Voided Truth (Hollow Lies Sequel) (Danganronpa)

Chapter 2 ~ Nothing But Thoughts

Kokichi rested his head on the arm of the couch, staring blankly at the TV, which was currently blasting some mindless cartoon. However, no matter how high he raised the volume, he couldn't help but hear nothing but the ticking of the clock. Fear was slowly beginning to take over, his thoughts being consumed with possible reasons. None seemed good, although most being ridiculous. Either way, there was no denying that Maki's sudden visit left both males on edge. Kokichi's attention momentarily snapped towards the kitchen, where Kaito silently made coffee. Though Kaito hadn't said anything, Kokichi could sense how distraught the other was.

He turned the TV down and slowly rose from the couch, quietly peeking his head into the kitchen, seeing Kaito staring blankly at the coffee maker. It had yet to even be turned on, or plugged in for that matter. Kaito made no attempt to move, completely still with his eyes glaring daggers at the coffee pot. Kokichi felt his panic begin to rise as he took slow, careful steps towards the bigger male. Speaking up didn't seem like a good idea, having no clue what Kaito might say or do if disturbed from his already disturbed state. Making a quick decision, he gently reached out and poked Kaito's arm, immediately flinching back for any kind of rash response. Instead, Kaito jumped back, as if forgetting about Kokichi and confused on who else was in his house. The two took deep breathes, unsure what to say to the other. Finally, Kokichi spoke up.

"W-What is the real r-reason," he asked, voice meek and terrified.

Kaito stared at him for a couple seconds before responding. "The... the real reason?"

"No one j-just comes over here at this t-time without an actual r-reason..."

Kaito shook his head, turning his attention back to the coffee maker and finally plugging it in. "It's really nothing..." He wouldn't look back over at Kokichi, keeping his focus on finally making coffee.

Kokichi stared up at Kaito, not fully believing this and debating on demanding an answer. However, his fear towards the taller male prevented him from saying anything, froze in place as he stared up and hoped for an explanation. Kaito still refused to look at him, watching as coffee slowly started filling up the pot. Kokichi sighed, turning around to try to go back to his show.

Suddenly, a loud knock came from the door, startling Kokichi right back into the kitchen. Kaito ignored him, going to answer it while taking some deep breathes. Opening the door, he put on a carefree attitude, actually happy to see Maki again. To his surprise, Maki didn't change all that much. She still wore dark red clothes, though no longer a school uniform. It was now replaced with a plain turtleneck sweater and some stripped black and white leggings. Her hair was still in pigtails with the same bands keeping them up. Kaito stared at her for a second, it feeling weird to see her in a different outfit. Though she stopped wearing the school uniform since they left Danganronpa, he never got use to this.

"Maki roll," Kaito said a little loudly.

"Kaito," Maki mumbled, seeming exhausted.

She walked right past the male, looking around the room in suspicion. Kokichi soon walked out of the kitchen, shakily going up to Maki with a forced smile. The two stared at each other, both looking awkward.

"H-Hi Maki," Kokichi mumbled.

"Kokichi," Maki said, before turning away and sitting on the couch. "I'm assuming you want to know why I'm here." Her cold expression faltered, slowly being replaced by a tired one.

Kaito nodded. "Well, yeah. What happened? Was it them?"

Maki shook her head before rubbing one of her eyes. "No... Just a stupid fight with my parents..." Her voice got lower as she continued to speak, as if ashamed to admit this. She quickly rose her voice back up as she continued. "I'll be out of here tomorrow. I just need a place to rest for the night."

"Alright. What was the fight about-"

"Do you wanna die?" She suddenly managed a cold glare, directing it at Kaito.

"P-Please no," Kokichi whimpered, as if the threat was towards him.

Maki sighed. "Right... Forgot about him... Just don't ask. Like I said, I just need a place to sleep for the night and then I'll be gone."

"Gone where," Kaito asked, taking a seat next to Maki. Kokichi followed, though sat on the ground beside the couch. "You're not leaving this place all together, right?" Kaito sounded worried, not wanting to lose a friend.

"I don't know. Maybe. What's it matter? We rarely even talk." Maki looked away, raising her hand to start messing with one of the pigtails.

"I've... been busy."

Kokichi felt his heart stop, accusations filling his mind. Perhaps Kaito hated him, or felt bothered by his existence. He began questioning why Kaito hadn't just got rid of him if that's the case. This lead to worrying that Kaito was going to abandon him for Maki. And now there was the question of if he got in the way of their relationship. Too much was going through his mind, beginning to make it hard to breathe. Kokichi couldn't hear them anymore, rushing up and going to straight to the kitchen.

"The coffee," he quickly yelled, as if he needed an excuse to leave the room.

Though both stopped to give questioning stares, the two soon continued the conversation, freaking Kokichi out even more. By now, the coffee pot was full, and was all Kokichi wanted to focus on. Thinking of anything else would lead to problems. Grabbing a cup, he shakily tried pouring himself some coffee, before quickly grabbing two more and filling them up as well. This lead to another fear, regretting not thinking of getting them coffee sooners. His legs felt like they were about to crash beneath him, the world beginning to seem a bit fuzzy. Minutes passed of this, one hand holding the coffee pot while the other clang to the counter as if his life depended on it.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps dragged him out of this, him quickly turning to see Kaito in the doorway. Kaito gave a concerned look, opening his mouth before stopping, staring in silence for a couple seconds.

"K-Kaito," Kokichi asked, worried of what he might ask.

Kaito simply shook his head before saying, "Maki will be watching you while I go to the store. Need anything specific?"

Kokichi thought about it for a second before shaking his head and quickly going back to the cups of coffee, his back being turned to Kaito. Without another words, Kaito grabbed his car keys and left the house. Kokichi took a deep breath before returning to the living room, handing Maki a cup of coffee. She gave a questioning look before setting it down on a table by the couch. The two sat on the couch in silence for what seemed like forever, neither making eye contact nor looking at the TV. Sneaking a look over, Kokichi saw Maki seconds away from passing out.

"A-Are you okay," he asked, his voice seeming to have slightly calmed.

"Yeah," Maki said, with no further explanation.

"Um... How has l-life been?"

Maki stared at him with a blank expression, answering with a short, "Okay."

"Th... That's good..." His voice strayed from nervous to more awkward.

"How's life with Kaito?"

The question struck something in Kokichi, thinking back to all the time they've been spending together. His memories then traveled back to the killing game, reminding Kokichi of how close Maki and Kaito use to be. He shook slightly. However, this wasn't strictly fear, a pang of anger starting to over take him. He thought back once more, about how Maki hated the fake him and would spit threats. Though they weren't specifically targeted at him, they couldn't help but feel personal. He gave a small laugh, having come up with his own delusion of what was really going on.

"C-Come on, Maki," He spoke, voice raised slightly in confidence. "If you're here for Kaito, y-you're going to have to do better than this. Or is little miss assassin's true plan to k-kill me like the murderer she is." There was another small laugh, one of insanity.

However, this delusional state of his was quickly put to an end as Maki grabbed him by the neck.

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🌿I failed. And I know not much happened in this chapter despite it having a larger word count than I usually do. I'm sorry.🌿