.
Karma first saw Nagisa when he looked up at the scoreboard of this week's ranking that he rarely saw because, usually, it was never changed.
His eyes widen and he almost choked on his sandwich, stumbling on his hover chair and almost falling into the abyss of the city hundred feet below. Their faces showed like in driver licenses but he didn't care about the committee's lack of update—still showing his rookie face even if he had grown since three years of gaming. Now, on the top of him, showed in a bigger bar was a new name colored in neon blue sky and written in romaji instead of hiragana or kanji, Nagisa Shiota.
He felt like growling in anger but everyone was looking at him expectantly, some patting his shoulder and some looking at him in confusion. His manager, Rio Nakamura, looked surprised at this. She gaped as she looked up but Karma just shrugged, hiding his inner turmoil as he quickly stood up.
Of all the times he didn't look up at his scores because he knew, just knew, that he would always be at the top of the gaming stratification, on top of amateur VR gamers and veterans, but suddenly when he did look up, this new girl beat him into it. Who does she think she is?!
He searched for the team that was first place this time. Having their main primadona, they must be a new flashy crowd which was easily spotted. He turned to Nakamura, "Rio. Where is Nagisa Shiota's team?"
He looked through the colorful ocean of people, trying to find a human form in the variations of aliens and earthlings. Anything that showed a new team that he never saw. Rio came back to his side, the hologram screen showing Nagisa Shiota's team. "Apparently, they won't come to the ceremony." He looked at him worry, "What's wrong, Karma? Don't tell me you want to meet the girl?"
Karma's eyes when he glanced at Nakamura was glinting dangerously. He hid it with a smile and Nakamura's frown told him to don't make trouble, Karma. But Karma was never good at listening, so he did what he wanted, escape. He ignored his team's protest of not staying for lunch but he had something important to do.
Karma walked down the thin path of the hovering bleachers, finding the safe path to the main gate and rushed to the elevator. He walked fast through the masses of crowds, ignoring the calls from other team and screams of fans. When he did enter the not so empty elevator, he opened his smartphone. He looked up for Nagisa Shiota, asked L—his AI—to search for Nagisa's background, Nagisa's game record, articles about Nagisa, anything.
When the elevator 'ding'-ed when it hit ground floor, he hurriedly rushed to his car and drove home. He has lots of homework to do.
.
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Karma threw his computer in frustration, the hologram interface shook as the main body hit the floor. There was no other information about Nagisa Shiota except the basic entry in Lovro co.'s website—height, weight, birthday, and apparently, sex— and the list of his teammate. His sex, to Karma's amusement, was actually male. The committee hadn't even made a strength chart, it was essential to the fighting but Karma needed more. If he needed to know more of this anonymous player and he had to hack into Lovro's database. But no, in the meantime, if there were only physical appearance information, there was only one place Karma could use it…
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Their first encounter was when they met on the virtual battlefield, the big hunger game held once a week where all the fighters instead of fighting monsters or mutants fought each other to gain sponsorship. The kind of like the ancient Roman Empire thing with the same form of feudal entertainment only with high-tech weapons and higher possibility of death. This society was already rotten Karma might as well be swimming in fertilizer.
But he lived from said garbage, breathe fresh oxygen with their filthy money, and so he wouldn't complain. He would only lash it on another fighter so, yay, brownie points.
Karma's first impression about Nagisa is sly. Not Shinigami sly or Irina Jelavić sly but the kind of sly that a gorgon would do. Nagisa Shiota looked vulnerable. When other fighters used massive weapons such as the laser bazooka or, say, lightsaber, Nagisa Shiota used a very old-fashioned knife and a revolver. Karma hadn't seen anyone used an old fighting knife in a very long time.
The big feast started as a canon was fired, all fighter ran in an instant like a pack of piranha fighting for meat. Karma never was the kind who liked to fight first, he waited for the number to lessen, and dodging lasers and bullets as he counted how many fighters collapsed to unconsciousness and disappear as their mind was not in the game, literally.
Apparently, Nagisa Shiota thought the same thing as the number lessens to just the two of them, no bruises just small scratches. The crowd roars because isn't this tasty? Two of the current top player would duel to their death to fight for freaking sponsors. The fun part was the crowd's expectation to Nagisa Shiota, the new kid who outscored Karma Akabane, the all-time champion.
"Not anymore," Karma muttered as he charged the small body forward. He chose a double laser blade and his mind crazed as one of the lasers snipped a few strands of Nagisa's hair. He dodged as Nagisa charged from the side with the steel knife. It glinted from the sunray, mocking him with its primitiveness.
He attacked and missed Nagisa's body as he whirled backward, flexible, Karma thought morosely. The thing about Nagisa was that Karma knew nothing about the boy's fighting style. So he might as well try a little experiment.
"Why dodging, miss?" he lunged forward but this time he used only one of his blade, using his free hand to hid a punch. He was good at this, at least, provocation. He saw Nagisa flinched, frowned at him deeper and found that it irritate him. It made Karma joyful. As the blade hit the side of Nagisa's armored shoulder, Karma punched the boy's other side, found that the small body was so light that Nagisa went flying to the other side. He smiled widely as he looked at the limping body.
Nagisa's knife flew out of his hand, lying beside him and Karma crouched to take it. Backfired by your own weapon. That's ironic. Karma grinned, wide and mean, the pit of his stomach flipped in joy. He raised both his arms—already putting his double blade away—and as he was about to stab the poor boy, Nagisa spun away from him and kicked the knife off his hands. Karma clicked his tongue.
"What the hell?!" he smiled wide, looking down at him, and in a second he practically jumped at the boy, both stumbling to the hard ground. He held an arm triangle choke and Nagisa coughed, his lack of reaction somehow irked Karma. The thought of the feast flung out of his skull long ago, now he was thinking about this stupid boy.
"K-Karma-kun!" Nagisa gasped and Karma tightened his grip, feeling the boy's shaking fingers clawing his arms. "Yo-your legs…" he whispered and Karma thought that was the weirdest death message that Karma ever heard until he moved his thigh forward to the boy's crotch—
Karma's mind screeched as he saw Nagisa's red face, both from lack of air and embarrassment. Or pain. Because Karma did practically crushed his crotch with his strong leg. He humored himself thinking that Nagisa Shiota was a girl who screwed her already screwed data saying she was a boy. He had thought this through their battle, of how Nagisa's petite and feminine body, even though he knew that shouldn't be the reason.
He used one hand, the other still holding him even if it loosened, now running down the boy's crotch, and—oh.
The boy yelled in his ear, suddenly strong enough to lift him off and Karma blamed his surprise because once Nagisa threw him out, Nagisa clapped his hands like an electrocution that sent Karma jolting. He suddenly felt dizzy, the thumping of his heart was roaring in his ears. He almost lost his balance if he hadn't bite his tongue.
But before he put another blow, Nagisa pulled out an electric conductor and shocked him to unconsciousness.
.
.
Their next meeting must be fate (or karma, har har) because after his embarrassing defeat, he tried to ignore anything that was related to Nagisa Shiota, but accidently met him in the theater.
Because of the game, he tried ignoring the press questioning 'how do you feel about fighting Nagisa Shiota?'. He wouldn't even dare looking at his daily updates, reading comments about the game etcetera. He loathed the internet for a while.
So, he felt like going out alone.
There was this movie theater in Akihabara that showed his favorite's director's new movie. He usually watch it streamed online or something, anything that would make him more of a hermit but he thought, going out once in a while would be nice (at least better than hearing Gakushuu's bullshitting him).
Karma came to the theater, five minutes before the movie started, taking off his shades, and sat with big size caramel popcorn and a diet coke. On his right were two couple, both engrossed in their phones and taking selfie with a monopod and on his left was empty. At least not until the movie started and someone rushed with a plate of sushi on a tray floating behind them. The person was probably a human, his hair two twin-tail of blue sky, Karma thought this person is a girl until he realized that, nope, he knew this person quite enough despite the androgynous traits.
"Excuse me—" Nagisa's voice was whispery as he sat calmly and the tray float soundlessly to his lap. "Oh." Nagisa sounded surprise and Karma thought he should ignore his rival, people usually do that anyway. "Hello, Karma-kun."
This might be another challenge (or he was just overthinking), because Karma then felt if he didn't answer, Nagisa would think he was mad and he didn't want the blue haired boy thinking he felt defeated. "Hey. This is unexpected." It is. He tried to get over it, really.
Nagisa's eyes shone like cat eyes in midnight and he smiled, "I know, it's been awhile." He crept closer to whisper, "do you like this movie?"
Karma was a bit surprise by his the closeness, other fighters who felt competitive around him tend to give him cold shoulders. He whispered back, "I'm a fan of the director and it's rare that he adapted a movie from comic."
Nagisa nodded as he pressed a button to pop a pair of chopsticks, took it to eat his sushi. "I'm curious of this movie too, I heard it was pretty good."
"What, are you into superhero?" he snorted at the thought and not just about how child-like that sounded but also how surreal that would be.
Nagisa chuckled, "I don't know," He glanced at Karma, finding him raising a brow and widen his eyes. "Guess so. I mean they save people."
"Hm…"
"I think, it's amazing how people are dedicated to saving others." Nagisa looked down at the poorly lighted sushi, he opened his mouth to say something only to hear an explosion sound effect, and apparently the plot of the story had thicken. They didn't say anything after that, trying to enjoy half of the movie.
When the movie ended, Karma was about to get up, get out, and never talk about he met Nagisa Shiota in the theater ever, Nagisa stood and turned to Karma, stretching his right hand awkwardly. Karma raised a brow awkwardly, "Wanna eat lunch together?"
There was a sound like a car crash in Karma's mind, though he remained impassive, "Heh? I'm still full, though." He lied.
Nagisa blinked a few times, Karma thought of how naïve he looked. Then he persistently said, "well, I'll treat to a drink then."
Karma's head reflexively turned defensive, looking Nagisa from a side glance, "you don't have to."
Nagisa showed disappointment which Karma thought was laughable. What, is he expecting them to be buddy-buddy? "Oh."
They both stood and Karma thought this was a mistake. Now they're awkwardly stretching without looking at the other, wrecking their brain to say something else. Karma turned, "Right. I'll be going."
"Yeah, sure." Nagisa said and since the exit door was only on the left side, Nagisa's offer still fresh in the air, it felt agonizingly long to walk there. With them side by side not knowing what to say. They almost walk out at the same time, colliding awkwardly and Karma cursed the half open door because what kind of prick open the door half assed-ly. Another awkward, 'you first' and collided again (fuck's sake) because they thought the same thing.
"Ladies first." Karma finally said, he was so uncomfortable that he felt his neck tensed.
Nagisa frowned, of course. Karma thought he found a sore spot, but he finally walk first. "Thanks." Nagisa breathed, quickly escaping there. Karma quickly escaped the theater, thinking about finding a restaurant far from the theater.
.
.
"I thought you weren't hung—"
"I know."
Nagisa smiled widely, both his eyes are closed as they waited for their food. He fiddled with his straw, looking peaceful as the smile still plastered to his sweet face, "you're still up for my offer?"
Huh. This guy, Karma smirked. He thought, no use denying it Nagisa would just do it on his own. "Yeah, yeah. Use your monopoly money, kid."
Nagisa frowned a little, "I have real money, and I'm not a kid."
"You look like one though." He punched a button to show a hologram screen with their menu and he scrolled through Italian food, tapping a plate of lasagna. He watched to the see through menu, Nagisa's face not offended a little bit, calmly picking his order.
"It was fun," Nagisa said as they were done.
Karma was looking at the balcony, hand cradling his head as he glanced at the boy before him. "Huh?"
"The match at the hunger game. It was fun and you are really strong."
Karma looked away again, he felt this boy was trying to make peace with him and Karma thought, maybe he should drop the cold shoulder charade. "Yeah, guess so."
As he saw Nagisa's face, it confused him even more because Nagisa was smiling, softly like a mother to her child, his eyes shady and serene. Something that made the pit of his stomach hot and flickering, must be the hunger because stomachs are weird like that. "Why do Karma-kun became a gamer?"
Karma blinked, "why do you ask?"
Nagisa palmed his cheeks, watching serve-bot floating around serving orders. "I was just curious, Karma-kun is really good so there must be some strong motivation."
He… never really thought about that. He had three years spent on gaming it felt more like a life cycle that he couldn't thought. Motivation? Because he was good at it. That's why. "I like it, it's fun."
"Oh..." he watched as a serve bot flew to their table, giving them their order and Nagisa pressed the 'thank you' button.
"How about you?" Karma's eyes trailed to the lean fingers, so casually even if most people wouldn't bother. Servebots are just robots.
Nagisa's touch a chopstick, Karma's eyes subconsciously followed it until it was snug between three fingers. "I… guess I kind of want to be like Sonic Ninja? It's weird but… I don't know how to explain it more."
Karma turned his eyes, realizing Nagisa had been realizing. He smiled jokingly, "Aha, it is weird."
But Nagisa was never offended and Karma felt it would be almost permanent, so instead Nagisa just said calmly, "there was always ways to save people. I guess being a VR gamer could be one of them and games aren't just games when it teach you a lot too. People are like enigmas, they aren't what it seems, aren't as bad as what people think." Nagisa let out a heavy breath.
…Karma guessed, there were just some things that he still needs to understand from Nagisa.
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(He still try to look for Nagisa's information, but still found none like he was some kind of precious government asset, and somewhere between his frustration, Karma took his old VR glasses—the one he only used for entertainment use—and his headphone, he turned it on as he sat on his reading chair. Doors locked, curtains down, and as he opened his eyes to a new virtual world, he found the replica of the source of his frustration. The fake Nagisa Shiota now in a frilly maid dress, like the last time he used. Karma wasn't in his reading chair anymore even if his body is but now he was in an old wooden chair, strapped on both arms and even if he knew how to open them forcefully or easily, he let himself be.
Nagisa was walking, now barefooted because Karma preferred it that way. He was looking down on the white floor—the room was blindingly white because Karma didn't bother to construct a better room—his lashes fluttered and his piercing blue orbs peeking through them. Karma wouldn't gulp even this Nagisa was walking slowly, confidently and seductively, until he was close enough to tug o shorter boy to his lap if he wasn't strapped.
Nagisa smiled sweetly and it thrilled Karma how dangerous that looked. Nagisa did pull his legs to both holes of the side of the chair, their crotches pressed flush and the skirt hid it, making Karma's imagination ran wild.
As Nagisa quietly open the zipper of his dress, Karma could only tugged both his arms moving his chest forward until their nose touched and Karma focused on Nagisa's dilated eyes and the sound of the zipper tugging open, showing the milky skin—
"Karmaaa…!"
Karma tugged his VR glasses off his head, almost throwing it at the offensive door. Nakamura's voice is like piercing needles to his back. Karma looked down at his crotch and ugh, yep. Karma buried his face as he thrashed muffled profanities in five languages.)
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A bit background check about Karma, he was actually an ex-boxer. Kama was pretty good at it and even if his scrawny teenage body was an understatement. But he was really good at parkour and taekwondo that to anyone who had doubted Karma Akabane, he could just shove their foot to their ass and put wasabi pasta inside their nostril while putting slices of carbonara on their mouth.
But of course his dedication wouldn't do much when the company who took him was arrested from corruption. So eventually Karma's boxing career was over and he spent two or three months or so in the custody. Until, of course, Tadaomi Karasuma took him out to become one of his VR gamer.
It wasn't as dark as Karma thought his background would be. He ran away from home since he was ten and the only thing more traumatizing was the fact that his favorite spice shop was burnt down and the variety of spices in the city weren't as many as in his hometown. He did found one in Shiba, a few years after that, used all his money to buy cardamom and beni-shouga. He didn't have to worry about electricity or water bills, basically his life only constited of gaming, gaming, and gaming.
Compare to Nagisa Shiota's Karma lived an apple pie life.
When Karma (finally) found out that Nagisa was Irina's foster child, the first thing that crossed Karma's mind was the famous women-only Latifolia Academy for assassination. But Karma knew that Nagisa was biologically a boy, despite the twin-tail and the pretty kawaii-fixation face, so he thought Irina might found him somewhere and took him to her care and feeding or something. That was his hypothesis.
He also found out that Nagisa had no childhood record. Nothing told him about where Nagisa was born—only the date, though. 20th July 2060—and where his previous schools are, did he went to university or not and just went to Irina's open arms to join the gaming life, and other trivial stuff that supposed to be known by the world. Nagisa was new but there was the fact that Irina's team was from a big company (Lovro co.) ghat sheltered teams more than Asano corp. and owned a housing residence in the suburb of Neo Tokyo. Then why was this kid suddenly popped out?! Everything sounded so fishy Karma could swim in his own confusion.
Karma was a man of adventure, of course, so he knew the only way to feed his curiosity was a firsthand information.
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Karma entered his gaming room to enter the Tube. He had prepared a change of mission—without Nakamura even knowing—to Shiota's field. He didn't want to draw suspicions but he needed to know what Nagisa was doing. So, when he finished his mission, he asked L to bait his tracking as if he was signing off to the mission, walking out of the battlefield when he was actually changing fields. Of course there would be some who were in the same level as his and definitely knew because they saw him giving false signals to the tower with their own eyes but then luckily there were only Gakushuu—which should be a problem because Gakushuu was his boss's only son thus could blow him right there and then.
"I'm done now." He told the son of God (his boss), said son was fighting a mutant.
"Tch, that's rare of you." Karma rolled his eyes because, okay, he wasn't giving effort of being discreet because, well, it's Gakushuu. "You usually finished last and you never come to the arena early." The boy with the apricot strands frowned.
"Well I feel like it." Karma smiled lazily, "besides, I am staying late."
The purple eyes narrow, "what are you up to?"
Karma shrugged as he pointed at Gakushuu's back. "Nothing. I just… felt like exploring the arena." He saw as Gakushuu still looked at him suspiciously and a second later slashed a monster that was behind him with his blade.
Karma thought he didn't want to wait for Gakushuu to finish his level but then Gakushuu was going to pester him, "I'm trying to meet my crush!" Karma said finally. He didn't smile this time, to convince him.
It was half a lie, he didn't thought Nagisa Shiota was his crush but he liked the shocked look on Gakushuu's face. But well, crush? Hmm… it was normal for gamers to have some kind of workplace romance, they just weren't allow to develop relationships, knowing they are practically rivals and the form of affair would get in the way of their job. The odd thing wasn't the chance of taboo, but coming from Karma Akabane was kind of off. "Wha-suit yourself! If my father finds out, you and your crush would be the ones who'll get roasted."
Karma watched as Gakushuu finally signed out early and he thought it wouldn't work but it did. As he watched Gakushuu's body disappear into fragments of binaural bits, Karma entered a gate that led to many fields.
.
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Apparently, Nagisa's field was a Victorian style ball with so many people. It was a rare kind of field, where there was actual people and less monster. Karma watched as his rival stealthily killed a mutant who disguised as one of the waiters, he found that the moves are odd and unusual.
Nagisa entered one of the windows and was now a floor above the crowd of people. Karma bounced his body to the roof near the building, watch as Nagisa changed into a waiter outfit from his shapeshift armor and he frowned because this is weird. He had never seen other players act like a spy before, when they usually just kill monsters and mutants that was spread all over the arena like garbage to a community service.
He entered the same window as Nagisa, "would you look at that," he muttered as he saw Nagisa blended with the crowd. Karma joined the crowd as he changed into tux and found that the people inside are all… props. Virtual people that he couldn't communicate with. Why would Nagisa took the trouble to change clothes when in the end the people here aren't real? He finally spotted the blue haired waiter behind a curtain to, possibly, another room.
He followed Nagisa to a dead end hall where there were big mirrors propped against each wall. The reflections was surprising because it showed not just his reflection, but somehow it was a one sided mirror that shown other places. Portals. There first word that Karma thought. On one of the mirror, suddenly Nagisa leaped inside. His body vanished to the other side of the mirror.
"Shit." cursed Karma as he contemplated to follow Nagisa or not. He bit his lips, feeling his guns on his sides and shoved his head to the mirror. He found that he entered a bathroom, Nagisa already out of the door. He grunted as he shoved his entire body to the mirror. He felt a weird sensation, cold, like he was bare.
His hands touched the marble sink that was supporting his weight and as he flopped to the floor, he looked up because somehow he felt like floating. His feet felt so light that he might as well in a semi zero gravity room. He looked back to the mirror… only to find he have no reflection.
Karma tried to touch the mirror and even as it went through which meant the portal was still running, Karma thought… there must be a glitch.
Karma walked out and found that he was in a party, filled with people but no monsters. Aliens, yes. Cephalopodians, Venusians, any kinds of aliens but no mutants or monsters. They were all normal. He saw Nagisa entering another room and Karma finally thought Nagisa wasn't going to fight anymore. He walked pass a drunken man, but as the drunken man stumbled, Karma thought about dodging but the man actually stumbled through him.
Karma frowned because he could touch the monsters or the props in the field, they were meant to be physical so that the fighters could kill them then why?! Karma walked back because of shock, only to get passed again by a woman he was familiar with—why do I know this woman?—who was trying to move away from the man. The crowd moved and Karma was about to touch a man—isn't he from the government?—who was standing beside him, only to have his hand passed through the man's abdomen.
He moved away from the stifling crowd, trying to find Nagisa because Nagisa probably knew what is wrong with his field. He entered the room Nagisa was in, only to find him crawling to a sleeping drunken man. The man, Karma knew as the Chief Cabinet Secretary was sitting in an arm chair, there was a stripper watching a movie from a plasma screen, swiping channels with her point finger. Nagisa was crouching on both side of the armchair now, his body hovering, a blade in his hand crept closer to the man's neck.
On instinct, Karma leaped at Nagisa's body, a second not fast enough so that the edge of Nagisa's blade still touched the man's neck. Second after that the man screamed as blood dripped from his neck, but because the blade didn't sliced enough to kill, the blood splattered all over the rug, making him jolted up. The stripper screamed in horror and Karma's eyes widen. What's going on?! Is this part of the game? They shouldn't kill a human—
He and Nagisa crouched near the bloodied man but somehow the tortured man didn't realize their existence. Nagisa squirmed under him and Karma was so shock he let him go until Nagisa prepared his blade for another blow. "No!" he heard himself yell and his hand grabbed Nagisa's handsfree to cut the transmitter and signed him off instantly but then… Nagisa screamed in pain,
"Nagis—ku-?! What's wr-…?" Karma heard Nagisa's manager, Akari. Her voice shook because of the interference.
"No! Stop—Karma-kun!" an electric wave ran from Nagisa's earpiece to his. Karma felt a shocking pain that made his head pounded. He let go of Nagisa and slowly Nagisa's body evaporated to binaural bits, there were glitches as his body disappeared. Karma's head pounded hard like gongs near his eardrums. He stumbled as he saw his body bursted into tiny fragments and when it shouldn't feel anything, his body was burning with electrocution. He had a feeling his Box broke in the middle of signing him out.
"aaaah… AAAARRGHH..!"
And the last thing Karma saw as his vision turned black, was Nagisa's frighten eyes.
.
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He was right, his Box was fried, and somehow it burned half way to the cords. At least the Tube wasn't damaged. Karma knew this but his brain was damaged. He had a coma for few weeks, a brain constructor regenerating the cells of his dead brain, the Artificial Intelligence showed a data that apparently, he had a TBI. Which for gamers—especially professional ones like him—was a rare occasion unless he was a rookie VR gamer that had his soda spilled to the old not water resistant Box. But he's not, there was no water and his Box was water resistant, upgraded every month, and he was not a rookie. Nagisa is.
Speaking of Nagisa, he was also in a coma in a hospital on east Neo Tokyo. Nobody (other than Karma) knew exactly what happen to him other than Nagisa's Box was broken. It was the standard Box but the media bought it, bought whatever bullshit Nagisa's company told. The same as Karma's company who also said bullshit about Karma's Box being too old to be played. Karma didn't know if his company knew something about his little adventure, but he's grateful that the press only flocked on him the first day he woke up.
He knew from Nakamura about Nagisa's condition, he watched as the mass media roared a bit about the incident, his fans praying for him. He turned off the TV because that's bullshit and the only thing he thought about was blue frighten eyes and bloody neck.
"Don't turn it off! Look, the news still going at it."
He had rolled his body to the side, sulking, but then his head perked at Nakamura's hand, snapping a finger to turn the TV on, showing news about the Chief Cabinet Secretary. He rose a brow, the memory fresh again in his head. He thought, maybe it was just a virtual reality that Asano corp., the company that provided the game field and his shelter company, played tricks on.
Sengoku Edano was talking about an attack and as Karma stirred his body to look at the TV, his eyes widen in shock to find the Chief Cabinet Secretary's neck was bandaged.
"I would like to emphasize for security matters regarding the assassin Phantom Viper, a murder who threatens the life of authorities and must be catch immediately. This is a sign of war, to the person who must be sentenced to death penalty…" The Chief's voice was numb to Karma's rapid heartbeat, his heart monitor beeping incessantly and as Nakamura's worried voice fall deaf in his ears, all Karma could think of:
It couldn't be… is Nagisa the Phantom Viper…?
.
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When he was out of the hospital, Gakuhou Asano actually invited him to an elite party, something about celebrating a political party? He didn't listen but he and Nakamura (his plus one) finally went there because Gakuhou wanted to show them their best player. He met a lot of big names and some familiar faces like the Red Eye, his mentor—Koro-sensei or the Shinigami, Lovro, Irina and Karasuma.
Gakuhou cornered him, somewhere along the party, "Karma-kun..." his lavender orbs were unreadable, "have you ever heard of the Phantom Viper?"
He tried not to follow, slightly nervous but well hidden. "Ah, the… ghost assassin?"
"Yes." Asano-san was holding a wine glass, he eyed the red liquid and smiled, "have you seen in the news about Sengoku Edano's attack?"
Karma was tensed, he knew there could be anyone who noticed, maybe his transmitter leave a trace, his coma and Nagisa's are too close to call it coincidence. "Yeah. The method was the same as the Phantom Viper."
"Yes, and who do you think is the Phantom Viper?" he baited Karma, Karma knew but he wouldn't leave it. Not when he wasn't sure who to trust.
"I don't know, sir." He said. He tried to look around at the crowd, not letting his boss study his face.
"Logically I suspected you or Nagisa-kun."
Fuck. Karma thought, "Nagisa-kun?"
The Asano heir hummed an agreement and sipped his drink, "are you?"
"No, why would I try to kill the Chief Cabinet Secretary." He quickly denied, making his boss smiled pleasantly.
"Of course, I believe you. And it doesn't matter," he finally walked pass Karma, then gave him a whisper, "I'm actually glad he was the target of the assassination. Less competitor, don't you think?"
Karma widen his eyes, the statement punched him in realization. He faked a cheerful, "you are right, sir." He watched as his boss walked away, there was a bile feeling somewhere around his solar plexus. He tried to get away from the crowd, only to find an empty balcony. He watched as Nakamura laughed with Gakushuu, Ren… she seemed weightless. He felt like lighting a cigarette.
As he breathed in the nicotine and the tartar, he looked up, seeing a silhouette of a fat man and a woman, must be a hooker. He watched as the curtain lifted as the man pinned the woman to the window, both oblivious to the spectator, Karma noticed the bandaged neck, only by the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Sengoku Edano.
Huh, competitor like that.
He started to understand, though, why Nagisa would assassinate him.
.
.
Nagisa never showed up after their accident.
There were rumors then, floating in the air about Nagisa quitting his job because of the coma, it was understandable since there were lots of cases when gamers quit when they felt they weren't mentally ready. The game was, even as it was called 'virtual reality', was a game that used haptic technology that recreated the same stimulation as a real fight.
But Karma doubted it, the voice in his head nagged that there was something Lovro was hiding or Irina was hiding. He thought about the frighten eyes, the weird field, all make sense and it might be what they call an ultra-kinesthetic transmitter? What a douche-y name from a douchebag who invented something like that. There were rumors about clean assassination, never leaving trail as if it was a ghost but Karma knew there were just so many rotten people that assassinated death was common and that this 'ghost' assassin was just the police being corrupted and plain stupid.
He was held from gaming, practically banned from his gaming room by Karasuma and he was left thinking over and over about Nagisa and how he was tangled in such situation. One evening, someone rang his apartment. He didn't expect visitor but apparently, his guest came wasn't for him. But for Nagisa.
Akari Yukimura demanded an explanation.
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"DIE!"
He thought half his apartment was gone when the Cephalopodian sliced the walls with her tentacle. He… deserved it. Not really. He also didn't know. "Oi, wait!" he dodged as he tried speed dialing the police, but she broke the phone and welp, didn't want his smartphone to turned to Candy Crushes too.
How did this happen?
"Karma Akabane-san." The gloomy girl was looking down at her feet, Karma felt guilty especially when she sniffled. "Why did you do that? Back at the game…"
He gulped, he slowly took her shoulder so that she wasn't crying in the hall of his apartment building. "Yukimura-san. I know this is hard but I also need to know what's going on."
Her eyes are swollen and Karma held a breath. She looked like she was about to burst into tears but then she growled. "You needed answer? But it's not your business! How dare you ask for something after all you've been trying to stick your hands on Nagisa-kun's job."
He… caught his words in his tongue. He knew she was right, "look, I'm sorry about Nagisa-kun but I didn't know that he turned out to be a national thread!"
She looked at Karma in disappointment and rage, "unbelievable." Her voice a sharp hiss and the next thing Karma knew was that when she loosen her hair free, there was a pair of tentacles—ah, apparently a half-breed, looking at her semi-form—and, well, fuck his life.
"Look, lady! If I tell you why I came to Nagisa-kun's field could you stop destroying my apartment?!" he sounded pathetic, wincing because this isn't VR world where there would be weapon popped out from his hand and even if he had a gun, he can't shoot a citizen.
Akari slowed her pace, now making a stance but not moving further, "tell me, Karma-kun."
Karma sighed, he kicked a debris out of his way and squared his shoulder. "I was curious—"the tentacles broke a hole in the wall behind him, an inch from his ear. "—that was clear that we are rivals, I need to know his strategy, and he had no God damn record! Aren't you listening?!"
Akari gave another distrust stare, her tentacles lowered. "It… doesn't make any sense…"
Karma frowned, the woman had trashed his apartment, forced an honest question at him, and now didn't believe what he said? "Hah..?"
Then Akari furrowed her brow in confusion, "why… would you gone all the trouble just for that?"
…He didn't know.
She sighed at Karma's sudden silence, he watched from the corner of his eyes Akari's tired posture, not just physically but mentally, until she finally said, "Nagisa-kun isn't going to play anymore. Lovro-sama demanded an exile before the Chief Cabinet Secretary decided to put a death sentence to Nagisa-kun."
.
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The first clue to find Nagisa was Irina Jelavić.
Akari was not an option anymore, enough after last time disaster—he had to explain to his bosses that it was some drunken Cephalopodian hating his gut—He hunted her on Sunday morning where he was supposed to be at home because it's his day off. She frowned disapprovingly as he parked his aerobike in front of her, the hovering tire made him easy to corner and chase her.
"What the hell, Akabane?!" she was in stylish cape blazer, wearing Saverio's shades, there were bags in both side of her arms. She was shopping. Oh, he did corner her in the middle of Shimokita. Oh, well.
"Wanna have lunch together, Irina-san?" he said as he opened his helmet.
The woman's frown deepen as if he asked for something scandalous. "What do you want? You do know you are under my fiancé's roof, don't you? Try anything funny, kid, I'm telling."
Karma rolled his eyes and nonchalantly said, "I just want to ask you a few things. I'm not into ten years gap relationship."
Irina put her hand on her chest indignantly, "well who wants to have a relationship with a brat like you?!"
After a few insult throwing, mostly because Karma couldn't just stand riling people up especially as gullible as this woman, they talk in a small café near the Shibuya train station. Irina didn't waste any small chats as she quickly asked, "Well? What do you want to ask me about?"
Karma fiddled his straw as he looked through the buzzling of Neo Tokyo. There was something nauseating about that many people so he looked down at his glass instead. "I want to ask where Nagisa Shiota is." He muttered.
Irina was quiet as she studied his face, now without her shades, her eyes was so judgy it irked him. He squinted to give her a stern look and Irina finally gave up. "He quit. Simple as that."
"Lie!" he widen his eyes, feeling bloodlust. But he waited, "tell me where they exiled him."
"Why do you need to know, kid? You've screwed the assassination attempt it's a good thing Lovro-sama covered for both of your asses." Didn't she know what I have been through?!
There it is again, the almost similar question that might drove Karma to… something he was afraid of commiting. Why was he afraid? Because it was hopeless? "I'm curious!" he sounded exactly like his heart tell, sick of the same question.
Irina actually gave a content sigh, put her chin on her knuckles. Her lips formed a side smile and her eyes twinkled, "I'd reveal it to you if you know what you want to do with that information." She sipped her coffee clean, slam it a little bit. She walked away as she put her bill on the table, leaving Karma hanging his head down.
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Karasuma ripped Karma's resignation paper even before the boy could say anything.
Karma held a sigh as his stubborn head questioned his boss's exaggeration. There were Irina and Koro-san in the office, right where he wanted them to be but the paper was ripped even before he could say 'sir'. Karma opened his briefcase to take another paper, complete with his signature and gave it to Karasuma who took his vaporizer, turning the paper into dust. He took another paper, making Koro-san snorted, the Human-Cephalopodian sipped his tea calmly. Before Karma could give it again, Karasuma sighed.
"Stop. Karma, stop." He held his hand, leaving Karma hanging the paper in midair awkwardly. Karma took the paper back as he saw Karasuma rubbed the space between his eyebrows, his eyes shut and he muttered a pray. Irina only folded her arms, amused. "Just give me a minute to take this."
A few minutes later Karma let himself to speak. "I want to resign from gaming."
"And why is that? You do know you are the top player in Japan, right?" Karasuma's gaze was piercing, but he wasn't mad. Not so much at least.
"I've had enough of gaming. I think three years is enough, don't you think?"
Irina looks like she wanted to say something, but Karasuma asked calmly, "Are you sure? You are our best VR player, or are you just distracted?"
Distracted. Is that what he looked like? Having no lover for almost his life, depending on one night stands like the empty bottle he was, but no. He had set things and he told that to Karasuma and Irina. His mentor, Koro-sensei smiled fondly behind his tea.
"I'm sure I'm not distracted. I've done what I need to do as a gamer, I'm sure Gakushuu would be very happy if he had a place to be on top."
Karasuma, technically did not have the authority enough to stop Karma from all he had been through, so he nodded finally. "Let me sign those. Don't forget to give it to Asano-san."
Irina stood up, she flicked a screen from her tab, showing a map of an artificial island, Toritsuki. "Nagisa's here. It used to be a tour island but because of an inflation in 2018, it was closed. Now there were few citizens, usually those who are exiled and force migrated because of the population explosion."
Karasuma nodded, continuing, "I'm warning you to be careful. Going through Old Tokyo and passing Toriko Bridge would be tough if they knew you came from the New City, and after that you will become an outcast too, remember that."
Karma nodded. The knots on his chest, it loosen until he felt weightless. "Of course, sir."
.
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Tadaomi-san had kindly hid his tracks, saying he moved to New America or New Tiongkok, anywhere so that the government didn't know that he was in the town of Toritsuki, not that he cared. Shove them money, he was just a mere gamer, a pioneer to their giant chest game.
The bus that took him to Toritsuki was fill with people from the Old Tokyo and the slum area. If Karma did wear anything fancy today, he might make it by noon. Karma absentmindedly held his breath, trying to defeat the sharp odor, and he absentmindedly watch a crying baby, a plastic fan wasn't hard enough to defeat the heat.
The sky was cloudless. His bus took him for five hours—never had he imagined seeing another kind of people—until there were no asphalt but miles and miles of hard ground with a small sign that said 'Welcome to future paradise: Toritsuki', the small town where Nagisa supposed to be exiled.
After asking some folks around about the blue haired young man, he found himself walking to a field of rice and found a house with an old Japanese style in the middle of it. He couldn't remember the last time he saw a rice field other than the TV. The house was small, with pond and a bamboo fountain in the middle, as he knocked there was a greet-bot that asked him about who he was and what does he want with its master.
Karma found the same rush of anxiety, doubts that he might be unwelcomed. He washed it as he tried to calm his breathing, loosen his bag on his shoulder, counted numbers, and remembering his goal. He waited about fifteen minutes, his bag now on the welcome mat and his stomach was hungry.
Finally, the door open to show Nagisa, in a baggy shirt and a baggy pants. His eyes was calmer but he saw storm. He saw storm as it lit when he saw Karma's pair of mercury iris eyes. Karma braced himself to say anything until Nagisa held his hand,
"Get in."
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"You are guilty of me."
The words were piercing and Karma didn't know when he started turning into a coward, not meeting Nagisa's eyes. Nagisa continued, "What's done is done, though."
Karma finally looked up at the calmer person, "I quit gaming."
Nagisa's eyes widening and there was anger rising on his expression, "what do you mean by that?" his voice high but Karma wouldn't flinch this time.
"I've had enough. I've had enough of gaming, I've had enough of my boss, and I've had enough of the people in Neo Tokyo. Aside from that, I want to apologize for everything. I judged you wrong, acted without thinking twice and now you lose your job and you got exiled—I'm here to pay all of those."
Nagisa closed his mouth, relaxing his shoulder as he tilted his head. "Why? But you've lived fine."
Lived fine. Is that what Nagisa thought about life? Living just enough, not too much not too little. Then he realized he never lived fine. He never felt enough. He lived with easy access but he lived in a lie. He lived in a doll house and he realized when seeing Nagisa, he knew he had enough.
He thought about that frighten eyes, he thought about the soft smile, thought about the tired shoulder, thought about the burden. "I… didn't live a fine life. Not until that day I realize I need… you."
Nagisa's reaction, like a mixture of so many things. Doubt, amuse, amaze, touched, thrilled. Above all of those, he settled to fondness. "Then, what do you want to do after this?" he eyed the bag Karma brought.
Karma's smile widen, something that captivated Nagisa's mind for a few seconds, "I'm going to stay here if that's okay."
Nagisa shook his head, "No, it's not okay." He wanted to laugh at Karma's twitching brow, "but… I guess, you can stay." He hid his gaze shyly.
"Until apart time?"
"Until apart time."
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(Karma knew he didn't care, he had seen so many that he didn't care. He wasn't scared, he was blinded and maybe this was faith, him meeting Nagisa and ruining his life like that. In the end, Karma knew that whatever happens to the current world he lived in, it was more promising to be with the only one he love)
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Note:
Haaa~ I'm a bit nervous since I never wrote sci-fi but hey, you just gotta do what you wanna do, yknow... Or well, it's just because I really wanna try sci-fi, turned into this weird sappy Karma cyberpunk monster wide fic. This pairing though…
But all and all… thank you for stopping by, see you next time, baaa!
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Jet