A/N: Just a reminder, from this point on, this story will be in Karma's POV in intention to make you guys, the readers, better understand the story as well as get to know Karma's past and personality.
-The Karma you are about to witness is slightly out of character from what you'd expect from the whole story line.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Finally, the brat's asleep." I mumbled to myself, shutting my eyes before taking a deep breath and slowly huffing it out, giving it enough time to coarse through my veins.
My eyes slowly re-opened as I carried the sleeping beauty to my room and gently placing him on the bed. "Can't believe he sleeps every time." I placed my hands to my hips, staring at the sleeping figure. "Am I supposed to take that in a good way? God knows with this child."
Suddenly, I saw a tear clumped in the corner of his eye. He seemed like he was scared, like whatever he's dreaming about is about to come and bite him. "What on earth are you dreaming about?" I wondered as I wiped the tear off of his cheek when I saw it roll out of its earlier position.
My eyes snapped open, 'Shit.' I cursed myself, retracting my hand from his face. 'What the hell am I doing?'
A familiar song played, signalling someone trying to contact me through a call I receive in my phone. Lazily, I picked up my device from the bedside table, checking the contact ID before I actually answer the call.
"Great." I sighed. "Just the person I wanted to talk to."
With that, I pressed the green 'receive call' option to start the particular conversation. "What the hell do you want?" I huffed through the speaker, annoyed at how persistent this man is.
"Are you going to kill him or not?" he asked, totally ignoring my previous question. He's the type of person to answer a question with a question. Like a certain doll I know.
I sighed, "Can you not rush?" I grumbled, scratching the back of my neck. "I'm gonna do it, okay? Be patient, you bastard."
"Young man, that is not how you talk to your father." he scolded, hearing from his voice I knew his arms were already crossed.
"Maybe you should calm down." I suggested. "I want to play more. Let me have my fun, you damn old man."
"Karma, do you want me to give you a deadline?" he challenged.
I scrunched my eyebrows, "Can you leave me the fuck alone?" I demanded, getting more annoyed by the second. "I'm not your puppet. Maybe Gakushuu is, but not me."
"You're the one who wanted to take this task." he reminded. "I wanted to give it to your brother but, you volunteered to do it."
"Please don't remind me of the fact that we're brothers." I slapped my forehead. "It disgusts me that people confuse us all the time. How am I related to that moron anyway?"
"Stop talking like that about Gakushuu." he snapped. "You two are blood related, him and Nagisa aren't and yet, he seems more friendlier to him than to you."
"Excuse me, who was the one who wanted him to 'adopt' Nagisa in the first place?" I groaned, dissatisfied with his past decision.
"That was because his father was--"
"Killed by yours truly." I continued his line, refusing him to continue it himself. "I was only 8 and you made me kill a professional assassin. What if I died back then?"
"I sent you precisely because I knew you wouldn't die."
I sighed, "Because of that, your wife left you. Because of you, mom's gone and I can't do anything but blame this brat." I remembered. "But then, you re-married Nagisa's mom. What a weird man you are."
"We will not discuss my marriage decisions now, Karma." he coughed. "Anyway, the reason I called you. Your mother--"
"Step-mother." I corrected.
"...she's back."
My eyes widened, my mouth fell slightly ajar. "She's back?" I questioned. "So early?"
"She finished her job in Japan six years early." he explained. "As expected from a world-class assassin, huh?"
"Stop complimenting her. You're wasting your breath." I snapped. "Anyway, why are you telling me this? Am I supposed to greet her or something?"
"I want you to bring Nagisa to her."
"Are you crazy?!" I yelled, almost waking up the princess beside me. "Bring him to her?! After she ditched us to leave for Japan?! No way am I letting Nagisa near that bitch."
"Why?" his question caught me off guard. "Why wouldn't you let him see her? After all, she is his mother. To you, she's just a step-mother, am I right? You shouldn't have any problem with watching him break down after learning the truth, now should you?"
My chest tightened, "I said I'm not doing it." I repeated. "He's my target. You shouldn't bother me. If you want to see that bitch, then be my guest. Don't let her near this brat."
"That is no way to address your mother." he snapped.
"I don't care."
"Why are you hesitating to kill him?" he suddenly asked. "Could it be, your plan backfired?"
My eyes snapped open once again as my breath hitched slightly. "What are you talking about?"
"Ah, I see." his voice chuckled. "Your plan of getting close to him and killing him when he lets down his guard is about to fail, huh? You're starting to get attached to him. You don't have the heart to kill your new friend."
"Shut up!" I yelled, my blood boiled, fueled by his words. "I can kill him! I just don't want to yet!"
"Karma, this isn't like you." he commented. "Where's the cold, heartless monster that can kill anybody without feeling any remorse whatsoever? Is having Nagisa around starting to waver your personality?"
"I told you to shut up, you old geezer!" I blew off my top. "He's mine! I'll decided what's going to happen to him so, leave me the fuck alone and go bang your wife when she gets here!"
"Karma--"
"You have more than one son!" I reminded. "Make Gakushuu do whatever you want and just forget that I'm existing, will you?!"
With that, I hung up, not even bothering to hear what he as to offer as defense or even as an apology. 'Damn that geezer!' I cursed him. 'Making me do what he wants and not thinking about what I want. He's the very description of a bastard!'
Thanks to him, I have to kill this brat that, although not literally but, technically, is the reason mom left us. Leaving behind that cursed bitch as a replacement. She wasn't even there for very long either! She went to halfway around the world to ditch us.
Ugh, this life is impossible.
"Could it be, your plan backfired?"
Like hell it did. I'm just gradually making it seem that I'll always be here then, I'll just stab him in the back. Easy as that. No regrets, no guilt. Just get the job done and its over.
"K-Karma..." I heard him mumbled while his eyes were still shut. "Y-You idiot..."
I stared at him in disbelief. But then, I chuckled, trying desperately to contain it and not let it transform into a laugh that could wake him up.
"What the hell was that?" I raised an eyebrow, my lips still tugging on a smile. "Calling me an idiot even though you're sleeping. Am I really that idiotic to you?"
I reached my hand out ruffle his hair since it had a surprisingly soft feeling to it. It wasn't spiky like I'd thought it was but, it's really fuzzy and I could just play with it all day, honestly.
I smiled, "You really are a doll."
"You don't have the heart to kill your new friend."
I scrunched my eyebrows, untangling my fingers from his hair. 'What the hell's wrong with me?' I wondered.
"This isn't like you."
I know that, dad. You don't have to remind me every fucking time you call.
Just then, my phone rang again. Curious to know the identity of the caller, I glanced at the contact ID before I answered his call. "You have reached the mailbox of--"
"Stop joking around, stupid." his voice giving off a sort of I-know-it's-you-idiot type of tone. "I know its you."
Hah, called it.
"Congratulations, you gave the right answer. To receive your prize press--"
"Karma, stop fucking around." he repeated his previous sentence. Only harsher this time.
I sighed, "What the hell do you want, Shunii?"
"I only permit Nagisa calling me that." he snapped. "You are under no obligation to call me something so childish."
I sighed, "Fine then." Then, I suddenly remembered. "Have you heard step-mom's coming back?"
"Karasuma didn't tell me anything about that!" he yelled, obviously surprised by the fact.
"I tell you that geezer. He wants me to bring Nagisa to her." I told him, huffing the sentence out.
I heard a gasp, "What?! Is he crazy?!"
"That's exactly what I said!"
"Karma, where are you?" he asked, suddenly questioning my location.
I scrunched my eyebrows, "Why the hell do I have to tell you my damn 'where'?" I questioned, joking about one of the words.
"I want to ship Nagisa to London."
"The fucking hell are you talking about?" I interrupted him. "He is staying here, in this country. He is so not going to London."
"Why? Because that's the country that wants all our heads?"
"Half of it yes." I tolerated. "But the other thing is, I am not letting him go to a foreign country just because of that woman man-ninizer."
"What?"
"A womanizer, but for men."
"That's just called a man-eater."
"Hey, I'm sorry for not being the top scorer for the national mock exam." I placed my left hand to my hips, filling the air around me with sarcasm.
"We would've scored same place if you even had the interest to take the exam."
"Please, no more flattery." I insist. "So, what's your reason for calling?"
He paused for a while, "I want to talk to my brother." he demanded.
"Speaking." I challenged him.
"Ew, you admit that we're brothers?"
"Then who the hell else do you mean?"
"Nagisa Shiota." he said in a 'duh' tone. "Who else could I be talking about, you shit?"
I huffed as I scratched the back of my neck, "He can't come to the phone now." I admitted. "He's asleep. Another one of his episodes, apparently."
"He's been having a lot of them recently." he stated with a worried tone. "Has it happened when he was younger?"
"That's a question I should be asking you." I raised my eyebrow. "I only met him this year. You knew him since he was what? Three years old? You should know him better that I do."
"All I'm saying is that this year, he's been having a lot of them than the previous years." he said. "Its worrying. Try and fix it."
"Excuse me? Why am I the one who's stuck with that task when I have to kill this brat?" I complained.
He sighed, "Well, ever since you came into his life, Nagisa's been like that." he explained. "And, apparently, you're always the one to comfort him until he sleeps, preventing him from his negative thinking. Can't you see you fucking idiot? He likes you."
A light pink hue dusted my cheeks, "I-I don't care." I said. "That's actually my plan. Duh, of course it'll work."
"Karma, we all know your so-called 'plan' is failing." he stated. "Why don't you stop it already and kill him now rather than wait. He already knows about the company and that he's your target."
"H-How?"
"Izaya told him everything."
"Just how much did that rat leak out?!"
"Enough." he said. "If you don't kill him now, you know what happens, right?"
I thought about it, "But, you know, with his skills I think he'll make a pretty good--"
"Don't even think about it, Karma." he cut me off, interrupting me from my speech. "There is no way something so frail is cut out for the battlefield. Aren't you the one who said that in the first place?"
I clicked my tongue, cursing myself for not remembering such a crucial detail. "Fine, so, what's your purpose for calling again?" I asked, forgetting the aim of this conversation.
"We have a job to exterminate a black-marketer." he said, clearly. "We need you on this one."
"I think I'll pass on this job." I refused. "You guys can handle it, right? In the end, I'll be the dead weight. Besides, if you go, then I'll have to take up the babysitting job, right?"
"Nagisa is going out tonight." he mentioned.
"What?"
"Apparently, he's going on a date."
"What?!"
Gakushuu chuckled, "Are you that surprised?" his voice annoyed me through the speaker. "C'mon, the boy's 14. Of course he'd have a girlfriend, idiot."
I sighed, "So, who is this girl?"
"I don't know." he shrugged. "Nagisa said it was one of his classmates. Curious, aren't we?" he mocked, his voice indicating a smirk.
"L-Like hell I am!" I yelled, panicking when the sleeping doll began to shift positions. I felt a wave of relief after he'd gone back to sleep. "Fine, I'll do the fucking job."
"Good boy." he mocked further. "Meet us at Eren's at 5 o'clock sharp."
"5 o'clock? That's hours away." I whined. "What the hell am I supposed to do in the mean time?"
"Can I count on you to bring Nagisa to lunch?" he asked. "Its almost noon and I bet he hasn't eaten anything."
"As I said, I'm still stuck on babysitting duty nevertheless." I sighed. "What a drag."
"...or would you like him to meet his mother--?"
"Fine! I get it, okay?!"
With that, I hung up, scratching my head, ruffling with my own hair. Tugging it slightly, I huffed, "He's always been a stupid excuse for a twin, now he's acting like he's the older one?" I complained.
I spun my head around, facing the blue-haired boy on my bed. "Can't be helped with someone like him, huh?" I sighed, reaching out my hand to wake the brat up.
"Nagisa, wake up." I shook his body, attempting to get his eyelids to open.
No luck, huh?
Wait, should I wake him up? I mean, will it effect his episode treatment thing? I better not, don't want him to break down again later today.
"Of course he'd have a girlfriend, idiot."
My heart pounded once, and only once did I hear it loud and clear. "This sucks." I mumbled to myself.
As soon as I spoke those words, my phone rang again. I sighed, "Three times in a row?" I questioned, irritated why am I so popular today of all days. "Who the hell--?" my eyes snapped open when I saw the caller ID. I chose to ignore the call, deciding that it was pointless to even answer it.
"How does that bitch even know my number?" I asked myself, sighing at the fact.
I sat on the floor, resting my head on the edge of the bed. My arms folded in front of me, acting as a pillow for my head.
Not even a minute past and I already got bored. I lifted my head up, staring at the sleeping figure in front of me. Reaching my hand out to him, I played with the few strands of hair that hung above his forehead. "You don't know how damn lucky you are, little doll." I stated, a bit jealous of all the attention he's getting even though its for the worst.
"Everyone's thinking about you." I continued. "Everyone's minds are practically filled with you as a problem. 'How should we kill him?' or 'Why is that mongrel still alive?'. You're a bigger idol that those two idiots."
I chuckled, "You...sure are lucky."
I sighed, 'I must be really sucking at plans now that all they do is backfire.'
I lifted my hand up, letting his hair droop on his face before I turned to exit the room, intending to check the internet for any nice places to have lunch since I can't be bothered to cook.
Suddenly, I felt a hand grab me by my wrist, preventing me from leaving the particular spot. At first I was shocked out of my skin, but when I turned around to discover that his eyes were still closed, I felt a wave of relief.
"D-Don't...go..." he trailed off, blabbering a bunch of words in his sleep.
My eyes widened, my heart started pounding.
"You don't have the heart to kill your new friend."
I shook my head, 'what am I even doing?' I repeated my previous question to myself.
I used my other hand to untangle his fingers from my wrist. "You don't know what you're saying, little doll." I chuckled. "Its almost as if you really like me."
"He's going on a date, apparently."
I sneered, "You shouldn't cheat on your girlfriend, idiot."
I exited the room, waiting for him to wake me so we could dine-out together for lunch. I wonder when he'll even wake up.
*~*~*~*~*~
"Where did you even find this place, Karma?" he scanned the restaurant, a smile plastered on his lips the size of his whole face.
I chuckled, intending to tease him a little. "Hmm, I got it from this thing called-- forgive me if I pronounce it wrong, though." I exaggerated. "In-ter-net." I completed, making my point as clear as possible.
"You dumbass." his eyelids lazily covered half of his eye, showing a sign that he was annoyed at my attitude which just made me laugh.
"What else is new?" I chuckled, walking further into the restaurant to find a table, before a waiter came to assist us.
"Will it be just the two of you gentlemen today?" she asked, her smile almost as if fake.
"Apparently." Nagisa responded, aware of her obvious smile. "You should really fix your smile. It looks so fake. Its a disgrace to customers."
A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her head, "I'm terribly sorry, sir." she apologized. "T-This way then." she showed us to a free table that actually seated four but, since all the pair-seated tables are occupied by other customers, we didn't have much of a choice.
Once we were seated, she handed us a booklet that acted as a menu for the restaurant. After she left, I turned to Nagisa, "That was sharp." I mentioned.
Without taking his eyes off the menu, he said, "You mean pointing out her obvious fake smile?" he raised an eyebrow. "She was trying to hard. Even if it's a fake, she should've smiled from her heart. Not just tug on her lips."
I chuckled, "Deep." I dragged the word purposely.
"Look, are you going to order or not?" he placed his menu down.
"I don't feel like eating." I patted my stomach. "I have an errand to run tonight and I don't want to fill myself up too much."
He tilted his head, "An errand? What kind of errand?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"An errand." I shrugged, not wanting to tell him about the job.
"If its an assassination, just tell me." he picked his menu back up. "I already know that its your job, after all."
I sighed, "Fine, just a small one, though." I admitted. "By the way, little doll," my lips tugged a smirk, intertwining my fingers in front of me, resting my head atop of it. "I heard you got a date tonight, huh?"
He went wide eyed which simply made my smirk grew. "H-How did you know about that?" he stuttered, his cheeks firing up an obvious hue of red.
"I wonder. Maybe a rumour about you two dating just made me figure it out?" I lied, trying to provoke him.
"T-There are rumours?!" he panicked.
I chuckled, "How can there not be? Staying after school in that classroom together." I challenged. "I'm just guessing what you two could be doing in there."
"I'm just tutoring her on math!" he clarified. "We didn't do anything, I swear. Don't you dare think of anything sexual."
"Already did."
He sighed, averting his eyes from mine. "W-Well, I wouldn't deny that we're dating, though." he murmured, slightly louder though.
"Eh? You have a girlfriend?" I questioned. "Since when?"
"Just a bit before two weeks ago." he shyly admitted. "She was the one who confessed though."
My heart pounded, "That's what you were doing when you didn't talk to me?" I mumbled, letting my hair drape over my face when I hanged my head. I didn't know how to describe it. A nerve just suddenly popped. Like something inside me just snapped, then and there.
"Karma?" he questioned, trying to reach his hand out to me.
Following my -call it instincts, I slapped his hand away, "Don't touch me." I glared at him. Honest, I didn't know what happened, my body's moving on its own suddenly.
Seeing his scared face, I forced my expression to lighten up. I tried my best to return my glare to a more calming eye adjustment but, it was almost impossible since I, myself, am confused with these feelings.
"Karma, what's wrong?" he asked, despite the fear that filled his eyes.
I clenched my teeth, "Nothing." I managed to speak. "Just, let's continue with lunch. We're making a scene here."
"You're the one acting like this!"
I clicked my tongue, 'don't you dare have another episode in here, brat.' my brain whispered, subconsciously telling him to behave.
"I just told you that I'm dating someone, why are you like this?" he questioned. Although small, a tear started to form at the corner of his eye. "I was expecting you to say something like 'are you sure that girl's right in the head?' or 'maybe it was just a prank' like you always do when you tease me. Why are you acting so serious all of a sudden?"
"Of course he'd have a girlfriend."
I tried my absolute best to stay calm despite my urge to just choke him to death. Slowly, it worked and I was able to smile again. "Gotcha!" I joked. "Wow, you're really the worry wart despite how you look. That girl must be really lucky."
A light pink dusted his cheeks, "What's up with that?" he averted his eyes, obviously playing shy. "I was really worried, you know. You started to be like that all of a sudden and then, you just brushed it off with a cheap joke. You're the worst."
I gave out a breath of nervous laughter before I asked, "So, what would you like to eat before your big date?"
*~*~*~*~*~
4:54 pm, the clock read.
'Shit, I'm gonna be late.' I cursed myself, my legs trying their best to run at the speed of mach 20.
Well, I said trying, didn't I?
'Ugh! This is all that brat's fault!'
----
"Karma, what kind of gift should I give her tonight?"
I smirked, "A good time in bed."
"Gross." he elbowed me, resuming his brainstorm to think of the perfect present to give to his date.
"How about flowers?" he suddenly suggested.
"Too old fashion." I commented. "What is this? The late 90's?"
"Then, chocolates?" he tried.
I sighed, "You're taking her out for dinner, right?" I remembered. "Giving her food over more food will twist her way of thinking and make her seem fat in her little head."
"What then?! I don't know what to give her!" he panicked.
I just chuckled, in the first place, why is he even going to get her a gift?
"Relax, little doll." I tried to calm him down. "Now, try and think of anything she likes. Something important coming up for her, maybe."
He positioned two of his fingers on his chin, humming a bit before snapping them. "She did say that she had a violin recital after exams the other day." he remembered. "I was a bit shocked that she could even play."
"There you have it." I said. "Buy her some rosin."
He tilted his head, "The hell is rosin?" he asked.
"Just something violinists need." I shrugged. "Nothing's better than a functional present, don't you think?"
"Well, I guess." he trailed off. "But, where am I going to find that?"
"I know a store that sells it, but its 30 minutes away from here." I said. "Want to go?"
"Yeah!" he cheered.
I glanced at my watch, '3:23 pm' it read. I gasped, 'I don't think I'll make it in time for that meeting if I go with him.'
"Um, I have to run that errand now, so I can't go with you." I scratched the back of my neck. "Really sorry, you'll have to buy it yourself."
"Huh?!" he panicked again. "But, I don't know where the store is or how to get to it! Besides, I don't even know what mosin is!"
"Rosin." I corrected.
"Whatever it's called!"
I clicked my tongue, "But..." I hesitated, it was really hard to make this choice, believe it or not.
"Just go buy some flowers or chocolate or whatever for her."
"But, you said--" he then paused. "Okay, I'm sorry to bother you."
My heart skipped a beat. "You're not going to change my mind with those puppy eyes." I warned.
"I'm doing no such thing." he insisted. "Well, go and kill the person. I'll just buy her something else."
I took a deep breath, looking up to the sky above us. I tapped my foot rapidly, about to make probably the biggest mistake of my life. "Fine!" I exploded, grabbing him by the wrist, pulling him forward. "Let's go buy her that present."
"You're the best." I could feel his voice smirking. I could just feel it.
"You're a damn snake, you know that?"
"I know."
-----
"Because of him I'm about to be killed by that beast!" I yelled, ending my flashback.
I already sent him home, I was running towards Eren's house right now. It was about two blocks away and I only have 5 minutes on the clock.
'Darn my luck!' I cursed again. 'Someday I will make that brat suffer. My legs hurt like hell because of him!'
I counted the houses as I past them, and finally, I could see Eren's at the end. Not letting my legs fail me now, I dashed towards the gate, jumping over it although it was about two meters high.
After sticking that landing with a perfect score of 10, I zipped past the main door, falling to the floor once I was inside.
"Ah, Karma's here." Levi, somehow, greeted me. One of his hands in his pocket and the other occupying a juice box that was raised up to his mouth to give him access to sip from the straw punctured inside.
"You're late by 27 seconds." Gakushuu came to me, tapping his wristwatch to make his entrance more dramatic, in a way.
"Cut me some slack." I complained, panting. "I had to run almost two kilometers from the train station to get here."
"Tardy isn't acceptable." he pressed, ignoring my whining.
"Its just by 27 seconds, you bastard." I stated. "It doesn't even count."
"It does in my watch."
I glared at him, he returned it back. "I hate you." I mouthed, no actual words came out.
"Me too." he replied, just moving his mouth was sufficient while his lips tugged a half hearted smile.
"Sometimes, I can't believe you two are supposed to be twins." a sudden annoying voice perked up my dying ears.
Acting as a reflex, I kicked my leg forward, tumbling the black-haired boy a bit before he regained his balance not too long after. "Die, rat." I taunted.
"You're so cruel." he chuckled. "Even when I told little Nagisa about you, too."
From my pocket, I pulled out a small -mini-like dagger I kept with me for safety purposes and wasting no time, I threw it to him. Expecting bloodshed in about half a second later, my hopes of killing him were crushed when I saw a brunette figure grabbing the weapon directly in front of the rat's face.
"No violence in my house, please." he demanded, his smile obviously trying to contain his rage within.
I averted my eyes, "Okay, Eren." I apologized in a way.
"Okay, is everyone here?" Gakushuu asked, getting a bit impatient with our nonsense.
"Shizu said he has cram school today." the rat informed. "And, apparently, if he doesn't attend, he'll have to deal with a certain...issue."
"What issue?" I asked, out of pure curiosity.
"You don't have to know." he chuckled.
I grumbled, "Why didn't you let me kill him, Eren?" I whined, turning to the brunette.
"He's an important asset." he simply replied.
"Huh?! I'm just an asset?!" he complained.
"An important asset." he corrected.
"I don't even feel human anymore."
"You idiot." I called for him. "Search up the meaning of asset in the dictionary, you lame brain."
Gakushuu coughed, obviously intentional to get our attention. "Now, since everybody's here, I'll explain the plan for tonight."
"It must be a very difficult target if you called us all here." Levi joined in the conversation.
"She's a black-marketer." he continued. "Originally a prostitute, but, she then began killing people to sell off their organs and such. If the buyers fancy the whole body, she sells them off whole -alive."
"Why don't we sit down?" Eren invited, escorting us to his living room since, we were all, literally, at his front door.
As I got up, I noticed a piece of paper slip out of the file Gakushuu was holding. I picked it up to discover that it was actually a picture of a jade hair girl.
"Hey, is this her?" I asked, showing him the photograph.
"Yeah." he said after he turned around to inspect the picture. "I think her name was Kaya--something like that."
I looked down on the picture, scrunching my eyebrows at her face. 'Why does this face look so familiar?' I wondered.
*~*~*~*~*~