✔ Oneshot Compilation「 karmagisa 」

[1] in vain.

˝What cost does it take to give him happiness?˝

- •°• -

"Manami Okuda, will you give me another chance?"

I looked away from the sight as tears fell from my eyes.

I am happy for them. I am happy for him. I truly am. But I cannot bear to see this last too soon. I can't keep on pretending. I can't keep pushing myself to smile and laugh along if I'm madly dying inside. It hurts. It hurts so much. Kill me now...

What in her that I do not have? Oh, that's right. Everything. Manami Okuda had everything that I don't. Karma Akabane is my everything. She has Karma. I don't.

"Shiet. Just how much does that Akabane have?!"

"Probably all the luck in the world, dude. He almost got everything! Now, he has Manami-sama in his care! Could you freaking believe it?!"

I chuckled bitterly as I watched the two guys walk away in envy.

Luck?

Hardly.

Many say Karma is lucky to have such an angel as his belonging. But I contradict. Why? Because I know the truth. Why? I told you, I was his bestfriend. Why did I say so? Because every little thing has changed ever since she got here. Why? Because everything went out of place. What was once an apple filled with truth, became rotten due to twisted lies.

Because the truth is, everything they believed in...

Were all wrong.

The truth of it is, he was never wrong. He was never lucky. She was. But no one really believed me. Because Karma himself don't trust me like how he used to.

-

"Hey Nagisa, I'll be back later. Don't wait for me."

'Yeah, sure. Best luck, you need it.'

But I never really followed him. Why would I? He never really cared.

I changed into a blue high-waist skirt that lengths just above my knee and a creamy white off-shoulder, pairing it with doll shoes of the same color and grabbed a fur coat and a scarf before tracking the redhead's trails.

I really have a bad feeling about this.

-

[Melancholia ; 18:30 pm]

It's been four hours since Karma's been waiting patiently inside the café's lovers' lane, probably hoping for Manami's arrival. And it's been three hours since I've watched him take turns glancing both at the door and his wristwatch.

It seems that he had reserved the whole area for the two of them. It's a good thing Sun-kun and Shin-chan, Melancholia's owners asked me earlier to criticize their newest pastries before their official release. Now, I was left alone for quite a while on a table just beside their office, allowing me to observe.

But I was quite dumbfounded at the sight I was seeing. Manami and Sakakibara Ren, kissing before waving each other off.

I was supposed to ask a staff to close the blinds but it seems that I was too late. What was more frustrating is that, Karma acted like he did not saw anything.

"K-Karma! I'm sorry for being late! I got caught up with loads of after-school activities and traffic that I arrived way past call ti--" her explanation was cut off with a sudden kiss from the redhead.

"Your lips tastes sweeter than usual, Manami-chan. Cherry, perhaps~?" he teased, showing off his usual carefree attitude which shatters my heart more.

'Why do you have to act so cool about it, Karma? I can see behind your mischievous facade. I can feel your pain. So why? Why won't you let me caress them all away?' I thought before shaking away my useless thoughts, feeling a slight tap on my shoulder.

"So this was the bastard who left our Nagi-chan hanging, Shin?" I looked up to see a ravenet and a brunette, both bearing golden eyes staring at each other with meaningful looks.

"What are you going to do if I'd say yes?"

"Then so be it," Sun said, glancing at me wearing his famous lopsided smile. "He's our customer, after all."

"Right," Shin stated quietly, shooting an apologetic smile, following her twin towards the couple.

-

"Welcome to Melancholia! How may we help you, young lovers?" Sun-kun greeted in a jolly tone. But it seems his eyes tell otherwise.

"Are the owners present? I sent an e-mail requesting them to get our orders done, hearing rumors about them personally serving their customers," Karma said boredly.

I saw Sun-kun's smile widened in awe from a distance. While Shin-chan was inside the kitchen getting the ingredients ready.

"Well you seem to be in luck. There were rumors? I did not know that. Kidding aside, let me rephrase that." He cleared his throat before proceeding. "Welcome to Melancholia: An original Tanaka-gumi based café created by the twins themselves. I'm Tanaka Sun, how may I help you?"

"Two of your best pastries please, and two glasses of chocolate mousse."

Manami gasped, looking at her boyfriend in curiosity. "Karma-kun, I thought your favorite was strawberry milk? The one you ordered was choco-flavored."

I watched as Karma's expression dimmed, his smile became sinister. Then, I felt Shin-chan's presence at my back.

"Nagi-chan, do you know why we named this café Melancholia?"

"No, why?"

She kept quiet for a moment which averted my attention back to the couple.

"Oh really?" Karma lifted his head and faced Manami, who's color left her face. "It was what I saw you drank earlier with another person. I thought I could just...give it a try." Manami's face turned sour as the redhead excused himself outside the café with gritted teeth.

Shin's voice brought my attention back.

"Because... Every customer we had, always succumbed to deep desolation.

Because they always end up in melancholy."

That was a message that made me run after Karma. Before he goes down too...

- •°• -

to be continued.