A violin floats in midair, but the shadow it casts is as if there were someone playing it. A man said that with the violin he will become the worlds greatest violinist, then a claw draws blood from his eye and his face is shown, eye bleeding, and he laughs maniacally. All in all, the scene is very hard for me to explain.

At a hospital a young boy named Minase Hijiri was finished with his cornea transplant in his left eye, and the doctor removed his bandage and was relieved to see it was a success. When Hijiri looked out the window to see if he could see far distances, he saw Hisoka and Tsuzuki outside, but looking again they weren't there. Hijiri was glad that he could see, because then he could play the violin again. He asked the doctor where the donor was so he could than them, but the doctor told him that Mr. Otonashi, the man who donated his cornea to Hijiri, had passed away. Hijiri asked if he had any family he could thank then, and the doctor remembered he had a daughter named Kazusa.

Hijiri went to visit Kazusa, who now stayed in the care of a nun as she was orphaned by her father's death. Outside of the church a dog watched Hijiri from a distance and growled menacingly. Hijiri was surprised to see Kazusa was just a little girl, and they took a liking to each other instantly. He thanked her for her father's deed, and apologized for his death. Kazusa told him it was ok, and when she saw he was carrying a violin asked if he could play it for her someday, because her dad had played the violin too. Hijiri gladly promised to.

Later on at his own house, while lightning flashed and rain poured down, Hijiri held a hand to his eye which seemed to be bleeding, and it was fairly obvious that his pupil was only a slit. Hijiri felt ill, and for the first time he felt guilty for being alive. The blood was gone with a flash of lightning, as it was never really there.At school the next day the principle warmly welcomed Hijiri back, and was genuinely glad he was alright. He told Hijiri he could perform a violin solo of his choice at the upcoming school performance, which overjoyed Hijiri. In his class his friends gave him just as warm a welcome, but then Saionji, a spoiled rich kid, showed up and was making fun of him. Hijiri insulted him, saying he only got into the music school due to his father's money, and Saionji stormed off, lackeys in tow, telling Hijiri he wouldn't forget it.

As Saionji left Hijiri experienced a sudden stabbing pain in his eye, and he went to the nurse's office to get some painkillers. Hijiri was confused though when the regular nurse wasn't there. In her stead the substitute nurse was none other than Tsuzuki. Hijiri got his painkillers and left, and once he was out of earshot Tsuzuki commented to himself on how similar to Hisoka he was.

In one of the music rooms Saionji set the violins on fire, including Hijiri's. A crowd of onlookers stood staring in shock, including the same dog from before.

Hijiri visited Kazusa again, and sadly told her he wouldn't be able to play the violin for her, lamenting over the loss of his violin which had been his father's and meant so much to him. Kazusa went over to her closet and pulled out a violin case and told Hijiri he could have it. It had been her father's, but she didn't mind giving it to him. Hijiri tried to explain to her that the violin and the violinist had to match and not just any violin would do, but when she opened the case and he saw it he could only stare in awe. The violin seemed to be pulling at his soul.

In music class the teacher reprimanded a student for his poor performance, then Saionji suggested Hijiri showed them all how it was done. The teacher agreed, and Hijiri stood before the class and surprised them all when he started to play the Devil's Trill. A string on his violin snapped and cut his cheek but he continued playing, and his classmates couldn't do more than stare in horror as he played, his cheek bleeding, his left eye aglow, and laughing the whole time as if possessed.

Some of the girls from Hijiri's class went to nurse Tsuzuki (XD) for help, explaining how everyone was saying Hijiri was possessed. When Tsuzuki didn't know what the Devil's Trill was they explained it to him; how the composer had supposedly sold his soul to the devil to be able to compose it and how it was a very difficult piece even professionals had trouble playing.

Hijiri obviously suffered as he walked down the hallway and students whispered about him and how he was possessed. Then when he went to visit Kazusa she told him to go away; he didn't know that the dog stood behind him and growled because only Kazusa could see it. He found his way to a church, where the voices of those he knew tormented him as he knelt before the altar. Suddenly another voice appeared and told him that his existence was a sin. Looking down, Hijiri saw his hand rested on a knife, and picking it up his slit his throat.

Hijiri awoke in the hospital area of EnMaCho, and was surprised when Tsuzuki, Hisoka and the GuShoShin entered. Hisoka explained where he was and that he and Tsuzuki were Shinigami. Hijiri asked if that meant he were dead, but they corrected him. Tsuzuki told him that the violin Kazusa had given him was evil; it gave it's owner flawless talent but eventually drove them to suicide like when Hijiri tried to end his own life. Since the violin made it's way into Japan they had been searching for it. They had traced it to Tatsuya, Kazusa's father, but he died before they got to him, and Kazusa refused to talk to them about it. The only clue the Shinigami had was Kazusa's father's journal, which the nun gave them. Hisoka explained that they didn't find how he got the violin in his diary, but they found something else extraordinary written within.

The GuShoShin read from the diary, where he wrote about a dream he had where a devil appeared before him and offered to grant his greatest desire in exchange for his most prized possession. Thinking it a dream, Tatsuya asked to be a great violinist, so he could be able to give Kazusa a happy life. The devil touched Tatsuya's left eye and told him not to forget their contract, and suddenly the eye that was touched filled with heat and light.

Hijiri couldn't believe it. Tsuzuki pointed out that it was the eye which Hijiri now had the cornea, and between that and the violin it couldn't be a coincidence. Tsuzuki asked him if they could examine his eye to see what the contract was. Hijiri found it all too sudden, but Tsuzuki promised him that he would protect him, and asked Hijiri to trust them. Hijiri agreed to let them examine him.

Using his computer Watari zoomed in on the contract which was embedded in the cornea. An image was contained within, which stated that the contract holder would gain the skills of a great violinist and that on the day of his death the daughter would belong to the demon. In shock, Hijiri asked if that meant Kazusa, and demanded to know what that meant. Watari didn't know, but Hisoka stated that when Hijiri received Tatsuya's cornea the contract was passed on to him instead of being fulfilled with Tatsuya's death. Watari added that as long as a part of the original contract holder is living the deal is still in effect, but he didn't see how a demon would take this kind of situation quietly. Tsuzuki commented that the demon was probably trying to kill Hijiri and fulfill the contract.

Comments: The Devil's Trill is such a lovely song, and Hijiri -really- reminds me of Dilandau (from the Vision of Escaflowne) when he's all possessed. And I must point out that when Hijiri visits Kazusa and is sitting on her bed, first his socks are black but then they switch to white! He has color-change socks! *gasp*

/ BACK