Karasuma hadn't meant to sleep long, but when he opened his eyes, the orange evening sky already loomed above him.

Sitting up, he looked behind him to where he left his target, only to find that the octopus had vanished.

He sighed. If his target wasn't there, then that could only mean that he had already taken off in search of help. That, or the octopus had gotten himself carried off by some animal. However, that was hardly likely, as Korosensei's screeches were loud and Karasuma's ears were sharp, even in sleep. If anything had happened, he would have heard. Without a doubt, the octopus had surely reverted to his normal form, and would be returning soon with a rescue team.

While that was all well and good, a certain fact nagged at Karasuma. It was a little strange that his target hadn't woken him before leaving. While it was true that the danger posed by prowling animals was almost nonexistent in the daytime, it was always better to err on the side of caution. Korosensei was many things, but Karasuma had always observed Korosensei to be the type who was prepared for every circumstance.

Perhaps he had been a little harsh on the octopus earlier. Karasuma didn't regret giving the octopus the cold shoulder for once, since his target deserved it for his always carefree behavior. However, because of his sleep-deprived tirade, it was entirely possible that the octopus had felt inclined to let Karasuma have the sleep he deserved. All the same, Karasuma wished that his target had woken him before leaving. It would have been a disaster if he had slept straight through and into the night.

Stretching, the P.E. teacher of class 3-E stood up and brushed the sand from his clothes. The sunset was mirrored in the vast expanse of sea that met the horizon, the ocean's waves and ripples highlighted in a glowing orange. The sound of waves lapping against the shore was calming, and without the octopus nearby to cause him stress, Karasuma allowed himself to think that the island was a rather beautiful place. It was serene.

When had been the last time he'd been to a beach? It was true that the last time had been on the class trip to the southern island, but that could hardly be classified as a "beach trip" when he spent the entirety of it coordinating assassination plans for use on his ever-so-elusive target. The last time he had went to the beach, simply to enjoy the beach, had been when he couldn't have been more than eight. Had it been 20 years already?

He didn't regret devoting all those years to his work. It had gotten him far in life.

However, perhaps sometimes, these kinds of moments could be nice, too. Just a little.

When his stomach rumbled, Karasuma turned his back to the glorious sunset to assess the woods that were growing darker with each passing minute. It wouldn't be wise to go scavenging at this hour, he thought sourly, turning to the fire.

Luckily, there was still a pile of firewood that had went unused since the night before. It was sitting next to the fire, and, Karasuma found, there was something else next to it. With the encroaching shadows of darkness, it was hard to make out, but it appeared to be food of some kind. Karasuma felt a rare touch of gratitude for the octopus, thinking to leave some food for him. He made haste to light the fire, so that he could fully observe just what it was that had been prepared.

Once smoke began to leak from the pile of combustibles, he noticed that a contraption for hanging food to roast had been set up over the fire. It certainly hadn't been there the night before. It must have been set up by the octopus, and it was surely how his meal had been prepared for him.

As the flame grew to engulf the pyre of scavenged sticks and twigs, the firelight finally made visible the peace offering that had been left for him. It was, unbelievably, ramen, sitting in a bowl made from a halved coconut. Karasuma was surprised for only a minute, but then he remembered who his target was, and he realized he should have expected as much from him.

Just as he was picking up the bowl, intending to hang it back over the flames and reheat it, he noticed a folded leaf that had been sitting under the bowl, kept in place by the bowl's weight. Curiously, he retrieved the leaf and unfolded it.

Please don't be mad, it read.

Karasuma sighed. It was true that a simple bowl of ramen wasn't going repair all the dissension between him and his target, but the octopus had prepared this meal for him, and Karasuma, as much as a Karasuma could, was feeling in rather high spirits, since he was rested now. Besides, thanks to his target's absurd abilities, help would be on its way soon. It could even be said that the octopus was their savior this time around. After all, they would have been doomed if the octopus couldn't fly off the island and find a search party.

"I'm not mad," he murmured, unsure of why he said it aloud. It wasn't as if the octopus was anywhere nearby to hear it.

"Really? You promise you won't be mad?"

Karasuma started, his heart jumping into his throat.

Frantically searching for the source of the voice, he whipped his head around to see a bush behind him. "Who's there?" he demanded, on his feet and in a defensive stance immediately.

How could he have allowed someone to creep up on him? He hadn't even noticed the bush nearby until it'd spoken.

"Karasuma-sensei, it's me."

Karasuma narrowed his eyes. The bush's voice was oddly familiar, but it was different somehow. Deeper. Karasuma couldn't quite place it.

Karasuma unsheathed the gun from his chest holster, pointing it toward the offending shrub. "How do you know my name? Identify yourself!"

"Karasuma-sensei, there's no need for that!" the bush spluttered, but Karasuma refused to lower his gun. "It's me, Korosensei."

Karasuma stared agape at the leafy plant before him. There was no way that whoever was hiding in that bush was his target. His target was too conspicuous. The octopus wasn't half as stealthy as whoever this was.

Karasuma steeled himself. "Then show yourself."

The bush stilled completely. A pregnant silence as vast as the ocean hung between them. "I…I can't do that."

Karasuma felt a vein pulse in his temple. "It's in your best interest to comply. I'm not feeling particularly merciful at the moment."

The bush shuffled. "A-are you sure you're not mad? You seem mad."

Karasuma gripped his gun. "Well, thanks to you, yes, I am," he ground out through gritted teeth.

The bush shrieked, stumbling a few steps backward. "You said you wouldn't be mad!"

"That was about a disagreement between me and my…colleague. Now show yourself or I'll shoot!"

"Ah-um, uh," the bush seemed especially flustered but made no move to comply, and Karasuma was well out of patience.

"You have 5 seconds to show yourself before I shoot. One false move, and you're dead before that."

"Ah—wait, Karasuma-sensei!"

"Five."

"Please, let me—ʺ

"Four."

"—explain first!"

"Three."

"Karasuma-sensei!"

"Two."

"Fine!"

"One."

The leaves rustled and twigs snapped as a figure rose from the bush's leafy depths.

By now, darkness had fallen. The firelight fell just short of the mysterious man, obscuring his features from view. Karasuma kept his gun steady. "Now step forward so that I can see you."

Reluctantly, the dark figure stepped into the ring of firelight that surrounded the campfire. His features were suddenly flooded with the orange brightness, making clear the face of one both familiar and unfamiliar.

The man was of average height and build for the most part, with raven hair that was slightly wavy towards the back tickling his nape. His unmistakably goofy robes hung from his lanky frame, and the crescent moon on his tie perfectly matched the one rising in the sky.

Karasuma's steadfast grip on his gun faltered, and he nearly dropped it. He knew this man.

Or rather, knew of him.

He could remember it perfectly, when he had first been handed the file from his boss.

"This is your target," his superior said. "Your job is to assassinate him by March, or else this entire planet will explode." He then stared at Karasuma with a great severity. "Karasuma, I am entrusting this task to you, because I trust in your skills more than anyone else's. Don't fail us."

Karasuma cordially thanked the man and bowed low to show his gratitude. It wasn't until he arrived at the safety of his home that he afforded the file a second glance.

Besides the octopus's rather smug mugshot on the first page, there was another, equally smug mugshot on a later page. This one was different, though.

It had been of a man.

Apparently, his target had once been the most fearsome assassin in the world. The God of Death.

There wasn't much else to speak of on the page, just that. It seemed as though the name spoke for itself.

The God of Death.

Karasuma had almost forgotten, that among his target's many faces, one like this existed too.

Perhaps to break up the awkward standstill, the assassin waved nervously at Karasuma.

Karasuma readjusted his grip on his gun, but when he raised it, it was clear that he didn't intend to shoot it. "You're…the octopus, right?"

The assassin's dark eyes hesitantly met Karasuma's. "Yes."

Karasuma lowered his gun but didn't put it back in its holster. The confusion on his face asked his question louder than his voice ever could.

It didn't take a master assassin to decipher what that imploring look meant. "It was an accident," the former assassin supplied. "There was a spring, and I just fell in. The next thing I knew, I had ended up like this."

Karasuma nodded, too shocked to put two and two together quite yet.

"And I, uh…" the former assassin cringed, screwing his eyes shut tightly. "I can't change back." His words were strained, as if Karasuma's stare was a sieve.

For a full minute, Karasuma simply stared at the man once known as the most skilled assassin in the world. The God of Death cautiously cracked open an eye, no doubt to discover why Karasuma's explosive reaction to the news was so belated.

Karasuma could take a lot of things. He had been through horrendous situations that looked hopeless no matter how one diced it. And that was just the training.
Now, as the sudden dump of information finally began to register, a deep pit of dread began to form in the military man's stomach.

"You…can't change back?"

The octopus-turned-man nodded apprehensively.

"Can you still…?"

The assassin shook his head, anticipating what Karasuma was going to ask.

"So that means that we're…"

"Yeah," the assassin croaked. "We're trapped."

A full minute of silence ensued.

And then mayhem.

At first, Korosensei felt that he had somehow escaped the terrible wrath of Karasuma. Perhaps the man was simply too shocked to be angry.

This illusion was dispelled the moment a bullet whizzed past the former assassin's ear.

"Octopus." Karasuma began with a forced calm. The calm before the storm."How could you have allowed this to happen?!" Karasuma suddenly roared. He raised his gun and took aim again. "This is all your fault!"

With a screech, Korosensei ducked and rolled out of the way. Though his old body was unfamiliar to him now, he found that his reflexes were still quite sharp, even if they weren't as polished as they used to be.

As Karasuma continued to open-fire, class E's homeroom teacher was forced to frantically leap free of the danger whenever a gunshot was heard. Where bullet met beach, the sand would jump into the air not a few feet from him. Not unsurprisingly, Karasuma was an exceptional shot.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Karasuma-sensei, I didn't mean to!" Korosensei pleaded.

When Karasuma's gun ran out of live ammunition, he hastily threw it aside, drawing a second gun loaded with anti-sensei BB's.

As Karasuma shot indiscriminately in his target's direction, a few BB's found their mark.

"Ow!" Korosensei exclaimed. Another soon found his shoulder. "Ow! Karasuma-sensei, stop, it stings!"

Karasuma did not stop, however. Discarding his exhausted pistol, he reached for his anti-sensei knife. "Well, I guess you really can't turn back into an octopus, since these BB's no longer affect you." He grinned devilishly. "Let's see if knives have the same effect!"

Though an anti-sensei knife wasn't something that could intimidate a person without tentacles, a furious Karasuma most certainly was.

Korosensei took off screaming down the beach with Karasuma in hot pursuit, a vein pulsing in the P.E. teacher's temple and his eyes bulging with rage.

"Get back here you damn octopus!"