Love in the Times of the Crescent Moon (Karma FF)

Chapter 1

It was a sunny April morning. The first signs of the approaching summer tempted the students of Class 6-E to participate in gym class in shorts and T-shirts. Nagisa looked down at his shivering arms, reminding himself that he would soon appreciate the cool breeze. Training with Karasumasensei always made them work up a sweat.
To warm up, they ran a few laps around the field, and Nagisa was surprised to notice that, from the outside, they looked like an ordinary class and not a state secret. No one would ever guess that they were training to become assassins - and that's exactly how it should be. They were simply a group of teenagers running around the sports field. It was such a normal scene that it could almost serve as the perfect cover for an attack, right?
"Forget it." Karma appeared beside Nagisa as if reading his thoughts. "The octopus is meeting with the chairman right now." When Nagisa only gave him a questioning look, Karma shrugged. "He's raising a fuss because students can't just be dismissed to Class E unnoticed. He can't imagine anyone would choose to come here voluntarily and be treated like an outcast. So, Korosensei, the new student, and, of course, the chairman all have to sign a waiver stating that joining Class E is the student's explicit wish."
"Well, I can't understand why anyone would willingly come here. Do you think it's another government plant?"
"I have no idea, but I look forward to finding out," Karma replied, with that glint in his eye that Nagisa always found a bit unsettling.
"Hey!" Karasumasensei's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Save the chitchat for lunchtime. If you're still talking, you're not running fast enough!"

After changing back into their school uniforms, Korosensei returned, visibly satisfied as he busily wrote on the blackboard, juggling multiple pieces of chalk at once.
"Sensei?" Nagisa asked quietly at first, then a bit louder.
"Nagisa-kun! Don't startle me like that!"
"Sorry, Sensei, but we're wondering what you're doing."
"I'm creating a schedule to help you prepare for the first midterms. You wouldn't believe how long it takes to put together an individual study plan for each of you, tailored to your strengths and weaknesses." He tapped a massive stack of books before him and distributed them to the students at lightning speed.
"And what's that list for?" Kayano asked, pointing at the blackboard.
"These are your appointments for one-on-one prep sessions with me. As you'll soon find out, the study packages I've created for you are extensive, and I won't leave you alone with them. As your homeroom teacher, it's my job to guide you as well as possible. Review everything, come to your session, and we'll have an in-depth discussion about how you can keep improving."
"You should start digitizing things like this," Takebayashi complained, but he sighed and started leafing through the stack of books meant for him.
"Excellent point, Takebayashi-kun. I'll remember it for next time."
Nagisa pictured Korosensei bombarding them with emails daily and decided he'd rather lug all these books home. Just as he was evenly distributing them into his bags, someone knocked on the door.
"Finally," Korosensei said cheerfully, as he watched the door handle turn.
Karasumasensei entered, with a girl around their age at his side. Her hair was a color somewhere between milk and honey, tied into a ponytail with bangs falling just above her caramel-colored eyes.
Not from the government, Nagisa immediately thought, as he saw her mouth curl into a smile that reached her eyes. No alarm, maybe a bit of nervousness, but no tension. Absolutely no intention of attacking Korosensei. Not from the government—or a very good actress.
"I'm Kit; pleased to meet you," she introduced herself, bowing briefly and taking a piece of chalk.
"The pleasure is all ours," Korosensei replied on behalf of the class. "Come on in, Irinasensei. I see you're curious about our new student as well."
Bitch-Sensei slipped in quietly, looking a bit caught off-guard as she closed the door behind her.
Nagisa observed his classmates, a habit he hadn't only picked up in the assassination classroom but one he'd developed over time to avoid classmates who might have it out for him. Since joining Class E, he'd refined his observational skills further. He immediately noticed the shock on Terasaka's face, and as his gaze wandered, he saw similar reactions of surprise among his classmates. Following their gaze to the blackboard, he was as shocked as they were when Terasaka shouted, "Karasuma, Kitsune?! Are you...? Do you belong...?"
"I'm Karasumasensei's daughter," she said calmly.
"Does that count as 'from the government'?" Karma whispered to Nagisa, grinning.
Nagisa looked at him with surprise and then shrugged.
"We didn't know you had a daughter, Sensei," Kayano remarked, astonished.
"Well, that's not something a government agent usually advertises," Karasuma replied, crossing his arms. "Normally, I strictly separate my professional and personal life, but given the circumstances, I'd like to keep Kit close."
For a moment, an awkward silence hung over the room, and Nagisa could feel what they were all thinking: Not even one year left. Whether the world survived or not depended on them alone, and while each of them could understand why Karasumasensei had brought his daughter here, it made them all feel somewhat inadequate. If even he doubted their ability to kill Korosensei, then who wouldn't?
At that moment, Nagisa's gaze fell on Bitch-Sensei, huddled in the back corner of the classroom, looking like she could use a strong drink. Poor thing, Nagisa thought. She probably hadn't known either.
"Do you have a wife, too?" Kurahashi asked curiously.
"Right, are you married, Sensei?" Kayano chimed in.
"That's none of your business," Terasaka interjected.
"I'm widowed," Karasumasensei replied tersely and ended the conversation by escorting Kit to her new seat beside Kayano and leaving without another word.
"Great!" Korosensei clapped his tentacles together, trying to lift the mood again. "Let's see. Kitsan, you spent the last three months, and thus the first month of the new school year, on an overseas internship. So, you have quite a bit of material to catch up on, correct?"
"Yes."
"That's no problem; you have many smart classmates now who will be happy to help."
Nagisa noticed that the usual suspects, like Maehara and Okajima, were enthusiastically nodding, but the others also seemed pleased to have reinforcements. Being Karasumasensei's daughter, Kit could only strengthen their assassination efforts.
"Wonderful," Korosensei praised them. "Isogai-kun, would you, as the class representative, show Kitsan around?"
"Of course."
"Perfect. We'll take care of everything else after class."
So, they spent the next half-hour in home economics, a subject in which Kit found her footing without issue, as it required little prior knowledge. Nagisa kept glancing at the bags full of books beside his desk, wondering how he would manage to study all of it within a month. Sometimes he envied his friend Karma, who could easily breeze through any exam without even trying.
"Karmakun," Korosensei called as the class was about to start gathering their books, "could you spare a few minutes?"
"Sure. What do you need, Sensei?" Karma asked casually, standing in front of the teacher's desk.
"You too, Kitsan." Korosensei waved her over with a tentacle, and Nagisa overheard him say, "Karmakun, you're the top student in this class, and I want you to pass on your knowledge. I'm sure you'll also benefit from helping your new classmate, so I'll leave this classroom open for your study sessions."
"No problem."