"I'm going to make a suggestion to you," Ohno's fingers lifted up his chin. "Get in the car. That, or we shoot you right here. I would take the car."

Surprisingly, when there was a real life loaded gun pressed to the back of his skull, Nagisa found he wasn't in the mood to argue. He didn't have time to consider his options, not even in the slightest. How could he, when it was so literally life or death? Kayano and Yada… they'd notice he was missing. They'd be able to get CCTV, to connect the dots. He just needed to obey for now.

He slide into the car, and unsurprisingly, the bodyguard went beside him, keeping the gun firmly planted where it was. Right. So Nagisa couldn't actually break out if he was transported somewhere. The only thing he could think of was that of course, they wouldn't be going to this much effort if they just wanted him dead. Ohno probably needed alive for something… which meant an opportunity to escape, maybe.

The windows were completely blacked out, and Nagisa's knowledge of this area of Tokyo was very limited. So he had no real idea where the car was actually going towards, he could only try and keep track of how long it was taking, to gauge what he could about the distance. Thankfully, his time just sat in that prison had made him skilled when it came to counting down the seconds without getting confused.

It definitely wasn't long, before the car came to a stop. Nagisa half expected them to blindfold him or something, but they were in an underground carpark pretty similar to the one they'd just come from, and there was no way to figure out exactly where he was. Clearly, they were paying this hotel a lot of money, because the gun was kept to his head when he was shoved into the elevator, which definitely had some kind of CCTV. None of that boded well.

Ohno was absolutely staying in the penthouse suite. That was obvious, from the moment he stepped into the room. Actually it was more like an atrium than a hotel room, decorated mildly gaudily, with attaching rooms in both directions. Clearly they hadn't actually planned this, because a few of the bodyguards spoke in hushed tones, and they seemed to scramble to find a chair to shove him down on, and he couldn't really see, but whatever his arms were tied behind him with wasn't proper rope.

"Precautions," Ohno smiled as though it was innocent.

At this point, Nagisa knew it was better to just say nothing yet. He didn't want to somehow give away more information by accident. All he could hope now was that they realised he was missing quickly, and that he'd be able to figure out a way to escape sooner rather than later. He didn't want to anger Ohno into restraining him even further, though, so there was no resistance.

"Leave us," he said, "he's not going anywhere."

He felt a little better without the gun, at least, as much as Ohno was looking at him like some kind of meal. There was little to no slack in whatever his hands had been tied with at least, and even if he did manage to free himself, it would probably be impossible to do it before Ohno would have the chance to stop him. Now he just needed to try and play nice.

"I'm not a bad man, Nagisa," he sighed. "I'm really just a pharmaceutical start up."

He didn't believe it for even a second. "We know this is just a cover up."

Ohno smiled. "You mean the stronger form of Brain Tentacles? Yes, it has a proper name, but it's not as catchy, huh? You have low ambitions, if you thought we were stopping there."

"Is this just for money?"

Ohno pulled up his own chair and sat opposite him. "Sure, that's part of it. What business man doesn't want to succeed? But I'm a scientist at heart, not a businessman. The Kunugigaoka Junior High incident… that was unfortunate. But where others might have stopped and given up, I was the only one to press on. I mean technically, the damage on your beloved teacher has already been done. Rejecting any further research is basically letting him die in vain. Make sense to you?"

Did he? Sure, what happened to Korosensei was irreversible, but Nagisa knew he wouldn't be happy about this at all. As awful as it was, Nagisa was sure, Korosensei had ended his life in a place he was content. But he wouldn't wish his tentacles or any of it on another person. He'd been so against Itona and Kayano's tentacles, of course, there was no way in any circumstance he'd want extra research.

"He didn't die in vain," Nagisa argued, because he felt like he had to.

Of course he hadn't. Korosensei had made that clear to them all. He was happy, to have had the chance to teach them all. He didn't want them to live with the guilt and the feeling of 'what could have been'. He'd finally found happiness, throughout his life. So Nagisa wouldn't allow himself to be manipulated into thinking otherwise, not even for a second.

"Anyway," Ohno brushed him off, "it's simple, really. Brain tentacles are safe, good, in small doses. But when we up the concentration… things start to get a little interesting. But I don't want to talk about something so interesting under these circumstances. Promise to behave if I untie you? I have my men posted everywhere, no matter how skilled you are they'll just shoot you if you try to escape."

Not one to waste an opportunity to have more movement, Nagisa nodded.

At least Ohno was a man of his word, and swiftly went behind Nagisa to untie him. He got far too close for comfort around his neck, though, inhaling deeply with purpose. Something felt a little weird with Ohno, though, but he couldn't quite figure out exactly what it was. He didn't have any method of moving away, though, not until his arms were completely free.

"That's better," he said, and then returned to his chair.

Nagisa just stared at him, but tried subtly to look around the opulent room. There were definitely things he could use as a weapon in a pinch, ranging from wall fixtures to actual pieces of furniture. It seemed to like this wasn't where Ohno was permanently staying. For a man who seemed to have a large amount of forethought… Though that didn't rule out that it could also be a trick.

It was hard to guess the entire layout, but Nagisa did manage to glace that two rather large doors the opposite side of the lounge area opened up onto a balcony. Considering they were high up in some kind of penthouse, there was a very low chance that he'd be able to somehow escape that way, but he knew it was worth it to keep it in the back of his mind.

"You've had close interaction with the tentacles in their early development," Ohno pointed out. "Horibe Itona was a classmate of yours, no? His capture, now that would have been quite something, but beggars can't be choosers. Still, you've seen them at work."

Nagisa suddenly felt like speaking. "You've improved the actual tentacles?"

He smiled. "In a way. Actually, the most impressive thing is how we've managed to alter it all. You see, although Yanagisawa did make some important break throughs with his research, he was far too focused on petty revenge. The tentacles, for example? Too obvious to blend in with society. Especially useless for something like stealth assassination. Well, I've found the solution. What if, I asked, we turn those tentacles inward. And what if we make it so small, the victim doesn't even realise they've been implanted there?"

So he wasn't kidding about the brain tentacles thing? "S-so there's actual tentacles inside the person's head?"

"At first," he shrugged that off like it was nothing. "But we kept working at it. There's no lie, Nagisa. We have found a way to market this for a more general improvement. Think of it like scaffolding for the brain cells that already exist. The other is more invasive like that, of course, but that'll never be sold to the general public."

"And there's no way to stop?"

Ohno laughed. "Well, the effects will fade eventually if you stop taking any supplement. In our high dosed version, however, it's too aggressive. Much like the first versions you would have witnessed, the strength of the tentacles feeds off existing brain function, just as much as it influences it. In cases of extreme aggression, of course we kept in mind an internal self destruct."

He wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. A self destruct? Did that mean that whoever had these tentacles was set to die? His mind immediately went to Yuu, and his chest tightened. Yuu hadn't been displaying any unusual behaviour, but Nagisa knew for a fact that he'd been injected with it. Or, at least, some kind of version. Was he going to be okay?

"Don't look so down about it," Ohno tutted. "You're an assassin at heart, aren't you? Just think about the impact this could have on the world."

He leant in, practically leaning over Nagisa, as he pushed his head back and forced him to look him in the eye. Ohno was an older man who appeared nothing short of sensible, from what Nagisa had seen so far, but there was something crazed and wild in his eyes like a child who'd eaten their body weight in sweets. His scent really was odd, too. Maybe Nagisa was just really in tune with Karma, but he could barely read anything from Ohno's scent. Like it was somehow artificial. He wouldn't have second guessed Ohno's alpha, though, based on every thing else. And yet…

"What kind of impact?"

His crazy smile somehow widened. "I'm so glad you asked. Really, the act of killing is anything but risk free. On top of that, it can be difficult, for the most protected of figures. If we can drug one of the body guards, however, it doesn't matter who the target is. The guard will be filled with so much killer instinct that they'll be dead before they notice anything's wrong. But there's other scenarios, like war for example. There's plenty of governments who are already very interested, as well as a few private byers."

"You've basically created an assassination drug," Nagisa summarised. "You can get whoever you want dosed, send them off in the presence of the target, and then they'll take care of it without even realising what's happening."

"Ding ding ding! Now you're getting it." He backed off, pulling a knife out of his pocket as he started to pace, twirling it around like a toy. "In all honesty, I don't care so much for it. Life, death, killing… I'm a man of science. Well, I suppose life and death are a part of science. Indeed, killing too. But, a lot of people are the most interested in killing, and they tend to be the ones who have the money."

Nagisa squirmed. "What will you do with the money?"

He set the knife down, and reached for Nagisa's hand. "Please, come with me."

Somehow, holding hands with the man felt like one of the most disgusting acts he could partake in. But if he was playing along, this was a far too basic place to tap out. No matter what happened to him, he was still taking his chance to soak up as much information as he could about Ohno and his plans, and so far he was heavily conflicted. He took the hand, though, cringing at the curl of his fingers.

"Do you see that?" Ohno pulled him over to the huge glass door, though didn't actually enter the balcony.

Nagisa squinted, honestly not sure what he was supposed to be looking at. "Tokyo Tower?"

He laughed. "Your eyes are too narrow. Open them up, Nagisa, and tell me what you really see."

"Lights?" Nagisa guessed. "Buildings? The city?"

"Hmm," Ohno agreed, "Tokyo is but a small slice. Money is the key to the world, really. If you have it, you can go anywhere, do anything. I care much more for my research, but even that requires funds."

Nagisa felt, on the tip of his tongue, that he wanted to protest that point, but then he considered it for a moment. It wasn't untrue, that having money had benefited him. Sure, Nagisa didn't live the life of a rich person, but having the funds there had saved him way too many times. Even if Daichi's school was pretty much draining the account dry, it was nice that he had that option on top of his regular salary. So he couldn't disagree that money wasn't important.

"You must be tired," Ohno let his hand go. "Of course, I need my rest too. Thankfully, a suite like this comes with several beds."

This wasn't exactly the kidnapping Nagisa had been expecting. Ohno, still true to his word, led him into one of the attaching rooms. It was even more luxurious than the entrance room, somehow. There was a separate balcony attached, but it didn't appear to be much better as an escape route. As if Ohno was actually reading his mind, two of his henchman came back in, stationing themselves where he definitely wouldn't be able to get out.

"I hope you don't mind my precaution," he laughed, "but needs must. Please, get some sleep. I need you well rested."

Nagisa was a little terrified of the reason for that, but he did know his battles. It was still more beneficial to keep Ohno sweet, for now, and then he'd figure out the rest when he could. If he pretended to sleep, that would be uninterrupted planning time, honestly one of the things he need the most. As long as he could get out before whatever Ohno meant. He walked over to the bed.

"You're going to sleep dressed like that?"

"I-"

His face darkened. "I said I want you comfortable and well rested."

Nagisa started to tremble when he realised what he meant. All of Ohno's actions seemed to be adding up. What choice did he really have, though? He accepted his fate, and gingerly removed his jacket and trousers. Thankfully, even though Irina had insisted on clothes that actually fit well for an event like this, the shirt was still a little long for his torso, which meant that stood in just that and his underwear, he felt just a tiny bit less exposed.

Ohno's eyes remained firmly set on him, as he got under the covers. He didn't know what was expected of him, but he did his best at gently laying his head down, and then closing his eyes as if sleep really was his intention. He slowed his breathing, too, to try and act like he actually was dozing off. But then everything went completely black.

The next thing he knew, he didn't feel well rested in the slightest, and he was once again tied to the chair. It took his brain a moment in the panic he felt to remember what had happened and what led him up to that point. He was just in a room… His thought was cut off as someone entered, footsteps again his only real clue for a moment.

"Let's have some fun, huh?"

Ohno's face was spinning when he looked up at him. "W-what did you do?"

"I said I wanted you relaxed," Nagisa's ears started to ring, "now it's our big experiment day!"

He tried to get his eyes to focus, too weak to struggle against his bindings. "Let me go…"

There was no humour in Ohno's expression. "Please try to stay still. Moving around will only make this harder."

Nagisa struggled anyway, his pure instincts coming out. Hands that didn't belong to Ohno came down hard on his shoulders, though, holding him down perfectly in place. He was no match for the much stronger man, though that didn't stop him from trying with everything he had in him. His hands felt like lead weights, and it most definitely hurt.

"Why don't you take a sip of water," Ohno said casually, "it may calm the nerves."

He stopped fighting, and caught onto his words. 'A drink of water', was he kidding? Something occurred to him, then, that it was just such an unnatural thought. Really… There was definitely a catch. What if he put something in it? Considering the manner in which Nagisa had just woken up, he had to consider that was a definite possibility. He couldn't drink, so he kept his lips prised firmly shut.

"Oh come on Nagisa," Ohno whined. "Have some fun with me."

He turned his head very purposely, as though he was actually going force it.

That must have made Ohno furious, because he gripped Nagisa's chin in his hand, twisting him to face him. "What are you holding on for, huh? This'll help you."

Nagisa glared. "How can it help."

"I know all about you too," there was no hint of a smile that time. "You're talented, aren't you? That's why you tried to take me on all on your own. Why didn't you become a great assassin? You could have had potential… but these feelings. You'd be far better without them. Care, trust, love… won't you let me remove it?"

"No," Nagisa strained, "you-"

Ohno's fingernail dug into the bottom of his chin. "Love is irrelevant. Love… it's fleeting. It can be cut out easier than any other emotion. Why don't you take a drink, Nagisa?"

He kept his lips pressed together, somehow even firmer.

"The thing that I hate the most about love is that it's vapid. It's the weakest of all emotion. Come on," he stared directly into Nagisa's pupils. "Drink it, omega."

Nagisa found himself turning and stretching out his neck in submission. Wait. This wasn't right. This definitely wasn't his alpha. Yet, Nagisa's arms started to shake, and he couldn't quite pull his neck back into its natural position. He was alone, without Karma's scent to protect him. Karma. The corner of his eye started to ache, but he couldn't stop his mouth from falling open.

"Good boy," Ohno let go of him, and started to pet his hair, "that's it."

He lifted the glass to his lips, and Nagisa swallowed as liquid travelled down his throat. Like a baby, he kept going, as Ohno held the glass steady, and then there was nothing left. His energy calmed, then, clearly happy. The glass was taken out of his sight, and Ohno got down onto his knees as though he was going to beg for forgiveness.

"My apologies," he tilted his head, "for having to take such measures. You'll learn though, pet. It'll feel good to obey me. Just wa-"

Nagisa lost focus right about then, staring down at the floor limply. Everything was spinning worse, and he felt like he was going to hurl. Before he could, though, he was hit with the worst headache of his life. Suddenly nothing else even mattered, and he couldn't breathe. As it took over his head, it travelled through the rest of his limbs, like a thousand knives digging in and flicking his flesh out, piece by piece.

He saw Karma, all of a sudden. His image was confusing, definitely him, but Nagisa couldn't quite pin it down. He tried to focus. Had he come to save him? He could barely breathe through the pain, but he knew Karma was holding his hand. Perhaps that would make the burden easier to take. Anything, anything to take him away from this.

"I can't!" Nagisa screamed at the top of his lungs, "I can't do this!"

"Nagisa," his voice sounded desperate, like he was terrified himself. "Nagisa. Nagisa!"

Nagisa looked at him, but something was wrong. He looked younger, and his hair was all different. "I-I-"

He was in pain, he was certain of that, but it was different somehow to the kind he'd just been feeling. Karma made him feel a tiny bit okay, though. No matter how much it hurt, at least he wasn't just alone. Nagisa felt himself reaching out, desperate for the real grip of his hand. As long as Karma held him, maybe he'd be able to think.

"You can do this. I know you can," he insisted, but his voice felt distant and off. "Where's the Nagisa I know, huh? He doesn't just give up, no matter how hard things get. You need to hang in there, okay?"

Nagisa nodded. "I'm trying, Karma-"

But then his hand turned icy cold, and he knew things were entirely different. Karma was different, but he couldn't quite make out how. It was more like an abstract painting than the real him, though he could make out his form. He felt some kind of deep instinctual anger, though, like he should be on the defence, standing his ground.

"Look at you," Karma gestured. "Having the skill of an assassin won't help you every time. You don't even know how to stand up for yourself."

"And why do you think you have the right to?" It fell from his lips in a way that was beyond his control.

"Because you're weak!"

Nagisa didn't know why, but he threw a punch which never landed. He stumbled, considering he'd put his entire body weight into it. Karma was gone entirely, and he felt hollow. Just as he noticed, though, he felt his presence behind him, his warm familiar breath tingling down his neck. And, as he naturally would, he relaxed just a little into it. He was fine, wasn't he?

Then came another hit, and he received it that time. It didn't hurt in the way a punch was supposed to, though. His skin felt like it was going to burn off, like this deep bodied venomous stinging. Where did Karma go? He looked frantically, before his eyes finally adjusted to a figure. A different, unfamiliar form, who was poised in wait. Nagisa blinked, and then noticed all too familiar blue hair that flowed long and free.

"You're not where you're meant to be," the figure locked eyes with him, suddenly appearing within just a few inches of him. "Wake up."

His figure raised his hands, clapping so close to his face it might have hit him on the nose. He jolted so strongly that he was sure his heart stopped beating for a moment, and his breaths came hard and heavy. Automatically clutching his chest, he realised after he'd calmed just a little that he was in a dark room, in bed.

The light flicked on. "What happened?"

A man was standing there, clad in a suit, and then Nagisa's brain caught up. Was that all just some strange dream? The last thing he concretely remembered was Ohno telling him to get some sleep… Had he really been that tired? He reached up with his own hand, feeling the temperature of his forehead. He couldn't tell if he was too warm, but there was a weird layer of sweat there.

"N-nightmare," he replied honestly, still too groggy to calculate the correct response.

He looked him over. "Would you like to get some air?"

Nagisa nodded, since that would probably help him catch up. He swung his legs around onto the floor, reaching for the trousers he'd discarded and quickly pulled them on, as the man guarding him opened the balcony door and gestured. When Nagisa stood up, he frowned at the feeling of the carpet under the soles of his feet. Something was off, irritating him about it, but he kept heading towards his target.

The air hit his face like an ice blizzard, though he was sure it hadn't nearly this cool earlier. He breathed out, though it was hard to relax with the guard's eyes so firmly set upon him. He decided to take his chances, though, and wandered towards the edge. Of course, he was followed, and in fact the guy took his chance to stand far too close for comfort.

What was he going to do, jump off it to his death? He looked down at the cars down below, incredibly small from the current height, and honestly it didn't look so inviting. Something did catch his interest, though. The balcony on the floor right below them stretched further than where Nagisa was currently standing. Realistically, he could make an escape that way. Considering the current situation, too, he wasn't sure there would be a better opportunity.

Perhaps it was time to go back to basics. He faced the man, and before he could aptly question what Nagisa was looking for, he struck his hands right before his eyes. Thankfully, he'd played his cards right, because he froze up entirely. Even though Nagisa was easily physically weaker, he was easily able to get him down to the ground. He only had a set amount of time, though, before he'd come back to his senses and would be able to fight back.

Nagisa jumped on top of him, sitting on his chest to have the best chance of pinning his weight. From there, he moved into a sure fire choke technique, wrapping his hands around his throat. If he could just make the guy lose consciousness, he'd be able to hop down and make his escape within just a matter of seconds. So, he pressed down with everything he had, finding the right position to disrupt the blood and air flow.

He seemed to come back to himself, before Nagisa was done, but it was too late. He spluttered, but Nagisa only pressed harder, watching as the whites of his eyes became red, before they rolled up and closed. He didn't want to take any chances, though, so he held on with every muscle in his body. He needed to get out.

Somehow, he was angry. This specific man hadn't done anything himself, if anything he'd shown just a little bit of mercy, but that didn't quell the fire that was taken shape inside of him. If anything, Nagisa went with even more vigour. He was frustrated with himself, mostly. He'd allowed himself to get kidnapped, to fail entirely, and whatever other consequences his actions had.

He wished it was Ohno beneath him, right then. He'd take all of his words and ideals, and choke them out of him. Kill them where they were the most vulnerable. His brow furrowed with concentration, imagining him in place of the passed out man. Even though his job was more than done, he didn't want to let go. He couldn't make himself.

The only thing that actually interrupted him was a sound, off in the distance. The fear of being caught was stronger, apparently, and he toppled off the body. Before he could take off so soon, however, there was an uncomfortable ringing in his ear. He tried to bring himself to his knees, but he swayed, hands clamping over the side of his face like that was going to help in some way.

The world refocused after a second, and panic dropped into his stomach. He'd only meant to keep his hold for just a few seconds or so, but he knew it had been longer than that. His blood went cold, when he realised the man wasn't moving even an inch. He almost toppled over, as he reached for his wrist, feeling desperately for his pulse.

"Hey!"

The shout was enough to make Nagisa forget all about it. Another one of Ohno's henchmen was standing on the other balcony, which wasn't easily attached but it made him clearly visible. He had no time. Nagisa just reacted, relying on his parkour skills to pull his body over the edge of the half wall, hanging on for as long as he could before he dropped, his feet hitting the flooring beneath him with just a small amount of pain.

It wouldn't take him long at all to be found, he realised very quickly, so he had to make a run for it. Desperately, he felt around for door into the next room. It was only by some extreme luck that he found it was unlocked and he could simply slide it open. That room at least wasn't a penthouse, and he could see the door on the other side of the room.

In his desperation to make it, though, he didn't notice the dark suitcase that had been stored just ever so slightly in his path. Since he took off in a run, he couldn't do much to prevent himself from falling with a bang, when his foot got caught. The pain was confusing, even though it was by all means a minor thing, and once again it took his brain a moment to catch up with where he was and what he most desperately needed to do.

"Who are you?" A skinny man, who was clearly the guest actually staying in that hotel room. He blocked Nagisa's path entirely, holding what appeared to be some kind of pen knife aimed towards his face. Nagisa could immediately tell he had no actual idea how to use the thing.

"I need to-"

He held the knife in front of him still, not at all faltering. "You're not going a-anywhere."

Something within Nagisa snapped, and he saw red entirely. He launched himself, getting both hands on the man's forearm as he twisted, redirecting the blade towards his own face. There was no room for risks, so he pushed and pushed, wrestling the weapon out of his grip with relative ease and he took hold of it with one hand, quickly slashing it across his neck, which caused him to crumple onto his knees.

From the corner of the room, a woman shrieked, letting go of the blanket she was holding like some kind of security. He grabbed her by the arm as well, making swift work of pinning it to the wall, as he stabbed the blade through her wrist and into the actual wall. Killing her would be going too far out of his way, but that should be enough to hold her for enough time that he could escape.

He ignored their cries of agony and fear, and continued with his way out, slamming the door behind him once he finally met hallway. Once again, he didn't want to risk taking the elevator, so he sprinted straight for the emergency stairwell, which was easy enough to take in a circumstance like this whilst the danger was real. He ran as though his life really depended on it, deciding the basement carpark would be a lot easier to get out from than the actual reception. That time at least, Ohno didn't have men poised to ambush him, and he was able to slip out of the building entirely.

It was surreal, when he finally made it onto the street, and he let his run turn into a fast walk. It was the middle of the night, still, but there were just a few people around. Drunk men doubled over in the streets, a couple holding hands and laughing together, likely intoxicated as well. He just kept going, his legs aching immensely until he was finally able to orientate himself with the closest train station sign. Of course, it wasn't even open this deep into the night.

He slid down against the blocked off entrance, finally able to take a breath, though he wasn't ready to process what had just happened. Nagisa didn't feel nearly safe enough to consider taking any real rest, no matter how strongly his legs were shaking. As if to mock him for taking even a second's break, the sky opened and rain fell down so strongly he knew he'd be soaked through his thin clothes in less than a minute.

It felt heavy against his skin as he stood there, practically trembling, and he winced with every drop that seemed to hit him like a bullet. He stretched his hand out, as though he couldn't believe any of it was real, and started to notice liquid crimson travelling down his arm. He couldn't be bleeding, could he? He needed to get back. He knew that. So, with whatever remaining energy he had in his poor body, he stood up steadily, and took off into the night.