ii: →

2 am.

"…Karma-kun?"

"Why the hell are you still awake?"

"Ah, b-but you're awake too? And… I'm not the one calling at 2 am."

"…Touché. I just had this strange urge to check if you were awake or not." The laughter in his voice told her not to believe him. "Have you even gotten any sleep or were you awake all this time?"

Nervous laughter.

"Okuda-san, you should rest. It's spring break, no need for all-nighters!"

"Karma-kun should go to sleep and stop calling people at two in the morning, too."

"…Fair enough. Sweet dreams!"

"You too, Karma-kun."

It's spring break.

Today there's a pile of papers, projects, and stuff worth three years of junior high stacked in the middle of her room. Out with the old, in with the new. New curtains were wide open to air the room, accompanied with sunshine, and Manami had just finished dusting the corners of her room. The bed covers, pillows and blankets replaced, her bookshelves sorted, her desk immaculate.

She'd gotten her exam results from Seikei too, and she was qualified; they've even offered her a scholarship for her full marks on science. But then again…

"It's nearer, which makes it practical," he shrugged. "You'll need two trains to travel to Seikei every day, coming from here, and that's a lot of hassle. It's either you commute, or stay in a dormitory. And I hear dorm life isn't fun at all."

Manami smiled. Practical, so he says. But there's a reason why Oku Tokyo is her first choice, and anything beyond her first choice is simply a decision she would feel half-hearted for. Would Korosensei stand for students who went through half-hearted decisions? Would she have let herself live that down? Her heart squeezed.

Aside from touring her newest alma mater, memorizing her classrooms and familiarizing her surroundings, there isn't really much Manami could do.

After that, beyond that, for the first time in her life, Manami found herself bored. Then she'd felt immensely guilty for feeling bored; spurred by her inactivity she did all that she could within the confines of her apartment by cleaning, sorting, organizing, disposing old stuff away. She'd even rearranged her bed and desk, bargained with her neighbor's adolescent son to help her move the bookshelves (he walked away cheering to himself, having been promised a week's supply of pop rocks, the overgrown boy he was) so by the end of the day she'd worked up quite a sweat.

She'd consumed five hours doing all that. It was only 3 pm right now. Manami hauled the bag downstairs, outside, and jumped into the shower for a long bath after. Beyond that, what was next? There wasn't much to do around the apartment, and the only room that always got messy was her room. By the time she was lying down, it was only quarter to 5 pm, Manami was still restless, and the ceiling had no cracks.

This is the moment where her phone starts to ring. This is also the moment where Manami smiles uncontrollably. Rolling towards the edge, Manami peered at the screen and pressed accept.

"I think I jinxed it. About how fun high school would be? Because Okuda-san wouldn't believe what happened to me today."

"Believe what?"

Karma's reply is a conspiratorial whisper. "I joined clubs today."

She laughed. "Kunugigaoka heavily encourages joining clubs since way back. The only reason we haven't been able to participate is because we're from class E…"

It's only been little over two weeks ago since Karma had walked her to the station, but they've kept in touch since over phone calls and e-mails, sometimes texts. Kept in touch enough to start a ridiculous game of calling each other up for the most frivolous of things to matters of importance. Manami had no idea why this game started, but it was fun, and took her mind off of other things.

Manami liked it. Very much so.

"Whatever. Anyway, between trying to kill that octopus and academic discrimination, clubs were never our thing anyway. Except maybe Sugino's baseball. And your science club. Ehem. Ask me how I joined."

Manami sat up against her headboard, enjoying the breeze from the window. Should I go out today? "How did Karma-kun end up joining clubs?" But where would I go?

"I've had the pleasure of being informed by Asano himself!" He scoffs over the line, hissing Asano's name as if it were evil itself. Manami didn't want to, but she tittered at that, and knew that Karma wouldn't mind. "I knew it was required, hell, almost mandatory, but I didn't think it was that literal. Oh well, it's a compromise I'm willing to tolerate if it means Asano won't be able to beat me. Though some clubs are as boring as hell they had me in tears."

"What clubs did you like?"

"Well, some personal favorites were track and field, mathematics… Hey you know what, Koyama's still here after all, and he's still in the science club, too bad! Of course, no offense meant, I didn't join science, but I did take debate club and the economics council! Oh, and I also took judo, because Asano's in judo, and we both know what that means."

"Karma-kun gets to legally wrestle Asano-san?"

"Okuda-san really knows me too well. And the best part is I could throw him." He laughs. Wherever he was now, it was a tad noisy, with indistinct murmurs of a crowd and something like static announcements. Manami wonders where Karma is today, and sighs at her inactivity. "What's up? You sound sad."

Manami looked out the window, at the bright afternoon sky. The atmosphere was light, she was content, but somehow suffocated. "I'm not sad… Rather, I'm… I'm actually… bored, today…" she trailed off, embarrassed to admit such a thing. She'd had lazy days, but Manami was never bored. She had plans to create and schemed on how to assassinate the greatest killing teacher with her chemical creations. It'd given her a sense of motivation like no other, and now that was taken away… Manami didn't want to think about it anymore.

High school would feel really mundane, and Manami did not know how to feel about it.

Karma hums, sounding nonplussed, "Bored? That's not something I normally hear from you."

"I know," she sighs. I should really go out. "I cleaned my room today, but it just left me with no other things to do… Everyone else must be busy with their plans too, and here I am with nothing to do…"

"You," Something fizzled on his side of the line. Cola? Acid? "Must be the first person I know of to be guilty that she has nothing to do. On a vacation."

Bristling, Manami almost whines, "I don't like inactivity!"

"My, my, Okuda-san, you sound almost petulant!" Over the line, he is chuckling and the sound of it makes her chest warm and her cheeks tingly, and, oddly enough, feel a vague prick of something she didn't know. Foreign, but welcome. Uncomfortable, but tolerable. What is it? "Tell you what. I'll humor you. Ask me out."

"Ask you? What do you mean?"

"Say, 'do you want to go out?'"

Manami's heart leaped. She'd always been an indoors person, but she was dying with boredom right now. Yes, yes! "Y-You want to go out with me?" Excitement hushed her voice.

"Why," To her utter confusion his voice dropped low, almost a purr. Manami blinked, blushed. What's he doing? "If you put it that way, I'd love to go out with you, Okuda-san." Ah. He was teasing, but the tingle on her cheeks deepened and the confused, surprised noise she let out made him laugh.

Then Manami realized she knew what this really was. Karma… Was Karma flirting with her? She suddenly found it very hard to speak, her reply a little softer than before.

"Um... But are you sure? I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"What are you playing hard to get for? You said you were bored, loud and clear. And I'm just as bored as you!"

Manami smiled. He saw right through. "That's also true…"

"So?" Karma clicked this tongue twice. "It's a nice day out, will Okuda-san take her favorite person out on a date like she asked?"

She'd said he was her favorite partner in crime. Manami wanted to hide beneath her covers, never to resurface. With flushed cheeks, Manami cried, "N-Not a date!"

And Karma snickers. "Sure, whatever you say. I'm at your station, come meet me now why don't you?" Manami jumped off the bed.

"Already? That's quick!" She set the phone to loudspeaker on her desk, hurriedly changing into the first pair of shorts and shirt she saw.

"I kinda foresaw this day, see," the voice was hushed; conspiratorial again. "I have a sixth sense."

Manami rebraided her hair, but since she was hurrying, she made a single braid and let it drape over her shoulder. "Oh? That'd be a great skill!"

"I know, right!? Sadly, it doesn't really exist, so the correct word would be foresight. Boo-hoo." She grabbed her phone, snatched her wallet and keys. "I'm hearing some jingling over there. I'm getting hyped, Okuda-san! Hurry here! Ah, but, don't hang up on me, though."

She's out of the complex in two minutes, enjoying the warm sun and the exercise of her legs. Cleaning was tiring, and he was right. It was a nice day out, and Manami didn't have plans. It would only take her seven minutes to reach the train station, so she hums distractedly, "Where are you?"

"Come on, now, with locks like mine?" Karma teased. "You can spot me from a mile off!"

"Not inside a crowded station, though."

"Ooh, Okuda-san's being very sassy today! I like it!"

"K-Karma-kun!" He laughed.

"Fine, I'm in front of the station map by the entrance," his voice softened, and as Manami veered right towards the station, she could see the faintest sheen of red shining against the afternoon sun through the station doors. "I think I also missed you, but that's a big maybe."

Manami fought hard not to stumble. Stuttering was impossible to suppress. "It's—it's only been t-two weeks since we last saw each other…"

"Maybe two weeks is two weeks too long." She's distracted by his sudden gasp. "I see you!"

All she could hear now was a racket of shuffling and static, and the red sheen Manami glimpsed before became a head of red whose owner was now exiting the station doors. Even from a few ways' off, Manami could easily see the grin on his face, steadily getting bigger as he approached her, phone still held to the ear like she was. When he's close enough, Karma winds an arm around her shoulders and turns his head this way and that way, humming playfully into the phone where they were still connected. There's the refreshing scent of his fabric conditioner again, and the new, subtle, sharp whiff of cologne startled her. Karma wears cologne now?

New as it was… it seemed to suit him just right. Manami tried to file that confusing thought away. Why did I think of that? That's weird.

"Hey, Okuda-san? I was mistaken. I don't seem to see you anywhere. Did you get smaller or am I getting taller?"

Teasing again! "I think your eyes are getting bad. You should get glasses, too, Karma-kun." Retaliation.

"Oh?" Finally, Karma looked down at her, golden eyes sparkling and amused, and Manami can say she's missed him too. It's somehow easy, almost natural, to look up at him from under his arm. "As long as we're matching, I'm game."

"My glasses won't suit you though." Manami purses her lips. "Maybe something with a thicker frame? Black? We should visit the shop where I got my glasses made."

"That is definitely not how I envisioned our 'not date' would go, you know." Manami laughs, and then, Karma drops the call, and she does too. He picks at the end of her braid, tugs, and grins. "Missed me?"

2 pm.

"Hi, Karma-kun."

"Okuda-san? What's up?"

"Why is the sky blue?"

"…Uh?"

"Is it because of Rayleigh scattering or refraction and reflection?"

"Hey now, are you flirting with me?"

"Asking a question is hardly flirting, Karma-kun."

"Say what you wanna say but I think you're definitely flirting with me, Okuda-san~ Oh, and yes, it's definitely because of Rayleigh scattering."

"I see. Thanks for your help!"

"Ah, hey—!"

outside the windows of our classroom is also found on ao3 under chuunihans for the series, one train ride away.