"Sunshine, wake up."

Yukie groaned and buried her head into a pillow. Had she somehow missed her alarm? Her father only woke her if her alarm did not. She rolled onto her back and cleared her eyes; Harue stood at her bedside, dressed for the day in a beautiful turtleneck sweater and wavy auburn wig. His makeup was done to perfection and his warm smile made Yukie feel more awake.

"Did I oversleep?"

Harue softly laughed. "No, dear. I woke you because your homeroom teacher from E class is here. He wants to meet you."

E class? Yukie had nearly forgotten. She frowned and leaned up. Chairman Asano indeed dismissed her to E class; she had hoped that it was nothing more than a bad dream, but clearly it was not.

"I can't believe this is real," she muttered. Tears filled her eyes.

Harue gasped and sat beside her on the bed. His hand gently rubbed her back. "It's okay to feel upset, Sunshine. I know it hurts; working so hard just to be put down."

"It's unfair," Yukie sobbed.

This was the first time she took a second to actually think about it. What had she done wrong? Be seen with Karma? How could they drop her for this? It made no logical sense to her. The people she hung out with had no influence when it came to her studies. She was angrier then sad; her hands clinched around the blankets.

Harue sighed. "Look at me, dear."

She did as he asked; his eyes were filled with sorrow and worry.

"No matter how unfair and unreal it seems, it won't change the fact it happened. You are a strong and tenacious young woman; I know you can overcome this barrier. Nothing can stop you from being someone important but you," he explained.

A smile pulled at his painted lips. "To be honest, you're already someone important to me and your Papa."

Yukie laughed. "You always know how to make me feel better. Thank you."

She honestly felt much better. Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around him. Harue hugged her back.

"Oh dear. Any more of this and my makeup is going to run," he teased.

Yukie leaned back. "Are you working today? You look nice."

"I have a fundraiser to attend today. The girls and I are extremely excited about it. All the money we raise at the show is going towards school books for the orphanage," he explained enthusiastically.

She was happy for him. Harue worked as a professional crossdresser in an okama bar and was passionate about his work. Yukie wished there was something she felt so passionate for; her studies were about the only thing she had time for.

Speaking of time.

"Has my homeroom teacher been here long?"

Harue hummed. "He arrived a few minutes ago; asked to speak with you before class. I left him with Touma."

Oh dear. Yukie darted from her bed and into the living room. Her papa and teacher – a peculiar looking man wearing an academic cap on his rounded head – sat on the divan, leafing through photos as her papa prattled about each one that passed through his fingers.

"And this is her competing in the 800-meter race in mid––

"Papa!"

Touma laughed. "Yue dear. Morning. Korosensei from class 3-E has come to meet you."

Korosensei? The teacher Nagisa often spoke about. He was not what she had expected. Heat spread across her face; she felt uncomfortable, standing in front of her teacher in her sleep wear.

"It's nice to meet you," she said with a bow.

Korosensei chuckled. "Nice to meet you too, Yukie. No need to be formal though."

She straightened her back. "I wasn't expecting a visit. Teachers seldom come to their student's houses for a meet and greet."

"I'm a special kind of teacher," he stated. The wide smile never left his face. "I came by actually to discuss your future in E class."

Touma sat down the photos and stood. "Harue and I will give you room to talk."

He excused himself, leaving the room. Yukie moved to sit on the love seat adjacent to her teacher. She was not eager to discuss her fall from grace.

"I honestly wasn't expecting someone with your academic standing to be transferred to E class," he admitted.

Yukie sighed. "Me either, sir."

"I spoke with Chairman Asano about it, but he insisted that no mistake was made," Korosensei mentioned.

Of course, he did. Yukie clinched her hands into a fist.

"I failed to meet his expectations; I assume. The details are a bit unclear to me as well."

Korosensei hummed. "No matter. E class is full of students with protentional. Each of them is destined for a bright future."

"Are they?"

He chuckled again. "Of course. Trust me … it will be a year you will never forget."

Somehow, she felt a bit better.

"Nagisa says you're a great teacher," Yukie mentioned with a smile. "But that will be up to me to decide."

Korosensei stood and offered her a hand. "I like a challenge. It will be an honor to be your teacher."

She stared at his hand for a moment, unsure about taking it. His unnatural colored skin was covered with a glove, but it hung from him like nothing was underneath. Perhaps, he had a prosthetic. She took it and shook; uneasy, because it felt spongy.

"Better get flying," Korosensei laughed.

He left the house before Yukie could wish him farewell. She remained a moment on the love seat, pondering over what had just happened, then returned to her room to get ready for the day. Some of the stress had gone away, but she was still dispirited.

Located a kilometer from the main school was a run down and secluded building; Class E; the new class Yukie was expected to attend. But how? She was late. Never did she expect the school to be so far. The trail between the Main Campus and Class E was up a mountain surrounded by tall trees and bubbling rivers. The hell was Chairman Asano trying to say? That she was worthless?

Yukie made it 10 minutes passed 8:35 to the building. Class had started already, so she made her way to the teachers break room and knocked on the door. A man with piercing dark eyes opened and stared at her.

"Hi … um there doesn't seem to be a main office here, so––

"Name?"

Yukie frowned. "Sarugaki Yukie; I'm new and obviously late."

"Obviously," he stated.

Motioning for her to enter, she came in and sat on a worn-down couch; the man sat across from her. On the table between them was a file.

"Take the file; inside will be mission details and your school itinerary," he explained.

Mission? What? Yukie hesitantly opened it.

"Assassinate homeroom teacher," she read.

This had to be a bad joke.

She read through the details with skepticism. Some of it was familiar to her; the moon being somewhat destroyed, but what confused her, according to the details, was that an unknown destructive life form was responsible for the permanent crescent shape it had now. And that in a short year, if someone didn't assassinate it – the government failed to many times according to the file – then it would end the world.

"But the government said it was space station that took out the moon."

The man crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch. "A cover up to protect the interest of the people. It doesn't matter; what matters is that it came here and is parading around as a teacher until someone kills it. That someone being one of the students of Class E."

"And me?"

He nodded to confirm.

"But I'm not a killer. How am I supposed to do it?"

Taking a knife from his belt, the man tossed it to her. She gasped in fear as it landed on her lap, but upon further inspection the blade was made of rubber.

"That can be used to kill it, and other weapons infused in that material," he explained. "It's harmless against humans, but will cause the cellular tissue of a tentacle-based life form to disintegrate upon mere contact."

Tentacle based life form? Did he mean?

"Korosensei is a tentacle monster?"

He again nodded. "And it's your mission to kill him; it won't be easy."

Yukie couldn't believe it. She met him this morning; he seemed so nice. And Nagisa was aware of this? Karma too? This was a lot to take in.

"I don't know what to say," she said with a frown.

The man sighed. "Say nothing; do your best to kill him."

"Yes, sir."

She'd try. Korosensei wasn't teasing; this was going to be a year to remember.