- veil. [karmagisa]

- VII

NAGISA |

          the mirror was already shattered before he had got there. this building was broken, indeed. nagisa was unsure if the toilets in the bathroom's cubicles were okay to use, or if the faucets actually had water flowing through them at all. despite the mirror's state, he could see his reflection in the glass fragments. it was just a little distorted, that's all.

           he silently gasped at how pale he was. there was a big difference in the shade between nagisa's complexion, and the dark circles under his eyes. the insomnia was a nightmare. nagisa could not sleep last night, suffering from a fever whilst worrying for the future.

his hand ran over his face, and it stopped once he felt the warm oozing red. "why am i bleeding?" he quietly asked himself, opening his mouth. nagisa was just as shocked as kaede earlier when he saw wounds in the corners of his lips, and smelled a faint metallic scent. what was more shocking was that that smell came from a mouth none other than his own.

curious, nagisa had no other choice but to find out the source of the wounds by shoving his finger to his mouth. he felt his gums, his tongue, and his teeth, and they were all fine. his finger felt the canines, and he finally discovered how the wounds came to be. sharp canines were normal; canines were supposed to be sharp. nagisa was surprised by the sharpness of his teeth. they were so sharp, they could practically be fangs, and they were able to bite deep into his bottom lip.

"what the hell?" nagisa asked himself. his eyes were widened in shock and his hands held tightly onto the sink. "this is not... me." as he clenches his teeth, nagisa's fist punches the mirror's pieces. he disregards the specks of blood emerging from the tiny cuts on his knuckles.

lunch period finally began, and all nagisa could do was stare at the bento box before him on the table. eating was useless, and he didn't even feel like doing so. closing the box, he stared at the window, and he decided he wanted to leave the building.

nagisa laid himself on his side across the ground. all he could see when he looked up was the white puffs of clouds, and the light hue of blue surrounding them. the sunlight wasn't going to his his eyes anytime soon, as he closed them shut.

sleep was a friend he needed to turn to, especially when he had intense headaches. he allowed his blue locks to intertwine themselves with the blades of grass, and he shifted his legs to a comfortable position. birds sang him a lullaby, as the tree's shade would protect him from the harsh light of the noon. for once, he felt at peace today.

within his mind, a dream formed itself together. nagisa found himself standing in the street where his apartment resided, but this wasn't the street he knew. an unnatural silence lingered, only to be disturbed by the rustling of trees and crunching of dead leaves under nagisa's feet.

the rustling was followed by the squawks of birds, and nagisa looked up to see crows flying into the limitless sky. as if a painting, blue, purple, and orange mixed themselves with each other as the sun slowly descended, kissing the earth good night. other than that, it was still awfully quiet. he shuddered when a wind especially chilling blew past him, and he continued his pace.

nagisa didn't even know where he wanted to go, but he was heading towards the direction of where he thought was his father's house. absent were the sounds of bicycles, shutting gates and doors, or car engines. street lights immediately flickered and came on once the darkness reigned the skies.