The Serpent Inside (A Karmagisa Fanfiction)

4: Internal Panic

Nagisa's hands were gripping the wheel tightly, turning his knuckles white from his hold on it. He was nervous, no doubt, but also excited in a way. Karma was sitting in the passenger seat of the car, his jaw clenched in worry. Nagisa looked in the mirror by the headboard, looking at Iyuka, who was in the back. Her small form was held back by the small seatbelt that was strapped over her chest and waist. Holding a little pink bag in her hands, she was staring out the window blankly, unconsciously swinging her legs back and forth.

Nagisa smiled to himself. "You nervous, Iyuka?" he asked quietly, trying to start a conversation to break the thick silence.

Iyuka looked over to him. "Yeah, I am. There will be so many people," she replied.

Nagisa nodded. "It'll be okay. And if you ever want to leave, just ask one of the adults to call us, alright? We'll come right away."

Iyuka smiled slightly. "Alright," she said.

Nagisa looked over to a sick-looking Karma, whose face was slightly green. Nagisa had a feeling that the two were going to have a talk as soon as Iyuka was out of earshot.

Nagisa pulled over the vehicle into the parking lot in front of the small school. There were several other cars, and a few children were standing next to their parents nervously, hiding behind their legs.

Nagisa unbuckled, as did Karma. Iyuka followed suit, and the three stepped out. Nagisa reached out his hand towards Iyuka, and she took it. Karma grabbed her backpack. The three made their way silently towards the school, and once inside, they were greeted by an exuberant woman.

"Ah, hello! May I ask you your name?" she asked cheerfully.

Nagisa, seeing that Karma wasn't going to respond, said, "We are the Akabane family," he said slowly. He gently put a hand on Iyuka's stiff shoulder. "This is Iyuka."

The woman looked at her clipboard, her eyes scanning the names before her irises lit up. "Ah, Iyuka should be in Nakasami-sensei's homeroom. Would you like me to lead her to her room?"

Nagisa hesitated. "Could you give us a moment?" he asked, and the woman nodded.

"Of course," she replied, before turning to a different family.

Karma immediately crouched down and pulled Iyuka into a hug. Iyuka hugged him back, and she sniffled.

"You promise that you will be back as soon as school is over?" she asked, her eyes slightly red. Nagisa clicked his tongue and crouched down as well.

"Of course we will," Karma said, and he tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, booping her nose lightly, earning a small smile.

Iyuka nodded and let go of Karma before hugging Nagisa. Nagisa wrapped her arms around her before he stood up, and Karma handed her her backpack. Iyuka took it and pulled the straps over her shoulders before taking Nagisa's hand. The assassin brought her to the chipper woman, who smiled at them.

"Alright, sweetie. Let's bring you to your homeroom, okay? Say bye to..." She paused looking for the most polite and not homophobic way to refer to the two males, before finishing her statement. "your daddies."

Iyuka swallowed thickly before turning and waving to the two, who waved back. Iyuka disappeared behind a corner, and the married couple turned back, numb, towards their car. They were quick to climb back in, and that was when Karma finally spoke.

"This is a bad idea," he said.

Nagisa put the car in gear before he pushed on the gas pedal. "Iyuka has to meet up with other kids eventually, Karma. And if it doesn't end well, we'll take her out of the school and homeschool her."

Karma crossed his arms. "I still don't think this is okay. I mean, she's so shy..."

"I know," Nagisa said patiently. "But it would have to happen eventually. The sooner, the better," he said, trying to calm the butterflies in his chest.

"Still, I don't think we should leave her there! She's just so little. And the other kids might be jerks to her! Who knows what'll happen to her!? She's like a sitting duck there! And we won't be there to protect her from all the meanies..."

"Karma, calm down. I'm sure everything will be fine," he said.

Karma took a deep breath in. "Alright," he muttered, and the two started to make their way home.

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

Iyuka blinked as the boy in front of her turned to her. He smiled, showing her some of his missing teeth.

Iyuka noted his eyes. They were warm and gentle, and she assumed that they were almost like a mother's would be with her limited knowledge. His eyes glimmered, the dark brown irises flecked with light brushes of wheat golds and caramels, a grey lining the outer rim, slowly seeping in slightly. Near his pupils was the faint color of mahogany, making his eyes look deeper than she thought possible. Iyuka, for a split second, almost felt as if she could drown in them. She felt her stomach drop like she was falling into the constrained depths of the colored irises.

And yet, despite feeling like she suddenly couldn't function in that moment, the eyes were ever-caring; they were a perfect mix of sternness and loving care. They were the kind of eyes that felt like you could be embraced in.

But if Iyuka had to describe them in one word, it would be chocolate. Plain brown eyes that resembled a sea of liquid chocolate. His eyes looked like they began to glow with genuine happiness at the mere sight of the timid girl.

"Hi!" he said, and he thrust his hand out for her to shake it. "My name is Isogai Manarou! What's yours?"

Iyuka blinked. She took the hand and said, "My name is Akabane." Without thinking, she continued to blabber. "But you can call me Iyuka. You have really pretty eyes."

Isogai looked at her for a second before smiling brighter at her. "Thanks! You do too."

Iyuka hesitated, looking at him with interest.

She smiled.

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

Nagisa was pacing at the house.

"We shouldn't have done this," he said, running his hands through his hair.

"Nagisa-"

"What if the kids are mean to her!? She's such a little kid, it would devastate her... what if she doesn't make any friends!?"

"Nagisa-"

"No, wait... What if someone kidnaps her because of my job as payback!? What then!?"

"Nagisa-"

"She'd be helpless! She wouldn't be able to protect herself!"

Nagisa felt arms snake around his middle as Karma hugged him.

"Nagisa," the redhead said. "She's fine. Don't worry about it," he said soothingly. "Now take a chill pill, and let's go do something productive. Go out to eat or something. She'll be home in a couple of hours."

Nagisa sighed, before turning to Karma. "Fine. But..."

"But?" Karma asked.

"We're going to have to teach her to protect herself. You know that she'll be in big danger otherwise," Nagisa said.

Karma looked at Nagisa in the eyes, before sighing. "We'll talk about that another time. But first, let's just get out of this house."

Nagisa looked at Karma and nodded. "Okay... but you know that that conversation will have to come up sooner than later. We need to keep her safe."

Karma grabbed Nagisa and pulled him out the door. He didn't respond, but Nagisa could see the dark emotion in his eyes.

Keep her safe.