{Kunugigaoka Junior High School, Japan}

Nagisa was an ordinary child. He was what some would call: "Common People."

Nagisa was one of them, he was ordinary, average, a standard human being.

Although he had his fair share of suffering a boy his age shouldn't endure, Nagisa didn't like to dwell on his childhood that made him different.

That, in a crowd of "normal teenagers" made him stand out.

Nagisa didn't like to be the center of attention, he preferred to be a bit further from the spotlight. In the back, in the shadow, a place ordinary people couldn't escape in the face of extraordinary people.

Nagisa, with his feminine features which he despised, liked to, quietly observe those who stood out. To silently take notes of the way they acted. Of the way, they exerted their power, their influence.

Nagisa was a snake, lurking in the shadow. But he didn't know.

Since he didn't act their way and instead cowered like the masses, it made Nagisa feel normal.

But was "normal" a good thing?

Yes, of course, it was.

When Nagisa got demoted to class 3-E, to the End class, all his doubt about normal not being best vanished. Class E was a class of abnormality, of people who were destined to stand out.

From the moment they stepped a foot in it, it was too late, and Nagisa knew that the poor excuse of a "normal life" he built had shattered. How could he join the massive rank of averageness when he wasn't even deemed worth it?

When Nagisa was transferred to Class E, upon his last year of Junior High, he knew he was screwed.

And he was, now the abnormality which he had managed to more or less hid in his home, followed him throughout his day like the plague.

The oddity, the variable, the tag trash was etched on his forehead for all to see. For all to sneer at, for him to stand out more.

As a laughable oddity, a bag to punch, an object for them to relieve their stress.

And Nagisa, like the coward he was, accepted.

He didn't protest when they insulted him, beat him, harassed him.

Nagisa only gave a smile, a blend of resignation and despise.

Despise for himself or his bullies? He wasn't sure.

Though, if anything, he supposed life wasn't so mean. Bullying had stopped a month or so after his transfer, and upon entering his third month of class, Nagisa felt normal.

The way others viewed him or treated him was deserved, justified. What he at first thought made him stand out slowly blended into his routine, into their routine, and Nagisa once again didn't protest.

He accepted the status he was given.

He acknowledged his mediocrity.

He admitted his uselessness to society and identity as cannon fodder.

It was drilled in his core, that he was trash.

The lowest of the low.

That whatever he tried he would fail, that resisting, only meant standing out more than necessary.

And Nagisa didn't want to stand out. So he complied.

The same way he became his mother's doll, Nagisa turned into what headmaster Asano wished Class E's students to be.

Nagisa smiled and followed the path drawn for him.

A route toward a set failure.

Nagisa...

Nagisa gave up.

There was no way out of this hole.

Out of this Hell.

No light reached out to them, even the brightest.

Not even Yukimura-sensei managed to salvage them.

::

When Nagisa first met his light, the first spark to slowly lit his fire, he was in a dark alley. Crouching to get his books back into his bag. A hand, a black leather glove reached out to him.

The man, a stranger, had despite his white hair which shone like the blinding light into the darkness, a grim air around him. The shadow that hid, the darkness which cradled Nagisa was, compared to the stranger's, weaker—

Softer, so much warmer than the foreigner's.

It was a startling contrast to the feeling in Nagisa's guts as he gazed at the man.

The man, from his appearance alone, stood out. Without doing a thing, he stood out. He stood out, and with his smile, Nagisa knew the man invited trust. Trust, but his expression had this edge to it.

This oh so dangerous edge.

That side which hid even more darkness. Total oblivion.

Nagisa had given up, he knew. But wasn't it normal to chase after the light? Wasn't it human nature?

So why? Why did upon seeing the stranger Nagisa felt compelled to trust him despite the blaring sirens in his mind?

Despite the undeniable darkness he invited?

Despise the promise of non-return he implied?

Nagisa was lost. He was at lost, confused. But at the same time, he never felt so at home.

Like a gust of wind, a spark in the night, his hope rekindled.

His previously dull eyes regained their shine.

They glinted. A beautiful, mesmerizing light.

It was strange how darkness had invited light into his life again when even the brightest light hadn't.

Strange but not disagreeable.

The sparks in his body as he took the man's hand were extremely pleasant. It gave him waves of comfort and unknown nostalgia. When he let go, he felt a sudden sense of loss. But the feeling disappeared as soon as it appeared.

And like that, as he saw his savior take his leave, leave him behind, Nagisa felt his hope slowly burning in his chest.

Nagisa never got the man's name, but at the same time, he didn't mind.

His heart told him they would meet again, sooner than what he thought.

::

When Nagisa met his new homeroom teacher for the first time, he felt disappointed.

Disappointed in himself for letting Yukimura-sensei go.

Why did she leave them? They really weren't worth her light.

Nagisa felt floaty, and upon seeing Karasuma and hearing his words.

His expectations.

Nagisa didn't know whether to laugh at himself or the ignorant man.

Them? Killing that thing the world couldn't even graze.

Them? The dead-lasts, the failures, the trashes.

Him? The lowest of the low.

Him? An oddity, a useless variable.

So, as he slowly succumbed to reality, as he saw the yellow being— he didn't understand.

He didn't understand where the familiar feeling in his gut came from.

The oh so familiar yet foreign warmth that like a soft blanket wrapped itself around him. Lulling him into comfort.

It was soothing.

Perhaps since the yellow being was an oddity, Nagisa felt a connection?

An oddity, someone who stood out, an abnormal variable.

He smiled, genuinely so, without knowing.

Without noticing the curious looks he gained.

It was strange, how familiar to the stranger the yellow octopus looked.

He brushed it off.

Perhaps, he wouldn't meet the unknown light again.

Maybe the voice that announced their upcoming meeting was foretelling his encounter with the world's natural enemy.

It was an odd conclusion.

Odd but Nagisa was an oddity himself, so he accepted. He complied and forgot about the fallen angel he met in a dark alleyway at the beginning of the year.

::

It happened so fast, an explosion, detonations, bullets whistled into the artificial cloud of smoke.

An unknown silhouette and five-light thumps before another outburst echoed and the smoke dissipated.

A man, with pure white hair, stood before their teacher. His gun aimed at the octopus' tie, at its crescent moon. None moved, though Nagisa had to wonder why Koro-sensei didn't.

A smile, a perfect business smile, graced the white's lips as he put his firearms in its holster before lightly brushing his hair back.

"A pleasure, Koro-sensei," he greeted, extending his hand to 'help' the other up as he gave a mock curtsy. "Let us work well together."

Green stripes appeared on their teacher's face as he laughed, taking the gloved hand without care. "Fufufu, no more bullets? What a shame."

Nagisa stared, baffled. Until—

Purple met light blue.

His eyes glinted.

Nagisa remembered.

Thank you all for reading until the end, for all of the votes and comments! 

I'm really happy yet sad to say that this story has come to an end.

Again, thank you for everything!

Until another time I hope^^