Yellow Experience
I've missed writing this story so much. Finally, I can get back to writing again. This is going to be another chapter with exams and academics as the focus, like Chapter 5, but at least it's this story. Enjoy!
Reply to Misstykata: The good guys are winning in the end, right? Giorno and Nagisa will find a way.
I do not own JoJo's Bizarre Adventure or Assassination Classroom
Chapter 13: End-of-term exams
Important days were ahead of all of Kunugigaoka, but especially Class 3-E. The end-of-terms exams were quite a big deal. Korosensei saw great importance in them, promising his class a bountiful reward in return for academic success: For everyone who scored at the top of their grade in a subject, he would cut off a tentacle, allowing them to have a shot at assassinating the handicapped teacher.
Chairman Asano wanted to absolutely make sure that not only would Class A monopolize the Top 50 spots, but also largely monopolize the top individual subjects. Key word here being largely, he knew there was no way Shiobana Haruno would not be one of the very best students in the ranking. That boy was simply too smart.
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"Oh, Nagisa, Haruno." Isogai Yuuma started, walking up to the pair of friends. "If you're free after school, how about we go study in the main building's library? All of our school's materials are top rate so the seats are always booked up. But I have a reservation ticket, wanna come with us?"
"Gladly, thanks!" Nagisa accepted, smiling at the good news. "Are you coming too, Haruno-kun?"
"No, actually not." Haruno said, shaking his head. "I really don't need this. But thanks for the offer, Isogai."
Rio and Yukiko, coming along with Isogai, pouted at that. "Ohhhhh, that's too bad. We really wanted to study together with you, Haruno-kun."
"Is that so?" the blond chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Then maybe next time, I'll keep this in mind."
The two girls weren't exactly delighted about that rejection, but they still had hope, as the delinquent said himself. He unknowingly confirmed it. "A bummer you can't do it now, but we're looking forward for the day we can. Then, see ya!"
"See ya!" the bluenette also spoke.
"Well then, bye." Haruno finished, taking his leave.
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On the next day, the blond was very much surprised when he heard about the 'Library Rebellion', where his friends, including Nagisa but not himself due to his own decline, were challenged by 4 of the '5 Virtuosos' of Class A on which class would take up more top spots in the 5 main subjects.
"Damn, I regret not coming with you yesterday." the delinquent complained, his bluenette friend by his side. "Would've liked to see their faces."
Back in Haruno's A-Class days, there were no '5 Virtuosos'. Instead, there were the '2 Overlords' an eternal and clear rivalry consisting of Class A's by far best students, Shiobana Haruno and Asano Gakushuu.
"Honestly, it wasn't anything that special." Nagisa told without a clear expression. "Once we had our pencils near their necks they immediately ran away."
"Yeah, acting all arrogant when you weren't there." Rio joined in. "Haruno-kun, if you came with us yesterday, they wouldn't have dared to approach us."
"But Rio-san, then they wouldn't have given us the opportunity to embarrass them in their own game, would they?" he smirked mischievously at her. "And I've also heard we can demand something."
"I like the way you're thinking, Haruno-kun." the blonde replied, seductively licking her lips. "What kind of punishment would you choose for them?"
"If it was up to me only, I'd have them wear a dunce hat reading 'Loser' for the first month of the second semester." the blond deviously disclosed, earning a sly and pleased smile from her. "But actually, I'll wait and see what our class agrees on."
"Hmm, that reminds me…" Rio said, switching her tone into a pensive one. "Haruno-kun, have you seen their list of demands?"
Shrugging, the delinquent shook his head. "No, I actually haven't. What are these demands?"
"One list full of shameless and humiliating demands." the blonde informed, taking him along to her desk where she had a copy. "Just look at them. Ridiculous, right?"
"Let's see…" Haruno mumbled, going through all the individual demands, all the way down to the notice saying Gakushuu prepared the list. By the time he finished reading, the blond bore a mildly furious expression on his face. "Rio-san, I do not like this. Let's make them regret picking that fight with us."
"Oh, you bet!" She shared his challenging look. "Let's give them hell, together!"
Together. With everyone, the entire class. None of them wanted to put up with Class 3-A's bullshit. They'd all fight together.
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During lesson, Korosensei took the initiative to voice his own opinion on the challenge as well. "Regarding this challenge, your teacher has been putting some thought into this as well."
The yellow man took out a booklet. "I've looked through the brochure about our school and found something really likeable, so how about we demand them to give us this?" he asked, turning the page to the suggested prize.
Most of the class dropped their jaw when looking at the octopus man's proposed prize. It was a 3-day, 2-night stay at an Okinawa island resort. Straight up luxury for the bottom class of the school.
For the delinquent, this was nothing new. He knew about the domestic trip but never participated. His mom wouldn't pay anyway. And while he definitely could, Haruno had no desire to spend extra days with students that didn't like him. With his new class however, things were different. For the first time, this trip interested him.
"Everyone here has experienced what it's like at the rock bottom, which is why this time, your teacher hopes that everyone can experience the feel of victory at the very top." Korosensei continued. "Your teacher's tentacles plus this, the luxurious prizes have been prepared. If everyone really is an assassin, then aim at the top and shoot!"
That final part in particular was a motivating piece of speech. Everybody looked forward to follow this advice. They were going to destroy that image of being at rock bottom.
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On his way back home, Haruno randomly met Gakushuu, his long-time academic rival. Those two had no love for each other, so staying quiet and going on would only make sense. But once they saw each other, they couldn't simply keep their mouths shut.
"Well well, if it isn't you, Shiobana!" the orange-haired sarcastically greeted. "What brings you here?"
"Nothing, I'm just minding my business." the blond answered in an equal manner. His lips weren't grinning, though with his eyes, he gave the Asano a mocking grin. "You seem the one not minding your business. Your 50 conditions on that list, all of that to satisfy your feel of superiority. Obsessed."
"Heh, you gotta be obsessed about superiority to always keep superior." Gakushuu reasoned. "So you've read them, eh? Memorize them well, you'll have to follow them all."
"Tch!" the delinquent tauntingly spat, not giving in to the petty provocations. "Too bad my classmates aren't cruel, I would've suggested a humiliating punishment for you after beating you in every single subject."
"Don't get too cocky." the orange-haired warned, not taking serious offense. "Between you and me, I've been Number 1 more often than you, even during the last midterm exams."
Haruno didn't care. "Things can change, you know. You and your father are just stubborn." the blond casually said. "Though, at least your father is good at staring."
Compared to his father, the younger Asano's stares couldn't stagger the delinquent. Even Itona was better at that.
"Che, stare at him as much as you want, I don't care about that!" Gakushuu claimed. Lie. "I'm after something more important anyway."
"Like, what?"
The orange-haired's eyes turned serious. For the moment he wasn't after mocking Haruno. "Shiobana, as a member of the E-Class, you should know about something."
"Elaborate." the blond calmly spoke. This talk could be important.
"There are rumors in town about a yellow octopus with a weird laugh being sighted near big-breasted young women but quickly disappearing, and in local marts buying up all the sweets." the young Asano stated. "Although they might only be baseless rumors, you should know better, right? About this dangerous sounding secret."
'I see…' the delinquent thought, keeping his composure at hearing this vital information. 'The chairman hasn't told his own son about this secret. Don't know why, but he's getting suspicious. I wonder what Gakushuu'd do if he learned the truth.'
"Hmmm… Asano, I could tell you the whole truth right here." Haruno said, carefully observing Gakushuu's micro reactions. The orange-haired seemed extremely curious about the topic. "But only if you tell me what you'd do with that info."
Negotiating with his rival and a lower student normally was not even a consideration for the orange-haired. But the topic was very important for him, so he made an exception this time.
"I want to control my father. If I had leverage over him with a secret that could possibly be a very dangerous matter, I could control him like a pet."
'Seriously?' the blond thought, sweatdropping. 'This guy isn't right in the head… Though considering who raised him, the other one isn't right in the head either.'
"So that's it, huh?" Haruno muttered, weirded out. "Frankly, I don't care what you and your father do to each other. Very well, what you've heard is actually true."
"…I knew it!" A triumphant smirk placed itself on the Asano's face.
"But hey, Asano." the blond went on. His rival gave him a confused look. "You only have my word and not concrete proof. And you don't even know a single thing about that octopus and why he's even with our class. What now?"
"Don't worry about that, once our winning class forces our demands upon yours, I'll have a way of obtaining definite proof." Gakushuu prematurely boasted.
'The demands?' Having memorized all 50, the delinquent went through them in his head again, thoroughly searching for a meaning. About 10 seconds later, Haruno found out what the orange-haired meant.
"For the whole duration of this interaction, Class E must remain truthful to Class A at all times." the blond recited the list of concessions.
"Your memory works as fine as ever." the Asano remarked. "Good for you, you already know your first order."
"That is, if you actually beat us." the delinquent reminded, tired of Gakushuu's cocky attitude.
"Oh, I so will defeat you all!" the orange-haired declared with determination. "Your fault for confirming my hunch, I won't stop until I unearth this secret!"
"…What kind of use will that bring to you?" Haruno inquired.
"What kind of use?" the young Asano repeated, an ambitious look in his eyes. "By having knowledge about this classified and likely dangerous secret, I'll become the mightiest person in this school. I'll have leverage over the chairman, you, your class and that mysterious octopus."
Hearing that, the blond broke out in sudden laughter. "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Gakushuu narrowed his twitching eyes in anger. A student of Class E would not make fun of him. "Stop laughing!" he barked in irritation, gritting his teeth. "What exactly is funny anyway?! I'm only telling the truth!"
"Hahahahahahah… It's funny how you think you'll have any leverage over him." the delinquent finished laughing.
"Why?!" the orange-haired furiously demanded. "Answer me!"
"Do you care about the safety of Earth?" Haruno asked with a neutral voice.
"What kind of question is that?! Of course I do, what are you even implying? That the world is in danger?!" the Asano chuckled in ridiculousness, not believing a single word. "That the earth will blow up like the moon?!"
How right he was!
"Look, I'll tell you this: If you learn about the truth, you'll voluntarily want to come to our class." the blond spoke, earning an annoyed yet astonished glare from his rival. "Once you know of the truth and your worldview changes, you'll switch to our class on your own with the intent of staying."
"Laughable!" Gakushuu spat, his expression becoming more intense for a few seconds but then relaxing.
"Just you wait until the results are out… I'll work as hard as I can."
"…Likewise."
With that, the two geniuses parted ways, vowing to do their best to best one another.
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4 days later:
Korosensei entered class with a smile. He did that every day, though today that smile was wider than usual.
"Well, everyone, I've received the grades for all of your subjects." the yellow man informed, taking out a couple of folders.
His students tensed up, intent looks on their faces. Some were sweating, hoping not to have messed up.
"I'll go ahead and announce the results." the octopus man continued, further heightening suspension. "Class E's top scorers…"
"And #1 in your grade were Nakamura Rio and Shiobana Haruno!"
Nakamura Rio
English: 100 Points
Ranked 1st
Shiobana Haruno
English: 100 Points
Ranked 1st
Meanwhile:
Asano Gakushuu
English: 99 Points
Ranked 3rd
All attention fell on the pair of English aces. One of the 5 top spots had been captured, in double fashion at that!
"Ufufu~ Haruno-kun, remember when we said to defeat Class A together? It's like a dream come true!" Rio said in a swooning manner, taking her exam sheet from the teacher. "To be 1st together, isn't this amazing?"
"That's actually really cool, I admit." the delinquent spoke, rubbing the back of his head.
"S- Seeing as you've got the top spot in one subject, you can destroy o-one tentacle each." Korosensei stuttered the reward, scared the total number of tentacles he'd lose would exceed his 8, thanks to Haruno being in his class.
"We'll see if you can congratulate yourselves after all the results have been handed out." the yellow man went on, assuming a more serious tone again. "Moving on to Japanese Literature…"
"Class E's top scorer and joint #1 in your grade alongside Class A's Asano Gakushuu was Shiobana Haruno!"
Shiobana Haruno
Japanese Literature: 100 Points
Ranked 1st
Asano Gakushuu
Japanese Literature: 100 Points
Ranked 1st
Now that Asano'd been mentioned, things were getting more interesting. It would be a tight duel between the geniuses. Who'd pick up more #1 ranks?
"Man, that Asano's really strong…"
"Hope Haruno-kun can stay ahead of him."
"…Continuing on, next is Social Studies." the octopus man continued. "Class E's top scorer was…"
"Isogai Yuuma with 97 points! Top of the grade, again alongside Clasa A's Asano Gakushuu!"
Isogai Yuuma
Social Studies: 97 Points
Ranked 1st
Asano Gakushuu
Social Studies: 97 Points
Ranked 1st
Meanwhile:
Shiobana Haruno
Social Studies: 95 Points
Ranked 3rd
This time, the blond didn't place 1st. Still, cheers erupted as Social Studies had been the arguably most difficult subject this exam, and one of them still placed at the top. But not alone, the race was getting tighter with 2 ties in a row.
"Next is science." the teacher went on. "Class E's top scorer in science…"
"And overall top scorer was Shiobana Haruno! Excellent Job, you were also #1 in your grade!"
Shiobana Haruno
Science: 100 Points
Ranked 1st
Meanwhile:
Asano Gakushuu
Science: 98 Points
Ranked 2nd
Okuda Manami
Science: 98 Points
Ranked 2nd
2 wins, 2 ties. even without waiting for Math results, Class 3-E had beaten Class 3-A in their wager. Confetti flew through the air, hands were raised and almost everyone smiled.
"Hell Yeah!"
"We've beaten Class A!"
"Haruno-kun, you're the best!"
All but one were satisfied with victory. The delinquent eyed the emty desk of a certain other delinquent. One who wasn't happy with his scores. That one went outside, standing behind a tree in frustration.
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Karma complained alone and in silence like a beaten dog. He clenched his teeth in anger, at the results and himself.
Akabane Karma
Math: 85 points
Ranked 10th, down from 3rd
Total score: 469 points
Ranked 13th, down from 4th
Meanwhile:
Shiobana Haruno
Math: 100 points
Ranked 1st
Total score: 495 points
Ranked 1st, up from 2nd
Asano Gakushuu
Math: 100 points
Ranked 1st
Total score: 494 points
Ranked 2nd, down from 1st
The yellow man, always wanting to help his pupils, approached the redhead. "Class A's just as strong as you'd expect. They took the spots from #2 to #7. Haruno-kun still managed to get the highest total score out of everyone, though." he stated, walking closer. "It's a logical outcome. Everyone in Class A worked just as hard as we did. The tests themselves were also far more difficult. There's also no way a lazybone would be able to understand them and keep pace."
"…Is there something you want to say to me?" The redhead was not in the mood for lecturing.
Pretty much teleporting behind the delinquent at Mach 20, the octopus man said words that made the boy's cheeks go as red as his hair. "How embarrassing~. You must've been thinking 'I'm so cool, it'll be an easy victory for me'."
"Haruno-kun, Nakamura-san and Isogai-kun have earned the right to destroy my tentacles, Haruno-kun even 4 times. This time around, you weren't able to be of use in the assassination or the class wager." the teacher told, teasing Karma by lightly bonking his tentacle fingers on his head. "Do you understand now? Those who can't do what they should when the need calls for it will come to have no presence in this assassination classroom. You, who neglect the hone of your blade, are not an assassin. You are just a child who proudly carried a rusted blade."
"Tch!" the redhead spat, slamming that tentacle away from his hand. He was utterly furious, tick marks appearing on his forehead. "So what?! I got unlucky this time! But Haruno didn't study that much either, and he became the best of the grade!"
"I don't approve of Haruno-kun's laziness either. He should definitely study harder." Korosensei said, disagreeing with the blond's very simple studying methods. "I don't know how he manages to be this good despite of that, but that doesn't make it right. Still, you're not Haruno-kun, don't hope to be able to imitate what he can do."
"…" Having heard enough, the delinquent simply turned away and left. Just why couldn't he be as successful as his friend? They were both naturally intelligent, what exactly was different other than the Stand? He didn't know, though he knew that this failure would not repeat.
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Karma wasn't the only one totally frustrated. Gakushuu had been called to the chairman's office.
"494 points, a total score worthy of ranking #1… And yet you placed 2nd, behind a student from the end class." his father commented, bearing a calm expression, as if he was totally fine with that result.
"And not only that, for some reason you made a bet with Class E and lost that bet, not even winning a single spot, only ties." the chairman added. "Seeing as your bet has become common knowledge throughout the school, you won't be able to refuse whatever Class E requests so easily. What now, shall I have the school protect you?"
The orange-haired had his pride, his father's comment was only to belittle him. The young Asano was above that belittling protection. "No, thank you."
Mr. Asano stood up from his armchair, moving closer to his son. "As I recall, you said you would 'put a collar on me and keep me as a pet' and other such things." Gakuhou reminded, refreshing Gakushuu's memory. "Declaring your intent to uncover a secret of mine which doesn't even exist…"
"What unmitigated gall from a neophyte who can't even win against those his own age."
That domineering voice paired with the unsurmountably imperious stare, the father so clearly and decisively asserted dominance over the son. He'd won again, only making the feeling of defeat worse for the orange-haired, whose face turned into a bitterly enraged scowl with tick marks and gritted teeth.
'Father, Shiobana… I'll make you both pay for this disgrace!'
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One day later, the yellow man welcomed his class to an important session.
"Now then, you all had excellent results. There were 5 subjects plus the total score for 6 chances… you took up 7 of them." the octopus man awkwardly spoke, sweating at his miscalculation. "How about we begin the assassination attempt without delay? Those who ranked #1, go and take whichever tentacle you'd like."
'Shit… With 7 of my tentacles gone and Haruno-kun being one of my hunters, I definitely won't survive… I had a good run as a teacher.'
Korosensei's thoughts were a little depressing, yet he decided to not display any emotions. He'd die fearlessly, instilling one last instance of courage in his students. Then a call from behind distracted him from his thoughts about dying.
"Oi, hold up there, octopus." Terasaka called, his group of friends beside him. "There weren't just 3 people who hit #1 in the 5 subjects."
Confused, the yellow man didn't know what Ryouma meant. "N? There were, though, Terasaka-kun. When you combine the results of Japanese Literature, English, Social Studies, Science and Math, you get-"
"You missed one, dumbass." Terasaka interrupted the octopus man. "If we're talking about the 5 subjects, they're Japanese Literature, English, Social Studies, Science… and the last one's Home Economics."
Him and his friends put their Home Economics exams in front of their teacher.
Terasaka Ryouma
Home Economics: 100 Points
Ranked 1st
Yoshida Taisei
Home Economics: 100 Points
Ranked 1st
Muramatsu Takuya
Home Economics: 100 Points
Ranked 1st
Hazama Kirara
Home Economics: 100 Points
Ranked 1st
Horibe Itona
Home Economics: 100 Points
Ranked 1st
'H… Home Economics…!' Korosensei realized, having forgotten the subject.
At least he could still frantically bargain. "Hold on a second! Home Economics is a secondary test subject, you know! How could you five only take something like this seriously enough to get a perfect score?!"
"Nobody said which 5 subjects we were talking about." Ryouma cheekily reminded, smugly grinning.
"And didn't you say yourself that Home Economics was the greatest among the 5 subjects, br- Korosensei?" Itona added, helping his new best friend's case.
With this, the legitimacy of Home Economics had been proven. These 5 also had a right to claim a tentacle. Though there was a single problem…
"Ahem…" Kataoka chimed in, preparing to address that problem. "With 5 more tentacle claims, that brings the total of tentacles to cut off to 12. How will we cut off the imaginary 4 tentacles?"
"…"
THE question that mattered. As long as this issue remained unsolved, the assassination couldn't commence. Someone had to find a solution.
"She's right."
"What are we gonna do?"
'I hope they won't suggest cutting off my head instead.' the yellow man thought, sweating profusely.
"I, Shiobana Haruno, have a solution to this problem." Haruno said, gathering all attention upon himself.
'Oh, what's he gonna say?' everybody wondered with interest.
"I, Shiobana Haruno, forfeit my right to 5 of Korosensei's tentacles." the blond announced, greatly surprising everyone present. "To secure my dream in a tasteful way, I don't want to assassinate my target when he's severely handicapped. I play fair games."
All the jaws dropped and eyes widened, the delinquent was saying such things about a monster that would destroy the planet. Regarding common sense, that decision would be inconceivable. But common sense didn't apply to Haruno, which makes him so interesting and unique.
'Wow, it's like he's an entirely different breed of man…'
Technically true, vampire heritage and all.
As everybody was still dumbfounded, Yuuma had one final detail to name. He slowly raised his hand in the air of disbelief.
"A… also, uhh… We'd like to be allowed to use the loot from our wager in the… assassination as well…"
After more seconds of silence, the octopus man nodded in approval. The assassination attempt would become much more lively.
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One more day later, on the final day before summer break, another school-wide assembly took place. Being the delinquent he is, Haruno skipped the assembly again, he had nothing to lose anyway. Though his delinquent friend Karma hadn't skipped the assembly this time. Haruno was on his own.
Flashback:
"You're actually attending? What gives?"
"..Y'see, if I skipped out now it'd be like I was running away, and I'm not too keen on that."
"Running away? From what?"
"From the exam I bottled… Say, Haruno-kun, have you ever tasted defeat?"
"Not academically at least… but in another incident."
In the 'assassination' of Ghiaccio, where the blond saw himself as a failure of an assassin after the incident's conclusion.
"Karma, know this: I got to realize firsthand how shitty that feeling is, how you messed up… It sticks with you until you get another chance to fix your mistake. And you don't even know if you'll get that chance again, all you can do is hope."
"Another chance, huh?"
For the redhead's case, there were multiple chances in the near future, as there were still some major exams for the next 2 semesters.
"Dunno where and how exactly you messed up, but let's just both make sure we won't fail again, okay?"
"Right… let's try our best."
Flashback end
Sitting alone, Haruno thought how different and similar their problems were at the same time. While he'd murdered a man, his friend was in low spirits because he'd done worse than expected, still scoring relatively high. Yet their octopus teacher put both these under the umbrella of assassination.
What a crazy, crazy world.
At least he could relax a bit until the upcoming domestic summer vacation in Okinawa.
Chapter 13 is finished. I don't really know what to say about this chapter all that much. This time there was less focus on Nagisa. I put some more focus on Gakushuu and even bumped up his scores a little. Idk if I'm the only one, but I felt like he should've played a little bigger role and have had more screen/panel time in canon. Which he will in this fanfiction. I'm not sure if I shall put him in Class E, which I personally am a little against, but your reviews can influence my decision.
A minor detail is that Itona is well integrated among Terasaka's friends. Other than that, nothing much.
Feel free to leave a review if you like to