Hitoshiki Zerozaki

Overview

Summary

Gallery

"What a riot!"

— Hitoshiki Zerozaki said, laughing

Hitoshiki Zerozaki
Kanji Name	零崎 人識
Kana Name	ぜろざき ひとしき
Romaji Name	Zerozaki Hitoshiki
Character Information
Alias	No Longer Human Child of Zerozaki The Kyoto Prowler
Age	19
Gender	Male
Personal Status
Classification	Human
Relatives	Soushiki Zerozaki (Older Brother) Maiori Zerozaki (Younger Sister) Zeroshiki Zerozaki (Father) Hataori Zerozaki (Mother)
Abilities	Zerozaki Killing Mentality Fighting Prowess String User Technique
Professional Status
Occupation	Serial Killer
Affiliation	Zerozaki Clan
Equipment	Knives String
Media
Work of Origin	Zaregoto Series Ningen Series
Novel Debut	Zaregoto Volume 2 Ningen Volume 1
Manga Debut	Zerozaki Soushiki no Ningen Shiken Volume 1, Chapter 3 Zerozaki Kishishiki no Ningen Knock Volume 1, Chapter 1

Hitoshiki Zerozaki (零崎(ぜろざき) 人識(ひとしき), Zerozaki Hitoshiki), formerly known as Toshiki Migiwame (汀目(みぎわめ) 俊希(としき), Migiwame Toshiki), also known as No Longer Human (人間失格(にんげんしっかく), Ningen Shikkaku), is a reoccuring character in the Zaregoto Series and one of the protagonists of the Ningen Series. He is a member of the Zerozaki Clan, known as the only pure blooded Zerozaki, born from 'incest' between Zeroshiki Zerozaki and Hataori Zerozaki, as well as the serial killer responsible for the twelve serial homicides in Kyoto, nicknamed the Kyoto Prowler. He is the younger brother of Soushiki Zerozaki, a friend of Izumu Niounomiya and the mirror image of the Nonsense User.

Personality

Hitoshiki comes across as carefree most of the time, always seen wearing a confident smile (except for when he is dealing with Izumu Niounomiya). He, however, can be very terrifying, being able to kill without a second thought. He is described as the "personification of a whim", having once left on a journey across Japan simply because he felt like there was someone he had to meet, even though this may have caused problems for the Zerozaki Clan.

He is the mirror image of the Nonsense User, being described as what would be like if he didn't hold back. Because of the two's fundamental similarities, when Hitoshiki attacked him, the Nonsense User was able to avoid the attack and stop the killer, even though his physical capabilities are way lower, as if he was expecting the confrontation from the moment he was born. After their initial encounter, the two start meeting up and making all kinds of small talk. Hitoshiki calls him "Damaged Goods", while the Nonsense User calls the killer "No Longer Human".

Hitoshiki said that the only person he considers family in the Zerozaki Clan is Soushiki, his big brother, who took care of him all his life. Because of this, it took him a while to warm up to Maiori, his new little sister, but he still protected her, following Soushiki's wishes. Even so, there are some Zerozakis he respects, such as the representative of the Clan, Seamless Bias Kishishiki Zerozaki, who he calls "Admiral", even though the man considers Hitoshiki strange.

Appearance

Hitoshiki is a short, young man with long, messy hair dyed white, with a large ahoge, and red eyes. He also has a black tattoo on the right side of his face, and pierced ears, with earring in his right ear and a phone strap in his left ear. Most ofenly, he is seen wearing his hair in a ponytail, with an eccentric fashion sense consisting of a bullet-proof vest, filled to the brim with knives on the inside, worn over a red hoodie, short gray camo pants, and black boots. He also wears fingerless gloves on his hands, in order to not slip his knives on sweat, and red sunglasses.

When he was in middle school, and still used his alias Toshiki Migiwame, he wore his black school uniform and had his natural black hair, which he didn't tie up, and hadn't yet pierced his ears.

Hitoshiki's first card.

Hitoshiki's second card.

Hitoshiki's third card.

Hitoshiki's fourth card.

Hitoshiki's design in the crossover manga.

Background

Hitoshiki was born in the Zerozaki Clan, a family of cutthroat muderers who are bound together by their killing abilities rather than blood relations. Because of this, Hitoshiki is considered unique, as he was born from relations between two Zerozakis, Hataori and Zeroshiki, who both died soon after Hitoshiki's birth. For most of his life, Hitoshiki was taken care of by Soushiki, and was able to go to a normal school under the alias of Toshiki Migiwame, although after his classmates were all slaughtered by Izumu Niounomiya, he dropped out. When he was 19 years old, he left on a journey to find a certain person, although he didn't yet know who at the time.

Abilities and Equipment

Knives: Hitoshiki's knives, which he always uses to kill, are professionally made by the legendary blacksmith Zukin Furuyari the 11th (as are most of the Zerozaki's weapons), and are not only very deadly, but can also be used to break locks. The Nonsense User once asked if Hitoshiki could give him one, but the killer refused, as the weapons are quite expensive.

Zerozaki Killing Mentality: Like the other Zerozakis, Hitoshiki posseses the killing mentality that binds the clan together. In Hitoshiki's case, since he is a pure-blooded Zerozaki, this trait is way stronger in him than the others.

Fighting Prowess: Hitoshiki has proven that he has some amazing fighting abilities, even being called a worthy opponent by Jun Aikawa, although he was no match for her.

String User: During his journey around Japan, he learned the skill of using string in battle, similarly to Ichihime Yukariki's Zig Zag ability. He used this skill to kill both Kojika Hanamaki and Naguma Sawarabi.

Quotes

• (Hitoshiki's catchphrase) "What a riot!"
• (When meeting the Nonsense User for the first time) "I'm Zerozaki. Hitoshiki Zerozaki. So, who the hell are you, Mr. Doppelgänger?"
• (To the Nonsense User, about his past) "Let's go back to when I was a little brat. You were a little brat too, right? So was I. What kind of brat? I wasn't particularly weird or anything. I even believed in God. If I got smacked, it hurt. If I saw someone else get smacked, it hurt. I had your average sensibility. I wanted to bring happiness to my neighbor. I knew gratitude. I knew unconditional affection for another human being. That's the kind of brat I was... But, for instance, I'd be sitting. Not to read a book or to watch TV. I'd just be sitting. I'd notice during those times that I was giving thought to how I might kill human creatures as if it were the most natural thing. The first time I realized what I was doing, I was seriously freaked out..."
• (To the Nonsense User, about his views) "I like humans. I like humans. I love humans. I need to keep saying that. Regardless of the truth, regardless of which is the truth, I need to keep saying that. Because if I don't, I'll probably start to dislike humans. If I don't, I'll probably hate humans. That, I'd rather avoid. If I don't put in the effort to like humans -- if someone I actually like shows up, I'll probably kill them."
• (To Maiori Zerozaki, about Soushiki Zerozaki) "Big brother, he used to hit me a lot. Big brother found me. Big brother saved me. Big brother raised me. Big brother worried about me. Big brother looked after me. Big brother... cared for me. I know big brother better than I'd like to. There's nothing but stuff that would piss me off and I can't help but want to forget, but I remember. Not much I can do about that. So big brother and I aren't alone. It's the same whether he's here or not. It won't erase the past. Big brother was definitely here. I know everything there is to know about him."

Appearances

• Zaregoto Light Novel Series
• Ningen Light Novel Series
• Zerozaki Soushiki no Ningen Shiken Manga Series
• Zerozaki Kishishiki no Ningen Knock Manga Series
• Seishun Kijinden! 240 Gakuen

Trivia

• Hitoshiki's last name means "zeroth cape".
• Hitoshiki's first name can be translated to "knowing humans".
• Toshiki, his alias, can be translated to "phenomenal genius".
• Migiwame, his alias's last name, is written with the characters for "shore" and "eye".
• In the first episode of the live-action adaptation of Okitegami Kyouko no Biboroku, another light novel series written by Nisio Isin, in the house of a manga artist in the story, a poster with art from the manga adaptation of the second Ningen novel, featuring Hitoshiki. Kishishiki and Soushiki Zerozaki, can be seen on a wall.
• The stats on his cards, in order, are:
  • Health = 2000; 700; 2200; 1700
  • Attack = 1000; 1300; 1800; 1500
  • Defense = 800; 1200; 1500; 1900
• The special ability of his first card: One turn in three: Unable to attack.
• The special ability of his second card: Attack doubles when life is less than 100.
• The special ability of his third card: Can fight in place of any Cutthroat Murderer card. Stats do not change.
• The speical ability of his fourth card: If he defeats twelve characters Jun Aikawa is automatically summoned. As an enemy.