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[That...feels like a lie, but he doesn't bother saying so. He has nothing to base it on besides instinct, and he really doubts Ouma would admit to this one.

He hesitates a moment -- god, he could be walking right into some kind of trap with this, there's always something with Ouma -- but then simply shrugs and makes the exchange for the key. It's not like he really needs or wants any of the other prizes anyway.]

Let's go look, then.

[They're spending some free time together anyway, right? It's as good a way to kill the time as any. And despite everything -- a whole lot of everything, in this case -- he doesn't think Ouma would pull any stunts to actually hurt him. Shuichi palms the strange key, trying for a smile that still probably come out a bit uneasy despite that quiet attempt to reassure himself.]

[ He wasn't going to let this go, so he perks up when Shuichi takes the bait easily enough -- making it partially Shuichi's idea is the best scenario. Ouma figures he's probably also suspicious, but as long as Shuichi's curiosity is surpassing that, it's fine. ]

O-kay! If it's investigating, I'd prefer to do it with you, anyway.

[ Obviously there's Shuichi's inherent detective skills and thirst for solving things to value, but Ouma naturally can't just leave it at that. ]

... 'Cause if anything bad happens, you're my number one meat shield for sure!

[ Being sensitive to the mood?

Ouma doesn't know her. ]

[Frankly, it'd be more worrying at this point if Ouma suddenly started acting like a decently sensitive person.]

Yeah, yeah...

[He won't even bother with that one. Fiddling with the key, Shuichi heads for the casino doors, trusting Ouma will remain stuck to him like a leech without any prompting. Now, what areas of the school haven't been accesible so far...? That seems like a good place to start thinking.

Slowly, he seems to ease up a little, and eventually a slight smile does cross his face.]

It'd be nice if all the investigations around here were just for things like this.

[Y'know. Not murder related things.]

[ Shuichi can be assured that Ouma won't be letting him walk more than a few feet out of his own vicinity -- aside from having no qualms about being in his space in general, he also wants to catch anything nonverbal from Shuichi while they're doing this. ]

You say that, even though you don't know what we're investigating...

[ When they get outside, Ouma blinks a few times at the receding daylight. Normally, this might make things more annoying to look for, but Ouma can't help thinking it's ideal -- that place will stand out even more, won't it?

He grins, stretching his arms out in front of him while he walks next to Shuichi. ]

Well, I like it better without anything violent, anyway. Just don't make it boring for me, 'kay?

We're just looking for a door that matches this key. That sounds pretty harmless to me.

[Famous last words.

He's initially trying to think of undiscovered labs and unexplored areas within the school. Were there any doors no one had been able to open yet...? Most of the new areas that had been unlocked so far didn't involve anything as pedestrian as a lock and key...

It probably would have been hard to miss the hotel no matter what, what with it being right there outside the casino and all, but the setting sun sure does highlight it in a particular eye-catching way.

Uh.

His original train of thought coming to a rough halt, Shuichi pauses on the path outside for a moment. He glances down at the key again, its tacky heart shape and the red stone in the middle, and his lips press together into a thin line.

(Akamatsu probably would have said not to look away from the truth. But Akamatsu didn't have to deal with this particular potential truth.)]

It's, uh... [Shuichi stares hard at the key for moment while he makes his mouth do the thing with words.] It was called the Key of Love. So...

[Would Monokuma actually pull something like that...? Yeah. He absolutely would.]

[ Ah, there it is. Ouma immediately looks more amused just by virtue of Shuichi figuring it out -- Shuichi's hesitant reaction only makes Ouma more interested in seeing how much he can mess with him over this. ]

... Sooo are you going to check it out or not, Mr. Detective?

[ What if Ouma just nonchalantly grabbed for Shuichi's arm, tugging on it slightly as he attempts to lead him toward the entrance.

Because that's happening. ]

You can't tell me you're not curious, right?

[ Ouma's curious too, albeit in an entirely different way -- curious about what kind of face Shuichi might make seeing that kind of ridiculous setup, for example. ]

[Ouma's reaction is interesting all on its own. He certainly didn't seem surprised by the suggestion, just entertained by the whole situation, and Shuichi has to wonder whether Ouma knew right from the start.

Not that Ouma really gives him much time to ponder that. Shuichi makes a soft noise of surprise as the other boy starts tugging him along, going a little red at the implications of the whole situation. He can't help but glance quickly around the courtyard -- god knows what any of the others would assume if they saw Ouma leading him to the love hotel of all places.]

I'm not...curious. ["Curious" makes it sound like he's wondering what might be inside, and he's very determinedly trying not to think about that.] Just...I could be wrong. And I can't be sure without looking.

[Yeah, that's definitely it. He's a detective, after all. He doesn't make decisions without proper evidence, and so he can't just toss the key out or something without confirming that it's definitely Monokuma nonsense first. What if he's wrong and it's important? They just...have to check. To make sure. That's all.

So that's why he follows along hesitantly, letting Ouma drag him to the tacky-looking building. It certainly matches the key in aesthetics, at least. Shuichi can feel his face getting redder against his will just pushing through the front doors.]

Edited 2018-03-11 11:24 (UTC)

[ Cat in the box, love hotel edition: Is it serious or nah? ]

Well, whatever. We can leave if it turns out to be lame.

[ As long as he's got Shuichi's attention here, he's not picky about whatever he says his reason is. Although he absently thinks it's pretty useful that Shuichi's such a thorough guy -- even if he doesn't possess those cliché detective nerves of steel to match. Not that Ouma's complaining, because he's kind of enjoying how flustered Shuichi is already getting over this.

Ouma stops leading Shuichi once they're inside whatever sketchy lobby area the place harbors -- but he casually isn't letting go of Shuichi's arm yet, even if his grip is significantly more relaxed. Enjoy your new charm, Shuichi. ]

Oh, yeah-- That key should only work for one room, right? I'm only guessing, but I bet it would stand out from the rest.

[ """Guessing""" ]

[Well. Guess this is his life now. Good thing detective work doesn't really require two hands.

Ouma's "guess" doesn't account for the possibility of a master key, which Shuichi duly notes, but that's easy enough to test so he doesn't argue the point straight out.]

But why one room would be particularly special in a place like this...?

[Since Ouma seems to have all the answers. He's not sure he really wants the answer to that one, though.

A quick look down the first floor hall reveals only a set of unremarkable matching doors. He takes a moment to try the key on one of the doors, but it's beyond pointless -- these doors all have key card readers like a modern hotel rather than an old-fashioned keyhole. He can't decides whether that's a good sign or a bad one.

There's a second floor, though, so he steels himself and leads the way up. With any luck, this hallway will look just the same and they can quickly write this place off and move on to investigate somewhere else, somewhere less generally stressful, like maybe that creepy hallway on the fourth floor or--

Fuck. There's totally a big fancy door at the end of the hall, no card reader to be seen even from a distance.]

Geez, Saihara-chan... Don't you know about exclusive suites, and things like that?

[ Ouma will just...continue running his mouth, even as they continue looking, waving his other hand a bit to emphasize his point. ]

Well, I guess you wouldn't have ever seen one with your own eyes. I've stayed in tons, though! Y'know, since I'm pretty influential.

[ Detectives just can't have the same perks!!

Ouma's a bit too comfortable with this entire place, clearly relishing this in contrast to Shuichi's apprehensiveness. When the door becomes visible, Ouma ends up letting go of Shuichi's arm just so he can make binoculars of his hands. ]

Ah, I think that's it! ... Probably.

[He...can't tell if Ouma is talking about fancier hotel rooms in general or specifically ones in places like this. It's almost definitely a lie either way, but he doesn't even want to comment on it for fear of drawing that topic out. Just thinking about it feels inappropriate. He is absolutely not gonna entertain the thought of Ouma visiting tons of love hotels, nope.

At least he's already kind of a flustered mess just being in here. It's probably harder to notice any additional flustering getting piled on top.

The door at the end of the hall is absurding intimidating for being what it is, bright red and outlined with a gaudy doorframe of heart shapes and gold paint. His arm feels cold suddenly, finally released from Ouma's grip, but that's fine because he really didn't need the added embarassment of someone hanging off his arm in a love hotel on top of everything else. Gripping the key tight, Shuichi just nods and marches forward down the hall to face it. Ouma will doubtlessly follow anyway.

There's indeed no card reader, but there sure is a keyhole, big and old-fashioned looking and set rather prominently in the door. The key slides into it all too easily, not even a hint of struggle in turning it to give him any hope that maybe it really doesn't match this door. Shuichi draws a breath, sets his jaw, and pushes the door open.

The room beyond is...something, to say the least. Far too red and ostentatiously decorated, heavily draped in sheer curtains. One side of the room seems like a bathing area, though the tub set against the wall is much bigger than necessary. Shuichi manages only a glance at the other side of the room before he's immediately averting his gaze, face furiously red.

Unfortunately, the only other thing to look at is the large bed functioning as the room's centerpiece, headboard framed by a giant heart and the whole thing set on a pedestal with a goddamn carousel horse circling it. Jesus.]

Uh...

Uwah--

[ Ouma moves up beside Shuichi and peeks around him to glance at the room, feigning some subdued surprise...although he mostly ends up looking at Shuichi's reaction moreso than the room itself. ]

You seem so cool right now, Saihara-chan.

[ He comments, sounding serious enough for all of .5 seconds.

And then he's snickering about it. ]

... But that's a lie! Your face is actually suuuper red. Did you think of something dirty already?

[He can feel Ouma's stare and it's worse than the room itself. Almost instinctively he reaches for the brim of a hat he hasn't been wearing for a while now, and when he only grabs air he settles for covering his face with his hand instead. He really misses that hat right about now.]

Who could walk into a room like this and not think of anything like that...?

[He'd ask Ouma to give him a break, but that would probably just encourage him. Shuichi sighs, hand sliding up to tug self-consciously at his hair which conveniently lets him hide his face behind his whole arm.]

Let's just look around quick and get out of here.

[As much as he wants to ollie outie right now, he can't ignore the possibility that there could be something important hidden in here. Like a flashback light. Steadying himself with a controlled breath, he forces himself to cross the room to check if there's space for anything under the bed.]

Seems like a you problem to me...

[ Ouma comments, acting fairly aloof as he waltzes into the room after Shuichi. He wonders what he should "investigate" for himself, if anything. For now, he'll throw his hands behind his head again in a relaxed way while he hovers a few feet from Shuichi, watching for what he's going to do.

-- He cracks a quick grin when he sees that Shuichi's aiming to examine at the foot of the bed. ]

Saihara-chan, you should be more careful! There could be a monster that eats virgins under there!

[It's so obviously a lie, but Shuichi doesn't have the mental fortitude right now to pick that apart on top of dealing with this room. He frowns, sighs, and gestures at the bed.]

Then you can look there.

[Hey, if Ouma's so "experienced"...]

Fine, I'll do it for you. But you're gonna owe me, okay?

[ Cue Ouma moving over toward the bed and placing his hands on the frame as he crouches down. He places one hand down against the floor after this to steady himself with as he ducks his head under and parallel with the floor to have a look.

...

After a few seconds, he'll push back up to his feet, turning to face Shuichi again before hopping up to sit on the edge of the (surprisingly comfortable) bed. Because he can. ]

Aw maaan, not a single monster in sight...

[ He lifts his arms out in dramatic exasperation over the fact before settling his hands down against the mattress and leaning back slightly on his arms, tilting his head as he regards Shuichi with more attention. ]

...So you're really a virgin, then?

[ Ouma's pretty choice at spotting a lie, but Shuichi didn't exactly confirm or deny!! ]

[He'd almost kinda be recovering from the embarassment of just being here, distracted by the focus of an investigation and Ouma's messing around. Shuichi just sighs while Ouma checks out the underside of the bed, debating whether he should check himself anyway just in case Ouma is lying, but the Ouma just sits on the bed and asks that and, well. Yep, the blushing is back in full-force. Boy, he sure didn't miss that for the maybe twenty seconds he'd been able to go without it.

Shuichi frowns, glancing away and tuggin again at his hair in place of his absent hat.]

We're high schoolers. It's not weird.

[He knows better than to try lying to Ouma. He always seems to know. Hell, even when Shuichi tried during the trials and Ouma didn't say anything about it, he still couldn't shake the feeling that the other boy knew.]

[ Ouma snickers at Shuichi's reaction, kicking his feet back and forth a little off the edge of the bed. While he's mostly messing around for exactly that kind of reaction, it's also fine to get a better peg on Shuichi in general. ]

But isn't that when you're supposed to get raging hormones or something?!

[ This is some scrum debate material right here.

Even though Ouma is definitely That Guy who's all talk -- but that's his schtick, okay! And because this is all too entertaining, of course he won't let the topic slide, either.

He might be fishing. ]

Well, you've at least kissed someone before, right?

I thought you were the "experienced" one.

[It's a remarkably dry response given how generally horrendously embarrassed he looks and feels just being in here. Hell, he might kind of sorta enjoy the dynamic normally, this back-and-forward of lying and digging for the truth, getting tripped up and doing his level best to stand up to it sometimes. It probably says a lot about him as a person that he's kind of intrigued by it all -- surely it's gotta be kinda masochistic to be drawn to this shit.

But adding their current locale to the mix is pushing things a bit more into "uncomfortable" than he's normally willing to bear. Shuichi sighs, covering his face and pointedly not looking at the other boy acting far too innocent just sitting on the bed and kicking his legs like a little kid.]

Can we just finish looking around and get out of here? You can make fun of me later.

Who knooows? I'm not telling!

[ Even though he's presumptuous enough to ask...

-- But at Shuichi's response, Ouma's brows knit and he suddenly switches to a mock-offended tone. ]

More importantly, that's so rude! I would never make fun of you... In fact, I'm looking out for you! What if you got killed without ever having kissed someone?! That'd just be the worst!

[ There's so much here to unpack. ]

I think just getting killed here would be the worst.

[Hand still hovering over his face in the attempt to hide, his fingers drift over his mouth, knuckles brushing over his lips at the thought. It's not like it's something that could be changed here anyway. The options for doing so are kinda limited, and those options are...

Nnnnnope, nope. He's not thinking about that. Not here. That is a dangerous game to play. Fighting down a blush, he forces himself to drop his hands to his sides and stand a little straighter.]

And I'm not gonna get killed, anyway. No one is.

[He's got to believe that. He'll go crazy if he's constantly thinking on who might die next, who might be driven to kill next. He's got to have faith in everyone here. Akamatsu would have.]

[ Ouma's expression evens slightly as he processes what Shuichi's just said. It'd be nice to be able to rely on those words, but it's unmissable how much he sounds like Akamatsu talking like that...and they all know how that turned out.

Ouma tilts his head back a bit with a sigh, eyeing the tacky Monokuma-embellished chandelier above the bed...christ. ]

I'm totally gonna get killed from boredom if that happens... Do you want me to die, Saihara-chan?!

[ But the pseudo-whininess is lost when he suddenly snaps back into a more upright position, pulling his legs up to cross them on the bed and grabbing his ankles as he leans forward a bit with a grin. ]

-- Well, I guess it's okay if you take responsibility! Promise you'll keep playing lots of games with me, okay?

[Die of boredom if Shuichi dies? Or if no one does? He's not sure he wants to ask for clarification on that point. Either possibility is scary in its own way.

Still, this is...probably a good sign. He thinks. It might just be that he's the only person who humors Ouma like this, but he'd like to think the way Ouma pesters him for games and attention means something sincere under all the posturing and misdirection. Maybe it's because of Ouma's childish manner at the moment, all that body language, but Shuichi extends a hand with all the fingers folded in but the little finger.]

I'll promise, okay? So you're not allowed to die either.

[Pinky promise, bitch.]

[ Ouma wasn't expecting the gesture at all, and he blinks for a second at Shuichi's finger in front of him as he processes what Shuichi's just said. His heart totally skips a beat too, and he's not sure why, but he's lowkey annoyed with that. He's not the one who's supposed to be getting discomfited here!!

Although he's certainly not going to show it, since he's simultaneously feeling all around pretty pleased at Shuichi acknowledging him like that. His grin returns wider than ever as he lifts his own hand up to wrap his pinky around Shuichi's. ]

Nee-heehee... Of course I won't die. And that's not a lie!

[ He is going to win this game, after all.

When he's withdrawn his hand back, he's going to place it back on his ankle, rocking slightly in place where he's sitting like he's gotten a bit more excited. ]

... Oh yeah, but you should definitely promise to join my organization while we're doing this.

[ There he go. ]

I can guarantee that you'd finally get laid!

[It's kind of satisfying to see Ouma thrown for ever just a moment. A little victory in whatever this constant game they have going on is. But mostly that interaction just felt...good. Nice. He feels a bit more at ease now, enough that he bears Ouma's comments with minimal redness, lips quirking with faint amusement mixed with a touch of exasperation.]

What kind of organization is this, exactly...?

[Relaxing again, he steps on past Ouma to keep investigating while humoring that particular bit of ridiculousness. He can't help but suspect there really isn't anything to be found here, but he can bear being in here for a few minutes longer to be certain. It's really not that bad.

Moving to the head of the bed, he lifts up a pillow and...immediately flushes again upon finding a pair of handcuffs hidden underneath like a stealth hotel room mint. He hastily replaces the pillow, shoulders hunched up around his ears. Nevermind, this room is apparently just full of things to be found.]

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