Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

How did a highly trained group of assassins miss an entire underground group targeting and plotting against them? Ok, they were young, all being only about twenty-three or so, but there were signs they should not have missed. Only in retrospect did they realise they wanted to be found. He wanted to be found. Technically, he had his wish. His plan didn’t end how he’d expected, but he was pleased with the result, if only because of the pain he caused.

Nagisa Shiota looked up from his book and stared out the window. Eight and a half years after Korosensei slithered his way into the lives of Class-E and changed them forever, he was living a relatively normal life. His flat was on the fourth floor of a standard apartment building, where he’d lived for almost five years now. It was cheap and close to the school he worked at. Not a glamorous life, but a comfortable one. He was happy with it.

Momentarily forgetting his book, he took a moment to think back on his time in Class-E. Korosensei was long gone, and yet he remained one of the most influential people in Nagisa’s life. All their lives, really. He’d fallen out of touch with a lot of his old classmates, and a few of the ones he still talked to he scarcely did. Karma had remained one of his closest friends, at least, as had Kayano. He wondered how Isogai was doing, and if Maehara had found a long-term partner yet, and if Terasaka was still an idiot. This last thought made him smile to himself. At that moment, his phone rang from across the room. He hesitantly stood up, taking a quick, resentful glance at all the essays he had to mark for the following week. He grabbed his phone and answered. It was Karma.

“Hello?” Nagisa said. “Karma, why are you calling now? Don’t you have a meeting or something to be in?”

Karma’s calm, collected voice answered him. “Nah. Not at the minute. I called to ask if you wanted to come to a little reunion with some of our junior high friends. Not all of them, just the ones I could find, which isn’t that many if I’m honest. It’ll just be a small thing.”

Nagisa wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that. “Did you arrange it?”

“Sort of? I came up with the idea, but Isogai’s dealing with the technical stuff. More to the point, are you coming?”

“I guess.” Nagisa immediately realized how unenthusiastic he sounded. “I mean, I would love to, as long as it’s not during my work hours.”

“Don’t worry. We have it all figured out. Five o’clock in the afternoon this Saturday. It was tough finding a time that everyone was available, but we managed it. Between you and Isogai… Damn, I swear he never stops working. I’ll let him know you’re in.” he hung up quickly, presumably to call Isogai. Nagisa sat back down at his desk, glancing from his book to the stack of essays. ‘I guess I should get these marked…’ He thought, reaching for his pen.

The week went by without anything unusual happening. Nagisa’s class that year was more than a handful to work with, but he managed to keep them under control. It was the only time he really used what he learned as an assassin. The well-behaved kids loved him, the troublemakers less so. A few of the really bad students were afraid of him and his abnormal reflexes whenever they threw something at him, or his ability to seemingly hear every word they said. The only thing Nagisa really disliked about the school was the other teachers. He was so used to Korosensei, a philosophical teacher who was really trying to help you grow as a person by learning from his own mistakes; or Karasuma, who always knew exactly how you could improve and how to help you get there. Everyone else seemed so… ordinary. Just regular people looking for a job with nowhere else to go.

At around half past four on Saturday, Nagisa started to head towards Karma’s house, the planned venue for the reunion. He’d been a few times, so he knew just how big it was. Karma was rich now, and practically lived in a mansion. Nagisa felt that a strong correlation between height and wealth was beginning to present itself. He wondered who else would be there. Karma hadn’t been able to get a hold of a large percentage of the class, which was somewhat surprising. The only thing Nagisa knew for sure was that Isogai would be coming, which meant Maehara probably was too. To him, the most unusual thing was that no one could contact Kayano. Nagisa had met up with her only Wednesday, but since then she hadn’t answered her phone, so no one knew if she was coming or not.

Nagisa arrived at Karma’s house at exactly five o’clock, where he was greeted at the door by his red-haired friend. He was wearing a suit, perhaps a little overdressed for a class reunion. Nagisa himself was wearing a white shirt and blue waistcoat, not unlike his old school uniform.

“Nagisa! Right on time.” Karma said, gesturing at him to come inside. If he didn’t know better, Nagisa would’ve sworn his house was bigger than the last time he saw it. “Did you find your way here alright?”

“Yeah. Though I’m sure I spent more time walking from your front gate to your front door than from my house to your front gate.”

“By your house I assume you mean your apartment?” Karma said with a smirk.

Nagisa sighed. “How very Karma-like of you.”

“Thanks. I try my best.” As they spoke, Karma led Nagisa through the house to a large living room. There he saw that someone had come early. There was no one sitting down – Karma had several large sofas, all red – but standing in the corner was a dark-haired young man in a formal blue jacket, a slightly faded grey shirt, and dark brown pants.

“Isogai!” Nagisa said, recognising him immediately as their old class rep. Although they’d more or less stayed in touch, Nagisa hadn’t seen him in person for years.

“Hey, Nagisa. It’s good to see you again.” He said, shaking Nagisa’s hand.

“How have you been? Are you the only other one here so far?”

“I’m good, thank you. What about you?” Nagisa nodded. “And yes, I think I was the first to arrive, though you never know with our class. For all I can tell, there could be any number of people hiding here.” He spoke with a kind and friendly tone, but Nagisa couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Behind his voice, he didn’t seem as spirited as usual. Nagisa wanted to ask him about it, but at that minute he heard the loudest ‘Yee haw’ imaginable, a sound he would later realise was the doorbell. It made an unconventional system, to say the least. Karma disappeared for a few minutes and returned with Kimura behind him. He was dressed in a police officer uniform.

“Sorry if I’m a few minutes late. I came straight from work. There was a complication and a few of us stayed behind to sort it out.” He said, greeting Nagisa and Isogai. “Karma, do you know if anyone else is coming?”

“Hayami and Chiba, I think. Terasaka might come as well, but that depends on if he remembers.”

“No one else?” Nagisa asked. There was silence for a minute, then another yee haw. This time, Karma came back with Hayami and Chiba, who both looked like something out of an edgy music video with their black coats. When they took them off, it lessened the effect, but Nagisa felt they could’ve lightened up a little. Chiba wore a deep blue shirt and dark pants, while Hayami wore a white ruffled blouse and black pants.

“It’s great to see you guys.” Isogai said. Once again, he seemed to be simultaneously happy that they came and sad about something. While Hayami and Chiba spoke – if you can call the occasional comment speaking – to the others, Nagisa tried to figure out why.

It wasn’t that Isogai seemed unhappy. As far as Nagisa could tell, he was genuinely enjoying the reunion. Whenever there was a break in the conversation, however, his mind seemed to drift to something worrying or unpleasant. It was only by thinking back to times when they saw each other more often that Nagisa realised what the problem could have been. Isogai hardly went anywhere without Maehara. They were inseparable, so… where was he?

Nagisa was snatched from his thoughts as the doorbell rang yet again, if you could call it ringing. This time he followed Karma to the door.

“Really? That’s your doorbell?” He asked as they walked through the corridors.

“As of yesterday, it is. I like to change it up every now and then.” Karma said, which gave him more questions than answers.

It was now almost twenty past five and anyone else who might come was officially very late. That very late someone happened to be Terasaka.

“So, you did remember to come! You might be twenty minutes late but you came!” Karma said in his special amused-crossed-with-condescending tone.

“Don’t patronize me!” Terasaka shouted back. Nagisa took a minute to reflect on how little he’d changed from their days at Kunugigaoka. Karma, too, hadn’t changed at all. Eight years may have passed, but they were still the same people. When Karma finished antagonizing Terasaka, the three of them went back to the others.

“Is this everyone?” Nagisa asked when they were all in the same room. He glanced around, counting in his head. “There are only seven of us. Where could everyone else be?”

“Busy?” Karma suggested. “We have lives now. I guess it’s possible some of them aren’t interested, too.”

“That doesn’t fit everyone, though.” Isogai said, shaking his head. “I have no idea where Maehara is. I spoke to him a few days ago, and he seemed interested. We meet up almost every day, but I haven’t seen him since Thursday. He isn’t answering his phone, either. I’m worried something may have happened to him.” As he spoke, his face changed from confusion to concern, and then to fear, and Nagisa knew that he was right about Isogai’s solemn mood.

“You’re right.” Hayami said. “Simply not turning up? That doesn’t sound like him.”

“If he was the only one not here, then it would be different. We’re talking three quarters of the class.” Kimura said.

“This doesn’t really feel like a reunion party, guys.” Karma said, breaking into the conversation.

“Well, it’s kind of hard to get into a party spirit when your old class rep is sulking in the corner.” Terasaka said, but when he saw the look on Isogai’s face, he quickly continued. “Oh, Damn! Sorry if that came out the wrong way. I didn’t mean you’re getting in the way of anything.”

“No, It’s ok. You don’t have to worry about me.” Isogai said, putting a slight yet strangely painful smile on his face. “Like you said, I don’t want to get in the way.” For a while after that, Isogai wouldn’t join in with anyone else, instead opting to sit aside in heavy silence. Eventually, he started speaking to Hayami and Chiba, but about what Nagisa did not know. It ended up being a strange party, but it was to be expected. After all, they were at Karma’s house. Or rather, Karma’s mansion. Not long after eleven o’clock, Terasaka became the first to leave. He was followed soon after by Kimura, who had work the following day. After Isogai left, Hayami and Chiba figured there was no point in sticking around. Nagisa left last, still thinking about the strange loss of contact with the rest of his old class. Knowing that he’d hate himself in the morning if he lost sleep over it, he decided it was a thought for another day.

Chapter Text

All things considered, Isogai had a genuinely good time at the party. Still, he was more than ready to go home by the time it was over. He was exhausted, though it was more of a weariness than a straight up tiredness. He just wanted to sleep for a while and forget his worries about Maehara, though he knew that second one wasn’t going to happen any time soon. It was then, on his way back to his apartment, that he really thought about his friend. If there was something seriously wrong, wouldn’t someone have reported it to the police? But if they did, then Kimura would have known. And yet something must have happened. Maehara just wasn’t the sort of person to disappear on a whim. Isogai knew that he must have been in trouble somehow.

When he arrived at his apartment, he reached to unlock the door. He then discovered that it was closed, but not locked. ‘Strange. I was sure I locked this.’ he thought to himself. It was with extreme caution that he opened the door and advanced into the apartment.

He didn’t dare turn on the light. He knew he was probably just being paranoid. People forget to lock doors sometimes. But something was gnawing at him, and pumping adrenaline through his body. It was like hearing a noise outside after watching too many crime documentaries, and he knew far too well what that felt like.

He slowly made his way through the apartment, as much on high alert as he could be. Before he took even two steps into the kitchen, he felt something jerk him backwards. The next thing he knew, he was struggling in a headlock.

Automatically using the skills he learned so long ago, back in Class – E, he broke out of the headlock and tried to analyse the situation. He was unarmed, and didn’t know what his attacker had up their sleeves. Before he could make a move, he was struck with enough force to knock him over and his head smacked on the hard, cold floor. Though he was, for the most part, focusing on whether he had cracked his skull or not, he caught a glimpse of his attacker. Male. A fairly large build, and dark hair that clearly hadn’t been cut recently. Not likely to be anyone he knew. He jumped up and tried to formulate a plan. Any sort would do. He remembered that there was a knife he’d washed and left on the counter to dry earlier. There was a good chance it was still there. Sure enough, when he snuck a look in the dark room, he saw it not far from where he was standing. He grabbed it and instinctively swung it as a warning. His attacker seemed unfazed at first, but after Isogai almost stabbed him in a counter attack, he began to lose his nerve. It was odd. He didn’t look surprised, but strangely acquiescent, as though he’d drawn some proverbial short straw.

Isogai tried to focus on his movements as well as those of his attacker. ‘I don’t want to kill him, just scare him off. I can stab him if it comes to it, but first I need to try without touching him.’ He thought. Any time the assailant made to strike him, he countered with the side of the knife or his bare hands. Eventually, however, the man managed to land a hit. He punched Isogai in the stomach so hard he almost vomited. He took a second to recover and plan. ‘Damnit, this guy is strong. I need to find the right time to attack.’ He thought, and it was then that he noticed the opening he so desperately needed. Clutching his stomach with one hand and gripping the knife in the other, he advanced on his attacker. He just needed one strike…

He stood up as straight as he could and stood in front of the man who attacked him. His face was still only partially visible in the terrible lighting. Then Isogai sprang forward and brought the knife to the man’s face, cutting his cheek. It wasn’t deep, but it was enough to scare him. Before Isogai could stop him, he ran from the kitchen, opened a window, and landed on one of the neighbors’ cars, if the sound of the alarm was anything to go by. He was gone, leaving Isogai with a headache, a large, painful bruise on his stomach, and a lot of questions.

-----

Sitting down with a couple pieces of toast, Nagisa turned on the TV, where the channel was automatically set to the news. He was about to switch to something more exciting, because damnit, he wanted to watch Antiques Roadshow, when the headline caught his eye. It was another ‘Breaking News’ story. While he wasn’t a big fan of the news, he did like to have half-decent knowledge on anything drastic or topical. But it was more than his general liking for important events that prevented his changing the channel. The headline read ‘Man fights off home intruder!’ Nagisa turned up the volume and listened. He’d never heard of the intruder ending up worse off than the victim.

“Last night, a twenty-three-year-old man returned to his apartment to find a mysterious assailant waiting for him. After he was attacked in his kitchen, the man is thought to have grabbed a chef’s knife and lightly injured his attacker, who quickly fled the scene. Authorities have not yet been able to positively identify the culprit, but blood traces left on the knife may help to further the case. Nothing was stolen from the scene, and no other obvious motives for the crime were found. The victim escaped relatively unharmed from the attack with only mild bruising. It is unknown at this point if authorities will launch a full investigation.”

The news report now moved on to show a correspondent standing at the crime scene: an apartment not unlike Nagisa’s in structure and size, but tidier and themed around paler colors. He thought the furniture looked a little cheaper, too. As the camera panned around the room, the correspondent started to speak.

“The break in is believed to have happened somewhere between midnight and one o’clock this morning. I’m here with Yūma Isogai, the victim of the attack.” Hearing the name, Nagisa stopped, his toast quite forgotten. Yūma Isogai? Surely it couldn’t be his friend, but then again, was it that common a name? His eyes shot up to the screen. He wasn’t sure how it was possible, but standing there on screen was the old Class-E representative himself. He seemed slightly flustered, or maybe confused, but it was hard to tell. Either way, he looked tired. Not just a little worn out either, but ready-to-pass-out tired. It wasn’t likely he’d slept after the break in.

Nagisa tried to comprehend what it meant. Isogai was assaulted in his apartment. It didn’t make sense. How could someone break into his apartment? Why? Was he alright? Was it in any way related to the lack of connection with the other students? Nagisa had many questions, and would have been there all day just thinking about them if he didn’t want to actually listen to the story.

“If you wouldn’t mind sharing, what was the experience like?” The newsperson said, starting to interview Isogai.

“Well, I entered my apartment at around midnight, and I noticed that the door was unlocked. It struck me as very odd at the time and I moved forward with some hesitation. As it turns out, there was someone waiting for me in the kitchen. As soon as I came in, he grabbed me from behind and put me in a headlock. I managed to grab a knife and strike him as lightly as I could, and he jumped out of the window before I could do anything to stop him.” Isogai said.

“How do you feel this has affected you personally?”

“Nothing was taken, but I will be busy for a while getting everything back to normal. I guess I’ll have to work for longer hours to support my family.”

“And how do you feel about it?”

“I… I can’t see why anyone would commit a random crime. I’ve never met the man before.” Isogai was a well-spoken man, the best in Class-E. The interviewer, however, seemed to be pushing for some emotional response about how this was going to affect him for the rest of his life, and he knew it. But it’s hard to explain to someone that you went through more intense times as a fifteen-year-old, all with as much emotional struggle as a brick wall. This wouldn’t be held by Isogai as a weight on his shoulders for years as it might for some people. This was the first thing that became apparent as the interview went on. The second thing was that Isogai did not believe this was a ‘random crime’ as he told the reporter. Nagisa had to admit, it didn’t fit right. Break into a locked apartment and attack the guy when he comes back, only to leave without taking anything? It wasn’t likely.

The news reporter wrapped up by expressing the need among the public to take measures to stop similar crimes from occurring before handing back to the main studio. Just like that, the broadcast was over and they moved on to some story about the latest political struggles. Having seen what he needed, Nagisa turned the TV off and contemplated the situation in near silence, the only sound being that of him eating his toast, which was now considerably colder.

-----

“What happened last night?” Nagisa asked over the phone. It was now around midday, and he figured it was about time to call Isogai.

“You saw the news broadcast from this morning then? I get it, break ins are interesting, but everyone made such a big deal. I got the impression they were just after a sob story.”

“Any idea who this guy was? Or why he broke in to your apartment? No offense, but I’m not exactly sure what they’d want from there.”

“None taken. In fact, I couldn’t agree more. Whoever he was, he wasn’t there to steal. Judging by his lack of weapon, there was no way the plan was to murder me, even if he wasn’t a professional. I suppose it could be a contract thing, but that sparks the same problem.” Nagisa couldn’t believe how casually Isogai was talking about the possibility of some hitman trying to kill him.

“so why was he there?”

“That’s where things get interesting, though I would like to speak to you and the others in person, if you don’t mind. You wouldn’t be busy at four, would you?”

“Nope. I’ll tell Karma. I guess I’ll see you at four?”

By four o’clock, the seven ex-classmates from Karma’s party were gathered around the slightly worn coffee table in the center of Isogai’s living room. Nagisa, Karma and Terasaka took the sofa while Kimura dragged over a chair from the dining room. Hayami and Chiba claimed to be quite comfortable sitting on the floor. Isogai was standing and occasionally paced around the room, deep in thought.

“Sorry if this is an obvious question, but why the hell did some idiot break into Isogai’s apartment last night?” Terasaka asked, crossing his arms from his spot on the sofa.

“I’d look in the mirror before you start calling people ‘idiot’ if I were you.” Karma said, laughing at his own joke.

“Not the time guys.” Isogai said quickly. “This is a serious matter. I’ll get right to the point: I don’t think it was a simple break in.” Everyone in the room looked at him then, if they hadn’t been already.

“You mean there’s something bigger going on?” Kimura asked. He looked like he could fall off his chair any minute now.

“I don’t know for certain, but I have a pretty good idea. I think it was made fairly clear theft wasn’t on the agenda, and I doubt murder was either. Think about it. The guy who attacked me was unarmed, he relied on hand-to-hand combat to take me down. If he was capable of killing like that, I’d be dead already.”

“So… why?” Nagisa asked, trying to see where Isogai was going. He obviously had something figured out already.

“If my hypothesis is correct, and I’m not saying it is, I think the idea was to kidnap me.”

No one said anything for a while after that. Kimura really did fall off his chair then. Hayami and Chiba looked down, trying to figure out where the conversation would go from there. Terasaka seemed to be at an overall loss. Karma highly resembled a confused cat. Nagisa could barely process Isogai’s words, let alone what they could lead to.

“What would anyone have to gain by kidnapping you?” Chiba asked. It was the first thing he’d said since arriving at the apartment.

“Wow. That was rude.” Karma said. “Are you implying that Isogai isn’t worth kidnapping? I can feel the hurt from the other side of the room.”

“Karma, please. There are more important things happening right now. Besides, Chiba has a point. Why would someone go through the trouble of kidnapping me? It can’t be for blackmail, I’m not close enough to the right sort of people.”

“Are we sure this can’t be a random crime?” Hayami asked, though she didn’t seem too optimistic.

“A random kidnapping? What purpose would that serve?” Kimura said, crossing his arms. By now he was back on the chair, just as before if not for the bruise forming on his elbow. “And it must have been at least partially organized. You heard that he escaped quickly through the window, right? He had to have basic knowledge of Isogai’s apartment.”

“Wait, is it possible you know the guy?” Terasaka asked. “I mean, it wouldn’t be too crazy to believe. How else would they know what your apartment looks like?”

“I doubt it.” Isogai said, shaking his head dismally. “I only caught a glimpse of the man, but I didn’t recognize the face. I’m certain I would have had I known him. Besides, I haven’t had too many people over. The fact that they would have knowledge of the interior of my apartment is a good point to make. Other than you guys right now, I can only really remember inviting Maehara over, and I know for a fact it wasn’t him.” He slipped into deep thought, closing his eyes with his head tilted down. Suddenly, his head snapped up and he gasped. He was surprised, in a grim sort of way.

“What?” Chiba said.

“Did you remember something?” Nagisa asked straight after.

“We haven’t been able to contact our former classmates recently. Chiba was right, no one could possibly have any reason to kidnap me, unless I wasn’t the only one. Part of a bigger picture.” Isogai spoke quietly and fairly quick. “What if this is what happened to the others?”

“What? But… that’s crazy!” Kimura said.

“I know. I barely have anything concrete to base this off. Most of my evidence is circumstantial, but for the present it’s my only explanation. All the same, I think it’s best we get a second opinion on this. Mr. Karasuma should be able to help us. I’ll explain everything to him when I can.”

“Wow… kidnappers. That’s a new one.” Karma said. He sounded sort of dazed.

“It wouldn’t be the craziest thing we’ve ever heard.” Hayami said. She was most likely, Nagisa thought, thinking back to when their class first met Korosensei. Ok, it was different then, he was right in front of them. But how would you react to a large yellow creature with tentacles and a teacher’s robe walking into your classroom with nothing but ‘so… I’m the one who blew up the moon’ to say for himself? Really, kidnappers should be the most believable thing in the world for them by now. The thing was, Nagisa had only just settled into a normal life. Now his friend had almost been kidnapped. What did that mean for him?

-----

Only a few days had passed since the incident, but Isogai was ready to move on to more important measures. Not that he could, really. Not with people bombarding him with question after question. Most of them were people he only vaguely knew who had seen the report on the news. Neighbors, friends of friends… he even received a few calls from distant relatives, some of which he didn’t know existed, let alone how they knew his number. He was getting some sort of minor celebrity treatment, and he hated it. All he wanted was to get to the bottom of the incident, and find out how everything was connected. There had to be something, but as to what that was, he had no clue.

As he slipped into a coffee shop to escape a neighbor who was determined to aid the helpless victim he was made out to be, Isogai thought back to before he lost communication with his old classmates. He wanted to find some tell, a sign of strange behavior that might help link the pieces of his timeline together. No matter how hard he racked his brain, however, he couldn’t find anything. More evidence that whatever happened to them was similar to his own experience, he supposed, but that didn’t help him track the one – or perhaps many – behind it.

He was snapped from his thoughts as he realized he looked more than a little out of place standing inside the entrance of a coffee shop. Though he wasn’t hungry and didn’t usually drink coffee, he knew he’d seem slightly suspicious if he didn’t order something. The last thing he needed was for more people to stare at him.

When he was at the front of the line, he glanced up at the menu quickly. He didn’t have much change with him.

“I’ll… have a tall latte, please.” He said, though it came out as more of a question than a statement. After he found and handed over enough change, he sat down in the far corner of the building. There he would be able to think in peace. If only he had a hoodie with him. He wasn’t by any means a loner. Heck, he genuinely liked people, but too many of them knew his face for his liking.

He sat for a while, mulling over his options and what the best thing to do would be. He didn’t make any important decisions at that point, however, as his phone rang in his pocket. He grabbed it and checked the number. Resisting the urge to shout out, he answered. It was Karasuma. Did that mean he had discovered something?

“Hello? Mr. Karasuma?” He asked, unsure of what to expect.

“Isogai. Gather everyone from within your old class you think you can trust. We’ve had a major breakthrough. Believe me, you’re going to want to head down here immediately.”

Chapter Text

Nagisa was almost halfway through his book, the same one he’d been reading on the day he was invited to the party, when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. A text from Isogai. He wasn’t really the sort to text much, so Nagisa assumed it was important, as well as most likely relevant to whatever was happening.

11:54: Mr. Karasuma needs us at the police station. Bring Karma. I tried to text but he wouldn’t answer. I think his phone is dead.

‘Great. Well done, Karma.’ Nagisa thought. At a time when friends are disappearing, the first thing anyone who knew Karma would expect him to do was make sure he could get updates. Of course, there was always a possibility he’d lost it down the side of one of his many sofas, but it didn’t seem likely.

Nagisa sighed and put down his book. A few minutes later, he was on his way to Karma’s house. When he arrived, he quickly told a somewhat surprised Karma what Isogai had said. Not long after that, they were on their way to the police station.

They arrived to see Isogai standing outside, speaking to Karasuma. When the former class representative recognized them, however, he waved at them to come closer.

“I suppose Isogai told you we found something?” Karasuma said, addressing the two who had just arrived.

“Yeah, but of course he didn’t bother to tell us what. Is there a body you can’t identify or something?” Karma said, unwrapping a granola bar of all things.

“No. It’s nothing of that sort. Isogai explained the break in at his apartment, I assume? He was right to believe it was a part of something bigger, but we didn’t know what that meant until this morning. Come on, everyone else is already inside. You two came late.” At that last sentence, Nagisa gave Karma about as much of a death glare as he could before following behind Karasuma and Isogai.

Once inside, they were led down numerous corridors and through different doors until they came to a large room. One wall was entirely covered with what looked like metal blinds for some enormous window. Most likely, they led to an interrogation room. There, Hayami, Chiba and Kimura were waiting. The latter was in his uniform, and seemed to be filing a report, or something of the like. Although Nagisa missed him at first, Terasaka was in the back of the room, taking advantage of the apparently accurate stereotype regarding police officers and doughnuts.

“Um… Mr. Karasuma, sir?” Nagisa asked. He knew, of course, that Karasuma was no longer his teacher, but he still felt the need to address him as such. Besides, he was a man who deserved respect. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are we here?”

“I think Kimura is the best one to ask there. He is, after all, the reason we can even have this discussion.”

Nagisa, along with everyone else in the room, turned to face Kimura, who looked up quickly from his paperwork. There was silence for a few seconds.

“Well, are you going to tell us what you did or am I going to have to use my special hot sauce for information?” Karma asked, lifting a small bottle that had been hidden in his pocket. “I’ve been meaning to try it out. Sadly, whenever I give a choice, no one ever goes for the hot sauce.”

Kimura gave a disapproving sigh. “While out on patrol, I noticed one of the license plates on our record. I pulled over the car, and it turns out the man inside was wanted for assault. I did a bit of digging, and found that he’d already served multiple sentences and paid fines for assault, burglary, vandalism and so on. We had him arrested, and I assumed that was the end of it, but I couldn’t shake this weird feeling that I knew the guy. Then he started saying strange things about ‘revenge’ and ‘targets’. Some of the others interrogated him while I tried to sort out his record. I was surprised to find that he was imprisoned for attempted mass murder around eight or nine years ago, but got out on bail.

“You accidentally caught a major criminal?” Nagisa asked, but Karma missed the new tone of the conversation. Something else was on his mind.

“Attempted mass murder? How do you attempt mass murder?” He asked, tilting his head to one side. “Do you, like, poison the wine and get caught because the cyanide was out of date?”

“That’s the thing. You know the answer to that one.” Kimura said, sliding a piece of paper across the table towards him. Some police file. Nagisa thought his reply sounded a lot like something Korosensei would say, but his tone was much more grim than that of their old teacher. When he looked at the paper in front of him, however, it made sense. It was, in fact, a police file, a criminal profile to be exact. While it was the picture that initially shocked Nagisa, it was the name next to it that he really focused on. Akira Takaoka.

The ex-classmates collectively stood in silence as they processed what lay in front of them.

“So, the attempted mass murder you mentioned from eight years ago…” Terasaka started.

“Was that the time he tried to poison us?” Chiba asked in both a continuation of Terasaka’s comment and a question in itself.

“From what I can gather, it’s quite likely.” Kimura said. “Either way, we haven’t been personally listed in the report. Whether that’s good or bad is anyone’s guess. I do remember the mention, however,” he picked up the report as to read something off of it, pausing while he found the right line. “, of ‘several incidents regarding numerous unnamed students of Kunugigaoka Junior High School’, so I guess we have, at the very least, confirmation that he’s the same guy.” He shrugged. In the silence that followed, he picked up a file and put the report back inside.

“So… you captured him? That means you have him here, right?” Karma asked. He had a habit of voicing whatever was on his mind. Quite often, it was a thought shared by anyone else in the same situation.

“Yes. We have him here, though I think he’s being questioned at the minute. Why do you want to know? I can’t allow you to use your mustard trick on him or anyone else in custody.” Kimura said, crossing his arms.

“It’s hot sauce, not mustard.” Karma said, sticking the tip of his tongue out.

Kimura opened his mouth as if to continue, but a woman in a uniform came quickly into the room, almost knocking over a vase as she did.

“Karasuma, Kimura. Takaoka refuses to cooperate until he speaks with you. Them too.” She said, gesturing at Nagisa and the others. “He demands that you come immediately, unarmed and without backup.”

“What’s he playing at?” Karasuma asked, already at the door. Kimura went with him and the others, too confused to object, followed behind him.

Takaoka was being held in a relatively small room without windows, but CCTV cameras were placed in all four top corners in a way that made sure there were no blind spots. He was sitting in a wooden chair in the middle of the room with his wrists handcuffed in front of him. Nagisa thought it was odd that they wouldn’t be behind him, but then again, he wasn’t the expert.

“Well, we’re here. Are you happy now?” Karasuma said, standing upright with his back to the door. Takaoka smiled. He looked older than Nagisa remembered him, which he guessed made sense. He’d last seen him eight years ago, after all.

“Good. You brought him.” he said. He put emphasis on the word ‘him’ as he looked at Nagisa. Nagisa figured that if the phrase ‘if looks could kill’ were literal, that would have been the moment he died. Then again, with Karma around, it may very well have been sooner.

“Well?” Terasaka said. “Why the hell did you ask us to come here? How did you even know we were coming?”

“Before I tell you the answer to that, I have a little favor to ask.” Takaoka said. His tone was fairly normal, but his face was maniacal. “Turn off the cameras you have set up in here. I don’t want anyone else to see or hear what I’m going to tell you next.”

“If you think we’re just going to let you talk to us without outside supervision, you’ve got another thing coming.” Karasuma said.

“So. You don’t want to choose the easy way? I can offer an alternative, a ‘plan B’ if you will. But I’m throwing you a bone here. You’d be fools not to take it. Just quit while you’re ahead.” Karasuma sighed, and Nagisa was suddenly reminded of just how often their old teacher had to deal with this. He’d had plenty of practice, at least, and seemed unfazed by Takaoka’s attempt to gain control of the situation.

“The offer is appreciated, but no thank you.” Karasuma said. “In case you haven’t noticed, we aren’t on equal ground. You’re a criminal. You don’t get to call the shots.”

“Oh well. It was worth a try. Time for plan B, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He sighed, like he didn’t want to bother with ‘plan B’. Lazily yet almost before Nagisa could blink, Takaoka grabbed a concealed knife from his jacket and grabbed Hayami. He was still handcuffed, and his movements were awkward, but he somehow used that to his advantage, placing Hayami in a headlock with a knife to her throat. She had no time to even shout before he was done. For most of the others, it came about so quickly they hardly had time to think. All they could do was look on in shock. Karasuma gazed on, furious that he couldn’t do anything in that situation, but even he looked downright happy compared to Chiba. His fists were clenched and his jaw was locked up. Somehow, he radiated anger in a way that meant it didn’t matter whether his eyes were visible or not. Nagisa knew that he’d been friends with Hayami all through Kunugigaoka, but he wasn’t sure what it was like between them now. Nothing too negative, it seemed.

Takaoka grinned as he looked around at each person in turn. “You weren’t expecting that, were you? You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to hide a knife. Now do as I say and turn off the security cameras or I’ll stick it in her neck.” He looked right at Chiba as he continued. “What a shame that would be. She’s such a pretty girl.”

With some hesitation, Karasuma left the room, returning a few minutes later. Nagisa thought it would have been better for them if he formed some sort of plan, but the look on their ex-teacher’s face upon return and his lack of backup told them he had nothing. Takaoka had them right where he wanted them. Again.

“The cameras are off. They can’t record anything, video or sound. Now that you have your way, what do you want?” Karasuma asked. Takaoka released Hayami, who staggered back to the group and took her place next to a relieved Chiba.

“I want you to listen to what I have to say.” Takaoka said, addressing the group as a whole. “Your reunion was, in my humble opinion, the saddest I have ever seen. Only seven of you showed up, right? Not even the little green-haired girl thought to come. I bet you, brunette boy, were really confused when you couldn’t contact your friend. You know, the tallish one who liked soccer? I taught him an important lesson back when I was your teacher?” Isogai, who was, of course, the ‘brunette boy’, tensed up at the mention of Maehara. He opened his mouth as if to speak, possibly something about how kneeing someone in the stomach could possibly be translated as teaching an important lesson, but Karasuma stopped him.

“Wait. We don’t know what his plan is.” He said quietly.

“You haven’t been able to contact any of your old classmates recently, have you?” Takaoka continued. “Didn’t that seem a little odd? It’s not like they all disappeared. That would be crazy. They’re out there somewhere, and I know where that is.”

“What do you mean?” Nagisa asked.

“I can’t just tell you. It would be over too quick. Of course, I wanted a few more of you. I never got around to the girl, and that one put up a real fight, or so I’m told.” He gestured at Isogai.

“So, the dude that attacked Isogai in his apartment was your guy?” Terasaka asked.

“Of course! It took you that long to figure it out?” He laughed, a horrible, twisted laugh. “Here’s the thing: I hate you brats with every inch of my being. You have me locked up, right? I’m in the police station! If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that as long as you guys are breathing, I won’t stop at anything to end you. I don’t give a damn about your laws or system!”

Karasuma turned to Kimura. “Could you escort everyone outside? There are a few questions I need to ask Takaoka.” Their ex-teacher sounded uncharacteristically concerned. Kimura nodded, and led his old classmates out through the various corridors they came in from and out to the front door. By that time, the sun was starting to set, but there was still plenty of light left.

“Can everyone get home alright? Do you need a ride?” Kimura asked. At first, everyone politely declined, but then Karma changed his mind. Nagisa figured he was taking advantage of a free ride.

He got back to his apartment later than he expected. Thinking about what Takaoka said had slowed his pace considerably. Almost as soon as he got back, he had dinner and went to bed.

The next morning, he woke up slowly. Rolling onto his left side, he grabbed his phone. The minimum screen brightness still came as a shock to his dark-adjusted eyes, and it took a minute of strain before he actually looked at the screen. He had three missed calls from Kimura, all in quick succession at around four in the morning. What could have been that important? Then again, Nagisa didn’t think anything would come as a surprise. Not with everything that had happened in the last few days. He sent Kimura a quick text to let him know he’d seen the calls.

6:47: Hey. What happened? I only just woke up. What are you doing up at four?

He didn’t get an immediate reply, instead receiving another call a few minutes later.

“Sorry, I forgot that not everyone wakes up at the same time as me.” Kimura’s voice came from the other end of the phone.

“What was so important that you had to call three times?” Nagisa said. Under other circumstances, he would have said it as a joke, but he was worried. What could have happened?

“Right… that. We have a problem. When I got into work this morning, I… Takaoka is missing.”