So I've had this story rattling around in my head for a long time... and I figured it was about time that I commit it to print. So, here goes! Alex Rider in Japan with a certain Assassination Classroom.
First, some background: for the sake of Alex having experience, but still being the same age as everyone, Ian died and he was blackmailed by MI6 when he was 11, so he's been in the field for about three or four years. This is set after Scorpia Rising, and the Pleasures were killed, he went back to MI6 for a while, but didn't like what they were making him do, so he runs to the farthest place he can think of, Japan, and asks their government to take him in. They do, and now he is deep undercover, attending Kunugigaoka Jr. High through a scholarship, but because of his "background," he's only allowed to attend E-class. And so we begin…
Alex observed the dilapidated building on top of the mountain with disinterest. He didn't know why being in E-class was such a big deal, but the Ministry of Defense enrolled him here for a reason, but of course they didn't inform him of it. At least they were upfront with their reasons for secrecy, he had to be kept secret from everyone, the public, other agents, and most of the Ministry. Only the higher ups knew who he was and what he does, due to his deep undercover status. They made up for information with weapons and gadgets, however, allowing Alex to go into each mission ready, armed, and dangerous. Overall, they made Alex very glad he made the switch from MI6; here, he was viewed as a capable agent, instead of a highly skilled minor.
On second glance, the building seemed more functional than it first presented itself to be. Alex recognized the effort of whoever cleaned the place, they did a good job hiding the eventual demise of the building. He made his way inside, searching for his classroom he would spend the duration of the school year in. When he found the classroom, he was surprised to see that several students had already arrived and were chatting together quietly. Alex took a seat away from them near the window, and seemingly gazed out, examining the sky. He discreetly listened into their conversation, but it wasn't very interesting. Something about a new teacher or something, but Alex just tuned them out. He listlessly sat at his desk as more students filed into the classroom, filling the empty desks one by one.
Alex felt a tentative tap on his shoulder. He turned from the window to see a - girl? boy? - short student with blue hair pulled up in a pigtail, the other half of their hair hanging down messily.
"Um, excuse me, I dropped my hair band, and it's under your desk." They politely said. Alex looked down, and there by his scuffed up shoe was the black hair band. He picked up the elastic and handed it to the student.
"Here," he said smiling. It wouldn't be a bad idea to be friendly and get information, after all.
"Thanks," the student said, quickly pulling their hair back up into a manageable pigtail. "Oh, by the way, my name's Shiota, Nagisa Shiota."
"Hi, I'm Bright, Jack Bright." Alex smiled inwardly at his name, he took it to remember Jack, and he figured she wouldn't mind. Nagisa tilted his head questioningly.
"Jack? Isn't that an English name?" Alex smiled at the confusion.
"My dad was American," he explained. Luckily, his Japanese had become fluent enough to pass him off as a native, but he could still explain away his fair hair and complexion with a foreign "father." Nagisa nodded.
"Nice to meet you Bright-kun, welcome to E-class." Seeing as their conversation came to a close, Alex turned back to the window and Nagisa went off to greet others in their class. When the classroom filled up, save a couple empty seats, a serious looking, middle-aged man with spiked up hair entered the classroom, followed by two bulky men with- guns!? Alex instinctively tensed, preparing for a confrontation. 'There's no way they could know who I am,' he thought to himself, trying to calm his nerves. The two bulky men were followed by a yellow… octopus? Taking the silence of the surprised classroom as an invitation to speak, the yellow blob decided to introduce himself.
"Nice to meet you, I'm the one who blew up the moon. I also plan on blowing up the earth next year. Seeing as I've become your homeroom teacher, I look forward to working with you."
The class was in shock. The spiky haired man stepped forward and introduced himself.
"I am Karasuma from the Ministry of Defense." Alex paid more attention to the man, technically, they were co-workers. "Everything you are about to hear is highly classified government information. I'll cut straight to the point. I need you to kill this monster."
"So… we're supposed to kill this alien?" one of the students questioned.
"He's not an alien, I can't go into particulars," Alex would definitely be finding out those particulars pretty soon, "but this creature, only known to the leaders of the world, who destroyed the moon, and who will destroy the earth needs to be eliminated." At this point, Karasuma reached into his jacket, pulling out an odd-looking knife and lunged at the yellow octopus. "By an assassination." The octopus evaded and dodged the quick attacks easily. "This monster is also very fast." Well no duh.
By this point, Alex was furious. What was the Ministry thinking? Sending a lethal creature to a junior high school, and requiring the students to kill it. No one should have to bear the guilt of killing someone, even if that someone was a creature bent on destroying the earth. Alex knew the guilt of an assassin, he was trained as one after all, and before he left MI6, the "bank" had made use of these skills, and he had come to uncomfortable terms with that guilt. Yes, the world was a better place due to those deaths, but at what price? Alex made a resolute decision at that point, and knew the reason he had been enrolled in this class. None of these students would succeed in the assassination, but Alex Rider, no, Jack Bright, would be victorious. He didn't want these kids to become him.
Ack! You never realize how many ways you can go with a story until you sit down and write it and it starts writing itself and it starts taking you in directions you hadn't even thought about before! Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Just by Chance.
