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Kaito could almost feel the tension in the room pressing against him. Everyone had been seated after the threat of the tape. They were all seated in different poses, but it was obvious that no one was comfortable.
Monodam seemed entirely calm. Well, his facial expression didn't really change, but he seemed fairly at ease with the situation. Honestly, despite the tension and knot of nerves in his stomach, Kaito agreed that this was the best way to go. They needed to get everything out into the open before they could proceed with anything.
His crewmates were looking a little worse for wear. They were most likely still suffering from the end symptoms of their illnesses, and the stress clearly wasn't helping anything. Kaito hoped that after this, things could start getting back to normal. Well, as normal as a crew of Ultimates fighting a space invasion could be.
"Who-Would-Like-To-Go-First?" Monodam asked in his eerily monotone voice. "Are-There-Any-Volunteers?"
"You're one hell of a hypocrite, you know that right?" Miu spat. "All that talk about getting along or whatever, and then you hold us against our will?!"
"I-Am-Sorry. I-Am-Doing-This-So-We-All-Get-Along." Monodam said. "Are-You-Volunteering-To-Go-First?"
"Like hell I am!" Miu yelled. "Literally no one is going to get along with you after this, you know that?"
Kaito saw he might have to retract his previous statement about Monodam not being expressive. Now somehow, he just looked sad.
"That-Is-Alright-I-Suppose. I-Want-You-All-To-Get-Along. With-Or-Without-Me." With that statement it became clear that Monodam was going to stop at nothing to achieve his goal. The robotic bear held an amount of determination that Kaito rarely saw even among humans. Strangely enough, he found himself starting to respect their apparent stowaway.
"If-No-One-Volunteers-I-Will-Choose-For-Us." Monodam said. "I-Have-Organized-A-Random-Selection-Program-So-The-Process-Is-Fair."
"How kind of you." Kaito heard Tenko mumble.
"What-Was-That? Did-Someone-Volunteer?"
Tenko looked petrified. Whatever her secret was, it clearly made her visibly terrified.
"I can go first." Rantaro said. "I mean, unless someone has a problem with that." Clearly no one had a problem with that.
"Wonderful. Let-Us-Get-Started." Rantaro was too far away for Kaito to talk to. Kaito knew that he already knew Rantaro's secret, but the Ultimate Adventurer still looked nervous.
A compartment in Monodam's chest opened, revealing a smaller datapad with a different case. He withdrew it, before the compartment slid closed.
"What the fuck!" Miu yelled.
"Why does he get a datapad? I didn't get one." Kiibo muttered.
"This-Is-Not-A-Datapad. This-Is-A-Kubs-Pad." Monodam said, holding out his apparent kubs pad. "It-Is-Similar-To-Your-Datapads-With-Some-Slight-Differences."
"Great." Miu said. "So what are we gonna do with it-" Monodam pressed a button on the pad, quieting Miu. A clear male voice began to play. Kaito recognized it as the same voice from the earlier Monodam recording.
"This is a recording of one of the secret files for Rantaro Amami, the Ultimate Adventurer. Due to a series of traumatic incidents in his home life, twelve to be exact, Amami volunteered at the TCSC for the fifty second space mission."
"Wait, this is the fifty third." Kiibo said.
"Wow, you can count." Kokichi said, rolling his eyes.
"Gonta can count to fifteen." Gonta said, still looking strangely cheerful for the situation.
"Please-Be-Quiet-Until-The-Recording-Is-Finished-You-Bastards." Monodam said, increasing the volume.
"Amami easily passed the training period for this mission due to his natural abilities from his ultimate talent. He was placed in charge of the fifty second mission, and sent to a small outpost where the Swarm seemed to be holding certain human prisoners. Amami chose to go against orders, setting out on his own to look for a conclusion to the previous twelve incidents. Not only did he find nothing, all members of his crew were lost without his guidance, and ultimately met their ends. Amami is sometimes referred to as the Ultimate Survivor in our files, due to the fact that he survived the mission. While he does carry guilt, he would make the same choice again."
"You said you'd never been to space before." Kaede said, looking surprisingly hurt.
"I lied." Rantaro kept his eyes away from the rest of the crew.
"So you're just gonna sacrifice us for whatever the hell it is you lost?" Miu snapped. "Just get over it."
"I CAN'T!"
Kaito along with the rest of the group jumped. He didn't think any of them had ever heard Rantaro raise his voice, much less yell. Rantaro was facing the group, tears brimming in his eyes.
"They're my sisters. All twelve were taken, and it was my fault. I shouldn't have done what I did. But yeah, I'll do it again. So maybe you shouldn't trust me as much as you do." Rantaro shifted his body so it was facing away from the others. "You can look somewhere else. I don't have anything else to say."
The fact that Kaito was starting to regret this was an understatement. This had been a shit idea. He risked a glance at Kokichi. To no one's surprise Kokichi seemed indifferent, or even like he was enjoying this. Kaito wondered if that was really how he felt.
"Wonderful. Who-Would-Like-To-Go-Next?" Monodam asked, clapping his metal paws together, like this was show and tell. "Any-Volunteers?"
"I can go next." Kaede said softly. "Unless someone else wants to go."
Of course, no one else did.
"Wonderful. Thank-You-For-Volunteering." Monodam said, tapping on his kubs pad. Before long, a second recording featuring the same voice was played.
"This is a recording of one of the secret files for Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist. From a young age, Akamatsu showed signs of musical prodigy, and was thus pushed to constantly practice and perform, eventually winning the title of Ultimate. However, this did not come to pass smoothly."
Kaito thought he saw tears in Kaede's eyes.
"The title of Ultimate Pianist nearly went to someone else, a sort of rival of Akamatsu's so to say. Perhaps it was due to the way that Akamatsu was raised, perhaps it was something she had inside her all along. Either way, what happened happened. Akamatsu told her rival to meet her on top of the school building to talk. What started as a friendly conversation of well wishes turned bitter as Akamatsu finally faced the possibility of being second best in her life's pursuits. She was unwilling to leave it up to chance. She pushed her rival down the long flight of stairs leading to where they were. The rival's neck was broken, and she was subsequently dead before she reached the bottom. Akamatsu left the body where it was, and performed for a judge not five minutes later, winning the Ultimate title. She showed no signs of remorse. The death was deemed an accident, but there were a few people who saw the truth. And now the listeners of this recording do too." The tape clicked off.
Kaito felt floored. Kaede? Sweet, motivational, inspiring Kaede? A killer out of jealousy? He wasn't the only one having trouble processing this new development. Almost everyone's eyes were wide with shock.
"I didn't mean for her to die...I was hoping she'd break her wrist...I don't know why I did it...I'm sorry..."
"How many fucking killers are in this room!" Miu yelled.
"Kaede hurt someone?" Gonta asked, eyes wide.
"I'm so sorry." Tears were falling freely down Kaede's cheeks. "I'm so so sorry." No one said anything, leaving her to slump forward, burying her face in her hands.
"Wonderful. Who-Would-Like-To-Go-Next?" Monodam asked. "If-I-Am-Correct, Five-People-Shared-Their-Secrets-Previous-To-This-Encounter. This-Means-A-Total-Of-Seven-People-Have-Gone, Leaving-Nine-Remaining."
Kaito had no luck catching Kaede's eye either. He wanted to pull both her and Rantaro aside, assure them that it was ok, that he didn't see them differently. He still believed in them...but did the others?
Everyone was looking less and less enthused than they already were to share. The first two were clearly in shambles, and no one wanted to be the next to go down. If Kaito hadn't already gone, he would have volunteered. But to his surprise, someone else did.
"U-um, I can go now." Shuichi said softly. Kaito would have jumped up and hugged him if it was the right time and place. His sidekick had improved so much, and had gone a long way in that single moment.
"Wonderful. Thank-You." Monodam said, clicking on another recording. "Let-Us-Begin." Once again, a recording began to play.
"This is a recording of one of the secret files for Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective. Saihara discovered his talent helping his uncle (redacted) who ran a detective agency in (redacted). Saihara began to solve small cases, using his natural abilities and bringing more buisness and attention to the agency. He was not interested in the attention, he was only interested in solving as many cases as possible, trying to compare to his idol, a previous Ultimate Detective. Saihara ended up assisting with a more serious murder case, managing to apprehend the killer, leading to his lifelong sentencing. However, what he didn't know was that the killer murdered someone who was a villain himself. A justice seeker that went down the wrong path. The public was furious, believing that the man deserved to be free, or that Saihara should have let the case go col. The public rejected him, turning Saihara into a shell of his former self. He remained hated up until the start of this mission, for turning stones that should have been left unturned. He has not sought the truth ever since." The recording ended.
This was an interesting one. Kaito wasn't sure what he would have done had he been a part of the public mentioned in the recording. He would have wanted revenge on the victim, but killing might have been too far...
It was complicated. Damn, and Shuichi had to carry that around on his shoulders. No wonder he was so timid. It was a lot for anyone to handle, much less a novice detective.
"At least he didn't kill anyone." Kaito heard Tenko say quietly. Shuichi didn't look as disrought as some of the others, but he seemed to have shrunken back into himself even more than normal. It seemed like no one would be getting off easy in this ordeal. He wondered who the crueler audience was. The listeners, or the secret holder themself.
"We-Are-Halfway-Complete." Monodam said, looking proud despite his robotic exterior. "I-Am-Happy-You-Bastards-Are-Opening-Your-Hearts. Who-Would-Like-To-Go-Next?"
It seemed that they had finally reached the point where no one else was willing to volunteer. Monodam waited patiently for two minutes before speaking. "Very-Well. I-Will-Select-At-Random. One-Moment-Please." A series of metallic clicks sounded from Monodam's small green body.
"That moment when a bear has cooler functions than you." Kokichi said, shooting a look at Kiibo. Kiibo glared back at him, which Kaito took to be improvement on the robot's behalf.
"Ms. Chabashira-You-Will-Go-Next." Monodam said, nodding.
"W-wait, hold on. That's gotta be rigged!" Tenko paled several shades while shaking visibly. "Hold on!"
Monodam didn't seem interested in holding on. Another recording started playing.
"This is a recording of one of the secret files for Tenko Chabashira, the Ultimate Aikido Master. Chabashira was trained under one teacher for the entirety of her life. However, a severe misunderstanding would lead to her ultimate destruction. A statement about males would lead to Chabashira's belief that all males are degenerates, influencing her attitude to them from then on out. She also developed the belief that touching males directly would weaken her powers. Her haughty attitude towards males attracted the wrong kind of attention, leading to a group of male students her age to-"
The voice of the recording broke off. The reader sounded like he was regretting reading it aloud. Kaito had a sick feeling that he knew where this was going.
"Well, they confirmed her beliefs, cementing her viewpoints, and bringing her greatest weakness into reality. It is true that Chabashira is weakened when touching a male, but not in the way she claims. In reality, the response is one of trauma." the reader sighed heavily at the end, before the recording clicked off.
"What the hell?" Kaito said quietly. "What kind of people would want to expose that..."
Tenko looked shell shocked, frozen in place where she was seated. Everyone waited for her reaction, but it never came. She'd been literally stunned into silence.
"I-Will-Randomly-Choose-The-Next-One." Monodam said. Even he seemed to grasp how severe things were becoming. "Mr. Gokuhara. You-Are-Next."
"But Gonta no have secrets." Gonta said, looking genuinely confused. "Gentlemen don't keep secrets, and Gonta gentleman."
So Gonta's secret was a secret to him as well? How was that fair? Then again, fair hadn't been a factor of anything recently.
"I-Only-Know-What-I-Have-Been-Given. And-I-Have-Been-Given-An-Auditory-Copy-Of-Your-Secret. So-It-Must-Exist." Monodam said. He gave Tenko an almost regretful look before starting the next recording.
"This is a recording of one of the secret files for Gonta Gokuhara, the Ultimate Entomologist. Those who have met Gokuhara have clearly made note of the fact that Gokuhara is extremely attached to what he calls "his forest family", stating that they are even the driving force on his quest to become a gentleman. This is true. Gokuhara was raised by nature itself, left at a young age to most likely die. However, his origins are not even know to Gokuhara himself. Gokuhara was the offspring of two wealthy business tycoons. He did not meet their standards for a worthy heir. He was deemed ugly at birth, too ugly for life. And thus an employee was ordered to...dispose of him. The employee could not bring himself to do it, leaving the infant in the woods surrounding the city limits. Strangely enough, the baby was found by a pack of wolves before meeting his end through starvation or cold. A female adopted him as her own, and Gokuhara lived peacefully for fourteen years, before being discovered, being given an education, and an ultimate title. While Gokuhara lives in a world of love and trust, his origins are nothing of the sort. He was given up out of vanity and hatred, and he didn't even know. Until now." Once again, the recording ended.
"Gonta have other parents?" Gonta asked, looking shocked. "Human parents?"
"Where the hell did you think you came from!?" Miu exclaimed.
"Wolf mother." Gonta said, like this was obvious. "But...maybe not. Gonta had other parents." His eyes welled with tears. "And they don't want Gonta. Gonta not good enough. They got rid of Gonta..."
Watching a male bigger than himself cry was something Kaito had not foreseen witnessing. Honestly, it was heartbreaking. However, to his surprise, Gonta quieted after a moment.
"Gonta still sad...but Gonta still have good family. Forest family...and you." He looked around at the others, glasses still stained with tears.
The others refused to make eye contact with anyone. That almost made it more tragic than it already was. Kaito didn't think his heart could hurt this much.
"I-Will-Continue-With-The-Random-Selection." Monodam reported. Even he seemed to be struggling with the emotional toll of what was going on. "Mr. Ouma, You-Have-Been-Selected."
Kokichi looked strangely composed, almost happy. "Oh boy, let's see what kind of shit show this is! Ten bucks says they don't actually have any information on me!"
"Of course that asshole gets off scot-free." Miu grumbled before the recording started.
"This is a recording of one of the secret files for Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Supreme leader."
"Hey! They got my title right!" Kokichi said, grinning.
"Wonderful." Monodam said, clearly missing the sarcasm.
"Ouma has gone to great lengths to conceal his past, and it's debatable if Kokichi Ouma is even his real name. However, one detail is exceedingly clear. He is a compulsive liar who lies not out of pleasure, but because he can't help it. Along with several other crippling mental health issues, Ouma is considered to be highly unstable, but not dangerous. His secret is quite simple. Everything about his personality is a fabrication, a mask to hide the truth of who he is. Nothing. A person who is worth nothing, has accomplished nothing, and means nothing. A damaged shell. Everything else is a lie."
It was shorter than the other recordings, but it was just as impactful than the others. For the first time, Kokichi seemed to be caught off guard, face expressionless save for his widened eyes. The ground crew had finally caught him unawares. Due to the fact that he was sitting right next to Kaito, Kaito was finally able to reach out to someone.
"Are you ok?" he asked quietly.
"Checkmate." Kokichi muttered. "That was a good play on their part..."
Kaito was stunned. They'd seriously made an impact on Kokichi even. Things were getting worse by the second. And he had done this. Kaito had set this in motion. It didn't matter how he looked at it, the current situation was most definitely his fault.
"Five-More." Monodam spoke up. "You-Are-Doing-Very-Well. For-What-It-Is-Worth-I-Am-Sorry-Things-Must-Be-Done-This-Way."
"It's ok." Kaito said, surprising himself. "It needs to be done."
"On that we can agree." Rantaro said, speaking for the first time in a while. Kaede nodded silently.
"Then-We-Will-Continue." Monodam said. "I-Will-Select-Who-Goes-Next-Once-More. One-Moment-Please." More beeping noises sounded. "Ms. Shirogane, You-Are-Next."
"This is plain terrifying." Tsumugi said shakily. "Plain terrifying."
"This is a recording of one of the secret files for Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer. Shirogane...honestly hasn't accomplished anything. She's an average person, so average that it's almost abnormal. She blends into the background seamlessly, only being seen when she takes on the appearance of someone else. For a brief time, Shirogane became determined to be seen, resulting in a short career as a more...sexual cosplayer, taking and selling photographs of that nature." Somehow it was an even shorter recording than Kokichi's.
"That's it?" Miu asked, raising an eyebrow.
Tsumugi's face was red, and she appeared to be in physical pain. "I didn't want to become that kind of cosplayer, cosplay should be about honoring the character, not degrading them!"
"I think you're overreacting about this." Himiko muttered.
"Well, it technically did what it was supposed to. It made a mark on her." Ryoma said, shrugging.
"It's ok. Humans do all kinds of cringey things." Kiibo said.
"What is a cringey?" Gonta asked.
It was a ridiculous conversation, but it was a conversation that sparked hope in Kaito. They could still talk to each other. There was still hope. This proved that there was still some kind of connection between the crew.
"We-Are-Almost-There." Monodam said. "I-Promise."
"Good." Kaede said, sounding slightly stronger than she had. "Let's keep going."
"Ms. Tojo." Monodam said, after another moment of beeping. "It-Is-Your-Turn."
"Very well." Kirumi said, dipping her head. "If you request me to allow my secret to be exposed, then it will be fulfilled. Please begin." She said, turning to Monodam, who obliged.
"This is a recording of one of the secret files for Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate maid. Tojo is clearly highly skilled in many things, making her an incredibly capable person. It was taken notice of in higher societies, leading to her eventual employment by the Prime Minister of Japan. What started as basic attending and cleaning evolved into more and more serious duties, until Tojo had taken on the majority of the Prime Minister's duties herself. She was tasked with running the country to the best of her ability behind the scenes, to which she accepted. Her only desire was to serve, not holding any reservations about the Prime Minister's plan to take credit for work he was not doing. Tojo is highly intelligent, highly organized and highly determined to succeed. This makes her the most effective leader the nation has ever had, making a large impact on the United Committee of all remaining countries after the initial invasion. Tojo was asked to make one final sacrifice for her country, going on this mission. Naturally, she accepted, promising to return to reclaim her role as Prime Minister. Her request is held over anything else, meaning she is willing to do anything to return alive, even at the cost of her crewmates." The recording ended.
Kaito's mouth had fallen open. "What?! You're the Prime Minister?!"
"That has to be the most out there secret yet." Kokichi chimed in. "Oh well, guess we've reached a new peak of weirdness."
"Yes, it is true." Kirumi said. "Unlike some of the other secrets which were designed to turn us against each other, or damage the recipient, everything in mine is true. Including the last statement."
Kaito nodded slowly. It seemed that he would have to be a lot more careful around Kirumi. In the grand scheme of things, her secret sunk in fairly easily. It honestly made a lot of sense. She seemed like the perfect person for the job with her personality and various skills.
"Three-Remaining." Monodam. "I-Will-Select-
He never got a chance to finish. Something struck the ship, causing it to rattle violently. Kaito was thrown to the ground, jaw smashing against the metallic floor painfully.
They were being attacked.