I'M SO SORRY FOR BEING LATE, WAS AT A WEDDING AND FORGET TO UPDATE BEFORE THAT!
anyways, i'm really, rea~~~~lly, rea~~~~~~~lly. like ONE SCENE LEFT close to the end of the rewrite i started two months ago after 'The Big Erasure' and i really am so happy finally to soon be able to stop worrying about the original writing. i don't know if the original is better or the rewrite, but i do feel that the rewrite is more completed and fleshed out so i really want to thank griewer for not giving up on me and for you guys for spurring me on. you guys are the best!
i love you all so much and hope that we continue this journey for a long time ^^
p.s. also, my computer fried so it's hard to write.. *sob*
p.s.s. does anyone know what Aguri's actual height? it's shorter than human korosensei by like 10-15 cm according to what i could see and GoD was said to be of average height, so... around 170 cm?
p.s.s.s. also, of anyone wondering, i have already written the trio's pasts, so i am not copying anything from your theories, so feel free to add your theory, i really want to read them!
review replies:
AngeGirlmon: really? what are they? *excited* and i'm sure you will ^^ until then, i want to read those ideas. and you're right, i just noticed *giggle* maybe i was still half asleep when i wrote the chapter. that it did, good luck on solving the mystery.
Shepard: we all wonder what happened? well, it might be the case, it might be not *shrug and grin* a-a medal? *blush* you are keeping embarrassing me! do you want me to be conscious so i can write or not? *bury my face in my hands* you-you're welcome *returns the hug*
The destroyer of fate: *chuckle* oops? well, you've caught up now. and maybe? probably. ;p and did they know each other? maybe~ maybe not ^^ thank you sweetie.
Kikyo2180: i wanna hug him as well. and it's official? canon proves that *swoon* and i don't want to be nagisa, i want to have him as a living stuffed animal. he's soooo adorable~
JustARandomReader: *laugh* exactly! and see? told you guys that nagisa will be back. don't worry, i will not abandon him! on my word!
Kuroi Rin: yep, karma and kaede (nd nagisa) will always be wary of cars. they're not natural! *chuckle*
i hope they don't have to face guns as well... but maybe they will have to? it'll be interesting to see that *grin*
and that's good. readers should like that since that's going to stay *smile*
thank you, sweetie.
see ya! ^^
big thanks to the one who helps me so greatly in this fic, Griewer!
don't own assassination classroom, matsui-sensei does
as always, please review and all this crap.
love you guys.
enjoy! ^^
Chapter 16 - Mistakes and News
"So I couldn't find any record of them. I even tried looking into illegal immigration or records overseas but nothing. I thought maybe to try and match face structure to country, but nothing as well. To be honest, I'm starting to wonder if they didn't just fall off from the sky at this point," Yada's voice vibrated in Aguri's ear from the phone she was holding. It was well into the night and the older woman was in her room, looking over papers when she had called Yada.
Said woman sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "So we can't file a complaint…"
"Sadly, no… I can try and do a DNA test and maybe that would pop something up. If not then we'll be able to register them, hopefully, without any complications."
"Thank you for doing this for me…" Aguri inhaled and rested her forehead on the pile of papers, "Karma went to sleep right away and I'm worried he's more hurt than he lets me see."
"Well, I would advise to bring him to the hospital but he doesn't have any records yet… how about on Friday you bring those three to a DNA test and I'll pull some strings to have him checked up with no registration? It wouldn't be the first time I had to do this so no suspicions would rise."
"That would be amazing," Aguri smiled in relief, "You saved me so much trouble. I'll be sure to repay you back."
"Do we need to go over this conversation again?" A hint of amusement filtered through the phone. The black haired woman laughed softly and shook her head.
"Forgive me, I forget. But really, thank you…" Black eyes opened, a lone tear falling, "I was so scared when I saw him on the couch, looking so beaten up. He took on six men and yet, both Kaede and he don't even regard it as 'extreme'. That makes me scared of finding out what their definition of 'extreme' is."
"What did Nagisa say?"
"He was in the kitchen so I don't know. But he is smiling a lot lately…"
"Well, I could draw several things from this, but it does seem that either abuse or street fighting was part of their previous lives. Karma did seem the type, though he was pretty protective of Kaede and Nagisa. "
"He's too obvious," Aguri barked a soft laugh, "And he tried to deny it every time. But thank goodness that he starts to embrace it."
"Good to know. This family is good for them. They are good kids."
"That they are… Anyways, so Friday?"
"Yes. I'll meet you at the entrance and guide you to the doctor's room. Have a good night and keep an eye on Karma in the meanwhile for any worsening in condition. Call me if it does get worse."
"Obviously…" Aguri nodded and hung up, letting the hand holding the phone fall and dangle next to her, turning her head to side and closing her eyes. She was so tired and strung thin. She checked up on Karma earlier and he seemed fine, sleeping peacefully and breathing normally. Nagisa had wormed his way to the redhead's stomach and curled there, sleeping like a baby. It was such an adorable scene she had to snap a picture of it. She smiled and raised her hand, opening the picture app and looking at the unusual image.
She doesn't know when it happened, but it seems that the two are finally warming up to the notion of being brothers and her heart swelled happily at her future family. Then she scrolled to the left and chuckled; she had taken this picture a few nights ago when she went to their room after the trio fell asleep on the bed. Karma and Kaede flocked Nagisa on either side and they seemed very content.
Her adorable siblings. Her family.
She has a family.
She took a shaky breath, smiling warmly as tears fell down. She is not alone anymore.
She is not alone.
She will protect them. She will protect this.
Nothing would take her family away from her if she has any say in it.
She closed her eyes, thanking whomever up there for this gift.
Thank you for bringing me those three, Kami.
You're welcome.
Her eyes snapped open and she straightened up, looking around her frantically, but there was nothing in the room. After a moment she blinked and huffed out a chuckle, resting her forehead on her open palm. She had merely exhausted herself, that's why she was hearing noises.
Well, time to sleep, she thought as she stood up and set away the papers, then started stretching. She yawned and fell on her bed, pulling up her blanket and closing her eyes.
"Aguri-nee?" Her eyes opened and she saw Kaede stare at her with big eyes but with a small smile, standing next to the bed. Aguri smiled warmly and raised the blanket in invitation.
"I really ought to buy a new bed for you," She mused as the greenette settled on the bed. Kaede chuckled.
"Maybe… but I don't mind," She confessed and went to sleep, falling asleep almost immediately. Aguri smiled warmly and closed her eyes, dozing off as well.
Karma was looking better the next day, more aware and less in pain, the girls noted in relief. Aguri took off the bandages and cleaned the bruises and cuts meticulously, ignoring Karma's eye rolling and gripes on how he can clean himself. She only flicked him on the forehead and returned to redressing the wounds.
"Seriously, I had worse… though I used to heal from them as easily as taking out a thorn," He grumbled from his seat by the dining table with the girls sniggering and Nagisa ignoring him in favor of eating.
"Well, I don't want any of those cuts to get infected and then have you sit at home for a week with fever," Aguri replied fondly and Karma blinked and furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Injuries can make you sick? Humans are so strange…" He mumbled and Aguri shrugged and patted his arm gently.
"Alright, set to go. Finish eating your breakfast and we should set out in about half an hour."
"I would have finished already if some nagging woman would have left me alone." Kaede burst out laughing and Aguri's cheeks colored with embarrassment.
"Well, remember that this nagging woman is the one who provides you with good food," She grumbled and Kaede patted her back while trying to muffle her giggles. Karma smirked in amusement and picked up his fork, resuming eating.
"Seriously, it feels like you're making fun of me now…" Aguri mumbled to herself and then turned to the still eating blunet, "What do you think, Nagisa?"
Nagisa blinked and looked up, locked eyes with her for a moment before smiling softly and returning to his plate. Aguri buried her face in her hands to the sound of the other two's laughter.
"Don't try to go to limbless for comfort, he has no idea what's going on!"
"You three are traitors!" Aguri exclaimed in a halfhearted annoyance. "I feel betrayed!"
Silence followed. Aguri immediately looked up in alarm and her eyes widened at Karma's pale face, Kaede's blown wide eyes and Nagisa's darkening expression.
"What's wrong? What did I say?" Aguri right away got up and circled the table so she stood between Karma and Kaede, "Guys?"
"I'm not a traitor…" Karma growled. Kaede clasped hands over her mouth as her shoulders shook. "I did not betray anyone." Nagisa looked down.
"Of course you are not. I was just joking. Please talk to me; who said you are traitors or betrayers?" Aguri was frantic, angry at herself for triggering traumatic memories in the three and yet wondering if what Yada's said about abandonment's issues are actually a result from being told that they are traitors and betrayers.
Stupid, stupid Aguri.
But it's not time for self-reflection. First get them out of their memories.
She clasped her hands loudly and embraced Kaede and Karma tightly, whispering into the embrace. "Everything is alright. You are with me and I'll never leave you no matter what happens. I don't think of you as anything else than my little adorable siblings. You are my family and you have done nothing but good for me. Please come back."
It took a moment, but then color returned to Karma's cheeks and Kaede's eyelids lowered and the two slumped against her. Aguri looked up and noticed Nagisa looking at her and beckoned him to come, a bit annoyed that her arms weren't longer so they could have hugged the boy from all the way here. But when he came, she grabbed him and pulled him into her embrace, murmuring the same things to the blunet.
"I'm so sorry for saying something so insensitive to you three. Even as a joke, betrayal is not something to make fun of."
Kaede and Karma just nodded while Nagisa simply sank into her embrace. The three of them were silent for a long, long while. It was so long, Aguri was starting to dread that she had pushed them too far and she won't be able to bring them back.
Her heart missed a beat and dread washed her. She was about to plead for forgiveness but then, Nagisa wrapped his arms around her frozen body and buried his face in her shoulder. Taking his action as a sign, Kaede imitated the blunet and buried her face into Aguri's other shoulder. Karma exhaled and leaned into her middle, stiff but slowly relaxing as Aguri's body relaxed. The woman sighed in relief and held them closer to her, not caring if her legs were bent in an awkward crouching that made her back and her legs burn nor the heaviness in her arms. She only cared about that she was holding the three and still had them with her.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so glad you're still with me. Please don't leave me…" She muttered. Kaede's breath hitched and the greenette whimpered. Karma nodded hesitantly. Nagisa didn't reply but his arms tightened around her.
Aguri smiled softly and lowered her head to the embrace. "Thank you. Thank you for staying… I'll make sure to engrave in your hearts that you are precious and should be cared for. I will try my best not to repeat my mistake, you have my word. No one will ever hurt you again."
She won't let anyone hurt those dear to her ever again. Not if she can help it.
"Do you need more time?" Aguri asked the trio half an hour later. After the three had calmed down, they had released her and sat back down with Karma pouring water to three glasses and offering the other two silently. Kaede took the drink gratefully while Karma had to dangle the cup in front of Nagisa for a few more seconds, a frown marring the former's face when the blunet finally took the cup.
"No, I think we're fine. It was a stupid mistake. We overreacted. End of story," Karma shook his head, messaging the bridge of his nose, "Seriously, this is getting a bit ridiculous. Are humans that emotionally fragile?"
Aguri cracked a smile. "Yeah, a bit. But the human brain is pretty resilient when needed."
"Huh…"
"We… go?" Nagisa piped in, turning the two's heads to him, "Ss…gino… see…"
"Oh, someone wants to see their little pet?" Karma teased, but his tone was a bit forced. Despite that, Aguri chuckled, understanding the need to return to normal. Kaede lowered her cup and giggled. "Oh, don't pretend that it doesn't annoy you that Nagisa prefers Sugino."
Karma rolled eyes. "At this point, I am just ignoring you. You're lucky I don't prank people in this house."
Kaede's smile turned a bit more genuine at that and she stood up, going to Nagisa and pulling him towards the door. "Shall we go to school?"
"Alright," Aguri smiled warmly and begun walking towards the duo with Karma in toe, stopping only to lock the door. Karma continued ahead and she turned around to see Kaede still hugging Nagisa's arm while shooting some comments to Karma, who smirked and started poking the blunet's face, evading Nagisa's protests. She smiled and adjusted her bag, her expression turning solemn as she recalled the atmosphere merely half an hour ago.
She had touched on something extremely touchy for the trio and she was suspecting more and more that the actual reason those three came to her life was for her to patch their loneliness, trauma, and fears. She was new to this kind of life but she will learn how to interact with them, how to address those issues, and how to make sure they heal best.
She wasn't looking forward to finding out how much they had been hurt, but she will push through if it's for her family.
She straightened herself and strode to the teens waiting for her by the car.
Everything will be better. She'll make certain of that.
The drive was filled with chatter though Aguri wasn't disillusioned enough to think that it meant that they are back to being their usual selves, but rather that they just wanted to forget this morning.
"Would you shut it? My head hurts just by hearing that accursed word again!" Karma finally snapped at Nagisa, who had been for the past five minutes trying to say Sugino's name properly. Blue eyes blinked and the addressed boy glared at the redhead, angry hisses slipping out of his mouth. Kaede was too busy laughing to help.
Aguri sighed. "Karma, don't snap at Nagisa. Nagisa, if you want, after we arrive, I can try to teach you the word so please try to be more considerate of Karma, alright?"
Nagisa blinked, confused. Karma groaned and if it wasn't for his injuries, he would bent down and buried his head in his arms so he wouldn't have to deal with the blunet's lack of social tact.
"Sss…ugino?" Nagisa tried again and Kaede nodded somewhat in relief. Perhaps she was also growing tired of hearing the word as well.
"Yes, you did it. Now please say something else, for example our names like before." The greenette encouraged the boy. Nagisa looked at her than at Karma and nodded, smiling softly.
"Ka…ede…" Kaede beamed happily, "A…geri…"
"Almost there. A-Guuuu-ri."
"A…geeeuri?"
"Guuu."
"Geu." Kaede laughed. "Sss…toop!"
"Say Karma then."
"Ka…rema?" Karma sighed while Kaede laughed.
"Rrrrma."
"Rrsssma?"
"Why are we so set on having limbless talk?" Karma snapped and Kaede sniggered.
"Because Nagisa needs to communicate with people other than us," She explained, "And at some point we're going to go out of the house and the classroom. I don't want to only see those two places for the rest of my life here."
"Don't worry, you will," Aguri assured her, "I am making sure of that."
"How finding our nonexistent identities going anyways?" The redhead said amusingly.
Aguri rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Not good. Nothing to be found yet."
"I told you that you won't find anything."
"Well, a woman can try, no? Besides, I want to make sure nothing will hinder the process if you do possess an identity." She wanted to mention the check up on Thursday, but didn't know if it would be wise to do so this closely to nearly losing the three. At the end, she decided to push it to dinner, after making up a plan as of what to say to them.
Instead of that, she simply smiled and continued driving.
They had exited the car at the usual parking spot and begun advancing up the mountain, the trio seeming to slowly relax and enjoy the stroll as usual. Aguri thanked anyone up in heaven that the mountain always seemed to calm the three down but also wondered if it's calming them down because it's in the nature.
They were silent for a few minutes until a familiar voice called out "Nagisa!"
Blue eyes lit up and Nagisa's head snapped up just as the raven head rushed past him and stopped a few meters away from the blunet. Sugino bent over, regaining his breath for a second before turning to the boy and smiling a big toothy grin.
"Morning, Nagisa!"
"Mo…ning… Sgino," Nagisa smiled back, reaching where the other stood, tilting his head in confusion when Sugino's grin grew brighter and a fist was raised between them. Blue eyes blinked at the fist for a long moment then widened and Nagisa wrapped the fist with his hands and shook it.
Sugino laughed. "That wasn't a handshake, Nagisa. That's a fist bump."
He received a baffled gaze. "Wait, you don't know of it?" A nod. "Alright… it's basically a best friend greeting," Here Sugino straightened up and offered his fist again, "You make a fist and bump it with mine, alright?"
Nagisa looked at the teen's fist then at his hand, then clenched it and bumped it with Sugino's brows furrowing in concentration.
Sugino grinned widely and suddenly grabbed Nagisa's wrist, starting to drag him up the road and past Aguri, Karma and Kaede, who continued walking through their talk.
Only the latter two had noticed the clouded eyes of the raven head.
"I am so glad Nagisa had become such great friends with Sugino," Aguri said happily, elaborating to the two after a moment, "Sugino needed some cheering after losing all of his friends because of class E's prejudice."
"He probably doesn't know what he's dealing with," Karma shrugged, "A clueless snake that will bite his head off without warning."
"You're just not happy that Nagisa ignored you in favor of Sugino. Besides," Kaede continued just before Karma could snap at her, "I think Sugino knows more than he lets on. I just hope he doesn't draw the wrong conclusions."
The redhead stared at her for a long while before rolling his eyes and grinning. "Aren't everyone?"
Kaede smiled back. "Perhaps—"
"Kaede!" The two blinked and turned back just as a small body slammed into the greenette, nearly causing the girl to fall onto the ground. At first, Kaede was frantic until a familiar scent wafted by her nose and orange hair registered in her vision. She blinked and pushed Kurahashi away from her and ignoring Karma's laughter, smiled.
"Morning, Hinano! Please don't scare me like that!" Kaede exclaimed, letting Kurahashi embrace her again.
"Well, I think I had enough of public affection for the day," Karma announced and marched on, disregarding Aguri's calls to wait. Kaede laughed but then yelped when Kurahashi seemed to take note from Karma's actions and pulled her along as they ran up the mountain road.
That had left Aguri on her own on the road, but for some reason she hadn't minded that. She took a deep breath and begun strolling causally, listening to the chirping birds and the rustling leaves. The strong aroma of earth and vegetation filled her nostrils, and her eyes caught the sunlight that shone through the cracks in the trees and softly played on the road.
A sense of peace had descended on her. Her family-to-be were loved. She has the best class to teach. She was loved herself. Everything seemed right in her world.
Her phone rang unnoticed in her pocket.
It was only when she exited the woods when she noticed a vibration in her pants and scrambled around to fish out her phone, accepting the call the second she registered the number.
"Good morning, Yada. Sorry I didn't pick up earlier."
A long silence. Then, "It's alright, Yukimura-sensei. But I have not called for small talk."
"What's wrong, Yada? Did anything go wrong with the search?" A big weight had settled in her abdomen. Please let it be something that can be fixed. Please let it be something that can be fixed…
"The research still goes on. It's not about those three this time… it's about Rinka…"
Black eyes widened in shock as the next words were murmured through the receiver.
"No…"
any thoughts?
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