The Serpent Inside (A Karmagisa Fanfiction)

1: New Beginnings

For those of you wondering, the main big plot-ness will really kick off around chapter 6 or so, I believe. Owl and I (Starling) needed more time for writing, so we have some character building chapters beforehand. A small summary for you guys, we have a chapter for Iyuka to meet everyone, her first day of school and Karmagisa being nervous parents, and a chapter about Nagisa trying to not kill Kayano as they attempt to friend a little bit.

Sorry for the wait of getting back to the big main plot-ness!

--Starling--

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Iyuka was exhausted by the time her new parents reached their place, but excitement took over, and the adrenaline flowed through her veins. She squirmed until the redhead gently set her on her feet, and she looked in awe around the house that she would soon call home. Looking up with wide eyes at the inside decor, she was shocked by the size of the house.

A small chuckle rang behind her, and the small girl looked to the redhead who ran his fingers through her medium-short hair. She liked the feeling, although she was still hesitant to move forwards. What would happen if she tripped and fell again? What would she do if she did something wrong? Would these nice people dislike her?

For someone as young as she, worry and doubt started to cloud her mind. She suddenly stilled, and seeing this, Nagisa moved his way up towards her small frame, whispering to her quietly. "It's okay. I know all of this seems different and big but we will help you out," he said, making sure to speak where her vocabulary range lied.

She still seemed hesitant, but when he stood back up from his crouch, she wrapped her arms around his leg and sat on his foot, desperation and anxiety making her grip his calf tightly.

The bluenette chuckled. He walked, making sure not to make Iyuka fall with a misstep. Picking up the small girl when they reached the living room, he held her against his hip as he pointed everything in the room. "See that?" he whispered playfully to her. "That's our pillows. See how fluffy and soft they are?" Iyuka giggled and pointed to the redhead who was sitting on the couch, watching the two with half-lidded eyes.

"Karma!" she called, Nagisa laughed with her.

"Yeah, you got that right!" Nagisa said, holding her closer to him.

She giggled again and pointed to the assassin, although she didn't know of that. She attempted to say his name a few times, it coming out messed up until she finally settled on a nickname. "Nagi," she said cheerfully, and seeing his ecstatic face with her progress, she pointed to herself. "Iyuka!"

Nagisa laughed. "Yes, you're Iyuka," he said, rubbing her back as she started to grow tired. Karma saw this, and Nagisa's face brightened when she yawned. She curled up closer to his chest, blinking away the exhaustion, although she remained ready for bed.

"Why don't we head for bed? And tomorrow, we will show you the rest of the house," Nagisa said, making his way to the bedrooms, Iyuka in hand. She seemed to agree with the idea in her own way, but a problem was quickly arisen. She was already in her pajamas, and had Cocoa, Karma's stuffed bunny, in hand. She had gone to the bathroom once last time after Nagisa showed her where it was, but now...

She looked at her bedroom. It was nice, neat and orderly, but it was dark, and her grip tightened on Nagisa's hand as she whined. She had an arm around Cocoa, and her thumbnail in her mouth — she liked the dark, but being alone wasn't something she was used to, and the stress was making her go to old habits. She had grown up to sleeping with a bunch of other kids, and she was always one of the last ones asleep, hearing the other kids' even breaths and calm rustling lulled her to sleep on many occasions.

But in this room, it would be silent, so silent that she would be able to hear her own heartbeat if she wanted to.

Nagisa seemed to notice her hesitation. He smiled grimly before tugging gently on her hand to grab her attention.

"Why don't you sleep with me and Karma for the night?" he asked quietly, and the girl's eyes brightened. He quickly brought her to their room, leading him inside. Karma was already ready for bed, but he smiled when he saw Iyuka with Nagisa.

There weren't any words to be exchanged — there didn't need to be any — but Iyuka could feel safe as both Nagisa and Karma went to sleep, her plopped right in the middle to feel the warmth of Karma and the chill of Nagisa.

Iyuka smiled. So this was her new family. She was liking it so far, much more than the other families that failed to keep her.

She curled up closer to the two.

She could only hope that this family would stay with her, because she was starting to like the two. She already knew that she was dubbing them as parents, but she couldn't help herself. She hated keeping herself from her hopes getting high. Sighing lightly, she hoped that this would be the one. She pleaded that this would be the one.

She wanted this, more than anything else.