Karma scowled down at the screen of his cell phone, absentmindedly scuffing the toes of his shoes against the concrete as he walked to school. His mother and stepfather's smiling faces beamed up at him, arms wrapped around each other as they stood before Niagara Falls.

Wish you were here! it said.

He scoffed aloud as he read his stepfather's text. Stuffing his phone in his pocket, he bent his head to glare at the sidewalk.

That's a lie.

His classmates buzzed around him, chatting lightheartedly as Karma tapped his fingers against the wooden desk, staring off into space as he contemplated what to do after school. I could get a manga at the convenience store, or I could buy a new game. Mine's almost finished. Maybe the arcade? No, I don't feel like being around loud noises. Should I go to a restaurant? No, I'd just be thinking about her. We used to go out as a family every year for this. . .

Karma tapped particularly hard against his desk. A few people glanced over at the sound, but they ultimately ignored him.

Should I call her? She hasn't called for a while, but it is her birthday today. Is she expecting me to? Does she want me to? She usually tries to hang up as soon as possible, so maybe she'd prefer if I didn't call. Then she wouldn't have to be reminded about her crazy, failure of a son.

Karma sat, unaware of the dark, brooding look slowly appearing on his face. He usually kept his emotions well in check during class, but his thoughts so enamored him that his control had slipped. Students gave him a wide berth, unwilling to break his reverie and possibly incur his wrath.

I think I'll just get into a fight after class. It's probably been long enough since my head injury. Even if it's not, who cares? Maybe the adrenaline and pain will keep her completely out of my mind. Anything is better than remembering the past. I just won't take as many hits to the face. I can be careful, right? If I'm fighting, I won't have to be alone in that big house, remembering past birthdays and wishing for things to be like that again.

"Sonic Ninja?" came a voice, interrupting Karma's ruminations. "Oooh, it's that superhero flick! Tell us what you thought about it tomorrow."

Karma looked up, the brooding expression falling from his face, replaced by keen interest. Sonic Ninja? That could be fun. A movie might be okay, especially if I can study Korosensei, too. This way I can avoid my house, and I won't get another headache. Yeah, this might work. I'll just ask him to take me with him after school.

Didn't Nagisa mention he likes Sonic Ninja?

Karma glanced over at Nagisa and inwardly grinned at the expression on the other's face. Nagisa was also staring at Korosensei, and he also looked incredibly attentive.

Maybe he'll come, too. That could be fun.

Karma resumed his tapping, but with a much lighter conscience than before, even with the dark thoughts tugging at the back of his mind.

Karma approached Korosensei side by side with Nagisa, his face a mask of nonchalance, but inwardly thrumming with anticipation and desire. Please take us with you. Please, Korosensei. I can't stomach sitting in that empty house, not today.

"Korosensei, please," Nagisa said earnestly, unknowing echoing Karma's thoughts. "Take us with you, too. We want to see that movie."

"Oh?" Korosensei asked. "You like that sort of thing?"

"I love it!" Nagisa beamed. "I've been waiting forever for the sequel to come out!"

Korosensei turned his inquiring gaze to Karma. "You liking superhero movies is rather unexpected, Karma."

Trust me, I know, Karma thought wryly. Surprisingly enough, watching superhero movies was the one thing he could remember doing with his father that was purely for entertainment purposes. Asano Sr. was a busy man, but occasionally he'd pop in an old classic. Gakushuu and Karma would nestle into his sides and watch, enraptured, as a hero inevitably defeated the villain and saved the day. Karma's mother wasn't nearly as interested in them as the boys, but Karma could remember her watching them sometimes, too. Of course, watching movies as a family was a rare occurrence, and Karma could only recall a handful of times it didn't end in his parents shouting at each other. Still, he could sometimes remember how it felt to be wrapped securely in his father's arm, warm and happy, and how the arm would tighten around him when a scene in the movie scared him. It was, perhaps, the only time in his life Karma knew for sure that his father loved him.

That was a long time ago, though.

After their father had introduced them to superheroes, Karma and Gakushuu would tear through comic after comic together. They loved acting out the fighting scenes, though Karma usually found himself stuck with the villain role. Gakushuu said it suited his melodramatic tendencies. Karma said Gakushuu's mask wouldn't fit his big head. The slew of insults that would follow generally devolved into fighting for real, which was quickly broken up by their mother. The two would glare and avoid each other for approximately an hour until one of them (usually Gakushuu; Karma could hold a grudge longer.) pulled the other into a different game. Unfortunately for their mother, the cycle repeated itself frequently.

Karma discovered the Sonic Ninja comics after he and Gakushuu were separated. He usually disliked cliche plots, but some of the lines amused him, plus the comics helped him improve his English. It wasn't as fun reading them by himself, but Karma made do. They reminded him of happier times, so Karma had remained a loyal fan for years. Not that I'd ever tell anyone that, Karma thought to himself. I have a reputation to uphold.

Karma scratched at his head sheepishly, feeding Korosensei one of his many excuses. "I like the director. It's unusual for him to work on a film based on American comics."

A voice piped up from Nagisa's trouser pocket, "I would like to go as well, Nagisa."

Karma watched as a quick flash of bewilderment flew across Nagisa's face, but it soon disappeared once he retrieved his phone from his pocket and saw who was smiling at him on the screen. "Ritsu . . ." he trailed off, confusion replaced by exasperation. "Why are you in my phone?"

"This is to facilitate sharing information with everyone," Ritsu explained, grinning brightly. "I have downloaded my terminal into everyone's phones. Please call me 'Mobile Ritsu'."

Karma hadn't quite formulated an opinion on Ritsu yet. One one hand, she was a genius AI with access to all sorts of information. On the other, she acted like every other giggly, naive schoolgirl, which annoyed Karma greatly. Thus, Karma had summed her up as useful, yet annoying. Despite the fact that she was a program, rather than an actual girl, she still managed to remind Karma of all the girls from the main campus. Karma barely tolerated Kayano and Nakamura, and they weren't half as bubbly as Ritsu. Still, she had her uses, so Karma generally tried to act amiable, even if the giggling got on his nerves.

"I would like to experience Korosensei's mach-speed takeoff once more," Ritsu added. "The camera image might become assassination reference material."

"Very well," Korosensei said. Karma felt a trickle of uncertainty invade his previous excitement as a devious look crept across Korosensei's still smiling face. "I will let you all experience the movie, as well as my speed."

The trickle became a full blown torrent when, a few moments later, Karma found himself tucked securely inside Korosensei's gigantic robe. What have I gotten myself into now? Karma asked himself, torn between thrill and hysterics. I definitely did not think this through. This might actually be a worse idea than jumping off a cliff.

"Karma," Nagisa said, his voice betraying his own anxiety, "I didn't put much thought into it when I asked, but aren't we kinda doing something unbelievable?"

Karma fought to keep his voice steady and mask unaffected. "Guess so," he replied. "We didn't think as far as our own safety." Not like I ever do, he inwardly mused.

"Don't worry," Korosensei reassured them. "I'll accelerate slowly to prevent it from taxing your bodies."

Karma only had a moment to ponder what Korosensei defined as slowly before he received his answer. The three - well, four if you count Ritsu - launched from the ground at a speed Karma could only describe as really freaking fast. The sudden burst of speed momentarily disoriented him, and he struggled to keep his senses about him, even when the situation - the incredibly freaking awesome situation that Karma could barely believe was actually happening - threatened to overwhelm him. Eventually, he managed to orient himself and fully appreciate his surroundings.

Karma watched as stretches of land and trees passed beneath them as they soared through the sky. The wind whipped across his face, blowing his hair into disarray, thought it felt far gentler than he'd expected. He thought his heart might beat out of his chest, which would be unfortunate considering the incredible view he was subject to. Beside him, Nagisa was in a similar state, struggling to decide between overwhelming fear and overwhelming awe.

"S-SO FAST!" Nagisa screamed.

Karma laughed maniacally, choosing to focus on his awe rather than terror. "Awesome. I can already see the Pacific Ocean!"

He could hear Nagisa's ragged breathing, which struck Karma as odd, considering the speed they were traveling at. Did Korosensei do something? he wondered. He glanced up towards the octopus, but Nagisa answered his unvoiced question before he could discern it himself.

"Huh?" Nagisa questioned. "I don't really feel or hear the wind, Korosensei. Your head is repelling almost all of it."

Ah, so that's what's happening. I guess that big noggin is good for something.

Korosensei beamed down at them. "That's a good eye you have, Nagisa. The secret lies in sensei's skin," he said, pointing to his head to illustrate. "My head is usually soft, but it solidifies under high pressure. As such, I won't even succumb to mach-speed wind pressure." Korosensei began pulling different materials from the depths of his robe. "Flying at supersonic speeds involves advanced laws of physics that you don't know yet. But there is something much more familiar to you that works off a principle similar to sensei's skin. Let's have a little lesson on that 'Dilatancy Phenomenon'. First," Korosensei said, mixing materials as he spoke, "We'll mix potato starch with water . . ."

"He's started teaching us in mid-flight!" Nagisa exclaimed incredulously.

Well, Karma thought to himself, baffled but amused, I'm up for anything that raises my exam scores. Let's see how he manages teaching at supersonic speed.

"Aren't you going to assassinate him, Karma?" Ritsu asked. "Right now, when you are in such close contact, would appear to be your chance to do so."

Karma's shoulders tensed as shock jolted through him. Despite his thoughts earlier, assassination hadn't crossed his mind once since he approached Korosensei. Between the anticipation for the movie and his inner battle to conceal his terror, he'd completely forgotten that Korosensei was a target, not a friend or advisor. I have to kill him, Karma reminded himself harshly. Don't get soft now. It doesn't matter how nice or friendly or helpful he is. He needs to die, and I'm going to kill him. I can't forget my goal.

"Don't talk nonsense, Ritsu. Even if I were able to kill him now, we'd still drop into the Pacific Ocean at mach speed," he said, choosing to go with infallible logic, rather than admit his shortcoming. "We are completely at his mercy. All we can do is sit back and listen to his lesson."

For some reason, it didn't even bother him.

I have a feeling that the more we know about sensei, the more the meaning of his existence will fade from our minds.

Karma hummed quietly to himself, pondering the words on his walk home. He and Nagisa had separated only a few moments ago, and Karma found himself lost in his own thoughts without the other boy's lighthearted chatter to distract him. The accuracy of the words to himself personally made him uncomfortable, like Nagisa had peered into his mind and noticed his earlier slip-up. After all, hadn't Karma thought the exact same? Every day Korosensei greeted the class with a smile; every time he pushed Karma academically; every time he went above and beyond the call of an average teacher, Karma felt his walls lower and defenses weaken.

This isn't about hating him anymore. It's not about proving him to be a liar, or showing everyone he's a fake, because he's not. He really is a teacher. And not a selfish teacher, like Ono-Sensei, but a teacher who cares about his students and truly wants us to succeed. In fact, he's probably shown more interest in me this year than my own parents. How crazy is that? A super creature who claims he's going to destroy the world if we don't kill him knows more about me than my own mother.

Karma's amusement was short-lived. In the end, though, that doesn't matter. He still has to die, and I'm going to be the one to kill him. It's my last shot to prove myself to okaa-san and otou-san. I doubt I'd ever accomplish anything greater than saving the world from complete annihilation. Even okaa-san can't ignore that.

Thoughts of his mother reminded Karma of that day's significance. His shoulders tensed without his noticing, and his feet stuttered to a halt on their journey home. The hand in his pocket clenched around his cellphone, thumb tracing over the screen as he debated with himself.

Does she even want me to? It's not like she's been desperate to hear the sound of my voice lately. Although, she did talk to me on my birthday.

Karma snorted. For about two minutes.

He didn't realize he'd retrieved his phone until he found himself staring at its screen, finger hovering over his mother's contact. Sharp canines dug painfully into his bottom lip, threatening to draw blood. His knuckles had turned white from clutching the phone so tightly, though he didn't notice that either.

Do you really want to be disappointed again? the voice asked him. It didn't even sound malicious, just weary and somewhat curious.

Karma stuffed the phone back into his pocket, continuing his walk home.

No, I don't.