Ayee, new chapter! A long one too, which is also why it took a while (and also my lectures. But hey, I warned you)

So. Our boys fell down the cliffs. Did they survive? Did they not? Who knows? What if I was lying all along and this is a major character death fic? Ever thought of that, huh?

Jokes. I love them too much. Meaning I won't kill them but some suffering always come handy :3


Karma would usually blame his reluctance to wake up on the fact he played games until two a.m. Or that he simply didn't belong to the special kind of group of psychopaths called early birds. This time, he's blaming it on the pounding pain in his skull and the sharp stabbing in his right shoulder. He'd honestly kill a man to reattain the bliss of oblivion, to forget what happened just moments ago, alas, he can't.

Also, it seems that someone is shaking him.

Which really fucking hurts.

Karma wants to scream out that he knows he's got to wake up before that mad assassin finds them and makes a teenager soup outta them but instead, a groan escapes his lips.

"Akabane! You ass! HEY!" The noise finally starts making sense and Karma blinks his eyes open, only to be greeted by his brother's amethyst glare. The aggression behind Gakushuu's voice could easily be misinterpreted as fury, but Karma hears the undertone of worry.

"Can you hear us, Karma-kun?" Nagisa-kun's face enters his view. Ah, so Karma is the last one to come to. That realization makes him slightly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, loud and clear," he sighs. With some support, Karma shifts to sit up but stops abruptly, the pain in his shoulder shooting all over his body. Okay, so he's probably not using his arm any time soon. Karma suspects he served as a pillow to his two companions when falling, so one hurt shoulder is a pretty generous trade-off. Though he does wish it were the left one. He needs his right arm more.

"We need to get out of here."

Karma uses Nagisa-kun's help to stand up. The moment he's on his feet, the world sways dangerously and he curses under his breath.

Okay, one shoulder and maybe a head injury. He wasn't bleeding though, thank god, but the impact left him dazed with a skull-splitting headache.

Karma tries to focus on anything else. He looks at the two and notes that Gakushuu only has a few scratches here and there. His stance is a bit awkward which makes Karma suspect he might have hurt his left leg, seeing that he put less weight on it. Nagisa-kun has a bruise on his cheek and his clothes are a mess, torn in places and exposing cuts and other bruises. Other than that, nothing serious. Hopefully.

Karma sighs in relief. At the very least, they were alive and not fatally injured.

He looks around. They truly did land in the middle of a thick forest, with nothing else but trees and trees on end. The sky remains dark, with only the moon occasionally illuminating the ground. Karma pats his pockets instinctively and internally rejoices when he feels his phone. He takes it out and turns it on-

"There's no signal," Gakushuu tells him at the same time Karma notices it.

Damn it.

He looks at the time. It's already past midnight - two hours after the attack, which means that they've been out here for more than an hour. The realization that Karma had been unconscious for so long sends shivers down his spine. But the fact that they haven't been found yet means that this place is large enough for the assassin to meander through with little luck of finding them. The chances of their survival suddenly shine much brighter.

Thankfully, the knife and Bitch-sensei's purse were still on him. Koro-sensei hasn't uttered a single word yet, so it's safe to assume their teacher knows about Gakushuu's presence.

Which also meant that they couldn't rely on his guidance.

Karma sighs and looks at his friend and brother: "We should find a place to hide-"

"-from what? Who was that guy? What does he want? Can someone please explain what the hell is happening?!" Gakushuu rudely interrupts, his gaze darting all over the place in search of any potential dangers. He's genuinely on edge and Karma knows to tread carefully.

Nagisa-kun glances at Karma, face contorted in uneasiness. Karma cannot offer a good answer either. They can't tell Gakushuu the truth, that's for sure. That their class is actually an assassination class, that their teacher a target and simultaneously the target of all the assassins around the world.

Firstly, Koro-sensei was a national secret. The students had to sign a non-disclosure agreement and there were probably consequences to breaking it that none of them wanted to deal with. Secondly, Gakushuu would either think they went nuts or go nuts himself. And last but not least (and this was purely Karma's opinion), his brother being the mother-hen-stupid-overprotective-idiot, Gakushuu would force Karma to leave the class even if it were the last thing he did. Which Karma really didn't want to do. So no, thank you.

"Who knows? Let's just find a way to keep ourselves alive first, then care about the details," Karma waves his hand in dismissal.

"Karma-" Gakushuu starts, but his younger brother ignores it.

"Any of you have any devices-"

"Karma!" the A-class student demands again, stepping right into Karma's face. "Stop lying. You know exactly what's happening. Tell me now," he snaps.

"Look, we don't have time for that. Just listen to me and-"

"I do not plan on blindly following you. An explanation. Now. Who is that crazy guy and why is he after you?! What happened at the restaurant? What did you talk to him about?!" His face comes closer and Karma starts to feel like a small child again, a child that's being interrogated by his parent after having done something wrong. Except he did nothing wrong. He tried to protect his friends and his brother. Why did Gakushuu have to be such a dumbass and follow him? Karma would have managed it somehow, now he was worried sick about this moron being dragged into this mess.

"I'm sorry, Gakushuu, I can't-" he chokes out silently, looking away. He knows that Gakushuu isn't being unreasonable and it does nothing to placate the guilt of having dragged him into this situation.

Thankfully, someone interrupts them. Both siblings jolt in surprise – they completely forgot they had an audience.

Sometimes, Nagisa-kun was way too good at hiding his presence. It was one of the things that really unnerved Karma.

"Guys, there's no point in arguing about this. Let's just... move for now. Okay?" He suggests with a weak smile in an attempt to loosen up the situation. Karma was for once glad that he wasn't alone in this as it proved more difficult with each passing moment to stay calm.

"Just by the way, since when are you two calling each other first names?" Nagisa-kun suddenly wonders aloud and the question gives the two yet another near heart attack. Karma takes his statement back in that moment - he is no longer grateful for his classmate's presence. Having two secrets and simultaneously hiding them from the two people involved sounds like real hell.

"Oh you see..." he tries to think of something, but the headache rids him of any useful excuses. Gakushuu is rendered speechless too. Not good.

"At the hotel too, but I thought I just misheard that," Nagisa-kun starts laughing nervously, as if afraid of the implications of it.

"Ah, no, I mean," Karma starts, fumbling for words. "I mean we know each other a bit too! From the first year! And I hated his guts so every now and then I mockingly called him like that! You know, coz his name means 'studious'! What a nerd. So lame, right?"

Karma feels his brother's eyes aggressively piercing him with a glint of absolute misbelief. If Gakushuu could speak up right now, he'd probably screech something between Seriously? You couldn't make up anything better? and What the fuck were you thinking, calling me that?!

The answer is, no he couldn't and nothing, Karma wasn't thinking at all. Calling his brother by his first name comes naturally to him, sue him for slipping up in extreme emotional distress.

Either way, they had better things to focus on. Karma can only hope that Nagisa-kun lets it go and maybe returns to the actual problem at hand. The assassin for example.

"Anyway, back to the topic. I snatched myself a knife. You got anything with you?" Karma asks, only to be met with headshakes.

"Okay. We really should find a place to hide then." He looks around in search of anything that could provide them with shelter. They need to last twenty-four hours out here or at least till their teachers find them. They can do that. With Karma's wits, Gakushuu's genius and Nagisa-kun's skills, they'll be fine. Even if there's a bloodthirsty professional killer eager to hunt them down, it's all fine.

Wow, Karma must have hit his head pretty hard to wholeheartedly believe that.

"We already looked around while you were out, there's nothing," Nagisa-kun informs him. "I suggest we go further."

"Okay. Let's go then."

And with that, they walk... who knows where.

To be honest, Karma doesn't have much of a plan right now. The most important thing is to survive until Koro-sensei transforms back and takes care of the assassin. Or until Karasuma-sensei and Bitch-sensei recover enough to help and send reinforcements. It's not like Karma wouldn't take on the attacker himself – the young cocky fighter that he is, Karma frankly would not hesitate to throw himself at the assassin. But this game of hide and seek holds higher chances of them succeeding and Karma, among other things, is a strategist.

The real problem right now is Gakushuu. What are they supposed to do with him? How should Karma even begin to explain the circumstances they found themselves in? Even as they walk, he can barely fight off the surge of questions Gakushuu itches to ask Karma. Somehow, keeping his brother in the dark for a whole day seems a whole lot more difficult than running away from an assassin.

And after that? When Koro-sensei returns back to his original form? What should Karma do then?

He thinks of drugging Gakushuu, but he doesn't have his equipment here.

But just for sure, what were the ingredients and the formula for said drugs again?

Wait, does Karma even know any that give the victim retrograde amnesia specifically?

Hell, he can't remember. He can't properly tap into any ideas or knowledge in fact. The train of thoughts crashes way before reaching its destination. The outside of Karma's head is no better. He dully notes that his vision is swimming again. Which... isn't great.

Is someone talking? He's sure he hears some... buzzing. Yet neither Gakushuu's nor Nagisa-kun's mouths move.

The shoulder doesn't stop hurting. It's definitely not dislocated and hopefully not broken either, but at any attempt of mobilising it, Karma winces in agony. His ankle screams with each step and Karma only realizes now that he greatly misjudged the extent of his injuries.

Still, the only thing that truly inconveniences Karma is the head injury. He can't properly think and even turning to the side a bit too fast brings forth an overwhelming wave of nausea. He really hopes it's not a concussion. Being chased by a madman is enough misfortune for today.

"You have been awfully silent for some time now, usually you wouldn't stop talking," Gakushuu suddenly whispers and it takes Karma a bit too long to realize it was in Latin. While he was lost in thoughts, his brother crept up and was now walking closely behind while Nagisa-kun trailed even a bit further back.

Karma doesn't answer. He's sure whatever would come out his mouth right now wouldn't help his case.

"Your steps are clumsy and you drag your foot."

Karma stubbornly walks forth.

"Your pace is unusually slow, I suspect even Shiota realized something is off."

Yeah, he knows he's not being the most subtle about it, but there'd be little point in acknowledging it.

"You are injured, aren't you?"

"I'm fine." Karma grits his teeth.

"I don't trust you."

"Too bad. Deal with it."

The silence gives Karma the illusion of having won this discussion. Jokes on him.

"Stop," Gakushuu orders. "Karma, I'm serious. Stop, I want to have a look at you."

But when he sees that his brother has no intention of doing so, Gakushuu pretends to slip and grabs Karma's arm to 'steady himself'. It's a fairly light tug because he's mindful of any potential injuries, but (Mis)Fortune wants it that he goes straight for Karma's right.

Karma hisses at the contact. He doesn't even have time to jerk away as black dots invade his vision and the whole world spins. The pain knocks him off his feet and Karma's knees buckle, almost hitting the harsh ground. Thankfully, Gakushuu catches him before it comes to it.

From behind, Nagisa-kun rushes to see what happened.

"Karma!" both of them cry out. "What's wrong?!"

He wants to say that nothing's wrong, just give him a minute to compose himself. However, the only thing that escapes his lips is a whimper.

"He's more injured than we thought," Gakushuu states, his voice breathy. Karma maliciously thinks to himself the panic and regret serve Gakushuu right for the stunt he pulled. Now he shall suffer the sight of seeing Karma writhing in pain.

Well, except there's no time for that.

"I'm fine," Karma groans, opening his eyes (they were closed?!) and trying to sit up (he was lying down?!).

His friend helps him hesitantly.

"Karma-kun, tell us the truth. Where did you get hurt?" Nagisa-kun's voice remains gentle and his gaze is firmly fixed on Karma. The extra attention makes him uncomfortable.

"I just hit my shoulder and this moron here-" he points at Gakushuu, "-yanked at it. That's all." He pulls the most convincing tone. It doesn't do much appeasing, unfortunately.

Karma moves to stand up but gets immediately held back by his brother.

Gakushuu takes out his own phone and flashes it before Karma's face. The intensive light almost makes him pass out.

"You're really pale. Your pupils are dilated and don't respond to light accordingly. You look unsteady on your feet and wince every time you move your head. It's most probably a concussion."

Right, Karma forgot Gakushuu liked to read medical stuff too. Is there anything this nerd doesn't know?

He knows from the adamant frown on his brother's face that can't argue much. So he slumps and lets out an exasperated sigh in defeat.

"We're taking a break, going any further would only worsen this moron's state. It's not like we can get any further with him anyway," Gakushuu tells Nagisa-kun, his calm and cold mask back on.

"How very considerate of you, Asano-kun," Karma mocks. He's not being serious but appearances have to be kept. Besides, he is annoyed.

The class A student too returns to his role: "Don't fancy yourself so much, Akabane. I need information from you. And although I'd love to leave you here to die, it's wisest to stay together at this moment."

With that, they help him stand up and assist him to a tree to sit by and lean on. Its thick trunk and roots actually make for quite a good seat and Karma eases himself into a half-lying position, which does wonders for his aching body.

"Well? What now?" he asks, trying to deflect from his sorry state.

"It'd be great if we could find a cave or something of that sort to provide us with a shelter. But what are the chances there'd be one in the forest?" Gakushuu folds his arms in contemplation.

No one utters a word. Karma glances towards Nagisa-kun who is sporting a rather troubled expression.

"What?" Karma asks, nudging his friend.

Nagisa-kun looks at him, puzzled.

"What's wrong? You have that gloomy expression of yours," Karma explains, still eyeing him. "Speak up."

The latter sheepishly admits: "I'm worried about our classes. What if the a-" he stops at the word assassin, remembering Gakushuu is listening as well. "What if that man returns to the hotel? What if he hurts them?"

Oh, that?

What a silly concern.

"What for?" Karma snorts.

"He could take them hostage and threaten us to-"

"How?"

"I don't know, but he could-"

"How?"

His friend stays silent, scrunching his eyebrows.

"He has no way of reaching us. Which means that even if he tried to blackmail us, he wouldn't even have a means of telling us that he is blackmailing us. The end. Chill."

Gakushuu nods, equally calm: "Plus by now, the students should be more or less fine. The drug wasn't that strong anyway," he adds. He makes his tone sound just as annoyed and disdainful as ever. Oh wait, he probably didn't have to pretend that.

"How can you be so sure, Asano-kun?" Nagisa-kun asks in confusion.

It's pretty obvious to Karma, so he opens his mouth to answer. However, Gakushuu whose face now grows more impatient (probably at how stupid everyone is in comparison to him) beats him to it:

"You are fine, aren't you?"

Nagisa-kun nods. "Yeah, more or less."

"You also inhaled a bit of the gas and you have been alright for some time now, so it's safe to assume the others can cater for themselves just fine by now."

A silent Oh is all that Nagisa-kun lets out, satisfied with the answer.

Gakushuu then redirects his attention to the sorry little lump of trouble on the ground: "You should rest for now, you look ready to drop dead."

That remark surprises Karma: "Thank you very much but I'm fine. And where is all that kindness coming from, anyway, Asano-kun?" he sings obnoxiously.

"Kindness my ass, I told you a while ago that I need information and that staying together is the best thing we could do to survive," Gakushuu snorts.

"If you need information, you can go and interrogate Nagisa-kun."

"It's easier to do so with an injured person, they can't run away."

For a while, they silently glare at each other, at a stalemate. Karma gets it, Gakushuu has every right to be worried, but this isn't the time for his mother-hen antics. Karma isn't trying to be a stubborn rebellious shit – he truly can walk, can bite down the dizziness and put one foot before the other. Not forever, but at least till they find a safe cover or more tools to fend for themselves. Water would be great too. So no, he has no intention of decreasing their chances of staying alive because of one stupid concussion.

"Shiota, if you would, could you please take a stroll around here and make sure there's nothing dangerous nearby? We're staying for some time so it'd be good to know the terrain in case something happens," Gakushuu suddenly orders, his tone irrefutable.

Nagisa-kun spares Karma a glance, hesitant to leave him alone. Karma shrugs, assuring his friend that it's alright. That calms him enough to actually go on the patrol.

Once his silhouette shrinks and he looks far out of hearing range, Gakushuu whispers in Latin: "I know you aren't as well as you say you are, Karma. Rest up and after an hour, I will wake you up and we can go."

"I thought you weren't supposed to sleep with a concussion?" Karma raises an eyebrow.

"That's a hoax. You're responsive and mobile so sleeping won't be a problem. And I'm monitoring you."

Karma dismisses it: "I can cope, we need to find a safer place."

His brother doesn't accept that suggestion: "I'm not buying it. I understand your intentions but you need to understand that just as you are worried about us, I am worried about you. You're pale as a ghost, you literally threw yourself down a cliff."

"Gakushuu-"

"Listen to me."

Once again, Karma is forced to give in. He knows that Gakushuu is as stubborn as he is, if not more, and arguing would take away way too much energy. He couldn't fight back anyway if Gakushuu decided to hold him down and knock him out. The last thing he needs right now is one angry older sibling putting him down like a dog.

"One hour. That's all I'm asking you for," Gakushuu's face softens.

One hour is quite a lot. What if the assassin finds them? Karma's worried he'll become even more groggy and slow than he already feels after that nap.

But he doesn't have much of a choice, does he?

"Half an hour," Karma demands, the last attempt at asserting his point.

Gakushuu rolls his eyes but nods: "Fine. Now sleep."

Which turns out it be quite easy because as soon as Karma closes his eyes and relieves himself of the effort to appear strong, his consciousness drifts away.


Gakushuu doesn't have to wait longer than five minutes before he hears Karma's breaths even out.

He crouches in front of his younger brother, inspecting him once again. Although dark, Gakushuu can now much more easily make out the sweat rolling down Karma's forehead. His complexion didn't improve much, but at the very least it didn't get worse either.

He brings a hand to the idiot's cheek. It's a bit clammy despite the warm temperature, and so is Karma's hand. Gakushuu takes off the extra shirt on him (it was purely decorative but now proved quite useful) and puts it over Karma's body.

Satisfied, he stands up. Despite the quiet around him, Gakushuu feels extremely agitated. He has absolutely no idea what's going on and who they're running from. This private island was specifically reserved for Kunugigaoka's classes, so how did anyone enter it without authorisation?

Another thing - what did their attacker want? Gakushuu paid attention to the scene earlier in the hotel - Karma grabbed his foreign teacher's bag and took something out as he walked toward the cloaked man. That was also the moment they started talking - negotiating, Gakushuu realizes - after which the two of them left. So whatever Karma held on to must have been the target.

Gakushuu looks at his brother. The handbag still hangs off of his shoulder and partially lies beneath Karma's back. He obviously placed it there so that no one could take it away from him. Still, Gakushuu carefully reaches for it-

"Asano-kun!"

But abruptly jerks his hand away upon being called. Shiota Nagisa runs towards them, thankfully oblivious to Gakushuu's intentions.

"Shiota," he acknowledges, steeling himself.

"I found a large tree a bit further from here, it's hollow and could probably work well for hiding..." he slowly trails off upon seeing Karma unconscious. Panic seeps into his tone: "What happened?"

Gakushuu easily answers: "He closed his eyes for a moment to 'rest' apparently and instead fell asleep." Not after being forced and begged to do so, but that sums it up.

The boy from E-class sighs in relief and nods: "I see. I hope he feels better."

Karma's chest rises and falls and Gakushuu watches, affection painfully swelling.

"Yeah. Me too."


Baby boy was right about surviving the fall. But at what cost?