Chapter Fifty-Five
"Let's try thinking about this normally." Takebayashi said at front after writing their agendas at the board. "Are the leaders of our world considering nothing but killing Koro-sensei? I don't think so. After all, the fundamental goal is to save the Earth. If there's a way to prevent the explosion without killing Koro-sensei, that would also be considered a valid reason.
"In parallel with the research into killing him, it stands to reason that there'd be at least some research into saving him. And that research has likely advanced beyond what was known when Koro-sensei was still the God of Death. Why don't we try investigating that?"
"The chances of that are slim." Karasuma-sensei responded. "The research organization that made this Octopus was forced to take responsibility for the moon's explosion. The data and the leadership of their research has been ceded over to advanced countries. By now, the world's top Sciences foundations have divvied up the research and formed an international project team for saving the planet. Obviously, all of the project's information is top secret. It would be next to impossible for any of you to learn it's contents."
"Tsuna-kun hacked it." Koro-sensei said as Ritsu said, "I've hacked into the project's database."
"What?!"
"As long as it's connected to the internet, I can get into pretty much any computer." Ritsu said as she strips off. Tsuna stood up with a flash drive as well. "Over the year, I've been studying how to expand my functionality." Then she flashed lists of research.
"Woah!" Sugino exclaimed as they went near her. "Now we can see every item of research and their schedules in the world!"
"However, due to the strong system security, I don't know the specific details." Ritsu informed. "Information related to the core of the research is kept offline. Even on their intranet, there are no traces of most important information being exchanged."
"Why don't you analyze this one?" Tsuna offered as he inserted the flash drive on her box while the others talk about hand carried information. "Is it good?"
"Wait, Tsuna-kun. I'll clean up the viruses." The AI said, processing the drive before appearing on the screen with surprised expression. "How did you..."
The brunet smiled a little smug. "I have my ways."
"What's up?" Fuwa asked.
"We got it." Ritsu informed and highlighted the solution from Tsuna's documents. "Here is the solution from Tsuna-kun's documents."
"Verification experiments for preventing the destructive anti-matter chain reaction that accompanies the aging and division of tentacle cells." Fuwa read aloud, eyes looking at the details. "It's an American team mission. The sample of the final result is estimated to return on January twenty-fifty from the I.S.S...?"
"The I.S.S..." Kataoka mumbled before they all looked at each other in realization. "Wait... Do you mean-"
"The International Space Station?!" Most of them said.
"They can do research in a place like that?" Takuya queried.
"Tha- That's actually possible!" Okuda answered Takuya enthusiastically. "After all, there's a plenty of research that can't be done without zero gravity or a vacuum! And also, uhm- On the off-chance that the research causes a huge explosion, the fact that it's in the outer space reduces the damage!"
"It's like what happened with the moon." Tsuna added in a relaxed tone. "They planted another specie there and it exploded. It has zero casualties, except for the moon itself."
"So, once those research results get back to Earth, can we find out about those immediately?" Kimura asked. "Karasuma-sensei only gave us this month, after all."
"Most likely, which ever their conclusion may be, chances are low that the information would reach you quickly." Karasuma-sensei responded to their query. "The data contains extremely high-tech, highly classified information. And since this information literally saves the world, it might be used to gain diplomatic leverage before it's handed over. This may sound harsh, but to my bosses, you're just another one of their teams of assassins. Depending on the situation, no information may ever come to you at all."
"So worst case scenario," Hara remarked in a somber tone, "We won't know whether Koro-sensei can be saved or not? We'd have to continue the assassination with a huge 'what if' in our mind all the way to March?"
"Karasuma-sensei, whatever the result, we're not going to quit the assassination." Karma assured to Karasuma-sensei. "But we don't want to do it while feeling half-hearted. If there's a way to save him, we'll save him without delay. And if there's a not, we'll shore up our resolve." Then he turned to Nagisa. "Right, Nagisa?"
"Yeah." The bluenet nodded. "It's our class's biggest goal."
"So, we want to know for a certain right away." Karma concluded. "That way, we can confidently keep up the assassination until we graduate."
Tsuna glanced at Karasuma-sensei who looks troubled with their request. He then hummed as he started to type on his phone, connect to Ritsu in an intranet way. "You okay, Ritsu-san?"
"Yes." The AI answered, just as Koro-sensei asked Karasuma-sensei to step out while looking like a planet with all the rings. "This is just... I didn't know you can do such thing, Tsuna-kun."
"I'm taking advantage of the resources I have in front of me."
"Are you sure you can use this?"
"Yes." Caramel-orange eyes looked up to the AI who is staring at him. "And I can do it even before the time limit is done."
Just then a message popped on his phone screen and he couldn't stop grinning as he reads it.
"So, let me sum up your hopes right now." Koro-sensei started. "Before the research data from space gets handed over to its owner, to America, you want to sneak a peek at it."
Tsuna looked up as the class nodded.
"However, notice this in the research schedule, 'the reentry capsule containing the data will land in the Pacific Ocean. To prevent the unlikely event of theft by the superbeing target, the reentry capsule will be brought into the research faculty unopened.'" The teacher read before turning to the class again. "It's a very wise and cautious idea. I can't carry anything heavy, so putting the data in a five-ton safe gives me no way to steal it."
It caused the class look down in dejection.
"But look!" Koro-sensei excitedly interrupted their negative train of thoughts. He showed them a picture of a rocket. "Did you know that this is scheduled to launch soon?!"
Itona and Ryouma went closer to see the picture. Tsuna took a peek too before chuckling. It was a picture of the rocket he took from the Japan government top secret files. The possible capsule where 'data' should be kept is caught in there, and it was said that they will put dummies in it as 'people' manning it. Koro-sensei got intrigued with the picture after seeing it and made him search more of it in the Japan Government secret files. Who knew the man fanboys over rockets too?
"It's a test flight of a manned spacecraft developed by Japan." Koro-sensei informed excitedly.
"Manned?!" Okano gasped. "Japan's advanced enough to send people into space?!"
Koro-sensei giggled. "Of course ,their technology in this area is sufficiently reliable. My influence may have sparked an onset of breakthrough, though. The plan is to have two crash test dummies with monitors attached set in realistic positions when they launch the rocket. This way they can test the life-support system. The rocket will dock with the I.S.S. in orbit, transfer supplies and return to Earth with some baggage in tow.
"This Japanese spaceship will reach the I.S.S. three days before the American experiment data leaves it. What if..." Koro-sensei's face made a scheming expression. "During that time, the rocket was manned not by dummies, but by real people?"
Tsuna chuckled when the class froze at the suggestion.
"... You're kidding." Takebayashi said.
"I knew it. Our teacher is a wacko." Karma grinned warily.
"Yes!" Koro-sensei shouted with a fingerpad of a tentacle raised in the air. "Assassination Classroom! Here is the theme of your off-season research project! Hijacking a space station and stealing experiment data!"
Tsuna covered his face with two hands as he tried not to laugh at his classmates' expressions.
"Tsuna-kun!" Koro-sensei whined.
"I-I'm fine!" He tried to placate before taking a deep breath. "Okay. So let's plan?"
22. 05. 18. 04. 05: Who are you?
22. 05. 18. 04. 05: Oh?
22. 05. 18. 04. 05: You're the one he has been talking about.
22. 05. 18. 04. 05: I've been expecting to meet you officially.
20. 19. 21. 14. 01: Can you lend me a hand?
22. 05. 18. 04. 05: It is an exchange.
22. 05. 18. 04. 05: So I have to give my utmost service.
20. 19. 21. 14. 01: Thank you. In a few days, I will use this pathway to give you the files you need to do.
20. 19. 21. 14. 01: I hope you find a way to have a solution with it.
22. 05. 18. 04. 05: I will give my try. Nothing can beat Science.
"This is complicated." He couldn't help murmuring as he tried to see the leeway to the rocket. "We are looking for team leaders and those who could do the stages, right?"
"Yes." Koro-sensei answered with a nod as the others sighed. "There are so many candidates to choose from."
"Then let's be practical." His eyes glanced around the blueprint until he caught something from his peripheral. "Kataoka-san."
"Oh." Koro-sensei gasped as the girl perked up as well. "Yes. Kataoka-san can do it."
"Her stern leadership skills can make the others do a quick move to get past the guards and personnel." He added as he reviewed the possible way of how the girl could lead the class to the top of the rocket. "This is good. Now, all we have to think of is the distraction from the inside." His brown eyes went for Yada and Kurahashi who gave twin smiles. "I'll leave you to that."
"Got it!" The two cheered.
"I think Kimura-kun can insert a connection inside with Ritsu by the use of the distractions." Koro-sensei suggested. "He's pretty swift with sneaking in. With that, we can hack the internal system of the facility."
Tsuna nodded as he roamed his eyes around. "That's it then? We also need the class's cooperation, so please be participative. We all need this, okay?"
The class gaped at him.
"What?" He asked, a little affronted with their expressions.
"You're so good at this." Maehara waved around, still surprised and awed. "Koro-sensei has been cracking his head who to put, and you just finished it up in just minutes."
"Sensei just needed some opinion to cement what he thinks about the operation." He answered as he slowly and meticulously folded the blueprint of the building. "As he said, all of you are potential to do the leading. Other than that, he needed to be sure that the one who will do the operation won't get caught midst doing it, because Karasuma-sensei will kill him if you do. He has to take responsibility of all of this. Besides, I already heard him for the past weeks of who he wants to lead. I'm just giving him a solid reason to push through with it."
"You're doing it again." Kataoka couldn't help pointing out. "You're taking half of Koro-sensei's responsibility. Tsuna-kun, why?"
"Because no one can do a task this big alone." He answered.
"It's not because of your past, is it?" Yada softly asked, earning nods.
Tsuna's brown eyes went darker, causing the class to fall silent. "Some of you know this, but for those who don't, I never have what you can call as a family. People who wait for me at home, cook my meals, ask me about my day, or even attend my school events. My biological donors left me here in Tokyo when I was seven, in the middle of the street with no money to buy myself a shelter, food, nor clothes. And up until now, they still don't want me and had expected me to die back then, only I'm still alive to their chagrin."
The class froze, sans for those who knew the information.
"Technically, my past is not what your typical Koro-sensei-like or his apprentice-like." He sighed, as he half-sat on the table. His shoulders slumped as his back hunched in exhaustion. "The first five months I was left here, I survived eating from restaurant's left overs. Let's say I know what they mean when they say we find treasure in other's trash. I'm still on that phase where no water can beat the water from a rusty tin can. In terms of shelter, I take refuge to those buildings that block the wind flow. I experienced sleeping on alleys, hiding with stray cats by the boxes. Sometimes, I rather have them eat my share of food than eat it alone. Probably pity, cause... Well, I know how it feels to be in their situation.
"After five months, I met my mother figure. She was a stripper. She feeds me good things after taking me in. She got raped, two weeks before I killed her." All of them gasped, even the two teachers who just came in. "It wasn't really killing her. She wanted to die because she got violated. I came on her trying to stab her throat. Due to sympathy after she asked me to kill her, I did it. I stabbed her chest with a knife and ran away like a bloody murderer."
"Oh Tsuna-kun..." One of the girls uttered.
The brunet shook his head. "Right when I was running away, I bumped into someone who thought I was being brutally treated. He's an old man Yakuza boss who was on a prank vacation. He took me in for three months, let me live in an apartment I still own and taught me things I needed to learn before leaving me after his men came for his hiding spot. Since then, I've been alone. I applied jobs that will take a seven years old employee. Up until now, I still am. I technically became workaholic, just not to ask myself why do I still want to survive and what's my purpose in life."
"Tsuna-kun." Koro-sensei called, trying to make him think twice as he started to pull his jacket away from his body.
"It's fine." He assured as he let them see his inner arms while slowly shedding away his wristbands. "They wanted to know what my life is that I traded with yours."
"Oh my God..." Irina-sensei voiced in surprise.
In front of them as arms full of white scars, with different lengths. The most prominent ones were those white lines by the wrists.
"The last time I tried was three months before I got transferred here in Class E." He shared, slowly caressing his left wrist with his right. "Lack of love, attention, solace... No people to talk to, inability to have friends. The bullying, my insecurities... They resulted to this. I've asked myself everytime I cut myself... Will someone try to find me if I suddenly went missing? Or is there someone who will talk about me in good spirits after knowing my cold body was discovered in my apartment? One cut to feel pain. One cut for my emptiness. One cut for my pitiful self. One cut to try and see if I could make it deep enough to kill myself.
"Tsuna, you could've tried harder. Tsuna, you should've asked a teacher. Tsuna, you should've taken someone to consider. Why didn't you accept Karma's friendship back then so you can have an anchor? You could've stopped yourself. Why didn't you talk about this sooner? We could've helped you." He breathed in a murmur before sighing. "At this age, it's actually hard to open up. If Koro-sensei didn't notice them back when I came here all beaten up and he fixed me with Karma and Nagisa, he won't know. He and Karasuma-sensei won't know. It made Koro-sensei check up on me every night, check my bathroom clean of any sharp objects, see if I use my knives as tools. In the end, he found them under the dresser, a box full of sharp blades, and threw them away.
"From there, he started to discover everything I am. From three to twelve, I'm out of my apartment. I'll be home by midnight from my last job of the day, heat up a cup of noodles to eat then study my subjects before going to sleep by one. Since then, after I offered him to use my kitchen and food to his expense, he makes me homemade food that he cooked himself and we will eat together. And from there, he was able to balance my diet, let my stomach accept food slowly and give me the muscles I needed.
"He discovered I had nineteen years job experiences, including my jobs up until this day. Still, he asks me to sleep. That's the reason why he never scolds me when I suddenly fell asleep in class. I'm not in any clubs, so why do I have to fall asleep in exhaustion, right? He knew my brain is on a different level of education because I almost perfected the tests he made himself to evaluate my academic rating. He and Karma also searched about my family and discovered that I have a twin and two more little brothers. That I'm a ghost in there because there is no such record with my name. He discovered I'm affiliated to mafia as well."
"What?!" Some of the class exclaimed, making him nod.
He looked back to Koro-sensei who slowly urged him to put his jacket on again. "As I've said, I have a twin. You may not know, but a twin in mafia is more of a curse. It's either they fight against each other for the throne or let the family dispose the other. In my case, I was the one who got disposed. Currently, the boss is in his old age and my twin became the heir to the mafia family's boss seat. Back in Kyoto, during our field trip there, Nagisa and Karma met my twin with me. A month after, they sent assassins to kill me."
"Those assassins are the elite squad of the mafia family he's affiliated with." Karma took over when the brunet started to put his wristbands. "The Varia of Vongola."
"What?!" Irina-sensei voiced in complete surprise. "Then how come you're still alive?! Once that group is tasked to do a deed, they will kill their target without any doubt!"
"Wait!" Mimura tried to appease. "Who is this Varia? Why are they that famous as assassins?"
"They're a group of ruthless people." Nagisa smiled warily. "They're kinda crazy when they want to. But when they're asked to kill someone, they will. They'll hunt them to the very end of the world. If they did a big crime, they'll torture their targets before killing them brutally. To them, quality is important. They have standards to gain their respect. And if they say you are quality, then it's the highest and priceless praise you'll get from them."
"Tsuna survived after making their leader submit to his bloodlust." Karma replied to Irina-sensei's query. "By then, their personal informant dug things about Tsuna after noticing that the 'new' leader of their family looks a lot like him. They discovered that their boss, Vongola Xanxus, is Tsuna's uncle. They gauged Tsuna's strength the day after they tried to kill Tsuna, before talking to him in his own apartment."
"In Vongola," Tsuna started off as he zipped his jacket. "Family is family. Regardless of how distant we are in terms of blood, or you're just an acquaintance of a friend, you are still a family. For example, right now, my family is Class E. And since my uncle deemed me a quality, he treats me as family. Same for me. I don't want to affiliate myself to Vongola nor to my biological family since they wanted me dead, but since Xanxus made time to talk to me, I consider him as a family. Right now, until I don't show up in Namimori, he's keeping my dead status to my family."
"Are you going to Namimori then?" Rinka asked.
"Yes." He answered. "After I get a copy of that information from I.S.S." Brown eyes scanned the class. "It may be unfair, but Koro-sensei and I have a deal already back in Okinawa. I will exhaust every single method there is to cure him and I am doing so."
"In what way?" Takebayashi queried.
Tsuna pursed his lips before looking up to Irina-sensei and Koro-sensei. "What is the probability of Vindice showing up here?"
The blondie and Koro-sensei looked at each other.
"Low." Tsuna looked up to Daemon who appeared over his head and dropped himself on the brunet's laps. "Probability is low, Tsunayoshi. The class has been exposed to different hitmen and assassins. You are bonded half way with all of the class, three are your elements and one is nearly there."
The class yelled in surprise and backed away, except for those who knew him.
"This is Spade Daemon." Tsuna introduced. "Unbelievable as it is, he is one of the founders of Vongola. He was friends with the first boss, coincidentally is my three-great grandfather."
"I am over four hundred years old." Daemon stated. "I am alive as a ghost who took host of living things and non-living things. In order to be so, I use my life-aura or as we call it in mafia as Dying Will flames."
"Dying will flames can only be seen by those who had become desperate enough to live." Karma added. "Those who have regrets that very moment they are about to die, or what they wanted to do if they live after surviving that moment."
They all turned to Itona who let out his lightning flames. "Everyone has it, but only those who can do it can see it."
"Aren't we taking this too fast?" Tsuna worriedly voiced out. He scanned the class. "You can't possibly expect them to process all of what you are about to discuss after learning my own story, can you?"
"I think it's okay." Kimura answered, looking a little surprised and just relieved. "I mean, we all knew you aren't normal as what you appear to be, Tsuna. For you to survive your bullies for years, and even try to live when you can kill yourself after all those; dude, that's a feat. And we asked for this. We want to know more of you like you know us and this whole mountain."
"Yeah." Most of the class voiced with smile while some nodded.
"S-Spade-san, right?" Hayami called out, still perplexed with the thought of a ghost hosting a doll's body. "Can you continue?"
"There are types." Daemon took over again. "Indigo mist like me, who can appear and disappear when I want to. It is more of construction, but that's a different level. There is a purple cloud, who protects the family from a standalone view."
"Green lightning is hardening, like mine." Itona added. "Have you ever wondered why my drones can't be destroyed these days?"
The class's eyes widened.
"There's red storm." Nagisa said as his blue eyes flashed red visibly as he smiled. "The relentless heart of every attack."
"The blue rain," Karma hummed as his gold eyes slowly turned blue before it went gold again. "that calms away the emotions of others."
"The yellow sun is who radiates everything." Koro-sensei added, smiling at Tsuna who smiled back. "The nurturer and the symbol of life."
"And then the orange sky." Tsuna concluded. "The house of all elements."
"Sky, sun, rain," Ryouma enumerated. "Storm, lightning, cloud and mist. Aren't they some kind of weathers?"
"Bingo." Daemon and Koro-sensei praised, causing the teen to flush a little in embarrassment.
"They are based from the weathers of the sky as well as generic personalities. Although the whole lots revolve around the sky, they still protect each other." Koro-sensei started to explain. "The sky is the very center because they are extremely rare. They are the ones you can call the shelter where you can spend your time relaxing and being happy and just being you. The few in numbers are mists and clouds. They're opposites, but they love to protect the family in their own independent standpoint. The mist 'covers', while the cloud 'floats away'. Sometimes, the mists are misinterpreted for appearing like they betrayed the group, and the clouds are misunderstood for their unlikely personalities. They are sometimes too volatile or too quiet."
The class turned to Kayano and Ryouma who looked at each other. Some glanced at Hayami and Nakamura. Irina-sensei went to glance at Karasuma-sensei who huffed.
"The lightnings are the magnet of attacks. Not generally, but they're more of those who protect the family by attracting the strikes to themselves. They're like shields at some point as well. Sometimes, they can be perceived as the little siblings of the family."
The class went for Itona who held his hands up. He is Tsuna's little brother as they said. Karasuma-sensei turned to Irina-sensei who mouthed 'what?'. The blondie is kinda childish at some point for she didn't experience what children can do back in her age.
"The storm is the heart of the attacks. They're pretty vicious, battle geniuses and a little crazy. They're the type to be very inconspicuous, sometimes acts weird and has this tendency to appear very kind. You'll see a storm when you provoke them and they fight relentlessly."
They all turned to Nagisa who laughed warily. Some of the girls turned to Kurahashi who waved her hands in denial.
"The rain calms the others. They're those who sometimes call out for the group to breathe. Their difference between the sky is that the rain gives temporary comfort while the sky does it permanent. In terms of personality, you'll see them calm and collected. They can be very friendly or just laidback enough to come with the flow."
Karma grinned when the others gazed at him. Some even went for Sugino and Kanzaki.
"The sun is the nurturer. They are the ones who destroy the attacks to the family with their own body. Their personality differs, but what they have in common is that urge to teach and make a potential grow."
"Koro-sensei is a sun, along with Hara-san and Fuwa-san." Daemon informed. "Nagisa, Kurahashi-san, Yoshida-san and Muramatsu-san are the storms."
"Eh?" Taisei and Takuya blurted.
"The rains are Karma, Kataoka-san, Okano-san, Kanzaki-san, Sugino-san and Sugaya-san." The class nodded at that. "I sensed that the lightnings are Itona, Jelavich-sensei, Kimura-san, Maehara-san, Takebayashi-san, Mimura-san, Okajima-san and Chiba-san. In terms of clouds, there is Karasuma-sensei, Nakamura-san, Hayami-san, Hazama-san, and Terasaka-san. Finally, Isogai-san, Yada-san, Kayano-san and Okuda-san are the mist."
Yada's brows furrowed a little. "Then the sky is-"
"Tsuna-kun." Kanzaki said, utterly fascinated. "It fits. Tsuna-kun is like our home when everything started to come through. Even Koro-sensei took refuge to Tsuna-kun when he needed help."
"So far, Tsuna is fully bonded with Itona, Karma and Nagisa. And since we expect it even if he disagrees, we expect that you can bond with him too." Daemon told to them.
"Daemon." Tsuna chided. "You can't force them to manifest their dying wills." He looked up to them. "In mafia, there is this group called the strongest seven. Let's say they're the strongest in their own fields and the ones with the strongest dying will flames. One of them is the one they call the New Da Vinci for his renowned intelligence. They have a problem of their own, and I have the solution. In exchange to the solution, I want his cooperation. It's not assured that he can do it as well. Anti-matter experimentation is as complicated as the most complex math we can encounter. Working with human experimentation is another whole thing. So I, myself, has no guarantee that he can fix Sensei even with the information we will get."
The class looked at each other.
"Even Tsuna is hopeless about this." Isogai said in a light way.
"Yeah. Sometimes, Tsuna-kun looks so calm that I don't even know if he has a problem of his own." Hara chimed in. "It's scary how you can hold the fort when all of our teachers are down. Even Kataoka-san and Isogai-san crumble at the pressure. Karma sometimes fumbles too. But you're on a different level."
Tsuna willed down his flush and shrugged. "Maybe that's my role as a sky. Since when did your parents tell you the family problem while shouting at you to work on your academics?"
"Point." Hayami agrees.
"See?" Kanzaki waved over. "He fits."
"Anyway," The brunet called out as he stood up, Daemon still in his arms. "Dwell on the new information you acquired from me once you get home. Let's focus on the task at hand. You can pm me if you have questions."
"I-I have o-one q-question." Okuda raised a hand. "Uhm... You said you're a sky, right? And we are your weathers. But the sky can only hold as much weather with it. Like one of each element. So how come all of us are your elements?"
"That's a good question." Daemon praised. "Scientifically, a sky can hold as many elements as it wants. It can accommodate a lot of different storms, kinds of rain, all types of lightning and the intensity of any sun. Sometimes, you can see different kinds of clouds in the sky at morning. Or enter some kind of thick delusive mist and further ahead is a thin one. Yes. Tsunayoshi has a choice to not pull all of you to his domain, and choose only his main. Alongside that logic, the number of bonds he can have depends on how strong his flames are. But as you can see, he's powerful enough to do so." Daemon looked up to the brunet who's fidgeting from the attention. "His flames have chosen his main elements, and still want to have all of you in his domain. He's that kind of sky who'll take as much people as he could and can easily protect them when he says so."
"You make me sound like I'm greedy or something." Tsuna murmured.
(Sawada facts no. Sixty-four: He's a sky, and he has everyone in Class E as his potential elements.)
The class looked at each other before grinning.
"Nah. It's understandable, Tsuna." Maehara grinned. "We know it's because you do see us as your family."
"We did spend almost a year with each other and we can consider Class E as family." Yada smiled understandingly.
"Class E is Tsuna-kun's home." Koro-sensei said with finality.
Tsuna's cheeks went incredibly warm before he looked down. Class E as his home kinda sounds nicer than thinking of his original family as his home.
(Sawada facts no. Sixty-five: Class E is Tsuna's home.)