It's uncomfortable. Nagisa can't think anything but that as he sits between Angel and Karma. During school they started an argument when they were supposed to be putting their ideas together. Karma and Angel can't seem to work together. Even now, as the three sit in a cafe together, the two refuse to even look at each other.
"Listen, I thought if we came here maybe you two might feel better and maybe we could do our work. School can be stressful so maybe that's things didn't go well in class today." Nagisa says, trying to break the awkward silence.
"I'm fine with working wherever. It's not my problem that someone else can't keep himself under control." Angel coldly states as she shoots a glare at Karma.
"I just don't feel like listen to this bi..."
"Maybe we should order something!" Nagisa says, wanting to diffuse the situation before things explode.
"That's fine." Angel looks at the menu in front of her. Nagisa picks up his as well.
"I don't have any money." Karma says, not bothering to look at his menu.
"Ah... right..." Nagisa puts a hand on his pocket. "I-I only have some small change..." He had forgotten about that. Angel sighs, then smiles at Nagisa.
"Not a problem. I can pay."
"Thanks. I'll pay you back."
"It's fine." Angel waves Nagisa's statement away. "It's not like I'm wanting for money." Nagisa waves a waitress over.
"Do you know what you'd like?" The waitress asks.
"I'd..." Nagisa starts.
"One of everything!" Karma says as he holds his menu up to the waitress. All three other people look at him in shock, but all he does is smile.
"O-one of... everything?" The waitress questions as she slowly starts writing on her notepad.
"Yep. Rich Bitch here is paying so lets have everything."
"Karma..." Angel starts, then she stops. After a moment she smirks. "You know, that's fine." She smiles at the waitress. "Go ahead. One of everything if you'd please."
"O-okay..." The waitress walks away, and the shocked gasps of the other employees can be heard after a few moments.
"What are you doing Karma?" Nagisa questions.
"He's thinking he can get under my skin." Angel smirks at Karma. "Listen, whether you like me or not doesn't matter. But if you're going to throw everything away because you're a stubborn fool and can't play nice and work together then that'll be solely on your head. I can afford to buy this place, so buying this much food won't be a problem. Just try not to waste any." She opens her backpack and pulls out her notebook and papers. "Nagisa, here is my information." She says as she hands them over to Nagisa. He takes them and looks them over.
"This is really great." He says as he skims her notes and looks at some diagrams she drew in detail for each of her rooms. "I think we might have the best plan."
"Well we have to make it all work together smoothly. I haven't done any timing tests either, so I can't say how long my plan would take." Angel flips through the menu the waitress had forgotten to take. "We can do a run through the plan when we have one picked out and see how long it would take if we met our imaginary requirements as we go through the room."
"That sounds good. Karma, do you have your papers?" Nagisa looks at Karma who is clearly unhappy that his plan to irritate Angel has failed.
"Yeah." He pulls out his papers and hands them over to Nagisa. He wouldn't bother, but he doesn't feel like dragging Nagisa down for the sake of irritating Angel. Nagisa looks over his work and smiles slightly.
"I don't think it'll take much to make everything work together." Nagisa says as he puts the papers all on the table. "All of our plans work pretty well together, so I think if we just smooth out some edges then we'll be able to pull this off pretty well. Like here..." Nagisa looks at the two points where two different plans meet. He's right, there are only minor adjustments needed. By the time the first few trays of food appear the group has managed to get itself caught up in its work.
"Miss, here if your food." Angel looks up and they see two waitresses with several trays on their arms.
"Oh, yes, thank you." Angel says. They look around. "We may need more tables."
"Not a problems." They set most of the trays on their table, then pull over another for the rest. When the waitresses leave Angel if the first to grab something. She grabs a cupcake and takes a bite.
"Is it good?" Nagisa asks as he grabs a piece of cake.
"Yes." Angel smiles as she takes another bite. Karma grabs a piece of cake as well.
"This is good." Nagisa says as he eats his food.
"So, if we're set on this plan then maybe tomorrow we can do some time tests at school." Angel says as she finishes her cupcake and grabs a drink.
"That sounds good." Nagisa replies. The group finishes their talking quickly, and in the end Nagisa and Karma take home a good amount of food. Angel goes home without anything, deciding she'd rather not be scolded for ruining her dinner by eating a bunch of sweets...
"Angel! Wait up!" Angel stops and looks back. It's after school the next day and things had gone marginally better than yesterday. She and Karma avoided fighting long enough to get some basic work done, but after that things fell apart. Actually, overall things had gone worse. In her fighting with Karma she had made the error of saying something the entire class took as being conceited and rude. Things like her being a better assassin and having the best chance at killing Korosensei.
"Did you need something? I'd think no one would want to be near me at this point." Angel says, not even bothering to sound cheerful in any way.
"I, well, I wanted to talk a bit." Nagisa says.
"You've been asked to try and talk me out of acting like I do, right?" Angel asks as she starts walking again. Nagisa walks with her.
"Well..." He can't deny it. "But, listen, I actually wanted to talk with you. So, would it be alright if we talked?" Angel looks at Nagisa, then sighs.
"I suppose... Would you like to come over?"
"Over... to your house?"
"Yes. It'd be easier if you came over and we talked. Is that a problem for you?" She asks. Nagisa hears something in her voice, something a bit sad perhaps.
"It's not a problem. I was just surprised is all." They get down the hill and Nagisa follows Angel to a sleek black car with a man in a suit standing outside it.
"A friend?" The man questions as the two approach the vehicle.
"Yes. This is Nagisa, we're in the same class. He wanted to talk so I thought I'd invite him over. That shouldn't be a problem, right?" Angel asks.
"Normally no, but..." He hesitates. "Your father gave me a letter for you before he went into a meeting with some of his associates."
"Oh? Let me see it." The man hesitates. "It's alright." He nods and pulls out an envelope from an inner coat pocket and hands it to Angel. Then he opens the back door of the car on the passenger side.
"Come on Nagisa." The two get into the car and the man closes the door before heading to the drivers seat and starting the car. Nagisa buckles up while Angel opens the letter and reads it. The driver pulls out and heads into the after school traffic.
"What is that?" Nagisa asks as Angel reads.
"Nagisa, the others trust you pretty well. You've never tricked them or anything, have you?" Angel looks at Nagisa and he shakes his head. She smiles. "I figured as much. Are you sure you want to know what this is about? Especially with the rumors I'm sure the entire class knows."
"If it's alright. I'm just curious is all." Angel holds the letter out to him.
"Miss!" The driver frowns.
"It's alright. He already knows enough." Nagisa takes the letter and reads it.
"This... This is an order to assassinate someone." Nagisa quietly says when he finishes.
"Ahuh." She looks out her window, the tint making it impossible to see in and a bit hard to see out. "It's not a secret that my father is the head of a very dangerous organization. However he's also a proper business man too. Those two worlds collide annoying often, and when things go bad and someone is causing him a headache I'm sent in to clean up the mess. It's annoying, but I suppose it keeps the boredom away."
"Ah... y-you enjoy... killing?" Nagisa questions.
"No, that isn't it exactly. Hmm..." She looks at Nagisa, a slight smile on her lips. "I suppose it's more like I enjoy the thrill of planning and executing my plans to kill. Killing itself is messy and bothersome. Most of the thrill for me ends when the target dies. Everything leading up to that is like a game."
"A game... Is that how you look at people?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean..." Nagisa hesitates, wanting to get his meaning across properly. "Are we game pieces?"
"Ah, well..." Angel hesitates now. "I don't think so. It's not like I'm cold to the world." She looks out her window again. "That isn't it at all. I see it as a game when I go out to kill someone, but then the only game pieces are me and the target. Even if others are involved they're more like obstacles helping the target or boosts for my own piece. But... No, in everyday life I don't see people like that. People are people with their own lives and their own goals, they aren't just pieces to move where I want." Nagisa is surprised. Both by the sad and almost insulted tone Angel took, but by her answer. He honestly expected her to say he was right.
"Then why do you make it so hard for the others to be your friends?" He asks. Angel smirks.
"Is that where this was going? Nagisa," She looks at him. "I can play friendly quite well. I've acquired great acting skills. But... I've never been naturally good at getting along with people. It's never been a necessity for me. Besides..." She looks out her window again, her smile fading away. "I've never had someone I wanted to be friends with before." Again Nagisa hears the sadness in her voice. He feels a bit guilty, making her upset and bringing up some probably bad memories for her. Then he remembers why he's doing this.
"Angel, I didn't mean to make you upset." She looks at him again. "I think that you haven't given us a good chance yet."
"What do you mean?" Nagisa smiles slightly.
"I mean we're not all the most agreeable people either. We fight a lot amongst ourselves. But we're still friends in our class. It's easier to work with your friends because they know they can trust you and you know you can trust them. Even if it's a little difficult, would you please try to get along with everyone?" Angel doesn't respond at first. She's a little surprised.
"Well, I'll try." She looks out her window again. "But so far no one likes the real me. Perhaps you're right, but perhaps what you think I'm really like is merely the facade I dropped with you all." With that the ride continues on in silence. Angel had taken the letter back and looked it over again, making plans for what she wants to do for this order. When they reach her home and the driver opens their doors Nagisa is amazed to see the large building in front of him.
"Y-you live here?" He asks.
"Yeah." Angel walks up to the front doors and Nagisa follows her. They head inside where they find a maid dusting down a foyer.
"Miss! You've brought a guest!" The maid seems surprised.
"Yeah. We're going up to my room. Would you bring something for us to snack on?" Angel asks as she heads up some stairs.
"Of course." The maid leaves. Nagisa follows Angel upstairs and down a hallway, then finally into her room. Inside he finds her room is spacious and beautifully decorated. He sees several decorations, such as some pictures and the vase on a nightstand, are related to roses.
"Do you like roses?" Nagisa asks.
"Yeah." Angel sets her bag at the foot of her bed. "Please, relax." She smiles at him. "I don't have guests over much, so the maid may bother you a bit and pepper you with some questions. If she becomes too annoying please say so and I'll make her stop."
"It's alright." Nagisa sets his bag next to Angel's. He notices a couple large bookshelves with glass doors. One is filled to the brim with angels while the other is filled with owls and roses, and there are even some wolf related items in it. "You collected all those?" He asks.
"Yeah." Angel sits on her bed and looks at her collections. "The shelf on the right has changed over the years. When I was younger I had a rock collection, but as I grew older I switched it for wolves and roses. The wolves are disappearing more and more because I've replaced them with owls and more roses. The angels never leave though. That's a collection my mother started for me."
"Really?" Nagisa walks over and looks at the collection. Most of the pieces are cute and beautiful, but some make Nagisa wonder why Angel keeps them. There are glass figures, porcelain, bells, wood carvings, all sorts of different materials and designs. Some have halos, some don't. "This is really cool."
"Thanks." Nagisa turns and looks at Angel.
"So, why don't you have friends over?"
"I don't really have any friends." Angel says. "I've rarely met someone I wanted to spend enough time with to really call them my friend. Instead I spent most of my time with my father and his employees. The house staff keeps me entertained pretty well, but I wouldn't call them friends either." Angel shakes her head. "It's not important. Anyways, was there something else you wanted to talk with me about? Or did you just want to convince me to try and get along with everyone?"
"Oh, well..." Nagisa rubs the back of his neck.
"It's alright. While you're here you might as well enjoy the snacks the maid'll be bringing. We can talk about the project too. Or maybe we could play some games."
"Games?"
"Yeah." Angel lights up a bit. "I have plenty of games. Board games, video games, card games. If we don't have something then my father wouldn't mind us going out and getting something new."
"Really?"
"Yeah." Angel smiles. "Do you want to play something? Or do you need to go?" Angel gives Nagisa a sad look with puppy dog eyes. Clearly she wants him to stay a while longer and play something. He sighs but smiles.
"Why not some card games? That sounds fun."
"Okay!" Angel jumps off her bed. "I'll go grab some. I'll be right back." She walks out of the room, but Nagisa hears her run the moment she's out of sight.
"She really wanted someone to play with."
"Yes she does." The maid walks in with a tray of cookies and glasses of milk. "Sorry for the intrusion."
"O-oh, it's alright." Nagisa says. The maid sets the tray on Angel's desk.
"Please bear with the young miss for a little while. She was really quite lonely as a child. Her father loved her, but he didn't have all day to spend with her. She hardly saw other children her age until she started school, and even then she didn't make friends all that well."
"Why not?"
"I suppose she came off as a bit stand-off-ish as a kid. She's always been a sweetheart, but people have a hard time getting past that first proud layer of hers. Especially after her mother passed away. Please forgive her for that and take good care of her for us."
"A-alright." The maid smiles.
"Thank you. Her mother was a good friend of mine, and she'd be glad to know the young miss has some good friends now." With that the maid leaves, and Nagisa finds himself rethinking Angel a little...