Disclaimer: I do not own Assassination Classroom.

XII.

For the lack of a better word the second year sucked. Really hard.

In the end of the first year Karma and Nagisa had apparently gotten into a fight or something similar and were now avoiding each other... Or Karma was and Nagisa was too much of a coward to approach the issue.

I had been too much of an idiot to notice right away and only when I saw Nagisa being bullied by some guys again I had started thinking about it. I had disposed of the bullies and confronted Nagisa about Karma. Somehow the bluenet thought that Karma didn't want to 'share a stage' with him anymore and simply accepted that.

In response I had bonked his head and told him that he should stop being so spineless. He had somewhat deflated even further and said it was ok. In the end I gave up and told him that he was still my friend. I would talk to Karma, but he should ask himself.

Nagisa seemed happier after that, but I had an inkling that he wouldn't do that. Troublesome... Why couldn't those guys just stop being stubborn for moment and talk about their feelings?

Karma hadn't been any better than Nagisa. He had told me about their trip to a fast food restaurant, where the red-head had searched for Nagisa and the shorter male had pretty much spooked Karma from behind. It wouldn't have been anything big, but my childhood friend had compared the experience to being stabbed from behind. Take it metaphorical or not, Karma didn't trust Nagisa anymore. It was probably the same thing I felt from Nagisa, just stronger. Well, my thoughts were confirmed. Nagisa was the perfect main character for the assassination classroom.

… I should probably stop treating this as some game or a story. It was a dangerous thing to do.

In the end I let Karma distance himself from the bluenet. You couldn't tone instinct down just like that. Fighting simply countered that.

Occasionally I still talked to Nagisa but it watered down to greetings and some small talk, in which I wasn't very good in and Nagisa hadn't a lot to talk about. My temper was probably the main reason. Talking had never been my forte, when I wasn't just insulting someone.

So after passing the finals with flying colors and actually tying with Asano on the first place, I had relaxed as much as I could in the spring holidays. It involved a lot of books, inane ideas and Karma. We may or may not have ruined a few kitchens one or two times. My mother had a total freak out when she had seen what we had done and promptly told us to clean our mess. As punishment we had to scrub the whole house too. My arms had been sore for days and I noticed for the first time how large our home was.

When the second year started shit literally hit the fan. I had been put into class A for my fabulous results at the end of the first year. That sucked. I was pissed that I wouldn't be with Karma in a class anymore, who was still with Nagisa in class D.

Additionally, to that there was the chairman's son, who had won the student council election last year. I didn't have anything personally against him, except that he seemed to act. I just didn't like any twisted mind games and superficial façades. I simply wanted to stay far away from him. I was sure that I wasn't his favorite person. Especially not since I declined the secretaries position.

Karma wasn't in any better mood than me. Just to show his displeasure he set up a giant prank with me at the cafeteria. They didn't found out who it was, but there were still traces of glitter and feathers everywhere, when you looked closely. It had brightened a bit of our boring days. I visited his class every time I could, but our classrooms were a bit apart from each other. Simply to say, it just wasn't my year.

On the positive side I found a new friend in class A. Her name was Kanzaki Yukino. She was a pretty, black-haired, quiet girl, but had actually a rebellious was from a rich family and told me, that they, especially her father, wanted her to be a perfect Yamato Nadeshiko and pressured her to have always good grades. To resist that she changed her appearance and went to the arcade or just somewhere to have fun. She stopped taking time for studying, which reflected on her grades, but she didn't care. It was quite admirable how she could stay so stubborn. I didn't really encourage her behavior, but I went with her on some of her trips or explained some things to her when she asked.

I think I have a soft spot for troublesome kids. Just look at Karma. Well, they needed support or at least a bit of help. I suspected that Kanzaki had been in class E too, but eh, I could be wrong.

Class was even more boring without Karma being there and I found myself often spacing out or taking out my own books and reading. The lessons were nothing new to me and the teachers were anyway incompetent. They were just freaking reading out of a text book, no individual note or howsoever.

After scolding me a few times and trying to catch me off guard, where I simply raised an eyebrow and gave them a look, they had backed off. I didn't know whether I was intimidating or they were simply wimps. I bet it was the latter.

I was currently reading a book while at the same time conversing with Kanzaki. I loved multi-tasking, which I could do when I wanted. Just sometimes books were more interesting than people. I was so much better here in doing two things at the same time than in my old life, so it wasn't that likely that I would ignore a person suddenly just from reading a few lines. It had been a really bad habit in the past. My cousin suffered a great deal from it, I think. It was a bit blurry...

My train of thoughts was halted by a person approaching us. The body of someone male was towering above us, so I looked up. To my surprise it was the chairman's son standing there.

''Is there anything you want, Asano-san?'', I questioned him.

''There is indeed one thing, Kitani-san.'' He smiled lightly at me.

I arched an eyebrow in return. From corner of my eyes I saw some people watching our conversation. Not unusual when Asano was involved, but they could mind their own business.

When I didn't ask anything, the strawberry-blond answered before it could become awkward.

''I would like you to stop reading during class. It would be better for you if you concentrated on studying, Kitani-san.''

I didn't even consider for a second.

''No.''

''No?'' Asano seemed to be surprised for a second and his façade slipped. He composed himself quickly. ''Why would you not stop?''

I smirked at his slip.

''Simply because the class is boring and the teacher just reads something straight out of the textbook. I can do this even alone at home, not considering that I know the material already. So why pray to tell me should I stop?''

I was really bored in this class. I hadn't pulled off any pranks, since it wasn't the same without Karma. Maybe I should just mess with this guy. It was certainly interesting.

''Kitani-san, we in class A should set an example for the other classes. It's important to motivate other students to strive for success. Since we are already a part of the elite we should help others to be the same.'' He had raised his voice for our classmates to hear.

It was pep talk for the class included into a lecture for a fellow student and assured that everyone was listening. Way to use peer pressure. Not bad. I practically saw them hanging on Asano's lips and soaking in every word he was saying. Leeches, all of them.

''That's all good and motivating, but you believe that what you say, Asano-san? Because I certainly don't. Class A is just like any other classes, so why would we have to do so much, while the other classes are doing less?''

A slight pause, not long enough for the others to notice, but I noticed it. My smirk widened.

''Of course I do that. We are the elite, selected from the best.'' His voice was full of confidence, but I could see the irritation in his eyes.

''Oh, well. I still won't stop. It's boring without it. It doesn't harm anyone, does it?'' I smiled challenging.

I was way too bored. I was practically bullying the poor kid. At least I knew he had the mental stability to stand against me. The chairman was probably worse than me.

The bell rang.

''Very well, Kitani-san. I will try to convince you another time. Class starts in a few minutes.''

And to his luck it did.

I couldn't really drop the grin from my face. That had been fun. Maybe I should invite Karma.

I probably should have considered the verbal sparring match against Asano, I mused as I looked into my shoe locker. I had forgotten that he had a fan club and was really popular. There were some trash and hate letters inside the locker. I took out a pair of gloves and a plastic bag and began cleaning.

I had those things in my bag in chase that I had to touch something filthy or bugs. Urgh... I didn't like bugs. The gloves were handy too not to leave fingerprints.

You never knew, just in chase.

I would set up some traps. A nice neon pink color for the next group would be good. Karma stood beside me and scowled.

''Who did that!'', he shouted into the crowd of arriving students. They were too terrified to answer.

''Karma, calm down. It's okay,'' I tried to reassure him. After that I slipped into German. ''Don't worry, I'm going to deal with this. How does a nice prank sound to you? I'm sure that a bright green would suit those idiots a lot, don't you think so?''

His scowl lightly lessened.

''I'm gonna help you,'' he practically growled. ''Gotta teach that punks a lesson. Maybe pink is gonna suit them better.''

''Your slur is horrible, Karma.''

He poked my forehead.

''That's one of your littlest concerns!'' He flushed slightly. In return I just smiled.

''Thanks.''

So when the next week half of the second grades students were painted in green and pink, the attempts of bullying stopped. Even when someone tried to, Karma and I paid the damage back tenfold. It was just another amusing pastime.

A few weeks after that Karma and Asano met officially.

As usual I was meeting Karma outside of the school under the cherry blossom trees. I really liked this spot. In spring it looked beautiful and refreshing. I kind of understood why the Japanese school year started in April. I was an avid fan of cherry blossoms, what I thought as ironic, as those flowers often represented the short nature of life. I knew very well how quickly your life could end, so I always felt nostalgic during flower watching.

Asano had followed me to give me my usual don't-take-out-your-books-in-class-lecture and probably to debate with me. I noticed that he was getting better, but I was too much of a stubborn bitch. I didn't see his usual crowd or his friend, Sakakibara Ren, who, funnily enough, occupied the secretary seat in the student council.

I only noticed Asano when I was ten meters from the trees away and was too lazy to talk to him now. So I put Karma to the frontline.

''Karma! There is some guy, that would like to meet you!'' I shouted and gestured to the chairman's son following me.

Karma's face set into a scowl again. He scowled to much lately. I liked his fake, innocent smile better. It always promised a bit of fun.

''What-!?'' the surprised boy spluttered, clearly not having expected that.

''Now, now, Asano-san. You shouldn't stalk me. People are going to get the wrong idea.''

''Kitani-san, I was clearly not stalking you.'' He seemed to have a problem with restraining his temper. I was sure that I was grating his nerves for a long time already. It was impressive that he hadn't snapped already and let his mask slip.

''You clearly are, Asano,'' butted Karma in. ''You were following her from a safe distance. That's creepy. You should stop that.''

''I assure you, I did no such a thing. I merely wanted to talk with Kitani-san about her books again.''

''You're still doing that?'' Karma switched into German, probably to annoy Asano.

''Yeah,'' I replied in the same language. ''Class is boring without them. I could probably just download them onto my phone and it would be less noticeable.''

''I doubt that.'' I raised an eyebrow as a third voice joined the conversation. Asano's German was accented but it seemed to be decent.

''You speak German, Asano-san?'' God, how awkward those suffixes sounded in German. I was just too used to them.

''Yes, I do.'', the strawberry-blond replied.

''Your pronunciation could use some work,'' remarked Karma from the side.

''You're right, Karma. It's indeed accented.''

''I'm not here to discuss my German skills with you, Kitani-san,'' the student council president switched into Japanese again, seemingly annoyed with the two of us.

''A real pity, Asano-san.'' I was tempted to add a -kun at his name instead of a -san. I was sure it would irritate the hell out of him. ''I'm sure I could teach you a lot.''

''No, thanks.'' His irritation rose visibly, as the color of his cheeks did.

Karma beside me seemed highly amused.

''You are lost cause, if you want Sayo to stop reading. She does it as naturally as breathing. You should know better than to try to stop a person from taking in their much needed air.'', Karma spoke half-serious.

I wacked his shoulder.

''Stop letting me sound like some kind of book maniac!''

''But, Sayo!'' A squawk indignation. ''The last time someone tried to take your book away landed with a concussion in the hospital.''

''I was ten,'' I deadpanned

''Even scarier.'' I let out a mock-sigh.

Asano coughed. I hadn't forgotten him but it was fun doing all this while the strawberry-blond had to control his emotions.

''Oh, Asano-san. You are still here?''

Karma hid a snicker behind his hand.

''Yes, I am, Kitani-san.'' I really hard not to smile at his slightly disgruntled expression, but when I glanced at Karma, my lips twitched upwards. ''I would like to talk to you about that matter again.''

''Didn't I tell you already, no? I'm sure I made my answer clear or are you just some kind of secret masochist, who enjoys being put down by me?''

Now he was getting even redder. I didn't know whether it was from anger, embarrassment or the sexual implication, but it left him speechless for a minute.

Beside me Karma was now howling in laughter.

Now trying to preserve the dignity he had left, Asano turned around and left us red-faced.

''That was fun.'' Karma stared at me a few seconds and began to laugh again and this time I joined him.

I noticed only a few months later that I spent a considerably less time with Karma than before. Sure I went still to his house and we hung out, but we didn't talk that much anymore and in school I saw him only at lunch break. I felt a bit lonely.

From Nagisa I heard that Karma was getting more violent than usual. He got into fights without me and caused a lot of mayhem around the school. His behavior was getting slightly out of control and I didn't like that. I would try to confront him, but... somehow I was afraid.

I was afraid of this change. Karma had been constant in my life and that changing frankly terrified this hesitating was so unlike of me. Normally I wasn't so unsure about things. I was blunt and liked direct confrontation more than this hovering without doing nothing. So I wrenched myself out of those thoughts and talked to Karma.

Damn puberty.

''You are being more violent than usual,'' I remarked bluntly.

He looked at me in surprise.

''Yeah, so what?''

''Why are you?''

Karma had to ponder about that question.

''I don't know really. Some delinquents are trying to get me when I'm alone and somehow when I'm with you they are all gone. It has been like this for a while.''

I made a noise of understanding.

The delinquents were fighting now only alone with Karma. As a result, Karma had to take the reputation of two people, mine and his. It made him seem worse than usual. Adding to that Karma had always certain restraint when I was with him. It wasn't that I was restricting him on purpose, but with me Karma had a reminder not to leash out too much. He still very much wanted to attend to the same school with me, which wouldn't be possible if he overdid it.

Maybe I should just spend more time with him, I thought guiltily. I hadn't done that so much lately.

''You know,'' Karma interrupted my thoughts. ''My new homeroom teacher didn't give me a lecture like all the teacher before. I didn't even have to sit down with him. He just said as long as I was in the right he would be on my side.''

I frowned at that.

''Are you sure that you should listen to that? It's not like I'm not letting you fight, but the way your teacher is thinking isn't very good.''

''He's okay!'', Karma defended him. ''I don't get any detentions for fighting and I can do pretty much everything. It's great!''

That, I decided, was not good. Karma should learn rules, no matter what. He could take them in a loose way and maybe break some, but blatantly ignoring them wasn't good.

Karma was shifting the parental duties to his teacher, seeing that I could not be a parental figure and a friend at the same, not considering my mental age. The thought saddened me, but despite that, that teacher wasn't being a good one.

Even when the student had good grades, which was undoubtedly correct in Karma's chase, you shouldn't let them do anything and try to sit them down to a talk.

As annoying as it was, the teachers in grade school had always done that.

''Karma, you shouldn't listen to your teacher. He isn't being a very good teacher if he lets you do all of this.''

''Yeah, yeah, it's okay, Sayo. I've got it.''

I knew when I was taken lightly and it annoyed me that my best friend just did that. I let him. He had to learn some things on his own. I couldn't guide him forever.

A few weeks later Karma was suspended and transferred to class E in his third year.

'Just wonderful,' I thought. 'Now just to find a way to get there.'

Chapter 13 is out. Sorry if it seems a bit rushed, but I'm trying to get to canon. One more chapter and Sayo's going to meet class E. She isn't exactly prejudiced against them, but she has a slightly lowered opinion of them, because many of them landed there, because they could have just studied more (in her opinion). She is going to be annoyed by some of them if they aren't fast enough for her (namely Terasaka), but considering that she is pissed that Karma didn't listen to her plus the nervousness of waiting for Korosensei, it's a bit understandable. The relationship between Karma and her is a bit strained.

Anyway, I still don't know how much she is going to change the plot. I would like to stick to the main events since changing Karma and the others doesn't affect them a lot. Maybe the events with Asano, they are always fun.

As for class E... Does anyone know how Yukimura meets the stundents of class E, when the school year starts in April? She died in March, but somehow the students knew her.

I guess I just have to read the manga again... *sigh*

I never knew that you had to research so much just for a few chapters. Well, I shouldn't whine too much, I choose to write this out of free will.

Thanks for bearing with my ranting.

As always thank you for reading, following, favourising and reviewing to this story. I gave some friends of mine the link to this story and they read it. I was really touched, especially since they liked it. You guys are the best! (You guys probably don't read the author note, but doesn't change that fact!)

What is your favourite fruit? Mine are watermelon and lychée.

Wish you a nice day!

-Yuki