Damaged_Intellect

"Good morning sunshine! I’m surprised you're both fully clothed still."

You yawned "Why wouldn't we be?" 

You tilted your head as you tried to pry yourself from his grasp. Atsushi placed a kiss on your exposed neck while glaring down Dazai. You bit your lip hard to prevent an embarrassing whimper from vocalizing. Dazai crouched closer as Atsushi moved to bite down where he was kissing but before he could place his fangs on your skin Dazai poked his forehead. 

"Aaaaand that’s enough, down boy." The brunette watched as his eyes faded from blue back to the original mixed tone.

As Atsushi regained his clarity he sputtered into action pushing himself as far away from you as possible "(Y-Y/N)? D-Dazai? What are you doing here?!" He sounded confused like he didn’t remember your confession from an hour ago. The only thing he remembered was Yosano sending him home.

"Same as last year, I'm here to make sure you don't wreck the place." Dazai sighed, waving his arm around.

You tilted your head to the side. "Same as last year? Did Atsushi get a fever last year too?" 

Dazai and Atsushi blinked at you. Did you really have no idea what was going on? "You mean no one told you!" Atsushi screamed, hiding his face while Dazai keeled over laughing. “You two really are meant for each other!” 

You frowned at Dazai’s reaction but his words only made you more confused “I mean all Yosano told me was to confess before April. She didn't explain why.” You shrugged, Dazai was there when it happened so if anything you'd blame him for not saying something sooner. Atsushi perked up at that statement. “Wait, Yosano said what? Hold on-”

Dazai dragged Atsushi out of the corner by the back of his collar on his pajamas. “Well in April our little tiger over here goes into his mating cycle! Yup a whole week of nonstop-” 

Atsushi smacked Dazai with his pillow to get the other to shut up. “She doesn't need details! It's bad enough that I forced her into bed.” He sheepishly looked off to the side trying to get Dazai to let go of his shirt.

Dazai's words were enough to jumpstart your imagination. Your usually sweet and caring Atsushi being consumed by his animalistic desires? The way his piercing gaze would be filled with lust. How he'd be so desperate to be inside you that he couldn't help but handle you roughly, pinning you down. The only thing that would be running through his head would be his desire to fuck you senseless. His animalistic desire to breed you, to make you a mother, the mother of his children. Your cheeks were a deep crimson just thinking about it. You cleared your throat to shake away the nerves but it didn’t stop your voice from being shaky. 

“I came to the lion's den on my own accord, Atsushi, you didn't force me to do anything.” His eyes locked with yours in surprise. You bit your lip before turning away. “Besides I would have let you have your way with me.” You didn’t mind admitting that to Atsushi, however it did make your skin crawl knowing Dazai heard it too.

The room stayed silent for longer than was comfortable for you. The pause was almost as pregnant as you were about to be. You shook that thought out of your head. That was a bad joke, horrible really. Poor taste. You need to get your mind out of the gutter but you couldn’t help it. Now that you know that’s an option you almost want it more now than ever. Maybe without the child but the idea still stands and you found it hot nonetheless.

 Everyone was staring. Dazai smirked and stood up abruptly. “Well then that settles it! I'll check with Yosano to get you a contraceptive but other than that it looks like my job here is done.” The brunette got up from the floor.

Atsushi scrambled to his feet trying to stop Dazai from leaving “Wait that's it you're just going to let me-”

Dazai pulled Atsushi closer, turning them both away from you. “Look, you have a very attractive woman who is willing to sleep with you during your rut, why would I stop you? If anything I'm a little jealous.” Dazai joked in a hushed tone so you couldn't hear. All you saw was the boys huddled by the door.

Atsushi was skeptical about his antics but couldn't fault him for it. He knows his ability's side effects just make more work for everyone. “What if I hurt her, or worse scar her for life?” He's not entirely conscious for most of his rut but he's also never had a partner before, period. Atsushi doesn’t really know how big of a difference it will make.

“Well you are two consenting adults and if anything as your “mate” I think you'll be more protective of her safety. You only wanted to mark (Y/N) because I got too close.” Dazai let him go, giving him a thumbs up as he closed the door behind him.

You watched as Atsushi stood frozen in the doorway. It must have hit him that you were now alone with him. You smirked, oh how wrong he was. Flopping back down on his futon, you stretched so that your shirt was sliding up, exposing your stomach. You've never liked your stomach, you always thought it was too pudgy but this was about showing him some skin. As you let out a lewd mewl you knew you caught his attention. You weren’t stuck in here alone with Atsushi, oh no, Atsushi was stuck in here alone with you.

“(Y/N)!” He covered his eyes with his hands but you could still see that he was peeking through his fingers. “What are you doing?!”

Giggling you rolled over continuing to stretch, making sure to present your ass nicely for him. “Helping obviously.” You let out another mewl biting your lip. The glint in his eyes didn't go unnoticed. The color was swirling into the tigers blue with each passing second. Atsushi took a sharp breath. “This isn't funny! I could seriously hurt you!”

Sitting upright you stopped your teasing. “Atsushi, I trust you with my life.” you hummed thinking of how else to ease his mind. “Come here for a second.” You patted the spot next to you and waited for him to sit down. He sighed but hesitantly crossed his arms as he sat down. You leaned over his lap until your noses were almost touching. 

“Do you love me?”

He blushed but didn’t deny it. It took him a moment before you felt him gently grip your shoulders to push you away slightly so he could see all of you. “...I do...” Atsushi trailed off waiting for rejection but it never came. Instead you grabbed his cheek and smiled. “I love you too. Now how about you have a little faith in yourself, yeah.” Atsushi’s eyes widened as the last bit of original color left and turned blue. He leaned forward into your personal space but you let him as you pressed your forehead against his. 

“We’ll start off slow okay.” You crawled into his lap nuzzling into his neck. That got him to purr as he slowly wrapped his arms around you taking in your scent. His grip tightened around you. Soft, warm and overall enticing. Atsushi was breathing you in deeply, panting into the crook of your neck. Hesitantly he gave a small peck and you hummed mirroring his action. You sighed pulling away just enough to place a proper kiss on his lips. You felt his full body tense before he melted into the kiss finding a way to hold you closer. 

His hands massaged your skin in a similar rhythm to the kiss, heavy and slow. You could feel his bulge growing hard underneath you as you playfully bit his lip. He growled under his breath as he pinned you to the futon. Atsushi’s eyes were sharp like he wanted to devour his prey but then you could see the light behind his eyes flicker and he pulled back.

“S-sorry I didn’t mean to-”

You reached up to pull him back to you, wrapping your legs around his waist. “No, no more apologies, I want this as much as you do.” Crashing your lips together you could feel him loosen up a bit as you nibbled on his lower lip. Pulling his hips into yours you tried your best to grind into him from below. “I need you Atsushi, please.” You begged in between the kissing and heavy petting. 

“Fuck,” You felt Atsushi’s hips jerk in just the right angle to send a jolt of pleasure through you both. “You can’t just say things like that.” 

You giggled, it was too fun to tease him like this. You watched as his eyes shifted when you started to remove your clothing. “Oh yeah? Then whatcha gonna do about it tiger boy.” 

His hands immediately moved to explore the new exposed skin. “God you’re so hot.” He leaned down to pepper kisses all over your body, nipping at the skin near your bra as he lifted you up just enough to mangle the clasp to set your boobs free. You gasp at each suck and kiss he placed on your skin. Each whimper sends his hips to rut desperately against you. 

Your fingers made quick work of the buttons on his pajamas as you raked your hands across his body. Atsushi’s breath hitched as you palmed against his member. He groaned as he thrusted into your hand. “S-shit, that feels so good.” His eyes wired shut as he lapped up one of your nipples while he pinched the other with his fingers. You mewled at the sensation and lightly dragged your nails across his back. “Nghh~” You could feel the pleasure pool in your stomach. 

“Please Atsushi, I want more.” You moved to pull his hand down to your heat. “T-touch me here.” You stutter through your ecstacy. 

You both practically shove your hand down each other's pants with a frantic effervesance of trying to give the other pleasure. Atsushi licks and sucks on your neck all the while moaning as you stroke him. “God you’re so wet for me.”

“Yes, all for you.” You were breathless. “Please, take me already.”

Both of your patience were running thin as you disrobbed the last articles of clothing. The skin to skin contact was making you dizzy. Atsushi was so warm to the touch but then again so were you. Atsushi took a moment to take in all of you. This was all for him, a feast for his eyes. Atsushi melted on top of you using both hands to cup your face, stealing another kiss. The last thing he wants to do is hurt you but he feels so good.

He licked his lips before he crouched down to taste your heat. Your head lulled to the side at the sensation of his hot tongue eating you out. The feeling was short lived as he groaned, lining himself up for the main event. He rolls his hips as controlled as he could, pushing in completely as you gasp.  

The noise that came out of both of your mouths startled each of you for different reasons. You because Dazai wasn’t kidding about Atsushi’s ever growing desire and Atsushi because you really want him and he wants you. He wants you so bad he didn’t even notice that he was already thrusting into you. A mess of moans fill the room as you try to mentally keep up with Atsushi’s whirling intensity. You were so full it made you breathless. Each thrust felt like the wind was being knocked out of you. Each time Atsushi sank deeper, pressing against all the nerves that made you spasm with beautiful sensations of pleasure to the point where you couldn’t think straight. At this point any coherent thought you had was reduced to the stars you see painted on the back of your eyelids from them being wired shut in bliss. 

You move to try to grab something from your bag and then you notice you have an audience. Okay? Yeah you get it Karma cooking for anyone was weird but you didn’t understand their almost pitying expression. Until you heard Karma say “Okay, say ah!”

You turned so fast you swear you gave yourself whiplash and sure enough the redhead was holding out a heaping spoonful in front of your face. His devilish grin almost gave him a tinkle in his eyes as he waited for you to open your mouth. In response you glare daggers at him. You know he was only doing this to make you feel embarrassed and yes it was but you can’t let him know that his dumb tactic was working.

You swallowed your pride and leaned over to take the bite but before it graced your lips with its succulent flavor Karma moved the spoon just out of reach. He laughed. “What are you waiting for, just eat it already~” The redhead wiggled the spoon in front of you.

Taking a deep breath you narrow your eyes at him. Challenge accepted. You moved swiftly but he kept taunting you by moving the spoon to blot the side of your cheek with sauce instead. “So messy.” He licked his thumb and wiped the sauce off your cheek before wiping his hand with a napkin. The brief second that his eyes were on the napkin you took as your moment to actually take a bite. 

Your eyes widened, it was really tasty. On impulse you said the first thing that came to mind instead of insulting his cooking like you originally planned. “Wow! If being a bureaucrat doesn’t work out, you’d make a great house wife!” Karma only frowned at your reaction before getting another idea.

“If it tastes that good, be sure to eat every last bite.” He shoved another bite in your mouth immediately. 

You were not expecting it but you know what, you were hungry so you were going to eat whatever he gave you. That was your first mistake. He started shoving food in your mouth at a rate that you couldn’t keep up with. Your eyes started to water trying not to admit defeat. You forcibly grabbed his wrist and shook your head. 

“Ah, and here I thought that you liked my cooking.”

You wanted to laugh at how stupid he was being right now but you ended up choking instead. Luckily you had a water bottle in your bag. Glorious water came to your swift aid and prevented you from dying from asphyxiation. When you finally regained your composure the mischievous grin that was stretched across Karma’s face filled you with uncertainty. “You know a good owner would have made sure their so-called pet didn’t die on them. Thank you very much!”

You consumed the carefully crafted bite in front of you hoping to be met with the same savoury curry you had moments before but there was something new tingling on the tip of your tongue. You narrowed your eyes as you continued chewing. That tingling sensation was getting more noticeable with every new inhale. Almost like your sinuses were starting to clear at an alarming rate. They weren’t even clogged. That’s when your tongue found it. A grainy clump of presumably wasabi that triggered your gag reflex with how potent it was.

Karma started chuckling as your face contorted with displeasure. That bastard showed off the tubes of disappointment. Honestly the hot mustard paired well, you could almost ignore it if you tried hard enough, but the wasabi was too overpowering. You tried to grab the napkin but the redhead snatched it away. “Uh uh, you have to swallow.” 

Regretfully you do. What other choice did you have? To be fair you could have spat on him but you didn’t. Now you were sweating. It used to be about enjoying some nice good curry but now that devilish bastard poisoned his own creation. How could he bring himself to defile something so pure and good. It was at this point you paid attention to the murmurs of your classmates.

“Ya know, Karma’s always been a little off his rocker but ever since finals he’s kinda been a straight up freak.” Terasaka rolled his eyes from the corner of the room. “Why’d you guys have to do this in the middle of the classroom?”

 Meahara turned back to their group. “No kidding, poor (Y/N) doesn’t deserve to be treated like that.”

Rio sighed. “Anyone remember the part where she agreed to his dare? I told her she was gonna regret it.”

That’s right you dug your grave and now you have to lay in it. You took a deep breath and met Karma’s gaze. You’re not going to lose, a good assassin could turn off their senses enough to muscle through terrible situations. This was just going to make you stronger in the end. You struggle through the rest of the meal until there is nothing left. Thankfully he didn’t make you lick the dish.

You shoved your middle finger in his face. “Eat shit Karma. You’ll have to do better than that next time!"

You sighed as you got on the bus, now you've been wrong about Kenny dying before but you would usually freak out and cry. You swore that all those other times were real but those just ended up being, delusions? But Kenny wasn't at the bus stop and he didn't show up to first period either, the teacher didn't say his name calling role and no one mentioned the blond at all. You started to fear that it was true, he was gone for good but then why won't anyone talk about it. The next period you had a test to focus on. You ended up talking to Kyle since you finished early.

"Hey are you going to sing at the open mic" Kyle said. You were starting to get tired of that question "Oh, that's today isn't it. I don't know, why do you want to sing with me? I'll do it if someone does it with me otherwise I just look like a show off." Kyle started coughing "No, no you know I can't sing!" "Then no go, I don't want to unless someone else does." At that moment you stop in you tracks, the strangest sense of deja vu swept over you like she had been through this before. "How about Kenny?"

There it is! He is alive! "THAT IS IT!" You thought to yourself as you picked up the pace walking as fast as you could without running. You were beyond livid at this point. You were going to put an end to this constant back and forth of out right confusion. Kicking in the door to the cafeteria your eyes scanned the room for Kenny mother fucking McCormick and you saw him talking to chef with mics in both hands. You stomped over to him ready to give him a piece of your mind but instead Kenny shoved a mic into you hand and smiled as the intro to a song played. You grit your teeth as a you tried not smile. "Another heart calls? You sneaky little bastard" It was one of your favorites and he knew that. Y: "Do you remember when we didn't care"K: "We were just two kids that took the moment when it was there"Y: "Do you remember you at all"Both: "Another heart calls"

K: "Yeah I remember when we stole the night"B: "We'd lie awake but dreaming 'til the sun would wash the sky"

K: "Just as soon as I see youBut didn't I, but didn't I tell you"Y: "As deep as I need you,You wanna leave it all"

K: "What can I do?"Y: "Say it's true"K: "Or everything that matters breaks in two"Y: "Say it's true"B: "I'll never ask for anyone but you"

Y: "Talk to meI'm throwing myself in front of you"K: "This could be the last mistakeThat I would ever wanna do" You stopped paying attention to the song as Kenny pulls out a gun once again. "Hey meet me at my house in 10 mins." "Oh fuck no, I'm not letting you-" *BANG!*

You weren't even surprised this time. Needless to say you were pissed as fled the scene as fast as your legs could carry you. "KENNETH WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!" You screamed through the streets as you made your way to Kenny's house. You let yourself in and gripped the door knob to Kenny's room slamming it behind you. "YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" You was about to strangle the blond but was quickly pulled into a hug. Kenny smiled into your neck "See you do remember!" "Oh no! You don't deserve this hug!" You tried to pull away to punch Kenny "Do you know how many years of trauma I've been through! Too many let me go!" He only tightened his grip on you until you calmed down. You rolled her eyes and gave in to the hug whimpering. "For the longest time I thought you were dead." You sniffled softly "How are you still alive?"

Kenny loosened his grip pulling away to  hold your shoulders "I'm immortal, I die everyday but no one remembers." Kenny continued to stare directly at your lovely eyes as they started to tear up just a little bit. "I thought I was having nightmares, I texted you every time I woke up from you dying."

Kenny hugged you tighter with one arm around your lower back and the other caressing your hair. "I know, I'm sorry. I had to make sure you remembered. I have a hard time explaining otherwise." You sighed she felt a great weight lift off your chest, now you could breath easy. You couldn't help the smile that stretched across your face. It didn't accurately depict your feeling right now so you pushed Kenny on his bed. "You asshole, I would have believed you regardless!" "NO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE! I'm sorry that the last time I tried to tell you and the guys back in the fourth grade that didn't work to well because I died and everything reset!"

You sat on the bed next to Kenny then casually laid down "Wait you did? I don't remember that~" You said in a sarcastic tone with a cheeky grin just to mess with him.

Kenny sat up abruptly "I KNOW! That's why I didn't bother with it after that!" You laughed at his reaction "Well I don't accept it." "Accept what? Weather or not you accept my immortality it still exists." "No you big goof your apology, you said "I'm sorry" I don't accept it so now you gotta make it up to me." "Okay how do I-" You cut Kenny off  "Nope" "Nope? What do you mean nope?" Kenny raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not giving you any ideas, you come up with something yourself." You crossed your arms still trying to take in all this information. Things have been going one to one hundred quite frequently the past few weeks your brain was fried. You didn't want to think anymore than you needed too. You also wanted to throw the ball in Kenny's court just to see what he would do. "Hmmmm what if I-" "Nope!" You said with a grin you missed messing with him. He sat up abruptly "What, I didn't even finish my sent-" "Doesn't matter, I'm giving you a hard time for seven years of mixed memories." You trailed off, you mind was flashing back to a few weeks ago during the game, the stick of truth. "That means Kenny and I actually made out." You thought to yourself as your face started to heat up. You quickly covered your mouth at the thought that Kenny already stole your first kiss. Even though technically that didn't exactly happen because of the reset, but the next day Craig, he... "HOLY FUCK! THAT MEANS CRAIG ACTUALLY KISSED ME THAT NIGHT! Oh god, I feel bad now." You bit your lip covering your face in embarrassment.

Kenny only shrugged. "Why do you feel bad about that, to him it never happened?" "Kenny that means he had a crush on me and that's why he was there to comfort me in the nurses office." You started to think back on all the times you basically friend-zoned Craig without even knowing it. That's when it clicked and you sat up. "Hey wait! That also means you remember what happened at the party!" You sneered at Kenny. He pulled on the collar of his shirt starting to slowly scoot away to the other side of the bed but his back hit the wall. "I-uh...I don't know what you're talki-" You scooted closer. "Like hell you don't, you have to drop the act now because I know you do." As You moved closer, Kenny panicked and blurted out. "Dinner and a movie!"

You stopped "What?" "To make up for the past seven years, dinner and a movie." "But-" "I'll tell you what really happened after dinner and a movie" You put your finger on your chin like you were considering it even though you were doing flips on the inside. Kenny was practically asking you out on a date. "When?"

Kenny smiled "Would tonight be too soon?" "Yes it would be" Kenny's smile faded "Dude I was just told that my best friend, who I've known for like ever is immortal. I need some time to think, clear my thoughts." You paused "And you best believe that I have like a million questions, I need some time." "Tomorrow?"       

"Tomorrow." Shortly after you left Kenny's house and headed home, Kenny smiled wide and laid on his bed "It's a date."

He tilted his head to the side “I don’t see why not? It’s my birthday after all! You can’t just leave like this on my birthday~” Before you could even fight back verbally or physically he hoisted you over his shoulder and started marching upstairs to his room.

“B-but, but I don’t have anything to change into!” You stuttered out only for him to quip back. “I’ll just lend you something to wear.” 

“I don’t want to take your bed away from you on your birthday.” You continued protesting. He only laughed kicking his door open “It’s my birthday I can do whatever I want. Think of it as my birthday present!” He put you down on his bed and started rummaging through his closet.

You stood up fixing your shirt that started riding up from being upside down. “I bought you a cake!”

He handed you a white long sleeve shirt and black plaid pajama pants. “Well then my Christmas present~” His smile was blinding.

He wasn't letting you refuse him. “No that was-” You forced yourself to stay quiet. You were going to say your Christmas present was the kiss that he stole but you shoved your face into the bundle of clothes remembering the feeling. He can’t be serious can he? You looked back up to see Karma unabashedly changing into his pajamas as if you weren’t even in the room. He hummed and poked your cheek. “Don’t tell me you didn’t get me a Christmas present? So you remember my birthday present but not my Christmas present. Well that settles it then! Nothing to be done about it~” He left the room, closing the door behind him presumably so you could change. You were still in disbelief as you swapped clothes.

His shirt was just a little bigger than you but it was comfy and soft. The pants you were swimming in just because Karma was taller than you. You watched him grab them out of the closet but they smelled like him, vaguely like sandal wood and something else. To be fair his house smells like incense but not in a bad way you liked the smell. It occurred to you that you had been standing there smelling Karma’s clothes when he knocked on the door. He came back inside with an extra pillow. He looked you up and down before averting his eyes as soon as they met yours. “Oh good you're done. I’ll turn off the lights.” He moved too fast for you to see the color blooming across his cheeks.

“Karma, I’m not taking the bed from you.” You argued crossing your arms.

“You're not taking the bed from me. I brought an extra pillow. We’re sharing the bed.” He put the pillow down and motioned for you to get in the bed.

“What do you mean we’re sharing the bed!” He can’t be serious! This is not- how could he say that so casually? Does he even know what he’s implying here?

Nonchalantly he adjusted the blanket and made himself comfortable. “We literally slept together less than an hour ago. Why is this any different?”

“I wasn’t trying to-”

“But you did! Now get in the bed before I drag you.” A soft smile graced his lips. “What if this is my Christmas present to you? Would that make it better?”

Seeing that kind of expression made your stomach flutter. The red head patted the empty space beside him. “Well?” 

Stupid butterflies. 

You rolled your eyes and cautiously crawled under the blanket. “I want a refund.” 

“Nope! No takesies backsies,” Karma shifted slightly closer. “You got in the bed, all sales final.” He poked your cheek as you pouted.

Again, how could he be so normal about this? Your heart was pounding so loud in your ears you’re surprised he hasn’t said anything about it. He brushed a strand of hair out of your face, lingering his touch on your cheek. He had such a genuine lopsided smile plastered on his face with half lidded eyes. It made your insides melt in a way that frustrated you. Was he going to kiss you again? Should you lean forward instead? The anticipation was staggering. Karma left his hand idly caressing your cheek. You both stare into each other's eyes. You wonder what Karma was thinking about. 

If someone had told you at the beginning of E class that this is how things would shake out, you would have called them crazy but now that the secret’s out and that you’ve spent more time with Karma, you can see why you guys were soulmates. You do like Karma, you like him a lot actually. You hope he understands that without you having to put it into words. Your eyes were getting droopy with sleep so you stopped fighting it. Shuffling closer you give into the temptation and feel arms wrap around you. Honestly you could get used to this. Karma smiled into your hair when he felt your limbs do the same. 

___

You press yourself into the wall, heart thumping in your chest. “Well this is awkward.” you think to yourself. Stuffing the decorated box in your bag, you abscond without being noticed. Today was Valentine's day and you thought showing up early to put chocolates in Karma’s desk was gonna be the play here to avoid being caught by the rest of your classmates but you clearly didn’t show up early enough. 

There wasn’t really any reason in particular that you didn’t want your classmates knowing that you and Karma were soulmates. If anything, Karma would have been the one person in the class to make fun of you for being lovey dovey with someone but he is that someone and it's not like you guys were lovey dovey either. Like sure you've kissed a few times and you fell asleep in his arms once or twice and you hang out occasionally and you want to know how he feels about you. You know what, the fact that Korosensei hasn’t spilled the beans has been the biggest shocker to you already.

It’s more or less you want to avoid Rio and everyone freaking out about it. You know for a fact they can’t see Karma, one having a soulmate and two maintaining that relationship. At least that's what you tell yourself. It's not because what you're really afraid of is Karma losing interest in you, platonically, romantically or otherwise. It's really stupid and you know it. Which brings you to your next point of why you wanted to give Karma chocolates. 

You still weren’t sure what you were to each other. 

It’s not like you want it in writing but you wanted to know what it meant to him. Like yes, you're soulmates so naturally you’re more than friends but that doesn’t obviously mean you’re boyfriend and girlfriend. Although you kind of want to be. After the Christmas/birthday fiasco, you met up during New Year’s and visited a temple together. It was casually under the guise that you bet Karma that you could pull a better Omikuji than him. As to which you both received great luck so it wasn’t exactly a clean sweep but you digress. You enjoy his company and being around him makes your brainworms happy but it makes you anxious at the same time.

That’s why when you almost walked in on Okuda giving Karma chocolates just now, you thought it was the most awkward thing in the universe and ran away as fast as you could. You know that he definitely liked her as a friend and they do get along but you don’t want to assume anything because you didn’t stick around to find out and now it’s all you can think about. You don't have any reason to be scared but here you are.

Not to mention that Rio and Karma were trying to help Kayano give her chocolates to Nagisa. Meaning you didn’t have a moment to give the redhead your chocolates but you were also trying to avoid him. You pretty much spent the day with Nagisa asking about Karma since he’s the only other person who knows of your plight. Just before Nagisa could give you any kind of solid advice you were interrupted by operation whatever the fuck Karma was doing all day.

“Great Luck my ass!” You muttered to yourself.

Most of your classmates have left by the time you finally pulled the chocolates out again. You were disappointed mainly in yourself. Maybe you should just eat them and pretend you didn’t even make him anything. You sighed about to pull the ribbon off when Karma leaned over your shoulder. “Are those for me?”

“Karma!” He startled you as he plucked the box out of your hands “Hey wait those-” You tried to take them back.

“Are for me right. They have my name on them and everything.” He waved them around as be bent down to invade your personal space. “Took you long enough.” He looked away towards the golden skyline, and sighed with a far off stare. “I was starting to think you were mad at me or something.”He scratched his cheek, he sounded almost ashamed.

You tilted your head to the side. What an odd thought for him to have. “Why would I be mad at you?” If you were mad at anyone right now, which you weren’t, you would be mad at yourself for getting in your own head.

He raised an eyebrow. “You were avoiding me weren’t you? Ever since you saw Okuda giving me chocolates.”

“Ah, so you noticed that.” You just didn’t want to give him your chocolates immediately after someone else but also he was always with someone else all day. You were just waiting for him to be alone, which he never was. You still don’t understand why he would assume you were mad at him for that though. You’re both allowed to hang out with your classmates. It’s not like being soulmates means you have to be conjoined at the hip.

“In case you forgot, I can feel when you're around. I only asked her to make me some prank chocolates to give to Terasaka.” He pulled them out of his pocket. “I didn’t end up giving them to him though. I got the timing wrong.” He might as well toss them since they’re poisoned.

You stood there with a vacant stare. He asked her to make him chocolates for a prank? So it wasn’t a love confession after all. That put you a little more at ease. “I see.” 

“Your emotions were kinda all over the place so then I thought you were upset that we weren't spending time with each other. Rio and I got a little carried away, but I'm all yours now if you'll have me?” He opened his arms as if he was waiting for you to hug him. Even when he’s unsure he acts with such a level head. It's what makes him a good leader.

You finally blurted it out. “Karma what are we?” The question has been on your mind since he found out in Osaka.

Karma grinned, playing with your hair. “We're soulmates dummy.”

 You swatted his hand away. So now he wasn’t being serious. You rolled your eyes “No, I mean what am I to you?”

He stepped closer to you, putting his hand around you. “What do you want to be?” His grin was taunting you.

“I…,” Your face started to flush. “No! Why are you being so difficult right now!” You tried to push him away but he gently grabbed your hand. “Because you're asking questions you already know the answer to.”

You tried to get your hand back but he refused to let go. “You're so annoying”

“Admit it, you like me~” He intertwined your fingers. It was like you were dancing, figuratively and literally.

You scoffed. Fine if that's how he wants to play then so be it. “Not even close.” It was more than that and you accepted it a while ago even if you haven't said it outloud yet.

“Oh? Am I wrong? ” He teased playfully.

You grabbed him by the collar and kissed him. The kiss was firm and filled with both your frustration and your admittance. You concede Karma wins. “YoU aLrEadY kNoW tHe AnSwEr tO ThAt.” You spat mockingly as you shove him back. Once again you can't believe this bastard's your soulmate. You walk away before he could comment on your blushing cheeks.

It took him a moment to register your words. He was reeling from you finally initiating any form of intimacy. He caught up to you in a few strides. “I want another kiss.”

You turned away from him, knowing your expression would betray you. “Too bad. Kisses are reserved for boyfriends. Now eat your damn chocolates.” One step. That's as far as you got before he pulled you by the shoulders, twirling you around to face him before stealing another kiss. You forgot he could do that. You didn't think he would do that. You were speechless. Absolutely stunned.

“Hey, you're the one who gave me boyfriend privileges. What am I supposed to do, not use them?” Karma slotted his fingers with yours and ushered you away. “Now let's go home.”

“Home! What do you mean home? Your house is back that way.”

Your heart was pounding the moment you walked up to the front door. Maybe you should have texted him first. It was pretty late and you weren’t even sure he was still up. This was a dumb idea all around. You lifted your hand to the doorbell but were too anxious to press it. God this was hopeless, maybe you should just go home. You don’t even know if he wants to be around people let alone you. So much for his surprise. Looking down at the box in your hands you contemplate leaving it on his doorstep. Before you could decide your phone vibrated in your pocket. It was Karma. Shit that’s not good.

-SemiSenioritise-

10:07PM- I can feel you having a panic attack. What’s wrong?

Shit that is doubly not good. You should have realized sooner that your emotional turmoil would tip him off. Although it’s the first time he’s reached out about it, to be fair normally you guys are usually in closer proximity to do something about it. A moment passes and then everything sinks in. You, a young lady, are standing outside your male classmate’s house at an ungodly hour. Yes you are a trained assassin but still you shouldn’t even be out of the house right now. You take everything back, you should bail as soon as possible. New plan, leave the cake, run away and ask him if he’s busy because he should really pick it up sooner rather than later. You finally reply to his message.

-You-

10:11PM- My bad! Are you busy?

You continued typing out a second message when your stomach dropped. Your phone was vibrating. It was Karma. He was calling you. There was no avoiding this. You sighed and picked it up. Before you can say anything Karma says “You’re avoiding the question. Are you okay?” He sounded irritated. 

“I-,” You know what? Fuck it, what could possibly go wrong. “Just come outside.” You deflated partly because you were done trying to avoid it, you were here now and you don’t want to admit it but you missed him. You missed everyone in your class but you’ve especially missed Karma. Things have been sucky since the start of winter break and you know this would make you feel better. Even if you are still overwhelmed.

“What do you mean “come outside?”  You’re still not-” It sounded like Karma was about to say something but then he stopped in his tracks. Karma was stumped as to why you would say that, unless. Glancing outside his window he could see the moon. Nothing seemed weird about it so he could rule that out. On top of that it was Korosensei related, you probably would have said something by now. He bolted from his bed, down the stairs to his front door. It’s not like he was doing anything important.

The moment he opened the door you jumped. Even though that’s what you told him to do, he did it with such vigor it was like a jumpscare. Karma didn’t know what to expect but this surely wasn’t it. He was stunned. You were standing on his doorstep at 10 o’clock at night after he felt your emotions go haywire. Now he’s sure you’re not okay. 

While he was analyzing your wellbeing you were just staring at him. “Surprise! Merry Christmas Eve.” You sheepishly laugh to break the silence. He blinked a few times before pulling you inside, relieved albeit concerned. “You’re ridiculous you know that. I was actually kind of worried, you know. ” He poked your forehead.

“Sorry I was just,” You paused looking at the floor. “Your family's still traveling right? I just didn’t like the idea of you celebrating Christmas alone.” Saying it out loud sounded really sappy. Sappy and stupid, sweet but stupid.

Karma’s eyes widened at the realization. He wasn’t alone anymore. He was alone when he received his soulmate mark five years ago but he no longer had to be. You were here. You thought about it and came here in the middle of the night because the idea didn’t sit right with you. This is everything he’s ever wanted. He didn’t know what to say so instead he pulled you into a hug. He wondered if you could feel his heart beat.

You awkwardly wrapped your arms around him as best as you could while still holding on to the box with the cake inside. He was so warm and smelled nice and you melted into the hug. Honestly you could stay like this for the rest of the night and you would be immensely happy but Karma started to pull away wondering why your hold on him was so weird. That’s when he noticed the box. He had a curious grin and tried reaching out for it but you pulled it away. 

“Nope! It’s not Christmas yet.” You moved past him to put it on the counter. He pouted but followed after you. “So how else do we celebrate Christmas if gifts are off the table.” 

You smiled “By watching Christmas movies silly!” It was the perfect ploy in your head. Home Alone was the best Christmas movie of all time in your opinion and it runs for about an hour and fourty-ish minutes so by the time it was done, perfect timing for the big birthday ruse. You sat next to him on the couch. A respectable distance with some space between you. At least that's how you started out.

Around fifty minutes in you realized that you were pressed against each other with Karma’s arm draped around your shoulder. You weren’t complaining of course but you wonder when you guys got so close. It felt so natural for you to be here cuddled into his side. It was comforting and relaxing and made you forget about your troubles enough for you to start nodding off.

The moment you slumped on Karma’s shoulder, the redhead didn’t know what to do. He was thoroughly enjoying the movie from one prankster to another and realistically he should just wake you but he was also enjoying your lack of personal space. You looked so peaceful it was cute. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if he didn’t wake you. Clearly you’ve seen the movie before so it’s not like you're missing out on anything important. Call him selfish but he let you fall into his lap just so he can pet your hair like a cat and if you snuggled into him more who was he to judge. He was too busy watching a ten year old outwit two goons.

Warm, soft cuddling is what you woke up to. Somehow you and Karma were practically snuggling on his couch as the credits were rolling. How you ended up laying down was beyond you but you were on top of Karma’s chest. While comforting you found this extremely disorienting. Karma noticed you shifting and he smiled at you “Well good morning sleepy head.”

“G-good morning?” You glance at the clock.

12:06am

Oh shit! You're late! Rubbing the sleep out of your eyes you try to sit up but Karma holds you hostage. The red head found it amusing watching you struggle against him. It was cold, you were warm, he didn't have a throw blanket on the couch. At least that was his excuse. You looked up at him tentatively before murmuring into his chest “Happy Birthday Karma!”

However it seemed you were still seeking answers and was the only one doing so about the mystery events of the party. You had been lost in thought as you turned the corner and bumped into someone, you both fell to the floor. "I am so sorry I wasn't paying attention, I'll help pick these up!" You apologized and started to help gather the scattered papers that were all over the floor. Flipping the papers over she noticed the name on the top of the paper read 'Tammy' and your eyes widened before looking up. You had bumped into Tammy, Tammy Warner, Kenny's Tammy actually Kenny's ex Tammy. Tammy didn't respond, she didn't move from her spot on the floor. She didn't try to grab her papers, she just sat there looking at the ground.

"Hey uh Tammy is it? Here's your papers, again sorry for bumping into you." You tried to hand her the papers again but Tammy didn't notice. She was staring off into the distance. "Hello? Earth to Tammy." Still no response. "Tammy class is going to start soon, so we should probably get going." You were once again met with silence as you extended your hand out to help her up but Tammy just batted it away.

"Why..."

"Ah, why what?" You said looking at the hallway clock 

"Why are you helping me?" Her voice was grating as if she had been screaming the day prior.

You quirked an eyebrow at her. "Because I crashed into you and it would have been rude just to leave you on the floor?" Was there something wrong? Did you miss something?

"Don't you hate me?"

Where was this coming from you thought. "Look I barely know you so I don't know why I would hate you. We only have a minute left to get to class so I have to go." With that you fled hoping you still make it to class on time.

When you got into class most of the girls were giving you the death glare but you just shrugged it off. You were trying to focus on the class but your mind kept drifting to earlier. Why was Tammy so out of it? Something must have happened with Kenny. After class Kenny was waiting for you outside the class.

"Hey Kenny, uh what's up? Since when do you stalk my class?" You and Kenny kept walking in silence before he blurted out. "I broke up with Tammy."

You stopped walking. "That would explain a lot." Kenny turned around baffled at your comment "Explains what?" 

You recalled the event from earlier. "I bumped into Tammy and she was pretty dazed, but she asked if I hated her. That's the part I don't get."

"Why would you hate her?"

"Yeah that's what I said" The two of you continued to talk on your way to the lunch room although you had to keep looking over your shoulder because you felt somebody's eyes were watching your every move. During lunch sure enough your paranoia was getting the best of you. You're mind was on the fritz, you could hear whispers from her peers something on the lines of "what a cunt", "yeah two faced bitch" and you didn't know who these comments were directed at until Tammy and her entourage passed by the table. One of the side girls pretended to trip to "accidentally" spill her lunch all over you. 

"Oops so sorry I must have mistaken you for a trash can." one of the other girls coughed and very loudly coughed out the word "Bitch"

You gave them a quizzical look. "You know if you were going to say that you could have just poured the food on top of me instead of wasting your time pretending to trip, right?"

Stan was sitting with his mouth open catching flies while Kyle was grabbing at your arm trying to get you to stop. "Don't encourage them." You dismissed Kyle's comment "Oh no no, Kyle they need to know this. I call it learning from your mistakes. And besides I have a feeling this is only the beginning of their harassment." You were irritated at the whole ordeal. You tried to stand up but Kyle had grabbed your arm so you forced a bitter smile and tried not murder anyone while the other girl decided to run her mouth again.

"You're such a fucken cunt."  

You smiled wider "Rather be a cunt than a puppet, how's that hand up your ass feel? You can't even think for yourself." You spat with venom dripping from your tongue and turn to face their leader. "Anyways Tammy are you feeling better because the group attack isn't really working for me."

Tammy was too busy staring at Kenny; who looked like he was about to loose it as well mostly because you didn't deserve to be treated this way, you weren't a part of this mess. Kenny reached for something in his pocket and pulled out a pistol. Your eyes widened "He wouldn't do it right" You thought as Kenny put the gun up to his temple and turned to you with a smile.

"Remember this time, okay" the sound silenced the cafeteria and then there was a beat before the room fell into a straight out state of chaos. Tammy ultimately blamed you for the whole occurrence even though you were the one covered in neglected food. She testified that you did that to herself. The principle wasn't sure who to believe until Craig came in with a camera. Craig recorded the whole thing up until Kenny pulled the trigger. You didn't blackout like you normally did, you didn't text Kenny, you didn't talk to anyone. After you left the school you ignored Stan and Kyle. Lastly coming home you most definitely didn't talk to your mother. 

You climbed up to the roof and stayed there for the rest of the day. When night graced the sky you remained there staring at the stars wondering where it is you actually go when you die. You didn't cry which upset you greatly, you just watched your best friend kill himself. You cried every time he died in the past so why was this different, was it because this wasn't a dream? But then why aren't you crying. She thought it could be Kenny's last words that are still echoing in your head.

"Remember this time, okay."

You flailed about aggressively shrieked into the night. "THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!" You laid back down and closed her eyes trying to think what it could be that you needed to remember. You couldn't think of anything in particular. An hour later you could feel yourself drifting off too sleep. You still didn't quite understand what Kenny meant. "You fuck" was all you could say before falling asleep. A small flash of orange climbed onto the roof, he sighed as he looked down at you before picking you up and putting you in your room. He contemplated leaving a note but decided against it and left the room kissing you on the forehead. "You already know silly. You're the one who remembers, you fuck." He whispered as he left the room only to be startled by Ms. (Last/N) "Good-evening Kenny."

"Ms. (L/N)! I -uh- (Y/N) fell asleep on the roof and-" Kenny was pulled into a hug by your mom.

"Thank you." Kenny looked at the older women trying to figure out why she would be thanking him but nothing came to mind. "Your welcome but uh, for what?"

"For always taking care of her."

Kenny scratched the back of his head and shyly smiled "You don't need to thank me for that"

Ms. (L/N) started snickering "So when do I start calling you son in law."

Kenny was taken aback by the question and started to frantically wave his hands around spout off whatever came to mind "Oh-n-no-I-uh- we're only friends-she deserves a lot better than me- not that I don't like her-I- I mean not that I've thought about it a lot- or at all- I uh- I mean it's not what you think!-"

Neither of you talked about it since your less than confident confessions, if you could even call them that. At most it was more like an omittance to being soulmates. The moment you stepped out of that cave to find that Korosensei was trying to push you and the rest of your classmates into falling in love, you and Karma shared a look. How or why Korosensei overlooked the two of you was a mystery especially since he knew what your wrist said. Don’t get it twisted, you thank your lucky stars he didn’t try pulling anything but you wonder if you guys were just too easy of a target for the romance to be juicy enough for him. Whatever the case, the class then got involved with pushing your other instructors together and you couldn’t just not help. It would have been extremely suspicious if you and Karma didn’t want to take any part in setting up Miss Bitch and Mr. Karasuma. So naturally you fell back into the flow of your erratic class and put your personal agenda on hold.

The problem is you didn’t have the right timing to bring it up after that. You’re especially surprised that Karma even reached out and asked if you wanted to come over, albeit to study but it was something. You were in his room, on his bed, seeing a side of him that your classmates didn’t even know existed. Granted you were his soulmate but to you it felt special. He’s always had this "too cool to care” kind of attitude but it felt like he was trying to put in some effort in his own Karma kind of a way. You shifted your head to look at him. This view that no one else gets to see, this is someone that you could see yourself falling in love with. 

Karma stretched as he got to the end of the page he was working on. When you first started working on solving problems you were making frustrated noises occasionally but you’ve grown rather quiet. Suspiciously quiet. He turned to catch you already staring at him with a look of awe. That caught him off guard. How long have you been staring at him? You looked so comfy on his bed and was that his DS? Wait a second you were both supposed to be studying. He slowly rolled up one of the thinner workbooks on the side of his desk and grinned as he approached.

There was nowhere for you to run. Karma was standing over you with a weapon and that devilish grin. “How long have you been playing around for?” Depending on your answer he was prepared to match that number with attacks.

You swallowed hard trying your best to keep eye contact while also saving your spot in the game. “Don’t even think about it,” you close the hand held device and hold it at the ready. “I will throw this.” You shake it around for emphasis.

Karma didn't even flinch. “I’d catch it or better yet, I'd incapacitate you before you have the chance-” You attempted to kick him but he caught your leg and dragged you closer to him. Karma tried to bonk you on the head but you parried it with the DS about to toss it aside when he grabbed your arm. He twisted it just enough to cause you to drop the DS so you tried to do the same with his makeshift weapon. 

It didn't work.

The most that it accomplished was pulling Karma more on top of you. It seemed to have surprised both of you, stopping the assault entirely. For a moment, that felt way too long for either of your comforts, you just stare at each other. If you didn’t know any better you would say Karma’s cheeks were dusted with a warmer tint than usual but the only thing you could think about was how his eyes seemed to peer down at your lips.

___

A few blocks away Korosensei was speeding along to invite his students out to a summer festival. Karma’s house was the next on his list after meeting up with Nagisa. Korosensei tapped on the redhead’s window before opening it to pitch his speech but as soon as he took a breath he choked on his own spit, absolutely startled by the picture in front of him. Karma had you pinned to the bed.

Korosensei’s appearance stunned the both of you as your heads whip around to face your teacher. What do you even say in this situation? Realistically you were in the privacy of Karma’s home, his parents were out of town and his room was on the second floor. Moreover this is not what it looked like in the slightest but knowing Korosensei his dirty mind was probably filling in a lot of blanks.

The silence, that felt like an eternity, was finally broken by Korosensei’s sheepish “Sorry for the intrusion.”

Which caused both you and Karma to yell at him and move to opposite edges of the bed as if you both had been burned. Neither of you looked at each other but you also didn’t want to look at Korosensei.

“So I take it you uh finally told him you were soulmates?” Korosensei said it so matter of factly it was embarrassing. Your voice came out strangled as you responded “Yeah, Nagisa figured out what happened and we cleared the air so to speak .”

Korosensei’s expression finally went back to normal. “Oh good, good! Glad to hear it but uh,” He paused looking at Karma who still hasn’t said much. “Consent is very important and make sure to practice safe-”

Karma lunged at him with the rubber knife he pulled out of his bag. “THAT’S NOT WHAT-IS THERE A REASON WHY YOU'RE HERE?!” Only Korosensei could get Karma this irritated you swear. Karma kept taking stabs at him and he dodged while laughing.

“Right! I wanted to go to a summer festival with your classmates but it seems like everyone else has other plans. Can you both come tonight?” Korosensei put his tentacles together literally begging you both to come.

Karma finally looked back at you, there were still traces of flush on his cheeks from being flustered. You smiled back at him and nodded. Karma only frowned and sighed. “Fine, it's not like we had anything better to do.”

Korosensei squealed with joy “Fantastic! See you lovebirds tonight and don't do anything I wouldn’t do!”

Karma closed the window violently “It's not like that you creep!”

You couldn’t contain your laughter. Only Korosensei knows how to push Karma’s buttons like this. You haven't seen him lose his cool like this since the beginning of the school year. You flop back on his bed holding your sides. That actually just happened. Oh god you got walked in on by your teacher. What a mess.

You felt the bed dip as Karma sat next to you “What’s got you all giggly?”

“It's just that Korosensei’s always teasing people about that kind of stuff but even he got unsettled by it when he thought…ya know.” You stopped laughing realizing you still haven't talked about it. Sure you were both soulmates but that doesn't automatically make you a couple. “Lovebirds” wasn't accurate either. You’ve never been “in love” so you’re not actually sure how that’s supposed to feel. You know you admire him and you like being around him. You Sit up. You're not sure how Karma feels. Well at least not how he feels thematically. You can very distinctly feel his emotions on occasion if they're strong enough but that's beside the point. 

"Whoa the dumb bitch finally realized where the cool kids are at." Cartman had an off smirk but when does he ever look normal.

"Nah, I just decided Clyde is actually a girl in disguise and he gets jealous if you take his man." Your head still hurt from the other day. You didn't want to argue any further with sir fat fuck. 

Almost on cue Tammy walked by with a few friends. She was smiling until she saw Kenny, she gave him a sad look and walked away. He just rolled his eyes and frowned.

You blinked rapidly. "What was that all about?"

Everyone shrugged and glanced at Kenny, who sheepishly answered. "Well, we're kinda having a falling out." everyone looked up in surprise "You're still with her? I thought you guys broke up." Kenny averted his eyes "It's kinda complicated. Long story short, she thinks I'm cheating on her with some, mystery chick, her words not mine." Kyle glanced at you. "What do you mean mystery chick?" Kenny's eyes drifted to you and sighed "So you know how no one can really remember what happened at Tolken's party?" Cartman tensed up as the rest of them replied "Yeah"

"Well the only thing she remembers is, me singing a duet with someone she didn't know."

Cartman stood up abruptly "I just remembered I have to do something" Stan and Kyle just looked at each other "Come to think of it I also don't remember anything about the party." You tried to think back because you had this feeling like it was important, or was that the feeling of a head ache you couldn't tell.

"Anyway, Kenny I didn't know you sing?"

Kenny smirked "Well you never asked?" Everyone laughed just like back then, what a callback. Stan looked up "Oh yeah that's right they're going to start having an open mic during lunch ever Wednesday." Kyle felt a strange sense of deja vu "You guys should sing something" The bell rang before anyone could respond. You and Kenny  just looked at each other before going your separate ways.

You continued to your next class but you were interrupted by Clyde shouting "Yo (Y/N)!" You turned around to see Clyde limping over to you crutches thrown aside. You couldn't help but laugh at the frustrated growl Craig gave Clyde.

"What happened to you?" You tried not to laugh too hard at Clyde as he had to regain his breath. Clyde looked up as Craig now joined the two of you. "Uh Tolken's party, you were there I think? Yeah I'm pretty sure you were there."

"It's kinda strange how no one remembers much of the party" Craig adds as the three looked up at Cartman, who was walking by. He had a skip in his step again. It was creepy.

"No kidding I don't remember anything past arriving but something tells me that Cartman's involved somehow." The group turned to the fatass.

"Yeah he's too happy."

As everyone went to their separate ways for the next class Kenny followed Cartman. He had been waiting for the opportunity to get him alone and unarmed. Kenny can't believe that Cartman even shot him the other day, but it started to become clear after he woke up in his bed. He had gone out to your house that night and he saw Cartman at the corner carrying you back to you house. Kenny gritted his teeth at the sight. That bastard had probably been messing with his relationship with you for years. Cartman was probably so jealous that he set Kenny up with Tammy. All those nights where Kenny would think about telling you how he felt, asking Cartman for advice and being told those harsh lies. Kenny wanted to do something to the fatass but it would probably back fire.

At the party Kenny really felt all tingly singing with you and not just because he was a little tipsy. You always made him feel special but you probably don't even remember any of the party. Tammy didn't either, the only reason Kenny knew this was because she sent a "Good morning I love you" text but Kenny broke up with Tammy during Tolken's party. This was primarily because she had been making flirty eyes with someone across the room and it was clear she wanted to get laid with or without Kenny. Sure Kenny would be down to fool around but he stopped at going all the way. Which is why the fact that she had the audacity to accused him of cheating on her the day before was so appalling. Aside from that it was still unnerving that Cartman wasn't afraid to pull the trigger on Kenny. Did he know Kenny wasn't really going to die? Kenny put the thought aside because now he had to break up with Tammy all over again, but first he wanted to do something just for the folks at home.

"Hey, Cartman"

"Oh hey Kinny wh- OW FUCK!" Kenny full on punched Cartman in the face and walked away leaving the fat tub of lard muttering fucks on the floor.

___

After school Kenny made it a point to seek you out but what would he even say to you. "Hey, you know I broke up with Tammy it was all Cartman's fault and you know at the party we almost kissed I think we should be a thing." Yeah no he couldn't do that but he desperately wanted to say something. You haven't talked in a long time, could you even pick up from where you left off? Kenny walked faster to the bus in hopes that he wasn't too late to sit next to you. He spotted you alone just staring out the window. You looked frustrated.

"Is this seat taken?"

You didn't even turn around before replying with a very curt "YES" but that didn't deter Kenny from sitting down anyway "I said- oh it's just you." You sighed. You had been so focused about trying to remember what happened at the party that you forgot Kenny even existed. Although at the same time you felt like it had to deal with Kenny which is why you had been asking anyone that could remember anything what happened. Trying to piece everyone's mental slop wasn't getting you any closer to clearing away the brain fog. Everything was still a blur from the moment you walked in to the house.

"Hey-" The two of you say at the same time.

"You go first"

"No you" Your timing was impeccable as you argued in unison 

"Stop that!" It wasn't long before you both started laughing. "Okay, ladies first."

You just laughed, playfully nudging Kenny "You do know that means you'd still go right." Kenny pretended to pout "Fine you big meanie! I will!" He cleared his throat "It's about the party" Kenny looked over your face for any signs of remembrance unfortunately you only looked more frustrated.

"That's what I wanted to talk about, I can't remember anything at all and usually I remember what happens which is why I always-" You stopped yourself as Kenny's eyes widened. Where you finally going to talk about it? He pushed you hoping you were finally going to open up. "Why you always what?"

You threw your hands up in the air trying to change the subject "Never mind! Come to think of it I don't actually remember it the same as anyone else anyways, at least from what everyone else has said." You hoped that sentence would throw Kenny off. You might have just painted herself into a corner. Now Kenny's going to seriously think you are actually crazy. Kenny only smiled and patted your head. He wanted to tell you everything but he wanted to make sure his theory was right and he wanted to hear it from you. "Then what do you remember?"

It all started with him talking your ear off about how and why you’ve been so quiet this whole time. As if you had anything to hide and specifically if you had anything to hide from him. Sometimes you’d humor him, other times you’d throw it back in his face and up until the cramming for finals you would even say that you both indulged in playful banter. One thing that didn’t go unnoticed was how his eyes were constantly trained on your wrist. It was hard keeping your guard up because for once he seemed genuinely interested in what you had to say. Which wasn’t the case for anyone else in the class. Karma still looked down on everyone in a way that you didn’t find attractive in the slightest. That and his work ethic was still holding you back from even remotely admitting that you did like him to some degree.

You leaned back and closed your eyes. A faint whisper was calling out to you.There was this soft bubbling of rage and frustration that you didn’t recognize as yours. Something was pulling you towards the equipment sheds. Over the last few weeks sometimes you’d feel whispers of emotions that didn’t make sense to be yours. You started to chalk them up to feeling your soulmate. It wasn’t uncommon for soulmates to feel their counterparts and with how close in proximity you were recently, you could say it makes sense to you. 

This wasn’t the first time you felt what you assumed was Karma’s emotions and normally you’d overlook them completely but everyone was counting on Karma to place first in math. If the home ec crew didn’t come in clutch you’re sure people would have given him more shit for it but he still let everyone down whether they voice it or not. Of course no one has the balls to confront the redhead about it but you could only imagine that irritation in the back of your mind was Karma’s. You don’t know what happened and you’re not going to defend him but lately Karma’s become slightly more human as the days go by and you don’t find it fair to judge him without seeing his side of the story. Getting up from your seat you had the impulse to find him.

___

Karma frowned, as he crumbled his test scores, apparently it was that hard to find out. He had been so focused on his side mission to learn what’s written on your wrist that his test scores suffered for it. On top of that Korosensei mocked him in a way that made him genuinely flustered but as much as he would like to take this out on that smug octopus he really has no one else to blame but himself and he knows it. As he walked away from the smiling bastard he was fuming. It took him a hot minute to even realize that you were walking beside him and when he finally did he only scoffed trying to push you away.

“I don’t need your pity.” Karma picked up the pace trying to use his longer legs to his advantage but you kept pace with him. He didn’t want to be around anyone and he especially didn’t want you to see him like this.

“Good because I don’t pity you.” You said it so matter of factly that it caught him off balance.

Karma glares daggers at you regardless. “Then stop following me.”

“Well technically I’m walking beside you. So I’m hardly following you.” You step directly in front of him and he finally comes to a halt almost crashing into you. “Spar with me.” You took a step into his personal space when he refused to answer.

“Why?”

You really wanted to say “Because I can feel you and it’s taking every fiber of my being to not do something I’ll regret,” but instead the words that left your mouth were “Because I know you’ll humor me and it looks like you need to blow off some steam.” His eyes narrowed at you as your smug grin widened. It was rare for you to be the one making demands with such smugness you can see why Karma picked up the sadistic tendencies he has. You both stayed impossibly close while he thought it over. You were about to break when he finally sighed “Fine but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

10 minutes.

You’ve been sparring for 10 minutes and you haven’t tagged him once. Not that you planned on winning the fight. You knew you couldn’t, you just wanted to see how long you’d last but you thought you’d at least land one solid hit. Karma hasn’t let you get any chance at an opening. It feels like you’ve been forced to defend for so long you actually might drop from exhaustion. It’s basically now or never because you know you can’t match the redhead’s stamina. 

You use Karma’s momentum to pivot and tackle him to the ground. Just when you think you have the upper hand he manages to roll over in time to pin you instead. You were both huffing and heaving as the dust settled. He had both your wrists pinned above your head and no matter how much you struggled you couldn’t throw him off of you. The most you could do was attempt to kick him but even then he was straddling your thighs so couldn’t muster enough force in your legs to make a difference. 

He only snickered. “Aw, how cute. Think you can still get away?”

You rolled your eyes trying not to think about how vulnerable your position was. You let your body fully flop. “Nope,” You turn your head to the side so you don’t have to look at his patronizing expression. “I know I can’t.” 

Your face was getting warm feeling his eyes trained on you. On second thought this had been a bad idea. He was so close and you’re sure that he could feel your pulse with the way he’s holding your wrists. You were compromised. He was just staring at you and you don’t know how to untrap yourself.

Karma’s expression was unreadable as you turned back to face him. “Not true, I can think of several ways from your position to gain the upper hand.” Karma leaned in closer. “Miss Bitch would be disappointed."

He can’t possibly be insisting that you do what you think he is, is he? You stare at him and swallow hard looking at his lips. His eyes are challenging you but you can’t read his expression. Is he really advising you to use such a cheap trick? Your heart rate spiked. This is not how you thought this was going to end. 

Karma’s voice softened “Why not use every weapon at your disposal?” 

You grit your teeth and close your eyes. Fine! If he wants you to play dirty then you’ll play dirty. You lean in to close the distance but stop just before your lips touch. The moment you felt his grip on your wrist slip in anticipation for what should have been a kiss you used your now free hands to cup his face. It gave you just enough room to bash your heads together and finally throw him off to the side. 

You curled into a ball. “Fuck!” you groaned in pain. You take it back, you should have just kissed him.

___

On your final day of the Okinawa trip, as Korosensei broke everyone off into boy girl pairs for his “test of courage” you weren’t that surprised to see that he set you up with Karma. You wonder if the octopus ever figured out why the words you spoke weren’t what’s written on his arm. Whatever the case, things were different now that the dust has settled, and your classmates are no longer poisoned. First off watching Karma face off with a real professional had you worried yet flustered and right back to being concerned. You saw some real growth like he’s developed as a person and you’re really proud of your soulmate but then he pulled out wasabi, mustard and some gross head gear and you rolled your eyes. Yup still a sadist. You were genuinely questioning your future if you ever decide to tell him the truth. The worst part is that you have to admit falling for him, figuratively and literally. 

During the last stretch of the mission, it seems that you were starting to feel the effects of the poison too. It was significantly delayed compared to your classmates who had to stay back at the resort and you wonder if you just had a better immune system or didn’t drink enough of the juice to be affected fully. Regardless none of your peers noticed you lagging behind and as you shakily made your way to the roof Karma swooped in and supported you without anyone noticing you were ill. He knew you were in duress and helped keep you upright as you watched Nagisa finish what you all started. 

You felt so seen. Almost like Karma felt what you were feeling without having to communicate anything and he waltzed in and became your savior without being asked or told anything. You don’t know how he did it, or how he even knew. Did he just watch you that closely or did he feel it in his bones like you did. In any event you were falling for him in more ways than one. 

You were pretty out of it when he helped you into your bed after the fact but you remember his touch lingering on your wrist. He had so many opportunities to rip that bandaid off and you were pretty much defenseless for a good portion of the night but he let you keep your secret. It felt like he knew the answer anyway. Like he’s known for a while.

From the moment you all reconvened after some much needed rest, it was hard to control your heart when he caught your eye, but at least there was enough distance with him staying on the shoreline while you splashed around with the others in the water to at least pretend like nothing has changed. With the sun setting everything had a warmer tinge to it. Right now walking side by side you’d be surprised if he didn’t notice the rosiness of your cheeks. 

You were in awe when Karma started to open up about being afraid of not being afraid. You understood the sentiment and what he was actually referring to but you couldn’t help the voice in the back of your head that shouted “He knows about your secret and he’s okay with you not telling him.” It was almost the perfect thing to say to you about your situation and hearing it from him gave you the reassurance that even though you’re afraid of the outcome it’s normal to feel that vulnerability. You opened your mouth as Karma scanned the room with the flashlight. He spoke before the words came out of your mouth.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be a test of courage? Cause it’s looking to me that the octopus has something different in mind.” 

You smacked your face looking at the sign with all the hearts, the twister mat and the boombox. You don’t even want to know what’s in it. Was this supposed to be how Korosensei fixed your “problem” you groaned “That might actually be my fault.”

Karma turned to you, raising an eyebrow. “Somehow I doubt that. Korosensei has been trying to set people up for-”

“No- well yes. He has, but I mean- ugh just give me a minute.” Your words were all jumbled but you made up your mind it’s now or never. You might as well do this now that you are alone together and Korosensei is preoccupied with other groups. 

You looked down at your wrist and back to Karma. He was being uncharacteristically patient with you which made you feel even more flustered trying to muster up the courage to say your piece. “I- uh,” you paused, lifting your arm unsure if you should just take off the bandaid and have him read it for himself or if you should just tell him. While you were trying to sort out what to do or say you felt his hand pat your head. That jolted you back to meet his gaze. His expression was soft with a lopsided grin. You covered your face and swatted his hand away. God this was embarrassing and stupid. 

Moreover, why is he reacting like this?! It’s only making it harder to say anything. You were already fuming with frustration. Your stomach was in knots. “What’s the point if you already know!”

Karma leaned in, his usual smug grin plastering across his face. “Know what? You haven’t said anything yet~”

“You bastard you can feel it can’t you!” You try to push him away but he keeps advancing into your personal space. “You already know what I’m going to say so never mind!” You look at him wide eyed. This was giving you deja vu. You can't take it anymore, his gaze burns your cheeks. You look literally anywhere else but at the redhead. If you stalled long enough maybe Korosensei could save you.

Karma delicately wrapped his finger around your wrist, swiping over the edge of the bandage waiting for permission to unravel it. His other hand lifted your chin up to look you in the eyes. “I'm waiting~”

Somehow being looked at so lovingly was worse than his snarky smirk. Your heart was hammering in your chest. Hesitantly you nodded, motioning for him that he could take it off. He finally tore his eyes from yours as he gently undid the wrapping. Your wrist was cold as the fabric fell off your arm. 

Karma’s fingers ghosted over the words. He suspected something like this was written but he didn't realize how direct it was. Suddenly everything about the way you approached him made sense. You've literally known who your soulmate was since the beginning. He's just glad that he's not crazy. You really were his soulmate. Part of him thought he was imagining your feelings but it's vindicating having the confirmation.

 He sighed in relief as he pulled you into his chest and you let him with ease using this opportunity to hide your face. He chuckled at the gesture. “You know, Nagisa was the one who figured it out.”

You froze. That's right. What the fuck was written on Karma’s wrist? Pulling away you grabbed his arm with urgency. He started laughing again, knowingly. Looking for the words you scoff. “You've gotta be kidding me!”

“Yeah, now you know how I felt.” He ruffled your hair. “You broke during the Kyoto trip when I was barely conscious. Nobody even batted an eye either."

Your heart sank. That was so long ago. How long has Karma known? When did Nagisa figure it out? Shit you should have talked to him instead of Korosensei. Karma must be able to feel your emotions because he placed a kiss on your forehead while poking your cheek. “Someone was worried about me.”

“We were all worried about you dumbass!” You try to smack his hand away but he just leans over to poke the other cheek. His grin only widens as your eyebrows furrow. “But more importantly you were worried about me~”

Around the corner was the fatass but Kyle didn't see him. Cartman had been with Tammy trying to help the poor psycho bitch patch up his OTP because clearly both Kenny and Tammy don't know how to do anything by themselves. He was just glad that Kenny sent his text when he did. Cartman wondered if there was really an angel watching over him ironically enough he ran into Kyle who had always been ruining his plans. Cartman scoffed causing the redhead to turn around but Cartman hid behind the corner. “That was close” he thought to himself. Kyle was already suspecting that something was up so he didn't need to be caught going behind the scenes, but what was Kyle doing? Cartman decided to stalk the redhead who was following Craig who was pursuing Kenny. Cartman couldn't hear or see that well because he was so far away, he could only take an estimated guess of what was going down. Kyle on the other hand could see and hear what's going on. Kenny went up to his locker and pulled out a pencil. Once he closed the locker he was met with Craig casually leaning against the lockers, arms folded staring him down. “McCormick” Kenny turned the other way .“Tucker” The acknowledgment was all Craig needed to start talking. “You're okay with it right, I mean you do have a girlfriend so I don't see why not.”

Kenny clenched his fists “It’s not that I'm okay with it, far from it, but (Y/N) has the right to make her own decisions.” Craig walked up next to him and whispered something in his ear causing Kenny to push him against the lockers “If you even think I won't protect her from you, you're wrong and if you even think of hurting her you're a dead man.” Kenny left Craig there.

Cartman left too, he'd seen enough. Kyle how ever watched as Craig slid down the lockers and covered his face “McCormick you idiot you're the one hurting her.” Craig said under his breath removing his hand from his face he frowned. “How long have you been standing there?”

Kyle stood there fiddling with his hair “Longer than I should have been.” Craig got up and started walking “Wait, Craig if you care about her, why are you playing the bad guy?” Craig spoke barely above a whisper “I'm not the one she likes” with that he walked away saying nothing more.

____ The day of Tolken's party, according to the calendar, is tomorrow and Clyde was at home staring at his phone “7:15” he read it out loud to himself. It was only a matter of time until he could reclaim his friend. Over the past few days he noticed that Craig had been acting strange like he was more of an asshole than he already is, or was, who knows “I just hope that he's still talking taking (Y/N) so things can go back to normal.” You stood in front of a full body mirror. Various clothes scattered all around the room including the outfit from your childhood. When Bebe and Wendy helped pick out your outfit during the talent show. Back when the crew was still a thing. “Seems like it was just yesterday we all first met, because Kenny is like a stranger at this point.” Frowning You put something on. Flipping off the mirror with a stupid grin was a new habit you picked up from Craig but it helps calm your nerves as you walk out of the house to meet up with him.

Clyde had been preparing snacks with Tolken and more importantly setting up the karaoke machine, rock band and a few other things but he was getting jittery as the time approached. Soon people started filtering in and Kenny, Tammy, Stan and Kyle showed up around the same time. They had a quick conference before going to their battle stations, and soon enough you and Craig arrived, along with Cartman who wasn't even invited but was let in anyways. It was about time to start the show before people get drunk off their asses. The lights started to dim and people started to get excited. A small stage gets lit revealing Jimmy on drums, Tweek on keyboard guitar, Clyde on lead guitar with a mic stand and Tolken on base and a mic stand as well. All of them were decked out with glow sticks and headbands along with some face paint. Everyone started cheering. “I hope everyone's having a good time! We're going to kick off the rock band and everyone can join after us.” During Tolken’s speech a giant projector screen lowered and the game menu popped up and the song was selected “Bohemian Rhapsody” During the song Kyle and Stan both passed out glow sticks and made their way to their targets. Kyle found you first. You was singing along with a root beer in your hand above your head as the other way around Craig’s shoulder.

“Hey (Y/N) you should sing something!”

You looked at Craig then back at Kyle “Well I don't know, what would-“

“you should sing a duet.” Craig said grabbing a glow stick and putting it around your head. Kyle tried not to question it but he knew something was up. You cocked your head to the side. Was he really offering to sing beside you? “You do know that a duet is with two people right?”

Craig took a sip of his drink “I know.”

Your eyes were basically saucers, wide and sparkly. You couldn't believe he was willing to get up on stage with you. “I want to pick the song!” You ran off to push people out of line. Craig looked to Kyle and grabbed a glow stick for himself. “That's what you wanted right?” He turned around to walk away but Kyle grabbed his shoulder. “But why, what do you get out of it?” Craig laughed under his breath. “Probably Clyde, he gets lonely if I'm not around.” He said it only half jokingly as he walked over to song selection. You was still picking the song when Craig just flip to H and selected one at random. He handed you a mic as you reluctantly took it. You pout not being able to pick the song but as long as he was going to sing with you, you guessed beggars can't be choosers.

___

  On the other side of the stage was an identical station for song selection. Stan had persuaded a slightly intoxicated Kenny to sing a song with him. He pushed the blond on stage during the intro leaving Craig to follow suit pushing you on stage as well. [Hurricane by panic at the disco] Kenny didn't think Stan needed to push him on stage but he loved this song so he'll ignore it and give him an earful when they finish singing "Are you worth your weight in gold?-""Cause you're behind my eyelids when I'm all alone"Kenny turned as the voice that joined his was not Stan's. He was met with yours. You looked like you were fading from existence. This was the first time you were face to face since Kenny got a girlfriend. 

"Hey-" Kenny reached out a hand to make sure you was real, but you quickly walked past the blond "Stranger, I want you to catch me like a cold" 

Being given the cold shoulder he guessed he would have to keep singing if he wanted you to forgive him. "You and god both got the guns," You finally turned to look at Kenny finishing the line. "When you shoot I think I'd duck""I led the revolution in my bedroom and I set all the zippers free."They were taking steps towards each other to the point were Kenny could see your eyes. "We said, No more war, no more clothes!"They were so beautiful but filled with sorrow. "Give me peace."Kenny reached out to caress your cheek. "Oh kiss me!" He tried to lean in but you turned back to the screen with the lyrics and received a kiss on the cheek. "Hey! Hey!We are a hurricane! Drop our anchors in a storm.

Hey! They will never be the same, A fire in a flask to keep us warmCause they know, I know That they don't look like me.Oh, they know, I know That they don't sound like me.    You'll dance to anything! You'll dance to anything!Oh I'd confess, I'd confess, in a room where I'm blessed."Craig watch the two idiots on stage, they can't talk out their problems like normal people but sure they could sing through it. Craig looked to the redhead to his left as he was walking to where Stan was. Craig followed because why not, he found it funny how they both were crossing their fingers.

"Do you think this is going to work?" Stan bit his lip "I sure hope so" he turned to see Kyle and Craig "Craig? Wait Kyle why is he-?" Kyle just put his hand up "Long story I'll tell you later." "But he didn't come and speak to me, Or put my heart at ease.And I believe that half the time I am a wolf among the sheep Gnawing at the wool over my eyes.I led the revolution in my bedroom and I set all the zippers free. We said, No more war,no more clothes! Give me peace.Oh kiss me!  Hey! Hey!"To everyone else the two of you seemed to fall back into the chemistry you both had before the whole ordeal at this point in the song. Clyde was thrilled. Nothing could ruin this moment, or so Clyde thought. He spotted Cartman on the second floor reaching into his pockets with a smug grin as he pulled out a gun. Clyde's eyes widened as he ran to the stage. Cartman only smiled as he lined up the shot, not noticing the brunette trying to stop his advance. "We are a hurricane! Drop our anchors in a storm. Hey-"

A loud bang erupted through the house, Clyde didn't make it in time. The bullet only grazed Clyde's arm as he attempted to push Kenny out of the way but sadly the bullet hit it's target. It pierced Kenny's heart causing the two to fall over. Clyde stood up quickly screaming at the top of his lungs. "CARTMAN YOU FUCKER I WAS ABOUT TO GET MY BEST FRIEND BACK!"

You fell to your knees in front of blond. Why does this keep happening? The room was spinning and everything faded just like the times before. You once again woke up in cold sweat in your bedroom. Everything was quiet. The clock read 3:23 am. You've had enough of this you went to her closet and gabbed you coat. You were going to Kenny's right now even if it killed you. These events of Kenny dying were too real to be dreams even if no one else remembered any of them. You didn't believe them when you were a kid because everyone told you strange things happened in south park. That was true but this has gone on long enough!

Nearing finals, you had spent more time trying to figure the sadistic redhead out and less time studying, leading you to bomb your finals. That's how you ended up in class 3-E. Your suspicions about him being a bad influence on you weren’t a million miles off but honestly you did this to yourself. At the end of the day, just because you were soulmates truly didn't mean anything. It's not like he gave off the kind of feeling that he would be interested in finding his soulmate. It’s clear by the way he interacts with others that he firmly keeps people at arms length. What do you even say to your soulmate that you've known about and stalked for years? What would happen if you just didn’t say anything at all? It's not like there was any kind of rule stating you had to converse with them. This was a conundrum that hadn’t even occurred to you. 

After all you have no way of knowing what's written on the other’s wrist. There have been cases where someone could be one person's soulmate but not vice versa and then there was that study of the first polygamous soulmates only last year. It's all so messy to begin with and that's not even taking into consideration that Karma could just not care about it at all. So you stayed quiet and made sure to never address him directly. It's not like you were in the same social circle and given that he really only ever talked to Nagisa it wasn’t that hard. Until he came back from suspension and was also in 3-E.

Luckily he hardly ever showed up to class. Which pissed you off greatly when you placed just below him in the midterms. Karma had tried to acknowledge it but you didn’t respond verbally, only humming and shaking your head before he could push the conversation further. You ran away as fast as possible and hoped he didn't follow you. What you didn’t see was Korosensei noticing you had been avoiding a certain sadist.

For the class trip to Kyoto you needed to get into groups of six. You thought avoiding Karma would be easy. All you had to do was pair up with someone he'd never group with. You had approached Kanzaki about following her lead for what group to join. The prettiest girl in class probably wouldn't try to partner up with the class's biggest slacker right? Little did you know Korosensei forgot to mention there was going to be one group of seven. You tried not to appear apprehensive about her choice but you couldn't help your heart from pounding in your chest. You hoped no one could tell you were a little more quiet than usual. You noticed that your guide book had some encouraging words about making friends and a little Korosensei holding a banner saying “Go for it!”

It was almost your turn to bring Korosensei to your designated spot when the group decided on taking a shortcut. You were on edge even before you entered the alleyway. Everything happened so fast. Your group was surrounded. Karma took down one of the goons leaving you in awe. So much so that you let your guard down enough to be grabbed from behind. As you struggled against your captor to break free, another goon grabbed a pole. You couldn’t believe your eyes. Getting hit on the back of the head with a metal pipe could be lethal if you hit the right spot. You had to do something before anyone got seriously injured. You fought harder against your kidnapper and without even realizing it you screamed out Karma's name desperately hoping that he somehow dodges the surprise attack.

He didn’t.

They continued to kick him on the ground after he collapsed. You screamed as they ushered you, Kayano and Kanzaki away from the fight. You watched the rest of the boys get beat up but Karma was still lifeless on the ground. You shouted for anyone in the area the best you could but someone finally muffled your voice. You wanted to bite their hand but you begrudgingly went along with them. You were grossly outnumbered and it wasn’t only your life on the line. If only you could have done anything to help. 

If only you said something sooner. You shake your head in disappointment. This was all your fault. If you would have told them this was a bad idea this could have been avoided. You were too concerned that saying it to the general group would mean you were speaking to Karma.

If you had been paying closer attention to your surroundings instead of worrying about not speaking to Karma you wouldn't feel so useless right now. What were you even afraid of? Being rejected? You won't even let him get close to you. The image of Karma being beaten on the floor is still fresh in your head. You hoped he's okay. Despite you not sustaining any injuries your chest hurt seeing your soulmate in pain.

—

When Karma turned 10 he was alone, just as he's always been. The family business was far more important than celebrating the day he received his soulmate mark. Surprisingly the loneliness didn't hurt as much as it used to in past years. The idea of a soulmate always fascinated him. This person was destined to be his companion. He was always curious about the little wrist tattoos others had and now he finally had one. It wasn’t exactly as he expected though. On his wrist only one word was written.

Karma

No punctuation, no pleasantries, no nothing. The only thing written on his wrist was his own goddamn name. How utterly and absolutely useless. So much for trying to find his soulmate. Obviously it was going to be a longshot, the words only tell you how you know you've met but you have no idea when you'll meet. Some people will wait their whole life to meet and what happens when their ages are like 30 years apart or if one of them is practically on their deathbed. That aside this meant it would be on his soulmate to note when they've met and Karma hasn't exactly been known to trust other people. 

Years passed and no luck. Most people called him Akabane but he had some distaste for his family name. He started exclusively going by his first name in hopes to force his soulmate to come out to play sooner but it didn't seem to be working. He shrugged it off pretty fast because what was there to do about it? You were already destined to meet, he guessed he'd just have to wait for it to happen naturally then. 

In that same vein Karma has never cared for people let alone the opposite sex. He always thought he had no interest in girls but that was until he transferred to class 3-E. Actually scratch that he wouldn't exactly call it an interest, it was more like he was curious. He noticed the way you refused to make eye contact with him during his introduction and how you would avoid him if you could help it. The behavior was odd. It didn't seem like you hated him and it's not like he did anything to you, so what gives? Karma couldn't decipher what he was feeling and why. Was he irritated that someone wasn't paying attention to him? He didn't think he had that big of an ego and It's not like he's ever cared about that before so that shouldn't be it. Come to think of it, what were your first words to him? He genuinely couldn’t remember since he was too focused on killing Koro Sensei the first few days he transferred.

Surely if you were his soulmate you would have said something when he spoke to you. In fact now that he thinks about it more, he's certain you've never spoken to him directly. Even during the planning phase for the Kyoto trip he only now realized you somehow never addressed him. Which was very clever Karma had to admit, if that was the case but he was antsy thinking about it. Did he actually miss something or was he giving you too much credit? For all he knew he was just reading into something that wasn't there. He had too many questions and conflicting emotions that frustrated him greatly. 

As his vision started to focus he could barely make out Okuda's voice. His head throbbed while he pieced together what just happened. Karma had the upper hand but that didn't stop the fact that he had been outnumbered. He got too cocky, wasn’t paying attention, someone called out to him and the world faded as he passed out for a second. 

“It'll take too long if we go to the police,” Karma clenched his fist looking up at the others. “And I really want to deal with them myself.”

—

“You're sick.” Kayano muttered under her breath. You were at your limit as the thug reached forward for Kayano. If you had your hands free you would have strangled them by now but the most you could do was body barge your friend out of the way and try to headbutt this delinquent. It’s unfortunate that all your training so far was for one on one combat situations. You've fought with a group before but not against a group. It made you feel guilty since you were the better fighter of those who got captured but you still couldn’t do anything to prevent this from happening. Luckily it seemed you stalled enough for the rest of your group to find you. 

Your eyes met Karma’s and your knees felt weak, probably from stress and exhaustion. Although there was a pang that dropped your heart in your stomach, fear maybe? That’s never happened before but you've also never been kidnapped before. There's a first for everything you guess. As he walked out from the shadows like he was ready to kick some ass, Karma was mesmerizing and it made you feel warm that he was coming to save you. Well not only you, but with the way you both were looking at each other it wasn’t that hard to pretend, plus your head was a little muddled from smashing it against the other guy a moment ago. Honestly it makes you want to throw up in a sense. That could be because you were worried about everyone’s well being. Definitely not because you saw Karma specifically get beat up. It would have been the same if it was any other classmate surely.

Even as the dust settled and Korosensei cleaned up the rest of the mess your head felt fuzzy being a few feet away from him. It was like you were vibrating, most likely adrenaline. You caught him stealing glances at you and you wonder if it had something to do with your appearance or if his body was also not functioning normally after being hit on the back of the head. Your hand itched to reach out but you willed it to follow directions no matter how dizzy it made you. The impact from your head might have been much harder than you anticipated. That soft gaze you both shared in the golden light of the sun was almost certainly relief that everyone was safe and nothing else. Honestly you hoped it was all in your head. How could there be a weird shift in your dynamic if you never had a dynamic to begin with. You were definitely overthinking things or maybe this is the trauma that Korosensei was talking about when being kidnapped. Whatever the case no one batted an eye at you being quiet for the rest of the day.

___

As Karma walked back into the boy’s division he could overhear them talking about who people had crushes on. He never really gave it much thought. Did he even like anyone like that? When they asked him who he liked from the class your face popped in his head for some reason. Weird. Come to think of it after he regained consciousness earlier he had a strange feeling like he needed to be close to you. Maybe it was guilt that he couldn’t save his classmates but he didn’t feel the same about Kanzaki or Kayano. He shrugged and gave them a perfectly logistical answer to satisfy their curiosity. He could see himself liking Okuda even if it's more for selfish reasons. When the matter of soulmate marks were brought up things became harder to avoid.

Isogai rolled his sleeve down after showing off his mark looking over at the redhead. “What does yours say Karma?” His classmates huddled around him with interest.

He laughed and showed his wrist casually almost like this was an everyday occurrence. Some people hide their mark but he's never cared to look at other's. “Probably the most generic mark I could have.” The reactions from his classmates varied but it was mostly how he imagined them to be, apologetic. Most people just felt bad that it wasn’t even a common phrase. It was almost lazy in a way that it was just his name. He only shrugged. Life truly was unpredictable.

“You think anyone in our class are soulmates and we just didn’t pay attention?” Meahara was skeptical since everyone had their one social circle they primarily hung out with.

“I doubt it by now, but you never know.” Sugino replied, almost hopeful. There was a pause before they went back to talking about crushes. It made Karma ponder for a moment as he had this bizarre feeling of irritation. He brushed it off as frustration that his soulmate’s first sentence was straight up just his name. The next thing he knew everyone was chasing Korosensei around.

___

“So (Y/N), you got a crush on anybody or are you waiting for your soulmate?”

You swallowed hard as all the focus was shifted to you. Since turning in for the day you had been a mess who couldn’t focus because all you could think about was watching Karma get bested earlier and why seeing him afterwards made you feel different. Is this what a crush is? It would make sense since he’s your soulmate but everyone just agreed that Karma is a psycho so would it be weird to admit it? That deep down you would have to like him to some degree if he was your soulmate.

“Well actually, I’ve already met my soulmate so I guess I don’t really think about it.” You tried to be nonchalant about it.

Turns out that was the wrong thing to say. 

Everyone was bombarding you with questions. “What do you mean you met your soulmate?” Rio was trying to grab at your wrists to try and take a look at your mark. 

“I mean he spoke to me but I haven't said anything back to him yet.” You batted her hand away. 

You always covered the words with a bandage but you never thought people would try and look for themselves. You only really cared to cover it for Karma’s sake but now that everyone was so thoroughly interested you’re glad you cover it. “Wait, is that even allowed? What does it say?”

“Yeah why are you being so secretive? Unless it's someone that we know!”

As your classmates chased you around the room, part of you wondered if it was really that bad if everyone else knew. You all had the same opinion on Karma, that he’s very charming if you ignore his sadistic tendencies. After a minute it was once again apparent that you had been trained in fighting one on one. They managed to take the bandage off with relative ease. Curse your classmates and their ability to work together. They had you backed into a corner, right next to Korosensei. 

Korosensei who could see the words on your wrist. 

Korosensei who made a snarky comment “So that’s why you avoid talking to him directly! Oh how interesting~”

That, for some reason, was enough to get all the girls off your back and to get them to chase after Korosensei instead. You were thankful but oh so baffled. Rewrapping the bandage you needed to get some air. Luckily the nearest vending machine was down the corridor. Unfortunately you ended up bumping into Karma. Of course this would be the case. It made your heart beat faster knowing that no one else was in the hallway. You guess Karma could tell you were tense.

“You okay? You’ve been spacing out since we rescued you guys.” Karma sounded concerned.

You have no idea what to do. Looking at him made you feel different now, like you had this compulsion to say something. Like you were done running away from this petty game you created. He quirked an eyebrow when you still hadn't responded. The moment you opened your mouth Korosensei slithered past, bringing the angry mobs with him. So instead of answering you slipped into the crowd, unable to confront him.

It left Karma baffled but he guessed you were kidnapped earlier so he didn’t want to pry, even though he had a feeling in the back of his head that told him he should have. 

___

After that Karma paid more attention to you than he'd like to admit. Partly because of that strange instinct he had that he always felt your presence and partly because he genuinely doesn't remember you speaking to him. After a week of purposely taking the time to invade your personal space more and more, and you still not addressing him once, he really was in disbelief. He really tried to push you to talk naturally. Attempting to be inconspicuous without starting the dialogue himself. He made sure to always be around and surely any normal person would at least tell him to back off or leave them alone. Instead he watched as you'd fidget and look for literally anyone else close by.

During P.E. Karma finally made a move.

You shuddered as Karma boxed you in. There was no more running, no one you could directly address to cover your base. Karma chased you as far away from the rest of the class as he could.

“What cat got your tongue?” 

He laughed tilting your chin up to meet his gaze. “You've been avoiding me for quite some time. It was clever, I'll give you that. I never even noticed until recently that you refused to speak up when I'm around.” Karma leaned in, tilting his head to the side. You could feel his breath on your cheeks. 

He was smiling wide, “Well? There's no more denying it. I'm waiting~” 

Smug bastard.

Too many thoughts were racing through your mind, like why is he pressing the matter so hard or what will happen when he confirms it for himself? Before you could really think of the consequences the words left your mouth “Clearly you already know what I'm going to say, so what's the point?”

Karma’s eyes widened in shock. 

He was wrong. 

That's not what he thought you were going to say. He was so sure you hadn't spoken to him before so why wasn't that what's written on his arm? He let you go and leaned against the tree. “You really had me there for a second. Although if you're not my soulmate what gives?” He was perplexed. Karma almost felt listless at the endeavor. He felt it with every fiber of his soul so why were the words all wrong?

“huh?”, was that not right? Were you his soulmate and he wasn’t yours? Wait no other way around! He was destined to be your soulmate but you weren't his. Now you’re glad you never said anything. How embarrassing. Your face dropped at the realization.

You weren’t his.

“Why take the time to pretend you were my soulmate?” Karma accused trying to keep up the facade that he didn't care one way or the other.

Meanwhile you were taken aback. Pretend? 

You had half a mind to show him your arm but what's the point if you weren't even his soulmate. You knew it was best to remain quiet but then why was your heart aching right now. What did it matter to you? You never planned on telling him anyway. Maybe this was your true fate.

“Since when is not talking to someone, quote on quote pretending to be their soulmate?” You rolled your eyes trying not to let the tears start to form. You were still mystified at why you felt so hurt over it. This was honestly the best case scenario.

His body fully went limp as he backed away. “I guess you’re right.” 

Karma was withdrawn for the rest of the day and in a way so were you. Nagisa tried to ask you about it but you didn’t know what to say. Or what to do. Instead, for better or for worse you asked Korosensei for his thoughts.

“And he didn’t seem phased?” It was hard to gauge Korosensei’s expression since he was so chipper that you even wanted to come to him for relationship advice.

You shrugged “Apparently that's not what's written on his arm.” Shifting in your seat you lay your head down. That pit in your stomach was back. This was embarrassing but who else could you turn to?

“And you're certain you never accidentally said anything to him?”

You sighed. “not that I can think of.” You had been so careful about it for two years. 

Korosensei sat up straight. “Now that is strange, I'll look into it. But how do you feel about it?” He grabbed a notebook to write something down.

“The best way I can describe it is itchy. Like I need him around but then whenever I get too close it feels like I can’t breathe properly.” That was an understatement. Ever since Kyoto you have developed different feelings toward the redhead and you genuinely can’t think straight because of it.

___

Unbeknownst to you, Karma was having a similar talk with Nagisa. Karma couldn’t fathom what was going on. Was it because it got his hopes up for something he knew was highly unlikely? Or was he missing part of the puzzle? Regardless, not being able to comprehend what his body’s signals were, pushed him to inquire the only guy he’d trust with this kind of information.

“So what do you think, Nagisa? Should I check myself into a psych ward or what?”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Nagisa rolled his eyes trying to remember your interactions with Karma. He tries to take notes and keep tabs on everything that happens in class because you never know what will become useful later. He did think it was weird that you would never address Karma when he asked you questions. You've used him personally to skirt around the redhead often. He didn’t question it at the time but this would make sense of why you do it so frequently. It’s weirder if you’re not Karma’s soulmate because then why bother to go to such lengths to avoid talking to him directly. Nagisa hummed before he remembered something crucial. The day you all spent in Kyoto. The moment Karma hit the floor he heard someone shout Karma’s name. Of course he didn’t think anything of it at the time but that must have been you. Although that does beg the question, does it count if their soulmate is barely conscious to hear it? That could be why neither of them remembered it happening, plus there were more important things at stake.

“I think there’s a good chance that you just don’t remember it. When we were in Kyoto I’m pretty sure she screamed your name when you were barely conscious.”

Karma’s eyes lit up right before he frowned. That’s right he was beaten over the head by those high schoolers. “That’s plausible. It would definitely explain why I don’t remember but then why did she continue to keep up the charade?”

Nagisa shrugged. “It’s possible she thought you didn’t hear her so it didn’t count? I’m not sure.” No one is really sure how the rules work with the soulmate marks. Obviously she would recognize the words spoken to her so why didn’t she say anything back when he first said them. Nagisa perked up. Unless she already knew who would say those words to her. If she knew her target from the start she could bypass speaking directly to them. “Do you know what’s written on her arm?”