"Ryushi!" she called out, as she dashed into the clearing, her heart pounding. She spotted him standing there, calm and composed. With relief, she jogged over to him. "Ryushi. I-"
"I know," he responded softly, placing a comforting tentacle on her shoulder. She bit her lip tightly before abruptly wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace. "This is nice..." he murmured. She let go and looked up at his face, finding solace in his calm expression.
"You know what needs to be done, right?" She looked almost hesitant
"Yes..." His smile remained constant, "Sorry, Emi.. looks like I'll be leaving you again"
"No" she shook her head, smiling up at him, "you helped me so much again. You gave me something I haven't had in a long time.." He gave her a questioning look, "You gave me hope"
His small beady eyes widened a little before returning to their normal size. "I'm glad..."
"Ryushi, your class–" but before she could continue, the rest of the class arrived.
"You've all come so far, class," he said. Emiko backed away from him, allowing 3E to gather around him.
"That's the light from the laser," she motioned up at the sky.
"I see. So they'll be firing the killing laser just before midnight. That much power would even shut down my absolute defence form," Ryushi observed, his gaze fixed on the ominous light.
"No!"
"Korosensei, let's find a way out of here!" Kurahashi pleaded, turning to him. "We'll be your hostages– or whatever it takes!" The rest of the class nodded in agreement, determination etched on their faces.
"There's no possible way to stop that laser," she declared, garnering everyone's attention. "It's too late. Especially now that people know about Ry- Octopus," she corrected herself, silently cursing her slip-up.
"Did you know all along that it would come to this?" Hayami asked, her voice trembling as she turned to Ryushi.
"Even if I don't explode, you can't expect all these nations to not be afraid of a creature like me. Sooner or later, they'll want to snuff me out. It's only reasonable," Ryushi explained calmly.
"There might have been a way if only we'd acted sooner... Like breaking the barrier projectors, or making rounds online and on TV to plead our case!" someone suggested desperately.
"That would have gotten you labelled even more dangerous, and you might have been placed under stricter surveillance. Besides, the projectors have impregnable defences. There are anti-aircraft weapons in place; if I so much as huck a rock at them. Excluding Mizuki, with your current capabilities and equipment, you'd most likely get caught along the way. That is how perfect this plan was," Ryushi explained, clenching his fist. "They spared nothing, pouring in tech and time and people. This assassination, this crystallization of the world's wisdom and efforts, surpasses my abilities, for which I offer my respect and am honoured to be its target."
"But... Then all our hard work getting here– that was wasted?" Yada asked, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Is anything ever really wasted, Yada?" Ryushi placed a tentacle on her head. "You went all the way to space to find out that the probability of me exploding was less than one per cent. That brought light back to a darkly sinking E Class, and the month that followed was short but very sweet. That process, your hearts–" Ryushi pressed above where his own heart would be, "that's what's important. You learned every last bit of what you needed to learn to come and see me. As a teacher, there can be no greater happiness."
YOU ARE READING
Deadly One
FanfictionLife hasn't been the very best for Emiko Mizuki growing up. At the young age of six, Emiko's family was killed by a gang, following her father's last wishes she ran out of a bloodbath of a house and didn't stop until she was so tired she passed out...
