In less than a year, the world could be doomed. When Karasuma brings his daughter Kit to stay with him, he has no idea that this decision will turn not only her world but his own completely upside down. While Kit settles into her new surroundings fa...
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Two shots, fired with precision. Grip yelped in surprise and threw himself to the side, completely unprepared for a counterattack from the students. Blood poured from his arm, while the knife laid with a clean blade at Kayano's feet. She quickly picked it up. Limping a few steps forward on his uninjured leg, Grip turned around, only to find himself surrounded by a group of high schoolers who jumped on him and securely restrained him. "Who the hell did that?" Grip yelled, looking around. When his gaze landed on Kit, who hadn't moved since firing her weapon, he laughed mirthlessly. "I was shot by a little girl. I can't believe it." Kit, snapping out of her daze, slowly lowered the pistol. Before anyone could start wasting time with questions, she said, "Keep moving; you need to hurry. I'll catch up." The others moved on without another word. Only her father seemed about to say something, but Kit tapped the gun in her hand, reassuring him he didn't need to worry. Once they were alone, Grip spoke. "You're a good shot." "Maybe it was just luck?" "No, definitely not. Clean shots, but nothing vital hit. You wanted to disable me, not kill me." "I'm a bit out of practice; that hit on your thigh might bother you for a while." She began to tend to his wounds, using two strips torn from her shirt to bandage them. "Where did you learn that?" "Do you mean the shooting or the bandaging?" "The shooting, of course." "From an elite soldier," she replied simply. "Ah." He seemed to understand. "Who is he? Not... your father?" Kit nodded without looking up. The gunshot wounds required her full attention. "He taught me to defend myself as a little girl. First with my body, then with weapons." "Maybe you do have what it takes to be one of us." "Absolutely not." She shook her head firmly. "People shouldn't kill. After my dad almost died once, I decided never to use a weapon again." "Until now." Kit looked him in the eyes for a long time. He truly had the presence of a killer. A cool gaze, a calm so profound it was as if they were in the eye of a storm. She would never be like that. She didn't want to be. "Until now, yes," she murmured thoughtfully, her vision briefly blurring before everything cleared again. "You know, I saw it. I saw how you aimed for his heart. But you can't have his heart." She smiled involuntarily, and suddenly a deep, overwhelming happiness filled her, bringing tears of gratitude to her eyes. He was alive. She had made sure he was alive. "So that's how it is," Grip said quietly, and for a moment they both drifted into their own thoughts. "I wouldn't have done it, you know." When Kit finally reached the rooftop of the hotel, she had missed the whole spectacle: a killer named Gastro and the real mastermind behind the entire scheme. "Takaoka-Sensei?" Kit asked, astonished. She thought of her father's former colleague who had briefly made their lives miserable. He hadn't stayed with Class 6-E for long, as they had quickly realized what a terrible person he was, but no one could have guessed that his revenge would take this form. "Luckily, these friendly killers didn't give our classmates the actual poison." Karma pointed to the three assassins Smog, Grip, and Gastro, whom they had subdued on their way to the rooftop terrace. "They just gave them food poisoning, so they'll all recover. That lunatic wouldn't have given them the antidote anyway."
The next morning, they all sat together in the hotel's breakfast room, and Kit was pleased to see that some of her friends were already starting to feel better. "Who wants to come to the beach?" Kurahashi's cheerful mood was contagious. "Come on, we only have one day left, and after all the hard work, I think we deserve a little fun!" "Are you feeling well enough for it?" Kit asked, looking over at Kanzaki. "I think so. To be honest," she admitted shyly, "I'm already wearing my swimsuit underneath." "Me too," Kit and Kayano laughed in unison. After they'd finished eating, they made their way to the beach. It was a hot day, perfect for a cool dip in the ocean. When would they ever get such a chance again? Kit immediately threw herself into the gentle waves, letting herself drift a little and savoring the feeling of being in this beautiful place. "Kitsan," a voice interrupted her daydreams. Looking around, she saw Korosensei on the shore, waving his tentacles wildly. It was still strange seeing him outside school in his true, yellow, and rather comical form, but she thought they'd get used to it - until she remembered that they were supposed to kill him. "Come on in, Sensei," she tried to coax him. "You know I swell up in water." "True." She grinned, quickly gave up, and swam closer to the shore where she could stand. "What's up?" "Kitsan, I have a wonderful idea. I was actually thinking of matchmaking some of you students, but..." "Oh no, that doesn't sound good," she cut him off. Nothing good ever came from ideas like that. "Most of us don't like to be matched up." "Yes, I thought so too. But sometimes people who like each other need a little nudge, don't you think?" "I'm not saying yes." "But it's true." "You're just looking for gossip again." Kit eyed him skeptically, but his expression was unreadable. Suddenly a thought occurred to her, and she blushed deeply. "You weren't thinking of matchmaking me, were you?" "Oh no," Korosensei dismissed with a two-fingered tentacle, "from what I see, you're handling that well enough on your own, aren't you?" Kit looked down, embarrassed, wishing she could sink into the warm sand and never come out. It was truly mortifying, but he wasn't finished. "At the moment, you're my only hope for a little romance in this class, Kitsan. But we could change that." "Really?" She was all ears, unsurprised by her teacher's lack of boundaries. "Have you noticed Irinasensei's recent efforts?" "In what way?" "Well, I think she may genuinely be interested in Karasumasensei, so I thought..." "You want to set up my dad?" she asked, confused. "Well, only with your approval, of course." "How did someone like you ever become a teacher?" Kit asked, shaking her head. "Are you doubting my teaching methods, Kitsan?" "No, but you don't exactly separate work and private life." "You're all my beloved students, and naturally, I support love between my colleagues too," he replied passionately, waiting for her support. He seemed visibly surprised to find Kit looking down, arms crossed. "You know, I have nothing against my dad finding a new relationship, but are you sure Irinasensei's intentions are serious?" "Ah, I see. Well, I do think she likes your father very much. She just finds it hard to show it. Her professional experience gets in the way - it's the only way she knows how to deal with men." Kit thought about his words, and the more she did, the clearer it became that he was right. She might not have noticed it before—or maybe hadn't wanted to see it—but it was true. Finally, she nodded. "Then it's our job to help her." She smiled.
It was easy to get the others on board. The girls gave Irinasensei tips on how to act and dress, while the boys handled all the organizational details, occasionally chiming in with comments on what guys actually liked in a woman. Kit watched her teacher closely and was surprised to see how insecure she truly was. Somehow, that made her endearing. The only thing the students couldn't control was how the date itself would go, which they had cleverly arranged to take place at the beach. Kit had decided before anyone else to abandon her lookout post and move to another part of the beach. Her father's dates were none of her business. The rest would be up to the two of them, she thought, leaning against a rock worn smooth by centuries of ocean waves. "You seem dedicated to saving lost souls," she heard a voice behind her and immediately knew it was Karma. She shifted slightly to give him room to sit, signaling with a smile that he should join her. For a brief moment, it felt strange facing him, as they hadn't had a chance to talk since the showdown last night. Tactful as they were, none of their classmates had brought it up either. Everyone agreed it was something just between the two of them. "Yes, looks that way. Who knows, if the world ends in a few months, I might not have much time left to do good." She made a silly face, but he remained serious. So serious that her pulse started racing. Nervously, she met his gaze. "You saved my life. Thank you." "Well, it would've been a bit of a shame to lose you." "Yeah?"
She nodded and rested her head on Karma's shoulder, avoiding his gaze. She had just said it offhandedly, but suddenly, the painful reality hit her: the world might end in a few months. And only they could do something to stop it. All at once, the weight of this burden grew so heavy that it felt as if it were pulling her heart into dark depths. Did she even have the right to be sitting here, enjoying herself, when she should - rather than flirting - be working on a plan to save the Earth?
