Target Acquired - VOLUME 1

CHAPTER 1 - "Assassination Time"

Tick. Another minute has gone by and still, silence. Tick. I swallow quietly and look up from my lap. Tick. I glance to my left and notice Asano running his hair through his hands. Tick. He looks over at me and points his head towards his dad's desk. Tick.

For the last ten minutes, Asano, his dad, and I have been sitting in complete silence. There was a meeting scheduled between the three of us by Mr. Asano, but so far nothing has been discussed. To make matters worse, Mr. Asano's office isn't very decorated. I mean, sure, there's like a hundred certificates and awards hanging up on the walls and a few generic family pictures are displayed on his desk, but that's hardly much to stare at for ten minutes.

After a few more minutes, I clear my throat and say, "If we're just going to sit here, not saying anything, for the next hour, then I'm leaving."

Mr. Asano looks up from his desk, smiles, and replies, "Go ahead, Miss Yanagisa. I only called you here to make you tardy to your first class this year."

I smile back sweetly as I pull out the voice recorder I have stuffed into my handbag. It flashes green quickly, which means it's activated. "I doubt you'd like to have that information leaked to the public, sir."

Mr. Asano laughs for a moment but quickly switches his expression to a more threatening one. "We all three know that you can't exactly do that," he asserts. "At least, not in your situation, Miss Yanagisa."

I snap back with, "There'd be no reason not to, seeing as the Ministry of Defense would take me in without much hesitation." Of course, I'd never actually try to get taken in by them. Who wants to be turned into a government weapon, anyway?

~

Shit! Shit! Shit! I'm running late for my first day! I grab my phone from my handbag and check the time. It's already 8:50, and school started at 8:30! I bet attendance has already been taken! Well, at least I blackmailed Mr. Asano into erasing my tardy for today.

"Damn it, why does the E-Class have to located at the top of a frickin' hill?!" I huff out to myself, sprinting uphill. What the hell, school board? I mean, navigating the absolute wilderness that is this hill is bad enough but trying to run whilst doing it is like running a marathon ten times in a row!

"What are you running so fast for?" a male voice calls out behind me. Oh great, it's-

"Karma?" I yell, turning around to find Karma Akabane studying me. He's amused by something, but when is he not? "School started like 20 minutes ago!"

"Only 20?" he responds. "Damn, I'm not even late today!"

I stare at him blankly. What does he mean 'only 20'?

"You do realize this isn't the A-Class, right?" he asks. "That tardy shit doesn't matter anymore."

Something clicks in me. He's right. It's almost like the world has been turned upside down. Not only is Karma Akabane actually right about something, but I'm worrying about being late to a class with a science experiment for a teacher!

I laugh like a psychopath as Karma walks up to join me on my ascent. He looks puzzled. After I attempt to regain my sanity, I burst out:

"I've hit fucking rock bottom!"

~

As I near the classroom entrance, I hear a male voice taking attendance. It sounds enthusiastic - so it's definitely not Karasuma's.