Akabane Karma could actually slip into the science lab without making any noise, but since the girl inside could easily be scared of whenever she thought she was alone, he decided to slide open the door just a little rough.
As expected, Okuda Manami didn't jump, she just looked up from her papers with widen eyes, but relaxed when she saw Karma leaning himself against the doorway.
"Yo, Okuda-san,"
"Hey, Karma-kun." She mumbled, adjusting her glasses before going back to the paper in front of her.
She could say, it took her such a long time before she got used to Karma being around in the lab. He didn't make any noise, of course, nor disturb her. But... maybe... being accompanied while making poison wasn't so bad... even if it was Karma...
And Manami actually didn't know when she started to long for a friend. Her very first friend was Kayano, then Kanzaki. And then... Karma. When she least expected it.
But Karma could say, it took her three days to get used to him being around in the lab. He liked the silence, and a friend who didn't talk much and whom he could be at ease with. Honestly, for him, Okuda was just a little animal mean no harm to him. Just like Nagisa. But unlike with him, Karma didn't feel like Okuda could stab him or hurt him. And the next thing he knew, they were talking.
About... everything.
Started from Koro-sensei, and his weakness.
And then about their home.
About their family.
About the path they wanted to go.
About science.
About math.
Just about everything they could think of. All while Okuda was mixing or boiling or seeing or something Karma even wondered how she could not be distracted? Not that he wanted to try, anyway. Not when he... had finally gained her trust, and she to him.
Which is why, he could sense something was wrong with the way she bowed her head, with the way she adjusted her glasses and her eyes, with the way she sighed as she scrabbled some equation he didn't quite understand.
"Are you... okay?" Well, he admitted sometimes he couldn't find anything right to say.
"No. Nothing. It's just..." her voice trailed off as she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. She seemed tired. Which was not weird, considering she would've been thrown to the falls if Koro-sensei was late. All thanks to Terasaka. Karma wondered how much energy had left if she still wanted to stay in the lab.
"Just...?"
"Nothing. Never mind. It's not... a big deal." She sighed, putting her glasses on. She started gathering her things and, "Maybe I should just go home. This is a long day for us."
"Well, it's okay if you don't want to tell me. But before you go, I have something for you," he put a can on the desk, and her eyes widened at the sight as she quickly grabbed the can.
"Is-is this-"
"Yep. The pest Terasaka used yesterday, which could make Koro-sensei cry. Or whatever. I can't tell which hole is his nose."
Karma... well, he is Karma, who immediately sensed something was off to one of his classmates, and decided that the can of pest could be something useful, so he kept it. He was, of course, right.
"So, can you make something like this, Okuda-san?" he asked. He didn't expect she'd answer right away but... she... beamed.
"Of course!" was all she answered, a little too excited. "Do you know how much time I've spent to look for this? I knew there was something wrong with the smoke, from its smell, but-"
"Wait, wait. Hold on," Karma interrupted. "You're saying you can tell it's different?"
"Well, yes," she answered. And he once again was stunned at how much she could do science and still called it a hobby.
(But, he understood. He had been memorizing prime numbers for fun.)
"And I've made so many gas tears but none of them had some effect on Koro-sensei," she sighed.
"Wait," Karma muttered. "Why did I never hear of these gas tears?"
She closed her mouth right away, her eyes avoiding his, as she bit her lower lip. "Eh... it's just..." she sighed. "If it's you, Karma-kun, I knew you'd keep some so you could have... fun."
"Well, I wanted to say it's not true, but I have to admit it's really true."
"I still have some, though," she replied, reaching through one of the drawers.
"Nah, just keep it. I have a feeling we'll still need it later." He said. "But can you make me something else?"
"Sure, just... don't tell anyone you have it from me..."
Before he could mutter a yes, he sneezed, and realized how freezing it was, although it was noon.
And the next thing he knew, Manami had reached out her hand to feel his forehead. He froze. He didn't know what to do-they-they had never been this close before. And-he finally realized-Manami was... so small, she had to stand on her tiptoes.
"Your clothes are still damp, aren't they?" She asked, stepping back, her hand going back to her side and her hand was... so soft... and warm...
He looked away and unconsciously rub his cheek, hoping his face doesn't turn red.
"Koro-sensei thinks I don't know, but he actually keeps all drinks here. I can make you some tea, if you want."
It's just that... everything Manami made was always... good.
Cooking is almost the same as making poison, she had once said.
(And Karma made sure the glasses were clean and free from whatever poison she just made.)
As they sip the tea, he made an offer.
"How about you make whatever you like, using from whatever I give you?"
"I... don't like the sound of this whatever you give me..."
Karma was right, though, about them using the tear-gas bullets and capsule smoke-screen she made again. However, he didn't expect it to be used against the (fake) God of Death.
At first, the class started to wonder what would Karma do with the poisonous mushrooms. They just didn't know he handed them over to Manami.
My first Karumana fic! I'm planning to write two more chapters, probably it'll set during the winter break, since we don't get to see Karma on his birthday. My headcanon is Manami actually visits him to give him some presents, and they talk about Koro-sensei:
K: "Okuda-san... which one will you choose, if you have two options in your hands, to kill, or to save him?"
M: "Science is infinite, you know? It can break things... it can also heal them."
Thank you for reading this! Have a nice day! ^^