Karmagisa: Our Fate Upon The Crown

06 | Pride Within Me

<Nagisa>
Once the crowd dispersed and Asano's group finally left. I stayed behind to make sure that everyone was fine. The one girl looked shaken up from the incident the other one was fuming with a bad temper. The other guys tried to calm the both them down.

"You really helped us there." Sugino patted my back, "I haven't seen you in ages..."

"It's been too long hasn't it?" I smiled.

"A-are you going to be okay?" One of the ladies with long black hair dabbed her handkerchief on the side of my lip."

"Yes, I'll be fine-"

"He did take a punch and didn't get knocked out." It sounded like the blonde hair girl praised me one sidedly. "Good job kid."

"T-thanks..." I awkwardly replied.

In the midst of everything, everyone shyly looked away from me. Sugino noticed the tense mood and pulled me aside.

"Nagisa, we can't just leave you like this. Please let us treat you-"

"Sugino, please. You don't have to do such things." I assured, "you don't owe me anything and you don't have to act so formal with me. Have you forgotten that we were once best friends?"

"Yeah but..."

Sugino's eyes started to wander on my chest as he saw the family noble crest. I rolled my eyes and patted his shoulder.

"I'm going to leave now." I smirked.

"I'll send a letter, we'll discuss how we'll make it up to you." Sugino didn't back down. "Right guys?"

I looked behind him and everyone else nodded their heads. How could I say no now? Geeze, Sugino needs to know that I didn't do it just for him...wasn't it because of integrity? But I guess I did notice that it was him in the beginning.
••••
On my way back to the palace, the guards and servants laid all their eyes on me. It wasn't like last time where I came in as the Queen but, rather something different. Even I didn't know that it was in me to do such boisterous things, like getting into fights.

"N-Nagisa? What happened to your beautiful face?!" Princess Irina zoomed towards me and inspected my bleeding lip and bruise on my cheek. As she slightly placed pressure on it, it stung badly and uncomfortably.

"It's nothing." I brushed her away.

"Nothing?!" She grabbed my arm.

I aggressively glanced at her with vexation. I've been having a bad day so far and I don't want others to make it anymore worst than it already is.
Essentially, she realized that she stepped out of line and diverted her gaze.

"My apologies, I overstepped my boundaries." I could see it in her soul that she was holding back her self-hatred for herself and the willingness to want to slap me.

I know she wanted to hurt me, I've known what my existence does to people.

"What's there to apologize for?" I didn't want to turn around and face her as I talked but, I didn't want to leave things as it was.

I proceeded into the palace and casually walked down grand halls. At the same time, I wanted to hurry and make it to my room, without being caught by him.

"Nagisa! You're back!"

I heard Karma's voice echoing behind me. I spoke too soon. Don't turn around Nagisa.

"Yeah, I just got back." I replied.

The approaching footsteps startled me more.

"D-don't come closer!" I shouted, hiding my face.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

His voice was only a few steps away from me. Any closer and he'll see my face. I began striding farther and faster away from him. He did the same, only until he caught up to me.

"Nagisa, why are you running away?" He yanked my arm and I couldn't help but to face him as he turned me around. His arms dropped to his sides once he saw my face.

"W-what happened..?" He questioned.

"I got into a fight, what of it?" I sighed.

"You? In a fight? What really happened?"

Karma refused to acknowledge that I, out of all people would pick up a fight with someone else. Was he belittling me? I folded my arms and stood there.

"It's just a scratch, is there a problem?" I raised my voice.

"Nagisa, tell me." Karma demanded.

My blood boiled and I wanted to just run away. I can't stand to see you right now. I just want to leave this cursed life. I'm utterly trapped.

"Goddamn it." I frowned, "what? You want to know that I tried to save my friend from a group of bullies and ended up getting beat up on?" I revealed to him without even caring about my current wellbeing.

Karma was relatively disappointed with my actions. He placed his hands on his hips and spoke.

"Why didn't you call a guard to go with you? You could of avoided getting hurt."

"Huh? Why would I need a babysitter?"

"Nagisa, that's not what I meant." Karma came back. "You know you'll threaten your position if you attract attention. You should know better. Plus look at you, you're all bruised and bleeding as we speak."

"Don't I have a right to my own pride?" I responded.
"Kings, Queens, damn with it all! I don't care." Infuriated as I was, no guards came running from their to the commotion we were making. They stood like statues like they were used to seeing this.

Karma placed his hand on his forehead and shook disapprovingly. I could tell that he wasn't going to end this any sooner. Why is he so mad at me? Wouldn't he do the same if he were in my shoes? I can't believe this man.

"I'm going to leave now." He turned away.

"Wait." He grabbed my arm.

"Let go of me." I calmly tried to extinguish the fire between us but, Karma poured in more gas. "Why can't you leave me alone?!"

"You don't get it do you?!" He exclaimed. "You don't care about yourself do you? You're injured and you don't care."

"It doesn't even hurt!" I shouted back at him and tugged my arm away. "Don't touch me. Don't come near me again! You may be the King but I'm not submitting to the likes of you." I said as much as I could and all of what I wanted to get off my chest.

I turned my back on him.

"Don't you think this is weird? Two men especially?" I stomped away from him.

Eventually I knew that doing this, meant that I was straying away from the path chosen for me by birth. I hate this. Just because it's tradition, doesn't mean that it will last forever. It won't. Not as long as I'm alive. I'll break this chain of future lovers right here and now.

We've made a compact didn't we? No affection.

I didn't want to look back at that awful sight. Karma looked down on me. He thinks I'm weak and can't take care of myself. I have my own life, don't I? Why is it that I need someone doting on me?

Karma doesn't get it, he's being controlled by the King. His heart and his life doesn't belong to him. Our lives is just a show and we are the marionettes, as the world is the puppeteers. This is just another one of those stories.