Chapter 9

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"We're going on vacation!" Kurahashi shouted with excitement

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"We're going on vacation!" Kurahashi shouted with excitement. "We're going to the Okinawa Islands!"
"It's a study trip," Karasuma corrected yet again.
"I think I'll head to the beach first," Kayano mused, and Kit eagerly nodded in agreement.
"It's a study trip, not a vacation!" Karasuma insisted, at a loss for what to do. He understood their excitement, but they needed to keep their focus on the real objective.
"Bitch-Sensei, you look amazing!" Nakamura exclaimed admiringly. When Karasuma turned to the door, there indeed stood Irina - in a white beach dress, complete with a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses. She looked fantastic, but...
"Irina, you can't be serious!" he snapped. "I've spent the last half hour explaining that this is not a vacation, and here you are, dressed like that!"
"Oh, relax, Karasuma! Why shouldn't we enjoy ourselves while hunting down the octopus? I can still look good while doing it," she retorted, running her fingers through her blonde hair, approving murmurs from the male students.
"You really don't need to worry, Karasumasensei," Kurahashi tried to reassure him. "We're planning our next strike very carefully. But Korosensei doesn't need to know that. Don't underestimate us."
"You're right," he relented, "just don't forget your priorities."
"Speaking of priorities," a new voice chimed in.
"Korosensei!" they all called out in unison.
"When did you sneak up on us?" Bitch-Sensei asked as Korosensei let out his signature laugh.
"Well, I come bearing interesting news. Your home economics lessons will now be held in the main building, separated by boys and girls," he said, tapping his tentacles together sheepishly.
"This is all your fault!" several students yelled at once.
"It's because you always overdo things, Sensei!" Terasaka accused, pointing a finger at him, as their teacher's face turned pale blue.
"I'm so sorry!" he cried, gesturing wildly behind his podium. "I only wanted to make the lessons a little more engaging."
"There was that one time he set everything on fire, wasn't there?" Irina whispered to Karasuma, who reluctantly nodded.
"The board has decided I'm no longer allowed to handle your home economics lessons," Korosensei lamented, tears streaming down his round face.
"Yes, because you attract too much attention," Karasuma interjected irritably. "You're a state secret."
"Now, because of you, we have to go to the main building every week and face all the ridicule from the other students," Maehara complained.
"Wrong," Korosensei's face turned a deep violet with a large red X across it. "You should see this as an opportunity. Some of you want to study here in Tokyo next year. Then you'll be encountering many familiar faces from the main building. You should learn to walk confidently through the halls of this school. You've shown in the recent exams that you're as capable as anyone here, so be proud of yourselves. Even if you're planning on moving to another school, you'll face situations in life that you'd rather run from. But sometimes, the best defense is a good offense. You may not be afraid."
"How long did it take you to come up with that speech?" Karma called out from the back row. "It's still your fault; no need to sugarcoat it."
"I'm not sugarcoating anything, Karmakun! You're so mean!"
One way or another, it was decided: once a week, the girls would make the trek down the hill for their home economics class, while on another day, the boys had to go down, annoyed that, unlike the girls, they had to hike back up afterward to finish their classes.
"There's one upside to all this," Kanzaki said after their latest class in the main building. "The facilities are much better than ours."
"True," Kit agreed as she washed a pot. "But Irinasensei is hopeless. I'm sorry, but she has absolutely no clue about home economics."
"True as well," Kanzaki nodded. "The alternative would have been your dad. Would he have done any better?"
"Probably not." Kit laughed at the image of her father in an apron. "I'll take the key back to the office and catch up with you."
The official reason for moving Class 6-E's home economics lessons to the main building was that it would allow the other students to see how they didn't want to end up, and remind the E-class students they were outcasts. The boys struggled more with it than the girls, especially since the school's elite was almost entirely male and eager to assert their dominance.
"Just give me the key," a voice suddenly interrupted. Asano was standing in front of her. "I'll give it to my father."
"Alright." Kit placed the key in his hand. "Thanks."
There was a pause, but Asano didn't move, maybe waiting for his friends who were approaching from behind.
"By the way, do you want your umbrella back?"
He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly before replying loudly, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Okay," Kit sighed, turning away. "Have a nice day."
"We're not friends," she heard him say behind her.
"I'd noticed."

The next day, Kit met her friends in town. It was a Saturday afternoon in the middle of summer, and they were in great spirits.
"Let's go to the fair," Kayano suggested, with matchmaking intentions for Sugino and Kanzaki.
Kit, in on the plan, nodded enthusiastically. Karma and Nagisa were also on board, so they headed off to the fair.
"Ferris wheel?" Kit nudged Kanzaki, who they all knew had a bit of a fear of heights.
"I'd rather not."
As expected, Sugino immediately assumed the role of chivalrous friend. "If you don't want to, of course we won't."
"Maybe we'd still like to go," Karma interjected, giving Nagisa a nudge to signal him to agree.
"You two go ahead," Kayano waved them off and led the way to the Ferris wheel.
From above, it looked like Kanzaki and Sugino were doing just fine on their own. Kit leaned forward to get a better view.
"That was easy enough. Now we'll just keep our distance for a while and see what happens."
"I didn't know you liked playing Cupid," said Karma, who was sitting beside her.
"Oh, and what about you?"
"I'm just doing it for my own ends. Kanzaki and Sugino are far too distracted to be of any use in our assassination attempts. They need to resolve this so they don't get in our way."
"How romantic." Kit rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help smiling.
Karma smiled back. "I've never claimed otherwise."
"True."
"Maybe we should 'lose' you two by accident too," Kayano teased, grinning.
"So you can be alone with Nagisa-kun?" Karma shot back, causing both Kayano and Nagisa to blush.
"Nice one," Kit complimented, trying not to look too flustered herself.
"Thanks. How about we go get spooked?" Karma pointed to the haunted house on the other side of the fair. "No chance of running into Kanzaki and Sugino there."
"Yep, but last time we went to a haunted house, you really scared the actors, Karmakun," Nagisa pointed out. "I actually felt a little bad for them."
"Not my fault if they're so jumpy. They picked the wrong job. Besides, their hiding places were way too obvious. That should have taught them a lesson. After all, I paid for it, so they owe me a better performance." Karma shrugged, but Kit could have sworn there was a mischievous glint in his eye. "I'll hold back, okay?"
"We'll let the girls handle it," Nagisa suggested.
Kit and Kayano exchanged a grin, and it was settled.
Ten minutes later, they stood before what was supposedly Japan's scariest haunted house.
"We'll see about that," Karma remarked skeptically. "Come on."
They entered a dark hallway that soon split into two tunnels.
"Right or left?" Nagisa asked.
"Both," Karma replied coolly. "I want to see what's in each direction. So the real question is, who goes left and who goes right? I suggest we take this way and let the lovebirds explore the other one."
He guided Kit ahead, appearing completely relaxed, though she hardly dared to move forward.
"The trick is to stay calm. You'll only be startled if you're too tense, expecting it."
Bravely, she caught up to him and was starting to calm down when a shadow whisked past her face. With a jolt, she grabbed onto Karma's shirt. He stopped abruptly and turned, looking annoyed.
"You don't have to do that."
"What?"
"Play the damsel in distress," he said, his tone harsh. When Kit shook her head, confused, he added, "I don't need pity, and I'm not the person for your need to help others."
As he spoke, she tried to figure out how the mood between them had turned so suddenly. Clearly, this wasn't about the haunted house.
"I think I need to set something straight. If this is about that night after exams, I can assure you my pity was limited."
"Oh please, I saw the look you gave me."
"You know what, Karmakun?" she started, then took a deep breath and thought better of it. "You're right. I'm sorry that day was rough for you, but that's because I see you as a friend, and friends are there for each other." She paused and looked at him. He narrowed his eyes, waiting. "That doesn't mean I see you as some helpless victim of this cruel world. You're responsible for your poor grades yourself. If you weren't so lazy and arrogant, you could beat us all by a mile." She shrugged apologetically. "That's the reality."
He smiled. That was a good sign, but she tried to keep a serious face.
"This isn't funny. For someone as smart as you are, you sure act really foolish sometimes." His smile turned into a broad grin, and she couldn't help but laugh. "And by the way, I never play the damsel in distress - that's just not me. I'm simply jumpy. Are we good now?"
"All but one thing: What kind of killer are you, getting scared by a shadow?"
"I always say I'm totally unsuited to be a killer," she assured him, but just then, she sensed something behind her and instinctively swung her right foot backward. With a loud crunch, one of the actors went down. "Oh, damn! I'm so sorry!"
"Well, now I'm actually getting my money's worth," Karma smirked, as Kit bent down to check on her unintended victim, assessing the damage.
"I guess that's just an occupational hazard."

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