Trouble in Paradise ||Karma Akabane| [INDEFINITE HIATUS]

chapter thirteen

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"Scorpion sting,
I don't want to bleed
Tell me that I'm not lost
Oh Raven,
Won't you sing me a happy song"
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My plan to go back into the basement was already falling apart. Once I had arrived at work, the plan was to go downstairs before I was on the clock. However, now that I was at the mansion, I had a difficult time finding exactly where it was.

The way I had gotten down was through a faulty floorboard, and I made the mistake of daydreaming when Karma led me out.

"What are you looking for?" A voice broke me out of my frustration. I turned to see Nakamura, one of Karma's personal assistants. I had only been introduced to her, but even then I had gotten the impression that she was always up to something. Just from her mischievous grin and the way Maehara and Fuwa.

I scratched the back of my neck, "I'm looking for the basement."

"Really?" She looked confused, "Usually Karma doesn't have us work down there."

"Well..." I trailed off in an effort to stall. I didn't have an excuse and the way she furrowed her brow I knew she was aware that my intentions weren't good.

What caught me off guard was her grin, a flash going through her eyes. "Tryin' to cause trouble for the boss? I'm down. I promise I won't tell anyone."

I returned the smile, "Thanks. So are you going to show me where it is?"

"You bet," Nakamura waved her hand, "Follow me."

The stairs were located in the last place I would've expected. The door was not only shut, it was locked. I would've needed to ask someone for help or get the keys on my own.

Nakamura unlocked it after checking for witnesses. She turned to me quickly, "I'll delete this footage off of Ritsu later."

"Ritsu?" I asked, letting her lead me down the stairs.

"Yeah, the smart home security system. Karma has camera everywhere. You didn't know that?" We turned the corner to look at the vast amount of storage. A strange feeling started to brew in my stomach. Nerves, anxiety, and surprisingly guilt all jumbled together in my gut disposing of any appetite I may have possessed.

"No," I answered, "No one ever told me, but now that you did I probably should've expected it."

"I know, right?" Nakamura chuckled. "He really is the paranoid type. But there aren't any down here so that'll make my job easier. I'll be up there as a sort of lookout though I doubt we'll have any issues. Give me your phone number real quick so I can text you to hide. There's plenty of junk it won't be a hard job."

She handed me her phone, the case designed with flowers that appeared to be painted on. I entered my number into her contacts before handing it back to her. "Alright, thanks."

"Anytime." She waved her hand dismissively. "I'm always down to prank someone, even if it is the man who can fire me. Now, I'll stop wasting your time and wait upstairs."

"Sounds good," I gave her a salute which she returned.

Her footsteps echoes up the staircase, leaving me to turn and face the vast amount of shelves housing random, seemingly miscellaneous items. I felt like something more was down here.