"All right, it's time to show what we've done for the past year." Korosensei says the next day in class. "Next up is the classwork battle. Are you prepared to take the top spot, Karma?"
"Gee, I dunno. Idiots like me don't understand hard stuff." He says flippantly.
"For your first-term midterms, I gave everyone the goal of making the top fifty. I apologize for that." Korosensei continues, ignoring the redhead as the number '50' shows up on his yellow forehead. "I was too impatient for results, and I didn't count on your opponents being so strong. But things are different now. You've matured in mind and spirit. You should be able to meet your goals in the face of any plot or setback. With heads held high, you will all make the top fifty, you will receive your tickets back to the main campus, and you will graduate as the E Class." Most of my classmates listen, confidence and determination growing. But there's still a few who look unsure.
"If only it were that easy." Sugino sighs.
"Huh?" Nagisa hums, looking over his shoulder at his baseball-loving friend.
"The A Class has a new teacher... and you won't believe who it is." Sugino says dejectedly. There's only one person that could be.
"So that's what it's come to." Korosensei ponders, holding a tentacle to his chin.
"Honestly, I want no part of his brainwashing curriculum." Mimura says, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head. "His weird charisma, controlling people with a word or glance..."
"His teaching skills put him on a par with our Mach-20 Korosensei." Sugino says while said teacher squeals in fear.
"If he's their teacher... then they've probably already lost the will to defy him." Isogai speculates.
After school that day, we all walk through the main campus on our way home. Isogai walks next to me, and I can't help but want to hold his hand again. However, I don't have the courage to in front of everyone.
"You know, they're kind of similar—the principal and Korosensei." Fuwa speculates.
"How so?" Maehara asks, his head tilting slightly.
"They both have extraordinary powers, but they're just regular teachers. With the principal's quick wits, he could have been prime minister or a business bigshot. But he's devoted himself to education at just one academy. No wonder he's so unrelenting." Fuwa explains.
"True. They both have their own way to bring out the best in their students academically. I definitely prefer Korosensei's methods, though." I say, earning a few nods of agreement. A moment later, Kayano lets out a small gasp.
"Huh? It's Asano." She says, surprised. Sure enough, the principal's son is leaning up against a pillar justs up ahead. We stop in our tracks. It's almost as if he's waiting for us. But why would he want to talk? If he wanted info on us, he'd probably just send the rest of his little group like last time.
"What do you want?" Maehara asks, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"You're not the kind of guy who'd run recon on us." Sugino adds. Asano pushes off the wall to face us head on, looking strained.
"It pains me to say this... but I have a request." He says. Karma hums curiously while my eyebrows furrow in confusion. "I'll cut to the chase. That monster... I want you to kill him." Huh? He can't know about our assassin training, right?! "Not physically, of course. Kill his educational policies." Asano adds. Relief washes over me. Thank goodness...
"His educational policies? Like... how?" Yada questions.
"Easy. I want you, the E Class, to dominate the top spots in the next end-of-term exams." Asano says, waving a hand as if mock us for not having figured it out. Then he places his hand on his chest. "I'll be in first place, of course, but excellent grades mean nothing coming from an excellent student. For detritus like you to surpass the A Class, though—that would ruin his stance on education."
"Asano, I've heard about the chilly relationship between you two." Kataoka starts. "Are you trying to attract his attention by denying his methods?"
"Don't misunderstand. 'Be strong enough to kick even your father down.' That's what he always taught me... and that had been my guiding philosophy. I don't know about anyone else, but that's always been our parent-child relationship." I frown. That sounds sad. And really lonely. "However, I can't say the same for the other, lesser students. Right now, A Class is hell. He's making them study far beyond their limits, with only their hatred of the E Class to sustain them. If they win like that, it'll be the only method they'll trust from now on." Asano says, looking down. Woah... it sounds like he actually does care about his classmates.
"You can only gain so much strength through hating, scorning, and misleading your foes. Even opponents like you will still give them trouble. They'll still be my flunkies in high school. But if my flunkies' strength is lopsided, they won't be able to support me, the ruler. Sometimes defeat can open one's eyes. So please, show my friends and my father a proper defeat." Asano says, bowing slightly towards us. Parts of that make him sound really selfish, but the fact that he's bowing to us makes it obvious that he's being genuine.
"Huh? Is this really the time to be worrying about others? You're not taking first place. I am." Karma taunts him. Asano scowls while the rest of us look at him blankly. "I told you: next time the E Class won't go easy on you. I'll be number one, with the rest of the class right under me. I'd say tenth place or so should suit you, Asano."
"Ooh, Karma said it! He's taking first place!" Muramatsu says teasingly.
"Just don't let it turn out like it did last time." Takebayashi adds, pushing his glasses up his nose. Karma's face flushes and he looks down at the mention of his failure. Terasaka comes up behind him, placing his hands on the redhead's shoulders and grins.
"At least try to do better than me, okay?" Terasaka snickers, though the look is quickly wiped off his face as Karma turns and bends Terasaka over, kneeing him repeatedly in the stomach, similar to what Takaoka did to Maehara earlier in the year. Asano glances at them before Isogai gets his attention.
"Asano... we've been trying our best to win all along, and this time is no exception. That's how it's always been for both us and the A Class. We're happy if we win, frustrated if we lose. No need for ranks beyond that. Isn't that enough?" Isogai reasons. "We'll do our best so you can all be glad you had the chance to take us on."
"Don't overthink it." Karma says, reentering the conversation, moving his finger in front of his neck in a slicing motion. "Just come at us like you want to kill us. That's what makes it fun." Karma says with a devious smile. Asano returns his look with an almost identical expression.
"How amusing. Then I'll fight with my gloves off, too." He agrees.
One week until finals... All we do is study. So much so that I don't even have time to think about my feelings for Isogai, or the possibility of his for me. With all the questions we ask, Korosensei is even busier. His clones even start to distort into odd shapes, but that doesn't hinder us. Eventually, the day of the tests, or as some might say, battles, arrives.
We begin our walk through the main campus hall like always. Except when we pass by the A Class's classroom, there is the distinct feeling of hatred emanating from the room.
"That's a hell of a look in their eyes." Yoshida says uneasily.
"The A Class is probably psyching themselves up. You sure you can beat 'em, Karma?" Nakamura asks with a smirk.
"Who knows?" He answers vaguely. "If any of them really do plan to kill me, that might slow me down."
After that, we're relatively quiet until we get to our assigned testing room. I catch Isogai’s eye and give him a smile, mouthing 'good luck,' not that he needs it. He smiles at me before the supervising teacher arrives.
"Start!" He says as soon as the last English paper is laid out on our desks. The time passes quickly, and right when I finish the 3rd to last question... "Pencils down!"
"It's no good. I couldn't get through 'em." Mimura groans.
"Not only are the questions hard, there are way too many!" Kurahashi whines. Agreed.
"The listening comprehension test was insane." Kimura remarks. "Even Ms.Bitch doesn't have that kind of vocabulary!" How am I supposed to make it through four more of these? And that would be including social studies! I don't want to imagine how hard that one will be for me, even with all the studying I did with Isogai...
Lucky for me, that's the next test. Even with all the preparations, I still have half a page of questions left before it's time for science. I barely end up finishing that one, by some miracle. Japanese on the other hand... Well, that's only a bit better than social studies. Last is math. With the amount and difficulty of these questions, it's best to just keep going and not get hung up on one problem. That said, there's no way I'll be able to finish the last problem. And by the looks of it, I don't think I want to attempt it, either, even with what Karma taught us.