#and Gakushuu is staying in second place

[luna-loner]

I was looking for Big Five info to a history, and I'm SO disappointed that the AssClass Wiki don't even have their height... What do you think are their heigths?

First, I'm going to use B4 specifically when referring to the group without Gakushuu.

Second, you have every right to be upset. The B4 are apparently so unimportant they don't get their own profiles like Gakushuu or the 3E kids. Even Karasuma's boss, who's arguably more irrelevant and has less screentime, gets his own freakin' profile, with a birthday! Why??? (I mean, I don't mind some extra info on background characters, but a birthday for every B5 boy would've been nice, you know?)

The wiki says Ren's height is 180 cm, even though it's not mentioned anywhere in canon (#JusticeforB4Boys). I think it's because he's taller than Shuu (175 cm), so I guess the wiki meant to say he's around 180 cm.

For the other three, let's take a look at this character design reference.

So, Ren is obviously the tallest. Seo seems a little shorter in comparison, even if he's leaning to the side. It's safe to say he's around Gakushuu's height, give or take. I like to think he's shorter by one or two centimeters just so Gakushuu can enjoy being the SECOND tallest Virtuoso 🤭

I never realized this, but Araki and Koyama seem to be around the same height only because Koyama is hunched over. Imagine if he had a straight posture, I think he'd tower over Araki by 2-3 cms, which isn't a lot, but as Gakushuu likes to say (to himself) "Every centimeter counts" as he stands tall next to Seo.

So, from tallest to shortest, the order would be:

Ren

Gakushuu

Seo

Koyama

Araki

I'm not going to give each B4 kid a specific height because this may change later. It's been ages since I last watched the anime or read the manga. I used to think Koyama was the shortest because he looked so small around the others. Maybe after a good rewatch/reread and a healthy dose of scene over-analysis, these headcanons will change again.

TL;DR:

The B4 don't get respect

Araki is a pipsqueak (affectionate)

[anzulvr]

୨୧ On Purpose Karma x (fem) Reader || Chapter: 07 ୨୧

Prev || Secrets 07 || Next

You'd think after seeing the images and reading a lengthy description of what to anticipate when joining End class,  [Name] might have mentally braced herself for what she would be exposed to.

"LET ME GO YOU CAN'T FORCE ME TO STAY." Her voice ripped at her throat, Agent Karasuma restrained the girl as she kicked and screamed. Sure, she read Korosensei's description and seen the image attached to his file but something about seeing him in person for the first time sunk reality into her.

"I can, I'm legally mandated to keep you here until you calm down," Karasuma said, out of breath. She "bolted" down the hall the second she saw her new teacher, but as it turns out she's a pretty slow runner. He caught up to her walking, that was until she started rolling down the hill.  He had to run down before she could reach the end of said hill and blab everything to the first person she saw out of sheer adrenaline.

Korosensei could have easily cornered her the second she walked out the door but instead, he was busy sulking to his students about how frightened [Name] was by him.

"Time to head back, you can decide if you want to switch back to the main campus once you're in the right headspace," Karasuma spoke as he dragged her back to class.

[Name] stood behind the halfway-opened door, as Karasuma encouraged her to walk in and introduce herself.

"It's understandable! I'm muscular, I have a chiseled jawline and an intimidating demeanor, it's only human instinct to run away." Korosensei spoke like he was trying to convince himself of his own words.

"Sir, I don't think that's what happened." Isogai raised his hand to reply.

[Name] stiffly walked in, her body aching from her attempt to run off or roll off the mountain.

"Go on, introduce yourself." Karasuma nudged her forward. Her hands were still jittery from the nerves. "I'm [Name]."

'Really? That's all she's going to say?' Karasuma decided to give her a break, her day had been hectic enough.

"[Name's] a transfer from A class. Do your best to accommodate her and make her feel welcome."

"[Name] you can take the empty seat next to Karma..." Korosensei meekly gestured, trying not to scare her away for a second time.

Once [Name] took her desk, Karma reached over to his new seatmate's head. "You got grass in your hair."

"Don't touch me you pathological fucking liar." She glared daggers into him.

Karma annoyedly clicked his tongue. If that’s how she’s going to act he can too, "I hope the spider in your hair lays eggs."

"Spider?! Karma get it off me! I didn't mean it! Honestly, I did, but still!"

  Lunch break had rolled around, and [Name] was sitting outside with Karma. "Ya know he won't hurt you right? Or did they leave that out?" Karma asked, referring to Korosensei.

"More like you left that out, you decided to leave me clueless."

"Can you blame me? You probably would've gotten me locked up in some mental asylum."

"I wouldn't have! I can't visit you every day there."

He flicked her forehead "You're an idiot."

"Don't be cute, I'm angry at you."

Karma leaned in closer, their faces only a few inches apart. "Are you?"

Nagisa accidentally stumbled into [Names] shoulder, "Sorry [Name]- Ah, I’m interrupting aren’t I? I'll go!"

"No you're not, what's up Nagisa?" She tugged on his sleeves encouraging him to stay.

"I just wanted to see if I could help you introduce yourself to everyone, and make more friends so you feel comfortable."

"Really! That's sweet, I'd love that." Her face lights up as she pushes Karma further away and cheerily walks off with Nagisa. Karma sighs in response as he trails right behind them.

    —⁺˖°ʚ୨୧ɞ°⁺˖—

"Gakushuu! I've been looking for you!" Kaho rushed over.

"Kaho, I've got places to be."

"I just want to ask if you've heard from [Name]. She hasn't shown up to any classes or contacted me today."

"You don't know?" For a moment he questioned if it was his place to talk.

"Know what?" Kaho tilted her head in confusion.

"[Name] has been demoted to E-class."

"What? How?!"

To save his breath, Asano pulled out his phone and let her scroll through your latest conversations.

[CHAT LOG]

[Gakushuu]: Father won't explain why you were dropped all of a sudden, he says it's none of my concern but as the president I disagree, so you tell me.

[Name]:  I was nervous about the upcoming exams &

his office was wide open so I tried to steal the answers

That wasn’t exactly true but it’s not as if she could be honest with him, so [Name] told a little white lie.

[Gakushuu]: Unbelievable. What did you expect to gain out of cheating?

[Name]: A high test score?

[Gakushuu]: That's a shame. I thought you were smarter than that.

I'm sure you'll be allowed back once you prove yourself but I doubt you'll get your student council position back.

[Name]: yeah… I hope my end of the workload doesn't pile on you.

Kaho shakes her head in frustration as she hands him his phone back. "This still doesn't explain why she wouldn't tell me. Seriously I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, I love her but people will give me shit for hanging out with an end-class student."

"That's what you're worried about? Explains why she didn't tell you."

"So what, you're going to continue hanging out with her?"

"That's different our relationship was purely work-related, it's not like we have much to talk about other than council responsibilities. I have no problem being cordial with her and wishing her the best."

"I guess you're right, it wouldn't be cool of me to ghost her over one mistake."

While [Name] wasn't the most popular out of the council she was adored by much of the student body due to the fact she put everyone before herself. She'd spend hours helping her peers who grew to rely on her.  That didn't matter anymore, Gakushuu was well aware everyone would turn on her once the news got out she moved down to the lowest class. His father could be a spiteful person but thankfully he wasn't bitter enough of a person to announce it to the entire school, the rumors would spread sometime soon but it would take time for people to believe them. "Teppei Araki here with the school announcements! I regret to inform everyone that Miss [Full Name] will no longer be a member of the student council. We have decided we will not be opening her position, and our council will simply continue as five members. In more positive news the Art club is holding a event for..."

Well, that was ironic, Even Gakushuu didn't expect his father to murder [Names] social life so mercilessly this soon. Gakuhō talked to the girl plenty of times, more than that, she was the only friend Gakushuu ever heard his father approve of. He expected his father to be lenient towards her.

He walked towards the meeting room bracing himself for the mess he would walk into.

Ren launched himself at Gakushuu the second he stepped foot through the door, "Did you hear? Our [Name] is gone!"

"You make it sound like she's dead, get off me." Asano shoves Ren off with his shoulder.

"She practically is dead! She's in End class with the filth."

"She's not replying to my messages either." Koyoma added.

"Does she ever reply to you, Koyama?"

"She replied last week, and it was only one month late! New record."

"Well, we can talk to her in person one of these days and see how she's holding up if that makes you all feel better."

Asano spoke as if he were suggesting it for their sake but in full truth he was a little worried. Not that he cared but everything seemed so out of character for [Name].

Sneaking into the principal's office for test scores? [Name] more often than not was a chronic nervous trainwreck, but a delinquent who sneaks around to steal answers? Not her style. In all the years he knew her, she was a stickler for the rules, it was one of the traits that earned her a position in council and set her apart from other students.

It was too unusual to ignore, he asked himself who could ever instill these ideas into her head, more importantly, how did they convince her to go through with it? He came up with a few theories, perhaps someone asked [Name] to steal the answers in exchange for something. Maybe she’s taking the fall for a friend. In any case, he figured meeting up personally might lead him to unravel whatever it is she’s hiding.

[tuulikannel]

...so, @lazytoday went and asked for all the wips in the wip ask game XD Here we go, then! (This isn’t all of them, yet, though. Just the Gakushuu-centric AC ones: tabula rasa, secrets, Yotsuba, and Dangan... well, Dangan isn't quit Shuu-centric, but he is important in it.)

tabula rasa

One day, after summer break, Gakushuu wakes up to find his father in oddly good humor, humming happily in the kitchen as he’s preparing breakfast. Everybody else seems to be having a great day, too. After the nearly perfect day, he’s almost forgotten how weird the morning was, but then the following discussion takes place.

“On a day like this, one could almost forget that the E class exists,” he said lightly. “The what now?” Ren asked, and he gave a little laugh. “Heh, good one. But we can’t afford to forget them for real. They’re getting cocky after their victory. We need to make sure that…” He noticed the way his friends were looking at him and frowned. “What?” Ren met his eye, looking confused. “What are you talking about, Gakushuu?” His frown deepened. “What? The E class of course! 3-E!” he specified as they kept on staring at him in growing confusion. “There… is no E class, you know?” Araki said. Others nodded. “A, B, C, D,” Ren said. “And that’s it.” “What the hell are you… okay, this joke isn’t funny. I know they beat your asses and won that stupid bet, but pretending they don’t exist isn’t going to fix anything, so stop.” His friends stood still, watching him in silence. Something about their absolute stillness was nearly terrifying. “Gakushuu,” Ren said, his tone very kind and gentle. Suddenly it brought to his mind his father’s kind smile from the morning, and he took an involuntary step back. “There is no such class. And besides, this is school, not competition. The exams don’t exist for us to beat each other, but to measure our growth.” “But…” Gakushuu looked from one face to another, each of them looking kinder and friendlier than the other. “But… the E class? You know, the… the untouchables of this school? Who stay at the old campus…?” “At the old campus?” Ren was shaking his head. “Does that make sense to you? Cause it sure doesn’t make any sense to me. Why on earth would any class of this school be separated from the rest like that?”

So what do you do, when everything is right, and yet nothing is right? ^^

secrets

I’ve written barely anything for this fic, but it’s about Gakushuu deciding he truly wants to find out 3-E’s secret and setting out to do that. I kinda want to do this as a choose your own adventure thing. XD

Yotsuba

Well, yes. Obviously a crossover with Yotsuba&! Gakushuu has promised to keep company to the daughter of his dad’s business associate while they’re having a meeting. He’s waiting for her at the hotel, growing impatient. Then a green-haired girl finally shows up.

Gakushuu stared, a sinking feeling in his stomach. “Miss Kawai?” he called out, just in case. The girl blinked and glanced at him. “Kawai Yotsuba?” he asked again. Her face broke into a grin. “Thank you!” she exclaimed. He sighed. “You’re… Yotsuba?” he asked once more, just to be sure. “Yep! Koiwai Yotsuba! I’m five!” She held up four fingers at him. Gakushuu sighed again. A little girl who could barely either talk or count… just his luck. Why had his father lied to him about the girl’s age? She was supposed to be the same age as he. Or… had the man been mocking him when he had said that? He put a smile on his face. Oh well. Five, fifteen, so what? He could look after a kid, sure.

In other words: a story where Gakushuu accidentally kidnaps a 5-year-old but ends up having a great day.

Damn I love Yotsuba. ^^

Dangan

Again, kind of obviously, a crossover with Danganronpa. I've posted a snippet of it before, here.

So, I've combined Kunugigaoka and Hope's Peak for this fic. Or, to be exact, the school is Hope's Peak, but Gakuhou is the principal. Those who've played the second game can probably guess what role the 3-E kids have here (not saying it, cause spoilers. ^^ For the game that is!) The story sort of combines the two canons. Add the exploding moon and the escaped Reaper (who doesn't become Korosensei) to Junko & Ultimate Despair, and there are fun times ahead, indeed. ^^

(Incidentally... I realized that I could make Gakuhou the chairman of *censored cause spoilers* and keep Jin Kirigiri as the principal. That’d make perfect sense, really. I'm still torn about this... cause that’d mean I’d have to scrap one plot point I'm really fond of. I don’t know, we’ll see.)

[adashof-rey]

A Rough Timeline of But If You Work Hard— (as of 06/22/2025)

I realized that with the back-and-forth format of this fic, it might be difficult to follow along between updates. plus, the flashbacks are probably confusing enough on their own - so here's a rough timeline to keep track of events (subject to change + will be updated with each new chapter)!

NOT SPOILER FREE!!! Includes references to suicide

ORIGINAL TIMELINE 

December 2003

Chapter 8 (part 1): 2 months after Karma joins the Asano family. Gakuhou’s old students visit for the final time.

March 2014

Chapter 4: The night before Gakushuu and Karma start high school.

July 2014

Chapter 12 (part 1): Karma tells Gakushuu about Kayano.

September 2014

Chapter 6: Ren learns about Karma and Gakushuu’s relationship.

December 2014

Chapter 14 (part 1): Gakushuu and Karma study for finals. Karma invites Gakushuu to Karasuma and Irina’s wedding.

February 2015

Chapter 12 (part 2): Gakushuu meets Kayano and offers a helping hand.

March 2015

Chapter 14 (part 2): Karasuma and Irina’s wedding.

July 2016

Chapter 10: Kunugigaoka High School senior trip (summer break). 

December 2016

Chapter 8 (part 2): 3-E Christmas party. Gakushuu gets accepted to MIT. 

December 31, 2017 - January 1, 2018

Chapter 2: Karma calls Gakushuu the day before his birthday. He’s in a loud place… perhaps an airport…?

Chapter 1 (part 1): Gakushuu commits suicide. The New Year arrives. 

December 2018

Chapter 8 (part 3): 3-E Christmas party, a year later.

NEW TIMELINE 

April 2013

Chapter 1 (part 2): Gakushuu wakes up in the past.

Chapter 3: Gakushuu stays home from school for the first time. He finally meets Karma again.

Chapter 5 (part 1): Gakushuu and Karma begin having tea together.

May 2013

Chapter 5 (part 2): Gakushuu talks to Ren. First term midterms. 

Chapter 7: Gakushuu’s first day in 3-E. 

Chapter 9: Gakushuu’s second day in 3-E. School trip to Kyoto.

Chapter 11 (part 1): Ritsu’s introduction

June 2013

Chapter 11 (part 2): Gakushuu’s conversation with Kayano.

Chapter 13: Gakushuu’s conversation with Kayano. Karma’s trip to Hawai’i. Itona’s introduction. Gakushuu reveals his identity to Kayano.

July 2013

Chapter 15: Kunugigaoka intra-school ball tournament

[le-panda-chocovore]

I'm finally awake enough to write something coherent so if I may, allow me to ramble back :

You're 100% right about the fact that this AU changes nothing about their actual dynamics, honestly I used to dislike the sibling AU so I totally get you. But now I just think it'd be hilarious, plus we can put some depth in this scenario so here's my takes on the Asano-Akabane Drama :

Gakuhou disowned Karma so he's just acting as if he has only one son and that's all. Gaksuhuu isn't allowed to mention his brother at all.

There's a woman out there who divorced Gakuhou Asano and wasn't completely ruined by the process and I fucking love the idea of them fighting with a fake politeness in front of their lawyers (I think she must be as manipulative and smart as him if they were married). I'm sure she took a few valuable things from him.

Gakushuu and Karma try to hide that they're related. When people find out they just throw a bunch of lies to explain the family drama.

Karma is petty and angry and hurt so he wants to prove to his dad that he is worth something. He's going to show him that he can beat his golden boy without Gakuhou's special teaching, he'll show him that it was a mistake to abandon him. So the reason why Karma cares so much about not putting too much effort into his work is especially because Gakuhou encourages everyone to push through their limits, and Karma is willing to prove to him that he can be better while being lazy. And this is also why Karma is one of the few in Class 3-E who really cares about his grades since the beginning and is ashamed and dissatisfied with himself when he's not at the top.

Gakushuu kinda resents Karma because he got to leave the home and live happily far from their father. Karma has everything Gakushuu secretly wants but knows he can't have, so he's jealous and wants at least to beat him at exams to prove to Karma that he IS the better son. Crushing his enemy is what he has been taught since childhood and his academic status is the only thing he really has.

Gakushuu thinks his father's weird attitude toward Class 3-E has something to do with Karma being there, but he can't ask about Karma because Gakuhou keeps pretending the boy doesn't exist, and he can't ask Karma himself because... well they're not really close actually.

Their mother didn't want to leave Gakushuu with his father, but the boys were given the choice of whose parent they wanted to live with and they had different preferences. The mother tried to stay in contact but Gakuhou actively stopped her, and she eventually got too busy with work to keep trying.

(I also read a fanfic where Karma changed his first and last name so Gakuhou genuinely has no idea that the boy is actually his son)

Alternatively, if we want to step out of the resentment route : they both dickheads and they do fight for the first place but they don't actually hate or dislike each other. They have a "normal" sibling rivalry and they care about each other. They bond over trashtalking about their parents. And just imagine their friends' reactions when they find out that the two are related. Karma's just like "yeah he's my brother" as if it's not the second most improbable thing in the world after Koro-sensei's existence.

What do you think of Siblings Karushuu AU ?

Short Answer:

It's fine, they're cute... I guess. I don't care much for it, not because I dislike the idea, but because I feel like them being siblings doesn't really add much to their existing dynamic.

Long Answer:

I attempted to write Siblings!Karushuu early on. I have 1 complete oneshot, and I think one WIP (I don't remember if I published it in my Scrapbooks collection).

Thing is, I'm not sure what exactly about them being siblings is a draw as opposed to them being unrelated or just interacting in any other premise.

The both of them already have quite a robost family setup that influences their personality - Karma with absent parents, Gakushuu with his too-present father (and ?absent mother).

Sibling AU fics that I've read tend to shoehorn in Gakuhou to be Karma's father, which is expected since he's an established character in canon, and his role can't be omitted without too much damage to the rest of the plot. (Furthermore, if you're the kind of person who is writing a Karushuu siblings AU, you're clearly interested in the Asano family dyanmic (that's actually all there is to Gakushuu) so you're just not going to omit Gakuhou.)

Unfortunately I've observed that this rarely influences anything about Karma. Karma either remains as he is in canon and it's explained that he's a black sheep in his family to have ended up in 3-E, or the plot puts him in 3-A and it's explained that he either has an impending transfer to 3-E/it's his last chance; or that his nepotism is what keeps him in 3-A. Karma's values and principles about academics and the inherent worth of human beings is rarely affected in these retellings (because that's what people like about Karma) but because that's Gakuhou's main shtick, it feels like the whole premise didn't matter at all.

There's even less to say about Gakushuu's mother because neither Karma nor Gakushuu's mothers are present in canon anyways and it's easy to just explain them away as unimportant, given how much space Gakuhou takes up in the mind. Usually I read that their mother takes off with Karma and leaves Gakushuu alone with Gakuhou, so... no changes there.

Another potential appeal is the sibling dynamic between Gakushuu and Karma - but then I'll just question what exactly about a sibling relationship differs from... any other relationship between two unrelated people. Karushuu in canon already has the sort of snarky-bantering-rivalry energy anyways, if that's the thing you're looking for. I've seen fics that write them as estranged by having their parents split them up as kids, but then that's essentially the same as a childhood friends AU. I guess we really can't replicate familial love and the obligation of being blood related unless it's this specific context. The idea that they're cut from the same cloth, only separated by time, but they will eventually reunite... oh hey, we can make them soulmates, put a curse on them, or make a demon pact.

There's also the resentment angle, as overcompeting siblings tend to have, "you look like the other parent" acidity if we throw in a divorce plot. But that doesn't affect their existing interaction, I feel - it gives them different things to say when they fight, but they're still rivals as they would in canon.

I don't know. My point is that I guess I can't think of a premise that would interest me in a sibling au above any other au if I had the option. Any differences that do arise feel miniscule and don't affect the broad strokes of whatever I'm looking for in a fic.

...Not even incest, which is a hot take. Yeah, I read/write and enjoy incest. But come on, whatever Gakushuu and Gakuhou have going on in canon already is far more interesting than anything I could ever manufacture for sibling Karushuu. The strange enmeshment and tension that the canon Asanos have in Mamasano's absence, ...could work similarly to sibling Karushuu's furtive us-against-the-world codependency under their Father's omniscent gaze... if you're into that sort of thing. I could be, but more often than not the Asano family dynamic pulls me away from looking elsewhere.

I mean, I'm just not into the siblings thing. You could be. Don't take this post as my condemnation of Karushuu siblings, I still enjoy reading them and the quality of the fic takes precedence. I've had my expectations pleasantly subverted before.

Hehe thanks for the ask! I love rambling