"And why.. exactly am I here?"

Karma ignored the question. Instead, his eyes stayed focused to the cafe entrance, as if expecting someone. Nakamura huffed. She had just finished her class when a group of giggling girls had came up to her, saying that a boy was waiting for her at the school gate. They were gushing about how hot he looked. Thinking it was yet another boy about to ask her out, she increased her pace, wishing the flurry of students walking around was able to shield her. That was when he spoke up and made her stop in her tracks. They were never the best of friends and their few interactions were usually for their mutual addiction to tease Nagisa.

So, why was Karma Akabane waiting for her outside her school?

Now here she was, in a busy cafe with him. She was still in her school uniform, with the addition of her pink jacket and sequined beret and he was in his, the Kunugigaoka badge proud on his unbuttoned jacket. To others, it would seem like any other after school date, heck she herself thought it looked like a date, except that he was totally ignoring her! Even after he insisted that she sat beside him when she would be so much more comfortable sitting opposite of him. The nerve of the boy to simply ignore her, not even bothering to tell her what was really going on. If they were dating, she'll dump him.

Trying to push away the awkwardness, Nakamura began fiddling with the large menu on the table while occasionally sipped on her smoothie. Why was the menu still here although they have ordered was another one of the mysteries of the 'date' that she knew he would not explain to her.

Nakamura had always liked this cafe. With the pastel interior and the atmosphere light and airy, it was a place of choice for many to bring their dates or have tea with friends. She herself had came a few times for many reasons but Karma, he didn't strike her as someone who would voluntarily step into a place like this. Did someone suggested the place to him? Even if so, why would he brought her along?

His phone notification chime brought her gaze back to him. She chanced a glance as he opened the chat app. She was close enough to see he had left quite a lot of unread messages and her eyes were sharp enough to see that one of the people he left on unread was Manami Okuda. Last she heard, Manami and Karma was a thing(?) Was there trouble in paradise? Did he ask her out for some relationship advice? She held the question in despite her curiosity. She made a mental note to ask someone about it later.

"You're awfully quiet," he said suddenly, catching her by surprise. His attention was still on his phone, typing away a message. "You used to be more-" he pondered over his words for a while- "chatty."

Nakamura choked on her drink. Blunt as always, he was. "I learned to take a hint," she said. She began swirling her drink with the straw. "Besides, I know you. You're as stubborn as I am, if not more. You would ignore my questions anyway."

He let out a chuckle at that. She only rolled her eyes and shifted her attention to her own phone.

Exactly two minutes later, the door chimed, signalling an arrival. There really was nothing special about it as it chimed whenever anyone enters so Nakamura did not bother to look up. She only did when Karma elbowed her side.

"There they are," he said.

Nakamura's eyes widened. She could not believe what she was seeing. It was Nagisa and Kayano! Together! Just the two of them! Together! She turned to Karma and his smirk confirmed that she was not imagining it. Now she had a lot of question but before she can burst them out, Karma signalled her to stay quiet. He grabbed the large menu and stand it on the table, effectively covering their faces.

Nakamura looked to her companion, begging him with her eyes to let her ask questions. He relented. "Just one," he said.

She immediately burst into words. "Are they really on a date?"

His smirk gave her the answer. She squeeled in delight. The sound was loud enough that the dating couple turned to look at their general direction. Thankfully, Karma was fast enough to grab her head and pulled it to him so they were further shielded by the menu. To the outside, it would seem like they were kissing behind the menu. That sight was enough to make the NagiKae couple blush.

Once Nakamura calmed down, the two partner-in-crime peeked over the menu to look at their friends. The couple was heading to a table, Kayano leading the way and Nagisa carrying the tray of their order. As it was always busy with people, there was not much empty table left and just to the snooping pair's luck, the couple chose the empty seats only a few feet away from their table. It was near enough to see, but far enough to be able to hear.

An hour and dozens of photos later, both Nakamura and Karma finally calmed down. The couple had left the cafe a few minutes earlier, no doubt resuming their date somewhere else, leaving the other two assassin to enjoy the photos they took earlier. Nakamura found herself unable to stop talking about the date earlier, even if Karma didn't seem to acknowledge her.

"If my dream to be a diplomat failed, I'm gonna be a paparazi," said Nakamura as she silently praised her own photography skills.

Karma snorted. "Sure," he said, "and I'll be the one who tips you off of the juiciest gossip."

The blonde turned to look at her companion. "Thats.. actually not a bad idea," she said. Then a thought hit her. "Have they been dating for long? How do you know they are having a date here?"

Karma did not answer her. Instead, he got up and started to walk out of the cafe. Frustrated, Nakamura tailed after him.

"Come on," she said, pressing him, "don't tell me you pranked them?"

He ignored her, his attention on his phone as they walked. "Why do you-" she started to poke at his arm -"keep on ignoring me."

Figuring if he didn't tell her now, he wouldn't tell her at all, Nakamura gave up. It was almost time for her to go back home anyway. She had to get on her parent's good side and that meant, obeying her long forgotten curfew. But before she could say a word, he did first.

"Hey, what do you say to some practice session?"

She looked at him weird. What practice?

"Stealth. Fighting. Anything," he said, clarifying. "Its no fun to practice alone and Nagisa might be too preoccupied today."

Nakamura was shocked. While she hadn't practiced her assassination skills for almost a year now, she was sure Karma did. He was damn good back then too. Truthfully, she was itching to say yes, she had missed the thrill so much. But she had her curfew..and her homeworks too. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice that she kept him waiting for her answer.

"Hey, Nakamura. You still here?" he asked. now looking at her.

She sighed. "That sounds fun but I think I have to get back. My homeworks are not going to do themselves," she said.

Karma seemed to ponder over her words for a while. His eyes then lighted up. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes as he said, "Come on. We have no school tomorrow. We'll practice for a while. Then I'll help you with your homework."

She thought about it for a while. Though she doubted that Karma would actually help her for real, it did seemed nice to blow off some steam and forget about her high school life for an evening. Nakamura smirked. "Okay, why not. Lead the way," she said.

After an hour of training (she was beat while he still seemed to be open for another round), the two stopped by his house where Karma kept his end of the bargain. She was nervous at first but visibly relaxed when he told her of the absence of any parental figure in the house. They had stopped by a restaurant to buy dinner on their way back so while Karma headed to the kitchen to plate it up, Nakamura made herself at home and looked around on her way to his room. She texted her parents that she would be studying at a friend's house and would probably be late.

She followed Karma's earlier direction to his room. As she took in the interior of the room, her eyes fell on the door to the bathroom that was slightly open. A shower would be nice, she thought. She opened the drawers and found a towel for herself, as well as his tshirt and shorts.

"Akabane!" she shouted. "I'm taking a bath. Thanks."

When she went out, all fresh from the shower, Karma was sprawled on his bed, scrolling through his phone. Their dinner was neatly placed on the table beside her books that she brought out earlier.

"Wah, I see you really make yourself at home," he said as she stepped out of the bathroom.

Nakamura laughed. "Yeah, sorry. Oh, and thanks for this," she said, motioning to his clothes she was wearing.

The boy only smirked and nodded as he headed to the bathroom.

The blonde started on her homework and dinner while the host took his shower. He joined her while she was in the middle of her math homework. She had no trouble with the subject but it was also not her strongest suit. It was Karma's, fortunately. The genius had no trouble explaining the theories and showing the workings to all the questions she had trouble with. To her delight, he even shared his secret notes with her.

Once they were done with all her homeworks, she was beat. Both physically and mentally. She crashed herself onto the floor, beside Karma who was already down a few minutes prior. They laid down in silence, both lost in thought.

"Why do you invite me today?"

Nakamura's sudden question took Karma by surprise. "Remember THE Valentine's day?" he asked.

She thought for a while. "Oh, the one where I set up Nagisa and Kayano-chan?"

Karma nodded. "Yup. Probably because of that."

The blonde turned to look at the redhead. With his eyes closed, he had a serene look, a contrast to what he looked like normally. Honestly, she had always wondered how could he have quite a number of (not so) secret admirers but seeing him up close, she thought she had an idea of what the girls couldve seen on him. There was no way for her to deny that he indeed looked good, even with the piercing eyes, no, especially with the piercing eyes.

Wondering why Nakamura was awfully quiet, Karma opened an eye. Having been caught staring, Nakamura felt her cheeks warmed up so she quickly turned her head. How could she get so lost in thought and caused him to catch her staring? That was so humiliating. She had to get away.

"It's late. I better go back home now," she said, already sitting up and started to pack her things. She could feel his eyes on her and that certainly didn't help ease her racing heartbeat. In record time, she finished packing and was ready to go.

Nakamura stood up. "Well, I better get going," she said.

In an instance, Karma was also on his feet. "I'll walk you back," he said, offering his companion.

"No!" she said, a little to quickly. She could see he was taken aback from it. To cover up her outburst, she added, just as quickly, "I mean, I may be rusty but its not like I can't take care of myself. Plus, my house is not that far and its kind of late."

He looked at her pointedly. "Exactly what you said, it's late. A girl shouldn't be walking alone at this hour."

She scoffed as she walked out of the room. "I'm not just any girl."

He didn't say anything until they reached the door. "Be careful."

Nakamura smiled and waved. "I will. Bye~"

A few houses down his street, she felt goosebumps. She had a feeling like she was being followed but hoping it wasnt true if she didnt think about it, she pushed the thought deep down. It was probably just the neighborhood cat. To keep her mind off it, she tried scrolling through the pictures in her phone, which she realized, was probably not the best thing to do if she was truly being followed.

Mustering her courage, she called out loud enough for any person nearby to hear but not enough to bother the neighbors. "I know you're there. Just come out," she said, her mind going over different strategies to take down whomever the stalker was.

"Easy with the bloodlust," he said.

Nakamura immediately recognized the voice. She sighed, relaxing her stiff body. She was not sure if she should be relieved or mad that Karma decided to tail after her even when she told him not to. Without bothering to acknowledge him, she continued on her way.

He caught up to her easily.

"I don't know if I should hug you or kill you," she said, muttering over clenched teeth.

"Nah, a thanks will do."

She laughed sarcastically. "Yeah sure, thanks for scaring me."

"My pleasure," he said, replying with the same amount of sass.

She groaned, fastening her pace so he had to do the same to catch up. They walked in a comfortable silence, the only sound were from their footsteps, the crickets and the occasional tapping sound as he did god-knows-what on his phone. Nakamura found herself relaxed and let herself enjoying her partner's silent companion, subconciously slowing down her own pace.

In less than ten minutes, they arrived in front of her house. She turned to him. "We're here. You can go back now," she said.

"What? You're not gonna let me in and offer a drink? Where is your manner, woman?"

She smirked. "Oops, seems like I didn't have it with me. Must have dropped it when someone was following me earlier."

He let out a small laugh before his face turned serious. "Can't let my precious partner walk away without making sure she's safe, now can't i," he said softly.

"What?"

"I'll be on my way, then," he said, winking at her before jumping onto the neighbors' roof, making his way back. Now why hadn't she thought of that earlier?

A few minutes later, just as she get into her bed, a message came in.

Movie tomorrow. Pick you up at 12

Eyyoo.. thanks for getting this far ehehehe. Found this almost expiring in my drafts so I did a little checking and I was like 'whatever, lets just publish it'. Anyway, sorry if there are any errors I missed :p