"One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight!"

It was morning. Ame was on time, for once, but she wasn't actually bitter about it this time around. In fact, she had been pretty excited to start the day. They had physical education, which had been transformed into a training class. They were now in ranks, training to wield a knife. She already knew how to do that, Saru had trained her relentlessly ever since she joined, but it was still fun. Not only could she get training done in class, of all places, but she'd probably learn some new moves, too!

"Wield your knives properly from all eight directions, now!" exclaimed Karasuma.

Ame hadn't known at the time but, when they crossed path two days prior, it was because he had just taken the position of teacher, to keep a better watch on their progress and help them however he could.

"You're so mean, Karasuma-san!" suddenly cried Korosensei, going to play in the sandbox farther away. "Why, my students happen to like my gym classes!"

Said students finally stopped their movements, taking a short break.

"Liar," sighed Sugaya. "Korosensei's physical abilities are just too different."

"Remember that one time?" added Sugino, rubbing the back of his head.

At the reminder, Ame cringed a little. True, Korosensei could be… a little too intense, when it came to gym class. And that came from someone who liked physical education in the first place, mind you.

"He's just too far out of our league," mused Rio.

"I'd like a human, normal teacher for gym, thanks," added Mimura.

Korosensei stiffened, slumping even more and maybe even sulking a little.

So he's sensitive about his teaching skills, uh? mused Ame.

"Okay, let's get back to work!" exclaimed Karasuma, drawing their attention back to him.

"But Karasuma-san, is there any point to all this training?" then wondered Maehara, waving the rubber knife. "And should we really be doing it right in front of our target?"

"It's the same in assassination as in studying," replied the agent, hands on his hips. "Drill the basics and they'll serve you well. Isogai-kun, Maehara-kun, step forward."

The two boys exchanged a curious glance, but did as told and faced their teacher.

"Now, try hitting me with those knives," he ordered flatly.

"A- are you sure?" blinked Isogai, worried.

"As a team?" added Maehara, unsure.

That made Ame snort as she stretched her arms a little. "As if you guys could hit him anyway. Plus, those knives can't hurt us humans, remember?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" protested the flirt, his ego hurt a little. "Two against one? We're winning this!"

"Naoki-san is right," confirmed Karasuma, loosening his tie. "If those knives give me so much as a scratch, you can go home for the day."

"Well… okay, then."

The two boys exchanged another glance, before Isogai jumped forward, brandishing his knife. Karasuma merely stepped aside, easily avoiding him.

"Come on," he taunted a little.

Gritting his teeth, Maehara tried to attack, but his opponent grabbed the wrist of the hand holding his knife and pushed him in the back, just as easily escaping his attack. He moved to the right to escape Isogai, then Maehara, and they kept at it for a few more seconds during which neither of the students came even close to taking him by surprise.

"As you can see, with little knowledge, even I can handle the knives of two amateurs," he remarked.

That irked the boys. They attacked as one, intent on giving him a piece of their mind at being called amateurs… but he grabbed the arms and mercilessly threw them on the ground, without even breaking a sweat.

"If you can't hit me, your chance of hitting him at Mach 20 is slim to none," concluded Karasuma. "See? While we were sparring, he built Osaka Castle in the sandbox, changed clothes, and has started brewing up some tea!"

He was obviously annoyed by this, and Ame could only understand his position. That creature was going to destroy the Earth and they were supposed to kill it before it happened, but he was clearly out of their league right now.

He helped the two boys back to their feet.

"Once the whole class is capable of hitting me, your chance of success will increase by leaps and bounds," he assured, readjusting his tie. "During gym class, I'll be teaching you stabbing, shooting—all the assassination basics. That's all for today!"

The whole class bowed. "Thank you for your guidance!"

He simply nodded and left them. As the girls started chatting excitedly, Ame couldn't help but wonder if he'd accept her challenge at the next class. She had grown too used to sparring with the other members of the Zodiac, and she wanted a new opponent to test her abilities.

"Hey, Naoki!" then called Maehara, coming to her. "How'd you know we wouldn't be able to hit him?"

"He had experience and you didn't," she shrugged, cracking her neck. "Plus, you weren't even holding your knife correctly."

"What?"

Her lips twitching a little in faint amusement, she gestured for him to show her his hold. More curious than offended by now, he did as told. Nodding, she then showed him her own hold, comparing the two.

"You're holding it too far from the blade," she pointed out. "If I do this—" Without warning, she harshly brought her knife down on his, and easily knocked it out of his grasp. He gaped, startled. "It's not balanced, so it's easy to disarm you," she pointed out, picking it up and handing it back.

"You took me by surprise. I'll hold it tighter in a fight—"

"Then not only will you lose focus, but you'll also lose strength and last less long in a fight," she cut him off. "You'll be focusing on holding it tighter, maybe even unconsciously, and the strength you'll use for your blows will be far bigger than if you simply handled it correctly."

"Okay, okay, I get it," he chuckled, properly humbled by her lesson. "So what, I do it like this?"

She placed his fingers with practiced ease, before comparing their holds. This time, they were much more similar, and she nodded in confirmation.

"Exactly. Try hitting me."

"What?"

She rolled her eyes. "Dude, just try it."

Understanding she was serious, he hesitated for one more second, before bringing down his knife on her. Her arm snapped up instantly, her own rubber weapon blocking his with practiced ease.

"See?" she grinned as he stepped back. "Had you been holding it the way you were a minute ago, your knife would have been knocked out of your hand and you would have found yourself weaponless."

"Yeah, I saw the difference," he confirmed, weighing his knife with newfound interest. He grinned at her. "Thanks a bunch, Naoki!"

"Just call me Ame," she shrugged, not really caring. "And sure thing. I'm up for a spar any time if you're interested."

"You know how to fight?" he blinked, surprised.

"Prior training. Been a while since I had another decent opponent, though."

She had beaten Hana and a few others before, but she still couldn't get the upper hand on Saru or Ryu in spars. Frankly, she had given up hope on ever beating them. So, she really was itching for a new challenge.

"Eh? So that's the infamous Korosensei? Whoa, he really does look like an octopus."

At the exclamation, she reported her attention to the source. It was a red-haired boy she had seen around the main campus a few times before, but it was the first time she saw him in the E-Class's territory.

A new student, then. What is he planning?

The newcomer stopped just before their teacher, a small smile on his lips.

"Akabane Karma, is it?" recalled Korosensei. "I'd heard your suspension was up today. But! You shouldn't be tardy on your first day back!"

His face turned purple, and the new student let out a nervous laugh.

"It's hard to get back into the swing of things," he apologized. "But feel free to call me by my first name. Nice to meet you, sensei!"

He extended his hand to him.

"Likewise," nodded Korosensei. "Let's make this a fun year."

He grabbed his hand to shake it… and his tentacle exploded. Karma instantly dropped his juice box and swung his hand at him, a knife hidden in his sleeve. Korosensei instantly moved away, putting distance between the two of them.

That was fast…!

The rest of the students could only stare, startled. No one had expected the new student to be the first—well, second, to manage to hurt Korosensei. He had been there for what, three minutes? And he already made more progress than the rest of them had in weeks.

"Wow. You really are fast," mused Karma. "And those knives really do work, eh? I sliced one up really fine and stuck the pieces on. To be caught by such a simple move, though… and to jump back all the way there… What are you, a scaredy-cat?"

He started advancing slowly, like a predator stalking his prey. Ame could almost feel the shock of her classmates and herself… herself was a little irritated. This guy just showed up out of nowhere and tried to claim the kill?

I'm not letting him win this!

"I heard they call you 'Korosensei' because you're un-killable." He stopped just before the octopus, who flinched back. "But what's this? Are you a pushover after all?"

Korosensei was obviously angry now. Ame was too, a little. Before she could think of something to do about it, though, her phone started ringing. She instantly picked up, hoping her teacher was too caught up in his own emotions to notice.

"Yeah?"

"Up for some patrolling? We've got rumors about another gang running around for a few days now. It's in your area, so…"

"Right on it."

Hanging up, the orange-eyed student then realized she didn't have the time to go back in class and grab her things. She was outside, meaning she had to escape the campus. So, careful not to draw any attention, she slowly backed away from the group, until she reached the edge of the forest. As soon as she stepped under the trees, she started running. Not a twig cracked as she passed, she was too used to the forest's floor to make a noise,

I'm free!

But then, a yellow tentacle wrapped itself around her ankle and she suddenly found herself hanging upside-down. Blinking a few times, she then glared at Korosensei.

"I escaped the campus! I'm free to go, remember?"

"Now, now, Naoki-san," he chuckled, a little darkly. "I never said the campus of the E-Class, did I?"

She gaped at him, truly taken aback. "What? No way! How am I supposed to escape from the school campus itself when you have Mach 20 speed!?" she protested. "Not fair!"

"Niryufufufu! All's fair in our little game, Naoki-san. Now, I believe I have won this round. Please head back to class and prepare yourself for the test."

He released her and she easily fell back on her feet. Scowling a little but graciously accepting her lost, she started heading back to class. On the way, she texted Hana to inform her of the situation, which merely earned her a mocking emoji.

Obviously, her situation amused the woman greatly.

Whatever. I'll go on patrol tonight.

"So, didn't make it?"

"Not a word, Rio. Not a word."

The blonde chuckled but said no more. The girl was still a little bitter at being caught at her own strategy, though found herself enjoying it too. The game proved to be rather entertaining, after all.

They soon received the quiz. Ame quickly read over it. It was math and, saved for two problems she remembered having learned from Yukimura, she couldn't understand anything. So, for appearance's sake, she completed the two she actually knew, before putting down her pencil and leaning back into her seat.

A minute or so later, Korosensei started punching the wall.

Wait. Is he still mad about that Karma dude?

He couldn't do any damage considering his tentacles were too soft, but the noise that accompanied his punches was quickly growing on her nerves. The students started whispering to each other and, next thing Ame knew, Terasaka started yelling.

"You there!" snapped Korosensei, a vein popping on his forehead. "No loud noises during a test!"

You're one to talk!

"Why, that could even be considered cheating!"

"Sorry, sorry, Korosensei," replied Karma, smiling innocently. "I've already finished, so I'll just sit here quietly and eat my gelato."

"Not during class, you won't!" warned angrily the yellow creature. "Wait… That's the gelato I brought back from Italy yesterday!"

"Oh, sorry! It was just chilling in the staff room," shrugged Karma.

"Sorry won't cut it! It took pains to fly through the coldest stratosphere to keep that from melting, too!"

"Eh? What are you going to do about it?" taunted the red-haired boy. He licked the gelato. "Hit me?"

"I will not!" Korosensei was red from anger now. "I'll just have what's left! Come now, hand it over—"

There was a small 'POP' noise, one Ame now easily recognized as a tentacle exploding. Curious, she looked on the floor, only to find numerous anti-sensei BBs covering it. She couldn't help but notice the similarity of his strategy and the one she had used two days ago.

Like what, great minds think alike, uh? But I don't like him. He's… arrogant. Thinks he's better than us-

Her eyes however widened when he pulled out a gun. Her hands flew to her ears as she slumped over her desk, trying to block out the noise of the gunshots.

No use.

She gritted her teeth as they echoed in her ears, her body, her mind. She could feel her fingers tensing, burning, and red was flashing before her eyes—

"—Ame? Ame, hey!"

The teen snapped out of her daze, abruptly straightening up. It took her a few seconds to focus on what was happening, only to meet Rio's blue eyes, which were filled with worry. Frowning, she glanced around and relaxed a little when realizing no one else had remarked her reaction. Karma was no longer in sight, so she guessed he had left and had more than probably caused mayhem while doing so.

"I'm fine," she assured, gulping a little. "I'm okay."

"What was that? You just—"

"I said I'm fine!"

Her outburst drew the attention of their teacher.

"I said no talking during a test!"

"Ugh, I'm done anyway."

He didn't have to take out his anger on her, did he? She was already pissed at herself for getting worked up like that, no need to add on it. Grabbing her bag, she roughly shoved her quiz into his tentacles and started heading out.

"W- wait! You're clearly not done—"

"I don't know how ta do da rest," she retorted without even looking back. "Just give me a zero and be done with it."

Ignoring his protests, she quickly left the class. She wasn't in the mood to deal with any more of this shit today and she was extremely on edge right now, the gunshot still echoing in the back of her mind.

Shaking her head, she started walking faster. The sooner she left the school grounds, the better.

That'll teach me not to wear the earplugs…

.

.

She passed the rest of the day on patrol. She walked around the neighborhood, climbed on a few roofs, took a good look at the alleys… However, she found no trace of another gang. There were no signs intruders might have operated on their territories. So, deciding to drop it for the time being, she finally headed back home.

When she arrived, it was only to find her grandmother in a frenzy.

"Obaa-san? Are you okay?"

"Ame!" Relief was obvious in her tone. "Do you mind taking care of the kids tonight? I completely forgot I had a meeting—"

"Of course, Obaa-san," chuckled Ame, relaxing. She had been scared something serious had happened. "I'll take over. Just go and do whatever you need to do, okay? No worries."

"You're an angel," praised her grandmother, kissing her on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Later!"

The woman then left, obviously already late. The black-haired girl rolled her eyes. Her grandmother always forgot she could call her or text her if she ever needed something. Then again, she wasn't a big fan of technology. She only used the phone Ame had gotten her for emergencies.

"Ame?"

"Oh, Rin! Had a nice day at school?

The girl simply nodded. She wasn't really one for words, enjoying her peace and silence. She was extremely mature for an eleven-year-old girl, and it sometimes scared their caretaker a little, but Ame always liked the different personalities of the kids living with them.

"Do you need help with your homework tonight?"

"If you don't mind."

"'Course I don't," assured the teen, patting the girl's head. "I'm always happy to help. Though, if you keep going like that, I'm afraid I might be the one asking you for help soon."

Her remark earned her a small smile, but Ame was only half-joking. Rin was an extremely bright child, who was already two years ahead of her class. No doubt that she'd get easily into Kunugigaoka and stay in the A-Class for the whole three years if she kept that pace.

"What do you say about pizza?" she then proposed. "I don't feel like making anything tonight."

"Good idea."

Nodding, the girl grabbed the phone and called for a pizza. Once she was done, she turned to Rin once more.

"Okay, let's get started!"

.

.

The next morning, when she reached the base of the mountain, she found Rio waiting for her. She sighed a little. Her reaction yesterday was uncalled for, and she felt kind of bad for yelling at her friend. The poor girl was only worried like any good friend should be.

"Hey, Rio!"

"Oh, Ame!"

The black-haired girl stopped before her, lowering her eyes a little.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have blown up like that."

"It's okay," however assured the blonde. "You obviously weren't feeling good. Happens to the best of us, right?"

"I guess."

Relieved her friend had forgiven her so easily, Ame allowed herself to relax. She should probably apologize to Korosensei too, now that she thought about it…

"Say, do you think Karma's gonna try something else today?"

They started going up the mountain.

"Probably. This guy… He's not about to give up." Ame clicked her tongue. "I don't like him."

"You haven't even talked to him!"

"Don't need to. He's looking down on us, can't you tell? He's treating us like background characters…" She scowled. "I hate it!"

"Wow, I think that's the first time I've seen you genuinely disliking someone," laughed Rio.

"I'm just good at hiding my emotions most of the time," grunted the teen. "He's got a gift for getting under people's skin, though."

"Ah! Like how he riles up Korosensei?"

"It's kind of low, but I guess everything's fair in this assassination thing. I mean, we're trying to kill him. I can't really see us applying politically correct methods here."

The blue-eyed girl nodded in agreement, before changing the subject. They started exchanging a few ideas for Rio's attempt, laughing as they proposed rather silly plans that would obviously not work. It was good to relax like that, though. When they finally reached the class, though, their good mood died down somewhat.

There, on the desk, was an octopus, stabbed right through the head.

Seriously?

Ame scrunched her nose and turned to Karma, who was sitting at his place, a satisfied smirk on his lips.

"That's just nasty. Was that really necessary?"

"Why do you assume I'm the one did it?" mused the red-haired boy.

"'Cause you're the only one who'd try something like that. The others wouldn't be able to stomach it," she retorted, gesturing to the rest of their classmates. They were all silent, unable to look at it. "You really think that's going to be enough for Korosensei to lose it?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Only one way to find out, right?"

"Ame, drop it," frowned Rio, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's go sit."

"Whatever."

Ignoring the somewhat nauseating smell that was slowly filling the classroom, they both went to take their seats. Leaning on her palm, the black-haired girl then let her gaze wander outside.

Can't wait for this day to be over with…

In the end, Korosensei was not angered by the stabbed octopus. In fact, he made some takoyaki with it, and openly challenged Karma. The red-haired boy didn't take it well, his bloodthirst only rising even more. However, Ame knew he had already lost. Now that their teacher had understood how to handle the boy, there was no way he'd be able to touch him again.

The rest of the day was rather boring, saved for Karma's useless attempts. The creature ended up doing his nails, brushing his hair, dressing him up… with Korosensei on high alert and always keeping an eye on him, it was near impossible to take him by surprise.

It was almost the end of the day when her phone started vibrating, signaling a call.

"What's up?" she greeted when answering.

"We've got a lead. There's definitely something fishy going on right now. Do you mind patrolling again?"

"Not at all. I'll look better this time."

"Nan, not your fault. We didn't see anything either, after all. Anyway, see you there."

"See you."

She looked around. Class was about to start, Korosensei had just entered, and Karma hadn't acted out yet. So, biding her time, she leaned back into her seat. She knew the red-haired boy would provide her with a diversion soon enough.

After a few minutes, the boy tried to fire his gun. Korosensei was instantly next to him, doing his eyebrows without interrupting his class. Not wasting a second, Ame climbed on her desk and, without hesitation, jumped through the open window. There were startled gasps from the students as she landed safely on the other side, victorious.

"Yes!"

"No!" cried the teacher, now at the window.

"Third round's for me, sensei!" she grinned, waving his way. "See you tomorrow~!"

Laughing, she then started running, impatient to get started on her patrol with Hana. It had been a while since they enjoyed a simple mission together, after all. It'd give them some time to catch up.

Back in the classroom, Korosensei slumped a little.

"I've lost again…"

Despite his annoyance, Karma was curious. Why did the teacher let that girl just leave? And why did she just jump out the window? What third round?

"What was that?" he let out, confused.

The blonde girl, Nakamura Rio, turned to him.

"Ame and Korosensei have a deal," she answered, rolling her eyes a little. "She's got a job and she often gets a call in the middle of the day so she's always skipping, but Korosensei started a… game, of some sort. If she can escape the classroom, then she can leave. If he catches her, she has to stay for the rest of the day."

"… what?"

"I know, it's weird. You'll get used to it."

.

.

The next day, when Ame and Rio got to class, they almost ran into the new boy. The black-haired girl stared at him for a few seconds, surprised.

"… you've changed. Korosensei managed to make you see reason?"

"I guess. It's going to be a fun year," he replied, going to take his seat.

"Seriously doubt we'll have another like this one," agreed Rio with a chuckle.

"Or another year period, if we fail in killing him," mused Ame.

"You ought to stop being so dark," sweatdropped the blonde.

Ame merely shrugged. She was only stating the obvious. Sitting down, an idea then popped into her head.

"Hey, Karma?" The boy looked her way. "How good are you at distractions?"

Rio groaned, instantly understanding what she was getting at, and the boy smirked a little, knowing what she was going to ask.

"Good enough, I'd say. What for?"

"How 'bout a deal? I'm sure the others explain my situation with Korosensei to you, so how about this: you help me escape when I need to and, in exchange, I help you in your assassination attempts," she proposed. "What do you say?"

"I say…" His smirk widened. "It sounds fun. Let's call it a deal."

They shook hands, and Rio let her head hit the desk with another groan. Those two forming an alliance? The class was doomed.