New Chapter - in which a classmate returns.

Returning Time

The next day, the students were still talking about Takebayashi. Killua did not know what to think about the fascination, almost obsession that they had for each of their classmates. Did they not know when it was time to let go? If Takebayashi wanted to leave, then let him.

When Killua voiced these thoughts, he was met with only anger.

"He made the wrong decision!" Megu said. The rest of class radiated silent agreement.

It was only until Korosensei came up behind them and put one tentacle on Megu's shoulder did the class calm down.

"Don't worry," he said. "It will be fine. Takebayashi-kun is strong." It seemed to satisfy the class somewhat. Killua thought it was almost eerie how all the members of Class E were emotionally attached to their target. How were they supposed to kill someone they liked?

Illumi had always been against emotional attachments of any sorts. They got in the way when it mattered, a small hesitation but enough to kill. There had always been something clinical about Illumi's method of assassination.

(I'm not Illumi.)

P.E, however, was surprisingly interesting. It seemed that the news of Killua's assassination techniques had travelled fast and now there were a few students looking at him as though the expected him to show them some amazing move.

Killua would have left them wondering but for one thing. He wanted to practice.

He had never stopped practicing ten, and ren every day but it had been a while since he had sparred with anyone. The sudden increase in exertion recently had left Killua's mind buzzing with excited energy. He needed somewhere to vent it off, or who knew what he would end up doing.

Karasuma noticed his tense stare and his stance became firmer, making it suddenly harder to find a fault.

Once it was Killua's go, Nagisa handed him a knife.

"You know the rules, right?" he asked.

"I just have to hit him once," Killua confirmed, taking the knife. Nagisa nodded.

Although Karasuma's stance had changed slightly, it wasn't by much. He was wary, but still confident and professional in his manner. Killua took one, slow step towards him, hands closed tightly around the soft knife. It was not his weapon of choice, and it felt oddly foreign in his hands; he could still use it though, using weapons of all types having been in his training.

Unmoving, Karasuma waited for Killua to make the first move. With one fluid movement, he kicked off of the ground, shooting towards Karasuma. Karasuma swerving to the side and the blade missed by inches.

Not even pausing, Killua turned for another strike.

This time the blow was deflected by strong push to the arm. Although it was the same move that Karasuma had been using on the students, it was still equally as effective. He was strong; maybe not as fast, but the years of training behind his precise actions were obvious.

They continued the exchange for a few more seconds, gradually gaining speed. Killua could feel the slight tension that hadn't been present before, when Karasuma had been fighting the students. He was deadly serious now.

(So he could have beaten all of them easily, even if he wasn't using nen.)

Even though he was prohibited from using flashy nen techniques, that didn't mean Killua wasn't using it. But even then, Karasuma could keep up effortlessly. He had an impressive amount of aura and decades of experience meant his ryu was far smoother, moving from limb to limb like water.

Another strike. This time Karasuma ducked out of the way.

There was a moments rest as they stopped moving, studying each other carefully.

"You've trained well," Karasuma commented. Killua did not answer. He was recalling something that had happened a long time ago, a plan forming in his face.

Tensing his muscles he jumped towards Karasuma. As the teacher once again, raised his arm to deflect the blow, Killua stopped.

The pause seemed to throw Karasuma off guard. Killua saw his face change. It must have only been a millisecond but Killua had taught himself to notice the expression so well it was impossible to miss.

It was a simple feint. Gon had used it in Heaven's Arena to land one blow on Hisoka. Back then, he had used the stone floor of the stage to his advantage too, but in this situation, there wasn't a huge power difference and Killua had the advantage of speed. He only needed one hit.

Killua ducked down. An instant later though, Karasuma was already reacting.

Too late.

The knife skimmed Karasuma's side, bending with the impact. Killua distinctively heard a collective gasp from the on looking class. Slowly, Karasuma stood up straight.

"I won," Killua said. His breathing had escalated more than he had thought.

"Good," he said. His face was emotionless. "Next."

"You're a sour loser."

The fight, of course, had been unfair for Karasuma. Unable to strike back whilst Killua only needed one hit to win. Killua wondered what would have happened if they fought it out one on one. It would be interesting, certainly.

Killua walked away. A few meters away, on a grassy ridge, he stopped. Turning back to the field he saw that Karasuma was battling the next pair. All the speed had gone from his moves and looking carefully, Killua could see he was using zetsu. A handicap for the students?

"That was brilliant!" a girl said from beside him. Killua glanced at her. What was her name? Kurahashi. The bright, bubbly ginger that was constantly positive, no matter what.

"Hmm," he said, before walking away. There was, however, a smile on his face.

Another huge smile adorned Korosensei's round face too; the octopus, presently watching the class from the edge of the field, was always smiling, though, so the expression didn't say much.

After the rest of the day ended rather uneventfully, a few members of the class came together and agreed to see Takebayashi for the second time. This time they would disguise themselves using the techniques they had learnt from Karasuma. They could use their skills to sneak into the school. Listening to their conversation was like listening to a group of kids playing spy games. Uninterested, Killua walked down the mountain.

As usual, Alluka was by the gate with her friends. Although he was happy to see her, Killua could not help but be conscious of the members of class E hidden behind the bushes, just visible in the corner of his eyes. He ignored it as well as possible and walked away.

"What is it," Alluka asked. Killua just shook his head.

The second assembly of the year commenced the day after that. Because Killua had missed the last one, this was the first assembly that he had ever attended. It was stiflingly organized; students stood in neat rows in the large hall, facing the stage at the front.

Killua, having been forced to wear something vaguely representing a school uniform (hastily brought by Alluka), was not in the best mood. In all honestly, he would rather have just skipped something as tedious as this, but Alluka had insisted and Killua couldn't say no to Alluka. The assembly notice had come to him in the morning by Korosensei, who had apparently wanted to avoid having to make his students walk all the way up the mountain and back.

Talking of Korosensei, for some reason, he was lying on the ceiling beams. The presence was incredibly distracting. He felt the itch on the back of his neck but didn't quite dare look up. He stood as still as possible.

Killua was aware of the confusion around him – the notice had been quite sudden and nobody knew quite what was going on.

Suddenly a very familiar face walked onto the stage. A flicker of surprise went through Killua as he saw the lanky boy – Takebayashi. It was nothing compared to the shock of his classmates. It radiated off of them in waves; along with trepidation.

The intent on Takebayashi's face was not something one could miss. He seemed like a different person to the boy he had been before – stronger, defiant, something burning in his eyes behind the thick lenses.

"Class E is made up of weak people," he started. Killua scoffed.

(You could hardly call them weak.)

Nobody seemed to hear him and Takebayashi continued.

"They are always looked down on by the people of the main school because of their low grades…" Takebayashi said.

"But you know what? It's almost as comfortable as a maid café."

The silence was pin-dropping.

"I was weak, so I lied. But even then, my classmates came to check on me again and again," Takebayashi continued. He sent a small grin to the Class E line at the end of the hall, whose wide eyes stared back. He returned his gaze to the main school students.

"I admire you lot. You have things to aspire to. But… I wish to stay for a little longer in Class E." From under his prompt sheet he got out an object – a glass plaque with neat golden writing on the front. A gasp of shock was heard from back stage. Leaning to the side, Killua saw the glimpse of a blond boy, staring at Takebayashi was horror written on his face.

Takebayashi slipped his hand into his jacked. When he pulled it out, there was a wooden sword grasped in his hand. Then, with one swift movement, he brought it down. The blond boy ran out, frozen horror written on his face. Too late.

The glass shattered at impact. It split into a hundred shards, spreading outwards before falling.

"I guess that means I will return to Class E," Takebayashi said, a smile on his face. He walked off the stage.

Killua couldn't help it. He felt a brief flare of respect, although he did not understand why. Around him, the same emotion (although amplified greatly) is reflected on the faces of his classmates.

For the long trek up the mountain, Killua could not help but notice that the atmosphere of the class had changed. It was lighter, less oppressive and Killua found himself wondering how he could have missed the distress that Takebayashi leaving had brought. A few of the class were talking with Takebayashi. The lanky boy blushed at the attention but actively contributed to the conversation. Others shot him the occasional smile.

Welcome back, the whole class seemed to be simultaneously saying.

It was not the first time Killua had felt oddly detached from the rest of the class. They were so close knit, it was like trying to find a hole to snuggle in a concrete bunker.

Korosensei was with them, his trademark grin adorning his face. He turned to Takebayashi.

"We'll be starting the lesson as soon as possible. I assume you've brought the right notes?" he asked.

Takebayashi nodded.

"Of course," he said.

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