A Darker Path
TheReaperCometh
A/N: Hey look! An update that's actually on time! Who would have expected that?
Enjoy!
Oh, and if you're a fan of a certain Great Tomb of Nazarick, you may find the A/N at the bottom interesting :p
Chapter 24
"In the Dead of Night"
POV Nagisa
(a few nights later)
.
.
.
After hours of tossing and turning, I can safely say that the only thing I've accomplished tonight is getting myself nice and uncomfortable in a nightmare induced sweat… though I suppose I would've actually had to have been asleep in the first place for a nightmare, so I guess that isn't entirely correct. How can sleep - something so mandatory, upon which we are biologically dependant - be so elusive, despite my eyes' desperate attempts to keep the curtains drawn?
"It's fine, I didn't want to sleep anyway…" I mumble sarcastically as I heave myself out of bed.
Guess I'll do what I always do when I can't sleep - which happens more often than I'd care to acknowledge. You'd think after all these long days of rigorous training and exercising, every fiber of my being would be embracing the mattress every night. And while my body does always feels like a sack of bricks at the end of the day, my mind, on the other hand, is constantly whirring with thoughts that are… uncooperative with sleep. Some nights, I even find myself begging the voices in my head for even just a bit of clemency. More often than not, like tonight, that doesn't help.
Guilt is an unforgiving patron, even if it is irrationally founded. But then again, when has any emotion ever been 'rational'?
I kick off the covers and scamper over to the window, slowly cracking it open. The night is cool, and I shiver euphorically as the fresh air blows loftily over my sweltering body. The world is cloaked in an impregnable darkness, as the bashful crescent moon refuses to poke its head out from behind the thick blanket of clouds. If not for the cones of light projected along the streets, the outside world would be completely unobservable. At this time of night, the streets are devoid of all life: after all, who could possibly be insane or troubled enough to be up at this hour? Still, the lack of movement or sound can almost make you wonder if time itself has stopped. The only piece of evidence which might reassure you otherwise is the movement of clouds in the sky, which can be noticed from watching the stars that appear, and those that subsequently disappear as a result of the shifting thicket of wispy clouds. I love nights like this.
Grabbing the top of the window frame, I hoist myself up and perch onto the window sill in a squatting position. Now that I'm outside, the air has gone from refreshing to chilly, and I regret not having grabbed a hoodie to pull over. Wearing nothing but a white undershirt and blue underwear is hardly appropriate for early spring nights. With a nimble bob and weave, I make my way out, and hoist myself up once more, this time onto the roof above my bedroom's window. I sigh satisfyingly at my successful endeavour and lay down on the sloped roof, resting my head upon my folded-back arms.
Nights like this, when the whole world feels static, are really the only times when I can get a grip and come to terms with my hectic and unorthodox lifestyle. Lately I feel like I'm just always playing catch up with myself, constantly wondering about the 'what if's' and the 'maybe's'.
That's not to say that I'm questioning my decision to become assassins with Karma: because that's probably the only aspect of my life that I'm certain is right. But pretty much every other component of my life feels outlandish and crazy. I wish I could sleep a bit more.
Speaking of sleep, I wonder how Karma's been managing to pull that off. A selfish part of me hopes that he too is having troubles sleeping at night, so that I'm not alone in my suffering. Plus, I may start to question his humanity even more than I already do if he's actually managing to sleep like a baby every night, after all that's happened.
"Fancy meeting you up here" a voice calls out from behind me
My heart leaps out of my chest, and, losing my balance, I nearly plummet off the roof. While a second story fall wouldn't kill me, it sure wouldn't be a pleasant experience at this time of day. I look back at the culprit with an accusing glare.
"Karma! You!-"
"Stop being so noisy, people are trying to sleep" he interjects, finishing with a yawn.
I pause momentarily to readjust my voice down to a harsh whisper.
"You almost made me fall off the roof! And I almost had a heart attack! What are you doing up here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" He shrugs, unfazed by my annoyance. In fact, his gaze has remained fixed to the sable sky since we started talking.
"I'm up here for the same reason you are. You think you're the first person ever to find solace in the cosmos when they can't sleep?"
To that rhetoric, I have no counter.
"Touche… I guess I misjudged you" I grumble as I clammer up the roof and plop myself right next to Karma. He looks at me through the corner of his eyes as I nestle in beside him, and despite the darkness I can see him arch his eyebrow
"Here I thought you had been sleeping soundly all these nights" I explain shamefully. To think I actually believed that Karma had been managing to sleep perfectly, I feel bad to have underestimated his emotions that badly. He has feelings too, I guess, something which I often forget given his aloof demeanour. As if reading my mind, Karma snorts:
"Yeah, I wish. But no, my brain would rather fixate on every horrible incident we've gone through recently. Almost makes me wish I could just forsake my humanity, y'know?"
His tone indicates he wasn't serious, but I choose to answer anyway.
"Yeah, I know what you mean…" I offer somberly.
"So what's on your mind tonight?" He asks. I pause for a moment, thinking of the right way to answer. Truth is, I don't want to talk about it. I come up here to escape that stuff.
"I think the better question would be, what isn't on my mind?" I retort evasively.
Karma smiles and nods empathetically, as his gaze remains fixed on the murky sky.
I close my eyes and take another deep breath. I can already feel my mind being cleansed of worries and doubt, as the refreshing air instills a carefree sense of tranquility. I yawn tiredly, and I'm pleasantly reminded of how heavy my eyelids are. I think I'll be able to go back inside and sleep soon. But being alone up here, with Karma, I remember something that's been gnawing at the back of my head that I've been meaning to ask him.
"Karma-"
"Nagisa-"
We both speak up at the same time, and then blink in surprise at each other.
"Er sorry, you go first… ehehe" I stutter nervously.
"No no, go ahead" Karma says, with a 'take it away' motion of his hand.
"Ah it's not that important… just a dumb question I've been meaning to ask you for a while, I guess.."
"Oh? Shoot" He rejoinders with a curious cock of his head.
"Well, I guess I've just been wanting to ask, you know… what your parents are like?"
"That seems like a rather pointless question" Karma quips after a moment silence, and the venom in his tone freezes my blood. It seems I've stepped on a landmine.
"Well, I've just been curious as to what kind of people could create such a conniving, arrogant, and self proclaimed 'witty' bastard such as yourself" I joke hurriedly trying to diffuse his blatantly sour mood. Karma exhales tiredly and looks to the sky once more for inspiration.
"My dad was an abusive, selfish prick, and my mother, an ignorant and neglectful bitch. The two of them never gave a shit about me, and never will. 'Nuff said, really" he answers bitterly. I'm too stunned by the harshness of his words to react. What can I possible say after such a volatile response? I swallow uncomfortably.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had such a bad relationship with them. I was just a little curious..."
"Hey, I'm not mad at you or anything, it's fine", he shrugs, "but I'd rather just not talk about it from now on"
"Right, of course…" an awkward silence drapes over us, and the night seems all the more bleak.
"Oh yeah, so what were you going to say earlier?" I decide to speak up after the silence becomes unbearable.
"Hm?" The sleepy red haired boy muses in confusion
"Y'know, when we both spoke up at the same time and then you let me ask my 'pointless' question first"
"Oh right…"
"Oh right… what?" I press impatiently.
"Ah, I was just going to ask if you remember that little bet we made on the night we forced our way through the forest to see korosensei one final time"
as if on cue, a merciless gust of wind rushes by, carrying with it a somber ambiance and chilling me to the bone
But as to the 'little bet' Karma's referring to…
"Little bet?" I ask innocently.
"The bet we made on who, between you and I, would incapacitate more soldiers that night, and the promise you made to me as a result of MY victory" he elaborates with a victorious grin.
A wave of recollection washes over me as I remember the conversation we had.
That's right, I had completely forgotten: I have to do one thing, no matter what it is, that Karma tells me to do. That was the bet, I realize with horror.
"Oh.. that...dammit, I suppose you want to cash in on that sooner rather than later?" I probe, scrunching my face sourly as I think of all the embarrassing pranks, most of which involving cross dressing, I could be forced into.
"No, don't worry about it" Karma says mysteriously. Then with a more grave tone, he adds: "I plan to save that card for when the time is right"
Taken a little aback by his serious tone, I gulp.
"And when, in your sick, twisted mind, would be a right time?"
Karma smiles grimly before shrugging and turning to face my directly.
"I have no idea yet. Just… I'll use it for something meaningful"
"Meaningful… I hope cross dressing doesn't fit into that category" I joke as my mind races. Karma chuckles emptily, a reaction I was not expecting.
"It doesn't" He answers honestly, and I eye him perplexedly. He notices my dumbfounded look and then waves his hand.
"Don't bother giving it much thought, I just wanted to remind you of your promise. You still promise that when I do ask something of you, you'll definitely do it without hesitation, right?"
"Well, I lost the bet, didn't I?" I grumble, expecting to be met with a belittling smirk. But to my astonishment, I'm instead met with a very serious glare.
"Just promise me again, Nagisa. That you'll definitely do it, whatever it is, without hesitation"
Feeling pressured by his unblinking gaze, I decide to answer sincerely.
"Uh, yeah, of course, I've never been one to go back on my word. I promise I'll do whatever it is you ask of me with no hesitation"
His eyes bore into mine for a while longer, as if trying to judge my honesty. What is with him? He's never this serious. It was just a stupid little bet anyway, right? Finally satisfied with my answer, his face relaxes and he turns back to face the sky.
"Good" he concludes, leaving me to brood with baseless interpretations of his cryptic words.
"Oh yeah, how's your personal training with Irina going?" He asks innocently, as if the foreboding conversation we just had never happened. I guess I'll drop it for now.
"Ah, that… it's certainly unique"
"Well, you can't just leave me hanging after such a tantalizing description"
"Ehhh?! I don't wanna talk about it, it's kinda embarrassing!" I look away from him as I feel my face burn up.
"Well. Now. I. Ab-so-lute-ly. Have. To. Know" He demands, poking my ribs after every syllable.
As a ticklish person, I squirm helplessly before bolting upright in a fit of giggles to escape his torment. I look back at him, a playful smirk on his lips.
"Karma, you jerk! You know I'm ticklish. What if I had rolled off the roof or something?" I pout teasingly.
Karma just shrugs.
"If you had rolled off the roof? Eh, I'd probably just laugh at you"
In his relaxed position, I sock him in the gut before he has any chance to react.
"Urk!" He grunts as he sits upright.
"Oi, Nagisa, if you wanted to be thrown off the roof so badly, why didn't you just say so?" He threatens.
"Hey, that was just a little payback. Now we're even!"
My cries are ingored qs Karma gets up and grabs both my ankles. In one swift motion, I'm lifted off the ground and the world is suddenly upside down. By the time I realize what's going on, I'm dangling over the side of the roof - one slip away from face planting about twenty feet.
"Gah!" I cry out and try to squirm away
"Careful Nagisa, don't squirm too much or I may just… drop you!" He exclaims as he releases one of my ankles, making me drop a few inches.
"Karma! Let me go already!"
"Do you really want me to?"
"You know what I mean!"
"Ah-"
" 'Ah' what?!" I exclaim nervously, peering down at the ground which seems miles below me. I wouldn't put it past Karma to drop me.
"Ah-" Karma stutters once more
"Oh come on, don't do anything as corny as faking a sneeze you loser!" I cry out in protest
"Achoo!" He exclaims, and I feel him release my ankle. I feel the uncomfortable weightlessness you feel when falling. I close my eyes and cover my head with my arms to brace for the impact, cursing Karma in a million different ways and-
After falling about two and a half feet, I feel two hands grasp my angles once more, and I'm promptly pulled back up on the roof.
"Ha… ha… you jerk. A fake sneeze, really? That's... the best you could do?" I pant out, on my hands and knees as I recover.
Karma cackles in amusement, satisfied with my panic.
"I don't always have to be original, do I? My only regret is that I didn't get to see the look on your face." He justifies as he lays back down on the roof, turning his attention once more to the sky.
Just as I'm about to flop over on my back as well, when I notice something odd about a hundred metres down the road..
A black SUV, travelling at a near snail's pace. Its headlights are off, which aside from its underwhelming speed, is the most unnatural thing about it. I've only noticed it now because it just entered under a streetlight beam.
"Hey Karma, look at-"
"The vehicle? Yeah I noticed it a minute ago" he replies, raising his head to observe it once more. We watch it for another moment before it comes to a halt right in the middle of the road in front of our house.
"Karma…" I start worriedly as the hairs on the nape of my neck stick up.
"Yeah, I'm getting a bad vibe from that. You don't suppose it's just a coincidence right?"
One of the back doors of the SUV opens, and we both instinctively scurry to the other side of the roof and spy over the peak.
Although it's quite dark, I've been out here for a while so my eyes have grown accustomed to the darkness. A slender leg bound in leather and a high heel boot steps out of the vehicle, and soon after the full body of a tall woman emerges. It's too dark to discern any remarkable features about her. The metallic object in her hands, however, is easily discernable and it stiffens every muscle in my body.
"Is that a.."
"Gun?" Karma finishes calmly "yep. Looks like a fully automatic, too. I guess that means they didn't just accidentally happen to stop right in front of us.
Just then, the other 3 doors open, and 3 other figures quietly climb out. Based on the size of their forms, it looks like it's two men and two women. They're all carrying guns.
Karma puts a hand on my shoulder and I jump skittishly.
"Nagisa, climb through the window there and wake up Karasuma and Irina. If these guys have 'business' with us, we'll definitely need Karasuma's expertise to get out of this alive"
"What about you then?"
"I'm waiting here to watch them a bit longer, and I plan to sneak attack them from above once you three get their attention" And with that, he practically shoves me back towards Karasuma's window. Just as I'm about to start climbing down, I keenly notice something else which sends a chill down my spine.
Another black SUV, identical to the first, parked in the street directly behind our house as well. I can tell there isn't anybody in it, which means, terrifyingly enough, that whoever was in it is already on foot.
They may even already be at the house!
In which case I need to hurry and wake up Karasuma and Irina!
I hang myself down from the roof, and find the small ledge outside Karasuma's window with my feet. After confirming my feet are firmly planted, I release the grip of the roof and quietly squat outside the window. I try to peer inside, but leave it to Karasuma to have his bedroom window tinted.
I slowly crack it open halfway and silently lower myself in, landing expertly in balled feet without even the slightest creak of the floor.
Click.
I freeze from the harrowing, unmistakable sound just inches from my head
The cocking of a gun.
.
.
.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. Check back in a couple weeks to see what happens to Nagisa, and who the shooter is :p
P.S On an unrelated note, I currently have another fanfiction in the works based on one of my current favorite animes and light novel series, Overlord. Of course, this assclass fanfic takes priority above it right now, and I don't plan on abandoning this story to focus on Overlord, so don't worry! Just thought I'd let you know, because I feel if you've read this far you obviously must enjoy my writing at least a little bit :p so if you'd be interested in an Overlord fanfiction, just follow/favorite me. I'll unveil more details at the end of upcoming chapters :)