Yellow Experience
Now, time to move on with the next chapter. Not going to spoiler much here, but it'll kinda be like last chapter.
Answer to The Keeper of Worlds: Wow, I'm impressed! You really know your stuff! Damn, now that I understand the meaning of your suggested Stand name, I regret not picking it. What a wasted opportunity! Still, thanks for a detailed review like yours.
Answer to Misstykata: Hello! Thank you too for your response. I would take things like that into account, because I accept criticism as long as it's not mindless flaming. And then I just ignore it and don't get upset. That said, you're right about the Luca part, my bad.
I do not own JoJo's Bizarre Adventure or Assassination Classroom
Chapter 10: Ideas and Implications
Some time after the autonomously thinking fixed artillery 'Ritsu', another transfer student was scheduled to become a member of Class 3-E.
It was a rainy day. Class had already technically begun, so the new student was late. Like a certain someone whenever Karasuma explained something to class. Lesson couldn't begin just yet so the class rather asked Ritsu about the new student.
"I know a little about him." the AI told. "In my initial orders, he and I were scheduled to enter this class simultaneously. By combining my long-range shooting with his close-quarters combat, we would drive Korosensei into a corner. However, those orders were cancelled for 2 reasons."
"Heeeh? What were they?"
"Firstly, his adjustments took longer than had been expected. And secondly, I was an overwhelmingly inferior assassin compared to him." the AI girl explained.
That statement certainly hyped up the new student, it made the other kids gulp.
"My abilities are insufficient to serve as his support." Ritsu admitted, feeling a little weak. "And so I learned that we would each commence an assassination seperately. And I, who was significantly inferior, was shipped off first."
Ritsu's words spoke volumes about the other transfer student, feeding the nervous anticipation.
Just then, without a warning, the door to the classroom opened. Everyone inside nervously watched as a tall figure completely clad in white entered the room. This person had a powerful aura.
A white bird popped out of the figure's sleeve.
"Sorry, I must've frightened you." an adult male voice spoke up. "I, however, am not the transfer student."
He posed virtuously, raising his hand to show openness. "I am his guardian." he revealed, talking in a friendly manner. "I'm dressed entirely in white, so just call me 'Shiro'."
Meanwhile, over at an upper classroom corner, Korosensei liquefied into a defensive position, retreating. His expression was a pokerface.
"Why the hell are you so scared, Korosensei?!" His pupils comically yelled at him.
"And enough to use your secret liquefication skill!"
Due to easily believing rumors, the yellow man was among the most scared of the class. "Well, what Ritsu-san said was frightening, so…"
Nonetheless, the octopus man got back into his usual form, greeting the guardian. "Nice to meet you, Shiro-san." He retained some dread, though. "And what of the transfer student himself?"
Shiro handed the teacher a present, a box of yokan. "It is a pleasure, Korosensei. Since there are quite a number of peculiarities to his personality, I intend to introduce him myself, if I may."
The guardian turned to the students. "You all seem to be good children. Thus, it appears you will have an easy time befriending this boy." he said, then pointing at an empty desk. "That seat over there is fine, right, Korosensei?"
"Yes, it's free, but-" Korosensei was about to say, but the white-clad man interrupted him.
"Then I shall introduce him." Shiro spoke, then raising his voice. "Heeeey, Itona! Come on in!"
A boy with spiky white hair and intense golden eyes entered the room and immediately sat on his designated chair. Though instead of entering normally through the door, he entered through the wall, breaking it.
"USE THE DAMN DOOR!" almost all his fellow students comically shouted, white-eyed and with sharp teeth.
"I… am victorious. I have proven myself to be stronger than this classroom's walls." the boy said to himself. "That alone is enough… That alone is enough…"
Most the class, including the teacher himself, sweatdropped massively, weirded out by the new kid.
"This is Horibe Itona. Please call him by his name." the guardian introduced him. "Oh, and I've spoiled him a bit, so for the time being, please allow me to watch over him."
Haruno, observant as he is, found something to be wrong with both Shiro and Itona. But as he couldn't read the white-clad man because of the facial cover, he tried Itona first.
"Itona-kun, is it?" the blond asked, gaining the white-haired's attention. Those eyes were especially intense up close. "You see, it's raining outside and you're not wet in the slightest. I'm curious as to why that is."
Glancing around, Itona stood up from his chair, approaching the delinquent. "You… are probably the strongest one in this class. But don't worry." he said in an unsettlingly expressionless voice, patronizingly patting Haruno's head. "You're weaker than me, so I won't kill you."
Bold assumption. Though Horibe Itona was not a Stand user, so he couldn't have known. Still, the blond didn't take this remark likely, staring at the white-haired's eyes. He turned out to be almost as skilled at staring as Chairman Asano.
"…Or maybe I will." Itona spoke, changing his mind. "I want to kill those who might be stronger than me. Perhabs you fit the bill. In this classrom, there's you…"
He turned away from the delinquent, turning towards the yellow man and pointing at him. "…and you, Korosensei."
"Does that talk of 'weak' and 'strong' refer to fighting, Itona-kun?" the octopus man asked, munching on yokan. "You'll have to prove that you can stand in the same dimension as me in a contest of strength."
"I can." the white-haired quickly and confidently said, not hesitating one bit. "Because we are brothers related by blood."
Such a claim… was questionable. Hard to imagine to say the least. But as the word dropped, the jaws dropped. Class 3-E's eyes went as white as Itona's hair.
"Br…"
"Br…"
"Br…"
"Br…"
"BROTHERS?!"
Korosensei's 'brother' took a bite of his own yokan. "Whoever loses will die, brother."
The entire class doubted this claim. 'This guy and this octopus are brothers?!'
Strangely, Haruno did detect a slight biological link between them thanks to [Ougon no tomodachi]. 'Hm, interesting…'
"As we are siblings, there is no need for petty tricks. Nii-san, I will kill you and validate my strength." Itona continued, seriously. "The time will be after school. We'll have a match in this classroom."
Following the declaration, he then left through the hole in the wall he made, saying his last line for now. "Today will be your final class. Say your farewells to them now."
With the white-haired gone, the tense atmosphere in class significantly easened, enough for the yellow man's students to freely exclaim questions.
"Wait a second Sensei, what does he mean he's your brother?!"
"N- no, no! Definitely not!" the octopus man awkwardly defended against the claim, sweating nervously.
"To start with, humans and octopodes are completely different!"
"Geez, I don't know a thing about this! I was born and raised an only child! If I'd pestered my parents about wanting a younger brother, then things would've gotten awkward!" the teacher dismissed the rumors and statements, getting all defensive.
'Do you actually have parents in the first place?!' his students inwardly wondered, sweatdropping
XXXXXXXXXX
Itona eventually returned. It was lunch break, he ate a mountain of sweets he brought with him, same as Korosensei. After that he read an adult magazine, same as Korosensei. The way both of them acted, they truly seemed to be brothers.
Those two were widely talked about among the E-class students, speculations were made.
Nagisa and Haruno too talked about the situation, albeit strictly keeping to themselves.
"From what I can tell, he's not a Stand user." the bluenette stated.
"He isn't, though I can feel he's strong." the blond calmly spoke. "There's something odd about him, there definitely is."
An idea came to the petite boy's mind. "Haruno-kun, if he says they're siblings, then there must be some connection to their history." Nagisa figured. "He might know about the past Korosensei has kept hidden from us."
"…His past, huh?" The delinquent wasn't a person to snoop around other people's affairs, he respected privacy. But it would be a lie to say his teacher's past didn't bother him in the slightest. "We'll see or hear about that soon enough. I wonder how much this Horibe Itona can show us today."
XXXXXXXXXX
Time to duel. The school bell had rung, lesson was over entirely. As promised, the yellow man and this white-haired boy would have their match. All the desks were placed like a ring, a very direct approach.
"You must've had your fill of plain old assassinations. Let's settle on a single rule for this match." the white-clad man suggested. "If you take even one step out of the ring, you'll be executed on the spot! How about it?"
The octopus man was a powerful being. A monster as mighty as him didn't have to accept demands. Sugino thought like that. "What the heck? Who would follow a rule like that?"
Haruno saw through Shiro's idea. "No. If he violates a rule that has been decided in front of everyone, his credibility as a teacher will decrease. It would be surprisingly effective against Korosensei. His hands are tied." he disagreed, perfectly explaining his point. The blond then dared a poke at the guardian. "You're cunning, Shiro."
In order to keep up his facade, the white-clad man decided not to snap at the delinquent. "…It's all for the best interest of Itona. As his guardian, I must lobby in his favor." was his excuse. "Anyways, Korosensei, how about it?"
"Very well, let's go on with that." Korosensei agreed, exactly because of what Haruno said. "However, Itona-kun, causing harm to those watching will also mean defeat."
Accepting the counter condition, Itona merely nodded in agreement.
Conditions set, Shiro would announce the battle's beginning.
"Assassination…" He held his hand up high
"…Start!" He rapidly lowered his hand.
Barely a second after the fight's beginning, things already heated up quickly. The white-haired didn't mess around, immediately lopping off one of the yellow man's tentacles. With his own tentacles.
Itona had thin tentacles growing from under his white hair. The reactions were largely the same. People watching had sweat on their face, their eyes bulged out in disbelief and they either dropped their jaw or pressed it closer to their upper teeth.
"TENTACLES?!"
"…Impossible…" the octopus man slowly uttered, devastated by this revelation. He'd believed to be the only person with tentacles like these, and for good reason. This reason made him angry, really angry. His inner rage awakened, painting his yellow face black, making veins pop up. He looked more frightening than back with Terasaka and Nagisa.
"Where did you get those!" Korosensei furiously demanded in a low and dangerous tone. He was fully serious, this was a touchy topic. "Those tentacles!"
"We have no obligation to tell you, Korosensei." the guardian said, unintimidated. Unlike most of the yellow man's students. "However, with this, you should understand. Itona has different parents and was raised differently, but you and this boy are brothers."
"Still, this is quite a frightening face you're making." the white-clad man remarked with a passive-aggressive voice, almost sounding mocking. "Has this… brought to mind something unpleasant?"
Certain images replayed inside the octopus man's mind, only he could truly understand them. With the given rage of the teacher about the tentacles and Shiro's mocking comment about past memories, Haruno still managed to deduce a correct idea about Korosensei's past. 'This Shiro scum and Korosensei know each other because of a traumatic experience about tentacles. Given that Shiro is masked, he's out for revenge but can't show his true self yet. Whatever traumatizing event happened in their past, it's something personal.'
"…It would seem that I have to ask you some questions as well." Korosensei spoke, his severed tentacle regrowing. It seemed like the boiling point of his fury had been reached.
Luckily for him, the guardian had a way to defend himself against this pitch black calamity. His sleeves were wide, wide enough to fit machines inside. "You won't be able to, seeing as you'll be dead."
A bright beam lit up the room. It also lit up the teacher's dark face, who reacted in shock.
"When exposed to this beam at point-blank range, your cells' viscosity will increase and your entire body will instantly go rigid." the white-clad man confidently explained. "We know about every single one of your weaknesses."
'That's blatant cheating.' the blond thought.
"Die, brother!" the tentacled boy called, striking out with all of them at once.
The white-haired boy appeared to relentlessly strike the yellow man until he stopped moving. Most onlookers were genuinely perplexed, even wondering if the octopus man was dead.
"Woah… Is he dead?!"
"No." the delinquent answered for everyone, pointing at the ceiling lamps. "Look up."
Korosensei was hanging up there, heavily inhaling and exhaling. What Itona had beaten up was the teacher's shedded skin, his monthly special escape technique.
Though neither Shiro nor Itona were impressed. "Hm. Come to think of it, you did have such a trick at your disposal." the guardian remembered. "Even so, Korosensei, we are well aware that your molting has a weakness as well."
This molting technique consumed a lot of stamina. As such, the yellow man's speed decreased significantly. While he was still far faster than normal humans, Itona's tentacles matched his new speed. On top of that, the first tentacle severed by the tentacled boy also used up some energy. From a purely physical viewpoint, the yellow man and white-haired boy were roughly equal. But mental state was another factor. The octopus man just really exhausted himself and was confined to a ring, which didn't allow him to collect thoughts. His opponent was unbothered in comparison.
Itona first aimed at the lamps, knocking them down while Korosensei escaped back down. The tentacled boy followingly unleashed a continuous barrage of tentacle whips at the tentacled teacher. The yellow man dodged right into another spot inside the ring within a fraction of a second, but the white-haired gave him no time to rest. Itona was the dominating one.
Cheating again, the white-clad man activated his beam again, further making it harder for the octopus man in this fight.
Perfect opportunity for the tentacled boy to use his special attack, a twisting tornado of tentacles. This fast and powerful tornado amputated two more teacher tentacles.
Class 3-E was in disbelief, Korosensei seemed to be on the way of becoming the loser.
Shiro merely laughed, finding great amusement in that. "Fufufu! Now you must regenerate your legs as well. Your strength will drop even further, and it'll become that much easier to kill you."
"Be at ease… I am stronger than you, brother." the white-haired intensely said, intensely staring down his 'brother'.
The yellow man regrew his 2 tentacles.
"It appears you have finished regenerating your legs." the guardian observed. "Now then, will you be able to withstand the next rush of attacks?"
"…This isn't the first time I've been driven into a corner, you know. And not the second time either." the octopus man told, referring to Haruno's multiple almost successful assassination attempts. "At first glance this battle would appear to be a honest assassination bout. In actuality, it is meticulously calculated. There are many things I wish to ask you two, but it seems that I must win this match if I am to get any answers out of you."
"You still believe you can win?" the white-clad man scoffed beneath his covers. "That is quite a big mouth for someone undeniably losing."
"Undeniably?" the teacher repeated, allowing himself to chuckle. "Shiro-san, you must've been the one to scheme up this assassination method. But you didn't incorporate experience into your calculations."
"W-what are you talking about?!" Shiro questioned, slightly losing his cool. His hated enemy was lecturing him, humiliating!
"My student Haruno-kun has driven me into a corner and almost put an end to my life multiple times." Korosensei stated. "Every single one of these attempts on my life were more threatening to me than your current plan."
That statement was like a slap in the face for the guardian. The yellow man belittled him again, even without knowing his true identity. "F-finish him, Itona!" the white-clad man furiously ordered, clenching his hidden teeth.
Complying gladly, Itona crashed his tentacles into the spot the octopus man was standing. Korosensei dodged, though the tentacled boy hit something anyway. An Anti-Sensei knife placed on a floorboard. Hitting the knife, all of the boy's tentacles melted.
Using the white-haired's moment of surprise, the yellow man quickly grabbed his previously shedded skin and wrapped up the boy inside, effectively restraining him. "If your tentacles are the same as mine, then Anti-Sensei knives would be just as effective against you. The unrest at losing a tentacle would be the same too."
"But you see, Sensei is just a little bit more cunning." the octopus man grinned, throwing the makeshift bag out of the window. Once Itona freed himself, he realized where he was. "I wrapped you up in the skin I'd molted, so you likely didn't take any damage. However, your feet have left the confines of the ring."
Horizontal green stripes painted themselves on Korosensei's face. The teacher was looking down on the student he was supposed to teach. "It's my win. According to the rules, it's the death penalty for you. You won't be able to try and kill me a second time."
There was no way the white-haired boy would accept this. His eyes went full bloodshot, his expression was that of pure rage.
"If you wish your life to be restored, then please come and study alongside everyone in this class." the yellow man generously offered, reminding everyone of his profession. "There are some things that can't so easily be calculated. That's the difference in our levels of experience. I have lived just a litte longer than you and have just a little more knowledge. I became a teacher because I want to impart that experience to all of you. In this classroom, you need to make time to learn from Sensei's experiences… or you won't be able to win against me."
Meanwhile, Shiro thought about something entirely different. 'This is bad… Itona has an intense hatred of studying.'
"I… can't win… I am… weak…?!" Itona slowly muttered, consumed by genocidal rage. His tentacles regrew, changing from white to black. This boy couldn't accept defeat and being weak, it drove him insane.
Horibe Itona completely lost it, launching himself towards the octopus man with murderous intent.
"I'M STRONG! NO ONE IS STRONGER THAN ME WITH THESE TENTACLES! NO ONE!" the tentacled boy roared, focusing his eyes onto only one thing. "GRAAAAAAA!"
"Muda!"
[Ougon no tomodachi] punched the boy unconscious with a single punch. Only the two Stand users in the room knew that the white-haired didn't go KO with no reason. Though everyone rightfully suspected Shiobana Haruno.
Including the guardian, who hesitantly picked up his protege and placed him over his shoulder. "My apologies, Korosensei. It would seem that this boy still had a mindset which would prevent him from attending school. Although this is his first day after transferring, he will be taking a brief leave of absence." he apologized, walking away.
"Hold on a moment! As his homeroom teacher, I cannot simply let that student leave. Once he joins this class, he will be in my care until he graduates." Korosensei refused to let his student go, he had other plans. The yellow man also wasn't yet done with the white-clad man either. "That aside, Shiro-san, there is also a multitude of things I'd like to ask you."
When the octopus man pointed his finger at Shiro with his forced smile, he seriously looked menacing as hell. The guardian still had a reason to stay calm.
"No way, we're leaving." the white-clad man disagreed, not turning back. "Do you intend to try stopping me by force?"
He sounded arrogant and challenging there, which ticked off Korosensei. When the yellow man extended his limbs and tried to grab Shiro's shoulder, his fingers exploded.
"Anti-Sensei fabric. You won't be able to lay so much as a single tentacle on me." the guardian informed, wiping off the yellow goo on his coat with his gloves. "Have no fear, Itona will be allowed to return to school soon enough. I will take it upon myself to serve as his home tutor until then."
With that, the mysterious man left the school's premises, leaving behind a shamed and regretful teacher. He sure felt a certain blond delinquent gazing after him when getting out of there. Suspicion and dislike arose on both sides.
XXXXXXXXXX
Class 3-E just finished putting the desks back to their original places. The octopus man was still in a kind of depressed mood. His pupils however were impatient.
"Hey, Korosensei, give us an explanation."
"What's your relationship with those two?"
"You've always evaded telling us the truth about you, but after seeing that, you're not getting out of here without giving us some answers."
"That's right. We're your students, you know. I think we have a right to know about you, Sensei."
Time had come for the teacher to spill the beans. "…It's really unavoidable. There's no choice but to tell you all the truth. The thing is… I'm…"
His students gulped in suspension, expecting a big revelation.
"The thing is, I'm actually an artificially created creature!" Korosensei confessed, loudly and flashily, expecting reactions of the same caliber.
*Cricket noises*
"Well, duh. And?"
"Nyuaaa! What a weak reaction!" the yellow man comically complained. "That was a pretty shocking thing to confess, wasn't it?!"
"You know, there aren't any Mach 20 octopodes or anything like that in nature."
"If you're not an alien, then that'd be the only other possibility."
"So since Itona-kun said he was your younger brother…"
"…we figure he must have been created after you."
The octopus man was taken aback by their logicality, shivering. 'They're way too sharp! What frightening children!'
Nagisa also had a question to ask, a very important one. "What we're interested in is what came before that, Korosensei. Why did you get angry earlier, when you saw Itona-kun's tentacles?"
Judging from the octopus man's eyes, that question was important indeed. Followed by another mattering inquiry.
"Why were you born, and what were you thinking that led you to come to our class?"
Those were grave, significant questions. The teacher had a lot to tell. His tales would make his students sympathize with him though, and that was the opposite of what Korosensei wanted. No sympathy for the monster threatening the destruction of their home planet.
"…Unfortunately, talking about that at this time would be meaningless. After all, if I blow up the earth, everything you know will be reduced to dust." he deflected their questions, switching to his pure black deadly monster persona. Naturally, everyone felt the threat. "On the other hand, if you can save the earth, you will all have the chance to learn as much of the truth as you'd like afterwards. You should understand. If you want to know, you only have one course of action open to you."
"Try to kill me. Assassin and target. That should be the relationship binding yourselves and I." The yellow man was yellow and friendly again. "If you are seeking the crucial answers that I hold, all you can do is assassinate me. If there are no further questions, we'll end class here for today. Until tomorrow."
Leaving his students behind, the octopus man left the room. They, his students, had a hunger of curiosity. If a wild animal is hungry, it awakens its bloodlust and hunts after its prey. That was what the teacher was aiming for, motivating his pupils to improve themselves as assassins, so they could eventually successfully hunt their prey and capture their seeked answers.
It was no surprise that the majority of students asked Karasuma to teach them more assassination techniques. The government agent, welcoming their excellent determination, offered supplementary training after school for those interested. The first training session involved climbing vertical 20 meter ropes.
Haruno didn't need this physical training, for him at least, this was so easy it bordered on a joke. He instead walked home with his two best friends.
"Heh, what a day." Karma reflected, hands behind his head as he walked. "Those 2, Itona-kun and Shiro, odd fellows."
"Right." the blond spoke up, eyes seriously locked forward. "Shiro, I don't like that guy. He's an obvious puppetmaster using a brainwashed Itona to do his dirty job. From what I've infered, he has a past with Korosensei and hates him for some reason. And speaking of Korosensei, those tentacles are the key to the past Korosensei doesn't want to talk about."
Both his friends sensed hostility from Shiro, though Haruno was steps ahead of them when it came to reading people and psychology.
"Wow, that's detailed." the redhead remarked. "I bet we'll find out more the next time we encounter them."
'Next time?' the blond inwardly mused, wondering about the date. But whatever the date, he was not going to let Shiro or his brainwashed tool Itona steal his rightful kill. On the other hand, maybe, just maybe, his decency of honoring explicitly declared 1v1 duels might screw him over.
With this chapter, we've been introduced to the final member of Class 3-E. Itona will play a different role in this story, you'll find out about that when we get to this fanfiction's next chapter concerning him. The literal next chapter won't be about Itona or Shiro though. It won't be about Sugino's baseball game either. I don't feel like writing about "filler" chapters, sorry, I appreciate direct main storylines too much. Plus, Giorno was meant to live in Europe in canon JoJo. Here in Europe we don't play baseball. That's how I have an excuse to write Giorno as a character who doesn't care about baseball in the slightest, thus making him sit out in the game, thus giving me a reason to skip that little arc, hehe! Stay tuned for the next chapter!
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