Amaya's visit to the hospital the very next morning pending checkup granted her the news she desperately needed, with cautions of course. The hospital deemed that should she maintain such vigilant care of herself, the hairline fractures in her shoulder could be healed enough to grant her freedom from the collar and cuff sling by Sunday night.

And honestly, Amaya was thankful for such news.

Of course, it meant that she still couldn't necessarily lift anything with that arm, and she had to take special care of herself for another two to four weeks if her body continued to heal at the rate it was going. That meant that, for the last four days of preparation for the School Culture Festival, Amaya could participate much more proactively than her pitiful Monday had been.

However, that didn't mean the eavesdropping sadist waiting outside of the hospital cubicle was going to let her get away with sneaking in a few chores here or there. Much like her last run-in with hospital attention, Karma was liable to threaten torture with sweets should she push her luck.

But it wouldn't be so bad if she just had something to while away the time with. Sitting there bored out of her mind certainly was one of the least appealing ways to spend the next four to five weeks, after all.

Thankfully however, she had until that afternoon to find something to do, even if was something as simple as hurling abuse at Karma for his taunts and jabs. That however felt like a last resort, so she needed to find something else to do, fast.

The walk back up the mountain right after her visit to the hospital was more tiring than Amaya could remember it being, though given the extensive time sitting there doing nothing, it was a given that her energy wasn't as good as it used to be. She didn't utter a single complaint about Karma having custody of her bag yet again, nor did she really speak all that much. All her energy supplies were going into keeping herself walking.

Thankfully, Karma appeared content to let her be without taunting her for the most part.

Riling her up would just waste precious energy she needed in order to walk, which wasn't a good thing right now.

The classroom was alight with energy and chaos as they arrived, with enthusiastic chatter among in-depth discussions about the culture festival plans and comparisons about the main campus plans. Like yesterday, Amaya's arrival at the classroom grasped the attention of a number of students, however their overall eagerness to call out to her was stifled by the redhead practically standing over her shoulder.

Amaya didn't know what he was doing, but she could guess by the way that people such as Kurahashi and Okajima looked away from her furtively that they were trying to avoid what was likely a glare from the redhead.

While yes, she recalled vividly that she had said she'd do her best and not interfere with whatever he was doing, that didn't mean she was all that comfortable with having a good third of the classroom scared to even look in her direction.

'You're looking as grumpy as ever, Cat.' Terasaka coughed up as a vague kind of greeting as the snowy-featured girl carefully sat herself down at her desk.

'I'm not a damned cat.' She responded with a sigh.

A rather knowing chuckle escaped the redhead setting himself down at his desk, which didn't fail to bring Amaya to glare at him.

Yes, she could cope if he used her stupid choice of words that night against her, but if he decided to do so around eavesdroppers, she was going to murder him.

Though thankfully, it appeared that Karma was content to leave it as that, since he didn't say anything.

'Good morning, everyone!' Came Koro-sensei's familiar greeting as he entered through the door, donning what looked to be a remarkably odd colouring this time, that of which gave his face the appearance of an acorn with a broad grin. 'Sensei will be taking attendance, and then we will move onto the next part of preparations for our Acorn Ramen.'

Broad grins and enthusiasm took hold of the bulk of the class, bringing Amaya to let out a breath as she sunk back into her seat.

'As explained yesterday, we will be using this flour for the Ramen for the School Culture Festival.' Koro-sensei began once attendance was taken, and he motioned towards the schoolyard outside. 'Please make your way outside, so we can get started.'

Right off the bat, huh?

Amaya inwardly sighed as the sounds of chairs scraping against wood floors and chatter rung through the air. She didn't have anywhere near the amount of energy she needed to go wandering around outside right now. Needless to say, everyone else appeared to make up for her lack of it, and it had her wanting to just descend the mountain once more to go back to bed.

As she came to a stop next to Karma on the edge of the slope leading down to the schoolyard, Koro-sensei stood at the front of the group and had procured a plate of flour and two bags of what was undoubtedly acorn flour from wherever he had it hidden until now.

'Now then, while this is a batch Sensei has prepared in advance, this will be a good testing medium for our ramen to be made with.' The octopus stated as he motioned towards Muramatsu standing at the front.

And yet, all Amaya could do was gently rub her eyes and try not to nod off right there on her feet.

'Hmmm, well the taste and smell is interesting, but it lacks gluten.' Muramatsu spoke up before long. 'If we're going to use this, we're going to need a large quantity of an ingredient with strong connective properties so we can make a smooth dough. At the end, we're going to have to buy egg or a similar ingredient to make it.'

'We have these, too.' Koro-sensei announced as he disappeared to a nearby tree, with his grin broadening and a tentacle tugging a particular vine with small fruits growing in among the foliage. 'This plant's peculiarity are the small potato-like fruits called Mukago.'

And then, the octopus pulled out a shovel from one of his many pockets and proceeded to dig at the base of a nearby cluster of tree roots.

'And if you carefully dig at the base of all these roots...' He continued, before pulling out a large chunk of what initially looked to be a kind of snapped tree root the length and thickness of a person's arm, until one got a good look at it.

'WOOOW! IT'S A YAM!' Sugino practically screeched as Koro-sensei passed him the new acquisition.

'It's name is is the Jinenjyo, or Discorea Japonica. Naturally grown ones of these can price up to several thousands of yen in stores.' The octopus informed the class as the more excitable students gathered around Sugino to inspect the remarkably large yam, and Isogai somehow looked rather dazed out in the back of the group. 'If you grate these yams, it's smell and connective properties are on a completely different level to the one you can buy. As such, we can use it to make a good dough.'

Was this impressive?

Yes, it probably was, and she should really be paying attention since cooking was not her forte, but right now she really wasn't interested when she would just be sat on the sidelines right now, anyway.

'They should be growing everywhere on this mountain. So let's search for this plant by using the keen eyes we developed for assassination!' Koro-sensei finished.

And with that, practically everyone took off to gather equipment needed to dig up their new ingredient for the ramen.

Practically everyone, except for the Octopus in mention, and the redhead still standing next to Amaya's motionless form.

'They look like they're going to rip the whole mountainside to pieces...' Amaya muttered as she stared at the disappearing forms through the trees.

'Karma-kun, I suggest you help out as well.' Koro-sensei spoke up as he made his gradual way back up the slope to head towards the door of the classroom. 'I have a few matters I wish to speak to Amaya-san about in the meantime.'

The redhead didn't argue, or really say much of anything.

He just cast Amaya a brief glance before he wandered off after the others.

Though Amaya didn't have long to ponder the look she'd received before Koro-sensei began to usher her inside with a tentacle to the small of her back.

As soon as Amaya set foot back in the classroom, she caught the strange smell of something that reminded her vividly of damp soil and mulching leaves, bringing her to slow in her steps as she glanced around.

It was peculiar enough because she knew it hadn't been in the room earlier.

'Nurufufufu! As expected, you've appeared to notice the presence of our topic of the morning, Amaya-san.' Koro-sensei commented as he wandered past her to approach the teacher's desk at the front of the room. 'We should get started before your classmates make their return, so please take your seat.'

'Umm, right...' Amaya hedged as she turned to do as she was instructed.

Koro-sensei's movements from that moment were as hard to see as they were expected. He seemed to disappear from immediate view, right up until the very second Amaya had sat down at her desk, where he then reappeared seated in Okuda's chair with what looked to be a particularly large woven basket held in his dominant tentacles. It's contents were obscured by a simple white cloth over the top, however the earthen scent hadn't failed to increase by tenfold.

But along with the earthen scent, she was picking up on what seemed like wood and something else oddly familiar. She just couldn't put her finger on what.

'Well, let's begin with a question, Amaya-san.' Koro-sensei had begun as he gently set the basket atop Amaya's desk. 'Are you aware that you have yet to give me a decision on a "hobby" you will be taking up for the immediate future?'

Amaya sat frozen at first, struggling to scour her recollection for the topic he was referring to.

Of course, she soon recalled that the last she had said on the matter was a reply of "go away" back to Koro-sensei that night the class turned up on her doorstep.

And immediately, Amaya felt the colour begin to drain from her face.

'U-umm, I forgot...' She answered honestly.

'As I expected.' Koro-sensei didn't hesitate to remark, though he didn't seem too bothered by it. 'Would I be correct in assuming you haven't placed any thought into it?'

No, she had placed thought into it since the topic had been brought up, and perhaps here while her thoughts were working a little better for her than they had for the past few weeks, she had more of a grasp on what she could engulf herself with when she had full use of her body once again.

'Well, I don't know if you'd count it as a hobby, but I have been going to a martial arts gym.' Amaya responded with a small sigh, lifting her hand to gently rub the back of her neck. 'Well, I have been until that hitman lured everyone to that facility he set up.'

Isshin and Daniel were probably wondering how she was doing, come to think of it...

'That depends.' Koro-sensei responded appreciatively. 'Do you find nothing but enjoyment out of it? Or is it something you felt somewhat obligated towards?'

That... was a hard question.

It wasn't entirely enjoyable with nothing attached, and she couldn't deny that in a sense, it served more of a stability control than something enjoyable for her. She enjoyed talking to Daniel and Isshin, but beyond that, she really didn't know.

And it appeared that Koro-sensei could see her predicament.

'What I mean by taking up a "hobby', Amaya-san, is something that is not so much functional as it is fun. For example, Fuwa-san's hobby of Anime and Manga related activities does not serve a purpose beyond enjoyment for her, and Sugino-kun's passion for Baseball is much the same. This is the kind of Hobby I meant.' Koro-sensei elaborated. 'That is why I believe Music to be suitable for you.'

But it isn't suitable for her.

In actuality, the only simple thought that had come to her in the days since Koro-sensei had brought the topic up was the offhanded thought that she might try to grow her mother's favorite flowers.

Just that, nothing else.

'Well... I had contemplated growing a plant...' She eventually spoke.

Koro-sensei was silent at first in what appeared to be surprise. His tentacles actually flexed a little around the sides of the basket, and before long his grin seemed to somehow broaden a little more.

'A plant?' He questioned.

'...Skeleton Flowers, I guess.' She admitted, albeit reluctantly. 'But I don't know... edible plants sound more sensible, if anything.'

'That is quite the surprise,' Koro-sensei remarked as he pulled back the cloth over the basket's contents. 'And it meshes perfectly with what I was going to teach you! This is quite auspicious!'

And within an instance, Amaya found herself staring down at a collection of ... plants? All she could see were assorted leaves, twigs and the odd flower here and there.

Confusing, and a little bemusing at the same time.

'Amaya-san, can you tell me what you see here?'

'A basket of twigs and leaves.' Amaya responded within an instance.

'In short, yes. This collection of "twigs and leaves" however, are all varying plants that have come from the garden surrounding your house.' Koro-sensei explained, grinning all the more as the girl fixed him with a rather bemused stare. 'Forgive me for how peculiar my statement just now is. In truth, I had intended to perform a little maintenance on the gardens of your home to help ease some of the workload on your shoulders of late, but I stopped myself after I discovered just how vast an array of plants currently exist within your garden. What I wanted to teach you today is related to that.'

Okay, she could grant him the benefit of the doubt, considering that the merest idea of Koro-sensei ripping up her garden to help while she was unwell was actually something she could picture without even trying.

However, she was horribly skeptical that there was anything of worth in that overgrown jungle of a yard.

The grin Koro-sensei wore merely broadened as he began to empty the contents neatly onto the desk between them.

'Tell me, Amaya-san, do you recognize any of the plants in among these samples here?'

Perplexed, but otherwise deciding to humor her teacher, Amaya looked down at the massive pile of plant pieces set out in a neat and orderly fashion across her desk.

'Well, I'm pretty sure those are toadstools...' She responded, pointing to a cluster of dome-capped fungus of varying shades and sizes in the middle of the desk, before she found something she legitimately did recognize. 'Oh, there was Lavender in there?'

'Indeed, you're right about the lavender, however these here are not toadstools.' Koro-sensei announced as he picked up the fungus from the pile of plants. 'They are actually edible mushrooms. The larger ones are known as field mushrooms, and the smaller being known as white cups, to be specific. You can stew them in cream and herbs to make a tasty soup.'

'What, what?!' Amaya questioned in shock.

'It's true. They are edible. And I will be teaching you how to identify edible mushrooms from toxic ones, as well.' Koro-sensei continued. 'Actually, now that I think about it, it would be best if I taught you more on a variety of mushrooms, considering our theme for the School Culture Festival.'

Right, the mountainside ramen made from ingredients harvested from nature.

It made sense, but wouldn't it be wiser to teach this to everyone instead of just her?

'If you will excuse me for just a minute, Amaya-san, I will go gather some broader samples from the mountain.' Koro-sensei announced as he picked himself up out of his seat. 'Please continue familiarizing yourself with the plant samples before you while I'm gone.'

Of course, Koro-sensei was gone long before Amaya could even open her mouth to speak, causing the girl to shake her head mildly in dismay.

She did as she was told, more or less, looking through each of the cuttings one by one.

She discovered without too much deliberation that among the sea of leaves atop her desk, there were herbs that she did recognize, if only by bruising the leaves and catching the scent that arose from the damaged leafs. Rosemary, parsley, peppermint and basil. The others were, for the most part, plants she had never consciously encountered before.

However, before Amaya could place too much thought into the unknown plants, Koro-sensei returned with a gust of wind, and that basket filled with a generous variety of mushrooms that filled the room with more earthy, albeit nutty smells.

'Have you managed to identify any others beyond the Lavender, Amaya-san?' The octopus questioned brightly as he sat himself down once again.

'Kind of? Parsley and Rosemary, I guess.' Amaya shrugged.

'Good. If you are hesitant in investigating too greatly in the different plants, I assure you every sample in the premises of your house is non-toxic, so do not fret.' Koro-sensei commented, before coming to a halt in his motions briefly. 'In fact, it will probably interest you to note that there are plants that will be of adoration to your pet cats when they are old enough to be let out of the house.'

'Huh?' Amaya was honestly confused.

'This here,' Koro-sensei began as he lifted up a stalk of greyish-green that seemed somewhat like the stalk of lavender she recognized, but with less leaves. 'It is part of the Nepeta genus, known more commonly as Catmint, which is a close relative to "Catnip". It has much the same effect on cats as well. It's merely far more colourful with it's flowers blooming similarly to lavender.'

Amaya was silent at first as Koro-sensei's explanation sunk in on her, even moreso as the octopus passed her the stalk of catmint.

Well, this was definitely getting torn out of the garden before a certain somebody learned of its existence.

Problem was, that bastard was walking her to and from school just to make sure she didn't manage to kill herself on the way. If she told him she wanted to walk alone, he'd know she was trying to hide something from him.

'Koro-sensei, can I ask a really big favor of you?' Amaya couldn't help but ask.

'Oh? And what might that be?' The octopus didn't hesitate to ask.

'Can you please remove every piece of cat-anything in that garden?'

'I'm afraid I will have to decline.' Koro-sensei responded with little thought.

'Huh?! But why's that?'

'Amaya-san, if growing plants is an interest or idea that has occurred to you as a possible hobby, then you are the one who should remove the unwanted plants and add what you would prefer instead.' Koro-sensei reasoned, with his grin broadening all the more. 'However, I still believe it is a plant you should keep for your cats future enjoyment.'

Oh hell no!

If Koro-sensei wasn't going to humor her this once, she was going to ensure that plant was gone as soon as possible. Maehara would undoubtedly agree to helping her out if she asked him to.

'In any case, we should move on to the more necessary topic of our morning; Mushroom identification.'

And rather quickly it seemed, Koro-sensei had deposited all the non-mushroom plants atop Karma's empty desk and gently upturned the contents of his basket onto her desk.

'Now, do you like eating Mushrooms, Amaya-san?' The octopus asked.

'I guess? I've never eaten a lot with them, because my siblings aren't too fond of them.' Amaya shrugged slightly.

'Well then, considering the sheer number of field and white cup mushrooms growing in among the side garden bed, I highly suggest making use of their presence while you have the opportunity. Mushrooms are quite nutritious, after all.' Koro-sensei remarked as he lifted a red mushroom with white fleck-like deposits atop its cap from the pile. 'However, I will be far more comfortable with you doing as such after you've taken in the lesson I have for you today.'

Well.. cooking seemed to be something Karma was keeping well out of her control for the time being, so she might just find the damned mushrooms and leave them somewhere for him to find.

Preferably after she managed to eradicate the catmint from her yard.

'So ... is this what you meant by my nose being perfect for this kind of lesson?' Amaya couldn't help but ask as she recalled Koro-sensei's words the afternoon before. 'For identifying plants, or mushrooms, more specifically?'

'Yes, but not only for identifying them, but in a mushroom's case, a wonderfully sharp nose helps to even find some of them. Talent and keen eyesight aside, if a mushroom is hypogeous – that is, remains beneath the soil even at full maturity – the only way to truly find them is to dig, and a sharp nose is your best means of finding them, which is something that most people cannot do.' The octopus announced enthusiastically as he rotated the mushroom in his grip dramatically in front of his face. 'I believe this particular task suits your preference to the outdoors quite considerably, you would find being able to harvest the safest of these fine fungus yourself to be quite beneficial, and cost effective in life. Especially if you in fact develop a taste for them. You could also sell the rarer specimen you find for a bit of pocket-money while you're in high school. As with the Jinenjyo, naturally-grown specimen often fetch higher prices to farm-grown.'

'Okay,' She agreed as she straightened up in the chair, managing with tolerable difficulty to tug out her notebook from within her desk. 'So these mushrooms... they--'

'I wouldn't concern yourself with writing all this down, Amaya-san. I have already written an in-depth illustrated guidebook for you to keep on plants, including the genus of the mushrooms, their closest relatives, and should you decide to attempt to grow mushrooms yourself, their requirements and what recipes they best suit when cooking them.' Koro-sensei dismissed as he pulled out a particularly thick and weighty book from the pocket of his teaching robes and set it carefully on an empty square of desk, emblazoned with coloured illustrations of trees, flowers and mushrooms in such vibrant display that it looked like the cover of a children's picture book. 'For now, I want you to familiarize yourself with the mushroom samples I have brought for you, today, including their aroma, their shape, their hue and their more finer traits.'

'Alright...' Amaya hedged as she leaned back in her seat. 'But why are you bringing this up with me alone? Wouldn't it be best with everyone else who will undoubtedly be picking all these mushrooms?'

'Indeed, but I have a sneaky suspicion that this way is still for the best.'

'And why is that?'

Instead of answering, Koro-sensei merely tipped his head forward with a rather sheepish edge touching his grinning expression.

'Let's just leave it as that for now. Please open up the guidebook up to page three hundred so I can begin to explain the finer details of mushroom identification, starting with this specimen I have right here, the poisonous Fly Agaric, of the Amanita genus, the most iconic mushroom due to it's colourful appearances.'

And even though Amaya's luck with one-on-one tutoring with Koro-sensei had been pretty terrible in the past, this time, with physical samples to actually see and touch, she was absorbing everything with far greater efficiency than even the octopus had hoped possible.

In fact, Koro-sensei seemed utterly flabbergasted when, upon just one review after setting the mushrooms away, Amaya had sorted them all back into their proper order, articulately stated which ones were classed as deadly, toxic or edible, how to identify them, and even their common name, though the latter was with minor mispronunciation and momentary pause.

With only three instances that Amaya had to refer back to the surprisingly helpful book, all Koro-sensei could do was stare at her as he came to a ground-breaking revelation.

'Amaya-san, when I had Karma-kun tutor you before mid-terms, did he happen to teach you in pictures instead of words and numbers?' Koro-sensei couldn't help but ask.

'Umm, more or less?' Amaya hedged as she sheepishly scratched the back of her head. Honestly she remembered the slaps to the head more than anything else but could concur that yes, the evil incarnate always seemed to teach her with visible examples, though his drawings were pretty terrible. 'Isogai-kun always explains things in pictures for me, and Hiroto-kun kind of does that, too, come to think of it.'

Koro-sensei hesitated briefly, before he seemed to clutch the mushroom specimen in his tentacles a little firmer.

'And did Isogai-kun perhaps help you with studying for the End of Term Exams? In math, most specifically?'

Wordlessly, Amaya gave the octopus a prompt nod.

In fact, Isogai put a lot of effort into helping her with Math alone, after Karma's careless jab at the time got to her. More effort into her math learning than his own, honestly speaking.

Koro-sensei sat there in silence as the pieces fell into place for him, and all he could do was let out a weary, albeit relieved sigh.

'Then, Amaya-san, I understand exactly why all of my previous ways of teaching you have caused you more trouble than good.' The octopus announced as his grin broadened even more. 'Please expect different results come time for the next exams!'

Oh yay... Koro-sensei was already planning the next flickering bombardment of torture.

But she guessed it was inevitable, in truth.

It was just a little before the start of third period by the time the rest of the class began to wander back one by one, with their collection of jinenjyo in arm and their digging utensils deposited roughly at the back door of the classroom building. Before anyone noticed the massive pile of mushroom and plant samples, Koro-sensei had whisked them well out of sight at mach speed, leaving just the sight of himself and Amaya seated at her desk for the first to enter the classroom.

'Ah, everyone has had a bountiful success, it seems.' Koro-sensei observed as he gazed at the stacked yam and acorn flour atop a bench as he lead the way out of the classroom building to where a good third of the class was waiting, though Amaya remained standing within the doorway, hesitant to step out in case somebody were to decide to broach that hanging discussion over her head. 'Excellent! Excellent! Using this method we have basically obtained the ingredients for the noodles for free. With the remaining budget for the culture festival, we can buy good stuff at the supermarket. While your main batch of flour is curing, this is a perfect amount to practice with in the meantime.'

'I see.' Muramatsu, deemed Ramen Overseer, seemed to grin with anticipation. 'Then it would be better to make spiced noodles for the ramen. The fragrance of the wild ingredients is more compatible with a dense soup. There aren't many kinds of spiced noodles on the market, so it's quite profitable.'

Wait-- Spiced Ramen?

Amaya perked up quite visibly at the mention of spicy food, which oddly enough seemed to earn her a small broadening of a grin from the Ramen Overseer the second he'd noticed.

'Oh, but what about the tools for making it?' Muramatsu questioned after a moment's thought.

'And isn't it a little sad to just make a menu with just ramen?' A nearby Hara huffed.

'While it is a bit premature to gather so many ingredients so early in the preparation stage, everyone else is already working on that as we speak.' Koro-sensei announced.

And almost as if on cue, a rather pleased-looking Terasaka and Takebayashi dropped a simple pair of baskets down onto the ground where they stood, armed with ... fishing rods they'd somehow acquired without warning? The contents of said baskets were an assortment of live fish and prawns currently struggling to return to their waters, which surprised Amaya all the more.

'Lots of fish live in that pool after all.' Terasaka remarked proudly while Kurahashi propped down to gush over the contents, evidently quite pleased with their catch.

'Even if we don't catch a lot of them, the quality should be perfect for the side menu.' Takebayashi added. 'They're really cheap, so we can use that to bring in customers.'

But bringing all this now when the festival was well over a week away was a bit stupid, wasn't it?

Jinenjyo and acorn flour aside since they had decent shelf-life and needed to be used for testing, wasn't all of the rest going to go to waste?!

'Koro-sensei! I think we picked enough fruit from the trees.' Called out an approaching Kimura with Yada in tow, both with overflowing baskets of forest fruits in arm.

'Other than the chestnuts, persimmons and walnuts, are these edible?' Yada questioned as she held up a vine of red berries.

The colour practically began to drain from Amaya's face as she saw more and more people emerging from the trees with baskets of different ingredients that Koro-sensei hadn't even told them to find, and all that was running through Amaya's head was the sheer volume of ingredients being brought in to a building with no refrigeration beyond the staff-room bar fridge.

'Umm, wait a second, you guys, what?!' Amaya hedged as Koro-sensei proceeded to explain to the group about the vine Yada had found, which was a Crimson Glory Vine. 'We don't have a refrigerator! All of this is going to go to waste!'

And yet, nobody seemed to hear her.

'Are you even listening to me?!' She called out, louder this time.

Again, nobody turned their head in response as they stood, fully engulfed Koro-sensei's explanations of what in the mountainside forest was edible, and what was not.

Amaya hedged, stepping out from the doorway to approach and hopefully gain somebody's attention.

But much to the inkling suspicion in the back of her mind, she was still seemingly mute, even though she was no more than two meters away from them. They were just far too engrossed in their plans, seeming to naturally filter everything else as if it was normal.

And as she saw the tiniest glimpse of Karma's form wandering over with an equally as large basket of assorted mushrooms hanging from his grip, she decided there really was no point in this. Even though she didn't doubt it was unintentional, and they really were just not noticing her, she honestly had enough.

She turned on her heel and wandered back inside.

She gathered her belongings, along with the excessively large and chronically useful guidebook Koro-sensei had written for her alone, and left with nothing more than a note left on Karma's desk, ignoring the group outside as she disappeared to head the long way home, for the most part.

The sudden exclamation of multiple voices gasping out "A Matsutake?!" at the top of their lungs didn't even draw her curiosity enough to slow in her steps.

'I don't care...' Was all she muttered as she made her way home.

But it didn't stop the prickling of disappointment from gripping at her, either.

The walk down the mountain trail leading towards the main campus felt like an odd change from the far shorter, and less scenic route that had become the main means of getting to the classroom now that Karma had been dragging her that way out of laziness. Here, as she drew close enough to see the work the main campus was getting done from the mountain trail, she noticed a vast array of construction, far different to the work being undertaken at the satellite campus. Undoubtedly, a far more forgiving budget was allocated to the main campus as another means of ostracism for so called "End Class miscreants".

And yet, unlike how it used to be, the odd main campus student that did see her walking past to head home didn't jeer or throw her callous glares, nor did they seem to say anything at all. They just watched, curious for a brief moment, before they resumed their various tasks.

However, that was not to say she was overly ignored.

Class 3-A's top five students were approaching from the train station, seemingly returned from another off-campus job of theirs. While the one she recognized as Seo leered as if she were an eyesore and opened his mouth to reprimand her, the most peculiar of things happened.

Asano held his hand out to silence his companion before he'd so much as uttered a word, and seemed to in fact cast her a glance appearing torn between pity and minor weariness. Nothing more, nothing less, though Amaya kept her gaze ahead of her without a word.

'What?!--' Seo had begun to speak out in response, however he was cut off once again.

'Leave her be, Seo.' Asano responded.

'But Asa--'

'She's obviously quite injured, judging by the sling she's wearing.' The one with the flamboyant haircut interrupted this time. 'She's probably going to hospital for a checkup. I think we can let an End Class student be right now if it's for health reasons.'

Aside from a displeased grunt, that was all that was spoken from then on.

The Class A group of five left her well alone beyond the brief glances here and there.

Needless to say, Amaya was quite thankful for that.

When she arrived back home just before noon, Amaya's feet did not lead her to the front door of her house, nor did she even pause to consider dropping her belongings inside.

Instead, she walked a slow circle around the building as she decided now was going to be the best opportunity to be rid of the infernal catmint undisturbed. And she needed to do something, otherwise she really was going to start losing her mind.

So, she tossed her bag carelessly to one side, setting her guidebook down on a dry chunk of upturned brick, and proceeded to rip out weeds and unwanted plants one by one in an attempt at finding that catmint Koro-sensei had mentioned.

Minutes ticked by, leading to hours as the light filtering in through the tall trees changed from its noontime burning white to a more yellow hue as she worked with her one able arm removing the mountain of weeds from within the garden beds. Emails from Reiko came through, asking permission for the trio of siblings to stay at Mako's house for the night, which were met with affirmative answers.

Until finally, just as the sun dipped low in the horizon to cast an orange glow across the cityscape, footsteps echoed overhead as she neared the finishing line for weeding and pruning the whole east-side garden with no success in locating the catmint. She could only assume it was in one of the other garden beds, though she had succeeded in finding the hidden hoard of edible mushrooms Koro-sensei had mentioned.

She honestly contemplated letting them stay to spore for next year instead of harvesting them.

The footsteps came to an eventual halt behind her, where she felt the gaze upon her weary form as she continued to try and finish cleaning up the garden bed before it got dark.

She didn't even need to look to know who it was.

She knew the very instance she'd heard the gate swing open.

'What are you doing, Amay?' She heard Karma ask, in what seemed almost like a weary tone.

He wasn't going to immediately ask why she left with just that note left behind?

Well, that suited her just fine.

'Weeding. What else does it look like?' Amaya responded simply as she managed to tug out a particularly tenacious clump of thistle, though her hand complained relentlessly for the act.

She heard nothing in response, though the second she'd tossed the thistle onto the growing mountain of pulled weeds and unwanted plants, her wrist was caught before she could resume her lone task for the past five hours.

The grip didn't fail to tighten firmly as she tried to tug her wrist free.

'You've done enough.' He told her as he cast a frown towards the massive piles of weeds littering the yard. 'How did you even manage to get all this done with just one arm?'

'Perseverance? I don't know... can you let go already so I can finish this?'

'Nope.' Was all Karma said as he managed to pull her to her feet with just the grip of her wrist alone, thankfully with relatively little pain considering. 'If I say yes, you're just going to keep going until everything's done.'

If it meant finding that cursed catmint, then yes, most probably.

But he was standing right there to see if she actually managed to locate the plant, so it wasn't necessarily a bad thing to stop now. It just meant she was without anything to do, once again.

'Fine... whatever.' She huffed as she managed to tug her wrist free of Karma's hold to go and collect her belongings.

There was no immediate response, however she was thankful for that. He merely waited for her, before leading the way inside.

It was here however, that Amaya actually took notice of the basket of mostly poisonous mushrooms Karma had with him, and the almost thoughtful air around him n mention.

She was curious, but not enough to actually ask him about it.

'Is it just you here, tonight?' She heard Karma question as she'd wandered over towards Koko's cage, bringing her to slow in her steps as she thought for a moment.

'They're at Mako-chan's place for the night.' She answered, before she opened the door of the cage.

And in immediate response, the conure leaped straight out of the cage with a pleased chirp and clambered his way up the length of her arm.

'Yes yes, hello Koko.' She huffed slightly as the bird tugged on her hair in order to continue climbing upwards. 'Must you always do this?!'

Needless to say, Koko continued his upward climb until he was perched atop her head.

And all Amaya could do was let out a weary breath.

'Fine, don't fall off, damnit...'

As if in response, Koko merely chirped pleasantly.

So, after washing up, Amaya sat herself down on the couch where she gradually flicked through the guidebook to bide the time, all the while her conure companion clambered up and down her arms and legs as if she were a giant jumbo gym. Head-scratches were given to tide the bird away from chewing at the corners of the book, and beyond that, Amaya's surroundings went by more or less unobserved.

She faintly heard the sounds of movement somewhere in the other parts of the house, though beyond shrugging it off as something Karma was doing, she paid next to no attention.

At least, until the distinct clunk of something being set upon the table in front of her caught her immediate attention, and she lifted her gaze in response.

It was then that she found herself staring at a bowl of what looked to be mushroom rice... except the mushrooms certainly were not the usual shitake or enokitake she was familiar with. In fact, Amaya was fairly certain that she had never even seen that kind of mushroom before, even with Koro-sensei's impromptu lesson just that morning.

Amaya turned her head to look back at the redhead who'd obviously set the bowl on the table for her, to see him in the kitchen. She hadn't even realized it was that late, or even that the evil incarnate had even been there cooking at all. Of course, her eyes then narrowed upon the basket of poisonous mushrooms sitting innocently on the counter next to him.

Just what kind of mushrooms did he put in that rice?

The smell was particularly strange and rather overpowering, and it had her gradually become more and more suspicious with the fact that it was sitting right there in front of her. She turned her full attention to the mushroom rice, eyeing it as if it were poison itself.

In all honesty, it very well could be.

'Aren't you eating, Amay?' She heard Karma ask her as he dropped himself down on the couch just next to her, with a remarkably different looking bowl of rice in his grip. Most particularly, there was not a single mushroom in his rice at all, and yet her rice was practically filled with them.

At that moment, Amaya lifted her head to fix Karma with a particularly suspicious stare.

'Is it poisoned?' She couldn't help but ask.

However, the evil incarnate neither looked surprised or the least bit insulted by her rather important question.

Instead, he just smirked as he set his own bowl of rice in her hand.

'If you'd rather swap, that's fine by me.' Karma dismissed as he scooped up the mushroom rice and immediately took a bite. 'It's your loss.'

Needless to say, Amaya was more than just stumped by that turn of events, and she turned her head to look down at the rice dish now set in her grip.

'Then is this one poisoned, instead?' She questioned, earning a scoff in immediate response.

'Is that your way of telling me you don't like my cooking, anymore?' He questioned.

'What? No!' Amaya squeaked out in alarm. 'It's just, why did you make two completely different things if you hadn't done anything to one?'

'You really don't have a lot of faith in me, do you?'

'No, I've known you long enough to have plenty of faith in your evil sense of humor.' Amaya quipped, though the smirk that was spreading across his face really wasn't helping her right now. 'That's always without fail.'

'This is why I don't do anything nice for you, Amay. You're always expecting I'm out to kill you, or something.'

'That doesn't change the fact that you're still enjoying my paranoia!'

'Heh, you've finally admitted it~'

'Who's fault do you think it is that I'm constantly paranoid of your actions?!'

'It's yours, of course.' Karma was quick to respond with a rather obvious chuckle beneath his breath. 'You should be able to tell by now that not everything is done just to mess with you.'

Amaya was silent, hesitant to even give her response to that.

Unfortunately, his mischief was so prevalent that she honestly couldn't sit comfortably whenever he did something "nice", and it didn't help that he thoroughly enjoyed the confusion it always incited. Just like he was, right now.

And yet, unlike how he would usually keep taunting her and otherwise smirking away at her expense, a faint sigh escaped the evil incarnate as he gently lifted his bowl of rice from her grip and set the mushroom rice carefully in her hand.

'I did actually make that for you just because I wanted to.' He told her as he leaned back into his spot on the couch. 'Just try it, already. It was hard enough swiping those mushrooms without anyone noticing.'

Well... since he'd already taken a bite of it, she could rule out poison. There was no way in hell he would knowingly poison himself with anyting.

So, after managing to shift herself without jostling a snoozing Koko in her lap, Amaya rearranged herself so she had the bowl propped against her front with her right arm supporting the bowl's weight. She was still suspicious of the redhead sitting there just next to her, but in spite of herself, she managed to take a tentative bite.

She found herself discovering it was the nicest damn mushroom rice she had ever eaten.

And judging by the smirk she could feel coming from the evil incarnate sitting beside her, he was fully aware of just how much she really did like it.

---=[Authors Notes]=---

First and foremost, I have to admit this chapter was hard to write, though not so much because of any form of writing block or anything. Going back over the anime and manga to make sure I'm not making any critical plot errors, its painstakingly clear that the events of preparation read as one conclusive sequence, but when you go over the logics of it all, all that preparation took place over a period of two weeks, as we all undoubtedly know, so I've had to do a lot of cross-referencing just to piece it all together.

I'm not going to go into a lot of specifics about it (But trust me, I can complain for ages about the tiny specifics in this story arc because DAMN there are a lot), but the most I'm going to say is "prep time". The two weeks passed by so conveniently from the start of chapter 115, to starting the festival day on exactly page 1 of chapter 116, and the prep-events were so clustered together that it makes. no. sense. NONE AT ALL! And yeah, Amaya's griping this chapter about "wasting good ingredients" pretty much says half of where my brain was at with this chapter, lmao. I've taken some liberties with the prep-time, as you would undoubtedly see if you were to read/watch this arc again, but honestly, unless Koro-sensei put together a batch of flour two weeks prior, they wouldn't have had the ability to test the flour until a few days before the festival begins, and the way the arc reads, you can't be sure, so I've taken the liberty of stating that yes, he would have just to give the students some direction.

Oh yeah! Off Ansatsu-topic, but have any of you guys heard that Yu Yu Hakushou is getting a four-ep OVA addon this year? After literally 26 years?! Wait, most of you are probably way too young to have even watched it even from it's 2002 english dub, but OMG if any of you guys happen to be fans, seriously, are you as excited as me?! I'm so happy about it, I've been rewatching the whole series during my downtime, and just, yeah. I'll stop now, but yes. Moar Yu Yu content, moar Hiei, hell, just more Togashi-sensei's wonderful creation that he just ... well, abandoned for HunterxHunter, but anyways. Am I salty about that? Well, yes probably so, but that's the way of things, though it is sad (I'll go write more carnivore and opal wings to sulk...)

Anywho. Translations.

Shitsubō - Translates roughly as Disappointment, which if I'm not mistaken, is written as 失望 in Japanese.

All the best~!

Loki-Roki