Of New Beginnings

A/N: Takashi is the name I gave to the boy who Nagisa attacked in the final chapter. He is not an OC.

I.

There is a deadly silence enveloping the classroom after Nagisa's display.

Nagisa wonders what Karma would say, the red-haired boy's tongue has only grown sharper over the years, at his brutal display.

"I will take attendance now."

Respect is not given without being won first and Nagisa is sure that that battle is not yet over. Not with these children twice his height and have the eyes of hungry wolves.

But they were still only children and Nagisa has fought so much worse than them. They are young and inexperienced but maybe Nagisa sees a bit of Class E in their eyes. The scheming and trickery self taught by the lowest of the low.

They try to hurt him without poise or elegance and maybe that was how it started out with Koro-sensei before they all grew older and craftier. His students are young and the young are always the quickest to learn.

Nagisa throws thumbtacks placed on his chair into the cracks in the wall with a thud (Takashi-kun you should camouflage them next time, neon colors are too easily seen), neatly dodges a hit of a baseball bat while continuing his lecture (Perhaps you should try a more creative method for better results), and enjoys the faces of his students at his feats.

(Koro-sensei was right, there is nothing more satisfying then being strong enough for people to try to kill.)

-o-

It is slow and gradual, but respect is slowly blooming in their eyes. Nagisa wonders if they truly ever had a real teacher.

A real teacher.

Not one that is cowed by their arrogance or looks at them like they are trash. Nagisa believes that he was trash a long time ago (before a yellow octopus came into his life and showed him what it means to be strong).

Nagisa is not nearly half brilliant as Koro-sensei once was, but he has the same determination. The determination that he won't fail his students because they deserve so much more than that.

The "death", though the silly pranks could hardly be called that, attempts stopped a week in and Nagisa lets himself believe.

(They were launching a full scale attack with spiked baseball bats a week later, but it was the consideration that counted.)

II.

"You could've have been an assassin, Shiota-sensei."

Nagisa smiles faintly after another "death" attempt which ended with a lesson on the best place to place a fatal blow on the human body (Aim for my neck, Takashi-kun, you will not survive with a slit throat anymore than a pierced heart).

Nagisa slid the book he was reading closed with a flourish, "You know, my old homeroom teacher told me the same thing."

"What?!"

"It is a silly story but it was one of the careers we discussed at my career meeting."

Nagisa gives a casual shrug of his shoulders. "Of course I decided to be a teacher instead."

He could hear the relief from his students as they no doubt wondered how their undefeatable sensei would have fared slitting throats rather than grading papers.

"Though of course who ever said that I couldn't be both?"

Nagisa turns back to his book and lets his students shiver at his words.

-o-

Sometimes Nagisa wonders if he has made the right choice. When his students fails, there is a tugging in his heart that tells him that it is his fault.

He is not Koro-sensei, moving at mach speed with a brain the rivaled a supercomputer. He is just a man who can't bear to see his students disappointed.

Nagisa might not be a super powered octopus but he stays for hours after school teaching his students because they are worth it.

(Good job aiming for the throat, Takashi-kun! You are learning! Now tell me another historical date and you can try again.)

And when the next exams come, his students come back with smiles on their faces and grades that show off how hard they have worked.

Nagisa is no superhuman, but he has his wits and his determination.

And all those sleepless nights are worth it when a smile lights up his student's' face.

III.

His old classmates visit sometimes as a guest speakers (or to simply to annoy him.)

His students are surprised by all his connections, all the people that he knows.

They were classmates, Nagisa explains, and does not tell them of a bond forged of killing and a slimy, perfect octopus sensei.

Sugino is the most popular rising star in the baseball industry. His name is slowly becoming a household name and he comes over for a PE lesson and signs autographs until his hands are sore. He is bright and cheerful lighting up the classroom with his belief that they can all shine just as brightly.

Itona is more solemn, he is the head of the newest tech start up. His name is written in patents for more than a dozen inventions and ideas. He tells Nagisa's students of strength hidden in themselves and constructs a robot out of spare parts.

Kaede comes to the awe of his female and male students. Her acting and modeling has long since become famous. She is pretty as always and kisses Nagisa's cheek to the booing of his male students and the cheers of his female students.

Karma . . .

Nagisa had to deal with more questions about his gender (he already cut his hair for god sake!) for the rest of the week and made sure that the red head would not be able to return.

(Though Nagisa noticed that the girls seemed intensely interested in his relationship with Karma after the incident.)

And regardless of any incidents, after every visit Nagisa tells his students the same thing.

"We were the failures. The ones who were meant to be thrown away in a little dump of a classroom on the mountains."

"And look who we became."

"You can be anything you want to be. A ramen shop owner, a model, a president. The path you choose will always be the right one."

And with each visit Nagisa sees that maybe his students are finally believing his words.

VI.

Of all the visitors, Nagisa did not expect Gakuho Asano to appear on his doorstep after school let out.

The man looked prim and proper as always in a business suit and tie, though there are wrinkles around his eyes that tell Nagisa that he smiled a lot more than he used to.

"Asano-san."

"Shiota-kun.

"Why are you here?"

The man graced him with a shameless smile, "Blame it on nostalgia."

Nagisa has trained himself to detect lies, he had enough practice with the pathetic excuse his students made up for not doing homework, and he knows Asano was not lying.

"Well then, come on in."

The spoke throughout the evening and Nagisa is soon able to ignore the fact that this is the man that made his middle school years hell. (It was strange what happiness could do to a man.)

They spoke of whether Karma or Asano Gakusho would win in their political race (Honestly I'm betting on that Karma boy, my son is still far too hot-headed), of the other students in Class 3-E, and of teaching.

"You ask me of why I came?" Asano's eyes stared at the cup of tea he was holding.

"You reminded me of myself, Shiota-kun. Gakusho has gone onto to grander things than education, but I have always wanted to be a teacher."

"With my brilliance I could have taken on a government job with ease, but I want to teach. Because I knew that I would make a far more radical difference changing the lives of those who would grow up to become great."

Asano's eyes scanned Nagisa's.

"We are colleagues now, don't hesitate to me ask an old man like me for any advice."

He drained his cup of tea.

"I know you won't make my mistakes."

V.

Nagisa has trained himself in the art of observations. It is a talent of an assassin and more importantly a high school teacher.

He looks and he understands not just sees. The slip of a letter in a boy's desk, the averting eyes of a liar, and the pride in a nonchalant voice.

He sees the desperation, the agony and Nagisa does what needs to be done.

He pulls a boy out of class and gives him a shoulder to cry on so he won't take his life. (Life is important, so be a hero and keep living. Who would remember to feed your cat tomorrow if you died?)

He takes a girl out to the local sushi bar and coaxes her to eat as they laugh together. (You are beautiful and no one can tell you otherwise. I think you would still be beautiful if you have yellow tentacles growing out of your hair.)

He dodges punches as Takashi screams and shouts about a world that refuses to understand. (If the world doesn't understand then make it understand. If the victors write history then don't be a loser!)

A true teacher is not just a person who is there for 8:00 every morning and leaves at the crack of the final bell. A teacher is a person who guides, who shows their student the right path and not just tell them where to go.

Nagisa shows his students how to change lives, how to grow and survive. He does not teach them only math equations and historical dates (What use would that be?).

He gives them weapon in knowledge, knowledge that they can be anything they want, that they are strong enough to change what is perceived as the truth.

(Maybe Koro-sensei would be proud.)

-o-

There is a reason Shiota Nagisa decided to be a teacher.

It is certainly not the pay, god knows that the bounty for even a common criminal is far more than his monthly pay. And it is not as if he has been offered better jobs at less shady establishments without delinquent kids glaring at him.

It is because Nagisa wants to shape the future, one student a time.

Because he lectures on mathematical equations and the best way to calculate the money for a bribe within the same lesson. Or teaches the way to reload a gun in a split second as part of a PE demonstration the same way he teaches how to kick a soccer ball.

(He could have been the God of Death.)

But when Nagisa looks up at the clear night sky and holds the final letter that Takashi had left for him on graduation day, (itching powder dusted over the envelope, the boy would never learn) Nagisa knows he has made the right choice.