I know this chapter is a little shorter, but please, bear with it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Assassination Classroom or Kuroko no Basket.

Nagisa felt a bit awkward in the limousine. Seijuro was sitting just beside him, but he didn't know what to say. He had thought he was just fine with the older man and his presence, but it wasn't until now that he realized that there was awkwardness there.

Or then it was the way he had spoken to him earlier.

"I don't think I complimented your new hairstyle yesterday?"

Nagisa blinked and turned to Seijuro. He blinked once more and then shook his head. "No, I don't think you did."

Seijuro smiled and ruffled the boy's short hair. "It was brave, by the way."

Nagisa blinked. "Brave?"

"Cutting your hair", Seijuro explained. "After having it long for so long."

Nagisa thought about it and shrugged his shoulders. "I… guess. But it was time, I think."

"Time to let go of the past", Seijuro sighed and ran a hand through his own hair. "That's why I said it was brave."

Nagisa blinked. "Eh?"

"Humans naturally cling to their past", Seijuro explained. "No matter how sad or happy, it is natural to cling to the past and try to keep things as they were. No one truly likes changes, sudden or not."

Nagisa thought about those words. They rang with experience and knowledge. He knew they were true, both of them did. Sudden changes were always the worst, but changes that happened in a long time, almost unseen, weren't exactly welcome either. People clung to their pasts. Everyone in their little family had their own experiences of that – Nagisa clung to the past with his mother, what he had gotten used to, Karma clung to the past where he was feared because of Akaki, Tetsuya used to cling to the past where Kiseki no Sedai enjoyed playing basketball and each other's company and Seijuro used to cling to the past where he was the best. They all knew, in their own way, that those words were true. It was natural to cling to the past, no matter how happy or painful it was. Changes were always changes – no matter how much it was for the better, it always meant that one needed to get used to something new, learn something new.

"Being able to let go of the past and start anew is a true sign of bravery", Seijuro said. "It doesn't show that you're not afraid of changes – it shows that you are in terms with that past and welcome the changes that come to you."

Nagisa smiled a little. "I… I've never heard anyone thinking like that."

"Experience", Seijuro ruffled his hair with a smile. "You're braver than most."

"Thanks", Nagisa said. He hadn't even realized that he was feeling anxious after cutting his hair, not before he heard those words. Someone telling him that he was brave, braver than most people out there, it made him feel much more relaxed. He had people who cared for him and who were ready to help him through this big change in his life, just like he was there to help Karma get through the biggest change in his life.

"Don't let those other students bring you down", Seijuro said. "They know nothing about you and your struggles. They don't realize that when it comes to you and them, you're the one who is stronger and braver, the one who will go far in life."

"They're afraid of changes", Nagisa suddenly realized. Seijuro nodded. "They're afraid of the school system changing, just like Asano Gakuho. They're all afraid of Class 3-E's change and how it will affect everything."

"They cling to the past where Class 3-E was weak", Nagisa's eyes widened a little. Seijuro smiled a little. "But you're not weak, no one in that class is weak. You're all strong, stronger than those students at the main building. Not just physically, but also emotionally."

"Eh?" Nagisa blinked, confused. Seijuro chuckled good-naturedly. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

Nagisa was still confused.

"Bullying is a double-edged sword", Seijuro explained. "People bully others to cause them emotional pain and to break someone. Sometimes, it works."

"Sometimes it doesn't", Nagisa stated. Seijuro nodded. "Sometimes the bullied ones get through it. And when they do get through it…"

"They come back stronger", Nagisa realized. "That's what you meant with us being emotionally stronger."

Seijuro nodded with a warm smile on his lips. "They bullied you, but you didn't break. Instead, you got through it and came back, a lot stronger. Whereas they are on the same level where you guys started off as."

Nagisa smiled as he realized that this was true. Whereas they had gotten stronger both emotionally and physically, the students from the main building hadn't. They had stayed as they were, afraid of changing things.

"You guys, too, must have been afraid of the change that came with Korosensei", Seijuro said. "But with no other options, you accepted it. The longer he stayed, the more relaxed you came with the idea that things would change."

It was just then that Nagisa realized it, for real. "And now, we're afraid of the change that will come once Korosensei dies."

Seijuro frowned. He had feared this from the first moments. When he was informed of Korosensei and how he would be dealt with, he had feared that once the students came to accept him and relax around him, no matter how badly they were encouraged to kill the octopus, it would eventually lead to them being afraid of the consequences that came with it.

Nagisa was horrified at his realization. He hadn't thought of it before, but… He really was afraid of what would happen once Korosensei died. He had been the only one to encourage them to study, he had improved them in so many ways. He had showed them that there were many sides of life. What would they be without him? What would happen once he died? Once they… killed him?

Seijuro suddenly brought him into a hug. Nagisa's eyes widened and he suddenly realized that he was close to hyperventilating. Seijuro rubbed his back comfortingly. "Calm down, Nagisa. Breathe."

"In", Nagisa breathed in. "And out."

Seijuro kept telling him the rhythm as he tried to breathe into it. Slowly yet surely, he got his breathing into check. Even after he did, though, Seijuro didn't let go of him. The older man gently held him there, his presence alone reassuring the younger blue-haired boy that everything was and was going to fine.

Nagisa slowly and unsurely wrapped his arms around Seijuro. If the man was surprised, he didn't show it. "Everything is fine."

Nagisa nodded against Seijuro's chest, yet refused to let go. For now. The revelation was just too much. He had thoughts they were doing fine. That they were going to kill Korosensei before March. But… what if they were so afraid of the time after that that they couldn't? What if, on the last second, they'd back off? What if they really couldn't kill Korosensei?

"Don't think of it, Nagisa", Seijuro told him. "It will all be fine."

Nagisa nodded and swallowed. He pulled a bit away, smiling. "Thanks, Father."

Seijuro didn't look convinced of his health. He looked at the boy for a while before sighing. "I'll look into it."

"Eh?" Nagisa blinked. Seijuro smiled. "I've heard a rumor that someone is trying to figure out why Korosensei would blow the Earth. I'll look into it."

Nagisa blinked before his eyes brightened. "Really?!"

Seijuro nodded. "I have two sons in that classroom, after all, and I'm sure both of them are feeling the same."

Nagisa didn't know why he had tears in his eyes. He wiped them away and smiled brightly to Seijuro. "Thanks, Father! You're the best!"

Seijuro chuckled and ruffled his hair. He then smiled innocently. "By the way, when you get home, pack for a few days."

Nagisa blinked. "Eh?"

"We're going on a family vacation."

Nagisa blinked. "When? Where?"

"To Hakone for the next few days before your midterms."

HUH?!