Name the— Swoosh! Swoosh! Broing! Broing!
Mimura gazed up from his work cautiously, "He started doing that a little while ago, but what is it?"
Touka shrugged, spinning her pencil between her fingers. "Who knows…"
Deep breath in, deep breath out. She could do this. It was only a little noise. Name the period in— Swoosh! Swoosh! Broing! Broing!
More murmuring, "…He's doing wall punches, isn't he?"
"Ah… Karma made fun of him recently, so he's irritated."
"Tentacles are soft, so he's not doing any damage to the walls."
Calmness. Think of soothing stuff. Smooth-flowing river. Quiet countryside. Calm. In which the—
Swoosh! Broing!
Izumi's pencil lead snapped, gritting her teeth so hard that her jaw hurt. "WILL YOU PLEASE STOP THAT?!" she finally snapped out loud, in spite of the quiet atmosphere of the class. "Take your freaking wall punches outside or someplace else!"
"All of that Broing Broing-ing is annoying, Korosensei!" Hinata added, similarly as furious. "We're taking a quiz, you know!"
Korosensei whirled around, horrified at being called out. "M-My apologies!"
Everyone had paused in the middle of writing, mainly to stare in bewilderment at Izumi whom they had never witnessed losing her cool before. She appeared to be ignoring their stares, scribbling away in an almost-ferocious manner.
To be honest, Korosensei wasn't the only reason Izumi was feeling more irritated than usual. The other reason came from the empty desk on her right. Well, no longer empty ever since Akabane Karma showed up.
Izumi had always assumed that useless people got on her nerves the most but alas, she had been proven wrong. As of now, that title was held by Karma. Or maybe he was a useless person to begin with. Either way, she wasn't planning on finding out for herself anytime soon.
"Yo, Karma," Terasaka taunted from two seats over, his voice only slightly above a whisper, "don't come crying to us when you get that monster mad."
"It would've been better if you stayed secluded at home again," Muramatsu chimed in with a grin in a sing-song voice.
Karma didn't look the least bothered by their taunts, instead looking slightly exasperated. "If you were about to be killed, of course you would be angry," he commented slowly as if explaining to a child. "Terasaka, it's different than when a certain someone failed and wet himself."
Izumi briefly wondered how did he know about the failed assassination with Nagisa as the bait. He definitely wasn't here, as far as she could recall. From the looks of it, he didn't seem to have any friends too, and frankly she would be surprised if he did. Just how did he find out about that? And then she realized, she honestly couldn't care. Back to the quiz, then.
"Wh—I didn't piss myself!" Terasaka yelled, very much flustered. He pounded his fist on his desk, making the poorly-made furniture shake violently. "Bastard, you looking for a fight?!"
Karma simply leaned back a little as a ruler sailed through the air and hit Terasaka square in the forehead. The burly student flinched, "Ow—Hey!" He glared angrily at the redhead.
Shrugging carelessly, Karma hooked his thumb at the real perpetrator. "Will you please shut your damn mouth already?" Izumi hissed irritably, her normally morose eyes aflame with anger. "Unlike you, some people actually like to think before doing something."
Terasaka clenched his fists tightly, sneering at the two students. "Why, you—"
"Hey, you over there!" Korosensei exclaimed, his face purple. "Don't make a ruckus during the test!"
Tell that to your own tentacles, the entire class echoed that thought.
Karma who did not look particularly apologetic promptly apologized, "Sorry, Korosensei. You see, I already finished, so I'll just eat gelato and be quiet."
Korosensei clicked his tongue. "You can't do something like that during class. Honestly, where did you buy tha…" There was a short pause before his vision zeroed in on the wafer cone topped with a swirl of pink cream. "THA! THAT'S THE ONE I WENT TO ITALY TO BOUGHT YESTERDAY!"
SO IT'S YOURS! The entire class had been wondering how on earth did Karma reappear in the classroom with the frozen treat in hand, grinning widely like a Cheshire cat. Well, mystery solved at least.
"Ah, sooory. I found it refrigerating in the faculty room."
Izumi suppressed a sigh. She did not even intend to know what that boy was doing in the faculty room to begin with. Resting her head on her palm, she checked through her answers for mistakes. She picked up her eraser and rubbed out a small typo as the argument continued.
"THIS CANNOT BE SETTLED WITH AN APOLOGY!" Korosensei insisted angrily. "AND AFTER I WENT THROUGH SO MUCH TROUBLE, FLYING THROUGH THE COLD STRATOSPHERE SO IT WOULDN'T MELT!"
"Heeeh…" Karma stuck out his tongue—in a particularly obnoxious and childish manner, Izumi noted. "So, what will you do? Hit me?"
Her pencil hovered in place over the paper. It finally struck her. The taunts, the not-so-stellar student attitude, the numerous thefts directed only towards the octopus. How had she not realized it sooner? That sly son of a bitch, Izumi thought with begrudging admiration. It was a perfect way.
But would it work against that octopus? After all, Korosensei was now almost infamous for foiling plots.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT. I'LL JUST EAT WHAT'S LEFT."
Izumi facepalmed, shaking her head. Apparently it just might, given that Korosensei appeared to be more than ready to take candy from a baby. Literally, because Karma's childishness reminded her of a mischievous toddler at times. Korosensei stormed over to the back of the class, determinedly like a man (octopus?) with a mission.
Izumi wondered for the hundredth time; Why did she have to go through this? She shifted her leg, the slight movement more than enough to send her rickety desk wobbling as if it was the middle of an earthquake. Cursing her luck as her eraser rolled off the table, she bent down to retrieve it.
It was also only then that she noticed the small green pellets strewn innocently across the floor. Glancing around, she found the bullets to be scattered only around a small radius of Karma's desk. Unfortunately, her territory was accounted into that radius as well.
She hitched an eyebrow. This guy definitely had brains and skills, she would give him that. Even she had not noticed him scattering the bullets across the floor. Normally, she would've pointed that out, but this seemed to be in her favor rather than the opposite.
After all, if Karma actually managed to succeed this would put an end to this entire circus act. And hopefully, the lack of a target would send Karma away from school and leave her in peace once more. All of which sounded pretty nice to her. That being said, Izumi chose to feign ignorance of said condition and straightened, sitting upright.
Just in time, as some of Korosensei's tentacles turned into a gooey mush. He looked down, only now realizing the presence of the bullets. Izumi took out a book from her bag and held it up. This had happened so many times, she would be damned if she let it happen to her again.
"I fooled you again," Karma announced triumphantly. As everyone had expected, a hail of bullets were fired at Korosensei, who evaded them easily. Izumi sighed exasperatedly to herself as some bullets ricocheted off the book. She was innately thankful for her makeshift shield. Despite her best attempts, though, one or two bullets still managed to hit her on her arm.
Izumi cautiously peered over her book, seeing that Karma had ceased firing. There was a smirk on his face, which she wanted to slap off of him for always putting her in the way of his messes. "I'll use these sorts of tricks how many times it takes," he affirmed. "I don't care about interfering with class."
AT LEAST CARE ABOUT WHO YOU END UP HITTING, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! Izumi screamed internally with a disapproving frown. Just because she had the luck of sitting beside him, she had the luck of bearing the effects too.
"If you don't like it, then you should kill me as well as my parents," Karma finished. "But from that moment on," he added as he took a stride forward and pressed the gelato into Korosensei's robes, "No one will view you as a teacher anymore. You'll just be a murderous monster." His smirk only widened as he dropped the cone, "I will have killed… your existence as a sensei."
"Here, my test." The tentacles darted to catch the paper that Karma threw. "The answers are probably all correct," he added confidently. He strolled to the door and carved his lips into an innocent smile, "Bye, sensei! Let's play tomorrow too!"
The class was left in silence once again after the door slid shut. Undoubtedly, everyone was left on edge, the tension looming in the air. Korosensei merely produced a handkerchief and dabbed at the stain on his clothes. His constant smile didn't give anything away, leaving his current thoughts a mystery.
She slipped the book under her desk. Izumi wished Karma would just get it over with and stop toying with the target. All these unnecessary stunts he had been pulling off pissed her off more than anything. Just what was he trying to prove? That he was a rebellious punk who was a genius and was entitled to act as he wished?
Sighing, Izumi clicked on her pen, withdrawing the nib. Really, she was the one feeling exhausted from the constant antics rather than Karma or Korosensei themselves. It almost made her wish that she had never come to Class 3-E.
Her cellphone rang with an incoming call. Being well after school hours, Izumi who was in the middle of heading home reached into her pocket. The screen of the phone lit up brightly, the caller ID reading 'Shuu'. Izumi hitched an eyebrow, glancing at the name.
Slowing her steps, she ended up stopping by the station's entrance pillars. A janitor was busy mopping up a pool of liquid, shards from the broken glass bottle littering the ground. Wondering what event had taken place here, she swiped to accept the call and held it up to her ear. "What's up?"
"What's up?" the voice repeated her greeting with utter scorn. "Is that the first thing you have to say after not even hearing a single whisper from you for the past three months?"
"It's not like you don't know where I am," Izumi retorted a little more irritably than she usually would have. She pushed past one of the turnstiles at Kunugigaoka station. "Besides, I'm sure your dear father has definitely kept you fairly up-to-date with my current affairs, hmm?"
There was a pause, before a thoughtful hum emanated from the other end. "Can't say you've got that part wrong."
"I think you mean both parts, Shuu. He is a control freak just like you."
"Well, isn't that rich coming from one of the most manipulative people I've ever known."
Izumi ignored the jibe as she walked onto the train platform. "Your call was a surprise. Frankly, I'd expected you to ignore my text completely, you know, since I'm below your level now and all."
The tone of the voice significantly dropped, turning frigid, "Don't get me wrong, Mi-chan. I'm not intending to associate myself with your people anytime soon. The only reason I even bothered to respond in the first place is because of our relationship."
Izumi sighed, glancing towards the train tracks. "My people? You say it like you don't understand me at all." Though, she would be lying if she said she hadn't expected that, with his elitist mindset and all. "And besides, there's always the more hassle-free option of replying my text."
"Admittedly enough, I was curious." What he was curious about, Shuu didn't specify, and Izumi didn't ask. "Besides, I'm stuck at school with activities to attend to, unlike you the lazy ass."
Humming in amusement, she commented, "Hmm, perhaps I was wrong. Maybe you do understand me."
A sharp click of the tongue. "Get to the point, Mi-chan. Are you going to tell me why you've suddenly started asking about Akabane?"
"Oh dear, am I not allowed to get to know my fellow classmate better, Shuu?" Izumi taunted.
"First of all, that's complete utter crap and you know it. You and I know very well that you don't give two shits about 'fellow classmates' even back then, Izumi. There's got to be another reason to this."
A voice echoed, announcing the arrival and destination of the train as it slowly came to a stop. "My, my. Isn't someone being a Sherlock wannabe?"
She heard the scraping of wood against the floor. Shuu had probably stood up from a chair. "If you were in my place, even you would be able to figure that out. You were never a dumb person to begin with."
"Touché." Izumi boarded the train and sank down into the nearest seat. "If you really do want to know, Akabane happens to be sitting next to me in class, and he's being an annoying little shit."
She could almost sense Shuu's eyebrows rising skeptically. "And that's why you're asking me for dirt on him? Didn't peg you as a stalker type, Takihara. Also, you do know that 'little shit' is at least 1.7 meters tall, right?"
Izumi scowled angrily. "That useless guy is not worth me wasting my time on. If I were to engage in stalking, I would choose a better target."
A mild chuckle of amusement could be heard. "Oh, this is gold. Takihara Izumi begging people for information. Who would have seen this coming?"
A small smile crossed her face. They hadn't bantered like this for quite a while. It was kind of nostalgic in a way. "Begging is such a strong word. I'd prefer the term 'asking for a favor'."
"A favor, hmm? What do I get in return then?" His voice surreptitiously dipped lower in a way that would make girls blush and swoon, "Because, I definitely have a few ideas on what I could do with you."
Unfortunately, Izumi was not one of those girls. She smirked, "Dream on, Shuu. You're trying to pull this off on your childhood friend who's seen you naked when you were seven?"
She could almost see him cringe. "I see your point. Ugh, the memory still haunts me to this day. Clearly, seven-year-old you wasn't aware of the concept of knocking."
The doors of the train slid shut, a slight jerk signaling that the train was beginning to move. "I'll get you some pizza or something as an apology and we'll call it even. Now, are you telling me or not?"
There was a pause before a heavy sigh followed. "Fine. But I get to pick the toppings this time."
"Are you saying I have bad taste in toppings?"
"No, I'm saying you have shit taste in toppings. Before you start to defend pineapples, hold that thought." Izumi heard a vague and slightly muffled word of thanks. She was a bit stunned by how fast it took him, but then again Shuu had always been a perfectionist for everything. "I just got my hands on his file. Jesus, what has this guy been doing? It's as thick as the Bible."
Why wasn't she surprised again? Oh right, because this was Akabane Karma they were talking about. Even so, all she said in reply was just, "Good to know, Shuu. Good to know."
Shuu made a disgruntled, 'Hmph,' sound in respond. "I hope you have pen and paper with you, because I'm not gonna repeat all this shit later even if you beg me."
"I think you'll have to wait a century for that to happen, Shuu." Takihara Izumi never begged. No matter how desperate she might get, she would never swallow her pride that easily.
A/N: Oh my god I'm so sorry for not updating for so long. I saw the reviews some of you left and forced myself to write because I felt guilty. School has been crazy with my exams timed barely 2 months away from each other T.T Not to mention I also signed up for some scripwriting thing for a musical, so I'm pretty busy with that too.
Enough about school. Since the school term is already coming to an end (okay, no more mentioning school, I swear), I will try my best to bring this to at least 10 chapters before 2017. Leave a review if you like ^^ Criticism is welcome, along with ideas if you guys have any!
