(A/N PLEASE READ. Some clarifications before you start the story.)
I wrote this story originally for a creative writing class. I took a lot of inspiration from Assassination Classroom, so I used the base of it and rewrote it as if it took place in their universe.
'Knacks' are inspired from My Hero Academia, another show I've written for.
This story is also partially inspired by an Assassination Classroom spin off, Korosensei-Q.
He flipped over his exam in disbelief. One blindingly red letter had been stamped onto the paper. Seriously? I got a C? I studied all night for this exam! As the rest of the class was running about trying to see what the class average was, Nagisa quickly retreated the packet into his folder. If anyone saw this, he'd be dead meat.
Nagisa and thousands of other adolescents attended a school specifically for wielders, known as Kunugigaoka Junior High School. In their world, every student had a strange aspect to them, different than others. Nagisa's knack—as they would call it—is for self defense. Anyone that threatens him instantly becomes a target for any artificial disaster. This includes having them get slapped by flying frying pans, being swallowed by trap doors opening beneath their feet, and having their student loans tripled. Nobody else in the school knew exactly how his knack worked. When the subject was brought up, they'd laugh at how stupid it was in concept. It only came out when Nagisa got exceptionally furious or freaked out, so they never had to pay penance for their cruel actions. He rarely got upset, even when he was ridiculed and mocked by others for being a dull student, academically and socially.
His intelligence held him back, however. The principal for Kunugigaoka refused to have any rejects holding his school back. Instead, Nagisa was placed in the E class, along with many other students. The E class was specifically for those who either lacked smarts, self-control, or willpower. It was located on a mountain about one kilometer away from the main prestigious building, a wooden structure meant to fit only a few rooms and one class.
The E class also had one more secret. Its only teacher was a yellow, tentacled monster that plans to destroy the earth in approximately one year.
Someone from across the room had noticed Nagisa's angst. That same someone strolled up to his desk, noticing that Nagisa held a panicked expression on his face. "So, what'd you get?" He smirked. "Don't be embarrassed, the class average—excluding you—was a B+. Are you gonna bring it down a notch or pull it back up to where it should be?" He said. His voice had a sly, cunning nature to it, one that nearly made Nagisa spit out his answer out of pure fear. Korosensei was gone, having an emergency meeting with the principal. Nobody could or would do anything about Nagisa's situation.
"I-I got a B." Nagisa said.
"So, it's fine if I take a peek, right?" He attempted to reach for Nagisa's backpack. As he grabbed the strap, it got caught in a splintery edge on the wooden desk. The desk flipped over as a result of Karma's overwhelming physical strength and the entire class abruptly stopped their nonsense. Everyone swiveled their heads towards the loud noise and found the two students quarreling.
The student who had just confronted Nagisa was Karma. He was an incredibly intelligent student, always scoring at the top during finals week. Handsome and athletic, too. Girls swooned over him, often fighting to decide which one of them would be his special one, or quietly concealing their crush. Unfortunately, he was also known quite well as a delinquent. He had been suspended multiple times for engaging in physical combat, threatening others, and being nonchalant about every major school violation he's caused. Nagisa didn't know him well. To him, Karma was just another douche.
Why is Karma trying to confront me now? We've been in this highschool for 2 months, and classmates for the entirety of elementary and middle school. He's never said anything to me before. Nagisa slowly reached into his backpack to retrieve the folder. Right after his hand grasped the flimsy plastic and pulled it up, it got stuck on the zipper of his backpack. It opened like a butterfly's wings and all of his packets were blown out. Tests scattered around the room. C's and D's were sewn on to the top right corner of each piece of paper, for the entire class to gaze upon. The window gave off focused arrays of light, landing right on top of each of his failures. It were as if everyone wanted him to drop dead, even the world and any other beings above.
Karma took special interest in his dreadful achievements. He kneeled down and delicately lifted the freshest packet off the floor. The excess sawdust from the wooden floor hitched a ride onto the fresh ink, and the overpowering smell lingered in the air. What is he doing? "Give it back, please!" Nagisa's short stance meant he held no change against the towering wall in front of him. After all, the top of Nagisa's head was in plain sight to Karma. He lifted up the packet to ensure that Nagisa couldn't grasp it.
"Come on, that's not very nice." Karma shot his arm up even higher, and grabbed everyone's attention for the third time. "You're a D student? Well, not too surprising. Everyone's here for a reason, besides m—"
A metal saucer crashed through the ceiling and struck Karma in the head. The impact was so strong, a burst of wind tore through the open space, blasting everyone backwards and leaving Karma in the middle. His feet broke through the wooden floor, planting him in there like a tree. Splinters took flight and landed themselves in several bodies. A large maroon bump nestled itself onto the exterior of Karma's scalp. He cringed, but no tears flowed out. He managed to stand up and smile, staring down menacingly at Nagisa. "So this is your knack, huh? Not bad at all! I'd give it a three out of five."
Nagisa stared around the room, looking at what his knack had done. It left several classmates with bruises due to the amount of splinters, left the floor in shambles, and even knocked some of them unconscious. I didn't know it would be this bad! he exchanged glances with Karma in the middle. He scoffed. "Oi, did you hear what I said?"
What did he say?
Karma continued. "Control your knack, it's not just me you're going to hurt." He glanced down at the crater he was engulfed in. "You even managed to push me into the ground. Nice job."
Korosensei soon came back into the room and assessed the damage. The room looked terrible, as if a bull went on a rampage. His motherly side came out and he worried greatly for his students' well being. "AH! IS EVERYONE OK? I'M SO SORRY! I HAD TO MEET WITH THE PRINCIPLE!" Nagisa looked down at the ground as Korosensei scrambled around the room. Korosensei came across Kurahashi, who was helping Kayano up to her feet. "KURAHASHI! ARE YOU OK?" Kurahashi tried to explain what happened while a dizzy Kayano stumbled across the room.
"Korosensei, Nagisa's knack did this. But it's not his fault, I don't think he can control it yet! Karma's the reason why." She pointed at Karma and Korosensei nodded.
"I'll speak with him and Karma for a little while, but first, EVERYONE WHO'S INJURED, RAISE YOUR HAND! I'LL DELIVER YOU SAFELY TO THE NURSE'S OFFICE DOWN AT THE MAIN BUILDING!" Hands were raised, and it only took a few seconds for the room to be cleared. Korosensei wiped the anxiety-caused sweat off his head, and looked towards Karma. He approached and started to taunt him.
"My my Karma, look at what happened and where you are now." Korosensei slithered up to the boy and decided against attempting to intimidate him anymore. "Karma, do you need any help out of there?"
"No thanks teach, I'm good." With that, he clamped his hands into one side of the broken floor and lifted it up, allowing his legs to go free. He climbed up on to the wooden floor and spun around once, admiring the damage done. He walked up to a frozen-in-place Nagisa. "Hey, if it's not too much trouble, meet me in the back of the school after your talk with Korosensei. We should really talk." He slapped Nagisa on the back, and walked out of the classroom. Not before Korosensei stopped him, however.
"KARMA! YOU SHOULD'VE KNOWN THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD'VE HAPPENED! When all of them get better, I want you to apologize to them! SINCERELY!"
"Yeah Korosensei, you're right. It's mine and Nagisa's fault." He stuck out his tongue at Nagisa, and walked out of the classroom, presumably to wait in the back.
Nagisa stood there, not moving a muscle. Should I go? Is there going to be a fight, like in one of those school-bully novels? He looked around the classroom in search of Karma, even though he had already left. Whatever, I'll go. If worst comes to worst, I'll use my knack to try and get out of there.
"Nagisa, can I talk to you?" Korosensei's voice ringed throughout his ears. Nagisa slowly turned around to gaze up at his mentor, shaking and sweating like a washing machine.
"Since I'm sure Karma wound you up a lot, I won't hold you entirely accountable for this incident. Your punishment is to clean up the mess over the next few days with Karma, starting today. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir!"
He sighed, and set a tentacle on Nagisa's scalp. "Just try and be more aware of your knack. It took me a very long time to get used to mine, so I suppose it's still the same with you. Class is cancelled for today, so go do whatever you want. Meanwhile, I'll go visit my injured students! In disguise, of course… if you manage to get Karma with you, call him back here to work on the building. I'm sure he'll be useful."
After Korosensei's announcement, it was finally time to go home. Except Nagisa wouldn't be going home. Instead, he'd be going towards the back of the school. The opposite side of where the students enter and exit. His brain tried to convince him to turn around, leave, get out of there. But he couldn't bring himself to. He decided to trust in his instincts, and hopefully, it would pay off in the end,
Nagisa turned the corner and saw Karma, alone, sitting on the concrete steps. He had a book in his hand, and was reading diligently. I thought Karma was a delinquent… why's he reading old English literature books? Suddenly, his view on him changed. It seemed as if his old ideology was thrown out, and a new one was comfortably replaced. Karma noticed him standing there, and welcomed him over.
"Hey! Glad you could make it." He smiled, and set the book down. A ragged fence stood on both sides of the grass around the stairs. He grabbed the soft, splintery boards and practically flew over them. Nagisa broke into a cold sweat as Karma got closer and closer to him. Eventually, Karma sat down on the grass, motioning for Nagisa to come and sit. Here goes… he walked over cautiously and plopped down, looking down at his old, raggedy tennis shoes.
"So, what's up, Nagisa? Do you know why I asked you to come here?"
"No, I don't. Something important?"
"No duh." He leaned back and put his arms behind his head, descending onto the soft grass. "I wanted to talk about your knack. That thing was powerful, Nagisa-kun." He leaned his head forwards and revealed the bump that was settled neatly in his shaggy hair. "How exactly does it work? I'll tell you mine, but you probably already know what it is."
He's not going to kill me?
"I don't really know for sure, but… I think it activates when I get upset."
"When you get upset? So when I looked at your grades, that was the trigger?" He thought about it for a second. "Well, I guess it sounds reasonable. It's perfect for self defense."
"Karma, you should stop doing what you did to me with people. I think you're a good person underneath."
"Well, maybe… anyways, I have a really good opportunity for you. I think you'd be perfect. Me and a few other kids from our class are working on a detailed operation to protect Korosensei's identity and kill him at the same time. Did you ever hear those rumors floating around the main campus? About a superhuman being?"
Nagisa thought about it. Hard. "I think I heard about it a couple of times while I was checking out campus a few days ago. I remember specifically that two girls talked about the fact that there was now a superhuman being on earth, and others made fun of them. I didn't hear anything about plans, but I probably just missed it."
"Yeah, well, the reason they know is because of one of us E class kids. Someone had found out something about Korosensei, but I don't know how. Someone from the inside must've accidentally leaked it somehow. We need to clear his existence and come up with a way to kill him." He paused and took a deep breath. "I think you'd be good for the project. Quiet, considerate, and creative. Again, if you really don't want to, it's no big deal. I'll just replace you with someone else." Karma smirked and moved closer to Nagisa. "Are you up for it?"
"Well, where are the meetings held? Some super secret base?"
"Oh yeah, a super secret place. My basement."
Nagisa stared at Karma for a while in disbelief. In his… basement? Is he trustworthy enough?
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"Ah, don't be like that, Nagisa-kun. I'm not lying. After all, we only have 10 months until the earth is destroyed. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
"Alright… I'll do it."
"Good choice, Nagisa. You don't need to know the full details right now, so I'll tell you later. Ciao." He attempted to leave but Nagisa grabbed him by the arm, stopping him in his tracks.
"Wait! First, we have to clean up the mess in the classroom. Korosensei is waiting for us. Didn't he tell you?"
Karma looked at him in disbelief. "No… why do I have to help you?"
"You were the entire reason why it happened."
"Guess you're right. Let's go and get it over with then."
They both headed towards the classroom and met Korosensei there. "Ah, Karma and Nagisa, welcome! I've got the broom and dustpan right here. Unfortunately you probably can't fix the splintered floor, so I'll just visit a Home Depot in the United States and get some new ones for now. Good luck!" Korosensei leaned the cleaning supplies on the wooden wall, and flew at mach speed out of the open window.
"Well, I guess we have to get to work now, Karma."
"Nah, we'll be ok for now." He smirked, and set his knack to work. Dozens of tiny minions with cleaning masks, brooms, and cleaning solutions set to work. They flooded around the room, and the entire room was spotless in a matter of seconds. All of them retreated back into Karma's body, phasing through and disappearing. Nagisa stared at him, completely dumbfounded. "What? You didn't know?"
"The school guidebook told me that you could summon minions, but not… cleaning ones." Nagisa said.
"Anyways, Nagisa, I take the ciao back. Let's hold a meeting between the two of us today."
"Sure, I'll go. Just, uh… let me text my mom first."
A barrier formed in a cone shape around Korosensei as he flew across the earth's oceans and mountains. Papers and pens were held neatly in the grasp of his tentacles, as he graded each paper precisely and diligently. Nagisa's grades aren't the best they could be right now, but he has much potential. He thought about his and Karma's interactions over the school day. Those two seem to have a good dynamic. If Karma could tutor him, that'd be a big help to his grades as well. Hopefully they'll sustain a wonderful friendship.
They did.
Thanks for reading!
