So the servers had their monthly meltdown last night, which meant that the listing in the archive for Great Teacher Nagisa read that the story has significantly fewer chapters, words, reviews, and all that than it does and that it last updated on December 19th. It read like this for a few hours (at least for me). If you saw that, please rest assured that I did not delete a chapter or remove peoples' reviews or anything like that. I still see this happening to one other recently updated story, so I'm not even sure if this chapter will post, but here goes.
Also merry Christmas Eve/Christmas, depending on your timezone.
"Why do I have to be the kuchi-sake-onna?"
"Because Kagato, you said 'not it' last. Now shut up while we put your makeup on." Toshima smiled sadistically as he covered his classmate's mouth in cheap lipstick.
"But she's ugly! I wanted to be the werewo-hmhmh-" His speech was muffled.
"Don't accidentally eat the lipstick. That's a waste and we're broke." Nagisa chided him with a shake of the finger, then turned back to the Styrofoam gravestone he was decorating.
Kagato continued to sit there and pout as his classmates giggled at his embarrassment.
Kasegawa pulled her cape tighter. "I think my vampire teeth are falling out."
"Just put them back in. They're 100 yen store crap." Nagisa finished writing on the gravestone. Mrs. Ima Goner, in red katakana that even dripped like blood.
Izumoto started the fog machine that Akari borrowed from the set of her morning drama last season. It filled the room with white mist that Nagisa had to stand to look over. "Who's gonna be the octopus?" Izumoto asked.
Nagisa looked around his classroom. Everyone had turned down the role of Koro-sensei. Perhaps his beloved mentor wasn't in enough horror movies for them to have an interest in playing that part. Nagisa patted down his hair, which the humidity was making rather frizzy. "Are you all sure none of you want to be-"
"Hey teach," Azuki sat up from the pumpkin he was carving. "Why don't you be the alien octopus?"
"Huh?" Nagisa blinked. "And I'm Shiota-sensei."
"Yeah, you're the one who keeps pushing this idea on us." Banno added.
"You'd make a good super villain." Takemura didn't look from the yarn he was weaving into a spider web.
"But would he really?" Shisaki deadpanned. "He's a 160 centimeter blue-haired girly fifteen year old." His comment was ignored by the rest of the class.
It didn't occur to Nagisa before, but now that his students brought it up, it seemed like a perfect fit. But there was one problem that created. "But I'm managing the exhibit-"
"Leave it to me." Azuki swept the dust into the corner.
Nagisa was quite surprised that he of all people would volunteer to do that. "Are you sure you can?"
"I'm a little insulted that you're underestimating me like that, Shiota-sensei." Azuki replied in mock horror. "I want an opportunity to be the mastermind behind an evil operation anyway."
Nagisa knew it was good to show trust to his student. "Okay. I'm here if you need anything." Nagisa slipped on the yellow tentacle-like sleeves he and Akari had sewn out of cheap fabric.
Nagisa did his best to ignore his email all day. He was still in denial about what he received this morning. But anxiety eventually got the best of him, and at lunchtime he looked at it.
To: Nagisa Shiota
From: Gakuho Asano
Subject: Hello there…
Hello Shiota-san,
I'm sure you remember me from all those years ago. I would like to meet up whenever you are free, just a chat between fellow educators. And, I've got something that might be of interest to you.
Please email back soon,
Mr. Gakuho Asano
Every hair on Nagisa's neck stood on end when he re-read that. What could the former principal Asano, the one who put them through the hell known as the E Class system, possibly want?
Nagisa caved to curiosity and responded.
To: Gakuho Asano
From: Nagisa Shiota
Subject: Re: Hello there…
Mr. Asano,
How does Saturday, February 3rd at the park near the train station sound?
Sincerely,
Nagisa Shiota
And send.
Nagisa scrunched over, hidden underneath his desk. The Koro-sensei costume was itchy. Since he couldn't see a thing due to the dim lighting and the fog, he was relying on sound to know when to scare.
Takemura's werewolf howl, check. Footsteps inbound, check. Voices, check. And now…
"Why did we even waste your money coming in here anyway? This is lame, but I guess we should have expected that from 3-5."
Nagisa flushed in the dark. He slowly got up. "Nurufufufufu…"
The teenaged couple froze in their tracks. "What the hell is that!?"
"I think I've seen him before."
"Nurufufufu…" He continued to imitate his mentor's signature laugh. The students just became even more disturbed. Channeling all of his bloodlust, he wove around his 'tentacles', which is what sent the pair over the edge. They bolted along the path in terror, screaming again when they ran into the 'spider web' on the other side of the room.
Nagisa, pleased with this outcome, went back to his designated spot under the desk and waited in anticipation for his next victim.
The festival was over in the blink of an eye. As the next week passed, statistics came out about each class's accomplishments. Of the thirteen classes in the high school, 3-5 ranked dead in the middle at seventh.
"That's much better than we usually do. We're always dead last because people generally don't bother to patronize us." Kazama high-fived his friends.
"Just like our exams. Progress is incremental. We should be proud of ourselves. Especially our manager." He turned his gaze toward Azuki, who hid and blushed.
"I just… Stop staring at me!"
Nagisa was in for a surprise that day. He looked at the board. Friday, February 2nd. Seven days 'til midterms. He quickly added Nine days 'til college entrance exams, as his students sprung it upon him that all twelve of them had their exams on that day. And apropos of that, it was time for a life lesson.
"Look, class," Nagisa sat atop his desk, indicating that he was serious. "I know it's very stressful that your college entrance exams are just two days after midterms, but think about it this way: the midterms will prepare you for the entrance exams."
Radio silence. Then Takemura spoke, which was becoming increasingly common. "I don't know if I'll make it through that weekend."
Nagisa gave him a bright warm smile. "Of course you will. I'm sure you thought that way about your other exam periods, but here you are now."
"But two huge ones in a row, Shiota-sensei…"
"Here's a deep dark secret they don't want you to know," Nagisa juggled the chalk in an attempt to look cool. "It's not the end of the world if you don't get into your first choice school."
Another wave of nostalgia overwhelmed him. "I went to middle school with a guy," A certain cheesy haircut and glasses flashed in his memory. "He didn't get into his first choice for high school and he was heartbroken. But now he's the emergency room doctor in one of the most important hospitals in the area. And he's one of the most dependable people I've ever met."
"Is this at the Takebayashi General Hospital?" Kazama was beginning to connect the dots.
"I won't say yes, and I won't say no." Nagisa smirked. "But, I will tell you that where you go to school will not determine the path you follow for the rest of your life. So while you should put your best foot forward, don't lose any sleep over it."
There was a knock at the door. "Shiota-sensei?" Nagisa knew that voice better than anyone else's on earth. He rushed to the door.
"Akari!" He squealed.
Akari, in her full disguise (minus the hair dye), stood in the doorway with baby Kaede in her arms, wrapped in many layers of scarves and winter clothes. They were both red in the face from the cold. "You forgot your lunch," she handed him a little box covered in cloth. "So I decided to come bring it to you."
Nagisa hadn't even noticed. "Wow Akari. I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to." She giggled. The baby copied her mother, having woken up and seen that her father was there.
Nagisa scooped Kaede up out of his fiancée's arms and held her tightly. He caught a glimpse of the window. "It's snowing out. Stay with us for a while." He shut the door behind them.
"Can we?" Akari didn't expect that response.
"Of course." Nagisa was full of joy, receiving a visit from two of his most favorite people.
Nagisa was now at the front of the room, cradling his daughter in one arm and using the other to write the word 'enzyme' on the board. He only wrote the first few letters before getting a response.
"Ew!" Kasegawa pulled back in horror. "What's that?"
Nagisa would have been offended if he didn't know her better. "This is Kaede Shiota, my precious little-"
"Please don't subject us to this again." Tsukuda bowed as much as he could while sitting in his desk. "We get it, she's your little freakin' angel or whatever." He rolled his eyes and was grateful that his teacher couldn't see that when he sat like this. "My dad was never this enamored with me."
"I'm quite sorry to hear that." He cringed between learning that and Kaede pulling on a fistful of his hair. Good thing he didn't have pigtails anymore. "And I won't gush if you sit up straight, okay?"
"Fine."
With a happy face, Nagisa went back to teaching the class about why lactose intolerant people cannot digest milk.
Rumors were whispered about Shiota-sensei's fiancée all day.
"I've seen her somewhere before." Shisaki studied her features. "Like, before she came to the art sale. She's familiar."
"She looks like a movie star. How'd he snag such a hot-" Aida was cut off by Nagisa glaring at him.
"I guess personality really does count for a lot or he's secretly rich. But yeah, I think I saw her on tv or something." Azuki contributed to the conversation, absentmindedly copying down whatever their teacher was writing on the board.
"No, you idiot. She's just a local. No way he'd date someone that far out of his league." Shisaki replied.
"I think she looks like Haruna Mase." It just occurred to Hamada.
"Don't be stupid, she's not Haruna-sama."
When Nagisa's after school tutoring session concluded, he left with Akari and Kaede.
"What do you want for dinner, Akari?" Nagisa handed the squirming baby to Akari when he couldn't quell her. She was probably tired and hungry.
"Pizza." She thought hard about that. Then it happened.
"Hello there!" Nakagawa walked towards them in greeting. The couple threw frantic glances at each other. Akari's disguise should fool him, right? "I don't think we've been acquainted. I'm Shintaro Nakagawa, I teach English here." He bowed.
Akari bit back a response. "I'm Nagisa's fiancée." She decided not to give a name, even a fake one. "This is our daughter, Kaede."
"How precious!" Nakagawa fought back his anger, but Nagisa could sense it. "I can see whose hair she inherited."
Nagisa and Akari were becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Nakagawa got up close to Kaede and tried to look more at her. Just as Nagisa was about to intervene, the baby made an angry face and turned towards her mother.
"Sorry, she's not used to people." Nagisa laughed with false pretenses.
"I get that." Nakagawa waved. "I sure wish I had one."
"One what?"
"A… Nevermind." He realized he almost shared that detail about his personal life with the target of his paranoia. Dammit. He began to leave. "I'm in a hurry, so I'll see you around!"
Yes, Nakagawa did have a place he was heading towards. His home, where he and his associate would execute Operation Alpha.
"I can't believe it." Nakagawa ranted now that he was in the safety of his own home. "He has a baby." Jealousy blazed through him like fire. "There are two things in this world I want but don't have. One of them is a baby, the other is Haruna Mase."
"Calm down, maybe you can get something out of Haruna-sama after we're done here." Shibata sat on the floor scrolling through Haruna Mase's accounts on every social media platform she had.
"But he has the other thing."
Shibata got to work sending out some emails and generally ignoring Nakagawa.
"Well, it's a good thing no one has Haruna-sama. That would just be… enraging."
Nagisa was at the fated meeting place he agreed upon with Asano. Sitting on the park bench, he wiped the snow off and shuddered. They were supposed to meet at noon, it was already 12:10. Just as Nagisa began to contemplate sending another email, an all-too-familiar voice shot through his eardrums like lightning.
"Ahh, Shiota-san." The principal appeared next to him.
"He-Hello, Princi- I mean, Mr. Asano." Nagisa bowed with not quite the same depth as he did to this man many years ago.
"It's quite nice to see you here. Now, let's go for a walk, shall we?"
Nagisa nodded in agreement, having no better ideas. He took the time as they walked through the park to observe the former principal's appearance. He had gone completely gray, now there was no telling how old he was. Bags were visible under his eyes. Yet by some divine mercy, he had relatively few wrinkles. And he wasn't talking either. Nagisa had enough of feeling uncomfortable for the weekend and decided to start the conversation.
"So what have you been up to since Kunugigaoka?"
"You go first." Asano rubbed his hands together to warm them.
"Uh… It's my first year student teaching. I have a fiancée and a five week old."
"It sounds like you've got yourself together."
"I'm flattered you think that." Nagisa looked away.
"Are you putting what you learned from that year to good use?"
"You bet."
The air was filled with silence as they stopped at the oak tree.
Thirty seconds, a minute… Nagisa didn't know how long they stood like this, but he didn't like it one bit.
"How's your son?" He'd talk about that, right?
"Ran off to a whole different country." Asano said with a bit of humor. "He calls about once a month to keep me updated. Something about starting a new life in the Silicon Valley." He gave a little bit of a shrug.
They stood for a few more seconds before Asano cleared his throat. "It's quite cold out. How about we get some lunch?" He pointed to the burger place at the edge of the park.
"I'm broke."
"Then I'll buy."
"No, it's really fine-" Nagisa put his hands up in surrender.
"No, I insist."
Realizing that this guy wasn't going to take no for an answer, he conceded.
They both sat on barstools at the counter, waiting on their order.
Asano finally broke the tension by pulling out his phone. He scrolled through pictures to show Nagisa.
A fancy looking building against the Tokyo skyline. Bathrooms with carpeted floors and hallways that looked like they came out of Hogwarts. It all looked like a postcard, the kind of place you'd brag about being near.
"Mr. Asano… This is all very nice, but what is it?" Nagisa took a bite of his burger.
Asano showed him one more picture, a logo that said Maple Woods Junior High in big brown kanji. No furigana. The Kunudon mascot was there, but he seemed to have gotten a makeover.
"See, my whole life I've never wanted anything other than to be an educator, Shiota-san." Asano nibbled on a fry. "So when the media shut down Kunugigaoka because of that whole E Class thing, I set out to continue doing what I was meant to do."
"So you founded another school?"
"That is correct. I funded everything, and went over every painstaking detail. The curriculum is already mapped out. It should be ready to open in a few years. It's only missing one thing: staff." Asano put his cup down and looked expectantly at Nagisa.
"… You're asking me to be a teacher at your school." Nagisa knew Asano was would probably sneak his way back into the education field, but asking for his help?
"I've heard nothing but good things about you."
"From whom?"
"Oh, people. My associates."
Great, another suspicious thing. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to turn down that offer. I'm grateful to you for what you did for me during the assassination classroom. It sucked at the time, but I feel like it really defined who I am. But my contract was renewed for next year."
"What about the year after that?" Asano seemed disappointed.
Nagisa looked at his now empty plate. "That's still up in the air."
Asano stirred his tea with a disappointed look. "Will you at least consider it for the future? Maybe that year?"
It was at that moment that Nagisa got a text from Akari.
Come home as soon as you can.
Nagisa got up. "I'll think it over." Though he didn't believe he wanted to, he figured the offer deserved some more thought. "Sorry, my fiancée texted me and it was urgent."
"Do I know her?"
"Kaede Kayano."
The principal almost laughed. "I always did see the two of you hanging out."
Nagisa paused. "By the way, how did you get my email?"
"I have my ways."