Akari

June 15. The fated day of a new transfer student to arrive to 3E.

To tell the truth, I am excited yet sort of terrified of the new transfer student. Ritsu came out as a very nice AI girl, but I doubt the next one will be as nice as her. She explains to the class that she is actually intended to join forces with the new transfer student to kill Korosensei but the plan is cancelled due to two reasons.

One, is that the student still requires further adjustments.

Two, is that Ritsu can never reach up to the student's capability because he is far stronger than she is.

The entire class isn't pleased to hear that.

I look at Karma. He doesn't seem to be unperturbed by it. He wears his impassive mask every day. A while ago, when he was at my home, he was acting so weird. He asked me questions that I yet to comprehend. When I asked him to explain the other day, he just shrugged it off with sarcasm.

This guy is getting on my nerves. I intend to find out why.

Our training after school isn't disrupted, though. He says he is teaching me to be more alert so that stalkers-like him-will never get a chance to assault me whenever I turn my back.

The guardian of the new kid comes into class and introduces himself as Shiro. His magic trick that made a pigeon appear on his hand frightens us. Korosensei, usually the fearless one in class-because no one can kill him-has used his liquefy trick and glues himself onto the corner of the ceiling.

"Ritsu-chan is telling all these scary stories and I got scared!" is his sole explanation for his chicken-ness.

The new kid emerges when Shiro calls for him. We watch anticipating as he shows up. Not through the door. But right through the classroom wall. Now there is a man-sized hole, which further deteriorates the condition of our class.

"Use the door, damn you!" the class shouts.

The boy, Horibe Itona, looks like an ordinary Third Grade Mid-Schooler if he hadn't just burst through the wall. He has pale greyish hair with glassy eyes. If he can emerge through a wall unscathed, he must be stronger than anyone else in the class. It would be a nice addition to the assassination if he isn't monster-like. Something tells me a storm is coming and we are not going to be excused from it.

What surprises us even more is when Itona claims that Korosensei and him are... they are...

"Brothers?!" the entire class gasps.

Well, the claim does not go without any authentication. We notice that both of them possess the same sweet tooth, eating hoards of sweets and snacks at the same time. They also have the same perverted interest in magazines. It's hard not to say that they're related in some way.

After school, we create a ring using desks in the class. It is not just any assassination that Itona is about to commit. It's a fight to death, an open assassination with all of us as the audience and the witnesses to Korosensei's impending death. The rules are clear. Anyone who exits the ring loses. And the audience's safety must be guaranteed.

I stand beside Karma, watching with anticipation as the fight about to begin. I wonder what Itona has under his sleeve that skyrockets his confidence, enough to challenge Korosensei head-on. His guardian, stands outside of the ring, looking as suspicious as his appearance.

The fight begins. Within the second, Korosensei's left arm drops to the ground with a splat. But that is only the beginning of the forthcoming shock that shakes us to our core.

Multiple white tentacles fling in the air. They sprout from Itona's hair, which make him look like a moody-teenage-boy version of Medusa.

That triggers something in Korosensei. His yellow face dyed pitch black, a sign that he is extremely outraged.

"Where?! Where did you get those TENTACLES?!" Korosensei's voice comes out raspy. Hell is about to break loose.

"We are not obligated to you that, Korosensei," Shiro explains. "But this ought to convince you. You are born from different parents, have different upbringings, yet both of you are still brothers."

So this is how it goes. Itona must have undergone the same process Korosensei did to get those tentacles. Technically they are created from the same mutations or experiments, so they are considered as 'brothers'.

"You and I need some talking." Korosensei's arm sprouts back.

Shiro raises his hand and a purple ray is emitted onto Korosensei. His figure freezes like it is hardened and Itona lurches forward to attack him. Itona's attacks are fast and hard upon impact. I feel the ground rumble every time his attack hits.

"Exposure to this pressured ray at close range triggers dilatant behavior in your cells. Your whole body freezes in an instant. We know all your weaknesses. You can't escape death."

Korosensei...

When the attacks stop, there is nothing left except a huge piece of old skin shedding. Korosensei has clung himself to the ceiling lamp, gasping and breathing heavily. For him to use his ultimate move, Itona must be strong.

Thank god he's ok. I shouldn't be having such thoughts. I should be rooting on the side of humanity that Korosensei finally meets his match. But it doesn't feel right. I don't know what I should be thinking right now. By logical terms, Korosensei needs to die to secure the fate of humanity. But after so much time spent with him, Korosensei isn't the kind of bad guy anyone would want to kill.

I cup my hands over my mouth to make my voice louder. "Korosensei, keep fighting! Don't lose!" I yell. My classmates stare at me, looking at me like I'm some lunatic. But they know I'm right. They are feeling what I'm feeling.

They don't want Korosensei to lose either.

I don't know if Korosensei heard me. He is too preoccupied in the battle to even look at us. He dodges every attack as fast as he could. Clearly he isn't in his best state.

"You shed your skin," Shiro says. "But there is a weakness in it. Molting expends a lot of energy. Therefore, your speed decreases dramatically. And also when you grew back that arm, you used up quite a bit of stamina as well. You and Itona should be evenly matched by now. However, your tentacles' efficiency is greatly cut down because of your mental state. The shock of an unexpected tentacle must have shaken you. It's obvious Itona's in the lead." Shiro releases the purple ray once more. "Also, he has the support of his guardian."

Korosensei visibly stiffens. Itona charges forward with his tentacles and cuts off a few of Korosensei's legs right after he moves in time. Seeing the damage he received is severe, Korosensei collapses to the ground, taking a breather.

This is bad. If this keeps up, Korosensei might really... might really...

Die.

I don't want him to die. Even if he is going to end the world next March. Even if saving him means jeopardizing humanity.

An unbeknownst feeling hits me at my core. I am supposed to be happy that someone finally managed to kill Korosensei. But I'm sad that he has to die. Mixed feelings war in me. I am beginning to doubt my purpose here. I don't want him to die. I don't want to lose such a reliable teacher that supports and believes in us when no one else does.

"I'm not letting Korosensei die. Not just yet!" The words blurt out of me. Before I can register what is going on, I find myself inside the ring, standing in between Korosensei and Itona, arms outstretched to protect the octopus. I hear gasps spreading across the room. I hear their desperate cries for me to get away.

But I am determined. I'm not going to move, not going to falter. I steel myself to glare at Itona, whose attacks stop because I am in the way. He knows well if he hits me, he loses and I will die for sure.

"Akari-chan," Korosensei's voice is feeble. "Please get out of the way before-"

"No." I give a stern reply without even looking at him. I keep my eyes on Itona.

I grit my teeth. I am not just determined; I am pissed off. "I don't give a damn who you think you are, Itona, but you can't just barge into the class on the first day and kill Korosensei. All of us," I spread my arms around the room, gesturing at my classmates. "All of us work so hard to find Korosensei's weaknesses to exploit them for our usage. I enjoy the time spent in this class. I enjoy the time where we study even harder than the main campus students would. I enjoy the time where we plot a myriad of plans to assassinate the yellow octopus yet still fail to do so. So, until the deadline comes, we 3E will kill Korosensei in our own way. We don't need some snot nose brat with his arrogant pain-in-the-ass guardian to interfere our plans. I don't care if Earth is about to end. We still got plenty of time till March. By then I assure you, we will kill him with our own hands. So either you play by our rules or you leave."

The class is silent. The silence is unnerving, but it doesn't bother me. I don't look at my classmates to see the emotions on their faces. I don't even care. I'm not the kind of person who stands by and watches but refuses to voice out any objections. I know if I don't, I will regret.

Itona, however, looks genuinely angered by my speech. One of his tentacles flail towards me and I cover myself with my arms. I'm ready to withstand the pain that comes with it. I hear someone yells my name. Karma?

The next second I am standing behind Korosensei, with one of his tentacles wrapped around my waist. I look at the tall unwavering figure in front of me.

"Thank you, Akari-chan. I won't let myself die here either. I'm still waiting for the day when you are able to kill me. And I still need to see my students graduate. So I cannot die here," Korosensei says with a tone of gratitude. He places me outside of the ring, where Rio and Megu immediately come to my aid. They don't have time to reprimand me yet because the battle is still going on.

From Itona's look I can tell he isn't pleased. His tentacles go full throttle, and in that split second I thought Korosensei is a goner. But the white tentacles melt into liquid as they come into impact with the spot where Korosensei is standing. On the floor is a green rubber knife, which works perfectly against Itona's tentacles. Anti-sensei material works against him too.

Korosensei counterattacks by trapping Itona in his old skin. He throws the boy out of the window where he lands on the soft grass.

"You lose, Itona-kun," Korosensei says victoriously. Green stripes on his face shows that he is confident. "You're out of the ring. If you want to kill me, just like Akari-chan said, you needa play by 3E's rules. Stay and learn with everyone in class, something that cannot be easily measured by crunching numbers. The experience gap between you and me is big because I have lived a little longer than you and know a little more. I became a teacher to pass that on to you. If you don't take my experience from me in this classroom, you will never beat me."

Itona's glassy eyes turn into mean and bloodlust-tinted. His tentacles turn black, something which even Korosensei has never seen before. He launches forward for another attack, but drops to the ground lifelessly in mid-air.

Shiro has hit him with some paralyzing shot. He retrieves the boy and makes his leave. Of course, not without leaving words like "I'll be back to kill you!". For Shiro's case, he rephrased the entire sentence with pretty words but does not make it lose its actual meaning.

*****

I go home late today not because of training with Karma, but because we 3E has requested Karasuma-sensei to sharpen our blades for assassination. 3E has finally come to a realization that we need to be the ones to kill Korosensei, not anyone else. We need to improve ourselves to kill him the best we can. Korosensei has yet to tell us his past and we decide to find the answers on our own. First day of additional training and Karasuma-sensei forces us to climb a rope dangling from a tall tree. Talk about harsh.

I know Karma is behind me because I can hear his footsteps. He probably did it on purpose so that I know he's tailing me. When we reach the T-junction to go our own separate ways, he calls my name. I turn around, only to meet a very serious Karma, who is also looking angry. Before I can ask what is wrong with him, he shoves me to the wall. Both of his hands touch the wall, locking me within his arms. Liquid-gold orbs glare at me. I shudder. What is he trying to do?

"Karma?" my voice comes out weaker than I expected.

He grits his teeth. "Are you insane? What kind of an idiot jumps into a heated battle and almost gets her killed? If Korosensei isn't there, I'd be attending your funeral now, damn it!"

"That idiot is me. But I'm fine now" is what I want to say. But my mouth remains closed. I can't avert my eyes from his. His eyes spark up an internal seething rage, but hidden behind it is endless worries and solicitude.

He's worried about me.

I take the courage and apologize. "I'm sorry."

He lowers his head. I cannot read his face. "Stop being so reckless. Think of yourself before others. Whatever you do, just don't get yourself killed. There are plenty of people who care for you more than you know. You will break their hearts if you got hurt or killed. Whenever you are in trouble, don't charge in head on. If you think you can't handle it, just run. I'll handle the rest."

He pauses. "I will not forgive you if you get hurt on purpose. I..." he stutters, which is a rare phenomenon. "I cannot afford to lose you. So please stay away from hazards and dangers. It's my only wish. Please."

I don't know how to respond. I stare at his lowered head, which still refuses to lift up. Gently I stroke his red hair and he stiffens. "I promise I won't get hurt. I'll take good care of myself." I squat down so that I can see his face. His eyes widen when he sees me. "So you have to take good care of yourself too. The same rule applies for you. Don't commit any unnecessary suicide like the one you use to kill Korosensei. Don't get hurt because your loved ones will be saddened. I don't want to see you get hurt too. So, promise me?" I lift up my right pinkie. He stares at it for a moment and hooks his pinkie with mine.

"I promise," he murmurs.

I smile. "Whoever breaks it first will... become the personal maid for a month!" I hope I'm not the one to do so.

He smiles. "It's a deal."

His head rests on mine. I can feel his breath against my skull. The close proximity makes my cheeks warm up. My heart is thumping wildly against my ribcage and I don't know why.

After a while Karma stands and I too. My face is still warm and I cover it my hands so that he doesn't notice. I don't want him teasing me about it. What's going on with me? I slap my cheeks.

Karma raises his eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" I wave my hands in dismissal.

He smirks. "Don't fall in love with me, Akari-chan."

"S-shut up!" I yell, but it only aggravates the situation. My cheeks become hotter.

He laughs. My fists are balled up to punch him out of submission. His laughter dies abruptly as he stares at something behind me. I finally realize people are standing behind me. They are so not here to say hi.

There are six of them. All are bulky men in high-schoolers uniform. I recognize some of them are the previous ruffians that Karma defeated. Wow, they have guts to come back for revenge.

Karma pulls me behind him. "What's wrong, guys? You lost?"

The one who had a lot of piercings now has a huge hole in his nose, making it look crooked. "That's him! That's the one who beat us up with his girlfriend!"

"Seriously, it took you like months to get back at me? Lame." Karma snickers.

The one with green hair shouts. "You're outnumbered now. 6 against 2. Why don't you surrender and let us play with your cute girl there?"

I hate to admit it, but the ruffian is right. We are greatly outnumbered. But I really am pissed of what they think of me. I'm not some play toy, asshole!

Karma is seething. "What the hell did you just say?" He balls up his fist and raises it aloft in a swift move to punch the man.

But I grab his hand. I run and drag him with me, fleeing the scene. It takes him a while to keep up my pace. I don't bother to let go of his hand because the moment I do he will run straight to the ruffians. We run as far as we can, making sure they didn't chase up to us. When I'm finally out of breath, we stop at a corner covered from street view. Both of us breathe heavily.

"Akari," Karma says between pants. "What are you... doing?"

"Saving your... life, you dumbass..." I lean against a wall. "I thought... you promised you won't... get hurt... plus I promised... to flee whenever... I can't handle the situation."

He slaps his forehead in exasperation and laughs. "Didn't I say leave it to me?"

"You are bound to get hurt. 6 against 1? Please. There's no way you can do it. You get hurt, you break the promise, you'll be my personal maid for a month. I can't wait to see you in an apron. But I can't stand to see you get hurt."

"Wow, I didn't know you worried about me so much, Akari-chan. Is it because you love me?"

My cheeks redden. "You really have to stop your teasing." I take my water bottle and roll it against my cheeks to cool it down. "Karma, there are walls that you cannot break with sole arrogance. One day, you will encounter one and you'll realize that egoism is the least you need. Think about it."

He is silenced. I peek out from our spot and glance at the street. No one is there. I walk out and he follows me. We find ourselves far from our housing area. We would need to take the train to return to our home. On the way, Karma says nothing. He is being awfully quiet, which scares me. He is never the quiet type whenever I'm around because he will find all means to tease and humiliate me to my core.

We reach the T-junction once more. I am about to wave goodbye before he stops me. "Akari, I think they will be back," he says nonchalantly. "I believe they will target you first since you're weaker than me."

No. It's not because I'm weak. It's because they assume I'm your girlfriend after you beat them up.

"Then what do you suggest?" I say.

He touches his chin. "I'll sleep over your place tonight just so that no one comes bothering you. I can't save you if they suddenly appear at your doorstep."

I gape at him. Are you serious?

"Yes, I'm serious." Though his smirk doesn't disappear. He seems to be enjoying tormenting me mentally.

Crap. What did I get myself into?

"No," I reject him. I blush at the thought. "You are not coming to my place for some sleep over. A boy and a girl alone in the apartment at night can be very disastrous-"

"How disastrous?" His breath tickles my face as his are only a few inches from mine. I don't know when he gets this close. I back away from the proximity between us and avert my eyes from him.

"N-no means no," I stammer. His smirk gets wider. "If you are really that worried, I'll just ask Megu or Ri-chan to come over."

"Three girls aren't good enough against 6 large men."

"I'll just call Kaede and Kanzaki-san too. And even Fuwa-san and-"

"I'll meet you at your place in 30 minutes. Bye~" Karma gleefully walks back to his house, leaving me hanging there.

"K-K-Karma you annoying jerk!"