Work Text:
Day One: Dying Love
Maki waited for Kaito by the school's entrance. She soon saw him arrive with a couple of friends from their class. He was the loudest of the group, though that was hardly a surprise. Maki played with a strand of her hair as she waited, hearing the boys laugh in the distance.
Kaito had probably said something silly, as usual.
High school was far from being the dream Maki had hoped for. Most of her classes were boring, and the homework was annoying, but those were not the parts that made it so tedious.
Maki didn't have any friends. This was why.
Of course, she wasn't delusional: with how cold she naturally was, nobody would have any reason to approach her. Besides, her almost supernatural strength made her appear as some kind of monster in most of her classmates' eyes. Not only did no one try to befriend her, they also tried their best to avoid her.
Needless to say, it pained her. Everyday life was fine, but Maki sometimes felt sad, knowing she was missing out on perhaps the one good reason to enjoy high school. She had grown up without parents and friends, so being lonely was something she was used to.
But as the years passed, it started weighing on her more and more.
The girl noticed Kaito wave at his friends as he walked to join her. The boys laughed some more. Maki realized whatever Kaito had said must have been extremely funny.
"Hey, Maki!" Kaito greeted with his typical friendly smile. "Ready to get going?"
He was the only exception. Kaito Momota, a kid overhyped at the idea of becoming an astronaut, had grown into Maki's sole hope. Even though Maki's skills at reading people were subpar, it was clear to her that Kaito was a friendly guy by nature. He got along with everyone in the class, after all.
However, the mere fact he had gone out of his way to talk to her made Maki's heart feel all tingly. It had happened suddenly a few weeks ago, but he'd suggested they spent time together after school, saying he'd noticed she was always alone.
Deep inside, Maki had been so thrilled that the reminder had failed to hurt her.
"Absolutely," she said, a faint trace of a smile on her lips. It turned out that Kaito lived close to Maki's apartment, so they walked home from school together every day. This quickly turned into the only time of the day Maki could look forward to.
Granted, Kaito could be a little dumb from time to time, but Maki chose to think this was sweet. If anything, it made him more touching and drew some rare laughs out of her. He had a clear hero complex, which had taken Maki aback at first, but she was so happy to have made a friend that he might as well have been a hero to her.
She had quickly come to the conclusion that she liked him. Not as a friend. Well, as a friend, too, but not only that. Maki had no experience with love whatsoever, but her feelings were so strong they weren't difficult to pinpoint. Knowing that someone cared about her was an infinite source of dopamine.
Maki figured it was strange to confess so soon after meeting someone, so she kept those feelings to herself, repressed deep inside her heart. However, this was merely an excuse, and she was aware of that. The truth was that she'd been so emotionless for most of her life that she was afraid of being alone again.
The thought terrified her enough to freeze her in place.
"You okay, Maki?" Kaito asked, seeing her tense up. He was observant, too. Always able to see whenever something was wrong with her. His tips may have been somewhat strange from time to time, but having someone in her corner mattered to the girl more than Kaito could have known.
"I-I'm fine," answered Maki. "J-Just had a bad thought, is all."
"Wanna talk about it?" he offered. Maki shook her head.
"It's nothing you need to worry about," she said, forcing a smile. Those were new, too. At first, her lips hurt from being stretched so much. After a while, it had improved, but it still felt just as unique every time.
Kaito nodded.
"You mind if we make a stop by the park on the way?" Kaito wondered as they walked on the pavement. "There's... something I need to tell you, but I'd rather not do it here."
Maki's eyes widened. "S-Sure," she said, although her thoughts were a real mess. Anxiety crept in. Her hands trembled in an unhealthy mix of fear and curiosity. This was the downside of their friendship. Maki was afraid it could end at any moment. The boy she'd grown so fond of could instantly disappear from her life.
The possibility scared the crap out of her.
But the tiny hope, somewhere in her mind, that he wanted to tell her something else kept her sane. Maybe, for some dumb reason, Kaito liked her, too. Perhaps he wanted to tell her she was cute or that he enjoyed hearing her voice. Crazier even, could he wish to make her his girlfriend?
Maki shot down that theory before it got out of hand.
They walked in peace, letting the spring sun gently shine upon them. Since meeting Kaito, Maki had learned to enjoy the trivial things in life. Nowadays, she could appreciate the taste of her favorite food, be grateful for the excellent weather, or enjoy a TV show that piqued her interest. It was all thanks to him.
"Y-You know, I really appreciate that you're willing to spend time with me like that," Maki said, a rare stutter seeping into her voice. Those were scarce for her. Seldom did the reserved and asocial girl's voice go off track. Again, only Kaito could make her stutter cutely and turn her cheeks pink.
Him and no one else.
"I-It's nothing, don't worry about it."
Was he embarrassed? Maki frankly didn't know. The girl realized he had never hesitated before speaking to her in the past. With a roll of her eyes, she figured hesitation wasn't his thing. He was more the type to go rushing unprepared.
The silence was peaceful. Usually, Maki's mind was filled with words of resentment against her. She knew it was unfair. Being shunned for being born a reserved orphan wasn't right. Unfortunately for her, it was nothing she could fight against.
And once she had fallen into this downward spiral, Maki knew there was no getting out of it unscathed. But just knowing Kaito was here, by her side, helped. As he whistled seemingly carefreely, his warm presence beside her was enough to appease her.
Most people sucked. This was a truth Maki had had to accept a long time ago. Kaito didn't. One was enough. Maki didn't dare ask for more and didn't feel the need to. A good friend was worth a million bad ones, although she had never had a million friends.
Soon enough, they reached the park. It was nothing unordinary, merely a park with a few trees, wooden benches, singing birds, and a plain-looking fountain. But simple things suited Maki. Maybe someday she would ask Kaito if he wanted to picnic with her here.
Kaito stopped before the fountain and sighed, running a hand through his messy purple hair. Maki thought the style looked ridiculous but also made him pretty handsome. He was unique in her eyes without it, but this, combined with his goatee, allowed him to stand out.
"So, um... What did you want to tell me, Kaito?"
Another sigh. It was slightly worrying.
"Look, Maki, there's something you need to know."
"O-Oh, well... G-Go ahead, then..." Maki muttered. He probably didn't realize, but he was messing with her heart. Being unable to read his tone angered Maki to no end. But she kept her calm, at least in appearance. It would have been a terrible showing to panic for nothing. Furthermore, she knew it would have probably dissuaded him from saying anything. She didn't want that.
"Yeah, well... Here I go, then... To tell you the truth, Maki..." He took a deep breath. "We've been going out for a few weeks now, and well..."
These pauses were killing her. Knowing Kaito considered what they had going on as 'going out' was a pleasant surprise, though. When she thought about it, Maki supposed this was a pretty accurate way to describe it.
"You know Kokichi, Rantaro, and Shuichi from our class, right?"
"..."
"..."
"H-Huh...? W-What do they have to do with anything?" Maki asked.
These three were Kaito's friends. They always had lunch together at school. Maki had never interacted with them, as they all seemed dangerous to her. They had a bad vibe to them. The girl couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, though. Kaito wasn't like them.
"Ugh, better get it off my chest quickly..." the boy muttered under his breath. "The four of us made a bet, and the loser had to go out with you. And I lost."
"W-Wh-... W-What...?"
"The class is pretty creeped out that you're always alone and seem so cold all the time, you know? Kokichi's the one who suggested it, but they thought it could be pretty fun to mess with you and see how you'd react. I, uh... just hope you didn't get any wrong ideas about the two of us. It's been a few weeks, and I'm starting to grow tired of this, you know...? So, um... yeah."
N-No... P-Please, no...
Every word broke Maki's heart more than the last. Kaito was easygoing, and Maki would call it a great quality of his. However, as he spoke, Maki wished he was the exact opposite. The cruel words were leaving his mouth with too little hesitation now. Without any care.
She should have known. Maki was furious, not even at Kaito, but at herself. Social skills had never been her forte, but she should have realized something was off. Why would someone suddenly decide to appear in her life like that? Why would anyone waste their time with a useless girl like her? Why would a guy with many friends bother with Maki Harukawa?
Tears appeared in the corner of her eyes. Being lonely hurt, of course. Seeing others be happy when she wasn't made her feel empty. But the tiny bit of hope in her heart kept her going. The hope that, maybe one day, someone would deem her worthy of their attention.
But now, even that tiny hope had been taken away from her. Kaito had mercilessly shattered it into a thousand pieces, had cruelly forced her to discard it. Maki cried and cried, covering her eyes in shame so no one would see her look so pathetic.
Being made fun of was the norm for her. Learning that the only person she had ever trusted had just been playing with her feelings was like a stab wound in the heart. Maki's pain was immeasurable. Anger welled up inside of her, ready to erupt like a volcano.
Kaito was everything Maki had ever dreamed of: he was kind, affectionate, paid attention to her, and had this carefree vibe that made him a relaxing person to be around. Now, the girl was learning that the boy was none of these things.
He had played her like a fiddle. Maki noticed Kokichi and Shuichi hiding in a bush in the corner of her blurry eye, giggling as they stared at her. It was fun for them. Messing with the lonely girl made them laugh. Earlier, Maki realized they had not laughed at something silly Kaito had said.
They'd been laughing at her.
She was laughable. Her existence was so pathetic it deserved to be laughed at. It had always been the case. Maki knew she was foolish for thinking it would ever change. She was doomed to be a laughing stock for others. Her only purpose in life was being made fun of for the entertainment of her peers.
"M-Maki, I-"
"S-Shut up!" Maki shouted furiously, her roar strained with tears of despair. "J-Just get out of my sight! I-I can't stand seeing you... y-you asshole!"
Kaito stood there, visibly embarrassed. Maki didn't mind him. Her thoughts were too cloudy to care about anything other than her misery. She hated this. Despised every single part of it. The happiness Maki'd felt came back to bite her – and it twisted her stomach so much she wanted to puke.
And so, she cried and cried, attracting the curious glares of the passer-byes. Without a clue, they probably figured Maki had gotten rejected. In a way, it wasn't too far from the truth. However, the actual truth was much uglier.
Maki's heart felt heavy, as if it had been filled with rocks. It sank almost literally. Not only was Maki assaulted by waves of heartbreak: a cyclone of misery had come to take every little thing she had going for herself. The tiniest bits of enjoyment the girl had recently discovered were gone.
It began raining. The water droplets fell on Maki's face, adding to her tears. Kaito remained there, his lips parted enough to speak, but he said nothing. The giggles from afar were gone; at least, Maki couldn't hear them anymore. They haunted her mind, but the sound of the raindrops hitting the ground partially covered them.
"I-I, uh... I-I'm just gonna go..."
Maki couldn't stand to watch as Kaito walked away. Thoughts of being lonely forever were dauntingly terrifying, but Maki had faced them all her life.
This new feeling of betrayal was the most painful and heart-wrenching thing she'd ever suffered from. It had been multiple minutes since Kaito had walked away when Maki took a step forward. Her crying sounded pathetic, but no one stopped to ask her if she was alright.
Love was too wonderful to be true.
The lonely girl dragged herself back to her apartment, arousing the people's curious eyes on the street. They stared at a broken girl with nothing left to lose. All she thought she had, she didn't. A car honked at her when she mindlessly crossed the street. The driver yelled insults at her. She showed him the bird and continued walking.
Her knight in shining armor had backstabbed her. Maki hoped he would rot in hell somewhere between those planets he held so dear. One thing was for sure: he'd been no superstar to her. Or perhaps Maki had allowed him to shine too brightly for her own good.
"Luminary of the stars, my ass."
Ten floors should be enough. Maki desperately hoped so.
The End.