Sometimes, Amaya found herself wondering if she was speaking a different language. Out of all the events that had taken place this year, right now felt like the most prominent moment in her life to experience such a difficulty with communicating with people.

No matter how many times Amaya would explain something, or how obvious she was making something, those who should have gotten the message just didn't seem to listen, and if they did seem to realize she wasn't happy, they tended to take her words wrong, or just assume all the wrong things entirely.

Samuel still bemoaned the absence of his favorite couch and pestered for Amaya to bring it back, no matter how many times she tried to explain that the only person who knows the location of the couch was actually Karma. Those who had silently agreed with the remark about Amaya's lack of useful abilities during the two weeks community service continued to avoid saying more than a meek hello to her when she'd walk through the door. And further to this, Nakamura hadn't had the guts to speak to her since she'd copped that verbal slap across the face.

And what made it worse was the teasing jabs from her favorite redhead about how even Karasuma treated her like a boy, which was speculated purely by the special combat uniform she had been given matching the boy's, and not the girls. No amount of legitimate and honest reasoning saved Amaya from the onslaught of cat-jabs and androgynous-taunts Karma inflicted upon her, and while he refrained from prodding her while she was preoccupied with sharp objects, outside of those moments was free-reign.

Why was it that nobody actually listened to her?

Even if it seemed like they did, they certainly didn't listen to her properly.

It felt like an endless cycle back and forth between two extremes, and it left Amaya glaring at the back of Karma's head during those many moments that he had his attention elsewhere.

He still refused to answer any questions she had for him, just like he refused to leave her alone a lot of the time. He was very quick to force answers out of her or twist her words to his pleasure, but he would never answer her questions.

And now, as everything began to build up and weigh heavier on her shoulders, Amaya was reaching her limit.

It was Monday morning as Amaya walked alongside the amused redhead towards class, after he'd turned up just in time to issue a few teasing remarks before school. Her mood was scarcely pleasant when she'd awoken that morning, and every prod he dealt her just nudged her closer towards sour every time, though thankfully he'd been moderately quiet since they'd started walking up the mountain trail. He'd been particularly smug since the results for mid-terms came out on Friday, where he got to rub some humiliation into the faces of Asano and his four friends when they came around to gloat.

As it stood, Amaya's position in the so called scores chain in Kunugigaoka was practically the same as it had been during the end of term exams. She hadn't dropped unlike the others, though that was likely moreso because her end of term standings had been horribly jeopardized by her being absent for half of them.

Needless to say, Karma's good mood was nothing more than an annoyance when he decided to annoy her.

'So, where exactly have you been disappearing to, Amay?' Karma decided to ask as they walked at the back of the gradual trail of students making their way up to the satellite campus.

'I have no idea what you're talking about.' Amaya muttered in response.

'Oh really?' Karma didn't sound the least bit convinced as he leaned forward a little to catch a better look of Amaya's frown. 'I've stopped in a few times over the past two weeks and you haven't been home~'

Huh, well that didn't take him very long to notice.

'Elsewhere.' Amaya dismissed.

'Heh, keeping secrets again, are you?'

'I just don't feel like telling you right now.' Amaya remarked with a sigh as she lifted a hand to rub a kink out of the back of her neck. 'Do I have to tell you where I am at any given point in time, or something?'

'Nope~' He responded easily enough. 'But I still want to know what you've been up to.'

'Because you're a nosy jerk.' Amaya muttered sourly.

'You'd be sad if I didn't ask.'

'Oh really? I had no idea!' Amaya quipped with vehement sarcasm as she turned her head to fix him with a frown. 'Are you so damn sure I don't want just one thing that I don't get pestered and interrogated over? I know for a fact that you wouldn't like it, since you don't even answer the few things that I legitimately ask about.'

She didn't need to be looking at him to have known about the glimpse of a mildly confused look he adopted, though seeing it annoyed her all the more.

But then a second later, he seemed to chuckle as he adopted a smirk.

'Heh, that's what's bothering you?' He remarked as he looked away from Amaya. 'Honestly, why would I answer anything if I had to miss out on seeing you squirm so much?'

'You could at least answer something, you jerk!'

He said absolutely nothing in response as he picked up the pace and lightly slapped her upside the head, causing her to come to a halt right there in the middle of the mountain trail.

'Hurry up, Amay, or Koro-sensei's going to give you more pop-quizzes for being late again.' He called over his shoulder without even sparing her a glance.

Yet Amaya didn't move an inch.

She stared at his back as she felt the actual hurt his adamant refusal to yield caused. She didn't know if she was angry, or sad, all she knew was that the simple fact that he refused to yield and wouldn't even consider her words hurt a lot.

But she took a deep breath as she reigned in all the expression written across her face and replaced it with a rather nonchalant look.

'I'm using that one favor you owe me, right now, Karma.' Amaya called out, though he didn't seem to slow as he kept walking up the mountain trail.

'Sure~' He responded dismissively without even looking back.

Amaya couldn't claim that his lack of interest didn't hurt, but she continued regardless.

'For one entire week starting right now, I don't want you to so much as touch or even talk to me, and I don't want you to even set foot in my house, either.' Amaya called out after him.

And within an instance, Karma stopped dead in his tracks as he turned to look at her.

'What?' He responded in utter disbelief.

'You heard me, Karma. You don't have to answer a single thing, and I'll just not ask you anything, anymore.' Amaya said as she then walked right past him to continue to head up towards the classroom. 'Surely you can do that one thing I asked in return, right? It's only seven days, after all.'

He said nothing as he watched her disappear around the bend in the mountain trail, and Amaya didn't bother looking back.

Amaya did her best to push it to the back of her mind as she finally caught up with the rest of the class.

The atmosphere in the classroom when she arrived was rather jovial considering that the last time they were all here, they'd all basically crashed on their exams scores. The bulk of the class was up at the front of the classroom, surrounding the teachers podium as they poured over a few pieces of paper in hushed whispers.

Amaya frowned slightly as she opted to wander through the front-most door of the classroom, over her usual route to head for the back door.

'Hey, what's got the lot of you looking so suspicious?' Amaya spoke up as she slid the door shut behind her, earning the attention of most of the group.

'Oh, good morning, Amaya-san.' Isogai greeted Amaya with a smile, while Maehara grinned broadly as he waved a hand in greeting. 'We're just going over some of the planning for handing over Bitch-sensei's present.'

'Present?' Amaya repeated curiously.

'It was her birthday on the 10th you know.' Yoshida spoke up this time from the back corner of the group. 'She's been acting kinda depressed about it cause nobody remembered.'

'Ah, I get it.' Amaya remarked with a small nod. 'Well, if its within reason, I'll help out wherever possible.'

'Thank you, Amaya-san.' Kataoka spoke up with a small smile.

'Eh, no worries.' Amaya waved a hand dismissively as she wandered towards her seat at the back of the classroom. 'I'm going to sleep, though.'

'Amaya-san, class is going to begin shortly!' Isogai scolded.

'Sleep is more important than class.' Amaya dismissed as she sat down and propped herself up to sleep, earning a few amused looks from various students in the room.

'I think you mean Cat-nap.' Maehara corrected teasingly.

And yet Amaya refused to bite.

She ignored the planning that the others were making, and the sounds of footsteps and sliding doors as a few others wandered into the classrom.

She didn't move an inch as she heard Karma's chair shift across the wooden floors in the least, though she definitely felt his gaze fall upon her for a moment.

'Katsuragi-san.' Karasuma's voice rung through the classroom a second later, bringing Amaya to reluctantly lift her head from atop her arms to look over. The serious man was standing at the front door of the classroom, his rather stern gaze upon Amaya with no varying form of expression visible. 'I would like a word, please.'

Oh hell... what'd she do now?

'Looks like somebody's in trouble.' Karma snickered as he watched Amaya pick herself up out of her chair. 'Did you pick a fight with someone again?'

Amaya refused to speak a word in response as she left the room.

Though she certainly didn't him swear faintly beneath his breath as she slid the door shut behind her.

The uncomfortable atmosphere as Amaya followed Karasuma down the corridor and into the faculty office only seemed to worsen as Amaya struggled to scour through her recent recollections for an explanation into this current situation. Nothing she remotely considered severe enough to be reprimanded for had taken place within the past few weeks, and certainly the ones that warranted her punishment had already been dealt with.

Before she knew it, she'd wound up standing awkwardly in the empty space facing Karasuma as he flipped open a manilla file and flipped through the pages.

Irina was in the room, looking rather deflated and depressed instead of her usual mood of over-inflated confidence and pride. She was looking down at her phone silently with a paper cup of coffee sitting on the table just in front of her.

'I'll be blunt and get right to the point, Katsuragi-san.' Karasuma began as he lifted a piece of paper from within the file and glanced over its contents for a second. 'I noticed quite a few discrepancies while I was finalizing my reports just now, specifically with the volume of the purchased supplies that you had collected on the behalf of your class.'

'Oh, I see.' Amaya responded meekly.

'I understand that Isogai-kun had put you in charge of all purchases over the duration of your time at the after-school nursery. Is that correct?'

'Y-yes, that's right.' Amaya hedged, feeling rather nervous as Irina seemed to lift her head and listen in.

'Very well, then please explain where the additional funds for the purchases came from, and additionally why you elected to purchase higher-grade products over those of the cheaper alternative.'

Wait, was that all this was about?

Amaya let out a small breath as a rather sheepish smile spread across her face.

Inwardly, she felt quite relieved. She was honestly starting to fear Karasuma was going to wring her neck for being "uncooperative" for nearly her whole time there.

'May I be entirely forthright with my answer, Karasuma-sensei?'

'If you wish.'

'To answer your second point first, for the sheer size and stupidity of the renovations nominated by the class, it would be entirely out of the question to choose the lower-grade products considering that the person maintaining all aspects of the premises is just one elderly man.' Amaya proceeded to explain, much to the surprise and shock that appeared across both Karasuma's and Irina's faces respectively. 'While it would save on costs, in the long run we would just be creating far more work for him in under three years with the deterioration and weathering, and to be perfectly honest, children ruin things just by being boisterous. Simple varnish on floors would be shredded in a matter of months with all the running and chaos I saw in those small chunks of time I was actually there. The products purchased were chosen purely based on longevity with children, nothing more.'

If Irina had been shocked before, then that was nothing to the way she was staring at Amaya right at that moment. Her jaw had dropped open, and she looked rather like she'd just seen a ghost, though she forced herself to pick up her coffee and shrug the shock away.

'Very well, I will accept that. Explain the origins of the funds you used to fill in the gap.' Karasuma responded seriously. 'That was no mere hundred yen gap. I will accept your choice for the grade in purchases, however, they essentially doubled the allocated budget, and as I'm sure you're aware, that's no small matter.'

The most Amaya could do was adopt an apologetic smile, hoping that this wouldn't sound as ludicrous as it was inside her head.

'Well... to be honest, I used most of my savings for it.' Amaya answered.

And as soon as the words left, Irina promptly choked on the sip of coffee she had just taken.

'Wh-what?!' The honeypot assassin coughed as she struggled to make sense of what Amaya had just said. 'That was a joke, surely!'

Unfortunately for Irina, all Amaya could do was shake her head briefly.

'You will provide a copy of your account statements from before and after the transactions by tomorrow morning Katsuragi-san.' Karasuma spoke, seeming to let out a low breath as he turned to sit in his seat with a scowl spreading a little more across his face. 'I will ensure you are reimbursed for the difference just this once. In the future, you must inform me of your intentions before you take such actions. I won't be able to do this again.'

'I-I didn't do it expecting to be reimbursed or anything!' Amaya practically squeaked out.

'That is beside the point, don't do it again.' Karasuma commanded her, and it was all Amaya could do to keep her mouth shut. 'Do not forget the papers tomorrow.'

'Y-yes, I understand.' Amaya agreed.

'You're free to go.'

And with that, Amaya was quick to retreat out of the faculty room altogether, all the while Irina sat there at a loss of what was actually going on.

Class was in session by the time Amaya arrived, and while Koro-sensei was there, he didn't demand an explanation from her in the least or leap upon the opportunity to inform her that she had to refrain from being tardy again.

In fact, he waved her into the classroom without looking up from his book.

Of course, a large portion of the class did look up at her arrival, and some even looked rather curious. She wandered back to her seat without a word, taking to pulling out the novel she had stashed away in there, and throughout the morning, she kept to herself moreso than not. And it was in spite of the many instances that she just wanted to look up from her book.

Throughout the remainder of first period, very little occurred in the way of classroom distractions themselves, however Amaya could see the rather brooding edge to Karma's mood, even from the corner of her eye. He wouldn't necessarily look at her, however when she got out of her seat to go deal with an overly chatty Maehara calling her over during intermission, she felt the immediate presence of his gaze upon the back of her head.

He didn't try to talk to her that time.

When second period came around and turned out to be home economics, Amaya was greeted by silence from Karma for the most part. However as her horrible habit of ruining anything cooking when left learning something new ended up brutally butchering an attempt at macaron, Karma didn't say a word to her.

However she knew he really intended to. She had head the numerous times he had tried to say something whenever he would wander past, or she was sent past his place, but he cut himself short with a rather colourful string of curses beneath his breath every time.

'Amaya-san, can I ask you something?' Came Nagisa's voice as Amaya scrubbed the self-destructed macaron shells from the baking tray she held in her hands towards the end of Home Ec.

'Sure.' Amaya responded with a small shrug.

It looked like there was something on Nagisa's mind, since he looked a little perplexed as he set his own dishes in the next sink and began scrubbing.

'Did something happen between you and Karma-kun?' He eventually asked.

'Kinda, I guess.' She answered without looking away from her cleaning. 'Why do you ask?'

'Well, it's kind of hard to explain...' He hedged awkwardly.

No, it really wasn't. At least, it wasn't for Amaya who already knew more or less what was likely catching Nagisa's attention.

'I called in that favor he owed me, today. It's probably just that, so I wouldn't worry about it.' Amaya decided to say as she flipped her baking tray over to inspect the underside. 'It probably won't last the whole week, anyway.'

'... What did you tell him to do?'

'I got mad and told him to not talk or come near me for one week.'

Nagisa seemed to pause in his movements to cast Amaya the most disbelieving stare she had ever received from him. He seemed rather shocked, even to see the tiniest hints of amusement in her expression.

'I never thought I would ever doubt which of the two of you was more evil...' Nagisa eventually said as he turned back to clean up his dishes in silence.

Amaya let out a small breath as she just went back to scrubbing.

How was her one request possibly evil enough to counter all of the evil that Karma was capable of? She just asked for one week left well alone from his particular brand of infuriating taunts and pranks.

One week honestly wasn't that long.

Though she eventually forgot about the comment right at the end of second period, just as the five-minute intermission between classes came around.

Her phone buzzed from within her pocket as she'd sat down at her desk, drawing a small sigh from her as she glanced around for any sign of Koro-sensei.

None – It looked like he wandered off towards the faculty room while she wasn't paying attention.

So she decided there was no harm in answering the call, and in fact she didn't even look at the display to even read who was calling.

'Hello?' Amaya greeted as she shoved her free hand into the pocket of her pants.

'Good morning, Amaya-kun.' Came the familiar voice of a middle-aged man from right across the city, causing Amaya to blink in surprise as she recognized the voice instantly.

'N-Nishimura-sensei!' Amaya responded. 'Hey, what brings the call?'

A well-meaning chuckle escaped the man on the other end of the line.

'That's Nishijima-san to you, Amaya-kun.'

'That's what I said, sensei.' Amaya responded with a smirk, earning another chuckle from the other end of the line. 'So, you do know I'm in school, right?'

'Of course, I am in the employment of an educational institution, after all.' He responded lightly, causing Amaya to smile slightly. 'I admit it's a pleasant change to hear that you are acting like a regular student and attending classes.'

'Actually, I was planning to skip the rest of the day, since math is next.' Amaya admitted.

And in immediate response, Amaya heard a rather amused scoff echo through the line.

'You got my hopes up, Amaya-kun!'

'Sorry to disappoint.' Amaya responded with a wry smile. 'I still plan to be a terrible student right up until the day this school finally throws me out. Oddly enough, they're making it very hard.'

Instead of the reprimanding words she would have received from either koro-sensei or any other teacher, she just heard a small laugh escape the scruffy man on the phone.

'I can't claim to approve of your educational goals, but for today that works out well.' Nishimura responded pleasantly. 'To be honest, I'm actually calling to ask if you could come to the school to collect your siblings.'

Amaya's brow furrowed at those words.

'Why? Has something happened?'

'No, nothing in particular has happened, you don't need to worry about that.' Nishimura was quick to wave off her concerns, though Amaya was still silent on the phone. 'It's merely that Samuel-kun and Reiko-kun have appeared to come down a little unwell today, so I would like you to come collect them so they can get some rest at home. I'd like to send Yuta-kun home as well so he can help you with their belongings, considering your recent move to Kunugigaoka.'

Amaya let out a low breath as she glanced up at the clock.

'Is it more like colds?'

'It appears to be a gastro-related bug that has affected a few other students just last week.' Nishimura amended. 'I've given them the next few days off for recovery, though I will call some time Wednesday afternoon to check how they are doing, just in case they require more rest.'

'Right, thank you.' Amaya sighed slightly as she started to quickly shovel her belongings into her bag with her free hand. 'I'll be down there as soon as I can, can't say when the next train's gonna be though.'

'Whenever you are able to make it is perfectly fine, Amaya-kun. If you'll excuse me, I had better check on how they are doing.'

'Sure, thanks for letting me know.'

'Anytime, Amaya-kun.' And with that the line disconnected, allowing Amaya to toss the electronic carelessly into her bag as she rose to her feet.

Amaya's thoughts immediately shifted straight onto the many things she needed to do as she slung her bag over her shoulder, her free hand counting off the purchases she needed to make as she listed them.

'Okay ... so ice, plenty of ginger, carbonated water, umm, probably some oats and rice, too...' Amaya muttered beneath her breath as she walked right past a curious looking Itona and bemused Terasaka on her way to the door. 'They're probably going to hate me for this... Oh, I should get some lavender oil t--'

'Oh, Amaya-san!' Isogai's voice called out just as she'd reached the door, earning Amaya's attention with a small frown. He was standing up at the front of the classroom, appearing to have broken off mid-discussion with Maehara, Kataoka, Okano and a few others when he'd noticed her movements. 'Are you leaving, already?'

'Yeah, I've gotta bail, sorry.' She dismissed rather carelessly as she slid the door open. 'I'll catch you la--'

'Stop stop stop!' Kayano's voice rung through the classroom all of a sudden, causing her to jump as Kayano practically appeared right next to her. 'We need to talk to you before you go cutting class!'

Amaya turned her head to fix a rather bemused look upon the face of the petite greenette who'd come barreling over to stop her from leaving. A few of the others were gradually wandering over as well – Nagisa, Sugino, Kanzaki, even Okuda.

'Sorry, it's really going to have to wait. I've got to go.' Amaya hedged as she continued on.

'It really can't wait, Amaya-san!' Kayano responded as she tore after Amaya down the corridor, much to Amaya's exasperation. 'It's important! It's about the plan for Bitch-sensei!'

A sigh escaped Amaya as she stopped, struggling to not fix a glare upon the girl currently holding her hostage in the corridor of the classroom.

'Sick children are more important, Kayano-san.'

'But--'

'W-we won't keep you too long, Amaya-san, I promise!' Okuda meekly interrupted, drawing Amaya's attention immediately. 'It's just about the plan and the present, s-so it's not that important, really. Is that okay...?'

Well, since Okuda was the one asking ...

'Sure, if that's all it is, I don't mind hanging back a few minutes.' Amaya agreed with much less of a scowl than a few seconds before, earning Okuda a few surprised looks from her friends. 'But after that, I really do have to go collect my siblings from school.'

'I understand!' Okuda squeaked out in immediate reply, earning a dismissive wave from Amaya.

It was here that she noticed Karma lazily wandering over from the classroom, presumably because the commotion out here was looking more interesting than the generic intermission between periods two and three.

'So? What'd you want to hold me up for?' Amaya directed her question to a shocked Kayano, who immediately jolted right out of her stupor.

'O-oh, right!' She responded as she cast a careful look down past Amaya.

'Jelavic-san's still sulking in the faculty office, if that's what you're worried about.' Amaya scoffed, earning sheepish chuckle from Nagisa.

'Jelavic-san?' Sugino repeated curiously. 'You call her by her name?'

'It'd be disgustingly hypocritical for me to call her by anything she hated right to her face.' Amaya responded as she lifted a hand to massage her forehead wearily. 'Look, can you just drop all the side-stepping around this? I have to go.'

'Sorry, Amaya-san.' Kanzaki spoke up sheepishly.

'Well, we were originally going to ask you to come with us shopping for Bitch-sensei's present.' Kayano began with a small giggle. 'We're getting everyone to pitch in so we can buy a present for her. Doesn't matter how much, of course!'

'I wasn't paying attention when this discussion came up, wasn't I?' Amaya questioned.

'Actually, it was when Karasuma-sensei pulled you aside during first period.' Nagisa answered.

Ah, right. She thought something had happened while she'd been away, but Koro-sensei was already in the throws of a commotion at the front of the classroom, so she had written it off as something Octopus-related.

'Well, what were you thinking as a present for Jelavic-san?' Amaya asked as she began to forage through her bag for her purse. 'Have you decided on anything?'

'Nothing concrete, but it's going to be something that Karasuma-sensei will give her.' Sugino remarked just as Amaya had opened up her purse to look at what she could spare, bringing the albino to halt dead in her motions.

'What?!' She practically gaped at the group who appeared not to even notice the shock that was now written right across Amaya's face, though Karma was fixing her with a curious look. 'I thought the class was getting a present for her!'

'We are! It would just be better if she got the present from Karasuma-sensei instead.'

'Are you serious?'

'Yeah, it's a good idea, right?' Kayano spoke up, casting Amaya a bright smile. 'I mean, getting something from Karasuma-sensei would make her the happiest since she likes him and all that, right?'

Amaya honestly couldn't believe what she was hearing, and as she stood there running frantically back over the conversation thus far, she found herself in utter disbelief.

Irina wasn't stupid in spite of popular belief. They all liked to think she was, but in truth, the woman was very smart. She just didn't have a lot of street-sense.

And to Amaya, this felt like the worst idea they could have come up with for Irina. The mere contemplation of Karasuma giving Irina a belated birthday gift that wasn't even from him at all felt so wrong, just thinking about it made Amaya feel guilty. If any random person found out a gift from their loved one wasn't even meant at all, they would be rather hurt.

Amaya imagined herself in that position, and when she stopped to pretend that the few items Karma had gotten for her at rare moments wasn't even something he wanted to give her out of his own intentions, it really hurt.

Even if Irina never found out, even if Karasuma did everything exactly as they were all hoping, that was still something she did not want to wish on the woman. She would never wish that on anyone.

'Amaya-san?' She heard Nagisa speak up, jolting Amaya out of her thoughts. 'What do you think?'

'O-oh... Sorry.' She let out a breath as she realized she trailed off into thought.

In truth, she knew what she wanted to say.

'You've all already decided on this, haven't you?' She asked quietly.

'Huh? Yeah, everyone wants to do this.' Nagisa responded seriously. 'Even Isogai-kun and Kataoka-san.'

Everyone, then?

A small breath escaped her as she realized she was the only person that didn't like the idea one bit. And again, she found herself wondering if she was the one that was looking at this the wrong way.

Was she the one who was at fault for thinking this way?

'Okay...' She tore her gaze away as she forced herself to speak. 'I'm sorry, but honestly speaking, I think the idea is dreadful.'

'Wait-- Really?!' Sugino spoke in surprise, voicing what appeared to be the general reaction of the group standing in front of Amaya.

'But I thought it was a good idea?' Kayano hummed thoughtfully.

It really didn't matter. They were all practically sold on doing the plan anyway.

'Look, if its what you all want to do then fine, be my guest, but I won't have anything to do with it.'

There was an uncertain air of silence for a few seconds as Amaya's words sunk in on everyone.

'But ... why?' Okuda was the one to ask, her tone touched with confusion undoubtedly felt by the group.

'Doesn't matter, you guys just do what you want.' Amaya dismissed as she turned to continue on her way. 'I've gotta go. Hope it goes well.'

And so she left without another word, leaving the 'shopping' party standing silently in the middle of the corridor.

There were no pursuing footsteps or calls for her to wait up, even as Amaya tugged on her boots and jogged down the mountain trail towards Kunugigaoka station. She heard her phone in her bag chirp once or twice the further down the mountain she got, though she chose to ignore the emails altogether.

There was no point in her spoiling the plan further with what may be warped takes on a situation that may very well work out in their favor. But she couldn't bring herself to feel remotely optimistic about the plan at all. All she could think about was the varying ways Irina would realize what was going on, and her various levels of hurt in each situation.

Amaya would never wish that upon anyone. Nobody at all.

It was just after 1pm by the time Amaya had arrived at the rather nostalgic elementary school she had once attended. Nothing had changed, from its green gardens running around the perimeter, to the schoolyard and the building itself.

She spared no real glance to the students running around just around the corner of the building as she walked right up the front steps and through the front door of the building.

However, the young, stern looking woman standing behind the receptionist counter didn't fail to fix her with one of the most disapproving looks Amaya had ever received in her life. Obviously, she was moderately new, for Amaya had never seen this woman in her life.

'Excuse me, miss, you're supposed to be in school!' The woman of mousy hair and bespectacled gaze informed Amaya as she strolled right up to the door leading to Nishimura's office. 'Please return to your own school before I call the--'

'Oh! Amaya-kun, you're early!' Came Nishimura's voice from within the office the very second Amaya located the scruffy looking man seated at his desk, silencing the receptionist within a heartbeat. 'I wasn't expecting you for another hour.'

'The trains were forgiving, today.' Amaya responded easily, inwardly smirking as she felt the almost horrified look plastered upon her back. 'Anything I gotta do first, or can I grab them and bail?'

'Well, I would say go on through, but let's save both of us Rita-san's ire and have you sign in.' Nishimura responded kindly as he lifted himself from behind his desk. 'I'll go inform Yuta-kun you've arrived. Reiko-kun and Samuel-kun are in the infirmary.'

'Got it, Sensei.'

'That's Nishimura-san, Amaya-kun.'

'Yes Sensei.' Amaya remarked with a grin as she walked across the administration foyer towards the receptionist counter with the silent woman standing rigid in her boots. Amaya spared her no glance as she meekly slid the book across the counter, allowing Amaya to do as Nishimura instructed.

'Good to see you, Katsuragi-san.' An older voice spoke up from somewhere beyond the receptionist counter just as she'd finished with the book, bringing Amaya to lift her head up in response. 'I trust you're well.'

Greying in features was a dumply woman of about fifty something Amaya immediately recognized to be Rita, and she could only smile in response. She was a few meters away, though the woman quickly picked up a plastic manilla file off of the table as she made her gradual approach.

'About as well as I can be having to deal with Karma every day.' Amaya remarked with a wry grin.

'Are you in the same class, together?'

'Guilty as charged.'

'Oh I truly pity your teachers.' Rita added with a knowing smile. 'Is he doing well, too?'

'Always, its Karma, after all.'

'And how about school?'

'He's doing well there, too, like the stupid contradiction he is, I'm the same as always, though.' Amaya agreed as she slid the book right back towards the rather shell-shocked woman standing at the counter. 'If I started behaving as a model student and getting top grades, my current teachers would rush me straight to hospital out of sheer panic for my wellbeing.'

And immediately, Rita started laughing, all the while the other woman stood awkwardly in her place at the counter.

'Well, its nice to know that you're both doing well otherwise, Katsuragi-san.' Rita smiled broadly as she handed the surprisingly weighty file to Amaya. 'These are a set of study notes and homework for your siblings while they're away sick. I trust you'll ensure they come back with the homework completed at the very least?'

'As always.' Amaya agreed as she bagged the file and continued towards the door leading into the rest of the school. 'I'll catch you next time, Rita-san.'

And with that, Amaya left, with Rita humming lightly to herself as the younger woman stood there horrified at what had just transpired.

The place looked exactly the same, Amaya noted as she took the right corridor through memory, walking briskly past door after door until she reached the one with "Infirmary" written upon a placard attached. She let herself in without pausing to knock, casting a brief nod of the head to the familiar staff member who was set up at the back of the room.

'Good afternoon, Katsuragi-san.'

'Afternoon.' Amaya responded as she wandered over to the low beds that she could see her siblings lying on. Samuel was out for the count, though Reiko was trying to pull herself right out of bed the very second she realized Amaya was even there. They both looked quite off colour, and Amaya certainly didn't miss the hint of vomit on the air.

'Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well, this morning?' Amaya asked as she helped Reiko sit herself upright on the bed. 'I would have kept you home.'

'Sorry Amay...' Reiko mumbled.

Of course, Amaya didn't hesitate to flick the girl lightly in the middle of her forehead, earning a small wince.

'Don't apologize for being sick.' Amaya muttered as she threw a glance back at Samuel. 'Now, how am I going to get the both of you home?'

'Amaya,' Echoed Yuta's voice from the door, catching Amaya's attention right away. The boy walked briskly towards her as Nishijima wandered inside after him. 'You didn't skip out on anything important, did you?'

'Idiot.' Amaya scoffed as she eyed him for a second. 'I would have regardless, even if it wasn't just math.'

'You shouldn't be doing that, Amaya...'

'I would give your sister some benefit of the doubt, Yuta-kun.' Nishijima remarked with an amused smile. 'I'm the one who actually asked her to cut class so she could come collect the three of you.'

Yuta seemed to glance up at Nishimura for a second, before he looked down at the floor.

A small breath escaped Amaya as she lifted a hand to ruffle Yuta's hair momentarily.

'Guess that's everything, Nishijima-sensei?'

'How many times am I going to tell you to stop calling me Sensei, Amaya-kun?' Nishimura asked with a wry smile. 'You haven't been a student here for going on three years.'

'It's probably going to happen every time you see me.' Amaya shrugged slightly.

She then turned her attention right upon her sickly siblings.

'I can carry Samuel back, Amaya.' Yuta said as he made a move towards the other cot in the room, though Amaya just grabbed him by the back of the shirt and tugged him back again.

'No can do. You're looking a little off-colour, yourself.' Amaya responded as she dragged herself to her feet. 'You can carry their bags, if you really want.'

'But Amaya--'

'I don't catch colds or other bugs going around, Yuta, but you certainly do every time one's making the rounds.'

Yuta seemed to stare up at her for a long moment, before he let out a breath and made a move to collect every bag in the room. It was an obvious enough sign of defeat that Nishimura even let out a small chuckle as he watched the boy.

'Well, unfortunately I do have to get back to work.' Nishimura remarked as he made a move back towards the door, earning Amaya's attention immediately. 'However, please don't hesitate to call me if you need anything.'

'Sure, Sensei.' Amaya responded.

And with a small shake of the head, Nishimura left, leaving Amaya to once again ponder how she was going to get her siblings back across the city.

Eventually however, she had her answer. After deciding there was no point in thinking too much about it, she had lifted Samuel up so that he was slumped over her left shoulder, and she'd hooked his legs safely over Reiko's, who she had pulled up onto her back. She ignored the moves Yuta made to help her as she readjusted her hold of her two groggy siblings, and had to bite back a string of curses as Samuel wrapped his arms right around the top of her head.

Well, at least she could see past his arm, though this was a little awkward.

'Let's go.' Amaya instructed the concerned Yuta staring at the two children hanging over her.

The trip back home took longer than it felt it should, if for no other reason than she had to pause several times to readjust her grip of her siblings, or any other like instance. People tended to stare as she and Yuta walked right past them, though neither paid them any thought.

'Amaya ... isn't that Karma over there?' Came the first Yuta had spoken since they'd left the school, bringing Amaya to look over where Yuta was motioning towards.

Over in front of what looked to be a kind of van decked out with masses of flowers and bouquet was a silver haired man and the shopping group of her class, which as Yuta had pointed out did have Karma standing in the back, who looked a little lost in thought from the little Amaya could see past Sugino and Kanzaki's forms standing in the way.

Amaya could only let out a breath as she tore her gaze away and picked up the pace a little.

'Yeah, just leave him.'

'Couldn't he help carry Reiko?'

'Look, just pretend you didn't see them this once, Yuta.' Amaya remarked as she carefully bounced on her feet to hoist both Reiko and Samuel that little bit higher over her.

'But Amaya--'

'He's busy with the others in class, in spite of how they look.'

'O-oh...' Yuta picked up the pace to walk equal stride with Amaya so he could keep his volume down. 'What are they doing?'

The question brought a small breath to escape Amaya as she tried her best to not look in the direction of the shopping group, or more specifically at the redhead who had just caught sight of her on the opposite side of the street. It was a little easier than normal with Samuel's arms wrapped firmly around her head like they were.

'They're buying a belated birthday present for one of our teachers.' Amaya eventually answered.

'I thought you said you weren't missing out on anything important...?'

'I'm not skipping on anything important.' Amaya forced herself to answer. 'Honestly, I want absolutely nothing to do with what they're doing right now.'

'But why not...? It's a present for one of your teachers, right? Karma-san's with them, too.'

'It is for one of my teachers, but we're not the ones giving it to her, and our names aren't on it, either.'

'Then who's giving the present to her?' He asked suspiciously.

'The other teacher who she likes is the one giving it to her.'

Yuta seemed to frown at that as he leaped over a loose paver in the sidewalk.

'But why don't you want to do that?' He eventually asked. 'I mean, she would like that, wouldn't she?'

Amaya cast a sideways glance at Yuta for a moment, before she chose to answer.

'Yuta, would you like it?'

'What?'

'Hypothetically speaking, you'd be happy if you got a present from Mako-chan for your birthday, yeah? You'd be happy because she thought of you, right?'

'Of course.' He agreed immediately, in spite of the small blush that appeared right across his face.

'Then how would you feel if you found out it wasn't from Mako-chan because she doesn't like you enough, and it was from one of your classmates just because they thought you'd like getting it from Mako-chan better?'

Yuta's footsteps slowed as those words sunk in on him, and eventually he came to a halt right there on the sidewalk, bringing Amaya to slow to a halt as well as she turned to look at him.

'Thats ...' He seemed a little stunned as he stood there struggling to word what was running through his head, though from the growing horror that began to appear, Amaya knew his thoughts weren't much different than hers. 'That's actually horrible!'

A sad smile slowly spread across her face as she turned her gaze upon the group making their way back towards the mountain campus right t that very moment.

'They aren't meaning to, Yuta. They just aren't looking at it the right way.'

The road to hell was paved with good intentions.

And Amaya was certain that this would be no different.

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

Apologize for the lateness on this one, but here is the next Chapter for Christmas. It's still the 25th for most of you, I'm sure, so this isn't too late I hope.

In any case, hope you enjoyed reading, and here is the translation for the title.

Mujun - Translates as Contradiction, which should be written as 矛盾 in Japanese for this case, if I'm not mistaken.

All the best guys, and hope you all have had an awesome Christmas :)

<3 Loki-Roki