Karasuma x Irina (Karairi) -Assassination Classroom

Someone To Lean On

Welcome back everyone! Hope you guys are ready for another chapter! Hopefully this wholesome emotional one makes up for the time lost. Enjoy!

What's coming up in this chapter and warnings: getting in the emotional feels 'n Spoilers!¡!¡!
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*tick-tock, tick-tock* Irina tapped her nails on the desk, matching the rhythm of the clock above her. She had her head resting on the palm of her hand that was smooshing her cheeks. She was looking down at a book and flipping the pages with one hand. Karasuma was out, leaving the apartment to be full of silence. He left for a meeting once again, leaving her alone in the apartment. She was focused. Salt dripped down once... until she got to the last page and snapped out of that focused trance and felt her cheek and noticed. She then let out a sigh and slumped down in her desk chair, spinning herself in circles a few times till she got dizzy.

Suddenly the door opened and she quickly bolted upright and buried her nose into the book she had open in her desk. Karasuma set his bag he had in him down and peeked into Irina's room, knocking on the side of the door two quiet times. "You... busy?" He asked in a almost whisper. As if he would disturb the silence if he spoke any louder. He had a hidden mild grumpy tone though.

Irina tilted her head up and looked at him with her wide curious blue glistening eyes, flickering them from him to her book, then closed it and shook her head, looking back at him again. "Not really..."  She said in a quiet hushed tone. Karasuma squinted his eyes a bit as if something seemed off. Which, was true. Usually he'd come home about her yapping at him about how he just bought more ramen and no other "real foods" to eat. But this time, the whole aura of the place felt dimmer.

He took a moment to look to the side, as if he was debating doing something that he could regret. Irina just continued to look at him in confusion. Soon he just closed his eyes and let out a sigh, deflating a bit. He ducked away and walked away from her room. Irina thought that thats that and he went to go back to work. So she just got up and took the book and began to make her way over to the book shelf, ready to put it away. But then when she reached up to put it on the top shelf, a warm hand wrapped around hers, stopping her in place. She completely froze at the feeling, and flickered her eyes over to see him inches behind her.

He gently pulled the book out of her grip and took it from her. "Karasuma...?" She asked, a bit perplexed. He didn't respond but she could hear the pages being flipped... and his soft breathing right behind her. She completely turned around and tried to reach for the book, puffing out her cheeks. "Hey, Karasuma thats mine. It's not nice to take things from people." She said in a mild sassy tone. But it was evident that it was losing its usual punch. He was too tall for her to reach anyways, but he let out a quiet sigh as he snapped the book shut and put it away.

"Hey! Don't tell me you looked through it all alr-" "Irina." ...Hearing her name so seriously yet a little softly, escaping his lips shut her up immediately. He looked at her with an unreadable blank face but proceeded to talk. "...The kids have grown up well and to be successful individuals. They can handle their own. I'm sure you already know that though. So I don't know why..." "...huh?" She questioned, looking at him in confusion. "...The album." He said bluntly, angling his head towards the bookshelf. He flickered his eyes away from her, then looked back at her.

The sincerity he was showing in that moment, shocked her more than anything. It was like she was frozen from a trance. Or a spell he put on her. Any words she wanted to form got stuck in her throat. But most of all, confusion on what exactly he's getting at. She saw his eyes flicker away then look back at her, and when he did so, she suddenly felt his warm hand cup her cheek. His thumb swept away a tear, then paused before recoiling his hand away completely. He cleared his throat and looked away once again. Finally it struck her what he was acting so soft about.
"O-Oh-" she took a small step back away from him

Now who's the dense one?

She let out a embarrassed little laugh and wiped the rest of the tears away. "That. Yeah-" she walked backwards closer to the door. "I'm alright. Emotions just get to me once in a while. No biggie!" She said with a smile. "Also... I can't believe you don't have ranch FOR YOUR PIZZA. Its a serious crime an-" "Irina."  He cut her off with a bolder tone, pausing her when she was pointing at him with an accusing finger. "...You don't have to pretend around me and push away whatever you are feeling." He rubbed his temples and sighed as he looked away. "...It gets away in your work performance and it's a pain to clean up. If you have time to get emotional, you have time to fix it." -was all he said before he walked past Irina and walked out of her room, closing the door behind her.

She unfroze and put her hand down, turning to look at the door. She had a small smile on her face.

...Maybe I should be pissed at what he said but... I'm not. ...That dense man... may not even understand his own feelings. ...Just maybe.

Or maybe I'm seeing things? Either way. He has an odd way of making me feel comforted...

Thank you so much for reading this chapter! The next one will be out on in a couple days! I promise!! (Maybe tomorrow honestly) I also promise the next one will be more upbeat and have more humor. Up next, what other odd ways will Irina do to try and win him over? And whats up with Irina? Find out in the next chapter!