(Your POV)
"So, who are you again?" The guard at the gate asked.
"I'm (L/N) (Y/N)," you replied, clutching the strap of your backpack tightly.
"And you say you're here to visit Himura?" He arched an eyebrow.
"Uh... yes," you stammered nervously, vigorously nodding your head. He sure was intimidating...
Had it been a good idea to come? Maybe you should have waited until the weekend and not just go after school. You were still wearing your school uniform and maybe the guard wasn't taking you seriously because of it.
"And you say you're his friend?" He asked skeptically.
"Yeah," you nodded your head once again.
"And why would I believe you?" He crossed his arms against his chest.
"Please sir," you pouted, your eyes travelling up to meet his. "I really need to talk to him," you continued, making use of your acting skills. "I've had to come a long way to get here... I-I missed the train and I had to wait for about 30 minutes and then I nearly got mugged since I was all alone... Please, sir, don't make this be a pointless trip," you finally said, giving him a sad, innocent smile, something you had learnt from Kaori.
"Alright, alright," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he finally gave in to your pleas. Without even sparing a glance, he dialled a number on a weird device that reminded you of an old telephone or a weird walkie-talkie. "Good evening mister Himura," he greeted a few seconds later, "I have a girl here who says you know each other... Her name?" The guard turned around to look at you, arching one of his eyebrows.
"(L/N) (Y/N)," you said.
"(L/N) (Y/N)," he repeated. "Huh?... Really?... I'm sorry... I see... Okay, sorry for disturbing you."
The man hung up and turned his attention towards you as you couldn't help but fight a smile. It looked like this trip wasn't in vain.
"I'm sorry miss (L/N)," he began to apologize for what you supposed was his skeptical behaviour, "but he doesn't know who you are," he added, his tone of voice harsh and rude.
"What?!" You couldn't help but yell in disbelief.
That couldn't be possible.
"You-You must have dialed the wrong house," you said in panic as you stood on your tiptoes, trying to take a peek at the device he had used to contact Kaori.
"No," he shook his head.
"But... but that can't be right," you tried to argue back. "I swear we really know each other. We... he... he's my boyfriend," you suddenly shouted, grimacing internally at what you had just said. It was the only thing you could think of... It was your last resource. "We just got into a fight... that's it," you smiled nervously as you tried to justify yourself.
"Yeah, sure," he smirked, "and I'm a princess," he rolled his eyes, his words laced with sarcasm.
"But there has to be a problem," you continued insisting. "The other day I went to his house... I was inside a black car with tinted windows and-"
"Miss, you'll have to leave or I'll call the cops," he warned, his tone cold and icy.
"I...I..." you bit your bottom lip as you looked down at the floor.
Now what?
"I'm sorry for wasting your time," you apologized with your head hung low, "I'll be leaving."
You sadly turned around as you headed back home. You couldn't believe what had just happened! Did he really say he didn't know who you were? You felt betrayed. He had suddenly brushed you off like you were nothing. You weren't even mad at him in the first place. Yes, it had bothered you that he had tried to kiss you again, but you had forgiven him. Even if he was drunk, he was sober enough to respect your boundaries and he really seemed sorry.
You got in the train with your head low as you thought about all that. Taking your phone out, you checked for new messages in case he had texted you but he hadn't... You got off at your stop and walked down the neighbourhood in silence. You had been so focused on your thoughts, that you hadn't noticed where your feet had taken you.
'This is Karma's house,' you thought.
You stood there for a few seconds. Should you ring the bell? Maybe he was at home?
'What am I even saying?' You shook your head. 'I probably look like a stalker... plus, he might not even be at home.'
Turning around, you headed back home with your head hung low until you abruptly bumped into someone.
"Sorry," you muttered.
"You should be."
Your eyes widened, your body petrified upon hearing that voice. You slowly lifted your head and made eye contact with the person, their cold, blood red eyes staring right into your soul. It was your brother.
"Where do you even come from?" He asked, frowning his brow.
"I was visiting a friend," you replied, your eyes shifting over to the lamp post beside him, his gaze intimidating you. "And you?"
"I was buying groceries for today's dinner," he lifted the bags.
"Oh right..." you mumbled under your breath, today's dinner coming to mind. "Is mother at home?" You suddenly asked, remembering what Koro-sensei had asked you to do.
"Why are you so interested?" He arched an eyebrow.
"I need to talk to her," you said in between clenched teeth. Why did he like to make everything so difficult?
"Funny how you haven't mentioned father," he smirked. "Playing favourites I see."
You remained silent.
"What? You aren't going to offer me your help?" He said in amusement.
"...Do you need any help?" You forced yourself to say those words.
"No," he replied as your head shot upwards.
"Then why did you ask?" You asked as you tried really hard to restrain yourself from shouting at him.
"Just to see if you had any manners," he shrugged as he began walking home.
You followed behind with your head hung low. He inserted the keys and opened the door as you entered behind him. Leaving the bags in the kitchen, your brother soon left leaving you alone with your mother and father who were busy making dinner. None of them talked to one another.
"Um, mother, father," you called awkwardly, not really knowing how to confront such a tense situation.
The both of them turned their attention towards you, their eyes going from you to the task they were doing as if they were impatient to get back to it.
"My homeroom teacher, uh, Karsuma-sensei would want to talk to you tomorrow after school," you announced.
"I can't go," your father shook his head as he returned back to his task.
'Of course you can't,' you thought rather bitterly.
"I'll have to postpone my meeting," your mother sighed, "he'll probably want to talk about your transfer so it's important we do it as soon as possible and get it over with."
Once you were dismissed, you headed to your room in silence, passing by your brothers room whose door was slightly opened. Taking a peek inside, you found him sitting on his desk chair, too busy reading a book.
Dinner was finally ready and Asano and his father had arrived. You had had to change into formal clothing and greet them at the door with your brother. After talking for a little while, you walked over to the dining table and sat down. You sat on Asano's right, at the far end of the table, your brother in front of you.
Fortunately, since your parents had to keep up with appearances, there were no arguments and no hostile remarks. As always, you were amazed at the sight. Whenever you had guests, the environment would turn unrecognisable making you wonder how your life could have been if those appearances were actually a reality. So, every time it happened, after the guests were gone, you would feel empty in the inside as the harsh reality dawned upon you, a sight like that would never really happen in your family.
Asano-san asked your brother about what he had been doing abroad and he seemed really interested in it. Without even knowing, you spaced out of the conversation. Dessert soon rolled in and surprisingly enough, the topic about your grades and your transfer had not been touched, the closest they had been to talking about school was when Asano-san reassured your parents he would make sure you could continue on at Kunugigaoka as a normal student once the movie was out which was a huge relief.
A few hours went by and it was now time to bid farewell. Once they were gone, you allowed a sigh escape your lips.
'Back to reality,' you thought.
Now that they were gone, your parents didn't even spare a glance to one another. The four of you cleared the table in silence and you were finally dismissed. You headed to your room and changed into your pajamas. Today had been a long day. Before going to bed, you checked your phone, something you had been doing recently ever since Kaori's party. You still had a little bit of hope left that he had texted you back, but, unfortunately, he hadn't. Sighing, you got inside the covers and turned off the lights. About five minutes later, someone softly knocked on your door and opened it slightly. Said person took a peek inside as you faked being asleep in hopes that they would leave you alone.
"(Y/N)?" You heard your brother's voice call your name. Your breathing hitched upon hearing his voice, you quickly closed your eyes and pretended to be asleep. The last thing you wanted was to see him... "I guess you're asleep," you could easily imagine him smirking, probably suspecting you were just acting. You remained silent, being really careful not to make any noise. "Well... goodnight," he suddenly said as he slowly closed the door.
'Since when does he care the slightest bit about me?' You shot your eyes open. 'He's probably just messing with me...' You shook your head.
That night, you had trouble sleeping. Your brother's words reverberating inside your head the whole night. In your dreams, the memories from your childhood that you had shared with your brother played as if you were in a movie theatre watching a film where the only thing you wished for was to escape.
__________________________
"So," Nakamura nudged you in the ribs, wiggling her eyebrows, "how was dinner with the Principal and the Student Council President?" She asked, as she tried to restrain herself from laughing out loud.
"It was... okay..." you sighed, remembering yesterday's events. You were just glad your grades hadn't been brought up.
"What?" Karma's voice made you jump. "You had dinner with them?"
"Her parents are good friends," Nakamura said before you even had time to explain.
"I wouldn't wanna be in your shoes," he chuckled. "That must've been one hell of a dinner," he said as he swung his arm over your shoulders and began poking your cheek, clearly amused at the situation as he watched you clench your teeth in annoyance.
"And since when do you attend school assemblies?" You shot back. "Is the great Akabane Karma actually a goody two shoes? Or are you just afraid of the consequences?" You teased, your words stopping him from continuing poking fun at you.
"You see, if I skipped out now, it'd be like I was running away, and I'm not too keen on that," he sighed uninterested at having to be here.
"Oh~ don't tell me the infamous Karma is actually maturing." You wiggled your eyebrows.
"Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be." He pulled away, not amused by your joke.
"Aww come on!" You whined. "You're always teasing me! It's payback time!"
"Yeah. How about no." He gave you a fake smile that clearly meant 'don't mess with me or you'll regret it'. But you simply ignored it and continued with your revenge.
"You're so cute when you get angry!" You began poking his cheek, his eye twitching in annoyance.
From the corner of your eye you saw Sugino sweatdropping at the sight and Nakamura grinning like a madman.
"Okay, let's play," Karma suddenly said, fed up by your teasing as he grabbed your wrist, a devilish smile playing along his lips. Your breathing hitched as Karma leaned dangerously close to your face. "Ne (Y/N)-chan, didn't I tell you to stop?" He smirked as you gulped deeply.
You were so close... One wrong move and you would end up kissing.
"You see, it's really no fun when you're the one teasing me. And your skills at making me embarrassed are pretty amateurish. Even lame I would say," he chuckled darkly.
You couldn't stop your face from going a deep shade of red, your cheeks growing hotter than ever and you could even imagine steam coming out of your ears. Karma seemed pretty satisfied with the reaction he managed to get, as well as enjoyed at how embarrassed you were that Nakamura and Sugino had seen you like this so he let go of your wrist.
"And that's how it's done (Y/N)-chan~" His playful tone came back as he mischievously stuck out his tongue.
The closing ceremony went by quite smoothly. All the threats and bad mouthing they made about the end class had no effect by now since you had shown that you were capable of winning the battle of the top.
Once assembly was over, you headed back to the old campus where one of those gigantic guidebooks that Koro-sensei liked to make were already waiting for you.
"It looks more like an accordion," Okajima sweatdropped as he grabbed it with difficulties and pretended to play it.
"The temptations of summer are too many to name after all," Koro-sensei shook his head disapprovingly. "After this, we will be heading into a summer vacation, but, you all still have the main event to look forward to."
They all smiled at the thought. Since the end class had won the bet against class A, the class had requested to go to the summer vacation at the island resort of Okinawa. It was Kunugigaoka High School's special summer course. As expected, everyone was excited to go since it was always reserved to the class whose students had score the highest in the overall chart, so it should have gone to class A. But, since the end class had won the bet, you were allowed to ask for anything.
You were really looking forward to going so you hoped that the parent-teacher conference Koro-sensei had planned would manage to convince your mother into staying. If it didn't work... You really didn't know how you would break the news to your classmates since they had agreed that the assassination would take place at the resort.
The bell signaling the end of the day rang, filling everyone with joy but you were too nervous to even feel relieved that the day was finally over.
"(Y/N)," Sugino called, "you coming?"
"Uh, yeah, sorry" you shook your head as you took the pen you had been unconsciously chewing out of your mouth.
You walked down the mountain with Nakamura, Sugino, Nagisa and Karma. You were nervous to say the least. Today, you would be meeting your mother at the main campus' gates and you would take her to the old campus where she would have her meeting with Koro-sensei. You were especially nervous because, since you were walking with your class E friends, you were unsure of her reaction. But, as long as you said goodbye quickly, your mother didn't have to know...right?
Once you arrived at the main campus, you quickly waved off your friends but, as it was to be expected, they began asking you questions.
"Aren't you going home by train?" Sugino furrowed his brow in confusion.
"Uh... you see... " you began, biting your lip, not really knowing how to approach the situation. "My mother will be meeting up with Ko-... Karasuma-sensei about... about my grades," you said slowly.
"What?!" Nakamura yelled.
"You're going back to the main campus?" Karma frowned.
"No," you were quick to say. "No, I'm not going back... It's just a parent-teacher conference, that's it," you smiled nervously.
"And what do you think they are going to discuss, genius?" He furrowed his brow as you remained silent at his question. "Face it, you're going back to class A," he shook his head in disbelief. "Am I wrong?" He frowned though his eyes revealed a feeling of betrayal you had never seen in him before. Very different to the Karma from the closing ceremony from just a few hours ago.
"I-I don't know," you finally admitted, biting your bottom lip, your eyes glued to your shoes. "But I'll try to convince my mother into staying," you added though you weren't very convinced yourself.
Sugino and Nakamura looked at you in silence, clearly not convinced. Karma, on the other hand, didn't even look at you and without saying anything else, walked away. He didn't even say goodbye.
"I'm sure everything will be alright," Nagisa smiled as he tried to divert the attention from you. "Why don't we keep going?" He motioned the others to go to the train station. "We'll try to calm down Karma-kun too."
"Sure," Sugino chuckled awkwardly as he followed Nagisa.
Once they left, you allowed a sigh to escape your lips. Not long after, some students around you began whispering between one another, catching everyone's attention. You turned around to see what was so exciting and you were petrified at the sight.
"Who is he?" You heard Aoi giggle as she nudged Nika in the ribs and pointed at someone.
You watched the scene in disbelief. Really? Why did he have to come?!
"Uh, hello... mother," you greeted rather awkwardly. "Akiro, uh, what are you doing here?" You hesitated before asking your question, unsure of your mother's reaction.
Of course your brother had to attract everyone's attention. Why did he have to be so good-looking? The only thing it did was fuel his already big ego.
"Father couldn't come so he asked me to fill in," he replied dryly. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't enjoying having to be here.
You took them to the old campus and you were met with Koro-sensei dressed as... Karasuma-sensei? You had to look twice before you convinced yourself it was real and not a hallucination.
'So this was his plan all along,' you thought as you sweatdropped at the sight.
"Good evening," Koro-sensei greeted. "I suppose you are (Y/N)'s mother and you are..."
"Her brother," Akiro shook Koro-sensei's tenta-... hand.
Once all introductions were out of the way, Koro-sensei took you to the teacher's lounge. Each of you took a seat on one of the chairs. You nervously tapped your foot hoping that it would go well and you would be allowed to stay.
"I suppose we will be discussing my daughter's transfer to the main campus," your mother began, crossing her arms across her chest as she inspected your teacher from head to toe.
"Yes," Koro-sensei replied, vigorously nodding his head. "Although I think we should focus more on her vast improvement here in the end class."
"She has improved," your mother agreed, nodding her head slowly. "But I don't think it was because of the class she was in. The many activities she has taken part in are now over so she has had more time to study. I believe she will benefit more in class A with her friends."
"Nurufufu, that is a great observation," Koro-sensei agreed. "But I believe the end class will be most suited for her."
"And why is that?" She raised an eyebrow as you watched in silence.
Koro-sensei then proceeded to explain that the rumours about class E weren't as accurate as many people thought. He tried to make your mother understand how important it was for you to stay since he knew perfectly well how to harvest your abilities to their maximum potential.
The meeting continued but it wasn't going as good as you thought. Your mother was very stubborn and it didn't look like she was going to give up that easily. She still had her mind set into sending you back to the main campus.
"There's also an Okinawa trip your daughter has been looking forward to," Koro-sensei mentioned. "It would be a pity if you don't allow her to take part in. The class has been really looking forward to go and it's their reward after all their hard work."
"Mother," you turned your attention towards her. You were desperate to say the least. You really wanted to stay and by the way things were going, it didn't seem like you had much of a chance. "Please, the end class is not what you think it is. The students here work hard every single day, they aren't the delinquents people describe them as," you pleaded.
"I-I..." she stammered. She was cornered. After your plea, she couldn't deny. Not in public. If she wanted to keep up with appearances, she had to give in.
"No," she suddenly said, surprising you completely.
The day Kaori asked her if she would allow you to go to Kyoto, she had agreed because she knew she couldn't deny. She had also been between a rock and a hard place that day. So, why was she refusing today?
It suddenly dawned into you... It was because your father was back. If she didn't get you transferred to the main campus, she would lose the battle.
"Mother," your brother suddenly called.
'Great...' you thought, 'the last straw.'
"It's pretty clear that (Y/N) has to go back to the main campus," he began, "and it's quite obvious that she has no choice, I mean, look at this place," he looked around the worn out room in disgust.
Why? Why did he always find a way to make you miserable?
"But it's also clear that she wants to go to that trip," he suddenly added, catching you off guard. "So, why don't you let her stay, take part in that Okinawa trip and then, once she comes back, then you can take her back to class A?" He said.
Your mouth was agape. Why had your brother suddenly decided to help you? What was he planning? Or did he genuinely care about you? No, that couldn't be it.
You looked over at your mother with wide eyes. At this point you would take anything. You maintained eye contact for a few seconds, it was the first time you had publicly gone against her and you didn't know how she would react.
"Fine," she whispered in defeat.
__________________________
You leaned out on the windowsill, remembering the day Karma had climbed up a tree just to apologize to you. That same warmth that you had been feeling and that had only grown stronger invaded your body. Closing your eyes you enjoyed the summer breeze. It was now summer and, just before school started, the movie would come out to the public. You were glad it was after your Okinawa trip, that way, you could enjoy your last moments of freedom with your friends.
Okinawa...
At least you still had some time left with the end class... Your eyes shot open, the end class! Tomorrow you would have to explain everything to your friends. You wouldn't keep it a secret like you had kept the other one. This time, they had the right to know what would happen after the trip.
'Karma...' you thought.
That look in his eyes... he looked so sad, so betrayed... but you couldn't blame him. You hadn't told him anything about it until the last minute. What kind of friend were you? You stared at the tree in front of you for a few seconds. You had to tell him. He had the right to know. You looked at your watch, 11:30 pm. Would you do it? Maybe he was asleep... No, that couldn't be possible, it wasn't even that late for Karma. It wasn't the first time you would be meeting up late at night. You remember he told you he liked staying up late.
You nodded your head as if to assure yourself. Just like those other times, you climbed down the tree and made your way to his house, being extremely careful in case your brother saw you. Once you were far enough from your house, you began running to Karma's. You reached it quite quickly. Your finger hovered over the bell, anxiously biting your bottom lip. Would he even want to see you? After all, he was very upset when he found out. You stayed like that for a few seconds, regretting your decision. Taking a deep breath, you gathered all your strength and willpower and rang the bell.
You waited impatiently, tapping your foot against the floor nervously. After a few minutes of waiting, you rang the bell again. What if he was asleep? You continued waiting. He didn't answer. Sighing in defeat, you turned around and began heading back home.
"(Y/N)?" He suddenly called as you halted abruptly.
Turning around you... didn't see anyone? The door was still closed and no light shone through the windows. Had you imagined it? You shook your head, maybe it had been your mind playing tricks on you?
"(Y/N)~" you heard Karma's voice call in an amused sing song voice.
You turned around again. It was his voice. You weren't imagining it.
"Karma?" You asked, hesitantly taking a few steps forward.
"Up here dummy," he said in a teasing voice.
Frowning your brow, you decided to follow his instructions, your eyes travelling upwards, the sight catching you off guard. He was... on the roof...
"What, what are you doing there?" You stammered in disbelief. "You're going to fall."
"Oh, so you do care about me," he arched an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry," you looked down at the floor in shame. You weren't going to lie. You kinda deserved it.
"Why don't you come up here? I can barely hear you," he suggested.
"Up... there?" You stuttered, pointing at where he was. "Isn't it dangerous?"
"I've never fallen," he shrugged as if that was enough evidence to call it a safe place to be in.
You bit your bottom lip as you thought about it. You really wanted to apologize to him, he deserved it. And now that you thought about it, it wasn't like you would fall. With all the assassination training you had been doing, you had discovered that you were quite good at climbing. Plus, you had done much more dangerous things during Karasuma-sensei's lessons.
Without giving it too much of a thought, you finally decided to climb up to the roof. It didn't take you long before you reached the top where you found the red haired boy about to go down.
"You did it?" He asked in surprise when he saw you on the roof by his side. "And here I was about to go down," he smirked. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?" He said seriously, his words carrying a clear double meaning.
"Karma," you called his name as you looked down at the floor in shame. "I came here to apologize... I'm really sorry, I should have told you sooner but I wasn't thinking and I only thought about myself and it was so selfish and-and...," you ranted, "I'm so, so sorry," you apologized again.
"Why did you even keep it a secret? It wasn't like we were gonna blame it on you," he frowned as he sat down on the blanket he must have laid out before you came.
"I don't know... I guess... I guess I was afraid," you sighed and sat down beside him. "It's the first time I have the opportunity to rely on so many people and... I'm just not used to it," you bit your bottom lip. "I'm really sorry..."
The both of you remained silent as you looked down at your shoes, too afraid to even look up.
"You really do have to stop apologizing so much, huh?" He teased as your head shot upwards to meet his eyes.
"I'm just really sorry," you mumbled softly.
"I guess I can't be mad at you for that," he exhaled loudly. "I shouldn't've been such a jerk back then either. It's not like you were the one to make that decision... Were you?" He arched an eyebrow, a teasing smile tugging at his lips.
"Of course I wasn't," you chuckled.
You were glad he wasn't blaming it on you. If it had been for you, you would have stayed the whole year in the end class. You really didn't want to go back... it was too much pressure... And you had found friendship in that class. You didn't want to leave them just like that.
"Karma," you called as you looked down at the ground in shame. "You were right, I'm going back to class A," you bit your bottom lip. "I'll be transferred back to the main campus after the Okinawa trip...."
"Huh!?" He exclaimed.
"I'll try to figure something out," you were quick to add, your voice filled with sadness and guilt. "I really don't want to go back..."
"I'll come up with a plan," he smirked mischievously, playfully bumping his shoulder against yours. You were sure you could see the gears turning inside his head and you could perfectly imagine what type of plans he was thinking of.
"I'm so sorry," you repeated.
You really did feel bad about the whole situation. You felt it was partly your fault. Maybe, if you had asked for his help before, you could have done something about it and you wouldn't be stuck in this situation.
"Even if it isn't that much of a grand and elaborate apology, I forgive you," he teased, ruffling your hair.
You allowed a laugh to escape your lips upon hearing his statement. You were glad he was downplaying the situation. Whenever he did it, it really helped you to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. It helped you look for a solution without panicking.
"You got to admit that your apology was over the top," you rolled your eyes in amusement.
"Well, you came running to my house in the middle of the night so..." he whistled.
"If you put it that way," you chuckled.
"Straight out of a movie I'd say," he smirked. "You sure you aren't confusing movies with reality?" He teased, pinching your cheek. "Maybe the shooting of the movie did something to your brain."
"Who knows?" You grinned.
You remained in a comfortable silence as you watched the stars. They were beautiful. It was at that moment that you realized how busy you had been with all your activities. You had been so busy and so many years had gone by that you didn't even remember the last time you had taken your time to stop whatever you were doing to just watch the sky and savour those precious little moments that life gave you.
"Do you mind if I... stay here for a while?" You asked timidly.
"Took your time, didn't you?" He smirked as he scooted over to make room for you.
You laid down and, it was at that moment that you realized how much you had missed out in life.
"Do you come here often to watch the stars?" You whispered, entranced by such a beautiful sight.
"Yeah, it's relaxing," he smiled.
"Who would have guessed the famous Akabane Karma would be the one to say that?" You teased as you flashed him a bright smile.
"Don't get used to it princess," he chuckled.
You smiled as you watched the boy in silence, his sharp mercury eyes seeming to glow under the moonlight as his soft red hair swayed with the nightly breeze.
He sure was the best thing that had happened to you in a long time... As you thought about it, you took notice of the fuzzy feeling inside you and the warmth invading your body. It was at that moment that you were finally able to understand your feelings.
You had fallen in love with him.
That night you spent it on the rooftop either in a comfortable silence as you admired the night sky or talking about whatever came to mind. Yo couldn't help but roll your eyes at his incurable behaviour as he described to you the rather overly exaggerated plans he had come up with so you could return to the end class. As you would have expected, many of them involved getting into a fight with Asano or, as he liked to call him, the 'Student Council President'.
A/N: I really hope you're enjoying the story so far!! Take care!