Chapter 4: Caught
"MY, MY! THIS IS AN UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENT!"
The Evil Supreme Leader looked at the picture on his phone and cackled maniacally. He was relaxed yet upright, and his movements had become jerky, as if his limbs were attached to strings and being dangled from above the ground. In a series of erratic skips, he closed in on the pair, his face contorted into a demented grin. Maki felt her ears burning as she pushed Shuichi off and fixed her clothes.
"Actually, that was a lie. I was waiting for this to happen!"
"Kokichi, look, it's not what it looks like-" Shuichi started to explain,
"I-It's not like that! That was an accident! Delete it right now, or I'll kill you!" Maki cut him off furiously, seizing Kokichi by the throat. The phone flew out out his hands and landed face up in the grass.
"Ohhhhh?" Kokichi's tiny body started to shake as he quivered with… anger? Laughter? Shuichi felt a chill as he understood what it was. No… this...was pure malice.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHEHEHE!" Kokichi thrashed around in hysterics. "Can you imagine? If that luminary idiot found out? EHEEHEEHEE! His diary is full of pages with 'Maki, Maki, Maki'. Oh, I CAN'T WAIT TO SHOW HIM! NISHISHIAHAHAHA!"
Maki's grip tightened around his neck like a vice. Her eyes were dead as bloodlust emanated from her body. Her voice, hushed with rage, shot out in short bursts.
"Dont. You. Dare."
"Ohhhh… but I thought you liked Shumai here? Do you still like the idiot? Or maybe you were playing with both of them like a sl-"
The vice tightened even further. Kokichi's catlike nails began clawing at the air. To Shuichi's own surprise, he didn't immediately move to save him. Instead, he hesitated. Does Maki really not think of me that way? It was only an accident…right… and…I don't like Maki, right? Then why…
"Kokichi, wait." Shuichi dispelled his questions. Right now, he had to resolve the issue as quietly as possible. If Kaede found out…
"I'll do anything you want! So why are you doing this? Just delete the picture. Like Maki said, it was a mistake! We don't actually feel that way about each other at all!" Shuichi clasped his hands in supplication. "So please, just stop! You know we're not like that, right? Just delete the picture. Please."
Maki let out a bewildered gasp and sent Kokichi tumbling to the ground. He lay for a second, splayed out like a lifeless puppet, before springing up and twisting his face into a deranged smirk. He raised his hands dramatically before declaring,
"You just don't get it, Shumai. I'm an evil supreme leader! What I want the most from you… is despair…" He let out an light chortle before surveying the door. "It should be any second now…"
"Hey, Kokichi! Sorry I'm late!" Kaede opened the door and jogged out onto the field. Oh, shit. Shuichi and Maki both felt their muscles lock in place. What is she doing here?!
"Oh, and Shuichi's here, with…Maki." Kaede glowered at her and turned her attention back to Kokichi before spotting something glowing on the ground.
"So, what did you want to show me?" Kaede asked as she knelt down to pick it up. "Oh, I think you dropped your phone…"
She froze when she saw the picture displayed on the screen. Shuichi's heart beat slowly, each pulse resonating throughout his body. It was like the slow-motion sequence in a paper towel commercial, when something gets spilled onto the counter. Except, this spill couldn't be cleaned. He knew that immediately. Tears poured out of Kaede's eyes as something inside her shattered. Maki looked away, a shadow covering her expression.
"I-I see…" The heartbroken pianist started to tremble. "So this is what you wanted to show me…" She met Shuichi's desperate gaze. Her eyes welled up with tears once again as she forced a sad smile on her face.
"I'm" sniff "happy for you-" Kaede shook her head and ran off sobbing.
"Kaede, wait!" Shuichi started to chase after her. Suddenly, Maki's hand shot out and held him in place. He looked back at her in astonishment. All the while, the shadow remained. So he still feels that way…
Kokichi took the opportunity and scuttled away, still giggling to himself. Shuichi tugged at Maki's grip impatiently.
"Maki, let me go! I have to go after her!"
"…why?"
"Huh?"
Maki pulled him towards her, a grim expression occupying her face. She took a deep breath.
"I don't think we should train anymore." She looked away.
"What? Why?" Shuichi asked in bewilderment.
"Because…" Maki ran her fingers through her hair. "You like Kaede, right? And I…like Kaito."
"Y-yeah… right…"
If Kokichi were still here, he would've pissed himself laughing. Maki sniffed. She released her grip, her fingers savoring every last inch of skin before letting go, knowing that the Ultimate Detective could not, for his life, fully understand. Even she didn't understand.
"Maki…"
"Just go."
Shuichi staggered into his dorm and collapsed onto the bed. He had to make up with Kaede and clear up the misunderstanding, but he could do that tomorrow. Right now, every cell in his body felt like lead. He was exhausted. His thoughts swirled around in his mind as he drifted into a restless sleep. Kaede… I like Kaede, right?
Meanwhile, in her room, Maki wiped a single tear running down her cheek. Does Kaito really like me? She shook her head at the thought, her face then turning red as she remembered what she did with Shuichi on the field. In public! Why didn't I stop? I should've pushed him away! So why… the assassin put in her earbuds and lay on her bed, tossing and turning. She hugged herself as she rolled over and took herself back to that moment.
Fifteen minutes later, she changed the bedsheets and sighed embarrassingly.
"What am I doing?"
The music in her ears wafted around her. She normally preferred silence over music, but for whatever reason, she felt that she needed to make use of the earbuds Shuichi had gifted her last Christmas. Maki felt her body relax as 2-D's melodious voice caressed her gingerly, eventually wrapping around her like a blanket. She closed her eyes and listened to the lyrics:
"Chalk tablet towers, like drawing shadows
Chemical distraction, you are not with me"
As Maki felt her body going to sleep, she still felt bombarded by questions.
What should she say to Shuichi tomorrow? To Kaede? I'm pretty sure Kaede hates me because of that misunderstanding… WHAT IF KAITO SEES IT?!
"Watching rockets take off from the parting sea
How will I ever touch you if you are not with me?"
She started to see darkness. I wonder if Shuichi's doing okay…
"I won't give up on you, darling, just tell me that you care
I don't need no trophies, no cell with a view
There's nothing I wouldn't give one minute with you, ooh ooh ooh-ooh"
A rolling wave of calm washed over her as she fell asleep. Tomorrow would be another day...
A/N: I know I don't own that song, I just really like Gorillaz, so I thought I would include that in there, since it was thematically relevant. Please read a review, and thanks for reading!