Searching for the notorious Karma Akabane was easier said than done, while finding him belonged to an entirely different level of caliber altogether. Despite his conspicuous red streaks, it still stood as a difficult task among the crowded population of the city.

The end of the week had already swung by, and the redhead was still nowhere to be found. You exchanged mobile numbers with Nagisa and Kaede throughout the week to keep in touch, while the former attempted to contact Karma to little avail.

According to him, Karma hadn't responded very often to work with, apart from the fact that he simply didn't feel like attending school the past few days on a whim. He wasn't concerned about homework at all, claiming that he would easily manage regardless of class attendance or not. Though the idea of assassinating a bipedal octopus still intrigued him, he would ultimately decide whether he would partake in school activities sooner or later.

It was a bright Saturday morning when you next encountered the tall, mischievous boy.

Weekends were blissful times for sleeping in, relaxing, and hanging out with friends. As much as you would've loved to embrace the state of sleep for a while longer, you couldn't have overslept to the point that you missed the long-awaited Sonic Ninja film.

Averting your eyes to the text message notifications on your smartphone, you sleepily tapped your password on the smooth glass surface of the keypad, before proceeding to read and address the group chat dedicated to exchanging updates about Karma, which consisted of you, Nagisa, and Kaede. Their equal excitement and good news brought a grin to your features as you caught up with the merry conversation.

➢

Nagisa Shiota: Today's the big day, huh?

Kaede Kayano: Yeah! ( ' ▽ ' )ﾉ

Nagisa Shiota: I messaged Karma-kun about Koro-sensei's gift of SN tickets, and from the sounds of it, I'm sure he'll be coming!

Nagisa Shiota: Good thing that he hadn't watched it already in between his escapades away from school... ^^;

Kaede Kayano: So we have our full gang assembled. That's good!

Kaede Kayano: Where's [Name]-chan? Is she still asleep?

[Name] [Last Name]: Present!

Nagisa Shiota: Ah, great timing, [Name]-san! Good morning.

Kaede Kayano: In an hour or so, we'll meet by the movie theater! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

[Name] [Last Name]: Morning! And okay~ :D See you all there!

Nagisa Shiota: See ya!

Kaede Kayano: (★ゝω・)b⌒☆

➢

The smile still remained prominently plastered across your face as you sat up, rubbing your eyes in hopes of cleansing the urge to return to bed. Genuinely, you had a feeling that this hangout in particular would end much better than the evanescent nightmare with Kaho Tsuchiya. It was still difficult to believe that you weren't dreaming, that people like Koro-sensei existed at such times of need.

In commemoration of that, you were going to have fun with watching Sonic Ninja, as he'd wished. At the same time, you hoped that the truant would frequent school more often after the bonding over movies, however, perhaps that was just wishful thinking.

With no time to waste, you quickly freshened up and changed into your favorite set of casual attire, before rushing to chug a glass of milk and stuff a slice of toast into your mouth to eat along the way. The house was empty for the day, as the rest of your family was either working or gone elsewhere.

Fortunately, the route to the multiplex was relatively close, so under normal circumstances, there was no fear of being late. You swung the straps of an informal backpack over your shoulders, its capacity being barely enough to fit your previous cassette tape and newly acquired set of folded study notes for Karma (as requested by Koro-sensei), the two remaining tickets in your possession for Sonic Ninja, and other necessities, such as your wallet, student ID, and keys. The bag was more meant for aesthetics for dates and hangouts rather than functionality for school, but it served as decent baggage nonetheless.

After slipping into your sneakers, you sprinted out of the door after locking it behind you. Your running slowed down into a more comfortable pace, making your way out of your small neighborhood, and into the busy main streets ahead.

A blanket of sapphire blue stretched across the sky that morning, specked with white hues and sprinkled with incandescent sun. Through the bevies of civilians, mops of red, blue, and green hair respectively flocked together caught your eye on the opposite side of the intersection, as you neared the local movie theater. Karma, Nagisa, and Kaede.

It was honestly a relief that he showed up, after all. You could relax knowing that you at least attempted to satisfy Koro-sensei's conditions, and it was thanks to your pals as well. As much as a rabble-rouser he was rumored to be, you couldn't help but to worry about his frequencies of playing hooky, even if it was completely normal and intentional. Just like everybody else, he was a student, too.

"To be honest, I'm just looking out for a colleague."

The same statement applied to you now; you were just looking out for a colleague.

Tuning into your surroundings, the vehicles adjacent to you skidded to a halt. Tires lightly screeched as traffic lights flickered a bright red, and to your opposite, a blinking symbol of green flashed as the pedestrian-shaped figure motioned for men and women alike to cross the concrete street.

As you approached the trio of teenagers, you politely waved while calling out a greeting, stepping into their circle. "Kaede-chan! Nagisa-kun! Karma-kun! Um, I'm sorry for being late--"

The group paused whatever conversation they were in the middle of, though you personally weren't able to discern the contents of their speech during your intrusion, apart from phrases like 'fishing for delinquents' and 'bait' coming from the troublemaker. Kaede and Nagisa kindly smiled at as they returned the gesture, while Karma shot you his signature smirk that seemed so innocent all the same.

Kaede's outfit consisted of a loose teal top with faded English lettering you couldn't recognize too clearly, with a white tank top underneath and a darker skirt to match. Nagisa and Karma, on the other hand, stuck with their typical attire of blue vests and black jackets respectively, accompanied by white collared shirts.

"[Name]-chan, don't worry! We have... ten minutes left. I think it's a good idea to give Karma-kun the ticket-- it's the only reason why he's here." Kaede giggled, glancing over at the redhead whose tall stature towered over the rest of the gang.

You blinked, though quickly nodded at the realization, detaching your bag from your back as you slid the zipper open. With a movie ticket, cassette tape of lessons, and several dozen pages of study material in hand, you graciously passed the load into his arms. "Ah... it's a gift, courtesy of Koro-sensei."

Karma's eyes only lit up from the ticket, however, the shine in his pupils quickly dulled from the heap of what he saw from his perspective as worthless notes. Regardless, he accepted the pile, pocketing away the ticket and folding the rest of the sheets into even smaller packs, stuffing them into his black jacket.

"From the octopus, huh?" Karma sighed, his countenance unreadable for a moment as he pondered. "Anyways, let's go. The concession line ups will take a while, so it's better to purchase our food now~"

Nagisa nodded in agreement, keeping his kindhearted grin. Your quartet soon commenced to enter the cinema in high spirits, although it wasn't to say that you guys were utterly alone within the bounds of the theater.

"Nurufufufu~"