So when I was reading the manga—to be specific, Yuuji's first appearance—I couldn't help but think, hey, what if Nagisa had been dating Karma? What would've happened when Yuuji showed up in the school festival? And thus, this was born. And of course, it turned out to be way longer than planned. XD
This takes place in the same universe as my story, Transition. That story is a request by Shiranai Atsune, and it's nowhere near finished yet. It's not necessary to read it to understand this; all you need to know is that Nagisa is a female in this universe.
At first I wasn't sure I should go for Nagisa being a boy or a girl for this, but ultimately I decided to go for girl, mainly because I'm fond of the idea of having a female protagonist and because I've spent too much time thinking about Karma and Nagisa's relationship for Transition. XD
It was fun to work with how Nagisa might've acted around Yuuji if he was a girl, so I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)
"We really stand out, though," Yuuma sighed, looking at Tadaomi, hoping that perhaps their teacher would have an idea on how to proceed. They had gotten far already, but it seemed like the infiltration was becoming harder. How could they get to a VIP door through a bar without being suspicious…?
"Let's have the guys hide here," Megu said. All the boys turned to look at her. "We'll sneak into the lounge and unlock the back entrance. We girls won't look suspicious if we go alone in a place like this." All the girls had smiles on their faces that showed their confidence, Touka and Yuzuki nodding energetically as if to back up Megu's words.
"No. You girls would be in too much danger on your own," Tadaomi argued. He was perfectly aware of what kind of place this was; what kind of men could be hanging around in this kind of hotel. He was worried about his students.
"Security's really tight when it comes to boys, though," Hinata pointed out.
Touka nodded in agreement. "Even if just one boy comes with us, they would probably keep an eye on him…"
"Yeah, that's true," Justice sighed.
"It'll be less troublesome if we go on our own," Rinka said coolly.
Tadaomi looked troubled. Is it really a good idea to send the girls off on their own? "I'm still concerned about that. What would happen if you run into trouble?"
"Karasuma-sensei," Nagisa spoke up, gaining the teacher's attention. "We'll be fine. You've trained us all really well. I'm sure we can handle this."
"Yeah! Just as Nagisa said!" Akari chipped. She wasn't too worried—if anything went wrong, she could always use her tentacles; they were here secret weapon, but she would use them to save one of her classmates if she had to—but since the class didn't know about her tentacles (and she hoped she wouldn't have to use them, since it would ruin her opportunity for revenge), she just acted like the usual supportive Kaede would do. Besides, even without her tentacles, Akari was sure they would be able to pull off the mission just fine. They were all very capable girls, after all.
"Let the girls be the main protagonists now!" Yuzuki cheered, her head filling with all the manga she'd read that had a female protagonist. She always liked when girls showed their badass side during mangas, and it was the same with real life.
Tadaomi sighed. He was still worried, but it was true that these girls were trained for assassination. They should be able to handle themselves. "Fine, you can go, but be careful. If you think you need help, don't hesitate in coming back to tell us."
He got affirmative responses from the girls.
Karma walked to Nagisa and ruffled her hair. He knew Nagisa was capable of taking care of herself. He didn't particularly like the idea of his girlfriend going to a potentially dangerous place, but he did trust her. "Be careful."
"'Course I will," she laughed, pushing his hand away and sticking out her tongue at him—one of his habits that seemed to have passed onto her. He smirked at that. "See you when we get back!" she waved, and then the girls walked off to the lounge.
"Remember, girls," Megu warned, taking the role of leader. "We have to act as natural as possible."
"Sure thing!" Touka agreed.
When they entered, the first thing they could hear was the loud electronic music that boomed from the speakers. There were a lot of people. Some were dancing, others were in the pool, and some others were lounging around, either talking, drinking or getting high.
"Geez, it's really loud around here," Nagisa sighed to Akari as they walked. She didn't really like those kind of places. To her, watching a movie or playing videogames with her friends and boyfriend was a much more enjoyable time. There wasn't anything wrong with partying whatsoever, but it wasn't her thing. Being among so many people kind of made her uneasy.
Yuzuki let out a sigh, but she seemed content. "I can't take it anymore. I wanna leave this filthy place already."
"You say that, but you look like you're having a lot of fun to me, Fuwa-san," Nagisa commented, making Akari giggle.
"Hey!" Suddenly a hand was placed on her shoulder, and Nagisa almost jumped at the unexpected contact. She whipped around to see a boy around her age standing there, grinning and blushing. "Where do you guys come from?" Without letting them respond, he continued talking. "Wanna have a drink with me over there? I have money so I'll pay for whatever you guys want!"
He was talking to them as a group, but his interest was clearly on Nagisa. Megu analyzed the situation: if they ignored him, he would probably keep trying to get their attention and they couldn't have that, but if they did go with him, who knew just how much time they would waste. He seems interested in Shiota-san… If she distracts him while we try to figure out how to unlock the door, everything will go smoothly. But Shiota-san's dating Akabane-kun, so she probably won't want to go with this guy, even if it's a ruse…
Megu got to a decision quickly. I guess it can't be helped. I'm sorry, Shiota-san. She pushed Nagisa lightly towards the boy. "Alright, Shiota-san, go keep him company!"
"E-Eh?" Clearly Nagisa wasn't expecting that, because she whipped around to look at Megu with a scandalized expression. "Kataoka-san!"
"You didn't notice, but he's interested in you," Megu whispered quickly. "We can't have him following us or our plan will be ruined, so you need to distract him. Just keep him company until we get you, alright?"
"I…" Nagisa wasn't exactly okay with this. She had a boyfriend already; if this guy was really interested in her like Megu had said (although it was kind of hard to believe for Nagisa that a guy noticed her right off the bat), shouldn't she just turn him down instead of leading him on? But she understood Megu, and she understood what was at stake. She could distract this guy while only being friendly for the sake of the plan. She sighed. Why did it turn out like this? "Alright, fine. I'll go."
"Great!" The boy seemed excited that she said yes, leading her to a booth for two near the bar.
Nagisa looked over her shoulder to the other girls, and they all looked sympathetic for her, giving her thumbs-up as if to cheer her up before continuing with their mission. Akari even mouthed, "We'll rescue you soon," before turning around and following the other girls.
"I'm Yuuji, by the way! What's your name?"
Didn't he hear my name when Kataoka-san called me…? I guess he wants to know my first name. "I'm Nagisa."
"Ooh, Nagisa-chan then! That's a pretty name!" Yuuji commented. He then asked a waiter for some drinks and led her to a table for two. "Come on, let's go all out! I'm paying, so drink up!" he told her excitedly once the waiter had brought back their drinks.
"Uh, n-no, thanks… I don't drink," she explained, giving a smile and shrugging. I have to act as natural as possible so that the other girls can accomplish our goal. I've always gotten along well with the boys, so this shouldn't be too hard… "So, um, Yuuji-kun… did you come here with your parents?"
"My parents? No way!" Yuuji scoffed. "They don't have that kinda time." He leaned over the table as if to share a secret with her. "This is between you and me, but my old man, he's a famous TV personality. I'm sure Nagisa-chan knows him, too. Because he's a big shot that gets away with everything, he's always grabbing some girl's ass. Last time, he was bragging about how he had his hand on this one girl's ass for 24 hours straight."
Listening that, Nagisa felt a bit done. Not with Yuuji exactly, but with his father, even though she didn't even know who he was exactly. She couldn't help but wonder if the man was married, because if she had been the wife, she would've left him a long, long time ago. She also ended up wondering if the 24 hours thing was an exaggeration from Yuuji's father, because come on, how can you have your hand on someone's ass for, literally, an entire day? And the other, albeit a bit ridiculous, thought she had was, "…Does your father have some kind of grudge against asses or something?"
Yuuji finally realized what he'd said. Shit… I'm so stupid! Can't you ever flirt with a girl without using your old man's influence at least once in your life?! Sighing, angry at himself, he got out his pack of illegal cigarettes, taking one out and putting it on his mouth. He needed the high…
"Hey, that's not… a normal cigarette, is it? They're…" Nagisa seemed to notice what they really were, and Yuuji grinned proudly, grabbing it and showing it like some kind of trophy.
"Nope! These things are legally banned. I just started, actually. Knowing about these at our age makes you cool." He put it back in his mouth, taking out his lighter. He couldn't light it up, though, because Nagisa grabbed it and took it away from him.
Nagisa finally understood what was going on. Yuuji was the son of a famous TV personality, and because of that, everyone knew him as that man's son. Because of that, Yuuji tried to be cool in order to establish himself as an interesting person and be recognized as himself and not as his father's kid.
She could sympathize, in a way; she was tired of having her mother live through her. She was her own person and she wanted to get away from the 'lady-like ideal' her mother pushed upon her. She was lucky that she found her way of escaping. At first it was only Karma, but now she also had the E Class; a classroom where she could be herself with no-one telling her to act like a 'proper girl'.
Unfortunately, it seemed Yuuji hadn't found someone or somewhere where he could be himself just yet, so he resorted to drugs to gain people's approval.
"I don't think it makes you cool, though," she said honestly. "If anything, it makes your life harder."
That seemed to hit a nerve, because Yuuji banged his first on table in frustration. "Life's already hard for us men! We have to force ourselves to look cool, and it's even worse for me since I'm always compared to my old man! You girls got it made. All you have to do is pick a cool guy."
"…Not really."
Yuuji looked up, and saw serious blue eyes looking at him. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you're not completely wrong, but it's not always like that," Nagisa sighed. "Take me, for example. I'm not cool. I don't stand out at all." Yuuji stared at her like she was crazy, but she continued talking. "But my b—friend, now he's cool. He's smart and handsome and talented and pretty much everything I'm not. But for whatever reason he always chose me over everyone else." Nagisa smiled fondly, remembering herself and Karma, back when they were twelve, going to watch an American superhero movie together. It might sound cliché, but to her, it was the start of something beautiful. "Do you know what everyone else says? About me, when I'm with him?"
Yuuji didn't reply, so Nagisa continued talking; her fringe covering her eyes, a shadow on her face, her smile sad. "They say I'm not good enough. That a cool bad boy honor student like him shouldn't be wasting time on me. They don't say it to my face, but I can tell that's exactly what they're thinking."
Even before she was dropped down to the E Class, she could tell that there were people that didn't understand why Karma spent his time with her. To be honest, she didn't understand either, but Nagisa did know her self-esteem was pretty much shit. Karma helped improve it little by little, and in the E Class she gained even more confidence than before, but her insecurities still remained.
"Nagisa-chan…"
"But I don't care anymore," Nagisa looked up to his face and smiled; a soft, genuine smile that made Yuuji's breath hitch. "Because if I've learned something lately, it's that I shouldn't let everyone's opinion of me bring me down. All that matters to me is how the people I care about see me, not anyone else. And, well, I know my friend wouldn't hang out with me if he didn't want me around, so I know I have nothing to worry about. My point is," her face turned serious again, "hanging around a cool guy doesn't necessarily make a girl cool. It can make her an annoyance, too. And even then, not all girls want to date someone. We have other things in our minds as well."
"…"
"And anyway, it's not like being cool is the same as being popular. Everyone who I think is cool isn't popular at all, at my school. Most people who are popular there are people that I think are jerks or bitchy. But I guess that's just me. Point is, you don't have to be popular to be cool. You can date a popular person and become popular yourself but that doesn't necessarily make you cool. There's a difference."
"Nagisa-chan, I…" Yuuji swallowed. "I never really saw it that way."
"Yeah, well, that's just my opinion anyway," she shrugged.
"But I think you're right… Sorry," he sighed, his cheeks reddening. "I had this outburst in front of you and I shouldn't've. I'm really sorry about that."
"Hey, it's okay," she said, feeling a bit awkward. She hadn't really planned to talk about herself, but she sympathized enough with this rich kid to try and help him. "You were frustrated. It's alright."
"…Still. It's embarrassing. I shouldn't've said something like that. I didn't even think about your feelings at all."
"…Well, no, but I already told you, it's no problem." However, Yuuji still seemed a bit down about it, and Nagisa felt really awkward. Maybe she talked too much…? Usually she would keep quiet, but the 'girls only need a cool guy to be cool' phrase had annoyed her a little, and she felt the need to argue about it.
"Nagisa!" Akari showed up, waving at Nagisa to come with her.
"Kaede!" Nagisa actually felt relieved that Akari showed up. The atmosphere seemed less tense now that her friend had come looking for her. "Well, uh, I gotta go now," she told Yuuji, giving him a small smile.
"H-Hey, already?!"
Nagisa looked over her shoulder as she followed her green-haired friend, giving him a little wave. "See ya!"
Yuuji stared after the girl. He first saw her when she came in with her group of friends. They were all really pretty, but he just assumed they were airheads. That was until he saw Nagisa; nice hips and ass, average chest (leaning more onto the small side though), pretty hair and a cute face, wearing casual comfy clothes (shirt, pants, sneakers, and a sleeveless hoodie), but what really got him interested was how uncomfortable she seemed to be in this club. He was so used being around girls used to the party life that walked around like they owned the place, so it was refreshing to see something different.
He didn't expect the turn his conversation with her had taken. She was the first girl he ever opened up to like that (even if it was out of frustration), and it amazed him that she actually listened. In fact, she even went ahead and told him about herself! But then he remembered how he acted, how spoiled he must've seemed like, and then remembered what she had said, about this cool guy friend she had.
"He's smart and handsome and talented and pretty much everything I'm not."
"…a cool bad boy honor student…"
Is that what a cool guy is like to her? Yuuji found himself wondering, clutching at his drink. Shit… Does she not see me as a guy? That thought alone made him let go of his glass and run after her. He genuinely wanted to impress her and she was slipping through his fingers. I can't let her get away without acting my coolest and showing her just how much of a man I am!
"Do you think Karma-kun would kill that guy if he finds out that took an interest in you?" Akari whispered to Nagisa as they walked over to the other girls.
"K-Kaede!" Nagisa whispered back. "Don't say things like that!"
"Well, do you?"
"No, 'cause by the time he finds out we'll be already out of here and on the next floor!"
"I guess~ Wait, you're actually gonna tell him?"
"Of course I am! Communication is key to make relationships work after all," Nagisa crossed her arms. Akari was actually impressed; Nagisa and Karma were actually really mature when it came to their relationship. Because of that, she had a feeling that their relationship would last.
"There you are!" Yuzuki exclaimed, seeing the two girls.
"Yeah… Did you guys really have to leave me alone like that?" Nagisa mumbled.
"Sorry, sorry!" Megu apologized. "We had to act quick, and we couldn't have him interfering. We got a strategy though."
"That's good, so what is it?"
"Well—"
"H-Hey, girls, wait a sec!" Yuuji finally caught up to them. "As a special treat, let me show you my specialty dance!"
Yuuji started dancing, pulling off some strange, awkward dance moves, and there was only one thought going through all the girls' heads:
Go away.
While dancing, Yuuji accidentally hit a man's glass, making him drop his drink all over his clothes. The man got pissed, threatening him to pay up, and Yuuji nervously assured him that his father would take care of it.
Touka saw an opportunity there. Perhaps that boy wouldn't be just an inconvenience after all. "Hinata-chan," she whispered to Hinata, giving her a signal to tell her it was her turn to act. Hinata understood, and using her gymnastic skills was able to knock out the man with a blow he didn't see coming, much to Yuuji's surprise. Rinka and Megu caught the man before he fell head first to the floor. "Excuse me, employee~!" Touka called to the guard that was their only obstacle at the moment. "Looks like this man passed out. Could you please carry him out?"
The guard came over. "Y-Yes. Sorry for the bother." He slung one of the unconscious man's arms over his shoulder and carried him out. "Did he overdose? Man…"
It's now or never, Megu thought. "Now!"
Touka turned to look at Yuuji. "You should go back to the dancefloor! And keep this a secret, okay?" she winked, and turned to leave with the other girls. Yuuji just watched Rinka, Hinata and Akari leave in shock.
Just what in the world…?
"See, girls don't need guys to be cool," Nagisa told him. "They're cool because of who they are. But, you know… it's the same with guys." Nagisa thought of Karma, of Tomohito, of all the boys in the class. She thought why she considered them to be cool people, and the answer was really simple to her. "What makes people cool is their personality. Eventually, you'll meet people that appreciate you for being yourself." She smiled at him, that real, genuine smile, and Yuuji felt his cheeks heat up. "If we ever meet again, keep acting cool, okay? But something other than drugs and dancing would be nice."
"Nagisa-chan…" Yuuji watched the blue-haired girl run after her friends. He could see a girl opening a door, and a bunch of guys came in and ran up the stairs along the girls. He watched as Nagisa joined the group of teenagers and ran up the stairs with them. He didn't know what was going on, and honestly, he couldn't even question it. His heart was beating loudly, he was feeling warm all over, and had a funny feeling in his stomach. It was stupid, especially since they only talked for a couple of minutes, but somehow… it kind of felt like she took his heart with her, once she had given him that smile.
Shiota Nagisa, huh… He felt the funny feeling in his stomach intensify. So this is what it's like to have a crush?
He stood up, hands in his pockets, one of his hands finding the pack of drugs he had. He thought of Nagisa, of her words, her opinion on how to be cool, and he sighed. When a waiter passed by, he ditched the drugs he had on the tray he was carrying and continued walking. There was no way he would keep using those drugs, after a high like that.
"…So we kind of just talked about what it means to be cool," Nagisa told Karma as they climbed up the stairs with the rest of the class, holding hands. "I felt like he wanted to get away from the pressure of having a famous dad, but he was going all wrong about it, so I just told him what I thought. Then Kaede came for me, and he kind of showed up and started dancing, but funny enough, it was thanks to that we managed to distract the guard. He accidentally knocked over some guy's drink, so the guy was like super pissed, but Okano-san knocked him out and Yada-san got the security guy to carry him out and that's how we got our chance."
"He-eh~, so I guess he wasn't just a useless obstacle then."
"Yeah. But anyway, I'm so sorry about that! I mean, nothing happened, we just talked, but it really didn't sit well with me because even though it was so that we could carry out the plan, I'm dating you, so…"
Karma grinned. Oh, his girlfriend was too adorable sometimes. "Hey, that's okay, Nagi~ It was for the sake of the plan, and I trust you anyway, so no worries~" He smirked. "He better not show up again if he knows what's good for him thought, 'cause if he does I'll kill him."
Nagisa let out a small laugh, shoving Karma's side playfully. "Stop, you. I don't think I'll see him again, anyway. He'll probably forget all about me eventually."
Karma was about to respond when Tadaomi talked. "We're in the final stage of our infiltration here," the teacher said, gaining all of the students' attention. Karma and Nagisa didn't even think about Yuuji anymore; they were only focused on the infiltration. It wasn't like they would see him again, anyway.
"Hey!"
Nagisa froze when hearing that voice. T-That frivolous voice is… She hadn't really thought about him again—he was mentioned a couple of times when they were telling their classmates what happened during the infiltration, but other than that, he hadn't come into mind—but hearing his voice, she could recognize it immediately.
"Nagisa-chan! I came here to see you!" Yuuji said excitedly, waving really big, a blush on his cheeks.
"Y-Yuuji-kun?!" What is he doing here?! Nagisa didn't dislike the guy, but she'd thought for sure he'd forget all about her. But if he came here looking for me, t-then… does he still like me…?
"Yuuji?" Rio, who had been talking with Nagisa before Yuuji appeared, muttered. "Oh… I see…" He's the guy who fell in love with Shiota-chan during our trip to the southern island, isn't he? Oh, this is gonna be good!
"H-How did you know this was my school?" Nagisa questioned.
"Ever since that day I've been searching for the names of the hotel's guests, and I found your school's homepage when they were advertising your school festival," Yuuji explained, grinning like a fool as he looked at the girl he had been thinking about for months.
"I-I see…" So he did come looking for me! He doesn't even know I'm dating Karma! She never did tell him she was dating someone already. She hadn't even genuinely thought they would meet again. But somehow, the only thing that came into mind was Karma telling her he'd kill him if he showed up again. Nagisa knew he'd been joking back then, but now that he was here, she couldn't be too sure. Karma had always been a wild card. And Karma's somewhere around here. I don't know how he'll react when he sees Yuuji-kun and pieces it all together. D-Damn it, how can I tell Yuuji-kun that I'm dating someone without hurting him…?
Unfortunately for Nagisa, Rio decided to join the conversation, a grin on her face and glint in her eye that just told Nagisa she was plotting something. "So you came here to see Shiota-chan, didn't you, Yuuji-kun?"
"Yes!"
"Well, what about spending time with her while you eat our food, hmm?"
"What?!" Nagisa whisper-shouted. "Nakamura-san!"
"He's rich, right?" Rio whispered to her. "We don't have any other choice. We have to increase the average amount of money we get from the costumers."
"But do I really need to be involved in this?"
"He came looking for you. Of course you have to be involved in this! You're the one who can convince him to buy everything!" Rio noticed that Yuuji was staring at both of them strangely. "Okay!" she raised her voice, putting her hands on Nagisa's shoulders. "Now you're up, Shiota-chan!" Noticing the shorter girl still seemed hesitant, she whispered, "If you're worried about Akabane, I'll tell him what's going on, so don't worry!"
"…Right," Nagisa sighed. She didn't even bother going to the door, instead jumping out the window. "Come on, then, Yuuji-kun."
"…Poor Nagisa," Tomohito commented to Akari, feeling kind of bad for his best friend. "Should we save her?"
"I guess we should," Akari agreed, but both of them were stopped by Rio.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Rio exclaimed. "This is our chance to get money to beat the A Class! A golden opportunity! We can't let it go to waste!"
Tomohito let out a sigh. "I-I guess, but—"
"Hey, Shiota-chan can handle herself! There's nothing to worry about! It's all for the benefit of the class!" Rio grinned widely. "She could've refused if she wanted to, anyway!"
"If… If you say so."
"I'm so happy that I came to the school festival~! To think you would serve me personally," Yuuji sighed dreamily as they sat in one of the tables.
"R-Right…" I hate to admit it, but Nakamura-san is right. We need to make more money, and according to her, I'm the only one who can get Yuuji-kun to buy everything. "I… I would appreciate it if you tried all the menu, i-if it's possible…" Even though I don't think it's okay to play with his feelings. I should tell him about Karma before he gets any ideas…
"Alright!" Yuuji immediately took out his wallet. "I'll eat everything on the menu if you ask me to!"
He really is rich, Nagisa thought to herself.
"By the way," Yuuji said, as he looked over the menu. "I stopped smoking those weird things, you know? So you wouldn't worry, Nagisa-chan."
"I see," Nagisa genuinely smiled at that.
"Sorry for the wait~!" Hinano appeared with the plate Yuuji had ordered.
"Ooh~! This looks delicious! Let's take a picture!"
"Akabane!" Rio ran to the redhead who was helping Yuuma and Hiroto inside the school building and grinned. The very least she could do was tell Karma what was going on, since it was the one thing Nagisa was truly worried of, and she assured her she'd take care of it. The last thing they needed was for Karma to step out of the school building and see his girlfriend having to accompany a boy that was clearly infatuated with her. They couldn't afford having a random rich boy dead if they wanted their café to succeed. "Hey, I got to tell you something!"
Karma raised an eyebrow, walking over to Rio. He had a feeling Rio was planning something. After all, their mischievousness was something they had in common. Yuuma and Hiroto continued working so they weren't paying attention to the two troublemakers. "What is it, Nakamura?"
"Well… Just don't get mad, okay?"
"If you're starting like that, then I already know it's something I'm not gonna like," Karma sighed. "So, what is it?"
"Well… do you remember that guy that fell for Shiota-chan in the southern island?"
"…Yes?" Why the hell would Nakamura ask me about this? Unless… oh. So that's it. "Here's here, isn't he?"
"Yep! And I may have convinced Shiota-chan to accompany him so that she could get him to buy everything."
"What?" Karma grit out, low and dangerous. Anyone else would've stepped back and run for their lives, but Rio was confident that she could handle Karma.
"Oh, come on, Akabane! It's not like she's cheating on you or anything!" Rio said, giving him a mischievous smile. "But that guy's filthy rich, so it's a way for us to win the competition! Think of the money we can make out of him!"
Karma narrowed his eyes. He didn't particularly like the idea—not at all, actually—but he knew what Rio said was true, and he did trust Nagisa. She could handle herself, and he was sure that if the rich boy tried to make a move on her, Nagisa would turn him down. Besides, the idea of making money off of the bastard that was infatuated with his girlfriend did sound appealing. "Fine," he sighed. "But if he tries something, I'll deal with him, and you won't be able to stop me."
Rio rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure that if he tries something, Shiota-chan will friendzone him, no sweat!"
"All the same," Karma shrugged, walking away.
Rio hoped deep in her heart that the poor little rich bastard wouldn't even think of confessing to Nagisa, because of he did, Class 3-E's evilest devil would deal with him and it would not be pretty.
Nagisa watched as Yuuji took a picture of the food with his phone. He looks really excited though. I would feel bad if I break his excitement, but he has to know about Karma. How do I tell him though? "Uh, Yuuji-kun?"
"Mhm?"
"Do you remember when we talked about cool guys, b-back at the island?"
"Yes! Of course I remember! That conversation changed the way I saw things, you know, Nagisa-chan."
"I-Is that so…?"
"Well, yeah! I'm not that guy I was on the island, Nagisa-chan," Yuuji blushed. "What you said really got to me. I'm better now, and I can keep getting better!
"That's good. I'm glad," Nagisa smiled a little. "Anyway, do you remember what I said? About… a cool guy I know?"
Yuuji paused his eating, blinking. "Oh, yeah, the smart, handsome, honorary student bad boy guy, right?"
Nagisa hadn't expected him to remember her exacts words. "Y-Yeah, that guy. See, there's something about that guy…"
Yuuji nodded, not realizing he had accidentally interrupted Nagisa's sentence. "Yeah, that's what cool guys are like to Nagisa-chan, right? I tried to figure out how I could be something like that, but nothing came to mind," he shrugged. "I could try being an honorary student bad boy if Nagisa-chan wants me to, though!"
The image that came into her mind was Yuuji trying (and failing) to act like Karma, and to be honest, it was kind of sad. "Please don't."
"But isn't that the kind of guy you like? I want to be that kind of guy, because t-then…" Yuuji felt nervous now, his cheeks turning red. He was about to confess, but then his nervousness got the best of him. He didn't know how Nagisa felt about him, and he wasn't sure if he should confess without knowing what the girl thought of him first. After all, her memories of him were probably some guy she met at a bar that did drugs, and later looked up her name so he could find her. Not a great image, to be honest. But she had given him that smile, even back then, so maybe… maybe he had a chance. "Nagisa-chan, I want to ask you a question…"
Nagisa had a feeling this wasn't going to go well. "…What is it?"
"…W-Well… I—"
He cut himself off, almost screaming when seeing a man holding a gun and a dead green pheasant. Nagisa followed Yuuji's line of sight and saw Red Eye talking amicably to Tadaomi. The assassin gave the animal he had hunted to Sumire, who was pretty hyped about the food she could make with it. Nagisa clearly remembered the man from the school trip, and to her, seeing assassins with guns was nothing out of the ordinary, but to Yuuji, it was.
"Why does he have a gun?" Yuuji wondered out loud, clearly worried. "Maybe we should call the police…" he said, taking out his phone.
"WAIT, WAIT!" Nagisa yelled, reaching across the table to get a hold of his arm. "I-It's not what it looks like…! He's…" The blue-haired girl noticed Rio holding a cue card for her to read. Nagisa had no idea where the blonde had even gotten that card, or in what moment she had written it, but right now she couldn't be gladder. "Y-Yoshioka-san, from the local hunting club," she read, glad she was somehow able to keep her voice steady and natural enough.
"Yoshioka-san?! He doesn't look like a Japanese guy, you know?!" Yuuji yelled, clearly not believing it.
Once again, Rio was there to save her with cue cards. "H-He changed his name," Nagisa explained, "because he likes Japanese anime so much…"
"I-I see…" Luckily, Yuuji seemed to believe the lie, much to Nagisa and Rio's relief. "Well, putting Yoshioka-san to the side… Nagisa-chan, I want to you be honest. What do you think about me…?"
Nagisa wasn't even able to answer, because then Lovro came out of the woods to talk to Tadaomi, startling Yuuji once again. Nagisa sighed in exasperation. How were they supposed to keep it all a secret if assassins were coming by all the time…?
"Who the hell is that frightening old man…?" Yuuji wondered, his voice wavering. Rio once again wrote another cue card for Nagisa to read. "He's clearly not a normal person…"
"He's Mild Yagiyuu, the leader of the Asasuka Entertainment Hall," Nagisa lied smoothly, thanking Rio over and over again for coming up with all these explanations for her to give Yuuji.
"He's a comedian?!"
"Y-Yeah. See, his disciple became a teacher here and stopped being a comedian, so it's only natural that he would show up to check on her," Nagisa smiled nervously, trying her best to act as casual as possible. No matter what, Yuuji-kun can't find out about the assassination!
"I see…" Yuuji turned his gaze to the rest of the tables. He hadn't noticed before, since he'd had all his attention on Nagisa, but the tables were full of people who had a dangerous aura around them. And he could hear their comments; talking about guns and poison like it was an everyday thing.
"T-They're all comedians! From Asasuka!" Nagisa insisted. She could tell Yuuji was becoming suspicious. The blue-eyed girl saw her boyfriend standing behind Grip with a tube of wasabi in his hand. Karma met her gaze and winked at her, and somehow, that was all she needed to calm herself. The fact that Karma had seen her talking to Yuuji and yet Yuuji was still there breathing was something to be glad about as well.
"Look, that guy's even eating a mont blanc with some wasabi in it," she said, for once thankful for Karma's tendency of putting wasabi on unsuspecting people's food. She was even more thankful that Grip's reaction was actually pretty funny, which went well with the whole comedians bullshit she was feeding Yuuji at the moment. "You can see his natural comedic reaction, thought to him by Mild Yagiyuu himself." She gave a small smile and a shrug. "You could say that we're related to those 'comedians' in some way…"
"Nagisa-chan, you're lying." It was not a question, but a fact. Yuuji could tell; the moment those strange men had appeared, Nagisa hadn't been genuine. All her explanations, everything she said, was something she'd come up with on the spot. And he could tell, because the smile she used was not her real smile—the smile he had seen at the hotel lounge. "My father is a famous TV chairman, so I've seen the faces of many comedians drawn close to him since I was a kid. Therefore, I'm able to discern an exterior smile done only to deceive people." He saw Nagisa's stunned face. He truly had caught her off guard. "The girl I met at the island's hotel? She wouldn't smile like that."
He remembered that girl he met at that lounge—the one who sat there with him and talked about cool and popular people, who gave him a new perspective, who gave him the most genuine smile he'd ever seen and took his heart with her. Perhaps one of the reasons he felt so strongly about her was because to him, she was the most genuine person he'd ever met. Due to that, it hurt to know that she was capable of giving him a fake smile to deceive him. He thought she wasn't that kind of person. He still remembered the warm feeling he'd felt when Nagisa had smiled at him—a real smile. He wanted to feel that way again.
"…You have a good eye. I'm impressed."
"It's not something good," Yuuji scoffed, resting his chin on his palm, glancing to his side. "It's just an undesired talent I got from being raised in a disgusting environment."
Nagisa had felt she had something in common with this boy back in the hotel's longue—they both wanted to escape their parents' influence. Now, she found another similarity: they both gained their talent of observation from the environment they were raised in. But unlike Yuuji, she didn't see her talent as something undesired—to her, her talent was something that was useful, now in the assassination classroom, and in the future as well—and she wanted to show Yuuji that.
"…You're right. I was lying," she admitted. "But you know… I got a talent like that out of my upbringing too—I'm pretty observant, just like you. You're good in telling when people are lying or not; I'm good at telling people's moods." She shrugged. "It may seem pretty useless, yeah, but it's not—not really. At least in my case, I learned that I can use my talent to help people. If you're able to exploit your faults and weaknesses, they can become weapons as well. During my time in this class, I learned how to do that, and we created this shop in the same way. The people you see here," she waved around, gesturing to all the assassins eating in the other tables, "are all related to that way of doing things. I really like that, you know? You could do so as well, if you wanted to."
Yuuji listened to Nagisa's every word. He felt like an idiot, hearing her words while all he did was complain about his talent, but when she mentioned he could use his talent just like her, he became a bit hopeful. "…You really think so?"
"Well, yeah! Why would I be saying that if I didn't mean it?" she asked, giving him that smile. That smile, the one he'd wanted to see ever since summer break. The warm feeling came back, and Yuuji was happy. He'd dreamt too much about this moment, and it was finally happening. "And anyway… Now that we're being truthful here, I need to tell you something…"
The tone Nagisa used warned Yuuji that it was something he probably wasn't gonna like. "…W-What is it?"
Nagisa took a deep breath. I hope he doesn't take this the wrong way! "I have a boyfriend."
"…E-Eh?!"
"Y-Yeah. I meant to tell you before, but somehow I was never able to find a moment to tell you…"
A moment of silence as the words sunk in, and Yuuji felt like his heart was crumbling in his chest. For whatever reason, the scenario of Nagisa having a boyfriend never entered his head. He did think the possibility that she might reject him, but he never thought about a boyfriend. But even then… The first girl he had genuinely fallen in love with was out of bounds. He honestly didn't expect it to hurt so much. "O-Oh… I see…"
"…I'm sorry. I should've told you earlier…"
"N-No. It's okay." Yuuji replayed the conversation he'd had with Nagisa back in the island, the comments she had made about a particular boy, and then what she had said today before those strange men started to appear, and suddenly it all made sense. "Is your boyfriend the bad boy honorary student guy…?"
Nagisa was impressed that he figured it out. He really was observant. "Yes."
"I see…" How am I supposed to compete with that?! Even I can tell I have no chance! Suddenly, another thought entered Yuuji's head. That guy Nagisa-chan's dating is supposedly a bad boy and here I am trying to win his girlfriend over… Shit! What if he finds out?! "N-Nagisa-chan… your boyfriend," oh god, it hurt to even say it, "does he mind that you're… you know, t-talking with me?"
"W-Well," Nagisa paused. Knowing Karma, he wasn't fond of the idea of her spending time with a guy that was obviously into her. But he also knew she would never betray him. When their gazes met, a few moments ago, Karma hadn't seemed bothered. At least, not too much. To be honest, the fact that Yuuji was still sitting on that chair and not in an ambulance said a lot, but she couldn't tell Yuuji that unless she wanted to scare him. "He knows you're here—I mean, he saw us together and all—but he trusts me, so I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," she smiled reassuringly.
"A-Are you sure?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, my best friend's a guy, and he doesn't mind at all. Likewise, his best friend's a girl, and I don't mind either. We both trust each other. So if I'm hanging out with a boy, it doesn't really matter, because nothing is happening and he knows I would never step out. It's the same with him. Keeping secrets and things hidden only complicates things, so we always do our best to have the best communication possible."
Listening to Nagisa talking about her and her boyfriend, it felt like knives were stabbing at his heart. Still, he really admired Nagisa and the maturity she showed when talking about her relationship. How is it possible that one person can change my perspective of the world so much…? But even though he could tell Nagisa was happy with her relationship with just the way she talked, he couldn't help but wish that it was him she was so happy with.
"You know…" he said lowly. Since she was so truthful with him, he felt like he should be as well. "The reason I came here… it was because I-I… I like you!"
The girl was stunned. She kind of knew he did from what Megu and everyone else had said, but to have the boy say it made it even more real. To be honest, she didn't know what Yuuji saw in her. But to be honest, she didn't know what Karma saw in her either—whatever it was, though, she was glad that he did.
Yuuji noticed Nagisa was too stunned to say something, so he continued talking. "Ever since we met at that island I've liked you! You were the first girl that had ever listened to me, that didn't judge me, and when you gave me that smile… You took my heart with you before I could even notice." He saw her hands on the table and grabbed them gently. He hoped that he wasn't crossing any boundaries—he probably was, considering she was dating someone else—but he had the need to hold her hands. He knew he was being such a sap, but for whatever reason, her touch seemed to ground him.
"Yuuji-kun… I…" Nagisa took her hands away from his grip. "…I'm sorry. I can't."
"I know," Yuuji sighed. "I can tell you're happy with your boyfriend. And I… well, I'm just glad you're happy, Nagisa-chan. I really am."
Karma was leaning on the school building. He happened to listen in just when Nagisa told him she was dating him, so he stuck around to see how the rich boy would react. He almost stepped in when Yuuji confessed—and if he had, it wasn't going to be pretty for the rich kid, that was for sure—but he stepped back for Nagisa's sake at the very least.
Hearing Yuuji say that he was happy for Nagisa, instead of preaching on how he'd be a way better boyfriend for her (something that he, obviously, begged to differ) like he'd expected him to, made Karma decide that Yuuji wouldn't suffer a cruel fate after all.
He doesn't seem to be that bad, and besides, dealing with a broken heart hurts more than anything I could've done.
"Anyway, can you… stay with me? I won't try anything, I promise! I just… I want to try out the menu. It does seem really delicious, and I would like to have someone to talk to."
Nagisa's eyebrows raised. She honestly hadn't expected that, but after hurting Yuuji's feeling like that, the least she could to was to comply. "…S-Sure."
Yuuji enjoyed the food he was given immensely, but he enjoyed even more the conversation he had with Nagisa. Since he knew he couldn't have her as his girlfriend, he wanted to at least be able to enjoy her as a friend. He wanted to cherish whatever moment he had with her.
"Thank you for the food," he said to Nagisa once he was going to leave.
"No, thank you for coming in the first place. You really helped us out, you know," Nagisa smiled, and Yuuji felt warm all over once again. "We need all the help we can get."
"Ah, I'm sure you'll do great," Yuuji smiled, blushing. "Also… Nagisa-chan?"
"Yes?"
"A-Ah, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," Yuuji shook his head. "So, um… I should leave, so… see you, Nagisa-chan."
"Yeah, bye!" Nagisa waved.
Yuuji began walking down the mountain, but not without looking back one more time. What he saw both hurt him and motivated him. He saw Nagisa being hugged from behind by a boy their age. The boy had red hair and mercury eyes. Yuuji could tell, even from the distance he was at, that the guy was dangerous. There was a moment in which those striking mercury eyes landed on him and Yuuji damn felt himself freeze up due to the intensity of that gaze. Even then, he seemed fond and loving towards Nagisa. And Nagisa herself seemed really happy, giggling when he kissed her cheek, even when she was trying to break free from his hold so she could continue working.
I really can't compete with that guy… Yuuji thought with a sigh. His heart ached, but even then, he felt motivated.
Nagisa-chan, you probably have no idea just how much you helped me. Just by talking to me, you changed my perspective of everything. It hurts that you'll never be with me, but I'm happy that we met. I'll cherish my memories of you for the rest of my life.
Even your weaknesses can be weapons… My talent can be used to help people, right?
After he stopped with the drugs, Yuuji created a blog of his food recommendations, and his blog gained popularity. Up to now, he had thought of the blog as a hobby. Now, however, that blog served a whole different purpose to him. He would use it to help people, just like Nagisa had told him he could do. And his first action to help people will be to recommend this shop, where his perspective changed, when suddenly he saw the world in a different light.
All thanks to a blue-haired girl he met in a lounge.
Nagisa-chan, I hope my talent helps you, just like you helped me.
Aaaaaand it's done! Yeah, so Karma didn't kill Yuuji. I figured they needed him alive so he could write that entry on his blog to help the E Class, and he wouldn't have done that if Karma had sent him to the hospital. XD And also, I kind of like Yuuji, even though he appeared, what, two times? I think it's interesting to work with how much Nagisa influenced him.
I also wanted to show Karma and Nagisa's relationship. I feel what they lacked in the manga/anime was communication—at least at the beginning—but since they're dating in this universe, I wanted to show that they've gotten to a point in which they can talk to one another because they know that if they keep secrets, their relationship won't be a strong. I hope I did a good job doing that.
How they got to that point is something I'm working on in Transition, but that's another story. XD
I'm thinking about doing a story similar to this one (you know; Yuuji falls in love with Nagisa but eventually finds out that he's dating Karma) with Nagisa as a boy but I'm not sure yet. We'll see.
Please leave a review and tell me what you think! I would appreciate it. :) Also, did any of you get the title's song reference?
Thank you all for reading!