{ORIGINAL} "You're Perfect For Me" // A Saiouma Story

Where is everyone?

As Rantaro and I descend into the forest, my worries grow stronger and stronger. I can't help but think about the scoldings I'll get when I return... if I'm even worrying anyone, that is. And is Kokichi okay? I regret not going to see him while I could. Maybe I should go back...

"Shuichi... where should we go from here?" Rantaro asks. I pull myself away from my racing mind and back to reality, noticing a fork in the road ahead of us.

"Wait, there was a path?"

The green-haired stops to ponder for a moment. "Not an official one. I come here pretty often, and there's no trail that leads to the middle of a forest..."

"I see... then is it possible that the fork is two paths connecting as one?"

"Hm?"

"If there's no path from the park, then maybe these two aren't coming from here, but coming from somewhere else." I reason. "And that means that we should take the single path."

"That's quite the conclusion... I'm impressed," Rantaro smiles. "Alright then. Let's head off!"

I smile in return and start down the path, sending the occasional glance behind me to make sure that Rantaro was still there. Today wasn't the best day to be abandoned in a forest...

After about 5 more minutes on the trail, I notice a large building in the distance. It seems old, but in a stable condition. I deduce that the building had been abandoned do to the location and the wide, empty lot surrounding it. This organization really has a thing for abandoned structures.

"Woah..." I heard from behind me as Rantaro laid his eyes upon the building. "What's a place like this doing all the way back here?"

"...Well there's only one way to find out," I say. I brush past my classmate and begin to investigate the area. The first abnormality I find is a sign in the lot that reads "Hope's Peak."

"Hope's Peak..." I murmur under my breath. "Maybe the school has something to do with this...?"

"That would explain the building," Rantaro nods in agreement. "The school is government-funded, so they can afford to build a place here. It must've been quite a while ago, though..."

"But why would Hope's Peak be kidnapping students at their own school?" I murmur to myself.

"If that's what this is about, then I hate to bring this up, but..."

I glance up towards my friend. "Hm?"

He shifts in his spot before continuing. "Isn't your father the principal? Do you think he knows about this...?"

My mind goes blank. My dad...? He wouldn't... there's no way he'd get involved in crimes like this, especially after he worked so hard to stop them...

"N-no, I'm sure he doesn't..." I say with a hint of uncertainty. "I don't like suspecting people, but I can investigate more to be certain-"

"No, no. It's okay," Rantaro suddenly interrupts me. "Forget about that, it was just a random thought."

"But-"

"You're better off without suspecting your loved ones, Shuichi. There isn't any major evidence against him, so we can save that thought for when it's needed..."

"...Y-yeah."

Rantaro smiles and turns around. "Let's finish looking around here. There's still a lot to see, right?" Without looking back, he steps away to search for evidence.

-

After about half an hour of searching the seemingly abandoned area, we collected many clues that Rantaro took pictures of with his phone.