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.
It’s already the fourth day of Momoharu Week 2022, organized by @momoharuevents! We’re already more than halfway done with this event! My entry for today is based on the prompt Sci-Fi AU.
You just know that the moment Kaito hears Maki’s never been camping he’d be falling over himself to organize a trip. I think she’d be quite good at it given her skill set, but telling stories by the fire and under a sky of stars? Kaito is in his element!
Don’t know if I’ll get a chance to any other prompts, so thank you @momoharuevents for running the week!
