Assassin Time (Assassination Classroom)

7: Question Time

Karma's PoV

Karma shouldn't have come back.

He had decided on an impulse to linger near the field outside their campus building, watching their Physical Education class without joining them. He felt strange doing so, but chose to believe that he was like a cool spy in an action movie, rather than a lowlife peeping on a bunch of children.

From his view hidden in the treeline surrounding the field, he could see clearly his classmates talking with a large, boisterous man.

And Takaoka slapping Yukiko Kanzaki. And hitting Hiroto Maehara. And advancing on the other students, his bright face suddenly looking a whole lot more evil.

Maybe he could've broke through the trees right then and saved his class, like the superhero in the movie he, Nagisa, and Koro-sensei watched together. Then what happened next could be avoided.

Nagisa stepped forward towards the dangerous man, and Karma felt his heart sink. What was he doing? Why was Karasuma letting this happen?

Again, he felt a pull and almost sprinted back right then to pull the blue-haired boy back, to save him from the monster he was now walking towards calmly.

But quick as a blink, Nagisa shot forwards and got the instructor in a tight hold, pressing the gigantic knife in his hand against his opponent's throat.

Karma blinked a few times to make sure he hadn't imagined it up.

There was no way the transfer student could be this efficient at the art of assassination. Every other P.E. class Karma witnessed, he stumbled to dodge Karasuma's knife, fumbled with his own, and always ended up tripping on his own feet and sprawling on the ground.

Even for someone weak, Nagisa was almost impressively bad at physical activity.

Or at least, that's what Karma believed before. Now, after witnessing this, he was forced to recalculate.

It would've been alright if Karma had joined the others' relieved celebration then. Or even headed back down the mountain to idly stroll around until the period was over. Either way, he wouldn't have seen what came next if he had been fortunate enough to choose one of those options.

Instead, he kept watching.

He saw Nagisa's small frame being crushed under his classmates' hugs, Nagisa's soft-looking long blue hair being ruffled as he sheepishly smiled, Nagisa probably humbly declining the praise the students are showering him with.

He saw Nagisa turn away a little from the others, who took no notice. He saw the boy's face suddenly change, the embarrassed grin falling off and his eyes taking on an unsettlingly intense look like he was a completely different person.

A smirk crawled up Nagisa's small lips, an air of arrogance and conceitedness shrouding over him. It was such a strange sight on the usually cheerful, innocent-looking boy that Karma could barely believe he changed this much in a matter of seconds.

It was the haughty expression on Nagisa's face (was it even Nagisa? Had he been taken over by some alternate-universe evil twin?) that drove Karma to whip his head to the side at Takaoka, the instructor still on his ass, eyes still agape in disbelief.

There was a vivid scarlet line on the man's neck where Nagisa had held his knife that was seemingly not touching Takaoka, with a couple of droplets dripping down. It was blood.

A chill shot through Karma's spine and he fell backwards. Thankfully, he remained hidden by the large trees.

Dozens of thoughts ran across his mind, but one stood out the most. It was a question that had plagued Karma's mind before, but he had always dismissed it, especially after hanging out with Nagisa and seeing that he wasn't anything dangerous after all.

But everything he knew, or thought he knew, collapsed with one look and one bloody knife that Nagisa held now behind his back, smoothly wiping off the drops of blood he got on the blade from scraping Takaoka on the hem of his P.E. shirt.

Who was Nagisa Shiota?

And did Karma really want to know?