YUSH~! Thank you all for your patience because I'll warn you now that this chapter is short OwO

But before all that, YOU LOVELY PEOPLE THANKS FOR READING!

Gosh darn it this chapter makes me feel like there's lots of OOC in it. SO when you find some, Tell me please ^w^

And I'll admit now I had a writer's block at the beginning of the chapter because I lacked motivation when I did it so I apologize for that uwu

Now before I go to bed at this late hour (Good morning 4 amers~), Let's answer those reviews!:

Title Unwanted: Thanks for the review! Hope you like this one!

Ace Clover: Oh long review I like long review thank you very very much! Yep~ I was really just neutral with Chibahaya to be honest but gosh darn thank the pizza I ate that day for that idea XD And it touches me to know that I was able to create a tear-jerking scene 8"")) Yes, Rinka is now one of the cutest characters suddenly...And Chiba is AH XD (#RelationshipGoals) okay no that was a joke but okay hah XD It's complicated because...it's complicated 8") Oh and read the entire arc to find out~! I look forward to more of you~! And your grammar is understandable enough! ^w^)b

TheRoseShadow21: HELLO AGAIN! One cannot measure the amount of OTP's one can have so rest easy my fellow fangirl. Thanks again for a review! Really appreciate how you take your time to review every chapter since you'd started reading. About that well, you'll prolly have to read to get to that point haha I know Im evil sorry XD And hope you enjoy this!

bluemoonbutterfly: Let me just take this time to hug you please? *GLOMPS* Thanks for that long review! It made me very happy and thank you for the compliments too! I'm glad you find entertainment when reading this and how you detail HOW you enjoy it lol XD And you don't have to apologize for that! It's totally fine~ Though they motivate me to write more, it still depends on each person~! And yes I will look forward to you! Hope you enjoy this next one!

I12Bfree: Thanks man! And yay~ OTP! Love triangles hm? Overused but I'll try my best to make it unique ^w^ And if I spoil it'll ruin~ O3O)~

spiritofgold: AW I WUV YOU. That made me feel hyper sorry XD Thanks for that awesome review man! I love how you point out what it is you liked about the chapters and your own personal opinion so I really appreciate that. And YAY~ Yuzuki-chan has a team! And I've already something planned for her. ;D

Sweetmoegirl: HELLO AGAIN~! Thanks for that review! And especially thanks for pointing out your opinions and favorite parts! They really motivate me to make some more~! And I'm not sure about the karmanami in this chapter since it's basically the prologue of a VERY Karmanami arc XD (Psst! I enjoyed letting RIo and Hayami trash talked him too!) YES YUZUKI-CHAN HAS TWO NOW! Hope you like this one!

natsuki DDS: Thanks bro! I'll be sure to fix them later on! Really? Owo Thanks!

Akikarui: Aw really? That means a lot thank you very much! Ahaha lol that was my favorite out of all the insults XDD (Wait you're british? Owo) YAY YUZUKI-CHAN THAT'S 3!

kawaiichoconeko: HAI NEKO-CHAN~ I'm glad I was able to make Hayami relate to you at some aspects! You're beautiful too for that review and just for being awesome! Thanks for the compliments! (Still LOVING ABC! CANT WAIT FOR MORE! Oh and do you take requests? Owo?)

Demonyo Bro: I'll only answer you once here kasi hindi kita sinagot sa FB XD Thanks beh~ labyu

Akabane-san: HEY THERE AGAIN! Thanks bro you're awesome too! YES ONE DAY! WE WILL PREACH!

Kuro: Thanks man!

Quilla The Silent: HEYO~ (OH nice profile pic I approve VERY much) Thanks for the review as always! AND LOL I haven't watched Ouran but I just found it funny XD Hope you enjoy this albeit it being a prologue lacking of many things!

By the way, for you Yuzuki supporters, I have already thought up an ending for her. Oh you wanna know what it is? READ ON HAHA-*shot*

OKay enough sadism. Let's get on with this prologue! (Seriously. It's only ONE scene the entire chapter.)

Disclaimer: Classroom of assassination, I own not.

Chapter 12: If I Were To Tell You…(PROLOGUE) [SUMMER BREAK]

School's finally out for the next three months.

As the sun began to reach a certain temperature point that would have you begging for even an ounce of cool air, the streets had become busier what with the added youth population. The winds of summer rustled the leaves of the now green trees where birds were discovered to have migrated. Albeit it being quite the hectic season for those employed, it did not take away the other peaceful components of the season – examples of which were the everyday walks in the park of folk with desire to simply bask in awe of the scenery given to them by nature's wonders either with their relatives, friends or even pets. Young boys would be found in the fields or courts practicing whichever sport they deem enjoyable while young girls now filled the fashion malls at a fast rate – summer homework barely became the serious topic of discussion for these young members of society.

At this time of year, it wouldn't be surprising to see children wandering about with casual clothes as they bathed under the bright, hot sun with friends or family. Most would make the most of these three months by going out of town to see the world or relax at home after a tiring three months of school before they find themselves back with even more load on their backs – naturally they'd cherish such a time.

Except for a certain group of students that found themselves unable to find as much delight as most even with the break's beginning.

"So…no one's got a better idea?" All the golden haired girl gained from her companions were a few clueless stares and the shrugging of shoulders.

The six of them had sat themselves comfortably in their individual spaces inside a guest room. The walls were painted with a pale, pink-ish color that would remind one of bubblegum as the floor had been carpeted with a soft, walnut-colored fabric that was so pleasant to the touch it could not stop some of them from lying on it with blithe albeit it not being their own. Furniture within this rather spacious room included a bed that could fit two at most covered by a neat, blue cover topped with white, fluffy pillows. By the other corners of the room you would find wooden drawers and about four shelves which contained a few materials that were probably stored for the time being as well as other necessities – but most of all, manga.

Since the area was just at the ground floor, ventilation had been provided by a ceiling fan with a lamp attached to it – the latter had not been needed however as they were already given enough light by the afternoon sun that threatened to shower its heat on them even with the lowered blinds; but thankfully this room was air-conditioned.

Nakamura Rio sat with her legs crossed upon a rolling chair placed right in front of the study desk just by the window looking quite unenthusiastic. She had on denim shorts and a fuchsia sweater with its sleeves rolled up to adjust to the heat – her blond hair was at its usual laid back style while she frowned at the awkward silence she had been given by her clubmates "We're not seriously going to open a gift shop, are we?"

"That was a joke on my part, but now you're making it tempting." By one of the shelves was a dark-haired, stoic boy whom rested his back on the furniture with crossed arms. Chiba had a short-sleeved navy-green jacket that was given design by the several pockets inside-out and a white t-shirt that went with the simple brown, long shorts that gave him a casual, scout-like look.

"That won't do at all…" Sugino sweatdropped from his Indian sitting position right beside the single bed – his blue shirt had been hidden by the baseball varsity jacket while he had gray long shorts to serve as the bottom. Sitting on the furniture beside him was a disgruntled short-haired girl whom had a plain, sunflower-colored T-shirt that had the black, hiragana print that said 'otaku' with regular brown shorts.

"Why are we at my house again?" she said this with narrowed eyes and quite the discontented frown – to which was bluntly answered by an orange-haired girl whom always styled her hair with pigtails wearing a white blouse as she is also probably the only girl in the room that chose to wear leggings. "You lost old maid."

Yuzuki was about to say something but was abrupt by the arrival of the rest of the ones who agreed to meet at her humble domain. The white door had been opened by Karma as Manami followed suit – the former's getup was just a simple, unbuttoned, short-sleeved polo which he put over a plain red shirt with black jeans as the bottom whilst the latter had put on a basic spearmint-toned tank patterned with butterflies around the hem with loose jeans that only reached up to about six inches below her knees as she had her shoulder bag's strap across her chest and by the side of her hip. The two of them had agreed to meet with their Council support member – whom not too long after came in with them wearing a thin, blue, long-sleeved blouse and a checkered skirt added with white high knee socks – for the important discussion the two of them had also arranged for the day since they've found out about the problem they've got caught into.

Isura Mai, despite having a bubbly and energetic personality, came in with a troubled expression as they entered and settled themselves down. "Sorry we had to make you wait."

"No, no senpai – you came at a good time." Rio assured her with a tiny smile and the wave of her hand that represented her dismissal of such since they weren't exactly doing anything productive for the past few minutes since they'd left – all they did was turn down a few suggestions for their issue.

"So I'm sure you're all aware of what happened by now." The girl who kept her pale brown hair tied back by a white ribbon this time started with a somehow professional tone even with the obvious distraught that came with it.

This gained her a few groans – specifically from the English veteran who slumped herself down on the chair and crossed her arms as her brows scrunched up to show how irked she was by the matter. "Yeah. I still find it annoying how they suddenly decided to stick their nose into our business. Sure we tend to skip classes and other important appointments when we work but our grades aren't even falling; and we submit our progress reports anyway so I don't really see a problem."

Karma leaned back with support from his arms at his position to the blond girl's left with a lazed expression "They can't exactly get rid of the club because of that, so that's one thing we have nothing to worry about. But from what I heard, if we go on with the usual they'll most likely be given a reason to really put us out of business." He worded this out in such a tone that clearly brought out the message that he found such a matter just downright bothersome.

"How so?" Rinka joined in – her voice monotonous and business-like as she addressed this seriously.

"It'll give the school a bad name. We may have our requirements without a problem and aren't affected academically, but Kimii also has this knack for presentation because it's a literate academy – with a plain room like ours, we make it look like we aren't even taking our activities seriously since it doesn't look like we're making an effort to do so; therefore, we aren't given an excuse to skip class. They would've gone about our penalties individually, but after they found out we were all in the same club it's become a scapegoat." The redheaded prankster had to hold back a yawn after his long explanation, but in contrast to how he made it seem, this was also something he'd considered troublesome for himself – after what he did to put it together, it would be upsetting to have it gotten rid of for such reasons he considered to be quite trifling. And there was another reason…

"And with that being said…" Mai decided to give them some additional explanation and had the room's attention fixed on her as she spoke "If you give the school a bad name, you'll be forced out of school events because of club prioritizing. So basically, if you don't show any contribution to the school's reputation, the least they could do is disband you." She frowned at her words and grabbed the edge of her skirt from her seiza style sitting position.

Chiba contemplated on his senior's words for a bit "So all we have to do is make it look like we're exerting serious effort that can excuse us from our bad conduct?"

"More or less. But you have to really prove it." She spoke with a little reluctance as the memory of the fit of anger the teachers had been brought to when she was called to the office that day resurfaced – it wasn't exactly a nice feeling to be yelled at without being given the chance to speak your mind, but it couldn't be helped; she had to take responsibility. Manami, whom took notice of how she brooded on her words, felt a pang of guilt stab something inside her chest; she had witnessed the scene herself and felt horrible for having this girl share the burden of their actions.

"Well, how about we start with decorating the room a little bit?" Sugino suggested with a shrug, quite unsure as he felt himself become the target of their stares. But he had been assured once Rio placed a finger on her chin as she pondered on it "Simple, but not a bad idea."

This statement had the rest of the members come to an agreement as they exchanged a few nods after much thought and since it was probably about the most decent suggestion they'd heard the entire day.

"How do you think we should decorate it?" Manami chose to become a part of the discussion then after feeling a little bad for not having any contribution – but she'd be lying if she said she was not curious as to what they had in mind with that suggestion as she gave the sporty boy a quizzical look.

"Hmm…er…We can probably buy some things that'll make it a little more presentable instead of just an old wooden room." The spiky haired boy wasn't exactly prepared with a proposal on what to make do with his recommendation, as a result he only took what was at the top of his head.

That was when Rinka intervened "That may be out of the question. We're also in a financial bind." At this, Sugino sighed after he was reminded of that fact – they used it all on the convenience store they once trashed after all. They could always count on their female sniper to take note of these important things.

Mai's eyes suddenly lit up at the mention of decorating "How about original room design, like a logo for instance?" Mai had a smile back on her face this time for she had found something she was certain would save their club one way or another thanks to her baseball playing junior – this earned her the interest of the art-lover in the group, Yuzuki "Logo?"

"Mm. Most clubs have a mascot to symbolize their club's character. For instance, the painting club has a portrait of a black and white warrior carrying a colored sword placed on their door – 'art is the bone of every man's sword'. Notwithstanding the other designs of their room, the alumnae had come up with that idea first; that was how the club has had a good reputation since then. But you don't necessarily have to be as deep." She paused for a bit just to display her juniors with a bright beam "You can just come up with something that can capture your identity."

Almost everyone had been brought into their thoughts after those set of sentences. Rio, after analyzing it, nodded in consideration for the idea. "Well, it should certainly use up less money."

"Looks like the best option so far." Sugino followed with a grin of agreement delivered to the vice president accompanied with a thumbs-up.

Karma had a satisfied smile on once they'd gotten that out of the way – he had to admit it wasn't a bad idea and that it should be easy for them anyway. His stare shifted to the brunette that sat herself on her bed with bright purple eyes and let his smile change into a sly grin "Alright then. Fuwa-san will work on it starting today."

Yuzuki sharply turned to him with a stare that questioned if he was serious 'Did he just dump that on me?'

"Hold on—"

"Hm?" he smirked and raised an eyebrow as his hands were rested at the back of his head cheekily – and she had a twisted feeling in her gut that he was up to something again.

"Oh yeah! Yuzuki-chan you're good at drawing!" Rio exclaimed from her seat and pointed a finger at her as her face stretched into a grin; upon hearing this, the mangaka wannabe couldn't stop the small stir in her stomach that brought an irked smile to her face as she thought 'What do you mean by 'oh yeah'?' – this contradicted with her current mindset though as she had just made it look like she wasn't so into the idea of having her do all the work.

"Really? That makes things better!" Mai encouraged with a wink and a thumbs-up as everyone else in the room seemed to had given her their own pairs of hopeful gazes towards her. Yuzuki felt her mouth twitch upwards to a somewhat peeved grin once she grasped what it is her redheaded friend had just gotten her sucked into.

'That sneaky clown knows how to force work on someone… I can't refuse if they stare at me like that…'

But even if this was so, she didn't retort to their wishes since he had a point; she liked to consider herself as the only one with a creative sensibility and an innovative artist's perspective in their circle of friends – she can't trust anyone else with the job either way since she knows that if it were someone else, she'd end up criticizing it if it didn't reach her standards.

She was just about to decide that it wasn't so bad and agree until her ever-mischievous blond-haired friend chose that time to add something "Sugino-kun can draw too right? Why don't you help her out?" she said this with her normal innocent-like tone, but Yuzuki knew better – underneath that enthusiastic grin she was sure she saw an evil aura and demonic smirk as devil ears grew on her head along with the cheeky wag of the arrowhead tail that just plain gave out the message that she was gonna enjoy torturing her.

'Goddamn it Rio…' the otaku cursed at her inwardly as she absentmindedly put on a plagued expression in fear of him agreeing and leaving her to be the object of ridicule for the blond – not to mention to have to deal with the discomforts of working together when in a 'one-sided feelings' dilemma.

Her agony only increased when the aforementioned boy spoke up after he relaxed his stretched arms from being called so suddenly "Hm? Well, I'm okay with it. I'm sure it'll get the work done faster and still keep quality."

Outside, the brunette kept herself unfazed by this – the inside was the complete opposite however for she could see herself sink down into a dark, swirling abyss as if all life swept away from her body and left her as an all-white soulless corpse 'GODDAMN IT RIO.'

"Is that okay, Fuwa-san?" Sugino's voice brought her out of her nightmarish trance before she turned her head to the left where she found him grinning in request for permission. Normally, one would be happy to receive help for a job that's been forced upon you, but Yuzuki took this situation differently for she had just been forced into working alone with the reason for her stressful emotions by her sadistic friend whom she very much wished to kick out of her house at the moment – she was only prevented from doing so by the eager stares given to her by her former classmates and especially the only other brunette in the room; it would break her heart to crush her senior's hopes after she had just gone through a yelling session from authorities because of their actions, but if she were to submit to that hopeful glimmer she saw in her eyes, that would mean she'd have to endure nerve-wracking moments for who knows how long this summer.

Without much fretfulness over it, she decides to do the right thing and suck it up for the sake of everyone in this room – indeed they'd be able to have a high quality poster and/or design planned out in a nick of time if she had a bit of assistance on her side. So, in her misery, she sighed and managed to say-

"…Sure…" albeit just having resolved her decisions, she did not control how this had unintentionally come out ominously – and with that she had also failed to notice how her pinkish orbs shot themselves into his in a malicious glare as she forced a grin that apparently turned out to give the impression that she was out to get him.

Feeling threatened, Sugino inched away a little as he had begun to feel himself sweat out of nervousness "Why do I have the feeling you want to shove me into a garbage chute…?" he said with an uneasy voice as there looked to be blue lines travelling down the side of his head.

To the other corner of the room, a small-framed girl had her brows furrowed out of concern "Fuwa-san's going through a rough time, huh…" Manami muttered before she frowned, aware of her friend's situation. She doubts she'd understand whatever feelings her dull brown-crowned clubmate had at such a situation, but judging from how she took it in and the negative aura she could feel despite having a fair distance away from them, the bespectacled girl was quite certain it was quite the torment.

In contrast with this, the mischievous boy behind her only had an amused smile on and sat back in a carefree manner as they watched the pitiful (for Yuzuki) scene. "I find it funny."

Before she could shoot him a pout that would tell him 'that's not nice', the loud exclamation of 'oh!' that undoubtedly came from their senior had her turn her focus to what the older girl wished to relay to them – the same had gone for all else as they observed how her bright blue eyes glistened in eureka while she raised a finger "Cultural Festival!"

Mai accepted their quizzical stares as an indication that they were willing to listen to whatever concerned this major school event "The Kimii annual school fiesta should be your best chance at showing the school what you've got!" she exclaimed in a fashion that made her similar to a game show announcer (the adorable version) as she rose from her seated position to have a leader-like pose as she made gestures to sync with her words "If you can come up with a great attraction that'll ensure great feedback, not only will the school deem you as a significant part of our reputation, but with the added attention of our student body and even outsiders, I can assure you that you can kiss your club issues goodbye!" her blue eyes were feisty as if she was already looking forward to the day they're able to pull it off.

Not a second later, she found them exchanging determined expressions and smirks that gave her the impression that they were already collectively agreeing with each other – as if they knew, with all their hearts, that when it came to this kind of thing – when it came to proving themselves, they were a powerful team that won't even consider defeat as a possibility.

"Sounds great!"

"Senpai! Thanks so much! Your great thinking saved us again!"

Compliments like these had the older girl beam warmly at them as if saying 'glad I was able to help' as it was followed by a sheepish giggle before she sat back down – very much pleased that she had been able to contribute to this brainstorming session. It was always nice to be of help to others for her, even if she was aware she wasn't exactly the leader type – which was why she lost to Kobayashi Tsumugu during last year's elections. But humble as she was, she kept no such grudge against that fact and was merely happy to be of service – and such components of her personality had caused the braided introvert inside the same room to stare at her with awe and an open smile of admiration.

Karma, having noticed this gesture of hers, found such a face pleasant and found himself also smiling. She'd hinted how she somehow looked up to this person not too long ago by addressing her as cute; and it was a rare occasion when he'd find her make such a face out of veneration for a person. Pleased with what had just unfolded, he interjected the mini-merry-fest happening in Fuwa Yuzuki's guest room.

"Well then, that settles it. Now that we got things cleared up, we should present our individual proposals by the near end of the break if you have any. If you have something in mind, then don't be afraid of speaking out loud." Manami blinked – for some reason why did she feel like that last statement was directed at her, but her slight daze had been abrupt by the scoff of her golden-crowned friend

"Oh? Karma-kun's actually acting like president for once."

Right then, the two tricksters of the group had broken into another sarcastic word exchange – but this didn't produce any harm for they had just had a blissful meeting; and they had to admit that too since it had gone quite well, and now they had things planned out for the solution to their problem.

"Oh! I forgot!" Mai had suddenly interrupted before she stood from her spot and headed to the door to excuse herself "I left Omo-chan outside for a while, but by now I think it's getting too hot so I'll be gone for a while to look for him." She saluted with a soldier-like expression before beaming again "Bye for now~!" and with that she was gone with the not too loud shut of the door – the action was too sudden for anyone to react to, but in the end, having been used to some of the unexpected actions of this peculiar girl, they had shrugged it off.

Except for one fact…

'She brought that thing with her even here…'

Not long after they were back to having some regular chitchat for the time being before addressing the other important matters to their plan, a vibration had emitted from one of the pockets of a light blue shoulder-bag that appeared to be owned by the most petite one of the members of the room. Manami tilted her head – it was rare for her to be getting phone calls; but setting aside that fact, she shuffled her had inside to search for the handy piece of metal whilst the rest of them still had themselves engaged in their mundane conversations.

It wasn't surprising to find out who the caller was – if it were someone else, then that was when she'd feel a little bewildered. But since the name belonged to an all-too-familiar middle-aged woman whom she shared a roof with for eleven years, she needn't waste time wondering the reason for the call for it had usually been something important if it was Inari.

"Ah, excuse me while I take this please…" she was given a few nods of reassurance from her clubmates which brought a smile to her face before she walked out of the room in a bit of a haste so as to not keep the caller waiting too long.

She didn't stray too far away from the door before she pushed the button and began the conversation.

"Hello—" a sudden noise that appeared to be the sound of a hectic crowd had come from the other side which had forced Manami to distance the phone from her ear on impulse – but she didn't take any more than a moment to carefully return the speaker by her ear and listen to her caretaker's voice.

"Manami, are you doing anything right now?" Inari's tone sounded busy from a tight schedule of some sorts – and upon further inspection, she seemed to be in high demand for she could hear her last name being called out by what sounded like a clutter of people either angrily, with sobs or some other negative emotion for nothing positive about it could be mentioned at the time.

She thought about it for a second before answering "Well…kind of."

The maroon-haired woman sighed from a little stress the younger girl's words washed over her, but kept her tone polite enough "Well, I'm kind of in a tight situation right now. Do you remember that old store we went to at Hashimoto?"

"Hashimoto?" she placed a finger to her mouth in a gesture as the memory of a small shop just by an old street resurfaced "I think I do. Why?"

"I—" Manami wasn't sure what interrupted her, but it sounded like what one would think to be an ear-splitting gurgling noise of what seemed to be some large bulky man before she groaned and carried on – this time with a faster wording "There's something there I need you to pick up – just look for the old guy named Arata Miho and he'll give it to you."

"Arata Miho." She confirmed with her with a nod.

"Good. But one more thing." things had become quiet on her end – so she assumed she had found a peaceful place to resume their conversation.

"Hm?"

"No matter what it may be, don't open it." Her tone was slower now, in a way of emphasizing that her instruction should be dealt with seriously – which was a tad bit bemusing for the lavender-orbed girl as she replied with curiosity "Why?"

"Why…?" the chem maniac could almost feel how her guardian's eyes narrowed with suspicion at her nosy inquiry "You never had to ask why before…"

"Ah…er…it's just…" she trailed off – why was she curious? She'd never questioned her obligations before, she'd always submitted to them obediently and did what was told without fail when it came to the woman on the phone – lately, the short-haired nurse had noticed how she had become quite inquisitive. But she had some kind of hunch that the possibility for such was a result of her daily hang-out with not exactly the best role models of society…

Inari heaved an exhausted sigh "It's okay, but you have to do your best not to open it." From the sound of her voice, the short girl assumed she forced a smile to have a bit of gentleness lace her tone "It's privacy stuff, kay? You can respect that right?"

Manami returned the smile eagerly and sing-songed a 'Mm'. She was about to hang up, but luckily another significant thought came "But how do I get there?"

Before the woman could respond, another loud thud and a number of incomprehensible yells came from not too far away judging from what she could hear followed by a bit back curse from her "Just take the train!"

"Train?"

"Yes! It should be easy! Just make sure you follow it righ— YOU LET GO OF THAT RIGHT NOW!" the eyeglasses-ed girl had to put the phone further away after that and the mix of other voices – it must be some sort of problem involving her many jobs; that and it may be because of something she'd done to get a bunch of people to have a scream fest directed to her. Though albeit these assumptions, in the end she was not entirely sure of what happened and chose to shrug it off for the meantime and probably ask her later.

"Just get there as soon as you can, okay?" she didn't even get a chance to say goodbye or pursue to question her on the means of her transportation before the other hung up – leaving Manami in an unconfident state "Mm…"

With a small huff and the slump down of her shoulders, she guessed she'd have to figure things out on her own – it shouldn't be so hard to pick up a delivery though, but she'll have to skip out on whatever progress they'd be able to make on that day and that itself was enough to feel bad. But after concluding it would be far worse to disappoint the one who'd been family to her for ever since she could remember, she stepped back inside the room.

The last thing she heard from before she came in was a yell of "KEEP YOUR DISTANCE!"

After a year and a half of getting to know these precious clubmates of hers, she'd expect herself to not be so surprised when they did things that you'd consider peculiar – and this was no exception.

Just as she had gently opened the door, she had immediately been greeted by the sight of a shrine of seinen manga she was not sure was there earlier – it was inside one of the cabinets; there were two lamps by the side that served as what may have been supposedly worship candles as it had somehow been formed into a tower that could be compared to the regular Shinto shrines you'd see around Japan. That wasn't everything however, for just in front of it, Yuzuki Fuwa had on a karate stance whilst holding onto two pencils with a hostile glare directed at the rest. If Manami were to deduce what happened in the short time she was gone, they had probably found this manga shrine of hers and were about to lay their hands on it and provoked it a little which resulted to the otaku's 'defensive maneuvers'.

"Fu-Fuwa-san…calm down…" sweatdropped Sugino from his same spot near the bed – seemed that the only ones who partook in this were Rio, Karma and surprisingly Rinka since they were the ones that had crawled to it.

"Don't talk to me about calming down!" she pointed a peeved finger to the boy as her face now resembled those exaggerated, angry chibi faces you'd often see in anime "It's bad enough you found out about this! But even going a meter near it is an immediate threat to me and my existence! And what's more!" her finger moved to the light-haired sniper whom had her usual serious expression plastered onto her face – but there was a shine to her eyes that one would be able to identify as the look one would have when gossip was in the air; as if this was something she'd like to see for her closet sadistic pleasures "Why is Rinka also in on this?!"

The orange-head's countenance had not wavered for a few seconds due to her reluctance to speak – but before she did, a shade of red reached her cheeks "…I'm turned on by humiliating secrets."

And just as Chiba choked on the drink he got from earlier, Yuzuki's high-strung state only doubled "HEH?!"

"Uh…" Manami chose that time to squeeze into the conversation before things escalated with a shy smile that came with the sweatdrop after witnessing such a weird scene "I have to leave for now so…" – this earned her the perplexed attention from them.

"Eh? You're going home already?" Rio raised an eyebrow looking a tad bit disappointed that one of her objects of enjoyment was going to leave without her doing anything yet.

Braids swept from side to side at the shake of her head "Mm, but I've been told to pick something up at Hashimoto." She beamed at them and was about to excuse herself until she caught them exchanging a few looks.

"Hashimoto's a little far. What are you going to take to get there?" the same golden-haired girl asked and was replied to with a small stutter followed by a smile from her braided friend "Eh—Well, I'm going to take the train so…"

"Do you know how to get there by train?" Yuzuki had finally calmed down when she presented her with her own concerned pinkish orbs – well aware that the girl was not one to take the said transportation; that and there was the issue with her sense of direction.

"I'm sure I can figure it out." She reassured them with a grin and a light laughter "I've been there once before and the railway system looks simple enough. Please don't worry about it."

"Well…if you say so…" Rio replied, but obviously still a little unsure of letting her go with that reason – and the train system is simple enough so she'll probably get the hang of it. Still though…

"Wait a minute."

"Hm?" Manami turned to where her pigtailed friend shuffled her hands to a bag in a questioning manner and found a few papers in the girl's hold before she extended them to her "Here, take these maps. They should help you through." Rinka – being about one of the only ones in that room that took the train had of course had a handy copy of the railways; it became an unspoken policy that they could always count on her to have a few handy things from the time they'd started this silly club.

The offer had caused the raven-haired girl to go with her usual reaction as she waved her hands in front of her chest "A-Ah! No, no it's okay! You don't have to bother yourself, I'm sure I can han—"

"Take the maps." It was an order this time; delivered with a low and firm tone that would be befitting for an army commander. Something about the look Rinka had when she said this told the poison glasses that to answer with 'no' would mean something bad would happen to her – but after the recent events, this type of behavior is usually just her way of expressing her concerns and being friendly; so instead of feeling threatened, Manami just took the papers with a bit of hesitance and kept a somewhat nervous smile on. "Thank you…"

She was still yet to get the hang of her cold nature, but at least she understood her more now – and this was enough to bring a smile to the emerald-orbed girl's face. Chiba, whom watched this happen from the sidelines couldn't help but throw her a knowing smile – this only grew when she took notice of it and averted her face from him in that tsundere-like manner she always did.

"Alright, I'll be going now." With a wave of her hand and a warm smile, the petite girl left the area with the gentle shut of the door.

"Have a safe trip~" Rio was able to wave back and wish her the best before she was out of the room. Not a minute after she had done this, she abruptly sprung to her feet with an energetic grin and lit up eyes "Oh that reminds me!" she grabbed her bag from one corner of the room and slung it over her shoulder before taking her phone out "I have a meet-up planned with Kataoka, Kurahashi and Okano. I'll be heading out ne—"

Suddenly, she felt a powerful, shaky grip on her shoulder hold her back – she could practically feel the aura of what might be one of the foulest evil spirits one could even envision to which she reacted to with the widening of her eyes as her body seemed to have frozen in place along with the smile she had on; albeit this time that smile was out of pure shock of being precipitously pulled back. But that wasn't even the worst part, for the moment she turned her head ever so slightly, she had been met with what she thought was Sadako herself for Yuzuki had just given her a horrifying glare that somehow caused her eyes to glint viciously under a shadow – and with it came a wicked grin that would instill the fear of death into even the lewdest criminals as she spoke with a ghastly sarcastic tone "Oh, don't be in such a hurry Rio-chan. CLEARLY I'm in need of more assistance if I want to get this design done by the break – the more the merrier right? By all means, please stay behind" 'So you could suffer with me.' – was the real reason for this action.

Albeit such a terrifying scene, Rio exerted an effort to remain unfazed "Eh? But—"

She didn't even get a chance to retort when an iphone had been shoved in front of her face "Oh well, while you're gone I may as well consider this to be one of my best options. Don't you think this would look fantastic on the corkboard outside of our door and well, all around the room?" the blond didn't even need to take time to study what was displayed on her phone before her eyes widened in mortification – it was an entire album of the captures from that one time Karma had gotten back at her with that suspicious liquid. And no, it did not look the least bit pretty to see yourself in such a state of suffering and it was absolutely not in her bucket list to have that exposed to the public or for her to see every day (it reminded her of the sensation too.)

Getting sucked into a cheap blackmail, Rio could only give a twitch of her eye and a mock smile out of irritation as her expression seemed to say 'You dirty son of a gun…' before she managed to force out "O-On second thought, I think I'll supervise you two and see how your work goes…" 'In case you pull anything funny…' There was a short glaring contest between them after she had submitted to this naughty act – which had the otaku grin with content as an innocent voice took over "Good~"

Just to the side, Rinka watched the scene with amusement hidden under her blank face – in truth, she did not feel sorry for the golden-haired girl and only found the blackmail sensible. And besides, there were also her sadistic pleasures here and there; to see a sadist go through a rough time was like a show.

"Hayami, stay with them." Her thought process had been cut off by an all-too-familiar voice as the owner kept himself leaned on the shelf next to her. The statement caused the orangehead to react with a raised eyebrow "Hah? Why?"

"You trust that group alone?" by 'that group', he meant the strange assembly of an otaku with a knack for saying things that appear nonsensical, a blond English veteran with many problematic components to her personality, and a decent guy that they doubt could handle such a duo if things ever went downhill to work on something their club's existence somewhat depended on. Studying the situation, she narrowed her eyes "…No."

"Have mercy on Sugino then."

Rinka knew it was the right thing to do, but couldn't stop herself from frowning "But then I have to deal with them…"which was a pain in the neck just thinking about it – but with her tsundere personality, deep down she saw them as really amazing people she was glad to be friends with despite how she viewed them outwardly right now.

"I'll stay with you." This came out without reluctance and a smile on his end – eventually leading the girl to a small, bashful silence until she replied "F-Fine. Do what you want." she averted her gaze to hide the glad smile she had put on.

Over to the side of the room where group that had just been discussed gathered, they had at last started with another session of brainstorming for this design idea. Yuzuki enthusiastically raised a finger and cleared throat before giving her two coworkers some tips she'd learned from her years of being artistically-inclined "First off, we can start by trying to gather some inspiration. Usually when I'm at an art block, I have this trick of closing my eyes and turning a few times and opening them to let the first thing I see be my base idea."

"Oh~?" Rio mused with interest before getting up to try it for herself while the other two minded their own attempts

"Alright let's see if this works." Putting a palm over her eyes, she spun around about two times before revealing what it is she stopped in front of.

What blue eyes were met with at that moment had to be the strangest thing she had ever seen (And she has seen many strange things thanks to an octopus) for the first thing she saw was the manga shrine looking more alluring due to some kind of weird lighting that made it look like a buddhist temple having a ritual – in which the reason of such had been unknown to her – but that wasn't the thing she considered strange; no, it was the fact that there was a mysterious animal she had known for quite a while now posed fabulously at the center in its full, brown, hybrid glory. But rather than wondering why that thing was there, or when it even entered the room in the first place, or questioning her sanity for honestly considering it to be a magnificent work of art, the amount of 'weirded-out' (and somewhat trauma) she felt at the time was too much to even heed to such concerns as she said "Yuzuki-chan…"

"What?"

"…you need to rethink your methods." Something about her tone made it feel like she had just gone through a depressing stage of life.

"Eh?" was all she could say for it was such an out-of-the-blue statement.

At the same time, a jolly brunette decided to burst the door open and shout into the room with an energetic beam "I'm back! Whew! I got lost in Fuwa-san's house for a bit. I thought I'd never find you all agai— Oh? Akabane-kun and Okuda-san already left?"

After recovering from a brief surprised state, Sugino furrowed his brows "Wait…"

Not only did they forget that this girl was in this house, but if she hadn't said her last sentence they would not have noticed how they failed to perceive the disappearance of their redheaded president.

But rather than being mad about being ditched, the six of them found themselves only able to stare at the empty space questioningly.

I know that ending sucked but I couldn't find anywhere else to end the long chapter I had in mind DX

But well I hope you enjoyed that bit at least!

Because this arc - I will admit - is VERY Karmanami for the next two chapters. So I'll try my best for that and I hope you look forward to it ^w^

OH AND WARN ME FOR OOCNESS!

So 'til the next update!

~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay