There he always was. That blue-haired boy from a different department, who frequented the café near theirs. That blue-haired boy with the soft smile, and the oversized pastel sweaters, and the books he often borrowed from the library. That one goddamn blue-haired boy that Kayano may just be a little too into for someone she's never even spoken to.
According to her, though, it's not stalker behavior if you only happen to be at the same place at the same time, or if you're actually planning on talking to them like a normal human being.
Karma, on the other hand, highly doubted it, but he was more than happy to listen to Kayano's down-bad rants about the mysterious blue-haired boy. Besides, going to the café at that exact time every day along with Kayano meant he could see him, too. He definitely wasn't as interested as she was, for sure, but a little eye candy won't hurt. Also, the coffee was good.
"You've never even approached the guy. It's not that hard to make friends, for fuck's sake, Kayano, you're like twenty." Karma subtly gestured to the man across the room from them. He took a bite from his waffle, knowing well Kayano didn't have the guts to do it again today.
"What does my age have anything to do with this? I'm just...not prepared to do it today. I'll do it some other day. It's fine, this isn't a race." Kayano tried to sound confident, but clearly fumbled with her food on the table. Karma held back a grin.
"I'm sure he'd totally accept if you asked him out", he said, but it felt mocking rather than that of reassurance. Kayano decided to ignore his tone, simply chalking it up to just Karma being Karma. "You're super cute, I'm sure literally no man can resist you if you played your cards right enough."
"I know you don't actually mean that, Karma", she rolled her eyes. "You've been around enough to see how my past relationships have gone."
"It could be different this time!"
"And how exactly?"
"Well, for one", Karma leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "This guy doesn't look like a rabid dog. He looks like the responsible type."
"A rabi— Is that really what you think about my exes?" Kayano looked offended.
"Maehara. Itona. Sugaya."
"Hey! Sugaya does not look like a rabid dog", Kayano interrupted.
"Have you ever seen a borzoi? He kinda looks like that." Karma waved his arm. "Anyways, that's not the point. Go settle yourself for now with a nice catboy. That guy over there looks real submissive and breedable, don't you think?"
"Karma, I have no idea what the hell you're saying right now. Whatever. I'm not changing my mind. I'm still not talking to him." Kayano stuck her nose in the air. She wouldn't budge at all.
"Fine then. I'll go talk to him myself." Karma stood up.
Kayano went pale, waving her arms around to tell him no, but it was too late. Karma was already heading there, and the blue-haired boy already took notice of him. Karma just nonchalantly sat himself at his table and started making small talk. He always made it look so easy.
"Excuse me", Kayano called out to a nearby waitress. "I'd like one more order of strawberry banana crepes, please."
Afterwards, she slammed her head onto the table; hard enough that she thinks it'll bruise later on. They're too far for Kayano to hear anything they're talking about, but they're definitely talking, alright. It's already happening, so there's no point running away. Worst case scenario, he'll reject her. No big deal. They don't know each other anyways. There's almost a zero chance of seeing him on campus or anywhere outside of the café. A shame she'd have to drop it since the desserts there were genuinely the best (for their price) that Kayano's ever had, but what else can she do?
She'd been so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize Karma already finished talking to him. She looked up to see his face, unreadable. Was that bad? Did that mean something bad?
"Karma", she started, all panicked. "I can't believe you asked him out for me like that, how did it go?"
Karma then looked her dead in the eye, then rested his head in his hands with his elbows propped up on the table. "He said yes. Date this Saturday 10 AM."
"What? Oh my god. I'm going on a date with him, then. I'm finally gonna get to know him. I'm going on a date with the cute guy! Thank you so much, Karma. Hold on. Holy shit. What's his name?" Kayano's spirits were now fully lifted, with her being unable to contain any of her excitement. Any of the negative thoughts she'd just had earlier were now gone.
"His name's Nagisa." Karma didn't share her enthusiasm at all. "Also. I think you might be misunderstanding something."
"Misunderstanding what?"
"Kayano. Sweetie. You're not going on a date with him. I am."
Kayano stopped in her tracks. That was not anywhere near her expectations. So...no date with the cute boy for her.
"Strawberry banana crepes, here you go", the waiter from earlier dropped by, leaving the plate with her order in front of her frozen form. There was a long pause before either of them said anything.
"How...how did that happen exactly?" There was a hint of disappointment in her voice, but she was more confused than anything at the moment.
Karma sighed, furrowing his eyebrows. "I don't know. I panicked. I panicked and asked him if he liked men."
Kayano stared at him. She realized he was waiting for her to prod him further. Right. "Go on...?"
"He said yes. Then he said I was cute. I'm his type", Karma looked up at her, the exasperation evident on his face. "I was wrong, he is not submissive and breedable. That's going to be my role if ever me and him are getting into a relationship. That man is a fucking murderer. A lady killer. A man killer. He kills people. Or Something. I don't know if he likes girls."
"I don't think that's how that expression goes." Kayano replied.
"His dick is big, I just know it."
Kayano looked at him with nothing but disappointment in her face. This was a normal Karma day, with a normal Karma conversation, but it'll never stop her from looking sick and tired of him.
It's a trap. He just knows it is.
Kayano Kaede, Akabane Karma. Simple research could bring up their names, and how old they were, what majors they took. They were roommates in a shared apartment, and have been friends since childhood.
Now, Nagisa doesn't know yet who they work for or why they were after him specifically, but he knew enough; and that was that they spent an awfully long time trailing him whenever he was at the café. He couldn't bring himself to change cafés, however. Their lattés were good. Really good. Besides, it wasn't even just at the café. Kayano knew his schedule. Like, no offense, but hiding with green hair in a library, or anywhere on campus, really, is hard to pull off. Especially if you're hiding from a professional assassin.
Which brings up the question, What were they planning on doing with him?
Was he on a hitlist? Bounty on his head that he didn't know of? Interrogation? Were they the types to kill people for fun? Nagisa didn't really like people like that. He found himself frowning in frustration at the thought. But Nakamura was busy with a different mission at the moment, and she told her he had to take a break since he was overworking himself. (He didn't think so.) Either way, he wasn't going to contact her for help on this case at all. Even if info tracking was his least favorite part of the job.
He did think Karma was cute enough, though. A date wouldn't do any harm. Unless it did, in which case, Nagisa was confident enough in his skills to kill Karma fairly fast enough and dispose of the body quickly. He doesn't want to have to do that, though, because he hasn't met anyone his type in a long while, and he kind of misses casual dating.
Okay, maybe Nakamura was right to send him on vacation.
"Hey there, cutie", was the first thing Karma said to him when he walked over. "Mind if I sit here?"
Acting like he didn't expect Karma to be there, Nagisa raised his eyebrows and gestured for him to sit. "Oh no, not at all." He closed his novel, placing a picture that he took himself of a bird from Taiwan from his last mission as a bookmark in between pages. "So, what brings you here?"
"You know, just wanted to get to know you a bit. Maybe get your number." Karma bit his lip, in a way that made Nagisa know Karma knew he did things to him.
"Didn't think you'd be interested in even talking to me." Nagisa treaded the waters less carefully than he normally would've. This wasn't a mission, he reminded himself. This was a date invite. For now, at least. "For all the staring you do, I frankly didn't think you'd have the balls, Akabane."
Karma raised his brows. "Akabane, huh? You know of me?"
Nagisa bit his lip, mirroring Karma's earlier action. "I don't know if you know, but you're pretty popular around here." Not a lie. He's heard college gossip. "Besides, I do find myself kind of enamored by you. My first name's Nagisa, by the way. I'm not really fond of my last name." He's 90% sure Karma would've already researched him if he was his target, but he gave out his name, anyways. His real name.
"Why, thank you", Karma responded. "Tell me, though, Nagisa. Are you interested in men in that way?"
Nagisa let himself lean back to laugh a bit. He was going to enjoy this date, he decided. "I thought I made it clear I was flirting this whole time, honestly. To make it even clearer for you, though; yes. Yes, I am interested in men."
"Hey", Karma shrugged. "Never hurts to ask. Also, I'd prefer if you call me Karma. I'm not really a fan of my last name either."
"Alright, Karma." For the love of fucking God, Karma doesn't know if Nagisa meant to flutter his lashes or if he was just...like that, but it made his heart skip a beat. "I'm interested in you specifically. You're cute."
"Cute?"
"Guys like you are just my type." Feeling brave, Nagisa took Karma's chin in his hand, swiping his thumb over his lip. It was soft, he noticed, not like most men he knew who didn't bother to moisturize their lips. The way Karma's eyes widened satisfied him, and heat pooled in his stomach from excitement.
"Are you free on Saturday at 10 AM?" Karma asked. Nagisa smiled at the way his voice cracked as he did so.
"For you, I am."
Karma didn't need to be a professional tracker to know Kayano was trailing them on their date. She wasn't that bad at it; she just had a presence about her that Karma found was easy to detect if you knew what you were looking for. And right off the bat, there she was, inside of a store where she could easily see Karma waiting on one of the mall benches. She was wearing a wig to hide her vibrant hair, at least.
"Did I keep you waiting?" A voice asked, cool and smooth, pleasing to the ears, even without Karma's bias.
Karma looked up to see Nagisa, face softening—admittedly, mostly in relief of no longer having to pretend he didn't know Kayano was glaring right at him as if she could actually deal some damage to him from afar. He stood up from his seat.
Nagisa looked good. Not unlike how Karma usually saw him, but he could tell he put more effort into dressing himself today. He had eyeliner on. He looked really good.
"Not at all", Karma answered, putting on a blinding smile. "You look good." I want to fuck you, etcetera etcetera.
"I could say the same for you", Nagisa looked him up and down, so obviously in a way he didn't mean to hide from Karma. He took that as a high compliment. "So, where are we going today?"
"Oh, I don't know if you're into action movies, bu—t", Karma dragged it on.
"Hold on", Nagisa stopped him. "Are you taking me to watch that one foreign film? I mean, it's the only action one playing right now."
Karma raised his eyebrows. "Are you interested or not?"
"Are you kidding me? I love that director", Nagisa grinned. "I've been waiting for a movie adaptation since the comics came out, too. I just haven't had the time to watch it. You know, college and all."
"Shit, the comics?" Karma was genuinely surprised at that. "Me too. I still have the whole series back home, all in pristine condition. Also, same on the director thing. Everything he puts out is a goddamn masterpiece." He could almost hear Kayano eating her own hat in agony.
"I think", Nagisa grabbed his sleeve. "We're gonna get along really well, Karma."
"That's a weird coincidence", Karma smirked, more out of habit than an attempt at seduction. "Because I think exactly the same."
"You seem to be the type to love explosion scenes", Nagisa commented. He was right, as most of his guesses were, Karma found eventually. It was uncanny. "The ones where the main character's slowly walking away after making something behind him burst all up in flames."
"That's such a cliché." Karma rolled his eyes.
"And you love it."
"Absolutely."
Nagisa laughed in reply, shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth. Nothing particularly exciting was going on in the scene playing out. Karma enjoyed talking during movies. (Nagisa thought it was endearing.) No one was sitting near them, so it was practically perfect for him.
"Let me guess", Karma tapped his chin. "You're an enemies to lovers kinda guy."
Nagisa replied, "I mean, c'mon now. There's always the girl that exists just to be the love interest. It's always the same thing, they're never well written, don't they ever get tired of it?"
"It's boring." Him and Karma said at the same time. They looked at each other, pausing before erupting into muffled laughter.
"We have awfully similar tastes", Karma recovered himself, looking back to the screen where the damsel in distress was. "I guess I have to try and kill you in order to win you over, darling?"
Nagisa genuinely doesn't know if he was joking or not. He's not sure if he wants to test that right then and there.
"I'd like to see you try", he answers anyway.
There's a pause before Karma speaks.
"I'm joking, by the way." The statement does nothing to disprove Nagisa's paranoia. He forces himself to shove the thought deeper into his mind. It was strange how determined he was to have this date go well.
"I know." Nagisa can't prove for sure to himself that Karma won't kill him. "You'd be too pussy to fight me to the death."
He could see Karma shrugging from the corner of his eye. "You wouldn't know that."
He wouldn't.
"Oh, but I do."
He really wouldn't.
He hoped this date wouldn't go in the direction he prepared himself for.
Karma thinks he's in love with Nagisa.
He was more sarcastic than Karma expected him to be, unafraid to say what's on his mind, bold in the best way. There was something hypnotic about the grace in which Nagisa carried himself; it was clear he was neat and meticulous as a person, and it showed in small habits that Karma found himself paying attention to. And God, when he laughs, Karma finds himself wishing to hear more, like it's music to his ears.
Nagisa's hand was tiny in his, and if Karma looked at it, he could see the outlines of bluish and reddish veins on the back of his palm. Nagisa was surprisingly muscular, and seemed to be quick on his feet. Maybe he played a sport. Volleyball, Karma guessed.
He wanted to reach out and ruffle Nagisa's hair, but a part of him says he couldn't even if he tried. Call it instinct, but he just knew he shouldn't attempt to ruin the other man's neatly tied pigtails.
The feeling of what Karma called love, perhaps more accurately described as longing, crept up on him at the most unsuspecting times, like a snake slithering through his body, under his clothes. It hissed in his ears; the noise was deafening, almost to the same effect as the crackle of a firework. He's fully tunneled himself onto Nagisa, and he feels himself getting intoxicated by the snake's venom. He doesn't know when it bit him. It's surprisingly addicting.
"What's wrong?" He heard Nagisa ask him, and he realized, then, that he hadn't been talking at all.
He could probably get off on just watching Nagisa eat dinner if he focused on it hard enough, but his body at least knew enough to go on autopilot to match the situation he was in. He chewed on the soft noodles, letting the ramen's broth seep into his taste buds.
"What makes you think there's something wrong?" Karma asked.
"Well", Nagisa shrugged lightly. "You haven't been talking much."
"Maybe I just wanted to appreciate the meal." The experience of being with Nagisa alone made the meal all the more better for him.
"You've been staring at me wordlessly for the past ten minutes."
Karma nodded slowly, doing nothing to dispute ever doing the action. It wasn't as though it was false. "Maybe I'm just enjoying the view."
"There's not much to see." Nagisa took a bite from his own meal.
Karma eyed him, the way he was so used to doing back at the café. "Not to me." He felt butterflies in his stomach at the sight of a smile starting to form on Nagisa's face. "Not if it's you."
Nagisa's feet bumped his under the table. "Pylades and Orestes."
"How'd you know?" Karma raised a brow.
"Beware of becoming a partner in my madness", Nagisa quoted the next line back to him. He tapped his temple with a finger. "I know more than you think."
"You look like you speak fluently in at least five languages", Karma guessed blindly.
"Close. It's eight." Nagisa counted them on his fingers, listing them off, "Japanese, Korean, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, and Spanish."
"I did say at least ." Karma shrugged.
"Fair."
"Also, how the fuck?"
Nagisa smiled. Something Karma immediately thought to describe as bloodlust seeped through, for just a second there, sending shivers down his spine. He ignores the feeling of goosebumps on his skin.
"Eidetic memory", Nagisa replied. The bloodlust was completely gone then, as if it was never there in the first place.
"You're joking", Karma chuckled nervously.
"I'm joking", Nagisa waved it off. "I just travelled a lot as a child."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
Nagisa knows he let some bloodlust out. Karma didn't react. That meant nothing to him. No info was picked up on that alone.
However, Karma was being painfully obvious about being interested in him. And for once, Nagisa didn't find himself too against that. He almost wanted to put on a show just for Karma.
Miraculously, Nagisa agreed to go home with Karma. They didn't even reach the inside of the building yet, having taken a liking to the wall on the side of the apartment building.
There, Karma found that there really was no question on which of the two was more likely to dominate in almost everything they could do.
Karma had also found himself taking a liking to being pinned to a wall and pulled down by the neck to meet Nagisa in a kiss that made him feel like he was melting. The butterflies were fighting within him, finding a way to burst out, leaving his stomach red hot and scalding. Or he was just horny. Maybe he wanted to puke. (In a good way, of course. Think rollercoasters and haunted houses.) In a more likely situation, it's both.
He liked even the grunts and pants that left Nagisa's mouth as he explored the inside of it, getting his tongue in there as if his life depended on it. Even in kissing, Karma could tell Nagisa was being methodical, knowing just what to do to get Karma going. He didn't have to do much, considering the state Karma was already in, but he was doing a lot anyways.
He doesn't know for how long they go, but at some point he'd lost himself to Nagisa, and knowing there's no way back now anymore, he happily submitted to the idea of belonging to one person.
Karma rested his hands on Nagisa's hips, grounding himself back however much he could, pointlessly, meaninglessly.
Even the way Nagisa's lips separated from his was vivid.
Then, there was the cold.
"Tell me who you work for."
The cold press of something not quite dull, not quite sharp on his neck.
"What are you aiming for?" Nagisa spoke, and in that moment, even Karma could tell he was used to this. Somehow, that aroused him even more.
"Your dick in my mouth." Karma answered honestly. "Sweetheart, is that a knife or are you just happy to see me? That feels awfully like a blade pressed to my throat right now."
Nagisa didn't miss a beat, not faltering at all at Karma's jokes. He could feel the redhead's pulse quicken, though, from where the knife was pressed on his carotid artery. "I know you and Kayano Kaede have been following me for months now. Who issued the assignment?"
"Who what the what?"
Nagisa furrowed his brows, letting his bloodlust flow, ever so slowly, in a crescendo until a good amount of it was clear. Karma's unmistakably erect dick pressed into his thigh.
"Are you, like, an assassin or something?"
"No shit, I am." Nagisa hissed out, less threateningly than he intended it to be. He hates that he's particularly fond of Karma. "Fess up. Do I have a bounty on my head?"
Karma exhaled through his mouth, laughing nervously. "I don't even know your last name. What the fuck?"
"Kayano. Come out." Nagisa didn't take his eyes off of Karma, only taking a second to glance downward. That's an erect penis, alright. He doesn't know what he expected.
Just like that, Kayano emerged slowly, hands raised up in surrender, obviously unarmed.
"Why does he know my name?" She asked Karma, worry clear on her face.
"It's not that hard to look it up", Nagisa responded easily. "Tell me, now."
"Tell you what?" Kayano asked exasperatedly.
Nagisa gave her a side-eye, narrowing his eyes slightly at her. "Don't play dumb."
"I don't think...she's playing dumb", Karma spoke up. "Genuinely, what the fuck is going on?"
"I second that." Kayano looked like she was trying her best not to piss her pants.
Nagisa shifted slightly, rubbing purposely on Karma's erection, making him yelp in surprise. Karma laughed nervously, again. "This is kinda hot, actually."
"Are you insane?!" Kayano looked at him pointedly.
"Hey, listen, if you were the one who just made out with the maniac, you'd agree."
"I am not a maniac." Nagisa sounded offended.
"No offense, but try saying that again without the knife on my neck, babe, and maybe I'll believe you." Nagisa dug into Karma's dick with his leg again. "Ahhhaha— Fu-hu-huuuck me, dude, are you trying to make me horny or scared ?"
Nagisa shrugged.
"At this point, I honestly expected that either of you would've pulled out guns or knives." He said, confusion lacing his tone.
"Why in the everloving fuck would you think that?" Karma wanted to move so goddamn bad. The knife was still on his throat. It's a wonder Nagisa hadn't stabbed him yet at all, but Nakamura didn't want him killing anyone for at least a year because of that vacation leave she forced him to go on. Plus, cover-ups alone were annoying to do.
Oh, right. Nakamura.
Nagisa pulled out his phone, contacting the first number on speed dial.
"Seriously?" Kayano asked, hands still raised in the air.
"Shut up."
It rang twice before a familiar voice cut through the line, cheerful as ever.
"Hey Nagi-Nagi! You've really got to stop calling my work number. What'd I tell you about going on vacation for once? You need a break. No assignments for you. Call the other number if it's not work related, thanksies." She didn't stop once, speaking quickly in perfect English.
"It's work related this time", Nagisa answered, also in English.
"What is it?" Nakamura switched to Japanese, to Karma's surprise. He could barely hear her, but he eavesdropped anyway. It's not like he could even move.
Nagisa opted to stick to English. Karma listened closely to the way his voice pitched down to match the tone of the language. "Do a check on hitlists in Japan with my name."
"Oh, easy peasy ." Nakamura typed for a while, the clacking of a mechanical keyboard clear through the phone. Nagisa, Kayano, and Karma all waited in anticipation as Nakamura scrolled through her data. For a moment, there was a pause. "There aren't any."
"What?"
"Last one, as far as I know, was in Kenya ten months ago, before you even went on vacation. I've been checking bi-weekly since then, you're completely in the clear." Nakamura cleared her throat. "Why do you ask?"
"...I think I fucked up."
"Nagi. What'd you do?"
"Went on a date with a guy."
"Did you kill him?"
"No!"
Karma looked at him as if to say, would you have, though? Nagisa glared at him.
"...Nagisa?"
"Okay, I pulled a knife on him. He's not injured or dead."
"You're insane."
"I'm an assassin, of course I'm insane." Karma snorted at that, giving away that he understood the conversation.
Nagisa immediately switched to German upon realizing. Karma does not speak German, so the rest of the conversation with Nakamura was a blur, as she immediately matched his language switch. Kayano was too far to hear Nakamura on the other line, and she didn't speak German either.
"Can I go?" Karma asked. His dick has mostly calmed down by now.
"Can I go now?" Kayano added on.
"Please. You two live in the same place, it won't take that long to get to the second floor of the building literally right in front of us." Nagisa sighed, pulling back and giving Karma some space.
"I didn't tell you I lived in the second floor", Karma stated.
"You told him we live together?" Kayano asked Karma.
"One glance at your files was enough", Nagisa pointed to his head, throwing a knowing smile at Karma. He repeated his words from earlier, except now, he meant it. "Eidetic memory."
"Oh." Karma stared stupidly at him. "Oh, you weren't joking."
"I'm guessing there won't be a second date, anyways." Nagisa hid his knife back into his clothes with care, yet fast enough that neither Kayano nor Karma could pinpoint exactly where it went.
"Why?" Karma frowned.
"The whole assassin schtick, obviously." Nagisa frowned right back. Karma figured he preferred English over every other language he knew.
"That doesn't change anything for me", Karma scratched the back of his head. "In fact, that makes you even hotter."
They stared at each other for a moment, all of the sexual tension from earlier now unmistakably back to where it was.
Karma looked down at his lips with hooded eyes, feeling heat pooling back into his stomach. Nagisa wanted the same thing, he had to admit, unfortunately. His leg felt warm from where Karma pressed onto it earlier. He'd be a liar if he said he didn't enjoy it. He wanted more.
"Kiss me." Karma demanded.
"Yeah, no. I'm going fucking home." Kayano stormed into the apartment building, flustered and frustrated about multiple things. Frankly, she did not want to be a part of any orgy involving Karma.