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Kayano isn’t worried when Nagisa doesn’t show up for class early.
While yes, usually, he does—these past few days have been different. She wasn’t blind to Nagisa’s nerves surrounding the due date (God, she could not believe it). Recently, Nagisa had been showing up later and later. In general, actually, he’d been later than he usually would’ve shown up before he got pregnant. Or in the early stages, before anyone, even he himself, noticed.
Kayano supposed that a huge baby growing in you would make you a bit behind schedule.
However, that doesn’t mean Nagisa showed up actually late. Ever.
Usually he showed up early enough for him and her to have a nice conversation before class. Just a short thing, about the weather or about the lesson or, rarely, about his baby and how he was managing.
So today was unusual.
Where was he?
(Kayano had an idea, though she could barely stomach the thought).
However, she was a prized actress, so she barely let her nerves show through. Class passed with nobody really showing any sort of reaction to his absence. Except Korosensei, who hummed nervously (?) when Nagisa didn’t reply to rolecall, of course in his absence.
However, as the first class drew to a close, her nerves grew and grew and grew and she was worried she wouldn’t be able to conceal them anymore.
She couldn’t help herself. She turned to walk back to Karma, who seemed to always know Nagisa’s whereabouts. Who always showed up late but, recently, always showed up if only to check in on Nagisa.
He wasn’t there, either.
Oh my God.
Don’t freak out.
Her next best bet, Sugino.
So, she sauntered over.
“So… Have you heard anything from Nagisa today?”
Sugino jolted. Quickly, he looked around. And then, nearly conspiratorily, “Do you think it’s today?” he whispered. He even leaned forward when he whispered it.
Kayano shrugged, feigning calmness, though internally she was asking the same question to herself.
Nakamura seemed to be wondering the same. And she also seemed to be eavesdropping. Kayano nearly fell over when the full force of Nakamura’s weight barreled into her shoulders.
“You think he popped it out yet?”
“Nakamura!” Kayano yelped.
Then, Sugino responded. “I mean… Nagisa is never absent… But do you really think that he already… gave birth?” Sugino made a face at the end, as if the concept of picturing Nagisa—oh. Yeah. That’s a not-so-nice mental image.
“It’s about damn time,” a gruff voice sounded, Terasaka.
“I know right!” Maehara chipped in.
“Alright class,” Korosensei was suddenly behind the small group gathering, “Let’s not speculate…”
There was a pause.
Then, Korosensei broke.
“Oh! Who am I kidding! He’s never late, he’s absolutely in labor—Karma being gone as well confirms this. I wonder if he has everything he needs, do you think he packed a bag for the hospital? I should bring him some supplies!” Korosensei turned an odd sickly green, one that Kayano is sure Nagisa doesn’t have in his notes. “Oh—” Then, Korosensei began to make a weeping noise. “He must be in so much pain!”
The class watched deadpan as Korosensei covered his face with his tentacles and began quietly sobbing.
Then, before anyone could really react to their sensei’s near-breakdown, he composed himself.
“Well, I suppose we won’t be able to focus on the lesson today. So, how about—”
“—We go visit him right now?” Nakamura suggested.
Korosensei’s perpetual grin seemed to grow.
“How about we have a bit of a different lesson today.”
—
So that’s how Kayano found herself sitting back in her normal seat, forgoing an English lesson (To which Bitch-sensei only said “Works for me. Later, brats.”) to instead have…
Kayano grimaced.
Sex-ed.
“So, class. Who can tell me what we’re looking at?”
Maybe this should be taught by Bitch-sensei. Though, she’d probably focus more on the sex stories than the ‘-ed.’ It was just weird having Korosensei of all people teach it.
And, he remained his sickly green color throughout the whole lesson.
Isogai raised his hand. “A v-vagina, Korosensei?” Even he seemed to falter a bit in his words.
“A vulva, actually! See the vagina is actually just the—”
Kayano blocked it out.
She looked out the window, facing the permanent crescent moon. She felt a flash back to one of her first days here, when she pointed at the window to show off the moon to Nagisa. She was always excited when it was visible.
She hoped he was okay.
Suddenly, a very loud, yet familiar sound, went off from somewhere to her right.
And Korosensei’s tentacle was blasted off.
Kayano perked up again. Maybe this actually was interesting.
“Oh dear…” Korosensei mumbled.
“That actually worked?” Itona’s voice sounded
“I knew it! The teach’ is weak like this! He’s too nervous!”
“What did I say about shooting during a lesson, Terasaka!”
Terasaka only shrugged. “Got you, though, didn’t I?”
Korosensei just stared as he slowly regenerated his tentacle appendage.
“I suppose you did.”
The rest of the day was eventful.
The class spent the following few breaks (and, pointedly, not in class) making half-hearted assassination attempts, some of which came very close! Kayano couldn’t bring herself to participate, though, feeling a bit like a stranger watching from the outside. She knew the class forgave her, it’s been a bit now since her disaster of an attempt, anyway, but something about actually trying to assassinate Korosensei again filled her with some sort of dread.
So, she stuck back a bit.
But, even she noticed that the others seemed to have a similar feeling about assassinating Korosensei. They all seemed to hold this air of tense hesitation. The attempts that came close really could’ve done something, Kayano thought, but her classmates just didn’t have it in them anymore.
Finally, finally, classes for the day came to a close, as did the assassination attempts.
Nakamura, the resident troublemaker in Karma’s stead she was, piped up. “Alright, Korosensei, do you think Nagisa’s had this baby or not? C’mon, let’s go see how ugly it is!”
Korosensei’s perpetual grin seemed to grow, and he nodded as he donned a new disguise.
The whole class clamoured behind Nakamura. They were all anxious to see Nagisa and make sure he was okay. Or, well, that’s what Kayano was interested in. Though she couldn’t deny that she really wanted to see his new baby, too!
Shoving everyone onto one small train car was certainly an interesting move. It didn’t help that it was nearly rush hour when they got out of school, leaving an already crowded train car impossibly cramped. But, not one person didn’t want to check on Nagisa.
It filled Kayano’s heart with a light joy. Nagisa had so many people that cared for him.
Including her.
When they finally made it to the hospital, the receptionist was shocked to see them all walk through the doors. He hesitantly took their request and informed a nurse to go check in on Nagisa and ask if he was ready for visitors.
It feels like hours that they’re waiting there, and the nerves keep building and building inside of Kayano. What could be taking so long? Did something go wrong? Is he actively in labor?
But, before Kayano could spiral too far, the nurse comes back, confirming that they can go see Nagisa.
They’re led down wide, yet impossibly busy, halls. It feels convoluted, and Kayano isn’t sure she’d be able to get back out of the hospital on her own. However, finally, they reach the room.
“Now,” the nurse starts. He gives them all a pointed look. “He’s still recovering. So, please, be careful and don’t overwhelm him too much. Or the baby.”
Finally, finally, he opens the door, and they all clamour in. Immediately, Kayano gently pushes herself in and looks to the center of the room. Nagisa sits there, on the bed, looking absolutely wrecked. She feels a bit bad thinking like that about her close friend, practically insulting him in her head, but it was true! He looked absolutely exhausted.
Everyone around her spent their time cooing at the baby.
“How was it?”
“What’s its name?”
“‘It’? C’mon, man!”
“Did it hurt worse than getting kicked in the balls?”
Kayano nearly grimaced, they really oughta leave him alone—
Then, Korosensei spoke up: “You have to give them some space! No overcrowding the baby!”
Kayano noted that he took off the ridiculous disguise from before.
Immediately, like Nagisa was some sort of molten lava, everyone jumped back. Nagisa looked beyond relieved.
After a short moment where he seemed to be gathering his thoughts, he held up the baby. “Everyone, this is Akabane Daichi.” Kayano’s heart stuttered at the name.
Nagisa pulled back the cloth covering Daichi’s face.
He (at least, Kayano assumed they were a ‘he,’ given the masculine name) was actually kind of cute. But also… kind of ugly? His face was all squished up, though it looked calm in its own way.
Everyone around her seemed to be thinking about the same, gasping and cooing or, for a few, making an odd face.
Terasaka was the first to say anything: “How did you two make that?”
Karma slinked off of the bed, smiling devilishly. “You see, when two people like each other very much, they—“
Kayano grimaced immediately.
“He looks a lot like Karma,” Kataoka said.
Kayano was grateful for her cutting off Karma. They just escaped a sex-ed lesson, she wasn’t looking forward to more.
“But he’s so small, like Nagisa,” Maehara said.
Kayano couldn’t help but agree. He was very small, actually.
So much like Karma, though. Including the name.
She thought back to the name, swishing it around in her head, testing it out. She wondered why? Why ‘Akabane’ and not ‘Shiota’ when Nagisa and Karma weren’t even really together?
She supposed Nagisa never really liked his family name, anyway, so maybe it did make sense.
But, really, now she couldn’t confess, never in a million years. Nagisa’s child had Karma’s family name. They were really like a family.
Oh well.
She accepted when Daichi was handed to her.