Hey, I'm Karma. I'm Stealing What Is Yours

Nagisa was a bit more relaxed and outspoken after that incident. She would take off her hat and let Naomi style it to different hairstyles – a ponytail, a braid, a bun, a braid bun… Gakushuu didn't really know it was necessary to know all those braid styles – and she started wearing the skirt after changing it at school.

At first, the teachers were confused until Gakushuu had a talk with them without notifying his father. It felt good to know he was doing something behind his father's back. He had many things to thank Nagisa for giving him, huh?

"Seriously, I think I am more like a doll to dress up than an actual friend," Nagisa mopped two months into her 'true self mode', wearing her hair as a crown braid with a green bow to hold the end of the braid with the scalp.

The five boys felt for some reason a need to hug and comfort her, but only Ren acted on it, circling an arm around her and raising her hand with his as he quoted a poem they learned in class that caused her to laugh as usual.

"Ren-kun, maybe I should just take out my eyes and give them to you if you like them so much."

"Not a chance, princess, you are the one making the eyes more beautiful," Ren answered smoothly. Nagisa rolled her eyes and pushed him off.

"And stop calling me 'princess', my name is Nagisa," She frowned.

"Well, you are the only girl in the group of elite," Teppei said. Nagisa eyed him and sighed, shaking her head.

"You shouldn't be so arrogant about it. We're in middle school, not a palace, anything can change the next minute."

"Well, then they'll have to get pass us if they want to have you, Princess, " Tomoya shrugged and ducked under Natsuhiko's book, "What the hell, Koyama!?"

"You're too into your fantasy stories," The long haired teen huffed and pushed his glasses up his nose, "We're superior because of our intellect and our ability to adapt. Life is evolution after all."

"You guys…" Nagisa sweatdropped and turned to Gakushuu, "Shouldn't you stop them, Gakushuu-kun?"

"Well, I'll always protect you," The blond teased and Nagisa deadpanned, smacking him in the head, "Too weak, I'll need to teach you self-defense in case any man will try to touch you."

"Not you too…" Nagisa buried her face in her hands, groaning in exasperation. "I am not helpless!"


"Asano-san, something terrible happened!" A boy rushed into the class, gaining the attention of the newly named 'five virtuosos' who were about to get up for lunch with their 'princess'.

"What is it?" Gakushuu stood up and confidentially strode to the frantic student, putting a hand on the other's shoulder to calm the boy down, "Take a deep breath and tell me what happened."

"The girl you hang out with uh, Shiota-san, some class C have her cornered saying something about being disrespectful to you. I ran here as soon as I saw the situation," The boy winched when the hand on his shoulder tightened and started to hurt him, "Uh… they are at the second floor by the stairs."

"Ren, Koyama, Araki, Seo, we have some annoying bugs to get rid of," Gakushuu pushed the boy aside and rushed to the staircase.

How dare those scum touch his close ones?


"Well, that's unexpected," He had to comment when they reached the scene. The bullies were pushed against the opposite wall with a familiar redhead hovering over the three with his hands in his pockets and a murderous grin on his mischievous face.

"Oh, Gakushuu-kun, what are you doing here?" The girl who was supposed to be in danger didn't seem ruffled and smiled as usual at him, greeting him as usual, even wondering why he was here... as usual.

He was speechless.

"They told us you were bullied," He finally managed to ask and went to her, checking for any injuries. Fortunately, she seemed fine, not even winded.

"Oh, those three were just misinformed. Karma-kun, may you please not intimidate those three?" She gently nudged away the blond and went to the redhead who was pushing something into one of the three's nose, "And I thought I took away all of your tubes already."

"Oh, Nagisa-kun, you'll never rid them from me," The redhead turned to her, and his murderous smile softened to match his overall expression, "I know already where to hide them."

"Under your desk, I presume." Karma stiffened and then burst out laughing and shrugged.

"You got me. I'll stop for now, but you know I hate scum like them."

"Karma-kun, you can't just beat up random people at school." At this point, the five virtuosos were starting to get annoyed by how familiarly the redhead was looping his arm around the girl and chatting with her.

"Who are you?" Gakushuu demanded, "And what happened here?"

"Oh, you are that Asano kid who searched for Nagisa-kun a while ago," Karma smirked and waved at him cheekily, as if knowing how his actions are aggravating him. He gritted his teeth and simply smiled politely. Karma's eyes glinted knowingly and his arm tightened around Nagisa, "So those three just rudely interrupted my conversation and pushed nice sweet Nagisa-kun to the wall and started accusing her. She stood there like a boss and told them that she doesn't want to spend time fighting uselessly and those three buffoons tried to hit her so I simply pulled them away to give them a reminder not to harass my friend."

"Your… friend…" Natsuhiko choked.

Karma's shit-eating grin grew, "Yes, my friend."

"Karma-kun, I can't breathe," Nagisa sighed and pried the hand off her, "He is my classmate."

"I'm hurt, Nagisa-kun. We bonded over our favorite movie and that's how you treat your best friend," Karma rested his arm on the annoyed girl's head and leaned on it as he dramatically whined.

"Karma-kun… I'll move and let you fall," The blunet threatened and when Karma simply chuckled, she took a step to the side and looked away from the stumbling boy falling face first to the floor.

"Nagisa-kun!" Karma sat up with a glare while the five virtuosos laughed, feeling a bit better.

"You asked for it," Nagisa deadpanned, "I need to go to lunch, so see you at class, Karma-kun." She turned to the five and walked towards them as they welcomed her, sending a murderous glower at the redhead who was rolling his eyes.

"Game start," Was all he said before they turned the corner.


"Who was that?" Ren asked when they reached their table. Nagisa eyed him, then smiled sweetly.

"He is my classmate and he likes the director of that last superhero movie we couldn't go watch so we went together. Now we sort of hang out together."

"He's a guy, Princess, you don't just 'hang out'."

"You are guys, too," Nagisa sweatdropped, "And besides, it happened before I changed to a skirt so he thought I was a guy as well."

"Not now though..." Tomoya grumbled.

Gakushuu was already contacting a teacher for Karma's details.

Nagisa looked up to the ceiling in exasperation. "You are overreacting…"


"What are you writing, Nagisa-kun?" Karma sat next to the blunette as she scribbled in her notebook. Blue eyes looked up from the paper and she smiled in greeting.

"Good morning to you, too, Karma-kun," She showed him her latest scribble of Naomi with her usual notes, "Asakura-san was asking for 'girl-time' so I decided to add her to my notebook of my friends."

"You mean 'Stalking my friends notebook'," Karma grinned excitedly and Nagisa sighed and shook her head in a frustrated manner.

"Why does everyone assume that I am stalking people? I just simply write your birthdate, some details and your favorite things so I won't make any mistakes…" She grumbled, "You and Gakushuu-kun are too alike…"

"I am nothing like that arrogant brat," Karma huffed, "Besides, I can have you for myself more than him," He winked mischievously at her, which caused her cheeks to redden. She raised her notebook to her face so he won't see her red cheeks.

"Seriously, it's almost as if you are flirting with me," She retorted, not noticing the redhead's shocked face and beet red face. He quickly recovered though and adorned his usual smirk.

"Well, as long as I don't have to see those five annoyances, I don't mind stealing you away. We are best friends, after all."

"Karma-kun…" Nagisa lowered her notebook and chuckled, "You're hopeless."

"I know."


How did it come down to this?

Nagisa was curled in her hiding spot by the park, wearing a small dark blue suit and her hair cut in random – as if someone was carelessly pulling her hair and cutting it without measuring.

'Look at the suit your mother bought. It makes you look just like the boss in my place. So smart and so successful, just like a son should be.' Her mother's voice echoed in her head and she flinched, curling tighter into herself. Her cheek and wrist throbbed. Her ears ringed. Her scalp ached badly and she felt exposed, scratched raw.

She wanted to call Gakushuu so badly. She wanted the five to come and get her out of here, but they won't understand. She never told them of her house's situation. They would think it was a bully. They would be too smothering and won't let her out in fear of something happening to her. But she wanted them to care for her. She wanted to feel like the girl she is, not a boy… she is not a boy, she is a girl, a girl, a girl, a g—

Her phone she hastily snatched when she escaped blared up and she scrambled to open it and answer the call.

"Hi, Nagisa-kun, was passing in the neighborhood. Want to hang out?" Karma's voice resonated from the speaker and suddenly she couldn't take it anymore. She coughed out a sob and started rambling something that sounded like 'help me'.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Nagisa-kun! What happened? Where are you?"

"I-I'm at th-the park," She managed out, "I-I'm so tired of it…"

"I'm coming right away. Don't move!" The call ended and the phone fell from her hand as she clutched her hair, trembling and trying not to weep loudly. She still had some of her common sense with her. She didn't want to alert any suspicious people or worse, the police. It's her fault after all…

"Nagisa-kun!" She jolted at the sudden noise in the nightly rustling silence. She looked up in surprise and dull blue locked with wide sharp gold, the red hair the only color in the dark park.

In seconds, the redhead was in front of her, scanning her face and clothes, face darkening and eyes clouding over with rage.

"Who did that?" He asked sternly, almost too calmly. His hands came to hold her shoulders, but deflated in hurt when she flinched away.

She looked down in shame. "I'm so sorry. I made you feel so—"

"Stop it right away or I am going to hug you," He tried to joke, fingers shaking a bit as his smirk wobbled, "Come, how about we'll go to my house and you'll explain everything there?"

She nodded.


The way to the redhead's house was slow with Karma having to support Nagisa's quivering steps. She held her left arm protectively and her head was hung down, stumbling every second step. Karma was suspecting a bruised leg or a sprain.

What happened? Who had hurt his best friend so badly? He had his suspicions from his examination but he wanted to hear it from the girl herself.

They reached his house at last and he opened the gate, thanking anyone hearing him that his parents aren't usually at home so that Nagisa won't have to deal with their smothering tendencies.

He got her into the bathroom and sat her on the lid covered toilet, grabbing the first aid from the cabinet and towels from the door, gently cleaning the dirt on her face.

"Do you want to change clothes and clean yourself or do you need help?" Karma wasn't trying to be perverted here nor did he cared about snatching a look. He had a mission and he wasn't having a damn suit stand in his way. And why would a thirteen year girl wear an obviously male suit in the middle of the night?

She didn't respond so he took a deep breath and started unbuttoning her blazer, stopping when she looked up and clutched his shirt, her lower lip wobbling as fresh tears welled up in her red rimmed weary eyes.

"Why am I not good enough?" The question threw him off, but she wasn't finished, "Why being a girl isn't good enough? Why can't I be a good child if I am a girl? I am not a boy, and I don't want to be one. I want to be a girl. I'm a girl… I'm a girl…" She muttered and her forehead fell to rest on his chest as she wept.

"Nagisa-kun… was it your mother?" He knew her parents were divorced, but this? "Does she force you into suits?"

She nodded.

He inhaled sharply. "Did she… the bruises and hair are from her?"

She nodded again.

His teeth gritted and he looked up at the ceiling, reining in his bubbling wrath. "Do you want me to clean you or do you want to sleep?"

"… I want to die."

He froze, eyes widening. "Don't you dare!" He grabbed the shoulders and forced the girl back so he could stare at her with anger clear in his eyes. "As much as I hate to admit it, Asano brat and the other four brats need you. They would be heartbroken if you die. Hell, I would be heartbroken."

"… Do you really mean it? You really want me around?" Nagisa's voice was soft and confused, "Even though I'm worthless?"

"You're not worthless," Karma grinned sadly, "You manage to bear with those pricks and with my fights. No one ever helped me to carry the victims to a safe place. No one ever went with me to movies. No one ever went to my house when I was bored. You're very important to me…"

"Karma-kun…" Her eyes regained some of their life as she smiled hesitantly, "Are you… confessing to me?"

The redhead's face turned as red as his face. She blinked and slapped a hand to her mouth as muffled sobs mixed with chuckles left her mouth. Karma's grinned and gathered her in his arms again.

"So I guess my handsome face captured your heart?" He joked and she coughed a laugh.

"I think 'demonic' would describe it better," She mumbled, her shoulders relaxing.

"You wound me. I'm the devil, not some random demon!"

"Well, if that makes you feel better, your eyes are the epitome of evil," Nagisa drew back and smiled as brightly as she could, her eyes still not back to their glowing state. Karma still took that as a progress.

Then he pressed his lips to the crown of her hair. She chuckled, straightening up so she could her forehead to his. Their eyes locked.

"I guess we are 'best friends' then," She teased and Karma cackled, eyes glinting.

"One day I'll make you admit that now we're more than that."

"Good luck with that, Karma."


"What do you want, Akabane?" Gakushuu gritted out the next morning, "I am not in a good mood as you probably noticed."

"I did," Karma shrugged and leaned on the heel of his shoes, eyes hard with his hands shoved into his pockets, "And I can guess that it is about Nagisa."

"Since when you address her without honorifics?" Gakushuu growled and folded his arms, "And what would you know about that?"

"I was the one to find her last night," Karma answered seriously, which had shut the blond's mouth.

"What happened?" He immediately asked, stepping forward to grab the redhead's collar, "Answer me immediately, Akabane. Who dared hurt her?"

"I can't tell you since Nagisa asked me not to. She knows how you will react and she can't let it happen," Karma seemed genuinely in pain when he said that. Gakushuu snarled at him and tightened his hold.

"You know what I can do to you if you won't answer the question. Who. Did. This. To. Her?"

"Can't tell. But it's not from the school," The redhead didn't seem impressed, but his grin did wane a bit, "Please, don't pursue it any further. Just hold her and tell everything will be alright and that she is important to you."

"Of course she is, what are you getting at?" Gakushuu scowled but released the redhead, brushing his hands on his pants as if to clean himself from the 'filth'.

"Nothing at all," Karma took one hand out of the pocket and waved to him cheekily as he walked away.

Gakushuu took out his phone and made a call.


"The loss of hair equivalent the loss of innocence~" Ren said dramatically at lunch that day as he embraced the blunette, the five noticing her very subtle flinch and growing more worried from that.

Nagisa sighed and pried the brunet's face away and fingered her now chin length blue locks, "Well, it was bothering me so I decided it's time for a haircut. Karma helped me."

"Well, it suits you," Gakushuu forced a smile, "Although I think long hair is better."

She smiled warmly at that. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind for next time."

"So tell me," He interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them, "What with the sudden absence of the honorifics with Akabane's name?"

Nagisa froze and then looked away, biting her lip and her cheeks on fire.

Perhaps Ren's poem line had more truth to it than expected. Purple eyes narrowed. He does not like the idea.


"So why are we wearing those clothes?" Natsuhiko said a week later.

"Because all my private workers came back with suspicious injuries while saying that nothing was amiss," Gakushuu hissed. Ever since that lunch he had sent his spies to look after Nagisa, hoping to find out what happened and her relationship with Akabane.

Nothing.

He felt mocked.

Then on Friday Nagisa told them she was going out with Naomi again but the brunette was strangely giggly when the five spotted them the previous day at school (before she noticed them and ran away, face beet red after accidentally locking eyes with him) so it made him angry for some reason so now the five of them crouched on the burning ground behind the bush, wearing their most inconspicuous clothes and sunglasses, peering at the fountain the blunette was waiting next to nervously, her hands fidgeting with her white with a blue bow sunhat. She was wearing light green sundress with short sleeves, simple sandals and a brown side bag.

"She did dress up a bit too nicely for a girl's day out…" Ren mumbled to himself, "Is she waiting for a date?"

The five froze and Teppei and Tomoya nearly throttled the brunet. "How dare you?"

"Nagisa~" An annoyingly familiar voice reached their ears and they turned to see the redhead walk towards their princess with a lazy stride, adorning on a maroon colored button up and dark brown jeans ending at black shoes.

"Akabane…" Gakushuu growled, "That bastard…"

"He even made her wait for him. How dare he?" Natsuhiko was biting on his pointing finger's nail.

"That's not the important part," Teppei snapped at him.

"Hush, you three, we're trying to listen in here," Ren told them and after a moment they returned to the 'date'.

"So what do you have planned for today?" Nagisa asked Karma with a warm smile as they sat down. Karma grinned, his eyes hovering over their bush for a second for a second before settling on the blunette.

"Well, I thought of taking you to a scary place so you would cling to my side and yell 'oh, Karma, my shining white knight, help me~'. Something like that."

"Karma…" She sweatdropped and shook her head, "Am I just a plaything for you? Besides, last time we went, I had to drag you out since you were trying to scare some first graders. The police got involved… that was not one of my best moments," She sighed.

"Who would have thought you had such a temper?" Karma cackled, looking at their bush again. Then he smirked and inched closer to the blunette and playfully rested his head on hers.

"Karma, you're heavy."

"But I'm comfortable," He moved his head to her lap, "You're a very comfortable pillow, Nagisa-chan~"

"Please don't," She rolled her eyes and chuckled.

Back at the bush the five of them were in varying state of fury.

"How dare he treat her like a simple decoration?" Ren frowned.

"He's so rude," Tomoya added, "He's nothing like a knight. More like a demon."

"A demon would be nicer," Teppei retorted, "Trying to take advantage of her innocence."

"Hush."

Karma suddenly stood up and looked towards the district. "I have got an idea."

"Food is for lunch, Karma," Nagisa berated him. The redhead looked back to her with a hurt expression.

"But I wanted to treat you. Besides, I decided we are going to get you new materials." Against what the five virtuosos thought she would react, she blushed and smiled happily, standing up as well.

"Thank you, Karma." He grinned and looped his arm with her, dragging her away from the bush.

"After them!" Gakushuu commanded and the five of them marched onwards.


"You are having too much fun," Nagisa deadpanned as she noticed the rustling of the bushes as they passed by another park, "This is ridiculous, they are acting like children."

"Well, they are worried about you," Karma cackled, "And it's so much fun to mess with them."

"I still don't appreciate being used as a toy," She huffed but smiled when he circled his arm around her and drew her to his side, "But I guess it's not so bad…"

"I'm feeling the love here," He rolled his eyes, "And I was serious about this being my treat."

"Well, after the meal, I'll buy you some games."

"You know me so well," He purred as she chuckled. Then her expression softened and she sighed in bliss.

"Thank you, Karma. I needed it."

He smiled warmly and pressed a kiss to her hat covered hair, tightening his embrace, "Anytime."


"He… he just… he took away our princess' innocence!" Tomoya exclaimed and Gakushuu nearly facepalmed. Despite agreeing with him.

"Do you want me to poison him?" Natsuhiko offered and the blond smiled grimly.

"Maybe next time," He bit his thumb nail, eyes narrowed with annoyance, "I need to get her away from him first."

"Well, you should do it quickly since I think we have a problem here," Teppei pointed to the conversing couple and purple eyes looked up to see five big burly men stand in front of the duo.

"Damn!" Gakushuu stood up and rushed over, shadows appearing in front of him.


"What is it with bullies and cornering me?" Nagisa sighed when the five stopped them, regarding Karma as she asked, "Am I a bully magnet?"

"Well, you are very fragile looking girl," Karma grinned at her miffed expression, "Besides, you're pretty cute, so maybe they just want a piece of you."

"Now you're just being mean."

"Shut up!" The middle man roared and the couple looked at the five as if noticing them for the first time.

"Well, seems we're in a problem, Karma," Nagisa commented dryly. Karma laughed.

It made the man angrier and he took a step forward, extending his fist with an obviously harmful intentions. So Karma didn't let the fist get close to him.

"How about you nice misters leave us alone? We are two people madly in love with each other just trying to have a fun first date," He said calmly, though the sneer was very audible in his words. His hand was holding the man's wrist in a menacing way. Nagisa sighed and took a step back only to realize that two of the men slinked behind them and stopped her escape route. She narrowed her eyes and looked for a way to escape, knowing she can't fight to save her life.

But she was becoming very angry nonetheless. Her eyes hardened as she wondered what was taking the five so long. She would need the support much to her growing ire.

"Now how about we'll show them what happens to those who pass through here without the tax," The first man pushed Karma back and cracked his fists. The redhead stopped himself and crouched to a fighting position, knowing that they're truly in a 'problem'.

He was a middle schooler and those five were at best seniors in high school and at worst in university. Whilst being strong, he can't fight five at once and protect Nagisa simultaneously. He needs sadly the five's help. Now where are they?

"I am pissed, Karma," Nagisa spoke surprisingly, "I guess they are mistakenly thinking we need to pay them something and decided to ruin our 'madly in love' date."

"Uh, boss?" One of the males in front of Nagisa took a step back, "We… I think we made a mistake."

"How?" The 'boss' laughed and lunged at Karma. The redhead easily pushed him back and kicked him in the stomach, sending the burly man away from them. The one in front of Nagisa whimpered and took another step back.

"Nagisa, whatever is it that you're doing, keep at it," Karma mumbled under his breath as he ducked under a fist and swiveled on his toes to knock one down. He then braced his hands on the floor and kicked up, hearing a satisfactory crack and the third is went down with a broken jaw, groaning in pain.

"I-I will shoot you!" Karma snapped around in alarm to see the whimpering man stand in front of Nagisa with a gun. Strangely, the air around the blunette seemed to crackle and she simply reached out and placed her palm on his hands and lowered them. He couldn't see her face but he did feel a foreboding feeling.

Sadly, he couldn't come to her rescue since the boss pounced on him and pressed him to the ground. The redhead growled and pushed the other away, rolling away just as a gunshot was heard and a burning smell entered his nose.

"Nagisa!" He shouted through his ringing ears and looked up to see blood spray from a thick… foot…? He turned his head further up and saw Nagisa's hands using the man's fingers to press the trigger. Her face was calm, her smile warm and inviting. Yet her eyes were ice cold and he felt something creep up his spine. She took a step back and then suddenly her eyes widened and regained their warmth but turned confused, turning to him in question. He scrambled to his feet and rushed to her, pulling her to his arms protectively just as another gun cocked.

"Freeze!" A policeman pointed his gun at the howling man, five familiar boys rushing to them.

"Princess!" "Nagisa!" The blunette was forced away from his arms as Gakushuu shot him a murderous look.

"You were supposed to protect her, not get her nearly killed!"

"Well, then how about not waiting until the end to come help us if you were so close this entire time!" He snapped, getting angrier when the boy seemed a bit taken aback, "Oh, you think we didn't notice? Nagisa isn't stupid."

"I know that, you scum," The blond hissed, "I called the police the second I saw them. But some of their underlings tried getting in our way."

Karma looked to the far end of the area and saw a police car next to five more people who were unconscious. "Took you five to deal with five? Pretty weak."

"I dealt with them," Gakushuu rolled his eyes. The two snarled and shot daggers at each other, startling when a chuckle was heard between them. They looked down to see Nagisa covering her mouth with her hand as she laughed.

"You two are so similar."

"We're not!" They shouted in unison then turned to glare at each other.

"Yes, similar," Nagisa smiled, lowering her hat's brim so none could see her terrified expression and trembling shoulders.


"Happy birthday, Nagisa!" The blunette was washed with confetti. She coughed and hid her head under her hands.

"Gakushuu-kun!" She complained later on when she had to pry small paper from her shoulder length blue locks, "I thank you for the surprise, but I told you there is no need."

"It's your birthday, princess, therefore, it must be celebrated," He smirked and she sighed, smiling begrudgingly and giving him a short embrace before running towards the others. Gakushuu stood there, frozen on his spot.

"What are you doing, Gakushuu? We're ready to order!" Ren called him from the fancy table. The blond regarded their group and smiled to himself, walking to the table already packed with the smiling others.

"So what are you getting, princess?" He asked when he sat down. The blunette smiled at him excitedly and pointed to the sushi section. He smiled amusingly, "I should have known. Good thing I knew to choose a place that serves sushi."

"Thank you guys," Nagisa turned to the four others, smiling brightly, "I never thought that my birthday would be so enjoyable and I hope to stay together forever."

"Our sentiments exactly, princess," Ren raised a glass (filled with juice since Nagisa told him they were underage and so no wine), "The rivers of time won't ever deter our bonds of love for our wisened princess."

"Ren-kun..."

"Amen to that," Tomoya exclaimed as he downed his glass.

"Eh, don't like this whole leave it to fate deal," Natsuhiko drank from his as well, "But I guess for once I'll do it. Amen."

"You won't rid of us so easily," Teppei smiled confidently.

Gakushuu clinked glasses with Nagisa with a charismatic smile. "We'll be always by your side, princess."

She beamed. "Yes, I hope we will."


the story was too long so i had to split it to two. sorry about that ^^

A QUESTION: SO I ENDED IT HERE BUT I WAS PLANING TO GET TO SECOND YEAR WHEN NAGISA AND KARMA ARE FORCED TO CLASS E. DO YOU THINK I SHOULD CONTINUE TO THAT POINT AND SHOW THE FIVE'S REACTION? YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED, I WOULD BELIEVE.

any thoughts?