Brats & Brains (Shuichi x Kokichi)

1 - Welcome To The Ultimate Academy For Gifted Juveniles

~ Shuichi

I gain consciousness, but a large portion of my memories flee my mind before I can retain any of them. The last thing I remember is being abducted by a mysterious group of people—I must've been kidnapped. But where am I? Everything is pitch black, even with my eyes open.
   
All of a sudden, I collapse and fall through wherever I have been stored, which turns out to be a locker. I fall face first onto the cold, rock-hard ground, then I blink a few times and I see a pair of brown shoes standing in front of me. I look up and I see a cute blonde girl wearing a pink school uniform.
   
"Goodness, are you alright?" the girl asks.
   
I groan in pain as I get to my feet, securing my cap on my head and covering my eyes. "I could be worse, I guess." I take a good look at her—she doesn't look like someone who would kidnap me, but I feel an overwhelming pit of despair in my stomach as I gaze at her. "Where am I? Are you going to hurt me?" I continue.
   
The girl shakes her head frantically. "Of course not! I just woke up, too! Seems like we're the only ones here."
   
"Oh…" I suddenly feel bad for snapping at her. Sorry for yelling." I finally grab my bearings and examine the room I'm in; it looks like an ordinary classroom, one covered in cobwebs and dozens of layers of dust. Clearly this room hasn't been used in years, given its current conditions. I must be at an abandoned school—that's the only conclusion I can come to right now.
   
"I'm Kaede Akamatsu!" the girl exclaims cheerfully. How can she be so cheerful given our current situation? We were both clearly kidnapped and are now being held captive in an abandoned classroom. I can't help but wonder if maybe she's used to these kinds of things.
   
"Oh, nice to meet you," I say, trying to be polite. "I'm Shuichi Saihara."
   
"Pleasure meeting you Shuichi!" Kaede says joyfully as she holds out her hand.
   
I gently shake her hand and then we eventually leave, trying to find our way around this mysterious school. The rest of the building isn't nearly as dusty as the classroom we were in earlier, but it is covered in vines and branches. We make our way to the gym after some exploring, where I'm startled to see a dozen or so other students; a small boy with purple hair and eyes catches my eye first.
   
"Woah..." Kaede gasps. "So we're not the only ones."
   
"Nope!" the purple-haired boy says with a mischievous smile on his pale face; his skin is as white as snow. "You two sleepyheads are finally awake! Now the fun can begin!"
   
"What fun?" a girl with long, brown twin-tails snarls. "We seem to be trapped in here."
   
After she says that, I hear a loud rumble of laughter—similar to the sound and volume of thunder—but it doesn't come from any of the students in the gym. Seconds later, five giant robots enter, making nearly everyone scream in horror—including me. This has to be some sort of dream I'm living in; this can't be real! Several giant robots inside a school I've been trapped in—this has to be some weird dream.
   
"Rise and shine, ursine!" the robots all say at once. "We are the exisals!"
   
"Ex...isals?" a white haired boy—who's wearing a suit of metal, so it seems—says timidly.
   
"What is going on here?" another purple-haired boy asks; he's much taller than the first boy I saw, and his hair is shorter. "Explain!"
   
The exisals laugh before five colorful teddy bears all jump out of the brobdingnagian machines. Are these teddy bears robots, too? They're all half white, and half colored; one is red, one is pink, one is yellow with tiger stripes, one is green, and the last one is blue. At this point, I'm convinced I'm dreaming, or I'm tripping on drugs; maybe whoever kidnapped me drugged me and I'm hallucinating.
   
"What...the fuck..." says a girl with flowing blond hair and goggles sitting on top of her golden locks.
   
"We're the Monokubs!" the red one exclaims. "I'm Monotaro!"
    
The rest of the...Monokubs...introduced themselves; the blue one is Monokid, the yellow one is Monosuke, the pink one is Monophanie, and the green one is Monodam. Who the hell named these little creatures? And what exactly are they?
   
"What are we doing here? I wanna go home," a small red-haired girl whines—she's wearing a witch hat.
   
"You're all at the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles!" Monotaro yelps.
   
"Gifted juveniles?" I question—it's then when I remember my ultimate talent: The Ultimate Detective. But what am I doing in a school for juveniles? I was scouted by Hope's Peak Academy for gifted students in Japan, not a school for juveniles. I can't remember much about my past, but I know for a fact I don't belong here; was I abducted on my way to the school I was supposed to go to?
   
"Correct! You're sure a smart cookie," Monotaro says.
   
"Why was I kidnapped?" asks a girl with what looked like leaves sprouting out from her head. "I was captured by degenerate males, wasn't I?"
   
Degenerate males? I think to myself.
   
"Well," Monotaro says, dragging the word on for an annoyingly long time. "We'll have father explain that to you all. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise!"
   
Father? I wonder. What is going on?
   
Out of nowhere, I hear an echoing laugh. "Puhuhuhu..." Then, another teddy bear—slightly bigger than the Monokubs—pops out of nowhere. It looks almost exactly like the Kubs, but it's black. I didn't notice this before I saw the black and whit bear, but all of the teddy bears have a sinister, toothy grin on the colored side of their face and an oddly shaped eye that glows red.
   
"Jesus Christ, how many of these teddy bears are there?" the tall purple boy asks.
   
"I," the black bear starts angrily, "am not a teddy bear!"
   
"Aww, no need to get so offended!" the short purple boy says. "There's nothing wrong with being a snuggly toy!"
   
"I am not a teddy bear!" the bear shouts. "I am Monokuma!"
   
"So, Monokuma the teddy bear?" the boy asks, his eyes twinkling with curiosity. I can't tell if he's trying to stir up trouble or if he's just a curious boy.
   
"Just Monokuma!" Monokuma shouts so loudly, the building rocks gently. Dust from the ceiling falls like snow onto the polished gym floor, and everyone remains silent—even the curious little grape.
   
"You are all here to play a killing game!" Monokuma exclaims cheerfully.
   
Everyone, including me, gasps in pure horror. A killing game? Do my ears deceive me, or is that teddy bear actually saying we're at this academy to play a killing game? Are we killing each other or killing other people?
   
"I beg your finest pardon?" a small boy with a scarily deep voice says calmly. If I had to guess, I'd say he's probably three feet tall at most, yet he sounds like a giant. There's no way any of this is real—I have to be hallucinating or dreaming.
   
"You heard me, not-so-pipsqueak!" Monokuma yelps, laughing maniacally afterwards. The small man isn't wearing any sort of detectable expression on his face—he just looks numb. I can't tell if Monokuma's comment hurt him or not.
   
"How does this game work, exactly?" the brunette with twin-tails asks calmly. How is everyone so calm? Maybe they're freaking out on the inside, like me. I feel like my heart is going to jump out of my chest, it's pounding so fast and hard. I haven't been this afraid since... Goodness, I can't even remember. I don't remember much from my past other than being scouted.
   
"It's simple! All you have to do is kill someone and get away with it during a class trial!" Monokuma explains cheerfully.
   
"You mean," Kaede says, "we have to kill each other?" She sounds calm, but I can see sweat dripping down her face and her hands are gently quivering, so I can tell she's horrified like I am.
   
"Yep! Puhuhuhu..." Monokuma giggles.
   
I attempt to wipe the sweat off my forehead, but it doesn't help at all since my hands are clammy. I wipe my wet hands on my pants, but I lose my balance and nearly fall over; thankfully, Kaede and the short purple boy catch me before I hit the ground. I feel dizzy and lightheaded, and my feet feel numb beneath me.
   
"Thanks," I say, my stomach churning as the words escape my mouth.
   
"Coming to think of it, I kinda wanted to see you fall," the purple boy says with a small smirk on his face.
   
I ignore his comment as I regain my balance. The corners of my eyes are black and swirly, and I still feel an overwhelming wave of vertigo rush into me. Nobody else looks like they're losing consciousness, it seems to just be me.
   
"What are the class trials for?" asks a gray-haired girl wearing a maid outfit.
   
"To expose the blackened!" Monokuma says. "If the killer is exposed by the spotless students, only they will receive punishment! But if the wrong person is exposed, then everyone else will be punished!"
   
"Punished how?" the twin-tailed brunette asks.
   
"Oh, nothing too extreme," Monokuma giggles. "Just an execution!"

Everyone gasps in horror once again, and someone even screams, but I can't determine who by just their voice. It's not anyone near me, that's all I know. I feel even more faint and dizzy than before, and I don't dare move in case I topple over again.

"What the fuck!" the silky blonde girl shouts. "Ain't no way am I participating in this shit!" I notice that she's very foul-mouthed; not a single sentence she's said has been swear-free.

"Oh. Well, then I'll make you!" Monokuma yelps. "If nobody is killed within the next forty-eight hours, everyone will die!"

More horrified gasping filled the gaps of silence throughout the room. I still don't feel like any of this is realâ€"I have to be dreaming, there's no other explanation for this absurdity. Maybe I'm still wherever I was before I was abducted. Or maybe I'm comfy in my bed, just having a very strange dream…
~
Three weeks ago...

Kokichi sits down next to me on the couch as I turn on the television. Today, the last episode of Danganronpa 52 airs! That means in a few weeks, they'll be holding auditions for season fifty-three. I'm hoping they pick my audition this time. I've sent in at least two audition tapes since I discovered the show, maybe three. Or four. I started to lose count.

"Are you ready to watch the last episode of the season?" I ask as Kokichi snuggles up against me, wrapping his arm around mine. He buries his face into the nape of my neck, his soft lips brushing against my skin.

"I guess," Kokichi groans. He gives me a light kiss on my neck and a smile infects my face. I've noticed lately that he hasn't been that interested in Danganronpa—he used to love it. Now, he barely pays attention. He's always asleep.

My eyes are glued to the screen and Kokichi's eyes are glued to me. I just wish he'd watch the show. I wrap my arm around his shoulders and hold his hand with my free hand, and I circle my thumb on the back of his hand. He presses his fingers against my cheek and turns my head towards him, but my eyes don't glance away from the screen. Kokichi plants a short and passionate kiss on my lips and my cheeks glow red.

"Can you look at me, please?" Kokichi asks.

I look over at him and he smiles. Seconds later, I look back at the screen and Kokichi sighs, so I look at him again. The smile returns to his face. He's so adorable when he smiles. I find my eyes exploring every detail of his face as the show plays. I can't pause it, but I can't take my eyes off of Kokichi. He's so pretty.

"I'm glad you love me more than your show," Kokichi says sweetly, snuggling even closer to me.

I laugh softly. "You're lucky I love you more than Danganronpa."
~
Present Day...

After searching the entire school for a possible escape—led by a determined Kaede—half of the class gives up, including the short purple boy. Everyone starts complaining about how there is no way out and that Kaede is giving everyone false hope, but I don't believe those are her intentions. She just wants us all to escape and live long lives instead of being trapped in this nightmare. We all agree to stop searching for the day, but I'm still determined to find a way out, just like Kaede. Even if it's just the two of us searching for an exit, I'm almost positive we'll find a way out sooner or later. There has to be a way out of here.

On my way to my dorm room, I accidentally bump into the small purple boy. He's much shorter than me; the top of his head lines up with my collarbones. He has big purple eyes and is wearing baggy white pants and a matching long-sleeve shirt, all tied together with a checkered scarf. He's...kind of cute...

"Sorry," I mumble.

The small boy giggles. "It's fine! I'm not very easy to miss. But I will be when I finally get a damn growth spurt."

I chuckle softly. "Well, uhh, I'm Shuichi Saihara."

I hold out my hand for the boy to shake and his mouth stretches into a goofy grin. He takes my hand and I feel a familiar warmth enter my body—so familiar, like I've met this person before. But I have no recollection of ever meeting him.

The boy shakes my hand up and down aggressively; he has a horrible handshake. "I'm Kokichi. Kokichi Oma—the Ultimate Supreme Leader!"