Chapter Text
“She killed herself for Nagisa’s sake in the moment of truth...” Karma says, watching Kayano descend the steps of the mountain. “She’s just like Ms. Yukimura in that aspect.”
“That’s brave.” Beside him, Nakamura leans back against the wall with a small smile. “So brave that there’s no way I can try to steal from her.”
Karma blinks. “Come again?”
“Nothing.”
Okay then.
He nearly brushes off her words, but then they sink in and he turns to her.
Wait a minute—
“Anyways,” Nakamura says, cutting off his thoughts, “what did you do to put Korosensei into such a trance over there?” She points up to a tree in the horizon, where the silhouette of their teacher hunched at its top is visible.
“Oh.” Karma lets himself get pulled by the topic change, although he mentally stores the new information he just gleaned from her. “I just placed a picture of Ms. Yukimura with a cute little note in an obvious place. If I knew that it’d work so well, I would’ve used it for assassination.”
“Oh, wow. I didn’t think you could be so considerate as to set your teacher up on a date for Valentine’s Day.”
“ I do regret not putting the photo within shooting range though.”
“Aw, that’s even sweeter.”
“Oh well. I’ll just keep that in mind next time.”
“Yep. But more importantly...”
Then Nakamura turns to face him with a grin, eyes flashing eagerly, and Karma feels a spark of excitement jump inside him. When she makes that face, it can only mean that she’s found a new target to tease—and no matter who it is, it sounds like a fun way for Karma to spend the next hour.
“You and Okuda, huh?” Nakamura says.
Never mind.
“Huh?” Karma doesn’t bother hiding his abrupt confusion. “Where’d that come from?”
“You’re not getting out of this.” Her signature mischievous smirk is back, although he isn’t used to seeing that expression directed at him. “You teased Kayano so much today. Don’t think you’re immune to teasing yourself.”
Oh. So she actually has found a new target to tease—it’s just that it’s him now apparently. “Do I need to remind you that you teased Kayano equally as much as I did?”
“Avoiding the topic now, are we?”
“I just didn’t think you’d turn on me. I thought we were allies.”
“In the game of gossip, you have no allies.”
He lets out a huff of laughter. “My bad then. I’m clearly dealing with an expert here. But unfortunately for you, there’s nothing between me and Okuda.”
“What?” she cries, obvious disappointment turning her expression into a frown. “No way. You guys clearly have a thing for each other.”
Karma raises an eyebrow. “Based on?”
“Don’t deny it, Karma.” She shakes her head in disapproval. “For starters, you literally said that you liked her the most out of all the girls."
“You mean back on that trip to Kyoto?”
She nods eagerly. “And there has to be a reason why you chose her.”
“She really knows her stuff when it comes to chemicals, and she doesn’t mind if it’s sketchy or dangerous. Why wouldn’t I admire that?”
“Sure, play it off as admiration.” Nakamura crosses her arms. “But don’t think I don't notice how you go up to talk with her in class.”
“Because she’s my friend.”
“But she’s a girl!”
“...But she’s still my friend?” Karma doesn’t know whether to laugh or facepalm. “What, am I dating Kayano too now? And you?”
“Okay, fine,” Nakamura says, rolling her eyes, “but Okuda also gave you chocolates. Today. Valentine’s Day. Coincidence? I think not.”
“Well, I need to get my cyanide prank chocolates from someone.”
“But Korosensei paired you two together for the test of courage thing at the resort!”
“Nakamura, please don’t tell me that you’ve resorted to using a perverted octopus to make your point.”
“But—But—” Amusingly, with every response he gives, she visibly deflates more and more. “You mean there’s really nothing special between you too?”
“That’s what I’ve been saying the entire time.”
Nakamura lets out a groan and dramatically leans her head back against the building. “Man.” She lets out a big dramatic sigh. “And I was convinced that I finally had something to tease you about.” A small pout is in her expression as she turns to him. “But she is the closest to you out of all the girls, right? At least give me that.”
That question takes him by surprise, and unlike the other ones she posed, it takes Karma a moment to provide an answer.
“I wouldn’t really say that,” he says after a few seconds.
“What, really? I thought for sure it’d be her.” Nakamura looks genuinely curious now. “Who is the girl you’re closest to you then?”
I wouldn’t call myself close to any of the girls, is his instinctive reply, but he already knows that Nakamura won’t be satisfied with that response. It’s definitely not juicy enough for the little gossip-loving demon inside her.
“Hm.” He leans back against the building to look up at the sky. “I know that I probably talk to Okuda the most. She’s honest and straightforward, so it’s easy for me to be relaxed around her.”
“ Awwwwww.”
Karma ignores the teasing grin that returns to Nakamura’s face. “But I don’t know if she’s close to me. Would I hang out with her outside of school? Or even talk to her that much? Besides maybe another drug-making request, then I’m not too sure.”
“Making drugs can be romantic though!”
“Are you that desperate to ship me with her?”
“Yes.”
He snorts. “Anyways, our friendship isn’t as special as you think it is. We get along just fine, but it’s not like there’s anything beyond that. So...”
And in general, Karma keeps himself at a distance from most people—there are barely any girls he can truly call a friend, to be honest. And of the girls he actually can consider a friend, if there’s one of them that’s closest to him...
“It’s probably you then.”
“Huh?”
“The girl I’m closest to.”
She blinks at him, and for once, he isn’t sure how she’ll respond.
“Wow,” she finally says. She smirks, but he notices how it looks a bit less teasing than it normally does. “Okay, I honestly wasn’t expecting that.”
Karma wasn’t expecting this either.
“I thought you would be.” He shrugs, ignoring how new and unfamiliar the sudden sincerity of their conversation feels. “We have things in common, and you can always naturally keep up with my thoughts. And after working together on the Red Team... I can see that we understand each other. The most out of the girls for me, at least.”
In this moment, Karma realizes that his friendship with Nakamura has always been about... something. Teasing people or pulling pranks or even fighting for the same cause. Things to do with each other. But never about each other.
And now, the two of them are sitting alone, discussing neither their next victim nor battle plans—but, somehow, themselves.
A small hum leaves her lips. “Well, I guess that’s true.” She smiles and one of her hands reaches into her sweater pocket. “In that case, it’s fine if I do this, right?”
“What—”
Then she tosses something at him, and he instinctively raises his hands to catch it. It’s only after he feels the rattle inside that he realizes what it is.
“Wait.” He blinks at the box of chocolates in his hands. “What?”
“It’s nothing special. It’s just that I was planning to give them to someone else today but then decided not to.”
“Oh. Oh.” At the realization, a wide smirk breaks his face. “Nagisa, correct?”
A faint blush tints her cheeks. “How did you—”
“You thought changing the topic would distract me, didn’t you?” He shakes his head. “Sorry, but you’re going to have to try harder than that to throw me off.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she mutters. “But like I said, seeing how admirable Kayano was earlier, I decided that I don’t want to spoil her happiness.”
He taps the box with his finger. “That’s pretty admirable of you yourself.”
“Well, it’s not serious.” She tilts her head back with a small smile. “Nagisa’s a really cute and sweet guy, but I’ll have just as much fun seeing him get together with Kayano.”
Karma raises an eyebrow. “You know you just gave me blackmail material on you, right?”
She whirls to face him. “Spill a word, and I’ll have the entire class shipping you and Okuda before you know it.”
“Alright, alright.” Karma laughs. “In return for the chocolates, I’ll accept a truce for now.”
“You’d better.” She stands up. “Anyways, I gotta go now.” She pats the dust off her skirt before grinning at him. “See you.”
“Yep, later.”
A quick exchange of waves and a few minutes later, Nakamura’s disappeared down the steps of the mountain, and Karma’s left sitting alone with his newfound Valentine’s Day gift.
As he opens the box, the sensation is almost strange. Of all the things he was expecting to receive this Valentine’s Day—his requested cyanide chocolates, a reveal of his classmates’ romantic developments, a heck ton of fun from teasing flustered friends—a box of chocolates as an actual gift wasn’t one of them.
But he’s not complaining.
Especially when... damn, Nakamura can make some good chocolates.