"It's too dangerous." Karasuma glared at the Koro-sensei ball. "The ease with which he threatened us indicates that we're up against a real pro."
"Yes, perhaps it would be wisest to just hand me over," Koro-sensei replied calmly. Karasuma hesitated. "What do you think? It's up to all of you."
The students were focused on the cliff in front of them.
"But...this is..." Toka sounded unsure.
Isogai grimaced, staring up at the hotel.
"It's too hard..." one of the boys said unsurely.
Sora frowned at that.
"They'll plummet to their deaths before they reach the hotel." Bitch-sensei turned to Karasuma.
Karasuma grimaced, gritting his teeth as he lowered his head. "I knew it—it's no use. We have to send him with those two." He looked up. "Nagisa, Kayano...I'm sorry but-"
Suddenly Sora started climbing. "If you're all not gonna come then I'll do this alone. I'll bring back stories for you of my awesomeness."
He smirked, letting out a laugh as he continued climbing. Close behind him, Isogai followed.
"Huh?" Karasuma's eyes widened.
"Well, I mean if the ledge is the problem that part's a piece of cake," Isogai said brightly as he climbed up with ease.
"Especially compared to our usual training." Okano followed after him.
"Right." Rinka and Chiba followed close after.
Bitch-sensei and Karasuma were gaping in shock.
Koro-sensei chuckled.
Isogai smiled and looked down at the teachers. "But we haven't practiced fighting an unknown foe in an unknown hotel, so Mr Karasuma, it won't be easy but would you be our commander?"
The rest of the class was already halfway up the cliff.
"We'll make that jerk pay for messin' with us!" Terasaka threatened.
Karasuma remained shocked for another second until Koro-sensei spoke.
"As you can see, they're no ordinary students," Koro-sensei reminded him. "You have a fifteen-member special forces unit at your command."
"Fifteen?" Bitch-sensei questioned.
Nagisa held up his phone.
"Don't forget about me!" Ritsu winked.
"Now there's not much time!" Koro-sensei said.
Karasuma took a moment to harden his resolve before he moved forward. "Attention! Our objective is the top floor of the hotel at the summit!"
The student smiled down at him. "Our mission will shift from a stealth infiltration to a surprise attack!" Nagisa's expression became more serious. "We'll use the same hand signals and link-ups from training! The only difference is our target." Karasuma's gaze narrowed. "You have three minutes to memorize the map, we begin at 21:50!!"
E Class raised their arms.
"Right!!"
____________________
Okano climbed up the cliff like a spider. "Don't get left behind!" she teased her classmates.
Kimura looked impressed. "Okano sure can move."
"Yeah." Isogai climbed up. "She's got the rest of us beat in this kind of thing."
Kimura looked over his shoulder. "Whereas with our teachers..."
Karasuma was far behind as he tried to climb the cliff while carrying a screaming Bitch-sensei on his back, as well as the Koro-sensei ball.
"Too shaky!" Bitch-sensei complained, clinging to him tighter. "Climb more carefully! Ugh!"
"Only one of the three of 'em can move," Kimura said.
"Karasuma!" she shrieked.
Karasuma looked ready to toss her off the cliff.
Koro-sensei meanwhile watched his students with pride. "The students all have exceptional balance."
"I have them climb the mountain behind the school," Karasuma replied.
"I see. No wonder they had those flyboards down pat."
"Shut up and climb already!" Bitch-sensei demanded. "My hands are getting tired!"
Chiba paused and looked down. "Why did Professor Bitch come again?"
"She didn't want to stay back and feel left out," Rinka replied.
Sora chuckled bitterly. "Well, she is an infiltration specialist. So once we're up the cliff she should be more useful than usual."
He noticed Itona staring at him. But the white-haired boy shook his head and kept climbing.
"I wouldn't mind." Terasaka looked over his shoulder. "If she didn't slow us down."
Nagisa hastily tried to catch up. "Karma, wait!"
Karma was already ahead. "I'd like to, but we're kind of behind schedule here."
"You're right." Nagisa looked on edge. "Let's do this!" He pushed himself to climb faster.
Kayano was struggling to climb as well.
"You got a sharp rock there," Karma warned her as he climbed past.
Kayano avoided touching it. "That was close."
"Make it snappy!" Bitch-sensei continued to nag. "What are those guns for anyway?!"
Karma paused briefly to look over his shoulder at Nagisa before he continued up.
Nagisa grunted as he tried to climb faster up the cliff.
____________________
Kayano and Nagisa were the last ones to finish climbing and joined the rest of their class near the entrance of the hotel.
"Ritsu." Karasuma took out his phone. "Run a final check of our invasion route."
Ritsu saluted. "Yes, sir! Displaying interior map." A full 3D map of the hotel complex was shown. "Final check." A yellow arrow marked their path. "We can't use the elevators; they require a passcard for every floor. We'll have to take the stairs, but they're scattered throughout the hotel so we'll have to cover some distance on foot."
"It's like a TV station," Chiba commented.
"What do you mean?" Kayano asked.
"Apparently they have complex layouts to prevent a terrorist takeover," Chiba replied.
Kayano smiled sheepishly. "You sure know a lot about it."
"No wonder the bad guys love staying here," Sugaya said, looking up.
"Unlocking side entrance," Ritsu informed them.
The door clicked.
"Let's go—we're running out of time." Karasuma gestured for them to come through the door.
"Yes, sir." Isogai and the others followed him.
Security was patrolling the lobby where a piano was stationed in the middle of the room.
"There are more guards than I'd expected." Karasuma poked his head around the corner.
"It'd be too difficult for us all to get past," Nagisa said apprehensively.
Bitch-sensei raised an eyebrow. "What? Just...go on through."
Sora smirked, finally, she was making herself useful. Good for her!
The students all gaped at her.
"Do you have any grasp on the situation here, Bitch-sensei?" Sugaya replied.
"How are we supposed to make it past all those guards?" Kimura hissed.
Bitch-sensei smirked and walked forward.
Her gaze narrowed calculatedly at the piano. "Just go through!"
The students gasped, staring at her questionably as she sauntered into the room.
Koro-sensei grinned.
"Hm?" One of the security guards noticed Bitch-sensei drunkenly sway into the room.
A few of them were already blushing.
She collided into one and gasped. "I'm so sorry." She blushed, looking up dizzily. "I seem to have had too much of the liquor in my room."
The security guard she'd bumped into was bright pink, already hooked. "Oh, er, think nothing of it, miss."
"I'm the pianist scheduled to perform here next week," she explained shyly. "I came early to see the sights."
"A pianist, eh?" one of the guards whispered to another in amusement.
"We get 'em all the time."
Bitch-sensei glanced at him sharply, smiling sweetly still. "I'd like to see if the piano's in tune." She sat down in front of the piano. "It'll help me sober up." She looked over her shoulder and gave them a pleading look. "Could I play a little tiny bit, hmm?"
One of the security staff looked uncertain. "Well, uh...let me check with the front—"
She gently grabbed his arm. "Aw, come on." She smiled up at him. "I want you to hear me play, and then critique me."
"C-critique you?" the other guard repeated.
"Yes—critique me carefully..." she said softly. "And if I do anything wrong, will you punish me?"
Sora shuddered.
She started to play, mesmerising them with the music.
The rest of the class were surprised.
"She's..." Sugaya's eyes widened.
"She's good," Kimura whispered.
"Ah, the Fantaisie-Impromptu," Koro-sensei said.
"Hm?" Nagisa held up the Koro-sensei ball.
Bitch-sensei played the piano effortlessly.
"An assassin who not only has obvious skill, but also knows all too well how to charm, how to use her wiles..." Koro-sensei said. "Using her whole body in such a bewitching way as she plays: it's aural seduction!"
And, it was working. The other security guards' gazes were all transfixed on her as she played.
"All eyes on her," Koro-sensei remarked.
Bitch-sensei paused to look over her shoulder. "C'mon don't watch from so far away." She flashed her cleavage. "Come closer and make sure I do well."
There was some nervous laughter as the guards stepped closer.
Bitch-sensei flashed the class a signal.
Nagisa became alert as he quickly followed the rest of his class towards the stairs.
Nagisa sighed in relief as he approached the stairs.
"We're all through safely," Kayano said.
"Isn't professor Bitch something?" Sugaya smiled. "Playing like that with those nails."
"She never said anything about being able to play," Isogai commented.
"There's more to her than what you see every day," Karasuma told them. "The better the assassin, the broader the skill set." The rest of the class listened attentively. "The woman who's been teaching you conversation skills is among the one or two top honeypot masters in the world."
Koro-sensei chuckled. "So there's no problem at all if I can't move."
Kayano smiled in amusement.
"Let's go!" Nagisa exclaimed.
"Uh, huh." Kayano and the others walked up the stairs.
When they were on the third-floor Karasuma looked at his GPS. "Now, then..." He turned to the class. "Now that we're past the stringent entrance checks, we should be able to pose as regular guests."
"Guest? Do they put up groups of Junior-high kids here?" Sugaya asked.
"Plenty, from what I've heard," Karasuma replied. "The coddled kids of entertainers and millionaires: brought up like spoiled rotten royalty," Karasuma commented. "They keep innocent faces while dabbling in darker pursuits."
"Excellent!" Koro-sensei exclaimed from his ball. "So walk around like you own the place. Turn those noses up and no one will be the wiser. Let's practice; show me, entitled."
The entirety of the group pulled a variety of faces. Kayano's mouth opened and closed continuously while Terasaka looked like he was having an aneurism.
"There it is," Koro-sensei said proudly.
Karasuma wasn't feeling it. "A little too much there, gang." His voice was laced with sarcasm.
"Reel it in some." Koro-sensei smiled smugly, green stripes appeared on his face.
"Don't encourage them," Karasuma added, whispering harshly to Koro-sensei.
"It occurs to me we have no idea what our enemy looks like," Koro-sensei stated wisely, his face fading to its original yellow colour. The screen shifted to the shadow of a man walking down a hallway. "Even posing as typical guests, were vulnerable to attack. Best martial our efforts towards staying vigilant."
____________________
The group pushed ahead down the hallway. As they walked, Sora opened and closed his fist over and over again.
"People really think we belong here, they're not even making eye contact," Kimura muttered to Chiba in disbelief.
Chiba turned his head to look at the other boy. "It makes sense if you think about where we are. This place has a reputation." Chiba replied knowledgeably. "Folks come here to keep a low profile."
"You know at first I was sure everybody here would be a problem," Kayano interjected brightly from where she was walking with Okano. "But getting to the top floor is turning out to be a lot easier than we thought."
"Don't jinx it Kayano," Sora advised.
Okano looked at her and smiled. "Glad Mr K's with us though." The group made it to a spacious hall. "Feels a lot safer with him leading the charge."
"Who said this was gonna be hard?" Terasaka laughed arrogantly.
"Don't ignore me." Sora groaned.
From his position in front of the students, Karasuma tried to reason with the cocky student. "Hey, we're not there yet."
"But the clocks ticking. I say we switch off stealth mode and storm the joint."
"Wait," Karasuma called out, but it was already too late.
"Hang on-" Itona called out.
Terasaka and Yoshida broke formation and ran forward, leaving the rest behind. The two chuckled as a man, hands in his pockets and humming, strolled towards them.
Sora's eyes widened. That guy was-
Fuwa gasped. "Wait! Terasaka!" She yelled out desperately. "Watch out!"
Yoshida and Terasaka came to an abrupt stop as the strange guest in front of them pulled out a gun. Aiming right at them. Karasuma flung himself towards the man, pushing the boys behind him. He was quickly incased in a purple gas.
"Gas." He grunted, covering his mouth and knocking the weapon out of his enemy's hand.
"Oh no, Mr Karasuma!" Kayano cried out in shock, the other students mirroring her expression.
The stranger pulled down his mask. "What gave me away? I pride myself on being as nondescript as possible. It happens to be one of my strongest selling points, little Ms Helmet Head."
"I've seen you before," Fuwa exclaimed boldly, stepping forward. "You gave us those complimentary drinks back at our hotel."
Sora laughed. "Yeah, it'll be a cold day in hell before I forget a face as ugly as yours."
"Why would you be here if you worked for the other place?" Fuwa questioned rhetorically. "It doesn't add up!"
"Hey, yeah!" Isogai agreed.
The stranger laughed mockingly. "You've got a good eye for faces." He told her honestly.
"So it was you who got everybody sick," Kayano concluded, disgusted.
The man chuckled again. "Ha! Is that right? I'd love to see your evidence Sherlock." He grinned at them smugly. "Tropical islands are a hot bed for all sorts of icky viruses."
"Ah...well." Kayano stuttered, unsure how to proceed.
This time it was Fuwa laughing, triumphantly as she held a finger in the air and began to pace. "And yet we were split up and on different parts of the island all day."
Ace Detective Fuwa had arrived!
"The only time we were together was for dinner on the shipboard restaurant." She explained with a proud smile. "But Mimura and Okajima bowed out of dinner to work on the video, and it just so happens they're both under the weather!"
"Which makes your free drinks the only viable suspect... and since you served them." She broke her pacing to point at him dramatically. "You, Sir, are the poisoner." Fuwa winked. "Elementary."
The man took a step back in disbelief.
Sora stared at her. "Yeah...my thought process was based on the fact that he just poisoned our teacher...but that works too."
"That was seriously amazing." Nagisa complimented Fuwa in awe.
"It's like we're on television!" Kayano cheered.
Fuwa put both of her hands on her hips. "I credit my taste in detective manga. Eliminate the impossible and whatever remains must be the truth." She explained proudly.
A close up of her face was shown, surrounded by pink sparkles she gushed. "Ah yes, Shonen Jump is every sleuth's best friend. The writers go all out."
"So manga." Nagisa interrupted, unimpressed.
Fuwa angled her body to look at him. "Hmm, yeah. Why not? The best way to read the classics. Looked door murder mysteries, banished heirs, phantom blackmailers, you name it!"
"I don't get the reference." Kayano wailed.
"Why is this suddenly an advertisement?" Nagisa questioned. "Knock it off Fuwa, we're not running a charity."
The man chuckled lowly as Karasuma fell to his knees, the students cried out in shock.
"Well, congrats on uncovering my identity but I'm afraid It's a little too late," the man taunted.
"He's a poisoner, children," Koro-sensei stated from his position in a fish bag, held by Nagisa. "An expert at the surreptitious application of his craft."
Karasuma wheezed from where he was kneeling on the ground. "Not to toot my own horn but the gas was a homemade concoction. One whiff turns enemies into statues." The stranger bragged.
"Fresh air disperses the runoff so there's no trace. Now then, I guess it's safe to assume you're not here to trade. I'll have to tell the big man negations deteriorated." He rose his hand in mock sympathy and started to walk away from the group. "Oh well you win some you lose some."
But E Class was too quick for him. Chiba, Kataoka, Terasaka and Isogai cut off his exit.
"First rule when coming up against an enemy. Scout the exits, block their retreat. Cut off their communications. We've learnt from the best, isn't that right Mr. K?" Sora questioned their teacher, pleased with the turn of events.
"Sorry, pal," Karasuma growled, standing up shakily.
"You were a tad too quick to show us your true colours. Should've kept quiet and reported us to your boss." He smirked.
The poisoner huffed and put his mask back on, turning back around to face the teacher. "You can still speak, huh? First rule when facing numerous enemies." He repeated what the students said earlier. "Cut off the head and the body dies. Observe!"
He lunged forward but Karasuma stopped him with a swift kick to the face that made everything move in slow motion knocking him to the ground.
Karasuma collapsed on the ground, the screen turned black.
"No! Mr Karasuma!"
____________________
"Sir," Isogai held Karasuma upright as they slowly moved forward. "You can't keep going like this. You gotta lie down."
Karasuma sighed. "Just give me half an hour I'll be fine." His legs trembled. "Don't do anything crazy."
"Yeah, because we're the crazy ones here." Sora chuckled.
Sugaya chuckled. "That stuff could've killed an elephant."
"No kidding right." Okano agreed. "Mr Karasuma must be some kind of monster."
The students walked down the corridor, Karasuma being propped up by Isogai.
"Woo hoo!" Koro-sensei cheered as an orange sun appeared on his face. "Summer vacation is finally in full swing!"
The rest of the group shot him deadpan stares. They erupted into noise.
"Nice that you can stay positive!"
"I'd be too if I had a protective shell!"
"Show him what full swing really means." Nagisa took his classmates advice and started to swing Koro-sensei around by the ball's handle.
Koro-sensei screamed but Nagisa's hand was stopped by Karma. "Take your belt off for a second, I'm gonna cram Mr have-a-nice-day down your pants so he'll shut up."
Karma pointed at Terasaka. "The hell you are!" The bigger boy shouted angrily.
"Okay, I'll bite." Nagisa stepped back with an amused smile. "Why does it feel like summer vacation all of a sudden?" He asked Koro-sensei.
"Because my students are acting independently of me." He replied joyfully. "That's what summers about really. Extended breaks from the routine of school foster autonomy, you learn to think and act on your own." He explained. "The prognosis for anyone else in this predicament would be grim, but you have the tools to meet your foes head-on." Karasuma gave him a sharp look. "This is an assassination vacation, it's up to you to make the most of it."
Sora sighed. "Still...you need to work on your phrasing."
____________________
The group stopped at the start of a scenic walkway by the edge of the hotel, large glass windows illuminating the area a daunting navy blue.
A man leant up against the panels nonchalantly. He had chin-length blond hair and a serious expression.
"Uhm," Sugaya broke the tense silence. "Okay? Why's that dude just standing out in the open?"
"Gives me the hebee jebees." Toka said, uncomfortable.
Yoshida narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I'm defiantly picking up a 'kill or be killed' vibe." The man's gaze was fixed on the floor. "Well, to be honest, mostly kill."
The man hit the glass behind him, which cracked under the pressure. The students screamed in fright at the sudden noise.
Sora groaned. "You guys are so bad at stealth."
"Boring." He drawled. "I can hear your footsteps people, I wanted to kill someone interesting not a bunch of amateurs. Ain't your squadron leader supposed to be some kind of special forces decrepity to get bagged, hm?"
Karasuma grit his teeth in annoyance.
"Hm, tough break. Guess the gas got to him before he had a change, hm. Smog live? Or did they kill each other at the same time like men? Hm, let me see it."
The group moved out of the shadows, as their position was already compromised. Everyone stared at him, and though nobody had the nerves to say it.
The way that he talked...
"Dude," Karma exclaimed, a galaxy of sparkles behind him. "What's with all the stupid 'hms'?"
The redhead was gifted at always saying what his classmates were thinking.
"Hm, it's how samurai's talk. Read someplace they used to do it all the time to sound intimidating. I like the way it plays, makes me feel badass."
Nagisa wasn't impressed.
He cracked his fingers, the sound echoed through the corridor. "This is actually the first time I've tried it out so no big. Hm, I might decide to drop it once I've killed you. No one else has heard me talk like this so it'd be a clean slate."
"Your hands, Sir." Koro-sensei started off curiously. "Are those the only tools of the trade at your disposal?
The man lifted his hand threateningly. "Makes staying incognito easy as pie." He smirked as he lowered his arm. "Someone pats me down I got nothing but I can still snap their neck." He clenched his fists suddenly. "These babies know what's up. Hm, they do. Sometimes when the mood strikes me I can crush a skull."
Okano gulped in fear, eyes widening as she raised a hand to her head protectively.
"Well, aren't you scary." Sora mused.
"Funny thing about be this good, the better you get at sending folks to the sweet ever after, the more you crave using your gift for something beyond just plain killing." The man monologued, the cracked glass pane filling the screen. "I mean you still wanna kill, hm. You just wish someone would give you a real challenge." Karasuma sagged into Isogai, the young boy carrying most of his weight. "That's what blows about this, I was hoping for a worthy adversary. Instead, I get... you."
Mr. Hm dug in his pocket and pulled out a walkie talkie. "You don't know what a pain it is to snap out a whole group, hm. I'm calling the boss to come clean this mess up."
Sora was about to move, but somebody else beat him to it.
The walkie-talkie was hit out of his hand with immense force, cracking the glass again. Karma stood in front of him confidently, holding a potted plant like a bat.
"Speaking of letdowns," the communication device fell to the floor. "You seem fairly average for a pro if you ask me. And is breaking glass supposed to be intimidating because I can do that." Karma smiled at the man victoriously. "What I wouldn't do is call in reinforcements as an opening move. But then I'm not especially threatened by a bunch of amateurs."
The other students gasped at Karma's mocking words. "Karma!" Karasuma called out urgently. "Stop-"
"Not so fast Mr Karasuma," Koro-sensei interjected forcefully, catching the other teacher's attention.
Sora smiled. "His chin's down."
"The boy's chin is down." He explained, Karasuma's and Isogai's eyes widened in understanding. "Karma typically enters a fight with his chin angled upward. It shows disdain. He is literally looking down his nose at his opponents. This is different. True, his words may be dripping with arrogance but his eyes are staring daggers." Karma glared at Hm with a killer smile. "He's alert. Locking his opponent's gaze. Finals were quite a blow to his precious ego. But I suspect he's taken the lessons of that failure to heart."
Karma huffed happily as the others looked on in awe. "Hm, alright. Put your money where your mouth is." Grip took off his coat and let it drop to the floor carelessly, he cracked his fingers.
"Go at him with everything you've got, Karma." Koro-sensei encouraged. "You're going head to head with an adult."