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Appeal for Help to Find University Student Missing for a Year
The family of a University of Tokyo student who went missing over a year ago have said their lives will never be the same as they appealed for help to find him.
Yoshiki Tsujinaka, 24, was last seen near his dormitory in September 2024 and was reported missing to the police on October 28.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested a man in his 50s on suspicion in connection with Tsujinaka’s disappearance on March 10. He was later released on bail as inquiries continue.
Tsujinaka’s mother said, “My world stood still the day I discovered my son was missing. Since then, not a day has passed without questions.”
She urged anyone with any information to contact the police, adding that even the smallest detail could make a difference.
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“I’m telling you. It’s weird.”
“Don’t tell me you’re still on that missing footage bullshit.”
“But don’t you find it weird? One second, the kid was just walking, and then—poof—gone.”
“It must’ve just been a glitch in the camera. You know how I keep telling the people at the department to replace those cameras from when your grandma was still alive and kicking, but those rude bastards never listen.”
“I still think there’s something there.”
“I swear to God, if you bring up ghosts one more time.”
.
“Hey, who’s that?”
“He says his name’s Hikaru Indou.”
“Ooh, we almost never get applicants his age.”
“He’s quite the looker, isn’t he?”
“Please, you could be his mother.”
“But Indou, though? I’ve never heard of anyone with that name before.”
.
Hikaru Indou.
Male. 23. Vet assistant at Fairy Animal Clinic, located inside a ridiculously pastel-colored building nestled between drab grey ones. Not that anyone asked for his opinion, but Hikaru thinks the clinic went overboard with the concept and decorations. Kaoru loves them, though, and since finding out about Hikaru’s employment there, has asked for pictures almost every single day. Her profile picture on LINE shows her drawing of one of their regulars: a large white-and-orange cat.
Since that incident, Kaoru has stopped going to school altogether, and her parents no longer argue about forcing her to go, which is a relief.
To whom, Hikaru doesn’t care to know.
Kaoru spends all her days cooped up inside her room, finding temporary solace in her drawings. Of cats. Of Fairy Animal Clinic. Of anything Hikaru sends, really.
Today, a candid photo of Hikaru with his third “Employee of the Month” certificate sits at the bottom of their conversation. Unread. Kaoru must still be sleeping.
“Hikaru Indou” is arguably the clinic’s best employee—according to their roster of frequent clients and a few anonymous reviewers on the internet.
Friendly, charming, and a good talker. The only male employee at the clinic apart from the owner himself. It doesn’t matter that his work uniform consists of bright pink scrubs with a butterfly logo at the front. (Hikaru’s coworkers sometimes insist that the logo, from certain angles, resembles a man being flayed, so they gave it a name: the pinned butterfly.) To the women who make up the majority of their clientele, his nonchalance only adds to his already overwhelming charisma.
Women of all ages shamelessly ogle the handsome vet assistant as he hauls sacks of pet supplies without breaking a sweat. Even when he’s worked to the bone, his face never loses its signature crooked smile.
“Midori-san, not that I’m complaining, but why do we have to bring these in while business is still open? And through the front door, no less.”
“Trust me. This is better for business.”
.
“Hikaru-kun, good job again today.”
“Thank you, Midori-san.”
“Ah, being young must be so nice.”
“Well, I played a lot of soccer back in the day, and I used to ride a bicycle to school. I’m used to physical work.”
“Is that so? Say, Hikaru-kun, the girls and I are going out drinking tonight. I know you probably have plenty of friends to hang out with after work, but would you like to join us?”
“I’d love to! But I have to say no for now. I have a sick cat at home who needs to take his medicine on time.”
“How adorable! I didn’t know you had a cat.”
“A black cat. He gets very clingy when I’m not around.”
.
One of the vet assistants at Fairy Animal Clinic has the magic touch. I’ve never seen my dog so relaxed!
Of course, Hikaru’s “magic touch” doesn’t actually exist. But it’s true that he possesses a unique ability to pacify animals—well, anyone, for that matter—with just his words. All it takes is a single whisper of calm down to turn them pliant and docile, ready to be groomed or given shots, to his coworkers’ utter amazement.
Every time it happens, the sound of the huge TV in the lobby is all anyone can hear. Each time Hikaru uses the coercive power of his voice, the atmosphere drops, as if the air itself submits to him.
“The lion catches its prey inside its powerful jaws,” the television’s voice fills the empty lobby of Fairy Animal Clinic.
.
Fairy Animal Clinic’s vet assistant is so handsome!
Hikaru Indou-san, I heard you already have a girlfriend. How could you do this to me!
and
The prince-like vet assistant is the only reason I go to that clinic. The veterinarian himself does a sloppy job fixing my pet. Go to other, more reliable clinics if you want your pets healed.
Hikaru’s coworkers got a kick out of that last comment. The veterinarian—a balding man in his sixties with a stomach bigger than the rest of his body—spends more time drinking himself to death than running his own clinic. More than once, Hikaru has had to step in to talk furious customers out of suing his boss.
Hikaru doesn’t mind the incompetence. He even finds it funny sometimes, especially when he thinks no one can see him drinking from the flask he keeps hidden inside his pristine white coat.
“We have Hikaru-kun to thank. Otherwise, we’d all be out of jobs by now!” is something he often hears.
A charming vet assistant, a frequent volunteer at community centers, and a friendly neighbor—Hikaru plays all these roles with extreme meticulousness. Being welcomed by the community with open arms is beneficial to his long-term plans, after all.
Kissing his girlfriend goodbye, he turns the corner to his apartment. The building that houses his apartment provides a stark contrast to the vibrant colors of his workplace. It’s as if hell itself has descended upon it. It’s run-down, its management is nowhere to be seen, if it even exists, and apart from the old woman with memory problems, the building is filled to the brim with sketchy personalities.
Hikaru feels right at home.
His heavy footsteps echo on the metal stairs. His apartment is on the topmost floor at the end of the hallway, completely isolated from the rest.
A poster on one of the dilapidated bulletin boards catches his eye. He’d recognize that face anywhere. The face of his missing best friend stares back at him. It’s been a while since he’s seen that expression on Yoshiki. Solemn but full of life. He caresses the picture before ripping it off, leaving only yellowed edges behind. There is no point in remembering the past.
His keys rattle as he opens the door. The breathtaking sight that greets him when he flips the switch is why he always rushes home after work. It’s his sacred ritual, one he would never trade for any entertainment in the world.
There, on the bed, lies the student who has been missing for months. Unmoving. Covered with a blanket, otherwise naked from this morning’s bath, eyes glazed over from the force of Hikaru’s compulsion.
Hikaru dislikes having to use his powers every morning on the person he loves most, but Yoshiki can be persistent.
He sets the evening’s groceries down on the circular table. Their circular table.
Since his confinement, Yoshiki’s soul has slowly grown dimmer. Hikaru feels a pang of regret. Yoshiki’s soul is the most beautiful he has ever beheld—but Yoshiki is here with him now. They will never part.
And that is what matters.
“Wake up.”
.
The last thing Yoshiki remembers before darkness takes him again is the smell of lavender bath salts. Hikaru bought them as his reward for being good. After many painful lessons, Yoshiki has learned not to fight back, learned that besides being inhumanly strong, Hikaru possesses other abilities his diminishing mind can never hope to grasp.
When Yoshiki is conscious enough to understand what’s happening, he finds himself cradled in his captor’s arms. Hikaru rocks him like a crying child.
Yoshiki’s whines sound foreign to his own ears.
Hikaru hushes him with a deceptively gentle tone.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It didn’t hurt, did it? I’m sorry I had to do it. Don’t worry, it’s over now.”
Yoshiki sits obediently on the kitchen chair, blanket draped over his naked body, staring at a new picture on Hikaru’s phone: a drawing of a cat from his sister. Yoshiki is never allowed to touch the phone. Only look.
That fragile comfort of the only connection he has with his sister is cut short when Hikaru tosses the phone onto the bed.
“Dinner time!”
Hikaru sets a bowl of porridge in front of him. The monster sits beside Yoshiki, one arm sliding under the chair to pull him closer.
“You used to make this for me when I wasn’t feeling well. Remember? Now, open up.”
His mind screams for him to do something—anything—but his body betrays him, leaning meekly into the monster as he’s fed warm, delicious food by hand. Yoshiki feels like he’s splitting in two. It’s all too tiring.
After dinner, Hikaru carries him to the bed. Yoshiki lets himself be arranged on the bed by the monster’s careful hands. He says nothing, what more is there to say? Yoshiki lets Hikaru whisper sweet nothings into his ear as monstrous tendrils slowly fill every orifice of his body.