𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 - 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚 𝐱 𝐊𝐲𝐨𝐤𝐨

4 - First Kisses

KYOKO'S POV:
"Do you want to?" Celeste asked me. Was she simply just curious about this, or was she attempting to flirt with me? Either way, it was preposterous to do such a thing given the fact that A: I had feelings for Makoto and B: I wasn't even interested in girls. Well, it had been something that had crossed my mind in the past, but never anything enough worth noting. Either way, I was most likely over complicating things, but I could never tell Celeste's true intentions. I felt my face get red hot and my palms get sweaty.

"Maybe.." I gulped. "Why do you ask?" Celeste's eyes widened.

"Well, normally I would say win another round first, but... you want to kiss Mister Naegi, do you not?" Celeste cocked her head to the side and smiled. Was she curious, or jealous? Did she like Makoto? Did I even like Makoto, or was I trying to put thoughts into my head?

"Celeste, I'm not so sure I even like Makoto." I admitted.

"Hm? But, the emotions you said about him seemed so... real, my dear." Celestia questioned, a genuine puzzled expression on her face.

I began to panic. Did I like Celeste? "I know it sounds stupid, but I think I just might be describing someone else."

Celeste's mouth dropped as her tea cup fell straight out of her hand. "Holy shit... who?"

"I don't really want to say— It's complicated, and I-have-to-go-now-bye-thank-you!" I blurted out as I bolted out of her room and to my dorm, locking the door behind me. Oh Kyoko, what have you gotten yourself into now? She probably thinks I like her, which isn't true at all. I see her a puzzle that I want to solve — another mystery, just like a crime case. Besides, out of school, she would be the exact kind of culprit I would hate.

"How dare she mess with my head!" I yelled, then covered my mouth. Then, I heard a knock on my door. I opened it, figuring it was Celeste, but I was surprised to see Makoto standing right there.

"Kyoko..." Makoto began. I was surprised to see him here. Sure, we had talked a bit in class and hung out during free time a little, but I didn't consider us close enough for him to want to come visit my dorm. He sighed. "I know we don't talk much... but... something about me is so mesmerized by you. You're so enchanting, beautiful, intelligent..." he trailed off, and handed me a bouquet of cherry blossoms.

"Oh, Makoto!" I smiled. "This is so sweet..." I figured this moment, which I assumed was unattainable, would feel a lot better than it did. For some reason, it just felt... average. I loved cherry blossoms, and I thought I loved Makoto... but perhaps... not? Before I could finish my thoughts, he looked deep into my eyes.

He rested his hand on the side of my face, leaned in, and kissed me passionately. He didn't taste bad, nor necessarily good. It just was. Did this mean he was not with Sayaka, either? For some reason, when we kissed, I couldn't keep Celeste out of my head.

We broke the kiss, and he smiled at me. I smiled back the best I could, seeing a familiar pair of red eyes just behind Makoto in the open doorway. Celestia looked at me, then Makoto, then back at me. I went to greet her, but she turned around silently, then walked away.

"Is everything okay, Kyoko?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah! Sorry — I just— long night." I replied, a nervous wreck. I didn't like Makoto... but he thought that I had feelings for him... He was caring, that's for sure. I knew he would treat me well. He closed the door to the room and frowned.

He sat on my bed and gestured for me to lay down next to him. I laid down on my back, and he gently played with my hair. It was nice, but he wasn't what I truly wanted — I wanted someone unique. Eventually, Makoto laid down next to me. I laid on top of him and silently cried into his chest until I fell asleep.

☾ ☾ ☾

I woke up abruptly to Makoto shaking me awake. "Kyoko! We're late for class!" I shot up, brushed off my clothes and fixed my hair, and followed him out the door. We entered class with 28 pairs of eyes staring at us. We both looked at each other for some sort of comfort and chuckled awkwardly in an attempt to laugh it off. We took our seats. I noticed Celeste kind of dozing off and doing her own little thing. I appreciated her not being so intrusive like everyone else.

After a very awkward class period, I started to walk to the cafeteria when Celeste stood in my path. "I'm not so sure I even like Makoto." She echoed from earlier, pain in her eyes. She looked like she hadn't slept in days. Did Celeste like Makoto...? She had openly described that I could do better than him, but maybe it was out of jealousy.

"Celeste... it all happened so fast..." I admitted abruptly as the other students walked past us. Celeste sighed deeply.

"Kyoko!" A familiar male voice called, making its way towards me. Makoto looked at me, then Celeste. "Hi!" He smiled. "Want to walk to lunch with me?"

I took a deep breath inward as Celeste was already making her way away from us. "Sure, Makoto." I obliged. Lunch was pleasant, him and I talked about true crime and hopes for the future. He was quite the optimist, unlike everyone else at Hope's Peak. I would definitely want to be friends with Makoto, but I didn't think this was who I wanted to be in a relationship with. He cared about me, he was honest... so why couldn't I get Celeste out of my head? I snapped out of my thoughts, realizing I had been staring at Celeste the entire time Makoto was talking. I felt so guilty for making her jealous...

                                   ☾ ☾ ☾

After school, I knocked on Celeste's door. No answer. Shit. Was she really ignoring me? She didn't strike me as someone petty enough for the silent treatment. I decided to give up, and I walked around the halls. I landed in the library to find Makoto playing chess with Celeste. What... the... fuck?

"Hi, Kyoko!" Makoto smiled. "We're playing a game of chess but with a twist. The loser gets to ask the other a question."

I looked at Celeste, puzzled. Was she trying to get Makoto to like her by playing this game? What sort of questions could she be asking him..? "Mind if I play a round with Celeste, Makoto?" I asked. He nodded, and stood up to watch.

We cleared the board, and I made my first move. Celeste looked confused. This was a game of strategy, not luck or cheating. It was my speciality. I always think 10 steps ahead, so chess was a piece of cake for me. Each time a piece was moved, Celeste looked into my eyes intensely. A few minutes went by, then...

"Checkmate." I announced, monotone.

"What do you want to ask?" Celeste questioned quietly.

"Why are you so desperate to get in between Makoto and I?" I blurted out. Byukuya shushed me from a distance. Celeste remained quiet for a moment.

"I am not." Celeste replied, "I have no idea what you are inferring, Miss Kirigiri."

"Though you may be the Queen of Liars, Celeste, I.. I can call out this one."

"Maybe... I have developed feelings for Makoto." Celeste admitted, a slight smile on her face. Why was she smiling? As this was said, Makoto fled the library. He was probably way too uncomfortable because of this awkward situation.

"Celeste... what are you trying to do?"