A classmate had found what seemed to be an excellent reference for their paper. Long and elaborate and looked like it could be very relevant, the only problem it had was that it was completely in English. And everyone else was either too lazy or too tired to face yet another foreign text at this point of the term. "Karma, help us!" they said, "You seemed to be free and your English is excellent, right?" They thought. Just because they saw the redhead as if he was relaxing too much.
The only reason Karma agreed to do this was to keep them begging—he found it funny, those who claimed they had aspirations in international politics and relations, asked someone who was going to learn Japanese local law instead. He himself did not have that much time to spend on someone else's assignments. Not like he had finished already, but at least he could always have ideas for his own good anyway, as he brought the journal with him.
"You have one week." For the book until it was going to be returned. Add a day or two for writing the paper itself till they have to submit it at class—everyone's own business, for this one. Except if they were willing to pay. But to promote ghostwriting this time was pretty against the purpose of giving the document to Karma, who wanted to read it by himself without anything disturbing him. Not even the meaning that would be lost in translation.
As the people left, Karma started to sort things out. Selecting which articles would be important enough to base their writings on, and going to a convenience store to copy them. Then he picked up his phone and dialed a contact as he stepped out from the place with a stack of papers and a journal in a plastic bag in his other hand. Waited for the call to reach the other and received an excited, "Karma!" from there.
"Nagisa?" Karma tried not to sound overjoyed—he was just asking for a favor from an old friend right now. When was the last time they met or listened to each other? Was it at the class reunion shortly after college entrance exams period? Maybe the long time and the workload was getting to him. Silly thing, isn't it. "Are you free for the week?"
"Um…" as if he was checking for something, Nagisa paused for a while, "I think I am. I'm off before finals, so I'm in Tokyo now. I can make time for you, though. What are you up to?"
They did exchange messages every other day or week, but there was something different in talking with voices. Something less common, something that felt special, though it was not rare that both of them received phone calls from each other's current classmates. He would have expected Nagisa to question him for it.
"So I have this English document with me and I want you to translate it to Japanese," Karma went straight to the point; no pretense or politeness, since Nagisa would have seen through him anyway. "I sort of need it for additional study material," though Karma did not think that his middle school friend would believe he have to ask a student from another university for something not important.
If someone did not know how Akabane Karma strived, they would have brushed him off, anyway. It was not going to fit what was the truth—that he was a genius from an elite private high school—in their mind, anyway.
"How much is it?" Nagisa complied, or sounded like he would be, "I mean, how many pages?"
Karma flicked through the papers with the hand which was not holding the phone, counted them for a while and answered, "Around ten to twenty. About human rights, maybe you had this kind of discussion in your own class too."
"Seems plausible. Do you want to send it to me or—" Karma knew Nagisa had lived alone in Yokohama since he entered college, rented an apartment at Tokyo for weekends and holidays when he felt like coming back to his hometown. And though Karma would like to have the new address, despite knowing the directions already, he did not think it was worth it to mail photocopied paper there.
He got a better idea and cut Nagisa short with it, "How about we meet now? It'll be better if you got it in print, right?" Thought someone learning education would have been facing tons of reference documents too, and while the internet is useful, it felt more convenient to read things written on paper, at least for Karma.
"Well, I think I can if it's not too late, around four to six maybe. But where?" They no longer had a common place, didn't they? At least when Karma continued senior high school at Kunugigaoka and Nagisa picked a high school in another prefecture, when they had time to meet a few times between first year and graduation, they could always go around their old school's district and no one would be confused on how to reach it.
Karma reckoned of the times he got to meet up with people at his campus, of the place which was the most recognizable to those who came from other universities, "How about my university's library?"
"Okay then, see you," Nagisa turned off the call and Karma headed back to his campus.
The convenience store was not too far off from the campus library, though he was not sure about Nagisa's university or new apartment. They were close, but Nagisa was never the one to insist things to happen when it was just not possible. He could always say no, and Karma would always listen, though he would be a little bit heartbroken after that—he said yes, though, so Karma just sort of believed it could be done.
Took a seat at the reading room, put the documents in an empty space of the table and took the original copy with him. No plan to comprehend what was going on the findings of researchers which was titled like their paper's assigned topic. He just wanted to peek into them and waste time with something more substantial than just sitting here waiting for Nagisa.
According to a past experience, it took twenty to thirty minute from Nagisa's place to the station in front of Karma's Togyo University campus. After going back and forth between four articles, Karma heard that someone had pulled the chair right in front of him and asked, "May I sit here?" in a voice that should have not been there, should have been far in Yokohama.
"Of course you are, Nagisa," Karma dropped his journal and faced the youth. His gaze lingered for a bit longer than usual, though there was nothing strange or different instead of the short haircut he hadn't got used with on Nagisa—even after a few times of seeing it in person. But he'd rather just get to the point, "The document is right in front you. Feel free to take it home."
"Thank you," Nagisa's immediate act was to sit and skim through the papers. So far, it seemed doable for a week, even with his own studies in mind... "But you're not asking me to go here for this alone, don't you?"
"I am not," Karma admitted. He would not be able to lie, anyway, "Spend the rest of evening with me?"
Nagisa would later do so, but with his head bowed to face the work Karma gave him.