HEY YA'LL! This chapter came in pretty late I guess. Damn it took me about 3 days XD
This one has to be the longest chapter of this story I've written so far so I ask for your forgiveness now if it displeases you QwQ
Now I've noticed how some of you are concerned with my stress and how it sounded as if I was tired while writing last chapter. Well, to be fully honest I wasn't stressed at all XD At the time, I just had to wait for my mom to sleep to spring up a surprise for her when she wakes up, knowing I'd pull an all-nighter. And another reason to add up to that was because I was...it involves nature.
ANYWAY! YAY! FINALLY END OF ARC! Now I'll admit that some portions of this chapter are half-assed due to a certain problem I encountered yesterday with an inconsistent switching of devices since I went to places. And another reason was because it was hot XD
OKAY! THE CHAPTER ITSELF IS ALREADY LONG SO I'LL GET TO THE REVIEW ANSWERS!:
KisaragiMaru: Thanks for a review again man! And you'll be able to see who goes down if you read! Mwahaha your evil thoughts match mine but you'll have to find out what really happens after reading~
Akikarui: Thanks! Fortunately, I made her VERY happy! (*wink* morecomputertime*wink*)
animeandmangafangirl: Heyo~! Well, Sugino is quite obvious with his infatuation with Kanzaki ^3^ Thanks! I'm glad you really liked it and I'm happy I made you fangirl!
kawaiichoconeko: Neko-chan! Thank you so much I'm touched ;w; Continue that Karmanami ABC thing! I think it's REALLY cute! Thanks and I'll make it as Karmanami as possible!
CelestialGoddess: (oh wow long) Hey! It's fine! I'm actually quite glad to see you again with a review! And thanks for pointing out that there were errors in my writing! That just means I can improve more! Thank you for spporting me with those words of reassurance Q-Q They help a lot really! They keep me writing all the time so I end up with chapters like these. And yeah I guess Karma could be protective of Okuda because of how she is. I mean if you look at it closely, Karma doens't actually treat her as an object of entertainment like most people. He's nicer to her compared to the others in my opinion, and reasons for that is because she's in some way different with others. And to lose someone like that would probably be...ouch? Yeah but that's just what I think XDDD You don't have to listen to me lol. Thanks and Im lovin you back too 33
kuroneko051: Thank you for the long review again kuro-chan~! ^W^ Lol if I made Karma kill him then that would be bad ;w; (even though I wanted to kill him too but don't worry violence is kept to a minimum[minimum means GTA level LOLJK])Catch Rio vs Mimura down there~!
Akabane-san: Thanks for another review! Ahaha yeah I'm filipino and an amateur writer at 15 but I'm doing my best Q-Q No No don't be sorry lol XD It's fine!
TheRoseShadow21: Hey there! Love the stories you write man! Keep writing Karmanami I really like your ideas~! ^3^. Thanks for reassuring me concerning OOC-ness! And thank you for your lovely compliments! About that tired thing I'm totally fine XD Hope you enjoy this next one!
eastfall: Yo Man! Thanks for that long review again! I look forward to your detailed reviews all the time because that way it kinda gives me a hint on what I should do next with the future chapters! I tried to get Chiba into it more since he' so stoic and Rinka's getting more screen time even if she's more stoic but eh. I try. I do have to agree that Rio was a bit insensitive to bet on Manami's life, but she went there for a reason and her mind was boggled so...eh XD hope you like this next installment!
Resa: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked that part and the story too!
blank9395: Thank you! I'm touched you really like this story and compliment on my improvements as a writer! It means so much!
Harlett: Thanks! And no I'm not tired lol! I'm just in...in the red X"DYeah sorry about rushing things in the end Q-Q. And yes Nagisa will make his appearance but I'm afraid he's just a supporting character unless I change my mind...
I12BFree: Thanks! And find out down there OwO)
AceClover: (wow long) Like everyone, thank you very much for that review! And for taking the time to make it long and express all your opinions! It helps a lot with my writing so I'm glad! Well, Okuda is really fragile so eh. They get frustrating at times too X'3 And yes I get your point! Few grammatical errors but I get you man!
natsuki DDS: Eyo~ Thanks for that review and yeah well this story did have some inspiration from that wonderful show so I'm sorry if it became too much like it X""D
K. LET'S NOT DRAG THIS OUT!
DISCLAIMER: The pair I'm writing for would've been together already in the manga if I owned that beautiful thing ;w;
Chapter 7: What Did You Say That For? (END OF ARC)
'…Stop looking down and look up for once, hm?'
Light slowly seeped into an empty, pitch black room as the piece of wood above a braided girl in distress had been lifted up – bit by bit, the disarray of voices that came from a multitude of people crept into her ears. And she couldn't believe it for a while; it was almost too good to be true…to be saved. She had almost lost all hope as she could have allowed herself to drown in the darkness all around her – inside and out.
But she didn't.
"Okuda-san!"
Because someone like him was waiting for her to come out of the box she had gotten herself into – he was waiting for her to look up; both literally and figuratively. And when she did, she was met with pale, sharp eyes far from a dark color, and they looked back at her fretful purple orbs with an intensity that didn't take no for an answer when she read his expression saying
'You better grab on.'
Realization hit her, and her fears of being alone or being left behind died away in that very moment. If she had no courage to reach out to the hand already being given to her, she really will end up not moving from her spot – she really will get left behind, forgotten and eventually fall into her own pool of loneliness.
The reaction was slow – probably because she'd noticed his severely injured palm and immediately felt guilty. He looked really angry too, she'd caused him a lot of trouble because of her gullible and naïve nature.
Karma-kun's hand always reaches for me…even when it's hurt…
It's already right in front of her, and all she had to do was gather the courage to take it.
I can't…let this keep happening.
It wasn't just some regular rescue, but it was also a lesson. She can't afford to continue being the one reached out to all the time – if she's so scared of ending up in a lifetime of solitude, she'd have to do something about it.
And extend her own hand instead of reach for another's. She'd done that before – how many more times does she have to teach herself this? It can't just be in front of 3-E, or Karma – the one she owed the most.
She had to pass through this boundary she put before herself.
But for now, after being in the dark so long, one couldn't really help oneself from being washed over with relief after such a traumatizing experience. So for now, she'll use this time to let it all out – even if it was another selfish act, she couldn't help herself as she trembled under the touch of someone she felt guilty about using as a source of comfort.
All it took was a glance at those already nostalgic orbs of his to tell her that she was, at long last, back in the world.
"Manami, I'll need you to relax for now and take in some oxygen. Just take slow breaths and…" Mikagura-sensei instructed the quiet girl (she'd been quiet for a while now) who was seated by the wall with tired eyes – well, she had been a through a lot in one day. The older chemist was currently giving her some tips to recover from trauma to decrease whatever numbness she still felt around her body. But as Mikagura-sensei would teach her, Manami would catch herself taking a good look at her wrist and remembered how rough the hand that went around it felt, and in those moments she'd take a glance at the redhead that leaned against the same wall not too far away from her.
He had a blank expression, but his eyes were trained on the ground as if it were the most interesting thing at the moment – he was in deep thought from the looks of it.
Her eyes fell downcast – she made him worry, and that was the one thing she wanted to avoid with this problem of hers. Now she even got other council members, Sugino, Chiba and even her teachers into her mess.
Her palms went to her face.
I'm sorry…
But despite how guilty she felt, she couldn't shake away a strange feeling that formed in her chest – it was something she never usually had; in fact, this may be one of the extremely few times she'd felt this way…but what was it again? She couldn't quite decipher it.
Karma on the other hand, didn't want to talk to her for a while – one reason is because, well, she was recovering, but another is because of the emotions that overwhelmed him at the time, and he was quite afraid of showing too much of it in front of her while it was all still fresh – he needed to regain his composure before he could actually have a decent conversation with her; and there's also the fact that there were lots of other people in the room.
He needed her alone.
"Pres.!" Another student came yelling into the tool shed by the door. His breathing was heavy – from a long run, perhaps – as he held on to the door as sweat beaded from his head. He didn't look like he came here just to congratulate everyone with their hard work.
On the other side of the shed stood Kobayashi Tsumugu with his previous expression of relief destroyed once his title had been called in a very urgent manner; something's going on again, and this time it could be just as bad as – maybe even worse than what had just ended.
Everyone in the room had their eyes fixed on the newcomer – all waiting in suspense for whatever it is that had come up, but at the same time most of them didn't really want to find out. Manami, who had just begun to regain her composure, sharply turned – a lazed expression still on her face, but her ears were open.
The boy gulped "There's a fight going on in 1-C! Students were identified to be Nakamura Rio and Mimura Naoki!"
At this, Manami's tired eyes snapped open. Her hands shuddered for a few moments until they balled into fists as everyone else in the room had their own surprised responses. Something about what that boy reported caused a powerful surge of electricity explode inside the shy girl – it was so overwhelming, it got her to stand on her feet in no time at all. She didn't know why, but once the words registered in her mind, impulse and adrenaline rush took over. What she felt at the time was unknown to her, but she did know one thing
I've had it
Before anyone was able to react, Manami had already dashed past the boy and ran as fast as her feet could take her to where her classroom was. Not even Mikagura-sensei, who was crouched just right in front of her was able to realize in time that her patient had run off. "Wha—Eh! MANAMI!"
It was only when the orange haired teacher called out her name when everyone noticed what had occurred. Not a second after realizing it, Karma removed himself from the wall and chased after her; he wasn't going to just let her go off like that after all this.
"Karma-kun!" Sugino called out, but the redhead was already out – and the baseball boy doubted he could've stopped him either way.
This inevitably resulted to the other combat club members to rise from their resting positions to follow after albeit how tired they already were; their friends were in trouble after all.
The ringing sounds of metal against wood bounced off the walls of the 1-C classroom along with the squeaks of shoes against the white-tiled floor. Occasionally, there would also be an additional noise from the other desks and furniture that were in the way of this fight between two skilled melee weapon-wielders as well as their sharp breaths and the voiced out struggling.
The exchange of swings at such a fast and evasive fashion led to the flying of sweat at each dodge and attack. Both participants had their chests heaving up and down as their faces were soaking wet with salty substance; bruises covered parts of their faces and arms from the blows they threw at each other
Nakamura Rio may have been the best at knife work back in 3-E, but the girl in front of her was too much even with her amazing knife skills. 'Damn it…she's good. That's a kendo veteran for you…but…'
Rio slid back away from Mimura after a hit from her had been deflected with both hands. Both were evidently exhausted at this point for Mimura also backed away from her to catch some breaths. 'She's a hard one…not only can she easily evade my attacks but her arm strength is good too…but…'
As if on cue, they rammed into each other once again with much more force compared to other times as both seemed to have had the same thought
'I can't lose!'
Outside the window and by the doors of the classroom, students appeared to have gathered at the scene with troubled expressions – Club had been interrupted that day because of this ordeal of theirs. And on the sidelines stood Fuwa as she silently cheered for her blond friend with pursed lips and determined pinkish orbs. Though she wasn't the one in the middle of a battle, she soon felt herself begin to sweat due to the suspense and weight this battle had over both sides.
"Look at the mess that Okuda's made!" this got the mangaka's attention and made her bite her tongue in irritation – the Naoki group was at it again with their snide remarks and absolutely distasteful personalities.
"This only makes things worse! If we get suspended because of the mess she's made I'm gonna make her pay!" said an extra bratty one with a scornful look in her eye.
"Honestly, she should've remained unnoticed by everyone else instead of getting in everyone's way with that act of hers—"
"All of you shut up!" Yuzuki had had it with their unnerving attitudes – she had to snap at them. After all, no one has the right to talk about her that way; especially in front of anyone in the club – or 3-E for that matter.
This bark of hers reached the ears of Naoki's group and Yuzuki was met with their snobbish faces "Tch, it's Otaku transfer student." Insulted one of them with clear annoyance in her eyes as she towered over her with that ego of hers.
Before the dull brown-crowned girl knew it, she'd been cornered by them – their shadows loomed over threateningly with that 'superiority' of theirs; despite this, Yuzuki showed no trace of fear or had any desire to be considered lower than these types of people. "That's some guts you have there, for an otaku that is. Why should we listen to the likes of you?"
That tore everything apart – Fuwa was now fuming with absolute rage at these sad excuses for people. Not only are they really annoying, but they go to points where they shouldn't touch; and for Yuzuki, that was her otaku life.
"You—" before she had been able to bite back at them with all her might, an arm had been used to separate her from them.
"Stop." Rinka had her hand on the wall where they cornered her club-mate. Her ever so stoic demeanor was present as always, but something about it seemed more ill-boding than the aura she usually gave out. This action of hers had resulted to Naoki's group backing away from her after they had been cut.
"H-Hayami-san…!" Yuzuki said with astonishment – she knew sooner or later Rinka would come up, but after Rio and herself had left her there she had her second thoughts. But all in all, it was quite the surprise to see her arrive now.
"Oi, don't get in the wa—" the one who claimed to make the chemistry-geek pay after the chaos tried to speak but was cut off in no time at all.
"The one in the way isn't me. You had an agreement and that's that. Don't bring anymore turmoil outside of it and let the representatives decide. So for now…" the sniper closed her eyes for a brief second, but didn't wait any longer than that to give them a bone-chilling glare from her emerald eyes that seemed to glow menacingly from under the shadow of her orange bangs. "The only right you have is to sit by and watch."
This caused some of the girls to click their tongues and glare hatefully at her – but it sure did the trick and shut them all up, so sooner or later they backed away from the two.
Yuzuki's anger dissipated afterwards and sighed to cool her head off a little. Her eyes traveled to the heated battle going on in front of her as she took into account what was happening – Rio was getting weaker and slower. The two girls seemed equal when it came to skill, but in terms of stamina, since Mimura had the advantage of having a longer and much durable weapon it appeared to be Rio with her foot by the line.
"Fuwa-san." Fuwa was about to cheer for the blond, until of course she'd been stopped by her orange-headed savior. What the mangaka wannabe noticed from her face was how it brooded over her next sentence.
"…The same goes for us."
"I-it looks like the fight's escalated somehow…"
"Is no one going to stop them?"
"If anyone of us tried, it's unmistakably going to make things worse…"
Whispers of this sort reached the ears of a particular brunette standing outside of a rowdy classroom among a rather large crowd of students; some of which had their phones on to catch a video while others kept their stares fixed on the two as if it were a world-famous boxing league championship. Her usual droopy, blue eyes were clouded with concern as her mouth had formed into a thin line; and all because of the suspense-filled scene going on before her.
Isura Mai didn't ever wish to come across something like this, but after she had called the staff members to come to her president's aid, this had to catch her eye. Because of this, she had not made another appearance in that tool shed – though she wanted to be there when her bespectacled junior came out, another one was in trouble; albeit thinking this, she found herself unable to do anything.
'Nakamura-san…'
But it wasn't her responsibility to stop this – no matter how badly she wanted to.
Then from behind her, a commotion seemed to have abruptly started as Mai would hear a few students being pushed about. Turning her head to see what on earth had caused it, she was caught slightly by surprise when she took into account a few characteristics from the one who padded up the stairs in a tizzy and squeezed herself through the crowd. Twin braids that needed some fixing bounced around as small shoulders were tensed up – the shine in the girl's glasses blocked anyone from reading whatever expression was upon those eyes.
Behind her tailed an equally vexed group of students with a redhead going faster than the other two – but that was until he abruptly halted in the middle of the stairs. Sugino almost stumbled back from the suddenness of his action "K-Karma-kun…?!"
Karma didn't respond for a few seconds and kept his back turned on the two of them – his fists never loosened up since he'd run out of the shed for his troublesome friend, and they weren't about to now.
"I don't want to leave her with this…but right now I'm more pissed at someone else." He said this in a low, but solid voice – it seemed that he couldn't keep this agenda of his on stand-by any longer, and it had to be now; otherwise he'd probably create some chaos later on. He clicked his tongue and faced his two companions with narrowed eyes as he stepped down the stairs – which left the other two with bewilderment all over their features.
"What the—Karma-ku—"
"Sugino." Chiba prevented him from finishing his call as he held his arm back and pointed to the crowd upstairs. "Look."
Once the spiky-haired boy turned around, he spotted Okuda forcing herself into the crowd. Then his eyes moved to what little he can see from the classroom's window from his location on the stairs – though it may be blocked by a crowd of people, he didn't miss the flying strands of blond and auburn hair that moved rapidly.
"Okuda-san…" Mai muttered once the girl had come to her spot deep within the crowd – by the window of the 1-C classroom – with slightly heavy breathing. Once she had freed herself from the clutter of people, Manami watched what was happening from the window with shrunken violet eyes that came with a small sound to express her shock.
Mai took this as an opportunity to let her get things done "Nakamura-san's in there…fighting for you."
The small girl bit her lower lip and furrowed her brows as her eyes looked greatly pained; but a split second after that, as if she had downed a large bottle of emotions, her body acted on its own and she stepped inside the room
The school's infirmary was quiet. The rays of sunshine that came from the orange-ish sky passed through the window and gave the room a bright, natural light that one would deem pretty as well as consider it to be a comforting atmosphere. The only sounds that emitted from such a cozy-looking room was the soft flapping of papers by a small electric fan that oscillated and gave everyone in the room a nice, gentle wind.
There were barely any people inside; all there was was a badly beaten freshmen on the nearest bed, and on the table located to the side of the rather noiseless room was the school's nurse rested on a rolling chair– her narrow, adult-like eyes had themselves occupied by a clinical record that belonged to 'Fujimura Tomo' as her left hand would take down a few significant things on a medical pad.
Directly behind her were the opened double-doors of Kimii infirmary – and by it, a boy with red locks not darker than the nurse' glowered at her.
Inari kept her back turned despite knowing he was there, and that he wasn't in a very good mood. She had a hunch she knew what he wanted, but chose to remain silent and let him voice out what it is he came here for.
"Why didn't you do anything?" he started. The tone he presented her with wasn't loud or aggressive, but it was firm and it demanded answers from the older woman. He knows that she's aware of what's been happening; she had to – and that's what irked him about the entire thing.
"You beat him up pretty bad. I'm surprised he's not dead." She dragged it out for a while, but judging from the silence he was in no joking mood – she took it as if he was saying 'answer the damn question.'
Inari let out a sigh and rotated her chair to have her arm leaned against the table in a lax fashion – she didn't face him, however; there was no particular reason why she refused to look at him, she just didn't want to – but somehow she knew that if she even spared a glance at him, she'd only feel the emotions she'd been seriously holding back for a while now. It was tough, but if she trusted she knew what was best for the small girl, she had to.
"She wanted to do this on her own, I'm just letting her. Simple as that." She said the next set of words before he could voice out whatever reply he had – since she's sure it'd be something like 'look where that got her' or some sort.
"In any case, what's gotten you so worked up about it? You know as well as I do how flawed she is; why not give her the chance? Don't try to fool me with petty reasons like 'it's the right thing' or 'because she's my friend'. There's another reason to it, isn't there? I want an honest answer from you." This had Karma quite taken aback – what she was asking for, was something he wasn't quite sure of. Why indeed? But that's when the image of a sullen Okuda-san sitting alone on a secluded bench with grey skies above her came up. She had her head down and her shoulders tensed with a frown on her face – and behind those shine less spectacles of hers were a pair of hollow, glossless indigo eyes that held no love for anything.
'Akabane-san…'
Any form of anger that he had was swept away after that – his shoulders relaxed and his expression softened. So the woman had seen through him? Occasions like these are rare for the redhead; he usually is considered inscrutable by most.
"Well…"It took a few moments for him to arrange an appropriate answer with the right words – wow, she got him tongue-tied; that's a first in a long time. "Her heart's out there in the open, where everyone can see it, and where it can be easily torn apart." He paused for a bit, and this time he was the one that didn't want to look at old woman "At the rate everything's going, it's only a matter of time before she decides to just lock it away…and that's the one thing I don't want happening."
Inari studied him this time. The usually calm and prideful brat she saw in him seemed to have disappeared at the time – his eyes were set to the side, but they were distant; along with it, the boy's tone sounded sincere enough, and she could guess that he'd gone through things that led him to that fear. Satisfied with the answer, she sighed and held her forehead.
"She's not going to lock it away."
"You don't know that."
"Believe me, I do…
*Inside a dim classroom located in the first year branch of Kimii High School's campus, a blond haired girl with clenched teeth dripped with sweat as she would evade swift attacks from her fellow sweat drenched opponent and block attacks with the desk leg she considered to be a sad excuse for a weapon.
That heart of hers…is way too used to getting hurt she's beginning not to care…
Mimura swung powerfully once she had seen an opening from the golden-haired girl – but to everyone's surprise, the wooden sword did not meet its target and had been deflected by a pair of arms that shook and created an audible crack from the force of the weapon colliding with it. From that point on, it was as if the world had gone in slow motion. Okuda Manami had cut in between the two with her teeth visibly grit from the pain and the struggle of overpowering the taller and much more built brunette.
Because of the abrupt intrusion, Rio found herself stumbling backwards and tripping as she landed on the floor with her back on the wall just beside the door – and that was the only time she registered what was going on. Blue eyes went wider than ever the moment they grasped the situation in front of them. Nakamura Rio had lost the ability to move as she had been overcome with shock – this appeared to be so for all else in the room and outside of it. Just on the sidelines, Rinka and Fuwa shared the same expression of absolute disbelief as their jaws dropped.
At that same second Sugino and Chiba made it to the door and witnessed it just in time – in turn, Sugino's own eyes mirrored everyone else' as he was overwhelmed with how astounded he felt. Even Chiba couldn't deny how unexpected it all was as his mouth went agape in an even more so exaggerated fashion
Through the window, Isura Mai's bright blue orbs shrunk and quivered in between the white of her eyes; at the same time, it was like her body felt numb as she froze in her spot completely amazed. Gasps broke out from behind her accompanied by a few exclamations she couldn't understand – she couldn't care less what they said. Right now, Okuda Manami just did the bravest thing anyone in that room or out of it could've done.
I don't want her to turn a blind eye to things that are already too much for her."
"O-Okuda!" was all the shock-stricken Mimura could utter out. The grip she had around her kendo sword loosened up from the fast sequence of events – even she saw this as the most unexpected thing from anyone, especially her. Manami on the other hand, struggled to keep her stance straight albeit her feet slipping on the tiled floor from the power gap between her and the one she was currently desperately trying to stop. It took the utmost effort of Manami's muscles to even get the brunette to back away a step – as of now, she chose to ignore the aching in her probably badly injured arms and focused on getting Mimura as far away as possible from her blond friend.
"Okuda…! When did you—"
"S-Stop it!" the introverted geek screeched with a booming power that only added up to everyone's already shocked state as each of the following exclamations sounded more and more agonizing each time she repeated. "Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!" Manami trembled under her bursting emotions, she couldn't say anything else – rather, she failed to be able to think of anything else to say.
Enough Enough Enough Enough Enough
That was all that played in her head. After being put through so much for days, it wasn't abnormal to create an outburst. But this one felt different to everyone's ears – it was intimidating despite her small structure, and not intimidating in a scary way; rather, it was as if whatever pain that poured out of her heart now had injected itself into everyone else'. Even the heartless girls that had been the cause of this from the very beginning felt chills go up their spines from the small girl's cries.
"Oku—"by this time, Mimura had dropped her weapon after being pushed back a few steps as Manami had her fists shivering by the overflow of feelings that pulsed out of her form.
"I…I don't want anymore. I'm sick and tired of it all! I…I don't care what you do to me and how long you want to keep doing it but…!" She gulped, she couldn't afford to filter her words – heck she's not even giving them any thought, they just came out without a care in the world "Just… DON'T TOUCH MY FRIENDS!" from this point, tears had started to go down uncontrollably again.
It was at that same time when the other staff and Mikagura-sensei had arrived to put a stop to the fight that had been reported – but the only ones who ended up being stopped were themselves. The orange-haired teacher ordered her companions not to interfere with the swift movement of her arm and a shake of her head; this had to be done first. To hell with school rules for a while, Mikagura-sensei knew how much the girl needed this.
The outburst had resulted to the combat club members present in the room to perk up and create sounds of shock. That was the extent of her care for them; she would endure many things just not to have them become harmed in any way possible, even if she'd hit rock-bottom.
But that wasn't the only reason for this explosion.
Mimura, her group, and the rest of the students that listened to her had their mouths shut and their hearts struck with several emotions; and one of them was guilt.
"Why…?! WHY?! You don't…don't even know anything!" Manami sobbed – she couldn't find any words to use to express all of these things she felt as the tears flowed endlessly. But in order to not leave what she had done for naught, she had to set herself straight and at the very least, speak clearly.
"I'm…I'm not the best person to be with, and I'm bad with words…and I'm very troublesome…but…! PLEASE DON'T DO ANY OF THAT TO ME! Maybe it's funny when I'm lost and confused most of the time! But to me it's really hard! When I don't understand anything please don't laugh at me! It's a very…! It makes me feel really sad and lonely! It's not funny!" The words were wrapped around in sobs, but they were understood. Those in the crowd who were guilty of such had exchanged looks with each other.
"Not…funny…" she unknowingly took advantage of everyone's stunned silence to wipe her wet face using the sleeve of her blazer which inevitably led to her glasses falling to the floor. After each exclamation she would feel something big that weighed heavily on her heart fly out and spread across those that lent an ear to her. It was quite the bittersweet feeling – to be selfish and let it out for once.
By the door where Sugino and Chiba sympathetically watched everything unfold, Karma had come just in time to hear the words 'it's not funny'; his injured hands had been wrapped around with medical dressing (courtesy of the one and only school nurse) – the two dark-haired males failed to notice him however, for they had reached a certain depth into the scene where they would become unaware of their surroundings. The red-haired boy joined in the watching with mercury orbs void of emotion as his hands were inserted into his pockets.
"And then…" was the next thing Manami was able to say in between the choked sobs that caused her eyes to brim with unending streams of saltwater. "And then…it really hurts when you use me for things…" her voice had toned down this time, but it only lasted for a brief moment for she ended up crying out another blast of feelings "PLEASE DON'T USE ME! I'd be happy to help you but…! And I'm nowhere near the best person to say this but..! If you can't do it on your own, you're not going to learn! You can't always count on me to do things for you! And it really…! Really hurts whenever I get blamed for it! It's the same with your feelings for Karma-kun!" she said the last set of words with direct eye contact with Mimura despite her violet orbs being clouded and blurred.
The last exclamation caused the Naoki group and Naoki herself to create sharp gasps and startled cries – and of course, a few other girls outside the classroom who heard it also perked up. Rio suddenly had her shoulders jerk up with a choked 'Eh?!' after she had registered what she just said as she regained consciousness of her surroundings and sharply turned her head with a worried expression and saw him standing right there – his eyebrows were raised at the sudden mention of his name in the controversy. Sugino and Chiba had only just noticed him being there due to his name unexpectedly being talked about which had them jerk to the opposite side of where he was.
Karma had ever so suddenly become the center of attention of a few students after that – even Rinka and Fuwa spared a moment to glance at his confounded face.
"I know! You really care about Karma-kun but don't let it out on me that way! If you want me to tell him you can just ask! You don't have to treat me like that! Or even better, I'm not Karma-kun so don't tell me! Tell him instead!" her eyelids had shut tightly again as she put her heart into the next sentence once more "With someone as nice as him, I'm sure he'll listen to you!"
At that moment, Rio wanted to make fun of the red tint that was on Karma's face right now (really, she truly did.), but failed to do so because even she had been taken aback by how straightforward that entire thing was just now – it was too straightforward for anyone's comfort for that matter for everyone else seemed to have mirrored the reaction Rio just made.
Outside of the room, the vice president would be lying if she said that that didn't take her by surprise herself, but all she did was raise her eyebrows as her mouth had formed into a dot on her face as if said 'Oh…'
Manami gave out a few more sobs before continuing with a brittle voice as she wiped her eyes with her fingers "I say this but…I'm no better…" The sobs had calmed just a tad bit for now – the shy chemist had a runny nose and swollen eyes by this time as she gave Kimizuki (whose mouth was still wide open from what the raven-haired girl just shouted for the world to hear) a glance. "I get it…I'm a dirty hypocrite that can't do anything right…I know I'm not good at a lot of very important things in life…! A-And I don't expect a lot from myself either but…!" Manami looked at Kimizuki in the eye; her voice had gone back to that of a loud volume as this final sentence seemed to have poured out the last and most prominent bit of emotions. "WHAT DID YOU SAY THAT FOR?!" and with an injured arm placed over her eyes, she bawled then and there.
This is my hand…whether or not they take it is up to them.
Kimizuki felt a sick feeling inside her stomach – and she badly wanted to puke it out after that. The guilt had overwhelmed her to the point that she wanted to cry as well and tell her how sorry she was for saying something like that. She and the rest of class 1-C felt as if a gigantic arrow of guilt just rammed through their hearts and impaled them.
The former Class E students and the older brunette who viewed it all from the outside had a different face on – one could easily dismiss them as blank, but there was more meaning into their so-called 'blank' expressions. The message behind it held the same thoughts that went through their minds at the time
'She finally let it out…' was what those stare's message was.
Mikagura-sensei considered this moment of guilt-trip as an opportunity to do what she and her team came here for "What are you doing being all googoo-eyed? Do your job." The chemist said with a smile of contentment as she crossed her arms. Their supposed 'peacekeepers' needed a second to regain their composure and take in what was going on before one of them said "O-Oh yeah!"
Everything had more or less settled down by now.
The students who gathered were sent to their homes as they were escorted by the school personnel with the help of the student council – including Isura Mai, who did so with a smile on her face as her chest had been freed from worry.
The ones left in the disarrayed classroom were the combat club members and the Mimura Naoki group – albeit the former had been asked to step outside for a while excluding Nakamura and Okuda (whom had to help with cleaning up first before they get sent to the office.
For some reason – no, they knew perfectly why their chests felt lighter; it was relief, and the feeling of something finally being over after much conflicts. Yuzuki was the first to speak after she breathed out a huge sigh "Welp~ Things seemed to have brightened up for all of us today. I honestly found myself being unable to breathe at some point."
"I think we all got to that point…" Chiba remarked with a sweatdrop.
"Even so, that girl knows how to turn a slice-of-life manga into reality~!" Yuzuki's eyes glistened at the thought as a blush came to her cheeks. This just earned her an awkward chuckle from her classmate.
Speaking of Yuzuki's classmate, Sugino turned his attention to Karma – who was leaning against the wall not too far away from the door. "I never would've thought you'd be getting confessions this early, Karma-kun." He tried teasing as he prodded the redhead's arm with the back of his hand.
Rinka, who had been silent for a while, couldn't help but give a small smirk at the memory – it should be fun to try making fun of him after this. Finally; long-awaited payback can be done.
"Oh yeah! It was the one with the short black hair that did this year, right?" the mangaka wannabe joined in with a sly look in her features "So, how'd it go? You never told us."
This was the last conversation Karma would deem interesting, but even so, he kept himself leaned on the wall with his hands in his pocket with that carefree smile of his – he too had been relieved, for now that is. "Obviously, I flat-out rejected her."
"Eh—Whoa, cold." Sugino stepped back from his friend, but it wasn't as if he hadn't expected it and sighed. "Oh well, you're Karma-kun after all."
"Aw, you make me sound like a generally bad person." Karma joked then continued "It wasn't anything, really. It's just…"
That was when the door to their right opened up and out came the egotistical girls that started this brouhaha – of course, the group former assassin's attention shifted to them as they glowered. Karma smirked and watched them with a sadistic eye as each one had gone out, and it was then he decided to finish his sentence "Spoiled girls that make a mess if they don't get what they want, are the ones I hate the most." He emphasized the last seven words with all the intent to instill it in their hearts so they could suffer for it.
This evidently resulted to most of them perking up as they spared him a glance. Once they did, the boy chose that time to stick out a derisive tongue at them; like how any immature kid would. Karma turned his head up and closed his eyes as he listened to the heartbroken squeaks and doleful gasps of the ladies – success.
Mimura had to hold her tears back from there as her nails nearly made her palms bleed from the fury of her fists – she had been the first to storm out of the floor as the few others followed. Kimizuki was the only one who didn't react much – she just stared at him indifferently and followed after them; she didn't have anything to lose after all. And besides, she wasn't all that into him anyway.
"That was foul…but brilliant." Yuzuki praised with a nod of approval.
Not too long after, the other two stepped out of the classroom. Rio came out with her arms atop her head lazily with exhaustion written all over her features – a few bandages and medical plaster had been placed on her cheek and a few parts of her arm from her injuries. Manami followed after with her eyes downcast; her arms had bandages wrapped around them similar to that of a mummy beneath her long sleeves and her fingers entwined in front of her – of course, for one thing she'd been through a lot, and there was still the unmistakable guilt they all knew she brought along with her.
Upon seeing the petite, bespectacled girl, Karma's smile faded away as he averted his eyes; despite having calmed down due to the relief, he was still undeniably quite irked by her. Unfortunately, the girl saw this gesture of his, and it only made her feel worse. She'd gotten him so worked up about her today, that alone was enough to have her feel ashamed, but the fact that she knew he was mad just by looking at him couldn't be more heart-wrenching; even with the appeased smiles of her other friends that stood by him.
Later on, the teachers came out of the room looking satisfied but at the same time exasperated "Okay, let's get a move on."
Karma didn't show up as the other four waited in front of the principal's office.
There was a set of chairs outside of the room that would serve as a waiting area – it was quite convenient for the club members. Chiba and Hayami sat next to each other and as usual, kept to themselves. In contrast with the stoic duo, Sugino and Fuwa would usually engage in conversation once in a while; the topic of discussion mostly concerned the incidents of today – but they only spoke in tones above a whisper; after all, they didn't want Mimura's group (who was about three seats away from them) to hear it all and make things awkward for them.
Rinka had her arms crossed above her chest with emerald orbs lost in the swirling pool of thoughts within her already ached head. Even with everything finally back together and even with all the problems down to nearly zero, she didn't feel all that refreshed. It was as if there could've been more to what she had done – but she didn't do it; she hesitated, and that's what was the most unnerving of all things today. The sniper wasn't a very expressive person as she is easily misunderstood by most (not like she cares), but truthfully, she considers Okuda as a precious friend of hers despite the gap between their personalities and how she makes it out to be. Rinka didn't know where else she'd be able to come across someone like that – it was almost like the short girl was an angel that got sucked into the world and lost its way. And knowing she had not given enough effort in her time of great need, it was inevitable that the overachiever would feel her uselessness bite on her heart.
Before long, the blond and the braided exited the office on their club's side of the door in the same fashion they did with the classroom earlier – but this time Rio looked all the more annoyed. "That took way too long." She said with a yawn and slumped to the wall without enthusiasm. The four stood up and surrounded the two to inquire what had gone down inside, but since Rio found that boring and Manami refused to face them, not much was known except the fact that the blond had to clean up the school's pool by herself during the weekend (even though the bespectacled girl insisted on helping her, she was told off by both the teacher and the blond), the set of females with them in the waiting area had been excluded in the school excursion and that Mimura Naoki had been suspended.
The group's attention turned to the other door where the other group had laid in wait no longer as the brunette stepped out not looking the least bit delighted with the turnout of things. Manami observed how they rose from their seats and exchanged whispers with one another – it didn't look like what they were discussing looked too good because not too long after they had gathered around their 'leader', all had looked to the introvert's way.
Manami could only stare back at them blankly, but the emotions behind that nonchalant stare of hers seemed to have remained in the clutter of thoughts they had within their brains.
Suddenly, the golden-haired girl next to her blocked the snobbish girl's view in a protective manner and gave them a warning look. It wasn't a moment later when Yuzuki decided to join in with what Rio wanted to do as she put her arm right in front of the bespectacled girl; soon after, Sugino mimicked their actions as he stepped forth and planted himself on the spot not too far away from the two girls, but still used his body to tell them to back off. Chiba and Hayami did the rest and stationed themselves at the front-most area in a similar way military officers would when ready to defend their authorities from threats.
All girls only peered back until Mimura groaned in frustration "Alright! I get it! Jeez, you're all war freaks."
"If you get it then run along and get out of here." Rio commanded them with a loud voice as her hand traveled to her waist – she used the other one to point out the door exaggeratedly.
Mimura scoffed and began to trudge away with loud footsteps similar to that of a child going through a tantrum – the others followed after with sneers on their faces.
"Wait!"
"O-Oku—"
In an instant and to no one's preparation, Manami yelled and padded toward them and stopped in the middle of the hall just a safe enough distance from her group and Mimura's. This abrupt move had earned her yet another handful of surprised stares.
After she had heard the voice seep into her ears, Mimura refused to look back at her but halted in her steps – her shoulders rose up as a clear sign of utter irritation "What do you want now?!"
Yuzuki had uneasiness gulp down her throat for a while and tried to call her back "Okud—"
"I want you to apologize to them." The poison-lover's tone was firm and solid – much different from the one everyone had been used to hearing from her so of course this had most in a state of bewilderment.
"What?" This time the obnoxious brunette turned around to glare at the annoying little pest's (as deemed by her) determined indigo orbs – her pride resisted the urge to display how fazed she was by such a focused pair of eyes.
"Apologize to them." Manami repeated, but this time politeness had been unmistakably present; it was more gentle the second time. She paused for a moment to get the words out of her head and out of her mouth one more time with another spark of courage within her chest. "You…you don't know anything…All of you don't know how kind they've been to me…" her eyelids lowered as her tone had softened with the sincerity poured into it.
'It's okay now, Okuda-san. We understand what it is; come sit with us.'
"While everyone else avoided me, they were the ones that treated me like an equal…"
'Would you mind if you taught me a few things? I'd like to lend a hand because I find it interesting now that you've opened up to me about it, after all, there was this one really good manga I read where chemistry was its heart!'
"…how they always kept my spirits up…and how they taught me so many things…"
'None of us ever thought you didn't care. Don't say sorry too much, because there's nothing you have to be sorry for. Don't say 'thank you' either. We didn't actually do anything to deserve that word; after all, the one that got you out of your own troubles was you'
"You…you don't know any of that…"
'Kind of reminds me of…a mother.'
"Th…That's why I want you to apologize to them; to make them go through so much today…I…I can't forgive it." Manami raised her gaze from the floor and presented the Naoki group with her genuine features. Hearing this heartfelt set of sentences, those behind the strong-hearted girl had never been more touched – this girl who claimed to had done nothing much compared what they've given her, is fighting for them; you don't meet someone as kind-hearted as that every day. In fact, it wasn't only Yuzuki on the verge of tears at the moment, but even Rio and (shockingly) Rinka had to stop themselves from becoming a pair of wet messes right there.
'Okuda-san…'
Kimizuki listened carefully to these words of hers expressionlessly – she didn't particularly care about the girl or like her in any way, but after all that's happened, the only thing that was left for what she felt about this girl was indifference and a growing respect.
Mimura clicked her tongue – just listening to this girl was a drag to her "Tch, as if I car—"
"Na-o-cchi." The raven haired girl with the mole under her eye chimed in albeit being silent for the most time "She's telling you to apologize. Just do it; or is your arrogance making it too hard?" Kimizuki shot her a taunting gaze and a jeering smirk.
This caught the auburn-haired female off guard; now even a person she considered as 'one with her' went over to her side. Mimura's brows twitched with irritation – even more so when she caught more smirks coming from the group that protected the incessant puny girl.
"Whatever!" she turned a heel and proceeded to storm off "I apologize for my mistakes. Are you happy now?!" the rest of the girls were reluctant to follow her, but eventually they just silently agreed on bandwagon-ing.
Before they all vanished from Manami's sight, she could've sworn Kimizuki glanced at her with a small smile on her features. Though it had only been there for a mere second, the petite-framed girl could not deny the small joy that formed inside her chest.
After the clang of the exit door that echoed through the empty administration lane of Kimii's high school building, Manami slumped down to the floor face-first comically with a large sigh of relief – which got her a few 'Ah!' 's of panic from her former classmates as they came to her aid.
"Ahhh…that was nerve-wracking…" she breathed out after another huge sigh and sat up straight.
"O-Okuda…are you okay?" Sugino questioned her with uncertainty laced in his voice as he helped Yuzuki prop her back up.
"Thank you…" she smiled brightly and exhaled one last time; but the smile soon disappeared as she shifted her gaze to her intertwined fingers that rested on her lap.
"I…I thought I could do this on my own…" before she knew it, her eyes had gone blurry again from another batch of saltwater that invaded her eyesight and messed up her glasses. Her voice had gone brittle yet again "It…It came to the point where I thought that I was going to end up alone either way…That I'd just say 'oh well, it was fun while it lasted' even if I really didn't want that…!"
Their stares were fixed at her as all remained quiet and listened to her – none made any form of sound nor facial expression. "Even when I knew I was such a handful…even when I knew I'd end up messing things up eventually again…I couldn't bring myself to give you up…! I wanted to get closer to all of you again… But…I was so convinced you'd get hurt if you stayed around me…so I took this on my own…I really thought…that I could be able to do it because I knew how to reach people because of you…but I ended up causing trouble for everyone…! The worst part was…I was selfishly thinking about how glad I was when you came to save me…I'm…" after a few sniffles, Manami's eyes shut tight as more tears streamed down. "I'm sorry…"
Sugino and Rio exchanged a few looks until the latter took her hand and flicked the forehead of the sobbing girl hard – which resulted to a cute sound coming from her.
"Aowh!" Manami jerked backwards and held her forehead with both hands. "Na-Nakamura-san?"
"You know, you seriously need to stop thinking that way." She said with a low voice before proceeding to put her arms around the startled girl "If we want to do it, we'll do it no matter what. Things like 'troublesome' or any of that crap never came to mind. I said it before, right? Don't say sorry when there's nothing to be sorry for…" she mumbled next to the smaller girl's ear with closed lids as she continued "Stop thinking you have to be alone with your problems. If it's too much for you, say it." By this point, her voice had become shaky "Don't you know? We care about you too. Seeing you hurt will hurt us. That's just what friends do; you're not a bother to any of us, you're precious to us as we are to you. So…"
"Na…kamura-san…?" Rio held the girl in her arms tighter as her own tears started to form.
"Stop being so stupid! You're not on your own! Because from the very moment you meet someone, you're already part of their life!" Rio had probably broken Manami's left eardrum, but she had to somehow get these words across. The blond was now fully aware how much help this girl needed, and slowly, she was starting to learn how to deal with her – starting now.
The braided girl's eyes were wide – it had only been in her dreams where she would hear someone say that to her, and now that it's come to reality, she couldn't contain the scorching happiness that radiated from her soul as more drops of water escaped her eyes. She had cried too much today – ashamed she may have been for that fact, but you couldn't quite blame her. After all, someone so fragile can only go through so much.
Right beside the two, Yuzuki joined in with the sniffling, but this time it was much more touched compared to when she cried about Manami's gifts to them. "Aw, come on! Nakamura-san stole all the cool lines!"
"What are you talking about, Fuwa-san?" Rio stifled a small chuckle from her position as she used a finger to wipe her nose.
"You told her everything I wanted to say to her! Now all I can say at a scene like this is…" Fuwa sniffled even more as her eyes formed into what looked like blobs on her face as they sparkled with the light from the sunset just outside "Okuda-san you…IDIOT!" and with that, Yuzuki glomped the two girls and sobbed louder than they both did as the other three laughed in the bittersweetness of the scene – it would be best for them to keep themselves at bay before they attract any more attention to themselves.
I wonder…what this feeling was called again…?
Brighter than happiness…
Deeper than despair…
"Th—"
"If you say thank you again, I'll flick your forehead harder!"
Oh yeah…
I love them after all…
"Well, let's get going!" Sugino exclaimed after everyone had settled down and prepared to leave.
"I'm going this way" The finally calmed down Manami gave them a small smile as she pointed to the opposite side of their way home – she wasn't the type that went through the same route everyone else did for reasons that didn't matter anymore; however, this had become a habit for her already after doing it so long.
And besides, there was someone who took it with her.
Speaking of that someone else…where was he?
"Alright then, we'll go this way." Rio sent the small girl a wink and pulled on Yuzuki's wrist before she could offer to go with the chemistry maniac. The blond had a hunch that she knew where the braided girl was going, and after what she said earlier she couldn't wait for the gossip she could get out from Manami when she gets her to spill.
Hayami and Chiba were the next ones to leave in the same direction. "Have a safe trip, Okuda-san." Chiba waved a stoic farewell at the short girl he – honestly – looked forward to seeing her grow up. Truth be told, today gave him quite the show under his serious demeanor; what more would be in store for the events to come? Before all this he considered her to be just…there. But now that he'd seen enough and heard enough (especially from his girlfriend but not girlfriend), one couldn't help but wonder.
Okuda presented the couple with a small wave of goodbye – the smile never wavering.
Rinka abruptly stopped walking; good thing she wasn't too far from her yet. "Okuda-san."
"Uh—Mm?" Well, this certainly came out of nowhere; not to mention, Rinka had never really spoken with her – even the tall boy that went ahead of the orangeheaded sniper halted in his steps to see what she had on her sleeve with this.
The stoic girl had her back face the girl to hide whatever face she had on as he worded out her next sentence "If you can't handle something, or don't want to handle something, it's best you just don't."
Where she was going with this, Manami had no clue. What brought this up so suddenly?
Is she…scolding me…? Yeah…that must be it…
The science geek recalled the remnants of her past week – how she had been used to do things for people without any form of argument and where it got her; she failed subjects, she got into trouble and she had been hurt mentally. That must be Hayami-san's point; she must be scolding her for allowing such a thing to happen to her.
Manami nodded in understanding "Mm…I know…thank you, Hayami-san." With those last, soft, words of gratitude, she skipped away to the opposite side of the hall.
Rinka took into account the sound of her padding footsteps fading away and smiled; contented. Chiba tilted his head when she approached him and led their walk home together "That's a lot coming from you."
What he had said to the ginger seemed to have triggered some flashbacks for the girl had gone silent. It must be so – after all, the very reason she got dropped into class E back in middle school was because of her inability to voice disapproval to those 'wretched' classmates of her for asking too much from her skills.
"I guess that's so…" Rinka stared back at the empty corridor where the purple-eyed girl ran off to.
Ryuunosuke found something odd with how his light-haired companion was acting – something fishy must've happened, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it; and he's far from figuring it out.
"By the way, earlier today…what were you doing outside of the classroom before we came?"
All he got out of her was a smirk.
After the infiltration of the much older members of the school, the situation was dealt with smoothly. With that being said, Rinka took this opportunity to check off something on her agenda – oh how long she waited for it to arrive.
As the adults seized the problem along with its victims and participants, the orange-haired sniper took advantage of the confusion, slid the door open and stepped outside. There, she was met with the bright blue eyes of Kimii's high school vice president; and along with it, the dumbfounded stares of some of the students that appeared to have only taken notice of her because of the aura she gave out. Sometimes, Rinka would be proud of it – it got people seeing her as someone not to be messed with.
It wasn't too long before she got the attention of her target (AKA: every student there that isn't Isura Mai) after slamming the door shut; she doubted those inside would take notice of it since it had become rather rowdy within this specific first year classroom.
Soon after she got the freshmen to keep their gazes at her, whispers broke out with 'Who's that?' or 'I believe she's Hayami Rinka from class B…' and so on and so forth.
But once the ginger played out one of her intoxicating glares, the mutters and utters from every nook and cranny died as soon as a fly would evade the slap of a hand. The aura of this person was intimidating enough, but to see those sharp, green eyes glow viciously amidst the darkness with the booming force of her emotions that shot through everyone's chests like a sword out of fire – it slowly seeped into them as it set their senses aflame; that is the signature glare of Hayami Rinka
"The next time we hear about another incident like this…" she started with her usual, calm voice – until a split second later, with a swift movement of her hand, one of the hair bands she had on flew past a girl with walnut-toned hair styled in a ponytail. And after two or three seconds of nothing in particular happening, a swollen, red mark erupted from the side of her cheek that apparently was as painful as it looked to be. The guilty girl with the brown hair placed a shivering hand over the swelled part – and everyone knew then that this group was bad news; most especially after-
"I'll personally be the one to bring about your punishment."
"Nothing." And she dropped the subject with a satisfied smile and eyes that seemed to have lit up.
Chiba eyed her blinkingly 'That face your making doesn't look like it was just 'nothing' '
"…Hello…Karma-kun."
There he was, leaned on the shoe locker where he usually waited for her if ever she were to come late – Manami had half-expected him to be home by now, but it still never ceased to surprise her whenever the boy did something, and this includes now. Albeit the greeting, Karma did not respond, but only stared at her inscrutably as a sign of acknowledgement to her presence. The science lover didn't feel very comfortable with the attitude he had put up, but she tried again in hopes of seeing at least a tiny smile grace his features.
"How long have you been waiting here?" still no response; his stare intimidated her to the extent she would feel as if it peered into her soul. Mercury eyes were narrowed; his covered hands were hid in his pockets as his mouth hadn't moved from its form as a straight line upon his features.
Manami gulped, but before she could even try speaking again, Karma had lifted himself away from the set of lockers and proceeded to exit the school at a rather late hour. The eyeglasses-ed female had a feeling he wanted her to follow after; and she obliged, but kept her distance.
I…I made him angry…that's a first
Above their heads was a sky of vast indigo that stretched to the far east – stars began to twinkle weakly in the sea of clouds and colors as the west most portion of the sky still harbored its sunset orange taints and purple-ish swirl of clouds that blended magnificently beyond the tree leaves as they passed through. It was times like these wherein Manami would take the chance to savor in the remedies of the wonderful scenes the world would bless their eyes with. However, she could not enjoy it to its full extent for most of her mind had focused on the boy right in front of her.
His back…it looked tired from lifting a weight – the way he walked with his school bag slung over his shoulder was much more limited; the relaxed fashion he was greatly known for had dissipated before her; another Karma she was yet to know walked about six steps ahead of her, and amidst the remorse, the braided girl found herself pulled in by her curiosity
I wonder if anyone else has seen him this way…
His usually neat red locks floated against the breeze in its carefree-like manner. The black cardigan he wore everywhere he went was in sync with the wind the river had brought with it. Manami observed how his gaze never left the ground from the time they had departed from Kimii – what was it he was feeling right now? At the time, she wasn't so sure; she assumed it was anger, frustration – he was vexed and she could tell. She had a feeling it was with her, but with the way things paced themselves before her eyes
She just didn't understand.
"Why were you quiet about it?"
Manami snapped her head up – he finally said something, although it had been carried out with a low, hostile voice that demanded her for her thoughts. His back remained to be the only thing in her view as he halted from his steps; funny, it reminded the girl of their exact distance and positions when they first encountered each other in this same area, in this same time, under that same sunset sky.
Unexpectedly, she was not surprised by the topic of discussion nor by his forceful approach with this. She glanced at him once more; his head had been turned to the side as a listening gesture. It took moments for the small girl to contemplate on her words until she lowered her head "I didn't want you to worry—"
"Don't lie to me." The volume in his tone rose, and at the same time he turned around to face her directly. Manami studied his expression for a while – yes, it was evidently angry; brows were furrowed with sharp, narrow mercury orbs that shot through her with such fury she had been left tongue-tied; but to not answer him would be disrespectful and rude in every possible way.
"There's another reason right?" he caught her; this was one of the many things the four-eyed girl least desired. But knowing him, and how obvious she could get no matter how hard she tried to hide it, of course he'd catch on quite quickly.
The braided girl nodded and lowered her gaze once again "Mm…the reason it all started was because of you, Karma-kun…" the grip she had on her bag tightened, even if it did cause the aching in her arms to throb "I didn't want you to feel bad about it. I didn't want you to know because I was sure you'd help me…if you did then…that would've made the rumors worse; p-people might really think I'm using you and I didn't want them to think badly of you—"
"Does it look like I care?" Manami's head and shoulders jerked up, it was way more aggressive now, and it caused her to somewhat fidget uncomfortably – even if he was considered to be the person she's most relaxed with, this was really a side of him she was not familiar of.
And Karma-kun who was not scary, just became scary again.
"Eh—Well—Because Karma-kun, you—"
"Where does my decision fit in all of your assumptions?" he stepped forward, which unconsciously had the shorter girl step back in instinct. "You're not the one that gets to decide what I do; I do what I want. What makes you think you have my right over that?"
Scary.
With an ounce of courage, Manami attempted to retort to his interrogations – she'd had a long day as well, so it would be natural to have your usual self quite out of the norm "You're important to me Karma-kun, that's why—"
He stepped forward again, but this time she couldn't move "What would've happened to you if we didn't interfere? Clearly you couldn't handle it by yourself." This one hit close to home, and it felt as if her heart just got slapped with the hand of reality – but instead of wallowing in it again, she pursued to argue with him.
"Why are you so mad—"this came out like a choked cry, but she refused to shed anymore tears than she already had.
"You're not the only one who has people important to you, that's why!" and with that outburst of his, the purple pair of eyes that took aid behind spectacles shrunk as she was put to a mute by the outbreak of the redhead's feelings.
That hit her harder than a home-run baseball. All she could do was stare – completely flabbergasted as she noticed something new in that strong gaze of his. It was faint, but it was there; you could see it if you squint hard enough.
What was it? Was it…
Hurt…?
It had to be. It was clear now; he was there for her from the beginning, and she didn't trust him enough to relay her problems to him – even if she did mean well. From the very start, he had given her many things, and if it weren't for him, she'd still be the passing dust in the world full of significant people as she would waste away in her days of solitude. When she didn't handle it well, he came to her aid again, and yet she feels bad about that? It was that kind of thinking that got everyone into such a mishap.
'Because from the very moment you meet someone, you're already part of their life!'
Shame had taken over her, whatever other feeling that grew from the small feud between her and Karma had quickly been cut off "I'm…sorr—"
"It's decided." He was much calmer now, but it still caught her off guard somewhat; perhaps those few seconds of her silence also gave him a chance to clear whatever it was that bombarded his thoughts. Truth be told, this outburst of his surprised him as well.
'Dammit…I sound like an adult.' He caught himself cursing at the very thought – that was the last thing he wanted to be, really. But the dark-haired girl in front of his eyes had gotten that part of him to come out of its hiding.
Karma turned a heel and faced her with his back as the next words came out "From now on, you have to promise that you won't hide anything from me, and that you won't face your problems alone, understood?"
Manami didn't want to make him upset anymore, but what he just asked for was next to impossible. How can she be able to do her best if he's always there for her? She knows it herself – she's not allowed to rely on him all the time, no matter how much he insisted. Even if this incident had proved otherwise, someday she's going to have to get out of this boundary she herself laid before her; she'll have to get by on her own one day and become strong.
I don't want to be spoiled
"I can't…" and the words came out softly, but she made sure it was clear enough to reach his ears from the gap between them. Karma narrowed his eyes and turned to her again – what he saw were her crestfallen eyes accompanied with faint and gloomy smile.
Then her purple orbs locked with his pale gold ones "I can't promise you that, Karma-kun…"
What he did next left Manami in another state of confusion and small panic for he had dropped his bag and started briskly walking to her with that same serious face he put on from the moment she encountered him in school – but it was milder now; this only added to her confusion, however. But in the end, she couldn't move for she had been lost in it
"K—Karm—"and within a second, his bandage covered hand had made its way to the back of her head and pulled her face to his right shoulder – the girl's eyes had gone wide with his suddenness. This wasn't what she expected after she just made him more disappointed in her.
"K—"she tried to speak, but her voice had been muffled by his clothes against her features – that and he cut her off.
"I know that…" he mumbled into her right ear – any ounce of aggressiveness or forcefulness had vanished as his tone was quiet and humorless. "At the very least…let me be worried about you." The words sounded so genuine Manami blinked beneath his touch. Karma had done this for two reasons; the first was so she couldn't see the so-called 'weak' expression he had all over his face now, and the second was because…he wasn't so sure but he just felt like it.
The braided girl's lids went halfway after she really got a good grip of what he wanted to get through to her as she nodded "Mm…I'm sorry for snapping at you…"
"I don't really care about that…" he reassured her and stifled a puny chortle – fortunately, his bad mood had been lifted up. And for a little while longer, they stayed that way; honestly, he was just glad everything was over for now. After being pulled about by his frantic emotions the entire day, you'd expect one to be exhausted – especially someone like Karma, who wasn't exactly the best at handling his own.
Today…I got to see another side of Karma-kun I don't think a lot of people come by…
I was scared, but at the same time…I became curious.
What other sides are there to Karma-kun, I wonder…?
"Hey…" Karma called to her one more time even after she bid him farewell and to see him tomorrow.
"Hm?"
The two of them were outside of Manami's apartment complex by now. Lamp posts lit the way of the dark road as it served as the only source of light for both students.
The boy with red locks kept his back turned to her again – he'd done that a lot today now, but he had to somehow hide away whatever it was that made his cheeks feel so hot from her; it would look bad on his part after all "About your words earlier…how am I supposed to take them?"
'My words earlier?' the short girl thought about what he meant for a bit until she got something from the series of events that had gone on in just a single day.
'With someone as nice as him, I'm sure he'll listen to you!'
Could it be…that?
Why on earth would he ask something like that? But she figured that she at least needed to satisfy him today with one honest, and uplifting answer. Manami just took whatever what was at the top of her head and told him bluntly "Words of praise." She smiled, hoping he got the answer he wanted.
Karma however, took a few seconds to respond as his eyeballs traveled from side to side but were kept on the ground as he forced the rush of blood to his cheeks to be rid of themselves for now – or eternity if he somehow got a free miracle. It didn't exactly look well for him to have red hair and a red face; all in all, he despised the word 'blushing'.
But after much contemplation on her answer he snickered and prepared to make his way home "Alright, if you say so."
Earlier in the Kimii Infirmary…
"...Speaking of locked hearts, why are you so afraid of that happening to her anyway?"
"Eh— well…she'll change too much."
"And that's a problem, why?"
"…I just don't like it." I'd lose someone amazing and have her replaced with another me
*I imagine this part in slow motion so I thought it'd be nice if you guys did too ^3^
WHOOPEE! I guess that's enough from Mimura Naoki...for now (heheheheheee)
So, how'd you like the chapter? Tell me your thoughts with a review! And as usual, if it's not too much to put some memorable parts of the chapter, do add them please!
WARN ME IF OOC HAPPENS! Because I have this feeling there were a bunch of OOC moments for everyone...I felt so lost because when things get emotional it gets challenging to write them in their full fledged character o-o
I hope I was able to ease your tastes once more with this helluva chapter XD I did my best! And I'll work on the next one ASAP~!
But first, question!: Is Isura Mai worthy enough to be shipped with anyone in your opinion?
OKAY~ All's well and it end's well...but there will never be an end to Class E! The End Classroom! (heheh irony)
Now let's stop dragging this and get on with the preview!
NEXT: School Excursion and Growing Feelings.
Nothing more country-like than to spend a school trip in NAGOYA! All freshmen go to the woods and farmlands of the rural Nagoya! How peaceful can things get? Oh wait, they don't. Girls rooms have gossips, boys rooms have rowdy jealousy fights...Rio and Rinka have been avoiding each other recently, did they have a fight or what? And what's with Karma he's been acting weird lately, well, to Manami that is... and what's this about revenge? ...Wait what!? Fuwa-san you have a crush on...!
FIND OUT MORE IN "To Reach You" !
LEAVE A REVIEW FOR LOVE AND SUPPORT~
~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay