Righty-aighty then, since we're actually 'in' Kyoto this chapter, I'll just briefly list the sources I used for the trip aspects of this. No APA formatting or anything, just a list. I get enough of proper referencing of sources with coursework. So, anyway:

-The Ansatsu Database tumblr

-Various tourism websites about Kyoto, mostly looking at pages about attractions and souvenirs etc.

-Some fanfics on this site that are also closely mirroring the school year that AssClass had and have already gone through their own Kyoto trip arcs. The one I mostly got help from is 'Go Out With A Smile' by Little Lady Otaku. As it happened, Little Lady Otaku also directly gave me some advice about figuring out how best to use the research, so many thanks there!

-The 'Creepy Kyoto' page of the Cycle Kyoto website.

Anyway, as with other aspects of this that I'm not well versed in, any mistakes are my own and I take responsibility for those. And as usual, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and please leave feedback (feedback is awesome, and I've already got over 100 reviews, so thanks to all of you who left me feedback so far ^^!).

To him, the morning sun was somewhat futile trying to warm him as he walked down streets he'd known for a long time. No, the flowers he carried in his arms, the bag that was slung across his form (a form that was as slight as it had been all those years ago) and the recollections that nestled in the crevices of his soul did far more to both warm him up and weigh him down than the weather ever could.

The last time he'd walked around openly in his home town had, in the grand scheme of his life, not been that long ago. The last time he'd visited her had been in the same time period. But after, he'd had to flee as far as his means would take him, much like he'd done when he'd first slipped into this life. And that impulse, that need he couldn't outrun, only served to show how much of a failure he was, and how much he would always be one.

"That…that doesn't make sense. That doesn't make sense…..I got her last letter just weeks ago and….she said she was fine…." She looked down, her fists curling up in barely retrained anger, an anger he hadn't seen for ages. A moment passed in silence, her biting her lip to keep her fury inside, he looking for words that would fly past his and fix everything.

"We ourselves only found out a few days ago." He blurted out suddenly, helpless as always. She nodded numbly but still didn't look up, and he felt the weight of his failures again. His mind wandered, thinking of fading smiles and fresh tears. Flowers, funerals. Death itself was not something he was unfamiliar with. Hell, none of them were. But like this….it couldn't be like this. He had no idea if he'd have the courage to stick around and deal with all that, and he hated himself for it. But you could, couldn't you? He looked at her, this girl he'd always valued and had come to love. And then he thought of something.

"I'll ask." He said, making her look up. "I'll ask, for a furlough for you or something. Get you out for a while, even if only for…." Now it was his turn to trail off, for he could not bring himself to finish that sentence. It really wasn't right. It just wasn't.

"No need." Her voice had gone cold, and the way she looked at him now…in all the years of knowing her, he had only seen that look twice. The first was when she'd revealed the truth. The second time was a fleeting flash, one given while she still crouched over the body of that person, wild and delirious. The last time she'd been out in the world as a free woman.

"No need. They're not going to give me one, and you know it. Why would they let someone like me out?"

He opened his mouth to try and defend her, but words failed him. Once, they wouldn't have. But this was part of his punishment. He deserved this, this inability to soothe the one closest to his heart. She noticed the pain in his demeanour though, and her own softened instantly, and when she spoke again her voice recalled lazy evenings and nights in bed, stark in contrast to their current truth.

"You should go now, I think. I…I need time to process this. But…write to me? And come back when you can. If you can."

Of course, she had been right. When he'd asked about the possibility that she'd be let out on a temporary basis, he'd been sneered down. Never mind the fact that it was for a funeral, of all things. And true to what was now his convention, he hadn't returned since then. He hadn't even attended the funeral for the both of them. Oh, he had hovered, but he hadn't been able to cross the threshold, and had fled soon after. After that, he hadn't come anywhere near this town, at least not until he'd had that sudden urge to go back to the forest. She should have been enough for him, the fact she was still here in the world as opposed to poor Hinano, should have been enough. And yet, it hadn't been. Just another regret to add to the long list he already held.

At least I'm here now, he mused, stopping at the corner of the street for a moment. The people around him didn't bat an eyelid, just continuing on their way as usual, even as the breeze tickled his distinctive hair. Looking up to the sky, he saw that the moon was hidden today, but he could visualise it as if it was actually there. Just like he could visualise all the deaths he'd caused as if he was at the scene.

The streets he'd walked on and past for years and years seemed unfamiliar now as he tried to stumble his way home, words ringing in his head. Guilty. Guilty. It didn't seem right, or logical, but he knew that in the eyes of the world and the law it was. But even so…he wanted to yell, to rail at the world. Instead, he folded up into his furthest corners and stumbled around, trying to recall where he was. To others in the street, he probably would have looked drunk, but that was a laughable idea. Alcohol could not rival what was in his mind right now, could not surpass this state he was in.

Suddenly, a thick, imposing wall seemed to place itself in front of him, and he stumbled suddenly, skidding and stopping. And then the wall quietly boomed out his name and he realised it was a person. This person's presence in this place, at this moment, was unexpected. But he did not find himself surprised. Of course this person was here, somehow watching over them all, in a different way to the others who did the same thing, but even so.

"You're troubled."

Well, of course he was. He was utterly alone but everything inside his head was crowded and everything around him was distorting. Nothing made sense, he wanted to curl up and cry for a long long time, but he had no idea where sanctuary was anymore. He dropped to his knees, his own weight too much to carry.

"Is…there something I can do for you?" the way this person said it suggested that the answer was already known, but how could it be? Even he didn't know it. Yet….everything hurt, hurt. It was too much. It needed to stop. It needed….to be stopped.

So, almost on autopilot, he lifted his head, turned his face up to meet the eyes of this imposing wall of a person, and made his plea.

"Please…please teach me how to disappear. "

Feeling himself tremble, leaf-like, he buried his face in the flowers he was holding, and let the scent re-bolster him. At least I'm here now, he reminded himself. He allowed himself a smile, and another glance at the sky, before he began walking again, thinking of how happy she would be to see him again. How good it would be to see her again, to remind himself of what was good in the world. And naturally, he had to tell her about the children. About what they were attempting to do. About how they would be sure to achieve it. All of it.

I wonder what they're up to, over in Kyoto…

…

Tada and the others were not the only school-trippers on the bus heading towards the museum. Other middle school students, as well as some high-schoolers, all clustered in their own little groups, going over their plans, chatting or looking at each other's phones. Tada noticed some of the high schoolers bore the uniform of Kou's school, and he remembered that there was both a marching band practise and a choir tournament-type thing occurring that day. He hadn't yet broached the idea of going to view the marching band practise with the others, but he thought that might be fun.

"Man, I'm actually kinda glad there aren't any main campus students here." Tsukuda said, munching on some sort of fruit snack. Tada blinked, putting aside the thought of Kou's band, and tried to formulate a response when Izzy decided to answer first.

"Yeah." Izzy agreed, turning around in his seat and pulling a pouty kind of face. "I reeeallly don't want to deal with people today."

"Then how are you dealing with us?" Hana asked innocently at the same time as Tsukuda fiercely declared:

"I wouldn't let anyone cause us any trouble!"

"Ahh….now this is why I'm glad they aren't here." Tada put in. "Sometimes, Protector of the Small, you're too much like your name."

"THAT ISN'T MY NAME!" Tsukuda protested, falling into giggles as she did so. A few high-schoolers, and the few older adults on the bus, turned and stared at her. Tada poked her arm to make her notice this, and eventually she pulled herself together.

"Well, it would be okay if Asami came, right?" Hana returned to the topic of main campus students. "And then that'd mean Hiro-san would be here, too. Both of our sisters!"

"Oh, yeah, where are your sisters off to anyway?" Izzy asked, still kneeling precariously on the seat and grinning at them, red eyes sparkling and hair slightly wild.

"Gion."

Their heads all whipped over to Yukiyama, who was sitting in front of Kuroba and Izzy, holding an open copy of a Ranpo Edogawa book that had one of Hiro's bookmarks sticking out of it. He regarded them frostily for a moment before turning back to the book. Typical.

"Well, that's right. It's either there or the Costume Museum, depending on if they have time." Tada confirmed after a moment to dispel the awkwardness. "We haven't actually been there, and Hiro's always been interested in clothes."

"There's a museum of costumes?" Hana asked. "That sounds interesting. I hope Asami-Chan has time to go there, and then she can tell me about it…."

Hana trailed off wistfully, and stared off into the distance for a moment. Then she gave a one shouldered shrug, almost to herself. Smartly, Tsukuda handed the girl one of her fruit snacks, and she accepted it. I should say something kind, Tada thought, although he couldn't think of anything.

"Well, we're going to an art museum, aren't we? Surely that's fine enough." Kuroba chipped in at this point, almost snidely. Tada chose not to rise to this. Luckily, Kuroba decided not to shower his universal disapproval on them anymore and turned his attention to Izzy, who was kneeling on his seat as the bus drove along the streets happily.

"You shouldn't sit like that, it's dangerous." Kuroba informed him.

"Why? It isn't illegal, and hell, I haven't been caught."

"Uh…." Even if there's a crossover at times, there's a big difference between illegal and dangerous! Tada and Tsukuda exchanged conspiratorial looks. Izzy was just too off-the-wall sometimes, which made him scary in a completely different way to Kuroba, who now looked very, very sternly at Izzy.

"Well, I've caught you." Kuroba stated shortly. "Just sit down. And eat something. Even if it's one of Tsukuda's bizarre items, or Tada's sweets."

"Hey! Apple crisps aren't weird!"

"They are." Hana nodded seriously, as if the normalcy of apple crisps was a critical social issue. "But tasty, too."

This made Tada chuckle, and Kuroba even smiled a little at Hana's earnest pleasantness.

"I'm not even hungry." Izzy complained. "And I'm not tired anymore, I promise."

"You sure?" Tada asked, suddenly recalling both Izzy's long sleep on the train to Kyoto, as well as his paleness when the main campus students had knocked into him. Izzy didn't look any the worse for wear now, but….there's no way of knowing these things. Life can change in an instant. Tada shivered, suddenly. Somehow, he'd managed to scare himself. Without looking at him, Tsukuda's hand closed around Tada's fingers and squeezed briefly before she reached in her packet for another apple crisp and chewed on it.

Izzy turned back around in his seat and sat down properly, and just in time as the bus screeched to a halt at the traffic lights. Then, he tipped his head back so he was still looking at Tada, Tsukuda and Hana. The result was that Izzy looked upside down to Tada (and he was sure that he was upside down to Izzy, too). An odd sensation, to be sure. Even Kuroba eyeballed Izzy as if he was mad.

"If anything goes wrong, you'll just have to wait for me." Izzy grinned, and given that he was upside down, it looked more fearsome than normal

"And I have both my inhalers, so it's fine. " Izzy added blithely. He made a vague hand gesture to indicate his waist pouch and trouser pockets, presumably where his inhalers were kept. .He didn't pull them out to prove it, but the air around him had Tada believing it, so he just shrugged and let it go.

"You should let me keep hold of a third, you know." Kuroba still somehow managed to find something to nit-pick about. You could give him the benefit of the doubt!

"Oh, Sei-Chan." Izzy sighed, conveying volumes. Tsukuda sniggered, and Kuroba glared. At that point, the bus began to move again, and the motion gave Tada's brain a jolt.

"Right!" Tada brought both his hands down to hit the guidebook that had been nestled in his lap the whole time, startling two high-school girls who were next to them. He quickly smiled an apology at them before turning back to the group.

"Right then. How about we consult this thing to see what the best souvenirs are?" He thought he should really bring up the marching band, but again decided to save that for a bit later, when they'd finished the museum.

"Sounds good to me." Izzy sat up normally- and then climbed on his knees and turned around on the seat again, grinning evilly. All of them (apart from Yukiyama) groaned instantly.

"IZZY!"

…

"So, that's the site of Ryoma Sakamoto's killing, as well as the Mimizuka mount."

Eriko looked down at the roughly thirty-year-old essay as they ambled down the streets of Kyoto, regarding the neat yet frail writing that detailed the various bloody events that had taken place in the city.

"What should we do next?" She addressed her whole group, still reading the words. Kyoto, the Assassination Capital. Why does that chill me?

"Weren't we going to the Imperial Palace?" Kinomoto asked.

"Eri-Chan, you probably shouldn't focus so hard on the paper." Kaori reminded her. Eriko nodded and lowered the paper down. Probably a good idea, Kao-Chan. I'm seriously creeped out. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before deciding to address the issue at hand.

"Yes, we were going to go there…" she answered Kinomoto. "But we can't do all of this in one day."

"Well, it's along the way, right?" Haru consulted her map, frowning. Tsuwabuki did the same for a moment before agreeing. They found a bench on the corner of a street that didn't look so touristy, and they all stopped to huddle around and peer at the maps and essay while debating their next action.

"I think it'd be cooler it if we just wandered around spontaneously for a little bit." Hirigi put in after mostly remaining quiet.

"Why's that, Hirigi-kun?" Tsuwabuki inquired. "There's still a lot that we haven't seen, and even more we won't get to see."

"Well…we've mostly been wandering in and out of shrines, and don't they get the same after a while? It's kind of boring."

"Uh…Hirigi-san….the essay?" Eriko waved the pieces of paper that she was holding at Hirigi. He wrinkled his forehead, and then shrugged. Kaori snatched the essay from Eriko playfully, and leaned back on the bench, looking up at the sky.

"I've found it really interesting, so far. I mean, I knew about Ryoma Sakamoto, and the Kinmon Incident, and all the executions and suicides that happened at Ichijo Modobashori. I didn't even realise how many of Japan's most bloody events occurred in the same place." Kaori mused.

"It is all rather riveting material." Kinomoto agreed complacently, smiling.

"Admittedly, it might be easier to get things to stick if we were tested on this type of thing in school." Hirigi said nonchalantly as he, too, looked at the words of the essay.

"That wouldn't really work for something like Maths though, Kazuma-kun." Haru laughed, finding Hirigi's observation funny.

"The Assassination Capital…" Eriko tested the words aloud, finding them weird in her mouth. "I don't understand why whoever wrote that essay called it that. Can these events really be considered assassinations, though? "

"In a rough sense, yes they could be." Kaori explained. "But, what do you mean, 'whoever wrote the essay'? Wasn't that Tada-san's mum?"

"That's kind of like saying that because the copy of that big chunky guidebook Tada is currently lugging around whatever part of Kyoto he's in was from his mother's class, that means she wrote it." Tsuwabuki deadpanned. Kaori merely raised an eyebrow at this.

"It wasn't, anyway." Eriko said. "Tada said that anyway, but I was talking to Kataoka-san about it last night and she confirmed it, Kao-Chan."

"Did she tell you who wrote it?" Kaori inquired. "Was it her, or maybe Isogai-san or Maehara-san?"

"Not that one, no. Apparently the whole class that time was taught about the assassination aspects of Kyoto's history, and most of them did include some bits of that when they had to write about the trip. But this was the only essay that revolved entirely around the theme."

"So who was it then, may I ask?" Tsuwabuki nodded seriously as if the issue was one of great importance. "I mean, it's not as if we know them or anything, but I'd like to know, as a matter of interest, you know?"

"I forgot to ask, actually." This wasn't entirely true. When Eriko had asked, Megu's replies had been initially been open, but once she'd quoted part of the essay to help clarify it, and when she'd explained that Tada's sister had found it tucked in the pages of a photo album that chronicled the 3E of thirty years ago, those replies had taken a long time in coming, and Megu had somehow evaded the simple question of 'who wrote it?'. So Eriko had pretended not to notice that, and they continued to chat about other well into the night. I think that class maybe had a lot of sadness attached to it. But it would not be right for me to run my mouth off about it.

Kaori gave Eriko a look that indicated that she didn't buy Eriko's simple answer. Ah, best friends. But she didn't press Eriko, instead folding the paper up in her pocket and sitting up straight again.

"So, "Eriko cleared her throat, trying to steer the conversation back to the question of where to go next. "What next?"

"To be honest, I don't really mind where we go. I'm fine with whatever. " Kinomoto said.

"Me, too." Haru agreed.

"I still wanna just amble." Hirigi groaned.

"I'd like to try and complete more of the points on the essay." Tsuwabuki put in, "Or at least actually visit more sights, even if they aren't assassination related, or even history related. If there were any good museums within our remit, I'd gun for those, but as it is…"

"Isn't everything in Kyoto history related anyway?" Kaori wondered.

"Uh, International Manga Museum?" Hirigi asked, eyebrow raised. Everyone groaned silently, remembering the bizarre, sustained petition that Ruko had made to her group mates on the train. Through sheer persistence and annoyingness, Ruko had won. Naturally. It was a disquieting realisation. Eriko was the first to pull herself out of it. As the class representative in the group, she should be the one to make the decision.

"Okay!" she declared briskly. "Here's what we'll do: We'll head to the Ichijo Modobashori like planned. Then, from there, we'll just amble randomly like Hirigi-san wanted, until it's time to go back to the inn. Does that work for everyone?"

"Yup!" they all chorused. At the same moment, the quite distinctive sound of a stomach rumbling could be heard. All heads swivelled to Haru, who went bright red and folded her arms around herself in embarrassment.

"But first….. we should get something to eat, right, Haruka-Chan? Are there any good places to eat around here? " Hirigi took a hold of Haru's map and scrutinised it.

Haru just nodded at Hirigi's comment, clearly still embarrassed. Kinomoto patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. Eriko made sure Haru's embarrassment wasn't dwelt upon by quickly drawing the others into a little discussion about food, and soon they were setting off to find somewhere good to have a meal.

"Hey, this seems like an okay place." Kaori said after they'd had about 10 minutes of wandering around. They all clustered near the door of the establishment (but naturally, not so close that nobody could get through).

The establishment in question was a reasonable sized place, with somewhat frilly décor, but not in a way that was too ostentatious. There were a good amount of customers in the place, but not so many that it was overcrowded, as many of the places they'd passed had been. And judging by the things various people were eating, the place was slightly more restaurant than after-school café.

"Hmm…say, Eri-Chan, what do you think? Would Fumiko-senpai approve?" Kaori grinned, and Eriko chuckled, thinking of Oceanfront. Even though that place was definitely more after-school café than restaurant, she liked that place a lot.

"Yeah, I think so."

"I second that!" Haru agreed happily.

"Okay then, this is where we'll eat then." Tsuwabuki concluded for them. "Seems pretty obvious."

"Yes, that it most certainly is." Eriko said wryly.

When they got inside, it didn't take them long to realise that even with a lot of space, there was no way for all six for them to sit next to each other. But one of the waiters managed to find two three-seater tables relatively near each other, so Eriko and Kaori sat with Tsuwabuki while Haru chose to be with Kinomoto and Hirigi, and they still managed to exchange conversation across tables without disturbing everyone else.

For a while, the atmosphere was light and pleasant, as they chatted about various things, including but not limited to what they would order and what they were planning to do next. A few times, they brought up their class's project, but not all that often. After all, they'd all decided to just enjoy the trip for what it was, and not get into anything that could constitute trouble.

But all that changed when Hirigi noticed something just outside the window.

"What is that noise?" he wondered, tilting his head as his attention seemed to get grasped away from the discussion about food they'd all lapsed into.

"What noise, Kazuma-kun?" Haru asked. Kazuma pointed at the window.

"Out there. The scuffle. Can't you hear it?" No, I…wait, hold on.

"I think I hear something…..but there are a lot of noises, it's the middle of the afternoon."

"Oh, I see something!" Tsuwabuki stood up and walked the short distance to the window, staring out at something that wasn't completely within the frame of it. Curious, Eriko and Kaori also stood up and followed him. Soon, they were all peering out of the window, trying to see what had caught Hirigi's attention.

"And who do you think you are, exactly?" the furious male voice, which seemed to be coming from one of the high-schoolers in the tussle managed to reach their ears distinctively. Which one of these students was the owner of the voice-and whoever they were addressing so angrily-wasn't clear, but the sound bite was enough to nail down the situation Eriko and the others were witnessing. Harassment.

"It's a fight." Tsuwabuki concluded grimly after more than a few flashes of unfamiliar school uniform, limbs, hair and annoyed shouts had all passed by them.

"Sure looks like it. Maybe local students. Oh well." Kaori sat down with a sigh.

"Kao-Chan! " Eriko scolded half-heartedly as she turned to her friend, ready to tell her that even if the students fighting had nothing to do with them and it would serve no purpose to get involved, they couldn't just be so apathetic about it. But she had just seen something which was familiar, and she whipped back around to see what it was. What was it? Where is it?

"Stop that! Leave us alone "The muffled shriek of a girl pleaded. "And Akabane-kun, back down, please!"

Surprised that a crowd hadn't yet formed around the students, Eriko took advantage of that to try and see what had caught her eye. And then she saw it. A flash of grey. A very, very familiar shade of grey on a very familiar style of clothing.

Ah, it looks like we can't escape it.

"Eri-Chan, what is it?" Kaori asked anxiously as Eriko left the window and went back to her chair. She swept up her things and pushed her chair in before striding off purposefully, but almost panicked, too. She could almost feel the floor being worn away under her feet, kicking dust up and away.

"We can't stay uninvolved. " Eriko called back by way of explanation.

"Those guys are from Class 3C! What the hell are they doing picking fights with high school students?! " Hirigi exclaimed behind her, clearly having just noticed the same thing she had.

"That's a bit outrageous!" Tsuwabuki could be heard protesting, even as the others could be heard also gathering their things and pushing the chairs in again.

"Oh who the hell cares what long word it is! We need to follow Eriko-Chan!" Hirigi yelled. "Kinomoto-kun, hurry up!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying."

"Eriko-san, wait for us! We're coming. " Haru called out. Eriko didn't stop, but she did turn around long enough to notice that her classmates were all coming behind her, presumably with the intention to help her. The place suddenly seemed a lot larger, and they needed to dodge a few people to get to the door. The thought that they were causing a disturbance entered Eriko's mind briefly, but she flung the thought in the dark. Right now, something wrong was happening, and they had witnessed it, and therefore needed to intervene. So that was what they would do- the consequences would need to be dealt with later.

And I promised Kataoka-san that I'd keep on persisting, in doing the right thing.