✧ Chapter 20 ✧
[ By All That I Love ]
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Shuichi backed away, his back hitting against the door as he saw Kokichi, strung up from the ceiling by thin ropes and wires around his wrists and ankles. One of his arms were dangling down, as if reaching for the fire below him. Blood was trailing down to his fingertips, and his face hidden by the shadows of his hair.

"If you try to save the precious evidence.." the voice from the mysterious person trailed off, gesturing to the burning table. "By all means, go ahead. But I must say, I trust my skills."

With a flick of his wrist, the figure held out a series of glinting silver knives. "I'll throw these at Ouma's ropes and there he goes, right into the flames. I doubt the fool would ever survive an ordeal like that."

"If you try to save him, however," the person twirled the knife, "Go ahead. And you should do so quickly.. fishing line is terribly painful." As if on cue, something dripped from where Kokichi was hanging by. It was a drop of blood, which sizzled as soon as it dripped into the fire.

Shuichi couldn't take his eyes away from Kokichi's suspended body. The other boy's eyes were closed, but at least he seemed to be breathing. His wrists and legs were strung up with thin, transparent fishing lines as the wires from the lights overhead supported his weight. "Ouma.." Shuichi took another shaky breath, "OUMA!"

"He can't hear you, Saihara, sorry about that." the figure sat on a part of the already half burnt table. The clues of Kaito's disappearance curling and burning in the flames.

"Oh, and by the way, you have five more minutes till the little gadget I used is deactivated. Iruma's Electrobombs are so sensitive and unstable, it's useless. Just like her-!" the dark figure cackled.

"And once it deactivates, I'm afraid the sprinklers and wires overhead would start up and there you have it, electrocution will occur."

"Ouma's death would be splendid!" the figure clapped his hands together, laughing maniacally, "Could he die by falling into a pit of fire? Bleed to death? Or electrocuted? Who knows?!"

Shuichi clenched his fists, squinting through the smog as he turned away from the burning table which held all the answers. All the answers to Kaito's mystery. His disappearance meant so much to him but Kokichi was in trouble.

I'm sorry Kaito.

"Don't be sorry Shuichi." he grinned, holding out a hand as the blue haired boy sat on the grass, rubbing his face.

Shuichi grabbed a long piece of rope he had noticed earlier and quickly made a loop. He clenched his teeth together and threw the loop up onto the roof, letting it catch onto the rafters.

There was no easy way he could get to Ouma... unless he swung himself over the fire himself and saved him. Shuichi held onto the rope, and swung across, his legs nearly touching the flames beneath him. He gasped, inching up a little as the fire tried to reach up for him.

Luckily, the rope managed to hold, so he could climb.

There was no other way.

"What? Oh please," Kaito shrugged, "There's always another way out." he held out a hand, "You just need to think harder."

"Are you really going to save your classmate Shuichi? Oh my.."

Shuichi paid no attention to the laughing figure, who was watching him with his magenta hued eyes. "Of all people you actually want to save? Isn't he the one who made Kaito get taken away from you?"

I need to let you go.

"But we'd be friends forever, duh!" the purple haired boy smiled, "If I ever left you alone, just know that I'm watching you from the stars."

"The one who taunted and made fun of you all the time?"

Shuichi pulled himself up so he was level with Kokichi's unconscious body.

"Isn't it better to just let him die?"

The blue haired boy's hand- which was holding the rope- slipped a little as he reached out to take Kokichi's bloodied wrist. Shuichi winced slightly from the pain, and gripped the rope tightly, looking down at the fire below them.

He had to be careful.. one wrong move, he would fall right into the fire and get burned alive.

"You have.. approximately three more minutes. You better make it fast, Saihara." the figure warned slyly as Shuichi untied the fishing line around Kokichi's hands. Thank goodness for the wires which were holding the him up.

"Shuichi-?"

Shuichi saw Kokichi move his fingers, raising his head slightly to look at him. "Don't move." Shuichi warned him, his left hand slipping a little more on the rope.

Kokichi looked down at the fire, accessing the situation. He looked groggy, and seemingly unaware of how dangerous this was.

"One and a half more minutes till the sprinklers activate. Would I be so lucky as to see BOTH of you get electrocuted?"

Shuichi hastily tried to unwind the fishing line, making Kokichi wince. "Sorry." He peeled the plastic strings away from his arms and wrists, leaving thin marks along his pale skin.

"Just make it quick." Kokichi gasped, his nails digging into his palms as more of the string dug into his arms.

"One minute."

Shuichi blinked the tears away from his eyes, before losing patience. "Ouma!" he shouted, "Do you trust me?" Without even hesitating, Kokichi nodded. "Just- hurry up!"

Shuichi nodded, then grabbed a bunch of the wires and tore them away from Kokichi's body, ripping them apart.

He grabbed Ouma's hand, just as the boy fell. "Ugh-." Shuichi felt his left hand scrape against the coarse rope, giving him rope burns.

"Time's up!" and just on cue, the sprinklers activated, drenching the two boys as they hung from the rope. Shuichi waited for a little while longer till the last of the fire below them faded away into wisps of smoke.

"You can let go-." Kokichi started to say but Shuichi was too tired to wait for him to finish his sentence.

The two boys dropped to the ground, Kokichi immediately falling over, coughing as Shuichi kneeled on the ground, breathing heavily.

"Well done, you two." the figure said in a rather amused tone, "I was pretty impressed by your show. I didn't expect Saihara to actually risk his life to save you, Ouma."

Kokichi looked up at the figure whose face hidden in the shadow of his Monokuma hoodie.

"Hmm.. the leader wants to know more about you two you know.. I think you caught his attention. Which is no easy feat. Additionally, this concerns you too, Saihara.."

Shuichi looked up at the figure, his eyes half closed from exhaustion, "It seems like this isn't your first life.?"

First life?

"I must go.. I'll probably see you two sooner or later." the person smiled casually, as if they were just friends who were meeting up for lunch. With that, he turned away, his hands in his the pockets of his hoodie. He walked to the door, which he slammed shut as soon as he stepped out of the room.

Shuichi heard Kokichi gasp when a bookcase tipped over and fell, completely blocking their exit with a loud crash.

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[ Next Morning ]

Kaede looked at her phone, frowning when she didn't receive any messages from Shuichi. Ever since she realised that he and Ouma were closer than usual, she had left them alone. She could sense that there was some.. strange chemistry between them.

The girl looked up when she heard the classroom door slide open, and Rantaro peering in. She sighed, leaning against the back of her seat. Around her, she could hear the other students entering the room. But each time, it wasn't Shuichi.

Some people accused Kaede for liking the guy, which she denied of course. He was just a friend, she always said.

But truthfully, she had a small crush on him. Shuichi's humble personality and his meek voice just struck her each time he opened his mouth. The only other person who knew about her crush on Saihara was Maki Harukawa.

Maki was a different person ever since Momota was taken away. She seemed to be more withdrawn and was always seen staring out the window.

And it was Kaede who befriended the rather scary girl. Always telling her stories and making Maki smile just the slightest.

Kaede bit the inside of her lip, deciding if she should call Shuichi one more time before class started.

The girl looked out the window, right at the building of the old school library she had visited once. She remembered how the librarian had chased her out, due to a late fee. Ever since then, she didn't seem very fond of the place.

That's when she noticed someone.. standing in front of the building as if surveying it. He was wearing a long back hoodie, and holding a large rock.

Kaede frowned, waiting him closely as the guy aimed and threw the stone right at the second story library window, shattering the glass.

Was he destroying school property?! Whatever it was, she had to find out what was going on.

Kaede raised her hand, trying to get the teacher's attention. "Miss?" However, Kaede's weak voice was drowned out by the sounds of the other students, who were talking rather loudly.

"Miss Gekkogahara!" Rantaro spoke up, raising his hand, "Miss Akamatsu needs to say something." Kaede flashed the green haired male a big smile before politely asking to use the bathroom, which Miss Gekkogahara allowed her to.

Where were Kokichi and Shuichi anyway? Maybe she should catch that stranger first, then look around for the two boys.

Kaede ran towards the library, narrowing her eyes when she realised that the windows seemed to be shut. With strong metal shutters rolled over them. Why was the building on lockdown?

"Hey!" she shouted to the figure as she struggled to catch her breath.
The person didn't seem to acknowledge her, and instead, continued to break the windows with rocks; as if he were trying to find a way in.

He was a rather tall male, with a black hoodie and grey pants. With strands of brown hair falling in front of his face, and a rather pale complexion. Since he had such a weird attire, he didn't seem to be a student here.

"What are you doing? You're going to get in trouble!" she hissed, stepping towards him.

Without hesitating, the person gestured to the window he had broken, "Your friends are in there."

"My friends-?" Kaede repeated with a frown, "What do you- wait." Her eyes widened, "Shuichi and Kokichi are in there? Why didn't you tell Monokuma or a teacher-."

The person pulled at the front of his hoodie, covering his face but she could see that he had one dark colourless eye hidden in the shadows. "Now's not the time. Good luck." with that, he pushed her backward with a sweep of his hand.

She stumbled back, shocked when the teenager swung his fist back and punched down the door. She jumped as he stepped back. "Go in and save them."

"Wait- I don't even know your name!" Kaede called as the me walked off, the ends of his jacket fluttering in the wind.

She frowned, before quickly turning to the entrance of the library and running in. Above her, the ceiling seemed to be charred to black, as if it were burnt.

"Shuichi! Kokichi!" she yelled, shielding her eyes as debris fell from the ceiling and landed in front of her. The whole place was ruined, the carpets soaked with water and the walls burned.

She hesitantly climbed the crumbling stairs, calling for the two boys. At the same time, she called for Mr Kizakura with her phone, so he could inform the other teachers about what had happened in library.

Kaede finally arrived to the second floor, pressing her hand against the door and calling for Shuichi. Had they been trapped in there for a day? How long has it been? And worst of all...

Were they injured? Or possibly dead?

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[ Monokuma Theatre ]

Heya chumps! Yeah, I'm talking to ya! You! Reading this book! Don't laugh at me! It's Monokuma you're readin' about! Since ya guys like me breaking the fourth wall, I'll do that more often!

Yeah yeah, I know you're probably rollin' yer eyes at this. Oh this is so boring and sooooo immature. BUT HEY! NO INSULTS!

Whatever ya chump. I don't care about your insults. What I do care about are your fullest attentions! I'm talking to you readers! Let's just see what's on this agenda, eh?

There are a few mentions I wanna complete.. *ahem* anddd the first goes to a person called KaitoTheAuthor ! Thanks for always tryin' to be the first voter! (Got some inside info for that.) Upupupu! Greatly appreciated!

The second goes to DanganMemesMeme ! Your comments really make me laugh ya know. It's splendid! Monokuma thanks ya very much, and no, that ain't sarcasm!

Third goes to pekolikeschips and ima_random_person ! Your comments are funny and ya know, it makes me wanna eat more pancakes with some butter. If ya get what I mean. Upupupu..

Next is for MsNobody357 and KitKat12OFFICIAL who's been commenting as well! Your theories and guessing games are perfect for these chapters, ya know? Perfect! You guys deserve more attention, ya chumps! You're great!

And FINALLY, this goes to the rest of you very very special people! Those who I didn't mention, well, YOU DESERVE TO BE MENTIONED! But eh, the author is being boring as usual.. but I promise ya, you'll be mentioned soon enough!

Hmmm, so enjoy this chapter for now, and see ya guys, in the next! (Hold on a sec- why'd the fire alarm in the library start up? Eh??) Uh- anyway, I gotta rush this and check what's up in there.. it's probably those annoying students..

ANYWAY... we haven't gotten to the fun bit yet... so stick around ya chumps, and SEE YA! *hops off spindly chair and grumpily heads over to the library*

♥ End of Chapter Twenty ♥