Imagine with me, dear reader, a bleak scene where someone appears washing his blood-stained hands inside a dark bathroom. In the right corner, we find the lifeless body of a person who met his end by being stabbed with a knife driven into his head, blood still pouring profusely from the wound. In the left corner, another body lies stretched out under the water tap. From the appearance of the coagulated blood on his shirt, it seems he was stabbed first in his chest, most likely before his other friend. You are certainly wondering what happened here, and who that person washing his hands so coldly from the effects of this heinous crime is. Let us return a little to the past, specifically six years ago from now, not to solve the mystery of this sadistic crime, but to show you, dear reader, what the life of "Hiroki Takashi" was like in middle school. What you see before you now is a scene of a middle school in the "Shibuya" district of Japan, as usual, where "Hiroki" was studying in the second year of middle school. He was a diligent student with a thick layer of ice wrapped around his heart—as a metaphorical expression to describe the coldness and numbness of his feelings—speaking very little, and rarely participating, but his exam grades were absolutely magnificent. His primary goal in all of this was to build a protective, introverted persona to guarantee his success, reach his dream university, and build a better future. "Hiroki" did not know the meaning of fun and pleasure; to him, these terms were mere nonsense and a waste of time that brought no benefit.
After that, "Hiroki" moves to the third year of middle school, and here, his monotonous life turns completely upside down. As he sits in his usual seat, another classmate sits next to him, changing the course of things. Hiroki notices that this new classmate laughs a lot and cracks jokes constantly, as if distributing free smiles to everyone around him. In short, he was an extremely cheerful person who cared neither for his studies nor his grades, even though this recklessness could inevitably lead to his failure, but he did not care at all. During the school recess, "Hiroki" moves in his usual path toward his personal locker, takes out his books for the next class, and heads directly toward the classroom. However, he collides forcefully with that same boy who sat next to him earlier, causing Hiroki's phone to fall to the ground, its screen sustaining a slight crack. "Hiroki" begins to apologize in a trembling voice, hesitating in his words, trying to make amends in every possible way. The boy drops to his knees, lowers himself to the level of the phone, and picks it up. He takes a close look at it and smiles warmly at "Hiroki" all at once, as if nothing had happened, saying in a friendly tone: «It's fine, there is absolutely no need to apologize, it is just a minor, negligible crack.» Then he holds up the phone enthusiastically, saying: «See? Look at it, it still works perfectly!!! I am called "Togashi Hikaru" by the way, and I am glad to have collided with you, hahaha. What is your name, my friend?».
"Hiroki" answers him concisely: «Oh, I am called "Hiroki Takashi", and I am also glad to meet you.» Then "Togashi" leaves, inviting him to walk together to the classroom. "Hiroki" realizes in the depths of his own mind while walking beside him that this boy's personality is the absolute perfect fit for him. This is because he inherently suffers from an initial split personality, which is the first prominent symptom of the Acute Antisocial Personality Disorder he suffers from, making him magnetically attracted to "Togashi's" cheerful personality. Now, my friend, imagine the following scene accurately, as we enter together into the dark region of "Hiroki's" subconscious. A character drawn in a dismal cartoon style will appear to you, its body completely black, sitting proudly on its throne in a pitch-dark place, until a sudden light shines in front of it. Another cartoon character in a bright yellow color enters unexpectedly. The guards try to prevent him from entering, but he smiles innocently at their faces, and they immediately faint. The black character panics at this shocking sight and tries to flee quickly, but stumbles and falls to the ground. The matter escalates as the chase turns from running on foot to a desperate crawl toward the exit of the subconscious. The yellow character suddenly pulls out a sharp knife and pounces on the body of that black character, beginning to stab, stab, and continuously stab without mercy... A horrifyingly bloody scene, isn't it? This scene is the explicit expression of the utter chaos taking place inside "Hiroki's" subconscious, and through this internal conflict, the latter flips from an introverted, balanced person into the abyss of what is called "absolute absurdity."
Happiness had completely seized control of him, and he became its obedient subject. After years of strong friendship between "Togashi" and "Hiroki," the latter transforms into that happy, cheerful person you currently know, my friend the reader. Now, let us quickly return to the present. "Hiroki" arrives at his class and enters the room with his usual features, only to suddenly see that the students are looking at him with extreme fear and dread because of what his hands committed yesterday. The leader of the thugs enters the classroom with a thick white medical bandage on his neck, hiding the mark of the stab wound he received from "Hiroki" previously. He slowly approaches the latter and whispers in his ear in a tone dripping with poison: «You and I are going outside in a bit, and you will taste the bitterness of your harm to me there.» "Hiroki" panics inside himself; he has indeed entangled himself with a dangerous street gang just to defend his dignity and himself. What idea could cross his mind now? Escaping this predicament, naturally, but he decided to coldly continue on the rough path that fate traces for him; after all, what could happen that is worse than what already has? After the school class ends, "Hiroki" goes out of his high school heading toward the street. The gang members follow him from behind like shadows of death, and as he reaches a quiet turn, one of them suddenly attacks him from behind with a violent blow from a baseball bat to his head, causing him to lose consciousness and fall to the ground like a lifeless corpse.
Later, "Hiroki" wakes up to find himself inside a strange nightclub, a shady casino that represents a small paradise for prostitution, alcohol, and gambling. It appears from the atmosphere that the gang leader with whom "Hiroki" got entangled previously was deeply impressed by the hidden side of the latter's personality; he realized with his criminal intuition that he was a mentally deranged person, or what is known as a "Psychopath" in psychology. "Hiroki" gradually blends into the noisy atmosphere after drinking heavily under pressure, falsely convinced that the gang leader has forgiven him for what happened in the classroom. The leader finally introduces himself, indicating that his name is "Izana," and that he and his group are not just ordinary thugs, but individuals belonging to the famous Japanese "Yakuza" organization. He is specifically the leader of the third division in the organization, and his primary mission in studying inside this high school is to distribute and sell drugs among the students. "Hiroki" begins to think desperately of a way to escape and get out of this suspicious den, especially after a sharp, slight headache hits him in his head and he feels a strong urge to vomit. He leaves the table, heading toward the bathroom quickly because of his excessive drinking. Right here, "Izana" executes his treacherous second plan; he sends two of his fierce gang members to finish "Hiroki" off and kill him inside the bathroom, meaning his previous kind treatment was nothing but a trap to lower his defenses and get him drunk to the core. He had planned everything with absolute precision.
"Hiroki" relieves himself and goes out toward the washbasins, and while he is busy tying the lace of his pants, the two killers suddenly ambush him. The first begins choking him with his arm from behind with force, while the second pulls a gleaming knife from his pocket to stab him. Suddenly, "Hiroki's" underlying consciousness senses the imminent danger, and his body's adrenaline level spikes to record levels. With a swift, unexpected movement, he slams the person choking him to the ground and pounces on top of him. At that moment, a horrifying look of black hatred was painted on "Hiroki's" face. He grabs that person's head with both hands and slams it several times violently and consecutively against the edge of the metal water tap until his face shatters and he falls wallowing in his blood. The second person attacks him with the knife, trying to salvage the situation, cutting him in his knee. However, "Hiroki" rebels with an extra dose of madness and attacks him, grabbing his legs forcefully to throw him down, causing the knife to fall from his hand to the floor. "Hiroki" grabs the knife with lightning speed and plunges it with all his might into the victim's head, and the latter falls as a lifeless corpse without motion. "Hiroki" looks around him in bewilderment; blood covers the walls and the floor, then he looks at his hands and clothes to find them completely stained in a dark crimson color. His consciousness suddenly awakens, and he realizes the monstrosity of what he has committed; he has just perpetrated a heinous and aggressive murder, but he notices that one of the two victims is still breathing his last and thrashing. He steps toward the mirror, looks at the reflection of his face, and suddenly begins laughing with maniacal hysteria, repeating: «I killed them... I killed them... Aaah! It seems I am very happy about this, isn't that right, "Akami"?!».
Unbeknownst to him, "Akami" intervenes, manifesting in the crime scene within his consciousness, saying in a mocking tone: «Ooh yes, I am extremely happy with how things are going here! What happened? Is the matter no longer under your control?». Then he screams loudly: «"Hiroki"!!! What a beautiful sight! What creativity! You really know how to paint living art pieces!». Akami approaches the victims' corpses and begins to laugh out loud. At that hysterical moment, while "Hiroki" sees his troubled reflection in the mirror, he grips its edges tightly and begins to scream, scattering his long hair right and left. Suddenly, driven by a morbid curiosity, he tries licking the warm blood off his hand. In the meantime, a completely new character intervenes in the internal discussion; this character represents the purely selfish side of "Hiroki's" consciousness, and to avoid repetition, let us give him a name that fits him: "Wagma." Wagma speaks with extreme coldness and rationality, saying: «I think you are absolutely right, "Akami"; because assuming we left the matter as it is now, "Hiroki," you will be arrested immediately on charges of premeditated murder, and you will spend your entire life humiliated behind bars. Then you can say goodbye to your eternal dream of becoming a famous "mangaka." These cheap souls that you have taken were nothing but a trivial obstacle in the way of your great dreams. I see that it is more prudent to think only of your own interest, care for yourself, and fight for your survival, even if the matter requires you to transform into a ravenous monster or a madman in the eyes of society!!!».
"Hiroki" joins the dialogue while smiling a wide, distorted smile after madness completely seized control and nested like black crows inside the folds of his consciousness, saying: «Hahaha, silence... silence, you bastards! I have realized the matter now; there is no harm in a little selfishness sometimes. If preserving my dreams and ambitions requires the destruction of others, then this simply means I will become that predatory monster that struggles inside the dark forest to eat its prey without regret, hahahaha, isn't that right, my friends?!». The imaginary characters suddenly vanish from before him, and the voice of "Akami" returns, echoing inside his mind, guiding him through the steps of hiding the crime with criminal precision. "Hiroki" begins to follow the steps to the letter; he takes off his contaminated clothes, pulls out a lighter from the pocket of one of the victims, and begins burning his garments until they turn to complete ash to hide any trace related to his fingerprints or DNA. After that, he puts on the clothes of one of the victims, who was wearing the official uniform of a company employee. "Hiroki" ties the necktie carefully in front of the mirror, then takes off the clothes of the second victim and burns them as well until they are completely charred. He turns toward the mirror again and notices that his hair can be slicked back easily, so he changes his traditional hairstyle and slicks it completely back, leaving it somewhat messy to suggest another persona. He leaves the bathroom with absolute calmness and confidence, slipping toward the kitchen attached to the club to steal a sharp, large cleaver, then returns to the bathroom quickly, exploiting the sound of the loud "Japanese rock" music filling the place.
Because of that loud music, no one among the patrons cared about what was happening inside the locked bathroom. "Hiroki" checks on the two victims and finds they have completely passed away, beginning the process of dismembering the two corpses with cold blood. His motive this time was not pure brutality, but the desire to facilitate the transport and concealment of the remains. He collects the severed parts carefully inside thick plastic bags, then quickly goes out to steal three large sports bags from the corner of the club and returns with them. He places the bags inside, takes the plastic gloves he used to execute the process, and burns them well until they completely vanish and their ash mixes with the air. He takes the heavy bags and goes out with utter coldness, heading toward the kitchen, which had been completely empty since he stole the cleaver from it earlier. Driven by the curiosity and madness deeply embedded in his consciousness, he licks the remaining drops of blood on the cleaver's blade, suddenly feeling as if he were tasting a draft of a luxurious, aged red wine. Adrenaline and dopamine spike sharply in his brain, and a wave of utter ecstasy sweeps through him, completely different from the pleasure of sex—a unique and new feeling that made "Hiroki" feel as if he were entering the gates of his own paradise. This is precisely the feeling of a true serial killer; for this reason, they continue to kill, as the mentally deranged consider paradise to be that magical ecstasy that follows the shedding of blood and the torture of victims. He places the remaining plastic bags in the large refrigerator temporarily, returns the cleaver to its place after cleaning it, and then completely smashes the surveillance cameras inside the kitchen to hide the signs of his movement, in a sequential scene that looks like a dark cinematic movie.
"Hiroki" leaves the kitchen with complete coldness to find that the rest of the gang members have already left the club, so he decides to climb to the rooftop of the building to escape suffocation. From the heavy effect of the alcohol mixed with the madness and sheer chaos inside his consciousness, he staggers and falls with his body onto the hard ground, lying on his back, contemplating the twinkling stars in the shining sky. The weather was extremely quiet, unlike what happened downstairs, so he closes his eyes, surrendering to the cool breezes blowing in the place, feeling relief at last while the sharp headache in his head begins to fade gradually in the final moments of the night. His hands still bear stubborn stains of blood, and some parts of his new clothes received their share of the red splatters. He raises his head again toward the sky, the wind playing with his messy hair strands, and begins to laugh in a low voice filled with madness. He looks at his new condition and realizes that he has officially transformed into a terrifying serial killer. His head finally drops to the ground and he loses consciousness completely, sinking into a deep sleep due to the psychological chaos that played with his consciousness and the large amount of drink that exhausted all his physical strength.
To be continued...