Third Person View

Karma quickly paced through the hallway as he dragged his small suitcase along. Anticipation was building up inside of him, excited to see Nagisa once more.

With a smile, he reached for his card key and unlocked the door of his shared apartment. With a "beep", the door lock opened and the red-head headed inside.

He quickly recognized the familiar space of the apartment. There was an amazing smell coming from inside, and he can already tell Nagisa has whipped something up for them to eat.

"Nagisa?" He called out, taking off his shoes and placing them on the shoe rack.

Then he heard thudding, light footsteps that went towards the door.

And there stood Nagisa, in all her glory. Baby blue hair, azure eyes staring at him, and a beaming smile on her lips. "Karma!" She quickly trotted over and enveloped him into a big hug.

Karma caught her easily and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm home, Nagisa."

"Welcome home, Karma." She looked up at him with the happiest expression. His heart swelled at the sight.

Her warmth, her scent, her soothing voice, her infectuous smile, it all hit Karma like a wave, and he welcomed it. It was good to have her back in his arms.

"I see you've missed me as much as I've missed you, eh?" He smirked as he ruffled her hair. It felt softer than he remembered.

"It was a bit lonely," Nagisa admitted with a blush, looking to the side. He felt her fingers draw circles around his waist, and his heart soared.

Karma hummed, caressing her cheek, smiling when she leaned into his touch. "Only a bit, you say? From the way you threw yourself at me, it seemed like you couldn't bear not seeing me another minute," he teased.

"Th-that's..." Her blush deepened.

He couldn't resist her anymore. She was being too cute, too irresistible. He leaned down to press his lips against hers. And when he felt her warm, sweet, soft lips against his, he truly knew he was home.

Perhaps it was a bit much to miss her to this extent, considering he was only gone for five days, but he couldn't help it. Even though she needed to go in a few days, he was glad he could spend the time they had left together. But for now, he pushed that thought away and filled his head with only Nagisa.

She felt his head tilt to deepen the kiss. His hand moved to grasp at her hair, his arm tightening around her waist, keeping her close to him.

The bluenette closed her eyes, eager to reciprocate. But once Karma's kisses lowered down to her neck, and his hands wandered lower still, then she decided to rein him down a bit.

"U-um, you haven't eaten, right? Let's eat, I made dinner." She pulled back with a smile.

Karma gave her a sly smile. "All right, all right." He kissed her forehead and let her go.

Nagisa smiled and stepped away. "Do you want to take a bath first?"

"Hmm.." He pretended to ponder, undoing his tie and taking his jacket off. "No, I'll eat first."

Because then if he took a bath, he knew Nagisa would wait for him to finish so they they can eat together. He can't have her delaying dinner, after all.

She nodded. "Got it, I'll get our plates then."

Karma went to their room and changed into a t-shirt and comfy pants, then headed out again to help Nagisa prepare. He found Nagisa pouring soup into their bowls, and he proceeded to move them to the table.

He looked at their plates. Delicious looking fried chicken karaage covered in glistening sauce, and for the vegetables, boiled broccoli and carrots.

He smiled. Nagisa was always good at cooking, even from their time in Kunugigaoka. But he knew the reason for it was not too pleasant. A lot of Nagisa's skills are learned just to please her mother, who made her learn all of the "girly" hobbies such as cooking and sewing. She knew how to play the piano and violin too, but from the way their keyboard and violin case sitting in their apartment laid untouched for weeks, he knew she wasn't really enjoying it.

His eyes darkened. He was glad she was no longer living with that woman.

Nagisa sat down on the chair and smiled up at him expectantly. "Sit down, Karma. The food's not going anywhere, y'know?"

Karma's eyes moved from the meal to her kind gaze. "Sorry, the food's just looking good. As always." He sat down with a smirk, forgetting his previous thoughts. "Is it just me, or are you excited about something, Nagisa?"

"Hm?" Nagisa looked at him. "Well, it's been a while since I had dinner with you, so..." She shifted in her seat.

"Aw, you must have been lonely, huh? We'll have to make most of the weekend before you leave for Okinawa," he teased.

Her cheeks reddened. "Sh-shut it! Also, you can't be saying that when you kept texting me and asking for a video call every night," she huffed.

"Oh, you got me." His smirk remained. "I needed to hear a 'goodnight' from you, after all."

"Okay, that's enough now, I'm hungry." Nagisa laughed. She clapped her hands together. "Let's dig in."

Karma clapped his hands together before picking up his rice bowl. As he took a piece of the chicken, he shifted his gaze to his girlfriend chewing her food.

"Now that I think about it, this'll be her first time going to Okinawa since that time."

He'll never forget it.

It was his first time seeing her in action then. When she beat Takaoka the first time, he hadn't been present to witness it. That night on the helipad had changed his view on Nagisa forever.

Saying he was worried would be an understatement. Had no one stopped him back then, he surely would have come in between them and punched Takaoka so hard that they fear he would kill him.

He had always thought Nagisa as a meek person, a harmless little mouse that he can let his guard down with. Back when he first met her, he had sensed something, something in her that had made him want to protect himself, made him fear her. As Karma witnessed the fight between Nagisa and Takaoka on the helipad, he realized that what he felt back then was not just his imagination.

Perhaps he had realized it long ago, but he instead chose to distance himself, afraid of what he didn't understand.

Nagisa had swept Takaoka with that electric rod, had looked at him with an intent to kill, with the venom and swiftness of a snake baring its fangs. He couldn't help but think how scary she was... and also how much of a badass his girfriend was. It was ironic how he had come to love what he had once feared. Even now, he feared Nagisa sometimes.

Pushing all of their history aside, he was worried that perhaps going to Okinawa again might bring up some bad memories for her.

"Nagisa," he started carefully. "You can talk to me if you're feeling uneasy about the upcoming trip."

She looked up, her eyes wide. Then she gave him a reassuring smile. "I will, Karma. Thank you."

She closed her eyes. "It's true that a lot of scary things happened when we were there. Our classmates were drugged, we went through multiple life-threatening ordeals, I thought you had died, for goodness sake." Despite saying that, she let out a chuckle. "Though I did think back to Takaoka's crazed face as he tried to kill us all, I won't let that memory torment me."

Nagisa opened her eyes and gazed into his mercury ones. "...Well, if it ever does, you'll be the first to know."

He returned her smile. "Be careful over there, okay? I won't be there to sweep you off your feet, after all."

"I'm more worried about you than me. What if I come home to our landlord kicking us out because you caused too much trouble?"

Karma laughed. "If you're joking like that, maybe I don't have anything to be worried about, after all."

He decided to spoil her before she leaves.

-Time skip-

Izumi's Point of View

"You sure you got everything you need?" Akito-oniichan asked, helping me push along my suitcase.

"Yes, Nii-chan, I have plenty of clothes, brought extra money, and before you ask, yes, I did bring medicine in case I suddenly don't feel well." I replied, fixing my uniform skirt.

"Okay, that's good. You'll be gone for a week, after all."

I looked up at him with a smile. "Don't worry Nii-chan, it's only a school trip." He really did tend to worry over the smallest things.

"Have fun, Izumi-chan!" Aunt Michiko peeked from the living room. "Don't worry too much about souvenirs, okay? Just enjoy your trip. Oh, how I miss going on school trips."

She says that like she's 60, when in reality she hasn't even reached her 40's. She doesn't even look her age at all, so I sometimes wonder why she says she's jealous of the youthful.

"Mkay, Aunt Michiko." I smiled. "Please don't forget to water Oswald! And don't drown him either, please."

Oswald, a philodendron plant I keep in my room. Ever since I laid my eyes on it at the store, I knew I had to take it home and place it near my window.

"Yes, water him this Wednesday, right?" She nodded understandingly.

"Right," I replied with a nod. "Is Ayumu not awake yet? I wanted to say goodbye." I sat down to place my shoes on.

"Well, I think he would be up in... half an hour?"

Well, I did wake up earlier than usual. Waking up in the morning earlier than usual to meet up with your classmates to find rows of buses waiting for you on school grounds... That truly sounds like a school trip, huh?

Aunt Michiko laughed, a cheeky smile on her face. "Hm, considering he stayed late at his friend's last night, I think I need to help him get up today. He gets his slothness from me, you see?"

I smiled. "Oh, then I'll just go. Tell him to text me if he wants anything in particular!" I stood up and adjusted my bag.

I looked over to my right and mom's smiling picture greets me, like always. I clapped my hands together. "I'll be going, mom. Please watch over me."

Waving goodbye to my aunt, I went outside to go in the car with my brother. There was no way I'm walking to school with a suitcase... I would get sweaty before I even did anything.

I was watching outside the window when my brother spoke. "So, uh... how's school?"

It's great, really. We're all trying to kill our teacher so she can take us to the most expensive all-you-can-eat restaurant in Japan. Why do you ask?

"It's the same as always."

"I see." I thought the conversation had ended there, until he put a hand on his neck and spoke again. "Do you have any... guy that you're interested in? A boyfriend, maybe?"

Oh.

"If I say yes, should I be worried about you knocking out their teeth?" I glanced at him with a smile.

"Wh-what!?" He looked at me with wide eyes. "Well, that wholly depends on the situation."

"Eyes on the road, Onii-chan, you're driving," I laughed. "If you need to know, no, I don't have anyone."

"O-oh." I noticed the smile he put on as he looked forward to the road.

I thought about if I did have a significant other. I wonder if they would be able to get through my overprotective brother? Well, it's not like I'm looking to date, and no one has caught my eye, anyway.

When we arrived, I said goodbye to my brother and joined my classmates who were waiting outside.

"Izumi-chaan!" Minako who was with Yamazaki-san and Sonohara-kun waved her hand and called me over.

"Hey," I greeted them.

Rollcall went without a hitch, and now we were already on the way to the station. It was exciting to be on a trip, especially knowing that this will be our last year in school.

When we arrived, we each found our suitcases and waited for the train.

After me, Minako, and Yamazaki-san bought snacks, we regrouped with the rest of our classmates.

Yamazaki-san noticed Suga-kun sitting on the bench eating grilled squid. "Oh, they had squid, Suga? I would've bought one if I knew..."

Minako tilted her head. "But I didn't see any squid stands in the station, though?"

Suga-kun looked to us with a smile. "Oh, I found some dude selling these when we got off the bus. They're crazy cheap, too!"

"Seriously?" Enomoto-kun who had overheard spoke. "Too bad we're not allowed to go out of the station now..."

"Oh well," I said. "This pork bun's just as good." I took another bite of my bun.

As I was chewing, Aoba-kun suddenly took the seat next to Enomoto and let out a big sigh. He had a... quite a large pillow tied around his front?

"Should I even ask?" Yamazaki-san sweat dropped.

"Aoba-kun... Why do you have a pillow strapped to your front?" I asked, looking at the boy who seemed like he was having trouble finding a comfortable position.

He looked up at us. "Well... Since we were going to take both a train and a plane, sleeping during the trip sounded nice. So I brought my pillow."

"Ah." Minako smiled.

"It was already such a bother dragging this suitcase around, I didn't want to bring another thing in my other hand... So I asked Tsudawari-kun to tie it to me."

"As expected of Aoba-kun," I commented.

"Okay everyone, gather around," Shiota-sensei called us, clapping her hands. "We're going to rollcall once more before we board the train."

Yamazaki-san adjusted her backpack. "Well, better get going."

And so, the curtains of our assassination trip rose.

-In the train-

Nagisa's Point of View

I let out a sigh.

We were about 20 minutes in the ride. After we arrive, we would need to get our suitcases again, then get ready to board the plane, make sure no one gets lost...

I felt my phone vibrate.

Taking it out, I heard my ringtone clearly as I looked at the screen. "Karma's calling? Wonder if something's wrong."

I hit the accept button and brought my phone over to my ear. "Karma? What's wrong?"

"Hey, Nagisa. Nothing in particular, just wondering where you are right now. Are you on the train?"

"Oh, I thought I had forgotten something." I nodded, realizing too late that he wouldn't even be able to see me. "Yeah, we've been riding for half an hour. Are you at the office?"

"Yes, and my coworker is already hogging up my space asking about Akita." She could hear the smile in his voice.

"Well, better humor them, hm?" I laughed. "Akita sounded nice from your stories."

"Mm, yeah, it was pretty good. Maybe the two of us can go there as a trip someday? The dogs there were real cute. Plus, they look like you." I heard his teasing tone.

I laughed. "I don't think I can compete against the cuteness of an Akita dog."

We were conversing as usual from the phone, until Konishi-san approached my seat with a frown. "Um, Sensei?"

I looked up from my phone. "Yes?"

"Sorry for interrupting, but, do you have stomach medicine? Suga-kun's throwing up because of the squid he ate earlier..."

My eyes widened. "Eh!? Suga-kun did? Yes, I have some here... I'll come over in a bit."

"Thanks, Sensei." She gave me a small smile before going back to her seat.

I leaned my phone back to my ear. "Sorry Karma, something came up. We can talk again later tonight when we've checked in our inn..."

He let out a chuckle. "Got it~ Don't let me keep you, Nagisa-sensei."

I couldn't help the smile that came out once more. "See you!"

After I hung up, I put my phone back in my bag and stood up to grab a small container from the luggage rack.

"Now, where was that medicine?"
___________________

Character of the Day:
Sunada Kazumi

Gender: Male
Birthday: 21 September
Height: 163 cm
Blood type: O

Apearance: A cyan haired glasses boy. He has an innocent face and an earnest personality that class 3-5 takes advantage of somtimes.

Personality: A quiet glasses boy who had to suffer some misunderstandings at the start of high school because he happens to share a last name with Suga. Not related to him at all. He's an overall nice guy and doesn't have a grudge or anything against Suga because he knows it's not his fault.

Fun fact: People outside of class 3-5 often see him as a puppy amidst a pack of wolves.

Thanks for reading this chapter~