The articulately-spoken man she knew to be her Uncle had always been intimidating.

Always, there was an air about him that was unfathomable, next to impossible for Amaya to wrap her head around. And the fact that one couldn't grasp the merest understanding of the man's true intentions was off-putting.

Even now after getting to know Shigure more this whole year than she had the rest of her rather short life to date, that hadn't changed.

Just like Karasuma and Koro-sensei, it was clear one only saw the portrayed front, the person beyond shrouded in darkness one could never see through.

And now, Amaya found herself more than certain of this fact.

The blond boy Amaya now knew to be called Samuel hovered just out of arms reach, fidgeting incessantly as if he was doing his best to keep himself from leaping on her again.

In all likelihood, he probably did want to cling to her - He did appear to have a personality geared to enthusiasm and positivity unbridled.

A bit like Reiko, but he didn't have the cunning in him as far as she could see.

That, in a strange way, made him the closest polar-opposite to Amaya and her stubborn, pessimistic ways.

The fact that he knew he was out of that hell was probably enough to make him the happiest person alive.

It was a peculiar thing to note for her.

Hesitantly, Amaya stepped past Karma to sit down as Shigure had requested, ignoring the look the redhead cast her as he followed a few paces behind. Samuel bounced along after them, fit with great energy in spite of how long he'd spent in an isolation tank in that facility.

She didn't like the fact that Shigure had suddenly turned up here like this - For someone who wanted there to be no known connection between her and him to everyone else, the fact that he was here now spelled out problems she couldn't even begin to speculate.

He was practically breaking his own rules by being here, and the fact that he hadn't gone to the point of his usual remarks hadn't failed to unnerve her.

In fact, it gave her reason enough to dread the reason for his sudden arrival.

As Karma took up the chair next to hers, Shigure decided to set his tea down and look up at the two of them.

As dreaded, there was a rather serious edge to the man's gaze - Moreso than usual.

And it brought Amaya to lower her gaze nervously.

Though thankfully, Shigure decided to place his attention upon Karma instead, the tiniest hints of a courteous smile across his face.

'I trust I won't need to introduce myself, Akabane-san--'

'No,' Karma was quick to speak in blunt agreement, his sharp gaze flicking to Amaya for just a second. 'I know who you are.'

Out of all feelings, confusion wasn't present for Amaya from that remark - She recalled with vivid clarity the fact that two calls from Shigure had been answered by someone other than her in the past.

That, and the similar features Amaya had to Shigure couldn't have been missed by anyone, no matter their knowledge of her familial situation.

In fact, when compared to Toji and Shigure at the same time, others would likely presume Shigure was her actual father, merely because she bore more resemblances to him than the madman.

'Very well. To the point then.' Shigure spoke in response to Karma's one remark, his expression sharpening ever so slightly as he seemed to glance towards Amaya. 'I presume you had the misfortune of meeting Katsuragi Toji recently. Would this be correct?'

Misfortune ...

To Amaya who was more used to Shigure's way of using words than Karma would be, it sounded like that was a double-edged word.

Like there was a second meaning she wasn't picking up on.

'Does it matter if I have?' Karma responded.

'I suppose not.' Shigure agreed easily, lifting his cup of tea once again. 'If you neither caused inconvenience or dealt him even the most mildest form of harm, then it shouldn't matter at all.'

The sharp, knowing tone in his words caused a nervous twitch to escape Amaya.

Shigure's eerily sharp knowledge was made more obvious by the sarcasm she could pick in his expression.

This wasn't good...

She was getting a very uncomfortable chill from the atmosphere in the apartment, and it didn't help that Samuel had gone silent and motionless on his way to the chair next to Shigure.

Well, obviously she wasn't the only one the situation didn't bode well for.

'Let's not play games with words now,' Shigure remarked after a few seconds silence, pausing just long enough to sip his tea. 'As I'm sure Amaya knows, there's no point trying to pull the wool over my eyes.'

She didn't miss that obvious implication shot at her, and from the glance Karma cast her, neither had he.

There was just no point trying to feign innocence or ignorance when this man already knew so much more from the get-go - It was like trying to convince Koro-sensei that his ability of moving at Mach 20 was merely a figment of his own imagination.

'Sure,' Karma responded dismissively, turning his gaze upon the silent blond in the room. 'Who's that?'

A sip of tea, before Shigure continued.

Always with the damn tea ...

'He is no different from Reiko-san and Yuta-san going from the fundamental basics.' He responded simply, seeming to ignore the movements Samuel made to wander back around the table again. 'He is their half-sibling just the same, only from a different mother sourced from England. Elanor Berchmanns, I believe her name was. This isn't an uncommon situation when it comes to their father, after all.'

The word "sourced" felt like a very blunt way of putting it ... but in reality it was probably sugar-coating the whole ordeal.

'Heh? So Amaya's father's that kind of person, huh?' The redhead questioned, though his tone was rather dismissive - There was a hint of distaste in there as well. 'Maehara's future is starting to look even worse.'

What the hell?

Was that a quip against one of her other best friends?!

'That's... not what he meant.' Amaya managed to force out in the playboy's defense, wincing slightly at the raw, broken tone of her own voice.

Not to mention, her throat hurt from the effort.

'I think it will be best if you refrained from speaking.' Shigure told her, a stern edge to his tone as Amaya looked at him. 'You don't seem to have much of a voice left, after all.'

Huh, fine then.

Amaya made a mental note to complain on the playboy's behalf later.

She did not like the insinuation that anyone could possibly become like her father - Especially one of her class or handful of loved ones.

'But as to that, Amaya is correct.' Shigure continued on, watching as Samuel decided to hang off the back of Amaya's chair. 'Toji views his children only as carefully cultivated specimen for his experiments, and the mothers no different in that regard. It's fair to say that the only interest he ever shows a person is whether he can utilize them in any way. And spares are usually required fairly soon afterwards.'

No reaction - At least at first.

Samuel's swinging on the back of Amaya's chair almost had her miss the small sigh that had escaped the redhead from all the jostling.

'Yeah, I get it.' He responded, leaning back in the chair as he stole a glance towards Amaya's silent form. 'He was calling you Forty Ninth, right?'

Amaya hung her head as she fought desperately against the instinctive need to flee from this uncomfortable discussion, her hair falling to hide her face from Shigure's immediate view.

'In Amaya's case, she was the tenth, though I don't doubt her father reinstated her as the current number - his eagerness to resume the hydro-submersion project, no doubt.' Shigure responded in answer, pausing to sip his tea once again. 'From what his assistant tells me, aside from Yukariko - Amaya's mother - the only suitable candidate there has been for that particular project is actually Amaya herself.'

It hurt to have this talked about so casually. It was a topic she'd never had anyone openly talk about before.

It was wrong, on so many levels - she hated it.

It felt like her insides were being ripped out bit by bit with every word.

It was so bad, it felt like she was about to cry.

But then, she felt something gently close around her hand hanging at her side, a hand she realized as warmth began to engulf her freezing appendage.

'I've heard enough.' Karma cut in as Shigure opened his mouth to continue, his grip of Amaya's hand tightening slightly as the albino man fixed him with a curious look. 'I don't want to hear it from someone else.'

Someone else...

Meaning the only person he wanted to hear more about that hell from was her.

Or was he just saying that to cut the topic short, because he could see how much she hated it being brought up like this?

'Oh? Very well, then.' Shigure responded, reaching out to pour himself another cup of tea. 'That at least should give enough groundwork for the rest.'

She could pick up from his tone that what he was about to say wasn't pleasant - whenever he was talking like this, it was never anything good.

'From what I've been told, the Okinawan facilities have recently been shut down by part-cause from the actions of one of your teachers - Karasuma-san, if I'm not mistaken?' Shigure began after a few seconds, his gaze lifting from his tea for just a moment.

'No. Someone else came and threw everyone from that place off the island before we really did anything.' Karma responded seriously, his grip of her hand tightening as he seemed to glance at her. 'They were gone before we'd left the island, too.'

'Katsuragi Toji was supposed to be escorted to Russia promptly, where a warrant for his death has been in place for many years now.' Shigure continued, his tone sharpening ever so slightly. 'The arrangements were, of course rather underhanded and pointless in the end.'

Was?

Were?

Amaya lifted her head, her stomach churning at the past-tense Shigure spoke in.

'...In the end?' Amaya forced her voice to speak, her unwavering gaze upon Shigure's motionless form.

He seemed to let out a breath and set his tea down, a weary edge to his otherwise rather sharp expression.

'Those in charge of escorting Toji were found deceased off the coast of South Korea this morning, their throats cut open. Yet all of the equipment and personnel on board have yet to be found.' Shigure explained.

And that, was when the pieces fell into place inside her head, stunning her into a frozen state.

That was why Shigure had turned up like this out of the blue - He must have been keeping well informed of the situation the moment he got hold of Samuel. Watching, waiting, joining the dots like he always did.

He must have come here the very moment he learned of her father's disappearance.

Because the madman was unpredictable in every sense of the word, except for when two things came to mind.

He was obsessed with his work, to the point that people would die if there were inconveniences and hurdles in his way.

And he would never willingly give up a so called specimen if they were still useful, he would rather have them killed instead. That was why her supposed death, those of the twins and undoubtedly Samuel's were so crucial into their freedom.

'The fact that we have no idea of his whereabouts are cause enough for concern on a normal day,' Shigure surmised, neglecting his tea for what was probably the first time she'd ever witnessed as he continued on. 'But considering how volatile he is without taking his removed sanity into consideration, changes will have to be made until I can deal with him, myself.'

Shigure then placed his sharp gaze upon Amaya, an unreadable edge to the expression he wore.

'Therefore, you will not be staying in Japan any longer.'

The resounding force of those words were a vicious slap across the face, sharp enough that she almost didn't believe what she'd heard.

But then, as she noticed Karma's uncomfortably tight hold of her hand, she realized she wasn't the only one.

He was just as shocked as she was.

'This isn't up for negotiation at the present moment.' Shigure continued on with a glance towards Karma, as if the horrified look across his niece's face wasn't even there. 'I will decide where you will be going when your other siblings are relocated. This is final, and you will not be coming back until I deem fit.'

Other siblings ... Relocated?

She couldn't at the very least still be with Yuta and Reiko...?

The sudden snap of Karma's angered words did nothing to shake her out of the frozen stupor she'd fallen into, nor did the words sink in on her as she stared helplessly. He'd released her hand as he raised to his feet, and Samuel had flung himself from the back of Amaya's chair to hide on her other side.

She missed the words, only vaguely acknowledging that the redhead was quite volatile from the raised tone in his voice.

The sudden decision of Shigure's had essentially winded her, and she failed to follow the situation further than that.

'Certainly. I know very well about the exceedingly cruel way you've treated her ever since I brought her here in the beginning.' Shigure cut in, a pleasant tone hiding a remarkably curt edge to his words. 'Enough so that I was prepared to relocate her to Yokohama by that first spring if things continued any further. Even to this day, I am regretful that I decided to let her stay as long as she has.'

Silence - Shigure's curt words had done well in shocking Karma out of his moment of volatile words.

'She is not safe here on her own, not with you keeping an eye on her, and even if your so called Assassination Teacher were to stand guard over her, she still wouldn't be any safer.' Shigure continued, his tone sharpening with every word. 'Her attachment to everyone here will be the cause of her demise, and I will not have that. Yuta's actions to date are proof enough of that.'

No - That wasn't Yuta's fault!

No words escaped Karma, though undoubtedly there was a lot he wanted to say.

His hands were clenched into fists at his sides, and the slight trembling that she could see of his form told her he was beyond angry.

She'd never seen him this riled up before.

But as she'd made a move to reach out towards him, he tore himself away from the table and stalked out of the room.

'K-Karma, wait!' She called out as she threw herself to her aching feet, though undoubtedly he didn't hear her broken voice.

The door of her apartment slammed shut behind him, just as she'd managed to get part-way across the room.

'Leave him be, little one.' She vaguely heard Shigure speak, though she ignored him.

She didn't want to be here right now, anyway.

'Amaya!'

She shook her head as she reached out to pull the door open.

But then there was a sudden bang and the shattering of a teacup beneath Shigure's hand, startling her.

'You are not leaving this apartment right now, and that's final!' Shigure seethed, his tone raised and commanding - He'd practically yelled.

He was beyond angry - It was clear to her as he fixed his sharp gaze upon her.

'Do you have any idea just how dangerous a situation you'd been in on that island? Do you even realize that it's still the same here, the longer I leave you here?!' He questioned her, though his words were rather rhetorical. 'You seem to be missing that simple fact, whether out of obstinance or absence of thought is beyond me!'

Of course she knew.

Now that she knew about Toji disappearing like that, she knew all too well that it was dangerous for her to stay here.

She wasn't stupid ...

She just didn't want to leave if her own safety was the only thing at risk.

She didn't want to leave Karma that angry.

'Now get your hand off that door.'

She shook her head frantically, ripping the door open as she threw herself into a dash out of the room.

The door slammed shut behind her as she forced her aching legs to move, no sounds of pursuing footsteps meeting her ears as she took the stairs.

She didn't have her phone anymore, so she couldn't get in contact with anyone - She couldn't even ask Ritsu to tell her where Karma had gone.

He'd left so fast, just that small moment of Shigure stopping her at the door had given him enough time to vanish completely.

She tried his apartment, receiving no answer.

She'd tried looking for him in all the places downtown that he liked to waste time in.

She'd even been desperate enough to go all the way to the classroom and try all the places there.

Everywhere she went, she couldn't find him, no matter how hard she really did try.

And Ritsu hadn't been returned to the classroom yet - She'd gone all the way there, hoping the fixed artillery's terminal would be there, like every other time she'd been here since her arrival.

It all hurt too much for her to let out a cry - All she could do was stare mutely at the desks in the classroom.

Footsteps echoed over the wood floors through the sunset air, something that should have brought relief or hope to her.

But in truth, she already knew who they belonged to.

'Have you calmed down, yet?' Shigure's voice spoke out through the encroaching dark.

'I don't want to go...' She spoke, her damaged voice barely a cracking whisper through the silence that followed Shigure's outburst. 'Please don't make me leave...'

Silence, if only for a moment.

It was almost as if he was trying to bring himself to chose his words carefully.

'You're more than welcome to hate me. I wouldn't be able to fault you for it, even if I were to try.' Shigure spoke as he began to leave, sparing her just the smallest of apologetic glances over his shoulder. 'I have been absent form your life other than when I dictate what you will do with it. I've been an abysmal substitute for what a parent is supposed to be for you, and left you to raise yourself instead.'

He seemed to pause at the door for a second, a breath escaping him before he disappeared.

'However I don't apologize for that. In the end, this is all for your own good. I trust you to remember that.'

No response escaped the heartbroken girl, drawing a sigh from the man.

'Say your goodbyes to this place. It's time to go.'

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

Haha, well it took longer than I was hoping, but here's the next chapter. Shorter than usual, but not by a hell of a lot. There's more plot-related things than general fluff. As I'm sure you can understand, it was particularly tedious trying to figure out how Karma and Shigure would get along - Under normal circumstances where there wasn't Amaya's impending doom in the mix, things would be very different. But yeah, didn't see that coming, did you?

Writer Spotlight time (I haven't done one of these in a while, lol xD) If any of you are looking for additional Ansatsu Kyoushitsu books to read, or just looking for more Karma books, then I highly recommend one written by -Kyouka- called Karma's Kismet. It has a prologue and four parts submitted as I write this, and honestly, I feel it needs more love. So if you guys have the opportunity, please check it out and give a fellow writer on here some love.

Anyways, thanks, and here we go with the notes:

Munashiki Nagare - Translates (If I'm not mistaken) as the Flow of Emptiness, written as 空しき流れ in this instance. This one I took from the title of a song I adore from the End Of Evangelion OST, and this one I'm hazy on its translation (However everywhere I look, its always translated as such.)

Additional Notes - The scene most prominent with this OST (If you're at all remotely interested) is really quite powerful, especially during the last minute (The track itself is approximately six and a half minutes long, haha). I felt more like the piece itself fit the chapter, and the title was fitting, too xD

Now, lastly I'll keep this short, cause I don't mean to really complain, just point something out. Scenario almost all of you guys will know; I was on Hiatus, came back, and yes its been a little while since I last updated a chapter, but not months. Excluding a little user who PM'ed me just curious over the last 3or so days (This isn't directed at you) I have something to say to two I will call FF and M for sake of not actually naming people in a public-accessible place.

I work a commission-based job. That means instead a 9am-5pm jobs like most people, this one is unstable in hours. Some weeks I could work a regular 6 hours a day, others when a big project comes in, I start at 6am and finish anywhere between 11pm-2am until the project is completed (Which is what I HAVE been doing the past two weeks). So please, mind your manners and your bitching complaints when you tell me "You're a liar!" or "You're taking too long on Marionette, Author! You're failing everyone!" Yes, I know I said I'm not on Hiatus anymore, but I ALSO said not to expect weekly updates, even now.

Okay, that's all I wanted to say.

In any case, all the best, guys~!

<3 Loki-Roki