Hey my wonderful readers; I've finally gotten through the next chapter of this story and a little heads up from me Aria's about to make an interesting discovery.

READ AND ENJOY


Things were not looking good from Aria's perspective; on top of juggling school, her studies, pupils; living in an apartment alone and paying for it with her own money she made at her part time job she now had to deal with the discovery of a top assassin being so close in her facility. Catching sight of Irina at the school when E-class had come down to main campus for the monthly assembly had Aria becoming more suspicious of the situation. She was still unsure of what exactly the professional assassin was doing here of all places but she couldn't rule out that Aria herself may be the reason.

'But if that were the case then wouldn't she know who I was and where to find me; besides this kind of task isn't up to standard with her regular target preferences.' Aria thought

This had all happened a few short hours ago and it was robbing Aria of her sleep-something she would need to have in order to function the next day. She was one who valued her rest and if she did not get it-no matter who or what it was that needed her attention she would not be able or willing to do give it.

Back to the matter at hand, she was at a loss for what move to make next. Things were in danger of falling out of place too soon.

'Should I leave?'

That thought left as quickly as it came, if she were to make such an attempt chances are she would escape but she would have to begin all over again; those months spent making a life for herself would be lost in the blink of an eye; it would be a very rash judgement call. There was also no actual guarantee that Irina was here for her. But if that was true then who could she be targeting? Who could be so important that they needed to be taken out? And why would it be someone from a junior high school? These were all factors that just didn't match up well with each other.

One thing was clear though-it was too dangerous for an assassin to trust in coincidence.


"Good morning Aria!" called Akane as the familiar silver-eyed girl entered the classroom however the A-class student fell silent when she caught sight of her friends appearance. Her usually neat-well fitted uniform was slightly muddled-part of her shirt wasn't tucked into her slightly creased skirt, the top two buttons of h


er shirt was untied and her tie was lose around her neck; her blazer was unbuttoned giving clear view to all of these attire errors. Her hair was slightly more bedraggled and under her eyes were lightly dark circles indicating for her lack of sleep.

"We need to talk-

Luckily before Akane-or anyone else could question her the bell rang signalling homeroom barely even a minute before Aria had entered the class. She quickly took her seat at the back near the window. Her head fell down on her desk without a shred of concern for some of the eyes that were on her.

Aria had stayed up the entire night attempting to get some enlightenment on what kind of affect the previous chain of events would have on her and her new life but there were too many missing pieces to the puzzle; therefore she was unable to see the full picture.

The only thing all of her late night contemplating had actually done was fuel her curiosity to know more but how she was going to do that was another matter she was too tired to address presently.

She was so fatigued that not only had Aria missed role call-for which one of her friends had accounted for her presence; but then homeroom was soon over and it was time to begin classes.


Sitting at a large table that followed by rows of others were many others but she paid them no heed; silver eyes glared strongly down at the piece of parchment in front of her. Her pen glided across the paper in smooth strokes. There were the soft of footsteps that reached her ears and stopped just behind her. She felt a powerful presence looming over her small form but continued to focus until a powerful voice spoke.

"You're doing a good job with those schematics 62."

The little girl didn't turn around to acknowledge the figure nor show any sign of appreciation for the compliment.

"But 62 is such a screw up"

"Yeah, what's the point of only being good and drawing up plans yet unable to implement them?"

"She accidently detonated her bomb two days ago in the room!"

"Luckily the bomb was too weak to kill anyone!"

Laughter filled the room but the girl remained silent; though she continued to look at her paper silent tears ran down her face.


"Aria-san"

There was a light tap on her shoulder causing the onyx haired girl to jolt awake quickly; she looked up to see Gakushu looking at her with a 'worried' expression on his face. Glancing around the classroom Aria noticed that it was empty.

Rubbing her eyes she craned her neck to the side "How long have I been asleep?"

"Since the beginning of first period and we've just finished third." Gakushu told her with a slight smirk on his face "You should consider yourself lucky none of the teachers have called you up."

Aria let out a small grunt; within the few short weeks she had been attending school she either managed to offend; correct, distance or completely mortify every single one of her teachers-within the limit that kept her from receiving punishment. The teachers had more or less surrendered on creating any student-teacher relationships with her that bordered on good or bad instead they left her to her own activities and as long as she kept getting the marks she had ; she didn't think there would be a problem. So they wouldn't bother her over falling asleep in their classes in order to avoid her snide or quick witted remarks.

"You should go to bed earlier Aria-san; it's not healthy." Gakushu told her.

Aria leaned on her hands and closed her eyes, a frown painting her features "I happened to get plenty of rest; last night I was simply-

She stopped herself.

Being too honest with Asano made Aria feel like she was giving him the key to her own undoing; she was already dealing with one problem. No need to pile on another.

"Simply what?" asked Gakushu

Coughing softly she shook her head "It's nothing for you to worry about."

"As student council president, I believe it is my job to worry about the wellbeing of all the students of Kunugigaoka including yours." he said in a straight laced tone "Especially when it affects their work ethic; exams are coming up soon. I know it was only one day but you may be sent to the E-class if this continues."

Aria gave a soft sigh, of course he would have that kind of response but there was motive behind it; he was trying to back her into a corner again. For whatever reason Asano is trying to confront her about something yet he hadn't said it yet.

"Strange, I got the impression that all students cared for their own grades."

Instead of shutting him up like she had hoped for Asano laughed "That is true; since no one wants to end up in the End Class. However no one from the A-class must drop to E."

"I get it; it would damage the A-classes reputation."

Asano nodded "Exactly, the actions of one reflects on all of us. We are the ones who stand above the rest and must guide everyone so that they can follow our example and see the light. However if we cannot lead ourselves out of darkness how can we allow others to trust us to lead them? Hence we cannot afford to create any bad image towards our schools learning system."

"So what you're saying is that we are like a monarchy who rules the meek?" Aria snapped, at this point she did not care much for keeping her innocent tone as she snapped her blunt statements. Claiming naivety or at least appearing to be victimised by it was one of the reasons Aria hadn't been called out for being too honest. However she was no longer in a mood to balance on that line and simply jumped off.

Asano appeared shocked "Aria-san where did that come from? I'm simply saying that we are the ones that play a guardian role for the other students. We do not rule them as such."

Aria rubbed her temples feeling a headache coming on "I'm sorry for saying that; I do not function well when I don't have enough rest. That was uncalled for on my part"

How long it has been since she said something like that...

For now she would just play along with Asano's act instead of calling him up on it.

Asano nodded "That's alright; it is my responsibility to ensure that the A-class remains standing tall and strong. By that we have to make sure that everyone reaches their full potential and stays on the right path to success."

Simply nodding Aria grabbed her bag and left the classroom without glancing back.

Gakushu smirked as the raven haired girl left and added quietly to himself "Even if it means forcefully dragging them on that path when they resist. For we cannot allow one to compromise and sully everything for the sake of the lowly dirt we used to form our path."


"Hello Aria, please come back down to earth!" called Subaru smacking the dark haired girl lightly at the back of her head.

"Huh?" Aria turned to face her

"You've been spaced all day, what the heck is wrong?" asked Akane

"I'm worried," she told them bluntly

"You should be." Akane said suddenly frowning "There have been rumours about you getting along with someone from E-class."

"Yeah, that's what I heard as well." Mina told her "You apparently appeared to be pretty chummy with him."

Aria sighed softly; of course this was the kind of reaction she expected from them having seen her with someone the rest of the school deemed beneath them. Rumours were bound to spread and quickly. She couldn't be bothered of course; there were matters far greater that needed her attention rather than gossiping teenagers.

"Oh right, you're talking about when I was with Nagisa."

"How could you be friends with that low life?" asked Mina

"Who I want to be friends with is my concern alone; there are no rule stating that we are not allowed to befriend the students of E-class. I'm fond of Nagisa and enjoy spending time with him."

The three girls looked at Aria as if she had grown a second head.

"Aria," Akane began in a tone that Aria deciphered was for someone about to get a lecture. "I know that you are still quite new and still getting into the swing of things but I thought that we at least had an understanding of how this school works when it comes to the end class."

"I do understand, however I'm not breaking any rules so it doesn't really matter."

Akane sighed "Look if it was someone from any of the other classes then it would've been overlooked but you're in the A-class, what you do affects all of us."

Aria gave no reply; because something else had caught her sharp eyes, or rather someone. It was principal Asano walking out of the gates entrance of the school but it wasn't the front entrance; it was the one that lead to the forest, up the mountains and to the E-class. The question as to why was what quipped her interest as she no longer wished to listen to the never ending preaching's she was going to receive from the three A-class girls.

Aria stood up swiftly "I don't have time to listen to this right now; feel free to lecture me on a topic I won't dwell another time."

With that she left the three girls absolutely speechless as she swiftly turned away from the schools entrance and headed towards where she had seen the principal.


The trail up the mountain to the E-class has always been considered a challenge; the distance itself plus all of the mountains natural attributes played part in making the journey hard. There were animals and dangerous insects to look out for; crossing over small rivers; falling rocks and more. The fact that an entire class would make their way up and back down the mountain everyday was difficult to believe.

Minutes after Aria saw Gakuho head into the forest, she followed. Students from the main campus never went up to the E-class, one of the reason was they were not allowed and the second being no one actually wanted. Aria didn't find herself fatigued from the walk given her history of training in forests and mountains given that the terrain offered the perfect stimulation for working in difficult environments and bettering survival skills.

She kept a safe distance so as not to be seen by her headmaster but Aria was quick to notice that Gakuho appeared to know the path very well and didn't have any problems making it through the forest unscathed; he showed no signs of exhaustion either.

'It's almost as if he use to come here often.'

Though from what she heard; he hardly gave the E-class any mind. So aside from Irina being there; it was fascinating to see that Gakuho had come all the way up to the E-class himself.

This struck Aria as suspicious and she intended to satisfy her curiosity despite the risk.


Upon arriving Aria, followed Asano until he came up to a rundown wooden school building with several places on the roof and a few windows boarded up. Most of the students appeared to have left already; she didn't rule out that there might still be a few students around in the building and that there were still teachers there as well. Aria scoped the perimeter of the building carefully until she heard her principal's voice as she came upon one of the larger windows that were wide open. Crouching down she slid underneath the window and listened. She picked up on exactly four voices.

"We meet at last Korosensei," she heard Gakuho greet

'Koro sensei?' Aria wandered to herself

"He says he's the principal of this place," a women's voice said

"As teacher's he's our boss."

Then she heard odd sounds followed by a surprised gasp "My, my-you've come all this way! Say might I have a little bump in my salary? I've added a few more clones you see, and I'm sure it's in your power-

"I must apologise," Gakuho said "I'd meant to come pay my respects. The Ministry of Defence and Mr Karasuma have told me all about you. I can't claim I understand everything but..."

'Ministry of defence,'

Now she was certain something was going on in this school.

Unable to take the burning curiosity inside of her, Aria slowly began to push her body upwards from her crouching position to see who exactly these four voices belonged to as she could only identify one while another sounded familiar but she couldn't place it...Although what she saw was something that surprised her beyond expectations.

There were four figures standing near the door of what appeared to be an office, one was Irina and the other was the man Aria had caught a glimpse of in the hall during assembly, then in front of them starring at one another was Gakuho Asano and-what was so shocking it made her forget that a top assassin was also in that room, a tall yellow creature, with a face so animated it seemed to be plastered in the permanent smile which could only be described as a smiley face emogi; he wore a long red and black cloak, but she could see his long arms coming out and several tentacle like legs from bellow. Aria had never seen anything like this before and because of that she was in a short trance; she had to hold back a gasp of shock so they wouldn't find her. The one conclusion that Aria was able to draw up from all of this was that she more than likely had not been discovered by Phoenix Academy which saved her identity but now there were even more questions that were beginning to enter her mind as she finally gained control of her emotions and rapid pulse.

Aria frowned with her hand over her heart 'Irina, this school, the principal, that-that octopus guy...Koro sensei what exactly is going on?'

She then began watching and continued to listen in on the conversation as Gakuho began speaking to the odd being "How very sad you are. Looking to become the saviour of the world, only to fall into the role of the great villain who would destroy it"

Aria took in everything that was being said word for word but was unable to draw up any of her own theories as of yet.

"But let's set that aside for now. Struggle as I might I cannot hope to save the planet from its crisis."

Yet another piece of information that Aria stored away and she wasn't liking where this conversation was heading, then again no one really expects good news after hearing someone mention the world being in crisis-it obviously had something to do with the three metre octopus-like creature in the room.

"Barring the unexpected I'll stay out of your assassination all together." Gakuho finished

Aria nearly lost her balance when she heard the world assassination. That was one word she was not expecting to hear in a school although nothing about this situation bordered on a normal school vibe.

Irina then spoke, reminding Aria that she was in fact there "Well aren't you rational man, I like rational men."

"I'm honoured." Gakuho said before turning back and walking towards the window "However as principal, I must consider what's in store the next year and beyond, should the earth survive."

'The world's going to end' that was what Aria picked up from the conversation so far and she was about to pick up a lot more. She quickly ducked down as the principal moved to sit on the windowsill. Directly above her now she remained as silent and still as possible, to keep her presence from being detected.

"In other words, if someone does happen to kill you, what is this school's future?" he asked "Frankly we need to E-class to remain as it is.

Then the mysterious being spoke "As it is? You mean with rock bottom grades and treatment, like now?"

"Yes, are you familiar with the worker ant principle? In any group 20 percent will be lazy and 20 percent will work hard and the remaining 60 percent will be average. My goal is a group with 5 percent slackers and 95 percent hard workers." Gakuho began explaining "'I don't want to be like the E-class' with the 95 percent of students thus determined, my ideal ratio is attainable."

"I see, how logical," replied Koro sensei "Then the 5 percent of the E-class must be kept weak and pitiful."

"I received a complaint today from the D class teacher; 'A student from E-class glared at one of my students and threatened to kill him.'"

Although Aria was still a little off balance having seen and heard everything she had, she knew that they were now discussing what had happened yesterday with Nagisa when he had shown off his bloodlust to scare the students that were picking on him. The story had obviously been blown out of proportion but even so it wouldn't matter as much given who the actual victim was. Although Aria was taking in everything as calmly and analytically as possible there was still one thing that was throwing her off and that was...

"I'm sure the glare is part and parcel of the whole assassination thing. And that's fine." Gakuho said calmly

There it was again, mention of assassination causing chills to run up Aria's spine. Gakuho was right above her, a single slip and her presence would be noted by everything in that room.

"The problem lies in a student with rock bottom grades defying a regular one. Under my policies that cannot stand. Please tell him in no uncertain terms to control himself."

Gakuho removed himself from the window and Aria wasted no time in glancing back up, it appeared that the conversation was over as he began walking towards the door but then he stopped. "Oh and Koro Sensei?"

Throwing something silver into the air he spoke quickly "You have one second to solve this."

Aria watched as Koro sensei grabbed hold of what was a puzzle key and began to move at lightning speed before he was on the floor on second later pulling at it.

'He's fast!'

"You amazing speed lives up to the hype." Asano said "No doubt you can dodge any attempt on your life. But you know Koro Sensei...There are some problems speed can't solve. Now if you'll excuse me."

Aria watched as he opened the door but then Koro-sensei spoke "Ah forgive me Principal Asano but I'm afraid there is one more problem we will need to address. I'm not sure if I should mention it for it might cause a panic."

"What is that?" he asked turning around

"The unfamiliar scented student that's hiding by the window,"

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...

Aria hadn't moved so fast in so long because they hadn't been a need to until then; disregarding all concerns for being silent; she kept her back turned as she heard some cursing and voices before footsteps trailing behind her. She could tell that there were two following. Aria hadn't taken into account what would happen if she was spotted however right now running seemed to the best option, better than getting caught.

"Hey stop; who are you!?" she heard a males voice call

'They haven't seen my face,' Aria concluded as she continued running 'Identity is everything, if you keep it hidden, you are not guilty; you are not blamed; you are not caught. You are untouchable.'

"Damn she's fast!" she heard a female's voice call obviously Irina

Pushing as hard as she could with her legs Aria leapt through the bushes into the forest away from the trail down the mountain, obviously she would need to go back but first she needed to escape, if she ran all the way down the mountain she might still be followed; she decided it would be better to attempt to lose the two tailing her here now.

"Grab her quickly Karasuma!" Irina said panting "There's a tree blocking her way!"

Aria jumped to one side pushing her foot on a rock before quickly jumping to the next one in order to get high and make it over the fallen tree. The ground Aria was walking on was softer than the forest ground that was usually walked on, it slowed a person down quite a bit and while that included her two pursuers; she didn't believe it was wise to stay down for too long.

"What the hell was that?!" Irina yelled

"Dammit!"

They were trying to pick up the pace, it was obvious that they were so desperate to grab Aria that they weren't willing to fully consider the terrain around them but Aria was.

"She's so fast!"

"Like a damn athlete!" Irina said

'I can't turn around, I can't let them see my face,' she told herself as she jumped again and stepped on another rock using it as leverage to jump up and grab onto the branch of a tree and swing herself forward to create a larger distance jumping over a large mud puddle that was deeper than it appeared.

She heard a shriek and splashing sound followed by some sloshing noises and loud cursing from Irina.

"KARASUMA CATCH THAT BRAT, SHE'S PAYING FOR MY DRYCLEANING."

She knew then that Irina was out of this chase now, so that just left...

"Hold it!"

From then on Aria started making her way through the dense forest by keeping a level footing and to do that she kept kicking off on trees and rocks that were in her path using what would be set backs to her advantage. She wasn't the only one doing this though as she heard quick footsteps behind her, this Karasuma that was following her obviously had a lot of training under his belt.

'Given what I just heard earlier this is the least surprising fact of the day.'

"Stop!" she heard him call "I just need to talk to you!"

She continued to manoeuvre through the forest still being chased; a few minutes passed and she heard the sound of flowing water not too far. Her eyes narrowed in focus before it began darting around the terrain until she spotted a tree with a sturdy branch not too far from her reach, she jumped up and swung her legs forward till she flipped her entire body over and onto the branch then in a squatting position pushed off shooting forward through the trees and over a small stream-one that was easy enough to jump over but she got more distance; Aria landed with a thud on her hands and knees rolling a few times before she pushed off and climbed as high as she could into a tree. Then she began moving to the branch of the next tree, and the next and the next, stopping when she heard footsteps.

Aria saw the spikey haired man stop as he appeared to have lost sight of her "Hey, come out! I promise I'm not going to hurt you! I know you're out here."

'He's good,' Aria thought as she watched him looking at the ground for signs of tracks but she had moved further from where they were made. As Karasuma ducked his head searching Aria lifted the stones she had grabbed and threw them as far as she could listening to them hit the tree. As expected Karasuma heard it and began walking towards where he heard the sound out of sight. Sighing in relief Aria began heading in the opposite direction out of the mountains.


"Hey Nagisa," Aria greeted to him on the phone "What's up?"

"Hey Aria, I was wandering if you wanted hang out this Saturday?"

"Sure but what about studying, midterms are coming up right?" Aria pointed

"Yes, I know. I was thinking we could study together if you're okay with that..."

"Okay, I'll see you then." Aria said "Bye Nagisa."

"Bye"

Hanging up the line Aria let out a sigh, her eyes narrowed "Nagisa...E-class what exactly is happening at this school?"

TADA!

There's a surprise for all of my readers, things are going to be getting pretty interesting after this don't you think?