Normal's POV

From the get go, Akahana never relents in speed and strength as she pushes the students into a bad position in the first 30 seconds. Akahana's asparagus green eyes shine in excitement when she takes out her knives that she hides within the straps she wears on her thighs and the first knife she threw grazes Hime's face as she tilts her head a little, chuckling. "you need to be faster than that or it'll hit your head, next time."

Hime stays still as she watches how Akahana twirls her knives with her fingers while the queen licks her blood red lips. "It's been a while since I get high on blood lust. Promise you'll entertain me till the end, 'kay?" Akahana once again throws her knives but this time, Hime managed to dodge it as she kicks it away from her direction. "It goes the same for you, too, blue-haired boy-chan." Nagisa charges in towards the queen with a knife in hand the same way he had done in his training. He has done it so many times that his msucles just move to memory without him thinking too much about it. And as usual,

He was sure he hid his bloodlust.

"That's a pretty impressive skill you have there, boy. Shira-nee used to be able to hide her blood lust, too. Sadly, it doesnt work on me precisely because of that. She used to give me a hard time during training"Akahana smiles innocently as Nagisa pales. "So, I perfected my sense of feeling instead. Pretty cool, right?" He couldn't win against her. Even her wavelength is calm.

"Nagisa-kun, duck!" Hime shouts and Takebayashi took the opportunity to shoot a firework at Akahana. It was this time that Hime jumps in to fight Akahana. Hime's body is light and she has always been in the more agile side before sneaking an attack. She stealthily takes out 2 anti sensei knives from her suit, spins in midair as she slashes Akahana's hands. Since the knife is made from rubber, the abrasion is superficial. It barely did anythign at all. The queen grabs the princess by her neck with the same hand she had attempted to injure just to goad her.

"If you come to me with toys as a weapon, you'll die, Hime." She tightens her grip around the princess's neck as the girl desperately tries to tries to set herself free from the queen's grasp but her efforts were deem futile."It goes the same to you, too." Akahana easily kicks Nagisa and Takebayashi to the ground. "If you don't fight me for real, you'll really die, Hime." Akahana said, dropping her step daughter to ground as she steps onto her abdomen. "Is it okay?" Hime lets out an ear splitting scream as her wound reopens. It hurts. She couldn't breathe.

Nagisa detects a slight change in Akahana's wavelength and pounced to the opportunity to attack her with the gift that was bestowed upon him as an assassin. The queen passes out for a second as Nagisa and Takebayahsi both scramble to their feet to help Hime get away but alas, there is only so much damage a steel can do to a diamond. They barely even move when the queen wakes up laughing despite what she's feeling is far from being amused for she makes a silent oath to kill Nagisa. He is a pest. When she throws the knife his way, Hime had knocked him out of the way and once again kicks the knife the opposite side.

"Sorry, Hime-chan!" He was quick to apologise when Hime blinks away the tears in her eyes as she tries to keep her breathing in check. Nagisa is beginning to get scared. The queen is definitely different from the assassins he has met thus far. She is nowhere near their level and he couldn't let Hime fight. She isnt in the shape to and Nagisa had no choice. "Chiba-kun, Hayami-san, I'm counting on you." Nagisa said into the microphone and he runs straight forth with Takebayashi supporting him.

The black haired boy throws a smoke bomb in front of Akahana and she stays put in her position as she waits to be entertained by the blue haired boy jumping towards her when the smoke disappears. But all she sees is her step daughter, still on the ground, while keeping a firm hand on her abdomen. 'Where is he?' In a second, she feels Nagisa's presence behind her but it was too late to react. He, just like her step daughter lacks physical strength and there is only so much he can do. When Nagisa tried to overpower her, she thought she could just kick him in the gut and punch him across his jaw to knock him out for a few seconds before finishing him off. But what catches her off guard is the bloodlust of two different students far away from where they are.

While her green eyes search for the source, Nagisa took the chance to ram her to the ground but alas, the queen is far stronger than she looks and held her ground. She easily pries Nagisa off and throws him to the side before taking out a gun that she has been hiding to shoot both Chiba and Hayami. Both snipers were caught off guard based on how quick she finds them only to get shot in their shoulder. Despite the circumstances, Hayami has managed to pull the trigger as she prays that her calculation isnt off. Akahana seems to be very amazed when the anesthesia hits her but she might as well go all out and kill Hime and Nagisa before the anesthetic effects kick in. She walks over towards Nagisa and grabs him by the boy's pigtails before sneering at him. "I acknowledge your skills, boy. You could have been a formidable opponent if you had been a couple years older and a couple years wiser. Too bad I have to erase such talent from the world even before they could see it." Akahana raises her hand to stab Nagisa in the neck as she watches Hime from the corner of her eyes.

Akahana was enjoying it. The look of horror and despair on her face makes her quiver in excitement. The face that her sister shared is making an expression that Shiragiku has never made before. 'Entertain me more, Hime.' Akahana purposely drops her knife to hit Nagisa's thigh with her strength instead. Nagisa screams in agony as he cradles his leg while the queen bends to grab the knife. If Hime isnt going to do anything about it then it's best that she ends Nagisa now. She is starting to see double and everything around her spins.

Hime was desperate. She needs to do something. And quick.

Akahana will really kill Nagisa if she wastes another second. Hime grits her teeth and threw a knife at her way but Akahana, despite in a state of vertigo, still managed to catch it with ease. "Your aim is getting better but you need to throw it with more strength." Akahana's speech is starting to slur while she watches the younger girl struggles to get on her feet. "Hold your knives tightly and swing it like you're aiming to kill me." Akahana said before she throws 2 knives at Hime's direction. She has thrown them in such a way that Hime couldn't kick them away nor dodge without getting hit by at least one. And that's what happened. Akahana's knife stuck into Hime's dominant arm.

The princess braves herself and runs head first towards her step mother and forces her dominant hand to swing the knife towards her step mother while her left hand acts as support. She isnt ambidextrous like Isogai is and her left hand isnt nearly as efficient as Akihito's but as long as she can still fight, that is exactly what she will do. If she couldn't exert too much strength in her right arm, she will make do with her left arm. Even if her attacks are slower, as long as she's fighting and protecting her friends, she doesn't mind.

"You're telling me that it's okay if you die?" Hallucination Karma asks her suddenly. Akahana notices the slight hesitations in Hime's moves and she once again kicks her step daughter in the abdomen. "If I don't buy us time, none of us will live. Shut up and go away." She thought, frowning. It was ridiculous. She thought that hallucination Karma only exists in Sussex but what do you know? He exists in the middle of a fight in Japan, too! "How wonderful," She thought sarcastically. "You still occupy my mind even when you're near."

"You can tell the real me how you're insanely in love with me later. But you can't do that if you're seriously planning to die, now can you? And to think you can still think of dying after I poured my heart and soul to you? I didn't confess to date a dead girl, Hime." Karma huffs in her mind and she smiles solemnly. "Sorry, Karma."

"Put your trust in us, Hime. Put your trust in me." Was the last thing Karma said when she finally snaps out of it and blocks her mother's attacks just in time with her plastic knife. When they are facing each other in a close proximity, Hime was shocked to find the black haired beauty biting her own tongue to fight the drowsiness until it bleeds. When she managed to cut the knife in two, Hime was ready to brace the impact when she hears remembers what Terasaka had told her in the classroom a few days back.

"Don't think that you're alone cause you're never alone. You'll aways have us."

"Oops, sorry for the wait, Hime." Karma -the real Karma- flashes her a smile like he always had and performs a round kick on Akahana. The golden eyed boy snickers a little; somewhat amused to see the queen grovel before him. "Getting everyone to safety without your psychotic mother realising is kinda hard. I even had to give directions to those stupid agents from the Ministry of Defense." When Akahana struggles to get back up, Karma called in both Terasaka and Itona – whom was dressed up to look like Karma – to immobilize her. She quickly threw knives their way and laughs evilly.

"These kids are supposed to immobilize me?"

"Oh, that's fine. I expected that to happen. Anyways, Chiba-kun, ready to fire another dose. Rio, Kataoka-san, Isogai-kun, Maehara-kun – proceed as we practiced." The couple watches how Akahana fights the effects of anesthesia by carving patterns into her skin and is captured by the four students without any interference. Akahana was shot with another dose and this time it was stronger than before.

"Before the ministry of defense comes, put an end to me, Hime." Akahana's eyes keeps rolling back and speech starts slurring as she still struggles to get out of the students' grasp with her remaining strength. Hime controls her breath as she watches her step mother in the eye. Oh, how tempted she was. This woman in front of her have caused her so much loss and sufferings. "Do it." The black haired woman whispers. Karma grows quiet as he watches Hime quietly contemplating. When the platinum blonde girl staggers towards the queen, picking up a knife that was on the ground, she notes how different a real knife feels compared to a plastic one.

It is cold and heavier and it shines when light reflects on it. "Do it. Slit my neck open." Akahana whispers as she places her neck against the cold blade of the knife and her green eyes are nothing like Hime is familiar to. They are dazed and crazed – completely lost in the head. She wasn't afraid of dying. She was more afraid of atoning her sins. And Hime sees her; she sees her with the same clairvoyant eyes her sister had and it disgusted her to no end. Hime throws the knife to the ground in front of her face.

Karma hides a proud smile that was making its way across his handsome features as he takes his place next to Hime for her to lean on. He was going to have a little talk with her about her little stunt and idiotic, impulsive decision makings later.

"Cowar-"

"Haru still needs you." Hime cuts in and Akahana gives into the anesthesia and she gave in to the fatigue.

***

The power of friendship :')