A/N: Hello guys, so like, I wanted to update this story yesterday, but was busy studying for my exams. And, I'm leaving for Sweden in four days (immediately after my exams) so my schedules kinda packed (because I'm not returning till the 31st of December) so I may not have time to do the next chapter. No worries though, I've already begun on it, so hopefully by New Years I'll have it done (?) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ansatsu Kyoushitsu/Assassination Classrooms or it's characters. Just the plot.

Chapter 10: School Trip Part II, Boys and Girls

Downstairs, where there was a mini arcade, Kanzaki, having been persuaded by Kayano to show off her gaming skills, moved her hands skillfully on the board in a continuous fashion, rapidly pressing buttons and moving the lever in all directions.

"No way. How are you avoiding all that?!" Sugino exclaimed, watching in sheer amazement as the tiny spaceship on the screen avoided the barrage of attacks that came its way, as did Nagisa, Kayano and Okuda. Even Karma, who watched from afar with seemingly mild interest, was amazed by her expertise in gaming. "You're amazing, Kanzaki-san!"

"This is...kind of embarrassing…" Kanzaki chuckled nervously as she continued playing, not even looking at the screen anymore. "So she says as she moved her hands skillfully!"

"Wow! I never knew you were so good at games like this, Kanzaki-san," Okuda exclaimed excitedly, watching her raven-haired friend continue going at it. Kanzaki remained silent for a while before offering a small smile. "I remained silent about it. Even though I can play really well, such things are only considered as frivolity in my family and our school, which is frowned upon."

Kanzaki's dim smile then turned slightly brighter. "But, maybe I've been too concerned with what those around me think. Clothes, hobbies, status… I've been continuously running from it, getting swept away by the crowd, and wound up lacking confidence in myself. But what Korosensei said made me realize: what's important is for the person you are inside to face forward and continue doing their best."

As Kayano sat next to Kanzaki to try out the game, Sugino, Karma and Nagisa decided it was time to go back to their room. On the way they met up with Okajima, and as they went around a corner, Nagisa caught a glimpse of blonde hair entering the male bath.

"Wasn't that…" Nagisa begun.

"Nakamura?" Karma finished, nodding in agreement. They then crept up to her, to find Fuwa next to her. Sugino finally asked, "What are you two up to?"

Both girls whirled around, alarmed, but relaxed when they realised it was just them. Fuwa was the first to react, bringing a finger to her lips. "Shh!"

Nakamura smirked, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she turned to face them. "Isn't it obvious? It's exactly what it looks like. We're peeping!"

Nagisa could only gasp in response. "Peeping?!" Okajima, however, had a very different reason. He pointed a finger to himself and exclaimed, "Isn't that our job?!"

At that, both Nagisa and Sugino gave him a 'what the heck' expression, while Karma simply chuckled, as Nagisa muttered, "I wouldn't say it's anyone's job, or that it's even a job, per say…"

"Can you still say that after seeing this?" Nakamura stated, pushing aside the curtains of the entrance, revealing the inside. Before them, was a very familiar black cloak on a hanger, that was hung up on a nail on the wall, while an equally familiar tie was rolled up neatly, with a small black cap, and a neatly folded blouse. Realization struck the boys as they finally understood where Nakamura and Fuwa were getting at. "If these clothes are hanging here, then their owner must be in the bath. Get our drift? Right now, this is our chance to see what it's like underneath Korosensei's clothes! Does he have a torso in there, or is it tentacles all the way down?"

The boys exchanged looks and seemed to come to an agreement over the matter, following both girls into the male bath, with Nakamura in the lead, her hand in her sleeve, ready to pull out the anti-Korosensei knife she had hidden in there if she saw an opening. "What's the harm, anyways? It could even put us in an advantage in assassinating him."

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this. This has got to be the least sexy act of peeping that exists," Okajima groaned, grudgingly following suit. Nakamura, as silently as humanly possible, slowly slid open the door to the bath tub to reveal…

...a pink Korosensei, in a bubble bath, scrubbing a tentacle with a brush. He even had a shower cap on.

"What are you, a girl?!" Nakamura burst out without thinking, appalled by the scene before her. Korosensei, being Korosensei, remained unfazed as he greeted them, not bothering to stop his administrations. "Ah, good evening, students."

"Why's there a bubble bath?" Sugino asked, and by now, everyone had a deadpan expression, except Karma, who remained neutral in this situation. Nagisa followed up Sugino on the matter. "You're not supposed to add anything into the bath on your own accord."

"This is my mucus. It raises a nice, brisk lather and deep-cleans pores of stubborn dirt," Korosensei replied. "What a useful body," Sugino replied dully. Nakamura seemed to finally regain herself, as she spoke up once more.

"But you've slipped up. We're between you and the exit." Karma suddenly spoke up, cutting her off. "Oi, Nakamura-"

He got ignored as the blonde continued speaking, pulling out the anti-Korosensei knife from inside her sleeve. "When you get out, you'll have to pass us to get to the door. Even if we may not be able to kill you, we will get to see you naked."

"Nakamura, listen-"

"I must object!" At that, Korosensei abruptly stood up, but what surprised them was how the water of the bathtub had solidified around him. "Jellied broth?!" Nakamura exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh dear, I'm starting to feel a tad bit cold. If you would please excuse me." With that, Korosensei jumped and squeezed himself through the gap of the open window behind him, hightailing out of the male bath. After a few silent moments passed by, Karma finally spoke up, "...I was going to tell you that the window was open, Nakamura."

"He got away," Nagisa blandly stated, while Okajima turned to face Nakamura with a deadpan expression. "Nakamura, this whole peeping thing turned out to be completely fruitless."

At that, Nakamura started making whiny noises, clearly frustrated at a failed attempt to find out one of Korosensei's secrets. Nagisa let out a sigh and smiled. "We sure did learn a lot about one another on this trip, but…"

"We don't get any closer to determining Korosensei's true nature," Okajima finished, as the gang began walking out and away from the male toilet, and towards their rooms. As they approached the entrance of the female toilet, Nagisa's head perked up as he blinked multiple times, as if trying to confirm he wasn't dreaming. Noticing his odd behaviour, Karma questioned him on it. "What's wrong, Nagisa-kun?"

"Is there anyone who hasn't bathed yet? I think I heard a hairdryer going on in the female bath…" Nagisa muttered, looking towards the entrance of the female bath. Karma raised a brow and listened carefully. "That's true, I hear it."

"That shouldn't be right. All the girls already bathed, and there is no one else except our class staying in this inn." Fuwa replied, frowning slightly. Hearing this, Okajima had that look on his face. That one that clearly said he was thinking of something indecent. "Maybe it's a really hot babe who decided to stay here!"

Of course not!" Nakamura exclaimed, smacking the back of his head, hard. Crouching down, Okajima clutched the back of his head in pain as Nakamura continued. "Besides, even if there were, don't go having lewd thoughts about peeking or anything along those lines. You're dead if you do, 'cause I'll tell Megu!" Hearing her mention Kataoka's name, Okajima froze and silently nodded obediently.

"Well, just to make sure it isn't an intruder, we should go check it out," Nagisa suggested, and everyone agreed, before following him towards the female bath. As soon as they were at the entrance, Nagisa cautiously and silently slid the curtain to the side to reveal Teresa, who had been in the middle of changing.

Apparently, she hadn't noticed, or heard, them approaching, since the hairdryer was far too loud for her to distinguish their footsteps. After her hair was dried, she had it tied up in a high bun, which resulted in completely exposing her back. Her lower back and everything else below was covered by her robes, which she was about to put on. Everyone who was watching her would've teased her for being in such an erotic situation. If it weren't for the very visible scars on her back.

Upon hearing the curtains being pushed to the side, Teresa whipped her head around and her eyes widened as she looked at the group that had been staring at her. And for the first time since she came to this school, her eyes were filled with fear as an alarmed expression came over her face. Nagisa stuttered to form a response to her shock. "U-Uh, that is, we…"

Teresa turned away and quickly pulled her robes over her shoulders. As she secured the ribbon

around her waist, she questioned in a low voice, "...Did you see?"

"Y-You mean, the scars on your back?" Sugino stammered, watching as Teresa undid the bun, allowing her hair to fall out of the hairdo gracefully, nearly touching the ground. "Did you see my lower back?"

"No…"

"...I see." She discreetly slipped her dagger between her school uniform, before gathering her stuff in her arms and slowly turned around to face them. "Please forget what you saw, and don't tell anyone else."

She then quickly walked past them, obviously eager to leave and not stay to be questioned. Karma, on the other hand, had other plans, as he immediately turned around and followed suit. The rest eyed them as they disappeared around the corner.

"...Am I the only one who thinks that there's some complicated reason for those scars we saw?" Nagisa finally voiced out after a while, getting a few numb nods from Sugino and Okajima.

"Am I the only one who think there's more going on between those two than meets the eye?" Fuwa questioned, a smirk on her lips. Nakamura's face mirrored Fuwa's, as horns seemingly grew on top of her head. "Nope. You're definitely not the only one. And I know a few troopers." Sinister chuckling began echoing from them, causing the boys to stare at the girls anxiously, sweatdropped.

"You guys…" Nagisa muttered.

"Teresa-chan!" Karma grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks. Teresa swallowed hard, not wanting to face this confrontation right now. That was way too close. It was a miracle they didn't see her lower back, but if they did, she would risk revealing her past and true identity, and, needless to say, she would have to leave and never return. "What were those scars?"

It was a statement, not a question. A demand for an answer. She didn't need to turn around to know, Karma wasn't too pleased to see the scars. Still she refused to turn around, as she meekly replied, "...It's nothing."

"Don't lie! It's definitely not 'nothing'!" Karma actually raised his voice, causing her to flinch - it was clear as day to anyone who can hear, he was furious. He spun her around, coming face to face with the uneasy expression on her face. He gritted his teeth so hard, he wouldn't be surprised if they crumbled under the pressure. Why was he so agitated, he himself didn't know. But there was one thing he knew for sure: he wasn't going forgive whoever it was who did it to her.

"Who did it?" Teresa met his eyes for a brief moment, and in that moment, he could see so many emotions rushing through at once: pain, sadness, devastation, guilt. The next moment, she averted her eyes and bit her bottom lip, her head downcast. The action only further infuriated him, as he tightened his grip on her arms. Teresa barely registered the bruising pain from it as he asked his next question. "Is it your parents?"

He watched, as her head remained downcast, he could make out the slight shake. He knew, she was telling the truth.

"Asano-kun?" Another shake.

"An incident from the past?" He felt her freeze up momentarily, and knew he hit the bullseye. Teresa, on the other hand, was mentally cursing Karma's sharp intuition and intelligence. How was he guessing this closely to the truth?

"I...can't talk about it. Not yet," she began, slowly looking up, an apologetic smile on her lips. Karma calmed down a bit, loosening his grip on her arms, but not letting go. She noticed that, and her eyes dulled slightly with professionally hidden bloodlust, focussed only on running away from this, as a single thought crossed her mind.

'Give him false hope.'

"I'm not ready to tell anyone." I won't ever be ready.

"I'll tell you when I'm ready." I won't ever tell you, or anyone else.

"Until then, please...wait for me." Don't bother waiting, it won't happen.

"...Alright." Karma finally replied, reluctantly removing his hands from her arms, allowing her to reach up to rub the area he was grabbing. Taking note of her actions, he apologised. "Sorry, I kinda lost my head for a moment there."

"It's fine. I...kinda understood why you did that," she muttered in response, before flashing a sweet smile. "I'm kind of thirsty. Wanna follow me to buy a drink? After I leave my stuff in the girls' room."

"Sure." With that, Teresa turned around and rushed to the room, to find the rest of the girls already there. Noticing her enter, Kataoka spoke up. "Teresa-chan, wanna join us?"

"To do what?" Teresa questioned, keeping her toiletries and school uniform into her camping bag, before discreetly slipping the dagger into the waistband of her underwear, not even flinching as the cool metal of the blade touched her stomach. "Girl talk."

Teresa chuckled nervously. She wasn't really interested, and kinda knew Nakamura was planning on questioning her on her relationship with Karma, if that devilish glint in her eyes were anything to go by…

"Sorry, but I made last-minute plans with Karma just now, so…" she trailed off, hoping Kataoka would get her gist, which she thankfully did. "Oh! No worries then, you go have your fun, we'll have ours. Make sure you return before curfew!"

"Sure thing!" With that, she hightailed out of the room before Nakamura could catch her and keep her there. As she stepped out of the door, she jolted in surprise, noticing Karma already standing there. "Ready to go?"

"Yep!" Teresa quickly reverted back to her cheery facade, and happily followed Karma away from the room and to the lift lobby, where the vending machines were. Selecting their drinks, they stood by the window as they sipped from their cans. Karma eyed Teresa, who seemed oblivious to him staring at her. He didn't like not knowing something, after all, it was human nature to be curious about what they don't know.

"By the way, Karma-san," Teresa began, removing her lips from the can she was drinking from, gaining the said red-head's attention, who turned to face her, "have you and Nakamura-san decided how to foil Asano-kun's plans?"

"Yeah, about that, we thought of a few things. How does making him answer incredibly complicated yet meaningless questions, which would devastate him for wasting his time and effort when he finds out, sound?"

Teresa could barely restrain the wide grin that broke across her face, her eyes gleaming with excitement and devilish amusement, impatient to see Gakushuu in devastation, amusing Karma immensely. "Perfect...just perfect."

Karma returned the gesture. "The only problem is coming up with the questions. For that, we did ask Korosensei for his input. We are now waiting for his advice and suggestions. So when we decide to give a question, we will send it to you, so that you can forward it to Asano-kun for him to solve."

"I look forward to it." As soon as those words left her lips, she felt her phone vibrate from inside the pocket of the coat that she was wearing over her robe, which was provided by the inn. Fishing it out, she looked at the screen and blanched. Noticing her reaction, Karma mouthed 'who', to which she simply turned the phone such that the screen was facing him. Looking at it, his brow twitched at the message that was sent to her, by Gakushuu.

"Wow...just, wow. Is he psychic or something?" Teresa mumbled. Karma simply shrugged as he read the text with a neutral expression. The text read: 'Meet me tomorrow at class A's hotel, wait for me at the waiting area in front of the counter at 9.00 pm. Don't be late.'

Karma's brows twitched in annoyance, not at the message, but at the fact that Gakushuu had her number before him. He watched as Teresa turned the screen to face her once more as she scowled at the message and heard her mutter, "Who the heck does he think he is, ordering me around just 'cause he's got blackmail over me…"

"Teresa-chan." Hearing Karma call her, she averted her gaze from her phone and unto him, seeing him hold up his own phone, which was a black iPhone 5, and gave her a coy smile. "You should give me your number, so that I would be able to send you the questions."

"Oh, right. Now that I think about it, I haven't given anyone in the class my contact number yet, have I?" She stated, taking his phone and typing in her number on the number keypad. After saving it, he sent her a text for her to get his number. "Alright, sent."

"Thank you." Saving his number, she proceeded to reply Gakushuu's text with a 'Got it', all the while mentally cursing the strawberry-blonde boy. She really hated it when she wasn't in control of the situation. At least she managed to control her end, but not so much his.

Finishing her drink, she followed Karma to the boys' room, just in time to hear them talking about voting. Teresa then decided to excuse herself, saying she was going to return to the girls' room. After bidding her goodbye, he decided to make himself known, and slid open the door while taking a sip of his drink, catching the attention of every male in the room. Removing the can from his lips, he gave them a laidback smirk as he said, "Oh. Looks like you guys are doing something interesting. Count me in."

"Karma, perfect timing. Is there a girl you like?" Maehara questioned, as Karma received the sheet of paper, with names of girls who were already voted for written on it, and studied it for a moment. Unbeknownst to him, Teresa was lying before and stayed behind to eavesdrop on their conversation, a little curious, despite herself, to know what they were talking about. After a moment's debate, Karma looked up with a thinking expression on his face as replied, "Hmm...Okuda-san, maybe?"

"Wow, saying straight out loud, huh?" Sugaya commented, while Maehara got curious, a mistake on his part, as he asked, "Interesting choice! But why?" He immediately regretted it when he got his answer.

Karma replied with an angelic smile, "I bet she could make some sketchy drugs, or some chloroform, or other dangerous stuff, and that would really widen my variety and field of pranks. I would practically be able to do anything and everything." All the boys sweatdropped at the very likely possibility of that, and paled at the thought of the kind of pranks Karma was bound to pull if he does get his hands on mentioned stuff. Maehara was the first to speak up. "That's one match up we can live without." The rest of the boys nodded in agreement, as Karma simply shrugged, both hands up with a smirk.

Teresa, who was secretly listening from outside, chuckled silently, thinking that was so much like Karma, before her smile saddened. Unconsciously, a part of her had wanted Karma to mention her, and she wasn't even sure why. She decided to make her way back to the girls' room, which resulted her in missing the second part of the conversation.

"But really, aside for pranking others, is there really no girl you're interested in? Romantically, that is," Nagisa questioned, and Karma thought about it for a moment, as a certain raven-haired girl appeared in his mind. "Well, if I had to be honest, the one I'm interested in would be...Teresa-chan, maybe?"

All the boys paused upon hearing this new and unexpected information, except Nagisa and Sugino, who seemed to have had a gist of Karma's interest in the said girl. "Wait, so like, you have a crush on her or something?"

"I wouldn't go so far as to say I have a 'crush' on her. Merely intrigued by her, after all, she is truly interesting. She's the first person who's seen me in action and not fear me at all, aside from Nagisa-kun. On our first meeting, what more." Upon hearing this, Isogai jerked up in surprise. "On your first meeting? How exactly did you two meet?"

"She was backed up by a group of high school delinquents in an alleyway. I saved her in the process of beating them up. Thinking back, they were unbelievably weak, they didn't even serve as a warm-up," Karma replied, adding the last part as an afterthought while tapping his chin, causing the rest to sweatdrop at his words. 'Just how strong is he? More importantly…'

"Don't you mean you beat them up in the process of saving her?" Sugaya questioned, and Karma shook his head. "Nope, I meant it exactly as I said."

"So you didn't actually care about saving her?!"

"Not as much as fighting them, if that's what you're asking," Karma stated nonchalantly, to which the boys sighed exasperatedly. "Anyway, back to what I was saying, after I saved her, she wasn't the least bit afraid of me."

"At all?" Maehara spoke up, and Karma nodded in affirmation. "At all."

"If I remember correctly, you told me that she said you saved her although it may not have been your intention, so she didn't see a reason to fear you," Nagisa said. "Yep, that's right."

"I can't tell if she's too trusting of people, or if she's just naïve. Either way, that's what intrigued me," Karma declared, before mentally adding, 'Not to mention she's hiding a really big secret, not completely unrelated to assassination.' Isogai hummed in reply, before picking up the sheet of paper with the votings on it.

"These ratings are to stay amongst us guys, okay?" He stated, bringing a finger to his lips, and Maehara sided him on the matter. "Well, of course."

"I mean, it's not like we want this knowledge getting out and falling into the wrong hands. So, whatever you do, do not let the girls or the teachers find-" Scanning the room, Isogai did a double-take towards the door, that was slightly open, with a smitten pink Korosensei sitting outside silently, peeking through that small gap, causing the rest of his sentence to die in Isogai's throat. Noticing his reaction, the rest of the boys followed suit and had their eyes on Korosensei in frozen fear.

"Evening, students. I see, I see." With that, Korosensei scribbled a few words on a notepad, labelled 'Student Data - Boys (3)', before silently and 'discreetly' sliding the door close once more. The low sound of the wooden door connecting to the other end was heard, and almost as if on cue, all the boys abruptly stood up. With knives and guns in hand.

"HE MEMOED IT DOWN AND SPLIT!"

"KILL HIM!" With that, as if signaled, all the boys filed out of the room in pursuit of Korosensei, who already hightailed out of the way at Mach 20. "Hold it right there, you damned octopus! Going and invading your students' privacy like that!"

"Nurufufufufu! Nabbing data is exactly what my ultra-high speed was made for!"

Korosensei's Weakness (12): Loves gossip

Around the same time, a very similar conversation was going on in the girls' room.

"Eh? What boys we like?" Kataoka repeated, looking up to Nakamura, who stood before her with a wide smile. "Yeah. That's what girls talk about on these trips. It's fun! The one I really wanted to ask was Teresa-chan, though," Nakamura replied, adding the last part grudgingly.

"Hey, hey, I got one! Karasuma-sensei!" Kurahashi exclaimed enthusiastically, raising a hand in the process. Nakamura gave her a uninterested look and frowned. "Yeah, yeah, we all like Karasuma-sensei. I meant someone in our class."

"Eh?" From her tone and the expression on her face, it seemed Kurahashi didn't like anything in any of the guys in their class. Nakamura turned to the side and thought about it for a second. "Within our class, I guess Isogai and Maehara are alright…"

"Realy? You think so?" Kataoka questioned. "Sure, why not. Unfortunately, Maehara's a bit of a player, but Isogai's the class representative, so doesn't that put him in the lead?"

Yada turned to look at Kataoka. "Karma-kun would be top choice too, on good looks alone."

"That is, if he wasn't like that," Okano commented, and in that instant, an image of a devil Karma, with horns, a tail and a trident, looking all ominous, appeared in their minds, and they responded simultaneously, "Yeah…"

"Hmm… but to be honest, he's not that scary though," Okuda piped up, causing all the girls' attention to be directed to her, then Kayano, who followed Okuda up on the matter. "Yeah, he's usually pretty quiet."

"What is he, a wild animal?" Hayami questioned monotonously, and in that moment, the door to their room slid open, Turning to see who it was, Nakamura's face broke into a devil's grin as Teresa stepped in. "Here comes someone who can give us her opinion."

"I beg your pardon?" Before Nakamura could continue her assault, Kataoka spoke up, already knowing all the possible replied Nakamura could've given. "Welcome back, Teresa-chan! You're back earlier than I thought."

"Yeah, Karma-san and I were just discussing about how to take care of my problem with Asano-kun over a drink. So, what were you guys talking about that you want my opinion?" Teresa replied, before sending a knowing look towards Nakamura, letting it be known that she hadn't missed Nakamura's words. Kataoka, and a few other girls, mentally facepalmed at how Teresa let herself fall into the trap they tried to save her from mere seconds ago. Nakamura, on the other hand, was on cloud nine.

"Teresa-chan, what's your impression of Karma?" Teresa stared at the blonde before her, before flashing a coy smile. "Are you talking about the Karma, you reap what you sow, or the Karma-san we know?"

"Of course I'm talking about the Karma we know!" Nakamura exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in an exasperated fashion, while the girls bit back their laughs. Teresa thought about it for a while, before answering truthfully.

"He's a good and kind person within. He may appear extremely violent, beating up people on probably what might be a daily basis, but he never initiates a fight, and wouldn't engage in one without a legitimate reason. And when he does engage in one, it's usually to protect someone, it's just that his over-excessiveness when it comes to fighting makes him appear violent and dangerous, which makes people overlook the reason he fights in the first place, and immediately assume he's in the wrong." The girls were slightly stunned by this new point of view, even Nakamura, who intended to tease her, couldn't help but marvel at how innocent she sounded while pointing out Karma bad points in a good light, as they continued to listen to her.

"While he doesn't initiate fights, he does challenge people a lot, which can't be blamed. We all know how smart and strong he is, and there are very few individuals near our age that would serve as a strong competitor for him. He simply wishes to be able to fight his fullest against someone of the same level and playing field as him, but since he can't, he settles for the small fry he can find, and stirs up their emotions to make them initiate the fights. In other words, he's bored. Which also explains why he likes teasing and taunting people so much. And he isn't dishonest either. If there's something he doesn't want to admit or accept, he either keeps it to himself or expresses it in a highly misunderstandable manner. But, in his heart, he earnestly cares for those who are close to him, and is willing to reach out and protect those who aren't, if required."

Everyone was thrown back, literally and figuratively, by this long speech Teresa gave. They, and probably anyone else who knew Karma, never saw things the way she had. It was almost as if she saw right through Karma's heart and knew the kind of person he truly was, the one they never saw. "Well, he is terrifyingly dangerous by nature!"

At that addition, everyone fell over. Okano was the first to recover as she sent a look Teresa's way. "After all that, you decide to include that one line?!"

"You countered and contradicted your long speech with just one line," Hayami mused, still slightly stunned by her opinion of Karma. Hara then spoke up. "You must be paying very close attention to him to know him so well."

Teresa let out a sound of surprise as she turned to face the chubby brunette with a blank expression. "Not any more than I do to anyone else, though."

"You speak so fondly of him. Are you sure you don't have a crush on him or something?" Nakamura teased, and a pink hue appeared on Teresa's cheeks as she backed away from the blonde, an uneasy smile on her face. "I wouldn't say I have a 'crush' on him...just that I do like and care for him, as a friend."

"If you can see the good in Karma, how about Asano-kun?" Kurahashi asked, and immediately Teresa's face turned sour. "Sorry, Kurahashi-san, but we didn't have too great a start, and amongst the vast information I have on him, there is nothing 'good' in it, other than the fact that he has abnormally strong will and determination to get what he wants. But, if the chairman wasn't the person he is today, Asano-kun would be very different, in terms of character."

"What makes you say that?"

"Just a gut feeling. I don't have any concrete evidence." Teresa replied, before adding in her mind, 'Well, not that my gut feeling has ever been wrong, though.'

"Then," Nakamura began, placing both hands on her shoulders from behind her, "if you had to choose one of the two, who would you pick?"

"...Please tell me you're joking," Teresa muttered, and Nakamura shook her head with a wide grin. "I'm totally serious here."

Without a moment's hesitation, Teresa gave her answer. "I'd choose neither. I'm not interested in ever being in a romantic relationship." Nakamura raised both brows as she removed her hands from Teresa's shoulders. Her tone was light, but Nakamura could tell she was serious.

'Not to mention, assassins refrain from developing any form of romantic feelings for a specific individual, whether or not they are in the same line of work,' Teresa thought to herself.

"What about you, Kanzaki-san?" Kayano asked, catching the said raven-haired girl's attention, who turned to face her with a surprised look. "Me? I don't really have anyone particular in mind…"

"Eh, really?" Kayano asked teasingly, before jumping on Kanzaki, attacking her with tickles on her sides, soon joined by Nakamura. "C'mon, spill! I'll bet the guys are dying to know too! Fess up!"

"I-I'm...serious…" Kanzaki managed to utter between chuckles, as she struggled out of their grasp, tears budding at the corners of her eyes due to laughing too hard. Due to the commotion they caused, the girls failed to notice their platinum blonde teacher slide open the door, holding a pack of canned beer in one hand. "Listen up, brats. I'm here to tell you that it's almost time for lights out, strictly speaking."

"'Strictly speaking'?" Nakamura said, with a 'what's with that' face, to which Irina replied, "It's not like you girls aren't going to stay up all night talking anyways. Just make sure to keep it down, alright?"

As Irina began to close the door and leave, Kurahashi came over, on all fours, and complained in a whiny voice, "How come only you get to drink, Bitch-sensei? That's so unfair!" Irina turned to face her with a haughty expression and replied, "Of course. What did you expect, I'm an adult."

"Ne, Bitch-sensei, why don't you tell us about some of your adult stories from your work?" Yada questioned with earnest curiosity. Kurahashi, who heard Yada's plead, voiced her agreement in a roundabout way. "I wanna hear too! It may prove to be more useful than your usual classes!"

Naturally, her words struck a nerve, as a vein near Irina's temple popped while a livid look came over her, all the while exclaiming, "What'd you say?!"

Sweatdropping, Yada stood up and walked around to Irina's back, gently placing both hands on her shoulders and gave her a light push. "Nevermind that. Come on in."

"Wha-" Irina let out a squeak of protest, before eventually giving in and settling on the ground, with the rest of the girls surrounding her in a circle. Watching her pop open a can and take a big gulp from it, Teresa frowned slightly. "Don't drink too much, Jelavich-sensei, or you'll get a hangover tomorrow. We still have two days till our trip ends."

"I'm well aware, but thank you for your consideration. But seriously, you're the only one who'd call me that. Why don't the rest if you brats learn from her?" Irina groaned, pointing towards Teresa, who simply offered a small smile.

"By the way Bitch-sensei, I was just wondering, how old are you?" Yada asked, to which Irina didn't reply immediately, as she took another gulp from her can, before answering nonchalantly, "Twenty."

"Oh." Silence filled the air for a moment, before everyone exploded. "EHHH?!"

"BITCH-SENSEI, YOU'RE STILL TWENTY?!" Nakamura exclaimed, clearing taken aback by this piece of information, as was everyone else. Teresa, who was already aware of this, remained impassive. "With all your experience, I totally thought you were older," Kataoka commented.

"Right? She also had a whole black widow vibe going on!"

Irina gave a smug smirk as she closed her eyes and replied, "That's right, the sex appeal of a black widow than only a rich life can- wait, who called me a 'black widow'?!" She all but growled at the end, an enraged expression on her face, causing the surrounding girls to sweatdrop.

"A little slow on the comeback there," Nakamura commented, to which Irina paid no mind, as she continued speaking, picking up a senmai-zuke to snack on. "Now listen here, women have a short shelf life. Unlike me, you girls were born in a country that is free from danger, whereby bloodshed isn't seen on a daily basis. Be grateful, don't take it for granted, and use everything in your personnel to make yourselves shine as women."

The girls exchanged looks, unsure of how to react, while Teresa knew, there was a much deeper meaning to Irina's words, and this was her showing her rare care and concern for them, and she felt a warmth in her heart towards Irina. But at the same time, a cold and dark thought came to mind, as her eyes darkened. 'You don't even know me.'

"Bitch-sensei actually said something decent and respectable," Okano was the first to comment, a blank look on her face, while Nakamura followed her up, "That's kinda brazen."

"Quit spouting nonsense that makes me look like a fool, you damn brats!"

"T-Then, um...how about you tell us about the men who you've seduced and fallen for you?" Yada suggested in an attempt to change the topic, as well as the slightly heavy atmosphere that was created by Irina's words. Kurahashi raised her hand excitedly, exclaiming, "Ah, I've been interested in that for a while too!"

"Fufufu. Alright then, but this might be a little spicy for children's tastes, so be prepared," Irina said, a flirtatious look on her face. Hearing her words, the girls swallowed thickly, anxious to hear her stories. Teresa, too, was slightly interested - due to the fact that she didn't use seduction for any of her assassination missions, since no one taught her, and was willing to learn from a professional honeypot assassin - but felt a small and barely noticeable gust of wind blew past, and she turned her head to look at the source and gaped, just as Irina began her story-telling. "Now, when I was seventeen...HEY, YOU THERE!"

As she exclaimed, she pointed her finger right in the middle of the girls, Kayano and Hara, who squeaked in surprise and jumped away from the pink Korosensei sitting between them, all dressed up in the same robes everyone else wearing. It took everything in Teresa's power to not show too much of her mixed emotions at Korosensei's sudden appearance. She was used to his speed now, but still nowhere near used to him popping up here and there whenever it pleased him.

"Don't just nonchalantly waltz into our girl talk like that!" Irina all but shouted, slowly rising from her once comfortable position into a stance, ready to leap at Korosensei and launch an attack. Korosensei, with the ever-permanent smile and pink cheeks on his face, replied in a pouty tone, "Aw, don't be like that, Irina-sensei. I, too, am interested in hearing about your grown-up tales and love affairs."

"That's easy for you to say, Korosensei!" Nakamura complained, a furious look on her face. "You never reveal or even speak about your private life and affairs, like, at all!"

"Not to mention, you undoubtedly use that speed of yours on a daily basis to peek into our lives, getting your hands, or tentacles in your case, on anything and everything about us. You invade our personal lives, but you don't even mention your own affairs? That doesn't seem like a fair trade to me," Teresa added calmly, a pout on her face as she watched Korosensei reel back in surprise. Apparently, she and Nakamura weren't the only ones who thought this was unfair. Hinano whined in response, "Yeah, that's just unfair, Korosensei!"

"Don't you have any romantic stories of your own?" Almost all at once, all the girls began pointing fingers at Korosensei and firing him with questions, demanding an answer, to which in response, Korosensei began to appear quite flustered. Teresa, too, was keen about learning more about him. After all, the more she knew, the more of his weaknesses she'll be able to derive. "You're into big breasts, aren't you? You must've had at least a crush or an unrequited love!"

Korosensei stilled for a moment, and the next he was gone. Well, that pulled the trigger.

"He ran away! Let's catch him, make him talk, and then we'll kill him!" Irina hollered, pulling out an anti-Korosensei knife from her sleeve, the rest of the girls following suit, each and every one of them a livid look on their faces. Teresa, on the other hand, lazily pulled out a pistol, loaded with anti-Korosensei pellets, and trailed after them. Unexpectedly, she heard the shouts of the boys from the other corridor, and immediately caught on: Korosensei must've been listening on them too.

'What a surprise. An unplanned and unexpected pincer attack,' she thought to herself, as she joined the class in their attempt to kill Korosensei. After Korosensei, miraculously, escaped right from their clutches, Irina began screaming at everyone to search every crook and cranny to find and kill Korosensei. Getting grouped together with Nagisa and Karma, the red-haired teen let out a chuckle. "Looks like it ended up as an assassination, after all."

"Yeah. But where do you think he might have gone to?" Nagisa asked, looking at Karma and Teresa, who exchanged looks. Karma was the first one to speak up, "Well, naturally he would go to places we wouldn't suspect. But this is Korosensei we are talking about, it wouldn't be easy to outsmart him."

"Actually, when you think about it, the places we don't suspect would be the most suspicious. You know, reverse-psychologically speaking," Teresa commented, the two boys nodding their heads in understanding and agreement of her statement. "So, which place would be the least suspicious?"

The three remained silent for a moment as they pondered over it, and almost simultaneously, Teresa snapped her fingers as they exclaimed in unison, "Karasuma-sensei's room!"

They quickly, and quietly, made their way towards Karasuma's room, where he was typing away on a laptop. He did not stop till he heard the door of his room slid open and close, along with a slightly dusty gust of wind. Looking up, he found himself face to face with Korosensei, who was sitting before him, hands on his lap as he stared back. "Phew, that was a close call."

"It's been noisy out there for a while now. What's all that commotion about?" Karasuma questioned. While he fished out a mochi from his sleeve, Korosensei replied, "The students were trying to get me to spill the beans on my love life."

"Love life?"

"My past is positively packed with them, more than these hands and feet could ever count!" He exclaimed, taking a bit out of the mochi. At this point, Nagisa, Karma and Teresa were at the door, listening to the conversation being held within the room. They literally froze when they heard Karasuma's next words.

"Would that be from when you had two of each?" Karma and Nagisa exchanged surprised looks. Two of each? Meaning Korosensei was human, like them? Teresa, who was already knew the answer, remained straight-faced as she continued to observe and listen to her target. The said target's mood had visibly darkened, all of his tentacles were lowered as the usually bright smile on his face dulled. Immediately noticing the change in his once jolly mood, Karasuma decided to drop the matter, knowing it was a touchy subject. "No, I won't go there. You probably don't intend to talk about it."

"...Wise choice, Karasuma-sensei. Even while travelling, it is most uncouth to question about the number of one's limbs," Korosensei muttered. One moment the three of them were peeking in, the next moment they found themselves on the rooftop. Teresa eyes widened when she noticed how the world seemed to stream across her eyes before she noticed where she was. Looking around, she found Karma and Nagisa on her respective sides, looking just as startled as she was, and Karasuma and Korosensei before them. Karasuma, too, looked taken aback, while Korosensei...didn't seem all too happy as he stated, "and it is just as rude to eavesdrop on others."

Nagisa and Teresa swallowed thickly, as they remained seated before their teacher, unsure of how to react. Karma, on the other hand, didn't seem to care as he nonchalantly replied, "While that is true, Korosensei, you are not just our teacher, but also our target. Spying and eavesdropping is just part of the process of obtaining information so that we can kill you."

"I can't deny that, but it still doesn't give you the right to pry," Korosensei said grimly, to which Nagisa raised a brow. "And what gives you the right to pry into ours? You being our teacher isn't a reason, Korosensei."

Teresa voiced her agreement. "That's absolutely right. For you to know almost everything about us, I think it's only fair that we learn about you as well. We deserve that much. What did Karasuma-sensei mean when he said that?"

Korosensei went mute for a moment, and Teresa was worried if she was crossing a boundary, but that thought vanished when she heard his counter, "I'll tell you, if you indulge me on something I'd like to know as well: how did you get those scars on your back?"

At once, three pairs of eyes landed on her. For Karasuma-sensei, it was out of surprise, for he had been unaware of this little fact, while for Nagisa and Karma, it was out of concern and the same curiosity that filled Korosensei.

Her bangs curtained her eyes, as she kept her head down. With each second that passed by, the tension in the air just kept building up, till it became unbearable for Nagisa, who was increasingly concerned about the red-tipped raven. Slowly, she lifted her head, and as she did, a strong gust of wind rushed past, blowing her fringe to the side, revealing both of her eyes for just a brief moment.

Both teacher, who had been staring straight at her, immediately became alarmed upon seeing her eyes. For Karasuma, who was a professional, he couldn't restrain the need to be on guard when his eyes made contact with hers. For that brief moment, he felt intense and sharpened bloodlust, it was almost on that of a professional assassin.

Even Korosensei was unnerved. Her eyes, despite being shadowed, were glowing with said bloodlust that put them on edge. Karma and Nagisa, despite not being able to see, felt her bloodlust and tensed up.

As soon as it came, when her left eye was covered by her fringe once more, that bloodlust they felt disappeared without a trace, almost as if it never existed to begin with, as she flashed an angelic smile. When she did, almost instantly, everyone visible relaxed.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. Looks like we agree that we both have something we absolutely can't tell anyone else, now, don't we?" she stated, a serene look on her face. With that, she slowly rose from her sitting position and jumped, flipping in the air once before safely landing on the ground. She left the gentlemen on the rooftop gawking at her calm self, like she didn't just jump off the freaking roof.

"...Should we be wary of her?" Karasuma questioned Korosensei in a low voice, after Karma and Nagisa were sent back into the inn, to which Korosensei shook his head. "She isn't a threat to any of the students, she just has hidden and unpolished potential. Potential I intend to make use of for this assassination classroom. However, I am concerned about the story behind those scars."

"...Likewise," Karasuma agreed, showing a rare moment of his concern for his students. Korosensei chuckled upon hearing that. "Going soft, aren't you, Karasuma-sensei?"

"Silence!" With that, he swiped out a anti-Korosensei knife and swung it at Korosensei, who easily slipped out of the way, laughing all the while.

Walking around to the back, she jumped in surprise when she spotted an ominous figure balled up in the shadows. She stepped towards it and upon closing in, she realised…

"Hazama-san?" Hearing her name, the said girl slowly looked towards Teresa, and left out a silent sigh. "Oh, it's just you."

"What are you doing here?" As she asked, she walked over and settled next to Hazama, who stared at her in what appeared to be shock and mild amusement, before turning away. "I like dark and gloomy places. I enjoy being surrounded by darkness."

She noticed the dull look in Hazama's eyes, and decided not the question about it, knowing that her mind was on the verge of wandering into a very dark place. "I...see."

"You probably think I'm weird and a creep who likes spooky shit, don't you?" Hazama had expected to get shot down. She was expecting a judgemental tone, spiteful words and hurtful thoughts coming her way. But…

"No...I kinda understand…"

...she wasn't expecting understanding and empathy. "Eh?"

"Well, it might not seem that way, but I like being in darkness too." To say Hazama was dumbfounded was an understatement. This girl had been so sweet and pure, when she first met their class, when she had transferred, basically all the time. And now she was saying she liked darkness? That just went against everything she knew.

Sure, she had her dark moments, like how she grilled down Terasaka on her first day as a student of the E class, but like Nakamura had said, he had it coming.

"Sometimes, it's better to be surrounded by darkness than light. In the darkness, you can't see anything that scares you, so there is nothing to fear. And sometimes, being able to see your problems can be scarier than not being able to see them. I guess, in a way, darkness brings comfort and security?" Teresa said, looking up into the sky. It was a beautiful midnight blue, decorated by dozens of stars that shone beautifully, and Hazama noticed the anguished yet longing look in her eyes, and raised a brow. So even a princess like her has experienced pain and grief?

Not hearing a response, Teresa turned to the side to find Hazama staring at her incredulously. Cheeks turning pink, she quickly turned away and muttered, "Sorry, forget I said anything." Hazama continued staring at her for a little longer before saying decidedly, "To think a princess like you had the same sentiments as me…"

"Eh?"

"I like you, I may not curse you tonight," Hazama said, and Teresa whipped her head towards her. Hazama was expecting alarm, not excitement, which filled her eyes. "You curse people? Really? Interesting! You've got to tell me how!"

"...Why?"

"Well, I got a few people I need to curse. Starting with Gi- my father," Teresa replied, smirking slightly at the end. Hazama raised both brows at the slightly sadistic look that touched her face, and chuckled lightly, saying, "I guess I don't mind telling you about them."

Hope you like it! Please do review!

XOXO, anime4life2112