CHAPTER 11: CLASS 3-E
Yuuki was busy packing up her belongings. It was the end of the school day. She checked her phone; no text from Karma.
"Hmm? Weird.." she mumbled.
Midori went up to her. "What's up?" she asked in interest.
Yuuki shook her head and turned to look at her friend. "Karma hasn't texted me.. I wonder what's going on with 3-E…" she explained.
"Do you want to head over there?" the girl asked.
"I have no choice. He promised to send me home," Yuuki replied.
"Okay, be safe. I'm heading out first," Midori replied.
"See you!" Yuuki said to her.
She continued to pack her things. As she did, she heard voices from her other classmates who are still in the classroom.
"Honestly, how did a bright girl like her get stuck with a 3-E senior?"
"Yeah, are we out of eligible boys in the main building?"
"Maybe he bribed her or blackmailed her?"
"I wish that was true…" Yuuki mumbled to herself.
She picked her school bag and ran out of the classroom. As she stared at the pathway to class 3-E, a few students were watching and whispering. She did not pay attention to them and made her way up.
The moment she arrived, she heard a breaking glass. A student was thrown out. Yuuki ran into the building. She arrived at the classroom door, but before she could reach for the door, it was opened by a figure in white. He was holding on to the student from before. Yuuki backed away to the wall, to make way for him. She waited outside and listened in.
"I'm embarrassed that I took part in such a serious matter. I'm supposed to be a comedian," she heard Koro-sensei said. "My selling point is being a natural dimwit. Being seen with such a serious expression has ruined my characterization!"
"It makes me mad that you've even got your own character figured out." Sugino said.
"But that was surprising. That Itona kid actually had tentacles," Irina-sensei mentioned.
Isogai spoke, "Koro-sensei, hurry up and tell us. What is your relationship with those two?"
"You always avoid talking about your real form," Hayami said.
"We got curious seeing your expression just now," Sugino remarked.
Kataoka agreed. "We're all your students. So we have the right to know about our teacher."
"It can't be helped. I suppose I have to tell the truth…" Koro-sensei started, " Actually.. I am a man-made life-form!!"
"Andd..?" the students asked.
"Why are you not shocked or surprised?!" the teacher asked.
"Well... an octopus can't go at Mach 20 if he was not man-made," Okajima muttered.
"And since you're not an alien this is the only probability." Hara said.
"What we want to know is what happened after that, Koro-sensei," Nagisa explained and asked, "Why were you so angry when you saw Itona's tentacles? Why were you created? How did you end up here?"
"Unfortunately, it would be pointless even if I told you. If I blow up the Earth, will it matter to know when you're nothing but ash?" Koro-sensei muttered. "On the other hand, if you save the world, you'll have endless opportunities to find out the truth."
The whole classroom was in silence.
"Do you understand now? If you want to know, just accomplish one thing… Kill me. The assassin and the target. This is the chain that binds me to all of you. If you are looking for answers through me, you can only do so through the assassination."
Koro-sensei started walking away. "If there are no other questions, let's call it a day."
He opened the classroom door, still feeling embarrassed. Yuuki stood there and watched him walk over to the teacher's room. She popped her head at the door.
"Psst, Karma-kun," Nagisa called, pointing at Yuuki.
The girl flashed a small smile. Karma approached her. "Hey," he said.
"I'm sorry for coming over…" she apologized.
Karma shook his head. "That's okay. I'm sorry. Are you able to walk home on your own today?"
Yuuki gazed at her boyfriend's face. He looked serious. "Yes, I can do that."
"Thanks. Text me when you reach home," he said, patting her head.
Yuuki nodded.
Yuuki heated up some water to make herself a cup of tea. She was in her nightdress, ready to have an early sleep. Her mobile phone suddenly rang. She answered the call.
"Hey. Wanna get something to eat?" Karma asked.
She looked at the time. It was around 9 o'clock. "Sure. Shall we go get a burger?" she suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Karma replied.
She went to her room to get ready. She put on a hoodie and a pair of denim pants. She tied her hair into a ponytail. She put on a thin layer of foundation to not look like a zombie. She heard the front door unlocked.
"Hey?" Karma's voice was heard.
"I'm almost done," she called from her room.
"You don't have to look so appealing. I mean, it's already nighttime…" he replied.
"I want to," she muttered, closing her room door behind her.
Karma was also in his hoodie and long pajama pants. He flashed a smile when he saw her. They made their way to the fast food place downstairs, their usual hang out spot. Yuuki found them a seat. Karma lined up to order their food. He soon came back with two sets of the regular burger and fries with cola drinks.
"So, what's wrong?" she asked, munching on her fries.
"I just wanted to be clear about what happened today," he started.
"You don't need to tell me if you don't want to," Yuuki said.
Karma shook her head. "I want to… but this stays between us." he took a deep breath and started to tell her the truth.
He told her about Koro-sensei and why he is their homeroom teacher, about their other two teachers. He also told her about what would happen if they failed to assassinate him. He ended the story with Itona, the boy from earlier that day.
"You are the first person, not from our class, to know about this. I ran by Nagisa-kun and he agreed you should know," he explained.
"I see. It's a bit much to take in," Yuuki drawled and then she smiled. "Thank you for telling me all of this."
Karma nodded. He started to eat his burger. "How was your day?" he asked.
"It was fine. Nothing out of the ordinary," she replied, munching on her burger.
They ate in silence. Karma escorted her back to her place. Then, he went home himself.
Yuuki sat down on her bed, thinking about Karma's story. It dawned on her that something serious was happening in class 3-E, much more serious than her own life. She wondered what she can do to be a good support to her boyfriend.
"Rainy season is over!" Midori cheered.
"Yeah!" Yuuki tried to match her friend's energy.
"So… doing anything fun this weekend?" Midori asked.
"I need to go visit my family," Yuuki lied. Yume had a small concert happening. She had to be there.
"Ah, well, have fun then. Me and Asahi are going to Yume-chan's concert." Midori said.
"You.. and Asahi?" Yuuki raised a brow.
"It's not like that! He said he'll fill in if you can't join me," Midori explained.
"I'm glad you two are friendly with each other," she replied.
Midori groaned. Yuuki was amused. Asahi barged into the classroom and ran up to the two girls. He showed them a flier.
"Do you know about this? They have it every year," Asahi asked.
"Ball Tournament Exhibition Match?" Yuuki read the title.
"Yeah. The seniors from class 3-E will compete against the female Basketball Team and male Baseball Team," Midori explained.
"O-Oh…he didn't say anything to me." Yuuki muttered.
"He must have been busy. We can go watch with you," Midori offered. Yuuki nodded to her.
Weekend came and it was time for Yume-chan's Fan Meet. Yuuki was already in her disguise. She wore a denim skirt, paired up with a leather jacket and tube top. Her choice of shoes was a pair of sneakers with a pair of knee-high black socks. They made her look taller. Karma was dressed up as Aka. They sat down to wait for the crews to call them.
"So, you have an exhibition match?" Yuuki asked.
"Yeah. It's just the common everyday class E treatment style…" Karma replied.
Yuuki nodded to him. He glanced up at the girl. "You know you're welcome to come watch."
She looked at him, eyes widened with excitement. "I'll do that!" she chirped.
He heaved a sigh, satisfied he was able to make her smile. A knock on their caravan door was heard.
"It's time!" a crew's voice called from outside.
"Okay!" the two replied.
Karma put of Aka's head. Yuuki exited the caravan first. She stepped on the mini stage and greeted her fans. They cheered when they saw her.
"Please help me to welcome, my dear Aka-chan!" she called.
Karma ran up, waving his hands as he did. He kept his eyes on his girlfriend while she talked. He made sure to gesture towards the audience from time to time.
"Now, let me sing my first song for the night, 'Power Girl'," Yuuki said.
She started to sing. Karma cheered her at one corner. She would come up to him and pull him to dance while she sang too. The crowd sang along when the chorus came. The song ended.
"Thank you, all! We'll be back in 5 minutes." Yuuki said.
Karma was asked to put on a show. Because his character is an animal, he was not meant to talk. So he gestured about, trying to make the audience understand him. A crew gave him a board to write on. He did as told.
"Are you all enjoying yourselves?" he asked them.
"YES!!" the audience replied.
He changed his question to, "What would you like Yume-chan to sing next?"\
"Bubbly Bubbly You!" the crowd replied.
Yuuki almost choked. That song was a hit when she first debuted as Yume. She was impressed that they still remembered. She came back to the stage.
"That song brings back a lot of memories, but I shall heed your request!" Yuuki gestured to the crew.
They searched for the song and played the music. "You can stand and watch, Aka-chan," she said.
The White Tiger nodded rapidly and clapped. Karma was reluctant to act all bubbly and cheery but that is Aka's character.
Yuuki sang her debut song. There was a dance routine that was popular when the song was first released. Karma was amazed at how much stamina she has in her. When the song ended, she was sweating.
"We'll have a 30-minute intermission. You can go check out Yume-chan and Aka-chan merchandise. We have a new series entitled 'Her Spirit Animal'. Enjoy!" an announcement was heard.
Yuuki was escorted back to the caravan with Karma. She gave out a long dreaded sigh. Karma handed her a bottle of water.
"Thanks!" she said.
"That song was something else…" he remarked.
"Yeah. We were trying to make an impression at the time," she explained.
"We..?" Karma was intrigued.
"Me, Hiro-san and the team. Idols were not really celebrated at the time, so we have to come up with something trendy and eye-catching… Hence that song. It talks about herself while talking about her crush as well, something like that. The dance routine is when she is around her crush…"
"Ah… no wonder…"
"Yes. Lots of dancing," Yuuki sighed, rolling her eyes.
"What would you like to do while the intermission is running?" Karma asked.
"I'd very much like to hear about your whole week," Yuuki requested.
Karma chuckled. He started to tell her what happened and their gruesome training with Koro-sensei for the upcoming exhibition match.
Yuuki made her way to the Baseball Field where the exhibition match was held. Midori and Asahi accompanied her. Yuuki peered over. She saw Karma. The said boy saw her, smiled and waved. Some students started to whisper. Yuuki sighed. Midori pulled the girl to sit down.
The match began.
"Class E is on the offensive in the first inning. Kimura is the third baseman, first batter."
"Strike!" they heard.
Class 3-E managed with a few bunts until the Director himself made an appearance.
"I just received news, the baseball coach fell ill just before the match. Worrying about their coach, the players could not concentrate on the match. The Director couldn't just sit back and watch. So he hurried out to lead the players."
"As if…" Asahi rolled his eyes.
The students cheered.
"Batter five, second baseman, Maehara." "The match has started again! What will happen next… What is going on here? All players are deafening the inner field!"
Yuuki stood up. "I want to get a closer look."
"Hey, you'll get lost in the crowd!" Asahi called but the girl ignored him.
Maehara was able to hit the ball but the defender caught it.
"He hits it! Was Maehara cowed by the pressure from the infielders? One of them is out."
"Batter six, center fielder, Okajima,"
"This is not going well…" Yuuki muttered.
"Three players out in a flash! Pitcher Shindo has recovered!"
Yuuki kept on watching. It was Class 3-E's turn to defend. Sugino managed to keep the survival of his team.
"It's the first half of the 2nd inning. They are still using bunt defense."
"Batter eight, left fielder, Akabane."
Yuuki watched as he looked around and suddenly said, "Hey… Sir, isn't this a bit sneaky? Having these guys in defense is a nuisance, but the umpire hasn't uttered a word. Don't you think this is strange?" he turned to look over at the spectators, chuckling, "I see it now… You're all too stupid to understand what defense positions are."
"Stop talking already, Class E student!"
"This is just an exhibition match. Stop complaining about the defense!"
"It's the 1st half of the second game. Class E is helpless with three outs."
Shindo hit the ball far and hit the fence. Mimura was not able to catch the bounce.
"Shindo easily makes it to the 2nd base!"
The Baseball Club started using bunts to torment Class E. Yuuki watched in distress.
"No outs, all bases occupied! The next batter is the pride of our school and baseball superstar! Shindo!!"
"The match starts! But… the defense has gone forward."
She watched as Karma and Isogai got closer. "That's too close!"
Shindo ended up staggering and failed to hit the ball.
"Class E beats the Baseball Club!"
Class 3-E cheered. Yuuki clapped her hands happily. The spectators started to walk away with complaints and dissatisfaction. They were not happy that Class 3-E won. Yuuki looked around for her boyfriend. She saw him with a few of his classmates waiting for Sugino. The said boy ran up to them and high-fived each of them; Nagisa, Karma, Maehara, Isogai and Sugaya.
"Thanks guys!" Sugino said. His eyes caught sight of Yuuki. "Oh, hey!"
Yuuki was nervous. She played with the hem of her PE uniform. Karma walked up to her and patted her head.
"You really came," he smiled.
"Yes!" she chirped.
"I'm so jealous right now…" Sugaya muttered.
"I need a supportive girlfriend too!" Maehara groaned.
Isogai, Nagisa and Sugino felt bad for them having to see Karma with Yuuki. Yuuki turned to look at them.
"You guys were amazing!" she said. "Especially you, Sugino-senpai!"
Her eyes sparkled, taking Maehara's and Sugaya's breath away.
"I'm gonna die here…" Maehara groaned dramatically, taking Yuuki's hands into his, "Would you introduce us to any of your girl friends, Yuuki-chan~?"
"Oi oi…" Karma muttered, veins formed around his face.
Yuuki giggled. "Sure! But my one friend is Midori and I believe she is taken," she joked.
Maehara was devastated. All of them laughed at the sight.