Chapter Three: Interest

Karma cackled inwardly as he followed Manami to their designated classroom. He was in a good mood, very pleased with the turnout of things. What luck, to have Okuda-san at his side once again, ready to provide him with ammo for his pranks! His mind whirred with all the fun she could make possible. Really, high school life was starting to look up.

The two entered the freshman section of the school building and immediately found themselves facing rows upon rows of shelves containing shoes. Manami paused, taken aback by the sheer number of shelves and shoeboxes, but Karma promptly made his way to the row for class F. Slipping off his outdoor shoes, he exchanged them for the indoor ones sitting in the shoebox labeled with his name. Manami hurriedly followed, finding her box near his and tripping about to get her shoes off. Laughing, Karma reached out and steadied her, receiving a miffed "thank you" in turn.

More freshmen began to walk in through the doors, drifting among the shelves. Less talkative than returning students, they nonetheless created enough enough noise to echo in the entranceway. Soon, the hall was crowded with boys and girls changing their shoes and making small talk with their new classmates.

Karma, picking up his name several times in the cacophony of voices, looked up and spotted a pair of blushing girls staring at him. Looking around, he spotted several more. All were eyeing him with a rather predatory interest that made him shiver involuntarily. Odd, he mused, puzzled and slightly concerned, I shouldn't feel threatened at all. They're only high school girls. His instincts, however, said otherwise, so Karma gave the girls his darkest grin in hopes that they would be intimidated.

They weren't.

On the contrary, their interest seemed to intensify. The blushes darkened through their makeup, and the glinting of their eyes became more pointed. Karma began to feel the heat of the gazes burn into him uncomfortably—an entirely different sensation from killing intent, which filled him with excited tension. He wasn't used to this type of attention, whatever it was; rather, he preferred to be looked upon with a degree of fear and apprehension. That was good for his ego.

A girl began to approach him, smiling prettily and tossing her head so that her elaborately set hair fell in miraculous curls over her shoulder. Her uniform fitted her perfectly, retaining propriety and wrapping around her curves closely at the same time. The first few buttons of her shirt were undone, revealing an appealing expanse of collarbone but hiding the cleavage. The sleeves of her sweater poked out from her jacket, covering her wrist and exposing long white fingers with polished fingernails. Her skirt was short, accentuating her creamy thighs and long stockinged legs. Her brown eyes, enhanced by eyeliner and mascara, gazed out through clear blue frames that gave her a somewhat intelligent look. Her mouth, opened to speak to Karma, was painted with a shiny but unassuming pale pink gloss that plumped the lips alluringly.

Put shortly, she was a very attractive female. And Karma was looking at none of those attributes.

"I liked your speech," the girl started out, slipping off her shoes next to Karma and placing them in the box two rows down from his. "My name's Sayama Yui. I'm glad we're in the same class, I feel like it'll be really fun."

She peered into his face expectantly, waiting for the conversation to flow, but Karma was looking down at Manami, who was squatting on the ground struggling with her second shoe.

Sayama tried again, a bit flushed from disappointment at her first failure. "You're Akabane Karma, right? What's her name?"

Karma looked up when she indicated at Manami with a flutter of her hand. "She's Okuda Manami," he replied shortly.

"Oh, so how do you know each other?" Yui persisted.

Karma was about to answer, but another girl jumped in. "Is it true that you got full marks on the entrance exam?"

More girls began to crowd around him, emboldened by the first few. Karma was saying, "All but chemistry," when a girl butted in, "Wow! That's so amazing! I'm the opposite, like, I barely passed the exam! Won't you help me study?"

Karma had no time to refuse before he was barraged with an onset of inquiries ranging from the most trivial question to very personal topics. He frowned—why was this happening to him?—and backed into the shelf, away from the probing girls.

He was saved when Manami tugged on his sleeve. "I'm ready," she murmured, nervously averting her eyes from the pretty girls, some of whom eyed her with suspicion and dislike. The distasteful looks increased when Karma slung his arm around Manami's shoulders, pressing her against his side.

"Well, sorry everyone, I gotta go. See you later."

Karma turned away with Manami in tow and left the girls trailing behind. He sighed as he leaned on the shorter girl, and huffed out loud, "What the hell was that?"

Manami looked up at him from under his arm, her expression a bit incredulous. "Don't you know? You're very popular with the girls. They think you're the hottest guy in our year."

Karma snorted, but smirked. "Oh, really?"

Manami nodded. "Your speech also made an impression."

"There was no speech," the boy scoffed.

"That's the point. It was cool."

Karma shrugged, looking satisfied. "Of course it was."

Manami changed the topic then. Coughing slightly, she remarked, "By the way, I think I heard you say that you got full marks in everything but chemistry."

"Yes, that particular subject was a bit difficult. I suppose you aced it."

It was Manami's turn to look satisfied as Karma inclined his head to her in a small salute.

They turned to climb up a flight of stairs onto the second floor, where class F was supposedly located. The hallway they found themselves in was bland and repetitive, like every other part of the school. White walls stretched out on both sides, lined by windows. On the left, the windows looked out onto the sports ground. On the right, they were interspersed with white doors that lead into classrooms.

Manami skipped out from the confines of Karma's arm as they reached the second floor. While this hallway wasn't nearly as full of people as downstairs, she was receiving enough looks to make her feel awkward. Karma was attracting a great deal of attention, which placed her, as his companion, in the limelight as well. The boy in question simply shoved his hands into his pockets, indifferent to his popularity.

Class F was at the far end of the hallway, next to an exit leading to outside stairs. Two sliding doors opened onto the classroom, one by the back and one by the front. Manami lead the way in through the front door, pausing for a moment to survey the room. Karma stepped in behind her and did the same.

They were the first ones to arrive in class F. The desks were lined up neatly, chairs untouched. Every surface was spotless—even the teacher's desk was clear of all objects. Karma pulled out a seat in the far back and dropped into it. Manami took a seat in the very front, six rows ahead. They sat for a while in silence, both of them unwilling to break the calmness pervading the space.

The calm before the storm, Manami thought, as footsteps neared the room.

Thank you all for reading! Please review!

I never knew how encouraging a nice review was until I started writing, but man, they do wonders for my ego! Thank you djinfiend, Mugi-pyon, XBakaNinGyoX!

Just to let you know, I am correcting the errors in this story as I go along. Don't worry, I won't be changing anything big. It's mostly grammatical stuff and little details.

Loads of love, Luminatto