Chapter Text
An assassin. That is what Karma Akabane was.
He doesn’t remember the days before that title became his identity. His parents had been the ones to bring him into the world of assassination, and he had been the one to take them out of the world.
His parents were not assassins themselves, they merely used him for the money he got from his kills. They were involved in some shady work, but apparently the money they received from that was not enough. So, when Karma received a request to kill his parents, he can’t say he was upset.
The warm embrace of a parent was replaced by the heat of freshly spilled blood. The joyous laughs of others were replaced by the cries of his victims. He never went to school because it was deemed as unnecessary for someone like him. The only hand he had ever held was the handle of his blade.
The scene of the kill was horrific. Their corpses could barely be identified as such, what with all the mutilated, dismembered limbs. Karma denies that he was driven by his emotions as he killed them.
Since then, he had worked as a freelance professional killer. The state of the bodies after he had finished with them were gruesome. Often times, they were covered in numerous stab wounds and occasionally body parts would be chopped off, even if it was not requested specifically by the customer. It’s not that Karma couldn’t kill with one strike, it’s just that, put simply, he is a sadist.
Karma doesn’t necessarily know the reason why he is the way he is, but perhaps it is because it is all he has ever known.
He had also begun teaching himself what he had missed out on at school. Until killing his parents at age 11, he had never had the chance to begin doing such things. He particularly enjoyed mathematics, and he already spoke a decent amount of English as it was decided that it would be useful. Karma decided that if this is all school was, he probably didn’t miss out on much. He could teach himself just fine, and he probably wouldn’t take kindly to a teacher telling him what to do.
This continued for a while longer. When he was 14, he was approached with a strange request.
Karma was not a legendary assassin like The Reaper, a man he had only seen once in his many years of being an assassin, but he was somewhat known amongst professional killers. Some did not agree with his gruesome style of killing, feeling that kills should be done quickly and cleanly, and others felt unease or, occasionally, even fascination towards him.
Despite this, he didn’t expect to get a request from the government.
He had been asked to meet them in a discreet location that they had decided on. When he had gotten there, they had begun to explain their request and handed him a sheet of paper.
Assassination orders for specified dangerous creature.
The assassination of the following dangerous creature is ordered in accordance with the Ministry of Defence:
1. Target
Attached below was a picture of some kind of yellow, octopus-like creature, using one of its many limbs to hold a rectangular sign saying ‘president’ on it to its yellow-and-green-striped face. Its mouth was curved into a sharp-toothed grin, its shape resembling the now-unchanging crescent moon. The clothing it wore was odd, like it was some kind of scholar.
2. Special notes regarding operation
The subject’s existence is a state secret.
The subject plans to destroy Earth in one year.
Be cautious of the subject’s incredible abilities.
A fee of ¥10,000,000,000 will be paid upon success.
Handle with care.
”Interesting,” Karma said.
“As you can see, our situation is a desperate one. Needless to say, this information is shared in the strictest confidence. Break the non-disclosure clause and you will be subject to a memory wipe,” a woman wearing a light grey suit stated, her hands folded in front of her.
”Yikes,” Karma responded.
”You are to join Class 3-E as a student. Your fellow classmates have already been debriefed. They’ve done their best, but so far to no effect. In a week, you will report to E-Class and assess the situation. From there, you are authorised to proceed as you see fit.”
“Whatever,” Karma drawled, lazily discarding the piece of paper behind him with a flick of his hand. “You expect me to take him down with this? Seriously.”
In his hand was a green, rubber knife. He bent the flimsy blade experimentally.
“Correct,” the woman spoke again. “That knife, while harmless to humans, is designed specifically with your target in mind.”
”Huh. Human, not human. Doesn’t matter to me.” Karma stabbed the knife through the page. “Either way I’m good. Should be a lot of fun.”
It was clear these people were professionals, as the look in Karma’s eye would be enough to terrify any normal person.
The day had arrived.
This request was like nothing he had ever received before. Despite this, Karma felt rather intrigued. He had killed countless people over the years, and recently, there had not been a single person who could put up a decent fight. The corpses he left behind had been even more horrifying than usual since he hadn’t had any fights to take his bloodlust out on. He was looking for a challenge.
The old, wooden classroom was situated on top of a grassy mountain. Class 3-E was separated from the rest of Kunugigaoka Junior High School. They were the lowest of the low, the were at the end.
Karma smirked.
He stood outside of the run down building, a carton of strawberry milk in one hand, and the other hand in his pocket. In the distance, he spotted the infamous Class 3-E students returning from a training session. Karma wanted to see their skills for himself.
The chatty students stopped in their tracks when they saw him, his red hair blowing gently in the wind.
”Hey,” Karma said.
The class stared at him in bewilderment. Clearly they were not informed about his arrival. But, Karma wasn’t interested in that.
There was his target. Korosensei, as he was told, was a name the students had given it. It came from korosenai, meaning unkillable, and sensei, meaning teacher.
He thought the idea of this thing being a teacher was laughable.
“Oh, that must be the notorious Korosensei,” Karma smiled and walked past the students, heading straight for his target while appearing nonchalant.
“Wow, he really does look like an octopus.”
“Ah, Mr Akabane,” Korosensei said, raising a tentacle. “Is that correct? I understand that your suspension ends today. Welcome back.”
The creature grinned.
”That said, tardiness is a no-no.” Its face turned purple, and a bold X appeared on it. Karma couldn’t help but feel that something about Korosensei was familiar, but he would remember if he had seen something so bizarre before, so he brushed off the thought.
”It’s kind of tricky getting back into the swing of things,” Karma chuckled, a bashful smile on his face. “Oh, feel free to call me by my first name. Anyway, I’ve heard some good things about you, teach. Nice to meet you.”
Karma extended his hand.
“The pleasure’s all mine. Should be a fun and educational year,” Korosensei responded cheerfully, accepting Karma’s handshake.
Splat!
Its hand exploded. Karma wasted no time grabbing the handle of the knife he had hidden in his sleeve and delivering a swift strike.
Smack!
He had managed to cut off half of a tentacle with that slash before Korosensei had moved away so fast it looked as if he were teleporting. It could be better, but it was good enough for his first try.
”Wow, you are fast, aren’t you? Who’d have thought these knives actually work?” Karma smirked, raising his hand and turning his palm towards the nervous Korosensei. “I just cut one up into strips and tacked them on. Pretty elementary stuff, chief.”
Along Karma’s hand were numerous thin strips of an anti-sensei knife stuck onto his palm and fingers. “I’m disappointed that’s all it took to catch you by surprise. But good jump, if you don’t mind coming off like a fraidy cat.”
Karma’s eyes were dark, his smile sadistic. He walked towards Korosensei, bloodlust radiating from him. “What, are you scared of me?” Its tentacle grew back. “I heard they call you Korosensei because you’re supposed to be unkillable.”
The killing intent coming from Karma was enough to make the other students break out into a cold sweat. They were frozen in place, unable to look away.
Karma gave Korosensei a vicious smile, leaned down and stared him with murderous eyes that were shadowed by his hair. “Oh, come on, no way you can be this big of a pushover.”
Korosensei’s face turned a furious red. It looked as if it were about to kill him right then and there. As Karma walked away, flipping his knife, murmurs broke out amongst the students, questioning just who this new classmate of theirs was.
“Stick around next time, Korosensei. I’ll show you what it’s like to be assassinated. You won’t want to miss it.” Karma didn’t look back as he walked through the crowd of students.
Karma’s hands twitched in his pockets, eager to fight, to pull a trigger and to grab the handle of a dagger. He wasn’t ready to reveal himself as an assassin just yet, though, so he held back.
Karma scanned the classroom with a calculating gaze.
There were 26 students including himself. He was given a list of all of them including names and photos before he entered the school. A group of students sitting near him at the back of the classroom had begun to talk to him during the test after Korosensei was yelled at by a female student for punching the wall, producing a somewhat irritating sound.
If he was being honest, he had no interest in talking to these people. They seemed to be the type who were all brawn and no brains, but when matched against Karma, they had no brawn either.
These students had no chance of even hurting Korosensei, let alone assassinating him. Well, at least not at the moment.
“You sure you know what you’re getting yourself into Karma? The jellyfish is sincerely pissed off at you,” Terasaka, if he remembers correctly, asked him.
“You can’t pay me enough to be in your shoes,” Yoshida said.
“If I was you I’d stay at home with my head under a pillow,” Muramatsu added.
Karma pretended to be interested in this conversation. “Of course he’s pissed. Who wouldn’t be if someone made an attempt on their life? Lest the would-be assassin screwed up and pissed himself in the process,” he said with a smirk on his face.
”I didn’t piss myself,” Terasaka exclaimed as he banged his fist on his desk. “That attitude’s gonna get your ass kicked.”
Karma held back a scoff. As if this guy could even come close to matching him in physical combat.
“Quiet please! No noise during a quiz,” Korosensei interrupted. “Continue to talk and I will assume that you’re cheating.”
“Sorry Korosensei, my bad. No worries though I’ve already finished,” Karma spoke almost mockingly. “I’m just gonna eat this gelato if that’s okay.” Karma pulled out a pink gelato cone.
”Not so fast! No eating in class!”
Karma stared with an innocent smile.
”Hey! That’s the gelato I brought back from Italy yesterday!” Korosensei finally realised.
”Huh? Sorry, my bad. I just saw it chilling in the faculty lounge,” Karma said like he had no idea what he had done.
“This won’t do young man! I flew through the coldest layer of the stratosphere to keep that delicious treat from melting!”
“Yeah? So? What’re you gonna do?” Karma licked the gelato and smiled. “Hit me?”
”Of course not,” Korosensei’s face was that furious red again as he approached Karma. “I’ll simply have it back and finish what’s left, thank you very much.”
BAM!
Scattered on the floor were countless anti-sensei BBs. Korosensei’s tentacle exploded as he stepped into Karma’s trap, letting out a noise of uneasy surprise. Karma attempted to get some shots in with his gun, but Korosensei dodged those easily, as he had expected. It takes too long for a bullet to reach a target that can move at mach 20 speed.
”Wow, that’s three times in one day, teach,” Karma laughed as he walked towards Korosensei. “I’m not going to stop trying to assassinate you. If you want me to stop, though, you could just kill me, or anyone else in this class for that matter. All you have to do is stop acting like you’re some kind of teacher. Show me some of that ugly side we both know you have.”
Karma shoved the gelato into Korosensei’s abdomen and twisted.
Squelch!
Inside of the gelato was an anti-sensei knife. Karma had managed to get the blade about halfway through him before it could reach any further. The class was absolutely bewildered.
Korosensei was shocked too.
Karma stared at him with cold eyes. “That’s the fourth time today.” Korosensei had backed away, the knife Karma was still holding being pulled out. “Here’s my test, easy peasy. Peace out for now, teach.” Karma threw his test to Korosensei, who caught it with a blank look on his face.
Karma left the class for the day.
That night, Karma stood amongst a pile of brutally murdered corpses. He had been thinking about the day’s events, and although he hid it at the time, the way in which Korosensei had reprimanded him made a cold rage surface within him. He already guessed that he wouldn’t enjoy the nagging of a teacher, but he didn’t think it would make him so angry.
He hadn’t held back on his latest job, so he just decided to kill anyone who could become a witness too. He had been hired to kill the leader of a group of criminals and ended up wiping out the entire group. Their hideout was an abandoned building, so they were the only witnesses around.
As he wiped off the blood from his knife and his hands, he thought about how he was going to kill Korosensei. Realistically Karma knew it was unlikely that he wouldn’t be able to pull it off on his own. The tricks he had previously pulled probably only worked because Korosensei hadn’t been expecting it and was flustered. Now that his target had time to think about it, Karma would have to think of something bigger to get a chance to kill it on his own. Despite that, the thought of killing it on his own made him feel oddly pleased. Perhaps Korosensei had reminded him of some past experiences.
Karma decided not to dwell on the reasons too much.
The next day, Karma didn’t pull anything during class.
The students had expected him to do something, but nothing had happened all day. It was like he was taunting Korosensei, keeping him on edge.
“Hey, Nagisa,” Kayano began, turning to the desk on her right. “That new student, Karma, do you think he’s planning something?”
”Im not sure, I was kind of expecting him to pull some kind of trick during class, but nothing’s happened yet,” Nagisa responded.
”Right! I thought the same thing!”
“Are you guys talking about the new kid?” Rio, who was to the right of Nagisa, joined in.
”Yeah, what do you think about him? Did you also think he’d do something?”
”I mean, after managing to hurt Korosensei four times in a day, it’d be kind of hard to expect anything else. Instead, he’s just been sitting through class like nothing ever happened.”
Nagisa frowned. Even after he had been diligently taking notes on Korosensei’s weaknesses, he hadn’t even gotten close to hurting his teacher. Then, a new student suddenly appears, and after hurting Korosensei three times, he even manages to stab him. They had collectively assumed that Karma was a violent student who would continue to relentlessly attack Korosensei, but it was starting to seem like he was more calculating than they thought.
Once the day had ended and not a single assassination attempt had occurred, everyone was confused. They began to wonder if the first day was just a fluke, and, after not being able to assassinate Korosensei after four attempts, if Karma had given up.
Nagisa saw Karma heading to the edge of the mountain and decided to follow him. When he arrived, he saw Karma sitting on a branch dangling over the edge of the cliff, seemingly deep in thought. The sky was a dark grey and the wind was loud but gentle.
“Uh, hey, Karma,” Nagisa called out hesitantly.
”Hm? Oh, Nagisa, right? What’s up?” Karma responded, turning his head to face him.
”Yeah, that’s right. Uh, I was just wondering if you were going to pull any more assassination attempts. You might have heard already, but I have notes on Korosensei’s weaknesses. We can do it as a group, you don’t have to do it alone.”
”Thanks for the offer. It’s probably better to do it as a group, but the thought of killing someone like that myself pleases me.”
Karma’s smile was sadistic.
”Oh Karma!” Korosensei’s voice sounded from nearby. “Have you given up on trying to kill me? You shouldn’t, I certainly don’t get tired of surviving your attempts.”
Karma chuckled as he stood up. “Just so we’re on the same page here, you pretty much consider yourself a teacher above all else?”
”That’s right.”
”Cool. And you wouldn’t think twice about putting your life on the line to save a student?”
Nagisa watched this scene play out, unease crawling within his gut.
”What sort of teacher would I be if I did?”
”That’s awesome. Good to know. So I can kill you.” Karma’s smile was hollow as he raised his gun.
”Knew there had to be a way.”
Karma leaned back and fell from the cliff, his gun pointing upwards, his expression one of deranged amusement.
As Karma fell through the air, everything felt as if it was moving in slow motion.
This was Karma’s first time being a school student, but he realised that this was not the first time he had been taught.
They say that your life flashes before your eyes as you die, and that is what was happening to Karma as he plummeted down from that cliff.
When Karma was a young child, he had been sold to an organisation that specialised in professional killing. He was the youngest there by far, being only about four years old at the time. He can’t remember his life before then.
The conditions were harsh, and they didn’t go easy on him just because of his age. Within the dark, dingy basements of the organisations, killers were made. Karma was one of them. Day after day, he was trained to be a weapon. Even as he coughed up blood as he lay on the floor with broken bones, barely clinging to consciousness, he was reprimanded in the form of deafening yells and brutal hits.
They trained him to handle being starved. They trained him to handle being drugged. They trained him to handle being sleep deprived. They trained him to handle being tortured. At some point he began to think that they were just having fun. Like he was something to take their frustrations out on.
He was taught how to fire a gun with perfect accuracy and how to kill someone with only a single strike of a knife. He was taught how to immobilise targets in silence and how to fight them in hand-to-hand combat.
He killed over and over again. Every time he completed a job, the money would go to his parents. He rarely ever saw them, and when he did, they would either mockingly thank him for the money he’s making them or just ignore him entirely.
He resented his parents.
No, more than that, he resented the world he was forced to live in.
Countless trainers would beat him and torture him as some kind of twisted form of teaching. As if Karma could believe that was teaching. They were just taking turns venting their anger out onto him.
The only times he ever felt something close to happiness was when he fought or killed. A sadistic feeling of joy would burst out from within him when it was finally his turn to make someone else feel pain. He couldn’t go all out though, since he was strictly taught and instructed to kill as cleanly as possible.
So, seven years later, when Karma was requested to kill his parents, he decided to ignore that instruction and pour his resentment into every move he made. Limbs were cut off and chopped into pieces. Flesh was torn apart. Organs spilled out of their bodies. Blood surrounded their corpses like an ocean.
With his parents gone, he felt as if there was nothing holding him down anymore.
Karma left that organisation soon after claiming the money for his parent’s murder for himself. He then began his work as a freelance professional killer and decided he didn’t want to be a student to a teacher again.
As he fell, Karma really registered the fact that he was going to die.
Every teacher he had ever been a student to had claimed that everything they were doing was for his own good, but they really all just screwed him over.
They’re all dead to him now.
Karma’s expression was crazed as he got closer to death. No matter what Korosensei had said, a teacher wouldn’t do something like giving their life to save a student’s life. At least not a student like Karma. So, he accepted that he wouldn’t get to kill Korosensei by shooting it as it swoops down to save his life, but at least he could kill its reputation as a teacher. After that, this creature would once again become just that, a creature. That bullshit about being a teacher to help its students was nothing but a fantasy all the other students seemed to be playing into.
And if being a teacher was so important to it, then the death of that reputation was just as good as an assassination.
Fwish!
A spiral of tentacles flew towards him and before he could even process what was happening, he fell into a sticky web with a gasp.
“Well done. A splendidly premeditated assassination attempt. Full marks. Neat, huh? I knew your body couldn’t take being plucked out of free fall at the speed of sound, and had I moved any slower, you would’ve shot me. What a tangled and sticky web we weave, eh?” Korosensei explained.
Karma struggled to move. “What the hell? Is there anything these tentacles aren’t capable of?”
”Can’t shoot me now, can you?” Korosensei laughed teasingly, but it didn’t seem unkind. “Oh, and for future reference, students do not die on my watch. Ever. Take that to heart for the next time you jump.”
The clouds parted as he said that, the warm sun casting its golden glow. Karma stared at him with wide eyes, struggling to comprehend the situation. Despite the risk to his own life, Korosensei had decided to save Karma.
Though it was small, Karma smiled a genuine smile of contentment for the first time in a while. The teacher within Korosensei might really be true, and it refused to die.
A short while later, Karma and Korosensei had returned to the top of the mountain where Nagisa was waiting for them.
”I don’t get it, how were you so calm the whole time?” Nagisa asked as he peered over the edge of the cliff.
“No big. What really sucks is that may have been my best bet.” Karma responded rather indifferently.
”Aw, run out of ideas already? Come on, no way you can be this big of a pushover,” Korosensei said, imitating Karma’s voice as he repeated the words Karma had spoken to him the previous day.
Karma still felt like killing something. This time, though, somehow felt different.
”No worries teach, you’re still dead meat.” Karma made a gesture of cutting his throat.
“That’s the spirit. Never give up. It seems my act of saving you has paid off.” His face turned a pale orange and a bold circle appeared on it.
Karma tossed a purse up in the air as he began walking away. “Well, I’m gonna head back. Nagisa, grab yourself some food.” Karma threw some money towards Nagisa.
”If you’re gonna pay, you should come with me,” Nagisa said to him, a little surprised.
”Nah, I’ve got somewhere to be,” Karma responded with a smile.
Korosensei suddenly made a noise of disbelief. “Excuse me, that’s my purse!”
”Come on, teach. You’ve gotta stop leaving stuff unattended in the faculty lounge.”
”Give it back!”
”Here you go,” Karma smirked as he tossed it to him.
”Gimme, gimme!” Korosensei hastily opened it. “Uh, hey, this is, uh, empty.” He made a show of tipping the purse upside down.
Karma grinned at Nagisa, giving him a silent explanation as to where that money came from.
”There wasn’t much in there to begin with. Call it a donation.”
Korosensei was in utter disbelief. “A donation? A donation? For what? The honour of putting up with your troublemaking? How gracious!”
Karma walked away with a light shining in his eyes.
At the beginning of their homeroom period around a week later, a blonde woman wearing a rather revealing outfit for a teacher was all over Korosensei.
Karma knew this woman.
Irina Jelavić. A first-rate assassin who specialises in honeypot assassinations and has the skills to back it up. She even wrote a book about infiltration and approach.
Despite all of this, Karma thinks she’s kind of a bitch.
Years ago, when he had still been working for the organisation, he had been teamed up with her for an assassination. Numerous important political figures had been gathered at an event for the night, and Karma had been requested to assassinate two of them, whereas Irina had only been given one target.
Being 10 years old at the time, Karma had been told to act as Irina’s child. She would spend the night charming her target, and when things would eventually end with them going to a room together alone, Karma would be left with his two targets, a male and a female in a relationship, for supervision.
The issue came with the number of targets given to them.
Karma’s job had actually been much easier. Although he had two targets, Irina’s target was a cautious man who had resisted the charms of honeypot assassins many times in the past. That was why she was hired, because she was so skilled.
Somehow, she didn’t seem to take this into account, and started insulting Karma, asking why a second-rate assassin with the skills of a school delinquent got two targets when she only got one. Karma thought she was being rather immature, despite him being a child at the time. He had given her an incredulous look, and she had told him to just leave the work to the professional and not to get in her way.
After they had both finished their respective jobs, Irina had told him not to hinder her work with his sub-par skills again, like he was the one to decide to team up with her.
So, though they had only met once, he and Irina were not on the best of terms.
”My name is Miss Irina Jelavić, nice to meet you all!” Irina exclaimed cheerfully as she clung to Korosensei. If he didn’t know better, he would think that she was completely in love with their teacher.
“We decided to bring on Miss Jelavić in the interest of beefing up the English curriculum,” Mr Karasuma spoke up, appearing unbothered by the scene taking place right next to him. He glanced at Korosensei. “No hard feelings, I hope.”
“She’s uh, very qualified,” Mr Karasuma reassured.
“No harm in that, is there?” Korosensei responded joyfully.
Karma heard students chatting about how she must have a thing for Korosensei, but they should also realise that she’s most likely here to do more than teach English to them.
He tried to ignore Irina’s tangent on how attractive she finds Korosensei. He also tried to ignore Korosensei’s face that had literally turned pink.
He just hoped that she would ignore him. Or, better yet, wouldn’t remember him.
For their next class, Korosensei had taken them outside to play a game where every time they pass a ball, the attempt to kill him. After a while of this, Irina ran outside, waving.
”Yoohoo! Hope I’m not interrupting anything darling,” Irina greeted. “Mr Karasuma tells me you can go mach 20 and I just had to see it with my own eyes.”
”Well, he might have exaggerated a tad,” Korosensei said bashfully.
“I hate to ask this but I would be ever so grateful if you could fetch some Vietnamese coffee.” Irina pressed herself against Korosensei and stared up at him with sparkling eyes. “I thought maybe you could grab it while I run the students through their English lesson.”
”But of course, mon cher. It just so happens I know a fabulous cafe in Vietnam!” Korosensei jumped into the air and flew away at mach 20.
The bell, signalling the start of their next class, rang out.
”Uh, it’s about that time, Miss Irina,” Isogai began. “I mean that’s the bell. Shouldn’t we head back?”
”Sure whatever, knock yourselves out. Teacher needs peace and quiet though so make it a study hall,” Irina replied, the ditzy woman they had just seen now gone. “And another thing, let’s agree not to call me Miss when the octopus isn’t around. And we’re definitely not on a first name basis, so drop it. When he is around, call me Miss Jelavić.”
”Ha. So what’s your game, Miss Jela-bitch?” Karma taunted.
Irina’s head turned so fast it looked as if it would snap. She dropped the cigarette she had lit up and stared at him with eyes full of rage. She stormed over to him, fury in every step.
“You little shit. What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Irina snarled at him, grabbing his collar and dragging him forwards.
Karma stared at her with cold eyes. Fighting her here could prove to be problematic for him, so he wanted her to back off quickly. She should know that she can’t harm the students though, so it was more an issue of getting her to keep quiet about his identity as an assassin.
”Just giving you some advice as someone who’s been playing the odds, but you can’t kill the octopus without help. Not that you need it, you’re supposed to be a pro, right? A student like me shouldn’t have to tell you that,” Karma smiled innocently. He was trying to subtly tell her not to reveal his identity, that these people thought of him as just another student.
“Who do you think you’re talking to, you brat? Don’t tell me what to do.”
He could tell that she had picked up on the message, but to the other students it looked as if she was referring to the advice on assassinating Korosensei that he gave her.
”You don’t have to take my advice, you’re the pro, after all. But your plans for assassinating Korosensei might backfire.”
Karma was not only secretly communicating that if she revealed his identity, he’d reveal her plans to Korosensei. Not that he needed to, Korosensei probably already knew, but she didn’t have to know that. No, he really did also believe that trying to assassinate Korosensei on her own wouldn’t work.
Irina let him go, shoving him backwards. “Don’t think this is over.”
”Sure thing, Miss Jela-bitch.”
”No nicknames!” Irina turned around. “Anyway, you’re Nagisa Shiota, right?” Irina strutted toward Nagisa, grabbed his face and crashed her lips onto his.
The class gawked at the bizarre scene. Some of the guys were kind of jealous. Kayano even let out a scream. Karma couldn’t help but smile evilly.
“Do me a fav. Show me what you’ve got on him,” Irina said as she pushed Nagisa’s head into her chest. “Grab your special little notebook and meet me in the faculty lounge in 10 minutes.” She dropped him on the ground and pointed in the general direction of the rest of the class. “That goes for any of you snot-nosed punks who feel like you’ve got intel worth sharing. Give Miss Jelavić something useful and I’ll let you go home while these gentlemen stand in for you.”
A group of three men carrying an assortment of black cases appeared in the near distance and came to a stop behind Irina.
”This is what separates the pros from the amateurs, boys and girls. Connections, and a little thing we like to call technique,” Irina lectured. “Now piss off. Go play. Oh, and a word of warning from those of us who know our job, get in the way and you die.”
Karma felt like he was getting déjà vu.
“Wow, the great Irina Jela-bitch needs connections to get the job done? I’m surprised,” Karma laughed. “So much for being a pro, I guess you’re only a second-rate assassin.” Karma referenced the words she said to him during their first meeting with a mocking grin on his face.
Irina scowled at him and shot him a murderous glare. Karma stuck his tongue out at her.
As Irina walked off with the love struck men, the class could only lament over the fact that the cool professional assassin they thought they’d be getting ended up being such a bitch.
Back in the classroom, Irina sat behind the wooden podium, ignoring the class. That was until everyone had decided to call her Miss Jela-bitch. This led to her lecturing the class on the correct way to pronounce the letter V and then continuing to ignore them yet again.
Karma frowned. Irina was an intelligent woman, but her arrogance was making her look unprofessional. Her belief that she could kill Korosensei so easily was foolish. He felt that her plan would fail.
He was right.
Karma had decided to skip the shooting practice and hang around on the mountain. When he heard roaring gunfire, he lazily stood up from his spot against a tree and jogged over to where the sound was coming from.
He soon found that the commotion was coming from a small shack next to the main building. If he judged correctly, there were around three guns in there, each with immense firepower. On the ground, he could see a bullet that had pierced through the wall. A real bullet, not an anti-sensei BB. Irina was not helping to improve her reputation here. Not only could Korosensei most likely dodge all of the bullets, they wouldn’t even work on him.
A short while later, the gunfire stopped, and some questionable noises were heard instead. The rest of the class had gathered round, and, following behind Korosensei, was Irina Jelavić in a retro gym outfit, looking dazed.
Karma promptly decided that he didn’t want to know more and headed back to the classroom.
The students were all seated, either studying or lazing around like Karma. Irina, though, was scrolling through a tablet with a frustrated expression on her face.
”What’s with the wi-fi in this place? Are we on Mars?” Miss Jela-bitch yelled.
“Wow, looks like Miss Jela-bitch is pissed off. I know my pride would be in shambles if my plan went tits up,” Karma taunted with a smirk.
Irina turned her head towards him rapidly.
“Excuse me, Miss,” Isogai spoke up before she could say anything.
”Ugh, what,” Irina spat.
“If you’re not going to teach us anything, you mind if we swap you out for Korosensei? It’s just, we’ve got entrance exams coming up.”
”Ha! You want to swap me out for that disgusting creature?” Irina interrupted. “You’re worried about entrance exams when the planet is on notice? Must be paradise not knowing your ass from a hole in the ground. Give it a rest, even if the Earth wasn’t on the brink of destruction, entrance exams are for students with a future.” She stood up and placed a hand on her hip, staring down her nose at them. “News flash, that’s not any of you losers. How about this kids? Forget the studying. Help me brainstorm on how to kill the octopus and I’ll give you a nice percentage of the reward money.” She began gesturing boldly, speaking to them like they were below her. Karma doesn’t know how she could still act in such a way after being humiliated by Korosensei. “That’s the best deal any of you E-Class jerk-offs are gonna get out of life. Otherwise, knock it off with the whining.”
A piece of stationary thrown at her cut off her ranting.
”Get out,” one of the students commanded.
Irina froze when she looked up. The students of E-Class were shooting daggers at her with their eyes.
Moments later, the class erupted into a cacophony of shouts. The students weren’t going to sit quietly as she berated them. Kayano held a sign, advocating against big boobs. A variety of items were thrown across the room.
Karma could sense the presence of Mr Karasuma outside the room, lingering by the doorway. He was probably frustrated by this whole situation. Mr Karasuma was a man Karma was yet to speak to, but from what he had observed, he didn’t seem to look down on E-Class, and he took his job seriously. He could tell that the man was skilled and not to be underestimated. Karma thinks he could take him down if it ever came down to it though.
Eventually, Irina stormed out and entered the staff room, slamming the door so hard behind her that the sign broke.
“That’s right! Get out of here, you bitch!” Kayano yelled, still holding her sign.
They had decided not to sit and sulk about it, and instead decided to practice their assassination skills. They played a game similar to badminton, where, instead of using rackets, they used wooden knives. This helped them enhance the hand-eye coordination skills needed to hit a moving target.
It was a method of training that Karma wasn’t used to.
He felt somewhat uncomfortable, like he didn’t belong there. He wasn’t unhappy though. This whole classroom atmosphere was just so unfamiliar to him. Karma was rarely ever around people his age, and when he was, it was usually during assassination jobs, where he would often end up killing them to avoid witnesses. He hadn’t really had a friend before either, now that he thought about it. Actually, there wasn’t even anyone he cared about.
He wondered how he would feel if something happened to these people.
Hours had passed since the outburst in the classroom, and the students were back in the main building. The persistent chattering of the class came to a stop as Miss Jela-bitch walked in and began writing an English sentence on the chalkboard, the scratching sound filling the room.
“What word does incredible modify?” Irina asked the class, a determined look on her face. “You know this one.”
Everyone returned to their respective seats and began to pay attention.
“Read it aloud,” she commanded.
”You are incredible in bed,” the class chorused.
Irina began telling a story about when she assassinated an important American figure and linked it to the English grammar she had begun teaching. She had the attention of the class and made some good points. Karma had to hand it to her, she was doing well turning this around. He suspects Mr Karasuma had something to do with it.
”Don’t expect me to be like the octopus. He can help you with your errands exams, which isn’t without value I suppose. All I can do is help you learn the art of conversation,” Irina began, avoiding meeting the eyes of the students. “Here’s the deal. If after a while, you think this is stupid, that I’m not a teacher, fine. I’ll give up my assignment and leave.” She paused for a moment. “So, this ought to put us on the level, right? Oh, and, I’m sorry about being such a bitch.”
The class stared at her in surprise, gasping, before breaking out into hysterical laughter.
”Well, talk about a 180. First you want to kill us, now you’re acting like a wuss,” Karma laughed.
“I gotta say, you make a more convincing teacher with this attitude,” Maehara said.
”I suppose we shouldn’t call you Miss Jela-bitch anymore,” Okano added.
“You’re giving me a chance? You’re not upset with me?” Irina spoke with disbelief in her tone.
“To be fair, we didn’t exactly get out of the right foot with that nickname,” a student admitted.
”Maybe not, but we’ve got to call her something,” another classmate responded.
”How about Miss Hella-bitch?”
”Uh, or, we could just agree to move away from the whole bitch motif altogether. I’m not opposed to going by Irina if you guys don’t mind calling a teacher by her first name,” Irina tried to reason.
”Yeah I’m sorry, I wouldn’t plan on the bitch thing going away anything soon,” Maehara laughed.
“Mhm. Not that Miss Irina isn’t a pretty name, it’s just not as fun to say as Hella-bitch,” Okano agreed.
”Professor Bitch sounds classy,” a student suggested.
The students agreed on the name.
Irina let out a high-pitched squeal. “I hate you brats so much!” Professor Bitch screamed.
Laughter erupted once again in the classroom.
The following day, Mr Karasuma had decided to teach a long training session. Karma had skipped these sessions when they had occurred, but he had decided to take part. If he wasn’t on a job, Karma would train during the day, but now the he attended school, he had been slacking off.
They started off with practicing how to strike with a knife. The class practiced an attack pattern that they had already learnt that Karma would also know had he shown up to these sessions before. It wasn’t difficult for him to pick up though, having memorised it perfectly after having seen it twice. It was actually rather simple. Well, perhaps Karma wasn’t one to judge whether it was difficult or not, having struck a knife thousands upon thousands of times and having figured out the attack patterns of countless opponents over the years.
“That should be enough for now,” Mr Karasuma spoke up after about ten minutes.
“Wow, Karma, man, you learn quickly. You don’t even look tired,” Okajima complimented.
Karma looked around briefly, noticing that a lot of the students were breathing heavily. He simply smiled and brushed off the comment.
”Nah, it’s nothing. I mean, look at Sugino, he looks more energetic than usual,” Karma said.
”Oh, well, I like baseball, so I guess I’m used to the exercise,” Sugino humbly stated upon hearing his name being spoken.
”Alright, enough talking,” Mr Karasuma interrupted. “Now that you’ve warmed up, I want to move on to our actual training. First, we’ll be focusing on shooting.”
Karma, though preferring knives, was no amateur when it came to shooting. He had spent countless hours being trained in shooting during his time in the organisation, and had enhanced his skills even further after leaving.
”We’ll begin by practicing shooting on stationary targets,” Karasuma explained. “After that, we’ll move on to sparring with knives.”
”Like, against you?” A student asked worriedly.
”No, I’ll be pairing you up with one of your fellow classmates. If you were to spar against me, it wouldn’t be much of a fight.”
Karma wondered if that applied to him too. He did want to spar with Mr Karasuma, or at least observe him in a fight, since he hadn’t had the opportunity to witness his skills as an assassin.
”Getting to fight our classmates? Sounds fun. But I wouldn’t be so sure, Mr Karasuma. It’s a long shot when it comes to Korosensei, but we might have a chance against you,” Rio said with a smirk
”Don’t be too hasty,” Karasuma responded stoically.
There were four human-shaped cutouts with markers to display where to target. Each student was given a target to stand in line behind, and, when reaching the front of their line, they would empty a round, attempting to hit the centre target each time. They would then wait for Mr Karasuma’s feedback, and return to the back of the line.
Most students took their time lining up their shots, trying to get the most accurate shots in the class. Some students, namely Chiba and Hayami, were better than others, but none of them were great this early on in the training.
Many of them were wondering how Karma would be with a gun. He had hurt Korosensei four times on the first day, and was still the only student to actually land a hit on him. They thought that he might be somewhat quicker than most of them and get his shots relatively close to the centre of the target.
But then Karma’s turn actually came.
He raised his gun, taking only about a second to aim and began shooting without hesitation.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Karma didn’t pause between his shots. His eyes were focused, but his body was relaxed, like this was nothing to him. It looked as if he wasn’t trying, but then the class looked at the target.
Every shot had hit the centre of the target with deadly precision.
”What the fuck?” Someone yelled.
The loud voices of the students overlapped with one another, voices filled with disbelief.
Even Mr Karasuma was surprised. Karma stood silently with his gun lowered, looking in his direction, waiting for his input.
”Go to the back of the line,” Mr Karasuma said stoically, but Karma could see the gears turning in his brain.
He didn’t know how to feel about that.
Further down the row, Karma could see Terasaka, Yoshida and Muramatsu glaring at him. He met their eyes and gave a smirk, causing them to scowl at him, but look away nonetheless. They seemed to have some kind of problem with Karma, but if he was being honest, he couldn’t care less. If they wanted a fight, then Karma would give them one. Not that they stood a chance against him though.
”Karma!” Nagisa exclaimed, hurrying over to Karma with Kayano following close behind. “That was awesome, dude. How did you learn to shoot like that?”
”Yeah! Honestly, it was kind of shocking,” Kayano added.
”I guess I’m just a quick learner,” Karma said with a shrug. It was a somewhat pathetic excuse, but he thought that at most they’d just assume that he was more violent than they had originally thought. He considered holding back a bit in the training.
Now that he thought about it, he didn’t really need to hide the fact that he was an assassin. At first, he had hidden it to lower Korosensei’s guard when he had made some attempts at assassinating him on the first day, but he no longer had that advantage. After hurting him four times in a day, Korosensei was likely to have his guard up when it came to Karma whether he knew he was an assassin or not. So, why did he keep hiding it? It’s not like the others wouldn’t accept him, they had two assassin teachers already.
And then he realised what he had just thought.
Oh, so that was it.
He wanted his classmates to accept him.
Karma could almost laugh. He hadn’t even been in Class 3-E for a month yet, but he was already thinking such pointless things. Why should he care whether these people accept him or not? They’re not from the same kind of world. Things like school spirit and friendship are just fantasies to someone like Karma. He shouldn’t allow something like that to hinder his progress. If they didn’t accept him as an assassin, then that’s fine. At least that way, he wouldn’t have any distractions.
So, he decided he wouldn’t hold back.
From then on, whenever Karma’s turn came, the students would watch, some more discreetly than others, as Karma continued to shoot the target at a rapid speed with such incredible accuracy. It was clear to them that it wasn’t just a fluke, but real skill.
However, Mr Karasuma’s face, though appearing expressionless to most, continued to harden every time Karma’s turn came. He didn’t seem concerned, but there seemed to be something other than plain curiosity on his face.
The knife duels were rather uneventful for Karma.
He had been paired up with Isogai, and, although he seemed like a nice guy, he was rather average when it came to combat. Karma had flipped him over and pinned him to the ground, his knife pointed against Isogai’s throat. It had ended in about five seconds, but it was already over before it began. Isogai was no match for Karma.
They were the second pair to fight, so Karma, deciding he didn’t feel like watching the rest of the class fight, skipped class and headed into the forest surrounding the mountain. There, he began his own training. He decided that he may as well make use of the area and practice his parkour and movement techniques. For approximately half an hour, Karma had expertly manoeuvred through the vast woods, making barely a sound. Stealth is one of the key skills that one should master in order to become an assassin, and that Karma did.
Upon hearing the rest of the students heading back to the classroom, Karma decided to take a break. This mountain was inaccessible to anyone outside of the school, which he liked since it meant that he could train with his guard lowered. Standing near the edge of the forest, back turned to the classroom, Karma caught his breath, attempting to relax.
Something gripped his shoulder.
On instinct, Karma grabs what he realises is a hand, spins around, grabs their shoulder and knocks the offender down to the ground. He attempts to grab his knife, which he remembers is no longer an actual knife, but a rubber one, however his wrist is grabbed before he can.
”Karma!” the offender shouts.
That voice belonged to Mr Karasuma. Karma looked at who was pinned down below him, and there he was. It all happened so fast, he didn’t even stop to think that whoever had approached him was almost definitely going to be a student or a teacher. He had just been thinking about how the mountain was inaccessible to those outside the school.
Karma quickly let Mr Karasuma go, as did his teacher. He said that he’d stop holding back, but he meant in training. This just made him feel a bit uncomfortable. Exposed, even.
”My bad, you startled me,” Karma laughed sheepishly, trying to play it off.
“Yes, that’s my bad,” Karasuma said, maintaining his stoic facade. He stood up, brushing off the dirt on his clothes. “I was going to tell you that training has finished, and that class is beginning now that it’s over.”
“Oh, thanks for the heads up.”
Karasuma simply nodded and walked away, both of them pretending that it was normal that Karma, supposedly just a violent student, was able to flip over a professional assassin.
Karasuma sat in the staff room, lost in thought.
”What’s up with you? Don’t tell me you’re tired just from training those kids,” Irina asked.
Deciding he could use a second opinion, Karasuma looked up to meet Irina’s gaze. “That Karma kid,” he began, but ended up not finishing the thought.
“Don’t get me started on him. He’s such a little shit, getting in my way.”
Karasuma didn’t know what she was referring to, but didn’t question it for the moment. “He’s just a student, you shouldn’t take the things he does so personally. You’re a professional,” he said.
”Just a student my ass,” Irina scoffed. “I’ve still got a grudge against that brat, but I can admit now that he’s not second-rate like I thought when I first met him. Being able to keep up with me at that age is rather impressive.”
Karasuma gave her a puzzled look.
”Oh, right. Years ago, I was teamed up with Karma for a job. I wasn’t happy about it at the time, thinking he would hold me back. Can you really blame me though? He was only about 10 years old at the time. Well, in short, he kept up well. In fact, he didn’t even seem to struggle at all,” Irina recounted.
”What do you mean you teamed up?” Karasuma could assume what this meant, but he wasn’t certain.
”What? Don’t tell me you don’t know. Karma’s an assassin.”
Karasuma tensed imperceptibly. Karma had hidden it well. He had his suspicions about the boy, but it was still somewhat surprising to hear it confirmed.
”I’m surprised you weren’t informed, though. Perhaps it was to allow him to surprise the octopus.”
Karasuma nodded. “I assume so. That guy is quite sharp. If I had known, he might have picked up on it. I doubt it, though.”
They fell into silence. Then, Irina spoke up. “What brought this on anyway?”
Karasuma retold the encounter he had with Karma in the forest, how he had managed to take him down.
”Hahahaha! No way, that kid took you down? Some assassin you are,” Irina laughed hysterically.
Karasuma groaned, opting for focusing on his work instead of humouring her further.
Karma woke up in his barren apartment in a cold sweat, his heart racing and his breathing laboured. Pain began to bloom in his head, causing him to groan. Turning to his side, he grabbed his phone to check the time. The light from the screen was blinding, which wasn’t doing anything to help his steadily worsening headache. The time was 2:58AM, meaning he had only gotten about 40 minutes of sleep. He shut off the device and let it drop to the floor.
These kinds of nights were not new to Karma. Memories of the past invaded his mind as he slept, making him wake up in fear after only sleeping for a short while. He was able to function without much sleep anyway, due to his training in the organisation. He was used to going about his days with minimal sleep and excruciating migraines.
After closing his eyes and failing to fall asleep again, Karma rose from his bed, tossing aside the sweat-soaked sheets. He may as well get ready.
That day, Karma arrived at school before anyone else, even the teachers. He leaned against the wall of the Class 3-E building, drinking a carton of strawberry milk. The sun was still rising, painting the sky a warm orange colour.
In the near distance, he spotted Mr Karasuma walking up the mountain, arriving even before Korosensei. Karma pointedly avoided his gaze, feeling somewhat ashamed of his actions the day prior. He had respect for Mr Karasuma, so he felt a bit bad about attacking him, even though he didn’t realise it was him at first.
”You’re here early, Karma,” Mr Karasuma greeted, having come to a stop in front of him.
”Guess so,” Karma responded with a shrug, still not meeting his eyes.
There was a brief pause before Mr Karasuma spoke again. “I heard that you were an assassin.”
Karma glared at him, his eyes turning dangerously sharp. “And? What of it?”
The man didn’t react, remaining indifferent. “You hid it rather well. Though, I had suspected it. It certainly explains how you were able to pull off what you did yesterday.”
Karma looked away once again, the look in his eyes becoming less murderous and more shameful. “Right, my bad about, you know, attacking you, or whatever.”
”It’s not a big deal. In fact, it’s rather impressive that you managed to catch me by surprise. I’ve been in the industry longer than you’ve been alive, after all.”
”No need to flatter me. I’m not planning on doing it again.”
”Do you think you could surprise me a second time?”
Karma raised his head. “Is that a challenge?”
”Make of it what you will,” Karasuma responded expressionlessly, walking past Karma to enter the building.
Karma laughed, pushing himself off the wall to enter the building too.
A while later, Korosensei had entered. He was pleasantly surprised to see Karma, teasing him by asking if he had given up his so-called bad-boy attitude. Irina was, unsurprisingly, the last teacher to arrive. Karma assumed she would arrive after the students, but it seemed that she really had begun to take her role as a teacher seriously.
Korosensei had eventually left to accompany Mr Karasuma and Professor Bitch in the staff room, leaving Karma alone in the classroom. Their voices passed through the walls, and golden rays of sunlight spilled into the room through the slightly open windows that let in a gentle morning breeze.
It would probably be a while before the other students arrived. Just because he could handle sleep deprivation doesn’t mean he enjoyed it. Karma crossed his arms on the desk and laid his head down on them, closing his eyes.
He fell asleep.
Karma was in one of the dark, dingy basements of the organisation. His body was considerably smaller, and he could hardly keep his eyes open. He had been training for hours, blood staining the cold, concrete floor.
“Karma,” a deep voice called out. It was one of his trainers. “Never fall asleep in front of your enemies. You are most vulnerable when you are eating and when you are sleeping. Stay awake.”
“Yes, sir,” Karma said.
”If you fail to remain awake, then you must never let your guard down as you sleep. Always be prepared for an attack. That includes now. You know the consequences if you’re not ready.”
He knew very well. Karma was often extremely tired after his training sessions had ended, so he would be barely awake once he relaxed his body. It wasn’t a time for resting, though. No, it was used as training. His trainers would allow him to sleep, but he had to practice keeping his guard up during that time. At some point during his sleep, he would be attacked. If he failed to take down the attacker before he avoided their kill strike, then he would be forced to take the same attack again, but much harder, when he was awake.
He had repeated this training many times.
A kick to his ribs, Karma broke their leg. A hand grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, Karma crushed their fingers. A punch to his face, Karma snapped their arm in half. A body pinned him down, Karma smashed their skull.
Karma’s eyes refused to stay open, even as he fought against the pull of sleep.
”Fine, just go to sleep. You know what’s coming, anyway,” his trainer told him.
Sleep overtook him the instant he was given permission to give in to it. His body fell limp and his breathing evened out, but his guard didn’t lower.
Someone grabbed his shoulder.
The staff room was quiet. Irina had been lounging around for a while. Karasuma was making a point of ignoring her, only replying to her with single words or grunts. She leaned back in her chair and groaned. That was when Korosensei walked in.
”Greetings, my fellow educators!” The octopus called out cheerfully. “I take it you have seen that one of our students has arrived particularly early.”
“Huh? Who?” Irina asked.
”Ah, so you haven’t seen. It seems that Karma has decided to become a diligent student.”
”Seriously? That kid?” Irina sounded surprised, her eyes widening slightly. She stood up to check if he was lying. If he was, she’d kill him for trying to trick her.
Peering through the classroom door, Irina saw Karma’s head down on the desk, resting on his arms. She froze in place, somewhat shocked at what she was seeing from the young assassin.
”Is he asleep?” She couldn’t help but ask aloud, feeling that she needed to confirm what she was seeing.
”Oh? It seems so,” Korosensei answered, appearing behind her in an instant.
A student sleeping on their desk was not a strange sight, in fact, it was rather normal. She just didn’t expect that Karma would allow himself to sleep in a place like this. Perhaps it was because the other students hadn’t arrived yet.
Pulling her eyes away from the peculiar sight, Irina headed back to the staff room with Korosensei.
About half an hour later, students began to trickle into the classroom. Since Karma often skipped classes, seeing him asleep wasn’t surprising to them. Most students just ignored him, not seeing a reason to do anything more than that.
After a while, someone spoke up. “Karma, wake up,” Muramatsu called out. “Homeroom is about to begin.”
Karma didn’t wake up.
“Karma! Wake up!” Yoshida tried.
Still, Karma remained asleep.
”What’s this guy’s problem?” Terasaka scowled. “Hey, asshole, we’re trying to be nice here. Stop ignoring us.”
”Is he pretending not to hear us?” Muramatsu said as he stood up. “Can the high and mighty Karma not hear lowly peasants like us? Do you think you’re better than us?”
Muramatsu grabbed Karma’s shoulder.
Karma instantly woke up. His chair screeched against the floor as he shot up from his seat, grabbing Muramatsu’s arm. Before anyone could even process what was going on, Karma had thrown Muramatsu over his head and slammed him into the ground. The sight was almost comical, but really, it was terrifying.
Muramatsu’s head whacked against the ground, blood pouring out of it. He could barely even let out a groan of pain before Karma was pinning him down and pointing his anti-sensei knife at his throat.
The class was silent, frozen in shock, still struggling to comprehend what they had just seen. The entire thing had happened in only about five seconds, if that. It was like Karma was asleep, and when they blinked, Muramatsu was bleeding on the ground with Karma looking like he was ready to slit his throat.
Karma looked at the anti-sensei knife in his hand, and his hollow eyes glinted with recognition. He climbed off of Muramatsu and pocketed his knife. “My bad,” Karma said. “You startled me. Hey, don’t touch a guy whilst he’s sleeping.” His tone was casual, like nothing had happened.
The silence in the classroom disappeared. Shouts erupted from the students. Confusion. Shock. Worry. Anger. Disbelief. Fear.
Yoshida hurried over to Muramatsu, glaring at Karma. Outraged students yelled at him, not understanding why he had hurt a classmate. Terasaka stood up, about to grab Karma and give him a piece of his mind, but before he could, the door opened.
”Students,” Korosensei greeted, his voice cold. “What is going on here?”
“This piece of shit just attacked Muramatsu out of nowhere!” Terasaka yelled angrily.
”Yoshida, take Muramatsu to the staff room. Karma, is this true?”
”Yeah, it is,” Karma answered casually, shrugging. “It’s not like I did it on purpose. I already said it was my bad anyway. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
”All he did was try to wake you up!” Maehara yelled from across the classroom. “Sure, they might have been riling you up a bit, but that was way too far!”
Multiple students agreed vocally. Karma’s eyes darkened.
“Yeah, I hate to say it, but it wasn’t right,” Kurahashi said shyly.
”Karma, your behaviour was out of line. Injuring other students is not behaviour that is tolerated in this classroom,” Korosensei reprimanded.
Fury built up inside Karma, spreading through his veins like a raging fire. “Don’t fucking speak to me like that,” he said, his icy tone contrasting the burning anger within him. “I’m not some crazed animal that needs to be put on a leash. He just startled me, that’s all. It’s not like I’m out for blood.”
”Watch your language. You should speak to your teacher with respect.”
Something in Karma snapped. He felt like he was in those cold basements again, being scolded by his trainers.
”Stop acting like you’re above me. Don’t do this, don’t do that. You don’t have any right to try and control what I do. I’ll speak to you however the fuck I want to, because you’re not my teacher. You’re my target. That should be the same for everyone else in here,” Karma bit out. He glared murderously at Korosensei, who looked a bit shocked at his behaviour.
His anger came out as a cold fury, freezing everyone in place. He didn’t yell, he didn’t break anything, but he didn’t need to. Karma’s presence alone was crushing, so much so that the other students couldn’t even utter a word. They were too terrified to try.
The door slid open. Muramatsu walked in, a bandage wrapped around his head, glaring at Karma with anger. However, as soon as he really saw him, that glare disappeared and was replaced with an expression of fear.
Karma left the room, his steps light as he reached the doorway and brushed past Muramatsu. He closed the door behind him, and only then were the other students able to move again.
Karma walked down the hallway, the old, wooden floorboards creaking with every step he took. As he neared the staff room, Irina and Karasuma felt his fierce presence approaching. Instinctively, they prepared for an attack, but when they realised it was Karma, they felt more troubled than wary.
”Hey, Karma,” Irina called out as he came into view. “What’s with that murderous aura? Are you out to kill someone?”
As soon as she pointed it out, that so-called murderous aura disappeared without a trace. It was somewhat unnerving.
”No,” Karma said calmly, stopping outside the door. “Even if I was, it’s not like the knives and guns we use here are real.”
”Oh? You can’t kill without a knife or a gun?” Irina said with a smirk.
Karma grinned. “We both know I can.”
“Irina,” Karasuma said, aloof as ever. “You should focus on your work.”
”Loosen up, teach,” Karma smirked, stepping into the room and taking a seat. “It’s way too early in the day to be working so hard.” He leaned back in his chair next to Irina.
Karasuma simply glanced at him and proceeded to return his focus back to his work. Neither of the teachers said anything against him being there.
”Wow, have you had a change of heart? You’re sticking up for me. Perhaps I was wrong about you,” Irina said, only half pretending to be moved.
Karma gave her an incredulous look. “I didn’t have a change of heart, this is how I’ve always been. You’re the one who’s making assumptions.”
“Agh! Don’t look at me like that!” Irina blanched. “You’re the same kid from back then, for sure. You’re giving me the same look as you did when we first met.”
”That’s because you’re still a bitch,” Karma shrugged.
Irina gaped at him, shocked at his sudden change in attitude towards her. “You brat! Are you trying to piss me off?” She yelled, her frustration mounting. As Karma pointedly ignored her, she turned her attention to the man sitting across from her. “Karasuma! Can you believe this? Huh? What’s with this kid?”
Karasuma, also, ignored her.
“Argh! What is with these guys?” She groaned.
”Shouldn’t you be working?” Karma said, having begun doing tricks with his knife with ease.
“Shouldn’t you be in class?” Irina shot back.
Karma huffed out a laugh. As the room fell quiet, he realised that the fury that had threatened to consume him had simmered down. He had felt betrayed by Korosensei and his classmates, because, despite what he had told himself during the training session, he did want to be accepted. His whole life, people stayed away from him, always feeling that something was off about him, and when they did get close, they only saw him as a tool that they could use. He thought that, perhaps, this class could accept him. Now, he felt foolish for even entertaining that thought.
But, these two seemed to be tolerate him at least. Irina knew he was an assassin, yet she acted so boldly towards him, as if he were a regular student. Even when they first met, despite him not appreciating her judgement, she treated him like a bratty kid rather than a spine-chilling creature or a tool. He had even attacked Mr Karasuma, but he had brushed it off like nothing had happened, like he was the one who made a mistake instead of Karma. He felt like they understood why he acted the way he did. It wasn’t something he was used to, and it made him feel somewhat exposed, but he wasn’t entirely opposed to it.
A genuine smile appeared on Karma’s face.
As the sun began to set, the landscape was once again painted in a golden hue. Karma sat with his back pressed against the trunk of a tall tree in the forest situated on the Class 3-E mountain. The school day had been over for a while, all the other students having already left. The constant rustle of leaves being swayed by the breeze and the warmth brought by the light that emerged through the gaps in the trees lulled Karma into a state of ease, though his heart still remained cold. A particularly strong gust of wind disrupted that atmosphere, however. He already knew what the cause of that was, but he purposefully ignored it, waiting for it to make its move first.
”I see you haven’t left school yet. Are you sticking around for some extra learning?” Korosensei called out.
After receiving no response, he stepped forward and continued to speak. “After you left the class, the students explained what had happened. Some of them came to your defence, asking me not to punish you too harshly since they didn’t believe you would hurt a fellow classmate on purpose.” Karma stilled upon hearing that, a mix of relief and rejection stirring within him.
“I, too, believe that this is the case,” Korosensei continued. “The fact still remains that I do not tolerate violence against other students, but I am aware that this incident was most likely the result of an involuntary reflex rather than a deliberate attack.”
Korosensei was now stood beside Karma, who was still not looking at him. “I should also note that I have no intention to control what you do or how you act, Karma. It seems my earlier comment may have been inappropriate at the time, and I should have focused on what you were saying rather than how you said it. For that, I apologise.”
Slowly, Karma raised his head and met Korosensei’s gaze. “I am here to guide you as your teacher. The rest is up to you. That is all I am able to do,” his teacher told him sincerely.
Karma’s face was blank, his expression unreadable, but inside, his thoughts were in turmoil. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He was supposed to be angry at Karma, and so were his classmates. He was supposed to scold him for his actions, and Karma would continue to be mad at him for it. The other students were supposed to isolate him, and Karma would return to being the ruthless killer he always had been. How was he supposed to kill this guy if there was no rage driving him? How could he continue to hate the world he lived in if his classmates brought him into theirs? Is that why he was okay with Irina and Mr Karasuma accepting him? Because they also lived in a dark world? He wanted his classmates to accept him, so he could finally escape from the shadows and bask in the light. But, at the same time, he didn’t want to leave the life he had always known, unsure and afraid of what waited for him outside of it. If his heart felt the warmth of the light, could he ever return to the darkness should he no longer be accepted by the others? He was scared.
”Karma,” Korosensei’s voice cut through his thoughts. “I believe your fellow classmates have understood what occurred today and want to move forward. You, too, should move forward with them. It’s okay to open yourself up to them, and to let them open themselves up to you.”
Karma’s expression appeared mostly calm, but his eyes were shaking, and a faint sparkle could be shaky in them. “I shall wait for your arrival in class tomorrow,” Korosensei finished. After a pause, Karma nodded. The light that emerged through the gaps in the trees shone past his teacher brought with it a warmth that reached Karma’s heart.
The next day, Karma walked into the classroom feeling strangely nervous, an emotion he often didn’t feel in these situations, if at all. His classmates chatted animatedly, though the atmosphere felt somewhat gloomy.
“Karma!” Nagisa suddenly shouted, shooting out of his seat. Karma paused in the doorway and the class went silent, surprised by his sudden outburst. Nagisa, too, seemed surprised by his own actions, suddenly looking sheepish. “Um, well, I know we’re not that close, but, uh, about yesterday,” he trailed off, his eyes darting around the room as he tried to compose himself.
”At the time, I didn’t say anything, and I feel really bad about it. Actually, a lot of us do.” As he said that, quiet murmurs of agreement sounded out and small nods were seen. “We should have backed you up when you were there, and it felt like you were getting attacked just because we didn’t understand the situation.”
Karma was momentarily stunned, not expecting this kind of reaction. “Yeah, uh, thanks,” he said, unsure of how to act. “You don’t have to feel bad about it, though. I’m the one who messed up, so you don’t have to do anything unnecessary.”
Some other students seemed like they were going to add on to his statement, but a loud voice interrupted them.
”Oh, boohoo,” Terasaka spoke up, scowling. “Stop acting like this guy can do no wrong. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not some lackey that’s going to bow down and pamper him like he’s some kind of king. He said he’s in the wrong, and I agree. Did you forget he literally threw Muramatsu to the ground?”
“We’re not saying what he did was right, but we can at least understand that it wasn’t something he did on purpose,” Rio said, turning around to scowl back at Terasaka.
Before he or his group could respond to her, Karma spoke up again. “I don’t think of anyone here as one of my lackeys, and I don’t want you to treat me like royalty. You don’t have to like me, I did attack your friend. It wasn’t on purpose, but that doesn’t mean you have to be friends with me just because you know that,” Karma said as he walked to his desk and sat down.
Terasaka looked as if he wanted to say something back, but he couldn’t think of anything. He was spared the awkwardness by Korosensei, who burst into the room at mach 20 speed with a loud greeting and a dramatic flourish of his tentacles.
Not all of Karma’s classmates favoured him, but he didn’t care. He didn’t expect anyone to be on his side before, so he wasn’t complaining at all.
As the tension died down, Karma sat staring into space, lost in a daydream, when he heard the other students discussing a class trip. With everything that had been going on, he had completely forgotten that it was even happening. He recalled Mr Karasuma telling them about the snipers they would have posted around the city, and how they should stick to certain routes to allow for more assassination attempts. The whole idea seemed like a waste of time and resources to Karma, but it wasn’t really his concern at the end of the day.
”Hey, Karma!” Nagisa called out. “Wanna join our group?”
”Count me in,” Karma grinned, walking over to him, Sugino and Kayano. “You guys don’t have to worry about me attacking anyone, by the way. When I stir up trouble outside of town, I know how to keep witnesses from reporting it.”
The group chuckled, assuming he was joking. Sugino laughed particularly loudly, as if he were trying to mask the fear the statement brought him.
”Oh, who else should we add to our group? There’s me, you, Kayano and Sugino. Should be two more,” Karma asked.
“I’ve got it covered! We’re adding Okuda,” Kayano beamed, pulling the shy girl towards her.
”Okay, still one shy. Think our number six should be a girl, too?”
“No sweat, I foresaw this and took the liberty of enlisting someone very special,” Sugino declared proudly. “Ladies and gentlemen, class idol Kanzaki.” He gestured grandly towards the girl, the blush on her face matching Sugino’s.
”Thank you for letting me join your group. I’m flattered,” Kanzaki said, causing Nagisa to also blush.
Karma looked at his group, a feeling of contentment settling within him. Even after the incident the day prior, he had been invited into a group, and he wasn’t even the last choice.
Perhaps his teacher was right. It might be okay for Karma to move forward with the people around him.