"Oh, wow, Mrs Asano, this omelette is really amazing!" Karma was all smiles and praises at the breakfast table, sitting opposite Mitsuko while Gakushuu wouldn't stop glaring at him. "Thank you so much!"
Dad was sipping his coffee and looking at Karma like he was a demon who'd entered their home.
Mitsuko thought it was hilarious and couldn't stop smirking.
"Oh, thank you!" Mom smiled brightly, pouring him some orange juice. "Aren't you sweet?"
Gakushuu stabbed his toast with his fork. "Yeah, for a sadist."
"Gakushuu." Mom frowned, shooting him a chiding look. "Don't be rude to our guest."
Gakushuu glared. "But, mom, he—"
"Be nice," mom ordered sternly.
Karma's smile grew while her brother scowled.
"Fine..." Gakushuu muttered.
Mom smiled and placed her hands on his shoulders, kissing the top of his head. "That's my sweet, little man."
Karma nearly choked on his omelette when he tried to hold back a laugh.
Gakushuu's cheeks heated up, ducking his head to glower darkly at his plate.
Mom seemed oblivious and patted him on the head before walking back to the sink.
Mitsuko grinned, sipping her juice. "There was some fresh snow last night, you guys wanna build a snowman?"
"Yes," Karma said at the exact same time Gakushuu said, "no."
"I have work to do," Gakushuu argued.
Karma raised an eyebrow. "It's the winter break."
Her brother huffed. "And? I'm the student council president, there are a number of duties I'll need to complete before we enter the third term—especially with the entrance exams."
The red-head smirked. "Don't come in second place again."
"I'll murder you with this fork," Gakushuu hissed coldly, raising the fork warningly.
"What high school will you be attending, Akabane?" dad asked lightly, smiling politely as he drunk his coffee.
Karma's gaze lit up as the smile on his face bore teeth. "Oh, I'm staying on!"
Gakushuu stiffened. "What?"
Mitsuko smiled brightly, feeling a rush of excitement. "Really?"
"Yeah." Karma smiled at the Principal whose eyes had narrowed slightly.
"Oh, that will be nice!" Mom said cheerfully as she put away some dishes in the dishwasher.
Gakushuu glared at their mom briefly before directing it at Karma. "Are you being serious?"
"100%!" Karma replied with a smirk. "Unless you're worried I'll beat you again?"
Her brother's eyes narrowed. "Hardly." He scowled. "If you think one victory guarantees you top place in high school, then you're surely mistaken."
"Well, high school should be fun." Mitsuko smiled slyly. "It'll be fun beating you both."
"Oh, really?" Karma grinned. "That's bad luck, Asano. Mitsuko's gonna beat you for second place."
"I will murder you." Her brother sounded serious.
She smiled crookedly. "I'm just warning you, I won't be holding back come high school."
Dad seemed to find that amusing and patted her on the head, making her smile grow. "I'm sure you'll both try your best." He smiled at Gakushuu. "You both have the strength and determination needed."
Gakushuu frowned faintly.
"Does anyone want more juice?" Mom came over with a jug of orange juice.
Dad smiled sheepishly and held up his mug. "Well, my coffee—"
"Get your own." Mom's smile didn't crack, moving past him and towards Karma.
Mitsuko covered her mouth to smother a laugh at her dad's put-out expression.
"Would you like some more, Karma? Your glass is nearly empty?"
Karma was nearly having a laughing fit. "Y-yeah! Sure." He grinned, holding up his half-full glass. "Thanks for the hospitality, Mrs Asano!"
"It's no trouble." Mom smiled warmly. "It's nice having more people in the house."
"What is this a hostel...?" Gakushuu grumbled darkly under his breath.
Dad gave an unconvincing smile. "It's so...nice to have you, Akabane." He stood up to go pour his own coffee. "But just out of interest, when will your parents be returning home? I'm sure they'll want to catch you up on their travels."
Karma shrugged sipping his juice. "Well, they said the 31st, but since they know I'm staying at friends they say it might be the 4th January now."
Gakushuu started coughing. "W-what?!"
Dad's smile twitched. "I would have expected them to at least call beforehand to let us know." His wife shot him a dark look. "Not that it matters of course!"
"Awesome! Then you can help out with me and Gakushuu's party," Mitsuko said.
"Party?" Karma raised an eyebrow. "Wait, when's your birthday?"
"1st January," Mitsuko replied. "We're planning a hot pot party here on the day."
Karma raised an eyebrow before he grinned. "Ah, sixteen..." He stretched. "I remember when I was your age like it was yesterday."
"It was yesterday."
"I guess that's why I'm so wise-- I just can't help it really."
"For goodness sake." Gakushuu buried his face in his hand.
"It seems like a lifetime ago." Karma sighed loudly.
Her brother looked like he'd bash his head against a wall. "Stop. Just stop."
"You kids just don't know how good you have it until it's—"
Gakushuu swiftly picked up Karma's plate and tossed the breakfast on the floor when both their parents were distracted talking to each other about something.
"Gakushuu!" Mitsuko reprimanded. "What the hell?"
"Oops." Her brother shrugged with feigned innocence. "My hand slip—WHAT THE HELL!?"
Karma had poured orange juice on her brother's lap.
Both their parents looked over just as Gakushuu tried to put Karma into a headlock.
"Gakushuu!" Mom dropped what she was doing and rushed over. "We don't attack guests!!"
Meanwhile, dad sipped his coffee while Mitsuko sipped her orange juice as they calmly watched Mom try to pry the two boys apart.
***
"You're both going to kill each other in high school," Mitsuko declared as she and Karma built a snowman in the back garden.
Karma shrugged, gathering a heap of snow to roll into a ball for the middle of the snowman. "That's part of the fun."
She laughed, patting down the first large snowball of the snowman. It still needed to be rounded since it was lumpy in places. "Well, I don't want you to kill each other yet." She smiled warmly. "It's our birthday in a few days and I want us to spend it together."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." He shrugged, crouching down to mould the snow into a ball; he was wearing fingerless gloves which she had advised against. "Don't worry, you two will get your twin birthday."
Mitsuko nodded. "Good." Her smile wavered when she looked up at his bedroom window. "It might be our last one, so I want it to be special."
Karma was quiet for a bit. "Hey, don't be such a killjoy." He smirked. "We'll kill the pervy-octopus in time." His smile was sadistic. "I told the others we should make him watch the island video again before we snuff the life out of him!"
She wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. "Heh...right..." She looked down and patted the snow some more even though it was already smooth. "It's just...I don't know..."
"What?" He looked up curiously.
She chewed on her tongue, shrugging. "Do you think there's another way?"
Karma froze, frowning. "Huh?"
Mitsuko shrugged, standing up when her knees started to hurt, dusting off some snow from her woollen leggings. "With Koro-sensei..."
He stared at her for a moment, making her frown. "...You mean besides killing him?"
She shrugged again, growing unsure. "Well, yeah. Haven't you ever thought about it?"
Karma gave her a long hard look which reminded her too much of her brother. "No."
"Oh." Mitsuko's shoulders slumped as she shifted on the spot uneasily. "Well, that's fair enough." She sighed. "It's just something I've been thinking about."
Karma hummed. "Right." He focussed on putting the ball of snow on top of the larger one. "We still have a mission though."
"I know but..." She grimaced, crossing her arms. "I mean...he did save my dad." Her stomach twisted. "And that's only a fraction of the stuff he's done for me and my family...it feels like I owe him, you know?"
He stared at the half-finished snowman and shrugged again. "We have to kill him to graduate as assassins, right?"
"Well, yeah..."
"That's how the whole point for teaching us," Karma pointed out. "Way I see it, killing him is out of respect."
Mitsuko frowned, nodding. "You have a point..." Koro-sensei had done nothing but encourage them trying to kill him. It was the cornerstone that had caused them all to come together and become friends. "...He did keep pushing me to try to kill him, even when I wasn't sure."
They'd made a commitment to kill him but after everything he'd done...it was hard to just fully go through with it without feeling guilty. No one was talking about it, not even in their message group, but she couldn't really blame them. It wasn't nice thinking about what Ms Yukimura had gone through and how she'd died, just how it wasn't nice realising that their teacher was a trained killer who had murdered more people than Bitch-sensei and Mr Karasuma combined.
But still...
She took in a deep breath. "Whatever." She shook her head. "I honestly don't even want to think about it, I'm stressed enough just processing everything he's told us."
"Yeah, it was a lot." Karma shrugged. "Still can't believe the bastard was actually pretty suave pre-octo op."
Mitsuko smiled. "I know right." She tried to imagine it. "I can't even fully imagine him human so the whole thing with Ms Yukimura is a bit..."
"Hentai?" Karma grinned. "Guess you guys had a lot in common!"
She threw a snowball at his face. "Fuck off."
He chuckled, shaking the snow off. "Oh, you really shouldn't have started that!" He was already rolling up a snowball. "I'm gonna give you frostbite."
She ducked and grabbed a handful of snow. "Not if I shove snow in your pants!"
He grabbed an armful of snow and started pelting her with it. "Come and try!"
Mitsuko grinned sharply when the snow hit her and started piling up her own ammunition.
It was still just over three months until March came, which meant they might be able to get away with not thinking about it for a little while longer.
***
"Ugh! You're doing it wrong!" Mitsuko lectured when Karma missed a stitch on his knitting sample. "It's a mess."
"No, I'm not!" Karma scowled at her, the two of them sitting in front of the fire near the tree while she tried to teach him how to knit a basic scarf.
His stitching was atrocious and messy, with large gaps in-between the wool, which was disappointing since even when she'd been practising she'd never been so clumsy!
"Will you two keep it down," Gakushuu complained from where he was studying near the corner on a small table. "Some of us are trying to be productive."
Karma rolled his eyes when he looked over his shoulder at him. "Yeah, well some of us have a life outside of studying." He smirked. "You might wanna try and have some fun before dying of an aneurism."
Mitsuko laughed while Gakushuu glared at him. "I'm not going to die from an aneurism!"
"You sure? I can see your veins popping from here."
Gakushuu threw a pencil at him, it bounced off Karma's head.
Then dad walked in with some Christmas cookies and a miserable expression. "Your mother won't stop baking..."
Mitsuko smirked. "And you're stuck helping her?"
Karma grinned wickedly and made a whipping noise. "How's that ball and chain feeling, sir?"
Dad narrowed his eyes at the two of them. "How amusing." He sighed and placed the cookies on the fireplace mantle before looking over at Gakushuu. "She did ask if you wanted to help, Gakushuu."
Her brother visibly tensed, narrowing his eyes at their dad warily. "...I'm busy."
There were faint traces of amusement on dad's face as he walked over. "Still studying to make up for your loss, I see."
Mitsuko frowned when she noticed Karma grew more on edge when the Principal approached her brother.
Gakushuu gripped his pen tight as he looked up at their dad. "I would hardly call three points a loss."
Dad hummed and stared at the piled of books briefly before smiling. "Well, just remember to get enough sleep." He ruffled his hair, causing her brother to stiffen and look up in surprise. "You shouldn't overwork yourself. Proper rest is important."
Well, that was a 180 from the normal spiel.
"Uh, are we just forgetting the time you made us both stay up until 4 AM to run through those practice exams?" Mitsuko raised an eyebrow. "You know, back when we were thirteen?!"
Karma's eyes widened at that and then narrowed at the Principal. "Is that so, huh?"
Dad's smile dimmed, keeping his hand on Gakushuu's head as his gaze drifted off somewhere. "I haven't forgotten..." He sighed and gave her brother a small smile. "I suppose I shouldn't be the one telling you, but your mother worries you're not getting enough rest. I'm only relaying her concerns."
Gakushuu's brow furrowed as he stared up at their dad. "...I'm perfectly capable of getting the correct amount of sleep."
"Liar." She scoffed, making their dad smirk faintly. "You haven't had a full eight hours of sleep since you were twelve."
"Well, excuse me for being productive," her brother replied, huffing.
"It's called insomnia!"
Karma started to grin. "Hey, we could drug your coffee if you're having trouble sleeping."
Gakushuu looked horrified. "I'll have you arrested if you so much as breath near my coffee!"
"Not if you're knocked out."
Her brother growled, while dad chuckled lightly and patted him on the head, surprising them. "Be nice to your friend, son."
Gakushuu looked offended. "He's not my friend!"
"Aw! Second-place!" Karma pouted. "You're so mean!"
"Shut up, you pest!"
Dad's smile grew. "Well, I'll be back with more cookies." He started to walk out. "Your mother is on a baking streak it seems so I expect that plate empty by the time I get back." He smiled at them from behind the door. "Otherwise it'll be extra winter homework! I have a few practice sheets already drawn up!" Dad smiled sharply at Karma. "I also have some for you, Akabane. We can't let that sharp mind dull during the break!"
Both of the three students glared at their Principal as he happily hummed and disappeared down the hallway.
Karma raised the knitting needle threateningly. "You guys wanna stab his tires?"
"Tempting, but no," Gakushuu replied dryly, returning to studying.
"I am debating it," Mitsuko said, standing up to grab a cookie. "Let's just wait until he's done being mom's baking slave."
***
"Stop adding chillies!" Gakushuu smacked Karma's hand away from the hot pot.
Karma grinned, baring his teeth. "Why not? They sharpen ya senses!" He tried to put them in but Gakushuu grabbed his wrist. "Don't be such a wet blanket!"
Ren looked nervous. "Uh, I'm sure a few more chillies wouldn't be that bad..."
Mitsuko looked over in amusement from where she was snuggling up with Rio on the cushion on the floor. They were all gathered in the dining room with two hot pots on the boil with the dining table and chairs folded away to the edge of the room while the wooden floor had been covered with a large grey rug and lots of cushions.
Nagisa, Sugaya, and Araki were busy stirring the second hot pot while Seo and Koyama were arguing about what music to put on.
"Can you just agree on a song already?" Takebayashi asked, looking up from where he was reading.
Seo tried to wrestle the speaker from Koyama. "I've got the best stuff!"
"What's wrong with instrumental!?" Koyama complained. "
"I want songs with words, moron!" Seo yelled back, pushing his face away.
"Happy birthday!" Kurahashi came bouncing into the room holding two helium balloons by their strings. "Sorry, I'm late!" The balloons she was carrying were both blue and said 'Sweet Sixteen' on them while a glittery bag was in her other hand. "I had to get one of my brothers to drive me."
Mitsuko smiled and stood up. "No problem." She smiled and hugged her, accepting the balloons. "Thanks for making it—I know January 1st is kind of an awkward date..."
"Oh, no it's fine! Besides I normally just sleep in." Kurahashi smiled at Gakushuu. "Hey, Asano, where should I put the presents." She dangled the bag. "Don't worry, I got you one too!"
Her brother raised an eyebrow when he looked up, distracted long enough for Karma to slip some more chillies in the pot. "Just leave them on the side," he told her. "Present opening will begin promptly at 4pm."
"What? But that's ages away!" Rio complained, burying her face in one of the cushions.
Gakushuu crossed his arms stubbornly. "If you don't like it, leave."
Mitsuko rolled her eyes, tying the balloon to her wrist. "You can't tell my girlfriend to leave, Gakushuu."
He huffed. "Last time I checked, I'm the oldest and our parents gave me full authority over this party."
"Where are your parents anyway?" Sugaya asked.
"Dad's working in his office and mom's in her room reading," Mitsuko replied, sitting down next to Gakushuu so she could tie the other balloon to his wrist. "We would have kicked them out but there isn't really—"
"I don't want it tied to my wrist." Gakushuu tried to whack her hand away. "I'm not five!"
Mitsuko scowled. "But it's our birthday..."
"No," he replied irritably.
Her bottom lip wobbled as she fixed him with a wide-eyed look. "But, Gaku-nii..." She tugged on the balloon string as it bobbed in the air. "I want us to match..."
Gakushuu gritted his teeth and glared at her as Seo and Koyama were trying very hard not to laugh, while Karma laughed opening.
"Aw! Don't be mean, Asano-chan!" Karma chided, earning a livid glare from Gakushuu. "It's her birthday too."
"Don't call me that!" he snapped, and then felt his glare soften when gave him a pleading look. "...Ugh..." He scowled, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "...Fine."
Mitsuko smiled brightly. "Thank you!" She quickly tied the balloon to his wrist. "Aw, now look, we match!"
"This is completely pointless!" Gakushuu complained.
"But awesome blackmail material." Karma and Rio took pictures on their phones.
"Don't forget to smile!" Rio chimed in.
"Enough!" Gakushuu threw cushions at them both. "Does he really have to stay here until the 4th?" He shot Mitsuko an annoyed look.
Mitsuko smiled sweetly. "Don't be mean." She crossed her arms. "Your friends can be annoying too—you're lucky I let Seo come."
"Hey!" Seo snapped, glaring at her. "You're lucky I even came!"
"Well, you're free to leave anytime," Mitsuko replied dismissively.
"Hey, come on guys!" Ren intervenes, placing a hand on Seo and Mitsuko's shoulders. "Exams are over, I thought we were all going to try to get along now?"
"I never agreed to that," Seo said stubbornly, folding his arms.
Ren's smile tightened, digging his nails into his shoulder. "Yeah, well it's her birthday too so just deal with it."
"Ah!" Seo cringed. "Okay fine!"
Mitsuko smiled at Ren. "Thanks, Ren."
Ren smiled and swung an arm around her. "Can't have my two best friends having a bad birthday." He pinched her cheek fondly. "I even brought my portable Karaoke machine so we can duet!" He smashed her face against his chest as his eyes sparkled with wonder. "Our voices will be an angelic harmony!"
"Okay!" Rio quickly got behind them and pushed them apart. "A little less of the weird karaoke obsession!" She shoved Ren's face away until he fell to the ground, before wrapping an arm around her girlfriend. "Seriously, personal space much."
Mitsuko looked confused for a minute. "Uh..."
Ren scowled at Rio briefly, rubbing his face, before he smiled sweetly. "Hey, no need to get jealous, Nakamura, I'll duet with you as well if it really means that much to you."
Gakushuu and the other three seemed to find it amusing for some reason.
Am I missing something here?
Rio glared at him, holding her closer. "I'd rather lick sandpaper."
Ren's smile was coy. "You sure that's not the only thing you want to lick?"
Huh?
Rio turned bright red. "You—"
"Ren." Her brother snapped, wiping the smile off Ren's face.
"Sorry!" Ren looked nervous. "I-I was just joking!"
Her brother's gaze turned deadly "About my sister?"
Ren, Koyama, and Araki looked scared.
"N-no!"
What is...? Oh!
Mitsuko blushed when she finally realised.
Stupid boys!!
Mitsuko quickly cleared her through, trying not to blush. "U-um, anyway!" She smiled. "Let's all just put differences aside."
Nagisa smiled unsurely. "Yeah, it's the winter break, we're meant to be having fun."
Gakushuu huffed, picking at the string tied around his list before glaring at the balloon when it bobbed against his head. "We are having fun," he said matter of factly. "I've arranged several games for us to play while the food cooks."
"Uh, that sounds fun," Nagisa said, smiling still. "What kind of games?"
"Well, there are lots of educational ones to help stimulate our minds." Gakushuu picked up a stack of 'History Trivia' cards. "Now there are different fact trivia games to choose from but I've put forward History, science, and geography as the main contenders!" Then he picked up a blank grid. "Followed by Sudoku."
No one looked excited.
"Oh, God no..." Rio groaned, running a hand over her face.
Karma yawned loudly in the background.
"Uh..." Sugaya looked at Mitsuko pleadingly. "Or, we could maybe do something else?"
"Um, yeah..." Araki rubbed the back of his neck. "We are on a break after all..."
"And?" Gakushuu looked annoyed, lowering the grid. "Learning doesn't just stop, Araki."
Ren sighed deeply, rolling his eyes. "Here we go..."
Mitsuko smiled sheepishly, placing a hand on her brother's shoulder. "How about we save the trivia games for later once everyone's eaten?"
Gakushuu frowned. "I suppose..."
"Oh!" Kurahashi clapped her hands, making the Big Five look surprised by the sudden excitement. "We can play charades!"
"Please no!" Koyama buried his face in his hands. "My parents make me play that every Christmas."
"But it sounds fun," Nagisa said.
"Nah!" Karma exclaimed, standing up. "You guys are boring." He smirked at Gakushuu and Mitsuko. "What we really should be doing is playing a prank."
"A prank?" Mitsuko frowned.
Gakushuu scoffed. "If you want to engage in criminal activities, Akabane, then you can kindly leave."
Karma rolled his eyes. "Hey, relax, Mr Perfect." He grinned wickedly. "I wasn't thinking anything, criminal. Just a harmless prank."
Mitsuko exchanged a look with her brother. "What kind of prank?"
The redhead's smile was devilish. "Well, since the Principal is so close by, wouldn't you wanna get a little revenge?"
"You can't be serious?" Gakushuu said, frowning with the tiniest bit of curiosity.
"Yeah, pranking my dad is as good as suicide," Mitsuko commented, growing uneasy. "He doesn't have a sense of humour and he's the Principal--he has the power to make your lives a living hell."
"Yeah, but didn't you say your mom had him on ball and chain?" Rio reminded them slyly.
"And you did say he's really eager to earn your forgiveness," Sugaya pointed out.
"Well...yeah," Mitsuko's brow furrowed. "But that doesn't mean there won't be consequences."
"Oh, come on, live a little," Karma sighed in exasperation. "Way I see it, it's justice. You can't just let him get away with all the shit he put you through, where's that 'I'll crush you into oblivion' spirit!"
A few of them snorted in amusement while Gakushuu scowled.
Mitsuko started to smile. "...It could be fun."
Her brother gave her a sharp look. "Mitsuko..."
"Oh, come on, it could be fun!" she argued, smiling. "Besides, we shouldn't be afraid of dad anymore, remember?"
Her brother grimaced, still looking unsure.
"Look, it'll be harmless, I promise," Karma said, walking over to where his backpack was. "It'll be Primary School standard." He reached into his bag. "I brought lots of supplies."
"Just how long have you been planning this?" Gakushuu snapped. "And when did you stack up on supplies?!"
"Oh, I've had these since Mitsuko invited me over!" Karma looked over his shoulder and grinned. "Think of it as my gift to you." He took out a small sachet. "Behold!"
"What is that?" Seo peered at the pink sachet he was holding.
Karma chuckled darkly. "Just a little old powder to turn dear Mr Principal's teeth blacker than Asano-chan's heart."
"What?!" Gakushuu stood up and walked over. "Give me that!" He snatched the pink sachet and scanned the back. "Where did you even get this? Some cheap joke shop?"
"I don't reveal my sources," Karma replied lightly, whacking the hovering balloon in his face. "It's meant for consumption so it's tasteless."
Gakushuu scowled and tugged his balloon away and out of reach. "You do realise how perceptive my father is, correct? He'd see it a mile away."
Mitsuko's smile grew as she imagined her dad's perfect white teeth turned to charcoal. "We could put it in his coffee." She stood up. "He always has coffee breaks in-between working."
"But do we put it in all the coffee?" Kurahashi asked. "What if he looks inside and sees it?"
"That's a good point," Takebayashi commented. "He'll notice the inconsistency, and since you have a coffee machine, it might not be enough powder."
Mitsuko hummed, rubbing her chin. "Well, I could make him the coffee."
Rio frowned. "Would that work?"
"I think so." Mitsuko examined the sachet, reading the label. "What do you think, Gaku-nii?" She smiled mischievously. "Wanna have some fun Class E style?"
Her brother's brow knitted, staring at the sachet and then Karma's devilish grin. "...It would be something of a time filler." Then he scowled stubbornly. "But I expect us to play Sudoku and trivia afterwards."
Karma's eyes glinted. "Fair enough." Then he reached into his bag again and got out some spices and weird-looking powders. "While we're at it, I also brought a few more things for the long game!"
"Uh..."
Everyone else started to grow concerned.
A sweatdrop slid down Nagisa's head. "...Just how thorough did you plan this?"