a bunny's heart | karma akabane

034: butterflies

SITTING IN BETWEEN nagisa and karma would be anything but awkward usually. But there was one factor disturbing that, and that was the intervened hands of her and karma laying on the table.

It was really hard being sad when there was a firework inside of her, and a feeling of nervosity that made her face turn as red as yesterday, maybe more. The proximity between the two of them was nerve racking, the fact that karma just laid back relaxed and seemed to have forgotten how close they were right now was killing.

What led up to this? Well, after karma had helped her out of the water, he kept his hand locked with hers without a second thought. And mina was certain that she wouldn't here the end of teasing and mocking from her friends about this usually, she'd have if everyone wasn't slumbering away in their chairs at the hotel terrace right now.

She would too be slumbering, but she couldn't focus on the failed attention when he did.. he just did!-

Mina sulked back into her chair, trying to cover her face with her hair. She could just let go, right? But... She didn't want to let go, which made the teenager even more confused.

She didn't understand why he would hold her hand in times like this, when that was merely something boyfriends and girlfriends do. Or boyfriends and boyfriends, or girlfriends and girlfriends, Or!- you get the point. Karma Akabane wasn't her boyfriend, so maybe he just tried to cheer her up? That didn't make sense either, though, because he didn't say anything else that would support this claim.
He didn't seem phased by this, so maybe she was just overreacting?

She and Rio held hands sometimes.
But that didn't make the girl feel so electric, so conflicted, like she felt right now.

She would ask Rio, or any other friend of hers for advice, but when the girl came back from her internal monologue, she came back to the depressing silence she had escaped from.

Nagisa was the only other one not in the sorrowful trance, as even karma didn't say a word, and he shot his brunette friend a sad smile before looking around their classmates again.
Nagisa clutched his notebook tightly, and she noticed, when in Kyoto, that the boy did that regularly when he felt uneasy.

The blush that previously overtook her face slowly came off, and there was only a hint of pink on mina's cheeks as she eyed karma.
He was leaning his head back, and holding a paper straw up with his mouth. His eyes had a expression in them mina could not read, but there definitely wasn't the expression of embarrassment mina felt.

He looked.. mesmerising?

Finally, chiba's quiet and timid voice broke the everlasting silence among the students, as he pulled out his phone. "Ritsu..?"

"Yes?" The girl appeared on the screen almost immediately, maybe being the only one keeping her cheerful voice. Then again, she was programmed to be a typical better-go-lucky no matter what. A one thousand level kaede.

"You recorded this attempt, right?"

"Yes, I tried to record the assassination with the best solution and accuracy my Programm can handle!" The pig-tailed girl replied with a smile, and, from what mina could see, proceeded to play the video.

Chiba mumbled something under his breath, and the wind took it along before anyone else got a chance to hear it.

Something was off.
Yoshida's face was reddened and the boy layed his head on his table, exhausted. Terasaka, who was sitting at the Same table, shouted something about maning up before the mood completely fell off the edge.

Nagisa seemed to notice this change of situation too, as he looked at his friends with worried eyes, and then, at Mina, who did the same.

Karasuma abruptly stood up before noticing something significant.
They were.. sick?

More than half of class 3-E was knocked up, the exception being: herself, karma, Nagisa, kaede and a few other girls and Terasaka and his clique.

The students still healthy and in their right mind quickly made their way towards those friends that weren't off so well.
Mina scanned through the crowd, ignoring everything and everyone else around her.

Rio.
Rio!

The brunette stood up with a expression of worried sickness, dragging a particular red-head along as if it was breathing, naturally.

That red-head flinched at the sudden movement, but followed her nevertheless.

At times like this he realised the very dangerous fact that this girl could get everything from him with a simple please. That he'd follow her anywhere, that he was whipped
rotten at this point.

Karma didn't know what he thought when he let his hand stay with hers that day. He felt the same explosive feeling at their contact he felt yesterday, but this time, he initiated it. It was like he was craving it. He couldn't explain the emptiness his hand made out before he did that.

____

Mina leaned over Rio's face as the girl laid on a blanket laid out on the wooden front. Takahashi had suggested that all the students rest for now, and karasuma argued with someone on the phone.

Only was mina not listening. She was terrified.

Her eyebrows were furrowed in concern as the girl frowned, only held back by karma who squatted behind the kneeling girl, holding onto her hand.

Rio's face was pale, and the pale skin flushed crimson. She was sweating, as it seemed, and barely able to bring out clear words. Her eyes were fluttered closed, her body laying there weakly.

"Rio...?" Mina mumbled with worried eyes, moving a strand of blonde hair out of her face.
Rio didn't answer, instead only let out a grumble of an answer.

Karma let his eyes stayed on the brunette's face, an eyebrow raised. Of course, there was slight concern for Rio and all his other classmates in his mind, but he was more focused on calming mina down more than anything.

There were unspoken words between them, of course, but that didn't really matter right now. At least not to him.

"Hey, princess," He started with the hint of a reassuring smile, although his expression stayed calm "I'm sure she'll be fine. She's good old Nakamura after all, right? Let's let her rest."

Karma slightly pulled her hand in his direction slightly, as to poke her to stand up.

Mina cupped her best friend's face gently with her free hand, before standing up, her eyes set on Rio.

She stared for a few seconds until karma also stood up, seemingly inviting her to walk to karasuma and the others only a few steps away.

"Hey, psh, dude," karma, as he glanced back at the girl every few seconds to check if she was still okay, nudged chiba slightly when they arrived at the circle of students "what happend?"

The boy nodded in their reaction once. And, even though his eyes were covered by his bangs as usual, they could imagine them to be just as worried as theirs were.

"We're being threatened. They will all die If we don't give in."

Mina's heart sunk into her stomach.

>>> author's note

It's been a few days since the last chapter, as far as I remember. I usually updated every 2-3 days, but I think I will increase the waiting time to a week for the quality's and my mental sake :)

Thanks so much for 3K, btw <3
I appreciate all the comments and votes, as well as just the quiet readers.

Please have a good day.

Farewell,

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1255 WORDS
21ST OF FEBRUARY
@MIRAI