Messy Brown Hair

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Having a Magic Ability is one thing, but developing it is another matter entirely. Magic Ability, which anyone can (or cannot) possess, is like a muscle - it can be strengthened and improved through regular practice and exercise. Each Magic Ability is unique, so the way individuals develop it depends on its specificity. For one person this may mean meditation and energy control, and for another - intensive training focused on precision and power.

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However, developing a Magic Ability requires not only practice but also attention to physical health and energy. When a person is physically exhausted, weak, or lacking energy, the effectiveness and power of their Magical Ability diminish. The magical fluid in the veins regenerates slowly as the life energy "recharges" - a process similar to recovery after physical exertion. The longer the state of weakness lasts, the more time is needed to fully recharge the magical energy. Just as with metabolism and fat burning, some people have a natural predisposition for faster magical regeneration, while others need more time for this process.

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It's been a couple of days.

Hideaki had already managed to get rid of the food poisoning completely, however, for these few days, Seiji was unable to do what he had planned.

After tirelessly providing medical care for his new roommate, Seiji felt relieved.

[It was Monday]

Seiji was just getting ready for work. He finished drinking his coffee, then started preparing bento with various rice snacks and vegetables for Hideaki for later.

Suddenly from behind a half wall, the mentioned killer appeared.

He took a closer look at what Seiji was doing.

"What will it be?" he asked him grumpily, while staring at the made meal with hidden curiosity.

"Food for you." Seiji replied.

"But it will be tuna-free, right? I don't like tuna..."

Seiji hearing this sighed discouragingly. He looked at what he had just done and started digging his fingers inside the rice balls to get out the fish that Hideaki didn't like.
"Yes... It will be without tuna. It will be a vegetarian version."

Hideaki was pleased.

Seiji glanced over at him and noticed the wide, happy grin on his face.

'I really hope he doesn't do anything stupid again while I'm at work,'  he thought to himself.

With that thought, he finished preparing a meal for Hideaki and placed it in the fridge.

After grabbing his bag, he added, "I have a surprise for you after work today."

"Surprise..?" Hideaki asked cautiously.

"Yes. Don't worry it won't hurt. Just, please be nice and don't make a mess of my apartment like last time, okay?"

"Fine... Damnit..." Hideaki replied reluctantly.

Seiji looked at the clock on the wall
"Your lunch is in the fridge. Soy sauce too. I also bought a quick dish that you can easily heat in the microwave. Some instant soup should be in one of the shelves."

Hideaki nodded discouragingly.

Seiji put on his shoes and walked to the door "I'm leaving. I'll be back in the evening."

Just before leaving he took a reassuring breath and gazed back at Hideaki, glancing at the apartment one last time before everything would become mess.

"Until then." he added and closed the door behind him.

On the key again.

Hideaki sighed loudly

"Jeez... That moron locked me in here again like some animal in a cage... What is he thinking? That I'll just sneak out of the apartment? I'm too comfortable here. I have a cozy bed... good food... I'm clean... I can sleep as long as I want and I have a TV. Plus I don't have to do anything!"

Hideaki smiled to himself and jumped on his couch.

"These are the best conditions I've had to live in!"

Suddenly, the sound of pigeons cooing on the balcony caught his attention.

"Huh..?"

Hideaki got up from the couch and walked up to the balcony door. He pulled the handle to open it. Of course — locked.

"Seriously...? Even the balcony!? What am I supposed to do, fly away like those pigeons?" he scoffed, pressing his forehead against the glass. Outside, the pigeons cooed lazily, their claws tapping against the metal drying rack.

"Tsk... loud, annoying... but maybe..."

A wide smile spread across his face. He tugged back his sleeve and dragged a nail across his arm, letting a few drops of blood run down his hand.

In one moment from his hands appeared a red magical aura - a sign that he used his Blood Control Magic Ability.

Blood drops instead of dripping onto the floor, levitated in the air, then slowly began crawling toward the balcony door.

A thin stream slid into the gap along the frame, splitting into delicate, hair-thin threads that slipped outside. In the sunlight, they shimmered like veins of red glass.

The birds noticed the movement. One tilted its head, another pecked curiously toward the crimson thread.

"Come on... closer..." Hideaki whispered, pressing his hand against the glass as if waiting for the signal.

When the first pigeon came near enough, the blood thread coiled around its leg and yanked sharply. The bird flapped its wings frantically, cooing in panic, but Hideaki only chuckled softly, watching its desperate struggle through the glass.

"Hehehe! They flop their wings so funnily!"

The other pigeons started hopping nervously, which amused him even more. He tugged slightly, savoring the way his captive fought against the tightening grip.

Hideaki stared for a moment longer as the bird writhed in the crimson snare.

The scarlet red colour shined brightly in the sunlight.

He gazed at it with precision, as he was analyzing every hue of it.

"Beautiful..." He whispered, smiling softly. "Blood... Is so beautiful. Always was so stunningly red... So intense. I love this colour."

He said to himself.

The pigeon thrashed, feathers scattering, tiny bones grinding under the tightening blood coil.

Hideaki's eyes gleamed, devouring every detail — the way the creature's chest heaved in panic, the way its claws scraped hopelessly at metal, the way the sound of its wings turned frantic, chaotic.

He pressed his palm harder against the glass, as though savoring the sensation through the barrier.

Then suddenly,

"Sh-shit..." Hideaki cursed, feeling that the shaking of his hands returned, with being a little bit more intensive.

With a flick of his hand released it. The pigeon stumbled, then flew off in panic. The rest of the flock scattered in fright.

"Tch!" He hissed through his teeth, knowing that it was only a small fraction of what he truly could do.

He took back the blood inside and healed his wound.

He felt weak. But even despite, he didn't gave up so quickly.

He has to get back in shape. Life on the street caused his Ability to wane. He had to make up for lost time.

He lifted last remains of blood and pulled it before his eyes and then, with one flick of a fingers, he shape shifted the blood that he was holding, into a detailed bloody sculpture of a drop.

He smirked at the edge of his lips and then accidentally dropped it down, watching it splashing on the floor.

He looked at his hands, feeling how magic in his veins pulsed faintly.

'They aren't shaking like they had when I first arrived, but I'm still feeling that I'm missing a lot.'

He gazed up closely now, on his inner side of hands. He saw all the details. The sharp and roughly marked lines on the middle, the thin, boney fingers that were screaming that he hasn't had the easiest ways of functioning.

An image of splattered blood flashed in the background.

It looked almost like spilled ink on a piece of paper.

Hideaki narrowed his eyes and, with his hand that was still shaking slightly, gently picked up the tiny shards of blood, forming them into small balls that floated above his palm.

"Hehehe..." He grinned sadistically, "It's so cute. The blood - splashed red. Looking like an ink that I 'accidently' dropped from my tool... Leaving only these small fragments from itself... Hehehe! I'd like to see these little dots slicing someone's throat in tiny thin lines... The blood would spill from the wound so slowly, yet so intensively!"

He looked as he was lost in his imagination, lively picturing the exact moment he described, with a absent, yet insane looking eyes...

But then...

His expression suddenly turned neutral, almost bored. As he would turn back to reality...

He scratched himself on his stomach, rubbing his finger palms on its surface and sighed through nose.

He released the dots from his magic and went to the toilet.

Then, he washed the blood from the floor away with a wet cloth.

'Tch!'  he hissed in his mind. 'The illness that I had for the last few days also took a toll on my stamina... I want to be healthy again! To kill this guy that dragged me here, and come back to my slaughter on streets!'

Then he heard his stomach rumble.

"Tch- Fuck!"

He went to the kitchen feeling that his tummy demands food.

He took out bento from the fridge and digged into it.

But then, after finishing it, he felt hungry again.

He looked out if maybe Seiji haven't put some more meals in it and there, he found one instant meal that Seiji mentioned earlier.

He took it out and heated in microwave.

After he devoured it too, he returned to the fridge, with intention of eating more.

"There... is no more food..." He said with disappointed, as he gazed lifeless on the fridge shelves.

Just in case he rummaged through it again, but unfortunately it was still nothing to be seen...

"So. . . I have to wait for that asshole to come home from work to eat more food!? AAARGH!!!!!" Hideaki grabbed and ruffled his hair in frustration "This is going to be a nuisance!"

His eyes flicked up to the clock on the wall

'He usually comes back in the evening... So many more hours... Damn! I'm not feeling filled enough with this single instant soup and that little bento he did in the morning!'  he grumbled.

He looked at the TV in front of him. He decided to watch it to pass the time.

Slowly, his frustration dissipated as he was engaged in watching various TV programs and longue on the couch.

Suddenly, with one add that popped on the screen he remembered something...

"He said that an instant soup is in one of the shelves... Maybe he got more of them?? Fuuuck!!! Why did I not though about that earlier!?"

---

[Investigation Office – Around 11 a.m]

Detective Nakamura stood by the map marked with new indicators. Around him were gathered intelligence and tactical officers.

Nakamura began,
"Every district where he had contact with victims is now under surveillance. And I'm not talking about standard patrol presence. We're setting bait."

"Civilians?" asked Tanaka, standing nearby with a cup of coffee.

"No. Operational decoys. Our people in disguise – unarmed, with a hidden camera and tracker. If this psycho really acts on impulse, he might take the bait. And then we've got him," Nakamura explained.

"That's very risky..." added another officer.

"No riskier than letting him butcher another group of innocent people," Nakamura replied.

But Hideaki didn't show up. And didn't show up...
It was as if he had completely vanished.

[Later]

In the bustling streets of Shinjuku, a pair of plainclothes officers mingled with the crowd, their eyes scanning every face. They moved calmly, but with the tension of men walking through a minefield.

"Keep your eyes open," one of them murmured to his partner. "He'll wait. Smile. And then carve something into your throat before you even register it."

"Don't scare me. I don't want to end as a bloody painting of some fucked up creep." The other officer replied.

"Believe me, I don't want to end up as this either." The man replied. "But remember one thing. He's not stupid, But he's not sane, either. That makes him worse. He could be hiding in plain sight... or waiting for the perfect moment to paint the sidewalk red."

"Well, if he'll ever show up... I'm not gonna hesitate to shoot this bastard..."

***

[It was already evening]

Seiji showed exhaust on his face. He couldn't wait to finally go back home and do what he had planned before the couple of days.

When he entered the apartment, he saw Hideaki sleeping on his back on the couch, with uncovered, visibly stuffed belly.

Next to him, he had an empty box from the dish that Seiji had prepared for him in the morning, an empty instant meal box and lots of empty containers of instant Ramen.

'Looks like he found my instant soup supplies for dark hours...'  Seiji said as he observed the mess that Hideaki made.

The TV was on.

Seiji sighed. He silently came closer and turned off the TV.

He took the empty box to wash and tossed the Ramen wraps in the bin. While Hideaki slept, he started heating up instant dinner he bought for himself.

The dinner wasn't a big one, but still was pretty good in taste. Seiji was tired as never and didn't want to bust in the kitchen today.

When he was done with consuming the food, he went to the bathroom. He took the things he needed from the cupboard he had bought earlier.

Comb, scissors, and hair conditioner as well as a special hairdressing apron were all placed on the bathroom sink counter.

"Everything is ready."

He brought a chair from the kitchen and placed it in front of the mirror. Now he had to wait for Hideaki to wake up.

In the meantime, he reached for a thriller-book he had bought some time ago. He immediately immersed himself in reading, sitting down not far from Hideaki to keep an eye on him.

Some time has passed.

Seiji stopped reading book. He put a bookmark inside it's pages and put it away, back on the bookshelf.

Then he returned to watch his roommate closely as he was analyzing something in the meantime.

Suddenly, he saw that Hideaki began to open his eyes.

He stretched and yawned loudly as he had a good nap.

Seiji silently waved at him.

"AAAAAA!!!" Hideaki jumped from shock, noticing Seiji and quickly covered his exposed belly.

He was sure that he had more time until the arrival of his would-be victim to let himself be extra lazy.

"Y-you are at home already?? How long have you been sitting here???"

"Since... About half an hour?" Seiji replied.

Hideaki swallowed his saliva "U-uh..huh.."
'Fuck, he's been observing me this whole time!? What an i-idiot!'  he thought all stressed out, blushing from embarrassment.

"I was waiting for you to wake up."

"You have been waiting..? But, why..?" Then terrible thoughts passed through Hideaki's mind
'D-Did he waited for me when I wake up to hand me over to the police!?' he thought in stress

Seiji noticed that Hideaki was shaking slightly.
"Hey, calm down. It's nothing terrible. It's that surprise I told you earlier. Come with me to the bathroom."

"For what...?" Hideaki didn't trust him.

"You will see. Now get up and follow me."

Hideaki cautiously pushed himself up from the couch.

He felt a sense of unease as his eyes trained on Seiji who made his way to the bathroom.

He followed Seiji with that untrustful look on his face, keeping a safe distance from him.

Even though, Seiji had been taking care of him for the past few days, Hideaki wasn't sure if he could trust him completely.

As they both entered the bathroom, Hideaki noticed that there was a stool in front of the mirror and various barber tools on the counter.

"What is this..?"

"Sit down." Seiji showed him a stool.

Hideaki eyed the chair skeptically, his mind racing with suspicions, as well as his eyes darted around the room, taking in every detail, as if expecting danger to leap out at him from every corner.

Seiji at this time locked the bathroom door.

"Huh!?!? Why the hell did you lock us in here!?" Hideaki asked in a panic

"So You Don't Run Away From Me"

"W-What do you want to do with me, huh???" he asked feeling more tension around...

"Fix your haircut."

"The... Wait, what!?" Hideaki paused, shocked from response. "But my haircut is fine!!" He barked.

"Not if you want to go out on the street afterward. You are wanted, I saw on TV. When you go out on the street people will recognize you. Someone will call the police and they will put you in jail."

"But!-"

Seiji cut him off "No But's. I have to get hold of you."

"You will not cut my hair! And besides, I bet you made that story up by showing me on TV..."

"I didn't make it up. It's all true. And if you still don't believe me, then go ahead. Go out into the street. I'll just wait for the police to pick you up."

"Tch! Lies!"

"No lies! Now get under the shower so I can wet your hair."

"No!"

"Hideaki... I won't repeat myself twice..."

"No!"

Sigh... "I was afraid this would come to this..." saying this, Seiji grabbed the killer's hands as if Hideaki was under arrest and led him to the shower

"Ow! Ouch! It hurts!!!" Hideaki yelled as he felt Seiji's strong grip on his thin arms.

Seiji turned on the tap and waited for warm water to flow from the shower head.

After a moment, he put Hideaki under the water stream and began rinsing his hair.

Unfortunately, this position was not favorable for the killer, and water got into his nose, ears, and eyes.

He tried to tell Seiji to stop, but the wall of water made it difficult for him to say anything, only coming out as some not understable gibberish.

When Seiji took Hideaki's head out from under the water, Hideaki quickly took the fresh air into his lungs. He also wanted to blow his nose but Seiji wouldn't let him.

Seiji sat him down on a stool. "Sit here politely. I have to comb you."

Hideaki wanted to sneak out of there, but as soon as he got up from the stool, Seiji forcefully sat him down again.

"I told you not to move!" Seiji yelled and after quickly drying Hideaki's long hair with a towel, started combing them.

Hideaki was growling like an angry dog. Seiji didn't bother his feral noises and made a rough outline of his new hairstyle.

He took the scissors and was about to cut the first strands when Hideaki suddenly dodged. Seiji tried to make a move again... but then... it was another dodge from Hideaki's side.

Over and over, when Seiji wanted to cut his hair, Hideaki kept dodging with his head.

"Would you sit still?" Seiji asked with a dose of irritation in his voice, now holding Hideaki's head.

Moments later, a large pile of brown hair lay on the ground.

Hideaki kept his eyes shut tight the whole time Seiji was cutting his hair. He didn't want to see it. He only felt how every moment there was either cutting, thinning and combing his hair again.

As soon as Seiji turned on the hair dryer, the loud hum filled the small bathroom.

The warm air blew through Hideaki's hair, making him feel a bit uneasy at first, but surprisingly, he didn't complain.

He sat still and let Seiji do his job, not that he could do anything else, with Seiji immediately catching him if he'd tried to sneak once again.

The process took some time, but eventually, Seiji finished his job.

Hideaki felt relieved that it was finally over and cautiously opened his eyes...

What he saw made a great impression on him.

The length of the hair was cut to his shoulders and style were perfect, with no uneven strands to be found. Hideaki ran his fingers through his hair, enjoying the sensation of the fresh cut, feeling lighter and more refreshed. However, the hair was starting to get messy in no time.

Seiji tried to remedy it but in vain.

In the end...

Hideaki was shocked and surprisingly pleased with the results.

"So what do you think?" Seiji proudly asked.

"I... look... different... ....My head is lighter... I look... so nice..." Hideaki replied still in awe.

Seiji smiled calmly. "I like it too. Looks like I've still got some skills in cutting hair. After all, I used to be a hairdresser for my mother and sister."

Hideaki looked at him in surprise.

"Well... job's done." Seiji declared. "Go put the chair back in the living room. I'm gonna clean up there. Tomorrow we'll go buy you some clothes. You're not going to be wearing my T-shirts all the time."

Hideaki nodded.

Seiji unlocked the door.

Hideaki took a chair and placed it next to the other chairs around the table. He touched his new hair again. They were so soft...

'Why does he do these things for me? I don't need his pity... Do I?'  he thought.

Seiji made a cleaning from his work in the bathroom, and soon after, he returned to the living room.

Hideaki was back on the couch.

Seiji observed him, with analytical look in his eyes.

'Now he looks a bit better. A little more and he'll be in perfect shape to kill me and then take care of himself on the street... Perfect..'