An otherworldly chime echoed through the depths of her slumber, bouncing all around the darkness inside her head.

It was a familiar sound, one she hadn't heard in many years though she'd never forget it.

It reminded her of the limelight waters, of a room with no visible walls, of a world she longed to never recall again.

But at the same time, it reminded her of a woman she could never see in the world of the living.

Melancholic, apathetic, and perhaps the embodiment of despair.

It was a sound that reminded her of just one person in the whole world, one who exhibited those three words at the very same time, throughout the whole stretch of time Amaya had known them.

And it wasn't her mother.

Amaya's memories of Yukariko were often conflicted – The Yukariko before her illness set in was always so heartbroken, lost in a world of bittersweet regrets, while the Yukariko that Amaya remembered most clearly was already broken, far beyond repair.

The other woman that existed in memories sewn into dreams was just the same, though in an opposing way to how Yukariko had been.

Heartbroken, forced to watch on the sidelines, and already broken to pieces inside. However, unlike Yukariko where she lost her will to live, the other clung to her regrets desperately.

It was because of this that the other woman was still in the world of living.

The otherworldly chiming eventually tugged at her, drawing her back to the waking world. It was almost by instinct that she woke up to this sound in her dreamless sleep.

Because much like her other dreams, it would lead to sewn memories before long.

The world around her was dark as Amaya found herself waking up, perhaps the early hours of the morning?

She had no way of telling as she was, and in truth she honestly couldn't care less about what time it was.

Because the more of her senses she regained, the more she began to realize that there was something very, very strange going on.

Or rather, that something strange had happened.

She found that she wasn't asleep in her room, and she was still dressed in her school uniform. What was stranger still was that the television was on, and a DVD was playing the looped menu animation of a different movie over and over again, casting faint light over the living room.

Amaya didn't quite recall the events that had lead up to this point in time – In truth, the most she remembered was that she had come home alone after Reiko had decided to stay at Shigure's place to spend more time with Yuta.

The rest of it was blurry, probably because she'd been so mentally drained.

And it wasn't helping that she was still feeling the effects of that damned can of gas Terasaka had dosed the classroom in – Her head was a little stuffy and her sense of smell was still out of whack.

She didn't take a lot of notice of the fact that she was upright for the most part, her arm not squished against her side lifting so she could absent-mindedly rub the sleep out of her eyes.

At least until felt something resting atop her head shift slightly, causing Amaya to freeze up from the fright.

It was this second that she actually began to pick apart her current situation.

Upright, in the living room, and as she managed to shift her rather squished arm, she realized she was propped up against something.

Or rather someone, causing her to begin to panic inside.

And her recollection of the night before began to come back to her, now that she was wide-awake.

She fell asleep in the first half hour of whatever movie that first one was, and by the looks of things she wasn't the only one to have done that. Because while she'd ended up falling asleep on Karma's shoulder, it appeared he'd done the same and fell asleep with his head resting atop hers.

At this point, Amaya was beginning to panic – She had no idea what time it was now, but the fact that she'd been asleep like this for at least a couple hours was enough to have her almost throw herself off the couch.

Curse her habit of sleeping like a log – Why the hell hadn't she woken up earlier?!

She was a jittery, nervous mess, and it was mortifying.

Her face had been engulfed in a bright red blush, and she was having a lot of trouble keeping completely still.

But right now, that was a very, very bad idea.

Dammit, how the hell was she going to get out of this predicament?!

Karma was always in a bad mood if his sleep was disturbed, even moreso if it was in the early hours of the morning. And from the darkness that still filled her apartment, it was easily 4am or earlier. Worse still, he had a tendency to sleep lightly whenever it was the most inconvenient for her.

Which meant he was going to kill her if she managed to wake him up.

And she couldn't just stay there, either.

Not only was she never going to go back to sleep sitting like this, it wasn't going to do her composure any good for the rest of the day.

In fact, being this close to him just reminded her of all the other moments he'd invaded her personal bubble, which made the burning blush continue to darken to rather alarming shades.

And it was already bad enough mentally admitting to herself that she would probably opt to stay where she was if she wasn't facing impending doom.

'O-oh, Amaya-san?' A familiar and rather groggy voice suddenly spoke up through the dark, startling Amaya so much she would have jumped if she wasn't already focusing on remaining perfectly still. Though her breath had hitched painfully in her throat.

Thats right! Nagisa was here – Or still is by the sound of things.

Still stuck in such a precarious position, Amaya managed to turn her gaze towards the bathroom, to find a half-asleep Nagisa wandering over, a rather confused look across his face.

At least until he noticed the desperately pleading look across her face.

'Help meeee!' Amaya whispered frantically, earning a small chuckle from the boy in mention.

He nodded slowly in agreement, edging over carefully to help free her.

And after what felt like far too many agonizingly slow seconds, Nagisa had managed to straighten Karma up without waking him, allowing Amaya to frantically scramble away as fast as her limbs could let her.

Which, through a lack of consideration for where she was placing her feet, she tumbled sideways off of the couch and toppled over the coffee table with a sudden crash.

Though thankfully Karma didn't seem to stir from the sudden commotion, and Nagisa was sympathetic enough to do nothing more than let out a wry chuckle.

'Are you alright, Amaya-san?' Nagisa asked quietly as he stepped away from the slumbering redhead.

'Y-yeah ... Just peachy!' Amaya groaned out as she blinked the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Just why did she have to be so accident prone all the time?!

It was counter-productive, though she guessed sadists would probably enjoy watching her mess up all the time.

Though thankfully Nagisa had gotten her out of that predicament before she cracked – She never wanted to go through the repercussions of that happening.

It was as Amaya looked up to where the delicate boy had ended up that she found she must have fallen into a small state of thought there on the floor – he was at that moment stretched out on the other couch, and it appeared he had gone straight back to sleep.

Well ... it was some time in the early hours of the morning, at least a good two or three before they had to think about waking up.

It made sense to go back to sleep.

But of course, now that Amaya was definitely wide awake, she wouldn't manage that right now.

Gingerly, Amaya lifted herself off of the floor as she grabbed the remote for the television, switching it off as she thought carefully about what she could do to pass the time.

About the only thing that came to mind after a shower was dealing with Yuta's belongings – Now that Karma was asleep, and probably would be for a few hours, she could get a sizable portion of it done, if not everything.

So with that in mind, Amaya set to what she planned, making a quick dash down to a nearby convenience store to relieve them of a large stack of their delivery boxes waiting to be disposed of before finally arriving back to pack. It was during that quick jog after getting herself showered and in fresh clothes that she discovered it was about 3am, and it was no later than 3.15am when she'd gotten back.

Minutes turned into hours as Amaya carefully and meticulously emptied out all of Yuta's clothes from their drawers and hangers, checking them all over before carefully packing them away in duffell bags, and as the skies outside began to lighten with the morning's dawn, Amaya set about on Yuta's collection of books and other belongings.

She found the odd hundred yen coin here and there in pockets, post-it notes with references tucked in the various manga, and other like items.

All were normal to see in Yuta's belongings.

It was so normal, she almost wondered what it was Shigure even thought could be hidden in amongst her brothers belongings.

And with every item searched, the more her heart began to sink.

The more she looked only to find normal things, the more it felt like she really was looking for something that wasn't there to begin with.

And even if she did find something – anything even – would it even mean anything, in the end?

Or was this some pointless endeavor with the sole purpose to wear her already tattered patience to dust?

There was no way for her to know.

It was possible she would never know.

As Amaya set the last of the books in the box carefully, she looked up to find that it was already starting to get bright outside.

Sometime around six, she guessed.

She hadn't heard a sound from the rest of the apartment – A sure sign that the two who have taken custody of both her couches were still sound asleep.

In fact, she had a feeling that if she didn't go and wake them up, they'd probably sleep through until mid-morning.

Of course, that was if Koro-sensei didn't turn up half-way through first period just to drag them to school.

She decided to be nice, though – She disappeared downtown to pick up some items from a bakery for breakfast.

Whether or not they ate it was beside the point.

Sometime shortly after depositing her purchases on the table in front of the couches to disappear into her room, the two boys rose from their sleep. Presumably the smell of food right in front of them had prodded them awake, which in Amaya's view was a true blessing.

She wouldn't get the temperamental treatment from Karma because he was woken up against his wishes, now.

She could hear the faint sound of voices through the closed door, though she didn't put much thought to it.

In truth, she probably should have at least kept tabs on what was going on out there.

Because just as she'd managed to pull her tee-shirt off to get changed into her uniform, with shorts and leggings over pants, she heard the click of the door-handle turn and Karma speak from the other side, frightening the wits out of her.

'Amay, what are you--' He'd begun, however as he'd opened the door, he'd frozen at the sight on the other side.

Amaya, half-naked mid-way through changing, and her face turning a very distinct shade of red the longer he stared.

It was clear he hadn't expected this at all, and in spite of the almost desperate need to crawl under her bed to hide from the humiliation, something else had taken hold of her – Indignant agitation, and it was very strong.

Just as the redhead appeared to recover some of his senses, Amaya had closed the couple of feet between her and the door, and slammed it shut in his face with an almost deafening bang.

And for extra safety, she dragged the chair from her desk over and propped it under the door handle so nobody else could open it.

Now she could crawl under her bed and sulk for the rest of the morning – She really, really wanted to.

Though she doubted the events just unfolded would be enough validation to Koro-sensei for another tardy arrival.

So reluctantly, Amaya resumed her task of getting dressed once again, much quicker than before.

Even though it was obvious from his reaction that he hadn't actually meant to walk in on her like that, it didn't change the fact that she was now quite upset with him.

Her whole morning had been chaotic right from waking up, and it was weighing greatly on her ability to handle her composure.

It was to the point where she couldn't bring herself to look at Karma again, and even just being anywhere near him brought a distinct shade of red to colour her face. Thankfully it appeared Karma wasn't intent on being too much of a pain this time, for he didn't even remark on her odd behaviour for the duration of the morning.

He left it well alone, and oddly enough there was one or two times where he seemed to look away from her almost furtively.

If Amaya hadn't been keeping her gaze away from him the whole time, she might have noticed it.

Nagisa had bid himself farewell sometime between Karma opening that door and Amaya finally re-emerging after countless attempts at regaining her composure, which was probably for the best, cause the situation would be even more awkward with the keen-eyed boy to question it.

'You're mad, aren't you?' Karma questioned, breaking the long-standing silence on the walk up the Mountain Trail.

Uncomfortably, Amaya turned her head away from the redhead just a little.

'I'm not mad.' Amaya muttered in response.

She wasn't, honestly.

Just a box of conflicted emotions drenched in a morning of embarrassment and humiliation.

She acknowledged that it was an accident, and in truth she couldn't recall any point where she was well and truly angry at Karma.

Not even when he'd told the class she was a Yangire, was she truly mad with him. Just mad at what he'd said.

He was silent at first, seeming to weigh her words as he looked at her.

But then, just as he opened his mouth to say something, a voice rung out with sudden volume.

'Maya-chan! Karma-kun!' Maehara's voice rung out all of a sudden, cutting Karma off as a grip suddenly closed around Amaya's right wrist.

Startled, Amaya managed to turn her head enough to see the playboy cast her a bright grin as he tugged her forwards at a jog before he looked at Karma.

'Sorry to interrupt, but we;re borrowing Maya-chan for something!' Maehara announced, before he began to drag her along with him at a run. 'Please forgive us!'

'H-huh?! What the--' Amaya had managed to squeak out

'Hurry up, Yuuma!' Maehara called back to a sheepish looking Isogai, who was jogging after them.

And yet, there was no response from Karma in the least as Amaya was dragged out of sight.

'God damn it, let go!' Amaya yelped out, stumbling on her feet as Maehara continued to drag her along.

Casting a glance back down the trail, it was a few moments before Maehara seemed content with whatever it was he was doing.

'Sure!' He responded with a grin, releasing Amaya's wrist as he slowed to a comfortable walking pace.

Amaya breathed a sigh of relief as she regained her coordination.

'What the hell was that about, anyway?' She questioned, lifting her gaze to glare at Maehara's still grinning face.

'It was painful to watch all that tension between the two of you, so I thought I'd bail you out for the time being.' The playboy responded, grinning knowingly as Isogai caught up with them. 'Something happened, right?'

Furtively, Amaya turned her gaze away from Maehara as she was immediately reminded of her disastrous morning.

'Maehara.' Isogai spoke reproachfully at the sight of Amaya's dismay.

'What?'

'Some tact next time would be preferable.' Isogai remarked with a sigh, looking up at Maehara once again.

'Huh? Why's that?' Maehara questioned, his brow furrowing as he glanced at Amaya. 'Maya-chan already knows what we think of her and Karma – I told her ages ago.'

Amaya's brow furrowed slightly at those words, though she didn't say anything.

She was trying to think of any such instance where Maehara had said something of the like to her.

But the only thing she could come up with was on the way back from Kyoto, where Maehara said something about ships in reference to her and Karma.

Other than that, nothing really.

But she got the gist of it, even without understanding what the term ship meant in that regard – The two supported her feelings towards the redhead, even though she had never even said a word about it to them before.

So, she nodded ever so slightly in response to Maehara's remark.

'See?' Maehara spoke brightly, casting a victorious look at a rather bemused Isogai. 'I just got Maya-chan's vote of agreement!'

'I give up ...' Isogai sighed, though he did cast Amaya a small, wry smile.

'Oh! Putting aside that painful looking tension earlier, Maya-chan. I've been meaning to ask you something.' Maehara announced, turning his head to look at Amaya with a grin. 'I thought about it after seeing those photo's Koro-sensei showed us yesterday.'

A rather grim look appeared across Amaya's face, though she did look up at him after a second.

She didn't like the sound of that.

'Ignoring the fact that you're surprisingly hot in a swimsuit, why don't you swim?' Maehara asked her.

Amaya honestly didn't know what to think, let alone what to actually say to him.

The bizarre remark of her appearances had shocked her, well and truly.

But she was stuck on how to actually answer the question.

The suddenly tense edge of silence that had overcome her didn't fail to come to their attention, confusing Maehara at first.

At least until the nervous trembling of her hands came to their notice.

'Wait – Maya-chan ...' Maehara began, uncertainty across his face as he cast a glance at an equally as concerned Isogai.

'You're scared of water...?' Isogai finished in question.

Not scared, honest to god terrified of large bodies of it.

Though Amaya managed to incline her head in a very small nod, her gaze falling to the ground.

'Then that means you can't swim, either ...' Isogai surmised, much to Amaya's despondence.

It appeared that Maehara had noticed, because he lifted a hand to ruffle her hair gently.

'That's okay, Maya-chan!' The playboy reassured her, just as the classroom came into view. 'Everyone's scared of something, so don't feel bad about it! Just let us know if you ever want to conquer that fear! We'll rush to help you right away!'

Amaya didn't know whether he was legitimately offering, or he was saying it to make her feel better.

But she nodded her head in thanks none the less.

The atmosphere of the class was a little withdrawn, possibly because of Terasaka's little display with the can of gas yesterday. She almost wondered if others were having a little bit of disorientation troubles after it, but pushed the thoughts aside.

Most chemical smells did the same thing to her – Bleach amongst many things.

So it wouldn't really do her any good to speculate on it.

Terasaka just threw a can of some chemical, nothing more, nothing less.

Amaya dropped herself in her seat with that dismissive thought in mind.

Nagisa cast Amaya a sheepish smile when he'd walked in, others greeting her before wandering over to their other friends.

And Amaya decided that now, she could slump in her chair and shut the world off.

Or at least as best she could.

Karma had taken his seat at his desk just as the bell chimed through the PA speaker, and in wandered Koro-sensei to start the day off, though there was something very, very wrong with the sight of him at that second.

In one arm-tentacle was a handkerchief, the attendance folder in his other, and a lot of yellow slime was trailing down the sides of his face from what looked like his eyes.

Wait – His eyes?!

The mere sight of slime instead of tears pouring from Koro-sensei's eyes was enough to make Amaya feel rather sick to the stomach, and to be rid of the image, she buried her face in her arms crossed over her desk.

It didn't help that she could hear the octopus sniffle every now and then.

Though it sounded a little like he had a cold from the groggy sound of his voice.

Strange ... Could Koro-sensei actually catch a cold?

If he really was sick, maybe he should have called in a day off?

Karasuma sure as hell wouldn't have a problem turning the whole day into PE class.

So class began, more or less as one would expect a rather ill-seeming Koro-sensei to manage.

His usual energetic lessons were far more subdued, speckled with an incessant sniffling as his face continued to drain of slime. At one point, Amaya had almost fallen asleep, if not for the sniffling that began to agitate her.

Though the octopus honestly couldn't help it, and she understood that.

By the time lunch break had come around, Karma had disappeared – He'd decided to skip third period it seemed, and he hadn't returned since.

She wondered if there was something wrong.

He seemed more than just a little quiet, and there was a bit of tension about him, as if he was lost in thought.

But he was gone before she could get up the courage to try and ask him what was bothering him.

'Oi! Maya-chan!' Maehara had called out the moment the lunch bell had rung, leaping out of his seat to quickly approach the girl slumped over her desk. Koro-sensei was making his slower-than-usual way out of the classroom, presumably to go get his stockpile of sweets for lunch.

In response to Maehara's call, Amaya lifted her head just enough to peer at him over her crossed arms.

'What is it...?' She questioned of him.

'Come sit with us for lunch!' He announced with a grin.

'Lunch ...?' She repeated slowly, before a breath escaped her at a realization. 'Oh, I'll pass... sorry.'

Not the least bit deflated by her response, Maehara cast her a knowing look.

'You didn't bring anything to eat, did you?'

'I haven't felt hungry of late ... so I didn't make anything.' Amaya agreed with a sigh.

'You didn't eat anything yesterday, either.' Maehara added, his brow furrowing slightly as he thought. 'Or the day before ... you're not on a diet, are you?'

'What the hell, Maehara?!' A nearby Okano exclaimed, whirling around to fix the playboy with a rather angry look. 'You don't just ask a girl something like that out of the blue like it's nothing!'

'It's not that big a deal, is it?' Maehara responded.

'What it is, is inconsiderate, Maehara.' Kataoka interjected, fixing Maehara with a disapproving look.

'That's right! Katsuragi-san is a girl, too!' Kayano called out from her desk.

'U-uh its fine, really.' Amaya spoke up in an attempt at bailing Maehara out of the situation that had just transpired, though she couldn't help but wonder what the hell was even going on.

But the girls continued to berate the confused Maehara, none the less.

'Perhaps we should drop the subject?' Isogai decided to speak up, fixing Amaya with a knowing smile before he looked to the other girls. 'Amaya-san said its fine, so there's no need to argue the point.'

At the frantic nodding from Amaya, Kataoka let out a breath.

'You're right.' She agreed, causing Okano to pout slightly.

Thankfully, everything went back to the more subdued atmosphere that had been in place all morning, and after another decline from Amaya, Maehara returned to his desk at the front of class.

She made a mental note to bring a lunch tomorrow – The topic would probably come up again, and she didn't need it to when Karma might be here.

And so, as minutes passed, Koro-sensei returned with his snacks, Irina arrived to have her lunch here with Yada, Kurahashi and a couple of the other girls, and Amaya remained slumped over her desk.

She found herself wondering if Karma had left completely for the day, or if he really was just skipping.

She also wondered if his absence was because of her.

Though she didn't have too long to wonder about that.

Because the very second the door closest to Amaya slid open, Koro-sensei had let out a sudden exclamation.

'Oh! Terasaka!' Koro-sensei exclaimed, before he appeared right in front of the burly boy.

Amaya had lifted her head in time to see yellow slime showering Terasaka and nearby as Koro-sensei grabbed him by the shoulders and proceeded to talk in his over-dramatic way.

'Sensei was worried you wouldn't come in today!' Koro-sensei exclaimed.

Amaya was rather horrified by the sight, and as yellow slime came close to splattering her, she discretely picked herself up out of her seat, lifting her bag from the hook of her desk in the process.

'Oi, Octopus ...' Terasaka began after using Koro-sensei's tie to wipe the slime off of his face. 'Its time we killed you for real, so come to the pool after class. After all, water's your weakness.'

Amaya fell motionless in her retreat towards the windows, glancing up at Terasaka for just a second.

'You all come help, too!' He continued, turning his gaze towards the class. 'I'll knock him smack into the water for you!'

Maehara rose to his feet, a hand lifting to rub the back of his head as he fixed Terasaka with a rather exasperated frown.

'You haven't helped with anyone else's assassinations, Terasaka.' The boy began, his gaze narrowing with every word. 'And now, when it's convenient for you, you're ordering us around... you really think anyone's gonna jump at the chance to help you?'

A scoffed chuckle, as well as a sneer escaped Terasaka in response.

'Like I give a damn, either way. Hell, I'd be happy to have the ten billion yen prize all to myself.' Terasaka remarked, turning on his heel to leave the classroom.

It was the sound of approaching slime that had Amaya snap her gaze down to her feet, and her breath hitched as she found that the room was beginning to flood.

Though nobody else seemed to notice.

'U-umm ... Guys?' Amaya had begun as she resumed her retreat towards the windows, however everyone else was still preoccupied with the situation at hand.

'Well, I'm not going.' Kurahashi remarked on the topic of Terasaka's so called plans.

'Same with me.' Okano agreed.

And then the slime started pouring from Koro-sensei's face, causing Amaya to leap out of the window – Just in time, too.

'Oh, let's all go!' Koro-sensei announced, the slime cascading over everyones shoes in a sudden wave, causing everyone to finally notice the situation they were stuck in.

'Whoa! His snot's all hardened!' Kimura exclaimed, trying frantically to tug his feet out from the sea of yellow slime. 'We can't escape!'

'Here Terasaka is ready to assassinate me! This is the perfect chance for everyone to kill and make up!'

And much to Amaya's horror, Koro-sensei's entire form was then engulfed in a disgusting shower of slime.

She did not like the look of this.

Needless to say, Amaya didn't return to class.

She decided that not only was it pointless right at this second, but it was also safer for her composure – Too much more slime, and she was sure she'd get nauseas.

That, and she didn't like the way things were going.

She needed to think carefully about it.

She got a bad vibe from this.

A really bad vibe that just rubbed her the wrong way.

She was uncomfortable and fidgeting, waiting for some kind of catastrophe to occur, like how the Takaoka situation ended up in the end.

Because it honestly felt like that kind of situation.

And Karma wasn't in any of the skipping spots he usually went to.

So, she decided to waste time until the end of class, sitting up in the branches of one of the nearby trees to the classroom.

The fresh air would do her some good, and she would pick apart the foreboding feeling that was plaguing her.

Or at least she would try.

The end of school for the day came after what felt like a whole day worth of stewing on her thoughts, coming with the chiming of the school bell.

And after a few minutes, Amaya spotted her classmates beginning to file out of the classroom in their swim-gear.

It looked like Koro-sensei's announcement that everyone should go, was being taken as a command.

Realistically, Amaya felt like she should stay up in the tree, or leave so that she was as far away from the pool as possible.

But that foreboding feeling had gotten worse as she watched her classmates begin to make their slow, reluctant way to the pool, gradually more and more until she was certain that something bad was going to happen.

So, as she spotted Isogai and Maehara leaving the classroom next, she slid down the trunk of the tree she'd been seated in, and made her way over to her friends.

Unlike the few of her classmates nearby, Isogai and Maehara didn't look all that surprised to see her right now.

In fact, there was a look of reluctance about them, like they had been hoping against better judgment that she'd left after all.

No words were shared – The situation was that full of tension that it was just more comfortable if nobody spoke.

The pool was the same in appearance as the last Amaya saw it, pristine, untouched by the debris and garbage that had been thrown in it before.

And Terasaka was there, with one of the Anti-Sensei pistols in his right hand, pointing with a jabbing motion to the pool and barking orders.

One by one, if only to stop Terasaka from yelling and shouting, her classmates hopped into the pool as instructed.

Though they weren't happy about it.

It was Amaya stopped a few meters from the edge of the pool however that attention had gone to her.

'What're you doing here?' Terasaka demanded with a scowl, motioning to Amaya with the anti-sensei gun in his hand. 'That slacker's not here, so he sends you to watch, huh?'

'I have no idea what you're going on about.' Amaya responded flatly, pinching her leg sharply to keep her mind from the water just a few meters away.

'Whatever.' Terasaka dismissed as he approached the confused girl. 'If you're gonna watch, you might as well get in the water and help out--'

'That's not happening!' Kataoka suddenly spoke up, the snap in her tone of voice causing Terasaka to halt in his movements.

'Huh?' He responded, turning his head to look at the class rep. 'What business is it of yours?'

'Amaya-san has only come to watch, so please don't force her to participate against her will.' Isogai spoke up this time, stepping forward to stand in front of Amaya to face the disbelieving Terasaka with a stern gaze. 'You will be held accountable for what happens to her if you do.'

There was a rather startling stern edge to the Ikemen's words, a kind that sent a chill down Amaya's spine.

With nothing he could really say to such a remark from Isogai, Terasaka scoffed and turned his attention back to the others still standing out of the pool.

'You should probably find somewhere away from Terasaka to watch from, Maya-chan.' Maehara spoke up after a few seconds, turning his gaze to look down at the rather shell-shocked girl.

Hesitantly, she nodded her head and stepped away to do as she was told.

Biting her bottom lip hard to maintain her composure, Amaya scanned her gaze quickly across the pool area for somewhere to watch.

And she found it before long.

The adjustable dam wall at the far end of the pool overlooked everything clearly, and it was the only place with a large stretch of ground away from the water.

So Amaya decided that was where she was going to go.

Step after step, Amaya felt her heart continue to sink inside her chest a little more each time.

There was still no sign of Karma anywhere, and by now she was starting to think she really had managed to do something to bother him.

Discarding her bag onto the ground at the bottom of a nearby tree, Amaya shivered uncomfortably as she sat down on the other side of the miniature dam wall that kept all the water inside the intricately built pool that Koro-sensei had built for the class. Her legs dangled over the lip of the ledge that was a continuation of the rather deep stream, a couple of meters away from the water itself.

Her sense of smell was still wrecked from that stupid gas canister Terasaka had set off in the classroom. Everything smelled horribly like ammonium and sulphur to her, and it was doing a number on her other senses.

The burly boy was still shouting orders at everyone else who'd turned up, and now, Amaya was the only one he was ignoring.

Amaya was wishing she decided to stay in that damn tree, but that wrong feeling she'd been getting ever since Terasaka's declaration had stuck with her, and in fact it had grown stronger the very moment Terasaka started kicking everyone into the pool.

The feeling was so strong she felt she needed to stay in case something happened.

She needed to be here to help if that feeling of hers proved to be right.

Amaya didn't like the fact that despite how sure of this plan Terasaka appeared to be, he didn't seem the least bit confident in himself.

In fact, the way he threw his weight around almost desperately told her that he might not even understand his own plan.

But that was ridiculous – Who the hell wouldn't understand their own plan?

Except for a dimwit, maybe.

But she didn't peg Terasaka to be dumb enough for that kind of feat – He could honestly be rather smart if he just put the effort in.

'Ah, I see.' Came Koro-senseis voice all of a sudden, causing Amaya to snap her gaze up to look over. 'You'll knock me into the water and have everyone stab me, yes?'

Amaya watched as Koro-sensei came to a stop just a few paces away from Terasaka, gazing appraisingly at the group of students all spaced out in the water.

'And we even have Amaya-san here on standby, yes? Or perhaps she is just here to watch?' He added as he looked over at Amaya sitting the couple meters away from the edge of the water.

Nobody in the pool said anything to that – Maybe they didn't want to imply that there was a disagreement over Amaya's presence here?

'Tell me, Terasaka-kun: How will you knock me in?' Koro-sensei asked as he turned his head to look at Terasaka. 'That Pistol won't make me move a single step.'

There was a glimpse of certainty in Terasaka's eye, though he still looked uncomfortable – Hesitant even, as le looked down at the pistol in his hand.

That uncomfortable feeling in her gut grew even stronger, if possible, and she began to drag herself to her feet as she saw Terasaka turn and point the pistol at Koro-sensei's face.

'You ready for this, monster?' Terasaka asked, staring intently at Koro-sensei.

'Of course I am. My nose has even stopped running.' Koro-sensei responded with that jovial voice of his.

'I've always hated you.' The burly boy began, a look of ire appearing in his eyes as he glared at Koro-sensei. 'Wanted more than anything for you to disappear.'

Amaya noticed Maehara look over at her uncertainly, like he was getting a bad feeling about the situation, too.

The green stripes of Koro-sensei's smug expression appeared in place, however his words were somehow lost on Amaya – She felt all the colour drain from her face as she realized something crucial.

Terasaka was not dumb enough to expect that the Air-Guns with Anti-Sensei BBs would work – They'd spent the past three months failing to hit him once, and Nagisa had once told her about the BB Grenade that Terasaka had made because the Air-Guns were basically useless if Koro-sensei knew it was coming.

The only person who'd ever managed to hit Koro-sensei with a shot BB was actually Ritsu.

This wasn't even Terasaka's own plan, was it?!

Anger seemed to take hold of Terasaka, his entire form trembling as he continued to hold the gun to Koro-senseis face.

He then pulled the trigger without saying a word, however there was no BB – Even from where Amaya was standing, she didn't miss the red flash of light that appeared instead.

Electrical?!

Oh no!

But before Amaya had a chance to open her mouth to yell out, the world around her was thrown into chaos, throwing her off her feet in an instance.

The door of the dam a mere three meters in front of her exploded in a shower of debris, sending her flying.

She was met with the familiar embrace of liquid as cold as ice, dragging her terrified form beneath the surface as she was pelted with the many chunks of debris.

Desperate, frantic Koro-sensei fought to rescue all the students from the water before the edge of the waterfall, his tentacles swelling with water at alarming rates. Fast enough to move at Mach 20, fast enough to have been able to pull every one of her classmates out of the water.

And yet he wasn't fast enough to save Amaya in time – The Octopus didn't even know she was lost in the waters like the others.

A flash of sky-white shot through the air towards the falling girl dancing on the edge of unconsciousness, grabbing her by the back of the shirt before she hit the rocky ground below. The owner of the tentacle was particularly careful not to touch the liquid red that began to flow from the many abrasions and cuts she'd sustained from the explosion.

'Well now, this is a surprise. It's almost a pity we can't use you right now.' Came the deep voice belonging to Shiro, his anti-sensei clothes covering his entire form, as the last time his presence had been felt. 'You would be a useful hostage had you not already been injured.'

A seconds pause, long enough for Amaya's unseeing eyes to droop shut.

Familiar glimpses of a green-lit room danced inside her head, dragging her back into the depths of the nightmare lying just below the surface of her oceans-filled world.

'Itona, throw her downstream.' Shiro commanded, his eyes shifting from Amaya's limp form, to the boy holding her suspended in the air. 'We don't need to give the Target an incentive to lose his temper.'

'Understood.' Itona responded without hesitation, lifting Amaya just enough to throw her across the water of the stream.

She landed with a splash in the deeper parts of the stream, her limp form being swept away by the current.

Events took place, everyones attention ripped from the possibility of a missing student in preference for dealing with the situation that had suddenly arisen at the hands of an unknowing Terasaka.

Completely forgotten, overlooked, left to drift away in the rushing water.

She was left to writhe in the darkness, alone.

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

A much longer chapter than usual - 6996 words for your perusal. I considered cutting it in half, but it honestly didn't feel right to do so. And so, a bigger chapter for you all ^^

Translation notes ;)

Shinsui Torikago - Translates roughly as Flooded Birdcage, Shinsui being flooded and Torikago being Birdcage. It's written as 浸水鳥かご in Japanese, if I'm not mistaken ;)

All the best, guys~!

<3 Loki-Roki