Why am I such a heartless person? Is it all my fault? Or is it just the way I was born? Sometimes a person needs a real break from it all. I don’t know, I feel close to Genzo. Bitch, I’m not gay… Genzo stood up, stretched, and took out his phone. Hmm… what time is it already, 7:50? I’m …

[When was the last time I slept properly?] [Introduction] The arena was a vast, deep pit dug beneath an abandoned warehouse on the very edge of the city. The air was thick and heavy, a mixture of dust, heat, sweat, cheap beer, and the metallic taste of blood. Bare light bulbs swayed on rusted chains from the ceiling, casting long, …

Classes had ended. The bell had rung long ago, but the classroom still held that thick, viscous silence that only appears after everyone has already mentally scattered to their small lives. Chairs scraped against the floor, notebooks rustled, and someone in the back row quietly laughed at someone else’s joke. Genzo slowly zipped up his backpack, adjusted the strap on …

The subway was drowning in semi-darkness. Dim fluorescent lights barely cut through the thick, damp air, heavy with the smell of wet concrete, old rubber, and human sweat. Only a few people stood on the platform: an elderly woman with a heavy bag, a guy in a hoodie staring at his phone, and two workers in dirty jackets. Everyone was …

Sometimes it seems that all of human civilization is nothing more than a thin film stretched over an endless abyss. Beneath it lies primordial darkness a place where rules disappear and man becomes what he has always truly been: a predator who can derive pleasure from another’s suffering. We build cities, write laws, smile at strangers in the subway, but …

The dark blue old Toyota Crown rolled slowly along the nighttime dirt road in Saitama Prefecture. The headlights cut through only the tree trunks and thick undergrowth. Inside the car hung a heavy, sweet-metallic stench a mix of cheap whiskey, cigarettes, and fresh blood. The driver, a sturdy man in his forties, smirked as he glanced in the rearview mirror. …

Genzo lay on his back, staring at the ceiling of his room. The sun barely filtered through the heavy curtains, but the events of yesterday were already spinning in his head. His mother had finally done it. She had officially hired a maid. The woman had arrived last evening tall, with perfect posture and a cold smile sharp enough to …

Genzo pushed the heavy school door open with his shoulder. His palms still smelled of old paper and dust he’d spent the whole day hauling yellowed book boxes for the librarian. His head throbbed, his throat scratched, his forehead was slick with a greasy film of sweat and street grime. The cold had already settled in his chest, but he …

The sun’s rays fell right on the window. Kaoru sat on the icy bathroom tiles, hugging her knees so tightly it was as though she were trying to hold something alive inside her something that had died long ago. Water still dripped from the ends of her hair heavy, infrequent drops shattering against the floor, forming tiny trembling puddles around …

Miyuki rose slowly from her spot, as if her body was still reluctant to let go of the fight’s tension. The underground club air hung thick a heavy blend of sweat, cigarette smoke, and the faint metallic sweetness of blood that always lingered after a good match. The ring stood empty now: someone dragged the mats away, someone else wiped …