Monster (xMale!Reader | FIC)

Chapter Fifteen: "It's Quiet Up Here"

Karma stared at his ceiling, unsure of what else to do. Nagisa had been healing well, but he hadn't been able to hold consciousness for days. Karma didn't know that, though. His father had to let him see Nagisa since he'd come in crashing. Karma had yet to say anything to any of their friends since the day they met the emperor, and no one knew where his house was. 

Mr. Akabane, Karma's father had been nothing but supportive, but Karma wasn't naive. The only thing keeping the man from exploding was shock and concern. It wasn't every day your son crashed through the doors holding his friend, who, by all means, should be dead. Sure, ghouls had amazing healing abilities, but even they had their limits.

They had yet to discuss what happened. Karma hated to admit that the lack of communication was going to make this worse. He'd have to tell his father that he'd done business with the kakuja who disposed of his mother, then, he'd have to tell his father what he paid to get away. 

More than anything, Karma wasn't sure he was ready to admit everything that had happened. Surely, he'd have to explain who Nagisa was with, how they got involved with him, which would mean he'd have to talk about how Monoma was talking about Yamaguchi, and who that was...Karma's head throbbed at the thought.

He turned and slid out of bed, swinging upward. It was too late to have this talk, but Karma was too much of a coward to wait. If he gave it any more thought, he'd never get to it. Karma tried not to focus on the surreal feeling of being awake at three in the morning. It would distract him long enough to get back in bed. 

Karma crept through the halls, glancing over the railing. On the first floor, Mr. Akabane was still awake, staring at an open book he wasn't reading. Karma sighed. He padded down the stairs, practicing the words in his head and trying to gauge what his reaction would be and plan from there. Karma had always been applauded for being smart, but in reality, he just over thought everything. You can't be surprised by a scenario if you've already gone over it in your head.

"Dad," Karma called, sinking into one of the chairs in their living room.

"Karma?" he looked up, partially unimpressed. "What are you doing up this late?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Karma replied cheekily. The look he got sunk his mood.

"Kid, I'm up because you walked in here with a half-dead kid, and Hiromi won't stop fucking calling me. I can't tell her the kid is here, God knows what she'll do to him, but I can't just block her, either, 'cause then she'll just come here."

"Dad...is Nagisa okay? Like, is he getting better?"

"Yeah, he's woken a few times. It's the only way I've been able to feed the guy, other than that he's been healing on empty."

"That's why it's so slow. Huh."

"I wish there was more I could do, but he can't heal if he doesn't eat."

"I know. I was just curious."

Karma stared at the book on his father's knees. Nagisa's going to be okay...it's just taking a while. Yeah. That's fine. It's fine. He's fine. 

"What'd you come down here for, Karma? You haven't been drinking as much coffee as I have, I hope."

Stress and panic and so many other things flooded Karma's system. He hadn't realized how much everything was weighing on him, and Nagisa had been the tipping point. His voice cracked slightly as he spoke, head buried in his hands as they dragged down over his face. "Dad, everything is so fucked up. I don't know what to do, Dad. I have no idea what the hell I'm supposed to do!"