Follows a fanmade, alternate ending, takes place after Kayano gets hit in Chapter 173

Dedicated to KGamer226 and Yin-Chan

Nagisa

It was happening.

My worst nightmare was happening, right in front of me.

While I'd been rooted to the spot in pure, white shock, looking at Kayano's still form on the bloodstained ground, Class 3-E had been driven into a frenzy.

Our calm leader, Isogai, had been the first to snap, charging recklessly at the hideous monster, and he'd been mercilessly thrown aside, crumbling to the ground instantly as crimson liquid spilt across the dirtied tarmac.

"You..." I still remembered Maehara's shaking voice. "You shit," he'd uttered, following his best friend's lead and being destroyed in a split-second.

I could only watch in terror as member after member was cut down by who used to be the "God of Death". Even those who didn't do anything--- those who stayed quiet like me--- weren't spared. Okuda had been attacked from behind, and I had heard a violent gasp from Suguya as a tentacle smashed into his neck.

I looked around at the few remaining members--- Itona, Karma, Teresaka, and Hayami.

That was the breaking point of my patience. At that moment, I was blinded by a five-course serving of rage that tasted bitter, yet surprisingly satisfying.

 I reached out, trying not to look at the bodies littering the ground, and slashed desperately at the monster.

The God of Death peered down at me, bright eyes glinting. I didn't know how I had managed to dodge the lightning-fast tentacles--- maybe it was just pure luck--- but I narrowly evaded the first two extensions that swung at me.

Unfortunately, I had been driven into a corner.

The God of Death advanced, tentacles shooting out in a cage around me, and Shiro raised a rifle and aimed it directly at my head.

"So you're the one who could perform the clap-stun technique," he mused. "Interesting. However, you're just as easy to defeat as the others."

The fear sat quietly, eroding the person I was born to be. What started as a contortion of my stomach became a feeling of being smothered by an invisible hand. There were shouts in the background, probably from my classmates, but I couldn't make them out. 

I silently wondered if this is what the others had felt like when they had been looking the Reaper straight in the face.

Shiro wasted no space for mistake--- even if the tentacles failed to kill me, the bullet certainly would.

I closed my eyes, hearing the shot and the tentacles and knew that my time was over.

The shot sounded, but I didn't feel any pain. A dull thud could be heard, but I was still standing. I was confused, but above that, I had a sinking feeling curdling in my stomach--- as if something was very wrong.

My eyes flew open, and I saw a familiar figure in front of me, curled up and lying weakly on the ground and ignoring the steady, thick flow of blood that streamed from his head, as if his bright crimson hair had bled. 

His half-lidded expression was pained and drowsy, but they still held the same playful defiance I had come to know and love, shining from the depths of his amber eyes.

"Sorry, Nagisa," he mumbled, struggling to stretch his features into a smile.

"...Karma..."

• • •

don't kill me guys //runs