"I think he likes me," Irina said, confidently crossing her arms over her chest. Back in her usual stylish clothes and out of the sportswear that sucked both her sex appeal and energy dry, the blond confidently smirked, a smug air to her.

Karasuma, leaning against the wall next to her, raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

The woman, not taking note of the raven's reaction, brushed her blond locks before gently twirling them between her long and thin fingers. "I mean, he gets soo dodgy when it comes to me~" she cooed. "I know when a man fakes it and when he doesn't, and the way he evades me is clearly not faked," she boldly stated.

Which, in a way, was true. Koro couldn't help but avoid Irina to the best of his ability. Not because he was crushing on her, but because he had allergic-like reactions whenever he laid his eyes on her.

Not that Irina knew.

Fortunately, she didn't know.

She'd probably feel greatly offended by his distaste.

::

The class trip had begun quite peculiarly for 3-E. First came the revelation that their new teacher was a relative of the main building's new top student—a whitehead with purple eyes and a noticeable violet tattoo under his right eye.

Named Chouku Byakuran, part of class 3-A, the boy did not hide his distaste for them when he saw the group. The glare he graced Nagisa with still sent a shiver down the said boy's spine. After just a second of contemplation, wondering why the boy hated him so much, Nagisa remembered.

That was the boy who came out of nowhere after the April School Assembly and beat up two 3-D students who bullied him. It would have been heroic, Karma-like even, if not for the fact that the teen hadn't done it to help him out but with the prospect of punching him once done with the annoying duo.

Tanaka and Takada were people Nagisa disliked for sure. Still, he didn't know how to feel about them getting beaten up for no reasonable reason whatsoever.

The white-haired teen had been like a beast, uncontrollable as he went to hit them. The twisted grin that bloomed on his face, satisfaction evident in his gaze, yet unsatiated thirst for something— violence indeed did not escape Nagisa's watchful gaze at the time.

What struck him the most was the disdain that poured like venom out of his mouth when he addressed him.

Disdain, anger, jealousy even. Many different feelings were bottled up in the teenager, and Nagisa had been chosen as the next outlet for his emotions.

"You know Shiota, I really hate wimps like you~" the white-haired teen had grinned, the tone of his voice and smile not matching the air around him. "But what I dislike the most are leeches sticking to my brother~."

Right, he mentioned a brother—

Nagisa blinked, his brows furrowing.

Didn't Aarden-sensei introduce Chouku as his cousin when they came up to the train?

Was his mind playing tricks on him?

Nagisa was unsure. Like most of his classmates, what he suspected and now knew because of their encounter behind the school's gymnasium was that Chouku was no regular teen. Hell, with the Terasaka affair, it wouldn't surprise Nagisa if 3-A's new addition was part of the mafia!

The only concerning thing was that if that were the case, why was he attending 3-A like a regular student?

If he was aware of Koro-sensei, which seemed to be the case, why wasn't he brought to 3-E? Who was supposed to be the only one aware?

Biting on his lower lip, Nagisa found himself even more confused. He shook his head, forcefully pushing those thoughts away as he focused on his class. They were in the inn's reception hall, most of them having unpacked already and waiting for their teachers to move.

Seeing their homeroom teacher half-dead on the hotel's sofa, right in the middle of the reception, Nagisa confirmed that Koro-sensei's motion sickness was terrible. Almost deadly if not for his reflexes and Mach 20 speed. What he hadn't expected was for Aarden-sensei's to be just as bad.

He chuckled, enjoying the boisterous atmosphere of his class as he swept his eyes over the entirety of it. They had just arrived in Kyoto, taking the bus to reach the city's outskirts before reaching their inn: Sabireya inn. Unlike the main building, they were not right in the center in one of the high-end hotels, but Nagisa did not mind.

The inn was still quite good, and as they were the only guests, it wouldn't matter how loud they were.

His eyes jumped from one classmate to the other in calculated precision without him knowing it. He came to a halt once he saw Okuda. Okuda Manami, one of the quietest people in the class, was another member of his group for the trip. Kayano invited her, making her the second female member to join their group.

She was talking to their blond teacher. The one he felt was familiar at first. Honestly, attending the male's classes on history made him rethink the notion. The blond was cheery, so much it was fake and uncomfortable. It was similar to how Bitch-sensei would act when she first arrived: unnatural. He seemed perfectly aware of this fact but did not bother to correct it and instead went head first into this charade.

He was about to look away, eyes merely gliding over the blond man before he stopped. The look in those green eyes made him reconsider. The edge of his lips and the way he smiled down on Okuda's rambling figure, as if a parent looking at their child, made him halt in disbelief and— was that relief that surged in his stomach?

For a second, he felt the image of a white-haired purple-eyed male in an all-black attire take his teacher's place. His eyes flicked to the man's hands as if to check something— there weren't any gloves.

He pursed his lips, shaking his head. What was he thinking?

Turning away from the duo, he went on to stare at his other classmates. Sugaya, the male, had just displayed his talent in art and creation in the train when he crafted a nose for Koro-sensei. Nagisa blinked, diguise. He moved his gaze back to his blond teacher, watching as he brought a hand to Okuda's nape, and the girl froze over in fear.

Perhaps because once, before, in a dark alley, Nagisa got exposed to flames, he was more sensitive to them. However, he was unaware of that fact.

He felt something tug at him.

He already knew that Sorrel Aarden was not the man's real name. He had told them so during their first class. The persona he used probably wasn't his personality either. Then what of his appearance? Wouldn't it be fake as well?

That would also explain why Chouku referred to their teacher as his brother and not cousin when they first met.

Nagisa turned his notebook over, taking the first blank page to write down some new notes. Observations about their blond history teacher.

::

The first day of the school trip went by without hurdles. After both Koro and Koro-sensei vanquished their motion sickness, the class finally finished unpacking and settling in their respective rooms.

Koro noted that Kanzaki lost her notebook with their group itinerary recorded and frowned. If he remembered right, apart from the RedEye affair that couldn't happen anymore, there was supposed to be an accident during the second day of the school trip. Involving Kanzaki's group and another group of high schoolers, the middle schoolers were kidnapped. Or so he recalled.

The reasons why the teenagers were abducted were their lack of preparation and the fact that no adult went with them. Well, they were in their last year of middle school. Not being chaperoned everywhere wasn't surprising.

Koro brought his coffee cup to his mouth, silently musings over how the situation had gone and if it helped his students grow in any way.

Kanzaki came out more confident, embracing every side of her personality before opening up to the class, revealing each side of her character.

She indeed was the one to grow the most from this incident.

"Aarden-sensei!" Okuda called, hidden enthusiasm coating her voice as she walked up to the blond male. "Will you be the one accompanying us today?" she asked, pointing at her group.

Kanzaki gave him a polite smile. Sugino and Kayano seemed a bit unnerved. Nagisa appeared surprised but not displeased. He gave a small wave, and Karma merely rolled his eyes before narrowing his mercury-colored glare on him.

He raised a questioning eyebrow, the bright, cheery grin dangling at his lips as he owlishly blinked, tilting his head to the side.

Instead of being put off like before, Okuda boldly went on. The effect of giving her one of the low concentration pills was terrifying.

"Koro-sensei is going with Isogai's group this morning. Karasuma-sensei is accompanying Mimura's team, and Bitch-sensei is going around with Terasaka's group," she listed. "So, are you coming with us?"

Unnoticeably narrowing his eyes, Koro hummed. "Of course, let me finish my coffee," he told her before downing the remaining of the caffeinated drink in one go. He set the cup down, wiping his lips with his thumb before using a napkin for his finger. "Shall we go?" he asked her, a broad grin on his face.

Out of his usual suits, Koro adorned some regular pair of black trousers. With a simple white long-sleeved shirt tucked inside his pant and a camel-colored trench-coat over his shoulders, Koro hid his weapons of choice behind the trail of his coat. He had a fedora on his head, and a light cashmere scarf draped around his neck. Much like Irina, Koro had money, and this was reflected in the quality of his clothing.

The group plus Koro went around the streets of Kyoto. Koro silently trailed behind them with lowered presence to make the trip more enjoyable for the students. He did not want them to think he was monitoring their every move.

If he made them more uncomfortable because it seemed like he was tailing them, then he apologizes.

They went around a few well-known landmarks. Each time one of them mentioned historical happenings linked to assassination, Koro would add a few more facts or anecdotes.

They stopped in front of the old "Omya inn," where Sakamoto Ryoma and Nakaoka Shintaro, two Japanese samurais of the late Edo period, lost their lives during a successful assassination attempt in 1867. The place was now a shopping area, and the only memory of the inn was a pillar erected in memory of the deceased samurais.

Of course, they went by the Honnou-Ji temple. The official Mausoleum of Oda Nobunaga who was assassinated in 1582.

Koro felt quite happy as they toured famous touristic spots and landmarks that held the name of famous and infamous bigshots— all were assassinated, of course.

They went further into the commercial area, going to the less touristic spots as the day went on. After eating lunch at one of the many traditional inns that littered Kyoto, the group resumed their tour, this time focusing on how they would assassinate Koro-sensei.

The yellow homeroom was scheduled to go around town with their group tomorrow on the third day.

Kanzaki quickly explained what she was thinking about before turning to their blond teacher. "What do you think, Aarden-sensei?" she asked him, the polite smile perfectly resting on her face as she voiced her question.

Koro blinked. "Mmm~ I'd say it's pretty—" the ringing of his phone cut him off, making the blond frown and pout before pulling his device out. He frowned, the pout falling to be replaced with a pleasant and polite smile.

The students could only watch, thinking that the caller must be pretty important or a superior of his.

"Give me a few minutes. You can continue. I'll catch up once I'm done," Koro told them, handing his business card to Kanzaki with his number written on it. He hadn't reverted out of the agreeable persona before he turned away and walked into a calmer and more isolated alleyway, surely for more discretion.

Kanzaki took a look at the card, a varnished black cark with silver lettering. The number was boldly printed in the middle. A flower seemed to be floating in a cloud. It stood right above the string of numbers.

Karma blinked over Kanzaki's shoulder before shrugging. "I mean, his name is a flower, I guess," he mumbled before stretching and walking away. "Should we go and scout the area you were talking about, Kanzaki?" he asked, turning to look back at his group.

Kanzaki gave a nod, a smile gracing her delicate features. "Yes, let us go."

.

.

.

"Yucca speaking, how may I help you on this beautiful day, kind sir?"

The caller barked a laugh at the greeting. Koro's expression did not twitch, remaining agreeable throughout his wait.

"Hey, brat!" the voice called after calming down. "Heard you were in Kyoto for the week?" he rhetorically asked.

It took Koro a second to process the question. "Yes, that is exact. I see that the CEDEF's information network is as accurate as ever," he praised. "Impressive."

The voice, obviously male, loudly chuckled.

"Hey! I wouldn't know! I'm not working with them!"

Σ(ノ°▽°)ノ

Don't know if I mentioned it yet, but I plan on making the crossover more prominent in this book :)