#using a buddha statue they might have had on set as a prop during his own free time | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

meetmy2dboyfriends · 4 years

Text

Despite Myself (Seven x MC)

Below is a re-imagining of the the day (day 6 or 7?, I believe) that Seven comes to the apartment to work on the Special Security System during his route.

Contains Spoilers for Seven’s route.

We’ve always wondered what Seven was thinking when he was at the apartment working on the Special Security System. What went through his mind when he was pushing us away? Were his feelings true, or was he working against himself?

-----

“How could you do this to me?

I trusted you, Seven.

Why would you purposely put me in danger?”

Seven’s eyes flashed open. He had once again had another bad dream; normally, he was plagued by memories and scenarios from his past. His dreams were the only place he could still see his twin brother Saeran, but as he grew older, his few memories became more twisted and upsetting. He hadn’t seen Saeran since they were both children, but lately, he had been thinking more and more of what his brother was like now and how his life had been. Was he happy? Did he still think of Seven? Did he still look up at the sky with the same wonder in his eyes like when they were kids?

Seven closed his eyes and brought his hands to his face, placing both palms over his eyes in frustration. This morning’s dream, however, had been different. He had dreamt of her, of MC.

It had only been six days since MC had mysteriously wandered into Rika’s apartment and onto the RFA server. How the hacker who had sent her there in the first place had been able to bypass his security measures was still beyond Seven, but regardless, the RFA found themselves in the midst of a new member. Since that day, he had been using the security cameras around Rika’s apartment to monitor MC’s comings and goings. She was beautiful; her long brown hair perfectly framed her face. Her eyes were piercing. Sometimes she would unknowingly look at the camera, and when she did, his heart would stop beating for the briefest moment. When she smiled, he imagined what it would be like to be enveloped by her warmth, by her kindness.

He had only seen video images of MC and pictures of her that he had found on social media, and yet, he knew he felt something for her, more than he had felt for anyone in such a long time. Those feelings alone were dangerous in more ways than one.

Unbeknownst to MC and most of the RFA members, there were secrets concerning both the organization and Rika’s apartment. Rika was the founder of the Rika’s Fundraising Association (RFA), an organization made to hold charity fundraising parties. While she was a wholesome and kind person; she was also very particular and protective of the private and valuable knowledge of the guests that attended these parties. In her efforts to protect this valuable information from hackers, Rika had requested for Seven to install a bomb at her apartment. While Seven was no stranger to risky situations and danger, he was reluctant to acquiesce such a request, even from Rika. Nevertheless, she managed to convince him and promised him that she would not return to the apartment in order to keep the records safe and to avoid creating a situation where she might be harmed by the bomb.

But now, MC was living in Rika’s apartment. She was living in the most dangerous situation possible and had absolutely no idea.

The thought of something happening to her and it being his fault was almost unbearable. This dread, this frustration, this ball of anxiety had been the cause of his nightmare. Not only did Seven fear losing MC through something disastrous, but also an even larger fear loomed on his heart. What will she do when she finds out that he’s been hiding this secret? What will she do when she figures out that this isn’t the only secret he’s been hiding? It was odd that after only six days, MC had enough of a hold on him for him to fear what it would be like without her, for her to reject him.

He finally moved his hands from his eyes and rolled onto his side with a huff. It was hard not to feel frustrated and overwhelmed with his nightmare still so fresh on his mind. It was hard to do anything at all these days with the threat that something might happen to MC. As of late, she had been on his mind more often than not, and it was starting to cause him to lose focus when working.

Ping.

Seven shot up. That was the sound of the messenger going off. Seemed like everyone was finally waking up and jumping into the chatroom. Before he knew it, he was out of bed and sitting in his computer chair. His computer booted up to show the usual data code for the chatroom, and finally the chat layout popped up. He scanned the app, seeing the notification that MC and Yoosung were in the chat. Inadvertently, he smiled and joined the chat.

Minutes later, Yoosung left the chat, claiming he was late to class - something that occurred more often than not with the young college student.

MC: “How’s your day going, Seven?”

707: “Well, I actually just woke up from one of my power naps.

Can’t keep GOD707 down for long! ^^

I have to maintain my status as the Defender of Justice!

MC: “Haha, GOD707 to the rescue!”

707: “Did you have breakfast yet?”

MC: “Yes, I did! I made myself an omelette. How about you?”

707: “No, I haven’t.

I’ll probably have some Honey Buddha Chips and some PhD Pepper.

Fuel for all the mind and soul!”

MC: “Lol, Seven. I don’t think Honey Buddha Chips and PhD Pepper are good for you all the time.

I wish you would take care of yourself too. You can’t defend justice on an empty Stomach! Plus... I worry about you.”

Seven froze for a moment; his heart skipping a beat. She was worried about him? His eyes drifted to the second computer monitor, farther away on his desk. He pressed the ‘On’ button and the screen flashed to life. On it, he saw MC sitting on the couch inside Rika’s apartment, staring at her phone. Staring at her phone. Oh crap.. She was waiting for his reply.

707: “Worry not, MC! GOD707 can handle anything that is thrown at him!

I will always come to you as your knight in shining armor. ^^”

MC: “Oh Seven! My Hero!”

707: “For more cutesy phrases that will make your heart beat faster, please subscribe to our messaging service. For only $9.99 per month, you too can receive daily cutesy phrases. Just reply “Yes Please”, and you will be automatically subscribed”

MC: “Yes Please!”

707: “Thanks for your subscription! We will begin billing our monthly fee in 3... 2...”

Ping.

His eyes searched the screen for the notification. Something was happening with the messenger. It looked like the hacker was making a move once again.

MC: “Seven?” 707: “I’m sorry, MC. Something just came up. I’ll be back later.”

He clicked out of the chatroom and returned to the main screen, searching for traces of the hacker and attempting to undo what was being done.

---

Seven had been working for several hours when finally the hacker’s trace seemed to disappear. He sighed with relief and leaned back in his chair, raising his arms to stretch them. He stood from his chair and looked around the room. “What a mess...” He thought to himself, making a mental note to ask Vanderwood, his ‘maid’, to help him clean up later. Heading toward the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of PhD Pepper. He walked over to the nearest cabinet and took out a bag of Honey Buddha Chips.

Breakfast of champions. He thought with a sigh. It was hard to worry about eating healthy with so much on his mind. He still had no leads on the hacker. He hadn’t been able to find any traces of the hacker. He could only see when something had been messed with in the chatroom but not who had done so nor when the coding had been modified. He let out a frustrated sigh and plopped down in his computer chair. Swiveling in his chair, he faced the largest monitor with all intentions of continuing to track down the hacker. His eyes drifted to his second monitor. MC was once again sitting on the couch, watching television. He leaned forward in his chair, crossing his arms and propping his head up to watch the screen intently.

Were feelings like this normal?

The front door opened. Seven jumped up as he heard footsteps approaching his desk.

“Ah, Madam Vanderwood. I see you’ve dropped by to check on me.” He said with a smirk.

“I told you not to call me that. Now, how’s the work coming along? You know how impatient the boss can be.” The man huffed. He crossed his arms with impatience and leaned back on one foot.

“Yeah, yeah. I told you I was working on it.” Seven said calmly, turning his chair back to the monitor.

In truth, he hadn’t been making much, if any, progress with his assignment from the agency. MC and the growing anxiety that came with worrying for her safety had been consuming most of his thoughts. Vanderwood tapped his foot in annoyance.

“Well, you know the deadline is coming up. It’s tomorrow, and we need to be sure this gets done on time. You know what happened to the last agents that were late turning in their work.” Vanderwood stated, then turned on one foot to head towards the kitchen.

“Madam Vanderwood, if you wouldn’t mind. I would appreciate it if you would help me clean up a little.” Seven said, facing toward the monitor. He could hear Vanderwood scoff from the kitchen.

“I don’t know why I put up with you!” Vanderwood shouted from across the house.

Seven grinned and set his focus on continuing his assigned hacking work for the agency. The agency was all Seven had known for so long, and he knew the danger that came with each assignment. Though he volunteered his time providing security for RFA’s online servers and in helping to plan parties, his main source of income came from his career as a hacker. It was hard for him to imagine having any other life at this point; he had given up so much to get where he was. He had always been careful and meticulous about keeping people at arms-length and making sure he had no personal connections. From the outside, it looked like he had wonderful and caring friends in the RFA members, but Seven knew that all of his connections could be and should be able to be easily severed. It was safer for the members if they didn’t know much, if anything, about him and if they thought he was much like the persona he showed them - happy go-lucky 707. In reality though 707’s personality and quirkiness were a part of him, they were a very small portion of who he truly was. Growing up he was Saeyoung. Then he was born again as Luciel. Today, he was Seven. Who would he be tomorrow? This question always hung heavily over his head, and the imminent danger anyone who entered his vicinity took on left him distant and cold in real life interactions. So why, he wondered, was he so drawn to MC. What was so different about her that he would even consider putting her and himself in danger? His eyes drifted to the CCTV footage of the apartment; MC had fallen asleep on the couch. She was so still. He almost imagined he could hear her quiet breathing. He closed his eyes for a moment, pretending he was in the same room with her, that he could take her into his arms and they could fall asleep together.

Error. Error. Error.

His eyes flicked to the RFA’s chat screen. The chatroom screen changed. And an unknown user appeared.

Unknown: “I hope you’re ready for me to make my grand entrance, MC.”

Seven’s breath caught in his throat.

Unknown: “I’ll see you soon. ^^”

Quickly, he began typing on his keyboard, attempting to backtrace the hacker’s connection. No sooner had he started than Unknown left the chatroom. Seven’s heart began to race. What did he mean by that? He would see her soon? On the screen, the coding began to change at a rapid pace.

“No wait. What’s happening? How is he doing this? He’s- He’s trying to hack the special security system.” Seven whispered to himself, watching the hacker’s actions closely. Normally he took solace in the fact that he was one of the best hackers in his agency. His work was constantly requested due to his expertise, so he knew how valuable his skills were and felt a small sense of pride when he thought about it. But this. This hacker was something else. He was fierce and unyielding when it came to what he wanted.

Special Security System Offline. His computer announced with a note of finality

“What? What?!” Seven whispered to himself, searching the screen. How could he have known the hacker would go after the security system? To activate it, Seven had sat in Rika’s apartment for days creating a code that was nearly impenetrable. Any yet, the hacker was able to disable it in minutes from a remote location.

“Oh-,” Seven’s voice caught in his throat; he tried to swallow but the lump of realization in his throat wouldn’t go away. The bomb in Rika’s apartment was set to go off if anyone other than an RFA member entered the room, which both endangered and simultaneously kept MC safe. But if this Unknown was planning to break into the apartment... MC was in danger and had no form of protection. And even worse, she was asleep at the moment with no inkling that danger was looming ahead.

Seven worked to erase Unknown’s messages from the chatroom. He didn’t want MC to find out about Unknown’s threat or about the bomb. He could protect her. No, he would protect her. He just needed to drive over to Rika’s apartment and turn the Special Security System back on. He would fortify the system after he knew the initial danger was gone. Seven jumped out of his chair, and ran to his bedroom, quickly changing into his favorite outfit: jeans, a red tank top, and his favorite black and yellow jacket.

Picking up his phone, he dialed in MC’s number. He would let her know that he was coming there to work on the security system but nothing else; he couldn’t afford to let her know something was up. The phone rang, but MC didn’t pick up. He left her a voicemail to let her know that he would be at the apartment soon.

“Vanderwood!” He shouted as he began packing a bag. He knew he needed his laptop but what else?

“What?” Vanderwood’s annoyed reply came from the other room.

“I’m heading out. I’ll be back.” He grabbed connection cables, his data scrambler. What else? He searched under a nearby pile of clothes. There was one last thing he needed. Keyboard? Mouse? No, he had already grabbed that.. Oh wait, there it was. He crouched down and picked up his crucifix. Putting the necklace on, he grabbed his bag and began to head toward the door.

“Wait, where are you even going? You can’t just leave. We have to finish that work for the boss.” Vanderwood popped his head around the corner.

“I know; I just have to go take care of one thing for the RFA. I’ll be back before the boss notices I’m gone.” He said with a grin, trying to play off the severity of the situation.

“You and I both know that you won’t. Seven, you don’t want to force my hand on this. You know I’ve already been covering for you up until now; I won’t keep making excuses for you, and I won’t put my life in danger for some charity organization.” Vanderwood rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Seven turned toward the door. He knew the position he was putting Vanderwood in, and he knew the situation he was creating for himself. However, he knew that no one could deal with the bomb at Rika’s apartment except him, and realistically, the hacking job would take five or six hours to complete once he sat down and could actually concentrate.

“Vanderwood, I already told you-”

“Seven, I’m serious. If you go, I will report this.”

“Then, do what you have to, Vanderwood. I have to do this; I’m the only one who can.” He said quietly. With that, Seven adjusted the bag on his shoulder and walked out the front door. He stopped for a moment to let out the breath he had been holding in. Now he just needed to make it to Rika’s apartment and deal with the security system. Then, he could stop worrying about the bomb, and maybe he could finally get MC off his mind long enough to work.

---

Seven pulled up in front of Rika’s apartment. After parking the car, he paused to rest his head on the steering wheel. This really wasn’t the time to be dawdling, but he was nervous. This would be the first time seeing MC in person. In his heart, he knew what he wished would happen. He wanted to be the one who would make her smile, who would be there to cook her breakfast in the morning when she woke up, who would comfort her when she was having a hard day. But. He knew these were unrealistic dreams; falling in love and living in domestic bliss were not part of the equation when it came to his life. He knew what he had signed up for when joining the agency. He could have no familial ties. He could never have close friends. He could never fall in love. Everyone he made ties with ran the risk of becoming a casualty. He knew all of this, and yet, here he was contemplating risking it all.

No. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. Sitting up, he resolved to do what he knew he had to do. He would avoid MC; he would keep his conversations with her to a minimum. He could play everything he said to her in chat rooms and phone calls up until now as being part of a flirty but unserious nature. He wouldn’t acknowledge his feelings; he would even push her away if he had to. Grunting, Seven held onto his head. This was all speculation; maybe he was freaking out over nothing. Maybe MC didn’t even have feelings for him. Maybe she was flirty and unserious about having a connection with him.

“No, I have to stop.” He thought to himself. There was no use in all this. Feelings didn’t and wouldn’t matter.

With that final thought, he got out of the car and began to head upstairs. He stopped in front of the apartment door, his hand raised but hesitating to knock. The door swung open to reveal MC’s face. Surprise registered on her face before turning into a smile.

“Seven! Come in.” She said warmly. He studied her face for a moment. She was even more breathtaking in person.

“MC. Uh, thanks.” He said quietly, shifting his eyes to the floor. He moved into the apartment; everything was the same as it had been when Rika was living here. It gave him an eerie feeling to be back here. Moving toward the living room, he set his bag on the table and began pulling out his equipment. Rika’s living room consisted of two couches facing each other with a small table in the middle. He could still recall sitting and talking with Rika in this exact spot less than a year ago. He watched as MC sat on the couch across from him. He busied himself by turning his attention to his computer.

“I got your voicemail. I didn’t think you would get here so quickly; I was actually getting ready to run to the convenience store. I don’t really have much here for guests to eat.” MC said as she followed behind him. Her voice was soft and comforting and made Seven long to hear her speak more. He watched as MC sat across from him on the opposite couch.

“I won’t be here long. I just need to make some adjustments to the security system.” He said, angling his body away from hers.

“Oh, how long do you think it will take? I was thinking maybe I could make some lunch, and we could eat together.” He didn’t need to look at her to know she was smiling; he could hear the thoughtfulness in her voice.

“No. I can’t. I have other things to do once I’m done.” He said shortly. The more she talked to him, the more his resolve wavered. He needed to keep things short and concise and maybe she would quit trying to initiate conversation.

“Oh, okay-”

“MC, I need to focus. I need to be alone.” He bit his lip, making sure to avert his gaze. He picked up his headphones from the table and placed them around his neck. He hated this already. His heart caught in his throat as he watched her stand up to leave.

“Um, okay. Yeah, sorry. I know you need to concentrate, so I’ll go read in the other room.” MC’s voice was quiet as she walked out of the room.

Seven felt like curling into a ball; this was already emotionally taxing, and he had only been here for all of ten minutes. Despite the gnawing feeling in his gut; he took solace in the idea that he could protect her now that he was here. He no longer needed to watch her through the CCTV. If Unknown was going to show up, Seven would be here to stop him.He slid his headphones on, turned on his favorite playlist, and began working on the coding for the apartment.

---

After about three hours, Seven heard the front door close. He jumped up, nearly knocking his computer off the table. Had she left? Where had she gone? What if that wasn’t her?

“MC?” He called out. The apartment was quiet. He searched for his phone frantically, and dialed her number.

“Seven?” She answered the phone quizzically.

“Where are you? Did you leave the apartment?”

“Yeah, you looked entranced by your work, so I didn’t want to bother you. I’m on the way to the story... I wanted to cook lunch, and I figured maybe if I made something to eat, you might be hungry too.”

“MC, come back to the apartment. It’s not safe for you outside right now.”

“Not safe?”

“Yes, not safe. We still don’t know what the hacker wants with you-”

“Seven.” She laughed. “I’ll be fine. I’ve left the apartment plenty of times. I’ll be back soon.”

“MC.... Okay, please call me if anything happens. Please.” He said reluctantly. He didn’t want to acquiesce; she didn’t know how much danger she was actually in. It made him extremely anxious to think she was out in public by herself right now.

“I will. I’ll be home soon.” She said happily before hanging up. Seven stared at his phone. He needed to work faster; once the security system was up, he would feel better about her being her alone; he could go back to watching her from a distance. And maybe he could finally get her off of his mind. Sighing, he turned his attention back to his computer; his fingers hovered over the keys, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to actually focus on his work until she came back. He leaned back on the couch, pressing his hands to his face in frustration. Sitting up, he grabbed his phone and logged into the RFA chatroom. If he couldn’t focus, maybe he could distract himself.

After about thirty minutes, Seven heard the door to the apartment open and saw MC walk in with three bags in her hands. He resisted the urge to offer assistance, knowing now was the time to get back to work.

“I’m back!” She announced. Seven breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to his computer.

“Welcome back.” He said, pulling his headphones on to give the appearance that he was occupied and uninterested. He did not turn any music on; instead he chose to listen to the sounds of MC in the kitchen. These small moments, he decided, would have to be enough. Turning his attention back to the matter at hand, Seven began working again to restore the apartment’s coding.

Once he was able to concentrate, the work began to flow, it was easy to zone out and lose track of time. Before he knew it, MC was beside him with a bowl in hand. She leaned over in front of him to place the bowl beside his computer. He was briefly taken aback. MC was so close to him. She was so close that he could reach out and touch her with ease. He could take her hand and enjoy lunch with her; it would be so easy.

“No. No. No.” He stopped himself. These were dangerous thoughts. She turned to look at him and smiled. He saw her mouth something but was too absorbed in fantasy to register what she had said. Snapping back to reality, he realized that inviting conversation would only lead to trouble. He pointed to his headphones and said,

“Sorry, couldn’t hear you. Thank you for the food, but I need to work now.”

He watched MC’s face drop slightly as she smiled again and turned to walk away. Once she was out of earshot, he felt himself breathe out heavily; he hadn’t realized that he had been holding his breath. He looked at the bowl of pasta that she had been kind enough to bring him. He wished he had an appetite, but the current situation left him with a deep pit in his stomach. He needed to focus; he just needed to focus. If he could finish by nightfall, she would be safe, and he could go. Turning his attention back to the system once more, he resolved to work faster.

When Seven looked up again, the sky outside had darkened. He heard footsteps behind him; MC was moving around the house, perhaps looking for something. Over the course of the day, Seven had spread out his things around the living room and the dining room table behind the couch. Notebooks and devices were scattered around, a result of him trying to remember how he had set up the security system in the first place and trying to figure out how to improve it. Behind him, MC had gone quiet. What was she doing? Was she looking through his things? He turned to glance behind him. MC had taken a seat at the dining room table and was looking through one of the books he had brought with him. His heart sank in his chest; it was the storybook he had brought with him, the one that held the floppy disk with the only photos Seven still had of Saeran. He removed his headphones and rose from his seat. He quietly walked up behind MC, and leaning over her, grabbed the book and floppy disk from her hands.

“Do you enjoy going through other people’s things? This isn’t yours.” He said curtly; his emotions were already running high today. Why had he even brought this book with him? He could’ve left it at home, sure. But what if someone broke in and found it. This one singular floppy disk was the only thing in the world that proved he had attachments. Of course, it put Saeran’s life at risk to hold onto it, but Seven had already given up so much in his life; he wasn’t willing to give up this last attachment to his brother.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just curious about what you were doing-” She stuttered out, but he interrupted her.

“You were curious about what I was doing? I told you what I was doing, and I told you to leave me alone.” He watched as MC turned toward him with a hurt look.

“I... I know that. I just - I don’t understand, Seven. You’re different from how you were in the chat rooms. I guess I thought... I don’t know - that maybe you liked me.”

MC’s voice was quiet as she met his eyes. Her expression was a mixture of curiosity and confusion. He was sure his expression mimicked hers. Why was she doing this now? Why couldn’t she just leave him alone like he had requested.

“That I liked you? Why would you think that? Because I talked and joked with you? Did it even occur to you that I was just being friendly because you were a new member of the RFA?”

He watched her eyes as she desperately searched his face for answers, pleading for what he was saying to be different from what he felt. Her gaze weighed on him heavily. He averted his gaze, knowing he couldn’t keep meeting her eyeline if he wanted to maintain his composure. MC’s face scrunched in confusion, and looking up at her, Seven saw tears brimming in her eyes, threatening to spill over. His heart wrenched at the thought of making her cry. He wanted to be the one who held her when she cried, but instead here he was purposely hurting her with the intent of saving her. It was an ironic concept when he really thought about it. He would hurt her to save her. It seemed so laughable to think of the juxtaposition of how he felt and how he had to act. He turned from her, getting ready to return to the couch and put the final touches on the restoration of the security system.

“Seven, I don’t understand. I don’t believe you; I don’t know what this is or why you’re pushing me away, but I know that you must feel something for me too.” Her voice was hoarse as she spoke.

“I’m not feeling anything. I can’t afford to feel anything. I’m a dangerous guy, MC. Anyone who gets close to me is in danger.” His voice was deep and angry; his hands were clenched by his side.

“But Seven-” She stood from where she was sitting. Taking a step, she grabbed his right hand. Seven turned to look at her.

“MC, just leave me alone.” He said shortly, shaking her hand away. He wanted to scream; he wanted to thrash around in frustration. He wanted to run away from everything he had ever known; he wanted to throw away everything for MC, and yet, here he was pushing her away, lying to her. But instead, he forced himself to turn and moved to take a seat on the couch. He slid his headphones back on and unpaused his playlist.

“Finish the task. Finish the task. Finish the task.” He thought to himself; he couldn’t afford to focus on MC’s feelings or his own. Her safety came first, and maybe she would heed his warning and leave him alone. He didn’t deserve her feelings anyway. Maybe now she would realize that.

About thirty minutes later, Seven had finished getting the security system back online. He removed his headphones just in time to hear the system chime:

Special Security System Online.

He stretched his arms above his head, looking at his computer to see the time. It was 11:30 P.M. Where had the day gone? He listened intently to hear if MC might still be awake. But then again, he thought to himself, what did it matter if she was awake. He had been so mean to her earlier; he couldn’t imagine her wanting to speak with him again. No, he would go ahead and pack his things and leave without a word. Gathering the books from the dining room table, he moved to begin packing his bag.

He heard movement in the kitchen and assumed MC was still awake. He thought about going in to see her, maybe to apologize. No, that wasn’t wise. He needed to maintain his boundaries with her. Then, he heard a glass break in the kitchen. A glass? No, that was the sound of a lot of glass breaking. An alarm began to sound in the apartment.

Intruder Alert. Intruder Alert. Identifying Intruders, Non-RFA Member. Bomb Sequence Will Begin in 5 Minutes.

Seven dropped everything and ran toward the kitchen. MC was backed against the wall, her eyes wide in fear. In front of her, he saw a man. The man was standing amongst the broken glass from the window. Seven noted the bleached color of the man’s hair and his piercing blue eyes. He was dressed in black, an intricate tattoo was visible where his jacket fell off his shoulder. How could he have come in here? They were a couple of floors off the ground. Breaking through the window shouldn’t have been possible.

“Are you the hacker?” Seven asked the man.

“Am I the hacker?” The man asked in a mocking voice and then laughed.

“Who are you really? What do you want with MC?” Seven asked more insistently, taking a step forward to position himself between MC and the hacker. At the moment, he was too far to be able to protect her if the hacker acted in an aggressive manner.

“Now MC, you’ll be coming with me.” The hacker, ignoring his question, stepped toward MC brandishing a knife.

“No, I’m not going anywhere with you. Seven, help me!” She said, stepping back and bumping into the wall behind her. She shot a fearful look toward Seven. He took another slow step, attempting to move without alerting the hacker.

“Not another step, Saeyoung.” The hacker said threateningly. Seven’s eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks. How could he know that name? Who could he be to know that name? Seven’s eyes searched the hacker’s face, noting the odd familiarity.

“Seven, do you know him?” MC asked him, but he was frozen. Seven’s eyes were glued to the hacker’s face. He looked familiar, eerily familiar. Could it be? No, of course it couldn’t. Rika had promised that Saeran was safe and living a happy life; she had sent him pictures. There was no way...

“Saeran?” The name fell from his lips before he could think twice. The hacker whirled around toward him.

“Don’t call me that! You don’t deserve to call me that!” Saeran screamed at Seven.

“Oh my God..” Seven’s voice trailed off. How was this happening? How was his brother here? Why was his brother here? His head began spinning.

“Seven!” MC managed to cry out as Saeran grabbed her, placing one arm around her waist and a knife at her throat.

“No wait, please, don’t hurt her. Please.” His mouth was dry. MC was in danger, and his brother was here and was the one responsible for attacking the RFA. What did it mean? His thoughts were interrupted by the security system’s alarm:

Scanning for Intruders. Identifying Intruders, Non-RFA Member. Bomb Sequence Will Begin in 1 Minute.

Seven could see the fear in MC’s eyes. He had to do something. The bomb wasn’t going to scare Saeran away was it. He watched as his brother began to slowly back towards the window with MC in tow.

“Seven! I love you!” MC shouted; it seemed like a final desperate plea. Did she think that he wouldn’t be able to save her and wanted to die with him knowing her true feelings? His head spun. God, MC, now wasn’t the time to profess your love. Not when he had been desperately trying to push her feelings away all day. For the briefest moment, he thought to himself that he loved her too. But he knew now wasn’t the time or place to sort through these mixed emotions. He had to stay in the moment; any hesitation could result in losing MC forever.

“I know.” He replied quietly. Saeran continued to edge toward the window, his eyes darting wildly around the apartment. It appeared that things weren’t exactly going to plan for Saeran. He had probably planned to attack MC while the security system was disabled, so he wouldn’t have to worry about the bomb going off.

“Shit.” Saeran mumbled under his breath. Seven watched as his brother weighed the options. With the timer ticking quickly, did he still take the chance to kidnap MC, knowing there was a possibility that he would die in the process? Did he make his escape with the intention of coming after MC at a different point in time?

“Saeran, listen. You don’t have time to escape with MC. Just let her go. There is less than a minute before the bomb goes off; if you’re still in the apartment when the time is up, we’re all going to die.” Seven said calmly, maintaining eye contact with Saeran.

Frustrated, Saeran grunted and threw MC forward. He moved toward the window and looking over his shoulder said,

“This isn’t over, Saeyoung. I will be back.”

With that ominous threat left hanging in the air, Saeran disappeared out the window. MC stumbled forward, and he caught her in his arms.

Scanning for Intruders. Scanning for Intruders. No Intruders Identified. Bomb Sequence Deactivated.

Seven sighed in relief. His legs felt weak, like he could just collapse from exhaustion right then and there. He brought MC down to the floor with him. His hands cupped her face. His eyes searched hers, looking for an answer.

“Are you alright?” He asked urgently.

“I’m alright. Seven, are you okay?” She asked him. A wave of relief washed over him, and despite himself, he hugged her. She was so close to him now; he breathed in her scent, a mixture of what he could only describe as sunshine and citrus. He closed his eyes and smiled, enjoying the warmth of her embrace and the relief that came with knowing she was safe in his arms. She returned the embrace, burying her face into his shoulder, and the two of them sat like that for a few minutes. Seven pulled away first, knowing that there was more that needed to be dealt with; no matter how much he might want to, he couldn’t hide in her arms forever. Moreover, he knew she deserved an explanation. For so long, he had held onto so many secrets, and now with Saeran added into the mix, he felt like he was going to collapse from all the weight on his shoulders.

“Seven...” MC met his eyeline. He resisted the urge to look away. He knew he couldn’t keep the facade up much longer.

“MC, look, I-”

“Seven, I-”

They both began speaking simultaneously, which brought a bit of laughter from the two. Seven gestured for MC to go first, and she was quiet for a moment. She looked at the floor for a moment then back at him, steeling herself.

“Seven, I meant what I said back there. I do love you.”

“MC, I don’t know that I can return your feelings. I told you; I’m a dangerous guy. I work in a field where I have made and continue to make many enemies. Being with me is a massive risk. I can’t put you in harm’s way just because of the way I feel.” His voice trailed off. He looked away from her again; he wouldn’t put her at risk. He couldn’t.

“I can take care of myself, Seven. I know that there are risks that come with being with you, but I know that what I feel for you is worth any risk.” MC’s voice was soft, but he could hear the sincerity in her words.

“I- I don’t know that I deserve such feelings. My life has been a mess thus far, and I have done some terrible things. I’m not worth your time or your love.” His head hung low; MC reached out and grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers.

“I know for a fact that you are worth my time and my love. I trust you to keep me safe, and I know-”

“MC..” He cut her off; he released her hand and brought both of his up to cup her face. His thumb caressed her cheek, and after a moment, his lips met hers. Her lips were soft against his. He pulled away to make eye contact with her.

“I love you too.” He whispered, leaning his forehead against hers for a moment, a smile playing on his lips.

“I’m sorry about my behavior; I-”

“Thank you for apologizing, but I know that you did what you felt like you had to.” MC cut him off mid-apology.

He was taken aback slightly. How could he have gotten so lucky to have met someone who understood his intentions, who was willing to look past the dark spots in his life? He felt both awkward and grateful; this feeling of putting trust in and of giving an intimate part of yourself to someone else left him with an uneasy feeling. But he knew this was what he wanted. Consequences be damned. He would deal with the fallout of everything tomorrow. Standing up, he offered MC his hand to help her up. Once she was on her feet, she wrapped her arms around his neck and caught him in a kiss. Seven turned, so that MC was between him and the wall. This time, he wasn’t willing to pull away so easily. Pushing her against the wall, his lips met hers with a hunger that was unfamiliar to him. He wanted more of her. He had spent so long telling himself that he couldn’t have her, that he wasn’t worthy of love. But in this moment, those feelings didn’t matter. He loved her. He loved her dearly. He broke from her lips to trail kisses slowly down her neck.

“I love you. I love you. I love you.” He said as he moved between spots. Her soft moans made him smile. She buried her head in his shoulder and giggled.

“What?” He asked coyly.

“Nothing, I’m just so happy. I’m happy that I can be with you like this.” She said, looking up to meet his eyes. She smiled at him, and he returned her smile.

“I’m happy too, but you know what would make me even happier?” He asked with a demure smile on his face.

“What?” He watched her eyes, watched how her eyebrows furrowed when she asked a question. He watched her expression change from moment to moment. Her smiles were cute. Her voice was comforting. She was so beautiful to him. He loved everything about her, and he knew he wanted to remember this moment with her. He would imprint this memory in his mind, so he would have something to look back on if things were different tomorrow.

“This.” He said as he picked her up; MC laughed and wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to the bedroom and closed the door behind him. He laid her softly on the bed and crawled over to lay next to her. She snuggled up to him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. For a few minutes, he quietly listened to her breathing next to him; when her breathing dropped off and became slower, he knew she had fallen asleep. His mind still raced with all the prospects of the day. His brother was working as a hacker against the RFA. How had that happened? Wasn’t V supposed to be watching over him? Why hadn’t V said anything to him about his brother’s actions? And then there was the agency. He was now a fugitive from the only job he’d ever known. While he and MC were safe here for now; it wouldn’t take long before the agency found the apartment. Vanderwood was a cruel mistress and wouldn’t show him any mercy. He knew he still had a lot he needed to fill MC in on too, but all of this could wait until tomorrow. Though this really wasn’t the time to be engaging in downtime, he wasn’t going to let this moment go to waste. He pulled MC closer, and she responsively mumbled his name in her sleep. He closed his eyes and focused on her breathing until it eventually lulled him to sleep too.

#707mc #mystic messenger #707 fanfiction

8 notes · View notes

blazardragon · 7 years

Photo

Korotan D - English Translation of Chapter 5

Here’s all 15 pages of chapter 5! It’s quite a bit to read, this time ^^;

Things take a dire turn in this chapter, so we get to see Fuwa put her Katsuragi Yako-esque deductive abilities to use, while Isogai, Megu, and Karma use their leadership skills to mobilize the class. Athletic students like Okano and Kimura get a chance to shine as well. Also, as you can see in the picture above, Class E finds one of Korosensei’s houses!

I apologize in advance for the ending, though…

Chapter 5: Thief Time

The next day, while Terasaka was taking a breather after he had finished carrying all the lighting equipment early in the morning, he noticed several people with an imposing atmosphere. One held a duralumin* case, while another was surveying the surrounding area. Furthermore, behind them was a monk wearing brilliant orange robes.

Nathonni fidgeted restlessly as he waited for the three to approach.

“So you’ve come at last. Please, allow us to see it.”

The staff gathered as well, one after another.

The duralumin case was placed on the table, and its lid was carefully opened. Inside was an item wrapped in white cloth, not unlike the wrappings of a mummy. The monk carefully unwrapped the cloth, revealing a golden Buddha statue with a dull gleam.

“Oooh…!”

Nathonni reflexively brought his hands together in prayer. For the sake of his film, Nathonni had borrowed the impossible, a golden Buddha statue designated as a national cultural asset. The statue had such a noble glow that the staff couldn’t help but sigh with awe, and even Kayano put her hands together in prayer.

“This Buddha statue is several hundred years old, a precious item worshipped in one of our villages. It is also considered a work of art, a national treasure of high value. Please feel the weight of this statue. It is my hope that in your acting and filming, you bring to light its profundity.”

Nathonni put his hands together to pray one more time as his eyes shone brightly.

“Alright, let’s borrow the power of this statue and make this movie a success! You’ll be able to act realistically if you’re in front of a statue like this, right, Jerome?”

“Whether it’s real or fake, it’s already decided that I’ll be able to play my part perfectly. Well, just watch my performance and see.”

“Geez, your self-confidence is something else. It’d be nice if your acting skills matched that big mouth of yours.”

Nathonni half-jokingly teased Jerome, making his facial expression change entirely.

“What did you say? Do you know what happens when you make the Jerome angry?”

Jerome pulled out a gun and pointed it at Nathonni.

“W-what are you doing!? Stop!”

A loud gunshot rang through the air. Nathonni reflexively stiffened his body, but nothing happened aside from some nitrogen smoke rising from the shell that flew.

“Gotcha! It’s just a toy gun! So? Wasn’t my acting totally spot on?”

“H-hey! Don’t play with the props! You’re so impossible!”

Totally deceived and red in the face, Nathonni scolded Jerome.

He’s so troublesome……

Kayano made a pained expression at Jerome’s mischievous behavior.

“In this scene, the novel states that the inside of the ruins converts into a dungeon, but that doesn’t seem like something they can make on set.”

Hazama spoke to Mimura.

“Yeah. They said that they’re doing the dungeon scene at the studio.”

“These days, CGI is becoming more and more common, and they can make replicas, not to mention the actors and staff would be nervous when handling something like a genuine Buddha statue, so wouldn’t you say that they’re handling this poorly?”

“There’s a lot of directors who like to stick to using the real thing. There are movies like Heaven’s Gate**, where they went several billion yen over their assigned budget because they had arranged for things like genuine locomotives and sliver tableware. There’s also Ask This of Rikyu***, where they actually used 400-year-old tea ware designated as a national treasure, making it a very realistic but luxurious production.

“Now that you mention it, I’ve heard of horror movies that invite genuine curses. Poltergeist activity would awaken during filming, and actors would suddenly die. Maybe something abominable will occur here as well.”

“It doesn’t sound like a joke when you say it, Hazama.”

Mimura felt a chill thanks to Hazama.

“Understand? In this scene, Jerome and Rin reach the ruined temple after they read a clue left behind by her father. When they open the stone doors leading to the inside of the temple, they find the Buddha statue hidden within. It’s a scene where their pains are finally rewarded, so perform with emotional abundance without saying anything weird.”

Nathonni emphasized this to the two of them.

“Take one! Action!”

Nathonni’s voice echoed throughout the ruins. Jerome slowly opened the stone doorway and illuminated the inside with a light. Doing so, the golden Buddha statue reflected the light back to him. Kayano, playing the part of Rin, swallowed her breath.

“This is…… the Buddha statue father left behind!”

“That’s amazing, damn.”

As Jerome and Rin gazed at the brilliant statue, the director yelled “Cut!”

“That was great! You were filled with such splendid realism!”

However, even though he had yelled “Cut”, Kayano continued to gaze at the statue. Jerome poked fun at Kayano.

“Hey, come on now, Haruna, do you actually want that statue? If you want it as a present from me, I’ll ask someone who I can buy it from.”

“It’s different…… This one is different from the one we saw earlier.”

“……What did you say?”

“Look, the one from earlier didn’t shine like this!”

Kayano took the light Jerome was holding, and illuminated the statue from various angles.

“It didn’t sparkle like this! It was a duller, more refined shine!”

The staff closed in around her as she raised her voice. The monk, who was watching them film, lifted the statue and checked its underside.

“This is…… a fake!”

Nathonni rushed over and confirmed what he said, his face turning a sickly white.

“Look for anybody suspicious who may have entered the vicinity!”

Class E, scattered in all sorts of different departments, halted their work and gathered together. They checked with the staff from every team, but nobody had seen anybody suspicious. A member of the production team raised his hand.

“I didn’t see anybody suspicious, but one of our production members has gone missing. A tall, thin person.”

The staff began to whisper amongst themselves.

“Don’t tell me, that person slipped into our staff and stole the statue…..? But how?”

Nathonni was hurriedly looking around beyond the stone doors where he had placed the statue.

“Nathonni, come here!”

A member of the staff yelled. Nathonni bounded over, and was shown one of the walls of the set they had crafted. The wall that had been designed to appear as if it led into passage connecting to the back of the ruins was torn open, as if someone had passed through it.

“Could it be that they invaded through here to steal it!?”

Nathonni’s shouts echoed through the set.

“Follow that production man! And contact the local police!”

The staff got into their cars in a hurry.

“This isn’t the time to stand around like morons and do nothing. Let’s go chase after that statue thief, too!”

Everyone calmed down upon hearing Terasaka’s words.

“At a time like this, we need to figure out exactly what happened. Let’s try passing through this wall ourselves.”

When Fuwa passed through the break in the wall, she came out behind the set of ruins. Before her eyes was a fence that enclosed the temple site.

Fuwa looked above the fence.

“Look! There’s a broken tree branch hanging over the fence. Moreover, the break looks fresh. When we would play Cops and Robbers, this was one of the things Korosensei taught us about so that we wouldn’t get caught by Karasuma-sensei, right?”

“That!?”

Fuwa’s words made the rest of Class E remember instantly. When they first started playing Cops and Robbers, they were immediately arrested by Karasuma, but while they were in prison, Korosensei had given them hints to throw off his pursuit.

“Over here! Hurry! This time, we’re the cops!”

Kataoka went ahead of the others and scaled the fence. Within the forest, there were many brand-new traces indicating that someone had passed by. Footprints in the mud, branches broken from being stepped on, and scraped moss all told the story of a person’s passage.

“There’s only one set of footprints!”

“Then, is there only one culprit?”

“I don’t know. There might be others mobilized separately from him.”

All the traces aimed in the same direction straight ahead. Class E ran up the slope of a low hill as they continued to follow. Isogai climbed up a tree and shouted,

“There!”

There was a savanna on the other side of the hill. There was also a man making his way across it. He looked behind him and, noticing he was being followed, took off in a panic.

“He ran away! Everybody, after him!”

At Isogai’s command, Okano and Kimura jumped out together. Everyone else followed behind them.

“I will catch you!”

Kayano shouted desperately.

Jerome appeared out of nowhere and stopped Kayano.

“This isn’t something the lead actress should have to do. The Jerome will get the statue back for you, so watch me!”

Upon saying this, he passed Kayano and daringly ran down the slope.

As the thief was trying to escape the savanna, Okano and Kimura had gotten ahead of him and were lying in wait. The man turned around to try and escape them, but Terasaka, Isogai, and Karma blocked off the escape routes behind him. With everyone cooperating with each other and chasing the man from every direction, they were able to completely surround him.

“What’s up with you all!?”

The man said as he looked around.

“That’s the golden Buddha statue, right? Please hand it over quietly.”

Isogai said as he pointed to the ajar bag he was carrying.

“Just try taking this by force. Who knows what’ll happen to the statue if you do.”

The man whistled a shrill sound.

“This guy’s making fun of us!”

Terasaka tried to stomp right towards him, but Isogai stopped him.

“Wait. Let’s use a projectile weapon.”

“A projectile weapon? Do we even have one!?”

A ball flew from behind and grazed past Terasaka’s face. The ball Sugino threw made a sudden ark and made a direct hit on the man’s head from his blind spot.

Isogai caught the man before he collapsed to the ground to prevent the bag from being crushed.

“Phew, it was a close call, but we’re safe.”

“That wasn’t a safe. More like a strike, am I right?”

Sugino gave him a thumbs up.

Isogai removed the white cloth wrapping to confirm the contents, revealing a golden Buddha statue.

Its surface shimmered under the light of the sun.

“With this, the case has been settled.”

Yet in the moment Sugino said that,

*Fwwweeet*

A whistle rang nearby. A chain of whistling began as if in response to the first. One could see human figures flicker through the trees surrounding the savanna. Their numbers increased rapidly, a few dozen men encircling and approaching Class E. Among them was a familiar figure, the stuntman Rawan. When Rawan raised his right hand, the other men stopped dead in their tracks.

“All of you! If you value your lives, put the statue on the ground!”

Rawan yelled at Class E.

“Rawan! Just who are you!?”

Rawan replied to Jerome’s shout.

“We’re a gang of bandits so notorious that the people of this country tremble upon hearing our name, the ‘Shishidan’!”

“There’s this many people involved!?”

Terasaka felt impatient.

“This has become a big pain in the neck.”

As everyone grew tense, Karma alone remained calm.

“Hey, Isogai. Doesn’t this situation seem kinda familiar?”

It suddenly hit Isogai as well.

“The pole-toppling match at the sports festival!”

“We’re greatly outnumbered, so once they have us closed off, it’s all over. First, we have to break through.”

“Then, I’ll start by running with the statue, so anybody who’s confident in their speed should follow me! We’ll use our speed to throw off our opponents and cause confusion. Those guys will probably go after me, so those who aren’t confident in their speed should separate from me and let those at the filming site know about the bandits!”

“Okay!”

Isogai took off in an instant, breaking out of their encirclement by jumping over one of the bandit’s shoulders, and ran. Kimura, Okano, Maehara, and Kataoka, all having high mobility, followed right behind him.

“It’s been awhile since we’ve done some free-running!”

“Once ya get moving, your body remembers how to do it!”

Muramatsu and Yoshida also followed suit. Terasaka and Itona followed behind them.

Rawan responded against Class E’s movements,

“Catch the one holding the statue!”

The bandits hurriedly pursued Isogai, but Isogai, having run into the forest, climbed the trees, jumping from branch to branch and quickly disappearing from the enemy’s view. The statue was passed back and forth between Class E, making the location of the statue even more transient and perplexing to the thieves.

As Kayano, Nagisa, and Karma were following behind Isogai, Jerome, intending to protect Kayano, complained,

“Heeey, wait for me! You’re too fast, Haruna!”

“If you can’t follow me, go back alone!”

Upon being told this, Jerome desperately continued to follow Kayano.

“Karma!”

Isogai returned emptyhanded.

“What happened to the statue?”

“I passed it to Kimura earlier. I was hoping to confuse the enemy by alternating who held it, but those guys have cornered us carefully. There’s just too many over there. They’re slowly narrowing the net around us.”

“They also have the advantage of being more familiar with this forest than we are. If that’s the case, then simply running around will accomplish nothing. We need to counterattack. We’ll be done in if we don’t find some terrain suitable for fighting so that we can thoroughly crush our opponent.”

Karma felt impatient.

“Nagisa, lend me a bit of wisdom here…… Nagisa?”

Although Nagisa was supposed to be right behind him, he was nowhere to be found.

“Nagisa? Where did you go?”

Karma walked as he looked around for him. Doing so, he saw Nagisa’s back hidden beyond the entangled tree branches.

“What happened?”

“Are these…… ruins?”

Many stone towers and buildings stood before Nagisa’s eyes. They were eroded by the trees of the forest, becoming part of the forest itself. The trees coiled around the towers so thoroughly that it seemed as if the towers were being strangled, and one portion of the towers had completely collapsed. Faced with such an awe-inspiring sight, Nagisa was instinctively fascinated. On one of the pillars of the tower was carved several gods or Buddhas with solemn expressions.

“Amazing……”

Nagisa was overwhelmed by those giant statues that suddenly appeared within the forest. Nagisa noticed one unusual face carved within those towers. It was the only face engraved on a brand-new pillar. It had a contour close to that of a circle, eyes nearly as small as sesame seeds, and a smile in the shape of a crescent moon.

“Eh? ……Korosensei?”

Seeing what Nagisa was pointing to, Karma exclaimed with a “What the heck is that!?” in surprise.

“You can’t just arbitrarily become part of the ruins.”

Kayano finally arrived after looking for the two of them and gazed nostalgically at the column of the tower.

“Korosensei…… I guess he visited places like this, too.”

Karma looked around the pillar.

“He didn’t just make this pillar. I’m sure there’s something else here, too.”

Nagisa walked around the relics that made one feel the flow of time and saw a large object beyond the tower. It was a slightly dirtied, dome-like object. He faced in front of the object to confirm its identity, realizing that the yellow dome was shaped into Korosensei’s face.

The dome, large enough to rival a planetarium, received a fair amount of erosion in these past three years, with plants crawling around its surface, adhering their vine-like roots. Someday, after many months and years have passed, it, too, will become part of the forest.

Standing in front of the part of the building corresponding to Korosensei’s mouth, Nagisa noticed that one of the teeth was, in fact, a door. Nagisa’s feet dug into the grass as he gripped its handle and opened it.

“Hey, isn’t this place suspicious? Wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t go in?”

Leaving the fearful Jerome behind, Nagisa entered the dome.

Nagisa fumbled around and turned on the lights near the entrance, revealing a normal looking, house-like interior. First, there was an entranceway. Nagisa and the others stepped up and opened the door at the end of the corridor, revealing a spacious room. The floor was buried under toys and other miscellaneous goods scattered all over. Furthermore, a TV, a tea table, fans, and other goods necessary for one’s livelihood were scattered about. Everything was coated with a thin layer of dust.

Nagisa was startled by a phantom sound at his feet. He picked up the source of the sound from the floor, a whoopee cushion.

“He had things like this?”

“Over here, too!”

What Kayano was holding was a rough-looking water gun in the shape of a machine gun. They also excavated fireworks, games, candy, sticker collections, and more, one after another.

“Aah, this is totally the room of an absolutely no good human being.”

Karma threw away a bag of sweets.

“In other words, this building…… is one of Korosensei’s hideouts?”

“Probably…… It looks like sensei had rest stops all around the world.”

“Although, for a hideout, isn’t the design too self-assertive? It’s kind of painful. Instead of a ‘painful car’, it’s a ‘painful house’.” ***

“Aha ha, you’re right.”

While Nagisa was laughing, Isogai and the others also entered the room.

“Woah, what’s up with this room?”

“His material desires shine through here, huh?”

“Is this a hideout for when he wants to be a good-for-nothing? Geez, he’s so careless!”

They all wanted to say these things in front of the face of the room’s owner.

“This is so nostalgic.”

Yoshida picked up a piece of candy and examined it closely. The room was flooded with goods that were popular three years ago, the year they spent with Korosensei.

While everyone was still in astonishment, Okajima stared down with a sharp eye a corridor which continued to the back. He staggered forward by himself, relying on his sense of smell, and discovered an erotic magazine room, with dirty magazines displayed all over the walls.

“How divine……”

He gazed at the magazines displayed on the wall as if he wanted to devour them, and with a quivering hand, took hold of one.

“T-this is… the big-boobed gravure idol who recently got pulled into the TV industry! Aren’t gravure compilations of OOO with such extreme exposure actually really rare…..!? Aah, this is bold swimsuit gravure of ΔΔΔ, who’s now a regular in the film industry……This is a sanctuary!”

Itona also looked around and admired the walls.

“These are all women who were no-names three years ago and have recently had their big breakthroughs. That octopus had a frighteningly discerning eye for the future of those with big boobs.”

During this conversation only for men who understand each other, the others who were left behind were being drawn away.

“Everyone, come here!”

Everyone gathered in the direction of Kataoka’s voice. There was a decorated panel on the wall of the room they were lead to. It was covered with photographs taken of everyone in Class E, all holding their guns. They were all life-sized.

“This was……. when we were all aiming at Korosensei.”

“Yeah…… I didn’t know he took a picture of that.”

Memories of their time spent with Korosensei rose to the mind’s surface of each and every member of the Assassination Classroom. That they would reunite in a place like this could only be ascribed to “fate”.

“This isn’t the time to be standing around immersed in our memories. It’s good that we were able to hide here, but sooner or later the bandits will find this place and attack. Let’s look for something we can use to oppose them.”

“You say that, but there’s nothing but junk here…”

Kataoka’s words contained a hint of resignation. Karma picked up a toy slot machine and examined it closely.

“That’s not the case, you know? There’s a lot of things we can use.”

Karma had caught a mouse and held it in his hand.

“There’s a lot of bandits, and I can only come up with so many ideas. You all think of something, too.”

“Yeah!”

Isogai’s and the others’ voices reverberated within Korosensei’s painful house. The Buddha statue was placed to rest in the shrine of the dirty magazines while Class E steadily gathered things to use as they hunted through the piles of rubbish.

Kimura, holding the bag that had held the Buddha statue, checked his surroundings carefully as he left Korosensei’s painful house. He advanced forward as he hid behind the trees. However, just as he tried to pass by one of the large fig trees, he found two bandits standing before him.

“Found ‘em!”

“Crap!”

He used his speed to shake them off, but as he was trying to return the way he came, two more bandits appeared and trapped Kimura in. He hurried up a large tree and jumped from branch to branch, but the bandits continued to follow his shadow on the ground.

“Those guys are persistent!”

The men let out a shrill whistle. Even more of their comrades gathered, building up a net surrounding Kimura. Kimura shouted in English to those on the ground,

“Try catching me if you can!”

Hearing his provocation, the bandits furiously chased after Kimura. Just as Kimura’s legs were beginning to fail him and three of the bandits were catching up, the three all tripped at the same time. They were caught by a trap, a taut jump rope.

“You bastards aren’t the only ones doing an ambush!”

Terasaka said with a swagger. Beside him, Muramatsu laughed with a “gishishishi”. They tied the bandits up with the jump rope.

Rawan became furious at Class E’s counterattack.

“Don’t let the notorious Shishidan be put down by a bunch of brats! Use your weapons! Capture them all this instant, and get back that golden statue!”

All at once, the bandits took out huge, butcher’s knife-like swords and began their counterattack.

Terasaka and the others took down bandits one by one with an instant trap they made using insect nets and fishing tools, but they had no choice but to retreat when the bandits began using their swords.

“Crap! We’ve lured enough of them here, so let’s help Kimura out and head back!”

They gathered together with Kimura and ran inside Korosensei’s painful house.

“I won’t let you get away!!”

Rawan and the other bandits rushed in.

It was pitch-black inside. Many people had packed themselves in at once, so the bandits were all crowded tight within the space of the room.

“Turn on the lights!”

The thieves fumbled against the walls as they looked for a switch.

“Ouch!”

Somebody yelped in pain. A mouse was hanging off his finger, pinching down with all its strength.

“Hey! Hasn’t somebody found the lights yet!?”

Just as one of the bandits yelled this out, sounds of something rupturing began to go off here and there.

“Gyaah!!”

“My eyes! They’re burning!!”

This time, it was a sharp cry. What ruptured upon hitting the bandits’ eyes were water balloons left behind by Karma, who filled them with water mixed with Phnon’s specialty, hot chili peppers. Class E started pelting the bandits with their balloon bombs.

“Are you making fun of us, you damn brats!? The water’s coming from over there! Charge!”

Rawan forced his subordinates to charge forward. The sound of their boots resounded as they rushed ahead, flinching as they were shot with powerful water guns containing chili pepper water.

“Damn it all! They’re making fools of us!!”

The lights turned on in an instant. What awaited the bandits was Class E, all of them wielding guns. Faced with the muzzles of so many guns, the bandits were frightened instantly.

“It’s a trap!”

The moment Rawan yelled out, the bodies of every bandit instantly began to float in the air. The floor had come out from beneath them, and they all fell to the bottom of the pit.

“We did it!!”

“Alriiiiiiiiight!!”

Class E revealed themselves, looking down at the bandits who fell down the pitfall in delight.

“No matter how you look at it, this has to be a hole Korosensei used in his simulations to devise countermeasures against pitfalls, huh?”

“Korosensei was weak against pitfalls, wasn’t he?”

“Putting that panel with those photos of all of us around this hole really makes you feel like you’re being aimed at, too!”

“So Korosensei used measures as desperate as this. It’s no wonder we were almost unable to kill him.”

Kataoka smiled at Isogai as she recalled the days when they worked on Korosensei’s assassination.

“But to think we’d find traces of Korosensei at a time like this…… This brings back all sorts of memories from that class, right, Kayano?”

Nagisa looked around, but although Kayano was next to him just a moment ago, she was nowhere to be found.

“Kayano?”

“Nagi-“

Nagisa turned around sharply, certain he heard her call his name. The voice had been silenced mid-sentence.

Notes:

*Duralumin is an aluminum-copper alloy. It’s strong enough to be used in bulletproof vests. For those of you familiar with Yugioh, Seto Kaiba’s bulletproof case, the one he kept his trading cards in, was made of duralumin!

**Heaven’s Gate is a 1980 American Western film directed by Michael Cimino. Mimura certainly pulled out a good example of a director spending way too much money. According to Wikipedia, Cimino pushed the movie nearly four times over its planned budget. Ask This of Rikyu is a movie released in 2013 based on a Japanese historical novel depicting the life of Rikyu, a historical figure known to have greatly influenced Japanese Tea Ceremony. That’s Mimura for you! He’s well-versed in all sorts of movies, whether they be old, new, Western, or Eastern!

***This joke doesn’t make any sense in English, so I’ll have to explain. A ‘painful car’ 「痛車」is a car painted with anime characters and/or loaded with figures and stuffed dolls. It’s a 'painful car' because some people consider it painful to look at. I guess it’s a common enough occurrence to be included in Japanese-English dictionaries. ‘Painful house’ is not a common word, at least not yet, but Karma’s joking that Korosensei’s house is just as painful to look at. One particularly painful example I found via Google images is this:

Where a guy photoshopped himself kissing an anime character and put it on his car along with the words “I love you, Shana,” and “I love you, too, Kensuke”.

Karma’s pranks are pretty benign compared to Jerome’s, it seems… I feel like I should be a little insulted that a gang of bandits reminds Karma of Class A, but I guess Gakushuu’s foreign friends did look a lot like bandits. The line about Korosensei’s possessions being coated with dust was a little upsetting to read ;A; I’m sorry this chapter ends on a cliffhanger! I’ll try to unhang you all as soon as possible!

#assassination classroom #ansatsu kyoushitsu #Korotan D #Nagisa Shiota #Karma Akabane #Kayano Kaede #Isogai Yuuma #Kataoka Megu #translations

177 notes · View notes