Sanctuary (Karma Akabane x OC)

A Comforting Hand

A blinding orange light burst into her view, followed with another thump as if someone had dropped something on the floor nearby. As her covers were lifted, Katsuna could have sworn she saw a glimpse of crimson hair before her vision completely faded.

~~~~~

Katsuna woke to a blurry vision of her bedroom ceiling, a numb pain in her head gradually seeping back along with her consciousness. Reaching through the sheets towards the discomfort, she was greeted with the touch of a damp cloth plastered to her forehead.

What... happened?

Confused and hazy, Katsuna attempted to sit up in her futon but was gently pushed back down by a hand on her shoulder. Rolling over to the side, her eyes were met with a familiar mercury gaze; unreadable as usual.

"Look who's finally awake," a certain redhead grinned, resting himself down on the floor beside the blankets.

"Karma...?" Katsuna mumbled weakly, the surprise vivid in her tone.

"How did you... why are you- ouch!"

A sudden sharp twinge halted her thoughts as she instinctively tensed up to combat the pain. The raven head found herself distracted with massaging her temples, a futile attempt to ease the ache.

"Dumbass," Karma cursed under his breath, wasting no time in fetching her a glass of cool water.

"Thanks..." Katsuna muttered, hesitantly taking the beverage from the boy's outstretched hand and taking a small sip.

She gasping slightly as the fresh water trickled down her scratchy throat, allowing the sudden chill to awaken her dulled senses. A mixture of stress and dread came first as Katsuna remembered her Dad's surprised arrival, the thumping pain of her headache now skyrocketing. She clenched her teeth, biting down the throb as her eyes side-glanced the redhead beside her, his expression now deeply solemn.

"How did you find me?" Katsuna cautioned, repeating the question clearly as she massaged her forehead.

"You didn't show up in class so snooping through Koro-sensei's files seemed logical," the redhead shrugged, acting as the data protection law didn't mean anything to him.

"I see..." she murmured defeatedly, unsurprised by the boy's lack of discipline.

"Still, I didn't ask you to come, I'm perfectly fine now so you can leave."

"Perfectly fine huh?" Karma puffed, unable to hide his irritation as his eyes narrowed at a certain sight.

"Take a look at yourself and say that to me again."

Katsuna followed his scorching gaze to the prominent bruise on her neck; immediately feeling the need to hide the purpled mark. She took a discreet look back at the redhead, taking notice of his pained expression as he wrestled with the idea of asking the question or not.

"I'm fine, it was just an accident," she blabbered, scrambling her thoughts together to come up with a libale excuse.

"I said I'm alright, okay?-"

"Can you just... not fight me for just one moment?" he exasperated, sighing heavily with wide vulnerable eyes.

Katsuna chewed on her lip in response, finding herself muted and diverting her gaze to anywhere that wasn't his own. The only words racing through her head wasn't hers or his, but someone's who came with a distinct feeling of overwhelming fear.

~~~~~

"You really believe you have the strength to stand up against me?"

~~~~~