Why do I always write things like this?

Karma has been sleeping during class lately. To be honest, I wasn't all that worried at first. I thought, "He must have stayed up studying."

But his grades fell, and I found that it was not the case.

The second time I caught him sleeping, I woke him up with a dramatic shout, my tentacles waving around. The reaction he gave was not what I was expecting. He looked so tired, like he hadn't slept in days. Karma listened to me scold him, but his mind was clearly somewhere else. I stopped, going back to my lesson only to watch Karma fall asleep once more.

The fourth time I caught Karma sleeping, I woke him up again. His head shot up and his eyes were wild; they were full of fear, anger, and the strong desire to kill. When he saw it was just me, he calmed down a bit.

The fifth time I caught Karma sleeping, I woke him up by shaking his shoulder. He had drooled on the desk, his hair wasn't neat, and his clothing was in shambles. His shirt had slipped a little, revealing a section of his neck. At the time, I wasn't sure what it was. The only thought that crossed my mind was, "That looks very similar to a hickey. Does Karma have a girlfriend?" Karma had noticed I saw the blemish and he covered it with his shirt again.

The sixth time I caught him sleeping was a lot different than the others. He had slept through the entire class this time, and when the other students tried to wake him, he wouldn't budge. Eventually, everyone left, giving up on him. I was still thinking about the strange kiss mark on Karma's neck. I had more time to think about what I saw, trying to guess who would mark him in such a way. I needed to take a look at it again (it was probably inappropriate, but I didn't care). It was indeed a love bite, but also a regular bite. Deep teeth marks were in his skin, along with unnaturally purple bruises. I pushed the memory aside, never thinking about Karma's girlfriend ever again.

The seventh time I caught Karma sleeping, he was murmuring. Karma was probably having a bad dream. When he whispered, "No, stop," I began to worry.

The eighth time I caught Karma sleeping, he was crying.

He was crying the ninth and tenth times, too. I put a blanket over him.

After the eleventh time he fell asleep, I decided to ask him what was going on. Why had he been sleeping so much? He brushed it off, saying it was nothing.

The twelfth time I caught him sleeping, he was under a tree. It was about five in the morning. He looked peaceful, and I would have hated to interrupt his slumber. That day, he didn't sleep in class.

The thirteenth time I caught him sleeping, it was during P.E. He was resting by the same tree as last time. One of his classmates woke him up and told him he had to participate. Karma got up, but he looked sore. He limped into the field with Nagisa in front of him.

The fourteenth time I caught him sleeping, he was in a coffin. I remember apologizing for not realizing sooner. I was supposed to be his teacher. His protector. Karma's elaborate mask had fallen, and he let a sliver of the truth escape. I was too busy staring at the broken shell to recognize the screaming hatchling.

If I had known about your father sooner . . . You would still be here.