#momoharuweek2020

[cosmicapproachart]

momoharuweek2020 day 7: free day ⭐🚀❤️

local spaceman idiot gets bench pressed by 5′4″ girlfriend

[douzibean7]

Momoharu Week 2020

Hey y’all, it’s that time again! Here are this year’s Momoharu Week prompts, rules, and FAQ:

The event will run from May 3 - 9. Do check out our Twitter and/or Instagram, as it is more active! Feel free to ask any questions!

Thank you for checking the event out and can’t wait to see everyone’s submissions! 💜❤️

And as always, thank you so much to Yuli for the cute art and setting up the event!!

[lynneshobbydomain]

To Be In Orbit (Day 7 of Momoharu Week)

((Gosh it’s been a journey of two ship weeks and having a lot of fun in trying out new characters. Thank you all so much for your support as I wangled my way through this.))

Prompt: AU/Free Day

Summary: During quarintine Kaito has been spending an awful lot on Animal Crossing before Maki could be invited. Little did she know that her man has a plan.

You can read under the cut or here at my AO3

Maki arrived on Curiosity and she knew right then and there that she was going to have to brace herself for all things that were space. “MakiRoll! You made it!” Kaito’s voice cheered over the discord voice chat they were in. It was easier to talk through a mic than to use the speech bubble. Maki prided herself on being a fast typer, but...Kaito could be a slowpoke. She brought out her NookPhone for a moment to see if her guess was right. “So you’d never guess what the shape of this island is!”

“It’s a rocketship.” Maki confirmed as she put away the NookPhone and decided to leave the airport’s entrance. He...did a remarkable job on crafting the island so that it would look like a space ship. There was a pond at the top of the island to indicate a window, and she saw that he had made some sort of cliff side for the rockets that were underneath the ship. She would have to explore the island to see for herself how he crafted it. She was also amused by all of the red flowers that he planted. Mostly red and purple roses. How he managed to enough purple to cover the majority of the island, she couldn’t guess. “Did you breed these?”

“No Kaede’s and Shuichi’s island has a whole bunch of pink and purple.” Kaito explained. “They let me take some. Kokichi oddly enough made me go to his island to get some too.”

“Was that why you were screaming at your console?” Maki had heard him shout about something or another and she had thought it was Kokichi who managed to sneak onto Kaito’s island or had just decided to “bribe” him into going on his. “Did you do the rocket yourself or did Shuichi help?”

“Of course my sidekick helped! We even got Himiko and Tenko to take part in it too. Come on you’re not going to get all of the nitty gritty standing there.” Kaito’s character spun around in circles around her before racing off. Maki decided not to drag her feet and followed him. He had placed the houses in a way that made sense too. He had tried to make the shops diagonal from each each other to represent wings. On the other side of the island, he did that with the villagers as well. The whole middle of the island, while covered in flowers and fruit trees, also had a goregeous set up of a park. Going further and she could see that he went out of his way to recreate memories. 

There was a restaurant that was on the river side. Their first date had been at a restaurant at a river side. Then there was the house that he made that was...very much like their own house. She didn’t miss that he had managed to find a way to hang a weapon on the walls and that there was artwork of them. Angie must have provided it. She also caught on that there was planets and galaxies that were decorating the non-flowered parts of the island. The Milky Way, the Andromeda, the different planets. She even saw her own constellation for her birthday and right next to that was Kaito’s. 

Small flags were starting to rise up in Maki’s mind. Out of everything that he could have put in his island, it was space and her and flowers. She spoke to some of the villagers, mostly to see if they’d randomly drop a hint as to what was going on. Most of them were just excited to see her, and she got a DIY recipe that she already had. She would have to see if Ryoma or Rantaro needed it since they didn’t play too much. Kaito dragged her everywhere, showing her where he placed the waterfalls for the river, and how he tried only to have a few cliffs. 

It was a very romantic island, and a very him. “That explains the days you decided to lock yourself in your room or playing when you have a nightmare.” Maki said after a moment, taking it in. “It’s really beautiful. You did a good job.”

“Thanks Maki Roll, but the best hasn’t even been shown yet!”

There was more to this island?! “What more can you possibly show me?” She asked as she randomly decided to take out her clothing wand and change her outfit. She always liked the the badassery of the tank top and shorts and it was supposed to be summer. Not that it felt like that due to the quarantine, but...the sentiment should stay the same regardless in the video game. 

“The shooting stars!” Kaito exclaimed, his character emoting the encouraging reaction. Maki reacted using the thinking and he responded playfully with the worried. “Come on.” He pleaded through the mic. “Stay for the stars! We can't really see them in the city.”

That was fair. It also wasn’t like they didn’t do it in the game either. She could also gather material if she timed the wishes correctly. She decided to react with the pleased reaction. “Okay.” She said. “I’m going to assume you have a spot all picked out too.”

“You got it Maki Roll. Come on, follow me.” He lead her up towards the point of the rocket, guiding her up and up inclines. More and more stars and planets on the ground but also...little things that if she only ran through she wouldn’t have caught. There was a place filled with musical instruments that, if one were to visit his island blindly would think he had nowhere to put them. She recognized it as a memory of Kaede’s concerte that they went to. Then they saw Shuichi’s hat, where he had abandoned it a long time ago, growing out of being anxious. Himiko’s magic show that they got to watch. Tenko’s dojo...all little items of punching bags, and magician wands, most of them artwork that was on open display and items that were made using the pro-designer. How long did Angie work on Kaito’s request?! How many of these were borrowed or were given to him through Shuichi and Himiko?

“A path of memories?” Maki questioned.

“Well there’s this American song that Rantaro made me listen to that was called the Staircase to Heaven and I don’t know anything about those lyrics, but the title made me think of what I think.” Kaito explained. “Look it’ll make sense later. We can’t dawdle, the stars don’t wait for anyone!”

She wanted to look through more of the memories, but she decided to press for information later. They got to the third tire and he ran all the way to the tip point of the rocket. A telescope already in place as well as a springtime picnic display.

Those flags of hers were getting louder. “I’m going to get off call.” Kaito said suddenly. “Can I come sit with you?”

“As long as you’re six feet away from me.” Maki wondered if he could even tell that she was joking through the microphone. She could hear him laugh and she felt herself relax. They disconnected on the computer and Kaito took no time in coming and sitting down next to her. “What was with the space?” She asked after a moment as he got settled on their bed.

“No reason.” Kaito mused. “Just thought you’d rather explore than to peek through my screen about what I was doing.”

Kokichi called Shuichi a terrible liar but she wondered if the gremlin ever caught Kaito in one. Then again, that would probably give him too much power. A chime echoed through both of their switches and Kaito cheered as he looked at the screen. Without having to say a word, they both pressed a button and wished on the stars that were coming down. 

It must have been a meteor night. She felt herself relax as they enjoyed the moment, trying to catch and wish. “Hey Maki Roll. What did you think of the island?”

“You put a lot of work into it.” Maki wondered if there was more he was looking for, but Kaito seemed pleased with her answer regardless. “What did you wish for on the stars?” He knew that she wouldn’t actively make a wish. There was no point if the star wasn’t real. Meanwhile, Kaito was an idealist on the best occasion. A false star in a game was just as good as a real star out of it. 

“If you’d marry me.”

“What?” Maki wasn’t sure if she heard right and picked her head up from her screen to see that he was actually holding an open ring box. It was..simplistic and gorgeous and Kaito was grinning as he held it out to her. “I…” She wasn’t used to being stunned stupid. “I knew you were planning something.” 

“That’s not a yes or a no.” Kaito chided lightly, but he turned a little serious. “I’m pretty sure you saw all of the...items that I left in the pathway. Little things that I know that you and I share. I want to do that with you. Share more memories, be with you. You make me happy, Maki and I hope I make you happy too. I love that you call me an idiot sometimes because I know you care and you worry. I love your pout and how you get flustered. I love your smile, your determination to get things done. I just...love you and I want to continue loving you so…” He gently nudged the box towards her. “This is me, asking you, if you’d marry me.”

“Do you want to die?” Maki asked, but she let a hidden smile slip on as she gently held her left hand to him. “You're stuck with me. No one else would put up with you.”

“I wouldn’t want anyone else.” Kaito grinned as he slipped the ring onto her finger.

[takonei]

Yeah I decided to do a full list instead of linking every single drawing in the others.

That was really fun to do! And I’m proud to say that this challenge kinda taught me how to draw Maki, since I didn’t know how to draw bangs. Kaito’s hair, surprisingly, isn’t a nightmare to draw since I kinda stylise the thing and don’t fully stick to canon.

Day 1: Confession/Yearning Day 2: Workout/Sweets Day 3: Garden/Animals Day 4: Blood/Cosmos Day 5: Dreams/Memory Day 6: Hero/Demon Day 7: AU/Free day

[jojodapen]

[DAY 7] of #momoharuweek2020 on twitter!!

FREE DAY!

I didn't get to finish any of my ideas for the week, but I still wanted to draw them...! So....Maid day....!

[lynneshobbydomain]

Starlit Love (Momoharu Week Collection Day 1)

((Thank you sunflower_8 for betaing me. This is my first time attempting to write this pairing so hopefully everyone enjoys.))

Prompt: Confessions/Yearning

Rated: G

Summary: Kaito just wants Maki to have friends and be happy, but he’s unsure if he can include himself in that since he wants more.

You can read under the cut or at my AO3

Kaito watched as his two sidekicks were talking on the other side of the classroom during lunch period. Everyone else had scattered into their usual groups, and the different conversations blended together made a white noise that drowned out whatever the two quiet ones were talking about. He noticed that Maki and Shuichi were looking grim around the faces too. Shuichi actively was pulling his hat over his eyes as he was speaking, though Kaito did see that he was attempting to make eye contact with Maki. Which of course meant that he was improving! If just a bit slightly. Maki was also deep in the conversation, pulling on her pig tail with her cheeks puffed up and a cute pout on her lips. That was also a huge improvement too! His sidekicks were working hard at trying to improve and communicate with each other and Kaito couldn’t be more pleased.

He understood that the rest of their classmates couldn’t begin to understand them, and no one really wanted to try to get underneath Maki’s layers too much. They all saw what happened to Kokichi when he outed her on the second day of school when he broke into the teacher’s lounge. It hadn’t been a very cool thing for the rascal to do, but it helped Kaito understand who Maki was and the situation only renewed his determination in trying to make sure both her and Shuichi stopped trying to put up so many guards. Maki had so many different walls that needed to be broken down. For as someone as honest and caring as she was, she was careful to make sure that her honesty was cold and her caring was superficial at best. It took a long time for her to open up about the orphanage, about her life, about how she lived. Shuichi had more information on her than Kaito did, but that was because Shuichi was an awesome detective and dug for his own information. Even if Shuichi called it “selling secrets for money”, it was more than just that. It was about revealing who people were genuinely underneath and he could say without a doubt that if Shuichi was friends with Maki then she really wasn’t all that bad.

She wasn’t all that bad. She had a dry sense of humor. She had a way of smiling without smiling. If you knew her tone of voice just right, it was easy to determine a fond “you’re an idiot” and a deadly “do you want to die”. Maybe it was just him though. Maybe he was one of the few that actually paid attention to the small things like that. Or maybe it was because of Maki that he paid attention. He wondered how many people knew that her tugging on her hair was more than just a nervous tick. She did it when she was embarrassed or annoyed to the fifth level. He wondered how many of his classmates understood that when Maki told them it “was whatever”, she was actually feeling a little hurt by whatever comment or story she was forced to partake in.

It was hard to discern what her feelings were to him though. Kaito knew that he was an idiot to her, impulsive and brash. He also knew from her own words that he was enthusiastic. He just...couldn’t tell exactly if she liked him as a friend, liked him as a brother, or if she felt the same way and thought that he was cool the same way he thought she was cool. 

That being said though their conversation was going for a long time, and both parties were looking as though they didn’t want to be discussing what they were discussing and yet had to do so anyway. Kaito momentarily thought about getting into the middle of it before things got too rough, but he also had to remind himself that they were communicating and it would be rude to just jump in just because he thought they needed it. Chances were, they were talking about something that was extremely important to the both of them. It kind of hurt that they weren’t talking to him, but he shoved that down. It was important that they learned to rely one each other and grow closer together as friends! He was grateful that Shuichi was opening up the way that he was, and it was important for Maki to be exposed to good things rather than all the bad the orphanage and the cult put her through.

“You’re worried too?”

Kaito looked over to see Kaede standing next to him, looking over at the two who were still in deep conversation. “Nah, they got it! They’re my sidekicks! Whatever problem they're talking about, I know they can solve it together and if they need my help they know I’m here ready to listen.” Kaito gave Kaede a thumbs up. “I just don’t like that Shuichi’s doing the turtle thing again though. I thought we got over that…”

Kaede giggled. “You mean him looking like he wants to hide underneath the table? I wonder what it is that Maki’s trying to talk to him about. I mean, I know it’s easy to embarrass him, but...Maki doesn’t usually poke fun like that, does she?”

Kaito wasn’t sure. Shuichi and Maki were on two whole other wavelengths that Kaito couldn’t grasp and honestly didn’t want to. That was their space and he wanted them to have that. It...did make him a little nervous though. Maki was a cool girl, and Shuichi had more of a head on his shoulders than he did ninety percent of the time. It...wouldn’t be all that surprising really if this conversation was about relationships and feelings though…

He would’ve thought Shuichi had eyes on Kaede, if the red cheeks were anything to go by when they spoke about their classmates.

Did he misunderstand or was he right on the money? He’d have to ask after this was over. “Whatever it is, it seems serious. So we should be ready to support no matter what!” Kaito told Kaede, punching his fists together across his chest, a grim determination set on his features. “They’re probably trying to figure out how to talk to us about whatever it is that’s bothering them. We gotta keep our shoulders straight if we want to do anything.”

“Wait, when did I get into this?” Kaede asked, looking a little taken aback. Then she thought about it, “Well, no, you’re right. I talk to Shuichi sometimes and Maki...and whatever it is that they’re concerned about should be something that we should be worried about too...but...I wonder if it’s that kind of serious conversation.”

“Hm? What do you mean?” Kaito asked, putting his hands down.

“It’s just...I’m not good at reading body language like Shuichi is, but...they don’t look like they’re afraid or concerned. It’s more...like they’re uncomfortable.” Kaede explained. “So whatever this conversation is it looks like it’s not something that’s easy to discuss.”

“You think so, huh?” Kaito turned back to look over at his sidekicks and made a mental note to check in on them and maybe get them outdoors for late night training. Whatever it is that was bothering them surely could be pushed back with a distraction. Shuichi worked better when his brain was focused on something other than his failures, and…he wasn’t sure if Maki was getting anything out of their training sessions besides the company. That wasn’t bad of course, he wanted to see her flourish with more people around. He wanted to see her smile more. He wanted her to have friends and be able to rely on others besides just herself. It was good to see her getting out of her shell for sure and he wanted to continue to support that! She didn’t deserve to feel like she was an outcast just because she had a talent that involved other people getting hurt. It wasn’t her fault that was the way life went. Now it was just about fixing what went wrong. 

                                                          X

“You’re not subtle.” Maki approached Kaito at the end of the day being the last two that were finishing up with the cleaning duties for the classroom. Kaito tilted his head slightly and she continued. “You and Kaede were both staring at Shuichi and me through lunch. What? Did we have something on our faces or something?”

“Just worried about you Maki Roll.” Kaito grinned at her. “You two looked like you were talking about something serious. Is everything okay? You can rely on me too you know.”

Maki fell silent. Sometimes, Kaito wondered if she believed anything that he said. She poked at his enthusiasm and optimism more than a few times, but he knew better than to take it personally. It was hard for people to accept genuine things sometimes, and Maki didn’t exactly have any examples of that. At least, none that he knew of. “We were talking about him and Kaede.” Maki finally said after a moment. “As well as about the orphanage.”

“Shuichi is still determined to look into that huh?” Kaito mused thoughtfully. “I suppose he can’t help the curiosity, but I don’t want him to get too badly hurt.”

Maki didn’t say anything for a moment. He knew that she was agreeing with them though. Shuichi’s determination was wonderful; it was his naivety sometimes that worried them both. Not that Kaito was much better. His impulse control has been a source of plenty of Maki’s wrath and Shuichi’s panic. “It’s whatever.” She said after a moment. “I can’t stop him. He’s not going after the assassin part, so I’m grateful for that. I told him before the world needs us, and he could reduce the chances of us being used to the point where I don’t have to be one.”

“Knowing Shuichi, he’d do that and beyond! My sidekicks are just amazing, you know that? You both are trying so hard to make life better in any way that you see fit!” Kaito assured her. “I’m proud of you both!”

Maki stared at him for a moment, “I don’t think being an assassin would make anyone’s life better.” She stressed the last word and Kaito mentally winced at himself. Right idea, poor choice of words. “Though...I suppose there were some people that I got rid of that the world was better off without.”

“You also outlast us during training, you kick our asses everytime!” Kaito pointed out to her. There were more positives than what she was saying and he wanted her to understand that. “It sucks you had to go through it. But you can use those skills for the better now for sure.”

Maki just sighed softly, “An idiot as usual.” She murmured, but Kaito caught the small fond smile that was just right there on her lips. It was usually hard to see, and most people would mistake it as mockery. He understood it as her just acknowledging him in some way. Even if it sounded bad. 

“Wait what do you mean by that? Also you mentioned Kaede and Shuichi were having problems.” Kaito frowned deeply. “Do I need-”

“Stop.” Maki held a hand up before Kaito could go do….something. Kaito felt himself freeze at her request, less out of fearful obedience, but more of concerned listening. It was important to get the full story before he went off, he knew that. “It wasn’t like that.” She shook her head. “Let him figure himself out. He had to deal with me today too.”

“Deal with you?” Kaito echoed back, feeling a little lost. 

“I’m not good with this.” Maki started to tug on her pigtail, her cheeks puffed in annoyance. Kaito knew that was mostly at herself. Emotions weren’t...something Maki allowed herself to show. She couldn’t let them show. It was detrimental to her job and Kaito knew that. Still he took a little pride in knowing that she was annoyed, and he took even more pride that she was showing it rather than keeping up a facade. It made communication easier...even if it was still unstable sometimes. “....we should get dinner.”

“It’s not nighttime yet,” Kaito blinked a little loss. “Are you still hungry? You and Shuichi didn’t eat much at lunch, I noticed. I should’ve stopped you guys from chatting an-”

“I’m asking you out.” Maki replied bluntly, her cheeks tinting pink. “Because I know you won’t.”

“.....Like a date?”

“Do you want to die?” Maki deadpanned, staring at him. “Yes. Like a date. Like I just said.” There was a beat and she took a small step back. “That expression is gross, what are you doing?”

Kaito was pretty sure that he was beaming brightly from ear to ear and he was also certain that if Tsumugi was around she’d proclaim that he had sparkles flying all over him. He took a step forward and grabbed her into a hug. “Of course! No, that’s awesome!” He let her go, looking at her sudden blank expression. She was shocked! Hopefully in a good way, otherwise Kaito wasn’t sure about how awkward the rest of the conversation was going to go. He should’ve thought about boundaries before he went off and hugged her. “I’ll be happy to go out with you! I mean, I thought I was going to confess first, but I guess I was dragging my feet too much. I’m sorry, that wasn’t very...manly of me, but yeah! For sure!”

“Idiot.” Maki replied fondly. “I don’t know where we could go...I didn’t think that far.”

“I’m fine with anything, Maki Roll. As long as you’re with me? I could eat anything.” Kaito beamed. “Tell you what, since you asked me out, let me handle the plans.”

“I...don’t think that’s how that’s supposed to work.” Maki blinked. “But I’m not going to stop you.”

Kaito grinned as he gave her a thumbs up. “Leave everything to me Maki Roll. Just get ready around seven or so.”

“Or so?” Maki echoed, but Kaito was already putting away his cleaning supplies and headed out of the classroom. He had a date to plan.

[lynneshobbydomain]

Pancake Night (Day 5 of Momoharu Week)

Prompt: Memories/Dreams

Rating: T

Summary: Coming out of the simulation meant learning how to handle their own ghosts. It was just a matter of time before Shuichi had to ask for help for his.

You can read under the cut or go to my AO3

The bell above the diner jingled, alerting everyone in the vicinity that Kaito and Maki had entered. Maki was already unwrapping her scarf and Kaito was pulling his gloves off. The winter was a little more harsh during the night than it was during the day, but they had gotten a text saying that tonight was Pancake Night, and Kaito tried not to miss any of those if he could. Maki didn’t usually dare come to any of them, since Kokichi was mostly there, but...if anything, if it was Shuichi who requested it, then Maki was for sure coming even when Kaito told her that Kokichi might be there too, considering.

Shuichi normally didn’t request the sacred pancake nights. Like Kaito, he tried to be at every single one of them too, regardless who requested it. Even if they ended on bad terms, or they weren’t considered friends, Shuichi tried to reach out to everyone, and Kaito adored that in his sidekick. It meant that he was growing as a person. It meant that he knew now that it was okay to be vulnerable. He was just a little surprised that Kaede nor anyone else was coming to this. 

Then again, Kaito didn’t think Shuichi used the group chat to ask for his or Maki’s appearance. “Yo.” He greeted as he walked over to the table. Maki had already taken off her coat and was folding it in her arms, watching the two boys. Kokichi was sitting next to Shuichi, blowing a paper wrapper from the end of his straw and Shuichi had been in the middle of trying to grab it out of his hands. “You guys already ordered?”

“Aw Momota-chan and HaruMaki showed up to date night. I’m a little disappointed.” Kokichi whined. Kaito had half of the mind to punch him, but Maki had other ideas, already sliding into the booth and giving Kokcihi a stare. It was clear that there was still bad blood between them, despite the simulation. Kaito already put his ghosts to rest, but...that didn’t mean everyone else did. “Awaaahhh! HaruMaki’s scary!” Kokcihi burst into crocodile tears as he clung onto Shuichi.

Kaito took a good look at his sidekick, and he could see Maki’s expression shift as well. He slid into the booth next to her, and he could already tell that Maki was thinking the same thing he was. Ignoring the loudmouth beside Shuichi, he spoke calmly. “You look dead Shuichi.”

“Ah, yeah.” Shuichi didn’t tug down his hat, nor did he try to avert his gaze. He was calmly patting Kokichi’s hand, in mindless thoughtfulness. “It’s…” He trailed off and Kaito nodded encouragingly.

“Pancake night.” Kokichi said, drying his eyes and looking at his hands bored. “You the rules of it.”

The rules of it were simple. Whoever called Pancake Night was the one that was allowed to vent about anything. From the smallest little thing that happened that day, to the biggest most gruesome thing that was in their mind. Some people couldn’t handle the reminders of the game and usually didn’t come to these nights, but...those who did usually were the ones that needed it the most. The last person who requested it was Himiko and she had been...in a very rough state. Kaito was afraid of letting her leave the restaurant. He was going to have to remind himself to call her tomorrow if Shuichi didn’t.

“You look like shit.” Maki decided to cut through the tiptoeing and Shuichi’s hands tightened into fists. “Nightmares? Dreams?”

“A bit of both. It feels ridiculous…”

“Nothing about this is.” Kaito assured. “Just talk to us man. We’re here for you.” He reached over and grabbed Maki’s hand and Maki squeezed slightly. Kokichi looked like he was ready to start up something, but a quick look from Maki froze that instantly. 

Shuichi thought for a moment, the silence lingering. It was a good thing since the waitress swung by to get everyone’s drink order as well as the usual double stack of pancakes that were going to be split among them. Kokcihi asked for strawberry and blueberry syrup as always. “I keep going back there.”

“To which part?” Kaito asked, already getting an idea of where this was going.

He wasn't wrong to assume. “Mostly to you and Kokichi’s death.”

Well...that explained why Kokichi was there then. Kokichi didn’t seem to be phased by it. He probably expected it. Kaito on the other hand leaned back into the chair and glanced over at Maki. It was a common conversation between them as well. Maki didn’t talk about her nightmares or dreams, but he knew when she cuddled against him, it was about him. He knew when she went to the gym early morning and before he could even offer to come it was about the plan, about the switch. About confessing her love to him and realizing that it was never going to come true.

It was luck. It was really pure luck that the simulation was what it was. Otherwise, Kaito was going to miss out on so much. Maki was the one that spoke, sharp and cool. “It sucks.”

“Ahaha. Yeah. But I wasn’t trying to make you guys feel guilty or…” Shuichi trailed off. Kaito pursed his lips together, watching his sidekick shuffle through his thoughts. “Or feel like you did wrong. What you two did was...brilliant. I just…”

“Feel guilty.” Kokichi decided to save him from the suffering. “Shumai you’re a lunatic. You’re not supposed to feel guilty about that.”

“You always take more responsibility than you should. You’re going to wind up dead from a heart attack if you keep doing that.” Maki frowned, watching Shuichi with firm red eyes. “You always try to take the guilt when it’s not yours to carry. No wonder you’re not sleeping. How are you sleeping when every time you look around there’s a ghost in the corner.”

“Maki Roll come on.” Kaito frowned at her. “That’s a bit harsh. Shuichi can’t help what his brain comes up with! That’s why we’re here! We just gotta figure out how to change the mindset.”

“Don’t you two ever think about it? Dream about it?” Shuichi asked and it made Kaito freeze.

Kokichi didn’t fare much better. Kaito noticed that the careful mask the trickster wore was falling at the seams. “Of course I don’t.” Kokichi said after a moment. “Why would I dream about something that I did on purpose? Silly beloved.”

Maki made a face at the nickname, but Shuichi rarely reacted to it anymore. It was probably said so much, it lost all meaning. Kaito on the other hand knew that this was important. “Well if Kokichi is going to be a coward about it, then it’s up to me to step up to the plate and be a man about it.” Kaito punched his fists together in his determined gesture and he could feel Maki’s gaze linger on him. Whether it was out of fondness or if she was just exasperated at his antics like usual, Kaito didn’t notice. At the moment, he couldn’t afford to pay attention to that right now. “Yeah I have nightmares.”

Maki may not talk about hers, but she had been across the dining table when he had woken up with air leaving his lungs and seeing stars that were fake and childish linger in behind his eyelids. She was there kneeling in the bathroom, rubbing his back as he lost all contents of his stomach when he felt like he had to be coughing up something. She was there when looking up at the sky was too much and gave him an existential crisis about whether or not he was truly alive or truly dead. 

Kaito wasn’t afraid to peel back his layers. “It sucks, like Maki Roll says, but…” he trailed off. “I think the worst part of it is waking up and wondering if you’re really there. There are times I think I should be in a spaceship going to my death, and there’s times I dream about pushing that button.” He glanced at Kokichi. “As annoying as you are, and as much as I don’t mind punching you, I don’t want you dead.”

“Awwww I’m loved.” Kokichi gushed.

“Stop talking.” Maki gave Kokichi a firm glare. 

“Kokichi sometimes dreams about the hydraulic press, but…you know how he is.” Shuichi gestured.

“Again. Why would I be bothering any of you about any of this?” Kokichi’s mask once more slipped over his face.

“Because we’re all guilty of something.” Kaito pointed out. “We’re not going to blame you, Kokichi if you have nightmares, but...you’re not what Pancake Night is about right now. We’re trying to focus on Shuichi.”

“N-no it’s my fault.” Shuichi held his hands up. “Maybe my nightmare was a-”

“Stop.” Maki said forcefully and Shuichi slumped back into his seat. Kaito glanced at his girlfriend who was watching their best friend. “You don’t get to take their sins. What they did is on them.” She pointed at Kokichi first, and then Kaito. “Believe me. I already had my words with Kaito about how I felt. We’re just waiting for you to snap. You’re too mild-mannered. You don’t get angry often enough. When we ended Danganronpa, that was the first time I’ve actually seen you livid.”

“You should’ve seen it when he told me about his Ultimate Talent. Got right up and angry. I never thought he’d bite!” Kaito commented.

“You made fun of my beloved?! For shame Momota-chan!” Kokichi placed a hand over his heart and dramatically fell against Shuichi’s shoulder. “I should have my men come after you for that you know.” 

Maki paused for a moment, clearly annoyed that she had gotten off track with where she was going with her story. Finally she spoke, placing her arms against the table and leaning in. “Look, Shuichi.” She stated. “I get why you had Kaito and Kokichi come here. You want to apologize to them. Like it’s going to make the guilt and the nightmares go away. Himiko called Tenko the other day and they had a long conversation about the very same thing you’re trying to talk about now.” Both Kaito and Kokichi clamped their mouths shut, watching Maki and Shuichi. “You’re not reacting correctly.”

“Not…” Shuichi gave Maki a cool look. “I was supposed to be smarter than that. I ruined their plans.” He was starting to tick off the flaws off of his fingers. “I couldn’t think of who was under the hydraulic press until too late, I couldn’t figure out that it was Tsumugi who was roleplaying as the mastermind. I’m a detective! A useless one at that!”

“Is...that what you really think?” Kokichi asked.

Kaito already heard this once before. “Shut up.” He knew he was getting glares from Kokichi and from Shuichi and decided to raise his voice a little. “Where’s the confidence that you had when you ended Danganronpa?! Come on, man. You know how to keep your chin up! Look at what you were able to do! You caused them to bankrupt. There’s no more killing game. No more hospitalized kids. I know you get letters from previous players who are thanking you on bended knee and yeah, you deserve that kind of recognition! You did everything you could with all of the information that you were provided. I made you my sidekick for a reason right?! You did just fine in that trial. Sure it had it’s hiccups, but we’re all human. We can’t plan for every little thing.”

Shuichi blinked at him as though it was the first time he was truly seeing Kaito. Kaito decided to point one more thing out to him, just to be on the safe side. “Besides, you two were supposed to look out for each other. You made sure to help Maki realize that it wasn’t going to be her fault that it was going to happen. I was already dying. Kokichi was already dying. There was just...someone was going to die. We chose the way we knew it should go.”

“I’ve been telling him that, but my beloved doesn't believe me.” Kokichi glanced at his nails, offhandedly. “I sure hope he believes you.”

“N-no I belive you both it’s just-”

“The brain sucks.” Maki interjected. “We get it. You need to call these nights more often, Shuichi. Before you look like you’re about to fall out of your seat.”

“Told you!” Kokichi singsonged.

                                                           X

Leaving pancake night meant going back through the briskness of the winter’s cold chill. It was nearing dawn now, and Kaito felt exhaustion settle bone deep. They waved Kokichi and Shuichi off at a corner and now Maki and Kaito were walking side by side together as they headed back to their apartment. Kaito was grateful that they chose someplace close to the city to live. It was weird to see it dead without all the people around, the neon reflecting against the windows and streets with a will to entice them to look. There weren’t white noised conversations that could drown out the soft hum of the cars or the thoughts that were currently whirling in his mind.

Kaito stuffed his hands into his pockets as he thought about what had just transpired. He knew that Shuichi was suffering. He thought about his nightmares, about his own dreams, and he thought about all the good that came out of the killing game too. He should’ve mentioned that. Maybe he could text it to Shuichi, or maybe if the next time the conversation came to light, he could push him towards that direction too. There had been so much good that came out of something terrible, and bloodsoaked. He looked over a Maki who was adjusting her scarf to keep herself warm. He reached down and gently took the scarf from her hands, adjusting it for her and tightening it.

Maki stayed quiet and let him do as he pleased. When he was satisfied that she would be kept warm, he reached and took a gloved hand into his, intertwining their fingers together. “You’re thinking.” Maki said, calm as snow that was slowly drifting on the breeze. “About what?”

“Oh...just wondering if I’m dreaming right now.” Kaito commented.

Maki’s expression turned just slightly annoyed. “You’re an idiot. You’re not sleep walking.”

“No. But tonight’s been a good night.” Kaito grinned at her. “Even if we had to go to Pancake Night. It was a good night.”

“How...was it good?” Maki huffed, her breath turning into fog as she looked up at him. Red eyes held curiosity.

“I was thinking about what Shuichi said about the nightmare, but...it wasn’t all that bad. I feel kind of bad that I didn’t tell him that. There were a lot of things that were good that came from it. If you know where to look.” Kaito explained.

Maki seemed to understand his train of thought, for she looked away immediately and pulled her hand from his grip so that she could grab her pigtail and start tugging at it furiously. The scarf hid the pout and puffed cheeks, but Kaito had that expression memorized. He knew that she was flustered and she knew that he was talking about her and Shuichi and all the moments in between. 

He knew that not everyone focused on the moments in between. The nightmares were louder than their hopes and their dreams and their passions. Kaito wondered if maybe he should start trying to encourage them to remember what made them all Ultimates to begin with. Even if their talents were fake, the passion that they had behind them was real. It was easily demonstrated with himself, Shuichi, and Kokichi. They just needed the rest of the class to follow. Though, Kaito did wish that Maki wouldn’t follow an assassin's way of life as her passion or goal. Though he couldn’t blame her if she did. 

“That was cheesy. Gross and cheesy.” Maki sighed after a moment, letting her pigtail go. Her words didn’t mean much as she reached and took Kaito’s hand back into hers, lacing their fingers back together in a simple lock and grip. “You have other Pancake Nights to do that. Shuichi’s on your phone too. You have methods of reaching him, if you’d just take them.”

“We should get back into training.” Kaito mused thoughtfully. “Have him work out more with us. That’ll get rid of the nightmares for sure.”

“No that just represses them.” Maki was exasperated and fond. “Though it might help him get some sleep.”

“God he needs that.”

“You need that too.” Maki replied bluntly and Kaito laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “You should be taking your own advice.”

“I know, Maki Roll, I’m not good at that am I?” Kaito grinned and Maki wondered if he took anything seriously. Kaito just couldn’t let other people worry about him for too long. “How do you fight off your nightmares?”

“They’re not real.” Maki replied simply. “I’m here now. I’m not going to waste another second or another minute trying to fight something that’s not true.” 

“No dreams to counter it?”

“This is my dream.” Maki pointed at him and then pointed at their hands. “Even if it is messy and full of nightmares and waking up to cold beds. I wanted this. So I’m going to stick with you and stick with us. Assassins don’t get to have happy endings, Kaito. As far as I’m concerned, this is a happy ending that’s lasted me a long time.”

“Oh.” Kaito’s cheeks burned a bright red, but his grin was toothy and shining. “Wow, Maki Roll, I didn’t think you’d get this passionate.”

“Shut up.” Maki tried to tug her hand away from him, but Kaito squeezed instead. She relented after a moment, squeezing back painfully, making him wince. “What about you? How do you fight your nightmares off?”

“I have you.” 

“I’m scarier than your nightmare.” Maki deadpanned. 

“No that’s not what I was trying to say!” This time Kaito really did let her go. “I was saying that I have you. You chase away my nightmares just by being there with me. By supporting me. You’re a true sidekick Maki Roll, and an awesome girlfriend. You mean the world to me. I’m not going to let some measly nightmare get me down, when I got the girl of my dreams supporting me! Anyone else would be jealous.”

Once more Maki’s cheeks puffed but she didn’t reach for her pigtails this time clearly too flustered to do anything. “You’re still an idiot.”

“Whatever you say, Maki Roll. Whatever you say.” Kaito reached and gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her close to him as they headed back to their apartment.

[lynneshobbydomain]

Tranquility (Day 3 of MomoHaru Week 2020)

Prompt: Gardens/Animals

Rating: G

Summary: Maki's garden was a place for people to relax in and to call it a sanctuary. Sometimes, Maki and Kaito forget to enjoy that for themselves.

You can read this under the cut or go to my AO3

Japan’s heat was merciless. Kaito wiped away the sweat from his brow as he straightened his back, looking at the work that he and Maki were doing in their garden. Well, he called it theirs by default but in reality it was all his wife’s faithful care and doing. When they first bought the house, the backyard wasn’t anything to write home about. A enough room to sit on the patio and enjoy the moment of….grass and a broken fence. The fence Kaito was able to fix easily. The landscaping Maki worked on religiously. He remembered all of the books she checked out from the library, trying to make the backyard into something that she could be proud of. 

She was careful in selecting her flowers, the plants that she wanted to grow. Kaito had a bit of a green thumb so he was able to give advice to her when she needed it, but other than that he was more than happy to let her experiment. To bring the splashes of yellow, white, red, and purple to life in their home. Kaito didn’t know all of the flower’s names, but what he did know was that every one who visited their place, loved the garden most of all. It was the one place where even the rambunctious Kokichi would settle and enjoy. It was that type of sanctuary. 

It was that kind of therapy. Kaito knew that Maki had issues with the idea of trying to take care of things. She was methodical, she was firm, she was unyielding. Yet here, Maki was trying to go with the flow. Sometimes, flowers just didn’t make it through the winter. Sometimes, summer was just too harsh. Sometimes she was overzealous in the watering, and sometimes she was a little too strict with how much to give. It was a balancing act, full of pitfalls and mistakes. Kaito could recall a time where Maki couldn’t for the life of her believe she’d be good at this. She almost gave up before the garden could actually flourish.

Now...Kaito looked over at his very pregnant wife who was sitting on her heels, and looking up at the sun. This was all her hard work and he was so proud of her for getting so far. From being able to tend a garden, to believing full-heartedly that she could take care of their kid. “You’re being gross.” Maki said after a moment, not even looking at him.

“How?” Kaito asked, a teasing lit. “Is it the sweat? Am I really that soaked?”

“You’re being sentimental.” Maki chided back, a curve of her lips just barely there. It took him forever to realize that her smile didn’t come through like other’s. It was soft, like a whisper between lovers. It was easy to miss if one blinked. Kaito was certain he blinked a lot, and missed too many of them to be comfortable. “I’m fine. If it was too much for me, I’d be inside already.”

“I know MakiRoll.” Kaito assured, crawling over to her space and swinging an arm around her shoulders. For such a small woman, she had quite a posture. He barely made her move. “I still worry regardless.” He reached to her stomach and gently rubbed a few circles, grinning as the kid kicked. “See? Neither of us want anything bad to happen to you.”

“Nothing will.” Maki replied, sharp as usual, but the fondness just barely softened the blow. Kaito knew that their kid would never make the mistakes he made, trying to divine what kind of reaction Maki was trying to give. The kid would know immediately what the pride was, what the anger was, what annoyance was. Kaito was for certain that there was no way the kid would ever mistake Maki for being anything less than loving and caring. “You keep going off in your head. What’s wrong?”

“I’m just thinking about all of this.” Kaito gestured, towards the garden and then gestured to Maki. “For being the Luminary of the Stars, I got pretty lucky grabbing you.”

“Stop.” Maki puffed her cheeks slightly. If she still had her long hair, she’d be grabbing the ponytail. Kaito glanced at the short strands that were barely tickling her chin. It had been a long time since Maki had long hair. A good few years actually. Not that Kaito was thinking that she looked awful in the way that she was, no. She looked like an assassin. Kaito compared her to the Black Widow once, but he wasn’t sure if that comment was a hit or miss to this day. Maki still hadn’t told him if he said something wrong or too cheesy. “I’m the lucky one.” She sighed. “You’re slacking off in your work.”

“It’s pretty hot MakiRoll.” Kaito chided. “I’m thinking of a break.”

Maki hesitated before she nodded. “To the paito then.” She said as she struggled to get up. Kaito was on his feet in an instant, reaching out and grabbing on to her to guide her to the paito’s sitting area. He pulled the chair out for her and waited until she was comfortable before going inside to grab some cold water and a couple of snacks. Even though Maki didn’t say anything about being hungry, Kaito couldn’t help but to worry over whether or not she was eating enough. 

Kaito returned with the two glasses off water and two packets of crackers. Maki was leaning against the chair, resting her head on the back of it. She was rubbing on her stomach idly, her fingers rubbing circles and tracing lines. He could see their kid move every so often, trying to follow whatever their mother was doing. He wondered if Maki was trying to provoke them to move a lot so that when she took a nap she wouldn’t be bothered so much, or if she thought they needed a nap and was trying to entice the child into a restful sleep. Whichever was happening, Kaito decided to keep his voice low. It was best to get in the habit now, than to regret it much later. 

“How are you really?” Kaito asked as he sat down, leaning forward on the table. “I didn’t mind working on the garden by myself. The heat’s not all that bad for me.”

Maki made a soft noise, “I’m fine.” She said simply. “A little overheated, but I’m not going to pass out on you.”

Which was precisely his worry, but he knew to clamp his mouth shut. Being with Maki for as long as he had, he learned a little. “Bet their real excitement to see what sort of work their mother is good at.” Kaito mused as he looked back over at the garden. “They’ll have a lot of fun here.”

“So long as we keep them from the flowers.” Maki shook her head. “Some of them are poisonous and I don’t want them to be accidently eaten.”

“Poisonous mostly to animals,” Kaito said slowly. “Right?” 

“As far as I’m aware, but a baby is as small as an animal.” Maki explained. 

It explained the worry. Kaito made a soft hum, “So we don’t let them play here without one of us, and we keep them away from the flowers.” He nodded after a moment. “Just like we don’t lock up the knife drawer.”

“I still can’t believe you think a baby can climb up to the counter, open a drawer, and fall randomly into that drawer.” Maki deadpanned. “They wouldn’t be able to start doing that until they’re about three. Even then, I can’t see it happening.”

“Best to be prepared though.”

“Being prepared is to keep an eye out on them. Not replace metal with plastic and render all cooking ware unusable.” Maki reminded him. “Sometimes I think you’re more nervous about this than I am. I’m the one that’s going through all of this.”

Kaito flinched a little, but he knew that Maki meant well. “I think you’re nervous in a different way.” He nodded over towards where their vegetable garden was located. It had been made on a whim of a late night conversation and a determination of wanting to grow something from seeds rather than starters. Carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes were the few things to grow in that garden. At the moment, Maki was trying to nurse strawberries, but that was a little more temperamental than either of them would’ve liked.

Maki merely shrugged her shoulders, but the point was made. They were both terrified of what was going to come and they were both trying to handle it in their own way. Maki looked away for a moment before she abruptly sat up. Kaito was on red-alert, wondering if the baby decided to make their appearance now. “Look!” Maki hissed, pointing over to the garden.

Kaito’s head quickly snapped in that direction, his eyes dancing around trying to see what Maki was pointing at. At first, he thought that maybe it had been a trick of the light. Then he saw it. A tiny, fluffy little bunny that emerged from the garden. It’s noise was twitching non stop as it slowly hopped it’s way through the flowers and out into the middle of the sunlight.

It made him wish that he had his phone. The little girl that Kaede and Shuichi had at home adored rabbits and she would’ve loved to see that their garden had one. Instead, he was going to have to see if he could remember how that rabbit looked and try to describe it for her so that she could draw it. 

Kaito watched the rabbit sniff at the flowers before jumping away from them and going on it’s merry way to wherever. He wondered if the rabbit had a home somewhere in the garden that he needed to keep an eye out for, or if this was just a one time visit. The rabbit didn’t hesitate before disappearing through the bushes.

“Kanna would’ve chased that.” Maki and Kaito said together at the same time before looking at each other. Maki with the hidden smile and mirth dancing in her eyes and Kaito grinning the same toothy smile that he knew she adored. For just a moment, the rabbit brought back the peace that they were missing in their sanctuary and their worries had been chased off with laughter and joy. 

After there was a reason why their friends loved this place to begin with.

[lynneshobbydomain]

Lights Out (Momoharu Week Day 2)

((Thank you Momoharu Week for hosting this event. Thank you to sunflower_8 for betaing this story for me.))

Prompt: Working out/Sweets

Rating: G

Summary: Maki’s sure fire way to deal with nightmares is the same way she settles things with the people that annoy her. It’s just a shame the thoughts won’t stop coming.

The gym was empty save for just one or two people that were just finishing off their sets. The early morning crowd wasn’t too large and it was easier for Maki to handle when she wanted some time by herself to just think. She didn’t mind the late night workouts with Kaito and Shuichi; she adored those. But this was her time to figure out herself and the world around her. To let her mind go free and to remind herself to stay focused. She didn’t go for the weight lifts her boyfriend opted for, instead she went straight over towards the punching bags and started her stretches, loosening up her muscles and trying to fight the exhaustion that wanted her to come back to bed. Her hands were already taped and her long hair was tied in elegant two buns to keep out of her face.

She punched the punching bag first and she listened to the jingle of the chains that it hung on. The sting on her knuckles was only momentarily as she pulled back and quickly followed it up with a roundhouse kick. She kept herself low, knees bent, and her hands up to her head as it was one of the most common places one would go for in a battle, save for the stomach and the groin area if someone was an amaeutre. 

A thought of Kaito came into her mind and she slammed a punch as hard as she could into the punching bag. The thought drifted back into mindless white noise, but the adrenaline kicked herself into gear. Faster, harder. A thought of Kaito. A thought of the cult. The thought of the cult managing to track her down. A thought of the cult figuring out that Kaito meant something to her. A punch, a kick, a jab, a hammer fist. A thought of Shuichi debating going after the group. She kicked the punching bag so hard, it flung a little away from her in terror. 

Sweat beaded down her arms and face as she stared at the opponent in front of her. The punching bag came back, no less afraid of her than she was afraid of all of the thoughts that were swirling in her mind. She picked herself back up mentally; she pushed all of those thoughts away in her mind. Anger had no reason to be here. There was no reason for her to be afraid. She was at the gym, she wasn’t being targeted and there was no reason for hasty punches and kicks as though she was throwing a tantrum in the middle of a supermarket.

She thought of Kaede and the piano that she played. She thought of the calm that it brought her and the focus that she reigned herself in. If she was going to protect her friends, she had to be better than this. Try again. More precision, more accuracy. Keep them coming, keep them coming, she couldn’t afford the punching bag to get up this time. Her opponent had to stay down, stay down her thoughts were swirling.

Enough.

She was losing her touch. Maki ripped the tape off of her hands as she looked at the punching bag. She could feel the gazes of the two members that were still there watching her in awe. There was nothing awestruck about this. There was nothing that she did that was good. She reacted too much, she lost her concentration. She wasn’t breathing...her heart was racing.

Kaito is in danger.

Kaito is in danger.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. That wasn’t happening. That was never going to happen. She needed to calm herself down. Breathe. She had hoped that if she got here after having it, she would be able to just...shove it aside. Shove it like she did all the rest of her nightmares. She reached for her water bottle and towel, wiping off the sweat on her forehead and taking a long refreshing drink from the bottle.

All they were were distractions and she couldn’t afford those. She walked with aching shoulders and legs towards the treadmill. She could run outside, she supposed. She could run all the way back to her apartment, where Kaito was undoubtedly making waffles or something sweet to get her blood sugar up from all of the exercising. He probably felt her leave to go to the gym after that nightmare, refusing to wake him up for something she could handle on her own.

She could handle this all on her own. She turned up the speed of the treadmill and began to run at a decent pace. She normally would listen to a podcast or a book. Shuichi told her of a few novels that he recommended and she wanted to be able to connect with him more. She wanted to know more about space, so she subscribed to some of the podcasts that spoke about the stars and constellations. Some things went over her head, but she knew enough to try to keep herself in a conversation. 

Her cult would want to take that away from her and she knew that. She knew that there was a chance that she could disappear as easily as she appeared in Hope’s Peak. Kaito didn’t believe that would happen, Shuichi wouldn’t let that happen, and…Maki was grateful for them both. Grateful for Kaito for loving her, for adoring her, for showing her that there was plenty to love.

Her hair was a prized thing Kaito liked about her. He was more sentimental about her brown locks than she was. She knew that if she tried to cut them, Kaito would worry endlessly about what it could mean when all it could mean was a haircut and nothing deeper than that. He told her that he saw stars in her eyes and she scoffed at that. She still couldn’t see that at all, the stars in her eyes. What could that even mean? 

But…

Kaito was...addicting. Not in a way of love, but in the way of affection. He gave his praises and his compliments as free as the wind would blow through the trees. He was unafraid to admit his mistakes, to apologize right up front. He was easy to compliment, and easy to encourage. He took things in stride.

Like the fact that he was getting sick.

Maki turned off the treadmill and she got off with legs feeling like jelly. She grabbed her water bottle and towel and briskly walked over towards the girl’s showers and locker room. She tossed her stuff onto the bench and she slid onto the ground, feeling the cold concrete hit her legs just right, cooling her overheated flesh. She ran her hands across her face and she looked up at the locker helplessly.

That was how that nightmare began. Kaito was getting sick. It was just something weird in his lungs, that’s what the doctor had said. Rationally, Maki knew it could be anything from a shadow to something serious. She knew that if it was serious then Kaito wouldn’t be in the apartment right now. They wouldn’t be waiting for blood tests. They wouldn’t be waiting for a result.

Maki woke up with a nightmare later that night, of Kaito bleeding. Of Kaito unable to breathe and her cult leader whom she hadn’t seen in years standing beside his body. Because that was the only death that she knew, was herself as the grim reaper or as the cult’s. Rationally, she knew this was very stupid. She knew she was overreacting and she was being stupid. She had to calm down.

Instead…

Instead she thought about her friends whom she loved even if they were pranksters and someone she’d rather strangle. She thought about the ones who she loved the most, and Kaito who she couldn’t love enough.

She didn’t deserve any of them. 

She picked herself up off of the ground. Shower, she decided, and then she was going to go back to the apartment. She’ll eat whatever sugar fest Kaito had in store for her, and maybe she could convince him to watch a documentary about space with her. Maybe she could convince him to go on a date. Nothing too strenuous, but...something that they could both do together. 

Maybe if she did all of that, she could start to repay him for all of the love and kindness he showed her. Even if it was small.

[lynneshobbydomain]

Stories Left Behind Chapter 2 (Day 4 Momoharu Week)

Cosmic Ghost

Prompt: Cosmos

Rating: G

Summary: If Kaito thought she wasn’t paying attention, he was wrong. 

Previous

You can read under the cut or at my AO3 

“Did you know, MakiRoll, that the milky way is actually a galaxy?” Kaito asked as he looked up at the falsified stars above them. Maki made a soft hum of noncommitment. She knew right then and there that Kaito was going to go on and on about the space that he adored so much. Even if she did know, Maki thought it was best to stay silent. She wondered what kind of story he’d come up with this time. “It’s a barred spiral galaxy. The sun rotates around it in the middle. Our solar system is in the Orion arm. There’s four of those. Two major ones and two minor ones.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Maki asked, her arms behind her head.

Kaito didn’t seem phased by her question. Maybe he was too caught up in whatever thoughts he had about space. Maki wasn’t ever sure. Sometimes, Kaito was too far for her to reach and understand. Even Shuichi sometimes couldn’t figure out the astronaut, even if they were close enough to be brothers. “Because MakiRoll, there’s other solar systems we haven’t even tried to touch yet.”

Now that he wasn’t there with her, it was the story that she clung to as she looked up at the very real stars that twinkled before her. When they had managed to break free from Danganronpa’s grasp, Maki had decided that the memories with her friends had been too much. She was better off alone, and to lick her wounds in private. To get rid of the nightmares on her own terms.

She had found a space in the middle of the countryside, far away from the city and it’s light pollution. The town was small and narrow-minded, but they mostly minded their own business. They certainly didn’t seem to care that every night Maki would climb up to the roof of the small apartment that she was renting from the Danganronpa lawsuit. It had been a nightmare to fight through, but Shuichi was good at his Ultimate and because he was so good, had the ability to network while Himiko and herself hung uselessly to the side. 

The Milky Way shone brightly in a band of bright stars, glittering over her, mocking her. Kaito would’ve been able to travel through that. See the 500 solar systems that were in the galaxy. Maybe they would have known with the Ultimate Astronaut on their side whether or not aliens were real. Maybe they would’ve known what other space colonies could exist and what they should expect from them. Maybe they would have discovered so much about the Milky Way’s galaxy that they could have traveled to Andromeda, to the other galaxies far and vast between.

Maki read all about different galaxies and solar systems. Just to have something. Of course, while researching, she had come across that the solar system and stars had stories behind them. The coyote that stole the bread from a village, chased up to the stars; leaving crumbs in its wake. The rabbit princess who sat on the moon, observing earth from down below. The zodiacs and their stories. The myths and their stories. She didn’t doubt that Kaito knew every single one of them. 

She didn’t doubt that Kaito, who loved the stars so much, didn’t just take all those facts and considered them to be truths. He probably could tell her more than just the stories she found. 

Kaito could’ve had a star named after him. The Luminary of the Stars, would’ve been a fitting title for him then. Maki reached and traced a line through the sky, finding a constellation that he once told her about. She could imagine him sitting there next to her. She could imagine the purple coat hanging uselessly over his shoulders, the grin that never seemed to die on his face. She could imagine his voice, right there. “There you go Maki Roll. I knew you were paying attention.”

“As if I couldn’t.” Maki scoffed to herself, finding it foolish to speak to a ghost. “You were loud enough about it.”

A causal laugh. A sheepish rub of the neck. She could envision all of it. But the astronaut wasn’t there and talking to his ghost wasn’t going to help her. “What galaxy are you in now?” She asked.

The ghost conveniently disappeared, as all ghosts did when the hard questions were asked. At the same time, Maki seemed to understand a little of what Kaito was trying to tell her. He wasn’t in this galaxy anymore, but within the 500 solar systems and the other galaxies the endless vastness of space held...he was somewhere there.

It would take a lifetime for her to meet him again.

[lynneshobbydomain]

Stories Left Behind Chapter 1 (Momoharu Week Day 4)

Bloodied Lips

Prompt: Blood

Rated: T

Summary: The Luminary of the Stars, the final bow he took, and the sidekick he left behind.

Next

You can read it under the cut or here at my AO3

Kaito was familiar with death. He didn’t want to admit that to anyone, especially not Shuichi and Maki, but...he was familiar with it. Death to him was a constant companion, always watching in the background, but it was easy to guess when he was going to show up again. Sometimes, it was at a car accident taking away his mother’s and father’s lives, and sometimes it was a hand on his shoulder as his body racked with coughs and blood gushed from his lungs to his hand. Blood that he knew would scare his two closest and cherished friends if they knew what he was going through. 

Shuichi had lost enough, so Kaito was bound and determined to stay silent for his sake mostly. Besides, he was the Luminary of the Stars, he could face down death by his lonesome if he needed to. Maki...Maki had seen enough blood in her lifetime, and this wasn’t something he was willing to impart on her. This wasn’t something that he wanted her to see. Blood was...always on her hands, and Death weighed down her shoulders until she was small and delicate. Not that he’d ever said that to her face, she was strong...Kaito just wished that she didn’t have to be that strong. To see that much Death, to feel that much blood.

When he first knew that he got sick, he was angry. Livid. He was throwing things in his room, grateful for the soundproofing because no one dared to show up if they heard. He bloodied his knuckles and his lungs bloodied his lips when he finally overextended himself and couldn’t keep up with his anger. He had wanted to do so much. Kaito wasn’t naive, he knew that him surviving the killing game was going to be a shot in the dark. Of course no one would want to go up against a man like him, but...he wouldn’t past Korekiyo for thinking that he could be an easy target, or Kokichi for thinking that his easy prey for pranks could be an easy prey for something much worse. 

Killing games made people more suspicious than they should be. Kokichi outing Maki as an assassin should’ve alienated her to everyone, but Kaito couldn’t let that be the case. He couldn’t let it slide. He dragged her, kicking and screaming, to try to be friends with Shuichi because god knew that he wouldn’t be around for that. He wouldn’t be around to protect his sidekick and sidekicks needed to stick together. 

Anger turned into denial. For a while there, it was just a once in a while cough. A cough that disappeared until he did something like tried to exercise more than he should, or chase Kokichi around the school again for him doing something stupid. At first, Kaito was certain that he wasn’t given a death sentence, it was just a minor inconvenience. That was easier to handle. That was...that was easier to hide. Just get out of the killing game, go to the doctor, everything would be fine. His two sidekicks never needed to know.

He felt like Maki had her suspicions though. There were times where he swore that she would get done early, just to face him for a second before leaving. Cold as ice, and not warming up. Kaito knew that people like Maki took time. He was tossing her into an ocean and forcing her to swim. He could be patient with her and toss her a lifeboat of letting her go when she was done. He did try to coax her to stay every once in a while, an offer for a chat, an offer for something. Maki didn’t usually take these offers.

So he pleaded, much like he pleaded with death and the sickness as things started to turn for the worst. As more blood was easy to cough up than not. When he was starting to feel weaker and weaker and trying to keep up with anything was a chore. His body ached, his chest burned with the lack of oxygen and pooling with too much blood. His stomach twisted into knots and lumps, it was hard to even have an appetite when everything tasted like metal and copper.

He pleaded with her to try. To try to sit. To try and talk. Whether it was the blood that she still felt on her hands or in her nightmares. Whether she wanted to talk about some pleasant memory or a fear that she held deep in the corners of her mind, he was willing to listen. Slowly, just like a flower that was finally ready for spring, she was starting to blossom. Shuichi was receptive to it as well, and soon...Kaito had two full-fledged sidekicks who were starting to become close.

Unlikely friends. Kaito was good at making those. He wished he could have dragged Ryoma. He wished he could drag Kokichi. He wished that Himiko wasn’t so lazy, or that Tsumugi didn’t talk about cosplay so much. He wished that he could extend his hand to any of these people, but...Ryoma was gone and dead. Kokichi was….Kokichi wasn’t a friend but Katio couldn’t exactly call him a foe either. That was too easy and it felt way too simple. Tsumugi was just...hard to reach and Himiko...well...Tenko had been the better fit. Even when Korekiyo decided that the better fit was...better left dead.

Kaito couldn’t exactly tell when he decided to accept his fate. When he got poisoned with the arrow and was indebted to Kokichi for saving his life, or when Maki was trying to do everything that she could to try to save him, even when he knew it was fruitless. He kind of wondered what would’ve happened if he had just told Kokichi that saving a dead man from dying was...a little stupid in so many ways. He wondered if that’s why Kokichi picked him to begin with. 

Maybe it was before all then, when Maki once woke him up during the night and they had a late night stroll with no one around. Maki had flourished her petals and she spoke about all of the blood that she shed. Every victim. Every life. She spoke about her childhood friend and the car accident that took her life. Kaito, in turn, spoke of the blood Death took. His parents are inside of a wrecked car and he was too small to remember a thing besides always living at his grandparent’s house. He spoke of how he grew up to believe that the stars were souls in the sky and that his parents were stars, and that if he became an astronaut maybe...just maybe he’d be able to see them again.

He never told Shuichi this story. He made something up, too afraid to let his wounds show. Too scared to be too open. Being open with Shuichi was a ticking time bomb, especially when Death was in his shadow. He couldn’t bear to impart those kinds of words on his friend, and have Shuichi watch  him die. At the same time, it was cruel of him to do the same to Maki, who had stared Death and become Death for other people. Who knew the cold touch more intimately than he ever would. 

Now...now he was inside a spaceship that he wasn’t going to survive in. A complete, and total mockery of what the Luminary of the Stars was about. Blood gurgled in his chest and he coughed violently, splatting the window, his hand and feeling it drip down his chin to his shirt. He remembered Maki’s tearful goodbye, and her fearful expression at seeing blood. 

For all of her acceptance of “it is what it is”, she had been fervently in denial of this death. Kaito was pleased that he meant so much to her, but he hoped that his death didn’t end her own way of living.

He hoped that she really, truly did begin to learn to love herself. That made him smile. Maki the strong. Maki the resilient. The mastermind of this killing game didn’t know what they got themselves into, didn’t they?

[lynneshobbydomain]

Best Laid Plans Chapter 1 (Day 6 of MomoHaru Week 2020)

((Hahahhaa, who said that I was good at time management? Thank you guys so much for your overwhelming support! Chapter two should be up by Monday, as I have to get today’s prompt done before anything else.))

Burden

Prompt: Hero/Demon

Rating: T (Violence and Swearing)

You can read this under the cut or at my AO3

“You honestly think that there is  a demon in the Northill Wood.” Maki deadpanned as she sat across from her best friend in the tavern. The white noise of a blonde bard playing a large instrument she called the piano along with the several conversations that the patrons were having helped keep the conversation on the downlow. Shuichi tugged on his hat, hiding his left eye which was marked by a demon a long time ago. His black waistcoat was trimmed to his very nature, and a tie was tight around his neck. The white undershirt that he usually wore was the only thing of color besides his blue hair that rarely saw the light of day. Maki didn’t blame him for trying to hide the mark. People would rage if they thought he was possessed and the town would lose it’s only investigator. 

Maki did not care what other people thought about her. She knew that people were giving her wary glances and keeping their distance because they knew about her. She wore red for a reason, besides to hide any blood that would be spilt. Demons adored flashy colors, and red was a color that most would chase. So red she adorned, knowing that she made herself a target, and knowing that she could handle whatever came her way. The only thing that made people question her sanity, besides the color that she used to provoke a reaction, was the length of her hair. Her hair was down to her ankles, and tied into two strong pigtails. Maki took pride in her hair, as it showed off how long she had lived. Demon hunters did not have the average lifespan anyone else had, and yet she outgrew that by five years into her second decade.

Shuichi did not speak at first, clearly trying to come up with a way to convince her of his case. Northill Wood did not see demons. That was sacred land rumored to have been blessed by the Priestess of Auta and her lowly companions of stories and travel. Demons would not dare come to a land that was guarded so heavily by a envious god. Then again, Maki had her own beliefs that the god was probably as fickle as the Priestess that he assigned, or at least as manipulative. “Every time I go anywhere near there, I feel a push to go away.” Shuichi finally stated. “My eye begins to feel as though it’s going through agony. Walking through the woods itself is…” He trailed off, tugging at the black gloves that adorned his hands. Maki pursed her lips. “...it loops me back to the beginning.”

“It could be a spell.” Maki pointed out. “It could be that the Priestess's doing so that no one goes anywhere near her.”

Shuichi gave Maki a look. The type of look that clearly told her that he had thought of that too. “If she was still around. She took her leave a moon ago.”

“Her companions?”

“Would not leave her side for anything, I doubt.” Shuichi adjusted his hat and Maki caught a glimpse of the damage done not too long ago. A red iris and a thin scar that cut his eyebrow in half, his eye, and just a little past the socket. It always made Maki feel guilty. She could have prevented such a touch...if she had just been there. If she had just been faster. “I honestly cannot suspect someone who is not even here.”

“So a demon then.” Maki concluded. “What kind? He is not causing any trouble here, so I do not see why we have to be the ones to go after him.”

Shuichi made a soft noise of protest. “It is mostly to make sure that stays that way. I will not force a demon to leave a home they made if they’re truly not going to cause chaos, but it is for the best to know where they are and make sure that the peace lasts.”

The scoff that came from Maki was loud enough to garner a few looks that were not subtle in the slightest. She folded her arms against the table, watching Shuichi. His gaze was firm upon hers and his hands were folded. His shoulders were rolled back, as though prepared for an argument or a fight. “Demons do not do peace.” She told him sharply. “If we go through the woods, it is not to be kind neighbors. Look at the last time your generosity got you.”

Shuichi did not tug down his hat, nor did he avert his gaze. He calmly kept his eyes on Maki, and she knew there was no way she could make this argument. A little unknown fact about Shuichi was that he could be like a dog with a bone, and stubborn too. “I survived.” He said, and Maki had seven things to lash out at him just right at the tip of her tongue. “I survived and I was able to come home. I keep telling you, the demon felt remorseful about the-”

“Demons do not feel remorse!” Maki nearly banged her fist on the table. How dense could he get? She loved her friend to pieces, but his kind heart was definitely was the reason that he kept getting scars. How many times had a poor maiden with tears in their eyes come to him and asked him to find their pets? How many times a man came up to him, with rage in their hands and eyes to demand if their wives were bedding another man? How many times had Shuichi discovered that there were murders done for all the truths that he uncovered? 

Maki remembered a time where those truths were the most painful scars on his heart. She remembered how long it took for him to get off of his knees and do something about it. His guilt over the deaths and the many mistakes that he made were still there. She doubted there would ever come a day where he would not feel some sort of way about it. However, he was no longer curled in a dark room, trying to hide from the world and everything in it. She supposed whatever curse the demon decided to lay on her friend had done one good thing. Even if she wanted to murder that particular demon. 

“Demons are probably as complex as we are.” Shuichi said after a moment, of waiting until the crowds stopped watching. He fidgeted, not exactly pleased with the attention, but he knew that this was a sensitive topic for them both. One them were bound to get more eyes onto their table. “It’s not a far-fetched deduction to say that they can feel like we can feel.”

“So we have decided to go be “friendly” neighbors to a demon who “may” be living in the woods.” Maki deadpanned. “My skills are not used to making peace, Shuichi.” She tightened the bracer on her arm. The leather bit into her skin and reminded her that this was a conversation that they were having, and not some backwards daydream where Shuichi would snap his fingers in front of her face and ask her if she was alright. “I just do not see the point in going into the woods then.”

“To confirm suspicions and to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible. The last thing I want to happen is for someone to get themselves lost in the woods and come across a creature that could or would not attack them.” Shuichi pointed out. Maki was going to need another drink after this. She was certain of it. “Maki,” he pleaded. “I would not ask you to come if I did not have my own doubts.”

That...was the unfortunate truth. If Shuichi was a hundred and ten percent sure that the demon inside those woods was harmless, then they wouldn’t be having this conversation and Maki would be frustrated and worried for an entire day and a half before storming into the woods herself to get the investigator out of whatever trouble he managed to land in. “I am going to explore the woods myself then.” She said after a moment. “You would give too many chances where there need not be.” She thought about it for a moment. “If it is the demon that gave you that curse though,” she narrowed her eyes. “Then there is no peace.”

Shuichi held his hands up, trying to placate for peace and to surrender. “I understand. Of course.” He told her, a bead of sweat going down his cheek. It was good to be reminded that she was still as terrifying as ever. “You go and I will entertain myself here.”

“You better.” Maki said as she stood up. It was best to leave now and prepare. “Otherwise I’m killing you dead.”

“Duly noted.” Shuichi assured and Maki nodded before walking out of the tavern. That drink would have to wait. She could not afford to be inhibited while going after a creature of darkness. 

Maki moved through the crowded streets of the town like a river going past rocky obstacles. With smooth footwork and a quick pace, she was able to weave through her way down the market square and headed towards her home just barely on the outskirts of the expanding municiplicity. She could hear the vendors call out their wares and she decided to make a quick pitstop to some of them for rations and for knives. Poisons were helpful and she managed to also barter for a ward or two that the Priestess so kindly had left. Would those things work? Maki did not know, but if they could be a pattern-interrupt or a lucky shot in the dark, then she would take it and run with it. 

People seemed to understand that she was gearing up, for she could feel the energy of the town change from cheerful to suspicious. She did not doubt that the rumors of Northill Wood had reached them. She was certain that was why Shuichi had even tried to approach the wood and had merely wound up back at the beginning. His cursed eye could have lured him into the wood, but it did bother her that the lure did not just take him deeper into the wood. 

At the same time, Maki would not put it past a demon to try to erase memories and had done something to the man. He would hide his wounds and pretend everything was okay before he admitted injury or mental strain. She had seen him overworked, and she had seen him at his worst. Her friend would not want to worry anyone. Strangers or otherwise.

If memory erasure was a thing, Maki was determined to make sure that the demon would not touch her. The curse was probably the reason for the lost memory, and Maki was not cursed in that way. However, a demon would be able to know what she was from the scent alone of demon blood soaked into skin. The colors she wore may be a lure, but she could not do anything to hide the scent that she too could easily become one of them for spilling as much blood as she had. 

It still….bothered her that Shuichi remained as firm by her side as a friend despite knowing that she could turn into the thing that she despised the most. She was not going to dwell on that. She went home to a small house that barely had anything in it. A wooden stove that was tight against the wall, along with spices and herbs that were lined up on the table. A bed that was pushed on the other side, facing the door. Her weapons all neatly lined up in a wardrobe and her clothes were in another. The only other room in the home was a bathroom and a washroom. She did not have much need for luxury, so most of her appliances were small enough for one person. She was grateful for magic and was grateful that there was plumbing. Everything else she could forge or make do.

She strapped on her weapons and her thoughts wandered. The demon may be a trickster with no heart of gold. She really did hope that the demon she was going to face, was the demon that marked her friend for life. That trickster demon who played games like an impish pixie was going to be the hardest kill. Seeing through illusions would be a chore, and Maki did not have magic running through her veins, but she had speed. The tricky demon may also be as quick on his feet. She imagined that going up against him would not be an easy task. 

She worried of the curse that lingered on her friend. Shuichi did not tell her much about the effects. She did not know how the curse bound him to the demon either. She doubted that they shared lifespans. Shuichi would not have let her go into the woods otherwise. Unless that was why he was desperate for peace.

If that demon so much as told her that was true, she was not sure Shuichi would not get strangled by her hand later that night.

She finished gearing herself up and she marched her way through the town, ignoring everyone around her. Instead of weaving this time, she forced them to part for her like the Red Sea that the Priestess had spoken of. They were to either get out of her way or risk being trampled despite her small nature. She went to the nearby stables and passed the coin for a horse. Northill Wood was a bit of a trek, and daylight needed to be saved.

The horse she recieved was a strawberry roan, with a white face and white socks that went up to its knees. A gorgeous horse any other time. Maki felt mocked that they were giving her a beast that could easily be seen through the forest, but she also saw the reasoning. Darker horses could be mistaken for the foliage and wood that would be their surroundings. If a lighter horse made things similar than so be it. She could probably use the lighter horse as a distraction if she needed it to be. 

She flung herself over the saddle and spurred the horse into a quick trot. Both to warm up, and to get through the town faster. The minute they reached the border, she kicked the horse into a gallop towards the north where the vast woods laid. 

                                                                X

Northill Wood was a place of frequent travel for some of the villagers. A well worn path greeted her as they approached the entrance of vast trees and emerald leaves. The dappled sunlight and shade danced upon the ground. The scent of dirt and fauna greeted her nose and the coolness of the breeze kissed her skin in refreshing comfort. She only guided the horse through a bit of the pathway before deciding to leave the comfort of a trail. The Wood’s green floor was covered in different types of foliage. Some vines wrapped around the bark of the trees as though to climb or to bring down and destroy. The woods could have been named something other than “Northill” as emerald was the only color that greeted her and the dark chocolate of the wood. The trees themselves did not all stand straight and tall. Some bent and curved around as though they were trying to take up as much space as they possibly could.

Maki was aware that demons usually were not diurnal. They preferred the night to cause their mischief. The woods would be a grand place to do so, as they could lure any lost traveler or maiden into their shadows. Northill Woods in particular had a...different tone to it at night. A dense fog would hang over the air and turn the sky white. The trees would turn into sharp silhouettes and green covered ground would twist into a dark abyss one could not step in without being uncertain of where they land. Maki knew that the demon would take advantage of that and lead them to death or worse. A demon would not be so dumb as to lay in the middle of the woods during sunlight.

Maki guided the horse expertly through the wooded terrain, mindful of any pitfalls that could happen. The forest was...silent save for the soft crushing of grass and hooves clicking against stone or wood. The absence of animals made Maki’s posture tense. Something was indeed in these forests. Considering that she hadn’t been forced to turn back, or was going through a loop, she could determine that the demon in here wasn’t the cause of Shuichi’s curse. The demon probably considered him marked territory and decided to shove him out instead. Good, in retrospect, but Maki had to wonder about the reasoning behind it. Demons didn’t have a moral code.

She stopped over at a waystation near the rushing river that was hardly ever used due to the growth of the forest and the trail not reaching as deep as it used to. It was well stocked with clean wood and an empty fireplace. There were rations that were tucked away, and fresh bedding which...was concerning. Had someone else gotten this far and decided to replenish it because they were kind? Maki wanted to facepalm. Did that mean that there was someone else lurking around these woods and that she might have to save them from unexpected danger? Or at the very least keep an eye out for a dead body somewhere in these woods? It would just be her luck to give Shuichi a murder when he wasn’t even allowed to cross the boundary. Maybe that was why the demon kept turning him back. No murder mystery.

The body couldn’t have been carried through the current of the river either. Maki let the horse go to gaze and to drink and she looked at her surroundings, taking in what she was working with. Both of them were going to be at a disadvantage and at an advantage. Both would know how to work with this type of terrain. Depending on the demon, the river could be a help or a hindrance, but she had wards so she could put those up in the waystation to buy time. 

Demons usually relied on powers, so unless the creature was dumb enough to show case what type of element or power they could weild, Maki could be lucky or unlucky. She had the height advantage and the climbing skills to get up to the branches. The foliage may be slick, but she was sure that she could get up there faster and higher than the demon could. She had her crossbow, which was a plus. She had ranged weapons, and demons didn’t usually  use them. Demons liked to showcase that they were powerful with muscle and magic. They liked battles and conflict to happen toe to toe rather than hidden in the shadows and playing the waiting game. 

Once a game plan was set, Maki decided to wait out the day. She didn’t mind the silence of the forest, but it still unnerved her. The horse was also a bit skittish. A few times she had to stop the beast from running off. She watched for the creature’s ears to flick and she kept her eyes peeled for any disturbances in the woods. As the sun crawled into sunset, the horse was getting antsy, dancing on its feet and wishing to run. She worried about the beast and whether or not it would survive the night. Less from a demon attack, and more from being spooked and rushing into danger. 

The fog started from the river. The thin silvery mist rose up to the sky, casting a dark blue hue onto the forest. The greenery of the forest’s floor was coated in white. The horse shivered and whined loudly, wanting to leave, wanting nothing to do with this place, and Maki didn’t blame the creature in the slightest. She was worried for it’s safety, but she also knew letting it go now would be criminal. She readied herself and started a trek up to the nearest tree. The foliage was indeed slick against her boots, but it was an easy climb regardless. She laid down on her stomach on a thick branch and waited on baited breath. If nothing happened to night, then she could continue on, and comb through every nook and cranny before returning to Shuichi and rightfully calling him an idiot.

There was a loud sound that echoed through the forest and then a high pitched wail that brought Maki’s hair to standing. She knew better than to just believe that someone was in the woods and sobbing. Forget a demon, that could be a hag or a banshee and neither of those Maki wanted to face either. 

“Will you shut up?!” A loud voice echoed through and Maki’s ears perked up.

“Momota-chan’s being mean to me again!” The whine continued. Oh lord, if these were village kids that managed to get lost in the fog, Maki was going to rip her hair out. However, the fog parted and Maki stilled.

Two men with varying shades of purple hair appeared towards the way station. One of them was short in stature, wearing white and black like a chess piece. His long ears with a dice earring gave him away as to what he truly was. He looked down at his hand, disinterested in the conversation, nails long like claws. Maki didn’t doubt that the demon sharpened them. His fang protruded as he smirked. “And pray tell Momota-chan, why are we traversing the common lands? We could be out and teasing the villagers into a tizzy!” He brought his hand up, a finger pressed against his lips as though telling a secret too dark to be whispered. “We could be granting wishes for favors you know, but nooooo. Momota-chan thought he felt someone enter our domain.”

Was that supposed to scare her out of her hiding place? Or was that his way of warning her that he knew that she was nearby? Of course the horse would give away that someone was indeed in the forest, but...Maki held her breath. No one ever really looked up. 

“It was just a feeling, alright?” Momota spoke. Maki has never seen a demon like him before. He wore purple of all things. Purple with a design of stars and...circles with rings around them. His entire attire spoke of galaxies and glittering stars that lingered above them. Was he a demon of space? Maki felt as though that thought was more absurd than any theory she ever heard Shuichi come up with.

The chess-master demon rolled his eyes. “Yes, and what else are we going to believe? Your non-existent instinct? You chased poor Saihara-chan away from here!”

“I am not going to start a fight with whatever that human picked.” Kaito pointed out. “He seems to be a good character. He was going to get lost in here.”

“Yes. Let go the investigator whose curiosity is probably not sated and have him try again.” The other demon spoke, his tone teasing and languid. “Because that was very smart of Momota-chan.”

“Will you stop calling me dumb!?” 

“I gave you a compliment!” The creature exploded, tears once again waterfalling down his cheeks. Oh god, Maki was thinking of just shooting him just to make him stop. She could handle one demon. She hadn’t expected a clan of two. 

Who were they to each other? Demons did not normally converse together, she did not think. She was certain that the territory dispute alone would discourage any demon from proper conversation. She watched as they stopped at the way station. The chessmaster easily jumped across the wide river as though it was nothing more than a stream. Maki felt her chest constrict and fear coat her blood. If a demon of his calibur could do that, she glanced at the other demon who didn’t bother to jump but walk across it.

Well. She was truly fucked, wasn’t she? “Aw such a pretty creature. Yes you are.” The small demon cooed at the horse who was well and truly panicking. “I think we need you quiet.” Maki watched as the demon gently stroked the horse’s muzzle, and started to pat at its neck. “Such a good boy you are.” He cooed. “Trying to get away from us. Smarter than whatever human is lurking in the woods tonight.”

“No one’s in the way station.” Momota spoke as he peered into the shelter. “It appears that whoever was here, has been scared off.” The glare that he shot the smaller demon was enough to make Maki wonder how strong he was. “No thanks to you.”

“You are so attached to these humans.” The smaller demon scoffed. “As though you forgot you are no longer one yourself, Momota-chan.” He grinned, sharp and defined. “Momota-chan wanted to be the hero so badly, he gave up his very soul to protect a friend. How tragic indeed. Giving it up for little ol’ me. Not even realizing that I was a demon of course.”

The punch came flying out of nowhere and Maki wondered if she was truly needed here. It appeared that this could easily come down to a dispute. Whatever it was, which demon stood afterwards would be her prey. She quickly and quietly cocked her crossbow, readying it for that moment. She stilled her breath and kept it shallow. 

The smaller demon was on his knees, grinning as he rubbed his cheek. The bruise was large and already formed. Blood trickled down the corner of his lip. 

Momota punched his fists together and she could hear a clap of thunder come from his fists. Soundwaves. He could break soundwaves. Maki did not think there was a demon that could do so. She had not prepared herself for this fight well enough. She would have to make due in losing her hearing if that was the case. “Even though you are a prick, I don’t regret saving you.” Momota snapped. “I sure as hell though think that I shouldn’t have tried to save you from getting a scar out of it though!”

“Your honesty is refreshing.” The small demon didn’t sound bothered by the display of violence, or of the thunderclap. “If not boring and predictable. Why chase Saihara-chan away from the woods? I could have had so much fun.”

“Because you would have had so much fun I decided to not let him get in the middle of that!” Momota snapped. 

“But you let him tell a demon hunter.”

Maki suddenly felt a weight on her legs and she turned around to see the very small demon that she had been watching on her. Her heart sank as she was suddenly shoved down to the ground unceremoniously. She rolled onto her feet and she aimed the cross bow back at the trees, only to see that he was no longer there. 

She could feel the demons’ presence behind her and she turned around, using her elbow to clock him in the face again, in the exact place where Momota had recently punched. He groaned as he fell back onto the ground, another bruise forming. 

“Yeah that’s what happens when you sneak up on people like that.” Momota chided. 

“Go to hell.” The small demon groaned as he got up on his knees. Maki was quicker however and got on top of him the crossbow dead set against his forehead. “Ooh. So you are a demon huntress.” The small demon cooed, as though he wasn’t aware of the situation that he was in. “Look Momota-chan, you don’t need to save this damsel.”

“God you are so annoying.” Maki gritted her teeth. Why wasn’t she pulling the trigger? She needed to pull the trigger. It was then she realized that Momota had wrapped his hand around hers, keeping her from doing what she did best. 

“I know he’s easy to shoot at, believe me.” Momota spoke. “But you really don’t want to kill this dude.”

“Momota-chan’s trying to be the hero again. Go on and shoot, little miss murderer. Slayer of our kind.” The smaller demon taunted underneath her. “It’s not like you have the balls to do so.”

Maki ripped her hand out of Momota’s grip and shot the demon square in the shoulder. The howling that he let out rang through her ears, stunning her enough so that Momota had a chance to fling her off of him. Right. The small demon had the same type of cry as a banshee. The headache she got was instantaneous. It ripped through her skull with a burning throb and she could feel it right behind her eyes and head. She clapped her hands to her ears and they came back bloodied.

Two sound demons, one of which was quick as lightning was not a good thing. Momota looked down at the bolt that was stuck into the small demon and he made a contemplating noise before he bent down on his knee and ripped it out of the demons’s shoulder, causing him to howl again. “Oh shut up you big baby! That doesn’t even hurt!”

“Momota-chan can’t say anything because he’s not the one that got shot!” The small demon snapped. 

“Maybe next time don’t challenge a huntress to shoot you and you won’t get shot.”

“I can shoot the both of you.” Maki said, causing both of the demons to gaze at her. She had taken their bickering as a well timed distraction to prepare another bolt. The ringing her ears was loud and her headache made her vision turn black and white. “I am not afraid of either of you.”

“Easy.” Momota held his hands up in surrender, but he didn’t approach. “We can talk this out. Communication is important.”

The smaller demon scoffed, but stayed quiet when Momota threatened to kick him while he was down. He stayed on the ground, not daring to get up. Maki was certain that was the smart move he could possibly have done. “Then talk.” She snapped. “I am here because a friend asked me to. Not because of any other reason.”

“Awww the investigator’s too kind.” The small demon scoffed. “Sending a huntress to do his dirty work.”

“Are you the demon that marked him as such?” Maki demanded, taking a threatening few steps forward. At the same time, Momota also approached, hands still up. “I heard you say that you turned him into a demon out of trickery and spite.” She held the crossbow firmly, she couldn’t guarantee that she was aiming true due to her poor vision from the scream. “So it should not matter if I end you to end their misery.”

“The Investigator’s marked?” The demon sounded confused. “What do you mean by that huntress? How is he marked?”

“Do not paint me as a fool.” She shot the crossbow out of impulse and watched in horror as Momota dove in front of it. “Are you insane?!” She shouted.

“Momota-chan has a hero complex that’s his flaw.” The small demon quipped. “But now that I know my beloved is in danger….I’ll let you handle the murderer.” She couldn’t even react before the fog was thick and then was thin again, the demon disappearing into the white. 

“Jesus fuck Kokichi make me clean up your fucking mess.” Momota snapped into the air, but otherwise did not move. He groaned as he started to pull the bolt out of his arm. “You have a good aim.” He praised her. “I haven’t seen someone shoot like that in ages.”

“Are you an idiot?” She asked as she slowly lowered her crossbow. It wasn’t his fault if he was a human turned demon due to someone’s trickery. She just felt bad that no one else was going to give him the same mercy. Shuichi may want the demons to live in the forest in peace, but she knew that her services would be required sooner or later and she would have to face these two problems at another time. “Just..do not do that.” She sighed as she approached him. “Go into the station. I have medicine.”

“Sure thing.” Momota agreed. “Did you poison the bolts? They feel poisoned.”

“I did not soak them in holy water if that’s your gripe.” Maki grumbled as she forced the demon to start walking. She was grateful that the fight stayed near the station rather than far away from it. The demon was heavier and taller than she was. Carrying him would be more of a chore and she didn’t feel like trying to salvage her wounded pride that a demon managed to get the upper hand on her. “I know poison does not work on you.”

“Haha! That’s true!” Momota grinned and Maki once more felt as though she was speaking to someone that did not fully realize the situation that he was in. She could kill him in an instant if she so wanted to. She was supposed to, really. If Shuichi hadn’t requested for peace first. “So, what’s your name? I doubt it’s whatever Kokichi’s calling you.”

“Why would a demon need to know my name? You could use it to your advantage and I do not feel like being your puppet.” Maki snapped as she shoved Momota unceremoniously to the ground and she knelt down next to him. “You scream while I heal you and I will make you regret it.” She warned.

“As a demon my pain tolerance is quite high bu-JESUS FUCK! OW!” Momota shouted as she yanked the bolt out without preamble. She whipped him over the head for the yelling. Her headache surged back into a violent throb, turning her vision into a blur of many colors. The ringing in her ears drowned out his voice for a good amount of time. She tried to measure her breaths as her stomach turned to nausea. “Oh...you’re injured too.” His loud voice bounced in her head and followed the headache. “Lemme...lemme help.”

“You cannot do anything.” Maki shoved his attempts as she rose unsteadily on her feet. She stumbled to her pack and started to search for her medicine kit. “It’s an internal injury.”

“Those are my specialty to heal.” Momota commented.

“Demons do not heal.” Maki shot him a glare.

“Yes. Actually.” Momota’s firm gaze was on her. “They do.” Maki clamped her mouth shut as she got off of her knees. “Not every demon can do it. Kokichi sure as hell can’t. He’s better at hurting people. I on the other hand can. I’m better at internal injuries because that is what I was turned with.”

“With the ability?” Maki questioned as she got back on her knees next to him. The smell of the ointment was enough to remind her stomach that it was upset. She had to try to keep it away from her as she cleaned the wound. “I sincerely doubt that.”

“Oh no, not with the ability. I was turned with an internal injury. Well, it wasn’t an injury as it was a…” he trailed off. 

“A sickness then?” Maki commented as dry as the earth during a drought. “I suppose that’s a way to get a healer. What was the gremlin saying? That you saved him?”

“Twice now. He’s going to hang that over my head for eternity.” Momota sighed, loudly. “Calling us friends is a bit of a stretch. I don’t like him. But, I don’t want to see him dead, or anyone for that matter. I didn’t know he was a demon when I tried to save him the first time. I mean, I technically died doing that. He doesn’t like being in debt.” He pursed his lips together before looking at Maki. “I tend to do just that.”

“I suggest you keep putting him in your debt then. It is probably the only way he’s going to survive.” Maki frowned. “How does he know Shuichi? He never spoke to me about you or him.”

“Is that his name? Huh. I’ve been calling him sidekick.” Sidekick? Just what the fuck was Shuchi doing when Maki wasn’t around? She had a feeling that she was about to strangle the investigator for not telling her everything. “No no no, don’t give me that look.” Momota warned, trying to hold his hands up. She was still in the process of trying to decide if stitches would work, so she slapped his injured hand down to save the wound from getting worse. “He’s not a bad kid. Not sure how Kokichi knows him though.”

“Naive to a fault.” Maki wasn’t afraid to toss her friend’s flaw under the bus. “He is lucky that you are not the demon that would hurt him.”

“Of course not. I used to be one of you, you know.” Momota pouted, “I mean...now you know.” He amended at the dark gaze Maki stared him down with. “You said that Shuichi’s marked. Marked how?”

“You truly did not see?” Maki blinked as she decided on wrapping the wound. She pulled the bandages out from the pack and started to unroll them. “He tries hard to hide it, but it is obvious if you peek under the brim of the hat.”

“I doubt Kokichi would do that to him, and I know it wasn’t me.” Momota hummed. “I wonder if the demon you are looking for is Shirogane.”

Maki froze. “You would throw your own kindred towards me?” 

“Listen...snap I still haven’t gotten your name.” Maki made a soft noise and Momota understood. “Yeah I know I can do things with it, which I can’t by the way. No demon can unless you’re actively making a contract.”

“That is it?” 

“We aren’t fae.” Momota rolled his eyes. “Kokichi has too much fun annoying the current fae folk as we speak. Which is why we’re here and they’re….not.”

“Color me confused.” 

“Look, all I know is that Kokichi had an idea that there was someone nearby that would be able to help prove that Shirogane was probably the one going around causing chaos and maybe get some networking done. I think that considering you told me that Shuichi’s cursed, Kokichi could feel that. Or he had a crush on the first guy that stared at him and thought he was interesting rather than being afraid.” Momota rubbed the back of his neck. “No matter which way you look at it, Shirogane’s not exactly a friend here, and if there were fae folk around, Kokichi undoubtedly annoyed them to hell and back again.”

That seemed accurate to Maki. Kokichi annoyed her enough that a few shots didn’t do it justice. She tightened the wrap as much as she could to help stem the blood, but made a mental note that she may have to take him to the town’s healer regardless. At least she now knew that Kokichi and Momota were not the ones she needed to actively focus on. Shuichi’s first instinct of “friends” as asinine as it was, was correct. 

“Maki.” She said after a moment as she let Momota go. “My name is Maki.”

“Maki.” Momota repeated, and her name sounded different on his lips. Fondness that she didn’t usually hear from others besides her friend. “I’m Kaito Momota. Luminary of the Stars! Even more so now than I was when I was human.”

“You do something with space and dimensions.” Maki commented. “I have no clue what your companion can do.”

“Strike fear into the hearts of people is how he explains what he can do, but I think he’s just a practical trickster. You know the type.” Maki did, and she hesitated to even agree with that assessment. No trickster was that powerful or that cunning. Most trickster demons were exactly that, and would be the first people that Maki was asked to slay. Just so that the townspeople would not have to worry about their crops or homes. “Ignore Kokichi when he calls you a murderer. You’re not all that bad.”

“I am all that bad.” Maki disagreed, her tone cutting and on edge. She carefully sat back on her heels and kept her gaze on the demon, fully taking in his features. A long face with gravity defying purple hair and a small goatee at the corner of his chin. His face was made for a smile, she noticed. The serious expressions that he sometimes adorned did not suit him despite being demonic in nature. His human appearance was a crafted illusion, save for the long ears that curled back. An earring of a circle and a ring around it was present on the left. “You should recognize the scent of blood that is on me.” Kaito merely frowned and Maki could not take the pitying look any longer. “You said you can heal internal injures.” Her head was throbbing. Her ears still rang. This conversation was getting her nowhere and everywhere all at once. She didn’t know what to think of the human turned demon. She wasn’t sure what to think of the banshee she let go.

“Yeah! Here.” Kaito scooted impossibly close to her and he cupped his hands around her ears. She stiffened, ready for him to try to break her eardrums. However all she could feel was a soft vibration that rattled her brain and ears. It was uncomfortable and she wanted to wiggle out of the hold. She noticed that he was keeping his gaze locked on her features, probably ready to give her time to adjust or to see if she needed to back away. Feeling as though she was being challenged, she stayed in her spot and allowed him to do his work. 

He let his hands down after a moment and her mind felt fuzzy. It was hard to grasp a concrete thought. She could still hear the buzzing in her ears, but her head no longer threatened to lash out at her. He was speaking to her, but she could barely grasp the words. He looked sheepish, but he gently pushed on her shoulder.

The message was clear, there was no way she was able to leave the forest in the fog or without being able to hear. She was to rest, and regain her senses. It was hell of a risk to sleep near a demon, but much to her misfortune her body had other demands that wanted to be met.

When she woke up, it was as though she was never injured to begin with and the demon never there.