School Reacts to Koro Sensei Quest - TheSteinsGateFormula (2024)

Chapter 1: It's Prologue Time

Chapter Text

"....I can't believe we have to go through this again!" Seo complained after they were all gathered back inside the Old Campus building. All fifty students crammed in the classroom.

"Well, at least she left snacks!" Hiroto held up the protein bars. "Whoa, apparently this one bar is a whole meal!"

A few of the other students were examining the compact food as well.

"This is so weird..." Asami said, frowning.

"I'm still confused on how many Ritsus there are," Kanada said. "Especially considering the original future Ritsu hasn't been put online yet."

"I'm working on it!" Ritsu 2.0 whined from Okuda's phone. "But setting up a system is hard!"

"You're an AI!" Okamoto exclaimed.

Ritsu 2.0 huffed. "...I still have other stuff to do."

Kayano looked sat down on the desk and looked through the small device. "So, Ritsu made a whole show about us."

"It's finally my time to shine!" Koro-sensei gushed.

"Koro Q..." Nagisa hummed, rubbing his chin. "It is kind of strange."

"Yeah, but didn't Koro-sensei also request it in the Rules To Live By book he made in the original future?" Sugino reminded him.

Asano sighed, already looking tired. "Is no one else annoyed that she messed up time travel again?"

Nagisa smiled sheepishly. "Well, time travel is hard..."

"At least it gives us more time to work on our plan," Isogai said, smiling.

Asano sighed again. "I suppose..."

"Plus, it'd be nice hanging out again!" Kondo looked excited. "Those last three days were the best thing ever."

Miura smiled nervously. "And, it would be nice having a break from the Principal..."

"Binge-watch time!" Fuwa high-fived Oota. "An Otaku's dream!"

"Our lives aren't a tv show..." Sugaya paused, and then sighed. "Actually, they kind of are now..."

Kimura hummed. "Do you think we get royalties?"

"Do we really have to watch this show!" Tsuchiya complained. "How long is it anyway!?"

Kayano hummed. "Huh...it's kind of weird."

The students looked over questionably.

"What do you mean?" Karma asked, trying to look over her shoulder.

"Well, the first season has twelve episodes which are about ten minutes long," Kayano said. "But, for some reason, she's labelled the second season as 'the unreleased second season because the producers cancelled it', with more episodes."

There was a pause.

"Wait, so her show got cancelled?" Mimura asked.

Fuwa sighed. "The true evil of this world..."

Asano rubbed his chin. "While the time bubble is an advantage, we should be using the time productively rather than watching a clear cash-grab show."

"Excuse me!" Ritsu 2.0 looked offended.

"This is why you're an annoying side-character!" Fuwa snapped.

"We don't all have to watch it if we don't want to," Kataoka said, shrugging. "Some of us could also be planning and coordinating in the other rooms?"

"Good idea." Okano nodded. "Plus, at least we have more privacy here than in the assembly hall, so it's not so bad."

"Yes, bonding!" Koro-sensei looked delighted. "Your sensei has plenty of board games—"

"NO!" A majority of them yelled.

Koro-sensei sulked in a corner. "Why do you keep hurting me like this?"

Kayano hummed. "Okay, so should we start watching or not?"

"Well, besides planning there isn't much else to do," Seo grumbled.

Araki shrugged. "We might as well give it a watch, it could help give us ideas on how to sort out this mess?"

"I doubt that, but hey, what have we got to lose?" Tsuda said.

"What little sanity we have left?" Satsuki suggested. "We are stuck with 3-E again for three days."

"Yeah, but we're all friends now so it'll be fine!" Hinano was sunshine and rainbows.

"Dibs on pressing the play button!" Uchida hastily raised his hand, before diving to the front and grabbing the projector device. "No, take backs!"

"Uh..." Kayano frowned.

"Okay, let's do this!" Kondo looked excited, grabbing a snack from the pile on the desks. "Are we all sitting on the floor or?"

"Well, we have mats in the supply closet next door," Toka told them. "We could get those to be more comfortable?"

"That's a good idea." Isogai smiled sheepishly at Asano. "How about we all watch the first episode together, and if other people don't want to continue we can separate into other rooms?"

Ren nudged Class A's leader. "Yeah, it could be fun."

Asano frowned, crossing his arms. "...Very well."

Nagisa looked amused. "Well, let's go get the mats and set up, then we can start."

"Sounds like a plan." Rio grinned. "Ritsu had better have made this spin-off something special!"

Chapter 2: Episode 1: Class E and the Big Bad or Goku-Nagisa

Chapter Text

The PE mats were laid out on the floor, with the projector mounted on the desk in front of the blackboard, Uchida guarding the play button.

"Anyone kind of scared of how Ritsu's going to portray us in this show?" Hara asked.

"I mean, you guys are already crazy so nothing else would be much of a stretch," Machida commented, and then laughed nervously when Sugino shot him a look. "Uh, you know, the good kind of crazy!"

"Well, I'm excited about it," Okuda said, smiling. "the intro we saw looked cute."

"Yeah, but it had that stupid acorn," Terasaka rolled his eyes. "Did she really have to include it?"

"Well, it is the school mascot," Nagisa replied in amusem*nt.

"Okay, is everyone ready!?" Uchida called once all the students were seated.

"Yeah, if Koro-sensei will stop trying to eat all the snacks," Hazama said, looking over at the octopus who was trying eat the snacks off the table.

"Ah!" Koro-sensei froze, caught in the act.

"Sir!" Toka chided.

"I was only going to have one more bite!" Koro-sensei exclaimed, growing flustered.

"We have to ration them! That's all the food we have for three days," Kataoka said sternly.

"I was only going to have one more..." Koro-sensei huffed and sat down next to Nagisa and Karma.

Nagisa smiled sympathetically and patted his shoulder.

"Okay, I'll take that as a yes we're ready," Uchida said, pressing the play button.

The black screen opened with words typed in a white, pixelated font.

[Begin a new quest?]

[Yes]

[No]

The "Yes" option was selected.

"Oh, so it's really like a video game," Karma said.

"That's pretty cool!" Oota said.

Kanzaki nodded, looking excited. "Yes! This looks like it'll be fun."

The screen faded to black, then showed an animated 3-E sign outside of the classroom as Koro-sensei's laugh was heard. "Nurufufufu! Alright, people. Let's get started, shall we? Whoever feels ready..." Green stripes appeared on Koro-sensei's face. "Come and get me!"

The entire class rushed at him with their weapons, giving loud shouts.

"Hey, this is just like the first episode of the footage," Hokoma said.

"Well, Ritsu did say this series was supposed to honor our time together in the original timeline," Rinka replied.

"Yeah, but we look kind of weird here..." Kimura stared at his hands and then the screen. "Like we're chibi or something..."

"I think it looks cute!" Hinano replied.

Koro-sensei took photos. "You all look so adorable!"

The opening was played.

"Play that song!" Fuwa shouted. "Mr K isn't here to stop us now!"

A few students groaned.

"I mean, I feel we probably shouldn't overkill it with the intros," Oota commented.

Chikara o hime ta kimi koso yuusha

Tabidate sa a kanata mezashi te

Mahou no gakkou maou wa danjou

Ikinari dai sentou

"Yeah, this is going to get annoying fast," Koyama said.

"You're annoying!" Fuwa threw a pencil at his head.

Make ochikobore kono kumi wa zako demo muri

Maemuki mahou ni kakerare te

Iku yo (yadaa) soko da (kowaai)

Nantoka taisan

Ara gushigi yuuki no keiken chi

Agaru (tereruu) agaru (offuu)

Sore sodatta kibou no tsuru giofurikazase!

(Minna ganbare)

"Everything is so colourful," Miura gushed, her pigtails bouncing.

"I know, I love it!" Hinano gushed with her.

Saa maou taiji iccho sekai sukui masu ka (hoihoi)

Dakedo sou na n da yo ne aite ga warui

Shire ba shiru hodo rasu bosu kateru ki shi naku naru yo

Bugu to hasami wa tsukai you senzaiichiguu mirai o sensei oshie te

Nee dou naru no?

"See! It wasn't even that long," Fuwa argued, eyes sparkling. "I vote we play the intro EVERY episode!"

"Overruled," Asano said dryly.

"You're not even in this class!" Fuwa snapped.

"I wouldn't mind having the intro played every time." Rio looked amused. "Depend how fast it'll get annoying."

"Probably pretty fast," Karma commented.

"How come, Maehara, Isogai, Karma, Nagisa, and Kayano and singing the intros this time around?" Shindo questioned.

"Oh, yeah, we got booted!" Hiroto looked offended.

Isogai smiled in amusem*nt. "Maybe we didn't give Ritsu the copyright to use our voices?"

The class sighed in exhaustion. Nakamura and Okajima rested their heads on their desks. Okuda, Kurahashi, and Maehara leaned up against the front wall of the classroom. Mimura sat next to Maehara. Koro-sensei stood, unharmed, behind the podium at the front of the classroom.

[The E Class did their best]

"Yep, that about sums it up," Hazama commented. "We got our asses handed to us a lot in the beginning."

"All a learning curb!" Koro-sensei chimed in.

"I'm afraid you've got miles to go before you're heroes," Koro-sensei said.

When they had tried fighting, Okajima had swung a wooden stick at the Demon King with a shout. "Our attacks don't connect!"

"Oho! That's the spirit!" Koro-sensei encouraged.

[A miss! No damage hath been scored!]

Nakamura tried to fire her magic at the Demon King, but he dodged.

[Miss!]

(He's too freaking quick!) she thought.

Koro-sensei snigg*red. "I am a force to be reckoned with."

"Yeah, and a smug bastard to boot," Rio said.

"Swear jar!" He flashed the repaired jar into view.

"No way!" Rio yelled.

"Yeah, we're not funding your p*rn habit," Karma said, smirking.

"It's not for that!" Koro-sensei turned bright pink while the others laughed.

The Demon King appeared behind her. His face was white as he stared blankly and smirked creepily at her.

[The Big Bad is smiling.]

Nakamura groaned in annoyance.

"Heh! Look at my horns!" Koro-sensei looked happy. "A true demon!"

"Uh, I'm not really getting the demon vibes," Hatanaka said, frowning. "You just look like an octopus with horns."

Koro-sensei looked offended. "No! I'm a king of terror, a demon of deceit."

"You're bright yellow with horns! You don't even have wings," Mimura pointed out.

Koro-sensei huffed, smushing his tentacles together petulantly. "I'm still a terrifying demon..."

Terasaka sat on the ground. He, Muramatsu, and Yoshida leaned their backs against each other. "Ugh, face it, people. We're level one. We got a snowball's chance in hell."

"I know," Muramatsu agreed, defeated. "And all we got for weapons are these wooden sticks." He held one up.

"Speak for yourself; mine's made of plastic." Yoshida held up a toilet plunger with flies buzzing around it.

"Mightiest warrior in the land!" several Kunudon voices exclaimed.

"That's for unclogging toilets!" the words on the screen read.

The Demon King freaked out. "THAT'S UNHYGIENIC!"

"Gross!"

"Ew!" Kanada wrinkled her nose.

"I know you guys got screwed over a lot for being E Class but at least the government gave you decent weapons," Hatanaka commented.

Okajima shrugged. "Well, this is meant to be medieval fantasy, I guess."

"Since when was a toilet plunger medieval fantasy!" Kataoka exclaimed.

"Poor Isogai has it the worst," said Sugino, who was sitting on the floor next to Maehara. Isogai stood confidently, facing away from them. "Granted, the suit of armor makes him look heroic..." The screen showed what Maehara and Sugino were seeing - the back half of Isogai's armor wasn't there, the front being held up by a string tied around his back and another around his neck. The only thing he was wearing on his back half was underwear. "...but only from the front side."

"WHAT?!" Isogai turned red in the face while his friends and the other students burst out laughing.

Kataoka covered her mouth to try not to laugh. "At least the front half is nice."

Hiroto clutched his side. "Oh, wow!"

Isogai ducked his head. "Why...?"

Isogai rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "It was all my family could do to scrounge up the cash for half."

"What respectable retail chain even sells them like that?!" Maehara exclaimed.

"I'm not that poor!" Isogai's cheeks burned redder as the students kept laughing. "Who makes half an armour anyway!?"

Asano raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't you just by the bottom or top half if that's all you could afford?"

"Exactly!" Isogai covered his face in his hands.

Then he directed his attention back to Koro-sensei and the rest of the class. "In any case, we're nowhere near ready."

"I don't get it; why choose the nobodies in E Class for this?" Sugino asked.

The screen showed the front of the main school building. (Kunugigaoka School of Magic,) Nagisa narrated, (where students from all over the world come to forge themselves into heroes, complete with a backwoods satellite campus for those who don't make the cut. That's where E Class meets and where we share a secret no one else in the entire school knows.)

"Wow, Ritsu keeps calling out our low self-esteem in semester one," Rio remarked.

"I mean, your self-esteem was low," Machida said. "Though, I'm kind of hoping this series doesn't focus on the Principal being crazy and the rest of us at the main campus being jerks."

"Well, I have a feeling the Principal will still be crazy." Kayano shrugged. "But maybe he'll have less screen time."

Asano hummed, grimacing a little. "Hopefully."

Ren smiled. "Well, this series kind of seems like a comedy, so maybe it'll show him getting pranked on?"

"Uh, that might earn us a death sentence though," Nagisa commented.

Karma smirked. "Still worth it."

The students stared, focused at the front of the classroom. (This year, for some reason, our teacher just so happens to be... the Big Bad.) Koro-sensei stood behind the podium.

"Huh. So he really does exist," Fuwa said. Behind her, Hara ate bite after bite of food out of a bento box, not bothering to chew before swallowing.

Nagisa looked at Fuwa and deadpanned. "Huh?"

The screen cut to a yellow background with five Koro-sensei facial expressions on the bottom. It read in both Japanese and English, "Koro-sensei Quest!" and Nagisa's voice said, "Koro Q!"

The screen showed a picture of the school building with the caption, [Some days ago].

Karasuma stood at the front of the classroom.

[Royal Knight Commander: Karasuma]

"So I'll just come right out and say it. I'm gonna need you, young people, to kill this thing for us."

"So business as usual?" Hara commented.

"I wish Mr Karasuma was here." Hinano sighed.

"I mean, he'd probably find this annoying," Yanagi commented.

"I don't know, he might like it," Machida replied, shrugging. "Ritsu's pretty much is portraying him how he is."

"I wonder what Bitch-sensei will be like." Toka tapped her chin. "She looked like a witch in the intro."

Hatanaka laughed. "Yeah, like a bitch-witch!"

Asami sighed. "Really?"

"Hey, it's a good pun!"

Next to him, the Demon King stood behind the podium. "Hidey-ho, class! I'm the Big Bad Demon King, or, as of today, your teacher."

The entire class sweatdropped. "Yeah, no."

Rio laughed. "That is accurate."

"Wait, why are some of the students' blank characters suddenly?" Asami questioned.

Fuwa sighed, shrugging. "I guess budget cuts really ate into the production."

"How cheap is this series?!" Sugaya questioned.

"Right, so, first off, know that he's fast, even by demon king standards," Karasuma told them.

"Big Bads are fast?!" the class exclaimed.

"But how are we supposed to take him on?" Kayano asked.

"And whyusin the first place?" Nagisa added.

"Because, apparently, there's only one way to land an attack on him," Karasuma answered, "and I have it on good authority that your bugs are the key."

The class sat up straighter in their seats, surprised. "Huh?"

"Bugs? What like glitches or something?" Kimura questioned.

"Well, it is going for the video game theme," Takebayashi replied.

"A bug is whatever sets you apart from the herd, those little idiosyncrasies that make you who you are," the Demon King explained. "Take Isogai, for example. His inability to buy the back half of a suit of armor is, in fact, a bug."

Isogai's eyes widened in horror. "YOU MEAN IT'S NOT JUST BECAUSE MY FAMILY'S DIRT POOR?"

The students started laughing again in full force when they saw his face.

"Money, or, rather, the lack thereof in your case, should not allow you to buy only half a suit of armor."

"True, you probably should have picked up on that."

Isogai sighed as the others laughed. "This really isn't fair... how is that even allowed to be a bug?"

Kataoka covered her mouth to smother her giggles. "I know, I'm sorry!"

"But, it's funny!" Hiroto chuckled while Isogai looked annoyed.

Yoshida stared at his toilet plunger. "So is me only being equipped with plumbing hardware a bug, too?"

"Oh, come on!" Yoshida yelled. "Why do I get stuck with the toilet plunger!?"

Tears streamed down Isogai's face. "At least you're not half-naked!"

"Or how my magic only attractsactualbugs?" Kurahashi clapped and several insects began to fly and crawl around her.

"You betcha," the Demon King confirmed.

"That's kind of cool though," Juba said, admiring the bugs. "Think of how many rare bugs you could get!"

Hinano looked interested. "Yeah, true! I could sell the rare ones for money!"

Hiroto perked up. "That's a whole business idea!"

Okano flicked the back of his head. "Can you go five minutes without thinking of a new way to get rich?"

Hiroto smiled sheepishly. "Hey, it shows good business ambition!"

Kayano stared at her chest, her face pink and tears in her eyes. "Is it the same for my cup size?"

Okajima held an armful of magazines that read "smut" on the front. "And me not being able to throw away dirty magazines?"

The Demon King quickly shook his head, "Unfortunately, those are not bugs."

"Ugh..."

Kayano blushed. "It could be a bug!"

Toka patted her back sympathetically.

Okajima frowned. "You mean not being able to throw away p*rn magazines is an addiction."

"Yes, get some help," Kataoka said, sighing.

"But I love my magazines!" Okajima despaired, taking one out of his jacket pocket and hugging it close. "They have so many memories."

Kataoka and many of the students looked horrified. "WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT WITH YOU!!?"

"Uh...light reading." Okajima gave a nervous laugh.

"EW!!"

Hatanaka discreetly hid his dirty magazine under the mat.

"Think of him as a final boss," Karasuma said to the class. "If there's any hope of him being defeated, it's in what makes you children unique."

"Oh," the class responded, disappointed.

"Your government and I came to an understanding." The Demon King's face became shadowed. "They will allow me to teach E Class and in return, I will train you all to beat me."

"WHY?!" the class shouted.

"An astute question, to be sure," the Demon King replied dramatically as if he were performing a play. He turned his back to the students. "The simple answer? It's lonely at the top. I'm anxious to know what it feels like to take on an equal in battle. Or more succinctly..." He suddenly wore a cosplay of Goku from Dragon Ball. "I wanna become stronger!" he whined.

Most of the students deadpanned.

"We all caught the reference, right?" the Demon King asked.

"YES!"

"I really do like the series!" Koro-sensei exclaimed.

Fuwa high-fived him. "Otaku's for the win!"

"So the demon king wants to train us to be warriors this time around because he's bored?" Takebayashi raised an eyebrow. "I mean, it's pretty in character."

Koro-sensei nodded. "I do enjoy a challenge!"

"What I want to know is how he became the demon king in this world?" Kayano questioned. "Also, do you think I have tentacles in this series?"

"Uh, hopefully not?" Machida looked nervous. "That was already traumatic."

Sugino shrugged. "I just want to know what all our quirk—"

Fuwa quickly covered his mouth and gave him a stern look. "Bugs. They're called bugs," she said firmly while Sugino looked scared.

"Uh... Fuwa, you're scaring us." Nagisa looked concerned.

"Do you want us to get a lawsuit!?" she yelled back.

(He'sreallyinto this...) the class thought.

Fuwa raised her hand. "Mr. Kaaaa- Commander?"

"Hm?" Karasuma turned to face her.

Fuwa snigg*red. "Looks like my talents are being put to use!"

"What? With the whole saying weird stuff without context?" Araki asked.

"Or as we otakus like to call it!" Oota chimed in. "The Fourth Wall Breakers!"

Fuwa grinned. "Finally! My jokes are going to be appreciated for what they are!"

"Mediocre humour?" Asano remarked dryly.

Fuwa tensed, and then glared at him. "EXCUSE ME!!" Oota, Mimura, and Kimura had to hold her back from attacking. "JUST LET ME PUNCH HIM! JUST LET ME DO IT!"

"Is there any sort of time limit on this?"

"I'm not sure that I-"

"Oh, got it," Fuwa interrupted. "So it depends on our ratings and popularity. Right."

A number of students started laughing.

Fuwa calmed down when she heard, smiling brightly. (Finally!)

"I guess Ritsu knew the show may not get a second season," Kanzaki said.

Koro-sensei sniffled, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief. "At least she made my dreams a reality, no matter how short the air time."

(What do you call an unkillable, demon king teacher?) Nagisa thought.

Kayano stood excitedly from her seat, raising her hand. "Koro-sensei!" she exclaimed.

(Oh. Never mind. Guess that works. Sure, why not?)

Nagisa laughed along with the others.

"Well, at least it's straight to the point," Kayano said, chuckling. "Plus, I guess the name is pretty simple to put together."

The screen showed the outside of the school building. (And so Koro-sensei and the E Class were about to embark on one truly unusual adventure.)

The same transition from before was used, except instead of Nagisa's voice, Kayano exclaimed, "Koro Q!"

The words "Ace Sorceress: Confessing the Truth" was shown on the screen on top of a picture of a closed curtain. Guitar music played in the background. The words disappeared, revealing the shadows of what was behind the curtain, which appeared to be a person with long hair and their hands tied up, forced to stay in a standing position. Next to them, Kunudon repeatedly hit them with a whip.

"Say it!" Kunudon shouted. "Say it and I'll go easy on you!" Each time the whip hit them, the person let out a short gasp.

There was a brief silence as the students stared.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE WE WATCHING?!" They all yelled in horror.

The curtains opened to show the person was Bitch-sensei. She wore only underwear and had a heavy blush covering her face. "Listen, if you want a sibling, go to bed, for Christ sakes! You're spoiling the mood."

Kunudon ran back and forth, screaming frantically. "WHAAAAT?!"

"AH! AVERT YOUR EYES, CHILDREN!" Koro-sensei stood in front of the projector.

"Kind of a delayed reaction!" A lot of the students yelled.

"Why is Kunudons whipping Bitch-sensei?" Okuda looked worried.

"Um, maybe it's just a game?" Kanzaki said nervously.

Okajima drooled. "Yeah, a fun one."

Okano whacked him over the head. "Stop perving!"

The transition appeared again, this time with Nakamura's voice saying, "Koro Q."

The words, "Tell Us, Mr. Principal!" were shown on the screen, each letter a different bright color. "Tell us, Mr. Principal Asano!" several Kunudon voices exclaimed.

"UGH!"

"No, not him, please!" Miura cringed.

Asano sighed. "Oh, wonderful..."

"Wow, in episode one as well," Rio said, smiling sympathetically.

"Well, maybe it won't be so bad." Kondo tried to be optimistic. "He could be telling a joke." Everyone stared at him like he was crazy. "...Yeah, you're right, it'll probably be horrible." He sighed, deflating.

The screen showed the speaker centered above Class E's chalkboard. "Good morning, students," came the principal's voice. "This is, of course, your principal speaking. Quite a few queries crowding my inbox today from those of you less... well adjusted. Hmm. Let's address some concerns, shall we?"

Four anonymous students stood silently, listening to the announcement.

"Here's one from a lost soul who calls himself 'Longing for 2-D Life.'

Takebayashi broke out in a sweat. (Oh no.)

"Longing for 2D life?" Tsuda snorted. "Seriously?"

'I study day and night with every fiber of my being, but so far, the results have been mixed. Please teach me a good way to study.'" The principal scoffed. "Oh, Takebayashi."

The student on the far right jerked back and let out a small panicked shout. The other three students sweatdropped.

"Ah." Takebayashi yelped.

"Why would you submit that to the Principal?!" Muramatsu questioned.

"I haven't submitted anything!" he replied, flustered.

"Please. Every fiber of your being, you say? I think not."

The student on the right slumped, staring at the ground.

"Uh, oh..." Rio cringed, as the other students grew on edge.

Asano sighed. "Here we go..."

"Do you forego sleep? Meals? Excretory functions?"

Takebayashi began shaking, his face going pale. The class watched him, unsure of how to respond.

"Are you coughing up blood? Do you feel the icy fingers of death creeping up your spine as you study those books?"

Takebayashi's whimpers turned into screams.

The students grew horrified again, looking over at Asano.

"Your dad's the one who gave you that advice?!" Muramatsu yelled.

Asano looked at him like it was obvious. "Well, more or less, yes." He shrugged. "I think he gave me the lecture when I was around twelve or so because I complained about being tired, but I can't quite recall the context."

Ren sighed, looking worried. "Please just move out already and live at mine, we're getting a new pool!"

Asano tried not to roll his eyes. "Moving out will just make him worse, besides we need to work on taking him down, so luring him into a false sense of security is the most practical way to go."

"Yeah, if he doesn't kill you first from working you to death," Karma said dryly.

Asano frowned, ignoring the uneasiness in his stomach. "I'll be fine..."

Kayano hummed. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I hit a fish in his office a few days ago so the place will smell."

That caught a lot of students by surprise.

"Wait, what?!" Nagisa did a double-take.

"Kayano." Koro-sensei tried to reprimand, but he just looked amused.

Kayano smirked. "Well, after everything we found out he did, I thought it'd be funny." Her smirk grew. "The smell should be really kicking in soon! It'll drive him crazy!"

Karma and Rio grinned. "Nice." He placed a hand on Kayano's shoulder. "We should block up the pipes as well!"

"Oh, and how about setting off a stink bomb?" Rio's smile was sharp and wicked.

Kayano grew nervous. "Uh..."

Nagisa sighed. "This is going to get out of hand..."

"If not, then I highly recommend you stop whining and pushharder!"

"Well, at least he's in character..." Mimura commented, frowning.

"Yeah, except I wish Ritsu had just made his character OOC so we wouldn't have to put up with his creepiness," Oota said, shivering. "He's so creepy."

"And, gives terrible advice," Fuwa remarked, shrugging.

Takebayashi sighed, looking mortified. "Why would I even ask him for advice...?"

"Koro Q!" Kurahashi's voice said as the transition appeared again.

Class E faced Koro-sensei in the plains at the front of the schoolyard.

"Today, you'll be taking on your nasty archnemeses, slimes," Koro-sensei told the class.

"Kind of a sad archnemesis, huh?" Mimura said.

"Well, we are pretty weak," Kayano reasoned.

"Being level 1 of a game does kind of suck at first," Kimura said.

"I kind of like it," Kanzaki said. "It's less stressful at first and I don't mind taking the time to get to know the game."

"Yeah, but it gets boring pretty quick," Karma commented.

"I guess, but I think it depends on the game, with fantasy games I like learning about the world," Kanzaki replied, smiling. "I also like doing a few side-quest as well before moving onto the main mission so I can build up my skills and learn more about the smaller details of the story."

"Hm, that's true, I guess," Karma replied after thinking about it. "But I mainly just like jumping into the action first."

"'We can't even defeat a slime.' If only you can release yourself from that mindset, break that spell, you're sure to advance as warriors," Koro-sensei held out his tentacles, motioning to the area behind him. "The slimes in these parts are on the warpath, and rather full of themselves, to be frank." He held up a finger. "Let's teach them a lesson."

"Whoa! Behind you!" Nagisa pointed.

"Hey, lookie here! E Class must be feelin' brave!" Three kunudons with blue, smiling acorn caps came angrily marching out of the forest. "I don't remember anybody givingyoukids permission to be on our turf!"

[Some slime kunudons draw near!]

(Wow, attitude much?) the class thought.

"So just Kunudon, but more of them?" Hara remarked.

"Pretty much," Okano replied.

Rinka sighed. "As if one acorn wasn't bad enough."

"Huh?" One of the slime kunudons suddenly noticed Koro-sensei standing with the students. "Uh oh. It's the Demon King!"

"Why is he slumming onthislevel?" another asked.

"Seriously?" a third agreed.

"Wait, I get it!" the first one exclaimed. "These humans are his sacrifice!"

The slime kunudons folded their hands and laughed nervously.

"Wow, they're even bigger jerks than you guys were," Hiroto commented.

"They are annoying," Kanada looked embarrassed. "And we did insult you guys a lot."

"Yeah, but Kunudon always was annoying, I hate that stupid acorn," Yoshida said, scowling.

"Your highness, nice to see you!" the first one said. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your, uh, honorable presence?"

The third slime kunudon appeared in front of the other two and held up a box full of macarons to Koro-sensei. "Please accept this small token of our esteem!"

Koro-sensei looked down on them, his face shadowed. "The only sacrifice here today..." His eyes glowed red as he pointed at the slime kunudons. "...isyou,pitiful creatures."

The slime kunudons stared up at him in horror. "You're sacrificing...us?!"

Koro-sensei chuckled. "I quite like being a demon king."

"It looks like it had its perks." Karma smirked amusem*nt while some of the students laughed.

The students screamed as they ran across the plains. The three slime kunudons chased them back and forth, laughing and shouting, "Charge!"

One of them kicked Maehara in the back of the head. Another pounded into Kanzaki's back. The other slammed Okajima into the ground. The girls huddled together, two of the slime kunudons poised to attack them.

Isogai rushed over and faced the slime kunudons. "Leave them be!"

"What a man!" the girls exclaimed.

"He's half naked!" Okajima shouted.

"He's still prince charming!" A lot of the girls exclaimed.

"Oh, come on!" Okajima yelled.

"I've got this!" Isogai told the girls.

"Still, what a man!" the girls said.

Isogai blushed while some students laughed.

Hiroto poked his cheek teasingly. "Guess the white briefs add to the charm!"

Isogai turned bright red. "Hey!"

Okajima ran over and shoved Isogai out of the way. "Whatever. Get a load ofme!" He threw off his shirt and waited for their response.

"THAT'S DISGUSTING!" the girls shouted.

Okajima sobbed. "THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

Kataoka looked away in disdain. "Then don't be a pervert."

"Yeah, I'm trying to forget that photo of you streaking..." Okano shivered.

"I think we're all trying to burn that out of our memories," Hara said.

"What'dIdo wrong?!" Okajima shouted, his eyes white. His eyes widened as he realized there were many more slime kunudons laughing behind him. Hundreds of pairs of red eyes appeared.

[The slime kunudons called for help!]

Nagisa and Koro-sensei watched as the slime kunudons beat Okajima up.

"Why aren't you girls helping!" Okajima complained.

"You wanted to impress us and prove your chivalry." Rio pretended to swoon. "Protect us from the mean acorns and your sacrifice won't be in vain!"

The others laughed while Okajima despaired.

Nagisa's expression became determined. He smiled. "Hey, Koro-sensei, I'm ready to give it a try!"

Koro-sensei laughed, smirking. "Show me that bloodlust."

The others grew intrigued.

(What's my special power going to be?) Nagisa started to look excited.

(We'd been labeled misfits and cast aside, but for once our outlook is positive,) Nagisa thought. (If we just apply ourselves, things will change!) He began to walk forward to face the slime kunudons. Suddenly, massive blue flames appeared around him.

"NAGISA?!" the class shouted. Both the students and the slime kunudons stared at him. He released a loud shout as he appeared to become larger. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" The students screamed.

Nagisa gawked. (WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!)

"It would appear that Nagisa's particular bug is marked by random stat changes," Koro-sensei explained.

There was a pause.

"...I mean, that does fit," Machida commented.

"BUT WHY DO I LOOK LIKE I'M ON STEROIDS!?" Nagisa looked horrified.

Karma shrugged. "Special XP?"

"This must be what god mode feels like!" Nagisa's voice became deeper and he was still surrounded by the flames. His height had tripled and he became incredibly muscular to the point where the width of his shoulders equalled his previous height.

[Status: STR: 99999]

"Time to hit these slimes with everything I've got!"

Karma wouldn't stop snigg*ring. "Nice voice."

Nagisa hung his head. "I sound like I have throat infection..."

"But, if this isn't his full strength then what happens when he maxes out?" Kanzaki questioned.

"Uh, an ultimate power is unleashed?" Hashizume suggested.

His eyes flashed with determination. "Achievement unlocked!Fire!"

The blue flames disappeared and a tiny, orange fireball floated out of the center of his outstretched hand.

"Huh..." Sugino and everyone else looked confused.

"Kind of underwhelming," Araki said.

It moved slowly toward five slime kunudons, who were staring at him, completely unafraid. As the fireball reached them, they stared at it curiously. Suddenly, the fireball released a loud explosion and blew them all up.

"Ah!"

"Or not!" Araki looked shocked.

Koyama scratched his head. "Was that like a bomb or something?"

Nagisa pumped a fist into the air. "YES! I am now Conqueror of Slime!"

[Nagisa's level increases!]

"WHAT KIND OF MAGIC WAS THAT?!" the class asked.

"It was underwhelming but also... overwhelming?" Sugino scratched his head.

"Huh." Karma shrugged. "Well, that is kind of Nagisa."

"Uh, thanks." Nagisa wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not.

"Nice work, Nagisa!" Kayano looked impressed. "It's a powerful bug!"

Nagisa smiled. "It is pretty neat, I guess." He looked embarrassed. "Though I'm not sure if I like the Hulk mode..."

"Yeah, but I though your wanted people to see you as more manly?" Tsuda said, and then earned a chiding look from Miura.

Nagisa blushed. "Well, yeah, but I don't want to look like that... it's a little too much." He sighed. "I don't know, I guess it just looks weird..."

"Now that Nagisa's shown us how it's done, we have to step up, too!" Isogai directed.

"Yeah!" Maehara agreed. "With our powers combined, they'll be toast!"

"Nice motivation, Nagisa." Rio ruffled his head, causing the boy to look amused.

The students rushed at the slime kunudons and began attacking them with their weapons. Koro-sensei watched proudly.

"HEY, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" the slime kunudons shouted.

"ARE YOU KIDDING?!"

"UNCLE, UNCLE!"

"WE'RE SORRY! WE'RE NOT WORTHY TO LICK YOUR BOOTS!"

"Now that's more like it!" Yoshida laughed along with the others.

Hazama smirked. "I could watch this all day if it means seeing Kunudon get beat up a lot."

"Seconded!" Rio agreed.

The slime kunudons escaped the attacks and ran back to the forest. Part of the way there, they turned around and shouted, "BUT JUST SO WE'RE CLEAR, WE TOTALLY LET YOU WIN!!" They continued whining and crying as they disappeared over the hills.

As soon as they were gone, the class celebrated their victory with one another.

[The E Class's level increases!]

"Level 2 and only the first episode!" Okano exclaimed.

Kanzaki chuckled. "We should end up moving up quickly if we keep up that attitude."

"Nicely done," Koro-sensei complimented. "I'd say the dark clouds of your misfit mindset have finally begun to part."

"Uh, sir..."

"Ne?" He looked over to see Nagisa, who was still in his giant form, squirming uncomfortably.

"I was... just curious when I'd change back to normal."

Koro-sensei screamed.

Nagisa ducked his head while the others were laughing.

"Well, you wanted to be taller," Karma teased.

"Not like this!" Nagisa yelled.

The scene shifted to later on.

The screen showed hot, sizzling coals. Koro-sensei and Nagisa, who still had yet to change back to his original size, sat on a bench inside a sauna, wearing towels around their waists. Koro-sensei also wore one around his neck and on his head.

"Oo... kay?" Nagisa said in confusion.

"Trust me, a sauna is the best way to rid your body of toxins," Koro-sensei told him, "and that troublesome bug."

"But I thought our bugs were good?!" Nagisa said.

"Oh, come on!" Nagisa sighed loudly as the laughter from the other students grew.

Koro-sensei patted him on the head. "Don't worry! I'm sure you'll be back to normal in no time!"

"But water makes you bloat up, sir," Kayano said. "So isn't being in a sauna just going to mess with you?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll be fine!" Koro-sensei reassured. "Besides, I have to support my student."

"Yeah, but isn't weird having a teacher hang out with a student at a sauna...?" Hiroto commented.

"It's perfectly wholesome!" Koro-sensei grew defensive.

The screen showed a picture of the crescent moon as Nagisa splashed his way into the water.

[Ten minutes later]

Nagisa stared dejectedly at his hand. The water in the hot spring only went up to his waist. "I haven't changed even a little!"

"Aw, man." Nagisa sighed.

"Look on the bright side!" Karma grinned, patting his head. "Now we can start calling you Goku-Nagisa!"

Rio cackled, poking Nagisa's cheek. "This'll make a great cosplay!"

Nagisa looked unimpressed. "This isn't making me feel better."

Next to him, Koro-sensei made a sound of enjoyment. Nagisa looked over and gasped. Koro-sensei's head and tentacles were deflating, giving him an uneven, oval-ish head and lopsided smile.

"HOW COME YOU'RE SHRINKING?!"

In a voice that sounded like a struggling chipmunk with completely depleted strength, Koro-sensei said, "To be continued."

"Uh, of dear..." Koro-sensei gave a nervous laugh. "I suppose I was exposed to the water and steam for too long..."

"No sh*t," Terasaka rolled his eyes.

"Swear jar!" Koro-sensei yelled, shoving the jar in the boys face.

"I'll smash that stupid thing again!" Terasaka threatened.

Koro-sensei yelped and held the jar close. "Don't say things like that!"

"So, are we watching the next episode?" Kayano asked.

"Hell, yes!" Rio grinned. "This whole show is hilarious!" She poked Nagisa. "And I wanna see more of Nagisa's bug."

"Ugh..." Nagisa groaned.

"This show is pretty funny." Kanada chuckled.

"And they're pretty short too." Isogai looked over at Asano. "So, we'll have plenty of time to talk about planning after we relax."

"Yeah, can't be coughing up blood all the time," Hiroto tried to tease awkwardly.

Asano rolled his eyes. "Fine, I suppose the show isn't a complete disaster."

"Wow, talk about a compliment." Yoshida laughed. "Come on, Uchida, go ahead and press play."

Uchida grinned. "It's my pleasure." He smacked his hand down on the play button.

Chapter 3: Episode 2: The Red Devil or Real Friendship Starts with a Kidnapping

Chapter Text

(Kunugigaoka School of Magic,) Nagisa narrated, (where students come from all over the world to forge themselves into heroes. We’re E Class - outsiders, underdogs - and we share a secret no one else in the school knows. This year, our teacher just so happens to be the Demon King.)

“So, how much of this do you think follows the original timeline?” Kayano questioned.

“Well, the main mission is there,” Nagisa replied.

Okuda frowned. “I’m hoping for a happier ending though…”

A number of the students grew uneasy when they remembered.

“Yeah, hysterically sobbing wasn’t exactly fun the first time around,” Rio said, sighing.

“I’m sure it won’t be like that!” Koro-sensei replied quickly, patting her head. “This is a fun experience, children.”

Koro-sensei stood behind the podium at the front of the classroom. “Alrighty.” Green stripes appeared on his face and he gave them a smug smirk. “Take your best shot.”

The class rushed at him with their weapons and shouted in determination.

(Another day with the one and only Koro-sensei. Here goes nothing!)

The opening started to play.

“Can we just not!?” Araki complained, groaning.

“It’s iconic!” Fuwa yelled.

“Meh, I preferred hearing Karma and the rest of the gang sing,” Hara commented.

Hiroto’s eyes sparkled. “Hey, maybe we could turn into a karaoke sing-along!?”

“Yes!” Ren’s eyes dazzled. “You, Maehara, are a genius!”

Hiroto winked. “I try.”

“Oh, God…” Okano sighed.

“No way! That’s lame!” Terasaka complained.

“No, it’s not!” Ren objected.

Asano rolled his eyes. “Yes, it is.”

“How about we just skip it for now and then decide later if we want to do a karaoke sing-along instead?” Kataoka suggested.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Toka replied.

“More like ear bleeding,” Seo muttered.

“The song goes so fast in places it’ll be a miracle if you sing along to it,” Isogai said.

Hiroto smirked. “Don’t underestimate a pro!”

“I like Kataoka’s idea!” Fuwa smirked. “Karaoke challenge is just the thing needed in a comedy!”

Yoshida looked confused when he saw her stare at the wall while she was talking. “Fuwa, stop staring at the wall, it’s weird.”

Uchida shrugged and skipped the opening.

The school bell rang at the start of the school day.

Koro-sensei stood at the front of the classroom, holding up a finger. The chalkboard behind him readhero. “Okay. My goal, boys and girls, is to train a war party capable of giving the Demon King a run for his money. To get started, we need some heroes. However, I’m sad to say there doesn’t seem to beanyonehere who meets that criteria.”

The class stared at him, their jaws dropped.

“But, there’s Isogai!” Maehara protested.

Isogai smiled sheepishly. “Oh, thanks.”

Hiroto smiled, giving him a thumbs up. “Well, it’s true. You and Karma are really good leaders.”

Karma looked smug. “We are pretty amazing.”

“Yeah, it’s been interesting seeing the different types of leadership,” Kayano commented. “Isogai’s definitely a man of the people, more diplomatic,” she observed. “Karma’s more ruthless but still hears people out.” Then she glanced at Asano. “And, Asano’s a dictator.”

Asano looked annoyed. “It’s called strong leadership!”

Karma shrugged. “Look, you gotta give the minions some control.” He gestured to Terasaka. “Why do you think Terasaka’s minion number one?”

“I’M NOT YOUR MINION!” He threw a textbook at him, which just made Karma laugh.

“I give my classmates plenty of control,” Asano argued.

“Well, actually it’s more like a hierarchy system,” Juba spoke up, frowning. “The rest of the big five are the elite who have power over their respective subgroups.”

“But, not anymore!” Kanada quickly intervened. “Because we’re all friends now,remember!?”

“True…I suppose this class harmony business does demand a slight change in the hierarchy system,” Asano agreed, frowning.

“If you ask me.” Karma shifted next to Asano. “You should switch up the favouritism, keep them on their toes.”

“Stop giving him ideas!” Seo snapped.

(I suppose the other Big Five are my friends, they shouldn’t need to do menial minion duties.) Asano hummed, rubbing his chin. “He does have a point though…” He glanced at his classmates. “Kita, Kondo, you’re both now promoted to getting my morning coffee.”

Kondo’s eyes lit up like stars. “Really!?”

Kita’s eyes widened in awe. “Wow…”

“BUT, THAT’S MY JOB!” Ren looked heartbroken.

Asano raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one who insisted we were best friends, so why should my best friend be tasked with getting my morning coffee?”

“But…” Ren faltered, but then looked surprised. “Wait, did you just acknowledge we were best friends?”

The others in Class A looked surprised as well.

Asano shrugged, crossing his arms. “It’s a position which could easily change if you irritate me enough and fall not disfavour.”

Ren started to grin. “But, you admitted we’re best friends!” He swung an arm around him. “Does that mean you’ll be my karaoke buddy!?”

“No!” Asano tried to shove him away. “I’d rather cut out my own tongue!”

Rio laughed along with the others and took a photo on her phone.

“Granted, between his leadership skills and undeniable courage, he does have a certain heroic streak. There’s just one problem.” The screen showed Isogai from behind. “In his case, the phrase ‘heroic streak’ has an unfortunate double meaning.”

“Harsh!” The class deadpanned.

“Sir!” Isogai went bright red while the others were laughing.

“Heh, my apologies.” Koro-sensei placed a knitted hat on the boy’s head. “Here, have another hat.”

“Oh…” Isogai smiled when he looked at the green and blue shaded hat. “Thanks!”

“Hey, there’s something I don’t get, though,” Kimura spoke up. “If this bug has been around for ages, how come Isogai didn’t notice all his clothes were half-covered?”

“Maybe the bug just manifested when he got his powers?” Sugaya said.

“Or maybe it just affects armour because his underwear is still there,” Okano said.

“Thank God…” Isogai sighed.

“Yeah, maybe the bug is a prude?” Rio said.

Mimura half-shrugged. “Or Ritsu had to follow censorship.”

“I’m just happy they left me some dignity,” Isogai mumbled, his face buried in the mat.

Sugino propped his head up against his hand. “Okay, then. If Isogai doesn’t fit the bill, well, then who do we have that does?”

Koro-sensei was suddenly wearing a hero costume and holding a giant sword, having a realistic human face for once. “Not to put too fine a point on it, but… muah!”

“Ah!” A lot of students looked alarmed.

“What’s wrong with that face!?” Koro-sensei complained.

“That defeats the purpose!” Maehara told him.

“So what are we supposed to do?” Kataoka asked.

Karasuma also stood at the front of the classroom. “Well, when the conversation turns to mighty warriors, three names never fail to be brought up.”

“Then why are they just mentioning them now?” Kondo asked.

“I mean, it’s only been one episode,” Araki argued. “Plus, they weren’t really mentioning warriors in full detail.”

Koro-sensei’s face popped up in a pentagon in the bottom left corner of the screen. “How long have you been standing there?”

A few students laughed.

“You know, he did seem to just appear sometimes in the original footage,” Hazama commented.

“Must be his government agent skills,” Rinka joked.

Karasuma pushed the pentagon away without responding. “I recommend enlisting the three of them to your ranks.” A picture of three silhouettes with glowing eyes appeared on the screen, then switched to one of Karma in a demon cape, looking down on whoever he was facing. “The first is said to dwell in a northern cave and call himself Karma, a.k.a. the Red Devil. Legend has it his abilities arewayabove average.”

“Hey!” Karma smiled. “It’s me.”

Nagisa looked amused. “I guess you were due for an appearance.”

“Red devil suits,” Rio said, smirking.

Karma’s smile grew into a sharp grin. “I know, right?” He rubbed his chin. “Red Devil… that could be a good code name.”

“I’ve heard of that guy,” Isogai said.

“Yeah, he’s supposed to be a super sad*stic ranger type, I think,” Kurahashi added.

“Sorta hard to believe we have a living legend in our own backyard,” Nakamura said.

“I know, I am amazing,” Karma said smugly, stretching.

Rio rolled her eyes and pinched his cheek. “Watch it with that ego.”

“The second is Ritsu, known as the Evolved Mage,” Karasuma continued as the screen showed a picture of purple-haired Ritsu glaring at the screen with glowing eyes. “Dwelling in a northern cave, her magic is rumored to evolve on a daily basis.”

“Wow, I look pretty good here!” Ritsu 2.0 gushed, fluffing her hair.

“I guess evolved mage fits with the Ai aspect,” Fuwa said, staring at the screen curiously.

“It is pretty neat!” Ritsu 2.0 agreed. “I hope I get more of the spotlight so I can show off my talent!”

“Wow, she kind of is shallow,” Kayano commented.

“Hey!” Ritsu 2.0 looked offended.

Next was a picture of Itona. He stared at the screen with wide eyes and a jagged smile. “Third is the Silver Berserker - Itona. The story goes that deep within a northern cave-”

“JUST HOW MANY NORTHERN CAVES ARE THERE?!” Terasaka shouted.

There was a burst of laughter.

“Well, he has a point!” Rio was clutching her sides.

“Maybe they’re all lined up together, like neighbours?” Okano suggested.

“Silver Berserker is a cool name for Itona,” Yoshida said.

“Yeah… how do you think he’d react if he was here?” Muramatsu wondered.

Hazama shrugged. “Probably say something dry and then insult Terasaka.”

“Yeah, sounds like him.” Yoshida nodded.

“Ugh.” Terasaka looked annoyed. “Yeah, which is why I’m glad he’s not here!”

“Yeah, so Karma can insult you instead?” Hazama replied.

Karma grinned. “Of course! Gotta make up for it somehow.”

“Shut up!” Terasaka scowled. “You guys are just assholes.”

The yellow background, Koro-sensei faces, and words “Koro-sensei Quest!” covered the screen as Nagisa’s voice said, “Koro Q!”

The words “Ace Sorceress: Confessing the Truth” were written in fancy kanji on top of closed red curtains. The same scene began again - behind the curtain, Kunudon repeatedly hit Bitch-sensei with a whip and she gasped each time she was hit. “Say it!” Kunudon shouted. “Come on! Spill your secret!”

The curtains opened to reveal Bitch-sensei, tied up the same way she was last time. A heavy blush once again covered her face. “Remember that birthday money you asked me to keep safe? Yeah, Mama treated herself to the Korean spa!”

Kunudon ran back and forth, shouting, “NOOOOO!”

There was a surrounding groan.

Koro-sensei blushed. “Oh, my…”

“STOP LOOKING!” Okano yelled, trying to shoot their teacher.

“Ah! I wasn’t!” Koro-sensei whined.

“LIAR!” A lot of students yelled.

“Why do we keep getting shown this!?” Araki shouted.

Ritsu 2.0 whistled innocently. “What?”

“Maybe, Ritsu’s secretly a pervert?” Rio said, shrugging.

“I mean, you would know,” Hiroto commented, causing Rio to smirk.

“Well, I guess she probably got exposed to things when she escaped onto the internet,” Fuwa replied, smirking.

Tsuchiya wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, ew, gross!”

“Hey! I’m not a pervert!” Ritsu 2.0 objected, but then frowned, thinking about it. “At least I don’t think I am…”

“You’re a pervert!” They all yelled back.

“Koro Q!” Nagisa said as the transition appeared again.

Koro-sensei and the students stood at the entrance to a dark cave.

“Here we are, class,” Koro-sensei announced. “The secret lair of the Red Devil.”

“Secret, yeah,” Maehara said, unamused, as he stared at the sign in front of the entrance that read, “Karma’s Cave.”

Karma started to grin. “Well, this should be fun.”

His friends sighed in exasperation.

“Why do I have a strong feeling we might not all come out of that cave alive?” Mimura asked.

Karma just grinned. “Because that’s part of the adventure!”

Nagisa tried not to look amused. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”

“Nagisa, this is Karma we’re talking about, stop being so optimistic!” Sugino shook his shoulders.

“Not to worry, children, Demon King or not, I won’t let anything happen to you,” Koro-sensei reassured.

“Yeah, besides, I’ve probably only got eyes on the octopus, so as long as you guys don’t get in the way, you’ll be fine.” Karma gave them a thumbs up.

“Uh, doesn’t really eliminate the risk of being collateral,” Kayano commented.

“Okie-dokie. Hand these out if you would, please. One each.”

All of the students suddenly had an enormous book in each of their hands. They stared at them, sweatdropping.

“What are these, boat anchors?” Nakamura asked.

“The strategy guide for this dungeon,” Koro-sensei answered, “Everything you need to know, compiled into one handy dandy manual! Maps, monsters, treasure chests, safe points, you name it - I’ve got you covered!”

The screen showed a picture of the cover of the book, titled, “Karma’s Cave: Complete Strategy Guide” with the subtitle of, “No sweat: It’s Koro-sensei’s strategy guide,” next to a picture of the Demon King’s face.

Hiroto sighed. “Of course he made manuals.”

“Well, it is one of his specialities,” Isogai replied. “Plus, they came in handy in that kidnapping episode.”

“My writing capabilities really are something!” Koro-sensei gushed.

Mimura hummed. “Why don’t you ever try writing book anonymously to make extra money?”

The students sighed loudly.

“Uh, never mind…” Mimura regretted bringing it up.

“What wrong with me writing romance!?” Their teacher complained.

“Other than it probably ending up as a trashy romance novel?” Rio teased.

“It wouldn’t be trashy!” Koro-sensei whined.

“No self-respecting dungeon raiders should be without one!” several Kunudon voices exclaimed.

“Eeheeheehee!” Koro-sensei laughed, raising his tentacle arms in the air. “Isn’t being on the attacking side of things exciting?”

“So exciting,” Maehara said sarcastically.

Koro-sensei’s excitement suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a smooth tone of voice. A picture of a demon girl in a small bikini appeared on the screen. “The sealed portion of this book deals with more…adultmonsters.”

“We talking parental advisory stuff?!” Okajima and Maehara asked immediately, blushing faintly.

“SIR!” The students yelled at the teacher.

“Ah! No!” Koro-sensei grew flustered. “Look away, don’t judge me!”

“Is half of his show just going to be you all being perverts?” Asano complained.

“Well…” Fuwa hummed, looking at a graph Ritsu 2.0 projected on her phone. “That is 80% of our content…”

“Have you even thrown away your p*rn magazines since we got out of the bubble?” Okano questioned.

Koro-sensei was sweating. “Um…”

“Bet he’s got a whole stash in the teacher’s lounge,” Muramatsu taunted.

Okajima suddenly looked interested. “We should go check—”

“No.” Kataoka stopped him from getting up. “There’s no way you’re even going near there!” Then she sighed when she saw Rio smile slyly. “Rio, you’re not going either!”

Rio tried to look innocent and shrugged. “I wasn’t going to.”

“Children, I promise I’ll do better.” Koro-sensei looked ready to cry. “As soon as we get out of this time bubble, those magazines are gone.”

“That’s what you said last week,” Isogai replied, sounding disappointed.

“I promise I’ll do it this time!” Koro-sensei said quickly.

Nagisa sighed. (That’s probably not going to happen.)

Koro-sensei ignored them. “And, of course, the final page lays out details regardingthe dungeon boss himself.”

Karma looked at the screen curiously.

The top section of the page read, “Parameters: Excellent in all areas. Battle prowess is especially high.” The hexagon showing his abilities was almost entirely filled up.

“What does ‘Irregularities in his luck trait’ mean?” Maehara asked.

“I was about to ask…” Kayano said.

“Irregularoties?” Machida asked.

“Huh.” Karma frowned a little, but then shrugged. “Meh, whatever it is, I’ll still be awesome.”

Rio raised an eyebrow. “Famous last words.”

The screen showed what had happened one time when Karma had just finished a fight. He glared condescendingly down at the four guys he had just beaten up. “Heh. All bark and no bite, huh? You could live a bazillion years and not get close to beating me.”

“Ah, yes,” Koro-sensei replied to his students. “You see, when Karma thinks his opponents are beneath him…”

“I mean, these guys clearly are.” Karma shrugged.

The students sighed again.

Nagisa shook his head faintly. (Great, his ego is already growing again.)

A washtub suddenly fell from the sky and hit Karma straight on the head. The four guys immediately turned to look at him and failed at keeping themselves from laughing.

“Wait, what!?” Rio snorted.

“Huh?” Karma looked confused.

“Did… did a washtub just fall on his head?” Uchida questioned, frowning.

“Well, yeah, but why?” Shindo asked.

Karma continued staring down at them, trying to not lose his cool even. “That’s right, fleabags. Laugh it up while you can. After that, go run back to the shelter and get yourself euthanized.”

“…the effect on his luck is rather negative.”

A door came out of nowhere and fell on Karma’s head, creating a hole in the door. The four guys laughed at him again.

“That’s his bug. When he acts co*cky or looks down upon someone, his luck takes an astronomical plunge.”

The students started chuckling.

“Well, that’s a cute bug.” Rio teased, poking his head. “Maybe you can fight the monsters off with frying pans.”

“Buzz off.” Karma whacked her hand away, feeling his cheeks start to heat up.

Asano arched an eyebrow. “How does he not have a concussion?”

Ren shrugged. “Magic?”

“Oh, I get it - karma!” the class realized.

Karma blushed a little when the laughter grew.

“Well, it fits.” Nagisa looked amused.

“It is funny how each bug fits our character,” Kayano said, grinning when Nagisa looked sheepish. “You might find it weird, but your bug being you having a massive secret power upgrade is pretty accurate.”

“How is me having a plunger accurate though?” Yoshida complained.

Isogai silently wept. “And, why is my families financial situation have to be a defining character trait?”

Kimura frowned, thinking about it. “It kind of feels like all our personalities were summed up into a label…”

Sugaya looked at the ball of clay he was sculpting in his hand. “Now that you mention it, it is kind of weird how my only hobby is art but I never seem to do anything else.”

Hara stared at the chocolate bar she was eating. “Or why I always seem to be eating with an endless supply of food.” She looked confused. “I’m not even hungry!”

Muramatsu stared at his hands. “Or the fact everyone only remembers me because I can make good ramen—”

“Okay, people, settle down!” Fuwa interrupted. “Not everyone can have a character arc!”

“Huh!?” They all looked over at her in confusion.

She sighed loudly. “Sometimes you just have to accept that you’ll always be a side-character…”

Oota patted her back sympathetically.

Sugaya exchanged a confused look with Hara. “Uh…”

Koro-sensei wore green stripes on his face. “A shame, really. Oodles of potential. He’d make a great warrior if not for the disagreeable tendency to lord his prowess over others.” He laughed.

“Kinda like you’re doing right now, you mean?!” Kayano and Nagisa exclaimed.

Koro-sensei tried to look innocent. “I haven’t a clue what you mean!”

His students sighed loudly.

Inside the cave, plumes of fire shot out of the mouths of monsters carved into the walls. Sharp spikes waited at the bottom of pits. A giant axe swung back and forth across the walkway.

“Wow. This place is crawling with booby traps,” Maehara said.

“Dude must be atotal sad*st,” Nakamura agreed.

“Well, thanks!” Karma grinned. “It is a pretty sweet set-up!”

“sad*st!” They exclaimed.

“Nothing wrong with having fun!” Karma replied cheerfully.

“You know, I have to wonder, Karma, when have you not been a sad*st?” Okano asked.

Karma hummed thinking about it. “I don’t know… I mean, I kinda just stuck to myself growing up.” His smile threatened to waver. “Like one time when I was five, I clogged bags of chilli powder in the vacuum until it exploded!”

“WHY!?” Nearly everyone yelled.

He shrugged. “I thought it’d be funny.”

(Of course, he did.) Nagisa sighed, shaking his head. “I hope the maid was okay.”

“Well, she quit a week later so…” Karma shrugged again. “I guess she couldn’t hack it.”

“Or she didn’t want to raise a demon spawn,” Asano said dryly.

Karma smirked. “I was an easily bored kid.”

“Not that his handiwork’s gonna do much to slow down Koro-sensei.”

The Demon King maneuvered through hundreds of arrows being shot at him. He pulled out a jar and began painting on their tips. “A little poison oughtta dial up the danger quotient a notch.”

“YOU’RE NOT HELPING!” His students shouted at him.

“There’s always room for improvement!” Koro-sensei argued.

“Not when we still have to pass through them!” Hiroto yelled.

“We still have to walk through those, you know!” Nakamura reminded him in annoyance.

“EXACTLY!” Hiroto pointed at the screen.

Koro-sensei whistled innocently.

He began painting on the two swinging axes. “And these blasé blades are simplyscreamingfor a much-needed artistic makeover!” When he moved away, they each had a picture of the skull and crossbones from One Piece.

“We don’t needthatkind of danger!” the students told him.

“Nice! One Piece reference!” Fuwa cheered.

“Why, thank you!” Koro-sensei gushed.

“You’re meant to be protecting us, not making the traps more deadly!” Mimura argued.

“But, it’s an adventure!” Koro-sensei whined.

“If anything this is perfectly in character,” Tsuda said, shrugging. “We’ve already been trying to tell you the octopus is a walking hazard.”

Tanaka coughed. “Space.”

Asano sighed. “Do not remind me.” He massaged his temples. “I’m getting a headache just remembering the insanity.”

(Questing through a dungeon’s a lot easier with someone like Koro-sensei blazing a trail out ahead of you,) Nagisa thought, (but where are the monsters?)

“HEADS UP! MONSTER INCOMING!” Maehara shouted.

“Way to jinx it, Nagisa!” Muramatsu said.

“Heh, sorry!” Nagisa smiled sheepishly.

“An adult one?!” Okajima asked excitedly. He looked forward and saw a kunudon with a mushroom cap on its head. “Dang it, never mind. Huh? Wait, they’re in the strategy guide.”

Kataoka’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You were way too hopeful it was an adult monster.”

Okajima blushed. “Um, come on, you can’t blame a guy for wanting to see a sexy monster.”

Hatanaka frowned. “The show is kind of lacking in the sexy monster department that right now.”

Okajima sighed. “Exactly! Where’s a good monster harem when you need one!?”

“Maybe because we don’t need one!” Okano yelled.

[Some mushroom kunudons draw near!]

Okajima read the guidebook. Kurahashi and Maehara looked over his shoulder. “Right, so apparently these guys only smile when they see lower level adventurers.” They looked up to see how the mushroom kunudons would respond to seeing them.

The mushroom kunudon’s face changed from a blank expression to a dark, condescending smile.

“Ouch!”

“That’s obnoxious,” Maehara said.

“How is it they managed to make Kunudon worse than they already were?” Kimura questioned.

“Well, it is the embodiment of Kunugigaoka’s values,” Takebayasho replied.

Terasaka grimaced. “Yeah, which is why I hate it! I wish the stupid thing would get eaten by a squirrel!”

The class was suddenly surrounded by many mushroom kunudons. “Just like moths to a flame!” They all laughed.

“Holy crap, they’re all over the place!” Nakamura exclaimed.

“Are we in trouble?” Kayano asked.

Koro-sensei held up a finger. “Not to worry, children. Monsters can’t attack the final boss.” His face became smug. “I’ll be fine!”

“That’s dumb,” the class replied.

Oota shrugged. “But, accurate. The final boss plot armour is pretty thick.”

Karma hummed. “They are pretty hard to beat in games.”

“Exactly!” Koro-sensei exclaimed.

Araki sighed. “To be honest it isn’t exactly different from this reality considering how many times Koro-sensei has been able to avoid death.”

“That is a testament to my skill.” The teacher chuckled.

“More like a pile of plot-convenient bullsh*t!” Seo snapped. “How the hell does that spaceball-ultimate-defense-form crap even make any sense?”

“Anti-matter,” Koro-sensei replied brightly.

Koyama clutched his head in anguish. “That still doesn’t make sense!”

Araki buried his face in his hands. “It makes less sense each time I think about it!”

Suddenly, the mushroom kunudon in front of him chopped off his tentacle before he could see. The other mushroom kunudons gasped, then ran away, screaming.

Karma climbed out of a mushroom kunudon costume and stood in front of Koro-sensei and the students. He wore a purple shirt and gray pants with brown adventurer boots. His ragged cape was black and had a red underside.

Nagisa stared at him in surprise. (Karma!)

“Whoa!” A few students jumped when he suddenly appeared.

“How long was he even hiding there!?” Yoshida questioned.

A shadow covered Koro-sensei’s face. (The boy was incognito! Ingenious!)

Karma grinned. “Gotcha!”

Koro-sensei chuckled. “Very devious, young man.” He patted his head. “Outstanding!”

Karma felt a rush of warmth in his chest, but tried not to let it show.

“He actually hurt him…” Kurahashi said.

“Am I wrong, or does that make him the first?” Kayano asked.

“Yep.” Karma smirked, stretching. “You know me, no time like the present for going in for an attack.”

“It does kind of fit though,” Oota commented, thinking about it. “The more I think about it, Karma’s more of a frontal attack guy while Nagisa is sneakier, which showed a lot when they were trying to kill Koro-sensei.”

Nagisa hummed. “That’s true…” He smiled at Karma. “Guess that’s what makes us a good team!”

“More like a team of nightmares,” Koyama commented.

Araki nodded. “You two are terrifying when your skillsets combine.”

Karma grinned, swinging an arm around Nagisa’s shoulder. “That’s part of the excitement.”

Nagisa chuckled. “Yeah, I guess.”

Karma began talking down on the Demon King. “And here I thought ‘Koro-sensei’ was a play on the Japanese for ‘unkillable teacher’. Guess the teacher part was true, at least.”

Koro-sensei groaned in annoyance.

“Ooh!” Rio laughed. “This should be good.”

Koro-sensei huffed. (I almost forgot how big the boy’s ego was in the early days.)

Karma looked amused. “What’s wrong, sir? You can handle a little teasing, right?”

Koro-sensei tried not to huff. “Of course.”

“Anyway, impressive bobbin weave you pulled there, fraidy cat.” He approached Koro-sensei, completely looking down on him. He stopped less than a foot from his face. “Oh, come on!”

“Personal space, please.” Koro-sensei tried to talk over him, but he didn’t stop.

A few students started to chuckle.

(Damn it.) Koro-sensei poked his tentacles, trying not to scowl. (I’m losing face already!)

“Did you just say personal space?” Machida asked.

“It’s very important!” Koro-sensei replied quickly.

Shindo sighed. “Definitely.” He looked over at Karma and Isogai. (I felt claustrophobic just watching that Baseball episode. I mean, I expected Karma to be intimidating, but Isogai actually started to freak me out.)

“What’s wrong, are you scared?

“This is a bit chummy.”

“Do Iintimidateyou?”

Koro-sensei finally lost his temper. Veins popped all over his red face. “I’m gonna need you to back off!”

[Karma looked down on the Big Bad!]

The students burst out laughing while Koro-sensei looked embarrassed.

Karma smiled sharply. “Aw, don’t take it personal, teach!”

“I am not!” Koro-sensei said quickly.

Nagisa smiled sympathetically. (He’s definitely taking this personally.)

A washtub fell from out of nowhere, bounced off Karma’s head, and hit a red button on the wall of the cave. The floor opened under his feet and he fell into a pit.

[Karma fell through a trapdoor!]

“KARMA!” the class called down the hole.

“Wow! He didn’t even look surprised,” Hatanaka said.

“Well, why would he? He’s probably used to it,” Asami replied.

“Oh, man, that is one serious bug!” Maehara commented.

“Worst luck ever!” Kayano agreed.

“Yeah, I can see it backfiring a lot in battle,” Kondo said.

“He’s probably so used to it he would have learned to use it as a weapon, though,” Kayano argued.

“Oh, yeah, true.” Kondo rubbed his chin. “I guess if he timed the bad luck right it could work.”

“Sure, but still, he did land the first blow,” Kataoka reminded them.

Isogai turned to her. “Good to know he isn’t all hype.”

Karma grinned. “Thanks!”

Isogai sighed and shook his head.

Koro-sensei repeatedly punched the wall of the cave. He mumbled to himself, pouting, then punched the wall faster.

Maehara and Nakamura watched him, sweatdropping.

“Uh… Is he punching the wall?” Maehara asked. “People actually do that?”

“All that smack talk seems to have really touched a nerve,” Nakamura said.

“I’m sensitive, okay!” Koro-sensei yelled.

“WE KNOW!” The students yelled back.

Karma snigg*red. “Hey, cheer up, sir, I’m sure I’ll come around and join your group eventually.”

Koro-sensei sighed. “Yes, well hopefully.”

“I mean, it’s kind of obvious he will,” Tanaka replied dryly. “This is a tv show. What else is he gonna do? Spend the whole season in a cave?”

“Well, who knows? It could be like those tropes where he’s slow to turn,” Uchida said.

“Maybe.” Karma looked at the screen curiously. “But, being stuck in a cave sounds kind of boring to be honest.”

“Well, yeah, you’re all alone,” Miura replied, frowning.

“And, besides, by the looks of it, your character here doesn’t even have any friends or… oh,” Seo trailed off, an uncomfortable silence settling.

Karma’s shoulders stiffened when everyone grew quiet. “What?” His stomach twisted a little. “You can say it, I don’t care.” He tried to smirk. “Ritsu’s just showing it how it is.” He shrugged. “I don’t really care if my parents aren’t around.”

Nagisa looked concerned along with his friends. “Karma…”

Karma shrugged. “Well, it’s true, I don’t care.” He frowned a little. “They do their own thing and I do mine. Everyone’s happy.”

Nagisa pursed his lips, concern growing as an uneasy silence settled.

“…Then, it’s decided.” Rio’s eyes glinted with determination. “CLASS SLEEPOVER AT KARMA’S!”

“Wait, what?” Karma did a doubletake.

“YEAH!” 3-E yelled.

“I’ll bring the movies!” Mimura offered.

“I’ll make popcorn!” Toka offered.

“Can we come too!?” Kondo gave them a puppy dog look.

“Yeah, I wanna come too!” Oota pleaded.

“Dude, I still barely know you guys,” Karma replied dryly.

“Hm, that is true…” Kondo looked disappointed.

Rio’s eyes shoned. “GIANT SCHOOL PARTY AT KARMA’S HOUSE!”

“YEAH!” Nearly everyone yelled.

Karma looked up in alarm. “Hey, now wait a minute!”

Asano groaned, burying his face in his palm. “Please, no!”

“But, it’ll be fun,” Ren said brightly.

“We can send the invites via the group chat once the bubble pops!” Hiroto cheered.

“YEAH!”

“HOLD ON A SEC! I DIDN’T EVEN AGREE YET!” Karma shouted, starting to grow flustered.

“I WANT TO DJ!” Koro-sensei yelled louder.

Rio grinned, pinching Karma’s cheeks. “Oh, come on! We can have a sleepover next week and then plan a full party for the end of the month! It’s perfect!”

“I don’t want a stupid party!” Karma yelled petulantly.

Nagisa tried to smother his laughter. “It could be fun, though.” He looked amused. “A class sleepover could be interesting.”

Karma frowned, considering it. “I guess…” He looked annoyed when he glanced at the other students who were busy crafting something. “But, I don’t want a stupid party— ARE YOU MAKING INVITATIONS!?”

The students froze, handfuls of paper and crayons in their hands.

“Uh…” Miura looked around and then shoved the crayons in her dress pockets. “Um… no.”

“Can I DJ at the party!?” Koro-sensei begged.

“There’s not gonna be a party!” Karma insisted.

“Okay, but what if we just have the party in your garden then?” Hiroto suggested.

“Oh! I love garden parties!” Hinano gushed.

“Yeah, us too!” Okuda and Kanzaki smiled.

“Oh, come on!” Karma yelled.

Uchida quickly pressed the play button when he saw Karma start to grow more annoyed.

Karma jumped out of the hole and landed back on the ground. The students gasped in surprise. “Got a little careless there for a second. No disrespect, chief, I’m just surprised the Demon King’s such a featherweight.”

“I’m not a featherweight!” Koro-sensei whined.

“You’re pretty easy to rile up,” Karma replied, shrugging. “I barely have to try.”

Hazama shrugged. “It is true.”

Kayano chuckled. “And, funny.”

Koro-sensei grumbled something.

Another washtub hit him on the head. “Well, well.” He turned to face Nagisa. “Hey, Nagisa, what’s up? It’s been a while.” Another washtub fell on his head.

Kayano, Nagisa, and Okajima’s eyes widened before Nagisa responded. “Long time no see.”

“Oh, it looks like we know each other here as well,” Nagisa said, smiling.

Karma shrugged. “Well, it’d be kind of weird if we didn’t.”

“Whoa, whoa. Say what?” Kayano said.

“Oh. We’ve known each other since we were kids,” Nagisa told her.

Nagisa’s smile grew. (Hopefully, we don’t end up fighting on the show…)

“Hey, you think we’ll end up beating each other up here as well!” Karma looked amused.

“Uh…” Nagisa grew wary when he saw him smile. “I hope not.”

Karma walked over to the three of them. “So, uh, how the hell are you bottom-feeders kicking it with the final boss?” A washtub fell on his head with every few words that came out of his mouth.

Nagisa stared at the ground.

Okajima stared at Nagisa, his jaw dropped. (Dayum, sick burn on Nagisa!)

A box with an arrow pointing to him and several Kunudon voices exclaimed, “And you!”

A few students laughed while most of Class E looked affronted.

“BOTTOMFEEDERS!?” They exclaimed.

Karma grinned. “I mean, you guys are a low level.”

Nagisa rubbed the back of his neck and tried to laugh. “Uh, yeah, true, but we have determination!”

“Look, we, uh…” His confidence and determination suddenly increased. “…want you to join our war party! You’re the only chance we’ve got. I always knew you were amazing, but that attack a minute ago… Work with us and Koro-sensei’s as good as defeated!”

Karma turned to glance at the rest of the class and another washtub fell on his head.

The class stared at him in disbelief. (He thinks we suck!)

A number of students started laughing.

“Seriously!?” 3-E complained.

“Wait! Did you think we sucked when you first met us!?” Okajima questioned.

Karma gave an apprehensive laugh. “I mean, yeah, but not anymore!”

That didn’t seem to make them feel better.

Karma turned back to answer Nagisa. “C’mon, seriously? Even if I did join you…” An enormous washtub landed on his head.

(Like, SINCERELY suck!)

The laughter increased as some of 3-E started to growl.

“Hey! That was because I didn’t realize how strong you guys were.” Karma tried to save the situation. “Remember my speech during final exams?”

That seemed to placate them.

Hiroto exchanged a look with Kataoka. “…Well, okay then.”

“Now we definitely have to have a party at yours!” Rio grinned wickedly. “As revenge!”

“No way!” Karma fought back.

“…I think we all know it’d bemykill.” As the washtub fell past his shadowed face, it revealed a button labeled “Trap”, which he quickly pressed.

“That’s no- AAAGH!” Koro-sensei was scooped up in a net hanging from the ceiling.

The students gasped.

“No way it’s that easy!” Okamoto objected.

Tsuda frowned. “Yeah, that net was way too slow for Koro-sensei!”

Koro-sensei chuckled. “Most likely.” He poked Karma’s head while the boy seemed unimpressed. “I believe your chibi counterpart is about to get a lecture in teamwork!”

“Yeah, whatever.” Karma whacked the tentacle away. “The net wasn’t that bad of an idea…”

“It’s a better trap than jumping off a cliff at least,” Kita replied dryly.

Hazama nodded. “That’s true.”

Karma hummed, his stomach twisting a bit when he remembered. “Yeah…”

“I’m just glad Ritsu didn’t include Nagisa’s grenade attempt either,” Kayano sighed. “Watching it for a second time on the big screen was hard enough.”

Nagisa smiled apologetically. “Uh, sorry!”

“Yeah, I’m hoping we don’t get any creepy moments,” Kanada said, frowning. “I like that this show seems lighthearted.”

Karma laughed, pulling out his knife and leaping toward the net. “You’re mine now!” Once he saw what was in the net, his eyes widened. “Huh?” A mushroom kunudon stared back at him.

Once Karma landed back on the ground, the mushroom kunudon stared upward at nothing in particular, appearing dazed. “My life is meaningless,” it said monotonously.

The students started laughing while Karma scowled faintly.

“Nothing like an old switcheroo!” Koro-sensei chuckled. “That net was slow.”

“Where’d he run off to?” Karma asked. He looked to the side where the sound of a hair dryer was heard.

Koro-sensei had a green towel wrapped around himself and white one resting on his shoulders. He used a hair dryer to blow warm air through a long, brown, straight wig. His skin was completely pink and he was smiling as if he were satisfied. “Sorry, it’s this cave. I felt grimy,” he said in a southern accent. He laughed.

“DID YOU TAKE A BATH?!” Karma shouted, his eyes white.

The students laughed.

“Of course, he did!” Kimura was clutching his sides.

“It’s good to be productive!” Koro-sensei replied cheerfully. “Sometimes you need to take time to relax.”

“No disrespect, but to be honest, you were so slow and that trap so tedious, I thought, ‘Why not make the most of my time and zip over to a hot spring for a nice, soothing dip?’” Pictures showed what Koro-sensei had done - when the trap was set off, he picked up the mushroom kunudon, set it in the net, and flew over to the hot spring. “Just the ticket, too. Healed that nasty wound up like magic.”

“YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BATHE YOURSELF IN A HOT SPRING!” Karma shouted, holding his knife above his head, ready to strike.

The laughter grew louder.

“Wait, but you can’t get in water,” Karma said, frowning.

“Yeah, and you took a trip to the hot springs in the last episode,” Kayano said.

“I’m sure I used my mucus to protect myself,” Koro-sensei replied, then he sighed contently. “And another thing I do love about Japan is its sublime springs. So relaxing.”

“They won’t be if we drown you in one,” Karma said dryly.

“I thought we agreed on no killing for now!” The teacher argued.

Karma shrugged. “Doesn’t we can’t attempt it every now and then.”

Suddenly, Koro-sensei moved out of the way and appeared behind him. In one motion, he took off all of Karma’s clothes other than his underwear and wrapped several tentacles around him. “Oh, really?” He flew both of them back to the hot spring.

“HEY!” Karma blushed when he saw himself be stripped to his underwear. “What are you doing!?”

“A trip to the hot spring most likely!” Koro-sensei replied, unconcerned.

“I feel that if Mr Karasuma was here, he’d label this as inappropriate,” Machida said, raising an eyebrow.

Kayano shrugged. “Probably.”

“A trip to a hot spring is a place to reflect,” Koro-sensei insisted. “And, besides, being in a cave all that time can lead to all sorts of grime building up.”

“I don’t need a bath!” Karma’s cheeks heated up. “Just because I’m in a cave doesn’t mean I’m dirty.”

“I don’t know, Ritsu seems to be hitting hard with portraying you as a cave hermit,” Kayano teased.

“I’m not a cave hermit!” Karma objected.

“What are you talking about?” Asano arched an eyebrow. “You’ve literally installed booby traps and attack anyone who enters – you’re clearly a cave hermit dweller with an ego.”

“Yeah, well, if I’m a hermit, then you’ll be some annoying, attention-seeking nerd,” Karma countered.

Asano looked annoyed as the other students laughed. “What are you five!?”

Karma shrugged. “I’m not wrong.”

“I mean, you do like being front and centre, Asano,” Ren said, amused.

“That’s – you’re not helping, Ren!” Asano snapped.

Several round bars of soap sat on the side of the water.

“You’re strong, Karma, I’ll give you that.”

Karma spluttered, his face full of confusion.

“You’re quick on your feet, literally and figuratively.”

Terasaka gave a bark of laughter along with the other when they saw the chibi face looking around the screen frantically.

Karma scowled faintly while Nagisa tried to hide his laugh.

As soon as he processed what was happening, he leaped up off the stool and turned around, pointing at Koro-sensei. A light blush appeared on his cheeks. “Hey, quit trying to wash my back; it’s weird!”

“Okay this is definitely inappropriate!” Machida exclaimed, creeped out.

“Sir, what are you doing!?” Kataoka yelled.

Hiroto clutched his stomach. “Dude, it’s worse than the time he wouldn’t stop grooming his nails and eyebrows!”

Koro-sensei sighed fondly at the memory. “My nail designs were dazzling.”

Karma blushed as the laughter grew. “Oh, man…”

Nagisa smiled in amusem*nt. “Well, at least you get a spa treatment.”

He ran around the edge of the water. “Creep thinks he can just- agh!”

A disclaimer at the bottom of the screen read, “No running in the bath, kids!”

Koro-sensei appeared next to him, moving the same pace. He held up Karma’s arm by the wrist and washed under his arms. “The trouble is you let those talents go to your head.”

Karma turned and stared at him in disbelief, completely creeped out.

“How about not being a creep while lecturing me!?” Karma snapped.

“But, I’m multi-tasking,” Koro-sensei replied obliviously. “Besides, who knows what germs you picked up in that cave.”

“What are you, a mom!?” Karma exclaimed.

Mimura shrugged. “I thought we all agreed that he was a soccer mom?”

Chiba smirked. “He does act like one.”

“If wielded in arrogance, a blade willnevertouch me.” The screen showed a picture of Kayano, Nagisa, and Karma each pulling out their own abilities to fight a common enemy. “The Demon King isn’t felled by a single player, but by a team of skilled warriors working in tandem. Camouflaging yourself was an exceptionally clever move. Why not shroud yourself in the mantle of E Class next time?”

The two of them now sat next to each other in the water.

“I see. You want me to be part of the group, too.”

“Of course, we need our class Ace!” Koro-sensei said.

Karma hummed, feeling a swell of amusem*nt. “You guys would probably be lost without me.”

Koro-sensei flew the two of them back to the cave, each of them only wearing a towel. Once Karma was returned to solid ground, he held out his hand to Koro-sensei. “Fine. Give me my clothes back and I’ll give it some thought.” As soon as he finished speaking, Koro-sensei had put an E Class uniform on him. “Alright, there we go.” Karma looked down and found that he wasn’t wearing his old clothes. “DAMMIT, I DIDN’T SAY YES, I SAID I’D GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT!”

There was a round of laughter while Karma looked at the screen in alarm.

“Too late!” Rio exclaimed. “When in doubt, kidnapping’s the way to go!”

“YEAH!” Many of the class yelled.

“Besides, you’ll need a uniform,” Okuda replied cheerfully.

“There’s no way I’m wearing the full uniform willingly,” Karma objected.

“But, you look so handsome!” Koro-sensei wept.

“I look like a dork!” Karma snapped.

Rio pretended to wince. “Ouch, way to dunk on the rest of us.”

Kanada shrugged. “You guys aren’t really strict on the uniform code anyway.”

“Yeah, how come you guys love those yellow cardigans so much?” Satsuki asked.

“They’re comfortable!” Hiroto replied.

Isogai hummed. “I prefer the blazers.” He smiled sheepishly. “It makes me feel tidy.”

“And, a prince charming!” Toka and Kayano chimed in, making the Ikeman blush.

Kataoka looked amused. “Yeah, I like wearing the full uniform.” She chuckled. “Plus, the last time I wore a cardigan to a student council meeting Asano nearly had an aneurysm.”

Asano’s brow furrowed. “School cardigans should be worn for casual settings or free periods, not during formal meetings.”

A few students sighed in exasperation.

“Yeah, well, I like feeling comfortable, so screw uniform protocol!” Terasaka huffed.

“Besides, being isolated on the mountains means we can get away with relaxing on the rules,” Rio said, shrugging. “And, Koro-sensei doesn’t mind.”

Koro-sensei nodded. “I would rather my students feel comfortable.”

Tanaka rolled his eyes. “I bet you’d freak out and make them smarten up if the Principal was doing a unform check though.”

Koro-sensei gave a nervous laugh. “Well, I probably would panic.” Then he shivered. “My teacher’s review will be coming up soon as well!”

“Teacher review?” Tsuda questioned.

Asano sighed. “The Principal is just using that as an excuse to spy on them.”

“Ugh, sounds gross already,” Kayano commented.

“Wait the principals doing it!?” Hiroto questioned. “I knew they were doing one, but like is he actually sitting in on the lessons?”

“Well, the Dean and Vice Principal can’t do it since this is all still a state secret,” Asano replied. “The only other teachers who know about Koro-sensei are the ones who were trapped in the time bubble.”

Hazama smirked. “Imagine him sitting in on Bitch-sensei’s lessons?”

A few students laughed while Asano began to appear ill.

“Now that’s somethingI haveto see,” Kataoka said, chuckling.

“Either way, I want to do well!” Koro-sensei looked flustered already, cleaning his desk. “I’ll make sure this whole campus doesn’t have a speck of dust!”

Terasaka groaned. “Ah, great, now he’s gonna be an even bigger clean freak.”

He looked over at the students to find that they were holding a banner that read, “Welcome, Red Devil!” and “3-E’s Rising Star”.

“E Class proudly welcomes our newest member!” several of the students announced.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! AND YOUR BANNER LOOKS LIKE A BAD WEBSITE.”

The students started laughing again.

“Did they have that banner prepared!?” Kondo exclaimed, chuckling.

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” Juba joked.

Hinano grinned. “An assassin is always prepared!”

Kanzaki chuckled. “Also, since our mission was to recruit him we have to prepare a celebration kit to bring him in!”

“And, kidnapping tools by the look of it,” Yanagi looked amused.

Toka smiled brightly. “Of course!”

A box appeared at the bottom of the screen.

[Karma joins the party!]

“AND, WHY ARE YOU PUTTING THAT IN A STUPID DIALOGUE BOX?!”

The laughter grew as Karma sighed.

“Well, we need a dialogue box to confirm we completed the mission,” Kanzaki said cheerfully.

The students formed a giant circle and repeatedly tossed Karma into the air, chanting, “Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!”

(And that’s how you drag the Red Devil into being part of your class,) Nagisa thought, (which brings us that much closer to being that much closer to defeating the Big Bad!)

“BUT, I STILL HAVEN’T SAID YES!” Karma shouted.

Rio cackled. “TOO LATE!”

“Yay! Friendship!” Hinano yelled excitedly.

“It’s more like kidnapping,” Asano remarked dryly.

“Pfft, like there’s a difference!” Hiroto exclaimed.

“Look, if you’re not willing to kidnap people to join your friendship group, then you’re clearly doing something wrong,” Rio challenged.

Rinka nodded, cleaning her gun. “An assassin has to be affirmative.”

Yanagi frowned. “Uh, well, that seems more like a cult, but okay.”

“It’s good Karma’s joined though, now we just need Ritsu and Itona to join our group,” Okuda said, smiling.

Karma hummed. “Well, kidnapping aside, it should be fun having everyone together.”

Nagisa nodded. “And, it means we’ll be able to advance faster if we work together.”

Kanzaki looked excited. “This show makes me want to play online fantasy games again.”

“Oh! That could be cool, we could form our own party online,” Kimura suggested.

“Yeah that would be fun,” Fuwa agreed.

Karma looked intrigued. “Yeah, it could be.” He grinned. “Can I be a bad guy?”

“Uh, wouldn’t that make us a party of villains if we’re forming a group?” Nagisa said.

“Nah, I can just be the token anti-hero in the group,” Karma argued, smirking. “Keeps things more interesting.”

Koyama’s eyes lit up when he overheard. “Um, Asano—”

Asano sighed. “No.”

“But, it could be fun,” Koyama whispered. “I could be a wizard, and you could be a warrior—”

“I wanna be a wizard as well,” Seo said, frowning.

Asano groaned, running a hand down his face. “We do not have time for that.”

Ren smirked. “It does sound fun though… I could seduce other players online!”

Asano sighed again. “I can think of a hundred ways that could and will end in a disaster.”

“Uchida!” Rio grinned. “Go ahead and roll the next episode!”

Asano frowned. “We still need to go over planning for Shiro’s mission.”

“Yeah, but these episodes are short so we have plenty of time,” Okano argued.

Isogai smiled at the council president reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Asano, we’ll have enough time. Besides, everyone seems to be having a good time.”

(Damn Ikeman.) Asano scowled briefly, wanting to roll his eyes. “Fine, but if we run out of time then don’t say I didn’t warn you…”

A few students rolled their eyes.

“I’ll take that as a go-ahead.” Uchida grinned and pressed the play button.

Chapter 4: Episode 3: The Seductive Witch or Is this a shipping episode?

Chapter Text

The school bell rang, signalling the start of the school day. The class gathered in the schoolyard and faced Karasuma, waiting for instructions.

(Starting today, Royal Knight Commander Karasuma will be teaching E Class the way of the sword,) Nagisa thought.

"Oh, so I guess he joined on as their teacher like in the other timeline?" Oota frowned, opening up a packet of crisps. "I guess we're just supposed to assume."

"Probably, it makes sense, also I like how he's a knight in this," Sugaya commented.

"It's a perfect it!" Hinano gushed hearts in her eyes. "Mr K is brave and noble!"

Tsuda shrugged. "Well, real-world medieval knights were kind of assholes but I guess I we're going with the fairytale..."

Karasuma held the weapon in his hand by the golden hilt, the long, silver blade extending out in front of him. "This is a civilized weapon," Karasuma said. "Mastery is its own reward." He turned around, then swung it forcefully. The top of the mountain next to them detached from its base and flew into the air.

"HOLY CRAP!" Sugino shouted.

"That slash sliced amountain!" Maehara exclaimed.

"Wow!" Kimura's eyes widened.

"Laws of physics aside I could imagine him doing this," Takebayashi commented.

Mimura snorted. "He is almost superhuman."

"Yeah, remember the hotel poisoning incident?" Kataoka said.

"Mr K is cool in whatever medium!" Hinano gushed, recording on her phone. "Do you think our characters will get together in this?"

"No, because that's illegal," Asano replied dryly.

Hinano blushed. "It's not that big of an age different!"

"He's 28," Chiba commented.

"So!?" Hinano huffed, holding her phone close. "I can wait." She frowned. "Even if he's dating Bitch-sensei, I don't mind sharing!"

The others groaned in exasperation.

Hara sighed. "I'm really not sure that's healthy, Kurahashi..."

Hinano scowled, shaking her head. "I don't care. Even if it's impossible, I'll always be Mr K's biggest fan!"

Koro-sensei quietly cried. (Even when he isn't here he's still taking my spot as the best teacher!)

Karasuma turned back around to face the students as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He held out the sword. "Now you try."

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Sugino and Maehara shouted.

The others burst out laughing.

"He would actually make us try too," Hiroto said.

Sugino nodded. "Yep."

Isogai looked amused. "Well, he does like seeing us reach our full potential."

Koro-sensei stepped forward. "That's Tadaomi Karasuma: arguably the most feared and respected swordsman in any world."

"And he's actually sharing the secrets of his awesomeness with us!" Isogai said excitedly.

"This is sweet!" Maehara agreed.

"Oh, wow! The fact he's so scary makes him hot!" Okano gushed, blushing.

"This'll be a great way to get to know him a little better!" Kurahashi replied, wearing the same expression.

"I'm convinced you guys also drool on him during your PE lessons," Tsuda commented.

Okano, Rinka, Toka, and Hinano blushed.

"No!" Okano said quickly.

"I'm not ashamed to admit it," Hinano said brightly.

Rinka looked thoughtful. "He does have an impressive physique..."

Chiba raised an eyebrow. "So, you do drool?"

Rinka's cheeks heated up, looking away. "No..."

"I mean, Mr Karasuma is really amazing so you can't blame them," Machida commented, cheeks heating up.

"You're only saying that because you have a crush on him too," Hatanaka replied dryly.

Machida panicked. "Ah! Shut up!"

"Look, let's not kid ourselves and pretend we weren't all ogling him when he rescued Bitch-sensei during Reaper Knock-offs assassination attempt."

Karma smirked. "We do have photos of you main campus dweebs getting nose bleeds."

A lot of the students grew embarrassed.

"You can't really blame us since he has the body of a demi-god," Satsuki sighed. "It should be illegal to look that good."

Toka sighed wistfully. "True."

Behind them, Sugino attempted to fire attack after attack with his magic, but nothing came from his palms like he wanted.

Sugino frowned when he noticed. "What am I doing?"

Nagisa hummed. "It kind of looks like you're trying to push something. Maybe it's a magic bolt?"

Sugino looked excited. "Hey, that could be cool."

Koro-sensei screamed. "Eeeeee! Damn you, Karasuma! You're trying to take my place as their favorite teacher!" Koro-sensei picked up a sword. "Attention, boys and girls! If you thinkhistechnique is all that, check outthesefunky, fresh moves!" He now held seven swords, each in their own tentacle. "Wayoooo! Now, everyone, hold their weapons exactly as I am!"

"SERIOUSLY?!" the students shouted.

Nakamura laughed along with most of the others. "Same old, same old."

Koro-sensei huffed. "I'm a sociable person! I don't like being ignored."

"We're not ignoring you, you're just needy," Mimura replied, frowning.

"I'm not needy!" Koro-sensei objected.

"YES, YOU ARE!" Everyone fired back.

Koro-sensei went and sulked in the hallway, poking at the floor petulantly.

A few of the students peaked around the doorframe.

"Oh, come on!" Hiroto rolled his eyes.

"I think he's sulking is growing mushrooms again." Sugaya pointed at the mushrooms growing around Koro-sensei.

"Ugh, just ignore him." Tsuda slid the door shut. "He's such a big baby."

Koro-sensei whined when the door was shut. "Don't ignore me!"

Koro-sensei's face went pitch black. "Observe what the stance enables me to unleash!" He inhaled deeply. "Whah!" Flames flew out of his mouth.

[The Big Bad breathed hellfire!]

"THAT'S NOT SOMETHING PEOPLE CAN DO!" Isogai protested.

"WHAT ARE THE SWORDS FOR IN THIS SCENARIO?!" Maehara asked.

Nagisa chuckled as the students started laughing again.

"He does overdo it a lot." Kanzaki looked amused. "But it's nice that he cares."

"Yeah..." Kayano smiled a little.

"You guys are seriously lucky he'll do anything for you," Oota commented. "Most teachers don't even care enough to teach properly."

Nagisa nodded, humming as he looked at the doorway. "That's why it's hard to let him go..."

The mood sobered a bit.

"...You guys really think you can save him?" Kanada looked concerned. "I mean, it would be nice but..."

"Everything has to end eventually," Araki argued, frowning.

"We know..." Sugino looked uncomfortable. "But we can still try right?"

There was a strained silence for a bit as most of the other students looked unconvinced.

The students gathered into a circle off to the side.

"Wow, desperate much?" Nakamura said.

"He's trying too hard," Okajima commented.

"If I'm gonna learn swordsmanship, I want a human to teach me," Sugino agreed.

"Blast, I'm losing them!" Koro-sensei panicked.

The mood brightened up a little when the others laughed again.

Koro-sensei sniffled and poked his head around the door.

"How long are you going to keep sulking?" Okano sounded exasperated.

Koro-sensei rubbed his eye. "Until you all appreciate how cool I am!"

There was a loud sigh from nearly everyone.

"Sir, you know we love you, but you act like a total goof half the time!" Rio exclaimed.

"But you are also really funny," Kanzaki said warmly.

Koro-sensei perked up. "Being funny is cool right!?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Mimura gave a nervous chuckle.

Koro-sensei looked relieved. "Wonderful!" He took out a monopoly board game. "Now does anyone want to take a break from watching to play monopoly with—"

"NO!" Everyone dismissed him.

Koro-sensei went back to sulking outside of the classroom.

The opening was skipped.

Uchida ignored the glare Fuwa was shooting him.

(On Commander Karasuma's recommendation, the crown approved funds for E Class to equip itself with weapons, so here we are in the nearby village to do some shopping,) Nagisa narrated as the class walked down a street. Koro-sensei was still fuming.

"Isn't Commander Karasuma generous, letting us buy new equipment?" Nakamura said to Kurahashi.

"Yeah!" Kurahashi agreed.

Koro-sensei was still red with a tick mark on his head. He pulled on a handkerchief that was clenched between his teeth. "That jerk is siphoning off my popularity with the youngins!"

Nagisa, who was watching him, laughed.

Hiroto scratched his head. "He really is kind of insecure."

"I'm not insecure!" Koro-sensei popped his head around the door. "I just need validation!"

The students exchanged looks.

"...Isn't that insecurity?" Ren commented.

"No..." Koro-sensei huffed. "I just want constant reassurance my students love me and that I'm doing a good job!"

"We can't praise you 24/7," Hara argued.

Koro-sensei sniffled, sitting down with them. "But what happened to students joyfully giving their teacher an apple as they skipped to class?"

"We're not in primary school!" Kimura argued.

"Who even did that in primary school anyway?" Rio questioned.

A few students looked embarrassed.

Karma grinned. "I once slipped wasabi into my teacher's lunch, does that count?"

"No!" Koro-sensei admonished while the others were laughing.

The class approached a weapon stand. The man behind the counter had pointy ears, a bushy moustache, a large nose, and metal goggles attached to a hat with spikes. A large, pink heart surrounded his head. "Sorry, 'fraid all I got in stock are Irina dumplings," he told the students.

The class sweatdropped. "Huh?"

"Irina dumplings?" Nagisa repeated.

"Oh, we must end up meeting Bitch-sensei in this!" Toka exclaimed.

"Yeah, but the guy looks weird with the heart thing so I'm not sure it's gonna end well," Machida pointed out.

"Hm, she was a massive bitch when we first met her," Rio said, frowning.

"Isn't this a weapons shop?" Maehara asked.

"What are we supposed to do with dumplings?" Nakamura said.

"Trust me, you'll never have juicier." The man opened one of the boxes of dumplings labelled "Irina Dumplings" and "Goddess-soft". Inside were two dumplings that looked way too similar to a pair of boobs.

A few students choked on their snacks and spat out their drinks.

"WHAT KIND OF DUMPLINGS ARE THOSE!" A lot of them shouted.

Okajima drooled. "The best kind."

Kataoka buried her face in her palm.

Tsuda wiped her nose when it started bleeding. "How is this not censored...?"

"Because they're too beautiful to be censored." Hiroto grinned.

"Ugh!" Okano sighed, shaking her head.

"What the-" the students were unsure of how else to respond.

Okajima blushed, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "I'll take two!"

"Hey, you can't blame me, just look at them!" Okajima argued, and then wiped away a tear. "Made to perfection they almost look real!"

Kataoka sighed. "He's a lost cause."

Kanzaki and Okano rushed over to the group, having returned from looking at some other shops.

"Guys, the armory's only got Irina crackers!" Okano told them.

"And all they have at the item shop is Irina cakes," Kanzaki said.

"You're kidding me!" Maehara exclaimed.

Several men in the village had giant hearts around their heads and more hearts in their eyes.

"Irina, how I adore thee, mistress!" one of them said.

A man with dark green hair rubbed two of the Irina dumplings against his face. "You're a golden goddess! I worship you!" he exclaimed, borderline hyperventilating.

The others laughed while Nagisa sighed.

"Yep, this is something she would do," he said.

Rio couldn't stop cackling. "Oh, wow!"

Nagisa stared at the man, deadpanning. "What the heck is going on in this village?"

Karma and Koro-sensei stood off to the side, each holding a gelato. Koro-sensei wrote in a notebook.

"Beats me," Karma replied matter-of-factly.

"The Irina soft serve is a sugary revelation!" Koro-sensei commented.

"What is this, an eating tour?!" Okajima exclaimed.

"What's wrong with trying the food?" Karma asked innocently.

"Aren't we supposed to be there getting weapons?" Sugaya questioned.

Karma shrugged. "Exactly, all that hard work works up an appetite."

"Due diligence, Okajima. If we're going to uncover what's going on, no stone must be left unturned!"

The class was confused. "Huh?"

Koro-sensei disappeared for a moment, then came back with a short man with gray hair and a suit. "If you would, Mister Village Chief!"

"Yes." The man's eyes widened and became bloodshot. He appeared to become almost possessed. "Things are not as they seem! Our community is enthralled to dark magic! Rave travellers, I beg you: DRIVE HER OUT! BANISH THE DREAD WITCH IRINA!!!"

The screen showed a picture of Bitch-sensei in a very revealing witch outfit. She was laughing calmly but cruelly, surrounded by an evil aura.

"Wow, this guy is intense," Hara commented.

Okano nodded. "I know, the eye thing really adds to the effect."

"Well he an RPG, they tend to be intense sometimes." Kanzaki chuckled. "And, it looks like we have our next quest."

"Well, if she's a witch enchanting everyone, so this should be fun," Fuwa said, looking excited.

Tanaka hummed, taking out his notebook. "Enchanting everyone..."

"Sounds like a shipping episode to me!" Miura squealed from excitement.

Asano groaned. "Please, no!"

"Hey, technically this is just a show so it's not even real," Kondo argued.

"No, it's still weird because we're REAL PEOPLE," Okano sighed in exasperation.

"But, the matchmaking could be vital for your future happiness!" Koro-sensei exclaimed.

"And, what if we just want to die alone buried among book and our per tarantulas?" Hazama asked dryly while writing in a notebook.

There was a long pause as everyone turned to look at her.

"...Um..." Koro-sensei looked concerned.

Hazama shrugged, still writing. "Just a thought."

"So, anyway!" Miura started writing in Tanaka's notebook. "It's shipping time!"

"Asano..." Isogai looked at Asano pointedly. "Could you maybe stop them from—"

"That would be futile." Asano sighed when he saw Araki gather around Tanaka as well.

"Do what now?" the class responded.

Koro-sensei laughed mischievously, holding up a finger. "Nurufufufufu! Methinks this has potential as an extracurricular lesson!"

"Koro Q," Nagisa's voice said over the transition.

The class now stood in front of a four-story-tall, white tower with arching windows on each floor. A large sign above the heart-shaped entrance without a door read "Welcome" with a couple of hearts. Enormous roses were painted on either side of the walkway.

[Tower of Temptation]

"Tower of Temptation? Kind of a skeezy name, isn't it?" Kayano asked.

"It is a little on the obvious side," Takebayashi remarked.

"Well, it doesn't really seem like Bitch-sensei is being discreet," Mimura replied.

The class walked through the entryway.

"Excuse us!" Okajima whisper-called. His voice echoed around the empty space. "Anyone home?"

Hatanaka snorted. "What's with the voice?"

Okajima looked amused. "Well, it is a creepy tower."

"Ah, intrepid wanderers! Fates be praised," came Bitch-sensei's fake-exhausted voice from off to the side. The class looked to their left to see a woman with long, blonde hair holding a chipped bowl. She wore a black shawl. She carried herself in a way that gave off the impression that what she held was all she owned. She held out the bowl to them and looked up at them with her bright blue eyes, begging. "Water, please." Flowers appeared to bloom around her. "I'm on the very verge of death from thirst."

"SKETCHY!" Kayano exclaimed

"Pretty sure we should stay away from her instead," Nagisa commented.

Maehara and Okajima held out their water canteens to her. "Here, m'lady," Maehara said. "Have ours."

"WHAT DID NAGISA JUST SAY?!!" Kayano shouted in exasperation.

Hiroto shrugged while some of the others were laughing. "Hey, I'm just being a gentleman."

"Yeah, right!" Okano argued.

Hiroto smirked. "It's true! I have a noble heart."

Okano rolled her eyes and threw a stray monopoly piece at him.

"I can't thank you enough!" The woman stepped closer to Maehara, placing a hand on his shoulder and slipping off her hood. Maehara stared at her, blushing and wearing a crooked smile. The woman then placed her lips on his. Maehara's eyes widened.

"Well, that's pretty in character," Nagisa remarked while the others sighed loudly.

The class screamed. Okano glared at them and blushed, looking like she was ready to punch someone.

Hiroto smirked when he saw. "You look jealous."

Okano blushed and hit his shoulder. "Shut up."

Hiroto chuckled. "You know, my offer for that date is still open."

"Not on your life." Okano crossed her arms.

"Wait, what!?" Miura early keeled over from shock. "What date!?"

"You guys are going on a date!?" Kanada yelled.

"No!" Okano blushed harder, and glared at Hiroto who was snigg*ring. "Besides, I don't have a crush on you anymore."

"Pfft, yeah right," Tanaka muttered.

Miura happily wrote in the book. "So, she's her true feelings? That's so romantic."

"How is that romantic!?" Sugino questioned.

Karma, who was incredibly entertained, held out his index finger and thumb over his chin as if making a mental note to tease him about later. Isogai half-deadpanned, also blushing.

Karma grinned and took a picture. "This should be fun."

"Is your photo album just blackmail material of your classmates?" Hokoma asked.

Karma looked amused. "Nah, it's only 35%."

"What is the rest of the photos of Nagisa crossdressing?" Araki remarked dryly.

Nagisa groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Guys..."

Karma glanced at him. "Relax, I deleted most of them."

Nagisa turned bright red. "I told you to delete all of them!"

Karma frowned. "But they're memories of our friendship."

"Uh, you really delete them, Karma," Sugino said, sighing. "It's not cool to make Nagisa uncomfortable."

Karma scowled while Nagisa smiled at his friend gratefully.

"Can't I just keep one?" Karma argued, looking at his phone.

Nagisa sighed. "Ugh, Karma..."

Karma frowned. "Okay, fine I'll delete all of them...if you put on this cowboy outfit." He smiled and pulled out a cowboy costume. "It's manly. See?"

"Why do you have that!?" Nagisa yelled.

"Why did you bring it with you here?" Asano questioned, looking confused.

Koyama frowned. "Did you have that costume just hidden somewhere?"

"Not important." Karma put the cowboy hat on Nagisa's head and then tried to put the necktie on the boy. "Come on, just a couple of photos!"

Rio already had her phone out. "Come on give us some angles!"

Nagisa was alarmed and confused. "What is wrong with you!?"

Koro-sensei intervened and quickly picked up Nagisa so he was out of their reach. "Alright, settle down you two." He plopped Nagisa down next to Isogai, Kataoka, Hiroto, and Okano.

"Aw..." Rio and Karma looked disappointed.

Nagisa sighed in relief, taking off the cowboy hat. "Thanks, sir."

Hiroto chuckled and ruffled his head. "You really can't catch a break, dude."

Nagisa heaved another sigh. "Tell me about it."

Okano looked amused and put the cowboy hat on, making Kataoka giggle.

The woman continued to deepen the kiss.

10 hits.

20 hits.

30 hits.

40 hits.

50 hits.

"I'm out," Maehara said dreamily. Around him, a cloud of pink smoke wentpoof. When it had dissipated, he had a pink heart around his head like the men in town. He was blushing heavily and was drooling. He began laughing calmly but eerily.

[Maehara was entranced!]

"See?! That's what I'm talking about!" Nagisa said.

"Well, that didn't take long," Hazama commented.

Hiroto sighed, stretching. "What can I say? I'm too chivalrous for my own good."

Okano threw a shoe at him.

"Ow!" Hiroto rubbed the back of his head. "Stop throwing stuff at me!"

The woman laughed confidently. "Like candy from a baby." She pulled off her shawl, revealing the purple dress and hat of the witch. "Now what's all this I hear about you driving me out?"

"SHE REALLY IS A WITCH!" Kayano exclaimed.

"Yeah, sure, but... wow!" Sugino said, staring at her with a light blush on his face. The other members of the class were doing the same.

"Guys!" Kayano exclaimed.

"Ah! Her powers are too strong!" Okajima shielded his eyes. "It's too late for us?"

"I amsuperjealous of her cup size," Kayano pouted, glaring.

Kayano blushed bright pink when a few people laughed. "Ah! That's a lie! I'm not jealous."

Toka looked sympathetic. "Hey, it's okay." She looked embarrassed and whispered, "u

m, to be honest I which my cup size was a little smaller..."

Kayano looked surprised. "Really?"

"Uh, yeah." Toka gave a nervous chuckle. "It really hurts my back sometimes..."

"Oh." Kayano felt a little better after that. "I never really considered that."

Okajima still stood behind the witch. "So, uhhhh... what about me?" he asked, pointing to himself.

"Oh, huh-nee, you're not my type," the witch said as if pitying him.

"What!?" Okajima yelled. "That's not fair!"

"Uh, you know it's a good thing not getting enchanted right?" Nagisa questioned.

"Not when it's rejection!" Okajima whined.

Okajima shouted and the hearts around his head shattered. "Agh! Don't be mean!" His blush suddenly returned. "No, wait. That might actually be my thing." The cloud of pink smoke exploded around him and a pink heart also appeared around his head. "Yup, totally is." He began laughing like Maehara.

[Okajima was entranced!]

"Big shock." The class deadpanned.

"Are you kidding me!?" Kataoka yelled.

Okajima blushed. "Hey! There's nothing wrong with it."

"So, what? Okajima is into humiliation kink?" Hatanaka questioned.

Takebayashi looked thoughtful. "This explains so much..."

Miura's eyes sparkled when she looked at Kataoka. "...Maybe that's why he tries to annoy Kataoka so much!"

"Huh?" Kataoka looked over in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"New ship?" Tanaka's eyes sparkled as well.

"No!" Kataoka shouted when she heard them.

"Quickly write it down!" Miura ordered, pointing at Kondo frantically.

Koro-sensei stepped forward. "I take it we're in the presence of Irina Jelavic, the Seductive Witch?"

"And if you are?" the witch responded.

"Might I ask that you kindly release the villagers from your salacious enchantment?"

"Sorry, no can do. I've grown accustomed to a certain standard of living," she said matter-of-factly. "But let's change the subject." She thrust her chest forward at Koro-sensei. "You seem like a hardy bunch. You'd make afineaddition to the minion class."

"Dream on, witch! You're not gonna seduce us!" Nakamura shouted.

"Yeah, we're impervious to your magic!" Kurahashi and Okano agreed.

Rio looked smug. "No matter how big the boobs, we won't be seduced!"

"My love for Mr Karasuma will be my shield!" Hinano declared proudly.

"More like obsession," Araki commented dryly.

The three of them heard quiet laughter from off to the side and looked over to see Sugaya, Yoshida, Sugino, and Muramatsu surrounded by hearts.

"Guys..." they said in disappointment.

"Sorry!" Sugino apologized.

"Well, this isn't going well," Rinka said, frowning.

"Wait, how many boys outnumber us again?" Hara quickly counted. "So Ritsu isn't here yet and neither is Itona and if all the boys are enchanted then that makes it... twelve girls against fourteen boys..." She scowled. "Ah, damn it."

"There's only a two-person difference!" Mimura argued.

"At least we have Koro-sensei with us," Kanzaki reassured.

The witch bounced her chest in Koro-sensei's direction, trying to seduce him. Koro-sensei stared, trying to avoid being taken over by her spell.

(Fight, Koro-sensei,) Nagisa thought. (Keep it together!)

"Hey, wait, Nagisa isn't affected yet," Okano pointed out.

Hara looked relieved. "Nice! That might even out the numbers then."

"Wait, how are you not affected though!?" Hatanaka questioned.

Nagisa shrugged. "I mean... they're just boobs."

A few students gasped in horror.

Okajima looked disturbed. "Just...boobs?"

Hiroto looked away from Nagisa. "I can't even look at you."

Nagisa was unimpressed and sighed.

Onepooflater, Koro-sensei had a heart around his head. A Koro-sensei voice in the background exclaimed, "Insta-killed by cleavage!"

[Koro-sensei was entranced!]

"Oh..." Kanzaki looked disappointed.

Koro-sensei was intrigued. "Hm... perhaps her powers are too strong."

The girls in class sighed.

"Well, we're screwed," Kayano commented.

"SERIOUSLY?! COME ON!" Kayano glared.

Nakamura's eye twitched. "WAY TO GO, PERV!"

"NO FAIR! WHY DO BIG BOOBS HAVE SO MUCH POWER OVER MEN?!" Kurahashi whined.

The other students were laughing while Koro-sensei and the boys looked sheepish.

A shadow covered the witch's face. "Welcome to the team, boys. Chase them out of here, will you? I'll be upstairs, slipping into something more comfortable."

Okajima, Maehara, and Koro-sensei crept forward, their fingers curled as if preparing to grasp at the other students. Shadows covered their faces and Koro-sensei's eyes were glowing red. Under their breath, they repeated, "Chase them out, chase them out, chase them out, chase them out..."

"Oh! And..." The witch stopped walking and turned around. She snapped her fingers and a heart-shaped cage made out of glass appeared around the female students and floated into the air.

The girls screamed.

"Oh, no! This is bad!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"There we are! You shorties are gonna help Mama develop a new charm that works on women! Doesn't that sound fun?" the witch said sweetly.

A number of students exchanged looks.

"...So, what she's gonna turn the girls into lesbians?" Muramatsu asked, looking confused.

Hazama shrugged. "Or just not straight, and honestly, mind control aside it doesn't really sound like a punishment."

Toka was bright red. "That's not really how it works..."

Tsuchiya looked over curiously. "And, how would you know?"

Toka yelped. "N-no, reason!" She gave a nervous laugh. "Um, anyway, I think bitch or witch-sensei means is that the potion just doesn't work on girls because um... biology, I'm sure it has nothing to do with sexuality or... um, yeah! That's the reason!"

"Uh, okay." Araki shrugged. "No one really—"

"I'm just saying it's more of a mind control charm!" Toka yelled in panic, her face red as a tomato. "It's not like we'd all end up kissing each other or—"

Machida and Tsuda quickly covered her mouth while the other students exchanged confused looks.

Machida gave a nervous laugh. "Okay! You can stop talking now."

"Seriously, save your gay panic for later, idiot," Tsuda whispered impatiently.

Toka's cheeks heated up as she quickly tried to calm down. Deflating like a balloon as she was released.

"Uh..." Nagisa exchanged a look with Kayano. "Right..."

Koro-sensei hummed to himself and made notes in his new notebook.

Okajima, Maehara, and Koro-sensei were still approaching the rest of the class.

"Agh! Move it!" Sugino shouted.

Okajima, Maehara, and Koro-sensei were laughing creepily and still repeating, "Chase them out, chase them out, chase them out..."

Rio made a face. "Ugh, creep factor."

"At least a good portion of us aren't enchanted yet," Nagisa argued.

Sugino nodded. "Yeah, if we can hold out then we can help rescue the girls."

"Yeah, but Witch-sensei has Koro-perve over here enchanted," Mimura argued.

"Don't call me that!" Koro-sensei complained.

"If Koro-sensei is enchanted though, then could that limit his power since he isn't in control?" Isogai argued.

"Oh, yeah, that's a good point," Kataoka replied.

Karasuma suddenly ran into the room and swung his sword at Koro-sensei, who held it back with his tentacles.

"Commander K?!" the students exclaimed.

Karasuma turned around, wearing a determined and focused expression. "Hey! I can handle these idiots! Go ahead and make sure the witch is stopped!"

"Yes, sir!"

"I knew he'd come to our rescue!" Hinano looked smitten.

"How did he show up so fast?" Isogai questioned.

"It must have been his intuition!" Okano replied.

"Koro Q!" Isogai's voice said as the transition appeared on the screen.

The witch relaxed on a couch in a large, mostly empty room. Everything - the walls, floor, furniture - in the room was pink. The girls had been moved to a cylindrical wire cage a short distance from the witch.

[Tower of Temptation - Top Floor]

The witch took a sip from her glass of wine. "My goodness, the menfolk are such pushovers."

"Then why be so proud about wrapping them around your little finger?" Kayano asked.

Nakamura crossed her arms. "You're not fooling us; nowaythat full-figured bod's not some kind of illusion."

Kayano nodded in agreement.

Kurahashi covered her mouth and her eyes widened. "Wait, her boobs arefake?"

Kayano nodded furiously.

"SHUT UP! UGH! I'd have magic-ed those big mouths shut!"

"Could they be fake?" Hatanaka looked distressed. "Is it all a lie!?"

Asami sighed. "I really don't think it matters that much..."

"What are you talking about?" He shook her shoulder. "Of course, it matters!"

Nobody had noticed the rest of the class entered the room, but they now stood next to the witch's couch.

"Release them at once!" Nagisa ordered.

Kayano folded her hands together and blushed. "Nagisa!" she exclaimed.

The witch stared at them in confusion. "Huh? What the hell! How'd you nobodies get up here?" She set down her glass of wine and her annoyed look was quickly replaced with a smile. "Doesn't matter. The more slavishly devoted minions, the merrier!" She snapped her fingers and winked. "Charm."

A cloud of pink smoke surrounded the students. When it moved away, they had pink hearts around their heads and were drooling. Karma and Nagisa, who were standing off to the side, had evaded the attack.

"Look Karma and Nagisa aren't affected!" Kondo's eyes lit up. "I told you guys they were gay," he whispered.

"Wait, what?" Nagisa frowned.

Tsuda looked annoyed. "No, they're not!"

"There's still a chance." Kondo grinned and grabbed Tanaka's notebook. "I'm writing it down."

"They weren't affected because they moved out of the way of the charm, you idiots!" Asano tried to tell them.

Kondo wasn't listening. "Pfft, yeah right."

Nagisa groaned, burying his face in his hand.

Karma raised an eyebrow. "They're seriously still writing in that book?"

Rio nudged him and pointed at Koro-sensei. "Well, he's not exactly stopping it."

Koro-sensei chuckled as he wrote in his notebook.

"Great. So now what are we supposed to do?" Nagisa asked.

Karma held a hand up to his chin, thinking. "Hm..." A washtub fell on his head.

Nagisa's jaw dropped.

"Does anyone else wonder where all the washtubs go?" Oota questioned.

"She's been playing that charm close to the chest!" he pointed out condescendingly, more washtubs repeatedly hitting him in the head as he spoke. "Heh! But if we got it away from her, the spell would be broken!"

"Wonderful idea, Karma." Koro-sensei nodded.

"So, in this world, you can just physically grab charms?" Okuda said.

Kimura shrugged. "Video game logic.!"

The witch glared at him. "Uh!" She held up a fist. "Yeah, so what if it would, carrot top?"

A shadow covered Karma's face. He made a Koro-sensei smile and held up a finger. "Nailed it." A giant washtub fell on his head.

The students were laughing while Karma looked smug.

Karma stretched. "I'm just too smart for this world."

Nagisa looked amused. "Right, sure."

"Like you've got the guts to yank this baby out of my hand!" She pointed at Karma and Nagisa. "Get 'em, boys! I'm tired of looking at their faces!"

The entranced members of the class immediately began walking toward the two students.

"I was going to let you leave here alive, but since you know my weak point... Too bad they had to be so damn pure; it would have been so much easier if they'd just let me enchant them." Her tone abruptly lightened. "Oh well! C'est la vie!"

Nagisa and Karma were being cornered, having to back up closer and closer to a large window.

"Oh, wow, she's really gonna kill us," Karma remarked.

"Kinda cold," Nagisa said.

"Are you guys forgetting how she was going to let the Reaper 2.0 murder you!?" Seo snapped.

"She was upset over her heart getting broken," Toka argued.

"THAT'S NOT AN EXCUSE TO MURDER KIDS!" Tsuda yelled.

"Nagisa! Karma!" the girls exclaimed.

The witch's eyes narrowed. "This is what happens when snot-nosed pubescent punks stick their noses in grown-up business! Buh bye now."

The entranced boys shoved Karma and Nagisa out the window. They screamed as they quickly fell toward the ground.

Nagisa cringed. (Crap!)

"Ah! No!" Kayano shouted.

"This is too dark for this series!" Fuwa shook her head in distress.

"Not to worry, I'm sure I'll save them," Koro-sensei reassured.

"But, you're enchanted too," Okuda pointed out.

"Oh..." Koro-sensei looked puzzled. "Yes, I suppose that could cause a problem."

"You think!?" A lot of the students yelled.

"I can't look." Kanzaki buried her face in her hands.

Before they hit, though, they were suddenly picked up and saved. Their eyes widened in surprise.

"Wha-" The witch stared, angry and shocked.

"Hooo! That wasalmosttoo close for comfort." Koro-sensei gently landed on the top floor of the tower, placing Karma and Nagisa back on solid ground.

"Phew." Nagisa sighed in relief along with a lot of the others.

"You see!" Koro-sensei looked relieved. "No silly enchantment could ever come between me and protecting my students."

The witch stared at him in complete shock. "SON OF A- YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE UNDER MY SPELL!"

"Madam, please. Your magic has no power over me. What do you take me for, a trash mob?" Koro-sensei's face went pitch black and his slitted eyes glowed red."Do your homework,"he growled."Status effect enhancements have no power over the Demon King!"

"Go figure," Karma said.

"Heh. Knew it all along," Nagisa laughed.

"Nice fake out there, teach," Karma said.

Koro-sensei chuckled while the others looked shocked.

"Well, it makes sense since he wasn't fooled by her when she first made an appearance," Takebayashi said.

"Oh, yeah, that's true," Okano replied. "He might be a pervert, but he's still smart."

"Why thank you!" Koro-sensei preened at the praise. "I am a master of deceit."

"Well, at least not when you're flustered or insecure," Karma replied.

"Ugh!" Koro-sensei was wounded. "Well, yes, there are those drawbacks."

Koro-sensei laughed. "Nurufufufufu! Toying with you has been a lark, but trying to push my students out a window to their deaths is a bridge too far."

The witch stood in a defensive stance. "Nice try, jawbreaker. I'm not sure what's going on, but don't pat yourself on the back just yet; I still have hostage- Huh?"

When she looked over at the cage that had held the girls, she found them standing behind Karasuma with the top 80% of the cage chopped off. "Not anymore, you don't," Karasuma said. "I've taken the liberty of setting them free."

"WHAT?!" the witch exclaimed.

"This thing told me his plan on the first floor."

When Karasuma's sword was stuck in Koro-sensei's grip, he'd winked and said, "Easy, easy, I'm only pretending!"

"A true master plan." Koro-sensei chuckled. "I honestly outdo myself sometimes."

"You did have us fooled there for a sec," Nagisa replied sheepishly.

"Not to worry, my boy." Koro-sensei sighed wistfully. "As alluring as womanly cleavage is, I won't ever let it distract me from protecting my students!"

The girls began screaming and fangirling over Karasuma.

"Gah! He broke the cage in one blow!" Okano exclaimed.

"Coolest thing I've seen in my entire life!" Kurahashi gushed.

"Same. I think I'm falling in love," Nakamura agreed matter-of-factly.

"AHHHH, no, no, no! This wasmyidea! Why are they all smitten withyou?!" Koro-sensei asked.

Karasuma glared furiously at him, holding up a fist. "I DON'T KNOW!"

The others were laughing.

"You can't blame us, Mr K is fantastic!" Hinano looked in love again. "He really is a knight in shining armour."

Koro-sensei grumbled under his breath.

"And what about your immunity to Irina's charms? I'm the Demon King, so of course it couldn't get a foothold onme, but are you sure you don't bat for the other team?"

Meanwhile, the witch stared at them in disbelief, her jaw dropped. Behind her, Nagisa deadpanned and Karma smiled mischievously.

"It's called being disciplined!" Karasuma shot back.

Shindo nudged Machida. "Hey, you might have a chance."

Machida turned bright red and shoved him. "SHUT UP!"

Hinano looked curious. "Hey, maybe Mr K likes both?"

"I don't know, I think he really is just dense and super disciplined," Kataoka argued.

Tanaka hummed, looking at his notebook. "You know... Mr Karasuma does spend a lot of time in the Principal's office—"

Asano grabbed the boy's notebook and tore it in half. "No."

"Asano!" Tanaka and a few of the shipping club members looked horrified.

"No! That had precious intel in there!" Miura complained.

Asano glared at him darkly. "Enough."

Tanaka and Miura cowed and hid behind Kataoka.

Kataoka looked confused. "Uh, why are you hiding behind me?"

"For protection!" Tanaka yelled.

She sighed and shook her head.

Once Koro-sensei and Karasuma were done bickering, they came over to the witch. Enormous flames seemed to appear behind them. Their faces were shadowed and both of their eyes glowed red.

"Game, set, match! Admit defeat, foul witch!" Karasuma ordered with a wide smile.

"Someone's been a naughty sorceress!" Koro-sensei said, holding up a tentacle finger. "It's punishment time!"

The witch stared at them as they approached, tears streaming down her face as she shrieked.

"Well, this looks straight from a horror movie," Yoshida said.

"Yeah, what's with the creep factor?" Hara commented.

"Well, she did nearly kill Karma and Nagisa while also enslaving everyone with mind control," Kayano said.

"Exactly! She must be taught the error of her ways," Koro-sensei declared.

"Yeah, but we're not sure we trust you with that," Hazama replied dryly.

The group of students outside the entrance deadpanned when they heard the shrieks die down into moans. "No! Please, stop!"

After a moment, the witch sat on the floor. Her clothing and hat were covered in scratches and her hair was in a dishevelled state. There were tears in the corners of her eyes. "I-I'll be a good girl from now on, I swear. Cross my heart. I beg your forgiveness."

"What did they do to her?!" Mimura, Sugino, Kimura, and Maehara wondered aloud.

"Things I can imagine are better off not known, children," Koro-sensei said solemnly.

"Um..." Nagisa looked concerned.

"It's like episode 4 all over again," Hokoma said. "With the tentacle massage and the shed."

Asami grimaced. "Yeah, I've been trying to block that out of my mind for a week now,"

Okajima stared at her. "Mmm..." Suddenly, pink smoke exploded around him and a heart surrounded his head again.

[Okajima was entranced a second time!]

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Okano, Nakamura, Kurahashi, and Kayano shouted.

"So much," Kataoka said, and then sighed.

Okajima blushed. "What? Everyone has their own thing." He became flustered. "Don't shame me!"

"Hey, everyone has their own thing," Hiroto said brightly. "If anything, this episode taught us a good lesson of when it comes to romance, everyone's different."

Kayano frowned. "Uh, I'm not sure that was the lesson—"

"It's true." Ren shrugged. "I myself am weak to true romance. Love letters, a traditional serenade."

Hiroto patted him on the shoulder. "I can respect that." He grinned. "And, if we're on about preferences—"

Isogai buried his face in hand. "Please stop..."

Hiroto remained confident. "I myself and more of ass man—"

Okano gagged him with a chocolate bar. "Stop!"

Isogai sighed. "We really don't need to know that, Maehara..."

"He has a point though," Ren said just as brightly, making Asano sigh in annoyance. "My ideal wouldn't definitely be—"

Seo and Araki forced his head down into the mat. "SHUT UP!"

Uchida frowned as he watched them all start to squabble. "Uh, yeah, I'm just gonna play the next episode." He pressed the play button.

Chapter 5: Episode 4: The Ruins of Tribulation or why are you taking notes?

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Episode 5: The Evolved Mage or did we just orphan kids!?

Chapter Text

"Exciting news!" Koro-sensei stood at the front of the classroom, facing his students. "We have a fresh-face transfer student joining E Class today!"

"Oh! Maybe it's Ritsu or Itona!" Hinano exclaimed excitedly.

"I mean, this show is following the original time so it'll most likely be Ritsu," Takebayashi replied.

"Yeah, but wasn't she the powerful sorcerer in the northern cave or something?" Kondo commented.

"Yeah, but there were a lot of sorcerers in the northern cave," Sugaya replied.

"Yeah, what was that all about?" Kimura questioned. "Karma has his own cave so were the rest of them just in two separate caves behind his?"

"Probably," Mimura said, chuckling. "Kind of like they had their own creepy penthouses."

"Oh!" The class was pleasantly surprised.

Maehara excitedly stood from his seat. "Is it a girl? Say yes!"

Okajima gave him a thumbs-up, blushing. "It just so happens I have a photograph of her from Commander Karasuma. She's pretty cute!"

"You mean a photo you probably stole?" Hara said.

Okajima laughed sheepishly. "Maybe, but that's not important now."

He pulled out the photo to show a pink-haired Ritsu with red eyes and an emotionless expression on her face. She wore an E Class uniform and a white headband.

"Whoaaa! She's perfect!" Maehara laughed.

"Iknow, she's so totally hot!" Okajima agreed.

"Check out her boobs!"

"COULD YOU BE ANY MORE DISGUSTING?!" Kataoka fumed.

"Hey! I can't help being a boob man!" Okajima argued. "Besides, everyone has their thing."

"Their thing?" Kataoka remained unimpressed.

"Yeah, you know how some people are ass and others are... uh..." Okajima frowned, thinking.

"Personality?" Nagisa suggested blandly.

"Oh, yeah, that as well!" Okajima exclaimed.

Next to her, Kayano held a sign that said "No More Big Boobs". "DOWN WITH TATAS!" she shouted.

Nagisa sweatdropped. "Ooookay then."

"Hey!" Toka sighed, annoyed.

Kayano gave a nervous laugh when she saw. "Uh...your boobs are okay though, Yada!"

"Uh..."

Toka blushed. "Um..."

Kayano turned bright red. "N-not like that!"

"I mean even within the context it sounds incriminating," Takebayashi commented.

"Shut up!"

The door opened and Karasuma rolled in a giant stone slab.

"Uh... What's with the rock?" The class blanched and sweatdropped, outside of Hara, who was busy downing a bowl of ramen.

The top half of the stone lit up and a picture of the transfer student appeared. "I am the Autonomous Intelligence Magic Stone Tablet, who will be joining your class," she said monotonously.

"IT TALKS?!" the entire class exclaimed.

"It's Ritsu!" Hinano looked delighted.

"So, what she's a magic tablet in this?" Araki asked.

"Well, duh, it's a fantasy world," Rio commented. "I wanna know what she'll be like though."

"Well, hopefully, she doesn't start shooting magic bolts at us," Hiroto joked. "Uh, no offence Ritsu, though, I mean it's Ritsu 2.0 since we have the Ritsu on screen and the original Ritsu... and then that future Ritsu."

Ritsu popped up on the screen. "You can just call me Ritsu!" she argued. "We're basically the same!"

"To be honest, there's so many Ritsu's right now I'm starting to lose track," Sugino commented, sighing.

Koyama adjusted his glasses. "I dislike future-future Ritsu the most since she got us trapped here."

The opening was skipped.

"Aw! But I wanted to hear it!" Asami said, frowning while Uchida skipped the opening.

"Hey." Karma poked her shoulder.

"Huh?" She looked around. "What are you—?"

"Switch placed with me," he said curtly, the two of them still near the far back.

"What? No," Asami replied, frowning. "Why would—?"

Karma passed her the note which read that she had a crush on Hatanaka.

She choked, looking horrified as she quickly scooted out of the way so he took her place.

"Thanks." He put his phone away, moving closer to the front. "Hey." He tapped the next person in front of him. "Switch places with me..."

"So how come the new girl's just a big rock?" Maehara asked.

The class stared at the transfer student, who was now sitting behind Hara.

"Excuse me, this is the legendary Sage's Tablet on which the thaumaturges of old collected their spells for vanquishing demon kings," Karasuma informed them. "On her is written all of the spells used throughout history."

"Oh," Okuda said. "I guess when you put it like that..."

Kayano stood excitedly, her eyes replaced with flames of determination. "CAN SHE MAKE MY BOOBS BIGGER?!"

The students burst out laughing while Kayano turned bright red.

"Alright, who's writing this dialogue!" Kayano yelled.

Tsuda clutched her sides. "Someone who clearly did their research!"

Okajima stood with hearts in his eyes and a wide smile on his face, his arms in the air victoriously. "OR TEACH ME TO STOP TIME FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON?!"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT SHE'S FOR!!!" Nakamura shouted angrily.

"OKAJIMA!" A lot of the students shouted.

"It's not what you think I swear!" Okajima said quickly while Kataoka looked ready to kill him.

"The ancient ones ensured she'd only be used by good people,unselfishly, so they gave her the capacity for independent thought," Karasuma said.

Kayano and Okajima stared at him, tears running down their faces. "WAIT, WE'RE NOT GOOD?!"

Asano sighed. "Okajima's a pervert and Yukimura once went homicidal with tentacles, so you're both not exactly winning moral achiever of the year any time soon."

Both Okajima and Kayano looked insulted.

"Oh, come on, that was ONE TIME!" Kayano yelled at Asano who rolled his eyes. "And like you're one to talk about morality!"

"JUST BECAUSE I LIKE THE RISKY STUFF DOESN'T MAKE ME A BAD PERSON!" Okajima exclaimed, and then looked at Hatanaka. "Right!?"

Hatanaka hummed and then shrugged. "I don't know, it's kind of a morally grey area."

"The benefits are many," the transfer student said. "This permits me to wield magic at my discretion for the solitary purpose of eliminating he known as the 'Demon King'."

"Good for you," Karma said to her. "Best of luck getting rid of him with some dinky magic spell." A washtub fell on his head.

"My skills aren't dinky!" Ritsu 2.0 argued from Fuwa's phone.

Karma paused from where he was blackmailing another student to switch places with him. "They were pretty basic when OG Ritsu showed up."

"Machine guns were basic?" Oota questioned.

"They were overdone in those first few episodes," Fuwa commented nonchalantly

"Do not fear, friend," she responded. Suddenly, two hands extended out from her sides. One held a fireball and the other a ball of water.

Nagisa stared at her, his jaw dropped. Fuwa frowned.

"Ooo!" Karma sounded intrigued as if his mind had started running through what they would be able to do with this magic.

"Wait, what?!" Kimura yelled. "How does she have arms!?"

"Is there a person trapped in there?" Sugaya shouted.

"Uh, are magic stone tablets supposed to do that?" Okano scratched her head.

"I don't think so," Nagisa said, frowning.

"I am able to cast two spells at once, combining them to create a completely new attack." The stone slab began to have a foggy, yellow outline and a ball of energy began to form in front of her. The students hid under their desks and covered their heads with their hands just in time for the ball of energy to fire a laser at the front of the classroom. The world went dark for a moment. Then the laser faded and everything went back to normal.

Koro-sensei stared, unnerved, at his melted tentacle finger.

"This..." The class turned around to see that the transfer student was eating a bowl of food, holding it up with one hand and using chopsticks with the other. "...Is my particular bug."

"WHY IS SHE EATING RAMEN!?!" The students yelled.

"WHERE DO WE EVENSTARTWITH THIS?!" the class shouted.

"Why does she have hands?!" Maehara asked. "Is there apersonin there?!"

The transfer student looked up from her bowl of food. "Sorcery."

"THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER!" Hiroto shouted, shaking his fist at the screen.

"What even are the rules of magic in this show?" Isogai asked.

"I know, right, it's not really making sense," Mimura replied.

"There's an ex-assassin, octopus, sitting in the corner knitting andthisis what's blowing your mind?" Tsuda gestured to Koro-sensei who was still knitting. "Not the reality you're in but the fictional show your life is based on?"

"Yeah, but that's science, this is magic," Mimura argued.

Araki wanted to tear his hair out. "It's not real science!"

"Are you sure? Because it looks like you're actually eating," Okuda said.

"Still sorcery."

"IS THE RICE BOWL AN ILLUSION, TOO?" Nakamura shouted, her eyes white.

"Sorcery. My magic uses a great deal of HP, so I must replenish regularly - that's the price of extraordinary powers." She held out her bowl to Hara. "More, please."

"How does that even work?" Rio questioned. "If she's just a stone tablet why does she need to eat!?"

"None of it makes sense!" Okajima cried out.

"Now you know how it feels!" Araki shouted back.

"UH?!" Hara's jaw dropped. "Thereisn'tany more!"

"Yes, there is. Right there."

"But this is..."

"More," the new student said forcefully.

"Great, now she's stealing my food!" Hara complained.

Kayano shook her head mournfully. "Unforgivable."

Nagisa sighed. "She seems worse than how the original Ritsu acted."

"Well, maybe we're just misjudging her here," Kanzaki said hesitantly.

Karasuma stood next to Koro-sensei at the front of the classroom. (She might actually help us defeat this thing,) he thought. He turned to Koro-sensei. "As of right now, she's a member of this class. Any objections?"

Koro-sensei's face became mischievous. "None at all, my good man. Welcome to the family, Autonomous Intelligence Magic Stone Tablet." He flew to the back of the room and held open a dirty magazine in front of the student, who was still eating. "I wonder if I might ask ateensylittle favor. Do you know any spells for banishing mosaic censoring?"

Koro-sensei cringed. "Uh..."

"KORO-SENSEI!" The students yelled at the octopus, making the teacher jump and nearly drop his knitting.

"IT'S ENTIRELY INNOCENT!" He cried, hiding his face in shame. "F-for art purposes!"

"Like hell it is!" Kataoka reprimanded.

"Bad sensei!" Hinano chided loudly.

Koro-sensei dragged himself off to a corner and cried. "Ritsu why would you shame your sensei like this..."

Ritsu 2.0's face sparkled on the screen. "Because it's easy!"

The student glanced at the picture. "I am forbidden from instructing the Demon King in the ways of magic." She turned her attention back to her food. "But yes."

"I KNEW IT!!!" Koro-sensei and Okajima celebrated.

Hara handed the student another bowl of food.

"A sage spent his whole life concocting one," the student told them.

"He must have been very wise," Okajima commented.

"How is that wise!?" Okano questioned, shaking her head.

"It shows years of dedication," Okajima replied firmly, a tear in his eyes. "A true genius. He crawled so the rest of us could run!"

"Yeah, so wise! All he did was look at p*rn!" Maehara exclaimed.

The students laughed.

"It still took dedication!" Okajima said strongly. "Think of how many hours he spent watching p*rn."

Kayano cringed. "Ew. No."

"Not really a good mental image," Rinka commented while cleaning her gun.

"Koro Q," the new student's voice said as the words "Koro-sensei Quest" and five Koro-sensei expressions covered the screen.

The class now stood in front of a cave.

[Gungagun Cave]

"Okie dokie, boys and girls! This will be your new quest with your new party member!" Koro-sensei announced. "I expect every one of you to level up."

"YES, SIR!" the students responded.

Inside the cave, the students all gathered in one group.

"So, you need a better name," Kataoka said to the new student. "'Autonomous Intelligence Magic Stone Tablet' is a mouthful."

"I once vanquished a band of savaged plunderers from the bowels of a remote northern cave. The battle earned me the peculiar but apt nickname 'Ritsu, the Evolved Mage'."

"Why does that story sound awfully familiar?!" the girls exclaimed.

"Oh, so was Ritsu in this world always a magic tablet?" Toka questioned.

"It seems like it," Nagisa replied. "Mr Karasuma never said she was human in the other episode."

Fuwa pointed a finger upward, making the connection. "Oh, so that's who you are! You're one of the warriors Commander Karasuma mentioned in episode 2! For continuity, I draw your attention to the Red Devil."

Nagisa deadpanned. "Uh, what?"

"Well, the audience needs a reminder," Fuwa said, nodding.

"It's barely been three episodes," Oota commented.

"Never underestimate short term memory!" she replied brightly.

"Great! Then we'll call you Ritsu, too," Kataoka said.

Ristu turned around without responding. The students sweatdropped.

"...She doesn't like that name?" Yada said in confusion.

Suddenly, two human legs wearing boots appeared under the stone tablet and began walking away.

"HOLY CRAP, SHE CAN WALK?!!" the students shouted.

"On itty bitty feet!"

"HOW IS SHE WALKING!?" Yoshida shouted.

"I don't understand, if she's more human than tablet, then why isn't she just a robot?" Sugaya questioned.

"I guess Ritsu really wanted to be shown in her box form," Okuda said, brow furrowed.

"Well since this is fantasy mobile phones don't really seem like a thing," Mimura said.

"And, if she has to come along with us on quests then she has to be mobile somehow," Takebayashi explained.

"Couldn't she just turn into a mini-tablet or something?" Kimura suggested.

"Um..."

"Actually, why can't she do that?" Hiroto scratched his head. "She already can eat noodles."

Fuwa shrugged. "They're just really dedicated to the joke."

Five Koro-sensei faces floated across the screen.

Okuda now stood at the front of the group, holding a staff with a glass ball on the top at a bunch of stone kunudons. "Enemies at twelve o'clock!" she said.

[Some Level 5 Stone Kunudons draw near!]

Ritsu's eyes closed. Her stone tablet made some beeping noises, then her eyes opened. "Analysis done. Stone monsters: attacks are heavy, but quite subtle."

Nagisa was lost. "What's that mean?"

One stone kunudon stood by himself, surrounded by blackness. A spotlight then turned on, focusing on him. His back was toward the students. He began in a defeated voice, "I got this hot chick's number and hit her up with, 'How you livin'?'" He turned his head slightly, revealing that his face was entirely shadowed. "It's been four days. She never texted me back."

Nagisa and Kataoka sweatdropped and deadpanned. "Heavy but subtle," he said. "I feel kind of bad."

Rio burst out laughing along with the other students. "Okay, that's funny."

"So, what, they attack us emotionally?" Nagisa questioned.

"Emotional damage is the most effective," Fuwa said brightly.

Ritsu stepped forward. "Allow me to handle them, please." A fireball appeared in her right hand and a ball of water in her left. "Combo spell." She put her hands together, combining the elements, and raised her hands in the air. "FLAME RAIN!" Fire began to fall onto the kunudons, who screamed as they were engulfed.

"Whoa!" Many of the students gasped, eyes wide as the screen glowed up with the colours from the spell.

"Oh, crap, she's awesome!" Muramatsu's exclaimed.

"Not bad!" Terasaka laughed. "She's burning those jerks like maggots."

Okano gave a nervous laugh. "She's also kind of terrifying..."

Hazama smirked. "I know. It's impressive."

The class watched excitedly.

"Damn, she's good!" Maehara exclaimed.

"That's the way, Ritsu," Nakamura encouraged.

Suddenly, their eyes went wide. Ritsu had turned around and was now firing a bright white spell at her classmates.

"Petrify."

The class panicked as they began to turn solid and gray.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" The excitement was quickly replaced with confusion.

"What is she doing!?" Sugino yelled.

"Turning you to stone by the looks of it," Ren commented.

"WHY?" Okajima protested. "What did we do!?"

"What are you doing?!" Kayano said.

"We're turning to stone!" Yada exclaimed.

Ritsu's expressionless eyes stared at them. "I defeated the enemy by myself; therefore, I myself am entitled to the experience points. Since incapacitated party members do not gain XP, I have temporarily frozen you."

"Not cooooo-" Maehara was cut off as he finished turning to stone.

The students, who were completely solid now, could be seen frozen in some very odd dance positions.

[The E Class was petrified!]

"THE HELL, RITSU!" The students yelled while Ritsu 2.0 whistled innocently.

"Wow, she's actually more anti-social than OG Ritsu was..." Hara said nervously.

Kanzaki looked sheepish. "Um...Yeah, looks like it."

Nagisa sighed. "At least she hasn't shot at us..."

"That's a pretty low bar!" Kayano exclaimed.

"Plus she shot laser blasts earlier on that could have hit you," Kondo pointed out.

After Ritsu finished defeating the enemies in the cave, she was given her experience points and unfroze her classmates.

[Ritsu's level increases!]

Maehara approached her, a shaking fist formed, as he forced a smile and tried to not lose his patience. "Um, Ritsu! Little much back there, don't you think?"

"I have calculated the odds of defeating the Demon King and have determined it more efficient for me to level up exponentially rather than all party members doing so together, a little at a time," Ritsu replied.

The students sighed, frustrated.

"We're supposed to be ateam," Yada pointed out, disappointed.

"Ugh, she's acting like one ofthoseplayers," Oota said, sighing. "You know, the ones that always hog all the points and rush into every battle."

Kanzaki nodded. "Those players are difficult to work with..." She frowned. "But, if since this is mirroring the other timeline then she'll come around."

"Yeah, if we're not half-dead before then," Hazama remarked.

"I advise we move on," Ritsu said as she began walking further into the cave, completely ignoring Yada.

The class stared at her and sighed again.

"Koro Q!" Maehara's voice said over the transition.

Okajima held a hand over an injury on his cheek. He noticed Ritsu walking toward him. He turned toward her and pointed to his cheek. "Ritsu, help a guy out with a healing spell?"

"I am afraid I can't do that, Okajima. The number of enemiesyoucan destroy at full health compared to the amount of magicIwould have to use to heal you renders that proposition unsustainable."

"YEAH?! WELL, YOU'RE UNSUSTAINABLE!" Okajima shot back.

A few students chuckled while Okajima scowled.

"Wow, this Ritsu is mean, I like it," Tsuda commented.

"I don't!" Okajima complained.

Fujii chuckled. "She is kind of funny."

(In the end, Ritsu hoardedallthe experience points, and she kepteveryitem we picked up.)

Many of Class E sighed while a few students laughed.

"Oh, wow, she really is a jerk in this," Hatanaka said.

"Yeah, she is." Karma tapped him on the shoulder, nearly at the front. "Mind switching?"

"Huh?" Hatanaka frowned. "Why—?"

Karma held up his phone showing Hatanaka cosplaying as Sailor Mercury.

"Ugh!" Hatanaka baulked and silently switched places with the red-head. "Please don't show anyone that photo..."

Karma grinned, moving places with him. "Why? It looks good."

The students laid on the ground, exhausted, while Ritsu stood with nine different weapons as she ate a bowl of ramen. When they regrouped with Koro-sensei, the students grumbled in frustration while Koro-sensei observed what Ritsu had done.

Koro-sensei had a conversation with Ritsu, dead stone kunudons around the edges of the cave. "Young lady," he began, "I can't stress enough howimportantit is that you get along with your fellow classmates."

"Get along? To what purpose? I can vanquish you all by myself." Lightning suddenly shot out of her hands and Koro-sensei had to quickly dodge. (My combo magic doesn't faze him,) Ritsu observed. (Could he have adapted?)

"Oh my, what dainty fingers you've got there!"

Ritsu's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

Koro-sensei, now wearing a blue dress with a white undershirt and long, brown wig, was rushing back and forth between the lightning to reach Ritsu's hands.

(Is he giving the Evolved Mage amanicure?) she thought, annoyed.

The students laughed while Koro-sensei chuckled faintly.

"Yeah, that's pretty in character," Hara joked.

"Making sure my students look their best is important!" Koro-sensei started manicuring Hiroto's nails.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Hiroto shouted as the teacher painted his right-hand nails orange.

"It's such a pretty colour!" Koro-sensei gushed.

"I DON'T CARE! PAINT SOMEONE ELSE'S NAILS!" Hiroto tried to wrestle his hands free while the students laughed harder.

Koro-sensei was back in his teacher outfit, looking smug. "There's something I'd like you to see."

A stone kunudon in what appeared to be a floating robot made of stone moved toward him, his angry face dark red from being drunk. A bottle of alcohol sat next to him.

[A Level 19 Stone Kunudon draws near!]

"You don't know pain!" There were so many tears in the corner of his eyes that they should've spilled out, but they somehow didn't. "Not till your wife leaves you! And the boss tells you to get lost!Andyou're stuck with chronic illness! The kind that even the insurance won't touch! Do you even know how hard that is?!"

The students deadpanned and sweatdropped.

"This one's level nineteen, all right," Nagisa said

.

"Definitely heavier," the rest of the class agreed.

"Oh, man, he sounds like my uncle!" Someone said, making the students laugh more.

Koro-sensei shook his head sympathetically, while Hiroto yanked his hands free from the nail painting. "You can laugh, children... but age is not kind..."

"What? Because you can relate because you're old?" Rinka commented.

"I'M NOT OLD!" Koro-sensei shot back.

"You like, raised a kid who's now in his 20's," Tsuchiya replied, rolling her eyes. "Doesn't that make you middle-aged or something?"

"NO!" Koro-sensei grew more defensive. "I'M STILL IN MY PRIME!"

"I mean, prime is a stretch at most," Hazama said, shrugging.

Koro-sensei cried quietly while Nagisa patted him on the back sympathetically.

The stone kunudon emptied his bottle of alcohol and threw it off to the side, causing it to shatter against the cave's wall. He then covered his mouth with his hands, sounding like he was about to throw up, but kept going anyway. "I'm gonna teach you little brats how hard life really is...!" He began to throw up as he floated back and forth, chasing the students and trying to vomit on them. The class ran away, screaming.

Koro-sensei turned to Ritsu. "So, how do you think they'll do?"

"How will they do? Even as a group, they're no match for the likes of him. Letmetake care of this."

Koro-sensei held out a tentacle arm to stop her. "Child-ren!" he sang to the students, grabbing their attention. "Time to unveil the you-know-what you've been working on in secret after school!"

"HOW DID YOU KNOW?!" Nagisa and Kayano shouted.

"You guys aren't really subtle," Shindo said, crossing his arms. "And it wouldn't be that hard to notice you doing something sneaky since he has super hearing."

Nagisa sighed. "True..."

"No point in trying to hide it if the target's just busted you, right?" Karma said.

"Oh, fine." A wide, determined smile replaced Kayano's pout as she turned to her friend. "Let's do this, Nagisa!"

Okuda held up her staff. "Flames, dwell within this blade!"

"SWORD OF FIRE!" Kayano shouted.

"Offense-buffing light!" Fuwa and Nakamura said. "Mighty aura!"

Nagisa and Karma ran side by side, each holding a flaming sword, ready to swing.

"WHOA!" Oota's eyes sparkled as a lot of the students looked impressed. "So cool!"

"Yeah, we are pretty cool," Karma remarked, sitting next to Nagisa and Kayano.

"Oh, hey, Karma, you're back." Nagisa looked surprised. "I thought you got sent to the back."

Karma shrugged, glancing behind him at the wake of students who he'd blackmailed and now looked terrified."Yeah, I know, but I met some people." He grinned. "It was fun."

"Uh?" Nagisa exchanged a questioning look with Kayano.

"Ready?" Karma asked.

"Yep!"

They rushed forward and leapt, coming down on the stone kunudon. "FIERY... CROSS SLASH!" they shouted as they swung their swords. The stone kunudon was engulfed in flames and had a permanent X on its back as it was flung to the side, Karma and Nagisa landing firmly on the ground.

"Nice!" Okano cheered.

"Good teamwork, guys," Okuda said, smiling at Nagisa and Karma.

Karma smirked, knocking Nagisa on the head teasingly. "Alls that's missing is wasabi!"

Nagisa smiled warily. "Maybe not..."

"Nyufufufufu," Koro-sensei laughed.

"We did it!" The class cheered.

[The Stone Kunudon was defeated!]

"YEAH! We killed him!" Kimura cheered.

Their celebration was cut short when they heard the loud crying from the direction of the stone kunudon. They looked over and saw five stone kunudon children surrounding the defeated one, crying over the loss of their father.

"DADDY, NO!" the children sobbed.

"PAPA!"

"...Oh."

The students all collectively cringed.

"Well, this is awkward," Hazama remarked.

"DID WE JUST ORPHAN KIDS!" Nagisa sounded distressed.

Kayano gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, we did pretty much murder him in front of his kids in cold blood..."

Karma shrugged. "They'll probably get over it."

"KARMA!"

Nagisa stared at the floor in guilt. "...I killed their dad."

Karma gave him a thumbs up and smiled. "Yeah, but we looked cool doing it."

Nagisa groaned in despair.

"No one told me he had a family!" Maehara exclaimed.

Fuwa shook her head. "That's pretty heavy stuff."

Oota covered his mouth to hide his laugh. "Oh, man!"

Sugaya tried not to laugh. "I feel horrible for laughing, but..."

"Keep it together..." Hara was trying to keep it in.

The still-glowing Terasaka approached the stone kunudon children and hugged one of them, smiling. "It'll all be okay."

Nakamura sweatdropped. "Are you ever gonna change back?"

Terasaka facepalmed. "OH, COME ON!"

The students erupted in laughter.

"Wouldn't you agree that the odds of defeating me increase significantly if you all work together?" Koro-sensei asked Ritsu.

"Well, theoretically, yes."

Koro-sensei laughed. "Then let's put theory to test and beef up your cooperation skills outside of class." Ritsu was now strapped to Koro-sensei's back. "Be careful on your way back, boys and girls! See ya!" he said to the rest of the class as he shot up from the ground, leaving the rest of the students behind.

The students used their arms to shield their faces from the wind he left behind, then turned toward each other. "Huh?"

The screen showed a picture of the school building with the caption,

[The next day]

"Looks like she's going to get an upgrade," Takebayashi said.

"Maybe she'll be less mean afterwards," Okajima commented.

"Aw, but I like mean Ritsu, she's funny." Tsuda chuckled.

"Look I'm fine with her being mean, I just don't want her to keep turning us into stone," Hara replied.

"Ah, good morning, team!" came Ritsu's cheerful voice, a wide smile and light blush on her face. Her eyes were now a bright blue instead of their previous red. A rainbow shone in front of the forest behind her, her tablet showing a picture on the entire front face rather than just a face view. "How's it going?"

"WHAAAAAAA?" all of the students shouted, completely confused by the 180 she had done in the past day.

"Yep, some things don't change." Rio crossed her arms. "I wonder if she'll stay like this, though."

"Well, she seems to have free will from the start, I think," Sugino replied, frowning. "Maybe she'll just have an in-between personality after this?"

"Aw, guys, I'm just excited we get to work together!"

"Who're you?" Nagisa asked.

"Ritsu, who else?" Koro-sensei answered.

"Well, mostly, just improved," Ritsu added, now holding a bird on her finger. "I've been rewritten to be a better team player!"

Takebayashi pushed up his glasses. "Excellent! Heh. A 2-D girl is preferable, anyway."

Okajima sweatdropped. "Takebayashi... seriously?That'syour first line?"

Takebayashi blushed while the students laughed.

"Every time," Hiroto teased, ruffling the boy's head. "How is that one of the constant things."

"Shut up!" He blushed more. "There's nothing wrong with liking 2D girls!"

"How did you change her overnight?" Nagisa asked Koro-sensei.

"You see, chiselled on the tablet's flip side in ancient script was her operating spell," their teacher explained. "Once I deciphered it, tweaking our new addition was elementary."

"You can read and write ancient languages?!!"

Karma wasn't surprised. "I'm starting to think there's nothing this guycan'tdo."

"Moral of the story: a good hero is a jack of all trades, so be sure not to neglect your ancient language studies!" Koro-sensei finished.

"Yes, sir!" the class responded.

"So instead of coding, we have... magic code?" Muramatsu shrugged. "Makes sense I guess..."

"I don't know the magic in this show is kind of all over the place," Mimura commented.

Araki sighed when he overheard. "They still aren't grasping the irony of that."

Asano raised an eyebrow. "Are you surprised? These are the people who thought spacewasn't a big deal."

The other Big Five felt physical pain at the memory.

Koro-sensei zipped over to Ritsu, a blush on his face. He held a notebook and pencil, ready to take note of whatever she would say. "Now, uh, getting back to our little spell for banishing pixelation we talked about earlier-"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT SHE'S FOR!!" Karasuma fumed.

The students all cast the octopus judging looks.

Koro-sensei cleared his throat. "It's innocent—"

3-E started shooting at him again.