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Maki sits stiffly on the couch, sandwiched between the plush armrest on one side of her and Kaede’s warm presence on the other. Kaede, so soft and loving and—she still can’t believe it sometimes—hers. Despite all she’s been through, all the justifications she would have if she chose to give herself up to the bitterness and anger, Maki seldom sees the parts of her that allegedly existed before Danganronpa. Before Tsumugi rewrote her into the person sitting there, the Akamatsu Kaede who plays silent arpeggios in the air when she’s nervous.
Tsumugi is the problem, as always. A hungry mouth waiting to devour anything Maki holds dear.
“Do you think she listens to us?” Kaede asks eventually, fingers still dancing in the empty air. “I mean, really listens, to understand where we’re coming from?”
“Doubt it,” Maki says, biting the words in half. “When has she ever? Better not to expect anything. You know she can’t be trusted.” Her fingernails dig into the armrest of the sofa, leaving tiny crescent moon marks in the upholstery. She wipes them away and starts again.
Kaede gives her a look, a look like “you really say you don’t trust her, when I’ve seen you fall asleep with your head on her chest?” Those wide plum eyes seem to whisper “you could walk out of this apartment and never come back, but you’re here, aren’t you?” Maki wrinkles her nose and looks away.
“I’d like to think she gets it,” Kaede says, out loud this time. “She doesn’t usually try to talk to us about Danganronpa anymore. That’s got to be progress, right?”
“Sure. Sure, it’s progress,” she mutters, not wanting to fight. “But she’s still working with them and helping them profit off of us, isn’t she?” she adds, wanting it very much.
Kaede goes quiet, turning away and swinging her legs up onto the couch. Maki pulls her gently closer, to lay across her lap. She looks at honey blonde hair spilling over black jeans, imagines red thigh highs in their place. She wonders.
Eternities seem to pass quietly there, each of them lost in their own thoughts. As much as Maki thinks sometimes that she would have liked to be with Kaede away from all this, just the two of them, she can’t deny that there’s something missing when Tsumugi isn’t there. A necessary pain, or worse, a guilty pleasure.
The apartment door opens with a creaking wail, sounding out its displeasure to all who will listen. Maki sighs, shifting under the weight of Kaede’s body. She acts out the role of unhappiness even as her eyes wander in the direction of the entryway, seeking a glimpse of blue.
“You two are awfully quiet tonight,” Tsumugi remarks as she sheds her coat and shoes. She steps into the living room with uncharacteristic hesitance, socked toes curling into the rug. Her hands clench and unclench at her sides, a momentary gesture that Maki’s eyes can’t help to be drawn to. Kaede has rolled over to look at Tsumugi, but her head remains pillowed on Maki’s thighs. Good.
“Just in a thoughtful mood, I guess. How was work?” She doesn’t bother disguising the venom in that last word. If anything, she injects it with extra. How do you do it? How does it feel to still be a traitor, even now?
“Well...” Tsumugi wavers. Her gaze flits over the framed art prints on the walls and the knickknacks lining the mantle. “About that, actually. I quit.”
“You what?”
“I quit working for Team Danganronpa,” Tsumugi repeats. “It was a difficult decision to make when I still have so much fondness for the show and my work, but if it’s really so important to the two of you, well, I suppose that was enough to sway me.”
“You quit,” Maki repeats again, voice flat. “You’re giving up having any association with Team Danganronpa.”
“Beyond what’s required of all of us, yes. I did it for you.” She smiles almost shyly and perches on the armrest of the sofa rather than any of the other free places to sit around the room. Kaede sits up, and when she does, Maki can see that she’s tearing up.
“Thank you,” Kaede breathes. “Thank you for finally listening to how we feel.” She leans over Maki to pull Tsumugi into a hug, dragging a quiet “oof” of surprise out of her. Frankly, Maki isn’t sure it’s a decision worthy of praise. Time will tell whether Tsumugi is serious about turning over a new leaf.
Still, she mumbles, “Not too bad,” before she’s dragged into the embrace as well.