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Takaoka Akira has escaped.
Nagisa felt his heart skip only once. He didn’t let his students catch any shift in his mood. They were as much like E-class as they weren’t. High-school delinquents that the world was shoving to the side until they were kicked out to the working class, it was only a matter of time. They believed their fate was paved into cement and nothing was going to change that fact. No job would take them with the records that have been basically stamped on their foreheads.
They were large, burly, dark, and drained… And yet they were still kids. Nagisa might still look ten years old, and only an intern going through some sort of ‘hazing’, but he’d be fine. These kids will be fine if he has any say in it. Everyone deserves a second chance.
Nagisa continues to teach his class. He doesn’t let Karasuma’s text change the fact that he’s got to get these guys ready for the upcoming midterms.
“Can someone answer this question on the board?” Nagisa asked, pointing to the math problem. It was a bit more advanced than they had been working on so far, but he’s sure if they put a bit of effort into their schooling they’d realize that they had actually done this problem earlier in the week. This one just has more jagged edges.
No one goes up to the board, no one even looks at his direction. They never do at first. It’s like trying to get Karma to be nice. It’s worse than pulling teeth. Nagisa kept a warm smile on his face, not letting anyone know how much he felt like he wasn’t good enough.
“If you get it right, I’ll give you another chance.” This got the attention he wanted. Getting the problem right would mean they would be able to try to ‘assassinate’ him. No one has gotten even close. Even if he couldn’t reach Mack-20, or had several tentacles, Nagisa was still a formidable assassin in his own right. He didn’t go down, he never missed.
Takaoka Akira has escaped.
“12.87” Mizuguchi sneered. It wasn’t surprising, the young man was very bright. He was the leader of his group for a reason. He reminded Nagisa of Karma without a Korosensei, without 3-E.
“We have to raise our hands, Mizuguchi.” Nagisa gave a deep frown, but didn’t let it linger. “But that is correct. Would you like this as an assassination or-”
“Fight.” Mizuguchi always chose to fight. He was a bit bull headed, but Nagisa wasn’t going to go back on his word. An attempt will be made. Mizuguchi will go for the allotted five minutes without landing a hit and the classroom will resume.
Assassination attempts were more of a get-out-of-jail free card. You may attempt to attack the target at any point, but if it is dodged you must participate for the rest of the day without the bonus. Fights had the same footnote, but could only be conducted during breaks.
“I’ll make note of it.” Nagisa glanced at his phone. His heart skipped another beat. The screen was still on the message from Karasuma. “The next break is in thirty minutes. Now, while we have the answer, does anyone want to come try figuring out how he got it?”
Ozawa stood from her chair, letting it crash to the ground. She loved making sure everyone was well aware of her presence and she hated being upstaged by Mizuguchi. If he participated in a lesson it would cause a domino effect in most of the class in participating as well. Ozawa snatched the chalk from Nagisa’s hand.
“It’s like the problem on monday.” She insisted before crawling on the board, letting her long nails scratch and screech. Nagisa didn’t flinch, unlike most of her classmates.
“That is correct. The proctors and test-makers will dress up even the simplest of questions to look intimidating and hard to understand, but if you know the basics, it’s only a matter of understanding what strategy to use.”
“You think some stupid math question can intimidate us?” Tamaki hissed. He didn’t like to be seen as weak or fearful. He had about seven ‘assassination’ attempts still yet to be used.
“Of course they can be intimidating. For example-” Nagisa started to write the most complex equation he could think of. It was one Karma had given him if any of his students were getting a bit too aggressive, but Nagisa wouldn’t use this to humiliate the kids. He was a teacher during the day, after all.
“What the fuck?” Tamaki said under his breath.
“Being scared is human, everyone feels scared and like they don’t know what to do, but if you look here.” Nagisa circled a section. “This kind of looks like what we’re doing right now.”
“And that part looks like what we did last week?” Maki’s more timid voice asked, pointing to a different part of the equation.
“Exactly.” Nagisa nodded. As his lesson went on, Nagisa felt him ease more into the roll of a teacher. He let the memories of Koro-sensei, Ms. Bitch and Karasuma-sensei guide him into molding these ruffians into great minds.
“ Saph-viper, I have caught sight of Takaoka Akira five blocks from your location.” Ritzu’s voice cut into their math lesson. Nagisa’s back straightened. Ritzu knew not to bother him at school. She also knew not to call him that when he wasn’t on the job.
“Saphire? What is that what your girlfriend calls you?” Mizuguchi's laugh vanishes faster than it started with a single look from Nagisa. It was the same poisonous look he had given the young man on the first day of class.
“Ritzu, what is his condition?” Nagisa asked, slamming Sakura’s hand behind her back. He turned to the rest of the class. “I need each and everyone of you to stay seated and stay calm. This is not the time for games.”
Either from the look in his eyes, the ice in his voice, or the world-shattering terror that was emitting from his body; all of which had never been truly experienced by this group before; they all decided to do as they were told for once. They looked pale and ghastly. A few of the leaders in the class looked ready to riot, but seemed to also want to know what had their usually odd, though docile, teacher acting so aggressive.
“ He’s already left several civilians injured and at least one casualty. Anyone getting in his way is being dispatched at an alarming speed. He is out for blood. I’ve already sent a message to the chat. Ruby Wasabi and Agent Sensei are the closest to your location, however they will not make it in time to intercept Takaoka.”
“Right. I’ll intercept him on the main grounds. It should allow my students to keep away even if we don’t have time to evacuate fully. I don’t want them to bump into him on the street.”
“ Considering how your students are, that would be the wisest course of action. Are you sure you don’t want to -”
“ I’m not hiding, Ritzu. Takaoka is my problem and he won’t stop at anything to get my head. Besides, I had to drop by class early today, so I have a few extra tools with me. I’ll be fine.”
“ He’ll be on high alert.”
Nagisa nodded, knowing the AI woman would see him as he went to his desk and started to pull out his gear. His desk had too many hidden compartments not to have a full arsenal tucked away.
“Woah, is that a gun?” Aynokoshi Kikiro sprung forward at his desk. “What kind of teacher-?”
“NAGISA SHIOTA! I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE.” Takaoka’s scream had Nagisa flinching, and his class went dead silent. They’d never seen their teacher afraid of anything. From one moment to the next they ran to the window to see who was calling out to the teaching intern.
Nagisa shook his head, stalking out of his classroom, making his way to the door to make sure his ex-gym teacher didn’t hurt his students.
“HA! I knew it. They told me you were teaching kids. They said they let a monster like you around adolescence. Are they insane, or did you trick them? You are nothing but a snake. You tricked them. YOU TRICKED THEM.”
“Hello Takaoka-sensei.” Nagisa kept a calm smile on his face. The man hadn’t aged well, his face was full of deep scars from where he’s already scratching them deeper. His hair was patchy and thin, but what little of it was left was gray from stress. His eyes were just as crazed as they were the last time Nagisa saw this man.
“NO! STOP SMILING! Stop it, stop it, stop it.” His meltdown made him rush at Nagisa, who made sure the man didn’t get close. “I need to save them from you. You’re a monster. Please get it out of my head.”
“Woah, teach, this man is such a weirdo. I can see where you - What the fuck, get off me old man!” Mizuguchi tried to pry and beat Takaoka off of him, but the older man didn’t budge. He held a knife so tight against the larger teen’s throat that blood started to bead against the edge.
“Takaoka-sensei, Mizuguchi-kun has nothing to do with us. Please let him go.” Nagisa asked kindly.
“No, he’s your little student. He’s your little protege, I just know it. You can’t hide it from me. You’ve been teaching them how to be snakes.”
“Have I? I’m just a teaching intern, Takaoka. I’ve been teaching them math for the past twenty minutes.”
“LIES!” Takaoka’s hysteria grew, and Nagisa could see that the man was about to tip and kill his student.
“Holy shit, teach.” Mizuguchi almost sounded shaken. It wasn’t every day your teacher pointed a gun at your direction. Nor was it every day that you were forced to play hostage. “Don’t forget I’m right here.”
“Stop talking Mizuguchi, just stay calm. I’ve got you.” Nagisa assured the burly boy. “Now, Takaoka, it has been seven years since the last time we saw each other. If you want a rematch, the boy doesn’t need to be involved. This is just between me and you, correct?”
This seemed to have stumped the man.
“Fine. The boy will stand over there and watch. He will see your lies. He will see that you are nothing but a sniveling brat that needs to be destroyed.”
“Sensei-chan!” A few more students made it outside once they noticed that Mizuguchi had snuck away. Nagisa never wanted his night-life to interfere with his day job, but it wasn’t like he could avoid this. Takaoka was a bad man, but Nagisa still stands for what he had realized all those years ago. Without this man, Nagisa would have never come into his own.
“Stay back. And if you can, please avert your eyes, I don’t wish for any of you to see me like this.” Nagisa asked, though he knew none of his students would miss the opportunity to watch. He’ll be shameful once this is all done.
“NO! They need to know, they need to see the MONSTER YOU ARE!” With that Takaoka charged.
Prison, even the mental ward hasn’t been kind to this man, but it has given him time to focus on upping his strength. He had lost the softness to his body that fooled the unsuspecting into believing he was nothing more than a kind man. Now he was built like a tank, ready to take his revenge.
Nagisa gave the man one last smile. He didn’t let the man get close. Nagisa didn’t even need to pull any assassin cards. Takaoka was blinded by rage, insanity, and revenge.
“I am sorry.” Nagisa said as he pulled the trigger and Takaoka died before his body hit the ground.
“NAGISA!” Another voice cut through the silent scene. Nagisa looked at his students as they all stared down at him. Their chibi-like teacher was now splattered with blood of a man who had come to kill him. Mizuguchi was with his gang, they were already patching up his wounds.
Karma burst into the lawn and barreled over Nagisa with such force that it had both of them on the ground, just missing the pool of blood.
“Is that Ambasador Akabane?” Ozawa asked.
“I think so.” Maki nodded.
“I think I’m terrified of Sensei-chan.” Tamaki voiced, which had a few others nodding along.
“You had me so worried, you little shit. Weren’t you supposed to take the day off? You literally just got off your last mission and when you didn’t show up home… Oh Rio is so mad at you.” Karma huffed. Nagisa only leaned into his partner’s arms.
“Midterms are coming up.”
“Which is why you thought it was appropriate to ignore my calls and texts.” Karasuma looked down at Nagisa with a ticked eyebrow. He looked pissed, but Nagisa could see the relief in his face.
“What, isn’t that the General of the Ministry of Defense?”
“How does our teacher know all these people?”
“This is going to require so much clean up, you brat.”
/////\\\\\
The next day in class was a bit awkward. Nagisa didn’t know how to start. Karasuma had made sure each and everyone of his students signed an NDA and knew of the dire consequences if any of this got out.
His students sat at their desk for once, not one about to give him a hard time. Which was both great and concerning. He wanted to earn their trust with compassion and being a good teacher, not by blowing a man’s head up in front of them.
“Does anyone want to take a shot at today’s problem?” Nagisa cringed at his choice in words. Shot, really?
“I-I’ll try, Shiota-Sensei.” Harata’s chair clattered to the floor, making everyone jump a bit. She got to him and her hands were shaking so badly he wasn’t sure she’d be able to hold the chalk.
“Go sit down, Harata. I feel like I can’t just hope everyone forgets about yesterday.” Nagisa lets out a breath and a few students squeak in panic.
“Like hell we will.” Mizuguchi slams his fist into his desk, apparently having enough of being a ‘good student’ even if his teacher was some kind of hit-man. “What the hell was all of that about? I almost died. You fucking killed a man.”
“Language, Mizuguchi.” The automatic response only made the boy laugh with incredulity.
“Language? Who the hell cares about cursing when you’re a murderer?”
“Assassin.” Nagisa corrects, which has the class going dead silent once more. “I’m an assassin that works closely with our government to take down threats against the people of our nation as well as the world. My first target was when I was in my third year of junior high. He was my teacher.”
“Wait, that voice on the phone. They didn’t call you Saphire. She called you Saph- Viper .” Ozawa’s voice shook a bit. Her father was a crime-lord, only taking into power in the past three years since the prior syndicate had been taken out by Nagisa. Her father is visited a few times by the infamous assassin just so he knows to keep himself and his underlings in line. Actually a few kis in this class have a trace back to Nagisa in some way. A lot of people did. Everyone in the world did, actually, if they only looked up at the moon.
“That is correct.”
“She also said that ‘Ruby-Wasabi and Agent Sensei’ were on their way and then General Karasuma and Ambasador Akabane were there.” Maki pointed out.
“Yes. You guys were young, but do any of you remember the day the moon exploded?”
“What does this have to do with anything?”
“My brother used to watch old news clips about it. There wasn’t much update till a year later, when the villian who had done it was killed by the class of … class of junior high students he had taken hostage for the year.” Kirishuma looked at his teacher with a new fear in his eyes.
“Yes, but he was not a villain, and we were not hostages. He was our teacher, our target, and we were his students, his assassins. Now here’s the deal, if all of you pass the midterm exam I’ll tell you a bit of my story.”
There was ruckus and fussing, but it was quieted down by Mizuguchi. He looked at the small teacher with hard eyes, walking up to the board and snatching the chalk from the board.
“Deal.”