Time: 01.40 PM
Overlooking the bridge, the group of six students known as Group 4 walk by. Shallow water runs below. Azure sky adorns the clocktower in the front. Sugino holds the map. He and Nagisa discuss tactics on the place to put the assassin. Kayano whines about the abnormality of a school trip with assassination. Nagisa shakes his head.
"I want to eat chocolate and rainbow pudding", Kayano shouts.
"Oh, m-maybe we could put poison in some of them", Manami said.
"Why?" Kayano took a step back.
"Koro-sensei h-has a sweet tooth. W-we could use it against him", Manami mused.
"Oh, great thinking", Karma said. "Using sweets to get at him".
"That's a waste of pudding", Kayano screamed.
"That's good. If only there is a poison that works on him", Kanzaki said.
"But I also want to chill, y'know?" Sugino sighed. He folds the map. "Just look at this place".
Over the bridge, a golden temple is surrounded by water. People gather around and take pictures. In the direction that they came from, a red walkway sits on the temple grounds. People make wishes of love and good fortune. "What do any of them have to do with assassination?"
"You're in for a treat", Nagisa mused. "Let's take a little detour". The blue haired boy leads the group to a closed shop.
A stone tablet placed in front. Letters in Kanji are engraved meticulously. Manami slouched her body forward. "Sakamoto Ryoma. You mean.."
"Oh, this place used to be the Omiya", Karma chimes. "In 1867, Sakamoto Ryoma was killed".
Nagisa nods. "And if we walk a little bit down the road, we would arrive at Honnoji temple. Even though the location has changed several times".
"Oh, that's right", Kayano said. She taps her palm with her fist. "That's where Oda Nobunaga was. He was sort of killed too".
He smiled. "This place used to be the centre of the country. It's also a place where influential people were killed".
Sugino sighs. "I see. So it's becoming an assassination trip after all".
Manami nods. The books they got from Koro-sensei have paid off. Not only could they see the beautiful temples but also the history of an era. The Omiya which has been replaced by another building. The Honnoji temple which changes its locations. How do people engineer such an interesting city?
Kanzaki obtains the map from Sugino. Manami looks over. "U-up ahead w-we have Yasaka shrine", she shouted. Kanzaki hums.
"Come on, let's rest for a bit", Karma groaned. He leans his head on his crossed arms. "I want to taste some sweet Kyoto coffee".
"Yeah, let's go for a drink", Kayano shouts. Her voice rings joyfully. Manami lets out a laugh. They resume their walk on the bridge. A shadow cast upon the sidewalk.
=itl=
Time: 02.10 PM
After their little coffee break, the group goes to a small shopping district. Unlike other shopping districts, there are not as many people buying and window shopping. Kanzaki points to a street between two shops. Kayano steps in.
"I didn't know Gion had a place like this", Kayano said. She walks with Nagisa. She takes in the mirth of the place while he looks up at the tall buildings.
"Yes. It seems like they did a good job in warding off unwanted attention", Kanzaki said. She walks with Sugino. She looks at Kayano as Sugino smiles at her.
Manami and Karma walk together. Karma walks guarded with each passing building. Manami keeps her hands close to her heart. She saw what Kanzaki meant. They have been placing signs which read no cameras allowed. Karma's blackmail strategy would have failed. On the other hand, the strategy would work wonders for Koro-sensei. He's a state secret who shouldn't be found. If he were assassinated here, no one could record and post it online. On the plus side, the alleyway is surrounded by tall buildings which makes it the perfect shooting spot.
"Is the wind direction and the bullet velocity good here, Okuda-san?" Kanzaki said. She holds a page from the guidebook with notes for the alleyway.
Manami nods. "Y-yes, I-I think we're good to go".
"Yeah, let's do the assassination", Kayano shouts. She pumps her fist in the air.
"You're right, smurf", a deep menacing voice said. He laughs at Kayano's innocence. "It's time for some killin".
A group of highschoolers appeared. Karma ushers Manami to get behind him. Nagisa and Sugino stand in front. The girls gathered at the back.
"What're you girls walkin' 'round these streets, huh?" one of the delinquents said. He wears a shirt behind his gakuran. "Lookin' for a kidnappin'?"
Another group of footsteps can be heard. The latter group of guys arrived. They too come from behind the girls. There is no escape. One of the delinquents steps forward. He juggles a black sack on his shoulder. His chin goes up as he looks sideways. He smirks.
Karma focuses on the delinquent with the shirt. "What are you talking about, oniisan? You don't seem to be sightseeing as well".
"That's because-" the delinquent coughs. Karma kicks his abdomen. The gangsters on the right side panic. The walls beside them moved. It's not concrete or wood. It's hollow. Manami runs into the dark entryway. She observed the situation back at the alley. Karma kicks another highschooler. Manami calls out Kayano and Kanzaki. They couldn't hear her. Unfortunately, the leader with the weird sack grabs Kanzaki's arms. His henchman grabs Kayano. They screamed. Karma's eyes darted out. He looks at his kidnapped friends. He couldn't see the delinquent raising his hands in the air.
"No", Manami screams. It was too late. Karma dealt with a blow. One of the henchmen looks at her. She flips back onto the wall. She closes her mouth.
The footsteps close in. A strong scent of smoke and body odour makes its way to the entrance.
"Let's go, dude. Bosses' orders", his thug friend calls out. The delinquent sucked in his tongue. The scent is gone. The sounds of bones breaking disappear.
Manami slumps into the ground. She closes her eyes. Her hands support her head. Everyone is in danger.
=itl=
02:16 PM
Manami stretches her legs. She breathes into her hands. She keeps a steady pace. She counts one as she breathes in and two as she breathes out. Her erratic heartbeat returns to its normal bpm. Her headspace expands. Now, what has happened?
Kanzaki and Kayano are taken away. Karma is taken out. What happened after that? Could there be more hostages?
The number of delinquents is triple the size of Group 4. They could choose to detain everyone. They could detain the girls because they looked weak and fragile. They could also detain the boys because they have been subdued.
Except the recent events are strange. The delinquents appeared behind the girls before Group 4 could act out their plan. The leader and his henchman also appeared behind the girls when the boys protected the front. The delinquent with the shirt behind his gakuran called them girls, and he said, "Lookin' for kidnappin'?"
Manami leaves the entryway. She saw the red haired boy lying on the ground. "Karma-kun".
She looks to the other side. A blue haired boy is lying on the ground. A dark blue haired boy leans on a wall, clutching his stomach. "Nagisa-kun. Sugino-kun".
Sugino winces in pain. Nagisa looks at her. He touched his cheeks that had a scratch mark. "Thank goodness you're alright".
Her heart aches. She was right. Their target is not Group 4. Manami nods. "Kanzaki-san and Kayano-san h-had been kidnapped. We, the girls, we've been targeted from the start".
Sugino and Nagisa look at her. Manami lowers her gaze. "I'm sorry. A-all I could do was hide in an entryway. I-I couldn't do anything. I-I didn't help-"
"No, you're right", a voice sounds. Karma groans as he sits up. His right hand supports the back of his head. "You should hide in these situations. These guys, they are used to these types of crimes. Handing them straight to custody doesn't solve the problem". He looked up. His eyes swirled in rage. "If I could, I would like to handle their execution myself".
Manami worries. Karma is strong. He took down two guys twice his size. Right now, he's injured. Even with Karma's willpower, they don't have a strategy to bring the girls back. Nagisa looks at his big red book. He's been flipping through it long before their coffee break. He picks it up. "First things first, we need to contact our teacher".
=itl=
Time: 02.20 PM
Nagisa informed Koro-sensei. Group 3's assassination attempt has failed. He is on his way. His Mach 20 speed will get him around in time. The only thing the quartet needs is to find the location.
"What to do when your groupmate has been kidnapped", Sugino reads. "Just the kind of book he'd come up with".
He sits beside Nagisa who opens the book in front. Nagisa flips through the reference page, "He also has some guidance on how to recover from shock after seeing Kyoto souvenirs being sold in Tokyo department stores".
"So he's telling us to be smart buyers", Sugino mused.
"Wow. And he has some tips on how to cheer up after seeing a couple by the Kamo river", Nagisa exclaimed. Koro-sensei told them about the courtship of Heian noblemen. They hide their courtship so the students should follow.
"That's none of his business", Sugino shouted.
Manami giggles. She sits on Nagisa's right side. He smiles. "Good thing it calms us down for a bit".
Nagisa opens a map. Karma had been standing in the very back. He walks up to them. "This is what we need".
=itl=
Time: 02.30 PM
They took shortcuts through the neighbourhood. The morning run Karasuma-sensei tasks them with has helped them improve their stamina. Up ahead, a two-story house appears. In front of the house, there is a parked white van. The coast is clear.
"Wait", Sugino said. "This is really suspicious. Shouldn't they be on lookout duty?"
Karma looks back at him. "Now that you say that, it's normal for them not to have one. They're already confident in their hiding place. What we need to worry about is their reinforcement".
A highschooler wearing a gakuran walks in front of the house. His orange hair is slicked back. He laughs. "What do we have here? A bunch of middle school kids?"
Karma ushers Manami to stand back. The boys form an arrow.
The thug looks down. "Beat it, brats. Else, I'm telling the bosses upstairs".
"Oh, so the oniisan are all here?" Karma teased. "In this building?"
The thug clenched his teeth. "Told you so". He touched his pockets. Sugino locks him from behind. He grunted. Karma knocks the thug with two punches. The thug coughed. He falls to the ground.
"Well, that was easier than I thought", Karma said. He holds his right arm as he rotates his hands. He grabs onto the collar as he drags the bounty on the ground.
Nagisa steps on the door. It was open. Manami and Sugino observe the entryway. Nobody is around. Nagisa turns around. His brows creased. "Let's get our friends back".
Character status (by Manami):
Kayano and Kanzaki
Held hostage. Girls have been the targets from the start. They were not able to go to the entryway to hide.
Karma
Took out two highschool delinquents by himself. After he was knocked out, he didn't rest and help plot out where the girls might be. Knocks out the photographer with Sugino. Drags bounty as if it isn't heavy.
Sugino
Has a bruise on his stomach. After being knocked out, he was shocked to see the contents of the big red book that Koro-sensei came up with. Knocks out the photographer with Karma.
Nagisa
Has a bruise on his cheeks. After being knocked out, he got the big red book out and planned where they should head to and contacted Koro-sensei.
Koro-sensei
Failed to be assassinated by all student groups, the recent group being Group 3. Is on his way in Mach 20 speed.
Group 3
A group of 6 students who were traveling near Yasaka shrine. After failing their attempt, they meet up with Group 1 and Group 2.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Assassination Classroom. Assassination Classroom is a series written by Yusei Matsui. The anime is produced by Lerche. This is a fanfiction to provide a character spotlight on Okuda Manami. Themes and characterisation may differ from the original series. Also uploaded on lavender1112 blogspot and AO3.