To Reach You

by TheFlowerWeSawThatDay

Okuda Manami now enters her high school life after the unforgettable events of last year. But how does an assassin go back to being a normal student in a normal school? After being shunned by her entire classroom, she decides it's better that way. No one needs an introverted chemical freak;but that's just when an overfamiliar Redhead decides to pry into her life. (Hiatus, not dead)

25. Chapter 25

Yaho! I'm back with, finally, my regular number of words per chapter XD (Actually it's pretty long XD)

HERE IS THE LONG-AWAITED FIRST DAY OF THE FESTIVAL FINALLY BROUGHT TO YOU! And I hope to God I did not screw up 8"D

Sorry it took so long, I had writer's block and at some points I lost some motivation to write 8'( But Hey past is past and here I am with the next chapter which I will hope you enjoy!

Not much Karumana in the chapter since they were all busy, but I ASSURE you there will be LOTS in the next few chapters! After all the Cultural Festival Arc is a more dramatic, hurt/comfort arc that had only been prolonged and delayed since school went in the way DX I'll do my best to finish as much as I can of this story this time.

Can't answer reviews for a while since I have to go ;w; But please still leave one!

Kay not much to say anymore so let's go

Disclaimer: Ansatsu Kyoushitsu (暗殺教室) is owned by Matsui-sensei. This is a piece of amateur literature called a fanfiction. Let's move along.

**If you have trouble trying to understand what's going on here, it just means that while she's explaining things, it shows what the students are doing inside 8D Think of anime.

---

Chapter 25: What You Are To Me (FIESTA ARC! [Part 2: One Day])

All alone, he walked.

After being separated from the rest of his comrades, being left alone to hear the voice of some creepy lady he did not know of could only make one become so anxious.

Things had become quiet after a while, but it was a tense type of solitude. There was always this suspenseful sensation that he was being watched – that if he were to falter a single time, something, whatever horror it may be, will be just about ready to take his life.

This feeling sent a shiver through his spine – being alone was enough, but the tension in the air enveloping him slowed his booming heartbeat. His steps were steady, but heavy to his body – almost numb, even. No matter how many times he reassured himself that he was just inside a school gym and in a room designed by students younger than him, he couldn't free himself of the standing he felt himself in,

A target.

The sound of weeping caused him to gasp and jolt from his steps and hit his back at one of the walls – subsequently, part of that wall moved slightly, which he glanced over to in mild caution.

Once he'd breathed out to relax himself just a little, he hesitantly searched the area he was in for the sound's source. Taking in some of his surroundings, it was still dark, but there was enough light from a lamp somewhere high upon one of the walls. It was a dim, white lamp that appeared to lose life any moment now, but it was good enough for him to perceive an open space – a clearing of some sort, perhaps. And it was just as he thought; there he saw what looked to be a girl whose head and face were hidden by a white hood wearing a Kimono that matched the color. She was weeping and crying out for help in such a somber manner that accorded with how she walked.

"Someone…please…help me…save my baby…" her voice sounded old and underused – like a frail, homeless grandmother in search for a family that had abandoned her.

Any idiot would be able to comprehend how sketchy the woman was – what with the visible blood stains upon the bottom part of her kimono, the boy could already tell that this would become nothing but bad news to him. Thinking as quickly as he could, he swiftly hid in the dark shadow behind a wall to spy on her and probably lie low until she moved along.

Badump…...Badump…... Badump…...Badump...

That was all he could hear.

The seconds drifted by slow and relentlessly for the goon as he took notice of how the unknown woman kept on the lookout for any sign of movement – similar to how a ruthless monster would in search of an intruder in its nest. But fortunately for him, it seemed she was walking towards the direction away from him. He then heaved an inaudible sigh once he made sure she was about to walk away.

No action could have been more regretful.

Sharply, the woman turned a heel and looked towards the exact direction of where he was – having the large boy's body jolt like he'd been electrocuted. Upon impulse, he moved to hide himself behind the wall completely; he even refused to take more or less a peek any longer. That's because in that mere split-second, despite the hood concealing the rest of her face away from the world, their eyes met. They were ravenous, savage, yet adept – but only in such a way that those pair of blue orbs was exceptionally erudite about the art of slaughter.

Eyes were wide as he clutched his heaving chest from the turmoil that bound his body from making anymore movements. He began to feel lightheaded – most probably due to the lack of blood his slow heartbeat was able to suffice him with.

Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap

He could almost feel the way all his limbs numbed in a single instant the moment his ears picked up on footsteps getting closer…and closer…

Bracing himself, his eyes snapped shut and tight – whether he was preparing himself for any form of impact, or saw it as a way of protecting himself in the most desperate manner, he was unsure of. But all he knew was that—…

The impact never came, and dead air followed.

Bit by bit, he opened his eyes and, ever so reluctantly, spared the small clearing a glimpse. He then registered that the woman had disappeared. Stepping out cautiously while turning his head about, he found no trace of her leaving nor being there in the first place. The strangeness of the scene caused his jaw to tighten from worry. Finding this risky for many reasons, he stuttered out with a low, shaky voice "I-I think it's best if I just mo-move along—"

Right when he was going to leave the area for good, he gasped as he felt a lump under his shoe. With a sharp inhale of breath, he jerked his foot away – the tension dissipating however, when he became conscious of what the object was: a bundle of cloth wrapped around in such a fashion a baby would.

The daft boy raised his brow at the item as a cold bead of sweat dropped by the side of his head. A sigh of relief escaped from his mouth before he picked it up "Oh, it was just this…" he muttered exasperatedly to no one in particular as he tried to inspect the ostensibly harmless material by removing the cloth hiding it.

He takes it back; this was a more regretful action.

A bump had gotten stuck in his throat as he nearly choked on his own breath with his gasp – his heart even felt like it'd been hammered once to stop as he suffered a sickening twist from his stomach that made him want to belch.

What he had come face to face with was a skinless, skull-like face like it had been ripped off of him intentionally – with a pair of eyeballs that were practically raking at his spirit. In his hands he held what appeared to be a god of death; even worse when—

"Oh my, so you've found my baby…"

The lamp started to flicker.

Albeit hearing it only once, he recognized that voice – but there was a certain, more taunting ring to it now. It was no longer that of helplessness, but it sounded more amused to him.

Amused at the thought of gutting you – this absentminded thought had caused him to freeze in place, but not as much as the cold, aggressive hand that grabbed his shoulder did. "Thank you dear boy, you're a blessing to this world…" she was breathing quite heavily as she said this; even the grip she had on his shoulder shook as if she were tired from something, but that didn't stop her crude nails from digging into the cloth of his uniform.

Bemused by this, he fell to the temptation brought about by his curiosity and looked over his shoulder – catching the sight of dark, disheveled hair, which blocked its bearer's facial features. Her chest was moving up and down from the gradual intensity of which; almost like she was hyperventilating.

The boy felt the need to say something, but it was as if his own voice didn't exist anywhere in his throat anymore – especially when her breathing steadily transformed into chuckles.

A second hand had grabbed his other shoulder as her chuckles became more powerful to the point her shoulders were rocking up and down. In no time at all, she had begun to laugh rather vociferously; and it was at that moment the teenage boy dropped very thing in his trembling hands – his countenance at an absolute standstill, frozen with a look of fear, but he could not tear his eyes away.

"Ah, I see you've seen his face…look…"she still breathed this out with much difficulty due to her ostentatious chortling, but she raised her face this time.

"Have a look….Isn'T HE tHE CutEst ThING?" with the sight of the madwoman's demented sadism evident in the way she grinned at him, he could practically feel his soul leave him as he locked stares with the scary woman's rabid, psychotic blue eyes.

Then without a doubt he knew… that he was the one that needed to cry for help in this situation.

On impulse, he shoved the girl away – who was in the middle of chortling to the point she had to hold her stomach and upturn her head due to the flexing of her spine – and ran away from her with all the adrenaline he had inside of him.

All he wanted was to get away. To leave; to be rid of this nightmare he walked right into – all that, he thought as trepidation wrapped around his mind like a spider's snack, and his chest wrenched painfully out of foreboding.

And all this, as his ears were ringing with the woman's bloodcurdling laughter.

"ahahahahaha! Ahahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHAAAaaa…"

The two listened warily at the distant, yet deadly, cackling that came from a side of the room not too far from where they were. A few gulps were swallowed, but like they had been since getting separated from their rest of their group, they kept their composure even in the dark – carefully minding their surroundings and sharing a single goal: find the exit and get the hell out of there.

"O-Oi…what time is it?" one of them whispered; his tone was unsure and brimmed with nervousness.

The other checked his watch with its own light "We still have—"

Jingle

"Are you ready yeeet~?" and there came that same, spiteful voice again – echoing with an earsplitting ring to the high pitch she used. The goddess's manner of speech struck them as entertained; as expected of the sadism of Izanami.

Apparently, one was stupid enough to shout back a "Not yet!" earning him a backhand smack behind his head by his companion who whispered aggressively – with fright and annoyance all over his tone "IDIOT! You're giving away where we are!"

"But isn't that how you play hide and seek—"

"Not here you dumbass!"

"Are you ready yeeet~?" her voice seemed closer the second time around. This erupt a small panic with the two as the hurried forward yet remained mindful of what they were walking upon. Both were aware of the consequences if they were to panic (unlike a lot of them), even if the terror was practically eating away their insides.

Moments later, they stumbled upon a crossroads. After a few blinks were exchanged, the one who had reprimanded his companion earlier made a proposal "Okay. You go that way," he pointed to the right "And I'll go the other way."

"Alright." Just as he was about to go, it dawned him "W-Wait a minute…"

"What now?"

"Something's not right…like they want to get us separated…"

"Ready or not, here I come~"

Both felt a bone-chilling sensation move up their spines like a nest of tiny ants. And with that, he loudly whispered to order his cowardly friend "Just suck it up for a while and get on! We'll find the exit faster this way!" and in that note, he quickly sprinted from his current standing to the left side of the crossroads.

"B-Bu…Argh…" reluctantly and with grit teeth, he obeyed the command and briskly walked to his agreed direction of the intersection. Moments after he had done so though, he immediately regretted agreeing.

Being alone in a place such as this must be horrible – what with all the vexing decorations upon the walls in the specific path he took, one could only keep sane after being creeped to the bone by them. The artifacts on the wall included old Japanese dolls that were stitched with red thread; like those you'd often see if one were to play…

Solitary Hide and Seek…

AAAAAHHH!

AHAHAHAHAHA!

His body jerked and nearly hit a wall at the sudden noises of frightened screams and maniacal laughter – those which didn't belong to anyone he knew. Or at least, that's what he would like to think. They were coming from various directions; as if they were being sounded to tease and torture him. These noises were followed by the sounds of someone being strangled, slit by the throat, and other incomprehensible gurgles he did not want to think about; add up the uncanny decorations all hanging on the walls gathering dust and cobwebs, his mind had been pulled to a fretful frenzy.

As a result of that, he had failed to take notice of a simply made rope trap which grabbed his foot. And with a thud, he flinched when he came in contact with the cold, hard floor.

"Oh? Is that where you are?"

A sharp inhale of oxygen entered his lungs – he'd given away his position.

Panic surged through his body like he'd been shot by a defibrillator as a high pitched squeal escaped his throat when he ran off in agitation.

Swish

Swash

There those sounds were again. He had been the first to catch them earlier before all this chaos had happened to them; and now he could feel whatever it is that made such a sound following him. If he were to turn from side to side in his hysterical hurry, he would notice two black figures tailing him. He didn't even need to stare and scrutinize for too long to sense that two pairs of deadly eyes were locked on him.

Another swish and a swash – they sounded like spiders; ever ready to feed, but much too entertained with chasing the poor ant down.

However, like some miraculous coincidence, he read the letters spelling 'EXIT' just on top of a door he found in the next hallway he turned to. He felt as if, if anyone allowed it, he could drown in his own tears of joy upon landing his eyes on the angelic exit he was closing in on.

BAM

Finally there, he realized the door was flat upon the wall – a mere image to fool him. Any thought of salvation that budded within his mind had died along with his hopes of getting free of this mental torment he voluntarily waltzed into. And whilst he experienced firsthand how fast one's blood can get drained out of a body just by sheer hopelessness and terror, the shamisen's uncanny tune followed by the jingles of the shrine bells hastened its effects. But not more than when—

"I'm cooooooommmiiiiinggg~" the goddess sung with a brief giggle thereafter.

That's when he freaked out.

With a growing paranoia, he slammed the fake door with both fists before clumsily – due to the wobbling of his knees – scampering away. He had no direction whatsoever, but if his legs got him away from there, then he would most certainly take that chance to do so.

Then he felt his skin get hit with many objects – mainly cobwebs. The stickiness and ticklishness felt icky upon his cold, numb flesh, but even still, he ran. Trying to resist his inescapable fate, he slammed his palms to his ears and shut his eyes tightly – but even as he tried to outrun them, somewhere deep down, he knew he was doomed. That's because…

The spiders were chasing him again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

---

"Kei? He must've gotten into one of those traps…"

Looking back at what he had already gone through – such as multiple tripwires, cobweb shots and jumpscares that went Nyuruhuhuhuhu – he felt his forehead bead with sweat at the used traps he'd oh so shamefully fallen for. After walking a while, he had taken an observation to the sources of light of the room. There was no mistaking it, there were lamps, but dim ones, located in some hidden areas or simply above the pathway to lead the way. Of course, they wouldn't be able to have a fair game if everything was just dark – someone could get really hurt.

But even with this mindset, he continued to mutter reassurances to himself – mainly "They can't hurt you, they can't hurt you, they can't hurt you." He'd been chanting this over and over for what felt like minutes since he and his companion decided to part ways. Really, choosing to go alone had to be one of his worst decisions yet.

"Hah-AH!" Lost in his thoughts, he nearly missed the next trap he was about to fall into – luckily for him, he'd been able to familiarize himself with the pattern of these already and their probable hiding places. He stumbled forward to avoid the piece of metal that he knew was but a (literal) stepping stone to some other trick. Whatever it was, he didn't bother to have his curiosity take over.

"That was close…" he spent a few moments to stare at the evaded material and relish in his relief – that could've gotten a lot worse had he not—

"I can hear youuu…"

In an instant, he knew his relief was only fleeting – having him gulp the lump in his throat as he tried to calm himself. His palms were sweaty, his collar felt tight around his neck as he tried to loosen it, and he desperately tried to convince himself that he would leave the area unhurt. Even if there were multitudes of screams and laughter overlapping one another in every direction his ears picked up.

The pace in his steps had increased as did the loudness of his muttering – but that did not let the galling noises piercing through his ears cease. Having had enough, he slapped the sides of his face "MAKE IT STOP!"

Apparently, his wish had come true; but not in the way he had planned it. The feeling of a rather durable string lined on his torso had restricted him from moving forward. When he came to his senses, he realized it really was a string – only it resembled a thread from a spider's spool.

"Wha…?" he mumbled, flabbergasted and let his eyes follow where the string led to. Only, this state of confusion quickly transitioned to a face of stupefaction, for at the end of the string that blocked his path just happened to be a door;

A door that led to his freedom, seeing as there was light just beneath it. For seconds, he froze in his spot, completely awestruck; like he had just come from the depths of hell and now the angels have come to pick him up from his suffering. Soon enough, the hopeless idiot's grin stretched from ear to ear as he called out "Guys! I found an—" – then a thought had cut him off right when he slapped a hand to his mouth.

Idiot! If I call them that'll be giving away my position…and then they're gonna find me. If they do I'll have to pay them outside once this is over. Not to mention… a drop of nervous sweat came down his forehead and gradually dripped down to his neck Waiting for them to go to me means I'll have to stay for so much longer…

Visualizing the worst possible outcome (especially the one that involved his wallet), with only mild hesitance he swallowed and laughed with only a hint of nervousness "Nice knowing ya, boys!" he announced to no one – overjoyed by his luck as he followed the string with his almost tearful eyes at the door. His breath hitched with hysterical laughter as the proximity between him and his freedom increas—

Snap

He knew it was too good to be true in the end. Although he knew, he couldn't find it in himself to have his completely dumbstruck expression tear away from the broken string that tauntingly glided down until it soundlessly came in contact with the floor.

It had been knifed – slashed by one that flew out of nowhere before he could get to it. Judging from his viewpoint, the knife wasn't all that sharp, but it pierced deeply into the wood of the wall he was next to. Deep enough to actually wound someone; but what was more unsettling was how it perfectly hit its mark. Whoever had thrown it had to be skilled at that art – and he hesitantly let his eyes move to the corner to have a glimpse of that whoever.

In the shadows of the pathway to his left stood what appeared to be Samurai of the ancient periods. His hat blocked the upper half of his face – such is the style most would put on when about to commit a murder; a slick, quick yet deadly one. Prominent on his chest was the presence of blood oozing from the katana that still impaled him. He could only gape at the sight as the samurai stepped closer and closer – playing with his knives with swift movements of his wrist.

Finally, he wasn't sure if it was just his paranoia, but even in when lost in darkness he could not miss the toxic death glare that peered at him with animosity just when the mysterious warrior lifted his chin a tad. His shrunken, blue orbs quivered – wild and vicious to the point that it can be compared to how a person's eyes would look when forced to watch TV all night without blinking.

"GAH!" A screech escaped him half a second after another knife had hurled towards him. With a loud thud, the blade sunk into the wall just inches away from his cheek. Panic-stricken laughter involuntarily came from his mouth when he realized his demise was about to be brought upon him and decided to run away, screaming…

But knowing the Samurai was still following him…

---

"AHAHAHAHAHAAA!"

She was still laughing when he had already outrun her – he couldn't even decipher which way the laughter was coming from anymore as there were multiple snickers, guffaws and horrified shrieks from every direction he could think of. And things were just worse when he heard the cadaverous musings of the goddess of the maze,

"Don't think you can run from meee…"

He refused to let that distract him though; no matter what he had to get himself out. After encountering that creepy woman with the macabre child just earlier, he would care less about driving whoever was in charge of the place out of business – these were his exact thoughts the second he finally found the most phenomenal object in the planet…

An Exit.

He felt as if his eyes were deceiving him – the thought of seizing his freedom felt like a miracle. However, before he could sprint in a frenzied fashion towards the large door, he stopped and nobly pounded a fist to his chest "No, I must not abandon my friends!"

Whack

Such nobility had instantaneously shattered after he had witnessed an object shot at the nearest wall. In stimulus, he let his eyeballs aversely move down to have a look at it and found a…baby doll; the nasty, nightmarish kind. He'd already been traumatized by babies as it was, but this one had red thread stitched across its stomach up to the center of its head. Its lightning blue eyes – reminiscent of the woman he'd come by in his first minutes of venturing alone – were like daggers pointed directly at him, yet they were accompanied by red lipstick formed into a grin; a wide one, at that. Somehow, just by staring at it, his ears picked up a faint music box tune which held a spectral ring to it. And after what felt like minutes of unending fear that creeped and crawled back and forth his spine, he decided he didn't want to deal with this again and exclaimed—

"EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!" he ran towards the door in the most pathetic way possible; which, as a result, got him to mindlessly tread upon a trap, having him stumble. The last thing he saw fly before he hit the floor was a bag of chips as he heard a—

PWI!

Then there, out of the shadows flew out the most ridiculous looking animal he'd seen in his lifetime – plummeting towards his face until he dodged it by diving to the floor. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" he cried in terror and ran in the opposite direction of the exit in a surge of panic.

The woman who pursued him earlier sat back with a satisfied smile upon the door of the Exit – nodding in approval at the small animal that fumed with rage evident in the smoke that came from its nostrils.

Cries of desperation and anguish came out of the frantic figure that ran across each pathway of the maze he could cross. His eyes were shut tightly; it was clear in the way he screamed that he'd had enough and that all he wanted to do was go home and end this torment. Later on, he ran in the middle of an intersection where he felt himself get bumped by two other large characters from both of his sides – causing all three to fall in a tangle of limbs to the hard ground. In the dark, they had gotten into a manic frenzy; punching and kicking each other like how men did back in the Stone Age.

"You're not taking me!"

"OW! You'll pay for—Wait, hah?" seemed they'd come to their senses after someone actually got punched in the jaw – causing a crack that had them cease moving for a while and come to an understanding that they were acting more stupid than usual for a full 15 seconds. For the next moments, they were hit with relief that it was just the idiots they spent everyday with; and now that they weren't so separated, they could easily get to the ex—

"I can see youuu…"

That same coo all had been haunted by came back to instill the fright of being apprehended back in them. In their individual happenstances with the beings of the labyrinth, they had learned the hard way that their initial plan before going here was not worth it, and that going here had to be one of the paramount mistakes of their lives now and the next.

Not wishing to have a continuation of the affliction they've already experienced, they attempted to make a run for it – only they ended up toppling over each other's feet and falling back down to the floor in unison.

"Huh? Where did you go?"

---

It had so happened that the three of them had landed through a black curtain and fell into another room; indecorously pushing each other away to be able to sit up straight. Nonetheless, even in this small, isolated room that looked to be away from the dangers of the maze they came from, not even a fraction of a second for respite had been spent.

For looks can be deceiving – especially when you have a man dressed in a red cloak behind a table holding out two pieces of paper on a low, Japanese-style table.

"So, what'll it be? Blue? Or red?" the tone of voice that came from the pitch black of his cloak was treacherous yet taunting – like some evildoer trying to swindle his condemned clients to sink to their own end willingly.

Immediately, one of them yelped as all of them jerked back, but not enough to actually leave the room. Pure malice and evil were practically oozing from the stranger in front of them – keeping any of them from moving an inch and involuntarily having them clutch to each other like how they would with their mothers.

"Well?" the cloaked man prodded – his obviously impish grin being the only thing they could see under the shadow of his hood.

"W-what do we do now?" one of them whispered – overwhelmed with fright to even stop the trembling in his voice.

"Hold on, I think I know this – if we answer any of them he's gonna kill us either way…"

"Then what are we supposed to answer?" the other demanded in a whisper a little louder than the other two's – frustration laced in his panicked tone.

The cloaked man only watched with a frown as they whispered among themselves – eyeing them in such a way that he found them despicable for a number of seconds as he raised an eyebrow at their antics. Somehow, his expression depicted that he found this too easy of a target for him and was way too hungry for their tortured cries to wait this long. However, he put on a grin once more when they ended their discussion and faced him.

"No paper."

At that, they saw how mercury eyes narrowed a tad "Heeehh…"

Gulps came from the throats of the three after he spoke to them. Not only was he really threatening, but if there were any better word to describe him, then it would be the vaguest term to say he was the epitome of scary – even more so the moment he started tapping his finger upon the papers sprawled on the table that separated them.

Tap…...Tap…...Tap…...Tap…...

In those tense seconds of awaiting the red cloak's answer, each had different desires forming in their minds. Like going home – screaming and running away and whatnot just to end it all.

Too bad, they feel the guy in front of them can and will murder them.

"After you lot were more than ready to abandon each other, you sit there in front of me acting all buddy-buddy with your answer? ...Don't mess with me." He said that last part with a deeper, more bilious tone in his voice. Drops of sweat drenched the faces of the three goons out of guilt and of course, fear.

They were caught red-handed – that was what they had realized when the stranger finally showed his face by lifting his head. The pale-gold eyes from earlier now looked like slits – demonic ones under the dark of his hood; and that alone would've been enough to kill them then and there, but he had to speak with the most horrid type of acid as he said—

"Do YOu ReAlLy ThINK I'lL FORgiVe tHat?"

And everyone's skin turned cold at that –the numbness of their bodies could be felt even as the hairs behind their neck prickled up. They were struck with a spear that impaled them with a toxic that fumed their cowardice; so by impulse, they scrammed from the small room in a heartbeat before the devil before them could get a hold of them.

Upon leaving though, they were faced with something so much more unbelievable. Jaws dropped, courage shattered, and eyes wide, each of them was only able to utter out absentmindedly-

"N-No way…"

"The set…!"

"…i-it…CHANGED?!" there was no doubting it – the walls were not in the same place they were before they entered. The more they took in their surroundings, the more lost and hopeless they felt for they recognized none of it; but that's not all, for they also then observed the orange light of fire they had spotted coming from about two walls behind them. From that, they knew somehow were much closer to the center of the labyrinth –where Izanami was…

"Oh! I see you again~" speak of the devil, there came a chime from her again – a louder one now that they were dangerously nearby.

"AHAHAHAHA!"

And things just got worse just when they had been cornered with the hostile glare of a Samurai with knives to their left, and a madwoman that staggered to them in a psychotic manner – her cackling nearly finishing off whatever air she still had in her lungs. Together they closed in on the three; with knives swiveling on both wrists of a man with dishonor and ear-piercing laughter of some lady that lost her child, they met their doom by finishing it off with—

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

---

"We've been running in circles for minutes!" yelled Takeo to his companion as the two's breathing hitched from running.

Swash

Swish

They were being tailed by the two unknown figures they'd been trying to escape for a while now – through air, no less. The means of travel they used appalled them, since when could a bunch of students afford such gear? But such a question was set aside for the time being as, of course, staying alive was more important. The presences that continued to chase them were spider-like; not just in the ammo they'd been shot at which were cobwebs or…other unnerving things, but with the way they moved across the dark with such skill – like a duo of skilled assassins.

Just as the two of them had come to realization of the illusion and hologram paper that caused them to take rounds all over the same area, both skidded to a stop with the squeak of their shoes upon the cement. They panted and held onto their knees for support. For a while, they thought they got away since a thick silence soon came over them; they couldn't have outrun them that easily, and this paranoia seemed to grow within one of them as he cried out almost pitifully "Le-Let's just call it a loss and wait 'til it's over—!"

AAAAAAHHH!

AHAHAHAHAHA!

He listened to the noises that swam across the room in a wild and uncontrolled fashion. The sounds of strangling, gurgles, and various types of torture he didn't even want to imagine could be received – and that's when he reached his breaking point and slapped his ears shut with his palms and screamed.

"GAH! I'VE HAD ENOUGH! I DON'T CARE ABOUT IT ANYMORE I'M OUT OF HERE—" the tough act he had on upon entering had absolutely destroyed itself. And before he could make a break for it and just hide himself until their time limit was up, he'd been forcefully grabbed from behind from his shirt – having him stumble a bit.

"What do you think you're doing!? Be a man and suck all this up! There's no way they'd actually make you die in here!" he was furious – and probably the only one so far that hadn't been stricken by fear since they've arrived. Startled, surprised and confused, yes, but not to the point of actually getting afraid of something.

"B-But then! The other guys—! You can hear them screa—!"

"To hell with the other guys! They're just idiots that can't tell what's real from what isn't! It's not like they can do anything to—"the sound of a piece of slightly heavy metal interrupted the abusive, one-sided argument the large boys were having – consequently causing them to look where the sound had come from.

"Oh, woops." Came an unknown voice from the void of darkness behind them. This was then followed by a few slow and easy footsteps that stopped in front of the item which appeared to be a flashlight.

Both of them could only watch as the unknown figure picked it up so casually and even accidentally turned it on – revealing to them his face, or lack thereof, for half of it had been curtained by locks of dark hair. In less than a second, one of them shrieked just in sync with a scream that came from somewhere else.

"AAAAHH! MALE SADAKO!" he then thrashed out of his group leader's hold and scampered away from them – his wobbly knees almost making him trip in the darkness.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Takeo chased after the scared goon's form and they both disappeared into the next wall – leaving behind two types of snipers: an offended one and a very entertained one.

"Alright, now that was just uncalled for…" behind the shaggy-haired boy, the orangehead tried her best to hold her laughter.

---

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" demanded the bulky leader that got every one of his gofers into this mess in the first place as he once again roughly grabbed his accomplice by his shoulders – yelling into his ears "What do you think you're doing?! Stop being such a shitty little wimp and—"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" there was a wild glint in his eye as he attempted to thrash his so-called leader away – which only fueled the larger boy's anger more "How dare you—!"

"I've always despised you! Everyone has!" the expression he had on now was hostile – eyes clouded with both agitation and frustration towards the insolent behavior the man that seized him always displayed. Upon hearing this, Takeo only managed a "Wha…" which remained under his breath as the one who he thought was once his friend continued to shout "You think we've been following you out of respect?! GET REAL! The only reason we're all still sticking by is so we can die laughing the minute you fall to your pathetic knees and realize you're nothing but a sore loser who'll die all alone! So GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" with one last violent shove, Takeo finally let go and felt his back slam to the wooden wall while the pattering steps of someone he used to call friend went further and further away. Left in shock, he merely remained – a wide-eyed stare etched to the floor.

Meanwhile, the other, who had left him –whether it was just paranoia or not – could still sense the impression of being chased as he looked back over his shoulder for a brief glimpse. With this small action however, he had failed to pay attention to wherever he was scurrying off to and ended up tripping over a doll left unattended on the floor.

A painful "Agh!" resounded as it bounced from the floor to the wide space all over. From what he'd felt, he had fallen through a black curtain and ended up in another room; a brighter one…

It didn't take long for him to apprehend his standing nor to answer the question of where he was; for the instance he raised his head up, he felt as if he could pee his pants at the first sight he had been welcomed with. And with a wicked witch's grin and red eyes of the most notorious sadist to ever walk upon Earth, the woman whose feet he had fallen in front of uttered in deathly triumph,

"I fOuND yOU."

Jingle

On impulse, he jolted about half a meter backwards from shock – feeling himself bump into three other trembling figures that could not find it in themselves to tear away from the superior entity in front of them. This time, they could clearly hear the Shamisen's tunes playing rather uncontrollably; it was psychopathic, even. From the looks of his surroundings, there were large torches scorched with orange flames situated on both sides of a wide stage –Japanese artifacts and stray yards of cloth were at disarray around it. And yet the lady towering over their cowardly figures perfectly fit into the background – particularly with the large adornment hanging behind her witchlike character. The first thing they took into account was the dusty, dry smiling face – a moon-like grin upon a yellowish, round head. The entire thing lacked moisture and looked shriveled; specifically its eight tentacle-like arms underneath the teacher's uniform it had on for it appeared to have been drained of all its life. It hung over her like a prize – something like what hunters would do to the monsters they'd slain. And this was a monster. By all of this they knew that it was too late,

They were in the center – Izanami's domain.

Jingle her head piece rang as she stepped toward them; the closer she got though, the harder it got for them to move. That's because, whether it was due to the fright or something beyond it, this woman in front of them was hypnotically beautiful.

After a giggle, she said "I won~" and with that, a clunk fell to the floor not far from them. Even though the four of them were still petrified, that didn't stop them from seeing their leader get dropped to the ground by a red-cloaked man and a bloody Samurai.

"T-Takeo!" one of them called out to the boy who had been sprawled out on the floor quite indelicately – though there was a hint of disheartenment with how he did not even retort nor react violently like he usually did. Observing this, three of the members blinked in mild confusion. The goddess' voice somehow commanded them to face her again however.

"Oh! Since I won, let's have a penalty game~!" and in not less than a second, the other beings of this maze had surrounded the area in a circle – blocking any means of escape. It felt as if they were caged – that this was their mere fate and had no choice but to accept it. So as a result, eyes were shut tight as each held their head as if asking for mercy; save for Takeo, though, since he seemed to be much too depressed to do anything but stare at the floor.

"Well then, here is my punishment—Mm?" she cut herself off and hummed with question toward the one that abruptly rose to his feet. The atmosphere in the room had nearly been broken with his sudden move as an uncanny silence came about – all members of the room but looked his way and simply waited for any action.

"Izanami-sama…" he started low with a rather hoarse voice; his eyes not leaving the glossy cement he stepped on. And with clenched fists and agony written all over his features and shaky shoulders, he knelt down before her.

"Earlier, I insulted my comrades by calling them idiots that did not know what was real from what wasn't. But in this twisted zone of treachery I have come to realize that I am the man most befitting of that insult…" as more formal words left his mouth, his other friends could only blink; bug-eyed and very much perplexed by his actions. On the other hand, this had taken aback the members of the attraction for they were used to having people too scared to do anything at this point. The one who played Izanami spared a sharp yet stealthy glance to one of them to indicate her confusion, but in the end, she ended up going with what he said when he bowed down before her – heck, even hugged her legs as he almost sobbed "I am but a lowlife worth less than dirt in the glory of your eyes, but I would humbly ask you to grant me a wish – I beg you to take me away from this world and into the netherlands!"

Izanami could only afford to blink a small number of times; but other than that, she paid him no particular reaction as she cupped his cheek and had him look up at her hopefully. The rest only watched – stunned at the scene (inclusive of the goddess' company).

"I cannot grant your wish…" she spoke smoothly – with a voice deep yet beguiling as she went on, she kept a grin that masked evil upon her features "That is because you are not worthy of such a privilege." At her words, Takeo finally felt a tear escape his wide, dejected eyes.

"Return to me when you have proven your worth, and I will eagerly grant you that honor with great rewards. So for now…I ask of you…" her sass and smiling face dissipated in a heartbeat just as her voice deepened with a threatening glow in her narrowed, bug-like red eyes. In that same moment, the other beings of the maze held the four goons back – their 'leader' doing their job for them by frantically crawling back to where they were.

"Child of man…" she bewitchingly stepped towards them – the background of a dead, dried up monster making the view even scarier to them. "Whom was brought about in this world by your tainted ascendants…" she crouched to the group the soonest time she got close enough to be level with the eyes of her prey – the wicked witch in her doing the magic of petrifying them, yet having them oddly anticipate what she was about to do. "Do yOU kNoW WhaT yOuR sIN iS?"

Ever so elegantly, she leaned in to whisper loud enough for just those five to hear "That is…

The Fact That You Exist." her words were like cold daggers that fell and pierced through them like an icicle shaken from the ceiling – they hit hard, cold, and painfully, which led them to almost actually be convinced of such words. Their faces flushed and turned pale as their hearts had stopped – frozen and in too much shock and trepidation overwhelming whatever reason they had left in their brains.

In those uncertain set of moments, Izanami lifted an object from under her sleeve and muttered to them one last time,

"So pay the consequence…"

And everything went black.

---

Eventually, when time ran out, the five bulky students that thought they had been poisoned by chloroform (but really were just so scared they thought it was) were carried out of the room by Chiba and Karma and sent to a clubroom that offered a 'sleeping booth' – but not without them paying, of course.

A series of delighted hums came from the registration table just in front of the huge school gym. Mikagura Midori was seated in a laid-back manner as she finished counting their sales so far with a smirk – setting each wad of cash back inside the metal box and stacking it above the first one, which was already packed – overflowing, even. They apparently had to run to another club to borrow more boxes for a place to keep all the money that came and that was to come; and the bespectacled teacher saw every logical reason why as she smiled at the long line that awaited their turn to come inside. Though she was assigned to man the club's attraction during the PM hours only, she could already see some students lining back up – eager to go again.

A long sigh of contentment escaped her lips– all the more satisfied when her ears picked up the faints yet agonized screams of the last students that registered come from the inside of the room. She stretched back in her seat and yawned; knowing that things here on out were about to be a breeze.

Her short moment of satisfaction had been interrupted however, when she observed by the corner of her eye two figures approaching her from the left – important figures too. Nevertheless, this only made her smirk stretch wider as she sat properly and acknowledged them.

"Oh, how do you do, Kazuya?" she said this ever-so-casually to the tall, dark-haired man that only looked down at her – a stone-faced expression in reply to her enthusiastic grin. The woman behind him – who seemed to be his secretary what with her uniform and generic glasses + bun combo – did not take such a greeting so nonchalantly.

"H-How dare you address the headmaster of Kimii that way?!" she yelled as she fixed her round spectacles – quite outraged and restless as she nearly dropped the files in her hold.

"Oh, Yuricchi-chan~! Your bags got deeper." She cheekily commented as she beamed up at the not-so-friendly secretary. Despite such a remark being a kick-starter to getting her fired, she felt no shame or fear about it. Besides, it's just a sleep-deprived secretary no one in the faculty liked.

"D-DON'T CALL ME THAT!" the haggard woman stomped a heel down on the rough cement – her glasses nearly falling off.

"Eh? But isn't that your real name?" Mikagura cocked her head to side in mock innocence – it was evident through the pout that she was having too much fun with this.

"Mikagura…You…!" The secretary named Yuricchi's blood was boiling. Her teeth were grit tightly and her glare was so strong it hurt as rage seethed from her shaking fists and tensed shoulders. All the orange-haired teacher did was leave her that way as she turned her attention back to the school authority in front of her – resting her chin above her intertwined fingers.

"Well then, Kazuya-sama. Why is it you've come?" she had the nerve to speak to him in such a coy manner and raised her eyebrows. She had never really been in bad terms with the headmaster, but thanks to those kids, she felt a little more powerful – the aura of 'I am the teacher-supervisor of this group of kids bow to me' radiated from her vigorously.

The headmaster, Sakishima Kazuya, did not waste time to mind how one of his employees was acting (because he didn't exactly care; not one bit) and took a few moments to study the gym and its incoming audience. He took notice of the plain signs that were posted, the reactions written on each face – and of course such a man would have keen enough hearing to catch what may have been going on inside. His perceptive, judgmental eyes went from corner to corner, from sign to sign, and from person to person as he made his own mental evaluation.

"This is your combat club's attraction?" he said with professionalism – his words were clear-cut and made no time for nonsense; just the type of man he was.

"Why, of course."

Just then, the annoying secretary interrupted the conversation again "Combat club?! Those disgraceful, poorly conducted students that have done nothing but shame the Kimii reputation?!"

"Yeah, sure. You can call them that too." Mikagura had to admit herself that these weren't the best students out there as she deadpanned – emerald eyes staring at the far wall. Even she gets irritated when she finds one of them not in her class and wreaking havoc who knows where.

"Tch. Outrageous! Why were those bu-buffoons given the privilege of the school's gym when it could have been used for more exceptional clubs?! Like the Karuta club! All thanks to your students they were just left with the volleyball court! Their audiences must be—"

"Yuricchi. Stay quiet for a while." The powerful man commanded monotonously; without even sparing her a glance.

"Y-YES SIR!" her absolute obedience to the man had her straighten up and had her even drop some files as she fixed her glasses. This scene never failed to have Mikagura chuckle and smirk at her sardonically – this office assistant had been head over heels in love with her boss since who knows when.

"Well then, Headmaster Kazuya? You seem to be in deep contemplation." She raised her eyebrows at him – he was staring at one of the posters hung on the roof of the entrance with his ice-like eyes. Still continuing his observations, he said sternly, "Kimii's Annual Fiesta focuses on the showcasing of the different club's fortes and talents. Do tell me how a horror staging is related to combat?"

"Eh? It's very combat-related if you ask me." The science teacher spoke in a tone that made gave the impression she was stating the obvious.

"How so?"

Mikagura felt another smirk at the question as had her green eyes upturned to him cunningly – leaning her chin into intertwined hands.

"All they have to do is show off what they have as a club, right? Most would think that a club like theirs would hold a tournament of the sort just like most fight clubs, but these students were creative enough to devise a plan like this – a big one, at that."

"I'm listening." He prodded her to continue with a raised eyebrow – some mild interest coming up on his features as he rested a hand in his pocket.

"Combat isn't just about fighting and offensives – the members of this club have proved that without fail. There are different ways combat can be manifested. In order to do that, they should be innovative, strategic – able to look at things outside of the box, and have the ability to manipulate their desired targets however way they want to. Almost like real assassins, if you ask Me." raising a sly eyebrow, the last four words were said in a deeper voice for emphasis before continuing her explanation.

"With what they were able to pull off in a month, the brilliance in these students could not be overlooked. With each of their individual talents, they've created quite the attraction for our dear students of Kimii."

---

"AAHAHAHAHA!"

"Nakamura Rio. She's exceptionally quick-witted and gifted in more ways than one – living up to the title of genius, even."

Rio had caught another group of prey within her control – and she was enjoying the perfect number of scores she earned today with her scaring techniques as she watched her last victim scurry away, screaming.

"She's strategic, skilled, and makes a good rhythm with her teammates. Her playfulness and way with people makes it hard to not give her your attention – which makes her a fine champion when fighting on the frontlines. She may have a bad habit of getting bored easily, but that doesn't stop her from bringing the life to the party."

A lazy yet satisfied smirk came about on her face whilst she picked up the 'God of Death' baby she designed herself (with help from Chiba and advice from Sugaya).

"Her specialty, you ask? Well, harassment can be one of them… But when the situation calls for it, her guts and initiative is something to behold."

Just as she was patting dust away from the doll, she had stopped abruptly at a particular sound that signaled her to start running off to the next target she was instructed to go for.

"She was also the one who came up with the idea of their cultural fest attraction along with Hayami Rinka."

Two snipers exchanged a nod before maneuvering their separate ways to catch a few students that attempted to outwit them. For a while, she watched and tailed her target with the swish swash of her gear. Rinka always kept a stone-face whenever she 'worked' (performed assassinations), but that did not mean she did not feel at least a hair of excitement and enjoyment from watching the 3rd year male student get frightened by her presence.

"She and her partner Chiba Ryuunosuke possess such unbelievable skill with marksmanship you would think they had scopes for eyes. Though there is not much distinction between the two's capability as snipers, the girl has great kinetic vision and is very good at balancing the accuracy in her fingers."

Her rifle was prepared and being carried around in both of her arms as she tried to aim – feeling some discomfort in doing so, she adjusted her position upside down and let her legs hug the wire she used for travel. Thanks to her flexible body, her legs held onto the wire as she hung upside down, but with her upper-body hoisted up a tad so she slightly mimicked a sniper's position on air. Last year, she wouldn't have been able to do something that extreme especially when she was merely hanging on a few wires attached to her belt and the small of her back. Most would deem this very dangerous equipment for high school students to even play with, but looks aside, it was safe and easy to move for the two of them. It may be just thanks to their assassination training, but to the two the gear was more convenient rather than a hamper.

"What's more, her bullet never misses even in difficult positions. Whether she's twisted in some challenging angle or hanging the wrong way up, she'll surely be able to make her mark."

Pleased at the startled reaction of the boy when she shot a ball of fake cobwebs, Rinka couldn't stop the smile of contentment from gracing her features as she smoothly performed a flip to get her back into a regular position.

"Amazing as that already is, Chiba Ryuunosuke also has his outstanding spatial calculation skills to take note of."

The dark-haired sniper stealthily chased his frantically running target – though he could spend some time to be amused at the woman (a college teacher from outside perhaps) and her responses to the traps she'd mindlessly fallen for, sniping had always meant business to him so he kept stoic. From the looks of it, she hadn't noticed that he was tailing her – good.

"With his calm and serious nature, he can easily adjust his presence and make it so that he caught his foes by surprise."

Chiba took advantage of the brief respite she took when she thought she was safe by taking one of the nearby eerie, stuffed animals and loading it into the specially calibrated gun.

"With his wide range of vision gifted to him due to his sharp eyes – provided he possesses the patience of having to wait and watch his target, nothing escapes him."

Without a shred of doubt with his aim, he fired the doll exactly in front of her seated form. Hearing her scream and run to the direction Sugino waited for her brought the pleasant feeling of success to him. Just according to plan.

"WAAAHHHH!" screeched the woman as she nearly tripped trying to evade the set of blunt knives that came her way – albeit them being intentionally too short of their target.

"Sugino Tomohito. Not to be underestimated for his friendliness, but because of his good student, clean slate record, his ability to carry out the plans relayed to him is either done perfectly or above average. He has a balance in all fields; whichever situation arises, he can rush to manage both frontlines and support from the rear. In that sense, despite the friendly behavior of the boy, he's a precious asset for combat."

Sugino continued to swivel some of the knives in his hand as he had cornered two of their customers. The glare that he had been keeping up was beginning to hurt (much like how it did in their play last year), but he did not let that stop him from taunting the two ladies in front of him with the 'harmless' weapons in hand. He aimed in places only inches away from their bodies with the skill he had gained from both the assassination classroom and baseball.

"His accuracy and specialty with melee weapons is all as a result from his love for baseball. With those well-developed skills he earned from the sport, his movements – especially with his wrists – are refined. He can easily hit whichever target he wishes much like the snipers. Only, his isn't from gifted vision, but more from all the hard work and practice he had put into batting and pitching."

The spiky-haired boy that pretended to be a dishonored Samurai smiled to himself when he had gotten them to fall into a black curtain where his redheaded friend awaited them. He got his head back in the game, however, when the vibration in his ear and the voice that followed brought him back to reality and he ran to his next position.

"And then there's another remarkable character in the group. Akabane Karma."

"So, what'll it be? Blue? Red? Pick one only…" Karma didn't even need to exert much effort with scaring the group that came to him next. He wasn't sure if it was just because he was having way too much fun with this or his bloodlust was still fresh and had some more stock – both would probably do.

"This venue wouldn't have been theirs had it not been for his exceptional smarts and people skills. His wit, guile and talent for bringing the right type of suffering to his victims had played a huge role in both the creation and execution of the labyrinth itself. He is able to outsmart almost anyone – which is why when designing the maze, he was able to predict the behavior of most people when their fear overcame their sense of reason. Not just that, but the boy, troublesome as he is, knows exactly how to instill terror into people without batting an eye all thanks to his past experiences with fighting."

"DoN'T ThInK I'Ll fOrGivE wHaT YoU JuST dId…" and with that demonic expression being put on again, he only needed to lunge forward a little to get them to run the heck out of his room. Out of utter entertainment, he even waved goodbye to their retreating forms with a mock bright smile on his face – as if he were some convenience store clerk telling them to come again. Albeit the fact he can't really do anything to hurt anyone, their screams and expressions of fear as they try to answer him then eventually run away was enough for the sadistic boy.

"But all would not have been successful had it not been for Fuwa Yuzuki."

The exercise of coming up and down was a pain, but Yuzuki was glad the Gym had a small, second floor balcony for her to be able to see everything in the venue. Without it, her role wouldn't have been as fun.

"Sugino-kun, to your left." She spoke quietly into the walkie-talkie – a careful eye still on the lookout for all the characters inside the room.

"Roger." He acknowledged quietly as well, but enough for her to hear his voice as she observed his form follow her instruction and carefully sneak up on his next target.

"Rio-chan, get ready."

"Aye, ma'am~"

She instructed again the more she observed. Even though it was dark down there, things were clearer from her area for she could easily see what was moving. Admittedly, her job was not as hard as the others as all she had to do was guide them through their own maze fairly yet mischievously – but not to the point that they would really prevent anyone from getting out or waiting it out.

As long as the customers weren't stuck-up bastards, that is.

"Just by accompanying the club's victims for a short while, she is able to grasp an idea about their behaviors as well as perform critical observations with each group. Fuwa-san has notable deduction skills and a good memory. With that as her weapon, she can understand the nature of the victims that voluntarily follow her as she lures them in."

"Karma-kun, they're coming to you. And hear this— Ah, excuse me," she cleared her throat and blocked the walkie talkie's mouthpiece "AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Aside from being their guide, she also had to contribute to the sound effects that helped make the maze scarier – along with Sugino and Rio who were currently making strangling noises. Regaining her composure, she picked up the device again and continued "The girl earlier was spouting stuff about togetherness and how her whole group would get by. Yet they tried deciding by rock, paper, scissors their way out of here." She finished her bit of information with slight disappointment present in her eyes as she raised a brow. Well, at least she's seen worse compromises throughout the day so that wasn't the worst.

Karma only chuckled a bit from his end "Hah. Guess I'll use that then."

"Mm." Yuzuki nodded with agreement, but quickly gave her attention back to the maze – eyeing the two snipers and noticing their anticipation for an order from her. "Chiba-kun, Rinka, 3:00. And then…"

With her upper body nearly leaning over the edge of the balcony due to the adrenaline that brought about her utmost exhilaration, she instructed rather loudly "Change!"

And with that, she watched as the snipers coordinated with one another to rearrange half of the maze with mild struggle, but as speedily as they could – a triumphant grin on her features in awe and excitement at their consecutive successes in doing that. They did not always have to, but when the opportunity was there they seized without second-guessing.

"And lastly, Okuda Manami – the deadliest poison of the group."

"I fOunD YoU~" Manami had not known how she was doing it, but she was enjoying every bit of it – and she could feel the same delight emanating from each and every one of her clubmates. The first few times were nerve-wracking, but she had completely grasped and accepted the character she had put on for today like it had always been a part of her – it just never had the chance to come out. The wicked witch in her grinned at the next set of victims she was about to pass her so-called 'Judgment' on.

"Not strong physically, but with her determination and love for science, she's just as deadly as everyone else. This is a girl that can easily get lost in whatever she's doing if she put her all into it. When she carries out what she wants to do wholeheartedly, there is a tendency that her powerful emotions can be instilled into a person if she tried hard enough – even to the point that it would become contagious enough to spread to the minds of anyone in her surroundings."

"Do YoU KnOw WhAT YOuR SiN iS?" with malevolence in her eyes, her glare pierced through the fearful (and tearful) faces of the group before her. Very much unlike how her usual, kindhearted personality was like, she took joy in seeing such faces for this day. She didn't know the reason why, but she loved what she was doing – even momentarily forgetting that she was simply acting during some points. And then she remembered why—

She was an assassin; this was second nature to her, just like it is with the rest of them. All of sudden, she felt that sense of belonging she had once lost.

"Slowly, but surely, it will cut their line of other thoughts off – leaving her the only thing on their mind. Just like a powerful toxic made from a chemical reaction; but of course, as a specialist in chemistry myself, it won't be effective if the chemicals don't work well with each other. That's why they left her as the finale – the reaction was the labyrinth and the rest of the members, but without her, the poison would be incomplete."

---

"Now tell me, Headmaster Sakishima Kazuya, how is this not related to combat?" Mikagura finished, yet kept her sly grin on throughout her explanation of the brilliance in each of her students.

As she expected though, their headmaster was not one to praise much or even show the slightest bit of appreciation on that permanently businesslike countenance of his – no matter how impressive the explanation got. Ceasing his observations, he looked directly at her once more; his expression blank, but his eyes inscrutable.

"It bewilders me how they were able to gain this much popularity within the span of a day. Considering the attraction may as well be avoided by a number due to its themes. Nevertheless, it's the first time in years since Kimii has seen anything of the sort. The population of your audience is puzzling, however." He looked over his shoulder to the line of students and outsiders alike, but returned to the chemist's green eyes shortly.

Yet again, Mikagura felt her grin stretch to one side "Oh, the answer is a little simple, really." she put her arms down and rested them on the table to finally sit a little properly – an indication that she would talk about something rather interesting.

"What keeps people coming back, what helps them spread the word – they don't need to use any exaggerated posters or rigorous advertising. All it takes is a little connections and proper use of…long-kept bloodlust."

"Bloodlust?" the inquiry came from both the headmaster and his supposed silenced secretary.

"Yes." The orangeheaded teacher nodded "It seems these students have had it kept in them for too long, it came powerfully. The children's bloodlust allowed them to drum in such fear in them, but at the same time it develops the bloodlust of others in some way. And they'd want to face it again and again until they appease their natural, bloodthirsty urges. Not to mention, they have outstanding camaraderie, so the effect is great. Why do you think children play hide and seek? It's because they find the suspense fun. Somehow or other, that suspense is something similar to bloodlust. They've dealt with all types of audiences – from stuck-up bastards to annoying couples, it works for all. People just love to be scared, don't you think?"

"Th-That's…"

"Yes, Yuricchi?" she teasingly tilted her head towards her in a semi-exaggerated fashion – her eyes half-lidded and knowing "Badly conducted students they may be, but you cannot deny that each one of them is nothing short of great. Their grades aren't the only proof of that." At that last statement, she diverted her stare to the man that still looked down at her – his eyes were slightly narrowed as she countered this with a serious expression of her own.

"They've prepared an entire month just for this one day you've given them, headmaster. And the results are as you see it." With that, Kazuya briefly spared a stealthy glance at the people who were lining up for one last time. Things like 'I can't wait! I wonder what they'll do next year.' 'I hope it's as good as this.' or 'That was really scary! But they were very good, don't you think?' 'Yeah!' reached his sharp hearing.

"Do you still believe my students are doing nothing but giving the school a 'bad name' and tainting Kimii's fantastic reputation?" she gave emphasis to the last sentence – repeating some of the words he'd said to her and Isura Mai the day they were called into the office.

A pause came from the powerful school authority before he responded to her; really, he just won't back down – but she won't say that out loud. "Where's your guarantee they won't be?"

"I'm a teacher, remember? Of course I can tell which students are great. You wouldn't have hired me if I didn't~" she winked at him this time (momentarily having his secretary gasp in disbelief) – confident with her answer in all levels.

And for just one, tiny second, Mikagura believes she saw a – no matter how tiny – a smile grace the man's face before he turned a heel and prepared to leave. With his hands in his pockets and without looking back, he told her "Mikagura. Tell your students to prepare something bigger next time."

Said teacher felt her face light up as her body reacted with it – her back straightened and she kept her expectant green orbs on his back. She kept the sass in her tone as she spoke however.

"Oh? Does that mean…?"

"I'll try my hand at giving your combat club more than a day for next year's cultural festival. Probably 2 or 3 – whichever they're more capable of doing. Take all the days of the fiesta being active for all I care."

"W-WHAT?!" Yuricchi's disbelief could be felt from a mile away. Greatly appalled by the idea, she frenziedly looked between her boss and Mikagura before she stomped her high heels towards the headmaster. "For an original club such as this one!? What about our baseball tournaments?! The Theater club?! The other—"

"They were able to get themselves this much of an audience within one day. For a new and original club, that's proof enough that they are praiseworthy for Kimii and its students." He cut her off from her annoyed rambling and stepped to the side – silencing his secretary and even smirking a little bit at her "I do believe we can trust them to make things more interesting around here. I would like to see something other than our old, traditional baseball games and Karuta competitions sometime." Averting his eyes from the secretary's expression of utter shock, he shifted his gaze to the teacher sitting behind the table – whom currently had on the face of a proud mom saying 'Those are my kids.'

"I'll be expecting great things from your club." He finally said as he proceeded to walk away. "And 20% of their earnings." And just as Mikagura was about to heave a sigh of gladness, he had to say that.

She scoffed at his attitude as she watched the two school authorities leave the area "In the end, he's still just another cheap jerk…" she muttered to herself, fairly annoyed. This exasperation had dissipated shortly – a small yet soft smile replacing it.

"Congratulations, everyone. You did it."

---

"We will be having another 30 minute break! Please remain patient and we are sorry for the inconvenience."

"Aw, another one?"

"I've been in line for almost an hour now!"

While the complaints from outside were being mitigated by the two registration ladies, Isura Mai and Mikagura Midori, there was much going on within a tiny breakroom inside Kimii's school gym.

Heavy breaths of exhaustion nearly outrivaled the amount of oxygen the seven of them had available to them in the room. Faces, necks, and backs were drenched with sweat as bottles of water were downed to the point of the water nearly spilling out.

Rio, who was seated on the floor leaning on a stack of chairs, had to take off her long wig and hold her head for a while due to a little bit of dizziness – her blond hair disheveled and make-up fading due to the sweat. Standing next to her was Karma, who had taken off his cloak and finished a bottle of water before setting it down on a table. The two of them were still fine, but the same could not really be said for the others in the room as both looked on with a little worry.

On the other side of the room (which wasn't very far), Yuzuki was helping Manami sit on a chair with her heavy Kimono – fanning her with the ōgi as she tried to lie down and breathe for a while. The otaku's brows furrowed with concern at her friend's state and wondered if she were still eligible to continue.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"M-Mm. I can still go on. Just need a little time to lie down..." Manami responded to her meekly and between a few breaths; her eyes were closed as she tried to ease the mild dizziness in her head.

"Don't force yourself, okay?" Yuzuki accepted her nod and continued to fan the girl, but soon enough shared the air to everyone else by walking around the room.

Sugino thanked her for this thoughtful action of hers as he too tried to use his hat as a fan – looking just as drained as everyone else in his part of the floor. He discarded all of his gears and laid them out near him as he used his arms to support his leaning position.

The tiredness was especially no exception to the two snipers – since they had the most demanding job. Chiba breathed heavily as he rested in one corner with a bottle of water in his hand; that was probably his 4th or 5th for the day. He was tired – it was written all over his pale complexion and the way sweat made his shirt and hair stuck to him. The rest of the members started to feel a little sorry for him, but all their attention and concern immediately went to the one who had just entered the room after coming from the bathroom.

"Rinka!"

"Hayami!"

She was struggling for breath the moment she came in – she was pale and sweaty and looked like she wanted to puke. Her knees and other limbs wobbled due to her fatigue, and her breathing pattern wasn't helping much either. Resultantly, she lost balance and fell to a few boxes; but lucky as she was, she was caught by Chiba before she got hurt.

"Rinka-san!" Manami stood from her seat – almost tripping from her long outfit in her struggle to approach her.

All of them surrounded the female sniper, but not to the point of crowding her. While Rinka struggled to speak to them, she winced in pain at a probable pulled muscle – the hitch in her breath didn't make things any better. Some of her muscles were shuddering from weariness, particularly her fingers and arms.

"Hayami, don't force it. Breathe slowly." Chiba ordered her with sternness and alarm mixed into his voice.

Watching the scene before him, Karma didn't think twice about his decision "We're stopping now."

This earned him some surprised glances – but judging from the hard look on Karma's face, that didn't change his mind.

"What? But there's still—" Yuzuki's argument was cut just as the redhead paid her a resolute look in his eyes.

"If we go on any longer we'll lose more than we've gained today. We've done what we could. Let's close down."

Despite understanding his reasons, the atmosphere within the room turned to one of slight disheartenment – some eyes were downcast while others had a dissatisfied frown, since they wished they could have done more.

"But—our customers…" Manami mumbled with crestfallen eyes were etched to the floor out of her sympathy; they had people who have lined up for almost an hour ago only to end up on the short end of the stick.

"Will have to understand that we've reached our limit." Karma told her and accepted her discouraged but compliant nod. Finding her obedience satisfactory, he looked over to the snipers, but set his eyes onto the tired girl.

"Your say, Hayami-san?"

Rinka's breathing had calmed enough by then, but her vision was still a tad bit blurry due to both sweat and lightheadedness. She took a short while to contemplate on her answer, for she too had never wanted it to end this early – let alone because of her. But of course, she assessed her better judgment. And right after she faced Chiba, whom nodded to her, she said between breaths,

"Understood, Club Pres."

---

After Hours…

The setting sun had marked the official end of their first day of the cultural festival. By that time, the gym had been cleaned up and returned to its regular state thanks to the remaining strength of the combat club members – except for Rinka, for she had been advised to rest in the school infirmary while the rest tidied up. Albeit fixing up, none had changed back into their regular clothes – they were already sweaty, so the most practical choice would be to keep it on while they cleaned. Manami was an exception though, so she had worn her school uniform again.

By the time all were settled, Mikagura and Mai finally thought it best to announce to them the results of all their hard work. Exchanging a smile and a nod, the two ladies revealed to them the four boxes of cash they hid behind their backs with radiant beams on their faces as they exclaimed,

"Congratulations!"

"Uwoah! We gained that much?!" Rio's previously nervous face had lit up with joy as she stepped forward – her expression had been mirrored by almost everyone in the room. Karma only grinned in such a way that he had not expected less of what they've received.

"Mhmm~! With three and a half boxes, you've earned over 200,000 yen!" Mai cheered before she set the two boxes in her hold to the floor – happy to hear their sounds of astonishment as she did so. When she stood back up, she took notice of how each of their faces was simply astounded by the fruit of their work. Notwithstanding the student's reactions, Mikagura still grumbled and pouted to the nearest wall – still annoyed how 20% of that precious money will be going to the school. But she won't spoil their fun…yet.

"So does that mean…?" Rinka uttered with a tone of anxiety yet anticipation which matched the expression she had on right now. Everyone was just as excited to hear confirmation from their senior – to the point of even leaning in slightly so they knew they weren't just hearing things.

And at last (though deep down, they already knew), with an exaggerated movement of her arm to the side, Mai took a bow

"Consider your club problems out of your way~!"

With that, their two club supervisors could only smile as they celebrated in unison. But somewhere in them, they had a feeling that the celebration wasn't for the club being saved, but for what they had to do to prove they can do it. They used everything they had with them in order to make this work out the way they wanted it to. It had always been the journey rather than the results for these students. However, for these former assassins, it was the fact they were able to feel like they succeeded in creating a repeat of all of the things they've experienced in the best year of their lives. The exhilaration brought to them by having a target to assassinate, the bloodlust that brought them together which helped them work as a team, the bloodcurdling yet adrenaline-charged feeling as you prepare your first and second knives and work out your plan – those feelings, they felt again today. And the fact that their club was saved and that they're funds were not wasted was somehow like the reward they were just waiting for to tell them that they cleared the real goal – give everyone a taste of the assassination classroom.

"We did it!" Sugino exclaimed as everyone exchanged high fives and cheered with their fists in the air.

"Manami-chan! You were amazing today!" Rio shouted with genuine joyousness as she praised her friend who was…

Currently not there…

But not for long as she came in the front door behind them from the bathroom just a second after the blond had yelled – busying herself with trying to get her contacts and fake eyelashes off. "Yush – Er…Hm?" she was mumbling to herself while struggling to take off the accessories, but ceased when she found all of her friends staring at her. She was about to ask, but before she knew it she'd been tackled by Yuzuki and Rio – inevitably, the three of them fell to the floor with a crash and a choked 'Ah!' from the victim.

As the three girls laughed heartily on the ground while exclaiming things such as 'You were awesome! You were really awesome!' or 'You did it!', the others formed a circle around them with smiles – an added sweatdrop from Rinka though, for she was the only girl subdued enough not to do that. Nonetheless, she was just as happy for the braided girl as the rest of them were.

"See? I told you, you could pull it off." The female sniper knowingly placed a hand on her hip and told her when the three sat up and calmed. Manami looked up to her with grateful purple orbs – almost to the point of tears, even, as she took a good look at everyone's proud and lighthearted expressions.

"Yep. You were good today, Okuda." Sugino gave her a thumb-up and wink as Rio and Yuzuki helped her up with beams on their faces.

She then faced Chiba, whom gave her a smile and a nod. No words were necessary for her to know that he told her she had left a great impact – just like what they talked about in their individual session. Lastly, her gaze shifted to Karma – and she wasn't sure why, but she felt the most suspense form in her gut for his acknowledgment of her efforts and even bit her lip absentmindedly. Noticing this, his mercury eyes went half-lidded as a smirk went to his face.

"What are you nervous about?" he raised an eyebrow and felt some amusement at the reaction she gave when she took notice of her tenseness. "It was great. You outdid yourself, Manami."

As he said this, Manami could almost feel her tears of joy brimming at the edges of her eyes – but these were stopped when her cheeky, blond friend slapped her back a little roughly and caused an obstructed 'Ow' to come from the girl.

"C'mon~! Don't cry! You're gonna ruin your contacts." Rio said happily as she volunteered to help get the rest of her accessories off.

Once all were settled and contented with today's outcomes, conversation sprung up amongst the group "Man, but it was rough, wasn't it?" Sugino sighed; exhaustion clear while he stretched his arms up and behind his head "With that much people in line, I wasn't so sure if I could keep up with the rate everything was going."

"Well, like I said last year," Rio joined in and kept a smile on while she worked on removing a fake eyelash "Using bloodlust is great and all, but it's hard to keep that mindset for an entire day; let alone while doing some strenuous activity."

"You're right about that." Chiba finally said; far too familiar with the blonde's reason. Out of all of them, he was the second most tired with his fellow gunman.

"Well, at the very least, we got more than enough earnings to compensate for what we spent and our lost budget." Karma shrugged at his statement, but deep inside he was as happy as a corrupt government official with all the money they were paid by a bunch of dare-devil idiots.

As the chats pursued, Mai had taken into account some of the parts of their set-up which were arranged neatly inside a nearby storage room. "Oh wow."

"Hm?" Yuzuki inquired when she saw her senior's rather startled expression. After a short pause from the jolly girl observing the torches, she turned back to the otaku "So the fire was just an effect?"

"Well, of course. If we used real fire we wouldn't be able to breathe in here. Not to mention it'd be dangerous to have flames in such a cramped room full of wood." She explained this quite expertly – even raising a finger to establish her points the same way she always did if she discussed a deduction of hers.

"Yup. We have Mikagura-sensei to thank for that." Rinka thoughtfully commented and spared a glance at their teacher.

"Oh shush you kids." She tried to act sheepish, but in the end they really did disregard her after that. And here she was proud and after all the praising she did for them in front of the headmaster. It's such a pain to be an adult…

"Well, it looks like things are done here." A voice that had not been in the room earlier had startled all within it – having them stop from whatever they were doing and pay their attention to the figure that had come inside. Mikagura-sensei, who was closest to the entrance, had to jump back from the shock of her best friend suddenly inside the room – slack-jawed.

Inari simply looked at her with a raised eyebrow as if asking if she had suddenly gone crazy (which won't be surprising), but soon enough she disregarded her existence and faced the group of teenagers with a – they couldn't believe it –an almost motherly smile.

"Congratulations, all of you."

While smiles were exchanged with one another for a job well done, Karma was caught by mild surprise at her sudden arrival. All the while, Manami had walked up to her – delighted that she had come yet curious as to why she had in the first place. "Inari-nee? Why did you come?"

In a swift movement of the school nurse's wrist, the braided girl had been shown eight pieces of paper arranged in such a way cards would "You guys earned it." She said with sincerity as she gently placed them in the girl's palm. "So have fun for tonight." And with a wink, she watched with amusement how the rest of her friends had gathered behind her to have a look at what Inari had given her.

"What's that?"

With another moment of silence passing, eyes grew wide with astonishment, but the grins were even wider. Reading the words on the coupons saying 'Karaoke', they cheered once more.

---

Phew. That was a handful XD But hopefully you've come to enjoy it one way or another! 83

As always, please leave a review to tell me what you think! Hate it? Love it? It's okay? Tell me and I'll do what I can to make things better! ^W^

Also, since this is quite a long chapter, it would help if you would tell me which parts you liked best about it so I can have some reference in the type of scenes I should put for some succeeding chapters! Reviews keep me motivated to keep this story going and I will do my best to make it a story worth reading!
Also here's another concern, I'm trying to improve on my writing. It would mean a lot if you could tell me what's wrong with it and if the story's getting too boring, too dragging, or whatnot. That would be nice! 8))

Oh and here's a little extra from one of the characters! 8D:

Rio: Actually, I preferred to play Hanako-san from the old bathroom myth, but it seemed both Karma and Manami decided against it for some reason…Neither of them will tell me why either...Now ain't that something fishy? Hihihi, whatever the reason is, I'll surely find out...*evil snicker*

Bye for now~! I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I get myself a two-day break! ^W^

With love,

~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay