Deadeye


Chapter 2 – Only I Have No Self-Worth


Teachers are the very definition of 'filthy'. Hating to break the status quo between students for they were afraid of the hammer known as the 'school system', they close off their hearts and try to treat everyone equally as much as they could, never realizing that the equality that they value was more or less a lie and gives others the chance to exploit others. Since they are in the position of authority, they are known as the lawmakers and judges of the classroom, able to bend their own laws and rules in 'favor' of another party because they believe that they were the ones in the 'right'. A quick check friends: aside from light, everything is relative. More so for 'human' concepts such as 'justice' and 'righteousness'. We're human – everything that we see is what we want to see for our own gain and benefit. Teachers know it well, and use its knowledge in order to give their students some sort of 'compromise' that would be beneficial for all parties involved.

It's not. It never was, and it would never will. Teachers never get their hands dirty for the mistakes that they committed; instead, they just let everything go on as normal, hoping that the students would be able to resolve all of their problems by themselves by believing them to be 'mature' and 'collected'. The truth is: we're not. Middle schoolers lie like everyone else. Middle schoolers backstab other people in the back like everyone else. The only thing that makes us different from the supposed 'adult' teachers was our physical attributes.

"I'm coming in", I said out a little bit too loud, wincing after the fact had taken place as I slid open the door towards the teachers' office, finding the yellow octopus currently grading the Japanese printouts earlier...with his Mach 20 speed.

Seriously, if I could multiple clones like that, I would've taken 'super speed' as a power every single damn time. I mean, the guy's (I'm not sure if it is even a guy) currently having like what, 16 clones currently in the damn room, wherein fifteen clones were checking our papers, and one clone was just outside, reclining on a beach chair, lounging and soaking up the afternoon rays of the sun.

...What a broken power this octopus has. And we're supposed to kill him? "Ah, Hikigaya-kun!"

I blinked, another one of the octopus' clones appearing before me in an instant as its image constantly flickered in and out of existence. Now that I stand close to him, I could see the tiny sonic booms that he was making all over the place. Seriously, what is this broken power, "Here, here! Sit down for a moment since we have a lot to discuss!"

"Sensei, you're already done checking our papers, so it's fine if you were to just dismiss whatever technique you're using right now", I said in a flat tone as the octopus blinked at me with its beady eyes, before his figure immediately stopped flickering and was replaced with the solid octopus that I had shot at earlier.

"I see", the octopus said, its voice dropping any hint of subtlety and going straight for the 'deep yet mature' tone as it gestured towards one of the benches with one of its tentacles, "Take a seat, Hikigaya-kun. I did say a while back that we need to talk."

...I did what I was told, sitting down on the hard yet somewhat comfy couch as the octopus took the sofa in front of me, his tentacles twirling around one another as if he were imitating some kind of pose. Great, the next thing you'll say is that I'm going to be a robot pilot, "So sensei, what did you want to talk about?"

"Hm. Straight to the point as well, I see", the octopus said, once again blinking its beady eyes at me, "Then, I'll do the same thing as well. Hikigaya, why didn't you take credit for taking off my right arm?"

...So the octopus did notice. Just how do I respond to this thing? "Well...it's nice to not get noticed for your achievements. Also a good way to keep a painted target off your back."

"Ah, I see", the octopus said, its voice now reverting back to its usual wishy-washy tone as its tentacles twirled around him, "So, what you mean is that you refuse to take the achievement for first blood because you're scared that you'll be shown in the spotlight and be bullied for it?"

Scared? Most definitely not. It's just what any sane human would do upon seeing someone achieve something that they could never do. They'll drag them down to the same level as everyone else and make him a pariah. That's what ordinary humans do. But, seeing as that kind of response would most likely elicit an adverse response from this octopus in front of me that moved at Mach 20, I settled for the easier way out, "...Yes."

"Don't worry", the octopus said, moving one of its tentacles and using it to pat my head. I don't know whether this constitutes as sexual harassment or not, but given that this octopus was an octopus, I'm definitely filing for sexual harassment. I don't want to be doujinshi fodder! "Hikigaya-kun, if someone tries to bully you, I'll be rushing towards you in order to stop them, alright?"

...Naturally, I would've scoffed, but this was an octopus that could travel at Mach 20. I have a feeling that the yellow octopus in front of me would actually back up its own words...Oh no. Is this what you would call the reliable sensei archetype? What on earth have I gotten myself into? A shounen manga?

I could only nod in response, a slight smile gracing my face as the octopus immediately recoiled from me as if he was staring at the bane of his existence, "H-H-H-Hikigaya-kun!? I-Is that how you normally smile!?"

I frowned. You ruined a somewhat emotional moment that could've changed my outlook on my life just because you saw me smiling. And yes, that was my smiling face. I'm sorry if it was so creepy that even a yellow octopus out of all things would be weirded out by it, but I haven't smiled ever since what...second grade?

"Yes, that's how I normally smile", I replied in a flat tone, trying to defuse the sudden change in mood as the octopus stopped looking like he almost had a heart attack, "I'm sorry that I have such a disgusting smile sensei. It's not like I was able to do such a thing anyway, so please forgive me for not practicing enough..."

You know what? Screw it. I'll just play along with the octopus here, for all that I could care. He's good at reading the mood, so I think that he did that just because he wanted me to laugh or something. Well, I won't laugh, but I'll play the straight man as much as you'd like, octopus.

...Not that I'm slowly getting attached to you or anything. Please don't misunderstand, thank you very much.

"Sensei?" Nagisa's voice wafted out from the entrance towards the teacher's office as the octopus blinked. By that reaction, it still meant that Mach 20 wasn't enough for him to predict the situation that was unfolding in front of him. Ah well, might as well enjoy this until it lasts. I'm quite the good-natured fan of plays, after all.

...It was sarcasm, common sense. Please brush up your skills in that area, thank you very much, "Come in!"

The door slid open, and the blue-haired guy(?) entered the teachers' office with a worried look on his face, immediately catching my attention as I unconsciously stood up alongside the octopus and made our way towards where Nagisa was. Somehow, this gut feeling that I felt was enough to make my blood run cold.

Something's wrong here. Something's wrong with Nagisa. Gone was the generally amiable guy(?) that I had seen in the past few days, here he was, wearing down his self-imposed walls as both me and the octopus finally stood just in front of him.

Then, just one more step before we finally reached him, I saw an unnatural green bulge that was tucked inside his blue vest.

I didn't know what happened, just that my body had moved into action before Nagisa did whatever he was supposed to do. I tackled him by the shoulders, slamming him down towards the wooden floor as he let out a surprised yelp of both surprise and pain, the bulge finally making its presence known to all of us as the octopus behind us let out a surprised scream in horror, meeting the thin smile of regret on my face just as the grenade that Nagisa held close to him exploded.

[–|–]

"Sorry", Nagisa said, grinning at me with regret written all over his(?) face as he(?) sat by the foot of my bed, scratching his(?) cheek as he lightly bowed, "...Once again, I'm sorry."

"I'm just out of commission for the rest of the day", I said with a sigh as I tried to sit up, immediately regretting my decision an instant later as I winced, the pain in my chest suddenly spiking up like the fires of Hell had come to grace me with their presence themselves, "Besides, that octopus is coming later for some supplementary lessons, and knowing him..."

"...He'll pamper you to no end, huh?" Nagisa replied, immediately reading my mind as he(?) looked upon me with pity. Hey, take that back! I don't deserve pity! The fact that the octopus is going to take care of my injuries was at first horrifying, but when I saw him do his magic I am now content to just sit back and let him feed me free food and drinks for the rest of the day! And free food and drinks are a man's greatest pleasure! "And Hikigaya-san...It's not 'octopus' anymore. Apparently, Kayano started to call him 'Korosensei', so I think that it would be best if you know our teacher's name as well."

Korosensei, huh? Just what the hell was that name? Was it supposed to be a stealth pun? I'm pretty sure it was one, but the one who named that octopus has bad taste! Since he's going to destroy the world anyway, why not just call him by every insult that you can think of? Or a cool one, seeing that he could go at Mach 20? You could call him 'Suzuki' or 'Iname' or 'Soni'– wait that would be copyright infringement. Still, even though I abhor the fact that it contains such a terrible pun, I actually have to give kudos to Kayano for coming up with a good name.

If it was me, I'm pretty sure I would say 'Great Hamlet Slayer 5432', so it's better to delegate the task of naming the octopus to Kayano, "It's a nice name. Better than what I could ever come up with, if you're wondering about it."

"Probably", Nagisa said with a small smirk on his(?) face as I couldn't help but blink at him(?), "I doubt that you'd be able to name something that's as cool as they come like 'Korosensei' after all."

"Are you an esper?" I fired back almost immediately as Nagisa smiled at me, forcing me to look away from him(?). Just what the hell is this skill of yours? Does everyone in the E-Class know some genjutsu or something? Don't use Marin Karin on me! We're both the same gender (I think)!

"Ne, Hikigaya-san", Nagisa said, his head already turned away from me as I couldn't help but frown at him. Did he intentionally face away so that I couldn't see his expression? "...Why did you help Korosensei back then? I was...I was supposed to kill him back then, you know..."

...Somehow, I could tell that Nagisa is an idiot right then and there. An idiot that is easily manipulated by the people around him(?), and dare I say it was that delinquent group, "You damn idiot. You can't enjoy the ten billion yen if you're dead."

"The same thing could go with you", Nagisa said as he(?) choked a little bit on his(?) last words, "If Korosensei hadn't been there when the grenade exploded...you would've been dead."

"I was close to death", I said with a frown, "...It only helps that I've got an alien moving at the speed of Mach 20 ready to save me at an instant."

"It was dangerous. You should've known that", Nagisa said, and I could imagine him(?) biting his lip in frustration, "I should've been the one who got injured, Hikigaya-san. Why would you–"

"You have more worth than me, as simple as that. It was simply a matter of weighing whether or not who would be more missed in this world", I said with a tired sigh, "You have Kayano and the rest of the people in the E-Class. Think about their reactions when they find out that you killed yourself for nothing by trying to blow Korosensei up. As for me, I've only got the company of me, myself, and I in this world. I only have three family members, and they could easily have any trace of me wiped when I died. Twenty people versus three. It's kind of obvious as to what would be the more correct decision."

"But still...simply throwing your life away because of that..." Nagisa clenched his(?) fists, and I couldn't help but frown and scowl at him.

"Pot calling the kettle black?" I said, my tone coming out sharper than I had expected as Nagisa perked up in response to my statement, "Only people who think that they have no self-worth would be able to do such a thing. You think that you have no self-worth because you were physically intimidated by that excuse of a two-bit delinquent? You think that it gives you the right to call me out on my actions when you were doing the same thing? I wasn't the one who caved in from Terasaka and his gang. I wasn't the one that strapped a grenade onto his chest and tried to bait Korosensei into dropping his guard. I wasn't the one who left his life in the hands of other people that he needed to be saved by a guy with the eyes of a dead fish. No. It was you Nagisa, you who had waltzed in and tried to kill yourself with a grenade, and it was me who had to step in and make sure that you didn't kill yourself due to the blowback."

"...I have less self-worth that you might ever think that you can imagine", I spat back out, the memories of my second year in middle school flowing back into my mind as I couldn't help but condense it into pure, unadulterated rage and throw it at Nagisa, "You never knew that you could screw up so much with just one event. You never knew that your entire life could be ruined by just a single decision you've made. Some other people might have their circumstances forced onto them, and it's fine to blame the unknown forces at play, but I ruined my life by my own decision. I accepted the facts, I accepted the consequences, I locked myself in my room and watched my grades plummet that the school that I was in had no choice but to dismiss me when I stopped coming to class. It took my parents over three damn weeks in order to get me out of my room, and an entire month in order to encourage me to enroll to this school. You think that you have no self-worth? You have no idea. I had dragged myself to hell and back because of my decision. I chose to be here because of my decision. And right now, my decision is to protect you from that grenade and take the most of the blast. It was my own decision that drove me to save you, and not because of you."

"..." Nagisa was silent for a few moments, still keeping his(?) head turned away from my gaze as I noticed that his(?) knuckles were already bone white. A few moments passed between us as I let the words sink in, a simple sigh escaping my lips as I couldn't help but immerse myself into the covers of the bed that I was in, "...Why?"

Why. Why he(?) asks. Given the way that I had managed to speak for five minutes without breaking a sweat, I was pretty sure that I included the main reason as to why I had helped him(?) a while back. That I was doing it for my sake, and not his(?). That I only had three people to my name, while Nagisa had twenty more. Twenty more people with bonds that I knew were thicker than the own blood that flowed through his(?) body.

"I already told you why", I said, leveling a glower at Nagisa, "...Now leave me alone please. I need to rest."

Silence reigned throughout the air, with Nagisa letting out a wistful sigh a second later as he(?) stood up from his bed, shaking his(?) head at me as he left his parting words, "I see, Hikigaya-san. It seems that I must apologize for my actions then, if it was the case."

...As the door to the clinic closed, I could only sigh in both relief and irritation as I caught the expression on Nagisa's face. Determination. Respect...and another emotion that frankly made chills run down my spine and made sure that I wouldn't be sleeping for a good four hours.

"...Korosensei, eavesdrop on me one more time and you'll be getting more than a burst of BBs in your face. Got that?"

"H-How did you know that I was eavesdropping!?"

Because you're predictable as hell, Korosensei.

[–|–]

Physical Education. Also known as PE. A subject that focused on strengthening the body in order to develop a lean physique that everyone saw on magazines and TV. But then again, the fashion industry is a scam. Why would they spend so much time investing on changing the mindset of young kids nowadays in order to oh right, they gain more money for it. A few hundred million yen in the bank wouldn't compare to the billions that would come roaring out of insecure teenagers that prioritize physical superficiality rather than mental and psychological enhancement.

Which is why I liked to be paired alone when doing PE, "Hikigaya, are you sure you want to do this?"

Karasuma-sensei (he apparently transferred in after the rest of my classmates thought how absurd it was to be taught PE by an alien that goes at Mach 20 – which was true) looked at me with a rubber knife in my right hand, furrowing his brows at me in response, "You know that I won't be able to hold back, right?"

"Please don't", I replied with a resolute nod, catching my other classmates already forming up pairs based on their familiarity, and trying to hit each other with all they got. Heh, fools. Don't you know that the best way to gain experience is confronting the teacher himself? "...It seems a little too late to try and pair up with one of my classmates after all."

"That's true", Karasuma-sensei said with a resigned sigh, "Since there are 27 of you in the class, that just means that one of you has to pair up with me–"

I took a chance at stabbing his left flank, but my forearm was quickly deflected away by a sharp jerk from his left arm. It smarts, but the pain was enough for me to focus, "Tch."

"Going for a preemptive strike is certainly a wise decision when you don't know your enemy's capabilities, Hikigaya", Karasuma-sensei said as he gave me an acknowledging nod, "Especially if all you know about your enemy is that he or she is stronger than you, then one would naturally want to assassinate someone without the prey being able to fight back–"

Once again, I swiped, but the fact that Karasuma-sensei had gotten hold of my right arm meant that my movement was too slow. I felt my body jerk forward, being yanked out of its center of gravity, and I could feel my body falling as Karasuma-sensei followed up with an elbow to the small of my back.

I wasn't going to simply let that happen.

I whirled, my body only having a split-second decision to cross my arms over my groin, aiming to deflect or at least parry the damn blow away from one of my most vital areas. However, an instant later, the back of my head connected with the ground, forcing my vision to blur for a moment as pain shot out from the back of my skull, the blow from Karasuma-sensei hitting me in the groin as I couldn't help but yell in pain and black out.

...Take two. Lean back, prepare for charge. Position allows speed, and also allows the benefit of turning quickly just in case countered by a frontal kick. One second passes. I charge forward, rubber knife swinging in small yet well-timed arc. Upon moment of contact, pointed edge digs into skin, and momentum forces rending of flesh. But once again, rubber knife held in hands. Impossible to wound with implement.

As expected, Karasuma-sensei intercepts with a frontal kick. Given form, likely to be frontal kick to jerk my momentum off-balance and once again disable. Use form to quickly turn direction, avoid kick at last moment. Kick avoided, duck low, sweep to unbalance, grab handful of dirt to blind as back-up. Karasuma-sensei already regained balance by using other hand as pivot point to flip back. Unfair. I hate gymnastics. Initiate back-up plan. Throw handful of dirt towards eyes. Successfully blind for a short instant, and dash in.

Speed too slow. Karasuma-sensei recovers. Grabs outstretched arm and yanks, pulling balance forward. Can't dodge incoming knee to gut. Speed too fast and form not optimal to change direction. Breath gone when knee collides, met with elbow to nape from the right. Black out.

Take three. Make-up plans along the way. Use environmental advantage, stack into favor. Known advantages: short height, analytical mind. Known disadvantages: short height, short reach, attempts at balancing. Must weave around teacher's strikes like a boxer. Never stay in one spot. Probe for openings.

Karasuma-sensei, not moving. Static defense; knows I cannot win if he doesn't move from his position. Try to provoke – no, won't work. Mentality of trained soldier; won't move until necessary. One option left.

Drop weapon. Teacher widens eyes in response. Unknown variable suddenly thrown into equation. Teacher takes step forward, uncertain of opponent's (my) motives. Another step, and he dashed towards me. Frontal attack. Simple charge. Relying on momentum to knock me down to ground.

Reach behind back in response. Pull out BB gun, assume stance in less than a blink of an eye. Fire once. Target misses, BB whistled through air and grazes right temple. Readjust aim. Fire again. Target hit, right shoulder. Charge still not stopping. Step towards side, watching teacher drop low and sweep. Balance lost. Teacher gains, readies another elbow strike like last time. Split-second before vision is impaired in lieu to head crashing into ground. Gun already found target, requires trigger fire. Only, pulling trigger leads to disoriented vision. Trump card up in sleeve, activated. Smile. Teacher freezes for a second. Vision disorients for an instant. Sights locked onto forehead.

Fire.

...Karasuma-sensei down for the count. Looks and shouts of obvious surprise could be heard from my classmates as I couldn't help but grimace at the unwanted attention, with Karasuma-sensei finally sighing in relief with a small grin on his face as he looked down towards me, the center of his forehead having a red mark eerily shaped like a circle.

"That was good, Hikigaya", Karasuma-sensei said as he extended a hand towards me and I grabbed it, letting the military man carry me upwards like it was nothing as I dusted myself off. Damn, I felt horrible. Especially with the groin shot and the unconsciousness...Ugh. I think I just shivered back there, "I didn't even see that gun until you pulled it out of thin air. Where did you hide it?"

"Small of my back", I replied, wanting nothing more than to take a rest and just go sleep, "Main reason why I took the groin shot during the first round."

"'Faking defeat to snatch victory at the hands of death'...huh", Karasuma-sensei said, his smile growing wider as he shook my hand, "You're interesting, Hikigaya. But still, this is assassination class, not a fighting one. If you make a mistake once..."

He didn't finish what he was going to say. I knew it anyway. There's no reason for Karasuma-sensei to say it out loud as well. If I screw up just once, then it would be the end of me. That was it. Really nothing to it.

"Alright, the rest of you gather round and gather up!" Karasuma-sensei said, his baritone voice rumbling through the air of the lot around him as the rest of my classmates stood at attention and immediately ceased at what they were doing. Wait, what? Was this a military academy? I'm pretty sure it's not. What the hell, people? I'm pretty sure Karasuma-sensei isn't the drill sergeant type, right? I mean, he's at least at major rank, so technically the drill sergeant thing doesn't stick, "That concludes our PE for today. Tomorrow, you'll be doing the same routine. Your end goal...is to try and hit me in just one round. Does that sound good?"

Cheers of assent echoed throughout the whole class as Karasuma-sensei dismissed them and they went towards the classroom with beaming smiles on their faces. I sighed. Normalfags. Riajuus. Go and blow yourselves up for all I care, "Hikigaya?"

"...Yes, sensei?"

"You did good."

I smiled, ever-so slightly, not the extremely obvious one that would've scared everyone witless, even including Karasuma-sensei. Which is the main reason why I toned down my smile and simply nodded in assent, before also moving towards the satellite campus itself.

[–|–]

I walked upon the stairs, seeing a redhead with a psychopathic smirk on his face. One look at the guy and you immediately feel that he was dangerous, threatening, and most of all – cocky. Three character traits that seriously pissed me off.

It was why I gave him one of my smiles as I walked past by him, relishing the expression on his face as the dangerous smile immediately dropped in favor of something that was much more stoic than I had expected.

Looks like a smile always brings out the best in people, huh?


AN: The reason why 8man's so good at combat? Just keep on reading.