-CHAPTER FOUR-

Previously on AxK:

The principal of Teiko Middle had walked in from the back and began to walk up the steps in the stage, stopping shortly in front of the tall podium. He cleared his throat, resulting students from both schools to stop their loud chattering. They chose to talk in hushed voices, and little by little, had quieted down as they waited for the person of high authority to speak.

The man stood tall and proud, with an aura of superiority surrounding him. He had gray, slightly balding hair, which was slicked back. His face was elegantly structured, with a prominent nose bridge and a slightly sharp jawline. He was wearing a crisp and neat black suit, partnered with a red neck tie. His obsidian-tinted grey eyes looked intense. He had opened his mouth to speak, and...

-0-

...suddenly, the double doors burst open, revealing three unusual hair-colored men and a strawberry hair-colored girl. They piled in from the outside, and some had casually walked in. The Kunigigaoka students' jaws dropped, and were shown to be both awed and terrified as the eccentric and eye-catching group had walked past them. They were one odd bunch, the height of each person varying from 173 centimeters to almost two meters tall. They were wearing their own basketball uniforms, with the exception of a green-haired male and the only female of the group. They had the decency to change into their designated Teiko uniforms.

The male was tense, his back and shoulders set straight, occasionally pushing his semi thick-rimmed spectacles up the prominent bridge of his nose; his thin lips set into a line. He was tall, muscular and good looking. The pink-haired girl was carrying a brown clipboard, her magenta eyes looking unusually serious, as she had placed her hands behind her back. She was a beauty.

She had soft-looking creamy skin, which accentuated her pale complexion. Full, plump, pink glossy lips were curved into a delicate frown, accompanied by luscious pink hair, framing her heart-shaped face. Male students stared curiously at her, led in by her allure, and were left struck speechless when they did a once-over; they drooled, seeing her aesthetically-pleasing appearance and curvaceous, slim figure.

All of them were attractive or at least attention-grabbing, and had slightly intimidated students who were less confident about themselves. Nagisa stared curiously at them, wondering what lengths they took to achieve their tall stature. He envied their height, wishing to be as tall as them too. Karma looked as indifferent as ever, the blue-haired boy noticed. But he saw how his eyebrows furrowed a bit. He was thinking deeply about something. Nagisa made a mental note to ask him about that later. His attention was diverted back to the peculiar group.

The principal then, having seen the commotion, cleared his throat loudly. He was ruffled because of the unexpected arrival of the rambunctious rainbow bunch. But it seems like the audience wasn't affected at all. Majority of the female population swooned and sighed when they saw their favorite part-time model among the group. There he was. His glossy golden blonde hair shone and swayed a little every time he took a step, leaving faint sparkles behind him. His brilliant rich-toned yellow eyes have narrowed, his bow-shaped mouth curling slightly into a definite smirk. He strutted towards them, enthusiastically waving and blowing kisses to them like a world-renowned celebrity.

Nagisa sweatdropped yet again when he saw crimson red liquid on the carpeted floor; this particular figure's die-hard fans having lost consciousness and then fainted due to apparent blood loss. The remaining people who were still conscious resorted to screaming and fangirling, constantly snapping pictures and taking videos. They tried to huddle; resulting to them forming a tight circle around their beloved Kise-sama. There were continuous screams and shrieks, the circle growing hotter and narrower. Choruses of "KISE-SAMAA!" and "HE'S MINE!"were heard all over the place.

The model appeared to be unfazed as he just smiled at his adoring fans, constantly signing autographs and posed, taking pictures with them. His blindingly white teeth shone, further cuing more girls to faint. 'Poor them,' Nagisa thought. 'It must be hard, losing a lot of blood.' Then he suddenly felt the urge to pee. His bladder was about to burst, so he stood up from his seat. 'It must be the amount of soda I drank earlier; I had drunk a lot. I wonder where the boys' restroom is?'

Karma looked up, his thoughts interrupted by the slight sound his friend had made. He stared questioningly at him. 'Restroom,' Nagisa mouthed. Karma nodded. 'Got your weapons?' Karma mouthed back. Nagisa held two thumbs up. He went over and stepped over the unconscious bodies and the blood-stained carpeted floor as he slowly approached the door. He had a little struggle in opening the said heavy doors but succeeded, slipping outside.

Hot air rushed past him, warming his lithe, chilly body. 'Curse the thin material of these uniforms.' Nagisa rubbed his arms and let out a sigh. He pulled out his brochure and leafed through the pages, and got to the section where the miscellaneous facilities was located. He found out that it was nearby, and walked off to a slightly secluded corner. There was the male symbol on the tag. He pushed it open and walked inside.

The restroom was as fancy as the other rooms. It was empty and thrice the size of his bedroom at home, having ombre cerulean-colored walls and marble-tiled floors. Sophisticated clear sinks made out of pure sea glass were lined up at his right, two identical elegantly-framed crystalline mirrors paired up to them. He saw several urinals and tall cubicles lined up to his left.

Metal tissue dispensers and modern hand dryers that can also function as hair dryers were stationed at the walls; and lastly, a large, golden-framed aqua-colored Victorian chaise lounge was located at the center, with a medium-sized table counterpart. He whistled. Teiko's elegantly-furnished facilities had never failed to impress him. He then did his business, and walked towards one of the fancy-looking sinks. He pumped out some sweetly-scented vanilla soap from the soap dispenser that looked expensive- yet again. He inhaled the wonderful scent.

Humming while washing his hands on the sink, he had faintly made out the sound of the restroom door being pushed open through the running water, but lightly dismissed it as another student as he finished tidying up. He opened his blazer and pant pockets to check if his anti-alien rubber knife and BB pellets were still there. He nodded to himself while trying to be discreet. He had started to walk towards the exit, when he heard the sound of hasty footsteps.

Slightly alarmed, his gut instinct strongly reacted and told him to instantly run; he was getting ready to as soon as possible and was already in his running stance. But even as one of the best assassins there was in Kunigigaoka, he was caught off-guard when a piece of cloth emanating a strong-smelling chemical covered both his nose and mouth invaded his senses, filling his nostrils that sent signals to his brain. He immediately tried to fight back, sending weak punches to the figure's chest. The figure aimed at his chin, punching it in full force, causing a bit of blood to spill at the sides. At a split second, Nagisa then felt weak and extremely drowsy; seeing a flash of amber before his world turned black.

Feeling satisfied, the figure threw Nagisa's small body over its shoulders like a sack of potatoes, then casually slipped through the slightly-ajar door and closed it with a smirk.

Karma impatiently tapped his foot and drummed his fingers on the surface of his no-longer cold drink. It was almost ten minutes already, after Nagisa got up and went to the restroom. He couldn't possibly take that long, he deduced. He double-checked the brochure, right on the miscellaneous facilities section, and saw that it was less than a 15 second walk from the auditorium to there. He looked over to the prudish, strait-faced principal who, after the commotion, succeeded in calming the whole audience down, each person already forgetting the subject of the earlier fiasco; he was now currently steadily discussing the school's history and foundation and then Karma's short attention span forced his eyes to skim the brochure's front yet again.

After the principal has said his part, the auditorium's previous silence broke and was later overcome with loud applause. He then gestures for the scarlet-haired valedictorian to step forward and to start presenting his welcoming speech. Karma didn't listen or wasted any more time than that; he pulled out his cellphone and texted Nagisa. His normally cold and apathetic ruby red orbs were filled with worry and concern for his cerulean-haired friend. He looked at the digital, built-in clock displayed on the screen of his phone. It has been 30 minutes.

After a short while, he started to feel sleepy and bored; he heard the heavy doors open, seeing a pale figure walk in with short, light-blue hair resembling that of Nagisa's. But the figure didn't seem like him. He looked more taller and more mature-faced, almost twice the size of Nagisa's upper body half. His uniform also looked significantly different. Half-awake, he briefly dismissed it.

'Does Nagisa ever undo his pigtails?' he halfheartedly thought. With a barely-functioning mind, he had finally come to the conclusion that it couldn't possibly be anyone else, due to the rarity of sky-blue hair in their country. Contented, Karma placed his slightly cold hands behind his head, shuffling into a more comfortable position in his large seat, and turned to shut his heavy-lidded eyes.

Karma missed the sight of his cellular phone beeping. Nagisa's name urgently flashed on the brightly lit blue screen. The message contained only one word: 'HELP.'