locus condition;
When Karma steps out on his balcony and prepares to commit suicide, the first thing that greets his eyes are:
1. His dead mother
2. His dead mother's decapitated head (to be precise)
3. His whole family, also dead
4. A blue haired boy sitting on the railings, with an AK-12 in hand
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?" He somehow manages to shriek in a voice that was (cough) not-feminine-in-any-way-shape-or-form.
The boy fidgets uncomfortably, obviously opting to be anywhere but here.
Karma narrows his eyes, but the boy still doesn't bother giving any sort of reaction.
"Fuck this," Karma mutters, as he grabs a nearby stool and ties the rope he's holding onto a ledge. Well, he came here with the notion of committing suicide and his family's all dead, so like hell anyone would care if he died.
"So you're not going to ask who I am?" The blue haired boy asks. He stares at Karma, head tilted in curiosity, "That's not the response I usually get, y'know. People tend to call the police, scream, faint… whatever. Hell, some necrophiles even start fucking the corpses. It's a pain in the ass watching that."
Karma pauses in his attempt to fix the rope properly. "I'm not exactly into necrophilism, if that's what you're implying. My name's Akabane Karma. "
"Nagisa Shiota."
"Eh."
"So…why are you trying to kill yourself?" Nagisa vaguely motions at the rope. "Your name's not on my list of victims, so you shouldn't be trying to die. According to my sources, you should be dying next week, not now."
"Just who the hell are you? You come into my house, kill everyone and pretend that nothing out of the blue is happening," a hint of annoyance creeps into Karma's voice and he gives the rope an experimental tug. The ledge shifts a bit, but otherwise, it's secure.
A pale blue brow rises "I'm a death god. You know, things that kill people when their time's up and then consume their souls. See?"
Nagisa hold up a stalk of hozuki. The center pulses a pale yellow, seeping into the bright vermillion that wraps around it almost protectively.
"Are you sure you're absolutely sane in the mind? Sounds like some kind of thing a serial killer would say," Karma laughs, fitting the rope around his neck. "Ah well, but whether you're a criminal or not doesn't really matter to me anymore. It was nice talking to you, Nagisa."
Karma fits the rope around his neck and tightens it, kicking away the stool. His hands claw at the air for a few moment, his body not used to being levitated like this. The ledge groans under his weight …and the wooden thing gives in.
"Oof."
"Ouch. Must have hurt, eh?"
Nagisa stares down at him, watching Karma sprawled out on the floor, who miraculously hadn't crushed any of the bloody corpses littered around him. Karma glares at him in response.
"Well, I did tell you that you wouldn't die today," Nagisa shrugs.
"Tsk. Just go away and let me wallow in my own despair. Actually, I'll jump off this fucking balcony and I'll die. Like hell you're a grim reaper."
"It's 'death god'," Nagisa replies tersely.
Karma shoots him a glance and proceeds to climb onto the railings.
"I'd say something smart for my last words, but it's not like it matters now since there's no one to hear it. I've bet you've heard tons of them already, yeah? One less won't make a difference and you're probably not going to remember it" the red head sneers.
A flash of hurt passes Nagisa's face and he sighs, "Honestly, you're not going to die. Give up."
"See ya in the next life," Karma grins and promptly leaps off the balcony.
Nagisa's eyes widen and he peers down "Have you really forgotten that this is only half a storey high? And isn't this balcony connected to your room? You should know better, eh?"
"FUCKKKK!"
It takes a while for Karma to clamber up back to his room, but he makes it. A few bruises dapple his arms and twigs sprout from his hair. The rope still hangs around his neck and there's no way he can get it off without mauling his neck. A bloody death is not a good death.
He flops down unceremoniously on his king sized bed.
"Karma-kun. If you want to die so badly, you can come with me. I can take your soul when the time's up. Plus, it gets boring without a travelling companion," Nagisa rocks back and forth gleefully on his chair.
"Depends on where you're planning on going," Karma replies, twisting his body so that he can take in the full view of Nagisa. Wow, that guy really had unnaturally long eyelashes. Just like a girl, he snickers inwardly.
"I'm searching for the Place Closest to Heaven."
"Wait, what?"
"I've grown tired of being a death god. If I can successfully seek out the Place Closest to Heaven, I'll be able to move on into the afterlife and regain my memories that I have collected when I was a human."
"Aren't there any other ways to…umm… pass on?" Karma questions.
"'Course there are," Nagisa replies, fiddling with Karma's mobile phone. (Was he playing…Candy Crush ?) "And that's suffering enough injuries, like being mauled by a dog...or something. We death gods don't age, but we aren't immortal. Downside is, that way of passing on is rather painful and we won't regain our memories."
"I see. I wouldn't mind going with you, after all, there's nothing left for me here and I don't exactly fancy cleaning up my family's remains", Karma says, and his nose wrinkles in distaste at the thought of getting his hand dirty.
"Is that why you tried to kill yourself earlier? Because you have nothing to live for?" There's a flicker of inquisitiveness in the question, prompting Karma to explain.
"Oh yeah. My parents don't give two shits about me and being the average Asian parents they are, I'm forced to choose between either studying Law or Medicine in university. That's not so bad, but then I joined a gang, got into drug dealing and debts that even my family won't be able to pay and now the cops and gangs are out to get me. It's not like I have a future anyway." He takes a breath and continues. "Plus, I figured that all humans died anyway, so why does it make a difference when I die?"
Nagisa giggles. "Fair enough. Let's leave soon, then. I don't want us to get caught," he says, nodding in the direction of the balcony. "I'll make sure the last week of your life will be worth living before I claim your soul."
"Why can't you kill me now, actually?" Karma realizes, motioning to the AK-12 that's strapped to Nagisa back. "You can just shoot me and I'll die. It'll quick and painless and easy for both of us."
"No can do. It's only design to kill people whose time is up. I'll show you."
Nagisa hoists up his gun and takes aim, his finger effortlessly pulling the trigger. Karma closes his eyes, preparing for the millisecond of pain he'll experience when the bullet blows his brains out.
"Ow. Fuck, that hurts." Karma rubbed his forehead at where the bullet had hit him and ricocheted off into a wall.
"Told you."
"Oi, Nagisa, where on earth are we?" Karma queries when they pass into a town. It's almost been a week of travelling now, but neither of them keeps track of the time. The landscape grows unfamiliar and the chatter on the streets hold a weird accent that Karma has never heard before.
"No idea. One step closer to heaven?" Nagisa grins in return, "Oh, would you like some bread?" He says, gesturing to a bakery on the opposite side of the street.
"No thanks. I'm not exactly hungry and we haven't got any money."
"Money? Oh Karma-kun, how adorably naïve you are", Nagisa teases. "Why would a death god need human trivialities such as money? We steal to obtain what we need."
"Alright, alright. I lied. I'm hungry. Get me some bread and I'll wait here," Karma shakes his head in amusement.
Nagisa turns to him, winking at him and a look of horror crosses his face. Karma matches his gaze, confusion evident. This all passes in under a second.
The blue haired boy grabs Karma's hand and yanks him away, a hugeass clay pot smashing on where he had been moments before.
"Give him back! You demon! If you must, take my life too! Kill me!" A voice rings out on the street and everyone's frozen in shock, staring at the duo and the angry woman screaming from above, her head sticking out of the window.
"Eh…come on, Karma-kun", Nagisa sweatdrops as he pulls at the rope that was still hanging around Karma's neck (all efforts to remove it had been proven fruitless).
"What was that about? …And I'm not a dog…" Karma huffs as they speed into a neighbouring town.
"Umm, it's just that some people aren't pleased with me being a death god," Nagisa laughs shakily. "It's not the first time that's happened. More importantly, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Karma dismisses. His hands brush against Nagisa and the shorter boy notes that they're trembling. Nagisa grabs Karma's hands gently and their fingers intertwine, fitting into each others' almost perfectly.
"Hey, Karma-kun," Nagisa promts softly.
"Hm?"
"Why did you want to hang yourself?"
"What do you mean?"
Nagisa glances at him, limpid pools of blue boring into his soul, "Why did you choose to hang yourself instead of doing something less painful, like taking sleeping pills or drowning yourself?"
Karma's hold tightens a little. "It's because I want to die looking down on everyone. When I was still in a gang, before all that mess with drugs and cops happened, I was the ring leader. I'd like to die with a little of my pride intact, y'know," he smirks.
Nagisa's eyes twinkle with amusement. "Dying with pride. How ironic, after all, there are no such things as pride or shame in the eyes of de-"
A splatter of blood falls on the floor and it cuts off Nagisa's sentence.
Karma tries not to chuckle at the surprised expression on Nagisa's face, who's in now in Karma's embrace.
This happens all in under 10 seconds.
It takes Nagisa a bit too long to realize what Karma has happened. There's a knife sticking out of the red haired boy's back and he doesn't spare the figure darting away in horror at stabbing the wrong person (woops).
"Karma..kun?"
He's still trying to register just what the hell is going on.
"You look surprised, Nagisa, " Karma chuckles.
He drags his gaze painfully to the other boys, eyes widened and mouth agape. The drip-drip of blood runs down his hands and pools on the floor, but he doesnt, can't register the pain of his fingernails digging into his palms.
Karma lets out a chuckle again and his knees give way to the ground. He's faintly aware of the blurs as people walk pass, some glancing and going along their merry way and others pointing and staring, but Nagisa is the only one that matters right now
"Hey, Nagisa, guess my time's up. Are you going to reap my soul now?" Karma smiles up at him and Nagisa has to crouch to hear him properly.
He barely takes note of the tears that run down his face. Nagisa chokes out a reply but Karma can't make out what the fuck he's trying to say.
"What are you crying for? We both know I was going to die, yeah? You told me that a week ago, Nagisa. Hurry up. It hurts."
The blue haired boy crouches by his head, "That doesn't mean that I've accepted the fact..." He trails off, hands fingering on the hozuki plant that's strapped around his neck.
"Stop getting all sentimental, Nagisa. It doesn't suit you."
"Karma-kun…"
"I'm sorry I can't accompany you to find the Place Closest to Heaven. Really. I'm sorry."
Nagisa shakes his head because it doesn't matter anymore, and the hozuki brightens for a few moments and that's all it takes to reap Karma's soul.
"Don't die looking so happy. You idiot," he gasps out though his tears. "This isn't even the death you wished for."
Karma just smiles up at him, that shit eating grin still plastered on his face.
There's no reply.
It takes Nagisa a while to drag Karma's body to the edge of the town where a clearing stretches out under the autumn dyed trees. His fingers curl around the rope on Karma's neck and manages, just barely, but nonetheless, manages to tie it around branch.
Karma's feet don't quite touch the floor.
"It's a bit…low. But that's the best I can do, Karma-kun. Sorry," he laughs.
Nagisa sits and leans against the tree, his fingers still curled around Karma's hand, tracing his palms and knuckles and what not.
A breeze brushes by Nagisa's ear and it softly ruffles his hair.
Hurry up and move on, you idiot.
He yawns and tries to fall asleep before he can remember anything.
This is already enough, Karma-kun.
終
a/n
I should be revising but noooo, I'm sitting here writing a fanfic and pretending I have a life.
Reviews are my motivation to write
constructive criticism are always good too
~Ichiro
