Disclaimer: I do not own Assassination Classroom.

XXVII.

If I was honest, I sometimes felt a bit at a loss when Karma was absent. I liked to cling onto familiar things, which was in my case Karma. It was the feeling of sitting at lunch break with your friends and suddenly feeling weird when they weren't there.

Well, Karma had wanted to go to school though but I didn't let nor did my mom. At times like these teaming up with my mother was the funniest and most drastic things to do.

The redhead had caught a cold from going home without an umbrella in the rain. As it was unavoidable, he was now lying in his bed with my mother probably checking up on him every hour. Well, it was Saturday and mom was normally home at weekends.

It was also June; rain season in Tokyo, which meant a lot of humidity in the air and many umbrellas. It also meant that our school building was half flooded.

I hadn't had the material to repair the roof and only a half-formed plan in mind how to get the government to improve the standards of our building. Something along the lines of ''The environment being sub-par for our mission'' but I was hesitating. Maybe we would be able to use it for an assassination.

The steady dripping of the rainwater was lulling me into a light daze. That was until I noticed the balloon-like head of our teacher dangling in front of us.

I blinked at the sight for a few second, then startled a bit when Ritsu asked the obvious question that was bothering all of us.

''Koro-sensei...'' Even she paused and wasn't that funny? An AI having to search for words in face of our extraordinary teacher. ''Please explain to me why your head has grown in volume by 33%.'' Well, that was blunt.

I couldn't quite suppress the grin that grew on my face.

''Well... It's bloated from the humidity in the air,'' he answered with a white face.

Oh, OH! That was a good piece of information. My hand went up into the air.

''Yes, Sayori-kun?'' He gestured to me, face becoming just a little whiter than it was probably possible.

I smiled brightly at him.

''Does that mean you will swell up like a sponge when we throw you into the water?'' I made the motion of something rapidly expanding. ''Does your body do the same or just your head?'' Of course, that implied that his body was made out of a different material than his head but that was unlikely because his head reacted to anti-sensei material the same his tentacles did.

A red circle appeared on his head.

''Not bad, Sayori-kun. Yes, I'll soak up water like a sponge, but'' his face gained green stripes and the grin turned into something mocking. ''You have first to get in there to do that.''

''Well,'' Nakamura tuned in, her face like a cat getting the canary. ''The humidity got you beat, didn't it?''

I shared a smirk with the blonde. Not bad at all. No wonder why Karma often teamed up with her. Koro-sensei's posture slumped a bit when I raised my hand again.

''Why aren't your tentacles also swollen then? I'm sure it should be also humid near the floor.''

''A good question. I did grow by a few centimeters, too, but that isn't that noticeable when my head is that big. When the soaked-up fluids aren't directly at a certain body part, I'm able to pump them into my head and discarding them by wringing it.'' In that moment he took a bucked and wrung his head like a wet towel.

''...You're really like a big yellow sponge. Are you sure that you're in the right universe and do not actually belong to Bikini Bottom?'' Sponge Bob was a distant memory of mine but at least present, though I wasn't sure how familiar my classmates were with it.

Our teacher huffed, veins slightly puffing in indignation.

''Well, you can clean up our classroom then, sensei!'' Laughter rang in the classroom at Maehara's words.


After the fourth lesson, I put my head down the table, done for the day. It was only time for lunch now, but I felt tired. Believe it or not P.E. was up until now one of my favorite subjects, even when I had sucked in it in my former life.

It probably the only thing I hadn't at least partly learned before since we were trained to be assassins. I would have loved to either go more to the economical side of Social Studies or to learn more about physics.

I had been interested in both of it before but decided for business in the end.

Everything else was repeat. I would see the new material and think, 'Oh that's familiar.' and that would quell most of the enthusiasm I had for school. Sure, I would still participate, but sometimes it was just so dull I wanted to bash my head against the wall.

''Sayori, are you so bored that you have to induce brain damage to yourself?'' An innocent looking Kanzaki asked me the not so nice question.

''Your inner devil's showing, Yukiko,'' I mumbled against the desk. Her father may want her to be a perfect submissive girl, but he couldn't change that deep down she was sassy as hell.

''You hurt me, Sayori. I am by no means evil.'' She analyzed my position with a critical eye. ''Is Karma's absence making you this depressed?''

''Karma? I don't know. Maybe. I think it's more the weather than that.''

''Right.'' The raven shook her head, then leaned down to me. ''Would you like to join us for lunch? I haven't done that a long time with you.''

I winced. Yeah, guilt tripping was definitely intended and probably a method to move my train of thoughts to a different direction.

''You're ruthless, Yukiko.'' I laughed at her gesture of 'who, me?'. ''Sure, I will. Just give me a minute to pack out my bento.''

I was pretty sure that I was kind of corrupting her. Would she have such a sassy character if I weren't there?

Right, not going there. Doubts for my existence could come when I was old and gray, now was time to hack out some plan to kill our teacher. So, how was his speed affected when he was soaked full?

''Hey guys, want to test out something with me?''


Our plan was simple and just there to test a hypothesis: Would Koro-sensei get slower when he was wet?

For that we were using a melon bread that I had brought with me for lunch, the rainy weather outside and our teacher's addiction to sweet. Also, our supercomputer classmate, who would record Koro-sensei's speed with her camera.

''Okay, guys, on your mark. Koro-sensei will be back in ten seconds. Get ready,'' I told them, readying the bread in my hand.

This whole thing was really just something to lift the somber spirit of our class and a way to pass time until the end of the day. Well, it wasn't as if we had a lot to do and we (I) had discovered a new weakness (tool) to work (play) with and just had to try a few new things.

And punctually on the second sensei came in with a bang (in reality he came from the teachers' lounge).

''Hello, my dear students. Are you ready for the next lesson?'' I smirked at him.

''Of course, Koro-sensei! Just let me throw this out.'' And I hurled the bare bread out of the window into the rain.

''Wha-?! Sayori-kun!'' Unsurprising, Koro-sensei startled, expression horrified, and followed the bread with the speed of 20 Mach. I felt a bit guilty for wasting food, but I trusted our teacher to catch it.

''Okay, he's out. Ready your weapons and block the door with the anti-sensei net. Ritsu, camera on!'' I ordered, putting on my bullet-proof glasses, then grimaced. ''I'll definitely not enjoy the lecture about food,'' I muttered silently to myself, but apparently loud enough for Nagisa to hear, as the boy readied his weapon beside me.

''It was your plan, Sayori. It's your own fault,'' he grinned cheekily at me in a way that reminded me distinctly of Karma. He had really rubbed off Nagisa.

I opened my mouth to reply, but in that moment the monstrous, big head of our teacher, colored in a lovely red, which looked a bit diluted, interrupted me. Changing my line of thought, I gave out a single command.

''Shoot!''

The cheerful sound of gun fire erupted around me, making me scramble for a save place as fast as I could. The bullets maybe couldn't hurt us badly, but they still itched and sometimes left behind small bruised, when you were hit. They had to be like this if we still wanted to hit our teacher with a small possibility of actually striking him.

From my position I could see that our teacher had bloated up even more than this morning, tentacles looking soaked. His movement seemed to be more sluggish and slower than his usual ones – our class was even succeeding in grazing him.

Well, he had more mass and volume.

What surprised me more was the sheer predictability of our teacher. For being such an intelligent creature with the speed he had so many weaknesses – one more ridiculous than the other and probably because my memories were still hazy about the details of the impending future, it was hard to see him as the killer he had been once. (It was also deliberate ignorance.)

Maybe it was for the best. Maybe I would fear him more if I could see the killer in him, more than I sometimes was.

My eyes trailed the shoots of Hayami and Chiba, our best sharp-shooters, their bullets grazing Koro-sensei's skin, making it seem so easy that it was breath-taking.

It made me slightly jealous that they were that good at it while I sucked so much, though they made me feel more awe than jealousy.

I was tempted to ask them to give me a few pointers, but the memory of them coming to class E due to not denying any requests was making me hesitate. It was simple politeness to give them a bit of time, but now I was contemplating on asking them.

Eventually, the bullets ran out and the fire slowed down until it stopped completely, though Ritsu had still her guns out and seemed to be running calculations.

At the front, our teacher looked ruffled than usually after a gunfire (which was not at all), panting heavily, and still with the damn melon bread in his hand. It was a miracle that he hadn't abandoned it and at the same time it wasn't at all. He didn't look particularly happy with it in his grasp though.

''Sayori-kun! How could you waste such a perfectly made piece of food? I'm disappointed,'' he told me with a sad little emoji on his face, while dripping the whole rain on my head by wringing his head.

I stabbed after him once with my knife and predictably missed.

''It's for the sake of the world,'' I said while imitating a mad professor while saying this. If I were honest, I thought I could pull of the look of a mad scientist quite well. ''Please stop getting my hair wet, Koro-sensei. It takes hours to get dry again,'' I complained, wiping the water from my face.

''I know that feeling.'' He nodded sagely. ''I'm sorry, Sayori-kun.''

I stared at him, marveling the sudden change of subject.

''Like you would know that, baldy,'' I deadpanned and went to my bag to get a tissue. Kanzaki, the angel, held already on in her hand. I thanked her.

''What did you say?! I am not bald!'' And there was the angry face again.

''Well, I don't know,'' Nakamura piped in, a mischievous grin on her face. ''I've never seen a single hair on your head, Koro-sensei. I'd say you're really bald.''

''Don't take it to heart, Koro-sensei,'' I consoled him. ''That way you don't have to hide your hair for your wigs.''

''...I think the lack of hair is the first reason why he has to wear wigs in first place,'' Nagisa said out loud what most of the class thought and I hit my right palm with the left hand.

''Right, I'm sorry, Koro-sensei. I guess I didn't think of it, but I'm sure you'll brush it off.'' I rubbed my head playfully. Of course, I had, but teasing him was a lot of fun.

''I have hair! See!'' He lifted his head to reveal-

- a mushroom.

Our class turned away from him.

''WHY, EVERYONE!?''


''Hey guys, does anyone want to stay back with me and analyze the scenes from today? Ritsu got everything on tape!'' I said enthusiastically. Karma said he didn't want to see me until six, since I would only have spent the whole time fretting about him. (He may or may not be concerned about me since I had a rather frail immune system lately. I found it honestly adorable, so I granted him his wish.)

''Sorry, Sayori-san. I've got already something planned,'' Maehara excused himself and vanished behind the door. I could only guess he had a date.

''I planned to go with Kayano-chan and Sugino-kun shopping. Okano-san wanted to go with us as well, so sorry, Sayori,'' an apologetic Nagisa told me, hand scratching his cheek sheepishly.

I received various refusals, until only 5 people, me included, stayed behind. Okuda, Kanzaki, Hayami and Chiba. Eh... was I that unpopular?

''So, would you like to review our performance?'' I received a few nods. At least it would be easier than to delegate a huge group.

''I wanted to see what kind of angle would be most effective during shooting,'' Hayami said, her expression trained on her gun.

''Me too,'' the other shooter said.

''I just wanted to help you. You looked lonely, Sayori.'' I smiled wryly.

''Why, thank you, Yukiko.''

''Ano-'' Okuda sounded hesitant to speak. ''I-I wanted to talk with you about how we could mix some chemicals with the water and make him unable to use his tentacles anymore or similar effects. I've been writing down some...''

''That's great!'' I encouraged her, glad that she decided to approach me with this. ''We can go over this after we watch the video.''

I sighed.

''Though I would really love to know what his tentacles are made of. Do you think we could a sample of them?'' The looks I received were rather doubtful.

''I know what you mean, Sayori-san. That would really make everything easier.'' Her expression changed into something longing, no doubt thinking about what she would do with the tentacle.

''Okay, let's get to business.'' I turned to the AI in the room. ''Hey Ritsu-san, could you please replay the video? Feel free to comment anything you want, any of you.'' I was glad that I had more eyes to look at this. I often lacked insight to such things and didn't notice the details.

''Alright,'' Ritsu answered cheerfully, starting the footage. ''I have recorded a 32 % drop in speed and almost 80 % drop in dexterity. We have about 11 graze wounds, four made by Hayami-san and Chiba-san each.'' At that both of the shooter gained a bit of a satisfied aura, shooting each other a look. ''There was no certain pattern in his dodging yet, but he seemed to lean mostly to the left.''

We watched the clip with Ritsu pointing out everything. It was a surprising change from seeing the normally invincible seeming Koro-sensei so vulnerable. Okay, not exactly invincible, but he was slower and got actually hit. At a certain point Chiba asked Ritsu to stop the video.

''Did he just evade those two bullets and accepted the gun gaze in exchange?'' Chiba pointed out the scenario in front of us. Indeed, it seemed as if Koro-sensei had been caged by a few more bullets and had only a small space to move in.

''Seems like the missing speed made it more difficult for him to adjust to the gun fire,'' I mused, as Ritsu zoomed in.

''Could we recreate that scenario?'' the other female sharpshooter asked, her eyes focused on the scene.

''Ritsu-san, can you pull up a 3-D perspective of this? I would like to see where the bullets are.''

''Alright.'' The view of the room vanished for a moment, then changed to a three dimensional one of it with lines showing each position of the objects. It looked like a 3-D program, where you could pull the object to the perspective you wanted to see.

''Now color Koro-sensei and the bullets in their color. Name any bullet we can see according to letters. Call the two evaded bullets 'dummy 1&2' and the grazing one 'hit X'. Thanks.''

''No, problem, Sayori-san. I must say Koro-sensei must have really gotten wet pants during this, didn't he?'' A bit dumbfounded I stared at the AI for a moment.

''...Not bad,'' I admitted. From my peripheral vision, I could see Yukiko shaking her head.

''It's contagious,'' she muttered. I struck my tongue at her.

''My puns are great, thank you,'' I sniffed haughtily. ''Anyway, calculate the room the outer-bullets take up and then the one between 'dummy 1&2' and 'hit X'. I want to know on what room we have to cage him in to make him take losses. If the room is proportionate to the speed, could you calculate that too?''

''Okay.'' On the screen the room where Koro-sensei was moving between the bullets was highlighted in a bright yellow and the measurements were taken. ''You are shockingly effective at this, Sayori-san.''

''… Was that supposed to be a compliment?'' Okay, I was starting to think that Ritsu's character was not just cheerful. Wonderful, everyone was learning sass.

''I-I'm sure it is. You are pretty smart after all,'' Okuda said, staring at the screen with something akin to amazement.

''Haha, thanks, Okuda-san. But I would have never noticed this if Chiba-san hadn't pointed this out.'' I really wouldn't have. Sometimes, I liked to take charge, but in that position itself I was really unimaginative. It was always good then to have some other people to point things out and suggest ideas.

''Okay, how can we recreate this kind of situation?'' I asked the others with a thoughtful face.

''We obviously need the outer distraction. At least ten or more people to create that room inside there,'' Kanzaki pointed to the pink bullets on the screen, then moving to the one with the title 'hit X'. ''For this one, we need someone who can read the timing for the right shoot. It also has to be very accurate so that it even hits him. I could suggest that one of you two does this.''

''T-the dummies probably won't need to be more than one. If we cage him in tight enough, we don't need to bullets.''

''Yeah, but I would still use two or something that screams danger so that he will really dodge and not use chalk. No offense, Ritsu-san,'' I countered, still careful not to crush Okuda's confidence.

''I think, if we want to use that cage, we have to be able to shoot from all sides. But then we have the problem of him escaping.'' Chiba gave the picture a long look. ''Sayori-san, where do you have this net from?''

''The net? I made it with Karma from the special wire I had requested. I first wanted to use the wire for something else but realized it wouldn't work well enough. I still have some.''

''I think we need something like this for a successful try.'' He looked at us others. Well, more turned his head to us. I couldn't really see his eyes.

No one said anything for a while.

''Mmmh, Ritsu-san, do you have an idea? Or more? I would like a compilation of our data later on. Could you send it to me though an e-mail? Or better to the whole class? We can ask the others for ideas then, too.'' I checked my phone for the time and paused. We were sitting here for already more than 40 minutes. Time flew sure fast.

''Okuda-san, what have you written down to mix with the water?''

Just when we were in middle of discussing more ideas for chemicals and shooting tactics, Sugino called Chiba.

We had jotted down a few more notes like who was suited best for what role of our new move and what for ones we could create too. It was really fun and helped us a lot, especially since we had the insight from Hayami and Chiba for shooting. There were also some ridiculous notes like which melon bread Koro-sensei would like the best (the answer was every single one as long it was sweet).

When Chiba disconnected the call, we had to quit.

''Koro-sensei asked for help to avenge Maehara's honor. Someone from the main building has snatched his date away and pushed him in the dirt. The date also turned against Maehara.'' My lips twitched at that. Trust Koro-sensei to make a drama out of it.

''No choice then. I was getting a bit hungry anyway. Where do we have to go?'' I relented, willing to end this session for now. ''We should really do this again. It's fun. Thanks for helping us, Ritsu-san. I really love your program.''

''It was a delight to. I'm always ready to help my classmates,'' Ritsu replied with a smile and the brightening of her background on the display. Either Koro-sensei had put a pun program there or Ritsu had downloaded a load of puns down to make a conversation with me. Both thoughts truly warmed me.

''Jup, definitely doing this again.''

I received various confirmations and started to grin. Well, hanging out with my classmates was really fun. Definitely different from my former classes.

''Sure, I'd like to. I told sensei we're still at school. He said he would pick us up,'' Chiba answered me while checking his bag for anything he might have forgotten. Hayami held his pencil case in front of him.

Outside of the classroom, I remembered what I had wanted to ask them.

''Ah, I wanted to ask you two something, Chiba-san and Hayami-san.'' The two sharp shooters turned their head around. ''I wanted to ask you if you could give me a few pointers with my shooting. I've only gotten these glasses recently and have to adjust to my new eyesight. I'm not good at shooting in first place.'' I gave them a sheepish smile.

The two looked at each other for a short moment, clearly looking a bit troubled.

''If you don't want to, it's okay. I won't hold it against you,'' I assured them. I didn't want to dig up things that would have been better left buried, but maybe reminding them that I wasn't the same as the others would let them decide easier. ''I know you have some bad experience with it, so-'' I shrugged. ''Your choice.''

''Thank you, Sayori-san,'' Hayami answered slowly, seemingly still churning his response in her mind. ''I have had some bad experience with people asking for my help, but I think- I think I can help you with this. Shooting is special to me. Teaching you it wouldn't be bad.''

''I don't think I can really do a lot for you, Sayori-san. I am good at shooting, but I don't know how to teach.'' Chiba's expression was always a bit more difficult to read since his bangs hid his eyes pretty well. I could see from his body language that he was still hesitating. ''I could give you a few pointers, but else...''

''I'm not asking for more, Chiba-san. I know-'' An idea formed in my mind. ''Do you have anything where you have problems in? I'm pretty good at academics and close combat. We can make some kind of exchange. You two teach me shooting and I help you in whatever for a subject you need help.''

That seemed to be alleviating their doubts a bit. Were they afraid that I would use them? It left me angry that they had even made experiences like this not to be able trust people like that. Of course, it always depended on the circumstances, but also their old classmates should have noticed it when they burdened them too much. They could have said something, but again everyone had faults and those twos was probably speaking up.

''I think that is acceptable, Sayori-san,'' Hayami told me, a small smile on her lips. Chiba nodded beside her.

''We've got a deal I guess,'' Chiba added jokingly and held out his hand in a business-like manner.

''Thank you. When you have time, you can just tell me. I'm in no hurry.'' I took it and then gave Hayami my hand. It reminded me that it had been ages since I had really shaken hands with anyone. In Japan you just bowed, something which I found for one easier and at the same time more difficult. ''Well, I guess this was a taste for business in the future.''

''Well, you have struck quite a good deal,'' Kanzaki said from behind, actively spooking me. ''Do you have your umbrella with you, Sayori?''

''Shit, I left it in the classroom. Thanks, Yukiko!'' And I ran back to the building to get it.


Yukiko watched as Sayori ran back into the classroom in a neck-breaking speed. She had always wondered how she didn't injure herself with her clumsiness, but her reflexes seemed to prevent most of them.

''Kanzaki-san, you seem to know Sayori-san well. How does she learn the best?'' Hayami, who stood beside Chiba, asked her. The other girl seemed to be already designing plans for their first lesson.

''Well, Sayori is the type to hear about the theory first and then learn by doing it. Give her a short summary what she has to do, and the rest is about the practical part,'' she suggested and thought about it again. ''You can always correct her while she shoots, but I think she doesn't like it when it's done too often.''

''Okay, thank you, Kanzaki-san.''

''It's no problem, Hayami-san.''

They stood there for a moment with no clue what to say further. Then Okuda began to speak.

''Ano... I think Sayori-san does really well when you give her an example to follow. I always do that when we're talking about experiments,'' the shy girl added, making her body a bit smaller as if she were afraid of something.

''You're right, Okuda-san,'' Yukiko agreed to Okuda with a smile. The smaller girl was really shy, but that was a trait that Yukiko valued about her. ''I must warn you, she's really stubborn.''

''Who's stubborn?'' Ah, speak of the devil.

''Do you really want to know, Sayori?'' She fixed the raven with a beatific smile. Behind her she could see Hayami and Chiba exchanging amused expressions, while Okuda hid a laugh behind a cough.

''...On the second note, I'm fine not to know,'' Sayori conceded and gave a searching look to the sky. ''Sensei must have called others if he's not already here. I wonder-''

At those words, a yellow point began to rapidly descend to their destination. A second later wind was lashing around their ears, making their hairstyles stand up like bird's nests.

''Koro-sensei, I would appreciate more hair-friendly maneuvers,'' Sayori caught herself first and smoothed her hair down. ''Though, I guess you don't need them.''

The hair seemed to become the running gag for the day. Yukiko didn't know whether to cry or laugh at her friend's obsession with puns. Sometimes they were really good and in the right situation you could do nothing but laugh at them, but in the rest of the time they were just plainly awful.

''Sayori-kun, why are you always so mean to sensei? Have I done ever anything to you?'' Their teacher actually flailed. Yukiko sometimes pitied their teacher, since he was always so nice to them, but those arguments and the teasing always helped to make the class happier when they had some kind of low and then Yukiko was just simply grateful for it.

(Koro-sensei seemed to like it anyway, in some masochistic, loving way)

''Not really,'' the girl admitted, giving their teacher a shit-eating grin. ''But comb on, it's fun to. What do you need us for, sensei?''

Sayori drew attention to herself. Mostly for her behavior, since she could vanish the moment, she stopped talking and her presence would diminish and it was easy to forget she was even there, but Karma was actually the same. Maybe they had developed some kind of technique for this, she thought jokingly.

''Right, sensei wanted to get a team for getting a little revenge on two people for Maehara-kun. One is his girlfriend, who has turned against him when students from class A saw her, and one of the students, who kicked him in the mud.'' Koro-sensei looked truly angry for Maehara's sake, and it made it a bit more difficult to imagine a world without him, after they had killed him. ''I have already an idea formed, but I still want to have a few students helping me.''

He took out some paper where some comic characters were drawn on.

''Currently, I can only take three students at time with me,'' Koro-sensei continued. ''Making a basket would take up some important time we need for this. I will be back in a minute, so don't worry about waiting too long!''

''Na, I want to check up on Karma. You don't have to include me for this, sensei,'' Sayori said surprisingly, which made Yukiko wonder a bit that she would pass up this chance to interact with her classmates. ''Sorry, but I think I'll pass this time. Tell the others good luck and give Maehara my condolences. Sorry guys, but I wish you good luck.''

''Thank you, Sayori-san!'' Okuda returned and the two others nodded. Yukiko turned to Sayori, who was clearly expecting some kind of sass or a 'thank you', but instead she said, ''I'll pass too.''

''Huh? Why?'' Sayori sounded just as surprised as she had felt when she had refused to help their teacher, but that didn't deter her. Yukiko wasn't about to let her friend go alone, even if she wanted to visit Karma and she still had to have a talk with her father. (And maybe ask the raven to go with her. She felt a bit guilty, but for that what she had planned to say, she needed moral support)

''I still have to do something. Would you like to accompany me, Sayori?'' The raven shrugged.

''Sure, why not.'' Yukiko was glad she had agreed without a second thought. For all her faults and quirks, Sayori's loyalty was something she really appreciated. ''I guess, you don't have to go two times, sensei. Lucky you.''

The addressed teacher looked more disheartened than happy.

''But Sayori-kun! I wanted to make this a class activity.''

''It is, but not everyone is going. Whatever, I know you will manage without us. You're our teacher after all.'' Stroking his ego had always helped. Koro-sensei was truly too gullible.

''Alright, then-'' He collected the three others, and made himself ready. ''See you tomorrow!''

And they were gone.

''Well, that was fast,'' commented Sayori beside her dryly. ''Where do you have to go to? I'll accompany you if you want.''

''And Karma?'' Yukiko asked, because she didn't want to keep the other girl from visiting him. Karma was important to Sayori and whether she noticed or not, it was starting to become something deeper than just it was the romantic kind, but Yukiko really didn't want to know what would happen if someone ever separated them.

''Nah, he said he didn't want to see me until six. The asshole should be glad I'm humoring him.'' It was clear from her expression alone she was not happy to follow his wish, but there was a certain fondness there.

Yukiko didn't really know why she was thinking about this now. She had been always a bit of a romantic and liked to draw out scenarios, but why on earth she was thinking about her friend's romantic life she didn't know. Maybe it was the weather.

Karma always came first for Sayori, and she had experienced that first-hand, she mused, somewhat bitter about it. It didn't really make Sayori less reliable, but sometimes it irked Yukiko, that she was shoved aside, may it be politely or not.

''Ah, then would you maybe walk me home? I wanted to talk to my father today about future, so-''

''I'll come with you,'' Sayori cut her off immediately. ''I'll be there if you need me.''

Her first reaction was to tease the raven again, but then she felt simply grateful. Maybe she would lay off on teasing for today.

''Thank you.''

''Don't mention it.''


Kanzaki and I walked in a comfortable pace to her home, conversing about small things. We kept the topics light, partly because I didn't want to stress Kanzaki further and also because I didn't want to dwell on any thoughts about Kanzaki's father. The man was too result-oriented and too stubborn to see anything but his own opinions.

I had talked to him exactly once and in the first conversation he had asked after my grades. After that I had received a lecture on how great I would be and, while telling Kanzaki she should take me as an example for school.

And in a twisted way she had done that, hadn't she?

In an unspoken agreement we had decided not to go together to her home again. I really couldn't stand another lesson like that, before doing something really drastic. Like punching him in his face. Or somewhere else.

We arrived at her home very soon. A quite large house with a well-cared for garden, which just spoke of the money Kanzaki's parents made. Room was expensive in Tokyo, even if we were just in a rather secluded district like Kunugigaoka.

Well, secluded by Tokyo's standards. We still had quite large apartment complexes and not everyone could afford an own house, not to mention a garden. But that was not only like this in Tokyo. Everywhere, where place was scarce, prices skyrocketed.

''Come in, Sayori,'' Kanzaki pulled me out of my musings and uttered a greeting to the empty hallway. ''I'm home, tou-san. I brought a friend with me.''

Somehow her father seemed to have heard that and were now shuffling from the living room. Kanzaki's mom had some irregular shifts because of her job. As far as I had understood it, she was a manager for a bigger company and sometimes had to readjust her time for events or meetings.

Kanzaki's dad was a sales engineer and I had heard of her older brother once, but he didn't live in their house anymore.

''Welcome home, Yukiko. Who did you bring with you?'' Kanzaki Masaru was a man of average height and average body mass. His hair was in the same shade that Kanzaki, though his face was sharper angled. He looked fairly normal, but his face had a certain coolness inside it. I always thought they didn't really show his character well.

''Good evening, Kanzaki-san. I hope I'm not intruding,'' I greeted him politely. I may not like him that much, but my mother had raised me to have manners. At least most of the time.

''Ah, Kitani-kun was it? I recall I have met you once.'' He eyed my appearance. ''You had good grades. Why are you with Yukiko?''

Beside me Kanzaki flinched.

''Ah, didn't Yukiko tell you, Kanzaki-san? I'm also in her class,'' I told him with a smile that was barely polite enough to be called one. I couldn't stand people, who always judged people by things like that. How could you say the person was bad just because they were different? Just because they didn't have good grades or had a different sexual orientation? What made them suddenly different from before?

''I see.'' His expression grew pinched. ''I hope you two will go back to class A soon. It's bad enough to see Yukiko in that kind of environment. I don't want her to stay there. With that kind of career, you will never become a lawyer, Yukiko''

Her expression turned to a long-suffering one, indicating she had heard this already quite a lot. Today was going to become different from the previous discussions. Even if I had to force her father to hear her out myself.

We had moved from the hallway to the living room, when Kanzaki had asked her father to sit down with her and talk with him. He had given me a baleful stare for being there, but I couldn't care less, when my presence gave Kanzaki the courage to speak against him.

''Tou-san,'' she began after a few tense seconds of silence. ''I want to tell you that I do not in fact want to become a lawyer. I'm not-''

''What are you saying, Yukiko!?'' her father cut her off in mid-sentence. ''You are going to become a lawyer. I will not accept another thing! How do expect will your future go on without a proper and respectable job? You will end up alone without anyone to support you, without money, husband nor any means to go on with your life. Being a lawyer will get you that. Don't you understand it? I want the best for you and our family, Yukiko. Our family has a high reputation, and we can help you along the way. Get your grades up, daughter, and you can continue that path. I-''

''No, tou-san. I will not become a lawyer for the last time.'' Her expression had grown more and more icy with every word, but now her mood seemed to have switched. Now she was wearing the same smile she had given me an hour ago. ''I will become a nurse and I'm not going to follow any of your orders like that anymore.''

And she struck out her middle finger to him.

For a moment everything was silent. Kanzaki's father gaping at her bold gesture and his expression now working up a storm. You could practically see his brain rattling.

''Listen to me, young lady-'' Now was my turn.

''No, Kanzaki-san. You listen to Yukiko. She has told clip and clear she doesn't want to become a lawyer. Is it that difficult to understand?'' I gave him a level-headed stare and surprisingly he was not saying anything. ''Now, you have two options. Either you accept now that your daughter is not your little puppet and won't dance at your tune or you will take time to cool your head and think about that what she has said, while I'll be taking Yukiko with me if she wants. It's your choice, Kanzaki-san.''

My head turned to Kanzaki, who gave me a thankful smile and a nod. Right, maybe I would have a guest tonight.

We watched the man in front of us trying to progress what has happened just now before he shouted, ''OUT!''

Not needed to tell us twice we made ourselves scarce, though not in a panicked manner. Dignified, we strode out of the house until we reached the end of the street. There, Kanzaki let out a sigh and her posture slumped. The spell seemed to be broken.

''Thank you.'' And out of impulse I pulled her into a hug.

''You're welcome.''


''Hey kaa-san, I brought Yukiko home. Can she stay the night? We kinda ticked off her father.''

I got a flat stare in return.

''Not even a 'I'm home'? Sayo-chan, I'm honestly disappointed.'' Ah, that stung. I clapped my hands in front of my head together. Rolling her eyes at me, she turned to address Kanzaki with a kind smile. ''Of course, you can stay here, dear. If you need anything you can either take Sayo-chan's things or just ask me.''

''Thank you, Kitani-san. I'm sorry for intruding like this.''

''Call me Kana, dear. I'll feel old otherwise. Sayo-chan, do me a favor and pull out the bed linen for the guest room. I'm afraid we have to change them.'' Her hands made that motion when she was thinking about the things she had forgotten to do. ''And look at the bathroom closet. I'm sure we still have a new toothbrush there.'' I gave her a lazy salute.

''I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Kana-san. I'll go and help Sayori,'' Kanzaki apologized and tried to go after me. Mom held her off, so I waited in the hallway, still able to hear them.

''You're no inconvenience, Yukiko-chan. Sayo-chan does always impulsive things and Karma's not that different. Oh, yes. Would you tell her to bring this to Karma's house? He's yet to eat dinner.''

''Of course, Kana-san.''

Everything done and readied, we went to Karma's house, whose owner was currently slurping soup in front of us in a snail's pace.

''You can go home, Sayo. I'm going to eat this and then sleep,'' he told us with a stuffy nose.

''Eat the soup first. I'm not going to let you skip meals again.'' Cranky, the boy gave Kanzaki a pleading look.

''Well, you heard Sayori, Karma-kun,'' the girl beside me remarked cheerfully. ''Eat up, please.''

''Do I want to know why you're currently here, Kanzaki-san?'' Karma asked somewhat warily since we were giving him both our version of being stubborn.

''We pissed off her father and now she's staying at my house. Thanks for coming with me for this by the way, Yukiko.'' Now we were receiving a disbelieving look by an ill redhead.

''I probably shouldn't have given my father the middle finger, but he really didn't want to listen.'' She held a hand to her face, shaking her head in disappointment. ''It's no problem. I have held you up from visiting him anyway.''

''He deserved it; I think.''

Karma looked like he didn't know why he was even here anymore.

''Only you, Sayo.'' And he pulled up the bowl of soup and drank it in one go. ''Satisfied? I'm going to sleep now, so bye.''

''Get better soon, Karma-kun,'' Kanzaki wished him and stood up to go.

''Right, we better go before we're infected with 'grumpiness'. Get better, Karma.''

''Oh, shut up.''


Right, it's 3 a.m. here and this is unbetaed and not so thoroughly proofread. Yuisair is currently busy. I'll overlook it later.

Been still writing about the one-shot with Karma and Asano. It's becoming a monster and turning sappy T^T

Al Skyler has given the idea for punny Ritsu. Thank you!

Over 450 favs, 500 follows and 220 reviews, I'm awed guys. Love you so much. The stories already more than one year old...

-Yuki

P.S.: I've got Tumblr now. Go there by the same name: Yukionna13.

Leave a review on your thoughts.

Edited 8/21/16