Summer break had ended and both school life and assassination training had reached the halfway point.

At Kunugigaoka, the midterm exams come right after the sports festival, so Korosensei was putting more passion than usual into his teaching.

But the large-scale assassination failure during the summer still seemed to be weighing on him and his expression showed a restless urgency and lingering unease.

* * *

“Yaaahoo!”

“How is it? The shortest route to the station!”

““The best!””

Right now, we were taking the shortest route to the station under the pretense of free-running training.

Since we sometimes crossed rooftops, it would normally count as trespassing, but for my classmates the stimulation and exhilaration probably served as a way to relieve stress.

“Wait! Everyone!”

“Free-running training is only during class—”

“It’s fine! We’re on a totally different level from normal students now!”

Isogai and Kataoka tried to stop them, but Okajima and the others didn’t listen and kept raising their speed.

The moment Okajima and Kimura sped up and jumped down from a rooftop to the ground, a dull impact sound rang out—gashan.

When I looked down, it seemed they had collided with an old woman who had been pedaling a bicycle.

Luckily, a florist who was nearby quickly called an ambulance, so it didn’t turn into a major accident.

And now, the ones who caused the accident—us—were gathered in front of the hospital by Karasuma-sensei.

“I’m told it’s a cracked fracture of the right femur. It’s minor, so she should be able to walk again in about two or three weeks, but… you kids are state secrets. My subordinates are negotiating a settlement and a gag order right now.”

As Karasuma-sensei explained the situation, Korosensei appeared with a terrifying expression.

“K-Korosensei…”

“B-But, you know! Who’d expect a little alley like that…”

“You wouldn’t think there’d be some grandma riding a bike there!”

“Yeah. I mean, I know what we did was wrong, but…”

“We were doing it to polish our skills…”

“Do you have any idea what the pressure and impatience of having to save the Earth feels like?”

The moment anyone opened their mouth, it was all excuses.

Of course, I share blame too for not stopping them, but in the end everyone only cared about themselves and the second their position got a little worse, this is what they did.

“Should I report this as harm done to students?”

“This time, I’ll pretend I didn’t see it. I introduced advanced training while knowing the risks, but… perhaps it was still too soon for you. This is my responsibility.”

“Sensei, sorry.”

“I’m sorry…”

Seeing Karasuma-sensei’s disappointed eyes, my classmates seemed to come back to their senses.

“You may have become too strong… you got drunk on the power you gained and forgot to think from the perspective of the weak. If that’s the case, you’re no different from the students in the main building.”

It wasn’t the same as pity, not even close.

What Class E lacked right now was the feeling of caring about the other person.

“For the next two weeks starting today, you’ll be studying something that should take priority over tests. There’s responsibility on the teacher’s side too for teaching you and then forgetting…”

* * *

And that’s why we came to help out at a children’s center, as an apology.

“Okaaay! Everyone, listen up for a second! The director got hurt, so she can’t work for a while…”

“Huh!? Hurt? Poor director…”

“So instead, for the next two weeks, these big brothers and big sisters will do whatever you tell them!”

““Yaaay!””

“…Seriously. Why do us unrelated students have to share the blame too…”

“My bad…”

“We got properly slapped too, you know, all of us. They said if they didn’t treat everyone equally, it wouldn’t be fair.”

“Sorry… everyone…”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re at fault too for not being able to predict someone getting hurt.”

“Yeah… I might have supervisory responsibility too, as the trainer for this bunch of funny circus troupe members.”

““Hah!?””

For all their complaining, everyone was already starting to blend in with the kids.

As for me, not a single kid had warmed up to me yet.

“Kiyotaka-kun, you’re too expressionless, so maybe everyone’s scared and can’t come close…”

“…None of your business.”

I felt a little jealous of Yukiko, who was super popular with the kids, but if nobody came near me, that was easier, so that was fine too.

While I was thinking that, a girl walked over to me.

“So? What exactly are you gonna do for us? You barged in with a huge crowd, so you can at least do the work for the oxygen you’re burning up, right?”

''Quite the sharp-tongued kid we've got here.''

“Oh crap, Sakura-nee’s in a bad mood. These big brothers are gonna get killed…”

“The oldest veteran with five years in the slammer, two years of continuing to reject the school’s rule. To Sakura-nee, the elite NEET!”

“You’re making it sound cool, but basically she’s just truant.”

“First, let’s see if you’ve got the guts to work, yeah?”

Saying that, the girl named Sakura swung at me with a mop, but the floor gave way and she fell through.

What was she even trying to do?

“Aren’t you going to repair this? I mean, this building is really deteriorating, isn’t it?”

“We don’t have money… our director takes in any waiting-list kids and truant kids she finds, for cheap, so we can’t even hire enough staff properly. She’s the one working the hardest.”

“With twenty-eight people and two weeks, can’t we get a bunch of stuff done?”

“Yeah! I’m sure we can!”

“Alright, everyone! Let’s split up and fill in for her. First, a strategy meeting!”

““Oooh!””

And so, our Class E renewal plan began.

* * *

Everyone brainstormed and, using ways that didn’t cost money, interacted with the kids and steadily deepened their bonds.

But as for me, the key point was that I was struggling with the girl from earlier.

Since she hadn’t gone to school for a long time, she really was behind in her studies.

“Kiyotaka! Hurryy! You’re taking me to Todai, right!?”

“Right, sorry about that. By the way, I have a question. Why did you stop going to school?”

“… ”

“If you don’t want to say it, you don’t have to force yourself to answer.”

“…Bullying. The typical, low-level kind. Why is it that humans are innocent when they’re little, but once they grow a bit and get some power, they use it to hurt people?”

“That hits close to home.”

“I bet you’re thinking it too, right? Don’t run away, if you’re upset then go to school and get stronger, you’re just like my dad and mom…”

“…Yeah. You’re just a coward who’s only turning your eyes away from your own battle. A hero won’t suddenly appear. Even if you keep looking away, reality won’t change.”

“…W-Why do I have to get lectured by some guy I literally just met today? You don’t even know how much I suffered!”

“It’s true I’ve never been bullied and I don’t know a thing about how you felt back then. But you know, until I reached this age, I never went to school even once. Hey, Sakura.”

I said that and placed my hand on Sakura’s cheek as she trembled.

“There are many kinds of despair. What you went through is definitely despair too. People with darkness in their hearts are drawn to each other. And the stronger side wraps the other up. And in this world, there’s a darkness far deeper than anything you know.”

“W-What are you?”

“There’s one thing I can promise you. From now on, I’ll teach you how to fight. If you need strategy—then intelligence. If you need overwhelming strength—then force. If you need control—then leadership. So don’t run away from your own battle.”

This was the only thing I could teach her with certainty, from tool to human.

Because it was something that would never come true for me, no matter how much I wished for it…

“Calmed down?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Then I’ll teach you one lesson starting now.”

Saying that, Sakura and I walked toward the yard and Kurahashi was looking up into a tree.

“Something wrong?”

“Ah, Ayanokōji-kun! The kitty climbed up the tree, but it can’t get back down and it’s in trouble.”

“See? That’s what you get for having the courage to climb. The higher you go, the more dangerous it gets.”

“Sakura. If we treat that tree as the school and the ground as this children’s center, then the students in this class are all building their strength down here on the ground. Always looking up, always being looked down on, learning the fear of high places to the fullest and even so, they started walking forward. Sometimes they fall down to the ground before they know it, but falling doesn’t mean you die. Use it next time and climb again as many times as it takes. There are different kinds of fighting. A frontal breakthrough isn’t the only way to fight. It’s fine to run once and if it’s not against the rules, an ambush is fine too. So let’s learn down here on the ground, lots of different ways to fight.”

“Kiyotaka…”

* * *

Everything here was a first and while we did a lot of studying we could never learn at school or in the White Room, two weeks passed in a flash.

“Thank you very much for listening to our request.”

“Hmph. If I’m asked to help raise students properly, as a fellow professional I can’t refuse. Now then, I just hope the one-story wooden building hasn’t been crushed under the brats’ weight…”

Afterwards, the old woman looked at the newly improved building.

“What a transformation! A house built by collecting thinned timber from Class E’s back mountain and scrap materials. The cramped and flimsy childcare facility has become… What a transformation! A spacious, sturdy multipurpose space. The structural strength is perfect thanks to computer calculations and the second floor is split into two rooms, one a library. The children can focus on studying and reading. And the other is an indoor play area. They carefully laid nets and mats to ensure safety and since it’s indoors, there’s no worry that the playground equipment will become brittle due to rot or rust.

Are you guys really middle schoolers? You’re so efficient it’s creepy. And no matter how much you improve the place… if you weren’t able to stay close to the children’s hearts… I won’t approve of the work you did these last two weeks.”

* * *

“Heeey, Kiyotaka! Look, look—ta-da, I’m number one in the class!”

“Good job.”

As I said that, I lightly patted Sakura’s head.

“Just like you said, I only showed up during the math test time as a surprise attack and as soon as I finished solving it, I bolted right home♪”

“This is how you fight here. From now on too, keep repeating hit-and-run and keep increasing the weapons you can use to fight at school.”

“T-Then… teach me sometimes too…”

“If it’s sometimes, sure.”

When I said that, Sakura smiled and hugged me.

At first she avoided me so much, but now we’d gotten this close.

As I sank into that sentimentality, it felt like my classmates’—especially Yukiko’s and Rinka’s—gazes got sharper.

“Damn brats. Not a single complaint, huh.”

“Ah, Director, welcome back! Look at this!”

Sakura left my side and ran over to the director.

“You lot should hurry back to school too. You’ve got important work, don’t you?”

““Yes!””

And so, our two-week renewal plan came to an end.

* * *

Korosensei POV

“We’re sorry for causing trouble. Karasuma-sensei, Korosensei.”

“This is also part of the job, so don’t worry about it. More importantly, how are you? Did you learn something from this?”

“It’s not for our own money or grades. We remembered that the power we gained can be used for other people too. If we gain the power to kill, we can save the Earth. If we gain academic ability, we can help someone.”

“We won’t use it in a bad way anymore.”

“We’ll be careful. About everything.”

“Good faces. Now you might be able to handle it.”

Karasuma-sensei said that with a faint smile.

“…What’s this?”

“New equipment issued by the government. They decided there’s no longer any need to worry you’ll misuse it.”

“Nuruhuhuhu, failure and setbacks are the sources of growth. What happened this time will make you stronger again. Both studying and assassination still have a long way to go, so keep working hard from here on out!”

“Watch me, Korosensei. A new way to use our power.”

“We answer teaching with assassination. That’s the way things are done here.”

“I promise you, Korosensei. We won’t use this power for anything other than protecting someone.”

“A perfect answer!”

When I first came here, there were only stagnant pockets of killing intent around the classroom.

Assassination was less dangerous, but it was a cold space and now it’s overflowing with warm killing intent everywhere on the grounds.

‘Someday, you’ll meet someone like that too…’

Yes, right now there are many of them right in front of me.