Dice
Kaito crossed his arms proudly, examining his handiwork. Having literally nothing else to do, Kaito had been driven to polishing every inch of the dashboard in the cockpit. "Damn, look at that, that's a nice cockpit right there." he said, nodding.
Of course, there was no one there to hear him.
Kaito sighed, looking around for something else to occupy his time. Kirumi was convinced that everyone would recover with time, stating that she had everything under control. That left Kaito, Kiibo and Tsmugi to their own devices. With two thirds of his crew down, Kaito didn't have too much to do. And that was driving him batshit crazy.
"Are you sure there's nothing I can do?" Kaito asked for what felt like the hundredth time. Kirumi had just shaken her head, leaving Kaito to awkwardly go somewhere else.
Kaito couldn't aggressively punch something in the gym, the strain might cause an episode and Kirumi didn't need anyone else to worry about. Additionally, Kaito couldn't take his anger out on the crew back on Earth. He knew he didn't have the communications skills to argue anything without making it a lot worse.
He was useless.
Honestly, the dashboard didn't need polishing. Nothing really needed cleaning, even after all the time spent on board. Kaito guessed he had Kirumi to thank for that too. Clean was good. But damn, he felt so useless!
He'd even tried following Kiibo around, attempting to be helpful. The robot apparently did a lot more than Kaito had previously thought he did. Kiibo was in charge of recording, processing and transferring amounts of data that totaled at a number that Kaito couldn't even count to. Kiibo had politely tried to explain how it all worked to Kaito, but Kaito hadn't understood at all. He wasn't a man of science after all, he was a man of action! But there was a large lack of action to be had. Eventually, Kaito had left Kiibo alone, as he appeared to be making him uncomfortable by just standing there and watching.
Tsumugi had resorted to making an entire cosplay line for Blinky. Kaito wasn't even sure how making a clothing line for a newly discovered alien was possible, but that was Ultimate talent for you. The last time he'd seen Blinky, the creature was decked out in a Naruto headband, being chased by Tsumugi holding the rest of the outfit. Kaito had decided to stay out of that.
So that had left him here, alone in the cockpit, where he'd wasted two hours "cleaning." Great, amazing, he was obviously an amazing captain.
"Jesus, you look even sadder than usual." Kaito turned to see Kokichi leaning against the doorframe.
"You try sitting around while your friends are-" Kaito did a double take. "Wait, what the hell are you doing up?!"
Kokichi laughed, which turned into harsh coughs, leaving him doubled over. After recovering, he looked back up at Kaito. "I got bored."
"I swear to god if you die in here after I just cleaned!" Kaito said, throwing his hands up.
"Chillax, I'm fine." Kokichi said, rolling his eyes. He was paler than usual, eyes glassy and unfocused. Kaito could see that he was gripping the doorframe, and trembling slightly.
"Sure." Kaito said. "How'd you even escape?"
"Escape? You're acting like I was in jail." Kokichi said. "Dramatic much? Anyways, Kirumi can't keep an eye on everyone, right?"
"Alright, we're going back." Kaito said, grabbing Kokichi by the sleeve and dragging him back towards the sick bay.
"Hey, hey! I don't wanna lay around any more!" Kokichi protested. "I've had enough fever dreams for a lifetime!"
"If you didn't look like a walking corpse, I might let you go." Kaito said, continuing walking forward.
"Woah, wait, really?! You gotta bring me to a mirror then. I wanna see!"
Kaito sighed. "Alright you little bastard, do you have a reason for being up and about or not?"
"Jeez, you couldn't have gotten reasonable before dragging me down a highway?" Kokichi said. "First of all, like I said, I'm bored. Secondly, I got things I need to do!"
"Like?"
"I don't know if you forgot between the aliens and the virus, but I still wanna put an end to the spy thing." Kokichi said, batting his eyelashes. "It sure would help me sleep a lot better."
Kaito sighed. "I'm gonna hate you forever for dragging me into this."
"What? Why?" Kokichi asked, seeming confused for a moment. "Oh, you're totally one of those emotional types that gets driven insane by this stuff. Stressed out 'cause you can't trust your bestest friends?"
"Shut up." Kaito said. He would have shoved Kokichi, but the so-called supreme leader seemed a little too fragile for that at the moment.
"Why? I'm right, aren't I?" Kokichi said, crossing his arms. "Anyways, I obviously can't do too much right now, but I wanna check my traps."
Kaito briefly envisioned Kokichi laying bear traps around the ship. "Check your what now?"
"Traps." Kokichi said. "T-r-a-p-s. Definition, the thing that stuff gets trapped in."
"I know what a trap is." Kaito snapped. "What the hell did you even set up?"
"We-ell." Kokichi said, grinning. "I made it so I can see who accesses the main data flow."
"In small words?"
"What? Those were small words!" Kokichi protested. "Just help me get to my room. I'll show you there."
Upon reaching Kokichi's room, Kaito listened as Kokichi explained what he'd done exactly, using the most condescending tone Kaito had ever heard. Essentially, Kokichi had set some kind of programming up to tell him when someone accessed the piles of data and information the ship was carrying.
"You color coded it?" Kaito asked, glancing at Kokichi's data pad.
"Yeah, I like color coding." Kokichi said. Kaito reached for the datapad, making Kokichi slap his hand away. "Fuck with my color coding and I kill you."
"Ok, ok, jesus." Kaito said, rubbing his hand. "So what exactly am I looking at?"
"That blue dot there is Kiibo." Kokichi said. "He messes with the data all the freaking time."
"He's supposed to do that. He told me so." Kaito said.
"And you believe him?" Kokichi asked. "Just like that? Stupid."
"Not everything's a lie, you know." Kaito said defensively.
"That's what the liars want you to believe." Kokichi said innocently. "Not that I'd know. I'm not a liar."
"What?! You literally told me you were at some point!"
"Did I? Hm, don't remember that."
Kaito sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Talking to Kokichi was the best way to develop a headache. "Ok, ok, fine. Moving on..."
"So yeah, Kiibo." Kokichi said. He tapped a pink dot. "Miu."
"Miu?" Kaito asked. "I mean, that makes sense. She's an inventor. She might do stuff in there."
"Guilty until proven innocent." Kokichi shrugged.
"Don't you mean innocent until proven guilty?" Kaito asked.
"Nope!" Kokichi said. He tapped a darker green dot. "Kiyo."
"What was he doing there?" Kaito asked, squinting at the dot. "I didn't think he was good with tech."
"He's really not." Kokichi said. "So he might have been there for Angie or something. Or Himiko. A pawn, y'know?"
"Himiko?" Kaito asked. "I really don't get why she's on the list."
"I already told you! Guilty until proven innocent! But don't worry, I'll get that fixed soon."
Kaito felt weary. "What are you going to do?"
"We-ell, I'm gonna expose everyone's secrets." Kokichi said. "If we all hear them together, we can make moves based off of that."
"That...might be a shitty idea." Kaito said slowly.
"Hm? Why?" Kokichi asked. "I think it's the best move we've got. We already know Ryoma's, and it wasn't too bad."
"You don't think they have anything on you, don't you." Kaito said. "This is a good idea to you because you won't be affected!"
"Oh please, I know they don't have anything on me." Kokichi said sweetly.
"Because you're living a lie?"
"Because I'm living like, twenty." Kokichi said. "That's how the world works, you gotta hold your cards close to your chest. You didn't do that, and now you're oh so vulnerable."
Kaito gritted his teeth. "It gets harder to trust you every time we talk."
"Then talk less, listen more." Kokichi said. "I know, it's totally sad how I'm probably the only person you can completely trust here."
"Prove it." Kaito said suddenly.
"Huh?" Kokichi sounded genuinely surprised.
"Prove it." Kaito said again.
"Why? You were fine before."
"Every day my trust gets broken again and again." Kaito said, crossing his arms. "Sorry, but I need to know before I waste any more of it. I can't keep doing this." Kaito knew that this current pain in his chest was purely emotional. He wanted to believe in everyone, in everything, but he kept getting hurt.
Kokichi sighed. "Well, can't have you breaking down on me, can I? What do you want to know?" He turned around to face Kaito.
"Wait, for real?"
"This is a limited offer Space Boy, it'll expire soon." Kokichi shrugged. "Take it or leave it. Ask away, and for now, I'll answer."
Kaito's mind cycled through the dozens of questions he had. Crap, how was he going to choose? He might as well start at the beginning, right? "Who are you?!"
"What do you mean?"
"Who are you." Kaito said. "Where are you from? How did you get here? I don't know anything about too many of you. I want to start learning."
"Oh." Kokichi said, looking surprised. "That's...kinda personal. I wasn't expecting that. Out of all the things that I might know, you wanna start with ice breakers?"
"Yes." Kaito said seriously. "I do."
Kokichi seemed even more surprised that he wasn't able to laugh the question off. His eyes shifted towards the floor, before looking back up at Kaito. "Ok, buckle your seatbelt then. Where do you want me to start?"
"Just give me a picture of who Kokichi Ouma is." Kaito said. "Please."
The plea seemed to wear Kokichi down. He sighed again before speaking. "So you wanna know who I am? Fine. We starting with childhood?"
"Can you tell me about your family?" Kaito asked.
Kokichi laughed bitterly. "Technically no. I never had one. Parents were killed or taken. I don't know exactly what happened, except they're both dead. Didn't have any other family. I got tossed into the system where they dumped all the kids who's families ended up dead. I grew up in that hell hole."
Kaito had heard the rumors of the Relocation System. It was a government project launched to deal with the explosion of children without families. Kaito remembered the fear he had of ending up there after the loss of his own parents. Thankfully his grandparents had claimed him.
"It...wasn't a nice place, but I did learn. You gotta come out on top no matter what, and if you can't win with brawn, win with brains." Kokichi said, his eyes on the floor. "So I did."
"I'm sorry." Kaito said, unsure of what else to say.
"Don't be!" Kokichi looked up at him, smiling brightly. "It was a game, and I won! Had everyone eating out of the palm of my hand. I learned all sorts of tricks there, including computer skills, which landed me with the government."
"Huh?"
"When kids in the System get old enough, or demonstrate some kind of skill, they're snapped up for government jobs. They tracked me as an Ultimate when I was ten. Sadly they pinned the wrong talent on me." Kokichi snickered.
"So you used to work for the people who sent us up here." Kaito said.
"Not the exact people, but yeah, they were associated with Towa City." Kokichi said. "I learned my way around things, learned where secrets were and how to get them, and once day I decided to do something."
Kaito nodded slowly. He was seeing Kokichi differently now. Maybe it was because he was currently sick, but now he looked so small to Kaito. Defenseless, vulnerable, different without his bravado.
"I stole any info I could get my hands on before blowing up the work site. No one died." He added quickly. "I don't believe in killing, but it looked like I died. They believed it, and I managed to disappear."
"You were that desperate?"
"Um, do you know how much money I could make with the info I had?" Kokichi laughed. "It was a price worth dying for! Get it? Because I faked my death? Whatever, you clearly don't get humor.
Kaito couldn't help but notice that the laughter didn't quite reach his eyes. Now he felt pangs of sympathy creeping up on him.
"I started selling the info, breaking back in and stealing more." Kokichi said. "I developed a following, others who grew up in the system. We started fighting back, destroying work sites, stealing information and weapons, generally being a thorn in the government's side."
"Holy shit. You really are a supreme leader." Kaito said, eyes widening.
"I told you numbskulls I was." Kokichi sighed dramatically. "Ever heard of Dice, Space boy?"
Kaito felt a cold feeling in his stomach yet again. "You're in charge of Dice?!"
"The one and only!" Kokichi said proudly. "So you have heard of it! Yay!"
According to Kaito's prior knowledge, Dice was a rebel group responsible for strikes against the allied governments. He'd viewed it as people making a mess of things. His grandfather had called Dice "cyber terrorists" from time to time, but now...Kaito felt his views changing. He'd seen what went on in the government now, and maybe Dice had a point.
"Woah, I've shocked you into silence." Kokichi snickered, before sneezing into cupped hands. "Ow, that kinda stung."
"You should go lay down some more." Kaito said.
"But we barely did anything-"
"You're sick, you'll be able to work better when you're feeling better. You can't tell me you don't feel like shit."
"Bet I could, I'm a liar after all. But yeah, you're right." Kokichi said, sniffling. "I might have rushed things."
"Do they know?" Kaito asked quietly. "The ground crew. Do they know who you're with?"
"Hard to say. I told them I was the leader of Dice the first time they saw me. I doubt they believed me." Kokichi laughed. "I'm sure they suspect that I'm affiliated with Dice, but supreme leader, nahhh. You didn't even believe that!"
"Yeah." Kaito said, shaking his head in awe. "Damn."
"See? There's loads of huge things we don't know about the people here. Exposing the secrets is the right thing to do." Kokichi said.
"Was that yours?" Kaito asked.
"My what?"
"Your secret."
"What do you think?" Kokichi asked, looking up at him.
"I think you could tell me anything and I'd never know if it was the truth or not." Kaito admitted.
Kokichi laughed again. "Good. That's the way I want it." his laughter turned to coughing once again.
"You gonna be ok?" Kaito asked, looking concerned.
"Probably. Dying from a cold after all the shit we've seen would be hella lame." Kokichi said. "I'm gonna die a waaaaaaay cooler death. My fake one was pretty good too!"
"You're actually insane." Kaito said. As soon as he'd said it, Kokichi leaned back against Kaito, and actually snuggled against him. "Woah, the fuck-"
"I'm freaking cold." Kokichi mumbled. "I used up whatever adrenaline I was running on to get here."
Kaito pressed a hand against Kokichi's forehead. "Yeah, I think your fever spiked or something."
"Oh that's fantastic." Kokichi said sarcastically. "Guess I did it to myself though. Yeah, I'll willingly go back to bed now. He glanced at the exit and then back at Kaito. "Little help?"
Kaito shook his head, scooping Kokichi up similarly to what he did with Rantaro. "Sure, whatever the leader says."
"That's the respect I wanna hear!" Kokichi said. "Sorry you gotta find some other company though."
"No, you need rest." Kaito countered. "I'll entertain myself."
"I downloaded about sixty different dumb games on my datapad. Knock yourself out." Kokichi said faintly.
"Are you acting like I'm your friend?" Kaito asked in surprised.
"Woah there, I wouldn't go that far, but sure. We can be friends. For now." Kokichi said. "Can't promise I won't throw you under the bus given the chance. Occupational hazard of being around me."
"I guess I'll take that chance." Kaito said. "Thanks though."
"For?"
"Talking to me. Truth or not."
"You don't care if I lied?" Kokichi asked.
"Well, I do." Kaito said. "But at least you were willing to give me something. That's better than I can hope for up here."
"Jesus, you're gonna need some serious therapy when we get back to earth." Kokichi mumbled.
"I think we all will." Kaito laughed. A skittering noise sounded from down the hallway, and Kaito stepped away just in time to avoid Blinky, decked out in full Naruto apparel.
"Am I tripping? Or did I just see alien Naruto?" Kokichi said, craning his neck to see.
"Nope, that's real." Kaito said, equally surprised.
Kokichi laughed. "I sure as hell don't regret coming up here."
That reminded Kaito, he'd never gotten a chance to ask Kokichi how he'd ended up on the mission. However, Kokichi seemed to be fading fast and Kaito didn't want to force him to use up any more energy than he had to.
"You're alright Space boy!" Kokichi exclaimed. Kaito assumed he'd fully elapsed back into a delirious state as Kokichi reached up and patted Kaito's face.
"Hey! Watch the beard!" Kaito protested.
"Oh my god, that's not a fucking beard. That's a weak goatee-"
"I will drop you!" Kaito yelled. Kokichi gripped onto him.
"Please don't."
"Fine, but you're on thin ice buddy." Kaito said, only half threatening. "And I guess you're alright too."
"I'm more than alright. I'm a supreeeeeme leader." Kokichi said, relaxing in Kaito's arms. "The most evilest bestest leader. I'm gonna destroy the world."
"I'm sure you are." Kaito said, shaking his head. "I'm sure you are."
Kirumi hadn't been surprised to see Kokichi. She only sighed, before directing Kaito back through the sickbay.
"How come he got a field trip?" Miu mumbled, seeing Kaito approach with Kokichi.
"Because he's a dumbass."
"A supreme dumbass!" Kokichi added groggily.
"Oh, that makes sense." Miu sighed, rolling over.
"You shush and go to sleep." Kaito said, eyeing Kokichi. He could have sworn the supreme leader rolled his eyes at him, before closing them. Maybe not as delirious as Kaito had thought. "You need anything Miu?" he asked, before getting up.
"You really wanna know?" She muttered.
"I mean, no, not really." Kaito said, having a feeling where this was going. "But like, if it's a normal and like, pg request, I can help."
Miu sighed. "Pussy." Kaito took that as his cue to leave, checking on Kokichi one more time, before walking away. Maybe he'd go play those dumb games...
"Wait..."
Kaito turned back to Miu, who was sitting up. Her face was flushed with fever, her eyes bright. "You good?"
Miu beckoned for Kaito to come closer. Once making sure that his pants were tightly zipped, he leaned forward.
"How much do you know?" Miu asked faintly.
"What?" Kaito asked.
"What do you know!" Miu rasped. Kaito wondered if she was delirious as well.
"Wait, I don't get it. What do I know about what?" Kaito asked.
"About the hyperlink." Miu said, clutching at Kaito's arm desperately.
"The hyper-what?" Kaito asked, looking for Kirumi. He was getting concerned now.
"The hyperlink!" Miu hissed. "I made a mistake..."
"What do you mean?" Kaito asked. Miu's head lolled back as she began to succumb to the fever that held her in its clutches.
"...all my fault..." she said breathily.
"What's all your fault? What's a hyperlink?!" Kaito exclaimed desperately. "Come on, gimme something!"
"Don't tell anyone..." was all Miu said, before going limp.
"OH MY GOD I THINK SHE JUST DIED!" Kaito yelled out loud.
"No, she simply fell asleep again." Kirumi said from behind him. He hadn't heard her approach, and her voice made him jump, and unfortunately release a very un-manly scream.
"EEK! I, uh, so she's ok?" Kaito said sheepishly, trying to regain his composure.
"Yes." Kirumi said, looking at him curiously. "Did she say something to you? Was it something of concern? If it was, I suggest you share it with me."
Kaito almost told her without thinking, but stopped himself in the nick of time. Dammit, Kokichi was really in his head now. Innocent until proven guilty...or guilty until proven innocent? Miu had said not to tell anyone right? Was this important? Or was she just sick? Kaito slowly took a breath in before making his choice and answering.
"Nah, I mean the most concerning thing was where her hands were going. I don't envy the gutter her mind lives in." Kaito laughed. He did feel a little bad for presenting Miu as a pervert, even though he felt like she sort of was. It was the first thing that came to mind, and Kaito was running on pure panic.
Kirumi regarded him for a moment, before nodding. "Very well. I'll keep an eye on her. Are you still feeling alright? No symptoms?"
"Nope." Kaito said. He was surprised by the answer honestly. He'd only felt his regular symptoms. Nothing had worsened. It was becoming more and more likely that his theory on already being infected was true.
Kirumi nodded again. "Very well. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask." That was a polite way of saying, "get out so I can work," and Kaito respected her wishes. He walked out of the sick bay, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do next.
He'd wandered the ship for about fifteen minutes before finally caving. There hadn't been a sign of anyone, not even Blinky, and Kaito was feeling the effects of isolation. Yeah, it had only been fifteen minutes, but he was a people person!
Kaito finally found himself walking into Kokichi's room and approaching his datapad. Dumb or not, games were a distraction, and Kaito needed one. He was positive that there was nothing he could do to help, and just sitting around and waiting wasn't working for him. Gaming it was.
To his surprise and glee, Kokichi had left the datapad unlocked. His offer for the games must have been genuine.
Kokichi was right, the majority of the games were dumb. Kaito found himself playing endless rounds of some kind of flappy bird based game. He was ass at it, but he was beginning to wonder if anyone was capable of winning.
"Dammit!" Kaito yelled out loud, as his bird flew into the same spike it had flown into the last round. When was he going to learn!
Out of frustration, Kaito mashed the buttons on the pad, accidentally exiting out of the game. Kaito sighed. He probably needed that reality check. It was just a game after all.
Kaito began to scroll through the pad, looking for the game. However, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He hadn't noticed the red "one message" notification before.
Tapping on it, Kaito was brought up to a message Kokichi had written to himself. According to the time, he'd written it while he and Kaito were there, looking at the dots. Kaito made a mental note to pay more attention to what Kokichi was doing at all times.
The note was short, only reading: Kay, so I'm starting to feel like shit again, so this is gonna be up to you. Get them to reveal the secrets. Trigger it, force it, I don't care. Just get it done."
Kaito gritted his teeth. If Kokichi were here, he would have laughed at the fact that Kaito's moral compass was holding him back. The curiosity over his crewmates' secrets was killing him, yes, but he also didn't want to invade their privacy! He wasn't that kind of guy! He wasn't a snoop!
But maybe getting those secrets out was the best way to protect the crew. If Kaito knew that hidden information, a whole new set of options could open up to him. He had meant what he said about wanting to learn more about his crewmates. He didn't exactly want it to be like this...but what other choice did he have?
Kaito sighed, sending a mental apology to his crewmates. Hopefully the fever would soften the blow if it came soon. Before leaving Kokichi's room, Kaito typed a message back, under the one Kokichi had written.
"Ok, I'll do it."