Retrouvailles

Once Upon a Time

The moon exploded into a crescent last night. Nagisa knew it wouldn't be long before the Assassination Classroom would open to its first chapter, and begin its wild adventures. It was only a matter of time. This is why he finds himself applying to be a teacher at Kunugigaoka Junior High, to join in on those adventures when the time is right, and perhaps change what shouldn't have occurred in his timeline.

Nagisa smiled kindly at one Asano Gakuho, who returned that smile with a handshake. He will do his best to join 3-E, not as a student, but as a teacher. He suppressed a grin. He couldn't wait.

"Give the students the education they deserve. I will stop by to check up on you, so do stay on your toes," The Principal squeezed his hand slightly as if it were a warning.
Nagisa squeezed back, causing the Principal's brow to twitch. "I will do my best, Principal. Thank you for having me."

This was only the beginning of his journey, as a former assassin and a present teacher in a timeline in which events never came to be. How he got there and why he'll never know. When he'll return if ever, it is not up to him. Nagisa can only live in the present and hope.... hope that this time... the story gets the ending it deserves.

***

It hurt to see them again. What hurt more was pretending to have never met them. "Good morning!" greeted Nagisa, doing his absolute best to keep a smile plastered onto his face. His ruby eyes scanned the class, only noticing a few of those excruciatingly familiar faces. His smile tightened. "Yamada Naho, that's my name. I don't mind you using my first or last name, just know Naho is less of a mouthful."

The majority eyed him with impatience, and honestly, Nagisa wanted to sigh. This was going to be a long year. "So!" His bubbly voice echoed throughout the silent class. "Let's begin, shall we?"

***

"Naho-Sensei, your teaching is rather slow, huh." Isogai approached him one lonely afternoon when the students were dismissed just moments ago. Nagisa lifted his eyes from the papers he stayed behind to grade, forcing himself not to flinch at the voice of his old friend.

"I think it's a reasonable speed, and it gives your classmates the time to breathe." Nagisa tucked a navy lock of hair behind his ear. "Do you think I'm delaying your studies?"

Isogai entered his field of vision, a guilty smile forming on his face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude." He chuckled softly. "It's just... compared to the other teachers..."

This time, Nagisa chuckled, a little louder than Isogai. "I'm doing it on purpose, don't worry. The reason behind that, if I taught at a faster speed, you'll be too focused on taking notes than on the actual material. What learning will you do then?"

Isogai's eyes widened and he seemed to have lost the ability to speak. Nagisa flashed him a smile before returning to his papers. The faster he got them over with, the faster his students will receive feedback. He kept an ear out as he worked. At some point, Isogai left, and Nagisa could finally drop the forced smile.

***

Hara approached him when class was over. If she stayed too long, she would be tardy for her next class period. Her eyes held no shine, and it hurt him to see the mother figure of the future E Class look so down.

"Ne, Yamada-Sensei..." her voice was small and her hand clenched around the strap of her bag. Nagisa narrowed his eyes in worry. "What's your opinion on fat people?"
Those words seemed to have struck a chord because Nagisa had to force himself not to demand who could possibly be picking on her. He sighed through his nose, keeping his anger in check. Fortunately, she didn't seem to have noticed.

"My opinion?" Despite speaking gently, the girl clenched her hand further. "My honest opinion?"

The girl nodded dejectedly.