12 The Visit: The Calm After and Before the Storm

*Where am I?*

Karma was stuck in what seemed to be an empty black world. There was no light. No sound. No Life.

Only pure darkness.

"Hello?" Karma shouted into the dark. But there was no answer. Not even an echo. The blackness seemed to stretch far and wide, infinitely.

He walked forward to find something other than black. Some light. Or perhaps a person.

Then he saw something.

It wasn't light nor a person. But it was something. Something that he could not really describe. As he got closer, an invisible force was pushing him, but not completely blocking him.

As he pushed forward, the force got stringer. He walked until he could no longer push forward. The force knocked him down. Then out of nowhere, appeared a terrifying figure.

"AHHH!" Karma screamed in fear. He tried backing away, but another force was blocking him from behind. As he watched, the figure slowly transformed into something familiar.

It was him. But at the same time, it wasn't him.

"W-Who are you?" Karma asked, terrified.

He didn't expect it, but he got a reply.

-I aM YOU-

-I aM ThE DArk EsSence iNsIde oF YOU-

-I aM ThE YOU THaT KiLlS-

Then Karma was dragged down by the darkness. Images of bloodied victims flashed through his mind. Some delinquents. The people from the organization.

Then, as a final image, it showed a large image, Of Shirohana. Except, she was doused in blood.

-WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME, KARMA?- the bloodied Shirohana said.

"N-No...! NOOOO!" Karma shouted.

Then a ray of sunlight shone on his face. He bolted up, panting. He looked around. He was in bed. There were closets, cabinets, anything you can find in a bedroom.

*Thank goodness...That was just a dream...* he thought, relieved.

He got up and saw a clock on the wall. It read 5:00 P.M. Then he saw a pile of clothes neatly folded on the side. It was his clothes, washed and clean. He looked down to see that he was wearing a rather fancy set of pajamas.

He got changed and went outside. There, he saw a maid dusting a vase that was by the door.

"Hello, sir," the maid said upon seeing Karma.

"Hello..." Karma replied.

"If you are looking for Lady Shirohana, she's in her room," the maid said. "It's the second door from the staircase.

"Thank you, Karma said, walking toward the direction of the staircase.

"So this is the man Lady Shirohana is so fond of..." the maid said chuckling. She then walked off in the opposite direction.

Karma was standing in front of the room nervously. He had never been in a girl's room before.Just thinking about it made him a bit uncomfortable. He gulped and opened the door. There he saw Shirohana sitting in her bed, reading a book.

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Shirohana turned to the sound of the door opening. Then tears fell. Tears of Joy. Of Relief.

"Karma...You...are okay..." Shirohana said. She tried getting up and running to him, but her body still ached.

"Don't move! I don't want you getting even more hurt," Karma said running to Shirohana. When he got close, Shirohana suddenly embraced him.

"I'm glad you're okay," Shirohana said, weeping.

"I should be saying that, " Karma said. "Please don't do anything like that ever again."

"Okay. I'll be less reckless," Shirohana replied with a smile. After a long embrace, the two then talked about normal student topics, to steer away from the incident that happened a week ago.

-Knock, Knock-

"Come in," Shirohana said. It was the head maid and a few subordinate maids.

"Lady Shirohana, Lady Shirohana's friend. I have brought some tea and treats," she said.

"Thank you, Maria," Shirohana replied.

"T-Thank you," Karma replied also.

The maids moved a table closer to Shirohana's bed and sat the food down. They poured two cups of tea and handed them to Karma and Shirohana.

"Please enjoy and take your time, " Maria said, bowing. The other maids did the same and they left, with Maria slowly closing the door behind them.

Karma took a sip of the tea. He was bewildered. Of all the tea he had tasted, this one was by far the best.

"This is so good!" Karma exclaimed. "What tea is this?"

"Yeah, Maria's tea is the best in the world," Shirohana happily agreed. "It's carefully brewed Rosemary tea.

"That makes sense. It smells like flowers," Karma said, taking another sip. Shirohana smiled. Karma was looking a lot better now. Not depressed. Not bloodthirsty. Just...human. A high school student, like her.

Then dinner came around.

"Oh no, I don't want to trouble you anymore," Karma said. "I'll go home now."

"That won't do," Frank said. "We made dinner on the Mistress and Young Mistress's command. If you won't eat, we will be betraying our masters' word."

"Yeah. Stay here for the night," Shirohana said, wheeling in a wheelchair. She wanted to be able to move around, so Frank got her a wheelchair.

"Well, if you say so," Karma said. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, " Shirohana replied, smiling.

They went into the dining hall, where Shirohana's mother was waiting.

"Hello, Darling," Shirohana's mom said. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes I am, mother," Shirohana replied.

"And how about you, young man?" Shirohana's mom turned to Karma.

"I-I'm alright, ma'am," Karma replied nervously. Shirohana's mom chuckled.

"Oh don't be so tense," she said. "Loosen up. You are welcome here."

"T-Thank you," Karma replied, less nervous than before. A butler pulled out a chair so that Shirohana can wheel her self into the spot. Another butler pulled the chair out for Karma.

"Thank you," Karma said.

"My pleasure," the butler said, bowing.

There was a wide variety of high-class food, some of which Karma had never seen before. The smell filled Karma with gluttony. He couldn't wait to show all of it down. Of course, he had to wait for the signal to be polite.

"You seem hungry," Shirohana's mom said. "Go ahead. Eat to your heart's content."

"Oh, but your husband isn't here yet," Karma replied. "I'll wait until he comes."

Shirohana's mom chuckled.

"My, you are quite the sweet one, aren't you?" Shirohana's mom said. "Don't worry. My husband is on a business trip right now, so you can go right ahead."

"Well, alright," Karma replied.

"Here, try this," Shirohana said, moving a plate of food closer. It was a vegetable stir-fry. Karma complied and tried it. The taste filled his mouth and his taste buds started tingling. Each bite was heavenly. He could eat it for the rest of his life and not get tired of it.

"This is so good!" Karma said, stuffing his mouth with more food.

Shirohana chuckled.

"You don't have to hurry," she said. "The food isn't going anywhere."

"S-Sorry," Karma said, realizing he was just the only one eating so quickly. The rest of the dinner proceeded with talks of school, laughs, and heightened relationships. It was a pleasant time.

After dinner, Karma and Shirohana chatted a little while more before both headed to their rooms to sleep.

*Can't believe that incident occurred just a week ago,* Karma thought to himself. He couldn't really remember all that had happened during the fight. The last clear thing he remembered was Shirohana getting shot. That scene still was vivid in his mind and brought chills. And then everything went black, only lifting for a few moments at a time.

Then he fell asleep, and all was quiet.

The next morning...

"Thank you for your patronage," Karma said, bowing.

"You're welcome," Shirohana's mom replied, smiling.

"See you in school," Shirohana said, waving.

"Yeah, see you," Karma replied, waving and walking off.

"He's a nice boy, isn't he?" Shirohana's mom said to Shirohana.

"Yeah, he is," Shirohana replied cheerfully.

As Karma walked, he thought about all the things that had happened. So much had happened in such a short while. He wanted to just relax after engaging in fights non-stop. He also needed to work on keeping his other side in check now more than ever, considering the damage he remembered he caused during the fight with the organization that Josh called to deal with him.

As he turned the corner, a dark shadow loomed from behind a telephone pole.