Lying on her bed, Ame read the message she had received earlier for the sixth time. Well, technically, it was a message sent to Karasuma, but Usagi had managed to pirate the man's computer and thus link the e-mails without him noticing, meaning she received whatever message he received.

Another new student, uh?

That message was one warning Karasuma of the arrival of their "long-awaited favorite". Ame wasn't sure how to feel about it. Sure, it turned out all right with Ritsu, but it had been an extremely close call. What would that new student be like? How would he or she try to assassinate Korosensei?

I need to be ready for anything.

She had been taken by surprise by Ritsu. She wouldn't let it happen again.

.

.

"All right, class, it is time to begin homeroom. Please take your seats."

The students hesitantly did as told, all of their attention fixated on Korosensei, who's head seemed to have… inflated, of a sort. It was really, really big, like a balloon about to burst.

"Korosensei, your head is approximately thirty-three percent larger," informed Ritsu, as confused as everyone else. "Please explain."

"Ah. It's soaked up all this moisture, thanks to the high humidity," answered their teacher.

Ame narrowed her eyes at that. It was yet another weakness that could prove useful. Would salt water have the same effect? Was it only his head or also his tentacles? His bigger head meant a bigger target, and it probably slowed him down, too. If they were to push him in a pool or drop large quantities of water on him, then they'd probably actually stand a chance against him!

I'll bring it up to everyone else later.

Korosensei started wringing his own head, which was a little weird to watch, and started getting rid of all the water and moisture that had accumulated in it. He was done a minute later, and he finally faced his class again, his head back to normal.

"Karasuma-san tells me another transfer student is coming," he then announced.

No one really reacted, though. They kind of expected it, to be honest.

"I got into a little trouble taking Ritsu-san too lightly last time," pointed out the octopus. "I won't make that mistake again."

Me neither. I'm ready.

"In any case, it'll be nice for you to have someone else on your side," concluded their teacher.

"Ne, Ritsu, have you heard anything about that student?" then wondered Hara, turning to her classmate. "You know, as a fellow transfer assassin."

"Yes, a little," confirmed the purple-haired girl. "Originally, he and I were to be introduced together. I would handle long-ranged attacks, and he close-ranged combat. Together, we'd drive Korosensei into a corner. But… those orders were canceled for two reasons."

"Uh? What were they?"

"One, his adjustment took longer than expected. And two…" Ritsu lowered her head a little. "I lack the capacity to provide him support. As an assassin, I am overwhelmingly inferior to him."

A heavy silence fell on the whole classroom. Ame clenched her fists, tensed. She had barely listened to what Ritsu was saying, too focused on her instincts that screamed for her to run and don't come back.

He's here. The assassin's here.

"He's dangerous," she let out, her voice snapping most out of their daze. "Close-ranged combat? Adjustment? If Ritsu, of all people, can't provide him with support… then it is most likely they experimented on him. Turned that guy into a human weapon."

"Then… what do we do?" gulped Sugino.

Before anyone could linger on it any longer, though, the door of the classroom slide open. Everyone instantly snapped their eyes to the newcomer. It was actually a man in white garb, and even his face was hidden from view.

That's not him. The assassin's just outside. Why is he outside?

The guy slowly extended his hand, making everyone tense even more. Then, his fingers spread, and a bird suddenly appeared in his hand.

"… what the fuck?" mumbled the girl.

"Ah ah! Sorry about that, I didn't mean to frighten you," laughed the newcomer, easing the pressure that had taken over the classroom. "I'm not the new kid—I'm his guardian. You can call me… Shiro."

That's not his real name, then—

Ame's train of thoughts was cut off as her eyes landed on Korosensei. Spooked, he had used his liquefied form and was now holding for dear life to the ceiling.

"Korosensei, you scaredy cat!" accused Maehara.

"Well, Ritsu-san was telling all those scary stories, and then Naoki-san made this scary theory! A- anyway, nice to meet you, Shiro-san." Korosensei quickly returned to his normal form to face the man. "And where is our new student?"

"Nice to meet you too, Korosensei," greeted Shiro. "As for him… He's a rather unique child, in personality and otherwise. I'll introduce him myself."

He slowly went to stand at the front. Ame frowned, shooting wary glances to the back of the room. She could feel the danger growing, and it almost made her sick—

He's looking at me.

Ame instantly reported her attention back to the front, completely ignoring the lingering stare of the man. She knew she had been caught, and it didn't sit well with her.

"You've got good kids here," then mused Shiro, finally looking away. He turned to the door. "I'm sure he'll fit right in. Now, to introduce him: Itona! Come on in."

He's directing everyone's attention elsewhere. What, is the kid going to break through the damn wall or something?

There was a moment of stillness. Then, something suddenly blasted a hole through the wall in the back of the classroom, startling everyone. Out of the rumbles came a young boy with white hair and wild eyes. He calmly went to take the seat just before him.

"I won," he simply stated. "I proved that I'm stronger than this classroom wall."

This is crazy. How did he break through it, explosives? No, he did this himself. Does he have super-strength or something like that? He's obviously not entirely human right now…

What the hell have they done to him?

"That's all that matters. That's all."

No one knew what to do or what to say. Even Korosensei was making a very, very weird face. Only Shiro seemed unperturbed.

"Horibe Itona. Please, call him Itona."

Is he even going to answer if we call him at all?

Ame's heart was beating too fast. She was scared of the boy, and she didn't even know why. It's as if all of her sense has gone haywire and told her to run away without ever looking back.

"Say, Itona-kun, something's been bugging me…" then mused Karma, always the cool one. "You came in from outside, right? Empty-handed?" Ame stiffened when understanding what he was getting at. "It's raining buckets out there, yet there's not a drop of rain on you."

Super-speed too? No, with how much it's raining outside, he'd still get wet.

Itona rose to his feet. Ame tensed when he approached Karma to face him. If he did anything to her friend—

"You might be the strongest one in this class," remarked flatly the new boy. Then… he started patting Karma's head. "But don't worry. You're weaker than me, so I won't kill you." He let the boy go, and started advancing towards Korosensei. "I only want to kill those who could be stronger than me. And in this classroom, Korosensei, that's you."

"Who's strong and who's weak?" mused the octopus. "That's how you pick your fights, Itona-kun? If it's a trial of strength, you and I aren't even in the same dimension."

"Sure we are," replied the white-haired boy, undeterred. "After all, we're brothers by blood."

…

…

…

"EH!?"

Ame almost banged her head on her desk in frustration.

Almost.

This is getting ridiculous…

"The loser dies, big brother. Siblings have no need for cheap tricks." On that note, Itona started heading for the door, by which Shiro was already waiting for him. "I will kill you and prove my strength. We face off after school—here, in this classroom."

The door slid shut behind him. The class stayed quiet for a few more seconds before utter chaos took over as everyone fired their questions at Korosensei, who unfortunately had no answer to give.

But I need answers. I guess there's only one way to get them, though.

"Sorry to startle you, Karasuma-san. That boy is a top government secret. It wasn't unreasonable for you to be in the dark here," explained Shiro, who was now waiting in the teacher's lounge. "But I assure you: he is indeed Korosensei's brother. And, after school, that will become extremely evident…"

Shiro trailed off, his head tilting upwards. Karasuma and Irina blinked a few times, at first confused, before understanding dawned on them and they instantly snapped their eyes to the ceiling.

Ame waved. "Err, yo?"

"Naoki!" barked Karasuma. "We told you to stop eavesdropping!"

"Geez, not my fault if you guys are so unsubtle," grunted the teen, jumping on the floor. "Did you really expect me not to eavesdrop after they dropped such a bomb in the class? Give me some more credit, seriously."

"You seem to possess great skills," mused Shiro, earning her attention. "Naoki-san, was it? I only noticed you because of the reflection on the computer. Quite the talent you have there, really. Might you be another assassin sent undercover?"

"Ah! No, I was a student here before Korosensei arrived," answered Ame, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Anyway, I got the info I wanted, so I'll leave you to pursue your top secret meeting now. Make sure to say everything while I'm gone~!"

She left the room. After a few seconds, Karasuma groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. Irina snorted, a pretty unusual reaction for the woman.

"How much do you want to bet she hid cameras and mikes in here?" she remarked.

"No bet," grunted the agent. "We both know you'd win."

The two teachers then returned to their work, knowing they wouldn't be able to get more out of Shiro. Said man simply stared at the door through which the teen had disappeared, and smirked a little, even though it was hidden by his mask.

Good kids indeed.

He's saying he's his brother, but Korosensei denies knowing about it. Korosensei was human before, but I doubt he'd be lying about that: he hates lying to us. Itona said it was by blood, though… So, either Korosensei wasn't aware of it, either Itona is actually a clone, or either… either Itona is the same as Korosensei. I know for a fact they did weird experimentations on him back in the lab that exploded. It altered his genetics and basically everything that made him human, even his mind! They were probably working on creating a super-weapon of some sort. What if they managed to replicate what they did to Korosensei… but without the aftereffects such as his appearance? But what if Itona has tentacles too? That would explain why he's wearing that weird furry scarf, how he broke through the wall and why he wasn't wet when he first came in. That would also explain why he's so confident he can stand up to Korosensei…

Those were all theories, of course. Ame couldn't be certain of anything until the day was over and the fight between the two started. However, she was fairly certain she had found out the actual secret behind Itona. Why he was so important to the government, why Shiro was so elusive about him, why he had a guardian in the first place… The more she thought about it, and the more sense it made.

This… isn't going to end well, is it?

.

.

School was now over. All of the desks in the classroom had been pushed out of the way and the students were standing near the walls, leaving Korosensei and Itona to face in the middle of the room. Itona then tore off his uniform, revealing a sleeveless shirt.

I can't see any tentacles… Maybe I was wrong after all?

"You must be sick of plain old assassinations, Korosensei," remarked Shiro in a casual tone. "Shall we lay down a rule here? How about… stepping foot out of the ring means death on the spot. What do you think?"

He's been planning this. He knows what he's doing. Ame gritted her teeth in frustration. He's got Korosensei just where he wants him.

"What the—like the loser's gonna uphold that rule," scoffed Sugino.

"No. Breaking a rule that we were all witness to would hurt our trust in him as a teacher," retorted Karma. "That kind of restriction works especially well with him."

"All right. I accept your rule," agreed Korosensei, as expected. "However, Itona-kun, hurting the spectators is also a loss."

"Then, start on my signal," ordered Shiro. "Assassination… begin!"

Ame didn't even have the time to blink. One of Korosensei's main tentacles was sliced off in a heartbeat. However, all attention was fixated on Itona, who's hair… had turned into tentacles.

"Ah! Called it!" exclaimed Ame, victorious.

A few of the students sweatdropped at that, and she offered a sheepish smile before backing away. Maybe now wasn't the right time to brag about her awesome detective skills.

"Where…"

The orange-eyed teen stiffened. That killing intent was the same from that time Terasaka had sacrificed Nagisa for his stupid plan, and it was still as terrifying as the first time she felt it.

"Where did you get those tentacles!?"

He was entirely black, his eyes had turned red, and fumes were coming out of his mouth. Ame slapped a hand over her mouth, feeling sick.

The pressure… It's too much…

"We're not obligated to tell you that, Korosensei," answered calmly Shiro. "But this ought to have convinced you: you have different parents, different upbringings, but still, you are brothers. My! What a scary face you're making. Did you perhaps remember something unpleasant?"

"… It would appear… you and I will need to have a little talk," stated dangerously Korosensei, his tentacle growing back.

"But we can't. You'll be dead."

And then, a bright, purple light started emanating from inside the man's sleeve. The octopus instantly tried to back away, obviously weakened by light, whatever it was.

"Exposure to this pressure ray at close range triggers dilatant behavior in your cells," explained the white-clad man. "Your whole body stiffens instantly. We know it all—all of your weak points."

Itona started attacking Korosensei relentlessly. The students could barely see them move, the tentacles were too fast and dust was rising, blocking their view. After a few seconds, though, all movements stopped. Ame's breath caught in her throat when she realized Korosensei had shed his monthly skin.

Not good. This isn't good.

"You've shed your skin. That's right—you had that trick up your sleeve," mused Shiro. "But, Korosensei, we also know there's a weak spot there, too. Molting expands more energy than it would seem." Itona started attacking again. "Therefore, the speed you're so proud of drops immediately afterward. And you've grown back the arm that Itona took in his first surprise attack. That uses up quite a bit of stamina as well." Ame narrowed her eyes when realizing that their teacher really was slower. "By my calculations, you should be evenly matched physically about now. Your use of tentacles depends greatly on your mental state. Given the shock of being damaged by an unexpected tentacle, it's plain to see who's in the lead now. Furthermore, he has the support of his devoted guardian—"

Growing more and more agitated, Ame didn't think things through and threw three of her knives at the guy. Two hit the mark, instantly breaking whatever device the man had been using to emanate the rays. There was a moment of utter silence as all eyes fell on Ame.

Well, can't back down anymore.

"Ya talk taa much, Shiro-san," she stated blankly, another knife spinning between her fingers. "And ya seem ta forget one thing: Itona may have da support of his devoted guardian, but Korosensei has da support of a devoted student."

"You are not allowed to interfere with the fight—"

"Oh, but ya are?" she scoffed. "Plus, I ain't interfering with da fight—" She threw her knife, and it got stuck in the wall right next to the man's head. "I'm startin' ma own."

"You seem to fail to understand the importance of what we are doing here today," pointed out Shiro, colder now. "We are eliminating a monster and saving the Earth in the process—"

"Nan, you're just trying ta erase a mistake ya made," she retorted, more annoyed than scared by now. "You're saying it's for da good of da planet or whatever, but you're really all just a bunch o' hypocrites 'cause you're da ones who created da problem in da first place!" She threw another knife, though this time it was a rubber one, and it bounced on the wall next to Shiro's head. "And now it's turned out like this and you're all just runnin' away from da damn issue instead of taking responsibility for it. So what, ya gonna kill him and make everyone forget 'bout it? Keep on experimenting 'til things go south again? What makes ya think Itona's gonna work any better, uh?"

Shiro narrowed his eyes at her. "You do not know what you are talking about."

"Don't I?" She looked him up and down before a lazy smirk stretched her lips. "Then why are ya so tensed, Shiro-san? Did I struck a chord or somethin'?"

Silence ensued, Ame and Shiro simply staring at each other, neither of them backing down from the silent, ongoing fight.

"That will be enough, Naoki-san."

She glanced at Korosensei. It was the first time she saw him actually exhausted, and it irked her to no end.

"I have never been run so ragged before," he remarked, rising back up. "At first, this seemed like a straightforward face-off, but it's all been so carefully calculated. There's a lot I want to ask you two, but if I don't win this first, there'll be no more talking for me."

"You still think you can win?" taunted Shiro, carefully pulling out the two knives from the device hidden in his sleeve. "Ah, the howling of a losing dog—or octopus."

"Says da coward who won't even show his damn face," grunted Ame.

Rio elbowed her roughly, signaling for her to shut up.

"Shiro-san, there's one thing you forgot to take into account," then informed calmly Korosensei.

"There is not. My methods are impeccable," assured the guardian.

"Hence why he completely forgot 'bout us being here," huffed the black-haired teen.

"Ame, I love you, really, but please shut up," pleaded quietly Rio.

"Tche."

"Kill him," then ordered Shiro.

Itona darted forward. The usual 'POP' and the weird liquid that followed each time someone got a tentacle were almost immediate… but those weren't Korosensei's tentacles. Ame grinned a little.

So he got it, then. Good.

She finally allowed herself to relax. Korosensei had understood her plan, and so he finally stood a chance in this damn fight. Then, without warning, his molted skin suddenly fell on Itona, completely trapping him.

"If our tentacles are the same, then these anti-me knives will work the same too," claimed Korosensei, quickly tying up the shed skin to fully trap the boy. "And the loss of a tentacle unnerves us both. However, I'm a little craftier than you."

And on that note, he literally threw the boy out of the window. Said window broke in pieces as the student harshly landed on the grass outside.

"You should be unarmed wrapped in my old skin like that," pointed out the octopus, chuckling smugly. Green stripes spread on his face. "But your feet are outside the ring. I win. According to the rules, that means you die. You can't kill me anymore."

Ame flinched at the sudden increase of the boy's killing intent. He obviously wasn't happy that someone was stronger than him after all, and she had no doubt he wouldn't listen to reason. In a mental state like his, there was no way he'd back down now.

"If you want to live, stay and learn with everyone in this class, something that can't be that easily measured by crunching numbers," proposed Korosensei. "That would be the experience gap. I've lived a little longer than you, and come to know a little more. I became a teacher because I wanted to pass that on to you all. If you don't take my experience from me here in this classroom, you'll never be able to beat me."

The orange-eyed girl quickly backed the farther away from the window that she could manage. The boy's eyes were now black, with dark red irises, and it obviously wasn't a good sign. Then, black tentacles burst out to replace the ones he had lost and started wriggling around violently, too fast for anyone to clearly see them.

"Black tentacles?"

"Oh crap!"

"He's gone off the deep end!"

Itona ran towards them. Ame pulled out rubber knives, ready to interfere, as the boy jumped and aimed for Korosensei. At the last moment, though, he got shot in the head and instantly collapsed on the floor.

Did he just… kill him?

"Apologies, Korosensei. It seems this boy wasn't yet mentally prepared for school after all," mused Shiro. In his other sleeve was hidden the barrel of a gun. "I know it's his first day and all… but he'll be taking a little break."

Shiro picked up the unconscious (not dead!) boy and slung him over his shoulder, ready to depart.

"Wait!" protested the yellow creature. "I can't just let that student go—I'm his teacher! I shall look after him until he graduates! And, Shiro-san, I have so very much to ask you."

"Not now, unfortunately. We're leaving." He started heading for the door. "Or would you stop us by force?"

Annoyed, Korosensei tried to grab him by the shoulder… but his tentacle burst at the mere contact.

"Anti-sensei fibers. You literally can't touch me," taunted Shiro. "But don't worry. He'll be back before long, Korosensei. After all, March is just around the corner."

Not, it's really not. Just get lost already.

"I'll take on the task of tutoring him at home," he concluded.

And they finally left. Once he exited the classroom, Ame let out a relieved breath and slumped on her chair.

"Thank God they're gone…"

Rio instantly slapped her behind the head.

"Ouch! What the hell, Rio!?"

"I should be the one saying that!" retorted the blonde. "What the hell, Ame!?"

"I did nothin' wrong!"

"You basically provoked the guy in charge! I'd say that's pretty wrong! Hell, you threw knives at him!"

"One o' them was made o' rubber."

"Not the point! What if the higher-ups decide to punish you or something? You disrupted an official assassination attempt!"

"So what, ya wanted me ta sit back and watch as our target was almost killed by a kid with anger issues and an asshole clad in white?" snapped back the black-haired teen. "No fucking way! Korosensei is our target. We are da ones who're going ta kill him, got it? Ya can't seriously tell me ya were okay with that kid doing da whole job, right? With them exposing his weaknesses so easily while we've been workin' our butts off since da beginning of that damned year? Are ya seriously telling me ya were okay with that? All of ya!?"

A heavy silence fell on the classroom as the rest of the students lowered their heads, thoughtful. Because honestly? No, they weren't okay with it. They all knew that killing Korosensei would save the planet but, now… now, it was more than that. It was their assassination, their target. They couldn't just let a perfect stranger steal that from them.

"You're right." Everyone snapped their eyes to Isogai, surprised. He rubbed the back of his head. "I wasn't okay with it. Thanks for stepping up for us."

"Well, guess it can't be helped," sighed Maehara, crossing his arms behind his head.

"It was pretty cool too," pointed out Fuwa, grinning a little. "She was all 'you're the bad guys!' and she burnt him so bad it was almost painful to watch."

"Where'd you get that idea anyway?" wondered Sugino, confused. "You said a lot of stuff that I didn't get because of the accent, but…"

Shoot, I forgot about that. I did let my tongue run a little wild, uh?

"Actually, that is something we would like to know, too," then announced Karasuma, deadly serious. Ame cringed a little at the tone. "All of you, go back home. The day is over. Naoki, you stay here."

After a moment of hesitation, the students quickly gathered their things, before heading out. Most thanked Ame on the way out, grateful she had stuck out her neck for them, and Rio gave her a quick, tight hug, before leaving. Karma simply ruffled her hair, smirking, before leaving. Once everyone was gone and the door closed behind the last student, Ame let out a nervous laugh and slowly turned to face her three teachers.

"So… You wanted to talk?"

"Sit."

She quickly did as told. Karasuma was obviously pissed off by her little stunt, and a pissed off Karasuma was not a fun one to deal with. So, she grabbed a chair and sat down, though it didn't make her feel any better.

"We've let you off the hook with a great many things, Naoki," pointed out the agent, crossing his arms over his chest. "But this… this is too big. The things you said… You have to explain yourself."

"I did say a lot of things in my life—"

"Don't play around," he ordered, harsher now.

Irina and Korosensei were simply watching, quietly.

Well, I guess I can offer some half-truths. There's no other way out of it.

"It's all pretty much guesswork," she finally admitted. "When Korosensei first got here, he told us he had been born and raised on Earth. Now, I think we can all agree that… whatever he is, wasn't born on this planet per se. So, I took for granted that he was human before and some experiment went wrong. That theory was confirmed when Itona came. He said he was Korosensei's brother, but Korosensei denied it, and I knew he wouldn't lie to us about stuff like this. So, I put two and two together and thought that maybe he had gone through the same experiments Korosensei did, but his went better, in a way. He still had a human appearance, but now possessed the tentacles. At that point, it was kind of easy to guess that Shiro –it's not his real name, by the way— was one of the people responsible for the situation. He knew too much about Korosensei for not having worked on him in the past. So, I took a shot in the dark and said what I thought. And guess what? I do think I was right." She let out a shaky breath, before grinning. "To be honest, though, I think the other students guessed that much too. Anyway, so thoughts? Wonders? Questions? Can I leave now?"

"Naoki-san…" She tilted her head to Korosensei, and she suddenly felt one of his tentacles patting her head. "Thank you, for helping me. It was a good plan."

"Plan?" echoed Irina, frowning.

"I threw the knives to destroy the device, true, but I didn't need to throw three of them. I knew sensei would pick up on that, it was a way to get his attention," explained the teen. "I threw the fourth one to make sure he got it, and then I threw the rubber one. It fell in the ring, so it was easy for Korosensei to pick it up subtly while I distracted that Shiro guy. That's… pretty much it."

"A clever trick indeed," chuckled the octopus. "Those rays were the only things that truly troubled this fight."

"But Nakamura was right about one thing," pointed out Irina. "Naoki disturbed an official assassination attempt, one organized by the government. It's bound to have repercussions, right?"

Karasuma sighed heavily for only answer. After a few seconds, understanding dawned on Ame.

"Wait… That's why you're so angry," she realized. "It's not because of the info…?

"We've grown used to you knowing more than you should actually know," he retorted, rubbing his temples. "But this… Frankly, I have no idea what to do. Shiro will give his report and your intervention will obviously figure in it. I cannot protect you from this."

"… Then don't." The three adults blinked in surprise as she shrugged. "I don't need protection. I can take care of myself. I mean, they can't kick me out of the assassination, right? They need as many people as they can to work on this. So, what's the worst they could do?"

…

…

…

"I just totally jinxed it, haven't I?"

.

.

Korosensei ended up taking her home at Mach 20 speed. Considering what had just happened, he'd rather know she was back home safe, without any risk of running into that mysterious Shiro. The three teachers seriously doubted any harm would befall her, even more so considering it was mere guesswork, but still, one could never be too sure. She thanked him for bringing her back despite the rain that had started again, and then quickly went inside. She kissed the kids and Obaa-san when passing by the kitchen, but she wasn't hungry and went directly to her room. Once inside, she let herself fall on the bed.

I really screwed up, didn't I?

As if on cue, her phone started ringing. She picked up, afraid of what would come next.

"Yo, Hana—"

"Ame. Ya better tell me right now why you're on da god damn Dark List."

…

…

…

"I'm sorry, I'm WHAT!?"