Chapter Text
It happened one day while they were training for the infiltration of the rocket.
Their training with Karasuma-sensei had been brutal, their training with Irina-sensei had been relentless, and Koro-sensei could tell that everyone was almost at their limit. He spent some time thinking about what he could do for his students, but eventually, an idea popped up into his head.
"There's a meteor shower coming, and I don't want to pass up the opportunity to see one. And while we're in the great outdoors, I want to teach you more about astronomy, space, and the risks that you'll be taking." Koro-sensei said, holding up a magazine.
"It would be a good chance to practice outdoor training at night time, anyhow," Irina-sensei said, shrugging.
"I also ordered some night vision goggles, they won't help with the stars, but they will help you see better in the dark." Karasuma-sensei said.
The class burst into mutters, but Koro-sensei was pleased to hear that most of them sounded excited.
"When's this going to be Koro-sensei?" Nagisa asked, raising his hand.
"Oh, I'm glad you asked Nagisa-kun! Right now!" Koro-sensei said, grinning.
"HUH?" The class asked in varying tones of surprise.
"Um, you don't mean right this moment, do you?" Isogai asked.
"Nurufufu, indeed I do! You see, the meteor shower is, in fact, the first meteor shower of every year. It occurs during the last week of December and January 12. As it's already the last week of December, and the infiltration will be before January 25, (and the rocket will arrive on January 22), I thought this would be a good chance for us to go on this trip." Koro-sensei said.
"What about classes?" Kayano asked.
"Don't worry, we'll have lessons along the way! It's not that far, but a group of middle schoolers out at this time of day may attract unwanted attention, and we have a lot of preparations to do!" Koro-sensei said, clapping two of his tentacles together.
"Preparations for what?" Karma asked.
"You'll see when you get there," Koro-sensei said, wagging a tentacle at them.
"In truth, this octopus just wants to keep the suspense going," Irina-sensei said, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Agh, come on, what's wrong with a little bit of mystery, huh?" Koro-sensei said, sweat dropping.
"It's boring, that's what," Irina-sensei said, rolling her eyes.
"Just because you can't appreciate a bit of suspense, doesn't mean that my students can't either!" Koro-sensei said, turning to them for support.
"Actually, it would be nice to know now," Isogai said, which prompted everyone to nod.
"Yeah, octopus! We won't be surprised whether you tell us or not~!" Karma mocked.
"Kuh, such ungrateful students! Especially you Karma-kun!" Koro-sensei said. His tone was reprieving, but his face was painted in embarrassment.
"Ehhh? Isn't it good that I'm being honest?" Karma asked in a mockingly innocent tone.
"Honesty is like a blade. You should learn to wield it carefully." Koro-sensei instructed.
"Oh, like this? You smell like an odd mix of octopus and sushi." Karma said, smiling.
"Oho, something like that! But you forgot this!" Koro-sensei said, and suddenly sushi was stuffed into Karma's mouth.
Karma chewed, then spit it out. Koro-sensei dodged it, and wrapped it with a new rice wrapper.
"Now, now, Karma-kun, you shouldn't waste food! Eat it slowly, like this!" Koro-sensei said, jamming the food in Karma's mouth, and moving his jaws mechanically, up down, up down.
The class laughed.
Nagisa watched this exchange closely. Karma infuriating their teacher was nothing new, but it was amusing to watch. And Nagisa was always interested to see how Koro-sensei responded to this with exchanges of his own.
This time, Karma was steadily insulting Koro-sensei, and Koro-sensei in turn, was steadily returning them.
"Karma, don't you think that's enough?" Isogai said, but his mouth was twitching, as if he wasn't sure whether to smile or not.
"Don't mind me, this is just to make up for me not killing him! Words are weapons and all that!" Karma said, cheerfully.
"Excellent choice of words Karma-kun! It is true that words are powerful weapons, and whoever is well versed in them can make someone as injured as if you've stabbed them yourself! But only use them on me, and not on anyone else, is that understood?" Koro-sensei said, wagging a tentacle.
"Of course Koro-sensei!" Karma said, smiling.
Everyone shivered. Even if Karma was smiling, they could still see the devil's horns and tail that always seemed to pop up on him.
"Great!" Koro-sensei said, and the class didn't know if he could see them too, or if he was just ignoring them.
"Ackk! We wasted precious time! Karma-kun, did you plan for this to happen?" Koro-sensei asked, after glancing at the clock.
Karma stuck his tongue out playfully. "Not really. You were the one who kept talking, so I indulged you. It wasn't my fault you kept encouraging me to learn."
Everyone sighed before laughing.
"He's got a point there, Koro-sensei." Nakamura said, grinning.
Karma just smiled.
"Hhhnnnh, I'll accept it for now." Koro-sensei said, glancing at the teachers.
"Well, everyone pack your stuff. We're leaving and we're not coming back until tomorrow morning!" Irina-sensei said, taking charge.
The class stared at each other, then shrugged.
Their backpacks were already ready, and as one, they stood up.
"Let's go!" Karasuma-sensei said.
"Hai!"
* * *
How they were going to sneak out was a mystery to everyone.
But when Karasuma-sensei pulled out the outfits that they were supposed to wear, Nagisa could see a faint shimmering.
He heard someone suck in a breath beside him and glanced to his right to see Itona. How he had come there all the way from his seat, Nagisa didn't know. But he didn't blame him. He knew that Itona loved machines and technology, and no doubt wanted a closer look.
"Itona, is that what I think it is?" Nagisa asked.
Itona didn't take his eyes off the thing in Karasuma-sensei's hand. "It's a cloaking device. I've heard of them of course, but theoretically, they're improbable. How Karasuma-sensei has one, I don't know. Shiro said that no one could have invented it yet."
He glanced quickly at Nagisa who looked thoughtful. "The government must have made them for killing Koro-sensei. Shiro might have not told you because you would have wanted to get one, and it might have been too early to show your presence."
Itona blinked. "Yeah, that must be it."
"Everyone, go back to your seats! I'll explain a bit about what I have here so that you're properly equipped with the knowledge and risks." Karasuma-sensei said.
Itona nearly stumbled over himself trying to get back to his seat.
"Alright! So, some of you have got a general idea, but just to be clear, this is a cloaking device. It was developed a few months before, but we had no chance to test it until now. We were supposed to try it out in one of our training sessions, but these have a limit too. As these are still prototypes, when they come into contact with something, they shimmer. Direct sunlight, heat, and so on. But, we can also make it so that we look like the day is especially hot, and that heat hazes are normal. So, of course, for your own safety, we won't travel in a group, but rather in pairs. We have calculated the safest pairs, taking into consideration the probability of someone finding out, and how they would respond to the problem in kind." Karasuma-sensei started.
"We might have a few boy-boy and girl-girl pairs because we've also taken into consideration the problem it would pose if everyone went with girl-boy groups. I hope this won't pose a problem." Irina-sensei said, her hands on her waist.
"Does that mean I might not have a girl for my partner?" Okajima moaned.
"I pity whoever has to work with you Okajima, girl or boy." Maehara said.
"Just because you're a player-" Okajima started.
"Shh! We're trying to listen Okajima!" Sugino, Kurahashi and Isogai said.
Maehara snickered, while Okajima flushed. "Sorry." He mumbled.
"Try to be nicer, ok? That means you too Maehara." Isogai said, glancing at them.
"Sure thing!" Maehara said, grinning, while Okajima sulked.
"Alright, we'll announce the names! We'll go by fours, so that it's faster." Koro-sensei said.
"But, sensei, we're 27 students." Kataoka said, raising her hand.
"Nurufufu, don't worry, I've already thought of that." Koro-sensei said, grinning.
Everyone shivered. They had a bad feeling about this.
"Alright! Let's start with the class representatives first!" Koro-sensei said.
"Isogai Yuuma. The logical companion would be the female representative, Megu Kataoka. However, seeing as you are both class representatives, and if the worst case scenario happens, and someone sees you two, they would be suspicious to see you walking away from the campus. So, Isogai's partner based on reflexes and relation is Hiroto Maehara." Koro-sensei said.
"Hah, you didn't get a girl this time Maehara!" Okajima crowed.
"At least I got the class rep. Who's also my best friend." Maehara pointed out.
"Sheesh," Okajima said.
"You really don't mind Maehara?" Isogai asked.
"Of course not! I told you, I'm not so focused on girls that i can't spend time with my best friend." Maehara said, pointedly looking at Okajima. Isogai just laughed, and Maehara, in turn, grinned, as they stepped forward to get their cloaking device.
"As for the female representative, Megu Kataoka, based on her negotiation skills, her partner is Toka Yada." Koro-sensei continues.
"I look forward to working together," Kataoka said, graciously, waiting for Yada.
"Mm! I feel the same way!" Yada said, smiling, and she let Kataoka take their cloaking device.
"Alright, now for the rest of the students!" Koro-sensei said, and he rubbed his tentacles together in glee.
Everyone flinched.
For the next few minutes, Koro-sensei rattled out students' names, with Irina-sensei sometimes having to stifle a laugh.
One of the pairings made a couple hold in their laughter and wolf whistles as well.
"Akabane Karma! The rational partner would have been Manami Okuda because if you would have been caught, you would have been able to talk your way out of this. However, I fear that you can go overboard, and may either invent a story that's too far-fetched, threaten the student, or, take one of Okuda's poisons and throw it at their face. (Karma smiled innocently during this, and there were a few snickers.) So, your next logical partner is Shiota Nagisa!" Koro-sensei said.
"Aren't we putting Nagisa in danger too?" Nakamura asked.
"Nakamura-san! I'm not fragile!" Nagisa protested.
"Of course, you aren't. That wasn't what I meant." Nakamura said, and smirked.
As Karma and Nagisa stepped up to take their cloaking device, Karasuma-sensei said, seriously, "Nagisa, if Karma's about to do something dangerous, stop him immediately. Same goes for you, Karma." Nagisa looked surprised at having been added, but Karma seemed to be just as serious about this as Karasuma-sensei but in a more gentle way.
"Of course sensei." Karma said, getting the cloaking device, still with that serious look on his face.
Then he put it on his belt, and vanished. "Woah! I can't see myself unless I look down!"
Everyone gaped.
"Karma!" Karasuma-sensei warned.
"Don't worry, just testing it out sir! Seems to be working just fine, wouldn't you say so, Nagisa?" Karma asked, grinning.
"Very," Nagisa said, and he couldn't help a slight smile from creeping up on his face.
"Alright, back to your places everyone!" Irina-sensei said.
Koro-sensei called a few more names, some of which made people wolf whistle (Chiba and Hayami, the sniper duo), some laugh and cringe (Okajima and Kurahashi), and some simply smile. (Sugino and Kanzaki.)
One partner process in particular made the whole class howl with laughter.|
"Terasaka, I have put particular care into choosing your partner. The rational choice would have been Hazama, with her marksmanship, but I'd rather avoid having to resort to violence. Your next pairing options were tied; either Muramatsu or Itona. Muramatsu, also because of his marksmanship skills, but still no, because of the reason I said before. Itona would be the next rational pairing because you were the one who helped him achieve peace, and I think you would be a good balance for each other." Koro-sensei explained. "Oh, and Hazama, you'll be with Muramatsu."
"Sensei, you could have just made Terasaka go solo so that it wouldn't have to be so complicated!" Karma said.
"I agree with him." Itona said.
"Shut up, both of you!" Terasaka growled.
It was absolutely hilarious to see Terasaka getting insulted by Itona, then Muramatsu, and even Yoshida. His head kept swiveling like he wasn't sure who he wanted to beat up first.
Thankfully, Koro-sensei stepped in before anything happened. "Alright! Everyone back to your seats! Before we leave, I want to say a few reminders!"
Everyone slowly settled down.
"We'll be lining up 2 by 2, and the order of procession is your seat plan. The last people will go first because they're closest to the door. So that means that Karma and Nagisa will go last, is that alright?" Koro-sensei asked.
Nagisa nodded, and Karma just shrugged.
"Alright! After the first pair leaves, we wait for 30 seconds-1 minute before the next pairing goes after. And so on. The teachers will escort you one at a time until you reach a clearing where you will wait for the rest of us. Is that understood?" Koro-sensei asked, this time to the whole class.
Everyone nodded. "Hai!"
"Alright, let's start! Yoshida and Hara, and Yada and Kataoka!" Koro-sensei said.
As the students were called, they walked to the front, with Irina-sensei accompanying them. They clipped their cloaking devices on their belts before walking out of the door. Everyone watched through the windows until they couldn't see the shimmer anymore. Then, a light flashed, signaling that the students were in place.
"Ah, that's the signal. Ok, next!" Koro-sensei said.
Everyone sighed, relieved to know that it had worked so far.
Koro-sensei kept calling names until finally, Karma and Nagisa and Isogai and Maehara were the only pairs left.
"Are you guys ready?" Isogai asked them.
Maehara grinned. "Yeah!"
Karma shrugged, and Nagisa managed a nervous smile.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Karasuma-sensei will accompany you, in case anything happens, but I have trust in your abilities." Koro-sensei said.
And even though he had said that to every pair, Nagisa could not help but be relaxed by his sensei's words.
"Alright, go!" Koro-sensei said, gently ushering them to the door of their classroom.
They put their cloaking devices on their belt, pressed on, and left.
* * *
Trudging along was difficult, as the cloaking device's area was limited, and could only cover both of them with a few inches to spare for length and width. underneath. However, one of the main drawbacks was that it was hot, to say the least.
Nagisa's neck was starting to be dotted with drops of sweat, and he had the urge to wipe all of it off. As if hearing his silent plea, Karma quickly dragged his hand across Nagisa's neck.
"Better?" Karma asked, dragging his sweaty hand across his pants.
"Yeah. Thanks." Nagisa said, sighing in relief.
"No problem," Karma said and resumed looking ahead.
Nagisa, since he no longer had sweat running down his neck, glanced at Karma.
He was startled to notice that Karma's cheeks had turned a fiery red.
"Karma, the heat's getting to you. Do you have a cloth or something?" Nagisa asked, concerned.
"You mean the ones that Koro-sensei handed out? I think I tucked it in your pocket." Karma said, breathing heavily.
Nagisa quickly found the cloth, and, carefully not to make too much movement, withdrew it from the plastic. It was freezing and cold, and Nagisa informed Karma of this fact.
Karma looked amused. "It's ok, Nagisa, just put it on my face, will ya?"
Nagisa gently stood on tiptoe, and rubbed Karma's face with it.
Karma closed his eyes and sighed. "Ahh, that's better. Thanks Nagisa."
"Sure." Nagisa said, quickly swiping it across Karma's neck before returning it to the plastic.
"You're not going to use it?" Karma asked.
"No it's alright, we might need it for later, and besides, my hands are still cold from holding it, I'll work with that," Nagisa said.
Karma suddenly grabbed Nagisa's hand and put it on his cheek.
"Woah, you weren't kidding, this is really cold!" Karma said, grinning.
Nagisa reddened, whether from the heat emanating from Karma's skin, or from the weather he wasn't sure. He mumbled something.
"What was that? I didn't hear." Karma said, glancing at him.
"I said, you can keep doing that, because your skin feels really hot. I don't want you to get a fever." Nagisa said, looking at Karma worriedly.
Karma was about to retort, really he was, when he got a good glimpse of Nagisa.
His normally fluffy blue hair had strips sticking to his nape, and to his temples. His blue eyes were contrasting against the faint red blush on his cheeks, and his mouth was puckered into a worried line.
For him.
Even the worry in Nagisa's eyes was for him.
Karma blinked. "Has anyone ever told you that you could kill someone with your looks when it's hot out?"
"EHH?" Nagisa said, blinking. Surely he hadn't heard that right? Maybe the weather was messing with his head.
"Just saying, because a lot of people, just by looking at you, would be dead right now. But, imagine if you were in a dress." Karma mused.
Nagisa reddened. "Karma!"
"Just kidding!" Karma said, smiling. "Don't worry, I would never make you do that again!"
Then he lowered his mouth to put it near Nagisa's ear and whispered, "But I still think you look cute right now."
And that sentence doesn't do any good to Nagisa's poor reddened cheeks.
"Geez Karma, here I was, worrying about you, but you can still say things like that, so I guess you're alright," Nagisa said, looking away.
Karma smiled slightly.
In truth, he really couldn't handle the thought of Nagisa's face just a few minutes ago. No one had ever worried for him before. It was a nice feeling. He wanted to see it again, but Nagisa looked so serious, and his cheeks had looked so flushed, and they were just so close, and, and.... and the heat was doing things to his head.
He quickly shook his head, as if trying to physically force the thoughts out of his head.
The walk to the clearing was filled with silence, but Karma's heart stopped when Nagisa took his hand out from Karma's grip, which was holding it to his cheek. Then it started again when Nagisa grabbed Karma's hand, intertwining their fingers.
"I still don't want you to get a fever, whatever you say to me," Nagisa said, still not looking at him.
Karma glanced at their hands, then at Nagisa, then, slowly, he smiled.
"Ok," Karma said, and, slowly, squeezed Nagisa's hand.
He almost couldn't help the grin that spread across his face when Nagisa squeezed back.