Hey! Sorry for the delay, haven't been sleeping properly in a while and got sick. Upsie.


Asano Gakushuu isn't as perfect as everyone imagines him to be. Sure, when it comes to grades, sports and charms, there can hardly be any flaws to find. He studies every day, hones his skills at any moment given in order to remain at the top. He has never skipped or missed a class or a day of practice for his sports training.

The thing is, though, his personality comes nowhere near what people expect. Character-wise, Gakushuu resembles a delinquent more than a typical high-achieving pupil. He never hesitates to use underhanded tactics to attain his goals, he lies like a trooper with absolutely no conscience when deemed necessary. Which is quite often, honestly. When he manipulates his classmates even teachers to dance as he pleases, for example.

Or like now.

Karma is sending him death glares for waking him up not half an hour later but an hour and a half later. It seems that his younger brother did check the time before falling asleep.

Really, what a drama queen.

It's not like Gakushuu had done it out of any ill intent, quite the opposite. He wanted to give Karma enough time to rest up because he knew that once awake, the idiot would very gladly go and strain himself while stubbornly insisting he felt fine.

Was Gakushuu being overprotective, exaggerating and irrational?

Yes, his younger brother would crankily deadpan.

No, Gakushuu would say, smacking him down. And then explaining again why he was right and Karma wasn't.

Now that they are all back on their feet again though, the three of them can at last move to the hideout that Shiota had found. Gakushuu didn't hold much hope for a proper refuge. The bars are so low that anything that camouflages or at least obscures the view of them would do, really.

And thankfully, the hollow trunk they end up at does the job. Its entrance hangs low, a narrow hole just above its roots. The inside of it smells damp and earthy, it looks a bit cramped but after some calculation, Gakushuu decides it's probably still enough for them to fit in. Not perfect, but better than standing in plain view for their pursuer to see.

"Nice job, Nagisa-kun." Karma gives a thumbs up, looking at his classmate. "Shelter - check. What now?"

"Hide until our teachers find us?"His friend just shrugs, offering a somewhat reassuring smile. Gakushuu decides to stick to his part in this play and remains conceitedly quiet, one step behind them. He can't be caught willingly conversing with two E-class students who childishly joke about how "comfortable and safe" this place seems.

"Yeah no doubt, this tree trunk is definitely going to save us from that guy's bombs and whatever else he has!" Karma exclaims and it slowly starts to grate at Gakushuu's nerves.

"Can you two please be silent for a bit," he finally snaps, in no mood to listen to this pointless chatter. Sure, they might be trying to deal with the situation using humour but it does nothing but unnerve Gakushuu more than he already feels.

Karma picks up on it. He cocks his head mockingly and grins: "What is it, Asano-kun? Afraid?" He closes the distance between them and puts his left hand on Gakushuu's shoulders. "Don't worry, if you stick to us, we will surely protect-"

He stops all of a sudden, flinching to his right. Gakushuu follows immediately, startled by the abrupt mood drop. He sees nothing and now that his brother finally shut up, he doesn't hear anything either. Yet Karma frowns and keeps staring, his eyes scanning their surroundings. The concentration doesn't let up for a whole minute, at which point Gakushuu can't bear it anymore:

"What?" he asks, confused.

"Did you hear that?" Karma's tone is hushed.

"Hear what?" Shiota joins the conversation.

"A click. I think I heard a click. Or something." Karma's brows furrow. But when neither of the two confirm it, he relaxes a bit: "Okay. Maybe I just... imagined it or something." Karma finally takes his paws off Gakushuu's shoulder and shrugs.

He looks around once more but then quickly beckons his friends to nestle in the tree trunk.

Now, they stay sitting ducks.

Not even a minute in, awkward silence befalls them and since Gakushuu has nothing better to do anyway, he returns to the core of this all.

"Who is that guy?"

Both E-class students inconspicuously (or at least they try, Gakushuu notices anyway) glance at each other. Gakushuu stands behind the conviction that they're obviously hiding it from them deliberately and it irritates him to no end.

"We don't know," finally, Shiota answers. His words sound true but then again, so do Gakushuu's when he lies. So although the boy looks meek and sincere enough, Gakushuu remains sceptical.

"But you know what he wants," he presses further.

This time, Shiota's body language shifts not so subtly. Unlike Karma, he doesn't seem very familiar with deceiving people and the nervosity unveils itself like ribbons the longer Gakushuu stays silent. He stares on without breaking away and Karma notices his tactic, immediately opening his mouth to interrupt.

Gakushuu beats him to it though: "And you have it, don't you, Akabane?"

His brother's reaction doesn't reveal anything. He looks at Gakushuu like he's the biggest loon under the sun, scrunching his brows in amusement: "Are you okay, Asano-kun? Did you hit your head too? You're cooking up some interesting conspiracy theories there."

Despite hearing that, Gakushuu's gut feeling doesn't go away. In fact, the flawless execution of such a nonchalant act only further confirms those suspicions. Karma giving a perfect answer with a perfect mask only means it's carefully crafted, that there is something more at stake. But what could force Karma to adamantly lie? Money? No. Out of all things, money does not belong to the list of things that Karma worries about. Where would class E get it from anyway?

Gakushuu analyzes other plausible options- some stolen antiquity? Highly classified information? No, once again, how would they even get their hands on such things? Maybe that lowly scum got involved with drugs? Drug activities that went south and now they're being hunted down as a result?

He looks at Karma, barely concealing the horror.

Karma looks back, worried.

No. That's also not it. It cannot be.

"What could the infamous End class have in possession to draw the attention of a, what should I call him, complete madman? As the student president and also someone who was unwillingly dragged into this situation, I demand to know. Now." He decides to play the authority card.

Karma snorts at that: "Unwillingly? You ran after us and the last time I checked, Nagisa-kun isn't capable of dragging people twice his size against their will." He turns to said boy right after that: "Sorry, Nagisa-kun."

Shiota rolls his eyes. "For what? Calling me weak or short?"

"I didn't exactly say that!"

"You implied it! Come on, Karma-kun, you know that's not funny." Shiota's expression tenses in annoyance.

"Actually! I-"

"Enough with that, we have more important things to discuss!" their bickering gets interrupted by the once again forgotten company whose vein on the temple feels like it's going pop any second.

"You are being too tense, Asano-kun. Loosen up!" Karma shushes. Gakushuu finds it difficult at this point to determine whether the asshole's truly trying to reassure him or just piss him off. Because seriously...

"Loosen up?! There's a guy with explosives going after us and you tell me to loosen up?!"

"I mean, that's why-"

"Don't you dare mention the laxatives!" Gakushuu seethes, threateningly pulling the boy by his collar.

Karma raises his hands (or at least tries to, his right flops pathetically), playing coy.

Gakushuu can't deal with this mess anymore. This whole situation is completely insane and absurd and he fundamentally hates everything that doesn't make sense. Never, ever, have things not made sense to him. Finding himself in a position where he holds no control plunges him into disarray.

"He's right though, Asano-kun. There is nothing we can do at this moment," Shiota chimes in out of the blue, almost making Gakushuu jump out of his skin. He says it civilly, an amicable smile on his lips. "We should calm down and wait for help."

Gakushuu shoots a glare at the E-class student, very well aware of how sharp and menacing his stare comes across. It's at this point that he firmly decides that really hates this Shiota Nagisa. Apart from the fact that he dares speak so casually - to him, an A-student, the council president no less - the boy reminds him more of a sewer rat than a person. Small and insignificant, so negligible, yet observing him with those dirty eyes. Their kindness is misleading, a ploy to make one let down their guard and Gakushuu feels like the moment he turns away, that rat is going to bite him and infect him with a deadly sickness.

It disgusts him.

And so does his brother's friendship with this plaque.

Gakushuu clicks his tongue in pure disdain and stands up, leaving before he really does catch something.

Despite it being something past three a.m., the darkness no longer feels oppressive and he already starts to see a bit better. The air isn't chilly at all, but the shirt he sacrificed for the major thorn in his side called Karma does make the humidity a bit more noticeable. Gakushuu walks away from the hideout, though not before being met with some protest. He tells them he's going to take a breather for a few minutes and leaves anyway, not waiting for any more objections.

Gakushuu breathes in and out, slow and measured, until his mind goes blank. The annoyance doesn't dissipate. Instead, it morphs into a different kind of murky heaviness, the one that makes him question what he truly knows and doesn't know anymore. About his school, his dominion, and his brother.


While the strawberry blonde takes his time strolling away, the two E-class students discuss their options.

"I think we're in trouble," Karma states casually, his eyes scanning outside to make sure Gakushuu doesn't hear them. He can't see him anymore, which somehow still isn't all that reassuring.

"You think?!" Nagisa-kun shrieks with horror all over his face. "We are lost in a forest with an assassin chasing after us - with Koro-sensei in the pitiful state he is, with Asano-kun who absolutely can't find out about him - and you think we are in trouble?!"

Karma chuckles nervously, fully aware of the gravity of their situation.

"Don't laugh! Karma-kun, I'm serious, what do we do?!" Nagisa-kun carries on with his rant and it's a funny change from the earlier act where he told Gakushuu there's no point in flipping out. However, Karma has to admit that the runt stood his ground quite well despite being intimidated. The way Gakushuu glared holes at Nagisa-kun screamed murderous intent.

Karma rubs his temples. The nap helped, but the pounding in his head stubbornly persists nevertheless. It's tiring to put up an unfazed front at all times, yet the moment he starts to freak out too, they're truly fucked.

"Why did you come after me?" Karma asks, turning more serious.

Nagisa-kun's eyes narrow in confusion. "What?"

"You were supposed to stay behind," Karma says and it sounds accusatory, even though he probably wouldn't even be alive anymore if they truly had. But had Nagisa-kun and Gakushuu not followed him, then at least it would only be Karma who'd get caught and gutted.

"I went alone, that was the plan. You shouldn't have gone after me," Karma groans, his chest heavy. "Nagisa-kun, you utter idiot, why?"

His friend's surprise morphs into something more defensive: "Sorry. I know you are worried."

"Of course I am!" Karma snaps.

Well, that is new, almost falls out of Nagisa's lips, but he chooses peace instead: "But I was worried about you too, that's why! We're friends and friends are supposed to stick together and help each other!"

Which Karma knows, of course.

Still. He wishes this turned out differently.

Nagisa isn't done though: "Besides, even if I hadn't, Asano-kun still would. For some reason, he decided to chase after you two despite our protests. I couldn't hold him down and letting him go alone wasn't an option either."

Karma barely hides the hitch in his breath. Of course Gakushuu ran after him without a second thought. Karma feels a bit stupid in hindsight - despite all their fights and disagreements, Gakushuu would set the world on fire if it meant keeping Karma safe. And to think he hoped Gakushuu would let him go with an armed guy just to save himself... He must have been very out of it.

At the prolonged silence, Nagisa-kun's face grows more worried. He nudges Karma: "Hey. At least we're in this together. We're going to be fine."

Before Karma can even answer, a familiar and fairly obnoxious voice interrupts their conversation: "That's right, Karma-kun! Only with friends and allies can you stand against the enemy!"

Both boys startle at the intrusion. Karma almost forgot that the reason they were even on a runaway was buried in the bag on his shoulder. He takes the orb out, revealing the strange form of their teacher. Koro-sensei has the audacity to pull his mouth into a wide grin.

"Oh thank goodness, I thought I was going to suffocate!" the octopus exclaims after finally seeing something different than darkness.

"You do realize what position we are in, don't you?" Karma asks with a dangerously low tone.

"Of course, I was here the whole time! And I heard everything you said!"

At that, Karma almost flinches. Everything? Did that mean the conversation with Gakushuu too?

His stomach turns at the realisation. They didn't mention being related though, did they? And they spoke Latin. Does Koro-sensei understand Latin? Karma has no idea. Shit, how could he be so reckless?!

"Great, so tell us Koro-sensei, what should we do now?" Nagisa-kun takes their teacher into his own hands, oblivious to Karma's inner conflict. It thankfully provides him with enough time to collect himself. Whether Koro-sensei found out or not, it doesn't matter anymore. For now, they need to crawl their way out of this mess.

Sweatdrops start flowing down the octopus' face, his eyes darting from one place to another: "I-, See-, Uh-, Well!"

"What are we going to do!" Nagisa-kun shakes the orb like a Christmas snow globe.

"I don't know!" their teacher whimpers, a comically heavy stream of tears running down his... whatever it was - face? Body? While pitifully sobbing, Koro-sensei explains: "My dear students, as long as I am in this form, I cannot help you. The wisest option would be to hand me over to the assassin-"

"Out of question," Karma cuts him off immediately. "We didn't put so much into this whole trip just to let you get taken by some random guy. No. Not happening, not after all the class has done."

"But then! You three will be in danger! And sensei won't be there to protect-"

"Besides, I literally kicked him in the nuts. I'm sure even if I give you up, he'll go after my neck anyway," Karma adds.

At that, both Nagisa-kun and Koro-sensei wince. Neither of them even tries to deny that statement, which quite honestly almost cracks Karma up.

In the end, he pokes his friend: "We can manage, right, Nagisa-kun? Like we always have."

The nod he receives in return reassures him more than he cares to admit. And although both of them felt quite anxious just a moment ago, this small conversation with Koro-sensei gives them a new sense of resolution.

"We should be fine, but..." Nagisa-kun starts, eyes wandering into the forest, "Asano-kun - what do we do about him?"

In order to not seem too familiar or friendly with Asano-kun, Karma feigns indifference. "He's gonna be fine too I guess. Probably knows all martial arts there are anyway."

He doesn't. Gakushuu knows a few but definitely not all.

Karma carries on: "Let him fight. Or we can use him as a sacrifice and run away when it gets tough - that would solve our problem of his nosy questions too!" He winks.

Nagisa-kun shoots him a disapproving frown. He should know that Karma's not serious... but just for sure, he clarifies it's a joke.

His classmate sighs and returns to the topic: "Right. But we really need to do something about his questions. Koro-sensei, we can't keep him in the dark for too long and when you transform back- what then? What should we tell him?"

For a long time, neither of them answers.

"Indeed, Asano-kun poses a real problem," Koro-sensei admits. He contemplates the topic for a while before groaning in defeat: "Ugh, this is too hard! I could try hypnotising him?"

This sounds like a joke too but Karma has the inkling that his superhuman teacher just might earnestly try to do that.

Still, the suggestion is met with two exasperated teens glaring holes at him.

There's not much point in discussing it either because it becomes apparent that apart from keeping up the lies, they aren't left with many options regarding Gakushuu's suspicions. Karma really will have to research drugs, potions, black magic or whatever there is that could wipe his brother's memory.

"Fine. Whatever. Just stay quiet then. Don't speak, do not do anything at all. If you do, I swear I will put a hundred sea slugs and worms on you," Karma threatens, ending this topic.

Ignoring the muffled shrieks, he puts Koro-sensei into the bag and then into Nagisa-kun's hands: "You take him, I'm not good at keeping things."

Nagisa-kun accepts it, not questioning the reasoning. He supposes it does make sense, Karma doesn't exactly exude responsibility to the outer eye so by extension, it's not that hard to believe he'd actually just lose Koro-sensei somewhere.

The truth is though, Karma does not want to have an unwelcome ear listening to his private chats with a certain stranger he calls brother.

"Nagisa-kun, take a nap, you're tired. I will be on watch," Karma offers upon (for the second time) noticing his friend yawning. They haven't had proper sleep since yesterday and it's already nearing four a.m. at this point. The exhaustion in Nagisa-kun's face only grows more evident.

Still, he tries to protest: "But you're injured and tired too-"

"I slept a while ago, I'm fine. The concussion is nothing I can't bear with. Now sleep while you can." Karma shooes him.

To be more exact, he shoves Nagisa-kun down, not giving him a chance to protest. Although the smaller boy does feel guilty about having to leave his friend on his own (or not really, Asano-kun was there too), his eyes truly burn, not used to sleep deprivation.

And so, two minutes later, he's completely out cold.

Karma makes himself comfortable too, with the extra space provided by Gakushuu's absence. He leans on the trunk and relaxes his eyelids only for a second. The pain no longer renders him useless, though it took a lot of teeth grinding to gradually get used to it. Karma wouldn't go as far as saying it significantly improved but at the very least he doesn't feel like puking every five minutes either.

Still, avoiding confrontation stands at the top of his list. Of course, if push comes to shove, he should be able to fight, but it will be a feeble performance. At worst, he'll crash to the ground at the first punch he throws, too dizzy and disoriented from the vertigo.

Pathetic. To think he'd become the most useless person in this operation.

No. Karma bites his lip. No time for self-loathing or doubts. He has to stay alert.

Karma glances at the phone. It's almost been ten minutes since Gakushuu left. He sure is taking his damn sweet time.


Gakushuu wanders around just for the sake of doing something. Sitting in one place like Karma and Shiota frustrates him, makes him feel useless. He needs to move and expend this negative fuel.

But now that he looks around and notices just how far ahead he walked, Gakushuu becomes uneasy. He can't even see the tree where Karma stayed anymore. It's been ten minutes. What if something happened while he got lost in his thoughts and left the two behind? His injured little brother and Shiota who probably doesn't even know how to punch without breaking his thumb - against a psycho with weapons.

Fuck. Gakushuu turns back in a hurry.

Or at least he tries to.

He doesn't even notice it until there's a cold blade on his neck.

"Don't move," a rough voice orders and Gakushuu freezes.

Fuck indeed.


Oh, boy's in trouble :)

Might need a full week again to update, I have an exam in a few days... I'm tired.

Till then, cya loves