XXXIII.

Takaoka got fired by the chairman, which had me cracking up far more than it deserved, when I considered how they were both just horrible people on different levels. At least the chairman was smart enough to see what for a bad teacher Takaoka was. That didn't mean I liked him, but I could respect the pragmatical way he dealt with his problems. Even if he overstepped bounds that weren't meant to be crossed for his goals.

Karasuma had checked up on us shortly to inform us about the situation and to invite us on his treat along with the others. Or at least to get Kanzaki and me to a government doctor to check up on us, which was probably the more sensible option.

''I didn't quite imagine things going like this,'' Kanzaki remarked and rubbed her sore throat. We had established she wasn't suffering anything particularly life-threatening, but it was really better to get her checked up by someone.

''Well, you usually don't end up with people choking you, do you, Kanzaki?'' Karma asked casually, as we walked down the mountain.

''I have called someone to drive you to the doctor's,'' Karasuma-sensei told us and nodded to the car turning around the corner. ''We will be at the cafe Kurahashi has recommended. If the doctor clears you and you want to meet up with us, you can ask the driver to take you to our location.''

I had the feeling he would have also liked to accompany us but the way our classmates had been excited about the man showing more of his human side practically forced him to go ahead and actually socialize with them. Also, his subordinates were probably pretty trustworthy people.

''Thank you, sensei,'' we chorused and got into the car. The others were happily flocking around our P.E. teacher, while Koro-sensei silently cried in the background. I smiled at the image, trying to save it for harder times. The class wasn't perfect, but we were happy the way things were going and even Takaoka's group at the sidelines was somewhat content.

Though everything about this was only temporary. At the end of the year everything was going to be different. Either Koro-sensei was dead, the earth would be destroyed, or we would find another solution, which was only a faraway dream. None of my classmates had realized that or even thought about a different outcome than succeeding in killing our alien teacher.

I felt the slight buzz of anxiety humming inside me and had the sudden desire to protect my neck, while clawing at it the same time. Which was utterly ridiculous. Kanzaki was the one whose neck had been hurt, not mine.

Trying to will the sudden bout of anxiety away, I closed my eyes shut I tried to think of nothing for a few seconds. It didn't really work. Why did I always have to think myself into a corner?

Karma, who had noticed my failure of gaining my composure, was hovering beside me, but not quite touching, which I was grateful for. Even if it were Karma, touching would have spooked me to no ends.

Eyes still screwed shut, I leaned slowly towards the redhead's shoulder and rested my head there. He was a warm and steady presence beside me, which calmed me down immensely. I didn't even notice when we arrived at our destination, too wrapped up in my own feelings and the comfort I was drawing from Karma's presence.


The doctor gave us an all clear after applying salve and bandages to our injuries with a note to take it easy for a few days. Also painkillers, but that was a given. I was sure everyone in class would treat us like glass for a while after that incident, given how horrified everyone had been when Takaoka had dished out beatings.

Being reminded of Kanzaki throat, my thought went to her father and how he would react. I was slightly afraid how Kanzaki's father would react to the bruise on her throat and offered her to go with her when she would meet her father. She said her throat didn't hurt all that much, but it was an ugly bruise.

''Don't worry, Sayo. You would be surprised what a little bit of make-up is capable of. But thank you,'' Kanzaki assured me and smiled when we were getting out of the car, though I couldn't stop worrying.

''Sayo, frown anymore and you will end up looking more like an old hag than you normally do,'' Karma chipped in and I turned my nose up at his words.

''See if I'll go on a date with you anymore when you say things like that.'' In hindsight it had been a mistake to say that, even if Karma had deserved that.

''YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE WITH KARMA?!'' Yeah, that was the reaction I had expected. I could only laugh when I thought about how mundane this was. Dating and grades seemed so unimportant at times like Takaoka's violence. And then I remembered everyone was in the class was an actual teenager, except for me, but I could make do.

On the other hand, I could enjoy the gobsmacked looks Karma and I were receiving.

''I thought you guys would forever be those guys pining for each other!'' Which wasn't exactly wrong. Maehara had a point when I considered how hesitant I was to actually date someone.

''Well, Karma was too charming to resist,'' I joked and laughed at Karma's smug look. Cute bastard.

The others were still caught somewhere between disbelief and amusement when the redhead lay an arm over my shoulders. There was a comment about Karma just being too insistent on the tip of my tongue, but when I saw Karma's happy expression, I didn't speak that sentence out loud. I realized how much I liked that expression on his face.

''You realize that they are going to pester us about the date until they have all the details, don't you?'' I murmured to Karma when we went inside with the others. Nagisa was giving us a happy thumbs up and a just as happy smile, which was quite endearing. Koro-sensei on the other hand...

''An applause for the happy couple!'' Cue the confetti and the flashing of a camera, but I felt like we had stepped into some kind of parallel universe and froze for a second. Karma, who could interpret my reaction as a sign of me being uncomfortable at this, took out his gun and fired a few bullets at the pink mass of tentacles.

''Well, they were going to find out one way or another,'' he answered me and tucked the gun away. Somehow the staff didn't even bother us with a glance, which made everyone relax.

Ignoring the sobbing mess on the floor, most of our classmates went to the tables where they had situated themselves. Karasuma-sensei was looking irritably at our other teacher but made room for us three to sit down.

''What did the doctor say?'' the older man inquired once we settled down. Exchanging glances with Kanzaki, I decided to answer to save her from having to talk too much. She had been a bit quieter than usual, which I attributed to her possible sore throat.

''Nothing serious, Karasuma-sensei, but thank you for asking. We're supposed to take it a bit easy though.''

''It's nothing, seeing that your injuries are our fault,'' he answered gruffly and proceeded to ask us what we wanted from the menu. Such a cutie, I couldn't help but think.


Saturday came faster than I expected, especially when people had been pestering both us about the details of the event about to happen consistently.

Luckily for me, I could wave them off and send them towards Karma, who was in charge of planning all of the date. I had offered helping him with all the planning, but my childhood friend and now maybe-boyfriend had insisted on doing all of that on his own.

That had resulted into me sitting down with him to tell what I was clearly not comfortable with during the date.

I may be developing feelings for him and he had been crushing on me for a rather long time now, but I strongly believed in boundaries, especially my own, which I enforced quite ruthlessly. That was something I could feel really strongly about depending on what kind of mood I was in.

Flowers were a no-go, as was a gift in any form, no weird romantic gestures like wanting to everything for and definitely not insisting on doing those couple-like gestures such as feeding one another or too much PDA. Eating out would be treated just like any other time we went eating or bought groceries, which was doing everything in turns.

Sex was actually something I was comfortable with, which confused me to no ends, but was fine with Karma and that was in the end the most important thing. I was just confused about my preferences, which had been just a little bit different in my former life.

Before I had at least tolerated a few more cheesy things that came along with dating, but I could see now that I had been more annoyed by it and blinded by the novelty of dating someone at all.

That had been a quite sobering conversation and I had to question myself whether I was really suited for the whole dating shit. My preferences really didn't align with the traditional ways, but I couldn't really see myself doing any of it and I ultimately wasn't really expected to act in such a way my whole dating carrier. Which would only exist anyway if my partner could accept my quirks.

Karma, who had listened to all of it attentively, had looked me in the eyes with such a serious expression on his face, that I had feared for a moment I had ruined it all for him.

"Sayo, I've known for almost half my life. I love you and I accept all of you. That includes whatever of that shit you don't like. When I said I wanted to date you, it didn't mean you have to suddenly be a completely different person. You have accepted me through all these years, and I want to continue to accept all of you, especially when I know how much you don't want to 'date'. I'm grateful for this chance and I want to give it a shot."

His answer had resulted into tears slipping down my face without me even noticing it, which had sent Karma into a silent panic, before I had given into the urge and tackled him out of gratefulness for being such a wonderful person.

Currently I was standing at my doorstep, clad in casual clothes and a bag with a summer dress in my one hand, while I put down my purse to slip into my shoes.

Karma had told me to wear slightly more comfortable and stretchable things at first and maybe get something to change into later for dinner. We'd be going back to his house for changing, but dinner would definitely be somewhere else. What he had planned was beyond me, but the promise of good food had me obeying without questioning.

Mom was fussing behind me and had been from the moment on I had told my parents about today's date. Dad on the other hand had looked murderous to which I had told him straight up to cut it out. He could have the shovel talk after the date once I decided I would like to continue dating Karma and leave me out of their dick measuring contest.

Dad hadn't been really appreciative of my comment, but I really didn't want to get involved in that particular mess.

"Sayo-chan, I hope you have fun today. Don't forget to take a few photos for me and always check you have everything with you. I'm so glad you two finally decided to go on a date. This-" The doorbell rang, cutting of my mother's onslaught of words.

"Thanks, kaa-san. I'll write you once we're on the way back. Don't worry too much and don't let tou-san worry too much either. See you," I rushed out, fleeing towards the door to open it to Karma's smiling face.

"Hey," I greeted him and thought about shutting the door. That would not only be rude to my mother, but also take away Karma's chance at talking to my mother and possibly soothing her worries. He was amazingly good at that, which would in return only help me, since I would get a lesser amount of fussing after the whole event.

"Hey yourself. I'm gonna talk to Kana-san for a sec," he told me with an amused quirk of his lips, releasing me from my mental struggle whether to close the door or not. The redhead knew exactly what I had been thinking. He had a rather large backpack slung around his shoulder and something quite bulky inside it.

Intrigued, I waved him off towards my mother, while trying to adjust my shoes once again. Slipping in and out of sneakers without opening the laces had the side effect of everything becoming too loose after some time. After checking once again if they were tight enough, I just gave in and bend down to retie the laces. The frequent struggle between deciding to be lazy or not.

''You doing fine there, Sayo?''

''I'm good. Was just tying things up.'' Yeah, that probably deserved the look Karma gave me.


''You're not going to do anything about those guys following us?'' I asked rather perplexedly, when Karma continued to walk calmly towards the train station and not paying attention to the group of people and one alien following us. They weren't actually bad at hiding but when a group of more than ten people was following you, you couldn't help but notice.

''Nah, don't worry. I got it covered.'' And he winked at me. Which meant Karma had some kind of plan in the makings and this date suddenly got a whole lot more interesting.

''Wanna clue me in?'' The smug asshole hummed.

''Maybe,'' he said nonchalantly, beckoning me closer with a hand gesture. Giving into the urge to glance once again at the odd group following us, my eyes tracked one panicked Kataoka pulling a too slow Isogai behind a lamp post, which did dog shit hiding them.

I waved them.

''And you say, I'm being too antagonizing,'' the redhead murmured and pulled out his phone to show me something. Which turned out to be the location to an inline skate park in the outer districts of Tokyo, connected to a classic roller disco.

My mouth did a complicated twist, when I couldn't decide between laughing out loud or smiling kinda sappily at Karma's plans for today. When he finally pointed to a street leading out of the skate park and through a public garden, while wiggling his eyebrows, I succumbed to the urge to laugh and gave him a thumbs up.

''Not bad,'' I admitted, while Karma patted himself proud on his shoulder. ''And your plan for throwing them off?''

''Now, Sayo, let's not ruin the surprise. I'll tell you in the disco.''


Trying to skate the first time after another lifetime was... difficult so to say. I could recall Karma asking me once to go skating with him, but my friend had shortly after that gotten sick and his interest had then jumped onto other things.

''Weren't you going to catch me, Sayo?'' my dearest date was asking me mockingly, while I held on to him for my dear life. Everything was certainly far more off-balance then I remembered, which meant I couldn't skate in a straight line without wobbling and falling on my nose. Somewhere in the background I could hear some groaning and Maehara's distinct voice saying ''That's not how you flirt!''

''You hear that, Karma? That's not how you flirt,'' I repeated in a high pitch with my tongue out like a child. Trying to skate a few meters and almost promptly being bowled over by another too fast skater, I scowled at my shoes and suppressed the urge to scream at them.

''Alright,'' I could hear the eye roll within his words, but before I could retort the redhead had grabbed my hands and was pulling me forward, facing me and skating backward. ''Let's do something more date appropriate. Let's teach you how to skate.''

''Oh, fuck you, dear, I know how to skate.'' Despite my words I continued to follow his directions when he pulled us forward. There was a distinct swoosh-sound as a yellow blur passed us and a few clicks from camera apps, to which Karma just reacted to with getting closer to me and pecking me on the cheek. The clicking and the swooshing only increased.

Besides the increased temperature of my face I didn't quite know how to react and hiding my face behind Karma wasn't an option when I didn't want to kiss the ground.

''We're gonna split once we're exiting the disco and pull this taut, kay?'' he whispered when his face was still so close to mine.

''You sap,'' I ground out somewhat embarrassed, while the redhead slipped one end of the wire in my hand. Having slowly regained a feel for having wheels under my feet, Karma began to speed up the whole thing and then turned around, catching the one hand holding the wire to let us skate side by side. It was so typical of him to have planned the whole day to this detail and I gave his hand a squeeze. ''Thanks.''

''Nah, it's nothing. You ready?'' he asked me instead, nudging his head towards the open exit of the disco that lead towards the park, which had lanes for skaters. Coincidentally, it was also the perfect escape from our classmates.

Karma's meticulous planning and back-up plans were honestly the best.

The renewed sound of scrambling behind us when Karma lead us with high-speed through the exit was music to my ears. The moment Karma and I were out of the door, we split up and tautened the wire of anti-sensei material between us. The wire moved forward when Koro-sensei crashed against it and in an act of silent communication Karma and I both pulled the wire back in hopes of cutting out teacher even further.

When seemingly everyone following us seemed to startle and pause, we used this as a chance to escape. Most likely our classmates were going to use our teacher's momentary vulnerability as another assassination attempt and even if they weren't, the rest would be blocked at the entrance due to those wanting to kill Koro-sensei.

I had a hunch that some of them had come for the case Karma pulled something like this.

Even when the two of us were practically rolling away from the others, I couldn't stop giggling the entire time, which drew a lazy smile from the redhead beside me.

''Karma, you are such a crazy fucker!'' Said fucker cackled when he heard me.

''Well, I'm your crazy fucker, aren't I?''

''Sure, you are,'' I said and planted a kiss on his cheek all while carefully not kissing the asphalt. Karma's blush and my returned skating skills improved my mood immensely and definitely made this a great day.


''He roped you into this, didn't he?'' The blue-haired male nodded meekly at my question, offering our bags we had left at the disco to Karma while shooting the redhead an irritated look.

''It was so difficult to get away from them! Everyone was too excited to find you and I couldn't leave without being way too suspicious. And I also had to get your bags...'' Nagisa lamented so pitifully that I had to suppress the urge to give him a pat on his head and say ''Good job!''. I was very certain that would only earn more of Nagisa's ire.

''Thank you, Nagisa,'' I told him sincerely instead of doing something we both would regret like offering him a treat like an old lady. That guy was doing that on purpose, I was sure of it.

''Yeah, thanks, Nagisa-kun!'' Karma instead gave him a sunny grin, which I was sure was also partly because of Nagisa's exaggerated misery.

''I'll treat you to some sushi next time for this,'' I offered, which was better than giving him some of that candy in my backpack.

''No need! Karma-kun's already doing that!'' With the promise of his favorite food the shorter male had already cheered up and cheerily waved us goodbye. ''I'll be going now. Have fun on the rest of your date, Karma-kun, Sayori!''

Once Nagisa was gone, I glanced at the redhead, who was shouldering both of our bags. He heaved out a sight at my facial expression.

''Yeah, we'll split the bill if you want to.''

''You know me so well,'' I beamed at him. Apparently, it resembled Nagisa's earlier action so much that Karma had to do a double-take, only to go ahead and pinch my cheeks a little bit.

''Sayo, you really scared me there for a moment.'' The horror on his face was so comical I had to grin the whole way from the park back home.


''You look stunning.'' The abruptness of Karma's words and just way how the words slipped out of him without even a pause had me flushing so much I could feel my ears heat up to their tips.

''Thank you,'' I mumbled, finding a new interest in the tiles of Karma's living room. ''You look also good.''

And he did. Karma had cleaned up nicely with a brown blazer, a shirt in a darker red and also a pair of slacks, which were completely black. The whole ensemble was giving him a very well put together yet casual enough look and the way he had parted his hair to the left made him look really, really attractive.

Coincidentally it matched my own dark red rockabilly dress and its blacks straps. We apparently had both taken the saying "Dress to impress" quite seriously. It felt nice and also looked its part.

''Hmmh,'' Karma hummed in satisfied assent and held open the door for me to step out. A taxi was waiting for us. ''Shall we?''


Dinner was probably the calmest event of this day. No one had gone ahead and looked for us and if Koro-sensei was somewhere he had hidden himself well enough we couldn't see him.

Perhaps I could ask him for some nice pictures later on. He always took so many at least some of them were bound to look good, though I had to applaud him for his photography skills. Even the worst ones were pretty decent.

What was pretty awesome between Karma and I was the fact we didn't need to force a conversation. Either we would talk about interesting or even very mundane things, but we didn't need something to fill the silence between us, which lead to hours of not talking to each other despite being close-by.

The waiter apparently didn't really get the memo and tried to continuously to lighten up the atmosphere between us. He also tried to give Karma some tips inconspicuously, but ultimately failed, which became a real source of amusement between us.

Although, we followed some of his tips since the food he recommended was really great.

''Dear costumers, we recommend a visit to our rooftop. The view is breath-taking and the atmosphere of it has been praised by many of our other costumers. I will gladly show you the way,'' he told us once Karma had settled the bill. The redhead had given the poor man a generous tip for entertaining us so brilliantly. Truly, Karma and I were horrible for messing with him that much, but we both had been way too fascinated by the way our waiter had responded to our rather silent dinner.

(Karma wouldn't let me pay, since he wanted to fully go through the whole date scenario. I thought that was very macho like thing of him to do.

''I'm paying with my parents' money anyway.''

And that had settled the topic.)

''We will gladly take you up on that offer, thank you,'' my date answered him.

"Then I recommend that our customers should go ahead and take their coats with them. The temperature has cooled down quite a bit this evening."

When the waiter led us towards the rooftop, Karma offered me his elbow, which was a gesture I somehow could tolerate way more than hand holding. Amused, I took his silence offer and linked my elbow with his.

The older man in front of us even took the initiative to show us the way up the stairs and continued to lead to the best spot on the rooftop. The satisfaction on his face was very obvious once he noticed our linked elbows and it was clear that he way too invested in this date.

It was quite funny.

"Well then, from here you have the best view onto the city lights, and you can also see the mountains," he said, gesturing to the sight before us. "I wish you a pleasant evening. You can always leave the rooftop from the way you came from."

"Thank you very much for your suggestions, sir. We wish you also a pleasant evening," I answered, having to restrain myself from laughing at the way his whole being cheered up.

"He was hilarious," Karma commented dryly once the waiter had vanished.

"Oh, shut up, don't tell me you didn't want to laugh at the way he hovered."

"Well, you're right," he amended, and a smirk spread across his face. "He was so restless once we stopped talking about how to set up traps most effectively.''

''We were creeping him out way too much. He was so nervous when I didn't respond directly. Did you see how he just wanted to sprint towards our table to "save" the conversation?''

The redhead's lips twitched as we wandered along the railing and watched the nightlife of Tokyo and Kunugigaoka unfold before us. The city lights were shining in so many innumerable colors, strengthening the impression of a different world from the one we knew. It was as if a bubble had settled around us and nothing seemed to be able to disturb this peace.

''I had fun today,'' I whispered into the silence that had begun to set in, afraid to break this fragile moment we were experiencing.

''Then I'm glad. I had fun too,'' he murmured back and leaned in more so that our shoulders were connecting seamlessly with each other. I hated myself a bit that I was questioning every action and gesture of this day, but for once I was just content leaning against him and soak in his presence.

''Sayo?''

''Mhhhm?''

''Can I kiss you?'' His words took me by surprise, making me tense up against his side, making him immediately backtrack. ''If you aren't comfortable, we don't have to.''

''No, it's- I-,'' I let out a frustrated huff at my inability to put my feelings into words and my instinctive reaction at the thought of anything romantic. I wanted to give Karma something for this evening and I wanted to take this leap of faith. It wasn't a sense of obligation. I knew myself that would be the wrong approach to this.

I buried my face in his side and willed myself to calm down.

''I want to,'' I finally let out, choked, and looked at his face, which was set in such a patient expression. Karma was okay with waiting such a long time for me and it was the last push I needed for my words to come out. ''I really want to and I'm so sorry I'm taking so long.''

''Don't apologize,'' he murmured, his face so close to mine, one of his hands cupping one side of my face. ''I can wait until you're ready. There is no need to rush.''

I really didn't know how I deserved him.

There was something sensual about the way he kissed me. Slow and languid, the way he moved his lips against mine without deepening the kiss to something more heated - like he wanted to savor every moment of this.

It sparked something within me. The thought of how much he treasured this, how much he treasured me, and something pulled painfully tight in my chest. It felt bittersweet, but too good to stop. I sighed against his lips and just let his presence wash over me like a wave. Karma was possibly the best thing to ever happen to me and I was too selfish ever let it go.

Once the need for oxygen has proven to be far too overwhelming, we separated, and I let my head rest against Karma's shoulder. My heart was racing, while my face was aflame.

"You are going to be the death of me, Karma."

"And you will be mine, Sayo."

My mind went back to the time Karma had flung himself off that cliff and perhaps that statement was truer than we both wanted to believe.


''You know, this day went almost too perfectly,'' Karma said too me once we were inside the cab taking us home. I smirked at the memory of our classmates embarrassing themselves in front of us and our flailing teacher.

''Well, I guess this is thanks to some genius planning.'' Feeling cheeky, I pecked his cheek. Seeing his smug expression transforming into something shyer and more vulnerable made me smile even more. Content with how the evening went, we both remained quiet until the cab halted before my house. Once we were stood before my home's entrance, we fidgeted, a bit too shy and awkward how to end this day.

''-Thank you, Karma,'' I blurted into the silence and suddenly really felt like the 15-year-old I looked like. What a new experience after so many years of feeling too old for my own body. Just going ahead with what I was currently feeling, I went ahead and threw my arms around him, which he almost immediately reciprocated.

We probably stood there for at least five minutes and would have continued to do so if my father hadn't opened the door and cleared his throat very non-discreetly at the two of us. Instead of being the very cliché teenage couple that we maybe should have been we held on for a few more seconds and let go slowly, for me to give my dad a very non-impressed look and for Karma to look at him sheepishly with a grin.

''Right, I see you two had a nice evening,'' my father mentioned dryly and threw me an also non-impressed glance back. That was totally not the response I expected and pouted in response, but at least he wasn't unleashing papa-bear once again. It was quite a hassle to get him calm down from that one, but that was something a parent should be able to enjoy. ''Sayo, your mother is waiting for you inside. I'm gonna have a word with Karma.''

''Sure,'' I said slowly, and my eyes found Karma's very quickly. The redhead gave me a grin, paired with a thumbs-up, in response and I smiled. ''Have fun with your shovel-talk, tou-san.''


''Jeez, I can't believe my little Sayo is dating now. Feels like yesterday when she screamed how disinterested she was in romance.'' The only man in the Kitani household ran a hand through his hair, effectively tousling it and giving him a far more ragged look than the gelled state Sayori's father possessed most days.

Karma smiled wryly.

''Perhaps because she's still screaming some of that?'' He shrugged and looked fondly at the door his newly minted girlfriend had just gone through. Girlfriend- he felt so giddy at the thought. ''She's giving me a chance despite that and I really want to try my best.''

''I know,'' the older male sighed. ''Literally, there's nothing I can tell you; you haven't heard from me before in one way or another. I'm just keeping up appearances for Sayo. Though I believe neither Kana nor my dearest daughter would leave me entirely unharmed should I hurt you in any way.''

''Well, that probably goes the other way around too. They both are a bit terrifying in their own way.''

They both grimaced at the memory of both of them coming home after a rather nasty episode where they both had fucked up the living room in a bout of too much testosterone. Neither of them would ever look at the women of the Kitani household the same again.

''Amen to that,'' Yuuichiro tipped his head at Karma's words. ''Anyway, I hope you both stay happy. Don't force yourself into anything you don't want to because I know Sayo won't. If you have any questions towards your relationship and anything related you can ask me. I know you aren't on the best terms with your parents and you can always come to Kana or me if you need help. You have been there for so long we both feel anyway like you're part of the family.''

Karma didn't expect this. Whenever Yuuichiro and him interacted it was more on the basis of him being just a friend of Sayo's or, jokingly, a potential boyfriend (which was now more or less becoming the truth). Hearing how Yuuichiro genuinely felt about him, made it suddenly so much harder to speak than before.

''Th-thank you,'' Karma choked out, a lump forming in his throat.

''Come here, you rascal.'' An arm was slung around his neck and he found himself suddenly in Yuuichiro's arms, a weird rehearsal of what Sayo had been doing the last few months to him once again and again. ''Take care of her and don't get into too much trouble yourself, got it?''

''Yeah,'' he mumbled. ''I'll try my best.''

''Best I can ask of you troublemakers.''


''So? How did your date go?'' I jumped when my mother asked that question behind me while I was watching Karma and my father talk to each other. So far it looked quite promising.

''Eh-'' My mother chuckled at my reaction and steered me into the living room, effectively robbing me of any chance of spying on the two outside. ''Let those two talk in peace. You can tell me how you liked the date.''

What a bust, but well, I wanted to share it with her anyway.


So hi? Hope you had fun reading, but I'm only updating this really old draft. I probably fucked up somewhere, so maybe tell me if you want but no pressure. I have a really hard time writing romance pretty much due to me being on the scale of aromantism. Sucks when this story is so cute.

I just realize that I'm just not a romantic person or will ever see it as an necessity in my life. If you go to my favorite pages you will most likely find romance related stories and it's somehow hyprocritical, but that's just the same way as romance isn't logical.

This fanfic isn't about Karma deserving Sayo because he waited for so long and accepting her. It's about her accepting herself and seeing Karma in a new light, another addition to her life. Sayo is in a lot of ways me, but she's also not. I'm not 15 anymore nor do I have the same aspirations as her anymore. It's just difficult to write romance for someone who's supposed to be me or is so similar to me when I just think that I'm not ready for a relationship right or if I ever will be.

I realize everyone doesn't think as deep as me about that issue cause you're here for a cute story, but as the author I just think a lot about it.

Also in uni right now and on my last legs for the las exam. Let's see if I update again