Limitless

Chapter 40: Empty Eyes

Warning: I've got tissues! Everyone take one because you might need it!

The room was far too quiet for Maki's liking. The only thing that she could hear was the muffled sobbing from the elders' bedroom and Kaito's steady breathing. Maki wanted to leave. She didn't want to be here in this room and be reminded of her overwhelming guilt. She wanted to get up and run. She wanted to run from this room. She wanted to run form this house. She just wanted to run. However, no matter how much she wanted to run away, she couldn't bring herself to. Maybe it was the guilt weighing her down and punishing her for this happening. Or maybe she needed to be with him. Maki didn't know why she was still sitting on her chair, but she started to doubt if she wanted to leave. Kaito continued to stare at the ceiling, seemingly unaware of her being there. He hadn't responded to his grandparents other then blinking automatically. Would he respond to Maki? It was a stupid hope, an impossible hope, but...

"I don't know how to start off this. But I need to let this out now, or else I'll regret it forever if I don't. I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I hope that you can." Maki suddenly started talking, her voice struggling to stay strong. She didn't know if she was just wasting her breath, but she truly wanted to get this off her chest. Kaito didn't show any signs of hearing her. Maki's fists balled up, clenching tightly at her jeans. She took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from crying again. "Before I met you, I gave up on trying to connect with people. I thought that I would be lonely forever. You were the first one to speak to me without being afraid of me. You listened to me when I didn't know that I needed someone to. You never saw me as a weapon. You saw me as a normal girl, something that no one made me feel like for I don't know how long. You made me happy." Maki had to take another deep breath as she felt her chest tighten suddenly. Her throat suddenly felt like it was dry. She fought hard to not give in to her emotions or need to cry. Maki watched Kaito to see if he could react to her. Nothing. Kaito only stared at the ceiling with his soulless eyes. His body hadn't moved, not even a twitch. He didn't say anything to help comfort her. Maki bit her lip nervously before glancing at the door. Seeing no one there nor hearing anyone coming to the room, she slowly got up and sat on the bed.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't save you. I'm sorry that I couldn't stop them in time." Maki continued, her hand subconsciously interlocking fingers with Kaito's free hand. "I understand if you can't forgive me for it. But I'm going to make you one promise that I'll never break." Maki's grip on Kaito's hand tightened as she felt tears starting to go down her face. She gently stroked Kaito's forehead as she leaned down to his head. A little closer now, she could just see the marks on his head from where he was shocked. Another painful reminder that she had failed to save him. Maki tried to ignore it as she did her best to focus on what she needed to say.

"I promise that I'll keep you and your family safe." Maki whispered into Kaito's ear. Even if she couldn't save Kaito, the least that she could do was keep him and his grandparents safe from any harm. She felt like that's what she could do to try to make up for the damage that had been done. Maki pulled back a little, looking into Kaito's empty eyes. Unable to stop herself, she gently placed her lips onto his, but only for two seconds. His lips felt cold and dry as she kissed him. Maki gently pulled back, looking into his eyes again. "I love you..." If this were some land of make believe, this would be the moment when Kaito woke up from this state, like how Snow White and Sleeping Beauty woke up from their sleep by their princes. Maki wished this was the case as she pulled her face away from Kaito.

Nothing...

Maki sighed quietly, tears flowing faster down her face. Her tears landed on Kaito's cheeks, as if he were crying too. She promptly wiped them away, trying to erase any evidence as to what she had done. Again, Kaito didn't say or move in reaction as to what she was doing. Maki slowly started to stand up, wanting to break away from this depressing and empty atmosphere. Maki stood up from the bed, her body still feeling heavy with the guilt she was feeling. However, when she tried to pull her hand away, she found that she couldn't. Not because she wanted to stay, but because she couldn't get her hand away from Kaito's. Did he subconsciously tighten on her hand slightly? Maki's puffy eyes watched intently as Kaito's fingers twitched a little. The movement was small, but Maki saw it as plain as day. The fingers twitched a little more as they slowly gripped tighter to Maki's hand. The grip was strong as their fingers interlocked perfectly. Maki wiped her eyes with her free arm, making sure that she wasn't hallucinating.

It wasn't a dream! This was real!

Maki watched Kaito's face as it twitched slightly. He let out a quiet groan as he blinked and squinted his eyes. After blinking a few times, his gaze finally settled on the girl standing by him.

"M-Maki Roll...?" He asked, his voice sounding dry and slow. Maki had to do a mental check to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating this moment. As he slowly sat up, Kaito looked around the room that he was in, his eyes lighting up with realisation. "Wait...isn't this-" Kaito didn't get a chance to finish as Maki leapt at him, wrapping her arms around him. He was stunned for a minute before his arms slowly wrapped around Maki. The tears that Maki shed returned as she felt Kaito hug her. She felt light, like all the guilt that she had was suddenly gone. Kaito rubbed her back. He was saying something, but Maki couldn't hear it. She was too far into this emotion to hear what was being said. She could feel Kaito's grip tighten as she felt her shoulder suddenly feeling damp. Was Kaito crying? Maki pulled back a little, seeing small tears going down Kaito's cheeks. She quickly tried to wipe them away, which prompted Kaito to try to wipe away her tears. Maki smiled wearily before she held it together for a few seconds.

"Mr and Mrs Momota!" She shouted, turning to the doorway. Kaito blinked at her a few times to process what she had said. Upon hearing two sets of footsteps and as Maki pulled away, he turned to look at the doorway. His grandparents were standing there, both looking emotionally drained.

"Gramps? Grandma?" Kaito asked, his tears starting to fall faster down his face. He sounded uncertain, as if he thought that he was still trapped in the state that he was in. His grandparents only answered by rushing over to him. Maki stood back as the elders engulfed Kaito in their arms, holding him tightly. She immediately ran out of the room, calling out to everyone else to tell them the good news. Kaito held his grandparents close to him just as tight as they held him. All the loneliness and emptiness that was in this room was suddenly gone. It was filled only with overwhelming sense of happiness and being complete. A family that was forced apart was now back together again.

"We thought we lost you, son." Kaito's grandfather barely let out as he and his wife started to cry. Kaito felt the salty tears from both of his grandparents hit his shoulders. The last time he remembers seeing them cry like this was when he lost his parents. It hurt worse than a knife to Kaito as they openly cried in front of him.

"You won't lose me that easily." He cried, unable to stop his own tears from flowing. He was told that a man shouldn't cry, but that was erased from his memory almost immediately. Kaito didn't care if he was crying right now. He was just happy to be home. He felt complete as he was held by the family that means so much to him. He felt warm and safe, more than he had ever done before.

After so long, he was finally home.