Work Text:
Gasping. Choking. An expanse of borrowed air, as Maki opens her eyes and breathes in the darkness that surrounds her. She’s trapped, gulping in breaths of stagnant oxygen, trying to refuel her broken body. Confused; dazed; trapped in a small space that she can’t quite figure out. He hands, as if on autopilot, bang against the metal in front of her, pushing until her hands become bloody – the fresh cuts on there open once more to pour scarlet heat down her hands, but she’s aching for light, and she’ll do anything to find it.
Soon, she progresses to throwing her whole body against the sickeningly cold metal, and eventually, the faux-door gives way and she falls onto the floor. Looking up, she breathes in fresh air and realises that a locker stands menacingly above her – so she was in a locker.
“In a locker,” she thinks, “why?”
There’s a vague memory of something that tugs at her mind, but she can’t quite recall it. She knows that losers, outcasts – they get shoved into lockers. Is she one of those?
But wait – why can’t she remember?
She thinks of everything she can recall. Her name is Maki Harukawa, she knows that for sure. But was – is – she the kind of person to get shoved into lockers? Has she been bullied? Everything swims in her mind, and she feels sick; it’s like there’s a whole chunk of memory that she can’t seem to bring out of the murky void. The only things that she remembers are her name, and the word ‘assassin’ bouncing around the echo of her brain until she feels sick.
When the locker next to hers begins to shake, she stands up and puts herself into a fighting stance. It’s strange, how easily her fists raise above her face, and how she stands side on, as if she already knows how to protect herself. Despite having no memory of this, it feels solid, like it’s something she’s done before.
That scares her.
But she can’t remember who she truly is. Maybe that’s what’s really scaring her.
The door of the second locker bursts open, and a boy falls out. His purple hair is matted, and he gasps for breath the same way that she did only moments ago, his hands propping him up on the floor as he retches.
“W-Who are you?” Maki says, shakily.
“H-Huh?”
“Who the fuck are you?”
“Man,” the boy says, “I’ve just got out of whatever prison you put me in and you ask me that shit?”
“I…I didn’t put you in there,” she says, “I just fell out of a locker, like you.”
He’s still on the floor, and he looks weakened, so she extends her hand. Something artificial within her tells her that she should be keeping herself guarded, but before she can pull away, he grabs her hand and hoists himself up.
“What the fuck?”
“I…I don’t know,” she replies, “I just…”
“Woke up in there and freaked out?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m Kaito,” he says, putting his hand out for her to shake; she takes it, “Kaito Momota.”
“M-Maki,” she replies, “d-do you know…what’s going on?”
“No idea. But I’m glad it’s not just me. I wouldn’t wanna be on my own here.”
“Here? Where exactly is here?”
“Don’t know. But I suppose there’s no harm in investigating.”
“R-Right,” she says, “let’s look and see if there’s anything in our lockers.”
Her investigation turns up nothing, and when she turns to him, he shakes his head in the same dissatisfaction. Slowly, she glances towards the door, and he follows her gaze, taking her hand again and walking up to the edge of the room.
“Don’t worry,” he says, “I’ve got you.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re gonna look outside this room. See if there’s any more information in this mad situation.”
As Maki opens the door, she’s greeted by the terrifying sight of a metal being, much larger than she is; although it doesn’t have genuine eyes, she feels it staring at her. She has a mental standoff with it for a few moments, before it springs into movement and begins progressing towards her.
She’s stunned into silence, frozen on the spot, but Kaito tries to pull her hand. Still, she stays exactly where she is, stuck in disbelief at the whole situation, as the metal creature advances towards her.
“Sorry,” Kaito says.
“A-About what?”
“This,” he tells her, his voice rapid. Before she can even yelp, he lifts her off her feet and runs down the hallway with her in his arms. The metal creature advances on them, and he runs faster; she can tell that it’s a strain on him to breathlessly run with her in his arms, but she’s too confused to protest, and she doubts she has the energy to jump down and run alongside him. Instead, she allows him to carry her until they push through a set of doors and find other people.
Other people.
Other people.
Their faces are as confused as she imagines hers is, as they stand in a large room and look, with panicked faces, at the doors. Terrified chatter floods her ears, as everyone in the room erupts into confused conversation, but Kaito puts her down onto the ground and pulls her aside.
“What the fuck? What’s going on?” Maki says.
“I don’t know,” Kaito replies, “but I’ve got you. Everything is gonna be fine.”
“That’s not true,” she tells him, “I have no idea who the fuck I am, I’ve just been chased by a huge metal…thing…and I don’t know where I am!”
“Me neither. But look…Maki…I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“No,” she stands in front of him, some alien form of bravery and self-sacrifice overtaking her, “I’ve got you. I’ll protect us all.”
“You can’t…”
“Yes. I can. I don’t know why, but I can,” she says.
As the metal creatures burst through the door, and everyone gasps in horror, Maki stands steadfast in front of Kaito. Her hands are in a fighting position, and it feels comfortable. She’s only just met him, but she’ll fight for the boy who carried her down a hallway when she was scared and frozen. Good people do things like that.
And she’s a good person…right?