Vol 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Chapter 01

Birth of a Soldier

Part One

On a cold, cold January night, I learned about the existence of a

conspiracy

In my tiny six-mat1

, one-room apartment, I had ensconced myself

next to my kotatsu stove2

It was a painfully dreary night

Despite it being a new ht I even

cried while eating my New Year's soup3

For an unee dropout, the

winter chill was piercing In the middle of my filthy room, where

thrown-off clothing littered the floor and the sarette smoke

had soaked into the walls, I sighed over and over

How could things have come to this?

It was all I could think about

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11

”Ah,” I moaned

If I didn't break out of my present condition soon, I would fall

behind completely and disappear from normal society Even worse, I was

a college dropout already I needed to find work fast and return to

society

I justcouldn't do it

Why? What was the reason?

The answer is simple: Because I am a hikikomori

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Currently, the hottest, most popular new social phenomenon—

hikikomori That's me A recluse

They say that there are now approximately two million hikikomori

living in japan Two million is a tremendous number If someone threw

a rock on the street, they would hit a hikikomoriOf course, that

wouldn't really happen Hikikoo outside, after all

Anyway, I was one of the hikikomori currently so popular here in

japan Not to mention that I was somewhat of a veteran hikikomori I

left o to a

convenience store for food and cigarettes My friends numbered zero,

and I slept sixteen hours a day

This year wouldas a hikikomori My

lifestyle had caused e

Seriously, I was such a frightful hikikomori that I should have been

approaching professional status No ainst,

I really doubted I'd lose easily to other hikikomori

In fact, I was confident that if an ”International Hikikomori

Olympics” were to take place, I would score pretty well I was certain I

would beat out other hikikoardless of country, whether it was a

Welcome to the NHK

12

Russian hikikolish hikikomori

whose escape was through drugs, or an American hikikomori who found

escape by randouns indoors

Right! The famous founder of kyokushi+n karate,

5

Mr Masutatsu

Ohyama, also known as the ”Godhand,” supposedly holed up in the

his youth in order to hone his spirit before going on to

becoest karate master If you think about it from

that standpoint, then I—who have been holed up continuously in this

apartment for a number of years—must be, at this very moment,

incredibly close to becoest man in the world

Well, it orth a try I decided to set up a beer bottle and try to

break it with a chop of the hand

”Hiii-ya!”

While wrapping e, I sat back down

at the kotatsu

Any way you looked at it,properly of

late Could it be because I get sixteen hours of sleep per day? Or was it

because I'd avoided contact with other people for more than half a year?

All day long,Even when I walked to the

bathrooait was unsteady

But I didn't care about all that

The more immediate problem was how to break out of this helpless

hikikomori lifestyle

Yes! I have to escape this festering hikikomori life as fast as possible A

Birth of a Soldier

13

return to hu out! I'll work, find a

girlfriend, and lead a normal life!

If I continue this way, I will become a trauma victim If I continue like this,

I will be disqualified as a huht now!

Resolutions, however—such as ”Today is the day I go outside and

make myself find a part-time job!”—just faded away like mist, in fewer

than ten minutes

Why? Why is this?

Probablylife as a hikikomori had rotted away

the very roots of my spirit

I can't go on like tins Iquickly

At that point, I decided that in order to force hly

weakened spirit to recover, I would try taking so I

ordered online

Even though it's called White Drug, it's not a major stimulant or

anything It's a perfectly legal, relatively powerful hallucinogen

However, although legal, it's said to have nearly the same effect as LSD

It acts directly on the serotonin receptors in the brain and reputedly

causes unbelievably intense visions

Exactly To escape loomy situation, I had no choice but to rely

on phar to

stiens

It’s just as the famous Tatsuhiko shi+busawa6

said: ”The

enlighten and the

enlightens are, in the end, one and the same”

Or so like that

If that's the case, then let s

Welcome to the NHK

14

I will gain enlightenment and escape my hikikomori self I will shatter my

feeble spirit and replace it with a strong sturdy courage I will place just a small

a on top of my kotatsu and, in one breath, I will snort

it up my nose!

Part Two

Oh, hoonderful, how pleasant!

In rimy, six-mat, one-room apartment, with a kitchen sink

filled with dirty dishes and a floor littered with cast-off clothing, I

actually experienced a trip!

The walls wobble and squirm while the air conditioner breathes deeply

Mr Stereo Speaker is talking

Oh! Everything is alive We are all one world

Mr Refrigerator, good evening

Mr Kotatsu, thank you for war me

Mr Bed, you're the most comfortable bed ever

Mr TV, Mr Computer, and everyone else I've met up to this point, thank

you all

”Mr Satou, break out of your hikikomori life soon!”

Oh, everyone, you're all supporting

could make me happier Now, I'll be fine With everyone's warm support, I can

escape from my life as a hikikomori

Please watch Look, right now, I ao outside It's three o'clock in

the , but that does not concern me I'm about to escape from this room

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