Warmth In Cold Days

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Ansatsu Kyoushitsu. Or any references and story pieces used that are clearly not of my own creation.

Prelude

Manami could not breathe.

Not when there was an overly warm body lying next to here - two steely arms wrapped intimately around her, firmly holding her flush against aforementioned male body; his warm exhaled breath ghosted over her oversensitive ears; while soft red hair caressed her flushed cheeks.

Manami had tried to escape before but to no avail. Even when asleep, he was undeniably strong.

Resting her head against the pillow, Manami contemplated on what she had done to wrong the world to have it force to place her in this embarrassing situation.

Inhale.

"Ma...nami..."

Exhale.

Because she was being hugged like a cuddly teddy bear by none other than her classmate, Akabane Karma.

Few Hours Ago...

Location: Akabane Residence, Front Gates

Time Stamp: Friday, 5:13 p.m._

Wringing her hands together nervously, Okuda Manami hesitated in front of the large gate and buzzer, wondering whether or not she should just walk away and pretend that she never came here in the first place.

'I s-shouldn't think like that, it's n-not very nice,' she chided herself, huffing for thinking such a thing in the first place. Manami took a deep breath. 'Y-you c-can do it! J-just...just press the button!'

So with shaken resolve, she pressed the buzzer firmly. As she clutched the paper bag to her chest, she tried not to think of how the loud, static sound that echoed in response sounded incredibly ominous.

It had not escaped her or anyone else's notice that Akabane Karma had been absent for nearly a week. While a one or two days of absence could be linked to Karma playing hooky as usual, a week of him not attending school was...highly suspicious. And worrying.

Very worrying.

The answer to his absence came that day, on Friday morning. According to Nagisa, to whom Karma had texted back a - very long overdue - reply, he was bedridden with a nasty case of the flu.

(Nagisa flushed as he continued, now silently, reading, prompting Nakamura to snatch his phone and began to croon at how cute it would be for Nagisa to take care of Karma in a maid's outfit. A statement to which everyone laughed too as Nagisa sputtered in embarrassment)

Along the conversation, Koro-sensei had commented on how lonely Karma must feel to be sick at home by himself with no one to take care of him.

(though after realising what he had said however, Koro-sensei quickly closed his mouth shut, and began wailing about he failed in maintaining his code of student-teacher confidentiality, how Karma would forever hate him now, and he should just jump off the nearest bridge for committing this sin; off to one side, Nagisa absentmindedly added another weakness in his book)

Manami had felt ashamed when she heard that her classmate had been sick and alone for the whole week, and she never even bothered to find out the reason of his absence. It had made her feel horribly guilty.

"W-we should, should g-go visit him if Karma-kun is sick," she had said, gathering Nakamura's attention; feeling a bit intimidated, she rushed her next words. "I-I know...it's horrible when you are sick and...and no one's there to take care of you. Karma-kun s-shouldn't have to be alone," she said, ducking her head, not seeing the sudden scheming gleam in Nakamura's eyes.

Manami looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Ne, you're right Okuda-chan," Nakamura said, leaning. "It is sad that Karma hasn't have any visitors yet. Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we both visit him today after school?"

If Manami was more people orientated, alarm bells should have started blaring in her head the moment Nakamura casually posed idea.

But as she was not, she thought nothing of her suggestion of being other than just a compassionate classmate wanting to help and nodded her head in agreement, unknowingly falling into Nakamura's carefully worded trap. "T-that's a-a great i-idea Nakamura-san!"

Nakamura slapped her shoulder playfully. "That's the spirit, Okuda-chan!"

Maehara, who had heard the two of them however, did not quite agree with the sentiment and with a face of abject horror, started jabbering to her about how "the world would be destroyed tomorrow" or "you can't do this Okuda, think of the innocence people you are condemning" or "you both are a match no one needs" to which even now Manami still could not understand no matter how hard she tried.

(It didn't help for the fact that Nakamura deemed Maehera as a threat to her plans, which Manami was oblivious to, and decided right there and then to silence him by stuffing one of Koro-sensei's tentacle inside his mouth; thus class ended that day with Okajima having lots of blackmail photos to scare Koro-sensei with the idea that his precious students might on day eat him; even though it is very, very unlikely)

So lost in her own thoughts, Manami gave a frightened yelp when she suddenly felt her phone ring. Fumbling with the phone, she slides the screen to answer.

"M-moshi-moshi, Nakamura-san."

"Okuda-chan~" Nakamura's loud voice transmitted from the other end of the call. "I'm sorry but I have some bad news. I just remembered that I have an appointment today; it's very urgent, and unfortunately I can't cancel."

What?! Manami practically pressed her ear against the phone as she protested. "B-but...N-Nakamura-san!" She could not help but feel like someone had just pulled a rug underneath her feet, and she's left with struggling to maintain her balance. "Isn't t-there another way?" she asked, a bit desperate.

Manami heard the blonde girl sighed. "Again, I'm sorry about springing this onto you at the last minute, Okuda-chan," Nakamura said, her tone full of regret. "I wouldn't have made any promises if I had known that I couldn't keep them. But really, what's done is done, and cannot be undone."

"I guess y-your right, N-Nakamura-san," she replied dejectedly, pulling on one of her braids. "I-I'll j-just visit K-Karma-kun s-some other day then."

"Eh~what are you saying, Okuda-chan? You don't need me to be there. You can just have to visit Karma by yourself, can't you?"

If she wasn't so concerned about trying to not stutter at Nakamura's innocuous question, Manami would have noted the strange sounds of a scuffle coming from the other end along with muted voices shouting.

"B-But w-wouldn't that be awkward? I'm...I'm j-just his l-lab partner, Nakamura-san," she said quietly; there was a dull, aching pain in her chest as she said it, remembering all the times that the redhead sought her out just for chemicals and poisons. While it was nice to be feel needed, she knew that she should not hope for him to share with her those close bonds he had with Nagisa and Nakamura. As disheartening as it sounds, she knew her place; just a means to an end. "I-I'm s-sure he would f-feel better if...if you or Nagisa-kun came i-instead. Y-You're his f-frien...friend."

The 'and I'm not, remained unsaid.

There was a long pause; it went on for so long that she had begun to fear that she had said too much when Nakamura finally responded. "Okuda-no. Manami-chan," the blonde corrected herself; the bespectacled chemist felt herself blush at the sound of her given name. Thus far, no one had ever bothered to address her as such; either out of courtesy or lack of interest to get to know her better. And while for the longest time, she had viewed Nakamura as (a playful and mischievous) an older sister she never had...

"Manami-chan," she repeated, this time in a firmer tone. "You are Karma's friend. As long as I've known him, I never saw him spend so much of his spare time with anyone, except you."

"N-Nakamura-san..."

"No, listen to me. Manami-chan, you're brilliant. Hell, you wouldn't be in Class 3-E if you weren't." Manami can't help but smile a little about how ironic that statement was; before Koro-sensei, the government-issued assassination and the birth of the crescent moon...having your name listed under Class 3-E meant you were a failure. Trash. Worthless. "So slap away those gloomy thoughts of yours before I do it for you; in Class 3-E we're all classmates, we're all friends, we're family. Because if no one else is willing to accept you, you sure as hell can bet that we will," Nakamura finished, just as she heard something crash from wherever the blonde was.

"I...t-thank you for cheering me up," Manami replied softly, trying to keep her emotions at bay. But no matter how hard she tried, a little tear slipped down her left cheek. Though she was smiling, loving the warmth spreading from her heart to the rest of the body. "T-Thank...you..."

"Aww Manami-chan, I didn't mean to make you sad. Please don't cry, alright?"

"I-I'm alright...I-It's just that...I'm s-sorry, but after all this, I-I don't think I c-could address you as 'N-Nakamura-san' anymore," she sniffed, her voice thick. The phone shook in her hand as she said her next words, trembling due to her chaotic emotions, "C-Could I p-perhaps call you, R-Rio-nee?"

A frightening pause. And then...

"YES! Yes, you can call me that! I don't mind!" Nakamura (or should she say Rio now?) shouted gleefully in agreement, nearly sending Manami into a heart attack at the suddenness of it all. "Ahem well what I mean to say was," Rio coughed, smoothing her voice into her usual volume. "You're welcome to call me that, Manami-chan. I always wanted a little sister," she cooed, her Cheshire Cat smile could be practically heard from her voice. "Oh, just imagine the things that we could do together! We could go shopping, sightseeing, go shopping, eat ice-cream, go shopping! I'm going to spoil you rotten, Manami-chan~!"

Said aforementioned girl just laughed lightly at her elder 'sister's antics. "T-That's n-nice, R-Rio-nee," Manami said, blushing when the blonde girl laughed delightedly at her new title. Another thought occurred to her when she glanced down at the gift basket wrapped around her fingers. "A-Ano...R-Rio-nee?" she said hesitantly, biting her lips. "D-Do I s-still have to v-visit, K-Karma-kun?"

Rio tsked; Manami felt guilt assault her from the sound alone. "Karma needs his friends, Manami-chan~" the other half of the Twins of Mischief drawled. "Are you seriously going to abandon him after volunteering to help him? Hidoi, Manami-chan~"

"I-It's n-not that, Rio-nee-" Manami tried to explain, but Rio cut her off before she could even get a word in.

"Ah, I'm sorry my precious little sister, but Big Sis' has to go now." Rio said, in a mock tearful voice. Manami was startled when she heard someone groaning. "For heaven's sake, be quiet, damn it." It was hissed out so softly Manami would have missed it if she had not been listening carefully.

"R-Rio-nee? Just w-what kind of a-appointment d-do you have?" Now that there was nothing left to distract her, the bespectacled girl was becoming suspicious of the weird noises she was hearing through her phone. It wasn't normal. "I'm h-hearing s-strange s-sounds-"

A clear, high-pitched nervous laughter interrupted her. "A-Ah, don't worry your pretty little head over that, Manami-chan!" she said in a rushed manner. Rio sounded almost panicked. "It's nothing!"

"But-"

"Go take care of Karma, remember he needs you, you volunteered for it, so not take backs, gotta go now, bye~" As quickly as Rio said it, she hung up the phone before she could have a chance to reply.

For a while, Manami stared at the 'call ended' notification on her screen.

Location: Kunugigaoka Junior High School, Class 3-E

Time stamp: 5:37 p.m._

Somewhere, near the forest surrounding Class E, Nakamura snickered to herself in front of her captives who were all tied up with the spare rope she found in the shed.

Nagisa.

Maehara.

"Why am I even here?" the lone girl with green hair cried out in protest.

And Kayano.

Nakamura flipped her forehead with a casual flick. "You saw me take these two," she jabbed at the general direction of the unconscious boys. "Making you a key witness. So I had to take you too."

Kayano frowned. "Whatever your planning Nakamura-san, just so you know I-"

"I'm matchmaking Okuda and Karma together."

"-am totally 100% on board with it!" she finished, her eyes sparkling with the familiar gleam of a fangirl.

Nakamura chuckled. "I knew I could count on you," she said, brandishing a knife and promptly cutting the ropes from shorter girl.

Dusting herself, Kayano looked back at Nagisa and Maehara. "I see...so I'm guessing you drugged these two because they would interfere?"

"Smart girl," Nakamura said, patting her head. "So now that I can trust you, could you watch over these two clowns while I go off to find a broom closet?"

"Yosh!" Kayano cheered.

Nakamura smirked. "Perfect."

Location: Akabane Residence, Front Gates

Time stamp: 5:39 p.m._

What am I going to do now? she thought, biting her lips. Glancing up again at the imposing house, Manami shuffled her feet, her current indecision eating away at her. Rio-nee...why did you have to guilt trip me?

It is not that she did not want to help Karma (she really did; she was standing in front of his house, wasn't she?) but...after Rio had said about how Karma considers her as his friend, she felt a twinge of fear and nervousness at the thought of facing the redhead after the unexpected revelation. What does it mean to have a friend? Manami questioned herself, hugging the gift basket to her chest. Is it the same as having a sister like Rio-nee? To have someone who cares and be there for you?

An image of Karma flashed in her mind.

Then, why does...Her heart threatened to leap into her mouth as she mentally forced herself to finish the thought, putting the name to what she was feeling. Why does the thought of having Karma-kun as a friend...frighten me?

Manami did not really have an answer to that.

"Mmn...Okuda?"

For the second time that day, Manami jumped when a hazy, static voice suddenly spoke from an intercom installed at the gates. "A-Ah, K-Karma-kun!" she stuttered, quite unsettled by his presence (even though he was not physically standing next to her). Hand over her heart, she faced the camera. "Y-You s-scared me."

"Is that so?" There was nonchalant hum, followed by some light coughing. She frowned at the sound, concerned about how chesty it sounded.

"A-Are you alright?"

"Fine, just fine," Karma said, though with no small amount of irritation. Manami refused to show how discomfited she was by his tone. Coughing a bit, he continued, "Though, I'm more curious about what you're doing here. I thought your house was the other way, Okuda."

"A-Ah." She wrung her hands. "W-Well, that's-"

"And why you've been standing in front of my gates for the past twenty..." More coughing. "Twenty minutes or so. I never knew you were secretly a stalker."

Her face coloured; both at his statement and teasing. "Y-You were w-watching?" she said, mortified. What if...what if Karma-kun heard everything I had said to Rio-nee? "Y-You didn't h-happen to be l-listening, w-were you?" Please say no.

Another hum. "Well that would be interesting, wouldn't it?" Manami paled, already edging away from the intercom. "Relax, Okuda. I didn't listen to any of your phone talk."

Her shoulder slumped in relief. "O-Oh."

"But you're deflecting my question. I asked you why you're here." There was a pause filled with some shuffling. "Oi, what's that in your hand?"

"Oh!" Manami thrust the paper bag in what she thought to be the general direction of the camera. "I-I...brought some m-medicine and...juice boxes. For you," she said hastily, fumbling over her words. "Um, and...and I'm h-here to help you get better."

"..."

"K-Karma-kun?" she asked, hesitantly. Does...does Karma-kun don't want me to help him?

Fortunately, she learned that this fear was unfounded when he begun to speak again. However, she was completely thrown off by his next words.

"Say...by any chance did that octopus sent you here, Okuda?" There was something weird in his voice when he asked, but Manami just chalked it up to Karma being sick.

"K-Koro-sensei?" She shook her head, her twin pigtails swinging behind her. "No. I c-came here because I-I heard you were sick and wanted to help you, Karma-kun. Rio-" Manami coughed, trying to cover her up her mistake. Ah, I almost called her Rio-nee. "I-I meant, N-Nakamura-san wanted to come too, but she told me that s-she actually h-had an appointment t-today." Unfortunately.

Another long pause.

Then, "Well then," Karma said finally. "Since you're here already, you might as well come in."

"Ah, t-thank you K-Karma-kun."

"Mm, don't mention it."

Location: Akabane Residence, Karma's Bedroom

Time Stamp: 5:45 p.m._

Nakamura, huh? How irritating.

Flopped on his bed, Karma stared at the ceiling, uninterested. Head pounding, palms sweaty and throat burning from an incoming coughing fit; Karma never felt more worn out in his entire life than he did at that moment. It was downright awful.

And in all honesty, he did not need to add dealing with Okuda in his house on top of everything else. Covering his mouth, he hacked out a cough, grimacing at the little red splatters on the back of his hand.

Carelessly wiping it at the front of his rumpled shirt, Karma remained motionless for a moment, trying to savour a whole full minute of golden silence before reality (in the form of the doorbell ringing) forced him to get up from bed; which he did so painstakingly, wincing every now and then as his muscles protested vehemently against his actions.

Panting, Karma leaned heavily on the bedpost, his legs weak and barely supporting his weight. Three days of forcibly being bedridden have seriously taken its toll on his body, much to his growing frustration.

Flinty mercury eyes glanced briefly at the bedside table, where an abnormally large bottle of shampoo sat. Should I consider it weird that I get angry whenever I look at it? Though somehow, in a perverse way, the anger gave him strength he needed to continue his (slow) journey towards the door and down the many many steps of his stairwell.

Buzz. Buzz.

"A-Ano...Karma-kun?" a small timid voice called out from behind the door.

She distracted herself by fiddling idly with the wicker basket as she waited patiently outside the door. After the initial shock of having the gates opening automatically (she is embarrassed to admit that she had yelped when that happened), Manami had cautiously ventured inside to find herself in a small compound.

It was a relatively modest compound; standardized and functional as any other accommodations with the same design. But what set the Akabane residence apart from the rest was the contradictory existence of colourful flora in a concrete garden; potted plants housing flowers of many varied designs and styles, along with relatively small but present patch of grass at one corner.

Manami honestly never thought of having plants in her own house; it was not practical since they were living in a city after all. But after seeing these plants surviving in this cold grey world they lived in...Maybe, she thought jokingly to herself, I should consider getting some flowers of my own.

Just then the door creaked open hesitantly; startled lilac orbs clashed with exhausted silver. Karma leaned against the door frame, his deep breaths filing the silence as she took in his rumpled appearance; a black T-shirt that was creased horribly, a red runny nose and bloodshot eyes with frightening bags underneath them.

"Y-You look t-terrible, K-Karma-kun," Manami could not help but blurt out. Eyes wide, she immediately placed her hands over her mouth. "I-I'm s-sorry..." she stuttered, her voice muffled by her hands. She looked down at her shoes. "T-That was u-uncalled for."

Said redhead gave her a half-hearted glare. "Gee, you think?" he said sarcastically, but not unkindly. Manami flushed in embarrassment. Huffing slightly, Karma opened the door wider, leaving her to stand at the doorstep. "Well don't just stand there," he said, when he did not hear her come in. Karma coughed, gesturing at her with his free hand. "Come in. Make yourself at home, or whatever."

"H-Hai." Manami took off her shoes, placing them neatly by the door. "P-Please pardon the intrusion." Then, with a moment of hesitance, she followed after the redhead.

Karma did not bother to speak as he busily laboured with each step. Manami who was feeling a little out of place and not sure of what to do next, kept quiet. Thus, an uncomfortable silence settled between them.

Trying not to let the situation unnerve her, Manami took the time to look around and examine the interior as she had done with the exterior of the house. It did not take her long to come to a brief conclusion. It's very messy and cluttered, she thought to herself. I feel like I'm in a storage room of forgotten treasures.

While it may seem like an exaggeration to say that, what she thought was true. Tall and imposing glass cabinets displayed various nick knacks of all shapes and sizes; colourful and eye-catching. Vases, urns and large round-bottom pots were pushed up against the wall, their mesmerizing patterns had her eyes tracing the intricacies of their designs. Overhead, dream catchers hang freely with dangling chains, pure white feathers attached to delicate strings, fluttering to a non-existent wind.

They passed by an open door; to satiate her curiosity, she peered inside to see a room dedicated to be a miniature library. Books seem to bursts from where they were haphazardly arranged on the shelves; wonderfully thick volumes of knowledge that practically sang to her as she perused the titles.

I didn't know Karma-kun read, the thought crossed her mind, but she immediately felt guilty for thinking that. It was rude of her to assume things about people, and Karma was no different. But...having discovered something she knew that so little people truly know about him, she felt her heart flutter a bit. Maybe...maybe I could ask Karma-kun to lend his books sometime.

Manami was startled out of her thoughts when there was a loud crash.

"D-Damn it," she heard the redhead cursed as she rushed to where he was. Karma was on the floor, gripping his ankle in pain. There was an irritated expression on his face, which continued to darken by the minute when he realized that he could not stand up without the pain flaring up. "Che, typical."

Looking around, it seemed as if his legs could no longer take the toll of supporting him, and hence he collapsed. Manami felt the floor, feeling something sharp digging into the palm of her hand; broken shards of something plastic. She assumed that Karma had tried to keep his balance by trying to grab onto something.

"K-Karma-kun, are you alright? L-Let me see it," she said, bending down to examine the ankle herself. She tested it, tensing when Karma let out a soft hiss as she pressed her finger on a tender spot. I need ice. She glanced at the floor again. But Karma-kun can't stay here. It's dangerous.

"Well, what great deduction have you come up with other than its just sprained," an inpatient voice broke her thoughts. Biting her lip at his tone, she pressed none to gently at that rather tender spot again. "Ouch! That hurt, Okuda," he gritted out, hands clenching into fists as he glared at the bespectacled girl.

"I'm s-sorry, Karma-kun," she stuttered out, withdrawing her hands, surprised by her own actions. However, she realized that, even though she apologized, she noticed she did not feel apologetic at all for hurting him. Why do I have these conflicting feelings? For some reason, his particular brand of rudeness today sort of irked her. Am I waiting for him to show me that he's grateful that I'm here? Some form of kindness? Acknowledgement?

Manami considered her thoughts, before dismissing them. They were unimportant anyways. What was important was that she help her struggling classmate like she had promised herself to do. "A-Ano...I-I need t-to move you f-first. D-Do you m-mind if I h-helped you?"

"Just get on with it." Karma moved his leg, face contorted into a pained grimace. "Damn it," he cursed again. "Okuda, don't just stand there. Give me a hand."

"Um...h-how should I-" she said, not sure where to place her hands to help her classmate get up. "I-I mean..."

"Geeze, do I really have to tell you what to do for everything?" Karma said condescendingly, sighing dramatically.

Manami felt a brief flare of anger at the way he was dismissing her as incompetent, before forcibly quashing it down. Karma-kun is sick, Karma-kun is sick, hitting a sick person is bad, Karma-kun is sick, she repeated the mantra in her head, calming herself down.

"O-Ok then," she said, taking a deep breath. "What I m-meant to say was, w-where should I put my hands? A-Around your waist or s-should I just hold onto your arm, to help you get up. I-I don't want to aggravate your ankle."

"My arm is fine," he answered shortly, offering her one of his limb. She took it, wrapping her own arms around it. "On the count of three. One. Two. Three." Manami put her whole strength in pulling him up. Karma-kun is heavy. Huffing, she unconsciously pulled him too hard and they ended up stumbling into each other before she righted them both.

She felt the whole length of his arm trembled as he turned his face away to cough. "Y-You...you can let go now. I can walk by myself," he coughed out, tugging his hand back. And she let him. Though she still stuck close to him, not wanting him to step on any of the shards still on the floor. Manami bent down and picked them up as they walked.

"W-Where's the kitchen?" she asked, seeing a rubbish bin situated in one corner. As she threw away the broken pieces, Karma leaned on the wall, watching her.

"Just through this archway," he told her, jabbing his thumb to the side. "Though I'm not really sure whether or not there's an ice pack in the freezer."

"T-That's alright. W-We can use cold water if there isn't any," she said, already making her way towards the refrigerator. She could see that the kitchen was well arranged and airy, and made a mental note to look at it properly later. For now, she needed to get the ice.

"Did you find any?" he called out, gingerly lowering himself on the couch. The kitchen was connected to a small living room, a large TV sitting on one table, facing the room. Personally, Karma enjoyed how the house was designed; it made it easier to eat and watch TV at the same time.

Manami opened the freezer, sighing in relief as she took out the ice. "H-Hai."

Walking to where he was sitting, both legs propped up on the coffee table, she carefully placed the ice pack on the sprained ankle. His face relaxed as the cold numbed the pain slightly.

"Thanks," he said, closing his eyes. Honestly, he was feeling a bit better, even though he was still sick. Karma sniffed, rubbing over his bloodshot eyes. Geeze, he felt completely drained and all he did was walk around for a bit.

"A-Ano...d-did Karma-kun have dinner yet?" a soft voice said, pulling him away from falling into the abyss he knew was sleep.

Karma did not look at her. "I haven't eaten anything since yesterday."

Her eyes widened in shock. "W-What? H-How could you starve yourself like that?" she demanded. Karma opened his eyes, watching her with disinterest as she proceeded to disregard his personal space to place her hands on his cheeks.

He did blink however when he felt a sudden stinging pain.

Rubbing his cheeks, he glared at her. "Did you just slap me?"

"I-I needed to make sure Karma-kun is t-thinking clearly, especially since he was too stubborn to inform anyone that he was s-starving himself," Manami replied back primly, her head held high (though Karma swore he heard her mutter something along the lines of 'Baka Karma' under her breath).

"Che, I can take care of myself. I don't need anyone's help for anything."

Manami walked up to him, and gently took one of his hands.

Then, proceeded to use said hand to slap him. Again.

Karma glared at her, cradling his bruised cheek. "Could you stop doing that?" he grumbled, adjusting the ice pack on his ankle so that it rested more comfortably. "Aren't you supposed to be helping me and not be busy going about assaulting my face?"

"Karma-kun shouldn't s-say such mean things. I only d-did it so that Karma-kun could think more clearly."

Coughing, Karma shot her an unimpressed look. Right.

Manami pretended she did not see it, and made her way towards an overhead cabinet. "I-Is it alright for me to use your kitchen, K-Karma-kun? S-Seeing as we haven't eaten yet, I want to cook us dinner."

"In a different context, that statement would have been totally normal in a conversation between a married couple," he lazily drawled. Karma shifted so that he was sprawled on the couch, his hands placed behind his head, angling his head in such a way that he was still able to observe the little chemist flitting about his kitchen.

Manami gave him a look; Karma noted how the fry pan she was holding made her appear almost threatening. Almost.

"P-Please don't say such weird things, Karma-kun."

Karma stuck out his tongue.

Location: Akabane Residence, Kitchen

Time Stamp: 6:29 p.m._

"I meant to ask earlier, but won't your parents be worried?"

Manami did not pause from opening and closing the cabinets, frustrated that she could not find the sunflower oil anywhere. Distracted, she did not hear his question. "K-Karma-kun, where's the cooking oil?" she asked, bending down to check the lower cabinets. She let a triumphant smile grace her face when she took in the sight of the bottle. Carefully taking it out, she beamed as she waved it at the redhead, the light honey liquid sloshing inside. "N-Never mind, found it!"

"Congratulations, you're on step closer to becoming my housekeeper," he replied dryly, not seeming to care. Manami frowned at that, but kept her silence. Karma turned his gaze from the ceiling to her, silver eyes holding her temporarily in place. "But as thrilling as your discovery is, you still haven't answered my question, Okuda. Aren't your parents worried you're not back yet?"

"A-Aren't my parents worried–" she repeated before the words trailed off into nothingness.

Ah.

I should have expected him to ask that, she thought shifting under his gaze, not really wanting to answer.

Because by answering him, it meant that she had to think of her family–

Setting down the oil, she quietly took the frying pan she had found earlier and placed it on the stove. The ingredients were already set aside; a modest assemble of green vegetables and slippery glass noodles gathered from the fridge. Reaching for a knife and a cutting board, she placed them neatly on the kitchen island.

Manami really did not want to answer.

But Karma was waiting for a reply, filling the silence with his quiet coughs.

Eventually, she settled for a vague answer. "I-It's no trouble at all to help you. My p-parents, a-are off visiting a r-relative in the next. F-For the next few d-days." Technically not a lie. They were visiting a relative, just a lot further away than 'the next city.' "S-So, there is n-no one w-waiting for me at home tonight." Like it ever matters even if they were home.

But she did not say that part aloud.

"I see..." She suppressed the urge to flinch at the knowing tone in his voice, keeping her hands steady as she proceeded to wash the vegetables at the sink; the coolness of the running water helped calm her nerves. "How long are you planning to stay then?" he casually asked her.

It was a really simple question yet she felt highly unsettled by it.

"I-I don't want to impose f-for long..." Truly, she didn't. Aside from it being impolite to do so, the tension in air was beginning to make her uncomfortable. It was only her resolve to help her classmate that had her still standing in his kitchen. "I'll l-leave after making dinner. I-I only wanted to check on K-Karma-kun, that's all."

"Hn," was all he said in reply.

Words seem to have lost meaning after that conversation, as Manami turned all her of her concentration on making the stir-fry and Karma started to experiment on his ankle.

He was pleased to find that it no longer hurt, and tentatively stood up to test it. Though, after walking around the room a few times, he found himself seating at the kitchen island, absentmindedly watching the timid chemist cook.

Naive, Karma labelled her as she sprinkled a pinch of salt. It was so incredibly naive of her to have invited her vulnerable self into his house; a male teenager who lived alone without any adult supervision. She has absolutely no sense of self-preservation at all.

And it really irritated him.

"K-Karma-kun, here you go." Karma blinked, seeing a plate of steaming noodles placed in front of him. And then she was there at his side, setting a pair of chopsticks beside it before taking a seat across him. There was a brief hesitation in the way she reached for her chopsticks that had him tilting his head in thought.

"You didn't poison the food, did you?" he asked. Though it was meant to come off as a joke, the way she flinched made him slightly regret asking her that.

Looking at away from him, she quietly said, "I w-would like if you don't joke about that Karma-kun."

Shrugging, he covered his mouth with his left hand as he coughed. "Hm, don't take it so seriously, Okuda," he said as the coughs subsided. "However, I admit that you did look suspicious with your fidgeting." Her lips thinned at his response.

"T-That's not very nice, Karma-kun."

"Ah, but I'm not nice," he countered, picking up his own chopsticks. "Itadakimasu," he murmured, before beginning to eat. As he chewed, he considered the taste. It was a bit on the bland side, and could have used more salt. However, he attacked the broccoli and cauliflower with fervour, liking the subtly charred flavour it had.

Out of his periphery, he saw her huffed to herself before following him with her own "Itadakimasu." It amused him to see her look so peeved.

"So, h-how is it?"

Swallowing, he pretended to seriously think about it. "I think with practice," he said seriously. "You should consider about becoming my personal chef in the future, Okuda."

Karma bit back a smirk when he saw her face turn pink at his words. "P-Please don't say inappropriate things like that Karma-kun," she said with a slight downturn of her lips. "A-Answer honestly."

He raised an eyebrow, before shrugging. "It's okay, I guess," he said, picking up another broccoli. Chewing it, he swallowed. Seeing her downtrodden face, he hastily added, "Honestly, the thing could use a bit more salt, but other than that I like how you cooked the broccoli."

She perked up a bit. "R-Really?"

"Yes," he said, causing her to smile. It made him think as he stared at his plate. "Though now that I think about it, it's been a long time since I had someone cook for me," he murmured more to himself than to her, becoming a bit lost in thought. "I usually have to cook for myself."

I've been wondering about that. Where are Karma-kun's parents?

Manami chewed silently, unsure of whether or not to ask. It had been on her mind lately, after seeing the desolate state of the house. Sure, it was big and spacious, but it had an undercurrent of loneliness to it. Much like my own.

As she contemplated her own thoughts, she observed him as he ate.

Curious.

She was curious about her classmate – not classmate, she amended, friend.

Not much was known about him after all; especially his personal life outside the classroom. It naturally made her want to unearth the potential secrets that he probably has. But it was a vicious battle drawn between the need to satiate her curiosity and the need to respect his privacy. Karma-kun didn't press when I answered earlier. I…I probably shouldn't either if he doesn't want to tell me.

Clearing up the plates, she placed them in the sink. She heard the sounds of a chair scrapping behind her before she felt Karma coming to stand at her elbow, silently holding a dry cloth to wipe the plates.

It was a quick wash between two people and in less than a few minutes the plates were stowed away along with the glass cups and cutlery. However, as she hovered beside Karma just as he closed one of the shelves she could not reach, the urge to scratch the itch that was her curiosity became too great.

"Well that's the last of it. Okuda, let's-" Karma stopped mid-sentence when she tugged on his sleeve, drawing those mercury eyes to her. "What is it?"

I'm sorry, Karma-kun. But I have to ask-

So, despite knowing it was impolite, predictably enough in the end, she could not keep her curiosity at bay. "I...W-Where are your parents, Karma-kun?"

Location: Kunugigaoka Junior High School, Class 3-E

Time Stamp: Monday, 7:45 p.m._

"Ritsu," Nakamura said, steepling her fingers in front of her reminiscent of a villain in an old battered black and white movie, a displeased frown marring her features as she stared out the dirty window (of which she swears she had cleaned it until it was sparkling just the day before) of the 3-E classroom.

"Hai, Rio-chan!" The AI answered promptly, the virtual image of a preppy young girl with long fuchsia hair appearing on the screen of her smartphone. Ritsu's electric blue eyes peered curiously at her. "What can I help with?"

Nakamura pursed her lips. She had long since debated on the pros and cons of this conversation, weeks of agonising over the morality of the request battling against her desire to see the fruition of her beautiful masterpiece coming to life.

But Nakamura could never resist temptation that well, and allure of the 'feels' outweighed the fear of discovery and vicious retaliation (courtesy of the redheaded demon lord) if her muses ever found out of her little secret.

There were worse ways to die, she supposed. As they say, pick your poison.

And she had picked hers.

"The Akabane Residence," Nakamura said, enunciating the words carefully. Ritsu tilted her head, bemused. "Does it have any surveillance cameras? And if they do, could you hack into them and project the video recordings into my phone screen?"

"Please wait a moment." Ritsu disappeared, replaced by a scroll of green digits running down the length of her screen. "Searching for 'Akabane Residence.' Residence identified. Processing the floor plans and gaining access to surveillance cameras," Ritsu reported, her voice taking on a more robotic quality as she broke through the various securities that the Akabane had installed in their security system. "Access granted. Projecting videos onto body screen."

The bulky body that Ritsu uses during the day flickered to life, and Nakamura walks cautiously towards it, grinning in triumph when she saw the back of a familiar redhead sculling around his house, his expression stormy.

There was no audio (Ristu apologised and explained that the system was not equipped with one) but Nakamura was fine with watching the expressions and body gestures to figure out what they were saying. One of the skills of being an assassin.

"Nakamura-san!"

"It's not what it looks like!" the words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them, as she whipped around covering the screen with her body. Nakamura visibly relaxed when she saw it was only Kayano coming back from her run to the convenience store (she had lost their intense game of rock-paper-scissors with the scores two-to-five) looking very winded.

"Don't scare me like that, Kayano," she admonished, walking towards her to relieve the poor girl of her burdens; two plastic bags filled with bento and drinks for their impromptu late night marathon, staring Karma and Manami. "I almost thought you were Sensei and that would have been a disaster."

Kayano giggled. "Ne, only guilty people would react like that, Nakamura-san." Then, she noticed the screen. Her eyes widened. "No way," she said, her eyes wide as saucers as she stared at Nakamura. "You hacked into Karma's surveillance cameras? If he ever finds out, he's going to completely murder you," she whispered, horrified and impressed at the same time. "We'll never find your body."

"Yeah, well. I'd like to see him try," Nakamura said flippantly, nervously laughing off her own words.

Location: Akabane Residence, Kitchen

Time Stamp: 7:55 p.m. _

'S-So, there is n-no one w-waiting for me at home tonight.'

Manami suddenly found herself pressed flat against the refrigerator, with his hands resting on beside of her head, trapping her in place. "K-K-Karma-kun?" she asked, her brows furrowed and looking at him confused (and still unafraid).

'W-Where are your parents, Karma-kun?'

"It's irritating," Karma murmured silkily, tilting his head downwards so that their faces were at eye-level. Stop talking. Stop talking before you say something you might later regret. He forcibly pushed those thoughts away, letting the wounds from his loneliness reopen and fester with his extremely negative pent up emotions. "You're really irritating, you know that, Okuda? Coming into my home like you want to help me, cooking dinner and asking about my parents when it should have been obvious to you that it was none of your business."

"I'm s-sorry for asking." She was trembling, but her voice held firm. "So, c-could you please l-let me go." Manami tried pushing him back but to no avail; even when he was sick, Karma was a superhuman of the same breed as Karasuma-sensei. Ridiculously strong even after having been knocked down multiple times by a common cold.

Irritating? Is that what I am to him?

His eyes narrowed, tightening his grip on her hands; not enough to hurt but just enough to make a statement. "Worse of all, is that naivety you have," Karma hissed out. "It downright pisses me off." But you won't ever tell her the reason why, will you? "You barely even know me aside from our interactions in school yet you willingly stepped into my house like you've been here before, acting so familiar–" Stop brushing her off!

While Karma internally debated with himself, Manami tried hard to starve off the tears.

'You are Karma's friend,' Manami remembered Rio had said.

Am I? Am I really his friend? she questioned, though not without a small amount of self-loathing. Having to hear him call me irritating...It hurts. It really hurts. Am I really incapable of having any friends? Manami turned her head, trying to hide her glassy eyes. At least...I need to know..."W-Why?"

"You'd have to be a little more specific," he said, lowering his head as such that his mouth was directly by her ear; the feel of his warm breath on her was scalding. She tried to shift away, but with him aggressively encroaching on her personal bubble, there was barely anywhere to escape.

Weak.

"Tell me..."

Manami has always knew she was weak person; figuratively and literally. She had long ago come to accept it as a part of herself. She had learned to live with it.

"I couldn't quite catch that. Enunciate," Karma taunted; long, thin fingers digging into her shoulders. Irritation welled inside her as she reached up and captured his hand within her own. Liquid silver met shimmering violet.

She was weak.

But that does not mean that she will stay quiet and let him talk her down.

"Tell me..." she demanded, though her voice was no more than a whisper. Yet the underlying steel in her tone caught the redhead's attention nonetheless. Karma leaned back slightly to face her better. Manami used this to her advantage by pushing him back causing him to stumble back into the island, momentarily caught off-guard. "Tell me, Karma-kun, what did I do wrong?"

What indeed. The red head tightened his hold on her, choosing to ignore how she winced at the increased pressure. How long are you going to keep blaming her? "Get out," he gritted out, baring his teeth. Karma released her, taking a few steps back. Manami blinked at him, still shaking and confused. He turned away – he can't look at her directly in the eyes.

"Karma-kun…"

"Do I have to repeat myself? I said get out," he said harshly albeit in a soft tone. "Get out of here and leave me alone." Fists clenching and unclenching, Karma took a deep breath. "…you've (I've) done enough, for tonight."

He started to walk away, trying to ignore her trying to call him back. "Karma-kun!" she cried out. "Karma-kun, stop!"

A clap of thunder forced them to fall silent; what followed was the subsequent pitter patter of raindrops, and judging by how hard the tap tap tapping sound on the roof was, it was pouring heavily outside. A storm. An arc of light flashed. A lightning storm.

"Karma-kun…" Manami's voice trailed off, not sure how to take the way his tensed his shoulders. "Listen–"

"Okuda-san." Manami flinched at the formal use of her last name and what it meant; Karma still refused to look at her. "I'm tired and it has been a really long day – I'm going to retire to my room."

"But–" She wasn't really listening, still stung by what he just did.

"Since you're staying the night, take one of the guest rooms," he continued, pretending to not acknowledge her interruption. "There's some extra blankets and pillows in the closet underneath the stairs."

"I just–"

"Okuda-san." There it was again; the forced distance made her eyes stung. "I suggest that we don't bother each other until morning and then, I want you to leave. You have really…done enough." Karma left and Manami was now alone to stew herself in her own thoughts.

Climbing up the flight of stairs was more challenging that he thought, hence he was completely exhausted when he finally crashed into his bed. The door was left ajar but he was too tired to care and only wanted to sleep; though emotionally and physically drained as he was, he can't help keep his thoughts from running back to his classmate downstairs. Anger. Frustration. Sadness. Guilt.

"Know that you are not welcomed," Karma whispered.

Liar.

Soon, Karma fell into a fitful sleep.

Location: Kunugigaoka Junior High School, Class 3-E

Time Stamp: Monday, 8:17 p.m._

"I...I can't watch anymore," Kayano said quietly. "N-Nakamura-san?"

Nakamura did not say anything, her fist tightly clenched on her lap.

Guilt-ridden eyes looked imploringly at the AI, trying to block the sound of crying in the background. "Ritsu, could you please stop the transmission? I think…I think we've both seen enough for one night."

"Hai!" Ritsu gave a little salute, immediately terminating her presence from the Akabane surveillance camera system. "Transmission stopped," she reported. "Do you want my help in anything else, Kayano-chan? Nakamura-chan"

Kayano shook her head, but Nakamura raised her head. "Yeah, burn that bastards house for me would you, Ritsu?" the blonde said through clenched teeth, her eyes burning. "Or better yet don't, let me do it myself. I want to teach that heartless jerk a lesson. Hurting my Manami-chan like that. Forget Koro-sensei, I'm going to freakin' kill him," she swore, lividly standing up from her chair.

The force of her rising momentum caused the chair to topple backwards with a loud clank. Kayano flinched.

"I know you're upset but you need to calm down-" the green haired girl said, trying to reason with her.

But her words only served to make the blonde angrier. "Calm down? You're seriously asking me to calm down!?" she shouted. "Didn't you see what he did? He straight up hurt her and you're asking me to not be angry about that?"

Bang! Bang!

"Of course not!" Kayano said, her face twisting into a scowl. "I was here too Nakamura. I also saw how he hurt her and know that she's crying her eyes out in his house and that we can't do a single damn thing about it right now cause' we're too far away!"

"I'm not just going to let Manami-chan suffer!" she raged. "I'll march right up to his house and take her away! If I knew this would have happened I would have never set them up!"

Bang! Bang!

"That's not the point!"

"Damnit, what's with that banging sound!"

Bang! Bang!

"Let us out!"

Kayano gasped, remembering. "The boys! We locked them up in the broom closet remember? They must have woken up from whatever it was you did to them earlier," she whispered, agitated. She looked around the class but was startled when she turned to find Nakamura already leaving. "Hey, wait for me!"

"Move out of the way, Nagisa," Maehara said firmly, eyeing what he assumed was the door in front of him. The closet was too dark for him to see clearly. "This time I'm going to try and break down the door."

"You probably shouldn't do that," the teal haired boy said hesitantly. "The door's quite sturdy and you might break your shoulder-"

"Do you want to be stuck here for the rest of the weekend?"

"No, but you could get hurt-"

"Well, then this can be just like training with Karasuma-sensei," Maehara said, cracking his knuckles. "It'll hurt like hell but it'll be worth it."

The door opened.

"Oi, Dee and Dum, that won't be necessary." Both Nagisa and Maehara started at Nakamura glowering at them. It was a strange and frightening sight – they had never seen her so serious before. "You'll just break your arm."

"B-Break my arm – that's the least of my concerns!" Maehara shouted, pointing accusingly at her. "You kidnapped us and then stuffed us in a closet!"

"Be quiet," Nakamura hissed. "If you're expecting me to apologise for this, hold your breath. It was your fault for snooping around in the first place – I didn't have to do this if you just kept your damn nose out of other people's business."

"Take your own advice before giving it to others," he retorted. "What you were doing was suspicious!"

"And none of your business!"

"Nakamura-san," Kayano spoke up. Maehara rounded on her, glaring. "And you!" he cried out. "What are you doing helping her?!"

"There's

"N-Nakamura-san, are you alright?" Nagisa asked. It was unusual to see the normally mischievous blonde girl acting so hostile. Something must have happened.

Nakamura looked at him and hesitated. Should she show him– "Come on," she said, her tone defrosting slightly. "I have something to show you."

Bewildered but curious enough, Nagisa followed after her. Maehara stood rooted in his spot, wondering what the heck was happening, before rushing after them, Kayano at his side.

In the classroom, Nakamura asked Ritsu to played back the surveillance tapes. ("What in the world did you do?" Maehara said, prompting the other three to silence him.) The four classmates were silent as they watched, varying emotions on their faces. Nagisa's face, however, was carefully blank. When it finally ended…

"Karma-kun won't hurt her," Nagisa said finally. He turned to face Nakamura. "He likes her."

"Yeah well, that's what I thought before he teared through her self-esteem to ripped it to shreds," Nakamura said darkly.

"It may not seem like it but…I know Karma-kun." There was a tinge of bitterness when he smiled; Nagisa continued absentmindedly, remembering a different time when Karma and him were better friends, "His trying to protect her."

"From what?" Maehara asked, getting over his initial shock at the video.

Nagisa tapped the screen lightly. "Himself."

Like. Comment. Re-read.

A/N: Just a heads up, I'm intending to make this a very long one-shot. So...yeah, this story will continue to be updated like 'this'.

Aside from that, Manami and Karma are so interesting to write like this. I discover it is so easy to make Karma act like a jerk - not that he is or anything, but you can't deny that he acts like that to almost everybody - and I love how Manami's slowly standing up to him. You saw the decrease in her stuttering right? It shows that she's getting comfortable.

In this story, Karma and Manami are close but not that close to each other. It's like between being classmates and friends. Karma doesn't really care about defining them (he already knows what she is to him, but that's a secret! :D) but Manami does care because she doesn't really have that many friends and she wants to consider him as one, but their total interactions with each other doesn't automatically place him into that category. He's like this...'undefinable' person in her life right now. And by the end of this, we'll find out where each of them stand in regards to one another.

Unnecessarily complicated? Ha, you're just beginning to learn my writing style.

Hope you enjoy, and please remember to comment. Your comments are what fuels this story.

-The Last Deathly Guardian

EDIT [14/06/17]: I am updating this very very slowly. Forgive me. T-T

#Additional Notes

1. While I love writing about a Karma which is completely smitten with Manami (notable in 'Buried Between the Pages'), in this story I tried to highlight another different version of Karma instead. I'm just tired of making it easy for Manami and wanted to see her earn Karma's affections this time around (though I admit, she doesn't have to try that hard since she is such a lovable character in the first place; I mean look at Karma, I don't see him resisting, XD).

2. Okuda Manami is not a weak character. Personally, I rather respect her, especially after that episode where the Five Virtuous challenged Class 3-E to a bet in season one. Manami is a strong character, just a little socially awkward at times (there's nothing wrong with that; I confess I'm a little awkward with people too). In this story, you see me trying to explore her insecurities - Does she have friends? Do people see her more than a means to an end? Does anyone care?

Manami is, in my opinion, the type of person who would ask and ask again each time, 'Are we friends?' because she's afraid that one day, the answer would change, and she would be alone once again.

You may think that it is a dumb thing to fear, but I feel it rather justified since I know people who are like this in real life. It's not that far-fetched.

3. Boys are mean to the girl they like.

This is self-explanatory. XD