Chapter Text
The place smelled like rusty metal and hand sanitizer at the same time. Every step made one feel like they were in a med bay of the military. It was cold, especially with the lack of people walking through this hallway. Two people couldn’t balance out the empty atmosphere that was taking place. And he couldn’t stop thinking about what had occurred earlier that day.
——
Multiple individuals in black suits entered the classroom, having a stern demeanor. One of them held onto a black case, while the man in the front looked the most serious.
Why were government officials barging into some classroom? There was a certain reason behind all this, right? This might’ve been the end.
Someone ratted him out. Someone went against protocol. How embarrassing it would be for him to get tackled on the ground and handcuffed in front of the entire class. Sweat drops flowed down his face, his hands curled on the sides of his cargo pants. His legs didn’t stop trembling.
He should’ve just done it before all of this. It would’ve been way easier for everyone involved—
But no, it wasn’t that.
It was more ridiculous than he could’ve ever imagined.
“Hello everyone, I’m the one that destroyed seventy percent of the moon. Pleased to meet you!”
Nagisa followed him like a dog, irritated as to why he was walking so fast. He almost couldn't keep up with his pace.
“Hold on,”
The older man stopped moving in front of the door a few moments after Nagisa called out for him. Though, he didn’t turn around, clearly annoyed as he was.
“I thought they were going to arrest me! You know how humiliating that would’ve been?!” Nagisa spat. His hand started clenching his school bag strap even tighter than before.
The man let out a loud sigh, “Just— Shut up already. You’re making my ears bleed.” He tilted his head slightly to face Nagisa with one eye. “You can complain all you want after this, kid.”
Before he could respond, Handler moved his head back to the front and opened the entrance to the meeting room of HQ.
Bet he did that intentionally.
They both walked inside and sat down at their designated spots. Nagisa dropped his bag right on the table surface. A few other people were already seated and waiting for them to arrive. The table they all sat at was formed in some kind of rain puddle shape. Nagisa still didn’t understand to this day why exactly they chose such a weird design for a table in such an important place. He can’t really take things seriously while the discussion location includes this stupid ugly grey table.
“Did you bring what we asked you for?”
He stood up in order to open his bag, pulling out a few Anti-sensei knives, BB bullets and guns. His hands moved the material towards the person who raised the question towards him.
“You guys knew this all beforehand, right?” It was more of a statement than a question. Nagisa knew the answer already. They literally messaged him on his phone during lunch break.
HANDLER
12:46
Is that creature with you?
12:48
How do you know about this?
12:49
Bring the equipment they gave you to HQ.
12:49
Can you at least tell me why???
12:57
Later
————————————-
Well, they still haven’t talked properly, have they? There were always so many questions. Way too many questions that got left unanswered too often. But it’s something Nagisa got used to over the years. It’s just that this whole day was kind of overwhelming for him.
First, agents from the government barged into his classroom. He genuinely thought this was the last day he’d be sitting in a school. Then, a yellow 3 metre tall alien octopus told the entire class how he was the one that destroyed more than half of the moon and how they’re going to get trained as assassins in order to kill him before he destroyed the earth. Oh, and how he‘s going to be their teacher for this whole school year until they graduate.
While the rest of the students got shocked at the amount of money they’d get if they were to succeed in the mission, Nagisa was literally contemplating his entire life. He rewound the things the officials and the octopus said over and over in his head. They were going to get trained as assassins. Assassins. Really?
Was he supposed to tell that Karasuma guy about how he actually in fact already went through this kind of training? Tell him how he is in fact an assassin? No, no. That would be stupid! Really, really stupid, Nagisa. If he asked Handler about this, he’d probably glare at him, look away and ignore him for the rest of the day. That’s how stupid it was.
“Yes, we did know, Nagisa-kun,” another voice spoke up from the right side of the room, “but we weren’t even sure how exactly they would treat this situation. It was a surprise for us as well that the target would end up teaching the same class you were in.”
They were already describing him as a target…
Nagisa wanted to ask how they found out. They didn’t work with the government. Hell, they despised them. So how did they even find out that this yellow entity was the reason 70% of the moon exploded into oblivion? They wouldn't answer him anyway, which is why he didn’t ask.
”What’s your plan, then?”
“That’s what we hoped to discuss with you. Would you be open to signing another contract with us?”
Some guy slid a paper towards his direction. Nagisa sat back down to read what it said, moving his bag a little out of the way to his left.
[ SPECIALIZED MISSION — GV-INTERFERENCE
The following guidelines will only affect the duty of successfully eliminating the purported entity who is responsible for the demolition of 70% of the moon. This contract applies to Shiota Nagisa, contingent upon agreement taking place. Guidelines were customized for this situation.
All prior signed agreements that include similar guidelines will not be invalidated through signing this exact contract.
- The Operative shall not reveal his identity and history as an assassin to his classmates, faculty, target and other persons outside of Kurosaya.
- The Operative must follow “morally acceptable” decisions in order to integrate into his class without causing any suspicion.
- The Operative shall not allow his emotional instability and behavior affect his current narrative in this class.
- If classmates or faculty members end up as obstacles that interfere with the progress of this mission, he may proceed to neutralize said obstacles in any way he deems necessary, as long as terms of contracts do not get violated.
- The Operative must be the person that will eliminate the target. If that does not occur, the mission will be seen as invalid. Corrective actions will be enforced otherwise.
It is necessary to oblige every order of HQ superiors, including corporeal purposes that deem for enhancements.
Nagisa abruptly stopped reading for a second. A certain thought creeped into his mind that prevented him from continuing to read the paragraphs on the papers. But he quickly distracted himself by rereading the guidelines over and over, not turning to the next pages. Something stopped him from doing so.
The fourth guideline stood out to him the most. Could he really kill one of his classmates in order to complete the mission if they truly end up standing in his way? He isn’t that close to them anyway. Sure, he’d call Sugino and Kayano his friends. Close friends, even. Maybe Nakamura, too? She sits right next to him. Although she mostly teases him about his appearance and they don’t really hang out a lot after class like he does with the other two. So he is close to at least two individuals in that class. He does speak to the others of course, but it’s rather occasionally and almost only about school stuff. But it’s not like he disliked any of them.
Well… except for Okajima. And Terasaka isn’t the nicest guy, either.
He most likely wouldn’t find killing any of his classmates as pleasant as ending a stranger's life. There’s something in this class he related to a lot. The fact that they were mostly known for being the outsiders of this school reminded him of himself more than anything. He’s always lived in a way where he felt like he was watching himself doing things from another point of view. Things that felt out of place and surreal.
He hasn’t truly been anywhere that made him feel like he was at the right place. Maybe the E-class was a new start for him.
So, “eliminating” his classmates in order to get rid of the target? Probably out of question for now… even if he wasn’t that close to the others at the moment.
“Nagisa-kun, how are you feeling about this?”
Something doesn’t really add up here. Didn’t they sort of get the mission by the Ministry of Defense to assassinate this creature? Why was he supposed to sign a contract for the same thing?
“Those agents already gave us the same instructions. What’s this contract even worth?” He questioned, putting his chin on his hand, “I mean, there is a large head bounty on that octopus.. and I doubt you’d give me that amount of money for a mission like this, anyway.”
A more masculine voice came from the back, “Nagisa. I think you know this as well as I do,” he leaned forward in order to make eye contact.
“We’re very generous with the rewards you get for each mission, you know that, of course. It would be a shame if we didn’t treat you that way, especially since you came here to work voluntarily.”
Nagisa narrowed his eyes at the last word.
“The point is, you’re the only person in this building that is capable of killing that thing. We trust you, Nagisa. You’ve already done so much for us.”
The man turned his gaze to his left, facing Handler, signaling for him to participate in this conversation.
He huffed, trying his best to restrain himself from rolling his eyes.
“Kid. You have the best chances at assassinating your teacher. You’re gonna be sitting in the same room as him, every day. And he doesn’t even know about the amount of experience in ending someone’s life you have, no matter the method.”
Nagisa put his hand down on the table, his eyes widened a little.
Handler’s tone sounded like he didn’t want to say it out loud, but the fact he phrased it like that surprised him. The corners of his mouth slightly turned upwards. He looked away before Handler could see it.
“Well, do you understand the point of this now, Nagisa?” The man from before asked, a bit amused seeing his reaction to Handler’s words. “Are you ready to agree with our terms?”
Nagisa hesitated, staring at the guidelines he would have to follow. They were similar to the ones from his older contracts, but something didn’t feel right.
The man sighed. “…We’ll make sure your request system gets optimized again.”
“Wait. Does that mean—”
“Yes.”
Nagisa snatched a pen from some guy with black glasses next to him and immediately signed the contract. Relieved sighs echoed across the room. They all seemed weirdly pleased for some reason. But that didn’t matter to him right now.
He walked out the conference room with Handler, school bag on his shoulder again. It was lighter than before after he provided HQ with the materials they asked for. His pace fastened in order to walk right next to him. The redhead just wanted to disappear in his office.
“Isn’t that so cool?! I’m finally able to get the things I really want!”
“Within reason.”
”Yeah… But I’m still able to get more stuff now!”
Nagisa was already planning on what he was going to wish for. Maybe a machine gun that actually works properly and doesn’t die on him the second he tries to use it? And if he does get his hands on that thing, he might be able to rebuild it into something bigger and jumpscare Handler with it. Or maybe—
“Nagisa. It will be optimized according to the target.”
Huh?
“What?”
“You did read the whole print, right? Before you signed it,”
Oh.
“Um…”
Handler stopped walking. Nagisa did the same and turned to him. The tall man really couldn't believe what he just heard. “Are you kidding me?”
No reply.
Handler rubbed his hand against his face, lowered his head and sighed heavily. He dropped his shoulders, making his posture look more hunched than usual.
Nagisa felt his cheeks burn up out of shame, he glanced at the floor. He messed up again.
“Look. I’ll get you a copy of that contract, okay? This was a mess for everyone. Go do whatever you want. I don’t care. Go home or something. You’re dismissed,” Handler huffed out loud.
He watched him stalk away from him. Nagisa didn’t bother to follow him this time.
Handler was such a party pooper.
Was it even his fault for spacing out during that meeting? He planned everything out for today. The location, the time— everything. And then this octopus… ruined it all.
Now there really was something he very much wanted to do before he ended everything.
…Oh well.
Maybe some other time, then.