Kristmas Karma

Thursday the 16th: Kimura

 "I kinda wanted to let Karma name him, but I started calling him Oosama." Kurahashi smiles, showing Hayami something on her phone. "He's just so well behaved. And smart too."

Yada butts in and she and Hayami's eyes go wide.

"Oh wow." Hayami mumbles.

"And you didn't need to teach him that?" Yada asks.

I lay my head on my arms and try to not listen to everyone.

They're all so into their gifts.

Takebayashi groans behind me and I decide to turn around for a distraction.

"What's up?"

He straightens out his glasses while holding up a page to read it. "I mean, these are definitely things he would say, but no matter how much I practice, I just can't pull it off."

I regret asking. I have no idea what I'm going to get for Karma and the constant reminders all around me don't help.

"It's for that movie thing, isn't it?" I ask, not really interested but not wanting to be rude either.

"Yeah..." He flips to the next page. "I mean, does this even sound like it could be right? 'I want to bathe in... your blooood.'" He emphasizes while still saying everything in a robotic voice. "'And just because... you don't want me to? Doesn't mean... I can't.'" He sets the paper down. "I don't like it."

I cover my mouth, attempting to hold back the laughter.

"See, it's horrible." He concludes.

I can't really hold back anymore so I just let it go, receiving a few stares from nearby classmates.

"Yup, you're right!" I wipe a few tears from my eyes. "But you don't have to do it."

I look at him again and the shine on his glasses makes it hard to know what expression he's making.

"I still want to help with it, just, maybe someone else should voice Karma." He says coolly.

"You're that committed, huh?" I mutter quietly.

He stares thoughtfully in my direction and abruptly changes the subject. "You doing the cram session today?"

Not gonna lie, I'm thankful he did. "Actually, my cousin's coming into town for the holidays so I'm headed home after this." I explain, sprawling out in my chair like I just ran a marathon.

He's always such a handful.

Takebayashi raises an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything.

-----

I know I shouldn't be putting it off, and it's not that I don't want to give him anything, I just don't know where to start. I've also been putting so much into studying because I'd hate to be the one guy that didn't get into the top fifty with everyone else.

I open the door and take off my shoes. "I'm home!" I slide on my slippers and hear the rushing footsteps of someone that isn't my parents.

Oh no...

Masaru appears, sliding to a stop in front of me. "Hey there, Jus—"

Please don't.

"—tice!" He finishes in that mocking tone he always has. Interestingly, he isn't trying to mock me.

I sigh as he gets into position and waits. When I don't oblige, he frowns.

"Well aren't you gonna do it?" He stares at me expectantly.

Grudgingly, I complete the pose with him. "Victory is here." I say blandly. I'm not the only one with a weird name in this family.

"Yes I am!" He shouts triumphantly, ending the pose. "How's it going, cuz?"

I scratch the side of my head. While I've warmed up to the idea of using my real name when killing Korosensei, I still don't much like it in the meantime. With all the teasing I used to get at school, I'd take offense to my cousin's exuberance over my name, even if I know he never meant any harm by it. I was going to explain this to him, but now I'm not sure if I want to. I'm still hoping he'll grow out of it.

"It's going. Just working hard and studying." I walk by him and search around. "Is anyone home?"

"Auntie said she had to go pick up Brave from school and was gonna go shopping after so I waited for you all by myself." He points to himself with confidence. "I'm old enough to be on my own now. I'm ten!"

I offer him a smile. "Yeah? Then what do you want to do, big guy?"

"I wanna watch the new Sonic Ninja movie!" He shouts, throwing his arms in the air. "It's supposed to come out tomorrow, but can we go to the store and see if they have it now?"

I stare at him. "That's not really how it works, you know."

"Oh, come on, please?" He gives me his most pleading look. "Between us, justice will always be victorious. Can't we try?"

I slump my shoulders and decide it can't hurt to wander around the shops for a while. Besides, I still have to find something for Karma.

"Alright, put your coat on and let me change real quick." I concede.

"Yesss! Victory's my name, victory's my game~" he sings.

-----

We start at the strip mall since it's closest to my house. The cold seems to dig through my clothes and into my skin, making me wonder if it'll snow for Christmas this year.

"Hey, let's go in there!" Masaru points across the street at some sort of card shop.

I squint, reading the banner strung over the display. "What's 'Magic the Gathering'?"

Masaru grabs my hand and pulls me towards the store. "My friend just started playing it recently, but it's this really old card game that's been around forever."

I look at all the different items and my eyes stop on one of the shirts at the end of the window display.

"That's so cool! They made shirts out of the different types of cards!" He lets go of my hand and presses his face up to the window. "The Black Lotus is supposed to be super rare. Can we go inside?" He looks up at me. "Justice?"

The chances of finding a gift that perfect are insane.

Without answering, I head straight into the store and march up to the cashier, pointing towards the display. "I need two of those shirts in the window please."

Masaru clumsily follows after me. "Cuz?"

"Hm? The one on the end?" The cashier asks.

I nod vehemently.

"Oh, the one with your name on it?" My cousin asks. "Can we get one with mine too?"

"Your name's 'Karmic Justice'?" The guy behind the counter asks while raising an eyebrow.

"Just Justice, and I'm Victory!" Masaru explains.

Excited, I'm actually the one to prompt our special pose. "Justice is here."

Masaru grins stupidly and returns the pose. "And Victory is assured."

The cashier guy shakes his head. "Guess I'll go get those shirts for you."