Chapter Fifty-One
Just how did he come to be in this situation again?
He stared at Kayano who was eyeing him also, eyes wide with astonishment. Right. She didn't see how he jumped for Karma's safety back in the first semester, nor saw him pull his trigger formlessly back in the Kurogane den. This was one of the reasons why she failed for him to call her 'Kaede'. Because she never sympathized with Tsuna enough.
Awhile ago, the class participated in the Drama Festival the Student Council arranged since a week ago. Since Mimura was said to be the director while Hazama was put on the script making, Kayano got entrusted with the props. As always, Kimura and Hara pulled in Tsuna who knew how to sew since he worked for some seamstress back then. With Sugino and Kanzaki as their main roles and Koro-sensei was said to be the peach, they were able to make a successful play with a dark theme (courtesy of their very own Hazama) during the school's lunch time.
(Not that Gakusho was any sorry for giving them that time. The blond even teased him about it.)
(The blond earned himself a kick on the shin. And it was very satisfying for Tsuna.)
At the same time of the preparations for their little gimmick, Tsuna has been experiencing intense headaches due to his intuition. For some reason, it kept warning him of Kayano and this distinct feeling of being monitored by an old enemy. It didn't comfort him any bit with the thought that they were targeting his teacher. Nor the fact that he was in his situation at the moment because of paranoia over Koro-sensei's safety.
After they got back from the main building, Tsuna gathered the costumes they used while Kayano arranged the other props. He brought them in the storage room they use and arranged them there properly. He left the girl after a small word of 'later', still enduring his intense headache that eases up when he's away from the girl. He was already in the classroom when Ryouma gave him the bat he used and the brass knuckles Takuya used as props. Of course, he needed to put them back to the storage room. The second he got there was the same time Kayano attacked Koro-sensei, and made him fall in a pit. And like any other day, his body moved on its own and tried to catch the man from his doom.
And at the moment, Tsuna is also falling—just between the two—causing hesitation on Kayano's side to attack Koro-sensei.
"Tsuna-kun-"
He whipped out his gun from his pocket and aimed it to Kayano. "Pool of anti-sensei pellets at six o'clock."
"Uwaah!" The teacher shrieked.
"I have you." Daemon said from Tsuna's chest.
While Daemon started to construct what he wanted to do, Tsuna fired his gun on Kayano's two tentacle. He relished the pained expression of the girl, before the latter started to attack them relentlessly. This caused Tsuna to whip another gun and shoot at her with two guns. She's a little faster than Koro-sensei, but not enough for Tsuna's intuition. Every try of leeway was blocked. Two of Koro-sensei's tentacles even helped him deflect her attacks for him to hit them cleanly. The brunet loved how her tentacles explode.
He didn't dare look back when he felt himself being caged by two tentacles as they bounced on something. He turned away and hugged his teacher's middle when he saw the small energy beam. He closed his eyes as Koro-sensei blasted off their left wall and hugged Tsuna to his chest to dig his way out.
"Are you okay?" They chorused to each other after resurfacing.
"Tsuna-kun, that was dangerous." Koro-sensei admonished, sweating and panting.
"Not as dangerous for you, Sensei. Do you know how much headache this got me for the past week?" He huffed back, inspecting the tentacles. "Are you fine?"
"I am." The teacher sighed in relief. "Thank you."
Both of them turned to the shed when they heard something broke. Tsuna immediately aimed one of his guns to Kayano who stood by the roof, staring down at them.
"You destroyed the wall with your beam and escaped that way?" Kayano queried and gave a small amused smirk before returning to an emotionless expression. "Clever. I'd just instinctively put up a guard, but then again, you'd never kill your own students. Especially with Tsuna-kun between us."
"Koro-sensei!"
"Aw. I gave it all I had too." Kayano pouted in dismay, playing with one of her tentacles. "I must be getting soft if it's so easy for you to escape."
Tsuna put his other arm to his side and slowly made Koro-sensei back away from Kayano as the class came close.
"Eh-"
"Ka-"
"Kayano...? Why do you have tentacles?" Kanzaki's soft voice uttered in complete surprise, representing the whole class who were also shocked at the greenette's tentacles.
"Kayano." Koro-sensei called firmly. "What on Earth has happened to you?"
"Sorry, Kayano Kaede isn't my real name." She corrected and glared at the man with hatred. "I'm the younger sister of Yukimura Aguri. Get it yet, murderer?"
"Don't call him that." Tsuna bites back, getting angry at the accusation.
Kayano's green eyes turned to him, and the lady smiled sarcastically. "You don't know half of what he had done, Tsuna-kun."
"Oh yeah? Like what? Killing your sister? Are you even sure he killed her?" He parried back.
Kayano's expression went to angry then to calm. "Don't provoke me."
His tensed shoulders relaxed a bit when he felt Koro-sensei's tentacles on them. "Calm down, Tsuna-kun."
Kayano let out a breath. "Sucks that my plan failed. I'll have to make a new one. I'll come to kill you tomorrow, Koro-sensei." She waved her phone in the air. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to tell you when and where. Although we didn't grapple one-on-one because of Tsuna-kun, I still feel more confident. As I am now, I can kill you easily." She declared with a smirk before she made one of her tentacles reach out to a tree and jumped off away.
"Kayano... What the hell's going on?" Okajima voiced out rhetorically, sounding confused. "How long have you had those tentacles?"
"This is unbelievable." They all turned to Itona who said those. "If she's constantly been growing those tentacles without taking care of them, she should be experiencing excruciating pain. Tentacles make you feel like a million bugs are eating your brain all at once. It's practically impossible to put up with it without showing it on your face."
"Also..." Kimura trailed off. "She's Yukimura's sister? She used to be Class E's teacher."
Tsuna brought down his arm with a gun as the class fell silent.
"You know," Mimura said from the back, earning their attentions. "I kinda felt like I'd seen Kayano before." He continued while scrolling on his phone.
"Hm." Isogai hummed, deep in thoughts. "But she doesn't really look like Miss Yukimura."
"No, wait." Mimura disagreed and signed all of them to come near him. "Check out this picture here."
"Tsuna-kun." He turned to Koro-sensei who pulled his shirt gently. "Let's check you for wounds."
"Shouldn't I be the one checking you for it?" He asked back as they walked for the building.
"I'm fine-"
"You are not." Tsuna argued and decided to pull the teacher inside instead. "I know you're affected to what she said."
"She is right though. I am a murderer."
"Koro-sensei." He sighed and faced the man. "How in hell will you kill the person who made you fall in love in both lifetimes?"
The teacher went full pink. "E-Eh?"
"Yes." He seconded the notion. "Back in my counterpart's world, you got married to Yukimura Aguri, who you met while being held by the Japanese scientists. You fell in love with her as your interaction went on. When they saved you, you searched for her, charmed her and got her as your girlfriend before eventually making her your wife. I know so because you asked for my counterpart's blessing to get married in a kidding way."
"O-Oh."
Tsuna pulled the teacher to the clinic bed and made him sit there. He started to check every tentacle for anything. Daemon, then, manifested to Koro-sensei's side, looking amused.
"Why don't you check his flames?" The mist asked.
"And harmonize accidentally? No way." He declined before sitting back. "I know he is a sun. But I think his flames are being exhausted by his constant regeneration, causing it to do some late reaction. And," He glared at the doll who snickered. "I know harmonization is the key for it to be balanced. However, I cannot do it without my three elements' consent nor Sensei's permission. Karma and Itona are set on killing Koro-sensei while Nagisa is still undecided. Especially now with Kayano's case."
"The sun you are talking about is right here, you two." Koro-sensei pointed out, snickering nervously. "And Tsuna-kun, you all are bound to kill me."
"Not me." He denied and eyed the teacher with judgement. "You have to remember that we have a promise. Up until March doesn't come, I won't let you-"
Then realization hit him.
"Tsuna-kun?" Koro-sensei called out.
"The limit is where you are said to end." He said aloud to Koro-sensei. "My time limit to save you and the Arcobaleno is at March. The same time you said the assassination classroom will end and you'll explode."
"Wha- Oh." Koro-sensei uttered, equally surprised.
"'As the white of the sea and the clover of the rainbow ease the pearl of the clam, the elements of the lion will slowly settle in.' Byakuran as the white of the sea and Yuni as the clover of the rainbow while I'm the pearl of the clam and the lion. Yuni told me that she convinced Aria, her mother, to attend the meeting in Okinawa because she saw me in a vision and meeting me there. By that time, we also have established that I was getting close to Class E.
"'However, the lion's suns will need his blessing as their sands get washed.' You and Reborn are my suns. And by blessings, it means-"
"You are to save us as our time ticks by, represented by the sand." Koro-sensei breathed.
Tsuna nodded and continued to recall the words. "'The Earths are nearing as well.' This was the Simouns, where I got Daemon, and the Earth as a whole because of your threat to explode." He winced when he felt his intuition tweak him. "Fuck. Is there another thing that relates to 'Earth' and you, Koro-sensei?"
The teacher stared at him in surprise.
He shook his head. "Never mind. I'll let you discuss that with me later. Now, 'Despite his decisive choice from the game, his plan will change all living things.'-"
"This means you have the ability to not get involve at all or help with the best of your ability," Daemon explained, looking widely amused as always. "Which is what you are currently doing."
"Doesn't mean I can change the lives of all living things." He argues.
"Actually, you have, Tsuna-kun." Koro-sensei seconded on Daemon. "Even if you don't help me, there is still the Arcobaleno who you need to think of. The balance of the world is shouldered by the Tri-ni-sette. So, you still have the choice to help them or not, and be the medium of the world's balance."
"'Keep in mind, he does not have to take the sin. He does not have to take the ring. He is the greatest as we deemed.' What does this mean?" Daemon asked after reciting the next two lines.
"I don't have to inherit the Vongola Sin nor the Vongola ring." He replied before shrugging. "Well, in my case, the Vongola Sky ring."
"What is the Vongola Sin?" Koro-sensei quizzed on them.
Daemon and Tsuna glanced at each other.
"Vongola Sin is Simoun Cozart's blood. It's more of a key to unlock the true forms of the Vongola ring and let the inheritors see what the first generation fought for when we formed this group." Daemon explained.
"Other than that, it also means the Vongola's blood dripping throne." Tsuna furthered, remembering his counterpart. "Each successor will inherit the doings of the previous successor. For example, Secondo's decision to make Vongola as a mafia family, Terzo inherited it. Everything that Secondo did in his reign will be Terzo's burden, so on and so forth."
"So, they're saying you don't have to inherit both the sin and the ring to save this world?" Koro-sensei verified. Both nodded. "Okay."
"Moving on." Daemon said, waving his fluffy hand to sign them to move.
He started to list off. "'Taught by a crying lady', that's Chiemi-nee. 'Nurtured by a lonely old man', that's Shoji-jii-san. Ota-san, Hariko-san and Miwa-san are the ones pertaining to be 'Helped by sharp swords'. 'Cared by a sorrowful reaper' is you," Tsuna nodded to Koro-sensei who blinked. "and 'Accepted by his truthful elements' are Class E. 'The limit is where you are said to end', which is on March."
"And by 'Scheme wisely', he's saying you use your time wisely as you plan on what to do." Daemon ended. "How symbolic. He used his words wisely."
"This is Kawahira-ji-san we are talking about. As much as he is thrilled to see the Tri-ni-sette get balanced with itself, he must have been pretty bored in comparison." He massaged his forehead. "I just need to figure out that 'Earth'. My head is tweaking me about it."
"Tsuna-kun-"
"Tsuna!" All three of them turned to Taisei who pulled the door open. His classmate looked surprised and winded about something. "We discovered who really is Kayano."
Tsuna stood up and took Daemon from the bed as Koro-sensei did as well. They followed Taisei who led them to the room where the others were standing in front of Ritsu. The AI was playing this kind of a scene, something from a drama.
Tsuna hanged back as everything from the drama played. The protagonist of the story was a girl with black hair and brown eyes. She's quite good though. Every expression of her face and the movement of her body matched with her situation. Although Tsuna didn't know much about acting, he could say that the girl was pretty good. However, the indication that she is Kayano was with how her face was shaped and her eyebrows. Even the intensity of her eyes gave it away. It was the same way how she glares at Koro-sensei in rage in those small times Tsuna catches her.
"You fiend!" Kayano shouted in anger to the man in front of her. "I'll kill you!"
"Yup." Maehara acknowledged as they watched. "That's Kayano. But, man, everything about her, from her face to her personality, is totally different."
"No wonder she kept us all fooled for an entire year." Sugino pipped in.
The class fell into silence as they continued to study the true persona of Kayano Kaede.
"Koro-sensei."
Tsuna and Koro-sensei turned to the class when Okajima called for the teacher. Class E, sans Tsuna, looked contemplative and bothered.
"Kayano..." Okajima began again before looking up. There's this pleading on the teen's expression. "She called you a murderer. So, tell us, what happened in your past?"
Tsuna shuffled closer to the teacher when he had a sudden visible sense of those sun flames getting wary.
"I feel like we have a good relationship built on trust now. So, we won't blindly turn against you." Kimura tried to elaborate. "But, there's no avoiding it anymore. We need to know your past. None of us can really feel satisfied right now until you tell us. That's what things have to come."
"Are you ready to take on the responsibility of knowing it?" The brunet voiced, earning their attentions. "Knowing one secret is a ton of burden as it is. It will change your way of perceiving Koro-sensei. So, will you be ready to take the weight? The constant thought that you know what happened in Koro-sensei's life before he became as he is?"
The Class E stared at him in surprise before turning to each other.
"Do you know?" Ryouma asked from the back. "Do you know his past?"
"We traded." He answered. "I gave him a secret to know his secret. I told him my past; he told me his past."
(Sawada facts no. Fifty-nine: He knows Koro-sensei's past after trading it with his own.)
"Is it the reason why you never tried to kill Koro-sensei?" Yada queried. "You never exerted effort, not unless you wanted to test something out. You were always on his side too."
"If something happens, you're always at his side. You defend him at most." Kataoka added. "Sometimes, you try to take on his burden to ease it a little."
"I never tried because I don't want to be accountable." Tsuna replied. "Koro-sensei may look like an alien or some kind of an experimented specie, but at the back of my mind, I never called him anything that can refer to him as an 'it'. It was automatically a 'him', 'he' and a man. Human."
They all stared at him.
"His past is his burden. It is the reason why he tries hard. Kayano may have called him a murderer, but she doesn't know the full truth as well." He looked away as he clenched his free hand. "He's certainly behind this. I should've killed him when I had the chance, that son of a bitch."
The Class felt a pang of astonishment at the visible anger on the teen's expression.
"It's fine." Koro-sensei said, patting the brunet's shoulder. "It's okay, Tsuna-kun. They do deserve to know my past. I involved you, and I knew time will come for me to talk about this to you. There is no secret that can be buried for so long, as you said."
"It's still different." Tsuna mumbled.
The teacher grinned at the brunet's soft protest before turning to the class. "I'll tell you everything there is to know about my past. But more importantly, Kayano is an important member of Class E. I'll talk once everyone's assembled."
The class nodded.
"You said you traded, Tsuna." Isogai remarked from his spot next to his best friend. "So, it will only be fair if you tell us your past as well, right?"
"Give me a good reason why I needed to do so." He demanded as he crossed his arms, the doll still in his arms. "We maybe friends, but not even Karma knows half of my past. He only knows what he saw back then." The class looked at the redhead who nodded in confirmation. "So why would I tell you something that can probably ruin your lives or mine?"
"We want to know that specific detail that made Koro-sensei trust you enough with his past." Kurahashi reasoned, eyes fleeting between their teacher and the brunet. "Koro-sensei has been honest with us from the start. He didn't do favorites with us. He was always there when we needed help and realizations. And there are just those times that we see him talking with you alone. We hear you talk about dinner meals. It's not something new cause Sensei visits us in our homes too. But it must have been more than shouldering his burden with him, Tsuna-kun."
"You were there when Karma started to target Koro-sensei." Okano started to list off. "You filled up for Bitch-sensei's role when she refuses to teach us anything. You defend him when we accuse him of something grave. You don't stop us from doing our plans, but you avoid taking the role of killing him. In his stead, you take his job in protecting us. And in return, he trusts you to have his back. He does his best to look out for you and tries to understand the reason why you don't want him to do something."
"It's... It's more than trust." Sugino concluded for all of them.
"So, we want to know." Kimura asked again.
Tsuna scanned the class; his elements and his teachers. Koro-sensei's tentacle squeezed his shoulder in comfort. "I... I will only spill if I see that you can take on Koro-sensei's past. If not, I don't want to add myself to your worries. The weight of the world is already on our shoulders. Adding more will break you." He gulped as he caressed his left arm with his right hand. "It's a promise."
The Class solemnly nodded in response.
"What are you doing?"
Tsuna looked up from putting two magazines to his holsters. "Itona."
The other walked in his room and gazed at his two guns and two anti-sensei knives. "You're carrying those?"
"And this." He showed three steel throwing knives.
"Hey! That's Bel's!" Itona gawked, identifying them. "How did you get those?"
"Had them as a souvenir back when they attacked me last semester." He answered and put one on his back pocket, the other contains an anti-sensei knife. He hid one of each inside his sleeves before handing Itona the left knife. "Keep this. I'll probably need it later or something."
"Your intuition? Shiro is pretty miffed with you back then. You always know what to do when we attack. Even when you first met us."
He smirked while holstering his guns. "Glad to hear that. Speaking of him," He grimaced as his head knocked on him painfully. "he'll probably show up later. Knowing him, he'll be helping Kayano-san with her tentacles."
"Yeah." Itona sighed, putting away the sharp tool. Pale blue eyes observed him. "Have you known that Kayano is like that?"
"Like what? Like she's not being herself? That's she's just playing another role?" He hummed while picking up his black jacket. "Not really. But I had my suspicions."
"When did it start?" Itona asked.
"When she and Yukiko got taken by this student gang wannabes in Kyoto." His mind went back to that time he first saw the lady's bloodlust. "She was glaring at Koro-sensei when he came to save them too. You know that glare when you want to kill a person you hate so much? I saw it. So since then, I've become careful with her. She sometimes shows it, whenever I praise Koro-sensei or when I take his sides."
"Is that why you refuse to call her with her first name while you do to others since they asked?" Itona queried. Tsuna nodded. "That's... No wonder she's the only one you aren't close with among the three of them."
He smiled and put a hand on Itona's head. "Don't dwell on it. I didn't say anything because I thought it was just some personal things."
"But Koro-sensei is..."
"Itona," He cuts off. The teen paused and gazed at him. "I maybe your sky, and he can become my element. But there will be a time when you have to choose between two painful choices. And all I can tell you is be honest with yourself. Don't consider the fact that Koro-sensei is important to me, or that he could be a fellow element. Just think of what you want to do because that's what is important. Got it?"
Itona breathed before nodding. "Yeah. Got it."
"Tsunayoshi, Itona-kun?" They both turned to Daemon who stood by the doorway, holding Tsuna's touchscreen phone. "We better get going. Kayano-san told your teacher to meet her behind the Kunugigaoka Park, by the grassy field."
"Ah, yeah." Tsuna agreed and walked towards the doll. He picked him up and pocketed the device without looking at the information one more time. "Let's go, Itona."
"Right behind you." Itona responded.