Third Person View

It was a Sunday, yet Yamaguchi was walking home from cram school.

He wondered why Iyo wasn't put to cram school by his parents. But he suspected that she would be soon enough. He just hoped that she's not going to be in the same one he is.

Well, those kinds of thing like comparing himself didn't concern the blonde at all.

He continued walking down the street, thinking about doing his homework when he gets home. He remembered that Iyo was going out today, so he could have some peace and quiet.

Just as he turned a corner, he saw the blonde-haired female herself with a guy he didn't know. Iyo was seen talking to a guy about his age.

"Ah, thank you for helping me." Iyo said as she looked at the boy.

"No problem."

The guy was called by his friend who was quite far away. "Maehara! What are you doing!?"

The orange haired boy shouted back, "Yeah, I'll be right there!"

He turned to Iyo and gave her a wink, "Well, see you around." Then he walked away.

After he went, Yamaguchi approached Iyo and put a hand on her shoulder, "Oi..."

"B-Brother! You're going home?" Iyo looked at him as she stuttered. "Did you see that boy!? He looked so dreamy!" She blushed.

"..." Yamaguchi looked at her emotionlessly.

"But of course, Karma-senpai will always be the coolest in my heart!" Iyo put her hands on her cheeks.

The taller boy looked at his little sister. "Idiot, what were you thinking? You can't just trust strangers like that, especially if they're a guy."

Iyo tilted her head, "Hm? What did Iyo do wrong?"

Yamaguchi started walking, "Just stay away from guys you don't know, got it?" His tone of voice was his usual monotonous one.

Iyo hummed. "Hm... Alright. If that's what Brother wants." She skipped beside him.

-Time skip-

As Yamaguchi walked with Iyo on the road, he spotted someone. Someone familiar.

"Iyo," He stopped walking. "Go home, I have something to do."

Iyo showed a surprised face. "Go home? What about you, Brother?" She narrowed her eyes, "...Brother is acting suspicious. Iyo is suspicious of Brother."

Yamaguchi gave her a dark look. "Go home, Iyo."

Iyo shivered. "A-alright!" She started walking away from Yamaguchi. She was scared that he would hold her face in his palms like that one time.

She mumbled something as she kept walking.

Yamaguchi went back to his main objective. He approached the girl who was sitting.

"Shiota-san. You alone?"

The girl noticed the boy and looked at him with a surprised look. "Yamaguchi-kun? What a coincidence. We seem to run into each other a lot." She smiled.

He did admit, they run into each other a lot. But he didn't complain, instead he felt just slightly happy. Slightly.

"By the way," Nagisa started. "Ono-sensei gave us that math homework, right?"

She blushed, "Well, I... kinda don't get one of the questions. And I was going to ask you about it," She fidgeted her fingers together. "Ah, but, I don't have my book with me...""

Yamaguchi was surprised to hear this, yet he took it as a chance to ask her out.

"Then save it," The blonde said. "We'll talk about it over a cup of coffee. And maybe a slice of cake." He added.

"Cake!?" Nagisa's eyes slightly widened. "Sure! When do you wanna meet up?" She looked excited.

"How lucky! Drop the sweets bomb and she'll give in." Yamaguchi secretly thought to himself.

"How about after school tomorrow?"

"Sure, sounds good."

Yamaguchi has noticed the bluenette's sweet tooth she's got going on. Fortunately, he knows how to use it as his advantage.

Nagisa, on the other hand, was in it for the cake. Oh, and the homework, too, of course. She's not that childish.

"Hmm? What sounds good?"

Nagisa suddenly saw red hair in her vision. "Karma! You're back." Karma was behind Nagisa, turning his head upside down to look at her face.

Yamaguchi scoffed. "Tch, she wasn't alone."

The blue-haired girl explained. "Yamaguchi-kun was passing by. I was asking him about a math question."

Karma smiled, "Heeh, a math question? Couldn't you have asked me, then?" He walked to the front.

"Well..." Nagisa gazed at something else. "You seemed busy competing with Asano-kun."

She didn't really know if it was a reason or not. In all honesty, her mind automatically accepted when Yamaguchi mentioned something about a cafe and cake.

Karma replied with a smile, "Heeh. But I'm never too busy for you, Nagisa." He spoke with his sing-song tone he usually does.

The blondie that was still standing in front of Nagisa looked at Karma. "Sorry, it's already decided."

Yamaguchi turned his attention back to Nagisa. "We'll discuss it later, then."

Nagisa smiled, "Alright, I'll text you."

The boy started walking. Before he left completely, he stopped beside Karma. "Do whatever you want, Akabane..."

He tilted his head to look at the red-head. "...Because I'm not backing down anymore." Yamaguchi walked away.

"I'd like to see you try." Karma looked at the blonde. His tone of voice wasn't his usual playful one.

Yamaguchi stopped his tracks. "Then, we'll see how it ends." And finally continued walking without looking back.

Karma had his gaze on Yamaguchi as he walked away, showing his back to the girl behind him.

The red-head's eyes were narrow as he tilted his head to the side.

"Sorry, you'll​ have to go through me, first."

Nagisa, who was watching intently the entire time, had a confused look. She stood up from her seat. "Karma... Don't tell me..."

Karma turned his back to look at Nagisa, who now had a serious expression.

"...You challenged him academically!?"

Karma's eyes widened Nagisa's question broke the tense atmosphere. "..."

"I mean, I know you two are really smart, but, aren't you going a bit overboard?"

Her statement couldn't help but make Karma laugh out loud. He held his stomach as he thought about what she just said.

"Eh? Karma?"

Karma stopped laughing and looked at her. "Well, I guess you could say I challenged him. Or rather, there's something we're challenging for." He pat her head.

Nagisa looked at the taller boy. "...And I'm guessing you won't tell me what that is."

Karma gave her a smile, "Bingo~ But don't worry, you'll catch up real soon."

He didn't know if that last sentence of his was true or not, considering how dense Nagisa can be when it comes to love.

"Just..." Nagisa sighed. "Don't do anything reckless."

Karma's lips curved into another smile. "No promises."

"Karma!"

He stuck his tongue out.

The devil opened his arms wide and caught Nagisa in his arms, hugging her tightly.

"K-Karma!" Nagisa was quite surprised by his actions. But after a few seconds of silence, she hugged him back.

"Geez... You make me worry too much, sometimes..." She said.

Karma snickered. "Sorry, milady."

Nagisa enjoyed Karma's warmth. She felt safe burying her head in his chest. She spoke, "Now that I think about it, when did you get so tall?"

The bluenette felt like Karma has grown a few inches. She used to be able to put her chin on his shoulder. Now her chin can only reach just below it. That only made her feel like she's not growing enough.

"Really? Maybe you're just shrinking." Karma teasingly said.

"...As if." Nagisa gave him a poker face.

Karma spoke again, "Why? Are you worried that you won't be able to kiss my forehead again?"

"W-what!?"

"I can help you with that."

He put his hands on Nagisa's waist and lifted her from the ground, much to her surprise.

"K-Karma!"

"There, now you can reach it!"

Nagisa started laughing. "Karma! Put me down!"

"Not after you kiss my forehead!"

Their voices filled the air as they continued to smile and laugh together.

In that moment, Karma felt relieved as he didn't feel the need to be worried anymore.
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Whoo, more slow plot. Thanks for reading, sorry it took a while!

See you in the next chapter~