Disclaimer: I do not own Assassination Classroom or anything associated with it. I only own the OC Hiyashi Mizuki and her siblings. All rights go to Yusei Matsui.
A/N: Hello my snowflakes~ I hope you are all staying safe in the quarantine. I know some places are opening up soon so hang in there! I'll try to update quicker so you can have something to entertain you. Anyway, this chapter has a new OC. Her name is Akiko and she is adorable. Review replies and the ship poll will be at the end of the chapter as well as a longer A/n (you can skip the A/n at the end if you just want to see the poll btw). Enjoy~~
Chapter 13
Mizuki POV
Mizuki balled her hands into fists as she continued to storm down the street towards the cram school. Her hazel eyes were starting to sting with unshed tears. Whether they were from anger or sadness she couldn't really tell.
How could I let him get to me like that? She berated herself. How many times am I going to let him hurt me? Why can't I just shut him out?!
"Mizuki!"
Her angry rant was cut off by the boy she was dragging behind her. Her unfocused gaze fell to him. He raised his free hand up in a placating gesture.
"Sorry, Hiyashi-san, but you weren't responding to my calls just now. I apologize if I was too forward." Chiba apologized.
Mizuki stared at him for another second before snapping out of her daze. Looking down, she realized she was holding his hand in a death grip. Mizuki dropped his hand like she had been burned holding her own close to her chest. She could feel the lingering warmth of his hand on hers as she rubbed her wrist self-consciously.
"Sorry." Mizuki apologized, casting her eyes downward in embarrassment. Then, as an afterthought, she said, "And don't worry about it. I was lost in my thoughts."
An awkward silence fell between them. Mizuki stared at her shoes, willing her tears back. A shadow fell into her peripheral vision and she looked up instinctively with a small flinch.
"Hey, it's just me." Chiba soothed her in a soft voice. "Are you okay?"
Maybe it was having to deal with Traitor today. Or maybe it was having to deal with so much responsibility for so long, but something inside Mizuki snapped.
"No," came her soft, vulnerable reply.
With that single word, Mizuki broke down in tears.
Ryuunosuke's POV
Ryuunosuke was shocked. And lost. Mostly just shocked though.
Here was the most emotionless and distant girl he's ever met (which is saying something because Hayami-san was pretty stoic) breaking down in tears right in front of him.
Not knowing what else to do, he gently grabbed her hand and led her down the street to a secluded area away from the wandering eyes of passersby. Ryuunosuke watched her: tears streaming down her face, quiet sobs racking her whole body, arms hugging herself as if she were trying to physically hold herself together. At that moment, he felt nothing but sympathy for the girl. Stepping forward, he wrapped her into an embrace and let her lean her head into his chest and cry.
He didn't know how long they were standing there for, but he held onto her until her sobs became muted hiccups and small sniffles. He looked down when he heard a small sound from her.
Pulling away slightly, he asked, "Did you say something?"
"Thank you." Hiyashi said in a quiet voice. She looked up at him, her hazel eyes were red and puffy from crying, but they shone with gratitude.
He gave her a light smile feeling no words were necessary.
Ring Ring Ring
The sound of a phone ringing broke the peaceful atmosphere. Hiyashi leaped out of his arms with a blush on her face. She reached down into her bag mumbling about how she needed to take the call.
Ryuunosuke himself had a small blush on his face. His body felt a little colder without her in his arms.
"Yes, everything is fine… Oh no! I am so sorry Matsukata-san! I will be there in 20 minutes."
Hiyashi hung up the call and looked at him with a hint of panic in her eyes.
"We have to go. I was supposed to be at the cram school half an hour ago!"
Ryuunosuke blinked a couple of times to focus then replied, "Alright, you lead the way. I'll be right behind you."
She flashed him a grateful smile before heading back onto the main sidewalk, walking quickly towards her siblings' cram school.
Time skip (They arrive at the Wakaba Park Cram School)
Mizuki's POV
"I am so sorry Matuskata-san!" Mizuki apologized with her head in a low bow.
The old man looked at her with slight annoyance in his eyes, "What happened to you? You've never been this late before."
Mizuki scrambled to come up with something when someone cut her off.
"I apologize, sir. I caused Hiyashi-san to be late today. We were headed here when I realized I forgot my notebook in the classroom and she escorted me all the way back." Chiba explained.
"Tch," Matsukata grimaced, "Very well. It's not really your fault this time. Please just let me know beforehand. Hana-san and I were worried." The last part was spoken with a bit of concern.
Mizuki grinned at the old man, "Hai! Of course, sir! Thank you for your concern."
Matsukata-san smiled warmly at her before saying in fake annoyance, "Now go do your thing. The children have been waiting for you. Hana-san is in there doing her best, but- well you know."
Mizuki smiled again at that. Bowing once more at the old man, she headed into the building. Not even two steps through the doorway, she winced as a deafening shout of high pitched voices cried, "Mizuki-sensei!"
Mizuki found herself and Chiba surrounded by a mass of tiny children ranging of all ages. She shot an apologetic smile at the overwhelmed boy before smiling warmly down at the children.
"Hi everyone! I hope you haven't been giving Hana-san a hard time." She warned with a little finger wag at the rambunctious children.
"Nuh-uh! We were good! We were just worried about you sensei! You're usually late but never this late." One of the boys with spiky dark blue hair replied. He, along with a few of the other children, were gripping the edges of Mizuki's pale yellow sweater as if they were afraid she'd leave.
"I'm sorry to have worried all of you." Mizuki lowered her eyes, feeling disappointed in herself. I shouldn't cause these innocent children any more grief than they already go through. Not to mention, Mizuki lifted her gaze to her classmate who was standing awkwardly in the sea of tiny humans as a few of them started tugging his clothes and asking him questions. I shouldn't have broken down in front of him… right?
For some inexplicable reason, Mizuki wasn't feeling regret or paranoid at her vulnerability in front of Chiba earlier. He didn't even ask any questions afterwards. He just held me. No questions asked.
Recalling being in his embrace, Mizuki flushed bright red.
"Mizuki-san, are you alright?" A kind voice came from the middle of the room.
Looking up, Mizuki met Hana's lime green eyes looking at her in concern.
"Oh, yes I'm fine Hana-san. Thank you for your concern." Mizuki assured her, waving her hands in front of her face.
"Alright. You looked really flushed. You don't have a fever, right?"
Mizuki could feel Chiba's gaze on her causing her to flush even more. "Nope!" She yelped uncharacteristically loud. "He-hey, let's get started on the lesson today."
"Haaaai!" Came the chorus of voices.
Mizuki didn't dare look at her companion, so she kept her eyes fixated on the edges of her slightly worn out tennis shoes letting her bangs curtain her face and said, "I forgot to mention that I promised to teach the kids here for a bit. If you would like, you can go to the convenience store next door and wait for me there. That is… if you still want to hangout later."
"Heh," Chiba chuckled lightly.
"Wh-what's so funny?" She demanded forgetting she was avoiding looking at him directly. Luckily his eyes were hidden behind his bangs allowing her to quickly avert her gaze again.
"Nothing. I just thought you look kind of cute all flustered like this." Chiba replied smoothly. "I'll stick around. Maybe I can help out a little too."
With that, he patted her shoulder as he walked by towards the tables where the children were sitting with their workbooks out in front of them. Mizuki stood frozen trying to comprehend what just happened when she was toppled over by two small bodies colliding into hers from the back.
"Nee-chan!"
The sound of her siblings' voices brought her out of her stunned state. Smiling brightly at them, she said, "Hello my little devils."
"Hey! We've been good! We just finished helping Matsukata-san fill his basket with deliveries." They told her with matching grins on their twin faces.
"Hai, hai. I'm proud of you two. Remember to try and help out as much as you can. Matsukata-san and Hana-san are doing us a huge favor okay?"
"Haai!"
With that, Mizuki patted both their heads and motioned for them to join the others at the tables. With her private tutoring, Reo and Ren were actually far enough ahead to match most first year elementary school kids. She trusted them enough to do the work she assigned them quietly in the corner or at least not distract the other children who were working.
"Mizuki-sensei, can you explain this problem?" One of the little girls asked her with a confused expression.
"Of course Akiko-chan." Mizuki replied with a closed eye smile and a soft pat on her head. Looking over the problem, Mizuki contemplated the best way to explain the simple math problem to the six year old. Akiko, like many of the other children, were in this particular cram school because they either were on the waiting list for other schools or they simply could not attend schools for one reason or another.
Honestly, it looked more like a day care rather than a cram school. Matsukata-san had a kind heart and truly wanted to just help out those in need; unfortunately, he didn't have the financial ability to support a true cram school. Still, he made do with what he had and worked tirelessly to fund the school.
"Okay Akiko-chan, you love reading right?"
Akiko nodded furiously, her twin purple pigtails bouncing up and down.
"Let's use that imagination then. Imagine you have 56 cookies, but your friend has no cookies. You share 23 cookies with your friend. Then you see a sad person sitting by themselves, so you offer them 15 cookies. How many cookies would you have left?"
"56 cookies."
Mizuki sweatdropped at the blatantly wrong answer. "How do you still have 56 cookies?"
"Because I want all the cookies to myself. So, I eat all 56 cookies by myself." Akiko replied with a proud grin, unaware of any mistake in her answer.
Mizuki chuckled under her breath. This is why she loved children. They were so innocent and adorable. Until they grow up and realize they have the power to hurt others to gain what they want.
Flicking the little girl's forehead lightly Mizuki tutted, "Tsk, Akiko-chan. You would get sick eating so many cookies. Besides what about your friend and the sad person? They won't get any cookies."
"That's their problem. They are my cookies so I decide what I do with them and I say I eat them all." Akiko pouted.
Mizuki sighed, "Listen Akiko-chan," curious violet eyes stared up at her intently. Mizuki ignored the pang in her chest at the sight of the familiar eye color and continued, "You are right. You get to decide what to do with your cookies, but if you don't share your friend and the person will be sad and cookie-less. Imagine how you would feel if your friend had many, many cookies but they didn't want to share any with you."
"I would make them share with me." Akiko said resolutely, determination in her eyes.
"You could try to make them. You could force them, or you could trick them. In the end, though, you will end up with your cookies but no friends. Once you finish your cookies, you won't have anyone to play with, and you don't have anyone to share the joy of eating cookies with. You don't want to be alone, Akiko-chan. That's why you should try your best to make friends and be kind to others."
Akiko looked at her with panic in her eyes, "I don't want to lose all my friends! I'll give them all my cookies, I promise."
Mizuki sighed again. I forget how children can be. "You don't need to go so extreme Akiko-chan. It's important that you both share and save some for yourself. If you give everything away, what's left for you? Then you will still be unhappy. You need to find the balance of sharing with others and keeping some for yourself."
"So I should share some of my cookies, but I should also eat some myself?"
"There you go, kiddo." Mizuki praised her with a light hair ruffle. "Now, what's the answer to the question? Don't think I've forgotten."
"Hehe," Akiko laughed sheepishly, glancing away. "If I give away 23 to my friend and 15 cookies to the sad person… wait why do I give away my cookies to a stranger? Why not just my friends?"
Oh my gosh, why did I have to use cookies? Mizuki wailed in her head.
"Do you not want to share your cookies with the sad person?" She asked patiently.
"No."
"But they're sad." Mizuki tried.
"So? That's their problem not mine."
"Don't you like eating cookies when you're sad?"
"Yes." Akiko answered immediately.
"Don't you think the cookies would cheer up the sad person then?"
Akiko paused and answered slower this time, "Yes."
"What I'm trying to tell you Akiko-chan, is that you should try and help people in need if you can. You don't have to give up all your cookies, but since you have a lot of cookies, you can share a little bit of them to make the sad person a little happier, right?"
Akiko seemed to ponder this. Slowly, she nodded her tiny head. "I understand, Mizuki-sensei."
"Good girl."
"If I gave the sad person 15 cookies then I would have 18 cookies left for myself. That's still more than mommy lets me eat after dinner!~" Akiko cheered.
"Good job!"
"Thank you Mizuki-sensei!"
"Of course Akiko-chan.~" Mizuki turned to see if the other children needed help when Akiko grabbed the edge of her sweater preventing her from leaving.
"Is everything alright?"
Taking her lunch box out of her bag, Akiko opened it to find a single chocolate chip cookie inside. She took out the cookie and held it in her small hands and broke it into half.
Mizuki suddenly found half a cookie shoved in her face followed by Akiko's shy voice, "Here Mizuki-sensei! I want to give you half of the cookie mommy packed me today."
Mizuki carefully took the cookie and stared at the small girl before asking, "Why do you want to give me your cookie, Akiko-chan?"
"Be-becau-se," Akiko paused stumbling a bit over the word, "You look sad Mizuki-sensei and I want to cheer you up?"
Shocked hazel eyes focused on shy violet ones. Mizuki felt her heart soften at the girl's gesture. Hugging the girl close, she handed the half cookie in her hand back to the girl's smaller one and said, "Seeing you and the others happy is all I need to be happy Akiko-chan. Don't waste such a tasty treat on your old sensei okay?"
Akiko smiled at her with closed eyes. "Hai Mizuki-sensei! Then I will be extra happy for you."
Mizuki smiled at the words, but what the little girl couldn't see was the forlorn look in her hazel eyes as she recalled another with violet eyes saying similar words.
Then I'll smile more for you, Zuki-chan.
Chapter 13 End
A/N: Okay! Hope you all enjoyed seeing Mizuki break down. Poor baby has been through a lot. She lost her mother, was betrayed by her father, had to raise her siblings, had to secretly get a job to support herself and her siblings, let her grades slip as a result, got betrayed by her best and only friend, was transferred to the End Class essentially guaranteeing she won't get into a good high school like her mother wanted her to, and then had to face aforementioned best friend who used their past relationship to taunt and humiliate her in front of her new classmate. I think she deserved to have a break down. No one should have to bear all that responsibility and pain alone (this applies to anyone out there struggling by the way. Remember that there are people who do care about you. Let them help you by sharing your burden like Mizuki did, even if it was unintentional, with Ryuunosuke. Sometimes all you need is a good cry, and there is no shame in that.) Alright, enough with the heavy stuff. Hope you guys like Akiko-chan though she probably won't show up that often. Onto review replies and the ship poll!
Review Replies:
midwifeceremony1: Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I'm glad you enjoy the slow development of the chapters. I was a bit worried (still am) that you guys would be bored with the pace of this fic. Hopefully you'll stick around even if you are because the storyline will be developing a bit quicker soon! Your vote has been noted! By the looks of things you might get to see bf Ryuu-chan~
peach9210: Ahhh! Your review made me so happy! I'm really grateful for reviews like yours because it gives me feedback on what I'm doing right (or wrong I'm very open to constructive criticism!). Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Ship Poll!
Ryuunosuke Chiba: 7
Akabane Karma: 3
Asano Gakushu: 3
No ship: 3
