Love in the Times of the Crescent Moon (Karma FF)

Chapter 10

"At least this is exactly the right place for our ambush."
Kit didn't feel particularly elite, yet she was thrilled about the trip. Her last vacation was with her whole family, her mother and her father. That memory didn't belong here, though, so Kit tried to shake it off and focus on the here and now.
"Look, it's starting," she said.
On the ship that was taking them to the island group, a gentle breeze blew, and Kit's dress flowed lightly around her knees. Looking around, she saw only relaxed faces. The only one who seemed affected by the sea air was Korosensei, whose head hung over the railing like a deflated balloon.
"Can we do anything for you, Sensei?" Kit asked as Kurahashi boldly attempted to poke his head.
"No, no. I'll be fine in a moment. Thank you, Kitsan."
"May I ask you something, Korosensei?" Kit wanted to know, as Kurahashi, unsuccessful, left to get a refreshment.
"Certainly." It looked as though he was slowly inflating his head again. "What's on your mind, Kitsan?"
"Tell me, have you ever lost someone you loved?"
He thought for a long time. "Yes, I have," he replied truthfully.
"And how did you manage not to be broken by it?"
"Are you asking for yourself?" he replied with a question.
Kit shook her head slightly. "No, I think I'm managing well enough."
"You're worried about your father," he concluded. "Well, to love someone wholeheartedly is always to invite a particular kind of pain. It takes time for these wounds to start healing."
"But I'd so much like to do something for him."
"Hehehe," Korosensei chuckled. It seemed terribly insensitive to Kit, but then he patted her arm with one of his tentacles. "But you are, Kitsan - every day. I assure you, you are the reason he's even trying to reclaim his life."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I see and hear every day how much he loves you. It's a paradox, but I believe only love can heal the pain of losing love. It doesn't have to be a new partner or even a person - it just has to be love. And in your father's case, it was certainly you who, after your mother's loss, forced him to keep going, and that saved him. Look." His tentacles gently turned Kit so she was looking directly at her smiling father, who was standing next to Irina. "Could you have imagined that he would ever come along on a trip like this again? And it even looks like he's having a little fun."
Kit suppressed a few tears. It was true.
"Thank you, Sensei," she whispered softly.
"You're welcome," he whispered back. "Sometimes you just have to take a different perspective, don't you?"
She nodded silently. They stood together at the railing in harmony as Korosensei's head slowly began to deflate again.
They had planned to kill him that evening. Throughout the day, one group at a time distracted him while everyone else made preparations. Their plan was solid. Everyone knew their role. At the welcome drink at the hotel, they exchanged furtive glances. The time had come. They were going to kill Korosensei.
Once night fell, they lured their teacher to a chapel. They weakened him by forcing him to watch an hour of endless reveals of his own embarrassing moments - this struck him especially hard - then they were allowed to destroy his promised tentacles. Kayano took over Kit's share, while she herself sat in a motorboat that was responsible for demolishing the chapel. At the same time, the students formed a cage of water with flyboards. Then, hidden snipers aimed at Korosensei, and they all thought he was done for.
Instead, he took on an incredibly small form. He looked like a talisman in a plastic sphere, only it wasn't plastic but condensed, virtually indestructible crystal. This form made him immobile for a day before his body would regenerate, but that didn't help them much if they couldn't kill him.