There was no way Haya could sleep tonight, not after everything she had learned about her life.

She paced about her admittedly cramped apartment, bouncing up and down, snapping her fingers to create small blasts of pink fire and then proceeding to fawn over her abilities.

It wasn't as if she didn't acknowledge how dangerous this kind of life could be; if anything, it added to her excitement. Her destiny was in her own hands. Literally.

She eventually settled herself down onto her futon, lifting it to her chest if even her feet were sticking out of the bottom which she normally hated.

It always felt like her feet would get grabbed if they stuck out of the futon...

And this time, they did.

Haya felt panic rise in her chest as something firm wrapped around both her ankles, pulling her from her bed and dangling her across the ceiling.

"What...!?"

Looking up, Haya could see that around her ankles were two thick pieces of rope that were digging into her flesh. The wildest part was that the ropes weren't attached to anything, they just hung in the air as if it was the most natural thing ever.

It didn't take long for her clock that this was someone's karmic ability.

She hung hopelessly in the air as her attacker approached, making himself visible. Deep golden eyes met her, his ruffled white hair possessing two long braids at the sides of his face that looked a lot like nooses. They matched the nooses around her ankles.

"What...!? What is the meaning of this!?" Haya yelled at the stranger with little restraint. The situation was so absurd that she felt that her brain was backed up.

"Can it! I hate noisy people!"

Haya flung a fistful of flames at the guy only to swiftly miss. He then restrained her hands with those same nooses attached to the air so she couldn't aim towards him.

It became rather apparent that she was a newbie and others could easily overpower her, at least via technique.

"Remember this name, Rento Tachibana! I'm the one who's gonna take ya in!"

"What do you mean to take me in!? What did I do?!" The day hadn't even ended, and she was already getting into trouble with people who possessed Karmic Powers.

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"You've made contact with Asahi Akane, ain't cha? There's a trace of blue dust on your cheek, that belongs to his flame karmic power!"

Some dust had gotten on her cheek. Haya hadn't noticed it, but why did it matter anyway if she had been in contact with Akane?

"We only met today!" Haya insisted, starting to feel a little woozy from being upside down for so long. She needed to cut herself free...

"Asahi Akane is a fugitive in the world of Karma Katchers, you'll tell me where he is or else-"

"Karma Katchers?" She repeated, in confusion over what that meant.

"Don't play dumb with me! I saw you throw ya flame at me! You're a Karma Katcher yourself!"

So that's what it meant. Though Haya thought the name wasn't fitting. What could they possibly be catching?

"Now, Asahi Akane has been masking his presence from all Karma Katchers sans you, that little trace of his presence on your cheek makes ya the key to capturing him."

Haya spoke so quickly that it was on the cusp of interrupting him.

"I'm not telling you where he is!"

Rento chuckled, the nooses turning to rope and tying up her hands and legs.

"Your blood is what we need since he's opened himself to you, once the blood of a Karma Katcher is consumed, you'll see what they see."

He circled her, bringing her down to the floor.

"A sample of ya blood is not as reliable as the source, so all of ya is coming with me."

A fire was brewing in her stomach, almost like she had eaten hot lava. Parting her mouth slowly, she noticed pink smoke emerging from her lips.

Haya shut her mouth immediately, not wanting to alert Rento of her growing realisation. She closed her eyes instead, focusing on Akane. The kindness he had treated her with, the clarity he had given her, the promise of support in the future.

They had only met recently but maybe that's why everything was so fresh in her mind. She didn't know what Akane had done, a man like that... It didn't seem like he was capable of doing wrong, but she knew for sure she wouldn't allow herself to assist in his capture.

The heat grew stronger and stronger, fumes leaving her nose, which Rento noticed, but by the time he realised what was about to occur, Haya had breathed furious pink fire, spreading the flames to her entire body and burning the rope to ashes.

She remembered when her hands were enveloped in flames and how she felt no pain and took no damage. While it was a risk to try it here, she was, again, unharmed and felt no agony, yet the rope had disintegrated.

Her flames affected everything it touched besides herself.

Rento formed several long ropes that attempted to grab at her but Haya grabbed the ends, using it as a triple whip until her flames burnt it to a crisp.

His eyes widened slightly at her quick thinking but his attacks didn't lighten up, creating thicker rope and wrapping them around her abdomen so Haya couldn't burn due to how thick the rope was.

Her flames died down to a whimper, her head handing over the thick rope as she panted.

"You're new to this... aren't you?" Rento commented, a little of breath himself. He had to use a little more effort than he was expecting to and now he was wary of Haya and what she could do next.

For now, though, she was restrained. He'd be able to take her back to the others. Holding the end of the thick rope, he levitated her body, pulling the rope to lead Haya away.

As for Haya herself, she had exerted her body too much; her throat was dry and raspy, and her stomach felt like it was charred. It didn't feel permanent but it didn't feel like a scratch either.

It seemed like she'd be missing that lesson with Akane...