The Serpent Inside (A Karmagisa Fanfiction)

22: Shattering

Karasuma ran in, a small vial and needle in hand. He was worried, he had heard several piercing clangs, and although no damage seemed to follow the noise, he was still worried for his family's safety. "Hey Ritsu?" He said, professionalism still apparent.

"Yes sir?" She said saluting.

"Could you scan those commotions?"

The purple-haired girl hummed disappointedly. "I'm afraid not. They mess with my radars, it's really confusing."

"Elaborate."

"Well, the uproars defy most things. It seems as if the noises are just that, noises. But I can't pinpoint the area in which they're coming from, and not only that, but it seems as if there's a whole layer of peculiar sound waves. It seems as if it's directed to a single entity."

Karasuma amped his pace by eight notches. He pocketed the vial and needle, just in case if things went wrong, arriving back where he had last saw his team.

Eyes widened. Ritsu gasped.

"K-Karma? Hey, speak to me!" Irina said, holding Karma. He was vociferating in pain, dark splotches of liquid seeping through his shirt. His hands were in his hair, gripping it tightly. It was hard to ignore the way one of his arms was bent, swelling rapidly. His ribs were poking out slightly through the cloth of his tunic. He looked like he just lost twenty pounds. He wailed as another bang amplified through the hallways of the building.

*CRACK*

All was silent until Misui started forward. His arm was bloated entirely, his elbow hanging unpleasantly and his wrist, originally somewhat unimpaired, now suspended unsavorily, completely broken. His fingers twitched as they were all distorted in agonizing positions.

Karma shook as he hugged his arm to his chest. Tears started to fall down his face, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably as the last painful sound receded. Misui, having no idea what do do, hugged him around his neck as she covertly injected him with some pain reliever she had on her. Usually it was for emergencies if Shiro decided to stab her, but that didn't mean she was cruel enough to leave him in his agony.

Karma didn't notice, too overwhelmed with a stranger hugging him, no less an enemy, along with the pain his arm was causing him. The brunette whispered to Karasuma softly, telling him there was a first aid kit in the cubby near the wall. Irina remained near her future son-in-law, keeping an eye on Shiro, after forcefully taping him to the wall.

Irina couldn't blame Karma for his outburst. From his elbow to his fingers, even the smallest fractures were drastic against the bones. Added with the rest of his injuries, the fact that he was simply crying and not full-out bawling was an achievement in itself.

The blonde didn't trust Misui, she'd rather die, but if she really wasn't all bad she didn't want to create enemies. Of course, that also meant she sat criss-crossed staring at the brunette with a twitching eye as she silently cursed her every being. Karma stared blankly, tears still rolling down his face as they put his arm into a temporary sling, bandaging the open wound on his back. He could still stand, although awkwardly, but there was one problem.

"His ribs." Irina whispered to Karasuma. "He's able to move, but some of them are fractured. The majority are fine, but those few are gonna kill him if he does anything drastic. Just because the fractures are minuscule, that doesn't mean he's not going to be in pain. Not only that, but he's a bit out of it. He seems to be somewhat deaf in his left ear, but he winces at any loud noises. I'm guessing a minor concussion."

"Can he walk?" Karasuma muttered back.

Ritsu answered for them. "Yes. But only slowly."

Irina looked at the small hologram. "Can you explain how the hell only Karma was feeling those shockwaves? I heard the noise, but Karma was full out brawling with something that didn't exist."

Ristu shrugged. "I can only assume that it has to do with Nagisa. It depends on a lot of things, and I just don't have the information I need. Perhaps the noises were created by those tentacles, and somehow it affected only Karma."

"But why Karma?" Irina said, her arms unconsciously crossing.

"Probably because Nagisa, this controlled one at least, knows that Karma is dangerous. Not only is he skilled, but he's a large part of Nagisa's rational life. If Karma wasn't incapasitated in some way, it would become a power struggle between the real Nagisa and the controlled one." Karasuma replied.

"Makes sense." Ritsu nodded, her chin in her hand.

Irina just sighed, looking over to the hurt redhead. He had actually grown taller than her, which secretly irked her, but she couldn't help but still think of him as her child. "I still can't believe this is all happening. First Nagisa is taken, then we find out he's been injected by improved tentacles. Then Shiro won't talk, and now Karma's been seriously injured by some noises."

"What are you trying to get to?" Karasuma questioned, his eyebrow raised.

The blonde sighed again.

"What do we do now?"