Okay. FFN is extremely buggy as of the past month. I hear some people saying that stories/authors are disappearing from their favorites list, that reviews aren't showing up, etc. So here's to hoping this chapter actually goes through.
Fun fact, I drove by a Megu Sushi in Sea Isle City. Just thought that might be amusing to some people.
This chapter follows the anime's timeline, in which Irina is introduced before Okuda's assassination attempt (in the manga it's the other way around).
Please enjoy and review. This chapter seems like it has a bit much going on, but I'll let all you be the judge of that.
Takahiro Aruta got up in the morning and stretched. Today was the day he was going to pull off that big prank, guided by Jeffery Carmichael, and land himself in 3-E. He had never let frogs loose in a school before. But he was ready for this, even his alarm clock seemed to be cheering him on.
Wait, alarm clock!? He hadn't had one of those since he was ten!
In fact, this room was completely foreign to him. The walls were green, he was used to white walls. The bed was pushed up against the wall that was stage left. And he didn't recognize that closet, these bedsheets, or anything.
He shot up and ran out of the room. This whole house was nothing like the abandoned house he was staying in, and nothing like his own home in Osaka. He had never seen this living room before, or this kitchen. What kind of bathroom had a mirror on the opposite side as the sink!?
"Takahiro!" An adult man's voice called out from the bedroom. "What are you doin' running around at this time of day?"
He couldn't say anything. Who was that man?
The door opened to reveal an older man and woman in pajamas. They looked at him sternly.
"We know you're a teenager, but I think you're acting a bit overenthusiastic about… Whatever it is. You maybe our son, but we can't tolerate this happening too often."
Son!? Just where was he?
He ran outside to look at the nameplate on the house. He was in the Okajima household. Was this a dream!?
Running back into the house, he grabbed his phone off the bedside table. He wanted the advice of only one person about this catastrophe.
I woke up that morning to my phone buzzing and ringing nonstop.
Groggily (I was having a nice dream in which Koro-sensei and Auntie lived), I sat up and answered the phone.
"-guri? Aguri nee-san!" It was Takahiro's voice. He was normally calm and level-headed, what was up now?
"Are you getting murdered or something? It's six in the morning!"
"Uh, no. But I have no clue how this happened."
I got out of bed and walked outside, hoping my mother didn't overhear me, grabbing my hairbrush on the way out. "Well, don't leave me hanging."
"I woke up this morning in Okajima's house."
I dropped my hairbrush. "Pardon?"
"Yes, you heard that correctly. I woke up in his room this morning. I know because of the nameplate. His parents- or at least, I assume they're his parents- are referring to me as their son. He's nowhere to be found, in case you were wondering about that."
"Err, sorry about the moodiness, I was having a really nice dream." I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "Is Kinoko there?"
I heard footsteps through the phone, then a sigh of relief. "Yes. She's in the bedroom down the hall from me."
"Good." I put my socks on.
"What happened? What do we do?" Takahiro was back in panic mode.
"You two should just go to school. Hotaru and I will meet up with all you guys after class and we can discuss theories to our heart's content."
"Good idea." I could practically hear his heart pounding through the phone. "I dunno how we'll keep ourselves composed. I just- ugh!" That thwack sound must have been him facepalming or something.
"Take a deep breath, okay? We'll figure this shit out." Really, I had no assurance whatsoever about this. But I couldn't let any of them, least of all Takahiro, know that. I was the oldest of the E Class children, so for some reason they all seemed to defer to my advice. But the reality was, if Takahiro didn't have his shit together, there was no hope for the rest of us. "Just try to act normal."
"Okay. I was excited to see my Mom today, but this morning just killed any emotions I had beyond pure what-the-fuck. Thanks for your advice, Aguri nee-san. You're the most dependable person I know."
I blushed. "That's flattering, because you're the most dependable person I know."
As if that wasn't strange enough, today got even weirder. I didn't think that was even possible at this point, but the universe had made it a hobby of proving me wrong.
Takahiro strolled into the class that morning, a sweaty and flustered mess.
"Yo! Aruta-san!" Isogai waved to him enthusiastically. "Did you catch last night's soccer game?"
"Huh?"
Isogai ran up to him. "Yeah, I didn't see you there. But I went to watch my little brother play, it was so intense! Did you hear about what happened in the last 90 seconds of the game?"
Our beloved class rep deserved some kind of award for his obliviousness here. He went on and on about the game, but Takahiro's face expressed pure horror. The sweat on his brow was reflective, his hands stimmed about.
Midori appeared next to me and whispered in my ear. "I didn't see him get up this morning. Did he leave early?"
I turned towards her. "No, the reality is far stranger. I'll tell you later."
My cousin grabbed my hand in hers and squeezed, interlocking her fingers in mine. Even someone as self-assured as Midori didn't know what to say about these developments. We watched the unfolding event side by side, she seemed like she was about to have a panic attack.
Hara stood up and was at Takahiro's side in a flash. "I think Takahiro's sick, Yuuma. It explains why he wasn't at that game last night."
"Oh. Sorry I was so talkative today." He frowned, his hair antennae drooped. "Do you want me to walk you to the school's infirmary?"
"If anyone brings him, it'll be me." Kataoka's voice was heard for the first time that day. She was surprisingly silent today, until right now. "I am the class rep, after all."
She too walked up to her son (though she had no clue about that) and felt his forehead. "Do you want to go to the infirmary, Hiro-san?" A nickname?
"Na, thanks Ma- Kataoka-san." Takahiro started handling this well, finally. "It's just a cold."
I turned my attention to Midori. She seemed in a trance. I had that feeling myself a lot, at least since the time-travel event. "Midori-chan, snap out of it." I took my hand out of hers and waved it in front of her.
When I got no response, I clapped in front of her face. That was something I learned from Dad. I didn't learn it for these purposes, but it was worth a try.
She shuddered like a lightning bolt went through her. But the glazed look in her eyes went away.
"Thanks onee-san, I needed that."
Hotaru looked over at the Terasaka gang, as if listening in on their conversation. Were they suspicious of us?
'Bitch-sensei' made her grand appearance the next day. Wow, if I had one sentence to describe her, it would be that she never grew up from now until my memory of her. From deep-kissing my father (something my sister, mother, and I were not thrilled with) to trying to seduce Koro-sensei to talking to us like we were idiots.
I tried to talk to talk to her after school. Maybe I could get to her. "Iri- er, Miss Hellabitch, what are you-"
"Brat." She huffed. "You look like a fourth-grader. What are you doing, pretending to play assassin?"
But really, I did love her for who she was. The good times we had with her as a child were in my mind forever. So I figured I'd just wait for her to do her thing- try to assassinate Koro-sensei, calls us all shitty brats, and ask us to recite the dirty pickup lines that she used to seduce her targets.
The next day, things seemed okay with her. So I tried communicating with her again.
"Bitch-sensei, will you tell me about how you prevented a second Gulf War by seducing an Arab sheik?"
"No way, that story's not for kids. Wait, how do you know about that…"
Lying time again. I had this one planned out. "Those government agents told me." After all, she wouldn't talk to them anytime soon.
"Those bastards."
Madoka passed the transfer exam with flying colors. Class 3-A. That was another given.
I figured she would need Jeffery or someone to do something stupid and frame her for it. But she really shocked me this time.
"I'm now officially in E Class!" She announced when she walked into the house that night.
"Wow, and I thought it was quick when I we did." Midori looked up from her homework. "How?"
"I punched Koyama in the face. He went on and on about how awful E Class was and how they deserved to suffer. I told him to shut up, he said 'make me', so I did." He gingerly placed her shoes on the rack, an action very juxtaposed with what she was saying.
"Your Dad will be proud. I just hope you didn't do any damage, he's ugly enough as it is." Midori smiled.
"Midori, don't be mean. It's not his fault he looks like that." Satoru scolded her. She snorted.
A sheet of paper was suspended on the fridge, held in place by a magnet. We had started listing the unsolved mysteries of this little experience.
Takahiro wrote down 'Why my sister and I are called by our real names when we live with the Okajimas' and 'Why did we wake up in Okajima's house and why do his parents think we're their kids' right under 'Why are our parents acting weird about us, do they sense something's amiss' and 'Where the hell is Hikaru, I'm getting impatient'.
Madoka entered 3-E the next day. She was Madoka Nakajima, as far as they knew. The confidence she exerted yesterday was gone. She was stuttering, flustered, and blushing. That was how she always was. I guess it was foolish of me to expect anything different. Yesterday was a rarity, not the beginning of a new era.
She sat in the appropriate seat in the back, I really needed to add this new seating arrangement to my notes. All the time travelers doted on her at lunch. She didn't have the confidence to talk to talk to anyone else.
"These are your family." I whispered in her ear.
She nodded. "Yeah, but…"
Maehara, who at some point had apparently moved on the windowsill near us, interrupted our talk. "How are all these cute girls dropping into E Class?" Madoka blushed and hid her face in her hands. Kataoka just gave him The Look.
"Maehara, resist the urge to be yourself. This is the fourth new girl you've made uncomfortable."
He whimpered and sat back down in his seat.
"I want to talk to my parents." She said to us. Apparently, it was loud enough for everyone else to hear.
"You can use your phone during lunchtime. Koro-sensei isn't even here." Isogai tried to be helpful. He was anther one whose personality never seemed to change.
"Thanks, Isogai."
As the day went on, our groupchat exploded. I snuck peeks, until I finally caved and responded.
Madoka Akabane: Have you all been interacting you your parents?
Hotaru Shiota: A lot. Naturally, considering Aguri and I live with our mom.
Satoru Chiba: Yes, but it's not easy.
Kinoko Aruta: I'd kill to talk to my mom, but I'm stuck in Class 2-B. Can that be arranged, actually?
Aguri Shiota: Sure, give me time to work some magic.
Madoka Akabane: I don't know how to talk to mine…
Aguri Shiota: Based on what I've observed over the past month, I'd recommend talking to Okuda, but not Karma. She's just shy and may open up to someone who approaches her first. But Karma is still outright hostile at this point. He doesn't have any interest in talking to any of the 'new kids' and is always picking fights with Terasaka.
But against our better judgement, she took a leap of faith and talked to Karma as we were leaving.
"Hello." She trembled. She didn't look him in the eye.
"Hiya there, Nakajima." He actually remembered her (alleged) name? "How was your first day?"
"It's going fine."
"So I heard you punched that 'chosen one' Koyama in the face." He was sure to add airquotes around 'chosen one' and say it in a the most mocking tone possible.
Blush. "H-how did you hear that?"
"When I skipped class today I walked through the main building. Those two idiots from D Class, the ugly ones, they wouldn't shut up about 'that scary 153 centimeter tall bitch with the gray braids who they sent down to E Class today' and how she 'dared to defy her superiors'. The whole of A Class is apparently up in arms about it." He threw his head back and laughed sardonically. "What a bunch of losers. Serves them right."
"Yeah… That was me."
"Good going. I never got the chance to stick it to him, I mostly bother with Asano." He picked up his bag and stuffed the 'I am an idiot' sticker sheet into it (he must have planned on using it on Terasaka). "So, do you have any intel on Koro-sensei?"
"Well, you see-" Was she going to give away Koro-sensei's biggest weakness? I honestly kind of hoped not. I figured we'd find a way to save Koro-sensei, guided by our knowledge from the future.
I twitched. Did this happen before? This made me think of something my father had told me. But I couldn't place a finger on it.
Alas, that topic was cut short. "Ah! Aguri, Hotaru!" Mom waved at us, her smile melting our hearts.
"Kayano-chan, I'll make dinner tonight." I still had to consciously reject the urge to call her Mom, I doubt that would ever end. But my tongue didn't reject the name anymore. It did at least seem like a real name, just not my Mom's.
"That's great. Let's all walk home together," Hotaru suggested.
"Okay." It was Karma who agreed first, much to our shock.
Madoka and Mom just nodded. We took off, it seemed like we all lived in the same direction.
"Okuda," Madoka twiddled her thumbs. It was clear she was struggling to come up with topics of conversation. "… So I noticed you seem to like science class a lot."
"I do." She played with her braids. "And I noticed you have the same hairstyle as me."
"Oh. I don't always do it this way. Sometimes I just let it lay flat." Madoka brought her own braids in front of her shoulders.
"I tried doing that, but it's a pain to have to pull up before chemistry."
"I just sort of deal with it. And I like chemistry too. Have you ever tried mixing…"
I didn't understand the weird scientific terms they started using after that. But they seemed to be getting along famously. I caught Hotaru's eye, who certainly looked proud. She planned this.
"Aguri-chan, Hotaru-chan," My mother started talking to us. "Have you thought about the groups for the Kyoto trip?"
Oh, that was coming up. "Not quite yet." Honestly, I hadn't given it any thought at all. I actually forgot that it was happening. Dammit, this was just another thing I had to think about.
"Hmm." Her phone was open in her hand as she chatted with us. Naturally, as it was getting dark out and the screen was bright, my eyes were attracted to it. Okay, maybe I was being a bit of a snoop.
The calendar app was open, the day May 10th was highlighted.
Why May 10th? I couldn't think of anything important about that day.
And it looked like Madoka couldn't have picked a better time to drop in. It was now the day that Okuda poisoned Koro-sensei. And she was even with the same group!
Madoka's eyes widened, this was a moment she had been hearing about for all of her life.
As Koro-sensei's head turned into emojis, we couldn't help but laugh. Only because we knew the outcome (this was what technically 'killed' Koro-sensei, and it was from Okuda of all people), and because we'd heard this story so many times. But seeing it in person was very different.
Okano and Takebayashi gave us a shocked look. That only made us laugh harder.
Hotaru told us later of what she overheard them saying.
"What's so funny about this?"
"I don't know, maybe the new kids have a different sense of humor." Glasses adjusted. "But yes, it seems like they share some secret we're not in on."
The Carmichael's entrance exam was coming up soon. I'd never seen a prankster look so nervous. Well, aside from when Karma was pacing around our living room waiting to see if he got that bill passed.
"It'll be okay, Liam." Satoru patted his shoulder. "You speak Japanese really well. This will be like nothing."
"But I don't know for sure. I just learned how to say complex sentences."
"Wait." Jeff stood up. He looked serious for once in his fourteen years of life. "I have an idea that will get us into Kunugigaoka for sure, if this doesn't work."
"Really? This isn't another one of your stupid pranks?" Liam looked up from the textbooks, Satoru's hand still on his shoulder.
"It's not a prank."
"But you didn't deny it being stupid."
I wanted to bring up the 'save Koro-sensei' idea. But that would be too much for right now. So I kept my mouth shut.
We had another repeat of the Aruta Family Incident the very next day. The Suginos woke up the next morning and called me crying about how they were in the Mimura household.
"There's not much to do but to go to school." I advised him while putting my skirt on. "Try to be subtle."
The phone call ended not too long after that, and I went into the kitchen to start the toaster. Hotaru was frying eggs, she always did like to get up early. Even when we were elementary schoolers, she would be the first at the breakfast table when our parents were still rubbing their eyes and yawning.
I noticed once again that May 10th was circled in red on the calendar. Something special about that date. "Sis? Did you see this?"
Hotaru was none the wiser. Absorbed in cooking (that was another personality trait of hers), she was bouncing a bit, singing the lullaby Mom sung to us as babies.
My mother's footsteps (light as a feather, you would have thought it was just a mouse walking around) entered the kitchen, a towel wrapped around her. She froze in the doorway. She had that thousand-yard stare, one that I saw her wear a lot.
Hotaru took the cue to shut up and rushed to her. I joined her, fussing over Mama.
"Kayano-chan? Are you sick? Did you catch what I had?" Er, what I allegedly had. "Mom?"
She finally snapped out of it, tears in the corners of her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Kaede-chan!" Hotaru hugged her. "Did I upset you with that song?"
"No. Not at all. It's just that my mother always sang that to me." She wistfully looked at the tenth-story window, where a shrine to Grandma stood.
Ah. So that's where it came from. And neither of us dared to say anything more about that topic, we knew that it would only give her more tears. So we sat down to breakfast, said itadakimasu, and dug in. But I wanted to get answers for that one other thing.
"Kayano-chan?"
"Hm?" Her mouth was covered in sticky rice.
"Is there anything coming up? Any events or celebrations, like maybe birthdays?"
Mom's gaze dropped to her feet. There was a few seconds of dead silence, and I regretted asking that question, only giving her more pain after what her other daughter subjected her to.
"… No. I can't think of any."
It was just like with Takahiro. The class totally recognized him and greeted him with the same warmth of an old friend. His father seemed to immediately be his best friend.
And when Koro-sensei called out the name Kintaro Ebisu during roll call, he knew to respond.
"Wow, you know the universe hates you when you're named after a freaking beer." He threw his hands up and brought them back down to the dinner table that evening.
Nobuhiko was setting the table tonight. "Cheer up, Onii-chan. You met Koro-sensei. I wish I could be in your place."
"Did you have the same type of first day that I did?"
"Yes. I was called Ebisu too and everyone seemed to know and welcome me. When can I meet Koro-sensei?"
"I don't know, when we can arrange for it." I was getting anxious. I still had no idea why any of this was happening. That was when I had the first inkling that there might be something supernatural about it all.
"Hotaru and I are going home now." I was beginning to get a migraine. All I wanted now was to lie in bed, my mother's embrace, and homemade rice porridge. Speaking of my mother, I made a mental note to ask her to bring us to whatever shrine or temple she visited. Maybe that would help, especially if the problem was supernatural.
"You are? Dinner is almost ready." Kinoko walked out of the kitchen, the yellow apron too big on her.
"We're not going to eat your food that you bought with your limited funds." I rubbed my temples, which were throbbing.
"Yeah, the funds really are drying up. Maybe we should take up stripping." Nobuhiko giggled.
I shot him a humorless glance as we walked out the door. "I think you've been spending too much time with Jeffery."
The Mizushima siblings woke up to a pitch-dark room. Were they in the cellar?
"What the hell pulled us down here?" Chitose sat up, pushing against the invisible force that held her down.
"Beats me. A monster?" Her little brother stretched his arms. "Let's explore it."
After looking around, it was clear that they were not, in fact, in their cellar. The floor was wooden planks, rather than the cold concrete they remembered. And there were no stairs, no bags of food. They couldn't hear the dogs running around upstairs. They weren't even in their own house anymore. This place did seem vaguely familiar, though. They had been here before, surely. But they couldn't place a finger on it.
Some rustling noises. As the Mizushimas were ready to fight against whatever it was, another voice echoed in the dark. "Are you who I think you are?"
"Er, probably, we're Chitose and Tarou. Hi Kaito."
"Hi. Let's find a door in this place." They couldn't see it, but Kaito struggled to get up.
Another round of searching guided only by phone lights brought up the door handle. But it was locked. No amount of pushing, pulling, or slamming would coax it open.
"I guess we're stuck waiting until someone comes here." Tarou slumped down on the ground. "And I still don't know where we are."
"I think we're, to use the legal term, shit out of luck."
April 28, 2045.
Classes had gotten out hours ago. The sun was just beginning to set, the orange lights in the windows made Minami Minnaoka nostalgic. The sunset always seemed so magical as a child. Everything seems magical as a child. Well, except for when your parents fought. But everything else. Sunsets, hot chocolate, stories about the Assassination Classroom. Those most of all.
Kaguya Yoshida sat in the desk next to the window. She opened up her Line, searching for updates on anyone. Once she finally managed to get something to load, she was met with disappointment. All of her friends had been quiet recently. It must have been the school year picking up.
Well, their friends did go to Maple Woods Junior High, renowned for it's rigorous academics. The two of them had the opportunity to go, but who wanted to go there, knowing that Gakuho Asano was in charge? They were also accepted to Kunugigaoka, but they didn't want to go to there for reasons that they felt should have been obvious. So they settled for a small, lesser known Junior High school that they had to take a train all the way to Yokohama to get to. This place was also infamous for letting students run wild, to boot.
"So. Time to do this stupid report." Minami sat down next to her, staring at the textbook that was spread out in front of them with a sour face. Loose-leaf paper and rulers were scattered around them haphazardly.
"Do we really have to?" Kaguya wasn't paying much attention. There wasn't anything new with any of their friends. Their cousins were strangely quiet too.
"Unfortunately, yes. Think of it this way, we get done with this class and we'll never have to care about the Russian Revolution ever again."
"Why do I have to now? Not like I use any of this. What are the chances I'll ever come within ten feet of Russia?"
"You never know." Minami counted her pens, making sure that her seat neighbor didn't decide to prank her by stealing any of them (because the teacher would care if he did). It seemed he didn't do that this time, but he swiped her gross old eraser.
"Okay, you're right. Maybe when we win the lottery we'll take a vacation there. But what are the chances I'll ever time travel?"
"You got me there."
They may have lived on opposite sides of Tokyo now, but they were still the best of friends. Kaguya understood her sullen, and at certain times dark attitude when it made everyone else run. And their classmates seemed to find Kaguya's wit biting and even caustic, Minami found it comforting that she had a friend who would always be there to make the worst situations funny.
Her mother was good friends with Kaguya's father while they attended Kunugigaoka. That school again, they just kept hearing about it from everyone. Killing a Mach 20 octopus sounded fun, they wished they had assignments like that in school.
But no. Another year of Find The Interquartile Range Of This Meaningless Data Set That You'll Never Use In Your Life commenced earlier this month, and with it the two girls' souls were crushed.
Minami couldn't take her mind off of Kunugigaoka. "Do you regret not going there?" Her friend would know where 'there' was. Minami distracted herself by playing with her hair. She never liked how dark it was, she was considering going blonde. That would make her like her aunt, the one who lived in LA.
"Huh? Hell no!"
"The more and more I think about it, I kind of do." Minami frowned. "I want the same experiences they had. Maybe we'd learn something special, something that this crappy school can't teach us."
"But Koro-sensei's dead and the E Class system doesn't exist anymore. It would just be like here, except with a stricter administration. I wouldn't be able to get away with all the things I say to mess with people."
"Yes, you are The Queen, according to Midori-chan."
"I guess I am, if that's what people say." Sigh.
Pouring over this textbook was draining. Soon they both yawned and were on the verge of falling asleep.
Minami felt something land on her head. Something with sharp claws that dug into her scalp. It jolted her awake.
Caw.
"Kaguya, what the hell is this thing!" She swung her arm above her and hit whatever it was, but had no clue what it was until it decided to land on her arm.
A big crow. It stared her in the eyes, as if challenging her. To what?
"Get it off of me!"
Her best friend grabbed the binder and swung it at the bird. The bird flew out of the way and the binder hit the chalkboard, causing it to crack.
Caw! It attacked her! Wait, where did this thing even come from? There were no open windows, and the door had been shut for the past hour. Was it hiding in the room this whole time? Am I going crazy? Birds don't teleport!
"Crap, now we gotta pay to replace that!" But that ceased to be a concern of Kaguya's when the bird attacked her too.
The fading sunlight blinded them, as if the sun decided to rise back up over the horizon and assault their senses. After that was like an out-of-body experience.
AN:
1. Holding hands can be an expression of friendship/platonic affection in Japan. I think. Correct me if I'm wrong.
2. I'd like to be informed of plot holes, if you notice any of them popping up. Time travel stories are especially prone to them. I keep notes, but some things might fall through the cracks.
Thank you for your support, please review, and I'll see you in the next chapter.
