Chapter 2: Budding Hope

Shuichi yawned as he headed for mandatory class at 10 am the next morning. Attending Hope's Peak usually meant devoting your time to honing your talent rather than going to class. But for some reason, today's class was mandatory. He thought back to the events of last night, which were smeared glossily in his mind. He wiped away the smudges as best he could, but it still felt surreal. Maki, an assassin? How could the Ultimate Detective miss such a thing?

I feel a lot closer to Maki now that I know what she's been through… and I want to show her that I'm here for her. But not in a creepy way or anything! Just as a friend.

"Morning."

Speak of the devil. Standing before him was none other than Maki herself. She was a frozen porcelain doll, and Shuichi felt goosebumps as she chilled her surroundings.

"A-ah! Good morning, Maki!" Shuichi stuttered. She caught him completely off guard. I guess she doesn't want to talk about last night, which makes sense. After all, I'm the only one who knows her secret. But I want to show my support. Despite knowing otherwise, Shuichi attempted to bring up what had unfolded at Hotel Kumasutra.

"Listen, Maki, about the other night-"

"Ooooh! What's this we got here? Emo kid finally get lucky?"

Ah, yes. Truly unfortunate. He somehow failed to smell Miu walking up behind him. She was…crass, to say the least, and her euphemisms often left a putrid taste in his mouth.

"Knock it off, Miu! It's too early."

And trailing behind that filth was… Kaede. A piano-playing barbie. Unlike the cold and distant Maki, Kaede's pink eyes shone with kindness. Sunlight danced around her legs as she jogged to catch up to the group.

"Good morning Shuichi, Maki. Hey, how did your case go? Did you have your big break?"

Her melodious voice entranced him more than any of her performances did. She sounded like warmth, and the antennae sticking out of her head always reacted to any semblance of self-doubt he held. She was the first one to truly believe in him, and just seeing her gave him strength. Shuichi sighed as he took her in. She's so beautiful. He pinched himself before continuing,

"No, unfortunately. And just ignore Miu, she's not worth it. H-how are you doing Kaede?"

Kaede beamed at him. She was a very headstrong and cheerful individual, but something in Shuichi always made her shine even brighter. She responded,

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking!"

"Y-yeah, I could tell, you look really p-p-"

"Excuse me! Hey! Don't ignore me! How are we not talking about the fact that Emo boy and Maki definitely FUCKED?"

Miu's emphasis on that last word sent both Shuichi and Kaede into shock. Suprisingly, Maki was the first to react, the ice melted by the heat now coming from her cheeks.

"I-I, wha-No! I-it's not like that! We didn't-"

"How else do you explain the sticky air between you two? Geez, I can see the goopy awkwardness hanging around you guys! A textbook example of the walk of shame! Ha ha! Look's like Maki's gonna have to be taking care of her own kid pretty soon!"

"S-shut up! Do you want to die?"

She fiddled with her fingers, embarrassed. Maki… that's pretty unusual for you. Shuichi took a mental note of her reaction before realizing the real problem. Kaede! It would be bad if she the wrong idea! He quickly looked over to the person he had a picture of under his pillow, and saw to his dismay that she had shrunk into her characteristic pose of looking away and rubbing her right arm, hiding her flustered expression as she imagined the implications of what Miu had just said. She then faced him tentatively, still rubbing her arm as her head recoiled slightly.

"But… nothing happened, right?" The worried pianist braced herself for his response.

"O-of course not!" Shuichi reassured her.

"O-oh, okay." Kaede sighed in relief as she visibly relaxed. She gave him one of her glittering smiles. Her eyes are twinkling… Shuichi found himself smiling as he got lost in the unfolding, pink petals of her irises. Like pink roses with tiny gemstones…

"Oi, Miu! Quit harassing my sidekick!"

The Ultimate Astronaut strode up to and put his arms around Shuichi and Maki. Maki, now completely camouflaged into her uniform, made a little "eep!" noise as his grip tightened around her shoulder.

"Everything good? Shuichi, Maki Roll?"

"Y-yeah…" Shuichi gave a wavy smile as Kaito released them. Reprimanding Miu, the Luminary of the Stars effectively cleaned away the noxious presence that had stunk up the area.

"I…I was just trying to be funny! Waah!"

The Ultimate Inventor stormed off, crocodile tears pouring down her piggish face. Kaito huffed and scratched his head.

"Man, she is so not cool. As the Luminary of the Stars, it's my duty to protect my friends from any hot garbage falling from space! Look out, meteors!"

As they all headed off to class, Shuichi couldn't help enjoy himself. Here, in Hope's Peak, surrounded by his friends, he was happy. I didn't get a chance to talk to Maki… he thought, his brow furrowing in concern. I should try and get her alone… oh, I know! That's perfect! He jogged ahead of the others, reaffirming the details of his plan. I can do this! It actually helps me, as well… but it's mostly for Maki. I got this.

After class ended, Shuichi and company walked down the stairs together, grousing about how three hours of their lives had gone down the toilet. Their teacher, the former Ultimate Cyclist, had called the class to cry about his fifth divorce, which was particularly despairful, both to him and the Ultimates subjected to the weepy retelling of his experience.

"She" sniff "Was totally under them! They piled on her! I've never" sniff "wanted to end it all more than now"

His body had been strewn over his desk, his arms hanging over the edge and swinging loosely like wind chimes, and his perpetual pool of tears had begun to soften the wood. Shuichi thought that his teacher just might end it all after Kokichi had pulled out all the stops to ridicule him into the ground. Seriously pathetic, that man. Was he really an Ultimate at some point?

Shuichi shook his head as he tried to focus on his current mission. With astounding force, he reached out and grabbed Maki's arm, pulling her aside like she had the other night. Everyone stopped in surprise.

"Hey, can talk to you in private?" Shuichi winked at her and jutted his head to the nook underneath the stairway.

"Sure." Maki responded. Her eyes gleamed with understanding. She knew what this was about. Or, at least, she thought she did.

"Okay! I dunno what it is, but it must be pretty important! I'll go on ahead. Come on, Kaede." Kaito opened the door for the pretty musician, who was eyeing Maki suspiciously. The moment they were alone, Maki started:

"If this is about last night-"

"It isn't." Shuichi answered before she finished. "I want you to help me train."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, tonight. Or, if you want, every night. You're clearly very athletic and good at fighting, so I want you to help me work out. I need to get stronger in order to be a better detective, after all." He smiled at her. I can't say it's to try and support her. It'll be too awkward! This isn't like last night… The shy detective blushed as he remembered the position they had been in. It's not like that! Get it together! I can do this!

"Okay." Composure covered her face like a blanket. "I'll help you. It's the least I can do after you didn't tell anyone."

"Really? Great! It's settled! I'll meet you on the field at eight!" Hurriedly, he flung open the door and began speed walking across the field, internally celebrating his success. I did it! I actually did it! I'm not that useless! He thought excitedly. It'll be great to get in shape, as well. That's if I can keep up with her! For the first time, Shuichi had encouraged himself and achieved his goal. It was an euphoric feeling, accomplishing something legitimately for the first time. His twinkling stream of consciousness was suddenly blocked off by Kaede waving her hand in front of her face.

"Shuichi, Shuichi! Earth-to-Shuichi! Shuichi Saihara!"

Kaede pouted cutely as she appraised his unusually thrilled expression.

"Did something happen? What did you two talk about?"

"S-sorry… I can't tell you." Shuichi looked away in shame. He wanted to tell her, he really did, but he couldn't betray Maki's trust. It was hard being a good friend to both of them in this situation.

"Oh, okay…" Kaede rubbed her arm disappointedly as her face turned a deep green. He noticed that her shoulders, typically down, were now raised and tense. Is she… jealous? Shuichi shook his head, chuckling to himself. No way in hell… she doesn't think that way about me. No fucking way.

Meanwhile, Kaede became increasingly frustrated. There he is, laughing to himself again! He's never looked that way before, even when we hang out! Is he… no. He can't, right! Maki likes Kaito. There's no way that would happen. But why won't he tell me what they talked about? She couldn't complete the puzzle with those disjointed pieces. No matter how she stuck them together, they just wouldn't fit. Something wasn't right…she had to do something.

"Hey, I recently learned a new piano piece, and I'm really excited about it! You wanna hear me play it?" Kaede desperately tried to get his mind off of whatever had dispelled the shroud of darkness attributed his "emo" description.

Wow… this must be my lucky day! I get to help Maki, and Kaede is inviting me to listen to her play! He opened up his chest and smiled even more, stepping on the moon as he hopped along happily. As he failed to notice Kaede's growing irritation, he twirled around the path as he started to jog to the music room.

"Of course! Let's go!" He never wanted this moment to end. Kaede's sudden invitation lifted his heart above the clouds and made it soar. Kaede had invited him to hang out. Kaede! He was always the one asking her. Could this… be an opportunity for a development? Shuichi's face positively glimmered at this fantasy, so much so that the subject next to him shielded her eyes. The young detective wanted nothing more than to see her perform and ingrain this fluttery feeling into his memory. There goes another box of tissues…

But the real show was tonight. Tonight, he would train with Maki, and get to know her situation even more, and hopefully give her hope. It seemed strange, coming from someone who didn't really believe in himself and viewed his title as Ultimate Detective as misgiven. However, this was different. He felt his chest fill with hope as he imagined Maki's rare smile becoming more common. He could do this. He could dispel her despair and replace it with sparkling hope. Neither he nor anyone knew what that path would lead to…