Kyandi: Hey, all!
Takina: We're back once more.
Kyandi: Yeah...I meant to take a day off before starting on a new chapter but...
Takina: The words just kept spilling out of her.
Kyandi: Yeah, that. And because of that, this chapter is a little longer than the last couple have been.
Takina: I know some of you were hoping to know a little more about my past.
Kyandi: Believe me, we're getting there, but not just yet.
Takina: Shall we just jump in?
Kyandi: Yep! Everyone, please enjoy and review. And please keep your reviews coming. I get a big laugh out of a lot of them and they really make my day, so thank you to all of you who do review.
Takina: Kyandi-sama does not own Assassination Classroom.
Chapter 17 Infiltration
"This was not what I had in mind."
Takina stared up at the large cliff face she currently stood at the base off. Her classmates were gathered around her, Karasuma and Irina standing next to the cars that had just dropped them off.
"I hacked into that hotel's computer and obtained a blueprint of the interior. I obtained a map of their security placement as well." Ritsu told them, showing them a map. "The main entrance way and one of the areas on site is heavily secured. It would be impossible to enter without going through the front desk."
"I sense a "but" somewhere there." Takina remarked.
"However, above this cliff, there is one side entrance. Because it seems the landscape doesn't allow for infiltration, there is no security there. If you don't want things to go the enemy's way, there is only one option. Excluding the ten infected, and the two two staying behind to nurse them, all the students capable of moving infiltrate through here. Launch a surprise attack on the top floor, and steal the antidote! A twist on Takina's ambush idea."
"Yeah, you know I wasn't being serious with that, right?" Takina asked while the rest of her classmates stared on in silence.
"It's too dangerous. Looking at the practiced skill in their method of coercion, you can clearly tell that the enemies are pros." Karasuma told Korosensei.
"Yes, and furthermore, I cannot protect everyone's safety. It's possible that it would be a better plan to quietly hand me over. It's all up to everyone and the commander, Karasuma-sensei, what move to make." Korosensei replied.
The students all turned, looking up at the cliff.
"That...sounds hard." one of the others remarked.
"Of course, it's obviously impossible!" Irina snapped. "First of all, there's this cliff! You'd fall to your deaths before you even reached the hotel!"
Karasuma knew that Irina had a point. It wasn't something he could ask the students to do and he was about to insist they just obey the request made of them, when Takina spoke.
"It's not worst idea I've ever heard. Besides...it's just a cliff."
Karasuma's head snapped up when all of the students, Takina in the lead, started scaling the cliff side. They only went up a little ways before turning to look back down at the adults below.
"But, we've never had training for fighting an unknown enemy in a unknown hotel, so Karasuma-sensei, it might be difficult, but we need you to firmly direct us." Isogai called down.
"Yeah. Those guys trying to screw with us..."
"I'm gonna make sure they get what's comin' to them." Terasaka declared, finishing Kimura's sentence for him.
"Besides, if we let someone walk all over us this time, then chances are, there's going to be someone later down the line, who thinks they can do the same thing. It's best to nip this kind of thing in the bud, while we can." Takina added.
"As you can see, they are no mere students. What you have under your command are fifteen members of a special forces unit." Korosensei told Karasuma. "Now, you know you're running out of time, right?"
Karasuma chuckled to himself. If the students were prepared to do whatever they had to, to say their friends, then he couldn't let them do it alone.
"Attention! Our objective is the top floor of the mountain top hotel! This mission will entail a covert infiltration and a successive surprise attack! As for hand signals and coordination, we will use those from our regular training! The only difference this time is our target! Drill the map into your heads in three minutes! We begin operations at 1950!" Karasuma declared, the students cheering their agreement.
After taking the time to memorize the map presented to them, they continued on their way up the cliff, poor Karasuma having to climb while carrying Irina on his back. The boys, while managing, couldn't help being jealous of certain someones.
"Okano sure is nimble." Kimura remarked, watching as the girl effortless scaled the cliff.
"Yeah. If we gotta do stuff like this, she's number one in the class." Isogai agreed. "But...Itamatsu isn't that bad either."
Both boys looked up to where Takina was following quickly behind Okano, the two further up the cliff than the rest of the class. Reaching the top of the cliff, the students hurried across the open ground between the edge of the cliff and the bushes between them and the side door. Ritsu waited until all of them were gathered at the bush line, peering through the brush at the unguarded door.
"I can override this electronic lock to open the door. Also, I can control the security cameras so that they don't capture our images. However, the hotel's maintenance system is separated into multiple systems. It would be impossible for me to take hold of all the equipment by myself." Ritsu told them.
"Which means we'll be forced to handle some of it on our own." Takina remarked, looking down at her phone screen at Ritsu.
"As expected, security is pretty tight. Ritsu, make the final confirmation for the infiltration route." Karasuma said.
"Yes, I shall display the interior map." Ritsu replied.
Takina looked down at the map as Ritsu pulled it up on all of their phone screen. Ten floors with stair ways set up at opposite ends of floors. She really couldn't expect anything less from such a shady place. They would want to make it as impossible as possible to sneak through the place.
"We are unable to use the elevators. This is because we would need the private IC keys for each floor from the front desk. And so, our only option is to climb the stairs, but the placement of the stairs are all scattered. We must walk a long distance before reaching the top floor." Ritsu told them.
"It's set up like a television station." Chiba remarked. "It looks like they complicated the architecture so that it would be hard for terrorists to occupy it."
"Or to make it harder for opposing parties to grasp the layout." Takina added, Chiba agreeing with the assessment.
"I'm sure any villainous guests would love to use those." Sugaya agreed.
"Let's go. We don't have time." Karasuma said, darting towards the door. With the lock opened by Ritsu, he pulled open the door and ushered the students inside. "I'll give out instructions according to the situation, so keep your eyes open."
Once inside, Karasuma lead the way, the students moving as quietly as possible down the hall. When they reached the lobby, which stood between them and the first set of stairs, they paused around the corner, stopped by the amount of guards stationed there. Even with the emergency stairwell so close, with so many guards, it would be impossible to get all eighteen of them past the guards without one of them being spotted.
Karasuma had to stop to consider his options. They could stop there and drop their numbers but there was a high possibility that the enemy might have larger numbers the higher up they went. They would need every last one of them. He could act alone, leaved the students there and continue on by himself, but then his options would become severely limited.
He just didn't know what to do.
"What's the problem?" Irina demanded, swinging around a wine glass she had just emptied the contents of. "Just walk through casually."
"Do you not understand the situation here, Bitch-sensei?!" Sugaya demanded.
"How are we suppose to get through all that security out there?" Kimura added.
Irina, in her fancy dress, wine glass in hand, peered around the corner, her eyes landing on a grand piano sitting in the lobby. Moving past the others, she headed out in the open.
"Look, casually." she replied over her shoulder before she started swaying out into the lobby, like she was drunk.
The moment she came within view, every man in the lobby zeroed in on her as she swayed and staggered. She continued on her path, until she bumped into one guard. Pushing her hair out of her face like some wasted tart, she gave the man a flirty smile.
"Excuse me. I'm a little drunk from the alcohol in my room." Irina told the man.
Takina swore, if their lives was an anime, then they would have seen smoke blow out of the man's ears with how flustered he became.
"I'm supposed to be playing that piano next week. I came earlier though to do some sight-seeing." Irina said, dropping a little clumsily onto the chair in front of the piano's keys. "While I try to sober up, I want to check if the piano's in tune. Would it be alright if I played for just a bit?"
"Um...then. let me confirm with the front and-"
"Come on. I want you guys to listen too." Irina said, cutting the man off as she grabbed his arm and gave him a pleading look. "And critique me."
"Critique?" one man asked, all of them completely drawn in by Irina.
"Yes. I want you to critique my carefully, and scold me if I do anything bad." Irina told them, before she put fingers to keys and started to play.
Takina had to admit, Irina was a beautiful pianist. She was so good, she shocked all of the students. Watching how she moved as she played, the men in the lobby only had eyes for her and her alone. Irina truly had mastered the art of seduction. She managed to draw all guards in the lobby to her side where they could no longer see Karasuma and the students sneak by. Using their practiced hand signals, she signaled that she could buy them twenty minutes and to get going.
Karasuma didn't waste any time leading them towards the stairs and up them.
"Phew! Everyone got through the lobby safely!" Kayano whispered as they started up the stairs.
"Bitch-sensei's amazing." Sugaya remarked.
"Yeah. She never mentioned a thing about being able to play the piano." Isogai replied.
"She might not have, but, to be honest, I'm not really surprised." Takina said, drawing attention to her. "She's excels in the art of seduction and things like playing piano, can be really seductive if you know how to use it and phrase your words. After all, phrasing like "fingering" have a double meaning."
Seeing her point, several of her classmates blushed.
"She's right. You shouldn't underestimate her by looking at her everyday self." Karasuma told the students. "She's as capable as any other outstanding hitman out there. If you reach her class, you have any skill that would be useful in an infiltration assassination mastered. The person teaching you guys about the art of communication, is arguably the best honey trap in the world."
"Nurufufufu. I suppose there's no need for me to worry. Even if I can't move." Korosensei said.
Takina didn't know about that. They had only cleared the lobby so far and there were nine other floors they had to get through. There was no telling what waited for them on the other nine floors. With that thought running loops in her head, she followed her classmates up the stairs. Reaching the second floor, Karasuma stopped them for a moment.
"Now, There's a reason I had you guys come dressed as you are." Karasuma told them. "As long as we could get past the strict check point, we could act as if we were regular guests."
"Guests? Isn't this a hotel where bad guys stay?" Sugaya asked. "Would a bunch of middle school kids be here?"
"From what I hear, there're quite a few. The sheltered children of performers and the wealthy. These kids who were raised as if they were kings, they stain their hands in immoral deeds while keeping an innocent face." Karasuma told them.
"That's right. So you will all pretend to be one of those children. Let us all walk as if the whole world were beneath us." Korosensei instructed.
The result was so awfully on point that Takina felt like slapping a hand to her face.
"Yes, yes, that's the way!" Korosensei cheered.
"That's the way, huh? And we don't need you to join them." Karasuma retorted.
"However, we still do not know who our enemy is. There's a chance that our enemy may also act as a guest to attack us." Korosensei remarked, mirroring Takina's thoughts from earlier. "Let us be on high alert as we proceed."
The students agreed as they continued. True enough, no one they passed gave them a second look. Everyone continued on as if they hadn't just seen a group of children patrolling the hallways. With that working for them, they reached the third floor with no trouble.
"It really does feel like we're just one of the guests. Actually, they're trying to avoid even looking in our direction. I guess they want to stay away from trouble too." Chiba remarked.
"Giving the shady people that come here, that's not unreasonable." Takina replied.
"I thought everyone inside the hotel would be our enemy, but at this rate, we can probably just walk on up to the top floor, huh?" Kayano asked.
Takina wouldn't hold her breath.
As they reached the third floor, center hall, Terasaka and Yoshida, getting cocky, pushed past Takina, who was walking at the front of the group.
"Heh, this is too easy. We're runnin' outta time, so let's pick up the pace." Terasaka said, charging across the open room, not noticing that someone was heading their way from the opposite end.
Fuwa and Takina only glanced at the man before Takina was darting forward, Fuwa calling warning.
"Terasaka! Look out!" Fuwa yelled.
Takina reached him just as he turned around in confusion, Karasuma right behind her.
"Get down you idiots!" Takina snapped, yanking the two boys back, Karasuma pushing all three behind him just as the man coming their way pulled a mask up over his face, pulling a spraying canister from his pocket.
Takina yanked her two classmates back, the two boys tripping to knock all three of them out of the way as something was sprayed right in Karasuma's face. Takina landed on her butt, Terasaka and Yoshida landing in her lap as Karasuma took a kick at their attacker. The man managed to jump back away from Karasuma, Karasuma back tracking as well.
"How did you know?" the attacker asked, pulling the mask down now that the smoke had dispersed. His eyes went from Takina to Fuwa "Without giving off any blood lust, I kill as I pass by. This is supposed to be my specialty,"
"You were the waiter that greeted us back at our hotel with complimentary drinks." Takina answered, shooing Terasaka and Yoshida off her. Once they were up, she got to her own feet, dusting off the back of her shorts. "I knew I shouldn't trust free drinks from someone who gave me creeps from the beginning."
This surprised the man, who grinned at the thought that he had been found out so easily. To think that not one, but two students in the class had paid enough attention to their surroundings to remember a face as non-descriptive as his.
"That's not much to go on to make a decision. Even if it wasn't in the drinks, there were plenty of other chances to serve the virus, right?" he asked.
"Who said anything about the virus?" Takina replied, the man jolting in surprise. "You know, in a criminal court, that little unconscious confession, would be reason enough to convict. Some pro, you just all but flat out told us it was you who infected our classmates using those drinks. But if you want to play this game...Yuzuki?"
Takina half turned to look back at Fuwa, who loved to play the deceptive.
"Everyone was infected from food or drinks mixed with the virus, that's what Takebayashi said. They only things the entire class consumed as a whole were those drinks, and the dinner on the boat. But Mimura and Okajima, who didn't eat that dinner because they were editing the movie, were infected too. That narrows down the cause of the infection to those drinks that afternoon. And so, the culprit was you, Mister Man!" Fuwa declared.
Takina turned her attention back to the man.
"If we are to take your boss's words at face value, the virus isn't very infectious, which means one would have to be directly infected or exposed to the body fluids of someone who is. Since I'm pretty sure that none of us have been exposed to the latter, food and drinks is about all it can be. Not to mention, it's a little unlikely that you work at that hotel and are a guest here. If you can afford a place like this, why would you need to work as a waiter?"
The man stiffened, cornered by two teenage girls.
"That's amazing, Fuwa, Takina!" Nagisa exclaimed.
Takina didn't know about that. It had been an obvious deduction. While Fuwa, Nagisa and Kayano got onto the subject of manga, Takina's eyes were locked in on their enemy, who was chuckling. It hit Takina about a minute too late.
What had he sprayed Karasuma with?
Karasuma hitting the floor on his hands and knees, had Takina rushing to his side, crouching beside him to check on him. Laying a hand on his shoulder, she could feel his body trembling with the effort not to completely hit the floor.
"You're a poison-user, aren't you?" Korosensei asked their attacker, who introduced himself under the name of Smog. "And you're extremely skilled at practical application."
"It's my own special anesthesia for indoor use. Breathing it in for a single moment could bring down even an elephant. As soon as it's exposed to the air, it breaks down and there's no sign of it." Smog explained.
"Are you the one who did spread the virus? You should know that I will never be affected by them, so it's useless to use it to exchange." Korosensei replied.
"Who knows. Well, seems that you don't really want to exchange anyway. So this negotiation was fail. I will come back to tell the boss now." Smog said, shrugging his shoulders as he started to turn.
"I don't think you'll be doing that."
Smog looked back at Takina, who met his eyes with serious looking, neon green eyes.
"What are you talking about?" he demanded.
"Take a look around. You took too long talking." Takina told him.
Smog twisted then, his eyes going from one hallway to the next. Each exit was effectively blocked by her classmates, who had snatched up furniture and decorative pieces to use as weapons. They had moved fast, without him picking up on it. Takina helped Karasuma to his feet, then stepped back, leaving the man to stand on his own.
"In the instance we come across an enemy, immediately distract and close off their escape route, and cut off their line of contact. Itamatsu distracted, while the other fulfilled all their orders. You...the moment you saw us, you should've gone back to report it instead of attacking." Karasuma told Smog, Takina standing at his back.
"Hmph. I'm surprised you can still talk." Smog said smugly as he pulled his mask back up. "But, it's just a bunch of brats. If you die, there won't be any orders to follow, and they'll probably just run away."
Takina couldn't help but think that this Smog guy really didn't understand her class. If he wanted things to turn out like he said, then he should have used his one chance to kill Karasuma.
That was his mistake.
Takina felt no sympathy, what so ever, for Smog when Karasuma, as quick as lightning, took him down with one knee to the head. She merely hurried to Karasuma's side, barely catching the man as he toppled over. As his full weight fell on her, Takina was suddenly grateful for all the hellish weight training Karasuma had put her through since she joined the class. She never would have managed to keep them both on their feet if she had still been at her previous strength.
As it was...the man was heavy!
"Oof...uh, guys...someone help! This man weights a ton!" Isogai instantly dropped the chair in his hands and hurried over to take Karasuma from Takina before she fell over with them both. "No offense, Karasuma-sensei, but it's true."
"None taken. I'm glad to see you've been taking your weight training seriously. You never would have been able to hold me when you first joined the class." Karasuma replied shakily.
"Yeah, well...you didn't give me much choice. How are you feeling?" Takina asked as Isogai pulled one of his arms around his shoulders.
"...It's no good. It takes everything I have just pretending to walk normally. To get to a state where I can fight again...it may or may not take about thirty minutes." Karasuma replied.
"You know, considering that that gas was suppose to be strong enough to take down an elephant, I'll happily settle for you just walking, right now." Takina told him, the other agreeing silently.
"Itamatsu, can you take his other side?" Isogai requested.
"Yeah."
Takina slipped in under Karasuma's arm, wrapping an arm around his waist as he draped his free arm around her shoulder. Together, she and Isogai started him down the hall while their classmates finished hiding Smog's unconscious body. Once done, the others fell into step behind them. For a long while, they walked on in silence. When that silence was interrupted, Takina wanted nothing more than to bash the person's head into the wall.
"My, it's finally beginning to feel like summer vacation." Korosensei said cheerfully.
Thankfully, Takina wasn't alone in her feelings and didn't have to do anything but stand there, supporting half of Karasuma's weight.
"What are you acting all happy-go-lucky for?!" Kataoka demanded.
"Just because you're in a completely safe form all by yourself!" Kimura added.
"Nagisa, spin him around until he gets sick!" Kayano demanded, Nagisa doing as told before Karma took Korosensei from him.
"Okay, Terasaka, I'm gonna screw this in, so drop your pants and spread your cheeks." Karma demanded.
Karasuma and Isogai both turned surprised looks on Takina when they heard a sudden snort of laughter they had never heard before. Takina was hiding her face behind her free hand, trying to hide the fact that she was dying of laughter on the inside, but Karasuma could feel the shaking of her shoulders as she fought the laughter.
Apparently, even when annoyed with Karma, she still found him to be the funniest thing ever.
It made the rest of her classmates think that Karma and Takina were a match made in heaven.
Or was it hell?
Either way, Takina was left to collect herself while Nagisa took Korosensei from Karma.
"Korosensei, how does this feel like summer vacation?" Nagisa asked.
"Teachers and students do not share a familiar relationship. And so, during summer vacation, there are times when students stray from the care of their teachers to a place where they must be independent and stand on their own two feet. It'll be okay. As long as you do what you've learned during your regular physical training sessions. Yes, there's no need to fear any enemy." Korosensei answered. "If it's you guys, I know you all can clear this. This assassination summer vacation."
While she appreciated the vote of confidence that Korosensei had in them, Takina was a little more logical about the whole thing. With what little information they had, they had no way of knowing if they could, or couldn't, come out of this the victors. Only time would tell. With that in mind, they continued on. When they reached the lookout hallway on the fifth floor, they ran into their next obstacle.
Standing there, in the open, his back to the many windows that made up the outside wall, was another man that gave Takina the chills. The blood lust in the air was enough to gag her on the spot. He definitely was not trying to hide himself, at all. The class peered around the corner, trying to remain out of sight and quiet.
"H-hey. That guy standing over there looks like a real badass." Sugaya said lowly.
"His atmosphere..." Yada started.
"Yeah. You can totally tell." Yoshida agreed.
"No matter how you look at him, when it comes down to "kill or be killed", he's definitely on the side of "kill". His blood lust is thick enough to make me gag." Takina added. "This hallway is narrow, there's no where to hide. We can't use a sneak attack or our numbers in a place like this. He has the advantage."
Karasuma had to agree with her. It made him wish he had thought to bring a real gun with live rounds, but he had never thought he would need it on the island. They had to think quick about what they were going to do next.
Sadly, they weren't given the time.
Several of them jumped when the man in the hallway, Clip, suddenly smashed a hand into the window behind him, cracking the reinforced glass easily.
"How boring, nu. If I can hear your footsteps, I can't consider a single one of you as being formidable, nu." Clip called out. "There was suppose to be a teacher from an elite force in command, nu. I thought. It seems you were don in by Smog's gas, nu. Did you fall short of defeating each other, nu? Come out."
Takina looked up at Karasuma, who gave them a nod. The students spilled out into the hall, facing the man before them. While they were all intimidated, or, at least, most of them were, they all had the same thought that they were too scared to say out loud.
Well, all but two people.
"You use "nu" a lot, don't you, old man?" Karma asked brightly.
"It's kind of ridiculous in the context you're using it in." Takina added, expression indifferent.
Their classmates inwardly groaned. Of course it would be Karma and Takina who said something! It was always them! The two had no sense of fear, and everyone single one of their classmates were sure that it would get them both killed one day. But Clip wasn't offended in the least.
"I heard that if you add "nu", it gives your speech a samurai's tone. I thought it would sound cool, so I tried it, nu. If not, that's fine too, nu. If I kill everyone here and use the "nu", it won't be embarrassing, nu." Clip explained, flexing his hands.
"No...no, I hate to break it to you, but...it's still embarrassing." Takina retorted, Kimura and Sugaya hissing at her to shut up from behind her.
At this rate, she was going to get them killed along with herself.
"Bare hands...is that your assassination tool?" Korosensei asked, drawing attention from Takina.
"There's actually a high demand for this, nu. It's a huge plus not being caught, nu, during a body search. Once I get close, I just readjust their cervical vertebrae. If I felt like it, I could crush their skull too. But it's interesting, nu. The more I forge my powers for killing, the more I want to test it out on things other than assassinations. In other words, battle. A death match with a strong opponent." Clips eyes zeroed in on Karasuma currently supported between Isogai and Takina. "But, I'm disappointed, nu. With this sad view in front of me, I lost my will to test out anything. It's a pain in the ass to kill even one runt. I'll call my boss and pal to kill you all, nu."
Clip pulled out a cellphone to do as he threatened when Karma, a fake plant in hand, smashed the potted end of the plant into his hand, knocking the cellphone out of his grip and crushing the device between the pot and the glass, causing another crack in the glass. The sudden attack apparently caught Clip off guard just as much as it caught the rest of them off guard.
"Hey, old man, nu. For a pro, you seem like a pretty normal guy. If it's just glass or a skull, I could break it too. But wait, the way you're so quick to call your buddies, are you afraid to go one on one with a middle school kid?" Karma taunted.
Karasuma glanced at Takina out of the side of his eyes when he felt the girl suddenly tense up. Her eyes, wide and closing in on a moss green color, a color none of them had seen before, were fixed on Karma. Her whole body was humming with energy, as if the girl was barely fighting back the urge to dart forward.
Was she...scared for Karma?
Whatever she was feeling, Karasuma couldn't let this go on. He was convinced that Karma was getting himself into something that would get him killed.
"Don't, that's reckless-"
"Stop right there, Karasuma-sensei." Korosensei said, cutting Karasuma off. "His chin is down. Until now, he would always stick his chin out with an abundant sense of composure. His stance was that of one looking down on his opponent. But now, it's different. His foul mouth hasn't changed, but his sight is set straight and lacks hesitation. He's observing his opponent head on. In fact...his stance resembles that of Takina's in a fight."
Takina's eyes shifted from Karma to Korosensei, surprise in their depths, before they returned to Karma. Korosensei was...right. The way Karma stood, his chin down, eyes focused, and his muscles loose, ready and waiting, resembled how she went into a fight. The boy was actually being cautious despite the reckless way he spoke.
He was actually being serious.
It did nothing to relax Takina, given that all it would take was Clip getting his hands on Karma one time, but it calmed her enough for her to rein in the anxiety she was letting pour out of her in waves. Karma wasn't stupid, she had to remind herself of that. He was a born fighter, who who excelled at this kind of thing. She had to have a little confidence in him.
"Alright. I'll test it out, nu." Clip said, shrugging off his jacket to prepare himself to face Karma.
Without any warning, Karma swung the tree in his hand, but Clip caught it, ripping through it with his bare hands as if it was paper.
"Weak. You should look for a better weapon, nu." Clip told Karma.
"Don't need one." Karma replied.
Karma tossed the now destroyed plant aside as Clip rushed him, hands open and ready to grab. Karma dodged the first grab, smacking aside the next two and pushing Clip's wrist away on the fourth. Takina blinked as she watched the fight. Karma was faster at evading than he was in training. He side-stepped several grabs, quickly knocking aside others, all the while, never staying still. Despite Clip being bigger and stronger, Karma was fending him off.
"Wow, he's evading and deflecting everything." Kayano remarked.
"Those are Karasuma-sensei's defensive techniques, aren't they?" Korosensei added.
Takina was sure they were. Karma was good with that kind of thing. While, for a hitman, the importance of defensive techniques was low, since they hardly had use of them, Karma was the type that fought for many reasons. So even though Karasuma had never taught Karma the moves, Karma had picked them up after weeks of watching Karasuma spar with them.
He was a true, natural born fighter.
"What's wrong?" Clip asked, coming to a stop. "If you don't attack, you'll never be able to get past here, nu."
"I wonder about that. The more I keep you busy, the easier everyone else can get past you." Karma replied, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. "Don't worry. I won't do anything sneaky like that. I'll go on the offense this time. I want to fight you fair and square. Let's do this hand to hand, man to man."
"That's a nice expression, nu, young warrior. I feel like I can experience it if it's against you, nu. A fair fight you can't find in the assassination world, that is." Clip replied.
Karma didn't hesitate, attacking with a solid kick that Clip raised an arm to block. Karma aimed for the eyes next, Clip dodging the jab, only to have Karma knocking him down a peg with a sharp kick to the shin. Karma quickly got behind Clip, the man's back now open. Karma took the chance opening, Takina tensing.
"Don't, Karma!"
It surprised her classmates when Takina suddenly called out to Karma for two reasons. The first being that Takina didn't usually yell out like that, to anyone. The second reason being that Takina had only ever called him by his given name, once.
Takina's yelled warning, thought, came a moment too late. Karma jumped for Clip's exposed back, only for Clip to pull one of the spray canisters they had seen Smog carrying. He aimed it over his shoulder, spraying it right in Karma's face. Karma crumpled to the ground then, Clip grabbing him by the hair to keep him from completely hitting the floor.
"One down." Clip said, dropping the canister. "It was dragging out for a while, so I tried out Smog's anesthesia gas, nu."
"Th-that's dirty. How can you call it fair when you're hiding something like that?" Yoshida demanded.
"Assassins don't play fair, Yoshida."
Yoshida turned to look at Takina, who had a fierce look fixed on Clip.
"She's right, kid. Besides, I never said that I would only use my hands, nu." Clip said, grabbing Karma by the face to lift him up off the floor. "Don't over-obsess over your obsession. That's another secret you learn from being in this business long enough, nu. A spray of gas from point blank. Unless you're expected it, there's no way you can defend against it."
A curt laugh had Clip turning his eyes to Takina.
"You're really stupid if you think that's all he has in him. When it comes to playing underhanded...no one's better at it than him." Takina said.
Clip raised an eyebrow at her, and opened his mouth to respond. Takina could have told him that it was a bad idea to open his mouth at that point, but she didn't care to give him a warning like she had Karma.
Clip was taken by surprise when Karma suddenly raised his hand...and sprayed Clip with the same gas he had just tried to spray Karma with. He released Karma as he started to crumple to the ground.
"Wh-what the hell..." Clip managed to get out.
"What a coincidence. We were thinking the same thing." Karma said, a huge grin on his face.
Resorting to his last resort, before the gas could completely take over, Clip pulled a knife and charged Karma. With the gas making him sluggish, Karma was easily able to evade the knife and take Clip down, slamming him into the floor while he pulled the man's arm back.
"Come on, Terasaka. Hurry up." Karma called. "We need duct tape and numbers to win against a monster like this."
"Alright, alright. Your promise for a bare handed one-on-one was all BS, huh?" Terasaka replied as he, and several others, dog piled Clip with no consideration for the man.
Something he deserved.
With numbers now working for them, they managed to completely tape Clip up, leaving him laying on the floor without being able to move himself.
"I swiped the leftovers that the poison-man didn't use. I thought it would be a waste to just throw it away." Karma remarked, smirking.
"How? My gas attack...you didn't breathe it in because you saw it coming. I only showed you my bare hands, so how? Don't tell me...the girl's warning...?" Clip asked, his eyes going to Takina.
"While helpful, that wasn't it." Karma said, grinning in Takina's direction, the girl turning her face away from him. Karma turned his attention back to Clip. "Isn't it obvious? I was looking out for everything other than your bare hands. I'm sure you really did want to have a barehanded fight, but in this situation, a pro wouldn't continue to use their bare hands. In order to stop us here, you would need to use any means necessary. If I were in your shoes, that's what I would do. I believed in your consciousness as a pro. Because I believed that, I was on alert. Itamatsu's warning merely gave me a few extra moments to get my nose and mouth covered."
"The Karma who had never experienced a huge defeat, once he became a loser after the final exams, he must have realized. Loser are the same as me. They're human beings living with various thoughts on their minds. Inevitably, those who realize this, learn not to look down on their opponents during battle. Just as you yourself are doing. Is the enemy thinking the same way? Is he putting in the same effort? You begin to look closely at your enemy's abilities and situation. You become a person capable of respecting your opponent, and become vigilant of him. When such a person stands on the battlefield, you can say that he has no openings." Korosensei remarked.
And that was exactly the reason why Takina hadn't taken Asano's offer.
She knew that Karma would bounce back from his defeat and come back swinging hard. That was what she was looking forward to, because then, Karma would give her even more of a challenge than ever before.
Now if he would just figure that out.
"You're really something, young warrior. Although I lost, I had a fun time, nu." Clip said.
Takina didn't have the heart to tell him that it was far from over for him.
"Eh, what are you talking about?" Karma asked pulling out tubes of Japanese mustard and wasabi. "The fun is just about to start."
"What is that, nu? What are you holding?" Clip asked.
"Wasabi and mustard. I'm going to stick them up your nose, nu, old man." Karma replied, Takina heaving a silent sigh in the background as she shook her head.
"What, nu!?" Clip exclaimed.
"I was on full alert earlier, but, with you all tied up, that's pretty much all out the window now, right?" Karma replied, pulling out a special clip to pull Clip's nose wide open. "After I put this in, I'll plug your nose with a special clip, then I'll shove these ghost peppers, which are one thousand times spicier than chili peppers, into your mouth, and then finally, I'll gag your mouth, and then the punishment will be complete. Now, old man, nu, this is when you show me the spirit of a pro."
Everyone watched as, with a huge grin on his face, Karma started with his inhumane torture. From the other side of Karasuma from Takina, Isogai covered his mouth like he was about to be sick.
"Don't puke, Isogai." Takina told him.
"I'll try." Isogai replied.
"Korosensei, it doesn't really seem like Karma has changed much." Nagisa remarked.
"Yes. I fear for the future." Korosensei replied.
"I fear for the poor woman who marries him. If he can ever convince one to." Takina retorted.
With this threat dealt with, they were finally able to pull Karma away from his torturing and started off down the hall again. With Karasuma now a little more sturdy on his feet, Takina left Isogai to continue to support him off down the hall and fell to the back of the pact. She let all of her classmates pass her, catching Karma's sleeve as he walked past, pulling him to a stop. Surprised, Karma turned to her, ready to give some sassy, sarcastic remark...only to get punched in the stomach.
It wasn't a hard punch. In fact, he barely felt it. He was well aware that she could punch way harder than that, but she wasn't punching him to hurt him. He stood there as she gave his stomach another punch and then another.
"You stupid, reckless, sadistic, idiot!" she hissed, her head down so that her bangs hide her face as she gave him a punch for each word. "You love pushing your luck, don't you?"
Karma, of course, couldn't keep from smarting off.
"Talking like that...someone might think you care about me, and here I thought you weren't talking to me. All because I didn't apologize, even though the whole class had already don-"
Karma cut off, letting out a grunt as Takina gave him another punch to the stomach. This one, though, definitely hurt. From his angle, all he could see was her mouth as it twisted.
"You dumb jerk...you were the only one I wanted an apology from! I thought you, out of everyone, would know me better." Takina snapped. "See if I make the mistake again of caring about whether or not you get yourself killed. Jerk."
With a huff, Takina stormed past him, her fists balled at her sides she hurried to catch up with the rest of their class. Karma watched her go, idly rubbing where she had punched him. There were a few different way he could take her words, but all of them made it clear that Takina had been at least a little bit worried about him. Feeling just a little bit guilty, for he wouldn't admit to more than just a little bit of guilt, Karma rubbed the back of his head.
So, maybe he did owe her an apology.
Just a little one.
END
Kyandi: He really should have seen that harder punch coming for his smart remark.
Takina: No one ever accused him of having common sense with girls.
Kyandi: Good point. He's smart, but that doesn't extend to women.
Takina: I'll whip him into shape...eventually.
Kyandi: Until then, he's going to continue to be a sadistic jerk.
Takina: Tell me about it.
Kyandi: That aside, I still have a lot of muse, so I'm going to end it here and get to writing.
Takina: Which you'll spend all night doing.
Kyandi: Yep! Everyone, enjoy and review!
Takina: We'll return as soon as possible.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!