Episode Six: Confusion and Neglect

Kuwabara wasn't exactly doing his job perfectly.

After getting into a heated argument with Keiko about something inconsequential, Kuwabara pretended to use Yusuke's Rei-Gun and wound up shooting out his Rei-Ken, nearly skewering Genkai in the process. Thankfully, Keiko, Botan, and Yukina were too shocked to realize that what he shot out wasn't Yusuke's Rei-Gun. But even though nothing bad had come of it, Genkai decided to invite Keiko and Botan to stay for the rest of the week as punishment, meaning Kuwabara would have to continue to pretend be to be Yusuke in front of them for even longer. It didn't help that not ten minutes later Botan nagged him about completing the Koro-Sensei assignment or other ones she had piled up for him. Kuwabara blew her off, afraid that he'd be discovered. Naturally, this made Botan pretty annoyed. To top it off, once everyone fell asleep, Kuwabara received a call from Yusuke and was chewed out for making so many mistakes. When the call ended, Genkai, the only one who was still awake, invited Kuwabara into her room for a talk.

"Close the door behind you," she ordered. "We don't want the others to hear us."

Kuwabara obeyed and shut the door. He sat himself down in front of her, sitting on his legs. "Hey, grandma," he said meekly, afraid this would be the start of yet another long lecture. "I'm sorry about almost killing you." When Genkai said nothing, Kuwabara took that as an invitation to continue. "Er… When are we going to start my training?"

Sipping her tea, Genkai replied, "Who said we didn't start already?"

"Eh?"

Genkai set her cup down. "Your powers almost surpass mine. There's little I can teach you in combat. Besides, from what you've told me, I've gathered that the battle techniques you used during your fight with Yusuke were fine. The reason why you lost…" Genkai pointed at Kuwabara's heart. "…was because you are weak mentally."

"Just what is that supposed to mean?! I passed the high school entrance exam, I'll have you know!"

Genkai snorted. "Any idiot can pass those exams." Genkai looked up at the ceiling. "When you're in battle, you let your emotions control you. Sometimes it works in your favor, like when Yukina rooted for you in the Dark Tournament and you destroyed your opponent in seconds." Kuwabara's chest swelled with pride. Never doubt the power of love. "But," Genkai corrected. "Sometimes it works against you. You let yourself get lost in your own anger and lash out uncontrollably during your battle with Yusuke, so you made reckless moves you wouldn't have otherwise. Pulling strength from your feelings a great way to motivate yourself but a poor way to fight if you're ill prepared."

Kuwabara let that sink in. When Yusuke taunted him about not going to the Demon Realm, Kuwabara did lose it. If he hadn't, would that battle have turned out differently? "So… you're saying that my disguise isn't just to cover up for Yusuke, it's also to increase my mental strength?"

Genkai nodded. "Don't think I haven't noticed your unhealthy obsession with Yukina, and because of that-"

Just the mention of Yukina made Kuwabara giddy. Raising his fists in the air, he shouted, "Yukina-san! I swear, Urameshi may have gotten ahead of me by proposing to Keiko, but I too shall soon propose and-!"

"Shut up and listen!" Kuwabara promptly shut his mouth and sat back down. "I believe that if you were placed in a situation where you'd have to restrain yourself from flirting with Yukina, then you'll increase your mental fortitude and get a better grasp over your own emotions."

So Genkai wasn't just being spiteful. "Then…" Kuwabara started.

Genkai crossed her arms and lowered her head Under her hair, an amused smirk grew on her face."I'll try my best to keep Botan and Keiko here so you can continue your training. If you manage to make it to the end of the week without them questioning your identity, then I'll teach you a secret technique, one that Yusuke didn't master since he doesn't wield a Reiki made weapon like yours."

Kuwabara pondered Genkai's offer. A technique that even Yusuke couldn't master because he was such a wuss… The idea made him excited. Standing up, Kuwabara declared, "All right! I, the man, powered by my infinite love of Yukina-san, will-"

The sound of pottery shattering echoed throughout the room. Genkai gasped. Kuwabara turned to see Yukina in the doorway, her hands over her mouth, and shattered tea-wear at her feet. "Y-Yusuke-san…! What about Keiko-san?!" Tears forming in her eyes, Yukina cried, "You're engaged, and yet you're in love with…!" Unable to contain herself any longer, Yukina turned around and ran off crying, glass beads littering the ground behind her.

Kuwabara stood up, a horrible feeling of guilt erupting inside him. "Y-Yukina-san! I-!"

Genkai grabbed his wrist. "Stop you idiot! You're about to let yourself be ruled by your emotions again!"

Kuwabara turned to Genkai. "This isn't about some stupid training anymore! This is about Yukina-san's feelings, and they matter far more to me than my own strength!"

Grasping Kuwabara's wrist tighter, Genkai said darkly, "This doesn't just concern her. Your big mouth just put Yusuke and Keiko's relationship in jeopardy. If you rush into this issue head on, you'll make things worse for everyone. Just let it go, and if you play your cards right, I have faith everything will work out."

Confusion and uncertainty replacing his guilt, Kuwabara stuttered, "G-Grandma…"

Genkai looked away, withdrawing her hand from Kuwabara's wrist. "Or, you can run off and declare you're Kuwabara and that you love Yukina and you want to stay with her, and risk her returning to her homeland in fear. If the tales I've heard about Ice Maidens are true, then if they have a relationship with men, any children they have together are to be executed." Genkai turned to Kuwabara and yelled, "Is that what you want?! You to live together and destroy any chance of her going back to her homeland?!"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT!"

Genkai's stare bore holes in Kuwabara's head. "…Then you'd better figure it out and sort out your feelings before your stupidity destroys the lives of those around you."

Kurama returned to the classroom after recess a little earlier than his classmates. Unsurprisingly, Koro-Sensei was still faithfully reading over the sheets his students wrote. As Kurama stared at Koro-Sensei, Kurama began to feel hollow and dead inside, guilt eating him alive. Hardening his emotions, Kurama walked up to Koro-Sensei. "Oh, Minamino," Koro-Sensei said looked up. "You're here early."

Kurama shrugged. "I wanted to talk to you… Koro-Sensei…" Kurama held out his hand.

"What's this, all of a sudden?"

"Thank you," Kurama smiled. "You're a diligent worker who truly cares about his students, even if your students are assassins trying to kill you. You bought us futon mats with your own money, and you even had the students make us blankets, and my future more despite the fact that we aren't 'real' students and we're only here to kill you. Plus, you've often invaluable advice on my future that I truly appreciate."

"Every single one of my students is a real student, regardless of their reason for being here," Koro-Sensei declared as he wrote a 100% on Yusuke's paper. Afterwards he drew a little octopus making a heart with its tentacles in the top right corner.

Kurama laughed. "Only you could say that and mean it. …Thank you for everything. It's been a pleasure knowing you, and it'll be a shame to see you go."

Koro-Sensei reached out his tentacle and shook Kurama's hand. "It'll be a shame when you're destroyed along with the rest of the world at the end of the week."

"I won't let that happen." Closing his eyes, Kurama recited, "For those who neglect what's in front of them will be doomed to suffer from eternal hellfire."

Suddenly, the plant Kurama placed on the windowsill earlier sprouted to life, its vines encircling the tentacle Kurama was holding. Koro-Sensei struggled against it. "W-What in the world is this?!"

Kurama let go of Koro-Sensei's tentacle as it was completely wrapped up by a vine. With a little sadness in his voice, Kurama explained, "This flower was planted with the Seed of Neglect, a flower from the Demon Realm. It was extracted from the corpse of a D-Class demon who suffered horribly before its death. The Seed of Neglect's natural habitat is on volcanoes, where it feeds on the fumes and lava for nourishment just as much as water. However, what makes the plant especially unique is an odd occurrence when it was planted in a place other than a volcano. The more the Seed of Neglect is ignored or neglected, the more spiritual power the plant possesses. If it isn't watered within approximately twenty hours of planting outside of a volcano, it will mutate into a torture device upon the use of the right key-phrase. I had the idea when I first came to your class and noticed how neglected your other flowers were."

His body almost entirely covered in vines, Koro-Sensei complained, "U-Using plants from another Realm is cheating! It's against the rules!"

Kurama pulled out a gun and casually fired at Koro-Sensei several times, but Koro-Sensei wiggled left and right rapidly and none of them hit. "Rules? There are no rules in the game that is murder."

"Minamino, you…"

"Don't worry," Kurama chided, his eyes growing dark and emotionless. "The first phase of the Seed of Neglect's growth only involves wrapping its vines all over its victim's body and squeezing as hard as possible. It may be very painful, but I know this alone won't kill you. The only way to harm you is through the special rubber, and I don't stand a chance of hitting you with it even when you're rooted to the spot like this. That's why there's even more phases." Kurama pulled out his Rose Whip from his hair. "And until it reaches those phases, I'm going to keep you preoccupied."

Not sure who he was talking to anymore, Kurama stated, "Prepare yourself."

Things were tense that morning during breakfast. Firstly, Kuwabara had burnt the bread he was going to use for sandwiches, so he declared them toast and served them without butter, making for a dissatisfying meal. Far more importantly, Yukina still seemed very upset, but she spoke nothing of what she heard last night. Keiko and Botan, however, were chatting up a storm.

"What's with the new hairstyle, Yusuke," Botan asked, pointing to Kuwabara's head. It seemed she already forgot that she was angry with Kuwabara for turning down other assignments.

"Yeah," Keiko chimed in. "You actually comb your hair now! Did your mom finally convince you that looking nice was important, or have you been possessed?"

Possession wasn't too far from reality of the situation. In truth, Kuwabara couldn't stand looking too unkempt in polite company, so he combed his hair. "Well," Kuwabara began, gears turning in his head rapidly. "I, uh, wanted to look nice for you," he offered. Yukina winced.

Keiko blinked, looking pleased for a second. But in a flash, her eyes half closed and she let out a sigh as she rested her chin on her fist. "What did you do?"

"Me? Nothing!"

"You wouldn't talk like that unless you did something. Did you go through my bag to find out my sizes again? They haven't changed since last month, you know!"

Genkai sighed. "Yusuke, why don't you just admit that I was the one who made you comb your hair? Flattering Keiko with lies will only get you so far."

That was actually a really good explanation. "Er, yeah, she's right." Keiko shook her head wordlessly, unsurprised. Kuwabara squirmed uncomfortably as he watched Yukina stare at her uneaten food. I need to say something. I need to set things right before Yukina-san admits to what I said.

Yukina stood up. "I'm sorry everyone, but I'd like to excuse myself for a moment…" She looked as though she were about to cry again.

To prevent her from leaving in tears, Kuwabara stood up and blurted the first thing that came to mind. "I love you, Yukina." Keiko's and Botan's jaws dropped. Genkai gave Kuwabara a death glare. Yukina merely shook her head as more tears formed in her eyes.

Turning to look at Genkai, who looked about ready to murder him, Kuwabara declared, "I love you, Grandma." She spat out her tea in complete shock then gasped as though someone was choking her.

Kuwabara turned to Botan. "I love-"

Botan stood up, embarrassed and shaken, and held a hand out to Kuwabara. "Oh no you don't! That's just creepy!"

"Keh. Fine." Kuwabara turned to Keiko, who looked hurt, confused, and utterly bewildered. "I love you too, Keiko. Especially you. I love all you guys, and I couldn't imagine life without a single one of you."

"Y-Yusuke…" Keiko murmured.

Turning to look outside through the open door, Kuwabara said, "Beautiful days like these don't come often, but when they do, they remind you of what's really important. And that's protecting those you love. Sometimes, just admitting your feelings is a form of strength. And being true to those feelings allows you to wield them as your weapon." The wind ruffling his hair, Kuwabara stated, "That's the secret… to true power."

Silence.

All at once, everyone burst out laughing. Botan doubled over and smacked the floor repeatedly. "T-True power? WAHAHA!"

Stuttering, Kuwabara spat, "Hey, don't make fun of me!"

Genkai turned her head and put her hand over her mouth, trying to keep in her laughter. "Yusuke… You truly are… a bonehead. *snort*"

Keiko had tears in her eyes. Wiping them, she said while laughing, "D-Don't worry, Yusuke… I, ha, like what you, ha, ha, said… Pfffft!" She put her hand over her mouth and started laughing hysterically. "You really are possessed!"

"H-Hey…"

Just then, a beautiful laughter echoed throughout the room. It reminded Kuwabara of chimes being teased by the wind on a sunny day. It was Yukina. Kuwabara's eyes widened. "Y-Yukina-san…"

"Yusuke-san," Yukina said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm so sorry I misunderstood you! I'm just so glad…!"

Seeing Yukina laughing filled Kuwabara with an indescribable happiness. It was then that his emotions and feelings became perfectly clear. Patting her on the head fondly, he said, "Me too."

As long as he was watching over her from somewhere, and she was smiling all the while, Kuwabara didn't feel the need to confess his love and force her to be with him. At least until he was certain about her feelings for him, her happiness was more than enough.

Her happiness… was his strength. His Rei-Ken.

But unbeknownst to Kuwabara, there was someone out there who was still struggling to come to terms with his emotions…

By now, Koro-Sensei was completely covered in vines except for his head. The plant had reached its second phase. "O-Ow! Why is it so hot in here?!"

Kurama casually leaned against a desk, tossing the gun in the air and catching it over and over. He explained, "By the second phase, the vines begin to emit heat from the fires of hell, the very lava and fire it has absorbed from the volcanoes. Though the Seed of Neglect may have been planted elsewhere, the lava is passed on in every generation of seeds. When it is neglected, the heat from the lava the previous generations that was stored within the seed is released. The heat is to remind you of how hot the plant has become due to lack of water. It makes you feel its pain."

Just then, the other students entered the room. They all let out a gasp in horror. A green haired girl stuttered, "W-What in the world…?!"

Kurama looked over his shoulder. "Stay back! If you come any closer, the plant will acknowledge you as its enemy."

Koro-Sensei struggled against the vines, but to no avail. "J-Just when were you planning on letting me go…?"

Looking at the ground, Kurama stated, "I already told you that I was going to kill you. Until the plant snuffs the life out of you and I'm there to witness it, you will not be freed from its grasp."

Yusuke, who was with the students, stepped forward. "Kurama, this is insane. You're torturing him, not killing him!"

"…That is the nature of the plant, yes."

Hiei spat, "Really? Because I wasn't informed that the plant was a torture device. Using it sounds like something I would do, but not you, Kurama."

Nagisa pulled out a rubber knife and stared at it. "…Koro-Sensei told us on one of our first days here that he wanted to be killed by a plan we could take pride in. Can you honestly feel proud of a method that causes him so much suffering?"

Karma pulled out a rubber gun. "…I'm not about to let some psychopath murder Koro-Sensei. Koro-Sensei isn't the monster here, Shuichi is."

Kurama dipped his head, his bangs casting his face in shadow. "…"

Koro-Sensei piped up, "Karma, Nagisa, I appreciate the sentiment, but if I die from this method, then I die. The world will be saved. So… as your teacher, the last thing I ask of you is to smile for me as a class, one last time…"

Kurama froze to the spot, unable to believe what he was hearing. Karma's right. Even if it's for the greater good, by going through with this I'm more of a demon than Koro-Sensei. So… "Why?" Kurama was shaking. Turning to Koro-Sensei, he yelled, "Why are you okay with this?! I'm torturing you! I'm putting you through hell! Why can you still smile, even after all I've done to you?!"

"…Because you are my student," Koro-Sensei explained as his face was covered in vines. "And this is a plan you put a lot of thought into, and I'm proud one of my students came up with it."

The entire classroom was filled with silence.

Yes, of course… I am one of his students that he loves. That's why he'll… Kurama gripped his Rose Whip and looked down to the ground, speaking to everyone and no one at the same time. "…The Seed of Neglect has reached its final phase. Its bulb will grow into a giant mouth and eat him alive, then, with him rendered helpless in its 'stomach', I will… assassinate him."

Karma fired a shot at Kurama, cutting off a part of his bangs. "You bastard! If you wanted to, you could have killed him during the second phase, couldn't you?! Why…" Karma bared his teeth. "Why are you putting him through this?!" Other students readied their guns, tears in their eyes.

After all I've done… The least I can do is face them. Kurama turned and stared them in the eye as the plant turned into a giant gaping maw. "If you want revenge, then attack me all you want."

The students charged at him. Only Yusuke and Hiei stayed behind, although judging from the looks on their faces, they were seconds from charging in too. The others thrusted at him, and several fired off guns. Using his Rose Whip, Kurama struck the knives and knocked them out the students' hands, all the while weaving between bullets with the grace of a dancer. Pulling seeds from his sleeves, Kurama threw them at the rubber guns. The seeds grew into vines midair and latched onto the guns with a death grip, rendering them unusable. Just then, a cry filled the room, freezing everyone.

Kurama looked over his shoulder as time slowed down. Koro-Sensei was devoured by the Seed of Neglect's mouth, forming a large purple shaped lump in its throat. The students gasped in horror. Kurama said slowly, "He's… being digested. Then, he'll be nothing more than a puddle of bile…" Kurama lowered his head. "…It's finished."

"…I wouldn't count me out yet."

The plant exploded, a purple liquid spraying all over the classroom like someone threw a giant water balloon. Standing on the windowsill in the plant's place was Koro-Sensei, covered in purple slime but otherwise uninjured.

The students erupted in a cheer. "KORO-SENSEIIII!" They ran past Kurama and embraced him.

A thousand emotions tore through Kurama. Disappointment. Happiness. Regret. But most of all shock. "H-How…?!"

Koro-Sensei patted Nagisa on the head. "It was simple, really. I make my own slime naturally, and it protected me from the digestive fluids of the plant. Then all I had to do was vibrate my molecules so fast that it imploded. More importantly, I made sure to water the plant once, so it couldn't reach its final phase. I'd never neglect something that belonged to one of my students. But if I knew that its natural habitat was a volcano, I certainly would have given it more water!"

Tears formed in Kurama's eyes. "Then…"

"…Your plan failed. I'm fine."

Kurama fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "Thank goodness…"

Yusuke and Hiei ran up to him. "Kurama! Hey, Kurama!" Yusuke turned to Koro-Sensei. "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!"

Koro-Sensei parted the crowd his students had formed and walked up to Kurama. Using a tentacle to lift his head, Koro-Sensei asked sadly, "You never wanted to kill me to begin with, did you?"

Gasping, Kurama asked, "H-How did you-?!"

"You were the more grateful than anyone when I survived."

Kurama lowered his head. "I… I just… when I heard about Yusuke's bet, somehow I felt responsible. I felt like I had to make up for it. I had to save the world. I had… to kill you." Kurama looked into Koro-Sensei's beady eyes and said, his voice shaking, "But you were one of the few demons who was an amazing person. You cared about your students, you cared about us… You went through such lengths to provide for your potential murderers. And even though we only met a couple of days you, you… you understood and cared about me and helped me with my future." Kurama clenched his fists as he whispered, "How could I possibly kill someone like that even if it meant saving the world?"

Nagisa frowned, upset. "Then the reason why your method was so brutal…"

Kurama couldn't meet his gaze as he stood up. "I wanted to make sure that the method I picked would kill Koro-Sensei, no matter how many second doubts I had. I overcompensated because of my weakness, because I couldn't face how I felt…" Kurama looked up at Nagisa. "Nagisa, Karma! If you still want to take revenge, then do it."

Karma's eyes widened. "S-Shuichi…"

All of a sudden, Koro-Sensei smacked Kurama with one of his tentacles at mach-20. The force sent Kurama flying into a wall, causing it to crack behind him. Blinding pain coursed through Kurama. After a moment, Kurama managed to open his eyes. He could barely make out Koro-Sensei standing in front of him through his blurry vision. "K-Koro-Sensei…?"

His face black with rage, Koro-Sensei yelled, "You've no reason to demand revenge of anyone! Here in Class E, you are both my student and an assassin. You carried out a brilliant plan as according to your job, so why should you feel ashamed or upset over my death if the plan were to succeed?!"

"…Koro-Sensei…"

Karma offered Kurama his hand. "…I guess I-no, I guess all of Class E got caught up in the moment and misjudged you, just like we did when you first arrived here. It was a good plan after all."

Kurama looked up at Karma, feeling like a helpless child looking to a parent. "…Karma…" Kurama took his hand and stood up shakily. Nagisa and Yusuke wordlessly helped him stand. From a distance, Hiei eyed Kurama with concern.

His face returning to his normal yellow, Koro-Sensei called, "Let's all hear it for a fantastic plan that had even me on the ropes!"

The entire classroom started clapping. Tears formed in Kurama's eyes again. "W-Why…?"

Yusuke whispered, "Hear that? That's the sound of a crowd who lost to their opponent but can still feel satisfied because it was a terrific fight." Smirking, Yusuke looked over at Kurama. "…That's a sound you should be proud of."

"Yusuke…" Kurama smiled and lowered his head. "…Heh… You're right. It was a good fight…"

Koro-Sensei patted Kurama on the head. "I look forward to more in the future."

"…No, I think I'll be true to my feelings this time. I'm going to leave killing you in Yusuke's capable hands. This whole mess started because I couldn't accept his bet, after all." Kurama looked up at Yusuke's shocked face. "The rest is up to you, Yusuke. Don't let me down."

After a few moments, Yusuke smiled. "Heh, you should have trusted me from the start! My plan will knock Koro-Sensei straight to hell and back!"

Hiei, who had been surprisingly silent, spoke up. "Koro-Sensei. Once Yusuke makes up his mind to do something, no force can stop him. If he says he'll kill you, he means it."

Nagisa smiled. "And with how close Hiei and Kurama came…"

Karma finished, "…Class E can say with confidence that their last plan will kill you once and for all."

Koro-Sensei's face lined with green and yellow stripes. "No holding back now, and no more in-fighting! I expect everyone in Class E to work together give it nothing less than a 120%!"

Everyone pumped their fists in the air and cheered again. The final assassination attempt was drawing closer as the clock was ticking towards doomsday. Yet somehow, Kurama felt relieved now that he had admitted to his feelings. For the first time that week, he felt safe, believing that the world wouldn't be destroyed in three days now that Yusuke was in charge. Pain rendering him weak, Kurama's eyes rolled up into the back of his head. He slipped into unconsciousness with a smile.