A/N: This is my first fanfic on this site so I'm not 100% sure what to do with uploading and everything, so it will probably have lots of errors. It's just something random I started daydreaming about one day and I thought, hey, why not? So here it is. Sorry if the characters are OOC. Updating will probably be slow. And, just to clarify, they are countries, I just prefer to use their human names. I apologize if this brings any confusion. Sorry if the first paragraph makes absolutely no sense, it's just some of my 'wise words', which confuse even me. Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia

Not all people are normal. Technically, there is no normal. Individuals believe that they are 'normal', and other people aren't, when technically that makes them different from other people. Then they aren't normal because they are different from others. The definition of 'normal' is ordinary, like others, no different from other people. But no-one's the same. Everyone's different. So when people call another person 'not normal' because they are acting or behaving in a way different to them, they are actually normal in their own special way. It's either everyone's 'normal' in their own special ways, or no-one's normal, and they're all 'not normal' – different. So when someone calls you 'not normal', you're actually normal to yourself and it's everyone else that's 'not normal', in your view.

This was the thought going through a man's head while he was listening to a lecture on his behaviour and attitude from his friend. It was around 3:00 PM. His friend had called him 'not normal', and that had triggered his entire deep thought. If only his friend knew how 'not normal' he was. He had these moments sometimes. He's actually very smart, he just prefers to act stupid in front of everyone because he doesn't want people to judge him.

"Hey, are you even listening to me?" His friend waved his hand in front of the man's face. He'd really been spacing out then.

"Hmm, what?" The man mumbled, drawn out of his thoughts.

"Seriously, Matthias? My god, you're so annoying! Listen to me for once!"

This hurt the man, as he always did listen to what his friend said. It's just that sometimes he gets stuck in his thoughts and spaces out from reality. He was used to his friend insulting him, and he usually shook it off. But he was in a bad mood. Probably because it was getting close to that time.

"Lukas, I do listen, so stop lying! I'm not an idiot, nor am I annoying! If anything, you're annoying 'cause of your boring lectures!" Matthias snapped, standing up from the couch he was sat on. His friend, Lukas, who was sat in an armchair opposite, looked quite taken aback from Matthias' sudden outburst. Usually, he just grinned like an idiot and changed the subject, but this was a first. He was physically shaking from sudden anger, his hands clenched into fists. He walked over to Lukas in a threatening way. It reminded him of when Matthias got crazy drunk and had random mood swings.

But he hadn't been drinking. So what had caused him to snap?

Matthias grabbed the collar of Lukas' shirt and pulled him up, out of the chair. Lukas looked into his eyes, and was shocked to see anger and even a bit of hate in his blue eyes. But that wasn't all. They looked almost inhuman, like a wild animal's. They were flecked with yellow, which Lukas had never noticed before. Had the yellow always been there?

"Listen up, Bondevik." He spat viciously. "I'm sick of your lectures, and I'm sick of you. You're so emotionless, you're more like a rock than a person. I hate that about you. You never say how you feel, and all you do to me is strangle me and lecture me. So you apologize to me right now. And not just for the strangling, not just for the lectures. No. Apologize to me about your very existence." He finished with a slight snarl.

Lukas was shocked. Matthias had never said anything like that to him, not even when he was drunk. A thought entered his mind.

What happened to you?

"Matthias."

"Go on."

"What's wrong?" Matthias froze for a moment, before narrowing his eyes at Lukas. But Lukas didn't back down. With a sudden burst of courage, he continued. "You know you can tell me anything. Something's obviously bothering you; you'd never act like this without a good reason to. So what's-"

But he was cut off as Matthias released one hand from Lukas' collar and smacked him in the face, immediately making his cheek start to redden. Lukas winced. "Shut up! You don't know anything!" Matthias shouted, before dropping Lukas and storming out the front door, shoving past two other people, who were just about to walk into the house.

Lukas put a hand to his cheek, wincing again at the sting from it. I'll need some cold water for that. He thought. But now he definitely knew something was up with Matthias. He'd never been violent with any of his friends, much less Lukas. He usually had a soft spot for Lukas.

So it was a big surprise when Matthias actually slapped him.

Tino walked to the house (or more, mansion) with Berwald, after they'd gone out to do some shopping. When they got to the front door, they heard shouting. This was no different than usual, as there were always arguments and fights in the Nordic House. But the only people in there were Matthias, Lukas and Emil, and Emil usually didn't get involved in arguments.

Berwald put down his bags of shopping to fish the door key out of his pocket. He unlocked it, and almost immediately it was swung wide open by a furious Dane. He shoved past them forcefully, almost sending Tino flying.

Confused, Tino walked in, Berwald following after picking up his shopping. They headed to the kitchen to put the shopping away before finding out what had gone off.

Meanwhile, Emil had been upstairs reading a book, when he'd suddenly heard shouting. He went out his room and stood on the top stair, listening to Matthias yelling at Lukas. He said things he'd never said before, and Lukas had replied quietly. Emil couldn't hear what his brother (he'd never say 'brother' out loud, of course) had said, so he'd silently walked down to the bottom step to listen in better. Then he heard one last shout from Matthias and a loud smack, before the Dane stalked out and went out the front door. Berwald and Tino had been at the front door, back from their shopping trip, but Emil ignored them, walking cautiously into the living room, where Lukas was.

He was standing there, looking shocked and touching his cheek, which Emil noticed had a red mark on it. He rushed over, but didn't need to ask what happened. He'd heard most of it, and guessed that Matthias had lost his temper and hit Lukas.

"Lukas? Are you okay?" Emil asked gingerly. He could see something that resembled fear in his brother's eyes, and that scared Emil. They were usually so emotionless, so seeing them filled with fear worried him. "Big brother?"

Lukas didn't hear Emil come in, lost in his own thoughts. But when Emil spoke, Lukas focused and came back to reality. Then he heard Emil speak and call him 'big brother'. Despite all that happened, a faint smile appeared on his face (which was rare).

"You called me big brother." Lukas stated, before returning to the original question. "And no, I guess I'm not okay. There's something wrong with him, Emil." He glanced over at a random window. "And I want to find out what."

"What's going on?" A gruff voice broke Lukas' dramatic moment. It was Berwald. Tino followed him, and noticed Lukas' still red cheek.

"Lukas! Your cheek! You're hurt!" Tino tried to touch his cheek, but Lukas pushed him away.

"It doesn't matter. I have to go find Matthias."

But Berwald appeared right in front of Lukas, moving Tino and Emil aside. "You shouldn't go near him, Lukas. Not at the moment. If he hit you, then he's dangerous."

"But I need to know what's wrong with him! Please, I have to go!" Lukas, who was normally emotionless, was letting his emotions spill out of him, which was odd. He was really worried, and didn't have time to be emotionless or blunt.

Emil shook his head. "No, Lukas. Stay here. He'll be back. Don't worry so much - he's probably just in a mood or something." Giving up, Lukas let out a defeated sigh and let them fuss over his cheek, which didn't hurt anymore. But his thoughts kept trailing back to Matthias, and trying to work out why he was like that.

Matthias regretted everything he'd done as soon as he got out the house. He was running through a forest at the moment. He didn't care where he was going, he just needed to get as far away from Lukas and the others as possible. Emil had probably heard the entire thing, and he remembered seeing Berwald and Tino at the door as he left. They'd be pampering over Lukas, and they'd hate him. But it wasn't Matthias' fault. At least, not completely, anyway. It was getting close to the certain time of the month, and he needed to get as far away from people as possible.

The Nordic House was positioned quite a way from other houses. Forests and hills surrounded the house, and it was quite peaceful, to be honest. Except for Matthias. He was constantly getting into arguments with the others, and every month he had to take a break from his ordinary life.

And it was very close to that time now. That was why he'd suddenly snapped at Lukas. He didn't mean to, he didn't want to, he just did. And now Lukas probably hated him for it. He had only been trying to help, and that was quite rare from someone like him. Usually, he didn't care about Matthias, but he knew something was wrong and just wanted to try and help him. But of course, Matthias being the person he was, only pushed him away, thinking he could handle it himself. After all, he had for the last three hundred years or so. Ever since Lukas' little 'accident'.

It was about 5:00 PM now, and the sun was setting soon. Then the moon would rise, and he would…change. Matthias hated what he would become, and could never really control it. Because he hadn't been infected by a normal monster – he'd been infected by a magical monster. The effects were worse, and a lot more painful.

Matthias slowed down to a walk but continued to wander round, completely lost in the forest. But being lost was a good thing. If he was lost, then maybe the thing would be lost as well. Then it wouldn't be able to find the Nordic House, break in, and hurt his loved ones. He hoped this was the case, at least.

Exhausted, Matthias slumped to the floor and leant against a nearby tree. It must be about 6:00 PM now, Matthias thought. It was around winter, so the sun set earlier. That was the worst time of the year. The nights were longer, which meant the change lasted longer. Well, a bit of sleep won't hurt, right? He thought, and closed his eyes, knowing he'd soon wake up and probably start screaming.

Lukas stayed up late with the other Nordics, waiting for Matthias' return so they could lecture him about hitting people. Then Lukas could ask him what's bothering him. Lukas could have sworn he heard a few faint screams, but they were two far away to be certain. But it was now nearly midnight, and still no Matthias. Tino had given up, complaining he was tired, and gone to bed. Berwald had gone half an hour after Tino, which left only Lukas and Emil (and Mr Puffin, of course, but he was fast asleep on Emil's shoulder).

When the time got to 1:00 AM, Emil fell asleep, resting his head on Lukas' shoulder. He didn't mind, and actually enjoyed the company of his brother (asleep or not). The time slowly came to 2:00 AM, and Lukas was having trouble staying awake. But eventually, he nodded off, sat on the couch still with Emil and Mr Puffin. But, just as he drifted off, he heard a loud howl.

Then sleep took him.

~Time Skip~

When Lukas woke up, Emil was still asleep on his shoulder (how he'd stayed there and not fallen off, he didn't know). He heard the sound of a kettle boiling, and guessed that Tino was making coffee. He looked behind him, feeling like something was there, and nearly had a heart attack when he saw Berwald peering at him through his glasses. Instead, Lukas jumped slightly, but it was enough to wake Emil.

Shaking his head, Lukas asked, "Has Matthias come back?" He hoped this was true. He didn't want anything bad to happen to Matthias.

Unfortunately, Berwald shook his head. "No. When I woke up, I searched the house and the grounds around it. He wasn't there. My guess is that he spent the night outside."

Lukas looked at the floor. Did he blame himself for hitting me? Did he want to punish himself for what he did? Then Tino walked in, carrying a tray with four mugs of coffee on it. He set it down on the small coffee table in the room, and silence fell upon the group.

But they were startled when they heard a door burst open and a thud. There could only be one person coming to the house at this time. Hope blossomed in Lukas' chest, though he didn't show it, as he got up and rushed to the front door, where the sound had come from. But what he saw was different to what he expected.

Matthias lay, unconscious, on the floor, breath ragged and strained. He was covered in scratches, cuts and bruises, and lots of blood. Blood flooded his mouth as it lay open, struggling to breathe through the blood.

Lukas shouted the others, and they came immediately. He knelt down beside his injured friend and felt his pulse. It was faint and irregular, as if his heart was struggling to work.

But suddenly…

…it stopped.