I AM HERE! YAY! CHAPTER 6! I must have made you all feel pretty bad with that cliffhanger...HEH #noregrets
ANYWAY! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR LOVELY REVIEWS ON LAST CHAPTER! (Seriously they were a lot! That's why this is up so soon ^w^)
The last part's rushed again though because I got sleepy on the way ;w;
I STILL HAVE TO WORK ON MOTHER'S DAY SURPRISE! *shoots self* Anyway! This chapter's pretty short compared to the past 4, well because it's not the end of arc yet and I couldn't really fit it all in one this time TT-TT
Let me just say that this chapter took me a day (which was yesterday) to arrange. Okay before the sleepiness takes over me again, I shall answer your beautiful reviews! (wow a lot)
purplepaisley: Thanks for reviewing! I appreciate it~! (Wagas ka rin beh 3)
KisaragiMaru: Oh thanks for reviewing again! ^w^ Yeah Manami's class sucks but that's life (sorrynotsorrylol XD)oh thank you for answering that! I was actually thinking of something for the fic so thanks!
animeandmangafangirl: Good to see you again in my reviews page! And to really know if that dude's gonna die is down there X"D I'm happy that I'm able to help you with your stressful about-to-go-to-college life! GOOD LUCK! I'm 2 years away so yeah ;-; Thanks for answering! I was wondering how much people ship Kanzaki and Sugino, if they're OTP then I won't touch Sugino...;w; Thanks for the tip!
MugiPyon: WOW THAT IS LONG XD BUT I VERY MUCH LOVE YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME AND EFFORT TO WRITE SUCHA LONG REVIEW AND NO YOU'RE NOT SPAMMING I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH! Very very big thanks for all the tips and compliments, they mean a lot to me and thanks for pointing things out! I'll do my best to apply edits and improvements! Yes, you and Fuwa will have a wonderful time otaku-izing the entire Class E. Thanks for the mother-father scene fangirl ;D That idea literally came out of nowhere XDD Thanks for the vote and answering the question! Now I wonder if I should touch Sugino or not...(NOT IN THAT WAY). LOL some of the names come out of nowhere to XD But Mikagura-sensei isn't Eruna 8"D
Guest: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like it!
Akabane-san: Thank YOU for reviewing, you're awesome. Thanks for taking the time to read this! And only find out down there 8D
Quilla The Silent: THANKS GIRL! Another review from you is really heartwarming, I look forward to more of your reviews! And really thank you for pointing those out and how you felt about the chapter! It got me working to this one ^W^ Sugino and Rio huh...I'll think about it XD
I12BFree: Thanks for the review! FIND OUT MORE DOWN THERE~ #PoorManami #Stop1-C
kuroneko051: Thanks for the review and pointing that out! That's actually a fail on my part sorry XDD I didn't indicate stuff clearly and I'm VERY sorry for that. But I have to disagree with the last part of your review ;-; Gomene
ANON: HELLO~ Thanks for review like always! I'm so happy you're enjoying it and that you're looking forward to more of it. Also thanks for answering! But do you really ship them? LOLJK you don't have to answer that XDD
Nonnie: Thank you you wonderful person and fellow Karmanami shipper for leaving a review. Yeah let's spread that 1-C hate. *showers hate*. Thank you but I love YOU MORE~ *whispers* You're amazing too bby
TheRoseShadow21: HELLO ONCE MORE! Thank you for regularly leaving a very well written review! It got me so giddy and I'm so happy you like Mai! Thanks for answering the question too! It should help! THANKS A MILLION FOR ALL OF YOUR KIND WORDS! THEY MEAN A LOT!
eastfall: HEYO~! LEMME JUST HUG YOU CUZ YOU HELP ME A LOT WITH THIS AND THANK YOU SO MUCH! I've answered the rest of your review in PM ^w^
Resa: Thanks for the review! And I update as fast as I can ;w;
kawaiichoconeko: NEKO-CHAN THANKS FOR ANOTHER REVIEW! Thank you for telling me your feelings about the chapter and getting hyped about the story ^W^ Oh? Rio and Sugino?...Let me think about it XD
I SHALL NOT DELAY ANY FURTHER (Because Mother's day is up ahead and I need to prepare things at *checks time* 3 am)
Disclaimer: If I owned Ansatsu Kyoushitsu Nagisa would've probably been a legit guy, but I assume I'll ruin everythig because Nagisa is Nagisa but anyway, I DONT OWN IT
Chapter 6: What Did You Say That For? (Part II)
It's dark…
No one's here but me…I'm all alone…
It's dark…It's dark…It's dark…
I've been so selfishly happy for the past few days…
And this is my punishment…
"Pres.!"
Seven pairs of alarmed footsteps pattered on the dry soil as each of them made their way to an old tool shed which was currently surrounded by a few members of Kimii's student council and other students that appeared to be witnesses of the dreadful scene that occurred in the destination of those seven.
The air felt humid as the sun was blocked by grey stratus clouds which befitted the atmosphere that strangled everyone at the moment. Though not a lot of people gathered at the location, the noise that rang in everyone's ears was deafening – especially for the troubled club president whose speed was unmatchable to those trailing behind him.
Isura Mai called for the tall 3rd year student with the Council President sash around his arm; he had wood brown hair that hovered above his rectangular-framed glasses, and underneath was a troubled pair of sea green eyes – Kobayashi Tsumugu, student council president
"Isura." He acknowledged her nonchalantly, but you couldn't deny the anxiety that laced his deep voice. To the side stood a frantic pair of girls that Mai assumed to be the witnesses – the club president was dealing with them right now.
And what the vice president saw through the broken doors of the old tool shed was a sight she did not wish to behold; and neither did the other six.
"I'll call the teachers!" before the adrenaline-rushed brunette was able to take a step away from the scene she was stopped by her senior with an "It's already being done, go get the other staff members to get this rubble off immediately.
"YES SIR!" she had to keep herself from hyperventilating before dashing away as fast as she can to call for anyone that could help.
Meanwhile, Karma wasted no time in kicking the rest of the door out of his way and ran to the pile wrecked materials being worked on by a few more students that looked to be witnesses as well. It wasn't at all what he expected – unfortunately, it's worse. What he had hoped to be a small crash of broken bricks and other wooden materials didn't turn out that way at all. He cursed and clenched his teeth – not only did it look challenging to move that entire mountain of junk out of the way, the door couldn't be seen. And she's in there…
"Hey! Are you okay?! Can you hear us?!" shouted one of them to the access they could find to the door – but no response was heard, not even a single stir or shuffling of objects.
"L-Like I said! It wasn't my fault!" By the wall of the old run-down building were three male students – two of which are presumed to be members of the student council as the one trembling underneath their interrogation appeared to be a blond haired boy with the look of a desperate man about to meet his execution.
"You were seen by two sophomores walking in here with the victim, you expect us to believe that?!"
"I-It really isn't! Mimura wanted to scare the girl by locking her in just a while! It was a small prank for laughs! I didn't mean for it to go this fa—"
Before he could continue with whatever his next excuse was, Karma had already grabbed the blond's coconut-head and collided his knee with the environmental chairman's jaw – a loud and audible crack reached everyone's ears; apparently, no one noticed when he got there, not even the interrogators – the action was so fast it took moments for everyone to grasp what was happening, and within those few moments of realization, the redhead had aggressively thrown a series of punches and knee strikes with gritted teeth and and eyes that gave out nothing but animosity. He couldn't say anything, rather, he didn't want to say anything and just let anger and action take over.
"Karma-kun!" before the furious Karma could land another hit on the already battered boy, Sugino took the chance to keep his friend from doing any more damage and held his ready-to-punch arm back – but as soon as Karma threw him off, the two interrogators as well as Chiba grabbed hold of the uncontrollable sadist. Even if he was considerably strong in a sense, he still couldn't handle the power of four men holding him down no matter how many times he tried to shake them off of him; it was quite the challenge for his keepers, but it was what it took to keep him from killing the guy.
"Get a hold of yourself!" yelled one of the council members as he struggled to keep him away – but Karma just wouldn't let go of the other's shirt.
"Karma-kun! Stop or you'll end up killing him! It's not worth it. We have to help Okuda first!" Sugino tried getting into his anger-clouded – which thankfully worked.
Karma took one last look at the pathetic student's bruised and bleeding face – his mouth was agape as it dripped with some saliva as his eyes failed to close due to the swelling. "Tch…" he could feel the irritation that caused his brows to twitch overwhelm himself. 'He should consider himself unlucky to be alive after this' this menacing thought swam through his mind before he shoved the unconscious boy to the wall with a loud bang and ran over to the debris – Sugino and Chiba exchanged a nod and followed him.
The council members knelt and examined the punching bag from earlier "Damn…he's out cold"
"Let's bring him to the nurse' office."
All the while, the girls were left dumbstruck by what was displayed to them by the cruel reality and could only watch as Karma dealt with the 1-C student mercilessly. Rio had to keep herself from going over to punch the guy along with her club president as the scene before the three girls unfolded, but as of late, something else caused the golden-haired girl to radiate such a rage from her shaking fists. Not a second later, Rio stormed out of the shed – though a bit reluctant to leave Manami behind, she couldn't fight the anger that piled up faster than a tetris game on hard mode.
Yuzuki, having noticed this, recovered from her state of panic and ran after the girl who was already trudging outside, under the grey skies. The otaku stopped by the door of the shed (she too, didn't want to leave her friend behind) "Where are you going?!"
But the blond paid no mind to this and just continued to trudge forward in a fumed rage.
Fuwa only looked on as the blond shrunk in her view, until Rinka raced past her out of nowhere and headed to the direction Rio had vanished – from what the mangaka was able to see from the split second that passed, the orange-haired girl had her teeth clenched visibly with wild green eyes that tried to hide distraught.
"Hayami-san!" again, this call of hers was ignored as Rinka only focused on where the blond had run off to.
"Erm…" after a few more seconds of hesitation, Fuwa , in turn, chased after the other two.
"Stop!" Rinka had been able to catch up with the blond in almost no time.
By now, Rio was already in the second to the last hallway before the First Year's part of the school, where her target was – the only thing that held her back was the hand the stoic sniper used to to have a firm grip of her arm.
"LET GO!" her bark bounced off the walls of the dark, empty corridor without a care about whoever hears it – things were filling her head up all at once so she had lost the ability to think rationally after the mortifying sight from where she had come from. Rio refused to turn around and let her golden locks hide away whatever menaced expression she had on as she tried to get Rinka's hand out of the way – unfortunately for her, the ginger had a good arm strength and could not be pried away so easily.
"Nakamura-san!" eventually, Fuwa had caught up to them, but it wasn't too rewarding to catch them in the middle of a controversy. All she could do from that point was watch in her uneasiness.
"What's this going to solve?" Rinka's ever serious tone reached her ears and for some reason that only added to how frustrated she was already.
"LET GO!" Rio thrashed harder, and Rinka had to admit that made her struggle, but the grip never loosened.
"When you find them, are you going to bully them back?"
A sudden surge of emotions coursed through the blond's body with a pulsing force at her next words "THIS ISN'T EVEN BULLYING ANYMORE!" her tone seemed to have given off everything she felt at the time – it was like an explosion; and it had the other two taken aback until Hayami's own emotions blew over.
"Nakamura! Think for a while—!"
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!" Rio thrashed again, and this time Rinka let it go which had the blond stumbling forward – luckily she caught herself with support from the wall.
A few more tense seconds passed with only the sound of the distant students and the slightly heavy pants of the light crowned female.
This time, Rio's tone had calmed down, but it still had hostility floating about in the aura around her "That girl needs to stop thinking she has to be alone." She kept her back turned on her (annoyingly) adult-like club-mate as she worded out her next sentence in a low voice.
"If you're not going to do anything…then just stand and watch like you always do." Without another word, the blond jogged off – leaving Rinka's mouth agape and eyes wide with that last bit of words.
Yuzuki remained silent and stared at the orange-head's hurt expression for a while; and though she was unwilling to just leave her there rudely, she had to somehow agree with the action Rio wants to take – even if it was reckless.
Some justice had to be done.
Once Fuwa disappeared into the next hall, Rinka was left with balled fists and her head turned downwards – her orange hair hovered above the shadow that loomed over the girl's guilt-stricken emerald orbs.
I thought I knew how to handle her…
I thought I knew how to take care of her…
I thought I knew what to do if anything happened to her…
But right now, I'm nothing but an insect lost in its own fear…
Fear, huh? Been a long time since I felt that.
A few minutes had passed since the three boys began their frantic removal of the wreckage in front of them, but they were already taking sharp intakes of breath as sweat dripped down the sides of their dirt-stained faces. Their shirts were sticky with the sweat on their backs despite whatever cold weather spring brought with it.
Out of all of them, Karma had been the most aggressive with the rubble, which resulted to a number of scars and splinters on his palms – but that didn't matter right now, no matter how much it hurt. He'd been mindlessly throwing off what he could throw off since he finished giving that coconut-headed kid a (not good enough) beating.
As he continued, he couldn't help but take out his anger on the pile of junk – anger at her, for very many reasons, and at himself for not being able to prevent this from happening; for not taking action when his gut told him to, and for not even being able to get her out of that cellar in a nick of time. With this, he began to view himself as weak and ignorant – if he doesn't even have the power to keep a fragile girl like her away from the dangers of the world he's way too familiar with, it's useless to consider him 3-E's strongest.
"Karma-kun!" Sugino's panicked voice reached the redhead's ears.
Before he could realize what's going on, Chiba grabbed the back of his shirt to keep him away from the other materials that just crashed down on the one side they just cleared up. The other two students that helped the three groaned once they found their progress destroyed. Another curse escaped Karma's lips – he's already pissed off, and the fact that they were getting nowhere just pushed it.
Karma was going to try again until Chiba stopped him abruptly by the shoulders "Wait, calm down for a second." Before he could retort at the taller boy's statement, he'd been forced to sit on the floor as Sugino crouched in by him.
"What are you two—"
"We need you to calm down and use your head, Karma-kun. We're not gonna get anywhere if you continue recklessly like this." The spiky-haired boy put a firm hand on his shoulder for some moral support, but this only heightened some of his frustrations to himself as his nails scratched the ground. He didn't remain calm like he usually was during tight situations – the smart and rational him must be laughing right now.
"…It's been pretty silent from under there…" Chiba uttered as he faced the bottom of the pile once more. The others with them including the earlier council members continued, but their pace has somehow gone slower.
Karma's mercury eyes moved down to his badly injured hands after he heard that. There was a multitude of scars and splinters that wouldn't come off easily, but he still balled his fists in resolution after he had finally cooled down.
And he stood up again "Chiba, Get that side of the shelf and move it over here! Sugino, find something among the useless tools there that could probably do something and leave the rest of it to me."
'Just wait a little longer…'
"Tomo-kun hasn't come back yet?"
Mimura Naoki's group wasted away their free time inside the 1-C classroom as did a lot of other students albeit it being club hours.
"I wonder what that idiot's doing; he just has to take a small video. Don't tell me he's flirting with her or anything!" one of the girls stuck a tongue out while the others laughed at how ridiculous and at the same time funny her tease as.
And though this broke out laughter from the egotistical females, once of them didn't even have the slightest bit of joy in what they were talking about.
"Oh, Kimizuki, why so frown-y?" mocked one of them as the short haired girl glared back at this – she'd been in a bad mood ever since she was suddenly attacked by a…she thinks it's a pig, now there was a conspicuous bruise upon her head and she was upset for two reasons: 1.) the nurse refused to give her a bandage on top of it because she said they were 'out of stock at the moment' and 2.) Is because the bruise itself made her unattractive, and that didn't do good for her reputation – when she said that to the nurse, all she did was laugh and gave her a face that said 'I feel so sorry for you.' In a sarcastic manner
"You don't need to ask that." Kimizuki pouted and put a hand over the bruised part of her cheek. 'Hah…I hope Akabane-kun doesn't see this…' she completely missed the fact she was rejected right then and there.
"I wonder if that was a bear…or a pig…" wondered one of them with a finger on her chin.
"Who knows."
All types of noise came to a halt once they heard the loud bang of the sliding door. Everyone's eyes were fixated on who had just arrived in such an aggressive fashion.
By the door panted a girl with strawberry blond hair that covered her face as she caught her breath; behind her was another girl with short, dull brown hair with an inscrutable emotion upon her light purple eyes – but if one were to assume, it would be a little like a passive loathing.
"Where's Mimura Naoki?" the girl said coldly, revealing blue eyes that carried nothing pleasant in them. No one replied for a matter of moments, but to everyone else' surprise (and Mimura's annoyance) a student pointed to where she was like it was the most normal situation ever.
Bright blue orbs met with dull ones, and that was when the tension in the room built up. The two were caught in a ferocious glaring contest for a while, and no one else in the room had enough courage to interrupt it.
"Hey, Naocchi…" said one of the girls in the group with a disgusted tone which implied she wanted her leader to do something about the trouble this girl brought with her. Mimura raised a hand at her to shut her up – as if to say 'I'll handle this.'
The smug female stepped forward and placed a hand on her hip "I didn't ask for an entertainment number. What's this all of a sudden?"
It took all of Rio's patience and self-control to keep her from removing that smile on her face literally then and there; but she had to go about with this slowly – she wanted to appease her sadistic tongue after all.
"Oh, it's not really anything~" her tone had become playfully sarcastic as her earlier glare formed into a bright and innocent-like smile "But, you know, word has it someone got trapped in a dark storm cellar but it's no biggy~ I was just curious as to who could be the one responsible…" by this time, the two combat club members had fully entered the room. "I'm pretty sure you know…"The words came out coldly, which gave them just a small taste of how much animosity she held towards them as the look in her eye shifted from friendly to the complete opposite.
The group behind Mimura began to whisper amongst themselves. Things like 'Tomo-kun messed up?!' 'She's trapped? We're dead!' and etcetera were of discussion with them – however Mimura remained calm and kept her face blank as the two of them engaged into a glare-off once more.
"Leave us, all of you. Now." Mimura had her tone directed at the rest of the students within the room. Almost immediately, a flurry of rude remarks and complaints came about – but Rio saw where she was going with this and decided to help out; she wanted to deal with this only with her, after all
Without another moment's hesitation, the golden-haired girl kicked down a desk with so much force the other ones flew along with it and landed with a loud mix of clangs and crashes as some of the parts fell apart way to near a group of people for comfort. That was when the students got the message: they weren't kidding around.
"T-This is bad news!"
"Let's— Let's get out of here!"
The students stricken with fear scurried about and left the room, all the others that just didn't want to disturb them or didn't want to be disturbed left them to whatever those two had to settle.
And the room was silent once more, only filled with the uncertainty that came from the Mimura group and the growling beast that lived in the two assassins as it waited for its chance to go in for the kill.
"Aw, seems we've been found out. So, now that you know it's us, what are you going to do?" Mimura started, that smug look on her face returned, but this time it was more careful and it somehow gave a sense of hostility.
"First of all~ I'd like to congratulate you for doing a good job at ruining someone's life. Next of course I'll start with…hmm…" the sarcastic tone died once again at her last word "Why?"
Kimizuki glanced at Rio hatefully, but upon realization that she had also looked her way the same time she glanced, the raven haired girl averted her eyes.
This irked Mimura, the attitude the blond presented before her is one of the things she finds most annoying – especially when they hit places too close for comfort – but egotistical as she was, she mimicked the same type of behavior, but it was so much brattier – the one in front of her has pissed her off after all. "I appreciate the thought of being awarded for such a thing, but you know, it's quite normal for pests like her to get trapped in cages so easily. I mean, it gets annoying whenever a mouse can do nothing but squeal for help and expect it to come because it's too weak to do anything on its own?" There was much more aggression in her next sentence, as if it was her way of letting out some irritation as she grabbed on to a nearby desk firmly "Doesn't it piss you off when people like that just pop-up and go google-y eyed and eventually expect someone to come and fix all their problems? I absolutely hate a girl that plays an act to get people to do whatever they want."
Rio smirked.
Bingo
"Oh, I see. So you were so in love with Karma-kun you decided to take your 'threat' out of the picture." She was back to smiling, but it wasn't innocent-like anymore – it's the kind of sadistic smile you have when you catch someone red-handed.
At this, Mimura's face had shifted to a mix of shock and anger – her mouth was left agape. The girls behind her carried out the almost the same expression, though some others were on the verge of tears as the rest looked more guilty rather than mad about being found out.
And all the while, Rio continued to taunt them "Wonderful isn't it? Hopeless one-sided love. How cute~"
"Hmm" Yuzuki's brows rose as she hummed in understanding as if to say 'Ooohh…' She had to applaud her for what she'd been able to do. Rio had meant to give off that kind of attitude to irk her in the first place – that way she can get them to spill their reasons why. And even if it may not be a direct answer, they knew they were smart enough to get the cat out of a bag.
Women's intuition is a powerful thing, after all.
"You know~ in my opinion, over-desperate girls like you folk are much more annoying than your so-called 'weak' that use people to get what they want. But since you're both of that, you deserve a gold medal!" she was clearly happy with the results of her antics – oh the joy of seeing someone you loathe twitch in irritation with nothing else to say because of the greatest thing ever: Being right.
By now, Mimura began to match up with her blond opponent's level of indignation – the smug face had completely disappeared as she didn't even try to hide how much she hated the girl in front of her right now.
"Aw, don't be upset. Kids these days are so spoiled though; it's really tempting to give them a nice spanking once in a while." Rio pushed it even more this time – she wanted them to get hurt, to get worked up and be left speechless.
"What do you want?" finally, the brunette broke – this was a sign for the female trickster to drop all the games and face her seriously. She's glad about one thing, she didn't need to hide too much of her animosity to the obnoxious girl anymore.
"What you've done is unforgivable, but since I like to consider myself better than you – which I really am – I won't stoop down to your pathetic level. But I'll say it now, I'm a woman of my word…" Rio's bright blue eyes glinted with murderous intent against the shadow effect her hair had over her eyes.
"If you so much as come near her one more time, I'll make you beg on your knees for me to spare your lives." Her voice had caused chills to unexpectedly go up the spines of Naoki's group; heck, Yuzuki felt a little threatened by it, but remained calm and kept her face straight.
Another silence. Rio was pleased, looks like she'd won them over.
That was until Mimura twitched and balled her fists before she spoke once more.
"I have a better idea." This was something she did not expect – she was sure a tactic like that would work on these kinds of girls, but it wasn't too long before Rio realized her mistake, and that was to consider them 100% stereotypical and easy to break with a few threats. All she could do now was grit her teeth at whatever this girl had to say as the anger started to grow increasingly once again.
"Why not I'll leave her alone completely? I'll treat her like she didn't exist and stay nowhere near her for as long as we live. Sound good?" the brunette had her playful tone back, but this time it was laced with ferocity and the willpower to bring down her opponent with her – it was all over her face too, what with the madwoman's smile that reached ear to ear, it already looked sketchy.
"What's the catch?"
"Catch? There's no catch. I'll do that, really, I will. You just have to beat me in my game." She snapped her fingers, and as if the ones behind her were her personal servants, two girls did the honor of bringing out something from Mimura's bag with smirks on their faces.
By this time Rio had begun to feel uneasy, whatever this game was, it didn't look like an easy win for her, but she was brought back to reality soon after she noticed a wooden kendo sword pointed at her threateningly – and she got the message.
"Heh? That's a priceless face! You didn't know?" one of the snobbish girls giggled wickedly "Mimura Naoki is the kendo pride and glory of MamoruYama middle school. Let's see you try to sass your way out of this one." This got into the nerves of almost everyone in the room – Kimizuki had to prod her to shut her up, but at least that way, Nakamura knows what she's up against. And in all honesty, the short-haired girl would also like to see what this blond's distressed expression.
'This is bad…' the blond gulped when she saw how serious she was about this; so it's resulted to this kind of wager…
"Oh, you look troubled." It was Mimura's turn to taunt the girl as she watched her glare once more. "If you don't have a weapon, I'll consider it forfeit and we can forget this ever happened."
"You…"
After seeing the tight situation her club-mate was sucked into, Yuzuki thought quickly – all this will be for naught with this kind of cheap bet. Her eyes moved around the room frantically before they befell on the clutter of a desk's broken pieces.
"Nakamura-san!" Rio glanced to her companion and found her holding the leg piece of the desk she broke just a while ago and tossed it to her. It didn't take a moment for the golden-crowned girl to understand what Yuzuki wanted her to do and nodded – it wasn't the best weapon, what's more is she barely thinks it's got a chance at taking down that sturdy wooden sword. But right now, it's the best she's got.
Rio twirled the desk leg around her hand and pointed it to her opponent as an indication that it was game on. But of course, she was sharp enough to notice that something was off – she wanted one more thing "If there's something else, say it."
"Oh, I'm glad you asked." She imitated the happy smiling face Nakamura used on her "Of course if there's something being bet, I'll have to give my side of it too. So if you lose…" and the madwoman's smile came back as fast as the happy smiling one did "She'll have to do whatever I want her to do until graduation."
Rio's eyes narrowed as her teeth clenched even more. Even though her anger was what dominated her entire aura right now, it didn't overpower the unsteady beats of her heart due to the nervousness and weight of the bet on her.
Manami's entire high school life – no, her life as we know it, is on the line.
Fuwa gasped "Nakamura-san! Are you really—"
"Quiet, Fuwa-san." Yuzuki's mouth was zipped, but judging by the resolve in her voice, she can't stop her, she can only trust she knows what she's doing – which she knows she does. Rio took a moment to face her foe one more time, and with reluctance she agreed. "Understood. But I'll add one more thing to my side as well since I don't really see it as fair."
"Go ahead." Mimura answered nonchalantly, and the golden assassin smirked "If I manage to make you land on your sorry little ass, you, and every other girl behind you over there, won't come near Karma-kun ever again."
Just then a series of panicked noises and cries came from everyone's horrified faces "Naocchi!" it was a desperate cry by the one that rubbed Naoki's kendo reputation in the blond's face – and Rio couldn't help but feel proud of herself.
Mimura's eye twitched "You make me want to kill you even more now…"
"Kill me? That's funny coming from you." Rio could sense Fuwa's fretfulness from behind her as she readied herself for what was to come "Fuwa-san, I know the stakes. But…I'll get this over with faster than you can say 'Karasuma-sensei taught me well'" she had an expression that presented how badly she tried to overpower her nervousness with a strong heart and a determined spirit.
Yuzuki felt a little touched by this and nodded as if to say 'I'll leave the rest to you.'
Not another second had been wasted after that as the two charged at one another.
I wonder how it got to this…
I wonder how I ended up lost in the dark like this…
Maybe it's because…I've been very spoiled lately.
An exhausted, worn out girl had her knees tucked in the middle of a dark, dusty cellar with no one inside but her – where nothing can distract her from her overflowing thoughts as she just sat there; unmoving, and only quietly breathing.
It's because I've been too happy lately…
In her mind flashed a picture of her regular club meetings with her most treasured friends. They're smiling faces, the ridiculous antics, the kindness they give her…her beloved Class E…whom treat her as an equal with others. Just being treated equally was enough to make the bespectacled girl brim with joy.
This is my punishment…for not being strong enough…
The happy image soon faded away like sand in the wind as it was replaced with the thought of being in a dull, monochromatic classroom as she would be towered by terrifying silhouettes that would grin viciously at her; others would sneer at her and only give her the message that she wasn't good enough, that she was going to be forgotten anyway, so she should just sit tight there in the dark where no one can find her…
And where she can bother no one.
I wonder if this is a sign…that I'm going to be all alone…
The memory of a dark-haired woman with a warm, welcoming smile had her arms spread out in a bright, sunny, summer day as it told a small Manami to come over into her tender loving arms after getting lost. And as if her mind wanted to play tricks with her, the second small Manami reached her, the woman withered away with the tree leaves that flew past as if she had been taken away along with summer.
Eventually…
Next came an empty hospital room where no sunlight reflected against the curtain-blocked windows. The single bed that stationed itself in the exact center of the room had ruffled sheets lied down carelessly as an empty IV drip stood next to it.
'I'm sorry, Manami-chan.'
The girl's eyes had become half-lidded and pained at these memories – though they were of a distant time, it didn't take away the damage it's done to her heart.
Oh well…
And she imagined herself all alone again, in the rain on the way home as the sounds of gushing water droplets hitting her umbrella would deafen her.
…It was fun while it lasted…
Something salty and wet dripped from the side of her cheek.
Followed by another one
And another one
'…stop looking down and look up for once, hm?'
The silence that once was had been broken by the silent weeping of a battered heart. The braided girl's shoulders jerked up each time a sob would come out – her mouth quivered as her eyes had begun to create rivers on her cheeks as they flowed endlessly; like a waterfall.
I really don't want to be alone anymore…
Another vision came up – it was the Kunugigaoka middle school gates, and standing behind it was Manami, who only watched everyone else leave with their sights set on their futures
I don't want to be left behind…!
Just then, she heard a ruckus come from the door above her
"Chiba! Grab that other side right there!"
"Got it!"
The number of people who volunteered to help had increased – now, the combat club had the council president and the rest of its members as well as the other witnesses; all of which had sweaty faces and dirt-stained skin. By now, most of the wreckage had been taken care of; all that was left were a few more and the shelf itself – which was currently being given the collected effort of all students who were in the room. But it had been minutes since they have started – even with the combined effort of some of the strongest in campus, the old shelf was still too much for a bunch of kids like them to handle.
The redhead, who had led the group entirely, struggled to get that big piece of furniture out of the way with all the remaining strength he can muster. His teeth were clenched harder than before, his eyebrows were furrowed due to the intense struggle, and if this went on, his wounded hands would probably give out.
"Hey! You! Are you even trying?!" yelled the president at one of his council members as a form of harsh motivational screaming.
"I'm giving it my all pres!" he tried to say against his grit teeth.
"Damn it! Isura's not back with the staff yet?!"
"They're here now, stand aside." A deep, womanly voice came from the tool shed's entrance,
"Mi-Mikagura-sensei?!" exclaimed Sugino once he had a look at the scene. In her hand was a first aid kit, and along with her came the urgent bustles of a few of the school's staff members. Some of which carried axes and other materials to use for getting the pile of out the way.
"Yuma-sensei!" exclaimed another student as the old teacher showed himself after all the others came in. The elder teacher had his usual frowned face on, but his eyes were more serious than usual (if that was even possible).
"What are you all still doing under that thing? Get out of the way you goddamn kids." He ordered firmly as the staff members would hold the shelf and let the students pass through.
As if on cue, Karma's hands gave out the very moment Yuma-sensei said that – he didn't like it, but if he wants to have the ability to write and punch people longer, he'd have to let go.
After he got himself out of the way, Karma watched as the adults cleared away the debris faster than what they could have done what with their tools and such.
"Sugino-kun! What on earth happened here?!" their supervising teacher, Mikagura-sensei demanded for answers from the exhausted spiky-haired kid – and from there he explained the situation.
Karma paid no mind to anything else at the moment, because before him one of the doors finally revealed itself. Without thinking, the redheaded boy dashed towards them.
She'll get out of there.
"One! Two! Go!" after the adults had loosened the rusty nails from the door's side, they both lifted the door with just as much struggle the kids did with the shelf – the door was heavy, let's give them that.
But at long last, it was opened. From what Karma could see from where he was, it truly was dark, but all the more reason for him to go to her and be the one to personally bring her out.
"Okuda-san!" the sudden shout from Karma gained him the attention of the rest of the students and teachers.
She's out.
What Karma saw when he looked from the entrance was the braided girl with her knees tucked in. Her usually neat hair was a mess and her face was moist from both tears and sweat – she looked exhausted, but at the same time, her face somehow made it seem like she just saw a miracle happen once purple orbs he already missed met with his strong –willed, serious mercury.
He didn't say anything else as he extended his hand into the cellar with a face saying 'you better grab on.'
Slowly, Manami reached out, but later on her wrist was grabbed by Karma once it had gotten close enough as her elbows were supported by the other adults in the scene. "Alright, one, two, up!" and the three of them lifted her up for it seemed she had a hard time moving her legs – must be due to the trauma.
Once her entire body had been brought out of the cramped cellar, it ended up with her falling into Karma – fortunately, he caught her just in time for the both of them to fall on the floor as he supported their weight by placing a hand on the ground behind him. He was seated on the ground as he panted heavily – chest heaving up and down with Manami's hands and head above it.
He wasn't sure of what to say at the moment, but he did know that complete and utter relief had washed over him when she looked up at his exhausted, dirt-stained face once more with fearful purple.
It wasn't long after their eyes met yet again when she started to tremble. Her head fell into his chest as he could feel her frail hands clutch his shirt. She didn't say anything – rather, she couldn't bring herself to say anything; and to somehow reassure her without exchanging words, he put his damaged hand behind her head.
It was when she silently wept on him his mind had finally started to clear up.
It was when I looked at his eyes, I knew I wasn't in the dark anymore...
"This brought quite the disaster…" said the man who looked to be the head of the school staff in charge of this to the elderly teacher that had his reminiscent eye on the broken storm cellar and the mess all around it.
"It's gone a long way hasn't it…guess it's time to let it die." the old man remarked as he walked away. By the wall of the shed, the victim and his student, Okuda Manami was being treated by Mikagura-sensei, and not too far was the red-haired kid that never attended his classes leaned back on the wooden wall as another pair of dark-haired boys sat by him. To another side was another group of students that looked to be the council as they treated the other's wounds from all that digging.
'The kids get more extreme as the years go by…'
Just right after the elderly teacher had made his exit, another student came running to the tool shed for their president's aid.
"Pres!" he yelled into the shed, and once more the President's relief had died and all positive feelings that filled the room for such a short time were swept away by the following sentence.
"There's a fight going on in 1-C! Students were identified to be Nakamura Rio and Mimura Naoki!"
"Wha—Eh! MANAMI!"
Manami already started running at the very mention of those names.
... I can't help but feel like this chapter was very rushed..
OH GAWD IT'S RUSHED.
GOMENE! Next chapter's gonna be end arc!
Hope you somehow enjoyed this chapter in your own way...I hope ;w;
Well anyway, LEAVE A REVIEW PLEASE!
I apologize now if Karma or any other character was OOC. And I can't deny the fact it's rushed in the end TT-TT
But furthermore I'd like to thank you for reading this and 'til next time!
Love, TheFlowerWeSawThatDay