The Lies That Cover The Truth [Oumasai/Saiouma]

Maki

After breaking things off with Kaito because he was being--well an asshole to her things ended up getting better for her. She felt better connected to others and wanted to be able to see how she can experience more of the things that come with friendship and relationships with others. Seeing as when she was growing up she never was given that proper opportunity.

The halls were quiet half an hour after school ended. Maki took this time to let herself think about things. She would sit under a tree and just look up at the sky while relaxing a bit in the shade. Technology was something Maki saw as a distraction, especially social media. Nowadays it seems to be the only thing people are doing in the reserve course. Oddly enough most of the ultimate students aren't on technology as much and spend most of their time honing their own skills and spending time with others.

She smiled to herself knowing how even though her talent...is one that is more intimidating, the ultimates always made her feel more welcome. They would come to talk to her during lunch and even come to her when they needed help with a project or subject. When she was with Kaito he ended up just hiding her away like he was ashamed of being with her. This was the main reason why she dumped him. And god did he deserve it.

Her smile fell as the memories of Kaito came back into her mind. Why was she so foolish? Why did she end up wasting so much time with someone who obviously didn't care about her at all? She criticized herself for her actions...as she has been ever since she was in a relationship with Kaito. 'Wait...why did I even get into a relationship with him in the first place?'

The question came to her mind just as the wind came blowing through her hair. She moved her hands to hold her hair in place so it wouldn't get in her eyes so she could focus on her thoughts. 'Okay...I remember that when he was good friends with Shuichi and Kaede that I had feelings for him. His smile always seemed so confident and so welcoming...'

She loved a lot of things about him...but when she got to see the real him, she realized that getting this close to him was a mistake. Kaede seemed to be the one who would always go along with his dumb actions to cause others pain or even just being a jerk to others. Even though after some time has passed Maki has been talking to Kaede more and realized that the only reason she stayed so close to Kaito was because of family connections.

Kaede's family is one that had humble beginnings and only ended up getting money from her talent taking off...but then that's when the whole self-image thing came in. Her mother was very full of herself and her father was an egoistic man...so Kaede ended up getting caught up in their ideals and feeling trapped in what was expected of her. When all she wanted to do was play the piano and make her friends smile while being nice to everyone she sees.

Knowing this Maki ended up becoming good friends with Kaede to hopefully help her see that even though her parents seem to have all the control in her life--she can still be independent in certain aspects of her life without making things between them more stressful.

She smiled a bit just thinking about her, but she soon turned her thoughts back to Kaito. She hates leaving her thoughts unanswered so they end up festering...she dislikes having to then deal with them later.

Kaito invited her into his life and seemed to promise a good relationship with memories that would last forever...when really he just wanted to use her as a status symbol. It was almost like it was a flex on other students, telling them that he was "better than them" for getting an "unattainable girl". Maki rolled her eyes a bit, feeling even more annoyed with how she ended up not realizing his true colors sooner.

But now that Kaito was out of her life and out of the way, she could finally move on. She always enjoyed the time she spent alone with her thoughts but being able to talk to another person always ended up keeping her grounded so she didn't dive too deeply into her thoughts.

Speaking of which...Maki remembered that Kaede said she was staying after school to work on some things as well as being able to play the piano a bit before going home. "Maybe I could go and spend some time with her. It sounds fun, but even just being able to hear her play the piano is nice," Maki whispered blushing a bit as she smiled.

It was nice to be able to have a friend as great and understanding as Kaede...even if she had to wait for her walls to come down to be able to see her for who she really is on the inside.

Maki walked to the music room and heard some pleasant piano music on the way there. It made the tense feeling in her shoulders fade away when she heard it. "Kaede," She said walking into the room, seeing Kaede sitting at the piano. She took note that her hands were shaking a bit and her shoulders seemed tense.

"Are you...doing alright?" Maki asked moving over to sit next to Kaede. Kaede looked over at her as her hands stopped playing. "Ah sorry I didn't hear you come in! Sometimes the piano just takes me out of the present moment," She laughed a bit as her cheeks flushed pink. Maki smiled softly.

"You don't have to apologize Kaede. I wanted to ask if maybe we could play together? I know I'm not that good but maybe you could-"

"Teach you? Yes, I would love to!" Kaede smiled at her and she felt happy. "Thank you," She said, letting her walls come down again. Kaede was oddly the only one she felt this comfortable around, but they were playing music together, so it should be good for both of them.

"Okay, so we can start with some basic keys" Kaede moved to grab Maki's hand to move it over some keys. Maki let her do this and watched her movements. Kaede soon then moved her fingers on top of Maki's to be able to guide her into learning the keys.

Maki felt happy, happy that she has a real friend. But not like the friends Shuichi and Kokichi were to her...this was something different. She just wasn't sure what it could be.