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The bright orange evening sky lost its shine as sunset gave way to night. I stared at Naoto. His abhorrent smile and red eyes stared right back at me. The usually bright aura around him had changed into something dreadful.
“Well, you should have been able to connect the dots from the conversation you eavesdropped on,” Naoto said.
“So, you’re the Tokyo Arsonist?” I asked.
“Yes.” he replied
“And the guy with the scythe is the slasher?”
“Ding-ding-ding.”
“... Who’s the girl?” I asked.
“This is my adorable little sister, Yua.” He said
At the time, my mind had gone completely blank. I was going on autopilot the whole time.
“Cool,” I replied
Naoto chuckled to himself lightly.
“What’re you laughing about?”
“You seem to find this not that surprising.” He said.
“Well, I honestly had a feeling that you were masking your true self. So, yeah, the possibility that you were a psychopath crossed my mind a few times,” I said nonchalantly.
“Psychopath… Yes, I believe that is what medical professionals would refer to me as,” he said. “ However, you have a fundamental misconception about what I do at school.”
“How so?” I asked.
“What I was doing was not masking my true nature as it was suppressing it.”
“I don’t see the difference,” I said.
“When one decides to go about hiding their personality from others and instead, show them a false persona, that is masking. However in my case, the personality I portray at school just happens to be what I’m like when I suppress my destructive tendencies. Both personalities are still the real me, just that one is more laid back than the other,” he said. “Although, I was also surprised by your casual acceptance of Yua. I could have sworn you were going to give me a long heroine-speech about the morality of what I do, then attempt to take her with you.”
“Not interested. If brainwashing children happens to be something you’re into, it’s not my place to judge,” I said.
“That’s good. If you actually attempted it, she would rip you to shreds faster than I could. That aside, there seems to be something else you fail to understand. I did not brainwash her,” he said. He let out a low-voiced chuckle that just screamed ‘evil psychopath’.
“You must be sick in the head,” I said as I scoffed at him.
“Not only that but you appear to not understand the basis of brainwashing.”
“Please, enlighten me,” I said.
“Brainwashing and mind control are very different. Brainwashing is a method of removing a person’s inhibitors, causing them to lean toward their destructive nature. That is, you can’t use brainwashing to make a person do something they would not usually do. Doing so would constitute mind control which is not possible outside the world of fiction,” he said.
I rolled my eyes at his explanation.
“That said, even if I attempted it, I would fail miserably. As little and cute as she looks, she is much smarter and a lot more messed up than I am. I’ve always found it easy to read people, but she is the one exception. Tomorrow, she could very well sink that knife into my chest.”
“If that’s the case, why stick with her, knowing that you could die at any moment?” I asked.
“Two reasons. One, I decided a long time ago that I would watch over her. And two, she’s the only person that I would let kill me. Even if it were to happen tonight, if she decides to end me one day, I’d gladly resign myself,” he answered.
“Since you’re laying everything out bare, what’s with the bandages?” I asked.
Naoto stretches out his right hand, and with his left, begins to unwrap the bandages around it. It revealed a horrifying sight. Charred, burnt and carbonised skin covered his arm all the way up to his shoulder. He could definitely see the horror in my eyes. I covered my mouth in shock. He clenched his right hand into a fist and looked up at me.
“In case you were wondering, my left looks worse than this,” he said.
“How can you even move it?” I asked.
“As bad as they seem, they’re only second degree burns. My nerve fibres are perfectly intact so my movement isn’t hampered in any way,” he said. I got this when I was caught in a fire, trying to protect Yua. I was around ten, so Yua here was six. The fire was set to our foster home in Shinshu, killing both our foster parents.”
“How did you survive it?” I asked.
“I had an escape route ready.”
“An escape route?”
“Of course. As the one who started the fire, it would have been quite moronic to not have a way out,” he said.
“You do realise that with all you’ve told me, I could easily go to the police,” I said.
Without warning, a kitchen knife flies by my head, missing my eye by just a few inches, pinning the wall behind me. My entire body began to feel heavy. I looked back at Naoto to find the girl who had been sleeping in his lap was wide awake. Her hand was out, signifying that the little girl threw it. The girl’s eyes appeared to have been shadowed over. Around her, her dark aura was practically leaking out of her. Naoto let out a light but evil-sounding chuckle.
“Well, you could certainly make an attempt, but as you just saw, doing so would not be a very wise decision,” he said.
“You’re threatening me?” I asked.
“I’m not, she is. And, even if she weren’t, what makes you think that the police would believe you over the hundreds of similar calls they get everyday? Without actual proof, they would just see it as another teenager pulling an unfunny prank,” he said.
I shake off the creeping feeling and take a deep breath.
“That reminds me. I wanted to ask, why does the girl have blonde hair?” I asked.
“She’s a half-blooded German. I was told she got her blonde hair from her father,” he replied.
The girl holds onto Naoto’s arm and squeezes it tight.
“I have to know. Why did you hide me?” I asked.
“I am sane enough to not go on wild killing sprees on impulse. He, however, is not like me. If he were to see you, you would lose your head within three seconds,” he said.
For a little while, an awkward silence fell between us. I stared at him, trying my best to keep a calm expression. I was looking right into the eyes of a murderer. I read his eyes, attempting to gain a glimpse of his soul. In his eyes, I saw a bright red flame that consumed everything before it. It was wild and ferocious, but at the same time, concerningly serene.
Before I could fully grasp what I was seeing, my body began to act on its own. I took my hands out of my pockets and slowly bowed my head.
“Please allow me to hate you!” I blurted.
Naoto’s grin grew a little wider as he stared at me.
“What am I saying? Am I stupid?” I thought to myself.
I bowed my head lower to him.
“Sorry. I don’t know why I said that,” I said.
I didn’t know what I expected in his reaction. I quivered slightly.
“What is he going to do after hearing that?” I thought to myself.
What he said to me not only surprised me, but it was the point where I realised that he could read me. Even more clearly that I could to other people. No. Saying he could do it more clearly wouldn’t be doing his ability any justice. It was more along the lines of being able to peer into my very soul.
“You’re conflicted,” he said.
I raised my head to look at him.
“You’re looking for an outlet.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked him.
He chuckled to himself lightly.
“Do not bother trying to deny it. I can read you like an open book. Your eyes tell me everything I need to know,” he said.
“How could you possibly act like you know me?” I asked.
“I too once had eyes like that,” he answered. “You’re stuck in a situation that you don’t really care for. But, rather than complain or express your discontent, you suppress everything so as to maintain your sanity. But, even as you lock it all up in the deepest recesses of your mind, they occasionally leak out. You feel like you need an outlet for this pressure or else it will destroy you. Finding out that I am who I am, your mind feels as though you’ve found a convenient hole. Although, at the same time, you are not drawn to the idea of dropping all your negative emotions onto someone who hasn’t done anything to you to deserve it. Does that sound about right?”
I was completely speechless. I couldn’t say anything. What he said made sense to me, but I couldn’t confirm nor deny it as I couldn’t even tell myself.
My body moved on its own again
“Please be the target of my hatred,” I asked, again bowing my head.
Naoto laughed to himself again.
“I have no problems with that,” he said nonchalantly.
I raised my head to him again and stared into his crimson-red eyes.
“Everyone needs a vent at one point or another. If hating me will allow you to release your pent-up feeling of frustration, then by all means.”
Having been given a green light, my voice and demeanour changed. I started to act like I actually couldn’t stand him almost immediately.
I pointed at him and raised my voice albeit very slightly.
“If this is gonna work, you need to make it easy to hate you. If not then this whole exchange was meaningless,” I said.
“Considering that you just practically begged me, I feel it to be too late to put on the Tsundere act now,” he said.
“Shut up! Are you in or not?” I asked.
“Of course. That was a given the moment you discovered this.”
Naoto reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pack of matches. He took one out of the pack and lit it, holding it with his right hand. He let the flames burn the stick, slowly creeping closer to his skin, letting the flames lick the tip of his fingers before sniffing it out with his palm.
“That can’t be good for you,” I said in a condescending manner.
“Force of habit. I could not stop even if I wanted to try,” he said.
The sun had fully set on the horizon. The night sky glowed dimly from the moon, aided by the stars that cover the entire sky. The watch on Naoto’s wrist suddenly began beeping. He checked it and slowly made a wide evil-looking grin.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“That means that it’s time to get to the show,” he said.
He looked at little Yua on his lap and spoke to her softly.
“I have to go, Yua. Be good and wait for me. I’ll be back in a while,” he said.
“No, nii-chan, don’t go,” she said, gripping tightly onto his shirt.
“Don’t worry, just get to sleep. I’ll be back in a little while,” he said.
Naoto lightly struck the back of her neck and the little girl lost consciousness. I looked at him in shock as I freaked out a little.
“What did you do!? Is she okay!?” I asked, visibly disturbed.
Naoto laughed at my reaction for a little while before he calmed himself.
“She’s perfectly fine,” he said. “I just hit a pressure point in her neck. She’ll be fine after sleeping through the night. “
“Why would you do that?” I asked.
“Deliberately knocking out your younger sister? You really are scum,” I said as I rushed to compose myself.
“Yes; yes I am,” he said.
He carried Yua on his back to the next room over which had ‘307’ written across the door in the same style as the previous one.
The room’s interior looked clean; like someone actually lived in it recently in contrast with the rest of the building which looked as though not a soul had stepped inside it for the last five or six years. He gently laid his adorable little sister on a small one-person bed that rested against a wall. He knelt down by her bedside and gently stroked her head before leaving the room quietly. For a moment, the devilish smile that suddenly appeared on his face seemed to fade away; giving room to something wholesome. I didn't say a word so as to not ruin the perfect moment I was witnessing.
“So… when you said show… you meant you’re going to cause another three million yen in property damage, right?” I asked.
“Creating art always comes at a price,” he said. The warm smile that had adorned his face just a moment ago disappeared in an instant, twisting once again into a devilish smile.
While conversing with him– if you could call our petty exchange of jabs at each other a conversation– the sun set over the horizon. The splash orange colour of the sy gradually faded as night took over from the day.
The watch on Naoto's hand suddenly started beeping, cutting our ‘talk’ short. Naoto turned away from me and calmly walked away.
“Where are you going?” I asked him as he trailed off.
Naoto didn't answer me. He didn't even turn to face me when I called out to him. Not willing to be left alone, I followed behind him.
The room where the little girl Yua had told me to hide. He walked into the room only to leave soon after with a dark-coloured bag hanging across his shoulder.
Matsuzaki: “What’s in the bag?” I asked him as he walked toward me.
I had assumed he was merely going to walk past me again. I was somewhat prepared for him to maintain his newfound vow of silence until I left him alone. I turned to the side, making way for him to pass by. A sudden jolt was sent throughout my body as he grabbed me by the hand completely out of the blue. At that moment, I’m not sure what got into me. I began struggling to get him to release his grip. Maybe it was survival instinct, pushing me to get out of the immediate vicinity of the danger.
As unimpressive as his slim physique was, his grip was strong like a tiger’s. I couldn’t move my arm up to my elbow as he prevented me from doing so without even a little bit of effort as it looked to me. For a moment, the idea to scream occurred to me. Considering the situation, screaming seemed as pointless as continuing to struggle for my arm’s release. Yes, the building was completely abandoned. It had been so for at least two years. Even if I were to shout for help, no one would hear my cries. Despite how crooked the building looked, it was basically soundproof to the outside.
I said yes, but the truth is, it didn't occur to me at the time. I was about to scream at the top of my lungs in vain. As if sensing my intent, he swiftly covers my mouth with his bandaged hand as he pinned me to the wall. I was completely unable to move. Even the slightest of movements had been restricted. It felt as though entire body had been bound by a boa constrictor and the devilish smile that was plastered across his face revealing a row of teeth that appeared to me as sharp fangs certainly did not help the matter.
Soon, my body was completely frozen with fear at the thought of what he was going to do to me. He…let out a little chuckle before releasing my hand with his hand over my mouth.
Naoto: “There really is no point in screaming. Even if you do, I will be the only one to hear it.”
A sudden wave of emotions like I’ve never felt before suddenly overtook me. I felt a switch in my brain flip. At that moment, I was overcome by a burst of energy. Using that energy, I sank my teeth into the hand he had over my mouth. With each passing moment, my teeth dug deeper beneath the surface of his skin. I stared into his crimson red eyes that had seemed to lose all light reflection making them appear more the colour of blood. Even under the pressure of both my jaw bones working in unison to crush his palm, his finger, his facial expression remained yet unchanged. There was no nervous sweat, no attempt to remove his hand or to force me to release it. He just continued to stare into my eyes.
I couldn’t control myself. With the way things were progressing, it seemed I was completely prepared to unapologetically bite his fingers clean off his hand. Naoto continued to pin me against the wall, still showing no sign of yielding. In the end, the outcome wasn’t as I thought it would be. My jaw gave out before I had the chance to completely bite through all the ligaments and bones in his hand. He continued to calmly hold his hand over my mouth. I had to give up entirely at that point. He brought his face close to mine and whispered softly in my ear like you would to a child.
Naoto: “I do hope you have had the opportunity to calm down now.”
Nanase: “......”
Naoto: “I will be removing my hand now, but it would be best if you were to abstain from screaming.”
Without even waiting for a sign of compliance, he slowly removed his bandaged hand, now dripping with blood with a section of white bone visible from my mouth which was also then partly stained with his blood. With my mouth uncovered, I spat onto the floor to clear my mouth of the taste of haemoglobin. Naoto stepped back to examine his hand in the blue light of the moon that shone through the nearby window.
Naoto: “You somehow managed to get down to my volar plate. Reina will definitely not be too pleased to see this.”
Even part of his hand badly injured, Naoto didn’t even stop smiling, much less shown any form of annoyance or contempt.
Naoto: “Now that that concludes that, I have something to show you.”
I tilted my head in confusion. Partly due to how casually and easily he was able to switch topics after I basically attempted to dismember him but mostly out of curiosity of what it is he wanted to show me. He had his back turned to me, but apparently, that did nothing to stop him from reading me.
Naoto: “I implore you to not look at me with such suspicious eyes. I hold no ill intentions against you.”
Even knowing who he was, what he had done and given recent events, his words seemed convincing. He beckoned me to follow him. I followed suit.
All the while, I felt like something was carrying me. Like a force was pushing me forward. This force always seemed to take effect when I was around him. It led me to do and feel things that I ordinarily wouldn’t. Whether it was acting a little more aggressively or doing something that would seem unfathomable for me to attempt. All the while; out the building, through the streets, on the train, I felt a weight on my chest. It wasn’t a particularly bad feeling, but the thought of it being there was what made me uneasy.
Wait… oh yes. We got on a train. I couldn't tell you where we ended up though. Stepping out of the terminal, the street looked as generic as one could possibly imagine, so much so that it felt uncanny.
Nanase: “Why exactly did you bring me here? I've been trying to figure out what you possibly could have had planned but I came up short.”
Naoto: “You need not worry. I assure that no harm will befall you.”
Nanase: “So what exactly is it that you want to show me?”
Naoto: “I simply wish for you to bear witness. Witness the beginning of a new act.”
Naoto didn't even turn to look at me when he answered me. He didn't need to. His tone was enough to let me know that he still had his wide twisted smile plastered across his face.
We walked through the city. The flashing lights of the many open shops and bars, the many sounds that crashed upon the airspace like a wave would upon the shores of a sandy beach, all of it deflected right off of me. I was too deep in thought to actually take in the sight. ‘Seriously, I can't read him at all! If it were anyone else, I would have been able to see right through them. Why is he immune? What is he planning? He says I'm safe but am I really?’
All these thoughts flew through my head as my body seemed to follow him purely in impulse. By the time I came to, we were on top of an apartment building. For a split second, I lost my train of thought and the magnificent sight completely drew me in. The wind blew my face and as I felt it, carried all my worries along with them, to be scattered completely just like dust in a gale.
The bright lights emanating from the city grasped me as I looked down on them. I wondered how it was possible for me to be surrounded by all this beauty and yet ignore it completely during the journey to this point. I couldn’t tell that Naoto was staring at me as I looked over the city with starry eyes.
Naoto: “The view truly is incredible no matter how many times I look at it. However, this is but one of many forms of beauty in this world.”
Naoto’s voice snapped me out of my state, like someone had just splashed a bucket of boiling water on me, leaving me fully drenched in scalding liquid as steam evaporated from the surface of my skin… a feeling I was much too familiar with for me to consider it tragic.
I turned to face Naoto as he too looked over the view.
Nanase: “---”
I watched silently as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a sort of device from his pocket. It looked like a phone of some sort, but at the same time, it didn't. It looked increasingly strange as he fiddled with the screen. As he did so, a creeping feeling took over my spine. His devilish grin seemed to hit its peak as he tapped a button on the side of the device in his hand.
I quickly turned to the city. For a moment, everything went completely silent. The button in his hand didn’t do anything. ‘Has he been fucking with me?’ The question did occur to me at least once while I had been following him. ‘He led me on and showed me to a roof where he could ridicule me for being so gullible without causing a ruckus in the city… Right?’
‘What's this ringing in my ears? It’s sharp and piercing. It hurts. Can I cover my ears? No, it's much too loud for that. Maybe if I turn away from the source of the sound? How would I even go about doing that? The sound is coming from all around me. What exactly is making that sound? What is it? Is it screaming? The screams of the people below who all ran away from the horrific scene? Was it perhaps residual frequencies from the original shockwave? The sudden shock did produce a thunderous, head-ache inducing sound. Is that what caused it? Or maybe it was the creaking and roaring of the large apartment building as it collapsed in on its own foundation?’
Nanase: “.........”
………………………………………………………………………………………
I watched the scene with speechless eyes. Red and orange flames erupted from the shopping complex across the street. A dance of black and white fumes and smoke tangled the building before slowly rising into the dark night sky.
Naoto: “This is another form. Another of the infinitely many forms that art and beauty can take.”
I slowly turned my head toward him. What I could only assume to be his face had completely twisted itself into something beyond evil-looking – demonic even. He appeared to have wireless earphones on. The black metal shined in the bright light emanating from the scene. The most chilling part about it is… even as he looked on the scene with his twisted expression, his face slightly flushed and his pupils dilated, he seemed so at peace.
Naoto: “And so, the curtains rise…”