"Did you get approval, Sir?"

Takashi uttered, face unreadable, voice cold, and eyes staring straight into Karasuma's soul. His hands clenched into fists; people could easily notice the tension in his shoulders as he awaited his superior's answer. He wouldn't claim it, but he was worried for Mitsukuni, who surely went with 3-E to retrieve the tar— Koro-sensei.

Karasuma glanced at Shimamori in minute silence. His eyes flickered to look at Irina by his side. He refrained the frown from overtaking his permanent scowl and curtly answered instead.

"I shall fetch a car, Sir," Takashi excused, not even missing a beat as he turned on his heels to walk toward the underground parking lot. His pace was regular and seemed as calculated as usual, but the more careful ones would notice how quick it was and the slightly louder noise it created with each step.

Irina stared at Shimamori's back for a few seconds. Only now did she realize how much importance the male attached to the students behind his cold facade.

She blinked, feeling better at the notion that Shimamori, too, would fight for the students if needed.

Karasuma took a look at the blond's satisfied's expression. The frown threatened to tug on his lips, but he stopped it, leaving the bad feeling to prickle at his mood.

To begin with, the fact that Shimamori was the one to bring Irina over rubbed him the wrong way. It was nothing against the other agent, yet he couldn't help but dislike the notion of him and Irina getting closer behind his back.

Wasn't that to be expected?  A voice sarcastically whispered.

How could Shimamori bond with a hitwoman on the job? Another abruptly countered.

He cleared his throat, catching Irina's attention, before tugging at his suit and straightening the folds and creases.

"Let's go," he said, perhaps more curtly than usual as he led the way, not even waiting for her to answer.

"Ah," Irina hurried to catch up to Karasuma. Her eyes silently looked at his profile— she blushed, suddenly remembering her students' encouragements.

"Is there something wrong?"

Almost choking on her spit, Irina cleared her throat, the blush of her cheeks gently fading away. "I was just wondering if the kids would be able to do it," she said, seriousness dawning on her face once again at the mention of her student and mission.

Karasuma kept silent, weighing his words as they walked along the corridors. "They know this place like the back of their hand," he said. "In one year, they learned to hunt a deadly monster here. They played with this monster, and they learned everything there was to know about this place from him."

Irina gave a slight nod; everything he said was right. The kids knew the mountain better than anyone.

They entered the lift to the ground floor, and Karasuma resumed. "Compared to professionals who only ever fought humans in another land, the gap in experience is far too wide," Karasuma smirked, a proud look setting on his face as they exited the elevator. "I already told the students to be careful, and I lowered the Wolfpack's guard by minimizing the kids' achievements," he said, almost boasted.

Irina gave Karasuma a sidelong glance. Why was Karasuma so cute?

He looks like a doting father!

Outside, they could see the black car lent to every official waiting for them. Shimamori stood beside it, a cigarette between his fingers, a frown on his face, and a phone near his ear.

The male spotted them from the corner of his eyes. He finished his cigarette before dumping it on the ground and stomping it. Saying a few quick words to the person on the other side of the phone, he hung up before opening the door to the driving seat.

As Karasuma sat and buckled his belt, he added:

"The real challenge is Hojo."

::

There were three hours left before Koro-sensei's death.

Well, three hours before the government was ready to launch their attack on the trapped target.

For a while now, more like, ever since they began to climb the mountain and hunt down the Wolfpack, Mitsukuni had been lazing around. It wasn't that he didn't want to do anything, but it didn't seem like they required his presence.

Really, he wasn't making up things, nor was he looking for excuses!

3-E was much stronger and competent than in his memory. They were quick on their feet, agile, and flexible when needed. It was clear how much potential they exploited during this unconventional year of learning.

So Mitsukuni observed them instead, taking in their skills or the way they acted on the mountain. He tried his best to remember as much as possible when it came to the topography of the terrain and religiously listened to every order given.

He wasn't some genius that could reproduce things by seeing them once, nor was he the kind to remember everything from a single glance. Nevertheless, he was a Martial Art genius, and they couldn't take it away from him.

It didn't take long for Mitsukuni to adapt to their movement and coordinate with them.

Mitsukuni felt he was on the logistic side like never before by setting up traps and setting up other ambush types. He gave a low, appreciative whistle as he watched another mercenary fall into one of their many nets. Damn, he wondered if the twins were as proficient when it came to setting up traps. That was their field of expertise.

He licked his upper lip, closely trailing behind Karma like a newborn chick. He didn't know how many of the mercenaries they took down, and he honestly hadn't cared enough to count. At the moment, he stood a few feet away from Karma, who took delight in cough torturing cough the last mercenary they caught.

The torture method was an odd reminder of the twins, and once again, Mitsukuni marveled about how Karma and the twins should get along swimmingly. The three had the same somewhat twisted sense of humor that both rattled Mitsukuni and made him laugh.

He watched in mute amusement as Karma stuffed another tube of chilly paste into the mercenary's nose. The bald mercenary's mouth was foaming, his bloodshot eyes dripped with tears, and apart from his twitching members, nothing indicated that the mercenary still stood conscious.

Mitsukuni almost felt pity for the man— he knew for a point that had he never been an older man, he wouldn't have felt so bad for the foreigner.

He leaned against one of the nearby tree trunks, one eye on Karma and the other students' antics, his other one on his surrounding. He felt like, as the oldest, it was his duty to watch over the youngsters.

Leaves fell, cracked under their weight, making Mitsukuni's ears twitch with every noise.

And then—

Honey-brown eyes snapped to the side. Mitsukuni's lips pursed down; his eyebrows drew closer. He had the inkling that something big— someone strong was coming, and that made him all the more alert.

Anticipation began to build in the pit of his stomach, gently bubbling and boiling up. His blood heated up, pumping through his veins and sending surges of adrenaline all along his body. From his toes to the tip of his fingertips, his body was aflame.

He felt himself balancing his weight from toe to toe, almost jumping at times as he began to stretch his already flexible limbs.

"Ma-chan," he chirped as Karma readied another rope and— oh surprise!, chilly sauce. "I'm going to go ahead," he said, already walking toward where his guts told him to go.

"What?"

"I'll see ya later!" Mitsukuni sang, already darting away and leaving Karma and 3-E to deal with the mercenary. He didn't hear Karma calling out to him, or maybe he ignored it. He also didn't bother to truly acknowledge the one or two students that went after him.

He didn't think they'd fight him, more like they'd want to reason him to go back. Not so surprising, they didn't know of Mitsukuni's strength, not the full extent of it at least. Even Karma didn't realize just how deep the water ran.

He ran for some meters, not slowing down. He felt somewhat used to the topography already and almost didn't trip at all— after all, tripping was not excluded, the reach of his leg was shorter than what he was used to. Of course, he also wouldn't be as used to the terrain as 3-E. It only was his fourth time climbing the mountain, after all.

As he landed, his steps coming to a halt, Mitsukuni carelessly hummed to himself. His doe eyes narrowed into slits as he more carefully took in the supposedly clear surrounding.

"I-is everything okay?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Mitsukuni finally allowed himself to acknowledge the 3-E student. His face morphed back to its usual carelessly childish expression as he beamed at the alert and worried teen.

"Yep! You didn't have to follow me, Nagi-chan!" he chided, voice saccharine sweet as he tilted his head to the side for additional effect.

Nagisa took a breath. He bit his lower lip, eyes searching the strawberry blond's face before he flicked his attention to the surrounding trees and finally took a look at the place they came from. Although he felt compelled to go after the A-class boy, he was more worried for his classmates whom he left behind.

"Ah, is that so," he wryly uttered, gently rubbing the back of his neck as he kept his eyes to dart about in case of incoming danger.

"Yep! Leave, leave~," The blond sang, carelessly shooing the blue head away. "I can take care of this myself," he said, not specifying what he was referring to, "It shouldn't be that hard anyway," he boasted with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.

Nagisa felt mystified. He didn't get what or who Mitsukuni was referring to. What's more, one part of him wanted to stay to look over the teen, but the other more decisive part wished to go back to his classmates to finally reunite with their professor—

Speaking of which, did Mitsukuni know about Koro-sensei's form?

Doubt and panic settled in the pit of Nagisa's stomach as he surveyed the boy's figure.

They were of similar height and stature. Nagisa could see that the clothes Mitsukuni wore were too big for him. Take a look at the loose clothing or the rolled-up sleeves; it wouldn't take a genius to know. What's more, it didn't seem like Mitsukuni was armed. He couldn't see the dagger sheath or any makeshift of a weapon on the teen.

Nagisa's eyes carefully narrowed. He wondered if he should go for the kill and knock the blond out so he won't impede on their mission.

His hand twitched, creeping closer to his hip. He could use the rubber knife's handle; with the right swing, the hit should be heavy enough, he calculated.

His breathing slowed down slightly, no more erratic from tension and panic as he entered a clear-minded state. His eyes rippled and stilled, showing no doubt, fear, or any emotion.

Fingers laced around the dagger he held in a reverse grip, Nagisa casually walked up to Mitsukuni.

The blond wasn't far from the bluehead, merely ten or so steps away. He would reach him in seconds.

Yaaaaawn~

Nagisa's steps didn't falter. In fact, he gained in assurance at the thought of the blond's guard being down.

"I'll take a nap over there, Nagi-chan!" Mitsukuni chirped before falling to the ground and swiftly avoiding Nagisa's calculated jab. The blond's eyes were closed in perfect eye-smiles as he made himself comfortable atop the leaves that littered the ground.

Nagisa's arm went back to his side without a moment of hesitation, his movement smooth. If one didn't pay attention, they would never guess he just tried to knock the strawberry-blond out. "A nap?" he echoed, head dubiously tilted to the side as he casually slid his dagger back in its sheath.

Mitsukuni hummed, carelessly stretching as if to accentuate the notion before he yawned again. His eyes cracked open, and he gave Nagisa a childish grin. "Yep, it's past my bedtime already," he laughed. "I don't want Takashi to scold me," he whined as he waved his hand. "You go ahead."

Nagisa hesitated. He observed the blond for some more seconds, pondering the idea. He didn't seem convinced by Mitsukuni's words, he highly doubted their veracity, but the blond's attitude and expression seemed genuine.

What's more, Nagisa didn't like the idea of hitting or hurting an innocent person. He also wanted to regroup with his classmates as soon as possible.

He nodded his head. "Okay, I guess," he whispered, taking a step back before turning away. "I'll inform Karma," he added before he sprinted out back to his classmates.

I'm a bit dissatisfied by the flow of this chapter but I couldn't seem to have it come out better QAQ

(Also, if some of you are wondering, Craig Hojo is a manga only character)