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Saihara was used to having to deal with other people's messes. Really, it showed in how much effort he had to put in each of the Class Trials; even though only two had happened so far. "Only two", the thought lingered in his mind. He felt more than just bad thinking about it like that. He wanted to keep himself ready for more of them, but still, four human lives had been taken away, just like that...and for two of them, he aided in making sure they were caught and executed.
...He was the SHSL Detective, after all. He had to get used to this kind of thing; he had to accept responsibility for his deductions. It was exactly because of this that he wanted to spend time with his classmates as much as possible. He wanted to know exactly what kind of people he was living with, what kind of lives they had lead, because there was the very real chance they'd never be seen again.
...That said.
While in this "school trip" he had always felt a certain weight on his shoulders, it had been abnormally...heavy, since a while ago. Just about everytime he was spending time with someone, he could feel someone's gaze over him. It was obvious that Monokuma was probably part of it, since he had cameras everywhere, but his cameras didn't exude such a presence.
From the corner of his eye, he spied Ouma watching him. His eccentric classmate didn't seem particularly concerned with hiding it too much, since he just smiled and turned away.
Such occurrences continued during most of the day as Saihara went around the school, talking to others. Eventually it had become a little bit past lunchtime when Saihara felt the urge to eat. Maki, whom he was talking to, seemed to agree with him as she got off her seat along with him and made her way to the cafeteria. The two kept silent as they walked for a bit, and surprisingly, Maki started the conversation.
"...That bastard seems to have gone away." She commented with a hint--no, more like a whole bowl--of disgust.
"Harukawa-san, you noticed him?" Saihara commented with mild surprise.
"It's not as if he was trying to hide himself. Besides, you can tell from afar just by his evil aura." She kept her eyes away from Saihara, not making eye contact.
Although he wanted to defend his classmate, he knew that the effort would be wasted on her. If Monokuma's rules weren't in place, she'd have killed him already.
"That's just how Ouma-kun is...he probably just wants t tell me something."
"Well, whatever it is, don't believe it. If you'd like to come out alive, that is." She offhandedly gave her warning to him, trying to supress the obvious hostility coming off her as they reached the cafeteria.
Whatever conversation they were to hold after that, though, it was interrupted by an incredibly loud crashing sound, coming from the kitchen.
"Someone's in danger...!" Saihara said and instinctively ran for the kitchen, Maki following along and then immediately overtaking him with her superior speed. She reached the door much before him and immediately stopped as soon as she reached it.
"Harukawa-san...?" Saihara asked as he entered the kitchen. The kitchen was lined with many shelves, containing utensils, ingredients, and the like, practically approaching the level of a professional one from a cooking show. On the middle of the kitchen floor, however, in between two of the shelves, Ouma lay buried under an incredible amount of cooking utensils, flour spread all over him and the area surround him.
"Oh, Saihara-chan, just on time! I've got myself in a bit of a fix~ You even brought Maki-chan to help!" Completely unconcerned with the situation, Ouma simply smiled and got his arms from under the rubble, using his hands as support for his cheeks while he smiled at Saihara.
"...Don't include me on this. " Harukawa said as she walked away and went to the other part of the kitchen, grabbing some bread.
"Ouma-kun, if your arms are free, can't you crawl from under there...?" He asked the boy, trying to decide if he helped pull him or if he started getting everything off of him. There was a chance that something sharp was there, and it could fall on him if he simply crawled away.
"Ehhh~ That sounds like a lot of work, though? And the floor is all nice and cold..." He said, jokingly. Unfortunately, it didn't really manage to get a laugh out of Saihara.
"Harukawa-san, let's just take off--" Saihara turned around and began to talk to Harukawa, but instead of paying attention to him, she was just nonchalantly making a sandwich.
"Can't. Gotta eat." She said as she finished putting it together and left in a flash. Really, he should have known this would be the result.
"Looks like it's just you and me now, Saihara-chan." Ouma teased. If his legs had been free, he would obviously be swinging them up and down, like a kid at a sleepover.
"You aren't the least bit concerned, are you..." Saihara said as he started removing some of the things on top of Ouma. Most of them seemed to be related to cake; there were many heavy bowls for mixing, and some to shape cakes into all kinds of things. Once he realized there was no way there'd be anything sharp there, Saihara pulled Ouma out, although he could have freed himself anytime he'd liked.
"Saihara-chan, you're really a detective on a black horse, aren't you!" Ouma laughed as he brushed some flour off himself. Saihara simply smiled wryly as he put all the utensils and ingredients back on their right place. Naturally, Ouma didn't seem particularly interested in helping him do so.
"Ouma-kun, what were you even doing here?" Saihara asked, trying to keep a conversation going. He had his back turned to Ouma, so he couldn't make sure, but it seemed as if he had gone all the way to the kitchen counter.
"What a silly question, Saihara-chan. People come to the kitchen to cook, don't they?" He spoke as if it were the most obvious thing. And it was, but not for a SHSL Dictator...
"I didn't know you could cook...or that you'd ever even want to cook." Saihara said. Trying to imagine Ouma wearing an apron and baking something was absolutely beyond him.
"Oh, that's because I didn't really come to cook. I just came and knocked some stuff over so you'd finally come to talk to me." Ouma said, matter-of-factly. Saihara let out an "eh?" once he heard his answer, and although he had his back to the other boy, it was clear that he had smiled.
"So, was that why you were following me?" Saihara followed up, but the only answer he got to his question was a laugh.
"Nishishi. Saihara-chan, you're quite paranoid, aren't you? That was just a little joke!"
"...Then, you weren't following me...?"
"Nishishi, you really believe people easily."
"Ouma-kun..." Saihara sighed as he put some more utensils back where they were. Really, the amount of mess was so catastrophical that no one could have made it happen just by tripping, but then again, it was unthinkable that someone could make this much of a mess intentionally and bury themselves under it.
"Ah, right. Saihara-chan, can you pass me the flour? I'll kill you if you don't." The boy nonchalantly asked the detective.
"I'd have given it to you if you just asked normally, you know..." He said as he turned around and handed it to him. Now that he had finally gotten a chance to look at the other boy, it looked as if he had been mixing something.
"...Ouma-kun, you're making a cake?" He asked. The other boy was already pale, but with flour on him and some of the stuff he was mixing on his face, he really looked like a cherub. Saihara knew that wasn't the truth, though. In fact, not even close to it.
"What, do you want a taste? You've got to wait for it to be done~" He jokingly said.
"...Wait, you're actually giving me some?" Saihara asked, perplexed.
"Well, it is for everyone. We've survived two trials so far, haven't we? Back in my organization, we'd celebrate for the smallest of reasons. After all, you never knew when you'd get killed. Nishishi." He put on an evil grin at the end, but the sweetness of the first part of the sentence was still there.
"...Then, can I eat from your cake? Now, and for the rest of this trip. Since...we'll definitely make it out alive." Saihara said after a pause, scratching his nose. After all, he HAD just said the corniest thing; Ouma, of all people, looked somewhat taken aback.
"Bold words, Saihara-chan. Since the cake is poisoned and all~" Ouma joked, but Saihara seemed determined.
"You wouldn't do that, would you, Ouma-kun? It'd be obvious you did it, and that wouldn't be fun."
"...Nishishi. You know me well, Saihara-chan. The only thing I care about is making a fun spectacle, and no one's better at it than you. I'll torment you to the very end, my Super High School Level Detective."
Saihara felt a chill, but it was later offset by something of a sweet taste.