Atrocities

Chapter 10

It was 2 months since Kaede had been arrested, and now it was time for court.

With the help of Shuichi, he saved up for the bail money. But not even knowing she got out wasn't enough to help him stay calm.

Shuichi paced the hospital room with his face in his palms.

"It's going to be okay! Just calm down!" Maki said.

Shuichi whipped his head to Maki and began to shout, "How can I calm down!? We're getting ready for court! Court! I wasn't outside when it happened! I don't know who said what, or who hit who first, nothing!" Shuichi tossed himself on the chair and sobbed.

Maki rubbed Shuichi's back. "Well, Kaito can't go because the receptionist is being an asshole, so now I'll have to sneak him out again while you're getting your shit together."

Shuichi began to scream, his eyeliner dripping down his cheeks like two black rivers.

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT KAITO."

Maki jumped. She never heard Shuichi yell before.

Shuichi caught his breath.

"Look, I'm sorry-"

He didn't even get to finish. Before he knew it, Maki was already stomping out of the hospital in fury.

Kaito came back from the bathroom when he saw Maki walking away. "I heard Shuichi yell. Is everything okay?"

Maki huffed with warm salty tears dripping down her face. Her eyes were puffy, her cheeks and nose were as red as cherries, and her nose was stuffed up.

"Does it seem like I'm okay? This whole court case has gotten through Shuichi's head!"

Kaito pulled Maki to his body and rested her head on his chest as he stroked her hair.

"Shh. I'll talk to him, dollface. I'm sure he didn't mean to get upset with you."

The drive to the courthouse wasn't a talkative one. Only the sound of summer rain against the window and Kaito's radio broke the silence.

Kaito wanted to say something, but he felt as if that'd make things worse.

He was right.

He was gonna remind Maki of how he keeps his emotions in check when he's feeling down, but that would just revert to Maki taking it the wrong way and a 30-minute argument.

Once they arrived, Kaito kissed Maki's cheek before he got out. It wasn't just a romantic gesture. It was more than that. It was a reminder to Maki that she shouldn't be so impatient with him, because that could've been the last kiss she got from him before his time would come.

The courthouse was cold. But not temperature-wise. Feeling-wise. Kids, adults, and elders were taking their seats. The tone of the room felt like Maki was signing a death warrant. And to make matters worse, Nurse Yadashi, the woman who started this whole mess was staring right at Maki. The cold look in her eyes screamed, 'Don't pull anything funny on me.'

Maki flinched as the judge banged her gavel.

"Court is now in session." She announced.

"The case of Kaede Akamatsu and Sora Yadashi shall commence. On June 27th of this year, allegedly a fistfight broke out outside of Towa Hospital at 2:45 PM. According to Ms. Akamatsu, the fight broke out because Ms. Yadashi tried to hit her. Is this true?"

"Yes." Kaede confidently spoke. "The nurse was attempting to assault me, so I beat her up."

The judge nodded. "And it also states that you tried to stomp on her face before the police arrived. Is this true?"

Kaede had to think about it. She felt if she admitted to it, she'd go back to jail, or maybe even get a death sentence. But if she lied, Sora would rig the case and expose her.

"Yes, your honor. I attempted to stomp her out."

The judge nodded and turned to Sora. "Ms. Yadashi, tell us your side of the story."

"So we were outside arguing about one of her friends here, Maki."

All eyes were on Maki, and she could feel her eyes watering out of fear and embarrassment. Her lip was quivering, and her body was shaking.

"Yes, I do admit to hitting her first, but I must confess she started it by admitting she was starting a fight."

"Objection," Kaede announced.

"I didn't say that because I wanted to start a fight. I said that to try and scare her off, but I guess she didn't get what I meant."

Sora raised an eyebrow. Kaede was making up things, and trying to flip the script. And she was pretty damn good at it.

"You didn't wanna fight? You were just saying that to make me leave you alone?" She asked.

Kaede nodded, and her face was so serious that the judge believed her lie.

"So the attack was out of self-defense." The judge muttered. "Well, Sora, did you stop hitting her, or did you keep hitting back?"

"I kept hitting back."

"And you started it because you didn't get what Ms. Akamatsu was trying to do to get you to leave?"

Sora sighed. "Yes."

"Well then. It has been determined by this court that Kaede Akamatsu is found..."

Shuichi's face grew paler than it usually was. His body was trembling in unison with Kaede's.

"Not guilty."

Kaede sighed with relief. Maki, Kaito, and Shuichi ran up and hugged her.

"Oh my god, this is amazing!" Make cried. Shuichi giggled while wiping his tears and kissed Kaede on the cheek.

Maki smiled as she got into the car. Her list of problems was slowly growing shorter.

The ride back to the hospital was much more talkative than usual. She felt as if things were getting better.

But something still felt off.

Despite how happy he was in the courtroom, Kaito wasn't as energetic. It was unlike him.

Maki didn't want to say anything, but she couldn't help it.

"Are you okay? You don't seem like yourself."

"I'm fine," Kaito said.

No. No, he wasn't.

Maki stared at him and watched as he coughed and held his chest after doing so. It was clear what was happening.

Kaito was dying.

"Are you sure?" Maki said.

Kaito sighed and nodded.

From that point forward, Maki decided that being strong wasn't enough. She has to do something, and now.