A/N: And so, as this story draws to an end, somewhere in the anime, two very special people find each other again at a certain fall festival...
And set all of these events in motion.
Thank you all for following along with this fic.
[HIGHLY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END]
The night air was cool against Yuuji's cheeks, and the world outside was quiet. He shivered beneath his combination of jacket and sweater, but given that the weather was moving toward spring, the chill wasn't so bad anymore. He had that to be thankful for, at least. All around him was darkness. The shadows took the form of looming buildings and hushed trees, branches hanging in stilled silence. He could hardly see his own limbs, moving as solid blocks against the dark. Apart from the dim streetlights that illuminated sections of the sidewalk, everything existed in shades of blue or black.
It was near the end of the month. Near the end of everything. The end of their studies, of the freest part of their youth, of their final year as middle school students. And in the most quiet way, the end of something else also seemed to hang in the air. Yuuji put the thoughts out of his mind and continued on.
He had come here tonight because of a letter.
It had appeared on his desk without announcement or ceremony, with no address or return location included either. It simply appeared one moment while his back was turned. There had been a slight rustle of curtains at the window, the glass pane left open a crack. Yuuji had looked, but there was nothing to see.
Dear Sir Norita, the letter said in impeccable, formal handwriting. Honestly, only upon close inspection had Yuuji been able to see that it wasn't actually typed. If it pleases you, make your way to Kouen park tonight, before the hour of midnight strikes. We have limited time. And there is much I wish to discuss.
Signed, the homeroom teacher of Class E.
In any other circumstances the letter would have been suspicious, but something about the message put Yuuji at ease. Besides, it had mentioned Class E. Anything involving Nagisa's secret assassination-training-class was something that indirectly involved Yuuji too.
Yuuji walked through the park. He glanced up at a public clock, set up on a pole like the streetlamps waiting outside the fence boundary. It was around the time that the mysterious letter had specified. Stars twinkled weakly overhead—whichever ones could shine bright enough to make it through the city smog, at least. The air tasted of stillness and dewdrops.
Yuuji tugged at the brim of his ever-present cap while he watched the sky. Staying out this late was easy for a rich kid like him—all he had to do was make the excuse of going clubbing, and no one would care. It wasn't like his parents checked what time he got home.
Eventually, the soft trickling noises of the park fountain caught Yuuji's attention. The fountain waited not far off to one side, burbling in the center of the main clearing. A soft strip of grass separated the edge of it from a low, brick divider. The divider looked inviting enough to sit on. Yuuji's gaze came back to it after a quick, casual glance around. Maybe he should sit here and wait for the letter-sender to arrive-
"Ahh, so you're the young Mister Norita," said a voice.
Yuuji whirled around to find a person standing behind him. What the… They hadn't been there before! Wait, no- Yuuji blinked. Was that even a person?
The being stood tall, well over the height of a standard doorway. They wore large black robes that draped in order to hide their figure. Beneath the robes was a white dress shirt and a necktie that, strangely enough, had a symbol on it in the shape of a crescent moon. The robes had subtle decoration, marked with purple stripes and two dangling orange add-ons sweeping over their shoulders. A graduation cap and tassel perched on their scalp. They had an enormous head that was perfectly round and bobbled a bit like a soap bubble when they moved. Their skin was yellow even underneath the dim light of the stars.
As Yuuji watched, long, bulbous tentacles unfolded from the outline of a person and began waving leisurely in the air. This new arrival had shown up in a parting of atoms, in the space between moments, with less sound than Yuuji's own heartbeat.
If the breath hadn't already rushed out of Yuuji's lungs, he would have screamed.
"That boy from the summer island trip," the monstrous creature spoke. "They were right, you really did show up again. Nurufufufu…how interesting."
Yuuji felt his skin crawl at the strange sound of the being's laughter.
"Who would have thought back when I sent in that request for the ramen restaurant that it would end up bringing the two of you together?" the creature mused. It shook its colossal head. "All I knew was that my students were doing their extra credit assignment there, and that you might still be in the area…but somehow the two of you managed to find each other again."
The being held up one lumpy finger with a cheeky smile. "You know? When the two of you were at the school festival, I remember watching from up on the rooftop, in the mouth of a fish statue. Good times. And Nagisa seemed to enjoy being with you more than you might think. So as his devoted teacher, there was no way I wouldn't keep an eyestalk out for you."
Suddenly there was a flicker of movement. Somehow, the creature had changed into glasses and a neatly-combed wig. It clutched a tiny notepad and pen close to its face, quivering and jittering over them with all the excitement of a perverted romance novelist. "Nyuya!" it cried. "Yes, the budding school-age romance of an assassin-in-training and a media-tycoon heir, their relationship forbidden, one from the regular side of life and one from the high; a modern Cinderella tale, a genderbent magical girl trope, young talent falling hard for weary normality… Nurufufufufufu, my heart races to think of it! I could read a whole story based on this concept!"
Yuuji felt his features fall deadpan. Um.
He spoke. "E-excuse me. You're…you're him, aren't you?" Yuuji said, barely knowing where the words came from.
The creature's slithering laughter died out. A certain spark twinkled for a moment within its black eyes. The wig and other props disappeared with soft sweeps of its tendrils. "Yes," it replied, refocusing on Yuuji. "I am the mysterious superbeing responsible for the destruction of the moon. The ultimate destructive organism, the world's foremost international secret, natural menace to the Earth…"
The creature doffed the tassled cap on top of its head. "—otherwise known as Class E's homeroom teacher. My students call me Korosensei. I politely request that you do so as well."
Korosenai-sensei, the pun completed itself in the back of Yuuji's mind. Unkillable-teacher.
Yuuji found that he couldn't formulate a reply.
"My most humble thanks for meeting me here tonight," the creature said to him with a bow. "I would have loved to do this at our beloved classroom, but I wouldn't want to inconvenience you any further. Besides, it is my understanding that you've formed plenty of precious memories of that place already."
The being looked up, face flushing light pink with what looked like pride. "So. That school. What do you think of it?"
Yuuji swallowed in order to clear his throat. "It's…it's good," he settled. "A good school, but made much better by the people there. A place to hold one's memories, and keep them even after you've left the place, with room to explore and yet focus. It's…a good base from which to grow."
The creature gave a quiet grin. "I am glad," it said at last. "The more people who can remember it for me, the better."
It stood up and stretched before Yuuji could ask the being what it meant.
"Oh, by the way, thank you for not making a scene," the creature said off-handedly. It spread out its tentacled arms. "I decided we should do this at night because I wanted to show you my true form. Not many other people know about this, you know? But for such a 'close friend' of the E Class, I felt like certain exceptions could be made."
"Phew," the creature sighed, its mouth opening slightly to show flat, tombstone-blunt teeth. "It's exhausting having to wrap things up, isn't it? But I wanted to do right by my students in every way possible."
"Every way…?" Yuuji muttered to himself. He couldn't imagine any of his teachers going this far.
"Yup. Every way." The octopus-creature grinned. "And that includes safeguarding their love lives."
Yuuji felt a chill crawl up the back his neck. Now his face was the next one to turn pink.
"O-oh. Is that why you're here?" Yuuji asked, glancing away from the creature as if he already knew the answer.
The superbeing looked right at him with a smile that never seemed to change. Its face slowly colored to form the image of a double-circle: the grade marking for "correct answer". "Of course!" it chirped. "I needed to wish you good luck. And give you my blessing. And encourage you to keep supporting Nagisa with all you have."
Yuuji blinked. He couldn't have heard that right.
The monster took a half-step (half-slide? –slither? –splurp?) closer on six of its feet-tentacles until it stood right in front of Yuuji. Then the being started rattling off a multitude of instructions, most of which Yuuji couldn't keep track of and didn't really care to know, including everything from the most popular date spots to proper courting etiquette, to possible gift ideas for Nagisa in the future, to the importance of communication and trust between people in a romance, the status of a relationship like theirs in Japan, and some explanation about how to be safe when doing certain activities that Yuuji really didn't think they would be doing until they were adults, and also the fact that apparently most of this was written in 'Nagisa's student end-of-year guidebook' for easy reference.
What the hell? Yuuji thought, the majority of his mind spinning. This was way over-the-top and overwhelming. But he couldn't deny the warm feeling that arose in his chest at the octopus's rapid-fire words, all of them laced with concern, with encouragement, with oh-wait-one-more-thing. It was nice. It was a nice feeling.
After reaching the end of its speech, the creature regarded Yuuji silently for a moment. Then it chuckled. "I must admit, I never predicted that you would be the one to whom Nagisa would give his heart," it said. "But you seem nice. A little spoiled and unpolished, perhaps, but I sense a good heart lurking beneath all that."
The creature gazed at Yuuji with a glowing, sunbeam-yellow expression. "He's grown so fond of you over this past half-year," the being said. "I'm beginning to wonder if you managed to teach him the importance of one's humanity, as someone once did for me. If so, then you've given him the greatest gift of all."
Yuuji didn't fully understand, but the light sensation in his chest seemed to grow to bursting. All of a sudden, Yuuji knew that it didn't matter whether or not he was able to understand, or even if he was able to remember the teacher's words. The teacher's presence—now that was something that felt like it would last.
"Mister Norita," the being said suddenly, clapping its front tentacle-hands together. Yuuji's back instinctively straightened at the tone in its voice. "Although I am a teacher, I cannot do everything alone. As human beings, we are never fully separate from one another. Sometimes, we must rely upon others to teach the lessons that need to be taught."
"And the most important lesson of all is Love." The creature's front tentacles curled up into a yellow heart. "Do you understand, young man? Will you continue with that lesson even when I am gone?"
Yuuji nodded, wordlessly. His throat had gone dry.
The creature nodded. "Good." Its affirmation sounded impossibly self-satisfied, as if it knew that Yuuji would keep his word.
"Then, I wish you two the best." The creature's grin stretched even wider if such a thing were possible. One tentacle swiftly snuck into its robes to retrieve something, then emerged to hold up a notebook marked 'Class Pairings'. "Also, you make an adorable couple."
Before Yuuji could respond, the creature's front right tentacle shot out to brush once against the side of Yuuji's cap. "Take care of him for me," came the creature's voice.
Yuuji could tell that those words meant something. They were Important.
Yuuji bowed his head in a nod. He didn't answer. He didn't need to. All was self-evident.
The night air was cool, and the world outside was quiet. Around them was nothing but blue and black shadows, darkness, and the taste of dewdrops. Tentacles swayed in the wind, and thick robes flapped. Above them both hung the pale sliver of a moon reduced by seventy percent, now a permanent crescent. Although now that Yuuji looked at it again, the shape of it almost reminded him of two arms stretched out to hold someone. It was the same curve as the octopus-like being's smile. Somehow, it was a shape that Yuuji had already gotten used to.
Then, in a sonic burst, a gust of wind blew about him.
And the creature was gone.
Afterword: I recognize that with Korosensei's passing, that gives a very bittersweet flavor to this bit of the fic. Well, goodbye Korosensei, and thank you so much for acting as such an inspiring teacher. :) If only everyone were a little more like you, the world would see a huge difference.
(As a side note, you have no idea how excited I was when I read that Korosensei "went to go visit" Mr. Shiota in canon! That means that this chapter is totally plausible! Ahhh!)