(One)
(Ansatsu Kyoushitsu Chapter 11: Assembly Time/S1 E5)
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The sound of crickets and the swimming of fish in a pond could be heard around a dim garden as a cool breeze flew. Footsteps padded as Fumiko carried a lantern in one hand. Her brown hues scanning around the garden. She suddenly stopped to looked down at her outfit; a long, white dress that complimented her curves along with matching flats adorn on her feet.
"I hope this isn't too dressy for a secret meeting," she thought to herself.
Her eyes scanned from the left to the right, then spotting a fully bloomed rose. She walked over towards it, allowing for her fingers to trail along the thorns. Even with the prickled blood drops on her fingertips, she didn't mind. She admired the beauty in roses. In fact, she admired the beauty in all kinds of flowers; even the dead ones.
"Wait. What are you doing? You're supposed to be meeting up with the prince!" she thought to herself, blinking hard and frowning.
She quickly scurried off, knowing that she didn't had enough time left to meet up with the guy of her dreams. Her head went from one direction to another, trying to find the prince. She looked up towards the sky; dusk blue with a hint of grey specks painted into the atmosphere along with a crescent moon. She huffed, finally becoming inpatient.
"Hello?" she yelled, cupping her free hand up besides her mouth.
"Hello? Are you here?"
Fumiko then heard footsteps approaching towards her way. It was hard to see in the dark area, so she stepped further with her lantern. The light began to fill the garden, identifying the figure and its attire; a male dressed in a dark blue jacket with a white buttoned up shirt along with a dark blue pair of pants.
"I am here," the guy said.
Fumiko gasped quietly.
"It's him!" she thought. With a tiny smile creeping upon her face, she ran quickly towards his direction.
"Hi there-" she excitedly shouted, running in an ecstatic manner. But her celebration was cutted off shortly when her head happened to hit a tree branch rather harshly. With a sharp thump, she fell back coldly onto the ground. A small "ow" escaped from her lips.
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Coming back to reality, Fumiko's head shot up. She felt a sharp pain on top of her head. Her vision began to refocus on her surroundings. She wasn't in a garden at night, but rather it was daytime and she was in her classroom: Class 3C. Instead of a charming prince, she was surrounded by not-so charming students who were staring at her, some even snickering.
"Fumiko Junpei! This is the fifth time that I caught you sleeping in class this week!" the sharp voice of her teacher pierced into her ears. It was cacophonic enough to make her go deaf.
She rubbed the top of her head and yawned.
"I-I'm sorry, teacher," she began to apologize, her face as red as a raspberry. "I didn't get enough sleep last night and I-"
"You have given me this same excuse everytime you've been caught!" he scowled, pointing his wooden ruler in front of her face.
"I know, but-"
"No ifs, ands, or buts! Get your head out of the clouds and start paying attention to class!" he yelled, pushing up his glasses before he went back to his desk.
"Fumiko is such a damn airhead!" a girl with long, raven hair gossiped to some girl in a pixie cut.
"Yeah! And do you notice how she doesn't have any friends? What a weirdo!" a boy with a crooked nose and freckles said rather loudly for the whole class to hear.
Soon, the whole class was whispering all kinds of catty things about the bubblegum-haired girl. Her cheeks blushed harshly in response, her eyes boiling hot. She felt like crying, but she didn't allow herself for that to happen. Her eyelashes flutter in a rapid manner to hold back her tears.
"Alright class, that's enough," the teacher began to speak. "It is now time for the monthly assembly. Everybody please get up from your seats and walk out in a straight line."
Everyone got up from their desks and proceeded to form a narrow line. Before she could catch up with the rest, Fumiko quickly grabbed a copy of Romeo and Juliet from the inside of her desk. She always founded assemblies to be a redundant waste of time. Clutching the book to her chest, she was the last in line, marching behind everyone else.
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Inside the school's gymnasium held all the students from Class 3A to 3D. Some students ran up to each other to greet on another and chat for a while before the assembly began. Upon entering the crowded room, Fumiko immediately opened up her novel and began reading where she left off at; right at the part where Romeo sneaks off to see Juliet on the balcony.
Her ears were then greeted by the sounds of snickers and insults by her classmates and other main building students. Her big eyes peered out from the corner of her book to look around. Everyone was all sneering at the lower level students: the class of 3E. The class where students had the worst grades in school. Kunugigaoka High had a incredibly strict uphold on students when it came to grades and behavior. If you kept your nose clean and your were grades excellent, you're part of the main building. However, students who weren't the best behaved or did terrible academically were sent to the mountain building of 3E. Naturally, they were the misfits of Kunugigaoka.
Fumiko gazed onto them with a sense of pity. She didn't understand most things, but she understood that the treatment that they probably endured everyday from the main building had to be awful. As someone who's always bullied by her classmates for her not-so amazing grades and small attention span, she probably understood what they've been through. Scanning around the students, she spotted two of the 3E students that she was familiar with. Closing her book and tucking it into her arm, she rushed up towards them with a warm smile.
"Sugaya-kun! Hinata-chan!" she called out, waving to a tall, slender male with silver hair and a small girl with short brown hair.
Sugaya's ears rung by the sound of an familiar voice. Turning around, he saw Fumiko coming up to him and Hinata with a sweet expression. Smiling softly, he turns to his side and taps Hinata on her shoulder.
"Hmm?" she hummed, cocking an eyebrow.
Sugaya then pointed at Fumiko and Hinata nodded, with a small yet firm smile crept from the corners of her mouth. She wasn't much of a smiley type of person, so whenever she attempted to smile, it looked rather serious instead of welcoming.
"Ohayou, Fumiko-Chan!" she waved back. She received a tight hug in return from her, patting her back as if telling her "you're suffocating me". However, she understood why Fumiko acted the way she did. Despite the two gals being close friends, they've drifted apart a bit since their first year as they were in different classes; only hanging out after school or on the weekends. "Air..... I need.... air," Hinata protested. Fumiko then stopped hugging her and patted down her uniform.
"Heh, sorry about that. I just missed you a lot, that's all," she chuckled apologetically, her hands clasped together.
"Oh no, I understand," she nodded.
Sugaya then fake-coughed to get the two girls' attention. "Hey, aren't you forgetting someone?" he chuckled, spreading his arms for a hug.
Fumiko giggled and proceeded to jump up to the beanpole, wrapping her arms around his neck. With smiles plastered on both of their faces, he twirled her around while they both laughed. They were extremely happy to see each other outside of their classes since it's been a while since they last hung out together.
Contrary to the three friend's reunion, both classes of 3C and 3E stared at them with bewildered expressions.
"Why is she talking to those scumbags from 3E?" one student from 3C shouted loudly.
Fumiko heard this and turned around, smiling obliviously. "Oh, well these are my friends, Sugaya-Kun and Hinata-Chan. We've been friends since our childhood and we don't normally see each other as often as we used to since we're in different classes," she explained in a bubbly tone.
"It's such a surprise that you haven't been transferred with those losers," the student sneered at her and the classmates of 3E. He then walks up to the tiny girl, smirking. "You would fit right in with them," he cackled as everyone else joined in with him.
Fumiko's mood then shifted from happy to shameful. She proceeded to tilt her head down, her uneven bangs covering most of her face. Some of the students from 3E had a similar reaction; with a blue-haired boy in clover-like pigtails sighing in despair, a tall, bulky guy glaring at the bullies, and a blonde boy with an overbite keeping his head down.
She then felt a pat on the back from Sugaya. She turns around and he gives her an assuring smile. Hinata crossed her arms and reached out to ruffle the top of Fumiko's head in an attempt to cheer her up.
"Thanks guys," she whispered softly, still flushed from the humiliation she, her friends, and the rest of 3E just endured. "I have to go off now. The assembly is about to start." She then waved sadly to Sugaya and Hinata as they both waved their goodbyes back.
She got in the back of the line with her class. There were still a couple of kids snickering up ahead of her about the recent incident, while some was trying to hear what the principal was about to say. Fumiko, on the other hand, didn't want to be in the gymnasium right now. She just wanted to be in the library, munching on candy and resuming on reading her novel.
"In short, you are all elites selected from the best of the best nationwide," the semi-bald principal spoke onto the podium microphone. "As your principal, I guarantee it." His gaze then fixated on the crowd and spotted class 3E. "Still, pride is a powerful enemy," he continued. "If you are negligent, you'll end up becoming like a certain group of hopeless someones," referring to the misfits.
The other students roared in laughter in response. "Hey now, you're all laughing far too much!" the principal teasingly said. "Well, your principal went a bit too far, too."
Sighing, Fumiko suddenly felt a tap of her shoulder twice. She turns her head around, seeing her teacher. "Mr. Asano would like to see you in his office immediately," he strictly told her.
Tucking her book underneath her arm, she ran off to go see the board chairman in his office.
"Well, at least I don't have to stay for the assembly. I hate that I'm going to go see the boardman, but still," she thought.
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"So you see, Mr. Junpei. We can't have your daughter attending our main classes anymore if she doesn't stop spacing out," Asano Gakuho explained to Benjiro, Fumiko's father.
The latter sighed tiredly and ran his hand down his face; trying to think of what to say.
"Gakuho-" he began speaking before being cutted off.
"That's Mr. Asano to you, Benjiro," he sharply responded. "We're not roommates in college anymore. I'm now this school's board chairman, so you are going to treat me as such. That starts with calling me by my surname."
"Sorry," Benjiro apologized, not really meaning it. "Mr. Asano," he began again. "You have to understand, it's been a bit hard for me and my daughter for the past two years. My wife was in a horrid car accident and has now been in a coma for quite a while." There was a hint of pain in his voice while explaining. "Ever since then, Fumiko's grades has slipped and she has been sleeping later compared to the last couple of years. So please, cut her some slack."
"While this is an unfortunate incident that I am deeply sorry for," Mr. Asano replied sarcastically before becoming serious. "There is no excuse for your daughter to be below average or disrupting the class with her in-between naps."
They stopped talking as they heard the office door opening. It was Fumiko. Her eyes widen as she seen that her dad was sitting in there.
"Daddy! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work right now?" she asked before closing the door behind her.
"Please have a seat besides your father, Fumiko." Mr. Asano offered.
She walked over to the empty chair that resided by her father, setting her book on top of her lap.
"Me and your father was just having a friendly discussion about transferring you to the mountain part of school. There is a building on the top of the hill where the lower students of the school attend. You'll be attending there starting tomorrow," he told her as he crossed his legs and sipped on his mug.
"Now, isn't this a bit harsh?" Benjiro protested. "Surely, she can just attend to some tutoring lessons."
With a sharp glare, Mr. Asano turned his attention to the pink-haired male.
"Are you questioning my proposal for your daughter and this school to have a better path to education?" he said in this creepy, monotone voice. It gave Fumiko and her father chills down their spine.
"N-no, Mr. A-asano. I j-just th-think it's a bit over th-the top to transfer her to another cl-classroom all because of some b-bad gr-grades," Benjiro nervously stuttered. Mr. Asano shook his head while he sighed and got up from his chair.
"Nope. It's my final decision. Whatever I feel like is best for this school's education system is how it will be," he made his final decision.
Benjiro threw his hands up in defeat, with the chairman smirking victoriously in return.
"You may now be excused, Benjiro," he allowed for him to leave. "As for your daughter, I would like to speak with her for a moment."
Benjiro got up from out of his seat and headed out the door. On his way out, he told Fumiko that he'll see her when he gets home. She responded with "ok".
As soon as the door closed, Gakuho made his way towards the files drawer. Inside was a single manilla envelope and a briefcase. Grabbing both items, he made his way back to his desk.
"Aside from the fact that most of the students are not academically gifted, the class of 3E is rather different from the other classes," he began to explain to Fumiko.
He then opened up the clasp that held the envelope together and pulled out two pieces of different paper; one was a map and one was a wanted photo. He then laid the two items down flat on his desk.
"These are directions to your new classroom," he said, pointing at the map. "This is your new homeroom teacher," he said, now pointing to the photo. The photo was a yellow octopus alien creature with a catlike grin spreaded across its face. Its attire was pretty unique for a teacher, with a graduation cap and a robe. Fumiko was confused by all of this. Why the hell is an octopus her teacher?
"Um, are you sure that's my teacher?" she asked the chairman, pointing at the photo with her index finger.
"Yes," he said with a straight face. He then turned his back with his hands behind him. "You see, your new teacher, Korosensei, has blew up seventy percent of the moon. For quite some time now, he's been waiting to destroy Earth. If we don't kill him by the end of the year, he will do the latter."
Fumiko's eyes shot up. Kill a teacher? What was this, some espionage movie of some sort?
Gakuho then turned back around and began to open up the briefcase. Inside contained a green knife and a bb gun.
"Along with 26 other students, you are in charge of assassinating your new homeroom teacher before graduation. If you fail to do so, he will not only destroy the Earth, but mankind as well. These weapons are harmless to humans and only work on your new teacher. Inside the gun contains BB gun pellets and the knife is made out of rubber," he explained, giving the two weapons to Fumiko.
"So, where should I keep them at?" she asked nervously.
"Hide them from your parents. Hide them in your room. Your bookbag. I don't care. The point is while your father knows about you transitioning to different classes, he cannot know about the fact that you are also assigned to killing your new teacher. If he finds out, or anyone other than your new teachers and classmates, we will be forced to erase your memory," he explained, getting irritated by the girl's many questions.
"Okay," she gulped nervously.
"Now, that'll be all. You may be excused, Fumiko," Gakuho said, closing the briefcase and manilla envelope back together.
During her way out the door, she putted the weapons inside of her cardigan.
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Fumiko flopped onto her bed with a diary in her hands. She was out of her school uniform, now dressed in a dark pink overall skirt and striped t-shirt. Crossing the back of her legs, she laid on her stomach and began to write about how her day was. Her diary was a marble white color with a pale gold ribbon on the front designed as if it was a present box. It was a gift from her mother on her 15th birthday, a year before she slipped into a coma. Fumiko has cherished it since, writing her personal thoughts and secrets inside of it.
She then heard a knock on the window three times and got up from her bed. Opening the window, she spotted a familiar boy next door who shot her a warm smile.
"Hey, Miko," Sugaya nodded, making his way up into her pink, vintage bedroom. He was also out of his school clothes and now in a yellow t-shirt and jeans.
Fumiko made her way back towards her bed, quickly putting her diary away next to her study desk. She sat crisscrossed style, clutching a pillow close to her chest. Sugaya sat down on her desk chair, his legs spreaded in between it.
As far as they could both remember, they've known each other since the age of seven. Being next door neighbors helped them have a close friendship with each other. They would spend their childhood days together racing down the street playing tag; playing 20 questions at the park; having tea parties in Fumiko's living room; and going to the movie theater. When Hinata came into the picture around the age of eleven, they were still close to each other, but since she was Fumiko's first female friend, they spent a lot of nights together having sleepovers in order to bond with each other. Even so, Sugaya and Fumiko's bond still went strong and as of this day, they try to be as close as they possibly can; even in seperate classes.
"So, what brings you here?" Fumiko began, batting her eyelashes at the lean boy. Oh, and for a long time, she has harbored romantic feelings for Sugaya. His artistic skills and calm presence was enough to make any girl swoon. However, in his case, he only seen Fumiko as his best friend, so he never noticed her flirtatious attempts with him.
"I got an email from one of my teachers, Mr. Karasuma, about a new student that'll be joining our class tomorrow," he replied, pulling out his phone to show her the email.
"I heard," she giggled, trying her hardest not to tell him. She wanted to make her secret about transferring to 3E a surprise.
"How come you're all giggly?" he asked, scratching the back of his head.
"Well..." she soon went into a giggly fit, covering her mouth up and falling back on her bed.
"Well what?" he chuckled.
Finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore. She then sat up and threw her pillow towards his direction in a playful manner. "I'm the new student!" she exclaimed.
Sugaya then handed the pillow back to her. He leaned forward to give her a tight hug. She then reeled him onto her bed, causing them to both flop on top of each other, exchanging childish laughs.
"So it's you? You're the new student?" he asked.
"Yup. I'm pretty excited," she beamed.
"Me too. We can finally see each other during school hours instead of waiting until after school," he said, turning over to his side to face her. She does the same, laying her hand on the side of her head. "But," he began.
"But what?" she asked.
"You're a main building student, well let me take that back. You used to be a main building student. Because of that, I don't know how well the rest of the class is going to greet you tomorrow," Sugaya explained in the nicest way possible, trying not to hurt her feelings. "Oh," she said, with disappointment in her eyes.
There was a moment of silence between the two friends. Nothing but eyes blinking and shifting around, trying to find the right words to say. Suddenly, Fumiko sprung up from her bed and slipped on her house slippers.
"Hmm? Where are you going?" Sugaya asked, now sitting up from the bed.
"Shh!" she hushed him, putting her finger up to her lips. "It's a surprise!"
"Huh?" he asked. "Wha? Surprise?"
"I can't tell you since it involves you as well," she said, grabbing Sugaya's wrist and leading him to the window.
"Hey wait a sec. Are you kicking me out of your room?" he asked her.
"No no. I'm not. I just don't want to spoil the surprise. Just go home. I'll show it to you tomorrow morning," she said, clasping the window opened.
With a confused look on his face, he climbed down the window and landed onto Fumiko's backyard.
"Fumiko-Chan!" he yelled at her.
"Have a good night Sugaya-Kun!" she yelled back, waving at him.
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Running down towards the staircase, Fumiko ran past the foyer and the living room into the kitchen. Her dad could be seen sitting on the couch, his sock-clad feet on the coffee table and a glass of wine in one hand. He was watching some 80s sci-fi movie on television.
"Good Evening, Daddy!" she greeted him while grabbing an apron.
"Oh. Hey there sweetheart," her dad turned to her, greeting her back.
"Hey. Is it okay if I make a couple of pastries?" she asked, piling some hand soap onto her palms and turning on the hot water handle to wash them.
"It's almost 11. Why would you want to make pastries this late at night?" he asked her curiously.
"I want to make some daifuku mochi for my new class tomorrow as a way to get to know everyone better," she said hurriedly.
He paused for a bit before he continued to watch his movie. He then turned his head around again and gives her a thumbs up. "Okay, that'll be fine," he grinned at her.
"Oh thank you daddy!" Fumiko clapped her hands together before she gathered a medium bowl from the dishwasher and a whisk from a drawer.
"I have to say dear. I'm surprised that you're willing to get to know your new classmates. Normally, you just pack a bunch of novels with you because you dislike talking to other students that aren't Sugaya or Hinata," he smiled.
"Well, people change daddy," Fumiko replied. The truth was, she didn't really want to bond with anyone else in 3E. She just wanted to get close again with Sugaya and Hinata, just like how things were before. The only reason why she was making daifuku mochis was because she wanted for the rest of the class to see that she wasn't like the other students from the main building. In a way, she wanted them to see her as an ally, not a bully.
Opening the cabinets, she grabbed a bag of mochiko (rice flour), a bag of sugar, some corn starch, and a pack of red bean paste. Immediately, she started on mixing the ingredients into the bowl and whisking them all around. She then added in a bit of water and proceeded to mix in the batter again. She then wasted the night away baking at least three dozens of daifuku mochis. After the pastries were finally done, Fumiko gathered three medium sized boxes and putted twelve of each in every box. Exhausted, she collapsed on the couch, breathing heavily. Her hands and face were covered in baking flour and she still had on her dirty apron.
"Hopefully," she thought before drifting to sleep. "This will help to make everyone warm up to me tomorrow."