4. Climb

"I regret... everything."

Nao's suit jacket was off of him before he even started climbing. Five steps up the hill, he realized he was never going to make it. Code red, he was already late, so there were no students en route to school he could ask to help him out.

His heart began to clench, shrinking itself with the cries of reluctance in response to the exercise. It refused to supply the meager oxygen needed for his cells to-- respite and provide energy-- ugh, thinking about all this scientifically was a way of coping with the pain he felt.

Or maybe his brain was just giving out and he was genuinely going mad.

His legs resigned, and he leaned against a tree, deciding a break would be wise.

He was barely halfway up the mountain, but he felt like he'd run a marathon around the whole world. His head was pounding and his breath was erratic.

This was beyond the level of being unfit.

The goddamn E-class Mountain is ridiculous!

"I came here," he choked, "to teach-- not for a bloody hike--"

He didn't know how he'd make it up here on a daily basis. He didn't think much of it the day before, but this was impossible. He was sure the Board Chairman knew of his physical health condition-- but at the same time, maybe he just didn't care...

Nao sat down under a tree, leaving the path to hide under a shade.

Can't he like, just suddenly appear in the class every day like how it seems to be in every episode-- he sighed, head hanging down in defeat.

  "I wanna go home."  

  ー  

"Korosensei, what's... Karasuma-sensei doing out there?"

Kayano Kaede, seated by the window, raised her voice in concern. They were in the midst of 3rd period, Modern Literature, when she noticed a very familiar government agent standing at the entrance of the 3-E building.

His suit jacket was at his arm, the sun having been up for a while. A clipboard hung sorely at his fingertips and his feet tapped irritatingly impatient.

"Even though it's so hot outside..." Sugino Tomohito turned his attention outside as well, many other following suit, "is he waiting for someone?"

Korosensei was a little displeased at their diverted attention to his class, but he simply sighed with patience. "Well, I've heard we were supposed to greet a new teacher today, I suppose Mr Karasuma is waiting on him to show up."

"A new teacher?" 

Korosensei responded with a delighted 'uhn!', "apparently something happened back in campus, so he's getting transferred up here. It's a teacher from main campus."

The mention of the main building gave everyone a seething rise in their chest. Most, if not all the main campus teachers were the same-- they were uncomfortably discriminating, and the fact that they were students of Class E would only be pressured down further if they came up to this mountain.

But no-- weren't the tables turned? Why would a prideful teacher from main campus be sent here? A demotion? Tragic.

"Wait, even though you're here?" Isogai Yuuma was surprised-- surely, no normal teacher could just be shipped up here with this octopus around! "Didn't the government have anything to say about it?"

"About that," Karasuma Tadaomi was suddenly at the window now, overhearing their conversation and deciding to come into the shade for a while, "the Board Chairman was quite insistent about it. Apparently the new teacher's gotten caught up with the law."

"With the what?" Kimura Masayoshi gawked, "a Kunugigaoka teacher. What did he do?!"

Karasuma sighed, scratching the back of his head in resignation, "the government are unfortunately not in a good position to go against him, so we had no choice aside from submitting to his decision, on the condition this new teacher adheres by the same rules you students would."

Akabane Karma leaned over the window, interested now, "sounds awesome!" he mused, a grin crawling up his face as he plotted-- ah, revenge; sweet sweet revenge against all those irritating teachers back in the stupid main building-- "So, when's he coming?"

"Well, that's the thing--" Korosensei turns to the clock, concern in his tone as his face falls sullen in concern, "he should have been here by homeroom, but as we can see, he's nowhere to be found."

"You think he skipped?" Nakamura Rio suggested snarkily, sarcasm high in her tone, "I mean, this is the E class after all. It's kind of a humiliating demotion, isn't it?"

Karasuma groaned, muttering words of a waste of time. He turned back to the clipboard-- one page of the new teacher's personal data, given by the Board Chairman for brief reference.

"Is that the new teacher?" Kayano Kaede spotted the clipboard, leaning over to take a closer look, "well, since he's a teacher from main building, wouldn't some of you guys recognize him? Lesse..."

Now basically everyone was absorbed in the missing new teacher. As much as Korosensei was devastated, he was keen to figure the situation-- a new teacher meant new company, after all. Most likely someone with superior authority over him? Oh no--

"Uh, his name's... Mr Kunomasu," Kayano read out, Karasuma turning the board toward her so she could read easier, "Mr Kunomasu Naomasa."

It was like glass shattered in the atmosphere-- the entire class aside from Kayano and the teachers just froze up in utmost horror.

"Huh?" Korosensei noticed the frozen silence, "what's wrong, everyone?"

Mouths hung agape and eyes widened in dread--

"This is bad," Karma chortled nervously, breaking the silence.

"You think he's alive?" Terasaka wasn't sure.

"Sugino, Kimura, let's go!" Isogai was dashing out the door, Sugino Tomohito and Kimura Masayoshi tailing after him without question. 

"Huh?! Wait, class??" Korosensei freaked out.

  ー  

"Oh, you saved me," Nao sighed, leaning into Kimura's back.

Sugino was holding Naomasa's bag; and Isogai was holding his jacket. They were making their way up after finding their teacher contemplating life and watching clouds in melancholy somewhere halfway up the hill.

In actuality, his water had run out somehow and he was contemplating his will, but they didn't need to know that.

Being screamed at by kids from a distance was mortifying, but so was getting pulled into a piggyback against his will all of a sudden, so he just gave up and waited for the trip to end.

"You could've called," Isogai chuckled, "we would've helped you up before class began."

"I overslept, you see," Nao groaned, "things are hard when you get yelled at by the Board Chairman for socking a kid in the face."

"You what?" Sugino and Kimura were utterly appalled.

"It's a hassle to explain, so pretend you didn't hear that," Naomasa grumbled, "congrats, Kuma-sensei belongs to you guys from now on. Good night."

"As much as we're happy to hear that we have you," Sugino sighed, "...wait, are you sleeping?"

"I'm falling unconscious," Naomasa insisted, his voice faltering as his head hung at the boy's shoulder. "Let's just say I lack oxygen and am getting a heat stroke, so I'm fainting from the excessive temperature rising inside my body. Science. Won't get you full marks in a test but I've always hated biology so it doesn't matter."

"It's spring and it's still morning!" Kimura was mortified, "you're just using the excuse to take a nap, aren't you?"

Naomasa tutted.

"He just clicked his tongue!" Sugino reported.

"Then I'm dying, good night." 

"Kimura, run up!"