Hi, it's been a really long time since I updated and I'm really glad a lot of you guys were patient. If you weren't, oh well. But anyways, I'm really sorry for just disappearing without a word. I've been struggling with some mental health issues, and I will drop a long author's note as soon as I drop this one. If you don't want to read it, that's fine, I won't force you to. I was just going to post that and start working on a chapter, but I already kept you guys waiting for months, so here's the update! I thought I'd make this chapter have a special ending to it to make up all the waiting I put you guys through. Enjoy!
"Can't we do anything? Do we just stand by and watch her get eaten away?" Sugino said.
He had a point. Her power was too strong for her to handle, and she was getting eaten by it. But it wasn't like you guys could do anything about it, either. None of you guys had any powers.
"Class!" Professor Koro quickly called out to you guys with his clones.
"What's with that face?" Sugaya commented.
"It's a clone! I don't have much leeway with Kayano's ferocious attacks- it's all I can do to leave an afterimage of my face!" He continued to speak while switching back and forth with fighting Kayano. "We have to remove her tentacles ASAP! They're only putting off all that abnormal heat because she's not giving any thought to her own survival! At this rate, the tentacles will suck out all her life-force and she'll die!"
You slightly gasped at that news. Though she was pretending to be nice and friendly all this time, you didn't want her to die. She was still a great friend regardless if she was pretending to be your friend or not. She was one of the first people to approach you when you moved classes, too.
"But! As long as her bloodlust matches that of her tentacles, they'll be rooted to her nerves, impossible to remove! We don't have the time to talk her down like we did with Itona!"
"Then how..." You mumbled.
"There's only one way: I'll pull them out as we fight. I'll let her hit my greatest weak spot, my heart, located just under my tie. If it's completely destroyed, I'll die. If I can make her feel like she did me in, her tentacles' bloodlust will weaken for a moment, if only a bit. And in that moment, one of you will have to make Kayano forget her bloodlust."
"Forget it? But how?"
"Whatever works. Anything to get her mind off assassination. It's the only thing I can't do. If the target of her bloodlust were to try any funny business, her bloodlust would only intensify. But if you can quell that bloodlust, the tentacle'e bond with her would momentarily be broken, and I might be able to remove them with minimal damage!"
"And Kayano's tentacles would be on your hear the whole time?" Kimura made a point. "Wouldn't you die first?"
"If I'm lucky, I'll postpone that final, fatal moment... But I'd say the odds of me dying are fifty-fifty."
"No!" Kataoka yelled out.
"But you know... For me, the entire class not being able to graduate eventfully is even worse than dying."
Professor Koro was then attacked pretty brutally, and his clone disappeared.
Trying to think of something to distract her with was complicated. She had the upper hand compared to you all, and she was too powerful to even do something.
"Mimura..." Yoshida called.
"Hm?"
"Play some air guitar." He said.
"Huh?"
"Show her your badass skills." He said, and you weren't sure if he was being serious or joking, but this is not the time to joke around.
"She'll turn her bloodlust on me!" Mimura yelled in fear.
"Look, just do it!"
"No way will that work!" One of the girls commented.
"Then what do we do?"
"The clap stunner?"
"Can you guys please think seriously?!" The words slipped out your mouth after feeling a bit mad about what they were saying.
"We are trying to be serious!"
"Then think logically!"
Though, you weren't the one to talk. Since you didn't have a single idea. But it wasn't like you can shoot her or stab her. You didn't want to hurt her. You guys learned many things about assassination, but to be frank, they never worked properly. You guys came close several times, but this was Kayano you guys were talking about. You guys weren't sure how much she would be capable of.
Kayano's attacks became more aggressive each second. She kept telling Professor Koro to die, and you guys really had to think hard, because it looked like Professor Koro was going to collapse soon.
But in a snap, one of her tentacles reached his heart. Though it let her guard down, Professor Koro was in a lot of pain. But he was able to capture her in his tentacles, and she struggled to escape his grip.
"Let me go!" She yelled.
She kept squirming in anger, trying to escape. But you didn't even realize Nagisa was walking up to her. This entire time, he barely spoke. You didn't know what was going through his mind.
Which then the unexpected occurred, and he kissed her. You slapped your mouth with the both of your hands and your eyes widened.
You didn't know how to react, but it was working. It then took you a second to realize that Karma and Nakamura were already taking pictures.
Kayano tried to break the kiss, but Nagisa kept going as if he almost meant it. Her eyes were back normal again, and her senses started coming back. She was whimpering, desperately trying to get away, but she was too weak.
She eventually came back to her usual self and she passed out from which you assumed shock and at how shy she became.
"Professor Koro, will this work?" Nagisa asked.
"Full marks, Nagisa! They'll come out now!" He quickly removed the tentacles, and they melted away as soon as they came off.
You guys quickly rushed in to check up on her, and all the flames were now gone, too.
"Does this mean Kayano is alright now?" Okuda cautiously asked as she let Kayano's head rest on her lap.
"Yes... Probably. She'll need absolute rest for a while." Professor Koro said.
Nagisa then let out a sigh of relief, which then Nakamura and Karma came in to tease Nagisa all about it.
"Hey, Prince charming! Shutting her down with a kiss, eh? Nice!" Nakamura said.
"I thought it was a good way to make her forget her bloodlust..." Nagisa admitted. "I'll apologize to her later."
You looked over Karma's shoulder to see what kind of pictures he took, and man, did he get a close up.
"Seriously, are your guys' first instinct to seeing your friends kiss out of the blue is to take pictures? You guys didn't seem surprised at all." You crossed your arms.
"It's about damn time, though." Nakamura laughed.
"Fifteen hits on a ten second kiss? You're not there yet." Irina said to Nagisa, lifting his chin with her hand.
"'Hits'?" Nagisa questioned.
"I trained you on forced, indiscriminate French kisses. You should have been able to make 40."
"Hmm... 25 is tight for me." Maehera said.
"Yeah." Okajima agreed with a nodding head.
"God, I hate this place... I can just about make it to 20." Kataoka said.
"How long do you think you can last my kiss, (Y/N)?" Karma said to you suddenly, which you were stunned.
"Wh-What?!" You yelled, hoping no one heard.
"I think you lasted about 15 when I kissed you last time. We better work on that."
"What- what the hell is wrong with you? So you do remember! How come you pretended like it never happened?" You cringed, but you couldn't help but feel a bit heated.
"Since when? When did I ever deny that?"
You went quiet, since he technically didn't say himself he doesn't remember, and just acted normal around you after all that.
Then out of nowhere, Professor Koro started to vomit.
"Professor Koro!"
"I'm fine. It'll just take a while for my heart to recover. I'm sure that there's something you'd like to hear me say, but please, wait just a little longer-"
Cutting his sentence off, something went by Professor Koro's head. You guys looked up at the direction it came from, and there were two men standing on top of a hill in the distance, which you recognized one to be Shiro.
"Quit playing up the deathbed angle. You're still alive enough to dodge." Shiro said. "Useless girl... She'd give her own life for that revenge narrative of hers-- you'd think she could have done a bit better than this." He said. "You're quite the monster. Just how many assassins have you driven away in a single year? But there are still two of them right here." He then took off his mask to reveal his face, which he had quite long black hair, and he had some device over his left eye. "I'm the last one. You took everything away... And I'll make you pay for it with your life." He continued, and his voice was lighter than it was when he had his mask on.
"The genius scientist, with cloaked face and altered voice... So it is you... Yanagisawa..." Professor Koro weakly said.
The two then started walking away after this so called "Yanagisawa" man put his hand on the other person's shoulder, telling them that they should leave.
"What's with him...?" You furrowed your eyebrows.
Kayano then started opening her eyes, and everyone rushed to see if she was okay.
"I..." She quietly started to speak.
"Kayano... Thank goodness." Professor Koro said in relief.
"Kayano... Are you okay?" Nagisa asked.
"Uh-huh..." She answered looking away. She was feeling a bit bashful after that experience.
It was a silent for a bit, before Kayano opened her mouth again to speak.
"It was pure bloodlust at first... But as I spent time with Professor Koro, I started losing my conviction in that bloodlust. Like, doesn't this teacher have some circumstances I don't know about? And shouldn't I find out what they are before I kill him? But that's when the bloodlust in my tentacles swelled forth. They wouldn't let me not do it... How dumb... Everyone was genuinely enjoying their assassinations, while I wasted the whole year on plain old revenge."
You didn't want to blame her for feeling that way. It's natural for her to feel depressed about her sister.
"Ka-" You tried to tell her something, but you were cut off when Nagisa called out for her.
"Kayano... Once you taught me this hairstyle, I stopped fretting about my long hair. And like you said, Everyone liked the name "Professor Koro". We've been using it all year. It doesn't matter what you were after. We all made you our friend, together. No matter how much you suffered on your own, we can't let you say it was all an act-- not all those days you were smiling right there with us. Professor Koro Promised to tell us everything once we were all together. He's not a saint. We know he doesn't always do the right thing. But let's hear him out-- all of us, together." Kayano then started to tear up a bit. "And also, sorry, (Y/N). Did you have something to say? I think I cut you off."
All the attention then were driven to you. You were originally going to tell her you know what it feels like to lose a family member, since you pretty much you lose your entire family, and all you have left is now your uncle. But, you figured you weren't ready to tell them yet. Especially now, when it's not about you.
"Ah, no. It's okay." You said.
"Thank you... I can stop acting now..." Kayano cried out.
You can only imagine how much pain she was going through during this time. She had to go through it all alone and had to keep it a secret. It must've hurt her every time she had to lie.
No one hated her here. You guys were all very understanding and you guys weren't offended at all. All of what Nagisa said was right. No matter what her purpose was to killing Professor Koro was, it didn't matter as long as you guys could do it together.
"Professor Koro..." Isogai spoke up. "Whatever's in your past... We'll accept it, as long as it's the truth."
Professor Koro seemed a little uncomfortable about his past, but you guys didn't judge him.
"I wanted never to talk about my past if I could help it... But I see I have to." He said. "I don't want to lose your trust, the bond we share. This past summer, on the southern island, Mr. Karasuma said of Miss Irina, 'The better the assassin, the broader her skill set.' I think that's relevant here. This E Class is the first I've ever taught. Even so, I've managed to teach you just about every subject without a hitch. Why do you think that is?"
You were a bit confused to what he said towards the end, but Karma seemed to realize something.
"Don't tell me..." Takebayashi fixed his glasses.
"That's right. Until two years ago, I was the assassin known as the Reaper." He said, and that sent shock waves to everyone, including you." And one more thing... Even if you do nothing, I'll die come March. Either I die alone or the earth dies with me: that's the only part of the future an assassination can change."
He had all that past hidden from you guys. That was even more shocking than the story about Kayano's sister. He was used as a "test subject" after he was too dangerous to be kept alive, which then he met Kayano's sister there. Then everything built up to her death. Hearing the full story was quite heart wrenching. It was quite the tale, and it almost sounded fiction.
"That's my story." He said. "The one who taught me to be a teacher was Miss Aguri Yukimura. To truly look at the people before you and respect them as equal human beings, not to judge them solely on their weaknesses... I learned the fundamentals of being a teacher from her." Kayano started crying thinking about her, and you bent down to comfort her. "I learned the fundamentals of being a teacher from her. I added my own knowledge and experience and prepared to face you all. I would use my abilities to the fullest to give you the gift of the best growth and development. But how best to do that? I racked my brain... And finally landed on the assassination classroom, where I'd use what remained of my life."
Though you never knew what kind of person Miss Yukimura was, you could tell just from the story how much of a great person she was.
Though you didn't want to come here at first, you were now glad to be here. Class E students are all so nice, and you were really happy with them here now. But, the more fun you had meant the more sadness you felt about having to kill someone who was your teacher. Someone who was a very great teacher, too.
No one really felt good about the entire assassination thing now. Being forced to do all this against your will just felt wrong now. You didn't care that much at first, but you can just feel a wave of sadness rushing in.
After what felt like hours of silence, Professor Koro started speaking again.
"Now then, you guys should start heading back home. Your parents must be worried sick." He said.
You had to walk back home, but had to keep a distance from your uncle, to avoid having your classmates finding out. The whole way there you had your head down. You couldn't shake off this weird feeling you felt. Nothing felt real. Winter break was still a few days away, but your class got some extra time off to recover all the feelings for a bit, and you couldn't wait just to take your mind off of assassination as a whole. You felt like you were going to gain PTSD just from the word "assassination." But it also meant that you were not going to plan on Professor Koro's assassination, too. But so did everyone else.
Your uncle tried to help you, but he couldn't help but feel a bit down, too. He was still also very busy, so the house was pretty quiet most of the time. Which you actually preferred. You could scream all that frustration out without anyone hearing.
But, it did still get lonely. You just felt so confused about this situation. You're supposed to kill Professor Koro before he eliminates earth and kill you who is in it. But he was an admirable teacher. Though you guys got in trouble sometimes, you guys had more fun and happy adventures more.
Christmas and the holiday season went almost unnoticed in your household. But you didn't mind. You weren't a little kid anymore and didn't need a gift from your uncle. Although, he forgot a lot of the times anyway.
During one lonely night, you got a call from Karma.
"Hey, you alone, right?" He asked.
"That's seriously the first thing you ask me?" You said.
"That's beside the point. Can you come outside?"
"Sure, I guess?"
You quickly got changed and put on a coat before heading out. It was pretty chilly. It was new year's eve, and it was just a few hours before midnight struck.
To your surprise, Karma was just right there when you opened the front door.
"What is it?" You asked him, and weirdly enough, he kinda looked shy for some reason.
"I'm just... Here to check up on you, I guess." He scratched the back of his head.
"Okay...? Is that it? Or..."
"Well, I have some other things to tell you."
"So what's up?"
He seemed a little hesitant, and asked if you are willing to take a walk while you guys chatted, which you agreed to.
"Anyways, I first wanted to tell you Merry Christmas." He then took out a small box from pocket and put it in your hand. "I know it's late. I'm not stupid."
"Oh what the..." You were thankful, obviously. But out of everyone, you thought he was going to be the last person to tell you Merry Christmas, aside from your uncle.
You opened the box to reveal a small golden necklace.
"For me?"
"Of course it's for you. Why else would I have given it to you?" He rubbed the bottom of his nose with his index finger.
"You have a point..." You smiled and told him thank you. "Is there anything else you wanted to tell me?"
"Well, I do. But I think it'd be better if we stopped by somewhere to talk about it. How about we go sit on the park bench?" He said, which you took the offer to.
You guys sat down on the cold bench, and it took some time for your legs and back to adjust, but it was fine. It was quiet for a bit until you were the first to say something.
"So, what is it?" You asked, and you started to feel a bit shy.
He struggled to get out his words, which actually kinda scared you, since he wasn't the type of person to stutter.
"Listen, I have never said anything like this to someone before, so bare with me." He said. "When I... When I kissed you that summer, I didn't know what was going through my mind, and this time I'll apologize for it." He said.
"O-Oh... That? No, It's... It's alright." You said.
"But that's not the point here, (Y/N)... That kiss was genuine."
You looked at him with wide eyes, but he couldn't look at you.
"So... What I'm... What I'm saying is..." He stuttered. "God dammit... I'm not like this, what the hell?"
"It's okay. You don't have to say it." You said, and he looked at you confused. "I'm not dense, Karma. I like you too." He then looked at you with wide eyes. Although he kind of expected it, you always looked at him with a mixture of love and hate in your eyes, so he caught mixed signals.
"That's what you wanted to say, right?"
He didn't respond, which you kinda laughed at.
"Damn, I wish I can take a picture. I have never seen you this shy before." You teased him.
"Aughh... Shut up..."
You took out your phone to check the time, (and maybe snap a few photos) and the clock said 11:58 PM.
"Oh hey, would ya look at that. Two more minutes until new year." You showed him your phone.
"Time really does go fast." He said, and you agreed.
You looked at your phone again, and it was suddenly at 11:59 PM.
"Well, nevermind. It's 11:59 now." You said. "You know what? Let me get the new years count down. We might as well spend New Years together since we're here."
You pulled out the count down and the timer went down from 40 seconds, to 30 seconds, to 20, and eventually down to 10. You guys just stared at your phone screen, waiting for it to hit 0. Your full focus was on the timer, and when it was down to 10, you guys started counting down together quietly.
"10... 9... 8..." You guys went on. "3... 2... 1..." And there the sparks of joy went.
"Happy new year, Karm-" You turned your head to face him, but he leaned into your face without a word and kissed you.
Just like last time, there were fireworks going off from the distance. It brought deja vu, but your new year was off to a good start.