A/N: I hope guys enjoy this next chapter!
Word Count: 10,630
Coup De Grace
Chapter 2
~Flashback: 14 years ago~
"You're not lining up your shots right and you're overthinking it." Long fingers pressed against the top of her blonde locks as they ruffled her hair. "I can see the gears turning in that pretty little head of yours." The words came from the voice of someone she didn't know and the laughter only more irritating as he was laughing at her. She should have noticed him, it was a slight on her part something Lovro would be disappointed in. She had to get this right. She had to try harder or he'd see she wasn't worthy of his training, of his time. Irina clenched her teeth, her anger flashing across her face. As she raised those blue eyes to glare at him from over her shoulder. Her small fingers curled along the gun that seemed far too large for her. Her fingers just barely could squeeze the trigger without issue. She'd been told it'd get easier with time, and as she got a little older. It wasn't an excuse though. She needed to be able to hit the target on that large oak tree at the farm they were staying at by the end of the day.
"Aw don't give me that look! You're the one who's messing up." While honest in context. He hadn't expected the water works as tears filled her bright eyes as she looked up at him.
"I-I k-know! I know. It's my fault, I c-can't do it." She wiped at the back of her eyes with her free hand, smearing her tears on the back of glove. Her other hand holding the gun pointed at the ground away from him and her finger off the trigger. "I-I don't want to be left behind, " she whispered. Irina didn't want to be left behind, not again. She didn't have anyone else.
"Woah, woah!" Dimitiri threw up his hands awkwardly as though that would somehow get her to stop crying. She was about seven years old, just four years younger than him. As she only covered her face with her free hand her fingers curled tighter on the gun began to shake. Did his expression soften a bit, his eyes taking in her heavy coat as they were out in the snow-covered wilderness on an old man's farm, far from any shred of civilization for miles.
His fingers trailed through her soft blonde locks. The smile was wide and boyish as she looked up at him. "It's ok, just don't cry geez, " he muttered his fingers rubbing at the hair at the base of his neck. "While it works for getting whatever you want, that isn't why I'm going to help you…" he paused his attention on the tree several yards away. "You just don't seem to belong here. I don't know why the Master picked you, but he must have seen something in you-so don't give up. Even when it's really tough."
He held his hand out for the gun. Surprised when she just handed it over to him. Inwardly he frowned, as the smile never left his lips as he hooked his foot behind her leg and shoved her to the snow filled ground. The gun pointed at her the center of her chest. Little girl or not, she needed to learn some valuable lessons.
"Never give up your weapon little Irina." He scolded with a grin, his eyes dispassionately gazing down at her. The gun firing into the snow just next to her side. Before he raised the gun single handedly and fired into the target she had set up earlier. He only glanced at it for a moment before he fired the remaining nine rounds into the trunk of the tree where he hit his target without missing a beat.
He ejected the magazine and let it fall next to her into the snow, where he held out the gun to her, handle toward her while his own fingers curled around the barrel. As she took it from him, she also accepted his hand as he kept it held out.
Dimitri expected her to be in a fit of tears but was surprised to find she was gazing at him with a look he knew all too well. "That's the look I was looking for," he muttered as he pulled her to her feet. His other had brushing under her eye. "Don't lose that bloodlust love. It will keep you alive.
"What's your name?" Her question surprised him, considering he thought it was obvious who he was. "I'm Dimitiri, the one you replaced," he joked easily. Although he said it in a way that made her wonder If there was something else to that, a truth or maybe a jealousy.
"Now try again, " he instructed as he watched her press the bullets into the magazine filling it back up.
It was with his help and encouragement that she got better as the hours wore on. That she was able to hit the target every time. Which allowed her to show Lovro when he arrived home from his mission. He wasn't the doting parent, but his praise was appreciated all the same. His pride in her something all children strive for.
The students milled about in the classroom, everyone talking in their own little groups. There was no denying the tension in the room.
Toka Yada's fingers drummed against the desk as she leaned against it. Everyone was dressed in their new combat equipment. There wasn't any denying that the conversations were quiet. Very few had much to say, most were just ready to get moving. To do something other than stand here waiting around, as though that would somehow make it easier. This wasn't the first time today that she wondered if she should have done something sooner.
Fingers slid into her own and she jerked her head up from where she'd been staring at her own desk. She didn't say anything but only leaned back on her heels as her fingers curled a little tighter around Nagisa's own before she stepped back and moved out of the room entirely. He didn't follow, everyone was handling this in their own way. She walked outside, her gaze going to the setting sun, it would be dark soon. She leaned against the side of the building her gaze on the moon as the sky darkened.
Everyone was waiting for Ritsu to see if she could hack into Professor Jelavic's phone to see if she could get a location. Frowning she came back online. "Please report back to the classroom everyone." She calls out drawing the attention of the few who had left to come back inside.
Koro Sensei and Karasuma came in with a slew of red letters and the latter slammed them onto the desk at the front of the room. For a moment he seemed to stare at them as though he wasn't seeing them at all. His fist slammed against the desk one more time before he turned his back on them. "Sorry, continue Ritsu." He said softly his anger in check for the moment.
"I don't have a current location yet as her phone has been shut off. But, I was able to get a general area from yesterday to 05:00 this morning. After 06:45 her phone signal here drops off completely."
The supercomputer made herself smaller on her screen to show a blinking dot and an aerial view of the two points. "She's at this location here for about an hour and thirty minutes,"
"That's the gym she goes to in the mornings. I gave you the video footage to see if you can identify someone."
"Of course, I'm analyzing the footage in the background going through facial recognition through multiple agencies. Nothing yet."
"Wait a minute! How do you know what gym she goes to?" Questioned Taiga Okajima
Karasuma fixed the kid who asked with a hard glare as if to question it further. "Dude! Now isn't the time for that!" Yuuma Isogai told him sharply, his hand curling into a fist at his side. He was worried, but hiding it well. The looks passed toward their perverted classmate, said a lot. No one else was interested in the distraction.
"What else Ritsu?" Koro Sensei asked while watching the screen as he memorized the map. He had a feeling he already knew what possibly happened. It was the only logical explanation.
"Her location moves without issue until it stops here about a mile away." The pin on the board with gold, and it signified the last two positive instances of activity. The pins showing the gym where he knew she was that morning and then her location stops in the middle of the park. She would usually frequent on her runs back to his house.
"I was also able to get a hit when the phone powered back on at 1300. It appears to catch an open wifi network at this cafe here. Whoever is using the phone is smart enough to keep it off and when they do turn it on for very short periods and doesn't seem to be in any locations that seem ideal for a kidnapping. The area it appears next is here at 1500. This can be speculated to be your area to comb through, " she told them as a large map covering several neighborhoods that were linked from the park and the gym to the two phone locations. All were well within the area and within walking distance of about two miles.
"I was also able to get her call history and text history, through the phone company. She made two calls this morning. One to you Karasuma, it didn't last very long, and another to someone else. I can give you the number if you want. It appears she sent a message to you this morning but deleted it off her phone shortly after she sent it. I'm still working to see if I can access the phone's emergency location.
"It's odd given the circumstances but not so much if she knew him."
"Why didn't she say anything?"
"She was protecting us."
"Not just us."
Several pairs of eyes turned to regard Koro Sensei and Karasuma. There was no denying what had been given to keep them all out of the crossfire.
" it's easy to forget how smart she is."
The conversation weaned between the students of class 3-E as they listened to Ritsu give back the number Professor B had contacted.
As she recited the number, The black haired male frowned as Koro Sensei's phone rang from the same number. He didn't miss the dig aimed at him. He hadn't been the only one who was kicking himself for missing the call this morning.
"How interesting," he muttered in surprise as he put the phone on speaker before he answered. "Lovro, what do I owe this pleasure?" he questioned, his gaze sweeping over those in the room. As Karasuma held up a hand and told them to all be quiet, which was a given but still.
To be fair no one said a word. Karasuma couldn't say for certain that Lovro did or did not have anything to do with Irina's disappearance.
"My Protege left me a message early this morning. It was cryptic, short and spoken in her native tongue. She doesn't often do that. So I wanted to call and check on her. She told me to be careful, I am always careful. When I got no answer, I called you. Now Earth's Most Dangerous Creature, where is Irina?" He questioned his fingers curling along his phone as he glanced toward the tv reading the Japanese news as it played from the small men's room in the Japanese international airport. He feared that he already knew the answer.
"We don't know, we lost contact with her going on nine hours ago." Karasuma spoke up being the only one to be completely aware of the situation at hand, and even he didn't have all the facts.
"What have you found?" The older man sounded composed, but even he had a soft spot for the girl who was like the daughter he never had. Sometimes he wondered about the path he had led her down.
"Letters from a secret admirer. Someone was skilled enough to slip in here, without us being aware. They also seem to have a theme to them hinting at a childhood together and seem to fall into desperation as they come closer to today. The last letter came this morning while she was at the gym. We aren't aware of these, as she's not mentioned them."
"Het (no) I doubt she would; she's too proud for that," Lovro muttered sounding tired.
Karasuma huffed out a breath running his hand through his hair. "Do you have any ideas? The most recent one was signed with a calling card of a snake eating its own tail from someone named Dimitri. Does that sound familiar to you?"
"Ya," he told him, his voice having dropped lower and his accent seemed to thicken . "There is one who uses that calling card. He went by the name of Dimitri Belyaev " he said as he raised his voice to be heard.
"Went?" The question came from one of the female students, Karasuma, recognized as Manami Okuda.
"Yeah, meaning he should be dead. But in their line of work it doesn't seem very accurate." Karma spoke up from where he was seated in his seat, leaning back and looking bored as usual, but he was paying close attention.
"There is one other thing you should know going forward. He was my first protege before Irina. I thought he had put his jealousy of her behind him as he grew older. It may have been wishful thinking. The blame in this falls to me. I will be on the first flight. I hope you aren't too late, " he told them before ending the call without waiting for their answer. He had his own plans to attend too.
The class hung in heavy silence for a moment as Karasuma regarded those who stood before him. No one knew what to say. "This is not something you kids should be involved In-" Karasuma was cut off at the protest of nearly every student who spoke out against them not going with him.
"Enough!" he demanded his fist slamming into the desk. His back to them, head bowed and body tense, as he tried to think. "Let me be very clear with you. This is not a game, this is not PE class. There is no guarantee she is even alive or what state we may find her in, if she survives. She has been gone for over eight hours."
He let those words sink in as he shut eyes as he stayed where he was for another moment. "Surely Mr. Karasuma, they could do some reconancence. The area is pretty large after all. What if you can't find where she's being held? Is that what you want to be too late?"
He curled his hands into fists as he waited at the desk another moment, going over the worst case scenarios in his head. "You know what usually happens in these situations. We're both not stupid," At his words he clenched his teeth and closed his eyes for a moment. All to aware of the reality of the possible torture methods.
"This way we can ensure everyone's safety and they won't go inside, right children?" Koro Sensei called after him waiting just like everyone else to see what would happen.
The chorus of 'Yes Sir' should have made him feel better, but it didn't. It only settled like a heavy weight on his shoulders. He would have preferred that they weren't involved. But he was also pleased at the same time to hear that no one had backed out. Irina had made her choice, and yet here they were going into the unknown for her. He couldn't help but wonder if he was making the right choice at the same time.
It was a horrible feeling to know that despite their efforts things may not go well, did he want to scar these kids for life. He could still remember her conversation with him on Valentines Day, how she had told him that she wasn't sure the kids were cut out for truly killing their teacher, that it was cruel of them to be training them for such a thing. He wondered now if she wasn't considering her own predicament somewhat with what she told him. When she let her guard down, her insecurities showed in how she carried herself. She wasn't as confident as she appeared.
"You follow my orders to the letter. I can't promise you this will end well. This is not something you have to do. If you want to leave, now is the time. You will not go inside. You will stay in constant contact and be monitored by Ritsu's GPS location. You're just kids, what we find will be unlike anything you have seen. Are you sure this is what something you want to do?"
He let the question hang in the air. All too aware of the gravity of this situation. Nagisa and Karma shared a look before the others in class gave the other the floor.
"We're going with you. Class E doesn't leave anyone behind. You all have taught us more than we could ever hope for. We can't turn our backs on her. We are going, with or without your approval."
"Please Mr. Karasuma! Let us help! we can't just do nothing! We can't just wait!" Toko Yada said from where she was at the back of the room having entered through the back door.
"We're just wasting more time Karasuma, let's get going, " Karma said as he stood up from his desk.
Koro Sensei chuckled to himself, his student's loyalty never ceased to amaze him, still he too worried about what they would find. Irina had gone through a lot of trouble to keep them in the dark. She was more aware of this threat and she chose to handle it herself. Was this a fight they should leave to her? He didn't know the right answer.
With that karasuma turned around and split them into groups pairing them off in groups of three. Ear pieces were turned on and their search locations assigned. And they moved out heading from the mountaintop into the city below.
"No matter how we find her, I can't have that on my conscience. They can't see her. I'm sure this goes without saying but their safety is paramount."
"You have my word, " he promised as they made their way into the city below.
She came too as fingers probed around the wound on her head. She could smell the blood and feel where it had begun to dry along the left side of her face. It was tender to the touch and still bleeding, telling her she must have only been out a few minutes at most, but she couldn't be sure. Head wounds just like the face bled a lot.
She had her fair share when she was younger. Rookie mistakes that nearly cost her everything, but she completed her mission, the only thing that mattered to Lovro was success, and for his approval, she would do anything that was still in some cases true even today. It was why she was here, one of the reasons. Making up for his past mistakes and in some ways her own naivety at thinking she might be able to save the little boy she remembered from her childhood.
You're so stupid Irina. Can't you do anything right?
She forced her body to remain relaxed as she felt him shift from under her. Dimitri had at some point during their fall, curled her body against his own and twisted himself so he took the brunt of the force of their landing. "I went too far, " he whispered to himself as he placed her down and moved away to pace along the marble floor, his boots leaving tracks as he walked through her blood. She could see the wound in his shoulder along his back had opened again judging by the blood staining his white shirt.
"Stick with the plan you worthless boy, " he muttered to himself, his large hands fisted at his sides as he paused in his pacing to watch her breathing, pleased to see he hadn't killed her yet. He needed her alive and broken, what better way to show his old master he made a mistake choosing her instead of him.
He pressed his fingers into his eyes as a memory assaulted him. One of where Irina was just sixteen, she wasn't her usual flawless self that men swooned over. She had a black eye and a few scrapes and bruises and had taken a knife to her side, but she was standing next to him as they surveyed their handy work. Her left hand holding two throwing knives and her right held her gun aimed at the door leading to the next floor, their target was about two floors above them. This wasn't the sort of thing, they usually did, but well he needed someone to watch his back and Irina was all too eager to do something besides her usual infiltration missions. It was supposed to be an in and out sort of deal, but it had dissolved into something else.
It wasn't an issue for them, not really. He watched the blood blossom along her sweatshirt she wore and he glanced at her eye as his gaze shifted to the stairway they would have to climb. "You good?" he questioned, watching once more as she took a breath and the blood expanded on her shirt and began to drip to the ground, if it wasn't absorbed by the jeans she wore. "I'm good," she told him, flashing him a wide grin that didn't display the pain she was obviously in, her pain tolerance was higher than average, but then again...it was mostly a mind of over matter thing.
"One second, he's not gonna go that far. Besides-we're blocking the stairs, the elevators have been disabled and we've barricaded the doors. I can't have you bleeding out on me now." He told her as he pulled the lighter from his back pocket, his smoking habit was one that he hadn't been able to kick and she'd picked up from him about a year ago. He set his gun in his holster at the small of his back and flipped up the knife he had strapped to one his cargo pants pockets. As he held the knife over the flame he regarded her for a moment, taking note of the paleness in her cheeks. He let his attention go to the blood stain and frowned inwardly as he flashed her a grin, that didn't show his worry. "If you die on me Lovro won't be happy. He didn't want you assisting me anyway. You know I'm in the dog house with him. You probably should have said no."
"I could have, but I'm here because I want to be Dimitiri," she told him her bright blue eyes on the knife as it went from it's grey metallic color to orange as the flames of the knife heated it to where it could be used to cauterize her wound. "Quit being a pussy and just do it," she told him as she laughed at the face he gave her at word choice. "Love don't ever let him hear you say that," he muttered as he placed his hand over her mouth to muffle any sounds she might make. The flat of the knife pressed against the wound. The smell of burning flesh wasn't something one could forget. The scar was something she would forever carry on her right side even years later.
Their mission continued after that. Going off without a hitch. It was where he learned what it was like to have truly an equal, someone who would stand by him without fail and support him, care for him and love him unconditionally despite the blood staining his hands.
It was no different for Irina, Dimitri was the first person who showed her what it meant to be accepted and loved without expectations, demands or their approval based solely on her mission's success. It was just unconditional. He protected her and yet allowed her to handle things on her own. He never held what she did against her, who she had to sleep with to get the job done. He was there to pick up the pieces and catch her should she stumble. He was her first love, the one who showed her that despite what they did, they could make their lives worth something; they could mean something to each other.
It was the beginning of the end for what they had, and just a few months later, he was captured by a foreign country. One all too keen on the information and the skills he had. His capture was quiet and yet fluttered about in the right circles.
Irina had expressed a desire to do something to save him. Lovro had told her no; there was nothing they could do. He was right of course, but it didn't make it any easier. It was not feasibly possible for them to attempt such a thing. It didn't make it any easier for her. When his body was found it was the final straw, what finally broke her completely. She pushed her grief into her work, hardening her own resolve as she realized with shattering clarity that loving someone, anyone puts you in a position to be vulnerable, to be weak and it was a feeling she never wanted to experience again. She locked it away, locked her heart behind a door no one would get through again.
Irina made herself untouchable emotionally, the masks she wore like armor. She was playing her parts to the letter. She had no one to turn to, nowhere to go, and that was just as well. It was one of the reasons she was the best at what she did. Nothing held her back; nothing got in her way until she took the job to teach class E.
Those kids made her weak, a weakness he would exploit, eventually. She wasn't his true target, no he was actually after someone else entirely, but first, he had to break her for no other reason than to get back at the one person who started it all. They both left him to die, they both abandoned him. He had years to think about everything. To plan how he would take everybody down.
As his phone rang she could hear the smile in his voice as he answered. "I was wondering when I'd hear from you." He walked back toward her and she kept from reacting at least until his heavy boot slammed into her side forcing her to roll to try and get away. Her eyes watered from the pain in her ribs. When she didn't make enough noise for the man on the other end of the phone to react. He kicked at her broken leg, the strangled cry she gave was music to his ears.
"Now Irina, Love-" he paused and snapped his fingers to get her to look at him from where she was on her arms, her forehead pressed against the floor, her hair obscuring one side of her face, but those defiant blue eyes were on him. As though she were trying to rise again. "Look at me- that's a good Professor Bitch, now heel just like that." he told her with a chuckle. She flipped him the finger and his grin only widened as he caught the sounds of muffled cries from the other end of the phone. "Stop it!" Sugino demanded angrily.
"Why don't you make me?" he countered with a laugh as the sound of a picture being taken could be heard by Lovro and his band of merry men. He couldn't help but send it to him and Karasuma. All the more reason to drive home how far she'd fallen. How broken he could make their little assassin.
Before he raised the phone to his ear cutting off the speaker phone. "I'm surprised you're with those kids instead of coming to save her. Does she mean so little to you?" he demanded angrily wondering if his plans were about to fall apart before they had even started. It was no matter not really, he'd just wanted her death to mean something to someone.
"Are you looking for a replacement already old man? She's not even dead yet. I can make it happen though if you want, even record it for you. Nothing quite like watching it on the big screen." he chuckled at his own inside joke. "I was hoping you would care enough to show up and see everything in action."
He let those words hang there as he kicked her in the side, his boot driving into her solar plexus and over her injured ribs again, the audible cracks could be heard. She made a strangled gurgling cry as her body went airborne and skidded across the floor several feet away. She coughed a wet, heavy sound as blood splattered to the floor. The next breath she took was a low gurgle as though she couldn't get enough air.
"You misunderstand Dimitri-" Lovro started but was cut off.
Several students gasped in the background. "You're hurting her! Stop it!" one of the females demanded, her voice thick with tears. "Oh don't worry, Yukiko my dear your next on my list, " he promised with a low chuckle. "How does it feel?" He questioned as he watched Irina struggling to her feet. He didn't intervene as she managed to make it upright by sheer will alone. "To try so hard only to be unable to handle this on your own, like you wanted. It must be devastating."
Irina said nothing as he tried to bait her into talking, to tiring herself out more with wasted oxygen. She was already having to struggle to keep herself on her feet. Her leg was shaking from the pressure of standing. She shifted her weight mostly to her left leg and watched him, waiting to see what would happen next.
"As I was saying Dimitri, you misunderstand the importance of making connections with others." Lovro continued as he made his way to the front door of the house in question. He'd done what he needed to and had kept Dimitri on the line long enough for the location to be traced. As he knocked on the door, he waited a moment before trying the lock and pushing his way inside. His sharp gaze landing on his two proteges with ease. He didn't outwardly react, but he couldn't say he'd been prepared for the damage.
Twenty Minutes Ago
Karasuma looked at the blinking lights that signified the locations of each of the students as they were in their teams. "Report" he said as he used his own speed and skills to do a quick search of another estate that was in his sector to check.
"Alpha squad has nothing so far, " Toka spoke up as she nodded toward the others to search another house.
"Bravo has nothing to report, " Rinka spoke up as stood on one of the adjacent roof tops, gun raised and tracking the movements of her team as they searched another house.
"Charlotte squad is empty handed, " Rio tells them with a little humor as she glances toward Karma who is looking into one of the windows of the houses in their search area.
"Delta hasn't found anything yet, but we haven't finished our sector," Nagisa spoke up, his attention raised to the surrounding houses that had been searched so far.
"Team Octopus hasn't found anything yet either," Korosensei spoke up as he was charged with handling the outer areas of their search. Pretty much everywhere that would take them too long to search.
'Damn it' He thought as he paused for a moment to X out the houses already searched in their area. Ritsu was also doing the same as well, but he liked to be old school a lot of the time. It also gave him something to do.
"Ritsu go over what you have on Dimitri Belyaev again, " he requested, as she began to recite the information as he moved to the next house.
Pausing on one of the rooftops as Koro Sensei appeared before him, the phone stretched in his direction. He picked it up cupping it to his other ear that didn't have the microphone in his ear that connected him to those in class 3E.
"Karasuma, I may not have been forthcoming about my location earlier. I wanted to see what you, the octopus, and his class would do before enlisting your help. It seems I misjudged how much you care for my protege. Your computer friend can trace a call no?" Lovro questioned from the other end.
"She can, " he said after a moment well aware that the phone call and the radio in his ear allowed for the children to hear parts or all of the conversation. He glanced around, not truly surprised to see that the rest of the students were searching their sectors as he had this conversation.
"Good, good I have received a message from Dimitri and would like to trace his location. Your search seems to be dragging on and time is short." Lovro told him from where he was lingering in his rental car; he purchased under his fake alias. He tapped his finger against the wheel as he waited for his answer.
"Of course, " he agreed as he plugged a small device into the charger port on his phone, the small device a gave picture of Ritsu as she hooked up to his phone and then the call itself, allowing her to access Lovro's phone as well and use the signals from the two to attach to the new call he was making.
~Current Location~
Nothing could compare him for the house they came too nestled in the opposite area of their search grid. Dimitri had purposely played them all and as impressed as he was, he was angry for not having considered it a possibility. He frowned to himself as he regarded it from where he stood on one of the adjacent roof tops. The kids had all kept up and it went without saying as the class split up into two separate entry units. Half would go with Koro Sensei the other would come with him. He knew they wanted to go in and it was because of their reactions to that call that he decided to let them go inside. They would have gone in without then...this way he could possibly minimize the damage.
With a few short hand signs they moved out advancing to the property and as he pressed his hand to the glass window he was feeling for anything that stood out. When nothing did, he tested the window and frowned as it didn't open. He wasn't surprised by that, he smashed the glass with his elbow, doing what he could to limit the sound. He paused waiting to see if their entry brought any attention. When he didn't hear anything. He reached his hand inside after brushing away the glass and unlocked the window and wished it up, before carefully entering the home. He held up a hand and listened once more, before he moved to motion for the others to come in. Their new suits, easily able to protect them from any glass.
Silently they moved through the house easily picking up the conversation still happening. The tail end of the condescending words directed at Irina as she struggled to rise to her feet. Karasuma's hands curled into fists and yet he didn't go to her. He wouldn't diminish all that she was still doing to protect those she cared about.
As the sound of wind blowing from upstairs, she raised her eyes above to the top of the landing where Koro Sensei and his half of the class were clustered at the top of the stairs. Her frown only deepened and her gaze dropped to the blood stained floor for a moment. Her hands balled into fists as the sounds of the next squad entered in from the kitchen area as well as the lower master bedroom. She didn't dare to look at the rest of them, she could feel his eyes on her all the same.
"Stay out of this." Her words were slow and short and with each breath she took could feel the way her chest rose on her left side and the way the pressure built on the right. She should have felt grateful, but all their presence offered her was a heavy shame that pressed down on her shoulders. She couldn't even do this on her own; not really. She clearly still needed help.
How pathetic am I?
How far have I fallen?
"They're just here to watch you fail, little Irina. They know you can't do this on your own. Why else would they be here?" Dimitri questioned his words chosen with care to ensure that he got into her head, made her doubt herself.
Her fingers curled tighter into a fist and her hair had fallen forward to cover her eyes from view. For a moment both sides were silent.
"Shut up! What do you know about a fair fight anyway?! You've cheated from the moment you took her hostage!"
"She's going to kick your ass, dude. I hope you're ready to get beat by a girl!"
The insults from the students kept up and it was just as well because they offered the distraction that allowed him to slip forward. His fingers cupping her cheeks, tipping her chin up so he could look at her. Could look into her eyes and to see the way the bruised eye was slow to follow the other. Her gaze skirted away from him and she would have moved away if she wasn't aware that she couldn't afford to look weak, he could hear the wheeze of each breath she took. His fingers were warm against her freezing skin. The trembling was a sign in itself. She was on her feet from will alone. "You can do this, " he told her seriously. He had the utmost confidence in her, but that didn't mean he wasn't worried. This was far from a fair fight.
His thumb brushed the edge of her lips wiping away the blood. "We aren't here to get in your way." He told her softly as his fingers cupped her cheeks. As her eyes widened, he rammed his elbow back into Dimitri's solar plexus as he twisted around to slam him into the ground on the way down, as his foot had tripped the other. His fingers around his neck, as he leaned over him. "Careful pal, " he warned him, his dark eyes murderous as he resisted the urge to do more than he already had.
"Oh shit!"
"Nice one Mr. Karasuma!"
Irina was quiet, watching from where she had yet to move. As her gaze took in the room for a moment. He didn't doubt the reason she wasn't saying anything was because of the pressure of the air that was circulating to press on the other lung. He wasn't a doctor, but he'd seen things in his days in the army. She didn't have too much longer that she'd remain on her feet. As much as he wanted to end this man's life. He knew he couldn't. Not if he wanted to keep his word. He would always keep his word. He stepped back, and resisted the urge to smash his foot against his face a couple hundred times. As the blond grinned up at him in no hurry to rise to his feet.
"Isn't that cute, you care for my sloppy seconds?" he questioned with a wide grin.
Irina's gaze immediately dropped to the floor, her cheeks scarlett from shame, and her own foolishness. He wouldn't forget the emotion in those wide blue eyes and in that moment he was reminded of how young she actually was and how fragile and yet how strong. She was still standing, and wasn't ready to concede and allow them to step in.
"If your done talking like anyone cares about my sex life. Let's move on Dimitir, " her gaze was hard and her emotions were locked behind the wall she kept up most of the time to keep the world at a distance. She covered the cough that wanted to bubble in the back of her throat, the blood that tickled the back of her throat another issue as she wiped her mouth as though she had something on her face. The blood ran down the outside of her hand and down her arm as she tried to hide it. It was dark enough no one would see it.
She pointedly ignored Karasuma, being more telling than if she'd said anything to him. She shouldn't care what he thought, but she couldn't deny that she naively cared about his perception of her.
Karasuma knew there was very little that he could say, instead he blocked Irina's view of Dimitri, watching as her body shook slightly from the chill that hung in the air and her resisting the urge to cough. He gave a slight tilt of his head a signal that told her something else.
Dimitri used this little bit of time to address the gathering. "I shouldn't have to tell you all to not interfere right?"
Koro Sensei flew down stopping right in front of his face, his face black and angry, his teeth large and his mouth wide open.
He began to speak loudly and wave his tentacles around. "You're nothing but a weak little boy, who has to cheat to win. We will not intervene because it's what she wants. You are of little concern to us. To ensure this fight is fair though. I'll be happy to referee. A knife in the middle should be sufficient. It's the only weapon in the ring. The match is timed for 5 minutes or until the other party is either dead or rendered unconscious. How's that sound?"
He questioned his features evening out to a bright smile and but the black never quite faded.
Irina's hands covered her mouth, the first coughing fit causing her body to violently rock on her feet. Blood seeping through her fingers. Her head tilted away from him. The first fit triggering the second. The sound of the blood hitting the floor was impossible to miss. Strong hands on her shoulders kept her on her feet. He could see the black and blue bruises that covered her side from the loose tank top she wore, it was ripped down the side as though a knife had cut the fabric away. Her right leg was no better swollen and clearly broken. The damage was more severe than he'd anticipated. He should have expected it, but it didn't make it any easier to see. He also noted that the tight shorts that hugged a few inches of her thighs were not what she'd left the house in this morning. He wondered if his earlier words had a different meaning. She was barefoot, and looking more damaged than he'd ever seen before. His fingers brushed back her hair to gently inspect the wound on her forehead and round knot there. A concussion was highly likely. And the heavily bruises along her right cheek and jawline.
As his fingers curled along her wrists she tried to pull her hands away from him. His grip was firm and wouldn't allow her to slip through his fingers. "Irina, it's ok," he voice was low and smooth, he managed to bank his anger for now. He wiped the blood off her hands with his shirt. His thumb gently brushed across her lip, taking any traces of blood away.
Dimitri regarded the creature standing in front of him before he let his gaze try to move past him, but Koro Sensei moved to be in his way every single time. "Death huh and none of you will get in the way?" He questioned as he rocked back on his heels and let his gaze travel upward toward the kids who were up on the upper landing. "I'm going to take great pleasure in watching the light drain from her eyes, while you all watch." he gave a dark chuckle.
"Don't let him get in your head, you can do this." he said softly as he stepped back. She schooled her features doing her best to focus on what was in front of her before she walked the last four steps to the ring. It only consisted of the main open entrance, but it was large enough for what they would need. The students hadn't moved from where they were waiting above and below. As Karasuma stepped back to where several of the students resided, he crossed his arms over his chest, and schooled his own features. He could still hear her screams in his head, something he wouldn't forget anytime soon.
"I'll make sure you don't go out of bounds. But yes we won't interfere." Koro-sensei told him as he tossed a knife in the middle of the floor where it embedded itself blade first into the marble. Irina noticed it was a knife that would easily fit into even her hand. The blade was long enough and it was similar in how his anti-me knives were made and the length matched too. The knife was even in the middle between them both. She watched Dimitri waiting to see if he would give anything away. He'd had her at a disadvantage now and their every interaction since. This was her only chance to put her demons to rest...all she had to do was out maneuver him, out play him. She had back up plans for her jobs, all she needed to do was do the same thing for this.
Toka was at the top of the stairs, her fingers curled tightly around the banister. Her eyes took in the injuries from even this distance. Easily able to see them, even in the dark. As one of her classmates hit the lights, she covered her eyes, before allowing them to adjust to the new brightness level.
"I think that's fair, everyone can see now," Koro Sensei said with a wide grin, his gaze traveling to Irina and then again to Dimitri. Studying them both from where they stood. He'd have seen this fight going in Irina's favor, but with all her injuries he couldn't say for certain...he hoped she won, but this was a tall order, one he wasn't sure of.
A few of the students gave strangled noises of surprise, so not all were aware of the true beating she had taken. The fact she was able to walk at all was a testament in itself to her own strength.
"On my mark, 3...2...1 Begin!"
They both rushed forward, but there was no denying the speed difference, the way her leg hindered her progress. Neither went for the knife instead they went after the other. His kick aimed at her right side was a copy of what she'd done to him at the park. She had to block the move with both arms at slightly different angles. Keeping her feet as she allowed his momentum to be used as a sort of springboard. Her left leg took the impact of her landing as she hopped back once more to ensure she kept her footing and left her injured leg for a last resort.
"Does the Lovely Black Widow have a limp?" he wondered condescendingly. "How will you complete your missions now, unable to seduce your targets. Will you be another black mark against our father?" His wild eyes settled on Lovro who had been silent as the exchanges continued. "Do you remember how you screamed when I broke it?" he questioned loudly, ensuring his voice carried to all the room, as he went after her.
Irina arched up on her good foot and tried to ignore the memory that flickered in the back of her mind, the flash of emotion on her face was a telling sign in itself. That moment of distraction was what he was looking for as he swung his left fist toward her head. She raised her arm to block him, but it forced her to place her weight on her injured leg to keep herself up right. She stumbled back a step as her leg almost buckled at the added weight. His leg hooked behind her injured one and tripped her as his left arm curled around her left wrist forcing her to not have a way to catch herself as they both slammed into the ground, he used his superior weight to apply pressure against her injuries. He leaned over her, his knee digging into tender pressure points just above her kneecap. She breathed through her nose to keep from crying out. His lips close to her ear as he spoke in a tone only she would be able to hear. "After today, who could love you now?" he questioned with a low chuckle.
Her teeth sank into his ear and pulled away from him, the flesh tearing as she didn't let him go. His screams probably the most satisfying sound she would hear. As he reared back, she grinned as blood ran down her chin and she spit out the piece of his ear. Doing her best not to think too much about it or she was likely to vomit. She rammed her forehead into his nose by using her arms to spring her upper body forward. As he toppled off her, she began the process of trying to get to her feet. Coughing up blood with enough force her eyes were watering from both her headache after hitting him and the obvious. Her right leg wouldn't quite hold her weight, wouldn't bend enough this time to allow her to get foot under her. As he yelled out obsentitines at her. She didn't glance at him, aware she had a few seconds. Get up, c'mon!
"You fucking bitch!" He ragged blood running down his face from his broken nose and from his ear seeping into the collar of his shirt. "I'm going to fuck you up!"
And then admitted out loud what she wanted to deny, what he did. The blood drained from her face and she refused to acknowledge what he said. She swayed on her feet as she was finally able to rise to her feet. Her gaze darted for the knife as she saw it several yards from where she was.
The collective sound from the kids was enough for her to realize that they were drawing conclusions, opinions. He was elusive enough, but as her gaze sought out Karasuma's red eyes, she realized he knew. She wiped at the blood on her mouth and refused to let her attention waver again, as her adrenaline continued to dampen her pain enough she could still move. She pushed across the marble floor heading for the knife. Irina knew Dimitri was heading for it too, she could see him. His strides were longer than her own. She couldn't keep pace with him.
As his fingers curled around the knife, he raised his eyes momentarily distracted as he went to gloat, her nails got into the tender flesh under his eyes again as her left knee smashed into his nose. He jerked back the knife slicing into her side. As they both fell, her momentum drove them both to the floor. As her injured leg smashed into the ground at their landing she let out a pained cry. Her free hand pulled at his pinky that held the knife as her left leg pinned into his wrist.
Dimitri gave a savage sound even as he was forced to jerk his head further away from her fingers that we're pressing his eyes out. His right hand swung out toward her, ramming into her broken ribs. She spit blood as she gave gasping wheeze and tried to get in oxygen on her next breath in. She knew her time was running short. Her left hand didn't let up as she forced his fingers to retract from the knife.
He struck her again in the side with his right fist as her fingers curled and pulled the knife from his grasp. She held off the coughing fit that came with his last strike. Her fingers withdrew from his eyes and drove the knife down into his chest. She thought of the little boy he'd been, not who he'd become now. Her eyes watched as the light faded from his eyes. Her body pitching forward as her vision darkened and her lungs couldn't get enough oxygen. Warmth seeped into her shoulder as Karasuma's jacket draped over her shoulders. She blacked out soon after that. The feeling of being lifted gently was the last thing she remembered.
Everyone was stunned in silence for a moment as Koro Sensei was gone only a few moments after the knife pierced Dimitri's chest and Irina collapsed. Appearing next to her, his wide eyes shooting to Karasuma was in the middle of the ring, his fingers touching her cheek for just a moment as he placed his jacket over her still form. He checked for a pulse and checked to see if she was still breathing.
"We can't do anything for her here," he told him as Koro Sensei lifted her gently In his arms and was gone, having taken Irina to the hospital no doubt her injuries were life-threatening.
Karasuma for a moment wasn't sure what to say as he surveyed the room. "We'll talk more outside," he told them as he pulled out his phone and began a quick call to his supervisor. The Ministry of Defense would handle the cleanup. He traded a few words with Lovro, who had crouched beside the man who had at one point been close to him like a son. He let the man grieve in private.
Koro-sensei had returned as the students stood amongst themselves in the moonlight whispering in low voices before they noticed him. He gave them what little information he could. Irina was rushed back to surgery at the local hospital, which was as far as he knew. He did also point out that he listed Karasuma as her fiance, something about this way it allowed them to get medical updates.
As he checked over his students. Many expressed an interest in wanting to wait at the hospital. He glanced at the night sky and debated before he shrugged as together they made their way there. Pilling into the van the Ministry of Defense had provided for them.
Karasuma drove them with Koro-sensei in the passenger seat, as he once again relayed in a quiet voice the situation she was in on the flight over. He explained how she hadn't been breathing, but there had been too much blood for him to do anything. He explained that the doctors immediately began to work on her as he passed her onto the gurney. He wasn't allowed back to see her after that, but he'd heard them mentioning trying to stabilize her before surgery.
His fingers were white on the steering wheel as he drove. He could overhear the students in the back talking quietly amongst themselves.
"Do you think she'll be ok?"
"She has to be."
"She should be all good, you saw her take him down right?"
"I'll admit I wasn't expecting that. You saw her...i'm glad she won, but was the cost of her pride really worth it?"
"Children, sometimes it's about atoning for past mistakes. It may not make sense to us, but to Miss Irina it was enough to put her life on the line. That should be reason enough to be proud of her. Don't you think?" Koro Sensei questioned as he twisted in his seat to look back at them.
"I'm sure she's in the best care, " he added after a moment,, but no one missed how he didn't say that she would be alright.
"I'm sure she will appreciate that you kids were here. You all did very well tonight. I know I may not have seemed thrilled at first, but I appreciate you being here, " Karasuma spoke up from the driver's seat as he stopped at the red light that was taking forever to change. His finger tapping against the wheel.
"She protected us, in ways we didn't pick up on. No one noticed the weight she carried, I feel like it was something we should have noticed. Like we failed to pay attention." Nagisa spoke up his fingers curled tightly in his lap. He like a few others had been going back to the last couple weeks, conversations had and small signs missed.
"If we had noticed would today have happened, would she be righting her life right now?" His question hung in silence. No one had an immediate answer for him.
"You aren't the only ones who choose to ignore what was in front of you. Brushing it off as her usual antics. She put up a front to handle this on her own. These choices are ones she has to live with, she has no one to blame but herself." Karasuma answered after a moment. He may have been kicking his past self for not pressing when he noticed the little things. He assumed she'd ask for help, would eventually open up. It was clearly a mistake. She was so used to working alone that it wasn't really surprising that she wasn't used to asking for help.
"Are you kidding me right now! Just because she made her choice to keep this to herself doesn't mean she deserves what happened to her! He was a psycho!" Toka exclaimed from where she sat her eyes glaring at Karasuma as he drove, her hands fisted in her lap.
"That's a little harsh even for you Mr. Karasuma. Don't you think?" Questioned Kayeno from where she sat with the others.
"If the roles were reversed you would have asked for help from us?" questioned Karma as he leaned back in his seat, his tone condescending. "Given all the shit we give her, can you blame her?" he let that question hang there because it wasn't just a black mark on them. "We're just kids. This was some adult shit we probably shouldn't have been involved in anyway. Not that I'm complaining, but realistically it's something normal society would frown upon."
"Now, now, children. I don't believe that's quite how Mr. Karasuma meant to come across. I think we've all had a long few hours...lets just see what we can find out from the hospital about Miss Irina." Their teacher cut in stopping any more arguments before they could continue. He was sure everyone was just still overwhelmed from what had happened so far.
The rest of the drive was done in silence and a few shared glances, but everyone was quiet as they entered the Emergency Room and settled into the waiting room chairs as Mr Karasuma went to speak with the nurse at the check in counter.
Nagisa regarded the way Karasuma stood at the nurses station. Shoulders tense and elbows on the desk as he leaned closer to the girl at the counter, keeping his voice low. He wasn't as put together as he wanted everyone to believe. He turned to Karma as touched his shoulder and the two of them moved away as though they were going to find the restroom and as they turned one of the corners Karma stopped him by leaning against the wall for a moment and Nagisa mimicked him, but put his hands I'm his pockets.
The class had changed out of their Ministry of Defense uniforms and instead we're wearing their street clothes before they got there. "So what's up?" The blue haired boy asked as he watched Karma place a finger to his lips and motion behind him with his thumb. With a soft sound the boy covered his mouth with both hands. It was from this location that they could hear what Karasuma was being told by the nurses at the desk.
"I'm sorry, but we don't know how long she will be in surgery, it will likely be several hours. Her injuries were grave when she came in, " she glanced at his clothes and his hands before her attention went back to his face, studying him. "I'm aware, my colleague brought her in. She works for the Ministry of Defense. I'm asking for her medical file. If you can't give it to me, then get me your supervisor." He didn't raise his voice, but his tone had lowered and anger was creeping into the force of his voice.
Frowning, the young woman narrowed her eyes at him, clearly not liking his attitude. "I'll see what I can do. For now I suggest you have a seat. I will bring it over to you Mr…" she paused waiting for him to get with the program. "Karasuma, " he told her his hand fisted on the desk, as his response came automatically. "Will she make it?" the question was a whisper, almost as though he hadn't meant to say it out loud. He jerked his hand away as the nurse laid her hand on his own. She didn't take it personally. "No one can be sure, but she's in God's hands now. There is a chapel if you want to use it, " came her soft words.
He reached his hand up to wipe at his eye, surprised to find it wet. As she gave him the directions he wasn't sure he'd wanted until she'd mentioned it. His mind flashing back to the night on the bridge, where he'd mentioned she should work for the Ministry, work with him and told her she should live with him. Karasuma entered into the small chapel; it was a quiet space with only two pews in each of the two rows that were angled toward an altar in the front of the room that held a stained glass depiction of a man in a robe standing before the sick and injured. The lights in the room were low and the room lit by candles. He bowed his head overwhelmed with his own emotions and the fear that she may not survive the night.
If there was a God, the one she believed in…
He found himself on his knees.
Hands fisted before him.
As he, like so many before him, begged to a man for the survival of their loved ones.
Praying for her to survive so he could do what he hadn't been able to do these last few weeks, so he could tell her what he hadn't had the chance to say to her earlier. He had been too caught up in checking on her, he hadn't wanted to distract her. He couldn't be too late. He needed a chance, just one more opportunity to tell her the truth.
To tell her how much he loved her.
A/N: So my fellow readers… *Peeks out* What do you think? Some of the characters may be a tad OC so my apologies and ill work to do better about it. Let me know what you think! And I hope you enjoyed it.
Fight scenes aren't my forte, but I'm hoping to get better at them. I hope this one made sense.
Remember to like and review, if you would like it helps me know I'm going in the right direction. Thanks for reading!
~AJ Aviary
