Jul 14, 2021
That's right bitches, i have original characters too. Give me some love or I'll cry
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That's right bitches, i have original characters too. Give me some love or I'll cry
When Tools Become Humans - Masterlist
Now that I finally uploaded half of the chapters onto here, I decided to create a masterlist so you can find each chapter on here or use the AO3/FF.net link to read it there
Summary: [KiruMaki Prime Minister/Assassin AU] In light of the new prime minister, Kirumi Toujou, an uprising has occurred, making the town scream in riots against those entitled to the name “Ultimate.” This uprising, however, believes that they can make all their troubles go away: an Ultimate as a tool to resolve all their issues.
AO3 || Fanfiction.net
Prologue
Ch 1: Logs
Ch 2: Assassination
Ch 3: First Conversation
Ch 4: Agreement
Ch 5: Working Together
Ch 6: Free Day
Ch 7: Prime Minister Ball
Ch 8: Aftermath
Ch 9: Faltering Plans
Ch 10: Backup Plan
Ch 11: Final Confrontation
Ch 12: Resolve
When Tools Become Human - Ch 12: Resolve
Author’s Note: Hey everyone! We finally reached the final chapter of When Tools Become Human! Thank you to everyone who’s been reading and supporting the series from the beginning! It really means a lot to me, especially because this series has actually found a nice place in my heart after writing this for about half a year!!
Summary: [KiruMaki Prime Minister/Assassin AU] In light of the new prime minister, Kirumi Toujou, an uprising has occurred, making the town scream in riots against those entitled to the name “Ultimate.” This uprising, however, believes that they can make all their troubles go away: an Ultimate as a tool to resolve all their issues. AO3 || Fanfiction.net
“Goodbye, Toujou.”
“NO!”
A boom in the room.
It leaves a ringing in her ears and reverberates loudly throughout.
The firing of the gun is all she seemed to focus on in that very moment. The sound of the bullet leaving the barrel at rapid speed is what she wanted to avoid. The target of that gunpoint is what she wanted to protect.
That’s all it took.
The image of that scene with all else being blocked from viewpoint by blinding white light: the pointing of the gun, the look at the victim’s face. Just like targeting her prey in her missions.
Maki breathes heavily from sprinting. How she manages to get where she did in a nick of time is an unknown to her. In that very moment, she stands, about to cripple under the pain in her shoulder blade. She looks down to the kneeling figure that too looks back at her. Under those beautiful bangs of silver, Maki can see how Kirumi’s green eyes widen in shock — fear or awe.
“Haru…kawa-san…” Kirumi manages out Maki’s name, and Maki just grants Kirumi a small smile to tell her that she’s alright. Kirumi doesn’t flinch at the sight though, only overwhelmed by awe at Maki’s stance against the visible pain.
Without giving Kirumi another sign, Maki turns around to look back at the one who held the gun, who merely scoffs at Maki.
“Don’t you see how your feelings are only going to destroy you, you tool?”
“Commander!” Maki yells at the top of her lung.
At the shout, she sees something that she wouldn’t expect of the Commander: she shifted back slightly.
The Commander purses her lips and smiles venomously, “So, you’re going against me now, huh? When I’m the new prime minister?”
“Shut up!” Maki retorts, stomping the ground, “Nothing says you’re prime minister just yet!”
“And yet, you’re going to go against me? Your old commander?”
“When you treat people the way you do?” In defiance, Maki threateningly points her knife at the Commander. “Absolutely.”
“God, you are so stupid,” The Commander just shakes her head and mutters to herself. She turns back to Maki and gestures, “Did you not learn anything from all those years of teaching you? Drilling the lessons into your mind until you recite it perfectly back to me?”
“All I learned from you is how horrible you are!” Maki yells back, “The things you did to me. The torture I had to deal with. All of it was so pointless! And for what? To break our minds so we can be your goddamn tool!”
“You’re a soldier, aren’t you? You listen to your commander. It’s just part of the job.”
“I never wanted that! I never wanted to be a soldier! I just wanted to live my life!” Maki repeats again, “I never wanted to be a soldier, and I never in hell wanted to be a goddamn tool to someone like you!”
“But you would have been a tool to create a better world! A world where we normies can actually shine! A world where we aren’t the ones that are tools! Where the Ultimates live to serve us! A greater cause!” The Commander spreads her arms out with a big smile on her face. “You would have been a sacrifice to many for a better life!”
Maki shakes her head abruptly at the Commander’s words before raising her voice, “You don’t get it at all! That’s not the way to do things!”
“And what? Talking it out will somehow work?”
“It will!” Maki yells, “You’re just far too blind to realize that it will! Because I believe in Toujou’s work! She can make it work.”
“But she’s supposed to serve us!” The Commander gestures back to herself, her words are sharp to the sound.
“No!” Maki slams her foot again against the floor. “You really don’t get it! What you want is to make a tool out of everyone! And… no human is a tool to anyone! I learned that!”
“Oh, from her?” The Commander points to Kirumi, who is slowly raising herself to stand behind Maki.
“If it weren’t for Toujou, I wouldn’t have remembered what it meant to live! I forgot what it meant to live, not as a soldier, not as a tool, but as me! She taught me the world isn’t as cold as I once thought under you! She taught me… that no one deserves to be a tool… that they all deserve love. To do the things they love and do what they want!” Maki cries out before announcing, keeping her blade pointed towards the Commander, “No one is a tool for each other!”
As Maki remains standing there, she feels a hand — that gentle hand she loves to hold and feel — against her uninjured shoulder. She keeps her eyes front at the Commander, but she can feel Kirumi hold her empty hand firmly. They tighten their grips against each other, standing together with so much more strength than each individual could hold on their own. Standing side by side. As equals.
“There is no use for being tools to each other anymore!” Kirumi continues Maki’s argument. “Let’s set aside our differences and work together for a peaceful society.”
And with determination burning in the irises of their eyes, Maki and Kirumi stand against the Commander. And from them, the air grows still.
The other stares at them, appalled by their arguments, taking it in… but—
Snort.
Chuckle.
A rambunctious laughter floods the still air, and the two grow confused at the reaction.
The Commander bends over, takes off her hat and runs a hand through her hair as she continues to laugh loudly.
Unable to read the air, the two stand completely puzzled as they watch the Commander continue chortling.
Soon enough, the Commander’s laugh begins to die down and she puts her hat back on before cocking her head up to look at the two.
“Are you kidding me? Are you really really kidding me right now?” She tries to repeat through each little laugh that seeps into her speech.
“No.” Maki responds promptly.
“You have to be!” The Commander keeps her head down and stares at the floor, “Who were you two kidding? Coming in here, acting all strong because you have each other, and thinking that everyone will just fall everso easily to your dumb, pathetic dream.”
“It’s not dumb. It will happen,” Kirumi declares.
“Oh shut it,” The Commander rolls her head back up to look at Maki, “You can keep playing make-believe or whatever. Considering that you are fairly young to be prime minister, guess you wouldn’t have known that it’s always been like this. Always had it so that society would just fall into the hands of the Ultimates. People have been raised on it for so long — even you both. So you think you can change a person’s mind that easily?”
“No. It won’t be that easy, but we have to keep trying,” Maki says, “We will no longer serve as tools for one another. We will all work together!”
“No. No,” The Commander turns her head back down. Her left hand reaches behind her and she flicks her wrist to the side to reveal a baton. “It won’t be that easy. If it were that easy, then things would be solved already!”
“But brute force won’t make it any better!”
“I refuse! I refuse to believe it will be that easy!” The Commander keeps repeating, beginning a stride towards the two before it turns into a sprint, “I refuse to believe it will be that easy!”
She keeps running towards Kirumi and Maki, both standing in defense against the Commander, as the Commander raises her baton and tries to swing it against Maki. Maki dodges easily and attempts to make a kick at the Commander. The Commander flies upon the impact. Kirumi attempts to pin down the Commander, and the Commander punches Kirumi in the face before hurrying back up and trying to attack Kirumi once again. Maki makes a grab for the Commander’s leg to stop her, and the Commander tries to swing the baton against Maki before Kirumi tackles the Commander out of Maki’s hold. The two struggle for the Commander’s baton, Kirumi gripping the Commander’s wrist tighter and tighter to make the Commander let it go, but the Commander keeps it strong in her grip. The Commander then kicks Kirumi in the shin, making Kirumi bend down instinctively before the Commander tries to hit Kirumi with the baton, but Maki wouldn’t let her. Maki makes a grab for the Commander’s wrist and tries to do what Kirumi did, but her strength is not enough to pin the Commander.
The Commander hastily shoves Maki off, but Maki brings her knife straight into the Commander’s shoulder, blood penetrating the Commander’s uniform almost instantly.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!” The Commander lets out a bloodcurdling scream and lets go of her baton. She stumbles backwards, gripping onto the bloody region tightly as though to stop the bleeding. She huffs heavily in fury towards the attackers.
Kirumi hurries to Maki’s side and shoves the Commander on the ground and pins her down with more force. The Commander struggles under it, but the pain stops her from trying.
Maki looks down at the dropped baton and slowly reaches down for it before looking at the pinned woman, and that’s when something clicks in her mind, like lights switching on.
Those icy blue eyes that she used to fear from the cold glares. No longer did they make her freeze. No, in fact, for the first time in the longest time, Maki feels… free. Strong. She isn’t afraid anymore. Not when a pair of green eyes look at her with assurance — strength that she needed. Just that is enough to power her against the eyes she now challenges. The eyes that are merely crazed with power, blinded and desperate for the goal they yearn to see.
“Soldiers! What are you doing just standing there?! Get them!” The Commander orders, darting her eyes to any soldier she can lay her eyes on, but no one moves upon hearing that command. Her blue eyes that used to be like ice give way to tears as she screeches, “Move! Damn it!”
“Just give up already,” Maki starts, but the Commander keeps trying to struggle under Kirumi.
“No, never,” The Commander refuses, “You won’t accomplish anything with your stupid plan. You won’t… make everyone happy. You’ll only make them suffer.”
“You’re wrong.” Maki says, “Your plan would have made things worse. We’ll put an end to this fight together.”
“You’ll see…You’ll see when everyone doesn’t listen to you…Then you will know that you should have listened to me.”
“No.” Maki takes a step closer to the Commander’s lying figure. “I know. I know I won’t regret making this decision with Toujou. I believe in Toujou, and I will gladly listen and help her side by side. And you? You’re no longer my commander. I won’t listen to you anymore.”
The pinned down woman growls under Kirumi’s hold and struggles again. And suddenly, she breaks free from Kirumi’s hold, casting Kirumi aside and screaming as the woman darts to Maki, but Maki raises the baton and smacks the woman unconscious.
Then it’s silent.
But this silence feels different from the silence she has faced when confronting the lying woman.
It dawns on Maki in that very moment, eyes glossing over the lying figure of the woman. All that she’s faced in her past and all that has happened just now.
A conclusion that allows her to finally — finally be at ease.
...Well, not just yet.
Maki darts her eyes instantly on her next target. She stomps her way over to certain silver haired woman and grabs the woman by the collar.
“What the hell were you thinking?!” Maki screams at Kirumi, “I told you not to try and sacrifice yourself like that! We were supposed to work together!”
“We did, didn’t we?” Kirumi raises a brow.
“In the fight, yes! But the plan was—”
“To follow through with the first offer, yes,” Kirumi continues, “But I realized that we can use the other plan to our advantage at that moment.”
“To sacrifice yourself?!” Maki shakes Kirumi furiously.
“Well, call it a wager,” Kirumi smiles with a twinkle in her eye, “I wagered that you would come save me, regardless. Because I trust you.”
And with that, Maki falls silent to Kirumi’s smooth words. Her words and need to call Kirumi stupid for going through with the plan and taking a leap of faith was skewered completely by her bashfulness. Kirumi… trusts her? She trusted her that much to take such a slim chance of survival? Maki was completely stunned.
But her need to plant a kiss on Kirumi’s lips in that moment was stronger than her shock because in that moment, she is just happy that Kirumi is okay. And that Kirumi trusted her that greatly.
When they part from one another, Maki lets go of Kirumi’s collar go and flings her arms around Kirumi.
Muttering quietly into the crook of the maid’s neck, Maki whispers, “I love you.”
A hand holds the back of her head gently and closer to Kirumi.
“I love you, too.”
That day, after hearing all the commotion from inside the room, Shuichi and the bodyguards that came with Kirumi and Maki hurried into the room to find the former Commander knocked out. Kirumi filled Shuichi on all that had happened, and immediately Shuichi asked for the head of the bodyguards to take the Commander under their custody.
When all the soldiers of the Regime had found out all that happened from Maki, to Maki’s surprise, they seemed rather at ease. That’s when one of the soldiers confirmed with Maki that what Saito said in the room was true: that after the encounter during the ball Saito took Maki’s words to heart and began talking to people. As his words began to spread, more and more people began to believe in Saito’s words, but they were all too afraid to speak against the Commander, and while Maki was frustrated at their inability to make a move, she held sympathy for them as well. Honestly, she was just happy that Saito would even think twice on her words, considering all that happened with losing his friend that night at the ball. From then on, the soldiers vowed to basically be new bodyguards for Kirumi as together they decide to make the ongoing battle between the Ultimates and the norms finally draw to a close.
She hasn’t worn something so formal ever since the ball, now that she thinks about it. She couldn’t even remember if it was this stiff when she wore the dress at the ball, but perhaps it was because this is a suit that it was all the more stiff. She doesn’t really get why she has to wear something like this, but the other said that it was just for formalities — something that you just had to do.
She has a couple of minutes before the big meeting, keeping an eye on the clock that hangs high on her wall, so she’s been trying to review and repeat all that she wants to say and all the things she wanted to accomplish in the meeting. This was to be the big announcement for the greatest achievement they’ve made. Sure, it’s been a couple of months (give or take) since they began to work, but now, it’s coming true.
She keeps telling herself that she has to manage her files and review, but she knows full well that her mind is elsewhere — via the window she’s been staring out of for the past half hour.
Maki rests her chin in her hand, as she watches birds fly past her window. The sky looks a brilliant blue that brings her tranquility without a single cloud to block the bright sun’s ray.
There’s a knock on her door, and Maki turns to look at the visitor.
The door clicks quietly and creaks open gently. In steps Kirumi, wearing a similar looking suit as Maki. There’s a smile on the other’s face as she holds the doorknob.
“Harukawa-san, are you ready?” Kirumi asks.
Perplexed, Maki looks up at the clock before looking back at Kirumi, “I still have a lot of time.”
“You haven’t organized your files?”
“I did. I’m just reviewing,” Maki hops off the windowsill, as Kirumi walks over to meet Maki.
Kirumi places both of her hands on Maki’s shoulders before smiling, “You do not have to worry, dear. I know you’re nervous.”
“…You read me way too easily.” Maki rests her hand on one of Kirumi’s hands.
“It’s what I do best,” Kirumi closes her eyes. “You will be fine, I assure you. We’ve been working on this together for so long. I am so happy that we can finally announce this.”
“I’m just happy that we finally have a solution.”
Kirumi rubs Maki’s shoulders and look at the woman before her with eyes that speak Oh you.
“Still, I can’t help but wonder... Why me? I’m still an Ultimate you know.” Maki looks up at Kirumi, and Kirumi sighs.
“Because you’ve grown up with these people. You know them better than anyone. You know the way they feel and that’s why your voice is the strongest for their opinions.” Kirumi argues, squeezing Maki’s shoulder tightly, “You’ll do just fine.”
“Alright. Alright I get it.” Maki winces at the tight grip on her shoulder. Then she admits with a blush creeping on her face, “But I’m happy that we’ll be working together more.”
“If there’s anything I want more, it would be to work together always,” Kirumi reaches to hold Maki’s hands before placing a kiss on Maki’s forehead.
The two gaze upon each other, joy and love expressed so easily on their face to each other. If it weren’t these two, their expression wouldn’t have been readable.
“Hey… Toujou?” Maki asks.
“What’s the matter?”
“How much time do we have left?” Maki asks in concern.
Kirumi checks her watch, “Just a couple of minutes. I suppose we should head over, yes?”
“Oh… then…” Maki tucks some of her hair behind her ear before leaning in towards Kirumi, lips put together and pecking Kirumi’s lips. She doesn’t speak another word after that touch, too embarrassed.
Kirumi only smiles at the gesture, “I love that despite how long we’ve been together, you still get embarrassed when you kiss me.”
“Shut up…” Maki hides her face in shame into her hands.
“It’s no problem,” Kirumi leans in and kisses Maki’s lips, and the feeling is so warm that Maki feels ethereal in that brief moment.
Stunned, Maki just watches as Kirumi walks towards the door of her office.
Kirumi turns back to Maki, “Well, shall we go, new representative?”
Maki’s lips quiver into a slight smile and nods before walking to Kirumi.
At the door, she looks back out the window, back to the cloudless sky and the shining sun.
How cliche did the scene feel to her — that the sunlight shines greatly today of all days.
But she doesn’t mind it because she knows that from today on, it will be peaceful under that warm and sunny light.
When Tools Become Human - Ch 9: Faltering Plans
Summary: [KiruMaki Prime Minister/Assassin AU] In light of the new prime minister, Kirumi Toujou, an uprising has occurred, making the town scream in riots against those entitled to the name “Ultimate.” This uprising, however, believes that they can make all their troubles go away: an Ultimate as a tool to resolve all their issues.
AO3 || Fanfiction.net
She usually isn’t like this. In fact, she would usually be in the completely opposite composure. Her capabilities to sit up properly and focus on her surroundings have suddenly switched to the differing notion, back arched over the table as she spaces out for an extraneously long amount of time.
Kirumi knows full well why she is acting in the way that she is; why it is that she is not able to focus on the situation as well as she usually would, or why she is not taking as much care to the way she sits. Only one worry has been rushing through her mind, repeating frequently in circles — questions being asked, but never answered: Why? What can she do for her people to subside their anger and frustration? As the questions repeat, they slowly turn into imagery; imagery of the people she’s met in her town asking these questions, loudly repeating to her, pleading for her to do something.
Why?
What can she do for her people?
What must she do to please them?
And as she stares at each one of their faces, they all erupt into a sticky deep red and drop on the floor, so too tainting the floor in the same deep red that they drown in.
Just like at the ball.
No. She cannot blame herself like this. What’s done is done, and she can only do what she can now to avoid the same situation.
Still, Kirumi ponders on it for too long. The image of the lively people she used to greet during her strolls into town now cold on the floor. The person she had stabbed that night. All of this was her fault… And she has to carry that weight with her.
And Kirumi wonders if what she has in mind will finally settle all of this. To stop the bleeding and to stop them from screaming.
Kirumi winces at a touch to her shoulder. She sits up with her back straight and blinks for a moment to adjust to her surroundings, and the smell of something cooking and the relatively long table covered in plates before her tells her that she is in the dining hall.
She looks over at her shoulder to what touched her only to see a pale hand brush by before retracting. She follows where the hand goes and sees its owner, Maki, standing up from her seat to lean and touch Kirumi’s shoulder, but upon Kirumi’s gaze, Maki sits back down, staring at the maid with her nose scrunched up and eyes narrowed.
“Something’s bugging you, Toujou.” Maki crosses her arms and leans back in her chair. The way she raises her head — Kirumi knows the other expects an answer.
“Why is that?” Kirumi attempts to dodge the question.
Maki points down to her plate, suggesting for Kirumi to look down on her own. When Kirumi does so, she sees her fork puncturing her napkin. Dumbfounded, she raises her fork with the stabbed napkin before laying it down on the table with a heavy and tired sigh.
“And not to mention…” Maki continues her observation, “Your clothes.”
“My clothing?” Surprised at what Maki points out, Kirumi scoots her chair out and stands to look at her outfit.
Oh. The gown. Her silky sleeping gown. It was still on her. And she was wearing her high heels along with them.
Kirumi rubs her forehead with her fingertips before trying to reclaim her composure, sitting back down and returning her seat to its original position.
“I suppose my sleep was not very adequate last night.”
One of Maki’s eyebrows raises and her lips give a slight pout. “You sure about that?”
Kirumi falls silent at the other’s expression, knowing what Maki was expecting of her but unsure of how to structure her words… or rather how to choose her words.
Then she hears a sigh from the other as Maki speaks again, “You’re still thinking about yesterday, aren’t you?”
“I can’t help but always think about it.” Kirumi shakes her head sadly. “I understand that I should be thinking about the best course of action, and I should take the time I need to plan accordingly… But I worry if more lives will be lost.”
Maki stretches her arm over to touch Kirumi’s own arm, the warmth touch is all that Kirumi focuses on at the moment, “Look, things will be okay. I don’t think they would want to go through the trouble of killing more. They wouldn’t have a purpose.”
“That is true… Yes.” Kirumi nods, processing Maki’s words.
“You sound like you have something else on your mind,” Maki hints.
“Sharp as ever, Harukawa-san,” Kirumi closes her eyes.
“Well? What is it?”
Kirumi shifts in her seat, “I… believe I may have determined the best course of action.”
“That’s it? That’s great, but what is it?”
“I..” Kirumi trails off once again, and Maki can’t help but worry.
The former assassin places a hand on the maid’s arm, “It’s not… something stupid, is it?”
“No, no,” Kirumi stifles a chuckle, keeping her eyes low, “I wonder if you may consider it idiotic, but generally, I believe it’s ideal.”
“Still haven’t explained what it is,” Maki leans back into her chair, arms crossed.
“I thought about it overnight, and even in the morning, it seemed like the right choice.” Kirumi nods with her own words, “If the problem resides in the voices of the people without talent not being heard, then the best course of action is to listen. Thus, a conversation will suffice. Perhaps we can establish someone in the government who would be able to represent what they want, and the person and I can work together to relieve any tensions between the Ultimates and others. Otherwise, I believe that the best I can do is to step down from my position and let someone who will stand for both the Ultimates and everyone else to lead everyone — something I have failed to do. ”
But Kirumi looks over to Maki and sees her eyes squinting and nose scrunching up. Maki looks away and Kirumi can sense the boiling irritation from the other.
“I understand that it will be difficult—”
“Yeah, it will be difficult. You really think that the Commander would want to even listen?” Maki raises her voice. “She doesn’t care whatever happens to the Ultimates! She’ll just gladly take your place, and she cannot be in that position.”
“I am only suggesting that as a last resort plan if she refuses to converse.” Kirumi clarifies.
“Okay, and your first plan is what? Talk to her? I don’t think so,” Maki shakes her head, “She’ll take any chance to push you into giving up your role immediately. And I’m pretty sure she’ll try to kill you as soon as she sees you.”
“I understand, but this is the only possible way that I can hold a discussion regarding what the people want and come to a consensus together.” The maid points out, voice sharpening to Maki’s ears. It’s grating.
“Okay but what if she doesn’t want to listen to you?” Maki raises, “What if it really does come down to the last resort? Do you really want to give yourself up like that?”
“If that is the only way to put an end to the hunt, then I shall step down.”
Those words. They’re all the more grating to Maki’s ears, and it’s like no matter how much she tries to fight the aggravation of the other’s refusal, the feelings bubble up to the surface again with full force. She takes a deep breath trying to stop herself from trying to talk more; all the words she wants to say would only combust the conversation all the more.
But Maki keeps imagining the way this will play out; it’s far too vivid and clear in her mind: Kirumi choosing to go through with her final plan and step down; telling that to the Commander; seeing the Commander smirk, taking the job without hesitation before pulling out a gun on Kirumi. Then all of that ending in shades in red.
No, she cannot let that happen to Kirumi.
“But it’s not like I am voluntarily seeking death. My first plan, of course, is to try and talk to solve matters.”
“This is stupid, Toujou. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I can tell you that it’s never going to play out nicely with the Commander. She only wants your head and that’s what she’ll take if you go.” Maki blurts out.
“Well, I cannot think of another plan that will suit this matter. This is the only peaceful way of trying to solve this, and I do not want anymore people to die. So if my death can solve this situation, then it is my death they shall have.” Kirumi protests.
“Toujou!” Maki yells, “We still need you here. We still need you as a leader to handle this. Your death won’t solve anything; more people are just going to get hurt under the Commander’s rule.”
“But I cannot stand seeing more people die now!” Kirumi yells back.
“Do you really want to die that bad?!” Maki cries out. “The Commander is ruthless. You, on the other hand, haven’t literally been killing people off! The Commander actively seeks for the death of every Ultimate!” “My ability to not do anything right now is just as bad, Harukawa!” Kirumi retorts, “Sitting here and letting her continue with that. I am just as bad!”
“No you’re not!” Maki slams her hand against the table, “This is completely different! You aren’t the one stabbing and killing people! You’re trying to save them all! And your work is going to waste if you’re just giving yourself up like that!”
“Enough, Harukawa!” Kirumi stands up from her seat, “This is the only plan that I can think of, and it’s better for the common good. I have no choice but to follow through.”
“We can think of something—”
“No. This is it. This is my plan, and I shall follow through with it.”
“You can’t!” “Why not?”
“You’re going to die!”
“That doesn’t matter!”
“It does matter!” Maki slams the table once again, and with that, Kirumi closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before glaring back at Maki. A cold glare enough for Maki to freeze in place. A cold glare she is not used to seeing at all. Kirumi’s eyes completely void of warmth, now icy daggers that threaten her.
“Enough is enough, Harukawa. Talking any further will result in just repeating ourselves. Let’s stop.” Kirumi steps away from her chair and pushes it in.
Maki clenches her fists and bites down on her lips. She can feel her body’s tension rising as it begins to shake, and she hated that it’s shaking at that moment. She wants to stop herself, but her body is running on autopilot and she’s getting even more annoyed at herself.
She looks over at Kirumi one more time, the maid still giving her the cold glares that insists to stop, and immediately, Maki turns on her heels and silently heads towards the exit of the dining hall. Each of her steps seem heavy and her body seems to want to restrain her from walking more, each cell screaming for her to retort back at the maid.
But she still carries herself out the door. There’s no point in fighting anymore. There’s no point in running in circles within the argument. Maki knows that’s just the way Kirumi is — stubborn in her decisions.
Even so, Maki can’t stand the plan that Kirumi thought of. What even possessed the maid to believe it was a good idea? Did the maid even listen to Maki, or was all the information — everything Maki told to Kirumi — completely useless?
She slams the door of her room shut before plunging herself into the comforts of the bed. Her body feels like it’s burning, and she just wants to smother herself into the sheets and muffle a scream.
Maki has to do something. Her body aches, yearning for her to run and grab Kirumi, trying to plead with her to stop all her plans.
But everytime that scenario plays out in her head, she could only see lowered, sorrowful jaded green eyes and an apologetic smile. The imaginary look is enough to send Maki crying in a fit of rage.
No. She had to do something.
Kirumi is way too stubborn to try anything else.
The only resolve Maki can find is if she interferes with the plan some way to stop the meeting from occurring.
Yes. A plan. She has to think of a plan. To stop Kirumi’s horrible plan from playing out. To protect Kirumi from her own stupidity.
And Maki had to plan it soon. She knows how quickly Kirumi works.
When Tools Become Human - Ch 8: Aftermath
AO3 || Fanfiction.net
Summary: [KiruMaki Prime Minister/Assassin AU] In light of the new prime minister, Kirumi Toujou, an uprising has occurred, making the town scream in riots against those entitled to the name “Ultimate.” This uprising, however, believes that they can make all their troubles go away: an Ultimate as a tool to resolve all their issues.
“I’m sorry…” Shuuichi blurts out in the quiet room. He sits in a chair across from Kirumi in her office. The office are dimly lit by candles that Kirumi had to light up since the electrical lights failed to switch on. Shuuichi can only figure that the raid earlier had caused some sort of power outage.
Kirumi shakes her head toward the other, as she leans forward with her elbows on her desk, “Saihara-san, you do not have to apologize again. I have told you. It’s not your fault. This is far out of your hands.”
“Yeah, but I… still can’t help but feeling like maybe… if I ran faster… or looked around more closely, then maybe more people would have been saved tonight.” Shuuichi lowers his head, biting the inside of his cheeks. He takes a breath to calm himself down, but his shaky exhale only makes him feel worse.
With softened eyes, Kirumi lends out her hand toward Shuuichi from across the desk. Shuuichi’s head peaks up a bit, his yellow eyes noticing the slender fingers. He stares at it for a second before he too brings his hand to hold hers. He can feel her squeeze his hand tightly, and as he looks toward Kirumi, he can see her eyes of assurance — of comfort — look back at him, and instantly, he feels his shoulders relax and his inhales and exhales have smoothened.
As he lets go of Kirumi’s hand and the two withdraw back into their chairs, Shuuichi speaks up, “Well… I guess the most I can do is just provide the information I found in my time.”
“Go on,” Kirumi nods, folding her hands on top of her desk, “Any information you have gathered will be beneficial.”
“Right,” Shuuichi nods. He then reaches into his black coat and checks the different pockets until he produces a notebook that he quickly passes to Kirumi. Then he searches through his pockets again to produce his own notebook. Flipping the book open, he traces his fingers down the paper, eyes scanning his messily strewn handwriting. He turns a couple of pages, and his fingers trace down the page again. Then he finds the notes he was looking for. He nods again, but slowly this time, trying to comprehend what he noted down, pieces coming together in his head as he recalled his own experience in the base.
“When we met the last time, you handed me this notebook with all your notes from Harukawa-san,” Shuuichi points to the notebook laying on her desk. “She talked about Choukai and the Regime. I decided to start with Choukai and looked more into the subunit that she was a part of, since that was the best lead I could get from the notes. It took some time, but I managed to figure out the hidden subunit. Turns out the subunit was a subunit solely created to assassins.”
“But why bother with keeping it hidden?” Kirumi interrupts, “Especially when Harukawa-san was titled the Ultimate Assassin.”
“That’s what I thought as well,” Shuuichi nods along with Kirumi’s trail of logic, “So I dug into their files, and it looked like the creation of this hidden subunit correlates to this ‘Regime’ that Harukawa-san talked about. The subunit was created shortly after the Regime’s establishment, and it seemed that the commanding officer of the subunit is also the leader of the Regime.”
“Do you know anymore about the commanding officer?” Kirumi asks.
“Not exactly, no.” Shuuichi admits, “But I did have to travel over to the base of the Regime. That’s how I found out more about the Regime and about the reason behind the subunit’s making. So I went to the base… and even just being there, I sort of understood everyone’s stance…. Why everyone was there.”
“Which was…?” Shuuichi’s worried tone peaks Kirumi’s own worries. She can feel in her legs a sense of uneasiness, but she must know why something as horrific as the shooting at the ball would even occur. Leaning toward Shuuichi, the maid crosses her arms on her desk, hands overlapping to hold her arms so she would stop herself from shaking.
Shuuichi lets out an exhale before responding, “As soon as I was there, I heard… a lot of people begin to talk nonsense about the Ultimates. I heard a lot of them trash talking Harukawa-san, saying that she was a good for nothing Ultimate for not doing her job, and how they’re glad that she had killed herself and—”
Shuuichi stops himself from going further, noticing that Kirumi’s hands had begin to clasp tightly around her arms, as though she was trying to break through her own arms with her hands.
“To-Toujo-san?” Shuuichi asks.
“It’s nothing. Please continue, Saihara-san,” Kirumi insists.
Nervously, Shuuichi clears his throat and continues, “Well, aside from Harukawa-san, they just continued to talk about Ultimates the same way. So I figured from there that the reason behind their plans is because of their hatred towards the Ultimates, but there had to be a reason behind their hatred. So, I snooped around, overheard conversations, and from what I gathered there, they were saying things like ‘We’ll make the Ultimates pay for taking everything away from us,’ or ‘The Ultimates should be our tools.”
“‘Our’ tools?” Kirumi repeats, “Are you saying that they think we’re using them?”
Shuuichi slowly nods. “They were saying how the life of an Ultimate is an easy one when society is wrapped around their fingers, ready to accommodate to all the Ultimates but never for those who lack the talent. That’s why…” Shuuichi lowers his body, hunching over himself as he mumbles on, “That’s why they want to get rid of us. Why they wanted to get rid of you.”
How stupid did she feel in that moment… This revelation. To Kirumi, it was light. It was something so obvious but she failed to bat an eye at it. Something deep inside herself twists in pain at her ignorant self. Why wasn’t she able to see this before? What was she thinking in the first place when people began to attack the Ultimates in the first place?
But that revelation. It too churns an image in her head of a certain assassin’s past — a girl — an Ultimate — who has to handle the furies and anger of the people that Kirumi was supposed to appease. The people who had to lash out their frustrations and anguish on this girl — beat her into becoming an Ultimate just to be used as a tool.
All her fault. All her fault.
It repeats in her head.
“Toujo-san?”
“It’s nothing.” Kirumi pinches the bridge of her nose before letting out a long, dragged out sigh. Her head is starting to feel like it’s been stabbed through, as her body is starting to ache. “Is there anything else?”
The male shakes his head, “Everything else just consisted of raiding the party yesterday.” His shoulders droop once more, “I’m so sorry I didn’t come any sooner.”
“No, it’s quite alright. You did what you had to do, Saihara-san, and for that, I’m always grateful.” Kirumi raises her hand gently before folding her hands again on her desk, “And you’re sure that’s all the plans they had?”
“Well, that’s as far as they had planned,” Shuuichi scratches his cheek, “The rest doesn’t seem to have set dates, but —”
“But?” The female raises a brow.
“The rest of their plans just seem to be ‘attempt to raid’ and ‘kill the prime minister.’ No set dates, but they just want to overthrow you so they can have control.” Shuuichi flips through his notes to check for any remaining notes he may have missed, but soon, he reaches the end of his notebook and closes it. “And that’s all I gathered. Sorry about the dates… and sorry—”
“Saihara-san, there’s no need to apologize. You did all that you could.” Kirumi gives him a comforting small smile, and gradually, Shuuichi’s tense shoulders relax.
Shuuichi nods and gets up from his seat, placing the notebook back into his coat’s pocket. As he steps away from the chair and walks back toward the door, he says, “Don’t worry. I’ll still try to search for my information in the meantime. Just… be careful, okay?”
“I will. You know me well enough to know that I will be careful,” Kirumi reminds the other, “And… you be careful, too, alright?” She’s starting to notice her tone lowering and she’s starting to feel regret at her incapability to control herself.
But it goes unnoticed by the other, Shuuichi only nodding back at her and saying a farewell before exiting.
When he exits, Kirumi waits for the door to close shut with a click before she feels her back slouch and her hands begin to run through her hair. She lets out an exasperated breath, as her eyes begin to wander throughout the room.
Ultimates using the rest of the citizen population. Not pleasing the rest of the citizen population. How ridiculous of her to not notice sooner. Why couldn’t she see her own faults before: that she was failing her task — her purpose? Why didn’t she notice her citizens crying and yelling about the inequality?
And who is she to be the one to push them down?
She only just wanted to please the common good, and yet, all she has done is hurt them by not fixing these issues any sooner.
And now…
Kirumi forces her hand against her mouth. She shakes her head. No, she cannot allow herself to cry here. What good would crying do? What she needs to do is fix this issue, but how?
Slamming her desk with her hands, she stands. Head lowered, she tries to fight the tears, trying to keep her mind on the task at hand. Yes, she needs to figure out the plan to combat this issue. She has to. To please the ones she serves. She has to. To make up for her mistakes.
But her thoughts are cut short in that moment by the click of the door opening. She turns her back towards the door, leaning against her desk and wiping her eyes first so the person entering wouldn’t see.
“Hey, Toujo,” Kirumi figured that it was Maki who entered the room. The maid spins around to see Maki, and she could see from Maki’s strides that the other seems to be frustrated... or perhaps angry.
“Harukawa-san, what’s the matter?” Kirumi asks.
“I heard everything,” Maki speaks slowly and almost quietly. How odd, to Kirumi, that the other would act so brashly but speak in such a fashion.
“I see,” Kirumi responds briefly, “And… what do you think of this situation, Harukawa-san? I’d like to see what your thoughts are on this.”
“That’s funny because I was about to ask you the same,” Maki admits, remaining still in front of Kirumi’s desk.
“How about I hear your opinion first? It will probably help me construct a better opinion,” Kirumi insists.
“A better opinion?” Maki questions, “What do you mean by ‘better’?”
The maid falls silent at the question, and it only makes the hairs on Maki’s arms stand. Something cold fills her stomach and twists it around.
Immediately, Maki gets up and walks around the desk to be by Kirumi’s side. Kirumi doesn’t turn her chair to see Maki, but Maki puts her hand on the the gray-haired woman’s shoulder, thumb rubbing against the other’s shoulder blade in comfort.
Kirumi looks up to Maki, but slowly brings her head back down in silence.
“I think I know what’s going through your mind,” Maki softens her voice, “And, Toujo, I know you’re blaming yourself right now.”
The other stiffens under Maki’s touch. Just as Maki expected.
“You know this isn’t your fault, don’t you?” Maki assures, “All that’s happened. You weren’t in control of it.”
“But I was.” Kirumi coldly responds.
“What makes you say that?” Maki protrudes.
“The role I’m in — as prime minister,” Kirumi states, “Is it not my task to serve all of my citizens? Is it not my role to see to all my citizens’ needs?”
“Yeah, but —”
“So, aren’t I failing them? They were relying on me, and I failed to listen…” Kirumi reasons, voice wavering. She slumps in her chair, face buried in her hands, “Aren’t I such a fool to dare call myself the prime minister for not doing such a simple task?”
“Toujo…” Maki calls out.
“What was I thinking, believing that everyone was happy? Was I so selfish to believe that?” Kirumi shakes her head, in denial of herself.
“Toujo, listen,” Maki spins the chair so Kirumi would look at her. Then, Maki kneels down before Kirumi and looks up to Kirumi’s sobbing face, “It’s hard. It’s hard to be able to listen to every single person and try to make them happy. Especially with something like this. You’re in a big role, and of course, it’s going to be hard, but you still have time to fix it.”
“But the party…”
“What’s done is done,” Maki says, “I know that’s hard to take in, but the best that we can do now — to make up for what’s already happened — is try to work on what’s happening now so something like this won’t happen.”
With pursed lips, Kirumi takes in Maki’s words, letting it sink in, but they fall under the reverberation of the party memories; of all her people screaming and crying, of them falling on the ground cold, and of her running away instead of helping.
But those echoes silence at the assassin’s grasp of her hands. Kirumi looks down to her hands to see her pale fingers enlaced with the other’s pale fingers.
“We’ll work on it together, okay?” Maki assures. “You don’t have to burden yourself with all of this. I know you want to. That’s how you usually are, but we already promised that we’re going to help each other. You’ve already helped me so much, so let me help you, okay?”
Silently, Kirumi lets go of Maki’s hand and lets her fingers move up Maki’s arm. Then, Kirumi gets off her chair and embraces Maki tightly, burying her face into the crook of Maki’s neck. She could feel a large urge to cry overwhelm her, but all that comes out is a whimper.
In a quiet voice, she whispers, “Thank you, Harukawa-san…”
With those words, Maki tenses, feeling the other’s breath against her neck, but slowly she relaxes again and wraps her arms around Kirumi’s figure as well. She holds on tightly, hoping that her genuine words would reach the maid, and with the tighten hold from the other, Maki knows that her words did.
“Just… don’t do anything stupid, okay?” The assassin runs her hands through the strands of gray hair. “We’ll figure something out.”
A slight nod of Kirumi’s head and the two let go of each other, both of each other’s arms still laying on top of each other as they back away from one another.
“So… what are you going to do, Toujo?” Maki asks.
Kirumi shakes her head, “I still have to determine the best course of action, but I fear that we will have to act soon.”
“Just do what you think is best, alright?” Maki pushes herself up from the floor. She gives out a hand to Kirumi to use to get herself up. When the two are standing, Maki checks the clock that hangs above the doorway. “Well, it’s about time to get some food. Should we go?”
“In a moment,” Kirumi replies, “I shall meet you at the dining hall. I have something I need to attend to, but I will gladly accompany you to lunch.”
Maki nods, heading towards the door on her own. Before she exits, she assures one more time, under her breath, “Things will be alright, Toujo.”
And with that, the door closes, leaving the prime minister on her own in her office.
Kirumi leans against her desk, staring at the ceiling. In her mind, she toys with Maki’s assuring words, replaying them in her head, but as they replay, she can’t help but let out a sigh.
To rely on Maki. She knows that she can, and she is glad that there is someone she can rely on, but she wonders if this situation is beyond both Maki and her.
The words of her citizens and the images of the party set back into the front of her mind, and all she can do is let out her thoughts in a lost voice:
“What should I do?”
When Tools Become Human - Ch 11: Final Confrontation
Summary: [KiruMaki Prime Minister/Assassin AU] In light of the new prime minister, Kirumi Toujou, an uprising has occurred, making the town scream in riots against those entitled to the name “Ultimate.” This uprising, however, believes that they can make all their troubles go away: an Ultimate as a tool to resolve all their issues. AO3 || Fanfiction.net
Maki didn’t realize she would be standing here so soon. She knows the conviction within Kirumi is far too strong to resist against, but to think that Kirumi would be acting so quickly is a little beyond Maki’s thinking.
It took about two days for Kirumi to set up a meeting with the Commander; the issues mainly relying on waiting for the other’s emails and clarifying the purpose of the meeting. However, Kirumi pushed through the rough emails and finally the Commander agreed for a meeting. Hearing this only made Maki more concerned and worried, thinking about the Commander’s sudden change of heart, but Kirumi assured her that the sooner they meet to clear the confusion away, the better. All Maki could do was simply comply. That wouldn’t stop her uneasiness though.
Even so, the two came prepared for what they’re about to face. As soon as morning came, Maki suggested for Kirumi to call for security to stand by as backup in case anything goes wrong, and with some surprise, Kirumi followed through, calling Shuichi for backup. It at least put Maki’s mind to rest, knowing that it finally felt like they were working together unlike before, where they would merely go back and forth with their arguments of being a martyr and trying to survive.
They stand now outside of the base. The crisp air weighs heavy on their tense shoulders, as they look up to the spiked gateway Maki saw the other day. Kirumi and Maki stand together, awaiting for the gate to open for their arrival. They already told the soldiers who stood guard their reason for visiting; they are just waiting for the soldiers to inform the Commander so they can get the approval to let them in.
Maki’s red eyes gingerly gloss over every detail of the gate. What lies beyond this gate will paint the future for this society, good and bad. She fears to even step through it, scared that with all that she had faced long ago, the future that is to come will be tainted.
She cannot allow herself to think that way, though. She has to enter this area with her head held high so she can stand her ground.
Still, her clenched fists shake against her thigh and she hates it.
But she feels a touch on her shoulder and her body instantly relaxes. Maki reaches up to her shoulder to feel for Kirumi’s hand and holds onto it gently.
“Are you scared?” Kirumi asks her in concern.
“I should be the one asking you that,” Maki faintly smiles. “Since…”
“I might die?”
There’s those words. Maki would rather not hear it from Kirumi. Especially Kirumi. It only makes it sound like Kirumi is giving up, and she hates even the thought of it; thinking of it making her insides burn.
Hesitating, Maki nods her head slightly.
“I can’t help it. Sorry, Toujou,” Maki sighs in frustration.
But Kirumi shakes her head, before pulling her hand away from Maki, “I understand. But it’s alright. I’m afraid as well.”
“As you should be,” Maki points out, “That’d be way too inhuman of you if you weren’t afraid of death.”
And despite the tense situation, Kirumi stifles out a laugh, and while it puzzles Maki, in the moment it makes the air feel more relaxed.
“Of course,” Kirumi smiles, “But we must stay strong together through this situation. I only know that we will be able to pull through so long as we work together.”
“Actually work together,” Maki stresses, eying Kirumi, “So no more of the whole ‘sacrifice yourself for the other’ option, got it?”
“Certainly. Because what good would it be if our partners are dead?”
Maki nods before giving way to a small laugh.
Standing in the crisp air, laughing like this, Maki doesn’t feel as afraid anymore, thanks to Kirumi. Together, they stand looking towards their uncertain future, laughing at whatever may come their way. To her, it feels like laughing at Death’s face and succeeding already, and she loved it.
Maki reaches down for Kirumi’s hands and squeezes it tightly. She can feel the other’s thin hand squeeze back in comfort. Maki looks back up at Kirumi and they both nod at each other in assurance.
“Shall we face this together?” Kirumi asks, a curl in her lips.
“Let’s do it,” Maki nods, squeezing Kirumi’s hand again.
Maki doesn’t know how the situation will go down, but at least, with the hand that she holds, perhaps the dread that she fears will be blinded and wither away from the light that they can create.
From the towers that stand on either side of the gate, a soldier yells out for them, “The Commander has given the approval of your entry.”
Then, the doors begin to slowly open inward, little by little revealing the path to the building inside. There’s a thud when the doors finish opening completely.
“You may enter,” The soldier announces.
Maki looks over to Kirumi as Kirumi does the same.
“Let’s go then,” Maki says, and Kirumi just nods her head before the two walk in together towards the towering building.
As they get closer, Maki notices a figure standing right at the entrance, hands folded behind their back.
“Funny to see you again, Harukawa,” The Commander sneers. Then she looks over to Kirumi, looking up and down the woman, “Prime Minister.”
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Kirumi bows her head towards the Commander.
“The pleasure’s mine,” The Commander crosses her arms before scoffing, “Wow, who would’ve thought that you were not so standoffish like those other Ultimates, huh? But I guess then again, look at Harukawa here, huh?”
The Commander jabs Maki, as though they were friends, but Maki shrinks away from the Commander.
The Commander narrows her eyes and smiles mischievously before turning back to Kirumi, “All the more surprised you’d want to even meet me, hm? And talk. You must have some nerves to think about talking. But no matter, let’s talk inside, shall we?”
And the Commander turns on her heels before leading them into the base, and they follow along, with their backup following them.
As they keep walking through the faintly lit hallways of the base, Maki keeps her eye on Kirumi. Despite the poor lighting, she can see the wrinkles in Kirumi’s face — her thinking face. But the twists in Kirumi’s face makes it seem like Kirumi could be terrified. Maki knows why she herself is terrified, and she knows why Kirumi would be, but it pains her to think that the strong Kirumi Toujou could possibly feel fear and is slipping up on her front.
It’s a dumb impulsive choice. Perhaps she shouldn’t have done it, but Maki knows she had to reach out for the other — to tell the other that it’ll be okay. She holds Kirumi’s hand as they keep walking.
Knocking back into reality, Kirumi looks down at their hands and rubs her thumb against the back of Maki’s hand, and Maki can only interpret this as gratitude from the other before the other lets go of Maki’s hand and Maki lets go of Kirumi’s.
Then they arrive at the Commander’s office — the place Maki could have ended all of this two days ago.
The Commander unlocks the door and opens it. She gestures at Maki and Kirumi, “Please. This way.”
Kirumi walks in first, and Maki walks in after her. Already, Maki sees a decent amount of soldiers in the room, standing stoically behind the Commander’s desk. When Maki and Kirumi turn back, the Commander halts their backup, “Ahh…No. You stay here and wait.”
“You can’t! We have to be there to protect the Prime Minister!” One of Kirumi’s guards yells, but the Commander waves her hand.
“Oh don’t worry. I’ll play nicely. I promise,” The Commander jokes before turning around, entering her office and closing the door behind her. She looks up to Maki and Kirumi before walking to her desk, “So, to what do I owe the honor of your visit? I’m sure Harukawa here told you just how nice it’d be coming to visit, but I hardly think this is a place for a honeymoon, hm?”
“As I said over our messaging, I wanted to discuss a plan that would be beneficial for both the Ultimates and the common people, if possible.” Kirumi starts. “I realize that after the events at the ball, that I was treating you all quite poorly under my rule, and I want to correct that.”
“‘Correct it,’ you say? How curious,” The Commander sits down in her chair promptly, making the chair rock backwards a bit. “And how is it that you want to correct this mistake, dear Prime Minister Toujou?”
“Without conflict, I hope,” Kirumi admits, “I believe that the best choice to make is to create a role in which the common people are best represented in a place of power alongside me. I would not be able to speak well for them myself, given my skill, but I believe perhaps you can be that person to take that position.”
“Ahh, I see,” The Commander rests her head in her hand. “So, you came to ask me for a role in power to speak up for the common people, hm?”
“That is my greatest desire, yes,” Kirumi nods. “That way we can be sure that everyone gets what they want and at least come to a consensus between the Ultimates and normal people.”
“How amazing! A consensus! The Ultimates and the normies working together hand in hand. Restoring the peace and working alongside the Prime Minister?” The Commander speaks in awe, a twinkle in her eyes as she imagines the scenario, and there’s something light in Kirumi’s chest after seeing the Commander respond in the way, but something is irking her that something isn’t right, and she can tell by the scrunched up nose of her partner.
“Then we can work together and everyone will be so happy!” The Commander keeps speaking so happily about it that Kirumi wants to believe it.
But she knows better thanks to Maki.
The Commander begins to cackle loudly, taking her hat off and wiping her forehead.
As she puts her hat back in, the Commander scoffs, “Who knew that the Prime Minister had a sense of humor? Why, I thought from all the speeches you just got a stick up your ass.”
Then the Commander leans over her table, peering through squinted eyes at both Kirumi and Maki, “But you know how stupid your actions are, don’t you? Coming here and asking me that? Don’t you know? Working together and all that. We’ve tried that already.”
“Tried that already? Since when?” Maki retorts.
“That was the whole point of this society,” The Commander shrugs before leaning back in her seat, “Living in peace with the Ultimates. Everyone was happy to do that, but they were all so stupid to not realize what would have …. What will happen.
“When we became a society to pick out the Ultimates that would create our future, every one of the citizens happily gave their all to the Ultimates so that the Ultimates would lead everyone. They would stop themselves in worry that they’ll only get in the way of the Ultimates when only they mattered to society. Every single resource that could have been given to everyone in the city was immediately given to a single person entitled to the name ‘Ultimate.’ But the citizens didn’t mind. They didn’t mind a goddamn bit because it’d only be a waste giving it to talentless folks.
“So, what are these citizens left to do? Become tools for the Ultimates, in hopes to get a taste of what being an Ultimate would feel like. To make themselves useful for the Ultimates so they can feel wanted. To abandon what they really want to achieve and bend backwards so blindly to a small amount of people. It’s pathetic and stupid!” The Commander yells.
And the explanation only leaves the three in utter silence.
To Kirumi, the words have created a sense of empathy for her. She knows of how it seems that the common people had become tools for the Ultimates, but understanding more about their sense of worthlessness makes her hurt more. She never wanted that for her citizens.
“And now what? An Ultimate was given power so easily. Without working for it when so many other people with a better mind could’ve been a whole lot more qualified?” The Commander shakes her head, “What more proof do you need to show that my resolve holds true?”
“None,” Kirumi responds.
“Toujou,” Maki reaches towards Kirumi, but Kirumi shakes her head towards Maki, making Maki pull back.
“All that you say are true,” Kirumi continues, “I do understand now. An Ultimate has the easiest path in society, and with a blind eye, others will be left behind without any support. We are trapped in a society where only the best talented are appraised and can survive.”
“Noooow you get it,” The Commander proudly speaks, “I’m honored you understand my words.”
“However, you say that this did not work in the past,” Kirumi begins again, “Living together may not have worked in the past, but we can work to make living and coinciding with one another more endurable for both the Ultimates and the common people. We can change what happened to society and work to find a way to alleviate the tension between both of them.”
“And what? Sweep all that’s happened to so many people because of the Ultimates’ existence?” The Commander sneers back, “So many people have just given up on hope and refused to do anything. All they feel is a sense of hopelessness, accepting themselves as just cogs in this system, settling for less instead of striving for more. Just to be a tool for you Ultimates. No. No way in hell will I actually do what you say! No way in hell will I be your damned tool! Not anymore! No one of us will be your stupid tools anymore!”
“Commander, please —”
“No!” The Commander stops Kirumi, “We won’t fall to you, damned Ultimates! No. We normies will take back the power our stupid old prime minister gave up so easily and we shall create a new society where we shall use the Ultimates, and they shall become our tools!”
The Commander then sighs and relaxes herself. She clears her throat and closes her eyes before looking back at Maki with her cold blue eyes, “Just like you, Harukawa. You will be the perfect model for what Ultimates should be, whereas your girlfriend here.”
The Commander gestures over to Kirumi, “She’ll be the perfect model for those Ultimates who fail to falter! Come on, Miss Prime Minister, what do you say?”
“Don’t do it, Toujou,” Maki warns her, grabbing onto Kirumi’s arms and taking a step back towards the door. “Forget it, Commander. We’re done trying to work with you. Come on, Toujou. We’re leaving.” But when she looks back at the door, guards stand in her way.
“If you’re done, then allow me to try my own tactic,” The Commander stands slowly. She points to Kirumi and Maki, “Alright, soldiers, take them down.”
“W-Wait, Commander,” One of the soldiers raises their hand. The Commander turns behind her to see the male. The male that Maki remembers from the night at the ball. An old comrade. She can still remember how angry the male was that night, cursing to kill Maki for what she had done.
“What is it, soldier? Hurry it up.” The Commander taps her foot in annoyance.
“I just… thought Toujou’s idea was a good idea.” He says, “See, I met Harukawa when we raided the ball. And she was telling me how this isn’t the way to do it…”
The Commander laughs, “So what? You believe her now?”
“Well, I didn’t believe her at first. I thought she was just stupid for betraying us, but I started talking to some people and… they began to agree. And I did too. The role that Toujou suggests. It’s exactly what we all wanted.”
“You what?” The Commander scoffs, “And who is it that you talked to about this?”
But he doesn’t answer.
That’s when she grabs from the back of his head and slams him against her desk.
“Who did you talk to?! Who agreed with him?! Which one of you?!” The Commander yells, but the soldiers all cower back from responding.
“You’re all damn idiots! How could you waver so easily?!” The Commander screams before turning back to the male. “And how dare you fall to someone like a traitorous bitch?! You call yourself a Regime soldier?!”
“Stop it!” Maki yells, trying to run to the desk, but the Commander pulls out her gun and points it to Maki.
“One more step and you can say goodbye to Saito here.” The Commander threatens. It goes silent, everyone unsure what to do under the tense situation, but the Commander yells loudly, “And what did I tell you stupid soldiers to do?! Get that minddrone and the prime minister!”
Immediately the soldiers begin to rush towards Kirumi and Maki. Maki tries to hit them off, struggling against the grips. She yells for them to let go of her but her words seem to have been drowned out too easily.
She couldn’t let this happen. How can it end like this?
“Commander,” In the tense situation, Kirumi’s voice rings out, “I do have another plan that I would like to offer to you.”
“No, your other plan was way too dumb.” The Commander scowls, “And you’re the prime minister?”
“What if I’m not?” Kirumi quickly asks.
Stunned, the Commander raises a brow, “What are you talking about?”
“What if I am no longer the prime minister?” Kirumi bitterly asks, “What if I...gave up my role to you instead? You won’t have to try and appease both. You can do as you like. Restore justice in society the way you would like to.”
A smile. A mischievous smile creeps onto the Commander’s face. Amused, she lets go of the soldier, the soldier quickly scurrying to the side. Putting the gun back in her holster, she sits back down and crosses her legs, “Oh? Giving up your place? What about your beloved Ultimates? You’d want to give them up too?”
“Even you say the Ultimates are a minority in this society,” Kirumi explains, “If that is the case, your actions are benefiting the majority of our society — a large population I refrained from helping. You being in power means your actions will be for the common good. So I would not mind giving you my position as prime minister. However.”
“Of course there’s a condition,” The Commander rolls her eyes.
“So long as the hunting of Ultimates stop. Then, peace will be restored and society will be happier.” Kirumi states.
The other just laughs, and she keeps laughing loudly at the other. “Oh, that’s so good! Now you understand exactly what I want! You really are worthy of your Ultimate title if you know this much!”
Then the Commander crosses her arms and smiles, “Me. Prime Minister. Heh, is that what being an Ultimate is like? To hold that much power and have control over anything you want? It’s not so bad.
“But don’t worry,” The Commander smiles, “I’ll be much better about it than you ever were, Toujou. I’ll make it so we normies don’t have to act as pedestals anymore for your grubby feet. I will change society to change the roles!
“So, fine. I’ll take you up on your offer now,” The Commander puts up her index finger, “On one occasion: you become a little prisoner.”
“What?! Why?!” Maki cries.
“Shut up, Harukawa. Can’t you see I’m making a deal here?” The Commander clicks her tongue in disappointment. “Toujou, you can be my little prisoner and you can serve as the little model for what the Ultimates shall do for us!”
“Don’t use her! Use me! That’s what you wanted to do anyways, isn’t it, Commander?” Maki struggles against the bodyguard that holds her, but she only squirms in the tight grip.
“Well yeah, if I were using force to take the role,” The Commander leans her head to the side, “But I’m being handed the role on a silver platter! I have to get what I can out of this offer and squeeze out every opportunity I find. Toujou here would be a much better model than you. After all, more people know Toujou than they do the ‘Ultimate Assassin.” Oh wait, I mean the ‘former Ultimate Assassin.”
The word only mildly stings Maki and she shakes her head, “Toujou, please don’t do it.”
“Do as you will, Commander. I will heed to your request,” Kirumi bows her head.
“Toujou!” Maki yells. It’s then that Maki struggles once again against the arms of the guard. She then slams the back of her head against the chin of the bodyguard, staggering the guard backwards before she tries to jump the desk and slam into the Commander.
But more hands find their way to Maki and slam her to the ground. In her fall she screams for them to stop so she can stop this blind idiot from doing any damage.
“Let go of me!” She continues to scream against the guards.
“I’m sorry… Harukawa, I tried.” Saito apologizes. “It’s just orders.”
“Don’t you get it?! You already fucked up once joining her. Joining and listening to her without using your head will only make you fuck up the entire society!”
“Sorry. Sorry.” The male keeps apologizing, as he continues to press Maki down against the ground.
“Aww, what’s this? Little Maki is throwing a tantrum?” The Commander walks over to where Maki is. She squats down to Maki. “You know that’s a big no-no by now, don’t you? So why don’t you ever learn?” She shakes her head.
“Harukawa-san, please,” Kirumi pleads.
“No! What happened with working together out of this situation?” Maki yells from the ground, trying to turn her head up to look Kirumi. “We were supposed to work together in the situation!”
“Aw, so sad your plans were all ruined.” The Commander coos, “You sure you guys are a couple?”
Maki pleads with Kirumi again with her red eyes. Tears are beginning to peak out of her eyes, but Kirumi just quietly turns away from Maki back to the desk, as the Commander returns to the desk.
“You do know that if you had just followed the original plan and killed her, we wouldn’t have been in this situation right?” The Commander sighs. “Perhaps I should have broken you down more. Instead you just let your feelings get the best of you and went off to fall in love with your target. How sad. Really, if only you were a better tool and just listened. Now, go handcuff Toujou and take her away.” She points to one of the soldiers.
The soldier blindly follows and Maki continues to kick herself out of the grasp as she watches the soldier tie up Kirumi’s hands and begin to drag her away.
No. She can’t let this happen.
She can’t.
She just.
Can’t.
Maki lets out a piercing scream and kicks herself away from the guard. Instantly, she jumps over the desk and jumps onto the Commander, sending both her and the chair to the ground.
The Commander lets out a gasp upon impact to the ground. She opens her eyes and sees Maki towering over her, her red eyes completely focused on the Commander, as Maki brings both of her hands to the Commander’s neck and squeezes.
“Harukawa-san!” Kirumi cries, but Maki doesn’t care enough to stop. She just keeps squeezing and squeezing. The more she squeezes, the more she can hear the Commander struggling for a gasp — a breath of air. So close. Give in. Give up.
But the Commander will never give up. And what the Commander does strikes fear into Maki’s heart.
From the corner of her eye, Maki can see it. A smile still. A malevolent grin as the Commander grabs hold of Maki’s wrist and begins to push it away. Maki still tries as hard as she can to push down against the Commander’s neck, but the two struggle against each other’s strength.
“Oh you poor little shit.” The Commander coughs, “Can’t believe even a tool like you would fall to feelings! And you thought you can protect your loved one? I think I might even cry!”
“Shut up.”
But that exploits her weakness. Maki’s hands waver and the Commander feels in her grasp. The Commander pulls Maki’s hand upwards to make her fall to the side.
Immediately, the Commander stands up and Maki turns back to the Commander.
“And you expected me to be super sensitive to you now that you have feelings right?” The Commander shrugs, “Not in the way I raised you, dear. You’re just a mere soldier for me to use in my schemes. You’re nothing. Everything you do is nothing.”
Maki lowers her head trying to shake the statements out of her head. That’s not right. She knows this, but...
With hands behind her back, the Commander smiles, “I wonder what can I do to cease all your feelings, hm? What kind of punishment I should give you for betraying us after all this time?”
The Commander takes out her gun again.
“Well, I think we’re done talking aren’t we?”
No. Don’t say that.
A click of the gun.
“And now that I’m the new prime minister. I think it’s time I put my plan into action!”
No. No no.
“What do you say, Kirumi Toujou? Want to help me with that now?”
Pointing the barrel of the gun.
This cannot be the way it ends.
“Goodbye, Toujou.”
“NO!”
A boom in the room.
It leaves a ringing in her ears and reverberates loudly throughout.
When Tools Become Human - Ch 7: Prime Minister Ball
AO3 || FF.net
Summary: [KiruMaki Prime Minister/Assassin AU] In light of the new prime minister, Kirumi Toujou, an uprising has occurred, making the town scream in riots against those entitled to the name “Ultimate.” This uprising, however, believes that they can make all their troubles go away: an Ultimate as a tool to resolve all their issues.
“Harukawa-san, do you know what today is?” Kirumi looks up from her plate of food. The two have been eating a light lunch in the building’s dining room, where large windows frame one side of the room, letting the light shine through brilliantly. To Maki, who just woke up around an hour ago, the rays are still blearing and harsh to her eyes.
“I wouldn’t know,” Maki grumbles. “It’s not like time really matters to me.” That and she lost track of time. It’s been a couple of days since she first began to stay here — maybe even a week. It’s not like she has a calendar on her person or in her room either.
As Maki takes a sip of her water, Kirumi responds, “Today is the day of the annual ball.”
A splutter of water spews from Maki’s lips. The assassin hacks and coughs to the side of the table. When she manages to recover, Maki peers from over the table to Kirumi, “... The what?”
“The annual prime minister ball. Have you heard about it?” Kirumi asks, while she continues to eat away at her meal, taking bits of the food up on her fork. “It’s an event held by the prime minister to commemorate and show gratitude towards the city’s people.”
“I see where this conversation is heading, and I don’t like it.” Maki bluntly states.
Kirumi darts her eyes toward Maki, beckoning the other to hear her out. “It’s a fun event, Harukawa-san. I’d love it if you would attend the event, too. It will be taking place in the large ballroom on the first floor.”
“No offense, Toujo, but I wouldn’t attend the event, even if you said it’s the most wonderful event to take place ever.” Maki rolls her eyes. “Plus, I’m not the type to go to those events.”
“Have you been to one before?”
“…No.”
“So how would you know you’re not the type?” Kirumi asks.
“I don’t know. The idea of people all dressed in galore seems too unreal for me. It’s kind of… uncomfortable, really.” Maki shrugs, leaning back in her chair.
“I see…” Kirumi’s voice trails off. “So you wouldn’t want to give it a try?”
“Absolutely not,” Maki crosses her arms.
“Not even for a couple of minutes?”
“No.”
Kirumi sighs, her face twisting in disagreement, yet shaking her head, “Understood.”
“Good. I’ll just hole up in my room, if you don’t mind.” Maki pushes against her chair to slide it back so she can stand up. “If there’s any good food left over, mind handing it back to me?”
“Not a problem,” Kirumi smiles and nods, before sliding her own chair back and standing up. Maki raises a brow at the other’s practically untouched plate.
“You’re not going to finish?” Maki asks, collecting her own empty plates.
The gray-haired woman doesn’t respond, smile dropping as she quickly takes her plates and walks into the kitchen to return them.
Before Maki follows along and goes to the kitchen, Kirumi exits out, looking directly at Maki, “There’s something I must attend to. For the party.”
“O…kay?” Maki skeptically responds then tries to enter the kitchen, stepping to the side of Kirumi, but Kirumi steps in the same direction. Maki steps in the other direction. Kirumi steps in the same way. The two awkwardly fumble with each other, trying to step out of each other’s ways but only landing right in front of each other once more. The more they continue, the more creases appears on both of their faces.
Kirumi clears her throat, covering her mouth, “Pardon me, Harukawa-san.”
“Y-Yeah,” Maki stutters, as she turns herself so Kirumi can walk forward and off to wherever it is she was going.
Watching the other walk off, Maki notices that Kirumi is walking at a relatively fast speed. She decides to shrug it off, walking into the kitchen and returning her dishes to the sink of the kitchen.
But as she set the dishes in the sink, as she turns on the water of the sink, her thoughts slowly return back to Kirumi hurriedly making her exit out of the dining hall, trying to figure out what purpose would Kirumi be rushing to leave. Kirumi shouldn’t be having any meetings today since she did say today was the day of the ball. Perhaps Kirumi has to discuss with someone about the ball.
But why would Kirumi be rushing that quickly?
Now that she thinks about Kirumi, Maki could remember while the two of them were continuously stepping into each other’s paths, Kirumi’s face was growing more distraught — agitated. It must have been one hell of a time constraint that Kirumi was under for her to be rushing in heels down the halls.
But Kirumi did start looking that way as soon as Maki decided to refuse the party… and the maid did start moving as soon as Maki said she’s going back to her room.
And knowing Kirumi…
Maki quickly shuts off the water and rushes down the hallway, too, back to her room. She can only hope the reason why Kirumi would be hurrying is simply because she needed to attend to something planned for the ball, but —
She turns the corner and suddenly, she sees Kirumi still running down the hall.
“T-Toujo?” Maki calls out. Kirumi peers over her shoulder, who seemingly, hesitantly forced herself to stop running to face Maki.
“…Harukawa-san? Is something the matter?” Kirumi’s eyes don’t seem to fall on Maki. They seem to continuously look to the side, down the path that she was running.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Maki arches her brows. “Why are you in a rush?”
“… I apologize, Harukawa-san. I must go,” Kirumi lowers her head, turns back and starts to run down her path again.
“T-Toujo?!” Maki calls out, baffled by the other’s inabilities to answer her question. It is then that Maki begins to trod the path chasing after Kirumi.
Kirumi turns her head back as soon as she hears another pair of shoes stomping behind her, “Harukawa-san? What do you need?”
“The answer to my question, Toujo,” Maki raises her voice.
But Kirumi instead picks up the pace — her running speeds up more than Maki expected.
Maki shakes her head in shock, questioning Kirumi’s capabilities as she tries her best to pick up her own pace. Her breathing is as quick as her steps, her chest rising and falling in an unsteady rhythm.
The more Kirumi looks back, the faster Kirumi begins to run. If Maki wasn’t so keen about catching up with Kirumi, she would have been rather impressed.
But she can see that the maid is running toward a door, nearly running past it but grabbing at the doorway to pull herself back. Maki can recognize these hallways now; the door Kirumi stops at — it was Maki’s door.
Maki stops running as soon as she gets to the now-open door, “Toujo, what are you doing?”
The other is busy rummaging through Maki’s wardrobe to respond.
Maki stomps into the room toward the wardrobe, but the maid pushes her hand back against Maki’s shoulder while the other hand slides clothes back and forth furiously.
Maki keeps switching her view from Kirumi’s frantic face to the quickness of the woman’s hands as they pull hangers from side to side.
Cocking her head to the side, Maki laughs mockingly and crosses her arms, “Oh, don’t tell me… Did you actually think I would say yes?”
It is then that Kirumi finally retracts her hand back and reveals a long black pencil dress; the shoulder’s sleeves and chest are veil-like and see-through.
Maki bitterly grins at the dress. “You can’t be serious…”
“I apologize, Harukawa-san,” Kirumi huffs. “I didn’t want to further pressure you since you said you don’t want to take part in the dance.”
“I figured as much,” Maki sighs at the other’s action. “But you went so far as to finding a dress for me? When’d you even sneak this dress into my wardrobe?”
Kirumi remains silent, lowering the dress just enough so the hems of the dress would barely graze the ground.
“Whatever,” Maki shakes her head. “My answer is no.”
“I understand,” Kirumi says, “But I must admit, as soon as I saw this dress I believed that you would look wonderful in it. I couldn’t help but buy it from Shirogane-san for you. You may not wear it for the party, but I’m sure if you did wear it for other events, you will look beautiful.”
“I-I…” Maki tries to protest but she stops as soon as she hears herself stutter at Kirumi’s compliment. She takes a deep breath to regain her composure before attempting again. “It’s nice you did all that… but still, my answer is no.”
Kirumi closes her eyes, “I understand. That is quite alright.” She looks down at the dress.
Maki’s gaze follows, looking at the dress once again. With a lopsided grin of assurance and attempted comfort, she suggests, “It’s okay. Maybe I’ll wear it another time.”
“If you wish,” Kirumi returns the dress back to the wardrobe before closing the wardrobe. The maid turns back to Maki, “Now, I do actually have something I must attend to for the sake of the ball. I hope you have a wonderful day. Perhaps you may change your mind.”
“Oh, I doubt that,” Maki walks toward her bed and sits herself down with her legs crossed.
“That’s fine. I will return with any leftovers later tonight then.” Kirumi smiles, but Maki can tell from her there’s something sad about that smile, but Maki waves it off as something off about her own perception.
Maki merely responds with an “Oh… Alright.”
And with that, Kirumi bows and exits out of the room, slowly closing the door behind her as Maki watches with careful eyes.
Maki sighs before her eyes return to the wardrobe. She gets up to go back to the wardrobe. She picks out the pencil dress that Kirumi had bought for her. Laying it on her arm Maki traces her hand on the fabric of the dress. Soft, almost a velvet-like material.
But as soon as thoughts of going pass her mind, she rapidly puts the dress away and returns to her bed, flopping into the soft mattress.
“No way.” She mutters to herself. She lets herself stare at the blank ceiling, rejecting any thoughts of going to the party before falling asleep.
The hands of the clock in her room read 6:30 PM. By now, Maki could only imagine that the party is starting. It isn’t like Kirumi told her what time the party was taking place either. She hasn’t heard a single word from the prime minister this entire time, so Maki would have figured Kirumi must have been quite busy with planning.
Why would Maki even bother with the time if she said she doesn’t want to go? She’s just been wondering when will be a good time to be wandering outside to get food without getting caught in the business of the party. After all, she isn’t looking completely good either, wearing sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt. If anything she’s just ready for bed. Her hair also looks far too messy from laying in bed to be going outside either.
She’ll just have to wait for Kirumi to come back with the leftover food. Hopefully it’s good.
Knock. Knock.
Oh, that must have been Kirumi… But it seems odd that the party would be over. Maybe Kirumi is just giving Maki the first portion of the food before the guests can get a chance to take it away.
The door opens and from behind steps out a figure that seemed to glow in Maki’s eyes. Everything about the figure is ethereal for Maki: the black hairband that rests neatly on the silver-gray hair; the matching black dress with no sleeves, tattered with spiderweb-like patterns on the hems and chest area; the gray veil that embraces the figure’s shoulders; the black mascara that highlights the glowing cerulean green eyes of the figure; the dark purplish-black thin lips. How odd was it that someone so darkly colored in looks can shine brightly to Maki.
“You look wonderful for the party, Harukawa-san,” Kirumi chuckles.
“O-Oh, uh,” Maki has to pull her eyes away from the other, refraining herself from gazing anymore.
“Is something the matter, Harukawa-san?” Kirumi asks, confused by Maki’s quickness to avert her gaze.
“You look… good,” Maki attempts to compliment, fiddling with her long messy hair.
Kirumi giggles, “I’m flattered, Harukawa-san. I just wanted to come by before the party to see if you are doing alright.”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Really. You can go now.” Maki rubs her eyes, continuing to look away from Kirumi.
“If you insist,” Kirumi bows, but as she places her black gloved hands on the contrasting white doorway, she asks, “Oh, I will try to come back every now and then with some food. Please wait for me.”
“It’s fine. I can wait till after the party. You should deal with your guests,” Maki says.
“Alright.” Kirumi runs her hand down the doorway, “Then I will see you in a bit. Perhaps you may change your mind later and come get the food when it’s fresh.”
“We’ll see about that, but no promises,” Maki flashes a lopsided grin at Kirumi before Kirumi takes off to the party.
That’s when Maki exhales a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in. She runs her hands across her face and shakes her head, folding her hands together against the back of her neck.
“What am I thinking?” She mutters, shaking her head again. Maki’s head just keeps circling back to Kirumi dressed luxuriously; how all the things Kirumi wore complimented everything about her looks.
“What am I thinking?” Maki repeats into her hands that cover her now reddish face. She runs her hands through her hair and shakes her head.
“Nope. No way…” She has to keep telling herself, like a mantra.
But she pauses in her movement. Then, defeatedly, she takes a gulp and lets out a heavy sigh.
She’s going to regret this decision. She’s going to absolutely hate the situation so much. What’s to stop her from already hating this situation? She’s surrounded by random strangers that would sometimes glance back at her and all she can do is shoo them away by glaring daggers back at them. She’s also wearing this incredibly uncomfortable dress (thanks to Kirumi), and what’s saving her is wearing this brown trench coat to hide it so she cannot attract anymore attention to herself.
And all this because Maki just couldn’t stop thinking about Kirumi wearing that dress. She continuously argued in her head before all this, while she was struggling to zip up her dress (that she realized looks rather similar to Kirumi’s own dress), that she was only going because there was food, but the image of Kirumi entering gracefully into her room, looking so formal, looking so... perfect, with the way everything on her looked good — looking so beautiful… Maki had to give in to that belief that Kirumi was undoubtedly the reason for her going.
So stupid, she repeats in her head. If she could, she’d gladly like to hit her head against something. She must have been completely out of her mind.
She hasn’t even seen Kirumi at all at this party. Go figure when there’s just far too many people crowding in the room. Maki also did just come here for the food anyways (she keeps telling herself this), so she decides to station herself in the corner nearby the food table.
So, Maki merely stands, picking at the bits of food on her plate with her fork, leaning her back against the wall and watching the scene of the ballroom; white columns supporting the different floors, all surrounding the central area where many dance. The brooding woman could barely hear the jazzy tune over the incessant chattering of the crowd. People all dressed up in such rich fashion that Maki could have sworn she was dreaming — or rather in someone else’s dreams. Laughter and joy, as well as the bittersweet smell of wine fills the air, and Maki can’t tell from her fidgeting against the wall whether it was making her uneasy or she was enjoying the scene.
Either way, Maki’s only hoping that either she can finish her food up quickly or perhaps Kirumi could appear soon. She could have sworn, from the little bits of the music she can pick up, that she has waited through two or three songs. Looking down at her food, she finds her plate almost empty, and a part of her wants to grab more food. She reasons with herself that she was just starving is all — nothing more than that. Absolutely nothing more than that.
Oh, but the immediate sight of the pale woman Maki’s been looking for makes her freeze up in her place. Among the crowd, Maki spots the other: the way that the other takes small steps, or how her veil is draped around her shoulders, or the way that the long dress trails behind. Maki doesn’t make much note of those that surround the woman, but she can see how the woman’s black lips curl into a smile or a chuckle at her guests’ remarks. Even from a distance, the dark eyeshadow on her makes the woman’s eyes glow more than they usually do —
Stop it. Maki shakes her head. She has to stop herself from being an idiot. Quickly, she returns her attention back to the crumbs of food on her plate, continuously toying with it using her fork.
But no matter how much she tries to force her attention away using the fork and her food, her eyes would keep trying to catch a glimpse of the prime minister and again she would shake her head to rid of her silly thoughts.
Her head shaking and eyes darting increases as soon as she sees the other walking towards her. Despite the loud chattering around her, Maki’s ears begin to hone in on the taps of the other’s heels against the ceramic floor. With the slight tilt upward of her head, Maki can see those heels approaching her, and she isn’t sure whether she should look forward or keep her head down. So her head remains only slightly tilted up at an awkward angle.
“Harukawa-san,” It’s the sweet tone of Kirumi’s voice. Maybe it’s the way that Maki is right now, but her body tenses up at the sound, despite how calming and warm it is. “You decided to attend the party.”
“Yeah,” Maki briefly replies, keeping her head low.
“And I see you’ve gotten your dinner,” Kirumi chuckles quietly at the other, and it makes Maki turn her head away. “Are you enjoying yourself here?”
“The food’s pretty good, I’d say,” Maki cocks her head away from Kirumi.
“I’m glad to hear it, but I’ve noticed you’ve been back here the entirety of the party upon your arrival.”
“You saw me come in?” Maki perks her head up immediately.
“I do have to tend to the guests, so I notice when a new guest has arrived,” Kirumi admits, “But I have to say: you look rather captivating, Harukawa-san.”
“I’m wearing a coat.” Maki blankly states.
“And even then, you look beautiful.” Kirumi calmly smiles.
Maki clenches her plate and sheepishly bows her head. If she didn’t have a better grip on her emotions, Maki is pretty sure she would have dropped her damn plate already.
She almost does when she hears Kirumi laugh more.
“...Having fun?” Maki jeers at Kirumi’s laughter.
“My apologies, Harukawa-san,” Kirumi holds her hand to her chest, “I’ll stop if it makes you uncomfortable.”
“Well, good,” Maki steps away from the other towards the food, trying her best to flee from the situation (that, and she can definitely feel heat on her face; she isn’t quite sure if it’s her or just the vast amount of people crowding in the room).
Kirumi walks after Maki, though, “Will you be staying for the duration of the party?”
“I was only here for the…” Maki turns back, only to be greeted by Kirumi’s looks once again; the woman seemingly close to her. Maki’s voice trails off as she steps back, “Food.”
“Ah, I see,” The woman says. “So you haven’t gotten the chance to dance yet?”
“Toujo,” Maki sighs heavily, cutting the other woman off, “Do you really think that I’d be the type of person to dance?”
“You did come to the ball—”
“Food.” Maki gestures, waving her free hand and her plate to the large table of food.
“I suppose that cannot be helped,” Kirumi shrugs and shakes her head.
“Alright, so I’ll just go back to getting more food then,” Maki excuses herself, but Kirumi reaches out for Maki’s shoulder, the gloved hand brushing against the translucent black sleeves of Maki’s dress, making the assassin jump away and turn sharply back to Kirumi.
“Did you need something, Toujo?” Maki questions.
The way that Kirumi retracts her hand, holding it back to her chest, with her face lowered and eyes averted — almost shyly. Maki could not recall this look on Kirumi. It was as though the other was…
Hesitating.
Maki takes a step closer to Kirumi, “Are you okay?”
“Oh, no. It’s nothing, Harukawa-san,” Kirumi closes her eyes, Maki taking note of that dark eyeshadow that paint the prime minister’s eyelids, little bits of glitter make it shine under the ballroom’s light.
Maki gulps and asks again, “Are you sure? You don’t seem like you’re okay.”
“I didn’t want to step past my boundaries, but I thought perhaps we could share a dance.” Kirumi covers her mouth with her hand.
“... A dance?” Maki raises a brow.
“You did say that you haven’t been to one before. I didn’t think you would come, but now that you’re here…” Kirumi’s gaze falls back on Maki and it almost makes Maki want to shrink in her place, but those light green eyes that make Maki think of a gentle field of grass soften when they come into contact with Maki’s gaze.
“Y-Yeah, I get it,” Maki shakes her head. “You don’t have to explain the rest.”
“I know that you do not wish to. It’s fine, but if it’s alright, I’d like to spend the rest of the night by your side,” Kirumi offers.
Maki falls silent to the woman’s offer. It’s unexpected. Really.
Her thoughts are swimming again, unsure of how to respond to the offer, but she knows deep down she would like that. She finds herself being idiotic for wanting that — for feeling this way. She would blame the fact that Kirumi was being so open about her feelings the other day, saying things like “I’m happy to be by your side” or whatever. Or even when Kirumi would compliment the other.
And yet, the way she has been looking at Kirumi this entire night…
Maki heaves a great big sigh, which makes Kirumi look at the assassin in concern.
“Is something the matter, Harukawa-san? It’s alright if you do not wish to. I— ”
“Come on.”
“Pardon?” Taken aback, Kirumi asks for clarification.
Maki heads to one of the chairs that were laid out for the guests to relax on, placing her plate on the seat before taking off the coat she had been wearing and putting that on the back of the chair. She reluctantly reaches out for Kirumi’s gloved hands, first letting her hand brush against the fabric of Kirumi’s gloves but quickly retracting. With her hand still held out toward the other, she turns away without another word.
Kirumi stares down at the outreached hand, blinking in confusion toward the other’s actions.
In agitation, Maki groans, “Come on, Toujo. Don’t you want to dance?”
Kirumi blinks once more before bringing the hand on her chest to Maki’s. Their fingers elapse over one another, fitting perfectly between each other.
Hurriedly, Maki begins to lead Kirumi toward the ballroom floor, embarrassed at her stupid impulsive decision. “Let’s just get this over with.”
With a lopsided grin, Kirumi nods quietly and follows after Maki.
Meanwhile, Maki can already feel a weight of humiliation and shame overwhelming her. She’s trying to the best of her abilities to balance her nervously shaking self as she walks over; it looks even more ridiculous when she’s wearing flats — not high heels.
The closer they both get to the dance floor, the more Maki feels nervous about this, wanting to deny this request, but she’s already here and her impulsive wants led her here. What kept her from running away was Kirumi also wanting this. It’s the least that Maki can do after all that Kirumi has done for her.
The slow music that plays from the stage fills the air, a simple piano tune; each key rings a tone one after another, like raindrops, solemn in its sound, as though the sky was darkening.
Maki turns nervously to Kirumi, only first looking down to their feet but slowly looking up at Kirumi. Already it has seemed like the two began moving to the sound of each note being played on the piano; Kirumi’s hand delicately placing her hand on Maki’s hip and taking Maki’s hand in her own. Maki shifts under Kirumi’s hand and places her other hand on Kirumi’s exposed shoulder, feeling the other’s soft pale skin under her thin fingers. Kirumi doesn’t seem phased at the touch; no, the other merely smiles at the contact.
“Are you sure you would like to do this?” Kirumi asks the other.
But the other is too busy trying to bite down on her lip to respond with words and only gestures a nod.
Then with the soft rhythm of the tune, they begin to move. Kirumi guides Maki swiftly on the floor; Maki clumsily following after. Maki keeps her eyes glued to the floor, weary that she may trip on her feet or even step on the other’s feet, but she begins to see the pattern to these movements and her messy movements become as swift and flawless as Kirumi’s, and it begins to feel as though they were moving in the air or under the rain: free and refreshing.
Very slowly, as the raindrops begin to pelter, how odd it is to Maki that it seems like the clouds had begun to appear — the violins subtly playing into the piece to support each raindrop of a note. She remembers the hand that supports her hip, her eyes moving from their feet to her hip; the hand guides and keeps Maki at bay with the other, just as gravity pulls in the rain from the clouds.
Daunting does the piano sound, swaying with the violin’s hum, as the two spin gracefully across the dance floor. Things begin to fall away around Maki, until it was simply the assassin and the prime minister in this scenario underneath a dark sky with the clouds and the rain. She does not even focus anymore on the way her feet slide across the floor; she’s only mesmerized how is it that Kirumi can guide her so smoothly.
That’s when Maki finally gets the courage to look at the woman’s face, just when the violin falls away, allowing the piano’s melody to shed light on its own. It is then that Maki’s eyes meet with Kirumi’s, and under the ballroom’s light, she can see the glimmer in Kirumi’s eyes. She can see the sharp features of Kirumi’s face: the curl of the other’s black lips, the sparkles of the eyeshadow that the other used, her pale cheeks, the silver hair that curls perfectly around Kirumi’s round face — a color like a comet streaking the night sky. That is exactly what Kirumi is: that of the midnight sky.
She tries to shake the thoughts away, but the thought protrudes further into her mind, echoing louder and louder with the rhythm of the song that floods her ears, and her urge to remain with this midnight sky, with the rain and the dark clouds, becomes all she wants and thinks about.
But a soft, gentle voice cuts through those melodies that sing; from the black lips that Maki’s eyes stare at now.
“Harukawa-san,” Kirumi’s voice — she speaks quietly, in a slightly whispering tone. “I’m quite happy that I’m able to share this moment with you.”
“I… So am I,” Maki sheepishly mutters.
“You’re actually rather good at dancing,” Kirumi compliments the other, leaning her head down.
“O-Oh…” Maki clears her throat, trying to shy away from the other’s compliments. “It’s not like I’m the one leading anyways.”
“But I’m honored to have you as my partner,” Kirumi’s lips — she smiles the same smile she usually does, and yet it only makes Maki feel tangled in her thoughts — her words. “And it’s made me happy to converse with you for the past couple of days.”
How is it that the two of them made it this far? The assassin and her former target — now dancing together. How did they become so close? So close that they hold each other close now?
The hand Maki places on Kirumi’s shoulder makes its way down Kirumi’s arm.
“I...I’m glad for that, too.” Maki stutters out. “If anything, I have to thank you.”
“Thank me?” Kirumi asks, the two beginning to only sway to the piano and violin’s song.
“For even believing in me,” Maki continues, “For even giving me a chance to help you out… And for even treating me in the way you do.”
“It really is nothing—”
“But it really is something, Toujo,” The assassin’s face glows red as she turns her head away, “After all that I’ve been through, I’ve almost forgotten what living felt like beyond Choukai. And yet, taking me to all those places, treating me so nicely… I began to remember, and things began to feel okay for once. For once, I wasn’t so scared or terrified of just getting out of bed.”
“Harukawa-san…” Maki can feel Kirumi’s grip tighten around her hand.
“I’m just… happy that things turned out this way.” The assassin admits with her head lowered, continuing to sway under Kirumi’s guidance.
But soon, Maki feels Kirumi’s hand let go of her own… and the feeling of that absence freezes Maki in place. Instantly, her words fall and her regret grows, as she pulls herself away from the other. How silly of her to pour out her feelings so carelessly. So idiotically.
Then her body’s cold senses submerge into something warm: an enveloping warmth, and from the warmth, the voice that Maki has grown to love speaks out, “And I’m just as happy.”
Kirumi’s body presses against Maki’s own, as the two stand there in an embrace.
Slowly, Maki wraps her arms around Kirumi’s body and pulls the other in toward her. How long must it have been since the last time she was able to embrace someone like this, she wonders. So long that it is beginning to overwhelm the assassin, pouring her emotions out as tears in her eyes.
And they stay in each other’s embrace for some time, as the piano and violin turn into low hums. Just the two and the music, unaware of what else goes on around them. Just happy to be there with each other.
“Did I ever mention how beautiful you looked?” Kirumi whispers. Maki only buries her face into Kirumi’s shoulder, trying to hide her blushing face away, but she’s sure by now, Kirumi’s already caught on to how Maki feels in the situation.
“...You’re not too bad looking yourself,” Maki mutters quietly. She can hear Kirumi softly gasp before holding Maki more tightly. Warm… It’s so warm for Maki, as though she and Kirumi were back under the sun at the park together on the bench. A moment of intimacy that was unfamiliar yet feels so natural to her.
But as the music is starting to quiet down, all that is left is the piano playing the echoes of the song, Maki pulls herself slightly away from Kirumi’s embrace.
Sensing the other’s movement, Kirumi looks down at the other, “Harukawa-san?”
Maki’s eyes gloss over the way Kirumi says her name and it makes Maki want to melt back into Kirumi’s warm embrace again.
Kirumi’s face — Kirumi’s lips — so close to Maki’s own. And her need to be in that embrace again, it grows stronger and stronger with each second — each note of the song — each heartbeat in her chest.
“Toujo… could I…” Could she really? Is she even allowed to feel this way?
Kirumi’s eyes look down to Maki’s pursed lips and happily she slightly nods.
Maki takes that urge she’s been holding without a single hesitation. Her head leans in closer, and she can see that Kirumi is leaning in closer, too, black eyelids shielding those cerulean green that Maki has come to adore so much. She can feel those black lips graze her own lips. So close to hers —
Slam. A sound booms through the ballroom like a thunderclap. Suddenly the facade Maki has been caught up in falls into silence, as she recalls the area around her.
“What’s going on?” Kirumi instantly pulls away from Maki, looking behind her towards the grand white entrance doors.
When Maki leans to the side to see past Kirumi’s shoulders, she can see a male figure running towards them, frantically calling.
“Toujo-san! Please go! Run!” The male yells, still running to Kirumi.
“Saihara-san? What’s going on?” Kirumi steps towards him, but immediately, the male harshly grabs Kirumi’s shoulders.
Maki jolts at the sight but stops when he continues to yell — almost hysterically, “Toujo-san, there’s no time! You have to run. Now!”
Another boom reverberates into the now silent ballroom. Then a scream. A cacophony of screams blending into one another.
With the increasing screams, people are rushing away from the scene in a hurry.
The three turn back to the door, and at the door, a large crowd of people march into the ballroom, all holding guns. They all pull the triggers and the gun roars as bullets fly.
The three are all frozen at the sight, but Shuuichi quickly turns back to Kirumi, pushing her back, “You have to go now!”
Kirumi hesitatingly steps back, but Maki knows what’s happening. She has to take Kirumi out of here. She has to take Kirumi to some place hidden away from here.
Instantly, Maki grabs a hold of Kirumi and drags the other away from the door. Her mind is set on where she has to take Kirumi. Holding Kirumi’s hand, the two make their way as quickly as they could towards one of the white columns. That’s where one of the hidden doors of the building was.
People are running all around in a state of panic, screaming as the guns are firing into the crowd; the mesh of noise making it hard to focus. Soon, individuals begin to fall as their screams become silent. The ceramic floor now flooding with a deep red that Maki knows too well with deep bitterness — stained and tainted with blood.
Kirumi pulls back on Maki’s hand. Maki frustratedly turns back, pulling Kirumi back towards her, “Toujo! What are you doing?”
“I cannot let my people die like this! I have to do something!” Kirumi cries loudly.
“There’s nothing you can do! Come on!” Maki forcefully pulls Kirumi back on the track they were fleeing on. “Security will deal with it! You have to live!”
Kirumi keeps her eyes on the scene as she gets further and further away from the dance floor. The lively people that were cheering moments ago are shrouded with fear and anxiety … or in death’s gloom. It’s enough to sicken her to the stomach, but she knows she must turn away for now.
People clear out of the area in a frenzy. Their path is getting clearer to reach the column and Maki sprints on, pulling Kirumi with all the strength she had.
But suddenly, in Maki’s sight, she spots two men heading towards her and Kirumi. She stops in her path and reaches down to her leg. She pulls up her skirt everso slightly to reveal a knife sheath around her leg. Maki takes the small blade out of its holder and uses herself to block Kirumi.
The two men get closer, ready to grab for Kirumi, but something stops them. Nervously they pose, ready to defend, but one calls out under his mask, “M-Maki?”
“Harukawa? What the hell?”
Maki narrows her eyes at them, remaining in her position and blocking their path to Kirumi with her other arm.
“Come on. What are you doing?! Kill the prime minister already!” One of the men shout angrily.
Maki’s eyes dart between the two. One of the men is slightly shorter than she is, while the other is about her height. She can easily dodge them without dealing any damage.
She grabs hold of Kirumi’s hand once more. She rushes between the two men, both still dumbfounded by Maki’s actions.
They scream at her to stop and they begin to fire their guns at her, but miraculously, Maki and Kirumi continue to run without a single one of the bullets grazing their skin.
Maki pulls Kirumi forward and flings Kirumi toward the column.
“Go, Toujo!” Maki shouts as she turns around to face the two men.
Kirumi calls back, “Harukawa-san?!”
“No! Just go! I’ll be fine!” Maki rushes toward sthe two, ready to plunge that sharp knife in her hand into them. She immediately makes a beeline to the shorter male, but he blocks Maki with the side of his machine gun.
The male struggles to push Maki away, while Maki tries to pull the gun away from him.
“M-Maki?! What are you doing?!” He shouts, but Maki remains silent in all of this.
His failure to focus allows Maki to break the male’s grasp on the gun. She takes it into her hand ready to shoot the male.
Until the taller male kicks her shin, knocking her onto the ground. Maki’s grip on the gun remains strong.
“We thought you died! Why the hell are you with the enemy? Why are you with that damned Ultimate?!” The taller male’s low voice screams at her. He stomps towards her, aiming with his gun towards her head.
Maki pulls the gun from underneath her and aims at the male, instantly pulling the trigger and riddling the staunch male’s body with bloody holes.
“No!” The shorter male screams. “Maki, why?!”
Cold. Maki feels cold, and her arms are shaking. No… her entire body is shaking. She hated this feeling — this feeling she knows far too well for her liking. But this isn’t the time to feel this way.
“Just get out of here,” Maki warns the male. “Just let us go.”
“No! We are soldiers for the Regime! We’re supposed to kill those stupid pathetic Ultimates! We should be in charge of us! Don’t you want that?!” He continues to scream at the fallen assassin.
“But killing the Ultimates isn’t the way! It never was!” Maki screams back.
The male scoffs, “You… They’ve got you brainwashed, don’t they? Damnit, Maki... What will the Commander think of you now?”
“Shut up…”
“So weak…”
“Shut up.”
“So stupid.”
“Shut up!”
“You really should’ve just died before we found you here,” The male shakes his head, a bitter lopsided grin grimacing his face.
“SHUT UP!” Maki screams, her hoarse voice louder than the guns firing around them. Her finger pulls back on the trigger.
But the bullet wounds she anticipated were nowhere on him, only a single stab wound through the man’s chest. As the man falls, she sees a bloodied knife through his back.
Behind him stands Kirumi, staring coldly at the falling body.
“Toujo?” Maki calls out, but Kirumi doesn’t respond. Kirumi only rushes to Maki. Maki quickly scours the area and finds her discarded knife close to her. She grabs it quickly before Kirumi forces Maki up with a single pull of Maki’s arm.
They have to go. They have to go hide.
As the two run away, Maki looks back at her fallen former comrades and finds herself disgusted at the sight. But she pulls herself away from looking for too long.
She has to head to the column and back to that jail cell.
After going through several different corridors of the hidden maze in the building, Maki and Kirumi make it into the jail cell. As soon as the both of them enter, the two slump over and collapse on the ground. Maki takes a moment to catch her breath, her chest rising and falling quickly. It’s been a while since she felt so… shaky and felt such a large adrenaline rush. Now that she’s resting, she can feel that rush wearing her down. Her breathing slows down and with a final exhale, Maki turns to Kirumi.
There, she sees Kirumi leaning against the bars of the jail cell, still in her seat but her face twisted in agony.
Nervously, Maki reaches her hand out toward Kirumi’s field of vision, “Toujo? Are you alright?”
The closer she got, the more she sees that Kirumi’s eyes have darkened and have become wet with tears.
As soon as Kirumi’s eyes meet Maki’s, the maid is quick to brush her fingers across her eyes to dry them.
“Oh, Harukawa-san…”
“Are you… hurt?” Maki asks.
Kirumi shakes her head, keeping her head lowered, fingers rubbing against the veil that used to be around her shoulders. Her frail fingers forcefully rub and press against each other through the fabric.
“Hey, thanks for saving me earlier.” Maki nods, trying to break through Kirumi’s focus on the veil.
“It’s nothing,” The other replies emptily — no intonation to her voice as she said it, almost robotic in her sound than anything.
And Maki can feel why Kirumi would act this way. She scoots herself closer to Kirumi and gently rubs Kirumi’s arms in attempts to comfort her, “You know it couldn’t be helped…”
Kirumi shakes her head again, “I’m not quite sure if it was inevitable…I could have done something. I could have done something to protect everyone. No one could have been harmed in all of this. And I killed someone…”
“But you saved me. I would have been dead because of him.” Maki quietly denies, “And no one knew that they were going to attack us today…”
“Even so, I…” Kirumi begins to weep, quickly bringing her hand to her face to hide away. Between sobs, she speaks out, “I should have planned something and acted earlier than this.”
“Toujo…It really couldn’t be helped. You need a plan to figure this out. With a short span of time, there’s no way you could win against the Regime.” Maki mutters.
“So long as it kept everyone safe, then I do not care if I wither away. I’d rather die for my citizens than have them die for me.” Kirumi grumbles under her breath.
“But they need their leader, Toujo. They need you.” Maki reminds the other. She takes Kirumi’s hand into hers and squeezes it tightly. “You have to help them out of this situation, and I know that you can. That’s why we need you.”
“I’m not entirely sure if I’m proficient enough for this job anymore.” Kirumi rubs her forehead.
“You are. You absolutely are.” Maki insists. “What you’re doing now is good. It’ll take time and I’ll try to help you, but we’ll get there, Toujo.”
Kirumi doesn’t respond though, only sobbing more than before, and something in Maki’s chest pains her to see Kirumi — someone she’s come to know as well composed — broken down like this.
But she finds herself unable to find the right words and it only leaves Maki feeling angry at herself.
So all she can do is hold Kirumi’s hand in her own, squeeze it tightly, and let her know that she’s here for Kirumi.
“You’re fine as it is, Toujo… Don’t worry…” Maki tries to assure once again.
In response, Kirumi squeezes Maki’s hand in return, and quietly, she answers, “Thank you…”
Suddenly, the door of the room opens. The two immediately stand up, and Maki instantly blocks Kirumi, holding her knife toward the door.
But as soon as the figure steps inside, Maki lowers her knife.
“Toujo-san… Thank god,” It’s Shuuichi, the male that ran in before the bloody incident. “You’re okay. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. If I knew before, I would have come sooner.”
“It’s alright, Saihara-san,” Kirumi murmurs, wiping her face as she tries to recuperate from her crying. “What’s going on outside? Did everyone leave unharmed?”
In an instant, Shuuichi’s face twists in pain and remorse. Kirumi slowly shakes her head in disbelief, holding her hands to her face.
“I’m… so sorry, Toujo-san. It’s all my fault this all happened. I should’ve—”
“Saihara-san, you did your best. For that, I am grateful,” Kirumi assures. Shuuichi silently stares at Kirumi, appalled by her response.
Shuuichi continues, “Security tried their best, but… not everyone made it…But most people were able to escape when they counted.”
“Alright…” Kirumi responds.
Sensing Kirumi’s distraught, Maki decides to take hold of the conversation, “Saihara, how’s the situation up there?”
“O-Oh, uh,” Surprised by the other girl’s suddenly speaking up, Shuuichi adjusts himself to look at Maki, “Everything’s died down. The intruders all left. So, I’d say it’s safe to leave from here. Security sent me to come get you as soon as they said everything is okay now.”
Maki nods.
“I sense that you have something that you want to say,” Kirumi speaks up.
Shuuichi nods quietly.
“Understood. Why don’t you tell me, Saihara-san?” Kirumi asks, eyes narrowed towards the other.
“Let’s get out of here first. And then we’ll talk.” Shuuichi advises, determination weighing in the words he speaks.
And to those words, Kirumi shall trust.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 2/13 Fandom: Dangan Ronpa 十神 - 佐藤友哉 | Dangan Ronpa: Togami - Satou Yuuya, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Harukawa Maki/Tojo Kirumi Characters: Harukawa Maki, Tojo Kirumi, Saihara Shuichi Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Action & Romance, Drama, I'm not super good with tags, tags to be added later, Manipulation, kirumaki Summary:
[KiruMaki Prime Minister/Assassin AU] In light of the new prime minister, Kirumi Toujou, an uprising has occurred, making the town scream in riots against those entitled to the name “Ultimate.” This uprising, however, believes that they can make all their troubles go away: an Ultimate as a tool to resolve all their issues.