AN: Hi. I did a rewrite. This chapter is mostly rehash, but next chapter is different.

Divergence Time

Nagisa's hair is blowing onto his face, and he shivers from the chill of the wind, rubbing at his arms for warmth.

He hates this. The situation, how helpless he is, how they can only watch from the sidelines while their sensei is fighting a cold-blooded monster...the one who murdered one of his friends.

He tries to not stare at Kayano's bloody hole of a chest, pulling her closer and away from the most recent explosion. Nagisa winces when his sprained leg makes rough contact with the ground, but he has to get Kayano to safety, even if she has already passed on.

It's the least he can do for the girl who always brightened up their classroom, who's been through so many hardships and tragedies.

Nagisa can only hope that Kayano would be reunited with Yukimura-sensei somewhere. At least then, they'd have a sort of a happy ending.

She looks strangely peaceful, and Nagisa has to swallow back the shock and sadness at her death once more. This is not the time for panicking or breaking down.

No. It absolutely isn't.

The grass around him is half-bald and scorched from all the explosions and fighting, most of the familiar sights of the forest gone and burnt. It is all barely recognizable compared to what it was during their classes in the woods.

Koro-sensei doesn't seem to have the upper hand currently, struggling to avoid and block the blows of his former student. A sudden surge of air and dust has Nagisa coughing and retreating further, inching back slowly all while carrying Kayano and watching to see if his classmates are safe.

Most of them are standing a good distance away, faces dazed, devastated, and mirroring Nagisa's current emotions.

It's obvious that Koro-sensei isn't doing too well, isn't it...

Some of the girls are already looking teary-eyed, worried and upset for their teacher, who has yet again failed to land a hit on the monster of a person who has gone to such lengths just to surpass him.

It's likely that things won't end well. That much is clear. Koro-sensei, despite exerting his full energy, is gradually slowing down, a dodge too slow or a hit too weak. His former apprentice, in the contrary, shows no signs of weakness, only seeming to grow faster and faster.

More than a couple of gasps are uttered when Koro-sensei is thrown back roughly onto the ground, landing with a sickening thud. He only lies there for a few seconds, unmoving, as the students are all watching fearfully.

No one moves, except for four.

In a sudden fit of determination, Nagisa hands Kayano over to a startled Kanzaki before rushing over, flinching whenever a spasm of pain courses through his injured leg as he runs forth. His eyes are only set on his teacher as everyone else blurs out of his sight.

He cannot just stand there and watch. Koro-sensei changed him. He changed every single person's life, leaving his unforgettable mark on each of them. He'd helped Nagisa grow from a bullied and meek boy into a much more confident young man, and Nagisa would never forget that.

So...this time, it's his turn to help his teacher, who's better than what Nagisa could ever have asked for.

Blue clashes with red, and Karma falls back slightly before pulling himself back together and continuing to run towards his teacher, sparing Nagisa a quick glance.

The blue-haired boy is still sprinting at full speed, eyes full of determination which reminds Karma of their battle during Class E's civil war.

Karma can't even believe himself, and he feels like laughing in amusement at the current situation.

Of all the people who might do this, Karma never thought that it would be him instead of the kinder, more caring ones.

And of all the things he ever thought of doing, throwing his life away for the perverted octopus sensei hadn't been on that list.

But Karma won't regret his choice. It feels right, to do something for the teacher who...helped him trust again.

The most important thing is, he cares. Not fake, not forced...he really cares.

(Hardly anyone ever cared in Karma's life. Not his parents, not his teachers. No one. Until he came along.)

And in the end, that makes all the difference.

There is currently a voice saying "Stupid girl. You'll die for this." inside of Okuda Manami's head.

It is very worrying and does not help her confidence, and she quickly squashes her qualms as she runs on, braids blowing wildly in the wind and in her haste.

She doesn't want to die. That is a fact. But why is she running forth when barely anyone else is?

Okuda doesn't know, but at least, there is one thing she is sure of. Koro-sensei helped to rid her of her shell.

Throughout the year, there wasn't one time when he didn't give her encouraging words or include her when she was too afraid to speak. He taught her to be brave, to do what she thinks is right. With confidence.

And...isn't what she doing currently right? She certainly thinks so, though she still needs effort on the confidence part.

Okuda Manami will put Koro-sensei's lessons to use, and she'll try to be brave, even if this is the last time.

Sugino never thought that he'd one day be running towards death instead of home base.

It doesn't sound like something he would do, yet it is exactly what he is doing right now. That much is already enough to make him wonder if he's insane, running into what most likely is his end.

But he could never leave Koro-sensei behind. It's just not possible for him.

Seeing a few others run forth is comforting for Sugino also. He's admittedly prone to jumping the bandwagon, and knowing that others care too assures him even further and detracts him from all of his doubts.

He remembers how Koro-sensei teached him to explore his own style, which suits him better instead of simple imitation. That, and everything else this year...the memories strike a chord in Sugino, and he continues to run forth, fighting back the urge to panic and cry.

I'm sorry, mom and dad.

He continues on, because this is the most important run of his life.

The four of them immediately form a semicircle around the recovering Koro-sensei, prepared to fight or even just shield. As long as they'd be able to buy their teacher some time.

Having lost many tentacles, Koro-sensei is still visibly weak as he struggles to stand, panting heavily.

"You four...why..."

"It's 'cause I'm tired of always having you help and protect me. Let us students do something for once, octopus." Karma smiles, but it is not his typical sly or mischievous smirk, being genuine and a little wistful instead.

"Y-Yeah! We're here, so sensei, you just have to regenerate." Okuda gives their teacher a small smile before standing her ground, side by side with her fellow three classmates. She gives the monster in front of them a hesitant and doubtful gaze, but does not move from her position.

"I won't run away anymore," she adds as an afterthought.

A sudden and loud laughter interrupts them all, however, and one look reveals that it's Yanagisawa. Clutching his stomach in exaggeration, he sneers widely as he laughs on and on contemptuously.

"How touching! Your students are throwing away their lives for you! Not that it changes anything...Come on, second God of death!" Several hateful looks are thrown towards the man's way, but he pays them no attention, smiling widely instead.

The not-person raises a tentacle, uprooting trees and mounds of earth meanwhile, and teacher and students remain in their spots, watching the upcoming attack with fear and caution.

Nagisa's heart is thundering in his chest, threatening to jump out, and before he can move, he is blown back by the sudden impact of the tentacle on the ground, struggling uselessly in the air before-

everything

goes bla c k.