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[truthliesinspace]

[INSERT THE MOST OBNOXIOUS YET INSPIRATIONAL VOICEMAIL BULLSHIT HERE also for continuations if need be]

Comments

[lieindespair]

I didn't have all of my memories either, you know... I wasn't working with a full deck, and until I had a full handle on what I thought was the situation... I didn't know who I could trust. Any one of you could have been the mastermind, after all, and I'm not stupid enough to show my hand to just anyone. And... no one wanted to trust me and either blew me off or blew my trust at just about any opportunity.

Can you blame me for being so cagey?

[ He certainly looks a little lonely, and even sad. Maybe he does have regrets about it all but he's still a bit too proud to admit that just yet. ]

Saihara-chan needed you. I.... might've gotten jealous of you two toward the end there... but without you he wouldn't have gotten to be quite so bold. You taught him how to stand up for himself and... he needed that.

... I can handle myself. That's what I'm good at.

[truthliesinspace]

Yeah?? For such a smart guy, you're stubborn as hell. If your way wasn't working out, you should have changed it up, jeeze.

[ever blunt as always, that's Kaito]

Look man, I can handle myself, too. Doesn't mean I wanna do it alone.

So why don't you give the lone wolf act a rest already?

[lieindespair]

Well... Your way was stupid.

[ Yeah, he's still stubborn.

Still... there's no reason to be so guarded here, is there? His pout softens... just a touch as he folds his hands behind his head. ]

Made-up persona or not... I'm still the Ultimate Supreme Leader. It's not that easy, you know. that's just... who I am. Sure, there's a whole support system and whatnot yadda, yadda, but the point is that it's more than just being king, you know. It's.. a lot of responsibility. Even.. if it is for just a bunch of hooligans. I'm still responsible for things and I have to understand the gravity of that situation, you know.

I'm not a lone wolf because I wanna be. I have to be if I want to keep people safe. I have to consider every angle and make contingencies for my contingencies. And if someone gets hurt or caught, at the end of the day, that's on me, even if it was their mess up that made it happen.

[truthliesinspace]

[In a way, when not pulling pranks or putting on that childish facade, Kokichi. . .really does sound like a leader. Or at least, he has the makings of one.

Kaito leans forward, resting his chin on a propped arm.]

Alright then, consider this angle. . .

Let me help you, dumbass.

[lieindespair]

nnh!

[ Such a straightforward way of putting it, on top of the insult?! Once again his cheeks pinken and he grits his teeth.

It's not like he has very many options. ]

We'll see. What're your ideas?

[truthliesinspace]

I thought you were the ideas guy?

[said slightly in jest, letting out a laugh.]

You don't have to do everything alone. And I think--you don't wanna do it alone in the first place. That's why you're here talking to me, isn't it?

[lieindespair]

Ha. Cute.

[ He gives a sarcastic sneer and rolls his eyes. ]

I came to talk to you because who the hell else was going to understand?

[truthliesinspace]

Real talk? I'd be lying if I said I fully understood it. Even after all that, I ain't sure what's real and what isn't. I just gotta have faith in what I want. . .

There really ain't no perfect answers for any of this wild shit.

[lieindespair]

Shirogane said you'd "moved on", and you called her your friend... I still don't get it. There's nothing I think I'd like more than to see her as a red stain somewhere.

How'd you do it?

[truthliesinspace]

I saw her as a stain in that memory. That's. Enough for me.

[Is it? Maybe not, but it's what he's decided. He refuses to make a hypocrite of himself. He spent so much energy convincing Maki not to try and kill Kokichi, and when she ignored it. . .all hell broke loose. Who knows what could happen if he did the same thing?]

Like I said, she's not the same girl. Maybe it's because she was trying to keep an eye on me, or she really was trying to be my friend, but we started hanging out more. It's not like I hated her back in the killing game, but my focus was on Shuichi and Maki. They needed my help most at the time. . .

But here, I dunno. I just got to know her. A big nerd ranting about anime and cosplay and shit I don't understand, stuffing me in costumes, us working in maid cafes together. . .heh, it was fun. There was even this, weird thing that happened before you got here, where old memories of people took physical form. I saw her as a middle schooler with her friends in this nerdy otaku cafe, geeking out over dumb shit. It was kinda cute.

And it's not just me. She's made other friends here. Friends who accept her for everything she is. It's like. . .

She's got no right to stop me from making a new life, y'know? So what right do I have to stop her from moving on, too?

[lieindespair]

Hm.

[ He makes some good points, Kokichi decides, and it lines up more or less with what Tsumugi had said as well. People here know, and they've helped her, it seems. Sure, Kaito's naive, and some of the other people he's met might be described the same way but..

Is it really that easy? ]

I guess so. I just... I feel cheated out of something. She might've gotten what was coming to her but... it still doesn't feel like justice, exactly.

And now she gets to be here, gets to be happy after everything she did..?

[ He sighs and looks down. ]

I think...I'm just jealous. Because she's happy and I'm just.. miserable.

[truthliesinspace]

Nah, you're justified feeling that way. . .sure, they 'won' in the end, but. We still lost, plain and simple. We don't get to celebrate. . .

[they're lives and so many others--and so many before, from the sounds of it--were cut tragically short all for the sake of of some fleeting entertainment. he truly can't cast stones at anyone for not letting that go. ]

You lived miserably and you died miserably, man. It's a shitty feeling, so I don't blame you. But like I said, I wanna help you now, if I can.

Because. . .this ain't the end of it. I'm sure of it. We're not gonna be stuck here forever.

[lieindespair]

[ Kaito's sympathies do feel... oddly good to hear, and while he's not sure exactly what Kaito can do for him, it couldn't hurt to have allies he knows well. ]

What makes you so sure of that?

[truthliesinspace]

Because I believe in it!




[;;; okay he's sure that's not totally convincing. So after a moment. . .]


--and uh, no one's accomplished it yet, but when we had lots of tasks, Echidna said if you get enough tokens, you can get a wish. I don't think anyone's managed it yet, and I don't even know if it's still a thing now. But if it was, that means there must be SOME way outta here that they're keeping from us!

I mean they're already pulling all sorts of people here and bringing folks back from the dead. So it's not even supernatural bullshit--it's gotta be a real, viable option here!

[lieindespair]

[ Kokichi's expression tells he doesn't believe it at all. ]

So just play the game until they're nice enough to let us out.

[ A very pointed pause and an unblinking stare. ]

How'd that work out last time?

[truthliesinspace]

Last time we didn't have weird ass monsters in our heads, and they just wanted us to murder each other for shits and giggles.

Here it's. . .not always like that. You haven't been here as long so you don't know--but sometimes the tasks were fun shit. Bingo, or kiss people and go on dates. Or raise an egg baby with your team! The bad games were really fucking bad but. . .I'd be lying if I said I haven't had a lot of fun here.

It's a small hope, but here? There's a real chance of everyone getting outta here alive and well. We. . .didn't have that option in the killing game. Everyone couldn't come together. But here? We literally have teams to support us, if no one else will.

That alone is enough to set it apart from that damn killing game.

[lieindespair]

Hm... You have a lot of optimism... and this place is really, really weird.

I still say the best way to do it is to boot out the people at the top, French Revolution-style, you know? I dunno about you, but I'm tired of being a mysterious asshole's plaything. I might not quite get what's going on right now but it's putting people on edge. Something bad's bound to happen sooner or later, and it sounds like that's what they want.

And you're just willing to let them have it?

[truthliesinspace]

Of course not. But at the same time, I'm not gonna sacrifice my friends and my team for a victory I can't guarantee. Wouldn't before, wouldn't now.

[BUGBEAR HAS DIED SO MANY TIMES MAN. SO MANY. . .he exhales roughly.]

If I live to see the mastermind this time, they don't get the courtesy I extended to Tsumugi. I'll kill them with my own hands.

[lieindespair]

[ Yeah, that sounds like Kaito. The vow gets a satisfied smirk out of Kokichi, however. Maybe he's feeling better after all. ]

That so? Hm. Didn't think you had it in you. That would be interesting to see.

[truthliesinspace]

I killed you, didn't I?

[not that he wanted to but. he sure did decide kokichi dying was worth the chance to escape and save maki.]

[lieindespair]

Well, I didn't want to imply I gave you a bloodlust or anything... Seems a little gauche, don't you think? But I would be lying if I said it wasn't gratifying to see it actually carry over.



I've been told the first one's the hardest. What do you think?

[truthliesinspace]

You're kind of a screwed up little guy, ain'tcha?

[lieindespair]

This is a pretty screwed up place. You're the one who brought it up, not me. I was trying to be delicate.

I only ask because it would be a shame if you got the opportunity and choked.

[truthliesinspace]

I wouldn't choke!! Who's the one that tried to take out Monokuma before anyone else, eh??

[granted he almost got squashed for it, but still;;]

[lieindespair]

That was a bear. That's different.

See, knowing what you know about Shirogane now... You know there's a person in there doing all this.

A person who can change.

And how does that make you feel?