A/N: Just a warning - this chapter might be a tad triggering, because the main character is nearly sexually assaulted. So. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Translations at the end of the chapter.

I opened my eyes.

Where am I?

Confusion, and a dark, unfamiliar room made my mind groggy. I sat up, and tried to stretch, but I soon realized that my limbs wouldn't move. My wrists were sore, and when I tugged harder on my restraints, coarse rope dug into the tender flesh, and I winced.

Merda.*

Panic trammeled through me and I drew in a deep breath, closing my eyes and ordering myself into calmness. What had happened? I flipped back in my mind . . . I remembered walking with my group of classmates, going over several possible routes and places to assassinate Koro-Sensei. I remembered the thugs who had approached us . . .

I'd been kidnapped, then. And I'd ended up here. Wherever 'here' was.

Were Yukiko and Kaede here as well?

"Yukiko? Kaede?" I whispered, trying to slip the rope over my hands, but my bonds stubbornly refused to budge. "Is anyone here?"

There was no reply. After listening for a few minutes, I concluded that I was alone, or whoever was there was either sleeping or very quiet. My wrists were tied together, looped around the wooden armrest of the sofa that I reclined upon. A faint grey outline from the drawn curtains told me that it was late in the evening, but not yet dark. So I'd been here for several hours. I took stock of the room I was in, half pulling myself up on my side with my elbows. Sheets covered chairs and tables, making the place appear ghostly.

First things first. Maybe if I can wriggle my cell phone out of my pocket, I can call for help -

"Hey, she's awake!"

The door eased open, and my eyes widened when I caught my first sight of three high-schoolers who'd kidnapped me. The first was skinny, his arms and legs resembling matchsticks, and a pale pointed face, with narrowed eyes like chips of blue ice. The second one had greasy black hair, in a pudding bowl haircut, with a hooked nose that made him look like an over-grown bird of prey. The third one had slicked his hair back, with a pockmarked face, cratered like the moon's surface, and bulging arms that reminded me of a gorilla.

Merda.

"Let me go! I swear I'll kill all of -"

I broke off with a gasp as a heavy weight ( Gorilla boy ) crushed me, forcing the breath out of my lungs. A harsh voice spit ugly, nasty words into my ear, and to my horror, I heard the most terrifying sound of all: The tug of a zipper. Panic gripped me, cutting off my air. A heavy hand covered my mouth and my legs were yanked apart. My scream was muffled by the palm smashed over my lips and I cringed away, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst. He was so heavy. So heavy and strong. I couldn't buck him off.

Stop it! Get off me. Don't touch me. Oh, God . . . Please don't do that to me. . .

Where was everyone? Why didn't they come?

When I screamed, more hands covered my mouth, pressing down on me, and squashing my head into the sofa. Hasty fingers ripped my shirt off, scattering buttons in their wake, and hands groped along my chest, squeezing through the lace of my bra. The more I fought, the more excited they became, their cackles filling the small space around us.

A flash of light from the hallway blinded me, followed by the blessed removal of the male's smothering weight.

"Hello, gents ~ It's payback time~"

I'd never been so happy to hear his voice before.

I sucked in a breath of air that sounded akin to a sob, catching sight of Karma shoving my captor across the room and into the wall, denting the drywall. The world dipped and swayed around me, and someone was on the floor. I heard thumps. Kicks. Groans. Someone screamed, an awful high-pitched keening that was soon cut off. And then there was silence.

I blinked a few times and focused as hard as I could on the only face I could see. It was contorted with anger, and my first thought was that Karma looked terrifying. A long strand of hair fell into his face, but he hardly seemed to notice, his expression darkening when he saw my prone form on the sofa. His eyes had never looked more like liquid gold.

"Karma," I croaked, my eyes burning like I desperately wanted to cry. "Karma."

"Sorry I'm late," He responded lightly, belying his furious expression. Grabbing his knife, Karma soon made short work of the cord that had restrained my hands. "We had a hard time finding you, but we managed in the end."

"How . . . ?"

"Guidebook. Koro-Sensei really thought of everything – there was even a map telling us about possible hideouts. We split up – Nagisa, Sugino and Okuda went to rescue Kanzaki and Kayano, and I headed here."

Swallowing past my burning throat, I pushed up to a seated position. Pain rushed through my body in sharp bursts, but I tried to ignore it, stifling a groan. It was only until Karma unceremoniously tossed his blazer over my bare torso that I realized how badly I was shivering. I tugged at the edges of the thick black fabric, noting that it smelled like Karma: Some kind of delicious cologne, mingling with the scent of warm skin.

"Thanks," I muttered, buttoning his jacket with trembling hands; it took me at least three tries until I was able to do up the first one, and with a sigh, Karma crouched before me, working his way up, helping me cover up without a word. That simple act of kindness nearly made me start bawling.

My eyes were still smarting, but I didn't want to cry. Not here, not now. Not ever. Instead, I focused on Karma, who'd sat on the ground cross-legged, silently watching me. I noted the dried blood crusted on the back of his shirt. He'd cleaned up some, but he'd missed a spot, and my hand involuntarily stretched out. I wanted to touch the nape of his neck, but stopped when I realized what I was about to do, my hand hovering.

What do you have to lose?

I asked myself. Leaning forwards, I touched my fingers lightly to the back of Karma's neck. His hair tickled the back of my hand – it was as soft as it looked, though some strands of hair had gummy crimson stuck to them – and I stopped when I found the lump. I let my hand linger for a few seconds, guilt twisting my stomach into knots.

"It's nothing, Aina. I'm fine. It's not a big deal."

"Your head . . ." I muttered, letting my hand flop gracelessly back to my side. " . . . They actually managed to land a blow on you?"

"I let my guard down," Karma retorted, eyes blazing with fury – he looked as though he would have wanted another round with those thugs, but not even Karma would beat up an unconscious opponent. ( At least, I hoped he wouldn't; though I found that I wouldn't mind that much. ) "And you look way worse. Have you looked in a mirror recently? 'Cause you look like crap."

A laugh bubbled out of me, but it quickly dissolved into a sob when I remembered the feel of rough, intrusive hands roaming all over my body. My body jolted forward. I pressed my hand to my forehead and rocked slowly back and forth.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay." Karma rested his hand on the side of my face, his thumb skimming my cheekbone. His fingers were careful, avoiding the bruise on my cheek, tracing the curve of my face. "I'm here. No one's going to hurt you. Okay?"

I nodded, swallowing back the lump of waterworks in my throat. Karma wasn't joking – the teasing lilt had vanished from his tone – and his eyes were deadly serious. He meant it, and I felt my shoulders droop. Maybe in relief, or maybe I'd started to finally feel at ease.

"Okay."

*Shit