When Akabane Karma first came to Kunugigaoka Junior High, she thought it would be funny to register as a boy.

It was quite easy to slip in her application with non the wiser, as a hundreds of her fellow elementary graduates swamped the office with paperwork. Of course no one was going to actually bother confirming the gender of every student – nobody has time for that. They sent her the male uniform and everything, though it was a bit big. The wide eyed looks of confusion were amusing when she walked to school on the first day.

The best part about it, was that once the paper was finalised, you couldn't exactly change it. Unless you're Karma who did it for shits and giggles, nobody had needed to change such obvious details. It was kind of like slapping sticky notes with vulgar phrases onto a teacher's back just to see if they would notice (Karma was speaking from experience), then suddenly realising that the sticky note wasn't as temporary as you thought it was.

It was too much of a hassle to rearrange the classes, sport groups and excursions just for one student, so an amused Asano Gakuho (the Chairman) let it slide. Karma liked to think that she had one-upped the school. The only thing that he hadn't allowed her to do was walk around in the male uniform, because 'what you do in school does not bother me, but I cannot have the public think that I have a cross-dressing student. My school has certain standards.' He said it all with a chilling smile that Karma wanted to do the exact opposite just to spite him. But alas, should she push the boundaries too much (something that she would have to test later), she might get expelled and the fun would be over far too soon. Reluctantly, she retrieved the female Kunugigaoka uniform, and made a mental note to buy more bike shorts.

The now dubbed 'Gender Fallacy' incident of Akabane Karma was made as an example to those who wished to play around with the application forms or suddenly forgot which side of the spectrum their body belonged to. It also served as a future lesson to the next generation and a funny story for students to tell. Karma was glad to know that her situation was entertaining to the elder students who she thought really needed a major chill pill. Studying twenty-four-seven did not seem healthy, and Karma had no desire to have a rod for a spine, and a personality so introverted that it made Hazama Kirara look like a ray of sunshine. Talk about antisocial.

Karma spent her first year a Kunugigaoka trying to assert her dominance over Asano Gakushuu, the violet eyed son of the Chairman. She could admit that a rivalry was fun against someone whom wasn't several levels below her intelligence, but his superior complex was starting to grate on her nerves. She privately thought his daddy issues took up fifty percent of his thought process. It kind of pissed her off that he sometimes refused to 'play' with her – something about chivalry and honour. Karma then told him that he could take his chivalry and shove it up his ass, because she wanted competition dammit!

Because she registered as a boy, she had to do the male gym curriculum instead of the female one ('punishment' Asano says), which was fine by her. Karma guessed that her competitive nature upgraded a few leagues by being surrounded by testosterone. It was nice, but slightly disappointing to know that could beat most of them in…just about everything. But then again, Kunugigaoka was known for their excellent academics, not athletics. She shuddered to think how bored she would be in the female gym class.

Karma wasn't stupid, and was kind of glad that she applied as a guy. After all, guys get more opportunities than girls do, and Akabane Karma doesn't like it when she gets less chances than others. It was at times like these that Karma wished that she had been born as a male. Even though it was the twenty-first century, sexism was still present – the doubtful looks she received was proof of that. It was a glorious thing to see their expressions turn sour (because hell yeah the salt is real).

She made a few kind-of-friends during her time wreaking havoc in her classes. Karma called bullshit when Nagisa said he was a guy, but that was kind of hard to see with his hair in pigtails, cute face and his damn hips (it should be illegal for a guy to have hips like those). Chiba was rather chill even though he didn't talk much, and Karma had a deep respect for Kimura (whom to which she admits to having a pretty awesome name) and his ability to run like Usain Bolt. Maehara was nice once you got past the flirting and Isogai had the kindness of a saint (and a doormat to boot).

It was a snowy winter that year. People were wrapped up in thick coats and scarves, trying to avoid the cold. Karma didn't know what possessed her to approach a lonely Isogai who was sitting under a tree, blankets of snow surrounding him as he buried his face into his knees. He didn't have a cardigan, a jacket or a coat. All he was wearing was the short sleeved shirt and the thin pants of the male uniform.

"I don't know what you're trying to prove, but I'm pretty sure you're gonna get hyperthermia if you're just gonna sit there, Yuma-kun."

Isogai's head snapped upwards when he heard the voice of Kunugigaoka's resident troublemaker. Gold eyes stared into mercury as Karma crouched in front of Isogai. A thin layer of frost stuck to his clothes and skin. Quickly wiping the tears running down his face, he tried his best to smile at her.

"Sorry. Did you need something Akabane-san?"

Karma just stared at him rather perplexed. It was obvious that he was hurting, yet he still had the patience to smile. He looked so cold, shivering in the snow, small puffs of hot air escaping as he breathed. Sitting down next to him in the snow, she uncoiled her green scarf from around her neck and wrapped it around his. Gold eyes widened as warmth seeped back into his skin. He was so shocked that he didn't even notice that grey gloves had been slipped over his frozen hands.

"Can't have the class ikemen freezing to death now can we?" Karma said playfully.

"T-thank you," he stuttered, unprepared for the kindness shown by such a violent girl. His words became a jumbled mess when the red head unzipped her coat and wrapped it around both of them, pressing their bodies together. "W-what are y-you doing?!"

Karma just gave him a bland look. "I don't think you've noticed Yuma-kun, but your lips were turning blue. What gave you the bright idea to sit in the snow in clothes like those?"

Isogai realised that she did have a point, his numb limbs warming up against the body heat of another person. Some of Karma's long red hair fell over her shoulder and tickled his cheek.

"So what's been bothering you?"

"H-huh?"

"Don't play dumb Yuma-kun. Nobody cries without a reason." Karma's warm breath blew against his ear, making a shiver go through his body. Isogai sagged, wondering how someone so carefree could see through his mask.

"My father died in an accident yesterday. My mother is sick, but she still working to try and support us, but she's not earning very much. I try to help around the house to lighten her workload, but I don't think it's doing enough. We had to sell some of our clothes to pay for the mortgage." He gestured to his underdressed state. "I just wanted to get away from everything for a moment."

Karma just hummed, thinking of the spare male uniform in the back of her closet. Isogai was grateful that she didn't say that 'everything will be okay' like everyone else did. It felt nice to tell someone all his problems without pitying him. He wasn't sure how long they sat there in the snow or when he dozed off, but when he woke, Karma was gone.

He stood up and dusted himself off, just realising that he still wore a green scarf, grey gloves and a warm furry coat. He smiled, burying his face into the scarf. Who knew Akabane Karma could be so nice?

When he got home, there was a cardboard box on his doorstep. Unsure who it was for, he picked it up and took it inside. "Tadaima," he said, closing the door behind him.

"Isogai!" His mother called, poking her head out from the kitchen. "Where were you? I was worried!" She took in the thick clothes that he didn't leave the house in. Picking up the edge of the scarf, she asked, "Where did you get this?"

"A friend gave it to me," he answered, smiling fondly. His mother accepted this, but not before pecking him on the check. "Can you help your brother with his homework? I'm a little busy right now."

He nodded, and his mother returned to the kitchen. Making his way to his room that he shared with his little brother, he dumped the box on his table before taking off his coat and gloves.

"Aniki! You're back!" A small blur launched itself at him and knocked him onto his futon.

"Hey otouto."

A small face peered up at him. "Can you help me with my maths? I don't get it." Isogai patted his head, telling him he needed to unpack something first. With a grumble, the smaller boy unlatched himself from his elder sibling.

Isogai opened the box and brought out a new Kunugigaoka uniform with confusion on his face. A small piece of paper slipped from the folds of the uniform.

Keep the clothes, you need it more than me.

If he lifted the tag on the blazer, he would have seen 'AKABANE' written neatly in small font.