Hello guys! I might be late but this chapter is reaaaaallyy long and I think you will like it so please enjoy! I will do my best to update soon so please stay patient! I looove you so much, thank you for the support :)
Well, till the next time, see ya!
Asano's P.O.V.
"Shitty Asano, it's cold."
Oh wow, no shit, Sherlock.
"I know it's cold."
Considering the fact we both were still lying motionless in the grass in this goddamned downpour... I'd be surprised if we didn't get sick after this (just kidding, I'm too strong for that).
"Maybe we could get up," she suggested, raising her head tiredly.
I myself didn't have enough energy to retort how freaking smart that was of her so I just ughed and we both sat up. After the condom buying thing in the shop, we had a small breakdown so yeah, we needed some time to... whatever, erase the memory? Despite our efforts, we were painfully aware of the fact that the handcuffs were still on.
"Give me a bobby pin or something, I'm gonna open it," I sighed, reaching out my hand.
The redhead rolled her eyes: "I told you, you can't pick it, I myself modified it. No one, not even you, wanna be Ace-kun, can open it without a key."
I wanted to retort that we actually tied in the last exams but that girl just would have none of it anyway. That's why I only cocked my head in confidence, hand still reached. The girl however frowned in disgust but said nothing, only sighing and taking out her- oh my god, did she really have a picking tool bag with her?!
Either way, she gave me a few things, a challenging (or mocking? hard to say, what's the difference anyway) glint in her eyes. She was so sure of her work it made me feel more like the only purpose to opening the lock was to prove her wrong, not so that we could be free and at least fifty kilometers away from each other.
Which seems won't happen any time soon.
I did my best. I truly did. To be honest, picking locks was nothing new to me (don't ask why). It never took longer than thirty seconds to get into a locker or anything of that sort, handcuffs shouldn't have been any harder. Yet there was something inside that prevented me from moving the mechanism.
"You done?" Karma was still beaming with her usual mischief and smugness though there was evident annoyance in her voice.
Just as much as me, she wanted to get rid of those as soon as possible.
"What have you done," I glared at her murderously, still unable to comprehend she intended to chain me to a tree without a fucking key.
"Stop glaring at me like that," the redhead rolled her eyes, standing up and yanking me in process. "I can try going home and search for the key but I doubt I will find one. Lost it about two months ago."
"You are unbelievable," it came out as a grunt but I made sure it reached her ears. "Preposterous. Harebrained- Inconceivably thick."
"Thank you very much, we'd apparently make a perfect match," she shot back without a hesitation and I was so pissed off I didn't even care what she implied.
"Why did you even need that... thing?! What the hell, you should have bought it yourself, no need to inform me of your sexual life!" This time, I was careful not to be too loud.
The horror on Akabane's face was slightly funny but again, I was angry. The girl seemed to have been flustered, a pink tint on her cheeks: "No, no, no, no, you misunderstand. I didn't- I mean, yes, but not for... that. I- ugh - look, I just wanted you to have some fun and I could use it for a prank, because the rubber is really, really resistant and firm."
I was ready to kill.
"That's it? You wanted me to suffer from this embarrassment?" Really, homicide didn't sound so bad.
The girl grinned a bit and I decided not to address that problem anymore, knowing that if we did, I'd be snapping necks. A girl or not, I'd fucking kill her.
Either way, after probably seven minutes, I found out why she was playing games in this place. It seems that her house was in this part of the town (thankfully the completely opposite direction of mine). Surprisingly, her home was quite big for normal standards but in comparison to mine, well, it was still lacking in many aspects. First of all, the interiors were near to empty, only essential furniture and possessions present. Our living room, on the other hand, was full of trophies, medals, with a somewhat tolerable extravagancy. This place was dark, untouched and most of all - cold.
Literally, I got chills standing there.
"What are you staring at? Come on," Karma tugged her hand and let me upstairs into her room which, not so shockingly, completely defied the appearance of the rest of the house. There were papers all around, scattered, some even ripped, books on the desk, on her bed (which by the way was bigger than mine and yet very simple). I took a proper look and noticed that all of that was studying material, mostly math and science.
"Sorry for the mess, I hope you don't get an attack or something,"
Her sudden remark left me puzzled: "What?"
"Dunno, thought being the cleanfreak you are, this much could make your heart stop or something. Oh wait, you don't have that organ. Oh well," the goddamned delinquent shrugged innocently as if she were just talking about food or something. Her carefree and disdainful attitude really made me goddamned mad.
"I'm not a cleanfreak," I firmly stated.
Karma didn't even bat an eye: "Yeah right, Mr. Cleaning-my-locker-thrice-a-week-and-washing-PE-clothes-every-second-day."
I chose not to comment on how she knew that, defending myself instead: "That's completely normal,"
A snort escaped her lips: "What about your habit of polishing your desk?"
"Absolutely understandable,"
"And disinfecting your textbooks?"
"Humans are full of germs, the average number of bacteria on the human hand is about 300 000, therefore textbooks, which are a subject of everyday use, contain countless possibly dange-"
She didn't even let me finish it, waving her hands abruptly and interrupting me: "Okay, okay, stop you madman, you are hurting my sense of chaos,"
I rolled my eyes: "I am not responsible for your inability to maintain order,"
"That's not the problem. Your OCD and mysophobia is," the redhead grinned mischievously, daring me to deny it. I was about to because I seriously didn't suffer from any case of OCD or mysophobia, I only liked having everything perfect. However, none of that was said since she reminded me of the fact that we were here to find a key, not to get into a full-blown war.
"Well then, let's do this," Akabane exhaled agonizingly, bending down to pick up all the papers from the floor. I did the same and found myself feeling much better cleaning up this dumping ground she called her bedroom.
While doing so, I only rarely looked at what I was picking up. They were either math notes, some books and literature and here and there pencil sketches. Which were by the way quite good. That's why I didn't understand why most of them were either ripped in half or defaced.
"You draw?" I asked since the silence was becoming a bit too unbearable. The girl however seemed used to it, her expression blank and focused on her work.
It seemed as though she completely forgot my presence (how though, we were handcuffed) because her head shot up in alert and loosened up upon realizing it was still me.
"Yeah, helps me... wind down, I guess," she answered slowly, probably being careful of what all to tell me.
I took one particularly nice and detailed work, a picture of an old wooden building on a place quite isolate yet the way she drew it gave it a soothing nostalgic feeling. The angle was a little bit to the right so there were some hints of a dense forest on a steep hill.
Or maybe a mountain?
"Is that the former E-class' building?"
I think I saw her wince at the word former.
"It's still ours, you know," she snapped sharply, stopping in whatever she was doing. "We bought it off and the class still takes care of it."
Obviously, I touched a sensitive matter, so my tone softened, making sure I showed I had no desire to get into another argument: "Yes, I know. I just meant that it's no longer used."
Akabane was aware of that of course and she cooled down quickly, doing something extremely disturbing. Apologizing.
"Sorry, I just..." she tried to find the words, glancing to her left, while I sat on the floor aghast at her sudden politeness.
"Well anyway, yes, that's the E-class' building. I was... bored lately, so I went there and," she gestured with her hands weirdly. "it just happened."
I looked at the drawing again, noticing the gentleness of each move. One couldn't have captured something so deeply simply out of boredom. This showed nostalgy. Sadness. Yearning. It was subtle but undeniably there, her connection to the place and the love she harbored towards the old times. Taking into consideration the fact that it has already been almost one year since the graduation, that love must have been very strong.
For the first time, I didn't even feel up to making fun for her sentimentality.
"It's really beautiful," was the only thing I could say before returning it to her and watching her nod in appreciation, tucking the paper into a very, very, very thick book lying under her desk.
No kidding though, the book must have had more than 1000 pages.
"What's that?" I crawled closer towards it, hoping to get a proper look. Turns out there were two more, almost the same thickness, only of different colour of cover - yellow and brown.
Karma looked like she wanted to hide it but since I have already seen it, she just gave up: "It's a gift from Kor- our teacher."
That made me curious: "That Koro-sensei guy?"
"That Koro-sensei guy."
"You realize you never told me about him? Even though after I covered for your class at the bus you promised you would."
"I didn't promise that. I never promise."
"Okay, but you said you don't mind."
My classmate (ugh) rolled her eyes: "Didn't you want to find the key?"
"What's the chances of us finding it? And don't change the subject."
"0,08% but let's be optimistic,"
"I will be optimistic and say 0%. Better think of a backup plan. Meanwhile, do tell me more about that year with the alien teacher of yours."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I will have no other option than to leave it be."
That answer was surely not what she expected, seeing that her fierce stare dropped, getting replaced by... I don't know. Reading feelings has never been a problem to me since that is essential in manipulating people, but once it came to Akabane, it became all complicated. That girl was like a storm, too unpredictable, each of her expressions a whirl of more than one single emotion. Frankly, it posed as a challenge but also a mystery, one that I found too mesmerizing to let go.
Forget what I just said.
Akabane bit her lip, sighing in defeat. She gazed at the three books, protectively running a hand through the blue one she was holding. Then her head returned to my level: "Fine, but I will be brief."
Accepting so, I waited for her to start.
"You already know the basic things, right? He threatened to destroy the world by march and the only way to prevent that from happening was to kill him. He insisted on teaching the E-class of Kununigaoka where all the students would be free to assassinate him yet none of them would be harmed."
"Yeah, that's the official version," I nodded.
"Indeed, that's the official version."
"But I want to hear how it really was," at that, I earned myself a glare that clearly said shut up and listen. The girl, however, didn't retort anything back and continued:
"The truth was, however, a little bit different. Koro-sensei used to be an assassin, they experimented on him and that's how he got the form he had. He was dying and he decided to spend the rest of his life with the class that the woman who had sacrificed herself for him and whom he loved, taught. He wanted to make them - us - accept ourselves, to find who we are and to survive in this world. That's what was happening. He taught us. Not only school stuff, but also... everything."
I devoured each of her words, realizing that the reason she spoke so silently and slowly was not her being careful (or maybe yeah, but not so much), but afraid. It seemed as though she felt guilty, regretful as well. While I understood her diffidence to speak about something so personal, my desire to know was greater. Despite that, I made it clear that I had no ill intention.
"Okay, and how did he do it? I mean, your whole class drastically improved in an ungodly speed."
Akabane sighed once again, though a grin appeared on her lips: "Always thinking of studying, aren't you, Second-place-kun?"
I only shrugged.
"Alright, alright. Look, he could move at mach 20, what would you expect? Before exams, he would move so quickly it would appear as though there were clones and he'd focus on each of us individually. There was one time he had a naruto headband especially for Terasaka, that guy is just too stupid," she chuckled fondly upon remembering that. "Yeah, and he wrote tests, all of them somewhat different to bring out our best. That guy was so dedicated you wouldn't believe it."
"He was also so serious about his teacher image, despite the fact he was a real pervy. Seriously, how could he expect us to take him seriously with all that crying and his boobs obsession?"
Koro-sensei was starting to sound like a case for a mental hospital, but whatever, Karma was smiling.
She talked about that octopus for five more minutes, her facial expressions too sweet for her normal delinquency and the tone of her voice too innocent and calm to believe she was so uptight just a while ago. I could see that this teacher had a great influence on her life, not only from the scores on tests but also her behavior. She was so much more... well, surely not mature because she still loved to prank people (me), but there was ambition in her eyes and the resolution to reach it.
"What was he to you?" I asked without even thinking it through and the redhead stopped for a while, her eyes wide.
There was a melancholic yet grateful glint in her face and she smiled gently, looking at the books: "A teacher. Target. Friend. And a parent that I have never had."
Looks like I wasn't the only one growing up with a good for nothing family.
"Were your parents also like... you know, cruel and all that?" was that sympathy talking or me?
Akabane shook her head, an indifferent mask on her face: "No. Just never there."
The air was heavy for the next few minutes when none of us knew what to say. Then my classmate stood up, making me follow her in process.
"I never knew if Koro-sensei was a mother or a dad. Honestly, he was a bit of both. Fretting too much and all you know," she tried to lighten the mood up, dusting herself and looking around the room. "Well anyway, what do we do? Apparently, I have no key. And neither of us can pick this lock."
"Yeah, isn't that great?" I sarcastically remarked, rolling my eyes. "Just whose idea was it to handcuff us together? Oh wait- yours!"
"Shut up, you are the one who did it."
"You pulled them out and wanted to-"
"Can we please stop talking about that?! It's not gonna change the fact that we are still bound together! Now use that brain of yours and think of a solution because I'm starting to feel the nature call!" She threw her arms (arm) into the air.
"Oh shit, me too."
Frankly, I have needed to go to the toilet for at least ten minutes now.
We both face-palmed at this horrible situation.
Then, an idea struck me. Well, not that it was the brightest idea and I was most certainly going to regret doing it, but I was desperate.
"There is someone who can pick locks. All of them. He can literally do anything," my description of that person must have been too obvious because Akabane frowned.
"You can't be serious," she snapped.
"He's our only hope," I had a point. She knew I had a point so she hesitated for a while and then resigned.
"Fine, let's ask your father," she finally accepted, the irritation obvious. I guess she still didn't get over that tyrannic era of his.
Neither have I, anyway: "It's not like I'm eager to do this, but we have no other choice."
And with that, we walked to my place.
The walk was not peaceful. Of course. I am usually a very calm and composed person, never letting any of my negative emotions show. But this girl- this girl was just too freaking understandable. She just loved to mock me and tease me, and she loved it even more when I snapped. Alright, I wasn't the most patient person but still, she was just too much.
Other than that, both of us needed to pee by now and the handcuffs were still fucking on.
Thank god, we finally arrived at my mansion. Not loosing a second, we headed straight in and to the living room where my father currently sat with a book.
"Asa- Gakushuu-kun," the man widened his eyes as he saw that I had a company. "And miss Akabane?"
"Hello, used-to-be-principal, sorry to bother but-"
Before she could even finish, I raised our hands, an incredibly irritated look on my face.
"Get rid of this," the tone of my voice was dangerously low and the chairman also heard that. He tried to stifle a laugh, only eyeing us questioningly. He walked to his room and then came back with a bag, various picking tools inside. Did seriously everyone own one such thing?
Anyway, the silence helped me calm down. My father was working on the lock, now and then making an approving sound. After a while, the lock clicked and we were FINALLY free.
"Now if you excuse me," Karma stood up in a second, "I'm going to use your bathroom."
We showed her which way it was and she ran, leaving us here alone.
The man eyed me amusingly and at last spoke up: "So, what were you doing with miss Akabane? I imagine it was-"
"Father, please do not imagine. You imagination strays a lot from what has actually occurred. It was an accident. That's all."
For a long while of staring, he shrugged and let it be. Thank god the chairman has never been the talkative one.
After Akabane, I ran off to take care of my own need and then returned back to find her chatting with my father. They seemed shockingly okay, though I had no hopes it would last longer than another five minutes.
"Well, it's getting late. I better make dinner," my father suddenly announced, standing up from his spot.
The redhaired girl did the same: "Yeah, I should be going back. Thank you for the help, sir," she smiled.
At that, the image of her empty house reappeared before my eyes. I don't know why I did it or how it could even get out of my lips, but it somehow did.
"Wait," I called out and she turned back.
This was painful, but hell, I have suffered enough today. Just a little bit more shouldn't be such a problem: "Y-you can stay for dinner," I glanced at my father, "if it isn't a problem."
"Of course not," the chairman made a I knew it face which made me want to scrub it off with a sandpaper.
The delinquent girl was taken aback for a while, blinking twice to process what I have just said.
"No, it's alright, I can-"
"You would be alone there, no? And I bet you are gonna buy some convenience food or something since you can't cook, not good for health," I made a teasing grin to provoke her.
She took the bait: "Please, I am quite confident in my cooking skills,"
"Oh really? Show me, because I frankly don't believe you a word."
"You want a contest? You have it,"
And with that, we spent the evening cooking with Akabane. Involved banning my father from the kitchen and a lot of shouting.
But it wasn't so bad, actually.
How stupid...