It All Started By One Single Tear (Rantaro x reader x YandereMastermind Kokichi)

Chapter 5 Part 18: We are all Cowards

Rantaro's POV:

'Did (y/n) harm herself because of me?'

    That was the only thought going through my head. I wanted it to be a lie. I wanted Kokichi to be lying about this, but sadly... the bandages around her right arm were telling enough. And the worst part was... Kokichi was right about what I was doing.
    In her time of need, I left her because of a video in my lab. In her time of need, I abandoned her, leaving her to deal with her negative emotions alone. (y/n) did care about me, but I decided not to believe it. This was my own fault, not anyone else's. The despair I felt from that fact was all I could feel.
"Why are you so silent, playboy?" Kokichi asked, "I bet you're thinking, *please let this be a lie*. I think I already gave enough proof that I'm not lying. You screwed up, and that's the truth. If you really loved (y/n) like you say you do, you would've continued to trust her even if a video told you not to."
Kokichi was mocking me, and I knew that. He was right though. If I loved (y/n), I wouldn't have stopped trusting her because of that video I saw. I was crushed, holding the weight of my own mistakes. I was crushed, and every word that came from Kokichi's mouth further drove me deeper and deeper into despair.
      "It looks like the playboy has conflicting emotions," Kokichi laughed, "nee-heehee... now what should I do?"
    "You should let (y/n) go!" Kaito shouted, "I'll admit, I was being stupid by charging at you, but I never thought she'd actually be willing to go out of her way to save me. I feel like such a jerk now, avoiding her..."
    "I guess Kaito does have a brain after all," Kokichi replied, "at least he knows that he messed up and he is admitting it."
    "You bastard..." I heard Maki mutter.
    I turned my head towards Maki, trying to see what she was trying to do. I knew Maki was angry at Kokichi. From what I was told before, (y/n) would train with Kaito, Maki, Shuichi, and Ryoma. I noticed Maki sending a harsh glare towards Kokichi. It her hair looked like it was starting to stick up in hostility, seemingly going around her like snakes. I could see the death glare in her eyes.
    "I won't let you do what you want," Maki stated, "give (y/n) back now...
    "Maki!" Shuichi exclaimed.
    Maki's eyes screamed murder as she started to move towards Kokichi. Kokichi however had a smile on his face as Maki did this. Before Maki could get too far however, Shuichi grabbed Maki by the arm, keeping her from getting any closer to Kokichi.
    There was a pretty good chance Maki was concerned about (y/n), and I knew that. Maki was probably trying to do something in her own way.
    "...Let go," Maki told him, "do you want to die?"
Despite Maki's words, Shuichi continued to hold on. Shuichi definitely had more of a grip than I did. He was doing something to keep his friend from getting hurt while I was the cause of the one I care about hurting herself. Shuichi really has grown as both a friend and a detective while here.
"I...won't let go!" Shuichi exclaimed in protest, "even if you kill me, I will refuse to let go! I can't let go! Please, Maki..."
"Maki Roll, you know you'll get hurt if you do that," Kaito said, "I hate that I can't do anything about this..."
I felt like I had no right to say anything to stop Maki. The hopelessness I felt. The words Kokichi used to break my resolve. I was too hopeless to do anything. Too shallow. I trusted myself more than I trusted those around me, and it damaged something good that came from this situation.
"Nice job, Mister Detective," Kokichi said happily, "that was a wise call, Shuichi. Sadly, your talent, Kaede's talent, (y/n)'s talent for observation skills. It's all useless now. The mystery of the killing game, the secret of the outside world, the one who causing everyone to survive, the mastermind's identity... They're all solved! We don't need any detective skills whatsoever! This is the true ending of the game! Or maybe it's not. Who knows."
"How can this *maybe* be an ending!?" Himiko exclaimed.
"Himiko is right!" Tenko shouted, "you can't just start lying again, you degenerate male! What are we supposed to do now!?"
"If the human world is supposed to be destroyed, and we're the last humans left..." Angie trailed off, "it seems like this was Atua's wrath for those who didn't believe in him. But what are we supposed to do now I wonder..."
What were we supposed to do? Kokichi wasn't clear on whether this was an ending or not, but I was guessing it wasn't the end. Dread coursed through my body from this thought. That said dread amplified as everyone waited for Kokichi's answer.
"How about..." Kokichi trailed off, "you all be patient. You will find out pretty soon whether this game is going to continue or not. I'd personally prefer to leave you all in the suspense."
"Wait, what?" Tsumugi asked.
"Well, this game has become boring since (y/n) decided to keep saving everyone," Kokichi sighed, "I mean she even saved Angie who tried to kill her. It's boring when a killing game has no victims."
"Of course you would say that..." Ryoma stated.
"The thing is, I got bored, so telling you all the truth was something I was planning to do," Kokichi explained, "I mean part of the reason is to see if you guys beat me, but that's not important right now. I wanted to see the despair on your faces. I wanted to see Rantaro suffer for his actions towards my beloved (y/n), and I wanted to expose (y/n) as the miracle that brought every dead person back to life! Yuppers! I'm totally satisfied for the time being!"
    Despite Kokichi saying that he was satisfied for the time being, I couldn't help but think that he was planning something. The look on Kokichi's seemed innocent enough, but his eyes were darkened, as if he was saying was a lie.
    "You're satisfied?" Tenko asked, "you're satisfied with what you put us through? Don't you think it's weird that you don't have any plan for us right now, you degenerate?"
    "Well you guys can commit suicide together," Kokichi explained with a malicious smile, "or kill each other... or you guys can just give up on leaving and stay here. Being honest, there isn't exactly any other option than that."
    "N-No other option...?" Himiko asked nervously.
    "Thanks to the school's barrier, there's plenty of oxygen," Kokichi explained in response, "nee-heehee... It *is* the Gofer Project's Ark. It's supposed to be humanity's last hope. Oh, but did you guys know? The sky on the other side of the barrier isn't real... That's just one of the Ark's functions. It's meant to help us forget we're on a spaceship. So anyway, you all can just do as you please for now."
    How could we do as we pleased with everything that's happened so far. How could I be happy with myself when (y/n) was captured. How could I be calm when I was the cause of her pain?
"Gonta no understand..." Gonta muttered.
"...What do you plan to do with (y/n)?" Maki asked.
The only person who was still trying to do something about Kokichi was Maki. Maki continued to glare at Kokichi as I watched him smirk at Maki as played with (y/n)'s hair, twirling a finger around one of her (h/c) strands.
"Hmm, well you could say that I'm going to keep an eye on her for awhile," Kokichi explained in response, "it's suuuper dangerous to leave a suicidal girl alone, so I'm going to have her cool off a bit. She's been through so much, I personally think she needs a break."
"Bullshit..." Kaito muttered in anger, "you wanna keep her hostage in order to keep her from helping anyone..."
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Kokichi replied, "the only reason my beloved (y/n) got caught in this mess was because you were too stubborn to know that there's no use in fighting me. You didn't even think about the consequences, and that's why (y/n) is where she is. I can deal if it's her though. If all of you get involved and Kaito does another idiotic thing, that would be too much of a hassle.... Also if there was another murder, (y/n) would just revive the poor soul. If the killing game starts again, I don't want anything to be unfair."
"What the hell do you even mean by that!?" Miu shouted.
"That doesn't matter," Kokichi replied, "anywaaay, Shuichi. Can I have the Exisal hanger's remote back?"
    I was lost, confused. From what I understood of the conversation so far, Kokichi only wanted (y/n) to take her out of the game, or something along the lines of that. He didn't want any of us to get involved, but why did I want to get involved. Kokichi asked Shuichi for the remote of the Exisal hanger, and part of me knew why.
    I had a feeling that Kokichi was going to use the hanger as a place to *store* (y/n). I wanted to do something. I wanted to make it up to her somehow, but I was too late. Shuichi was confused when Kokichi asked him for the remote, and many of the people around us also looked confused. The only thing that didn't change was the obedience. Being pinned in a corner. Not wanting someone they cared about to get hurt because of them. That's a funny thought, yeah?
    I was the opposite from them. I hurt the one that I cared about because I thought that I was more important. I wanted to apologize to her, and mend the tear I caused... but now it was too late. In that sense, I was like everyone else.
   "I was thinking the hanger would be the perfect place to store (y/n) in," Kokichi explained, "I have to make sure she doesn't harm herself...or cheat."
    "Don't give it to him..." I muttered.
    "Rantaro is right," Maki replied with a glare set towards Shuichi, "...don't give it to him."
     "While I'm touched the playboy said something to try and stand up for the one he hurt, I still need that remote," Kokichi replied, "so hand it over, Shuichi."
    Right now. The only thing I could do was try and stall (y/n) being taken away. I knew I was selfish. I knew I hurt her. I knew I was too shocked to even utter a word. Right now though, I wanted to at least put up some resistance. I knew however that stalling would still lead to the inevitable. I just wanted to believe that I could do something to help her.
    "Don't give it to him!!!" Maki exclaimed, her stare somehow becoming more deadly.
    Shuichi looked very conflicted at that moment, I mean why wouldn't he? Kokichi was telling him to give him the remote, but Maki and myself were trying to get him not to do so. No matter how scary Maki looked, nothing could beat Kokichi's horrid smirk. His face looked contorted with malice and bloodlust as he challenged Maki with a stare of his own.
    "...You know what'll happen if you don't hand it over, right?" Kokichi asked.
    After that moment, Kokichi pressed a button on the remote he had. The Exisal hand, wrapped around (y/n)'s tightened, causing a constricting sound to come from her lungs. Even though she wasn't awake, I could tell that the metal tightening around her hurt a lot. My eyes widened as I felt all of my will to fight drain. I didn't want to cause her more pain.
"This school is mine!" Kokichi exclaimed maliciously, "I am the king! I, Kokichi Oma, am the mastermind and king of the Ultimate Academy for gifted Juveniles!"
Kokichi still had a malicious look on his face as those words came from his mouth. I knew he as serious about needing the hanger remote. I stayed silent now, knowing if I tried to do anything else, (y/n) would be used as leverage which what was already happening.
Before, I thought that I could buy time. But now, it was way too dangerous not too listen to Kokichi. He had the upper hand, and we all knew that. It was probably a better idea to just give him the hanger remote.
"...Sorry, Maki, sorry Rantaro," Shuichi muttered.
Shuichi apologized to Maki and myself most likely for what was about to happen. Maki turned away from Shuichi as I witnessed him give Kokichi what he wanted. The Exisal Hanger remote...
"Nee-heehee..." Kokichi laughed, "thanks."
Kokichi's evil yet innocent smile stayed on his face as he took the key from Shuichi. Without saying a word, he left. He solved the mystery on why we were here, managed to find out why all of us were still alive, and he left. The Exisals followed Kokichi, and soon enough, (y/n) was gone too. I was left with a pit in my stomach.
   As soon as Kokichi left, everyone let their true emotions out. It was almost like our group didn't want to show any more weakness to Kokichi. That could be said about myself and as the others.
    I felt hopeless when I saw (y/n) in the clutches of the mastermind. I felt hopeless that I couldn't do anything but just watch Kokichi walk away, taking her with him. I couldn't be angry with (y/n) about saving Kaito. I had no right to be angry with her for trying to keep everyone safe. I just wished that I realized sooner that I was always able to trust her, but now... I've ruined everything.
    As I looked around the room, everyone was who was here had depressed looks on their faces. Kaede, Miu, and even Angie. Angie was usually so chipper, but I guess even she could be upset about something.  Maki was turned away, most likely trying to keep her eyes away from Shuichi.
    "Maki..." Shuichi muttered.
    "...Coward," Maki replied to Shuichi, not even turning to look at him.
    I knew Maki was right, but it wasn't just Shuichi. All of us were cowards. None of us tried to do anything to try to fight back against Kokichi. All of us were just as guilty as one another. I wasn't going to let one person take the fall like that.
    "I hate to say this, but I think all of us are cowards," I muttered, "we didn't do anything to try and stand up towards Kokichi. The only person who isn't a coward right now is (y/n)."
    "I know that..." Shuichi muttered in response, "I just...don't have the strength. I can't fight back... I can't do it."
    The way that I felt was confusing at best. I was trying to process everything that was told to us in very little time. However... the emotions I felt, seeing that Kokichi was gone. I didn't know why, but the feeling of having these emotions bottled up inside made me want to snap. The negative emotions flooding through me when Shuichi told Maki and I that he didn't have the strength to fight back. I didn't know why, but I felt myself reacting to what Shuichi was saying, despite wanting to stay calm.
    "You think you don't have the strength to fight back?" I asked with a dark look, "I wrongfully accused (y/n) of being the type of person who would take advantage of being too close to me. I pushed her away only to find out that I was wrong. (y/n) sacrificed herself and her safety despite being exposed as the one helping us survive, and I found out that she hurt herself because of me. You think you didn't have the strength, when the truth is... it's me that didn't have the strength to fight. I feel terrible, and so does everyone else, yeah? We all could've tried to do something, but we couldn't. The only one who wanted to put her life on the line to rescue (y/n) was Maki."
The stress was getting to me. Finally knowing what was going outside, knowing that what I wanted to do when I got out of here would be pointless. My sisters were dead now, and that means the only person alive that I truly felt close to was (y/n), and she was gone too.
    I was angry and devastated. The outside world as we knew it was no more. We were the only humans alive in this game. We almost killed each other to escape, but that was pointless now. The only reason no one truly died was because of (y/n), and she was gone.
    It was defiantly wrong of me to use Shuichi's words as an outlet to shed some of my own emotions. I couldn't help it though. In response to my words, Shuichi was silent. I let out a small sigh and turned away from him after that point.
    "So this is the despair that Gonta forgot about, huh?" I asked, "I thought I could stay calm, but I guess I can't."
    "But you have a right to feel that way," Kaede stated, "we all could've done something, but now we have to live with the choice we made... I'm horrified at the thought of the outside world not existing. But here's the thing. We cannot take the second chances (y/n) gave us for granted. If she weren't here, Rantaro, Kirumi, Ryoma, Angie, and Kiyo would all be dead right now... but why didn't she tell us when she found out?"
"The reason is quite simple," Kirumi explained in response, "one of us was the mastermind, and (y/n) knew that. She was trying to keep her ability a secret from the mastermind, but it was found out."
"So you knew about this too, Kirumi?" Kaede asked.
"Yes, I did know about it," Kirumi replied, "(y/n) requested me to keep it a secret. The same thing could be said for the others who knew."
"So, basically (y/n) needed to keep it a secret from Kokichi," Keebo muttered, "but he found out, and now she's gone. I feel like I'm going to short circuit from all of the information I received."
"Everyone probably feels that way," Ryoma stated, "everything feels meaningless now. What did we almost die for? Getting outside where an unlivable world exists? Part of me wishes that I stayed dead."
"Ryoma, don't say that," Kaede said, "I know we're all upset, but it was probably important to (y/n) to save everyone. She even saved someone who tried to kill her."
"I personally think that everyone probably wishes they died..." Tsumugi muttered, "I feel like I should've died a lot earlier. It would've been better if we died when the world ended... but now..."
"It's all over," Ryoma stated, "we probably should've died when the world ended. It feels pointless to fight now."
    "At least none of us is fuckin' dead!" Miu exclaimed, "the sad thing is that the world is gone now. Who will see my inventions now? I guess you plebs are good enough."
    "How are you this energetic after finding this whole thing out...?" Himiko asked.
    "It's because I'm the fuckin' Ultimate Inventor!" Miu shouted in response, "if we have to fuckin' live here, we might as well take control of the situation! I can invent more things that tamper with electronic devices. I'm sure I can even make them have better battery to boot!"
    "That doesn't help anything if Kokichi is already a few steps ahead of us," Shuichi muttered.
    "Alright, how about this!" Miu shouted angrily, "would you rather sulk your lazy asses in your rooms, or do you want to do something to at least make this situation better!? Answer me!"
    Everyone was silent in response to Miu, including me. I knew she wanted to try to get everyone to look on the bright side. It wasn't exactly Miu's character to make people feel better. The fact of the matter was that we needed time to process everything. I needed time to sort my emotions out, and I was guessing everyone felt the same way.
    Miu noticed everyone's silence. Her expression changed to a genuinely depressed look. Her eyes hit the floor not looking back. Miu was upset like all of us. I was guessing that she wanted to feel inspired. None of us wanted to feel that way now though.
"Look, I know all you guys are upset, and Jesus to hell, I am too!" Miu explained as she looked down, "instead of saying you can't be strong enough, why don't you all take some fuckin' time to process everything. Nothing is certain yet, so don't act like fuckin' cowards!"
With Miu's words deep in our minds, there was nothing more we wanted to say. With my gaze pointed at the floor, I started heading back to my room. My vision was hazed, a strong trance taking control of my mind. I didn't want to think about anything anymore. However, during that time, I was thinking about everything that led us to the present. What I had been through during the duration of time. How I changed as a person.
A good part of me thought that it no longer mattered. I betrayed the one person who knew the most about me in this school. I felt guilt and pain, but even if I decided to let it all out, and vent my frustrations to the world... it didn't matter anymore. The things I cared about before being in this situation were all gone. There was no more traveling. There was no more life outside of this school.
.......
I could barely register the sound of a door opening as I was deep in my trance. Slowly, but surely, my mind was taking me back to reality. As soon as I was able to clear the fogginess of my mind, I realized I was back in my dorm room. I didn't even remember how I got back to my dorm room. My body felt numb with feelings of despair and guilt. Now that I was alone, I could at least try and shed some of what I was feeling, but...everything felt numb to me.
I wanted to run from the feeling that I had, feeling like I should've died with everyone else. That's probably what (y/n) felt when she learned the truth. Despite that, she still saved Kaito. I covered my eyes with my hand as I thought about everything I was feeling. Dull...no sense of purpose... I couldn't have faith in myself to be on better terms with (y/n). I didn't want to hurt her more than I already have.
My body felt numb, static coursing through in an uncomfortable way as I landed on the bed. The buzzing feeling lasted only a few minutes, but each second felt slow and painful. I didn't want to sleep knowing the pain I caused. I didn't want to sleep knowing I was one of the only survivors of the human race. I guess my talent struck it's way more than once.
Despite not wanting to sleep, I somehow managed. I had no idea what was happening with (y/n) or if she was safe. Maybe I could do something. Hopefully I could... I wanted to make it up to her. I wanted it to be clear to her that I still cared...

Hey all, we have another update today! I thought it would be a better idea just to post this one on time instead of early since I have had a lot going on right now.

We now have a full chapter in Rantaro's point of view, but next chapter is going to be thrilling for all of the Oma simps. I hope that I did good on this chapter. Sometimes it's harder to go into depth about a character that usually would die first in he game.

We also have Miu who is trying to motivate everyone probably to motivate herself. What are the odds? These past few chapters have just flown by pretty quick with how intense they were. It's literally been sooo hard to write out the emotions of certain characters, but I hope I did well.

In any case though, next chapter will be fun to write. I guess you all and I will see how Kokichi acts now that he has his beloved. See you all next week!- yuki_no_fuyu