It had been a week since she started school, a week since she'd started taking tests, studying and all that. And, it was all too visible to everyone around her that she was in need of help. She wasn't just lagging behind, Sakusa could barely grasp the basics. And it was in all subjects.

Her grip tightened around her chopsticks as she ate the leftover lunch she had bought from yesterday. Not finishing it the day before, she had brought it in to finish it at lunch. In front of her, were all her tests she'd done last week. She'd taken a the usual mid-term tests and had scored barely above ten percent for all of them

A redhead figure slid into the bench in front of her and watched her anguished face. She'd barely noticed him. "Looks like somebody's in a little bit of a mess. All below twenty percent? You must be kidding me!"

Sakusa jerked her head up and scowled. It was the arrogant redhead again. "You can shut up and die," she muttered.

"Hey, hey! I was just saying," he said with a grin as he dramatically pulled out his own papers. Sakusa's eyes widened as she caught sight of them - they were all perfect. A perfect hundred percent. It was unbelievable. "Big difference, I have to say Sakusa-san," he said. He couldn't help but enjoy the moment of her distress.

Sakusa looked at the redhead boy out of the corner of her eye. "Saku- Oh. How do you know my name?"

"I asked Asano-kun. He seemed quite worried about you last week. Did you do something to him? I bet he went wild when you rejected him," the redhead boy teased.

"Tell me your name then. It can't be fair if only one side knows the other," Sakusa sighed.

The boy's grin widened, "Karma."

"Karma," she said tasting the word in her mouth. The name rolled off her tongue and it gave a distinct taste - she liked the name. It kinda suited the boy too. His amber eyes glinted as she said his name. Karma couldn't help but enjoy watching this innocent girl. There was a certain spirit in her that reminded him of 3-E. He wondered what it would be like if she was there last year. Maybe she would've fit in well.

Karma peered over at her tests. It was quite miraculous, really. All of her tests were way below average. She couldn't have gotten into this school under normal circumstances - she must've pulled strings. His eye caught another test beneath all others. Karma's hand reached to pull it out of hiding. He flipped it open on to the table.

In front of him, Sakusa's eyes widened. "Thirty percent?"

"Well, well. We've found your strong point!" Karma said with a grin. "Maths, huh?"

Beneath all the tests, had been the one she hadn't looked at. Sakusa had always liked maths more than other subjects. It was easier to understand. She didn't have to read. "Yeah. I guess. But, it's easier so..."

"I would agree, but some idiots don't think so. Lots of people think it's one of the hardest. Those stupid fools," Karma said thoughtfully. His eyes were directed to the girl. She didn't look all that smart.

"Karma-kun," she blurted out. The boy snapped out of his thoughts. "Help me. You're really smart... So just give me advice or something. I wanna stay at the school."

Karma nodded smirk. "Ok. Thought you'd never ask. It's only reasonable for an idiot like you to come to a genius like me."

"I'm not an idiot! I-I'm just... SHUT UP!" Sakusa roared as Karma laughed.

-3-

Karma found himself staring at the single sentence at the back of the big yellow book, again. It baffled him more than anything. But there was also this small nagging feeling that he had to do it. He tried to look from Koro Sensei's side. He would've taken everything into account when writing this. But why him only? And not Nagisa who was obviously the head of the class and the best assassin?

His fingers ran over the words, feeling every stroke and indent left in the book. The pen that had been used wasn't anything special. The words didn't seem to have any hidden meaning or clue either. The sentence didn't look like a code too. Hana was obviously a person, and not a normal flower, like most would've thought. He knew that much. Koro Sensei's grammar was to advanced for such a mistake to happen.

As much as he wanted to ask everyone about it, something told he that he shouldn't. That it was meant only for him. And if it did? Did it mean that only Karma would meet her? The conclusion came to him almost immediately - she was someone in his school. And of course Koro Sensei would be able to know. In that small time he was their teacher, he would've had access to the school system. He'd just have to find out which girl it was.

-3-

Sakusa yawned. The Saturday sunshine shone through her half-drawn curtains of the room. She could already hear the keeper, whose name she found out was Tsukishima-san, making breakfast.

The teenage girl got out of bed and her feet padded across the room floor. Sakusa got out her only other outfit: a comfortable red singlet top and denim pants. It was either this, the white dress she had from the lab, or her school uniform.

As she walked past the kitchen, the aroma of hot breakfast floated to her nose. It was tempting, but she didn't want to pay for it. She knew the value of money, and she also knew she could skip this breakfast like she'd done a million times before.

"Oi, Sakusa-chan! Come 'ere!" Tsukishima-san yelled from the kitchen. It took Sakusa a while to register her name being called. At once, she walked to the kitchen.

"Tsukishima-san?" Sakusa asked as she poked her head into the kitchen. Breakfast was getting harder to resist. She could see the rice cooking in the pot, and it was hot.

The elderly woman smiled, "Come have some breakfast. I feel like treating you."

"But I don't have the money...?" It wasn't true, but there was no other excuse.

"Doesn't matter! You're so skinny that I feel bad! Come here, child! Let me get you some good breakfast - you look like you haven't had some in a while," the woman smiled as she pushed Sakusa to a chair and served her hot rice and other hot dishes.

Sakusa gazed at the food. It was even better than the school's delicious lunch and as she put more and more in her mouth, she couldn't help loving it. Her eyes glistened as steam sprouted from her mouth. It was such a good feeling - being fed. It was something she hadn't experienced properly in a while. And she'd missed it. If only she could remember the days when her parents would feed her.

"Eat up," the woman said gently.

After she thanked the woman, she skipped ahead. It was a good day and the start had been more than marvellous. She had a tutor session now - Karma would be meeting her at the school library. The library building was soon in front of her and as she took a took a step into the building, her breath was taken away. Never had she seen this many books in her life.

"Beauty, am I right? I'm not much of a reader, but even I can tell this library isn't normal," came a familiar voice from behind. Sakusa barely paid any attention. Books were stacked from the tall ceiling to the very floor of the library. Lush red carpets covered the floor and the windows allowed just enough of sunlight. The modern looking chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the library was as bright as a star. Several librarians walked silently around the library, rearranging books and more.

"Thank you, for bringing me here," she said quietly. Behind her, Karma smiled.

"Well, we better get on with it! From what I can tell, you barely know how to add two numbers!" Karma teased as he pushed her to a secluded corner where a table and several chairs were.

"I do know how to add! With more than two numbers too! Y-you multiply!" Sakusa protested quietly with a hiss, "I'm not completely uneducated!" Even in the lab, where they barely cared about the subjects, they still gave her basic lessons. And soon, she had gotten the simple grade school stuff down. Well, most of it. But now, it was like her brain had been mostly erased.

"Don't worry, Sakusa-chan! I am a genius at maths, and I will make you one as well," Karma said as they both sat down. The session soon started, and any emotions between them were pushed aside as they began working through the textbooks. Through from grade one of grade school to grade one of high school.