From the last chapter, I have a reason why Takaoka needed Tenma, and it may or may not involve a certain soccer organization. Listen, I really want to make a fic out of this but I still need to do some planning about the lore, Tenma's background, and things with Raimon.
In this fic, the events of AC comes first, and when high-school starts, events of IEG comes after... or not. Yeah I'm still trying to plan that out haha...
Anyways, have this; this is short and I'm still planning out the Takaoka scene but I hope this is still enjoyable.
Knives cutting through air and grunts were the only sounds that filled the courtyard of Class 3-E, along with Karasuma's voice, instructing the assassins-in-training.
"Don't look away! Predict your target's moves! If you all do that, you'll block off every last one of his escape routes!"
Tenma subtly gulped at Karasuma's booming voice because it reminded him of the coach he had when he used to be in Kunugigaoka's soccer team. The coach is sent from Fifth Sector, and Tenma never liked him because of his way of coaching the members, never hesitating to use violence if he needed to.
His fingers on the Anti-Sensei knife twitches at the memory of feeling suffocated under his gaze but he was able to recover from the memory because a part of him reminded him that Karasuma's voice is not condescending and full of venom like the coach and despite having the same level of booming voice Karasuma's voice is gentle and not harsh.
Tenma's only description of the coach's voice, or perhaps of him in general, was that he's like a predator waiting for its prey to make a wrong move so he can go in for the kill.
He's... afraid of him, to say the least. Not only him, but his past team too.
Tenma became aware that Nagisa noticed his uneasiness from the brief expression of worry he gave before the two turned their attention back to delivering blows to one another.
Tenma raises his arm and leans slightly forward to aim his knife to graze Nagisa's cheek. However, the latter anticipated the move and quickly moves his head back before raising his arm and aiming his own Anti-Sensei combat knife at Tenma's head. However, like Nagisa, Tenma was able to anticipate this and so he ducks his head to avoid the blow.
From the corner of his eye, Tenma notices how Karasuma is in deep thought, his eyes assessing each and everyone of the students, each with their combat partner trading blows, in sight. He guesses that the PE teacher was analyzing and comparing how much they improved during the four months of training.
An idea surfaces itself in his head. Is it a bad idea? Maybe, but then again Karasuma did encouraged them so...
"Neh, Nagisa," Tenma began in a low voice so that no one but Nagisa could hear him as he attempts to hit the latter's side to which it was only deflected when Nagisa made a move to collide his green blade to Tenma's.
"Hm?" Nagisa makes a move to 'slice' Tenma's next to which the latter sharply moves his head to the opposite direction to prevent the former from doing so, though the knife grazes Tenma's cheeks a little.
"Should we try ambushing Karasuma-sensei?" Nagisa had to stop moving after being caught off guard by Tenma's meek suggestion (with just a hint of thrilling excitement in his tone). Tenma does the same as Nagisa takes a subtle glance at Karasuma.
It was a few seconds later when Nagisa silently turns back to Tenma with a nod as both now share looks of determination to 'kill' their teacher, who is not Koro-sensei.
After a quick planning, (with Nagisa going to take a hit first, but if Karasuma expected it and dodges, Tenma will fill in), Tenma quietly moves away from his spot and by the time he arrived to their desired area (in front of Karasuma, though just a few feet away so that he wouldn't be noticed), and a little bit of waiting, Tenma's breath hitches a little when Nagisa goes for it.
He expected it of course, after all, it is part of the plan, but what Tenma didn't expect was how Nagisa easily slides in behind Karasuma (who is sparring with Kimura) with armed hand ready to go straight for the kill, kind of like a snake. Tenma thinks in awe and said teacher didn't even notice him for at least two seconds until Karasuma parried the attack by grabbing both of Nagisa's arms and literally twisted his body mid-air causing Tenma to gasp silently when he sees Nagisa falling down on the ground with a pained grunt that had everyone's attention.
Tenma was frozen only to soften his form in relief when Nagisa moves his upper body up, murmuring a little "Ow..." as he places a hand on his neck and rubs it to ease the pain. Tenma quickly runs towards where Nagisa is to aid him and to properly see if he is alright, discarding the plan to ambush Karasuma all together.
However, when he passes by Karasuma, he didn't notice how his expression went on alert, the same one when Nagisa was previously standing behind him, once more.
Karasuma was sparring with Kimura when he abruptly sensed an unusual presence behind him. He felt as though a snake were trying to suffocate him with its body and tail causing him to feel unsettled, so he turned around in alarm and launched a counterattack against whoever was behind him, only to discover that the 'snake' is Nagisa.
He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he watches the fallen Nagisa completely stunned.
As Karasuma was about to approach and apologize to Nagisa, worried that he might have hit him a little too hard when he felt yet another strange presence that spiked his alertness once more; only that this is, despite it calming, Karasuma could sense that there is something underneath that is waiting to emerge to make its move. It is akin to wind, though a sharp one.
He turns but he sees no one as he only felt a short breeze but when he turned back around to check on Nagisa, he held back in a gasp for he was shocked to suddenly see Tenma already beside the blue-haired boy asking if he was okay.
"And up we go!" Tenma sang a little with a small smile as he helps Nagisa to stand by pulling him up by placing his hands below the latter's armpits.
Quickly recovering, Karasuma scurries towards them, "Sorry! Put a little too much oomph into my block there." He scans Nagisa's form, thankful that overall he is alright, save for the scratch on his arm, but give it a few days, it'll heal.
"Oh- don't worry about it, Karasuma-sensei, I'm fine!" Nagisa replies, "Sorry, it was my idea to ambush Karasuma-sensei," Tenma admits sharing a sheepish smile with Nagisa, though his is more guilty. Nagisa shook his head, "Don't apologize, it's alright! Now I know that I should be more careful,"
Nagisa's statement caused Sugino to chuckle, "Dummy, you gotta keep an eye on him!"
"Haha..."
Shiota Nagisa and Matsukaze Tenma...
As Karasuma watches Tenma dragging the protesting Nagisa to the Class 3-E wooden school building to disinfect his wounds, he couldn't help but try to assess and analyze each of them, pondering if the presences he felt from before really did came from them only to discover nothing, as if it was never there in the first place.
Those strange presences I just felt... was it just an imagination?
From the sidelines, Koro-sensei quietly observes the scene with his permanent smile and a glint of intrigued curiosity in his beady eyes.
