Naomi Sasaki made her way to the last row of the classroom and seated herself at the empty seat there. She looked down defiantly at the table as she felt all eyes bore into her. Her purple side fringe fell out from behind her ear and covered almost half her face. She had cut her hair herself and by that standard, it was not bad. She pulled at her coat which was covering the bruises on her arms. No one would get to see those. She was briefed before coming here, about their 'special' teacher and despite that, it took a lot of effort not to look up and stare at the strange creature. Koro Sensei, they called him, Koro Sensei it is.

"All right, class. Let's start." Koro Sensei began.

Noami did not hear what the octopus was saying. She had other things to worry about. Anyways, what was being taught in class right now, was math. She hated that. She stopped making an effort a long time ago. Why start now? Her green eyes fixed themselves outside the window and her mind examined her present situation. She would not be going home today, not after her parents had thrown her out last night. "Class 3E! The End Class! How much further can you sink Naomi?" they had questioned. Another slap. "Well, you won't be dragging us down with you anymore! We have nothing to do with you! Get out!"

The door was closed now. She had to figure out her own life after that. "Loser!" her brother had called from the window. Ignoring him, she had made her way to the tree house, her tree house. And spend the night there. The morning came and Naomi collected her belongings and left the house, never to come there again. Where would she stay now? Just then the forest which extended beyond the classroom caught her attention and her eyes lit up. Of course! A tree in the forest would be perfect! No one had to know and she could live there until she got a job. She had always done things for herself in that huge mansion anyways. What difference would the wilderness make?

Then there was the problem of money. Naomi frowned again. But that was too wiped off her face, as she remembered the huge yellow octopus in front of her. He had 10 billion yen on his head after all. She just had to kill him. Naomi sighed and drew the special gun from her bag. This was also explained to her during the briefing. The octopus could, apparently, be only killed with these bullets and a special knife. He was still busy teaching quadratic equations, with his back to the class. This should be easy.

She raised the gun, pointing it at the yellow sphere of a head, her hand on the trigger, just about to press it. Then the gun was gone. Naomi gasped as her hands grasped thin air. She looked up to see Koro Sensei holding the gun in one tentacle as green stripes appeared on his face. He chuckled menacingly.

"You would not do this, had you joined us earlier, Naomi. Karma, here, has already tried this, haven't you, Karma?"

The redheaded boy just smiled, a pencil twirling in his fingers. Naomi usually did that with a knife.

"Maybe now you would like to pay attention to the class?" Koro Sensei turned back to the board and placed the gun gingerly on the teacher's table. Naomi sat back, feeling blood rush into her face. She decided to look around the classroom, now, still not willing to look at the board. Who did she know here? Wait- isn't that Manami, the science geek? She knew her. They had come to a speaking basis before Manami was transferred to this class. And that was Yukiko. She was also a quiet, shy but very popular girl in school. Then there was Tomohito, the baseball star. That was it. Those were all she knew. She sighed again, bored out of her mind. Her hand went involuntarily to the pendant on her neck. It was a guitar shaped one. But that was special, a gift from her grandfather, which when pressed hard enough unfolded into a real guitar. He had given it to her after she had mastered the skill of playing a guitar. It was a very clever thing her grandfather had done, and she had no idea how. He always had a very clever brain which Naomi had somehow not inherited.

As her mind pictured her grandpa, a musician and engineer, her grandma came into the picture. She was amazing too. She was a spy in the second world war and taught her amazing knife skills. That was one thing she was good at. They were both dead now, but had left their shadow in her life.

The octopus had escaped the bullet, let's try the knife, she thought. Well, what is he doing now? She finally glanced at the board and perked up on seeing the diagram of the brain there. Now, this is more like it! She always liked this. Human anatomy, it was needed for wielding a knife too.

Lunch time came before she knew it and Naomi walked towards the staff room feeling surprisingly confident. That was the magic holding a knife or guitar had on her. "Koro Sensei!" she said as she opened the door. Ï would like to assassinate you!" it felt weird even saying it but the octopus himself had told her that this is how things went on in here.

"Nuruhuhuhu!" the octopus laughed. "Very well. The ground, I presume?"

Naomi nods and makes her way to the ground, outside. The octopus was already there. "Damn, Mach 20!" Naomi thinks. She twirls the rubber knife in her hand and smiles as she feels the familiar grip. Her purple fringe untucks itself again from behind her ear. Her classmates have come out to see this attempt as well.

A swift motion forward, but Koro Sensei has already moved back. Another swift swipe. Another. Another. Another. Naomi stops and smiles. Perfect. They are in the forest now. She jumps to hide behind the trees, climbing one tall one. The octopus looks around, as if not expecting this. How could he? Naomi is high up in one tree right behind him by now. She throws the knife as hard as she could aiming at the back of his head. She smiles, wait- what? Gone. He's that fast?

"Well done! I'll admit it I was lost for one second, but then I smelled you out. Think about that next time!" a voice says from behind her. Naomi jumps in surprise and trips. Falling, falling. She'll die for sure, she thinks. Well, it might even be good, for such a useless brat like her. Isn't that what her parents used to say? They must be right. Grandma must be so disappointed.

Yellow tentacles grab her mid-air and gently set her down on the ground. She looks at the yellow sphere in surprise which slowly turns to gratitude. "Koro Sensei?" she starts.

"Yes, Naomi?"

The girl shakes her head and for the first time, a genuine smile makes its way to her face. She turns sharply and walks back towards the classroom building. The smile lingers on at the thought that someone cares enough about her to save her, even if it is a huge yellow octopus creature, who is capable of destroying the world.

School ended and Naomi exited the classroom with zero social interactions. She has never had a good history with people, and all her attempts at being social goes spirally downwards, so she has stopped trying all together. A blue-haired boy tried talking to her after her assassination attempt but she tactfully avoided him. Who would be friends with her anyways? Useless, loser, disgrace, she grew up listening to these words and now they are drilled into her head.

The octopus might have behaved differently, but that was just once and he was not even a human being.

She turned toward the forest and her trained green eyes started scanning the wilderness for a suitable stop to spend the night in, when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned around sharply only to be greeted by kind blue eyes and a sweet yet uncanny smile. Ugh! The blue-haired boy again! What was his name? Nagisa, if she remembered correctly.

"Where are you going Naomi? That's the way to the forest." he said.

"My house is that way. It's a short cut! Don't worry, I'll be fine!" she answered tactfully, smiling in reply.

"Oh, okay, then! See you later!" Nagisa said and ran off to catch up with the rest of the students.

"Trust me to achieve even this! An outcast among outcasts!" she thought with a smirk as her eyes lingered on the retreating group.

Then she entered the forest.

A tall tree is always best. It keeps you away from the creatures on the ground and hidden from the animals flying above. Naomi had ascertained her shelter for that night and probably one for the rest of the year. She sighed, the exhaustion of the day catching up to her and propped up her pillow against the tree bark before resting her back against it. To be honest, she liked this, maybe even better than her own bedroom. Naomi took off her necklace and pressed the oak pendant. Soon, she was holding the familiar oak guitar in her hands.

She gently strummed the strings and felt all tension leave her form. This always worked and Naomi loved these quiet nights with her guitar. She wondered what to play and decided upon her all time favorite, from her favorite singer and songwriter. Soon, gentle music and a sweet, musical voice filled the silence of the night.

[Dear Reader, please imagine Naomi singing Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift. You can even play the song on Spotify for a better experience. I can not type the lyrics of the song because I am still too young to go to jail. Thank you.]

Silence filled the night once again as the song came to an end. "Bravo! Splendid performance, Naomi." a familiar voice said from behind her. In an instant Naomi drew her knife and flung it in the direction of the voice. It must have missed its mark slightly because the yellow octopus was still intact in front of her.

"Say what, Koro Sensei! It was my favorite knife! And now I have lost it!" Naomi said, assuming an innocent tone.

Koro Sensei's expression changed immediately. The perpetually smiling face turned slightly pale and the octopus jumped in panic, rushing towards the wilderness below to locate the knife. Naomi smirked as Koro Sensei returned with the weapon and handed it to her, apologizing zealously. She pocketed it, turned around and sat down on the branch again. Her teacher sat beside her.

"So, Naomi. Will you care to explain what you are doing here?" he began.

Naomi frowned. She knew this was coming. "I wanted to explore this forest, for a project- tuition project!" she said, sure that she had not even convinced herself.

"Ah, I see! What is the project about?" Koro Sensei asked. Naomi started in disbelief at her teacher. Had he really believed that? But she said, nonetheless, "Night time animals and their behavior." she said whatever came to her mind.

"Really? Then how would you explain these?" Before she knew it her coat had been removed from her now hung on one of the yellow tentacles.

"Damn, Mach 20!" she thought again, and tried unsuccessfully to cover her bruises.

"Fine! Why do you want to know, anyways? You don't do this with the other students! Or do you?"

"Well Naomi," the octopus replied after returning her coat. "Other students have their weaknesses too and me being your teacher, it is my duty to help all of you out, help all of you to grow up. With you, I decided on a more direct approach. That's all. Now, where were we?" The octopus rubbed his tentacles as if excited about the upcoming story.

"Ugh! You're annoying!" Naomi said, but began anyway.

"I fell down from the stairs." she said after some thought. She looked away from the beady eyes and feigned the needed posture and tone to convey shame. It was a lie from a professional's mouth.

Koro Sensei stared at the purple haired girl for some time but Naomi kept up the act and in the end, even he had to be convinced. "Hmm, well good night then! I must thank you for the wonderful entertainment with your guitar! See you tomorrow in class!" and her teacher disappeared in a blur of yellow.

Naomi sighed, relieved.