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Saihara had had a long day, working at the agency and then having to chase KODI for the fourth time that month. He seemed to pull heists once a week, at the same day, same time, and close area. At least it was less hassle for the department.
Why was Saihara even in his department anyways? His (probably faked) backstory that Team Danganronpa implanted in him said he did infidelity cases , not chasing random dudes (Ouma was not random but here we are) at five every Thursday.
Besides, he was seventeen now; should he not be in high school? The National Police Department were treating him relatively fine, though treating him like an adult - an actual adult, university qualified employee - and not a traumatised kid who seemed to not even have finished any high school years.
'I guess I see Ouma's point now,' Saihara thought dully, waiting at four fifty-one pm as time ticked by. KODI never left any clues - only dates and times which everyone already knew. You had to wait for a break-in signal before jumping to conclusions on where the thief was. Lately, there had been false signals (which Saihara had sniffed out but no one believed him when he talked about it) and so they would rush to a nearby destination.
The clock soon struck five pm, but a signal had not gone. This was strange. Yes, KODI was a skilled thief and could not set off traps, but he always would. "For the thrill," he had once told the Lead Detective. He enjoyed the chase and the adrenaline it gave him. So, why was there no alarm this time?
“Detective Saihara-chan!” came a voice behind him.
Oh.
The thief was in his office, that's why.
“KODI? Why are you-?” the question was obvious, yet Saihara got interrupted for a different matter.
“Jeez, Saihara-chan!” Though Saihara was unable to see his face since he was faced away and he was wearing a masquerade mask, he knew KODI rolled his eyes. “What happened to calling me Ouma-kun? Besides, no one's watching right now so it's fine!” No it was not, and they both knew this. Ou- KODI just wanted the thrill of being found out that the infamous phantom thief was the infamous liar, Ouma Kokichi; that would be quite a surprise, seeing KODI's attire.
A dark grey collared shirt under a white, gold and purple accented suit jacket. Did not seem flexible at all , but it wasn't that that needed to be completely flexible. Thick, white winter trousers seemingly tailor-made for a formal thief to make a quick (and not annoying) escape easily.
To make his hair unrecognisable, Ouma wore a black-haired wig, similar to Kamukura Izuru's (or Hinata Hajime as he more commonly went by accurately) hair length, but not in the exact style. The wig hair was in a loose ponytail - though pulled parts creating long rear lines - as well as a fringe similar to Saihara's own with a middle and the sides of the front of the face.
“KODI…” Saihara sighed, bringing his head down and his hand up. He was running on too little sleep and too many traumatic memories for this. “Just, what do you want?”
Pulling out a gun, KODI snickered, spying on the terrified looks on the workers in the office. “Here!” Recklessly tossing the weapon towards the detective, it fired.
Right at Saihara.
Gasps were heard all around the room, and the younger teen held his breath, eyes widening as the bullet came closer… closer…
It barely grazed his cheek, flying into the wall behind.
Blinking, Saihara's breath released, darting looks towards himself and the wall. That- that almost hit him . It almost killed him .
“Ooh,” KODI's voice rang from the windowsill he was perched upon. “That almost hit you!” Looking on the floor, the fired gun was sitting just in front of the aimed detective's feet. “Well, it did. But it's a tiny wound. It looks fine, Saihara-chan! Don't worry about it -” what? Don't worry about a gun that almost hit him? What was KODI on about now? “-DICE members clean the mess up. Please don't get me in trouble.” It was a pathetic plead for mercy. Gun use was definitely being added to his crime record, as well as harm of a police force member and damage of police property.
Saihara was still in shock, so a co-worker answered for him: “Of course not. This will all be filed in your crime count and- ugh. I thought KODI was a mercy criminal.”
“Wha!?-” came the call-reply. “I did not mean for it to fire, or hit Saihara-chan! It was a mere accident. ”
Collecting himself, Saihara's reply was as follows: “Accident or not, you are paying for these damages and..” he took a deep breath, “you're finally under arrest. Your crime list is now not only stealing. You're already a wanted criminal anyways.”
“What!? No, I'm escaping-”
“Your exits have been blocked, and communication devices broken.” What? No they weren't, pshh! They were right... Oh.
They were broken .
“Well, uhm!”
Grabbing the handcuffs, Saihara swiftly detained the phantom thief, and multiple others surrounded the two, in case of an escape.
“Ouma Kokichi, otherwise known as KODI, you are hereby under arrest for theft of valuable items, avoiding capture, gun use, the harming of a staff member of the police force, trespassing in numerous areas, and being the owner of a crime organisation.”
“Oh finally, you say my name, beloved!”
“Additionally, the Ouma Kokichi persona is under arrest for attempted murder, poisoning, and murder. Why aren't almost all Danganronpa participants arrested at this point..?”
“Forced. Forced murder.”
“Still murder. We could have just all died.”
“Well… Uhm…”
“Struggling for a comeback? It's because there are none. Now stop talking and let's move.”
Reluctantly and being forcefully dragged, KODI, known as Ouma Kokichi, was put in a cell.
His trial lasted no longer than the day, evidence from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony as well as testimonies from staff at the places KODI robbed solid. It was on national television, his identity being revealed and motives, although pure, still part of his crimes.
Ouma Kokichi was now spending some years in prison and unpaid work.
Saihara lived in guilt for around a year, arresting his once-friend being almost too much. He continued to work, though. It was his only source of income and the only thing he was good at - his education scarce. Once Ouma was released, he would fix this.
He would make sure of it.