𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐅. karma akabane

「11th period」: understanding time

K A R M A A K A B A N E
赤羽 業
student no. 1

"If you keep walking like that, you'll bump into a pole, Iroha-chan~" I teased the girl who was walking in front of me as she made her way to school. Her eyes were focused on the NDS she held, and she didn't even bother, not once, to look away and watch where she was going.

"Shut up, troublemaker" she muttered bluntly, eyes never leaving the screen as she was about to bump into the one of the street lights on the path to the mountain.

I held the back of her collar, to avoid the possible incident, as she looked up to realize what was going to happen.

"I think your even more trouble than I am" I told her before smirking, "Besides, shouldn't you be grateful to me?~".

"Ah, right, because you were so suspicious of me, you managed to crack me open, and know the whole class knows about my act. Thanks" the girl said with every hint of sarcasm, but I decided to play along.

"You're welcome~" I smiled at her, as she returned the look irritatedly.

"I still can't believe I was found out by you of all people" she sighed, shoving her NDS back into her bag as we walked side by side.

"That façade you put on was nothing like how you were when I first met you" I told her, as we made our way to the building. When she transferred to our class, she was so charismatic, she somehow managed to charm our classmates like how she used to with the teachers and those pretentious students from the main building. But the tiny detail was the fact that she used to be the sort of person living through a cycle, her eyes were lifeless.

Well, she wasn't filled with life either, it just seemed like there was something more in her like that glint of mischief.

That octopus probably knew that this girl doesn't hold anything important. She doesn't care nor value bonds, other than using them to her advantage. Maybe that was the reason he decided to shove the class unto her.

"You were such a stuck up girl, it was almost impossible to believe. I thought you didn't have a life---" I continued before she cut me off with a sigh.

"You definitely adore picking fights, don't you, Karma?".

"Anyways, it was easy to find you out just by stalking you" I pointed out. "Your fault was that you couldn't keep the act up until you go home, or at least afterschool~".

She sighed, scratching the back of her head, "It's exhausting to climb up the mountain itself, do you think I could actually last a day without cutting classes, much less slacking off? Besides, normal people don't stalk others".

In all honesty, I don't think she was the type of person to work too hard. In the first place, maybe she didn't even want to hide who she was.

"We're you even trying?~" I asked her teasingly, before sliding the classroom door open, making our way inside.

"Shut up" she mumbled stubbornly before walking to her seat.

"You two walked to school, together?" Nakamura smirked, whom Iroha just waved off. "How rare, I thought you two were always up in each other's throats? I can't believe you managed to make your way here".