I HAVE FINALLY WRITTEN ANOTHER CHAPTER! *SOBS BECAUSE HAPPINESS* YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I'VE BEEN YEARNING FOR AN OUTLET FOR ALL OF MY STRESS AND FINALLY. LY I HAVE WRITTEN OF MY BEAUTIFUL SHIP 8"""DD (Screw Lab rep I'm doing it tomorrow XD)
*Clears throat* HELLO MY LOVELY READERS! I apologize once more for the major delay in this chapter ;W; But I love you all for being willing to wait for each chapter of this story! YOU TRULY BRING ME JOY IN THESE TIMES OF DARKNESS (Midterms + Performance tasks within two weeks)
So yeah, HERE IT IS AT LAST! The Chapter 2 of this very long arc (Wow it's only chapter two omg and like...4 of this arc is already posted... 8"D )
I will warn you now that there's not much KarMana in it due to the absence of the other in this chapter X'3
BUT THERE WILL BE NEXT CHAPTER! You'll just have to you know...wait ;W;
But hey I hope this one was worth those two months of my no-show ;-;
And if it's not I'm sorry D"X
I'm not even that confident with this chapter since I may be missing some stuff but uGH I'VE HESITATED LONG ENOUGH
And yeah this chap's pretty long I supposed X'3 Hope it's a read worthwhile!
OKay Lemme just cut this short now since this chapter is already gonna take some of your time let us proceed to answer those reviews! (Which are quite a lot wow okay let's do this!) For both chapter 19 and the Apology chapter (for those I haven't PMed yet due to lack of time)
ANYWAYS:
kawaiichoconeko: CHOCONECKO-CHAN! Thanks for leaving the first review of the last chapter! As always thank you for reading and yEP. The boy's gotta get rid of what can ruin anything for him, after all XD
GingerHale: Well XD Sorry for that! Oh and I love you too for reviewing and reading it! I'm happy to read that you like it!
I12BFree: HEY THERE! Yep those secrets will continue to pile up 8") AND MHMM! She may as well sleep with it! (see: in chapters I will write next ;D)
FeatherStar18208: ;W; THANKS BRO! And I hope this chapter does not disappoint you! And thank you once again for your kind, reassuring words 8""))
mspotatoes: YES I WILL DO MY BEST IN LIFE! 3 And LOL that part with Karma's jealousy is one of my personal faves too XDD Glad to see your reaction XD
TheRoseShadow21: SENPAI! *GLOMPS* Thanks for leaving that review! And it touches me to see that you're very happy whenever this story updates 8)) Your long reviews are always the ones I look forward to! They're always detailed and it makes me feel good about what I write! I can even find points for improvement whenever you leave one! So I'm very thankful for you following this story albeit you being able to write levels better than I can ;w; Oh and I'm glad you like OMo-chan and his comedic abilities to cause chaos XDD HAHA Goiter-chan! XDD Thank you for that compliment! And for mentioning all of those specific parts in the development of the plot that you really liked, thanks again! And I hope this chapter may do well with my absence and explain some stuff 8""))
Guest-san: THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING MY DEAR GUEST-SAN! 3 And for those supportive comments too! OH and thanks for your criticisms as well! I made it a point to fix them with my succeeding chapters if that's any help! ;D OH THAT FOREST SCENE *FLIPS OUT* I'm happy that you love it ;w;
Title Unwanted: Glad you liked it all and thanks for leaving a review! I hope this doesn't disappoint you! And That your wait was worth it for the past you wanna find out ;W; And thank you for the support! I AM HANGING ON A LOOSE THREAD AND FIGHTING!
Akatsuki-Metal: Once more, I thank you for leaving consecutive reviews and for the compliments too! I really appreciate those! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!
animeandmangafangirl: HEY GURL! (I will do my best to do Takaoka chapter) Thanks for that review as always! And for following this story! YES I HOPE YOU WAIT FOR THAT CHAPTER BECAUSE I WILL MAKE THAT CHAPTER WORTH IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! PLEASE DO STAY TUNED! Mhm. Oh and Karma's parents will debut in this chapter too just a little spoiler ;D
Left-to-die: IM SORRY I MADE YOU WAIT LONGER FOR MANAMI-CHAN'S PAST ;W; BUT THANKS FOR THAT LONG REVIEW AND I HOPE I DO WELL THIS CHAPTER! I love you for leaving those nice compliments on the bday scene. I tried to make it emotional and yet try to keep them in character 8"") So reading that makes me feel really good! LOL Chiba XD And Karma's petty book battle is also something I'd like to thank you for commenting on! And Thanks for the good luck on school comment! I FACE IT HEAD ON
Quilla The Silent: Thanks! And HAHA Glad you were happy with them ! X"D
EmeraldBronze: THANK YOU! Best wishes to you too!
Dr-J33: Here it is bro. SORRY!
C Anime: YES YOU MAY! Just yeah, credit X'3 AND WHEN YOU DO PLEASE SHOW IT TO ME OR LINK IT PLEASE! 33 But nevertheless, I am glad to know that you think this story is worthy of that 8""))
MugiPyon: MUGI-CHAAANNNN! *GLOMPS* THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Those words mean a lot to me! Yes I am glad to be alive and kicking but I'm a racoon now so HAHA ! And It brings me joy to hear that you will follow this no matter how long it takes ;w; (BUT I WILL STILL TRY TO UPDATE FAST!) Thanks again, senpai! I have cheered up 8"")) Hope to see more from you!
RikuDai: THANK YOU! I'm very glad you like it! I worked hard on it during th summer and it makes me happy to see that it appeals to readers!
Guest: YES I WILL! B)
Neemarishima: THANKS FOR WAITING! And thank you for your kind words! And yes I will continue it first of all I hope this was worth the wait! Hope to see more from you!
ALRIGHT! LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD! (And I have to eat dinner they're all calling me now XDD)
Oh first of all:
*YANKEE IN JAPANESE: you know those high school delinquents that are really full of themselves with the slurred accent and have this violent tendency and everything? Yeah that's what it is. An example is Chizuru from KnT or the Terasaka himself from Ansatsu 8D
SO THEN. Without further ado, the long-awaited past of Okuda Manami!
Chapter 19: What You Are to Me (Part 2: What Matters Most)
The nurse' office was serene that afternoon – or well, as serene as it could be had there not been a little bit of an 'atmosphere' between two troublesome redhead's with a notable age gap. The subtle flaps and turns of the small electric fan placed to the side of the room that had been lit up with a bright afternoon sun that indicated the school's lunch hour. And while there were other noises present like the muffled yells of other students a fair distance from them that come occasionally, the two were much too engaged in their little 'talk' on important matters than to even be bothered by such that it seemed like the room was of pure silence.
"Hehh…" there was a slight pause that occurred after the younger one held up a few photos in one hand and mused with his constant carefree smile. One of the images in his hold had the younger, High school version of the only high school nurse of Kimii – at the time the photo was taken, the maroon hair she had cut short was much longer and often styled into a messy, gothic ponytail that matched her (used-to-be constant) intimidating facial expression as she held up an electric guitar.
"So you were that kind of student."
"SHUT UP!" Inari yelled from her side of the desk – it was obvious from her pout and tone of voice that she was only forcing her anger out to hide the shame she had over her past life. Her arms were crossed and brows twitched in annoyance she wasn't quite sure she directed to at the moment.
"It's not exactly surprising to find out you were a *yankee" Karma smirked slyly as he held out the picture of the older woman's high school delinquent-self – much to more of her annoyance as a vein had popped on her forehead; not only from his usually cocky attitude, but there was the fact he basically shoved into her face the memory of her most hated youthful days.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she raised an eyebrow – but she already knew what he meant by that and narrowed her eyes.
Ignoring the inquiry, he only let his grin stretch wider when he picked up another picture from the nurse' desk where a number of them lay sprawled along with its original container that (at long last) had its contents revealed albeit it only being put to Inari's direction – 'for safety', as she put it. "But it is kind of a surprise to find out you used to be a vocalist in an industry considering what your job is right now – was that where the rest of your womanhood shattered?" what he referred to by that statement with another cheeky grin was the punk-rock theme that was (hilariously) evident in her collection of 'old career mementos' – to think that in the past she was already lacking in feminine traits and to end up that way...
"I'm starting to have second thoughts on whether I should tell you or not…" a distasteful frown graced Inari's face as she let her eyeballs move to the side in irksomeness – the arms she had crossed over her chest tightened their grip around themselves as she leaned back on her rolling chair; after all the effort and trouble she put herself through for this discussion with the person she least expected to have it with, it all ends up with her being ridiculed by him again.
However, as if it were something rehearsed, the atmosphere completely shifted – from the comical aura the two of them always gave out whenever they encountered each other on a usual basis to one that defined the real weight of the matter at hand.
Of course, it involved a particular girl both redheads cared about.
"Well then?" Karma leaned back on his chair with a somewhat lazy yet serious expression plastered on – letting the side of his head rest on his fist with his elbow propped on the arm of his seat. At the same time, Inari averted her gaze to the other side of the room; all forms of annoyance in her had disappeared as she crossed her legs and left a blank countenance on.
"What about all of this…" he let his mercury orbs travel down to the scattered papers and other folders upon the rectangular table. Some of which were merely pictures of an old bunch of high school students and some of the familiar sights he'd seen in Hashimoto still in mint condition during that time; another observation to take into account was a few other pictures of a (present-time) twisted chemistry teacher whom also had had her fair share in this punk-rock music industry career and was apparently leader of this nurse' rival band. He didn't pay much mind to when she explained how the two of them were back in their youthful days, but what caught his attention most in their conversation so far was the opened folder of a hospital record that belonged to another woman whose name he'd often heard back in summer. From what he had been told, seems this person had passed away due to a sickness and shortly after, her husband followed after he got into an accident.
'…But I don't think it's a bad thing to get to know her.'
'I may wonder from time to time, but it'll all be the same.'
"…is so bad you can't tell her any of it?" he finished by shifting his stare back at the older member of the room but kept himself lax in his seat despite how his thoughts were beginning to try and put two and two together. Hearing about this was tragic and everything, but he was sure the one who was oblivious to all of this was well aware of them being long-gone.
After he let his eyes shut mildly with an exhausted expression (she'd dragged this out long enough), his arms hooked themselves to the sides of his chair "I'm just going to have to take a few guesses here, but what isn't bad is what you used to be or how things were…" all of a sudden, the mood shifted into a heavier condition as he revealed a pair of investigative mercury orbs that were upturned to her beneath his red bangs when he finally had his head around what the main issue was with her.
"…but it's how you ended up this way, correct?"
Inari kept herself mute for what felt like several, suspenseful minutes – not meeting his eyes nor moving from her seat. Before he could proceed to say anything else-
"Where's Manami now?"
Just a puny bit taken aback by this abrupt question, he furrowed his brows and sat up straight "Eating lunch with Nakamura in her classroom."
"Alright, that eases a worry of mine." She (hesitantly) had to mentally applaud him for going with that move since she was sure that if those two were together, the chances of the eyeglasses-ed girl coming to where they were to check on them were little to none – Nakamura Rio would not let her go that easily.
Another brief, yet tension-filled silence emanated from the both of them as Karma only watched her look through what was left inside of that case with a blank but sullen expression in her eyes that brought about some sense of mystique to them. Once she had picked up a few other pictures, she tossed one out of her hand and let it slide on the desk and land just in front of him before she reverted back to her earlier position – her legs propped up on a nearby stool as she shut her eyes and said "Do you think you can guess who that is?"
Lowering his head, he took the time to have a good look at the aged picture. Without much thought, he took a guess on who the person in it was from the top of his head "…Manami?"
"Wrong." She immediately replied to this with a little conviction in her tone before she let her eyes open – though half-lidded for the sentence she said next had some sort of heaviness to them "It's Katou Hanako." Her voice was soft and low, but it was clear enough due to the quietness of the room and how those very words felt like a mouthful already coming from her.
Meanwhile, Karma wasn't able to stop the raise of his eyebrows and the blinking of his eyes at her correction – he could barely tell the difference from the girl he knew and the one in the photo; in it, a child had in her hands a cup of ice cream and a spoon in her mouth – lavender eyes were bright with a sense of curiosity that made it seem like she had not seen the capture of the camera coming. She had on a kiddy, light green summer dress with sunflower embroidery by the sleeves and down to the edges of its skirt where the frame was cut; and above her short, raven black hair was a straw-hat designed with a turquoise-toned ribbon. Behind this undeniably quite adorable girl was the café he had once visited – only it was much less run-down and looked brand new compared to when he had gone there. Had he taken the setting into more consideration, he would've guessed it right; but even if he had, it was quite the amazement to see how there was almost no difference between them.
Seeing this reaction from him, Inari relaxed in her seat and proceeded with the talk nonchalantly – but this nonchalance was merely used to mask all her bitter emotions she held towards the past "Did you ever wonder why Manami barely went to that café even if a parent was closely affiliated with it?"
"It didn't really cross my mind…but now that you mention it…"
"It's because I don't want her to have anything to do with them." At this, Karma's brows furrowed in puzzlement – he didn't just not expect that answer, but it was because she answered that way, he already had a few things cleared up.
"I couldn't let her have anything to do with her parents – rather, I didn't want her to." A sigh that released a few heavy sensations in her chest came from her before she shifted into a cross-legged position "The family that owned it had long since had a grudge against them after a few specific happenings – mostly to her father. I couldn't afford to let her grow up with that environment…And also, neither could I have brought myself to tell her about it." She revealed a pair of regretful, dark eyes that pointed downcast at the last statement; but this did not appease any of the thoughts and demands to know in the sadistic boy's mind.
"You still haven't answered the question." Something about his tone expressed that he wasn't exactly fond of things being dragged out like this as he narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.
"What happened that was so bad, you don't want Manami to know anything about it?" he hooked his arms to the side of his chair and somewhat glowered at her – distrust and cynicism starting to form inside of him with how she was letting this fly; he wasn't entirely sure why, but he somehow had a gut feeling in him that wasn't entirely in favor of keeping the braided girl in the dark with significant things.
Heaving a tired sigh, she at last faced him properly and met his challenging mercury orbs – understanding that he was beginning to get fed up with all these indirect answers and other useless information and just wouldn't get to the main point already; heck, even she was getting tired of talking about this and was irked at her own reluctance to speak
"Alright." Inari spared one last moment to glance at the set of photos and the journals that contained every spec of the happenings at that 'miserable' time of her life until she pushed the case' cover down. "What I'm about to disclose to you is something only Midori and I are knowledgeable of. And starting today, you'll share the same responsibility we bring with us day in, day out. So…"
Not a second was wasted for the maroon-haired woman to let her humorless, sharp eyes pierce through him – and though he wasn't one to be intimidated by a mere glare, Karma knew then that it would be best to take what came next 100% seriously.
"I'll only start where it matters and make it as brief as possible.
And I'll start with the collapse of Okuda Hanako thirteen years ago"
At the time, I pursued my career as a musician. Business went well for me as I lived the dream I'd been chasing since High School – I was content, and I had what I needed; the only hindrance left for me was my abysmal personality.
A loud bang resonated through a college corridor from the forced collision of a guitar case to a set of lockers – a woman with maroon hair that had been styled into a punk-like bun cornered an orange-haired woman in her nonchalant walk to her next class as the former spouted jeers and other unbecoming taunts that were unpleasant to anyone's ears; however, the lighter haired one only kept a straight face and paid no mind the other girl's pointless affronts.
I challenged Mikagura Midori often to appease my competitive urges albeit her already saying she had given up on performing and had gone to a chemistry college course. High School was a story of the long lost past; but because our personalities failed to click, the grudges and the antipathies remained even when we'd reached our 20's. The me of back then was arrogant, impulsive and insensitive to most; her only exceptions were a small family that manned a café, and…a girl named Hanako whom she'd known since middle school…
The image of a weakly-structured girl whose raven locks were most of the time fixed with pigtails that brushed against her shoulder blades with her elegant and light steps under a grove of cherry blossoms of a mundane street in the Hashimoto area of Tokyo – Indigo orbs were bright with wonder as they kept to the blue spring sky by the skip of her step. Her fingers were intertwined behind her back with a feminine posture that many found pleasant – ivory-toned skin almost glowed under the season's morning sunshine as a warm and welcoming smile remained plastered upon her plump face.
She was a good girl that was rare to find but troublesome to keep – much like her daughter, she was utterly hopeless and trusting to the point she would be used more often than she actually deserved. But that's why she somehow became the only thing Midori and I cared about mutually.
During the time I'd known her, she would always visit a small café where we first met in our small division of Tokyo; Hashimoto. There, we came into close connections with the Arata family and the old man Miho. From then on, I learned that Hanako was often sickly and had a weakly-constituted body.
"If everyone could just forget about me one day…I wonder if things will become less sad…" tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear, the frail girl's countenance harbored one of glumness albeit the smile she put on – violet eyes that glinted against the sunrays of spring underneath the shade a cherry blossom in full, pink, harmonious bloom were set downcast and withdrawn. The skies were clear and adorned with puffs of white that drifted by with the spring breeze; petals of bright pink elegantly flowed down at five centimeters per second before the eyes of two young girls seated on a park bench.
"Hanako, Don't say that." scolded her maroon-crowned friend (and her only one) with an exasperated pout as she tied her hair to a ponytail before getting up to her feet and pointing at her exaggeratingly for what seemed like the 50th time that year "You're amazing in your own way! Of all the things I don't know in the world, I do know one thing. That you, Katou Hanako, are going to do some great things one day – You love the world right? So much that you admire every single thing and look at it under a different light. So it's only right that the world should love you back. If they don't then they answer to me." She crossed her arms and huffed as she sharply moved her head to the side with a sort of 'sassy' essence.
Despite the steadfastness displayed by the taller high schooler, the pigtailed one did not let the sad simper leave her expression while she let her constantly tender eyes turn up to her "You know Inari…sometimes I get jealous of you."
The one referred to blinked out of bewilderment; for one thing, the statement was out of nowhere, and another thing, the one that should be jealous was her. She didn't have parents or any relatives she was close to – neither did the smaller girl too, but clearly she had money to support herself and was loved by a fair bunch of people; in fact, she already had a man that set his sights on her. Therefore, hearing this from her was just nonsensical.
"You can do almost everything – and you even have your future set straight in front of you because of that." The weak-structured girl let her gaze turn to a patch of grass a few meters away from them – eyes half-lidded yet inscrutable.
"Well…it's not easy living alone with just the savings of your grandparents. There are things I have to work hard for too if I want to survive on my own…" Inari rested her palms by her thighs on the wooden bench – shoulders raising up in the process as she lowered her head and let her stare direct to the floor to the side; not exactly finding this topic a discussion she'd eagerly talk about with her. "A-and besides, I'll need to beat an orange-headed weirdo! So I should be prepared for anything!" the ponytailed girl exclaimed her excuse in an attempt to save herself before the talk could let arise something negative she'd rather avoid.
Hanako closed her eyes and chuckled a tad "And I admire you for that…but at the same time I can't help but feel like you're miles away from me even if we're close friends. Your talent and capability is really something. All I can do is—"
"Are you gonna say you're only good at causing trouble for everyone again?" Inari frowned in disapproval, but her eyes gave off an aura of sympathy.
"Don't think just because your body isn't strong your heart isn't. I just told you right? I'm going to help make Katou Hanako a treasure loved by many, one day. And we can do it together."
We were just clueless kids back then…
Eventually, Hanako had changed that dream of hers after she married; and since then I'd lost some contact with her. I was busy with my life and she was busy with hers – naturally, there'd only be a few occurrences wherein we actually get to have a conversation again.
Years passed, and Hanako fell ill because of her naturally weak constitution two years after she bore a child – which was the main reason her condition escalated.
Raven hair of a now older woman was styled into longer twin-tails that stretched to her waist now instead of just above her shoulders; pajamas were in need of quite the fixing due to the ruffles that came to from lying down too long as she beamed at her visitors from a hospital bed.
"Isn't that great? You've made your dream come true."
And the maroon-crowned woman whom clenched her fists tightly by her sides could only stare back with one thought taunting her mind – and that was that she broke her vow to her because of her selfishness; because she focused so much on making her dream come to be and had at one point had taken for granted the support of her frail best friend.
She failed her.
Her husband, Okuda Akihito, was on urgent call at a research center far out of the country. To that me's misfortune, he couldn't be contacted in any way, and as a result, no one was going to pay for her grave operation. Her disease was supposedly just health deterioration; however, her body couldn't put up with it at all, so it affected her internal organs as well – and that's what made everything go downhill.
It all became worse when it also had to be the same time I had to get an operation myself for my left hand…
A death grip had been curled around the red-haired woman's left arm without remorse; tears were seen flowing down the sides of her face almost endlessly as she had lost the ability to move her fingers that could now only bend at a limited angle – but all else aside,
She couldn't feel anything from her wrist up anymore.
Those were the troublesome days…
Nevertheless, that me of back then couldn't bear losing her best friend more than anything else; because at the time, she was about the only thing in her life that went right. Of course, we live in a world where the things you do are paid back one way or another – and I'd been hit back with a real hard slam to the cold ground. With debts waiting to be returned and my incredible lack of affiliations or wise decisions, I only became so desperate.
But even with my own financial worries, in the end, every ounce of my emotions of that drastic time had been poured into paying for Hanako's operation.
But even then…
"When I'm gone, I'm sure Akihito-san would fall apart and neglect his responsibilities – and even if I plead him not to, I'm sure he'd be much too devastated to actually listen to me…he was always fragile that way…" a gentle lady whose eyes gave the message that she was aware of her demise had her gaze downcast as these words escaped her pale lips.
Weak fingers curled around themselves on the bedsheets to hold in a remorseless waterfall of emotions that threatened to escape those crestfallen pair of lavender eyes.
"So,"
And after she forced a beam, she turned her head up and gave her friend a heartbreaking expression.
"Take care of Manami for me."
…were the last words she said to me.
During those days, Manami was only left at home with a girl named Meiko to keep her company on daylight hours whenever her parents weren't around – she'd only visited the hospital once to see her mother, but that once was also her last.
Back then, I'd taken her heed for granted – I told myself I had no time to care for a three year old and had to focus on getting that long-awaited operation I needed. But I spent a year trying to earn my funds back again, but no matter what struggle I forced myself to, nothing went right; I was dead broke and the failed operation made it worse – so I sunk down to a pitiful level and started thinking that her husband should be the one paying me back.
"You good-for-nothing bastard!" a slam, followed by the contact of flesh on flesh with the sound of a slap had resonated across a trashed living room – bottles of beer and other alcoholic drinks were mindlessly laid across the kitchen table and even on the floor with the added putridness of other wrappers, cigarettes and a lot of other disgusting trashes.
"You weren't even there when Hanako died! Stop acting like you actually witnessed everything from when it started!" a tight grip from a woman's right hand showed no mercy as knuckles had gone white with boiling fury when they grabbed the collar of a middle-aged man who could be compared to a rehabilitation patient right now as his form suspended lifelessly from her hold and only under the mercy of the girl's arm strength.
"I paid for Hanako's operation! If you really did love her, where were you when everyone needed you here?! Where?!"All wild, narrow eyes were met with were the soulless, brown eyes that hid behind the spectacles of a pathetic man who had neglected his life as we know it – drunk, depressed and uncaring of what would happen to him…
And the one who had abruptly interrupted this ugly confrontation by the almost non-existent click of a door not too far from the adults; and when Inari turned, all she was met with was a tiny girl whom hid behind the door warily – purple orbs that resembled its original pair were frightened and almost lifeless as the little girl with the short raven hair tried to get herself to speak with a high-pitched, and uneasy voice that came only a little above a whisper "P-Papa…"
Inari's eyes couldn't have become wider from disbelief when she took notice of the dimness in the room she had come from and had begun to let her thoughts run through wildly while the three year old child continued "U-Uhm…uhm… I…I want to play with Meiko-san…"
"Manami, go inside." Finally, words from him, however they were not at all pleasant to the ears as they were barely audible, but had a sickening tone to them.
"B…but…"
"Go inside." It was a louder voice, one with more command as it startled the girl and nearly had tears fall out of her eyes from how scared she was before she obliged with a terrified "Y-yes…! P-Please forgive me…!" and as opposed to how she came, she sharply brought herself back inside with the gentle shut of the door.
The maroon-haired woman needed to take a few seconds to comprehend what had just happened before she slammed the man to the nearest wall – anger now doubled as she snarled in a dangerously quiet tone "What the hell was that?"
Akihito kept himself despondent – which only had her blood boil increasingly for that meant her unfortunate guess was right.
"You…! You've been keeping your daughter alone inside a room?! Why?!"
No response – and the anger only had another feeling mixed in with it; an anxiousness that caused her chest to feel a throbbing pain "Just so she wouldn't disturb you while you grieve for your wife?! For one less trouble to deal with while you mourn pathetically?!"
Not even a blink came from him as she said this – even with the added violence she had exerted by aggressively shaking him back and forth, he did nothing to deny her "Answer me and at least tell me I'm wrong!" there was a cry to it now – one that had her voice crack and her eyes quiver with held-back tears from the horrendousness of such a thing; she found the act just horrible even with her own distasteful personality.
And within the dim room that filled itself with a wreck of science books and lab equipment, the lone child crouched by the corner of the room as incessant yelling from a scary woman she didn't know came from outside. The only things that came to be within her chest were feelings of fear; and she didn't know what the other one was at the time, but surely it was…
Loneliness…
Just as she realized she yearned for some company, she turned to the clutter of scientific messes within the room – they were the only things that had been around her since the day her father had ordered her to stay in here until she was allowed to go out; and that order repeated itself everyday ever since her papa started to act weird when he came back from another country. So, like she always did for the past year, she managed to stand up straight and display a small smile to the only company she had ever had; her 'friends' in the playground of math and science.
It wasn't a year after I stopped by at his place when I heard he had gotten into an accident while driving from work. But…it was only when they rushed him to the hospital when he finally started thinking straight and acting like the father he was supposed to be– all…when it was too late, and his condition was beyond saving. Manami was with him that time, but then…
"I'm sorry, Manami-chan…"
She went through something she didn't ever have to.
About a year after that day, in the middle of all my struggles, I'd suddenly been called by the hospital and by Akihito's lawyers.
All of them told me that it was stated in both parent's will and testament that their daughter was to be left in my hands. No other relatives or close ties were present aside from the Arata Family and old man Hide – but even they had their own issues and frictions with her father and how he had become after Hanako passed. And I'm sure…they didn't want the fragile-hearted Miho to be reminded of her passing everyday with her mirror image walking around.
At first, I was angry – thinking things like 'After what they both put me through, I'm left with their responsibility again?'
I was full of hate, anger, frustration – even if I did show up in the hospital, I didn't want to see her face nor even let myself have anything to do with her. I was fed up with the name Okuda, and I no longer wanted them to share any fragment of my life. I wasn't related to them, why should I care?
That was until…I found her all alone in the hospital waiting area outside of the room where she had become scarred for life…
"Look, isn't that the girl that saw her father die in front of her?"
"Poor child…"
Small pairs of legs were suspended upon a green bench attached to the dull, cemented walls of a hospital. Spots of sunshine seeped in through the clouds out the opened windows just right above the petite form of a four year old child that had witnessed a sight children her age – even those who are older – should never have seen just about a week ago.
And the people around her talking about it didn't help much either.
"Oi, kid."
Sullen and glossless purple eyes steadily traveled to the origin of the aggressive voice with slight question until they were met with the exasperated frown and tired eyes of the scary woman she had seen one time approaching her and stopping with her hands to her hips.
"I'll be living with you from now on, but that doesn't mean I'm your family. You can just play with your friends whenever I'm gone but I don't want you to be a big trouble at home, alright? If you so much as disobey and disrespect me even once that's one dinner away from you. Understand?" her tone was commanding and harsh – not exactly the ideal type of way to speak to a timid little child; then again, circumstances remained and emotions were hard to push down at times like those.
However, even with that set of words unbecoming of an adult, she was met with silence – the lavender eyes that very much resembled the ones the older woman had gotten herself familiarized with had almost no life to them as they were droopy and expressed no emotions but negativity and a dull mood.
"…N?" Seeing as there was not even a spec of reaction as the raven-haired child averted her gaze by the lower of her head, Inari's stressed countenance wavered and had laced itself with bewilderment.
"Manami won't disobey." She started with a quiet, barely audible voice that almost seemed hoarse from how unused and reserved it had been – from there, Inari's frustration gradually faded away…
Why wouldn't it? She didn't sound like a child, she sounded like a robot; uncaring, dull, and cold.
"And Manami won't need to leave the house. Manami's friends are at home…" in her short and skinny arms, a chemistry textbook had been pulled closer to her body as if in search for comfort; her dark, callous-like eyes going half-lidded as if the ceramic, tiled flooring of the hospital was the most interesting thing at the moment – but her mind drifted elsewhere, that was evident in the monotonous words that came from her small, pale lips.
The grip around the old book tightened – the tiny braids at the side of her head brushing against the shoulders that tensed up just now "Manami just wants to…stay out of the way…"
With that last sentence, a memory had been triggered in Inari's mind – one she had thought to have been swept away after all these years; but in contrary with that assumption, the words that had been repeated over and over back in her youthful days had played again – and with it, the image of a lovely girl she had once known and held dear to her.
"If everyone could just forget about me one day…I wonder if things will become less sad…"
She didn't know what came over her, but seeing this child had brought about – though it be slight – a change of heart within the maroon-haired female. Somehow, her heart had softened; whatever hatred that had her body radiate with fury just moments ago had dissipated (albeit in particles) right then and there. The reason of such wasn't very clear to her, but just laying her eyes on the girl for a number of seconds was more than enough to have anyone get stricken with a remorse so poisonous it was enough to have you forget about all other emotions known to existence.
Heart wrenching at the idea of such a young girl undergoing so much pain and misfortune already, Inari's only response was silence and the lowering of her eyelids; her arms crossed over her chest as an expression of seriousness kept itself plastered on her face – but no, she wasn't angry anymore. (At least, not entirely)
Although she may see this little kid as a part of the reasons her life is a big brouhaha now, a more powerful feeling won over everything else; and that was how Manami…
Had her mother inside of her. But rather than having depression take over like most would be when reminded of a deceased loved one, a different urge had formed – and she considers the chance of fulfilling the vow she made to this child's mother back then. That's when she had a thought,
It felt as if the idea of raising her would help make up for that enormous burden of regret she'd once harbored every day since her life had begun to take its great downfall – and that was the day she had come to terms with the fact that she had, at some point in her life, abandoned what was really important to her. And before her eyes, she may have just found what it was she needed to start things anew – to make up for the mistakes she was well aware she had committed and had caused all of the misfortunes in her past years to occur.
In Hanako's stead, she would let this girl grow up to become what she had failed to make her late best friend – someone treasurable and strong enough to hold her own. She will not allow the events of the past to repeat – she'd never be able to live with herself ever again if she was aware that she had merely left this child – whom Inari knew had hidden potential inside her – to fend for herself when she had been presented the chance to do something about it.
"Hey…" the sudden gentleness of the so-called 'scary' woman's voice had gotten the attention of the small girl and had her lift her head – once she had though, Inari had already crouched down to her level and looked at her directly with tired yet resolute, dark eyes; this, however, had only raised more questions in her childlike, inexperienced mind.
Seeing the tilt of her head in confusion, Inari held out her arm to her – but refused to look to her direction as she said with a dismissive tone "Once we get home, you better take a long nap."
It wasn't a complete change of heart; of course she still had malevolent feelings – one cannot simply dismiss them so easily…
But it was a start.
It may be cumbersome to use this girl as a substitute to ease her feelings of failure and regret – but the powerful bond they were yet to share with each other had rooted from such awry emotions and ill-suited motives.
"…Home?"
"Mhm. You and I are going to go back to the same home starting today."
To cut it short, in the end I was able to get myself that operation, but I sold all of my music producing junk just for it – I didn't mind it for too long; I convinced myself to start a new road. It was also the quickest way to get the both of us living without much to worry about so it was a good call on my part. I sent Manami into good schools just so she could hone the talents I'm sure she could possess and for me to have a closure on her future. The insurance money and the other savings her parents have piled up were more than helpful, but I knew that wouldn't be enough. So I applied for jobs everywhere; the ones I knew I was capable of doing at a daily basis so I could get the both of us to live comfortably in the apartment her father left for us in his will. But I know I couldn't support the both of us with just a multitude of part-times so I got into college with the help of Midori – how we became friends after that was still a mystery to me, but I'm sure she also had her fair share of devastation when Hanako passed.
So then…
I took a medical course because a possibility came to mind.
The possibility of what happened to Hanako, happening to her. With that being said, I live everyday hoping that it would not happen again; and that if it were…I only hope to be more prepared for it compared to last time.
Under the showers of a merciless rain that violently clashed with the floor of what used to be grove of lively trees, a single woman who had lost nearly everything in her life remained still – with nothing but lament as she only stared up at the lonely trees that were beyond saving after their life span had died out…oddly enough, it was as if it was only by the withering of these trees did it really feel like the one who used to come here all the time had passed on.
Just behind her, a small girl whose only cover from this strong rainshower was a yellow raincoat that guarded her body held onto a picture of a dark-haired woman – however, all that could be seen now was what once was a smiling face blurred out completely by the rain.
"I often left Manami home alone just so I could repay all those debts though – it was a tight time of my life, those years; but it was fun." Inari shrugged at the last three words with a deadpan – treating the subject matter like some kind of casual conversation now that it was more or less over.
The one who had been listening for a while now on the other hand, had himself completely subdued in the duration of her storytelling; mercury orbs were cast to the side – keeping their detached gaze etched to the glossy, ceramic flooring of the infirmary. He wasn't one to outwardly display his emotions so easily, but this had become an exception as he kept his glum expression downcast – his heart feeling a bit of weight that had it throb a tad due to the array of emotions he had just been injected with. It wasn't the first time he'd sat back and listened to someone's past, but nevertheless, the things he had just registered in his mind were absolutely nothing to take lightly.
Karma's fingers were curled around his hand while he let his thoughts swim through in a somewhat disheveled fashion – he didn't know what he should have his mind around at the moment; hearing all this and at the same time trying to find out what to do about it, he wasn't certain how to respond as the school nurse whom he now knew too much about carried on with the rest of her talk.
"But now all's fine enough. The possibility I'd thought of disappeared as the years went by; her body became strong – especially after last year – so I'm able to rest easy now. So now, I'll just have to be living the same way until she's able to live and support her own. I've changed." Another shrug at the last two words came with a sigh afterwards. Her legs which had propped themselves on a stool were properly set back on the ground so she may sit in front of him appropriately.
Slowly revealing her dark eyes from their half-lidded state, Inari stared down at his inscrutable expression – with that, she was unsure of what he had in his mind; but she was aware that he had brought his mood to a downing "All I'm doing now is waiting for her to grow up. But as you know, that isn't coming anytime soon." She tried to sound teasing at that last sentence in an attempt to lighten up the mood, but even she had to admit she was just forcing herself – it's not a nice thing to touch back on a past you'd wished to have forgotten about.
Meanwhile, Karma couldn't let the image of the spectacled girl leave his mind.
'I may wonder from time to time, but it'll all be the same.'
Leaning back in his seat to try and ease his distraught, he sighed in order to lift some of the heaviness in his chest before raising an eyebrow at her – expression shifting into one of nonchalant inquisitiveness that masked the rest of his feelings
"Are you sure it's a good idea to continue keeping this from her? After everything that's happened, if you explained it to her properly, I'm sure she'd at least have the strength to accept it." A pause followed after that while he raised his head to stare at the concrete ceiling laxly; his eyelids lowering in the midst of his thought process – that of which, had nothing that wasn't connected to the eyeglasses-ed science geek.
"I told you I didn't want her to have anything to do with all of that anymore. That way, she and I can focus on what's in front of us." Inari replied – keeping serious and as unreadable as he was; but that inscrutability was short-lived by the time he looked at her again, and he didn't need to say anything – not even a simple 'You know that's not possible' to get her to avert her gaze in a tad bit of shame.
"Even if I did explain it properly and assure her of things I know she'd fret about, think about it more. If Manami were to find out about what her parents did, how is she supposed to view them as now? Do you really think she'd be the kind of person she is now if she was to know the truth behind it all?"
Karma then recalled a single summer day – a nearly empty train, an afternoon sun beaming through the window showing a rapidly moving view, and lavender orbs that yearned for something to fill the space in her heart underneath the glint of her eyeglasses.
"She…smelled good…and had really…warm hands"
And as his gaze lowered once more at this recollection of her longing for her so-called 'great' parents, the tone of voice the school nurse had just let sound had come out with more conviction as compared to how she was speaking just a while ago – and that only meant her next sets of words carried an importance to them that mustn't be overlooked.
"But most importantly, it's because she'll be aware of the wrongdoings of her parents that she'll feel responsible for their actions." Brows mildly scrunched together and arms folded to her chest once again, Inari's eyes were met with the evident realization the boy's face had come through with just about milliseconds after she said that – his back straightening from impulse and eyebrows raising once he had fully understood what she really meant by that.
"That's right." The woman nodded once and let her dead serious eyes lay on his now slightly troubled figure.
"Manami is most probably going to think that she had been forced on me and would blame herself for me having to give up on my career; for spending precious money I could've used for myself instead of a person with 'good-for-nothing' parents that aren't one bit related to me. She'll think that it was all her fault that I had to give up on a lot of things; that she'd caused me a lot of suffering and could do nothing to compensate for it. But I only hope that's the extent of what she'll start to think – if it goes farther than that then…" she trailed off – some anxiety on the thought of her knowing beginning to kick in as her own expression of distraught came to view.
The concerned pair of pale-gold orbs directed themselves to the ground while he attempted to imagine how things would turn out if she were to find out. After seeing how great of a state she'd been in lately, it would be inevitable for her to end up wallowing in the sorrow of what she had yearned to know about all this time if this reached her ears. Where would all that beautiful love and affection go were she to find out about her being brought up by parents that did nothing but make her current guardian suffer? What if she reverted back to the same hopeless, lost girl she was back in the beginning of the year? What if it ended up turning out an even worse result? Just by being reminded of how she had hurt a childhood friend once, her strength from last year had dissipated; what more if it was something as heavy as this? Finding this an unpleasant thought, he felt his fists clench and turned away – and here he was against the idea of keeping significant things like these from her.
"…I realized too late it was a mistake to have hidden the truth from her. If she had known at an earlier age, maybe this wouldn't cut too deep with her and she wouldn't mind it eventually. But because I've hesitated so long…For someone like her…this'll be hard to take in." her tone of voice momentarily turned grim and fraught with guilt until she heaved a breath and in turn faced the clutter of objects on the table.
Reverting back to her earlier casual front, she leaned back on her rolling chair and crossed her legs "I could've burned them all, but I just couldn't bring myself to. It's a good thing I didn't though – who knew I would need some of the junk in there for some government whatnot. Manami would've been taken away from me had it not been for that."
Inari unfolded her arms and propped her elbows on the armrests of her chair "So the lesson here is, even the things that bring you pain can come in handy someday~" she sarcastically let her palms open up and spread her fingers in mock wonder which was very clear from the lazy way her voice dragged out her vowels on the last syllable and the dull expression she had on. Deeming what she had just done completely unnecessary and downright unfitting, another sigh had escaped her lips – this was no time for silly antics that needlessly dragged out significant topics such as this one.
Bringing her eyes to her conversation partner, she perceived the way he had his head lowered at an angle enough for her to see how he brought his worried eyes to the far corner of the room – with that (not very obvious) look of distress all over him, the school nurse only frowned.
"Don't look that way."
Karma raised his stare and proceeded to look at her blankly; all the while, Inari had pointed a finger to him and tried to let her next words portray themselves with conviction by adding a powerful ring to it – similar to how one would reach the climax of a lecture by spouting out the most important point of the day.
"What matters most is the Manami of today. As long as things keep going the way they do now, she'll be more than fine."
Although she said this and knew it all too well himself, he still could not shake away the conflicting thoughts that raided his mind.
"I don't think it's a bad thing to know about her. I may wonder from time to time, but it's all the same."
"I…want to know for some reason. I really want to know…then maybe I can support her in any way I can when I do."
After moments of another vexing silence, he finally spoke – though it was in a low, humorless voice that would've barely been heard due to its quietness as he let his red locks hover above his mystical pale-gold eyes "…You're going to have to tell her about this sooner or later."
Inari took a moment to blink at that – eyebrows raised slightly due to the unexpectedness of a response such as that one; but let it not be said that it took her by surprise. Staring up into space again, she spoke with a slight evidence of hidden moroseness "I've always been thinking of the best way to tell her. I don't want to just slam it into her face all of a sudden. But now that I've seen how happy she's been lately…" her eyebrows wrinkled closer together while she directed her rueful, dark orbs to the nothingness of what was underneath her table.
"…it's been getting harder and harder."
"I'm really…really…so happy I can't even let words describe it. I guess only my tears can…"
'"…Uh-huh." Karma couldn't help but join her in this mutuality of their views on this. "I get what you mean." Leaning backwards and resting his hands behind his head, he had to fight back a sigh as she invaded his thoughts again.
It's because she'd been that way lately, he himself had gotten quite cautious with his actions – though they were only subtle and just side thoughts usually, he made it a point to watch what he would do recently; and the reason was undoubtedly because of Manami's current state. If anyone were to do something that would trigger anything that could possibly affect her in a negative way, he'd deem it best to knock that someone out cold – this does not exclude himself.
But even as he was about to conclude his understanding on this, another significant thought came to mind "Then, was telling me a good idea? Now that I know, I could just nonsensically blurt this out to her." This was said in a sarcastic type of cheerlessness; there was no way in hell he would, but he was just making sure if she was really as careful as she made herself out to be.
She knew where he was going with this – and with that a slight grimace made it to the school nurse's countenance as she spoke her next words with her narrow eyes averted to the left "She talks about you all the time and brags to me about you 24/7. Honestly, she doesn't run out of things to say about you" An bratty pout had formed due to her (irresolute) distaste to her memories of such – regularly she'd come home with her first words after 'I'm home' being 'You know, Karma-kun did this and that' and so forth.
"But…" setting her personal disturbances aside and concluding that at the very least the young girl was happy, Inari sighed and fixed herself in her seat
"That's why, I can take this chance to trust you to keep her the way she is right now...Because Manami is starting to take so much notice at the worst of times too." Though being talked about by her regularly had probably been the most pleasing thing he'd heard today, this had caught Karma's attention – indeed, though it had started only all so subtly in summer it had somehow escalated to something else from that point on. And there was the factor that it was, of all the times, in the midst of the time of the cultural festival…
Inari's expression was stern as she spoke another set of dire words "It's because she wants to know she's been getting closer and closer to it; despite how she is, Manami is a smart girl, and she'll be able to figure things out eventually if I'm not careful enough. Even if the slightest bit of my old life reaches her ears, it'll all start connecting. So I'm telling you all of this so you – or anyone for that matter – don't end up saying something accidentally and causing trouble in the future." 'And, well…it's about time I got someone other than me to look after her.' – She'll never admit it, but she can feel like she can count on him.
Manami does, so should she.
And she did not forget how she saw him as a good kid the evening she met him – he just needs a little…
Growing up.
"Don't let it get to your head. If you're going to brood about it, think of how much it'll get to her if she finds out. So focus on the present – Manami is at the best state right now as you've observed. Just help me keep it that way." Inari had at last finished – her dark orbs hidden beneath her closed eyelids as she took subtle breaths to ease her tense heart; it wasn't always easy to talk about a time in your life you'd hoped to have never go back to. However, once she had noticed the strange silence that came from the other, her eyelids lifted up only to find the usually focused and rational Akabane Karma with his stare to the ground to his left in what looked to be in profundity what with his scrunched brows.
"Hn? What is it now?" she probed nonchalantly, which somehow had the boy jump the slightest bit in his seat for she seemed to had snapped him back to his current situation. "Ah, no…" he immediately retorted, gaze not leaving the sun- glossed, tiled floor. It's not a surprise to see that he had his head filled up at the moment, but on the other hand, something else had unknowingly lingered in his mind…
"But…is there something else you haven't told me?"
Those set of words were not within Inari's expectations, but she showed no sign of this and kept herself subdued. After seconds of silence, she narrowed her eyes at him before facing the other direction and concealing her eyes once more – crossing her arms in the process. "Smartass."
"That just means there is something." Karma raised an eyebrow at this, to which she immediately responded to with a mock, trivial tone. "Do you wanna know?"
"That's what I'm here for."
"Well that doesn't matter right now."
At that very moment, a chime rang throughout the entire campus before either could do or say anything. It had rung slowly, as if it had vibrated the entire school. Unconsciously, both redheads found themselves listening – like they had forgotten they were still in school for a moment there. Fortunately, this had let Inari's sense of alertness return as she pushed her seat back and stood up. She did not allow the other to pursue the topic further as she declared –
"We're done here, hurry and get to class."
Karma did no such thing.
'If you're going to brood about it that way, think of how much it'll get to her if she finds out'
The school's courtyard was empty and placid – that was apparent for classes were still ongoing (his bad habit of skipping classes was yet to diminish). The silence in the area was absolute; not a ruffle from the trees and bushes, not a simple stir of a crowd nor living thing could be heard save for the light, docile footsteps of the red-haired teen. His schoolbag hung on his shoulder as he continued to walk with his hands laxly placed behind his head – expressionless, mercury eyes did not tear away from the sunset-hued, cloud-filled sky.
By this time, the light of the setting sun was beginning to sprawl all over the town – the shadows of buildings, trees and monuments stretched wider upon the hard concrete of the school campus in which Karma aimlessly walked in solitude.
As minutes flew by, he only found that he was delving deeper into his flood of thoughts. That time when she got locked in that wretched cellar, he found her just sitting there; not doing anything nor moving. Was it because she was used to the dark, cramped, space…?
Sometimes it was a problem being gifted with smarts – he couldn't keep himself from imagining what she may have been like when the school nurse spoke of the fact Manami had practically spent two years or so of her childhood inside a dark room; with no one to talk to but the clutter of science books and lab equipment, and probably only her shadow to keep her company during that time. It wasn't unusual to be bad at socializing or getting along with people, but now that he was aware of the entire story and the root cause of his bespectacled friend's behavior and love for science, somehow it had all become…
Sadder…
Karma stopped walking right then – he slowly averted his half-lidded gaze from the sky and let it fall to that of a set of bushes in the distance. Of course he didn't think much of such plants, but after looking back at that time in summer wherein he knew almost nothing…and thinking through every single thing Inari-sensei had told him about….
So he finally knew…
…What now?
That was his biggest dilemma now – aside from the fact his mood was rather put-off by all that he had heard. Other than now knowing for a fact that such a kind, caring person like Okuda Manami had quite the history, he began to wonder…
What is he going to do when he faces her again later in the day? No, he knew what to do, but he also knew that he couldn't face her the same way again now that all of this decided to persist in his thoughts.
A sigh escaped his lips as his shoulders slumped and her let his arms fall to his side – thinking about this way too much had in some way exhausted him. He doesn't usually overthink – neither does he ordinarily treat things like these as such a big deal to fret about but…
He somehow couldn't stop himself if she was the one concerned.
Karma then muttered with an exasperated sigh "What a drag…" – being in love, he meant.
Rustle
A small, nearly inaudible hum of surprise emitted from the boy after he was torn away from his trance by the abrupt sound of the bushes to his right – to which he sharply turned to afterwards. His alert, cautious instincts taking over, he scanned the area with suspicion until his eyes landed on the only bush that was juddering amongst the many others.
Rustle
Rustle
'Pwi!'
Bringing his guard down and feeling his tense form cool down, he approached the set of plants after heaving yet another sigh; he didn't even need to guess what it was that had disturbed his thoughts as he laid his bored, mercury eyes upon the overfamiliar furball of hybrid weirdness –which was currently sniffing the different leaves and grasses as it trotted about as if in search of something. But as soon as those vertical, dark eyes perceived the characteristics of the shadow that had just loomed over him, Omo-chan let out another 'Pwi!' in…acknowledgement? No one ever really knows.
With nothing better to do, Karma crouched down to the strange creature he had somehow gotten accustomed to seeing by now (somehow) "Hey, where's your owner?"
'Pwi, Pwi!'
He was well aware that talking to such a thing was pointless, but at the moment he felt as if it were some way to get himself distracted as he picked it up from its sides and lifted the furry thing to face level – oddly enough, Omo-chan sensed no fear at the teen's state at present; and of course he would always act upon fear, but this was different now for the little animal did nothing to keep the sadistic redhead away from him.
On the other hand, Karma had attempted to ponder on what species the thing in his hand really was – but even that had led him to another memory.
"I…want to know for some reason. I really want to know…then maybe I can support her in any way I can when I do."
At that, he could feel his mood becoming off again as he lowered his eyelids in front of the little animal's quizzical stare.
"How lucky must you be – to not have to worry about that kind of stuff…" he dully commented and was about to set the creature down until –
'Pwi!'
All of a sudden, Omo-chan leapt off of his hold and onto Karma's head before he scurried off to some particular direction – leaving confused mercury eyes to follow after its frantic form as it disappeared behind the nearest building.
Still in the midst of bewilderment, Karma decided to follow it anyway having nothing better to do at the moment as he lifted himself from his crouched position and casually walked towards the pig-bear's destination (It was around last period anyway). "Oi." He stopped walking before he could turn to get around the building and called to the creature sniffing about once again by a single tree situated behind a line of uniform shrubs. Behind it all was a metal fence that separated the school campus and a column of trees that would eventually lead out to the roads.
"Omo-chaaan?" he called out once more with a disinterested yet mocking manner – what with the prolonged 'chan', since this was the first time he had officially called it by its given name (Mai would be brimming with joy if she had heard it); that, and he was still a little glum from everything he'd been told just an hour ago or so.
The several quiet 'Pwi' 's that came from Omo-chan as he sniffed at a particular area had not failed to pique some of Karma's curiosity – opting the redhead to walk over the line of shrubs and have a look at whatever it was.
The pig-bear, discerning that he was being closed in on, had scampered back a bit to reveal what it was he was frantically snuffling. And coincidentally, Karma found himself caught by surprise when he had thoroughly examined it "How did this get here?"
Against the light of the sun glinted a beaded, spearmint bracelet he had seen not too long ago as he picked it up and let it lay on his palm – there's no mistaking it.
This was the present Nakamura Rio had given her just the night before.
And once more, she had flashed upon his thoughts – only this time, it was of that happy event and the face she had when she received it. With everyone gathered, having fun and sharing a laugh like a group of normal high school students; though it may be what he had once considered superfluous at some points of his life…
"Let's do our best in the Cultural Festival!"
Seeing her that way was all he could have ever asked for that night.
"What matters most is the Manami of today…"
Unconsciously, a smile had stretched his lips upwards. For some reason, his previously troubled head had been relieved – the weight he had felt upon his chest for some time now had been elevated. He thought it best to relax for a bit as he sat upon the grass and let his other arm support the rest of his weight by stationing it behind him. Bringing the small, feminine accessory against the light of the sun, he felt a knowing grin spread across his features "Oh well, she's a klutz after all. Guess I'll just return it to her." He said to himself lazily, but undeniably in a genuine, refreshed tone.
Finding comfort in his position, Karma leaned his back against the tree and decided he'd wait for class to end there whilst he brought out a snack from his school bag to pass the time. In his hands, he now had a pack of spicy potato chips – just his taste.
'Pwi! Pwi!'
"Hm?" Before he was able to have a bite out of one, the brown furball had once again grabbed the redhead's attention with the incessant 'Pwi' 's as it scuttled around him as if asking for a reward – understanding this, Karma raised his brow inquisitively.
"Are you allowed to eat this?" not like he would get a response, but if he were to feed it with some (make a mental note: EXTRA) spicy chips, he began to wonder how his senior would react if she ever found out. But inferring it may as well be something amusing later on, mischief laced Karma's grin as his sadistic side turned up once more that day – which had honestly brought him a nice feeling.
"…Oh well." Without another thought, he tossed the pig-bear a piece and found enjoyment when it had successfully caught it and gobbled it down like there was no tomorrow.
Minutes later, Omo-chan started running around him again; at a faster pace this time.
...I just hope I did well 8""))
SO AS USUAL! PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW FOR SUPPORT AND IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR REACTIONS! It makes writing this more fun ^w^
I tried my best to insert it in my hectic schedule so I hope quality is not affected Q3Q
oh and I seriously hope this did not disappoint you and SORRY FOR OOC ESPECIALLY FOR KARMA! I have this huge feeling he is this chapter...;w; SO SORRY ABOUT THAT I'm a little rusty with their characters since it's been long indeed 8""((
Ohkay wait so lemme just tell you guys something XD
I just had a random thought during Science class…Do you guys think that if I made Mai-senpai and Asano meet…they'd become shippable? I mean…student council and all that X'3 Plus their personalities are kind of okay together in my opinion?
Either way, I may create a spin-off out of such an idea once I find the time to! It's basically AsanoxOC only the OC comes from this rather popular story which I kind of think would be amusing XD
Oh and if you like this, you can even write your own thing out of this idea if you want! (Since I doubt I have time haha stupid school) Just make sure to credit accordingly! ^w^ PM me if you have any questions on this! 8D
Yeah I will eat dinner now it's probably cold XDD
PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW AND THANKS FOR READING!
With all the love in the world and all the apologies and all the sweetness of a strawberry shortcake,
~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay