"You can have me."
Maybe it was his mouth that went off without thinking.
She had been frustrated, irritable even. She'd made something new, she said, and she's wanted to try how it affected other people. It was fascinating to see this Manami, who frowned and scowled and paced and had ruffles and wrinkles on her coat. He wanted to keep it to himself. So she'd said she often used herself as the primary test subject, but it had its backlashes; full effects dwindled, and there weren't any results to see if what she'd made would work perfectly. He could feel his head spin as he watched her run a hole into the already wizened floors, white lab coat billowing—but so does her skirt. Karma averts his eyes and pretends he didn't just compare how the flashing skin were as pale as the papers scattered about.
"I don't mind."
Maybe he meant it.
.
Today she has him held down and Karma knows he's gone too far off the cliff when he's allowed himself to be used like this.
"Okuda-san," he murmurs, resisting against the bonds out of curiosity. "You sure I can't get out of these?"
He'd never been in a situation like this before. Willingly. He'd volunteered to do it, and the cool metal that bit firm against his skin reminded him of this. And oh, it was funny; he, Karma, a willing test subject.
Somewhere behind the chair he's strapped to, he senses her nearing, hears the shuffling of her lab coat.
"You can't," she affirmed, sounding far too close than he'd thought and Karma swallowed his surprise, body stiffening out of instinct. He tried to crane his neck around to see where she was, but eventually having no need to as she reappeared to his right anyway. Her finger fiddled with the metal band, nail dragging along his skin as she traced the outline and Karma couldn't tear his eyes off of it, even if she didn't look like she was aware of touching his skin. "Karma-kun is strong… but legal contracts with your signature are stronger, yes?"
She's right. He'd always answered every one of his problems with his fists but he couldn't fight words with swords. So, he might be able to escape his bonds, but he will do so at the expense of violating the contract he'd signed.
Which wouldn't do. He was too proud to back out and disappointing her was not something on his list.
"Yeah," Karma sighs, silently noting how her bright exaltation is directed at him; made it all worth it. A happy Okuda is a cuter one. "Just making sure. M'not backing out or anything, just so you know."
"Ah, you don't need to worry." Okuda pats his hand. "We're not doing anything dangerous!"
"Too bad. I was thinking of something along the lines of electrocution and coercion."
She laughs along with him. "If it was, I would be violating the contract!" Then she lets his hand go after one final pat and steps away with a smile. "If you don't mind, we'll be starting now."
After this, he's no longer Karma, her friend. He would be Karma, the lab experiment. Granted it's only one experiment, but he couldn't help feeling the shiver of excitement up his spine. His hands relax against the armrests but his body was so hyper-aware he couldn't help fidgeting.
Karma wondered what she made if it made her so unsettled. She said she tried the final product for herself, but the effects had been mild and desaturated as a result of trial and error. What effects had she experienced anyway? Though she'd offered to explain it was his own cheek that said, "Surprise me." So he knew nothing about this project, and he's bound both by bands and contracts as he sat there contemplating why he's under willing captivity by this tiny chemist who says please at the end of Korosensei won't you drink this poison because she's polite and courteous as hell.
The reason why is as simple as the answer to 2 plus 2.
"Put them together you have a fish," he mumbles under his breath, eyeing the back of Okuda's head as she stood with a rattling container held against the light. Then she turned and strode towards him; Karma swallowed as his eyes dropped without thinking, following the direction of her billowing skirt—again!—and the lab coat against her skin. He really liked that lab coat on her.
Bad Karma, he lamented. It's a bad time to entertain such thoughts. Karma is brought back when she speaks, tone apologetic. "I hope you don't mind the mild peppermint aftertaste."
"Any flavor is better than anything sour and bitter." He stuck his tongue out in distaste.
"Right." She held up the tongs, a bright brown pill that looked like chocolate candy held in between. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as I thought, were his musings, peering at her newest creation. "Whenever you're ready."
Looks harmless enough. Karma shrugged and opened his mouth, and then, the candy was dropped into his mouth. And oh, that is sweet. Too sweet. If it weren't for his sweet tooth, Karma would have blanched. Instead the flavor of it spread through his taste buds, tingling his senses as he bit through the crunchy pill.
"Hey, this is good!" Okuda said nothing, but Karma wasn't paying attention at all—how could he, when her newest experiment tasted this sweet? So sweet, that everything felt tingly. His scalp was prickling, and he sighed. "Maybe you were all worked up for nothing, Okuda-san. Ahaha! And here I thought something extreme would—"
Her hand landed on his arm, and Karma nearly yelped as sensation exploded—and not in the good way. Pins and needles! Pins and needles everywhere her hand was touching! "Oi! W-What the hell was that?" Karma looked at her, and even that was enough to bring another bout of torturous prickling where he moved, and Karma bit hard against his mouth—another bad decision. He let go immediately, trying not to move, biting back what would have been whimpering. "Okuda-san…"
She was flushed and shiny-eyed, her hand drawing slowly away from his prickling arm and Karma bared his teeth as it brought another bout of tingling. Happy Okuda is a cute Okuda but who is this Okuda, who looked entirely too happy that it was unnerving? More importantly, what did she do? There was still a bit of the candy in his mouth, but Karma didn't trust himself enough to try to finish it.
"It's working after all," she murmured to herself, her mouth twitching from a smile. When had she gotten that clipboard? She flipped a couple of pages, and it was torture trying to stay still because holy hell everything was pins. And. Needles. No wonder she had to hold him down from moving so much. Thanks, Okuda-san, he thought with no little amount of sarcasm, flinching and groaning when his knee bumped against the chair.
Though, it was his idea to be her guinea pig in the first place. I have only myself to blame, that's it.
"O-ku-da-san," he grumbled, eyes narrowed at her. Even with that look that brought many running for their lives, she remained unaffected, her smile radiant and blinding and through his torment she was so cute it made it the needles worth it. "What's this…?"
"Parasthesia pills!" She all but gushed. Of course she'd manufacture parasthesia in candy form. As if your body falling asleep and getting one on your own wasn't bad enough! "I wasn't sure if they'd work properly because I took some when I was in the middle of developing them, and I thought maybe I've ingested too much of the trial ingredients to experience the final product's full effects. H-How is it? How do you feel?"
"Like sitting on a waterbed surrounded with needles pressing to my skin." He reiterated, gritting his teeth. "If… If I don't move, the sensations are still there, but they aren't poking me."
Her hand went to his shoulder this time, and Karma yelped and bucked, further agitating the sensations, much to his chagrin. "Oi! Warn me next time! Pins and needles, remember?"
"I'm sorry," she was way too fascinated to sound genuine, and Karma knew he was already forgiving her. This is what happens when you get a big, fat, potentially-hazardous crush. And they tell me I'm the dangerous one? "It's worse when you're being touched, right?"
"Thousand percent worse," he grits. "H-How long until the effects last?" He's ashamed to hear how his voice cracked. Oh, hell, what he would do to get out of this now. Next time, Karma thinks, next time I should ask what her experiments are. Or better yet, recruit Terasaka.
Her fingers squeezed his shoulder, and Karma hisses. "Only five minutes." He tried to look at her, and thankfully her hand went away as she leaned over him. Okuda grinned at him, a full-pledged mega-watt smile that brought an all-too different tingling to his face. She clapped her hands together, and said, "Thank you for helping me, Karma-kun! With your help, I can finally give it to Korosensei!"
"No sweat." Even if he was suffering from the effects. No sweat at all. "But will five minutes be enough? What if it has no effect on him at all?"
She hummed, sounding unbothered. "Then I'll just make a new batch and up the dosage."
"What?"
"Two pills for twice the effect. Or more, if need be. And it wouldn't be a problem—Korosensei likes sweets, doesn't he?" The sensation was starting to dull already, but at her words, Karma wasn't quite so sure about the tingle that ran up his spine.
He can't help but get suspicious of her smile again. "Hey."
"Yes?"
"You don't possibly mean I have to try that too, do I?"
"Well, not now." She taps his hand, and though the effects are starting to fade it doesn't mean he was unaffected. Karma still jolts and glares at her. "But Karma-kun will help me again, won't you?"
Karma smiles, cringes, and closes his eyes in some helpless form of resignation. Someday he would have the guts and be her guinea pig forever. Just not now.
karmanami being devils together is the karmanami way. but i have a newfound fascination with karma being the willing guinea pig under manami's experiments. of course, it has to happen at some point... heh.
