(Karma's POV)
"So, tell me the plan once again?" Nakamura frowned her brow.
"We're going to give (Y/N) a surprise party," Sugino grinned.
"And how are we going to do that?" I placed my hands behind my neck.
"And where are we going to hold the party?" Nagisa added.
"Okay, so you all know how much (Y/N) likes to ice skate, right?" Sugino looked at each one of us.
"Of course we do. How could I ever forget her excitement when we went there?" Kayano smiled.
"So, I'm thinking of throwing her the party there," Sugino began explaining the plan. "I think there's a special offer for birthday parties that we can look up."
"And how are we supposed to lure her in genius?" Nakamura skeptically crossed her arms over her chest.
"We tell her we're meeting up there," Sugino said. "It's not that difficult."
"Not very original but okay," I shrugged my shoulders.
"First things first," Sugino placed his hand on his chin, "we have to see the different prices for renting the skates and if there are any perks of coming in as a large group."
"So, who's going to go?" Nakamura asked.
"I can go," I said nonchalantly surprising everyone. "It's no big deal, I wasn't planning on doing anything today."
__________________________
I opened the doors to the ice rink and looked for the information point. As soon as I entered, I immediately noticed the cold reaching my skin. I didn't mind. I liked it. Ever since the rainy season ended, summer was coming closer and it was beginning to notice.
I walked around the facility and my eyes were drawn to a figure skater gliding across the ice. Her movements were swift and graceful as she performed complicated tricks. I wasn't gonna lie. It was a breathtaking and dangerous sight to see, all at the same time. One false step and she would end up in the hospital. The person had her eyes closed, her hair tied up in a ponytail flowing freely. Just by watching her, a sensation of freedom and happiness overtook me, startling me. Her crystal clear laugh filled my ears as I couldn't help but watch awestruck.
It was then that I realized who that person was. It was (Y/N). I had never seen her so peaceful and free. It suddenly hit me. Now I understood why I hadn't recognized her at first. Her expression was the same as the one she wore that time I caught her singing in the mountains. That excitement and love for what she was doing was what was making her look so different yet at the same time so familiar.
I would be lying if I said it wasn't a beautiful sight to see.
'What am I even saying?!' I shook my head. 'Since when do I care about these things?' That same question that I asked myself a few weeks ago popped back into my head.
I teared my gaze from her figure and looked down at the floor furrowing my brow, my fists clenched tightly. What was happening to me? I used to believe crushes were dumb, sometimes even a waste of time. I was always right, wasn't I?
'Forget it,' I shook my head and tucked my hands inside my pocket as I turned around and walked away.
As I was nearing the door, her laugh suddenly reverberated inside my head. It came so abruptly and without warning that it made me stop right in my tracks. I could even imagine her smile.
I slowly turned around. She hadn't noticed me. She was too busy concentrating on the ice. I kept watching her. It was nice seeing her so free. She had warmed up to the class, but she was still holding back...And, honestly, I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy her presence. It was fun teasing her and it was even more entertaining when she teased me back.
Shaking my head, a smile tugging my lips, I walked over to the information center. If we were to throw her a surprise party, might as well make it good.
(Your POV)
"Who is that guy?" Nakamura whispered in your ear as she pointed discreetly at the man carrying big bags that was walking towards you.
"Hi there," the man gave you all a big, warm smile, "my name is Takaoka Akira! Starting today I will be working here helping Karasuma. It's nice to meet you all!" The man greeted as he placed all the bags on the floor that were up to the brim with sweets and cakes.
The whole class, except for Karma who had decided to skip class, gathered around the man excitedly as they peaked inside the bags at the delicious sweets he had brought.
"Sir, is it alright to give us these sweets? Aren't they very expensive?" You asked timidly.
"Sure, eat up," he smiled. "I planned to empty my wallet so don't hold back. Please don't think of it as some sort of trap. I don't want to waste any time getting along with you guys!"
Takaoka-sensei was nice enough to share his sweets. He even gave Koro-sensei permission to eat as much as he wanted! It was very refreshing to have another nice teacher like him with you and you were looking forward to his classes.
"You're kinda like a neighbourhood father figure!" Hara said.
"That's not bad at all!" Takaoka-sensei laughed at the thought. "Since we're all gonna be in the same classroom. We're kind of like a family, aren't we?" He brought you and Nakamura close to his chest as you yelped in surprise at his sudden movement.
'Wow he sure is strong,' you thought.
You quickly learnt that Takaoka-sensei was going to teach you PE from now on whilst Karasuma-sensei would focus on office work. You were sad that you former teacher wasn't going to teach you PE anymore since you had learnt so many things thanks to him and his teaching methods. You had been even capable to beat Asano at martial arts! But the thought of at least being able to see him from time to time and having Takaoka-sensei as your teacher was enough to lift your spirits.
"Now then," Takaoka-sensei began as soon as Karasuma-sensei and Koro-sensei were inside the building. "Along with a complete overhaul of the training program, class E's schedule has also changed," he continued as he gave out our schedule."
You read it in silence, your eyes widening more and more as you kept reading. This had to be a mistake.
"You're kidding, right?" You heard people whisper.
"10 periods?" You heard others say.
"If we follow this curriculum, your abilities will grow by leaps and bounds," he smiled happily. "So, without any further delays..."
"Hold on a second!" Maehara interrupted. "This schedule is impossible," he voiced out your thoughts. "And there's no time for us to have fun either" There's no way in hell we can do this!" He complained.
Takaoka-sensei kept smiling throughout his whole complaint but as soon as he finished, he grabbed him by his hair and in a swift movement he punched him in the gut and threw him down to the floor as Isogai quickly tended to the nearly unconscious boy.
"It's 'we will' not 'we can't'," he flashed you all another smile which had become sinister and creepy. "I told you right? That in our 'family' I'm the 'father'. Is there a family in this world where the father's orders aren't absolute?"
You were all with your mouths agape. This man was crazy!
He told you what your first exercise would be and you couldn't do anything more but to comply to his orders.
"Is everything alright?" Takaoka-sensei asked as soon as he was in front of you.
You slowly nodded your head, your eyes filled with fear of what this man could do.
"Excuse me Takaoka-sensei," you said softly, hoping that words would be powerful enough to make him understand.
"Yes my dear?" He smiled making your knees tremble in fear.
"I respect your training schedule," you began, the feeling of uneasiness never leaving your body. "But I was hoping we could work something that would benefit the both of us. It's just that we're already very busy with school work and the training sessions are very long so we won't have any time to-"
SLAP
His hand came in contact with your face at such a speed and force that you didn't even see it coming. The sudden and strong impact made you fall down to the floor, your cheek burning like you had never felt it before.
"(Y/N)!" You heard Sugino yell as he ran towards you. He picked you up from the floor with the help of Nagisa and Nakamura and helped you stand straight.
You were too stunned at what had just happened that it didn't even ache as much as you believed it should have. You couldn't believe what he had done. Not even your mother hit you but this man was able to hit people without any remorse. As you looked at him he didn't even seem fazed at all. It was as if this whole episode hadn't even happened.
"You guys don't even seem to get it at all," his eyes were emotionless, it was like looking at an empty void. "'Yes' is the only thing I should hear out of you. If you have a problem with that, then how about we let the fists do all the talking?"
Fortunately, Karasuma-sensei and Koro-sensei came to the rescue. But, as soon as they came, they had to stand on the sidelines and watch as the new teacher mistreated you. You couldn't believe Takaoka-sensei.
'Koro-sensei is supposed to be the monster out of the three teachers,' you thought. 'But the only monster I see is standing right in front of me.' You looked at the ruthless man in front of you.
"Karasuma-sensei," you heard Kurahashi mutter underneath her breath.
"Oi!" Takaoka-sensei walked over towards the girl. "Karasuma-sensei isn't part of our family," he brought his fist into the air and was ready to swing it and hit Kurahashi but was stopped by someone's hand.
'Karasuma-sensei?!' You thought, hope enveloping your body.
Takaoka-sensei proposed a deal. He would let Karasuma-sensei choose one of you to spar against him and if that student was able to land a hit on him with their knife, he would leave. But if he didn't, he would stay and the other teachers would have it prohibited to intervene.
Takaoka-sensei took out a real knife from his bag, claiming that that would be the knife the student would be using. Karasuma was enraged at his offer but there wasn't any other way out. After thinking about it, he grabbed the knife and handed it over to Nagisa, surprising all of you.
Nagisa's eyes were as wide as yours but after a few seconds, his eyes changed completely. They were determined. They seemed... ready to kill. You gulped at the sight. You had never seen him like this.
"Nagisa," you called making him turn around when he heard his name. "Be careful," you whispered.
He nodded his head and turned around to face Takaoka-sensei. The whole class watched in silent. Everything was at stake. You didn't want to imagine what would happen if you lost. You weren't only worried about the fate of the class in hands of that monster, but also of what he would do to Nagisa.
The fight began slowly as Nagisa walked towards the teacher. His pace was relaxed and calm as if he wasn't afraid. He walked towards the teacher and flashed him an innocent smile, taking the whole class off guard. What was he plotting? But as soon as he got close to the teacher, it all happened in a blur and before anyone of you had the time to process it, he had him restrained to the ground, his knife mere millimeters from Takaoka's neck.
"Gotcha," Nagisa smiled.
The whole class erupted in cheers, you included. You couldn't believe it! He had won! You all ran over to Nagisa and hugged him, your happiness overwhelming you. Out of nowhere, the principal suddenly appeared.
"I came to see the state of affairs, as the proprietor, I was interested in the new teacher's abilities." Asano-san walked over to Takaoka-sensei who was down on the ground since he had been knocked down by Karasuma-sensei when he had tried to attack Nagisa from behind. "But you know Takaoka-sensei? Your class was horribly dull," he smiled.
He told Takaoka-sensei something else that you weren't able to hear and after standing up, he stuck Takaoka's dismissal letter in his mouth. You all cheered, overjoyed that Takaoka was no longer to be seen. Nakamura pulled you into a bone-crushing hug as she began jumping in excitement.
"(L/N)," the principal's voice interrupted your little celebration. "Come with me," he motioned with his finger for you to follow him.
You quickly bid farewell to Nakamura and your friends and followed the principal without complaining.
"Sir?" You asked as soon as you catched up to him.
"Let's take you to the infirmary," he continued walking down the mountain.
"I-I think there's a first aid kit inside the buil-" you began but were interrupted.
"Oh, I know," he gave you a smile. "But it's best if you see the nurse at the main campus. That was a pretty hard hit."
"You... You saw all that?" You stammered. Why hadn't he appeared sooner?
"I know what you're thinking," he continued walking as you had a hard time keeping up with his long legs. "But I first had to evaluate the teacher, don't you think?"
You didn't agree with him. It would have been better if he had appeared sooner. After what Takaoka had made the whole class suffer, you were sure that was enough to fire him. Even though you disagreed with the principal's idea, you decided to remain quite. It would be better that way.
"Sir," you suddenly remembered. "If we're going to the nurse, shouldn't Maehara come too? He also received quite a hard hit from the teacher."
Asano-san kept walking as if he hadn't just heard your question and you had no choice but to follow him without complaining.
Once you arrived at the main campus, he brought you to the nurse's office. The nurse didn't even question the reason behind your bruise and gave you an ice pack. You slowly placed it on your cheek, flinching at the contact. The school bell rang, signaling the end of classes. You were surprised. You hadn't realized how much time had gone by. Once you were given her approval, you were allowed to leave. You exited the nurse's office hoping that you wouldn't cross paths with your former classmates. However, luck wasn't by your side and you come face to face with Asano.
"(Y/N)? What happened to you?"
"I-I got hit by a ball," you replied.
"How? When?" He frowned his brow.
"I'm sorry but I have to go back to the old campus," you brushed past his side, "I left my bag there."
You slithered down the corridors as you tried your best not to bump into anyone. You hoped Asano hadn't decided to follow you but you were sure he was too busy attending to the multiple fangirls that had quickly begun to circle around him. Since finals were just around the corner and he was the Student Council President, he was more busy than ever.
You quickly made your way up the mountain and as you were halfway there, you saw Nakamura, Sugino, Nagisa and Karma going down.
"(Y/N)!" Nakamura yelled as soon as she saw you. She ran down the mountain as if she didn't care about falling and brought you into a hug. "What did the principal want?" She asked curiously.
"Oh, he just wanted to take me to the infirmary," you instantly touched your cheek.
"Wow, since when does he care so much about end class problems?" She laughed. "Oh, I nearly forgot!" She turned around and focused her attention on the three boys coming down the mountain. "You sure do take your time, huh?" She teased.
"Give us a break Nakamura," Sugino sighed. "You hurried us out of class as if there was a bomb."
"Don't whine so much Sugino," she rolled her eyes. "Come on Karma, give (Y/N) her backpack, I know you're hiding it behind your back," she smirked.
"You're no fun Nakamura," Karma stuck his tongue out and handed you your things.
As soon as all the boys caught up to you, the five of you walked down together.
"It was that teacher, wasn't it?" Karma's serious voice startled you.
"Wha-?"
"The bruise," he pointed at your cheek.
You pursed your lips in silence. You could hear the other three talking, too busy to hear your conversation.
"I'm sorry," you whispered.
"Why?! He should be the one who's sorry!" He shouted.
"I've always followed by the orders they gave me," you said. "I should have done the same with him. But... for some reason. I spoke up. I don't know why," you shrugged your shoulders.
"You did good in standing up," his soft voice startled you. "It's not your fault that guy is such a-"
"I get it," you quickly interrupted him. "You don't have to say it," you laughed.
"Aww, but I wanted to," he whined dramatically as you only rolled your eyes.
The way down the mountain was filled with laughter making you forget for a few minutes the events from today. You were glad you had such good friends.
As soon as you reached the main campus, the four of them abruptly stopped without warning as you continued on walking. You furrowed your brow in confusion once you realized they were no longer beside you and turned around to see what had caused such a sudden stop.
It was Asano. His friends were right behind him.
"(Y/N)," Asano called, "there you are!"
"Oh hi," you waved awkwardly. Having your friends form class E and Asano and his friends from class A together was like watching a crossover between two opposing move firms; unexpected and unsettling.
"Finals are approaching," Asano announced. "You should be studying class E," he said as if he meant it as a threat.
"Asano what are you-"
"Now, what happened (Y/N)?" Asano pointed at your cheek.
"I already told you," you gulped. "I got hit... by a ball."
"And why?"
"Since when is the Student Council President interested in someone other than himself?" Karma mused taking a step forward.
"I'm not talking to you Akabane," he gritted his teeth.
"And she doesn't want to tell you Asano," he laughed. "So mind your own damn business and leave us alone," he flashed him a sadistic smile.
"(Y/N)," Asano called, "let's go."
You turned around to face your friends and, with an awkward smile, waved goodbye. You didn't want to anger Asano. After all, he knew about you being friends with Karma and he could easily tell your mother. You were sure your mother didn't even know Karma but Asano would probably fill her in. You walked behind Asano and his friends in silence. You turned around one last time and mumbled a quiet sorry. You just hoped they weren't mad at you.
After waving goodbye to Asano's friends too, you got inside the train.
"So, will you now tell me why you're hurt?" Asano asked going straight to the point.
"I've already told you, I got hit by a ball," you said. He sure wasn't giving up. Why did he even want to know so badly? Since when was he so interested in the end class problems?
"Then why was Akabane so defensive?"
"That's just his personality," you said. "He just likes to tease people a lot."
Asano remained silent, as if processing your words.
"I guess you're right," he finally said. "But really, how did you get hit?"
"Uh... we were playing baseball," you replied. "And I'm very bad at it," you said, grimacing at the fact that you were admitting it. You were glad Karma wasn't here to hear you because you knew he would tease you to no end about it. "So I didn't see the ball and got hit."
"It sure was a hard ball... wasn't it?" He inspected the bruise carefully.
"Yeah," you moved away from him. The last thing you wanted was for him to inspect the injury.
"I was just saying it because..." he began, "I saw you come in to the infirmary with my father. So, it should have been quite bad for him to go up the mountain just to bring you to the main campus' infirmary... don't you think?"
Great. He suspected something. If you wanted him to stop trying to uncover the end class' secret, you would have to lay low whenever you were with him.
"He just appeared to be there," you shrugged your shoulders. "He must have been checking something with my teacher."
"Huh... what a coincidence."