Chapter Text
Shiota Nagisa was sleepless. Under the soft lights of his bedroom, he lay prone on his bed, begging for sleep to come. No respite came, and his eyes remained wide open.
Nothing else to do, Nagisa took the notepad lying on his desk. It was the notepad he used to document all of Koro-Sensei's weaknesses. Flipping through it, all of the past year's memories slowly began flooding back. Allowing himself a small smile, Nagisa continued reliving his old memories. Each page replayed a happy moment during last year, a moment forever kept within him. Joyfully reminiscing about the past year, the young boy turned the pages carefully.
The notes didn't end at 37. At some point in time, Nagisa had begun writing down various observations about his fellow classmates as well. These observations ranged from glaringly obvious (Chiba works best at long range ) to surprising (Terasaka has a soft spot for nerds) . Going through these memories, the small smile had turned into a wistful grin as he recalled everything. Suddenly, a name he saw gave him pause.
Kaede Kayano
That's not right. Taking out the pen attached to the notepad, he quickly scratched out the old name, replacing it with Akari Yukimura. Satisfied, Nagisa's eyes wandered down the list. Hates large breasts, can't swim, loves pudding… These were all traits from before she had revealed herself as Akari. Satisfaction quickly waning, doubt began to creep into Nagisa's mind. Even when she had revealed herself to them as Akari Yukimura, Kayano's personality hadn't changed at all. Could it all just be another act? But there's no reason to act anymore… Right?
Groaning to himself, Nagisa's head slammed back down onto his pillows. It looks like tonight was going to be another sleepless night, after all.
"... and that's why I called you." Stifling a yawn, Nagisa spoke into the phone. Sunlight was shining through the windows, morning arriving far too slowly for his taste. Sleep had been elusive last night, with speculation and doubts running rampant through his mind. Even when he had finally dropped off, his dreams had been plagued by thoughts of Kayano, which was something Nagisa thought only happened in bad movies. As soon as he possibly could, Nagisa had dialled the first person he thought of for help. Words fading into a blurry rush, he quickly explained the situation.
“Heh. It’s about time you wisened up.” The wry voice of Karma Akabane came out over the phone.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Nagisa was taken aback by the unexpected response. He had expected some teasing, but there was a strange bitterness in Karma’s voice.
“The girl’s been lying to us for the better part of an entire year, and you’re only wondering who she really is NOW? You’ve really outdone yourself in density this time, Nagisa.”
“Come on, Karma… You know the last few months were intense. I didn’t really get time to think about what happened back then.” Nagisa sheepishly tried to defend himself, to no avail. “Wait… Does this mean you never trusted Kayano?”
“After her little incident out on that field? Never have. Getting lied to and manipulated for several months does that to you.” Karma’s voice held a caustic tone, and Nagisa could almost imagine the little smirk on his face. “Hell, if our roles were switched out on that field…” His voice drifted off.
The message was as clear as broad daylight. I would have let her die.
“Karma…”
“All I’m saying is that she’s lucky you were there. And hey, you were also pretty lucky yourself. Stealing a kiss right when she least expected it… Looks like Maehara’s got competition, huh?” With casual ease, Karma steered the conversation away from the uncomfortable topic.
“Karma! You know there wasn’t any other way!” Nagisa’s face began to heat up.
“Keep telling yourself that, Casanova. We both know what’s really been going on in that head of yours.” Smug little snickers echoed out the phone as Nagisa struggled to come up with a witty comeback.
“You know what, just forget it. I’ll just ask someone else for help…”
“Who said I wasn’t helping?”
“But… I thought you didn’t trust Kayano?”
“I don’t. And after her little stunt, I doubt I ever will. Unlike you, Okuda or the rest of the class, I don’t exactly forgive easily. Unfortunately for me, though, both of you decided to befriend Kayano, so I’m obliged to keep her around. I might as well find out a little bit more about her if she’s gonna stick around.” Karma’s voice held the same guarded tone to it, but there was a passing hint of curiosity. “Plus, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in what’s behind her pretty little mask.” He added on as an afterthought.
“That’s… great?” Nagisa was puzzled. On the one hand, it was great that Karma was going to help him learn more about Kayano. But on the other hand… Was it really a good idea to go to him for help, knowing about his mistrust for her? Pushing the thought aside, Nagisa pushed onwards. “We’ll meet up at your house later today to begin planning, OK?”
“Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. Not so fast, Nagisa. You of all people should know my services don’t come for free.”
“Fine… What do you want this time?” Nagisa rolled his eyes. Not that it mattered, because they were on a call anyways.
“Oh, I’ll think of something…” With impeccable timing, the phone line went completely dead, instilling a sense of foreboding within the poor boy. I really hope I don’t regret this...