The Mirror Cards

Act 1: The Beauty In Lies And Deception (part 4)

12 January 2018, 11.51p.m, Office room

Shuichi anxiously sat on a couch, gripping his hat. Why was the director ask him to meet him? He had no idea. He had so many questions for the man behind the Danganronpa series. Where are his friends? Does he have a family out there? Who is he before the killing game? So many questions have yet to be answered.

"Hey, Shuichi!"

Shuichi snapped out of his thought. He recognized that voice he had grown to despise. Kokichi Ouma, the embodiment of deception. Despite his sacrifices, Shuichi still couldn't find in him to forgive the liar.

"Hello, Ouma." he greeted the male coldly. He saw Kokichi's smile falter at the cold response, causing Shuichi to feel a little guilty. 'No, you shouldn't feel that way! Kokichi did some horrible things to everyone, especially Gonta! He deserves this kind of treatment.' Kokichi sat next to Shuichi, sneaking a glance at the detective."Umm... How are you, Shuichi?" Shuichi glared at Kokichi before answering Kokichi's question in annoyance. "It was fine until you came along." Kokichi flinched and looked down at his hand. "Haha... I see..." Kokichi nervously laughed. Shuichi audibly sighed and looked at Kokichi, frowning. "What do you want, Ouma?" Gone was the smile on the smaller male's face. "...I'm sor—"

"Mr. Saihara, Mr. Ouma... You can come in now."

Shuichi nodded and wore his hat. He walked passed Kokichi who said nothing and followed him behind. Both males entered the room and sat on the chair. "Welcome, Mr. Saihara and Mr. Ouma. I know you two have a lot of questions but hear me out first." The man with a white beard sipped his coffee. "I have decided to release you both to the outside world. After all, you two are old enough to fend for yourselves." Kokichi abruptly stood up, startling the detective beside him.  Shuichi looked up and saw what was unexpected. Kokichi was angry. He didn't even bother to cover up his anger as he yelled at the man in front of them. "Seriously? You let us suffer in that fucked-up game, gave us some sort of trauma, and now you're throwing us away with no guidance whatsoever about the outside world?!"

"Mr. Ouma, please refrain from yelling at the director." said the woman who was standing beside the director. The man raised his eyebrow. "You permitted us to use you to make a new series of Danganronpa. You signed the agreement. You brought this upon yourself." Kokichi glared at the man, his arms crossed across his chest. "I —..." The man leaned back in his chair and smirked. "What? Have you gone mute? " That is Kokichi's final straw. Kokichi raised his hand and balled his fist, ready to punch the man. "Calm down, Kokichi!" whispered Shuichi, making Kokichi stop his punch mid-air. Kokichi was surprised to hear that Shuichi has called him by his given name.

Shuichi pointed at the woman beside the director. "Look at what she's holding." Kokichi glanced at the woman's hand and there, he found a knife barely visible in the woman's hand. He looked at Shuichi who nodded and sat down. 'No wonder Shuichi looks calmer when receiving the news. He knew if he acted out like I did, he might get killed by that woman.' He fakes his cough and sat down. "As I was saying, do not worry. Team Danganronpa will provide a house for both of you and 1 000 000 yen for your needs."

The man took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one of them. Then, he inhaled the fumes before exhaling them and releasing them into the air. Kokichi wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I-I have questions, sir," spoke Shuichi, trying not to show his discomfort. "Oh? Do tell." Kokichi looked at Shuichi, curious about what he had to say. "Do I have a family out there?" The man stared at him before shrugging. "To be honest, kid, I don't know." The man looked at the woman. "Ms. Tadahiro. Can you bring these boys' files?" She nodded and walked to the desk where she picked up two files before handing them to the director. "Thank you, my dear assistant."

He opened one of the files and read them. "Sorry, boy." He showed the file to Shuichi. "You didn't even list any relatives." He inhaled the cigarette and exhaled it. "Your family members didn't even try to find you, boy. I assume that you and your family didn't have a lovely relationship." The man then looked at Kokichi who stayed silent the whole conversation. "You meanwhile..." He pointed at Kokichi. "You have an interesting case." He opened the files and showed them to Kokichi. "It says here that you have a family before. Though, they died in The Tragedy." Kokichi read his file. It was attached with a cut-up newspaper. 'The Worst, Most Despair-inducing Incident in the History of Mankind also known as The Tragedy.' Kokichi was stunned. "What... Happened?" The man sighed.

"The Tragedy has been described by various people as the deadliest incident known to Mankind hence, the name is given. This incident was caused by Junko Ennoshima and Ultimate Despair. Junko managed to influence the talented, the wealthy, and even the public to fall into despair. The world was a living hell. Chaos and death quickly become the norm and a smaller portion of the population who refused to fall into the spiral are killed brutally by her underlings. It became a major worldwide phenomenon."

"I see..." Kokichi said blankly. He didn't know what to say. He has a family who died in a tragedy that he didn't even remember. Shuichi looked at Kokichi with sympathy. "Is that all?" The man asked, inhaling the toxic substance, poisoning his lungs. Kokichi gripped his file tightly. "Fuck you and your game," he angrily spat before storming off. "Ouma!" The man sighed again and sipped the coffee from the cup. "You should get ready, Mr. Saihara." The boy frowned and nodded.

12 January 2018, 1.04 p.m, Hiro Apartment

"This is the key to the apartment. Do not worry about the food and other necessities. We already prepared them for you. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us." Shuichi nodded and thanked the lady. The lady now in respect before leaving. As soon as Shuichi heard the door close, he quickly called out for his roommate. "Ouma!" Shuichi looked around the house and found Kokichi in one of the bedrooms.

Kokichi sat on the bed while staring at the newspaper. "Kokichi?" Kokichi snapped out and looked at Shuichi. "Hey, Shu. You need something?" Kokichi smiled brightly at the taller male. Shuichi sat on the bed next to Kokichi. "Hey, are you okay?" Kokichi quickly responded. "Well, duh. I—" Shuichi cut him off. "The truth, please." Kokichi bit his lips. He knew that even if he try to change the subject, Shuichi will force him to tell him the truth. "Do you think we could live in this world?" Shuichi raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?" Kokichi gripped his file. "The outside world is a stranger to us, Shu. We don't know anything about this world. Can we survive in this world?" Shuichi looked down.

To be honest, he didn't think he could survive. But looking at Kokichi's state, he realizes that one of them needs to be stronger. Yes, he needs to be stronger for Kokichi Ouma. Even if Shuichi hasn't fully forgiven Kokichi yet, he still wanted to give the smaller male a chance. Maybe one day, they could be friends again. And maybe one day, he could understand why Kokichi did what he did in the killing game. He gently grabbed Kokichi's hand. "Yes, we can. I'm sure we can survive in this world. I can find a job and earn money. And besides, we have 1 000 000 yen and they have already prepared everything that we need. We have a lot of time to prepare before facing the reality." Kokichi looked at Shuichi, admiring his confidence and resilience.

Shuichi noticed his stare and rubbed the back of his head. "Umm... Did I say too much?" Kokichi smiled brightly, Shuichi could see his sincerity behind that smile. No malice, just pure, innocent smile. "You're so cool, Shuichi." Shuichi blushed at the comment. "K-kokichi! You can't say things like that!" Kokichi giggled at his reaction. "Why not? It's true! Besides, I like to see you blush!" Kokichi and Shuichi talked for hours. Unaware that their relationship started to bloom into something more than just friends.

But...

Kokichi is staring at the entrance of a building. 'Future Foundation' was written at the side of the gates. He takes a deep breath before entering the building.

He walks to the reception counter, pulls his (Shuichi's) hat down, and rings the bell. The receptionist comes and welcomes him. "Hello, sir. How may I help you?" Kokichi looks at the receptionist. "I need to meet Kyoko Kirigiri urgently."

The strength of their relationship will be put to the test.

Act 1: The Beauty in Lies and Deception (Ended)