[Fic] So Goes the Fallen

[usononikki]

"Oh man, I'm honored you asked me to meet up with you, Iruma-chan. Is this a booty call...?" Kokichi turned from the brick banister to face Iruma.

"... Or are you here to kill me?"

She took a step back, and if Kokichi saw a flash of fear on the overly simplistic face of her chibified avatar, no he didn't.

He couldn't get cold feet now, and neither could she.

"S-so... you figured it out," she muttered, composing herself. "But there's nothing you can do. You... can't resist me. I made sure of it when I programmed your settings."

Just as he'd anticipated. Damn. Guess it would have to be the nuclear option after all.

"Uh-ooooh!" he gushed sarcastically, making her wince. "Guess I'm in trouble now!"

The cheerful tone fell flat amidst the tense atmosphere. There was no mistaking it or covering it with a lie. No diffusing the situation as she continued to advance on him.

Iruma was serious.

"I-I'm sorry, but... you should just give up. This is... my only chance."

Of course it was. She had been planning this for days. Kokichi was all too aware of that, and what a thorough plan it had been. She really had thought of everything, from the method to the opportunity to the scapegoat to...

To the careful selection of her godforsaken victim.

It stung, really. After all the faith he'd put in her. After all the gadgets he'd commissioned from her. The plans she'd played a crucial part in—

"Ugh, what a pain in my ass. Why do I gotta make this again?"

The tink tink tink of a tiny hammer on a delicate electrical casing echoed through the lab as Kokichi casually fiddled with an unfinished remote in his hands, mashing the useless buttons at random.

"Quit complaining. This is all an unfuckable, ugly bitch like you is good for, anyway."

"Huh? Oh, okay."

For all the hostility, the atmosphere was comfortable between them. Two outliers who didn't let the other's eccentricities bother them. The relaxation for Kokichi somehow managed to loop right back into being unsettling.

If he'd gotten used to these quiet moments with Iruma, no he hadn't.

"But this is so exciting!" He hopped off the table and spun on his heel like an idiot to get some of that nervous energy out. "When this is done, we can probably defeat Monokuma, right? Especially when we all join forces!"

"Don't be stupid... If you're gonna do it... do it yourself."

Kokichi stopped and stared for a moment. Iruma didn't look up from her work.

"Hmmm?" He tucked his arms behind his head, leaning curiously with an inquisitive smile.

"It doesn't matter if we promise to work together... Someone will still betray us..."

If a chill ran up Kokichi's spine, no it didn't.

"Betray us and... kill one of us..."

He dropped his arms, his expression unreadable and Iruma continued to prattle on.

"Besides, this weapon won't make a difference. We'll be killed by an Exisal before we can use it. I just... invented it because I was asked to. I have no intention of defying Monokuma..."

She swapped her hammer for a tiny screwdriver, fingering her way through delicate wiring, entirely focused on her task.

Entirely oblivious to Kokichi watching her.

"There's no way we can beat him... And... I can't afford to die here, anyway... Not when I still need to invent something that's gonna change the world!"

She snapped the casing over the wiring on the newly finished electrohammer with a sense of finality.

"S-so... if you wanna defy Monokuma, do it yourself."

So that was it, huh...?

"But, if it does work out... come help me, okay? I'll do anything—anything—to thank you..."

Well, if he had the opportunity, he knew he would without question.

—but of course, that was a lie.

"I have no choice but to do this."

No, he supposed she didn't.

"My inventions will change the world... They'll make the world a better place!"

And at this point, neither did he. He carefully wiped his expression clean.

If his hand trembled slightly as he gave the signal, no it didn't.

"It's my duty as a genius inventor! S-so I can't afford to die here—"

Gokuhara descended on her immediately, just as they'd planned.

It was surreal, how the thin paper looped around her neck in one smooth motion. Kokichi staggered back as she desperately reached out to him, trying to make contact, to paralyze him, but Gonta held her back.

"S-sorry...! Gonta is so sorry!"

Kokichi sauntered to the door, flipping the lock shut. He took a stuttering breath and pushed the choking gasps behind him out of his mind. Mask on, he had to make sure Gokuhara didn't get cold feet. They were in too deep to turn back now.

"Don't be sorry, Gonta-chan," he reassured calmly. "She was trying to kill me, too."

It was either her or the rest of the class. He had to believe that. If there had been any chance, any at all, that Kokichi could be sure Saihara would have figured things out on his own without him—without the living lie detector to sniff out the shady truth of Iruma's world—then he would have happily bowed his head to her hammer. But he couldn't. He couldn't be sure of anything anymore. Not after what he saw.

"She said it was for the world or whatever, but that was just a poor excuse," he insisted. If a waver managed to worm its way into his voice, no it didn't. "We're doing this to stop the vicious cycle of misery! So you don't need to apologize."

"B-but... but...!" Gokuhara sobbed as Iruma slowly stopped struggling, crumpling in his arms. "Gonta is sorry! Gonta is so sorry, Iruma-san!"

It was a shame Gokuhara would have to go down with them, too, but depending on Monokuma's answer then maybe he could work out a deal.

He was taking Iruma out of this game, so he alone should go with her.

"I already said you don't need to apologize. We had to do this for everyone's sake."

They had to do this. He had to do this. There was no other option. She would have lied. No one would have known. They would have died by her hand.

Besides, it was too late to ask for forgiveness.