𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, ᴋᴀʀᴍᴀ ᴀ.

15 | peaceful time

───── ❝ please ❞ ─────

[emei chiba]

Emei patted her stomach with a satisfied sigh. She just filled her stomach with the snacks she and Ryunosuke bought during today's trip. 

She excused herself from the group to wander the halls by herself. She plugged her ears with her fingers to ignore the ruckus her classmates caused whilst chasing Koro-sensei around.

The sleepy girl noticed a sliding door and curiously opened it to see what was on the other side. It was a small balcony overlooking a distant shrine on a hill. 

Emei made an amazed "ooo" sound and slipped past, shutting the bamboo door behind her. 

The girl skipped her way to the balcony despite being barefoot outside. She forgot to take her sandals with her and was too lazy to get them now. 

Emei rose on her tippy-toes to look over the ledge. She smiled to herself, feeling the refreshing night breeze graze her cheeks and ruffled her hair. 

There was a relaxing ambiance in people-watching, especially here in Kyoto. She loved the sounds of the city combined with the traditional buildings emitting a warm orange hue of lights. The street lanterns made everything look festive and lively. 

This brought a bittersweet taste to her mouth as she recalled her old life before the split happened. When her parents were still together, they lived in a traditionally built house courtesy of her mother.

After the divorce, her mom bought a condo, and her dad bought a more modern house in a boring rich neighborhood. 

The listless girl frowned as she recalled the lost memories her family used to hold. 

She breathed in to let out a big yawn; sleep was catching up to her. Her group with Ryunosuke didn't stop for a single break during today's trip. It took a huge toll on her stamina.

"Haaaaaahhnn──"

"Boo."

"Eh?" Emei shrieked in surprise when she suddenly heard a low voice whisper in her ear beside her. She was so startled her body froze. 

Massive shock.

Abruptly, a hand captured Emei's gaping mouth to muffle her screams. 

"Shut up!"

Emei bit down as hard as she could digging her teeth into the attacker's hand. The girl cowered on the ground and chanted a prayer to banish the apparition.

"I didn't do anything wrong, I swear! I promise to never sleep in class again! I swear! Please──"

"Calm down! You're gonna wake the whole country up!" Karma blew on his aching hand, evidently pissed off as he stared at the obvious teeth marks on his palm. 

Emei jolted up and spun around in an instant. She pointed an accusing finger at the boy who only twitched his eye since he was basically just attacked.

"You! Don't do that!" Emei heavily panted, touching her chest to feel her heart racing. "You gave me a heart attack!"

"Good." 

A while later, the pair calmed down and decided on a truce to not blame each other for the unfortunate events. 

"How did you not notice me openning the door? I was there for at least a few minutes──" Karma immediately regretted what he said because he basically just admitted to staring at Emei like a creep.

"It doesn't matter. You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" The shorter girl briskly punched his shoulder, but her motion seemed to hurt her more than her Karma. "Hiya──ow!" 

Karma was honestly quite handsome. Emei snuck a glance at his tall stature leaning on the railing beside her. His pale complexion lit up nicely from the white crescent moonlight. The way his facial features relaxed in a way that she could only describe as dreamy. 

It was a big contrast to his mischievous personality. 

His yukata draped on his body like it was meant for him to wear and wasn't a cheap rent-out, and the way his half-lidded eyes looked at her when he──

The two quickly averted their gazes in different directions. Emei fought the redness in her face, staring down at her feet, which were kind of cold from being bare. 

Karma internally scolded himself for getting caught staring. An awkward silence fell over the pair as they felt oddly shy near each other.

"I came to tell you it's lights out. We should head back before Karasuma does a hall sweep," Karma broke the silence suggesting they should go to their respective rooms. 

Emei nodded slowly, rubbing her sleepy eyes. But her eyes slightly lit up as she got an idea. Emei cuffed Karma's wrist, not noticing how he tensed, and brought them close to her chest. 

"Can you carry me back to my room? Please Akabane-kun~" She looked at him with pleading puppy eyes. "My feet hurt."

Karma broke loose from her grip and pinched her cheeks as hard as he could. This caused the girl to yelp and try to pry him off her only to fail due to the difference in strength. 

"Ow! Ow! Hey!" She whined with tears at the brim of her eyes. 

"You think that just 'cause I carry you home once I'll do it again!?" Karma smirked sadistically as he squeezed her cheeks until they reddened. 

"I thought we were friends!!!!"