Mahogany colored eyes skimmed over the quiz sheet as Hajime set down his pen. There were a lot of dates mentioned, but the student was certain of his answers. He placed his hands down on the desk and looked up, seeing his classmates focused on their own paperwork. Faint scratches of pens against paper could be heard along with the solemn sighs of confusion that periodically came from troubled students. History wasn't his favorite subject, but learning about different countries and their complicated histories was interesting. Though, Hajime tapped his index finger on the paper, the way things were taught in school happened to be extraordinarily dull.
At the front of the classroom, their teacher was facing the wall next to the blackboard. Korosensei sulkily punched the wall with his feelers. A consistent broing! swoosh! broing broing! cutting through the classroom's concentrated silence. The male placed his elbow on his desk and leaned his head on his opened palm as he watched. The sound was very distracting.
It seemed he wasn't the only one to share those thoughts as Okano Hinata snapped her head up and barked, "All of that broing broing-ing is annoying, Korosensei!! We're taking a quiz, you know!!" Her loud voice cut through the room.
The brown haired student side-glanced his new seatmate as Korosensei hastily apologized for disrupting their test. Akabane Karma had taken the empty spot between Hajime and Terasaka Ryouma. Hajime had noticed the spot next to him on the right side was mysteriously furnished with a desk and chair when he walked into the classroom just before the last period. The red head was leaning on his seat, arm hooked behind the back of his chair. Akabane appeared to be done with his test as well and was biding his time. Hajime hadn't been able to properly introduce himself yet to the student, but he was fairly certain they were aware of each other's presence and reputation.
Akabane was a troublesome student known throughout the school for his violent behavior. On the other hand, Hajime was a role model student with a bunch of bad rumors surrounding him. Both placed remarkably high on the academic rankings last year and with that came a heightened awareness of each other even if they haven't personally met. Hajime briefly wondered if he should approach the red head first, his eyes fluttering as tiredness overcame him. The student had been feeling fatigued and subdued all day, which had him concerned that he was coming down with something.
There was a slight murmur of conversation to his right, but the words were muddled as Hajime fell into a light doze. The voices raised in volume before a sharp call of his name was heard. "Hey, you over there! Don't make a ruckus during the test!" Korosensei reprimanded, his bulbous head coloring a dark red at the distracted students at the back of the class. "—and Takano-kun, no sleeping during class!"
The brown haired male sleepily opened one downturned eye. It was apparent that his seatmate was up to no good. Akabane sat up and pulled out a pink colored gelato ice cream. "Sorry, Korosensei. I already finished so I'll just eat gelato and be quiet." The red head piped up and licked the frozen treat innocently. Korosensei lifted a feeler,
"You can't do something like that during class. Honestly, where did you buy tha—" Beady eyes recognized the familiar gelato. "Tha! That's the one I went to Italy and bought yesterday!" The yellow octopus loudly exclaimed.
"So loud. . ." Hajime muttered under his breath. The student shifted his position so that he was lying his head down on crossed arms, facing the direction of the red head so he could watch what was happening. However, his eyes closed once more.
The familiar plop! of tentacles liquifying and the sound of a gun firing startled the brown haired teen awake. He sat up, downturned eyes blinking open in surprise at the sudden noise. It seemed that Korosensei had slithered right on the pellets that Akabane left on the ground. A neat trick, Hajime sleepily noted. It was his second time harming the teacher, making him the student to deal the most damage on their target.
Beside him, Akabane stood from his chair, "I'll use these sorts of tricks however many times it takes. I don't care about interfering with class." Akabane declared. "If you don't like it, then you should kill me as well as my parents."
Hajime rubbed the corner of his eye as he tried to comprehend the situation. Disturbing class was a concern, but the student felt murdering his seatmate and his parents was going a bit overboard as a solution. No sane teacher would consider that an option. Then again, Hajime mused to himself, no sane teacher was also an octopus lifeform that exploded the moon and threatened to do the same to the earth.
"But from that moment, no one will view you as a teacher anymore. You'll just be a murderous monster." Akabane tilted the gelato and smeared it against Korosensei's academic robe. "I will have killed your existence as a sensei." The red head taunted. It was a heavy, yet truthful, declaration.
Akabane intended to use their relationship as teacher and student to corner the octopus. It was a smart move, utilizing the target's reputation and position as a teacher. Korosensei wouldn't be able to retaliate no matter what underhanded tricks Akabane used against him. The art of revealing the true nature and ugly emotions that people normally wished to hide needed skill and a whole lot of drive since it guaranteed conflict. People were bound to show their selfishness when cornered and threatened with the loss of something important to them be it their life, reputation, wealth, or so forth. Given that Akabane was known for being manipulative and cunning, Hajime had some faith in his classmate's methods. However, there were two problems that Hajime noticed from the start.
Akabane wasn't dealing with a normal teacher and he'd already revealed his intentions to the target.
"That will be ¥648." The cashier said in a monotone voice. The student placed a couple yen sheets on the counter and pushed it forward as a plastic bag was handed to him. It was a couple hours after school had ended, although Hajime was certain that most students from the main building went straight to their prep school rather than head home. Thus was the life of an academically pressured student. He would have done the same if not for the brain-numbing headache he was experiencing.
Shortly after the last period, Hajime had taken ill on the way down the mountain and decided to loiter at the school library before he went home. It was mainly to take advantage of the air conditioning there, but he also used the time to nap amongst the books. Hajime found that Advanced Mathematics III made for a comfortable mock pillow. The student only got an hour of peace before the librarian caught him huddled on an isolated table and made her disdain known to him with a stern glare. Thus, Hajime showed himself out and went to the nearest convenience store.
The droopy-eyed student pushed the door open, wincing at the sound of the bell that rang as he left the store. The air was humid as he stood out front, Hajime scowling as his sweater clung uncomfortably at his skin. To make matters worse, a silver haired figure shot out from the side and collided with him.
"Hajime-kun!" Atsushi cooed out in greeting, long arms wrapping around his neck. "Hifumi-chan said she wanted to hang out soon. What do you say? Let's eat out on Friday?" The silver haired male leaned his cheek on the tall male's shoulder in persuasion.
Hajime shut his eyes in part-agony, part-frustration. "Sure. If I haven't killed you by then." The brown haired male threatened. He reached up and pried at the arms around his neck, tugging them away with his nails slightly digging into the sleeve of his sweater. Atsushi grinned at his response, either not noticing the threat or ignoring it completely, as he backed off the brown haired male.
"Great! I'll tell her then." Atsushi commented and brought out his cellphone. From the light of his screen, Hajime could see the text conversation with a contact labeled 'HIFUMI-CHAN ❤'. The latest texts consisted of a lot of heart emojis and a few sentences that Hajime couldn't bear to finish reading. He tore his eyes away and looked off to the side. The tapping of fingers on the keypad was heard as Atsushi stuck the tip of his tongue out in concentration. "Ne, don't you have prep tonight?" The silver haired male absentmindedly questioned, golden eyes peering down at his device.
"I skipped." Hajime muttered, rubbing the back of his neck to ease the soreness. His headache had developed around the back of his head and edging towards his neck and shoulders. It was terrible and he wanted nothing more than to fall into a long deep slumber. "M' tired, and feel like shit." The brown haired male explained quietly, then raised his arm to gesture toward the plastic bag full of his purchased items.
Atsushi snapped his head up at the statement. "Does your head hurt?" At the hesitant nod, the male lowered his phone to worriedly peer at his friend. "Will you be alright tonight? Your parents won't be home until tomorrow morning, right?"
"I'll be fine soon enough. It's just a headache." Hajime replied then ambled down the street. The silver haired male followed after him, hand wrapping around his arm to reach for the handle of the plastic bag. Atsushi got one side off, muttering under his breath. "Last time you said that you ended up in the hospital. At least let me check if you got the right medicine." Golden eyes glanced over the generic medicine bottle for pain relief, a couple of snacks, a banana flavored milk bottle, and a familiar rectangular box that made the teen halt.
Atsushi's breath caught, suddenly forcing his feet to stop and gripping tightly to the plastic bag. Hajime looked back, arm still looped in one of the hole handles, with the plastic bag stretched open between them. "Yah, Hajime-kun. Are you fucking kidding me right now?" Atsushi barked and lifted the rectangle box gripped tightly in his hold, slightly crushing the item. "How did you even manage to buy this?"
Mahogany eyes blankly stared at the student, then narrowed. Hajime reached out and grabbed the item from his friend. "The cashier and I have an. . . understanding." The student explained, he raised the box and shook it lightly. The contents inside rustled. "─Also, I'm not that dumb to fall back on old habits. It's beneath me."
"Damn right, it should be. You got suspended and kicked to the End Class because of those damn things." Atsushi bit out. The silver haired male sighed and straightened his posture, regaining his former composure as he glanced between his friend and the item suspiciously. "So why do you have it?" He questioned.
"It's bait." Hajime responded, tilting his head to the side with a strained closed-eye smile. His headache was killing him. "You know how it went down. I want to find out why."
Some of his former classmates shunned him the moment they caught word of his demotion, while Atsushi grew furious at their attitude and his friend's silent acceptance. Takano Hajime wasn't someone that let himself be manipulated, so unless someone had played foul against him, the brown haired male wouldn't go down so easily. There was obviously something that happened behind the scenes that he wasn't prepared for. Atsushi respected his friend's decision to not go searching for the culprit, but he hadn't expected the teen to ever make a move after their third year classes started. The beginning of classes led him to believe that Hajime put the past behind him and used this demotion as a chance to turn over a new leaf.
Staring at the devious glint in Hajime's eyes, he realized how foolish he was. The teen let go of the plastic bag and sighed. "Did you have to buy it at the convenience store in front of the school? What happens if you get caught by a teacher or something?" Hajime positioned the plastic bag at the joint of his elbow.
"I'm not using it anyways. There's nothing to worry about." The brown haired male brushed off the concerns being aimed at him and began his walk home. "Can we get going now? I want to go home and take a nap."
Atsushi shook his head in resignation. The silver haired male fell into step with his friend. The rest of the walk was silent, bar the slight tapping of the keypad as Atsushi texted on his phone. As they stopped in front of the Kato residence, which was a few houses down from the Takano residence, Atsushi held onto the front gate and peered at his friend. Hajime was leaning against the gate and yawning, hand raised in front of his mouth.
"Hey," Atsushi called out, "What will you do when you find them?" The teen was nervous to hear the answer as past years have shown that Hajime was capable of doing many things to those that have wronged him. The previous summer might have been the turning point of Hajime's forced self-growth and whatnot, but there was no saying what the male would do when faced with the person that essentially made him a victim.
It must have shown on his face because Hajime simply gave him his usual closed-eye smile. Rather than comfort Atsushi, he shivered at the eerie expression. "Why, absolutely nothing at all." Hajime responded innocently. "I'm not that bad of a person."
The next morning led to something unexpected. It turned out that his headache remained as it was, a headache, and disappeared when Hajime woke up. The brown haired male was disappointed to not have a reason to skip class. It didn't help that his parents arrived early that morning as planned, making him later than usual. The door slid open as Hajime stepped inside with a quiet yawn, hand in front of his mouth and eyes pinched closed. It was silent in the classroom that morning, which was odd, since the girls up front usually spent this time catching up on gossip. Mahogany eyes opened and peered at his classmates who had uneasy expressions as they stared at something near the front of the room. He looked in that direction and his eyes widened.
There, stabbed grotesquely on the teacher's podium, was an octopus with a knife through its head. The student glanced over the dead animal then went to his seat in silence. No wonder it was quiet. Hajime didn't think he'd be eating seafood for quite some time after that. Akabane Karma was smirking at his seat, leaning back on his chair while looking pleased at his work. Hajime took his seat and placed away his school bag in quiet contemplation. Akabane's assassination attempts were entertaining to watch, but this one was slightly nastier than he preferred.
"Akabane-san," Hajime side-eyed his seat mate, "Where did you even get the octopus?"
"The market, of course!" Akabane replied with a mischievous smile. The brown haired male couldn't imagine the red head waking up early to get ready for school and still have time to head to the market to buy a fresh octopus. The student would never say it a loud, but he was impressed with Akabane's dedication to the mission. To each their own, he supposed.
The brown haired male shook his head, "Good luck then, I guess."
Not much later, Korosensei slithered in and questioned the class of their silence. "Ah, sorry." Akabane apologized, pointing to his kill. "I mistook it for you and ended up killing it. I'll throw it away so just bring it over here." Korosensei stared blankly at the octopus, then picked it up in his feelers and went toward the back of the classroom.
The ends of his tentacles suddenly turned into sharp drills. Korosensei disappeared only to come back with a large missile, which instantly sent most of the students on edge. Hajime, in particular, gripped the edge of his desk with a tense expression. Though he was certain their homeroom teacher would never purposefully endanger them, he wasn't fond of being near something that could potentially lead to their deaths. Not that anyone would feel safe in front of a live missile. "Allow me to show you, Karma-kun. The power of these drill tentacles and the heat of this missile snatched from the Self-Defense Force."
Korosensei's tentacles moved at mach speed. "Sensei never lets an assassin go home bored."
A takoyaki was shoved into Akabane's mouth which the student spat out instantly in surprise. "That complexion comes from not having eaten breakfast, doesn't it. I have made takoyaki with my mach speed. If you eat this, you'll come closer to being a healthy child." Korosensei teased. Hajime stifled a chuckle behind his sweater-paw hands. There was a box of takoyaki placed in front of the brown haired teen, followed by a tentacle that tapped his head in a squishy head pat.
Hajime blinked in surprise, but accepted the treat wholeheartedly. He shouldn't refuse if Korosensei gave it to him, right? Hajime had skipped breakfast that morning since his parents returned home after he had gotten out of the shower. It was a troublesome affair greeting them at the door and settling them back into their room. Fortunately, his mother made it up to him by preparing her homemade dishes for his lunch. Considering her profession and level of skill, he was excited to eat whatever she had prepared for him later that day. For now, this would do to sate his hunger. Hajime bit into the takoyaki with a hum, not bad.
"You know, Karma-kun. I am a teacher who performs maintenance and improvements. On the rusted, dull blades of assassins, for example. You should come at me each day with a serious intent to kill." Korosensei tauntingly exclaimed. "And each time, I will improve you. Before school lets out, I will polish your body and spirit until they shine."