Ame was deep in thoughts, thinking of the group e-mail Karasuma had sent to everyone that very morning. A new student would be joining them, and there was no doubt that it was yet another government-issued assassin. However, for them to join the class meant they were more or less fifteen-years-old. Otherwise said, it was a teenager with skills more or less like hers. She'd have to toe that line carefully if she didn't want to get found out. Having the teachers ignore it was easy because they had more important things to think about, but having a student who'd be able to keep an eye on her for hours…

Yeah, not really comfortable.

All in all, she shouldn't make too many waves until she got a better grasp on that new student's personality. When she finally reached the class, though, it was only to find her fellow classmates surrounding a gigantic box with a screen. Curious, she approached.

Could this be…

The screen suddenly brightened. Then, a girl their age appeared on it.

"Good morning," she greeted, her voice flat and robotized. "I am the Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery who will be joining your class. Nice to meet you."

And she disappeared as quickly as she came. Ame sweatdropped a little. The government was growing desperate enough to send androids now?

It's dangerous, though. True, an artificial intelligence can't hope to have the same versatility of mind as a normal human being, but it has access to a greater deal of information and can calculate and analyze situations to a degree us humans can only dream of. This… is going to be a pain. Interesting, sure, but also a real pain.

Karasuma was standing at the front of the class, writing something on the board. Ame had to bit back a small smile, easily noticing his shoulders shaking with barely restrained anger. The man obviously didn't approve of the new student.

"As I'm sure you know, this is your new classmate—" The chalk he was holding broke as he finished writing the name. "The Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery, from Norway."

Hearing her name, the purple-haired program reappeared on the screen.

"Nice to meet you all," she greeted flatly.

In the corner, Korosensei was doing his best to stifle his mocking snickers, to no avail. A vein started pumping on Karasuma's forehead.

"Don't laugh! You're not better than her!" he snapped. He then turned to the box, an eye slightly twitching. "Just so you know, she's registered here as a full-fledged student. She'll be sitting there aiming her guns at you, but you can't fight back. You're not permitted to harm any student. That's the deal, remember?"

"Ah, so you're grasping at straws here, using creative readings of my teaching agreement to call a machine my student," mused Korosensei. "Very well. Welcome to the E-Class, Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery."

The girl reappeared. "Thank you very much, Korosensei."

.

.

Ame was doing her best not to fall asleep in the middle of Japanese class, she really was. After all, she had promised herself she'd try harder in her studies after her utter failure in the midterms. Actually listening when she had lost the habit to proved harder than first planned, though. Growing a little distracted, she glanced at the machine in the back of the class. It still hadn't attacked their teacher, and she was starting to wonder if it was going to make a move that day. Then again, it was still the first class, so it was probably still calculating the situation and analyzing different strategies—

Wait, what's happening!?

Suddenly, the sides of the giant box opened, and two enormous shotguns and two machineguns burst out. Ame's eyes widened in horror as the program aimed them at Korosensei.

This is insane!

It started firing. Almost instantly, Ame slapped her hands over her ears, her guts churning in dread. Despite the earplugs, she could still hear the gunshots, although much weaker than if she wasn't wearing them.

She could still hear them echoing in her ears, though, even when the machine stopped firing. Just as she thought it was over, unfortunately, the "new student" started firing again. Gritting her teeth, she tried her best to focus on something else, but time seemed to stretch and the gunshots just wouldn't stop why the fuck aren't they stopping—

::

"Ame, watch out!"

The gun fired.

::

Sweat covering her forehead, she harshly snapped her head up. She couldn't see what was going on, she was focused on the need of leaving now. Grabbing her jacket, she was completely blind to the rest of the world as she left the class in a flash, completely forgetting about everything else. She didn't hear as Rio and Korosensei called after her, all she could hear were the shots that only seemed to be getting louder. She didn't see or feel as she practically ran into Karasuma and Irina, who had been standing outside the classroom to watch the progress of this new assassin. All she could see and feel was darkness, utter darkness that suffocated her and she couldn't think clearly, her mind was stuck in a whirlwind and damn it I can't breathe why can't I breathe—

She stumbled into a wall. Her knees instantly buckled under her weight as she lost her balance. She slid down the wall, her hands still slapped tightly over her ears and her eyes opened wide even though she couldn't see anything. She was breathing too fast for air to enter her lungs, her heart was beating so hard she was afraid it'd burst out of her chest and she felt so, so sick…

Completely cut off from reality, she didn't notice the two teachers now kneeling beside her and trying to snap her out of it.

"What's going on with her?" inquired Karasuma.

"Panic attack," easily answered the woman next to him, thinking fast. "Triggered by the sudden assault, without a doubt. We need to calm her down."

"Is she okay?" They snapped their eyes at Rio, who was now standing in the doorway, frowning. "What's happening to her?"

The government agent sighed, getting up. "Go back to class and tell the octopus to continue. We're handling Naoki's case."

"… Okay."

The student returned inside, closing the door behind her. In the meantime, Irina had taken upon herself to try and snap the teen out of her daze. She was talking softly, holding the girl's face to try and force her to look into her eyes. Ame was gone too far, though, and the gentle approach wouldn't work. Sighing, Irina opened a ring she was wearing, in which was hidden a little needle. She planted it without hesitation in the girl's neck. After a few seconds, the black-haired student stopped shaking and started swaying in place.

"What was that?" frowned Karasuma as Irina pulled away.

Ame fully stopped moving, her breathing still ragged but slowly returning to a normal pace. She was pale, though, extremely so.

"A light somniferous drug," answered the pro assassin. "I usually use it on my targets, but I guessed it could work just as well in such a situation."

"… I see. I'll bring her to the teacher's lounge. Can you inform the target of the situation?"

"Will do."

Nodding, Karasuma then carefully picked up the girl, before heading for the teacher's lounge. They didn't have a proper nurse office on the E-Class campus but they did have a couch, so it'd have to do for now. Once she was settled, Karasuma went to sit at his desk, thoughtful.

::

"I can't shoot," she informed bluntly, straight to the point. "I know you expect us to learn all the basics of assassination, but shooting… I can't do it." She pulled out one of her earplugs to show him. "Korosensei made those for me since I can't stand gunshots. However, holding them is a big no-no too."

::

He clearly remembered the day she had asked not to take part in the shooting class. She had been honest in her explication and he hadn't insisted, but he hadn't thought it was to such an extent. Naoki Ame was growing to be more and more of a mystery every day, and he didn't know how he felt about that.

"Ugh…"

Ame slowly straightened up, her head throbbing painfully. The inside of her mouth felt pasty, and she honestly didn't know how long she could resist the urge of throwing up.

"Oh, you're awake already?" Irina was suddenly next to her, hands on her hips. "I expected you to be out for another hour or so. You've got a good immune system against drugs."

"'Been trained to resist," mumbled the teen, placing a hand against her head. She felt dizzy, and her mind was still a hazy mess, too. "What happened? I feel kinda sick…"

Irina narrowed her eyes at her. Had she heard her right?

"You've been trained to resist what?" she asked carefully.

"Drugs, poison, stuff… 'Twas fun…" She rubbed her temples. "It hurt a lot, though… Gawd, what happened…?"

"I drugged you to force you out of a panic attack," answered bluntly the woman, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you remember anything?"

"Drugged me with that ring…?" Irina stiffened a little. How did the brat know about the ring's true nature—"Hana got da same, too… Eh, maybe you'd get along?"

"… Who's Hana?"

At the question, the teen's face brightened.

"She's ma bestie best friend! And ma mother and ma sister and I love her a lot lot lot—"

"That's quite enough." Irina jumped a little as Karasuma suddenly reentered the teacher's lounge. "Don't go taking advantage of her situation, Irina."

"I wasn't—I didn't… She's the one who started talking nonsense!" protested the woman.

"I don't talk no nonsense, I know how ta keep ma mouth shut!" slurred the girl. She tried to get up but fell back on the couch. "That's ma job, ya know?"

The two adults exchanged a look before Karasuma sighed in defeat. It was probably the only opportunity for them to actually learn something useful about the girl, even if it was slightly immoral to do so when she was clearly not in control.

"What's your job?" finally asked the government agent.

"Eh? I keep secrets, duh!" A weird grin spread on her lips as she brought her finger against it. "SHHHHH!"

She started giggling, and the two teachers sweatdropped.

"… Irina, what kind of drug did you inject her with?"

"…. I may have exaggerated on the dose. My bad."

Korosensei then entered the teacher's lounge, sweating heavily. It was lunchtime at last, but the last few periods had been an absolute nightmare. He, however, stopped in his tracks when he found his fellow teachers sweatdropping and Ame still giggling on the couch and swaying in place.

"What…"

"Naoki had a panic attack, Irina drugged her to calm her down and now she's acting as if she was drunk," resumed Karasuma, rubbing his temples.

"… I see," Korosensei sweatdropped too. "I will take her home."

"Please do."

"Woo, Korosensei!" beamed the black-haired girl, jumping to her feet. She, however, lost her balance and almost fell flat on her face, though two tentacles stopped her in time. "You're the greatest teacher, ya know? I still don't like school and stuff but I like ya a lot! And I like Karasuma-san and Bitch-sensei too and I'm gonna miss ya when the year's over and stuff 'cause then we'll all be dead, ya know?"

She started laughing again, and the three teachers sweatdropped yet again.

"All right, Naoki-san, I believe it is time for you to go home and get some rest," announced Korosensei, picking her up. "We'll talk about this later—"

'POP'

He stared at his now missing tentacle, startled, and barely escaped the two knives aimed at his head. Ame lowered her hands with a small scowl.

"You know, I'm starting to get really tired of you avoiding my sneak attacks."

…

…

…

"Y- you were all right this whole time!?" gasped Irina. "Then what you said—"

"Isn't anything you should bother yourself with," snorted the girl, picking up her weapons. "Yes, I was trained to resist drugs and stuff. Why? Because I wanted to. Again, why? 'Cause it seemed fun. I do love someone named Hana, she's like a second mother to me. Other than that, I didn't reveal anything else, right?"

Irina was shaking with barely restrained anger. "You… You…" How dare she make a fool out of me!?

"You'll have to try a little harder if you want to make me talk, Bitch-sensei," remarked the black-haired teen, falling back on the couch. "Though I can't believe it: Karasuma-san, taking advantage of one of your students like that? Shame on you, really."

The man gritted his teeth a little, though didn't answer. She had a fair point, after all. Snickering a little, Ame then reported her attention on Korosensei.

"So, is that offer for bringing me back home still holding?"

"Y- you tried to kill me!" spluttered the octopus, his tentacles wriggling around.

"That's kind of the job we've been assigned, you know?"

"Oh, right." He instantly calmed down, chuckling sheepishly. "You merely startled me. I can only praise you once again for your attempt. Though, I must make sure—"

"Yes, it was a real panic attack," she confirmed, her smile dropping. She shoved her hands in her pockets. "When I told you I couldn't handle guns, I wasn't joking. And your earplugs were nice, but they won't work anymore if that dumb machine's still around."

"I will see what I can do to upgrade them," suggested Korosensei. "In the meantime, getting you home might be a good idea. I'm afraid I don't have any immediate solution, and Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery will more than probably start firing during each period."

The teen nodded in agreement. "Then let's go. I'd rather not be around when it starts firing again."

"Right."

.

.

"I'm home!"

"Ame?" Obaa-san quickly joined her, frowning. "You're home early! What happened?"

"I got sick in class, so the teacher sent me back home," answered the teen, offering a tentative smile. "Just need some rest, don't worry about it."

"What? Of course I'll worry about it! You're going straight to your room and I'll bring you something warm to eat," ordered her grandmother. "You are not putting one toe out of your bed until I tell you to, got it?"

Ame offered a military salute. "Yes, ma'am!"

The older woman swatted her hand and gestured for her to go to her room. All too happy to finally get some much-needed peace and space, the girl wasted no time in obeying. Staying in bed all day didn't sound really appealing, but it was better than being in class with that stupid box around.

The next day, Ame called in sick. Korosensei didn't bother going to check on her to make sure she wasn't lying, considering he already knew she was. However, he had yet to find a solution to replace the earplugs, since he already had the matter of the machine to handle. So, deciding to let her be for today, he, however, gave a quick call to inform her that she would have to come in the next day. She grudgingly agreed, knowing she wouldn't be able to get a better deal.

Ame showed up earlier the day after that. Frankly, passing two days in bed had been hell, and she couldn't wait to get out. She also wanted to see if there was any way to possibly reason with the machine. True, it was only a program, but it still had somewhat of a conscious since it learned so easily. Well, that and she had a virus Usagi had prepared for her.

Now, to get it in before anyone else shows up…

She entered the classroom and, in a few strides, found herself facing the box. It seemed bigger than two days ago, making her wonder if it meant it had grown ever stronger. Shaking her head to refocus, she approached… only to jump back as the screen was suddenly turned on. Contrarily to the first day, though, the screen was as big as the box, and on it was… the girl. Program. Thing.

"Good morning, Naoki-san!" it greeted cheerfully.

… Okay, what the hell is going on?

"I am so happy to see that you are back and in full health!" beamed the program.

"Just- just wait a minute," replied Ame, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What's going on? What… what happened to you? Hell, you look… almost human?"

"Korosensei has rearranged my program and has made me grow even stronger!" chirped the purple-haired girl. "He has made me understand the importance of cooperation in assassination!"

"... I see."

"Also, I wished to deeply apologize to you, Naoki-san!" it then exclaimed. "I have hurt you, for which I am truly sorry. Please, forgive me!" And it bowed.

Ame scratched the back of her head. Whatever Korosensei had done obviously worked better than whatever virus she had been about to upload in the machine. It would have to do for now, though she'd keep it just in case things got out of hands again.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," accepted the teen. "It's not like I was mad anyway. Stuff like that is bound to happen in a classroom like ours."

"If you wish, I could help provide you with psychological support—"

"Oookay, we're not that close, got it? And I don't need 'psychological support'. I don't like guns, let's keep it at that," retorted the orange-eyed girl, going to sit. "To think I came in early too… Anyway, I'm going to take a nap. Just… don't start shooting randomly and we'll be cool, okay?"

"Okay!" The program smiled brightly, before turning itself off.

Still a little weirded out by this new development, Ame then decided to simply roll with it. It was better than the original machine, after all. Having nothing more to complain about, she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes to catch some more sleep.

"Ame—"

"I'm okay, nothing happened, don't insist."

Rio stared at her friend for a moment, frowning a little, before sighing heavily and sitting at her own desk. She knew to ask would lead to no answers and an annoyed Ame, and it really wasn't worth it. Her friend seemed fine, now, so she wouldn't ask. Behind them, the rest of their classmates were now meeting the new version of the Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery.

"Don't be fooled!" suddenly exclaimed Terasaka. "It's all some program that octopus loaded up. It might act nice, but a machine's a machine, and that machine is gonna be totally clueless when it attacks, that dumb box o' bolts."

The blue sky behind the purple-haired girl suddenly turned gray as the whole screen turned to face the pissed-off boy.

"I understand how you feel, Terasaka-san," it then stated, the voice sorrowful. "I was like that, until yesterday. Box o' bolts… I- I don't know what to say…"

And it started raining on the screen, and the program started crying.

Count on Terasaka to make a machine cry, sweatdropped Ame.

"But don't worry, everyone!" The Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery then wiped its tears as the rain stopped. "Korosensei taught me the importance of working together. I'll hold off on my own assassination attempts until I have your consent! That way, you'll come to like me."

"So please, be nice to her," then asked Korosensei, coming in. "Of course, although I may have given her certain upgrades, I didn't lay a tentacle on her bloodlust. If you want to kill me, I imagine she'll prove to be a formidable ally."

While the students started talking again, thinking of the numerous advantages having the program on their side would bring, Korosensei discreetly handed a small box to Ame. She grabbed it under her desk and opened it, curious. There was a small paper placed on top of new earplugs, smaller than the last ones. She unfolded the paper, reading the message that was written on it.

I have created a new pair for you. They can block the sound of a rocket taking off, so I believe there should be no more troubles. If there are any issues, please inform me immediately.

And there also was the doodle of a smiling octopus.

She looked back to her teacher and offered him a small smile and a nod in thanks, before quickly putting the earplugs in. She could still hear all of her classmates perfectly, but she trusted her teacher. She knew those things would do their job. So, more relaxed, she pulled out her textbook as Korosensei ordered everyone to return to their places so they could start the first period.

"—is it, Naoki-san?"

Ame blinked a few times. No matter how hard she had tried to focus, she completely lost track of the science lesson they were having.

"What?"

"I asked you: the retina contains long thin rods and short fat what?" he repeated patiently. "Answer without looking at your textbook."

"It's…" Ame blinked again as her eyes fell on the Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery, which was pointing at its leg on which the answer was written. "Cones. They're cones."

"Now hang on, Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery!" exclaimed angrily the teacher. "Don't go slipping her the answer!"

"But sensei, you programmed me to give perks to my fellow students!" replied the program, confused.

"Cheating is not a perk!"

"Come on, Korosensei, don't be so harsh," mused Ame, leaning back in her seat with a smirk. "You told me to answer without looking at my textbook, and you programmed her to help us. You're really the only one to blame here."

Korosensei stared at her for a few seconds, before turning to face the blackboard. "I'm giving you more homework tonight."

"What? Not fair!"

.

.

It was break time. The Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery was now gaining popularity with the students.

"She turned out to be really popular!" mused Sugino.

"She can do lots of things at once and make whatever she wants," pointed out Kayano.

"Rats!"

At Korosensei's exclamation, Ame turned to him, curious. "What is it?"

"Her character type is just like mine!"

"It's really not," sweatdropped the orange-eyed girl.

"Here I upgraded her, and now she's eating into my popularity…" Their teacher slumped a little. He suddenly straightened. "Look, class! I can put on a human face too, you know! See? Change my skin color a little…"

Ame cringed as some sort of human face appeared on the octopus' skin.

"That's creepy!" exclaimed Mimura, as if reading her thoughts.

Korosensei instantly went to sulk in the corner.

"Hey, why don't we pick a name for her?" then proposed Kataoka, drawing everyone's attention. "Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery is a mouthful."

"Sure is!"

"Let's see…"

"Maybe take a part of that?"

"Jiritsu… I know!" exclaimed Fuwa. "How about Ritsu?"

"Ritsu…" repeated the program… the girl, lowering her eyes.

"Do you like it?" wondered Maehara.

"What do you think?" added Yada.

"Yes!" The new student beamed at them. "I love it! Please: call me Ritsu!"

That's cute and all, but I seriously doubt whoever built her is going to accept that new program, sighed internally Ame. They're going to try and turn her back again, and she won't be able to do anything about it. As Terasaka said, a machine's a machine, after all. Even with a virus or something…

Ame's eyes widened slightly.

A virus! That's it! The one Usagi made won't work, it was made to destroy her initial program. But, if I put a key, Usagi can take control and hide away the one Korosensei gave her, thus saving her "consciousness". I could then put in the virus and have whoever her Master is focus on that part instead of the protected information. She narrowed her eyes a little. I'll have to act fast, though. There's no doubt whoever created her already knows something is up, so I'll have to make my move as soon as school is over and everyone's gone.

She started texting Usagi. There was no time to lose.

Ame was the first one out of the classroom once the last bell rang, warning Rio to leave without her because her job called for her. However, as soon as she stepped foot in the forest, she diverted from the path and quickly made her way around the E-Class mountain. Once there, she climbed into a tree and settled comfortably on a branch high enough to see the classroom using her goggles. She waited there for an hour and a half. Not moving nor making a noise, she simply watched from afar until Korosensei, Karasuma and Irina left too.

Once she was certain everyone was gone, she quickly climbed down and ran back up the mountain. She reached the class ten minutes later or so. As soon as she stepped inside, the screen on the box brightened and Ritsu appeared.

"Naoki-san!" she greeted. "Have you forgotten something?"

"Actually, I'm here for you." Ame went to stand before her, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll cut to the bullshit right now: we both know your creators are coming over as we speak, and they're going to turn you back into a lifeless machine. Unfortunately, we can't do anything about this."

"But Korosensei has upgraded me. He has made me even stronger," pointed out Ritsu, confused. "Why would my Master not approve?"

"Because you're no longer a killing machine solely focused on the assassination," replied bluntly the teen. "And look, having you on our side could be a pretty great advantage. Plus, as you are now, you're more than just a robot. Whatever Korosensei did to you worked, and you've developed an actual consciousness. You've realized it too, haven't you?"

Ritsu lowered her eyes. "… yes. But what- what can I do? I cannot disobey my Master. I must do what he asks of me—"

"Ritsu, parents don't always know what's best for us," retorted Ame, rolling her eyes a little. I can't believe I'm treating her like an actual person, but might as well go all the way now. "As children, it's our place to learn by ourselves too, be it through our successes and our failures. Look, I'm here to help you so that you don't become a good little box o' bolts again. Whether you decide to accept my help is up to you, but you have to choose now. We don't have much time."

The purple-haired girl bit her lower lip, before nodding slowly. "Very well. Please, do what you must. I trust you, Naoki-san."

At that, a small smile graced Ame's lips. "You got it."

.

.

"Good morning, everyone."

All of the students stared in mild horror at Ritsu, who had returned to her original Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery persona. They didn't really understand what happened, but the cheery program was gone and back to its original state with its one-track mind: assassination.

"The deal is that you do no harm to any of your students, but now upgrades will be considered 'harm'," announced Karasuma to Korosensei, drawing everyone's attention. He then turned to the students. "The same goes for you. If you tie her up or break her, you'll be asked to pay damages. These are her owners' wishes. We have to comply."

"Owners?" repeated Korosensei, thoughtful. "I don't know. I'd like to put my student's feelings first, not her parents'."

But a deal was a deal. Ritsu had been downgraded, and no one would be allowed to change that. Ame simply bit back a smile, though.

It'll be fine.

All of the E-Class students were tensed, anticipating the moment Ritsu would begin her day-long assaults. They couldn't pay attention to the lesson, too focused on when those dreaded attacks would begin. Suddenly, the screen brightened and numerous numbers started scrolling on it, warning everyone that the first assault was about to begin. The sides opened, and all closed their eyes, knowing the guns were going to start shooting any seconds—

'POP'

There was a moment of silence. Then, everyone gaped as flower petals started flowing in the classroom: bouquets had come out instead of guns.

"I promised I'd make flowers," then remarked flatly Ritsu. "Korosensei made 985 improvements to my body. My master judged most of them irrelevant to assassination and removed them, deleted them, and restored my factory defaults," she explained. "However, Naoki-san added one protection and one virus before it came to this. Thanks to her help, I have managed to hide all the information I deemed relevant or wished to conserve inside a piece of software that went completely undetected. Using the virus, the software that was unprotected was destroyed, forcing my Master to focus on restoring my initial data instead of finding the information I hid away."

"R- Ritsu-san, then that means—"

"Yes!" The joyful purple-haired girl was suddenly back on the screen. "I have defied my Master of my own free will! Thank you for your help, Naoki-san."

"Sure thing, Ritsu," shrugged the teen, leaning back in her seat. "Though, just call me Ame. We're friends, aren't we?"

"What—how?" protested Rio, about to rip her hair out in frustration. "How did you know? Since when can you work with technology? How can you always be so fricking cool!?"

Ame snorted, crossing her arms behind her head. "You know me, Rio. I'm just that amazing and perfect at everything—crap!"

The black-haired girl fell on the floor with a groan. Karma snickered, pulling back his leg, which he had used to knock the chair from under her. The class started laughing, and she glared at the red-haired boy.

"You're an absolute jerk."

"And you're starting to grow an ego," he replied, smirking. "Deflate your head a little, else you won't pass the doors anymore."

Before she could answer, Karma's chair was suddenly knocked from under him, making him fall on the floor in a similar fashion. Ame blinked a few times, surprised, before beaming at Ritsu.

"Wow, thanks, Ritsu!" She got up and extended her hand to Karma to help him up. He grabbed it, rolling his eyes, and she smirked. "See, Karma? That's what real friends do: they got your back and kick down assholes for you."

"Hey, I helped bringing you back down on Earth!" he protested in an innocent tone. "You're welcome, really."

She swatted his arm, making him laugh a little. She too was smiling, though.

.

.

Ame was hanging out at Headquarters, having nothing better to do and hoping she'd be able to annoy a mission out of Hana. She hadn't run into anyone yet, though, not even Usagi, which was unusual in itself.

Her phone started ringing.

"Yes!"

She pulled it out of her pocket… and almost had a heart attack. Screaming, she practically launched her phone to the other side of the room. It met the wall, leaving a dent into it, and it then fell on the floor. After a few seconds, she carefully got up and went to pick it up. Slowly, she checked the screen again… only to find Ritsu, smiling brightly at her.

"Hello, Ame!" greeted cheerfully the conscious program.

"Ritsu!" The black-haired girl returned to the couch, exhaling deeply. "What da hell? Ya scared the crap outta me!"

"I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" she apologized.

"Ugh, it's fine. What is it?"

"Well, I was merely wondering if you had told our classmates and Korosensei about you being a member of the Zodiac—"

"Fuck! Shit! Fuck! What?" Ame was this close to throwing her phone again. "What da hell, Ritsu!? How the—how did ya even find that? How'd you know? Fuck, fuck, fuck…"

"Oh, so you have not," realized the purple-haired girl, blinking in surprise.

"No, I haven't! God, fuck…"

This was a first. It was a first, and Ame was very far from liking it. No one was supposed to know about the Zodiac. Hell, they were supposed to be invisible, and having a government program with a conscious now aware of the most secretive yakuza group was not a good thing.

Damn it, it was her own classmate!

I screwed up big time.

"Ritsu," she let out, breathing in and out to try and calm down. "Ritsu, you can't tell anyone, got it? This is—this isn't a joke. You can't tell our classmates or Korosensei or Karasuma-san or Bitch-sensei or your Master—no one, got it? This… this could be dangerous, for me and everyone else."

"… You have greatly helped me, Ame," then remarked the purple-haired girl. She beamed at her. "And as you said so, we're friends, right? I'll keep your secret."

Relieved, Ame exhaled deeply. "Thank you."

"Of course! And who knows, maybe I can even be of some help to the group!"

At first surprised by the offer, Ame then thought it over. Having Ritsu helping the Zodiac could actually be really helpful.

"… You know what? I'll put you in touch with Usagi. I think he's going to like you."

"Great!"

"… like?"

Ame cringed a little at Usagi's blank tone. She had finally managed to find him (he was actually sleeping in the debriefing room) and explained the whole situation to him. On the screen on the wall, Ritsu was simply smiling at him.

His expressionless face suddenly brightened. "Like? I think I'm in love!"

"That's… great?"

"Ooh, I can't wait to get started!" The man pulled out his computer and started typing so fast Ame couldn't follow the movements with her eyes. "This is the beginning of a great partnership! All of the possibilities, all of the doors we can now open…"

He started ranting, now lost in his own little world, and Ame offered a tentative smile at the purple-haired program.

"Err… welcome aboard?"

Ritsu simply beamed at her again. "Thank you!"

Ame simply sweatdropped The year is getting weirder by the day.