So, how is it, young lady?
Please stop.
It doesn't feel good.
Oh, dear. She says you're no good.
Shut up! She's gotta be frigid.
Man...
Hey, Keita, why don't we get another girl?
Yeah... I'm kinda tired of this one...
Well, hang on, guys.
I'm gonna make it a bit more exciting.
Ever cry, never life. (Remaining Sense of Pain)
Hey, what's the matter?
Do you have a stomachache?
Um...well... I'm...
Does your stomach hurt?
No.
...Yes. A lot...it's very painful.
I...feel like crying.
Is it all right...for me to cry?
Sure.
The crime scene was a bar that was empty for 6 months
and the young male victims were often seen hanging aroud here.
The limbs of the corpses were torn off.
The police are investigating how they died
and are pursuing the suspect.
What?!
What do you mean my pay is delayed till next month?
Even if I wanted to pay you, I don't have the money.
How could that be...?
But you just got a wire transfer for one million,
and skipping a digit, 120 thousand yen.
What in the world did you spend it on?!
You don't need to skip a digit.
Well... the item itself is kind of boring.
It's a Victorian Ouija board.
I'm not sure how effective it is,
but it's at least 100 years old.
So, I don't think it's totally useless.
No matter how insignificant,
as long as it has a long history and traces of magic...
I don't need an explanation!
It became available out of the blue.
So, I couldn't help it. I had to buy it.
Don't be so mad.
I'm penniless, too.
So, it's not a joke. I get no pay this month?
Right. We each have to get money our own way.
I sure will.
Hey, Kokutou.
What is it, Miss Touko?
Could you lend me some money?
As you can see, I'm totally broke.
I decline at all costs!
Honestly...it's sad how narrow-minded people get when they're broke.
Touko, continue your story.
Uh... right.
I'd rather not accept this request, but I'm broke, so I've got no choice.
About last night's incident...
That's not necessary. I've got the idea.
Oh? I only explained the situation on the ground.
You catch on quickly.
The client is pretty sure who the suspect is.
Now, your job is to capture the suspect, if possible.
But if you meet resistance, 80 ahead and KHL
I see...
Well? I think this is right up your alley.
I don't even need to answer.
You seem to be in a rush, Shiki.
Are you that starved?
Here are the photo and bio of the target.
What could you do without knowing the face?
I don't need it.
We're cut from the same cloth.
So...I'm sure we'll try to kill each other the moment we meet.
What? Come on, you're calling me up to borrow money?
Are you really Mr. Mikiya Kokutou?
I'd do anything if I had to.
That's the kind of situation I'm in.
But, wouldn't it be easier if you borrowed money from your parents?
I haven't been in touch with them since we argued...
...about quitting college. I can't so to them now.
Mikiya, you're stubborn about some odd stuff.
Must've been a nasty fight with your dad, huh?
My family matters are irrelevant here.
So, are you gonna lend me money or not?
Gosh...you're in a foul mood, aren't you?
Here.
Thanks.
Have you heard the saying, "Goodwill will be reciprocated"?
Huh?
Do you remember Keita Minato?
He was my junior in high school. He was really attached to you.
Yeah... Something happen to him?
I heard he didn't come home last night.
Help me find him.
It sounds like he's gotten himself into something ugly.
Something ugly. . .?
Do you happen to know where Keita might be?
I must see Keita at any cost.
If I don't, I...
So, the dorm leader made a fuss, like staying out late bugged her.
So, this is what I said.
If other kids follow our example, as the top students in our class,
their grades may improve, right?
Fume?
Could it be...that you're nervous?
You don't need to worry.
My brother is the personification of harmlessness.
He's always been good at finding people.
I'm sure he can find the one you admire.
Right...
Azaka.
Shiki. . . Ryougi!
I am waiting for my brother.
I have no need of you.
Here's a message from your brother.
He can't make it today. He stood you up.
Shiki! I bet you're behind this.
What? That's not true.
I'm a victim here, too.
He left me a message, saying, "I can't meet up with Azaka,
so send her home." and CLICK. He hung up.
Urn... Azaka...?
What?! Uh...
Urn... you sort of surprised everyone...
Oh, no... I sot carried away...
I'm so sorry, Fujino.
Are you...
Are you not in pain?
No... it's not you...
Hey!
What? My brother's not enough?
Now you've got a problem with my best friend?
No, that's not my intent.
It's just me.
You're just so annoying.
What do you mean by "it's just you"?
Just let it so.
Don't you think you might be a bit too self-conscious?
Who's calling WHO self-conscious?!
I don't want to be called that by someone who dresses like that.
It's none of your business. Leave me alone.
Anyway, that's it for now.
Do you have a message for him?
Tell him one thing for me, then.
Brother, please cut all ties with this woman.
Very well. I'll tell him that. See ya.
I'm sorry, Fujino.
I promise I'll have a talk with Mikiya.
She's pretty.
I guess...
But...
...I don't like her.
What?
I think it was the other night...
Keita called Sakuya and told him he was gonna get killed
or something like that...
Get killed?
Cause Keita's friends got killed one after another, you know.
I heard he was totally scared.
It's weird for a drug dealer like me to say this, but... they're savage.
Everyone was saying they were gonna pay soon or later.
It's a big blow to my business, 'cuz they were good customers.
Oh, what do you say?
If you're with Mr. Gakuto, I'll make it 2000 per pack.
Kohei? He wasn't out there?
Geez, is he doing again?
Hmm?
Some really classy girl came, saying she wanted to talk to him.
What? Someone he knew?
Oh, I don't know.
He's been fooling around a lot, you know.
He'll be back soon. He "does it" really quick.
Please...
Please tell me where Keita is.
Help. ..please...
My...my legs...
...twisted like screws...
My legs are like screws...
My legs have turned into screws...
Twist...
I'm sorry...
but I need to do this.
This is the only way I can be like others.
I really don't want to kill people.
I'm not sure about that.
Fujino Asagami.
I see...you're related to Asakami.
Shiki...?
When did you...?
All the way... since you lured that piece of meat out.
Don't call him a piece of meat.
He is human. He is...
You know what?
Humans don't die like that.
Those who didn't die like humans can't be called humans.
Those removed from the boundary are deprived of their origin.
They exist outside common sense.
Like "that" and you...
You're wrong! I'm normal!
I'm not like you!
We are alike.
Fujino Asagami.
Don't mess with me!
Again...?! What the hell is up with you?
I'm done. You're a kill-joy.
You're not even worth killing right now.
Go home so I never have to see you again!
When I was little,
I was playing house and cut the palm of my hand.
There was a real blade mixed with the little fake cooking utensils.
Fujino!
What are you doing?
You're bleeding a lot!
It must've hurt.
I didn't understand what she said,
but I was happy she held me close to her.
FujinO.
Once the wound heals, it won't hurt any more.
I didn't understand that, either...
...because I had never felt pain.
But, finally... I understood.
My stomach... really hurts...
I can finally feel pain... I finally feel alive...
What...what the hell is she talking about?
I don't like it...but if someone finds out I'm a murderer...
that's why I must kill you, Keita.
Stop it! Stop! !
Kokutou, please help me.
She's not normal.
I thought she was weird from the start,
but she was a monster! A MONSTER!
A monster?
I know this is hard to believe...
She...was just standing there, but everyone started twisting.
I heard bones cracking and breaking...
Everyone...
Everyone got killed!
All right. I believe you.
What? But...
It's better not to accept what you don't understand.
By the way, what do you mean by "she was weird from the get-go"?
I "did" her for the first time half a year ago...
It was...weird... it was like she was acting.
Her reaction was delayed no matter what we did.
She didn't flinch when she was threatened.
Nothing changed when we drugged her.
She acted like it was nothing when she was smacked.
She was pretty to look at, but it wasn't fun "doing" her.
It was like sex with a doll.
But... you know... that day was different...
It wasn't too long ago...
One of us thought it'd be fun to hit her in the back with a bat.
She flew, with a look of pain on her face.
I felt relieved in a way because she was feeling pain.
I remember she seemed human that night and I liked it.
You need to keep quiet for a while.
You idiotic Mr. Nice Guy!
I knew you were gonna make fun of me eventually...
You heard what Keita had to say
and still decided to protect him?
You deserve to be called an idiot.
I had no choice. It was an emergency situation.
It's certainly a peculiar case.
Now, what are you planning to do?
All I can think of is to try talking to her.
You idiot!
That's why you're a helpless Mr. Nice Guy!
She can't even understand you. It's too late to talk to her.
She won't stop until she achieves her goal.
And maybe not even then.
Shiki, you sound like you know Fujino Asagami.
I know her and I met her.
She was with Azaka yesterday when she was waiting for you.
She was with Azaka?
Is she still going to school then?
No, she hasn't been home or back to the dorm.
And she's been absent from school.
Azaka hasn't seen her since yesterday.
The fact that I'm involved means she's completely missing.
It's gonna get ugly.
So, Kokutou, you should stay here with Keita.
Ugly? What are you gonna do to Fujino Asagami?
Depending on how it goes, there may be a battle.
What the...?! It's not like she's killing randomly.
I believe talking to her is entirely possible.
Not gonna happen.
I made Keita confess before I put him to sleep,
but their leader attacked Fujino Asagami with a knife.
It sounds like she got stabbed,
which seems to have triggered her revenge.
Here's the problem.
She was stabbed in the stomach in the night of the 20th.
Shiki met her two days later.
She says Fujino Asagami was not wounded
and she was all better.
Stab wound in the stomach...
But, Fujino said it hurt over the phone, right?
It's most likely that she keeps killing because the memory
of the pain comes back every time she thinks about the rape.
Who's to say it wouldn't happen if you met with her?
That's not it, Touko.
She really does feel pain.
Fujino AsagamFs pain still remains inside her.
I thought there was no wound.
She's completely healed...
but the wound still aches?
You mean that only the sensation of pain lingers?
Could it be ...insensitivity to pain?
You mean Fujino Asagami?
Keita said Fujino Asagami was apathetic no matter what.
If that's the case,
it may explain her strange reactions to pain.
Insensitivity, huh?
If so, were there anything that changed her condition?
Like a strong hit to the back, or a large injection of ACTH?
Her back...?
I don't know the extent,
but it seems they hit her back with a bat.
Ah, that must be it.
Their full swing must've temporarily cured her insensitivity.
This new feeling, "pain", must be a reason for her homocidal impulse.
The sensation of pain is?
Listen, having no sensitivity...
means not being able to get anything, Kokutou.
Right. More radically speaking, it's like she has no body.
She probably can't even feel she's alive.
But she learned what pain was.
Of course she'd want more.
But...
the sensitivity she finally acquired
ended up triggering this revenge...
But, according to Shiki,
her insensitivity is back, right?
I don't care about any of that.
I just can't forgive Fujino Asagami.
It makes me sick to think she may kill again.
Misofamilia, huh?
I guess your type doesn't flock together.
I'm going to look into Fujino Asagamfs past.
I guess it's worth investigating...
It could be that Fujino Asagami is just a victim.
The question is... which came first?
I need to so somehwere far.
I may not come back here today or tomorrow.
That's all right. Have a good one.
Shiki, see you later.
Make sure you don't push yourself too hard.
You're the one who's pushing too hard. Honestly...
I guess it's true that "a fool is never cured until he dies."
I'll give it a try...
Right. So, she hasn't been there since the 20th?
How about prescriptions?
Right. It's about that accident.
So, the driver was dead before the accident?
What? It's a fender bender even though his head was twisted off?
Oh, no, that makes sense... there was no passenger.
A closed chamber on the run... no great detective could solve this...
Oh, no, this is enough information for now.
Sorry for the trouble.
I owe you a favor, Detective Akimi.
Thank you.
Shiki, we have a seventh victim.
This one's got to be random, right?
Yeah. Keita says he didn't know this morning's accident victim.
Then, I can't wait any longer.
Shiki!
SOUREN ARAYA
I had the client make those card keys.
But they're under an old friend's name.
Fujino must've taken a card that's identical to one of them.
It's a pain in the ass, so take care of it before Kokutou returns.
I guess Kokutou was too late.
Now, will a storm come first
or will a storm be created first?
If Shiki goes alone, she may be the one to lose instead.
Ryougi...
Huh? What's the matter, Fujino?
I forgot my towel.
Please so on ahead.
OK. We'll see you later, then.
Does it hurt?
Let me see it.
I didn't want anyone to know I couldn't feel pain.
Others need to think I'm normal, or else it's over for me...
Don't be silly.
Listen, you don't have to put up with wounds.
Pain is something you complain about.
Let's see... Fujino... Asagami...
Are you all right? Let me know if it hurts.
OK. I'm... all right.
Now that I look back... since that day...
Senpai...
I...
You're back early.
It's only been one day.
I heard that a typhoon was coming.
So I decided to come back before transportation shut down.
I see...
By the way, Miss Touko...
I found out that Fujino Asagami was insensitive to pain...
just as I had thought.
But she used to be completely normal.
What did you say?
The young lady of the Asagami family was a little strange.
She was able to bend objects without touching them.
So, the villagers stayed away from her and harassed her.
It really bothered her father.
He sent for me to treat her.
I actually didn't treat her.
I only got ahold of the medicine he had requested.
And that treatment made her insensitive to pain?
Insensitive to pain? Oh, I don't know about that.
At first, she cried when she fell and she cried when she bled.
It was a big deal each time.
It's not congenital or acquired.
I've never heard of such a thing.
Actually, it's not accurate to call it "insensitivity to pain."
Fujino Asagami was artificially robbed of sensitivity.
She is the complete opposite of Shiki.
Her father tried to seal her ability by killing off her sensitivity.
She's purebred, but not like Shiki, whose father tried to reveal her powers.
But, sadly, Fujino's abilities were strengthened even more.
Asakamfs blood and Ryougfs blood...
Miss Touko, where's Shiki?!
She's already gone.
Miss Touko, will she be cured?
Her wound won't heal.
It will keep hurting.
What?
The truth is, she was never wounded to begin with.
Just think about it.
If you get stabbed in the stomach,
the wound will never heal on its own... not in a day or two at least.
It probably started out as a minor misunderstanding, Kokutou.
Misunderstanding?
At the time, Fujino thought she would be stabbed.
She was likely on the verge of being stabbed.
She already regained sensitivity to pain by then.
To get stabbed or to twist... Fujino was quicker.
Fujino probably thought she got stabbed, though.
That doesn't make sense!
If she had regained sensitivity she wouldn't make that mistake.
If she wasn't stabbed, it shouldn't hurt.
But Fujino was hurting from the start.
What?!
We finally meet, Asagami.
Shiki...Ry0ugi...
You are a beast that knows the taste of blood.
You enjoy murder.
No, that's you.
I'm not enjoying it at all.
There's a saying in this country, "The third time's the charm."
I'm going to kill the present you.
Is that all?
You can't escape.
She is so nonsensical!
But...
I am. . stronger.
I just heard from her primary physician.
She has chronic appendicitis.
It's also called blocked bowels.
The pain in her abdomen isn't from a stab wound.
It's internal.
So, it IS a misunderstanding.
As far as the type of wound goes.
But the facts don't change.
Whether a knife was present or not, she had to kill all those guys.
If she didn't kill, she would've been killed...
I mean her spirit, not her physical body.
But, unfortunately, Keita Minato got away...
If she'd gotten her revenge, things wouldn't have escalated.
Or, if I had kept my word and gone to see Azaka...
Shiki is right.
It's too late for Fujino Asagami.
Why is it "too late"?
Shiki likely meant Fujino's mental aspect.
It's considered murder up to the fifth person. Any more than that is a massacre.
It no longer has just cause and that's what Shiki was mad about.
You have the upper hand, Shiki, but...
If you can't see...
You're totally out of control.
Disappear!
What is she...?
I... smashed her arm...
Why isn't she stopping?
That wasn't good...
Shiki is murderphilic, yet subconsciously knows how precious death is.
That's why she doesn't kill randomly like Fujino Asagami.
For Shiki, Fujin0's mindless self- indulgence is not acceptable.
But, when I say "too late," I mean her physical aspect.
Appendicitis, untreated, will burst and cause peritonitis.
If it gets to the duodenum, you'll die in half a day at worst.
It's been five days since the 20th. So it's probably already burst.
I'm sorry to say this, but I'm sure it'll be fatal.
It can't be too late yet.
We must hurry and take her into our care.
The client who made this request is Fujino AsagamFs father.
He's known of Fujin0's ability since childhood.
When he heard about the murders, he sensed it was Fujino's doing,
and asked me to kill that monster.
The only one who can protect her wants her dead.
She is beyond saving in every way.
Damn it!!!
Good, Asagami...You are the best.
I know it's all a waste, but...
Let's get to it...
I've seen the secret of your magic!
I knew it... you are not sane...
Twist.
I usually have trouble seeing formless things,
but you shot too many.
Thanks to that, I finally saw it.
Your power is a spiral helix in green and red.
It is truly beautiful.
What...are you?
Everything in this world has a tear.
Not to mention humans, the atmosphere, one's will
and even time.
My eyes allow me to see death.
They are special like yours.
Twist...
So, I can kill even a god H he Hvesu.
Twist!
Twist! Twist! Twist! Twist! Twist! Twist! Twist! Twist!
Are you... going to kill me?
Why are you going to kill me?
I was only killing because my wound hurt.
That's not true.
If that's the case, why are you laughing?
Back then... and even now...
why do you look so happy?
It can't be...
In short, you're having fun.
You just love hurting others more than anything else.
That's why your pain will never so away.
Is that... the answer?
I told you...you and I are very much alike.
Twist!!!!!
I need to get away... this will collapse, too...
I don't want to... die... just yet.
It hurts! It hurts!
I want to... live... longer.
I want to... talk... more.
I want to... love... more.
I want to... be here... longer...
It hurts...
It hurts. Senpai, it hurts... so much...
It hurts so bad I want to cry.
Is it all right for me to cry...?
Are you in pain?
If it hurts...
If it hurts, you should've said so.
Shiki!
Hey, I figured you'd be here for some reason.
Shiki, you're injured?
One arm is all you lost, Shiki?
Touko, she used ESP in the end and blew up the bridge.
She'll become very powerful if left alone.
ESP? Clairvoyance, huh?
With her abilities she'd be invincible.
The axis of rotation would appear even in the shadows...
Huh? Did you just say, "if left alone?"
She went back to being insensitive in the end.
That's not fair.
Fujino Asagami, like that, can't be the target.
I didn't have a choice, so I killed the illness in her abdomen.
If you hurry, you may be able to save her.
And... my left arm became useless, so I killed it, too.
Touko, you can make me a prosthetic arm, right?
All right. That'll be your pay this time.
I'd thought your physical body was too ordinary
for your "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception."
I'll make sure your new left hand can grab on to a spiritual body.
Yes, please.
The ambulance is on the way!
All right, then. We should get going.
If we stay, it'll get too complicated.
Since I called 911, I'll stay here.
I'll tell you how it goes, so you can so home Miss Touko.
Oh, yeah? Good. Shiki, let's get going.
No, thanks.
Shiki, don't kill Kokutou because you couldn't kill Fujino.
Shiki, you still... can't forgive Fujino Asasami?
I'm not interested in someone I killed once.
What about you?
You don't condone murder regardless of the reason, right?
Right. But I sympathize with her.
Honestly, I don't care about how those gang rapists died.
That's unexpected.
I thought you'd speak in generalities.
Oh, really? But Shiki,
Fujino Asagami is a normal girl with good sense,
even if she'd lost sight of that.
She would probably face her actions without evading them.
The wound in her heart will keep hurting.
Just as her phantom pain lingered, it will never heal.
That pains me.
You're too soft-hearted. Besides...
I don't have fancy stuff like "good sense".
Do you think someone like that should be left alone?
I see. I've got no choice.
I'll carry your sin in your place.
I've just remembered...
you've always joked like that with a straight face.
Honestly...
Shiki didn't do well with that kind of stuff.
All right.
I think I'm strong enough to carry one girl.
One more confession...
I think I carried a sin this time.
But, in exchange, I learned what I wanted.
It's vague and risky, but I have to hold on to it.
But that thing wasn't as bad as I'd thought.
That makes me a little happy... just a little...
A little murderous impulse toward you...
Thinking back, that was the first truly happy smile she showed me
since she woke up.
July, 1998
ever cry. never life. (Remaining Sense of Pain)
I start walking from the silence
to the scenery of love yet to be seen.
I want to believe in my pain
beyond the night
There is one tender wound in my chest
that you touched.
My tears that I hid drop in crimson.
On my cold skin,
are flower petals that are finally lit.
I'm here
I'll sing of happiness.
The dream is near its end
and the stardust will vanish soon.
Please... hold me tight enough so I can feel I'm alive.
I was born from silence
and I still don't even know warmth yet.
I just want to reach life
beyond the night.
The familiar summer rain...
Please see me off...
so that I can so in tears
to the beginning of believing in each other.
I want to carve
joy and sorrow deeply...
as a memory of the happiness of
being here with you.
Around the time the stardust disappears,
in the light that I see for the first time,
with your eyes and a kiss,
please give me the trace of having been in love.
I'd like to cry for being pierced by being alive.
I start walking from the silence
to the distant daybreak yet to be seen.
I just want to fulfill my wish
beyond the night.
Preview of the Next Chapter
Two years have passed since that night...
June, 1998
Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, eh?
It'd be a waste to lose them, Shiki.
This place is beautiful.
...and very “EDDY--
...but humans are so lonely.
Do you know who I am?
Did your other SHIKI really die in vain... Shiki Ryougi?
I will kill my weak self!
I will not allow you to have Shiki Ryougi!
Garan-no-dou. (The Hollow Shrine)