「68th period」: erosion time

2.9K 141 2
                                    

I R O H A I N U K A I
犬飼 彩葉
student no. 29

season 2 episode 14

7PM in the evening — the breeze was as strong as ever, and dusk seemed to pass faster than usual. Winter was truly making its way. But here we were, standing in the middle of the field of zebra grass at the back hills, as if willing to get sick in such a temperature.

Kayano stood in front of us, tentacles waving in the air, as her back was turned against us. Wheras Karma made sure he stayed beside me, as if to stop me from doing something beyond stupid.

I wouldn't put it past him, though. From where I stood right now, it took every will I had to restrain myself from jumping to Kayano to stop her.

 From where I stood right now, it took every will I had to restrain myself from jumping to Kayano to stop her

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

"So you came" the green haired girl faced us with a smile, "Then, let's end this".

It took one stroke of her tentacles to cut the grass.

"Korosensei, I'm the one who gave you your name. I'm practically your mother, so I'll scold you and destroy you".

"Kayano-san, it is too dangerous to keep using those tentacles!", the octopus attempted to divert her attention. "If you do not remove them and get treated immediately, your life could be in danger".

"What are you talking about? They're in excellent condition" she scoffed. "It's no use trying to make me lose my composure with a bluff".

"Kayano..." Nagisa spoke up, asking the same question we've all been meaning to ask, "Was it all an act? Even when we were having fun? Or overcoming trials together with everyone?".

"It was all an act" she said proudly, "I am an actor, after all".

Liar.

Even actors put a part of themselves in a role.

A few months ago, I was convinced that I'd just pull another facade too, and yet, now, I can't even admit that everything was 100% an act.

That said, what more Kayano who spent nearly the entire school year in this class?

"Kayano Kaede" wasn't just a role.

It was the other side of the same coin.

I won't buy this "act" of hers, or rather I didn't want to.

"When Nagisa was defeated by Kataoka-sensei, I was so irritated, I wanted to join the fight too. When I was kidnapped by delinquents and kicked by the Reaper, I was so angry, I wanted to kill them. But I bore it and acted like a frail girl. Because if my identity was found out before I killed him, I wouldn't be able to avenge my sister"  she uttered.

"Your sister... Yukimura-sensei?" Fuwa asked.

"It was so unfortunate that she was killed by Korosensei. She loved being a teacher. I heard a little about you all, too".

Takebayashi spoke up, "We know, Kayano. In March of our second year, we only had her for two short weeks. But she was a very passionate and good teacher".

"Would Korosensei kill Yukimura-sensei just like that? He's never done anything that cruel in front of us before" Sugino stated.

Kurahashi agreed, "Right? At least hear him out, Kaede-chan".

"He was a teacher who even came all the way to my house when I was suspended" Karma told her as well, "But are you really okay with this? I can't imagine that what you're doing now is the best way to solve this as an assassin".

"Hate can only get you to do so much, and you're probably in excruciating pain right this instant. The more you suppress it, the more your body would start falling apart before you even kill him. Your life matters more than any of these" I looked at her.

"Your body probably feels hot, with just the nape of your neck cold. It's the abnormal metabolism characteristic of those with implanted tentacles. If you fight in that condition you'll really be in trouble. You'll lose control with the heat and intense pain and your life-force will be sucked out by the tentacles. Worst-case---" Itona stated only to be cut off due to the sudden change.

The tip of her tentacles lit up in bright flames, supporting and disproving Itona's point at the same time.

"Shut up. Outsiders should be quiet" Kayano spat, "No matter the weakness or shortcoming, if it's polished, it can become a weapon. You're the one who taught be that, Korosensei. If my body's so hot I can't bear it, then I'll make it even hotter and gather the heat in my tentacles!"

"No! Any more and---!" Korosensei attempted to talk her out of it only to be interrupted by a loud crash and another swing of her tentacles.

Soon after, the whole class was outside the ring of fire, only to have the our teacher and classmate inside.

Kayano said proudly, "I'm in the best condition. My whole body's so sensitive that I won't miss any opening right now".

I stared at her, my head throbbing and my ears buzzing, unable to do anything.

"Stop it Kayano! This isn't right! I learned, too!" Nagisa shouted as Nakamura and Sugino restrained him from his recklessness. "That if you sacrifice yourself to kill someone, there won't be anything left behind!".

"I'm not planning on sacrificing myself, Nagisa. I'll just kill this guy. Once I put my mind to something, I just keep on rolling" she laughed.

Stop, I wanted to tell her.

Her life wasn't worth giving up for revenge.

"Wow"

"They're like volcanic rocks"

Kayano's tentacles had been furiously aiming at Korosensei.

She's loosing more and more of herself.

Or rather, it's the tentacles speaking.

Itona seemed to read my mind, "In a mere 10 or 15 seconds of full-out battle, her mind is already starting to be taken over by the tentacles.
It's too late if they've already taken her over that much. Whether or not she accomplishes her revenge, a few minutes after the end of the end of the battle, I think she'll die".

You can feel the tension beat the heat. An air of fear surrounded the class. We were all sick in the gut, anxious of what our precious classmate was up to.

My thoughts started to eat my mind.

Is this what you wanted, Kayano?

Did you really want this kind of assassination?

Do you actually think that your sister wants you to do this?

𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐅. karma akabaneWhere stories live. Discover now