The Mastermind's Lies | Mastermind Shuichi AU

Chapter 27 - Souvenirs?

I stumbled on Maki and Kaito, who were just turning around the corner to come in the kitchen.

"Ah!" I fell back and immediately hurried myself back up.

They both stared at me in silence as I replaced my clothes. "Uh... Shuichi?"

I snapped my head back up.

"Are you... feeling better?" continued Maki with a neutral tone.

I froze there, unable to respond for a few moments. "Uhm...."

"You look terrible, you should eat something..." Kaito said, tone laced with worry, avoiding my eyes, arms crossed.

I felt my breath hitch and the shiver start back up. I gave a weak nod and walked past them. But as I did that, a hand grabbed my wrist.

I twisted around, flinching.

"Shuichi..." Kaito was holding my wrist, his eyes burried in mine. They held a mix of sadness and... worry.

"Shuichi, w-we want to understand you better. As much as I hate what you did, I really... I really miss your company. Y-you were the best friend I've ever had, my trusted sidekick, a-and I really want us to be friends again. Both Maki Roll and I want to get to know the new you and maybe even try to forgive you."

My eyes widened and I felt my heart skip multiple beats.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

They were willing to forgive... me? They were willing to forget the shitty things I've done?

Panic slowly overwhelmed my brain as I tried to wriggle free from his grip. 'No no no, the man's going to notice this and he'll threaten me again... I need to get out of here.' "Shuichi please! Please don't push us away anymore we all want to be your friend. We've had a talk yesterday and we're all willing to forgive you if you give us the chance. Please Shuichi..."

I felt the tears sting my eyes as I finally wriggled free of his grip. I bolted towards the stairs.

"Shuichi!" I heard Kaito trying to run after me. "Leave him Kaito, it didn't work." Maki said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Hot tears were spilling out of my eyes as I reached my room. I opened the door and closed it behind me, not even bothering to lock it, and threw myself on my bed. I slid under my three blankets and buried my face into my pillow. I let out muffled sobs as tears started staining my pillow.

My eyes wandered around to look at the camera. It sat there, in the corner of the room, looking at me. "Please make it stop... I can't take it anymore..." I mumbled.

My mind became overwhelmed with thoughts. Kokichi, my parents, my uncle and aunt, the man, Kaito and Maki, the others, their memories, money, my sickness...

I ended up passing out, completely exhausted.

[...]

KOKICHI POV

"Hello everyone!"

I looked up to who had spoken. There, near the living room door, the woman from Team Danganronpa was standing, her arms crossed and a grin plastered on her face. 'Did she just invite herself into the house like that? What a skank.' I thought.

"I have something for you!"

She walked up to the tea table and dropped a bag, as well as a big pile of files.

"This is everything we know about your past lives! Oh! And these are USB keys; they all contain the best moments from the game from each of you! Don't worry; none of the murders, executions or class trials are included, just your free time with others and other moments! We figured, after your dear mastermind asked for souvenirs of the game, you'd want the same!"

"He asked for souvenirs of the game?" asked Keebo, looking a little disturbed.

"Yep! His USB key is filled with his most gruesome moments, the most despair inducing ones! You can watch each other's souvenirs but not his! His is a secret!"

That was a pitiful lie, it was easy to tell. Especially after what happened Friday night. That means his USB key might have some important secrets if it has anything in it at all.

The woman exited the room after saying goodbye, leaving us all in silence.

"Not sure I want to look at this now..." said Ryoma.

Unable to wait anymore, I bounced up from my spot and snatched the bag filled with USB keys. I fiddled between them. They were all the same, except that each of them had a different sticker with our name on it.

I grinned, suddenly getting an idea.

Making sure my back was facing against the camera, I discretely took off my sticker and Shuichi's sticker. I switched our stickers, putting my name on his and his name on mine.

"Okay! I'll hand these out to everyone now!

I threw each of them at everyone. After that, I looked at the files. I also gave them out to everyone.

Nobody even dared to open them.

I sat back down at my spot and took a deep breath, opening it.

Immediately, a photo of me popped up.

I was wearing a school uniform and I was smiling. It looked like a class photo. But I wasn't grinning like I normally do... it was a genuine smile. I cringed... did my past self always smiled like this?

"Wow Kokichi, you look so nice and innocent on that photo!" said Kaito. I pulled the file away from him. "Stop looking into my business, idiot!" I shouted.

He let out a 'come on now!' before I continued looking. I read through the information, slowly starting to get sick.

...

I had three younger siblings and I was living with my mother. My father had disappeared a while back and was nowhere to be found.

I used to be... the most 'kind-hearted' person in my class, according to some people. While also being a natural leader, I cared about everyone's well being. I was also the type to get nervous over the simplest things but I would quickly recover from that nervosity.

I also apparently had plenty of friends, but one in particular stood out from the other. I tried reading their name, but it was coated in black marker. 'Suspicious...' I thought.

I'd also lost that friend after moving to a new city and that's where the documents stopped.

I took a deep breath. I looked up to everyone around me and I noticed they'd all opened theirs.

"Holy shit..."

"No way..."

"Damn..."

Everyone was letting out shocked breaths as they read about themselves. I'm glad to know I wasn't the most shocked one out of them all.

It unsettled me, but at the same time... I felt happy. Happy to know good ol' me wasn't a complete jackass like I am now. It was good to know I had a family too; I've always wanted to know what it felt like to have a loving family.

I stood up. "Okay losers, I'm going to go watch my souvenirs, see you all later!~"

Not waiting for a response, I bolted out of the room. I was getting more and more curious about what Shuichi's USB might contain; my past identity barely bothered me honestly.

I got to Miu's lab, where the only computer was, and plugged in the USB. I spotted the camera discretely; it was hidden in a corner of the room and luckily, it couldn't see the computer screen.

I grinned as I opened the file. I plugged in my earbuds as well and played the video.

The screen was black for a few seconds before words popped up. "Shuichi Saihara's most despair inducing moments! Hope you like it! I prepared it just for you, so you can see all of your best moments! Enjoy!"

I cringed at the note, before the video continued.