What happens when two Biology nerds and the class genius bond together?
A girl with orange wavy hair slides the door to the lab. She steps in and goes to a wooden table, bringing a clear box with a green lid. "Okuda-chan, look at this".
Manami stops her poisoning and turned her head around. "Wow, th-that is a really good stag beetle, Kurahashi-san".
Kurahashi giggled. "Yup. Me and Koro-sensei got it together".
The creature taps its small hands in greeting.
"What's it called?"
"It doesn't have its own name yet", Kurahasi said. "But it's called the Miyama stag beetle".
Manami ooh-ed, repeating the last three words. She touched the spot where the stag beetle greeted. "It has beautiful white eyes".
"Yup, it's the rare trait of the bug. Due to albino-ism, the Miyama stag beetle can have white eyes instead of brown eyes".
"Making the homozygous genotype and the heterozygous genotype meet in the wild to create this wonderful phenotype must be hard".
Kurahashi giggled. "Okuda-chan. What do you think is its value in chemistry?"
"Not a lot".
Kurahashi blinked.
"Really?"
"Yes", Manami said, resting her hand on her chin. "The albino-ism of the stag beetle would be more useful in biology. It would be a waste to test the stag beetles for its effectiveness to withstand harsh chemical substances and terrains".
She might be the braided witch who enthusiastically searches for a way to help with her octopus' teacher's assassination but she knows her boundaries.
"I see".
Kurahashi is lowering her head.
"B-but is this stag beetle an adult? It doesn't look like one", Manami said.
Kurahashi looks up. "No, it is. It's just not that big".
"W-what does it eat?"
"Apparently tree sap", Kurahashi said, putting the tree sap inside the container. "But that means I need to get the tree sap for five days".
"Five days. You're not keeping it as a pet?" Manami said.
"Yup, I'm meeting with the buyer on Sunday", Kurahashi said. "I was wondering if you could make artificial food. I don't want to spend money on buying one".
"An artificial food for bugs?" Manami said. "Yes, that is a little bit hard to make. But it's good to take up on the challenge".
"Thank you, Okuda-chan", Kurahashi said.
=itl=
The girls made their way to the woods in the back of the school. Their heads looking around the trees in search of the way, not stepping too far from one another. In the circle of trees, the girls heard a rustling noise. They ready their knives and stink bombs. Two hands were raised.
"Karma-kun", Manami gasped.
They lower their weapons. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, it's Okuda-san and Kurahashi", Karma said. His hands are lowered. He walked up to the girls. "I was wandering around the forest looking for some stag beetles. Then I saw them hanging around this sack of fruits".
He pointed at the fruit sack with a variety of stag beetles. "Wonder who placed them".
"Oh, that would be mine", Kurahashi chimed. She picked one up. "Are you trying to sell them?"
She gasped. "But with these ones, they only sell for a couple yen. It's not worth it".
She placed it back on the bloated sack. "The market hasn't been as good as it's used to. There were loads of people profiting of off artificial breeding and so the market has saturatuated which leads to its drop in market value".
Karma shakes his head. "You're right. Stag beetles have more value than just a commodity".
He picks a stag beetle off the sack. "It was a shame I couldn't come with Nagisa-kun and Sugino when they picked some to play. They could have assist with putting these up Terasaka's pants".
Kurahashi visibly looked uncomfortable at Manami as she chuckled. "Your thoughts are always full of prank ideas. It seems".
"Can I have them?"
"Yeah, sure".
Karma picked another one. He placed both of the stag beetles in different containers. Kurahashi mused. "I thought you would pick more".
"They don't have to depopulate just because I want to go through my prank", Karma said. One of Karma's stag beetles looked like Kurahashi's white eyed Miyama. The stag beetle taps the container with its horns.
"That's it", Manami exclaimed.
"What?" Kurahashi said, jumps up.
"We couldn't test the artificial food on the white eye beetle but we could test it on these stag beetles", Manami said. "They have strong horns so they would be able to withstand the test".
Kurahashi didn't budge. "What if they die in the process?"
"They won't".
"How can you be so sure?"
"You'll see".
=itl=
Kurahashi, Manami and Karma arrived at a big tree. A tiny white flag with the writing 'Japanese literature' is stuck on a branch.
"I asked Koro-sensei to mark the spot", Kurahashi said. "It looks really big since I cut it off to feed Miyamura-kun".
"I see", Manami said.
Karma hummed. "Okay, Okuda-san. What will you do now?"
"I need to set up the bunsen burner", Manami said. She pulls out some lab equipment from her bag, setting up the spiritus under the tripod covered with the square netting. "I need to mix the jelly powder with the tree sap".
She pulls out a sachet. "Karma-kun, I need you to slice a piece of wood from the tree bark".
"Okay", Karma chimed.
"Then I need you to slice the tree sap into small pieces", Manami said as Karma hummed.
Kurahashi lowered her head. "What is that?"
"It's konnyaku", Manami said as she pours 200 mL of water into the beaker. "I would mix this with the tree sap and boil it for five minutes".
She closes the lid. "Ah, that reminds me. I need to prepare two solutions".
Manami rummages her bag. "Kurahashi-san, do you have the piece of vegetable soaked up in sake?"
"Yup", Kurahashi said.
She readies a small sack full of delicious ingredients.
"Okuda-san. Thinly sliced? Or diced?" Karma said. As if by magic, he is already wearing a white chef top and hat. A red apron adorns his waist. The thinly sliced wooden sap and the diced wooden sap is placed on top of a wooden cutting board. The chef knife in his right hand shines.
"U-um, they both l-look good", Manami said. "Thank you, Karma-kun".
He puts it in front of her.
"Now we will mix the konnyaku powder and wooden sap", she said, opening a sachet and put it into a food plastic concealer. Thinly sliced wooden sap is carefully placed to not mess the order. She zips it and grinds the plastic with a wooden roller. Her white chef attire appears, with a white bandana on her head instead of a hat. Her waist is adorned with a purple apron. "Kurahashi-san, please slice the vegetables".
"Yes, chef", Kurahashi said. She runs wearing the white chef attire with a red chequered bandana on her head and an orange apron. She sliced the vegetables into thin pieces on a wooden chopping board. "Here you go, chef".
"Thank you, Kurahashi-san", Manami said. She placed the vegetables in another plastic concealer with another mix of wooden sap and konnyaku. She checked on her earlier batch; the konnyaku and wooden sap have mixed together. She pours the mixture into the water and stirs with a lab teaspoon. She gives the mixture to Karma. "Karma-kun, please start the fire. We need to heat this for five minutes. Don't forget to keep stirring".
"Yes, chef", Karma said. He receives the mixture. He lights the cord of the spiritus, then put the beaker on top of the square netting. He stirs the mixture with the silver spoon.
"Kurahashi-san, please ground these into pieces and then put them into the water. When you pour it into the water, please stir it well".
Kurahashi smiles while receiving the second plastic. "Yes, chef".
"It's five minutes, chef", Karma said. "What do we do?"
His hands keep stirring the mixture. "You can pull it out now, Karma-kun. Don't forget to put out the fire".
"Yes, chef", Karma said. A smile formed on his face. He puts the lid on the spiritus. Using a white cloth, he holds the beaker and gives it to Manami. She pulls out a round container, pouring the solution inside. She grabs a small nitrogen tank from her bag. "Wow, that must have been heavy".
"Yes, its outside appearance can be deceiving", Manami giggled. "But its actual weight is as light as an empty metal flask - as a feather".
"Chef, I've put it into the water", Kurahashi hollered.
"We should boil it", Manami said. "Karma-kun, please keep an eye on the nitrogen tank".
Karma keeps it by his lap. Manami and Kurahashi boils the solution the same way they have done for the first one. As Kurahashi puts the jelly solution in a round container, Manami gets the nitrogen tank from Karma. She sets it by her fingertips while Karma times it. "It's five minutes".
"We should pull this out", Manami said, rummaging through her bag. Unluckily, she forgot to put it after an experiment. "If only we had a tong".
"Why should we if we had chopsticks?"
Like pulling out noodles from a broth, he swoops in on the container on either side. "Here, Okuda-san".
"Karma-kun", the chopsticks. They're stuck to the containers. How?
Breaking off the chopsticks with his help, a long help, Manami grabs it with both hands. "One konnyaku jelly down, one other konnyaku jelly and two gelatin jellies to go".
=itl=
Five stag beetles wait in their containers. Their horns twitched as the students as each student placed the samples in front. At the center, Manami holds a clipboard. She taps her pen. "Test number one".
Sitting on the left, Karma opens a container. The beetle flutters and goes to the wooden sap. It stayed. Manami hummed. "Stag beetle seems to receive the wooden sap well. Test number two".
Karma opens another container. The beetle flies away and avoids the jelly. Manami hummed. "The stag beetle does not seem to receive the gelatin with wooden sap jelly well. Test number three".
Karma opens the container. The beetle flies straight to the gellatin and stayed. Manami taps her pen. "The stag beetle receives the gelatin with wooden sap and yellow vegetable flavoured jelly well. Test number four".
Sitting on the right, Kurahashi opens the container. The beetle flutters and flies fast to the jelly. It stayed. Manami mumbles. "The stag beetle received the konnyaku with wooden sap flavoured jelly well. Finally, test number five".
Kurahashi opens the container. The beetle flies, circling the jelly. It keeps on circling. "Maybe the stag beetle is too confused with the flavour.."
The stag beetle stays. Manami sighed. "The stag beetle received the konnyaku with the wooden sap and yellow vegetable flavoured jelly well".
Karma hummed. "A lot of contenders, huh?"
"Yes", Manami said. Sadly. Yet she also feels a lot happier than in her failed assassination attempts. "But that means more food for the white eyed beetle. Right, Kurahashi-san?"
Kurahashi nods.
"Where did the first stag beetle go?"
The three looked at the direction of the tree.
"That's weird", Karma said. "So the fella likes konnyaku jelly with vegetables more than the wooden sap".
"Oh, look. The second stag beetle is also there", Kurahashi said.
"It seems that all of them likes the konnyaku jelly with wooden sap and yellow vegetables more", Manami said.
Karma chuckled. "They even bought a friend to taste test".
Manami and Kurahashi shares a look. Their search for the perfect meal is complete.
"You know what this means", Kurahashi said.
Manami nods, picking a sample with her lab spoon. She gives it to Kurahashi.
"Here you go, little fella".
Kurahashi places the spoon inside the container. Miyama-kun flutters his wings at the sight. The yellow vegetable must have entered his sensory tracts. It takes a few steps in the container, mostly from side to side, then it went back. "D-does it not like it?"
"Aw, I'm sure we've got the right one", Kurahashi said. "So it's back to scouring some wooden sap?"
"Not quite", Karma said, a clipboard in hand. "We still have a few more samples left".
"That's right", Manami said. "M-maybe it will like th-the other samples more".
"Alrighty", Kurahashi chimed. She picks up the gelatin jelly with wooden sap and vegetables. "Here you go little fella".
The same thing happens.
"It doesn't like it".
"Aw, what happened, little fella?"
"Must be the vegetables then", Karma mused. "Kurahashi, you said you found it on that tree sap, right?"
"Yeah. What about it, fellow cook?"
"How about trying it with the wooden sap jelly?"
"Oh, you're right, Karma-kun", Manami said. "We still have the konnyaku jelly".
Kurahashi frowned. "Is it okay, Okuda-chan?"
She must have noticed Manami becoming frantic when the jellies were rejected.
"It's okay", Manami said. "We learn Science by experience. We could always try other methods to find the alternative to tree sap".
Kurahashi smiled. "Okay".
She takes out the gelatin jelly from the container, replacing the konnyaku jelly with the konnyaku jelly. "Buddy, I hope you like this one".
Miyama-kun flaps its wings once or twice. It doesn't flutter as aggressive as when the jellies with the vegetables are put inside. As per the previous steps, Kurahashi closed the lid of the container. Miyama-kun steps a few times from right to left, then front to back. Its horns are raised.
Manami gulped, holding onto Kurahashi who brings her left hand closer and Karma.
Miyama-kun is in front of the jelly, horns still raised and white eyes pierce through.
Defeated by its fierce gaze, Kurahashi holds Manami tight and looked away. Following her, Manami looked away and shut her eyes.
"He's eating it".
Karma looks at Miyama-kun. The stag beetle happily chows down at the konnyaku jelly left behind by the other beetles. Kuarahashi and Manami lets go of their hold. When letting go of her hold on Karma's hand, she feels tingles eventhough he didn't force a strong hold. "Seems like he prefers the plain one too".
Manami nods, regaining her thoughts. "Karma-kun likes plain food too?"
=itl=
By the biggest wooden table, Manami wipes clean a test tube from a set rack. There's a tap on the window. "Coming".
Golden orbs looked up. "Hello, Okuda-san. Can we use the lab as a battlefield?"
Sugino chuckled. "He meant a stag beetle arena. We would only be using a portion of the room".
"Of course. It's fine", Manami said.
"Then please excuse us", Karma said, jumping through the window. Manami helps him land.
"We're going there the normal way", Sugino sighed, referring to him and Nagisa.
Karma chuckled. "There's no need for them to be shy. I could have helped with their landing".
Nagisa slides the door open. "We will be using a part of the lab. Thank you for having us".
"N-no need to be so formal. It's okay", Manami puts her hands in front. The three boys created a ring using scrap plastic containers.
"Okuda-san".
Kurahashi chimes as she slides the door open. "I've sold the stag beetle".
"I'm happy for you", Manami said. A purple envelope lands on her hands. "W-what is this?"
"It's your share, chef", Kurahashi winked.
"I-I can't take this away from you. I-I only made some jelly. N-not discover t-the chemical use of t-the stag beetle", Manami fumbles.
Kurahashi giggled. "No, silly. Of course you've helped. As a fellow scientist, you've saved me from taking the tree sap from the mountain every time I ran out".
Kurahashi holds a red envelope. "Here's your share, fellow cook".
"Happy to help, fellow cook", Karma smirked.
"We helped you find the stag beetle", Sugino said.
Nagisa nods. "Yeah, and it was also the rare stag beetle we found when we were beetle hunting together. We should also get something".
"Ah, sorry boys. Finders keepers. No one could catch me before I took care of it". Kurahashi flips her hand.
"Yeah, because Okajima fell off the cliff". He sighed as Sugino nods at his words.
Kurahashi taps her chin. "If you guys could help me with the fruit sacks I have in the woods, I'll share it".
Nagisa shares a look with Sugino. The two boys nodded.
"We'll do it", they exclaimed.
Manami finds her eyes meeting Karma's. Seems like everything ended well.
"What's the big idea, Karma?"
The door slammed, revealing an angry Terasaka. He waved the stag beetle around. "Shoving it up my pants. Are you crazy?"
When she glanced back, Karma's horns are in full display. His Koro-sensei-like-smile is enough to make Nagisa, Sugino and Kurahashi jump. An ominous chuckle erupted. "That's what happens when you force people to shove you maths 18 hours before exam starts".
Character profile (by Manami):
Kurahashi Hinano
A girl with orange wavy hair who likes biology, nature and bugs. Likes putting cute stickers in envelopes (like this 💗 💕🌼🐑🌷🌸🌹🐞🍂).
Sugino Tomohito and Shiota Nagisa
Apparently likes playing with stag beetles. After they helped Kurahashi with the fruit sacks, she gave them a handsome sum.
Akabane Karma and Terasaka Ryouma
It seems that Terasaka-kun tried to use Karma-kun and that is how their relationship over time got progressively worse..
Aside from character profile, this chapter also comes with Kurahashi's animal typing on the lavender1112 blogpost. You can read to find out what animal is paired with your favourite characters from Assassination Classroom from my point of view, hehe.
Also, I apologise for the late upload. My life has been hectic and I don't have the best time management skill, which I should have develop by now. I will try to make more consistent uploads and contingency plans so I could deliver better for this fanfiction.
Upcoming June birthdays
9 June: Okajima Taiga
12 June: Kimura Masayoshi
15 June: Kataoka Megu
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. Stag beetle facts may differ from trusted official sources since the writer is not a field expert and has only done minimum research. Also uploaded on lavender1112 blogspot and AO3.