8Shuichi wasn't sure what was going on
One day he found himself, in this strange academy with a bunch of strangers
Told off by a weird animatronic bear to get along with everyone
And now here he was lying in his bed contemplating what had just transpired.
Or at least he tried to...
The memories of last night were murky at best, but the sensations he felt were still there. His face turned a light shade of pink as he stared at the cause of his current predicament.
The Love Key.
It was a prize that could be achieved inside of the Academy's Casino at the low price of Ten Thousand Monocoins.
The fee was steep but apparently, his classmates thought that the key would lead to a way out of this place. So Shuichi had to try and win that key, and through some miracle he got it.
Unfortunately, his efforts were wasted when he found out this very key led to the Love Suite.
Hotel Kumasatra.
It was a special place where the gifted inmates could come, wind down, and indulge in their fantasies.
When someone sleeps with this key on their person, they would be drawn to the hotel. This would also attract an unwitting student where they would become their partner for the wielder of the key.
The student will be in a dream-like state, and perceive the keyholder as their "ideal". They must then figure out what the role is that the student perceives them as, and then play that role successfully, or the student will have a bad dream and become distressed.
In hindsight, looking at all of his friend's fantasies was kinda dirty. But in the end, he fell for Monokuma's trick hook, line, and sinker.
He slept with the key and got intimate with one of his classmates.
The good news was that he did his role well.
The bad news was that it didn't make him feel any better about what he did.
Shuichi didn't have a high opinion of himself, and taking advantage of someone under influence was still very wrong for him.
So why?
Why did his heart race as he tried to remember the events that transpired?
Why was it so wrong when it felt so right?
"Ugh, what am I? Miu?..." Shuichi muttered. He couldn't believe he just thought that.
Only a pervert would think of something like that.
And he was sure he was NOT Miu
Definitely Not
The only saving grace was that his partner wouldn't remember last night either so they wouldn't share the embarrassment with them.
"GOOD-MORNING-SHUICHI!"
Shuichi jolted up from his bed when he heard a familiar voice come into his room.
There he met eyes with a small animatronic bear that was half white and half green. The little robot looked like something out of Astroboy and had a binky in its mouth.
This was Monodam.
One of Monokuma's Monokubs.
The weirdest one of them all of course.
"What are you doing here?..." Shuichi hesitantly asked.
He was cautious of the bear's presence as this bear was one of the culprits who trapped him here along with everyone else. So the fact that this thing was here spelled trouble.
"I-AM-JUST-HERE-TO-CONGRATULATE-YOU-ON-YOUR-PROGRESS!" Monodam responded, "YOU-HAVE-DONE-AN-EXCELLENT-JOB-GETTING-ALONG-WITH-EVERYONE!"
"Well yeah...", Shuichi stared at Monodam. "It's not like you're making us kill each other, so of course, we'd all become friends."
"INDEED! SINCE-THE-KILLING-GAME-WAS-CANCELLED-WE-HAD-NOTHING-TO-DO-BUT-WORK-TOGETHER-AND-GET-ALONG!"
Monodam's gears whirred in delight as he raised his arms in the air like he just didn't give a shit.
"BUT-SHUICHI! YOU-HAVE-GONE-ABOVE-AND-BEYOND-TO-GET-ALONG-WITH-YOUR-CLASSMATES! YOU-EVEN-WON-THE-SPECIAL-KEY-JUST-SO-YOU-CAN-GET-ALONG-WITH-EVERYONE!"
Shuichi blushed in embarrassment at the mention of the key. "I-It's not like I was trying to do that on purpose! I just thought we would be able to escape if we did!"
"THAT-IS-ABSURD! WHY-WOULD-YOU-WANT-TO-LEAVE-THIS-PLACE!?" Monodam questioned.
"Because you kidnapped us!" Shuichi snapped back at the robot.
Monodam looked down at the floor. Shuichi's words seem to have struck a chord.
"I-AM-SAD! I-THOUGHT-YOU-WERE-WORKING-HARD-BUT-IT-SEEMS-LIKE-I-WAS-WRONG!"
Monodam cartoonishly released fumes to express his annoyance.
"AND-AFTER-I-TOOK-THE-TIME-TO-RECORD-YOUR-EFFORTS!"
"Record?" Shuichi didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean?"
"SIMPLE!" Monodam answered in an obvious, matter of fact, tone. "YOU-KNOW-HOW-THE-PEOPLE-OF-HOTEL-KUMASATRA-LOSE-THE-MEMORIES-OF-THEIR-TIME-THERE?"
"Yeah?..." Shuichi didn't like where this was going.
"WELL-I-THOUGHT-IT-WAS-STUPID! THE-LOVE-HOTEL-IS-A-GOOD-WAY-TO-GET-ALONG!" Monodam ranted. "SO-I-HID-IN-THE-LOVE-HOTEL-AND-RECORDED-YOU-GETTING-ALONG-WITH-YOUR-CLASSMATE! IT-WAS-GOOD"
"You WHAT!?" Shuichi was flabbergasted at what the bear just said. "So last night you were-"
"INDEED" Monodam bluntly replied. "I-WAS-THERE!"
Shuichi had no words for the bear. It told him that it peeped on him and recorded "who-knows-what" because he was sure as hell couldn't remember. And if there was a recording then there was...
"I-JUST-CAME-BY-TO-GIVE-YOU-YOUR-COPY-OF-YOUR-TIME-IN-THE-LOVE-HOTEL!"
Monodam pulled out a CD and handed it to the reluctant detective.
"I-ALREADY-GAVE-THE-OTHER-COPY-TO-YOUR-PARTNER! PLEASE-WATCH-THIS-AND-GET-ALONG-EVEN-BETTER-THAN-BEFORE!"
"W-wait!" Shuichi tried to object to the bear's offer.
"SO-LONG! BEARWELL!" Monodam waved goodbye
And just like that, Monodam left the poor boy to his devices.
Shuichi could only stare at the CD in silence; processing the information he just received. Shuichi could vaguely remember who he was with last night, and the CD had all of the information he needed to remember everything.
But should he do it?
He was unsure whether to find the truth inside this disk, or whether to pretend that this never happened. But then he remembered...
This wasn't the only copy...
His partner from last night had the other one.
So if by some chance they would go look at the contents inside this CD, they would see everything that transpired with him.
'There's no running from this...' Shuichi sighed.
He didn't always like the Truth. It can hurt people as much as it can help them. But as the Ultimate Detective, it was his duty to pursue the truth no matter what it may be.
So, despite his reluctance, Shuichi grabbed the CD and headed out of his room.
He needed to get to the A/V room, so he could get a better grasp of the situation. Once he sees what's inside, he'll have to question the person he slept with so that he can try and clear up any misunderstandings caused by the key.
"Hopefully they'll understand..." he muttered to himself.
Whatever the case, the next time he runs into that person it'll be awkward.