Karma shoved his phone into his pocket in frustration. She wasn't picking up his calls, and she always answered immediately. It was strange. Too strange. His thoughts immediately brought him to the bounty paper. Someone must've found her out and caught her. There was no other explanation. But what if it was just a coincidence? He could go back to her inn and check, but that would waste time/ Precious time if she was already caught and in the hands of the government. He'd heard of bounty hunters and people wanted by the government. And he also knew that whenever they were caught, they were transported to the temporary holding centre. Karma knew all this because he had once brought in a bounty.

The boy raced out of his room, trying not to arouse Sachuro-san. Thankfully, she was in her room, on the other side of the house. And it was a big house.

Karma didn't exactly have a motorbike license, but he didn't have a car license either and he'd driven one before. How hard could driving a motorbike be? He threw himself on the bike and revved it up, instantly zooming off into the distance. In her room, Sachuro-san was absorbed into her laptop. She'd been waiting for the new K-drama episode for days.

The wind was rushing in his ears and in his face. He felt free, but his heart was squeezing in panic. Not only that, he still didn't know how to address... The girl. Use her real name, or the name he knew her as? She may be a flower to Koro Sensei, he thought, but she will always be my Sakusa-san.

Nearing his destination, he slowed the bike down, reducing the volume. Right now, he had the element of surprise, and he intended to keep it. A few hundred metres away, he spotted a building in the distance. It was almost incredibly camouflaged in the forest. But he knew better. When he was a hundred metres away from the building, he parked his bike behind a tree and silently walked across the lawn.

He'd scoured the are before, and there were two doors. One was heavily guarded by hidden guards. The other, was not guarded at all, but had a bunch of security and walls and stuff like that. He would have more of a chance if he slipped through the back security, unless the security was too impenetrable. People he could easily handle. Plus, he brought his usual things anyway.

Behind a bush, Karma could spot every single guard. Games in the mountain last year had prepared him for this. Although a different terrain, Koro Sensei had always taught them to adapt. There were five guards. All were in trees or behind bushes. One was just around the corner. That was probably the back-up guard. Sneaking around the back of the building, he quickly and silently knocked out the back-up guard by pinching a pressure point. He laid him down on the grass silently. Now, there was no back-up. The other four guards were just as easily taken care of. They though they were out of sight? It was almost laughable.

Pinching a key-card from one of the sleeping guards, Karma walked into the building casually. The building was dark and silent, but Karma's eyes were naturally adapted to the dark. The swarm of men almost came too quickly, Karma was pinned down by a bulky man. He was heavy but Karma's smaller figure was able to wriggle out of the tight spot. All the men came at him at once. He took them out one by one, or two at the same time.

Karma's athletic frame was useful and he'd wiped out half of the men in fifteen minutes. In his book, it was too long. The other half, he placed a toxic stink bomb Okuda had once made for him, in the middle of the group. Covering his nose and holding his breath, he sprinted out of the narrow hallway they'd been in.

Suddenly, he was in a big room. No, it was more like an empty hall that had been cleared out just for him. There were strange vibes in the room. Like something had happened here just before he'd entered. Karma realised what it was; the place was crackling with electricity and static.

A click was heard and the lights came on. A familiar figure emerged and Karma scowled. He'd had a feeling, but still couldn't believe it. The figure rolled up his sleeves and smiled. "You're behind all this aren't you, Asano-kun?" Karma asked in a light tone, "I thought it might've been you, but I didn't know. How about you help me persuade your dad for straight As just for guessing?" His cocky voice was the same as always. But his heart was raging.

"A hundred percent, Karma-kun. But I'm afraid that I can't beg my father for you," Asano said with a smile, "And I'm also afraid that you should've never come for me." In a fleeting moment, he had executed a sweeping kick and left Karma staggering in the dust.

Karma laughed lightly. "I didn't come for you, Asano-kun. I came for her." Karma lunged forward, faking a punch before doing a side kick to Asano's ribs. He thought he heard a crack. But Asano wasn't so easily defeated. Determined, he jumped into his punches. It'd always been his strongest point. And it would be Karma's downfall.

But having learnt from the best soldier Japan had ever seen, Karma blocked every single punch. Just as he saw an opening, he elbowed into Asano's middle. The boy staggered back, heaving. The hit had been aimed perfectly, causing him to bite on to his tongue and bleed in his mouth.

"You don't know what you're doing. You don't know what she's capable of. She's a monster," Asano hissed. Fuelled by anger and the probability of defeat, he sped forward and caught Karma in a headlock before flipping him overhead and pinning him down. He had his hand over his neck, blocking most of his airways. Karma scrambled for air, clawing at Asano's muscular arm. But Asano spared him nothing as he dropped a punch on Karma's stomach. Karma coughed up blood.

"You're the one who doesn't understand. Sakusa isn't a monster. She's a human. She has feelings, she has a heart. Unlike you. Sakusa's the strongest most amazing person I've ever met," Karma gasped, "And I will get to her no matter what." It was like a newfound fire started burning inside his very core. There was a strength Asano had never seen. Karma found the strength to push Asano away with his legs and jump up. Quickly, he did a sweeping kick and dropped an axe kick on Asano. The strawberry blonde-haired boy could barely breathe as Karma pinned him down. Karma's fist met Asano's face but stopped.

"I won't kill you, but only because that's what Koro Sensei taught me to do." Karma stood up, but didn't let Asano up. He found some heavy duty rope in his bag and knotted Asano's arms around tightly as he let the boy lay in the middle of the floor. "I'll call your dad later." Asano's scowl was deep and terrifying.

"You don't know what you're doing. You don't know what demon you're about to unleash," Asano growled. Karma wiped away the blood dripping from his mouth, but the flow seemed to never end. His amber eyes flickered as he looked at Asano one last time before walking away and exiting the room. Left behind, Asano swore under his breath.

-3-

There was only one room left to check. Karma threw open the doors. Darkness filled the room and there was no light. Feeling for the switch, Karma jolted to a stop as he heard a sound .Frantically, he turned on the lights and search the room. It was big and it was built of reinforced steel. At the very back corner, there were chains. And in the middle of them all was a girl. A person had never looked so small and afraid in Karma's eyes. Her eyes seemed to radiate darkness and fear.

"Sakusa!" Karma cried as he raced to the girl. The run there felt so long. Like all of eternity was stretching out in that one moment. Like he would never get to her in time.

Her empty eyes turned to his direction and a flicker of hope crossed her eyes. Tears that hadn't been able to come before, now exploded. "Karma-kun?" Sakusa said amidst her tears. "Karma!" The girl screamed his name as she struggled in the chains. "KARMA!"

Karma threw himself on her and enveloped her in his arms. He clung tightly to her, his face hidden in her long hair, as a tear dripped down his cheek. Sakusa's waterfall of tears didn't stop as she buried her face into his warm chest. Her arms were still chained behind her. The world stopped. Sakusa hadn't felt this safe in forever. She'd long forgotten the feeling to have someone hold tight to you, to never let you go.

Karma slowly let her go, and quickly unlocked her chains. "Sakusa... I know who you are now," he spoke when he finished with the chains. He clutched Sakusa's thin pale arms.

She stopped crying. "What?"

He gave a small smile as his hair fiery red hair hung loosely in his face. "You were the one I was searching for. Your brother... He was my teacher. Koro Sensei - his real name was Korogane Ryushi. You were the sister of Koro Sensei, weren't you?"

Sakusa's breath caught. Korogane Ryushi. She never thought she'd hear lips utter his name ever again. And now, here was someone who had been there when he died. Karma had been the one her brother had trusted. "Ryu-nii... He asked you to find me?"

"He asked me to look after you, Hana. And I will," he smiled. "I will always look after you. And not just because Koro Sensei asked me to. Because I love you, Sakusa-san."

There was silence. "You can't love me," Sakusa said in a hollow voice. Her face was pale, full of mixed feelings and she was a crying mess. Even Karma couldn't tell what the feelings were, but he felt a stab in his heart when he saw her like this. She looked so vulnerable, so frightened and small.

"I can and I will. You're the final piece of the puzzle I've been searching for. You... I can't live without you, Sakusa," he was gentle, but firm. Like when they had first met. When he'd pulled Sakusa through the cafeteria. That seemed like ages ago now. It felt like a distant memory. Then, Sakusa had seemed afraid too. Afraid of the world. But then she had begun to grow on him. She was a strong person, who had gone through so much. But was still scared of the world. But somehow, even against all that the universe threw at her, she was a survivor. She pad such passion in her eyes, and he'd never seen such contentment in anyone's eyes. She knew how to be happy with the little things given to her, and she knew how to just live in the moment. Through the months, Sakusa had begun to grow like a wildflower in Karma's heart.

She was speechless. "Do you know what I've done? I killed everyone in my lab. I killed that boy on the street. I am murderer. I'm a wanted criminal! Now that you know who I am, you can't be near me! Everyone important person in Japan is after me. You're going to be in danger too, and I can't let that happen!" Sakusa exclaimed. A tear fell down her cheek. "I can't lose someone else in my life."

Karma tenderly touched her wet cheek and smirked. "Good to know you feel the same way." He pressed his lips on to hers, silencing her protests. They slowly melted into each other; deepening into the kiss. Sakusa eased into the warmth of his body as he held her tight by the waist. Nothing could've separate them. They needed it, after all they'd been through. Most of all, Sakusa needed this. She just couldn't do it anymore. They closed their eyes, living in that one moment. It seemed like it would never end, and neither wanted it to. Karma had finally found the missing piece in his life. And Sakusa had finally found the true love her brother promised her.

And one day, you'll find love stronger than a thousand seas.