Akari's long black hair fluttered in the humid spring breeze. She stared up at the old 3-E campus, quiet now that its users had graduated a year ago. A fond smile quirked on her lips.

"I'm back, Korosensei," Akari murmured to herself.

Footsteps sounded behind her. Akari turned around and beamed. "Hey, Itona! You made it!"

Itona had grown taller in the past year. He was still wearing a bandana, although not one made of antisensei material anymore. Akari thought he suited his yellow plaid bandana rather well. "Hey," he said simply. "How's life?"

"Pretty good!" Akari replied. "I've met some new friends in high school, and I still hang out with our old classmates regularly. It's great that Karasuma-san and Bitch-sensei keep in touch with us even though they're super busy."

"I appreciate the therapists they got us too," Itona mentioned. "Honestly, we all needed therapy."

"Especially us," Akari muttered. "We've been so damaged by the tentacles, but thankfully, we recovered quickly with everyone's help."

The duo quietly started to wipe the classroom. Akari glanced at the blackboard and saw a couple chalk drawings of Korosensei. She watched in amusement as Itona drew a mustache on one of the Korosenseis.

"I can't believe it's been more than a year since Korosensei passed away…" Akari said softly. "It seemed so long ago, yet I can remember everything vividly."

"Same," Itona admitted. He took out two bottles of their favourite bitter tea and passed one to Kayano. "Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I had joined the class earlier, but I should stop dwelling on the past. The most important thing is that I met all of you idiots."

Akari nodded in agreement. "We learned to overcome our vengeful feelings in 3-E. We found a home in 3-E, and it'll always be our home."

Itona tapped his chin. "Speaking of homes, I received some news yesterday."

Akari raised her eyebrows in anticipation. "Yeah?"

A genuine grin spread across Itona's face. "I'm finally officially adopted by Muramatsu's parents! I guess my legal surname is now Muramatsu, and I have to call my legal brother Takuya now… sounds hella weird." Despite that, Itona couldn't stop smiling. She could tell he was overjoyed and so was she for him.

Akari chuckled. "Muramatsu Itona. Good thing that we've always called you by your given name."

"You remember how my dad tried to find me after our middle school graduation and I refused to live with him? And at first I wondered if I'd made a mistake? But if I chose to go with him, I would never be adopted by the Muramatsus. And if I have to choose between a father who abandoned his son and a father who makes shitty ramen, I'll choose the latter."

Akari lightly punched Itona's shoulder. "I'm proud of you! It's not easy to break free, but it's for the best. I'm so happy you have a loving family now!"

"And I'm happy you found numerous support systems." Itona smiled at Akari.

"Yeah, and it's nice that I don't have to act anymore!"

Itona snorted. "I told you people would like you for who you are. That is, if you stop pulling that Kayano bullshit. You're a good actress, but you're the best at being annoying. I don't think anyone has told you that."

Akari burst into giggles. "I have to admit I kinda adopted Kayano's personality, but my friends told me I can't be good at being like someone I'm completely not. So I suppose I've always been a little like Kayano all along."

"Yeah."

Afternoon sunlight shone through the now dust-free windows, bathing them in a warm golden glow. Akari inhaled and thought of how good it was to be alive.

Once upon a time, they weren't fine at all. They waged a war and tried to defeat their trauma with empty promises of victory and revenge. They couldn't overcome devastation with anger. They were so consumed by spite and vengefulness that they lost themselves. But in the midst of hell, Akari and Itona somehow found each other.

They found warmth. They found a friend. And they finally realized that was what they needed all along.

Korosensei and 3-E found them. They taught them to love and to laugh and to be happy, and as cheesy as it sounded, Akari knew they changed her and Itona's lives forever.

Akari couldn't forgive Yanagisawa, not forget her trauma and pretend it never happened–

But for now, she and Itona were warm.

And maybe that was all that mattered.

A/N: Phew! We've reached the end! Formatting this was a total NIGHTMARE haha.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed :D come scream at my blog assclass-conspiracies if you're free!