Maki didn’t know why she was here. She probably shouldn’t even be here. This wasn’t right, was it? Just dropping in unannounced like this…But they needed to know.
Maki found herself outside the door of the Akamatsu residence. Kaede’s family. She wanted to tell them about the game, since it wasn’t public knowledge yet. As far as they were concerned, their daughter was still alive. Maki wanted to be the one to tell them. She didn’t want the news to. The news wouldn’t be able to tell them how brave Kaede had been, or how kind she was, or how she tried to save them. The media may even paint her as a murderer, and Maki was not going to let that happen. This was a matter that needed to be handled in person. After all, it’s what Kaede would have wanted.
Taking a deep breath, Maki knocked on the door. She had rehearsed her lines the whole train ride over, and suddenly she seemed to have forgotten everything. How could you say something like this in a way that won’t cause upset? You can’t.
The door opened, and Maki felt as if she was going to burst out in tears. Standing there, was a girl who looked just like Kaede. She was slightly taller than Kaede, with her blonde hair pulled back into a lose ponytail and a distinct lack of hair clips. God, she even smelled like Kaede. That same lavender scent that had seemed to follow the pianist wherever she went.
“Um…May I help you?” The girl asked, breaking the silence between them. God, they even sounded the same.
Composing herself, Maki took a shaky breath before extending her hand.
“My name is Harukawa Maki. I’m Akamatsu Kaede’s gi— Friend. I’m her friend.”
The girl’s confused expression turned into a much softer one, and a smile spread on her lips.
“Nice to meet you, Harukawa-San. I’m Aya, Kaede’s older sister. Well…Older by three and a half minutes, but still older!”
Maki couldn’t help but smile slightly at the girls words. They were so similar, yet clearly so different in how they went about their lives. Aya seemed a lot more mature that Kaede, but the twins seem to both share the same kind of personality from what Maki could gather from their brief talk.
“So, um, what brings you here? You know Kaede’s at school, right..?”
Maki swallowed, hard. Kaede was at school alright, but she certainly wasn’t actually there. She was just a body, in a bag.
“A-Actually, it’s you I’m here to see. I, uh, I have something important to tell you. It’s about Kaede-Chan.”
“And she couldn’t come here and tell me herself? Typical Kaede. You know, she hasn’t texted me back in weeks! Weeks I say! Honestly, where does that girl get off.” Aya moves to the side slightly, “Do come in, Harukawa-San. Would you care for some tea?”
“Yes, please.” Maki sure was going to need some liquid courage, even if that liquid was just tea.
Walking into the house, Maki carefully took her shoes off and placed them by the door. Aya led her through the hallway and into the living room. The room had cream coloured walls and a light red carpet. There was also a black leather couch and chair in the middle of the room, with a coffee table in front of them facing away from the entrance. There were family pictures covering the walls, most of them being of the sisters together as children. There was a fireplace on the centre wall which had a mantle piece that held many trophy’s, which Maki assumes belonged to Kaede. Above the trophies, there was a family photographer. It depicted a younger Kaede and Aya, maybe around 13, with a man and woman who were clearly their parents due to the distinct blonde hair.
“Make yourself at home. I’ll be back in a few moments.” Aya said before she left the room to go to the kitchen.
As soon as she left, Maki walked over to the trophies. She gently ran the tips of her fingers along them, being careful not to damage them. Her suspicions were correct. They were Kaede’s. Most of them were first place, only a few of them being second or even third. They were clearly taken care of well as all of them shined brightly like they were new and there was no dust to be seen. The family clearly took pride in them. Maki felt herself tearing up slightly, but she quickly wiped the tears away and took a seat on the leather chair next to the couch.
Aya returned a few minutes later with the tea, and placed the tray down on the table. She sat down on the middle section of the couch, and poured the tea into the two cups. She picked up her own, and pushed the tray gently towards Maki.
“Thank you.” Maki picked up the cup and gently blew on it before taking a sip, “Hm. It’s nice. Thank you, Akamatsu-san.”
“Mhm…” Aya placed her cup down, turned to Maki. “So, what’s up? What has Kaede done this time?”
“W-Well…” Maki looked down at her cup, hoping that it would tell her what to say
“Is…Is she okay?” Aya asked, shifting closer towards Maki.
“I…” No. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t bring herself to break this girl heart. Swallowing hard, Maki looked up at Aya with a forced smile. “She’s fine. She sent me over here to tell you why she hasn’t been replying. She’s…She’s been busy with school work lately. So busy that she hasn’t really spoken to anyone. I was going to be in the area and she…She told me to stop by. To give you a proper explanation. So, here I am.” Huh. Maybe all that time spent around Kokichi really had paid off.
Aya’s expression quickly changed from concerned back to the smile she had when Maki first arrived. “I’m glad to see she’s focusing on her studies…Though it wouldn’t hurt her to let me know that she’s still alive,”
Maki felt her heart drop to her stomach.
“But, if you say she’s okay, I’ll take your word for it.”
“Mhm…” Maki didn’t know what to say. She, instead, busied herself with drinking her tea, despite it still being boiling hot.
“Is…Is she making friends? Is she taking care of herself?”
“She’s…She is. She’s friends with everyone in our class. She kinda brought us all together, in a way.” Maki thought back to the early days of the killing game, when it was Kaede keeping everyone together rather than Shuuichi.
Aya smiled, “That’s good to hear then. I don’t know why I was so worried about her…I guess I was just scared she’d be alone.”
“She is far from alone, I assure you. She has us…And she always will do.” Even if they was no longer with her, Kaede and the rest of her classmates would always have a special place in Maki’s heart.
The pair fell into a comfortable silence, the only noise coming from a clock hung up on the wall behind them. Ten minutes must have passed before Aya broke the silence.
“Hey can you do me a favour? Since my sister is clearly incapable of communication, I need you to pass on a message for me. It’s about our mother.”
Biting her lip gently, Maki slowly nodded as she stared down into her empty cup of tea.
“Well…She’s pregnant. It’s supposed to be a boy. She’s gonna be an older sister…”
Maki didn’t know when she had started crying, and she didn’t even realise if till she felt the tear drip down from her chin. Blinking quickly and wiping away the tears, she nodded her head slowly.
“Y-Yeah. I’ll tell her. You can count on me, Akamatsu-San.”
“Awh jeez thanks, Harukawa-San! Tell her to come visit us some time soon. We miss her…”
Aya smiled at Maki, “Well, you should get going. I have things to be done anyway.” Standing, Aya headed for the door.
Maki slowly nodded, heading for the door. “It was nice meeting you, Akamatsu-San. I hope we…I hope we meet again soon.”
“Me too, Harukawa-San. I’m glad Kaede has a friend like you.”
“I’m glad to have her, too…”
And with that, Maki slipped her shoes on and left the Akamatsu residence. It was unlikely she would ever return, as she assumed Aya would probably hate for keeping such a big thing from then. Maki was ashamed of herself for backing out. The one time she couldn’t be a coward, she was. She’d never forget this moment for as long as she lived.
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