Act to hide the secret

Meet the ultimates (pt1)

Both Maki and Shuichi looked towards the door as it was opened and saw two people, Shuichi recognized from his unsolved missing person cases as Kaede Akamatsu and Rantaro Amami. Both Saishuu students knew that their conversation had to be postponed as the two persons got over to them and the blonde spoke. "Hi, my name is Kaede Akamatsu, I'm the ultimate pianist and this Rantaro Amami. What's your name?"

Shuichi was curious about the fact that Kaede had only said what her own 'ultimate talent' was and not her companion's. He pushed it to the back of his mind as Maki spoke the words that he assumed was her way of telling him to start acting while playing with one of her pigtails. "Maki Harukawa. Ultimate child caregiver." Hearing his friend call herself caretaker made Shuichi mentally make a relieved sigh, before he made a small smile. "I'm Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective, nice to meet you." He then looked at Rantaro. "I hope you don't mind me asking but... what is your ultimate talent Amami-san?"

Maki didn't want to admit it, but just as her detective friend were she wondering why his 'ultimate' hadn't been said. She had also no doubt that Shuichi would have wanted to interrogate the green-haired more if it wasn't for the Kaede girl and her shifting the attention over to Maki. "A child caregiver? Wow, I would never have guessed!" Those words made Maki think of her orphanage and made a pout. "I know I don't look like I would like children... And you're right... I don't know why they are coming to me of all people..."

Shuichi couldn't help but smile. Maki had told him about her time in the orphanage, but also how she got her title as Ultimate Assassin, which had made him want to free her for that world, so she could decide what to do with her own life. He made a sigh as he heard Maki growl a little as she told Kaede that it wasn't her choice that she got into the career she had, "I hope you don't mind me asking but... do you remember how you ended up here?" The blonde girl shook her head before Rantaro spoke while he scratched the back of his head, "Sorry... neither of us remember anything else than we were kidnapped and woke up here..."

Shuichi made a nod after hearing this. He knew that they sooner or later would have to ''compare their memories'' with the others so hearing that the two in front of them only remembered getting kidnapped made him plan how to act but wanted to see if it was only those two how remembered that little.

Shuichi could almost taste the awkwardness that was beginning to get between the four of them with the silence in the room and looked at Maki. "Say, why don't we go out and see if there are other peoples around here Ma... Harukawa-san?" He flinched when he was about to say Maki's name out of habit, but the look she only gave him told to be careful. "Okay. Let's go."

Maki didn't show it, but she had been worried about if the other two had caught it when Shuichi had been about to call her, her name. She knew she had told him to call her Maki, but they both knew that if the acting like they were strangers had to be convincing, then they had to adapt to their given situation so both walked out of the room together leaving the other two with a quick nod. They were walking down the hallway when Maki made a little smile. "And here I thought I would be the first one to blow that we're not strangers to each other, ichi." She had to hold back a giggle when she saw her friend pout.

Shuichi was about to say something when two 'people' ran towards them. Shuichi was curious since he only recognized one of them from his unsolved missing person cases as Kokichi Ouma who was chasing somebody he didn't recognize. Maki and Shuichi were both getting the feeling of being dragged into something weird. "Please, stop chasing me!"

Maki looked at the new peoples and felt a pang of annoyance, when she saw her friend look quite uncomfortable with his role as a shield. She was about to say something when the raven-haired detective got away from the one who was hiding and heard him sigh as they both looked at the strangers before Shuichi looked back and forth. "So, let me ask you two some questions... first of all, who are you two and why was I suddenly turned into a human shield?" The female assassin wasn't doubting the fact that Shuichi was acting by saying he didn't know either of them since she had peeked at the pictures Shuichi had of the other disappeared students back in his room at his uncle's agency.