Koro-sensei and Akira regrouped.
Koro-sensei, still flickering as he switched between his speed clones, gave Akira a strange look.
"Alright, Akira-kun. For your first test… let's say you barely passed."
Akira looked indignant.
"Barely? I completed my mission perfectly!"
Koro-sensei gave him a stern look.
"But Akira-kun, you forgot the most important part: being discreet. Now everyone knows what you look like, and you've caused trouble here. That doesn't qualify as a perfect assassination."
Akira sighed.
"But that guy was annoying, okay? What's wrong with drinking… whatever that stuff was in a beer mug?"
Koro-sensei sighed as well.
"Akira-kun, patience is essential for any assassination… But never mind that for now. I have another training exercise for you."
Akira looked excited.
"Oh, really? What is it?"
Koro-sensei smiled.
"The next part of your training will be… information gathering!"
He held out a photograph for Akira to see.
It showed a rather unremarkable-looking man, someone who could blend in just about anywhere.
"This man's name is Nami Nohito. He's currently somewhere inside this hotel. I want you to find him."
Akira studied the photograph.
"What kind of name is Nami Nohito…? Fine. All I need to do is hack into the hotel's computer to—"
Koro-sensei's face turned purple, with an X appearing on his head.
"No! Wrong answer! You can't use technology this time. I want you to do it the old-fashioned way. Go talk to people in the bar."
Akira stared at him in shock.
"What? Why?"
Koro-sensei sounded mildly exasperated.
"Because if you take the easy way out, it won't be training!"
Akira looked uncomfortable.
"Can I bring Erika here to talk for me?"
Koro-sensei stared at him, realizing this was going to be more difficult than he'd thought.
"Akira-kun, information gathering is also part of assassination. What if you lose all your technology and find yourself alone? You have to learn to do it yourself."
Akira thought about it and sighed.
"Fine. But at least give me a clue instead of just a photograph and a name."
Koro-sensei smiled.
"He's a member of the Black Spider gang. That's all the information you're getting. Good luck! Nuruhuhuhuhu!"
And with that, he disappeared, laughing.
Akira stared at the spot where Koro-sensei had vanished.
"Wait! I don't even know what the Black Spider gang is…"
But no one answered him.
He sighed, then decided to give it a try. He changed clothes once again, this time putting on a formal coat while keeping the classic Clark Kent hairstyle and glasses. He also changed his hair color to black, since everyone in the hotel was now looking for a white-haired guy.
Akira confidently walked back into the bar.
He looked around and chose his first target: a drunk man sitting at the counter. People always said that drunk people talked more, so Akira figured this was the perfect target.
He sat down beside the man and tried to order some alcohol to blend in. The problem was that he knew almost nothing about alcohol. In fact, he knew absolutely nothing about it.
He glanced around, trying to see what the other customers were ordering.
Just then, the man beside him slurred out in his drunken state, "Give me my Fernet-Branca…"
Seeing an opportunity, Akira ordered the same thing.
"Give me that Fernet-Branca, too."
The bartender hesitated.
"Are you sure, sir? That one's… strong."
Akira smiled confidently.
"It's fine. I can handle anything."
He wasn't particularly concerned about the alcohol's strength. Thanks to his high metabolism, he couldn't get drunk normally anyway. So it didn't matter what he drank, as long as it wasn't Malört.
When his drink arrived, he watched the other man take a sip first. Only then did he cautiously taste his own.
And immediately regretted every decision that had led him to this moment.
He almost threw up, but managed to suppress the urge through sheer force of will.
He stared at the glass as if it were his mortal enemy.
Are all alcoholic drinks like this? Seriously, what's wrong with people?
Akira swore that he would never drink alcohol again.
Then he tried to strike up a conversation with the man beside him.
But his social anxiety kicked in, and he had no idea how to begin. He didn't even know what to talk about. He couldn't just randomly ask the man about the Black Spider gang. What if he was a member?
Besides, this wasn't a visual novel where Akira could save his progress and reload if he messed up. Every question he asked was a decision he couldn't take back, and he had no idea where to start.
Eventually, he gathered his courage and tried to act cool.
"Hey, bro. Nice weather, isn't it—"
Only to realize that the man had already passed out from drinking too much.
Akira stared at him.
Now what was he supposed to do? Could he talk to someone else? Could he change seats?
Was that even allowed in a bar?
Since he didn't know anything about bar etiquette, he decided to maintain his mysterious, cool-guy act. He took a deep breath, drank some more from his glass, and stood up as though he were drunk.
Yeah, no one will question a drunk guy, right? I can probably do whatever I want.
But he still needed to complete his mission. Where should he go next?
Then he spotted a group of young people laughing together in a corner.
Thinking it might be easier to talk to people his own age, he decided to approach them.
But once again, he had no idea what to say. He knew absolutely nothing about them.
How the hell am I supposed to start a conversation in this situation?
After thinking it over, he walked up to them, holding his glass.
"Hey, guys. Nice drink, isn't it?"
They all looked at his glass.
"No, it's not that good."
"Yeah, nobody drinks this."
"Only weirdos do."
Akira had no idea how to respond.
Why is this happening to me?
He finally snapped.
"You guys have no taste!"
Then he retreated.
It's fine. There are other people here.
He tried again and again to strike up conversations with different people, but none of his attempts went well. He was completely out of his element.
Some ignored him. Others didn't want to talk to him. And some simply continued drinking without paying him any attention.
In the end, after a long and miserable ordeal, Akira returned with his mission a complete failure.
---
Akira walked back to the spot where Erika was training, looking completely dejected.
Koro-sensei, walking beside him and still flickering as he switched between his speed clones, tried to cheer him up.
"Don't worry, Akira-kun. You might have failed this mission, but I'm sure you'll get them next time."
Akira simply sighed tiredly.
"I wanna go home."
Then he heard Erika's voice and immediately rushed over, ignoring Koro-sensei.
He arrived just in time to see Erika getting hit by several red-paint BBs as she tried to dodge them.
By now, she could sense the killing intent, but her reflexes hadn't been trained enough to react to it properly.
Although she managed to dodge the first two bullets, the next three hit her directly.
At this point, she was covered in red paint from head to toe.
Erika cried out, "At least attack at normal intervals, Koro-sensei! You can't make me wait ten minutes and then suddenly start firing!"
Koro-sensei appeared in front of them.
"Erika-san, an assassin must be prepared for anything, even when it comes at the most unexpected moment."
Akira looked at her, immediately feeling energized, and burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Erika, you look like a tomato!"
Erika immediately glared at him.
"What did you say?"
Akira laughed even harder.
"You're so red!"
Erika lunged at him, trying to hug him and smear the red paint all over him.
"If I'm a tomato, then I'll turn you into one, too!"
Akira tried to escape.
"Wait! No, I don't want to be a tomato!"
Erika caught up with him and hugged him even tighter.
"You will be a tomato!"
Akira screamed.
"Nooooo!"
Seeing them fool around, Koro-sensei intervened.
"Alright, students! Enough playing around. It's time for our debriefing."
Erika sighed and let Akira go, quickly returning to a serious expression.
Akira also straightened up, already plotting his revenge against his girlfriend by making her taste Malört.
Koro-sensei began his assessment.
"Erika-san, during today's training, you managed to sense the killing intent, but your body still isn't trained enough to dodge every shot. Honestly, that's impressive for your first day. As for Akira-kun…"
He looked at Akira, unsure of what to say. In the end, he simply settled for, "Just try your best next time. I'm sure you can do it."
Akira groaned.
Koro-sensei continued, "Anyway, that's all for today. We'll continue the training tomorrow, so you can both go and rest."
Both Akira and Erika looked exhausted. The day's training had taken a toll on them, both physically and mentally.
But then Koro-sensei added, "And don't forget to finish your winter vacation assignments, okay?"
Akira and Erika, already pushed to their limits, reached the same conclusion at that very moment.
Koro-sensei had to die.
"We just finished training!"
"Why do we have homework, too?!"
They both lunged at him with their anti-sensei knives.
Koro-sensei dodged their attacks, laughing.
"Nuruhuhuhuhu! If you can't become great assassins, you won't be able to kill me! So good luck!"
That evening, Akira and Erika finally returned home, completely exhausted.
They collapsed onto the sofa, neither of them having the energy to move.
The training had been a disaster, and tomorrow they'd have to do it all over again.
As for their winter vacation assignments…
Those could wait until tomorrow.