What Rules Cannot Hold (A Naekusaba story)

Chapter 21

The festival was to take place in a few days and preparations were well underway. Countless booths and small entertainment venues had to be made, ranging from stages for musical and theatrical performances to DIY workshops and food stands. Many students weren't eager to participate and some tried to skip the preparations by usual excuses, but Kyoko, one of the students responsible for supervising the festival, often saw through their malingering. However, the idea behind the festival received universal approbation; few ultimates weren't burned out by the daily cultivation of the same talent done ad nauseam. Besides, the festival was a good chance for the students to show off their abilities in front of reserve course students and those coming from Hope's Peak Elementary School. The headmaster initially intended this event to be less grand but changed his mind when Kyoko reminded him that, if the festival succeeded, it'd bolster the school's tarnished reputation - and so he acquiesced. 

During this busy time, Makoto gave Kazuichi a helping hand in making the booth that the mechanic envisaged for himself. 

''A rocket ship will stand in the middle...my other inventions will be displayed around it and then...'' The pencil Kazuichi used to sketch his idea zoomed frantically across the page, leaving notes and drawings unrelated to what he was saying. 

''W-Where are the parts for a rocket ship? Or are you talking about a cardboard one?'' Makoto asked and looked over at the measly set of metals, scraps and gadgets that they had gathered together. There might've been enough to craft something small, but not of the dimensions equal to what Kazuichi demanded. 

''No, not a cardboard one! C'mon, Makoto...but you do have a point...'' He stopped sketching and walked up to one of the scrap piles, pulling out bent aluminium plates. ''Damn it. I thought that we'd have enough.''

''Maybe we should go along with a different idea-''

''No,'' Kazuichi stated, facing Makoto with an unusually serious expression. ''There's something else we could do.'' 

''That being?'' Though he respected Kazuichi, after hearing about his desire to build a rocket ship for the festival, Makoto expected to be an accomplice in another comical idea. 

''The research labs,'' Kazuichi whispered and smiled slyly. ''We'll definitely find something there, probably much more than we'll need!'' 

''You want to rob the research labs?'' 

''Hey, don't put words in my mouth! I never said that we'll rob them!'' Then Kazuichi fell silent, quite aware that he was in the wrong. ''We'll just borrow some stuff and bring it back after the festival...''

''You should come up with something else instead of that rocket ship, that will save us the trouble.'' Upsetting Kazuichi wasn't his goal, but Makoto was certain that sneaking into research labs to steal their contents would afflict his friend more harshly than a simple change in plans. 

Kazuichi eventually returned to his diagrams, mournfully crossing out his first project. In the meantime, Makoto continued segregating the miscellany of metals as he was earlier requested to do. Again, his mind naturally trailed to wondering about Mukuro and how much he missed her. 

The hectic chase was fresh in his mind, while his inward confession didn't fail to intensify the memory of what he felt when they were embracing each other; the belief that he should've confessed his love back then gained more ground every time he relished the memory of that moment. He rebuked himself for indulging in these memories so carelessly, for they always left him yearning for Mukuro's presence, which violated his promise that he'd protect her by avoiding her when it wasn't necessary. His deceptive luck didn't disappear - and wouldn't. But he struggled to fight love, so something different had to be done.