School was nothing like she had thought. She hadn't passed the exam, not that she'd expected to, and it had taken her at least six months for her to get in. School had never been a reality for her. Having war take over her life at two, she'd never been to school. But since she knew that she'd get nowhere without education, she payed her way in. The principal, recognising how much she wanted to get in, relented and placed her in the lowest class.

She had everything she needed. The money in the case had been a surprisingly large amount; it could keep her going for the rest of high school. Then she'd find out how to get more money. Maybe she'd have to work.

Feeling strange in her short school skirt and white top, all which felt so posh and foreign to her that she felt uncomfortable, she walked carefully into the school grounds. She was meant to meet a teacher in the front building so that she could be shown around the school and to her class. She'd started later than everyone else and had missed the orientation.

"Sakusa Kimi?" someone called. Still in a daze, she didn't notice until the person was right in front of her. "Sakusa Kimi? Are you the new girl, Sakusa Kimi?"

The girl snapped out of her daydream and realised that she was being called. "Sorry, sorry! That's me," the girl said, flustered. She could already feel her ears turn pink.

In front of her was a boy. Part of her could tell he wasn't a teacher, but he gave an atmosphere that made you obey him. There was some weird sense of authority around him. His strawberry blonde hair, perfectly styled to look natural but wasn't, and his amethyst eyes felt like it was penetrating through your soul. "Are you the one who's meant to show me around...?" she asked cautiously.

He smiled, but it didn't welcome her as it should've. "Yes. I'm Asano Gakushu, student representative of our year. I will be showing your around."

"Ah, o-ok. I just thought it was someone else - teacher. N-not that it shouldn't - You can - I... I will just shut up now." If there was one thing she lacked besides basic education, was communication skills.

Asano's smile didn't waver. "Come on, we've got a whole school to tour." Sakusa followed him nervously. It was awkward, but it didn't feel out of place in a school like this.

She was shown around the school as students slowly filled the school grounds. By the time the tour had finished, there was only five minutes before classes started. Asano had already gone. Sakusa raced to her shown locker and prepared for the day. Her heart beat so hard she thought it may fall out of her chest.

Collecting all her books took longer than expected, so when she finally finished she was already five minutes late. She raced down the hallways when her eyes caught sight of a red-head boy. His fiery eyes followed her as she ran past. Wondering what he was doing in the hallway, looking all cool as he slowly walked to class, she tried to frantically locate her class. In frozen panic, she glanced at her timetable. 1-E, Room 5. Sakusa darted around the long corridors and snuck glances into rooms. Her first day of school and she was probably going to be punished for tardiness; great.

"You lost?" came a friendly voice. She spun around to face the red-headed boy she saw earlier. Had he predicted that she would be lost? Had he really followed her around this maze? Sakusa felt more pathetic than she'd ever felt.

"Uh, yes?" Somehow, in the midst of rush and panic, she'd lost the ability to form proper sentences.

He chuckled. "It's down that way, Room 5," he pointed to his left and Sakusa zoomed away with a short word of thanks. "Pay for my lunch today!" he called down the hallways.

Pay? Lunch? Certain doom dawned on her as she sprinted with her books in hand - they needed to pay for lunch.

-3-

She bit her lip tentatively as she scanned the cafeteria. Hopefully, the red-head wouldn't be around and would've already forgotten her insignificant being. Then maybe she'll be able to get through the day without anyone else noticing her. What with her failures with trying to interact with the boys in the morning, she doubted that she would make any friends. Not that she expected to anyway. Her whole life, she'd been called weird, scary, strange. And she'd always been alone anyways.

Slowly and quietly, she slipped outside the cafeteria and into the fresh air outside - a luxury she had only just began to enjoy. But there was a tap on her shoulder as Sakusa just began to breathe.

Sakusa gave a small scream as she whirled around to face the antagonist. "A-ah! It's you..." she said nervously, trying to cover up her face with her long hair. Then she realised there would be no need; she'd just revealed that she did know him.

"I couldn't find you in the cafeteria. Come on, you still gotta get us lunch," he said, not noticing how flustered she was as he pulled her gently by the arm into the bustling hall of high-school students.

She wrenched her arm away, "Hey! L-look, stop. I actually didn't bring any money. S-so... Sorry, but go get your own lunch!"

There was an uncomfortable pause between them as his indifferent eyes stared at her. "Hm, okay then. I guess I'll be paying this time." He beckoned her over as he walked into the cafeteria full of people.

"What?"

"You still owe me though," he said. She let myself be dragged into the flow of people as he gently pulled her into the shortening line of students, waiting for their lunch. He grip was somewhere between tender but firm, as if he was carefully holding on to a new-born animal but he didn't want it to escape. Sakusa couldn't anyway.

The two steaming bowls of ramen in front of her felt like food for giants, not two high-school students. But the boy ate it like it was nothing. Sakusa, for one, had never seen so much food in her life. Gingerly, she started to eat. Bite by bite, tears gathered in her eyes. She'd never eaten anything so delicious or with such big quantity.

The red-head boy watched her with intrigue. She ate school lunches like they were business-class food. And he knew, coming from a rich family, that school lunches were at the very bottom of the ladder. "I'll bring you somewhere even better. Tonight," he said out of a sudden.

Sakusa jerked her head up, "What? What are you talking about?"

"You eat school food like you've never eaten anything better before. What's wrong with you?" he raised an eyebrow, "I can't stand it. I'll bring you somewhere better tonight."

Sakusa blushed in embarrassment, turning only her ears red. "W-whatever." She looked down and continued to eat.

He stood up, "Meet me here tonight."

-3-

That night, she didn't go to the school like the boy had asked her. The night was dark and dangerous, it was madness to go out with that stranger whom she still didn't know the name of. But she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Sakusa knew the feeling of rejection, being left alone. But something told her that didn't matter to the redhead boy. Yet she still felt ashamed.

-3-

"Ah, Sakusa-san. How are you?" Asano walked up to her that morning. It was quite overwhelming to see him again. She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in his presence. His eyes felt like it knew everything.

"I am good," was all she said as she got ready for the day. The hall was full of students as they chatted to one another and rushed to their upcoming class. "You? I mean- How about you?"

He grinned, "I'm fine. I heard that you might need help with some of your classes? I can tutor you if you would like. Or you'll end up in the bottom of the barrel, and I don't think we want that."

There was something intimidating about him that causes her insides to quake. "I, uh. Where did you hear that?"

"Teachers talk, Sakusa-san. And I just want to help you. My father... He doesn't like students who lag behind in academics," Asano said in a low voice.

"I... I'll ask if I need help."

-3-

Asano watched as her slim frame disappeared into the crowd of students. She really was quite an interesting person. Paying her way into school and then not asking for help when she extremely needed it. Or maybe she was just proud and rich. He didn't want her to fall behind in class, that would be on him. But there was something else about her that he couldn't put his finger on.

"So, she's your next target?" Came a sly voice behind Asano. At once, he knew who it was. Even after all that had happened, the two had established some sort of truce between them and subconsciously knew not to speak of last year. No one needed to know.

Asano's teeth gritted and a small scowl formed on his face. "Target? I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just looking out for a new student. That's all."

Karma grinned. He knew Asano was paying extra attention to the girl. "I was kidding! Anyways, what's her name? I saw her on Monday."

"Sakusa Kimi."

Karma nodded slightly. "How come she came in in the middle of the first term?"

"There was some problems with numbers. Plus she applied sometime at the end of last year," he said just as the bell rang. "I've got to go class now. Just leave me to her, Akabane-kun."

Karma watched as the student representative walked away with the same royal air that he'd always had. "Sakusa Kimi, huh?"

It had been a week since she started school, a week since she'd started taking tests, studying and all that. And, it was all too visible to everyone around her that she was in need of help. She wasn't just lagging behind, Sakusa could barely grasp the basics. And it was in all subjects.

Her grip tightened around her chopsticks as she ate the leftover lunch she had bought from yesterday. Not finishing it the day before, she had brought it in to finish it at lunch. In front of her, were all her tests she'd done last week. She'd taken a the usual mid-term tests and had scored barely above ten percent for all of them

A redhead figure slid into the bench in front of her and watched her anguished face. She'd barely noticed him. "Looks like somebody's in a little bit of a mess. All below twenty percent? You must be kidding me!"

Sakusa jerked her head up and scowled. It was the arrogant redhead again. "You can shut up and die," she muttered.

"Hey, hey! I was just saying," he said with a grin as he dramatically pulled out his own papers. Sakusa's eyes widened as she caught sight of them - they were all perfect. A perfect hundred percent. It was unbelievable. "Big difference, I have to say Sakusa-san," he said. He couldn't help but enjoy the moment of her distress.

Sakusa looked at the redhead boy out of the corner of her eye. "Saku- Oh. How do you know my name?"

"I asked Asano-kun. He seemed quite worried about you last week. Did you do something to him? I bet he went wild when you rejected him," the redhead boy teased.

"Tell me your name then. It can't be fair if only one side knows the other," Sakusa sighed.

The boy's grin widened, "Karma."

"Karma," she said tasting the word in her mouth. The name rolled off her tongue and it gave a distinct taste - she liked the name. It kinda suited the boy too. His amber eyes glinted as she said his name. Karma couldn't help but enjoy watching this innocent girl. There was a certain spirit in her that reminded him of 3-E. He wondered what it would be like if she was there last year. Maybe she would've fit in well.

Karma peered over at her tests. It was quite miraculous, really. All of her tests were way below average. She couldn't have gotten into this school under normal circumstances - she must've pulled strings. His eye caught another test beneath all others. Karma's hand reached to pull it out of hiding. He flipped it open on to the table.

In front of him, Sakusa's eyes widened. "Thirty percent?"

"Well, well. We've found your strong point!" Karma said with a grin. "Maths, huh?"

Beneath all the tests, had been the one she hadn't looked at. Sakusa had always liked maths more than other subjects. It was easier to understand. She didn't have to read. "Yeah. I guess. But, it's easier so..."

"I would agree, but some idiots don't think so. Lots of people think it's one of the hardest. Those stupid fools," Karma said thoughtfully. His eyes were directed to the girl. She didn't look all that smart.

"Karma-kun," she blurted out. The boy snapped out of his thoughts. "Help me. You're really smart... So just give me advice or something. I wanna stay at the school."

Karma nodded smirk. "Ok. Thought you'd never ask. It's only reasonable for an idiot like you to come to a genius like me."

"I'm not an idiot! I-I'm just... SHUT UP!" Sakusa roared as Karma laughed.

-3-

Karma found himself staring at the single sentence at the back of the big yellow book, again. It baffled him more than anything. But there was also this small nagging feeling that he had to do it. He tried to look from Koro Sensei's side. He would've taken everything into account when writing this. But why him only? And not Nagisa who was obviously the head of the class and the best assassin?

His fingers ran over the words, feeling every stroke and indent left in the book. The pen that had been used wasn't anything special. The words didn't seem to have any hidden meaning or clue either. The sentence didn't look like a code too. Hana was obviously a person, and not a normal flower, like most would've thought. He knew that much. Koro Sensei's grammar was to advanced for such a mistake to happen.

As much as he wanted to ask everyone about it, something told he that he shouldn't. That it was meant only for him. And if it did? Did it mean that only Karma would meet her? The conclusion came to him almost immediately - she was someone in his school. And of course Koro Sensei would be able to know. In that small time he was their teacher, he would've had access to the school system. He'd just have to find out which girl it was.

-3-

Sakusa yawned. The Saturday sunshine shone through her half-drawn curtains of the room. She could already hear the keeper, whose name she found out was Tsukishima-san, making breakfast.

The teenage girl got out of bed and her feet padded across the room floor. Sakusa got out her only other outfit: a comfortable red singlet top and denim pants. It was either this, the white dress she had from the lab, or her school uniform.

As she walked past the kitchen, the aroma of hot breakfast floated to her nose. It was tempting, but she didn't want to pay for it. She knew the value of money, and she also knew she could skip this breakfast like she'd done a million times before.

"Oi, Sakusa-chan! Come 'ere!" Tsukishima-san yelled from the kitchen. It took Sakusa a while to register her name being called. At once, she walked to the kitchen.

"Tsukishima-san?" Sakusa asked as she poked her head into the kitchen. Breakfast was getting harder to resist. She could see the rice cooking in the pot, and it was hot.

The elderly woman smiled, "Come have some breakfast. I feel like treating you."

"But I don't have the money...?" It wasn't true, but there was no other excuse.

"Doesn't matter! You're so skinny that I feel bad! Come here, child! Let me get you some good breakfast - you look like you haven't had some in a while," the woman smiled as she pushed Sakusa to a chair and served her hot rice and other hot dishes.

Sakusa gazed at the food. It was even better than the school's delicious lunch and as she put more and more in her mouth, she couldn't help loving it. Her eyes glistened as steam sprouted from her mouth. It was such a good feeling - being fed. It was something she hadn't experienced properly in a while. And she'd missed it. If only she could remember the days when her parents would feed her.

"Eat up," the woman said gently.

After she thanked the woman, she skipped ahead. It was a good day and the start had been more than marvellous. She had a tutor session now - Karma would be meeting her at the school library. The library building was soon in front of her and as she took a took a step into the building, her breath was taken away. Never had she seen this many books in her life.

"Beauty, am I right? I'm not much of a reader, but even I can tell this library isn't normal," came a familiar voice from behind. Sakusa barely paid any attention. Books were stacked from the tall ceiling to the very floor of the library. Lush red carpets covered the floor and the windows allowed just enough of sunlight. The modern looking chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the library was as bright as a star. Several librarians walked silently around the library, rearranging books and more.

"Thank you, for bringing me here," she said quietly. Behind her, Karma smiled.

"Well, we better get on with it! From what I can tell, you barely know how to add two numbers!" Karma teased as he pushed her to a secluded corner where a table and several chairs were.

"I do know how to add! With more than two numbers too! Y-you multiply!" Sakusa protested quietly with a hiss, "I'm not completely uneducated!" Even in the lab, where they barely cared about the subjects, they still gave her basic lessons. And soon, she had gotten the simple grade school stuff down. Well, most of it. But now, it was like her brain had been mostly erased.

"Don't worry, Sakusa-chan! I am a genius at maths, and I will make you one as well," Karma said as they both sat down. The session soon started, and any emotions between them were pushed aside as they began working through the textbooks. Through from grade one of grade school to grade one of high school.

Hours passed and the sky began to darken. The pair hadn't stopped from that morning.

"Nuh uh - no. Stop, that's not how you do it. Just be patient. There aren't any shortcuts. First, move this, then you can have this formula..." Karma said as he scribbled on her notebook. But he was patient. Sakusa admired that about him. She never would've thought someone like him, would teach her.

By night-time, they had revised up to grade five. Packing up, Sakusa stole a glance at him. There'd been no reason for him to be nice to her at all. In fact, she still hadn't repaid him that lunch. So why? "Hey, uh - thanks for today."

"Yeah. No problem. It's sad to see someone like you be so bad at so many things. Of course I had to help!"

Sakusa scowled and looked away. Karma's eyes followed her. Maybe he should stop riling her up so much.

They were soon outside as the library's great doors closed with a thump. The librarians scattered away, attending to their late night business, whether it was with family, friends, or just themselves. Even though the school was still filled with students wandering around dorms and the cafeteria for boarding students, the place felt silent. Solemn.

Sakusa started to walk away and Karma followed her to the exit gates. Not long after, just as they'd reached the gates, Sakusa stopped. Her dark eyes darted around the area, in mild panic.

"You good?" Karma asked casually as he began to walk into one direction.

Sakusa gritted her teeth. "Yeah, I'm fine." She could do it. Sakusa had navigated through rubble and ruins of her old city before. It had always been covered in dust and smoke, fire and ashes. It was never the same. If she could navigate that, she could get home - somehow. But the thing was, she'd known her home like the back of her hand. She didn't know this place.

"You don't seem fine," Karma said, stopping a bit away.

"Well, I am. See you tomorrow," seething with frustration and embarrassment, Sakusa stomped away. Karma blinked as he watched her go further away. She really didn't like admitting weakness. Maybe it was just her nature.

Fortunately, she was able to get home. Karma didn't worry a bit. He had a feeling she would, and since there was no missing cases on TV, it confirmed it.

-3-

That night, Karma was in bed with his laptop. His mansion-like house was silent as his house-keeper and cook got ready for bed. They were a couple who had been working for the Akabane household for years, and they were more like family. Karma had been raised more by Sachuro-san than his own mother, who oftener travelled to East-Asia.

His fingers flew like lightning across the keyboard as his eyes were glued to the screen. The light illuminated on the walls of his dark room. He knew that it was probably bad for his eyes, but he didn't care much.

"Voila!" He whispered to himself as he clicked into the system.

There'd only been one way to find out the correct person Koro Sensei was talking about. A girl called Hana in the school. Karma had been able to hack into the school's motherboard system as easily as eating was to him. Plus, help from Takebayashi had proven useful too.

He typed in the name Hana and clicked Enter. There was nothing to scroll through. There were only two names.

One was a teacher who taught specialist maths for first-years. That wouldn't be too hard for Karma to get into. The other was a student in class 1-E. Horiki Hana. Karma raised an eyebrow.

"Sakusa-san must be in that class too..." He muttered to himself. There was no other class she could be in - she was as dumb as anyone could get. The thought of Sakusa brought a lightbulb to his mind. He replaced the name 'Hana' with 'Sakusa Kimi' and clicked Enter.

Clicking into her name, his suspicions were confirmed. Not only was she in the same class as Hana, she hadn't passed the entrance exam at all. There was no doubt she had payed her way in. She would've needed at least ten million yen. Where did she get that money? Sakusa didn't even seem rich. The richer people of the town lived on the other side town, in his neighbourhood. But he'd seen her walking home to the opposite direction.

Just as he was about to close the program his eyes caught something below. It was the 'Previous Schools' box. And there was nothing in it.

-3-

A slight zephyr was in the air and Sakusa's long luscious hair swayed in the wind. Her dark hair glinted a slight blue in the sun and passers stared at her hair in awe, before rubbing their eyes and looking away, sure that their eyes were playing tricks on them.

It was a nice day, but it wouldn't be for much longer. It would rain in the afternoon, though the sun was out and there didn't seem to be a cloud in the sky.

Sakusa walked into the classroom quietly and sat down at her usual spot near the back. No one noticed her, no one ever did. The students had been quick to create their own friend groups from the start of the year. There weren't many students from the same school so everyone had started clean and made new friends. The only person left out was Sakusa.

On the other side of the room, Horiki Hana was glancing at Sakusa from the corner of her eye. Her friends kept talking over each other as she stayed silent. Sakusa was weird. That was all she was. The girl just sat silently by herself, with no attempt of making any friends. No boys liked her either. Her expression was too hard and seemed too impenetrable.

She's so weird. But honestly, if she TRIED to make an effort, she could be really popular and pretty too. But she's as dumb as a bag of rocks, Hana thought to herself. Hana, herself, had always been the centre of attention, the light in a dark classroom, the head of the pack. She was pretty, smart, and funny. But she could be cold when she wanted something.

"Horiki-san! Are you even listening?" A girl's voice perked up with a hint of hurt. Everyone seemed to want a piece of Hana's time.

The girl blushed. "Ah, sorry. Repeat that?"

-3-

The usual lunchtime crowd had a way of pushing those who didn't move, to the very front. That was the trick - to travel the current. And Sakusa was the one 'not' moving at the moment, she was too tired. After she had gotten lunch, she'd gotten straight to studying, while eating. Her eyes were focused, her lips pale with concentration. She had yet another test to pass soon.

"Ah, Sakusa-san! Did you find your way home yesterday? It was raining buckets afterwards so it would've been quite a pity if you got caught in the rain," Karma commented as he sat down. Then he felt guilty for interrupting her. Never had he seen someone so focused on something. Even when he was tutoring her.

Sakusa sneezed. "Ah yes, the rain," she said bitterly, "It got me."

Karma bit back his laughter, "I told you so - you don't really know the neighbourhood do you? You act like you just moved here."

"Well, ye-" she sneezed again, making everyone around her, look at Sakusa in disgust. She could feel herself shivering and something told her that she should've stayed home, but she couldn't miss a day of school. It was too valuable. Sakusa bit down hard, trying to make herself feel better. She was fine, she wasn't sick, she was fine.

Out of nowhere, the student representative held out a tissue to Sakusa. "You shouldn't have com to school if you were sick. We can't risk a whole community of students," Asano said sternly before adding with a more gentle tone, "Go home."

"I was about to say that myself. Stop being so selfish, Sakusa-san! Other people can get infected! " Karma sneered teasingly. Sakusa scowled at Karma, as well as trying to hide her moody expression from Asano. It would be a bad impression to the student representative.

"Fine," she relented with a sigh.

Karma took her by the shoulders and guided her to the nurses' office, "I'll take her!"

By the time Sakusa had signed out of school, lunch was over and Karma was walking beside her. 'Making sure she actually got home,' was his excuse for skipping school this time.

"I can walk home by myself," Sakusa muttered. She was worried that Karma may force her to show him where she lived - Exactly.

"Walking you home is better than doing physics that I did last year," Karma replied with a bored face.

"But I thought you were in the advanced physics class...?" Sakusa asked.

"We had a good teacher," was all he said. There was something distant in his voice - something close to grief. Although she tried to not let it get to her, but somehow, the fact made her feel more stupid.

"What was he like?" Sakusa asked in curiosity. The only teacher she'd ever considered good, had left her a long time ago.

"Is this where you live then, Sakusa-san?" Karma asked, changing the topic on purpose as he gazed at the tall wooden shack of an inn. "An inn?" Unfortunately for Sakusa, without paying attention to where she was going, she had led them right to where she lived.

"Ah, no!" she said frantically as she tried to come up with a lie, "No, My grandmother. Yes, she lives here and she, uh, runs the place. I just live in one of the rooms." Karma caught her at the corner of his eye but left it.

"Then let's go greet your grandma," Karma said as he pushed her in, "I'm sure she'll be glad to see you."

"OH no, no, no. She.. She gets really annoyed when you disturb her when it's working time. So we will just... We will go to my room without making a sound. Got it?" She stared at Karma, forcing him to agree. But the only thing that worked was her pitiful self and shivering body. Sakusa sneezed again.

Karma nodded, "Sure."

The pair walked into the inn silently. Thankfully, Tsukishima-san was still having her lunch and Sakusa had NO intention of seeing her when she was eating. Sakusa hurriedly pushed Karma up the stairs and into her room, the last room on the second level. The boards creaked under their feet, but no one seemed to notice.

They were finally in their room. Sakusa shut the door forcefully before sighing with relief, but her blocked nose made it hard. "Thank goodness," she muttered.

"Wow, you really don't have much stuff," Karma said as he inspected the room. It was mostly vacant, with the bare furniture that came with the room. There were a few things on her table and several clothes hanging in her half-open closet, but that was all. Even her futon only consisted on a pillow and a thin blanket.

Sakusa couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. In comparison, this would probably look dirt cheap compared to Karma's golden household. "Do you want a drink or anything? I can-" Before she could finish her sentence, Karma flipped her over his head and forced her on to the futon in one fluid movement. Sakusa breathed at the force of his strength, but the grace of it all struck her.

Karma's hair dangled in her face and his amber eyes glowed. His face was so close to her; too close for comfort. "I'll take care of everything. Just rest." Sakusa gave in. The redhead boy grinned at her obedience and walked away to pour a cup of hot water from the kettle. As the water boiled, he looked at the girl. Her eyes were half opened and her cheeks were pink. Karma didn't exactly know what to do. He'd never gotten sick, or had to look after a sick person before. By the time the kettle had finished boiling the water, he'd gotten a damp towel to put on her head and wrapped her up in warmer clothing. He put the hot cup of water next to her, but she'd already gone to sleep.

As he walked out of the door, there was a voice calling out to him from the inn. He turned his head to see the grandmother Sakusa had talked about. "Excuse me, can I help you?" the elderly woman called to him. Her smile was welcoming, like everything else in this small, cheap place. But right now, it didn't feel so cheap anymore.

"No, everything is fine. I was just sending Sakusa-san home," he replied. "She's sick."

"Oh, Sakusa-san? I will have her treated immediately then. Thank you," the woman said. Karma nodded and headed out. The wheels were spinning in his head. Sakusa-san lied? From what he heard, that woman didn't sound like Sakusa's grandmother at all.

They were walking out of school together the next day because Karma was meeting up with his parents at a cafe which was in the direction of Sakusa's inn. She still felt embarrassed from the other day, when he came to the inn.

"Do you have any siblings, Sakusa-san? I always see you alone, even at the assembly where parents were allowed to attend. Your parents busy?" Karma asked casually, trying to start up a conversation, as they walked down the busy footpath. Although the usual rush-hour had died down, there were still a healthy amount of people on the streets., having known each other for a few weeks now, had come to a certain level of friendship and openness.

"I live alone," she mumbled, "You probably won't get it, would you? You're rich, with nice parents who love you."

Karma glanced at her, "You live alone? But I thought you said your grandmother ran the inn and you lived with her?"

Sakusa's eyes widened in realisation. She shouldn't have done that; he would probably start asking more questions. "Alone? What? Did I just say that? Oh, what I meant to say is... I live alone with my parents. Like, no brother..." her voice fainted away and her eyes glazed over. Karma raised an eyebrow.

"You had a brother?" It was too easy. She was too expressive. Or I'm just too smart, he thought.

Sakusa stared at him, "A brother...? I-" She looked away, "No, I never had a brother."

There was a silence between them before Karma changed the subject. By that time, Sakusa seemed to have forgotten what just happened. Or she just pushed it away, along with her emotions.

"Schoolwork is too easy, don't you think? I mean, I would've thought Mr Principal would've been extra harsh on us high school students, what with being devoted to education and all. But right now, I've gotta say, he's being so lazy..." Karma said.

"Yeah well, of course you would think that. Some of us, are quite happy with the rate and would rather it go slower really," Sakusa said rolling her eyes. "Or just having a break from it all would be nice."

"Speaking of school, did you want to have another tutor session? I wouldn't mind doing it this Saturday again. It's getting kinda boring on the weekends."

Sakusa nodded. "Yeah, the teacher gave us some more new stuff and - yeah."

"Yeah, yeah. All that isn't too hard. I'll stuff it into your brain in one day, no problem," Karma said as his brain quickly went through all the stuff he needed to go through with Sakusa.

There was a short silence between Karma and Sakusa before the girl started talking. "Ah, Karma-kun. I need to go shopping in the city for, ah, supplies. Come with me - I don't really know the place."

Karma's eyes drifted towards her in amusement as he lifted an eyebrow. "You should ask nicely, Sakusa-san! It's not nice to force someone to come on a date with them like that!"

Sakusa narrowed her eyes at him. "Why would I ever ask you on a date? Anyways... I can always ask Asano-kun instead." Sakusa, having noticed how Karma and Asano interacted with each other, knew that she could use him as bait anytime. Karma hated losing to him especially. She gave a small sly smile which Karma spotted immediately.

"Ok, ok! I will come. Meet me at school on Sunday," he smiled. "Maybe we can go for dinner, like I wanted to before."

"I guess." Sakusa noticed that where she was. She was five minutes away from the inn. She needed to leave. "I need to go now... Bye." The pair waved as Sakusa dashed around the corner.

-3-

Sakusa sat on her futon in silence. The futon beneath her was rigid but comforting. Though she had a better, proper bed in the lab, it felt better here. It felt freer here. She felt her hands tingle and the same sting from under her skin from that night. A shiver ran down her spine.

"No, no, please no," she whispered in fear. No, she couldn't. She had finally found a home of peace, where people liked her. She'd even made a friend - maybe. She'd definitely be caught if she revealed her place now. And she just couldn't bear to destroy such a treasure. It was Tsukishima-san's treasure. And she'd looked after her so well.

But there was no stopping it. Energy surged through her like a snake and the stinging feeling grew. It didn't hurt, she was familiar with it. But trying to stop it exploding out of her would be the hard part. She screamed as she tried to contain it. The lights blew out with a spark. Heaving heavy gasps, she stood up. Her eyes seemed to emit a blue glow and although it was dark, she could see perfectly. Nothing had changed, nothing had blown up. A shiver of relief washed through her. Only the lights had blown out.

"Sakusa-san? Are you alright? I heard a scream and then the lights blew out. Were you screaming?" came a gentle voice from outside her door. How was she to explain this? She frantically tried to remain calm.

"I-uh, I'm fine. I heard the scream as well, not sure where it came from though," she lied smoothly.

Tsukishima blew a breath of relief, "I'm glad. Just be careful. The lights should come back soon."

Although she had sounded calm, her whole body was quivering and her hands couldn't stop shaking. Sakusa had contained the burst just enough but it had taken so much out of her. Even now, her breathing was shallow. But she had to do it. She couldn't cause another outburst and massacre again.

-3-

"Sakusa-san!" a voice called out from the other side of the classroom as Sakusa stood up to pack her stuff and leave. Sakusa turned in surprise to see Hana Horiki, the most popular girl in their grade, walking up to her with a bigger smile than Sakusa could ever have imagined.

"Horiki-san," Sakusa said faintly, congratulating herself for remembering her name. But she didn't particularly want attention drawn to herself. She'd done well on her own for the past weeks.

"Ok. I know you are kind new here and we've not greeted you properly. So, I just wanted to say hello. I'm Horiki Hana and you must know all the other girls," her greeting sounded fake and rushed.

"Hi," Sakusa said stiffly, trying to force herself not to run. Her animal instincts told her to escape from this snake, but she couldn't.

"Anyways, I wanted to talk to you about something," this was obviously her main goal. "I really like Akabane-kun. And you're getting too close for comfort. I want him, you understand? And I'm going to need your help to get closer to her him. Because as far as I'm concerned, you and Asano-kun are the closest to him."

Sakusa stared at her. "Akabane-kun? I've never heard of him."

Hana's eyes burner as she glowered at Sakusa. "You liar," she said raising a hand, "I-"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a flying figure came and backed Hana into a wall. His arm over her neck. The girls around him shrieked. "Now, now, normally I'm flattered when girls say things like that, but not like this. Don't take it out on someone like that. It's filthy," Karma's eyes were murderous and it glowed.

"You're Akabane-kun?!" Sakusa eyes were wide. She'd heard so much about this hot, charming Akabane-kun. Never knowing it was the one person she hung out with. Hana gritted her teeth in jealousy. Somehow, the closest person to him, in the school, didn't know his name.

"Oh, hi Sakusa-san! I didn't see you at lunch. Also, are you well now?" Karma beamed. He'd lied; Karma had seen her studying yet away again. Nothing could've penetrated her little room of focus. He'd feel bad if he'd just barged in like that - so Karma had left it. Smiling as he walked away.

"So, Horiki Hana?" The girl nodded. "Don't hold on to your jealousy. You'll never have a chance with me anyways." Hana scowled.

This is the girl I'm supposed to protect, Koro Sensei? Karma wondered in hidden disbelief. There was no way. There had to be more.

That Sunday, Sakusa wore the same red singlet top and denim jeans she always did when she was out of school. She'd planned to get some essentials today, as long as some new clothes. She knew Karma was bound to notice. But then again, he was a boy, and boys don't notice things like that.

"Sakusa-san!" Karma called out with a wave as he approached the nervous girl. Sakusa jumped. Although she knew Karma wasn't a bad person at heart, she still couldn't help but feel cautious around him. She felt cautious around everyone. But him especially - he was the closest to her. Sakusa still couldn't bring herself to trust anyone but herself.

"Karma-kun," she greeted as the boy stopped in front of her.

"We can catch the train which will bring us straight to Tokyo centre where we can easily get everything you need. Don't take too long though, I wanna go to dinner," Karma said as he started to walk towards the direction of the station. Sakusa followed him. She'd taken a good amount of money and had been sure to keep it in a bag she had bought dirt cheap from the thrift store. Now, she wouldn't look rich at all.

Sakusa blinked in awe as she stepped off the bus. "The city is... Amazing."

"Right? I come here often, but it's definitely better than the smaller shop complexes at home," Karma nodded as he began to walk.

"I've never been to a... Nice city," Sakusa said, remembering the ruined city she used to live in. There weren't nice shops with polite shopkeepers, people having fun. Back then, it was all rubble, blood, leftover bullets, corpses, collapsed buildings.

"Hm, so you have never been to a city?" Karma looked at her in suspicion. Sakusa just laughed nervously and looked away.

"I have... It's just not this nice," she said truthfully. "The city I used to live in was horrible. It was a trash-hole."

"I wouldn't know. I come here all the time," Karma said, "Well, why don't we start. I don't really want to get caught in the afternoon rush."

The pair walked in and out of shops, and by the time Sakusa had gotten everything she needed, including a much needed phone, it was already afternoon rush. They quickly found the place Karma had decided on and entered the restaurant. It was posh. That was all Sakusa could make out of it when she went in. She'd never seen such a beautiful restaurant.

"You... Eat at places like this all the time?" she asked in wonder. There were chandeliers and elegant bamboo decorations. The tables were made of expensive polished wood and the windows brought in just enough sunlight. The cutlery, plates and bowls were all made of real silver. The chairs were as comfortable as any bed. The green plush curtains felt like clouds themselves.

"Yup. Lucky, huh?" Karma said. But his voice was monotonous, as if he wasn't really proud of it at all.

They found a table in the corner and with the few people in the restaurant, it felt secluded. They'd chosen a few dishes to share, all on Karma's tab. According to Karma, all he had to do was tell them to put it on the Akabane card, and his parents would take care of it.

"I've never been... To such a place. You're lucky, you know," Sakusa murmured quietly. "You're so rich you wouldn't understand."

"I wouldn't mind being poor sometimes. It gets too much," Karma shrugged. "But then again, I wouldn't know. I wasn't born poor."

"Yeah. I never used to..." she paused, "Go out to eat."

Karma eyed her but didn't push the topic. "Anyways, I wanted to talk to you about something." He paused, wondering how to put what he was about to say into... Words. "See, I have this - I was asked to find a specific person."

"Who asked you to?"

"...Someone close to me," Karma said vaguely, "So, I need you to help me. I was supposed to help find a person called Hana. Except there are so many people called Hana in the world. But I have narrowed it to people in our school." Sakusa nodded slowly, her heart thumped. "One is a teacher. It doesn't really make sense but I'll still try. The other is a girl in your class."

"Horiki Hana."

Karma nodded, "Yes, her. All I need you to do is help me..."

"Help you, what?" she asked sceptically. "And why should I trust you? I don't even know why you want her."

"I just need to talk to her - privately. And maybe find out some clues about her on the way."

Sakusa narrowed her eyes. "I don't want to be a part of this... Scamming spy thing."

Karma sighed, "Fine."

"I guess we're done now. We can head to the station," Karma noted as they squished through crowds of people. Sakusa was holding three bags of stuff she had bought, and it wasn't easy getting through the people while trying to look after the bags. Karma, noticing she was lagging behind, slowed down and waited for Sakusa to catch up.

Minutes passed, but Sakusa hadn't caught up. Karma slowly turned around. She was nowhere in sight. His fiery amber eyes scanned the area in rising panic. She can't have gone far. Why wasn't she following me? He thought, clenching his jaw. People crowded his vision.

"Sakusa! Sakusa-san!" He called as he casually walked through the people, with his hands in his pockets. Everyone seemed to walking in one direction whilst Karma pushed through the current of people. There was no hurry, he would be able to find her soon. But minutes turned to hours, and even after the afternoon rush, there was not One clue left of her.

His eyebrows knitted together and his teeth gritted. The day was dimming and the chances of danger was getting higher. He'd heard of kidnapping cases, but never expected it to happen to him. He began running.

-3-

Sakusa's heart rate quickened. Her mouth, stuffed with a white bag, couldn't make out one sound. She was slowly choking on her own saliva, and running out of the little air inside the bag she was in. She tried to scream again, but only ended up losing more energy. Finally, she emptied out of the bag as she landed on the harsh concrete. The white bag fell out of her mouth and she coughed.

"We don't need much really, girl," a brute appeared from the shadows. "But you've got quite a bounty on your head, don't you?"

"Bounty?" the words were barely out of her mouth when a leg came in at full force and struck her at the stomach. She gasped. Sakusa could feel blood in her mouth. Then she hated herself. All those years, she had dealt with people worse than this, and still hung on. Now, she was already bleeding at one kick.

"Hell yeah!" One person shouted with triumph, "Them high up people all searching for you, man. You're really valuable apparently. Something like the last person of... Blah blah. Can't remember."

She couldn't believe it. They had finally caught up to her. The government had finally put a bounty on her head. She had known how much they wanted to kill everyone from her old city, but not this much. If... It was only her, that meant they had killed everyone else. But what if that wasn't all? "You've got the wrong person," she lied bitterly as she stood up. "Go away."

A punch landed on her stomach and someone else kicked her roughly in the back. It felt like rocks. "Like hell! Do you know much you're worth, girly? More than thousands I tell you." Laughter echoed around the dark alley they were in.

Thousands? "I don't care just go away." Her voice was hard and low. Another person shoved her from the back and she landed on her knees, blooding erupting from her knees. Her breathing was shallow and airy; she was finding it harder to breath. Images flashed through her mind. There were lights and planes in the sky. Bombs, grenades feel from the sky. Screaming and groaning. She lived in hell.

Laughter like hyenas filled the air. There were at least dozens of guys surrounding her. Kicking her in the stomach. Throwing rocks at her. It felt like a public flogging. But worse. She could see nothing but her past. It shadowed everything. Tiny bursts of pain filled her body. The rocks were digging into her skin like parasites and the kicking made her want to vomit.

She bit her tongue in restraint. But emotion took over. Sakusa screamed - she allowed her tears to pour down. Visible electricity shattered the air. Her eyes were glowing, her body emitted light and her hair floated in a blue light. She was anything but human. Every nerve in her body was screaming

The guys stepped back in fear. "Go away," she said, her voice thick with tears.

There a short bark of laughter from the leader. "We ain't scared of ya. We're going to take the money, whatever it takes." He waved a piece of paper in front of her face. Her pupils enlarged in fear an shock.

WANTED: 100,000,000

LAST SURVIVOR OF OKINAHARA CITY

DANGEROUS AND UNPREDICTABLE

ALIVE

But before anyone could say anything, a silent shadow appeared and knocked them all out in one smooth move. A yell came from a thug as the figure punched the lights out of him. Sakusa recognised who it was immediately. She had seen no one with better techniques.

Silence settled. "They wouldn't have gone away, you know." The figure finally came into light under the glistening moon. Sakusa felt tears gather under her eyes but she wiped them away forcefully.

"Shut up," she said. Her breathing was shallow and her head felt heavy, dizzy. She couldn't think straight.

"Couldn't you have fought them or something?" Karma asked.

Sakusa glared at him. "No. I will not resort to fighting," her voice was barely above a whisper, yet her indignant tone sent shivers down Karma's spine. He was taken aback. He'd never seen such murderous intent in anyone's eyes. Not even Nagisa's. What had she been through?

"Why?" he asked. His life had always been easy and fighting was just another way to get out of it to him. But Sakusa seemed to take it too seriously. "They won't die if you just knock them out. Anyways, shouldn't you be thanking me about now? I kinda just saved your life."

"I won't thank someone who thinks fighting is a game. Don't play with lives so easily," Sakusa scowled, her eyes going wild. The deep voids that Karma found himself attracted to, sucked him in. As if taking him into her secrets. For a moment, Karma thought he saw a flicker of her life before. But then it was gone so quickly, he thought he was imagining things.

Suddenly, out of exhaustion, Sakusa's knees buckled and she felt herself. Fall into the arms of Karma Akabane. His arms gently worked his way around her body, lifting her up carefully. She felt a different type of sting this time; her eyes were stinging with tears. A wave of nostalgia passed her, she'd only ever been touched like this by that one person in her life who had to disappear. It hurt to think of him.

"Stop, put me down," she hissed. But her body didn't move. Sakusa couldn't help but want to stay in his arms. It felt safe, and that a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. Sakusa wanted to stay like this just for a while, but she knew she couldn't get used to it. Karma would only be in more danger because of her.

"Just shut up," he said quietly, "You'll be alright."

That night, she cried to sleep. There was nothing she could do to stop it. Electricity crackled around her as tears fell down her cheeks. If only he hadn't gone. If only she had followed him. If only they'd never separated. If only there was never a war. If only... She'd never been born.

"Ryushi-nii," she sobbed in the darkness. "I never wanted to live!"

Then there was a voice. Someday, imouto-chan, you'll find your true 'nakama'. People who will accept you for you are. People who will stay by you, no matter what. And one day, you'll find love stronger than a thousand seas. It was his voice from long ago. It was faint, but she remembered it so well. The starry sky when they were together, his tender voice, his soft touch and his arms which gathered her together.

"Ryushi-nii, really?" She remembered herself saying. Don't doubt my words, imouto-chan. One day, truly.

-3-

His amber eyes didn't close. The night had been eventful and his mind was whirling with thoughts. Thoughts that shouldn't be there. The guys he had hired had been too easily defeated, and the bounty had slipped out of his hands. He'd known from the moment he'd met her. She wasn't just any normal girl with an average life story. She was a fortress with stories to unfold. Stories that shouldn't be told. That was the feeling he got. And, although it wasn't mentioned, it was most likely the reason why the government wanted her back so badly.

His feet padded across the carpeted floor like a mouse as he slipped into his office chair and opened his laptop. The light illuminated in his face, creating a deathly glow. Once his laptop had loaded, he typed in Okinihara. It was a place he'd briefly heard before, but never studied. Nevertheless, he would uncover its secret. It had been a government-protected land for so long. A place for no one to enter. So no one bothered about it. But right now, it could have the answers he wanted.

There was only one article, blocked by the government, who controlled and monitored every electronic in the country. There were ways to hack into though, that only a limited selection of people knew. Unless they searched deep into the internet, they wouldn't be able to find the code. Asano's fingers were barely visible as he entered the code and broke in. He'd done it too many times, but thankfully, his firewall was thick enough that no one would be able to track it back to him.

Asano skimmed through the pictures. He wasn't interested in all that useless information. They held nothing but colour and lines. What he really wanted to know would be written. But just as he was about to start reading, a picture caught his eye. The background was dark and the only vibrant colour was the red and orange of the raging fire in the centre of the picture. Around it, people fleeing for their lives, burnt down buildings and furniture turned to ashes. You couldn't tell if it was day or night. But just in the corner, there was a young girl. Probably around the age of ten. Her hair was long and played around her ankles. Her ragged clothes were brown, stained from ashes, dirt and the usual rubbish. But there was no doubt about it. Her deep black eyes gave it all away. It was Sakusa Kimi.

"So I was right. She isn't some normal girl," he muttered under his breath. Asano couldn't help but wonder what she'd suffered all these years. Had she just come out of war last year?

He scrolled through and read. Oikinihara was a lively city once; full with branded shops, rich and happy people. It was the second most populated city, next to Tokyo. But just beside all that, unbeknownst to anyone, was a government experiment and research facility. It was researching something big, something dangerous and no one outside of the government was supposed to know about it. One night, the Council of the City - the organization which was in charge of everything that happened in the city - happened to stumble upon the facility's researches. The government had been attempting to create a biological weapon, a virus that brought death so quickly that no one would notice if you died. The Council announced the discovery and ordered an evacuation. But the government put a stop to it all. The bombed the place, the killed the whole Council and arrested all who tried to escape. They turned the city into a war zone and threatened to release the virus on anyone who tried to run. Stragglers weren't allowed to escape either, no matter the age. The government spent the last years trying to annihilate the entire population, all while keeping it all under wraps from the media. It was incredible really.

Asano breathed. That couldn't be the only reason they wanted Sakusa. The starting of the war happened fourteen years ago. Sakusa could've only been two at most. As he closed his laptop that night, his frustration grew. He was closer to uncovering Sakusa Kimi, but not close enough.

-3-

The next day, Sakusa woke up late. The sun was already high in the sky, and the birds were shrieking too loud for it to be morning. She checked the cheap alarm clock on her wooden table. It was twelve - ten pm. And she still had to stop by at a shop miles away. Her brain screaming at her to wake up and get ready, Sakusa threw her crumpled school uniform on and rushed downstairs after brushing her teeth in a second.

"Sakusa-san!" You're late!" Tsukishima exclaimed as she scrambled to the kitchen, "Wait, wait. I have breakfast for you. Leftover pork buns from yesterday."

"Tsukishima-san! You're too nice. Thank you so much!" she said with earnest gratitude. She took the buns and rushed out of the inn, yelling a short goodbye to the old lady. Tsukishima-san smiled. Sakusa reminded her so much of her late daughter.

Sakusa found herself in the middle of lunch as students rushed about with their friends. Her red face was boiling when she came out of the office with a tardy slip. She'd have to give the small piece of paper to her next sensei.

Karma strode over to her with his Cheshire grin as he nodded a greeting. "I see you're late. The thrill of last night get to you?"

The teenage girl felt the embarrassment creep up, her cheeks turned pink. "Last night... Yes, I guess," she said coolly before adding in a panicked tone, "Don't anyone about it - your fangirls are going to kill me. I'm not kidding." Inside of her, she wondered if he'd seen her go all crazy, wondered if he was just pretending he didn't see the monster inside of her.

Karma winked, "Consider it forgotten. But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if some random guy wanted to attack me as well, to get to you."

"I seriously doubt that," Sakusa said with a hint of a smile. Suddenly, she seemed embarrassed again.

"Something the matter, Sakusa-san?"

She looked away with a jerk of her head as she thrust a small box into Karma's palm. His amber eyes glittered as he took it in surprise. "Thank you for last night! I'll help you with Hana - because you helped me, nothing other than that," she replied quickly, turning to a tomato. He slowly unwrapped the box and lifted the lid. It was a box of expensive chocolates that he absolutely adored but never really bought because it was on the other side of town.

"Wo. I didn't expect this but thank you, Sakusa-san!" His genuine beam made Sakusa's heart flutter with warmth, and she thought she felt another feeling, but it flickered away. Karma's smile grew confident as he looked down on her, "Alright, follow me Sakusa-san."

They found a secluded table near a tree at the back of the school. The place was empty apart from the pair, and the wind felt like roaring of lions. Karma sat her down and then plonked down on the bench opposite her. The table in front of them was small and old, like it'd been here since the beginnings of the school.

"So, here's what we need to do. I need to find the correct Hana. I tried to trace it back to Ko-" he stopped, "I tried to search their backgrounds but it was a failure. We need to ask them personally. You will need to make up with Horiki-san and I will take care of Sawada-sensei."

"And, what am I supposed to say? Oh, Karma Akabane wants to see if you're his Cinderella?" she asked sarcastically.

"Cinderella? No. I... I haven't really figured it out yet," Karma said thoughtfully as he tapped his chin. His head was tilted towards the table, deep in thought. Sakusa had never seen him think so much and she'd never once see him lower his head for anyone. He always so confident that he looked down upon everyone. Now, he was actually humbling himself for this person.

"If you want me to help you, you're going to have to tell me the whole story," Sakusa demanded.

Karma paused and then sighed as he looked at Sakusa, "Alright then. My teacher set me to this task."

"Your teacher? You mean... The really good one. But you said you wanted to find this person because someone close to you asked you to," Sakusa said sharply.

"Yes. He's the good teacher..." he paused, "And yes, he is close to me." In a way, saying that aloud felt weird. "Anyway, he asked me to find this person called Hana, before he died last year. So I don't know which Hana or why he even asked me. But I knew it was because she was in my school. Horiki Hana, and Sawada Hana - both from our school. I don't what connection my teacher had with Hana, but I intend to find out."

"I'm so sorry, it must've been sad." Karma looked at her in creeping confusion. "The death I mean."

"Oh right. Yes," he said before murmuring to himself, "The whole class was there..."

Sakusa clicked her tongue. "Just tell me everything - after what I've been through, I can hardly call anything unbelievable anymore."

"Everything you've been through? What have you gone through that makes you say that?" Karma asked slyly as he glanced at Sakusa out of the corner of his eye. "Traumatic?"

"We're talking about you, at the moment. Just get to the point," she said curtly, cleverly avoiding the fact that she'd have to share as well.

"Alright then. I won't tell you much, but our teacher was someone who was not exactly favourable in the government's eyes. They wanted him dead and they got him dead. But before he died, he gave us all individual books given and written by him. At the back of mine; Look after Hana for me. No one else got the message - so I figured it had to be someone from this school, since I was the only who got into this school."

"Do you miss him?" Sakusa asked.

Karma looked up it mild surprise, it hadn't been the first question he'd thought she'd ask. "Uh..." he paused. Yes, the truth will be sufficient. "Yes, he was the best teacher I'd ever had."

Sakusa lifted her head and looked up into the clouds. "I have someone I miss too. You were right, Karma-kun. I did have a brother. A long time ago. But then he left."

The redhead boy studied her with curiosity and awe. The tough nut he'd thought he would never crack, had a soft past too. "What happened?"

"He told me to choose. Between him and my integrity. I chose to stay where I was, no matter how hard it was," Sakusa whispered, "It was hard... and I was only eight."

There was something about her that made Karma clam up. There was a mix of feelings in her eyes. He couldn't identify all of them but there was definitely sadness. Overwhelming sadness. He didn't ask any more questions. "Koro Sensei was an assassin before he was caught and then turned into a guinea pig for experiments." He watched Sakusa closely as her eyes glimmered with something unknown. "The scientists worked on him and then he escaped. He met a woman there too, but she died in his arms. Whenever we tried to kill him, it somehow brought delight in his unmoving eyes. Even though we couldn't tell by his expression, it was a feeling that we all sensed."

Sakusa looked at him, "You had a good teacher too, I can tell." She tilted her head and smiled, "I wish I met him."

Karma cleared his throat, "Anyways. I have friends who can help us. I'll ask them to make a truth serum. All we have to do after that is find a private time and place to force the truth out of them. Then we can know for sure. Unless their minds have been wiped - but then again, that's unlikely."

"Truth serum?" the girl looked at him skeptically, "I didn't think such a thing existed. Plus, how amazing are your friends?"

"Pretty amazing! They are Class E students, of course they can do it!" He beamed. Sakusa couldn't stop herself from smiling, and she couldn't help but trust these friends of his.

That night Okuda received a call from one of her classmates from last year. It was a shock to see his name pop up on her screen, much less him asking her for another favour yet again, even after last year. "Karma-kun? Do you need something?" Her heart warmed to the fact that even after last, Karma was still asking for her help.

"Okuda-san! I'm glad we're still in partnership," came the person on the other end. His tone was preppy and dripping with mischievousness, just like Okuda remembered.

"Partnership?" she asked with a laugh.

"Yes! Partners in crime, remember? Anyway, I have yet another favour to ask of you. I need a truth serum. I recall you having made a certain version of it? Get it to me by... This Saturday. By the way, I'll bring a friend with me - her name is Sakusa," Karma said. His voice had a hint of urgency that somewhat surprised Okuda.

"This isn't for a prank, is it?" she asked carefully. Usually it was. But with a truth serum? That was too harsh, even for Karma.

"No. Don't worry. It isn't."

Part of her wanted to pry, but she knew it wasn't exactly polite. Her body automatically agreed to do the former. "So what is it then?"

There was a slight pause. "Let's just say I'm completing my last homework given by Koro Sensei."

Okuda widened her eyes. "Oh no! Is it something I've missed? I haven't checked our group chat in a few days - did they send something there that I've forgotten?" She asked in panic, fretfully trying to think through what she might have missed.

"No. It's nothing like that. Just don't worry about it, Okuda-san. And don't tell anybody either."

-3-

Sakusa eyed the girl spitefully. After they harsh and manipulative way she'd treated her, it was hard to approach her and forgive her. Sakusa had always know one thing: they were either enemy or they weren't. Right now, Horiki Hana sat on the enemy's side. And in order to get her to trust Sakusa enough that she will follow her to Karma, she'd have to set aside emotions. And it sucked.

With all the bravery she could summon, Sakusa marched over to Horiki Hana where a mob of girls surrounded her. "Ah, Horiki-san. I need to talk to your for a second," Sakusa said with a deep breath. She felt every girl in the corridor speculate her entire being. She'd never been so pressured. "Please," she added forcefully. The more polite, the better.

"Sure." Hana waved her hand briefly and the girls around her, scattered. "What is it?" She asked tentatively. Both girls were careful around each other.

Sakusa felt her heart thump against her chest. "I'm sorry about the other day. I know you like Kar- Akabane-kun, but I can't force him to like you. I am sorry. But I don't want to be at fault here." All her words were measure and careful, trying not to show too much expression.

"It's not your fault," Hana said stiffly. "I guess I have to apologise too. Sorry." It felt like a burden had been lifted off both, but Hana felt ashamed in a way. She'd never had to apologise for anything so petty before.

"At least we're even now," Sakusa murmured before speaking up louder, "I have to go - see you around?" It was the nicest way she could think of, to leave the awkward tension.

"Yeah, see you around."

-3-

"Where are we going?" Sakusa demanded. "I don't particularly like being dragged out about while not knowing where I'm going."

Karma patted her hear which caused her to flinch a little. "We are going to pick up the serum from my friend!" He said cheerfully, "Don't worry, she doesn't bite."

Sakusa had no choice but to follow the quick stride of the teenage boy as he walked past the bustling crowds of the weekend city. It was a lot more crowded now than on a school afternoon. They passed the street they would usually pass by everyday as both seemed to come from the same direction more often. The trees in the afternoon swayed in the mild wind. Rain seemed close too.

Soon, they had arrived at a small tea shop selling tea leaves and access. Bewildered by the selection of such a meeting place, Sakusa stared at everything around her as she nervously ambled in.

"Hi, I'm looking for Okuda Hanami? Is she here?" Karma asked in a friendly tone as he smiled at the older girl. Her raven hair was in a loose ponytail at the back of her neck and her hoop earrings glittered in the sunlight.

"Yes. Hang on," the older girl, presumably Hanami-san's older sister shouted to the back of the shop. "Imouto! There some guy here to see you! Is he your boyfriend?!" Sakusa found herself drifting next to Karma in amusement as she watched the elegant, older girl. Karma blushed slightly and the comment and chuckled.

"Nee-chan! He's not my boyfriend!" She hissed frantically as she emerged from the back of the shop. "Ahaha... Gomen Karma-kun. And you must be Sakusa-san. Sorry, come in! I have the serum here." They followed her to the back and Sakusa caught the older sister smirking as the walked past her. Karma spotted it as well.

The back of the shop was a bright room with bottles and small messes everywhere. Okuda led them to the corner where a small desk stood. There was a few books and a phone, but apart from that, there was only a small bottle of black liquid. The truth serum was in a plastic bottle and didn't fizz like Sakusa thought potions would.

"Here it is. It only works for about a minute for the person who drinks it and they will answer whatever you say in that time period. Afterwards, they may or may not have memory of it. You can also mix it into other liquids if you need. It's safe because I have done testing and this isn't the first time I've made it." Sakusa wondered about her victims and shuddered. "Also, don't give the person anymore than one spoonful. An overdose could cause brain damage. Anything else?"

Karma grinned at her proudly, "Nope. Thanks a lot, Okuda-san! I believe it will work. Whatever you make usually does."

"Wow," Sakusa said blinking. "That's amazing - you're so smart."

Okuda blushed beetroot red. "Thank you," she squeaked. She'd never received such an outright praise. Most people thought of her as a weird nerd who shouldn't be considered as a normal student at all. Quickly she thrust the plastic bottle in Karma's hands. "Use it well. I don't know what it's for, but I believe in you."

The pair thanked her with profound gratitude before walking out of the shop. Okuda Sakami watched them as they shared a few words and turned around the corner. They were an interesting pair and perhaps... Even a cute couple. She giggled quietly. Wouldn't that be interesting.

-3-

"This is what we have to do," Karma started as he unrolled a piece of paper he had stashed underneath his laptop. Sakusa, on the other hand, couldn't stop staring at his room. It was like something out of a dream. It was so big - at least four times her own room at the inn.

The bed was a king size and felt like clouds, but firmer and more comfortable. She couldn't explain it. It was a challenge to stay awake while sitting on the bed. His desk was huge with paper, books, laptops, yes - plural, and many more. It was made of expensive glass and it shone like nothing under the broad daylight coming from the polished French window.

His bookshelf was nothing short of massive and was filled with books, figurines, stationery and more. There were gems decorating his window sill and it created a kaleidoscope of light around the room. Lastly, there was a whole rack of guns, knives, and samurai stuff. It was amazing.

"... And then we just chug the serum into their throats. Maybe it's better if we do it separately," Karma ended as he scribbled all over the rough paper on his bed with a black marker. He looked up when he finished. He gazed at Sakusa's dreaming face, she looked so absorbed. Karma gave a small smile. "Sakusa-san~! Were you even listening?"

"Ah! Ye-, serum. No. What? Yes," Sakusa babbled. She stopped. "Sorry. Say it again - I wasn't listening."

Karma sighed. "I understand. My room is not as charming as me, but close. Enough to keep you occupied. Honestly, the question here is: why don't you stare at me like that? I'm charming!" He flashed a beaming grin.

"Your room has gems. You, on the other hand, do not have gems anywhere near you," Sakusa pointed out.

"So you're attracted to the gems? What are you, a thief?" Karma speculated, "I didn't invite you here to steal, excuse me. So listen up, this is important to me."

"Sorry, sorry. You're right. I came here to do what you said. Okay, start again," she apologised.

Karma nodded, clearing his own thoughts as well. "As I was saying. We each have to befriend them first. Mine is easy. Hana Sensei is my advanced chemical science teacher and I think she's possibly one of your teachers as well, but I'll take care of her. You have to, firstly, make up with Horiki-san, two, get into her inner friend group. Then, separately, we will have to get them into a private room and force the drink on them. Then we time our seconds and get them to speak up. We will have to drop them out just as the serum wears off. As Okuda said, they may or may not have memories of it. We'll just hope they don't. Even if they do, it won't affect us much. And if they do ask questions after, we'll just deny it. Ok?"

Sakusa nodded, then paused. "How, exactly, do I get into the inner circle of Horiki-san's friend group?" She squeaked. Sakusa had never done anything like this before. Run away from captors, survive, live, find food - that she could do. Not anything like this.

"I don't know! I'm not a girl, am I? Figure it out yourself." Sakusa pursed her lips and scowled. Yes, she was a girl. But she'd never had much of a chance to be one before.

"Sawada Sensei!" Karma exclaimed after the session had finished. Since he was to target Sawada Sensei, he'd have to go to every single one of her classes from now on. And not act dumb too. The teacher looked at him with surprise written all over her face. Obviously, she didn't recognise Karma.

She scrambled to remember his name. "Ayano-kun?" she guessed uncertainly, "Do you need my help?" Sawada Hana was a picturesque image. Her chest was large and healthy, although never exposed. Her silky, thick brown wavy hair ended at the middle of her back and her face, with vibrant features, were profound. There was no prettier teacher than her in the school. Maybe Koro Sensei had enjoyed her boobs? Karma thought cheekily with a small smile.

"Haha! Sawada Sensei, you're so funny! I'm Karma-kun, remember?" Karma put on his best perfect angel face. "I was just going to say, your lesson was amazing today! I've probably learnt the most out of this session that every other! What's your secret, do you actually follow what the curriculum says, or do you come up with your own topics and lessons? It's really interesting." He hated this way of charming people, but it had to be done. Seeing as he didn't even know Sawada Sensei very well; having skipped all her classes until now.

Her face brightened. "Oh really? That's good to know! I always worry so much about my lessons - whether you students will like them, whether it's engaging enough, whether you're actually getting anything out of it. It's quite nice of you to speak up like this, Karma-kun. Thank you!" So she was a simple-minded teacher who worries about her lessons a lot. Maybe he could use that to wrap her around his little finger.

"Well, you've certainly done quite enough!" Karma praised. His efforts in trying to show a face that said I-don't-want-to-say-this-to-her-face-but. It worked well enough.

"Karma-kun, is something wrong?" Sawada asked nervously.

Karma faked a gulp. "WEL... There is one thing that I didn't like so much about the lesson. At the end, when you finished up with a summary? Yeah, that was a bit long and confused me."

"Oh really? Thank you for telling me. You're a good help, you know, Karma-kun!" She smiled with a wave before saying a short goodbye and leaving the room. Karma lightly laughed and waved her off, putting on his biggest smile.

Well then, step one is done. Building a small connection to remember, Karma thought. As he walked down the hallway, he noticed a flash of strawberry blonde hair. "Ah, Asano-kun. What brings you to me?" he asked with a cheerful tone and a teasing smile. "Another question abou,-" he lowered his tone, "Last year?"

Asano's steel expression did not falter. "I need to warn you, Karma-kun. Separate from Sakusa. You've grown close to her, but I'm warning you. She's not- She's dangerous. Stop whatever relationship you have with her. I'm doing this for you. Not because I want her, or any of that nonsense." Karma was taken aback by Asano's forcefulness. He'd never seen so much fear. "I'm warning you, Karma-kun. Don't go near her."

As the strawberry blonde haired boy walked away, Karma chuckled. "You do like her, don't you Asano-kun?" her murmured.

-3-

Sakusa, on the other side of the school, bit her nails in fright. She was being way too nervous about the whole ordeal, she knew that. But it didn't stop her wrists from quivering. She quietly approached Horiki, who was chatting with two tall girls. They towered over Sakusa like she was a mouse.

"Horiki-san? I-I, uh, was wondering about lunch. I mean, eat lunch. Ah, uh. Can I eat lunch with you today? I don't really have anyone else..." Sakusa blurted out quickly. The taller girls slowly walked away.

Horiki blinked and wondered but tried to ease the tension. Her signature smile beamed across the hall. "Okay. But don't you usually sit with Akabane-kun?"

"Ahh, you know boys.. they kind of just drift..." Sakusa laughed nervously, as if that was explanation enough. Horiki raised an eyebrow but didn't push the topic.

"Okay. I'd feel awful if I said no anyway. Come on then," she gave a small smile and the two girls headed to Horiki's usual table which was already full of girls. They waved enthusiastically when Horiki came along. But then their smiles drooped a bit when they caught sight of Sakusa trailing behind Horiki.

"Horiki-san! Isn't that the girl who stole Akabane-kun from you?" One girl called out with a whiny voice. "Why is she with you?" Sakusa glanced at the whining girl. She pissed her off, and it didn't seem like her whole table liked her around either.

"Ah, well. She's sitting with us today."

-3-

"So, how was it?" Karma asked that afternoon as cars flew past them in a blur. Their path home was crowded as usual though the rain looked as if it would pour anytime.

Sakusa whistled, "You know... It was okay... None of them seemed to like me much. Why did I have to get stuck with the harder person?"

Karma smirked, "Then get smarter! You wouldn't have to be in her class if you weren't as dumb as her. I could easily take her, but since she's in your class..." Sakusa groaned.

They walked in mild silence; though people chattered loudly all around them there seemed to be a bubble of silence around them. Karma's serene face was going into overdrive. He knew that warming up to their Hana's would take a couple of weeks. Then he would get the truth. There was a eager long for it, a drive to find out what Koro Sensei wanted him to know. Or wanted him to look after. Why would he want him to look after such an ordinary person? What was it that made her so special?

"It must be family," Sakusa suddenly said. "Or a lover."

Karma stared at her. "What?" she asked indignantly. "Why else would he ask you to look after someone. Why would it be so important to him that he entrust it to you? I, for one, wouldn't ask anyone to look after a random person or friend after I died. She must mean a lot to him. And that only narrows it down to a possible lover or family."

A smile grew on his face as he watched Sakusa. "You're right." He nodded. "It would have to be family then. He already had a lover, the only one that was important enough for him to share it to us. But she's dead."

"So... Could it be his sister? Cousin, even?"

The boy shrugged with his hands in his pockets, as usual. "I've no idea. But I didn't think Koro Sensei had any family really."

"Why's that?"

Karma suddenly stopped in the middle of the footpath and held Sakusa's wrist, making her stop and turn to look at him. He let go of her hands and smiled, "Koro Sensei was an assassin before he taught us. I have a feeling that he didn't have family, Sakusa-san." Her pupils quivered in horror as she seemed to look through his eyes itself. Her deep black eyes shook with fear and shock. But somehow, she was still, unmoving.

"An assassin?"

"Yes," Karma nodded with a knowing smile. But behind that smile, there was no joy. His amber eyes glinted in the shadow of his swaying hair. His face haunted her, as if that wasn't all. "And he loved it when we tried to kill him." She ran away. Her footsteps echoed across the empty street and Karm watched her small figure go further and further away. Maybe now, she'd refuse to help him. The thought pulled a string in his heart.

Again, the sky was cloudy and ominous. Though the weatherman had forecasted sunny days for the week, it sure didn't look like it. Moreover, it was the middle of summer. Karma walked into the vacant schoolgrounds and scanned the area. Some of the teachers weren't even here yet. He was definitely the first student. Or that was what he thought.

When he walked down the corridors of the main building, going to his first class, he thought he felt a presence near him. Curiosity fuelled him to search for that unknown presence. It was faint but it was there. And it was definitely not a teacher. Karma casually walked into the school garden. Someone was here. And had been for sometime.

Karma widened his amber eyes and stared. "Sakusa-san?" He slowly approached the girl. She was just standing there, looking at the morning glories. The flowers were blooming, despite the gloomy atmosphere.

Her long raven hair fluttered in the wind and her slim figure looked as if it could tip over at any moment. But something told Karma, that the howling winds wouldn't knock her over so easily. There was some strange determination radiating from the girl.

Sakusa turned to look at the boy, her eyes wet from tears. "Did you really kill him?" Karma nodded.

In the roaring storm of wind, there was a quiet voice, and it echoed through the garden. "I killed someone once." Karma widened his eyes. His expression following the shock. "Maybe there had been some other way out, but at that time, I didn't see any. I hadn't eaten in days. And my brother, he had been gone for a few days - looking for food. My stomach felt like it was eating itself when I found the money on the floor. It was enough for weeks of food. Then there was another boy. He watched me as he neared the food. I wasn't the only one who wanted it. I found myself grabbing on to a piece of shattered glass that I always kept with me. And when he was close enough, I slit his throat. The boy... He made this weird strangled, gurgling sound before his eyes rolled to the back of his forehead and he fell over. My hands were covered in his blood. I didn't think - I just grabbed the money and ran. Then days after, I saw his corpse. It hadn't been cleaned away, but flowers had started growing around him. In the eyes of my seven year old self, it was scary. The blood around it... The image haunted me for days. And it still does. But worst of all, the fact that I'd killed him - that frightened me and it's still a nightmare."

Sakusa looked at him with tearful eyes, "Do you know how it really feels to kill someone in cold blood?" Hot drips of water rolled down her pale cheeks. "I don't think you do."

"You think I wanted to kill my teacher, Sakusa-san?" Karma looked at her intensely. "No. I had to kill my teacher, Sakusa." It was the first time he had used her name properly - without an honorific. "And sometimes, I feel myself regretting it. But, it was the only way. My teacher had been a test subject. The scientists turned him into a supernatural monster. And he was going to explode himself and the planet."

Sakusa was quiet.

"So don't spite me because I killed someone, Sakusa-san. Sometimes we just have to move on," he uttered quietly. He placed a hand on her shoulder gently, as if she was an ice statue in the middle of a hot afternoon. "Whether you move on or not is not my choosing. But I will be here for you." There was no movement for a moment, before Karma turned and walked away. His hands in his pocket. But unlike usual, they were warm.

In the hidden trees, there was figure. Silently, he moved away. No one saw him. And no one could've predicted what he would do next.

-3-

Horiki noticed Sakusa drifting into the classroom as she sat down. She knew that her group of followers would soon be heading this. Sighing, she got up and strode over to Sakusa's desk.

"You don't look alright. Something happen?" She pulled a chair over and sat down. "Want to tell me?" It wasn't just that she liked gossip, but Sakusa looked so down that she couldn't help but wonder why. The smaller girl's face were pale and her lips were white. Sakusa's glistening black eyes were wet with tears.

Sakusa laughed a little and wiped her tears away. "What are you talking about? I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"You don't look fine," Horiki leaned in closer. "Is this about a boy?"

Sakusa snorted and gave a bark of laughter. "No, no, no! That's ridiculous!"

Horiki raised an eyebrow. She hadn't meant to make Sakusa laugh like that when she said that, but her laughter warmed her heart. Maybe it was alright. "Okay, if you say so," Horiki smiled then stood up and walked away. Sakusa wiped tears of joy out of her eyes. Joy can come unexpectedly, it seemed.

-3-

It was the end of the day and students were happily streaming out of schoolgrounds. It was the long weekend with a public holiday on Monday and Tuesday. People had been making plans for trips, catch-ups, karaoke, food, shopping. Students chattered about the latest band concert coming up that Sunday night. Karma had no interest as he strolled down the footpath. Normally he'd walk home with Sakusa, but she hadn't been at the gate like she usually would've been. After waiting ten minutes, Karma had walked away.

She must still be a little upset about this morning. He sighed. Girls.

-3-

Sakusa's nerves and her instincts were screaming to get out of the car, but there was no way. The real leather seat under her was soft, but unwelcoming. She wasn't meant to be here. Every instinct of hers told her that the situation was bad, but she had no idea how to turn it around. The driver in front of them showed no sign of stopping. Actually, he showed no sign of life other than the occasional movement of driving the car. Asano, sitting next to her smiled. But it was comforting to the least. He knew something, and Sakusa knew it.

They were driving further and further from the city and the surroundings had lesser and lesser buildings as they went. Sakusa didn't know where they were. It had been an hour. "Don't worry, Sakusa. We'll be there soon. It will be good for you. Stop fretting," Asano tried to comfort her and set her at ease. But it was working the opposite.

"Ah..." Sakusa tried to laugh it off, "Why are we going to, uh, such a place? So far from the city and the suburbs and every resident..." She trailed off. It seemed more and more like a kidnap. But it couldn't be. A teen couldn't kidnap a teen, right?

"The place is just kind of secluded," Asano replied vaguely, but gave no other explanation. Sakusa felt an unnerving shiver go down her spine. Just as she was about to say something, she felt a sharp needle penetrate her skin. She could feel a strange liquid travel down her veins. She realised too late that she'd been betrayed. Karma-kun, help! That was her last thought, and then she was out.

It was cold. That was her first thought when she finally came back to consciousness. She opened her eyes, but it was dark. Closing and opening her eyes did no difference to her surroundings. The air was cold. Literally and figuratively. There was someone watching her, she could feel it. Sakusa felt her tears sting in her eyes, but refused to give in to such a petty fear.

Suddenly, the lights were turned out. It felt like the spotlight was on her as countless men came out of the shadows, surrounding her. They were all wearing suits, and each one of them were armed with a weapon of some sort. Immediately, she knew that these people were not to played with.

"Sakusa-san," there was an icy menacing voice circling her. The figure came into view. Asano's strawberry blonde hair was perfect as always, and his perfect mask wasn't cracked. "About time, don't you think? About time somebody found you out." Sakusa felt her heart squeeze. She'd known that there were people after her. She'd known that she'd always been in danger. But in her finally peaceful life, she'd let her guard down. And this was what happened.

Asano handed a piece of paper. She gripped it tightly, her knuckles turning white. It was her bounty letter. Given to everywhere world leader, and every important person in Japan.

"Born in Okinihara and lived a normal life for two years before the government started bombing the place. It turned to a war zone. You grew up in war, didn't you? The government just couldn't stand your sneaky Council for peeking into their secrets, so they decided to kill you all. Must've been hard to live in such a horrid environment. But you weren't there for too long were you?" Sakusa scowled. How had he gotten this information? How did he know? "Then, a guy came up. His name... Hanamaki-sama."

"Stop," she demanded, her voice quivered. "How do you know his name?" Of all the years she had lived in his lab, she hadn't even known his name. He didn't give it to her, because she wasn't worthy. That's what he'd said. She was a mere test subject, a stupid object to him. She didn't deserve knowing his name.

"He's respected everywhere, Sakusa-san. For creating you," his evil glinted. "You're not just a human being - you're a monster. A creature with supernatural powers. Electricity flows through your veins. Show me, Sakusa-san. Show me your powers."

She wouldn't give in. She was focused, and if she strong, she'd be able to hold it in. Hold it all in. Show him that he was lying through his teeth, that she was normal after all. But she couldn't. Asano shouted something and suddenly, blue lasers flew from the crowd of suited men. They were tasering her. They cackled as they continued to taser her. Sakusa cried out in pain. Her scream was inhuman. It echoed in the big hall they were in.

She couldn't hold it in anymore. All the anger, the fear, the sadness, the confusion fuelled her. Sakusa had begun levitating. The men stopped, watching her in a mixed emotion of fear and awe. A blue electrifying glow radiated from her and from her veins, they could see visible electricity travelling through them. She'd completely transformed from the terrified little girl, into an electrifying monster. N one had ever seen anything close to this.

Asano laughed maniacally, "So this is the real you. The monster you!"

"Shut up," came the hollow voice, "You don't know anything!" She screamed and electricity shot out of her fingers, frying every men she touched. The dark room was illuminated by the electricity flying around the room. Sakusa was like lightning itself. She could feel nothing, hear nothing, see nothing but anger. Sakusa directed the electricity flying out of her fingers, to the mob of men and each of them fell down as they blue light touched them. But slowly, the began to get up.

-3-

"Koro Sensei, somehow, even after you're dead, you still find ways to confuse us," Karma clicked his tongue. The book in front of him, a sigh escaped him. He'd tried seeing if there was any real connection with Koro Sensei and the two Hana's by checking the school system once again, but he couldn't find a single thread leading them to him. At all. As he flopped on to his bed backwards, he heard something crumple under him. He jerked up.

He was quick to locate the noise; it had been a piece of paper in his back pocket. He pulled it out and flattened the scrunched piece of paper. He remembered now; he'd found it on the floor in the alley when he'd gone to save Sakusa that night. It had seemed important too. And not surprisingly, these pants were the same he'd worn that night. That night. It'd felt like a dream. Sakusa had seemed like a whole different person.

Karma pushed the questioning thoughts out of his head and read the paper. It was a wanted poster. With a blurred picture of a girl, his heart thumped as he found himself recognising the face. It couldn't be. One million yen? Why was Sakusa on the poster? Suddenly, the pieces finally clicked in his mind.

He rushed to his laptop. He couldn't- No. He had to know. It took a while, but he finally found it. It had taken him too long. But he had finally found Koro Sensei's backgrounds. And his name. "Korogane Ryushi," he muttered. There was nothing on him except that he had been recruited into a official assassination company and then all the rest which Karma already knew. There was no other tie with him to anyone called Hana.

Searching for Sakusa Kimi next, he opened the school system as well as the government registrations. There was no such person called Sakusa Kimi. But there was one missing person. From Okinihara. Hana Korogane. She had a bounty of one million yen. And she was definitely the person. Hana Korogane hadn't just been the last survivor of Okinihara though. Hana had been dragged into the lab at the age of twelve to have experiments of all sorts done to her. To make her a supernatural being with powers. The scientist, Hanamaki-sama, wanted to create a human who could harness electricity itself. Looking at the reports, Karma clenched his jaw. Everything that had been done to her had been... Should've been insufferable.

Karma stared. Now it all made sense. Koro Sensei was from the forbidden war city of Okinihara. And so was Saku- Hana. That was why both didn't have any background information at all. Koro Sensei had been the older brother Hana had lost, escaping the city to be an assassin. But then he was caught and slaughtered. At the same time, Hana had been taken into the lab before breaking out. Then just before he was killed, he found out that his sister was coming to the very school he was teaching, just a bit later. He'd quickly organized for Karma to reach her and he knew that Karma would no doubt tell her the truth Koro Sensei had wanted.

But had his teacher anticipated more? "I've finished the last assignment, Koro Sensei."

-3-

She stared in horror. It wasn't working. These men - they were prepared. Yes, the electricity had shocked the living daylights out of them at first, but they had some sort of protective wear. And they were beginning to stand back up. Sakusa gritted her teeth and fired the blue light from her fingers again. But the men easily dodged it; they weren't just people, they were trained forces of the government.

The scene seemed to slow in motion. The men were pulling something out of their holders, and before Sakusa could make out what it was, she felt a screaming pulse shock through her. The world turned black, and she was alone.

Sakusa groggily walked into school. It was a cold day, and it had been raining quite heavily. Thankfully, she'd borrowed an umbrella which blocked out most of the rain. She mopped her face with the back of her sleeve and ran her fingers through her hair. It was sleek and wet, just like it always was when she came out of a hot shower. Another luxury she had only just began to adore.

She found herself yearning for Karma. Her heart tugged towards him even though they'd only been apart for a night. But she knew it could never be true; she was a peasant with no humanity whatsoever, and he was a hot, rich, famous guy with parents who'd probably look down at her in disgust. It could never happen - could it? She shook her head. No, she had to stop thinking about it.

Just as she was about to head to class, she was overwhelmed by an inordinate force. She felt someone hold her by the waist and back her to a wall. She felt the boy's lips meet her own with such a hunger that she couldn't pull away. Students watched in surprise as they passed by. Some stood and took pictures. Sakusa felt her face turn red as she forced herself out of the kiss.

The boy's face was shadowed by his ominous red hair, his amber eyes glittering. "Karma-kun!" Sakusa hissed, "What are you doing?" Karma merely smiled.

"We're a couple now, aren't we? We're allowed to do this," Karma replied in a cheerful tone, his eyes glinted. "You don't like it?"

Sakusa gritted her teeth. "No. It's just- we can't. You don't even know how many girls like you and I'm.. I'm just a nobody. I don't deserve to be with you. You're top class. I'm at the bottom of the barrel, Karma-kun. And the government is after me. You'll be in danger. I don't what it was yesterday, but we just can't, Karma-kun," her voice broke. "I'm the opposite of you. You deserve more."

There was a silence. "Stop caring about everyone else. This isn't about them. This is about you," Karma said fiercely, "Don't go comparing yourself to anyone else. You're just as good, if not better. You have to choose. Don't let anyone else boss you around. I will go, if you want me to. But until you tell me what you really want, I'm not going to do anything. It's between you and me - no one else."

They were so close together now. Sakusa could feel his warmth that she'd so longed for. Their bodies were pressed against each other. The small gap that had been between them, was now gone.

"People are watching," Sakusa murmured.

"And we don't care."

Sakusa lifted her head and gazed into Karma's amber glowing eyes. They were so full of fierce love. She'd never seen such intense orbs. She couldn't stop gazing. Tears blurred her vision and she gave a small laugh. "I want you, Karma-kun. I really want you. With all my heart."

Karma's hard expression broke into a soft grin. "Thank you. I would've cried to sleep tonight if you had rejected me," he joked teasingly. The pair was just about to separate and head to their next class when they felt a storm behind them. Sakusa's eyes found the source of the storm and her eyes widened in fright. Karma, seeing her terrified face, whipped around to meet Horiki.

"You're with him now?!" she roared, "And I thought we were going to be friends! Well, I guess not! You betrayed me, Sakusa-san! And I'm going to get you back, you piece of crap!" The hallway echoed with her furious energy.

Karma edged in front of Sakusa, his hands ready to fight although in his pockets. A scowl grew on his face. If there was one person he hated most in the school, it would be Horiki Hana. First-year diva. That was his description of her. And it wouldn't ever change. "Go away, Horiki. Our relationship has nothing to do with you. And didn't I already tell you that you had no chance with me? I told you that with Sakusa-san in mind, you know."

Her snarl was ferocious and feral. "Real good strategy to have your boyfriend there to protect you. Well it's too bad, isn't it? Don't worry, I will get my revenge." She stormed off, leaving a trail of terrified and annoyed students in her wake. If she had a reputation for being nice before, it was definitely gone now.

Sakusa nervously scribbled small numbers on the piece of paper. It already had countless holes, from the girl stabbing into the paper too hard. The graduation was tonight, and Karma would be picking her up in two hours. Her hands shook in the spring wind. Money had always been a problem in her past life, and she knew it would be when she first stole the cash. And now, she finally had just enough to last one more day.

She couldn't tell Karma. Yes, she usually told him everything, but... Would she have to go back to living on the streets. Was this dream of a life only meant to last for three years? Everything that had happened in her high school life had been nothing short of heaven. She'd gotten a boyfriend who loved her for who she was. He'd even managed to help her change her identity completely. The chances of the government finding her now was less than one percent. Sakusa had gotten to know Karma's junior high friends and they were like family now. Not only that, she'd even made a group of friends of her own. Akari-san and Kyosuke-kun were such good friends to her. Keeping her secret at the cost of their life.

Her pale small hands gripped the paper in fear. The birds chirped around her, and the public garden she was at, seemed like a perfect haven. Contradicting her fears inside of her. There just wasn't enough money. A hot tear dripped down her cheek. Did she really have to let go of this life? A desire she'd just finally gotten used to?

Sakusa suddenly jumped when she felt a firm hand hold her shoulder. It was a touch she'd gotten so used to, and to attached to let go of. "Karma," she said as she steeled herself, willing her tears to evaporate. "What are you doing here? You were meant to pick me up at eight pm." She hadn't even heard him come in to her room.

"Don't cry, Kimi-chan." Over the years, he had gotten the honour of using her first name. "What are you doing? Is it so sad that you're crying over it? And I thought you were the strongest person in my life." He poked out a tongue teasingly.

"I'm not crying!" she protested indignantly. "The wind must've done something to my eye."

Karma leaned in closer and pecked her forehead. "It's not good to lie to me, Kimi-chan. I always find out anyways." Sakusa smiled at a memory; she'd been planning a surprise party. Karma, having found out about it, progressed to surprise her instead. The party had backfired and she'd learnt to never throw a surprise party for Karma.

"I don't have enough money," she spoke bluntly. "I won't be able to go to university." Her heart broke at the very words. She'd always wanted to go university, like all those posh people. She had the grades too. And now...

Karma grabbed her shoulders forcefully, "No! You've worked so hard. You're just as smart at me now. You can't give up like that. Kimi-chan, you can do it. It will break my heart if I can't go to university with you. You have to go!"

"I can't! You know how much I want to! I would if I could. But I can't," she shouted as tears coated her eyes.

"Then marry me!" Karma had fretted over his confession and proposal for so long. Actually, he'd panicked over the possible situations since the day he became her boyfriend. But now seemed like the perfect time. The one thing he knew for sure was that he wanted her as his wife. He wanted her to be with him until he died.

Sakusa froze. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, speechless and shocked. She'd dreamed of this day for so long. Karma's smile and his shining eyes was a hard face to refuse to.

"I will look after everything. You wouldn't need to worry about a thing. You can live with me and we'll go to university together. My parents have enough money to cover for us until we get jobs. And we won't have to pay them back." Sakusa had met his parents more than ten times now,. In the beginning, they were reluctant. But now, they already thought of her as family.

Sakusa's eyes glistened. She took a deep breath and then let out her mixed emotions on that one punch. Her fist met with Karma's stomach with so much force it sent him staggering backwards. "Ok then! I will marry you, Karma Akabane!" Sakusa roared, squeezing her eyes and pumping her fists. The few people around them turned around and clapped at the scene.

Karma's smile reached his amber eyes. He'd never been so happy. That's my girl.

"Sakusa-san~!" A high-pitched squealing whirled in like a storm into the dressing room. Her light blue hair was a mess. "Sakusa! I can't believe it! You're getting married~! So where's Karma-kun?" Akari had a thing for being a little insane when she was excited. But she was a fun person to be with, and a good person to confide in too.

"Akari-san!" Sakusa smiled, "You came!" She sat in the dressing chair as the girls from Class 3-E messed with her hair, arguing about which hairstyles to do. Toka, having an older sister who worked as a hair-dresser, was in charge of her hair. Kanzaki had already helped Sakusa choose her dress and was making arrangements for it to be transported to the dressing room without crumpling it too much. The boys were all in Karma's dressing room. Probably already ruining Karma's tux. At least Isogai was there to keep most of everything in place.

"OKAJIMA! GET OUT!" A raging yell came from Kataoka. There was a yelp and then a slam. Sakusa giggled.

"Ah, you must be Akari-san. Could you please come and help me..." Kayano said as Akari nodded and followed her, before winking at Sakusa and leaving.

Suddenly, a blonde haired girl came in. "Sakusa-san! Everything is ready outside. Me and some of the us got everything mostly set up already. I think the guests should be arriving soon. Are you going to be in dress already?!" Nakamura was a mess. But she was a good wedding planner, which was why Karma had chosen her. Sakusa secretly agreed with his choosing too. She may seem like just a fun-loving person who was a little savage, but when she got down to business, she was amazing.

"I think Karma's parents are already here!" Okano shouted from the entrance of the dressing room. Everything was so chaotic that Sakusa began to feel a little dazed.

"Sakusa-san?" There was a poke on her shoulder. It was Kanzaki. Sakusa turned towards her with a smile. "The dress is ready. Do you want to change now?"

"Alright then. I'm excited to see it!" Sakusa was excited. She knew that she would never wear such an amazing dress and that this opportunity was precious. She was grateful for Kanzaki. Thankfully, by the time she'd gotten up, Toka, Kurahashi, Hazama, Fuwa and a few others had finished with her hair. It was in a simple half up and half down hairstyle with braids supporting it at the sides, leading to the fancy bun at the back of her head. Her remaining hair was in a beautiful and elegant wave. Sakusa's dark raven hair had never been so attractive and divine. She thanked the girls with a hug and hurried to where the dress stood.

The white dress was the most gorgeous thing she'd ever seen. It completely bewitched her. The off-shouldered bodice was silky and lacey, covered in miniature white cherry blossoms. The tight bodice stopped at her stomach and then it was her skirt. It was nothing like she'd ever seen. The miniature cherry blossoms spread out like rain and lessened at the bottom of the skirt. The hem was wavy and uneven, showing some of her feet. The colour of the dress was milky and clear and contrasted her dark hair perfectly. But what was highlighted the most, were her dark deep eyes. She had already gotten make-up on, and now it seemed like the main feature of the exquisite bride.

All the girls helped her get it on, mainly because everyone thought she'd mess up the hair and make-up if she got the dress on herself.

"Someone lace up the back!"

"Gosh, this top bit is so hard to get on."

"Heck! Stop stepping on the dress, people!"

"Oi! Someone get her shoes. And you, hurry up with this part!"

"Let the skirt flow out nicely, don't fold it!"

Sakusa felt like she was in the middle of a tornado, the calm part. And everyone around her was the disastrous part. It felt calm in the middle. She gave a small smile. She could barely wait to see Karma again.

-3-

"Okajima! Where did you go to? Don't tell me you went to the Sakusa's dressing room!" Isogai yelled at the male who snuck into the dressing room, blushing with embarrassment and guilt.

"And what if I did?" Okajima squeaked nervously.

Karma grinned at him as he tugged his sleeves. "Then I would kill you."

"Come on now. Karma, seriously. You've got no time to joke around. You're getting married today! Hurry up now. Hang on, you're dressed and so are we... So you really don't have to do anything else now do you?" Maehara said.

Karma shrugged, "Guess not."

"Then let's just chill!" Terasaka's loud voice boomed with a beaming smile. The guys cheered and agreed, Karma laughed. He couldn't even express how much he'd missed these guys. They'd been the life of junior high. And was still his core friendship group. Not that he would tell them that.

"Shouldn't we practice or something like that?How about your marriage speech thing?" Takebayashi asked, ever the organized one.

"Practice? Like, hell! Karma's got it in the bag, haven't you?" Kyosuke quipped as he looked at the redhead male.

Karma whistled and looked away, "I think."

Nagisa gave a light laugh, "He didn't write the speech, did you? You're just so... Karma."

"What do you mean? I thought you had the speech and everything written out! You're supposed to do marriage speeches you know! I spent a whole night trying to write mine," Sugino exclaimed, face-palming.

"And I thought Karma was the genius among us," Mimura sighed, shaking his head.

Itona nodded, "I thought so too. But I think he's pretty much prepared some kind of speech, right? Even if he didn't write it out." He tilted his head and stared at the male.

"Well..." Karma clicked his tongue, "I didn't really write a speech like you dorks would. I think the words will just come out of my mouth, you know? I mean, I think I would just forget the speech when I see her anyways. So what's the point? Don't worry! The words will come. If not, I'll just say what I feel in my heart!"

Kimura chuckled. "And somehow, he still ends up being the coolest one out of all of us. How are you so... Not nervous? I'd be freaking out." The male sighed, "But I still don't have a girlfriend."

Nagisa pat him on the shoulder and grinned sadly, "You and me, Kimura-kun. You and me."

"Huh? Nagisa, I thought you and Kayano were dating. You're not?" Karma asked cheerfully, his face bright and ready to tease Nagisa.

"What?! Where did you get that from? No. We're just friends at the moment," Nagisa said with a red face. He was brighter than a tomato. "Plus, she's really busy with acting and work. How could, Nagisa Shiota, become a boyfriend of a star like that anyway?"

Terasaka cackled and slung his arm over Nagisa. "Always the low self-esteem huh? But honestly, you need to confess real soon. You don't even know how many guys are after her at this point." Karma snickered.

"Ahh... This is Karma's wedding. Let's not talk about me, please?"

"I don't mind, Nagisa!" Karma said with his signature devil face. "Now, why not tell us more about the texts you've been sharing with Kayano, huh?" The redhead male dangled Nagisa's phone in the air. It was open and showing all the texts between Kayano and Nagisa.

"Karma!" Nagisa yelled in protest.

-3-

Sakusa's heart pumped in exhilaration. Her hands were clammy and warm. Her lips felt dry. Her eyes scanned the audience as the reading continued to drone on and on in the background. Everyone was here. There were Karma's family and family friends, and such. Then there was the whole of Class 3-E, if they weren't part of the bridesmaid or groomsmen group. Family from Class 3-E, Akari and Kyosuke, Tsukishima-san who had been supporting Sakusa from the very start.

It was not a big wedding with hundreds of people. But with the intimate people in their lives. Sakusa broke at the fact that the one person she'd most wanted to be here, wasn't. If there was anyone most worthy of seeing them get married, it was Ryu-nii. And he was dead.

And one day, you'll find love stronger than a thousand seas. His words echoed in her mind.

She took a breath. Well, Ryu-nii, you were right. I owe this to you. If only you were here. I'd be the happiest bride in the world. Thank you, nii-chan, for bringing him to me. Thank you for all those days when you kept that hope alight in me. Thank you for wiping all those tears when the world around us was suffering. Thank you for protecting me the best you could. I know you had to go, but I will never forget you. Sakusa let a tear escape down her pale cheeks. Even if you didn't intend this to happen, you knew it would, didn't you?

"Sakusa Kimi, do you take Akabane Karma as your husband?"

"Yes, I do," Sakusa's face broke into a smile.

"Akabane Karma, do you take Sakusa Kimi as your wife?"

"Of course I do." His grin had never been bigger and happier. His amber eyes danced with joy as he met Sakusa's excited dark orbs.

"You may now kiss the bride!" The pair leaned forwards and forged their lips into one. "I give you, Mr and Mrs Akabane!" The clapping ad cheering blurred into the background as the pair pressed towards each other in eagerness. But were forced to separate when they heard the music. Their expressions were of pure happiness.

Ryu-nii, thank you for everything.