Kokichi was a thinker. A planner. He was always three steps ahead, he always thought through his decisions, and he never let himself fall behind.

But he really hadn't thought this through.

Leading Kaito and Maki up Mt. Ebott was certainly not the best idea. Granted, he hadn't expected them to chase him UP A FUCKING MOUNTAIN. He'd really underestimated just how done they were with his shit. Kokichi made a mental note to re-assess Kaito's sheer determination and Maki's drive to actually kill him.

If he made it out of this alive.

He jumped, the sound of a twig snapping below the tree he was hiding in startling him. When Ouma looked down, however, there was no one to be seen.

Shit.

Before he could even think of running, two arms wrapped around his waist from behind, the owner of said arms jumping down to the ground while keeping him captive.

Kokichi inhaled deeply. "RAAAAP-"

His shout was quickly cut off as a hand moved up, covering his mouth. The other arm secured it's hold on his waist, his arms pinned behind him by a thin and strong body.

"Shut up," Maki muttered.

Kokichi considered obeying for maybe half a second before biting down on her hand, the irony tang of the assassin's blood tainting his mouth. She quickly removed her hand, and he managed to spit out the disgusting red liquid before Maki duct-taped his mouth. She did the same with his hands, much to Kokichi's irritation.

"Maki? Did you find him?"

The assassin looked up at Kaito's shout, alarmed, then grabbed Kokichi's scarf and started dragging him away from the direction that the astronaut's voice had come from. That's when fear started to set in - what was Maki planning to do that she didn't want Kaito to see?

Kokichi followed as Maki led him further up the mountain (it wasn't like he had much of a choice), trying to figure out some way to escape. He couldn't really bullshit his way out while he was gagged. He'd untie his scarf and leave it behind, but his hands were bound, and even if he tried to run or fight, Maki had him beat in almost every physical aspect. He resigned himself to studying his environment, hoping to spot something, anything, that could possibly help him.

Maki trudged up to the cave at the top of the mountain. The one with a giant gaping hole that led down to a possibly endless abyss.

Shit (x2).

Maki wasn't really going to do this, was she? Sure, they were completely alone, and no one actually cared about Kokichi (except maybe Shuichi and Kaede, though that might be wishful thinking on his part), and he currently had no way of escaping her, and there was a perfectly convenient death hole right there, and he was light enough for her to just throw him down it, and Maki had said multiple times that she'd kill him... But there was no way she'd actually go through with it.

Right?

Maki pulled him over to the edge of the death hole, and Kokichi couldn't stop the absolute panic that started to cloud his mind. He tried tugging his scarf out of Maki's grasp, but her grip just tightened, and he was starting to sweat, he was pretty sure he was hyperventilating, it sounded like the ocean was roaring in his ears, and he didn't want to die like this, damn it.

He found himself wishing that Kaito would show up, and Kokichi would've laughed at the hysterical thought if his mouth wasn't covered in duct tape.

Maki shoved him toward the edge, her hands now on his shoulders.

Kokichi tried kicking at her from behind, but she easily side-stepped his weak attempts.

His head was filling with images of DICE, Shuichi, Kaede, Himiko, Kiibo, Kiyo, everyone else...

And then he was falling.