The Girl Who Loved A Beautiful Devil ~Karma AkabaneXReader~

Chapter 21

 I scanned my reflection in the full-body mirror, checking for any possible wardrobe malfunctions; I was dressed in a floral cropped-top, a pair of navy high-waist-shorts and with black ankle-platform boots to match. Since it was just a simple afternoon date to the bookstore café downtown, I'd decided to keep my outfit casual yet still presentable.

I grabbed a brush from my dresser and tied my hair up into a simple ponytail. I gave myself one last glance in the mirror before reaching for my bag on my bed and made my way downstairs. Just as I was about to reach for the doorknob of the front door, I felt a sudden throbbing in my head. It was only this slight pain and since it wasn't anything like an actual headache or migraine, I'd decided to dismiss as the effect of the hot weather. I opened the door and headed out without another thought about the minor throb.

When I'd reached the bookstore café downtown, I noticed that the brilliant blue sky had darkened immensely and I let out a silent sigh of relief that I had made it to the café before the rain had started; according to the weather broadcast that morning, it was said that there would be a huge downpour occurring that late afternoon but I had ignored it since the morning weather was utterly brilliant. I pushed open the door of the café and entered; Karma was always the one who was late for our dates in our relationship so I went to the shelves at the back to get a book before heading to find a seat.

While I was in the midst of my search for a book which might fit my tastes, I accidentally bumped into someone nearby since I wasn't really paying attention to where I was moving. "I-I'm sorry!" I blurted out immediately to the person and bowed apologetically.

"Ah, it's alright." A familiar male voice spoke out and I snapped my head up to find a pair of golden eyes staring at me.

"Isogai-kun?" I asked aloud and I stood up from my bow; the black-haired male whom I'd unintentionally bumped into happened to be none other than the 3-E class representative and one of Karma's fellow classmates.

"(L/ N)-san?" his golden orbs widened vaguely when he realized who I was. "Oh, wow, hi! It's been a while since you've hung out at the 3-E class campus. It's such a coincidence to bump into you here." He smiled at me brightly.

"Literally," I said sheepishly which made him chuckle. "And yea, it's been a while, I've been really busy with schoolwork so I haven't been able to go see you guys. But anyway, how is everyone doing?"

"Everyone's doing great!" Isogai replied chirpily and I couldn't help but break into a smile at his cheerful attitude. "They've all been missing you though. You should really come visit us when you have the time."

"That's so sweet, and I promise that I will once I get all of my dreaded work done," I said, sighing. "Our teacher's been giving us an endless amount of homework every day and what's worse is that he tosses another batch of work at us before we're even done with the first one!"

Isogai chuckled. "Well, that's the struggle of being in the A class I guess."

"I get the feeling that he's trying to kill us sometimes..." I then noticed the small stack of books that Isogai was carrying in his hands and raised a questioning eyebrow at him as I asked, "Are you planning to purchase all those books, Isogai-kun?"

Isogai glanced down at the books in his hands at my inquiry and replied, "Ah, no, I couldn't afford them even if I wanted to be honest,"

I felt a slight sense of sympathy for him at his words; Karma had told me before that he was poor and was working a part-time job at the café so that he could take care of his family and I knew that the last thing anyone in his state wanted was to be pitied by others but I couldn't help but wish that I could do something to help him with his unfair situation.

"Kataoka-san had asked me to help her buy these," the black-haired male explained. "She's busy helping her mom these days so she couldn't come by and get them herself."

"Oh, I see," I said and gave him a warm smile. "That's very sweet of you."

Isogai blushed lightly and it was absolutely adorable; I suddenly felt an urge to pull him into a bear-like hug. "I-it's nothing really... but thank you, (L/ N)-san." He stuttered which only made him even more adorable. "So... what brings you here?"

"Oh, Karma and I are on a date, or we will be once he gets here," I said as I rolled my eyes. "He's always late for our dates."

"Since it's Karma-kun, I'm not really surprised." He said with a sheepish smile. "But he's really changed a lot since he met you, (L/ N)-san, and I mean that in the best way possible."

"Really? Has he changed that much since meeting me?" I inquired curiously; Koro-sensei and the others had mentioned that I had made Karma change for the better but to be honest, I wasn't really sure how much change they actually meant.

"Definitely," Isogai exclaimed to emphasis his point. "But I mean, he's still his prank-loving and sadistic self, that's fine, he wouldn't be the Karma we know if he wasn't like that. All I'm saying is that he's given up his more dangerous traits."

"I see..." I trailed off and I would be a liar if I say that I didn't felt even a bit flattered by this fact.

"Even Kayano-san loves you two together, she keeps referring you two as her OTP but I don't really get what she means by that," he chuckled and I laughed at the thought of Kayano going around the class telling everyone that Karma and I are her OTP. "But anyway, everyone is grateful to you."

"I... I didn't really do anything to be honest." I mumbled.

"Don't underestimate yourself, (L/ N)-san." He said then glanced at the watch on his wrist. "And not to be rude or anything, but I have to pay for these books and get going or else Kataoka-san will go on a rampage."

I smiled at his words. "It's fine and good luck with Kataoka-san." I gave him a wink and he blushed; it was no secret, even to an outsider like me that the ikemen of class 3-E had a crush on the female representative of the class.

Before he could reply, I grabbed a book that I had been eyeing for a while from the shelf beside me and turned on my heels, leaving him a blushing mess behind me. I smiled and headed for the empty window seat at the back. I sat down and flipped open the book as I waited for my sadistic boyfriend to arrive.

But an hour later, he still hadn't come, and it worried me. I had sent him several text messages during that time and even called him a few times but they all went to voicemail. Ten minutes had passed since my last call to him and I was about to dial his number again when my phone suddenly went off. Thinking it was Karma, I instantly picked it up.

"Hello? Karma?" I blurted out without thought.

"(L/ N)-san? No, this is Nagisa," my boyfriend's best friend's voice spoke through the phone. "I need to tell you something."

My eyes grew wide at what he told me next.

"Karma-kun has collapsed and he's been sent to the hospital."