Yoko handed Karma the last dish for him to place on the top shelf. Nagisa had helped most of the week, but decided to stay home with his mom, leaving Yoko to unpack alone. It didn't take much to convince Karma to help her unpack.

"So, how are you going to get to the plates?" He asked as he closed the cabinet.

"I can climb up there," she replied as she smiled at him. "Thanks for helping."

The delinquent gave her a devilish smile, "I do love messing with people. When you get involved, I can get away with it. So, now what? Are you just going to stay by yourself?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I've got to buy Nagisa's birthday present..." Her sentence trailed off as she stared blankly at the red head. "I have to go to the pawn shop."

"For what?" He asked. He had learned that she had one specific nasty quirk of her mother, she never bought anything used. It embarrassed her quite a bit, but when she tried to get something used, she would freak out about germs, while her mother simply wouldn't take anything used.

"To pawn off some of Mom's jewelry," she replied as she stepped into her room and opened an antique jewelry box.

To his surprise, there was very little jewelry and it looked very old. She twisted a knob and a drawer popped open. Karma couldn't believe the amount of gold that was in that box. "How in the world do you get that?!"

"I have issues and my mother was an escort," she replied as she looked at a sapphire ring surrounded by small diamonds. "All of this are gifts from former clients. I keep watch on her things, so when she gets rid of a guy, or a guy drops her, I find the stuff he gave her and slowly take away the least valuable to the most valuable, and she never realizes it. When I get it, I get it appraised so I'll know how much I can get for it when it's time to talk price."

Karma noticed a few bands on Yoko's fingers, "So, are they from clients?"

Yoko looked at him then the rings on her hands, "Eh, technically. I stole them from the men who I found out were cheating on their wives. I met a nice man in the middle of the city who was more than happy to cut them down and size them for me."

She pulled out a small, purple velvet purse and dumped its belongings into her hand. There were at least ten bands, all sorts of metals, some with diamonds or other gems. She gave him a wicked smile, "I've seen a lot more men come back and ask for those rings, but never find them."

She lifted up a delicate silver bracelet and looked it over for a moment before putting it in her pocket. Another gold bracelet went in her pocket as well, and she shoved the drawer back in, closing the jewelry box.

"You're tricky," Karma smiled. "So, what are you getting Nagisa for his birthday?"

"Nintendo DS. Of course, what's a game system without a game? I just don't know what games."

Karma was intrigued by the girl whose knowledge came from being around people. No books, no video games, no movies. She had the ability to talk to anyone and everyone. She could practically get anything she wanted, but she didn't know that. Yet, despite her social skill, she was still very alone.

He walked with her to the pawn shop, talking about different video games that Nagisa would be interested in. Her reaction to the storylines of some of the games were priceless. She held little interest in most of the games, since they were mostly action, but the puzzles kept her attention.

Karma looked around the strange store as they stepped in. He would have thought they had stepped into a witch doctor's house, not a pawn shop. Vials with herbs and other liquids lined the walls as well as small skulls from various animals and shrunken heads hanging in strange places.

"Ah, Yoko! I was wondering when you would come back!" The old lady behind the counter greeted with a toothless smile. Her green eyes moved to Karma who was looking at a vial of spider eggs. "And who is this?"

"Gran Gran, this is Karma. He's a friend from school," Yoko replied as she looked at the red head who was eying a necklace with a snake's head pendant. "Karma, this is my grandmother, Lady Bale."

"Lady Bale? That's a dumb name."

Yoko sighed as she leaned against the counter, flipping an amethyst crystal between her fingers while her grandmother chased Karma around the small shop with a cane. He continued mocking the old woman until he tripped over the cat and fell to the ground, not only getting a few beatings from the cane, but a cat scratching at his face as well.

"You should respect your elders, boy," Lady Bale spat, her beady purple eyes glaring down at him. "Where's that Nagisa boy?" She asked as she placed the end of her cane at Karma's chin, forcing him to look up at her. "At least he's nice."

"That's why I'm here, Gran Gran," Yoko said as she pulled out the bracelets from her pockets. "You remember the tea leaves Nagisa had?"

She hummed as she walked around the counter, "What about them?"

"It was an eagle!" Yoko emphasized as Karma took his place next to her, looking at the gemstone statues displayed on a small shelf. "Don't you want to know what happened?"

"According to your leaves, you're not pregnant and you're not getting married, but there was something bad that was going to happen. You cause your own misfortune."

"Yoko's mom married Nagisa's dad," Karma said with a smile. "They're related!"

Lady Bale looked at Karma then to her granddaughter. "What have you done?"

"Rearranged the house," Yoko replied. "Nothing major."

Lady Bale opened the cash register, pulling out some money and handing it to the black haired girl while her eyes went to the boy. "Let me see your hand."

As Yoko put the money away, she watched Karma slowly comply to the demand.

While the woman ran her fingers over his palm, she continued to talk to Yoko. "When did Rina get married?"

"Today. I won't see her until the end of the week." Yoko replied as she grabbed a knife made out of bone from the counter. "Karma and Nagisa helped with the move."

Karma didn't move as the old woman gently closed his hand and held it between hers. "Something is coming for you, Yoko. Keep your friends close. You will need them." Before Yoko could reply, the woman gave her a glare, "This is serious, Yoko. Don't pick fights and stay out of trouble."

Karma grinned, "Hear that? Looks like you better watch your step."

"Your luck isn't better," Lady Bale told him. "You're obviously strong enough to counteract whatever bad comes your way, but you're just as bad as she is. Just trouble and wasting space and time." She sighed, "But, you'll die soon, probably doing something stupid."

"Thanks, Gran Gran," Karma mocked as Yoko headed toward the door. "I'll come by tonight to get my garden."

Karma gasped at the fresh air. The incense had been suffocating him and getting beat up by the hag didn't help. He would have to soak his clothes and air them out until the smell was gone.

"She's pleasant," he muttered as he folded his arms behind his head. "Why is she such a hag?"

"If I had a daughter for an escort, I would probably be a witch doctor too," Yoko replied with a shrug. "She believes negativity increases luck because it makes the person feel so bad, even karma won't bother them."

Karma laughed, "it doesn't matter what mood their in, I'm going to mess with whoever I want, whenever I want."

Yoko pondered his words before realizing he was talking about himself. She gave a delayed laugh and headed into the game store. While she wandered around trying to find something for her new brother, Karma looked at other video games.

She grabbed five games that seemed interesting enough and passed the Karma approval test before picking out the DS. He had mentioned in passing a system that he would have loved to have, but the price was a bit much.

"There it is," she smiled as she pointed at it. "Can I get that one?"

"Sure thing," the guy on the other side of the counter said with a smile. "I'll tell you what, you give me the entire storyline of the theme behind this and I'll give you a discount."

Karma headed to the register when he heard the offer. She knew practically nothing about the Sonic Ninja. When he reached her side, he started to intervene, but went silent as he listened to her talk about the movie, comics, and games as if she had experienced them all first hand. He had to give her credit for remembering almost every word he had said about the topic, and even mimicking the excitement in Nagisa's voice when he spoke about the superhero.

When the pair left the store, Yoko was looking at the steampunk themed device. "It's purple with golden gears. How is this ninja related?"

"It's not," Karma replied as he took it. "That's more of the company's theme."

"I see," she muttered as she turned the box over. "I hope he likes it."

Karma grabbed her shoulder to stop her from walking as he pulled out his phone and grinned wickedly at the name. "Hey, Nagisa," he answered in a creepy voice. His orange gaze moved to her, "Yeah, she's with me...Yeah, I'll tell her."

He hung up, the wicked smile returning, "Nagisa has invited you to the movies. How cute."

"You're coming, too," she told him. "We do this every year. Movies, lunch or supper, ice cream, presents."

"Why are you swapping presents on his birthday?" Karma asked.

"It's my birthday, too," she replied. "I guess we're twins now."

The mischievous smile returned, "Oh really? How interesting."

Yoko rolled her eyes and headed on toward the movie theatre, Karma following behind. Their birthday was usually only half a day, but it seemed Nagisa had more planned this time. He would never pick an afternoon movie on a Saturday.

As they stood at a cross walk, someone ran by, snatching Yoko's purse from her shoulder, inevitably throwing her to the ground since it was across her chest. The man trying to snatch her purse almost fell to the ground as well, still tugging on her purse and pulling her partway into the road.

Karma grabbed the man, who still had a grip on Yoko and slammed him into the light pole, Yoko rolling to his feet. Just before he could land a punch, the man screamed and sank to the ground while Yoko sat there and stared at him, a well hidden needle in her hand.

"What did you do?" Karma asked as they crossed the street.

Yoko was fine, but dirty, which irked her. The backs of her arms had scrapes as well as her knees, but it wasn't anything she couldn't just walk off.

He watched her drop the capped syringe into a trash bin, still waiting for an answer. He was starting to believe he wouldn't get one, so he would ask Nagisa.

She had an odd look in her eyes, he noted. He wondered if that was the look he had when he was about to get in a fight. It was so solid, so fierce, yet, excited, evil almost. There was a struggle in those green eyes he had never really noticed, but it had become more evident under the stress. She was fighting that need to destroy something, destroy someone. She needed to ruin someone's day.

"After the movie, we can break into someone's house and change their furniture," Karma suggested.

"Maybe," she muttered.

He kept to himself, though casting a glance her way to make sure she was still there. She was so silent all of a sudden. Her eyes stayed distant, almost as though she was the walking dead. After a few minutes of silence, he looked down at her once more, her eyes starting to clear as she focused on her surroundings, "You have a portable garden?"

There was a new evil in her green eyes as she looked up at him, "A poison garden."

She explained the basics of a poison garden, what she was growing and how she was using the poisons. Her witch doctor grandmother had only encouraged the deadly hobby, helping her make basic liquid injections like she had used earlier or edible ones. She spoke briefly on how she had experimented with an airborne powder, but it gave all of her victims hives, so she didn't try that again.

Yoko nudged Karma when she saw Nagisa. The poor boy was dressed in baggy pants and a baggy shirt, but his hair had been curled. There was a group of guys standing around and talking to him.

"You should kiss him," Karma and I told each other.

"You're a girl, you kiss him," Karma grinned.

"They'll think he's a lesbian," Yoko argued. "You kiss him."

The two watched as Nagisa suffered from his mother's doings. Yoko felt bad for him. Her hair was shorter than his. She took a deep breath and let it go, "You have to do it." She gave a winning smirk to Karma, "I'm his sister, after all."

His orange eyes left hers as he looked at the predicament. "Alright."

She followed him to the group of boys who immediately went quiet when they saw Karma. Quickly wrapping Nagisa in a headlock, he started picking at the boys that were messing with him since they were hitting on a boy.

Once the boys left, Yoko pulled a brush from her purse and gently brushed out the curls, "Of all days, huh?"

He smiled, "Thanks for coming." His smile faded when he saw the scrapes on her arms, "Did something happen?"

She ignored the question, so Nagisa looked to Karma who was looking at the movie selection. Karma would have protected her, or gotten his revenge on whoever hurt her, yet his clothes were untouched. Maybe she had just fallen, but she wasn't a clumsy person.

"Did you pick out a movie?" Yoko asked as she finished brushing his hair and tying it back.

"I know you're not big on superheroes, but that one is a horror film as well," he said as he pointed at a poster.

She pulled out her phone, quickly looking up more about the movie before nodding in agreement, "That sounds good."

The two looked at Karma who had his eyes on a group of at the edge of the building.

"Please don't fight today," Nagisa pleased.

"How can I not?" The red head asked with a smile. He gave Nagisa some money for his ticket and headed over to the guys.

"So, what happened?" Nagisa asked. "Did you just fall?"

"Someone tried to take my purse, and it sent me to the ground. I got a little scratched up, but he was paralyzed, so I'm not too worried about it." She smiled at her friend, "I don't have the urge to destroy something anymore, so that's good, right?"

"That's because there's nothing here to destroy," Nagisa replied. "Uh oh."

She followed his gaze to Karma smirking wickedly as he came back, "You would never guess who that was."

Yoko wiped some blood from his cheek, checking for a cut. "Who was it?"

"Our dear friend from before!" He announced cheerfully. "You see, he was in a wheelchair, but it seems to have gone missing."

"I know he dragged me through the dirt, but you didn't have to steal his wheelchair," Yoko replied, making a mental note of the situation. The man wouldn't have been alone. There was absolutely no way he could move any part of his body, unless her solution just wasn't strong enough yet.

His sadistic gaze softened slightly, "I don't take well to others harming my friends. I can tell you know how to take care of yourself, but that doesn't mean I won't get a say in the matter."

She smiled slightly, "That means a lot, Karma."

Nagisa stood by the two mischief makers while they talked about the show times and how to get into the rated R movie Karma wanted to see. Together they decided to buy tickets for another movie, wait around then sneak into the movie they wanted to see, but they would be waiting for nearly an hour.

"Guys, we can see a different movie," Nagisa spoke up, but was quickly shut down by a glare from the two.

They had made up their minds.

"Alright, so here's what we're going to do," Karma began as he pulled Nagisa in closer. "Yoko and I are dating, and we're waiting on your girlfriend or boyfriend to show up."

"Why am I the third wheel?" Nagisa exclaimed.

"You're my brother, now," Yoko replied. "It would be weird, even if this is a fictional situation."

He groaned, "Whatever. And what do you mean, 'boyfriend'?! I'm obviously a guy!"

"Well, we've already had to convince other guys you are one, so..." Yoko trailed off with a sheepish smile and shrug.

"Yeah, sorry, man," Karma laughed.

"Ooh, does that mean you're paying for my ticket?" Yoko asked Karma.

The red head smiled, "Sure, why not. It can be my birthday gift to you."

Nagisa looked at the two of his friends. Both were beyond manipulative. Both were dangerous, if not deadly. Both got what they want when they wanted it. It was weird to be in the presence of such power.

True to their word, the trio bought tickets to another movie that started in 45 minutes and bought their snacks before taking seats in the small waiting area by the bathrooms.

Yoko was clearly uncomfortable with the place. The place smelled like stale popcorn and sticky soda. It didn't help they were next to the bathrooms that on occasion released the smell of bleach and cheap hand soap. Teens were walking around, smelling as if they had bathed in whatever perfume or cologne they had chosen for the day.

Now that she thought about it, Nagisa and Karma both seemed to be wearing it. It was even a unique smell to the two of them. Karma had this musky, sweet earthy smell like teakwood, while Nagisa had a cleaner, smoother scent, like clean ocean air or a meadow. They were scents teens would overlook, more so for men to wear, though she wasn't entirely sure if Nagisa actually picked his or not, but it did suit him.

And so they waited. It was quiet for the most part, but Karma was still bothered by how Yoko had paralyzed that man. It was so strange how Nagisa had seen him get into fights and not be phased at all, but she paralyzed someone and he's happy she's okay? Who were they?

"What did you do to that man?" Karma asked while making sure he kept his eyes on Yoko's.

So many had backed down under his gaze, yet she didn't flinch. "I poisoned him."

She had said the strange sentence like she was talking about the weather. So simple, so ordinary. Yet, she had poisoned him.

"Poisoned? With what?"

"A horse chestnut solution I created. Obviously it wasn't strong enough since he managed to get in a wheelchair. I suppose I'll be testing it once again. It paralyzed the last three teens, but maybe he was just older and that slowed it down. Who knows."

"What's a horse chestnut?" Karma asked curiously.

The smile on her lips could easily match his own as her eyes lit up. Nagisa simply sighed as he grabbed his drink and hers to get refills. Once someone brought poisons up, there was no going back.

"It can cause paralysis by eating it," Yoko told her red headed friend. "So, I found a way to concentrate that down, mix it with a simple solution that is used to teach medical students how to give shots, and boom. Instant paralysis."

Karma's mind raced at the possibilities. If she could do that to people, what else could she do?

When Nagisa returned, it was time for their intended movie to start. Karma and Yoko tried to console the "devastated" teen who was officially dateless and managed to get into the movie they wanted to see.

Yoko loved horror, and this movie was supposed to be the best there had been in a while. It gave her hope, while the boys with her just wanted the action the movie could offer.

"Oh no, you can't eat any of this," Nagisa suddenly realized when he saw the lack of snacks in his friend's hands. "I'm so sorry, Yoko. I completely forgot!"

"Nagisa, you worry too much," she sighed as she petted his head. "I don't like eating in movies."

He gave a small sigh of relief remembering how weird she was about some things. Even she couldn't explain why she was weird about eating while watching a movie.

"So, do you like your new home?" Nagisa asked her. "I haven't seen the finished product yet."

The last he saw of the move in was when she was putting her room together and trying to figure out the best plan of action to follow through on that.

"Yeah, we repainted the walls, changed up the living room, changed the curtains, repainted the kitchen, brought in the furniture and put it where it would fit, which was mostly in their bedroom since the living room got filled pretty quickly. Some stuff fit on the patio." She listed as she looked at the dark ceiling as if trying to remember everything she had accomplished in such a short amount of time.

Nagisa had been there to help repaint the house and redo the furniture, both he was skeptical about, but agreed to because the house did need a new paint since some of it had been beat up or chipping off. The curtains were new to him and putting things in the bedrooms was news as well.

"You didn't touch my room, did you?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"No, we left it alone, actually," she told him with a smile. "I mean, you have a cactus in there now, but that's it."

"Speaking of plants, where is your garden? Did you find somewhere to put everything?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, actually," she smiled. "I actually managed to get more since I had a hard I could plant them in. A lot are still in my room, scattered about like normal plants, though."

"Those were poisonous?" Karma asked with wide eyes. "No wonder my hands started breaking out."

"You wouldn't have helped if I told you the truth," she whined. "I just needed help getting them on the patio, so it could have been worse."

"That's true," Nagisa smiled as he looked at the red head. "There was one time she handed me a plant, and I couldn't feel my hands for three days."

"And I warned him," Yoko said trying to defend herself. "So, that was on him."

Karma gave a heavy sigh as he smiled, "I don't regret it. I just wish I had known."

Soon, the movie began, silencing the three in anticipation of a movie they had gone out of their way to see.

Of the three, Yoko was the only one disappointed. Nagisa had loved the movie, while Karma enjoyed it, but had some criticism on the camera work. Yoko straight out hated it. Somewhere along the lines, someone had misinterpreted gore as horror. The action movie was filled with blood and graphic scenes, but no jump scares or terror to be found. Only anticipation of the hero's next movie.

"Now what?" Karma asked the two, not really knowing their tradition.

"We eat!" The two exclaimed with grins.

The three headed toward the edge of town where a small sushi restaurant was hidden away. It was the only place that had something Yoko could eat as well. While Karma and Nagisa talked about the movie, Yoko only passed in various complaints on each scene they talked about. She made a point to let them know the graphic scenes of blood and death were illogical and incorrect. Either a head wouldn't explode that way, or there was no way a would that small or large could produce such little or large amount of blood. Plus, there were many scenes where the dead could still be seen breathing, which was something that really annoyed her.

"It's because you don't understand the superhero," Nagisa told her with a smile. "If you read the comics and caught up on the story, I'm sure you would like it."

"I already tried, remember? I read seventeen comics about this guy and hated all of it. It's crap work," she grumbled as she ate her seaweed salad.

"Watching you eat makes me sad," Karma smiled. "I hate your health is limiting you. What do you have anyway?"

"Severe anxiety," she replied. "Surprisingly, it helps. When I was younger, it was self harm that showed as my panic attacks. I just have to move. I have to touch something, move it or something. It just became habit to rearrange entire rooms at a time to help cope. They said it's better than finding me in a puddle of blood."

Karma made note of that statement, wondering if he should be around her. Was he causing mental strain on her? When he looked at her arms, he could see the fading scars. Self harm...she couldn't be that old, could she?

The conversation drifted from the depressing subject, back to the disappointing movie. As their time at the restaurant came to an end, the trio left for ice cream.

Still, Karma couldn't shake the thought from his mind. How much damage had he done to her already? He definitely couldn't stay around her. Sure, he was used to hurting people, but they were people he wanted to hurt, who deserved pain. She was simply a friend, a friend he didn't know was dying because he was around.

She didn't seem bothered as she ate her ice cream. In fact, Yoko appeared to be happier than she had been since Karma had first met her. He managed to keep up with the conversation, but just barely. It was almost becoming too much to bear. He wasn't sure if he should leave or stay. When he registered that they were heading to Nagisa's place, he realized it was too late. He had to stay.

Nagisa noticed Karma's silence as they walked into the apartment. Since his mother wasn't home, it was okay for the two to come in for a couple of minutes. While Yoko stood awkwardly at the door, Karma followed Nagisa to his room.

"Why didn't you tell me she had issues?" Karma asked his friend as he dug through his closet for his friend's gift.

"Because she doesn't like to talk about it. If you were bothering her, she would have done something to you by now. She would have kept you away by some form of mental or physical torture."

"So, I'm not hurting her?" Karma asked.

The tone in his voice had caught Nagisa off guard. He had been so genuinely worried about her well being after he heard about her anxiety. It was almost like he was walking on eggshells all of a sudden, wording everything carefully or not speaking at all.

"No, but if you start avoiding her, she'll understand," he replied as he pulled a box from his closet. "It took me a while to get over it, too."

Karma followed his friend out of the room back to where Yoko was picking at her nails and glancing around the room, clearly trying to keep herself from doing anything to the orderly home.

"Okay, here you go," Nagisa said with a smile as he held out the box.

It was just a plain cardboard box, big enough for her to need both hands. She looked it over, as if trying to find a hint on the outside what may lurk on the inside. The boys raised an eyebrow at the decent size knife she pulled from her back pocket and cut open the tape with ease.

As she pulled the flaps back, she began to smile. "I can't believe you remembered."

She pulled out a small plant, nothing more than a twig really, but on the plastic pot it was labeled Oleander. Karma had no doubt it was a poison of some kind by how excited she was about it but didn't ask as she rummaged through her bag for Nagisa's present.

"Okay, Karma helped me with this," she replied as she handed him the games she had bought for him.

Nagisa looked through the games, wide eyed in awe. "How did you even get the money for these?"

"Not done," she replied as she searched through her stuff. After a brief moment of panic, she smiled as she pulled the white box from her bag. "There. Happy birthday, Nagisa."

The blue haired boy took the box and opened it to pull out the purple hand held gaming system, "Whoa, thanks!"

He hugged her tightly, the girl returning the gesture. As usual, both were pleased with their gifts. Now that Karma was in on the action, they let him know that his birthday would be celebrated in a similar fashion. However, that concept was immediately destroyed since his birthday was on Christmas.

"That's perfectly fine," Yoko smiled. "I'm sure there's something we can do to make up for it."

Nagisa smiled at his friend then looked at Karma, "We'll figure out something, even if it's not as long as ours."

The new siblings would have to admit. This was by far the best birthday yet.