Chapter 15 - Let's Go

Shiota Nagisa laid a cool cloth across a sleeping Akabane Karma's forehead. While Karma hadn't shown any signs of crashing, he couldn't be too cautious. Nagisa leaned back on the mildly uncomfortable stool, letting out a light sigh. 47 whined, pressing his cold nose against Karma's limp hand. Nagisa absentmindedly stroked the dog, hoping to give it some semblance of assurance. The small dog leaned into his touch. Nagisa gave it a soft smile. It had been a while since any animal liked him.

Nagisa let out a sigh as he looked over Karma's pale face. Color hadn't entirely returned to him yet, and Nagisa imagined it'd only be then that he could relax. He rested his free hand on Karma's arm, giving it a squeeze.

"You'll be alright," he said quietly, more to himself than anyone else.

It was at these times, early in the morning, before the sun and people rose, that he could clearly think. Nagisa had been so occupied with his desire for revenge that he hadn't had time to stop and just think. (And if he was being honest, he was avoiding this topic more than anything…)

Karma loved him.

And he had for a while, if what Karma was saying was true.

Nagisa didn't know what to think about this revelation. He had been surprised, but that barely scratched the sea of emotions he felt. They had been close friends in high school, and he couldn't think of anytime that Karma had hinted that he thought anything more of their friendship…

"You know, Nagisa, I value our relationship above anything else."

Nagisa had just thought Karma meant that he treasured their friendship. After all, Karma had told him before that he didn't have very many friends. But still…

"Is there anyone in class that you like?" Nagisa asked, more out of curiosity than anything. Karma hadn't really ever shown interest in anyone before, making him an oddity more than anything (Nagisa also wanted to know what poor girl had Karma's affections). Karma gave him an odd look.

"Why the sudden interest?"

Nagisa shrugged. "Well, I mean, after Maehara and Isogai's display today, I was just sort of curious." Karma was silent for a moment, and Nagisa wondered why the hesitation. Maybe Karma did have a little crush on someone in class… There was a brief flash of contemplation on Karma's face before it was gone.

"No," he said, "There's no one."

Nagisa could see through the lie like a window.

Nagisa groaned and buried his head into his hands. Even back then, had Karma liked him…? Was he really so blind?

Yes, a little voice in the back of his head supplied. For being the most observant person in the class, he certainly was utterly blind when it came to things that involved himself. How long had Karma kept this bottled up? How long had he wanted something more than their friendship? Had it killed him as much as knowing this was killing Nagisa right now?

47 whined again as he pawed at Karma's limp hand. Karma stirred for a moment, but his breath evened out and he fell back into his deep sleep. Nagisa smiled to himself. How many times had this same scene played out at Karma's apartment (hopefully minus the gunshot wound) before? If Nagisa had never left, would he be living in a small, barely affordable apartment? Would Karma be at his side? Would they get mutually annoyed whenever 47 would hop on their bed?

Would he be less lonely?

Nagisa brushed the hair out of Karma's face, the red contrasting sharply against his pale face. Nagisa had never been in a relationship before. He wasn't sure he could be. After all, who could love a man who had killed more people than he could count on his fingers before he had turned the age of majority? Whose hands were stained redder than the very blood that flowed through them? Who thought of killing so easily and casually? Karma deserved so much better.

Nagisa's insides twisted as he stood over Karma's sleeping body. He could feel Karma's soft breaths breeze passed his skin, its warmth strangely comforting and relaxing. The beams of sunrise filtered through the cheap blinds, gently illuminating the room. Nagisa closed his eyes and pressed his lips against Karma's forehead.

Karma, I still don't know what I feel for you, and I know you've waited so long. But…please… just wait a little longer.

"This is incredibly illegal," Kimura groaned as he fidgeted in the passenger seat of the grocery truck. Hayami shot him a look of disbelief.

"We're planning an assassination, but stealing a truck is where you draw the line, Masayoshi?" The man groaned at the reminder.

"Look, I understand the reasoning. Just…Just let me have this, okay? I gotta settle into this whole new criminal thing, okay?" Despite herself, Hayami laughed. This whole scenario was getting more and more ridiculous with each passing day. It was only going to get worse from here on out. Kimura ceased his fidgeting, finally settling into the seat. His eyes darted around. "Do you think we're being watched right now?"

"No," Hayami said, "Chiba's been keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity around the area. We're good. Asano shouldn't have any idea that we're aiding Nagisa and company."

"The fuck we do to the guy anyway?" Kimura asked, "Like, what the hell kinda grudge are you holding from middle school anyway?" Hayami shrugged. It was a question she and her husband had tossed around a few times, but it didn't matter. They needed to focus on the now, the why could come later.

Hayami saw a flash of light from their seats. She sat-up straighter and pulled a flashlight from her purse. She pointed it in the direction of the source and clicked it on and off twice. We're clear. No response came from the original source, but she knew that Chiba had gotten the message.

"They're coming," she announced, fastening her seatbelt. Kimura followed her lead.

"So they're really there? Nagisa and everyone?" She nodded. He snorted.

"Clever, hiding in an old detective's office. Ishigaki-senpai would have a fit if he knew." Hayami held back a smile. While she never worked with him personally, Head Detective Ishigaki Jun was famous in the precinct (and probably all of Tokyo) for his antics. Kimura straightened in the seat next to hers as they watched the group slowly leave the building in groups of two. Hayami could see his eyes darting around, trying to spot any potential threats or spies. His fingers twitched, likely ready to pull out his gun if necessary. Behind them, they heard the hard aluminum creak against the heavy footsteps of their new cargo.

It was after ten very long minutes that they finally heard it. Two knocks against the wall. We're all here. Kimura responded with three knocks. Understood.

"Let's go," he said. Hayami nodded. The engine roared to life at Hayami's command. She shifted the gear, and the real journey began.

They were on their way to move the group of accused terrorists.

"So what're we gonna do next?" Fuwa asked quietly. The revelation that they were being watched shocked them, and many found it hard to keep their eyes darting around, trying to find evidence of cameras or microphones. Hayami herself felt more than a little exposed. "It's not like we've planned an assassination in a while…"

"We need to talk to Nagisa and them," Sugino reasoned, "They're already planning something, right? Maybe we can like, join his plans or something." Hayami saw a few people nod.

"That's not a bad idea," Hara agreed, "If not, he can at least guide us."

"There's one problem with that," Takebayashi cut in, "How are we going to meet them? They're Japan's most wanted right now, we can't exactly talk to them over coffee."

"What about their hiding spot?" Muramatsu countered.

"We can't just storm into their hiding spot," Sugaya said, "They're in an abandoned office, people will notice if all of us just started waltzing in and out."

The room fell into contemplative silence. Hayami was stumped. Sugaya had a point, even if they did meet the others, they could be unintentionally damning them. Moving them would be dangerous, but if they could do something to ensure their security…

Kimura perked up. "Rinka, Ryou, what about Training Area 8?"

Training area 8? Was Kimura seriously suggesting they go to a police-owned property? Just as she was about to protest, she stopped. Wait, wasn't there something about training area 8…?

"Why there? It's a police-training facility." Chiba asked, echoing her thoughts.

"It's abandoned," he explained, "I was doing paperwork on it earlier. Recruits are instead going to the new facility three miles away. Training area 8 hasn't been functional for six months now. It's set to be destroyed in a month, but we should be done by then." Realization dawned on Hayami.

"It'll still have everything, won't it?" she said, "Shooting ranges, guns, fitness courses…"Kimura nodded.

"Yes," he confirmed, "The new facility has new state-of-the-art materials, and it won't be suspicious if we swipe in to use the old materials for practice."

"That sounds great and all, but how the hell are we going to get Nagisa and co. from point a to point b?" Yoshida asked, crossing his arms.

Hayami already had a few ideas.

The people in the back of the stolen grocery truck grumbled as she made a particularly sharp turn. She knocked once against the wall. Shut the fuck up, guys.

"God, Nagisa's really in there, isn't he?" Kimura said. Hayami cocked an eyebrow at him. What was he musing about now? "I mean, I didn't know him that well, but god, it's been like ten years."

"Yeah, it's been a while," she agreed.

"We never really even thanked him, did we?" Kimura said, the memories flooding back, "I mean, we all pitched in for that necklace Karma gave him, but we never told him we were thankful." Hayami swallowed a lump as the memories flooded back.

Hayami screamed as the branch supporting her snapped under the power of Koro-sensei's tentacles. Tendrils of betrayal grasped her heart as she realized that he had done it on purpose. Their teacher was going all out, damning the consequences.

Strong arms wrapped around her waist, saving her from a particularly painful fall. She looked up at Karasuma, whose face was contorted with determination and betrayal.

"Are you alright?" he asked as they landed. She gave him a curt nod, though her heart still ached. The memory of their teacher was being tainted by this attack.

"We failed," Hayami croaked, "We missed." Chiba approached her, placing his hand on her back. She leaned into the touch.

"It's not your fault," Chiba assured, his voice deep and comforting. It was warm and familiar, unlike what their teacher had become.

"None of us could've predicted he'd get like this," Karasuma reasoned. Irina came running up behind him, staring at the destruction he had wrought. With shaking hands, she checked her watch.

"We have five minutes," Irina said, her voice cracking. Hayami closed her eyes. Five minutes. In just a few minutes, their lives would be over and the world destroyed. She shivered. There was so much she never got the chance to do. She would never graduate junior high, she would never grow up, she'd never even get to see her parents again. Chiba sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She let out a choked sob.

If only her bullet hadn't missed.

Karasuma had moved on, helping out some other students injured by the scale of destruction. She curled into Chiba, hoping that they somehow made it through this. She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. All things considered, she had lived a good life. Falling into Class E hadn't been the death sentence that everyone had thought it would be, it had been the best year of her life. Tears fell freely down her face.

"It'll be alright," Irina said, although Hayami knew that her teacher was feeling just as helpless as she was.

Then it was quiet.

She tensed, waiting for the explosion. But nothing came. She hesitantly opened her eyes, wiping away the tears. She heard gasps all around her. She gave Chiba a glance, though he looked just as baffled as she felt. With an unspoken agreement, they stood up.

They peered over the hill, and Hayami let out a loud gasp. In the midst of the destruction was Nagisa, his knife and hands covered in blood and mucus. Koro-sensei was melting away, a grotesque parody of what he once was. She nearly puked when she realized what was happening. The shell of the octopus gave way to a human, who silently whispered something into Nagisa's ears, before that too melted away into nothing.

There were no cheers, nor was there the feeling of victory. They had done it. They had saved the world.

But no one was happy about it.

Hayami bit her lip at the memory. Even now, it still gave her such mixed feelings. Time heals, they say, but some wounds never closed. She had later found out that one of her bullets was responsible for slowing down Koro-sensei, which had in turn allowed for a secondary support team lead by Terasaka and Takebayashi to take out two more tentacles.

It didn't make her feel any better about the whole thing.

"I mean, it's a little late now to tell him thank you," Kimura rambled on, "But I guess this is the next best thing. He's always had it hard." Hayami chuckled despite herself.

"I think our friends are thinking the same thing," she said. After all, everyone had answered the call to arms, even with their initial hesitation.

They fell into a comfortable silence, even with the muffled sounds of their former classmates in the backseat. As the clock clicked to six am, they finally pulled into their destination.

As she pulled into a parking space close to the entrance, she knocked on the trailer twice, alerting the group in the back. It was time.

To say Kataoka Megu was surprised would be an understatement. She had known that Hayami and Chiba were going to reach out to some of their old classmates to help them with their dumb spur-of-the-moment decision. She hadn't known or realized that they were going to reach out to all of their old classmates. She also wouldn't have expected any of them to actually come out and help. Even Okuda Manami had flown all the way from the US to help.

It was surreal and heartwarming all at the same time.

She sat at what once was a break room table, surrounded by people she never thought she'd see together ever again. Next to her, Okano was chatting animatedly with Yada and Kurahashi.

"It really brings back memories," Isogai said wistfully, looking over the group. Kataoka allowed herself a smile.

"Yeah, it does," Kataoka said. The last time they had all been together like this was back in junior high. While most of them had decided to test back into Kunigigaoka High, some had moved onto technical or art schools. She knew that Itona and Okuda ended up at the same science high school (by total coincidence) and Takebayashi had gone to a high school that specialized in medicine. "It's been so long."

Isogai made a noise of agreement, "We've all changed so much." He let out a chuckle. "I almost want to go up and take roll."

"If only we had BB guns, then it could really be like old times."

But it wasn't. They were wanted criminals, whose entire lives had been uprooted. Who were now planning to assassinate someone who they had once considered a friendly rival (or maybe even a friend). Their lives were far from usual.

Kataoka was jolted out of her thoughts as Hayami and Chiba called the room to order. It was cramped with 27 people in it, but it was the biggest room in the facility that didn't have windows (or a shooting range). Takebayashi and Kanzaki were in the back, helping (finally) treat Karma's gunshot wound. 47 was plodding around the room, enjoying the attention he was getting from everyone.

"Perimeter is clear," Chiba said, walking into the room. Simultaneously, conversation died. "There are no bugs and cameras are disabled." Hayami gave him a curt nod.

"Very well. Good morning everyone, I know it wasn't easy getting here so early, but we appreciate that you all made it." Kataoka felt the determination resonating from her. She was committed, that much was obvious. "It's unfortunate that we aren't meeting under better circumstances." That's an understatement. Hayami pulled out a dry-erase marker from her bag. "I'm going to get straight to the point. We're going to assassinate Asano Gakushuu."

Her words rung through the room, the declaration reaching every single soul.

They were going to assassinate their old classmate.

Kataoka let out a single, shaky breath, closing her eyes. She couldn't be doubtful anymore. He had ruined her life, he had framed Nagisa. He wasn't their classmate anymore. Besides, they had killed someone who had meant far more to them before.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the faces of those who had found their resolve, those who were ready to fight again.

"Where do we begin?" Kataoka found herself asking. A few people turned their heads towards her.

Hayami smiled. "I'm glad you asked."

The creeping light of dawn filled the barren office. The morning radio droned in the background, merely static noise to the room's only occupant. He sipped his morning coffee, the bitter taste familiar and comforting. He typed on the keyboard, his eyebrow twitching as that damn key stuck again. He let out a frustrated sigh, taking another sip of his coffee. Every damn morning.

"Today's high is 26 with scattered showers expected around the area."

He hit send on the e-mail, letting his department know the agenda for the day. He had about an hour to relax, eat his breakfast, and prepare for the day ahead.

Asano Gakushuu observed the city from his sky high office. People scurried across the streets, cars honked, and buses made their way. For most people, their days were only beginning. For him, it had already been a few hours. No one could say he didn't work hard.

"…and there's still no sign of the suspect Shiota Nagisa…"

Shiota Nagisa…

The assassin had hidden himself well after his escape, Asano mused. He had expected the Blue Viper to be found much faster, especially since blood evidence showed that at least one member of his team was injured in his escape. He had underestimated Nagisa's connections. As to be expected of a world class assassin.

But it wouldn't be much longer. Nagisa couldn't hide forever, and Asano had his own network that would let him know the instant he was spotted trying to leave the country. If they thought they could get out of this, they were wrong.

Asano was a little disappointed, if he was being honest with himself. He would've thought that they would've all come out to save their old friend. He had readied profiles and pictures for his media contact, but now they just sat on his computer, unused. Asano was proud to say that he had at least damned his old rival, which gave him some modicum of satisfaction.

He was thrown out of his musing by the soft jingle from his cell phone. The man frowned. It was his personal cell. Who was contacting him this early? Kase Tanyu… He's my airport contact… A trill of excitement went up his back. Could this mean what he hoped it did?

"Hello?"

"One of the persons on your watch list went through the Narita International two days ago," a deep voice intoned. Asano felt a wave of irritation overcome himself.

"Two days ago? Why wasn't I informed earlier?" he asked, his tone clipped.

"One of my subordinates had failed to mention it before our meeting this morning."

"I certainly hope they will be dealt with appropriately. After all, if they're slacking on the job, that's a national security issue."

"Understood," the voice said. Asano heard the man shuffling through papers. "The person identified was Okuda Manami." The blond smiled despite himself. This was the best news he had gotten all morning.

"Thank you, I appreciate your call, Kase-kun. I'm sure there will be something good in your future."

"You're very welcome, Asano-sama." Asano ended the call, making a mental note to send a check in Kase's direction soon.

Okuda Manami, huh… What could spur her to suddenly return to Japan after working abroad for so long? Asano smirked.

Perhaps things were falling into place after all.