It was early morning when Amaya woke up with a jolt, her heart racing and her body covered in an almost chilling sweat. She'd snapped entirely awake in an instance, throwing herself upright in bed as she tried to figure out where she was.

The far wall of her room came to her immediate notice as her brain reeled on her, the dull light of dawn approaching showing through the gaps of the curtain.

Had ... that really happened?

Her face heated up quickly as she retraced her recollection of prior to waking up here.

She remembered red coloured light, then being dragged around by Karma.

And then ...

She slapped her hands over her face as she found herself struggling to maintain her composure, and her face was burning hot to the touch. Her thoughts and emotions were far too jumbled up for her to even begin making heads or tails of anything.

No, she had other instances where she'd had delusions over the past month, her sanity evaporating had been a concern to her. And then there was the problem that she couldn't really remember anything from after he ... apparently kissed her.

So she was doubtful she was even recalling the majority of the night properly, though she hoped she was right, for more than just one reason.

Amaya sucked in a deep breath, trying and succeeding to will away the vivid blush that had stained her pale features before she looked down at herself.

She was still dressed more or less in the yukata Maehara and Isogai had brought for her, though her hair was loose and through however much sleep she actually got, she seemed to have loosened the obi enough to have it practically falling off of her.

Odd. Usually if she slept, it was just in a tank top and her underwear, sometimes shorts if it was a little chilly. She decided to shrug it off for the most part, pulling herself out from beneath the covers to start getting herself organized.

It was some time before 5am she guessed - she didn't need to wake her siblings before 6.30, and she honestly doubted Samuel would still be asleep by that point. She tossed aside her yukata carefully and got dressed into the new clothes for school she'd picked up the other day with everything else for her siblings.

It felt more than six weeks since the last time she wore her school uniform.

But right now, she didn't know how to feel about it, either.

She didn't have a new pair of boots yet, so she had to make do with a pair of sneakers until then.

Dressed in her long-sleeved shirt and pants, Amaya made her way out of her room to find a mostly intact living area, if one were to ignore the empty candy wrappers and pizza boxes on the dining table and over the floor. Obviously, Yuta didn't quite succeed in stopping their siblings from getting sweets for dinner.

Which meant she wasn't going to let them decide their next fortnight's worth of dinner, and possibly more later.

However after a few seconds, her eyes drifted from the irksome mess to the couch sitting towards her right.

The rather familiar sight of a mop of red was visible from over the arm of the new article of furniture, a clear sign that there was somebody there.

Her brow furrowed as she wandered over, the smallest dusting of red reappearing across her face as she came to a stop at the side of the couch.

The evil incarnate appeared to be asleep, though he didn't look too comfortable, oddly enough. Using whatever cushions were around, it appeared he'd tried to make the couch a little more comfortable to sleep on.

Which didn't necessarily surprise Amaya, as she'd picked that couch out of the priority of surviving the way Samuel would hurl himself onto anything and everything, not necessarily for sleeping comfort.

Well, he was probably going to be in a crabby mood when he would eventually wake up, so she decided it was in her best interests to leave him be.

So instead, she set about organizing the belongings and lunch for her siblings. After all, she honestly doubted the twins had gotten that done, what with having Samuel around with his inability to sit still for all that long.

Her thoughts bounced between different directions, speckled with small moments of warmth spreading across her face as she glanced around at the redhead presumably still out cold on the couch.

She got bags packed, obentou made for her siblings, and for them all that was left was breakfast by 6am.

First day of the new trimester, and she had a gut feeling that this was Samuel's first ever day in school for his whole life, just like her when they moved to Tokyo in the beginning. So, she guessed she could make something special ... she just hoped the twins wouldn't complain about not getting their usual breakfast.

Neither of the twins liked tomato, nor did they like pasta or a lot of western food, which made things a little difficult sometimes. Amaya was honestly surprised the twins had even gone for Pizza at all last night.

At the silence that still filled the house, Amaya got started on what she needed to do on was was probably one of the only things she didn't need a recipe book to recite without error - it was something well taught to her. The item of preparation was a kind of fusion between french toast and waffles, and while trying to explain it didn't work all that well, it wasn't a complex concept.

Bread, custard, eggs, flour, sugar and cream were all pulled out of their respective holdings and set in the kitchen as quietly as she could manage. Tossing the crusted bread into a batter she made, she let them soak while she prepared the other things she needed.

All the while she worked, her thoughts were rerouted to a more subdued train of thought.

Of Genivierre, and what she remembered of the woman.

She adored her mother to bits until the day she took her life that one rainy day, and ever since the memory of Yukariko had been painful. Even so, she never really had a lot to do with the woman she inherited her snowy features from - Her father kept the woman more or less imprisoned within the facilities at most times.

For Amaya's more ... impressionable years in that place, Genivierre was more present than Yukariko could ever be. It wasn't wrong to say that Amaya remembered a lot more about Genivierre than Yukariko. And more of her memories of Genivierre were more pleasant than those with Yukariko, as well.

In one way, Amaya had begun to accept what had happened to Yukariko, though she didn't accept what happened to Genivierre at all. A lot of grief was still locked away inside of her, kept hidden as well as she could manage.

There was an emotional and rather perceptive little boy familiar with Genivierre that appeared to have managed to forget at least a little - If she looked particularly mournful, she didn't know if that would remind him.

And she wasn't ready to accept that the kind woman had died because of her.

The sudden slamming of a door upstairs was the first sign that consciousness had met somebody, and Amaya was fairly sure it was the energetic blond. In fact, she knew it was Samuel as the sounds of running footsteps came tearing down the stairs, only to slide to a halt at Amaya's immediate left.

'Big Sister Meow!' Samuel practically shouted, his exuberance showing in his tone. 'What's for breakfast?!'

'That's A-ma-ya, and you need to break out of English, please.' Amaya responded without lifting her gaze from the frying pan in front of her. 'You're living in Japan from now on.'

'What's for breakfast!?' Samuel repeated himself with a mischievous grin.

'Food.' She responded in a heartbeat.

'What kind of food?'

'Breakfast food.'

'Awww! That's not what I meant!' Samuel whined dramatically.

'Go wake Yuta and Reiko.' Amaya continued as if he'd said nothing, flipping the battered toast onto the stack she'd already cooked, earning a pout from the blond. 'Reiko will fight though, so steal the blankets first.'

'Okaaaaay!' He sung as he went tearing straight back up the stairs.

Amaya spared his dispersing form a glance as she placed another piece of battered toast onto the frying pan, and filled the sunken center with just a little custard before placing a second piece of battered toast over it.

Ten unfortunate seconds later, another door slammed open followed by a startled yelp from who sounded to be Yuta.

'GOOD MORNING BIG BROTHER GLASSES!'

Whatever response Yuta would have had towards the nickname, Amaya never heard it.

She just continued cooking all the same, a small sigh escaping her as she flipped the toast stack once it was cooked on the bottom side.

'What are you doing, Amay?' She heard a sleepy voice mumble from a couple paces away, causing her to quickly glance back out of surprise.

Leaning against the island of the kitchen stood Karma, a small frown written across his face as he stared at the contents of the frying pan and the three bowls in varying sizes on the counter. It looked like he'd just woken up, no doubt because of Samuel and his shouting.

It took Amaya a second to stop her recollection of her morning's start from bringing that blush across her face.

'Wh-what does it look like?' She questioned, turning her attention back to breakfast.

She honestly cursed the waver in her voice, but she was feeling horribly uncomfortable.

'It looks like you're planning to poison someone.' He responded easily, eliciting a frown from Amaya with little effort.

'Your welcome to starve if you're that concerned about it.' Her quip was without bite, holding a weary edge that was impossible to miss. 'I'm sure Samuel can easily eat your share, too.'

'And he'll probably die from food-poisoning.' Karma was quick to respond, tauntingly.

She was silent after that remark, shaking her head slightly as she resumed her task.

'Heh, no bite? Someone's in a bad mood.'

She decided to tune him out and go back to cooking.

In truth, this particular dish was probably the one thing she didn't really want the terrible cooking taunts about, and she was fine with letting him starve if he was going to push it.

Though it appeared he didn't have very much to say otherwise.

'SAMMIE! GIVE ME BACK MY BLANKETS!' Reiko shrieked at the top of her lungs all of a sudden, sign enough that Amaya's advice had been taken.

'BIG SISTER MEOW'S MAKING BREAKFAST! BREAKFAST!'

'I WANT MY BLANKETS RIGHT NOW!'

'BREAKFAST~~!'

Amaya let out a faint breath as she resigned herself to the chaos that was about to ensue, flipping the last of the battered toast onto the pan she had the others stacked in.

The crashing of running footsteps made their way downstairs rather quickly, and within seconds Samuel came tearing right over to Karma with Reiko's blanket held tightly in his arms.

'GOOD MORNING MISTER BELL PEPPER!' The energetic blond practically yelled, however a pained yelp escaped him as Reiko got her hands on him.

'Sammie, that wasn't fair!' Reiko almost hissed as she dragged Samuel a bit away from Karma, her temper well invoked. 'Why did you steal my blankets?!'

'Big Sister Meow told me to!'

'And why are you still calling everyone weird nicknames?!'

That was a classic case of the kettle calling the pot black - Amaya recalled the nicknames the girl in mention had given Irina, Karasuma and Koro-sensei, as well as every plush toy Yuta had got her from those UFO catchers.

Though she ignored the growing disagreement as she finished the four plates and left them sitting on the counter.

'Right, food's done.' Amaya remarked as she tossed her apron atop the counter a few inches away from the plates.

'You're not having any, Amay?' Reiko questioned as she turned away from a tantruming Samuel.

'No.'

'Then it's definitely poisoned.' Karma snickered as Amaya walked right past him, though she didn't respond.

She didn't even look at him as she wandered back to her room to pack her own things.

'Stupid jerk...' She mumbled beneath her breath as she shut the door, leaning back against it as she looked up at the ceiling.

He didn't seem any different to normal at all... He was exactly as he always was.

She was more than just a little crestfallen with the possibility that nothing really did happen.

Though there really wasn't anything she could do about that - She didn't have the guts to even consider trying to ask him about this, and that's even if she happened to find some perfect method to stop her face from turning bright red the very second she would bring up the topic.

So, she had no recourse but to try and push it from the forefront of her mind and focus on other things.

Her next list of necessary purchases were stuffed into her new purse, her other belongings of necessity stuffed into her rather battered messenger bag, and before long she realized she had to go and get replacement library cards amongst other things.

She'd basically lost everything.

Well ... she guessed she could go and do that after school, provided that Koro-sensei's presence didn't trigger anything that would jeopardize her free time.

Like usual...

Her time alone in her room was undisturbed for the most part - within an hour, Reiko and Samuel bade her farewell through shouts indoors, and before long Amaya wondered if she was in the house alone.

She shrugged it off however and emerged around the correct time to head to school.

There was no sign of Karma anywhere inside the house, so at first she'd thought he'd taken off sometime after she'd retreated to her room.

However, she found him standing just inside the front gate, seeming preoccupied with his phone.

Odd, he never made a habit of waiting for her like this.

Regardless, she kept her gaze averted from him as they left, forcing her thoughts onto other things.

There was no sign of an ambush awaiting just outside the gate, and there was no sign of anyone down the street either. It was a relief she hoped would hang around - she'd done well to avoid the bulk of Asano Gakushuu's notice thus far, though living just down the street from him was starting to test her patience.

Though, it wasn't long before a mostly-silent Karma decided to break their mutual quiet, just as they'd come within visual sight of Kunugigaoka middle school.

'You know, you really need to get rid of that couch.' The redhead muttered as he stretched his arms above his head, a small wince flashing across his features. 'The other couches were better.'

Was this a complaint? Or one of those few instances where he wanted to break the silence?

She decided to go with the former - Silences never bothered him before.

'It's brand new, so I'm not going to get rid of it just because you don't like it.' Amaya huffed as they neared the main campus.

'It's uncomfortable, not to mention small.'

'Take it up with Samuel - He picked it.'

'You're the one that gave him permission, though~'

A frustrated sigh escaped her as she turned her head further away.

'If you hate the couch so much, you can always go back to your own apartment to sleep.'

'Heh, that's cold Amay.' Karma responded with a rather innocent smile as he leaned forward to get a better view of her irritated expression. 'You expect me to go all the way back home when you live so far away, now? Not to mention the trains are usually out by that time. I'd have to walk all that way back home~'

He was fishing for a bite - it was clear from his painfully dramatic tone.

Though unfortunately for whatever it was he was after, she wasn't in any mood to really humor him right now.

'Then figure something out yourself then, I don't care.' She muttered as they neared the gymnasium where most of their class was gathered for the start of term assembly.

'Heh, you're definitely in a bad mood, Amay.'

'Yes, I am - and you're not helping...' Her sullen words were met with no immediate response as she picked up her walking pace past their classmates, who were watching with curiosity clear across their faces.

From their lack of belongings, they'd all already been up to the classroom, unlike both Amaya and Karma, who had just gotten here.

'Oi, Maya-chan! Where're you going?' Maehara called out after her. 'We've got assembly!'

'Skipping!' She called back over her shoulder, though she didn't look back. 'It's not like Karasuma-sensei won't just send me to the classroom again if he sees me here, anyway...'

And indeed, she found herself proven right in at least some way - She walked past Karasuma just a few hundred meters up the mountain trail, and he neither remarked nor complained about her volunteering to ditch assembly.

In truth, he was probably relieved he didn't have to send her away in case she were to try and antagonize Ono again.

In spite of the life-like atmosphere to the mountain, from birds sounding their cries to insects chirping away, there was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't exactly put her finger on what could be giving her such a feeling, though she did feel it wasn't entirely because of her own confusion over events just passed.

In fact, with the way her year had been thus far, it felt like something was long overdue to happen.

It felt like there was something lurking in the shadows, only she couldn't fathom as to what it could be outside of her small bubble of problems and loose ends.

Though, the unease lifted ever so slightly as she reached the clearing of Classroom 3-E, and saw a familiar face waving a single tentacle in greeting at her arrival.

'Good morning, Amaya-san!' The octopus greeted as Amaya walked into the classroom a few minutes later, his ever-grinning face his neutral shade of vibrant sulphur yellow. 'Sensei is glad to see that you appear to be well.'

'Morning.' Amaya greeted back, though her head had turned to the Fixed Artillery's main terminal after a few seconds.

She wondered if the vibrant girl would be able to upload everyone's contact information for her onto the new phone - It would save Amaya a bit of trouble having to go and ask everyone to give her their contact details.

Undoubtedly, the vibrant girl would also want to upload herself onto the device, as well.

Koro-sensei resumed whatever it was he was doing at the front of the classroom as Amaya set her bag onto the hook of her desk and made her way over to Ritsu's main terminal.

'Good morning, Ritsu-san.' Amaya greeted as she sat herself down on top of Hara's desk facing the large metal case.

In immediate response, the display of the large, rather intimidating metal box lit up, and Ritsu's avatar appeared with a bright and rather adorable smile.

'And a good morning to you as well, Amaya-san!' Ritsu responded with cheer, tipping her head slightly in an even more adorable smile. 'Is there anything I can help you with?'

'Y-yeah...' She hedged, pulling out her new phone from her pocket. 'Do you think ... when you upload yourself, can you just put everyone's contacts in here as well? I can't find the notebook I wrote it all down in.'

'Of course!' Ritsu responded with cheer, her whole display brightening up dramatically. 'I'll get right on it, and update everyone elses while I'm at it!'

'Th-thanks ...' Amaya responded, though inwardly she was a little alarmed at the remark.

The Fixed Artillery really could go through and change things on a person's phone without warning? And so easily?

Technology was rather terrifying, now that she was faced with a very real scenario.

'Nurufufufu!' Your notebooks are missing, you say?' Koro-sensei's booming voice echoed from right behind Amaya all of a sudden, drawing a startled squeak from the girl with little effort. 'Why, Sensei has them right here!'

What was that?!

Amaya quickly turned on the spot, fixing Koro-sensei with a look of pure and undiluted disbelief.

He was standing just a few paces away, his various tentacles lifted up to hold two items she actually recognized - The majority held up a luggage case she recognized to be the one she'd lost in Berlin, during the incident that had unfolded at the International Airport Terminal, and hanging from one happened to be a rather tattered bird figurine hanging from a cord, which had originally been hanging from her phone lost in Okinawa.

Amaya was honestly shocked beyond comprehension to actually see items she'd deemed never to see again, causing the Octopus to casually hand the bird-hanger to her.

How ... is this even possible?

'Sensei has spent a short handful of minutes relocating at least a small portion of your belongings.' Koro-sensei remarked, stretching his other tentacles out to set the luggage case against the wall behind Amaya's desk. 'Unfortunately, your cellular telephone was far beyond even what Sensei can fix, however since you have already purchased a new one, then there is no concern there.'

He must have gone wandering in that facility just by bringing this back.

She was honestly quite touched by the fact, and all she could do was smile sincerely up at him.

'Thank you, Sensei... Really...'

She really meant it, even if she couldn't find the words to truly express it.

'Any time, Amaya-san.' The Octopus responded as he wandered back to the front of the classroom, leaving Amaya to look down at the phone hanger with a small smile.

Well, she had to admit the one item she was most upset about losing was probably this, just like she was rather upset that she might have lost her messenger bag.

So she didn't hesitate to carefully loop the cord of the phone hanger around the hook in the top right corner of her phone.

It was just as she'd finished that the bird charm on the hanger let out a small, robotic chirp sound as the screen of her phone lit up, though it didn't flap its wings like it used to.

'The upload has been completed, and I have imported everyone's contacts into your address book!' Ritsu announced brightly as her avatar appeared over the screen of Amaya's phone. 'I am glad to be able to visit you once again!'

'Y-yeah, welcome back...' Amaya responded, a hesitant edge touching her pale features. 'Just, so my siblings don't start asking a lot of questions, can you just email me before you turn up?'

'Of course! I can do that!'

'Thanks...'

And with that, Amaya gently set herself back onto her feet as she wandered back towards her desk.

Her gaze had shifted to look at the luggage case Koro-sensei had brought back for her, itching to ascertain exactly what she had returned to her, and what was now permanently written off as lost.

However, she didn't actually get that far - She noticed a second later that there was a glossy rectangle of white paper sitting atop her desk, set so neatly that she found herself curious as to what the heck it could be.

She didn't fail to notice the smallest hints of snickering in the air, though her curiosity was so well captured by the glossy paper that she ignored it.

However, when she lifted the paper and flipped it over in her hands, she found herself freezing up instantly in sheer horror.

What showed on the other side was a photograph of a dimly lit stretch of scenery, taken from an angle pointing downwards towards the ground. There was a red glow to the background and the smallest hints of festival booths and lanterns showing in the background through the trees.

However what had immediately terrified Amaya was the fact that there were two forms shown in the photograph, that of Karma and herself, and they weren't just standing there - It was the very instance that the redhead had kissed her.

A startling shade of red immediately engulfed Amaya's face as she consciously noticed the telltale sounds of frantic scribbling, and everything made a whole heap of horrifying sense.

The Octopus she called her teacher had stalked the two of them last night, and now he'd decided to make this little fact known to her with irrefutable proof.

It had happened, she hadn't imagined it.

And there had been at least one spectator.

'Nurufufufufu~! Sensei is pleased that you are getting along with Karma-kun again, Amaya-san~' Koro-sensei remarked as he lifted his gaze to look up at Amaya's mortified form standing rigid in the classroom, his face shifting from sulphur yellow in colour, to that blusing pale pink instead. 'However, Sensei will have to ask that the both of you maintain a casual and platonic relationship during class hours~'

The horror of this revelation had two frightfully strong sets of emotions warring inside of her - Sheer embarrassment and horror over everything said, and undiluted outrage over the fact that he was finding amusement out of this.

And unfortunately, as her shock cracked and began to ebb away, her entire being settled on the latter.

'Y-Y-YOU WERE STALKING US?!' Amaya yelled out, however the Octopus merely nodded his head, not the least bit bothered by his students sudden change in attitude. 'HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?!'

'Indeed, Sensei has invested interest in the well being and the status of the love life of every student!' Koro-sensei responded brightly, snapping his book shut with a brightening grin. 'It is of course the core content of Sensei's novel-writing aspirations!'

That ... that cursed book!

The jovial laughter from the octopus didn't fail to increase her indignation further.

'Sensei is glad that Maehara-kun asked for some assistance with his little project! Otherwise Sensei would have missed out on such a wonderful scoop!'

Her embarrassment was quickly turning to anger, the longer he grinned and snickered away.

'Stop finding amusement in my embarrassment!' She practically yelped.

'Well then, what do you intend to do in order to stop Sensei's fun?' Koro-sensei inquired as he lifted one of his dominant tentacles to forage through the internal shelf of his teachers desk, his face undergoing the familiar metamorphasis to green and yellow stripes. 'There are many things you can do, Amaya-san, but you should know that no attempts to harm me have been entirely fruitful.'

Instead of thinking rationally about this, Amaya's insult and bruised pride lead her to something else entirely.

Feeling horribly mortified and a little humiliated right now, Amaya instead threw out the only thing that would easily fly from her normally apt tongue.

'You're not a teacher at all, stupid Octopus!' She practically yelled, earning a strangled shriek from Koro-sensei as his book clattered to the floor out of his grip. 'Teachers don't go around stalking their students for their own amusement!'

And with that, she tore out of the room, leaving a white-faced Koro-sensei standing frozen stiff in the front of the classroom.

Stupid Octopus and his stalking habits...

Stupid photographs and stupid stalker's book...

Even though she cursed and stomped away, she still held the photograph tightly in her right hand as she marked out of the classroom building altogether.

For whatever Koro-sensei had intended, all it had done was rile her up and bruise her rather warped pride all the more.

And in spite of herself, her face had coloured noticeably as she retreated to one of her favorite trees to hide out in the branches, coincidentally one that stood practically right over the mountain trail leading towards the main campus.

'Stupid octopus ...' She muttered sullenly beneath her breath as she clambered up to the top branches.

The air was clear, the day rather peaceful in atmosphere if she were to ignore the events that had prodded at her temperament and pride so much in a mere few hours.

She mindlessly stared down at the photograph she still had, turning it over in her hands as she tried to regain her composure.

However, she still felt like there was something rather odd, as she stared down at the city scape beyond the expanses of the Class E Mountain.

She couldn't put her finger on what it could be, though she found she had at least some semblance of an answer before long.

About the appropriate time for everyone to come back from the Start of Term assembly, Amaya found herself almost startled out of her tree when she heard someone from down below suddenly let out a slew of curses.

She couldn't pick who it was, only that it was one of her male classmates, and they were legitimately angry.

She'd caught herself before she lost balance and went tumbling down to the ground, taking note of the fact that her classmates were back.

Almost all were rigid in their movements, their brows pulled down into clear glares they inflicted upon the ground. Those that weren't angry looked rather ... lost? Concerned?

Amaya blinked owlishly as she watched her classmates walk one by one beneath her tree, though it was as she saw a scowling Sugino walk beneath her tree that she decided to get down and at least ask what'd happened.

So she did just that, unhooking her legs briefly as she scooted over to the trunk of the tree, and much like with those rope-climbing exercises, Amaya merely slid down the side of the tree, using her feet to adjust the speed of her descent accordingly.

Unintentionally however, she found herself landing right in front of Terasaka and his posse of all people, and they looked probably the more angry out of everyone, which said a lot considering that everyone else looked particularly mad right now.

'What's going on?' Amaya questioned just as soon as she'd righted her footing, though the burly boy merely sidestepped her and continued on, his temper well ignited.

'Takebayashi-kun's gone and turned on us.' Muramatsu was actually the one to speak up as he followed after Terasaka, though he didn't look at Amaya once. 'The damn traitor...'

'E-eh?! Wait, Takebayashi-kun?!'

'You're not going to get any answers asking them, Amay.' A suddenly present Karma spoke up from right behind her, and a second later she'd been grabbed by the elbow and dragged onwards. 'Come on.'

'O-okay let go! I can walk by myself, damnit!' Amaya gasped out as she almost lost balance.

There was no immediate response to her demand, however he did nothing more than lessen his hold of her elbow just enough for her to manage to right herself.

Well, it seemed like he was a little displeased with whatever happened involving Takebayashi, though nothing more.

By the time they'd reached the classroom, mostly everyone had already arrived, and even from outside, Amaya could hear angry voices issuing complaints and objections. She'd been released by this point, with Karma wandering up ahead of her.

'What's with that guy?! I can't believe he even threw away a chance at 10 billion yen to ditch us!' Maehara's rather recognizable voice practically roared with anger as he slammed a hand against the blackboard, just as Karma had slid the back door of the classroom open.

'And he even said this place was hell!!' Kimura agreed, his entire form trembling with anger.

'Even if he was forced to say that, that's just wrong.' Spoke Okano with bitter distaste.

Now that Amaya was walking into the room, she could see just how volatile everyone really was.

She shook her head slightly as she wandered over to her desk, sitting atop of it as she decided to just observe.

There was no Koro-sensei in sight, oddly enough.

'It's true that Takebayashi-kun's grades suddenly improved, but I believe that's only because he was taught by Koro-sensei in Class E.' Began a pensive Kataoka sitting at her desk in the front of the room, her head tipped forward as she stared down at her hands in front of her. 'If he forgot even that much, then I can't look at him the same way.'

'But why didn't he even say anything to us before today?!' Maehara demanded angrily.

Ah, so that's what happened.

Amaya more or less understood from the broken pieces she was picking up.

Takebayashi had been transferred to the main building, presumably because he was one of the top-scorers during the End of Term Exams just been last trimester. And, just as there had been last year, and the year before, he'd given a speech about how grateful he was to be back on Main Campus in front of the whole school.

This wasn't some brand new instance - This had happened before with the grades above them.

Even Amaya knew that, even though she couldn't claim to have ever been present to one of these assemblies in her life.

Amaya let out a breath as she decided to try and defuse the situation, at least a little bit.

If nobody calmed down at least a little, she was probably just going to go home, instead.

'Y'know, I understand you're all mad about this and everything, but I have a question for you.' Amaya began as she rubbed her forehead slightly, earning the attention of a few of their classmates - most notably, Hara, Nagisa, Kayano and Kanzaki looked her way. 'Just what about this in particular is making you all so angry? Be specific.'

'Oh, right. You weren't there, Amaya-san...' Nagisa spoke up, albeit hesitantly. 'Well, you see, Takebayashi-kun...'

'I get the general idea of what's going on, but that's not what I asked.' Amaya didn't fail to notice a couple other classmates look over as well. 'I asked you what's specifically making you all angry.'

'Aren't you angry about this, Maya-chan?!' Maehara questioned, turning to fix her with a rather disbelieving look. 'I mean, yeah you probably have never spoken with him before, but he just ditched us without a word like that! I mean, who the hell does he think he is?!'

'To be honest, Hiroto-kun? No, I'm not.' Amaya responded seriously, immediately earning the attention of everyone else in class.

'Wait-- How can you not be angry?!'

She didn't answer at first, though a breath did escape her as she shifted slightly atop her desk.

'Yes, if I happened to be there to hear all that bullshit, I probably would be annoyed, but I think you're looking at it wrong.' She spoke, maintaining her gaze upon Maehara's riled-up form. 'But I'm going to be serious here, and point out something you're obviously overlooking because you're all so pissed off. This isn't new. Don't you guys remember that something like this happened last year, too? Some huge big speech all of a sudden with everyone laughing at the last E-Class and welcoming that returnee back? And I think it happened the year before that, too.'

At Amaya's words, Kataoka and Isogai seemed to turn their heads away.

'But that doesn't explain why he never said anything to us!' Okajima spoke up.

Amaya could think of quite a few reasons for that, though she couldn't claim any of them weren't based on her own thoughts.

'Maybe that was a stipulation that came with the transfer? Or maybe he has his own reasons for transferring that he doesn't want to really talk about, and going to give us warning about today would have just ended up bringing that to the spotlight. Or yes, there is also as you said, the possibility that he just ditched this place to join everyone else.' She shrugged slightly as she spoke, adding emphasis to her lack of concrete knowledge into the topic. 'Only he knows why he's gone about things like this. Blowing it out of proportion with no facts or explanation is just going to rile you up even worse, and then you won't even want to understand why he's made these decisions.'

Besides, she couldn't help but feel like this was very similar to Yuta's situation, in a twisted sense.

And at the same time, she couldn't help but feel like a milder form of this anger could have ended up directed at her today as well.

Excluding the circumstances and the end results of the whole fiasco that lead to Koro-sensei rescuing her and Samuel from Berlin, if she'd never come back, everyone would probably be feeling venomous and angry towards her, just like this.

Because she would have left without a word, she would have essentially "ditched" them, to use Maehara's own words. It was merely Koro-sensei's intervention that had prevented her from essentially being seen by everyone in a similar light to the spectacled boy now transferred to the main campus.

So even if she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to be remotely angry at Takebayashi.

The silence that had descended upon the class at Amaya's unexpected disagreement was broken several seconds later as Maehara clicked his tongue bitterly, turning away to head towards his desk.

'Fine, I'll go say something to him after class, then!' He huffed, dropping himself carelessly into his seat as Koro-sensei appeared at the door of the classroom, his sulphur-yellow face seeming a little less vibrant as he let himself inside.

'Good morning everyone, now lets sit down and Sensei will take attendance.' The octopus announced as he slid the door shut, appearing not the least bit confused about the turbulent sea of emotions that had engulfed the class.

Of course, Amaya expected that Koro-sensei had already been aware of this, considering that he was their teacher and everything.

And so, classes were spent in more or less the same tension that they had begun, though with less anger now that everyone had time to cool off a little. Amaya spent her time more or less away from the bulk of the class - Her stance on Takebayashi's sudden change of heart was made, and while nobody necessarily disagreed with her view, that didn't mean they fully accepted it, either.

Therefore, nobody really made an effort to talk to her right now, though oddly enough Karma elected to hang with her instead of Nagisa, Kayano and Sugino.

There were a little less of the taunts he'd usually issue her out of sheer amusement, though he still tormented Koro-sensei whenever he wandered past.

The atmosphere in the classroom made it easier for her to keep that incessant blush down whenever she'd look at him, at least - She knew for a fact that she had slipped up once or twice when she'd seen Koro-sensei writing down in his notebook and started blushing all of a sudden, though otherwise, she kept her composure.

Otherwise, Karma acted more or less normal.

Like nothing had even happened at the festival.

Even as final class ended for the day, the crestfallen feeling hadn't left her, and the thought hadn't left the back of her mind once.

'What's with the luggage case?' Karma asked her as he saw her grab the handle to take it home with her.

'Koro-sensei brought it back for me...' She responded without looking back at him, a small sigh in her voice.

'From where?'

She hesitated at first, chewing tentatively on her bottom lip as she glanced back at him.

'...Berlin.' Was all she said.

No response was earned, though she couldn't claim to have been listening for one as she decided to head home.

Her departure wasn't spent alone, however - the redhead merely walked along with her without a word.

Undoubtedly, her response wasn't all that favorable, though it wasn't like she could really say anything else.

The walk down the mountain was rather quiet, even though there were a large number of their classmates walking a mere few meters ahead of them. The life on the mountain beyond human and Octopod were strangely silent, as if the mood that had descended upon the class had also dragged nature down with it.

Unlike the usual dispersing of the class down at the main campus as everyone went their separate ways, everyone seemed to veer towards the baseball field, where the main route out of the main campus building was situated.

Amaya however had other plans that did not involve spending a portion of her afternoon joining in with the Class E interrogation on Takebayashi Koutaro.

So she merely continued walking down the stretch towards home.

'Hey, Amay!' Karma called as he'd noticed she wasn't coming, causing her to lift her free hand and wave goodbye without looking back.

Undoubtedly, he'd get the point.

And if not, it wasn't like he had no plans to come and torment her with cat-jabs and complaints about her new couch, anyway.

Amaya wandered the long way back home, stopping by the nearest supermarket to pick up a few items needed for dinner amongst other things. Her plans of picking up the items on those lists were put aside for tomorrow, since the unpleasantnesses of the day practically drained her of her willing energy.

The chiming of her phone echoed while she was leaving the last stop before home, bringing her to pull the shiny device from her pocket and open them up.

Two unread emails showed over the display once she'd unlocked it, both from Reiko she found upon further investigation.

[Reiko :D - I forgot to send these to you this morning, Amay 'v' Guess what they are?]

Perplexed, though otherwise intrigued, Amaya tapped on the filename at the bottom of the first message.

Within a second, the screen showed a photograph she certainly hadn't expected, which of course didn't fail to bring a dusting of colour across her face.

A rather concerned looking Karma with sleep-messed hair showed turned mostly away from the screen, staring off at the end of the house that Amaya's room was situated.

And the second email was a blank message with a second image attached, which drew an even darker blush to appear across Amaya's face, and the tiniest of a sweet smile. Again, the picture was taken from off to Karma's side, showing a rather impressed look across his face as he ate the breakfast she had made.

Both pictures were obviously taken without the redhead noticing somehow, and it made Amaya feel at least a little better.

He would never tell her that she'd cooked something decent - That would negate his whole assortment of excuses and reasons for mocking her cooking to date.

She would have to thank the unbeknown Reiko for the cheering up when she got home, though for now, she pocketed her phone and grabbed her luggage case once again.

However, the moment she looked up to continue on her way, she found herself noticing a form come to a halt a few meters ahead of her, on the same sidewalk she was on.

Takebayashi, out of everyone possible.

And he looked particularly uncertain about running into her.

'Amaya-san ...' He hedged, a nervous edge barely detectable in his voice. 'I suppose you wish to interrogate me for transferring like that to the A class, don't you?'

Amaya blinked, surprised at first.

So it was the A class, huh?

He was in the same class as the Student Council President...

'It's just a coincidence bumping into you, don't worry.' Amaya dismissed airily as she made a move to continue past him towards home.

He seemed not only stunned, but shocked entirely by her lack of response as she walked right past him to continue on.

'That's it? Surely you're not serious.'

'Well yeah, you've got your reasons for your transfer, and I've got my reasons for not griping or really finding a problem with what's been going on, regardless.' Amaya shrugged as she continued on her way. 'Undoubtedly its been messy enough for you, already.'

Silence, if only at first.

As she continued to walk, she heard a mumbled response that had her almost halt in her tracks.

'... Thank you.'

The smallest edge of a wry smile touched her lips, though she lifted a hand and waved over her shoulder, much as she had done just half an hour earlier.

'Sure. All the best, Takebayashi-kun.' She responded as they went their separate ways.

---=[Authors Note]=---

Well, as I'm sure DarthWaffle2332 can verify, I was going to submit this on the 10th, but I thought why not now? Anyways, hope you enjoyed. Some long-awaited Takebayashi arc, I guess.

Anyways, our lone note:

Tensō - Translates as Transfer roughly, which is written as 転送 in Japanese, if I'm not mistaken?

All the best, guys~!

<3 Loki-Roki