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.
Disclaimer 2: Mizuki's values do not reflect my own. I love animals please don't get the wrong idea!
A/n: Hi my snowflakes~ Oh my gosh I am so sorry! I know I said it would probably be a short break but life happened and now it's 5 months later. I hope all of you have been well. I have come to the realization that adulting basically means that you don't know how to do anything but neither does anyone else so you gotta bs your way through life until you figure it out. If any of you are struggling or stressed just try to remember that you are not alone and it is perfectly valid to feel that way. Anyway, I got a few more votes for the poll and I read your guys' comment and let me say: you are all literally the best readers in the world. I love you guys so much. Thank you for supporting me through my discovery into writing and I hope I can live up to your expectations. That said: Here is the very long awaited next chapter!
Chapter 20
Time Skip (Next Day)
The silence in the room was palpable.
Everyone had seen the mutilated octopus on the way into the classroom along with the smirking redhead in the back. He watched with amusement as his classmates walked in with various expressions of horror and disgust.
Mizuki's nose twitched as the smell of rotting fish hit her again. She absolutely despised seafood, so it wasn't exactly the most enjoyable experience for her. Honestly, she couldn't care less for the dead animal. It was going to be killed regardless, so if it helps in saving the world then it's a small price to pay. Her classmates, on the other hand, didn't seem to share her sentiments. One girl in particular stood out: Kurahashi Hinano. The orange haired girl kept shooting glares at Akabane from her seat in the front; a far cry from the tearful expression she had on when she had walked in.
I wonder why she cares so much. Mizuki aimlessly , she was more curious about how Korosensei would react. Would he get offended? Would this be his breaking point? Her questions were about to get their answers as the classroom door slid open to reveal a mass of yellow and black.
"Good morning," came the cheerful greeting. Realizing he wasn't getting a response from his students, Korosensei glanced around the room, "What's wrong everyone…" he trailed off once he spotted the octopus pinned to his desk by an anitsensei knife.
"Ohhhhh~," A fake sigh came from the back of the room. "Soorrryyy. I mistook the octopus for you and killed it. I'll throw it out, so just bring it here."
Knife just within her reach, Mizuki tensely watched with the rest as Korosensei slowly picked up the dead animal and started moving towards the back, his expression as unreadable as ever. Akabane, on the other hand, had a cocky smirk on his face and a knife hidden behind his chair.
It won't work. Mizuki knew their superhuman teacher wouldn't fall for something so simple-especially not after yesterday. What's his aim then?
Just as the tentacled teacher reached the back of the room, the sound of drills spinning filled the room. Holding up multiple drill-like tentacles, Korosensei disappeared and reappeared in a flash with a missile and multiple miscellaneous items in his many arms.
"Let me show you the true power of these drill tentacles and this missile from the self-defense force," he stated menacingly.
Quicker than anyone could comprehend, Akabane had a ball of something steamy shoved in his mouth which he quickly spit out. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve while glaring at their teacher who was now holding a box of takoyaki.
"Karma-kun, you know, I am a teacher that specializes in maintaining and polishing the rusty blades of assassins. I could see you didn't eat breakfast this morning from your complexion."
Golden eyes glared with hatred at his target.
"So you should come at me with the intent to kill before the end of the school year." Korosensei finished, opening his mouth to reveal rows of steaming takoyaki.
Mizuki felt the tension leave her body when she realized that there wouldn't be a fight. She had to hand it to Korosensei. He had proved his dedication to teaching and caring for his students with that stunt. Mizuki was still left with the burning question of why he bothered, but she decided it was a question for another time.
Time Skip (Math period)
Mizuki halfheartedly listened to Korosensei's lecture. Lately, the lessons had been increasing in difficulty. It meant only one thing: Class E was slowly catching up. This teacher who planned to destroy the world somehow has managed another seemingly impossible feat.
He managed to teach the End Class in a way that they understood.
Mizuki could see the difference in her classmates. They seemed more attentive now. The hopelessness still lingered, but there was a look of determination that would flash in their eyes when they got stuck on a problem. Though she had already learned the concept on her own, Mizuki appreciated Korosensei's teaching style. It gave her a new perspective on how to consider different methods and how they could be applied to the real world.
In her daydream state, she didn't catch the subtle yet quick draw of the gun from the redhead next to her… but Korosensei had. Without even pausing in his explanation, he casually commented, "The draw time between firing and you pulling out your gun is too long, Karma-kun. I had some time, so I did your nails."
Said boy lifted his hand in annoyance inadvertently showing off his cutely decorated nails of octopi and takoyaki. Mizuki attempted to smother her giggle in her hand. She couldn't help it. The nails just fit the slightly psychotic boy perfectly. Aw man, I should've taken a picture. She groaned in her head. Next time.
With the redhead's stubbornness, of course there was a next time.
Mizuki stood on the other side of Chiba as she stirred her finished soup. She gave a small huff of amusement as the boy made a disgusted face while tasting his own soup.
"Here, let me try." She offered with her spoon already dipping into his pot. Before he could stop her, she daintily sipped the soup doing her best not to make a face once the flavor reached her taste buds. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop the grimace from momentarily crossing her face. "It's… salty."
"I know." He sighed, hanging his head in depression. Sniffing the air, he glanced at her pot before asking, "Can I try yours?"
Nodding, she nervously twirled a lock of her hair as he took a sip. "So?"
"This is really good! How did you do that first try?" He asked in amazement.
Feeling sheepish at the praise, she continued fiddling with her hair as she answered, "Well I cook for my siblings all the time, so I learned through practice."
"I wish I was your sibling so I could eat your cooking every day."
She gave him a warm smile as she watched him realize what he said and stutter out an apology.
"It's fine Chiba-kun. I'm glad you like it so-"
Splash!
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud commotion on the other side of the room. By the time they looked over, Akabane was dressed in a frilly pink apron and a matching bandana covering his red locks. Mizuki's eyes widened in amusement and shock. Quickly whipping out her phone, she took a picture as Korosensei explained what was wrong with Fuwa's soup.
Smirking to herself, she put away her phone and continued her conversation with a puzzled Chiba.
All through the day, Akabane attempted to catch Korosensei off guard only to end up embarrassingly taken care of by their teacher. By the end of the day, Mizuki had enough blackmail to last a lifetime.
Busy scrolling through the embarrassing photos, she almost didn't see the star of the photos stand and walk out of the room as soon as class was over. She narrowed her eyes as her blue haired classmate quickly followed him out. Without a second thought, she stood and followed the two silently.
Outside, Akabane sat on a fallen tree branch at the edge of a cliff. She could see Shiota trying to comfort the redhead who was clearly frustrated by how the day went. After yesterday's performance, even Mizuki was less than impressed. Not by his lack of results, no, that was uncontrollable. It was his attitude.
Yesterday, and even that day, he had been arrogant, confident. Now, though, he looked like a child throwing a fit. Honestly she expected more from the boy. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Korosensei until he had spoken. She was too far to hear what he was saying, so she snuck closer while concealing herself behind a large tree trunk at the edge of the forest next to the cliff.
"You're a teacher right Korosensei?" She heard Karma asking as he stood up with a smirk.
Immediately, Mizuki's guard was up. What's he going to do? She wondered.
"So would a teacher put his life on the line for his students?"
Oh no…, dread built in her stomach.
"Of course, a teacher's a teacher after all." Korosensei didn't even hesitate.
Lifting his gun, Karma tilted his head down, golden eyes flashing, "I see. That's good. Then I can definitely kill you."
Mizuki didn't wait any longer. Next thing she knew, she was dashing forward, hazel eyes wide in fear. She felt like time had slowed down as she saw the flash of red disappear over the edge of the cliff. By the time she had reached the edge, her outstretched hand was too late to grab the boy but not too late to see golden eyes widen in surprise at her appearance.
Time returned to normal and Mizuki's heart lurched as she felt herself tipping over from her momentum. Before she could fall, however, a hand had grabbed the back of her shirt and hauled her back. She didn't have time to thank her savior as they both watched in horror as their classmate fell to the ground below with a wild grin on his face...
Until a flash of yellow appeared underneath him creating a net made of tentacles. Relief coursed through Mizuki as she collapsed onto the ground alongside her savior. Looking beside her, she smiled at the blue haired boy who had the same exhausted look on his face.
"Thank you for saving me back there," she thanked him, breaths coming in pants as the adrenaline died down.
"Y-you're welcome." He panted right back.
The two over the cliff were just close enough for the pair to catch their conversation.
"The planning you put into your assassination attempt was brilliant Karma-kun." Korosensei praised from underneath. "If I had used my full speed to save you, you wouldn't be able to withstand the force. If I had gone any slower, you would have been able to shoot me easily, so I decided to add stickiness to the equation."
Mizuki shared a glance with Nagisa at the new information about Korosensei's abilities. He nodded in understanding, taking out his notebook to jot down the note. Looks like someone's caught in a sticky situation, Mizuki noted to herself in amusement while she watched the trapped boy struggle angrily against his confines.
"By the way," all three students paused in their movements, "Abandoning you was never an option. Believe in me and jump as many times as you want. I'll always come to save you."
The same words heard by three different students. All three with different reactions.
It's no good. I can't kill him like this. Not even as a teacher.
You have saved all of us by giving us a purpose, Korosensei.
Can you really save us from a situation you can't control, sensei?
A/n2: Ship poll is still active! It will be active until closer to the end of the story which is probably really far off. Also I may or may not be diverting from the original AC storyline as we get farther in because the story follows Mizuki and also she does have an effect on what happens. Last thing: I will be responding to comments with an account by replying to you in the review section. If you are a guest commenter, I will put my response here since they don't let me reply to those comments.
Ship poll:
Ryuunosuke Chiba: 17
Akabane Karma: 8
Asano Gakushu: 9
No ship: 3
Review Responses:
Guest1 on Chapter 12: Thank you for the feedback! I completely agree with you! My intention in that chapter was not to say that Asano controls his friends. Mizuki only claims that because that was the reason Asano used when he "threw her aside". If you are talking about how Asano was acting afterwards, it is because he felt that he lost the confrontation with Mizuki along with a few other reasons that may become clearer later. I hope that helps! (Also I do remember that episode. I really liked the growth Asano showed there)
Guest2: Vote noted! Thank you:)
