Aaand here it is, the long-awaited epilogue. There will end up being a lot that needs explaining, which I will do at the bottom. For now, all you need to know before reading this is that this takes place 8 years after, and that this is Karasuma's POV- the same as the prologue, if you remember.

"And this is the classroom I'll be teaching in. It isn't the one with my name though."

"Oh? Whose is it, then?"

"I think it's yours, actually." Kei frowned, and considered.

"Mine?" Putting her camera-holding hand down, Ayako looked at the classroom sign, then to a piece of paper she had in her hand that had the map on it, and then back again, before grinning and lifting up the camera.

"Hey, what do you know, it is! Way-hey!" Beaming, she held out the camera and turned it so it faced her, and then pointed to the sign for a few moments, before returning it, making everyone laugh.

Karasuma discreetly checked his own map, though really, there was no need to. This class was none other than 3-Takashita, or 3-T for short. It was not a special or unusual classroom- the other third year classrooms were 3-Arisato, 3-Hara and 3-Kuroyama-in fact, they were just like any other classroom in any other middle or high school. But even so, The New Dawn Academy was not just like any other school. This class-naming system was just one of the ways in which this was the case. Rather than having the classes go from A-D, the surnames (written in hiragana rather than the kanji) of both the final 3E, and the 3E that he'd had to oversee once had been put into a random generator and used to name all the classes for all the year groups.

In addition to this, each year group had an additional class called the 'resource class', each numbered for what year it belonged to (so Resource Class-or RC- 1, 2 etc., right up until sixth year, which was the equivalent to the final year of high school). But that itself was not a permanent classroom-it was just somewhere where students went for a while when they needed more help, whether that was because they were returnees struggling with the language or curriculum differences (much like Kitabayashi-who had gone back to live in America when he'd been offered a place studying Literature at a university there-had been once), or they needed time to catch up after being in hospital for a while. It could also be used if a student was being bullied and couldn't be in the classroom (though, right from the start, this school would not be complacent when it came to bullying). Whatever the reason, it was meant only as a temporary measure, a sanctuary of sorts, but never a punishment or a curse, not in the way 3E had been.

And that in itself was reason enough for Karasuma to consider it to be a good idea. More than a good idea. An excellent one. But still, he found himself overwhelmed just thinking about it. The existence of The New Dawn Academy had really resulted from the Ending the End Class project, and that in itself was pretty amazing. To imagine that a group of fourteen and fifteen year olds had taken down a school, an incredibly successful one at that, as well as challenging the education system itself. But it's not as if that's the first time though, that I've seen young people rise up to and oppose the burdens us adults place on them. Of course, he could never forget it. The assassination classroom 3E had been his responsibility for most of his life. He'd taken on the task of observing them and making sure that the skills they had been taught had not resulted in a new generation of serial killers or fraudsters, while making sure that they were not burdened any more than they had been by things they'd had no say in-after all, they had deserved the chance to grow up and live their own lives. He'd taken on this new responsibility, as a thank you to them for taking on the pressures of saving the world. It had been the least he could do.

"Karasuma-sensei, are you alright? Is the walking too much?"

"Hmmm?" Karasuma looked to see both Tada and Nagisa looking at him with some concern, and managed a smile.

"No, no, I'm fine. Just lost in thought, that's all."

"Probably for the best. They've been debating the merits of teaching in a classroom with your own name, or being a student in the class that has your name. The argument is going around in circles and while it's amusing it's also just…..yeah."

Tada pulled a face as he indicated Ayako, Fuyumi, Kei and Ikuko, walking slightly ahead of them. Of the four of them, Ayako, as a freelance journalist, was the only one in the little group there who was not going onto work for the school. Fuyumi was set to be one of the admin staff, and her surname had been given to one of the fifth-year (equivalent to the second year of high school) classrooms. Originally, it had been intended for the school name itself, but as her surname was of course the same as that of Aguri Yukimura's, the coincidence had been deemed too awkward, and thus, that idea was scrapped. From what Karasuma could discern of the debate, he suspected that Fuyumi was more than glad of this idea. Then there was Kei and Ikuko, homeroom teacher and principal respectively, both having been very proactive in creating the system that The New Dawn Academy would run under. Where Kei had had his surname assigned to a first-year classroom, Ikuko didn't have her name on any classroom. But of course, as a principal Ikuko's name would always be mentioned in association with the school, so it was not as if that mattered.

"Well, at least as a school counsellor, you don't need to be concerned about that. 'Kitakawa' didn't get selected anyway, did it?" Karasuma glanced at his map to confirm this.

"Yeah, that's right. Hanae's maiden surname did though-look, there, one of the second year classrooms."

Tada pointed to the relevant room on the map, which they had passed already on this mini-tour. Karasuma just nodded. He still remembered it like it was yesterday, having recently woken up from that coma only to be introduced to his godson's girlfriend and even realising then that 'girlfriend' was too light a term to use. And sure enough, they had married straight after high-school and had been living together ever since. Recently, they'd told those closest to them that Hanae was pregnant. Twins, apparently, and though it was still early days yet, Kou's uncanny predictions had decreed that they were a boy and a girl. They'd even picked names already- Atsushi and Chiasa.
(As it happened, Kou's wife-his high school sweetheart Yoriko-was also expecting twins. But nobody knew anything more than that, because Yoriko had forbidden Kou from saying anything on the matter).

Amongst the group (and even people of their age in general) Tada and Hanae (and, for that matter Kou and Yoriko, even if they technically weren't part of the 3E group) were unusual, in that they had settled down and started family life already, but it was not as if they were the only ones. Eriko had married Sora not long after she had come of age, having been in a long distance relationship with him since she'd finished high school, and they had a young son called Akihito. They all lived in France near to Megu, Eriko staying at home looking after Akihito while Sora worked as an accountant. It was a quiet life they were all happy with, and they all kept in touch constantly.

"I have a classroom too, don't I?" Nagisa asked quietly. "Sixth-year, right?"

"Yeah, it is." Tada confirmed, grinning at him. Karasuma studied Nagisa, looking carefully of any sign of trouble, just as he had ever since Nagisa had uncannily returned a few days ago, in time to get to see what The New Dawn Academy looked like. His drifting in and out of life act had yet to cease, and though he did come back more often now, there was an unspoken knowledge that he'd never really come back to them. So such moments were important. And they remind me of the way in which I failed to look after them. But before he could get sucked down that particular rabbit-hole of thought, a child's voice interrupted them.

"Mummy and Daddy's names are there too, right?" Kayo Chiba asked, peering around Tada and pointing at the map. Karasuma blinked, having forgotten for a moment that Tada was looking after her for the day, but then he nodded.

"Yes, but we haven't got to them yet." He answered. "Do you have a map yourself?"

"No, I don't."

"Well, here, take mine. I don't need it anyway, not really."

"Oh, okay! Thanks!" Kayo took the map from him and started to pore over it. As she did, they reached the fourth year classrooms, and so she ended up not needing the map to discover one of them was 4-Chiba. She did, however, need it to discover where 'Hayami' would be, and soon located the name on a sixth-year classroom. Once she had found them both though, she got bored of the map, and handed it back to Karasuma, who took it and folded it up, before putting it back in his pocket, and just looking around him as they continued the tour, led by Kei and Ikuko.

As they went around, he found himself drawn to the corridor murals. Depicting nature scenes, skies or abstract patterns, they had been done by Reimiya, Tomoki and Sugaya. The former two worked full-time for the latter at All Is Possible, and this had been one of their biggest commissions, and one that had brought success to the shop, though it remained one of a kind. Sugaya could have easily opened branches of it by now, but continued to refuse to do so. But that had little bearing on the quality of the murals-they were beautiful, clearly created by talented hands, and again, ended up as yet another thing that made The New Dawn Academy different to other schools. He wished that he was young again, that this school had come about sooner. Maybe then he could have taught there. Certainly, before the assassination classroom, 'teacher' was a label he would never have given to himself. After that, it had become a vital part of him. Of course, people his age still worked, even if he himself was retired now.

But it's not just about age. It's the point of life that I'm at. The years in the military had ended up helping him a lot when it came to rehabilitation. But still, he used crutches. He tired easier now. And he still lived with Tada and Hiro's aunt Chika, because living alone wasn't an option. Not that he minded-he counted Chika as a friend now, and did his best to not infringe on her life, and it was, all in all, a nice way to live. But it underlined that really, it wasn't his place to be a main player anymore. That was for this generation of young people, and the next one that was already forming. And he was more than fine with that.

"It looks a lot different to what I remember." Karasuma commented as they finished with the classrooms and moved on to see other rooms, starting with the music room.

"It does. And even with it all being the same at the base of it all." Nagisa agreed. Karasuma thought that in this manner, Nagisa and the school building were much the same. He was so very different (more bent and broken) and yet the same. His hairstyle had even regressed for whatever reason.

"Well, it's not as if anything was particularly wrong with the building in the first place, so there was no need to tear it down or anything." Tada interjected.

"Though some things have been swapped around, from what I can understand. Bad Feng Shui and all." Ikuko added.

They all stopped in their tracks stared at her for a moment. Even Ayako- who had been filming the music room and chirpily narrating- fell silent and just gaped in astonishment at the new principal of The New Dawn Academy.

"Since when did you believe in that sort of thing?" Kei asked, eyeing Ikuko in astonishment.

"I don't. I was being sarcastic." Ikuko deadpanned, before laughing and ruffling Kei's hair for a moment, as though he was still 18. Karasuma supposed Ikuko was entitled to thinking of Kei as young, because for all that he was set to be a good teacher and was just generally doing well with his life, it seemed that there would always be an air of vulnerability to him, so they (especially his sisters) all thought it, in a way. But having been a major force in getting him to re-join the world, Ikuko was especially entitled.

"It was also cheaper, and allowed us to focus the money on other aspects of the school." Fuyumi shrugged, breaking the silence. "Though it's not like we've been lacking."

Of course they hadn't been. With the likes of Gakushuu, Karma and the Kurobas backing the school, their budget was more than comfortable. Some of Karasuma's own 3E had put forward what remained from their reward money as well-Nagisa had somehow held onto most of his, and had contributed all of it. A worrying sign, but also a generous gesture he wouldn't allow them to refuse. Looking at Nagisa, now with Ikuko and Kei, Karasuma again thought about this money, wondered if it was his own way of helping from a distance, yet another method of atonement for something he didn't really need to atone for. Because if anybody should have seen the signs, it was me. I was the one who was meant to be looking out for this very thing anyway. I was the one who was supposed to be looking after them.

"And my Daddy helped too, right?" Kayo asked cheerfully, interrupting Karasuma's train of thought.

"Yeah, he did." Tada answered. "A lot of people did, and we couldn't have done it without them."

"Exactly, exactly." Ayako interrupted her own narration to agree. "We're all this one big team, you see."

"Wow…." Kayo's mahogany eyes went round in astonishment, which made everyone chuckle. Karasuma wondered if the child's sense of wonder would remain when she was old enough to attend this school herself- he was fairly sure that her parents would try and get her into it, if they could. But still, it's not like it matters. Perhaps school goes to shape a person, but it is not a make-or-break thing, it isn't the only part of life that means anything. This, he knew more than anything.

"Anyway," Ikuko proclaimed after a while. "If we've finished fangirling over the instruments, let's move on."

…

After they'd finished the tour of the school building and everything that was a part of that, they decided to go up to what had once been the 3E campus. After much deliberation, Tada's class had gone with one of their earlier ideas, which was to turn it into a clubroom for those school clubs which might best benefit from it. They had considered making it into a permanent 3E Museum- Hana, especially, had wanted this- but in the end it was the clubroom idea that had won. But the 3E Museum was still a thing. Though government hand-wringing and some little bits of red-tape had slowed down the procedure of setting up the museum had still gone relatively smoothly, and it was expected that Hana would be able to open a permanent 3E Museum in the next two years. In the meantime, her life was balanced between seeing family, helping with The Daybreak Academy, the two part-time jobs she had for a history museum and All Is Possible, and the planning of her upcoming wedding to none other than Seijuro Kuroba. He was also quite busy, as he was studying to become a doctor. Then of course, there was Izzy, third member of the still tight-knit trio. He seemed happy working for the tech support at an IT company and despite seeing Shiki on-and-off, seemed to have no real desire to settle down (though apparently he did sometimes get a taste for what parenting could be like when he looked after Naoya and Yuuya's adoptive son, so that the couple could go on date nights).

Because the old 3E building was now a clubroom, it had been renovated to a much bigger extent than the school building had been, and thus as they trudged up the hill towards it, it took Karasuma a moment to be able to recognise it for what it had been. But recognise it he did-the wooden roof, for example, was exactly the same, just in better condition, and the storage sheds were similarly familiar. And the flowerbeds-which, until this moment he had only seen in photographs, were still there, and still very carefully tended. Though they had busy lives as a florist, a defence lawyer and assistant cook at Matsuraiken respectively, Kinomoto, Haru and Hirigi all still found time in their lives to do this-they were even listed in The New Dawn Academy's staff as part-time gardeners and got a small wage too. Tsuwabuki did too, but less often, as he tended to be away on digs. If Karasuma recalled what Tada had mentioned to him correctly, Tsuwabuki was currently somewhere in India.

"Hey, hey, can I climb the tree?" Kayo asked as they approached, pointing to the cherry tree. The blossoms were just starting to come out, but most were still buds at this point.

"Don't you want to look around with us, Kayo-Chan?" Tada asked. Kayo frowned exaggeratedly and considered.

"I do…but…"

"How about we look around, and then you can climb the tree?" Kei suggested to her.

"Or, if Tada-san thinks it's okay, how about I show you some better trees to climb in the forest?" Fuyumi suggested. "I was here with Jo-san and Eka-san a few days back, before they left for the gymnastics tournament. I was watching them practise with the team, on the trails Okano-san showed them."

There was a wistful look to Fuyumi as she described these things, as if mourning her inability to be able to participate with her friends. But she smiled pleasantly too, and in any case, everyone knew that she'd made her peace with her situation long ago.

"Hmm….Tada-nii, that's an okay idea, right?" Kayo made puppy-eyes at Tada, who sighed and ruffled her hair.

"Well, I don't see why not." He shrugged as they went around and looked at the flowers, oohing and aahing at them before going inside. The entrance, and the shoe-cubby-hole spaces were still the same, which made a certain kind of sense considering that the building was still a part of the school. But now there was a coat rack and an umbrella stand, and yet some more pictures on the walls. The origami birds hung up along the corridor ceilings were also still there. Also, for some reason, there was a world map, which confused Karasuma, but by now he'd seen much weirder things and so he forgot about it.

"Ahh, it's a shame that Ichinose-san and the others couldn't come." Fuyumi mused as they headed to the main classroom, which had been renovated to look like the standard club-room in any middle or high school.

"Yeah, those guys need a little more praise and adoration for those flowers, don't they?" Ikuko said. "Still, they have their main jobs to think about."

"Still, just generally it would have been nice if more of us had been able to make it today. Then perhaps we could have had a little celebration or something." Tada acknowledged.

"I know, right?! Ruko-Chan technically could have made it….but she had to go and have a burst of inspiration and want to use it to finish drawing the rest of the chapter way before deadline. Like, what sort of bad timing is that-yes, Ruko-Chan, I'm saying you should have procrastinated today!"

At the end of her outburst, Ayako swung her camera around so she was filming herself, and pulled a few hideous faces before returning to looking around the clubroom. Kayo bounded in not too far behind her, while the others walked at a more measured pace. Karasuma lingered at the entrance for a moment, looking at the plaque that Hidaka had made. It was still there, and above it was another one (also made by Hidaka), which had some information on Kunugigaoka on it.

"Exactly!" Tada laughed. "I find it hilarious that Ruko-Chan is actually capable of not procrastinating anymore, but yeah. Akira-Chan said the same thing about her book."

"Even if those two were free though, it would have been impossible for the entire class to reunite, not right now with so many of you away." Karasuma pointed out. There was Eriko in France, Tsuwabuki in India and Jori and Eka in Switzerland, but Koujiro was also in America like Kitabayashi was (though Koujiro intended to come back after his studies), Yamada was completing her studies in England, and Azama and Hidaka were both taking gap-years, the former around the African continent, Hidaka in Australia. Hiro and Yukiyama were still in Japan, but their work-Hiro was coming up in the world as a designer, whereas Yukiyama still modelled- had taken them right across the country for a few months. All in all, they were quite the spread-out group-yet another thing that startled and impressed Karasuma. I don't think I could have mapped out better lives for them.

"Ahh, that's true…." Fuyumi agreed.

"Asami's been saying that she wants to do something big for Hana when the museum opens." Kei spoke up. "Perhaps then you can gather everyone together."

"That sounds like fun! I'll look forward to that." Tada decided.

"Me too!" Kayo cheered as the others chimed in with agreement (and Nagisa absently nodded). Karasuma thought about correcting the child, but she looked so pleased with herself that he didn't have the heart to, and they continued onto the next room, which had been made into a dorm of sorts. Again, Sugaya and his team had really put their all into it, the ceiling with a night-sky painted on it, the walls done in a neutral and tasteful cream. The floorboards had been left as they were.

"This is peaceful looking." Nagisa commented. "I like the ceiling."

"Mhm, I do, too. It was Kei-kun's idea, actually." Ikuko explained, grinning at both of them.

"Not really…." Kei was quick to blush and shake off the praise. "I just mentioned it one time, given that everyone-well, some people- thought the astronomy club would be able to use this space best."

"That's still an idea though." Fuyumi pointed out. Kei pulled a face and shrugged.

"Yeah, well….." Kei was about to say something, but Kayo's squeals distracted him for it, and he excused himself from needing to say any more by going over and chatting to the girl for the first time. Karasuma watched him. Though Kei wasn't necessarily a natural with littler children-and indeed, teaching middle schoolers, he didn't really need to be- but Ikuko's two little ones (four year old Ushio and his three year old sister Miuna) adored him. And then, of course, there was Ranko. Though of course she could not really be called a child in the same sense that Kayo could, it was safe to say she'd never be an adult the same way the rest of them were. But within her confines, she was doing well, and she and Kei were as thick and thieves. Enough so that Ranko's parents were satisfied that when their time came, she would be more than provided for with him by her side.

And, I wonder who will look after this lot when I am gone? He'd had enough brushes with death to have considered the question earlier. But he hadn't even needed that- he'd been taking care of these kids more or less before they had even been born. After all, if Hinano, Isogai, Chiba, Hayami and everyone else had not been free to pursue the futures that they'd gone on to do, if he hadn't intervened at every possibility of their youths being taken from them, then there'd be so many lives that wouldn't exist. And the world would be poorer without them, he knew this for sure. Yet, if perhaps things had been a little tighter, Nagisa-kun would not be how he was now.

They seemed to decide to settle in the room they were in for a while, and just talked about different school related things, particularly how they would manage the usage of the clubhouse and other such things. So as that conversation took place, Karasuma snuck glances at Nagisa every so often. He was quiet, saying very little, stepping in with only a few remarks, most of which were astute. But mostly, he just watched. Stayed on the fringe of things-there, but not involved in the world. Much like the Distant Ocean. His bed-time story hero hadn't even had a name when he'd first introduced him into the twins' bedtime stories, but though Tada had dubbed the hero with his own moniker, in Karasuma's mind the Distant Ocean could only be one person-Nagisa. It was nowhere near enough, the most tenuous of links, but despite the collective decision to make sure the children did not know (and that those who were old enough to have memories of him soon forgot- like poor Ikuko, who had idolised him and still did), he didn't want to consign him to the forgotten forever. Because if he came back after they were all gone, who would be there to look after him? So on a whim, he had created and sustained these stories, in the hopes that they would be enough to allow his godchildren to recognise Nagisa should he come back for good one day.

And come back he had-sort of. He'd covertly watched over the final 3E to protect them, and had appeared just in time to prevent another tragedy, to put in the final brick of what had been the Ending the End Class project. He'd stuck around for a little while, then had disappeared again soon before they had graduated. Then a long gap in which he had turned up for shorter periods of time, intermittently but more frequently. He'd stayed for meals with some people, and when he'd drifted to Kyoto, Karma had persuaded (or harangued) him to stay at the Akabane family home for a few days. Then, somehow knowing when this small special tour was taking place to be able to join it. And though he seemed pensive and restless, fingers tapping against his side (or his knee, if he was sitting down), looking around everywhere, he was also clearly happy to be there, seeing everything as it was. It was a hopeful sign. And yet, it was clear, not just from the money he'd passed on but the general feel of him, that he was not ready to settle into the world. That possibly, he never would.

No matter the good I did, that still lies at my feet. Especially with what set it off. I was monitoring them. How did I not notice when she had seen him, when she'd decided to set off on that path? How?

"Karasuma-sensei?"

Karasuma blinked, and noticed Nagisa watching him. His blue eyes were still as they searched his face, but something sparked in them anyway, as if detecting the thoughts in his mind.

"Ah….sorry, Karasuma-sensei…"

"No." Karasuma shook his head, decisively. "Don't be."

"Hmmm? What are you two talking about?" Ayako asked, grinning devilishly at them.

"I'd imagine it's nothing for you to write about." Fuyumi answered her, smartly. Ayako turned and stuck her tongue out her. Honestly, she doesn't change.

"That isn't why I was asking!"

"Sure it is, sure it is." Tada laughed. "Anyway, what are we going to do now? There's not much left to see, right?"

"No, not much. How about we go and annoy Kaori-san and Fumiko-sempai after we're done here?"

"Ah, no, Kei-kun, Fuyumi-Chan and I still have some bits to go over, so we'll be heading back to the main building after this. Tada-kun, if you could come too-how much longer do you have charge of Kayo-Chan?" Ikuko remembered.

"The rest of the day. But, Hanae's taking a half-day and bringing some work home. I don't think she'll mind if I leave Kayo-Chan with her and then come back….maybe 3ish."

Ikuko considered.

"Mehh, that'll work. Yeah. No, actually, I'll take that back. We'll join you at Oceanfront for a while, then go back, then Tada, you join us as soon as you can."

"Yup, sure!"

"I'll still be able to tree-climb, right?!" Kayo asked.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Just don't rip that dress of yours, okay?"

"Tada-nii, I know that!" but Kayo was pleased enough, and bounded ahead as they left the room and finished looking around, and soon ended back outside, at the front. As soon as she could see the tree, Kayo went for it, and after a few false starts, was soon climbing up the tree with ease (apparently, this tree was more appealing than the many in the forest that Fuyumi had offered to show her, but nobody was going to be taking this personally). Tada hovered at first, but Fuyumi soon took over, waiting by the tree and occasionally calling things up to Kayo. Ayako, Ikuko and Nagisa joined them as well, and so Tada went to sit on the entrance steps. Karasuma went too, though he just stood next to them, and Kei followed.

"Cheerful, isn't she?" Kei commented. Tada shook his head and grinned.

"If only you knew." He said. "If only you knew."

"Still, she's a good kid, it seems."

"Yes, that's true, too."

"I wonder what my class will be like. Hopefully not that energetic."

"I somehow suspect that they'll be more so." When Kei made an aggrieved face at that, Tada laughed.

"But you'll be fine, I'm sure of it."

"Hmmm…yeah. Yeah." Kei nodded and looked out at scenery in front of them.

"Still, once the year starts, we'll see." Tada concluded, also watching the view (and of course, half-keeping an eye on Kayo). They fell into silence, and Karasuma followed suit.

For a moment, the greenery as it looked faded away, and Karasuma could see it as it had been 38 years ago. Thirty eight. It's really been that long, huh? His memory filled in the rest of the scene, as though it was one of those days in that year and he was waiting for them to come and start the day. The students of that very different 3E coming up the hill either solo or in their particular groupings, chasing each other or dragging their feet, discussing things or just laughing about nothing in particular. Some of them would probably go to the forest and do some more practise, while others would decide to go straight in. Irina bustling around and pretending to find it annoying that they were filling the space with noise, all while being clearly pleased at the attention various students paid her. And then of course, Koro-sensei. That inexplicable, ridiculous yellow former wanted assassin and walking science experiment. The main teacher of the class.

"I wonder what Koro-sensei would have made of all this?" Tada asked, as if somehow he was picturing something similar, a memory conjured from the photo albums he still treasured.

"This?" Karasuma queried.

"Sure, this. Ending the End Class. The New Dawn Academy. How we even got to this point anyway. What happened to Mum, and then also Nagisa-san and…." Tada leaned back and sighed a bit. "Okay, some of that, it doesn't take having known Koro-sensei to know how he'd feel about that. He wouldn't have been happy with Kayano-san at all, and I feel sure….I know he'd grieve for Mum too. And hopefully he would have given Dad a talking-to before he could have….well. Hiro would hope for that, anyway. Still. But the rest of it? You were there, Karasuma-sensei. Do you have an idea…?"

"Well….." Karasuma did not say that he had not tried to get to know Koro-sensei for the longest while at first. That for a while, he had been little more than the mission. But as time had gone by….as he'd become more and more attached to the students, started to see himself as a teacher….things had been very different.

So Karasuma didn't answer for a while, and watched his imaginings go by a little while longer, the memories of the mini impromptu attacks the students often waged on Koro-sensei coalescing into one image of some of them chucking rubber knives and shooting BB bullets at the octopus, who dodged them all, tossing knives back to the annoyed assassins (and tidying their uniforms in the process). He chuckled at the memory, still bemused by their antics, even this far away from them, and let the image fade away, leaving behind the present.

"Well…" he started again, and then hesitated as he looked at Tada and Kei, and then over to Ikuko, Nagisa, Ayako, Fuyumi and Kayo, over by the cherry tree. Another memory, this time of Hinano as she had been when the twins were born and she'd got in touch with him again, flashed up briefly before fading. Then, he looked back at Tada again.

"I would say so, yes."

Tada nodded, relieved.

"Yeah, I thought so. I just wanted to hear you say it."

Karasuma nodded.

"In any case, I think I might go and have a rest now. No, I can walk myself back." He said before Tada could ask. "You all go on and enjoy yourselves at Oceanfront."

"We'll walk back down the hill together, at the very least." Tada said, and before Karasuma could object (not that he would have anyway), he went to corral the others. Once Kayo was safely out of the tree (and mollified by promises of cake and possible other treats), they all started to head down the hill together, talking of nothing in particular. This time, most of it was a lot of things Karasuma had no clue about, so he just half-listened and walked fairly peacefully with them.

When they were nearly halfway down the hill, something had Karasuma glance back over his shoulder. The clubhouse-the former 3E building- could still just about be seen from that distance. An though he gave it only a short glance before turning back again, Karasuma could have sworn he'd seen Koro-sensei's spirit there, waving a tentacle at them as they left, letting them all know that he was more than happy with the way that things had turned out.

So...I tried to mention something of where most of the characters are, especially the members of the final 3E, but I of course could not fit everyone in. Speaking of which, that's one of the main flaws of this story in general- not everyone got their chance to shine as much as others. And though that sort of thing is an inevitability of a story with so many POVs, I am very, very sorry about it, especially if your character was affected. But know this-all the characters submitted to me were very precious to me, and I really enjoyed working with them. But anyway, some extra tidbits about the characters now, 8 years later:

-Reno works in an advertising company. By coincidence, so does Asami, and they get along pretty well there because of it. But they only see each other in a platonic way-indeed, Asami has recently started dating someone she knew from her high-school. As for Reno, he is still single, but not to bothered about it, and for rent reasons, he is room-mates with Reimiya. But he is less protective of her. Not that he isn't at all, but by now he can deal with her independence, and does not worry about her. She, in turn, is more relaxed, especially since befriending Tomoki and working at All Is Possible.

-Yamada and Azama keep up an inexplicably strong connection, even over long distances. Nobody can tell if they're an item or not, and they're not divulging it either. Or rather, it's more like they are, but between Azama's general crypticness and Yamada being...well, Yamada, the answers make little sense. Still, they also hold the clear view that they've got the rest of their life to decide, and they're pretty happy to remain as they were.

-Ruko has been dating Yuuki Tachibana for two years now-they work at the same manga company as well, though Yuuki is an editor rather than an actual mangaka, whereas Ruko is an up-and-coming mangaka. You can probably guess what genre of story she does. The 'Yuzuki to Yuuki' duo no longer publishes new things, having stopped when Yuuki started university, but sometimes there are little 'Yuzuki to Yuuki' omakes in Fuwa's things, and they do special anniversary things, and more recently, one of the finished series was green-lit for an anime movie, which everyone is excited about.

-Hirigi is close friends with Yukine and Natsume (as of now, they don't have children yet, but they are hoping to start a family soon). He actually ended up going to the same high school as one of Yukine's sisters, which is the main reason for this.

-Hiro designed the school uniforms for The New Dawn Academy, which has given her a distinctive edge in the world of fashion design. She also does some commissions for All Is Possible.

-Hajime Miyamoto did indeed decide to become a teacher, but he works the school Ikuko taught at during the story, despite being offered a role at The New Dawn Academy.

-Kei's closeness with Ranko is to the extent that he has actually been named as next-of-kin for her, and is trusted with her care when her parents eventually pass away. Of course, she has older siblings, and they will be there too as her family and take responsibility accordingly, but yeah, in the event of something really bad happening, Kei will be the one responsible for her. This is actually a big part of how he managed to properly integrate back into the real world (that, and Ikuko, not to mention his sisters). In any case, though he isn't interested in dating yet, when he does enter that scene, he will make clear that he and Ranko are a package deal. Oh, and she still calls him a 'prince', but these days it is more like a joke.

-Ikuko kept her surname, though really, if she had taken her husband's, she could still be 'DoubleI'...

-Fumiko has two children, both daughters. Shuuko is almost 8, Mai just turned 3.

-Aida also works in advertising, but in a different company to Asami and Reno. She is still very friendly with Ayako and Ruko, and to a lesser extent, Fuyumi. She still claims to not like Haru, but they have a friendship anyway, one which started up after high school. She is also tight with Kaori and Fumiko, as she worked part-time at Oceanfront while she was at university.

- Hanae (Tsukuda) and Haru have a friendly rivalry based on the fact that the former is a prosecutor whereas the latter is in defence, but outside the courtroom, they are very close and support each other.

And I am sure I have more titbits like this-I do, actually-but I can't really bring them to mind at the moment. I also have various headcanons, all at various levels of detail, of the characters' lives much later on, but I honestly can't think of them right now. My head is too full at the moment. But if you have your own, particularly where your characters are concerned, I would still love to hear them. And I may even post my own headcanons on Tumblr. No promises there, however. Speaking of the Tumblr tag, I'll still have it as a thing. However, the tag has gone weird and all sorts of irrelevant stuff keeps coming up in it, so if you are still going to use it, PLEASE tag my tumblr in the post as well, so that I can find it easier.

So...what else? Ah, yeah, the new school. Most info is in the epilogue, but basically, this one has middle school and high school years all in one, and you just continue straight through-they aren't in sections, so there is no escalator system or whatever. Hence references to 'first year' and 'fourth year' and what have you. As for the name of the school, I went through so many alternatives, but I went for 'New Dawn' because the dawn is the start of the day, and the existence of the school is by nature a new start, a new beginning.

Anyway...now the story is actually finished! Can you believe it? I can't, not fully. I genuinely hope you enjoyed this story and how it progressed, regardless of if you submitted an OC to me or not. I am so grateful for all the people who followed and favourited this each week, not to mention all my awesome reviewers! THANK YOU! I hope you will be able to take the time to leave one last bit of feedback-I would love to know your general thoughts on this story, what you liked and didn't like, anything!

If you're curious as to what I am doing next fic wise-I need to finish my ChibaHaya AU one-shot collection 'Longer Than A Year'. I have not updated that for AGES for so many reasons, and because of the way my life is now, updates for that will be erratic for sure, but I am hoping that the next update will be at some point next month. Either way, that is one thing I will work on for sure. It WILL finish, I promise.
Apart from that, for a long while I will only do one-shot of whatever fandom is taking my fancy-at the moment, that'll be Dangan Ronpa, thanks to the DR3 anime. I'm sure you noticed that I already did some one-shot for that fandom. But yes, there will be more, and they'll just be up whenever, because any separate one-shots will be written as a stress reliever/ coping method, and when I can't get to my desktop to work on 'Longer Than A Year'.

So, for now, bye-bye! And once again, thank you SO MUCH for reading!