After that, things got crazy.

The deadline approached with unfettered swiftness. Eventually Yuuji stopped checking the calendar, letting the days pass away and just resigning himself to whatever fate the universe would bring. The crisp air of March settled across the city.

And then one afternoon, a spear of light shot down from the sky.

Nagisa and all of his Class E friends were taken away. It was almost scary how closely events matched their hypothetical conversation in the park, how quickly the safeguards they had talked about were being put to the test. But Yuuji remembered his promise, lying low and playing his part: simply trusting that everything would be okay. It was in Nagisa's hands now. Yuuji didn't hear from the boy for about a week, but that was okay. Yuuji knew the reason behind it now.

In an instant, the existence of the moon-destroying superbeing was revealed to the world. It only took one press conference. Yuuji had to sit and watch as the news unfolded all over TV, across the internet, between people muttering to each other on the streets. The hardest part of all was being with his parents and having to react as if this was the first time Yuuji had ever heard of it.

People held their breath, prayed, and cried, but the fated date approached anyway. For the entire duration of March 13th, all eyes were fixed on the backwoods mountain.

And the deed was done. The public was not told exactly how, but everyone saw the final flash. Everyone had spotted the shimmer that marked the cage made of light. Everyone read the news reports of the super-satellite-weapon that had been hanging overhead all along. The world governments had cooperated, just as they said they had. And they were victorious, just as they said they would be.

For a moment, Yuuji was worried that the E Class hadn't gotten a chance to complete their secret, all-important mission. But one text from Nagisa a few days later, seeing his face included among those in a photo of his school's graduating class, Yuuji could tell it had gone well. He had always been good at judging faces.

And Nagisa's genuine smile was all Yuuji needed to see.

The world began to turn back to normality. Conversations descended into international controversy after that, countries now arguing over the satellite superweapon. The fact that the beam wasn't harmful to human life didn't seem to make people any calmer about having a large laser looming over their heads. What were the moral implications of owning such a device? Who would control it? Which nation did it belong to? they asked. Concern that the device might be used as a weapon in future wars led to widespread outrage that momentarily united the globe in calling for the satellite's disposal. Amazingly, the world's leading nations began to relent. But should the satellite be dismantled and shipped back from space or left in orbit as trash? Squabbling and struggling, the world began the process of picking itself back up again, just as it always had.

Meanwhile, Kunugigaoka academy was placed under huge scrutiny. Yuuji read something about the A-D system being abolished, and the principal resigning for having housed the moon-destroying creature for almost a year, although the principal sure didn't seem apologetic in his televised announcement. Despite himself, Yuuji felt a prick of sadness upon realizing that this meant it really was the end. There would never be another E Class.

But that was alright. The school would survive. It had already fulfilled its most important mission, after all.

The vacation after the end of middle school was the best time of Yuuji's life so far. With no classes and no rules, he and Nagisa had each other entirely to themselves on some days. They went everywhere, on dates or checking out a food place Yuuji had been called to, and nowhere, just sitting around or spending hours on a mix of movies and video games. Yuuji got to know Nagisa's lips so well he felt as if he could almost memorize their shape.

Yuuji did his best to make sure Nagisa was okay. But even so, he respected Nagisa and Class E enough to not ask much about Korosensei. From the way the former students were quiet about it, and the way they all kept their anti-sensei knives hidden in their bags, Yuuji figured the octopus-teacher still hadn't really left them. But he didn't ask, for fear that talking about the event would just the pain worse. That story was their burden to bear. Not his.

Nagisa ended up attending the high school of Keio-Affiliated. Being on a university-associated program was tough, but he assured Yuuji that it was the school he had chosen. Meanwhile, Yuuji just went to the high school that his parents had always expected to pay for. A whole year went by. Another approached.

But it was fast, all so fast. While at one point a week couldn't go by without memories filling and piling up in Yuuji's head, months now began to pass in what felt like a blink. Now that Yuuji thought about it, maybe their relationship had always been just as quick. Six months—how much time was that really, to get to know one another? To undergo the tests of life, to stick together?

Maybe that was why.

They found themselves growing distant. It wasn't anything intentional on either side. In fact, Yuuji almost didn't realize it until later. He found himself caught up in his own life, Nagisa probably in his, both of them squeezed between the new demands of maturity and their new environments. Their schools were farther apart. It was more difficult now to meet by train. Time was becoming a more and more limited resource.

They still had their phones, of course, and the internet, but conversations didn't feel quite the same without the other person standing next to you. It became too easy to lose contact. Too easy to mistake someone's tone for distracted, disinterested. Too easy to intend to send a message and then forget until a week later. They were growing up. Their minds were shifting. They kept being asked what kind of adults they planned on becoming. And middle school felt a world away.

Things just felt altered now. After what happened with the creatu- with Korosensei, everybody needed to recover. And sometimes, people recovered in different ways.

He should have known something was up when Nagisa showed signs of not wanting to attend Keio High's end-of-year class event. He should have known something was off when the boy sighed during one of their last meetings, tilting a chopstick in his hand and drilling the tip slightly into the top of the wooden table. Like a knife. Like he was missing something.

When their high school graduation approached, and it came time to choose careers, Nagisa's messages fell quiet. Somehow, Yuuji never managed to hear what he had decided on.

The interim between high school and the rest of their lives came and went.

Right before Yuuji left for college, Nagisa's communication lines went dark. It was alright; things like this had happened before, and the two of them hadn't talked much for a while anyway, so it took a bit for the realization to sink in. Yuuji just had the faint sense that Nagisa was going somewhere, had a certain kind of path in mind. But as long as Nagisa was happy, doing something that he loved, using skills that he was proud of using, that was what was important.

Or so Yuuji thought. But he never spoke up about it. And never knew why he didn't. Maybe it was something like having faith Nagisa would return soon. Maybe it was something like not wanting to hold the other boy back. Maybe it was something like having his own life to live in the meantime. Maybe it was something else. Either way, in retrospect, that moment might have been what Yuuji regretted most.

And so Nagisa Shiota slowly faded out of Yuuji's life.

[READ THE SEQUEL AT "THE BLUE LADY", LINK ON MY PAGE]

Afterword: And there you have it. The official end to this fic. (Honestly, I consider chp 16 to be the "end" for this fic, but this is the add-on that both explains and leads into the sequel) Remember, you all asked for this… :)

A soundtrack for this fic as a reward to you guys for sticking with this story so long: 8tracks(dotcom)/blackritual/yuujixnagisa

(track listing for those who might like the songs separately:)
Shut Up and Dance – Walk the Moon
Hymn for the Weekend - Coldplay
Haven't Had Enough - Marianas Trench
Collar Full - P!atd
Crush - David Archuleta
Whattaya Want From Me - Adam Lambert
Clarity - Sam Tsui (cover)
It's All Your Fault - Pink
One Day - Trading Yesterday
Let Love In - Goo Goo Dolls
Is There Somewhere - Halsey

(It would really make me happy if you'd give it a listen, especially the last song!)