This happened when I was in high school, and even now, it casts a shadow over my life. That is the story I am about to tell.

Winter, ten years ago. Right when the whole country was in turmoil over the Great East Japan Earthquake. I was living in a prefecture in the Tohoku region.

Fortunately, our town wasn't hit by the tsunami, but it still suffered massive damage.

The earthquake severely damaged our house, forcing us to live in an evacuation shelter.

In the middle of all that, there was a close friend of mine at the time. Let's call her A.

A had lost both her parents in a car accident back when she was in kindergarten. Since then, she had lived with her paternal grandmother. However, the earthquake completely destroyed A's home. And her grandmother, who lived with her, died in the quake too.

So A and my family ended up living together at the shelter. Then one day, A, who had been depressed every single day, came up to talk to me with a happy look on her face.

"I'm going to be allowed to move in with my older cousin who I used to love so much!"

Apparently, A was given permission to move into the apartment of her cousin (who was five years older and in his first year working full-time), whom she had been close with since childhood.

Me: "That's awesome! You always said you had a crush on him, haha."

Seeing A smile for the first time in a long time after losing her grandmother, I acted overly cheerful as well.

A: "Plus, B—" (let's call the cousin B from here on) "—lives alone and doesn't have a girlfriend! Can cousins date, by the way? Lol."

Me: "I think cousins can actually get married, haha."

A: "It's a bit sudden, but I'm heading to B's place the day after tomorrow! Uncle, Auntie, thank you so much for everything. I'm so sorry for being a burden to you all this time."

After offering those words of thanks to my parents, A began packing up the few belongings she had left.

Me: (I'm so glad. A is feeling better now.)

At the time, I thought about it almost like it was someone else's business.

B's apartment was in Osaka, and A was scheduled to leave two mornings later.

A: "Hey, it's been so long since I've seen B that I'm nervous—won't you come with me? Lol."

Me: "Wha—? I've never met him, so I'd be even more nervous! Plus, I'd feel bad crashing your time alone together, haha."

A: "Please! Uncle, Auntie, it's okay, right? Can I bring her along too?!"

My Dad: "That's right, go along with her. You must be exhausted from the atmosphere here anyway—it'll be a nice change of pace for you."

Me: "Well... if you put it that way, okay then. I guess I better pack for a stayover!"

And that's how I ended up tagging along to B's place in Osaka for three days and two nights.

Two days later, we arrived in Osaka.

A: "Whoa! It feels like nothing even happened over here, like there wasn't even an earthquake."

A said with a somewhat lonely expression as she watched the streets bustling with people coming and going in Osaka.

Me: "Yeah, really."

A: "Oh! Let's eat some authentic takoyaki!"

A seemed to sense the heavy mood and was trying hard to act upbeat.

A & Me: ""Hello!""

We arrived at B's apartment.

B: "Welcome! Thanks for coming all this way! Oh, you must be A's friend—thanks for coming! I'm always hearing about you. Come on in, it's a bit cramped, though!"

B spoke in a Kansai dialect and was even handsomer than I had imagined.

Me: "A. B is seriously hot, haha."

A: "Right? Don't you go making a move on him!"

Whispering to each other, we went inside B's apartment. It was a 2LDK apartment, pretty spacious for a single guy.

A: "Whoa, it's huge!"

B: "Well, I used to live here with my girlfriend—though she dumped me, haha."

A was smirking as she looked around the room.

B: "You two can use this room! Feel free to stay as long as you want!"

Me: "Thank you so much. But my parents will worry, so I'll just be staying for two days."

A: "Hey, hey, B! Take us sightseeing around Osaka!"

B: "You're as energetic as ever! Alright then, you two get ready quick and let me take you out!"

So B took us out and showed us around Osaka. Forgetting the dark, heavy feelings after the disaster, he took us to all sorts of places while we kept [smiling]. It had been so long since I [laughed] like that. At the time, I had no idea that laughter would bring about such a nightmare.

And that night. Tired, we returned to B's place, ate a late dinner, and—looking back, being in a far-off place made us feel overly bold— even though A and I were underage, we had a little alcohol and enjoyed ourselves. (Underage drinking is illegal.)

Then around 2:00 AM, B said:

B: "Sorry, but an acquaintance just called me, so I'm gonna step out for two or three hours! You two lock the door tight and get some sleep, okay?"

With that, B got on his motorcycle and headed to his acquaintance's place.

A: "Guess we should sleep too. Tomorrow B can take us sightseeing again, haha."

Me: "Yeah, haha."

So we laid down side by side on futons spread on the hardwood floor and, probably due to the unfamiliar alcohol, quickly fell asleep.

"......gh......you......"

I woke up to a sound that sounded like a voice.

Me: "gh--!!"

That's when I realized: duct tape was slapped over my mouth, and both of my legs were tightly wrapped in duct tape as well.

My arms were pulled behind my back; I didn't move them, but I could tell they were bound with duct tape too.

Me: (What... is this...? Where's A...?)

I turned toward A, who was supposed to be sleeping next to me— and saw pitch-black darkness. No, it wasn't darkness. What I thought was pitch darkness was unkempt, messy black hair. The moment I realized that, behind that hair, I felt a horrific, smirking pair of eyes glint—eyes so sinister it seemed impossible for a human to make such a face.

"Hey. You. You laughed, didn't you?"

That's what I heard. What? What are you talking about? Where is A? Where is B?

All kinds of questions flooded my mind, but as I tried to process them, a terrible stench hit my nose.

A stench like rotten eggs.

"Hey, you punk. You laughed, didn't you?"

Saying that, the person in front of me cracked a grin, and while still lying right next to me, brought his face close to mine.

Me: "Mmmph!! Mmmph!!"

As I thrashed around trying to scream, the person punched me in the stomach with all his might. In that moment, I realized the person before me was a heavy-set man, that for some reason I was the only one in the room, and that I was probably going to die here.

"You guys looked at me in front of [Location] today and laughed, didn't you? Is it fun? Laughing at someone beneath you? How old are you? Didn't your parents teach you anything? I guess your parents are pieces of shit who never taught you manners, raising a trash daughter like you."

He shrieked something like that at me in a loud, insanely fast tirade.

I had no idea what he was talking about. We had indeed passed in front of [Location] while sightseeing today, but I had no memory of seeing such a man, let alone laughing at him.

After shouting all that at me, the man ripped the duct tape off my mouth.

"Heyyy. Why were you laughing?"

Completely changing his tone from before, the man asked me in a creepily slow voice.

Me: "...I... I've never... even seen you before..."

I managed to squeeze out those words. Before I could even finish speaking, the same impact slammed into my stomach again.

Me: "Oww, agh!!"

The man punched me in the stomach again.

"What, is it this mouth that's bad? Or your head? Hey, which one is defective?"

With those words, the man forced my mouth open with his fingers and tried to shove the fingers of his other hand inside.

A foul stench hit my nose every time he spoke, but the smell on his hands was on an entirely different level. Unable to bear it, I let out a dry heave, and the man's smirking face instantly transformed into one of furious rage.

"What! Are you saying I stink?! Is that why you looked down on me and laughed when you passed by?! Who the hell do you think you are? It's too late for regrets now, bitch!!"

Shouting another furious tirade like that, he forcibly shoved his fingers deep into my mouth.

A taste I had never experienced before—like something rotten—spread inside my mouth, and I immediately felt the contents of my stomach rising up.

Me: "*Gag*---"

I threw up. Seeing that, the man returned to his smirking expression and pulled his fingers out of my tear-stained mouth.

Me: "Why... are you doing this... I wasn't laughing at you... But it's true we walked past [Location]... I think we were just laughing about something else... If I made you misunderstand, I'm so sorry..."

Choking back sobs, I squeezed out those words, begging the man for mercy.

"Doesn't matter. You looked at me and laughed. End of story. Next it's my turn to laugh. That's all there is to it."

Saying that, the man sat up abruptly and pulled something out of his pants pocket.

"Here. Open your mouth."

Then, using just one hand, he pried my mouth open with unbelievable force.

And into it, he stuffed the cheap disposable lighter he had just pulled out.

"Shut your mouth."

I silently closed my mouth. At that exact moment—

A sound that could be described as a brutal CRACK or a loud BANG—

Echoed inside my head. Apparently, the moment I put the lighter in my mouth, he punched my face, causing the lighter inside my mouth to explode.

My mouth was filled with the taste of blood and an indefinable smell and taste like gas, oil, or gunpowder.

Before I even had time to suffer from that pain, he punched my face again. A massive amount of vomit and blood spilled from my mouth.

I stopped trying to make a sound. Reasoning with this man was impossible. I was going to die here.

The man stood up again and pulled something else out of his opposite pocket. My consciousness was faded and confused, unable to tell if this was reality, a dream, or what,

but I could clearly see what the man had pulled out in the darkness.

It looked like a clear bottle. And inside it, I could see a pale pink, glue-like substance. Even now, I don't know why I could discern the color despite being in the pitch dark.

The man unscrewed the cap of the bottle (about the size of an energy drink).

Then he squatted down in front of me.

"Now you're gonna be the one getting laughed at. You don't understand how other people feel, right? I'll make sure you understand."

Smirking as he said that, he poured the glue-like substance from the bottle into my mouth, which no longer even had the strength to close.

In that moment, a powerful, hideous stench completely unlike anything before rushed up my nose. Nausea welled up immediately. But as if anticipating it, the man forced my mouth shut while pouring it in.

All the while, the glue-like liquid dripped from the bottle, getting into my nose and my eyes. I could no longer tell smells or tastes apart.

"Swallow it."

The man muttered in a low voice. Sensing that any further resistance was futile, I suppressed the nausea and swallowed the glue in my mouth. The urge to vomit hit me again immediately, but because the man kept covering my mouth, only a little spilled out. However, with no exit, the vomit backflowed, trying to come out of my nose, making me choke violently.

Still, it seemed I had swallowed about 80% of the glue.

"Watch yourself."

With those words, the man licked my face with his tongue and walked out of the room.

How many minutes passed like that? When I came to my senses, I saw B in a panic next to me, and A weeping hysterically.

When I woke up, I was on a hospital bed. Next to me was A, asleep with tear tracks beside her eyes, looking exhausted from crying.

When I tried to call out to A, I realized my mouth wouldn't open. Then flashbacks of that night hit me, and I started thrashing wildly.

My memory around this time is foggy; I've only pieced it together from what people around me told me later.

When I woke up again, my parents were beside me, and B was on his knees at their feet, bowing his head to the floor.

My parents noticed I had woken up. My dad silently took B and left the hospital room, while my mom embraced me in tears.

The inside of my mouth was severely injured, requiring numerous stitches, and five of my teeth were gone. Afterward, police officers came to the room repeatedly to ask questions, and every time, I would have flashbacks and thrash around uncontrollably. It was after those days had settled down a bit that my mother told me the details about what happened that day.

That night, after A went to sleep with me, she woke up right away, contacted B, and went out to meet him.

Without locking the door.

And that chubby, unkempt-haired creep was stopped by police for questioning right after leaving B's building, put up a fight, and was arrested.

After that, I never saw A or B ever again.

And as for that glue-like liquid the man forced me to drink back then— after I asked over and over what it was, the detective reluctantly told me.

"I really think you shouldn't hear this..."

"When we analyzed samples detected from inside your mouth after the incident, it was determined to be the perpetrator's blood and bodily fluids."

I had somehow sensed as much. But what came next far exceeded my imagination.

"And those blood and bodily fluids tested positive for HIV."