Karma

"W-what?" Karma stutters. He cannot believe his ears.

Did... did Akari just...

She cannot recognize him?

No.

No. No. No.

This is the worst nightmare that can happen to him — his love cannot recognize him.

The sting in his heart deteriorates into a stabbing pain.

His mouth opens but no words come out. He cannot find words to describe his current mental state. He cannot find words to convince himself that this is all just a nightmare.

The dazed girl rubs her eyes and squints at Karma. "Err... hmm... ermm..." She blinks a few times. "Karma?"

There is nothing that can soothe his pain. Not even — he freezes.

Did she just called my name?

"Oh god..." mutters Akari in a weak voice. She rubs her eyes. "Karma... sorry... I couldn't recognize you just now. My mind is too blurry. And my eyesight as well..."

Karma freezes.

He cannot comprehend the current situation.

"Akari—" Karma gapes.

"Oh my my~" Nakamura chirps as she closes in. "Looks like someone was flustered that Akari will forget him forever. How embarrassing."

Karma can feel his face heating up.

Nakamura continues her teases. "It seems that you almost died from a heart attack. Is this evidence that you love her so much that you can't bear the thought of her forgetting you?" She chuckles evilly — his evil female counterpart. "Am I riiiiiiiiiiight?"

Karma grits his teeth while trying to cover his reddened face.

"Don't try to deny Akabane. You loooooooooove her—" Nakamura is cut off when Kataoka yanks her hair and shoots her a deadly glare.

Kataoka rolls her eyes. "You alright, Akari?" She touches the bedridden girl's arm. "Do you want me to summon the doctor?"

Akari shakes her head. She rubs her temples. "I'm fine," she says in a feeble voice. Her hand reaches out to touch Karma's. "Karma? Are you... okay?" She questions his silence.

Probably it is his blushing face and embarrassed look that has drawn her attention. Karma shrugs off her hand. "I..." He does not know how he should reply. He is overwhelmed with a sense of joy from her awakening and also a sense of shock from his unnecessary panic.

I almost lost her.

I was so scared.

Then fate mocked me by making me panic for this.

I lost my composure.

I thought I would die from this.

Okumura Akari... this girl...

"As long as you're okay," Karma replies, masking his true feelings behind a feigned smile.

However, the girl reaches out once more for his hand and squeezes it tight. "Sorry..." she mutters. "I made you worry."

...is yet my pillar of strength and also my vulnerability.

*****

Akari

Uncle came moments after Nagisa, Kaede, Rio and Megu's departure. After he left, the only person accompanying me in this cold hospital room is Karma. There is an atmosphere of unbearable silence hanging between us like a barrier.

Honestly, I have no idea why is he being so quiet. Is he mad or has he been overwhelmed by joy?

The longer I stare at him, the clearer it is to me that he has donned layers and layers of masks over his true face.

And the clearer it is to me that I do not really understand him from the inside. Everything I know about him is from his outer layer — the personality that he has chosen to show everyone, but not his inner self that he has concealed.

"Karma?" I call feebly. He looks up and walks to me.

"What is it?" He asks in a gentle voice.

"Are you okay?"

He does not reply.

"Karma." I insist on getting a word from him. I want him to open his heart to me. If he does not open up to me, who can he open up to?

He exhales loudly. "I thought I would die because you forgot me. I thought... I thought... I... just... I panicked. Sorry."

I digest his words. And stifle a laugh. He stares at me like I am a weirdo. Then his face blushes a crimson red.

"You're such an idiot. Why would you apologise for panicking? That's what boyfriends do when their girlfriends gets amnesia and forgets about them. I'd be the same if our roles are exchanged. Though I'll probably shake your incompetent brain till it functions again," I reply.

Karma almost pouts but feigns his impassive mask again. However, the crimson red on his face refuses to cease. I move my heavy body to the left side of the bed for some empty space for Karma. He sits down beside me and touches my hand.

"You can tell me anything, Karma. It's just you and me now."

"I... I'm scared. I'm so scared that something bad happened to you. Then when I thought you had amnesia, I just thought fate is messing with me. And when you... I realized I overpanicked," Karma replies. He leans his head at the nape of my neck. "I behaved out of my character. I was stupid. My mind wasn't functioning well."

I pinch his cheek and he yelps. "What was that for?"

I giggle. "For being stupid by saying you're stupid."

"What?"

"Love makes brains stop malfunctioning. What you did is just solid proof of your love to me. So it's not stupidity or out of character stuff. It's just you being you when you're in love. And besides..." I lean my head on his. "I like it when you act like this. When you act out of character—when you panic, when you reveal your true self under layers of masks. And you look so cute. Plus it also means you love me a lot. I can't ask for more."

He blushes. "You... I..."

"So do you agree with me that you're not stupid at all? And can you promise me you would be more like this instead of hiding yourself?"

He finally lights up a smile. "I promise." His fingers weave through my fingers. "I love you."

My head rests on his and I snuggle into his warmth. "I love you too."

"So... can you tell me what happened that caused you into this state?" Karma suddenly asks. I sense a hint of anger in his tone. The romantic atmosphere evaporates into the recesses of the room.

I want to tell him the truth. But honestly... "I can't remember." I try to recall but suddenly my head hurts. It feels like something is stabbing my brain with knives.

Karma notices the pained look on my face. "Don't force yourself. If your head hurts, stop."

"I just remember going somewhere at night and..." Ouch. Shit. Why does it hurt that much? Damn it. "Who... who brought me in?"

"I think it's Nagisa-kun and Kayano-chan. Did you meet them prior?"

Nagisa and Kae—God, my head hurts even more when I try to think. My breathing becomes heavy and sluggish.

"Stop. Akari. Stop. Just relax. Give some time for your head to recover, okay? I won't force you," says Karma. His arm wraps around my waist and pulls me closer into his embrace. "Just rest, okay?"

I nod and close my eyes to indulge myself into his warm embrace.

"NUUUUUUUUUYAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The familiar, exaggerated shriek of a privacy-invading octopus resonates in the room. A flash of yellow soars through the room and lands beside the bed. Korosensei wears his usual perverted grin, his tentacles holding a pen and his gossip notebook. "Nurufufufufufufufu! Look what I've found! Two lovebirds cuddling each oth—" He dodges the knife Karma throws at him. "NUYA! Karma-kun!"

"Korosensei! How could you barge into someone else's privacy?" Karma asks with a smirk.

"Nurufufufu! If I had not came just in time, I would not have caught on to such gossip! Now show me more, Akari-san! Karma-kun!"

Karma gives me a mischievous smirk. I return him with a wink. With my head lowered, I cover my face to feign sadness and crying. "How could you, Korosensei? You cared about gossip but not me?" I sob. I rub my temples. "Ouch! My head still hurts!"

"Nuya! Akari-san!" Korosensei immediately app ears next to me with his tentacles rubbing my temples for me. "Do you feel better? Do you need a massage? Sensei didn't mean to ignore you!" His tentacles move in high speed, giving me a comfortable massage from my head to my back. I feel relaxed with the free massage therapy.

"Sensei, I'm hungry. Can you get me some fresh chutoro sushi from Tsukiji market?" I pout.

"Sensei will do it right away!"

"And some delicious desserts from France as well?"

"Sensei will get them for you!"

Karma snickers. "Throw in some Italian pizza in too, sensei."

"Right on! Sensei will be back soon!" The yellow blob dashes off out of the room. Finally peace returns to the room.

Karma lets out a laugh. "That was easy. It will be some time till he gets back. Let's..." He wraps his arm around my waist and lands a kiss on my temple. "...enjoy the alone time we have for now."

I nod. I lean my head into the nape of his neck. Slowly, my eyelids close and fall asleep.

*****

A tiny movement wakes me up from my sleep. I feel Karma shifting gently to avoid waking me up.

"Sorry, I woke you up," Karma whispers.

"It's okay..." I mutter. I try to blink away the drowsiness. "What time is it?"

Karma looks at his black digital watch on his left wrist. "Hmm... it's about 7pm. You're hungry? Korosensei delivered the food just now... while not forgetting to jot down gossip in his book. Thank god he didn't make much noise."

"7pm...." The time reminds me of something. "Shouldn't you be leaving right now? I thought it's past the visitor's time."

Karma groans in disagreement. "Akari-chan you want me to leave?" He sobs.

"N-no..."

"Good. Then I'll stay."

"EHHH?! But you can't. The nurses will kick you out for sure!"

He laughs off my worries. "No worries. Karasuma-sensei's ambush technique comes in handy."

My face pales instantly. "Karma! You can't ambush the nurse!"

"Relax, I'm just going to hide. I'm not ambushing anyone."

I release a sigh, though I still doubt him for being not mischievous. I scan my current location. The room is tiny and empty, void of any large objects that Karma can use to cover his presence. "There's nothing in this room for a good ambush," I point out the obvious.

Karma only replies me with a smirk on his face. His eyesight shifts to the covers on the bed.

I roll my eyes. "You are not hiding under the covers. You're too obvious."

"Then what would you suggest?"

"Maybe hide in the toilet till the nurses checked my room?"

"Hahahaha. No."

"I can't think of any good ideas!"

"Or maybe I should leave then come back here through the window."

That sounds like a good idea. I believe Karma has the ability to scale walls, though he has to do it at night to avoid anyone spotting him. "Which floor are we on?"

"4th floor," Karma replies nonchalantly.

I glare at him and pinch his arm. "What are you, insane? You can't scale a wall to the fourth floor!"

He shrugs. "Well, we did climb that cliff back at that island. What difference does this make?"

"KARMA!"

"Well then, hiding under your covers doesn't seem like a bad idea anymore, huh?"

I roll my eyes, realizing we just make a circle and back to the same spot again. Probably one of Karma's diversion tactics to make me agree on his idea.

"Fine. But if you get caught, I'd pretend I don't know you."

Karma snickers and pecks my lips. "Trust me. I'm an assassin."

*****

A knock on my door. A lady with white, ironed uniform steps in as she slides the door open. She has a slender figure and a beautiful face. Her blonde hair is tied up into a bun. She checks my data hanging by my bed. "Okumura-san, yes?"

I nod.

"Do you feel anything painful or uncomfortable about your body?"

I shake my head. "No."

The nurse scans around the room. "Has your friends and family left?"

My eyes try not to shift to the weird lump beside my legs on the bed. I had the lump blocked with my pillow. Karma has been so far extremely steady and still. His breathing is so quiet I thought he might have been dead.

"Yup," I lie.

The nurse does not question further. There is no doubt or suspicion. She double checks my data and smiles at me. "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to press the red button above your head. Good night."

I nod. "Good night."

After the nurse left, I realize how rapid my heart is beating. It feels like I might die from this little white lie. I nudge Karma, who emerges from the covers. He releases his breath while I wipe sweat from my forehead.

"That was fun," exclaims Karma.

"I thought I'm a goner..." My breathing slows down.

"Relax, love. There's no way she would discover me. Besides, even if she did, I'll just find another way back in. They can't do anything to me."

"Don't be so cocky." I punch his arm playfully. My stomach growls involuntarily.

Karma grabs the bag of food Korosensei prepared for me. "Dinner, love? Spoon-feed or mouth-feed?"

"My arms ain't broken. I can feed myself, thank you."

"Ouch ouch!" He feigns pain. "I can't feel my arms! Feed me, Akari-chan!"

I shush him. "Be quiet! They'll find you!"

"Then you have to feed me to stuff my mouth with food so that I'll shu—"

I shove a piece of sushi into his mouth. "Shut it!"

The mischievous redhead lights up his usual arrogant smirk and opens his mouth for more. I have no choice but to comply with his demands.

*****

Nagisa, Kaede, Megu, Rio, Yuuma, Maehara and Hinata came to help me move back into my apartment. However, the annoying, clingy redhead is nowhere to be seen.

"I brought you some cookies. Maehara, Okano and I made it fresh from the oven yesterday," says Yuuma as he hands me a box of cookies. It is warm to the touch and its fragrance is mouth-watering. "Get well soon." He flashes a nice smile.

"Thanks."

Rio is poking through my stuff that Megu is packing up in a bag. She is rummaging through my toiletries, clothes and almost pulled out my underwear if Megu did not stop her. The blonde's face twists in disgust as she spies the not-so-alluring plainly coloured underwear of mine. I roll my eyes.

"I brought you pudding." Kaede's voice draws my attention to her. "It has mango and orange flavours."

I look at her and smile. "Thanks."

She puts up a frail smile.

I remember Karma telling me it is Nagisa and Kaede who brought me to the hospital. "Say, Kaede, do you know why I fainted or blackout?"

"Eh hehehehehe..." Kaede scratches her head. "Well..."

"Kayano-chan and I found you fainted by the roadside. The doctor said you had a slight brain concussion so we assumed you were hit by a flying projectile. Probably from the trucks or cars that passed by," Nagisa chimes in. "We were so worried."

I tentatively touch the spot on the back of my head. It is a tiny irregular lump that aches upon contact.

"I don't remember exactly what happened though. That night was a blur to me," I admit. "I hate being amnesiac." I look at Kaede, who averts her gaze from me. Something tugs in my heart but I cannot comprehend why. It feels weird. I change the subject. "By the way... where's Kar --"

"You mean your boyfriend?" Rio snickers as she turns on into her 'teasing' mode. Her evil horns emerge on her head.

"No."

She laughs evilly. "Are you sure? Aren't you disappointed that he's not around?"

Honestly, a little. But I am not giving Rio the pleasure of knowing so. "Nope."

Megu slaps the back of Rio's head and glares at her. "I'm done with Akari's stuff. Let's go."

*****

As we reach my apartment and I am about to open the door with my key, the door clicks open on its own. The redhead devil stands by the doorway, with a bright smirk on his face to welcome me home.

"Karma?!" We gasp with surprise and horror.

"Hello guys. Thank you for sending her home," says Karma as he takes my bag from Yuuma.

"What are you doing — how did you get in — " I ask frustratingly but then give up when I remember Karma possesses countless duplicates of my key. "Never mind."

Karma lets out a laugh. "Sorry I wasn't able to fetch you home. I was busy cleaning your apartment. It needs to be clean since we're going to live together."

Live...

Live...

LIVE TOGETHER?!

"AKABANE!" Megu shouts furiously. "You are not crossing that line!"

I gape, remaining speechless.

"But someone has to take good care of our dear Akari-chan here. So he has to take the responsibility!" Maehara chimes in. Hinata rolls her eyes as she stands beside him.

"Then I'll stay with her. I'm a girl. I can take better care than you little perverted devil," Megu growls with her eyes glaring at Karma like a tiger.

"No no no!" Rio retorts and grabs Megu by her arm. "You are not interfering! We are leaving!"

Megu struggles against her grip. "Rio! Let go!"

I slap my forehead as I watch the mess unfold before me. Slowly inch by inch Megu is dragged away by Rio and Maehara. Hinata follows behind to make sure that they are okay.

Yuuma eyes Karma suspiciously. He then turns to look at me. "Are you sure you're okay about this?" He voices out his concern.

"I am not ok — "

"Of course she has to. Or she wouldn't have anyone else to take care of her," Karma intervenes and cuts me off.

Nagisa shakes his head. "Karma-kun..."

Yuuma releases an exasperated sigh. "Fine." He gives Karma a warning glare — something I have never seen before in his eyes. He is still being a protective friend over me.

Karma shows a smile — a triumphant one. I give up on persuading him.

*****

"Don't you think you're too clingy?"

As soon as I enter the apartment, I find a sweet scent of flowery fragrance wafting in the air. The kitchen area is spotless without dust. All the dishes in the basin has been cleared off. I see fresh food on the kitchen island—vegetables, fish, red meat, fruits and bread. Karma made me sit on the sofa while he busies himself with work.

"I'll mop your floor so you just have to sit and relax. I'll make you dinner later, okay?" He says as he ties up the strings of the pink frilly apron around his waist.

I giggle at his appearance. "Really? That apron?"

"It's the only apron you have in this place." Karma rolls his eyes. The moment he looks down at his apron, his face twists in disgust.

Aww so cute.

Karma dips the mop into the bucket full of water and twists it to rid it of excess water. He begins to mop the floor from the doorway. I watch his diligence, thinking how good-looking he is when he is serious. The edge of my eyesight notices a hand luggage standing conspicuously by the corner of the living room. My guess is that Karma has decided to stay here for a long period.

He is not coming into the room with me, that little pervert.

"So..."

I look at Karma.

"You still don't remember what happened to you?" Karma asks.

"No..." I reply. I try not to force myself to remember as it will only aggravate my pain.

"Oh." Karma seems dissatisfied with my answer.

"Are you going to avenge me if I knew who did it?" I point out the obvious.

"No. Of course not. I promised you not to be reckless since that Asano incident."

"Uh-huh." Disbelief is audible in my voice.

He sighs. "I'm just going to give him a nice lecture. That's all."

"A lecture that involves wasabi," I correct him.

"Sort of..."

My turn to sigh. "Where are you going to sleep?"

Karma is halfway done with the floor. "Hmm... 'your bed' is what I want to say but... I'm sleeping on the couch tonight."

"That is surprisingly obedient of you," I say. I lift my feet off the floor for him to mop.

"Well, you need more rest."

I smile. "Thanks." My hand tugs on his apron and pulls him closer. I give him a quick peck on his lips.

Karma blushes but smiles brightly. "You're welcome."

*****

I TEASED YOU GUYS FROM THE LAST CHAPTER, DIDN'T I??? Nurufufufufufufufu~~

This chapter is still short and sluggish. I'll get back to the main storyline in the next chapter. And since Kayano's arc doesn't come that early, the mystery to Akari's blackout will be suspended temporarily.

A few questions here from me:

1. Are any of you Kpop fans? Do you guys love idol groups like BigBang, CNBlue, SNSD, Ailee...... etc?

2. Are any of you fans of Running Man????? Who's your favourite in it? (Mine's Jihyo and Girin)

3. Do any of you like Korean stars such as Song Joong Ki? (He's my favourite haha)

You can answer them if you want. No obligations here.

Please vote, like, review and comment your thoughts about this chapter!!!! Flames and love accepted. Anonymous Guests please state your name.