Err… sorry guys, for leaving this untouched for almost three months. First it was a pile of schoolwork/papers/exams that I was buried under, then once I got that out of the way I sort of prioritized Great Teacher Nagisa. I'm going to try to update this once a month now my main fic is done.
Thank you all for tolerating my shoddy update schedule.
Responses to reviews:
Artista the Psycho Ink Mistress: Nagisa and Gakushuu are the Class of 2016 (Third years). Gakushuu was giving that speech to the incoming First year students, which would be the Class of 2018. Sorry if that wasn't clear.
VideoCrazy: That's quite the observation, I didn't think of that. I supposed we could say that Koro-sensei intentionally did not take the nameplate off of the Asano/Shiota residence to keep that fact a secret. I think Koro-sensei would keep his students' secrets.
After that disastrous dinner, the teenagers were in their room sulking. After about ten minutes, Nagisa, perched on his top bunk, cracked open a manga.
"Are you… Upset?" Gakushuu was leaning back against his nightstand, staring at the wall.
"About?"
"Your… Egg donor. Yeah, let's call her that."
"Upset? Sure I am," Nagisa closed the pages of volume 875021 of Detective Conan. That girl Fuwa sold it to him since she had 'plenty at home'. "But she's always been like this. I just learned to tread lightly and let this roll off my back."
"Yeah. Can't say I can relate." The evil redhead threw his head back and sighed. "My mom was totally normal. Then one day she became, 'I'm leaving you for my personal trainer because he's younger and less of an asshole'." Gakushuu shifted and sat cross-legged. "I don't blame her. You know the Principal. If I were in her position I wouldn't have even lasted that long."
With a yawn, Nagisa fell asleep sitting in that position, and was woken only by the sound of Gakushuu snoring.
The next day arrived. Every resident of the Asano house got up and went to school/work without acknowledging each other. Gakushuu hoped that this would be the beginning of a trend.
The mountain air was refreshing and sharp. The E Class 'losers' were practicing their stabbing techniques. Step to the left, step to the right, stab. After the umpteenth round, Karasuma starting lecturing them on something or another. Nagisa ended up somewhat tuning it out, as his mother's words began ringing in his ears again. Why couldn't you be less disappointing!?
Nagisa's pigtails drooped. Why can't I make my mother happy? Come to think of it, why couldn't my father either? Why does she-
Nagisa heard a rustle behind him. Footsteps planted themselves gently on the grass. The assailant walked as if he had a target, but he had no rush to get to it. Nagisa turned around, having a suspicion about who this was.
"Hiya. Long time no see, Nagisa-kun." Karma Akabane, token bad boy of Kunugigaoka Junior High Class of 2016, stood tall and proud, sipping on a juice box.
"Aw shit! Akabane's here!" Terasaka whisper-shouted, hiding behind Muramastu and Yoshida.
The class was amazed by what came next, as their Koro-sensei, who had never had a blow landed on him by any of them, was injured by this fourteen year old delinquent.
"I think they got your name wrong," Karma taunted Koro-sensei.
Nagisa cringed. He could speculate as to why his stepfather thought Karma would be an asset to their class. But he was too scared to ask the old man for confirmation.
Not too long after that, E Class was joined by another new arrival, though this one was more unfamiliar.
"You shitty brats!" Miss Irina Jelavich yelled from the other room. Things clanged and banged against the board. Nagisa was not in the classroom to witness it, he was currently in the bathroom washing his mouth out after 'Miss Hellabitch' kissed him for the third time this week.
Never a dull moment, Nagisa rolled his eyes and went back to join his class.
"I hear E Class got another new teacher." Gakushuu said between mouthfuls of curry and rice.
"They sure did." Gakuho laughed, wiping his cheek with a napkin. "An English teacher. She's a native speaker. I think that's what E Class needs."
"She's not a native speaker…" Nagisa picked up a potato with his spoon. 'Miss Hellabitch' was from Serbia.
Gakuho glared. Nagisa just gulped and resigned himself to a lifetime of obeying the principal.
"Yes. A native speaker. She's got an interesting personality…"
To Gakushuu's disappointment, his family ignoring each other was not the beginning of a trend, it was just a one-time incident. His step-mother was happy and cheerful these days; she had just gotten a promotion at work. So she greeted the boys with a huge smile and a hug every morning.
"Does this mean that she's planning our murder?" Gakushuu asked Nagisa once they left the house.
"No, she just sometimes has these good moods. Appreciate it while it lasts." Nagisa shrugged, swatting a mosquito.
Gakushuu's classes dragged. His grades began to drop for a second. He started avoiding his home, knowing his father easily had access to his grades. His regular 100's on Chemistry tests had dropped to 88's within the past three weeks. He asked what he considered to be an unbelievably stupid question in English ("Is the Canterbury Tales in middle English?"; his response was an awkward glance and a weary "… Yes" from his teacher). And as of today, he was no longer the first one called on whenever he raised his hand.
So it was now that Gakushuu hid away in a gaming arcade somewhere on the other side of the city. He didn't know or care where he was, so long as he was nowhere near anyone from school or home. He was sitting in a little nook between two machines, hoping that no one would find him. This place was so far away from the school; no way someone would be all the way out here on a Tuesday, right? But he was mistaken.
His stepbrother was walking by, looking for the friends he came with. Gakushuu curled up, praying he would go unnoticed.
"Gakushuu?" Dammit, he was noticed.
"Um," He looked around to assure that no one they knew was within eyesight. "Hi there."
Nagisa got up close to whisper. "Are you okay?"
Gakushuu wanted to keep up the shield, but it was too much anymore. He shook his head no.
"Why not?"
"A Class sucks."
"Sorry to hear." Nagisa suppressed the urge to inquire further. It really wasn't any of his business, right? "Wanna join me and Sugino? We're playing a game over there." He pointed towards the back of the arcade. Sugino was putting coins into the machine. Gakushuu crouched back down so he wasn't seen.
"Is that a no?"
Gakushuu forgot to respond when someone else caught his eye.
It seemed another E Class "loser" was here. Gakushuu didn't recognize her immediately, it took some studying and thinking to place a name to that face. She didn't usually look like that, after all.
Yukiko Kanzaki was expertly destroying Karma Akabane in a first-person shooting game. Gakushuu had to smile sadistically. After all those times Akabane stole first place from him (For example, in exam rankings or when the girls discussed who the hottest guy in the grade was), he finally got his comeuppance.
"Okay, did the entirety of E Class decide to come here today?" Another familiar voice erupted from behind Gakushuu. "Or is it just the five of us?"
Rio Nakamura ran her fingers through her long hair. Damn it, she was basically the female Karma, one of the troublemakers of Kunugigaoka. Time to cross his fingers and hope she didn't see him-
"Look who it is, the one and only Gakushuu Asano." The blonde remarked smugly. Akabane and Kanzaki turned to look at the valedictorian.
Crap.
Gakushuu flushed, getting up to make an exit. "I'm just here looking for a friend. I'm not here to waste time. Don't get the wrong idea."
"So you can't even play a match with me?" Akabane asked. Mocking was obvious in his voice.
"No!" Gakushuu left before they could see his tears. He was running towards nowhere in particular, just where he could get far away from people in general.
"Nagisa, why did you just talk to Asano out of the blue?" Sugino put his elbows up.
"… Reasons."
"And what did you ask him?"
"… Stuff."
Sugino rolled his eyes. "You are one brave soul, Nagisa. I sure would never talk to that guy just about 'stuff'."
Maybe I should pursue him… Nagisa made a hasty exit.
"I just remembered my mom wants me home now, I gotta go!"
"But Nagisa-"
"I'll text you later!" He waved at his friends and ran in the direction of his red-haired stepbrother.
"Doesn't Nagisa live in the opposite direction?" Karma yawned.
Nagisa was sure he looked like a stalker, but at this point he didn't care. He chased his stepbrother as far as he could. It seemed like Gakushuu had no intention to stop. Nagisa thought hard. He must want to go somewhere quiet. Somewhere with no people. So not our house. But the only thing that came to mind was the one place that was always quiet after four p.m...
But there was no way Gakushuu was headed there, right?
Gakushuu didn't even notice Nagisa's pursuit of him. He just let his feet guide him. There was one place he could think of that would offer him quiet. The place that represented his father's teaching methods. He ended up at the place he swore he'd never go to. E Class's mountain.
Gakushuu intended to climb the entire mountain, but a yell stopped him. "Gakushuu!"
The redhead turned around to see Nagisa, panting and a mess.
"Gakushuu, don't bother climbing that mountain. It's exhausting and there's nothing you want to see there." Nagisa went with a half-truth. He wanted to avoid Gakushuu finding out about Koro-sensei, or at least delay it as much as possible.
Thankfully, Gakushuu obeyed and sat down on a large rock. Nagisa joined him.
"… No one will find us here, right?" Gakushuu finally spoke after several attempts to spit out something intelligible, all to no avail.
"It's 5:30 now. All the students have left." Nagisa stated the obvious part. What he was worried about was the non-students still dwelling here at this time. Particularly the ones who weren't exactly human. "Sorry if what I asked upset you."
"It's not you, Nagisa. It really isn't. I'm mad at the whole damn school." Gakushuu blinked away the last of the tears, but he couldn't hide his sulking mood.
Dare Nagisa ask? "What happened with the school?"
The crickets humming was the only answer he got.
"And as for my friends, they don't mean harm. Well maybe Karma, but-"
"I know, Nagisa. It's not even them, it's just…" How much of this should he tell Nagisa? "I've had a rough few weeks. And everyone else seems to be doing so well, it's like a slap in the face."
"I'm here to talk if you need to, okay?" Nagisa tried to reassure him.
"Not tonight."
Gakushuu had news the next night at dinner.
"The class trip to Kyoto is next week."
Nagisa stood up as well. It was clear he was going to announce something, and that it was something that he wanted to put off mentioning.
"I'm going on the trip too. But I'll be going with the rest of E Class."
"Oh," Hiromi perked up a bit. "Have you packed yet?"
"No. I still have to pick out some casual clothes to wear." He finished off his green tea. Only after saying it, did it occur to the blue-haired boy that this was the wrong thing to say.
"It's such a shame," Hiromi sighed, poking her dinner with the chopstick. "You never willingly wear any of those lovely clothes I've bought you over the years."
Nagisa's breathing stopped, and it was obvious to all those around him. His pulse began to rise. He sweated in spite of the powerful AC in the house.
Gakushuu knew better than to ask. But Gakuho didn't.
"What nice clothes? On your days off of school, all I see you wear are those silly cargo pants."
It was now that Nagisa felt the shift. His mother's aura became darker and darker. "Nagi-chan, show your stepfather your nice dresses."
Nagisa's usual policy towards her episodes was to simply do whatever he could to appease her. But not now. It was one thing to be forced to crossdress when it was only in front of her. But in front of his step-family? Who held a lot of power over him at school?
"But Mom, I-"
"No buts!" She shot up, slamming her hands on the kitchen table and knocking over several empty dishes. "Go show your stepfather those lovely little dresses, Nagi-chan."
Nagisa gulped. He knew things would get violent if he resisted any further. So he obeyed.
"Y-yes, Mommy." Nagisa dutifully went up to his room.
Hiromi ate a carrot. "Ungrateful children…"
Nagisa stood in the attic, where his mother stored the dresses. What could he wear that was least humiliating? He shuffled through the box. The pink frilly gown with the lace on the trim, no. The yellow chiffon, maybe. He settled on a green taffeta dress. He might still be recognized as a boy in that.
Nagisa had to psyche himself up before descending the stairs. His new 'father' and his brother would see the way his mother treats him when they were alone. But the alternative was even more abuse. There was no winning move here. Exhaling through his nose, he climbed down the stairs.
Hiromi lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw her son. "See?" She descended on him like a vulture and took the hair ties out of his hair. "A girl this age looks best with long hair. Isn't she just beautiful, Gakuho?"
For once, the principal seemed at a loss for words. He exchanged glances with his son, whose mouth hung open and who stared without blinking.
"Breathtaking, I know." She giggled. She caressed her son's head, seemingly in her own little world. Nagisa meanwhile, was putting up walls and pretending that this wasn't happening.
Gakushuu stood up. He tried to speak. He really did. But he could not find the words to say to this woman.
'I… You… Him…"
Gakuho finally decided to pick a side. "Gakushuu, don't talk back to your step mom like that."
"But seriously, what the-"
"Shuu-chan!" He used his childhood nickname for his son, one he hadn't called him by since Ikeda died. "We don't want to ruin a lovely family dinner, now do we?"
Sometimes an action is worth a thousand words, Gakushuu thought. He left out the front door, sure to slam it on the way out.
Please review, and sorry again for the delay. The next chapter will focus on Papa Asano.