Midnight Rose (Kaimaki vampire AU)

Chapter 26: The Festival

I have a confession: this chapter was a bit of a pain to write. No seriously, I cringed a few times while writing this. If you guys enjoy it, that's great. I'm probably just being too hard on myself or something.

The morning seemed to have come too soon enough. Both Kaito and Maki were still tried and Kaito was so stiff from all the fighting that he had done, that to him it was a wonder as to how he moved in the first place. When they left the hotel, Kaito had to get rid of his over shirt. While he was able to wash the blood off of it, the sleeve where his arm got bitten was too ripped to be repaired. He had to settle with his currently damp T-shirt. Maki tried to give him back his coat so he wouldn't get cold, but he insisted that she'd hold onto it until they got back to Hope's Peak. He offered to carry her on his back since she didn't have her shoes (they were taken along with her uniform and the Chief didn't bother to offer her any), but Maki respectfully declined. She didn't want to feel like a child having to be carried by her parents. They were able to get back to Hope's Peak without many problems. Maybe a few strange looks while they were walking or while they were on the train, but thankfully no one asked any questions. After all, how could they explain the events of the previous night to random strangers that don't believe in real vampires?

It was when they got back to Hope's Peak that made Kaito feel like he was in the doghouse. As soon as they got to the school gates, Naegi and Kirigiri were waiting for them. They were escorted back to their dorm rooms immediately to try to avoid too many students seeing them. Once Kirigiri got Maki inside, she immediately got to Kaito's, returning his coat that Maki asked to give back to him. And that's when Kaito wished that he tried to sneak himself and Maki back onto the school.

"Any longer and we would've had to storm that place. You're lucky Mondo was there." Naegi scolded, his arms crossed.

"I'm sorry Naegi, Kirigiri. I didn't have a choice." Kaito said, sitting on the bed, unable to eye contact with them. He felt like he was lucky that his grandparents weren't called in about this, otherwise they'd chew him out even worse right now.

"You did. You just choose to act like an idiot thinking that he was indestructible." Kirigiri snapped, her voice icy calm. Kaito hung his head limply. This scolding seemed to have gotten worse all of a sudden. "The girl, Harukawa, how much does she know?" Kaito felt hesitant about answering. If there were going to be consequences, he didn't want Maki to receive them because of what she knew.

"About the fact that vampires exist? Couldn't exactly hide it from her after the Chief tried to drink her blood seconds before I got there." He finally brought himself to answer. The adults seemed concerned, so Kaito quickly added on more to hopefully give them some ease. "She's promised to keep it a secret. I trust her."

"At least, that's one thing that we could be thankful for." Naegi sighed in somewhat relief. Kaito looked a little relieved himself. "We'll wait until the festival is over tonight. Then we'll decide what happens to you both."

"Just...please don't punish, Maki. She doesn't deserve that." Kaito immediately begged. Naegi and Kirigiri seemed to silently agree with that. It gave Kaito more relief, making it feel like his burdens had once again been lifted off of his shoulders.

"Get some rest. You look like you need it." Naegi advised before he and Kirigiri finally left. When the door closed behind them, Kaito fell back onto his bed. He stared at the ceiling, so many thoughts going through his mind. He was a little worried if Maki was going to be punished for what happened, but he knows that he can trust Naegi and Kirigiri to not let anything happen to her. This was all happening too fast right now for him to try to think straight.

Feeling a little cold, Kaito took off his damp shirt and started to rummage around for a fresh one. If he was allowed to attend the festival, then he wanted to make sure that he didn't get ill. He had just gotten one and started putting it on when a knock suddenly came at his door. At first, Kaito ignored it, wanting nothing to do with anyone else's questions about what happened. However, the knock came back, this time a little louder. Unable to seemingly avoid it (and not wanting to risk Kokichi having to pick the lock again), Kaito finally answered. He was getting ready to shout at whoever it was to go away, but he held his tongue when he saw Shuichi standing there. The face on his best friend was unreadable. It felt unnerving. Trying to not be awkward, Kaito stepped aside and invited him in. There was just a tense, uncomfortable silence. Kaito tries to shake it off, retreating into the bathroom to fix up his hair.

"So, what's going on?" Shuichi asked suddenly, standing in the doorframe.

"What do you mean?" Kaito asked as he started to mould his hair to its normal, gravity defying shape.

"You call me your sidekick, which means that we're a team right? So tell me the truth." Shuichi continued, his tone suddenly becoming accusing. Kaito couldn't hold back a flinch as he heard that. "Why did you disappear yesterday?" Kaito wasn't surprised by this. He had been holding back so much from his friend. The fact he's a vampire and what had been happening recently. Not for the first time, Kaito wanted to say all his secrets. He told Maki, so why couldn't he tell Shuichi? It felt wrong to hide this. It kept eating away at him inside and out.

"I'm sorry, bro. But there are some things that I can't tell you." He said, unable to look at his sidekick in the eye. Shuichi only continued to stare accusingly, making the air more tense. "All I can say is that Maki went missing and I went to go find her. That's all." It wasn't a full lie. Maki really was missing, even if not everyone knew it. However, Shuchi didn't seem convinced at all. Kaito hated this tension. He knows that Shuichi would likely keep digging in a subtle way. Maybe he'll tell his sidekick when things have become easier. Though, knowing his luck, Kaito wondered how long that will take.

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The festival seemed to start off without any problems. Even with all the chaos that had happened, it was pretty busy. Many men, women and children had visited and wanted to look around. There were a lot more than expected. Maybe it's because people felt safe with police patrolling the grounds, along with disguised officers as an extra precaution. There was this sense of security that seemed to put everyone at ease. The rich smell of various foods filled the air as people talking and shouting and the sound of carnival games echoed around the area. The stage was lit up brightly. If any of the students whose talents associated with theatre and music wanted to, they could volunteer to perform. A huge crowd had gathered around the stage to watch the performances.

Kaito, Shuichi and all their friends were among the crowd, currently watching Kaede performing different piano pieces. While her performance was mesmerising, Kaito couldn't focus on it completely. He had pretended to be normal, smiling like he usually is. However, every time someone asked him what had happened, he had to lie and just say he and Maki got lost. No one seemed to believe him, but they didn't press any further. Another reason why he couldn't focus, is because of Maki. Since they got back to school, he hadn't seen her all day. He thought he caught a glimpse of her a few times, but she moved so fast that he kept missing her. Was she trying to avoid him again or something on purpose? He knows that he promised to let her go if she choose not to be with him, but he couldn't stop worrying about her. Besides, there's one more thing that he needs to say before they part at the end of the school year. He didn't know if Maki would return to Hope's Peak or not, so he needs to speak to her now. If he doesn't, then he'll regret it forever.

Kaito scanned the crowd carefully. He was able to slip away from his friends for now. He wanted to still talk to Maki. Even though he said all that he wanted to say to her, there was one last thing that he wanted to confess to her. He couldn't see her, too many people were crowded around, allured by Keade's performance. He didn't want to seem like a creep or anything, but he had to do this. He started to sniff as subtly as he could. He could make out various scents but there was one that he was able to pinpoint easily. The smell of roses did resonate in the crowd but it seemed a little old. Kaito let his legs move towards the scent where it started to become more fresh. Did Maki leave the crowd? Did she get kidnapped again? Kaito tries to not think about that. He couldn't fly off into a rage again like he did the previous night. He squeezed out of the crowd. He looked around. He felt relieved when he saw Maki's form starting to fade into the tree line.

Where was she going?