One More Lie -Danganronpa V3

02 - Someone To Watch You Sleep

Soon, I had calmed down enough from my tears to drift asleep but peace is sparse in a killing game.

As I dreamt, I could hear the quiet sound of footsteps making their way toward me. At first, I thought I must have imagined it but as my dreams faded to consciousness, I could feel hot breath on my face. I could hear shaky breathing as I forced my eyes shut, doing whatever I could not to shudder or jolt up.
Someone must be making a move, I thought, I'll just have to wait for them to step away so I can see who it is.
But they didn't move for what seemed like an eternity.

I could feel myself drifting back asleep when soft skin brushed against my face. My eyes shot open and there he stood, a familiar person caressing my face gently. His dark hair clung to his face underneath a hat that shielded his eyes. He smiled when he saw that I was awake, not his usual kind smile but something more...sinister. He leaned close to me, his mouth only a few inches away from my ear and he whispered in a dry voice.

"Everyone is waiting for you," Shuichi muttered.

I couldn't hide the way my whole body trembled in fear, a fear I didn't understand. I'm not afraid of Shuichi, but as he walked to the door he turned back and I got a good look at him. His shoulders seemed broader and he wasn't looking down. He didn't twiddle his thumbs nervously but instead, his arms fell flat at his sides. Despite the identical facial structure and eyes, this wasn't Shuichi.

-

The dining hall had a tense atmosphere when I finally arrived. Everyone was watching Shuichi nervously as he uncharacteristically sat on one of the tables, swinging his legs with glee. The students stood around waiting for me to finally arrive.

"Hey, kid!" Monokuma popped out of nowhere to scold Shuichi and for his normal morning shenanigans. "Whad'ya think you're doing sitting there? People are supposed'ta eat off of that!" his body shook with anger and sweat poured off of him like a fountain. "Just who'dya think you are!?"

Shuichi just gave him a confused look before laughing as though Monokuma's question was stupid. Then he turned to look at us and with a few small words, he shattered our way of thinking.

"Who...?" He frowned. "I'm the mastermind,"

.

Silence followed for what seemed like an eternity before Kaito, who was still shaky from the day before grabbed his collar and screamed.

"What the hell are you saying, Shuichi!?" He scowled angrily. "That BS isn't funny!"

Shuichi seemed surprised for a second but he grabbed Kaito's tense hand and laughed. "Man, I can't believe how predictable you are!"

Kaito let go, stepping back. "W-what?"

Shuichi laughed again and grabbed the panicked Monokuma that was running around by his waist. He hugged the bear tight and then before anyone could stop him, he smashed him hard against the floor, stomping on the metal scraps with a pointy shoe.

Everyone watched him in panic, hurting Monokuma was strictly against the rules.

"Shuichi step away from him, it's not safe—," Kiibo warned nervously, placing a hand on my shoulder to steady himself. He pulled it away cautiously when he noticed who I was.

Shuichi smiled and stepped toward us, crushing Monokuma once more for good measure. Maki glared at him, one I had only ever seen directed at me.

"I'm the mastermind!" He bounced on his toes with glee, doing a little twirl before turning to face us again. "This is it! The final showdown. I'm so excited,"

"Shuichi...you're not making any sense...," Tsumugi mumbled, pushing her glasses up with two fingers.

Himiko stared at him with glossy eyes as Kaito stood by her, tense. "Shuichi...," she mumbled as Kaito put an arm in front of her protectively.