Chapter 2### The Descent of Karma Akabane

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Karma Akabane’s brilliance was evident from an early age. Sharp-witted and analytical, he outpaced his peers in academics without breaking a sweat. Yet, beneath that genius lay a volatile storm of emotions that few could handle. After Yumi’s departure to the bustling city, his world fractured. The girl who had been his anchor, his compass, was now gone, and the void she left behind festered into somethssing day. When Yumi first moved to the city, they promised to stay in touch. At first, her texts and calls were the only solace Karma had. “I’ll visit soon,” she’d say, her voice bright and full of hope. But as months turned into years, Karma realized that the physical distance wasn’t the only obstacle. Her new life was worlds apart from his. The towering skyscrapers and ceaseless energy of the city consumed her time, leaving Karma with fleeting moments of connection. Weekend visits never materialized. He couldn’t afford to search for her when he was a child, and by the time he became a teenager, the city’s sprawling labyrinth made finding her a futile endeavor. Still, her absence didn’t sever their bond. Karma clung to her voice in their late-night calls, her laughter through the phone, and the texts she sent—simple, mundane messages that he read over and over. Yet, as her replies grew sporadic, a gnawing sense of insecurity and possessiveness consumed him. Without Yumi’s grounding presence, Karma’s emotions spiraled. Anger became his shield, and mischief turned into calculated cruelty. His intelligence, once a source of admiration, became a weapon he wielded mercilessly. Teachers, classmates, and even authority figures fell prey to his cunning schemes. At his second middle school, Karma’s temper flared when a classmate made an offhand comment about Yumi. “So your girlfriend left you? Guess she’s having fun in the big city,” the boy sneered. Before anyone could react, Karma’s fist collided with the boy’s face. The sound of the impact echoed through the room, and blood dripped from the boy’s nose. Karma didn’t stop there. He grabbed the boy by his collar and growled, “Say her name again, and I’ll make sure you can’t talk.” His eyes burned with a feral intensity that left everyone in the room frozen in fear. Expulsions became a pattern. Each new school welcomed him as a prodigy and sent him away as a liability. His intelligence and charisma made him an enigma—admired but feared. When a teacher attempted to discipline him for one of his pranks, Karma’s response was chilling. “You’re just angry because I’m smarter than you,” he said with a smirk, his sharp eyes cutting through any pretense of authority. Though his behavior was ernatic, Karma’s mind remained razor-sharp. He devoured books on strategy, psychology, and even combat techniques. Martial arts became an outlet for his pent-up aggression. His instructors marveled at his aptitude, but they also noted the unnerving precision with which he fought. Evrry move was calculated, every strike delivered with the efficiency of a predator. By the time he was demoted to Class 3-E, Karma’s reputation preceded him. “A troublemaker,” they whispered. “Too smart for his own good.” Yet, beneath the chaos, a part of him still yearned for Yumi. Every prank, every fight, was a cry for attention—a desperate attempt to fill the void she had left. Karma’s arrival in Class 3-E was marked by his usual nonchalance. He sauntered in, hands in his pockets, with a smirk that dared anyone to challenge him. Most of his classmates avoided his gaze, but Nagisa Shiota, with his quiet demeanor, wasn’t intimidated. One afternoon, as they sat under the shade of a tree during lunch, Nagisa broke the silence. “Karma kun you've changed” he remarked, his blue eyes studying Karma carefully. Karma raised an eyebrow. “And? what do you expectme to do?” “You’re a genius but dangerous. You don’t care about anyone anymore,” Nagisa replied. Karma chuckled, a low, humorless sound. "You're not wrong.” “But I don’t think that’s all there is to you,” Nagisa continued. “You’re hiding something.” For a moment, Karma’s smirk faltered. He looked away, his gaze fixed on the horizon. “Maybe I am,” he admitted softly. Then, as if catching himself, he added with a grin, “But it’s more fun to keep people guessing.” Karma’s obsession with Yumi grew with each passing day. Her texts became his lifeline, her voice a balm to his restless soul. When she talked about her new friends or the adventures she had in the city, Karma’s chest tightened. He hated the thought of her laughing with someone else, sharing the moments that should have been his. One evning, after a particularly terse conversation, Nagisa found Karma sitting alone, his phone clutched tightly in his hand. “You’ve been staring at that scrreen for hours,” Nagisa said gently. “She hasn’t replied,” Karma muttered, his usual confidence replaced by a vulnerability Nagisa hadn’t seen before. “...” Nagisa asked, though he already suspected the answer...YUMI. Karma’s eyes flickered with a mixture of longing and frustration. “The only person who matters,” he said quietly. Nagisa hesitated before speaking. “You miss her a lot, don’t you?” Karma’s lips curved into a bitter smile. “‘Miss' doesn’t even begin to cover it. She’s everything. Without her…” His voice trailed off, and he clenched his fists. “Without her, it feels like I’m drowning.” Nagisa placed a hand on Karma’s shoulder. “Maybe you should tell her how you feel.” Karma shook his head. “It’s not that simple. She’s far away, living a life I can’t be a part of. But I can’t let her go. I won’t.” Though Karma couldn’t visit Yumi, he made a vow to himself. “One day,” he whispered to the night sky, “I’ll find a way to be with you. No matter what it takes.” His obsession drove him to master every skill he could. He became fluent in multiple languages, hacked into databases for fun, and trained his body to its peak. Each accomplishment was a step closer to the day he’d stand before Yumi again, not as the boy she left behind but as someone worthy of her. Despite his determination, Karma’s heart ached with every unanswered text, every missed call. He told himself it didn’t matter, that their bond was unbreakable. Yet, the fear of losing her to the vastness of the city gnawed at him, fueling the fire of his obsession.. . . . . . . . One day, during a training exercise with Korosensei, Karma’s emotions boiled over. Nagisa, always observant, noticed the intensity in Karma’s movements. “You’re pushing too hard,” Nagisa warned as Karma landed a particularly brutal strike on the training dummy. “What do you know?” Karma snapped, his voice laced with frustration. “You don’t understand what it’s like to have something… someone… so close yet so distant.
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