DN 57: Hypnosis

The groom poisoning the bride hit the newspapers the next day.

With a gripping plot and ties to a police blunder from twenty years ago, the story exploded in popularity.

Hayato Masaki's name and photo were plastered across the pages again.

That afternoon, he sat in the psychiatry clinic at Beika Yakushino Hospital.

"It's only been a week, and you're even more famous, Masaki-san," Kyosuke Kazeto, clad in a white coat, said with a grin as he took his seat. "At this rate, your signature on my patient list could fetch a fortune."

"Then how about I pay my bill with an autograph?"

"Haha, now that's worth considering."

Kyosuke laughed brightly.

After some banter, he started the timer and got to business. "How's your condition been lately, Masaki-san?"

"No better, but no worse either."

"Hm… As you've mentioned before, the time disorientation's been going on for a while. It's not something that'd suddenly improve," Kyosuke said, unsurprised. "No worse means all aspects of your state—emotions, memory, everything—haven't changed, right?"

"Correct. No changes."

"Gotta say, I'm jealous, Masaki-san. Based on your tests, your emotional and mental health are remarkably robust."

"…"

"Does the time issue still disrupt your life much?"

"I'd be lying if I said it didn't affect me. But lately, someone's been encouraging me, always kindly texting me the next day's date every night. Think that makes a difference, Kazeto-san?"

"Shouldn't matter much. Even knowing tomorrow's date, you still can't connect it to today's, correct?"

"Right."

"Got it."

Kyosuke nodded, jotting notes in the file.

Hayato Masaki sipped his water.

He glanced at his watch, confirming five minutes had passed since he entered and sat down—enough time for the hypnotic gas he'd released to take effect. He aimed a red light wave at Kyosuke, triggering hypnosis.

Kyosuke paused his writing.

"Kazeto-san, how much do names influence people, psychologically speaking?"

"Names? That's a complex, multifaceted topic."

Kyosuke responded readily.

At Hayato Masaki's prompting, he elaborated.

"First off, a name carries psychological weight for the individual. I've seen people try to change their personality by changing their name."

"There's science behind it—altering a name can act as a cue for self-reinvention or shedding the past."

"Names also serve as identity markers. They're emotional symbols, reinforced through childhood as self-awareness grows, embedding deeper with every year…"

Kyosuke went on, clearly knowledgeable.

Hayato Masaki listened, mulling it over. When Kyosuke paused, he shifted gears. "If someone's lived with a name for twenty or thirty years, then suddenly changes it, which one would they identify with more—the original or the new one?"

"Consciously, probably the new name. But subconsciously, it's almost certainly the original."

"That first name, etched through years of growth, becomes an indelible mark in the subconscious. Like how some folks had nicknames in childhood—decades later, hearing a familiar voice call it might still make them turn instinctively."

Hayato Masaki nodded.

A name rooted in the subconscious was indeed hard to erase.

—Under normal circumstances.

Fingering the ring on his index finger, Hayato Masaki pondered.

"Are you happy with your name, Kazeto-san?"

"It's fine. No complaints."

"Ever thought about switching it up?"

"Maybe back in school, I toyed with picking something flashier. But that was just teenage stuff…"

"I see. Still, you're an impressive guy, Kazeto-san. 'Kyosuke' feels a bit… ordinary for someone like you, don't you think?"

"Really?"

Kyosuke Kazeto was a killer, hiding in plain sight.

Hayato Masaki vaguely recalled this.

After acquiring a spider-themed illusion device and confirming its hypnotic powers, he'd realized it could test the Death Note's name logic.

—Did it target the name society and others recognized, or the one the individual subconsciously identified with?

If he hypnotized someone to change their name and they fully adopted it, would writing their original name in the Death Note still work?

Or, if he wrote a name in the Death Note, set death for 23 days later, and spent those days hypnotizing them to change their name, could the victim survive?

Hayato Masaki was deeply curious.

If these tests succeeded, he had some… creative ideas in mind.

Keeping these thoughts to himself, he began nudging Kyosuke toward a new name.

It wasn't a quick process.

After the hour-long session, Hayato Masaki left Beika Yakushino Hospital.

He climbed into his car, buckled up.

As the engine roared to life, he pulled out his phone to text.

Hayato Masaki: "Doc says I'm in great shape. No worries."

"OK"

"Found a few rental offices for your detective agency. Addresses and pics are in your email."

Huh?

He'd even handled something this trivial?

Hayato Masaki was caught off guard.

***

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