Prompt: Cafe (setting)

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Ansatsu Kyoushitsu.

A/N: To be honest, I can only partially claim to have come up with this. The characters wrote themselves. O.o


Blood Smear, Fancy Dress and Dinner Cafe

Like everything in the universe that went horribly bad, it all started with a simply, stupid mistake.

Manami felt very scared. Visibly shaking, she took a step back. "K-K-Karma-kun..."

"Get behind me. Now," Karma ordered, his voice broke for no argument. Manami was quick to comply, peering fearfully at the leering thugs that had them surrounded five to two.

In hindsight, staying up late at the library until the last moments of daylight faded away was a very very stupid idea (Karma was glad that Manami was not the type of girl to rub it in his face with an obnoxious 'I-TOLD-YOU-SO' whenever he was wrong; just one of the many reasons why he loves her to bits). And now, they were stuck in this mess of dealing with thugs twice their size and quadruple their age, with nothing but their bags and fists (well, Karma's fists; he doubt that Manami could hurt a fly if she wanted to) to defend themselves.

"Aw, don't be shy little girl. We just want to play," the front man said in English, baring his nasty yellowed teeth into a terrifying smile. Karma noted how he was the shortest out of the group, who were towering at least half metre taller than him. Luckily for the redhead, he was naturally tall (and was destined to grow even taller), and could confidently brush shoulders with them.

'Hm...what's a shorty like him doing commanding this group, huh?' Karma thought to himself, molten gold orbs quickly and silently assessing his opponents. His eyes carefully traced their clothing, taking care to note the suspicious outline of a knife strapped to their thighs.

'Tall. Armed.' Eyeing their beefy arms and distinctive muscular build, 'Probably strong.'

Though Karma had no qualms about taking them down (they were nowhere near Grip's level, he was confident he could bring them down easily enough) it was just the matter of-

Karma was pulled out of his thoughts when a hand pulled his sleeves.

"K-Karma-kun...D-Do y-you have a p-plan?" Manami whispered, the hand clutching his sleeve stood stark white against her uniform. "T-They're g-getting...r-restless."

"Oi oi, why so silent over there? Cat got your tongue?" one of them called out, snickering. "Oh, right. I forgot monkeys have no right to speak." The other men laughed, loud and boisterous. Absolutely disgusting.

Karma felt more than saw Manami shrink beside him.

"Heh~that's surprising coming from a group of dense gorillas such as yourselves," he rebuked, using every ounce of his control to tamper his voice into that lazy drawl his enemies had all learn to fear. Lowering his lashed, he loosened his grip on his blood-lust, letting it seep into his words. "How about you little gorillas run along back to your mommy and forget that this ever happened? Go on, I'll let you go."

His fluency in English stopped them in mid-laughter as they registered his threat, but it seemed to excite them rather than scare them off. "So the primate speaks," the leader laughed, clapping his hands delightedly. Gesturing to his men, the leader flashed them a malicious smirk as they all drew their knives. "Think you can scare us, kid? Ha. You've entertained us long enough and my patience is wearing thin."

The leader leveled his blade at him, its wicked tip winking in the dim luminescence of the street lamps. "So how about you just hand over the girl to us and we'll probably leave you in one piece. What'd you say?"

"Ah, are you sure buddy? This is your last chance. You don't want me as your enemy." The makings of a feral smile twisted on his lips, golden eyes glittering with undulated malice. His fingers twitched, his blood lust sharpening his instincts; the thoughts of their screams ringing loud and clear in his ears made his heart race. 'I'll break them. Every last one of them. Nobody looks at what is mine.'

Another tug on his sleeve. "N-No, y-you'll hurt y-yourself-" Manami, dear Manami who did try her best but could not follow the conversation and was now frightened by the way Karma was standing. His posture practically screamed fighting stance; the aura of blood-lust cloaking him suffocating.

Manami did not want him to end up injured like he did in Kyoto.

"Listen to me." She started, involuntarily shivering at the dark tone he had adopted. "I want you to run. Run to the nearest store and get help."

"B-But-"

"Geeze, I am trying to save your freakin' life so just this once listen to me, Manami." Karma did not growl but he came close to it; a low, rough rumble at the back of his throat. She flinched, stuttering out a small apology before falling silent. He took it as a sign of her accepting his plan. Flinty eyes were trained on the goons, who were waiting to see his next move. If that is how they want to play it, so be it. "On the count of three, run and don't look back. I'll handle these guys but be sure to return with help as fast as you can. Got it?"

Manami shakily nodded her head. "H-Hai."

Karma started stalking towards them, the heels of his shoes pressing harshly against the gravel. He made sure to show them his eyes; both with narrowed slits drowning in pure gold. "You're answer, cretins." Behind his back, his fingers formed the numbers.

Ichi.

"So much bad-ass talk for a puny kid! Fine, I'll take your challenge. My men would enjoy pushing you off your high horse." Licking his lips, the leader slanted his eyes towards Manami, leering shamelessly. "And taking that girl back with us. Heh, I bet she's a screamer."

Nii.

With difficultly, Karma held back an instinctive snarl at his words, instead using his hatred to further enhance and sharpen his blood-lust. "Heh~how about you come over here and let me make you eat back your words, buddy. I'll make the experience as excruciating as possible." Tauntingly, he made a 'come get me' gesture, a cocky smirk stretching across his lips.

"Kill him, men!"

San.

"Now!" Karma shouted.

As Manami took off running, Karma quickly became embroiled in the fight; dodging, kicking, punching and misdirecting blows aimed at him to hit others. It was obvious from the beginning that this was an unfair fight; five against one.

But then again, Karma smiled as he cracked his knuckles, wiping the bit of blood from an uppercut, whoever said I play fair?

Those men never stood a chance in hell.

So when Manami returned, it was to stumble dazedly into a crime scene perfectly fit to be described as a 'bloody, messy and filled with broken bodies littered on the floor'.

And in the midst of the carnage, Karma was casually propped up against the wall, surveying the place with something akin to disinterest and boredom.

If not for the impressive amount of blood splatters on his person, Manami would have thought Karma was unplanned bystander who had absolutely nothing to do with the horrifying scene. "K-Karma-kun!"

The redhead turned to the sound of her voice, wincing a bit at the movement. "Ah, Manami-chan~took you long enough," he lazily drawled as he pushed himself off the wall, though limping slightly towards her. She rushed to his side to stop him from walking, concern written on her face.

"K-Karma-kun, y-you're hurt!" Manami fussed, pressing his hands to sides, feeling for around for wounds. Karma hissed low and soft when she touched his left side, the flare of pain enough to make him buckle his knees. "I'm s-sorry!" she said, alarmed; hooking her arms around his waist, she helped guided him back to the wall to sit.

Karma wearily waved her apology away, "S'alright. I'm fine."

Manami stopped her probing to give him a harsh glare. "I-It is n-not alright!" Karma opened his mouth, but she mercilessly crushed any words he had to say. "Y-You're h-hurt Karma-kun. So please d-don't try to d-downplay your injuries!"

"Hai hai, Doctor Manami~" he said cheekily, relinquishing himself into her care. He winced when she touched his face. "Ah, that hurts." Karma's eyes cleared enough to see a touch of horror on her face as she stared at her hand.

"What is it?"

"K-Karma-kun, l-let me look a-at your face," she said, gentle hands trying to angle his face towards the dull glow of street lamp to better assess the damage. From her horrified gasp, Karma wryly assumed that it was not pretty.

"Aurum, y-you're bleeding," she said frantically, pulling out a handkerchief from her back. Manami dabbed it on his wounds, trying to staunch the bleeding. Karma tried to hold back another wince. "I'm s-sorry! But t-there's so much b-blood. W-We need to g-get you t-to the h-hospital!"

Karma cupped her hands, pulling them away from his face. "Hm, it can't be that bad. Besides, it doesn't really hurt. That much," he hastily added when she glared at him. "I don't need to go to the hospital."

"Y-You still n-need first aid," she argued, turning her head to look back at the direction she had come from. Glancing at her watch, she bites her lips. "Mnn...w-where is he? H-He promised h-he would c-come."

"Who would come?" Karma asked, peeking over her shoulders. "Who's coming?"

Manami did not get the chance to answer as said person walked into view; black hair slicked all the way back and dressed handsomely in a classy black-and-white waiter's uniform, holding a double barrel gun on each hand.

"I-Isogai-kun!"

Somehow, Karma thought as he took in their class representative in a classy waiter's uniform, he should have seen this coming.

The newcomer took one look at the place, letting out a low whistle. "And here I thought Karma was in trouble, Okuda-san. Looks like it was the other way around," he said cheekily, pocketing his guns nonchalantly.

"Um...w-well-"

"Nah, took care of it," Karma said. "Those bunch of thugs practically begged to be beaten up anyways. Serves the cowards right trying to ambush two middle-schoolers in the streets.

Isogai's lips curled up into a smile. "Two middle-schoolers who happened to be apart of Class 3-E? Five thugs against our poison expert Okuda and jack-of-all-trades Karma?" he said teasingly.

"Meh, don't say it like that, Mr. Class Rep. Makes is sound like we're superhuman or something."

"B-But I didn't d-do anything t-to help, I-Isogai-kun...I j-just ran away. A-Again," Manami said, shuffling her feet. 'I left Karma-kun alone to get hurt. And I couldn't do anything to help. I'm so sorry Karma-kun for being so...useless.'

A hand clamped on her head, startling her out of her dark thoughts. "Ah, don't be like that when you helped plenty," Karma said, ruffling her hair. He pointed a finger at Isogai. "Look, you see that smirking Class Rep. over there? You got help like I told you to. You'd have to drag me kicking and spitting to go to the hospital if he wasn't here."

Manami blinked, before shyly smiling. "H-Hai. Thank you, K-Karma-kun." He ruffled her hair one more time.

"You're afraid of the hospital?" Isogai can't help but pick up, watching them interact with interest. Not that it wasn't a secret that the entire class shipped them together (except Maehara; but on one talks about Maehara ever since the 'Incident')

"All in all, I think you guys did well despite the situation. However," Isogai said, suddenly bowing, surprising them both. "I deeply apologize for not coming sooner. The rules of fine-dinning are strict, and I just managed to convince my employer to allow me to attend to personal matters."

Geeze, this guy is such a ikemen.

"No need to bow, what's done is done. Besides, you can make it up to us by handing over that first aid kit and probably a dinner afterwards." Karma smirked as he braced himself against the wall. Manami was right by his side in an instant, helping to get on his feet.

"Seems like a fair deal, Oni-sama, Ojou-sama." The class representative winked, unlatching the first aid kit from his belt. "It would be an honour to be your waiter tonight."

'I feel like I'm being mocked,' Karma thought as his raven haired classmate started applying the antiseptics on his wounds. While it stings like hell, he gritted his teeth and endured it, all the while trying not to put too much of his weight on Manami. She was struggling as it were, having him lean on her for support.

Manami seemed to ponder about something. "I-Isogai-kun...works at a r-restaurant? I thought y-you worked at a c-cafe?"

"Ah, it's easy to get it confused. It is actually a cafe, but around this time the cafe serves special dinner meals," Isogai said, lifting Karma's shirt to wrap the bandages. Manami averted her eyes, trying hard to ignore the heat of an incoming blush. "They're actually quite good, and have affordable prices. I'd be delighted to recommend you the must-have dishes."

"Well...what do you say, Manami-chan?" Karma casually asked, inwardly smirking at the fact that she refused to face him as Isogai silently wrapped his bandages. "Let's grab dinner together."

"Ano...but K-Karma-kun, it's really late. We shouldn't stay out so long at night. My parents would get worried if I didn't go home now." Manami twiddled her thumbs. Never mind the fact that her parents were on a buisness trip until the weekend, she still did not want to worry her parents.

"I think you're parents would rest easier knowing that their daughter actually ate a decent dinner tonight," Karma said, slowly letting go of her. Isogai was finished with the bandaging. "Besides, I'll get you home before 8, is that fine?"

"Er..."

"The cafe is just right beside the corner," Karma persuaded. "A quick bite to eat and we'll head home straight away. I'll even pay for it," he added on slyly.

"N-No!" Manami was quick to say, shaking her head. "If w-were eating t-together, t-then I s-should p-pay for myself. K-Karma-kun d-doesn't have to p-pay for i-it!"

"Eh~so does that mean Manami-chan agrees to dinner then?" Karma's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Then, it's official. It's a date."

"Wha-" the glasses wearing chemist blushed deep crimson, swatting the laughing redheaded boy in the arm. "K-Karma-kun!"

At the side lines, the Class Rep. of Class 3-E watched amused at the two, inwardly cheering for his one-true-pairing (OTP) and happy that he had a story to contribute in the next shareholders (Nakamura's Council of OTPs and Bets) meeting.


10 minutes later...

"I swear Isogai, in another life, I bet you were some sort of fairy godfather or something," Karma said, snapping on his cuff links. Brushing down the borrowed blazier, Karma checked himself out in the mirror, amazed by how little effort it took to get him to look this handsome.

[Tuxedo + Karma = Knockout]

In the mirror, Karma saw Isogai rolled his eyes. "I will take that as a compliment," he said, smiling easily.

Checking his watch, Isogai hurriedly ushered Karma out of the loo, leading him towards a vacant table near a window overlooking the hustle and bustle of the night life of their city.

Isogai pulled out a chair. "Oni-sama."

"Why thank you," Karma said, adopting a false air of sophisticated arrogance, gracefully sliding into his seat. Checking his watch, Karma tried to look around for his Manami.

Isogai gave him a perfect smile. "Relax, Karma. She'll be out in a minute."

Karma raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. "If this hadn't been a spontaneous decision, I'd suspect that you somehow had this all planned out all along," he mused, playing around with his fork.

The Class Rep. gave him a look. "Yes, I planned the thugs to attack you and Okuda-san, and injure you in the process so that I may play dress up," he deadpanned. "Your faith in me as your classmate and class representative is astounding, Karma. I'm very touched."

Smirking, Karma opened his mouth to reply but somehow his voice seemed to fail him when his eyes landed on the violet haired beauty shyly approaching the table.

Manami was dressed in a sleeveless evening gown; it was a shimmering lilac colour, flowing around her feet giving the effect that she was walking on clouds. The shade of purple seemed to accentuate the rich amethyst of her eyes, emphasizing on how large and bright they were.

While she wore makeup, it was applied to enhance her natural beauty; a slight blush on her cheeks, a swipe of lip gloss over pouty lips and a thin line of black eyeliner.

If Manami wasn't pretty enough before, she was drop-dead gorgeous now.

"K-Karma-kun?"

Karma did not realize he had been staring at her for a full three minutes until her voice broke him out of his reverence. Coughing awkwardly, he moved to pull out her seat (as any self-respecting gentlemen would do) for her. "Ojou-sama," Karma whispered low enough for only her to hear as he pushed in the seat.

Manami fought back a blush.

"I was not made aware that Karma had basic human emotions like love," a drone-like voice interrupted them. Narrowed golden eyes found unflinching silver.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was called to assist Okuda in her dressing-" the mechanic prodigy of Class 3-E replied. Karma stiffened, casting an enraged look at Isogai.

"K-Karma-kun, it w-wasn't l-like t-that-"

"-though I was obviously not directly involved in the actual dressing itself. The female staff on hand were competent enough to handle it."

Itona cocked his head to the side. "While I do not question Isogai's intentions, I am curious about yours. What are you doing here, Karma?"

Karma looked disinterested. "What is it to you?"

Both males stared at each other in a deadlock until Itona broke it by nodding to himself, seemingly having reached a conclusion. "I see. Then I hope you both have a pleasant evening, Karma. Okuda."

As swift as his appearance that night, Itona disappeared just as quickly; the only evidence of his departure the tinkling of the wind chimes.

Pause.

"Well then," Isogai clapped his hands together. "What will your orders be this fine evening, Oni-sama? Ojou-sama?"


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A/N: Thank you for your reviews, and I hope you enjoyed this as much I enjoyed writing it. :3

Proceed to the omake if it pleases you~


Omake I

-How the Characters were Addressed

*Oni-sama = 'Young Lord'

*Ojou-sama = 'Young Mistress'

*I based this type of greeting with Kaichou wa Maid-sama as a basis. I am not sure whether waiter or waitresses actually greet their guess in this way, but for this story I will go with this assumption.

-What Happened at the End?

Well, basically Isogai took them to the fancy cafe/restaurant (it's my own prompt, I can do whatever I want) and with some miracle (and magic) just so happen to have fancy clothing for couples there, which he convinced Karma and Manami to wear (because I say so, lol) for their so-called 'date'.

Karma and Manami had spaghetti and meatballs, strawberry shortcake (for Karma) and Earl Grey with apple crumble (for Manami).

By the way, Isogai got a ton of pictures of them dinning together by the end of the night (with some help from Itona, who apparently lives nearby) to be used to help the class construct their Karmanami scrapbook.

Nakamura rewarded Isogai and Itona in the end by giving them 25% of the money she won from her next bet.

Karma discovered the pictures sometime within the next week or so, and very persuasively tell them to give it all to him. Which Nakamura did so wilingly because (1) she did not want to suffer his wrath, and (2) she already made copies in her pen-drive along with Ritsu, so...

[Karma = 0, Nakamura = 1]

Well, that's about it. XD

.

Omake II

Class 3-E had many blank spots in history that were never recorded down. Such blank dates were;

[17 March 2015] Mad Karma's Tea Party

[01 August 2015] Evolution of Toenail Clippings

[10 October 2015] Rise of the Home Ec. Mutant Meatloaf

[21 January 2016] Forget-Forget-Forget

[14 February 2016] Valentine (Plant vs Zombie) Fever

And finally but not least,

[01 April 2016] The Incident

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Omake III

"Oi oi, why so silent over there? Cat got your tongue?" one of them called out, snickering. "Oh, right. I forgot monkeys have no right to speak." The other men laughed, loud and boisterous. Absolutely disgusting.

Karma felt more than saw Manami shrink beside him.

"[expletive] you," Karma snarled viciously, pulling the frightened girl against him. "How dare you [expletive]!? I'll [expletive] kill you disgusting bastards!"

"Woah, that's quite a sailor's mouth you got on you. Heh, you proud to show that off to your little birdie?"

"She can't understand English anyways. The only ears I'm soiling today is yours, [expletive]."

A tug on his sleeve. "Ano...K-Karma-kun?"

"What is it?"

Manami bites her lips. "I...I c-can understand e-every word y-you said."

'Well...that is.'

"...oh."

Awkward pause.

"Um...K-Karma-kun s-shouldn't s-swear t-that much. I-It isn't nice?" Manami offered tentatively, not quite sure how to handle this mute Karma.

Though Manami was beyond surprised when Karma, without any warnings, suddenly dropped down to a seiza and started rambling.

"I apologize deeply for my course and uncouth language, and my shameful oversight of the fact that you could understand everything that can be said, I am a horrible human being, I wouldn't blame you should take a soap and wash my mouth, Manami-chan, I've sinned so many times in front of you, no matter how much I repent I can never-" Karma rambled on, head bowed low almost touching the ground.

Manami and the thugs just stared at him.

"Er, boss...what the hell is going on?"