A Liar's Truth [UNDER FINAL REVISION]

Ch 46: Hiding in the shadows

Third person's point of view

"What's going on..? If there was an explosion, the pool was bound to disappear, but.."

"No way..."

The air still rang, a high, needling whine that made it hard to tell whether the silence was real or just shock settling in.

Ginka's gaze snapped to the thin streams of water slicing through the torn earth, racing downhill where the barrier had collapsed—too fast. Too much.

Her stomach dropped hard, "They got swept away."

Nearby, Terasaka stared at the wreckage, face drained of color. "I—I didn't know," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "They told me something completely different.. I only heard that it would call Itona out and he'd push that octopus into the water."

No one answered him.

Ginka pulse spiked, loud in her ears, drowning out everything except the rush of water below. She clicked her tongue, sharp and impatient, then took off without another word— shoes pounding against loose gravel as she disappeared downslope. 

Karma stayed where he was.

The calm never left his face, but something tight simmered beneath it. "So that's how it is," he said quietly. "This wasn't even your idea."

Terasaka flinched. "I'm telling you, this isn't my fault!" He grabbed Karma's collar, fingers shaking, sweat slicking his palms. The fabric bunched painfully under his grip, damp and warm against Karma's throat. "The ones who set this thing up are the real bad guys! And everyone getting carried away by the water, it's all because of them—"

WHAM. 

Karma's fist connected before the sentence finished.

Terasaka's grip tightened—then everything snapped. He staggered back, gasping.

"It's a good thing our target moves at Mach 20," Karma said, voice flat. "If he didn't, you'd be guilty of mass murder." His eyes cut sharp. "The class didn't get carried away. You did." He stepped past Terasaka and leapt down onto the jagged rocks below. "If you've got time to point fingers.. then how about using your head to figure out what you want to do about it?"

Then he was gone—shoes scraping rock as he vaulted down after the one idiot reckless enough to move alone. Loose stones skittered away beneath his landing, clattering into the ravine before the sound was swallowed by rushing water.

"...Of course," he muttered, already scanning.

Ginka was also nowhere in sight.

Terasaka soon followed. Ahead, Korosensei and Itona clashed at impossible speed, tentacles shredding the air. The pressure of it all hit at once—wind snapping past their faces, the air vibrating with each collision.