The Killers

[At the same time, before Seiji's workplace]

"It's been a few hours. Still nothing," Tanaka said.

"We'll wait. There's still some time until 5 p.m.," Nakamura added, then checked the reports again.

[At the alley...]

Before approaching the man, Hideaki grabbed the butterfly knife from the ground.

The man noticed it and stopped squirming.

'He took my weapon!'

Hideaki's eyes gazed at the glinstening knife. Silver blade, with a clear signs of usage. He smiled wide with teeth glinting during each next second — a literally reminiscent of a monster from a horror movie.

"I can't wait to slice you up with this little toy of yours!" His tone gleed with sadistic excitement.

He leaned over the man, his breath mingling with the air between them.

The man's stomach still throbbed from pain from Seiji's kick, but he tried to pose a threat. "Leave me alone, you piece of shit! You know nothing about killing!"

Hideaki suddenly got incredibly close to the attacker's face. His wide eyes, pupils as small as grains of sand, gleamed with a manic light. "Oh really? Because I think I know a thing or two about it. Does the name Hideaki Miyahara mean anything to you?" His hands gripping the knife tighter, ready to savor the chaos.

The criminal's throat went dry. "Y-yes... The police mistaken me for him... Damn... Heard that he's some insane serial killer they showed on TV... He escaped from prison... No one knows where he is... Apparently... he was also wanted in K-Kyoto."

Hideaki let out a short, breathy laugh through his teeth. "So you know quite a lot about me..."

"What...? About y-you?" Panic washed over the man as thoughts raced through his mind: 'No... It can't be... This is that serial killer!?'

Hideaki chuckled maniacally, reveling in the attacker's fear.

The man gritted his teeth, and spat out "You're probably saying this to scare me... But this won't work on me you brat. I'm the real killer here! You hear!? I'm Kaiji Uchiyama. I've killed many people before you were even born! Don't underestimate me, you little brat!" He shouted, desperately trying to regain control.

"Tch!" Hideaki clicked his tongue, "I've never heard of you. But..."

He looked at Kaiji's face, a wide unsettling grin spread across his face.

With a swift motion, he raised the knife, aiming at his head.

Kaiji's body tensed, his stomach turning to ice.

'W-what the hell is he going to do now? Pierce my skull with a knife??'

He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Fuck!" he yelled, his voice cracking against the pressure in his chest.

'No, no, no... this brat—he can't actually—!'

Panic crawled up his spine, the first raw taste of fear in years.

Then came the sharp, burning sting.

"AAAAAAAAA!!!" he howled, thrashing, but the blade stayed.

Hideaki began tracing trembling circles and lines on his forehead, laughing maniacally

"HEHEHEHEHE!!!"

The steel dragging against skin like fire.

Kaiji felt it tearing, each nerve screaming.

'IT HURTS! IT HUUURTS!!!!!!'

Suddenly Kaiji caught sight of the crimson streak sliding down the bridge of his nose. His stomach lurched.

"Aa-aaa! B-blood!" His voice broke, almost childish in its fear.

'W-what the hell is he doing to me!?!??'

Then he saw more and more blood streams, pouring down. "STOP IT!!!"

Every drop that welled up seemed to strip away his bravado.

Hideaki grinned, drinking in the sight of his work.

'Slowly... It's running on his face... That bright red colour... Hehe... It's so cute!'

Hideaki chuckled with maniac glee.

'That giggle! That look! What kind of freak does like that?!'

Kaiji thought and tried to mask the panic, his voice climbing into a weak snarl.

"Y-you little brat... Why did you stab me!? H-huh!?"

But his throat was dry, and even he could hear the desperation behind the words.

Hideaki giggled darkly.

"I didn't stab you... I don't want to do it on you yet... Because..."

The man saw the bloodthirsty glint in Hideaki's eyes.

"I WANNA FINISH MY WORK AND DRAW ON YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE! KHEHEHEHE!!!"

Hideaki cackled, his shoulders trembling as if he was bending under the weight of his own madness.

"Just a little bit more... And I'll finish my pattern... Hehehe!" He mumbled maniacally.

'W-WHAT!?!?!? A PATTERN?? A DRAWING?? What is he?? Some kind of bloody artist?? He's completely messed up! He's a monster!!!'

Kaiji thought as he clinged his teeth from pain. His eyes wide with terror, but despite his fear, he tried to sound tough.
"W-what are you...?"

Hideaki hissed angrily and swinged the blade harshly.
The overwhelming pain made the man scream again, and then...

He realized Hideaki had stopped carving with the knife. The sudden absence of motion made the pain sharper, as if his skin now screamed from the raw sting of open air. The dull throb from the wound pulsed with his heartbeat.

He blinked rapidly, sweat mixing with the blood.

'Sh-shit... Why did he stop? D-did I pissed him off with that question?'

That silence — Hideaki's stillness — felt worse than the knife itself.
Was it over? Or was Hideaki just thinking of something worse?

Then, Hideaki moved away, looking at the man's forehead with a dark pride.

バカ — Baka.

Idiot.

A single word, scratched shakily in trembling strokes across the man's forehead. And from each character, thin rivers of blood trailed downward, dripping like tears.

On knife's blade reflection, Hideaki showed the sign to the man.

The man froze. 'He... He wrote that on me? Like I'm some kind of joke?'

He suddenly felt smaller, humiliated. As if he wasn't even a threat — just a toy.

'W-what the hell is going on... Who is this guy!?'

Hideaki hid the knife in his pants and quickly collected the remained blood with his Magic Ability. His hands shaking, his fingers twitching as he transformed the collected blood into a sharp, magical bloody carving pen.

Kaiji gulped, throat dry, heart pounding in his ears.

'Is he going to "draw" on me again!? Shit! This is- This- . . Wait... Blood...? He made pen with... Blood?'

Realization dawned on him.

'The rare Blood Control Magic Ability... It's... WAIT NO FUCKING WAY! I-it's really him!? This sick serial killer!?!'

Hideaki took voice, "You asked me what I am..."

"Y-yes.."

Hideaki gazed at him for a little bit longer.

He lowered the tip of his tool, its blade, dnagerously sharp yet still pen-like, was dripping with blood.

He got incredibly closer to him, with his pupils small as a grains of sand. Then, being inches from his face, he whispered,

"I'm your worst nightmare..."

and grinned widely.

He took a gaze at Kaiji's forehead.

Rivulets of blood ran down his skin again and again, dripping and staining his clothes.

Hideaki wheezed under his breath. His eyes wide with even more excitement.

'The way it falls down his face reminds me of a branches from tree!!'

"Ehehehe! It's so cool!" The words slipped out with a manic hiss, hoarse and feverish, like a predator drunk on obsession.

'I feel inspired!'

With slow, deliberate movements, he pressed the scarlet-stained tip against Kaiji's neck and began to carve.

'It's so smooth... like the perfect canvas...'

He trailed his fingers over the fresh wound, smearing the blood with an almost childlike fascination.

"That bloody red colour looks so stunning on that light human skin... Hehehe..." he muttered, tilting his head. "It's almost as pale as a snow..."

"S-stop this!" The man suddenly howled, his body convulsing against the searing cut, but Hideaki barely heard him.

His wide eyes gleamed with excitement as he pulled the blade away, admiring the blood.

"It's so alive..." he whispered, shivering with delight.

But then...

Kaiji reacted on pure instinct.

He lifted one leg and drove his foot hard into Hideaki's stomach.

The impact knocked the air out of him.

Hideaki was thrown backward, his body crashing against the floor. A wet sound escaped his lips as saliva sprayed from his mouth, his breath breaking into a choking gasp.

For a split second, his concentration shattered.

The crimson "pen" lost its shape and splashed onto the floor in a dark, spreading stain.

Hideaki groaned quietly, one hand pressing to his abdomen.

He quickly collected the remained blood with his Magic Ability. His hands shaking, his fingers twitching as he used his magic again and transformed the collected blood into a sharp, magical bloody arrow.

"Tch!-" He hissed "O-one more kick like t-that and I'll kill you for good!" Hideaki grinned sadistically.

But then he gazed at his weapon. At his shaking hands. And exhaled tiredly.

Kaiji gulped
'Being imprisoned like that I won't have any chance in defending against him.. Nor seek for help. I need to escape. I need to buy myself time with manipulating him wordly... Damnit! I'm so cursed that I don't have Magic Ability!'

But his pride, desperate and stinging, flared up.

'There is only one thing I can do now...'  he thought. His breathing was heavy, but he forced a sneer.

"A-and that's it!? You just stand there, threatening me with that sick bloody thing in your hands?? T-that's all you can do?" he spat, trying to hide the tremor in his voice. "You little freak... You're just a messed-up brat with a knife. Without it, you're nothing."

Hideaki tilted his head.

"Huh. . . .?" His hands twitched.

The man pushed on, trying to regain control.

"You're scared," he lied smoothly, banking on Hideaki's ego. "That's why you kept playing with me, while I'm still imprisoned with these handcuffs. That's why you keeping distance now, huh? Because you know I'd crush you in a fair fight!"

"Huuh?! You think that I'm scared!? AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Good joke!" Hideaki's laughter filled the air, mocking and cruel.

"You won't believe me?! Punk?!"

"Tch!" Hideaki hissed again, angrily then added "You're tone of a voice is so shaky that you're already shitting your pants off." he said, leaning in. "YOU ARE the one that is scared!"

The man gritted his teeth. "Then prove it. If you're so sure you're not the one shitting your pants right now, prove me you're better... release me. And let's fight. Let's see who really wins."

Hideaki paused.

Then...

His smile deepened, more twisted than before. "Hehe... You wanna see how you're gonna die?" he whispered.

The man's heart pounded, sweat sliding down his back.
'Please fall for it... just untie one hand. That's all I need.'

"Fine!" Hideaki answered eagerly. Then he took out the knife from his pocket and walked closer to the man.

He gazed at him with aiming with the knife.

The man rattled his cuffs. "How are you gonna prove that? By stabbing me while I can't move? Even a damn 5 year old could do that!"

In one sudden, fluid motion, Hideaki vanished from sight — and reappeared behind him.

Clang!

The chains snapped, the blade slicing clean through the metal.

"You... you broke them in one hit..." he breathed out, stunned.

Hideaki stepped back, holding his knife loosely like it was nothing more than a toy. His lips curled into a crooked grin.

"Yeah. So you wouldn't cry about it being unfair."
He tilted his head, watching him like a predator letting its prey run — just to enjoy the hunt.
"Go ahead. Pick anything you want to kill me with. Let's begin."

The man hesitated. Then—

He ran.

Boots scraping against the wet concrete, breath ragged, eyes locked on the narrow end of the alley where the light leaked in.

'Escape—just a few meters—!'

But Hideaki was already there.

Standing silently in the exit, half-lit by the flickering streetlight behind him.
He raised one hand slowly and placed it against the wall beside him, blocking the path.

The grin was gone. His eyes gleamed coldly under the shadows.

And his voice — low, irritated, calm:

"I said we're fighting."

The man skidded to a halt, swallowing hard.
That look... There was no mockery in it anymore. No games.

Only promise.

Of violence.

---

[Meanwhile]

Nakamura glanced at his watch. It was 5:00 PM sharp.

"Sekiguchi should be getting off work any minute now," he announced calmly.
Tanaka stared at the office entrance door. "Everything will be revealed soon..."

[But as they watched the office, a chaotic fight was taking over...]

Hideaki lunged at Kaiji, wielding his butterfly knife, while Kaiji grabbed an empty bottle.

Their blows were quick and strong, each desperate to win at any cost.

Suddenly, part of the glass shattered as Hideaki's knife clashed with the bottle, limiting Kaiji's range.

"Shit-" Kaiji cursed silently. The stinging pain on his forhead from the craved wound didn't help him with his attacks either.

Then he saw Hideaki's maniacal grin, spread across his face "Ahahaha! DIE! DIE! DIEEE!!!"

In a moment of pause, Kaiji gasped, "How can you be so sure you'll gonna kill me?!"

"Just fucking D I E!!!! EHEHEHE!!!!" With that, Hideaki plunged the knife straight into the man's arm.

Kaiji screamed in agony, dropping the shattered bottle. Tears streamed down his face.

"I love this so much! Ahahahaha!" Hideaki yelled with delight, cutting deeper into Kaiji's flesh, making it bleed throught the fabric of clothes.

With resistance, Kaiji raised his other hand and made a fist, ready to punch Hideaki anywhere, just to get him to let go.

Hideaki noticed the hand and with panic, he dig his nails into the Kaiji's skin.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!" Kaiji screamed from pain.

"Ehehehe! You thought you will stop me!? Guess you were wrong! Khehehehe!" He cackled, being thrived on the fear and pain he inflicted, savoring every moment.

Then, he began to magically drain blood from his victim. The crimson streamline was right before his eyes, forming into something shaped like a knife. His hands shook a little but he tried hard to control it anyways.

'Tch- Not again! Not—'

But then, in a brief, breathless pause, something flickered behind his eyes - a fleeting moment of doubt. A memories from his high school, when he lost control of his Ability when he was using it on his classmates.

'What am I doing?'

The thought was like a stone dropped into still water, disturbing the calm of his madness. He could feel it - the shift inside him, like something was trying to rise to the surface, something Seiji had tried to show him. But then it was gone.

Kaiji's fist struck his face. Hideaki fell to the ground, his bloody weapon shattering again.

He tasted a faint taste of blood in his mouth. He swallowed hard, then gripped the butterfly knife tighter.

"Tch!" He hissed.

He tilted his head in the direction of Kaiji. His eyes glowing red beastly urge to spill even more blood

With a quick movement, he rose and lunged at Kaiji. Out of rage and bloodlust, he plunged the knife into his arm. And then he began biting him, scratching him, screaming as loud as he could.

"S-stop please!" Kaiji begged painfully "H-have a mercy on me! I.. I c-can't take it anymore!!"

Hideaki paused mid-air. "Huh..?"

"P-please! Don't hurt me anymore!!"

"Don't hurt you anymore..?"

"Y-yes! Please! I guess that you can still do this?"

"Have a mercy on you?"

"Y-yes. . ."

For a moment, his eyes softened, a brief flicker of something almost... human.

'This reminds me of my first kill... I... I remember that he was talking like that to me too... I remember his face clearly... His pain on his face when I stabbed him...'

His mind brought him back for a while to times when he was a teenager... It was late evening. Kyoto, and his first murder victim... A tall man - who just wanted to reason with him was brutally treated as Hideaki's anger and insanity got the best of him that day...

His hand trembled, tightening around the knife. He sucked in a sharp breath, as if steadying himself.

'...Stop shaking.'

Kaiji saw this...

A shaking hand

A second of silence

Questions instead of laughter

'He's not indestructible. He wavers.'

"You... you're shaking," Kaiji gasped through the pain.

"You're not enjoying this anymore, are you?"

Hideaki froze. He clenched his fist tighter and his eyes went hollow.

"And now... In a moment of distraction..." Kaiji said, then headbutted Hideaki's nose.

Hideaki recoiled, not from pain, but from shock.

"You're from Kyoto," Kaiji whispered.

"You hesitated back then too, didn't you? Just like now?"

Hideaki breathing hitched

The memory came flooding back — a moments after his first kill. His next victims. That guilt he was feeling after, but then he tried to cover it with more and more kills. More violence. More tries of controlling his Magic Ability. More insanity, that slowly took control of his mind when he was in a moments of his murders.

'Shut up...'

The blood begin to react erratically

'Shut up'

The magic didn't listen.

'Shut up!'

His hands, arms, began shaking violently.

"Have mercy on me..." Kaiji added, then looked straight into Hideaki's eyes "You don't know how."

Hideaki coughed — a short, broken sound that twisted into a breathy, almost amused laugh.

A sharp huff escaped his nose, like a scoff he hadn't meant to let out.

"...Hah."

His shoulders shuddered once.

Then the grin came back.

Wide. Crooked. Wrong.

"Don't know how...?" he rasped, voice trembling with something between laughter and rage. "Heh... hehehe..."

His eyes flared red.

In the next instant, he snapped.

Hideaki surged forward with a feral cry, closing the distance in a heartbeat. His grip tightened around the butterfly knife as he drove it forward with brutal force—

Straight into Kaiji's stomach.

"DIE—!"

"DIE—!"

"DIEEEEE!!!"

Each word tore out of him as he shoved the blade in again, his body shaking with the violence of it, breath ragged, face split by that same sadistic grin.

All hesitation vanished.

Only the scream.

Only the impact.

Only the sound of his own voice drowning everything else out.

"Hehehehehe!" Hideaki laughed maniacally as he heard Kaiji's painful screams. "You're sounding like any other victim I sliced up before!!! Ehehehe!"

"And now..." Hideaki's puplils shrinked, showing in how much maniacal, insane state he was right now. "Now... prepare to DIE!!!!! AHAHAHAHA!"

With a quick hands flick, he collected Kaiji's blood, that was pooling out from his stomach, mouth and arms and transformed it into a large, magic bloody scythe.

And then...

Limb by limb, stroke by stroke, like an artist perfecting his bloodstained canvas he ripped off Kaiji's legs, arms and made deep cut lines into his stomach.

In the background could be heard unbelievable terrifying screams of pain and something even worse.

With every slice, Hideaki felt his body come alive, the tension inside him uncoiling like a spring. Every scream was a symphony to him, each drop of blood was a note. This was his art.

Hideaki grinned wider, his eyes glinting with manic joy. He leaned in closer to the dying man, who's expression was defined by terror and unberable pain he felt at that moment.

"You're sick..." A faint words let out from Kaiji's mouth.

Hideaki hearing this, grinned and raised his weapon to made a final attack move, but just before he struck again, he hesitated, staring at the victim's blood-soaked body.

"You're sick..." The words repeated in his mind.

'W-why does it always feel like this?
Why can't I stop once it starts?'

He muttered in his mind.

Hideaki finished the motion automatically.

Not out of anger.

Not out of joy.

Simply because his body remembered what to do next.

And then—

Silence.

Kaiji's screams suddenly cut off, as if someone had turned a dial. The world around Hideaki thickened, muffled, heavy. Everything sounded as though he were underwater — a dull pulse in his ears, his own breathing too loud, too close.

He was about to ask Kaiji a thing, but then, he got to know what actually happened...

"He's already dead?!" He asked dramatically,

He blinked.

Once.

Twice.

He looked down.

At his hands.

They were red. Sticky. Foreign.

He waited.

For the euphoria.

For the familiar rush.

For the feeling that always came.

It didn't.

Instead, something inside him collapsed inward.

Emptiness.

Heavy. Clinging. Spreading through his chest.

His stomach clenched suddenly. A sharp spasm made him swallow hard, nausea rising fast. He turned his head away, breathing shallowly, unevenly.

'Why...'

Nothing.

No satisfaction.

No triumph.

Only nausea.

And exhaustion.

A vast, crushing exhaustion.

His hands began to tremble slightly.

— ... —

Only then did he realize that he was already laughing.

Not out loud.

Just the empty, soundless movement of his chest.

As if he'd forgotten how to stop.

The memories of Kaiji's words echoed again,

"You hesitated back then too, didn't you? Just like now?"

"SHUT UP!—SHUT UP!—SHUT UP!—SHUT UP!—SHUT UP!—SHUT UP!—"

He screamed loudly. Then, suddenly he drew a quick breath into his lungs... and...

"Ehehehe.... I wanna torture you now..!"

He forcefully tore open the deep cuts on Kaiji's stomach, rummaging through his guts and pulling out the large intestine.

"Eheheh... Ehehehehe... Sh-shut up!" He began now laughing audibly "Eheheheheh! EHEHEHEHEHE!!!"

His maniacal laughter echoed as he played with the insides as if they were toys.

Kaiji laid lifeless beneath him. Hideaki's psychopathic smile never faltered.

His face darkened, smiling viciously.

"Hehehe! Shu-ut up... Heheh... You don't understand! B-blood is the most beautiful paint out there.." He wrapped the small intestine around his neck, covered in blood, surrounded by the scattered remnants of his victim.

"I-I wanna draw more... I wanna watch someone bleed..."

As he stood up, he wondered aloud, "Where did that smartass go?"

Just then, he spotted another person approaching - a younger man, frozen in terror at the scene before him.

Hideaki smirked,

"Hehehe! Looks like this idiot will have to wait! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"

With that, he lunged at his next victim.

>>>

At the same time, Seiji was trying to calm the girls down in the apartment. They were sitting together under a blanket, sipping warm green tea. The room was quiet, dimly lit. Seiji remained close, checking on them from time to time without hovering.

He stood in the kitchen, preparing a cup of green tea, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Damn... Something like that happening in this neighborhood..." he muttered under his breath.

After pouring his drink, he walked over and crouched slightly beside them.

"How are you both holding up?" he asked calmly. "Any better?"

"I-I guess..." Izumi murmured, holding her cup with both hands.

Ichiyo only nodded faintly, her expression distant.

Seiji gave a slow nod, then sat down nearby — not too close. "What you went through tonight... no one should have to face that. I don't expect words to fix anything, but I want you to know you're safe now."

Neither of the girls answered, but the heaviness in the room softened, just a little.

Seiji looked at them silently for a moment, then stood. He glanced at the business card Ichiyo's father had given him earlier, then pulled out his phone.

'I need to call him. Just explain what happened, nothing more.'

Not long after, Ichiyo's father arrived — breathless and visibly shaken. The moment Ichiyo saw him, she rushed into his arms.

"Ichiyo! You're safe—thank god!" he exclaimed, clutching her tightly.

"It was so terrifying, Dad! I don't think I've ever been so scared!" Her voice cracked, and she broke into tears. Izumi, overwhelmed, followed, the two girls leaning into each other.

Mr. Takahashi held them both protectively. "It's all good honey. You're safe. The police is coming already."

Seiji's heart skipped a beat after hearing the word police,

'Police is coming... I could have anticipated that... Hideaki is still there...'

Takahashi turned to Seiji.

"Mr. Sekiguchi... You saved them. I don't know what to say."

Seiji gave a slight nod, avoiding dramatics. "No need to thank me. The important thing is that they're safe." He said maintaining his calm demeanor.

A few minutes later, Mr. Takahashi left with the girls, expressing his gratitude again. Seiji saw them off with a polite nod, then closed the door behind him and leaned against it for a moment.

He glanced at his watch. "I forgot to ask him when did he call the police... now I don't know how much time I have left to get to this idiot...."

His fingers twitched as he stared at his phone.

"He's an adult... But it's Hideaki. If he snaps, if someone sees something they shouldn't..."

He tried to dismiss the anxiety rising in his chest.

Finally, he called Hideaki — no response.

"...Damnit."

He grabbed his jacket, locked the door, and walked briskly toward the last place they'd been together.