Chapter Eight
KARMA'S POV
The next day was the dreaded assembly where the E class had the misfortune of having to join with the other brutes of the school. Though ironically, most of the school would consider those roles reversed.
Depsite what drama had occurred yesterday, one thing was for sure - I was not letting Nagisa walk to school on his own today. I knew he could look after himself if he wanted to. But simply put, with some bullies, Nagisa didn't want to.
He looked up in surprise when he saw me waiting outside his house leaning on the wall in the early hours of the morning, but he didn't look upset either.
Our conversation had a surprisingly tranquil flow to it - I thought for sure he would bring up yesterday and throw some form of tantrum. Instead. he ended up being the peaceful one, and I ended up being the protester.
"So you're still going to chase after Asano?"
I felt him tense from here, his hand slipping down to the bag at his side and playing with the strap.
"I'm doing this for his own benefit as well as mine."
"What do you mean by that? You think letting him vent his anger on you is healthy? It won't make him like you any better and even if it somehow does, being a punch bag at the start can only lead down the path to a terrible relationship."
He stuck his tongue out rather childishly, dismissively as though this situation wasn't serious at all. "I know that of course."
I waited for him to expand patiently, wondering why on earth he was still letting this go on? Was he really that damaged? Was he really that... in love? My gaze darkened, knowing fully well that if Nagisa wanted to punch me bloody I would gladly wear his bruises.
He said nothing else. Didn't add on, didn't change the subject, his eyes were averted so he wasn't waiting for my response - I could tell his was lost in thoughts that I probably wouldn't like.
"If you won't stop it yourself, I will. Anything Asano does to you I'll do to him."
He looked at me like I had just cursed in a shrine,"N-No! You hitting him won't come to any good at all! I know you're trying to be helpful, but...well you'd understand if you knew.."
"Then let me know."
Nagisa stared at me in a concerned way so intently I became concerned he wasn't looking where he was going. Finally, his firmed eyebrows relaxed and he breathed a sigh.
"Gaku-! A-Asano's father... abuses him. I've known this for a while now, and unfortunately not because he trusted me enough to tell me, but because I accidentally saw it. What he does to him... it isn't like what he does to the other students, at first that was all it was, verbal, and emotional abuse, but over the years it became more than that, and it's affected Asano's mind in a terrible way. He's only so afraid of being weak, losing and every other insecurity he has because of his father, and eventually he got violent. I-I was stupid and crazy when I did this, but I thought if I let myself be hurt by A-Asano, that not only would he understand his father and lose some his stress, I thought maybe he'd feel guilty about what he'd done and realise that this is wrong enough for him to get some help."
Suddenly, the inferiority in Asano's eyes flashed in my mind, the modesty he'd always had in his clothing, and the almost fear he had for coming second. I remembered now that he used to not be so terrible many, many years ago when he was just a blurry face in a class who I couldn't have cared less about. So many things clicked in my mind, that I realised couldn't be a coincidence. Nagisa was telling the truth.
At that moment, I had never wanted to hug Nagisa more, but not wanting to alarm him after last night, I simply reached my hand around his arm and brushed my fingers against his irresistibly smooth skin comfortingly, letting the warmth from out bodies shamelessly intertwine at this point of connection.
"You really are something of an angel, Nagisa. He's lucky to have yo-"
"Eugh! That's disgusting!" A shrill voice interrupted my thoughts. Both of our heads turned sharply to see several students in the crowd we had walked into leering at us, snickering judgmentally.
My eyes narrowed. "I'm sorry, would whoever said that kindly step up to my face so I can break theirs?"
There was some movement before a girl in a younger year went running backwards in shame. This was exactly why I didn't want Nagisa here. The A, B, C and D class all thought they were so superior they would literally find anything they could to mock the E class.
The A class generally mocked intelligence, the B class would often look for any creative reason they could, the C class generally followed the other trends mindlessly as for the D class students, who weren't much better, they looked for any reason at all to despise us.
All this negative energy made me wish I could trap Nagisa in a bubble so he couldn't hear them, but while the nearest option to that would be beating them all silent, I knew that would only upset him more. I tried to get us both into the building quickly, but it seemed the teasing today was relentless.
In fact, it was extraordinarily harsh. Could it be the hatred towards our success this year? In the background and saw who I recognised as Hara walking by completely undisturbed in contrast to us. At this point I didn't doubt that the attention was on me or Nagisa specifically.
"Move yourself E class faggot!" A boy nudged into Nagisa's shoulder, coincidentally the one with the slowly healing bruise, and when his arm slipped from mine, and his body shuddered, I'd had enough. My slowly slipping self control was lost.
His friends around him were laughing until my foot swiped their knees, my hand reaching for the offenders throat and pinching it in my grasp, slamming him into the concrete floor, holding him by the arms and replacing my hand with my foot, ready to press down and crush him.
"Karma!" Nagisa exclaimed from behind my ears, in a tone that told me he had seen this coming.
"I have to teach this piece of shit a lesson on respect, Nagisa~" My voice turned cold, eyes glaring into his as his friends stumbled in panic,"I don't know what bullshit you're spitting or why you think you have the right to judge, but you need reminding of your place."
He laughed dauntingly, an unusual reaction,"Bullshit? Yeah right! You can't deny it, the pics are everywhere!"
Before he could finish, I leaned half of my weight down and cut of his speak with a choking wail, releasing him shortly after kicking him in the ribs once more.
After that, I'd like to say the teasing stopped, but in all honesty, the confidence he'd had in his words only made me feel more anxious as we made our way into the hall, less than oblivious to the glares and harsh, condescending mutterings.
"Ignore them Nagisa."
I told him, but I had just as much concern in my eyes as he did.
When Gakushuu Asano walked up onto the stage, my eyes narrowed. He was on crutches with just as many bandages as I had seen before. I saw Nagisa stiffening in front of me. I could tell he was worried. From beside me, I heard the gossip that he had been in a sports injury, that he had been attacked in the street but managed to take down the assailants, or even that he had saved an old lady from getting mugged. They all thought he was so great, and they all pitied him so much. If it weren't for my sense of reinvigorated self restraint - courtesy of Nagisa - I would have whispered back the truth just to see the look on their face at the news that their beloved A class student and Chairman weren't so perfect after all.
I dragged my eyes back and saw the strawberry blond looking down and speaking as charismatically and confidently as always. They were presenting some kind of survey, but whatever it was, I couldn't care less.
"...And thanks to our contributions, their rates are up by 20%." When he finished his little speech, the rest of the off the school clapped. Light purple eyes flickered down to me for the briefest second that I didn't miss, hardening as if he was so superior for being applauded up on the stage like that.
Was that what he thought this was about? Is that why he thought I tried so hard to take first place? He was an idiot if he thought this was some kind of popularity contest. Part of me wished I hadn't been locking so he could see just how little I cared. Part of me thought it was kind of sad.
Suddenly, Nagisa stumbled back. We had been standing still for so long, and I was so sidetracked I could barely react in time.
"Whoah...'you alright?" I caught his stumbling, but my sound went unheard as the school around as erupted into "Ohs."
Nagisa's eyes were wide, staring straight ahead as if he had just seen a ghost.
It was then that I realised the Nagisa wasn't the only one. Everyone around me had their eyes glued ahead and from far beside us, I could hear loud laughter, and when I turned my vision to others outside of the E class, all eyes that were once on the projector, were now on...me?
"Karma..." Nakumara's voice trailed off behind me, full of sympathy. Sympathy I didn't understand. What was going on?
By now, I had the courage to look back to the stage, only to see a single stuttering, confused member of the A class tapping away at his computer announcing that there had been some kind of error in their presentation.
Aside from that, the top five of the school wore nothing but triumph on the faces that had previously met the end of my fist. In the very centre of them, Gakushuu looked down at me in contempt. Whatever happened, they were behind it.
I finally looked up.
On the board, there were a series of pictures showing none other than two boys with red hair and blue hair; me and Nagisa. I had no idea when these pictures had been taken, but I knew for sure that taken out of context they didn't look good at all.
There was me playing with Nagisa's hair on the sports field, several of him leaning on me from what looked like the schools surveillance as we walked out of the dark forest together, and worst of all from just outside the showers in the empty changing room, where the angle of me leaning into him could easily look like we were kissing each other.
My breath hitched at remembering that day, knowing fully well that if I had given in to my temptations (knowing that I came damn close) and kissed Nagisa into forgetting about his bruises like I had dreamed of doing, this could have been a lot worse. I just had to tell Nagisa that, there was no real problem here as they already hated us.
My gaze is snapped down when I feel Nagisa's weight disappear from me. His name left my mouth, and my eyes widened at the sight of him running. I couldn't seem to get to him fast enough. The despicable classes around us jeer loudly as the door is slammed and Bitch-Sensei left chasing him out of the room.
Everything happened so fast, the door was shut, and I was left with my ears throbbing from an intense overload of noise. As I stand there, Kayano mouths words at me that I can't hear and whispers around me to stay calm are suppressed by the growing chants of hateful words towards not just us, but the rest of the class as well. Towards Nagisa.
"Well," A microphone aided voice, easily dominated the other sounds, as all eyes turn to the stage. "For little Shiota to react that way, these photo's must be real."
Following a bitter smile, the hall is once again submerged in chaos.
NEUTRAL POV
In everyone's eyes, Karma Akabane, the boy with the reputation of bloody hands had his teeth grit, his veins popped, his nails dug into his palms in a fist and his eyes shined with bloodlust.
They know it's only a little longer until he snapped just as well as the mastermind looking down on them knew.
A broken, bandaged boy verse a brute famous for violence? Did the students care about something like a fair fight? Of course not, and those who did were silenced by the more nefarious others that overpowered them with the want to see any good fight.
Cursing chants rained down on that one boy, aggressive eyes bore into his mind, everyone challenged him, channelled fury into him. But Karma drowned out all sounds completely. To him it was all just useless noise, all words of wisdom from E class members and all threats from imposing teachers that tried to weigh him down with their pathetically unfair system went unheard. There had never been a more blatant manipulation of access to security cameras. An obvious abuse of power.
The school watched him, waiting to see the excitement of fists meeting fists of two of the strongest students in the building.
The E class watched him, waiting and wondering if an assassin in training would lose control of himself enough to end the fight easily with simple blood shed, cursing all their names and futures in that one slip up.
Gakushuu watched him, waiting for the pain he was willing to feel as sacrifice to get his competition eliminated. Likely locked away in some centre for juvenile criminals where he was no more than any other prisoner without rights.
As for the boy himself, he knew all of this. Karma headed up to the stage, knowing that he has it in him to say a few simple words that will simply destroy not only Asano but his father, their reputation and business as well. He would never see it coming. It really would destroy him and display him as the true victim that he hated to be, yet was.
Asano flinched when the boy stood before him. His eyes were shut, taking a step back with a squared jaw, preparing for a harsh hit on already badly bruised skin.
Instead, he felt a sharp wisp against him, a sting as the microphone was snatched off of him and put on to Karma's face.
Gakushuu's eyes widen, as if knowing that letting him speak will be the end of it all, he makes a move forward on his two injured legs, only to be paralysed by the proprietorial eyes of the Chairman across the room looking ahead at him in shame. That's the moment went Gakushuu realises the mistake he made. Unfortunately, having had no way of knowing this, Karma opened his mouth anyway.
"So you all think it's so funny that your school records two boys half naked in the changing rooms to show to assembly?!"
The laughter and mockery died down as soon he said those words, loud enough for the whole room - possibly even outside to hear.
"It's not like that! This wasn't intended - it must have been some kind of mistake!" The boy at the computer attempted, only to be silenced with a glare.
"You might not have realised, but a slide like that doesn't just make itself. No. Someone with access to this kind of footage showed this to us intentionally." He snapped, eyes dragging over to Gakushuu so obviously, not only to the stage but to the rest of them, the whole school knowing fully well that he was the only one with the influence to do so.
"Well then you fucking scandal?! What were your intentions, to shame me?" He laughed, eyes jabbing in to him, words adding insult to injury, "To make Nagisa feel weak and cry? Or let me guess, your panties are still fucking twisted over the thought of coming second to me? Is that what this was, revenge? Because of course, this mentally damaged school doesn't give a shit about the equal rights of you the second you let your grades drop and give it a bad name, it's all about your name isn't it? You just can't handle losing."
The sea of students looked up in a silently, suffocating shock. "...Congratulations."
At this words, the red head turned away from the rest of the class, his eyes solely focused on widened purple orbs, "I can honestly face you all and say that I don't feel a single shred or shame for any of these photo's, in fact I'm glad the rest of a school what kind of pathetic, desperate person they really admire so much. This person taking a grudge with one boy and exposing your own friend who hid your secret on his back in silence for years - trust me, I know what secret - just because you know you've fucked him up in the head for him not to tell on you." He finished, taking off his mic and dropping it to the floor before the shocked strawberry blond. Aside from that aching sound in the speakers, the room was silent.
"I hope you're proud." The redhead muttered for only those two to hear, before he jumped off the few steps to the stage and headed out of the door which Nagisa left, allowing the universally held breath of anticipation in that hall to be released.