It tastes like dust. The air is bitter and full of grime and it tastes like dust, but that's fine, because dust tastes far better than copper and salt.

Atsu rubs the bruise on his forearm almost gently, he has phantom pain on his ribcage. He thinks one of the bones may be broken. His hands have cuts and burns so he clenches his fist together, holding it out in front of him, glaring at his red palms. He'll ask Karasuma later for some burn ointment, for now Atsu will stare out the dirty window. He will watch the flying birds pass by him and he will think of sand and fish, he will forget the red marks on his ankles and he will breath in dusty air.

Everything is OK, and it wouldn't matter if it wasn't because he doesn't care anyway.

The flowers are bright purple, encasing the building that lay in lush, green grass, the sun was shining on the hot Monday morning. Weeds climb up the walls of the abandoned class. Dark hair was entangled and it's owner brushed through it with pale nimble fingers, dryly looking ahead. Atsu stared out the cracked window, his head on his palm. Karma nudges the blank boy in the side. "Yo, what happened yesterday, hn? You seemed on edge."

"Nothing, my parents are strict, I guess it was just odd being out past curfew." He boredly spoke back, not taking his eyes off the broken glass of the window. His voice is almost dreaded, full of something akin to fear, but not quite. He can hear her screaming, shouting for help.

"Ame-- no!"

He swallows and his adams apple bobs on his neck. He sighs, letting the memory disappear into fog, into nothing. He clams his eyes shut for a moment and shakes his head softly, his brain twitches in his skull and he tries desperately to distract himself. But then he remembers, and his panic driven eyes are empty again -- why do I care?

Karma's face is twisted into something new, his eyebrows are narrowed and his mouth is not in a smug grin as it normally is. He is concentrating, because-- did he just show fear? Karma is a rather observant person, he's methodical and a master strategist. He likes to pick on the little details of things, likes to see what makes them tick, what buttons to push when around them. That's why he'd hung around Nagisa so much in second year, the girly male had peaked his interest, the
blue haired boy was odd, but that source of entertainment was gone now, he had to figure out this new one. This boy who rarely gave him a chance to snatch a look at the type of game they were playing, let alone at the rules and requirements to play. And it made the redheaded delinquent want to beat him, to win this game he's completely made up.

Karma wanted to play a game the other participant didn't care about.

The door slid open and an group of three launched to attack their teacher, knives in hand. The octopus like teacher, predicting their course of action, dodged and set up chemistry class at mach twenty speed, not even breaking a sweat. The three swing and chuck at the speedy, inhumane target as he darts around to dodge their green knives, the white letters blur and mingle together with the wind. At some point they all collapse on the floor, exhaustion settles into their heavy limbs and they breathe as if the oxygen will go away, gulping at the sour, bitter, humid air greedily. One manages to wheeze out a doubtful remark. "Did he seriously dodge three knives while prepping lab?"

Atsu is sure they feel like lead, as if they cannot stand, as if the world is weighing on their flimsy shoulders.

The bell still took some getting used to, Okida flinched when it rung, snapping her eyes shut as her body shook. The sound struck a chord and they all let it echo through the wooden structure that was their classroom. Atsu sat next to the redhead, his head in its usual place, his hand, and his eyes hazed over with restlessness despite the dark under them. He refuses to sleep, he refuses. He will not let the premise of death destroy him. His class has to kill a literal alien in order to save the planet, so he cannot be scared. No, he will not. She's dead and nothing can change that, it just so happens his parents don't have that same mindset.

He rubs his head and strolls back into reality. His seatmate is smirking next to him and he doesn't have the urge to figure out why. Atsu's eyes drift to the teacher, who is explaining how to extract food dye from processed foods. Atsu already knows how, his parents taught him how to extract any coloring from any kind of source or surface, mainly something red. And they used hydrogen peroxide, but that was besides the point.

"Tada! And that's how we extract the coloring from processed foods!" The foreign teacher grinned, then a bustle of wind came by. The teacher attempts to steal Atsu's Fruit Snacks but the boy had hid them under the table. The teens pale fingers gripping at the small blue and white bag as if it were his lifeline.

His parents didn't give him any money, he found a hundred yen coin on a street corner and payed for the small bag of candy that way. The octopus didn't notice.

Their teacher paused and breathed heavily in front of the class, a mount of sweets piled on top of each other in his many arms. "I'll just... Take the leftover samples, thank you."

Then he zoomed away, and for a second it was completely silent. For a moment the birds stopped their incessant chirping and the wind froze in fear. For a moment Atsu could see her. Her eyes were different colors, she took after their mother for the most part, while Atsu and Kanashi both took after their father. She had one eye that was as dark as both he and Kanashi's, and the other was ice blue, hers, he could remember his mother crying when she was born. Cheering because finally, finally, one of her children would resemble her.

But that only lasted a second, then the students began to scream in protests as the teacher arrived back in his usual spot.

Okuda got up, he watched her and she shyed away from the mundane boys glance, meticulously stumbling to the teacher that arrogantly looked away from the class. Atsu took out his Fruit Snack from under the table and began to eat them. The chewy candy stuck to his teeth and he placed the empty bag on the whethered table, turning his attention back to the spectical bearing girl that held three full capsules behind her. Colored chemicals mixes sploosh around.

"I- I uh," Her voice is cracked and nervous, it shallows and rises.

The water was clear.

Was.

"Well, uhm," Her eyes are downcast, glaring at the shiny shoes her parents insisted on buying. Her eyes tear up, a glaze of wet encompassing the lavender orbs.

"Go on, speak up Okuda. What can I do for you?" The round headed teacher interrogates-- he just asked a question, Okuda, answer already! his beedy eyes look at her, he's mellowed out.

"Uh-uhm!" She brings out three things, a test tube, florence flask, and a breaker, all filled with different brightly colored liquid. Her hands are shaking, the liquid stirs in the container, droplets hang on the sides.

"P-poison s-sir! Would-would you drink it, pl-please!" The class stared at the act, curiosity oozing off of most of them. Karma and Atsu didn't react, Karma stayed with the same smirk on his face and Atsu was still staring out the window. He could almost feel the ocean on him. He could feel the seaweed on his feet, inbetween his toes. He could smell the fish and hear birds chatter on tree's nearby them.

And Karma stared at him. Wondering what was going on in that pretty little head of his, what could make the other wise blank boy look so... So contempt.

"Well... She doesn't bear around the bush," The orange haired boy that attacked their teacher earlier murmured loudly. Nagisa looks at him and nodds.

"I- I'm sorry. Is this... Weird?" Her glasses slip to the edge of her nose, the oval object curling to run away.

"Well it's certainly a straight forward approach and attempt, I'll give you that." Korosensei declares, his graduation hat swaying in the breeze from the open window.

A bird chirps. Red, black, and white feathers blowing in the wind. Atsu wishes he were like the bird. He wishes that he could fly away. That he were free, but he knows it is impossible, so he looks away for a moment, dull eyes dragging to the girl in the front of the class. He watches as strands of hair become undone.

"See, the thing is, s-sir, I'm n-not very good at being sneaky. I- I mean everybody e-else is so good at th-this stuff." She looks down, her braids bounce, dark indigo hair mulling jumping up and down on her tense back. "But m-me? What I'm good at is chemistry! And I put my he-heart and soul into th-these mixtures!"

"All righty then... " Sugino chuckles anxiously, blue hair sparkling in the sun. "U-uhm Okuda, points for throwing in, but nobody's that stupid."

Atsu mumbles to himself, "I'm not too sure about that."

A certain red haired devil turns his way. Red locks spur in motion, golden eyes stare like daggers, he smirks with anguish, as if to hide his pain. A laugh is caught in his throat.

"Your heart and soul?" The teacher cuts, lifting the elixir to his...lips? Mouth. "Don't mind if I do then!"He glugs the chemicals. The off-white substance dripps down from the bottle into the alien creature.

One second passes, then two, then three. At this point Atsu is bored again. He spaces out to the broken window. He's memorized how many cracks there are, where the sun hits the shards on the windowsil, how dull the scenery gets after so long. He is hopelessly lost. Lost in his own little world. The rain is heavier this time, it's tomorrow, after all. Atsu sighs in despondency. He better get home early tomorrow. The later he is the harder the beating. He can feel his back burning at the premise.

The teacher shouts and holds his oddly round head in his tentacles as strangled sound escape his throat as his face turns blue and the back of his head turns jagged, horns sprout from the top of his head like flowers in spring. Like snow in the winter air. Like gut wrenching news on TV.

Atsu takes in a deep breath of air.

It tastes like dust.

K is for Kismet;

Nothing has happened yet

Except her funeral, nothing is set

I hope and pray for a better day

When it will always rain

Because every day another life decayed

Another person is left unsaved

We make plans and work and fear

For a plan no-one has yet to hear

So whilst you sit and ponder

Just remember

Nothing has happened yet

The letter hasn't arrived

The words are still alive

Your heart is on your sleeve

And still you beg "Please"

I could never really understand why they all cared

Why they laughed or cried because they disappeared

But that's quite alright to me

It's fine, just let it be

I won't state awake at night

I'll just wonder childish things, like how to take flight

It's alright if you sit and wonder

Just remember

Nothing has happened yet