Back home, they were on the sofa.
More accurately, Erika was on the sofa.
Akira was climbing her.
He clung to her, hooked an arm around her shoulders, then tried to climb onto her back like she was a tree, acting like a puppy.
Erika was annoyed.
She was also, secretly, happy he was this close to her.
That did not make the physics any better.
He was not puppy-sized. He was taller than her. He was still climbing.
What the hell is he doing?
She hooked an arm around his waist, dragged him down, and dropped him into her lap like a very large teddy bear. Then she locked both arms around him so he would stop migrating.
"What happened? Why are you like this?"
Akira squirmed and failed.
"Because I missed you, okay? We were so busy the entire week. I want to stay close to you."
That landed.
She had missed him too. That still did not mean he got to treat her like a tree.
She sighed.
"I missed you too. But calm down, okay? We can spend time together. Sit there. Don't climb me."
He looked up at her, bright-eyed.
"Okay."
Then he remembered the other thing and went quiet.
The promised kiss.
Except Selena was the one who suggested it. Or rather, bribed him with it. He couldn't walk up to Erika and ask. What if she didn't want to?
So he stayed where he was and looked at her with big eyes.
Erika watched his face change.
"All right. Out with it. There is definitely something else going on here."
He said nothing. He only turned his face away, guilty.
Selena, seeing this go nowhere, stepped in.
"Oh. About this. You see, to convince him back then, I told him if he did well, you might give him a kiss."
Erika's eyes narrowed.
"Wait. You what?"
Selena corrected herself.
"Actually, two kisses."
Akira nodded furiously.
Erika looked at him, understood exactly why he had agreed so quickly, and sighed.
"Akira. You can't just believe whatever she says. The only one who can promise you my kiss is me."
Akira whined.
"But she promised me."
Erika scolded him.
"If she promised you a kiss, go ask her for a kiss."
Selena giggled.
"Oh, bro. Want a kiss from your big sister?"
Akira snapped.
"Get lost, sis. You lied to me."
Selena laughed even more.
"Hey. I only said she might. Not that she will. Know the difference."
Akira looked like he wanted vengeance.
"Just you wait. When I come back, I'll deal with you."
Erika listened to them argue, then tightened the hug anyway.
"But you did work so hard this time. I don't mind a kiss."
His head snapped up.
"Really?"
Erika patted his head.
"Yeah. But maybe after the end-of-term exams. We'll have plenty of free time then, so take me on a date. If you perform well, I'll give you a kiss."
Akira smiled like the entire week had been worth it.
"All right. I can wait. It's not that long anyway. And I'll make sure it's the best date you've ever had."
Erika smiled.
"If it's the best one ever, doesn't that mean your future dates won't be as good?"
Akira answered with complete conviction.
"Then I'll make sure the date after that is the best one ever too. Then the one after that, and the one after that. They'll all be the best."
She hugged him tighter.
"Fine. I'll believe you for now. But if you keep secrets like this from me, I'll punish you, okay?"
He beamed, completely missing the threat.
"Okay."
His phone buzzed.
He pulled it out, still sitting in her lap.
"Oh. Looks like we actually won the revenue ranking. We ranked first. We beat Class A."
Erika frowned.
"Weren't the results supposed to be published tomorrow? Don't tell me you hacked into the principal's computer again."
Akira nodded.
"Yeah. I even set up the notification so it would tell me right on time."
Erika sighed.
"How many times do I have to tell you that's illegal?"
Akira said righteously,
"But he's a bad guy. What if he's plotting something? We have to be prepared."
Erika looked at him more closely.
"You just did it because you were bored, right?"
He turned his face away.
"…Yes. But anyway, we got first place. We beat Class A. Hehe. The festival committee must be regretting assigning us the entire forest path."
Erika sighed.
"They did it because of how far the main campus is from the old campus. They just never expected us to use the entire path for a restaurant."
Then she remembered something, took out her own phone, and opened the channel.
"Oh. I had Ritsu post your concert video. I wonder how it's doing."
Akira looked confused.
"You did? Why?"
Erika explained.
"You did well. It would be a waste. And someone was going to post it anyway, so we might as well do it."
The number loaded.
She stared.
"Five million views?"
Akira leaned in.
"Oh. And it's still climbing. There are even comments in other languages."
Erika started reading.
Wow, who is this?!
He is so handsome.
You guys don't know, he's even more handsome in person.
And he cooks great food too. He's perfect to marry.
Does he have a girlfriend?
I volunteer as a tribute.
Erika's arm tightened around him until the hug became a warning.
Akira, who was being crushed, managed to get out a thin voice.
"Erika?"
Erika didn't look away from the screen.
"Don't worry about it."
The hug did not loosen.
He was definitely worrying about it.
He hunted for a distraction the way other people hunted for air.
"Oh. Erika. The end-of-term exam. Wasn't there a quest objective we need to complete about it?"
That did it.
Erika came back to herself, then froze for a different reason.
The missions.
They had completely forgotten to check them.
"Wait. We completely forgot to check the quest completion rate."
Akira nodded, guilty.
"Well, it can't be helped. We had so much fun—I mean, we were so busy. We just forgot to check. Let's check it now."
The status window opened in front of them.
[Main Quest: Save the World from the Yellow Speedster]
Objectives:
• Join Class 3-E
• Prevent planetary destruction
• Learn assassination techniques — (25% complete)
• Raise all Class 3-E students into the Top 50
• Research anti-matter tentacle lifeforms — (45% complete)
• Graduate with honors
Akira stared.
"Wait. Assassination techniques are only twenty-five percent? And anti-matter tentacle lifeform research is only forty-five? I clearly did more than that."
Erika tilted her head.
"Maybe because we didn't study much assassination technique?"
Akira tilted his head.
"But we're in Assassination Classroom. How could we not learn?"
Selena cut in.
"Brother. That's because both of you are already strong. You mostly took Koro-sensei head-on and didn't think much about assassination techniques."
Erika nodded.
"Yeah. That makes sense. Maybe we should ask Koro-sensei to teach us."
Akira sighed.
"Well. Whatever. But the tentacle research—"
Selena explained.
"Brother. Didn't you say you felt something when you were briefly connected to Itona's tentacles, right when you took them out? Maybe it's related to that."
Akira nodded.
"…Yeah. That makes sense."
Erika's arms tightened again.
"What is this about the tentacles? Why didn't you tell me?"
Akira, who had just escaped the crushing hug, struggled again.
"Wait. I have a reason."
Erika pulled him closer.
"Then explain."
Akira tried his best.
"Because I don't understand it. I can't even tell what I felt. It was weird. Like something was watching me from a long distance."
Erika frowned and loosened her hands.
"What does that mean?"
Akira let out a sigh of relief and said,
"As I said, I don't know. Maybe I should wait for Kayano to reveal herself and touch her right when Nagisa kisses her. Then I can connect with her tentacles and find out more."
Erika opened her mouth.
Closed it.
She knew he had survived the last time. That was not the point.
"Couldn't you do it before they kiss?"
Akira looked righteous.
"I don't want to interfere in a canon event."
She just looked at him.
Akira turned his head away.
"And it was a funny, iconic scene, all right? I don't want to miss it."
Erika sighed and dragged her attention back to the window.
"Let's check the other objectives. Prevent planetary destruction. We can do that. Raise all Class 3-E students into the Top 50. They all reach that in the anime, right? These objectives are easy."
Akira thought about it too.
"Yeah. Did you do that, sister?"
Selena sighed.
"Maybe because you failed some objectives in your previous missions, the system gave you simpler ones this time."
Akira nodded.
"Well. We can't be sure. Now that we're here, the rankings will change a bit… Wait. What was Ritsu's rank in the anime again?"
Erika went still.
"I don't remember. Her double takes the exams for her, right? Onaga Nise, was it?"
Akira also looked startled.
"That's her name. But I don't remember the ranking. I should have paid more attention."
Erika looked at him.
"Let's ask Ritsu, then."
The window vanished. Akira unlocked his phone.
Ritsu appeared at once.
"Oh, Akira-kun. Important thing. You're trending. Wait. Are you two in the middle of romance?"
Erika, who still had him in her lap, answered without letting go.
"This is not romance. I am just hugging him normally. Anyway, Ritsu. How is Onaga Nise? Will she get into the top fifty in the end-of-term exam?"
Ritsu thought for a second.
"Well. She is doing well. But I can't completely guarantee she will get into the top fifty."
Akira frowned.
"This is troublesome. We can't take any chances. It can't be helped. I'll just have to teach her myself."
Erika and Ritsu shouted together.
"Nooo."
Akira looked startled.
"What? Why?"
"If you teach her," Erika said, "she might not make it."
"Yes, Akira-kun," Ritsu added. "All my work will go down the drain."
He shifted on Erika's lap.
"…It's not that bad."
Erika said sternly,
"It is bad. Fine. I'll help her study. Ritsu, when you teach her, add me too."
Ritsu nodded.
"I am currently teaching her. You can join if you want."
Erika thought about it and nodded.
"Well. Okay."
Erika set him down on the sofa and stood.
"Akira. I'm going to my room, okay?"
Akira looked like an abandoned puppy.
"Why don't I come too?"
Erika walked away without turning back.
"If you're there, you would just distract everyone. Go study or something."
She left.
Akira stared at the empty half of the sofa.
"But I'm lonely…"
He sighed, thought for a second, then called.
"Koro-sensei? Can you come to my house? I thought of a new assassination method… Yeah. I have some food too."
The doorbell rang immediately.
Akira opened it.
Koro-sensei filled the doorway, already cheerful.
"Nuruhuhuhuhuhu. Akira-kun, Sensei is here. What is the new assassination method?"
---
Akira took Koro-sensei into the yard.
They carried stacks of books and two boxes of grenades with them. Two tables waited there.
Koro-sensei looked at the grenades. Then at the books. Then at Akira.
"Akira-kun. What is this assassination about?"
Akira placed the books and boxes on the tables.
"It's simple. We play a game. There are two types of grenades in those boxes. Mine are real. Yours are anti-sensei. I modified both of them specially for this. Once the pins are pulled, they'll explode the instant the handle rises. We carefully place the ones that hurt us between random pages, hold the handles down, then open the book and solve the problem at the top right."
Koro-sensei looked shocked.
"But the grenades will explode the moment we open them."
Akira smiled.
"Exactly. That's why we have to solve them immediately and close the books. It should only take an instant."
Koro-sensei poked one of the covers with a tentative tentacle.
"But why place real grenades for yourself? Wouldn't it work with just the anti-sensei ones? And these books are beyond junior high level."
Akira opened one of the books and sighed.
"Because I want to train too. Increasing my calculation speed is important for me, and junior high problems aren't challenging enough."
Koro-sensei looked shocked.
"Can you even do this in that short amount of time?"
Akira picked up an anti-sensei grenade.
"Let me show you."
He took a deep breath, activated Star Breathing, pulled the pin, slid the grenade into a book, opened it, solved the problem, wrote only the answer, and shut the cover.
One second.
Star Breathing speed. No wasted movement.
Koro-sensei stared.
"Wait. How did you do it that fast?"
Akira looked smug.
"Koro-sensei, a magician never reveals his tricks. So. Are you ready for the game?"
Koro-sensei looked unusually serious.
"Before that, Sensei wants to know. Why are you doing something this dangerous as training?"
Akira also looked at him seriously.
"Because I want to increase my base-level processing speed."
Koro-sensei tilted his head.
"What do you mean?"
Akira explained.
"You see, my calculation speed is extremely high compared to normal humans. But to function normally and not tire myself out easily, I only maintain it at base level. That's already similar to a supercomputer."
Koro-sensei looked shocked.
"Sensei knows your calculation speed is high. Is it really that powerful?"
Akira smiled.
"Yes. And that's just my base form. It can increase even more. The more I raise it, the stronger I get. But there is one drawback."
Koro-sensei asked,
"What is it?"
Akira smiled a little bitterly.
"At fifty percent, my processing power gets so high that I lose my emotions. Temporarily."
Koro-sensei's face froze.
"What?"
Akira explained further.
"In exchange, I can do crazy things. At seventy-five percent, I had some kind of out-of-body experience, so I never reached it again."
Koro-sensei went serious.
"What about one hundred percent, then?"
Akira shook his head.
"I don't know. But I feel like if I reached one hundred percent, I might not be myself anymore. I might change permanently."
Silence settled between the tables.
Akira started lining up books with grenades as he talked.
"Koro-sensei. The world is more dangerous than you think. If I want to live and protect Erika, I have to become stronger. But I don't want to lose myself. It took so many years to become the person I am now. I have friends. I have a girl I love. I couldn't think about any of that back then. I don't want to go back to how I used to be."
He set the last book down.
"So I want to raise my base calculation speed. That way, I won't have to use the higher levels unless I absolutely have to."
Koro-sensei was quiet for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"I see. I understand. Sensei will help you train."
Akira smiled.
"That's good. Thank you."
They took their places.
Akira looked across the yard.
"Koro-sensei. If someone said you could go back to your previous version, would you do it?"
Koro-sensei thought for a moment.
"I'm not sure what you should choose, Akira-kun. But… I like my current self. So I don't want to lose it either."
Akira's smile softened.
"I see. Then let's start."
They opened the books at the same time.
Akira was relaxed.
Koro-sensei was not. He was completely flustered.
"Planar calculations! Um. Well. That's an easy one… It's, you know, that thing. When you borrow from the tens to get three with four left over—"
BOOM
The anti-sensei grenade went off in his face.
Akira sighed at the melting teacher, then looked back down.
He kept writing.
He couldn't afford to get distracted during training.