Lesson Learned

You keep making the same mistakes

He raised an eyebrow. "And if they're already dead?"

Something in her chest broke, shaking. "N-no, stop it, stop saying they're..." A tear fell down her cheek. "Give me back my fish!" She slammed her fists on his desk. "Give them back!"

Her father stared at her with a cold detached look while she started to cry.

"You form such strong attachment to things." Dad sighed, disappointed. "I asked you what would you do if they were dead and you couldn't even answer that." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Such hysterics over something that has no real regard for you what so ever."

"I don't care!" she yelled at him, not caring about the consequences. "I love them! T-they're mine. They need me!" She glared at him with wet eyes. "Now give them back! I did everything you asked!"

"Which is why I chose to take your fish in the first place," dad said coldly. "They were a weakness easy to exploit because of how emotional you are."

She tensed, blinking back more tears. "I..."

He stared at her for a bit longer before standing up. "You neglected your studies because of your emotional ties to Nakamura." His tone made her cringe as he towered above her. "You were foolish because you let your feelings guide your decision and are now suffering the consequences."

She sniffled and wiped her eyes, trying to reign in her tears when she felt a rush of shame.

"When you let your emotions control you, it makes you weak." He placed a hand on her head. "Is that what you want, Mitsuko?" He bent down to her level so her gaze was locked with his. "There is a logical approach to this you aren't seeing." He used his thumb to wipe away a tear under her eye. "Think with your head, and sever this attachment and accept that those fish are gone."

Mitsuko swallowed a lump in her throat, hiccupping as she tried to calm down and think.

They may have been just fish but they were her fish. They were hers to protect and if they were dead...

Her chest tightened, staring at her father who looked back expectantly, expecting an answer.

Dad would always be disappointed in her if she couldn't control her emotions like Gakushuu could.

If they were alive he could keep doing this, using whatever she cared about as leverage to get what he wanted...

There was a sharp pain in her chest which was refusing to go away, and the thought of going through that pain again and again as more things were taken from her was terrifying. She didn't know what she'd do if it happened too many times.

"I want to be strong," she murmured, gripping her hands tight.

The smile on his face almost looked proud.

Her thoughts drifted to Rio's bright smile and the fishes calming presence in her room. Those were things that wanted to see every day for as long as they'd last. Even if it meant she always had to fight to take them back if he tried to take them again.

She didn't want to lose them, she didn't want that pain or to even think about it!

Her gaze hardened. "But, I want Dai and Osamu back." Her hands clenched into fists. "Give them back to me!"

His eyes narrowed in displeasure and it made her stomach churn in dread.

"I'm not giving up until you give them back!" She glared up at him, sniffling as she wiped her eyes. "And..." She nearly choked on her own words. "And if they're dead, then I won't believe it until I see it!"

Dad straightened up, sighing. "How disappointing."

He grimaced and walked over to a cabinet, taking a key out of his pocket and unlocked the cabinet, revealing her fish swimming around in their tank.

But she was barely listening now, rushing over as her heart filled with joy at seeing her beloved pets. "Dai, Osamu!" She kneeled in front of the tank and smiled. "You're safe!"

"I can't help you if you refuse to listen, Mitsuko." Dad stared down at her, making her flinch when she looked up and saw the dark look in his eye. "If you keep clinging to things like these, you'll keep making the same mistakes."

She gripped the tank tighter, refusing to let go.

***

"Well, Mitsuko?" Koro-sensei watched as she stood in front of the two boxes of paint; one red and one blue.

One for the kill team and one for the save team.

She swallowed thickly, staring at the paint for a long while as she tried to decide what she wanted.

She was the last one to pick, the rest of the classmates standing by the sides with their colour and weapon chosen.

You keep making the same mistakes over and over.

"...Tell me something, Koro-sensei." She looked up at him. "I owe you more than I can count...would I paying that debt back by saving you or killing you?"

Koro-sensei hummed. "Well, firstly I would say you don't owe me anything, but I know that wouldn't mean much considering your standpoint," he said. "Honestly, if you killed me you'd be making me proud by executing all I've taught you, but I would still be proud of you if you chose to save me instead." He scratched his head. "Let me think...you say you owe me a debt. Then the only way to pay it is to pay it back with honesty."

Her brow furrowed. "Honesty?"

"I want you to be honest about what you want, how you feel and how you think," he told her. "I want you to listen to the voice in your head which is yours, not your classmates, or your fathers."

She picked up one of the guns, staring at it. "Honestly...I don't think we can save you." She looked up at him. "And we're running out of time..." Her eyes watered a little. "I don't want to kill you." She grimaced, gripping the gun tighter. "And even when I think about it, it hurts."

"It's alright to be upset about it," Koro-sensei said quietly, placing a tentacle on her head. "If you allow your emotions to come and process, it can help relieve the pressure so you can think."

Mitsuko grimaced, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry!"

"You don't need to apologise for being emotional," he said firmly. "Emotions are important. They help us understand each other and appreciate how our actions have consequences," he comforted. "When we allow ourselves to feel and recognise how much things hurt, that's when we can heal."

She sniffled, wiping her nose with her sleeve as the sadness came down and travelled from her head to her stomach. She took a long deep breath as she contemplated the choice in front of her.

Koro-sensei was the best teacher she'd ever had, ad she wanted to hold onto what precious time they had left, and it felt like she was holding on so tight her fingers ached like it was being ripped away from her.

The pain would come, and it would be something that they all wouldn't be able to move on from, but...maybe that was okay. Maybe the pain was good because then it made the memories of everything else better because it meant the bond they had was something...it was something that was special and important.

"You gave us a mission," she said quietly. "That's like a promise right?"

"...I suppose so, yes," Koro-sensei replied.

She didn't want him to die, but they were running out of time...and they'd made a promise.

Mitsuko stared at the paint and then sighed, feeling the pain in her chest tear in like a knife. "Then there's no running away from it."

She picked up the red vial of paint and loaded it into the gun.