Everything felt as if it were in fire. His whole body seemed to set ablaze when Nagisa had woken up, after he restlessly struggled to sleep last night. All he felt was pain, but his throat was oh so dry that night so only silent attempts to scream were heard.

Groaning with fatigue, he raises his head, only to come in contact with the sun rays that seeped through the tiny slit in the curtains. He squinted and finally arose to a fetal position, his mind running wild at what had happened yesterday. He felt it over and over again, a strange snake leaping from the unknown and striking his arm.

"Gah." He flinched when his mind projected an image of the snake leaping at him, mouth agape and showing off its sharp fangs that dug into his skin. Nagisa had never seen a snake randomly attack, he was just walking to back from school. With a deep sigh, he collected himself and got changed into his casual uniform. He strolled up to the narrow mirror that sat in the corner of his room to do his tie. He strung it around his neck and began to loop the fabric in a specific order.

As he looked up to see what the tie looked like, his neutral expression began to gloom, his lips forming a small frown. What he saw in the mirror was himself, of course, but his skin was...oddly pale. His right pupil seemed to have thinned out, forming a slit.

He took his hands off his tie, placing his fingers on his cheek. "That's quite...odd.." He whispered. "Maybe the shock last night made me look paler than before?" That could be the case, but what about his eye? Surely that wasn't from the shock. A possible genetic mutation, perhaps? Alternate guesses ran through his mind, making his gut twist.

"I shouldn't worry about this now, it's too early." He forced himself to seed that thought in his head so his anxiety wouldn't deepen further. Nagisa turned away from the reflection and walked towards his closed door, grabbing his book bag along the way. Hoisting it over his shoulder, he twisted the knob and pulled it towards him. The first thing he saw was his mother. She took notice of him aswell.

"Good morning, Nagisa. Sleep well?" She asked warmly, with the boy replying with a grunt.

"Mmhm...I guess.." He stumbled into the kitchen to drop bread in the toaster.

"You guess? Had a bad dream?" The small teen could hear the worry in her voice.

Thats a first.

"Yeah. I barely remember it." A lie was created through his lips. His mother didn't react. She just knitted her brows at her kid.

"Why are you wearing that?" She stands up, and the boy turned. He blinked with confusion.

"It's my school uniform...?" But she grabbed his shoulders tightly, her dark expression already lingering.

"My daughter should not be wearing a tie! Take it off." She reached to grab it, but Nagisa stepped back quick enough for her to swipe nothing.

"Mom, please. Don't—"

"How DARE you defy me?! I buy the food you eat everyday, buy you fresh clothing to wear, and care for you, and all you've done for me was talk back! You are the child, and you must obey your parents!" She snarls, the dark expression masking her fully. Nagisa flinches when she unravels the tie and throws it.

"Now off to school with you." She shoved his lunch into his chest and with that, he walked out of the house. Nagisa sighed and began his walk towards the mountain classroom.

He arrived 10 minutes early and sat down, sliding his book bag beside his desk. Constant dysphoria was stabbing him in the back when he took a look at his reflection. His face was more oval than a circle; his jawline not as sharp. Nagisa turned away from the window to see a certain, yellow octopus beside him.

"Something the matter, Nagisa-kun?" He asked, placing a tentacle on his head gently. The boy tried to avoid his teacher's gaze, but he always felt Koro-Sensei's eyes stare right through him.

"I-It's nothing, sensei..." He deadpanned, placing a hand under his chin to prop it up.

"Nagisa, if there is something bothering you, you must tell someone. Especially me." Koro-Sensei said softly. Nothing came from the small boy, but a squeak of surprise when a gust of wind blew past him as Koro-Sensei suddenly moved at Mach 20, stepping back. Nagisa saw a tall red-head wielding a anti-sensei knife, smiling devilishly.

"Too slow, Karma-kun." Koro-Sensei mused, his face turning a mocking green striped expression, narrowing his white eyes. Karma lowered his knife and tucked it away in his pockets.

"Ah, well, it was worth a shot. Your back was turned, though I couldn't resist." He spoke, his golden eyes wide, with a sinister smile planted on his face. The blunet saw his old friend stare at his chest, making the boy shift in his chair uncomfortably.

"Where's your tie, Nagisa-kun?" Karma asked in a low voice, almost serious even. The teen flinched. Most of the class—scratch that, all of Class E knew the relationship between him and his mother, so why was Karma so surprised? However, before he could reply, a certain green-haired girl plopped down in the chair beside him, breaking the conversation between the duo.

"Hey, Nagisa-kun!" She beamed, making him also want to smile, but alas, he couldn't.

"Okay, everyone!" The class, including the two turn to the front, where their teacher stood.

"Class is about to start!"

It was almost time for training. Koro-Sensei was teaching a new lesson in mathematics. His words meant nothing however, to Nagisa. His brain seemed to have a wall to block out any knowledge the teen was attempting to learn.

What was really irritating was the stinging in his eye. His right eye seemed to even twitch every now and then, which was making it even more difficult for Nagisa to focus. Even though math is one of his weak subjects, he usually can concentrate and do the work properly; though the blue-eyed boy just couldn't stop his eye from squinting rapidly. He felt himself grow frustrated, so he started to grip his pants; shaking about.

"Nagisa-kun?" A voice whispers, though he already knew who it was.

"K-Kayano..." He said through closed teeth.

"Are you alright? You don't seem to be focusing, which is unlikely of you to do." She muttered, lowering her amber eyes.

She knew. She must've.

He noticed her eyes were trailing at his chest, and being self-conscious, he shifted a bit to the right. The taller of the pair seemed to hear her sigh, and turned back towards the yellow octopus, whose back was turned to write down a problem or two with the narrow stick of chalk that rested in his tentacles. He moved to the side so that the whole class could see.

"Okay. I want you all to copy this question down, and answer it. Make sure you've shown your work and that it is completed for tomorrow's class." Koro-Sensei said, placing the chalk down on the blackboard ledge.

Nagisa seemed to moan.

He wasn't much of a fighter, believe it or not. Nagisa preferred brain over brawn, because he could never pull off being strong. He was scrawny; barely any muscle, but he knew how to move around the battle field, and use his skills to have the upper hand when bringing down an enemy. For training, the whole class was split into partners, one would wield an anti-sensei knife, the other would dodge. They would switch roles when Mr. Karasuma said so. Nagisa swiftly dodged a knife that was meant to tag him in the shoulder. He seemed a lot more into this than education. His partner, Sugino stepped to the side and jabbed the knife, but the smaller boy managed to manoeuvre his way to avoid it from touching him.

"Jeez, Nagisa..." Sugino breathes, smiling slightly. "You're fast." He struck again, and Nagisa just ducked.

"T-Thanks, Sugi—" he saw the taller male slash, making Nagisa tumble slightly. However, the boy managed to collect himself and move to the side. The duo went at it for a couple more minutes, with Nagisa dodging every blow Sugino attempts to land on him.

"Alright. Switch!" Mr. Karasuma shouts, and the two boys relax. Sugino passed his anti-sensei knife into Nagisa's hand, and they begin.

Nagisa paused, feeling sudden bloodlust rush through him. He glared at Sugino, whose eyes seem to go wide.

It was then when Nagisa steps forward, and when Sugino begins his defensive stance, he felt a very eerie presence. As if, someones bloodlust had clouded over him. Suddenly he saw a snake wrap around him, constricting his movements. The boa's head finally appeared, glaring at Sugino with slitted, yellow eyes. It opened its mouth and when it was about to attack, Sugino felt something touch his shoulder. As he looked up, the snake head faded and the baseball-lover saw familiar azure eyes look down at him. It was when he noticed that he was on the ground, and Nagisa had the knife touch his shoulder. He gave him a cheerful smile.

"Got you." He said softly, lifting his knife up. Sugino shook his head out of the daze.

"H-How did you..." He knitted his brow with confusion. He had never experienced bloodlust so strong like that, even when they're just training. Especially from the person he least suspected. He waited for an answer from the shorter boy, but nothing came out of his mouth, just a mere shrug.

From afar, Karma leaned against the tree, his eyes perking with interest.

"Hm. I knew this would happen."