The man known to his students as Koro-sensei undressed quietly in the darkness of his bedroom as his body shifted to his human form. The round, bulbous yellow head morphed into an angular face with large, pensive eyes, dark as midnight, topped with a crown of messy ink-black hair. Flexible tentacles turned into lean, hard muscle. As he stood naked before the mirror with his facial features schooled into an impassive stare, he could see that the bloodied shadow of the Shinigami was still haunting all the creases of his body. Years after he stopped killing, he could still smell the lingering odor of the warm, metallic crimson that spilled out of his thousands of victims. He didn't want to do this, didn't want to remind himself of what he was. But great teacher or not, he can never escape his past. And he never wanted to forget the mistakes that he had made. Finished with his physical inspection, he laid down in bed.

Despite being surrounded by people he cared about on a daily basis, loneliness continued to drain the life from his soul. There was only one person in this world who could make it stop, and she has been gone for almost a year now. Aguri understood exactly what he was and yet persisted on peeling off the layers of masks he wore until she saw his first ever genuine smile. The entirety of the former assassin's being ached in yearning for the woman who was snatched away from him far too soon.

His present state contrasted starkly with the exaggeratedly comedic persona portrayed to the rest of the world. For weeks now, whenever he was alone like this, he swore that he could feel Aguri with him. He believed it to be a foreshadowing of his death which will take place in one month. He would not give up being assassinated by his students for anything at this point. He was tired of living without her. A small smile curled his lips as he imagined seeing Aguri again, beautifully radiant in one of her ridiculous shirts. His pulse thrummed in eager anticipation of holding her in his arms. This time, she would not be gasping for breath as she bled out in the wreckage of the research facilities. This time, the warmth would not be seeping out of her body until she is stone cold to the touch. This time, he would not experience the searing agony of guilt and regret until he wished he were dead beside her. This time, when he saw her, he would kiss those luscious lips, tell Aguri repeatedly that he loved her, and stay by her side until the end of time.

. . . . . . .

She stood in front of him, smiling, wearing her tight ogre top. Even now, it hugged her curves and propped up her perfectly shaped breasts. The next thing he knew, he had his arms wrapped tightly around her with his face buried in her hair. His throat felt too constricted to speak.

"A-Aguri," He managed to rasp, lifting his head up a fraction.

She lovingly caressed his face. "You've taught them well, Shinigami-san. I'm so proud of you."

As his physical body disintegrated into nothing in the starry night sky, Koro-sensei took his beloved by hand. His last conscious thought was that finally, for the first time in his existence, he felt at peace.