A/N: I was re-watching assassination classroom and was hit by the feels. Also for my personal inktober challenge.

Theme: Nostalgia, "Can you feel it?"


Mere Sentiment

By AK


Nagisa touched the wooden frame with light hands.

They were strong and sturdy, but the nostalgia that clung to them like spider webs was just as fragile.

His heart ached.

It had been three years, but the magic was still alive.

He set his head on the wall next to it with a thunk.

He couldn't bear to go in, go in with all of a fool's expectations, just for them to fall short.

Because no matter how they tried to recapture those lost moments, not matter how hard they tried to keep this room locked in time, there was one thing that would never, ever be the same.

When he enters the room, Kuro-sensei's voice won't greet him.

Never again.

Nagisa's eyes welled up with tears.

"Can you feel this?" came a familiar voice from behind him.

"…Karma?" Nagisa asked, rubbing at his eyes hastily.

Akabane pretended that he didn't notice for once.

"The one and only," he said instead, grinning widely.

Of course, what would class 3E be without its Red Devil?

The two friends hugged each other tightly.

"It has been a while, hasn't it?" asked Akabane, knocking their foreheads together.

"Yes, it really has," laughed Nagisa, "How have you been?"

"Ah, same old, same old," he replied, "And you?"

"Nothing much to say, really. How about Gakushuu?"

"What about him? That guy is still as annoying as ever."

"When will the two of you finally stop dancing around each other?" asked Nagisa in exasperation.

"When will you stop dancing around Kaede?"

"This and that are two different things."

Akabane raised a well-arched eyebrow.

"Shut up, Karma."

Akabane laughed, walking into the room with none of the hesitation Nagisa felt.

His stride had that confident swagger that he was known for.

Nagisa almost felt jealous.

Almost.

He knew Karma too well not to notice the slight tightness that gathered around his friend's eyes when silence was all that greeted his entry.

It was a cruel thing, that silence.

It was an empty void, ever trying to make itself known.

It had all of Sensei's smugness and every bit of his need for attention.

Nagisa wouldn't give it that satisfaction.

"But what were you saying?" asked he asked, presently.

"Hm?" asked Akabane, pausing in his inspection of the room.

"You asked me if I could feel it?"

"Ah, yes," said Akabane, closing his eyes, "Kuro-sensei's presence."

Nagisa almost wished that he hadn't asked.

His best friend was hallucinating.

He really wasn't sure how to deal with delusions.

But Karma's closed eyes did not hide the slight upward curve of his lips.

So Nagisa decided to indulge Karma despite his misgivings.

He copied his friend's actions.

He allowed his vision to darken, he allowed his mind to still, he allowed the silence to fill the space between his ears.

And in that silence, he heard a whisper that made new tears spring into his eyes,

"You've come far, haven't you Nagisa?"

This memory was more than just a memory.

Kuro-sensei was here.

In his heart and in this room, his presence was alive.

"Yes," Nagisa choked out, "I can feel it."

Karma smiled, uncharacteristically soft.

"We're here, Sensei," he said aloud, "We miss you."


A/N: Did you like it? Don't forget to review! Oh, and prompts are welcome, if anyone is interested...