HALLO! HALLO MY LOVELY READERS! I'm not dead XD
Alright, first of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope you all had a good one and things were peachy for you guys in the season!
Anyway, I'm going to start with a few apologies
First, once again, apologies for the super duper late chapter! I had a lot of doubts about it since I've gotten rusty and lacked a lot of inspiration to write. That, and there's the fact that I almost forgot how these characters were like (ESPECIALLY OUR MAIN PAIR LIKE I FORGOT WHAT I DID TO DEVELOP THEM SO IT TOOK ME A LOT OF REREADING AND REWRITING) Oh and also, I was planning to post this as a year-ender (as in Dec. 31) but since I had a lot of parties and all that to attend as well as dinners to prepare for the family, it became really REALLY hard for me to find time to write DX
Nevertheless, it still is my year-ender chapter for you guys since I told myself that no matter what I had to post in these special holidays for the readers I love so much. ^W^ I hope you like it!
Second, I apologize for a lot of OOCness. Like I said, I somehow kind of forgot what these characters were like ;;w;;. So it became a little challenging again to get them in character for the scenes I'd planned since before. Oh and when I say a lot of OOCness...I mean a LOT of OOCness! But I have told myself that it will just be for this chapter. I'LL FIX MY MISTAKES FOR THE NEXT CHAPTERS I SWEAR! But for now...please bear the OOCness with me ;;w;;
Third: The review answers will have to be PM'd since I'm beat XD IM SORRY AGAIN!
Okay so, this chapter took me lots of days, trials and errors, scene changes and all that...but now that it's January, I decided I'll stop hesitating XD So I winged this chapter and I'm hoping for the best!
I still do hope that it's enjoyable though! ^W^
If anything is amiss or bothersome (which I'm sure is a lot, because I even get a little doubtful with the scenes I wrote) please put it in a review so I may know what to do ;)
I won't keep you guys from reading the chapter so I'll leave the year-ender love letter to you guys after it ;D
LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!
DISCLAIMER: The Classroom of Assassination, I own not. (BTW WHO'S WATCHED STAR WARS?)
Chapter 22: What You Are To Me (Part 3: TOMORROW IS THE CULTURAL FESTIVAL! Pt.2)
"Good evening."
An old woman whom appeared to be well-past retirement age greeted all seven of them with a bow once they had fully entered the lobby. She had her grey hair tied into a bun with a Japanese flower ornament and was short compared to even Manami – about four feet or so in estimation. She had on a long-sleeved white dress that reached up until her ankles which were covered by white socks – her shoes being the traditional slippers one would wear when attending a summer festival. Her white dress was lined with emerald piping around the hems of the clothing and around her waist – the impression she gave out was someone who was very cultural and family-loving, which none of them could be wrong about.
It was only seconds after that were the other five able to recover from their state of mild confusion – due to it being so abrupt – and humbly bowed back with a collective "Good evening."
"Oh! I'll introduce you guys!" thank God for Yuzuki breaking the small ice between them as she enthusiastically approached the counter – standing between the two elderly folk with an energetic grin as she gestured to them accordingly "This is Okimura Akiko-san, she's the one that made everyone's costumes." The old woman Akiko bowed accordingly at her introduction with a gentle smile on her face like she did so the first time. Gesturing to the man in the counter, Yuzuki continued "And this is her husband, Okimura Shinichi; he took care of our other props."
The one named Shinichi took a bow as well; the same type of smile his wife had on his face present upon his. After the bows of respect and gratitude were exchanged, the others proceeded to retrieve the plastic bags that held their respective costumes – Manami's being the biggest one due to its complicated and sophisticated design; fortunately, it was light enough for her to handle.
"Okimura-san," the short-haired brunette referred to the couple as she performed yet another bow which obliged the others to follow as she said "Sorry for all the troubles we had to put you through for a while." – sure they were assassins and troublemakers that fell into the End Class but that didn't mean they were never taught what proper conduct was.
"We hope we didn't cause any of you too much of a bother." Yuzuki asked for their pardon once more with a genuinely sympathetic expression – she had come to them with a lot of things to demand (plus with detail too) and a short amount of time. Despite how guilty she felt, all she got out of the couple were the same feeble and kind smiles they had on since earlier.
"Oh, it was no harm at all." Akiko waved her hand to relieve the vexed otaku and continued with her hands clapped together in front of her chest in a motherly manner "It was enjoyable experience and a pleasure on my part to help out. These days and at this age you never really get to do much of anything, so to feel useful despite how old I am is like a blessing to me. The ones we should be thanking are you bunch." She said this with an unwavering smile and the type of tone of voice that you would naturally hear from any loving grandmother – which brought even more, flattered smiles from the combat club's members; except for the infamous redhead that merely toyed with the ornaments and other antiques that adorned the small shop; a childlike glint in his eyes as he watched a small toy play out a brief battle between samurais.
That's Akabane Karma for you.
"Thank you very much again, Okimura-san. We'll have to go now since we'll be pretty early tomorrow." Yuzuki began their farewells as Chiba opened the front door for them that was accompanied by the sound of a wind chime before each headed out one by one.
Both Okimuras waved them goodbye "Have a good night, but it's quite late though; how far are your houses?"
"I'm sure we'll be fine." The brown-haired girl assured them before taking her leave as well – feeling the cold, autumn night air beginning to seep through her long sleeves as she left the door open for her to depart.
"Ah, I see. Having an adult here to bring you home eases my worries."
"Yep. So—…heh?" Raising her eyebrows at this in confusion, Yuzuki turned around to find her clubmates sharing the same surprise as she did when their eyes perceived the features of their school nurse – who arrived just in time as they were about to leave it seemed. There she was, stepping upon the top of the very steep hill where the Tailor's shop was ejected. She was out of her nurse attire and had on a yellow blazer to protect her from the cold over a navy blue blouse that matched the blue of her jeans; albeit the rather teenage way of dressing, she still appeared very adult-like ('It must be her age' – Karma would like to mentally add).
"Inari-sensei?" Sugino was the first to acknowledge her presence after she had taken a few steps closer to them – her arms were crossed and her expression serious.
"Inari-nee? Why are you here?" Manami finally spoke and approached her guardian as the others gave way for her– inquisitive lavender orbs looking up at her.
"Hm? I texted you that I was coming for you all, didn't I?" Inari stated this as if it were an obvious fact and tilted her head.
"Texted me?" the braided girl muttered to herself and shuffled her hand inside her bag in search for her phone. Indeed that message was there – along with 29 other messages from two certain others that caused the shy introvert to squeal and jerk her shoulders up in a mix of shock and guilt; the prominent ones being from both Rio and Yuzuki which said 'Hey Manami-chan, where are you right now?' followed by 'Did anything happen? What's taking you so long?' scrolling up a bit more, she found 'WHERE ARE YOU IT'S LATE WHAT ARE YOU DOING ANSWER YOUR PHONE!' then 'C'mon, if you're not here in 10 minutes I'm gonna lose a bet to Rio-chan…' and then there was 'Okay I lied there was really no bet going on' and finally 'I'M GONNA SPAM YOU UNTIL YOU ANSWER.' – thus explains the rest of the messages.
"Honestly, you should check your phone more." The maroon-haired adult sighed in deadpan to the frantic, young girl – slightly disgruntled but not at all surprised.
"S-Sorry…" Manami sighed in a defeated manner along with the lowering of her head and the slump down of her shoulders. As this 'lecture' went on, all Yuzuki and Rio could do behind her was nod in utter agreement
Seeing this, the other combat club members found it quite amusing – the way their familiar school nurse scolded the girl. It was always quite fun to see a how a friend acted toward their domestic relations. On the other hand, Karma had different thoughts as he watched the small sermon with indifferent, mercury eyes that held his cynical thoughts – he knew their history now.
Well, at least most of it.
He too had sensed that familial relationship between them. Only, as far as he's concerned, there was a sense of deceitfulness within that bond. A product of desperation, forcefulness, complications, irresponsibility, and fear – weaved together by the needle of regret and the thread of self-gratification. That was what he grasped from the relationship of the two now, and he was supposed to keep it all a secret.
For how much longer…?
He inconspicuously shook that thought away for the time being and drove his attention to something else – such as some of the suspicions that had risen due to the woman's unlikely arrival.
Manami heaved a sigh and, with slight discomfort, faced her friends – not entirely sure of what to do next "Well, erm, now that Inari-nee's here to pick us up—"
"Hah? Whoever said I was picking you up?" the older woman interjected; causing the girl to sharply turn back in a jolt and find her co-resident with a raised eyebrow and a roguish expression that only meant that she had something quite cunning while at the same time may affect them badly in mind.
Confused, the chemistry-lover tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows in a tad bit of disconcertment – getting a strange feeling that something she didn't favor was about to happen "Eh? But you said—"
"I said I was coming for you, not bringing you home." She corrected with a humorless and commanding tone. However, that was taken away by the time she let those now cheeky, dark, narrow eyes glint towards them with a mischievous plan hiding behind them.
"So…get ready for your last exercise."
By that, even Karma had felt somewhat confused and instinctively became cautious of what this woman might do. Heck, even Rio and Chiba simultaneously said 'heh?' at that.
Before she did anything, Inari spared a glance at the one boy she trusted an entire story of the past to – which she was sure, knowing how sharp he was, he caught eventually although it only lasted a split second. He wasn't sure what she wanted to achieve from that, though he can tell she knew what he was thinking all afternoon – though it was an obvious outcome. Even so, the nurse still hopes that her message eventually gets through to him.
"Now," Without a second thought, Inari roughly grabbed Manami by one arm – inevitably getting a sudden 'Ack!' from her – and without another two seconds passing (and before the victim of this could even properly recover from the shock and retort), she commanded with a loud voice-
"Everyone, RUN!" and pushed Manami down the steep hill without giving anyone time to react.
In a time shorter than a gasp, and shrunken, purple orbs receiving the sight of the ground becoming closer, she screamed.
"U-U-U-UWAAAAHH! I-I-I-I-INARI-NEE! T-TH-THIS IS DANGEROUS!"
The dainty girl struggled to balance herself upon the steep, asphalt road. She tightened her grip on the plastic bag that held her costume due to the fact that it was being brought up by the cold wind of fall – which enveloped her body as she felt herself get pushed down by gravity. Lavender eyes becoming wild along with adrenaline and fear electrocuting her limbs.
"Don't worry! There's a river that'll break your fall if worse comes to worst!"
"THAT'S SUPPOSED TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER?!"
The rest of the teenagers left on the top of the hill were frozen and slack-jawed at the fast sequence of events – there wasn't even time for them to recover from that at all as they only watched their (most accident prone) friend run down the hill while struggling to even keep alive.
A particular blonde however, apparently had to comment with "Woah, look at her go." While even putting a hand above her eyes as she watched the poor girl – earning her some looks from Yuzuki, Sugino and even Rinka as well. Chiba on the other hand, still couldn't move from his shocked state.
Ignoring Manami's continuous screams to her, Inari faced the others and snapped them out of their trance with "What are you still doing here? RUN!" she even vigorously pointed down the hill.
With a howl of enjoyment, Rio spread her arms out and let the wind take her hair; exhilaration beginning to pulsate through her body as the sense of freedom and fun emanated from her. It was at that time, she let all the care in the world escape her and simply relished in the moment. Unlike the others, she was able to apprehend immediately where the nurse was coming from with this and did not hesitate when she jumped up and ran down – it was undeniably dangerous, yes, but this was just the kind of thing she was asking for.
Since it looked like fun, and the fearless, danger-seeking assassins inside of them had been reawakened, the next one to start running down was Sugino – whom did so without a shred of doubt upon his face that only brimmed with excitement as he exclaimed the same thing the girl prior to him did. Pink orbs blinking about 2-3 times at how unexpected she found that, Yuzuki could only watch on with a mix of astonishment and amazement. But it only took her less than five seconds to realize that she may have just fallen for him again (which she feels she should get a reward for since she finally said it out loud – mentally).
Taking a deep breath, the otaku was the next to run down accompanied with a "Here we go!" as she even mimicked the running stance of some famous ninja anime – but at that time, she didn't even spare a single thought about being judged and let the wind let her short brown hair fly with it.
Sooner or later, the sniper couple exchanged a look of disbelief due to their friend's antics and reverted back to the reckless teenagers. Rinka even beginning to question if anyone was still sane as she inwardly uttered 'Have they lost their minds—?!' most of her surprise must've budded from how, of all people, Sugino was the second one to leap for action. But either way, that downhill run, to her, was not only insanely dangerous, but—
"C'mon, go." Inari nonchalantly said from behind her– a look of mild impatience evident on her face before she planted a hand on her shoulder with a light force to push her off the edge.
"Heh? W-Wha—!" apparently that light force was enough to actually bring her to start running down – mostly because the tap on her shoulder let a shock course through her unprepared body and mind which eventually made her jolt from where she was standing, trip, let her find balance, and finally allow herself to be under the mercy of her own equilibrium and gravity.
The agitation was short-lived however, for Rinka was immediately graced with an indescribable feeling of excitement the moment she felt the same sensations the others were; that wasn't the only reason though, and the dark-haired sniper that succeeded her – after sighing at their cheeky 'instructor' for her immature, yet clever actions (he was secretly thankful for it though) – shared the same feelings. The fact that it was against how they acted in the norm was why it felt so exhilarating; it was almost like their action-packed, thrills of last year had come back to them in a single surge of adrenaline that urged their legs to move forward and out of their control. Not long after, smiles had stretched across the two's faces – for the time being, they let go of their professional, businesslike demeanors to celebrate the effervescent run with the rest.
This left Karma to be the only one out of them left atop the hill.
Strangely enough, in normal circumstances, he would be one of the first ones to even join in the craze without hesitation nor care, to say the least. He would have though, if a question hadn't been incessantly going through his mind since she got there.
The redhead turned around to properly face the smug-looking woman – his mercury eyes searching her as he interrogated "What are you planning with this?"
She mockingly replied back with a "Who knows," with a shrug whilst she slowly approached him. Inari softened her smug expression and replaced it with a knowing smile– only further bewildering the troublesome boy. With a shrug, she slowly approached him whilst mockingly saying "Who knows – But why don't you find out?"
"Eh—" inwardly cursing that he failed to catch the mischievous glint in her eyes immediately, he couldn't believe he didn't see what was coming to him next – she didn't even give him time to respond before she pushed him down the hill (with the best feeling ever) to join his jubilant friends in their youthful running spree.
Thankfully, he was one of the most athletic in the assassination classroom; otherwise he wouldn't have found balance immediately and caught up to Sugino – which dismayed the other three behind him but it did not surprise them.
While the others threw some joking remarks at Karma such as 'What took you so long?' or 'About time!' and the like, Manami, whom finally was able to find balance by the time she reached less than halfway the long hill, had been too occupied by the current sensations that gushed through every part of her body. She could feel her braids flying behind her with the crisp air allowing goosebumps to grow around the back of her neck area and send chills up and down her spine as if she were riding a jet coaster – she hasn't even ridden one yet, but she was sure the feeling could be exactly the same.
Her purple orbs remained wide, yet wondered as ever as they stared on at the bottom of the hill that's just waiting for her at the end. From what she could see, there was a bicycle rack stationed at the right side of the road where a mall stood and over to the left was the ever-glistening river she had always walked by – that would only mean her house was on the other side of that river; but that's not what's important now.
Manami didn't know what triggered it, but she suddenly recalled:
'You can't do it'
She recognizes the voice of those disheartening words anywhere – Mimura Naoki. But despite that, she kept running.
"But either way, a girl with that kind of personality has no chance of winning him over or even any other less cool guy in the school!"
"He must be pretty tired to deal with someone so troublesome."
"It's not like I expected anything from you anyway."
Manami's pace quickened ever so slightly. Not many were able to take notice of this, but the emerald eyes of a professional sniper are keen and fast to react; her eyebrows raising a tad as she wondered what had brought such up.
"An introverted, cold-hearted killer like you will never understand!"
Manami's fists clenched.
"Anyone can get hurt being around the likes of you."
Her breath hitched at that – whether it was from the shortness of breath from running or the memory of the deep-cut wounds that particular student inflicted, she couldn't pinpoint. But each inhale somehow made her feel more alive – and that was what bewildered her the most as she took each step; incomprehensible feelings beginning to overflow her.
"Why don't you just…continue staying out of everyone's way? Don't you think maybe that way…you can keep anyone from getting hurt? Even yourself?"
If that's so, then…
After that memory came back, Manami went faster; which caused the others to react and try to match with her pace as a mild confusion became evident amongst them
As each step downhill was made, the feelings that were now pulsating around her form were only strengthened.
"What part of those faces looks disappointed? Don't think they'd given up on you."
"It's okay to have a mishap once in a while; because when it does happen, we'll be here to pick you up."
"It's just what friends do."
"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!"
Manami could feel her heart rate getting faster as each deep breath was inhaled. Soon enough, she started panting – her reactions were beginning to concern the others trailing behind her. However, they felt something else with the way she was acting, they just couldn't quite put their finger to it and merely followed her the quicker she got.
I feel like my heart's about to burst.
What's this? It's the first time I've ever felt anything like this…
And as the bespectacled girl nearly lost herself in the midst of handling whatever it was she was feeling, the gaze of a blond-haired girl had caught sight of what appeared to be one of the most glorious pictures her azure orbs have ever come to lay themselves upon.
With a gasp and a radiant smile, Nakamura Rio pointed up for the rest of her friends to witness the view with a yell of "Oi, look!"
Without a second of doubt, Manami's eyes looked towards the starlit sky and immediately, she was blessed with a breathtaking view. The magical glimmers of the night blue sky were sparkling in such a way she had never seen in all of her years – as if there, all her hopes and dreams lay, awaiting for her to chase after them. At the same time, she didn't know why she had this feeling, but the stars seemed so much closer to her than before; like they were smiling down upon her and lighting her way down the dark and uncertain hill. It was nothing like she'd ever seen before – it was even more awe-inspiring than all the other starlit nights she had spent with each of them. Not even the beautiful view of fireflies in Nagoya could beat what her awe-filled eyes were beholding.
In a flash, her emotions piled up one after another, as well as her memories – her failures, her accomplishments, her struggles, her despairs, and finally, each moment of happiness she had spent with them.
"Stop looking down, and look up once in a while, hm?"
If that's so then…!
And at last, with the billions of stars shining above her, Okuda Manami yelled at the top of her lungs.
Initially, many were surprised at the suddenness of her action – staring down at her with blinking eyes for they were stuck wondering what on earth had gotten into her. But none of that stopped her. At that time, she didn't care; all she did was continue to scream her heart out and let those heavy emotions release with each time she took another breath and let her delicate, underused voice resonate through the evening neighborhood.
Those days would've meant nothing…!
In a flash, her marvelous days with the people that she loved and held dear to her heart played like she was about to breathe her last breath in a single leap of faith. From the blissful night they celebrated her birthday, all the way to the days she and her cherished classmates called themselves the Assassination Classroom.
Heaving in a loud, deep breath, she poured all of her might into the next scream. And it was at that moment, as they remained stupefied, did they come to the realization that Okuda Manami has once again left the brilliant students of 3-E in a daze of amazement.
While the others were still left flabbergasted by this, Karma was instead struck with a stunning sight. From the way her fierce expression was as she let out each yell to the immense power of her emotions as they reached his ears – and with the way that star-adorned dome accompanied her dainty yet striving-to-be-strong form as she let her legs take her as fast as she could, the view could only get better.
What had blinked him out of this reverie was when she suddenly began laughing – it was a laughter that held nothing but innocent lightheartedness and the simple joy of being free. She spread her arms out and beamed radiantly back at the celestial glory above her with eyes full of a child's uncharted wonders.
It took a few more blinks at the unexpected action before he started laughing in the same manner; catching the others by surprise for the umpteenth time that night – looking to his direction as if he'd just lost it. Why was he laughing? He didn't grasp the answer to that quite well; but…
If anyone were to see her the way she is right now, who wouldn't have that unstoppable feeling of happiness? – was what this 'supposed' callous and uncaring redheaded delinquent thought that night as he watched the wondrous show below him.
Surely, the maroon-crowned woman must've predicted that he would be preoccupied due to what she had told him. He'll never give her the applause she deserved, but because of what she did, he understood what Inari had meant earlier. Seeing that had given him the opportunity to realize that he needed to loosen up – that the thoughts constricting him earlier were not something to dwell on too much. In the end, it was the present that mattered again.
Eyes that were commonly known to contain mischief and malevolence now held tender care and gladness for her sake – but above all, because of this, somehow or other all his qualms went away as his childish, carefree side resurfaced. It was a good feeling – to be at utmost ease.
That smiling face of yours…
And so, whilst he took the chance to take a longer look at the kind of face he had always enjoyed seeing from her, Akabane Karma had a thought:
I want to protect it…
Not too long after, Rio finally joined in the fun and laughed her heart out as she ran. At last, she felt the climax she was looking for before everything they've worked for made its mark in the world tomorrow. With arms spread wide and a grin that reached ear to ear, she jumped up to release a loud yell of her very own up at that wide, almost infinite sky.
Overwhelmed with the hype the three elicited, the next to jump into this was the brunette otaku and – to the other two boys' surprise – their orange-haired sniper. Because that kind of lovely expression from Rinka was so rare, soon enough, Chiba couldn't hold in his anymore and hitched in with their childish antics. He wasn't sure if it was because it was funny to him to see his sniper partner in such a state, or if it's because it was a lovely sight, but he saw no problem at all with it. And besides, looks like he can tease her later after this and get a cute reaction from it.
At the time, Yuzuki felt the same sensations she would have whenever something as great and thrilling as what she was experiencing now only ever occurred in the manga she would read. Eyes glistening as the sensations continued to pile up, her tears of sheer joyfulness formed by the sides of her eyes. She didn't know why she did it, but she turned back to Sugino and – as if she wanted him to laugh with her – gave a sheepish yet hearty giggle.
And she was successful in getting him sucked in to this because in no time at all he was easily cheering out into the sky with the rest of them. It had been a very long time since they were able to feel this way again – this feeling of freedom from all worries and expectations out of them. Right now, they were like your everyday group of rebellious teenagers running to their heart's content without a care in the world.
Finally, as the bottom of the hill got even closer, and as each time she stepped upon the asphalt her emotions would grow stronger, she jumped up with spread arms and beamed at the billion lights shining down upon her as she poured out the last and most powerful gush of emotions that surged through her with a single exclamation.
"TOMORROW IS THE CULTURAL FESTIVAL!"
And with marvelous unity, the rest of them raised their fists to the air with a unanimous cheer of "YEAH!"
While they all released the heavy burdens each one of them held in their hearts, the brilliant, blue, starry sky that hovered above their heads continued to twinkle magically as if smiling down upon them.
…In the end they all did end up having to head home by themselves.
"You're not yet done?"
The lighthearted giggles of a raven-haired girl gently resounded in the quiet, nighttime of the town. The road the two took was serene – the only other sounds reaching the ear being the placid bustling leaves of the grove of trees that were lined to their left, the ruffles of plastic bags, and the steady resonances cars would make with their engines as they would occasionally pass by. No one else seemed to pass by at that hour, for the sidewalk had only two pairs of rather exhausted feet stepping upon it. Their way was lit by lampposts that helped shape the shadow of the braided poison-lover as she skipped about heartily, her redheaded friend trailing behind her as he observed such a behavior with ease.
"But it was really fun though." Manami managed to reply brightly – her back still facing the boy – yet returned to another set of giggles as she took another moment to remember the events that had just transpired.
Not just the run, but the occurrences after it as well.
The gasps of a group of teenagers were evident in the air due to the cold – sweat drenching their foreheads and legs nearly giving up to support their own weights as they struggled to catch their breath.
"I don't really know what that was about but…"Yuzuki was the first to speak up between pants – her hands upon her knees while her short brown hair acted as a curtain surrounding her face "I'd love to do that again sometime." She made an effort to smile before her loss of breath got the best of her again.
"I…still can't believe that…happened though." Said Rinka in the same fashion as the other girl – still not being able to get over the fact that she had been sucked in to the spree with a literal push from an adult she honestly thought she could look up to. Shameful as it was though, she didn't hide the grin that had formed on her usually stoic face.
Sugino followed this with the statement "I'm just glad I'm alive…" – with complete knowledge that what they had done right now was dangerous and could have killed them. In contrast to this, he found Inari still atop the high hill giving them what looked to be a thumbs-up for a job well done. He could only sweatdrop at her 'responsibility' as an adult.
"But…that was fun…" Rio, between pants, had summarized everyone's thoughts – with an expression that indicated she was more than satisfied with tonight's events. In no time at all, everyone mirrored the same type of smile and couldn't help but agree.
"Well," Karma was the first to be able to catch his breath and stand up straight; letting his mercury orbs travel to some of the nearby houses. "We must've woken up the neighborhood…"he said this without any presence of guilt in his voice as he smirked at the faint and incomprehensible complaints coming from the disturbed homes – clearly amused.
"Seems like it…" Chiba was the next to catch his breath after he took notice at what his infamous friend was taking joy in listening to – and sweatdropped at both that and his behavior.
Meanwhile, the first victim of the incident was still in the midst of trying to regain her own breath – panting harder than the rest of them as she sunk more onto her knees. The plastic bag that held her costume for tomorrow (which thankfully had not lost any of its contents during the run) seemed to had fallen in front of her while she desperately gasped for air.
"Oi, are you okay?" Despite the slight concern the others had for her, Karma didn't stop himself from uttering that statement with a tad of a tease to it – that was because she started it anyway (Even though this was mainly her caretaker's fault). Even still, to suddenly yell out like that in the middle of running down a hill, of course she'd be this worn out.
Manami was far from regaining her composure as she gasped between her words "Just a…mom…en…"
Eventually, her knees gave out and her petite form fell onto the asphalt – heck, she even had to support herself with both hands upon the ground. At this sight, Rio, whom was closest to her, chuckled lightly having caught her breath and approached the exhausted girl. Crouching down in front of her to help her up, she gave a lighthearted smile in a cheeky big-sister like manner "C'mon, c'mon~ Need a—"
"Don't touch me."
A toneless, yet deadly and frightening tone of voice had abrupt the scene and grabbed everyone's attention – causing a brief confusion to grow amongst them.
"Where'd that come from?" Yuzuki turned her head to each side in harmless search for where the voice had come from along with Chiba who did the same behind her – both were genuinely curious instead of actually startled by the voice as if it were just some normal happening. Although, it wasn't until the brunette took notice of Sugino and Rinka blinking in shock towards their blonde and braided friend did she start to grasp things; for over at their direction, blue eyes were wide and taken aback as they etched themselves on the shorter girl, unable to move away.
"Heh?" was the only thing that escaped Rio's lips as her mouth involuntarily twitched up from the jitters that crawled up her spine upon the disbelief of such a remark actually coming from—
"I said get your hands off me." Right then, terrifying, glossless, indigo orbs met with shocked and uncertain blue ones.
. . .
"EHH?!" just as the unanimous exclamation of five of the combat club members echoed through the already disturbed fraction of the town, the golden-haired girl jerked away from Manami – whom now emanated with a bone-chilling aura and instantly became their source of fear.
IS SHE POSSESSED NOW OR SOMETHING? – was along the lines of what the former assassins thought as the rest jerked away in fright and disbelief (little did they know Karma was just standing behind all of them looking as nonchalant as ever).
"M-Manami-chan?!" the agitated blonde managed to stutter out as she struggled to her feet – but failed as soon as she did and fell back on the road as she watched the other slowly – eerily get up herself "Wh-what's gotten into you all of a sudden?!"
" 'What', huh?" the voice that had reached their ears was not one that was familiar to them – it was far from the regular polite tone that they would hear everyday from her. This one was evil, and it carried a demonic ring to it that could alarm anyone who listened to it. Upon hearing it once more, Rio nearly choked on a gasp; back straightening, she was hopelessly immobilized. It may not have been the scariest thing, but experiencing firsthand was a different scenario.
Behind the scene, Yuzuki had impulsively held onto her pigtailed friend out of anxiety – which disturbed the orange-haired girl more than the current happenings as she attempted to shake her off. However, both emerald and pink orbs had not turned away from the two as chills occasionally travelled up their spines and raise the hairs on their head. Close by, Chiba and Sugino continued to watch the scene in incredulity after having backed up a safe distance – their bodies still frozen in the position from when they jerked away.
Is this really Okuda Manami?!
"Nakamura…" After 'Manami' had gotten to her feet in such a way that was similar to those 'The Grudge' movies, she wasted no time in tilting her head towards her target (Rio) in a rather ominous manner before stepping closer to her – resultantly, the blonde flinched back; surprising herself in the process for she was not the type to be intimidated by anyone.
The girl didn't even make an effort to try and hide her fear like she usually did; this entire scene was all too unexpected for their introverted friend to the point that it made it difficult for her to process things. Add the fact that she was currently peering down at her as if she had the capacity to crush her very soul into ashes, Nakamura Rio was scared – with a stomach-churning sensation that washed over her due to the feeling that she may have done an extra-mortal sin that caused her to deserve this.
"Do you…really want to know?" she squint her eyes menacingly; her right hand's fingers were dug into her rather messy hair which partially blocked the wicked glint the moonlight gave her eyeglasses. Lavender orbs that were always so full of cheer and kindness, were now only clouded with a deathly, dark aura that made them almost look void – how she was able to do that, the blonde will never know – that aside, she looked more than ready to murder her.
"It's all your fault, you know…" the ghastly girl inched closer and closer to her – only as the proximity between them increased, a disturbing grin one would often compare to the Cheshire cat's would only stretch wider underneath the dark shadow her hair gave effect to.
"E-E-Eeeeeehhh?!"
On the other hand, whilst their infamous blonde friend could only become more terrified, the rest of the teenager's fear had dissipated. Yuzuki still held on to her sniper friend, only this time both were watching things unfold with question – rather nonplussed by the way their friend was reacting to this.
'What the heck?' – would be the perfect statement to describe how the two girls felt right now.
It appears this was the same for the two others that shared the same bewilderment – having realized how strange the scene actually was. The only exception was their sadistic club president who even took the time to record the entire thing on his phone – typical Karma.
"All of my suffering is your fault…"
"W-W-What…do you—!"And that was when she remembered:
Her individual session with her.
Rio gulped out of guilt and attempted to reason out with the witch that glared down at her as if she were livestock for breakfast – about to be cut into pieces "L-Look M-Manami-chan! Ab-About that time I made you—!"
"That's because…" in a swift movement, the blonde's source of terror had trapped her by leaning down and becoming much too close for comfort – meaning those deathly eyes of hers were but inches away, which resultantly had her hold her breath and freeze in place; shoulders and legs shivering involuntarily while horror absolutely consumed her.
"You're HiDEouS." At that moment, Rio thought that if she were given the choice whether to die or face this, she'd take no hesitation in choosing the former – for surely it would be levels better than having her soul pierced by this science freak's current expression. She knew full well what it was; it was bloodlust – the assassination classroom's trump card. It was severely underused, but that's what made it all the more deadly. Everything she was doing was like a chemical mixture of insta-kill.
Blue eyes snapped shut after a small squeal – bracing herself for her fated end.
'Plick'
"Heh?"
Opening her eyes once due to the impact that never came, the tension in her body disappeared when she was first met with a small twig that the girl in front of her must've taken from her disheveled hair.
"There, Rio-chan's pretty again." Manami stood up straight, threw the twig away and displayed a bright smile – the atmosphere that had enveloped her just earlier had vanished without trace. While Rio remained frozen on the road with her mouth agape, being smiled down upon by the girl that she honestly thought was about to punish her for her 'wrongdoings' to her (although she was sure it would happen somehow or other if that day's events were to go out to anyone other than the two of them), she had to take a moment to collect her bearings.
She attempted to speak, but failed as her brows only twitched from how unbelievable the entire thing just was – not only Manami's successful act, but at herself for being swayed by such. She was Nakamura Rio; one of the notable geniuses of the Assassination Classroom and Kunugigaoka itself, and she had just put on a pathetic display of fear over a 'harmless' girl's act.
Expression shifting from shock, to awe, to disbelief and to self-disappointment, she quickly tried to mask it with anger. Jolting to her feet with a vein popping on her head, she was more than ready to clobber the girl "YOU LITTLE—!"
"DON'T RUN FROM ME!"
Even when she started chasing her, Manami couldn't help but laugh at her friend's reaction –and the fact she was proud of herself for actually being able to scare her of all people.
"I RAN REAL HARD YOU KNOW?! IF I'M TIRED FOR TOMORROW IT'S YOUR FAULT!
I'M GONNA GET BACK AT YOU ONE DAY!"
Rio's anger was short-lived however, for in the midst of her pursuit she herself had begun to laugh heartily.
The rest of the students who watched them couldn't believe it themselves; because for a moment there, most were also outright afraid of the – supposedly – shy introvert. As students who have faced death several times before, of course this would take them aback. But as they pondered on whether or not they should be impressed or appalled by her actions, they can all agree on one thing: she is definitely more than ready to claim their victory in tomorrow's School Festival.
Recovering their composure, it only took a second after they exchanged looks for them to burst out laughing – except the one and only Karma whom only had a satisfied smile as he finished recording. By the time this had happened, Rio had eventually caught up with the small girl and stretched her cheeks mercilessly as she said quite darkly – a sadistic grin that harmonized well with the irksomeness in her eyes
"You did well to fool me but you're still gonna pay~" – but even if she said that, she had to admit it was fun.
In this note, they parted ways eventually.
"How was it?"
Karma had to step back a bit at her abrupt lean forward – her eyes showing a genuine anticipation for his answer as they glistened beneath the nearest lamppost. She even had to tiptoe a tad so that she can somehow be in level with his face as her hands held the plastic bag behind her back. Slightly taken aback by the movement, he took a moment to respond to her question and let his eyes travel to the side.
"Not bad I suppose, but I didn't buy your act one bit." His expression shifted from contemplative to smug at the last bit of his statement as he leaned forward, having Manami fall back on her heels.
"You didn't?" braids ruffled at the tilt of her head when she inquired – a little let-down yet honestly nowhere near surprised.
Since their proximity was still a little too much for the tall boy, he smoothly put his finger on her forehead and pushed her gently – smirking at the adorable scrunch of her face when she stepped back "It'll take a lot more than that to intimidate me."
Manami held the area on her forehead with a pout, but in no time smiled back at him anyway "I know…"
It'll take more time for me to get to know Karma-kun, after all…
As she thought this, she transferred to his side and proceeded to walk with him.
Including his weaknesses… - at this, she let the memory of her post-birthday celebration resurface; it was the time she witnessed something new that was found in those often inscrutable mercury eyes as its owner shared with her his views on his family. With her gaze shifted to her feet, she let a thoughtful smile grace her features as she looked back at it.
"But, it'll pass." Observing that she had gone silent, Karma decided he should at least give her a bit of praise on that. He should at least encourage her – even he had to be impressed.
"Really?"
"I never flatter~"
The dark-haired girl spared a moment to blink at his words while they walked – she appeared to be taking them into careful contemplation; to which, in turn, had her companion look at her with a raised eyebrow until she laughed lightly with a remark of "Of course you don't." afterwards.
Another brief and comfortable quietude shrouded the two as they crossed a short bridge – it stretched over a shallow gap in which one would find a few watercourses travel across the rock-strewn trail that must've been the result of run-off from the nearby river; an indication that they were nearing their desired destination.
In no time at all, Manami emitted yet another gentle chuckle. "But that was really fun, wasn't it? Running like that…" she turned to stare above her where the stars she oh so admired just earlier still twinkled in their humble glory – the fresh memory reminded her heart of the wonders she'd felt as well as the realizations she'd come to at the time.
"My heart was pounding really hard." She placed a weakly curled fist above her chest where she could still feel the sensation and lowered her chin close to it "It was…a really wonderful feeling." Gratified lavender orbs shut peacefully after that for she could not find any other words to describe the experience.
Karma smiled at this; and though he got the sense she was talking to no one in particular, he also ended up recalling it, but he mostly found himself bringing to mind her running form. From her expressions as she ran to the sound of her laughter – all harmoniously accompanied by one of the (admittedly) most beautiful skies he'd seen in his lifetime.
"Uh-huh…" he commented, smiling contentedly whilst inserting his hands into his pockets in the cool-like fashion he always did. Although he's never going to admit it to her, his mood sure was lifted by what Inari did. But even still, he decides that at most he can give her 4 claps in applause mentally.
"It would be nice if things continued on this way…" Manami appeared to have uttered out her thoughts without thinking. She had her distant gaze turned to the sky – her pace slowing down somewhat as she relished in the thought of such a wish.
Unfortunately, his mood had once again been slightly ebbed by her remark; having him stop in his tracks while the other continued on unconsciously.
"I want things to be this way all the time. It's an impossible dream, but if I can hope for anything…it would be to be this happy with all of you as much as we can." If he remembered correctly, that memory just now was her birthday wish.
With that reemerging from the pool of his memories, more thoughts had come back as he proceeded to walk again – just so his companion wouldn't notice his preoccupation.
"Just help me keep it that way…"– that's, in one way or another, granting her wish…but at this rate…
"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…"
Things will be getting a lot harder.
"Oh…" the stopping of Manami's steps and the fade in of a bright, yellow light from his right was enough to interrupt him from his thought process. Lifting up his head a tad, he was met with colors of red, green and orange – the regular colors he'd usually see in-
"It's the convenience store." Her voice was a bit subdued, although loud enough for him to hear the sense of observation laced in her tone. She stared at it uncomprehendingly for quite a long time – which had given him the chance to discern more characteristics of the late-night shop. Though the place was bright and seemingly a cozy place for customers, there were barely any people inside.
In the same time he'd concluded there was nothing particularly odd about the store, he smiled after having the gist of what the girl may have been eager to have.
"…Want one?"
"It feels like…it's been a long time since we've had this…"
"That so?"
The two of them settled on a nearby bench just outside of the store – something they had not done since the spring of their first few encounters. Each had a juicebox of their favorite flavor held in their hand and made themselves comfortable in the tranquility of the rather late hour – from the noiseless and few amount of people to the simple relaxation both were accustomed to in each other's company.
"Mm. I think the last time was back in summer…" Manami reminisced the last time she'd been alone to have juice with him while she took a sip on her current one – she chose grape again. It was the usual flavor she always bought; but having not had it for quite some time, the taste brought some nostalgia to her.
"Really? That does feel like a long time ago." Karma released the straw from his strawberry juice box to face up to the sky, his expression remained indifferent, though his tone did contain a hint of genuine startle when he reviewed how long it had been. Well, it wasn't all that long, it was just a season ago – but after all that's happened since then along with his own focus on the cultural festival during most days, he felt as if the last time they had this was over a quarter ago.
"Mhm…" hearing her soft and bland reply got his attention, so in almost an instant, he responded to this – turning his head her way.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Not…really…" she answered lowly once more, only this time her tone of voice was laced with a little bit of vexation. Observing that she'd lowered her head with a disconcerted gaze upon the cold drink curled around her stiff fingers, the boy's sharp senses caught on with what she was feeling.
"…Are you nervous for tomorrow?"
This statement was followed by a pause from her – which was all he needed to answer his question. Afterwards, a small, diffident smile showed on Manami's face as she confirmed it "…As always, Karma-kun reads me so easily."
Karma shrugged with a pleased smile and leaned back on his seat "It'd be surprising if you weren't."
"That…may be so…" she answered a little halfheartedly – distress still evident in her expression before it leaned onto more of fretfulness. "But earlier I got to – I got to do it earlier…Then just a few minutes after I'm this nervous…" her shoulders stiffened from her own agitation as she had begun to sound hopelessly troubled ; her feet had even gone to their tiptoes as they were rubbed on the cement.
Albeit her clear vexation, the infamous genius trickster next to her couldn't keep from snickering in amusement "That's normal isn't it? Tomorrow's your first big performance, after all – so it's to be expected." He rested his elbow on his lap just so he could cup his own cheek with his palm and display her an encouraging grin "What you did back there with Nakamura was probably in the spur of the moment, but that's the reason you pulled it off."
Feeling slightly better due to this, Manami's former distraught quickly shifted into understanding as she nodded her head "Chiba-kun did say that because I was so conscious of leaving a great impression I tended to falter a lot; and that the feeling will only get worse when the day itself arrives…" there was a slight contortion apparent on her face at the last half of her sentence, but she quickly shook this away and furrowed her brows in consideration.
"I guess it's because I don't want everyone's hard work to go be in vain."
"Don't worry about it." Karma's voice held nothing but support, with every underlying intention to ease the usually unconfident introvert – very uncommon of the sadistic prankster he is, but he always considered the dainty, science-lover right next to him an exception. Besides, he knew she needed something like this, so to do so would only be appropriate.
"You should know that everyone is probably just as nervous as you are right now – they all want to make the most out of it, not just for the club, but for themselves too. Try to let that ease your worries."
"Ah—I almost forgot it was about that." When he spoke of 'club', Manami cried out honestly; her body straightening up from the sudden reminder of such a thing. Even though that fact could be considered as something to be more nervous for, the devilish boy smiled – entertained by her reaction.
"In any case," he proceeded to hearten the girl more as he sat back in his seat properly – throwing her a grin "Try taking this opportunity to get as nervous as you can for tonight."
"As nervous as I can?" quizzical eyes blinked behind glasses that glossed against the moonlight in her movement.
Karma nodded after finishing up his juice box and kept an uplifting grin on "Yep."
In the middle of his sentence, he took the liberty of enjoying himself by playing with the straw – moving it side to side and in a circular motion with his thumb and index finger "Tomorrow, you'll have lots of people cheering you on – that includes Isura-senpai, Mikagura-sensei, and of course, Inari-sensei. With that, you can try your best to be nervous tonight so tomorrow you wouldn't have to worry about the feeling."
Manami had perked up at the mention of the redheaded woman as he carried on – but such did not go unnoticed. To address this, he stopped for a moment to blink about twice before relaxing into a half-lidded stare "What's up?"
"Nothing…" she knew he saw through that blatant lie – who wouldn't? The concerned manner she said it already gave away that it was far from 'nothing'. Not meeting the gaze she knew he held which said 'It's futile to lie', she sighed in defeat – she was never good at these things. "It's just that lately, I find myself thinking about what happened to Inari –nee a lot…"
Just when he actually – for a moment there – forgot all about that, of course it had to be brought up to remind him. Albeit his ulterior doubts and displeasure towards the topic of discussion, he went with the flow; his mood becoming serious as he tried to remain thoughtful to what she wanted to say. Pale gold eyes fell onto a bush close-by in his turn away from her "…The one about you feeling connected to how her old life used to be?"
"Mm." She only nodded – lowering the juice box she had in both hands from near her chin to her lap. "I've never questioned it before, but I've been getting more curious about it… It started happening back in summer – when that man suddenly called me 'Hanako'.
Gentle and delicate fingers intertwined – sandwiching the braided girl's grape juice "Ever since then, I couldn't completely get my mind off it. What happened to make things the way they are now…what kind of life Inari-nee lived…why I was given to her in the first place…" why those people knew who my mom was…and why I never knew them…
Realizing she was beginning to get lost in her thoughts, she shook her head "But even though it's never left my mind, I barely ask her about it since she never really likes to talk about it – I wouldn't want to add up to her stress. But…whenever I do…" Manami unconsciously lowered her chin so much her hair served as a curtain that veiled a heavily unsettled and unsure pair of lavender.
Expressionless, mercury eyes moved to the corner so that he may catch sight of the girl in distraught from there, and, almost immediately, he felt a bad taste in his mouth – because that's not nice to see at all, even for a sadist like him.
However, even so, he only listened.
"I want to know…at least…so I can help her…" her feeble voice continued, and only seemed to lower in volume just as her head did the same thing. Manami now had her elbows propped near her knees – all her quandaries from earlier had completely gone from her performance tomorrow to the past she'd been trying to figure out for months now.
Just as silence was beginning to befall upon them, adroit as he was, the red-haired boy's ears did not fail to receive the unobtrusive, poignant mumble that had come from her. He found her face no longer cloaked by her hair – however, being met with the sight of a brittle smile accompanied by her somber eyes, the words that came out weren't the only thing dismal about it.
"…I wonder if I did something terrible…"
"She'll think that it was all her fault that I had to give up on a lot of things…"
"You know…" Thinking quickly, Karma tried whatever could to avert from the topic as smoothly as possible "You have a bad habit of thinking you're at fault for many things." He decides he'd say that instead – which is by all means true. He knew he needed to get the topic out of the way; not just to fulfill Inari's favor, but for the sake of Cultural festival.
Those two factors, and…
Don't make that face
"Try not to think about it too much, otherwise your imagination might run wild and create thoughts that shouldn't mean anything." I never like it when you do.
"I…" Manami tilted her head– blinking her eyes up at him as she carefully attempted to understand his words. Not too long after, she sat up properly once more and got ready to finish her drink "Guess so…" – she didn't sound too convinced, but nonetheless, he was successful in getting her out of her small trance since she shook her head vigorously thereafter.
"Sorry – I should stop talking about this already." Her attempt to pull herself together was to hastily finish her drink – sipping the remains of it with a little too much force that had her end up clearing her throat after. Karma smiled at such briefly, seizing the opportunity to say "Right now, you have to concentrate on the cultural festival. Don't let those uncertainties keep you from doing you can do tomorrow. After that, you can think about other things."
"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…" – hah, apparently, he now shares the same type of uncertainty. He can't pinpoint what his exact feelings are towards his new 'responsibility', but if anything, he thought it best to take his own advice and probably waste his time to think about this after the cultural festival – or when it actually started to matter.
"You're right, I guess…" he noticed there was a significant lack of spirit due to the volume of her tone of voice diminishing as she finished the sentence – but, seeming like she had caught on with his 'intent', she decided to snap herself out of her insecurities and let stretch a bright beam on her face "Alright! I'll do just that."
Relieved by this, he made use of his talent with the art of changing the subject "Well then, shouldn't you be busy getting nervous?"
"Ah! Right."
A while later…
The path the two had taken was different from the one they would regularly pass through since they were able to discover a different route wherein they may part ways. It wasn't a wonder why they hadn't found it until now – the area had been slightly hidden by trees due to the road being next to a train rail; blocked with a white fence that took on a little bit of blue under the sky's night hue.
"Say …I've been thinking…" Just as they were about to part ways, Manami spoke all of a sudden.
Karma had to look back to realize that his friend had stopped halted in her steps behind him – and for quite some time too, for there was about 3-4 meters of distance between the two of them. Taking notice of how she had her gaze to the near ground as if it were the most interesting thing once again that night, he wasted no time in acknowledging whatever she had to say by turning his heel. He didn't say anything however; all he did was look at her expectantly. Unlike the other times tonight she looked in doubt, this once had a rather different atmosphere to it – something what he would call a little pleasant, this time.
"After the cultural fest…will things go back to the way they were?" raising her head and tilting it to her left, her expression was graced with a timid smile – one that explained what concerns she held regarding that statement.
The redhead only laughed at such a silly worry when he got an understanding of what she meant – by 'back to the way they were', she must mean that the days wouldn't be quite as eventful or memorable as they are now.
Answering honestly, he laxly rested his hand in his pocket with a grin "There's no way that would happen. With our classmates? You can dream." – he addressed them as 'classmates', for he considered everyone in his former class under the same light. There's no way they'd ever settle for an 'ordinary everyday life' just as much as he did, even in their now mundane lifestyles. When he would address his current class, he'd refer to them as '1-B' only.
Manami had to stare at him for a second before returning an appreciative beam – he always had one way or another to bring her relief. "You're right."
As if she'd been called, her purple eyes were yet again etched onto the vast dome of twinkling lights which reflected upon her glasses almost admirably. Resultantly, her expression softened, but the smile remained, this time having more meaning to it.
"This year…I've been blessed with a lot of things, haven't I?"
Situating her gently curled hand near her forehead as if stargazing, the frail girl spoke with a tone not feigning tenderness "The day I was born was, for the first time, celebrated with the people I cared about deeply…I was able to try new things in summer…And even if it took time, I was able to get along with my classmates… Rio-chan, Yuzuki-chan, Sugino-kun, and even Chiba-kun and Rinka-san…and of course, Karma-kun…I was able to meet all of you again this year…"
Manami retracted her hand and let it rest to her side in her pause – affectionate eyes meeting her tall friend's blank ones again as she proclaimed to him-
"You know…I really love our club."
She said it with a calm voice, but the meaning and feelings she held in her words were powerful and absolutely genuine – almost to the point that it would overwhelm someone. Not tearing away from his outwardly empty expression (she knew he was simply listening to her, and was thankful for that), she continued "So much, that no matter what I don't want to lose it; so… I didn't get to say this earlier, but…"
Taking a deep breath which inevitably had her break eye contact with him for a second, she collected her willpower and determination so that she may meet with his gaze one, this time with firm resolve present as her glasses somehow seemed to shine to add effect when she moved.
"I'll make sure to do my very, very best tomorrow. And—I'll make sure that I make it count until the very end." She almost hastily added the last bit – knowing that she had faltered countless times in her last lines due to being overly conscious about making it impactful. "I know I'm carrying the burden of everyone's hopes, so I don't want to disappoint anyone." if she could put any more seriousness and resolution to her fixed stare, she had done so – she was looking into the eyes of the one she would not want to disappoint out of all of them. The one who had gotten her this far, and the one who, most of all, helped her get back up to her feet and find strength.
"So…I'll make it the greatest performance ever."
At that moment, it felt as if all the nervousness she had from earlier had vanquished – but rather than remaining too quiet after she said such prominent words with clear steadfastness, Karma answered her sooner than she'd expected – seemingly unfazed as he merely threw her a knowing smile.
'I – Tomorrow, I'm going to do my best."
"I already know you will."
Manami, taken aback by this response, (she expected something more on the lines of 'I'm looking forward to it' like he usually did) took a second to blink as her shoulders tensed just a tiny, almost imaginary bit "You have that much confidence in me?"
"This isn't the first time you told me that." He but rose an eyebrow at her slyly, smirking at her reaction "Besides, like everyone said, you're no longer the same person I met in the beginning of the year. So there's no reason for even me to have to doubt you." He shrugged in an indifferent fashion at those last words, but he really did mean what he said to her.
"That's…" unexpected as it was for her, the introverted science geek found it hard to find her words and put two and two together– he said himself he never flattered anyone, but she was still in the midst of processing if what she was hearing was what she thought he meant. Seeing this response from her, the mercury-eyed boy chose to proceed, putting on a lazy smile befitting of his trickster behavior – but even with that on, not a single shred of a lie was present when he shifted his stare to something else and said-
"Even if you're clumsy, shy, a crybaby, hopelessly accident prone and terrible with people," Ouch – Manami then realized what he meant by how he never flattered; as a result her head slumped down a little hopelessly.
"You were always determined to reach them."
Badump
Now that's what caught her attention. Slowly, she let her now wide, purple eyes directly meet a pair of, now, authentically warm ones that smiled the same way – one of the rarest occurrences that would only ever happen once in once in a blue moon, and he's openly showing it to her. Though, albeit that description, this was not the first time she'd seen such. Still, whenever she did, it never ceased to absorb her.
"And you always did. That's how you were able to become so strong. So I can bet on almost everything I have that…" And with that, a knowing, yet sincere smile stretched upon his countenance "If it's you, you can do it."
She badly wanted to reply, but failed to find any words – there was only silence from her end as a dumbfounded expression kept plastered on her face.
A witty smirk spread across his face when he observed this – slowly reverting to his blithe demeanor "If you're that determined, then you don't have to worry about disappointing anyone." With that remark said in a relatively unserious tone – one that sounded as if he found it a drag stating the obvious – he stepped to the side so his back was now facing her. Karma himself admits that this isn't a thing you'd find him doing on a regular basis (truthfully, he found it a little embarrassing and much too maudlin for him), but he went on. Not just to pep talk her, but this was something he may have felt the need to tell her at the time. And he'll let it pass for now, this is the girl he fell in love with, after all.
With his back turned to her direction, it took him just a short while until he at last said "That's because, for every time you were, 'This person is really amazing, isn't she?' – is what I'd often catch myself thinking about."
A long silence passed, providing the boy with the time to comment to himself 'I said it…'
In the duration of that silence, Karma was not able to witness the overwhelmed expression the chemistry-lover in disbelief had all over her features. Sure, she was well aware how much her clubmates believed in her – and she was more than ready to try to live up to their expectations. She knew well that, after the numerous times they've told her, that she was someone they all cared about. The words he sent to her with the utmost earnestness to cheer her up wasn't the only thing that touched her heart, neither was it only the fact that he was actually revealing yet another side of him that he wouldn't show to just anyone, but…
The Karma-kun I thought was so far away...whose talent I can never come close to…thinks I'm…
As if on cue – whilst his last words continued to echo inside her mind – the evening train, along with its bright lights, passed them by.
Badump Badump Badump Badump
Manami could only stand there, frozen in spot as the rhythm of her heart seemed to match with the noises the train brought with it. The shining, yellow lights reflected on her skin as it rapidly strobed across both of the teenager's forms as its speed let their hair fly ever so roughly and into the cold, autumn night's wind.
For moments, the only resonation that filled their ears belonged to that of the train. Since her silence had begun to concern him, the red-haired teenager chose to turn around – only for his eyes to widen a bit at what had come to view.
Flying into the air with her braids, he watched as a tear had come from her still fairly wide-eyed expression. He didn't even get the chance to put much thought into that reaction, for not long after, more droplets of water followed and drifted off with the wind due to the train's speed – her features remaining unchanged. However, even with her glasses beginning to mist due to her eyes brimming with tears, he did nothing but stare at her blankly.
That was until, all of a sudden, a beautiful, warmhearted beam graced her tearful face – her violet orbs containing a certain amount of affection that glinted perfectly with the yellow lights that passed as he spotted the movement of her lips. Unfortunately, whatever it was she said wasn't able to reach Karma's ears for the train's noises had become much too loud. Consequently, he kept his eyes on her, covertly anticipating that she would tell him as he blinked a bit in quizzicality.
It may have been a miraculous coincidence, but simultaneously with the last tear that left her eye, the night train had fully departed – leaving the both of them in, yet another, brief stillness.
"I think…I understand now…"It wasn't until Manami's hair had elegantly fallen back to her shoulders did she break it with a mumble she did not entirely wish for him to hear – but he did this time.
"Hm?" he hummed it with a tone of question, but his countenance remained blank and inscrutable as he eyed her somewhat astonished look in mild confusion.
"N-Nothing…" she blinked about three times before lowering her head to hide a small blush that formed "I just realized that…I may love our classmates more than I thought…" – her voice trembled a little, but she was able to catch herself before her flush became much too obvious.
"I…"
Badump
With a small amount of courage gathered, she lifted her chin ever so gradually and met with the redhead's gaze – staring into those mercury orbs with her glistening purple ones as they now held great realization. And, with one last tiny smile as she looked at him, she finished
"…love them."
And it was in that moment did the small girl begin to realize the feelings she'd had trouble dealing with for the past few days. Ever since the beginning, she had always viewed the boy as someone she can never match up to; someone that was way too above her, someone that had his own world – someone who was far.
But it's no longer that way. Around him, she felt relieved, capable, and worth more than she ever thought she was. By his side, she felt contented, secured, and sometimes, even special. For that, she loved being with him – she can never feel any more grateful. But she understands now that it's no longer gratefulness. It's something else entirely; and maybe that something else isn't something she completely understood. However…
"I'm glad…that I reached you." Those were the words that Akabane Karma missed. Within this, Manami had finally begun to sort out what her feelings may have been.
In the meantime, for a second there, Karma had a gut feeling that she was implying something – but that feeling had dissipated quickly when he quickly dismissed that possibility as something way too unlikely. With a shrug, he accepted her words without trouble and laxly rested both of his hands into his pockets – turning a heel as he prepared to take his leave "I see. Then, I'm sure you'll have no problem doing your best tomorrow."
Without looking back, he waved goodbye "Good night, Manami."
And there it was again – the first indication that he had become so close that she wasn't ready for it. But not letting that thought distract her too much, she waved back – even though he wouldn't see it
"Good night…Karma-kun."
She smiled as she watched his departing form, more than eager to see him again tomorrow. Feeling the slow and powerful beats coming from her chest, as well as realizing that she had at some point held her breath, she placed a hand over her heart in an attempt to calm it and breathed in and out.
This is strange… - the feeling was so entirely new to her that she didn't even know if what was happening to her was normal. But…
"All you can do…Is wait for your own feelings to become clear to you."
Regaining her composure somehow, she walked to the nearest route to her right where she knew was quite opposite to where her companion may have lived.
So this is what it means to…
She doesn't know why, but she had looked back at a certain memory a little earlier in the year:
"Fu-Fuwa-san! Keep it together! I-I'm sure Sugino-kun sees you as a very good friend!" Manami cheered for her with worry all over her features when she saw this type of reaction. 'Liking someone must be a mysterious wreck of emotions…' she observed this from her friend who now had some comical tears flowing out after she tried to encourage her.
"O-Okuda-san…you don't say that to anyone in a situation like this…" her blond friend sweatdropped after her exclamation for a while.
Like someone, huh?
...PHEW. I HOPE THAT DID WELL. (Even though I know myself that this is a chapter I winged...) This chapter was honestly supposed to end with a different scene...but that would've made the chapter much too long already (*cough* likeChapter13*cough*)
Alright readers, I won't say anything more about what I think about the chapter and let you guys decide how it is ^W^
Is it good? Is it bad? LEAVE A REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU LIKED, DISLIKED OR SIMPLY COMMENT ON ANYTHING YOU WANNA COMMENT ON! I'D GREATLY APPRECIATE IT ^W^
Alright, now for that letter I mentioned in the beginning:
I'll cut to the chase, THANK YOU DEAR READERS FOR STICKING WITH THIS STORY NO MATTER HOW SLOW I UPDATED WHEN MY SCHOOL STARTED!
When I started back in May, I didn't think the fanfic would get so much attention due to it being an unpopular ship and just a romance story made on a whim (TO APPEASE SHIPPER HEARTS HAHA) but seeing it as the most reviewed Ansatsu Kyoushitsu Fanfic still never ceases to amaze me. And it's all thanks to you guys ;;w;;
I'm thankful for all of your comments and for the continuous support you give me that motivates me to write in the best quality I could give and as soon as I could. As promised, I will see this story through the end as much as possible. I pray that my pacing would be adequate enough for it considering I'm entering my last year of high school after this year's summer. (AHHH! COLLEGE!)
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART I THANK ALL OF YOU!
THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL YEAR! I LOOK FORWARD TO ANOTHER ONE WITH YOU GUYS! HAPPY 2016 AND ALWAYS REMEMBER TO KEEP CLOSE TO YOUR HEART WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU! NEVER LET THE NEGATIVITY OF THE WORLD GET INSIDE TO YOU, OR ELSE, SIMILAR TO A SHIP THAT HAS WATER SEEP IN, YOU WILL SINK.
#WordsofWisdom2016
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Lots of love,
~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay