That’s all that Kaito could scream as he pounded heavily on the door. Since he, Shuichi and Kokichi were caught, he had been locked in his room. He screamed, kicked and pounded at the door. He even tried to ram it down, which only resulted in him getting a bruise on the shoulder. He didn’t know how long he had kept up his protest for, it must have been for hours. No matter how loud he screamed and how hard he abused the door, no one came to see him or let him out. He knew that there must be someone posted outside his door if by some chance he was able to break the door down. He stopped eventually as he felt his throat go raw and his body felt drained. He was a little thankful that he was given food and water through a small slot by the door that he didn’t notice until now. These people weren’t going have him dying on them clearly. As Kaito ate slowly, he couldn’t help but blame himself for what had happened. Why didn’t he go to White’s office and see Keebo all on his own? He shouldn’t have dragged his friends into it like they didn’t matter. He didn’t know what was happening to them, but he’s the one that deserves the punishment, not them. He’ll have to hope that he can talk White into letting Shuichi and Kokichi off the hook instead of punishing them. They didn’t need to be put through more hurt than they already have gone through over the years.
Kaito had been sitting on his bed silently. He wasn’t going to waste anymore strength unless he had to. He still wasn’t giving up. He was going to get everyone out of this place. He didn’t care if he didn’t get out, so long as everyone else does. That’s what kept repeating in Kaito’s mind until the door finally opened. Kaito automatically felt himself glaring as he saw White at the door.
“I warned you, Momota. I told you that you were on your last warning.” The man said, his tone reminding Kaito of his school principal scolding him.
“Yeah, well I was never that great at listening.” Kaito shrugged crossing his arms defiantly.
“In the last few years, there has never been a Limitless that caused this much trouble in at least a week.” White continued to scold, ignoring Kaito’s remark.
“Gee, I wonder why.” Kaito scoffed as he stood up. The guards behind White grabbed their weapons, ready in case Kaito tried to attack the doctor. “You and your people say that we’re not human, but that’s not true. The only non human that I see here is people like you.”
“Oh really?” White sighed, as if this was something that he heard on a regular basis.
“What kind of monster takes kids away from their families and locks them away just because they’re a little different?” Kaito pressed. He knows that it won’t change White’s mind, but he really needed to let all of this out. He had kept it bottled up since the first day that he was brought here. It would give him some relief by letting all this out now.
“That is besides the point.” White sighed again.
“How many families have you torn apart because you took their kids and loved ones away from them?!” Kaito shouted, ignoring White. He couldn’t help but see the image of his grandparents looking completely heartbroken just by him going missing. He tried to block it out, but then embraced it as it fuelled him to keep fighting. “No one deserves what you’ve put them through in this prison. If anyone should be locked up and be put through that torture, it’s you!” White shrugged nonchalantly as he wiped his glasses on his coat. If those guards weren’t there, Kaito wouldn’t have hesitated in knocking the man’s teeth in. He wouldn’t have hesitated in hurting the man so much that he would be in the hospital for a long time. Just anything to make sure that everyone could escape.
“You, Oma and Saihara will be transferred to another facility.” White said, oblivious to Kaito’s words. Was this guy pretending to be deaf or something? That didn’t matter as Kaito processed what was said. Kokichi and Shuichi were being punished as well, just as he had feared. However, another thing that worried Kaito. Another facility? There was another facility somewhere? Was that full of other Limitless that were being tortured? So many questions ran through Kaito’s head that he could process all of them correctly.
“Like Hell I’m gonna just give up! You’re not going to stop me from getting everyone outta here!” He protested loudly. Again, he wished that the guards weren’t there so he could knock White out. He had clenched his fists so hard at this point that he felt like his fingernails were piercing the skin on his palms. His body was so tense that he may as well as been a stone statue.
“Then, I suppose that I’ll have to bring your grandparents into this.” White suddenly spoke casually.
“What?” Kaito stuttered, feeling like he was going to have a heart attack.
“If you resist, I will have to be forced to take drastic measures.” White shrugged, again far too casual for Kaito’s liking. It was like the doctor was so used to making threats that it might as well have been a daily occurrence to them. Kaito felt like the ground was ready to swallow him up at that moment. He wanted to get away, he wanted to get everyone out. That’s all that he wanted. However, his grandparents suddenly became more of a priority at that moment. He didn’t want to think that the worst might happen to them, but he wouldn’t put it past White. His fists slowly unclenched as he sat down back on the bed. He didn’t know what else to do or say at this point. There was nothing that he could do.
“I’m glad that we’ve finally come to an understanding.” White smiled creepily as he saw the defeated look on Kaito’s face. “It’s almost a shame, but I’m glad to see that you’re finally given up. Transport will pick you three up in a few hours. And you had better behave.” Kaito didn’t hear or look at the doctor. He didn’t start moving until he heard the door closed and the electronic lock clicking loudly. Kaito ran his hands through his hair as he felt like everyone had come crashing down around him. He was so focused on trying to get everyone out, he didn’t think about the consequences. He didn’t think that these people would hurt his family. He should’ve done. How could he have been so stupid? This shouldn’t be happening. He wanted to be a normal kid. A kid that had good friends and no more problems with his anger. He didn’t ask to have superpowers. He didn’t ask to be here and to be “experimented on” like he wasn’t a person anymore. He didn’t ask to be forcefully separated from his family. He didn’t ask for any of this!
Why did it have to come to this?!
Kaito remembered that not too long ago, he wanted to feel like a hero. However, right now, at this moment, he felt nothing like one. He feels useless. And he hates it.
Security seemed to have been lax in this new area. There weren’t any guards at all. It could change, but there wasn’t anyone there. The area just seemed to be deserted. It was quite foreboding just to be here. The area was still cared for, it was just as clean and white as everywhere else. However, the lights had been dimmed down, making it almost seem like the three Limitless were wandering into a ghost town. There were doors that led into different rooms, but there was one that seems to stand out more than the others. It seems to have cables running into the room. There was also a light from the other side of the door that showed clearly in the dim lighting.
“This is way too easy.” Kokichi grinned as he started picking the lock again.
“Hey! Try not to jinx it!” Kaito hissed at him, once again glancing around nervously. Kokichi had a point though. This was starting to become way too easy to try to find answers. If this room was that important, then there should guards be posted here. Or at least an electronic lock where Kokichi’s lock picking skills were useless. The locked clicked. Kaito gently turned the handle and pushed the door slightly open. He could see computer monitors, the source of the light. There was a big chair in front of them. Many cables were connected to it, seeming to also be connected to the monitors. There seemed to be the shape of someone sitting in the chair. They didn’t seem to notice the lock being turned or the door being opened. They seemed to be looking at something on the monitor. Were they looking at information on the internet? That’s strange. Wasn’t there supposed to be no contact with the outside world? Maybe being in this room was the only way to do that?
Kaito put a finger to his lips, signalling the other two to stay quiet. Kokichi looked like he was ready to shout, but Shuichi rapidly covered his mouth to make sure that didn’t happen. Kaito cautiously crept up to the chair. He tried to be as silent as he could. He didn’t know who was sitting there, but he can’t take any chances. He clenched his fist tightly, ready to attempt to knock this person out. However, a hand caught his fist just as he launched his fist towards them. A hand made of….metal? Kaito felt like the wind had been knocked out of him as the person stood up. At first he thought that this was a boy around about his age. However, there were things about the boy that didn’t quite fit. The clothing that he wore was more of metallic plating with four buttons running from his chest to his stomach. The “clothing” seemed to be representing that of a gakuran, a school uniform that was worn by male high school students. His skin was incredibly pale, paler than Maki’s, with black lines running from his eyes to his chin. He had white hair appeared to be sharp, along like an ahoge and his eyes were blue.
“What the-?!” Kaito couldn’t stop himself from exclaiming as he realised that the boy he was about to attack was a robot.
“Might I suggest that you calm down, and don’t try to attack me again. I don’t want to hurt you unless I have to.” The robot said calmly. Kaito was so surprised that he didn’t realise that he was nodding or that Shuichi and Kokichi came into the room until the robot released his fist. .shuichi closed the door behind them, trying to make it look like they weren’t inside the room. The robot calmly looked at the three Limitless. “I don’t think that you three are supposed to be here. Limitless are prohibited from entering this room. I won’t call the guards, but I suggest that you leave now.” Without waiting for anything, the robot calmly sat back down. As he did so, Kaito couldn’t help but noticed how some of the cables were attached to him. Was he connected to the computer somehow?
“Hold on! We’re just looking for answers here. We don’t want any trouble.” Kaito tried to reason. This robot didn’t seem bad. He actually seems like a decent person so to speak. He hasn’t called the guards, at least as far as Kaito could see. He might be able to help out.
“I know. I don’t want you to get into trouble.” The robot once again replied calmly. “That’s why I’m telling you to leave before someone finds out that you’re here. The last thing that I want is the Limitless to be hurt any further.” He doesn’t want the Limitless to be harmed? He knows how everyone was being treated and despises it. This was the first time that he met someone that actually cared about the Limitless in this Hellhole. It felt nice to find someone like that finally.
“You don’t like the way that we are treated, right? We’re only here to look for answers and then we’re gone.” Shuichi asked, standing next to Kaito. The robot still looked unsure. “What’s your name?”
“I am K1-B0. But please, call me Keebo.” The robot answered, seeming to go on an automatic response. Keebo glanced at the three Limitless again, seeming to be more conflicted about what he should do. “You three really want access to information?”
“If you can let us.” Shuichi answered. Keebo once again looked at the three. He finally turned to the computer and typed at the keyboard.
“I…I suppose five minutes won’t hurt. But that’s all you’re getting. I don’t want you to get into more trouble than you will be just by being here.” He said, clearing away what he had been looking at. He opened up the digital files that have been saved on the terminal, letting the three look at any of them. Kaito and Shuchi approached the computer screen, overlooking each file carefully.
“Hey, Keebo! Do robots have dicks?” Kokichi suddenly asked.
“How rude! I’ll have you know that what you’re saying is recorded. If you make one more remark like that, I will talk to the authorities!” Keebo shouted, offended by what the small boy had asked. Authorities? Did he mean the guards? Or did he mean the police outside the Facility?
“That won’t work! No one will listen to you because you’re a robot.” Kokichi grinned, unable to resist making the taunt.
“That’s robophobic!” Keebo shouted, starting to become more irritated. Shuchi and Kaito ignored it as best they could. They looked at all the files that had been open. It was digital copies of everyone in the Facility, even the staff. It was the Limitless that was more important. There was information about everybody. Names, addresses, powers and other information that they were able to gather as the Limitless stayed. There were even images of Limitless as they were being experimented on, which made both Shuichi and Kaito visibly sick to their stomachs. What made it worse was how much information there was on everyone. It made them feel exposed. However, the feeling of being sick was suddenly cleared when Shuichi suddenly caught sight of a file that wasn’t opened. He used the computer mouse to try to open it, only to be found that it was password protected, just like the computer in White’s office.
“Hey, Keebo. This file, "Project J.E”, do you know the password to open it? Or what’s in it?“ Shuichi asked, interrupting the argument the robot was still having with Kokichi. Again, he didn’t want to attempt to guess the password, in case there was an alarm should the password be guessed incorrectly.
"I apologise, I’m afraid that I don’t know anything. Every time the file is to be accessed, I am forced into power down mode, which is a lot like sleeping to you humans.” Keebo sighed in disappointment. Even Keebo doesn’t know anything about this project. It was good and bad. Good because it means that the file does have something inside it. However, it was bad because Keebo is unable to access it.
“You really don’t know anything about it?” Kaito asked, just to be sure.
“I am sorry.” Keebo said, truly looking apologetic.
“What about the reason why everyone is here?” Kaito asked again. It was the main question that he needed to be answered. If no one else would give him a straight answer, Keebo just might. There was a chance that the information might be blocked from the robot too, but it was worth asking.
“I think it has something to do with "Project J.E”. From what I can speculate, the only function that I had was to find Limitless to make a weapon.“ Keebo thought out loud carefully. To make a weapon? It would explain why the Limitless were forced to go through all of that torture. The experiments were to see how well the Limitless can endure the pain and how quickly Rantaro can heal them, depending on the injuries. All that just to make some kind of weapon. But why?
"Wait! You’re the one that found us?” Kokichi suddenly asked.
“Yes. That is my purpose.” Keebo explained. “I am linked to a satellite over Japan that locates any Limitless who uses their powers. I am also linked to all security cameras in the country, should any Limitless accidentally expose themselves in public. For example, here’s the night you first experienced your powers, Kaito.” Keebo once again typed at the keyboard. The files were swept to one side showing CCTV footage. Kaito immediately recognised the roof that he was on that night. He recognised the boys that attacked him. He had a horrible twisting in his stomach as he watched Katsu punching him and shoving him off the roof. The video flickered as Kaito went over the side. It changed to a security camera that happened to be pointing at the point where Kaito had found himself hovering above the ground before he fell to it. The footage ended with Kaito’s grandfather getting him to his feet and getting him home.
“That’s one way to find out that you can fly.” Kokichi couldn’t help but comment as he watched the video.
“Yeah. It was scary.” Kaito shuddered. However, he shook that off as he turned to look at Keebo again. “Keebo, there is a way out of here, right?”
“Yes. There is an exit. You’re planning to escape?” Keebo asked, suddenly starting to sound eager.
“Yes.” Kaito answered.
“Keebo, can this computer control everything that goes on here? Such as the doors that are locked electronically?” Shuichi suddenly asked. Kaito was a little surprised. Had Shuichi already thought out a plan?
“Yes. If you want, I can help you escape.” Keebo answered, a smile gracing his face.
“Really?” Kaito exclaimed, taken quite aback. He figured that Keebo wanted to stop the Limitless from suffering anymore, but he was still quite surprised by the fact that the robot was this willing to help and go against his creators.
“Don’t trust him! He’s a robot! Robots are always untrustworthy!” Kokichi protested.
“That’s another robophobic remark!” Keebo shouted, looking irritated again. He ignored Kokichi as he pulled a face at him and looked at Kaito seriously. “I want to help because this room is all that I’ve known. I’ve never even see the sun before. If I help you, you’ll help me get out too. Deal?” So Keebo is a prisoner here too. It sounded like a fair deal. They help the robot, and the robot helps them. Before anyone could answer, the door suddenly slammed open. No one had anytime to react as guards suddenly rushed in. The guards immediately grabbed at the Limitless and shoved Keebo back into the chair as he stood up to the fighting back. As the Limitless were taken away, they just heard a crackle of electricity. Was Keebo shocked by the guards? Kokichi was so small that he was actually lifted a couple of inches off the ground, causing him to kick as furiously as he could. Kaito had the same amount of fight, determined to get away. It almost worked as he felt like he got off of the ground thanks to his powers. However, he was shocked quite viciously, almost causing him to black out. However, as Shuichi tried to get away, that’s not what his mind was focused on. He was focused on something else. On someone else…
‘Angie! If you can hear me, I need you to listen to me very carefully!’
I swear that this chapter tried to be the end of me. I struggled a little with writing this.
I hope that it’s good.
Kaito wasn’t sure how long he had been sleeping for, but he knows that it was only for at least a few hours. He spent most of the previous day unconscious, so that probably factored into it. Not to mentioned it was so uncomfortable sleeping on the padded floor that he might as well have been sleeping on concrete. No matter what position he tried to sleep in, he just couldn’t get comfortable. Even if he did get into a comfortable position, he doubted that he would be sleeping anyway. He was thinking too heavily about what he had to do to get into White’s office. He has to get in there to find out what was going on. He had planned and redid it so many times. He didn’t want to drag anyone else into this, he didn’t want to get anyone else into trouble. However, he only came to one conclusion. He doesn’t like it, but he didn’t see another way of getting into White’s office.
Kaito felt like he had been able to sleep to a few hours when he suddenly heard a loud, monotone buzz. The sound was so loud that Kaito flinched violently. He opened his eyes blearily as he sat up. He couldn’t help but groan as his body felt incredibly stiff. His body protested his movements as a door opened up. White was standing there, his face as blank as a canvas. Kaito wanted to say something, but decided against it. He didn’t want to say something that could mean that he stays in here longer. White had two guards beside him, batons in hand in case Kaito tried anything. White pulled out a fresh white shirt and unceremoniously threw it in front of Kaito. Feeling a chill ripple through the padded cell, Kaito gratefully grabbed the item of clothing and put it on.
“Go to the cafeteria. You have one hour to have a meal. You’ll be escorted to the Lounge Area when you’re done.” White ordered, pushing his glasses up his nose. Kaito glared at him a little longer until he was cruelly reminded that had barely eaten yesterday. His stomach gurgled so loudly, that even Maki could probably hear it. He slowly got up, again groaning a little as his body forced itself to move. White stepped aside, allowing Kaito to walk out with his escort. “And Momota, don’t think that I’ll forgive and forget yesterday’s events. You are on your final warning. Do not waste it.” Again, Kaito wanted to say something or give White the middle finger or both, but he didn’t. He didn’t want to risk being put in that awful room again. He just kept walking.
He was giving a big meal that was more of a brunch. As he ate, he briefly wondered if Maki was eating. She had to be. There’s no way that they’d let her starve in Isolation. Kaito wished that he had made sure that she was awake and eating something, but there was a reason why he didn’t. If White figures out that Maki had a way to talk to someone while she was locked away, he might have the hole in the wall filled in or something. Maki deserved to have someone to talk to while she was in Isolation. Especially given the torture that she was forced to be put through.
By time he finished eating, Kaito was immediately dragged to the Lounge Area. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to see the others, but he almost hoped that they would let him take a nap. Then he was reminded about what he needed to do. When he finally reached the room. Everyone in it suddenly rushed over to him, almost all of them looking visibly worried. It reminded Kaito of his first time meeting everyone. They kept asking him if he was okay and what had happened.
“Guys! Guys! I’m okay! I just caused a ruckus in the lab and spent time in Isolation.” Kaito hurriedly announced to the others, effectively making them settle down. After a few more questions about what had happened and Kaito explaining what he could (regretfully missing out his conversation with Maki since two guards were present in the room), the others went back to what they were doing.
“Shuichi? I need to speak to you for a second.” Kaito quickly asked, gesturing to a quiet side of the room. Shuichi silently nodded, not quite sure what Kaito wants to talk about. Kaito quickly glanced at the guards, making sure that they weren’t paying attention. Apparently security seemed to have increased, probably to make sure that he’s kept in check for a while. The guards didn’t look like they were interested in anything that was going on in the room. Making sure to keep it that way, Kaito dropped his voice to the point where only Shuichi should hear him. “I need you to use your powers to look into White’s office.”
“What?” Shuichi exclaimed, almost blowing their cover with how loud he suddenly was. Kaito quickly shushed at him to keep his voice down. “Sorry. But why do you-”
“Please. This is important, man.” Kaito begged, feeling desperate. Shuichi sighed in defeat. He closed his eyes for a couple of seconds. When he opened them again, his eyes were completely a silvery grey colour. Even his pupils were gone. It almost made Kaito freak out, but he stayed as calm as he could. “Is there anyone in there?”
“I don’t see anyone.” Shuchi answered before he blinked and his eyes went back to normal. “What’s going on?”
“I need to search for answers as to why we’re all here.” Kaito sighed, knowing that he wasn’t going to get out of this. Shuichi looked like he was ready to tell Kaito to back out of his plan but Kaito stopped him. “Look, you don’t have to help. I honestly don’t want to drag you into it, but I need someone to watch my back. You can use your powers to do that.” This was what Kaito truly wanted to avoid. He didn’t want to drag anyone else into this, but he didn’t see any other way of sneaking into White’s office without getting caught. Shuchi bit his lip, looking incredibly hesitant. Kaito honestly wanted his new friend to say no. However, something inside him said that it won’t be the case. Shuchi, much like everyone else no doubt, wanted answers as to the motive behind why everyone was here.
“I don’t like this, but I’ll help.” Shuichi sighed in defeat. Kaito felt relieved but worried at the same time. He’ll have to be extra with this. “But White’s office is more than likely locked. How would we get in?” That’s one thing that Kaito didn’t think of. Of course White’s office would be locked without him being in it. He didn’t think that far ahead. He’ll need to rethink everything.
“Can I help?” Kokichi suddenly asked as he jumped onto Kaito’s back, making him yelp in surprise.
“Where did you come from?!” He exclaimed, trying to shrug the smaller boy off of him.
“What do you mean "help”?“ Shuichi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I told you! I’m a leader of a top secret evil organisation! I know lock picking! I can get you into the doctor’s office.” Kokichi grinned, looking a little malicious. Kaito wasn’t too sure about what Kokichi was offering. The brat was a constant liar he had noticed frequently. There was a 90% chance that he was lying about his locking i king skills. But even if it was just a 10% chance that he was telling the truth, it was a chance that Kaito was hesitantly willing to take.
“Fine. You can help. Just behave yourself.” Kaito sighed, giving in, as he was finally able to get Kokichi off of his back.
“Okie dokie.” Kokichi grinned, looking like a kid that was overexcited.
“Okay. But what about the guards?” Shuichi asked, looking over at the guards in concern. That was another problem. Unless they stirred a good enough diversion, they would never get past the armed men.
“Neeheehee! Leave it to me!” Kokichi grinned before he vanished completely from sight. He must have touched Himiko at some point very recently. Kaito and Shuichi waited patiently, trying their best to look like they were having a normal conversation. They didn’t know what Kokichi was planning, but they’ll have to trust him for now. They waited for about another minute until they noticed that one of the guards looked uncomfortable.
“Hey!” He shouted, turning to the guard he was stationed with.
“What?” The second guard asked, taken aback.
“Why did you touch me?” The first guard hissed, just about within earshot of everybody else.
“Excuse me?” The second guard asked, again sounding quite surprised.
“Why did you touch my ass?!” The first guard yelled furiously. This caused everyone to turn their heads towards the guards in surprise. Kaito had to hold back the urge to laugh. That little prankster….
“Why would I touch your ass?!” The second guard yelled back, looking mortified and angry at the allegation.
“Yeah right!” The first guard scoffed.
“I-” the second guard was ready to protest before he was suddenly tackled by the first guard. However, it looked more like the first guard was suddenly pushed. They both crashed to the ground. They didn’t stop there. They immediately both started to punch and kick at each other. They actually looked like kids having a fight in the school playground then fully grown men. The others were too distracted by the ruckus to think that something was amiss. However, Shuchi and Kaito noticed that the door suddenly opened. They pictured Kokichi giggling away to himself, proud of what he had done. They didn’t hesitate in sneaking out of the Lounge Area and heading to White’s office.
———————————————————————————
“Hurry up, Kokichi!” Kaito hissed impatiently.
“You can’t rush artistry. And trust me, this is art.” Kokichi muttered bitterly as he was fiddling with two thin needles in the lock. Kaito only glanced around the corridors nervously. They’ve avoided the guards so far, but goodness knows how much longer that will last. Shuichi didn’t add anything to the exchange. He was still keeping an eye on White. Apparently the doctor was in the lab overlooking the repairs. The repairs were going along a lot more swift than Kaito would’ve liked. Hopefully, he can get everyone out before the lab is fully functioning again.
Kaito felt like a parade went off in his head when he heard a loud click of the lock finally being turned. The door opened with ease as Kokichi pushed it open.
“Open says me.” He grinned, pocketing the needles. Without waiting for a further invitation, the three swarmed into the office. Kaito couldn’t quite believe that it was surprisingly this easy to get in. However, he didn’t dare say anything out loud should he jinx it. Kokichi looked like he was about to attempt unlocking the filing cabinet, but gave up when he realised that it electronically locked. That confused Kaito. He honestly expected the office to be locked electronically, but it wasn’t. It was almost as if White was begging someone to break into his office. Kaito wasn’t sure about this. He noticed Shuichi starting to rummage through the desk. Kaito joined him and tried to open up the computer. However it was password protected. Kaito didn’t dare try to attempt guessing the password. It could be triggered by an alarm or something like that for all he knew.
“"Project J.E”? What?“ Shuchi suddenly muttered as he pulled out a file from the desk draw. A bit reckless. That was what Kaito thought until Shuichi opened it. "There’s nothing in this file.” Sure enough there was nothing in it. No documents, photographs, not even notes for the project were inside the file. Nothing for them to go on, but something for them to be possibly be worried about.
“Maybe there’s a digital copy somewhere. Or it could be a new project that hasn’t been out into motion yet.” Kaito muttered absentmindedly. His eyes wondered to the open draw, suddenly spotting something that looked like a diagram. “What’s this?” Kaito carefully pulled it out of the draw and laid the document as flat on the deals as he could. Kokichi had joined him and Shuichi at that moment. After a brief spin in the chair, just for the fun of it, he pulled himself over to the desk to see what they were looking at.
“Looks like the Facilty.” He said as soon as he laid eyes on the diagram. He started pointing at different points on it. “See? There’s the rooms where we sleep. The Lounge Area and cafeteria. There the lab and Isolation.” He was right. Now that he pointed out the rooms, Kaito could easily see them. He spotted what looked to be the exit of the Facility. He knows where it is. He can get everyone out. He just needs to plan how to do it. However, that was stopped when he suddenly noticed an area that seemed to be unmarked.
“But what’s that area?” Kaito asked as he pointed out the area in question.
“I have no idea. Shuichi? If you could please?” Kokichi shrugged before smiling expectedly at Shuichi. He didn’t need much encouraging as his eyes turned silvery grey again. However, his face seems to contort a little into confusion as he blinked a couple a of times, turning his arms back to normal.
“Whatever it is, I can’t see into it.” He said, his tone a mixture of confusion and disappointment.
“Please tell me you’re joking.” Kaito begged. That can’t be right. The Limitless are given that name their powers are supposed to be…well…limitless. Shuchi couldn’t have hit a dead end with trying to look into one area, one room, right?
“Shuichi never jokes.” Kokichi said, for once sounding genuinely worried.
“I honestly cannot see anything in there. It’s like…it’s similar to Miu’s problem.” Shuichi thought out loud, piecing things together in his head.
“What do you mean?” Kaito asked, getting a little bit more of a bad feeling.
“Miu can control machines. Even go as far as to take them apart and put them back together as something else.” Shuichi explains, telling Kaito all that he already knew. However, it was what Shuichi said next that started to make him go a little on edge. “But she seems to struggle with certain things. I don’t know if it’s something to do with the building itself, the equipment that’s in the Facility or maybe they slip something in the food and drink or even the ventilation system, but something seems to be limiting her powers in a way.”
“And the same thing is happening to you?” Kaito asked, feeling worry creep into his body. “I hate to say it, but if we need to find out what’s in that area-”
“-we’ll have to go ourselves.” Shuchi finished, looking just as uncertain.
“But what if it’s something super boring? Like, I don’t know, the living quarters for the staff here?” Kokichi asked, sounding like a bored child.
“Only one way to find out.” Kaito sighed. There had to be something that was worth blocking Shuichi from seeing. There had to be.
This chapter might be a little boring, because it is mostly dialogue, but most of it is important to the story.
I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.
Kaito felt like he had been hit by a car when he started coming around. His head was killing him. His body felt heavy, as if it were made of lead. He couldn’t quite move it completely, but he felt like he was getting some feeling back. He opened his eyes, and pretty much regretted it afterwards. Either he saw so much white to last him a lifetime that he’s starting to hallucinate the colour, or he was actually seeing the colour white. Either way, it made his headache a little worse. He closed his eyes to take in his surroundings as best he could. He couldn’t hear anything. The ground felt soft under him. Not soft like he was on a mattress. It was soft like he was laying on something that was padded. He didn’t feel like he was tied down, which was a relief. He remembered everything that happened in the lab. He didn’t feel like his back had been savaged into or his spine was messed with as he twitched his toes just to make sure. It give him more relief at that. He just felt a little numb where he had been stabbed with the needle. They must have just knocked him out and brought him to wherever this place is. He must have made more damage than he thought he did in the lab. At least he put the lab out of commission for a short while. But for how long?
Kaito opened his eyes again, feeling like his head had been cleared up a bit. He definitely didn’t hallucinate the colour white. Feeling like his body can function fully again, he slowly sat up. He took in everything. Well, not that there was much to take in anyways. He was in a 6x6 room. This room truly made him feel like he was in a mental hospital now. The floor, the walls the ceiling was padded. There was a tiny vent in the ceiling to circulate the air, but that’s all that Kaito had to the outside. There was no door, at least, not one that he could see. Not even a window on the door. There was nothing in the room either to keep Kaito occupied. There wasn’t even a fresh shirt for him to put on (his upper half was still bare). Kaito looked for a way out, but there was nothing. He tried to get himself off the ground, but his powers weren’t working. Did this place block his powers?
“HEY! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUTTA HERE!” Kaito screamed, his voice echoing around the room. He didn’t know if anyone could hear him, but he had to try. He was starting to go crazy in this room, and he had only been in it for a minute.
“Stop shouting. You’ll only lose your voice.”
Kaito’s body swung around so fast that he almost slipped over. Where did that voice come from? There was no one else in here other than him. Either he was losing it because of the sedative drug he was given, or there was a ghost in here with him.
“W-w-who’s there? Y-you’re not a g-g-ghost, are you?” He stuttered, feeling a chill run through his body.
“Don’t be stupid.” The voice scowled. “Search along the walls on the floor. You’ll find a hole there. I think a mouse must have gotten in here at some point.” Kaito tonight that the voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t be sure. He listened to the voice, and got down on his stomach. He crawled slowly along the floor, keeping a close eye on the wall. It took him a minute, but he was able to find a small hole that only a mouse could fit through. He peaked through it as best he could. The hole was a tunnel that exited the room next door. Telling by the background, it was a room identical to his. Straining his eye to have a better look, he could see dark brown hair.
“Maki?!” Kaito found himself exclaiming out of impulse.
“Why do you sound so surprised? Who else were you expecting?” Maki replied. Kaito couldn’t see it, but he could picture her rolling her eyes. Telling by the fact that he was unable to use his powers, Maki was probably in the same position as him. Otherwise, she would be out of here by now. But that means…
“So this is-” he started to piece things together.
“-Isolation? Took you long enough to figure it out. You’re more stupid than I took you for.” Maki sighed, again sounding like she was rolling her eyes. Kaito felt uncomfortable laying down like this. He sat up, back against the wall. “So, what are you here for?”
“I kinda caused a bit of a riot in the lab.” Kaito smirked, remembering the look on everyone’s faces.
“Really now? You probably didn’t do that much damage though compared to my first days in that lab.” Maki seemed to smirk back, as if she were trying to make a game out of this.
“I don’t doubt that.” Kaito laughed. He pictured Maki not taking shit from anyone in that lab. He pictured her picking everyone up with her powers and throwing them. He pictured her wrecking the lab so much that it would take months to repair. Such chaos. Kaito wouldn’t mind that happening.
“Don’t suppose White told you how long I’d be in here for, did he?” Maki suddenly asked. She must have guessed that he had seen White, just like he wanted. Kaito felt like punching something as he was given a harsh reminder of what had happened in White’s office. But what good will that do?
“He said a month. But I told him what had really happened, so I’m hoping that it’ll lessen your sentence a bit.” Kaito explained, hoping to shed some light to the grim situation.
“Don’t bet on it.” Kaito could just about hear Maki mutter. “A month huh? Better than half a year I guess.”
“Six months?!” Kaito exclaimed.
“At least you’ve got, what? 24 hours I should think.” Maki sighed. 24 hours? Great. Kaito was thankful for the fact that he could talk to Maki. He might have lost his mind and feel claustrophobic if he didn’t. He didn’t know what the time was, so he doesn’t know if he should fall asleep or not. Actually, maybe he shouldn’t. If Maki was willing to talk to him now, he would like to see her open up a bit more to him.
“Hey, I want to say thank you. For what you did earlier. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you didn’t.” Kaito finally said. He needed to say it anyway. If he didn’t now, he doesn’t know if he’ll get another chance. Maki didn’t respond to that. At least e didn’t think that she did. He thought that he heard her mutter something, but he couldn’t be sure. “So, why did you help me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I felt sorry for you. Or maybe because you were the first person in a long time that stood up for me. Call it returning a favour I guess.” Maki shrugged. Oh yeah. Kaito had almost forgotten all about that incident. Kaito didn’t want to see that as returning a favour, or him being pitied. The problem was is that Maki didn’t seem to want Kaito as a friend, so he couldn’t say that was her reason. “That was the first time in four years that I’ve actually used my powers.”
“Four-how long have you been here for?” Kaito suddenly found himself asking. He didn’t know if Maki was going to answer, but it would be great if she did.
“Let’s see. I was twelve when I was first brought in. I’m seventeen now so…five years. I think.” Maki sighed, seeming to be deep in thought. Five years? How has she kept her sanity for this long? “When you’ve been here as long as I have, you tend to lose count of the days. They don’t even let us celebrate Christmas or our birthdays here. The only way that I keep track of the years is keeping an eye on a calendar that’s hanging up in the lab somewhere.” No celebrating Christmas or birthdays? The things that makes us human, even the little things, have been stripped as much as possible. Kaito couldn’t imagine not being able to celebrate a birthday or Christmas. It would make him depressed.
“Five years…how have you not lost your mind yet?” Kaito commented somewhat absentmindedly.
“I don’t know. Guess I’m just so used to something like this that it’s normal to me now. I do miss the sun though. I’ve forgotten what it felt like on my skin.” Maki sighed. For once, Maki showed some emotion. She had been closing off her emotions so much that Kaito wondered if she remembered what it was like to feel anything. The way she spoke made Kaito think of her as a child that was lost and hurt. A child that wanted a friend and just wanted to be loved. Kaito wished that he could give her a hug right now at this moment. He didn’t want to hear her voice sounding like that ever again. He wanted her to feel accepted. He didn’t understand why the others were so scared of her and shunned her away. She didn’t deserve that. That’s when Kaito suddenly remembered something that Kokichi had called Maki on his second day in the Facility.
“Maki, I know that this might be a sensitive question for you, but why does everyone call you "Murder Girl”? You don’t seem like a bad person.“ Kaito asked, being careful with his words. He felt like he was close on getting Maki to open up more. He didn’t want that squandered because he was stupid enough to ask about a potentially sensitive topic.
"You don’t know me. You don’t know how much of a monster I am.” Maki scowled at him. That didn’t sound good. Kaito can’t let this go. But he can’t make it seem like she was being forced into it. It was her choice to talk about it after all.
“I understand if you don’t want to speak about it…but please help me to understand. It’s not like we’ve got anything else to talk about anyway.” Kaito gently probed. Maki went silent. This wasn’t a good sign. Maybe he went too far. He was ready to say something else, but Maki’s voice suddenly returned.
“You better brace yourself for a long and boring story then.” She sighed. Kaito crossed his legs to try to be in a better sitting position and listened as closely and as patiently as he can. “I grew up in an orphanage. I was ten years old when these two men started visiting it. They seemed like normal men at first. But now that I think about it, they were scouting for future talents. I overheard them talking about donating a huge sum of money to the orphanage if they took in a kid. The orphanage needed it, badly, so I volunteered to go. I didn’t want to, but I wanted to secure the future of the orphanage. However, I didn’t know of the Hell I would be put through.
The men that "adopted” me were scouts for an assassination cult. They pushed my body to the limits with training. Everyday I vomited. Every night I cried. After awhile, I became numb. I didn’t care about who I killed. I didn’t care if I was killing an innocent or not. One day however, I found that I had myself in a corner. And as my victim attacked me, I suddenly pushed them back with my mind, snapped their neck by accident. I freaked out. I went back to my boss and explained what had happened. He saw it as an opportunity to make a new weapon out of me. They made me do tests to see what I can do. “Harukawa, can you flip this car with your mind?”. Yeah. I could do it.
They got their weapon, but I got cheated out of my childhood.“
Kaito didn’t know how to comment on that. Maki was forced to become something that she shouldn’t have been. Her scars. Kaito knew that there was something off about them. A lot of them was from her training and her job as an assassin. And the monsters that "took her in” treated her more like a weapon. Kaito can’t even imagine how much of a strain had been put on her. She must have suffered so much. Kaito would do anything to take away her pain. If he could, he would erase the scars away from her body, help her to step away from the past after she is constantly reminded of it.
“How did you end up here?” Kaito hesitantly asked.
“White somehow found out about me.” Maki explained sadly. “Men attacked the cult and killed everyone in sight. At first I thought that they were there to help me, to rescue me, to teach me how to be normal finally. Guess life has a way of bringing me unhappiness. And keep reminding me that I’m a monster.”
“You’re not a monster.” Kaito snapped, angry at how much self hatred Maki was portraying. She should never say anything like that. She doesn’t deserve to because none of this was her fault. He needs to remind her of that.
“Momota, you know why everyone calls me "Murder Girl” now. When they found out what I was outside, they got scared of me.“ Maki sighed, dismissing all that Kaito had said. "I stopped using my powers in front of them, even if I needed to protect myself. But no matter how hard I tried to stop them from being scared of me, that’s all I’m good at doing. See? I am a monster.”
“Have you ever tired explaining to the others about your situation?” Kaito asked, hoping that she would say yes. However, there was something that told him that she wasn’t going to give him the answer that he wanted.
“You’re first to actually listen to me. And will probably be the last.” Maki sighed again.
“If you want, I can…you know…support you. Help you explain your story to everyone.” Kaito offered. He didn’t care if she said yes or no. He just wanted her to be reminded that she has someone to count on. After hearing her story, he made the decision that she deserved to have someone to have as a friend, even if she denies that.
“Why even bother? It’s clear that they’ve made up their minds about me.” Maki said. Her words sounded sharp at the start, but her voice softened as she spoke. “Even after not using my powers for four years, they don’t seem to trust me. Just because the guards and scientists blame whatever little incident that happens here on me. Just because of my so called "gift”. A guard trips over something, it was my fault. A scientist drops some dangerous equipment in the lab, I’m given nothing but blame. Even if I’m not in the same room as them, unless I’m in Isolation, people always find something to blame me for. Just because I’m a monster.“ There she goes again. Maki once again sounded like a lost child. Kaito desperately wanted to hug her, or say something to help her. But there was nothing that he and do. He didn’t know what to say either. He felt so useless like this. Maki deserved none of that. She should’ve been given at least one chance to have a friend, just one. Kaito wants to be her friend after all of this. More importantly, he wants her to be free. Free from everything in this hellhole. The first thing that Kaito needs to do however, is to find out what is going on and why everyone was here in the first place.
"Maki, I know I’ve already asked you this, but do you know why everyone is here? Anything could help, even the tiniest of details.” Kaito asked, desperate for answers.
“I…I’m sorry, Momota. I might have been here the longest, but even I don’t know what goes on here.” Maki said quietly, truly sounding regretful that she couldn’t give him more. “I don’t want to get you into more hot water, but if anyone knows, it’s White. There might be something in his office.” Of course! Why didn’t Kaito think of that before?! White’s office had to have something in it. A file on his computer. A journal in his desk. Hell, even a page that had notes on it would be of something help. There just had to be something in that office. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try.
“Thank you, Maki.” Kaito smiled, wishing that Maki could see how grateful he was. He suddenly thought of something that she needed to hear right now. “Hey, Maki. When-”
“Momota, I’m sorry, but I’m tired. I’m gonna try to get some sleep now.” Maki interrupted, letting out a quiet yawn as she said that. Kaito couldn’t blame her for saying that. After all, there is no sense of time. Kaito didn’t know what time it was, but he could hazard a guess depending on how long he had been out for.
“How can you sleep on a floor like this?” He muttered out loud without meaning to.
“When you’ve been in here as often as I have, you get used to it.” Maki answered as Kaito heard her shuffling around a little in her room, most likely trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in.
“Of course.” Kaito couldn’t help but feel stupid at that. He should’ve known that Maki would say something like that. However, there was one more thing that he needed to say to Maki. He needs to say it now, or else he might not get another chance.
“Listen, Maki. When I’ve found out what’s going on here, I’m getting everyone out. That includes you too. There’s no way in Hell that I’m leaving you behind.” Kaito said confidently. He didn’t know if Maki had heard it, having fallen asleep that quick, but he was glad to finally say that. Kaito shuffled away from the wall. He laid on his back in the centre of the room, staring up at the ceiling. He’ll get everyone out of here, that’s a promise. He’ll make sure everyone goes home. And maybe, he can take Maki home with him. So she could finally feel normal. And have a real family. With that in mind, Kaito turned to his side to try to get into a better sleeping position. He wasn’t sure did he dreamed it, or if it was real, but he thought that he heard Maki’s depressed and broken voice respond to him.
“Don’t try to give me hope, Momota. I lost that a long time ago.”
Kaito felt sore when he finally woke up. His vision was bleary as he started to slowly move. Or at least, he tried to move. He couldn’t move his arms and legs at all. He must have gone so numb that it’s gotten to the point where he can’t feel much of his body. However, he felt like something was clamping down on his limbs. He was laying on his stomach. He shivered a little as he realised that his shirt was missing. Even with his shirt, though, Kaito was sure that he could feel the cold. He was laying on something cold and hard. Kaito looked around as best he could from where he was.
Oh no…not here….
Kaito looked around frantically. He was in the lab again. His arms and legs were strapped down to a table. Kaito tensed up, testing the restraints. He could barely move at all. He was laying face down, causing his head to hang over the table limply while he was unconscious. What happened in White’s office suddenly rushed through his mind. Their conversation and what had happened before he had passed out. White said something about it being “his turn”. Now Kaito understood. It was his turn to be in the lab again. ‘White…the bastard…when I get my hands on him, I’ll knock him sideways!’ Kaito silently vowed, pulling again at the restraints. He needs to get out of here. He needs to speak to the others. He needs to work out a plan to get everyone out of this place.
“Dr Swan. He’s awake.”
Kaito’s head snapped around to where the voice came from. There they were again. The people that tortured him the first time he was in this torture chamber. All of them were prepping to “experiment” on him again. Sara’s cold eyes looked over at Kaito. He glared at her as best he could. She was unfazed by it.
“So what? It doesn’t matter if he’s awake or not. Even if he woke up during the incisions, it wouldn’t matter. So long as we get our results, his welfare is meaningless.” Sara sighed as she was done being prepped for the experiment. Incisions? Kaito looked around better. Just within view, he could see a tray. There were multiple scalpels and tools to open up different parts of the body laying there maliciously. These people….these monsters…were they really going to open him up?! Kaito started moving his arms and legs around. He wasn’t sure, but he thought that the restraints were less tight compared to the first time. Did these people think that he wasn’t going to wake up at this moment? There was something else as well. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but he thought that his body wasn’t fully on the table anymore. Was he floating again? Whatever it is, he needs to keep doing it. Otherwise he might not be able to get out of here. Kaito stopped moving as Sara approached him again.
“I’m curious to see your bone density. Let’s start with the spine, shall we?” She said, running a crawl, gloved finger along Kaito’s back. It seems that she didn’t notice Kaito was suddenly a mere inch off of the table.
“My…spine?” Kaito struggled to speak at that. He struggled as he felt a pen mark different points on his back. “You can’t! What if you damage it permanently?!” Aside from ghosts, that was one of Kaito’s fears. When he was in that accident, doctors would keep remarking that he was lucky that his spine was perfectly intact. He didn’t understand it back then, but he did now. If these monster will treat his spine the same way as they did his arm, there might be the possibility of his spine never recovering from it, even with Rantaro healed it. He wouldn’t be able to go to space. He’d never be able to walk again. He could possibly even die from the surgery!
“Who cares? If Amami can’t heal it, then that’s your problem. After all, you’re not human anymore, remember?” Sara shrugged carelessly. No one spoke against her. They had the same thought in mind as she did. Kaito was once again reminded how cruelly all compassion in this place was stripped away from all the Limitless. No one cared if he came out paralysed or dead. Just so long as they got their results after dissecting him. Kaito’s eyes widened as Sara’s hand drifted almost delicately over the scalpels. He needs to get out of here! He screwed his eyes shut as Sara picked up a scalpel. He could feel his heart racing as he sensed the cruel blade approaching his skin. He tensed up his muscles, pulling hard against the restraints. He could feel his body being desperate to take flight. 'Come on! Please! You did it earlier! You can do it now! Come on, you idiot! Just FLY!’ Kaito’s inner voice yelled at him.
Suddenly there was a loud crash and the sound of people shouting. The sound of someone falling backwards. The sound of scalpels clattering to the ground. The feeling of weightlessness. Kaito opened his eyes as he felt his back hit the ceiling. He saw that the lab was almost a mess. The restraints were still attached to him, but they were ripped off of the table completely. The table itself almost looked like it was bent a little from where his limbs were. His wrists and ankles stung from the force of breaking away from the table. There was a slight sting on his back as blood tricked down it, telling Kaito that he must have nicked himself on the scalpel as he took flight. Everyone stood far back away from the table while Sara was on the floor in disbelief. Kaito himself almost couldn’t believe it. How strong was he? He wasn’t that strong before. An effect of him flying maybe?
“Get down this instant!” Sara suddenly yelled, coming out of her state of shock. She pointed the slightly bloodied scalpel threateningly at Kaito. “I order you to get down!”
“Why should I?” Kaito asked, glaring hard at the woman. There was no reason for him to come down. He didn’t want to be butchered like he wasn’t human. He was human, and no one is going to take that away from him. Besides, he was in full control of his ability to fly now. There wasn’t much that these monsters could do to stop him.
“Because I am the doctor in charge of this lab!” Sara shrieked, turning a shade of red in rage.
“Doctor? You’re not a doctor!” Kaito spat, his fists clenched tightly. Sara looked at him with an offended look, so he kept going. “Doctors are meant to help and heal people! You torture and scar people! You treat them like they have lost what makes them human! You will never be a doctor!” Kaito wouldn’t admit it out loud right now, but he was glad to get that off of his chest. That seemed to have struck a nerve with Sara as she turned a darker shade of red, which made him feel more satisfied. She looked furiously around at everyone who was still looking dumbfounded up at Kaito. She turned to the two guards that were present in the room.
“Don’t just stand there, you idiots! Get him!” She barked, waving the scalpel around like a madwoman. The guards snapped out of their shock and started walking over to where Kaito was. So long as he kept his feet up, they shouldn’t be able to reach him. It wouldn’t stop them from climbing on the ruined table to try though. Kaito swiftly moved to the comer of the ceiling. There was nothing there that anyone could use to try to grab him. He needs to try to think of a strategy to get out of here. The door was unguarded, but what’s to stop one of the guards getting there before he did?
Kaito felt a harsh jerk on his leg. He looked down seeing that one of the scientists was able to jump impressively high enough to grab his leg. Kaito swiftly swung his leg, causing the scientist’s body to be lifted into the air as if he weighed nothing. Not expecting Kaito’s actions, he let go of the teenager’s limb. He crashed into one of the guards and a couple of the scientists. Sara made a move to grab the guard’s baton. Kaito finally noticed a security camera just over his shoulder. After quickly flipping whoever was watching (hopefully White) his middle finger, he ripped it off the wall. He launched it at Sara’s hand as if it were a baseball. The woman let out a shriek of pain as she recoiled from the weapon. As the other guard approached Kaito, with the other scientists cowering from the sight of the teenager, he saw his chance. He launched his body towards the door. He’s almost there!
However, the hope of escaping suddenly shattered. A jolt of electricity ran through Kaito’s body. With a loud, anguished yell, he crashed to the ground. He looked to see what had happened to him. The guard that he didn’t knock down was standing firm, holding what looked to be a gun in his hands. Did that gun have the same property as the baton? Telling by the stinging in his body, Kaito guessed so. 'Damn it! I got too careless.’ Kaito cursed in his head. He looked up at the door. He was so close. Just a little more.
“What the-?! How is he not unconscious?! That shock should’ve been more than enough!” One of the guards exclaimed. Kaito felt a little feeling going back into his body. He started to crawl along the floor, still determined to get to the door. His head was threatening to split in two as a ringing in his ears started to make itself known.
“Idiots! Hold him down!” Sara ordered. Kaito didn’t have a chance to defend himself. Suddenly, his body was pressed down. The guards held him down as Sara had ordered them too. He was held down so hard that he wondered how his bones weren’t breaking from it all. He heard Sara walking up to him. He kept struggling to get away. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his neck. It took him seconds to realise that Sara had stabbed him with a needle. He still fought against the guards, but his strength suddenly gave out. His entire body became numb. He couldn’t move it. He couldn’t hear anything. All sound was drowned out by the ringing in his ears. His eyelids felt incredible heavy as he fell into a haunted, involuntary sleep.
I don’t think that this is the best chapter I’ve produced, but I hope you guys like it.
Kaito was glad to see a splash of colour again in this place. He expected White’s office to be…you know…so white to point where Kaito would feel disoriented again. The desk and chairs were made of oak, with a leather computer chair for where White is to sit. The back of a small computer faced Kaito, obscuring the screen completely from his view. Bookshelves were filled to the brim with a variety of books that Kaito didn’t even know existed. There was a filing cabinet that was sure to be locked up tight. Certificates from different universities and for different science courses were hung up on the wall proudly. There were only two things that had bothered Kaito. One was that this room made him feel like, he was in his old principal’s office, and two was the fact that there wasn’t a window in this room, just like everywhere else. How can anybody work without being in contact with the sun, even through a window? It seemed inhumane.
“I apologise for the wait, Momota. Things have been…hepatic to say the least.” Dr White suddenly made himself known as he walked into the office. Kaito waited patiently as the man sat down, wiping his brow with a white handkerchief. “And I apologise that you had to see the savagery that Harukawa showed you.”
“What’s going to happen to Maki?” Kaito asked automatically. He doesn’t know why he was asked that, but he let it go.
“She’ll be put in Isolation for a while. A month should be enough to calm her down.” Dr White explained. A month of being on her own? How Maki has not been driven crazy yet is a wonder in itself to Kaito.
“Sir, if I may, I’d like to speak on Maki’s behalf.” He spoke up. He didn’t want Maki to be in Isolation for that long. She might have less time in there if Kaito explains what really happened.
“Oh? Go on.” White urged, looking interested.
“Maki didn’t attack the guard because she was angry.” Kaito explained, remembering everything that had happened. White looked more interested and gestured for Kaito to continue. “I asked the guard if I could see you, but he denied that. I didn’t know how my powers activated, I didn’t even know I was off of the ground until heattacked me first. After shocking me, he looked like he was going to bash my head in, but Maki stopped him. She only broke his arm to protect me.”
“She protected you?” White exclaimed, his eyebrows shooting up so much that they might as well have touched the ceiling.
“You sound surprised.” Kaito said cautiously.
“Well, I am. Harukawa has been here for a few years now, and she’s never done that before.” White explained, still looking baffled. “Yes, she had used her powers to defend herself in the past. But she’s never protected the others before. You must have made a good impression on her or something like that.” Kaito felt a little surprised himself at that. He was the first one that Maki had protected? But why would she protect him? Something didn’t quite add up to him. Maki didn’t look or feel friendly towards him when he tried speaking to her last week. Even after that encounter, she never spoke or even looked at Kaito. Why would she suddenly change her mind and protect him just like that?
“Is there anything else that you need to speak to me about?” White suddenly asked, offering Kaito a smile.
“There is actually. The main reason why I wanted to see you.” Kaito said, keeping his voice as stoic as possible, despite his nerves rising all of a sudden. “Why did you lie to me about contacting my grandparents?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” White shrugged, not seeming to understand. He looked convincing, but Kaito didn’t buy it.
“You told me that everyone here gets to write letters to their families. But that was a lie, wasn’t it? No one here contacts the outside. There aren’t even any windows here.” Kaito accused. White looked unfazed, as if he were reading off of a script. “Why did you lie to me?”
“I never said such a thing.” White once again shrugged.
“Okay then. What about the training? The training where everyone learns how to control their powers?” Kaito kept digging. He might be treading on thin ice, he felt like he was, but he has to make this guy slip up somehow.
“What training?” White asked, trying his best to look confused.
“When does everyone get to leave then?” Kaito kept on going. White again seemed unfazed. It was like he had forgotten his own lies that he had told to Kaito. This was starting to get irritating. Kaito stood up, slamming his hands on the desk so hard that it vibrated a little. “You can’t keep everyone in this place forever. No one’s snapped now, but what about later?! You gotta let us out at some point! Everyone’s got families that are probably worried sick about them. Do even contact the families? Do my grandparents know where I am?” It hurt to think that, but with how things are going right now, Kaito’s family more than likely knows nothing about what is happening to him. They must be so worried about him. They’ve probably got someone looking in on his disappearance. They’ve probably got the police searching everywhere for him. They’ve probably been on the news, begging for his safe return or any clues as to his whereabouts. Kaito can’t even bare to think what they are going through right now.
“Momota, I suggest that you calm down. You don’t want to go back on your anger issues, do you?” White advised, looking all too calm. Kaito was ready to keep shouting, but he didn’t want to be reverted back to his old self. That was the last thing that he wanted, especially now. Kaito took a deep breath. He slowly sat back down, staying as calm as he could.
“Fine then. Just let me ask one more question.” Kaito sighed heavily. White looked fed up, but gestured for Kaito to continue to ask. “Why is everyone here? Nothing in this place makes any sense.” This was the final question that Kaito wanted to ask. This time, he can’t let White avoid this one. If there was a point to keep everyone in this prison, he needed to know now.
“I suggest that you stay calm, Momota.” White said calmly, but his tone carried a clear warning.
“So, are you gonna answer my questions?” Kaito asked, ignoring the warning.
“I’m afraid that I can’t. The information that you’re asking for is classified.” White sighed, again giving Kaito a clear warning in his voice. A warning for him to back off.
“But-” Kaito started to protest. He can’t back down. He needs answers now. At this moment, White was the only one to give him those answers.
“Momota, I honestly can’t give you this information.” White said, the warning tone in his voice becoming even more evident. “You’re asking for too much.” Kaito didn’t want to back down, but he could tell that he was starting to get into some hot water right now. He was treading on such thin ice that one wrong move, and he’ll be in deep trouble. He doesn’t want to make a full retreat, especially now, but maybe regrouping with everyone else will help him form a better plan.
“Fine then. But when I speak to everyone, I’m gonna tell them everything that we talked about.” Kaito vowed, getting up from his seat. He started to make his way swiftly to the door, ready to fling it open and run back to the others. They need to know everything that was said in this office, even if it’s something that they’ve already figured out.
“Momota.” White suddenly said. Out of impulse, Kaito turned around. Something suddenly ran through him. His body fell to the ground, convulsing uncontrollably. He desperately tried to get up, or move his body somehow, but his body betrayed him. He couldn’t move it at all. Kaito tried as best he could to see what had happened. The doctor behind him had a now used taser in his hand. He looked extremely nonchalant as he slowly approached Kaito. The teenager tried his best not to pass out, but it was suddenly becoming hard to do so. He barely heard the door being open. He couldn’t hear much of the conversation between White and the guard that just came in. Something about it being “his turn”? What? Kaito couldn’t think much about it as he suddenly passed out.
Kaito felt a lot better when he and Shuichi exited the bathroom. Thankfully, no one was looking at Kaito like they had done after his outburst. They all decided that Shuichi could handle everyone and went back to their own business. Kiyo was gone, most likely escorted to the lab for his turn. Kaito will have to find him later to apologise for what happened. Both he and Shuichi went back to where Kaito was sitting. As Kaito sat down, Shuichi started to rummage through the board games. He probably thought that a game of something might help Kaito feel more relaxed. Now that Kaito thought about it, playing a game does sound good right about now.
“Everything okay?” Kaede asked as she sat down at the table.
“Yeah. Kaito just got a little freaked out.” Shuichi answered, placing a game down on the table.
“Don’t worry, Kaito. Kiyo doesn’t mean to do it, but he does scare people a little when it comes to his powers.” Kaede smiled sympathetically as she remembered the first time Kiyo spoke to her about a spirit wanting to talk to her. Kaito smiled back, albeit a little wobbly. He looked back down at the paper in front of him. He still needs to write this letter. Maybe he’ll just tell his grandparents that he’s okay and he’s made new friends. The last thing that he needs to do is to scare them with the experiment that he went through. He was about to make a start when someone suddenly looked their arms around his shoulders from behind, causing him to let out an involuntary yelp.
“Were you scared, Kaito?” Kokichi laughed, revelling in the result of his childish prank. Kaito ignored him, but it didn’t stop him from being nosy. “Hey! Hey! What you doing there Kaito?”
“Should you not be touching me?” Kaito said, trying to hold back a laugh as he remembered his first day in the Facility.
“I already touched someone else a minute ago. I won’t be able to have your powers for another hour or so.” Kokichi said, sounding disappointed. Kaito normally wouldn’t be convinced as the boy has lied so too many times for him to count. However, seeing as how Kokichi wasn’t flying uncontrollably right now, Kaito had to take his word for it. “So what are you doing? Come on! Tell me!”
“Not that it’s any of your business, I’m writing a letter.” Kaito sighed, giving up. He knows that if he doesn’t say anything, Kokichi will just keep digging until he gets what he wants.
“To who?” Shuichi asked as he was in the middle of setting up the game.
“My grandparents.” Kaito answered, not looking up at his new friends.
“You’re allowed to write letters to your family?” Shuichi asked again, his voice laced with confusion.
“Yeah. Just like everyone else.” Kaito shrugged absentmindedly, again not even noticing how confused his friend was.
“Kaito, we don’t get to write letters to our families.” Kaede suddenly said, her voice laced with sadness and confusion.
“What?” Kaito exclaimed, his head snapping up so fast that he’s surprised that it didn’t detach from his body. He finally saw the looks that his friends were now giving. Minus Kokichi, they looked confused and hesitant to answer his question. Shuichi and Kaede were glancing each other uncomfortably. This was the first red flag.
“I don’t know what White had promised you, but it was obviously a lie.” Kokichi suddenly interjected, smiling like he had won the lottery. Red flag number two.
“Kaito, no one here contacts the outside world. We’re not even allowed outside.” Shuchi added after an uncomfortable minute. “The last time I spoke to my uncle was as I was going to school one morning. Three years ago.” The third red flag was getting ready to be raised. No one contacts the outside world at all? No one goes outside? Kaito suddenly glanced around the Lounge Area. He noticed an insect magazine that Gonta was looking at, and saw that it looked really old, creases along the magazine. The book that Maki was reading too seemed old and read many time before as there were clear and evident creases along the spine. The cartoon that Miu was currently watching was a mech cartoon that Kaito had seen before. The problem was that it was when he was a little kid and the show had stopped years ago. They don’t even repeat it anymore. Come to think of it, cartoons and documentaries that aired years ago were the only things that played on the TV. No news broadcasts or new shows. It was like time had stopped down here.
Kaito suddenly recalled something. It was on his first day. When everyone was asking him random questions. He didn’t make them out or think about them much at the time, but looking back on it now, a few of the questions were suddenly made crystal clear to him.
“Are my family still looking for me?”
“Do people still miss me?”
“Has anyone looked into my disappearance?”
Red flag number three has now been put up, higher and brighter than the previous two.
Ignoring his friends trying to speak to him, Kaito got up and started going to the door. He needs answers. He needs to speak to White. He’s the only man that can give Kaito the answers that he needs right now. The problem was that there was a guard standing in the way.
“I need to see Dr. White.” Kaito stated as he approached the guard. He didn’t know what he was thinking, but he hoped that the guard would listen to him.
“He’s not available.” The guard said emotionlessly. Kaito didn’t know if he was lying or not but he needed to get his point across.
“I need to speak with him, it’s important.” He argued, his tone sounding more urgent.
“Sit down.” The guard ordered, slowly reaching for his baton. Kaito didn’t notice, he didn’t care to do so.
“I need to see Dr. White.” He repeated. He didn’t notice it at first, but his body was suddenly off the ground. When he did notice that he was suddenly taller than the guard, he fought hard to hide his surprise. He wanted to stand firm with his choice to see White, that was what was important to him at that moment. However, he suddenly felt a jolt of electricity run through him again. He couldn’t hold back a scream as he suddenly crashed to the floor. He barely heard someone shouting his name. He looked up at the guard, holding his stomach in pain.
“Listen here, you freak! You don’t order me around!” The guard shouted, foaming at the mouth. He raised the baton, looking like he was ready to strike Kaito. Not giving him another electric shock, but a proper and possibly damaging strike like the baton was an iron pipe. The teenager put an arm up to try to defend himself. However, the guard’s arm was shaking. The guard looked at it and visibly went pale. Kaito had not doubt that his eyes were bulging out of their sockets as the man tried to force his arm to move. He looked around the room, his landing on what-no, who-he was searching for. Kaito turned around. Everyone in the room looked as pale as the guard, even Kokichi. Maki had stood up from where she was sitting. She wasn’t speaking or doing anything but standing there, staring at the guard coldly. Kaito didn’t even need to ask what was happening. Maki was using her powers to protect him. But why?
“Y-you! Stop this! I order-” the guard stuttered, panic lacing his voice. Maki only stared harder. She suddenly jerked her head a little. There was a sickening sound of multiple bones snapping at once. Kaito whipped his head around to look at the guard. His arm was completely mangled. All the bones in his arm was broken, ensuring that the man might have permanent damage if he isn’t taken to a hospital or have Rantaro heal him soon. While Kaito had a small sense of victory, the guard suddenly pulled out a small red button and pressed it. A door that was unseen to everyone earlier suddenly burst open. Without word or warning two guards rushed at Maki. She didn’t fight back, probably didn’t have a chance to, as she was suddenly shocked. Her voice turned into a loud, high pitched scream until she passed out on the floor completely. Her scream was so loud and ear shattering that it seemed to rattle the entire room.
“What is going on here?!” Dr White’s voice suddenly rang out. He was standing at the main door, looking around at the damage that had been done. The guard’s mangled arm. Kaito being helped to his feet by Shuichi and Kaede, still holding his abdomen. Maki laying unconscious on the ground, looking so still that she might as well be dead.
“It was the telekinetic bitch! She attacked me unprovoked, sir!” The injured guard shouted before Kaito could put a word in, pointing an accusing finger at the unconscious girl.
“That’s not-” Kaito was ready to argue, pushing himself away from Shuichi and Kaede before they could stop him.
“Again? When will that girl-put her in Isolation.” White sighed heavily. With that, the guards standing by Maki picked her up, one holding her arms and the other holding her legs. They lifted her up so quickly and haphazardly, that she almost flew out of their grasp. They carried her so carelessly that they didn’t care if they dropped her or not. Kaito couldn’t put a word in as she was carried out efficiently. None of the other Limitless spoke up for her or tried to tell the truth. Were they that scared of White?
“Doc. I need to speak to you. It’s extremely important.” Kaito suddenly spoke up, not quite sure what he was doing at this point.
“Very well. Escort Momota to my office. I’ll be there momentarily.” White sighed heavily, looking like he was at his wits end. Kaito didn’t hesitate in leaving as he was escorted by two guards out of the Lounge Area. He barely heard White barking orders at everyone else that was left behind. The only thing that he was focused on was getting answers. That’s all that matters right now.
I have a big box of tissues here. This chapter might be a tear jerker.
How would you start off a letter to your family after the week that you’ve had? Would you tell them the truth? Or would you lie about it as to not make them worry?
Kaito kept asking himself that as he looked at the blank piece of paper in front of him. He had so much that he wanted to tell his grandparents, but he didn’t know what to put down. Tell them Kaito had met others like him? That sounded like a pretty fair start. That he might have made new friends? It would make the elders happy to know that he’s settled in okay. But the so called “experiments”? That might freak them out. Kaito didn’t want to send them to an early grave. He really didn’t to make them worried, especially this soon. However, he didn’t know if he can keep what had happened hidden from them forever. It was going to be hard for him. Maybe it’ll be best to tell them after all, just remind them that he’s okay.
Kaito kept dwelling on this. He hated being stuck in this spot. It was starting to knock him down a bit. He looked around at everyone. Rantaro and Tenko were the only two that were missing. Kaito didn’t even need to ask why. He hadn’t been back in the lab yet, but he knows that he will soon. He can’t understand how everyone could be so normal with everything that goes on. Though, now that he thought about it, everyone had been here so long that it was normal to them. He was snapped out of it when he noticed Kiyo suddenly approaching him. Kaito couldn’t help but feel a little tense. He hadn’t spoken to Kiyo much during this first week. He needed to time to get used to the medium’s powers.
“Hey, Kiyo. You need something?” He asked as calmly as he could.
“Does the name "Ichika” mean anything to you?“ Kiyo asked.
"What?” Kaito whispered. That name…he knows it but…
“A woman named "Ichika” wants to talk to you.“ Kiyo explained.
"Stop it.” Kaito said, feeling a horrible chill run through him. He felt his body shake.
“She has a message for you.” Kiyo continued, unfazed by Kaito’s clear discomfort.
“Stop it!” Kaito started to shout, feeling the colour drain from his face as he started to sweat. Was he getting cold or something?
“She said that it wasn’t your fault. It was never your fault.” Kiyo kept on going as if he were on automatic pilot.
“I SAID STOP IT!” Kaito suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs, standing up immediately. He stood up so that his chair went backwards, clattering to the ground. He felt everyone look at him. His body went into an automatic reflex. He didn’t want the others to see him like this. Knowing that he’s not “scheduled” to go back to his room, he dashed into the boy’s bathroom that’s adjoined to the Lounge Area. He didn’t want anyone to see him looking so pathetic. He paced the bathroom, trying to calm down. However, as he tried to take deep breaths, Kiyo’s words echoed in his head. That moment when he had reached his personal limit. There’s no way that could’ve been real. It had to be some kind of sick joke. Nothing could calm him down as he remembered what he was told about Kiyo’s powers again.the woman that spoke to him, the one trying to give Kaito a message from beyond the grave, could it really have been…?
“Kaito? Are you okay?” Shuichi asked carefully as he stepped into the bathroom.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Kaito tried to speak as calmly as he could, but he still heard the panic in his voice. How could he be this pathetic?
“No, you’re not.” Shuichi calmly stated. “You’re as white as a sheet and sweating bullets.”
“I’m just not a fan of…spirits and shit like that.” Kaito sighed, giving in as he wiped the sweat off of his face. He needs to calm down.
“So then who was Kiyo talking about? Who’s Ichika?” Shuichi asked slowly, as if he were worried that Kaito was going to yell at him too. Kaito couldn’t blame him for being that worried. He did fly off the handle at Kiyo a little bit just a minute ago. It shouldn’t hurt too much to answer.
“She…she’s my mother. She and my dad died when I was a kid.” Kaito sighed, sitting down as he could feel that his legs were getting ready to give out.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Shuichi asked again, just as cautious. Kaito wasn’t sure if he should. He never really liked talking about it. Not only because it hurt to do so, but every time he tried to, everyone, with the exception of his grandparents, wouldn’t listen or tell him that they didn’t care. He knows that it wasn’t healthy, but he kept all of it bottled up since his old “friends” told him to shut up every time he wanted to let it out. Shuichi was different though right? He didn’t seem the type to tell a friend to shut up when they spoke about their problems. Maybe it’ll be good to talk about it for once.
“It was just a day at the beach.” Kaito explained, eyes focused on nothing but the past. Shuichi slowly sat down next to him, in case Kaito needed something. “We swam in the ocean, won random arcade prizes and just had a fun time. Dad was driving us home. It had gotten dark at that point. I was on the verge of falling asleep in the back when there was suddenly this loud crash. All I remember before passing out was hanging upside down calling out to my parents. When I woke up, I was in ICU at the hospital. Turned out some drunken bastard didn’t see the the red light and because he didn’t have his lights on, my parents couldn’t see him coming from the side until it was too late. My dad was killed on impact and my mom died on the way to the hospital.” Kaito felt his eyes sting, but he kept it in. He really didn’t want to look more pathetic than he already is. While he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, it was tougher than he thought it was to talk about that day. He shuddered as he remembered the sickening feeling of hanging upside down, feeling the blood rushing to his head as he heard the distant wail of sirens. He felt his fists subconsciously clench as he recalled holding something soft close to him like a lifeline.
“Kaito, I’m sorry that happened to you.” Shuichi said sympathetically as he placed a consoling hand on Kaito’s shoulder.
“Sometimes I look back and wonder if it was my fault.” Kaito suddenly found himself saying against his will. Seeing the puzzled look, that Shuichi gave him, he continued. “I begged my parents to let us stay in the arcade a little longer, just to win more tickets for a stupid teddy bear that I wanted. Maybe if I hadn’t made them do that, they wouldn’t have died. I got the prize, but I lost my parents.”
“Kaito, none of that was your fault.” Shuichi said as he gently rubbed Kaito’s back.
“I know that now, but for a long time I had blamed myself for what had happened. In a way, I still do.” Kaito said, taking deep breaths to hold the tears in. “I guess that I’m just lucky to have my grandparents.” Yeah, he was lucky in a way. If he didn’t have his grandparents he’d probably in more trouble than he was in the outside world. He’d end up in the system and feel more of a reason to be angry like he was for a long time. It’s always something that he regretted. He became a bully because he was mad at everything. It finally took months of therapy and talking to his grandparents about it to help him out. That’s why he was so desperate to turn his life around for the better.
“I envy you.” Shuichi suddenly said absentmindedly. Kaito lent him an ear. It felt right to do after Shuichi had to put up with his sad story. “I didn’t have the world’s best relationship with my parents, so I started living with my uncle. He’s a detective.”
“Really now?” Kaito asked with keen interest.
“I became his apprentice after we found out what I can do.” Shuichi smiled a little. “My uncle was working on a case, struggling to find a clue. Suddenly, I could see what he was looking for under some furniture. I suggested that he’d look there and he found it. Helped solve the case.”
“That’s awesome! I bet you helped him out a lot.” Kaito smiled, suddenly feeling a lot better than he was a minute ago.
“Yeah. I hope that he’s okay though.” Shuichi suddenly muttered, looking depressed.
“I’m sure he’s just fine.” Kaito said as soothingly as he could. Sounds like Shuichi hasn’t been able to write to his uncle yet. Kaito can give him some spare papers so he could do that if he wants to. Shuichi gave him a tired smile and slowly got back to his feet.
“We should get back to the others. They might get the wrong idea of we stay here any longer.” He said, offering a hand to help Kaito up. Kaito gratefully took the hand and helped Shuichi for him to be pulled him to his feet.
“Hey, Shuichi. Thanks for listening. People that I used to know wouldn’t bother listening or caring.” Kaito smiled, pulling Shuichi into a side hug.
“It’s no problem. I’m sure a couple of the others would’ve done the same, especially Kaede I think. Living with each other for so long has kinda made us a family.” Shuichi smiled back. Family? It must be great to see each other as that. Kaito hoped that they would make him feel accepted like that. His old friends never felt like that. Now that he’s cut ties with them for good, it would be finally be great to have friends close enough to him to call family.
Kaito felt sore when he finally woke up. His body was sore, his throat was sore, his arm was sore. It was so bad that he felt like he couldn’t move his body at all. He wasn’t sure how long he had been sleeping for, but he knew that it felt like hours. He was awake, but he couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes. It felt like his eyelids had been glued shut. Since he couldn’t open his eyes yet, he’ll have to rely on his other senses. He couldn’t hear anything at first, which made Kaito scared that he had gone deaf. However, the longer he laid there, his ears eventually picked up the quiet hum of a light up above him. Kaito felt something soft under his skin. Was he laying on a bed? It seemed to be that way as he was laying face down on it. For a brief minute, Kaito thought that he was back in his own bed, that he was at home in his room.
However, when Kaito finally opened his eyes, that nice thought had shattered. When Kaito opened his eyes, he was met with his now least favourite colour. White. He was in his room at the Facility. He remembered everything that had happened. The lab. The so called experiment. The pain. Uncaring, dark eyes. The soulless people. The deep wound on his arm. Kaito’s still bleary eyes drifted to his arm. And his whole body went stone cold. All along his forearm was a fresh, pink scar. His stomach churned and he felt an urge to throw up. His body felt immensely cold. He never believed that such people could exist in that lab. Why would they do that to him in the first place?
Kaito finally felt like his body could move. His stomach felt immensely empty but he wasn’t sure if he could eat. He didn’t know what was going on, but he needed to find out. He quickly redressed himself into some fresh clothing. He didn’t want to be in anything that he wore while he was in that lab. He needed to find out what was going on here. He hurriedly started making his way to the others. He didn’t even bother looking at the time. He assumed that everyone was in the Lounge Area so he made his way towards that.
“What are you doing here?!” A voice suddenly boomed behind him. Kaito jumped at that sudden shout. He turned to see a guard standing behind him. He couldn’t see the guard’s eyes, but he knows that the man was staring right into his soul. It was beyond intimidating. “It’s lunchtime! You’re meant to be in the cafeteria! Move!” Lunchtime? It was already afternoon. Kaito didn’t want to risk being put in that lab again so soon, or face any other kind of punishment. He quickly changed direction, heading to the cafeteria. There was everyone else. Almost all of them were sitting together. They all seemed to be normal. Talking, eating, laughing with each other. However, upon a closer look, Kaito couldn’t help, but feel like something was wrong.
“Kaito! Gonta save you a seat!” Gonta suddenly smiled, stopping him almost immediately. Kaito was quite surprised but quickly processed that as he was unceremoniously and impatiently pushed forward. He steadied himself as the door slammed shut and the guard that shoved him in stood in front of it. With heavy feet, he walked over to the empty chair. He was between Gonta and Tsumugi and sat opposite Shuichi.
“I’ll go get your meal, Kaito.” Kirumi suddenly announced as she stood up.
“No. Kirumi, you don’t have-” Kaito started to protest. He didn’t feel that hungry after everything that had happened. However, Kirumi had already made her way to the window, requesting for Kaito’s meal to be brought forward.
“You might as well go along with it.” Tsumugi whispered, gesturing towards Kirumi. “It’s plain to see that she is looking for something to do here.” Kaito sighed in defeat. Well, he might as well try to get some energy back. Kirumi promptly made her way back to the table, and gently placed a hot meal in front of Kaito with a glass of water. A huge roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. Seemed like a good enough meal to have since Kaito had involuntarily skipped breakfast. Kaito took a bite and let out a quiet sigh of satisfaction. Guess he was more hungry than he thought that he was after all. Almost everyone seemed relieved that he was eating. They must have somehow known about what had happened to him.
“Wow, Kaito! You look like you’ve been through Hell and back!” Kokichi laughed, spotting the drained look that Kaito had on his face. He was sitting next to Shuichi with Kaede on the other side of the navy blue haired boy. Kaito didn’t bother saying anything back because he felt like he had been put through Hell and back. He was a little surprised at how on Earth he walked here in the first place.
“Kokichi! Enough!” Keade scolded. Kokichi only snickered before shoving a huge piece of beef into his mouth. “Are you okay Kaito?”
“I feel like my arm has been savaged into. And didn’t even think that people like that had ever existed.” Kaito nodded, subconsciously covering up his new scar. He looked up at Shuichi. He still had dark circles under his eyes and was poking at the last of his food absentmindedly. “Hey, Shuichi? How are you holding up? When I saw you earlier, you looked very tired.”
“Still am. I might take a nap later if they allow it.” Shuichi sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. If they allow it? How tight are the rules here? “I was in the lab before you. Forced to go through an experiment around 2am I think.” 2am? If Kaito didn’t go through that this morning, he would’ve thought that scientists would need their test subjects to be wide awake. However, after what had happened, it was clear that those people didn’t care if they were wide awake or half asleep. They didn’t care if the Limitless were ill or healthy. So long as they did their experiments as if they were in a horror movie. How could this go on unnoticed? How could White not know what was going on here?
“Just wait until White hears about it.” Kaito muttered absentmindedly, not meaning to say it out loud.
“Even for a degenerate male, you’re stupid!” Tenko scowled, glaring a little at Kaito.
“What?” Kaito exclaimed, dropping his fork.
“Who do you think authorises the experiments?” Ryoma spoke up from the end of the table where he sat.
“Wait! So everyone-” Kaito started to ask, feeling like he had been punched in the stomach.
“-has gone through that and more? Yeah.” Rantaro finished sadly.
“It is certainly more like torture than experimentation.” Kiyo muttered from behind Kaito. He was sitting on his own, back turned to everyone else with his mask laying on the table close to him. Was he self conscious or something? Kaito didn’t dwell on it, deciding that it was none of his business. He looked around at everyone else. And that’s when he finally noticed. He didn’t know why he didn’t before. Maybe he was too caught up in the excitement of being somewhere that he could fit in. Maybe his brain didn’t want him to register it. Now he has however, he wished that he did before. Everyone had scars running up and down their skin. Some were old and faded, while others were fresh.
“This is fucked up.” Kaito muttered, not even trying to hold that in as he ran his fingers through his messy hair.
“Normally I don’t agree with such language, but you are correct.” Kirumi sighed, finally sitting down to finish off her meal. Kaito suddenly felt like he had lost his appetite all over again. White knows what’s going on after all. He’s the one that authorises this. That didn’t make any sense. Surely you would get more data from a Limitless by having them demonstrate what they can do. Not butcher them up like they’re not human. Kaito had to suppress a shudder as he remembered what Sara had said to him. About him not being human just because he had powers. How could anyone say that to another person, just because they’re different? Why would they do that? Something seemed horribly wrong.
“Why do they do this to us?” Kaito immediately asked.
“We don’t know. We’ve asked them many times, but they never answer.” Shuichi answered, looking uncomfortable.
“Even Atua can’t let me hear them because they block him out.” Angie added, looking very sad.
“Wouldn’t the first one here know more about it?” Kaito asked. It seemed logical that the first Limitless might know something, anything more than everyone else.
“I suspect so.” Shuichi muttered.
“So, who was the first one here?” Kaito asked. Almost everyone looked uncomfortable and silently asked him if he had lost his mind.
“Oh! That would be the Murder Girl!” Kokichi smiled as he pointed to a table somewhere behind him. Shuichi sat him down, giving him a silent no at what he had just done. Murder Girl? Kaito looked at who Kokichi was pointing at. Maki sat far away from everyone else. Her plate was fully cleared of all food. She had a book in her hands, just like the first time Kaito had seen her. She was far too wrapped up in her book to acknowledge anything or anyone else. Maki was the first Limitless. She has to know something about what goes on here.
“Oh no! You better not go over there.” Angie suddenly warns Kaito, catching everyone’s attention. “Atua tells me that you want to talk to Maki.” Kaito ignored the warning, getting up from his seat.
“Kaito, that’s not a good-and he’s gone.” Rantaro sighed in defeat as Kaito started walking away from the table.
“That idiot is going to get himself fucking killed.” Miu was heard, trying to be as quiet as she could.
“Neeheehee! I know right! Let’s watch the fun!” Kokichi grinned as his chair could be heard turning towards Kaito’s direction. Kaito ignored the anxious stares directed at his back. He didn’t really have much of a plan in mind. Just ask Maki what is going on and hopefully get some answers. He doesn’t know if he’ll get the answers that he wants, but it was worth trying. Maki didn’t seem to have heard him approach her. As he got closer to her, Kaito couldn’t help but notice the scars on her. There were so many, too many. It indicated that she has been here longer. But some of them didn’t look right. They didn’t look like they had been made with a scalpel. What happened to her?
“Hey. Maki right?” Kaito asked, trying not to think about the scars. Maki gave him a side look, but went back to reading her book. Okay, a bit rude, but he needs to keep trying. “Look I want to ask you something. It’s about what they do here.” Maki looked up at him again. However, her eyes suddenly trailed to his arm.
“You’ve already been subjected to the experiments. You know what goes on here.” She said in a monotone voice, before going back to reading. Kaito ignored the fact that she stared at his scar.
“Something still doesn’t add up. Could I please have some answers?” He asked, trying his best not to sound desperate.
“Please leave me alone.” Maki said, not looking up at him.
“But I-” Kaito tried again to reason with the girl. She suddenly slammed her book shut. It was so loud that it actually echoed a little. It made Kaito stop talking almost instantly.
“Momota, right?” Maki asked.
“I prefer Kaito-” Kaito tried to say.
“Momota, you know what goes on here.” Maki interrupted, looking up at Kaito with a warning I’m her eyes. “Now, please leave me alone. Everyone else does.” Kaito couldn’t be sure, but he thought that he heard a hint of sadness in her voice. It was small, almost untraceable, but it was there. Maki didn’t seem to notice or care. She got up, holding her book tightly in her hands. She started making her way to the door. However, the guard there stopped her from going any further.
“Where are you going?” He demanded.
“To my room.” Maki answered emotionlessly, not looking intimidated by the large man in front of her.
“You’re not scheduled to.” The guard sneered.
“I don’t care. I want to go to my room.” Maki said, once again void of all emotions. The guard didn’t like it. He grabbed the baton from his waist. He brought it close to Maki’s face, showing her the two, small, metal prongs on the end of it.
“Listen here, bitch-” he started to warn.
“It’s not nice to threaten a lady, you know.” Kaito suddenly interjected. He was standing behind Maki, arms crossed. Maki gave him a blank look. He couldn’t blame her for that. Again, he didn’t have a plan in mind. He just wanted her to trust him or something like that.
“Stay out of this, freak!” The guard warned.
“Listen here-” Kaito started. The guard suddenly jabbed him with the baton. Kaito couldn’t hold back a scream as electricity ran through his body. He fell back, holding his midriff tenderly. How many volts was that?! It felt more like lightening than anything else. Kaito looked up as the guard looked ready to strike him again.
“He’s new here!” Rantaro suddenly shouted, getting between the two. His voice was calm, but Kaito could tell that he was nervous. “Brought in yesterday. We’ve all been there, right? There’s no need for that.” The guard looked back and forth between the three. He seemed to be contemplating on shocking all three of them or not. He finally put his weapon away, giving Kaito immense form of relief. He didn’t know how he would handle another shock like that.
“Be sure that your friend is kept in check.” He warned, pointing a gloved finger at Rantaro. As Rantaro helped Kaito to his feet, the guard then turned to Maki, his tone becoming much more threatening. “And you! You go back over there! Or do you want to be put in Isolation again!” Maki seemed unchanged. She didn’t react to the words. However, she swiftly turned and went back to where she was sitting. Isolation? Schedule? Kaito was once again reminded that something was wrong. Despite what had happened, he was still determined to find the answers he needs. He’ll get them one way or another.
I couldn’t quite decide on what I wanted to write so I just did a couple of one shots.
Trigger warning: mentions of attempted suicide in the first one shot. I apologise if this is a sensitive topic for you guys.
Story 1: Talent Swap AU part 2 (continuation of the Talent Swap AU from Momoharu Week 2021)
“What do you want?” Kaito asked, arms crossed over his chest, standing in front of his Ultimate Lab. Maki stood in front of him, unfazed by how sharp and impatient his question was. She looked completely calm, the opposite of how the others had reacted a mere ten minutes ago. When the Ultimate Gremlin told everyone what his Ultimate Talent really was. Kaito didn’t know how Kokichi found out, but the Ultimate Magician did it anyway. And now that everyone else knows too. They should’ve decided to stay out of his way now that they know. So why the hell was Maki here?
“I…I wanted to thank you. For what you did in the trial.” Maki said, fiddling with one of her twin tails.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I only did it because I didn’t want to die.” Kaito huffed. The second trial was for the murder of Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate Anthropologist. She was found by the pool, neck broken as the result of a fall from a high height. During the trial, Kaito and Maki had been accused of the murder, just because they were accounting for the fact that they were possibly together during the supposed time of the murder. Even with Gonta backing them up, not everyone was fully convinced. It wasn’t until Kaito said that he spoke with Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Supreme Leader about the motive videos. And that was when Ryoma suddenly gave up. Turned out that his motive video was empty, no one was important to him in the outside world. He was going to commit suicide, when Kirumi tried to stop him from jumping. And he accidentally pushed her out of the window instead. It was a sad case that cost two people their lives.
Kaito tried to shake off the events that led up to this. He just wanted to let out more of his frustrations instead wasting time with some stupid little girl. Kaito turned, ready to go back to his solitude. That changed when Maki suddenly grabbed his wrist.
“Come with me.” Was all that she said before she started to turn.
“What? Hey!” Kaito exclaimed before Maki started to drag him behind her. For a girl, she was stronger than she looked. Maybe it was thanks to her astronaut training or something. “Do you wanna die?!”
Maki didn’t seem to hear the threat. If she did, she made sure to not seem phased by it, unlike Gonta when Kaito asked him that once (maybe he should try to apologise to the giant at some point). Maki continued to drag Kaito outside the main building, towards one of the grassy areas. Kaito wanted to pull away. Hell, he even wanted to knock her out just so she could leave him alone. But he couldn’t. He just allowed this stupid girl to drag him to where ever it as that she wanted to go.
“Why am I here?” Kaito asked when they finally stopped walking. Maki didn’t answer at first. She just looked at the sky for a few seconds, before looking at the ground. She took a couple of steps before sitting down on the grass.
“Lie down.” She suddenly said, patting a spot near her.
“Why?” Kaito asked again with a raised eyebrow.
“Please. Just humour me a little.” Maki said more than asked as she proceeded to lie down. She wasn’t forcing Kaito to stay. It was an open invitation. He could leave if he wanted. And he wanted to leave. So why wasn’t his body doing as he asked? He laid down. Maki didn’t say anything at first. She just looked up at the sky, the stars reflection glistening in her eyes. Kaito did the same, just wishing that he was doing something else instead.
He didn’t understand why people like the stars so much. There was nothing special about them. They were just balls of hot air burning away thousands of miles away from Earth. They were pointless. Sure people used them to navigate, maybe some still do, but nowadays, people don’t need to do that anymore. All the stars do now is just make pointless shapes in the sky, some telling old legends and stupid fairytales.
“Whenever I was stressed, or angry or just had a bad day, I’d spend hours under a starry night like this. I might have gotten into trouble for it, but it was worth it.” Maki smiled suddenly, turning her head to look at Kaito.
“What’s your point?” The assassin sighed, not seeing where this was going.
“My point is that you need to learn how to relax more.” Maki shrugged. Kaito looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “I get it. You’re the Ultimate Assassin, but I don’t think you want to be that.”
“You don’t know my life!” Kaito yelled, glaring at Maki. Who does she think she is?! She doesn’t know how fucked up his life was. How he was forced to toughen up and how to put on a facade. How every birthday and Christmas, his “toys” were literally weapons to kill. He still remembers being given an inactive grenade for his fifth birthday. How he wasn’t allowed to play with any of the children, or “new recruits” as they were called. How he was homeschooled and never allowed outside until he could do his first kill. How many scars he had gained, both mentally and physically, during the brutal training and from the assassinations he was sent to carry out. How every day he struggled to eat and how he was so sleep deprived at night. How he has to bear the burden of keeping the family business alive as the only heir and expected to find some random girl to have more heirs. Preferably male to keep the Momota name going. He was living in an eternal Hell. And there’s nothing that he can do to drag himself out of it.
“You’re right. I don’t. But I’m good at reading people.” Maki shrugged, looking right into Kaito’s eyes. “And I can tell that you’re a good person, like you “pretended” to be. I’ve seen your walls come down a few times. You’re not the terrifying monster that everyone thinks that you are. You just need to let people in to show them that.”
“What if I don’t want to?” Kaito defiantly asked, looking away from the red eyes that showed nothing but kindness.
“That’s your choice. But in the end, you’ll just damage yourself even more.” Maki sighed, watching the stars with droopy eyes. “Even if you can’t let everyone in, one person is enough. Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to talk. Just at least think about it for a bit.”
What was she now? The Ultimate Therapist? Ultimate Psychologist? This girl has clearly lost her mind. But then again, she made a point. Maybe…
Kaito glanced at Maki, wanting to say something again. Only, he was met with Maki’s peaceful, still face. She had done it again. She fell asleep by accident. Or was it on purpose this time? Either way, she made herself vulnerable to anything that could hurt her. If it was on purpose, was this her way to show that she treated the assassin? She was literally sleeping next to a killer and yet she didn’t seem to be worried about it for even a second. She just had this small smile on her face. She must be mad.
Kaito shook off those thoughts. As much as he had a huge chance to do it, he can’t kill her. Instead, he did what he did last time. He gently picked her up and took her back to her dorm room. Again the door was unlocked. Does this girl not lock her door?! Kaito shook that off as he gently placed Maki down on her bed. She shifted a little but stilled after a second. As Kaito tucked her under the covers, he felt like he couldn’t leave her. Without thinking, Kaito locked the door and sat down on the couch. His knife was hidden on the inside of his jacket. If anyone dared to try to pick the lock and do anything that will hurt Maki, Kaito would stop them. He won’t kill them, just scare them away. He should leave, but he can’t. He felt like he couldn’t leave Maki on her own like this. He barely knows this girl, and yet he wanted to stay. He just had this need to protect her.
What’s going on inside his head?
———————————————————————————
Story 2: Sick
Kaito was woken up by two things. One was that his girlfriend was no longer sleeping next to him, making his side of the bed a little cold. And two, there was a horrible, loud retching sound coming from the bathroom. He slowly got up, the bed creaking a little. The light was on in the bathroom and through a crack in the open door, Kaito could see Maki leaning over the toilet. She lifted her head up a little, only to lean over it and throwing up into it again. Kaito opened the door completely as Maki did that. He crouched down next to Maki and gently rubbed her back. He also pulled back her hair to keep it from getting ruined. It took a minute, but Maki was able to finally stop throwing up. She lifted her head up, her throat burning and sore from being sick. She looked at Kaito with bleary eyes. Kaito internally winced as he looked at her brightly flushed cheeks.
“Maki Roll, are you okay?” He asked automatically, and felt like punching himself for asking something so stupid. Maki clearly wasn’t alright. Maki nodded wearily as she flushed the toilet.
“I’m fine. Go back to sleep.” She moaned, slowly getting to her feet. She looked incredibly unstable, like she was going to faint at any second. Not wanting to see her hurt herself, Kaito promptly started to carry Maki bridal style. “H-hey!”
“You’re not fine.” Kaito muttered, carrying Maki back to the bedroom. He was being as careful as he could so that Maki wouldn’t feel like throwing up again. Once they got there, Kaito gently placed Maki on the bed, and proceeded to tuck her back in it. He winced as he touched her feverish forehead. “You’ve got a bad fever, you’ve thrown up pretty badly and you can barely stand, Maki Roll.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Maki rasped dismissively.
“Too late for that.” Kaito pouted. Maki sighed, knowing that Kaito wasn’t going to let this go that easily. Kaito could see that he won this round. Without saying a word, he went back to the bathroom, looking for the medicine that Maki needed. Maki begrudgingly took it, groaning in disgust at the fowl taste of the liquid. Satisfied, Kaito went back to the bathroom and cleaned it up. One that was done, he came back and started to get under the covers next to Maki.
“Don’t. I don’t want you to get sick too.” Maki groaned, trying to turn away from Kaito. She didn’t think that she could push him away in her state. However, Kaito immediately spooned her from behind, wrapping his arms around her. His grip wasn’t tight. It was just loose enough in case Maki had to rush back to the bathroom again during the night.
“I’m probably infected anyway. Besides, I’d be a shitty boyfriend if I wasn’t here for my girlfriend.” Kaito smiled proudly, brushing some stray hairs from Maki’s face.
“You really are an idiot. But you’re my idiot.” Maki smiled tiredly, unable to keep her eyes open any longer. After throwing up and taking the medicine, her energy was completely drained. She was fiercely pulled back into the realm of sleep.
“As much as I feel like I should be insulted, I’ll accept the compliment.” Kaito grinned after giving Maki a kiss on the cheek. Maki only mumbled incoherently. She went completely limp, breathing calmly and quietly as she slept. Kaito grinned silently, before he too went back to sleep, feeling proud that he could help for tonight.
Thank you everyone for enjoying these entries, they were all fun to write. Hope to have more fun for next year!
Again, ended up writing two prompts at the same time because I couldn’t decide on one.
Maki left the audition room with a small smile. She had been a long time fan of Danganronpa. People at her school were talking about it and she was drawn into it very easily. The thoughts of being in a killing game was thrilling. Unlike her home life. It wasn’t bad. She had a nice home, a family in high society, a higher achieving school. The perfect life. Perfect, but boring. There was no excitement for her. That was all that she wanted. Sure there were other options, but this was the only way that she saw to have some real fun in her life.
She had done the best that she could. Now her fate was in the hands of the people behind Danganronpa.
“You little bastard! The hell were you doing?!”
“I…I’m sorry!”
“You better be!”
Maki’s attention was suddenly changed as she heard the shouting. The other kids around her didn’t seem to take any notice. They just looked droned out like this was a regular and normal occurrence. Same thing went for any staff that were watching through the cameras it seemed. Maki, however, couldn’t ignore the scene. Standing in front of her were two boys. One shorter than the other. The shorter one had purple eyes and black hair with purple ends on some of the strands. The other boy was much taller than the first, stronger too. He had purple spiky hair and a stupid looking goatee. And he looked pissed off. His purple eyes narrowed like daggers as he seemed ready to punch the smaller boy. This bully was clearly going to win this if no one stepped in.
“Hey! Back off!” Maki shouted, getting between the two. She stood straight, arms crossed in front of her. She glared right up at the taller boy, who seemed to be baffled that she was standing up to him. The smaller boy shrinks behind Maki and hold onto her jacket, almost using her like a shield. She didn’t mind that in all honesty.
“Excuse me!” The bully exclaimed, trying to make himself look bigger.
“You heard me. Back! Off!” Maki warned, taking a daring step closer to him. He backed off a little as he took in her appearance.
“You think you’re so special just cause you go to a fancy school! That your folks are so rich!” He sneered as he realised what school Maki went to.
“That has nothing to do with this. Save that attitude for the game.” Maki warned again, gesturing at the camera in the room. The bully glanced up at it. He seemed to contemplate his actions. No matter how well he did at the audition, his actions might be taken into account later on. He needs to be careful. And then there was the sound of a name being called out.
“Whatever you say, Princess.” The bully shrugged, seeming to respond to the name that was being called out. “When I win, you’ll always remember my name: Kaito Momota!”
“You’re so full of yourself. I’m not afraid of you.” Maki rilled her eyes as she felt the smaller boy hold on to her school jacket even tighter.
“You better watch your back then.” Kaito continued to sneer, his eyes acting like knives as they pierced right into Maki. “You never know when I might kill you. I’m taking all that fame and fortune for myself.”
“Big talk from such a pathetic, little coward.” Maki challenged, deadpanned.
“Watch your mouth, you bitch!” Kaito growled, looking like he was going to raise a fist to her. However, his name was called out again, causing him to give up on what he wanted to do. He turned on his heels and started to walk away. Maki took a breath that she didn’t realise that she was holding. She didn’t realise that she was shaking until now. She steeled herself, she can’t make herself look weak. She turned to the other boy. He was still trembling and looked like he was going to cry. Maki needs to calm him down. Wanting to avoid any of the others waiting to pick on him too, she led the boy to a quieter part of the hall.
“Are you okay?” She asked as they felt like they had more open and quiet space.
“Yeah. I think so. Thank you.” The boy smiled, looking more visibly relaxed. He timidly held out a hand to shake. “I’m Kokichi Oma.”
“Maki Harukawa.” Maki smiled, shaking the hand offered to her. She frowned a little as she took in what had happened a few seconds ago. “You don’t seem the killing type. Why are you here?”
Kokichi fidgeted a little. He didn’t seem that he was comfortable with sharing this fact. Was he forced into this? He can back out if he didn’t want to. But there was something that Maki could sense inside him. Something that wanted to prove everyone else wrong about him.
“I just want to feel powerful for once, like nothing can hurt me.” Kokichi finally said. His voice was quiet but then he cleared his throat and tried to speak with more confidence. “And I want to lead people too. I want to try to make sure that I can get as many people to survive as I can by being a good leader.”
Maki couldn’t hold back a smile. She liked this boy’s spirit. While he did seem like an easy kill, she couldn’t deny how hard he wants to work towards doing the right thing. He wanted to be strong. He wanted to show that he had a lot of inner strength. There was a lot of potential in him. Above all else, he was honest. A fine quality in a leader. But despite that, Maki still needed to make something clear.
“If we both make it through the audition, stick close to me. I promise I’ll make sure that nothing happens to you.” She vowed. This made Kokichi’s smile to be brighter.
“Same to you.” He grinned, glad that he had someone that he could call a friend in this place.
Kaito sneered as he saw the two talking. Just another thing to piss him off. The Princess and the Freak. Perfect combination to bump off. He can’t wait to start killing them in the game.
———————————————————————————
Kaito didn’t understand what was going on. What was that dream?! No it didn’t feel like a dream. A memory? But how? He knows that the Kaito that he saw wasn’t him. He wasn’t an aggressive bully. Yeah, he can get sort tempered, but he’d never strike anyone without cause. And Maki…she was standing up to him. What was that?
That didn’t matter right now. There was another thing that was concerning him. He was alive! But he was going through Monokuma’s execution and died halfway through it. He shouldn’t be here. And yet here he was. In what seemed to be a hospital bed with a doctor shining a light into his eyes the second he opened them. When he glanced around, he saw a pod that was wide open with wires and what seemed to be a headset inside it. He could also see clothes hanging up. It looked like a school uniform, but not one that he could recognise. At least, that’s what he thought.
So the game was a VR simulation the entire time?! That’s the only explanation as to why Kaito was still alive and breathing. It also explains why his lungs didn’t feel like they were filling up with blood. If that’s the case then…
“Where are they?” Kaito asked, cutting off what the doctor was saying. What was the medical professional saying? Kaito wasn’t processing it. Never mind! He needs to get answers!
“Pardon?” The doctor asked, taken a little by surprise.
“Shuichi! Himiko! Tsumugi! Keebo! Maki Roll! Where are they?!” Kaito demanded, his body tensing up. He sat up, despite his body protesting it. That’s when he realised how weak he suddenly was. His body could barely move without him using whatever energy he had left in him. He was more skinny and his hair was longer and wasn’t spiked up, causing most of it to be in his face more.
“They are still in the game. Now let’s-” the doctor sighed, as if he had answered this a million times already.
“No!” Kaito shouted. With a sudden burst of strength he pushed the doctor away from him. The doctor was taken so off guard that he stumbled and fell backwards. Kaito ripped the IV lines out of his arm and scrambled out of the bed. After stumbling a little, he started running, leaving a trail of blood from where the IV was inserted. He ran down the corridor, hearing shouts and security being alerted. He ignored all that as he ran. This didn’t feel like a normal hospital. S he ran, he caught sight of very familiar names on each door. Hoshi, Iruma, Shinjugi, Amari. They’re all here. Wherever here was. Kaito tried not to think of that.
Yonaga, Oma, Tojo, Yumeno, Akamatsu, Harukawa-
There it was!
Harukawa!
Maki’s room!
As soon as Kaito intruded into the room, he slammed the door shut and jammed it with a chair that was close to him. People were pounding on the door and shouting for him to open it. He can’t. Not when he was this close. He looked around. The room was identical to his. A bed, an unrecognisable school uniform hung up, and a pod. Only the pod was closed, sealed shut. Swallowing a little, Kaito peered through the window. His eyes went so wide that they may as well be bulging out of his skull.
That was Maki! He could only see the lower half of her face thanks to a headset that reminded him of Miu’s VR invention, but he could still recognise her. She didn’t seem to know that he was there, watching her in horror. She was peaceful, as if she were merely sleeping. The only thing that told Kaito that she was alive, was the heart rate monitor beeping quietly in the background. It was hauntingly like she was Sleeping Beauty or Snow White, waiting for her Prince to wake her up. Kaito looked around, spotting a console by the pod. He needs to get her out of there! He can’t let Maki stay in there for a second longer! There was so much that he needs to tell her right now! He can’t wait!
As Kaito was looking for some kind of emergency shut off, the door was broken down. Various arms wrapped around Kaito, pulling him down to the ground. He struggled like a ferocious animal, determined to be free. Determined to save Maki!
“You can’t do this! Let me see her! Let her out! Maki Roll! Get off me! Maki Roll!” Kaito yelled, trying to fight back. His body betrayed him as he felt weaker the more he struggled. What happened to him?! What happened to his body?! Why didn’t it feel like his own?! Kaito couldn’t think anymore as a needle was suddenly stuck into his arm. Whatever it was filled with, was emptied into his system. And just like that, he passed out.
———————————————————————————
Kaito once again woke up. He didn’t need to ask where he was this time. He knew where he was. The same room that he woke up in. This time felt different. He could feel someone holding his hand. Someone being extremely gentle as if he was made of fragile glass. He looked out of the corner of his eye, spotting a girl with long, dark brown hair. Her head was bowed down, as if she were saying a prayer. But he could still see her tear streaked face, wishing that he could wipe the tears away.
“Maki Roll…”
This one was quite interesting to write. It was a challenge but I like a challenge when it comes to writing.
Not particularly proud of this one but I hope you guys still like it.
Let’s just say that I’m probably NEVER going to write a Mastermind AU anytime soon XD
Maki didn’t know what she was doing. She was heading over to her Ultimate Lab to check on something before training. She started to make her way to the training area, when she caught sight of someone lurking in the hallways. She didn’t see their face, they had their back to her. They were wearing very concealing clothes so she couldn’t make out any features from the back. She didn’t understand why they would hide themselves like this. There shouldn’t be a reason. Right?
Ignoring a red flag, Maki stalked this stranger. They didn’t seem to think to that anyone would be following them. They were being careless. Maki watched them carefully from the shadows. They were heading to the girl’s bathroom. She waited around the owner for a bit. She tried to think of an innocent reason for this, but the longer she waited, the more suspicious she became. No one takes that long in the bathroom. The person didn’t seem sick. They walked like they were alright. Keeping silent, Maki crept in. If this person really was here for an innocent reason, then she’ll just move on from this.
There was just one problem.
Maki was the only person in there. She looked in each stall, all of them were unlocked, doors open ajar. Maki couldn’t have imagined what she had seen. She knows that she saw somebody walking around. She looked at the small cleaning closet by the cubicles after double checking them.
“This is stupid.” Maki muttered to herself. She felt like an idiot as she felt along the tiles, pressing on each one. It was like those cliche things that happen in cartoons or detective shows. It was a long shot. But when Maki reseed on a tile, there was a small click. The wall opened a little. After gently pushing it, it opened even more, showing a dark corridor. At this point, Maki should’ve gone to get Kaito and Shuichi, but she didn’t want to raise the alarm just yet. She had a feeling about this. Not good or bad. Just this feeling that she needs to investigate this more first.
She crept along the short hallway, the secret passageway closing behind her. She didn’t panic. She knows that she can get out when she needs to. She could see another door that was open ajar. Maki knows that she needed to be careful now. She didn’t know where she was going but she needed to do this. She carefully pushed the door open a little more, just big enough to squeeze through. She closed the door as well before ducking behind a box. She peeked out, squinting a little as she was met with light in a darkened room. Because it was quite dark, she could make out a desk, various monitors and…is that a Monokuma head in a glass case that had wires poking out of it? She could also see someone sitting in front of the monitors. She took a better look, seeing all the rooms in the Academy on each one.
Maki ducked behind the box as she realised where she was. She found the Mastermind. The one behind this sick and twisted game!
Maki didn’t have a plan. She only had one thing in mind. Kill the Mastermind. Once the Mastermind is gone, the game is over. Everyone can go home. This nightmare would finally be over. Taking a deep breath, Maki turned to look back at the person sitting down. Only, they weren’t there anymore.
Maki scanned the room. The Mastermind was gone. It was like she was the only person in the room. It was very eerie. As Maki was cursing herself for not keeping an eye on the Mastermind, she was starting to think about getting out to tell everyone.
That was the plan until Maki sensed a change behind her. She didn’t physically feel it, but she suddenly felt like someone was right behind her. She couldn’t react in time. Whoever it was that was behind her grabbed her the instant she sensed them. Maki pushed and pulled as furiously as she could. She tried to pry this person off of her. Her elbow made contact with the attacker’s abdomen. Aside from a grunt, they didn’t react much. From the sound of it, they could be male. Maki tried again, but the attacker had tightened their grip, almost like they were attempting to squeeze the life out of her. She suddenly felt something soft pressed against her mouth and nose. She could smell something sweet but by time she noticed that, it was already too late. In mere seconds, she was falling in a black void.
———————————————————————————
Maki didn’t know how long she had been out for. She just found herself waking up on a soft bed. It felt more comfortable than the one in her room. She was covered by warm sheets. Not quite what she was expecting. She remembers what happened before she passed out. She would’ve thought that she would be dead or sleep in less than suitable conditions. The Mastermind should have at least killed her by now. They shouldn’t have her try to escape to tell everyone what she had found. So why was she alive?
There was something else as well. There was this presence of someone being right next to her. The bed felt like it was dipped a little by her side. She stared blearily at who it was. Their shape was a little fuzzy, she couldn’t make out any of their features. She thought that she could hear them, but she couldn’t make out the words. It was like she was trying to listen to this person whilst being held underwater. She closed her eyes again, waiting for her senses to come back to her. She could hear a little better now. And she could feel this person brushing some hair back from her face. That was when she opened her eyes again. And she saw an all too familiar face.
“Kaito?” Maki croaked out, her throat unexpectedly dry. She tried to sit up, but gentle hands eased her to lie back down.
“Take it easy. You’ve been out of it for a while.” Kaito spoke softly as to not overwhelm Maki.
“What…where…” she tried to ask, but she couldn’t figure out why she should ask first. She tried again to sit up, but went too fast as she felt very dizzy again.
“Slow down a bit.” Kaito spoke softly again, helping her to be eased into a sitting position. “I was starting to think that you were given too much of that drug. I’m glad that you’re okay.”
Maki didn’t quite process what he said. Her brain wasn’t fully awake still. She tried to look around at the room that she had awoken in. It wasn’t her dorm. It was roughly the same size it seemed. There wasn’t much in this room either. There was only a bed, a bedside table with a lamp (which was currently turned on with a dim light) and a wardrobe. There weren’t any windows, only two doors. One to leave the room and the other presumably for a bathroom. It wasn’t exactly the best room in the world but Maki has slept in worse conditions. After glancing around the room, her mind finally caught up to the reality of the situation. What Kaito had said hit her like a freight train. He pretty much admitted that he was responsible for knocking her out. If that was the case then…
“You…you’re the mastermind? Aren’t you?” Maki asked, her voice hesitant to ask. She didn’t notice it until now. His clothes, they were different. They looked similar. The only thing was that his coat, pants and slippers were black, and he wore one white shirt. The inside of the coat was a blood red with a galaxy pattern. And his right eye had red eye shadow in the shape of Monokuma’s right the eye.
“Wait!” Kaito exclaimed, looking like he was caught out by her question. That was a conformation for Maki. She never felt so betrayed before in her life. Kaito was the first person that made her feel like she was becoming her own person. She felt like she could be herself the more she started to be with Kaito. Despite her dislike for him at the start, she truly believed that she started to care for him. He was the one person that offered her a chance after everyone found out her Ultimate Talent.
Without giving Kaito a chance to explain, Maki immediately punched him. As he was stunned, she shoved him away from her. As he landed on ground, Maki leapt from the bed. She stumbled a little but managed to run to the door. She turned the handle, pushed and pulled, but it wasn’t opening. She was about to charge into it so that she could try to break it down, when Kaito suddenly wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides.
“You traitor! Let me go!” Maki yelled, kicking the air as she was lifted off of the ground. How was Kaito this much stronger than her all of a sudden?! He pulled away from her when she punched him during the investigation of Tenko and Angie’s murder, all because he got scared by the mere thought of a “curse” looming around. She actually believed and felt like she was stronger than him. Had Kaito been holding back all this time?
Maki tried not to think about that. She kept thrashing as much as she could to get some leeway. However, that plan stopped short very quickly. Kaito had pulled out a cloth and covered her mouth and nose with it. Maki knew what was coming this time. She tried not to breathe. She kept trying to pull away, but without being able to breathe, it was a losing battle. After nearly a full minute, Maki was forced to give in. She was panting heavily. She couldn’t stop breathing in the sedative. She was blacking out fast. But before she lost consciousness, she heard Kaito say one thing:
“I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”
Why is he apologising? He’s the Mastermind…right?
———————————————————————————
Kaito watched as Maki’s eyes flickered closed. She went limp again, just like when he caught her before. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. He didn’t want this. All that he wanted was for this to be over already. He was told to kill Maki the second she was discovered here. The damn bear said that if Kaito didn’t do anything, then the Mastermind would do it themselves. Kaito begged the bear to give him some time. He didn’t want to lose Maki. He didn’t want to lose his sidekick. She was too important to him. He’s only got a limited amount of time to convince Maki to join him and the Mastermind. If he doesn’t, then he’ll lose her.
And he can’t let one secret get out as to why he was doing this. He shuddered as he remembered how the bear just suddenly showed up, knocked him and rocked him to wake up here. And how the Mastermind threatened hm to join them. He just wishes how he shouldn’t have agreed to this. He’ll never shake off this regret.
Gently, Kaito picked her up and placed her back on the bed. Her face was still tense after what had happened. She’s not going to be please when she wakes up. He should’ve done it earlier but he didn’t want to scare Maki right away. Now he doesn’t have a choice. He pulled out a set of handcuffs and cuffed one of her hands to the bed frame. This is only temporary. Once she’s calmed down enough to listen, he take the cuffs off.
“Please forgive me.” Kaito whispered, brushing some strands of hair away from Maki’s face. Maki seemed to look more relaxed at that action, but he couldn’t be sure. He gave her a small peck on the cheek before leaving her. Maybe she just needs some time to calm down more. And he needs to rethink a couple of things. Kaito tried to get his head on straight as he locked the door behind, when he found Monokuma standing right in front of him.
“Well? Is she joining us?” He asked, sounding excited. If only Kaito could wipe that stupid permanent grin off his face.
“She will eventually.” Kaito shrugged, doing his best to make it look like nothing was wrong.
“You do realise that we might have to kill her, right?” Monokuma growled, unsheathing his claws.
“Give me time! I’ll get her to change her mind!” Kaito begged, his eyes going wide in fright. He can’t lose her! He can’t lose Maki! She’s the reason why he hasn’t lost his mind already!
“You better hurry up then before people realise that she’s missing.” Monokuma scowled. Kaito was about to protest when he felt a familiar pain in his chest. His hand shot up to his mouth as he started coughing. He felt something warm and wet in his palm as he could smell and taste something like copper. “By the way, tick tock! You’re running, out of time!”
Kaito didn’t have much to do tonight. He had completed his paper for college and just opted to get some fresh air. What better way to spend free time than looking at the stars. Normally he’d have his telescope with him, but he decided to give it a miss for tonight. He just wanted to lay back and enjoy the stars while he can. He used to live in the city, but then he and his grandparents moved out to the country. They were still within travelling distance of the city, but they were just far enough away to be away from the light pollution. This allowed him to have a better look at the stars. They always seemed brighter to him all the way out here. The light pollution prevented him from seeing them. This was one of the things that he was grateful for when they moved out here. It gave him some peace and quiet for his studies and exam practice too. It wouldn’t add any stress to him, especially if he wants to become an astronaut once he finishes college.
Without thinking about it any further, Kaito kept on watching the sky. His grandparents were away for a week, so there was no one to bother him if he was out for too long. He could stay out as long as he wanted, even though he might regret it in the morning. He would’ve stayed laying down if something hadn’t caught his attention. It was something streaking across the sky. At first, he thought that he was watching a shooting star. But then it started getting bigger. And brighter as a red hot colour. There seemed to be smoke coming from the object. It didn’t look like a meteorite. Kaito ducked down as the object flew right above him. He watched as it crashed into the ground, making a deep trail n the ground. It was like a trench had been dug. Not sure if he was being brave or stupid (probably the latter), but Kaito immediately went over to see what had landed. Taking a small flashlight that he always had to make sure he didn’t trip on anything when it was dark, Kaito took a peek. He didn’t know what to expect, so he was quite surprised by what he was seeing.
Right in front of him, was some kind of ship. It wasn’t huge, about the same length biplane. It was a shining silver and streamline with a cockpit for the pilot to sit in. It was still quite hot, steam trailing off of it and the heat present heat was making Kaito sweat profusely. The vehicle was dented and the wings were bent out of shape from the impact.
Was it some kind of experimental space craft?
Kaito wondered about that for a bit longer when the cockpit suddenly opened up with a hiss. Kaito flinched back a little out of instinct. He waited until it fully opened. After waiting a few seconds, Kaito carefully approached the craft. At first he thought that the machine was controlled remotely until he could see the pilot. It was a girl. A girl roughly the same age as him it seemed. She was unconscious, but unharmed, like as though she fell asleep during the crash landing. She had long brown hair that was tied back. She was incredibly pale, like she hadn’t seen the sun before. She was wearing a black shirt, boots, leggings and a short sleeved red jacket. She was clutching onto a bag that was strapped to one shoulder. She seemed to be a normal girl, until a few noticeable things were made clear. For one was her arms, they had markings on them. Some lines, some circles, and a strange shaped one on one of her wrists. If that weren’t enough, Kaito was surprised to see that the girl had the ears and tail of a cat! The tail was looped over her waist, thin and brown like her hair. Her ears were pointed upright, almost unnoticeable thanks to them blending in with her hair.
Kaito blinked in surprise as he looked at the girl. He wondered if the ears and tail were real or part of some kind of costume. But then again, why would a pilot be wearing fancy dress when they were busy flying a space shift? He was about to try to wake her up, when there was this high pitched sound. The console suddenly started flashing red. There was a language flashing on the screen that Kaito couldn’t make out. They seemed to be moving in a pattern. As soon as Kaito saw the screen, he knew what it was. Without thinking, he lifted the girl up, bag and all, and started to scramble out of the crater. He was careful not to step on the limp tail that was attached to the girl. He ran as far as he could. He didn’t know how long the countdown lasted but just when he was safe enough, there was an explosion behind him. It was small so he was a safe distance away. Fire and smoke was al that seemed to remain in the crater.
Kaito looked down at the girl. He can’t call for help. How would he explain it to the authorities? And even if he somehow did, there was a high chance that she would be experimented on. He didn’t understand it, but he had a feeling that he can’t let that happen.
———————————————————————————
Maki wasn’t fully coherent when she opened her eyes. There was something soft under her, the complete opposite of the pilot’s seat in her ship. She didn’t understand how it was soft now. Another thing that was concerning was that something that was just as soft was covering her body. When she opened her eyes, she had trouble adjusting to her surroundings. She was still drowsy from the hyper sleep that the ship’s emergency protocols forced her into. She could make out a plain ceiling and a window with the curtains drawn. She blinked several times before her vision cleared up. Once it did, she had a better look around at the room she was in. It appeared to be a small bedroom. It was plan and simple. Single bed, bedside table and a small chest of draws. A guest room maybe?
Maki sat up, glancing around the room again. It seemed like one of the inhabitants of this planet had found her. She didn’t seem to be harmed, so that was a good sign. When Maki thought that she had the strength, she carefully stood up. She wobbled a little, her body not as fully awake as she thought it was. She clung to the wall, carefully making her way to the window. She gently pulled back the curtains. She blinked again as she adjusted to the sun’s light. She seemed to be out in the countryside. Good. The last thing that she need was to cause a panic in a crowded city.
Maki felt her shoulder, only to realise that her bag was gone. How could she not notice it earlier?! She’s such an idiot! The human that found her must have taken it. She needs to get it back! She took a deep breath. She crept to the door, her movements light and silent. She was in a hallway that had three other doors. Quite possibly two bedrooms and a bathroom. She didn’t think that her bag was in there but she’ll check if she can’t find it downstairs. She stalked to the stairs. They led into a living room. There were house plants, couches, an old looking chair, small table and a primitive viewing device. A television, Maki believed that it was called. Maki glanced around the room, trying to find any trace of her belongings.
Maki looked around the room, making out a peculiar scent. It was like something had been burnt and the flames had been put out a while ago. She followed the scent. There was this hole in the wall that was a large rectangular shape. It was so large that she could stand up right in it if she wanted to (quick A/N: I saw a fireplace like this when I was quite young but it’s always been fresh in my mind). Maki touched the scorched and blackened blocks of wood, when she heard a furious and loud hissing sound. Her head snapped to look down at a small creature. She recognised it as what humans call a “cat”. A somewhat very primitive form of her species. It’s fur was black with three white dots in a familiar pattern on its head. It reminded her of a constellation. It hissed and growled at her. Maki crouched down and hissed back just as furiously. Her tail bristled, all hairs and fur standing on end and her ears folded back against her head. The cat seemed to rival that, looking like, it was going to pounce on her.
This will be an easy fight.
“Um…I’d appreciate it if you didn’t eat my cat.”
Maki snapped out of the stare down as she heard a voice. It was speaking in an Earth language. Her eyes locked on to a human who had come into the room. Male by the looks of it. This guy seemed to like purple a lot. Purple hair, goatee, shorts and a shirt with stars on it. He was smiling a little sheepishly as the cat backed away from Maki now that it had the chance. Her eyes narrowed when she noticed that he had her bag in hand. Her ears once again folded back, tail bristled and pupils dilated. She hissed, baring her fangs. The human flinched back, holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture. He was speaking, but Maki didn’t know what he said:
“Easy, I’m just giving your stuff back.”
The human slowly approached the small table, gently placing Maki’s bag on it. She calmed down a little but kept her guard up. He backed away slowly.
“I’ll go make something to eat.”
With that, the human retreated into a different room. He left himself wide open for an attack. This idiot seemed to think that Maki wouldn’t attack him if she wanted to. However, aside from taking her things, he hadn’t done anything to warrant an attack. However, she had no clue as to what he was saying. For all she knows, he might have said that he had taken something out of her bag. She opened it, wanting to make sure that everything was still in place.
———————————————————————————
Kaito took a deep breath as he entered the kitchen. He glanced a bit behind him to make sure that the cat girl wasn’t following going to attack him. She seemed to be more occupied with making sure that nothing was taken out of her bag. Not that Kaito would. He knew better than to look through anyone’s personal belongings. With that in mind, he decided to try to find something to cook. He didn’t know what the cat girl might eat but it doesn’t hurt to experiment, at least that’s what he guessed. Should he even refer to his guest as “cat girl”? It felt derogatory now that he thought about it. Until he learns her name, he’ll just think of her as a girl. Even if she has the ears and tail of a cat.
Kaito shook that off. He needs to focus on trying to feed this girl. He was so focused that he didn’t hear the girl coming up behind him. He only noticed her presence until he turned around with her being right in front of him.
“Whoa! You scared me!” Kaito exclaimed, giving a small, nervous smile. The girl only blinked as her ear twitched slightly. She suddenly held up a small crystal that was glowing slightly. “What am I supposed to do? Are you giving this to me?”
Kaito was about to gently take the crystal, but the girl snatched it back. He didn’t know what she was doing until he noticed that there was a chocker on her neck. He could’ve sworn that she wasn’t wearing it earlier. It might have been in her bag this entire time. Without saying a word, the girl slipped the crystal into a slot that the choker had. Kaito raised an eyebrow as the crystal clicked into place and glowed a bit before fading to a dull red colour.
“Maki Harukawa.” The girl suddenly said, her voice quiet but serious. She took Kaito off guard. He didn’t know how to respond to that at first. Then he smiled. He was just glad to finally be able to talk to this girl, Maki.
“Kaito Momota. Nice to meet you.” He beamed, holding out his hand to shake. Maki didn’t react other than flinching back. Kaito retracted his hand. Maybe Maki wasn’t used to simple customs like shaking hands. He should ask what she and her people do in terms of greeting each other. A loud, angry hiss suddenly erupted from the doorway. Maki narrowed her eyes and started to hiss herself as she spotted the cat. He still didn’t trust her it seems.
“Orion! Bad kitty!” Kaito scolded, approaching the house pet. Maki stopped hissing but her ears were still folded back. Kaito didn’t seem to notice as he picked up Orion. “You don’t hiss or growl at our guests.”
“Orion? As in Orion’s Belt?” Maki asked, staying where she was.
“Yeah! Glad you know it.” Kaito grinned. He carefully approached Maki, keeping Orion comfortably in his arms. Maki again flinched back as the cat started growling quietly at her. She hissed back quietly in retaliation, before Kaito gently grabbed her hand. “Don’t worry. I won’t let him scratch ya.”
Maki didn’t know what the human had planned Neil he guided her hand to the cat. Orion flinched a little as Maki touched his incredibly soft fur. He relaxed a little, even purred a bit as Maki started to stroke him. She seemed quite surprised by this turn in behaviour. Was that all it took for a truce? It seemed too easy.
“So where are you from? I doubt you’re from Mars.” Kaito smiled, shifting Orion a little in his arms so the pet was more comfortable.
“Never been to Mars. Besides, I don’t think that I’d get along with the inhabitants there.” Maki shrugged, one of her ears twitching a little.
“Martians are real? I knew it!” Kaito grinned. His grin faltered a little as he suddenly thought of something. “They’re not going to invade us are they? Like in “The War of The Worlds”?”
“The what?” Maki asked, eyebrow raised in confusion.
“”The War of The Worlds”. You know? The book by H.G Wells that was made into a musical in the 1970s and had movie adaptations?” Kaito asked. Maki just gave him a blank look as if she was having trouble processing what he was saying. “I’ll stop talking about it.”
With that said, Kaito finally put Orion down. He felt like the cat might get fidgety at any second anyway. As Kaito turned to look in the fridge, Maki watched the cat walking around the kitchen, heading towards a small bowl on the floor. She didn’t know what was going on until the cat started to eat something that was quite strong smelling from the bowl.
“That’s not for me too I hope.” She said, pointing at the cat.
“What? Oh!” Kaito asked before looking at where Maki was pointing. When he realised what she meant, he couldn’t stop a small laugh from coming out of his mouth. “No! Don’t worry! I was gonna make something up for the both of us.”
Maki seemed relieved as she watched Kaito curiously. After asking some questions about her diet, turns out that Maki mostly eats what humans eat. That was easy. As Kaito started to cook off some bacon and eggs, Maki had another look in her bag. Everything seemed to still be in place. She was content that Kaito didn’t take anything out of it. But there was one final thing that concerns her.
“My ship, was it destroyed?” She asked, not wanting to seem too suspicious.
“Yeah. It almost blew up with you in it.” Kaito shuddered, remembering how quick he had to react to getting Maki out of the space ship. He grinned trying to think of more positive things. “Guess it was just luck that I was at the right place at the right time.”
“Thank you. And I’m glad that you got my bag as well. It’s important that no one else gets it.” Maki bowed slightly, clutching the strap of her bag like it was a lifeline.
“Why? Are you in some sort of trouble?” Kaito asked before he could stop himself. Maki didn’t answer. She just withdrew in one herself. Her ears folded back and her tail became limp. She didn’t make eye contact and didn’t seem to take in anything around her. Bad timing. “Hey. You don’t have to tell me now. You can tell me whenever you’re ready. The last thing that I want to to force into something that you don’t want to do.”
Kaito didn’t know what was going on or why Maki was on Earth in the first place. But he felt glad to have a visitor. Even if she was an alien.
Quick disclaimer: this isn’t a part of “Kingdoms” but it is something that I thought of randomly one day whilst playing Magic The Gathering and reading a Dungeons and Dragons Handbook.
Maki is a rouge and Kaito is a paladin.
Also “owlbears” are monsters from DnD.
“Would you quit following me?”
“No way.”
“You do realise that I’m a rouge right? I could kill you as easily as I dealt with those monsters.”
That was the conversation that Maki was having with this idiot. She didn’t know what she was doing or what she had been getting herself into. She was just heading to her destination when she heard a fight going on. Curious, she followed the sound and watched as a Paladin was fighting some monsters. He was wearing silver plated armour that seemed minimal, not quite high ranking. At least he had a strong sword and a good enough shield. He was capable of fighting and held out on his own quite well. He only got into trouble when he started getting out of breath and got pinned by one of the monsters. Under normal circumstances, Maki would’ve turned and left. But she decided to help. He seemed to be a good fighter and a good heart. Maki had respect for people that were like that. So she dealt with the last couple of monsters for the Paladin.
And she instantly started to regret it.
As soon as the fight was over, Maki expected the Paladin to say thanks and leave her alone to do her own business. Well, he said “thank you”. But as soon as Maki thought that they were going to part ways, the Paladin suddenly started to try talking to her. Maki had out her hood up and everything as a sign that she didn’t want to talk. She said “had a nice day” and left, but the Paladin didn’t seem to get the message. He was not following her, not shutting up for even 5 seconds. It took everything Maki had to not pull out one of her daggers and stab him.
“True, but I just wanted to talk to you.” The Paladin smiled, his armour clanking a little as he walked.
“Well you have. Now go away!” Maki hissed, her fingers twitching to grab her dagger.
“Wait! Hold on a sec!” The Paldin spoke up, stepping in front of Maki. This made her stop in her tracks. His smile widened as he offered out a hand to shake. “The name’s Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!”
This guy is more of an idiot than Maki took him for. Who calls the self that?!
“Maki Harukawa.” Maki said, ignoring the hand offered to her. “Now get out of my way.”
“Just wait a bit more. I want to help you out with whatever you’re-OW!” Kaito started to offer before he yelped suddenly. His goatee had been grabbed and yanked on as he was pulled down to forcefully make eye contact with the rouge. Maki had enough. She thought that he just wanted her name and would leave her be. Now he wants to join her? Yeah right. Maki swore to never be part of a travelling party. She’s not going back on it now.
“I don’t work with anyone! I don’t need help! And I don’t need some idiot with a hero’s syndrome following me like a lost puppy! Now leave me alone!” Maki sneered, ignoring Kaito as he yelped and fumbled for her to let go of him. Maki obliged. By pulling so hard that the Paladin stumbled forward and almost fell over when she let go. As he tripped over his own feet to upright himself, Maki immediately dashed away from him. She could hear him shouting and starting to sprint after her. Thankfully, his armour seemed to prevent him from running at full speed. She just needed to lose him.
———————————————————————————
Maki only just lost the Paladin when she squeezed herself into a small space on a cliff face. She had waited with baited breath when Kaito had looked around that area. He seemed to have heard something as he took off in a different direction. Finally. Maki took a breath as she relieved herself from the claustrophobic hiding space. Stupid Paladin. He had no right trying to meddle with things that he doesn’t understand. She was a rouge for crying out loud. She could easily kill him without a second thought. This is a big forest, too much ground to cover, so the chances of seeing that idiot again were quite slim. Hopefully.
Shaking off the thought of having to see the idiot again, Maki restarted her journey to the nearby town. She had her own problems that she needed to deal with. She needed to follow a hunch. She heard a rumour about the person that she was looking for. She knew that person ever since she was a street urchin. She was just scraping by and made sure that the younger ones had something in their stomachs or a warm blanket for the winter. That’s when she was snatched off the street. She didn’t know what she was being thrusted into. She was just thrown into a world that she had to kill people, either innocent or guilty, for money. She became an assassin. And she loathed it. She only just broke away from the cult about a year ago and started hunting down every single member. She didn’t want any more innocent children to be taken advantage of like that. Never again.
Maki shook off that thought so she can keep her guard up. And she was thankful that she did. The second she pulled herself out of her thoughts, she registered that something was charging towards her. She leaped out of the way and saw what had charged at her. It seemed to be almost bear like. At least in body. It was twice the size of a normal bear. The head was that of an owl and it had a mix between feathers and fur. An owlbear. Maki had heard of these creature. She knew that they were dangerous and won’t stop if they were hunting. And this one definitely seemed hungry. Maki tried to slide past it, but there was and opening. She was forced into a fight. She did well. She was faster than the monster. This led her to injure it and slow it down a little. It swiped at her, but she avoided each attack. There was only a small problem. She already used a lot of her energy in the previous fight and running away from Kaito. She might need to try climbing a tree to try to lose the stubborn, starving creature.
Maki tried again to avoid another swipe. Unfortunately, her energy was almost gone completely. Her dodge was sloppy. She couldn’t avoid the claws as they caught her side, leaving three deep gashes. Maki involuntarily let out a pained how as she crashed to the ground. She tried to move, but the pain in her body made her feel paralysed. She couldn’t move at all. The creature’s eyes seemed to have lit up in glee as it focused on her. It was sure to get a meal today.
Maki couldn’t believe this. This ain’t how she thought she would go out. She hoped to leave this world after finally dealing with those that wronged her and others. She was angry. Angry at the monster for redoing this to her. Angry at the people that made her a monster and made her take so many lives without mercy. And angry at herself for being weak. For not fulfilling what she had set out to do.
Maki closed her eyes, bracing herself for the killing blow. However, the strike never came. Instead there were only the sounds of the monster screeching in anger and someone seeming to swing a weapon at the owlbear. Maki tried to open her eyes but she was in so much pain that it was a struggle to do so. The fight seemed to go on for a while. While the new person sounded slower, they defended themselves well enough with their shield. It seemed to anger the owlbear even more but their new target didn’t back down. Finally there was the sickening sound of flesh being stabbed and the monster gave one final shriek as it’s heavy body hit the ground with a tremendous thud. Silence fell upon the area. The only sound that Maki could hear was the sound of panting from the other person. There was the sound of footsteps before someone kneeled down to Maki. Being careful of her injury, they carefully turned her onto her back. She couldn’t hear well, but she sensed that they were trying to speak to her. Maki used up whatever strength that she had left and finally opened her eyes.
It was that Paladin again. Kaito.
Why was he…? Maki couldn’t think anymore as she finally blacked out.
———————————————————————————
Maki felt like she was gently pulled back to earth after seeming to sleep for all eternity. She didn’t feel like she was in pain, only numb from where her wound was. Her cloak and weapons were taken off of her to make her feel more comfortable. She felt like she was in a soft bed. She thought that she could hear people talk from outside the room and the building that she was in. Was she in the town that she was heading towards? She must be. The person that saved her must have taken her there. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a small room that was dimly lit by the setting sun. There was this odd sound that could be heard over everything else. It was quite close to Maki. When she looked around, she found Kaito sitting in a chair. He was slouched over a little, eyes closed. Judging by the fact that the mysterious sound was him snoring, he had fallen asleep whilst waiting for Maki to wake up. Why did he stay? He could’ve just left her here in the care of others. Instead he just stayed. He had no obligation to. Must be a Paladin thing.
Either way, Maki can’t stay here now. She needs to leave. She didn’t how much time she has already wasted but she needs to make up for it. Get out, find the nearest tavern, rest, follow her lead, kill the target and leave, never to return. That was the plan. And it would’ve worked if she could get out of bed. The second she tried to stand up, she felt like there was something stabbing her. Unfortunately she couldn’t hold back a wince as she forced herself to move. Kaito wasn’t a heavy sleeper like she hoped he’d be. The moment she let out a pained groan, he woke up. He jolted a little, but relaxed when he saw that Maki was awake.
“Whoa…easy. You were hurt pretty badly.” Kaito said calmly whilst standing up. He helped Maki to sit up and propped her up on the pillows after adjusting them.
“What are you doing here?” Maki asked, not even bothering to think about her injury or what Kaito had said. Kaito didn’t answer. He made sure that Maki was comfortable enough before he sat back down in the chair.
“After I killed that monster I rushed to bring you here.” Kaito explained, looking a lot comer than he was when Maki first met him. He seemed to be serious. In all honesty, with how he was around her, Maki didn’t think that he was capable of that. “I was able to use some healing magic to stop the bleeding but you were in still a bad state. Couldn’t just leave you like that, even if you are a rouge.”
“Why? I don’t understand.” Maki asked. This guy had to be playing some kind of trick on her. He had to. But I’m spite of thinking that, Maki couldn’t see so much as a trace of a lie.
“You helped me, it was only right of me to try to repay you somehow.” Kaito shrugged. He seemed to be telling the truth. Maki relaxed a little as she thought that. It was what Kaito said next that made her more awake. “And I think I’ll be travelling with ya for now.”
“I was doing fine on my own.” Maki growled through clenched teeth. What’s it going to take for this guy to get him to leave her alone? A threat to stab him? Probably not if he was this stubborn.
“I don’t doubt that.” Kaito said calmly, putting his hands up as a peaceful gesture. “It won’t be permanent. Just want to help you until you’re fully healed. It doesn’t hurt to ask for help every now and then.”
Maki wanted to protest. She wanted to scream and demand for him to leave. She wanted him to go and never have to see him again. But she couldn’t bring herself to. She couldn’t help but agree with him helping her out until she was fully healed. Once she was better, she can ditch him. They’ll part ways and never cross paths again. She can go back to being alone and not have to be tied down to anything or anyone. Just the way that it was mandatory should be.
“Fine.” Maki sighed finally giving up. She wasn’t happy about it, but she knew that if she said no, Kaito would just keep following her.
“Alright! You stay there!” Kaito smiled widely, getting excited as he stood up. “I’ll go get the doctor and something for you to eat. Be back in a bit, Maki Roll!”
“Don’t call me that!” Maki yelled at Kaito as she registered the unwanted nickname. But Kaito probably didn’t hear her as he took off before she said anything. His footsteps faded away quite quickly as he disappeared down the hall. “Idiot.”
Left alone, Maki leaned back into the pillows. She was starting to regret allowing Kaito to join her and this has only been for about a minute. She didn’t want to take this loud, obnoxious, cocky idiot with her. He’ll ruin everything. But he was sincere about wanting to help her. He wanted to make sure that her injuries won’t have any more damage and probably help with the healing. He was being genuine. Maki had always been careful when people offered to help her out. About 95% of the time, they were being fake and just wanted to use her for their own gain. It was extremely rare to find someone that truly helped her out. The last time anyone did that was over 2 years ago. Her trust with strangers was extremely thin. With Kaito however, she felt like she could trust him. She didn’t know why. Besides, as soon as she was fully healed, she’ll ditch him and forget about him. That’s how it should be. With that in mind, Maki leaned back even more into the pillows, watching the sunset.
Spoilers for post 2nd and 5th trial. I apologise for the tears that may or may not occur. It was originally going to be “Door” but I ended up writing two prompts at the same time by accident.
Maki wasn’t just mad. She was red hot furious.
She couldn’t believe what had happened. She believed that she was so careful. And still that little bastard somehow found out about her talent. He exposed her secret to everyone. Now she was a target for anyone that would take her out. Only because they now know her true talent. The Ultimate Assassin.
Maki didn’t know how long she had been in her Ultimate Lab for. She just ran straight here after Kokichi let it her secret. She didn’t bother trying to guard the door. There was no point anymore. She only focused on the moving targets ahead of her. She was either shooting a gun, firing a cross bow or launching throwing knives and axes at each on. The offending projectiles hit the targets dead centre. A perfect hit. As expected for her to have a perfect aim from all the traumatic training that she was forced to endure. Maki kept going like that until she decided to stop. She felt like her throat was becoming like sandpaper. Maybe she should get some water.
Feeling the need to cleanse her throat, she opened the door to her Lab. Only to be met with someone standing there. That idiot! Kaito Momota.
Kaito had his hand up, looking like he was going to knock on the door had it remained closed. He was wide eyed for a moment, clearly not expecting Maki to open it right then and there. He quickly shook it off as he smiled brightly. He opened his mouth to say something. Instead, he had the door slammed in his face. Maki suddenly changed her mind about getting a drink. At least for now. She decided to wait until Kaito left. Unfortunately he didn’t leave.
While he was there, he knocked on the door, asking Maki to come back out. He just wanted to talk. Or so he said. Maki shouted for him to leave, but he instead on staying until she finally left the Lab. Two can play at that game. Maki sat down, stubbornly leaning back on the door so she could keep the door from being forced open. Kaito kept on talking as he seemed to sit down too. After a while he stopped talking, blessing Maki with some relatively peace and quiet.
Maki sat there for so long that she didn’t realise she fell asleep until the morning announcement suddenly went off. She jolted awake in surprise. She felt stiff and that her back was painfully curved after she had drifted off to sleep. She didn’t think that something like that would happen. Guess this is what happens when you want to make sure that an idiot like Kaito doesn’t come in or do something even more stupid. It seemed quiet still outside so maybe Kaito finally gave up. Maki opened the door finally, ready to try to avoid everyone and get something to eat. Her stomach felt like it was eating itself since she didn’t have anything at all after the trial. Only things didn’t go the way she thought that they would. Again.
The second she opened the door, Kaito was standing there, smiling brightly like there was nothing wrong with the world. He greeted her like as thought Kokichi never revealed her secret. He was just getting in the way like always. The only thing that seemed to have changed was that he was holding a plate full of fresh food and offered it to her like she was his best friend or something. Despite the temptation to throw it into his face, her hunger had beaten her. Maki took the plate from Kaito. Before she could close the door to be left in peace, Kaito gently wrapped an arm around her and escorted her outside. Despite wanting to protest, Maki somehow found herself not being able to say no for once.
———————————————————————————
Maki didn’t know what she was doing here. She just moved automatically up those stairs to the highest point of the Academy. She just felt the need to be at the Ultimate Lab. Kaito’s Ultimate Lab. She had just witnessed his execution. In a way, she was happy. He had died halfway through the execution because of his illness. But it didn’t make up for the sadness that she was feeling. As she stood outside the Lab, she briefly wondered what Kaito was thinking when he stood outside her Lab that night. It didn’t seem like he had a solid plan but he somehow got her out.
But now that Maki was here, a part of her wishes that now it was the other way round. A way that she was the one trying to get Kaito out his Lab. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to be the case. Kaito wasn’t going to be in the Ultimate Lab anymore.
So why did she come here?
Maki didn’t dwell on the question much. She just pushed open the door. It was light the first time she had opened it. But now it was heavy, as if something tried to prevent her from entering the room. When she stepped inside, the room was cold. Maki tried to make it feel warmer by imagining Kaito looked so excited like a little kid. He’d be pointing at anything and everything from the fake stars on the ceiling to the control console. He’d be spouting out things about space and saying “the impossible is possible, all you gotta do is make it so!” but this was proving to be impossible. No matter how hard she tried, the room just felt too cold and empty.
Sighing, Maki made her way to the chair by the console. Maybe sitting in the chair would make her feel better? Doesn’t hurt to try. Maki turned it a little to get ready to sit down. She stopped when she found something sitting there peacefully. It was one of Kaito’s coats. A fresh clean one that was folded up neatly. Perched on top of it was a folded up piece of paper with “Maki Roll” written neatly on it. Maki didn’t know that Kaito had neat handwriting. Biting her lip a little, Maki took the letter in her shaking hands, reading it carefully.
Hey Maki Roll.
Sorry that this is a lousy way of saying goodbye but it’s the best that I got. If you’re reading this then, it means that I’ve been executed. Hope I went out in style! Didn’t want to give the Build A Bear reject the satisfaction that he wanted, you know?
Anyway, I know that you’re going to be sad now that I’m gone, but I don’t want you to be. I want you to promise me something. Live out your life for yourself, love yourself. I want you to be happy. Honestly, the one thing that I’ll be picturing other than space when I die, will be seeing you smile and hearing you laugh. I know I haven’t heard you laugh yet, but doesn’t hurt to imagine right?
Another thing, keep your door open when you need help. You never know who’ll walk right in and help you. Also, even though I’m gone, I’ll be right with you. When you see the stars shining down on you, that’ll be me smiling at you. When you wear my coat, that’ll be me hugging you. I love you, and I want to make sure that you’ll be happy from now on. I’ll be cheering for you. Don’t forget: the impossible is possible, all you gotta do is make it so!
Take care of yourself.
With all my heart, Kaito.
Maki smiled tearfully as she wiped away the fresh tears that started to fall. As she looked at the paper, she made a note of the tiny specks of blood and dried tear stains. It showed that he was being genuine with his words and it hurt him to write this letter. A part of her wondered if he would’ve shown her this if he won the trail and beat the Mastermind like he and Kokichi had planned. Maybe not but it might not have made a difference. It wouldn’t have changed him succumbing to his illness. Maki would probably still come here if that had happened. She just wished that she had more time to tell him how she felt, just like he had done in this letter.
Looking down at the chair, Maki was still greeted with the coat. As delicately as she could she picked it up and wrapped it around her shoulders. Strange. It wasn’t stone cold like she thought it would be. It was warm. Almost as if Kaito had taken it off mere seconds ago. It really did feel like he was hugging her in a strange way. She slipped the letter into one of the pockets, wanting to keep it with her always. Feeling like she was a little better already, Maki stood up perfectly straight. It was strange but she felt like she could do almost anything now despite her grief. Kaito’s goodbye really lifted her up a bit. With a new purpose, Maki finally turned to leave the Lab. She had a promise to fulfil now. As she reached the door, Maki turned back to look in the room for a final time.
“Goodbye, Kaito.”
I cried writing the letter scene so I apologise if you guys cried too.
Doing this again since it was fun last year. Any artwork that is featured in this has been done by me. Momoharu Week is hosted by @momoharuevents
Maki didn’t know what to think or feel at this time.
Only a month after dating Kaito, both of them finally decided to let Maki be introduced to Kaito’s grandparents. This was the first time that Maki was a Ken to the humble household and meet the elders. She had been told of them and she knew that Kaito spoke about her too. It went a bit better than Maki was expecting. The elders were nice and open to her. They weren’t aware of her talent yet (Maki decided that it was too soon to tell them), so she didn’t have any worries at the moment. They also respected her boundaries, not getting too close in case they made her feel uncomfortable. The closet that either of them had gotten was Kaito’s grandmother holding Maki’s hands as they greeted each other. They would ask Maki questions, but not too many and let it go if Maki wasn’t comfortable about saying anything. They would listen to her as she spoke. They even shared stories about when they were young. Kaito’s grandmother even showed Maki some pictures of when Kaito was young, much to Kaito’s embarrassment (his face went bright red a few times). It was a bit strange to be so welcomed like this. It felt nice. It felt great.
But it also felt like Maki was suffocating.
She was able to put up her mask and pretend like everything was okay. However, deep down, she was quite uncomfortable. She didn’t know what it was. She felt like there were too many people in such a small space. It wasn’t like school where there more people but she could easily find somewhere quiet if she felt like it was too much. In the house, it felt like she was imprisoned, even though she was welcome to leave if she wanted to. It felt loud too. Even if the noise wasn’t deafening to everyone else, it was too Maki. It was just a strange sensation and Maki wasn’t sure how she should go through with it.
Maki was staying the night, but a part of her felt like she needed to run away. She thought that being in Kaito’s room and being away from the elders for a while would help. However, this feeling still lingered, continuing to make her feel like she was being smothered. Maybe it was a mistake to come here this soon. Trying to clear her head, Maki was able to slip out of the house and into the back garden. She went through the house so silently that she was sure that no one even sensed that she was awake. Maki gently closed the door behind her to try to keep some of the warmth in the house. She sat down on the stone bench, the grass tickling her bare feet. The night seemed to be peaceful. It wasn’t quiet thanks to cars going past as people were either coming home or starting their late shifts at work or going for a night out with friends. There was even the odd person or group of people walking past. But still, despite the noise, there was a bit of a calming atmosphere. Maybe it was because Maki was outside and she felt less like she was being pressured to stay.
Maybe this really was too soon. Maki felt like she should’ve just visited for a few hours and leave instead of staying the night. She felt like she should leave now. She can take care of herself so she wasn’t afraid of leaving so late at night. Maki was considering on leaving with an apology note to Kaito but she didn’t have a chance to go through with it. She didn’t even have a chance to go back inside or even stand up. She was so lost in thought that she jumped a little when someone gently draped a blanket over her shoulders. Maki flinched as she turned her head. Thankfully she relaxed as she saw Kaito’s grandmother standing behind her, wrapped up in a blue dressing gown.
“You looked like you were getting cold, dear.” The elderly woman sailed apologetically. Maki was about to politely decline but then she saw how blue her hands were. How did she not realise that she was indeed freezing? She must have been that deep in thought.
“Thank you.” Maki meekly spoke, instinctively wrapping the light purple blanket around her tightly. Her toes curled up as the cold started to affect them too.
“What’s on your mind?” Kaito’s grandmother asked as she carefully sat down next to Maki.
“It…it’s nothing…” Maki sighed. That feeling returned again. The one that made her feel like she was being smothered. It wasn’t as powerful as it was before. Maybe it was because she was outside or with only one person or maybe even both. Either way, it was too strong and felt like it was a struggle to contain.
“I may be old, and my eyesight might not be that good nowadays, but I know when someone’s troubled by something.” Kaito’s grandmother chuckled lightly. It wasn’t cruel or malicious towards Maki. It was kind and lighthearted. It made Maki seem like she had nothing to worry about. Especially after spotting a small glint of kindness in the woman’s eyes. “So why don’t you humour this old lady?” Maki hesitated. Should she?
Maki didn’t think long about it before her mouth suddenly opened and started talking before she could stop herself. A part of her was screaming at her to stop but she couldn’t. She truly didn’t want to. She laid out all of her thoughts and feelings that she had experienced today. The feeling of being enclosed and like she was a prisoner, even though she knew that she wasn’t. The sensation of not being used to people that were kind and their feelings of care were genuine. All of these alien thoughts and feelings that just came crashing to her like a freight train. All the while, Kaito’s grandmother sat there patiently. She didn’t interrupt or stop Maki from talking. She didn’t seem upset or angry. She just seemed to be at peace and full of all the patience in the world. She gave off this calming aura that gently encouraged Maki to keep letting out all of her troubles. By time Maki finished, she felt light. Light as in she was floating off of the bench right now. However, she still felt troubled. She just unloaded all of her troubles rather suddenly. A part of her felt like she shouldn’t have done it this late at night.
“I’m sorry. I’m just causing problems.” Maki sighed, slouching a little. She felt like she should get up and go back inside, but she couldn’t move. It felt like some invisible force was holding her down. And it seemed like it needed to be there and have her stay just a little longer.
“Maki, listen to me sweet heart. I know of your situation, or at least most of it. Kaito wouldn’t tell us the full story.” Kaito’s grandmother gently spoke, her hand comfortingly laying on Maki’s shoulder. Maki didn’t show it but she was thankful again for Kaito not telling his family about her talent, but that was besides the pint. She listened intently to the elder. “But what I do know was that the ones who adopted you weren’t the nicest of people. They may have taken you in, but they’re not family. Having a family doesn’t mean that you have to be related by blood or being forced to stay under their roof because you feel obligated to. Family is the people that you are close to and that you care about with all your heart. And they listen when you need a shoulder to cry on and to help make you feel better.
Take Kaito for instance. He cares so much about you, dear. Because of that, you are a part of this family now. I understand that this all strange and even frightening to you, but take your time with all of this. The last thing that we need is for you to feel like you shouldn’t be here. You have nothing to worry about with us. I know that we’ve only just met today, but already you feel like a granddaughter that I’ve never got to have. That is, if you’re okay with me saying such.”
It was like a switch had been flicked so suddenly. Those words deafened every other noise that dared to interrupt the peace. The voice was loud and clear despite having a frail sound. Maki felt like she had been changed so suddenly as the elder spoke to her. The feeling of being suffocated was suddenly erased, like it had never been there to begin with. Instead of being uncomfortable, Maki felt more comfort than she had ever had her whole life. She no longer felt like there was this invisible force that was weighing her down. She felt light, weightless. Like as though she could fly off into the stars at that moment. All the worries and doubts that she had and felt were washed away.
The feeling of that was so quick that Maki didn’t have any time to try to stop the tears from falling. She tried to stop them from flowing. Kaito’s grandmother seemed to have a teary smile herself. She opened her arms, being patient with Maki. She didn’t rush. She only waited. She allowed Maki to leave if she wanted to. Maki stayed. She found herself enveloped in a hug. It was so gentle that it felt like Maki was wrapped up in a second hug. The tears seemed to keep coming as all the emotions that Maki had felt were finally let out with full force. It was just what she needed.
Maki didn’t know how one she had cried for. She just kept going until the tears finally stopped running like a waterfall. By time they stopped, her body felt heavy with sleep. She felt like she needed to sleep for a hundred years after letting all of those tears out. As she pulled back slightly, Kaito’s grandmother gently wiped away any remaining tears that hadn’t dried up yet. They both sat there for a minute longer before they finally ent back inside. Maki still had the small blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she said goodnight to the elder. She crept into Kaito’s room. Kaito was still asleep, snoring quietly. Seems like he didn’t notice that Maki had left the bedroom in the first place. Maki slipped silently into the bed. She thought that she didn’t wake up her boyfriend until she felt the mattress shift.
“You okay, Maki Roll? You were gone for quite a while.” Kaito mumbled, his voice heavy with sleep. Maki’s lips curled up into a tired smile as she looked over her shoulder. Kaito looked so drowsy that she wasn’t sure if he’d fall asleep on her right then and there.
“I’m fine.” She reassured him, making sure that he was out at ease. Kaito didn’t give a coherent response to that. He only grumbled a little before his body slumped back down on the mattress. His arm however looped lazily around Maki. Maki waited until she heard him snoring quietly again. Then she sighed in content as she fell into a peaceful slumber, finally feeling like she had a family that night.
WARNING! WARNING! There are some depictions of graphic injury. Please proceed with caution if you are disturbed by this.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
“Wake up!”
Kaito groaned tiredly as he heard this rude awakening. He looked at the digital clock beside him. 4:30am? Why did he need to get up so early? Since he had met everyone else, he had been too excited to sleep when he was scheduled to. He was only able to sleep by time midnight had rolled around. He knew that breakfast was scheduled to be served at 8am until 9am, so he would’ve had plenty of time to get more sleep until he woke up a little later. Kaito ignored the voice, choosing to sleep a little longer. That was until his door was pounded on harshly again.
“Alright!” Kaito shouted at the door. He begrudgingly crawled out of bed and hurriedly got dressed. Rubbing sleep out of bed, he opened the door, surprised to find it open. The morning hadn’t come yet, and the doors are electronically locked during the nighttime hours. Kaito couldn’t remember the exact reason for it. Something a ton security measures or something like that. Kaito looked up to see big burly men staring down at him. They wore blacked clothing that looked similar to police or S.W.A.T team body armour. This wouldn’t have been that much of a problem, except for the face that they had face visors that covered the upper halves of their faces. This made it impossible for Kaito to tell what the men looked like. Not to mention the baton looking weapons that hung from their belts unnerved Kaito a little bit. He had seen these guys walking around the Facility. Apparently they were security guards or something. Kaito didn’t see much of a point, but figured that it was a necessary precaution should a terrorist group or another government attack.
“Can I help-” Kaito started to ask, but he got interrupted.
“You’re needed in the lab. Move!” One of the guards ordered as if he were a drill sergeant. Kaito couldn’t stop himself from flinching at that. Then the words sunk in. Lab? Oh yeah. White did say that Kaito had to go through some experiments as part of his training. He still didn’t see the point with it being so early though. Maybe they needed to get as many people done as possible in one day, depending on how long the experiments are. Kaito complied, planning on taking a nap later on. The lights weren’t as bright as they had seemed earlier. They were dimmed down to the point where Kaito thought that he was walking under street lamps at night. It was immensely quiet. Everyone was still sleeping.
Just as Kaito thought that, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the other direction. He looked ahead and noticed Shuichi walking towards him, also escorted by two guards. Kaito was ready to say “good morning” but he suddenly found himself going mute. Shuichi looked awfully pale and he looked so exhausted that Kaito was worried that he’d collapse with every step he took. How long has Shuichi been awake for? He couldn’t have been up all night surely. He might have been awoken a lot earlier than Kaito was if he was returning from the lab now. Shuichi noticed Kaito through half lidded eyes, but didn’t have a chance to say anything as they were walking past each other at that point. What happened to him?
Kaito couldn’t dwell on it much as he was pushed through a door to one of the labs. They say that it was a lab, but it looked more like a surgical theatre. A hospital chair that folded down into a bed was in the centre of the room with a large bright light hanging over it. There were multiple cupboards all around with diagrams of the human body pinned to the walls. Some of the people in the room were cleaning what looked to be equipment and their hands. If Kaito wasn’t told about this place to begin with, he truly would’ve thought that he was in a hospital somewhere.
A woman approached Kaito. She seemed to be in her early thirties. She had pitch black hair that was tied back so tight that it gave the illusion that her scalp was pulled back with it. She had sharp brown eyes that narrowed almost harshly at the teenager. She was fully dressed in hospital scrubs, just like a normal doctor.
“Kaito Momota?” She asked, her voice sounding cold. Kaito nodded. “Take your shoes and shirt off and give them to one of these two. Sit on the chair when your done.” Kaito felt a little unsure about this, but he did so anyway. The sooner this is done, the sooner he can go back to sleep. The guard snatched the clothing from him, not even saying anything. Kaito approached the chair and sat down on it. He didn’t know why, but he had a bit of a bad feeling about this. He shouldn’t be worried though, right?
“Everything is prepped, Sara.” One of the doctors in the room said.
“No, first names. You know the rules.” The woman, Sara, snapped. Her coworker muttered an apology as she approached Kaito.
“Miss…Sara?” The teenager asked.
“Dr. Swan to you.” Sara snapped again, her tone impatient.
“My bad. What’s going on here anyway?” Kaito asked again.
“Just a quick physical examination since this is your first time here, and then we’ll be taking samples from you.” Sara said, sounding like a robot, as if she had said that line many times before. She slipped on a stethoscope and placed it on Kaito’s back, causing him to flinch a little from the cold. “Breathe in. And out.” As she listened to his heart and lungs, and continued with his physical exam, Kaito tried to relax again. A physical examination and taking samples didn’t seem to be that bad. Kaito didn’t know why he was nervous in the first place. However, one thing kept playing back in his mind. It was the condition that Shuichi was in. He really did look like that he was kept all night. Something didn’t feel quite right.
“Do you have any health complications such as high blood pressure?” Sara suddenly asked as she finished looking in Kaito’s mouth.
“No. Not that I’m aware of.” Kaito answered, trying not to feel nervous.
“Good. Lie down.” Sara sighed, sounding satisfied as she adjusted the chair into a bed. Hesitantly, Kaito did so as Sara stepped away from him. Suddenly the other people in the lab rushed at him. He didn’t have a chance to fight back as they strapped his arms and legs down. Kaito tried to move, but the straps were pulled so tightly that they were digging harshly into his skin.
“Wait! What’s this for?!” Kaito asked, suddenly feeling a small surge of panic.
“Safety.” Sara sighed. Kaito strained his neck to see where she was. His panic started to rise. The doctor was suddenly dressed up in surgical scrubs complete with a mask and gloves. Kaito looked around at the other doctors. They were all dressed as if they were ready to do surgery on him. This made the teenager believe that more, as he noticed surgical tools placed on a tray beside him.
“Hold on! I thought you were taking samples. Like blood or something.” Kaito protested as Sara approached the bed again.
“Tissue samples.” She stated, reaching to grab a scalpel.
“Shouldn’t I be put under?! Or be given some anaesthetic?!” Kaito shouted, trying to wriggle out of the restraints. This is messed up! This can’t be real! It had to be a nightmare!
“Just because you have powers, doesn’t mean we should treat you as a human. You’re nothing but scum and should be treated as such.” Sara said. Kaito looked into her eyes at that point. They were dull and cold. There was nothing in them. No remorse. No compassion. No sorrow. No feelings at all lived in those eyes. She had done this so many times that she is beyond caring about anyone.
“No! Wait!” Kaito protested, looking around for anything or anyone to help him.
“Shut him up.” Sara sighed.
“Wai-” Kaito shouted again before something was forced between his teeth, causing him to bite down on it. He looked at everyone. They all had the same look as Sara had. It was like everything that made them human, everything that made them feel, had been sucked right out of them. Kaito watched with wide eyes as the scalpel made contact with the skin of his right arm. He couldn’t hold back a scream as he felt the blade dig mercilessly into his skin. He felt it go down deep into his arm. This was the worst pain that he had ever felt in his whole life. The fact that he was terrified as well didn’t help. It made the pain even worse. It kept forcing him to tremble from the pain. He couldn’t stop screaming. This sample taking thing was going on for way too long.
The pain stopped suddenly. Kaito’s throat was so sore that he felt like he might never speak again. His arm was in complete agony. He hesitated, but his eyes subconsciously drifted to the wound. If he wasn’t biting down on something, he probably would’ve thrown up. There was a long cut from his elbow to just before his wrist. The wound was so deep that Kaito could see the muscle under his skin. It hurt so bad that Kaito was literally close to crying. He was actually close to passing out. Black spots started to cloud his vision, and he couldn’t hear much of anything. He felt terribly cold, as if someone had shoved him inside a freezer. He suddenly felt something touching his injury. Kaito just barely opened his eyes. Rantaro? What was he…
Oh that’s right. Rantaro said that he has healing as his powers. That’s good. Right?
That’s all that Kaito could think before he fell into a never ending, black, cold void.
![missariliciousart:Little comic I wanted to do for the momoharu week on twitter [Fears]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/13cbf7c3bd6ea6775dbc2cf12895d182/tumblr_pabgsjdNpM1tpcck5o1_1280.jpg "missariliciousart:Little comic I wanted to do for the momoharu week on twitter [Fears]")
![missariliciousart:Little comic I wanted to do for the momoharu week on twitter [Fears]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/c6715a0edb124ee9a8e5c3e0194005d3/tumblr_pabgsjdNpM1tpcck5o2_1280.jpg "missariliciousart:Little comic I wanted to do for the momoharu week on twitter [Fears]")
![missariliciousart:Little comic I wanted to do for the momoharu week on twitter [Fears]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/e02383b202e667a6c6ba45791f44e949/tumblr_pabgsjdNpM1tpcck5o3_1280.jpg "missariliciousart:Little comic I wanted to do for the momoharu week on twitter [Fears]")
![missariliciousart:Little comic I wanted to do for the momoharu week on twitter [Fears]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/b8d8bab05a2e1e4c427ea189a0c90dc9/tumblr_pabgsjdNpM1tpcck5o4_1280.jpg "missariliciousart:Little comic I wanted to do for the momoharu week on twitter [Fears]")
