Disclaimer: I do not own Assassination Classroom.
XII.
Before the exams I had briefly looked into the material of the exams and deemed that as enough. At least it was more than that what Karma did. My dear childhood friend did absolutely nothing. I guess homework could count?
The exams lasted two days, where we were tested in five subjects: math, science, Japanese, English and social studies. Additionally we were tested in home economics, so we had to cook. It's quite funny. In my old life we hadn't done that in school, it was mostly just done in your free time. Normally in the midterm exams students were only tested in the five main subjects, but this was a private middle school.
The exams went over in a flash and I didn't have any doubts that I had almost everything right. Middle school wasn't very challenging. Karma seemed to think so too, because the both of us had finished nearly twenty minutes before the deadline in every subject and didn't know what to do. I had watched Nagisa struggling with science and his expressions had been priceless, especially when he read the last question in science. I think his soul flew out of his body.
When the results were out I wasn't surprised to be second place again. I had a weakness in social studies. I simply hated memorizing. I wasn't bad at it, but just memorizing some parts of history and forgetting it later on, was nonsense to me. I wanted to understand and not simply learn it and forget it again, so my resulted score was 498 points out of 500.
Karma was, to my delight, on the third place. He had only one point less than me and didn't even study.
On the first place was of course Asano Gakushu with the perfect score of 500 out of 500. I saw him from behind when Karma and I looked at the results. A bit further from us stood Nagisa searching nervously his name. You could pinpoint the exact second he found it, by his relieved sight. Karma moved next to the bluenet.
''Nagisa-kun, tell me which place you got.'' The red head practically sang.
''Ah, Karma-kun. I was placed 83th. I've done better than before. Thank you for helping me.''
''No big deal. I'm trying to find a way to get many little minions for the start of my world domination. It was good for practice.'' Karma grinned wickedly.
''And you tell me I'm melodramatic.'' I stepped beside Karma. ''Good job on getting better Nagisa.''
''You are. That's why I am too.''
''Touché.''
Nagisa looked at our interaction with an amused expression.
''Thank you, Sayori-san. Congratulation for getting the second and third place.'' The short male smiled at us.
''Thanks, Nagisa-kun.'' I returned his smile.
''So-'', I stopped my sentence when I noticed someone approaching us and turned around.
I was greeted with the face of one Asano Gakushu.
Huh, that was a first. I frowned slightly at his arrival.
I had never spoken a single word to him. The only time he had noticed me had been at the opening ceremony and there we hadn't even talked to each other.
''Good morning, I assume you are Kitani Sayori?'' he addressed me.
''Yes, that's me. Is there something that you want from me, Asano-san?'' I asked in a blunt, polite tone. I wasn't really keen on talking to him. It would attract attention and I had already enough of that just from doing all those fights with Karma.
''Yes, I would like to talk to you at a later date. Would it be alright if I would borrow your time at lunch break?'' His smile was horribly polite and all business. I seriously hated that. People like that drew always everything out.
''Of course, I will meet you in the cafeteria. If you don't have any more requests, I would like to go back to my friends.'' My smile was bland.
''Thank you, Kitani-san.'' With those words he wandered off. I could feel slight irritation from him by being dismissed so easily. Another one to tease and I was going to use that.
I turned back to my friends.
Their expressions varied. Nagisa looked kind of stunned with a bit of disbelief. Contrasting to that Karma was scowling. He looked after the trail Asano had gone and merely furrowed his brow.
''Guys?'' I waved my hand in front of their faces.
They shook themselves out of their stupor.
Karma recovered first.
''What did he want from you? Why would he want to meet you?'' His scowl didn't stop, but I shrugged.
''As much as I would like to answer you, I don't know it myself. It's the first time I've talked to him.''
I held no illusion that he was going to confess his undying love for me, but the glares digging into my back seemed to think otherwise. I sighed.
''I guess I just have to find out, don't I?'' I gave them a wry smile.
''Of course,'' Karma deadpanned. ''When it's a love confession sock his face. I want to see the bruise for at least a week.''
I snorted and heard an amused laugh from Nagisa.
''The school would expel Sayori-san,'' Nagisa mentioned after a while. ''Or his fangirls would kill her. That's actually more likely. He has already a fan club.''
I blinked somewhat stupidly.
''Seriously, one would guess they had better things to do. Can't more girls study or something like this?'' I looked at the exam rankings. ''In the top 10 in the exams were only three girls and one of them is me. Girls aren't dumber than guys, but if only so little put even effort into it, they are just going to end up as pretty, mindless puppets without any brain. Men shouldn't be superior. We are equal, dammit!''
''Wow, Sayo!'' Karma made a surrendering gesture. ''Calm down. No one said something like that. There are far more girls who take that seriously and I bet they aren't letting themselves suppressed by men.''
I let my temper calm a bit.
''Just not in our school,'' he added with a smirk.
I laughed.
''Haha, I guess so. I hope they do better next time.''
With now a better mood, we three went to class.
At lunch break I went into the cafeteria instead of our usual place outside under the trees. I seated myself at a relatively secluded space for some privacy. I would hate it if everyone would listen to this conversation or any conversation in general. It was not their business, so they could screw themselves.
When I saw Asano entering the large hall, I called out his name.
''Asano-san!''
His head turned around, his eyes slightly surprised that I was here before him. As quick as the surprise came, it vanished from his face and a polite smile replaced the former expression.
''Kitani-san,'' he greeted me evenly and sat down.
I had brought my bento with me, but made no move to open it. Seeing that I had no intention of staying here, Asano began to talk.
''Kitani-san, I wanted to speak with you, because of a request.''
I inclined my head.
''I think you know that we first-years are allowed to participate in the student council election. To be blunt, I want to apply for the president seat and I ask you to be my secretary.''
He watched my reaction. My face was in a neutral expression that didn't give anything away.
I liked his bluntness, but he had just adjusted to my personality. I knew that he could draw out this conversation and try to charm me. He was good, I could admit that and he also knew that fact, but he seemed to have only picked up my traits and tried to show me his best. Not bad, but I didn't the job. Somehow, it didn't suite well with me.
''I must decline your request, Asano-san. Personally I have no intention in becoming a part of the student council, so I must refuse. Just out of curiosity, why me? I'm sure that you could think of someone better, who doesn't have an infamous reputation.'' I was curious about his reason.
Asano smiled prettily at me. I was sure that many girls of this school would have melted.
''It's a pity. As for your question, I chose you because of your intelligence and your ability to cooperate with other people. I have seen how you handled some classmates of yours, when Akabane-san hadn't been present. I was very impressed.
I'm sure when you would be a part of the student council, your reputation wouldn't be any infamous anymore, especially when I asked you to be. Our fellow students seem to like me. Of course you would have to stop getting into fights, but it's not like you provoke any.''
''These are interesting reasons, Asano-san. I feel humbled that you are thinking so much of me, but you are giving me too much credit.'' Now was my turn to smile politely. I hated this whole business thing.
''I'm sure, I'm not. I think you are a capable person. Please reconsider.''
''My mind is still set, Asano-san. I'm sure you will find another person more suitable for this seat.'' I stood up. ''Now excuse me, I will go outside to my friends.''
With a slight bow I left the table and went out of the cafeteria.
I cradled my bento in my hands, during my way outside. I was quite surprised that the strawberry blond would offer me something like that. It wouldn't benefit him very much. Admittedly I had been always exact one place beneath him in the last exams, but only intelligence couldn't be the only reason. That would be ridiculous, not to forget superficial.
I couldn't quite get his reasons, maybe it had to do with my connection with Karma. If I was in the council, I could possibly stop his fights and correct his behavior. It was a reason, but not big enough for him to ask me to be his secretary.
I arrived at the place, where Karma and Nagisa were eating.
''I'm back,'' I announced, plopping down on a free seat. The two males looked up from whatever had captured their interest.
''Yo, Sayo. Back from your chat? What did he want?'' Karma moved to sit beside me. I saw a bread in his hand. He had probably been too lazy to bring some food with him.
I shrugged.
''He asked me to be his secretary for the next student council election. I declined.'' Nonchalantly I packed out my bento and began to eat.
Silence…
''What...?'' asked Nagisa weakly.
''Why would he ask you?'' My red-haired friend seemed to be annoyed if the scowl on his face was any indication.
The question seemed a bit brash, but at least I knew what he meant.
''I think he was bullshitting me, when I asked. His reason was my intelligence and my, oh so good, cooperation with others. Seriously, I can't stand being with idiots longer than five minutes. He seemed to think otherwise.''
Karma snorted.
''Sayori-san, you aren't that bad. I think if people try not to get on your nerves, you are very patient. At least your partners from school projects are still in one piece and not terrified of you,'' Nagisa put in.
''Yeah, but that's because I have to put up with them. I still want good grades.'' I grimaced. ''Otherwise most of them would be already afraid of me. My temper is seriously not the best.''
''That goes without saying.'' A wry smile appeared on their faces. Cheeky.
We sat there in a comfortable silence, Asano's offer all forgotten and no one wanted to bring that up again. I had rejected it after all. When the bell rang I pretended not to notice that Karma was standing suddenly closer to me than usual.
A few weeks after the second midterm exams I skipped school. I wasn't turning into a delinquent, but that day was-, had been my birthday in my former life. I wasn't mourning anymore. I had accepted the fact that I would never see my family again, but it was a good reminder of who I was.
It helped me to remember and see that the memories of the past and the ones from now made me what I was. It still wasn't a happy day and it would never really be.
The day before Nagisa and Karma had invited me to go to the arcade. Karma had forgotten which date it was, but when I declined he had taken my refusal without complaint. I had told them that I wasn't going to be in school.
It was raining today and that didn't help my already somber mood.
As I had planned I skipped school today and was now on my way to a desolate place where I had been the years prior during this time. It was a clearing in a forest outside of Tokyo. On a trip with my parents I had found this place. It was hidden by the trees of the forest and the next village was a good 20-minute walk away.
When I arrived, my clothes were already soggy from the rain, but I didn't really care. Over the years I had set up a dry place in chase it would rain like today.
'How convenient.' I thought dryly.
Dropping onto the earth I began to place some incense down and lighted it. Drawing my knees closer to me and hugging them, I began to think about something that had already bothered me since the entrance ceremony.
I didn't really know whether I was living in world that resembled that manga or not. It had been too long for me to remember the details, so that I could reassure myself. I couldn't deny that many people here were familiar in that sense. They reminded me of the story, but it could be all coincidence.
One thing, that I was sure of, was that I would know when the moon would explode. I was sure that I couldn't miss that. Just in chase, I tried to remember some details.
'Better write it down.' I thought.
Everything could be possible. The fact that I was apparently reborn proved already a lot.
But a different universe? I didn't know.
The manga I had read about had been about a class, I recalled. They had to kill... an octopus? An alien? But what for? I wasn't sure why, but I think that the alien, I would call that thing alien for now, was responsible for the destruction of the moon. Or at least it said so, maybe it wanted to do something cliché and destroy the earth too.
The main characters had been a bunch of rule breakers and students with low grades thrown together into a class and located somewhere else from the main campus
'Just like in our school.' I realized. 'Class E.'
That was just foreshadowing. There was too much alike for my liking. I wrote down what little I could remember and which people of the school had been most likely been important in the manga. I hesitated at Karma's name.
It was very likely that he had been in class E. He was a troublemaker. I just didn't want to admit that I had been reading in a freaking shounen manga about the life of my dear childhood friend.
That was just highly disturbing.
Well, this was all hypothetical. I could be just imagining all of this and was thinking too much.
Better safe than sorry.
When I was done I looked once again at that what I wrote down. It was pathetically little, save the information about potential people, who could have been involved.
I thought about Karma and somehow my mind wandered to Nagisa. The bluenet liked to write things down and I had seen notebooks for every subject we had. I once had seen a notebook for Karma and me. He had been somewhat sheepish when I had pointed them out.
''They could be useful one day,'' he had noted.
I let him do it. As long as he didn't stalk me it would be fine.
I reeled my thoughts back. Notes...
There had been someone noting down the alien's weaknesses... and that had been most likely Nagisa.
What a mess. This couldn't be real.
Two people of a story. Out of all people that could have been my friends it had to be two people of a story.
But at least I didn't regret it.
Karma was my friend no matter what. I wouldn't break that over something that could even not be real.
Even so I could imagine Karma being highly entertained by an assassination request. In fact he would be ecstatic about it. Killing an alien... and a teacher? The target of the class had been also... their teacher? That was just taken straight out of a shounen manga and considering what I had read when I had been in my teens it had been shounen mangas. Oh my...
Karma being involved meant for me, that I would be also there. I would follow him. It wasn't especially nice of me, but I was sure that Karma would end one day in class E. Including me. We were simply too infamous in school and he too mischievous to not cause problems.
Did I want to do that? Get involved with assassination and possible injuries and all? Risk maybe some mental scarring just for the sake of some adrenalin kick?
'Yes,' I thought.
My boring days of school would be spiced up through this. Only the thought of this was simply exciting. I wanted to live this second life, I really did, but that what I did now was boring. Not the fights or Karma, but school was boring. Given that I didn't simply skip grades I would be stuck here as long as a normal student.
Well, it was decided. Should the moon explode, I would be going to class E, if I wasn't already with Karma there. Honestly, we were both troublesome students.
I think that those years will be fun and hopefully I wouldn't be disappointed.
I could deal with being reborn into a manga. If I wasn't, I would only live on normally.
Nothing to lose, I guess.
When I looked up, it had stopped raining and the sun was shining brightly.
I'm sorry! It took me very long to write this chapter. It isn't even very long.
School started again this week, so I was busier than usually. Even Shiki doesn't have so much time anymore. Everything took more time than before.
This chapter hadn't been very exciting, I know. Sayo met Asano, but she doesn't really want to have to do with him. I'm not that keen on writing dialogs with the two of them. It would be all hidden meanings and insults inside of polite statements. Too complicated. I will try, when they are in their third year. I'm going to put the second very short. Just one or two chapters.
Skylark Sky - Thank you for your suggestion. It was very interesting, but I'm probably not going to use it as a reason for her to be in class E. She could retake them after all, but it gave me many new ideas for the story. I'm definitely going to put this into the story. Again, thanks.
I'm very, very happy, that so many of you followed and favorited this fic. You are all awesome readers. Please take a cookie, maybe it will encourage others to do the same ^^
The updates are probably going to take longer now, but don't worry I will update. Just more random.
Anyway, I wish you a nice weekend. Take a break from your strenuous day and drink some hot milk. I like milk (^~^)
-Yuki
