Behind The Smile||Karmagisa

Chapter 23: Cleared

"Have you ever just looked at an animal and wonder what they're thinking about?" 

"Karma, you idiot." the blue-haired lad elbowed my sides lightly, rolling his eyes at my childish imagination. "Stop staring at the cat." 

I ripped my eyes away from the feline to focus on our walk forward, "But the cat was staring at me first!" I argued, trying to reason with the boy walking beside me. "I was just imagining what it could be thinking about." 

"Well, it could be wondering why you were staring at it." he said with a bland look. 

"It stared at me first!" I repeated, earning a slight giggle from him. "Besides, cats aren't the type to just sit and stare at you for no reason." 

"Then, there must be something following you." his lips pulled a half-smirk. "Something that really spooked it." 

I acted dumb, although I know very well what he meant by what he said. But ain't no way am I gonna act all scared in front of him. "You mean you?" I smirked back; unlike his, mine was a full on tug, not a half-ass pull. "I mean, you have a pretty scary face." 

A sharp pain came in contact with my calf --causing me to slightly lose my balance before regaining it soon after. "Kidding! Kidding!" I defended, seeing that he was genuinely pissed at my statement. "You're the cutest little doll ever." 

He stopped to face me, raising an eyebrow. "Can you stop it with that nickname?" he said. "Its getting embarrassing and its not even something you use anymore." 

"Hey, I use it sometimes." 

"Sometimes." he countered, spatting out the word as he walked in front of me --quickening his pace slightly. "Just stop, its really weird." 

"You said that before and then you got used to it." I challenged, recalling our past together a few months back. "Therefore, I'll still use it until you get used to it again." 

He rolled his eyes, finally able to walk in front of me. "Do whatever you want then." he shrugged. "I don't care anymore." 

I gagged, "So maybe I'll always call you little doll."

"I'll kill you." his head snapped back, his eyes piercing mine. --the sharp glance hiding the mischief the pair held. 

"Go ahead and try." I returned his glare, my lips pulling a challenging smirk. "If you even can, that is." 

He maintain the look for a while before he broke eye-contact, giggling at how his sense of mischief took over his overall expression. "I guess not then." he smiled, giving me an assuring smile. "You're too special to die by my blade." 

My eyes snapped open. His words; with nowhere to go, bounced off the walls of my mind. Unwillingly, the flashes of Sugino caressing his cheek came to mind. The way he leaned closer without a single drop of hesitation and the way the blue-haired lad didn't resist at all. I must've looked really stupid waking away with the murky feeling of jealousy yesterday. 

I extended my hand, stroking his cheek in the same way I saw the baseball geek do it. --Except what I was doing was more like cleansing, swiping away any traces of his lingering feeling on Nagisa's cheek, the feeling of possession overwhelming me suddenly. 

"Karma?" he questioned, tilting his head to one side like a lost little puppy. "What's wrong?" 

My hand didn't retract itself, "What do you mean?" I questioned back, not understanding the problem with simply caressing the side of his face. "I'm just touching you." it took a full 5 seconds for me to swallow the lump in my throat to continue. "...do you not like it? Would you prefer someone else doing this to you?"