Nanami stopped in his tracks, blocking Itadori's path. With no other choice, the boy poked his head out from behind him to see what was wrong.
Did Nanami-sensei suddenly seem a little down?
"Over ten years ago, Kamo told the school that something was wrong with a mission's difficulty rating, but no one believed him. They said he didn't have enough evidence.
"At the time, a mission had left him in a state of suspended animation. When he woke up, he was still in a wheelchair, and the first thing he did was go around spreading what sounded like insane ramblings."
"People assumed his mind was still confused..."
Kento Nanami's voice was so subdued that he sounded almost pitiful. An indescribable sadness filled the eyes hidden behind his sunglasses.
But his back was turned, so Itadori couldn't see any of it.
"My friend from the same year and I were the ones sent on that mission..."
"Kamo was right..."
"He kept calling me while we were on our way. He knew that no matter how absurd those ramblings sounded, I would believe him."
He sighed as the painful memories resurfaced. Their opponent had been far too powerful for them to defeat.
Kento Nanami had indeed heeded Kamo Xu's seemingly pointless warning, but they couldn't explain themselves to the school if they withdrew without even attempting the mission.
They could only steel themselves and press on...
And that was how the tragedy happened.
It was a Land God. A grade-one incident.
Still inexperienced, Nanami and Haibara were sent flying by a sudden attack...
I survived, but Haibara...
Fuck!
Nanami involuntarily clenched his fist so hard that his knuckles cracked. He could even clearly hear the muscles grinding against one another in his palm.
But it wasn't anger. It was regret...
Much