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Shuichi Saihara got in a lot of trouble, lately. Maki Harukawa had the habit to sneak out of the place they share with Himiko Yumeno, the third and final survivor of the horror people referred to as ‘Dangan Ronpa’. She always left their flat in the middle of the night, in order to cope with her loss, her depressions, and her emotions. She found comfort in solitude. Although, her boyfriend offered to listen to her problems, she was too proud to admit to her weaknesses. After the detective found out where the assassin went, roughly a month ago, she kept on going to her safe place alone, even though they decided to start dating. The only difference being that she was pursued, since then. Not by a stalker or anyone who meant harm to her, but by someone who exercised his profession because his heart begged him to do so. Maki might’ve been stronger, faster, and more dangerous than he was, but she mattered to him. Shuichi read about an increasing number of assaults in their town, hence the reason why he never went to sleep until he was absolutely sure that the brunette was staying in their flat overnight. It didn’t take long until the young woman noticed his activities. He was tired during the mornings and as scatterbrained as he was the detective often forgot to wear warm clothing. A short while ago, the only male survivor caught a cold resulting in his girlfriend to ask him about her suspicion; he confirmed it and she scolded him. This ‘idiot’ should stop to go after her during nights. Unusually impulsive he denied her request. The young man couldn’t leave her alone. He didn’t want to lose her. Maki knew this feeling and his stubbornness whenever he settled for an opinion just too well, so they agreed on a compromise. Shuichi was accepted in her safe haven, but he had to take care of his health. What might’ve seemed like a win-win for the detective was also in the interest of the assassin since she felt more comfortable when he was around.
The dark-haired boy broke their promise on night one. Despite low temperatures, he forgot to put on a scarf. Due to the fact that both already were halfway at her favourite spot, the assassin had no other choice than sharing her red scarf with him. This hindered their mobility; they had to stay close, often bumped into each other, and their different walking pace caused minor strangulations. Maki let him hear about his incompetence as a detective, promise partner, boyfriend, but it spoke volumes that, instead of sending him home, she insisted on his company.
The asphalt and the sideways were illuminated by only the streetlights. It was far too late to find open bars with a decent character or restaurants. Some pachinko halls were visited by regulars but otherwise Maki and Shuichi roamed through the streets alone. The young woman seemed to enjoy this. She looked up into the sky and was reminded why she went out at an hour like this. Will he enjoy her surprise? The assassin felt a tug on her scarf and turned around, “Can’t you speed up a bit? I want to be there before I grow old, you know?”
The person in question began to gasp for air; the detective was used to physical exhaustion by now, the trio often trained together with Maki as their leader, but his girlfriend tortured him. Stopping ever so often, forcing him to push her, she complained about it; speeding up frequently, which cause him to trip. His tormentor really wanted him to regret his forgetfulness, “S-sorry. I’m just not used to your irregular walking behaviour, you know?”
Over the last year, Shuichi learnt how to fight back and still stay polite. Nonetheless, Maki got his subliminal message. She wrapped her hand around her scarf and pulled on it forcefully. As a result of this her boyfriend’s face closed in, “Listen up, you idiot. I walked this distance five times a week, without any problems for almost an entire year. And besides that-” Realising how near his face was she decided to push him away, “Forget it.”
The detective didn’t understand her behaviour. Still, his heart started to beat faster. He raised his hand, desiring to grab the scarf as well, only to end up touching her arm instead. Startled, Shuichi wanted to withdraw his hand, but was stopped by her demeanour. His girlfriend didn’t become more aggressive, quite the contrary. She avoided his gaze now and blushed in a deep red. Did she want him to act? Encouraged by Maki’s appearance, he entwined their hands, “You’re right. It’s my fault for forgetting my own scarf.”
The young woman shook her head and squeezed his hand tight, “No, I should be more honest with you, Shuichi. Today happens something important, and I want us to hurry so we can see something it.” She looked down on the read cloth that connected them, “Furthermore, I shouldn’t overstrain our red thread.”
Shuichi chuckled while he began to walk towards their destination again, “We both know we’re connected by much more than fate, Maki.”
Smiling, showing her true nature, she felt very happy hearing him say those words. The short brunette matched his pace and began to hasten, “Let’s see if you can keep up.”
A few minutes of arduous running later, they arrived at their special meadow. A grassy, wide open, and calm place. A tree graced the landscape, which provided shadow during summers and coloured the ground with leaves during autumns. The intruders of this serene paradise did their best to not disturb it. The couple didn’t speak to each other until they reached the location on which they shared their first intimacy. Their hands still intertwined, their throats still protected by the same red scarf, and their hearts connected.
As soon as the couple came to a stop, Maki looked up in the sky with an expecting gaze. Her eyes were bright, almost sparkling. Shuichi didn’t know on what to focus, the beautiful nocturnal sky or his mysterious girlfriend. Due to the coldness, her cheeks glowed lovely, her body moved closer to him, presumably to seek his warmth, her face turned into a that of a curious child. If the detective had to describe her, he wouldn’t be able to so. He heard his heart playing in crescendo. Shuichi took a deep breath of the dry and slightly refreshing air, “The stars look beautiful today, don’t they?”
The assassin was startled. Concentrating on the luminaries in the sky wholeheartedly, she didn’t expect her boyfriend to speak up so suddenly. He searched her eyes. His cheeks were faintly red, his shoulder was touching hers, clearly signifying that he was comfortable around her, his face seemed to study her. The brunette couldn’t explain what was going on inside him. Her heartbeats increased. After sighing deeply, the girl complained, “Just stay quiet and watch. He wants to give us a sign.”
With her words being shared, Maki turned back to gazing stars. Shuichi didn’t understand her sentences initially, but they quickly made sense to him. ‘He’ was her first love, and the ‘sign’ was going to have something to do with the stars. The detective nodded and played along by raised his head and watching the sky with his loved one.
Another wave of peace befell them. Nothing but the wind in their ears. A feeling so familiar, and yet so strange. Stargazing was the only thing they were able to enjoy during their horrific past. Three souls watching the sky together. No one interrupted, no one cared, no one threatened them. Reality allowed only two of them to see the true sky. Was it prettier? Kaito would’ve said so. Maki didn’t care, as long as she was close to them. Shuichi wasn’t romantic enough to tell the difference.
A shooting star teared him out of his deep thinking. His girlfriend took a step forward, she wanted to be closer to it. Was this the reason the assassin attached so much importance to punctuality? The first falling star was followed by another. Maki’s eyes were closed. She probably missed the second one, so the detective took his opportunity to wish for something, “Let her stay healthy. Let her stay healthy. Let her stay healthy!” Shuichi opened his eyes again and was greeted by multiple white tails in the sky. His eyes widened, “A meteor shower!”
The shorter brunette nodded vehemently, “Yes, isn’t it beautiful?” She broke out of her fascination for a moment and looked at him. The detective smiled like back. Her fear of him feeling sad or jealous was lifted, “Well, my wish came true rather quickly…” She squeezed his hand tighter and enjoyed the view again.
“Do you think he would’ve liked it?”, the boyfriend interrupted their gleeful moment. The woman in red didn’t let this bother her, “I think he’s responsible for this. Wishing us luck in our relationship.” Now it was him who sought for her eyes. The assassin had a smile on her lips he never saw before. Brighter than the stars, wider than ever, and the anxiety of its fleeting existence was more threatening to him than that of a vanishing meteor. The detective plucked up his courage an wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her closer. Albeit being surprised, his significant other didn’t resist. Maki rested her head on his shoulder, letting both flush in a deeper red than her scarf.
“I love you, Shuichi”, seemingly he wasn’t the only bold one tonight. She didn’t stop to watch the sky, but she moved in on him, grabbing his left hand with her right one.
“I love you too, Maki”, he squeezed her enveloped hand firmly. The dark-haired man sensed a lot off pent-up stress leaving. He was right where he wanted to be. His eyes darted around the nocturnal sky. It was just now that he noticed the bright shinning full moon, “Are you giving us your blessings, too?”
Registering his distraction, the short woman wanted to know what was going on in his mind, “Is something wrong?”
Shuichi shook his head, “No, I just thought about the moon and how it might also observe us right now. Especially, since it’s shinning so vibrantly.”
Maki understood his affection for an inanimate object quickly. The moon must mean the same to him as the stars to her, “It’s reminding you of Kaede, right?”
Chuckling, after being found out, he didn’t lie to her, “Guilty as charged.”
The assassin didn’t know how to approach this. She isn’t good with emotions, but at the same time she wanted to know what the connection between Shuichi, Kaede and the moon was. The scarlet-eyed girl tried her best not to be too brisk, “And why is that? Did the two of you watch the moon together or something like that?”
Her cheeks were puffed. Obviously, she was a bit jealous, and yet at the same time he felt care for him and his emotions. Maki didn’t ask this out of ill will or just curiosity, she wanted him to explore his feelings deeper, in order to not supress and suffer from them. This alone made him willing to share his secret with her, “Her favourite composition was Clair de Lune.”
His girlfriend didn’t speak French. She tried to figure out the meaning behind those words, but ultimately wasn’t capable of it, “So…?”
It was rare to see Maki acting humble, her proud demeanour usually forbade her accepting defeat. The corners of his mouth rose again, letting the heart of the girl skip a beat, “Lune derives from the Latin word Luna and that means moon. Therefore, Clair de Lune means moonlight.”
She understood his feelings better now, “So, Kaito represents the stars, and Kaede the moon for us, hm?” He thought he misheard her. ‘Us’. Did she already embrace this side of him?
Satisfied, Shuichi interpreted the signs of the sky in his own way, “And judging by their performance, they really like the idea of us being together, don’t you think so?”
Caught off guard for the third time this night, Maki’s mouth took the shape of circle while she gazed at him with her heart racing, “D-do you seriously believe that?” Her voice is shaky but filled with excitement. The fear of both betraying their respective first love lingered above them for the entire last month.
Meeting her eyes, Shuichi didn’t know what to say, only to feel, “Y-yes… that’s my conclusion.” Solving this case with the most detective-like phrasing he could think of, they continued to stare at each other.
The will for believing his words was strong in them, and they wanted to seal this idea with something as special to them as watching the sky together. In this exact moment, Maki and Shuichi felt how someone shoved them. It caused the couple to move even closer, letting their emotions take control. They kissed for the second time in their entire life. The ‘half-embrace’ turned into a full-fledged hug. The girl rested her hands on his neck, the boy his on her waist. Both pulled the other as close as possible. Their red thread swung back and forth due to the wind and the sky was smiling upon those two.
Separating their lips wasn’t an easy task, but it had to be done out of fear to asphyxiate. A needy thought crossed the mind of the assassin. She started to pout, “We have to repeat that! It’s your turn to pick a spot next time. And make sure it will surpass this!” She pulled the scarf over her mouth and cheeks, in hope that he wouldn’t see her embarrassment.
This forced the detective to laugh wholeheartedly. The grey-eyed man realised that his fear of delving deeper into the romance with Maki was unjustified. He had the right to be happy as much as she had.
His laughter unsettled the scarlet-eyed woman even more. She started to fiddle with the buttons on his black jacket, “U-Understood?”
Enclosing her with his arms once again, he was able to produce the right words, “I will.”
Pleased by the answer of her significant other, Maki let herself sink into him and enjoyed the safety her boyfriend gave her. He felt warm and soft. His arms granted the feeling of protection. And his words signalised her that he took her concerns seriously. Sometimes a caretaker also needs to be taken care of, too.
After seconds that felt like minutes, he ended the hug, earning a grumble from his girlfriend. She clearly didn’t like that, but he had his reasons, “We should hurry home. I don’t want Himiko to panic if she wakes up and realises that we’re not around.”
Maki sighed deeply. He was right. If she were to roam around, searching for them, it could end bad for her. Himiko’s sense of direction, the redheads gullible and carefree character, and most importantly the dread of losing either her or Shuichi made the magician an easy target for wrongdoers. She nodded, “Next time, we should bring her along.”
The detective tilted his head, “Are you sure about sharing your safe haven with another person, Maki?”
“With my entire family, Shuichi”, her words came off strong. And he didn’t doubt them. A life without their little mage wasn’t imaginable. They consoled and supported each other for so long, they were only functioning as a group now.
The young man agreed without a second thought, “Than let’s go home and tell her about our nightly strolls. I’m sure she will join us in future.”
Happy about his acceptance, she still wanted to remind him of his promise, “And think about a place we can-“
Again in total agreement, he interrupted her, “Of co-“
Maki cut him off just as rude as he did, “Just the two of us.”
Shuichi gulped. His cheeks were glowing as bright as the nocturnal sky today, “O-of course.”
After looking up for one more time, they decided on going home. On their way the detective tried to sort out a place for their next ‘date’. This word alone gave him goosebumps. Maki wasn’t easy to satisfy. Meanwhile, his partner enjoyed her nightly walk even more than before. Finally, being able to let go off the shackles that bounded her to her old feelings. Even if Shuichi might not have realised it yet, she was grateful for his love.