Isogai sighed as he looked at the slowly setting sun. After losing both Maehara and Sugino, he had decided to leave the building and go on the attack instead. But he had underestimated the sheer size of the mountain, for he hadn't seen a single one of his remaining 4 classmates yet.
'Maybe I should've just waited and ambushed them,' He thought. But alas, it was too late now. Night would soon fall again, and he had decided to stick it out until the gladiator fight.
Lost in thought, he walked behind a large bush as he noticed movement in the corner of his eye. On the other end stood Yada and Kurahashi, and both looked just as surprised to see him. For multiple seconds, nobody moved a muscle.
Then, Isogai quickly went for his blowgun, but Yada was faster. She swung her whip, wrapping the end around Isogai's wrist, forcing him to drop the weapon.
"Now Hinano!"
The orange-haired girl quickly charged forward, wielding a small trident as Yada tried to hold the boy in place, but he was too strong, pulling the weapon out of her hands and making her fall forward.
With both hands free, the ikemen managed to avoid Kurahashi's stabbing attack, grabbing the weapon and pushing her back into a tree, leaving her in a daze. He then turned towards Yada, who was already back on her knees holding a dagger, aiming the trident to kill her before she could do anything. But suddenly he lost his balance, as Kurahashi had jumped back up and grabbed his legs from behind.
"What the…? Are you out of your mind?!"
"Nothing of the sort!" Kurahashi yelled, "Just a simple fake-out."
Thrown forward by Kurahashi's momentum, the two crashed into Yada and all three started rolling downhill until they came to a stop in the field below.
"Ow ow ow…" Kurahashi groaned as she rubbed her lower back, "You guys still in one piece?"
"I think so," Isogai responded as he got up and inspected his body, "But it looks like I'm out." He noted as he pointed at a long streak of paint running over his torso: "You got the drop on me, Kurahashi. Congratulations."
"Sorry," Kurahashi chuckled, "You heard that, Touka? We beat our class president."
"Nice," Yada spoke up as she rose up from the long grass, "Though let's skip the rumbling and tumbling next time. I think I actually sprained something this time."
As the brown-haired girl sat up and began readjusting her hair, she noticed Kurahashi's smile vanishing.
"What is it?"
"I'm so sorry, Touka…" The orange-haired girl responded.
Looking down, Yada noticed a streak of paint running from her back all the way to her hip.
"Oh, I see…It must've happened during our fall."
"Well, nothing we can do about it now, " Isogai smiled as he helped her up, "Let's head back and cheer for Kurahashi and our remaining classmates to do their very best in the few remaining fights."
"Thanks, prince charming."
"He really is prince charming, isn't he?"
"Dude, at this rate, I predict some polyamorous action between Yada and both the class reps."
"Ssh, don't let Kataoka hear you!"
Nearly the whole class by now had gathered around Ritsu, watching intently as one classmate after another dropped out of the game."
"I have to say, that was rather bold," Karasuma commented, "Throwing yourself at an opponent like that without a solid plan is quite reckless."
"Well, they were up against one of the strongest combattants of our class, "Maehara spoke up, "If Isogai had managed to hit Yada and turn it into a 1v1, our fluffy stag beetle would've been toast."
"And don't worry. I was ready to move into action if anything serious was about to happen," Korosensei said as he held up a first aid kit, "No kids getting injured on my watch."
"With the elimination of both Isogai and Yada, it seems only 3 people are left," Takebayashi spoke up, "So if one more person gets eliminated, we'll immediately move on to the final fight."
"I calculate that chance is quite high, given the victim frequency." Ritsu answered.
"Nurufufu, let's see for ourselves, shall we?"
As Okano heard two more fireworks in the distance, she immediately turned around. If she had counted correctly, only 3 or 4 people were left. There was a big chance they would soon enter the gladiator fights, which means she had to stack up on weapons. Her hammer had served her well, but she'd prefer to use some blades in her final battles.
The gymnast eventually decided to head for the class building. If any of the boys were still alive, the chance was small they'd stick around an empty fortress. Which means there was bound to be some loot left.
As she left the woods, she noticed all of her dead classmates on the platform, sitting around Ritsu. Some even turned around and waved at her, but she decided to ignore them. Until she heard the wood creaking and felt a sudden simmer of bloodlust…
As she turned around, Kayano jumped in the air above her and landed right on top of her. Only by moving her head at the last second, the gymnast managed to avoid an immediate death by the knife that was now plunged in the sand next to her ear.
"Dammit," Okano cursed as clenched her hands around Kayano's wrists, "Who are you trying to copy, Nagisa on Nakamura or professor Bitch on coach K?"
"Either's fine by me! We've learned from both!" The green-haired girl groaned as she had retracted the knife from the ground and was pushing it towards Okano's body. Above them, their classmates were cheering them on.
"Come on, Hinata!"
"Do your best, Kayano!"
"Now that's some girl on girl action, even though there's a clear lack of bust si… Aye! I'm quiet, I'm quiet!"
"Fight hard, you two! The winner is bound for the finale!"
Feeling she'd lose the fight at this rate, Okano suddenly pushed the knife to the right, bucking her lower body as she managed to throw Kayano off. The green-haired girl rolled over the ground, quickly back on her feet and taking a fighting stance with the knife in her hand.
"Not bad," Okano panted as she got back up as well, "But I did say I wouldn't be so nice this time, didn't I?"
'Dammit,' Kayano thought, 'That was my best shot. Taking her out in close combat will be tricky.'
"Now, let's finish this!" Okano shouted as she clenched her hammer for the last time and went on the attack.
Kurahashi got startled as her phone suddenly buzzed. Getting up from what she was doing, she quickly opened the screen and answered.
"Hello?"
"Congratulations, Kurahashi!" Ritsu spoke to her, wearing a cheerleader outfit as confetti flew around the screen, "You made it into the Assassination Classroom Hunger Games Finale!"
"I did? Really?!"
"You sure did." The AI girl answered, "Now, you have one hour to prepare yourself and return to the E class building. At sundown, you and your final opponent will battle it out in front of the entire class."
"Sounds good!," The orange-haired girl smiled, "I'll be there."
As soon as the call ended, the girl immediately felt nervous. She wondered who her final opponent would be, and if she would be able to beat them. No, she would be able to do this. After all, she had been sharpening her hidden blade…
"Not gonna lie, this is seriously getting me pumped up"
"Yeah, it almost feels like a ceremony."
"Was this seriously necessary?" Karasuma groaned.
"Nurufufu, nothing wrong with a little atmosphere," Korosensei responded, "Even you have to agree this setting gets you excited for the upcoming battle."
As the sun was setting, Korosensei had placed a large circle of tiki torches around the track, illuminating the darkened field. All the fallen students were sitting around within the circle as they awaited the start of the fight. As a bonus, Korosensei had engaged Sugino, Hara and Fuwa to play large drums while Ritsu played a blood-pumping background melody.
"There she is!" Yada shouted as Kurahashi appeared from the woods. She was wearing the hood of her combat gear and was armed with both a shield and a short, curved sword. As the orange-haired girl entered the circle, everyone started clapping and cheering, congratulating her on her accomplishments and making her blush.
"Hi there, didn't think you'd be my final opponent."
As Kurahashi looked to the other side of the circle, she saw her final challenger. A petite, lean girl armed with both a combat knife and a cutlass saber. Her short brown hair flowed in the chilly evening wind and the light of the torches reflected in her violet eyes…
"Hinata Okano, Hinano Kurahashi!" Karasuma shouted as the music died down. "Welcome to the end of this multi-day exercise! Both of you have done exceptionally well in making it this far! But now it is time for the final fight!"
"Well said, mr. Karasuma," Korosensei continued, "That being said, every single one of these boys and girls have given it their all during this fight. All of you should be as proud of yourself as we are of you."
"That's all well and good," Irina spoke up, "But don't take the spotlight away from those girls. The fight isn't over yet."
"Nurufufu, wouldn't dream of it," Korosensei chuckled, "In fact…"
Korosensei moved quickly, and suddenly all the weaponry of both girls were applied with a fresh coat of paint. Violet for Okano, orange for Kurahashi.
"Nurufufu, now they're really ready for the fight."
"Very well. Begin!"
As the music started again and everyone started cheering for their favorite fighter, the girls started circling around each other.
"Well then, I didn't expect we'd have our rematch of the Hina's so soon," Kurahashi smiled, "But this time I won't lose!"
"We'll see about that!" Okano grinned as she jumped forward, quickly closing the distance between them using her acrobatic skills.
Kurahashi braced herself as Okano made a flip and slammed both feet into her shield, launching herself back into the air before the orange-haired girl could counterattack with her sword.
"Ooh, that was good. Kurahashi's gonna be toast at this rate."
"Don't give up, Hinano! You can do this!"
"Dude, I bet 2000 yen on Okano."
"EXCUSE ME? NO GAMBLING ON YOUR CLASSMATES!"
Okano kept running circles around Kurahashi, who was barely able to block her using her shield. And whenever the orange-haired girl tried to strike back, Okano would simply jump backwards.
"This feels quite one-sided," Irina commented, "Hinano's barely able to hold her off."
"Indeed," Karasuma added, "When it comes to speed and agility, Okano is undefeated among the girls, and the only girl who can match her skills with a knife is Kataoka. Kurahashi is managing to tank her attacks for now, but the question remains if she'll be able to do that until her opponent has spent all her stamina."
"That seems unlikely," Korosensei spoke up, "However, don't count Kurahashi out just yet."
Both girls were standing still in the ring. Okano was panting, and Kurahashi's shield arm felt numb from all the blows she had taken.
"Feel like giving up yet?"
"Not on your life."
This time, Kurahashi was the one charging forward, swinging her sword down towards Okano. But the gymnast reacted lightning fast, using both of her blades to parry the attack.
After a few seconds of struggling, Okano pushed back with a loud groan, and both her saber and Kurahashi's sword flew into the air. Without a moment of hesitation, Okano swung her leg and kicked Kurahashi hard in the chest, sending the orange-haired girl flying backwards into the sand. Before she could get back up, Okano was on top of her, pinning her arm and shield to the floor.
"That was a great match, Kurahashi," Okano smiled as she raised her knife, "But looks like I win."
"Not…yet." Kurahashi groaned. Looking with determined eyes at the slightly confused Okano, she whistled loudly. Suddenly, a pair of tiny eyes appeared in the space between her hair and her hood.
"What the…?"
Before she could react, a ferret shot out from under Kurahashi's hood, jumping on Okano and clamping itself to her face and hair.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Is that a facehugger?!"
"Of course not, dumbass! It's some kind of rodent!"
"Nurufufu, and there it is," Korosensei chuckled, "Kurahashi's ultimate hidden blade."
As Okano was struggling with the ferret on her face, Kurahashi managed to slip one arm free, grabbing the kunai on her belt and swinging the blade, leaving a streak of dripping orange paint on Okano's body.
"Gah…"
Okano's body fell limp as she felt the fatal strike. As Kurahashi dropped her blade and carefully picked the ferret of her face, the gymnast looked at her red-faced and frustrated, with tears stinging in her eyes.
"That was a dirty trick."
Kurahashi simply smiled and shrugged innocently as she caressed her pet: "I'm sorry, this was my second blade. There's no way I would've won against you otherwise."
Okano looked pissed for a few seconds, but then took a deep breath and wiped her eyes before getting off her.
"You're right," Okano smiled as she held out her hand and helped the other girl up, "You beat me fair and square."
Suddenly, the whole class started clapping and cheering, congratulating the both of them.
"So what the hell happened?," Irina shouted flabbergasted, "Did she seriously fight with a squirrel hidden in her uniform?"
"Impressive," Karasuma spoke up, "Kurahashi has used animals in her assassination attempts before, but I didn't realize she was capable of training them in only a day."
"She's actually been training him for weeks now," Yada answered, "Ferrets are notorious for being able to crawl into clothes without getting caught, so we thought it'd be a great idea to slip the little critter into Korosensei's robes to make him panic."
"Nurufufu, quite an original idea," Korosensei chuckled, "Though I guess I'll have to schedule some content regarding the dangers of housing wild animals and diseases they can carry into our next biology class."
"That being said, they've earned some praise and celebration for now," Karasuma smiled as Kurahashi was carried around on Kataoka's shoulders, "All of them worked hard and fought even harder, sharpening their individual blades."
"Couldn't have said it better myself."
"So, what's this little guys' name?"
The whole class had moved back indoors and had moved their desks into one long table for a nice class dinner.
"It took me a while to think of something, but I decided to go with Chestnut." Kurahashi smiled.
"Oh, because of his color?" Sugaya asked.
"Yeah, but also because his burrow is under a chestnut tree," The orange-haired girl answered, "Bet the little guy is having a nap there now."
"No kidding," Isogai grinned as he was happily indulging in the food, "Fighting against Okano must've tired him out."
"Not just him," Kurahashi sighed as she leaned back in her chair, "I can't wait to just lie down and relax."
"You can do that after dinner," Kataoka smiled as she patted her on the shoulder, "You and Okano both. The rest of us will take care of the cleanup and such."
After dinner, Korosensei gathered all his students around for a final quick announcement.
"Now, since you all fought so fiercely and the game ended a lot quicker than expected, we'll allow all of you one more sleepover night in the building, this time with the entire class."
"Just don't get any ideas, brats," Irina spoke up, "No getting frisky with each other."
"Do we really need to hear that from you?" The class deadpanned.
"However, let me once more congratulate you on your hard work, as well as point out one detail I'm exceptionally proud of," Korosensei said as he blinked orange with a red circle, "I noticed that, even though this game was supposed to be survival on your own and backstabbing was fair game, none of you ever doubted your involuntary teammates. And in return, none of those bonds of trusts were ever broken. It's a small detail, but it shows your undying loyalty towards each other, as well as the bond you have built as the E class."
"Thank you, Korosensei," The whole class responded as a wave of glee went through the group.
"That's really nice of you, Korosensei," Kimura spoke up, "But we can't forget about one more thing: the winners' prize."
"Nurufufu, of course, where are my manners," Korosensei chuckled, "For winning the Assassination Classroom Hunger Games, our very own Hinano Kurahashi is relieved from homework for an entire week…"
"And I get to have dinner with coach Karasuma!" The girl cheered as she looked at the stern teacher with hearts for eyes. Karasuma sighed, but smiled and gave her a nod.
"Sure, I guess you've earned it."
"Well well, gotta admit even I'm a bit jealous," Nakamura grinned as she rested her arm on the overjoyed girls' shoulder.
"Watch out, professor Bitch," Yada chuckled, "Seems you're getting competition."
"Sweetie, no one will be cracking that square before me." Irina retorted as she flicked her hair.
"Anyway, now that that's over with, let's make the best of our time together," Korosensei spoke up, "Let's enjoy the rest of our sleepover, and of course, feel free to come and try to kill me in my sleep, nurufufu."
"Yes sir!"