Chapter Text
The mountain air drifted through the open wooden windows, carrying with it the sharp scent of cedar and the endless, droning hum of summer cicadas. Its a hot day, a hot sticky day.
Nagisa Shiota rested his chin in his hand, idly tapping the end of his pencil against his notebook. His mind wasn't on the English dialogue scribbled across the blackboard nor was it on his teacher’s words. Instead he was still fixated thinking about yesterday, about the sudden, terrifying arrival of Lovro a deadly assassin who had gotten the first real hit on Korosensei and with it the brutal reality check Irina had received, and the surprising way she had pushed through it to stay as their teacher.
It felt like the class had shifted slightly after that. They weren't just treating her like an annoying extra anymore; she was an actual assassin, even if Terasaka had permanently stuck her with that ridiculous nickname. Bitch-sensei. The name had spread through the classroom like wildfire the moment Terasaka barked it out yesterday, and despite her screaming at them, it had somehow turned into an odd sort of middle ground between the class and their foreign instructor.
Nagisa llamentably wasnt really all that focused yesterday though not after korosensei had mentioned going to see the newest Sonic Ninja Movie, a bad memory for the blue haired boy. He knew what happened and the aftermath but he had to get most of the events from Sugino’d dramatic retelling on the way home that night.
At the front of the room, Irina clicked her tongue, tapping a manicured nail against the podium. "Alright, listen up. We’re going over subtle inflection in conversational English. If you can't blend into a conversation naturally, you’ll never get close enough to a target to pull a trigger."
Nagisa’s gaze drifted back toward the window. The path leading up from the main campus was mostly dirt and loose gravel, cutting through the thick trees. Down near the tree line, movement caught his eye.
Two figures were walking up the slope.
One was clearly Karasuma - sensei, his posture stiff and formal as always, suit jacket immaculate despite the midday heat. However it was the person walking beside him that made Nagisa freeze.
The second figure was smaller, wearing the standard Kunugigaoka middle school uniform, beside a black jacket replacing the blazer, the figure’s hands were jammed deep into the pockets of a dark jacket. He kept close to Karasuma’s side, unusually close, almost using the agent's broad frame as a shield against the open air. A head of bright, messy red hair caught the sunlight through the canopy.
Nagisa’s breath caught in his throat. Karma?
He leaned slightly closer to the glass, his heart hammering against his ribs. It had been nearly a year since Karma had vanished from school during their second year. Nagisa had tried calling him back then, texting him, even stopping by his house once, only to be met with locked doors and complete silence.
God he missed karma so much, he was his first ever friend and he just… he just left in second year. No one knew what happened to him, no one really cared beyond being happy and excited. Nagisa wasn't happy.
Nagisa didn't understand how people could be happy that a kid had disappeared with no trace and no one caring.
Nagisa had been distraught.
Before the teen could fully process what he was seeing, the classroom door slid open.
Karasuma stepped inside alone the smaller figure having disappeared off into the staff room. He didn't wait for Bitch - sensei to finish her sentence; instead he held up a hand, silently signaling for her to pause.
Irina frowned, crossing her arms. "Karasuma? We're in the middle of a lecture." She scowled.
"Wrap it up early," Karasuma replied calmly, though his eyes scanned the room with a sharp, protective intensity that instantly quieted the surrounding desks. "I need a moment before the next period starts."
The class perked up, sensing the shift in energy. Sugino turned around in his seat, shooting Nagisa a puzzled look, but Nagisa kept his eyes locked on Karasuma. Praying.
"We are adding a returning student to Class 3-E today," Karasuma announced, his voice flat and unyielding. "He will be joining you for Korosensei’s period next."
A wave of low murmurs broke out across the rows.
"A returning student?" Isogai asked, tilting his head. "We havent had anyone missing from E class have we? Who is it sir?"
"Akabane Karma," Karasuma replied.
The name hit the room like a sudden drop in pressure. Terasaka scoffed loudly, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest. "Great. That violent psycho? What, did he finally exhaust his suspension?"
“I thought he was expelled?”
“Wasnt he arrested?”
“I though he was in jail?”
"Watch your tongue, Terasaka, everyone." Karasuma snapped, his voice dropping into a register that made half the room flinch. "I am going to make this extremely clear to all of you once, and I expect every single person in this room to follow it without exception."
The sharp edge in Karasuma's tone shocked the class into absolute silence. Even Irina straightened up, her blue eyes narrowing as she picked up on the sudden gravity.
"Akabane has been away for the past year due to severe personal circumstances," Karasuma continued, his gaze sweeping across the rows of students. "He is returning under strict supervision. There will be no raised voices directed at him. There will be no physical crowding, no cornering him, and no invasive questions about where he has been. If any of you intentionally distress him or attempt to provoke him into a fight, you will be removed from this classroom immediately. Understand?"
Nagisa’s chest felt tight, a cold knot forming in his stomach. Personal circumstances? Provoke him into a fight? The Karma Nagisa remembered was the one who started fights, the one who walked into a room like he owned it, laughing in the face of authority. Why was Karasuma talking about him like he was fragile?
The sliding door opened wider, and Korosensei drifted into the room from the side hallway. His yellow target-face wasn't wearing its usual goofy grin or bright green stripes. It was completely plain, his tentacles held still against his robes.
"Mr. Karasuma speaks the truth," Korosensei said softly, his voice lacking its usual theatrical high pitch. "Akabane-kun is under our direct care. I expect Class 3-E to act as a safe environment for him. Treat him with respect, give him his space, and let him adjust at his own pace."
Korosensei looked directly at Nagisa for a fleeting second before turning his head back to the rest of the room.
"Class is dismissed for a short break," Korosensei added quietly. "Prepare yourselves for the next period. Akabane-kun will take his seat when the bell rings."
All of the students filter out of the classroom gossip, questions and murmurs following along with them.
…
RING!
RING!
RING!
The chime for the next period echoed through the mountain air, cutting through the uneasy chatter that had filled the hallway during the break. Nagisa was the first one back through the door, his heart pounding against his ribs like a trapped bird.
However as he stepped across the threshold, he stopped dead in his tracks his body freezing unable to even breathe in.
Karma was already there.
He was sitting in his new spot, the back right corner of the classroom, right next to the window and beside Terasaka’s desk. But he wasn't lounging back with his feet kicked up on the desk like he used to in their first and second years. Instead he sat stiffly, his legs drawn tightly together under the wooden frame, his hands clenched tightly in the oversized sleeves of his black jacket.
Karasuma wasn't sitting at the back wall like he usually did during Korosensei’s lessons. He was standing directly beside Karma’s desk, one hand resting on the back of Karma's chair in an unyielding, protective stance.
As the rest of Class 3-E trickled in, the room fell into a heavy, suffocating quiet. Every eye darted to the back corner.
"Holy shit..." Terasaka muttered under his breath as he reached his seat next to Karma. He hesitated, looking at Karma as if he was looking at a ghost.
Karma didn't look at him. In fact, Karma didn't look at anyone. His golden eyes were glued to the wooden grain of his desk, his breathing fast and shallow. Nagisa could see the subtle tremble in Karma's shoulders, the sharp line of his collarbone visible under his loose shirt. He looked frail - frighteningly so.
"Take your seats, everyone," Korosensei said softly, gliding into the room from the teacher's door. The bright yellow tentacles moved with none of their usual comedic speed, staying low to the floor so as not to make a sudden rustling sound.
Nagisa slid into his chair, which was just one row ahead and to the side of Karma’s. As he sat down, Nagisa gently turned his head, keeping his voice as quiet and soft as possible.
"Karma?"
Karma’s eyes snapped up instantly. The raw, animal panic in his golden pupils was heartbreaking. He looked like a cornered animal preparing to be hit. But when his gaze landed on Nagisa's blue hair and familiar face, the sheer terror flickered, replaced by a sudden, overwhelming wave of recognition.
Karma's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. His lips parted, trembling slightly, but no sound came out. Instead, he pulled his hands slightly out of his sleeves and gave Nagisa a tiny, microscopic nod, his fingers clutching at the edge of his desk.
Beside him, Karasuma placed a heavy, reassuring hand on Karma’s shoulder. Nagisa watched as Karma didn't flinch away from Karasuma - in fact, the red-haired boy visibly relaxed just a fraction under the agent's grip, leaning into the contact like a lifeline.
What happened to you, Karma? Nagisa thought, a tight, painful knot twisting in his chest as he turned back to the front. What did they do to you?
"Alright, class," Korosensei began, his face morphing into a gentle, subdued green-and-yellow circle. "Let us begin today's fifth-period mathematics..."
For the rest of the hour, no one tried to shoot Korosensei. No one pulled out anti-sensei BBs or hidden knives. The classroom was completely silent, every student hyper-aware of the small, quiet boy sitting at the back under the guard of a government agent and an assassin monster.