One More Lie -Danganronpa V3

01 - Anger and Deception

The aftermath of a class trial was always ugly, tears and snot flying around the room as anger and bitterness rose to consume everyone. The feeling of betrayal, and the acceptance of it all...it was beautiful. But Kokichi stood at the center of it all, refusing to let the dead rest. He cackled loudly at the tear-riddled faces of the other students. He bounced up and down on his toes with glee as he ridiculed everyone around him.

It was Kaito who was the angriest. He held one balled up fist up in anger, shaking it at Kokichi as his body trembled, but Kokichi never met his eyes or responded to his anger appropriately. He just went on laughing while Kaito stared at him as though he had just thrown a puppy into a burning building... and perhaps what he did was indeed something of the nature.

"Ah-hahaha!" Kokichi loudly laughed, lips curled upward in a smile that could almost be mistaken for a grimace. "Miu and Gonta wouldn't have died such meaningless deaths!" He spat the words out like an award-winning actor, drool dripping from a grin that was all too wide. Tears pinched at his eyes but to those around him, it could be mistaken for his eyes being glazed over in bliss, or maybe that's just what they all wanted to see.

"Meaningless deaths!?" Kaito scowled, his body rumbling in rage and something like pain. He swung his fist with a strained grunt but before anyone could stop him, he was on the floor...curled in pain.

Kokichi stared blankly at his own fist in shock as though the force of his own attack had surprised him. He frowned momentarily but then a wide smile overtook his face, one that looked like all too real. He giggled softly under his breath.

"Oops sorry...I tried to dodge you, but I punched you instead!" Kokici's voice came out a cooing pout, but his body shook like a leaf in the wind and his teeth gritted against each other. His legs twitched, beckoning him to run, or curl into a ball and cry but he couldn't even look up to see the hateful faces all around him. The faces of people who wanted him dead. The faces of people who wanted to kill him

Shuichi's mouth fell open and his voice came out a pained yell. "Kaito!" His eyebrows knit together in worry and for a second he looked at Kokichi with hate.

Kokichi's mouth opened in a wide smile but no one heard his words beside Kaito who's face darkened. Kokichi must have struck a nerve, something he cared about more than the deaths of his friends. Kokichi grimaced at the look on his enemy's face but when he glanced up, he was met with red eyes burning holes into his head.

Maki's body language became electric and her muscles tensed up, she looked at him as a wolf looked at a yapping dog. "You really want to die...don't you?!" Her voice shook and she grabbed at Kokichi's collar but Shuichi pushed them apart and stepped in between them.

"Oh. Did I finally provoke you enough?" Kokichi inched closer to her, peering over Shuichi's shoulder with a grin. "Is it cus of Kaito?"

Maki lunged at him and her hands shook with the intent to kill but Shuichi stood his ground. "No, Maki!" He scowled angrily almost spitting in her face as he pushed her back a few extra inches for good measure.

Kokichi watched Shuichi carefully but he couldn't tell what he was thinking, his golden eyes went blank and his mouth sat as a straight line across his face.

.

Shuichi's face made me pause, he didn't look like someone who had just lost a friend. My eyebrows twitched in suspicion but I shook it off. This much death would affect anyone negatively.

I turned my attention to Maki and grinned, tapping a finger against my lips as I pretended to ponder something. "What am I thinking?" I laughed, theatrically shaking my head. "Maki wouldn't lose her cool for a guy like Kaito!" I said his name like it was a joke.