Work Text:
“Karma?”
The voice is so soft, so uncharacteristically hesitant, that it takes Karma a heartbeat to recognize it.
He turns to face her. “Nakamura?”
“Can we talk for a second?” She nods at a part of the clearing away from the rest of the class.
“Sure.”
She begins walking, and Karma follows after her. Outwardly, she doesn’t look particularly bothered, and he wonders if he just imagined the hesitation in her voice that he heard a second ago. Maybe Nagisa’s choke hold messed up his brain more than he thought.
Then Nakamura stops, but she remains facing away from him.
“Okay,” Karma says, “what’s this about, Nakamura?”
She finally turns around. “Look, I—” There’s a waver in her words as she takes a moment to inhale. “I know you chose to surrender, but it’s still my fault that I let myself get caught by Nagisa’s attack.”
Karma blinks at her. “Hold on, this is what this is about?”
She gives him a tight nod. “I’m not against the decision to save Korosensei anymore. But at the same time, I know that this was important to all of us. I was trusted with the mission, and I let us down.”
“I’m the one who didn’t plan for Nagisa. It’s not your fault.”
“But even then, I should’ve expected it.” She let out a wry laugh. “He was missing the entire time. Of course he’d strike the moment our biggest group began moving out. I was so careless.”
“I overlooked it too, Nakamura.”
“But still... I’m sor—”
“Don’t.”
Nakamura jolts a bit and blinks at him, and Karma realizes that the word came out a lot sharper than he expected it to.
“Look...” he says, before letting out a sigh because he isn’t used to being in this type of situation, the feeling of offering reassuring words still a bit too foreign to his comfort.
Normally, he wouldn’t even bother trying to do this. This was something that Nagisa or Korosensei were good at doing. Not him.
But he remembers the fierce glint in her eyes as she stepped forward to oppose Nagisa, the steel in her voice as she spoke up, the resolve in her movements as she prepared for battle—and maybe, if there are any rare moments in his life where he steps out of his comfort zone for somebody else... then this is one of them.
“You know that I don’t blame you at all, right?” he finally says, slowly.
“I...” She lets out a resigned sigh. “Yes, I know that.”
“And the responsibility was mine as much as it was yours.”
“I know that too.”
“So don’t apologize to me. You don’t owe me anything.”
She pauses, as if considering his words. Then she releases a deep breath, slightly slumping her shoulders and glancing away from him.
“Maybe I’m not apologizing for you,” she murmurs. “Maybe it’s for myself.”
A beat of silence.
Then Karma laughs. “You usually don't seem bothered by anything, but you actually put a lot of pressure on yourself, huh.”
At that, Nakamura looks right back up at him. “I could say the same for you, too,” she mutters. “Never knew you could actually be a decent leader when you took it seriously, Mr. Red Team Commander.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself there with the name-calling, Ms. Vice-Commander.”
She rolls her eyes. “Shut up.”
“Just telling the truth.” He shrugs, though he isn’t able to suppress the half-smirk forming on his face. “And if you try to apologize to me again, I’m demoting you. You’ll be on Terasaka’s level in the Red Team hierarchy.”
“You—” She huffs. “Fine. Do whatever you want.” She glances back at the centre of the field where the rest of their classmates are gathered. “We should be heading back soon. People might start wondering if the Red Team is plotting its revenge.”
“Let them worry. It’s more fun that way.”
“Agreed.” She smiles. “And... thanks.”
Despite everything, it takes Karma a moment to gather his thoughts through the surprise of being thanked. It’s not a sensation he’s too used to.
“I don’t know if you’re supposed to respond to demotion threats with gratitude,” he says with a shrug that he hopes looks nonchalant, “but you’re welcome anyways.”
“I’m not scared of demotion. If you can use Terasaka, then I can too.” She smirks. “Before you know it, I’ll be using his squad to lead a revolution, and you can say goodbye to your rank of commander.”
Then she turns around to head back to the class.
Karma lets out a snort, following. But as he walks behind her, he notices how her head is held a bit higher and her steps are a bit lighter.