and... I HAVE FINISHED THE REWRITE! THAT'S IT! FROM NOW ON IT IS ALL ORIGINAL CONTENT (ASIDE FROM THE HOSPITAL SCENE I HAD WRITTEN RIGHT AFTER THE EARSURE TO STOP PANICKING)

i had started around three months ago after 'The Big Erasure' and i really am so happy finally to be able to stop worrying about the original writing. i don't know if the original is better or the rewrite, but i do feel that the rewrite is more completed and fleshed out so i really want to thank griewer for not giving up on me and for you guys for spurring me on. you guys are the best!

i love you all so much and hope that we continue this journey for a long time ^^

p.s. finally got my laptop back, but it's a pain in the ass *sobs* IT'S NOT WORKING PROPERLY! i had to send it to fixing again so mom's computer it is... *sulk*

review replies:

Guest: sorry, kiddo. can't promise anything. you'll just have to pray and read the chapter if you wish to know what happened to her *smirk*

Shepard: seriously, do you want me to continue writing or not? from all the compliments my brain is going to fry *blushing purple by now* and you'll just have to read what the news are and what will aguri's and the trio's reactions be ^^

l-love you too, thank you *blush*

Catturner7007: that he is! and i agree with you, nagisa~~~. thank you sweetie ^/^

D C JoKeR H S: uh... you mean karma? since he's not really a god anymore ;p

i'm going to guess and say that you predicted that something bad is going to happen... again. well, great job then! *thumbs up* and there are quite a lot of hugs... i love hugs!

Kikyo2180: me too~

The destroyer of fate: well, read on to find out *wink*sorry sweetie, i'm an evil, evil, woman. thank you and enjoy the chapter ^^

I12BFree: out of all three names, kaede is the first name Nagisa can say, pretty amazing. and i think it was adorable.

well... *calm but smirking* you'll just have to read this chapter.

it's alright, at least you had read them now and i'm glad that you enjoy them ^^

Kuroi Rin: *inhaling through clenched teeth* yeah... that's a way... i'm a terrible person... good thing that aguri is there to negate what i had done. and yep, karma is still jealous, not talking about it doesn't make it go away *chuckle*

of course yada would find anything, they don't 'exist' prior to landing before aguri's house. and you'll just have to read to find out ;p

maybe, who knows *smirk*

that he did, and i'm happy for him!

thank you sweetie!

see ya! :3c

big thanks to the one who helps me so greatly in this fic, Griewer!

don't own assassination classroom, matsui-sensei does

as always, please review and all this crap.

love you guys.

enjoy! ^^

Chapter 17 - A lot of worried people

"What's wrong, Yada? Did anything go wrong with the search?" A big weight had settled in her abdomen. Please let it be something that can be fixed. Please let it be something that can be fixed…

"The research still goes on. It's not about those three this time… it's about Rinka…"

Black eyes widened at the next sentence and the woman faltered on her feet, bracing herself on a nearby tree, her heart pounding in her ears.

"No…"

"I'm sorry, Yukimura-sensei. Rinka is currently in the hospital."

"Why didn't you tell me that earlier?"

"I would have, but I was just notified. Chiba was the one to notify us."

"What even happened to Hayami? All I know is that she—"

"Shh… Don't say it out loud," Yada interrupted and the older woman closed her mouth immediately, "All I know is that she and her squad were tracking down this Yakuza guy and suddenly were ambushed. No one but Rinka survived and that was by the skin of her teeth."

"Oh god…"

"Fortunately, the doctors said that she'll survive. The others are preparing to come and visit, with some of us who are part of the police or government acting as protection guard. They don't think she'll be attacked, but we can't be too sure."

"Then I'll come visit her as soon as possible."

"You still have your class to teach and new siblings to take care of. She is still unconscious so it would be useless if you'll come see her now."

A moment of silence.

"…How about after the DNA test, you'll go visit her? It's Wednesday so it's only two more days anyways."

"But I really feel that I need to be there. Chiba must be terrified and distrusting."

"Yukimura-sensei, Chiba and Rinka knew what they were signing up to when they joined the force. Now stop being stubborn and don't worry. If Chiba requests for your presence I'll tell you."

"…Alright… I won't come," Aguri sighed, covering her face with one hand and noticing the tremors going through her body, "Please protect them."

"I will. Until then, Yukimura-sensei, continue your day. Teach the children like usual. It won't do if they get anxious because you do," An amused undertone begun leaking into Yada's voice and the older woman shook her head fondly, chuckling.

"I know that already, Yada. Really, who do you think handled your class for a long, long year?"

"I seem to recall a woman who is very familiar to you, Yukimura-sensei. That's why I'm sure you can do it."

"Always with the dry sarcasm. Anyways, I must go, the children must be very worried," Aguri sighed, "Thank you for telling me this. I will see you this Friday. Have a good day."

"Good day, Sensei. Stay safe." The call ended. Aguri clutched the phone to her chest and gave herself a few moments to collect her thoughts. An unprepared cool breeze made her shiver and she glanced up to see the class building just right ahead. Longing suddenly overcoming her, she tucked her phone in her back and rushed forward, wanting to return to her class as soon as possible.

She has children counting on her after all. Worrying about Hayami can come later. She can't do anything for Hayami at this point but she can do something for her students.

She… she can't convince herself very well, can she?

The first to notice was Karma, obviously. The minute she had walked into the class, golden eyes sharply flashed and Aguri flinched when she felt the bafflement mixed with anger glare directed at her.

Why was Karma angry with her?

Nagisa noticed a moment later when she turned to smile at the class. His eyes glowed for a moment before the boy tilted his head in confusion and blinked at her as if trying to decipher something.

Was kind of amusing, to be honest.

With Kaede, it was her greeting that gave it away. The minute her mouth opened, Kaede stiffened and her eyes widened in worry, her mouth pursing in hesitation.

She was that transparent, huh? She doesn't know if that makes her feel better or not.

Well, at least no one else in the class seemed to sense that something was amiss so no more disapproving or concerned looks, just exasperated when she asked for yesterday's homework or concentration when she taught new kanji for 'working hard' and 'destroy' (Aguri winched when she read what those kanji meant. She wanted to change the schedule of the kanji the principal wanted her to teach, but there was no changing his mind and she still can't quite tell him about her… new additions. She shivered when she realized that she still hadn't reported on them to him… She is doomed…)

Yet, she dreaded lunch. She knew that the minute class will let up, the trio will run to her and demand answers and she wasn't sure she was ready. The knowledge that one of her students was badly injured was weighing heavily on her heart and despite Yada's advice, she really wanted to hop on her car and rush to the hospital.

But she has her current students to teach. She has to make sure that they don't think that she is abandoning them. Her smile turned rueful; there are a lot of abandoned children around her and she was thinking of running away? How cruel of her. Hayami is still asleep, so she won't even notice Aguri's absence, but the kids in the class would notice if she ran away. Her eyes hardened and her brows set in determination

She can wait two days.

"What's going on?" Was Karma's first question the minute the class was released to lunch break. Aguri sighed, stopping in the middle of putting her books in her bag, and smiled wearily. The redhead tensed, an action not gone unnoticed by the two others who arrived at the teacher's table.

The black haired woman switched her gaze between the three, then exhaled and lowered her head.

"I don't want to say it here. Come with me to the teacher's lounge." She closed her bag and picked it up, her heels sinking slightly into the old wooden boards as she hastily walked out of the room, the trio following her suit.

They circled the building and entered a second hall, stopping before a door with an old flaking plaque saying 'Teachers' Lounge Room'. Aguri took out a set of keys and opened up the door and opened it, a loud creaking noise penetrating the silence, revealing a big room with two tables and several chairs, all from the yellow-brown age-stained pine tree. A big window gave the room a slight reddish glow, making the atmosphere quite homey regardless of the obvious lack of care.

"This is… a pretty nice place," Kaede commented as they all stood at the entrance, shifting a bit awkwardly in her place. Nagisa looked around and then drifted to the tables, poking them while Karma folded his arms and stared at Aguri.

"So what's the deal, Aguri?" The woman bit her lip and rubbed a hand over her forehead, conceding to the question.

"I had received a phone call from Yada moments after you all continued to class."

"Did she have bad news about the search?"

"No, it wasn't about that… it was about Hayami."

"Who?" The collective question of Karma and Kaede made Nagisa look up, his hand freezing over the table's surface.

"Hayami Rinka. A former student of mine…" Aguri elaborated, face pale, "She is part of the police and her squad – a team – was attacked by assaulters with who knows what… She is at the hospital, and has yet to regain consciousness."

"Aguri-nee…" Kaede started, taking the few steps between her and the older woman and engulfing the woman in an embrace. Aguri blinked and her arms rose, curling around the greenette's back, burying her face in the small shoulder and squeezing her tightly.

"I don't want to lose anyone dear to me," Aguri's voice was soft and pained, filled with fear and hesitation. Suddenly the woman looked much, much older. Kaede's throat constricted as she held the woman and she squeezed her eyes shut when they burned, her fists clenching the shirt and wrinkling the fabric.

"But she'll survive, no?" Karma added his thoughts when he noticed the woman's shaking form. Aguri nodded, still burrowing into Kaede's shoulder. Karma then placed a hand on her black hair and ruffled it. "Then no one is leaving you anytime soon, so don't cry about it. Save it to when you truly lose someone."

"Karma…" Kaede eyed him, "Give her a moment. She is just stressed."

A different hand landed on Aguri's back and started rubbing it soothingly. Aguri smiled, knowing immediately whose hand it was.

Nagisa patted the woman's back, smiling when the woman raised her head and turned it to look at him. "'S kay… No ded…"

"No one is dead," Karma translated when Aguri didn't answer.

"Oh… thank you, Nagisa," She smiled and after giving one last squeeze to Kaede, she released her and smiled warmly at her, then at Karma and Nagisa. "Thank you, you three. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been here."

"Probably be bored," Karma grinned. Kaede giggled and Nagisa frowned, confused. Karma rolled his eyes and messed the blue hair, "Don't worry about it, squirt, your puny head won't get it."

Nagisa hissed at the redhead. "No sss…mall!"

"Surprised you understood what 'puny means', idiot," Karma sneered back, bending over in a mocking way with his hands in his pockets.

"Sssstop!" Nagisa's hiss turned guttural, "No taaii-me!"

"No time? No time for what?" Karma smirked. Nagisa bared his teeth, which looked suspiciously pointy.

"You two, stop it!" Kaede huffed, "This is not the time for your boy bickering."

"Oh, don't act like you're any better, greenie."

"Karma!"

"You three..." The trio froze and turned to the woman, slight guilty expressions on their faces. Aguri stared at them for a moment before smiling and taking a step towards them. They continued to stare at her quizzically until she grabbed their hands and held them in her hands, her head lowered, resting on the back of the hands.

"You guys are just..." She hesitated and then took a deep breath, "I just love you all so much." Sparkling black eyes rose up to meet with gold, hazel, and blue, "I am so blessed."

The three exchanged looks and then looked back to her. Kaede beamed, Karma grinned, and Nagisa smiled.

"We're also blessed."

"Nah, just ended up with the most tolerable group."

"Bele…sssed… Yesss…"

Each one of the four came back to class feeling lighter than before. No one commented, but class was noticeably more relaxed and enjoyable.

No one complained.

Sugino was looking over Nagisa with an odd expression on his face. Thankfully, the blunet was concentrating on something that Kaede was showing him so he didn't notice, but someone else did.

And it was apparent that they didn't like what they saw.

The raven head shivered when he felt a cold dread wash over him and turned his head to spot Karma glaring at him warily. He gulped and gave a shaky grin to the redhead, wondering what he had done to deserve such a cold glare. Aguri's voice starting the lecture dragged him out of his internal freaking out, and Sugino was more than happy to use that excuse to look away from his new best friend's brother. The freezing feeling went away, and he had released a breath he didn't realize he held. Karma can be quite scary sometimes, but it's actually pretty endearing how overprotective he is over his siblings; consciously or not.

"S…gino?" He jolted and noticed that he once again started staring at the blunet, and now he was discovered by the subject of his staring. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Hi, Nagisa. Sorry, was thinking too hard."

"Oh… Kay…" Nagisa smiled softly and returned his attention to Kaede's, who eyed him a bit skeptically, but then just smiled sweetly and turned back to the desk, going back to explaining things to Nagisa.

Sugino pouted a bit, not liking all the distrust towards him.

Kanzaki glanced at him, then giggled to herself and poked the boy's shoulder. He looked at her and turned red, mortified that his crush had noticed his little accident.

"Y-yes, Kanzaki?"

"Are you still wondering over what Rio said yesterday? About not knowing a lot about Nagisa?" Light brown kind eyes crinkled warmly and Sugino felt a toll fall off his shoulders.

"Thanks, Kanzaki. I guess I was just over thinking things without noticing," He chuckled sheepishly, cheeks heating up in embarrassment. The girl either didn't notice or just decided not to comment on his action and simply smiled kindly and returned to her assignment. Sugino shook his head and lowered his head to the page in front of him, concentrating on the class, seeds of an idea growing in his brain.

He waited until the class was over and they were released for five minutes of break to extend his fingers and tug on Nagisa's hair, which was left loose today and therefore easier to reach for. Nagisa turned around and blinked at the raven head in confusion.

Sugino waved a bit, grinning. "So I had an idea."

"A… de..a?" Nagisa regarded him in interest and the raven teen nodded, motioning for the boy to lean closer. The blunet looked at Kaede, who watched them both for a second before getting up and walking over to Kurahashi. Nagisa immediately moved his chair and turned so his chest was pressed against the back of his chair and his eyes were comfortably facing Sugino.

"Yess?"

"So I was thinking," Sugino started, "Wanna come to my house today? I want to show you some stuff in my room."

"Yoor… Hose? What… Ho…use?"

Alright, something was up. Sugino barely held his jaw from falling and cleared his throat. "Uh… maybe you don't recognize the word since you lived in a shrine… um, it's a building, only one family lives there."

"Oh, Hoome!" Blue eyes sparkled and the blunet enthusiastically nodded, "Me… liive iiin on! Ageri ho…use…"

"I see…" Sugino looked over to the woman sitting in her place, sorting through papers and as if waiting for him to do so, black eyes rose up to meet with him and the teacher smiled warmly and she returned to her work. "Well, we should ask Yukimura-sensei for permission."

"What?" Sugino nearly facepalmed at Nagisa's question, his best friend was turning up to be so clueless. Was the boy really mentally challenged or was there something else there… something much darker then he could see? It didn't seem like Nagisa wasn't capable of learning, he only needed to be shown thing once for the blunet to grasp the meaning and even made connections by himself. He was observant and much smarter than seen at first glance.

So why didn't he know those things before coming to Aguri's house? Karma and Kaede had the same problem but in a lesser degree. No one in the class ever talked about those ticks out of respect for Yukimura-sensei. But Kurahashi, Maehara, Nakamura and himself had created this unwritten rule to teach the three as much without mentioning the reasons behind their lack of knowledge. They know that sooner or later that the three would tell them.

"Sgino…?" Nagisa's voice snapped him out of his stupor and he smiled thinly at the blunet, protectiveness swelling in his chest. He swore himself there and then that he would find out everything about Nagisa and if his suspicions have basis, he would protect his friend.

But first, time to ask Aguri.

She was screwed.

She had never thought of the possibility of this to happen. In hindsight, she really should have expected this. It was so obvious she almost wanted to bang her head against a wall; so much for a degree in psychology if she can't even predicts this.

And the worst part is? She can't say no unless she makes a very, very good excuse why not and honestly? She has nothing to offer. Well, it's not like officers would approach two children in the middle of the street and ask for their ID, especially if they're under sixteen. And she will collect him later with her car, so it'll be less conspicuous that he is different.

Oh, for goodness' sake, why didn't she think of it earlier? Seriously, Aguri, what is the matter with you? Ever since they came to your house, you have made more mistakes than usual. And not even your usual clumsiness, but serious grievous errors that could cost you your future family—

"Uh, Yukimura-sensei? Are you alright?" She jolted and her eyes refocused on her current dilemma.

Sugino and Nagisa were standing in front of her desk just as she was about to resume class with the former asking her if Nagisa can go to his house for the afternoon.

While that doesn't seem like much to freak out over. Just an innocent question really. There is a need to bring to a count the reasons for her hesitation.

Nagisa is a clueless child with the current mentality of a four years old toddler. By no means stupid, but too easy to impress and his speech is still severely wanting. What if Sugino's parents get suspicious and will start questioning either Nagisa or her and bring child support? What if they will get attacked like Karma was?

"Ageri? Iit..s 'kay…" Nagisa's hand landed on her arm and rubbed it like every time she was anxious and she relaxed.

Right, it's Nagisa. He isn't stupid. He knows why she doesn't want him to go and still wants to go so maybe she should trust his judgment?

"Sorry, Nagisa, I'm just a worried sister," She admitted and Sugino chuckled, shoulders drooping in relief and he flung an arm around Nagisa, grinning at her reassuringly.

"Don't worry about it, Yukimura-sensei! We won't climb any trees if you're so worried about it."

"Sugino… I'll trust you on that," She chuckled and ruffled the blue hair, "But seriously, keep him safe and out of trouble. I'll come pick him up at seven, alright? Now, if anything happens, call me right away. It doesn't matter how small the problem is."

Sugino quieted down at her request but then sobered and nodded seriously, and once again Aguri was struck by the knowledge that her students were smarter than the school gave credit for. She smiled in relief and sent them back to their seats and resumed class, hoping her heart would stop beating so fast in fear. She was sure she would be having a heart attack if those cases would continue.

Who knew raising a family could be so hard?

any thoughts?

VERY IMPORTANT! I HAVE FOUND OUT ABOUT A FANART FOR ONE OF MY OTHER FICS 'THE SNAKE MOUND'! THE FIRST. EVER. FANART! AND IT'S AMAZING AND ADORABLE AND WHAT I WAS EXPECTING! YOU MUST CHECK IT OUT! I'M SO HAPPY I'M CRYING!

IT'S IN MY PROFILE SO GO CHECK IT OUT!