Fumiko tells her everything. Through tears, struggling to speak, she tells Kayano the entire story. She tells Kayano about Kiyoshi approaching her that seemingly average afterschool day, and she tells her about the scarily accurate things he'd said. At first she hadn't wanted to believe it… but the more he'd spoken… the more she'd looked into his eyes, the more she'd known it was the truth- and the more it had broken her… leaving her feeling helpless and alone.

"I was just - I was just so mad!" she admits, batting at her eyes. "And I know that's wro- I know I should be sad! And I am! I am so sad and scared! But I just - it fucking sucks! That's all I could think! 'It sucks!' 'How could he - how could the world do this to me?'"

She admits that she punched him. That she hadn't done more than that, but that she'd sent him tumbling to the ground.

"I don't even feel bad about it," she says. "I mean- I do… but- I'd do it again, too. I tried to walk away but he wouldn't let me and he grabbed me and I was just so scared." She lets out a low whimper.. "I think… I think Makoto thinks that makes me just as bad as him, but I'm not. I didn't know what else to do. I thought he was going to hurt me."

Kayano pulls her in closer… heart aching… hands shaking as Fumiko cries and cries and cries.

She tells her about Makoto, too.

She tells her about the way she'd thought Makoto had maybe been betrayed, too… but also about the way Makoto had followed her down the mountain; hand outstretched and eyes wide. She tells her about the way Makoto had called her irrational, and the way Makoto had told her to 'just think this through.' How he'd been fine with Kiyoshi... how he'd hidden it from her for months.

"In any other situation I'd maybe - maybe - get it! But he saw the way that guy treated me! It wasn't just a - it wasn't just a 'sit down and think it through calmly' kind of situation! I thought he was going to hurt me! I thought I was going to die!"

"I really thought- or I guess I just hoped that Korosensei was better than that," she continues. "I thought he was going to protect me! I know it's stupid… to put that much faith in anyone… but I guess I just thought… I thought… that maybe I was the most important person to him."

"I was… I was so happy when I told him. He wrapped his arms around my back and he laughed and it felt like everything was right with the world... like I belonged. But I guess… I don't . Because even when I was hurting… even when I was really scared and didn't know what to do… he cared more about how Kiyoshi felt than how I did. And that… that…-" she pauses, burying her face further in Kayano's chest. "...I can't even begin to explain how much that hurt, Akari."

"I thought he was my friend."

Kayano frowns… still not sure quite what to say. This is a lot for her to take in. And… she's still not sure how she even feels about it herself. Is she mad Makoto had the audacity to treat her sister that way? Or is she just scared for the both of them? ...What about Kiyoshi? What is she going to do there? She remembers just how much she'd hated Yanagisawa... just how helpless she'd felt around that person and she feels something twist in her gut.

...She wonders just how helpless Fumiko feels right now.

"It feels like - It feels like my entire life is crashing down around me. I was finally starting to get things figured out, and now I have no idea what I'm going to do! I thought I was strong! I thought I was independent! I thought I was brave! But I'm not! I cared too much. I got too attached. And now that it turns out that I was just… I was just seeing care where it wasn't really there, I don't know what to do."

"Things are so fucking weird... I don't know what to say to Kiyoshi and I don't know what's going to happen there, but at least he had the balls to say something to me! Makoto hasn't even apologized! And that makes it so much worse! It's like 'okay! So the guy whose idea of a Friday night was hospitalizing me can see when he was in the wrong, but the dipshit I died for thinks I'm being a little too mean!?"

Kayano opens her mouth to speak... ask, 'Wait- Kiyoshi apologized?' But it's too late. Fumiko's already continuing, and she'd hate to cut her off, especially when she's pouring out her feelings. Her questions can wait. Besides…

Of course he'd apologized. He wouldn't be Kiyoshi if he hadn't.

(Some part of her wonders how horrified he must have been… how he's struggled, but soon remembers now's not the time. Aguri. Aguri's all that matters right now.)

"It pisses me off!" Fumiko snarls, balling her fist. "It pisses me off so much! It makes me think 'Why the hell did I ever see anything in you!? All you've ever been is a self-serving, manipulative piece of shit and I should have known better than to fall for that crap! If not as Aguri, then as Fumiko!'"

It makes Kayano's heart ache to hear her talk about Korosensei that way. Korosensei… who'd saved her life; who'd cared more than anything. But she understands just as well as anyone how much the bitter taste of betrayal lingers.

"He has this-! He has this fucking complex!" Fumiko rambles on. "He thinks he is always in the right! But he's not! He's not! And I am- I am so fucking scared Shiota-sensei is going to validate him, too!"

"Shiota-sensei is obsessed with him," she continues. "He's - he's so convinced he can do no wrong! And that's what he's going to say to him! He's going to do that usual gentle bullshit he tries! And that's not what Makoto deserves right now! He treated me like shit! He doesn't deserve 'I'm sure you were just trying to do your best.' He doesn't deserve 'you don't have anything to feel bad about!"

She clings to Kayano's back… nails digging into her shirt. But as she falls silent, expression twisted into a grimace, it's then that Kayano finally speaks up.

"...Fumiko…" she says, trying her very best to keep her voice gentle. "Do you really think Nagisa would do that to you? He cares about how you feel, too. And I can guarantee you that he sounded very worried about you when he texted me."

That seems to make Fumiko hesitate for a moment. She frowns. "I mean… I'd like to think that he'd… he'd try to- he's been very nice to me, but…-" Just as soon as she'd hesitated, she pulls back. She breaks their embrace, gaze hardening. "You know what?" she says. "Yes, I believe that, actually. Who- who cares if he's been really nice to me!? I thought Makoto was nice, too, after all… and… well… that didn't matter very much, did it?"

She lowers her head, whimpering.

It hurts Kayano more than anything to hear those things. It took a lot of work to get Fumiko to open up to Nagisa. And she knows it'd break his heart to hear she doesn't feel like she can trust him right now. Just how unsafe… just how unhappy does she have to feel to retreat back into that shell?

(...Makoto must have really damaged her trust.)

"I don't even know what you're gonna do now that you know," Fumiko says. "I didn't want you to ever find out about any of this stuff! I was so scared you'd think I was being irrational too. I was so scared you'd be mad at me!"

"Fumiko…" Kayano says, voice soft. "I would never. And I don't think you're being irrational, either. Your feelings are coming from an extraordinarily understandable place. I could never fault you for-"

"You hate them, then?"

Kayano pauses, a sense of unease creeping up her gut.

"...Pardon?" she says, suddenly realizing just how intense the look in Fumiko's eyes is.

"Do you hate them, then?" Fumiko repeats, voice quivering as she speaks. "Makoto... Kiyoshi... Do you hate them for treating me the way they did?"

Kayano can't speak.

"If not Kiyoshi… then at the very least Makoto! Everyone else thinks he's so fucking perfect, but he's not! And if you understood me, then you'd get that. Then you'd… you'd get that I hate him! And you'd hate him too! More than anything!" She drifts off, hand trembling by her side. "I hate him. And I know you won't believe me, but I do. I hate him! I hate him so fucking much!"

"He… he's a horrible person! And he doesn't care about how I feel! And I did everything I could for him, but he still treated me like garbage. And I just want… I just want someone to take my side-" she whimpers. "I just wanna have someone I can trust. I just wanna have someone I know believes in me... tell me I'm right, Akari. Please. Tell me I'm right to hate him."

She sits with her legs curled up to her chest. Wiping her nose on her sleeve, then her skirt, she weeps. Trembling with anger… trembling with grief, she snarls and she snaps and she begs.

Kayano thinks she knows how she feels. Or at least… something close to it. That's how she'd felt all those years ago, isn't it? Burning with rage... screaming at the top of her lungs. There's a similar fire burning behind Fumiko's eyes now. Fumiko… who'd died. Who's still feeling the insurmountable grief of an ache sixteen years old.

Kayano, ultimately, had learned that her anger was wrong. Or… at the very least, misdirected. She had nearly killed herself in her grief. Her anger... her desire for revenge... her desperation for some sort of closure had ended up overshadowing even the things she'd wished to treasure.

But is that… really to say there's no such thing as righteous grief? She… doesn't think so. Her anger at Korosensei had been misdirected, sure - but it had come from a very legitimate place of hurt. And there are other people she'd never forgiven up until the very end. Anger can be necessary to survive. And sometimes it's all you're left with when there's nothing else to lean on.

...She could never fault Fumiko for feeling that way. And she could never tell her to just let go of that rage. That would be undermining what she went through at worst and opening her up to the same kinds of hurts at best.

"Fumiko…" she says, reaching out a hand to place it on her shoulder. She hesitates… however, letting it hover just above her skin as Fumiko flinches back.

"I would never, ever tell you that you're wrong about this. And I would never, ever tell you to let go of that anger. When someone's hurt you, then you deserve the chance to cling to that rage. You should think it through… and you should be careful about it: make sure you're not hurting anyone who didn't do anything wrong... and make sure you're not hurting yourself … but you're allowed to be angry. If Makoto really, truly hurt you, and you believe that in your heart, then I'm not going to argue with you. It can be right to hate someone."

Fumiko's eyes widen. But Kayano continues before she can make any broad assumptions. Scooting in slightly closer, she frowns.

" That doesn't mean I have to hate Makoto or Kiyoshi, either, though. That's allowed to be my choice. And you can't tell me how to feel about that… just like Makoto can't tell you how to feel about Kiyoshi."

Fumiko tenses.

"What!?" She says. "So you're just… you're just okay with it!?"

"Of course not!" Kayano replies. "People you love are allowed to do things you disagree with. And I am mad at them. But they're still my family, Fumiko… just like you are."

She's still not sure how she feels about this entire scenario. She hasn't had time to digest it. But there is one thing she's certain of… and that's that she's not going to take it out on the kids. Ultimately she's the adult here, and even if… even if that person did really terrible things to her a long time ago or Makoto made a really big mistake... Nagisa's beloved student and the Karasumas' self-doubting kid are people she's come to know and love. She can't see herself ever being angry at them… at least not right now.

"I'm not saying that to play the middleman. I'm not trying to say 'you were both in the wrong.' I think you were right, Fumiko. It was wrong of them to hide that from you. It was wrong of Makoto to tell you how you feel didn't matter. And if Kiyoshi… if Kiyoshi really is that person, then that's terrible. It's not something that has to be water under the bridge. You are allowed to be angry."

"And I will advocate for you as long as you need me to. I will help you put your feelings into words other people will understand, and I will never tell you what you're going through is immoral somehow. You're scared, Fumiko. And while you're right: no, I'm not going to hate Makoto or Kiyoshi, I will always be here to take your side. I will always be here to make sure you feel listened to. And I will always be here to reassure you you're allowed to make the hard decision."

"I hope that's okay with you," she says. "And I hope… you believe me in that. You never deserve to feel alone, Fumiko. And when your friends do something wrong I'll tell them that. Just like I'd do the same for you. You know I'd never want anything than what's best for you…-"

Fumiko sniffles, finally leaning into Kayano's palm. Angrily wiping at her eyes, she asks "What if Shiota-sensei doesn't like it? What if he thinks you're being mean?"

Kayano shakes her head.

"He won't," she says.

"But what if!?" Fumiko asks. "What if you can't trust that person you thought you could trust!? What if he won't listen to you? What if… what if he gets mad at you because of me? Would you keep standing up for me, then…? Or… or…?" She drifts off. "...Would you just stop caring?"

"Fumiko," Kayano says. "...That wouldn't happen. Besides, even if it did… Nagisa and I are adults. We've had plenty of time to have disagreements. We know how to navigate these things by now. He'd never just ignore how I felt, just like he'd never ignore how you felt, either."

"I'm sure you're right… I'm sure Nagisa is in there giving Makoto lots of comfort right now. But I'm sure he's disappointed in him, too. And I'm sure he's very worried about you. You know he also wants what's best for you…"

"I… I know- at least I- I think I know…" Fumiko sputters. "I guess I just… I guess I just… I think I just wanna be the most important person to someone..."

She sniffles as she says it. Pulls her knees into her chest and weeps softly. "...I'm so tired of playing second fiddle. I'm so tired of being second priority. I don't wanna be tied. I don't wanna have to share. And I know that's selfish… but I just want to matter… I just wanna matter to someone Akari."

She hiccups, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "What am I doing that's not good enough?"

Kayano frowns. Squeezing Fumiko's shoulder, she says in the softest voice she can "...It's not you, Fumiko. It's not anything you're doing wrong. And it's okay to be jealous." She scoots in closer, reaching out to place her other hand over Fumiko's. "...People can be equally as important to you in different ways. Just because someone loves someone else doesn't mean you're not good enough, and it certainly doesn't mean they don't love you."

"It's not caring that's an issue... it's when your feelings are undermined. There are lots of people who are very important to me… people I love very much. And I'd hate to have to choose between you and them. That's not fair, is it? Besides… even if there are a lot of other people who I'd do anything for - you're the most important person to me right now. And that's what matters."

"That doesn't mean I love you more than Nagisa. Or more than Makoto and Kiyoshi. All it means is that I know you need me right now. That you're my top priority, and I am not going anywhere until I know you're going to be alright. I'm here… I'm here. How you feel matters to me, and I won't leave your side… even if you're sad or even if you're angry. You are more than enough, Fumiko."

She takes her hand and clasps it gently. "...How could you ever forget that?"

Fumiko begins to bawl.

It's been hard enough to keep her composure throughout this entire conversation. She remembers a fragment of what's going on and feels her heart shatter. Shaking… shivering... sobbing and struggling for breath she sits with her knees curled up to her chin and begs for some sort of - any kind of reprieve.

'You're the most important thing right now,' is a lot to take in.

She thinks it still sort of stings... that she wants to be all that matters. But all the same, she knows it's a selfish notion. And when she hears Kayano speak, she knows her words are genuine. She knows she means what she says, and that for once she really is the top priority here.

She's just… hardly sure what to do with that. Kayano says 'You're my sister,' and 'I love you...' says 'You're more than enough,' and 'How could you ever forget that you're worth the world?' and Fumiko just... she feels small.

"I guess it's just... it's really hard to remember any of that right now," she admits. "That… that I'm good enough. And that I shouldn't feel this way. I think about how things happened with Makoto and I just feel so bad. It makes me feel so fucking worthless."

She squeezes Kayano's hand.

"I thought I was independent. I thought I was brave. But I… I guess I lost sight of things, and I forgot just how brave my friends made me feel. Now that… now that I don't matter to him, it's like… 'Oh. Do I even matter to me, either?' or… at the very least 'You're not as good as you used to be. What the hell happened to you? You were better than this. You were someone people could get along with.'"

"And now you're just… you're just…-" her voice falters and her head falls. "...You're this."

The disgust is evident in her tone.

She still remembers what Makoto had said. Before she'd attacked him. "I thought you were better than this, Aguri." It had pierced through her chest like a thousand goddamn knives. She knows… she knows she'd mostly been mad… she'd mostly thought he was a hypocrite, but she thinks there's a bit of sadness there, too.

She'd really depended on Korosensei as Aguri. And… she'd really depended on Makoto as Fumiko. In a life full of cruelty… sharp edges and gnashing teeth, they were sometimes the only consistency she had left. Their smiles did wonders for her spirit. To think that… to think that she's somehow ruined that… that that's somehow gone forever because she's 'changed too much…' because she 'wants to let it hurt...' it makes her want to scream until she has no breath remaining.

After all… her entire life she's never been a very good Hisakawa. She's been a disappointment to her parents and a disappointment to the expectations set up for her as well. But she'd found happiness - found purpose in Aguri and the life she led. What's… what's even left for her if she's not a good Aguri, either?

"I know it's dumb," she continues, her voice a sob. "To base so much of my self-worth on what other people think of me… but I… I think about the way he must be thinking about me right now and I fucking hate it. I want to not care. I want to love myself for myself and myself alone. But it's hard, Akari… it's really hard."

Kayano is quiet for a long moment… this concerned, helpless look on her face. Slowly… her expression softens, however, and she speaks up in an understanding voice.

"Well… I mean… of course," she says. "Of course you feel better about yourself when you have people supporting you. That's only self-explanatory, Fumiko. There is nothing to feel bad about there, and it's not dumb, either. Everyone only does their best when they have people cheering them on."

"But you do deserve to love yourself, whether Makoto sees that or not. And if… if he's making you feel worse about yourself, then screw him! You have plenty of other people supporting you. You shouldn't let one argument cloud your judgment. Even if you don't feel that way, you are incredibly brave. You are smart, and you're kind, and you're independent. That doesn't mean you need to face these things alone. It's okay to be angry if you don't feel like you have anyone by your side."

"But I promise you - I promise you you have me. And as the person who knew Aguri best, I can reassure you Fumiko: you are enough. You are not somehow a downgrade, and you are certainly not worthless. You are a wonderful young woman, and I am so happy you're here right now."

Fumiko blinks fast… letting out a breathless whimper before finally collapsing back into Kayano's embrace. Sobbing, she buries her face in Kayano's chest. Clings to the back of her neck and holds on for dear life.

"It's… it's so hard," she whimpers "...To believe people really care. But if you mean those things… then…" She chokes on a sob. "Then I can't begin to thank you enough, Akari. You have no idea how scared I am that I'm not enough. You have no idea how scared I am that I'm wrong."

Kayano jolts - startled… but soon relaxes. She rubs circles in Fumiko's back, saying again and again "...It's okay. You're enough. I promise you, Fumiko. You're enough."

"I'm sorry," Fumiko says. "...For letting what happened with Makoto color my perception of you like that. I shouldn't have doubted you… been so scared to open up. I just - I couldn't take that happening again. I couldn't risk you not caring about me, too. "

"...Hey. It's okay," Kayano repeats. "I'm here," she says. "And I care. More than anything. But… for the record," she says, taking a moment to pause. "...I do think Makoto cares, too. And saying he doesn't… well… that's a disservice to yourself."

Her hands hover... completely still.

"I'm not saying that to undermine how you feel. He still… he did something very unfair to you. But that doesn't mean you're not loved. And that doesn't mean you didn't mean something to him. You were his world, Fumiko. This isn't some issue of you not being good enough for someone. He looked up to you."

Fumiko shifts, but doesn't respond.

"...Do you know what he said to me? Before any of this came out about you being Aguri? He said 'let's visit her grave.' He bought you flowers… daisies and gardenias. He kneeled down by your grave and helped me wash it. Then, bowing his head, he prayed to you. He said 'I miss you,' and 'I'm sorry,' and 'I hope you're happy wherever you are...' this awestruck little expression on his face. Does that really sound like someone who doesn't care to you?"

Fumiko still remembers the way she'd reacted when Makoto had told her about visiting Aguri's grave. She'd still been trying to get things figured out at the time. All the same, a panic had gripped her gut, and she'd scrambled out the window solely to talk to him… to try and find out what was going on.

She remembers the way he'd cried… asking her if she thought he was all alone. She remembers the way she'd answered.

'Of course not. Nothing happens in isolation, does it?'

"You didn't kill her. You know that, right?" she'd said, just a minute before.

"I mean… everyone keeps saying that… but…" Makoto had paused. "I still let her die. I still let her want to die. Does that mean I wasn't good enough? That I couldn't give her a reason to live? It makes me think maybe… I was so, so close to saving her, and in hurting all those people, I made her finally give up."

Fumiko had sighed. "I think you're overthinking it. She didn't know she was going to die. She just…"

Makoto had answered for her. "...Didn't care when she did."

Three months later, Fumiko had told him the opposite.

"You killed me!" she'd screamed at the top of her lungs… heart aching and fist trembling. "What makes you think you can protect me now!?"

She thinks she'd seen something break behind his eyes.

They'd been close... closer than anyone. Whispers exchanged across the glass and a hand around the small of her back as they danced on the hill outside of Constellate. "You're back!" Makoto had cried, his voice a laugh. "It's really you! You're back!"

He'd sounded so happy at the time. Is it really possible it had meant so little to him?

"What if… what if…" Fumiko hesitates. "...What if… he only cares about Aguri?"

Kayano stares.

"Maybe you're right," Fumiko continues. "Maybe… he really does love me. But maybe… maybe he only loves the me from back then. What if… what if now that I'm difficult… now that I'm willing to stand up for myself, he doesn't like me anymore?"

The thought alone is enough to split her heart in two.

'I depended on you,' she thinks. 'I needed you. Are you really willing to throw me away so easily?'

"...Well… I don't think that's a very fair assumption," Kayano responds. "...Towards Makoto or towards yourself. The two of you didn't know any of this at the beginning of the year, did you? You became friends because you liked each other. All of that just ended up being a coincidence. If he only cared about Aguri… not the wonderful person you are now, then why would he have stuck by you all those months?"

"I…" Fumiko opens her mouth to speak, but doesn't have much of a response.

"Trust me when I say he loves you. Maybe he doesn't always express it in the right way… he's certainly not now, but… he loves you. Nagisa and I have heard him gush about you a thousand times. Not Aguri: you. He thinks you are the coolest person in the world. And he's been a wreck without you. He's trying his best to put on that happy act of his, but we can tell he's struggling. He's not moving on from this as easily as you think he is."

"This means a lot to him. And you're not the only one suffering. You were important to him, too." She pauses. "I'm… not saying that to try to get you to feel sympathy for him. But I do want you to know that you're not some expendable thing to him. I know that boy, and you are the world to him. He cares about you just as much as he cares about who you were. You care about him, after all, too, don't you? Not just Korosensei?"

Fumiko hesitates. She hates to say it… those dreaded words. 'Care' makes way for vulnerability, and 'trust' is a dangerous force. All the same… she thinks about Makoto's smile… forgets those months separated by the glass and resurfaces, now immersed in the present. She remembers the way he'd taken her hand and skirted across rooftops, his bravery inspiring. She remembers the way he'd coached her when she'd first started participating in assassination, and she remembers the way he'd looked up at her in the middle of the night when he'd crawled his way to her house. Even then she'd known she was in danger, but she'd helped him anyways, hadn't she?

"Yeah," she says. "I care about him alright."

Tears spill from her eyes.

"...How else could it possibly hurt so much?"

Kayano squeezes her… places a gentle hand on her back. "Then I know for a fact he cares about you, too. Even if it hurts… even if it hurts more than anything, there is no reason to doubt that you're loved." She pauses. "...That doesn't mean you have to forgive him. And that doesn't mean you have to be okay with him not being mad at Kiyoshi. But… it does mean you're enough, at the very least."

Fumiko brushes a tear from her eye. Shaking her head, she says, "I mean… I'm not even sure that it's that I want him to be mad at him."

"Who?" Kayano says. "Kiyoshi?"

Fumiko nods. "Like… that's what I'm mad about, but it's also not. If he hated Kiyoshi now, I think that would just make things worse." She frowns. "I don't even know if I'm mad at him."

"You… said he apologized, right?" Kayano asks. "Kiyoshi?"

"Mmmm," Fumiko replies. "I didn't expect it from him, but he did. And… he was actually really humble about it. I'm still not okay with anything he did to me, but it made me feel a lot better about the situation. Meanwhile Makoto hasn't said one nice thing to me since this all came out. He undermined how I felt about… about…-" she hiccups. "About everything."

"I don't care that he doesn't hate Kiyoshi: not really. I think I just care that he didn't care when I did."

Her voice cracks. "Is it too much to want an apology from him too? An 'I'm sorry?' and 'I shouldn't have brushed aside how you felt?' I don't want him to get down on his hands and knees! I just want him to admit he was wrong! And I just… I just want him to tell me he needs me. I want him to say it and mean it. I want him to say 'you're important to me, too.'"

" He was my best friend! If he… if he really loved Kiyoshi more than he loved me, I don't know if I could ever recover."

Her shoulders sink.

"Is that… is that selfish to ask? He deserves to be cared about too. I'd never wish bad on him. I just… I just…-" she sputters. "I wanna be important, too."

"And you are," Kayano repeats, holding her tight. "You are. And that's not too much to ask. You're not asking him to give up on Kiyoshi: you've made that evidently clear, Fumiko. You just want him to treat you like a friend, too. And he hasn't been a good friend to you recently. That's okay. You have every right to be mad."

"Hopefully…" she pauses. "Hopefully Nagisa will manage to talk some sense into him. I know you're afraid he's going to let Makoto off easy, but I know him better than that. I promise you: if he thinks Makoto is behaving in a harmful way then he will not let that behavior slide. I'm sure he'll manage to get through his thick head."

"And if… if he doesn't, then I'll be here for you while you get everything figured out. I'll be here for you while you go through your friend breakup. I'm really proud of you, Fumiko: for being able to realize this behavior isn't okay and knowing you deserve to be treated better than that. You've come a really, really long way since back then, and… I'm happy to see it. I know it must have took a lot of bravery to tell me about all of this."

"Yeah," Fumiko admits, leaning on her side. She lets out a halfhearted laugh; reaching up to wipe at her eyes. "...I was scared shitless."

Admittedly... she still is. She has no idea what's going on inside of the school. For all she knows Makoto really could be twisting the situation: making himself out to be a hero here. What if he manages to convince Nagisa of that? Then… is it just all over for her? Or for that bond they have, at the very least?

...She hopes not.

Because stupid or not, she still wants to hear that 'sorry.' And not because Nagisa told Makoto to say it. Because he finally realized where he went wrong, and finally realized, that… well…

Well, hopefully because he'll finally realize Fumiko is important to him, too.

She doesn't want to get her hopes up. But at the very least… even if she doesn't get that, at least she has this… her sister by her side. And who knows? Kiyoshi of all people might even get where she's coming from, too.

'You're enough,' she reminds herself. 'Whether he believes it or not, you're enough.'

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more," Kayano admits. "I mean… I still don't even have much of a grasp of what's going on. I'm not sure how I'd even begin to go about fixing it. But I hope I could at least give you an answer or two."

"Akari…" Fumiko says. "You've done more than enough. Even just being here… it's… it's helped a lot." Finally, she pulls away. "...Thank you for rationalizing how I feel. I know I should have expected that from the start, but… but…" she shakes her head. "It still came as a big relief to hear."

"Of course," Kayano says. "And I'll be here for you as long as you need me. I love you, remember?"

Fumiko wipes at her eyes, then nods.

"Yeah," she says. "Love you too."

The conversation drifts from there. It turns out all they can do is wait until Makoto's ready. Kayano has her phone on standby, so the second Nagisa's talked some sense into him they can regroup. Until then it's just the two of them. But that's not that bad, is it?

"So," Kayano says. "...You said you had a talk with Kiyoshi? That he apologized? Why don't you tell me how that went."

Fumiko pauses, but nods. "Okay," she says, happy to get her mind off of Makoto for just one minute. "...Yeah. Let's do that."

Tears finally starting to dry, she's happy to be good enough for her sister, at the very least.

Nagisa is going to have a fucking heart attack.

His head is spinning the entire time he waits for his spouses to arrive. Even as Kayano shows up to shuffle Fumiko off… and even as the two stooges peek their heads into the room only to be instructed to watch the classroom, his knees shake. His mind races… and he thinks - he thinks - he thinks

He tries to get a bearing on what's going on. There are too few details for him to be certain - but he can't just stand there like a sitting duck! He needs to do something!

'Okay. So Fumiko attacked Makoto,' he reminds himself first and foremost. They'd both agreed on that. And more importantly: Makoto hadn't fought back. That's good. That's one beacon of light during this horrible fucking moment.

'Second,' he thinks. 'They're fighting.' Like… a really intense fight. A 'things might never go back to normal' fight. He recognizes that hatred burning behind their eyes. It's the same hatred Karma had looked at him with all those years ago. The thought alone sends a shiver down his spine.

And third of all: 'Fumiko has a past life. Kiyoshi too.' It doesn't make much sense to him… but there's no doubting it. He hears the conviction behind their words. And slowly… surely, things begin to add up. He shakes his head; refocuses himself; glances towards the kids and frowns.

Fumiko is Aguri. Kiyoshi is Yanagisawa. Makoto and Kiyoshi knew about this for months before Fumiko did, and when she found out it seemingly wasn't on good terms. Neither of them hate Kiyoshi, though. They'd both stood up for him when he'd asked if he needed to bring him into the office. If anything, Makoto seems more scared about the idea of Nagisa hating Kiyoshi than anything.

'No he's not!' he'd shrieked in response to the notion of Nagisa being afraid. 'He's not. He's not!'

...He seems afraid of the notion of Nagisa hating him, too.

He bawls… hiccups and sobs as Kayano enters the office. He begs her not to listen to a word Fumiko says, then turns towards Nagisa, eyes wide and frantic, saying "What!? Do you hate me now, too!?"

Of course not! Of course-fucking-not!

He just has to make sure the both of them are okay at the end of the day!

The minute they're alone... the minute Kayano's finally taken Fumiko away... and the minute Gakushuu and Karma finally have the classroom under some sort of control, Nagisa sits down next to Makoto. Makoto startles at first - his whole body going rigid… before falling limp and averting his gaze. He sobs quietly... not speaking even as Nagisa nudges a box of tissues his way.

"Makoto," Nagisa says, realizing he'll have to take the initiative. "...It's okay. We're alone now. Can you tell me what happened? I'm really worried about you."

Makoto shakes his head, letting out a low 'mmm-mn.' Not even reaching out for the box of tissues, he scoots further away.

Nagisa frowns. Giving Makoto his space, he says "I'm not going to be mad at you. And neither is Kayano. We just want to know what's going on. I promise," he pauses. "...Things have been weird with you for a while now. And we've been really scared. We just want to help."

"No you don't. No you don't-" Makoto repeats, rocking himself back and forth. "You're gonna be mad at me-! I just know it! Andthenyou'regonnahatemetoo. I don't want you to hate me Nagisa. Please just leave it alone. Please just leave it alone." His voice is a plea. He trembles as he speaks.

"...I wish I could, Makoto," Nagisa says. "But when something like this happens it's my job to prevent it. I'm your teacher. I could never hate you. I just want to be able to understand the situation so it doesn't happen again. I promise I'm not going to be mad at you, Makoto."

Makoto opens his mouth to speak, but doesn't respond. Instead, he simply shakes his head and sniffles.

"If you don't feel like you can talk right now, how about I let you know what I know? Then you can correct anything that's wrong or explain more about the situation. Does that sound good?"

Makoto's silent.

"Makoto," Nagisa repeats. "...Does that sound good? It's okay if your answer is no. If you want more time, that's fine. But eventually I need to know what happene-"

"Yeah. Okay. Whatever. It's fine," Makoto snaps, before whimpering. "...'ts better than Fumiko telling you about it or whatever."

"...Okay," Nagisa says, careful to keep his tone soft. "Thank you. I'm really happy you're gonna help me figure out what's going on. And again: I won't be mad at you, alright? I'm just gonna ask some questions."

Makoto doesn't respond.

"Okay… so first of all…" Nagisa hesitates. "You two said Fumiko is Aguri, right? Like the reincarnation of her?"

"Yeah," Makoto says, his voice tense. "She… she was Aguri."

"Alright," Nagisa notes, marking that down in his brain. He was already pretty sure of that, but it's good to be certain. Besides… it'll ease Makoto into more difficult conversations.

"And so… the two of you said this other thing, too," he continues. "About Kiyoshi. I just wanna make sure that's true. Can you confirm or deny it for me? Is Kiyoshi really…?" he pauses. "...is Kiyoshi really the reincarnation of Yanagisawa?"

Makoto's quiet for a long moment. Nagisa starts to think he'll have to give him another gentle nudge when he opens his mouth to speak.

"Yeah," he says. "He is. What? Do you have a problem with that?"

He doesn't give Nagisa a chance to respond.

"Because he is not- he is not that person anymore! He is a really good guy, and I'm sick of people doubting that! He's my friend! And fuck Fumiko if she thinks she can spit on that! I'm - I'm not just going to give up on him, okay!? And just because… just because Aguri wants him to die some horrible death because of his past life, I don't! I know he never asked for this! I know this isn't his fault!"

His voice cracks as he speaks, and there's a clear defensiveness to his tone. Nagisa's taken aback. This is the most he's managed to get out of him since this entire conversation began! He'd almost be relieved if not for the fact that everything Makoto just said is terrible.

"Woah! Woah-!" he says, holding his hands in the air. "No, I don't have a problem with it! Of course not," admittedly it still leaves a little bit of a weird taste in his mouth, but he knows Kiyoshi and he trusts him. Makoto has a point in saying that he probably never asked for any of this. If anything, he thinks he's just worried for him. "...I would never hold that against Kiyoshi, Makoto. He's my student, too. Which is why I need to ask… did Fumiko really say those things?"

Makoto pauses, falling silent. Finally, he gives a defeated shrug, grumbling "I mean, pretty much!"

"How much is pretty much?" Nagisa asks. Because as horrifying as the concept of Fumiko telling Kiyoshi to, like, kill himself is, he's not sure he believes it. For one, she'd stood up for him earlier. Whatever it is that's going on, it has to be more complicated than that.

"She like… hit him in the face! When he first told her she flipped out! She… she said all this terrible stuff about him manipulating her and taking advantage of her and that she thought he could never change. I don't… I don't remember if she ever told him she wanted him to die specifically, but isn't that just as bad!?"

Nagisa frowns. "When did… when did all of this happen?" he asks. Some pieces are beginning to fit together in his brain, and he's not exactly sure he likes the way they look.

"W-wait! What does that matter?" Makoto asks. "Aren't you… aren't you gonna tell me she was wrong!? Or that- or that she shouldn't have said those things about him at the very least!?"

"Of course she shouldn't have said those things about him, Makoto," Nagisa replies. "But I'm still trying to get a full understanding of the situation. When did she attack him?"

"I…" Makoto pauses. "Somewhere around two weeks ago, I think. 'Dunno. Things have been confusing lately."

Nagisa nods. Okay. He thinks he's starting to understand. That would… probably line up with when Fumiko asked him to move her seat away from her friends, alongside Kiyoshi's mysterious absence. As for when Kiyoshi first learned about all this: that would probably be when he initially started acting weird all those months ago.

('Months,' he thinks, listening to Makoto gently whimper. 'Fucking months.' He thinks he resents himself. Why didn't he step in sooner!? He could have done something! He just… he just hadn't realized how dire any of this was.

...Has he really left them to struggle alone for all this time?)

"That's okay," Nagisa says. "Two weeks is a good estimate."

He starts to scoot closer but decides against it. If Makoto wants to close the gap that's up to him. Instead he merely holds a reassuring hand out.

"Can you try your best to give me a play-by-play of what happened in order? It's okay if you can't remember everything. I just want to know what led up to Fumiko attacking you."

Makoto stiffens at being reminded. Nevertheless, he nods.

"Well… uh- uh- first of all Kiyoshi told me. He didn' even wanna, but I made him. He was trying to cut us off instead and I didn't get why. Eventually he just kinda… just kinda screamed it at me: all this horrible stuff about how he was inherently evil and deserved to suffer and shouldn't have been friends with him anymore. It really hurt me to hear him say that stuff, so of course I was like 'No! That's not true!' And I promised him we were still gonna be friends. That all that stuff was over now."

"And it was… it was all fine. He was getting better! But then he…-" he sputters. "I dunno why- but he decided he had to tell Fumiko. She took it badly, and-"

"Wait," Nagisa interjects. "...Why didn't he tell her from the beginning?"

That's still what doesn't make any sense to him. Fumiko said Makoto and Kiyoshi had been hiding this from her for months. Now that leaves a sour taste in his mouth.

"Because…" Makoto pauses, before throwing his hands in the air. "Because I knew she'd react like this!" he snaps. "I knew she'd say all this horrible stuff he really didn't need to hear! And… and what does it matter? It's not like it would have bothered her if she didn't know. She'd be happy. None of this would even be happening right now!"

"But instead Kiyoshi had t- he just had to tell her. Because he… because he believes he deserves to suffer or whatever! And of course she flipped out on him! Then when I tried to stand up for him- told her just how much he regretted all that stuff- she flipped out on me too! She… she said all this horrible fucking stuff to me!"

"About me… about me not caring about how she feels. And about me letting her get killed on purpose. And about me not caring about the fact that she was abused." He whimpers, pawing at his eyes. "And she just kept shouting and shouting and wouldn't listen to me, no matter how hard I tried."

"It really scared me…" he admits, voice a whimper. "Because I did care. I do. And I don't get why she thinks that way about me… I wasn't trying to be mean to her. I just wanted her to get that… to get that… he wasn't responsible for any of that stuff that happened back then. That… he was good. And that he chose to be good, even if he wasn't always that way. Like you told me I did. Because I thought… that had to mean something."

"It does mean something," Nagisa reassures. "I'm sure… I'm sure Kiyoshi's come a very long way. And standing up for him was a noble thing to do. But that doesn't mean Fumiko's not allowed to be hurt by the way you two acted. You shouldn't have hid that from her." He shakes his head. "...Even if you didn't mean to - even if you genuinely care about what she went through- that must have really felt like undermining how she felt. You made a very important decision for her."

"Trying to protect her!"

"She is more than capable of protecting herself." Nagisa says.

"What? So you're saying it'd all just be fine if we'd told her from the get-go? That this is- this is my fault!? That I screwed this up!?"

"Of course not!"

"She'd still be mad at him anyways! It's not just - it wasn't just about the lying thing! She was mad at him, Nagisa! Like really mad! And now I… I don't even know what's going on! Kiyoshi said they made up- I think they're friends again- but she's still mad at me. W-why!? What did I do!? Kiyoshi… Kiyoshi lied, too. And besides… if she really forgave him now, she'd get why he did."

Nagisa really wishes he had Kiyoshi's perspective on the situation, but it's too late to go and grab him now. He doesn't trust Makoto to be left alone, and besides… both he and Fumiko had thought it was a terrible idea to get him involved in any of this. He's easily panicked.

Nevertheless, he can make a pretty fair assumption as to what happened.

"Maybe… he apologized, Makoto. Maybe that's the difference. I know it must seem like she's acting irrational to you right now - but remember what I told you about trying to have empathy for the other side. More than anything, she's probably just hurt."

"All of us were!" Makoto argues. "Kiyoshi, like - Kiyoshi had a complete mental break! And I've felt like crap ever since all of this happened! But she hasn't apologized to us, has she? Why should… why should I apologize just for doing what I thought was right?"

"Just because you thought it was right doesn't mean-"

"What!? So you think I'm wrong, too!? Y- you think I'm wrong for standing up for Kiyoshi!?"

"Of course not, Makoto!" Nagisa replies. "Please don't put words in my mouth. But 'right' and 'wrong' aren't such simple things. 'Kiyoshi deserves to be happy,' and 'you shouldn't have done that to Fumiko' are ideas that can coexist."

"I shouldn't have told her he deserves to be happy?"

"You shouldn't have told her how she was feeling was somehow immoral."

"She told him he could never change-!"

"And that was wrong of her, Makoto!" Nagisa replies. "But that doesn't mean you two were blameless, either!"

Makoto falls silent, before speaking up in a low, grumpy growl.

"...I knew you'd do this," he says.

Nagisa frowns.

"I knew you'd be mad at me! I knew you'd think I was wrong even though I was trying my best! I knew I'd screw it up! And I… I knew that you'd hate me! Just like Aguri does! Why did I think this would end any differently?"

He clutches at his hair… voice cracking as he speaks. Quivering… whimpering, there's a clear sense of betrayal to his tone.

"Makoto-" Nagisa says.

"No! Don't try to 'Makoto' me when you're just going to give me a lecture! I'm not interested in hearing it!"

"I'm not going to-"

"Yes you are! I just know you are! And so shut up! I'm sick of not being good enough!"

"Korosensei-!" Nagisa finally snaps.

...And Makoto falls silent.

He pulls his knees in close to his chest and buries his face in them. Hiccups softly, and doesn't glance Nagisa's way, even as he scoots in closer to finally close the gap between the two of them.

"...Did Fumiko say those things about you?"

Makoto hesitates, before nodding. "...I mean… I dunno if she meant all of it… but she said all this stuff about me getting her killed and the fact that I should be better than this… 'bout me being stupid and self-centered and not caring about anyone but myself. Said that… that she really, really hated me, and that Aguri did, too."

He hesitates, before murmuring in a voice far too quiet. "...She said she wished I'd just stayed dead."

He chokes up, shaking his head and sobbing as his defensiveness falls apart at the seams.

"I don't know what I'm not doing good enough," he bawls. "I'm trying. I'm really trying. Please believe me, Nagisa. I don't want you to hate me too-"

"Makoto," Nagisa says, reaching out a hand to place it on his shoulder. Makoto jumps at his touch, but doesn't motion to back away. "I could never hate you. And I'm not mad at you either. I'm sorry Fumiko said those things to you, and I will make sure we talk about them. That is not at all acceptable. But please know that me telling you I think you made a mistake is never me looking down on you. It's never me giving you a lecture, and it's certainly never me hating you."

"I promised you that...- that I'd always be there for you. And that doesn't mean letting you get away with everything, but it does mean trying to understand your perspective, too. I'm sorry you're going through this right now, Makoto. But I will hear you out. I will not gang up on you, even if I think you made a few mistakes. It's more than clear Fumiko's made some, too."

"But while I'm here talking to you it's my priority to sort through how you feel and help you be the best person you can be. Before we point fingers and talk about the terrible, terrible things she said to you, I want you to place yourself in her shoes for a minute... because I sincerely doubt she hates you. And I sincerely doubt she hates Kiyoshi, either."

"You said she forgave him, yeah?"

Makoto shrugs.

"I mean… kinda. I think so…" His shoulders wilt. "...I don't even know anymore. He said she did, but she was still acting weird about everything. When I said 'I'm glad everything can just go back to normal now' she got upset at me. I dunno why."

"Well… I mean… can they?"

Makoto frowns.

"Sometimes… even when you find peace with someone, or even if you don't want them to suffer, things can't just go back to 'how they were before' with certain people. Some actions are just too severe."

"...And so he doesn't deserve a happy ending?"

"Now I never said that," Nagisa replies

"Just that I'm wrong for telling her he deserves forgiveness? That he's good now?"

Makoto's getting aggravated again. God damn it. They're going in circles. Nagisa has to bring out the big guns.

"Because 'good' and 'bad' aren't that simple," he says finally. "And… because forgiveness isn't that easy. Makoto… this might be a little harsh, but can I ask you a question?"

Makoto hesitates, but shrugs. "I don't see why not."

"Cool," Nagisa says. "Let me ask you about my mom."

Makoto freezes up.

He's not sure what he'd expected to hear, but that wasn't it. Scooting backwards slightly, he gawks at Nagisa.

"I- I really don't don't know if you should compare her to-"

"No. Just hear me out," Nagisa says. "I want you to imagine a hypothetical situation. Let's say that… out of the blue one day my mom just shows up and tries to become a part of my life again. Should I let her?"

"Well… no," Makoto says, feeling slightly patronized. "Of course not."

"Alright," Nagisa says. "But that was an easy one. Let's make the situation a little more complicated. Let's say she's cleaned up completely! She's been medicated for her issues and gone into therapy. She no longer has a temper and seems like a wonderfully kind person. She gives me a heartfelt apology for everything she did to me… tells me she was in the wrong, and says she's turned a new leaf. What should I do then?"

"Well…" Makoto hesitates. "I… um…-" he's hardly sure what to say. "It would be really nice if that was reality, but…-"

"But it's not, is it?" Nagisa says. "...I couldn't trust that so easily."

"That's… like… different-" Makoto replies. "I mean… maybe it'd be different if she'd been reborn, too. If she weren't that person, anymore. At least… I like to think so."

"But I still wouldn't owe her anything."

"Not even closure?"

"Not even closure," Nagisa replies.

Makoto huffs. "...Now I'm not very sure I like that."

"Why not?"

"I dunno. I feel like… like people have to be given a second chance for a reason! Having that stuff dangle over you your entire life just sounds miserable! Hating… hating someone for something they have no control over is just plain unfair!"

"Hating and not forgiving aren't necessarily the same thing, Makoto."

"...Aren't they, though?"

Nagisa sighs.

"Makoto… do you know what my mom did to me when I told her I wanted to become a teacher?"

Makoto doesn't respond. He doesn't know, but he's not particularly sure he wants to hear.

"She flipped out on me. Completely. Up until then things had been getting a bit better. She'd still had her ups and downs, but I'd really thought our relationship was improving." He's quiet for a long moment, fingers steepled and eyes shut, as if he's deep in thought. "...She hit me in the face and pushed me down the stairs. I had to go to the hospital. Broke two ribs."

Makoto blinks back tears. "...I don't like this story, Nagisa."

"Neither do I, Makoto," Nagisa says. "But I think it's important to understand what's going on. I'm sure Aguri had plenty of moments just like that in her life. So answer me, Makoto: would you expect me to forgive my mom if she tried to come back into my life? Would you expect me to forgive my mom, even if she was reborn?"

"I… I…-" Makoto sputters, a horrible twisted feeling in his gut. He doesn't want to hear this. He wants to run. He wants to never have to talk about this again. He wants to close his eyes and cover his ears; scream 'Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!'

Because if he can't expect Nagisa to forgive Hiromi… that means… that means…-

"Even if she was a wonderful person now. Even if she'd done everything in her power to fix things. Would you expect me to forgive her?"

Makoto winces. "I mean… I mean… I'd like you to, yeah! Not because…- not because what you went through didn't matter! But because… how else… how else would she ever-?"

"Would you expect Gakushuu to forgive Gakuho?" Nagisa continues. "Who's trying his hardest every day? Who genuinely seems to be helping his students? Is that enough to make up for it? Does that atone for years of psychological manipulation?"

"I… I… I… I dunno-!"

Doesn't what he do still matter!? Doesn't it have to mean something!? Or is it… is it really too late for… for…-?

"Would you expect Damien to forgive you?"

That's when something breaks. Burying his face in his hands, Makoto screams "Yes! I would, actually!" Flickers of ruthlessness peeking through - rising up to haunt his psyche… he thinks about twisted wrists… years of 'you're not good enough,' and a gun held to a little boy's head. Just how callous he'd been as he pressed his boot down against an earnestly collected bouquet, and the look in Damien's eyes as he'd grabbed him by the wrist and begged 'Please. I'll do anything. Just take me with you!'

That look had faded in due time; just like his father's life had faded in an instant. Had he even known how much he'd be giving up? Or had he just… had he just…-

...Had he just been looking for someone to protect him, too?

"I would! I would! I would! Because if he wouldn't… then… what else would be left for a person like me?"

He sobs. "... I was… I was such a bad guy, Nagisa. I didn't even just hurt Damien. I hurt a lot of other people, too. And you can say what you want about me becoming 'good,' but I am always going to have to live with that. If people like Hiromi… like Gakuho… and like Yanagisawa… if they don't deserve to be happy… then what does that mean for me? Who was even worse? Do I just have no future?" He struggles to catch his breath. "...Am I just marked for badness?"

"...If I am… what's the point of me even being here at all?"

Nagisa pretty much instantly feels terrible.

He knows he'd been pressing Makoto, but he hadn't realized just how deeply personal the situation was up until now. He'd thought… he'd thought… he was just being stubborn. But of course he's not. Makoto wouldn't undermine Fumiko's feelings for no reason. He just…

...He has a lot more stake in this than Nagisa ever could have imagined.

"No! No! Of course not," he says instantly, holding his hands up in the air. "Of course you're not marked for badness, Makoto. I don't know where you'd even get that idea…" he frowns. "I'm sorry if I went too far. I was just… worried you wouldn't be able to understand the situation unless I put it into a scenario you were familiar with. I never meant to make it personal."

"But you're right! You're right, Nagisa!" Makoto says. "Of course Fumiko hates Kiyoshi! And of course Damien would hate me! What am I doing… thinking anything else? I just wanted to believe… I guess I just wanted to believe…-" he hesitates. "I wanted to believe that I could still be happy."

"And you can, Makoto. You can, and just because you hurt Damien doesn't necessarily mean he wouldn't wish the best for you. Not earning forgiveness… that doesn't make someone any less deserving of happiness. Everyone deserves to be happy. Even you." He pauses. "...Especially you."

"How can you be sure you're not making an exception!? How can… how can you just be sure you're not saying that because I was good to you? Would you wish the same for your mom? For Gakuho? For Yanagisawa?" He wipes at his eyes. "...It's… nice to hear you believe in me. But I just sit there… and I think about all the people I screwed over. And I think 'if I can't fix it… if they'll always hate me… then what's even the point?'"

"Depressing," he says, stifling a bittersweet laugh. "Isn't it?"

"...Yeah," Nagisa says. "...Just a little. But I don't think that's irrational of you, Makoto. It's only human nature to want people to like you. But if they don't… if they can't forgive you… so what? That doesn't mean you're bad. "

"For the record," he continues. "I… do. I do hope those people are happy. Not because… not because what they did to me doesn't matter, but because maybe if they've really improved… then… they won't hurt anyone else." He shakes his head. "I know the scenario I brought up earlier is unlikely… borderline impossible, even. But I really… I really do hope my mother can become that person someday."

"Someone she's happy with... someone who won't hurt others... but even if she did I still wouldn't let her back into my life. Those two ideas are allowed to coexist. Learning to hate someone… or at the very least distance yourself… that's a very hard thing to do. And it's… something that can hurt a lot. But sometimes it's the best thing you can do for yourself, even if it's difficult. It's important to care about other people, but you also need to prioritize yourself as well."

"I'm sure… Fumiko didn't feel very good about coming to the conclusion she did, either. But she felt like she had to. And having you 'turn against' her in such a troubling time… it must have just made her feel even worse."

"I didn't wanna- I didn't mean to," Makoto says. "I just kept thinking about how bad Kiyoshi must have felt… and I got sick. Because… I mean… I'd really want someone to stand up for me during a time like that, too."

"And that was very kind of you, Makoto," Nagisa says. "I'm not going to reprimand you for caring. Just how you went about it. Because as much as Kiyoshi needed that… and as thankful as I am you were a good friend to him, you shouldn't have expected Fumiko to owe him anything, even if you were okay with letting him back into your life."

"And that doesn't mean… that doesn't mean you're bad, either. Or a crappy friend. Or selfish. You are none of those things. And I'm sorry Fumiko said those things to you. All you did was make a mistake, Makoto. And that's more than okay."

"I get why you got so deeply invested in this… but I promise you… Kiyoshi maybe not earning Fumiko's forgiveness or favor doesn't mean he's bad. Other people- people like you are there to love him. And maybe… Fumiko can come around too, in time. Maybe she already is. But it is never a victim's obligation to forgive someone who's hurt them. That's an unfair responsibility to put on them… and it's an unfair standard to hold yourself to even wanting that."

"Kiyoshi's worth… it shouldn't be based on what Fumiko thinks of him. And yours… it shouldn't be based on what Damien would think of you. You can't change the past. All you can do is move forward. And not for the sake of earning some 'forgiveness.' To be your best self… to be happy… to prevent yourself from making the same mistakes in the future."

He looks straight at Makoto. Frowns and speaks in the gentlest voice he can possibly muset.

"You don't need to 'redeem' yourself, Makoto. You don't need to try extra hard to be 'good.' You already are good. All you need to do is be kind."

Makoto hesitates for a moment, before barreling into Nagisa's chest. Wrapping his arms around his back he clings to him tight and sobs into his shirt.

"What if I'm not?" He cries. "What if I'm not, Nagisa?"

Nagisa startles… but quickly relaxes, hands drifting down to pat Makoto's back.

"I know you are," he says. "I know you're kind. And I never want you to doubt that. As long as you're trying your best to do the right thing… and as long as you're always willing to reflect on that thing later and think 'maybe I was wrong' then you have a good heart. And so does Kiyoshi. Neither of you are evil. Neither of you are bad. You're just people. And even if maybe Damien really would never forgive you…" He pauses. "...Which you shouldn't assume, anyways. It's unfair to project onto Fumiko and Kiyoshi's situation… then… you still wouldn't be worth any less. You'd still be good."

"It's never too late to be the best person you can be. And you shouldn't… you shouldn't base your self worth on whether or not someone else is capable of reaching that standard. You should base it on what you're doing. And I know without a shred of doubt in my heart that you are a good person, Makoto."

Makoto sniffles. "...Even if I screwed this up?"

Nagisa nods. "Even if you screwed this up." He pauses. "...That's why I trust you to be able to handle this in the right way. It's not too late to fix this at the very least, Makoto. It's time to set things right with Fumiko. I know you can."

Makoto wipes his face on Nagisa's shirt. "How can… how can you be so certain?" he asks. "I still don't- I still don't even know what to say! Not like Korosensei would. I know you think I'm so smart and kind and wise… but… Fumiko is right. I'm not like I was back then. Korosensei wouldn't have even made a mistake like this in the first place. But I'm… not like Korosensei. Not anymore. I'm… I'm dumb… and impulsive… and a screw-up."

"You are not," Nagisa says firmly. "You are a very intelligent young man, Makoto. And I don't want to hear you talk about yourself that way. If you want advice I can give it to you… tell you to try and see where she's coming from without being condescending… use 'I' statements, and never tell her how she feels… but more importantly… before any of that... "

"...Have I been putting too much on your shoulders, Makoto?"

Makoto sniffles. "...I mean… not intentionally. It's not anything you did. I think I'd still… I'd still feel this way either way. But I just think about how cool Korosensei was… how perfect and I feel like crap. Like… I'll never be that person again. And it makes me wonder why I'm here right now. Why I'm that guy if I just…" he pauses. "If I just took a massive downgrade."

Nagisa feels his gut twist. Close to crying now himself, he shakes his head and pulls Makoto in close.

"You are not a downgrade, and you do not have to be like that again. First of all, Korosensei wasn't perfect. And even if he was, that wouldn't mean you need to be. I'm sorry Makoto if I made you feel like you did. You are more than enough as is."

He knows what it's like… to be told who you have to be. And sure, yeah… maybe the situation is different here… but that doesn't make it any less terrible. There is nothing more suffocating than being told 'you have to grow up into this sort of person,' and that much is evident in Makoto… who's both afraid he'll one day be a killer and that he'll never live up to everything that Korosensei was. Nagisa's the one person who can see that. Nagisa… who was told to be polite… meek… obedient… asked why he couldn't just be the perfect daughter?

(Nagisa, who outside of all of that has been comparing himself to Korosensei for the last fifteen years.)

"You don't have to be like him. You don't have to be as 'good' as him. Who cares if you're what he's become? Who cares if you're different? The… the beauty of life is being able to decide what you want to do with it. And you should never let living in Korosensei's shadow dictate that. You are you. And that is okay. "

"Are… are you sure?" Makoto asks. "...I know I was important to you. I don't want to be someone who disappoints you now. Who... who gets into dumb fights with his friends and-"

Nagisa shakes his head. "You could never disappoint me. Do whatever you want with your life, Makoto. As long as you try your hardest, I will be happy for whoever you become."

Makoto sniffles. "I guess I'm just scared sometimes that that's all I have going for me… that… if I'm not good as I was back then, then there'll never be anything good about me. And I know that's stupid, but-"

"It's not stupid, Makoto," Nagisa interjects. "...It's only human to worry. But… to paraphrase a really wise guy I once knew: you don't have to be the second Korosensei. The world's already had one of those. But the first Makoto? Oh man... who knows what he'll accomplish?"

Makoto pulls back for a moment… staring up at him with wide eyes. Nagisa worries he'd perhaps said the wrong thing, but if he did Makoto doesn't accuse him. Instead, he simply asks "...Do you really think that, Nagisa? Do you really think I'll do great things? As… as me? Not as anyone else?"

"Makoto…" Nagisa says. "I don't just think you will. I know you will."

Makoto pauses… then barrels back into Nagisa's chest. Squeezing him twice as tight as before, he wipes his nose on his tie and bawls.

"Thank you!" he says, blubbering incoherently. "Thank you so much, Nagisa-"

"Of… course," Nagisa says, initially startled by the sudden movement… but soon relaxing. He rubs tiny circles in Makoto's back. "I mean that. You're wonderful, Makoto."

"Even if… even if I don't wanna be a teacher again? Or… or-?"

"No matter what you want to do," Nagisa reassures. "...When I first learned who you were I wasn't happy because I expected some redo of the life you led before. I was happy just because you were here. You didn't need to do anything particular to earn that happiness. All you had to do was be yourself."

He pauses. "...And even if you hadn't been Korosensei, I'd still be lucky to know you, Makoto. I want you to know that all of this would have been the same. I would still care about you. I still would have invited you to my home, and I will still be proud of you every single day. He's not what makes you worth something. You are worth something all on your own. So don't… don't worry about living up to some legacy. Whatever you do… you'll still be Makoto, and that's all you need to be."

"...Even if I screw up a lot?" Makoto asks, hesitant.

"Even if you screw up a lot," Nagisa says. "Like I said… don't worry about it. What you did to Fumiko… it's not okay, but it's not irredeemable. All you need to do is apologize. And I know you can."

"What if I don't say it right?"

"I'll be here to make sure you do. Remember: 'I' statements. Don't tell her how she should feel, just how you do. Try to put yourself in her shoes, but don't neglect your feelings either. If you're truthful about just having made a mistake… about hurting as much as she is, then I'm sure she'll begin to understand."

"And if she doesn't?" Makoto asks. "You said… it's unfair to expect things of someone you've hurt. What if she doesn't forgive me?"

Nagisa pauses.

"...Then life will go on," he says simply. "You'll know you did all you could. And that… as long as you try your hardest not to repeat that behavior in the future, you're still good, no matter what she thinks of you." He shakes his head. "...Besides. Something tells me she will. You matter to that girl a lot, you know."

"Yeah," Makoto says. "...I know. That's why it was so unfair for me to treat her that way, right?"

"Right," Nagisa says. "Now are you ready to talk to her? Or do you think you need a moment?"

"I… think I'm ready," Makoto says, pulling away. "I'd hate to keep her waiting any longer than I already have."

"Great," Nagisa says, pulling out his phone. "I'll get her now."

Makoto seems to look uncomfortable a moment, but Nagisa gives him a supportive look and places a hand on his shoulder.

"You know…" he says. "You may think he was perfect, but there were a lot of things even Korosensei couldn't do. Sometimes… he did the wrong thing, and up until the end he thought those things were right. Looking back on your mistakes… reflecting and coming around… that takes a lot of maturity."

He thinks about Korosensei… who knew 2.0 was his apprentice, but didn't apologize because he was more scared of being found out by his students than he was scared of never giving the boy he failed closure. Korosensei: whose solution to Nagisa's home life was getting his parents back together, and Korosensei, who forgave Gakuho so flippantly because he had to; because if Gakuho didn't stand a chance, what did he, the murderer? Korosensei: 'perfect' and heroic and kind, but still just human. Korosensei… who didn't know how to ask for help.

"You're really brave, Makoto," Nagisa says. "And I'm proud of you. Let's do what Korosensei couldn't. Together." He pauses… then shakes his head. "No," he says. "I'm sorry. That was wrong."

He gives Makoto a smile as he sends a text Kayano's way. "Let's do what only Makoto could."

Karma is really not prepared to handle a crying child.

He'd had a simple plan for today! He really had! Things were lazy in the office so he'd just been planning to kick back... review an ordinance or two... and maybe send a passive aggressive chore Terasaka's way for shits and giggles. He'd been planning to clock out early… treat himself to a strawberry sundae… and ideally do something horrible and not at all PG-13 with his cringe fail husbands to close off the night.

He had not been planning to deal with a weeping Kiyoshi.

But here he is! Dammit! Dammit! He really shouldn't have challenged Gakushuu to a game of 3v3 rock paper scissors. If he'd just been a normal fucking person and did one round he'd have none of this to worry about and be on easy street: babysitting a bunch of brats and… like, telling them about shounen anime or whatever.

Instead, here he is with a crying child clinging to his hand.

...Like he said: he's not exactly good at emotional intimacy.

First things first he leads Kiyoshi out into the hall... gets him away from the judgemental gaze of his classmates and finds the two of them a sufficiently private spot behind a corner.

As he's ushered away from the classroom, however, Kiyoshi's demeanor only seems to grow more panicked. Gentle weeping escalating to full-out sobbing, he hyperventilates… refusing to meet Karma's eye.

Karma shuffles slightly, but speaks up.

"Hey. Uh… sorry to drag you out of class: didn't mean to single you out or anything, but I gotta know: what's going on? ' Shuu and I noticed you were crying and we thought that it was wei-" He pauses. "Well, not that weird, but… like… more intense than usual. You don't usually cry in front of your classmates. What's wrong?"

Kiyoshi buries his face in his hands and groans. "I can't even - I don't even know where to begin to explain this to you. It's not like it'd make any sense and you'd hate me and…-" he shakes his head. "What does it matter, anyways!? It's gonna come out no matter what, isn't it!? They're fighting because of me! They have to have told everyone! Fuck. Fuck! Fuck!"

There's a sense of helpless anger to his voice. He's started to pace. Still refusing to look Karma in the eye he's walking in uneven little circles.

"Woah. Woah. Told everyone what?" Karma asks. "And what do you mean they're fighting because of you? Fumiko and Makoto?"

Quite frankly it's hard to even make out a word of what Kiyoshi is saying. He's talking in this hushed, hysteric murmur. What isn't interrupted by him sobbing is coming out too fast to hear.

"Yes, Fumiko and Makoto!" Kiyoshi cries. "They're… oh my God. They hate each other. She said she wanted him to die and he's acting like a shithead and I sweartogodI'mgonnathrowup." He hunches over, clutching at his stomach. " What have I done? What have I done? Why am I such a screwup!?"

Karma takes a step closer.

"Okay. So don't say that," he instructs. "Just take deep breaths. Slow down. Tell me what's going on."

"The world is over! That's what's going on!" Kiyoshi throws his hands in the air. "It's not like you'd even believe me and if you did you'd kick my ass and- holy shit I'm scared of you! Can you believe that!? I'm fucking scared of you! You should be scared of me! I'd thank you if you kicked my ass, really! It's not like I don't deserve it! I mean all I did was tear apart the one good thing those two ever had!"

"Okay. No. No. No," Karma says, quickly getting tired of this. He places a firm hand on Kiyoshi's shoulder and turns him around to face him. "We're not doing this. I know how you get. You spiral in on yourself. And while I could go 'Mmyup. You sure deserve to have your ass kicked,' you're like the one person I don't feel comfortable performing reverse psychology on. Practice some deep breathing or whatever… get your little ass collected… and then tell me how exactly you're responsible for your friends going ape on each other."

Kiyoshi tries to tug away, but Karma won't let him. He knows he'll be here for the next five hundred years if he does, and that certainly won't help Kiyoshi.

"I…" Kiyoshi hesitates. "You won't believe me."

"Don't know until you try."

"Or… or…- you'll hate me. Someone's gotta hate me. Eventually it's gotta happen. What if… what if-?"

"I won't hate you," Karma says. "I'm already married to my mortal enemy, so if you think any level of rancid behavior is enough to make me hate another human being you're wrong. I revel in moral depravity. What the hell did you do?"

Kiyoshi tenses. "This isn't some funny situation, Akabane-san."

"And I'm not saying it is: holy hell!" Karma replies. "This is just how I talk." For some reason he seems to get that a lot.

"Fine. You know what? I don't even get why I- why am I bothering to hide it? It's not like it matters anyways! I'm sure Shiota-sensei and Yukimura-san already know, and if you don't kill me they will! You deserve to know before I hurt you too! Or! At least- I really think you should view me that way seeing as how even when I thought things were okay they're not okay and my friends are fighting and… and… fuck… holy fuck!"

"You wanna know why my friends are fighting!? You really wanna know, Akabane-san!? They're fighting because I'm EVIL! Because I have a horrible past and I… I-" His next few words come out in a single stream. "BecauseI'mawifebeaterandIdidhorriblethingstoKorosenseiandIhurteveryoneItouchandIreallythoughttheyforgavemeoratleastwereontheirwaytobutnowIcanseeI'mstillhurtingthembymakingthemdisgareeaboutmeandI'mreallyscaredthey'regonnahatweeachotherforeverandIjustreallyfuckingwishIwasn'tborn!"

The minute he's finished saying it Kiyoshi crumples to the floor. Shivering and sniffling, he stares desperately up at Karma.

Karma takes a step backwards. His eyebrow just about ascending from his forehead, he demands "What!? What are you talking about!?"

Burying his face in his hands Kiyoshi wails "I knew you wouldn't believe me! Fucking hell! I warned you though, alright!? I told you you'd hate me! So you can't blame me for-"

"Woah. Woah. Woah!" Karma interjects. "I don't hate you. I just did not make out a single word of that, you breathless little man." He shakes his head. "Can you… like… repeat that? Maybe with individual sentences this time?"

"I…-" Kiyoshi looks ready to argue, but soon relents. "Okay," he says. "Sorry. I'm just- uh - I'mreallynervous."

"No need to be," Karma says. "At least… not more than usual. And get off the floor, will you? If you've really done something 'evil' I'll push you back down there my damn self, but for now you really shouldn't ruin your nice pair of pants."

Kiyoshi staggers to his feet. Awkwardly brushing himself off he says. "So… uh… you know about Makoto?"

"Sure do," Karma says blankly. "What about the guy?"

"So… uh… you know his whole Korosensei thing? Past life or whatever? How one day he just- like… started remembering things and then told you all he was your teacher?"

"Yeah," Karma says. "Pretty crazy stuff. What about it?"

Now the little cogs are turning in his brain. Interesting… interesting, indeed.

"Well… uh… I'mnotreallysureifshe'sokaywithmesharingthis. But… I mean Iguessshewasprettypublicaboutitearlier so I can now. But - uh - Fumiko. She's got one of those. Past lives. She. Learned about it a few months ago. Only Makoto, Kayano-san and I knew about it up until now. She - Aguri. She's Aguri. Got some really weird stuff to prove it."

Karma blinks, but doesn't respond. Holy hell. If this entire situation weren't so 'upsetting' or whatever he'd have to laugh. Did Aguri Yukimura seriously attack Korosensei like she was a wild fucking dog?

(He is going to lose his everloving shit.)

"Which is. All fun. But - like two months ago things got weirder? Worse?" Kiyoshi says. "She didn't do anything. And- uh! Neither did Makoto! Well - he did, but not then. It was. Me. I really shat the bed. I woke up one night after having these super weird dreams and. Uh. Everything kinda went to hell from there."

He shuffles awkwardly from foot to foot. "I. Uh. Ihaveapastlifetoo."

It takes all of Karma's self-restraint not to snort. It's not that he doesn't - he totally believes the kid, but oh my fucking god? Kiyoshi has to be the most normal person he knows. What could he possibly have done?

"Alright. Alright. Cool. Who is it?"

Kiyoshi grimaces. "...Kotarrrooo?

Karma's brow furrows. "Who now?"

"Yanagisawa?"

...Oh.

Well that would certainly explain why he heard the phrase 'wifebeater' earlier!

Kiyoshi must notice the startled look on Karma's face because he stumbles backwards, shaking his head and holding his hands up in front of him. "I- I feel bad about it! Really! I'm just as distraught about this as you are! The first time I found out I. Kinda wanted to die? I mean I still kinda wanna die! So please don't. Like - I know you just said you wouldn't hate me, but…-" he drifts off. "...Well, actually if you do hate me that's fair. I wouldn't. Ask you not to. Just… please don't punch me? I'd really prefer you don't punch me. Even if… I…-" he drifts off before holding his arms out by his side. "Yeah. No. I'd deserve that too, actually. Go right ahead."

Admittedly Karma's more… confused than anything. He's not sure what he'd expected, but it certainly hadn't been that. Kiyoshi does not strike him as that sort of person. Then again… he supposes Fumiko hadn't struck him as that sort of person, either. Today is just full of surprises, isn't it?

It's almost a little bit funny... seeing a thirteen-year-old hold his arms out and confidently declare that he's a war criminal. The idea of Kotaro Yanagisawa... like, trapped in the body of a preteen is goddamn hysterical. And it... would certainly explain some things about Kiyoshi. But all the same, Kiyoshi did just admit he's been… like… suicidal, and so as funny as the situation is objectively, Karma also has to note 'oh my God! That's really fucked up!' and that he probably shouldn't be laughing, actually.

Kiyoshi's looking at him with these big watery eyes. Meeting his gaze for just one moment, then averting it, he trembles where he stands.

It's not that Karma doesn't hate that guy. He hates him plenty. Maybe not as much as some people, (...Hoo BOY Kayano is going to LOVE this scenario, isn't she?) but… like… a normal amount. But even so, he can't exactly take Kiyoshi's words to heart. This whole… apology thing… 'It's okay if you hate me and you should really hit me in the face…' it leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

"Okay," he says blankly.

"...Okay?" Kiyoshi repeats, before reeling back. "Wait! Okay!? So you are going to hit me!?"

"No! I'm not going to fucking hit you!" Karma hisses. In any other situation he'd probably wind his arm up and pretend to throw a punch, but something tells him now's not the time. "Jesus Christ, no I'm not going to hit you."

"O… kay," Kiyoshi says awkwardly. "...What sort of 'okay,' then?"

"Okay: you're that guy," Karma says with a shrug. "Fine by me."

Kiyoshi looks surprised. He glances towards Karma… then away… then back again like he half expects him to be joking. When Karma doesn't burst out into laughter or retract his statement, however, his shoulders tense and he takes a step backwards.

"Hey! Wait! What the hell do you mean 'fine by me!?'"

"I mean 'fine by me.' How many interpretations are there of the damn statement?"

"But - I-" Kiyoshi sputters. "WHAT!? Do you even know who I'm talking about!? S-Shiro!? The guy who tried to kill you all!? Don't- don't give me that face if you don't remember who he is! He was like- super messed up! You can't tell me you're just okay with that! You - that's not - you're supposed to be angry! Or sad! Or scared! What are you doing!?"

He seems offended, almost. As he shrieks, however, Karma simply gives him another lazy shrug.

"Yes, I know who you're talking about. No, I'm not scared. Who the fuck do you think I am? Now if you don't mind me asking you a question, Dr. Jekyll: how many times have you done this exactly?"

Kiyoshi shoots him a defensive look. "What do you… what do you mean?"

"This whole sobstory thing. 'I'm so sad. My life is ruined.' Not that I'm accusing you of guilt tripping- I think I'd just about shit myself too if I were in your shoes- but there's no way in hell you can keep doing this forever. You're gonna… like… collapse in on yourself, or at the very least give people the idea that they'd be doing the right thing by kicking your ass if you keep it up."

Kiyoshi bites his lip. "They… they would be."

"Listen: just answer the question. How many people have you told about this, and have you been this goddamn afraid every single time?"

"I…" Kiyoshi pauses. "Yes, actually. But… uh- only Fumiko and Makoto know."

"Alright. Alright," Karma says, noting that in his mind. "Cool. Two massive breakdowns. But for the record you don't need to do this with me. Don't bow your head and beg for forgiveness. I don't care, really. And it's just weird."

"But - I mean," Kiyoshi sputters. "Of course it's weird! But - I mean- I really should be sorry! I'd feel bad if I didn't at least apologize-"

"Then apologize. Just stop saying you gotta die or whatever. That sounds exhausting. I can't imagine thinking that way for months straight."

Kiyoshi gnaws on his lip. "...So this really doesn't matter to you?"

"Nope," Karma replies. "'Okay's' legit all I have to say. I'm not sure why you expect this to be some groundbreaking revelation for me. It's not going to change how I think about you. I've known you for thirteen years. I knew that guy for not even one. Besides, even if it did somehow matter to me it's not like I could be reasonably scared of you. Once I saw you cry because you were scared of Hatsune Miku. You are… like… the least threatening thing I can think of."

Kiyoshi seems ready to defend himself about the Miku thing, but must decide now's not the time. "Okay," he says. "Fine. You're really okay with this. That's… uh. Weird. But a relief? I guess?" He grimaces. "I don't know. Shit still sucks."

"Yeah. That's what I'm wondering about. What on earth happened out there? And why is it Fumiko's beating Makoto's ass, not yours?"

"Well… uh… they-" Kiyoshi shakes his head. "...They're fighting over me." He pauses. "Not in - like - a 'he's mine' way- for the record. That would be weird. In a - like 'does he deserve to be alive?' way. Not that Fumiko ever - Fumiko never said - I should probably start from the beginning."

Karma nods. "That would be a good place, yeah."

"Okay," Kiyoshi says, taking a deep breath. "So when I first learned about all of this I wanted to hide it. Not out of malice or anything for the record. I wasn't. Like. Scheming. I was just embarrassed. I was like 'Okay! So now that my life is over I'm just gonna cut them off. They shouldn't be around me. It's too much of a risk. I'm gonna disappear now.;"

"Which was a great plan and all but also extraordinarily stupid knowing my friends. The minute I tried to give them the cold shoulder they flipped out. Makoto confronted me and basically forced me to tell him what was going on. Not to - like - demonize him or anything. He was like. Super polite about it. He just - I finally realized I was acting like an asshole and told him what was going on. Blurted it out more than anything."

"At first he was like… appalled, but pretty soon he came around. He comforted me and said all this nice stuff about how he still loved me and we'd still be besties and so on and so on. It was really nice! But - uh - that's besides the point. What really matters is that he said maybe Fumiko didn't need to know about all of this and that we should keep it between the two of us."

He shifts from foot to foot.

"I knew it was wrong… but he just made it sound so smart. Said this stuff about how I'd just scare her and that there was no point in putting her through that. That… it wouldn't matter to her, anyways. Some stupid part of me wanted to believe that. So - uh… the evilest part of me, I guess, succumbed. I was like 'alright. If it's really what you think is best I won't tell her what happened."

"That ended up backfiring. A little bit after that my mom had her accident and I had a complete mental break. Ended up thinking that… maybe she was punished because I hadn't been honest. And I know that isn't rational, but it just seemed so - so obvious at the time. Maybe it was the guilt haunting me." He shakes his head. "...Either way, I decided to tell Fumiko."

"She reacted… poorly." He shakes his head again. "I can't blame her. Punched me in the face and ran away. Eventually the two of us managed to fix things… I sauntered up onto her front lawn and said sorry a thousand times it'salongstory… anyways- I was starting to think we were on pretty good terms: Fumiko and I. Like… not perfect: don't get me wrong! She still kinda hates me for treating her like garbage and the whole marital abuse thing, but she said we might be able to be friends again! She was just still mad at Makoto."

"She… knew he agreed to hide all that from her. And it really hurt her feelings. I kept telling him 'you gotta apologize! You gotta apologize!' but he wouldn't listen to me. And… well… I guess it's boiled over." He averts his gaze. "I feel fucking horrible. I mean… I'm the reason they're fighting in the first place. If they aren't able to make up… if they really stop being friends because of me… then I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself."

With that, he goes quiet. Arms falling to his side he looks up at Karma.

"...Well," he says. "That's the whole story. What do you think?"

"Quite a saga: I gotta admit," Karma says. He's still trying to wrap his head around it. Is that really what's been going down with the kids the past few months? He never could have guessed! "But if you ask me…" He muses. "...I don't think this is about you, actually."

Kiyoshi jolts.

"What do you - what do you mean it's not about me!? If it weren't for - if I weren't this guy we wouldn't be in any of this mess right now! I caught the tail end of their argument! It was about me for sure! You can't just - You can't just say I'm not to blame!"

"Of course not," Karma says. "But… you said you did everything you could, yeah? Told 'em both the truth? Apologized and such? You even told me you were on good terms with the both of them... that Makoto was more than okay with it, and Fumiko was on her way to forgiving you. If they agree on their opinion of you… then their disagreement isn't an ideological one. It's an intimate one."

Kiyoshi squints.

"...Excuse me?"

"They're not fighting over you," Karma says. "They're arguing about their handling of you. It's no longer about your secret identity, it seems. It's about Makoto's deceit and subsequent lack of apology."

Kiyoshi gnaws on his lip.

"Well… yeah. That much is obvious," he admits. "But - like… if I weren't this guy then he wouldn't have lied to her in the first place. She wouldn't have a reason to be hurt by him."

Karma shrugs. "Who's to say he wouldn't have lied to her about something else?"

Kiyoshi frowns.

"I don't think you should say that."

"If their disagreement isn't over moral standing, then it's over communication," Karma says. "It's something that would have happened sooner or later anyways, and if you ask me it's better they get these sort of misunderstandings worked out when they're young. The older you get, the harder it can become to find an understanding."

He stretches. "Listen: I'm not usually a guy for tangents… that's much more Nagisa's thing: but mind if I share an anecdote? I think it might help put things into perspective."

Kiyoshi hesitates, but nods. "...I suppose I don't mind," he admits.

"Cool," Karma says, rolling his shoulders. "Now I'm not sure how much of this you know about… if you were spying on us or whatever, but near the end of the year the class had a little bit of a pissing match. Korosensei's tragic backstory came out and we all sort of lost our minds. Half the class was like 'Holy shit! That's just a dude! We can't kill him!' and the other half was like 'Guys? Seriously? WHAT have we been training for all year again?'"

He rolls his eyes. "The whole thing got pretty intense. We ended up playing a round of 'assassination' with each other to decide what to do. Red team versus Blue. If Red won we'd have Korosensei's head on a stake, and if Blue won we'd… like… frolic through the flowers or whatever the hell."

"Sounds pretty cut and dry, right? A simple ideological divide. Kayano wanted Korosensei to live because she felt she owed it to her sister. Nakamura wanted Korosensei to die because that's what our class was about. So on and so on. And for the most part that's all it was. But for the guys leading the teams… well… it was a little different."

"You see: believe it or not I kinda hated Nagisa back in Junior High. Long story short but he basically scared the shit out of me. Made me think I was going soft or whatever and that he was secretly way more dangerous than he was letting on and that he was going to lop off my head with a rusty ax. So when I heard his dumb 'We've gotta save Korosensei' shtick it pissed me the hell off. I was like: 'Hey! No! You're a natural-born assassin. Don't pretend to be something you're not.'"

"He didn't exactly like hearing that and wanted to kick my ass right back. Took half of the class to damn restrain us. Ultimately the assassination competition came down to just the two of us, and it was close. But as we were wrestling on the forest floor and I kept thinking about just how much I hated this guy I came to a horrible revelation."

"This… wasn't about Korosensei. Maybe for Nakamura and Terasaka and Hayami and Hazama… but not for me. For me it was about proving Nagisa wrong. For me it was about putting Nagisa in his place. For me it was about seeing just how much this mattered to him, and wanting to pull it out of him… crush that conviction between my fingers. And that was fucked up. "

"Ultimately… I let him win. I still didn't think forcing Korosensei to live was the right thing to do, but I also knew that wasn't the main thing I was fighting for. And... that this was clearly way more important to Nagisa than it was to me. That doesn't mean our… er- personal issues weren't important, but then maybe wasn't the time to be working on them. I finally came to understand his perspective a little over it… even if it was something entirely different we were clashing over."

"Now I think your situation is a little similar. Maybe Makoto is fighting over ideology like most of the Red team. Like Nagisa, too, for the most part. But Fumiko? Hoo boy. Fumiko is fighting over communication. I know someone like myself when I see her. And even if they weren't fighting over you she would have found a reason to sock him in the face sooner or later."

Kiyoshi seems to mull that over for a moment. His brow furrows… then relaxes. And his shoulders sink as he sends a glance Karma's way.

"...So… it was all just pointless, then?" he asks. "They were going to fight no matter what? The hell's the point then?"

"The point is that it's not pointless," Karma says. "I dunno how you look at Nagisa and I and get the idea that Makoto and Fumiko's relationship is somehow doomed. Just because you're bound to butt heads with someone sooner or later doesn't mean you can't find common ground. It just means it's better to get that clashing out of the way earlier than later. Thank hell they're doing this now. Can you imagine if they got into a fight like this when they'd been friends for years? Now that would have really stung."

"I… suppose so," Kiyoshi admits.

"They'll get their shit worked out, even if they don't know it yet. I wouldn't worry about it," Karma reassures. 'After all,' he thinks, remembering tackling Nagisa to the forest floor 'We never would have expected this all those years ago.'

"And cut that shit out, okay?" he continues. "The 'I'm evil and I deserve to suffer and whatever inane bullshit that's going on right is my fault.' You didn't force your friends to bicker and you certainly didn't blow your mom up. You gotta give yourself some damn leeway. Let yourself breathe, alright?"

"But I-"

"Whether you think you 'deserve' it or not. It's not something worth dwelling on at this point. Everyone's got some kind of screwed up past." He gives a dark chuckle. "You should have seen some of the shit I pulled as a kid."

Kiyoshi sputters. "Do not- do not put yourself on my fucking level! You think you're such a fucking clown, but you never did anything even remotely close to the shit I pulled. Besides! I was a thirty-four-year-old man! You were! Like! Twelve! I think I can cut you some slack!"

"Fifteen," Karma says. "But thanks for calling me twelve, thirteen-year-old."

Kiyoshi grumbles, but seems to relax slightly. It's more than abundantly clear by now nothing's changed between him and his obnoxious Uncle Karma.

"I'll… uh… try," Kiyoshi says. "It's a lot of work… not, like… wanting to combust on the spot or blame myself for literally everything that happens… I mean…- like- that's always been a habit of mine, and it's way worse now that I gotta deal with that revelation… but I'll try. If only for your sake." He pauses, before giving an awkward laugh. "I still can hardly believe there are no hard feelings."

"Nah," Karma says, shrugging. "I was hardly the guy you hurt the most. And you don't exactly give off the most menacing vibes. Once I picked you up and you let out a sound like a goddamn tea kettle. I couldn't view you as some evil overlord even if I wanted to."

"I-!" Kiyoshi's face flushes red. "Okay! So maybe I'm not exactly the most foreboding figure, and I'm thankful you don't view me that way, but-

"Another time you called Nagisa's snake ugly and when he told you you hurt her feelings you cried so hard you literally threw up."

All the fight seems to fade from Kiyoshi. He throws his hands in the air.

"Okay. Yeah. I'm sort of a pretty pathetic kid."

"And we love you for it," Karma says, giving Kiyoshi a warm smile. "Don't sweat any of this, alright? You're a part of the family. And the minute your friends get their shit together things will go right back to normal. After all… it'll take a lot more than some campy past life to get us off your back."

"I know," Kiyoshi says.

"I, for one," Karma says. "Intend to have a lot of fun, in fact. I mean you are my favorite little guy to bully, and…" that warm smile quickly segways into a devilish grin. "You just gave me a LOT more ammunition to work with."

Kiyoshi yelps, stumbling backwards. "God damn it!" he says, covering his face with his hands. "I mean- Iknowit'sjustified! But I really should have talked with someone like Asano-san, shouldn't I!?"

"Yeah. Probably," Karma says with a laugh. "But he 'didn't trust himself to handle a crying child,' and 'didn't want me brainwashing the class,' so here we are. You're stuck with me. Besides… I would have found out sooner or later anyways. And I can guarantee you whether I bestowed you the knowledge of me beating the hell out of Nagisa in the woods or not I'd be having a damn field day with this."

"Because it's funny, for the record. For the last time: not because you deserve it. I'm not trying to make 'Shiro' suffer. I've just got a sick sense of humor and there is something wrong with me in the head. The minute you start interpreting this the wrong way is the moment I stop."

Kiyoshi snorts. "Maybe I should, then. Wish I'd known there was a cheat code to getting you to leave me alone earlier."

"Awwwww. Come on: you know you like me pulling your leg. At least a little! And you gotta admit I gave some pretty sage advice."

"I suppose," Kiyoshi relents. "Yeah. I guess you helped a little." He gives Karma a smile. "...Still don't really know what's gonna happen, but thank you for talking to me. I feel a lot less trapped in my own head now."

"Happy to help," Karma says. "...Now do you wanna head back to class or nah?"

Kiyoshi glances at his phone. "Not really," he says. "The school day's almost over, and the minute anything happens between Fumiko and Makoto I wanna know. Is it okay if I just stay out here?"

"More than," Karma says. "Gakushuu will probably be relieved I'm not storming into the classroom anyways. Let's chill. Before you even know it your friends will have their shit together. And in the meantime we can sit out here and talk about anything else you need to."

Admittedly Kiyoshi still seems a little worried as he awkwardly sits down. But Karma doesn't have any doubts. If there's one thing he knows, it's that Fumiko and Makoto will come to see in time.