A/n
Hello, and thank you for 5.6k+ reads and 210+ votes! I had lots of fun writing this one... Here's today's chapter :)

"Well, shucks. That sure throws a wrench into my plans." The Reaper sighs, looking down at the screen in his hand.

"Korosensei and Mr.Karasuma!" Hara exclaims hopefully.

"He came all the way from Brazil?" Nakamura says in thrilled disbelief.

"Oh, well. Plan 16 it is." The Reaper says, walking off and ignoring our chatter.

"My time to shine." Ms.Bitch says, staring after him. A few moments later, we hear gunshots and the ceiling opens. A yellow blob drops in, almost hitting multiple of us. Holy..! Korosensei?!

"Sir!"

"Korosensei!"

"Are you okay?"

Being preoccupied with the unexpected appearance of our teacher we hardly register a metal-barred grid closing the ceiling back off. Korosensei stares up at the ceiling remorsefully.

"Ms.Irina..." He trails off.

"Sensei!" Kayano cries.

"Class..." Korosensei says, slowly turning to look at all of our faces. "Is everyone unhurt?"

"I can't believe he captured you, too." Maehara says, looking down. I lean against him slightly, our shoulders touching. Korosensei reaches out to test the bars, the end of his tentacle melting as he does so. Yellow gas rises from the area.

"A cage made of anti-sensei material, eh?" He observes. "It's tricky stuff, to be sure... but my body has finally overcome it!" Korosensei announces.

"Wait, really?" I say, my classmates murmuring similar exclamations. Korosensei laughs evilly.

"Now to reveal to you... my secret biological weapon!" He barks, eyes glowing red. Then he promptly gets on his knees and starts licking the bars.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." I remark.

"I formed this tongue with a coating of digestive juices. Give me half a day, and I can lick these bars away." Korosensei explains.

"Too slow!" We all shout as a door clicks open.

"Say..." a voice says, causing our attention to divert from Korosensei. The Reaper! Ms.Bitch and Mr.Karasuma, too! "Keep licking like that, and I'll detonate everyone's neckbombs."

"What? Aw!" Korosensei groans in dismay.

"Now, then. Better hurry." The Reaper says, approaching our cell. "I'm about to flood this place with water." He says, causing all of us to gasp. From there he continues. "This is a drainage canal. I just have to give the command from the control room up above, and two hundred tons of water per second will squeeze you into spaghetti against these bars." He says, making direct eye contact with Korosensei.

"Wait! You intend to kill the students too?" Karasuma says, rushing up behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder as if to hold him back from such a heinous act.

"Of course." The Reaper replies without hesitation. "Now that he's here, I can't wait a moment longer." Karasuma scowls at him, but the Reaper simply smiles.

"Irina! You knew as much, and yet..." Karasuma trails off as Ms.Bitch refuses to meet his gaze, turning away.

"As a pro, I just prioritized results. That's all." She responds. "Isn't that what you wanted?" Karasuma looks at her, horrified, while the Reaper shrugs off his hand.

"True, it may be a little harsh..." The Reaper starts. "but is that reason to let our best chance of saving the world slip away before our eyes?" He reasons. I may be a little biased, but it seems like a perfectly good reason to me! Karasuma stares at the ground, deeply conflicted. As Karasuma contemplates his options, the Reaper brushes past him and heads for the door.

"Here's how the government sees it." Karasuma says, whirling around to face him. The Reaper turns to face him only to get socked across the face, the impact so hard it sends him skidding across the floor. "The lives of these twenty-eight people weigh more than the Earth." Karasuma says, loosening his tie. "If you stop plan on killing them, I'll stop you."

"Mr.Karasuma!" We say, touched and relieved by his words.

"S-So cool!" Korosensei fawns over him. Karasuma sheds his jacket, glancing over at Irina.

"And I'll tell you this, Irina. Being a pro isn't quite so simple." He says, dropping the jacket to the ground. Her eyes widen. The Reaper, however, seizes this moment to make a run for it. "I don't think so!" Karasuma barks, barreling after him.

"Mr.Karasuma!" Korosensei yells after him. "Turn on your transceiver!"

"Hmph. How rash." Irina laughs, removing her collar. "Karasuma may stand apart from others... but he goes even further." She says, twirling the collar around her finger as she struts up to our cage. "Just look at how easily he trapped that octopus."

"Ms.Bitch..." Yada murmurs as the woman we once admired eyes us coldly.

"Irina, I need your help." The Reaper says from her earpiece, our stunned silence allowing us to hear. "I've set a trap. While Karasuma's fiddling with it, shoot him from behind."

"Understood." She answers, holding up her pistol. Then she turns and exits the room, not even bothering to look back at us. True to the Reaper's word, an explosion shakes the ground a few moments later in what I can only assume is the trap he mentioned. Another follows in its wake. Eventually there's even a third, especially bad sounding boom. It's not sounding good out there... and Korosensei hasn't been able to get any responses, either.

"Mr.Karasuma! Mr.Karasuma! Are you alright?!" Korosensei yells into the transceiver.

"What is it?" We finally receive a hurried reply.

"I finally got through." Korosensei says, relieved. "What was that explosion?"

"I'm all right, but Irina's pinned under the debris." Karasuma reports. Cue more gasping. "But there's no time. I'm going after the Reaper."

"You can't!" Kurahashi shrieks suddenly as Korosensei holds up the transceiver for her to speak into. "Why won't you help her, Mr.Karasuma?"

"Kurahashi..." He says in surprise before his tone turns gentle. "Irina partnered with the Reaper to get results in her own way. A real pro accepts the consequences of her actions."

"What does being a pro have to do with it?" Kurahashi pushes. "I know this is coming from a fifteen-year-old... but Ms.Bitch is only twenty-one! Growing up in an environment with no peace of mind, she probably forgot to pick up some of the pieces along the way that would've made her a grown-up. So please... rescue her, Mr.Karasuma. Just like how you forgive us students when we make mistakes."

After Kurahashi's passionate speech, we work on our own plan to escape death. While the Reaper is running and unable to constantly monitor the camera, we hide ourselves in plain sight. So here I am, balanced on Maehara's shoulders and Okano balanced on mine with our uniforms all camouflaged to blend in with the wall. And another plus: no more handcuffs. Or 'neckbombs'. He really needs a better name for those.

"You'd better not drop me this time." I say to Maehara.

"When did I ever drop you?" He asks.

"You didn't. But that's only because I pulled myself into a tree before you had the chance. And this time I have no tree, and Okano's up here too." I say.

"Okay, okay. I get it!" He says.

"The bombs' remote has only a detonate command and an unlock function. They're so simple that we can just pull them off without them exploding, and he'll never know." Itona explains atop Terasaka's shoulders.

"Th-This is rough." Terasaka complains.

"The protective coloring matches the walls, and the light quality is just right!" Okajima cheers. "Just like you said, there's a spot the camera can't see properly!"

"Then with Sugaya's spray..." Mimura adds. "This assassination camo works great on our super P.E. clothes. We can make 'em perfectly wall-colored!"

"Sheesh..." Nakamura sighs. "Who knew the RC peeping squad would play such a big role?"

"What about Korosensei?" Maehara asks.

"He's got protective coloring built in." Sugaya answers.

"Which means he's buck naked right now." Nakamura makes sure to add.

"Now I can never get married!" Korosensei sobs.

"Quit blushing or he'll see you!" I scold him. Korosensei never answers as yet another crash distracts us.

"What was that?" Kayano asks.

"Hey, what's going on?!" Nakamura presses after we are all safe in the ground, Korosensei scanning with his zoom eyes.

"Um, er... The Reaper has a knife—no, a wire! He used that on Mr.Karasuma, and—oh, wow! He blocks with his elbow—no good. Eek!" Korosensei commentates. "He's using his knife as a shield, and seeing that, he switched to a kick, but at the same time...! What a... what a great fight!" Korosensei cheers enthusiastically.

"What the heck are you saying?!" Okano yells at him.

"Mmm!" Korosensei squeaks, caught off guard.

"Explain it so we understand!" Maehara says.

"Well, now we know why he isn't a sports commentator." I shrug.

"Ah, so cold! You've wounded your dear, old teacher!" Korosensei cries dramatically. I stare at him blankly, as do the rest of my classmates.

"Just get on with it!" We all yell. Then Korosensei's mouth drops open and his eyes widen, creating the perfect picture of shock.

"Tomato juice! Does anybody have tomato juice?!" He asks frantically.

"What? Why would we have that?" Nakamura asks.

"Actually, I do. It has great pigment." Sugaya says, whipping out a bottle.

"Perfect! Thank you, Sugaya!" Korosensei says, letting one of his tentacles extend out of the cage as he chugs the tomato juice. We all watch him, baffled. "I can just fit one tentacle through." Korosensei explains. Not long after, Karasuma and Irina return and free us, the Reaper unconsciously being dragged behind them. We all marvel at the sight. A red fleshy skull had replaced his pale skin, his green eyes no longer kind. Where'd his face go?!

"The man had marvelous skills, but put too much faith in them." Karasuma says as we all look down at the body.

"Whoever influenced him was a fool." Korosensei says coldly. "He could have used his skills to follow a much straighter path."

"Sparing people or killing them... It's all up to the person and the world around them." Karasuma says.

"Yes, exactly." Korosensei says, plopping a tentacle on Nagisa's head, startling him. "Right, Miss Irina?"

"Urk!" She exclaims awkwardly, obviously trying to sneak away without us noticing. She looks back away and inconspicuously continues to tip-toe away as we all sweat drop.

"You bitch!" We all scream, chasing after her.

"What's the big idea, tryin' to run away?!" Terasaka yells.

"Eeek!" She shrieks as we finally catch up to her, Yoshida and Muramatsu each grabbing one of her arms to prevent her from escaping. "Ow! Argh! Just do whatever you want! The boys with their usual pent-up animal lust, the girls with their usual envy of my beauty—just let it all out in an explosion of sexual violence!" She screams, falling to her knees as we all look at her, perplexed.

"Uh, Yeah... I don't think anybody wants to do that..." I trail off awkwardly.

"Her ideas are getting wild!" Kimura agrees.

"Look, just come to school like always." Terasaka speaks up. "No more shirkin' your duties for days on end."

"I'm dying to know more about that story—swindling Arabian royalty until you were on the brink of war!" Yada says with a wink.

"If you don't come back I'll just keep that French Boys Over Flowers manga you lent me!" Kataoka threatens jokingly.

"You know I was this close to killing you all." She says, looking up at us.

"Is that a problem?" Takebayashi asks, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Backstabbing, treachery... Isn't that what makes you a bitch?" He says as Muramatsu and Yoshida pull her up to her feet.

"And if we can't even enjoy school with a bitch, what are we doing being junior-high assassins, anyways?" Nakamura says with a smile.

"That's right." A new voice joins the conversation. Mr.Karasuma..? Irina looks at him with wide eyes. He walks up to her, pulling out a singular rose. We all gape at the scene like fish, shocked into silence. "This flower wasn't borrowed from our students." He says as he hands it to her. She barely even glances down at it, her eyes glued to him as he continues to speak. "I came by it intentionally by defeating the enemy. Is that good enough for your birthday?"

"Yes." She says, her eyes shining with tears as she presents him with an emotion-filled smile.

"Ooh, we have potential!" Korosensei says excitedly, writing down notes.

"But I had dibs!" Kurahashi cries as Yada pats her head.

"There, there." Kataoka says, rubbing her shoulder with a mirthful smile.

"Mr.Karasuma, a word before things take a turn for the racy?" Korosensei interrupts as Irina practically floats away, her face glowing with blush.

"It definitely won't, but please." Karasuma says, quick to object the notion.

"I don't want the students involved in this kind of danger again." Korosensei says, laying a tentacle on each of our heads, one by one. "I must insist on an environment where we can safely kill and be killed." This would sound really weird without context.

"I know." Karasuma answers, his eyes narrowed.

After that, we are finally allowed to go home. I yawn as I walk alongside Maehara, the moon shining brightly in the sky. The blond had insisted on walking me home. I think the whole situation with the Reaper scared him a lot more than what he's showing. As we get closer to my door I begin to see the hesitation in his steps. I stop a few feet before my house and look at him.

"Hey-" I start.

"I-" He says, our words overlapping. "You go first."

"Okay... Are you sure you're feeling okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, I... I just don't want to go home right now. It feels weird for things to just go back to normal after, Well... that." He says. "Sorry, don't worry about me. I'll see you later."

"Wait!" I say, grabbing his hand. "Why don't you just spend the night? I mean, Korosensei and Mr.Karasuma said that we won't have school tomorrow." I say impulsively, still wanting to be with him. For a moment he looks as if he might reject the suggestion.

"If that's okay." He says, sounding more unsure than I've ever heard him before. We sneak in the house and up to my room. I quietly shut the door behind me, making sure not to wake my parents before looking back at Maehara, awkwardly standing in the middle of my room. I walk over to my drawer, pulling out the clothes I borrowed from him and just kept forgetting to give back, before handing them to him.

"Sorry I never returned them. I guess it worked out okay, though. Don't worry, I washed them." I say.

"It's okay. But, uh... Where do I change?" He asks.

"Oh, right!" I exclaim quietly. Normally I'd just say the bathroom, but then my parents would probably come check on me. Well, right now just my mom. Dad is away on a business trip for the week. I grab some clothes of my own. "If it doesn't bother you, I can just look away. And close my eyes. You can even put my blanket over my head. You'd need to do the same, though." I say, grabbing a blanket off of my bed and throwing it over myself, not yet covering my face. He looks at me and smiles, laughing a bit.

"Yeah, that's fine." He says, walking over to me and gently adjusting the blanket to cover my eyes. I hear shuffling as he switches clothes before he lifts the blanket off of me. "Your turn." He says with a mischievous smile. My face heats up slightly as I pull the blanket down over his eyes. Besides that, I don't answer, instead quickly changing into a comfortable pair of pajamas.

"You can look now." I say, poking him in the arm. He reveals his face, though he keeps the blanket wrapped around him, sticking his arms out and wrapping me up in the blanket with him. He squeezes me tightly, his face buried in the crook of my neck. I run my hand through his hair, the strands slightly tangled from the day's events.

"I.......ou." He mumbles.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that." I say. Maehara lifts his head from my shoulder and instead rests his forehead on mine. My eyes widen at the close proximity of our faces. His eyes flick down to my mouth, and before I know it his lips are on mine. I freeze, my brain malfunctioning. Hiroto's... He's kissing me?! I blink, finally processing his actions when he quickly pulls away from me, backing away and letting the blanket slide to the floor as tears well up in his eyes.

"Shoot! I'm so sorry! I just—ack! I can't believe I just did that!" He says, running a hand through his hair as he paces.

"Hiroto."

"And—Wait, that was your first kiss, wasn't it? Ah, crap! And now I'm making it seem like nobody wants to date you, which isn't true because you're beautiful, and amazing, and smart, and—"

"Hiroto!" I repeat louder. He finally looks at me and his face falls.

"You're crying..." He murmurs.

"You are too." I point out as he quickly tries to wipe his tears away.

"I'm such a horrible person... I just did that to you but I'm crying." He mutters, looking down. I carefully close the distance between us, placing my hands on his cheeks and pulling him into a kiss. He falls backwards onto my bed in surprise, his hands instinctively landing on my waist.

"There... Now we're even." I say, all my mental strength going to holding eye contact, especially with that expression on his face. When I can't do it anymore, I pull my blankets over us and bury my face in his chest, clinging to him as tightly as he is to me.

*Flashback*

"I love you." He mumbles.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that." I say to mask my disbelief. No, I heard you just fine, I just can't believe it.

*Flashback End*

"I love you, too." I whisper.