No Matter What the Cost

I can fix this

A/N: Oof, gonna have to separate the chapters to fit everything in.

***

It was fine.

He hadn't meant to hit his eldest son. It was just... it wasn't like he'd really hurt the boy. He'd never do that. He loved his son.

Gakushuu wasn't fragile, he didn't break easily. It was just a bruise. It would heal just like Karma's had. Then they'd forget about this whole mess and move on.

(Memories kept flashing of a very young Gakushuu holding a cheap third-place medal, scared and cowering from him like he was a monster—)

Everything was fine. He could fix this.

Gakuhou felt like he could think, hands still shaking as he stood in the empty classroom.

All of 3-A had left, carrying Gakushuu out. The boy was barely able to walk because he'd... he'd...

Gakuhou smashed his fist against the blackboard, cracking the slate and denting the wall behind it.

It was fine.

***

He could still win. He could still salvage this. It wasn't over, everything he'd spent over a decade building still meant something.

The only reason Gakushuu had fallen short was because of a misguided influence. All this talk of the weak being strong was the octopuses doing. All these soft teachings and idealist visions were poison. Deluding both his sons into thinking they didn't need to be above the rest to be successful.

Everything that had gone wrong in his school could be traced back to Koro-sensei.

There was something horrible but satisfying seeing the bulldoze smash into the old campus building. Like he was finally destroying something that held him back.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" One of the children shouted.

Oh, yes, he needed to warn them first. He didn't want them injured.

Gakuhou plastered on a smile and calmly told them to leave the building, and then he handed out the ultimation to Koro-sensei. The walking papers in hand.

It was simple really. A simple plan based on logic and observation.

He explained the grenades, how there was one real one out of four anti-sensei ones. Which meant Koro-sensei had a 20% chance of winning the challenge.

"This game is totally rigged in your favour!" Terasaka shouted in outrage, standing just outside along with the other students.

Gakuhou almost chuckled, smirking. "Terasaka, when you graduate you'll find that society is just as unfair as this," he said lightly. "Especially in the differences between the strong and the weak." He patted Koro-sensei on the back. "And that's why I've come to teach you to join the side of the strong." He smiled. "So then, shall we proceed? Show me how serious you are about your chosen profession, Koro-sensei." He leaned close to Koro-sensei who tensed.  "In fact, I wouldn't waste a single second."

He stood back and watched Koro-sensei stumble, predictably panicking when he hurried to answer the question in the textbook. The teacher's skin was a melting mess while the students looked alarmed. He felt a rise of satisfaction when he saw.

"We'll call the first one a hit," he said pleasantly. "Bravo." He clapped. "Only three more to go and you'll have won the game." He held up the notice of dismissal. "Now, please move on to the next problem before you've regenerated."

"This is BS! No way he can survive more of those explosions!" Yoshida exclaimed.

Muramatsu gawked. "He's seriously gonna be taken out! And, the set-up is so freaking simple!"