"All right, class! The second-term midterms are just two weeks away!" exclaimed Korosensei. "The time has come at last to surpass the A-Class! Let's go into this red-hot! Hot! Hot!"

Ame almost felt sick when watching Korosensei flash-stepping all around the classroom, creating more clones than what was necessary, really. The octopus had been overexcited ever since they had beaten Asano as the Sports Festival, failing to notice the tension that had been rising in the classroom ever since.

After all, only five months were left until Korosensei's deadline.

If we can't kill before March, then Earth will be no better than that moon of hours…

Everyone was growing restless, impatient. If they wanted to be able to kill him, then they'd have to become even stronger.

"Naoki-san! Please focus on your studies instead of daydreaming!"

"Ugh, shut up!" she snapped, throwing some knives his way.

For only answer, he used his tentacles to tie her arms to the chair before pursuing the private mathematics lesson. Ame struggled for a bit, before giving up and returning to her studies.

Still, though… His clones were barely disturbed when I threw my knives.

Could he… could he actually have gotten even faster…?

.

.

Ame was busy studying science with Hana's help when Inu showed up. As per usual, he changed the flowers in the vase on the table before walking up to them with a small smile.

"So? How's school going?" he asked, curious.

"Well, I can say for sure that I'm not going to fail," sighed Ame, leaning back in her seat. She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming. "But I hate science, seriously. I have no idea how you can stand it."

"Because it's with this science that you hate so much that I can create those awesome poisons?" mused Hana.

"Fair enough."

"Well, I'm glad to see you're doing well," Inu then remarked with a soft smile, before said smile turned to a small smirk. "Though, I'm afraid your friends might be in trouble."

"Trouble?" she repeated, growing worried. "Why? What happened?"

"Ah, no, I didn't mean—it's nothing serious!" he assured, hoping to calm her down. "I just happened to pass by them on my way back. Apparently, they were doing some parkour but they ended up injuring an old man. The old man was sent to the hospital, but I'm afraid your classmates will have to face some punishment."

"Parkour? In the middle of the day!?" she gasped, jumping to her feet. "Are they mad!?"

There was a moment of silence. Hana stared at the girl, lifting an eyebrow as if saying "you're not one to talk" and Inu was simply chuckling slightly.

Ame sweatdropped at that. "Yeah… Okay, I'm in no place to talk. But still! Ugh, I better go and check on them. Hana, do you mind if we pick this up later?"

"Always happy to help, Ame," assured the woman, shooing her toward the door. "Now go, before your friends do anything to make things worst."

"Right. Later!"

Ame quickly gathered her things before running out. Once the door closed behind her, Hana snorted, crossing her arms behind her head.

"Am I the only one to think she's a really bad influence on her classmates?" she drawled.

"Well, making mistakes like that isn't all bad," mused Inu. "They'll simply learn from it and grow stronger, just like we all did."

At that, the red-haired woman smiled a little. "I guess you're not wrong."

Inu was kind enough to send her the location of the hospital to which the old man had been sent and, as expected, she found almost all of her classmates waiting outside. They all seemed nervous and somewhat ashamed, obviously in no mood for jokes.

"Oi!" she exclaimed, gaining their attention. "What were you guys thinking!? Doing parkour outside of class? In the middle of the day?"

"A- Ame!" Rio gasped, startled. "How'd you know—"

"One of my colleagues saw you," replied the teen with a frown. "What exactly happened?"

"We- we didn't mean to!" instantly assured Okajima. "We were just having some fun… and then we fell on the old guy… We didn't see him!"

"Well, obviously, else you wouldn't have fallen on him," retorted the girl, before sighing. "Ugh, Karasuma-sensei is going to have your heads…"

All of the students gulped at that. They already knew they'd be in trouble, but Ame's words only seemed to make reality even bitterer. Shaking her head, Ame opted to go sit next to Karma. She didn't know for how long they'd wait, and she didn't have anything more to say. After all, the scolding they'd get from Karasuma would probably cover everything anyway. She didn't have to wait for long, though.

"A hairline fracture of the right femur," announced Karasuma, stepping out of the hospital. "It's mild enough that he should be up and walking in a week or so, but given that you kids are a state secret, my men are negotiating a gag order and an out-of-court settlement."

Ame stiffened at the glacial tone. At the same moment, though, killing intent filled the air at once, almost suffocating her. She snapped her eyes to the source, alarmed, but didn't relax when realizing it was Korosensei. Because, while she was glad it was only their teacher… she was starting to wonder if some assassins after her head wouldn't have been a better option.

"Ko- Korosensei…" winced Isogai.

The octopus's skin was pitch black, just like that time back to the beginning of the year, when Nagisa had tried sacrificing himself to kill him.

"But- but it was such a narrow street…!" exclaimed Kimura.

"Who'd ever expect an old man to be riding his bike down there!?" protested Okajima.

"He's right," nodded Okano.

"I do think that what we did was wrong…" murmured Yada.

"But we did it to sharpen up our skills!" assured Rio, looking away.

"You just don't get the pressure and panic of having to save the Earth," accused Terasaka.

"Guys, enough," frowned Ame. "I came here because I was worried, but you're just making your case worst—ack!"

Ame could only blink in shock as pain suddenly radiated from her right cheek. She brought her hand to her aching face, more startled than hurt.

He… hit us…?

"Will you report that as injuring the students?" asked Korosensei, eerily calm.

"I'll overlook it this once," replied Karasuma, crossing his arms over his chest. "I knew the risks when I introduced that high-level training… It may have been too soon for you after all. It's my fault."

On that pleasant note, he returned inside. After a few seconds of tensed silence, the rest of the students bowed one after the other.

"We're sorry."

"We screwed up."

"Sorry."

"You may have grown too strong too fast. Drunk on your own power, you forgot to put yourself in the shoes of someone weaker than you," scolded Korosensei, still black. "That makes you no different than the students on the main campus!"

Ame bit back a cringe. She knew she wasn't the one being scolded, but it still hurt a bit. After all, she, too, had made such a mistake before—more than once. The noise of ripping paper then snapped the students out of their daze.

"The midterms are now exactly two weeks away," announced Korosensei, ripping apart a mathematic book. "I forbid any of you from studying for them."

"W- what!?"

"No way!"

"You can't do that!"

"It's not a punishment," assured their teacher, his skin finally turning back to its usual yellow. "There are simply other things you should be studying first. I'm responsible, too, for having forgotten to teach them. Now, off you go! You'll receive more information later today."

The students nodded silently, still in shock, and quietly parted ways.

Only Ame stayed behind, somewhat ticked off.

"Naoki-san?" the octopus wondered, tilting his head.

"Why'd you hit me!?" she then snapped, annoyed. "I wasn't even there! I just dropped by to check on everyone!"

"W- what!? You weren't with them?" he gasped.

"Of course not! I know better than to get caught doing parkour in the city in the middle of the day!"

"Gah! I- I deeply apologize!" Korosensei instantly started bowing at Mach 20, tears streaming down his face. "I am so very sorry! I simply assumed you too had been part of it when finding you here! I'm extremely sorry! How can you forgive such a horrible sensei!?"

"Mmm…" An evil smirk spread Ame's lips. "Buy me as much chocolate as your monthly allowance permits you."

Her teacher paled at that. "So- so much money…"

"You hurt an innocent student of yours, Korosensei!" cried out Ame, fake tears prickling her eyes. "It hurts, it hurts…!"

"GAH! I'LL BUY YOU CHOCOLATE IMMEDIATELY!"

Man, he's so easy to manipulate… But well, I guess coming here was worth the effort after all.

SO MUCH CHOCOLATE!

.

.

The punishment… didn't turn out as expected.

"Listen up, children! Principal Matsukata has been hurt, so he can't work for a while. So instead, these young men and women will do anything we need for the next two weeks!"

"I can't believe we all have to be here," murmured Hazama, annoyed.

"And to think we all received a sticky slap to the face too," added Hara, rubbing her cheek.

Because, much to everyone's horror and surprise, Korosensei and Karasuma agreed on a collective punishment, meaning everyone in the class had to pay for their classmates' mistake. Korosensei also insisted on treating everyone "equally" so, while he did feel bad for hitting Ame out of the blue, he ended up giving the same treatment to the rest of the class. She still received her chocolate, though, so she couldn't really complain.

"We're sorry about this," sighed Okajima, obviously feeling guilty.

"It's okay—we should have realized someone could get hurt," replied gently Kanzaki.

"Well, no point in dwelling on the past," pointed out Ame, before walking forward until she faced all of the children. She plastered a smile on her face, clasping her hands together. "Hi there! My name's Ame. Let's be friends, ne?"

While most of the children instantly warmed up to her, the students could only stare in mild horror at the display. They could almost see sparkles and a sunset behind the girl.

She's- she's a completely different person!

Though she had a point. It's not like complaining would do much at this point. So, soon enough, all of the students scattered throughout the classroom to mingle with the children. However, the kids were… rambunctious, to say the least. They kept clinging to the teens and yelling and whining, and they also kept on dragging them around or climbing on them while pulling on hair and clothes alike. Ame was busy warding off some boys who were trying to pull her hair when a little girl with pink air and a small scowl stepped up, arms crossed over her chest.

"So?" she asked, apparently annoyed. "What exactly are you planning to do for us, now? Barging in on us en masse… Reckon you can at least work off the oxygen you're taking up?"

"Wow, rude much?" sweatdropped Ame.

"Talk about being harsh," nodded Rio, a little pale.

"Uh-oh, Sakura-nee is in a bad mood," murmured one of the boys clinging to Ame.

"Yeah, these guys are gonna get murdered," added the second one, who had spiky hair.

"She's been here five years—the oldest kid around," pursued the first one.

"And she spent two of those years resisting school control!" gasped Spiky.

"Sakura-nee, the elite NEET!"

"You make it sound cool and all, but really, she just doesn't go to school," deadpanned Muramatsu.

"First, have you got what it takes to work?" exclaimed Sakura, grabbing a broom and facing Nagisa. "Let's just see, shall we? Hmm?"

She was apparently aiming to hit the blue-haired boy with the broom but, as soon as she made a step forward, the floor cracked open under her, and her foot passed right through it.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! That part of the floor is no good!" groaned the little girl.

"Aren't you getting it fixed?" Isogai asked the caretaker, curious. "I mean, this building is pretty… decrepit."

"I'm afraid we don't have that kind of money," admitted the woman, a tad ashamed. "Any waitlisted student, any child not attending primary school—our principal takes them in at rock-bottom rates. He can't even hire enough staff, so he winds up working the hardest."

"You know, it looks a lot like my home," mused Ame, taking a better look around. "I mean, before we renovated most of it. And you know, guys, I still have a lot of material left."

Maehara seemed to catch her drive. "Twenty-eight of us for two weeks… I bet we could get some serious stuff done."

"Considering what we did in barely ten days with Ame's house? Piece of cake!" grinned Rio.

"Okay, guys!" exclaimed Isogai, taking commands. "Let's divvy up the duties and work in Matsukata-san's stead! First, a strategy meeting!"

"Yeah!"

Karma, Kayano, Okuda, and Terasaka ended up with the duty of distracting the children. They set up a little theater piece and managed to grab the children's attention without too much struggle. Kurahashi also helped out. In the meantime, Chiba and Ritsu had to put together some blueprints. Sugino, Sugaya, Maehara, Okajima, and Kimura were designed as the heavy lifters, and had to transport the material they could find around, while Ame left with Yoshida, Muramatsu, and Itona to go grab whatever they could find at her house, which wasn't too far from there. Rio, Takebayashi, Hara, and Nagisa agreed to look over some of the children's studies with one-on-one lessons. As for everyone else, they were helping around however they could manage, be it by carrying material or helping out with the kids.

All in all, everyone slowly but surely settled in a routine. It didn't take too long for the E-Class students to gain a certain rhythm and, while a tad awkward at first, they grew more and more confident in handling the tasks given. Handling those different responsibilities made them mature in a way they couldn't have in their classroom. They learned a different type of lesson, gaining experience and confidence as the days went by.

"Aa? What do you mean, Nagisa isn't here?"

Unfortunately, not all of those lessons were fun to learn.

Ame's smile twitched at the bratty attitude. "As I said, Sakura-chan, he couldn't come today because he's sick. That's why I'll help you out for today."

"Tche," scoffed the child, crossing her arms over her chest. "I guess it doesn't really matter. It's not like I want to go back to school."

"Ooh?" Ame considered her for a moment. "Let me guess: bullies?"

Her silence was enough of an answer. Shaking her head, the girl then got an idea. Gesturing for the kid to follow her, she then led her outside.

"Do you know what the E-Class is?" she asked as they started walking around.

"… no?"

"It's the class for losers," stated calmly Ame. Sakura stopped dead in her tracks, startled, but the teen kept on walking. "The pit of the misfits, the failures, the rejects—the End Class, as they call it on the main campus. We're the bad crop. And do you know what that means?"

Sakura shook her head in a negative gesture, somewhat stunned by the blunt honesty of the older girl. Her face drew a small, bitter smile on Ame's lips.

"We're bullied very often," she pursued. "The students in the other classes keep on kicking us down and making us feel weak, miserable and helpless. They love humiliating us, so they never pass up an opportunity to show us up."

"That's awful," huffed Sakura, pale. Her hands were trembling slightly. "How can you stand going to back to that place if it's so terrible? If they treat you so badly?"

"Because I found something worth fighting for."

Ame stopped walking, tilting her head back to fully look at Sakura. The child seemed at a loss, obviously not understanding what the black-haired teen was getting at.

"I fight for my friends. I find the strength to stand up against those bullies thanks to them," she explained softly. "We've been through a lot together, you see? We have each other's back. Thanks to our teacher, we regained our pride and our confidence, and when the other students tried to push us around? We started pushing back."

"W- what'd you do…?" she couldn't help but ask, somewhat in awe.

"We showed them we were strong," grinned Ame, pumping her fist in the air. "We showed them we weren't going to stand for it any longer. We worked hard, poured sweat and blood in our studies, made the efforts necessary so we could face them head-on. And yeah, we did get kicked around a few times more. But you know what? We got a few kicks in too. We won bets, we won games, we won festivals… We even beat them at the finals in the last term! And while it was far from easy, we all refused to simply give up."

"But- but I don't have that kind of strength!" then protested Sakura, seemingly about to cry out of frustration. "I don't even have friends! What's the point if I've got nothing to fight for?"

"You don't have to find that right now," assured Ame, patting her head. "You just need a little more confidence to do what must be done. You don't have to be afraid, Sakura-chan. Their words will only hurt you if you let them."

"But I'm not even good at school…"

She was grasping at straws, now, that much was obvious. Understanding she still needed a little push, Ame pulled out her phone and started looking through her pictures. The device had also drawn the little girl's attention.

"Eh? Why's that thing so beat up?" she remarked, pointing at one of the numerous dents. "It's so old!"

"Still useful, though," replied Ame, before showing her her screen. "Here, look."

Confused and curious at the same time, Sakura, however, did as told. It took her a few moments to realize she was looking at a picture of the results of the last midterm.

Naoki Ame

Overall score: 121

Ranked 184th of 186

"Eh!?" Sakura looked at the phone, then at Ame, then at the phone again, then back to Ame. "You were almost dead last!?"

"I was dead last, actually," corrected the girl, now amused. "The other two students dropped out before the exams. One way or another, though, I ended up dead last in the midterms. Let me tell you, when I saw this… I felt like an utter failure. It was bitter and unpleasant and I hated it and almost wanted to give up… but I couldn't."

"Why?"

"Because if I did, I knew there would be no turning back," she shrugged. "And, well, having hit rock-bottom, the only way to go was up, right? So, I decided to change things. I decided to put in actual efforts, to study as much as I could and work it out to the best of my abilities. This is the result of my dedication and hard work."

She showed the girl another picture, this time of her finals.

Naoki Ame

Overall score: 408

Ranked 91st of 184

"Whoa!" gasped Sakura. "You went way up!"

"I know, right?" chuckled Ame. "But I only managed to do that because I was motivated. And, well, I had people helping me out, too. I've always hated asking for help, you know? But I've slowly started to understand that, sometimes, you can't do things on your own. That's why you need people to support you, be it a friend, a parent or a teacher. Don't you have someone like that? Someone that you don't want to let down, no matter what?"

"… Matsukata-sensei, I guess," admitted the child, rubbing the back of her head. "He's always trying to help me, even though I keep causing trouble for him."

Ame nodded, smiling a little. "I understand giving up is the easiest choice but, sometimes, the easiest choice isn't the best. You need to push your limits, even if only by a little. Like, why not start by actually studying? Forget about going back to school for now: focus on catching up. Imagine how proud of you Matsukata-sensei would be if you gave it your best! Give yourself small, attainable goals and, before you know it, you'll have reached the top. Got it?"

"… yeah." Her voice was more subdued, now, if not a little shaky. "Yeah, I think I got it."

The black-haired girl nodded, satisfied. She settled down on the grass, deciding to enjoy the bit of fresh air while Sakura thought over what she said and let her words sink in. After a few minutes of silence, the pink-haired girl looked back at the teen.

"Ne, Ame?"

"Hm?"

"… can you help me out? Please?"

Ame smiled yet again. "With pleasure."

.

.

Two weeks later

To say the old man Matsukata was shocked by the drastic transformation of the pre-school building would be an understatement. He was utterly flabbergasted by the change, if not a little creeped out. But who could blame him, really? He had left behind a decrepit building that was literally falling to pieces, only to come back and find a two-story, remodeled pre-school that could almost pass off as a resort for children. But of course, no matter how impressed or terrified the man was, there was one important detail he couldn't let go so easily.

"You can bring all these things up to scratch, but if you didn't get in close to the children's hearts, then I can't say you've done your job during these two weeks," he stated firmly.

Everyone looked a little tensed, but Ame was confident they had won over the kids' hearts a long, long while ago. But how were they supposed to prove it? They—

"Oi, Nagisa!" Out of nowhere, the little Sakura arrived, practically shoving a paper in the blue-haired boy's face. "Ta-da! I came in second!"

"Whoa, that's great! Well done!" praised Nagisa, overjoyed.

"I did just what you said!" assured the child, grinning. "I came in only for my math test, like a sneak attack. I finished the test and left!"

"And in the middle of a test, the bullies couldn't do a thing," concluded the boy, happy.

"Yeah! Apart from the teacher, I didn't tell anyone I was leaving!" she beamed.

Nagisa grinned at that. "Using your best attack before your opponent can get in position: that's how we fight in the E-Class, Sakura-chan. Keep on using those hit-and-run tactics and you'll have more weapons at your disposal in school."

"Ne, Nagisa… You'll teach me again sometime, right?" she asked, almost pleadingly.

"Of course!"

They exchanged a grin, before Sakura ran up to Ame, showing her the results of her test. Ame smiled, patting her head. She felt proud of her, she really did.

"Good job, Sakura-chan," she praised. "How do you feel?"

"Pumped up!" exclaimed cheerfully the younger girl. "I'll show them what I've got, just like you and the E-Class did!"

"Atta girl!" laughed Ame, ruffling her hair. She then leaned closer, all secretive. "And if those brats try to mess with you again, just give me a call, alright? I'll take care of them."

"Right!"

"Somehow, the thought of Ame beating up middle-school children isn't all that surprising," sweatdropped Maehara.

"You brats…" All attention shifted back to Matsukata, who seemed resigned. "I can't come up with a single complaint."

"Oh, welcome back, Matsukata-sensei!" greeted happily Sakura. "Look at this!"

"Good job, Sakura-chan," he nodded, smiling softly. He then turned a sharp look at the E-Class students. "You all run back to school, now. You have some important work to attend to, don't you?"

"Yes, sir!"

The teens all left with smiles on their faces, unaware their joy was only of short notice.

.

.

To say the midterms had been a disaster was putting it mildly. It was an absolute massacre during which most of the E-Class students got kicked off the podium and out of the top slots, and it was easy to read the despair written all over their faces.

"Ugh, I can't believe this happened…" sighed heavily Okajima.

"This was awful," agreed Sugino. "I'm beat!"

Nagisa simply nodded in agreement, just as tired.

"Eh? What a let-down." At the voice, the three of them stopped in their tracks, only to find the Big Five smirking at them. It was Araki who had spoken. "Guess that first time was just a fluke, uh?"

"We didn't even need to smash you at pole-toppling!" taunted Koyama. The boys gritted their teeth, making his smirk widen. "What, cat got your tongue? That's not surprising."

"At this school, grades are everything," arrogantly pointed out Sakakibara. "Those on the bottom have no right speaking to those at the top."

"Eh, really? Then you can't say anything to me, now, can you?"

At the taunting voice, the students stiffen, turning around to find none other than Akabane Karma standing behind them, with Naoki Ame right beside him.

"Though, I guess our teacher will probably be like 'it doesn't count if you didn't come in first', or something like that," then mused the red-haired boy. He looked back at the Big Five. "Hasn't it dawned on you? I'm the only one who gave it my all this time around. Everyone else was pulling their punches for you. They said you'd have no standing if you kept on losing."

"Say what!?" snapped Araki, obviously pissed off.

"Ugh, you done gloating already?" grunted Ame, running a hand through her hair. Herself had ended up 81st, so she wasn't all that bothered. "Why don't you just tell them the truth?"

"Truth…?" echoed Gakushu, mildly curious.

"We were forbidden from studying for our midterms," she shrugged, not really caring about sharing that tidbit of information. "The reasons would be beyond your comprehension, but I can explain this much for you: we didn't study at all, yet we all managed to stay in positions under the hundred. Not all that bad, right?" Her eyes then sharpened slightly—dangerously. "Mark my words, though: next time around, there'll be no stopping us. We will crush you."

"Now who's gloating, uh?" snorted lowly Karma.

She grinned, before turning to the other three boys. "You guys coming? My grandmother made us some dango to cheer everyone up."

"Sweet!" exclaimed Okajima, quickly coming after them.

"Well, they are the best," mused Sugino, following after him.

"Hopefully, Terasaka-kun will leave some for us," joked Nagisa, hot on his heels.

And without another look back, the E-Class students left the campus with their heads held high and their smiles still firmly held in place, leaving behind some more than pissed off assholes.

.

.

"We're so sorry for all the trouble, Karasuma-sensei," apologized Isogai.

"All in a day's work. Don't worry about it," assured the man with a sigh. "What about you? Have you learned anything from this?"

Everyone exchanged some unsure glances at that. Sure, they had learned a lot, but there was too much of it to put in a few words.

"It's not for our own money, or our grades," then stated Nagisa. "It reminded me that we can use the strength we've gained for others, too. If we have the power to kill, we can save the Earth. If we have academic ability, we can help someone."

"And we won't use it so carelessly again," promised Okajima.

"We'll be careful—in lots of ways," assured Maehara.

"I learned something new, too!" added Ame, grinning. "Did you know that Korosensei is really easy to blackmail?"

That made the class laugh, all tension finally vanishing from the group. Irina chuckled, and it even made Karasuma smile slightly.

"Well, now that that's settled…" He pulled something out of his pocket, before throwing it at Isogai, who easily caught it: it was a key. "Go get changed. It's time for a field test."

"Field test?" repeated Rio, confused. "For what?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Now, then… Time for a little BBQ with the foie gras I bought on the sly at a French farmer's market!" cheered Korosensei.

He had exiled himself in the deepest part of the forest to enjoy his food without the interference of his precious students. Assassination was all well and good, but he could appreciate some peace and quiet from time to time.

"Time to eat! Niryufufufu!"

Just as he was about to grab one of the sticks, though, none other than Rio literally fell from the sky, landing on the barbecue grill. Korosensei was quick to catch all of the sticks before they could fall to the ground, genuinely startled by the sudden entrance of his student.

"W- where the heck did you come from!?" he exclaimed.

"Wow! That much of a drop and it didn't hurt a bit!" remarked the blonde, in awe.

At the same time, hidden snipers started firing at the octopus. Forced to avoid the rain of bullets, Korosensei failed to notice all of the students gathering around him until it was too late.

"W- what is all this?" he protested. "I barely have time to breathe!"

"We wanted you to see this, Korosensei!" answered Isogai.

"It's new equipment from the government," explained Karasuma, stepping out of hiding. "I told them not to tip their hand, but they really wanted to show you how they use their new powers."

"We'll respond to your lessons with an assassination," stated Terasaka, serious. "It's how we do things around here."

"We promise, Korosensei!" added Kataoka. "We won't use this power except to protect someone."

After a moment, the octopus's face turned orange. "You get full marks for that answer. When I first came, I found only some stagnant bloodlust here and there in the classroom. There was little danger of being assassinated, but it was a cold space. Now, though… the whole campus is bubbling over with genial bloodlust! It's perfect! It's—whoa!"

He barely avoided the needle flying at him, which embedded itself in the stone behind him. It took the octopus a moment to realize the needle was actually made of hardened Anti-Sensei fibers.

"You done ranting, Korosensei?" grinned Ame, already spinning a knife between her fingers. "We've come to show off our skills, you know? You shouldn't let your guard down so easily."

"Ah, yes. You are right," mused the teacher. "From here on out, it would seem I will have to take you all very seriously. You've truly grown into superb assassins, haven't you?"

At that, the E-Class could only grin proudly in return, already readying knives and guns for the oncoming attack.