Sorry this took a while to write. Thanks for all the reviews and support, they keep me going.
It was yet another night that Gakuhou had found himself feeling wired and over-stimulated.
Of course, he was used to functioning on minimal rest but this was extreme even for him.
The final exams where tomorrow; that was where his battle with Korosensei would commence, that was where he would prove once and for all he was right. This time he had got it right and he had taught his students to be strong.
He knew there was nothing more he could do to determine the outcome; the test papers had been made and the last lesson had been taught. But still, try as he might, sleep still evaded him.
He was unable to tolerate even lying in bed. He had ended up pacing the dark corridors of his house in the dead of the night, a thousand thoughts rushing around his head like electricity crackling relentlessly around a circuit.
He found himself wandering to Gakushuu's room. It was a place he very rarely entered, after all, most of his interactions with Gakushuu where as teacher and student.
The door was closed shut, but light trickled in through the cracks.
Surely, he wasn't still studying. It was far too late now if he hadn't properly prepared.
Carefully, Gakuhou pushed down the handle and opened the door. To his relief, Gakushuu was asleep at his desk, head buried in a text-book, half-empty cup of coffee inches away.
The idiot was going to give himself spinal problems if he kept falling asleep in his chair.
Gakuhou walked towards him, feeling a spark of irritation; the boy really needed to plan better.
"Wake up and go to bed." He said. Gakushuu didn't stir. Had he always been a heavy sleeper? Gakuhou realised with a heavy heart that he really didn't know. There was a lot of things he didn't know about his son that most Father's would; what music does he listen to? What food does he hate?
He tried to banish those thoughts. Korosensei must be getting to him.
"You're going to need a back-brace in the next decade." Gakuhou warned, going over and tapping his son on the shoulder. Still no response, just deep breathing. Gakuhou sighed, leaning down and picking the kid up easily, transferring him to the bed in one swift move.
"You aren't a toddler, you know, so stop acting like one." He said to the still unconscious teen.
Gakushuu was the only person he knew that could make him feel so simultaneously infuriated and endeared.
Half the time he had equally strong urges to both protect him and hurt him. To keep him close and to force him far away.
It was like he couldn't think rationally around him.
When he was asleep like this, he looked even more like a child; All his usual tenacity and intensity melted away. Gakuhou felt an unusual spike of guilt when he caught sight of Gakushuu's hand; the three of his nails where still half-way through re-growing. He'd been justified in doing that, right?
He glanced down at his hand, his own nails similarly half-formed. What was it all even for?
After his discussion with his son two days ago, Gakuhou had found himself questioning everything.
Gakushuu had basically admitted he'd stay in an abusive relationship and the worst part was, he didn't even realise he'd said anything wrong.
'Parents have an even greater responsibility than teachers when it comes to the children in their care. They teach them what kind of treatment is acceptable from the people they love.'
'I'm sure you have spent a lot of time and effort teaching your son about the kind of behaviour he should expect from a loved one.'
That dammed Korosensei's words kept floating around the Chairman's head, haunting him like a relentless ghost.
The man was wrong. He had taught Gakushuu to be strong, and he'd prove it in the exams tomorrow. His new teaching method was right. It had to be.
Because if he had failed a second time, then he might as well be dead.
"Karma, your dedication to studying has thus far been admirable, but I detect you're a little distracted today." Korosensei said to him.
Karma glanced up from his lunch at his octopus teacher that stood over him. The student was sat in the vast grounds of the E-Class mountain, a little away from the other pupils who where enjoying the last of the sunlight before winter truly set in.
"I've done all the practice questions today, sensei, don't know what you've got to complain about there." Karma said, his voice faux-nonchalant. Korosensei's beady eyes became somehow more intent.
"That you have, no complaints here." Korosensei said. "But I have a feeling there's something playing on your mind. Care to share?"
Karma let out an annoyed sigh, but secretly he was pleased; at first he found this teacher's uncanny ability to read even his most well-hidden mood irritating. But now? It was comforting. It was nice to know there was an adult who actually cared enough to understand him, even if it was embarrassing to admit it.
The red head paused a moment, thinking how best to word it. How best to explain what he had found out yesterday.
"I'm sure the others have told you, but Asano- principle's son, Asano- he approached us yesterday. Asked us to beat his class in the exams. Well. Asked us to kill his father, specifically, but he was just being metaphorical.. dramatic bastard." Karma paused, looking up at Korosensei for his reaction. He was just nodding along. Despite normally being a motor-mouth, he had a good sense for when it was best to stay quiet and let the other person talk.
"Well. Some of the things he said.. unsettled me. Not the part about killing his Dad. But other stuff. He kept alluding to the principles 'teaching methods' it seemed like something more was going on." Karma continued. At this point he was glaring at the floor, pulling up strands of grass from the ground as he spoke. "So I followed him by myself to speak to him. It took a bit of pressing, but he basically admitted that his Dads been doing bad things to him. Like abuse bad. Except he doesn't see it that way. He thinks he deserves it.. which is majorly twisted. But I couldn't even speak to him about it, because the bastard practically ran away from me. I mean.. I know we're enemies, technically, but there are some things you don't wish even on your worst enemies.."
Karma finished, by the end of his talk he was practically ranting, his speech becoming louder and more pressured the more emotional he got. He looked up at Korosensei, expectantly.
"So what can I even do about it? He might be an enemy but he's still a kid being abused by his sick bastard of a father. It's not right!"
Korosensei fixed him a gentle look. It was remarkable how much emotion those pinprick eyes could hold.
"Karma, this is a complicated situation indeed." He said, softly. "A situation neither you or him should be in.."
"Well. What are we going to do about it?" Karma prompted. "I'm sure you could teach him a thing or two? Heck, I know he's strong but if E class banded together, we could probably take him on ourselves!"
"Taking him on? Do you mean fighting him, Karma? Maybe beating him up?"
"I don't know. We have to do something." Karma said, desperately. "Either that or hand him in to the police."
"Do you think Asano Jnr would testify against his father?"
"He.. well.." Karma thought back to all Gakushuu's lies to protect his Dad. The justifications, the avoidance. "Well I could testify against him?"
"With what evidence? Evidence that would stand in a court of law against a man that powerful?" Korosensei said patiently. Karma snapped.
"This isn't a game, sensei!" He hissed. "Alright, I get it. All my ideas are stupid. So you tell me what we can do to fix this situation!"
"Your ideas aren't stupid, Karma, but the truth is, there's no quick-fix in a situation like this." Korosensei explained. "It's far too complicated."
"There's nothing complicated about it! The Chairman needs to face repercussions! Either from the courts or from us." Karma said. "You're the most powerful being on the planet. Don't tell me you're scared of him. You could stop him any time you want."
"Physically, yes, I could stop the Chairman hurting Asano. But I'm set to be assassinated come March of this year. What good will that do then? Unless you're suggesting I take the Chairman out of the equation permanently?"
"No. Of course not." Karma exclaimed. He hated that he couldn't argue with the teacher's logic. "Then what about the legal route? I'm sure we could get evidence somehow. He deserves to be in prison."
"I won't argue with you on what he deserves, but it unfortunately isn't that simple; the amount of evidence one needs to be convicted of child-abuse is huge. Additionally, we can't forget what Asano wants in all this. Going behind his back to the authorities may place him in more danger." Korosensei said, voice still soft with a hint of sorrow. Karma scowled at the floor.
"So what; are you saying we should do nothing?" Karma asked, his voice terse and bitter. "Is that your genius solution?"
"No, Karma, I'm not saying that." Korosensei said. "And believe me, I wish I could help him as easily as you want me to. But the help we can give him is not anything as radical as you suggested."
Karma looked down at the floor, eyes burning with rage. "I hate this." He said, pulling up another fistful of grass strands. "Feeling so useless. It's just like with Nagisa. Parents should have free reign to hurt their kids."
Korosensei placed an appendage on Karma's should.
"I'm sorry." He said, his voice full of sincerity.
The exams came and went like a Hurricane. All that preparing, all that revising and worrying culminated in two days of exams, then they were over as quickly as they had begun.
As much as he hid it, Gakushuu always felt slightly nervous before exam results came out; even when he was fairly confident in his performance. After all, it was one thing getting a good result, it was entirely another maintaining his place as number one.
This time around, the usual butterflies in his stomach has mutated into a swarm of wasps, twisting and churning his guts. Nervous didn't even begin to cover it.
He felt as if his whole life balanced on these results; not just his own, E-Class' as well. It was his one chance to prove his father was wrong.
After the exams, the students had been treated to a long weekend. Something that Gakushuu was sure his classmates were very grateful for- the principles methods where exhausting to say the least.
Gakushuu had spent the time off doing what he could to keep his mind of the impending results day, which mostly meant lots of long walks around the park that he stretched out for hours.
He hadn't seen his father at all in that space of time. Well. The man was likely overseeing the marking of the test papers. Making sure there was no mistakes.
All too soon, it was results day. There was a palpable air of tension in the classroom that day. He and his fellow classmates hardly spoke as they waited in terse silence at their desks for their teacher to come and announce their fate.
"My head is killing me. Can you get a hangover from studying too hard?" Seo complained loudly. Others nodded in agreement, but there was no real response.
Gakushuu twiddled his pencil between his fingers. Things with his friends felt.. difficult.. it seemed like they were no longer brain-washed, thank heavens, but there was awkwardness between them. Gakushuu felt guilty for bringing them into the rivalry between him and his Father and not being able to protect them from him. They likely felt guilty for allowing themselves to be brainwashed in the first place.
He supposed in that way, his father had gotten what he'd wanted; showing Gakushuu how fragile his friendship really was.
FINALLY their teacher walked in. Their original home room teacher, from before the principle took over. Instantly, the class went into a frenzy.
"Sensei! You have the results, right?"
"Hurry up and show them to us. Please!"
"Yeah. Let's just get it over with."
"Alright, settle down." The teacher tutted. "You are the top class of this school, you should conduct yourselves as such."
They followed his instructions reluctantly, the class quieting down and settling back into their seats.
"Honestly. It's like feeding time at the zoo." He said, brandishing a brown envelope in one hand. "I don't see what you're all getting so worked up for; you're the top class. So long as you've put the work in, you should dominate the exams, as usual."
The class weren't listening to his words though, their eyes were trained on the large brown envelope, some of them practically shaking with anticipation. Gakushuu would be lying if he said he didn't feel the same.
"Well. Let's put you all out of your misery then." The teacher said, sensing their was no use trying to speak to the class any longer. He pulled the list of results out of the brown envelope.
The class practically burst out their chairs, all clamouring to find their own name and corresponding rank.
Gakushuu flared through the crowd, reading the names and the rankings.
They'd done it! E class dominated the top fifty spots, leaving A class in the dust.
Oh. Karma Akabane was first.
Gakushuu Asano was second.
He has lost by three points.
Oh. Shit.
It didn't take very long for all the excitement and jittery energy for earlier to evaporate, leading the A class students to look sullen and deflated.
Their teacher looked disappointed, and clearly perplexed by the outcome. He'd excused himself-likely to make sure the results weren't a printing error- instructing the class to reflect on their outcome.
"I don't understand. We studied so hard. I feel exhausted." One of his classmates, Mitami sighed, looking utterly defeated. "How could all that be for nothing? Are we just stupid?"
A heavy silence followed her statement. It seemed she wasn't the only one thinking that way. Gakushuu swallowed. This was the moment he was supposed to swoop in and tell his classmates the error of their ways. But he hadn't factored in loosing to Akabane. How was he supposed to preach to his comrades if he couldn't win himself?
Would they even listen to him anymore?
Unable to look anyone in the eye, he spoke.
"None of us are stupid. It's just the studying method you used was ineffective." Gakushuu said. He sensed everyone's attention was on him. "I'm also unhappy with my results. I'll definitely use this frustration to get stronger. So. Would you all continue to support me in high school?"
He finally looked up, waiting to see if he would be met with scorn, but instead, his classmates where looking at him with… admiration?
"Gakushuu. Of course." Ren said. The others seemed to agree with his sentiment, nodding and smiling at him.
Gakushuu felt an unfamiliar warm feeling bloom in his chest, a small smile unconsciously found its way onto his mouth. Suddenly, he didn't care so much about losing to Akabane; he was just happy he had the support of his classmates again.
"They're awfully bold words for someone who's just failed miserably." A cold voice said behind him. And just like that, the light atmosphere shattered.
Gakushuu felt cold dread claw at his throat as he turned around to face his father.
"Board Chairman- " he murmured out in surprise. His classmates looked equally horrified at the sight of his father.
"Life is always hard. You never know if a battle is one of life and death until it's too late." He said. He was smiling, but it was colder than usual. His eyes were deviod of any mirth or joy. "That's why you need to keep winning to survive. I'm obligated to teach you that. So don't worry, I'll continue to work your minds until graduation."
The class looked even more horrified at the prospect of further tutoring off the Chairman. Clearly, the two weeks under him was enough to crush their spirits. This wasn't fair. His father had lost, he should be admitting defeat, not doubling down. Before Gakushuu had a chance to even think of a response, Ren spoke.
"Board Chairman. You're right. We did fail." He said. "We'll never be able to beat E-Class using your methods. E-Class and Gakushuu both got stronger from their losses. That's something we all failed to do- "
Gakushuu turned to look at him, shocked. Ren had never stood up to his father before, non of the students had. He was clearly scared, and yet, there was a quiet strength to his demeanour. Ren bowed his head, and the rest of the class followed suit.
"We apologise for being too weak." He said. "If you're dissatisfied, please send us to E-Class. We feel like we'd be able to learn better there."
It wasn't just Ren. The whole class was following suit, their heads bowed and their eyes trained nervously on the Chairman.
Gakushuu felt like there where fireworks in his chest. He never thought the day would come where he'd see his classmates stand up to his father. This was it. The Chairman's plan had completely backfired on him and here is the proof.
His father stared at the class his expression blank and unreadable. Gakushuu would be lying if he said he wasn't satisfied.
"This is their answer, Chairman sir- " Gakushuu didn't even get to finish that sentence. Without any warning, the Chairman punched Gakushuu at full power across the face.
With no time to prepare, Gakushuu took the full brunt of the force and smacked into the wall. He heard chairs clatter to the floor next to him and the sounds of shouting and screaming.
It didn't hurt, at least not a first, but his vision was blurry and he was sure he had blacked out for half a second.
It took him a moment to realise what happened.
His father had hit him across the face.
His father had hit him in public in front of his whole class.
His father had finally lost control.
He didn't realise he was laughing until he heard the sound of his own chuckles. By now, Ren had ran over. He looked horrified and was asking Gakushuu if he was okay, but Gakushuu wasn't paying him any attention, instead, his glare was fixed on his father.
"You look like you're glitching." Gakushuu mocked. The Chairman just stared at own hand, his eyes wide and confused. Clearly he was unable to compute his actions. He had just done something so illogical and so stupid even he couldn't justify it.
"Finally showing everyone your 'fatherly' side?" Gakushuu added bitterly. The man did not move or respond. He offered no apology or justification, he didn't even spare his son a second glance to see if he was okay, instead it was Ren who offered Gakushuu a hand.
"Can you stand? You're bleeding. We need to go to the nurses office." He said. His fellow classmates where crowding around with equally worried faces.
"Of course I can stand." Gakushuu said, still dazed, but as he pulled himself to his feet, another wave of dizziness struck him. He found himself stumbling forwards into Ren's arms.
His friend caught him with ease.
"Come on. Let me help." Ren said, slinging Gakushuu's arm over his shoulder to support him. Gakushuu felt a sudden surge of shame at being in such a weak position, but no mocking or teasing came from his classmates: they all just looked worried about him.
Like that, Gakushuu was walked out of the classroom, his father still not casting him a single glance.
I strangely found this chapter hard to write because a lot of it was going over what actually happened in the anime, and I wanted to still keep it interesting. I also spent a bit of time wondering how Karma would react to knowing about the situation; like Karma, I went through a lot of soloutions in my head and found there wasn't really any easy answers to get Gakushuu out of the situation he's in, especially if he's unwilling to leave. I remember when I first read Assassination Classroom I thought Korosensei was kind of callous for not directly intervening in certain situations (like some bad bullying or family issues) when he could of done something, but looking back, he knew that he wouldn't be around after the end of the year, so complicated issues would need more long-term soloutions rather than him using his powers to fix things. Anyway. Thats my thoughts lol.
I got a lot of reviews on the last chapter and it made me really happy to see people are still interested in this story. I have a basic idea of how I want this thing to go, and we're close-ish to the end now (but still a few more character arcs)
Reply to guest reviews;
May 24th Guest: Glad you liked the story thanks for reviewing
Night: Merci! (also I agree with your sentiments about Gakuhou)
ledallahbean: Wow thanks so much, I'm glad you found this fic and I hope you find the update.