#drv3 theory

[xshinina]

Is it kokichi appreciation time yet? I think it always is

And my lord I can not make colors work together, everything turned out to be so contrasting but I think the chaos kinda maybe works here??? Or am I just coping?

I made a more dim one just in case

[templegate]

Unlocked the chapter 3 extra scene without knowing what it was. But i made an interesting observation about ms. Tsumugi here. i think i might've found the mastermind guys

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

So lately I've been watching @shortonegaming's V3 playthrough and I REALLY enjoyed their reaction to meeting Gonta. And then I couldn't stop myself

(if you see this please be careful on my blog. Its a spoilers minefield in here!)

[unweavinglies]

This isn't meant to be a full analysis or anything, but there is something interesting about V3 that I don't think anyone's ever really talked about--and that is how strange the First Blood Perk is.

While I personally don't subscribe to the "it's all fiction!" interpretation of V3, if this interpretation was the truth and Tsumugi wasn't just saying nonsense at the end... then why does this motive exist at all?

Fandoms like Danganronpa are all about the tropes and thrilling murders, class trials, and executions. To deny a class trial is to also deny an execution, which are two of the three main components that fans of the franchise adore so much. Why rob them of one case's worth of content? It would just leave fans disappointed.

If you are like me and don't subscribe to the theory that it's all fiction, then this motive is still strange. Why allow someone to escape after killing someone? What is the point of that? You could argue that if the Secret of the Outside World is real that the motive just leads the culprit to their doom anyway, but... I always found it strange, considering that in the previous games, it was always imperative that a murder be punctuated by a class trial and then an execution. It was basically essential to DR1, as it not only showed the world that their final bits of "hope" were killing each other, but to also show the mastermind torturing them to death.

In V3, however, they just casually offer to throw it away--of course alternatively they don't actually do that for the sake of the actual franchise, but the question remains:

Why does it feel like V3 just wanted the killing game to start? It's almost as if the game is meant to kill these particular students.

[sketch-twentytwo]

Tch, how dare you. I’m supposed to be the one who takes the lead….

[jacksmusesdrv3]

Your twin theory stuff has been going on for quite some time, have you considered making a run down on it because it’s a bit hard to find all your points and information on it because of how long you’ve spent on it and I’m very curious but struggling to put it all together

(Alright, take two since I got stuck for a loooong while)

This is a basic explanation of the Ouma-Monokuma twin theory! I will do my best to condense the concepts down in a way that flows simply and is easily understandable, but it will be hard to cover everything while keeping to the most relevant information. So if this doesn't do the job, I might finish the much longer meta on ao3 at a later date, in which I will cover… everything I possibly can, no holds barred and without the blog links. Which will take considerably longer and need very careful execution. (Yeah, this is the short version…)

General disclaimer: this is a view informed by at least six years of trial and error, ruminating in canon for patterns and their meaning. Through all this, I recognise that it is still a theory, and it doesn't make others’ ideas less meaningful. All the same, I need you to understand that this theory and its analysis is fundamental to my view of Danganronpa as a whole, not just my feelings about Ouma. And in my opinion, the presence of bad writing in DRV3 does not negate that view, either. So if you believe that it does, I hope we can agree to differ on our reader responses instead, after all is said and done. Thank you.

Alright, with that out of the way, dropping this under a cut as it's lengthy. Though rather than a lot of detail on what this means for Ouma's character right now, I'm going to dig through the surface with the basis of reframing, roles, academy history, psychology, narrative style for the mastermind, and the broader consequences, with feelings from my perspective to wrap up. I hope that will help give a perspective of the theory world, so that any evidence I give should fit easier in the future.

⚠️ Reader discretion is advised- this content details abuse further on and will be marked like this! ⚠️ 

[‘Then this story's not over.’]

The way I see this situation is basically like a 3D sculpture with two different pictures- ‘the fiction’ and ‘the conspiracy’. That is to say- in the ‘fiction’, there are things that are effectively motifs or throwaway remarks (such as, Ouma's comment about having a brother in his FTE), but in the ‘conspiracy’, they become clues to a hidden interconnected situation. A puzzle in the meta, essentially.

To begin, I’ll outline components of this framing, as these are necessary to understand how this turnabout works.

Catbox world: the question hanging in the air, 'is HPA fiction, or is it real'? What would the consequences of the latter be for the game and outside world of DRV3? In order to begin answering this, I think this way:

Domino effect: 'when you learn a new fact, you learn something else along with it'. Ex: if HPA is real, a very large and clandestine organisation may also be real, since one was connected to HPA's library. With that possibility opened, there are… a lot more potential threads coming from it.

Unreliable narrator: is there something Shuichi is missing? In Ouma's lab, along with the complete history file there are monitors and a hatch, and in his dorm room there’s a whiteboard with pictures and notes scrawled on, the latter two Shuichi doesn't even notice. There are things he cannot verify too - such as Rantaro's odd memory of the forgotten Prologue - which is left up to us, the players.

Contextual reframe: with the new information, we can infer for example that record keepers of the past are made obsolete, and since the HPA history was in Ouma's lab, this could make him a viable record keeper. If TDR's agenda is with historical record, its identity may be the secret society involved in conspiracies. This can greatly affect some of Ouma's comments in hindsight- one relevant to this is his FTE remark about ‘tricking the entire world’.

With doubt already on the most basic aspect of the 'fiction' narrative (that is, ‘HPA is fiction’) we can apply this principle to the Flashback Lights and by extension, the idea that the cast must also be fiction, too. 

Ex: Shuichi and Kiibo were made to see the Flashback Light panel in a way that was rigged up to be seen- it should not have been visible to multiple persons, so it's likely to have been tampered. We know Shuichi to be helpless with computers, so he would not be able to verify if anything else is amiss (ex. Kubs Pad and other options being withheld). What's more, with ‘fiction things’ - such as the Shukuchi method for Ryoma - being relevant in both the ‘weird backstory’ and in the main narrative, there's a possibility that some of the Lights are real memories or at least closely based on their real experiences.

[‘A liar like me knows their own kind.’]

When you reframe the context in an excessive manner like this, it can also affect known roles, even events and relationships. I reason it beginning like this:

Tsumugi becomes a patsy for Monokuma. Just like the fake Makoto in DR2 led the narrative to trap Hajime, Tsumugi misled others similarly, with incomplete knowledge of her own cospox. That is, her cospox being real in the sense of the effects on her person, doesn't necessarily mean that HPA is fiction, because it's about her perception

Kiibo becomes a patsy for Monokuma, someone whose true (military) nature was obfuscated to himself on a metaphysical level, via code-hijacking. This means that high-powered functions he has are strange to him, and he’s easily manipulated into believing lies about his function (such as ‘strength of a senior citizen’, and the ‘audience surveys’ that he cannot verify) 

Ouma becomes Monokuma’s double, like Mukuro taking the identity of Junko, as the monitors and hatch are a direct parallel to Junko. This means that Ouma has a deeper relationship and notably intrinsic connection to Monokuma as well as less freedom from him, likely has extensive knowledge of everyone, and has his own memories. And from that, an incentive to guide people he considers his friends, to minimise himself and his own struggles while working against Monokuma subtly, even to manufacture his disappearance in ch5 to take the fight to Monokuma alone

Shuichi becomes the ‘shadow mastermind’, like Izuru- the ‘traitor protagonist’ who sealed and sabotaged the group’s will to live, while losing his memory of that. This is reflected by Chapter 1's case, wherein he had created the perfect setup for Kaede to enact her own plan to kill, and had conflict over his actions that he had tried to shut away. It also provides context for Ouma being especially wary of Shuichi, noting on the whiteboard to ‘be cautious’ of him, especially if he has a relationship with Monokuma as well.

These are the big four as far as the mastermind agenda is concerned, but another interesting role-reframe is the Monokubs. Remember that Shirokuma and Kurokuma were fragments of the mastermind, and Shirokuma’s role in UDG is to deceive the player? What if the Monokubs had such a situation, split up into comedic personality fragments? Were the melodramas telling some sort of story as well- the story of Monokuma?

If so, there may be some clues from them. But first…

[‘Designed like a school’]

As to the academy’s lost mystery, it’s possible it was originally an experiment. Rantaro’s hunch was that there was ‘someone behind Monokuma’, and in Salmon mode he points out that Monokuma could have ‘taken over the facility’. A bunch of files in Shuichi’s lab suggest that the culprits of the scenarios were noted for their ‘tricks’, likely pertaining to their Ultimate talent. 

A concerning matter is that the details of the Gopher Project’s plans were crossed out, with us unable to see why youngsters of Ultimate status were required. Doubly concerning is that Ouma himself appears to have amazing, even supernatural ability, demonstrated in ch5 with his scripting- a talent such as that is in line with Junko’s abilities. 

Speaking of that, it must be said that Junko's true ability was left a mystery by the game's end. It was also a subject of much curiosity by HPA, so if Ouma is a supernaturally talented person, that could speak volumes as to his own position. His status as an 'invisible Ultimate’ alone raises questions as to why it has to be hidden, or rather, why he has to obscure it. It could be that he is oppressed by the talent system itself, and if that's the case, perhaps he is its guinea pig along with V3's Monokuma. But it's not just about Ouma's ability- if Monokuma too had a similarly strong supernatural talent and/or circumstance, that could explain not only his posing as a ‘god’, but Angie’s mysteriously intimate knowledge of others' personal ideals through such a ‘god’. That is, if she was possessed by someone with knowledge of the cast's ideals, and who was exploiting them in the Love Hotel. 

Moreover, if Ouma and Monokuma were supernaturally gifted, there's a good possibility that if the vault clues were a layered clue symbolic of them- the ‘light’ and ‘dark’ Monokumas depicted on the ‘twins’ clue for the vault - then they were not only siblings, but twins- identical twins. This allows for another ‘report card misidentification’ a la Junko-Mukuro, while the Flashback Light panel refers to the ‘Gamemaster’ rather than ‘ringleader’ (meaning an identical double could interact with it), and from a lore perspective, twins were known in Danganronpa Kirigiri to be the subject of (highly unethical) research, and identical twins would be the most sought after for genetics reasons.

Such research could eventually wind up creating Ouma and his brother - seemingly the highest of any known talents - through a form of eugenics, not unlike Byakuya’s backstory. From there, there's no telling what could have happened…

[‘Eh…?’]

Now I can get to the psychology behind the bear. If a person behind Monokuma had such a past with this academy, traits can be speculated:

⚠️ Content: incest, child abuse, sexual abuse, psych torture/institutionalisation. ⚠️ 

Vengeful: in ch2, Monokuma suggests he may hate the cast for something, and tells them to ‘work for the answer’. Interestingly, Monotaro (leader persona) makes note of ‘red lies’ in the Salmon mode, and red lies are for revenge. 

Extremely traumatised and mentally ill: if it is Ouma’s brother, and he’s wearing a straitjacket, this could imply institutional abuse. Monokuma’s behaviours in ch3 (a mental shutdown) and ch4 (depression) could denote severe mental damage, and having the academy cleared of bugs gives credence to him having an affliction with bugs like Ouma ( foaming at the mouth and passing out).

Depraved: in ch4, Ouma noted he would ‘strangle the one he loves’ to ‘keep his eyes on him’, and appears to play a similar threatening, possessive role in the Love Hotel. Implied in the Monokubs’ melodrama, Monokuma may have coerced his own sibling into having relations- though he may have forgotten his sibling entirely due to trauma.

People pleaser: Ouma says that he ‘lies to entertain people’ in his Salmon mode ending, which could reflect his persona (Monokuma)’s desires. It may be that his desire to ‘not be boring’ feeds into this persona, too, as it's something so serious to him that it was shown as basically a dying wish.

In this sense, the mastermind can be similar to Monaca- as she took control over the city (while Monokuma stated to have taken over the country), became mentally ill as a result of the abuse inflicted on her, lied (about an injury) in order to make her abusers nicer to her, and became depraved in a way childish and sadistic (in how she toys with Kotoko and Nagisa, for instance). There's also the narrative effect of obscuring her trauma with unreliable narrator, and even Monaca’s own warped sense of humour that obscures it in tandem.

[Twin with supernatural talent (Junko Enoshima), a result of experimentation (Izuru Kamukura), childishness complex (Monaca Towa) and all combined (Kokichi Ouma)]

For narrative styles, DRV3's Monokuma is a culmination of approaches to make the game’s mystery truly warped to its core. Taking the masterminds’ actions from the past games:

Junko selectively picked photographs to sow discord about the group’s reality

AI Junko (a plant by Izuru) tried to lead Hajime into making a choice without proper context

Monaca led Komaru through a growth journey to use her for impact at the end

These can be attributed to: 

the Flashback Lights- some real, others ‘rotten apples’, but overall context is dubious 

the ‘It is fiction’ declaration- may be a leading question, again with dubious context

Shuichi’s ‘confidence growth’- that makes him more credible to those watching outside

(As for ‘context being dubious’, it should be noted that the Twilight mystery has a similar vibe in terms of how it is chopped up and misrepresented on the first viewing. This is particularly interesting when you factor in the mixed Kubs Pads giving other characters information.)

Speaking of ‘using’, Monokuma talks about how someone could be used by expressions of gratitude. In parallel to this, Shuichi is talking about how he was happy to be ‘useful to others as a detective’, and regards their gratitude personally. But it’s concerning that Shuichi and his history is a topic for ‘Monokuma Theatre’, when you factor in what Monaca did in UDG.

The basic concept is: with Monokuma’s agenda towards the end being to throw out foreshadowing and mystery - to deny its purpose - he wants you to make the decision of ignoring the heart, discarding the mystery and the path to the answer. In this sort of vague and unnerving way, a ‘hidden mastermind’ is like a progression of Monaca’s style. Symbolically, Shuichi’s journey seems to be one where he is on the fringe of going astray the entire time, and in this reading, he ultimately does with the loss of the game's mystery. 

What follows is the player's re-examination of the canon context and in this case, a ‘salvage effort’ of what was lost. And ultimately, in the quagmire of broken context, Ouma's mixed relationship with Shuichi is fuel for thought, because his cryptic behaviour - like the game he plays in his FTE - keeps you guessing on what he's been trying to say.

[Members… of what?]

So, factoring in earlier recontextualisation - of the large organisation likely spanning the world - is the idea brought up during Ouma's FTE, that I question like this: could Shuichi have joined a nefarious organisation after all, and following in Salmon mode: is there any indicator Ouma has concerns about Shuichi’s intentions in general (that is, regardless of whether or not his past self would have been capable of less-than-moral decisions)? 

What about others in the cast- a Prime Minister who had run away from her post, a military robot, a super inventor, an assassin? An artist with odd brainwashing powers, a musician with the ability to connect to others’ hearts through music? Because given that the DR2 group had affected the world with their talents after being manipulated, it's possible that the V3 group’s talents had a similar part to play, too. For instance, Kaito’s FTE detailed the possibility of communicating with aliens, and trading technology with them- and as it happens, there is notably a very weird technology in the academy, capable of ridiculous feats. This kind of unknown in the narrative speaks of a whole world that we barely know, even now. 

If this kind of world is what Ouma is burdened by, something beyond the protagonist's understanding, that too is a story waiting to be told. And his strange interactions with Shuichi could be at the heart of this story…

[‘Just hit the reset button on your feelings’]

As for the relationship with Shuichi, that is particularly difficult to give in evidence- partly given the culprit in his backstory, and how if Monokuma was that culprit - someone with a strong agenda against Shuichi - that might link to both twins. But due to the death of one of the siblings in that backstory, it warrants a supernatural idea such as resurrection, that has yet to be proven viable in-universe. If we remember Angie having a weird supernatural air about her though, and that she was implied to be in a cult, you could still infer that cults were involved in the supernatural. It’s entirely possible that a high-profile cult had come to the point of using resurrections, although that’s very much deeplore, as is the supernatural in general.

So while I can’t say too much about technical lore, like with the organisation, I can talk about the vibes I have with the theory, to focus on a sense of grounding in character instead: 

“Ouma and Monokuma are both sidelined by the narrative. A not-insignificant part of that was caused by Shuichi in his past, even if he was led into the cause unwittingly, and the actions of Shuichi’s present self in missing memories. As a result, Ouma is in a nerfed position during the game despite his supernatural talent. Unable to say anything without surveillance, he is under a great deal of stress and pent up, ambivalent feelings - not least towards Shuichi and Monokuma -  that he tries mostly to deflect. After all, it would not do to give too much away, and ruin his own plans.”

I have a detailed ‘song lyric analysis’ of sorts to tie to this, as a way of exploring feelings. Part of the reason I’d go this far, is Ouma as the designated ‘narrative scapegoat’ has always just fit well for me, given that the cast is shown to struggle with their treatment of him. Even leaving analysis aside, I feel it would be very satisfying (cathartic, even!) to explore an angle where he was suppressed, and that his position was legitimately the consequence of others actions right from the start, making the whole ‘pretending to be a villain’ situation even more painfully ironic. 

Plus it would be a welcome change from the notion of ‘misguided morally-grey antagonist who needs to change’, in my opinion, as Ouma’s unchanging self is something I hold particularly strongly. So instead of the arc of drastic change, the thing to explore would be how he functions and struggles with others (in mundane as well as grand ways), and also gets them to change, to understand him. It would also be interesting to expand on the theme of talent abuse, to have a Monokuma who was a product of the corrupt talent system- rather like Izuru was, but this time fully present in the narrative, and in tandem with someone else connected to him.

Overall, I feel that a situation where the protagonist thinks he’s won, while a mysterious someone has been struggling in the sidelines to affect change, is a real goldmine for a mystery situation. Especially from replaying the game, and picking up odd signs that something may not have been what it seemed. There may not be much to go from there (as things stand right now, at least) but the palpable frustration means that through this perspective, I can - at times very viscerally - imagine Ouma’s frustration and powerlessness. That alone colours the game and the interactions in a whole new light for me.

I hope this helped clarify at least some of what the heck is going on- and why I would even see Ouma this way at all, if it’s so convoluted. I have struggled to put it into words all this time, but with the pieces flying in my face from every direction, it’s hard to not try putting them together. I usually don’t game on Hard Mode like this, but something about Ouma compels me- whatever Kodaka’s intentions, I believe him when he says Danganronpa V3 is without end.

Thank you for reading!

[aparticularbandit]

Pre-Game!Shuichi: I think it'd be really cool if I could play a detective! But one that's the Blackened! :D

Tsumugi: ....

In-Game!Shuichi, later, to Kaede: ...I didn't even really want to be a detective.

Tsumugi: :)

[rubberduckyrye]

Talking about it on discord but

My favorite themes for making a Kokichi a Remnant of Despair? Making his bleeding heart and kindness the root of his Despair.

[wackpedion]

I MIGHT just have figured out why Kokichi outed Gonta in Ch 4

I was on some japanese translation blog and Kokichi states even he doesn't know who the true mastermind is, which isn't so surprising.

Anyway as I read that I thought, if he doesn't know, its likely to assume he can't tell when the mastermind is lying when amongst them (I'm not actually sure if Tsumugi lies in regards to her being a mastermind, but maybe the general fact that Kokichi couldn't pick up on any lies, whether the lies were actually there or not, was something he noticed)

So what if, during the trial when Gonta was saying things that Kokichi knew were false but Kokichi couldn't pick up on any tells that he was lying, made him think Gonta might have been the mastermind?

IN FACT it would explain why he does it after Shuichi lies, as Gonta in response says he believes Shuichis claims. Gonta saying that, and Kokichi not being able to pick up any tells of a lie, would explain why it was at THAT specific moment he comes to a conclusion and outs Gonta as blackened

It could also loosely explain why he talks about ruining "the mystery solving fun". He verbally directs his so-called revenge at Shuichi, but him ruining the "fun" makes more sense when hes talking about messing with the mastermind and any audience thats watching them.

[kokitschi]

*i mean theories that go beyond the official in-game solutions and don't consider every "logic error" as just bad writing but as a purposeful part of the narrative

i also don't mean any specific theories but rather the act of making theories, of reading between the lines even when there's no "reward" to come.

[mayoiayasep]

and if i said one could connect a danganronpa trial three murder breakdown to each of the three milgram prisoners who were voted guilty this past trial-[<- i am shot by a sniper and my body is dragged offstage]

[thefandomenchantress]

Who Will Always Be On Teruko’s Side of the Scrum Debate?

(WARNING: DRV3 SPOILERS!!!)

So, random question time. In DRV3, scrum debates were introduced. In case you don’t know which mini game that is, it’s this one:

And in DRV3, only one character is always on protagonist’s side of the debate, never against them. Angie. Before she dies, that is. And today I was wondering if maybe DRDT would do something similar, with one singular character always being on Teruko’s side while they were alive. So I decided to make a poll. For reference, here are the people on Teruko’s side of the scrum debate in chapter one, and therefore the only options:

Eden

Rose

Whit

Arturo

Nico

Ace

Keep in mind that if a character is the culprit of a case, they always side against the protag (Except for Korekiyo, but as far as I know most people hated how obvious it was that he was the culprit, and Kaede, but I doubt Teruko is getting replaced as protag). So if you think any of those characters listed above will be a culprit, think twice before voting for them. Also, they don’t have to be a survivor, as seen with Angie.

If you aren’t satisfied with the reasoning in the poll for each character, feel free to ramble in the comments/replies about which character you think it would be and why! I’m curious to know what you guys think!

[whattheskyknows]

So I went against my better judgement and decided to write my AU where the mastermind breaks into the hangar instead of Maki. Anyway, gonna post the first chapter of it tomorrow :)))

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

My friend is taking a human rights course right now and all of a sudden we started talking about Tsumugi's claim that the outside world in V3 is completely at peace. I tend not to believe her on this, because what peaceful utopia has a killing game where young adults throw away their lives as the most popular piece of media? And then she suggested that it was utilitarian, and that the killing games were needed to keep the peace. Which has the interesting implication that previously, many of the conflicts and societal problems were due to Boredom... kind of like what Junko pushed for during the tragedy, huh?

What I'm saying is, let this be fuel for "v3 is part of the dr1 and dr2 universe and is a consequence of the tragedy" theories

[unweavinglies]

I’d like to ask a question about Kokichi’s character in Chapter 4, specifically with him seeing the “Truth of the outside world.” Yes, it was a big shift in his character to suddenly want killing, but I’m not entirely convinced that it was because of him losing his mind from seeing the outside world. I think at least some of it was a facade to make others think of him as a bad guy/the mastermind; to make his Chapter 5 character more believable so his plan would work. What do you think?

Well, I'm not here to convince you one way or another.

My theories and personal interpretations are just that--personal interpretations and theories. The narrative is web of interpretations and I only hold a single thread of it.

To me, personally, I think Kokichi's behavioral shift is far too drastic, going from "I'm going to beat this killing game" to "I'm going to become a blackened and kill someone", to plotting with Gonta to mercy kill the whole class. I think this jump has only one true source--the madness of seeing the end of the world you and your fellow classmates have been killing each other over.

I know it's a difficult feeling to imagine--but that's probably why you think differently than me. I cannot fathom what it's like to see the end of the world--and how I personally would react to that, aside from pure devastation. I don't think any human being can truly comprehend what "the end of the world" would look or feel like--which is why the concept often appears in horror plots and the sort. I don't think our brains can truly comprehend becoming an endangered species, the world we knew to be suddenly inhabitable, to be on the brink of death and demise and know that everything you once loved has already left you behind.

So I ask you this as my answer: Do you really think that any human being on this earth could handle the end of the world?

My answer to my own question is: No. I don't think any human could mentally handle seeing what Kokichi saw--and that's why I don't think his "I am the Mastermind" plot is the cause of his personality shift during chapter 4.

It just doesn't make sense to me.

I'm sorry if this comes off as curt or rude--but the amount of asks I've gotten specifically about Chapter 4, and about my Mercy Kill Theory, with the sentiment of "Oh your theory must be incorrect, somehow", is far too grating on me. Never the mind asks that go and try to find loop holes to prove the theory wrong, but I digress--that is neither here nor there.

[dansconcepts]

Diner AU - Sugary Jalapeno Pancakes

I'm glad people found the Diner AU interesting :>. As a token of my appreciation, have a drabble feat. Kokichi, Shuichi, and Kaede in the diner (that's admittedly unnamed for now lMAOAO). Also, I would've added more interactions with the other protagonists, but this became much longer than I thought... I'll be making separate posts for those instead (i.e. Komahina antics and some other shenanigans).

Kokichi taps against the table. Where’s Kaede? He wanted his soda already. She’s always super nice about his very particular tastes, even though she gets annoyed at him really easily (although that's really not surprising nor undesired). He even made the effort to visit today of all days, because today she’s usually here to get him it.

He hears a pen tapping. Ah, finally. 

He lifts his head up to come face to face with messy dark hair and deep eye bags, coupled with long lashes framing silvery verdant eyes. Pretty.

“Um, hi.” They smile, and wow, they’re timid. This might be fun. “What would you like?”

He grins, as charmingly innocent as possible. “Well, I come here, like, all the time and I just LOVE the jalapeno pancakes, extra sugar. Can I have that?”

They hum. Their pen (blue ink- so boringgggg) nearly touches paper, but their hands stop mid-air. They furrow their eyebrows, purse their lips. Oh, it’s always good when people make that face. It means they’re not idiots.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” They ask incredulously (appropriately, he’ll admit). "jalapeno pancakes? With sugar?”

His grin turns wolfish. “Yep!” He says, with a pop! on the p. “Jalapeno pancakes! They’re an absolute classic, I always get them here. Pairing it with sugar makes the combo so amazeballs.” Haha, he died a little inside saying that.

A flurry of emotions flip through their face, and he almost feels pity for just how easy they are to read. The waiter leans forward, grabbing- oh yeah, he forgot he had a menu with him. They thumb through the pages. Got 'em. Quickly, he replaces his devious smile with a frown. "What's the hold up? Is something wrong?"

He nearly laughs when they lower the menu, exposing their wide, oh-so worried eyes. “Sorry. Um. Where is that on the menu? It's not on here, and I would definitely remember something so… eccentric if it was one of our specials.” 

Aw, their rationalization is so cute. “Yeah, it wouldn’t be.” Kokichi easily waves off. “It’s a code phrase for my order. Me and the cook go way back, we’re the best of pals, you know! Has he really not mentioned me?" The answering shake of the head has him bawling. "WAHHH! I CAN'T BELIEVE MY B F F WOULD ACT LIKE I DON'T EXIST!" He expected them to immediately start panicking, but instead they just look a little concerned with their tilt of the head, a little overwhelmed but not overcome. They're not even looking around self-consciously! He's a menace and he knows it! But no, they're just staring intently at him. Huh. He blinks the tears away and says, just to really bring it home, “Rantaro will definitely know what I’m talking about.”

They clearly look conflicted, biting their lip, but nod anyway. So they are a pushover then? He figured that’d be the case.

They smile at him with a nod. “Sure. I’ll see what I can do.”

As quickly as they came, they speed walked away. Man, that worked absolutely perfectly. The poor server’s going to be so embarra-

“KOKICHI!” A voice booms from the back. Stomps echo against the tile of the diner, and yep, there she is. Kayayday. Didn’t expect that to happen.

She stands in front of him with a pout and crossed arms, directing a particularly scathing glare at him that he hasn’t seen in awhile. He sticks his tongue out at her with a grin. Serves her right for not getting his order. 

“Kokichi," She starts, and he knows he's in for something good, "please don’t harass the new server. It’s very lucky he’s smart enough to detect that you were lying- like seriously, a secret code for your order? Although I can see you doing that-, he’s just too polite to call you out on it.” 

He hums. That’s interesting. “It was meant to be an outlandish lie, easy for him to figure out!” Lie. He didn’t expect to be found out, not with being mostly sincere and actually trying to be normal- read: trying-, just for that flavour. “I was initiating him for the future!” He doesn’t even have to confirm that one.

She tilts her head. “Huh, really?” The blonde frowns. “I don’t know if I believe that…” 

“Pft, I can tell he was new! You know I’m a regular here, so I was actually surprised to see someone else on shift that isn’t Makotoes.” He shifts his gaze to his nails as nonchalantly as possible. “Sooooooooo… who’s the pretty boy?”

“Pretty boy?” She raises an eyebrow at him.  

Well. That was overly stupid. Don’t blush, don't blush, don't blush. He did NOT mean to say that. 

Her face doesn’t change. Good. The slip of the tongue went unnoticed. “He’s one of my best friends that started working here a few days ago. I won’t say much else though.” She explains.

He shrugs nonchalantly. “Okay.” 

Internally, he screams. 

Lilac eyes narrow at him. “For some reason, I feel like you would’ve questioned me about him just so you can tune me out and mock me for it, but the fact that you’re not makes me think you want to hear about him. Am I right?”

Damn. He forgot Kaede can be really perceptive when she wants to be. Kaede’s smirking though, so his expression clearly isn’t as neutral as he wanted it to be. 

She laughs lightly. “Well, I’ll have him bring your usual this time- you do still want that right?”

“Absolutely not! I don’t want anything after all this-!” 

“-wonderful, got it, one Panta coming up!” She interrupts, already walking away. Rude. 

As Kaede promised, the navy-haired server from before appears with his can of Panta. 

"Here you go." The waiter greets him, setting down the delicious grape-y goodness right in front of him.

He takes a glorious sip of bubbly blandness. "You're 'too polite' to call me out, huh?" Kokichi starts with a smirk.

"Ah, I'm not really that polite..." So humble. "I would've called you out then and there," Wha-? "but it was kind of funny to see Kaede go off on someone. I've never seen that before." Grayish green eyes meets his purple, and his lips quirk upward. "I've heard a lot about you, Kokichi, so it really was only fair."

Huh.

"WAHHHH!" He cries again. He's gonna need to drink a lot more than usual after this... "You're so mean! What kind of server are you, bullying the customers?!"

"Ah! Sorry! Please keep it down." He frowns. "You really are so confusing..."

"Well, I'm sure you could figure it out, Detective." He purrs.

Saying that has every muscle of the other's tense, his ahoge on high alert (which he's going to gloss over right now, but he sees Kaede's do the exact same thing which is WEIRD, even for him). "Detective? How did you know?"

He was just referencing one of his favourite fantasies as a personal joke, but he can 100% work with this. "It's pretty obvious." in retrospect, anyway. Observant, logical, although he is really anxious. Like, really. Practically an open book. "Does said Detective have a name? I need to let my subordinates know who they need to watch out for."

"Shuichi. Shuichi Saihara."

"We're gonna have a LOT of fun Shumai~!" He grins.