Reconciliation or Estrangement?

There was absolute silence. No one dared to peep a word with what they were seeing. It was, truly, the most mortifying night that Karma had to face.

‘Karma! Do you understand the magnitude of what you have done?!’, the big, ugly, treacherous Mr. Takada blasts his only son in front of a quivered audience which vastly included his friends in the middle of the village square of Lavonia.

‘No, Dad, I don’t. Why don’t you clarify?’, Karma tried to act aloof. But how could he in front of his big, ugly, treacherous father?

‘Why you little…!’, he started to get to his last nerve, and he readied up for a slap. Karma prepared for the impending doom his left cheek was about to go through, but at the final seconds Mr. Takada’s big, ugly treacherous hand was about to make contact, a girl stepped up onto the podium and pulled Karma away from the impact. Mr. Takada was not very happy that he missed his shot and tried to assault the girl. Karma couldn’t quite figure out who this girl was but she seemed to know her moves. Mr. Takada was going to go for a leg brake on the girl, but it was to no avail when the girl's speed comes into play. Just when he thought he was about to make contact, there was a massive gush of wind and she had disappeared. He started looking around.

‘Where are you, punk?!’

‘I’m everywhere you see’, he heard as echoing voices repeatedly hit his eardrums. Now, no one could see what was going on inside the podium as there was a giant wall of dust and wind propelling around the border of it, with speeds that made sure no one will dare to touch. Karma saw her reappear behind Mr. Takada and she took hold of his arm and leg and pulled them together, making the big, ugly, and treacherous Mr. Takada look like a gift basket. The winds of dust finally stopped and everyone could see what Mr. Takada had turned into. That’s when it clicked Karma. This girl’s fighting skills, her distinguishable blue hair, the red ribbon around her neck, her rather ludicrous speed. It has to be her.

‘You ok tough guy?’, she broke the silence with a wink and a smile.

‘Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks, Hinami.’

‘Okay, then come on! We have to get out of here’, she grabbed his hand and ran into Sen’s direction and grabbed him too. Due to the hypersonic speed that Sen was being tackled by, he blacked out and was sliding face-first on the pavement while Hinami was pulling him faster than the speed of sound.

She ran non stop till they reached the plains and stopped near the guard station. Karma was feeling a little sick from traveling faster than sound and had to take a quick ‘break’ to the toilet.

‘Hey, you fine?’, Hinami asked him gently.

‘Yeah, don’t worry about me… *gargles* I just need to take a quick break…’, Karma replies with disgust and looking extremely sick, ‘Check whether Sen’s fine.’

As Karma runs toward the bushes, Hinami checks whether Sen had hit his head while being dragged. Sen was still face planted to the ground. She chuckled for a bit but felt slightly disconsolate for him after. When she turned him around and looked a little closer, he was fine. But was blushing profusely and had the happiest smile.

‘She-She actu- She actually tou-touched me!’, was what Sen had stammered before passing out again.

‘Oh, come on you idiot! Get up! We have to help Karma resolve the massive problem he has fallen into. He’s really in big trouble, lucky enough to escape from the King itself. But we have to help him.’

Sen’s eyes open up

‘What? You mean help that guy when he did something illegal? Yeah right, why should I even bother…’

‘Listen! You know that we three have been best friends since god knows how long! I would do anything in the world to help any of us out, even if it causes problems to me… I don’t want Karma to suffer, again…’

‘But what he did was…’

‘Don’t you remember any of the countless things he did for us?! How he put his own life on the line to save anyone from any sort of trouble? You’re his friend! You should know better than anyone!’, She interrupted him before he went any further.

Sen felt guilty, ‘I guess you're right…’

Hinami slightly regretted shouting at him. She calmed down and gave a sigh, ‘Of course I am. You should know that.’

‘Yeah. I’m sorry. This was all my fault’, he started blaming himself.

‘It’s fine. What’s done is done. Try not to regret yourself and move forward. That’s what Karma said.’

‘If only I didn’t…’, he started to feel tears dripping down his cheek

‘Hey, where is he? Normally he doesn’t take this long.’

Hinami and Sen both felt a chill run down their spine.

They searched relentlessly as the moon was gradually making its way down the horizon. Hinami started to burst into tears.

‘Come on, Karma! Stop playing games on us!’, she was angry yet broken inside and tears falling endlessly.

‘Karma! Where are you?!’, Sen was sweating with an extremely worried face.

‘I… still didn’t get to tell you my feeli…’, she started to hesitate.

‘Hey, look! I think I see something!’, shouts Sen as he runs toward that direction.

They both reach the end of the fence and the thing that Sen was pointing to was a note attached to a tree. Sen and Hinami were having just one thought and one thought only.

Oh no, Karma must’ve gone back!

Sen hurried on and pulled the note from the nail attaching it slowly. They read it and was shocked with fear and worry. Hinami backed down and collapsed into a crying, broken girl. Sen was crushing the note in his fists.

‘So then… Karma is doing this again. I won’t let him get away this time’, Sen ran off into the forest.

‘Wait, Sen! Don’t leave me! You’re the only one for me now… I don’t want you to go as well!’

‘Listen, Hinami. Every day and night I’ve loved you since we first met. I would never do such a thing to you. I’ll be back before dawn, I promise. Karma needs to pay for this. He cannot just run off like that, he’s the goddam prince after all!’

As her only friend now runs off into the forest, Hinami whispers still with remorse and dejection,

‘No… don’t go…’