"You're what?"
"I'm moving out."
"Oh."
Ame didn't really know what else to say. Even if she wasn't as close to Itona as she was to Rio, or even Karma, she had spent the last few months living with the boy—it was kind of hard not to consider him as another sibling after all this time.
"My father finally came back—said all of his debts had been settled and that we could live together again," he explained as he packed his back. His voice was neutral, but there was a slight tremble to it, betraying his actual happiness at the prospect of going to live with his father again. "So, I'm moving out."
"I- I see."
Damn it… Everyone truly is parting ways, aren't they? It almost feels like we're closing in fast on some sappy epilogue…
"Ame." She straightened up as he looked at her, and he smiled. "Thank you, for everything. I'll drop by again for dinner—that is, if you'll have me."
"Itona, this house is as much your home as it is mine," she assured, returning his smile and lightly ruffling his hair. "Come by whenever you want, alright? Plus, a weekly dinner will be mandatory if you let the kids have their way."
"Noted."
.
.
"WHAT!?"
Yada sunk into her seat, a troubled look on her face. "No- nothing happened—"
"You were assaulted. Even if those assholes didn't go all the way, there could have been serious trouble had Karma and the others not interfered!" exclaimed angrily Rio.
Ame rubbed her temples, closing her eyes for a moment. Yesterday, while Itona had told her about moving out, he also briefly mentioned how Yada had been assaulted by a small group of foreign men.
A day earlier
"Let- let go of me!"
"Tche. Japanese chicks can't even speak English."
"Ah, that's alright! We'll just speak with our bodies instead, ah, ah!"
"Yada-san!"
Nagisa, Karma, Itona, Terasaka, and Sugino had been walking back from school together when they heard their classmate's pleads and panicked shouts. They didn't hesitate in running up to the foreign men who were now holding their friend captive, seeing red.
"Oi, what the hell are you doing? Let her go!" snapped Terasaka.
"Sheesh, is it really too much to ask for you to speak our language?" grunted a man with an eyepatch.
"He told you to let her go," translated Karma, a vein bulging on his forehead. "You're currently asphyxiating her with your bad breath and your sewer stench. If you keep on going like that, we'll have to call your breeder so he can put his cattle back in their cages."
Karma was never one to back down from a fight, and taunting his opponents until their broke and lost control always led to him winning. In this particular case, though, his targets weren't just angry—they were downright pissed, and a heavy bloodlust started emanating from the entire little group as they glared at him.
Who are these guys? Karma was tensed, now—wary. Assassins? They're pretty dangerous…
"Oi, redhead," then called a guy with a shaved head. "Don't worry, we're not going to kill her. We just want to play with her a little, and then we'll give her back."
"We've made it from one side of the planet to the other for our job and we're hungry," added one of his friends, who had large sunglasses covering the higher-half of his face. "Plus, we've heard that Japanese chicks are real docile—ain't that right, sweet cheeks?"
"Bastards…" growled Terasaka, clenching his fists.
"Just wait a minute," then stepped in Eyepatch. "I can't just let that kid get away with saying stuff like that." He easily towered over Karma, grinning menacingly. "A rebellious glare and a sharp tongue… Looks like you need to be taught a lesson in manners, brat."
Karma glared right back, not backing down an inch as he quickly thought over the entire situation. Clearly, those guys weren't just annoying tourists who got a little too handsy—they were dangerous, and he needed to choose his next action very carefully.
This guy is way more dangerous than Takaoka was… and counting his buddies, they're six. On our side, there's five of us. If we take them by surprise, we could take down two of them, at most… but that definitely won't be enough to take Yada back. Also… He glanced to the side, briefly locking gazes with a seventh figure—a man, who was standing at the other end of the street. He sported glasses, and had a scar crossing over his left eye. That one is probably the most dangerous out of all of them. If I'm right, then he's probably even worst than Karasuma-sensei. Frankly… I don't even want to imagine what would happen to us if we really pissed them off.
"… sorry."
"What!?"
Fighting against all of his instincts, Karma lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry, so let her go. It's almost the end of the school year—it's an important time for us."
Eyepatch's grin simply widened. "I want to hear you apologize in your language. I remember a few words from when I worked in Roppongi."
After a moment of hesitation, Karma bowed deeply. "I'm sorry. Please, accept my sincerest apologies for all of the trouble."
After a few seconds of tension… the man burst out laughing. "Ah, ah, ah! Don't freak out like that, kid! I was just messing with you! From the start, we didn't want anything with that chick of yours. Ah, ah!"
"Don't make a face like that, you look like you're about to cry!" taunted Sunglasses. "Wait, are you actually crying? Ah, ah, ah!"
Karma didn't rise up to take the bait, simply keeping his eyes resolutely locked onto the ground, and Yada was finally released as the group moved on, seemingly having gotten enough entertainment for the day. As they left, though, the seventh man passed by Karma.
"Sorry," he simply said in a somewhat accentuated Japanese. "My friends can be a bit of a handful. Don't take it to heart, alright?"
Karma didn't reply, and the group of foreigners finally disappeared from sight.
Back to the present day
The way Yada told us about everything, though, it almost feels like all of this was planned. Korosensei was in Canada stocking up on cans of pure maple syrup, and classes had ended just a few minutes before she was assaulted. In fact, I daresay they didn't make their move until they knew the boys were close enough to hear her and come to her rescue… A new group of assassins? I wouldn't have been surprised had this happened a month ago but, now, we're barely a few days away from the deadline for the assassination. If a group of assassins is getting involved at this point in time, then they've most assuredly been employed by the government—in other words, they're going to make their final move soon.
"—Ame! Earth to Ame!"
An eraser hit her in the forehead, snapping her back to reality, and it took her a few seconds to realize that all of the girls were now looking at her expectantly.
"What?"
"Well, what's going on?" asked Rio.
"Why would something be going on?"
"Because you've got that particular look on your face," replied Fuwa, crossing her arms over her chest. "The one that screams 'I-know-there's-something-wrong-with-the-situation'."
"From how deep in thoughts you were, I'm guessing that those guys weren't just a bunch of nasty tourists," added Okano, smiling wryly. "So, spill."
"Hey, just because I have good instincts doesn't mean I have all of the answers," sweatdropped Ame, before shaking her head. "I just… I figured that those guys are bad news, is all. If I'm guessing this right, then they're a group of assassins employed by the government."
"So- so close to the deadline?" frowned Okuda, worried. "Then that means…"
"Aa. That means they're about ready to make their final assassination attempt," confirmed Kayano, a somber look on her face.
"As professionals, I doubt they would be stupid enough to make a mistake such as making direct contact with us, when we're so close to their target," then pointed out Kataoka, tapping her chin. "In other words, they surely pulled that stunt to gauge our class's strength."
"Which means they have the advantage already," huffed Rio, annoyed. "They know more about us than we know about them."
"Not for long," assured Ame, pulling out her phone. "I'll ask Usagi to look into any foreign arrival under the employ of the government. I can't guarantee anything, seeing as I don't even have a picture to go by, but we should be able to find something thanks to the description I got…"
"Though, we can't do much more than wait, can we?" then pointed out Kurahashi, a tad nervously. "Even if we figure out who they are, we can't exactly counter them until they make their move…"
"Knowledge is half-the-battle. If we know who we're up against, we have better chances of countering them." Ame then offered her a small, but confident smile. "Even if we don't find anything, though, I wouldn't worry too much. Looking at things rationally, assassins or not, they're not allowed to harm us—we're untouchable and they know it. Knowing this, they'll surely attempt to plan around us."
"In other words, get us out of the way before their plan is put into action so we can't interfere," summarized Hayami, nodding in agreement.
"Exactly. I'll pass along the message to everyone later, but keep an eye out for any trouble, alright? Stay on your toes, and prioritize flight over fight," instructed Ame, now serious. "If they truly want to get us out of their way, they won't have much time to pull it off, meaning that if we can outrun them long enough, they'll eventually give up and focus on their master plan."
"Sounds good."
"Got it!"
"They won't get us so easily!"
The situation was a tad worrying, but nothing they couldn't handle. After all, they had faced a lot worst in the past year, and this certainly wouldn't be the first group of assassins they'd be facing off with. Despite knowing all of this, though, there was no ignoring the painful churn of her guts as she thought about their future foes.
This… this is going to be our hardest fight as of yet, isn't it?
Before she could ponder over it any longer, though, the rest of the students started coming in and settling at their desks and, a minute later, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. A moment later, Korosensei appeared at the front, beaming like a child who received his Christmas gifts a day earlier than planned.
"You all got into one of your top two schools! Congratulations!"
Oh, right. That happened too, didn't it?
Ame hadn't been all that surprised when she received a letter from Kunugigaoka announcing that she had been accepted with top marks, although she'd be lying if she said she hadn't been relieved upon learning the good news.
"Splendid job wielding those second blades of yours!" stated Korosensei, clapping his tentacles together. "You'll all move on to high school like the twinkling stars you are. It's a weight off my shoulders, too! Now, we were supposed to start our final career counseling but, first, there's something I'd really like to do." Without any warning, poppers and confetti sprayers suddenly appeared in the hands of every student, and everyone grinned at that. "What does one do, on such a joyous occasion—!?" At once, he sat down at his desk and started typing on his computer. "Editing."
"What for!?" instantly snapped the students, who had been hyped by the thought of celebrating not a second earlier.
"I'm making a yearbook, of course—just for the E-Class!"
"Making a yearbook?" echoed Nagisa, curious.
"Yes!"
"Oh, right—we did a whole-school one," recalled Kurahashi, tilting her head. "With Karasuma-sensei as our teacher."
"And poor Korosensei isn't in a single shot," realized Yada, feeling a little bad for the octopus.
"Actually…" Everyone looked at Chiba, who cringed a bit. "He popped into a few at Mach 20 speed, just under the radar."
"Kind of like one of those ghost photos, uh?" sweatdropped Mimura.
"Exactly! That's why I want to use these photos instead!" At once, dozens of very large stacks of pictures were dropped onto his desk. "A year of unguarded moments! These treasured selfies with all of you—thirty thousand in all! Now, to find the most memorable ones together…"
"When- when did he get all of these…?"
"That's our peeping teacher for you…"
"I don't really like looking at pictures of myself," sighed Rio.
"Why not?" wondered Fuwa.
"My eyes are too tiny."
"Don't worry!" Korosensei was suddenly before her, handing her a picture—"I've made versions with the 'big-eye' filter, too!"
"How terribly kind of you," sweatdropped the blonde.
"Well, the official yearbook does have plenty of the usual shots," mused Sugino.
"If we're making another one, we can be more unconventional!" smiled happily Hara.
Korosensei's eyes flashed at that. "Niryufufufu! Leave it to me!" He then started pulling up particular pictures for everyone to see. "Cool beauty Hayami at the pet shop…! Here's a nighttime campus shot of Mimura on air guitar…! Princess Kataoka, trying on her royal vestments! Dainty Muramatsu, right when a cockroach scurried out! Naked Okajima, running around the grounds at night in the buff! Sleeping Naoki, with chocolate all over her face!"
Ame's eyes widened slightly, and she instantly sunk into her seat, embarrassed. The picture at been taken at the usual café, and she had fallen asleep face-first into the chocolate cake she had ordered… She remembered that time, Isogai had woken her up with a laugh while handing her a wet tissue so she could wipe herself clean.
Shit, I didn't think there'd be any visual proofs left of that!
"Just- just wait a second!" snapped Okajima, jumping to his feet. "So there could be some super sketchy pics of me in there!?"
"Of pretty much everyone, I daresay," groaned Ame.
…
…
…
"FIND YOUR OWN PHOTOS, THEN GET RID OF THEM! ALL OF THEM!"
As the whole class quickly went through the pictures to get rid of the most embarrassing ones, Ame couldn't help but tuck away a few of them, if only for the sake of using them as blackmail sometime in the future—mostly on Terasaka and Karma, though.
"Color me impressed, Korosensei," mused Ame, looking at yet another selfie he had taken with her as she jumped from a roof. She hadn't noticed him at all. "Hey, when the year is over, why don't you come and work for the Zodiac? You'd be an amazing info-broker."
"Please don't. He's already enough of a pain to deal with as a teacher," sighed Karasuma, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Gah! I haven't taken nearly enough photos! I was aiming for a ten-thousand-page yearbook!"
Ame sweatdropped at that. "Point to you, Karasuma-sensei."
"Outside, class!" Korosensei was suddenly dressed in… some sort of catsuit. "We'll dress up and get a wider variety of shots!"
Oh, God, what did we get ourselves into?
They spent the entire day taking pictures after pictures after pictures… They put on all sorts of costumes, used all sorts of props, and Korosensei eventually got tired of on-campus photos—he literally stuffed them all into a giant bag before taking them onto an impromptu voyage around the entire world in order to take pictures in other countries.
All in all, it was a wonderful day—and, at the end of it all, Ame finally had an answer to give.
"So? Did you finally decide what you wanted to do, Naoki-san?"
The girl simply smiled. "Aa. I want to become the Leader of the Zodiac, but I'll also study to become a lawyer in criminology."
"I see. And what are your plans as future Leader, then?"
"… Thanks to you, I've learned to use my skills not only for myself, but for others. I don't see myself becoming some kind of hero, but… sitting still as bad things keep on happening all over the world just doesn't sit right with me anymore. Working for the highest bidder, never asking questions, never even wondering if what we're doing might have consequences…" She straightened up, meeting his gaze with determination. "I'm done with taking my life for granted, and I'm done acting ignorant when I already know more than most. With my power as future Leader of the Zodiac… I'm going to turn this world upside-down, Korosensei! So you better watch carefully as I rise to the top!"
"Niryufufufu! Wonderful to hear, Naoki-san." His grin then widened slightly. "Though, as per usual, you gave me an answer without truly giving me one… As expected of a professional info-broker, I suppose. In any case, I look forward to watching you grow even more, Naoki-san."
She simply grinned, offering a thumbs' up. "You can count on it!"
.
.
As amazing as the day had been, and as happy as Ame felt, there was a simple life lesson that she had still yet to grasp fully: good things aren't meant to last.
"You can't be serious," she choked out, pale.
Usagi readjusted his glasses, nodding somberly. "Unfortunately, I am. The man your friends encountered is Craig Houjou, a legendary mercenary who earned himself the title of Divine Soldier. He has years of experience under his belt, and he specializes in guerilla warfare and intelligence gathering. He's also the leader of a group of mercenaries known as the Wolfpack and, while his subordinates are nowhere near his level, they're still a considerable threat. Ame… I'm sorry, but you and your friends don't stand a chance against this guy. If he's really in charge of leading the final assault on your teacher, then you ought to give up—"
"Like hell we will!" she snapped, gritting her teeth. "Damn it! This is bad… But we're not giving up! Now that I know who we're up against, I can tell everyone and we'll plan things accordingly—and don't you dare bring Saru into this! This is my fight, Usagi—our fight!" She exhaled deeply, her shoulders slumping a little. "If the E-Class can't make it now… then all of this will have been for naught, and we'll regret it for the rest of our lives."
"… okay. Okay, I get it. And even while knowing that you're emotionally involved in this mess, I trust you enough to know what your limits and those of your classmates are. If you actually think you can make it, then I'll believe in you."
She relaxed slightly at that, relieved. "Thank you. A- anyway, I should head home, now. I'll contact you as soon as everything's been settled, alright?"
"Got it. Just… be careful, okay?"
"Promise. See you later!"
Usagi startled a bit as she left, his eyes going wide as he processed what she just told him. A few months ago, her normal answer would have been "no promises", but now…
Good luck, Ame. If that teacher of yours managed to make you learn to care for yourself, then he's truly a man worth fighting for.
.
.
Ame was almost home when it happened—the gigantic spear of golden light that pierced through the sky and directly hit the E-Class's mountain, that is. Her eyes went wide with horror as she realized that they had underestimated the government's determination to eradicate their monster teacher—they were acting now.
Shit! Gotta warn everyone ASAP—uh?
She stiffened upon realizing that her phone was dead. Or rather, it was completely unresponsive. For one reason or the other, it wasn't working, meaning she couldn't get in touch with her friends, and she had a seriously weird feeling of déjà-vu. Before she could ponder over it any longer, though, she sensed movement to her right and instantly dropped to the ground, effectively avoiding being caught by a silent assailant.
Oh crap, they came after me first! If I get caught here, no one will know until it's too late!
She jumped to her feet, ready to make a run for it, but two more men appeared before her, effectively cutting off the more direct escape route. Undeterred, she threw four real knives at them and kept on running, determined to forcibly make her way through. However, contrarily to most of the opponents she faced in the past… they didn't underestimate her. Easily deflecting her knives, they didn't so much as flinch when she got close enough to hit and swung another knife at them. Just as the blade was about to connect with the first guy's face, a wheezing sound echoed and a metallic wire suddenly wrapped itself around her wrist, effectively stopping her before she could land a blow.
"Shit—!"
She moved, putting some distance between the three men and herself, and she attempted to cut the wire, but it was too solid. Another wire suddenly shot out, wrapping itself around her right ankle—then another, around her left wrist, and a fourth one, around her left ankle. Two mores wires wrapped themselves around her upper body as her arms were suddenly pulled in opposite directions, effectively immobilizing her. Losing her balance, she dropped to the ground with a small 'THUD' and winced as sharp pain and blood filled her mouth.
Crap, bit my tongue…
Leather boots appeared in her line of sight, and she looked up. A man with slicked-back hair, rectangular glasses, a scar over his left eye, and a confident smirk—Craig Houjou.
"You're good, girl—but not good enough."
"Wow, high praises from a legendary mercenary," she grunted, struggling a bit. The bindings were too tight, though, and she could hardly move a finger. "Why target me first?"
"Because we know who you are, Naoki Ame, just like you know who I am. Out of all of the students in the E-Class, you represent the greatest risk—targeting you first was simply a rational decision."
"First, uh? So we were right, you're trying to get rid of the E-Class so we won't interfere with your plan," she grunted, annoyed. She then smirked. "Though, try as you might to keep us away, it won't work. We're going to save Korosensei, and if we have to kick your ass to do that, then we will!"
"Enough. Let's go."
She was roughly pulled up from the pavement she had been lying on, and a gag was suddenly shoved into her mouth as a cloth was wrapped over her eyes. She didn't even try to fight it, well aware that it would be completely useless at that point, and she simply decided to bide her time and gather all of the information she could on the assassination before making her move.
Though, here's hoping the others won't get caught as easily…
.
.
"OI! What do you mean, no trespassing!?"
It didn't take long for the E-Class to gather together. Although it was the middle of the night, they weren't about to just wait on the sidelines as the government finally made their move. However, it quickly became evident that they had planned everything down to the last detail: there were soldiers everywhere, the Prime Minister had already made a statement explaining the situation and declaring Korosensei a threat to humanity—all the while lying through his teeth, of course—and, most importantly, they weren't allowed access to the mountain.
"Everyone! Did you see the news?" exclaimed Isogai. "We need to—"
At once, blinding light was shone upon them as journalists noticed them.
"Look, look!"
"Could this be the students that have been threatened by that monstrous teacher?"
"You're those junior-high hostages, right?"
"Excuse me, how do you feel right now?"
"You must be relieved to hear that he's been captured!"
"What was it like, spending a whole year ruled by a teacher who could explode at any second?"
"What's this about him forcing you to perform sham assassinations?"
"SHUT UP!" Muramatsu was the first to snap. "It's none of your business!"
"We have it on good authority that there's less than a one-percent chance of the Earth being destroyed!" assured firmly Yada. "He's not dangerous—put that on TV!"
"He's not the evil teacher they're saying he is!" pleaded Kurahashi, teary-eyed.
"Aw, did that monster tell you to say that?" replied a female journalist in a gentle tone. "How awful it must have been. You can tell us the truth, now." She then turned to face the camera. "These are the innocent children that monster used as hostages!"
Why are they pitying us? Why won't they listen to us? Thought the students, desperate.
"Enough! You have no permission to film here." Relief washed over the E-Class as Karasuma appeared, herding away the noise journalists and cameras. "Leave at once!"
"But- but what about our duty to report the truth!?" protested the woman from earlier.
"And terrify junior-high students for sheer entertainment value? Some duty!" snapped back the special agent. "By the authority of the Defense Agency, this area is off-limits. In the interest of public safety, I'm asking you to leave!"
"Come on, let's go!" suddenly urged Isogai, nudging a few of his classmates. "We have to go!"
Before either Karasuma or the journalists could stop them, the students made a run for it. As they started running, Isogai pulled out his phone.
"Ritsu! Can you direct us to wherever Ame is?"
"Right away!"
They ran for over fifteen minutes, before they finally reached a street devoid of any civilians. It was still pretty dark outside, saved for the glowing dome now surrounding the top of the E-Class mountain, and a strange sense of unease settled in Isogai's guts as he looked around.
"Ritsu, where's Ame?"
"According to my calculations, she's heading right for you," assured the program. "She'll reach your location in exactly three minutes and forty seconds."
Isogai relaxed a little at that, though just barely. "Alright, let's take a look at the situation: guards have been posted all around the dome without leaving a single opening."
"They want to isolate Korosensei," nodded Takebayashi. "They don't want those stupid journalists to get anywhere close—potential terrorists, too. And us, of course. All of the military bases are ready to send reinforcements if needed and, tomorrow, the chances of us making it into the dome will be zero."
"In other words, we'll have to jump right into it—tonight," summarized darkly Karma.
"Pretty much," sighed Sugino.
"And after that, we'll explain the situation to everyone!" added Yada, confident. "We'll tell them exactly what happened, and how we feel, and—!"
It all happened in the span of a few seconds. One moment, they were all standing around and discussing the matter at hands—the next, two sleek black vans pulled up on each side of the street, effectively cornering the students. In the blink of an eye, all of the students had been pulled into the vans and whisked away without leaving a single trace behind.
.
.
"What is wrong with you!?"
"Let us go!"
"Ooh? You were pretty fast. Good work, Houjou."
"As requested, I captured all of them without leaving a single scratch on them, commander."
Tied up and blinded, all of the students were dragged out of the vans and into some sort of room and, as soon as the blindfolds were taken off, Karma and a few others instantly recognized their assailants as the men who assaulted Yada just a day earlier.
"Where- where are we…?" asked hesitantly Kanzaki.
"In the H.Q. of this operation," answered the Commander, who was standing before them with his head held high. "We borrowed this building to the Defense Agency. You, dear students, will be staying here under our surveillance until we've eliminated this monster once and for all. Of course, we've warned your parents already—told them that we were keeping you under protective custody, uh, uh."
"You've got to be shitting me…" growled Terasaka.
"Do- do what you want with us but please, don't kill Korosensei!" pleaded Hara. "You don't have any reason to! The probability of him exploding is less than one percent!"
"Ah, you're still children, so you couldn't possibly understand," sighed the Commander in a condescending voice. "No matter the probability, the world is asking us to kill him. The slightest threat could trigger an incident on a global scale that no one would be able to handle. So long as the risk isn't an absolute zero, people will be scared, and chaos will keep on spreading. Plus, even if the probability is less than one percent, it's still too great a number for us to risk putting this entire planet in danger." He then put on a falsely gentle expression, as if he was talking to a bunch of babies. "And don't you know? In his previous life, that monster was a cruel, bloodthirsty assassin. Who knows what he might do if we let him live? I mean, just think about all of the people he already killed… Ah!" He pushed up his glasses, smirking. "He's only getting what he deserves—ack!"
Terasaka had heard enough and, always the hotheaded one, he didn't hesitate in bringing up his leg and slamming his foot right into the man's face, breaking his nose and cracking his glasses at the same time.
"STOP TALKING AS IF YOU KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT DUMB OCTOPUS! AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU, TO TALK ABOUT STUFF LIKE THAT!? WE DON'T EVEN KNOW YOUR FRICKING NAME!"
"You little brat! My name is—"
"Ooh, it looks like that monster brainwashed you and is currently mentally manipulating you," mused Craig. "All the more dangerous to let you run amuck. Men, take them away."
"Yes, sir!"
"My duty is to watch over the dome to ensure that parasites like you can't make it into the school," concluded the leader. "So stay put if you don't want to get hurt, kids."
"W- wait!" As the subordinates started dragging them away, Isogai called out to him. "You- you have Ame-san's phone, don't you? What did you do to her?"
It was a logical assumption. Ritsu had been telling him about how Ame had been closing in on their location, but only those vans had shown up. Adding that to the fact that she hadn't tried to contact any of them yet, and that she hadn't shown up at the mountain when everyone else did…
"Your little friend is safe," simply replied Craig, visibly uncaring. "We simply neutralized her first in order to avoid further unnecessary complications."
He didn't say anything else after that, and Isogai was then taken away with the rest of the students, all of them sharing a single thought:
This is bad!
They were stripped of their clothes and their belongings in order to ensure that they weren't hiding any weapons. Once they got dressed into bland, matching uniforms that reminded them of hospital wear, they were all shoved into a large room filled with couches and pillows, a large TV, and even a bunch of food and drink distributors.
Oh, and of course, there was Ame.
"Oh, great. Now this party can really get going. I mean, the guards are real spoilsports and won't bring me some much-needed sake, but we can still have some fun," drawled the girl, leaning into one of the couches. "Not that I minded having the TV to myself, though—we don't have one like that, back at home. Too expensive."
"Ame-san… Are you okay?" asked hesitantly Isogai.
"Physically? A little bruised, but that'll be gone by morning. Mentally?" Her expression turned dark. "I'm pissed. I knew something was going to happen, I knew we'd be targeted, and yet I still went out on my own without even contacting one of you first. Hell, had I stayed at the headquarters, I could have warned all of you from a distance, and we could have planned things properly! Ugh, I'm so mad at myself right now!"
"It's not your fault, Ame," assured Rio, dropping on the couch next to her. "You might know a lot of stuff, but you can't know everything."
"Though, now we're stuck here," grunted Terasaka.
Everyone fell unbearably silent at that. They were all trying to think of a way to escape, to figure out a plan to make it out and save Korosensei… but hope was dim, for not saying nonexistent. Though, as they all slowly sunk into a heavy, defeated silence, the door suddenly slid open.
"Karasuma-sensei!" gasped Mimura.
"You came!" cheered Kurahashi.
"Karasuma-sensei, please, let us out of here," instantly asked Nagisa. "Let us go back to school!"
"Right! You can make them release us, can't you?" nodded Kimura.
"… you find yourselves in this position because of your impatience." Karasuma's expression was tensed, and it was easy to guess that he was pained by his current position. "I can no longer help you. If you wanted to go there, you should have waited for the moment when all of the soldiers would be in position. It would have made less of a racket, and some soldiers would even have lowered their guard. Had you waited at least five days… you probably would have been able to slip through their defenses." Ame wasn't even looking at him, but she was paying sharp attention as he shared with them some much-needed information. "Of course, even if you had managed to get through the security perimeter that's been set up at the base of the mountain, you would have been caught before reaching the dome. The elite soldiers who captured you are keeping watch over the mountain. It's a mercenary group called the Wolfpack, and those guys are specialists in guerrilla warfare and sabotage. There's no more than thirty of them, but they're all feared in the mountainous zones and the forests across the entire world. Even with little numbers, they're capable of protecting an entire mountain. Also, their leader is none other than Craig Houjou, also known under the alias of Divine Soldier. He's capable of killing a lion with his bare hands, and he has fought on numerous battlefields all over the planet. It's the most powerful mercenary in the world." Karasuma lowered his head at that, visibly conflicted. "I only briefly crossed paths with him earlier, and he's even worst than I imagined. He's at least three times stronger than me. If you make him angry, then you won't stand a chance. As such, you'd be better off giving up now—"
"Never!" Nagisa finally snapped. "There are still so many things we haven't told Korosensei yet! So many things we want to tell him, and so many experiences we want to share with him! So please, I'm begging you, let us go—"
Without any warning, Karasuma grabbed him by the collar, lifted him up, and slammed him into the ground. The soldiers who had been keeping a careful watch on Karasuma to ensure he wouldn't try and help the students all flinched, unsure of whether or not they should interfere, and a thunderous expression fell upon the special agent's face.
"If the government decided that you wouldn't get out of here, then you're not getting out of here," he hissed between his teeth. "Listen to me closely, Nagisa: don't give me a hard time! Got it?"
"Stop trying, Nagisa," then called out Karma, unamused. "In the end, he's just another pawn of society—he'll listen to anything his superiors say to save his own skin."
"Exactly," confirmed simply Karasuma, releasing the blue-haired boy. "If you don't have a good social position, then you can't protect anyone in the most critical moments." He then turned around, obviously intending to leave it at that. "Plus, if I'm to act on my own conviction, then I believe it would be best for us to kill that monster. Now, think this over with cool heads for the next three days, understood?"
No one answered, and he left, along with the soldiers. As soon as the students were left alone once again, Terasaka hit the wall out of frustration.
"Gah! Damn this Karasuma! He betrayed us!"
"Dumbass," snorted Ame. "What he did was simply a long-winded way of giving us all of the information we need in order to plan the rescue."
"What?"
"You're- you're right! The time, the security details, the info about the leader," summarized Fuwa, counting on her fingers. "We actually have everything we need!"
"Plus, he asked us not to give him a hard time," pointed out Nagisa. "Just yesterday, he told us: if I find myself having a hard time, I'll believe in you without hesitation. In other words, he believes in us and is leaving the matter into our hands. He's in a different position than us, but he'll give us as much information as he can, and he'll respect our decision. That's why we need to think over what we want to do, and how to do it—together."
"We have three days left," announced Ame, stretching her arms as she rose to her feet. She then grinned. "So, let's get started: we have a lot of stuff to plan."
.
.
None of the students wanted Korosensei to die, but what they wanted the most was to see their teacher at least one last time. So, with that goal in mind, they started carefully planning. Of course, said plan was founded on the assumption that they would be out of the facility in three days, but they decided to trust Karasuma and leave that particular matter to him.
They spent the following two days planning everything out, memorizing the landscapes, the hand signals, the contingency plans—and of course, all of that while keeping up with their physical training. Thankfully enough, the soldiers were rather loose in their surveillance, so they never noticed what the students were up to.
Then, on the third day, as everyone started wondering just how they were supposed to make it out of the facility—
"Hey, everyone~! I was so worried about you!"
—their forgotten ally showed up. They all perked up as none other than Irina Jelavic entered the room, escorted by two soldiers, but their good mood quickly plummeted as she grabbed the nearest student—in that case, Takebayashi—and gave him a full-mouthed kiss. Not wasting any time, she then moved on and also kissed Nagisa, Kanzaki, Yada, and Mimura, before the soldiers finally interfered and dragged her out.
"See you later, kids~!"
On which the sexy assassin was escorted out of the room, and Kayano turned to Nagisa, flushing a deep red.
"What- what did she do that for!?"
However, all misunderstanding was cleared up as, at once, the five students that had been kissed spat out various objects, which Takebayashi, Okuda, and Ame instantly recognized.
"Everything we need to make our own explosives, uh?" grinned the info-broker. "Looks like we're getting out of here tonight, after all. Get ready, everyone! As soon as the sun is down, we're moving!"
"Right!"
.
.
The explosion was fast and soundless. In a matter of seconds, all of the students had snuck out of the facility using the backdoor, and Ame was both astounded and pleased by the fact that people in charge obviously didn't consider them enough of a threat to even bother putting up at least a few surveillance cameras. Using the hand-made map Irina had provided them with, they easily found their way outside, where none other than their sexy teacher was waiting.
"Took you long enough," she mused, half-serious. "To think I gave you a map with the best escape route, too."
"Bitch-sensei, why are you helping us?" asked curiously Yada.
"Karasuma asked me to. Seduce the soldiers keeping watch took me more time than I expected. I had to talk with them for a pretty long time in their lounge until I gathered enough information to figure out the best escape route possible," she explained with a light shrug. She then averted her eyes, a tad embarrassed. "Plus, you're also my students, in case you forgot—I couldn't possibly stand aside while some unknown government schmucks stole your kill."
"Still, what I want to know is how you managed to fit all of that stuff in your mouth," then pointed out Sugino, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. "The explosive parts, the map…"
"Her seduction techniques are really scary," paled Mimura.
"In any case, the laser will be fired just before midnight," warned Irina, carefully avoiding giving an answer. "I don't know how this is all going to end… but tomorrow is the graduation ceremony. In other words, this is your last class. So, give it everything you've got."
"Right!"
"Got it!"
"Everyone, go back home and gear up right away!" instantly instructed Isogai. "They'll soon notice we've managed to escape, so we have to make our move before they tighten the security perimeter around the mountain!"
As everyone started running, Kataoka looked back at Irina with a grin. "Bitch-sensei! Come join us at the top with Karasuma-sensei! You're also two teachers we really care about, after all!"
At first startled, a gentle, delighted smile then graced Irina's face. "Understood."
.
.
"Ame, Ritsu told us—"
"I'm fine, got kidnapped, managed to escape, but I don't have much time," she cut Hana off as she finished zipping up the camo suit. "They're going to fire a laser that'll erase Korosensei from the map in a little less than four hours. Is there any way Usagi can stop it? Or at least, stall it for a little longer?"
"Already tried, but hacking into it without inside support is impossible," simply replied Usagi, and she could hear the scowl in his voice. "And it's not connected to the research station you infiltrated, so I can't use that. Sorry."
"No, no, it's fine, I just had to ask—to make sure." She dragged out her weapon bag from under the bed. "I'll call you guys back as soon as this is over."
"Ame, what's on the news—"
"We'll deal with this later. Right now, our priority is to save Korosensei—"
"A- Ame-nee…?"
She stiffened, her back still turned to the door, before her shoulders slumped. "Gotta go."
"Good luck."
Nodding, she ended the call, before finally turning around. In the doorway stood none other than Kiba and, while she was glad it wasn't one of the younger kids—because God knows they'd have already woken up the entire household—she was also worried. He was the most headstrong and stubborn of their little family, and if he refused to listen to her…
"What- what we saw on the news—that monster—"
"He's not a monster," she cut off, a tad more sharply than she first intended. Seeing his frightened expression, though, she softened a little. "He's my teacher, Kiba—has been since the beginning of the year. I can't go into the details right now, because that would breach a stupid contract I signed a few months ago, but I can tell you this: he is dangerous, but he would never hurt us—or anyone, for that matter. He cares about us, and we care about him." She offered a tentative smile, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And you know me, Kiba. I might do dumb stuff from time to time, but I'm not stupid. Just trust me on this, alright?"
"… I know. I know, and I do trust you, Ame-nee—more than those jerks on TV that keep on calling you and your friends deranged and traumatized and whatnot…" He lowered his head, thinking things over for a few seconds, before noticing the camo suit she was wearing. "You… you're going to try and save him, aren't you?"
"Yeah. My friends and I… we can't just let it end like this."
He nodded, visibly still worried, but he had relaxed. "Just… don't get hurt, okay? I'll tell Obaa-san not to worry, but you gotta promise to stay in one piece, okay?"
"I swear." She brought him into a tight hug, before quickly releasing him. "I don't have much time left. I'll be back tomorrow, okay?"
He simply nodded again, and she wasted no more time, quickly pulling out whatever weapon she could get her hands on and strapping them on. After a brief moment of hesitation, she even strapped the katana to her back. Then, quickly turning around, she climbed over the windowsill, before shooting one last look at Kiba, who was still standing in the doorway. This time, though, his expression mirrored her own determination.
"Go kick their asses, Ame-nee!"
Surprised, she then offered him a feral grin. "You got it."
.
.
"I'm relieved to see that everyone is alright!" greeted cheerfully Ritsu from Itona's laptop. "While you were all sequestered, I took the liberty of observing and analyzing the situation from the skies!"
All of that thanks to the automatized drone recharges Itona had set up on the roof of the main building of Kunugigaoka. He had been planning on using the drones in an assassination attempt against Korosensei but, as it was, they'd be useful in another way entirely.
"The only way to cross the blockade of soldiers set up around the mountain is through that sole opening, right on the other side—we can reach it in the town next over," explained Isogai while everyone quickly memorized the maps they were handed. "Let's all meet up there in an hour top! We don't have much more time left… It'll be our last chance to get inside!"
"Aah!"
As soon as the signal was given, Ame took off. She quickly got in the lead, more used to parkour than the rest of her classmates, and she had a special mission of her own—a small task given specifically to her by Karma, just a few minutes earlier.
Craig Houjou… Her eyes hardened at the thought of the mercenary. You'll regret the day you ever stood up to the E-Class!
Forty-two minutes later
Ame could hear them—the screams, the gunshots. The E-Class was working its magic, taking out one mercenary after the other and they made it look easy, damn it. Herself had managed to infiltrate the mountain about fifteen minutes earlier, doing her best to go completely undetected as she made a beeline for the leader of the Wolfpack, who whom she knew the exact location thanks to Ritsu.
::
"Ame, you were targeted first and separately from the rest. In other words, Houjou considered you to be the greatest threat in our class—most probably thanks to all that time your name spent on the Dark List."
"Let me guess: you want me to bait him."
"Pretty much. The only way to beat a guy like that is to completely overwhelm him before he can be given the chance to react, and that can only work if he's entirely focused on the greatest threat. So, you'll need to go ahead of the class and do two things."
::
There are many things that distinguish our class from this merry group of hardcore mercenaries. First is, of course, our hard-earned knowledge of our surroundings. This mountain, this forest… We spent an entire year exploiting every single of its layouts in order to corner our target.
"Mon- monsters!"
"They're monsters!"
"How many of them are there!?"
Second, there's the fact that we all laid out numerous traps over the course of the year—many of which were never triggered by Korosensei. And, while they were never meant to be used on humans, there's no denying that they're quite useful.
"Argh!"
"Careful of the trap wires—ack!"
"A- a net!?"
And third, last but not least: our motivation. They're only motivated to fulfill their mission for the sake of pride and recognition—we are aiming to save someone we care about. In other words, we're fighting because we have everything to lose, meaning no one can stop us.
"What's your status, Ame?" asked Karma, his voice crackling over the wireless radio.
"I've been tailing them for exactly four minutes. Is it time?"
"Aah. Get to it."
"Understood."
::
"First, you have to isolate him completely."
::
Without wasting a second, Ame pulled out her gun and aimed it directly at the two goons who stuck to closely to Houjou's side. She fired twice, hitting her targets right in the napes of their uncovered necks—the somniferous drug in the needles she fired instantly took them out. They collapsed on the ground with gurgling sounds… but she was already gone, taking off running at neck-breaking speed as soon as she fired her two shots.
::
"And second?"
"Second? You've got to outrun him long enough to lure him into our trap. Think you can make it?"
::
She had been picked for that particular mission for two reasons: one, because she and probably Kimura were the only ones in the class fast enough to actually manage that task—and she had greater experience in escaping lethal pursuits than her classmate; and two, because she was the only one Craig had singled out. He'd bet on her actively challenging him on her own and would take the bait blindly—had it been anyone else, he would have instantly suspected teamwork.
Had this been a few months earlier, I would have definitely been the kind of person who'd try to take him out on my own. As I am now, though… I know better—but he doesn't know that.
It was only natural to assume she'd act out on her own—talented and powerful people tended to prefer acting on their own terms and on their lonesome. However, Ame had grown a lot in the past year, and that's why she now had the upper hand.
Well, I say that, but he's catching up pretty fast!
She accelerated the pace, painfully aware of how he was slowly closing in on her like a predator about to catch his prey. However, she knew the forest by heart, and she had long since learned how to outrun beasts driven by their instincts. At that point, she barely felt her feet hitting the branches, or the wind whipping her air—all she could feel was her blood pumping, full of adrenaline, and the heavy bloodlust clinging to the mercenary that was hot on her heels.
"Incoming!" she hissed into her radio.
"We're ready."
Exactly four seconds later, she burst into the clearing where the rest of her classmates had laid out their trap. Making a few barrels on the ground, she let out a yelp as she sensed a spike of killing intent and, without thinking, she sprung into a cartwheel—just barely managing to escape the blow Houjou had just been about to land on her. Just as he was about to attack her again, though, the rest of the E-Class made their move at once.
Hayami and Chiba fired somniferous needles.
Karma and Kimura attacked directly with stun-guns.
Sugino started throwing heavy rocks with his pitching skills.
Okano, Kurahashi, and Hara all activated large flashlights, instantly blinding him.
Then, the rest of the class joined in on the fun, moving one after the other with stun-guns, Tasers, drug-laced blades, and all other sorts of projectiles.
Just as they had learned during the year, they used simultaneous hit-and-run tactics to overwhelm him and completely force him into a defensive position. Seeing as he was three times as strong as Karasuma, running away would only lead to him catching them and taking them out, and outright provoking him into hand-to-hand combat would likely result in serious injuries, and maybe a casualty or two. Mindful of their every move, they coordinated their attacks one after the other, careful and patient and waiting for the perfect time to strike—
Nothing.
Houjou's eyes widened as all of the students suddenly stopped attacking at once but, before he could even think of what to do next, a noise behind him caught his attention. He whirled around, ready to punch the damn brat who was trying to get the jump on him—
'CLAP'
The sound echoed in the now eerily silent clearing, and Houjou froze, instantly paralyzed by the stun-clap Ame had just done centimeters away from his face, while hanging upside-down to the branch of the tree behind him. Not wasting a second, Nagisa and Karma instantly pounced on the paralyzed mercenary and, without two synchronized, powerful hits to the head, they managed to take him out at last.
"Ah, wait, he's still moving!" gasped fearfully Kayano.
On which Terasaka, Yoshida, and Muramatsu instantly moved in to tie him up from head to toe, ensuring he wouldn't be able to move and come after them any time soon. Once absolutely certain the threat had been entirely dealt with, the students finally allowed themselves to relax a little. A tad breathless, Ame leaned against the trunk of the tree, closing her eyes for a second.
"Good work out there, Ame-san."
She cracked an eye open, glancing at Isogai while smiling a bit. "Thanks. You guys did great, too."
"Yes, well, we're not the ones who had that legendary mercenary hot on their heels," he mused.
"Maybe, but you still had to deal with most of the mercenaries in there. You—"
"Alright, you two, if you're quite done flirting?" called out Karma, half-teasingly. The two in question instantly flushed red, spluttering out incoherent answers. "In case you've forgotten, there's an octopus waiting for us up there. Let's get moving~."
Ame settled for glaring at Rio, guessing the blonde had ended up spilling the beans to Karma, but her friend simply shook her head with a knowing grin—she didn't tell him anything.
Damn it, am I really that unsubtle?
Wait, no! I wasn't even flirting in the first place, damn it!
Shaking her head with frustration, she fell in step with the rest of the students, all of them now headed for the top of the mountain.
They had one last class to attend, and Ame wouldn't skip that one for the world.
For anyone wondering, Craig Houjou is a real character of Assassination Classroom, but he only made an appearance in the manga, and the whole "week of detainment" is canon. For one reason or the other, they didn't use him in the anime, which I find unfortunate-and which is why I decided to use him in this story. You can find his story on the Fandom Wiki!
Anyway, there are only two chapters left, rounding it up to a perfect forty. Next chapter is going to be filled with action and packed with emotions so, if you're anything like me, keep a box of tissues nearby, because that scene gets to me every time (and you guys know which one I'm talking about).
I look forward to your reviews!