Deceit - The Phantom Thief

Chapter 24: The Final Showdown

Shuichi bolted hurriedly down the long corridor, guided by his shaky sense of judgment. He had no time to lose if he were to find Kokichi in one piece and escape undetected, however as time moved along it became less and less likely that the safety of the duo was guaranteed. Ironically enough, he ran straight into the path of DICE's second-in-command, slowing to a halt before him.

Shade also stopped moving, standing statue still in the middle of the passage. "I've been looking for you. You two are becoming quite inseparable, are you not? What a hassle."

"You mean Kokichi and I? Of course. We're friends."

Shade pretended to hold in a laugh, "Friends? He has been lying to and hurting you since the night you met. He even kept the pictures of you crying under his pillow. Are you sure you are comfortable siding with that?"

"That was a long time ago." Shuichi dismissed, and though the thought curdled in his stomach he chose to let it slide. Kokichi was...odd, to put it lightly, but he didn't mind too much.

"Only a few weeks, in actual fact. That was barely any time ago." he smugly corrected, "Look how close you've grown."

"What's your point?"

"My point, Shuichi Saihara, is that you should join us. Forget that fool, he is incompetent and useless. But you?" Shade beamed, but it lacked the welcoming warmth it should've held, "You are quite an interesting specimen, dare I say fascinating. I never would have imagined you would get as far as this, I am impressed. What do you say?"

It was a simple question, one that didn't even require an ounce of thought. "Never."

The smile was wiped from Shade's face in an instant. "Such a boring answer."

"What were you expecting?"

Shade grinned and his voice iced itself over with sugar and cinnamon, "Some common sense from the country's greatest detective."

Greatest...detective? Is that true? He would've given in to that, but he wasn't that desperate for validation now. He had grown more confident in himself over the past few days than he had been in his entire life and so, he shook it off. "Are you crazy? I'll never join your side!"

"Boring." he sighed in disgust, rolling his eye, "This is why we must do something about this boring world."

"It's not boring! You're just bitter and don't care enough to see it as it is!" exclaimed Shuichi. If there was a way to get through to Kaede, there must be a way to get through to Shade. Although, he didnt know if he had enough time to do so. He had to find Kokichi.

"You do not know a thing, detective. I'll ask you one more time." he stepped closer to Shuichi intimidatingly, looking down upon him like he was a peasant, "Are you going to join us or will we have to convert you by force? Do you want to do this the easy way, or the hard way? It's your choice, but let me tell you this: if you try anything funny, I'll begin disfiguring your precious reject."

Shuichi paused, would he really go that far to recruit him? It was unreasonable that they'd want him in their organisation anyway. "No."

He expected to be attacked, lunged at and punished for his resistance, but nothing came. Shade simply glowered. "Very well. I hope you're pleased with your decision."

Shuichi scowled, looking for a route to escape the man before him, but the only way forward was a risky path. He would have to be fast, and make his move unexpected.

So he ran, or attempted to run, straight past him. There was only a second where the adrenaline rush pulsing through him splashed a wave of freedom over him, yet this was short lived when his arms were yanked uncomfortably behind his back and Shade slammed him face first against the wall.