#karmanami

Karma never meant to get attached to Okuda.

At first, he just thought she was interesting and useful. Her skills could benefit him, so he approached her—not to take advantage of her (he does have ethics… kind of), but to ask for help with his pranks and schemes.

What he didn’t account for was who Okuda actually is.

She’s kind, gentle, innocent—quietly endearing in a way that sneaks up on you. It’s hard not to find her cute. And, without realizing it, that got to Karma.

Where other girls might have A) run away, B) judged him, or C) fawned over him, Okuda simply smiled at him softly. She treated him the same way she’d treat anyone else, with calm kindness. That was a first for Karma—especially coming from someone as shy and small as Okuda. He’d honestly expected her to freak out. Part of him even thought it might be fun to scare her a little.

But she didn’t.

She was surprised, maybe a bit uncomfortable at first, but not scared. And as they talked, she grew more confident, already treating him like a friend. Okuda is far too trusting for this world.

That unsettled him.

Somehow, she became more interesting.

Since she agreed to help him with chemical mixtures and such, he started hanging around after class while she worked in the lab. When they were alone like that, he talked. And one day, without realizing it, he drifted into something personal.

By the time he noticed his guard had slipped, it was too late. He looked at her, expecting judgment.

There was none.

She just smiled, offered advice, reassured him. Seeing the worry on his face, she promised she wouldn’t tell anyone.

So he came back.

Whenever he could, he followed her to the lab after class. He talked about whatever crossed his mind, or listened to her ramble—something he found surprisingly soothing. Her voice was soft and calm, and those moments slowly became the highlight of his days.

By then, he trusted her completely. She knew far too much about him. Still, he refused to admit that their bond was anything more than poison and friendship.

Because he’d never felt like this before.

And maybe that scared him.

He started asking her to hang out on weekends and during holidays—just the two of them. To him, it was still friendship.

They texted often. Random things: a new place he wanted to check out, a terrible day he needed to complain about. She’d text him about a cute cat she saw on the way home, or how Kayano teased her that day.

Lunch breaks. Walking home. Weekends.

They grew close, slowly and naturally. Nothing romantic. Really.

The closest thing to romance was him resting his head in her lap, or her holding onto him so he wouldn’t slip on the ice in winter.

Nothing more.

Until Koro-sensei’s death.

After leaving their old school, it was time to say goodbye. Okuda hugged him, told him she’d had an amazing year, admitted she was sad they wouldn’t be in the same class anymore, and said she hoped they’d still see each other often.

It hit him hard.

That was when he realized—maybe, just maybe—he wanted more than friendship.

So he hugged her back.

As for Okuda, she was just being kind the whole time. She’s clueless about these things—or maybe in denial of her own feelings. To her, it probably feels impossible that a boy could like her that way. She’s too nerdy, too ordinary.

Not as deep as Karma’s perspective.

I knew going into this show that ppl shiped Karma and Nagisa, and I was prepared to get on bored with that cuz I do love me a good mlm ship. I'll eat that shit up any day. But tbh like, their interactions really do just feel friendly to me like idk but if you ship it thats fine we all have our opinions and ships aren't that deep

And I know like, at this point least I don't think Karma and Okuda have actually spoken to each other kn screen very much, if at all. BUT when they asked Karma which girl he liked in their class he did pick Okuda. And like yeah his reasoning was for her chemistry skills but like also this is Karma we're talking about. He doesnt strike me as the kind of guy thats gonna be into the normal things. And the way he said "it'd be a match made in heaven😈" sounds to me like he actually does like her, even if his reasoning is unconventional, he's clearly into it.

AND THEN when the girls were talking about the boys, and everyone was like yeah he's cute but he's fucking crazy tho, OKUDA was like "he's actually not that bad when u get to know him😊" meaning that even tho we havnt seen it on screen, they have clearly talk enough for her to see him differently then everyone else does.

Everyone is either intimidated by him or thinks hes insane (he is but thats not the point) but she thinks hes nice and isnt put off by that. AND HE LIKES HER FOR HER BRAIN. Like I think Okuda is pretty, and im sure Karma does too but like his actual reason for liking her in bc of her intelligence. Like hello?? A+ bf right there.