Chapter 2 : In which so little happens we have to summon Narrator in our office to scold them at the end

Nagisa came to school a little earlier than usually the next morning. Rio was not there yet, so he nervously headed to his seat, disposed his things for the test, and sat there anxiously until he could disengage himself from the scheme. He had changed his mind. At first he had been willing to give it a try : the boy's mind had been haunted with the stories of UFOs and magic all evening long; and after fastidiously learning his lesson he had given in to trying to use the pen.

Nothing had happened.

He had tried writing several words- from Abracadabra to Supercalifragilispiexpialidocious- on several types of paper. He had even tried writing his teacher's name in a Death Note with the pen, to no effect (your beloved Narrator has provided everyone in the class with a Death Note. After all, given the craziness of the situation it was worth a try, was it not ?). Eventually he had remembered Nakamura's mention of a certain Sailor something (Sailor Moon, Nagisa-kun) -yes, that is the one-, and had googled it. Upon understanding the reference he had tried to convince himself it was a practical joke- it was very much like Nakamura after all. Hopefully Karma had not been filled in about that or it would have been worse...but thinking about Karma not being involved had given him doubts about the case. It would, indeed, be Karma's thing; but neither Okuda nor Ritsu would participate to this kind of pranks, and yet he was out and they were in. However ridiculous it might seem...what if they had been serious about the UFOs and magic ? If they were, Nagisa knew he had to give it a try, for the sake of the universe. A few minutes of looking ridiculous could save everyone he knew and loved- he could not decently refuse.

But still. There was no way he turned into a magical girl- boy (S-sorry Nagisa-kun !) in front of the whole class.

"Good morning Nagisa" Our anxious fellow almost started at the sound of his friend's voice.

"Oh, hi Sugino. How are you ?"

"I'm good, though I'll be better once the test is over. I had a hard time learning all those formulas ! How about you ?"

"Yeah, me too..." Nagisa replied, fiddling a rubber in an attempt at calming down. It was unlike him to let his stress show, and Sugino had probably noticed. Nagisa hoped he would pin it on the upcoming test. After all, science was his worst subject, so it would be natural to be nervous, right ?

Whether Sugino had noticed Nagisa's odd behaviour or not, someone else had and had crept behind him to poke his sides. Nagisa jumped and let out a small yelp of surprise- much to the pranker's amusement. "That wasn't funny !" he snapped back with distraught.

"C'mon, your frown made it all too tempting. Besides, that little cry of yours was cute- don't you agree Akabane ?" The smirking delinquent nodded.

"Will you guys please stop making fun of me ?" Nagisa complained as he turned towards Nakamura. Relieved she had finally arrived, Nagisa pushed the joke away from his mind and his cheeks turned bright red from anticipating the conversation he was going to have. "Nakamura-san, we need to talk."

"Nakamura, sounds like you're about to be dumped" Karma couldn't help teasing.

"I don't get dumped, sir, and my sweet Nagisa loves me to much to break up. Jealous ?" The whole act with an extra hug and wink, for the audience's sake. It embarrassed the short assassin more than he already was- all the more so that Kayano had just come in and was gaping at the scene. On a normal day Nagisa would have quickly explained the situation to her, but this time he had something more important to do- escape the magical-boy-joke-of-an-assassination-attempt.

"Please, Nakamura-san..."

"Alright, alright ! We'll be back soon !" she added playfully for Karma to grab the bait and keep the teasing going.

"Don't go breaking her heart Nagisa !"

Nagisa chose to ignore his friend's last line. He strode to the door and waved an awkward hi at the still shocked Kayano, before heading to an empty classroom. Nakamura followed with a repressed chuckle on her lips. "So, Mr Potter, you've got acquainted with your wand ?" she started. Nagisa opened his palm to show the pen.

"Nakamura-san, I'm sorry. I can't use magic- and even if I could..." he stopped mid-sentence, too embarrassed to continue. Nakamura's grin turned into a pout.

"If you could you'd do it, right ? This is our best shot yet, Nagisa. Humanity's fate rests on our success in killing our teacher." ...was she trying to make him feel guilty ? "And will a frilly magical outfit really matter once you've saved the world and become rich?"

"I guess not..." Nagisa replied with embarrassement and a hint of shame, for as obvious as her psychological manipulation was, it still had its effect. "But I am telling you the truth. I really can't use magic. The pen won't do anything. I tried to write several-"

"To write ?" Nakamura blinked, before resuming her previous grinning. "No wonder it wouldn't work. Let me show you how you do it," she said, grabbing the pen and raising her hand in the air. "MARS POWER MAKE UP !"

"DO I REALLY HAVE TO SHOUT THAT ?!" Nagisa exclaimed with horror in his somewhat begging tone.

"What do I know ? That's how it works in the anime at least. Why don't you give it a try ?" she replied with mischief as she tossed the pen to Nagisa. He almost failed to catch it.

"Please Nakamura-san..."

"I swear I'm not telling anyone. Come on, at worst you'll just have wasted a few seconds of your life- it's no big deal, is it ?"

"And made a fool of myself !"

"I promise I won't laugh."

"Fine..." he faintly replied. Poor Nagisa collected his moral strength, took a deep breath and raised his hand. He opened his mouth..."What was it, again ?"

"A-planet-of-your-choice power make up," she answered.

"...is it possible to say something else instead of make up ?"

"You can try I guess ?"

"Alright..." Deep breath. He closed his eyes and timidly tried the first thing that came to his mind. "ASSASSINATION POWER ACTIVATE !"

He let a few seconds go by with his eyes still closed. Mostly because he was expecting something, anything to happen, but even Nakamura's laughter did not. So he eventually opened them, to find her not giggling but staring at him with a look of satisfaction on her face. He looked down to his body.

That definitely wasn't his school uniform. Luckily enough, it was not a skirt either. Nagisa's "magical uniform" was a rather sober boyish sailor uniform that consisted of a white shirt with a blue collar and three-quarter sleeves tucked in a high-waist cerulean Bermuda shorts held by matching braces, a matching bicolour sailor's hat and a pair of socks and shoes. The only details that stood out were the snake motifs on the hat and sleeves, as well as a blue gem that held the colar but was simple enough not to look feminine. After a few seconds, Nagisa's surprise gave way to relief and excitement. While he was bothered and somewhat frustrated that the outfit was far from manly, he could not help but be amazed at this proof of magic and of his new status as a magic user. A wide grin spread on his lips.

"It worked !" he exclaimed. Nakamura, even if she kept quiet, shared his enthusiasm. "So I really am a magician ?"

"You look more like a sailor, but yeah, you are." She paused for a second, obviously tempted to add something. She eventually gave in to her curiosity. "Nagisa, given the role I've played in your getting magical powers...can I have the exclusivity of your first magic trick ?" However collected she tried to be, her eyes glimmered like a little girl's in front of a poney. Nagisa was only too glad that she asked. He was dying to try his magic out.

"Su-"

Unfortunately that was the moment the bell rang the beginning of the lesson. Both students were taken aback for a second, before disappointment in the girl's eyes and panick in the boy's took over.

"What do I do ?"

"Stay here for now. We have to take him by surprise, so I'll attract his attention just as the test starts. That's when you come and use your powers against him, alright ?"

"Alright...but wait ! How about the...clothes ? I mean, I can't show up dressed like that !"

"Why not ? It looks fine."

"Really ? T-thanks...but still- is there a way I can use magic without the uniform...?" Let us be honest : the main reason Nagisa did not want to show himself in those clothes was the explanation he would have to give for dressing like that. The clothes in themselves were not too really the problem- the uniform was not ridiculous, and it was nothing next to wearing a skirt in front of the whole class. Though Karma would probably find a way to tease him about it nonetheless...

"Relax, it'll be fine. Who knows, maybe they won't even recognise you ! Like, no one ever recognises Superman for some reason..."

"But it's fiction !"

"Well, this is fanfiction, it's even less realistic" (Nakamura, please do not break the fourth wall without the narrator's consent) "Sorry. Well, anyway, I have to go back to class. I'm counting on you, Harry Potter !" And upon those words she left our protagonist alone to get psychologically prepared for what was coming. He really hoped she was right...

Thank you very much for the kind reviews and for following the story ! I am glad you tolerated (or even liked) Narrator; I'll make sure it does not become too annoying, but I'll use it a bit more than I had planned since it is no bother (when it starts getting annoying, please tell me)

Once again feel free to leave a word, whether to give your opinion or point out a problem (in my writing style or in the jokes. I won't take it badly, really, I know my sense of humour is lousy xD)

And for the shippers, don't worry, it's still very tame now but Karma will appear more from the next chapter onward ;)