Continue~ (/^▽^)/
Third person POV
Isn't he the principal's son and the student council president? Nagisa thought, his eyes wide in surprise before he regained his composure.
"Asano-san, I'm so sorry about that!" He swiftly apologized when the latter stared at him in some sort of fashion, wanting to quickly escape his burning gaze.
"It's okay. Looking for this, I assume?" Asano handed him the Physics's book.
"Ah, thank you." Nagisa said, gratefully accepting the book.
Asano cocked his head slightly, "I'm sorry if this comes off as intrusive of me but I overheard you and your friends conversing about needing assistance to study."
Nagisa chuckled awkwardly, "Yeah, I'm kinda bad at science so I was hoping that I could ask someone to tutor me."
He failed to mention that 'kinda' in his way meant obtaining abysmal results for his science papers but that worked for someone he just met, he guessed. If only Karma would help them instead of being a lazyass.
"Really?" A tiny smile grew on his face, "I suppose I can lend you two a helping hand." He continued when he saw the blue head open his mouth probably to protest, "After all, I am the Student Council President for a reason."
A relieved sigh escaped Nagisa's lips, "Thank you for your help.." He added with a grateful look, "As long as you're not troubled by it."
Asano shook his head, taking the book out of Nagisa's hold gently and walking towards the occupied table with his two friends, "Of course not. Think of it as an associate's assistance, nothing more nothing less."
Once they reached near the table, Karma, who had seemingly been taking a nap, raised his head, a lazy grin tugged on his face. "What is this? You wanted my help that much that you ended up bringing a carbon copy of me to help you?"
Apparently, Asano was mildly annoyed by the comment, sitting beside Okuda who shifted immediately to give him space, "I figured that I could be of some help to them unlike a certain someone here."
Karma leaned back, the comment not affecting him one bit as a mocking smirk graced on his face and he said, "Oh, really? And here I thought that I was giving them both moral support so relentlessly."
He opened his mouth to undoubtedly negate him but Nagisa beat him to it, "Okay, let's just start with the questions." Asano threw Karma a dirty look as if saying 'this isn't over yet.'
The red head just smiled at him cheekily, ignoring the way Nagisa narrowed his eyes at him at his behavior.
"So, as you can see here, the formula you have to use is P is equals to F by a.." Nagisa listened attentively, watching the pencil move along the surface of paper and write the designated formulas, elaborating each of them in an comprehensible manner.
"And the equation here requires the formula of u minus v by.." Okuda followed, her violet eyes focused on the way the equation was explained, synthesizing the lesson in a moderate pace.
A yawn escaped Karma's mouth, his whole body propped on the trestle of the bench lazily. His gaze traveled to both his friends who seemed to be immersed in those boring science-y stuffs that was being explained by his copycat.
Turning around, his eyes instinctively landed on Nagisa beside him who was also engrossed in the elaboration, even his eyebrows were furrowed in a focused manner.
"Alright, I've got the important parts of the syllabus done." The blue head suddenly announced and Karma realized that he had been staring for almost 20 minutes. He turned away, that was embarrassing.
"Thank you so much for the help, Asano-san." Nagisa said, slumping down with a relieved expression, "I might as well be able to bring around seventy because of your amazing tutelage."
Something burned inside Karma's chest at the praise, he wanted to be the one providing for Nagisa. And here this random copy of him was doing that and even getting Nagisa to compliment him. That bastard..
"No worries. As I said before I am only lending you a helping hand as the student council president." He dared to say, with a neutral face, "It's my responsibility to make sure our grades are above average to keep the reputation of the school afloat."
So, this guy was all about reputations, huh? Pathetic. Karma scoffed mentally, his disdain for the strawberry-blonde boy increasing rapidly. If that was the case then he most likely knew of his reputation as the troublemaker of Kunigigaoko. This was getting interesting.
"Eh~? If reputations what you're talking about then you probably know me, Shuu-chan~" Karma chimed, a mocking edge present in his voice.
Asano's eyes narrowed, a scoff emerging from him, "Of course, I do, Akabane. Your infamous tales have traveled along the corriders and halls of the school even though I've heard of the grades you obtain."
Nagisa watched uneasily, a menacing grin growing on Karma's face slowly, "Heh, so you have heard of me."
The strawberry blond quirked an eyebrow, "From what I had said before, yes. And don't be so protective, I don't aim to steal from you."
The grin faded slowly, his gaze, however, still holding a threatening twinkle to it as he laughed heartily, "And you should stick to that, if you value your life that is."
Nagisa sighed when the tension dissipated but was still confused at their weird conversation. He figured that it must be an alpha thing between them since Okuda looked just as confused as him at the peculiar interaction between the two.
"Hn, I hope that you put up some fight in the upcoming exam." Saying that, he exited the library.
Karma scoffed, taking one of the science book on his hand, "I don't see why you even brought him to tutor you." His eyes scanned the pages of the science book.
The problems and equations were relatively easier than he imagined. These could be learned if the formulas were memorized and implemented correctly, nothing was that difficult.
He exhaled, "You guys were stuck with these questions? They're elementary level, you know?"
Nagisa took the book, a frown making its way to his face, "You could've helped us if these were that easy."
"Alright." Okuda and Nagisa looked taken aback at the sudden affirmation, "I'll help you guys but you don't have to go to that bastard to ask him for help." He resisted the urge to growl, opting on scowling instead.
Nagisa lightened up, giving him a close eyed smile, "Okay, thank you." He turned towards Okuda, winking at her subtly before switching his gaze from her to Karma, "I'm sure Manami-san would like that too."
She flushed slightly at the implication, squeaking out 'yes' with a reddened face.
~
"Thank you for tutoring us, Karma-kun!" Okuda said brightly, her exam result gripped on her hand lightly as to not crinkle the paper.
At Karma's surprised expression and the confused noise he made, Nagisa beamed ebulliently, his own result in his hand, "Yeah, thanks! Our ranks have improved greatly because of your help!"
He had made it to top fifty, taking the forty sixth spot for himself which was quite the feat in itself considering the number of students present in the school. And what was more surprising is that Karma had managed to teach them even though the statement seemed uncharacteristic of the red head.
His tutoring method were a little..extreme, for the lack of better term. He was unrelenting, using blackmail materials as a leverage to make them focus better and learn quicker. An outlandish method of teaching but an effective system nonetheless.
An odd shade of pink settled at Karma's face making Nagisa almost dote on how cute he looked, bashfully accepting their gratitude. "Well, I guess my tutoring is just that nice." He grumbled under his breath, his face slowly losing its rosiness.
Nagisa chuckled, gazing at Karma almost fondly. Karma was the same even though they had graduated from elementary school, how nostalgic is that?
What they didn't know was Okuda watching them interact with her eyes wide with realization before she let her lips upturn into a smile; not a normal smile at that.
~
"Bye, Karma-kun!"
"See you, Karma!"
The said red head waved without turning back, his bag slung over his shoulder.
Nagisa placed his hand on his hip, huffing, "Geez, I've told that guy several times not to carry his bag like that." Despite his words, his statement was covered in a warm tone.
"Well, Manami-san, let's get on with the cleaning." He turned around, bending to pick the broom, the tiny smile on his face wasn't missed by her.
Today was their cleaning duty so as responsible students, unlike Karma, both of them were determined to tidy the classroom up before leaving. Karma had left them since he mentioned something about 'delinquents were in clusters when the school's just ended' or something like that.
Okuda, however, had different plans as she watched the blue head wipe the blackboard before dusting the duster, coughing briefly when the dust flew around. She contemplated whether she should mention it to him or not, a conflicted look on her face as she held the broom.
"Manami-san, are you alright?" Nagisa asked with a concerned expression, noticing her uneasiness.
She stammered, "Uh..um..yeah, kind of.." Her lavender eyes trailed across the concrete floor of their classroom apprehensively, making Nagisa grow more worried.
"Say, Nagisa-kun.." Okuda started again, startling him before he hummed, acknowledging her words while still dusting the black board cleaner.
She gripped the broom tighter at the words she was about to say, closing her eyes so she wouldn't see his reaction.
"You like Karma-kun, don't you?"
His entire body stopped at the sentence because how did she even know this and why wasn't she screaming at him because of this fact? He was vaguely aware of how the duster fell on the ground, a clattering sound resonating through the room as it did.
What was he supposed to say in a predicament like this one? Okuda peeled her eyes open slowly, a frozen blue head in front of her as she felt her doubts turn into conviction. So it was true, what she witnessed, wasn't it?
"It's okay if you do." She said again slowly when he didn't attempt to break the silence.
Nagisa raised his head, a guilty look on his face as he nodded, trying to ignore the shame that hit him full force. Some weird part of him though, turned somewhat defensive, as if defending himself in case she turned on to him.
Why was she even okay with him liking her crush? Wasn't this supposed to ruin the friendship between them? Oh god, how did she even find it out? His mind was filled with questions that were left answered, making him both confused and ashamed.
"Look.." She sighed, starting to sweep the floor, "I..The way you look at him."
Nagisa understood what she was trying to say despite the disgruntled and jointed words. He wasn't surprised now that she said it, he was probably staring at Karma for an unnaturally long time and she got suspicious because of it.
"You sound so fond and affectionate when you're talking to him even though you scold him sometimes. Your eyes too, they..." Okuda paused, searching for the correct word, "I don't know how to explain it but they just look more bright and joyfilled when you're around him."
Nagisa smiled weakly at her observation, "And you're okay with it?"
She abruptly stopped cleaning, spinning on her heels, meeting Nagisa's guilt-filled eyes with her own lavender ones. Either she was really good at masking her emotions or she wasn't genuinely upset at him.
"I'm trying to comprehend how you were okay with that, I mean.." She gestured with the broom still on her hand, "You helped me give him chocolates in Valentine's day, you even helped us to get to talk to each other in our first name basis yet you were still so supportive of us."
Her eyes were starting to brim with tears as she continued, "You..you still didn't hate me even though I told you about my own crush on him and you didn't even think twice before giving him up to someone like me."
"It was so noble of you that I still can't get how you managed to give him up so easily for someone who couldn't even match the affection you hold for him." Nagisa stood silently as she poured her heart out, emotions spilling everywhere like the tears that flowed down from her cheek to the ground, making dark spots.
"I think..I think.." She hiccuped, her vision already blurred and blinded by the overflowing tears.
Nagisa immediately went to her aid, comforting her because he was the one who made her cry like this. He felt so terribly guilty.
"I think that you're a better match for him than me." Nagisa's eyes widened, he hadn't expected her to say that at all. She interrupted before he could even open his mouth to intervene, "You were there for him since elementary. I've never seen Karma smile or laugh so genuinely without you around him. I think you would have a better chance with him than me."
She wiped her tears with the tissue he offered her, "Thanks."
Okuda took off her glasses, wiping her tears and nose. "We'll still be friends in spite of this conversation, won't we?" She asked, wearing her glasses again, looking at him with hopeful eyes.
"After all.." She said, before continuing with a pleasantly cheeky smile tugged on her face, "I'll support you to get together with him!"
That lightened up the atmosphere around them even if her eyes were slightly red because of her break down before. They laughed, silently making a mutual agreement through their laughter and the shared looks.
It was fine..at least for now.
Qotc: Best boy from bnha? Deku and Kiri because how can you not?!
This chapter squeezed the hell out of my nonexistent brain and creativeness, so please appreciate it.
Also, I noticed that no one was answering my 'Qotc's nowadays. Are my questions that boring? (╯︵╰,)
Words: 2386 words
Bye~! ヾ(＾∇＾)