Chapter 1: Introduction Time

The walls around me were closing in. The room I stood in was a typical school office…

***

It all started with suggesting to some of my fellow classmates a way for maximizing study habits. "You see you guys! You can do it too!" I flicked a switch on my wrist as the head brace-like device I had strapped to my head turned on. "The device stimulates the electrical impulses in the brain, thus allowing for further brain activi-"

"Shuri…" The tall, fearsome, tyrant that overlooked class 3-A addressed me. "I'm afraid that I'll have to stop you there. "While I laud you for taking initiative to try and bolster our study methods," he said in a way that those with lesser ears might think he was being completely nonchalant, "your mechanisms only seem to show that you feel that you're unable to handle Kunugigoaka's rigorous study schedule."

"It isn't like that, Asano sir!"

"Did he say you could address him?" A lanky cretin with long dark hair barked at me.

"You know the rules, Shuri, you've been spoken to on your artificial means to improve your ranking…" Another more plain looking boy adjusted his glasses.

"Yeah… and who are you to address the president by his name! Guy's gotta have some pretty big balls for that…" A handsome, suave boy flicked his hair out of his face.

"Quiet all of you…" The president himself spoke with such conviction. "Shuri… you've attempted time and time again to keep pushing yourself… All for the betterment of humanity, right?" He scoffed. "Humanity has been helped well enough… but I can't keep suggesting to the director that you should get off with a slap on the wrist… This is too many missteps from yet another 'prodigy'… I feel that the best course of action may be-"

***

"E-Class…" A look of dread fell over my face, as the dark, foreboding man sitting in front of me uttered those words. "Shuri, your blatant, continual disregard for the rules has become too frequent. While your inventiveness and creativity are major assets to this school and having a recognizable name like yours amongst our illustrious students, cheating can not be tolerated, it is with a heavy heart that I must come to the conclusion."

"But sir, I didn't chea-"

"Living on your own must fail to teach manners… I'm sorry that it's come to this, but maybe some time amongst your E-Class peers will humble you."

***

"Hey Shuri, it done?" The tall lumbering oaf looking down at me while I sat at my desk asked.

"I don't know how comfortable I am with-"

"If it will kill the guy does it really matter if you're 'comfortable' with it?" He blew me off.

"Terasaka wa-" I started to say.

"Eh shuddup Shuri…" One of the tall guy's lackeys cut me off… "Soon enough he'll be dead, and we'll be making our way down easy street."

"Yeah… Not all of us can afford our own place…" His toothy associate joined. "Of course if you don't care you can always give the three of us your portion of it all rich boy."

"I earned that money…" I growled to myself. "You simpletons can barely fath-" For a moment I felt the air escape my lungs as I was given a punch to the gut.

"This isn't A-Class moron… Keep talking like that and I'll make sure you don't get your portion…" The large homunculus that struck me turned away. "Now, I gotta go talk to Shiota. Don't make me come back here."

***

Tentacles all along? How and why the hell is this the- I was interrupted by my thought as the small-framed blue-haired class monitor stood up from his desk. No way he finished that fast, Shiota's no fool in poetry class, but he literally just gave us- Upon further inspection from my desk in back row, the glitter of a metallic ring caught my eye. Underneath… No Terasaka! This is what I was worried about… but Shiota… I looked up at the strange yellow tendrilly mass that had told me a few days ago that he was the teacher of 3-E. He seemed to be just as surprised as the rest of the class as Shiota slowly sauntered towards him. "Seems the muse favors Shiota…" The monstrosity, named but only a few moments ago, Koro-Sensei spoke. Slowly the small boy with tied back blue hair approached… and with but a quick flick of the wrist… stabbed nothing but air. That wasn't too much of a surprise for the class, we'd all come to expect this…

"Shiota!" I stood up from my desk in a panic as I saw him reach for the pin and fall forward. "Don't do it!"

"Nagisa!" The small framed, green haired girl sitting a few rows up from me went wide-eyed as a loud pop was heard and the room was then filled with a bombardment of Anti-Sensei BBs.

"Terasaka! This was your big idea!" I roared across the room to the lug cheering confidently to his cronies in his chair.
"Oh shut it, Shuri! You had just as much a hand in this as I did!" He shouted back… "Besides, Shiota had just as much future as the rest of us. Why shouldn't I give his life some sense of purpo-"

"Terasaka, Muramatsu, Yoshida!" We all looked ahead to the charred remains we all thought was our teacher, only to still hear his voice. Shiota was still under a large yellow membrane. Only a few moments later, he stood up completely unharmed. "It's not a body, it's a husk. I shed my skin once a month. I wrapped around your classmate to protect him from the blast." We all looked up to our creature of a teacher, with skin as black as night and eyes glowing red glaring down at the trio that claimed responsibility. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume you didn't see this coming… This was your doing wasn't it?" He dropped from the ceiling, his face becoming even darker and menacing.

"Wh-Who us?" Muramatsu stuttered.

"It was all Shiota and Shuri!" Terasaka decided to throw me under the bus too. "He made the damn grenade, octopus!" Our tentacled educator flew off at a breakneck pace… returning in under a minute as several plaques fell to the ground at their feet. "The name plate off my house!" Terasaka said in stunned surprise.

"Here's the deal kiddos, the agreement I have with your government, forbids me from harming you. But there's a catch, if you pull another irresponsible stunt like that again. There's nothing that says I can't harm someone else…" The tentacled monstrosity dropped the rest of our home name plates. "Family… Friends… Everyone in the world except for you if I feel like it."

"Go ahead Koro-Sensei…" I said from the back of the room, glaring at him. "Nothing we E-Class rejects wouldn't have been through before…" Something he said just had really pissed me off in the moment.

"Woah! Hold on there Shuri! He doesn't mean it, sir!" Class Rep Isogai tried to deescalate the situation.

"Yeah! Just because you apparently have nothing to lose doesn't mean the rest of us don't creep!" The blonde sitting behind him said. "Most of us have family, y'know?"

"You talk big, sir… However… We've got no reason to listen to your threats… You told us on your first day that you were the reason the moon blew up…" I looked out the window at the very quarter moon that was present in the sky. "A year from now, you'll blow up Earth."

"Y-yeah teach! We were just defending ourselves…" Terasaka shouted.

"But of course!" His face went from deep black to a mild orange with a red circle on it. "I know that, I'm not calling you irresponsible for trying to kill me. No, no, no!" A yellow tentacle extended towards me and pat both myself and Shiota on the head. As a matter of fact, Nagisa gets full marks for technique, and San for ingenuity. Nagisa, your composure was simply outstanding. If San hadn't stood up to alarm me I may have had less time to prepare than what I did. This brings me to my next point, none of you three," he pointed to the Terasaka gang, "nor Nagisa himself cared for Nagisa's well being. San on the other hand, stood up despite what trouble he could be facing. No assassin should be without care. Your words may say otherwise San Shuri, however, your tone speaks volumes. Listen well children, don't villainize San for what he says, read how he presents himself. Presentation is key to assassination. Students willing to throw theirs or their peers' lives away aren't fit to assassinate anyone. You must believe yourself worthy of your target. That means taking pride in what you do. In yourselves! And each other! All of you are more the sum of your parts… Just like that grenade San built, and wasn't that amazing boys and girls." I was stunned silent as I fell back in my chair, my eyes met with several of my classmates…

***

After class… I was walking myself back home. "Hey Shuri, wait up!" I heard the familiar voice of the blue-haired class monitor.

"What's up, Shiota?" I looked over my shoulder only to see no one there.

"Down here…" Nagisa sighed as I turned around and he came into full view from behind me.

"Oh sorry…" I rubbed the back of my head… "Listen about earlier…"

"You don't have to apologize… I chose to wear it."

"Yeah, but I didn't think those dumbasses would do that with it…" I gritted my teeth.

"Anyway, can you do me a favor… Can you… not call me by my last name."

"Oh shoot Sorry Shio- Sorry!"

"Eh don't sweat it… Just call me Nagisa… I just don't get along with my last name all too well."

"Well Nagisa, then I request for you to call me by my first name as well… Nagisa Shiota, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is San Shuri." I stuck out my hand as if I was offering a handshake. He took it and it almost felt like I was holding the hand of a toddler.

"Thanks San, anyway I think it's best if I get myself home! Though one of these days we should hang out!" He ran off as I nodded with a smile on my face.

***
A few days later…

"GRAAAAAH! First Akabane, now that blonde bimbo! What sorta freak are they gonna throw at us next…" I slammed my door shut as I came to the dark room that was the lobby of my apartment building. Two years ago, I designed a new brake system for the bullet trains that several of the companies picked-up, and because of that I still gain royalties to this day. It was also because of this and my unwillingness to let my father control my finances, that I was disowned from my family without even the chance to say goodbye to my little sister. I applied for Kunugigaoka a year ago and was even in the top ten amongst the students there. I bought a nearby apartment complex when I got into the school and have lived there, by myself, ever since.

This was all the more worrying when I noticed someone out of the corner of my eye, sitting on my couch looking up at me with crimson eyes. I turned quickly around and attempted to move for the light switch, only to feel a sharp blade being put intensely against my back. "San Shuri…" The voice reminded me of a film star that recently mentioned that she was stepping away. "My name is Ame Sasu, I've been hired to act as a student in Kunugigaoka Junior High Class 3-E. For my assignment I would request your assistance."

"I-I'm willing to hear you out, b-but I'm hoping you won't outright kill me if I refuse." I swallowed the fear in my throat as she removed the sharp edge from my back.

"Great to hear it!" Her voice immediately became cheerful. The room immediately grew bright as she flicked on the light switch. As I looked at her I saw a girl even shorter than Nagisa and Kayano. She had ghostly white hair and crimson red eyes. "So Onii-chan, you got anything to eat around here? I can always cook us up a meal if you're hungry. I know you spent a long day at school."

"Onii-chan?" I asked with major befuddlement.

"Yeah, and it's so nice for you to host me, Onii-chan ever since father threw me out."

"Lady I have no clue who you-" I stopped as I found the tip of my kitchen knife underneath my throat.

"Listen silver hair, you live alone, and have no other family, blow my cover, and this goes through your throat… Got it? For now my name is Ame Shuri, and I'm your little sister. Your father's illegitimate daughter that you just found out about. Do I make myself clear?"

"Cr-crystal…" I got out.

"Good… Now…" Her mood shifted yet again. "Go get set for dinner Onii-chan! I can't wait to see those blue eyes sparkle when you see what I'm about to cook up! Ohhhh you've made me so excited!"

This was how my life with Ame Sasu, The Hannya, began.