Love in the Times of the Crescent Moon

Chapter 21

Kit stood among her classmates, surrounded by the rustling reeds of the field behind the old school building. The evening air was chilly, and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself.
Today was the day: Korosensei had promised to tell them about his past, and Kayano had sworn to kill him. The pressing question was which would happen first. Kit felt an overwhelming need to know who Korosensei once was and how it all tied to Yukimura Aguri, the former teacher of Class 3-E.
"You should at least listen to what he has to say, Kaedechan," Kurahashi pleaded, but Kayano was so consumed by her tentacles that she no longer seemed like herself. She had one single purpose now: to destroy Korosensei.
They fought, and although Kayano landed some surprisingly effective blows, it was painful to watch her sacrifice herself for vengeance. Itona even predicted that she wouldn't survive the consequences of this battle, even if she managed to win. It was a tragic sight, but no one knew how to intervene.
When Korosensei called for someone to distract Kayano so he could remove her tentacles, they all felt paralyzed.
Kit looked over at Nagisa, who was closer to Kayano than anyone else, and it seemed he had an idea. He caught Kit's gaze, unsure, but they didn't have time to make a plan. She nodded, encouraging him. Whatever he was about to do, he had to do it now.
And then, he did it.
Nagisa walked slowly toward Kayano. Korosensei had allowed her to strike him directly in the heart, seizing the moment to hold her with his tentacles. As Nagisa approached, Kit wondered what he intended to do - and then he did something no one had anticipated: he kissed her. It worked. Kayano, completely caught off guard, fainted. Korosensei was able to remove her tentacles.
"She'll probably need some bed rest for a while," he remarked, but that hardly mattered. The main thing was that they had saved Kayano's life.
Later, after Kayano had regained consciousness, shared her story, and wept with relief over no longer needing to put on a front, Kit sat beside her, took her hand, and they all gathered, ready to hear Korosensei's story.
"This class is the first one I've ever taught. And yet I've been able to help you with every subject. How do you think I managed that? Yes, that's right. Up until two years ago, I was the killer known as the Reaper. And here's the important part: even if you do nothing, I will die next year in March. The question is whether I'll die alone, or whether I'll take the entire Earth with me. The choice is yours," Korosensei began, recounting the memories of the man he once was.
They learned about the lab experiments, the tentacles, and the woman who had been by his side through all the tests for a year: Yukimura Aguri, who was actually a teacher and only worked in the lab to support her tyrannical fiancé. Korosensei described her as kind, slightly clumsy, but above all, genuine. She saw something in him that no one else had. She saw him for who he could be. She saw him as he wanted to be seen. She could look straight into his heart.
Then came the day when the crescent moon appeared. The test subject that preceded Korosensei exploded, causing seventy percent of the Moon's mass to be destroyed. According to calculations, Korosensei would meet the same fate on March 13 of the following year. He escaped the lab, not knowing where to go, and Aguri, trying to follow him, died in a tragic accident. He couldn't save her, but at least he wanted to honor her last wish, and so he promised to take over her class.
"My tentacles will always protect them. The tentacles asked me who I wanted to become: I want to be weak, full of weaknesses so that I am approachable. I want to understand the weak, protect them, and show them the way. That's the kind of being I want to be. That's the kind of teacher I want to become. This is my story. Yukimura Agurisensei is why I became a teacher."
Kit leaned her head against Kayano's shoulder. It felt as though time had stopped. The entire class held their breath, listening in silence. In the faces of her friends, Kit saw her own emotions reflected: fear, sorrow, empathy. And then came the aftershock.
With a force that physically hurt, she realized just how heavy the responsibility placed on them truly was. She didn't want to kill Korosensei - not now, not ever. But there was no other way.

Soon after, they all made their way home. No one could bear to stay on the mountain any longer. They needed space, time to think. Korosensei understood. He had asked a lot from them. All the more, he was surprised when he returned to the classroom and saw Kit standing by the window.
"What are you still doing here, Kitsan?"
"I knew her. Agurisan," she said softly.
"Oh? Well, most of your classmates knew her as their teacher, but you joined the class later. And now that you're here, I assume you'd like to tell me how you knew Aguri?"
Kit nodded, giving him a sad smile. "I was in Australia. For my internship. I want to go into medicine to help people, and the facility I worked with is incredibly advanced - not a hospital, but a research institute. It was fascinating, and I learned a lot about procedures and tests that could help manage or even cure previously untreatable illnesses. And that's where I met her. The first time I saw Agurisan, she was so distracted that she accidentally knocked my coffee out of my hand. She apologized a thousand times and promised to replace it. Luckily, I took her up on her offer. We clicked right away and talked for hours. Later, I found out that this trip was planned without her fiancé's knowledge and that she was supposed to be at a teaching conference."
Kit paused, watching Korosensei's reaction, but as usual, his face betrayed no emotion.
"We just... got along. But I don't need to tell you what kind of person Agurisan was. I told her about my dreams and fears, and she told me hers - and then she told me about a project her fiancé was working on. It was strictly confidential, and she didn't want to put me in a difficult position, but she mentioned that she was looking for a cure for a mutation that would otherwise kill someone she loved." She looked up at her teacher. "And from everything I've learned today, that must have been you, Sensei. Unfortunately, I never found out if she succeeded, because her fiancé realized she wasn't at the conference, and she had to leave quickly. She said she'd come back, but she didn't."
"No, she certainly didn't," Korosensei replied, and though his face remained inscrutable, Kit could hear the sadness in his voice.
"I'm sorry if I've caused you more grief."
"Nonsense," he replied sharply, unexpectedly. "Thank you, Kitsan. You've given me a great gift, perhaps the greatest. It's indescribable to know that love is returned - even now."
"I don't want to kill you," Kit said into the silence that followed.
It was absurd. How were they supposed to go on with their plan, now that they knew everything?
"Unfortunately, there's no other way."