Disclaimer: For the time being, I'm going to refrain from using lyrics from the song in the previous chapter just to introduce another song that describes Karma within the context of this story. This song is called Trust Me and is also from the soundtrack to The Devil's Carnival. Which doesn't belong to me; nor does Karma Akabane. The only characters that I claim ownership of are Hiriko and Eshima. BTW, I'm glad that this story is getting views, but I'd be even more glad if it got maybe a review once in a while. Just so I can get a different opinion on it.

The air in the classroom felt exceedingly warm to Hiriko as she sat with one arm perched on her desk ,while the other supported her head, lest she fall asleep and appear to be slacking. While her outward appearance was focused and collected, her insides were twisting themselves into knots and bowties over the words of the infamous red head rang in her head like church bells. The urge to look over her shoulder, and see if Karma meant what he said was overwhelming, making her lightly tap her foot in a semi frantic manner.

But this had the opposite effect of what she was expecting. The anxiety she felt began to wrap around her like a dark blanket of trepidation and uncertainty. If she was right, and Karma was burning holes in the back of her head with his gaze, Hiriko knew that she would be in trouble. If not then, she'd have half a mind to find him after school and lay into him for making her worry herself sick, because of his pathetic idea of a joke. Every fiber of her body screamed out to her to resist the temptation, and just push him out of her mind, but Hiriko's now crippling anxiety was screaming just as loudly; she slowly, but quietly looked over her shoulder to where the red head sat and looked at him.

He was paying her no mind, but was more interested in writing on the paper in front of him. The concentration that was in his eyes was amplified all the more by the smirk that was plastered to his face. His pen scribbled across the paper with a furious determination that she had never seen before. Sure, Karma was slacker at the best of times, but he was also a great student despite his transgressions. Eventually he caught her stare and returned it with a flirtatious wink.

A wink that had her turning back to her own work with her face once again burning redder than a tomato. As silly as it seemed, Hiriko wished that Eshima was here to calm her fragile nerves, just as she did in the hallway. Nevertheless, something about the way she stood up to Karma registered as strange to Hiriko. At the sight of the red headed devil, other girls would either go weak in the knees ,or go running to behind one of the other guys, or one of the teachers. But somehow, someway, Eshima stood unwavering in front of the delinquent. Even if Karma wasn't directing his attention to her, Eshima stood strong and proud; breaking out of her seemingly quiet and reserved shell. It almost resembled the stabbing incident with the boy that she sent to the ER.

Before she could elaborate on this any further, a frog shaped piece of origami made it's way onto her desk. A couple of the students looked in her direction, and she acted quickly by sliding the folded paper underneath her desk, to examine it further. The paper was a forest green color that would normally be used for arts and crafts activities; not to mention the fact that there was what appeared to be writing on the paper. Hirirko opened it up with steady hands, not wanting to make even the slightest sound of crinkling paper.

When she did manage to completely take the frog apart, the writing that was on it, was not at all what she expected; not even from the likes of Ren Sakakibara. It went a little something like this:

You're a tough little tad pole to love

Naughty lilies and lures. Oh, I was knocked to the floor.

Never tasted as sweet a poison as you have.

You're an urge that can never be cured.

You're a bad little love, and I'm yours .

So trust me. Trust me, darling dear.

I'm so sincere. There's no need to tear.

Trust me. Trust me, honey doo.

Just like I trust you

Those were only the beginning stanzas. There was more to read, but Hiriko choose instead to look back at who the alleged note passer might have been. And sure enough, she was right to assume that it was Karma. The proof was written all over his face.

Meanwhile, her own expression was one of pure confusion as to what she was reading, and even more confused that someone like Karma could write poetry. She turned around to read the next line of words when the bell rang and brought with it the end of first period.

Second period was uneventful, and by the time lunch came along, Hiriko was reading over the rest of the paper with Eshima sitting across from her, equally confused.

Babe, you're a hard game to catch.

You fight and refuse. Oh, you're a wild little bruise.

Never tasted as sweet a poison as you have.

You know you never can hide.

You're a bad little love, and you're mine.

So trust me. Trust me. Darling, dear.

I'm so sincere. There's no need to tear.

Trust me. Trust me, darling doo

Just like I trust you.

Don't cry. Cry baby, all dressed in green.

How many kisses do you need?

One for your tummy, one for your cheek

One for the devil inside of me.

Both girls stared at the paper in complete silence, not being able to make heads or tails of it's contents. But as clueless as they were, one thing was for certain. Karma was determined to garner Hiriko's attention no matter what. Eshima shook her head at this thought and handed the note back to her friend.

"This has to be a joke. For all we know, he probably bribed Sakakibara to write this for him." She said. Hiriko entertained the thought for a moment before another more crucial one came to mind.

"Karma's been known to use people as ports in his storm, but I doubt he'd conspire with someone like Sakakibara , especially since none of the five Virtuoso are on par with Karma as a person". she said. She reached into her bento box for a rice ball until she felt her hand collide with another. She looked up to see Karma with three pieces takoyaki in a napkin, about to place it in her lunch.

"Hey, Hiriko. I was wondering if you'd like this takoyaki. Since I'm not eating it and I know it's your favorite". The smile that he wore was almost genuine as he deposited the food without waiting for Hiriko's answer. Previous incidents involving food have taught her to refuse anything that the red head offers; even if she wasn't directly involved.

Karma was well known for putting mustard, wasabi, and even laxatives in dishes that he'd brought over for school festivals, for the sake of his own sadistic amusement, regardless of the consequences. Needless to say, he was subsequently banned from any and all school functions that required food. Even Eshima seemed to scoot away from the food in front of her friend. Karma merely rolled his eyes in exasperation at the two girls; his smile seemed to dim slightly.

"Oh come on. I've done some bad stuff in the past, but I wouldn't dream of harming you. It's just food. Here, I'll eat one myself." With that, he picked up one of the little balls and popped it in his mouth. Hiriko watched in apprehension, waiting for the side effects of whatever drug he used to kick in. But after five minutes of listening to him chew, and swallow nothing happened. Without even realizing it, Hiriko's eyes widened in surprise as her assumption turned out to be wrong . Out of her peripheral vision, she noticed that Eshima seemed to scoot closer to make sure she wasn't seeing things either. Meanwhile, Karma looked at the both of them, his previous smile plastered on his face; as always he wore it like a medal of honor.

"See? Nothing to worry about." He said. Hirikos' mind short circuited as she looked back and forth between the takoyaki and the red head's smile. There was no way that he didn't have some kind of ulterior motive from doing this. So Hiriko wracked her brain for the best excuse that she could come up with.

"Thanks, but I'm almost full". She said. Karma glanced down at her half eaten bento box , not believing her; Hiriko followed his stare and could feel his disbelieving gaze. Eshima took this time to jump in and intervene.

"I'll eat the takoyaki if you leave us alone". She said. Karma looked over at her with a look of minor disinterest.

"Well, I don't remember asking you, but if Hiriko says it's okay knock yourself out". He said shrugging. Before Eshima could take exception to this and actually eat one of the small balls, Hirko's hand collided with hers and she slowly brought the takoyaki to her mouth. She looked back at Karma with wary eyes .

"If I do this, will you ease off?" She asked. As quickly as it had disappeared Karma's trademark smirk made a swift reappearance for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. For some reason, it looked wider than it was before.

"You bet". He said confidently. That being said, Hiriko's gaze drifted back down to the small food still being held between her thumb, middle, and pointer fingers. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the takoyaki touched the first bit of taste buds on her tongue and made it's way into her mouth. However, it tasted nothing like ordinary takoyaki. To Hiriko's astonishment, it tasted even better than expected.