Karma glanced up from the current issue he was reading, his breath almost catching in his throat. He nearly thought he was picturing that flash of blue when he arrived earlier, but now he knows it was no illusion.

Clear as day, there she was, the girl who often frequented the comic store at the mall. Karma knew nothing about the girl and yet she still enthralled him. She was gorgeous; he knew that much, and always wore her school uniform, a blouse with a baggy dark yellow sweater on top and a long grey skirt. Her waist-long blue hair was always down and she had cerulean eyes to match. Judging by the uniform, Karma assumed she was either his age or around it.

He was never normally a shy person, but when it came to her, he found himself freezing-up, his palms getting sweaty, his words leaving his mind, his temperature rising, his heart pounding at just the thought of her. He wasn't love-sick, no, never would Karma ever admit to such a foolish notion-he was just driven wild by the sight of her. All he ever wanted to do was walk up to her and strike up a conversation. Ask her what her favourite comic series were, who her favourite artist was, why she was into comics and how she got into them, and maybe even ask her out for food afterwards. It was such a simple plan...and yet Karma couldn't do it.

Even now, he remained seated, forcing himself to remain content with just watching her from afar, his burger meal and comic stretched out in front of him.

Luckily for him, she usually chose to browse the new arrivals, which was a section closer to the door, so he got to see her more often due to how close the food court was situated.

He always came up with all kinds of possible personalities and backstories for her, and today he noticed how she put her weight on her left leg, favoring it ever-so-slightly despite it not being her dominate one. She stumbled only a bit and hid it well by standing on her tiptoes.

Perhaps she was a figure-skater and wounded her ankle on the ice during a recent practice. He smiled to himself as he pictured her on the ice, a sparkly-sequined gown in dazzling white, just short enough to allow her movement. She wore her hair in a bun and spun around gracefully, twirling around masterfully.

Once she glanced at the clock across the way and gathered herself up, leaving, Karma took that as his cue to leave as well, throwing away his trash and placing the comic back on the shelf where it belonged. He then walked off in a different direction than the girl did, having no more business at the mall.

He technically could've dallied for as long as he wanted, but it was best to just head on home.

#######

"Um, excuse me," Her voice was soft, girly, with some hidden snark behind it. Karma looked up from the comic in surprise to see the mysterious blue-haired girl pointing to a spot on his lip. "You have some mustard there..."

Karma smirked at her, playing it cool. "I know, I was just waiting to see how long it'd take you to notice it!"

The girl smiled awkwardly and walked off, clutching her cream-coloured bookbag tightly in her hands. With its brown straps, it looked like a cake.

Only after she had fully vanished from his sight did Karma hurriedly grab a napkin and roughly wipe the mustard away.

They had spoke. No...she had spoken to him. Did she like him? He had no idea.

######

She didn't go to the store for a few days, and Karma begun to worry. Every other day, she had been there, no matter the weather or temperature. Why was she not there today?

After the fifth day in a row of her not showing, he finally sighed to himself and threw his trash away, loudly slamming the empty tray on top of the trashcan. As he started to storm off, he nearly collided into someone who gave out a cry of surprise.

"Get out of my way," He snapped a bit before softening.

"That's not very polite," The girl chided him. Instead of her school uniform, she wore a dark blue dress stitched at the bottom with black flowers; the dress was long-sleeved and covered her ankles. She wore black tights and boots with it. As usual, her hair was down aside from a small black bow in the back.

"So?" He stared back at the girl.

"Just because you're upset..." She looked as though she wanted to add something, but eventually shook her head.

"One of my friends told me you hadn't been visiting the mall lately," Karma swallowed as she turned around to leave, making her dress swish.

"What I do and don't do isn't really any business of your friend's," She tilted her head back to stare at him.

"He would beg to differ," Karma smirked at her, and felt delighted when she smirked back. The goddess had a sense of humor.

"See you," She began walking again.

"What's your name?" He called out without thinking. The girl never stopped walking, nor did she look back. Karma was a bit relieved, assuming she hadn't heard him until he heard the soft whisper of:

"Shiota Nagisa,"

What a strangely strong name for such a tiny girl.

#####

Karma wasn't feeling particularly hungry that day, so instead of getting anything to eat, he just walked into the comic store and glanced around, feeling exhilarated from the short day he had at school. He walked past the new arrivals and walked closer to the back, where all of the older stuff was kept. He caught sight of the blue-haired beauty poring intensely over one in her hands, so without a second thought, he walked right over and knocked the book out of her hands.

"Hey," She glared at him, carefully stooping down to pick it up. She winced at some unknown pain; quickly, but Karma still noticed and raised an eyebrow.

"Is that like a casual hey? In which case, good to see you too," He smirked. She was wearing her school uniform again and smelled of strawberries.

"No, that is most definitely a 'you are being a jerk' hey," She rolled her eyes a bit.

"I can live with that," He watched as she placed the comic back on the shelf, tracing the outline of her arm under the sweater sleeve.

"You have a name?"

"Akabane Karma," He lowered his head briefly in a bow.

"Karma..?" She tilted her head.

"My parents travel around the world all of the time and they thought that'd be a good name..." He shrugged. If she wanted to make fun of it, he'd let her. He liked it and that was all that mattered.

"Oh," She blinked.

"So, you're in here quite a lot. I never expected a girl to be so interested in comic books," He started off slowly, noticing the small wince Nagisa gave at being referred to as a girl.

"Is it really that strange? I knew some girls in elementary school who liked them," She frowned a bit. "I like them because...well, they're really cool! All kinds of people get to have cool superpowers and just live their lives, saving the day. What's not to love about that?"

Karma smiled inwardly. Her eyes were already sparkling, replacing the flatness they had only a moment before.

"I just like the stories. I like action stuff and they have plenty of action for me!" Karma laughed, biting his lip. Nagisa didn't seem to notice his difficulty speaking with her.

"It's a shame some of my favourites aren't more popular, they'd make great movies," She sighed. "That's why I've been trying to get into newer stuff..."

"Hey, don't knock the classics! There isn't anything wrong with them!" He laughed again. Was he laughing too much? Maybe she'd write him off as a hysteric and walk away.

"True...but," She winced again, looking away. "I should get going. I already saw what I needed to,"

"Hey, wait!" He called after her as he saw her starting to adjust her bag straps. "You always wear that uniform, but I don't recall seeing you around. Do you go to my school? What class are you in?"

"3-A. I sit by the window. I guess that's why you haven't noticed me," She spun on her heel and walked off, leaving Karma alone again. He nearly reached out for her, trying to touch her hair.

Was she really in the same class as him? She must've just transferred. He shook his head as he started walking home again.

#####

At school the next day, Karma showed up early specifically to catch Nagisa walking in to prove to himself she truly was in his class. He set his bag down beside him and kept a nonchalant air around him, pretending to be looking through his textbook for an assigned page.

Every time he heard someone walk in, he'd briefly glance up, then back down, to look natural. So far, Nagisa hadn't walked in. She must've been lying about being in his class.

"Alright students," The teacher announced as he walked into the room, adjusting his glasses. The students nodded and stood up in unison, bowing and reciting their daily phrase before sitting down. "Today, I want to start us off by collecting homework. I wanted to get that out of the way so we're not all rushing at the end of the period to get it out,"

Karma instinctively went to his bag, a small grin about to break out onto his face. Wait until the teacher saw that he had worked several pages ahead! He'd probably get upset, sure, but that was part of the fun.

"Students sitting in the third row across, collect the homework for today and take it up to my desk," The teacher continued as a few people groaned in response.

Karma gathered up the papers and stacked them up neatly on his desk, holding them out with only one hand as he awaited the student who'd come collect them.

They walked over and started to reach out, only to stiffen. Karma grinned and sat up straighter, offering the papers to them.

"...Give it to me in both hands," Nagisa's voice reached him, and Karma blinked a few times.

"Why? I see nothing wrong with this,"

Nagisa's fists clenched at her sides. "Please. You're holding up the entire class," A small frown crossed her face, which made Karma's own smile fade.

"Fine, whatever," He thrust the papers at her and she took them gratefully, giving him a polite but strained smile.

"Thank you, Akabane-san,"

After she left to pick up more, Karma felt an involuntary shiver slide down his back. Nagisa had only acted politely, if a bit tired, but something about that tone caught him off-guard. He shook his head. He must've been overthinking it due to lack of sleep or something.

The teacher briefly nodded at each student who handed him the papers and set them all neatly on a stack on his desk, walking over to the whiteboard. "Now, we will pick up where we left off last time." He started writing things on the board using a black marker, talking this and that about certain genetics and how they're passed along to future generations. Karma leaned back in his chair, resting his hands behind his head. He briefly glanced over at Nagisa and found her thoroughly engrossed in her notes. So she was a book-smart type of girl, huh? Oddly, he never pegged her for the type. Maybe that meant she'd grow up and become some sort of doctor or lawyer or even politician, society's norms be damned.

####

After school, Karma declined staying after to help clean and just hurried home, noticing the sun still high in the sky.

"Akabane-san!" Nagisa's voice called after him. He slowed, but didn't stop as he heard the repetitive rhythm of her penny-loafers clacking on the asphalt behind him. "Akabane-san! Why didn't you stay behind to clean?" She breathed heavily when she finally reached him, winces accenting her gasps.

"That's not really my thing. Besides, there was plenty staying behind to help," He shrugged. "Why didn't you?"

"Um...I needed to be home early today," She answered in a level voice. Karma stared at her curiously.

"Oh, I get it. You're a goody-two-shoes, aren't you?" He gave her a devilish smirk.

"N-No! It's...it's nothing like that at all!" She declined, stepping away from his smile. "I swear!"

"Uh-huh..." He laughed. "You took so many notes in class today," He made a grab for her bag, but she was quicker, holding it far out of his reach with just a few quick steps.

"Don't touch the bag..." She blushed lightly. "It's rude. Not that you'd care what that word means anyway,"

"I can be nice too, you know," He rubbed the back of his head, feeling a bit dizzy suddenly.

"I don't believe that for a second," Despite her tone, there was the smallest of smiles on her face.

"Where's your house? Near here?" He changed the subject, looking around at the residential area.

"I can walk the rest of the way myself," Nagisa suddenly declined, speeding up her pace. "You can just continue walking back to your place,"

"Wait-" He called out, but she didn't stop at all, walking briskly until she turned a corner and was out of sight. He frowned at that and pressed his hand against his forehead, stumbling a bit.

His own walk home was slow and uneventful, his feet working on autopilot. Nagisa was an enigma to him. She obviously craved his acquaintanceship, but refused to actually communicate much once she had it. What did she even want? It was infuriating.

Once he got home, he unlocked the door and stepped in, the smell of weed and day-old pizza hitting him like a wave. "I'm home," He called out with a smirk, hearing his voice echo off the walls. He threw his bag on the couch hard and watched some of its contents spill out onto the couch. Wow, he really needed a hit.

"Can I have a large meat lovers'?" He asked carefully into the phone, throwing himself down on one of the hammocks he set up in the living room. He kicked at a stack of empty Chinese boxes and watched them topple to the floor.

"Of course! That'll be two thousand yen," The woman on the other end nodded. "Do you have your parents' permission to order?"

"Oh yeah, I got their permission,"

"Perfect! It'll be ready and over there in about forty minutes," Karma hung up at that point; there might've been more, but he didn't really care. He had all he needed to know. He tossed the phone back onto the hammock and stood up, going into his bedroom and sliding open some of the dresser drawers, staring intently.

Did he risk it and take something heavy, or just smoke again? It'd still reek, which he didn't really want the delivery man to smell. Questions, questions.

He finally decided on just smoking as he poured some water into his clear bong, putting the plant in and shaking his lighter off briefly before lighting it up and taking a large breath. He blew the resulting smoke out of his mouth, sighing in slight relief. He felt jittery earlier and that hit was just what he needed.

Karma closed the drawer with his hip and took a smaller hit, placing the bong on top of his dresser. The bedroom floor was coated in both clean and dirty clothes and a stack of books in one corner. A black bed was in the center of the room, alongside a large television set. The remote was placed next to it.

"Time to actually start on my homework now that I feel better," Karma smiled to himself, deciding to take the bong into the living room with him and keeping it on the table beside him. He pulled out his textbooks and pushed them off to the side a bit, wanting to get the homework done quicker.

He flew through it rapidly, taking only one additional hit to keep himself going. After his homework was done, he stretched and yawned, feeling tired. The doorbell rung and he quickly pulled out the money he'd need for the pizza, handed it to the delivery boy, tipped him, then shut the door again. He left the pizza box beside him, only grinning to himself once he got the homework done. He kicked his feet up onto the table, closing the textbooks and turning the TV on.

"Let's see if there's any good tunes to listen to!" He grabbed a particularly messy slice with hot cheese falling off it as he turned it to a pop music channel; no pictures, just an almost-constant stream of music.

Maybe it couldn't hurt him to clean up just a tiny bit around the place...the food garbage, at least. He certainly didn't want flies or anything like that.

Karma stood up and munched on the pizza as he picked up other old pizza boxes and Chinese cartons. He briefly wondered if Nagisa kept a clean room; did she enjoy cleaning? She likely did. She was a girl, and besides, didn't she still live with her parents? She never even alluded to a strange living circumstance like his own, so her mother likely kept clean after her.

What kinds of music did Nagisa like?

He shook his head at that. Why did that matter? And furthermore, where did that thought even come from?

He managed to clean for a few more minutes before he felt too tired to continue and just collapsed on the couch, having enough common sense to plant his face far away from the pizza. The pop music blared on in the background.

#####

She came to school the next day with bandages on her fingers. He knew the rest of the class didn't notice because she kept her fingers hidden carefully under her long sleeves, but Karma noticed. Karma always noticed everything.

"What happened?" He asked her as they walked home together. He pointed to her fingers.

"These? Oh," Discomfort briefly flicked through her eyes. "I must've gotten blisters from typing too much. I put bandages on them because otherwise it would've hurt too much to write," She laughed lightly. "That a satisfying answer for you?"

"I believe you're lying," He teased back, moving closer to her.

She suddenly tensed up and looked away, her features darkening.

"Something wrong?"

"...I left something at school." She dashed off before Karma even realized she was gone.

####

Nagisa took to wearing tights under her skirts and petticoats as the weather turned chillier. Karma preferred the way she looked in tights.

####

"You want to watch a movie with me?" He asked her as he caught her about to leave school. "I got an extra ticket and thought you'd like to come," He shrugged.

"What if I say no?" Nagisa challenged, slipping her bag onto her shoulder.

Karma shrugged again. "Then I'll just give away the extra ticket. It's not a big deal," He looked away from her, feeling her gaze starting to survey him. Like some kind of analyzing hawk. "I don't care if you even come or not,"

"What's the movie?" Nagisa finally asked after a few seconds.

"Just some comic-book adaptation,"

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

"That's why I wanted to ask you first," He slipped his hands into his pockets and they walked out of school together.

As they headed to the theater, Karma stared at her hands; both were busy clutching her bag. No more bandages on her fingers, but her breathing seemed lighter and she was favoring her left leg again.

"It's a bit chilly out here," Nagisa said randomly, shivering. "Maybe I should've worn a coat..."

"Oh, so you're a cold-bloodied type of girl," Karma teased, and Nagisa rolled her eyes at him.

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm like a snake," She curled her fingers up and flashed her teeth at him as a joke, but Karma nearly jumped a bit himself. He tugged his own jacket closer to himself, trying to disguise his sudden shivers as being from the cold.

"Yeah, a snake," He slowly nodded in agreement. He glanced back down at her hands; one was at her side. He gently took it, making her look over and pull away. "Come on, you don't get pregnant from holding hands!" He teased.

"Some girls don't like it when random guys just grab their hands out of the blue. It triggers their fight-or-flight response," Nagisa shot back.

"But we're friends, right?" Karma teased more.

Nagisa tightly gripped the straps of her bag, whispering so quietly Karma thought he was imagining it at first:

"I hope so."

###

Nagisa was giggling as they left the theater, nearly shaking from laughter. "Geezh, I wasn't expecting it to be that low-budget! I mean, it looked like his lasers were made from soap foam!"

"Yeah, and the final fight took place in a dark garage to the point you couldn't even see anything? Lame!" Karma nodded.

"And both the hero and villain were in red, so you couldn't even tell who was who because of their masks!" She continued to laugh.

"It ruined a classic, I tell you! A classic series just wasted!"

"I've never actually read that one. Not sure if I want to now,"

"How dare you, ruining the good name of the comic! Now this poor girl will never know true culture!"

"It couldn't have been that good," She paused a bit. "Thanks for showing me it though. I haven't seen a movie in a long time,"

"You don't have to thank me," Karma shrugged, suddenly thankful it was dark so she couldn't see his blush. In a moment of boldness, he reached for her hand again.

That time, she held it for a few seconds before she let go of it, running off into the darkness.

###

He invited her over to his house after Christmas.

"Are you sure your parents won't mind?" She asked as he led her up the steps to his house.

"My folks? Nah. I live by myself. They're always off traveling the world," He unlocked the door and her eyes widened.

"It's so messy," Nagisa commented, shyly stepping in. As usual, that analytical expression formed on her face as she looked around, and Karma inwardly winced. In just a few seconds, she'd likely have his entire backstory laid out just by observation.

"You want something to eat? Pizza?" He asked as Nagisa ran ahead and sat down on one of the hammocks he had hanging up. She bounced on it a few times. She had a giant pink bow in her hair to match her glittery sweater.

"I'm not hungry...I gotta admit though, it's pretty cool how you get to live here by yourself. I'm jealous," She laughed a bit.

"You want to get a bachelorette pad of your own? That's a noble goal," He laid down next to her on the hammock, making her jump a bit.

"No, just...living by myself. I just think I'd be good at living independently," She gasped suddenly and awkwardly adjusted her sweater.

"Yeah, you're certainly independent. Independent and freaky,"

"Huh?" She turned back to look at him.

"Oh, nothing." He stared up at the ceiling, feeling the hammock slowly sway from Nagisa's own movements. He laid there in silence, even beginning to close his eyes. He felt the weight shift slightly and briefly opened one to see Nagisa laying down as well, staring intently at him. He jumped and nearly fell out of the hammock. "What the heck?!"

"Huh?" Nagisa blinked innocently.

She practically snuck up on me...geezh her stare is creepy.

"I'm getting some Chinese food. You can watch TV or something," Karma directed, trying to recompose himself. He looked down at her and saw her sweater had ridden up slightly to reveal a white sparkly belt.

"I think I'll just lay here..." She declined, covering up her eyes.

"Alright," He went into the kitchen and ordered the food, going into his bedroom and coming back out with a few drugs. He placed them out on the coffee table and Nagisa stared at them.

"You do drugs?" Her tone immediately became accusatory.

"Yeah, what's the big deal? Some of them help me relax, some of them help me focus." He shrugged. "Here, try one," He handed a tablet to her. "Put it on your tongue and-"

All sound ceased briefly aside from the simple crack as her hand met his cheek. He dropped the packet he was holding. He looked at her and saw a different expression in her eyes then; a dark one.

"Don't ruin your life like that. Don't. Things like this aren't cute or funny,"

"Nagisa-san..." Karma tried. She turned away. "Why is it such a big deal?"

"People shouldn't waste the lives they're given. So many people do...they are given everything they want in their lives, and they just waste it. I just get sad when I see that," She still wouldn't face him, but still lowered herself down onto the hammock again.

"It's not much of a life I'm living here," Karma suddenly laughed. "Even if I kick the drugs, that doesn't change the fact I'm some loser who lives by himself. I haven't seen my own parents in years,"

Nagisa was silent.

Karma walked towards her and gently lifted her chin up. The dark look was gone in her eyes.

He never knew what took him over in that moment, truly. He would've blamed the drugs if he had actually taken any. He would've blamed his own attitude if he'd cared enough.

All he knew is that at that moment, their lips touched, and Nagisa never pulled away once. Rather, she deepened the kiss, closing her eyes. He wrapped his hands around her back, and she leaned forward slightly.

They pulled away after a few seconds, a line of spit attached.

"Don't waste your life," She repeated again.

#####

When spring came and melted the snow, that was when he found her on the roof of the school, standing there, looking down. The wind was blowing her skirt and sweater and hair around, and it would've looked poetic if he hadn't sensed her intent.

"Stop." He called out to her. "Stop it."

Nagisa remained silent. She took another step, then another.

Karma sighed. "Fine then. If you wish to waste your life like that, then do it,"

He kept his eyes on her, feeling his heart drop to his feet when she vanished over the top of the building. In a flash, he grabbed her arm, trembling. He winced in pain as he felt her sharp nails digging into him and his grip slipped.

"Stop!" He said anyway, gasping. Nagisa stared back at him, her own grip tightening. Karma took a deep breath and with one great pull tossed Nagisa onto the roof of the school. He went with her and felt her fall on top of him in a crumbled heap. "Come on, what the heck is all this? You don't want me to waste my life, fine. But what's all this?"

Nagisa shuddered, her chest heaving.

"I'm waiting!" He got off her and winced, looking at his wrist. Her nails left tiny pricks of blood there.

"I don't have much of a life left to live," She admitted quietly, taking his hand. She then slipped it up her blouse, closing her eyes.

"I don't understand any of this," Karma took his hand back, his eyes wide at the feeling of tight cloth there.

"Akabane-san," She suddenly said, looking at him with that dark expression in her eyes that sent a shiver down his spine. She sat up slightly. "...I'm not who I say I am,"

"I don't think this is the kind of talk we should be having after I pulled you off the roof!" Karma shook his head.

Nagisa ignored him and ran her hands through her hair. "My mother...she's always been the kind of person who's wanted things to be done her way. She wants what she wants and she gets what she wants," She was looking down at her lap. "That's why when I was born, she was thrilled. She had always wanted a daughter, you know. Now all she tells me is that she has a daughter, not a son. She's never had a son, she's always had a daughter,"

Karma stepped closer to her.

"But I can't help it if I'm a boy,"

His eyes widened, and his blood ran cold.

Nagisa...a boy? How did that make any sense? She had curves, she wore dresses, she-

She was wearing a binder.

Nagisa was slowly starting to stand up.

"Don't tell anyone else. If you do...I guess I'll just have to kill you," She walked past him, sending another involuntary shiver down his spine.

Coming from anyone else, it'd be seen as a joke.

Coming from her, it was a promise.

####

The bandages were back on his fingers that day, along with a long coat over his features.

Yes, Karma would resign to referring to Nagisa as a boy. Despite the physical evidence disproving that, it was what Nagisa seemed to want.

Knowing that seemed to put a new light on a lot of the odd quirks Karma had observed prior about him, like flinching at being addressed as such and his constant shortness of breath.

"Want to walk home with me?" He offered, noticing Nagisa about to leave. Nagisa just shrugged.

The two took a different path that day, Nagisa fiddling with something in his bag. Karma stared at him curiously.

"Forgot your homework?" He tried to tease.

"Huh? Oh, no. Something was poking my side. I thought my books were placed in a strange order or something," Nagisa explained, looking up at the sound of footsteps.

"Hey, look at what we have here! Akabane!" A tall guy smirked.

"Long time no see, fellas! Out of the hospital so soon?" Karma smirked to himself as he remembered exactly who these guys were. Some thugs that picked fights with practically everyone they saw.

"Akabane-san?" Nagisa asked, stepping back.

"Just stay there, this won't take long at all," Karma walked over to the group, cracking his knuckles.

By the time he glanced back with bloodied fists, Nagisa had bolted, silent as a mouse.

###

Karma liked to think his crush for Nagisa disappeared after his sudden revelation, yet he still couldn't stop thinking about how much manlier he looked with his hair kept in a ponytail. He should wear it like that more often.

###

"The clothes?"

"Mom makes me wear them."

"The hair?"

"I'm not allowed to cut it."

"How about your old man?"

"Out of the picture,"

"Damn,"

"He's going to pay for my surgery though! When I said he was out of the picture, I meant for Mom. He still sees me,"

"That's good then. Sounds like you have a close father-son relationship,"

"Yeah. We do,"

###

Karma glanced around as he held their tray full of food, trying to think of which table they claimed.

"Nagisa-kun? Where are you?" He called out, feeling a sudden poke at his back. He whirled around and saw Nagisa sitting there, smiling. The table he was next to.

"Right here! I never moved," He laughed a bit.

"Right," Karma just nodded and took a seat, feeling himself sweat. He tried to stop, but the thought of Nagisa just sneaking up on him didn't sit well with him. It wasn't just that; his stare and his speed and that dark expression he got every so often.

"Wow, did they change their recipe? It tastes better than the last time we came here!" Nagisa marveled.

He's got bad blood-lust. He'd probably make a good assassin,

"Huh? Don't you want to eat anything, Akabane-san?" Nagisa blinked curiously.

"Yeah, of course!" Karma laughed it off and forced himself to eat with tiny bites.

####

Karma walked down the halls of the school, trying to hurry along. Always best to hurry back home, after all.

"It's Akabane-san!" A group of boys whispered as Karma walked past them, but he paid no mind.

"Do you think he's heard?"

"Yeah, the news that his precious girlfriend transferred to Class 3-E!"

Karma's steps slowed a bit.

"Makes sense. She's a social failure. Nobody wants her around in their class," He smirked.

"She's just too different from us,"

"Nagisa-san is a boy, haven't you heard?" Karma spun around and offered them a grin. "Just thought you'd know, since you want everyone to always be on top of the news!"

"I'm pretty sure she's a girl,"

"If she's anything, she's a trap,"

"A drag king?"

"A regular Miss Dandy!"

Karma dropped his bag on the ground. "Come on, don't make me fight you guys in such an enclosed space," Even then, he was grinning.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try. No matter what you do to us, we'll still come up on top and you'll be the one punished. Because we're the ace students around here," Asano came out of the shadows, smirking. "So just run along to your trap girlfriend,"

Karma cracked his knuckles.

####

Class 3-E, huh? Just another dull class with dull students. Only two things would actually promise to make it worth his while.

Firstly, when was the last time he was actually encouraged to kill a teacher of his?

Secondly, Nagisa would be there.

He could only hope that they hadn't grown too far apart throughout the years.

Karma opened the door.