[9.1]

Third Date: Window Shopping

In the second semester finals, everyone in Class 3-E has made it to the top 50. Instead of transferring to the main campus, they preferred to stay, so that they could kill their teacher by March.

Even Korosensei has bested Chairman Asano's educational philosophy after overcoming the test given by the principal.

The two snipers, then, decided to have their third date to bask in this glory especially Chiba who got 9th place. Having wanted to know each other better, they went to the mall to explore each other's interests.

Hayami was the one to choose the first place to go. Upon entering the bookstore, she was lured instantly to the Teen Fiction section with Chiba tagging along behind.

He picked up a book randomly from the shelf and skimmed over it. The title was 'The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino' by Hiromi Kawakami. Then he asked, "Do you read romance?"

She nodded in reply as she pulled out a book – 'I am A Cat' by Natsume Soseki – as her mouth curved up. "I like the strong emotions that you can feel and the development of the main characters in romance stories. They make me feel alive," she explained after.

Although she preferred to not let her emotions show, it did not mean that she did not appreciate the mystery and complexity behind them – how it has been affecting anyone beyond reason and logic. Whenever she was in a dilemma on her feelings, she would sometimes consult the books as a reference.

But, lately, she had not relied on them that much anymore because of a specific someone, who was poring over a book beside her at the moment, the one whom she opened up to about her troubles and whose mere presence was enough to bring her comfort.

"Maybe I should read an English novel to help improve my vocabulary and grammar," said Chiba as he came across 'Turtles All The Way Down' written by John Green.

Hayami closed the book in her hand and returned it to its place. She, then, walked out of the section before turning towards Classics.

Chiba was trailing after her when she popped out from the shelf while holding a small book.

"I suggest you read this." She raised the book of Adeline Yen Mah, 'Chinese Cinderella'. "It's a classic and one of my favorites. I have a copy that I can lend you tomorrow in school."

"Can I see?" He extended his arm just as she handed it to him.

After reading the synopsis on the back, he hummed contentedly and returned it to her. "Seems interesting," he said.

They went to the music store next. While browsing through an array of CD albums, Chiba set his sights on an album of a Japanese band.

He took a closer look and blurted, "Cool. They have their new album."

Hayami walked up beside him. "Will you buy it?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I'd like to but I didn't bring enough money. I can buy this online later."

Afterward, he proceeded to another aisle with Hayami by his side since she has no particular interest in music. Instead, she took note of the music genres he liked (besides Hardcore Punk) and the bands or artists that he listened to.

"Do you want to listen too?" he asked as he pulled down his headset. When she had nodded, he passed it to her.

As soon as the song started, her eardrums burst from the volume and intensity, her heart inside her chest splitting open. She removed the headset with a drained expression before glancing at him.

"How do you manage to listen to this?"

Finding her reaction amusing, he picked another song. "Pay attention to the lyrics," he told her.

And so she did. Somehow, the explosive rhythm did not bother her anymore but she did not come to like it either. Focusing on the words of the song was like reading a book, which was a swirl of mixed emotions and thoughts. With her mouth slightly agape, she slid the headphones down around her neck.

When he had heard her say, "I get it now", a triumphant look crossed his face.

…

Their stomachs began to grumble when noon had arrived. They selected a place to eat, which was, according to Ritsu, a popular place for young people.

On the way there, they ran into a surprising pair, who everyone knew got along well in class. But still, being together on a Sunday unless you were on a date has raised questions even from the stoic snipers.

Upon seeing them, Karma asked, "Oh, you two on a date?"

Chiba's gaze drifted towards the bespectacled girl squirming beside the red-head. Then he hummed in reply since there was no use hiding it from him.

After a momentarily pause, he asked back, "How about you two?"

Karma, per usual, maintained his cool. "Okuda-san and I are going to buy the things that she needs for her new experiment. Since it is already lunch, we decided to eat first," he explained as he pointed to the restaurant near them, where the sniper couple was planning to go.

"We are also going to eat there," said Hayami.

Okuda glanced at Hayami tentatively, then, back to the ground. Having seen her uneasiness from the corner of his eye, Karma asked for her, "Do you want to eat together then?"

Waving her hands frantically, Okuda said, "B-But we might disturb their…"

"We don't mind," Hayami chimed in. "We already got enough time together this morning. Right, Chiba?" She looked at him for confirmation to which he hummed with a quick nod.

True to Ritsu's suggestion, the place was fully packed with mostly diners about their age. Luckily, a group had just finished when they arrived, leaving a table for them.

When their orders had been delivered to their table, Hayami's eyes averted to the purple-haired girl across her. "Okuda-san, what are you going to make this time?" she asked.

"I'm trying to create a tranquilizing drug. Karma-kun said that we might need it in the future for our protection."

'I bet Karma has other motives for that other than protection,' both Chiba and Hayami thought.

"I first suggested a tranquilizer for Korosensei," Karma said, "but Okuda-san said that will be a challenge because of his complex body, so she will have to make one for humans as an initial step."

"Why don't you fuse the tranquilizer into bullets or darts?" Chiba suggested.

Karma's eyebrows perked up, fond of the idea. "I see. Like a tranquilizer dart gun."

"For Korosensei in the future, maybe put the drug inside the anti-sensei pellet for immediate effects inside his body," said Hayami as Chiba nodded in agreement.

While Okuda was writing their suggestions in her notepad, lips pursed in concentration, Karma was smiling with his eyes fixed on her.

The sight has made the couple sitting across them shudder. They shared a look when the same thought had crossed their minds.

Hayami – Does he?

Chiba – Seems like it.

They finished their meal with small talks that were mostly initiated by Karma. Typically, the two snipers gave short answers and remarks, while Okuda filled in just to further the conversation.

"Excuse me for a moment. I will go to the restroom," Okuda proclaimed as she started to rise on her feet.

"I will come with you," Hayami stated, pushing the chair behind her.

Okuda meekly bobbed her head – uncomfortable at the thought of being with Hayami alone – before going to the restroom with her. While walking beside the poker-faced sniper, she kept her hands clasped together and her eyes on the floor.

"Why do girls like to go to the restroom together? I wonder what they do there," Karma said as his gaze followed their shrinking figures.

With a shrug, Chiba uttered, "No idea either."

After exiting the cubicle, Hayami came upon Okuda, who was fidgeting with her clothes, by the sink. It looked like she had been waiting for her.

Hayami washed her hands and fixed her hair in front of the mirror while Okuda kept on glancing at her with a queasy expression. She turned to the braided girl.

"You look like you want to say something," she said flat-out.

"Erm…" Okuda's eyes darted away for a second. "I wanted to tell you that you look pretty in your outfit today but I think that you wouldn't like that."

With her face blank, Hayami asked, "Why wouldn't I?"

Okuda remained staring at the tiled floor. "W-Well, every time Okajima-kun praises you, you get annoyed," she replied.

"That's because he was being a pervert," Hayami stated.

"How about Chiba-kun? You had a different reaction when he praised you."

Hayami blinked in confusion especially at the mention of his name. "What do you mean?"

"Karma-kun showed me the video of when you played truth or dare. You seemed happy with his compliments about you."

'Of course, he took a video,' Hayami thought begrudgingly.

Then she heaved out a sigh before replying casually, "That's because Chiba is special."

Okuda's purple orbs widened as her hands cupped her mouth. 'Wow,' she thought. 'Hayami-san is so brave.'

"For you to say that so casually. No wonder you're so amazing, Hayami-san. Compared to me…"

With a sharp look, Hayami interrupted her, "That's not true." Then she clasped Okuda's shoulder. "You are admirable, Okuda. Your talent in chemicals and science makes you one hell of an assassin."

The truth serum that Okuda had concocted, which was proven to be effective, has brought a new light to the young chemist's abilities. She was indeed capable – scary even – for Hayami.

Having listened to her statement has rendered Okuda flabbergasted. "T-Thank you for that, Hayami-san." She bowed, flattered to be commended by one of the geniuses in class.

When they had returned to the table, they found Karma and Chiba in the middle of playing tic-tac-toe on a table napkin.

After writing an X for his turn, completing the three letters, Karma raised his chin. "You two are back," he pointed out while Chiba's shoulders slouched in defeat, making it the fourth one consecutively.

"Sorry it took a while," Hayami told the boys before giving her date a glimpse.

"Shall we go now?" she asked him.

Karma, then, stood up beside Okuda. He queried, "Where are you headed next?"

"To the shooting grounds nearby," Chiba answered.

"How unromantic ~" the red-head razzed. "Even on your date, you are still dedicated to your training."

With both of them sharing a glance, Chiba said first, "That's part of a reason" while Hayami continued, "But we also find gun shooting fun and satisfying."

In contrast to her downcast eyes and reluctant steps when they had gone in earlier, Okuda was looking chipper as they stepped out of the restaurant.

"You are in good mood now," Karma stated as he matched her slower pace.

She nodded cheerily and said, "Hayami-san praised me for my talent earlier. She isn't so scary after all."

"Heh~" A smile crossed his face as he stifled his laugh at the fact that Okuda was frightened at Hayami. It was inevitable though since the orange-haired sniper could be found intimidating with her ice-cold stare and words.

Then he said further, "She is not wrong. You have a knack for your passion. I find it helpful in a lot of ways."

'Although mostly for my pranks,' he thought after.

"Thank you, Karma-kun," Okuda uttered, pleased to receive such confirmation from another one of the prodigies especially when she was able to help him despite her shortcomings.

"I've been hearing about this lately from our classmates, so I've been wondering," she began to say when Karma turned towards her. "Do Chiba-kun and Hayami-san like each other?"

He stopped in his tracks as the sudden yet obvious question almost broke him into a snort. "I didn't think that you would be interested in romance," he said before facing his front and his legs started moving.

Her gaze turned down with a slight blush on her cheeks. "I have been having thoughts about it lately," she admitted sheepishly.

Although she found the two snipers intimidating, she internally admired them in a lot of ways. Sitting beside Chiba, she had been watching him keeping quiet and calm as he observed his surroundings. Behind Hayami, she could see her professionalism towards other people and her hard work in both studies and assassination. Whenever the four of them - she, Karma, Hayami, and Chiba – were seated together during biology, the 'work' chemistry and fluent cooperation of the sniper duo as laboratory partners never ceased to impress her.

That's why seeing them together made her want to do better. In fact, she has been secretly hoping for them to end up together especially when she was beginning to take an interest in someone herself.

There was a short delay before Karma asked nonchalantly, "Do you like someone right now?" which sent her into a panic.

Darting her eyes here and there, Okuda splatted her hands on both of her cheeks. "Maybe," she stuttered following it with, "H-How about you?"

"Yeah. It's you."

With a dancing water fountain beside them, it was Okuda's turn to stop. "E-Eh?!" Her eyes widened, heartbeat increasing its pace, as she jerked her head towards him.

As his golden eyes turned solemn, he bent closer to her. "Why do you think I accompanied you today? Hm?" he said in a smoky tone.

Her whole body felt spiraling as blood rushed to her head. 'This is bad. I think I'm going to faint,' she thought right before her vision turned black.

[9.2]

Cold Hands

White puffs escaped her mouth as Hayami sat on the front stairs. Despite the drop in temperature this month, staying outside for over half an hour was not a big deal for her. She could manage with only a thin layer of brown coat; there was no need for her to wear a pair of mittens and a scarf.

Then Chiba came out of the building, having just finished returning the props and costumes they had used in the drama festival. Upon seeing her waiting for him, he began creeping up her back with his hands ready.

Although he already knew about her tolerance to the cold, his arms still motioned towards her head slowly until his palms touched both of her cheeks.

She flinched merely because of the sudden contact and not of his freezing touch. Then, turning over her shoulder, she told him, "That's not going to work on me."

He broke into an impish smile. "No harm in trying."

Afterward, they headed into the forest path to climb down the mountain. There they talked about the class play they did earlier. They praised Hazama for her mad skills in writing the script and Sugino for his hidden gift in acting, which made it more entertaining for the audience.

When they had fallen silent, Hayami caught her companion rubbing his hands together and blowing on them simultaneously. "You should have worn gloves," she pointed.

"I forgot this morning." He wrapped his arms around himself as his lips quivered. "You are lucky that you can handle the cold."

She, then, pulled out two hot packs from her bag. Whilst handing them to him, she said "Here" to which he took with a shaky smile.

"Thanks," he uttered, thanking the heavens for an angel like her.

Upon shoving the hot packs, together with his hands, inside his pockets, a question crossed his mind – "There is no need for you to have these, right?"

"My mother insisted I bring them."

A few moments later, she saw him let out a satisfied sigh as the warmth gradually seeped into his palms. With this, a corner of her mouth tugged up.

"That nice?" she asked.

He hummed.

Since he was not anymore distracted from the cold, he could now catch the fog coming out of his mouth. He took a peek on his left and saw the same white fumes from her. Then his gaze traveled to her slender hands. He wondered if they were also cold as his hands had been.

"Maybe I should bring them every day. In case you forget again," she said.

"Your hands will work too," he replied half-jokingly.

She turned her head away to hide her flustered face. "Don't get your hopes up," she blurted out while maintaining her monotone.

He chuckled, knowing what she meant.

They still have to come to terms with their feelings for each other. Even though they have been hanging out outside school and they were closer to each other than with their other classmates, their relationship was not official yet.

That's why there were boundaries that they couldn't cross. For some reason, he wasn't sure when to settle this 'thing' between them.

When she had faced forward, she was back to her usual self. After taking several steps, she said, "If you ask for it, I might do it."

His mouth fell open as his head cocked towards her. He, then, cleared his throat.

"Someday."

She smiled bleakly with a soft hum. Like him, she was thinking that although they have been wanting to, they knew that now was not the right time.

[9.3]

Making the Difficult Choice

When Kaede Kayano had taken an attempt on Korosensei's life, it was revealed that her real name was Akari Yukimura, the younger sister of Class 3-E's previous homeroom teacher, Aguri Yukimura. She was once a talented child actress before becoming dormant in the industry so that she could enact her revenge for her sister's death by using the tentacles that Korosensei has and that Itona had.

The revelation of her true identity has impelled Korosensei to disclose his past to everyone. He told them that he was once a human – an assassin – who had become a lab rat in an experiment as a result of his apprentice's betrayal. There, he met Aguri who has taught him compassion and kindness up to her last breath. Because of her, her final wish, he has decided to teach and help the students of Class 3-E in her stead.

Who would have thought that knowing about their target's past would drive them into a predicament? That is…

… to kill or to save their teacher?

Everyone has been spending their winter break weighing on these two options. Realizing that there was more to just killing their teacher with the things he has done for them and the memories they have shared, they started to consider the possibility of saving Korosensei – especially Nagisa.

One night after another uneventful day, Hayami called Chiba on his phone. She asked to meet since she needed the company and some share of insights with her partner.

"Where can we meet?" she asked, a tinge of weariness in her husky voice.

Chiba glanced at the wall clock of his room, telling him that it was already half an hour before midnight. "I'll think up of something," he said. "For now, go to sleep."

"You too."

"Mm." He could hear her stifling a yawn from the other end. Although she could not see it, he smiled. "Good night."

"Night."

The next morning, he sent her a message suggesting to clear their heads in a shooting range center. And she liked the idea.

…

Pulling the trigger repeatedly at the targets before them, Chiba could feel the release of stress that had been tampering with his mind for the past week. Even Hayami was able to gather her thoughts but she has yet to make her final choice.

After using up all of her ammo, she slumped down on the ground while he followed her lead. She lowered her pistol in between her thighs as she asked in a soft tone, "What if we can save Korosensei?"

"We can't take the risk." He hugged his rifle to his chest. "If we don't kill him when the deadline comes, the explosion will destroy the earth."

She could not agree with him more. "And we formed a bond because of the assassination. It would all be a waste if we try to change that," she added.

"If we want to truly 'graduate', killing him would be the best way to do it," said Chiba before both of them got up on their feet.

Despite everything that Korosensei has taught them – the lessons he has endowed – they knew that nothing was going to change the fact that he was their target right from the start. That's why they should not change their objective now. For sure, he would also want that.

HAYAMI: Not only for ourselves and the whole planet…

CHIBA: … but also for him…

HAYAMI & CHIBA: …We will land the sure kill!

As they began to finish each other's sentences, they raised their guns in unison and aimed them once again at the clean-slate targets. Declaring their final statement together, they pulled their triggers at the same time, both pellets piercing through the bullseye of their respective targets.

Perfect shot.

…

With their standpoint on the assassination all straightened out, the two snipers deemed it a good time to take a leisure walk on the streets. They passed by the riverbank where the sun crest over the horizon, the orange afterglow overlaying the cloudy sky.

Hayami stopped before facing the view. "Three months left," she muttered particularly to herself.

After catching her words, Chiba looked at her brooding face over his shoulder. He replied, "A lot happened."

This year was not just their last year before entering high school. There were a lot of words to describe what they have gone through but they could simply say that it was mainly filled with striving, suffering, and success. Both losses and victories were shared in this class. They have certainly grown not just as assassins but as themselves too.

Now that the deadline was coming near, it was clearer to them that they would need to make their remaining time count.

Even if they would have to kill the very best thing that happened in their lives.

.

.

.

.

.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Another Class E pairing has been given a spotlight. Do you also support Karmanami? Cuz' I think that they'd be cute together.

I've actually wanted to write a scene of Chiba and Hayami holding hands but then they are not even official yet so that's a shame.

And, damn, things just got gloomy. Did you notice Hayami's clothes in the manga when she and Chiba were together in the winter break to think about what to do with Korosensei? While Chiba was all warm and covered up, she was wearing only a skirt with one or two layers of her top. That is where I got the assumption that she is tolerant of the cold (besides the fact that she was part of the Skiing Club).