Ai Coleman is a former human resident of Hole, who resented his life and wished to become a Magic User. He is the original personality/basis of Aikawa, Kai, and Kaiman.
Appearance[]
Ai appears as a young teen boy with semi-pale complexion and messy black hair that usually covers his face. That, combined with his skinny body and usual apathetic expression, gives him an overall very dour look.
Personality[]
Ai was an extremely dour and resentful teenager. Despite his grandfather's cheeriness, Ai was often apathetic and unexcited about his life, feeling that he did not belong in Hole and claimed that it "wasn't [his] world" and that he "[couldn't] find a reason to live in this city". He appeared to carry immense resentment and hatred for himself and his status as a human, desiring little else other than to become a Sorcerer and escape over to their world, believing that all that he was would be found on the other side.
Despite his extremely apathetic attitude, he was nonetheless studious and very determined when something he wants is on the line. He would easily study and research for hours and hours, late into the night for his ultimate goal. Likely due to his self-hatred, this also manifested in extremely reckless behaviors, such as leaping into the Lake of Refuse despite being full aware of its status as an extremely toxic cesspool that would undoubtedly kill him.
History[]
Past[]
Ai was a human who resided in Hole, living together with his grandfather. Where or what happened to his parents are unknown. His whole life, he often looked at the Sorcerers who came to Hole with a mixture of respect and resentment, hating that he was merely human and wishing to become a Sorcerer himself.
Having read Dr. Kasukabe's book, "Sorcerers and Us", he visits the clinic and immediately asks him for the method to become a Sorcerer. Despite Kasukabe initially rejecting him, Ai remained persistent and kept showing up around him until he was, at least, invited inside to his laboratory. Though initially seeming taken aback by the numerous vacuum-sealed bodies of Magic Users in his lab, he quickly goes back to being dour, simply stating his desire to become a Sorcerer himself again.
Ever since, Ai began working under Dr. Kasukabe as his assistant, both in his clinic as well as for his research into Magic User physiology. Though he remained quiet about his wishes, Ai often remained in the lab for hours after closing, continuing his fervent research into how to surgically transform a human into a Magic User. When asked once again about the reasons why he wanted to become a Magic User as badly as he did, Ai simply answered that he hated that humans were prey for Sorcerers, and that he couldn't find a reason to live in this city.
About a year after Ai first began working for the Kasukabe Clinic, the two of them race to the Lake of Refuse after hearing that the Militia had tossed in a Magic User into it, hoping to recover it before the toxins rendered the corpse mutilated beyond salvaging. Seeing that the Magic User had already been thrown in and was deep into the lake, Kasukabe suggested giving up and turning back. Ai, however, unwilling to give up the chance for a live specimen, jumped into the lake.
Though he succeeded in recovering the body, the toxic waste of the lake had already burned and made its way into his internal organs. To Kasukabe's shock, Ai handed over his research notes and requested that the surgical procedure he recorded in there be performed on him. Kasukabe had his reservations; however, Ai pleaded with him, as he would be dead either way if it didn't work, and that it was his dying wish. Per his request, Kasukabe performs the surgery on him, certain that it would not succeed. To his immense surprise, Ai woke up after the surgery was completed. The doctor carefully and avidly documented his recovery process until his recovery. However, during his recovery process, Kasukabe noted that there were nights when Ai seemed a little odd, and felt an ominous aura lingering about him.
Once he was well enough to be discharged, Ai decides to leave the clinic. As he leaves, he cryptically tells Kasukabe that he felt that he had "become the warped city itself", and that "[he was] a Magic User, now". The same day, he finds two Magic Users who had come to practice in Hole, and attempted to convince them to take him along to the Sorcerer's World. However, being unable to produce smoke to prove it, he was beaten to death and left on the streets with the upper half of his body in a storm drain. A night of toxic rain had eroded his upper body beyond recognition, though his cause of death was cited as asphyxiation caused by some form of substance-increasing magic that put pressure on his trachea.
As he was seemingly murdered by magic, he was given the plate number 96925 for identification should he return during the Day of the Living Dead, then buried in a grave in Hole. As his grandfather was away at work, Kasukabe attended his burial in his stead.
Unknown to Kasukabe or his grandfather, alongside the toxins in the lake, an evil presence had entered Ai's body and taken control. His body revived and having become a new person, he left for the Sorcerer's World.
Main Article: Aikawa[]
?
Aikawa became a split personality of Ai after having many recurring nightmares of people dying. To live a proper life, Ai chose to abandon his own sense of self, rendering himself as nothing more than a headless ghost in his own mind. His body was left to be controlled by his two different personalities in the subsequent years.
He would appear in visions and nightmares to both Aikawa and Kaiman. He tries to show them about the atrocities their actions unleashed. For Aikawa, a dreadful reminder of how his body is used to slaughter countless innocents. For Kaiman, the horrifying truth about his past self.
Main Article: ?[]
Present[]
After Kasukabe reminded Aikawa that he was Ai, the spirit of Ai regained control of his body by growing his former rotten head, and crawled to Kai's laboratory to fuse himself with a suit made of Magic Users flesh.
Main Article: Artificial Devil Kai[]
Awakened Ai/Kawa
He appeared once again in the Central Department Store (now morphed into a physical representation of his and Hole's mind and body) to possess "The Second Kaiman". He wants to kill one of the heads of Devil Kai with the Store's Kitchen Knife, tagging with Curse Risu, and apologizing with him for not been able to save him from The Cross-Eyes boss (explaining with this, that Ai took the position as Aikawa, now both as one personality again). Ai explained all his backstory to him and a severely wounded Kasukabe while heading to the battle against Hole.
Main Article: The Second Kaiman[]
Ai's original disfigured head
Once they arrived at the En mushroom clones finally killed Devil Kai, Ai used the Store's Kitchen Knife to cut the morbid deformed head of his evil persona. Consequently, triggering the final resurrection and with it, the last remaining head. At that moment, Ai knew that there were no other heads to regrow except his own. He abandoned Kaima's body, and his old, rotten, and disfigured head appeared from Kai's corpse's neck. With his final resolution, believing this would be the very end of all, he asked Risu to kill him using the Knife so Hole would no longer exist. Hesitant about the idea of killing his only friend, Ai/Aikawa told him that if he has to die, he would prefer to die at his hands, after a sad goodbye between them, Risu sliced Ai's head from the neck of Devil Kai. Chapter 146
Trivia[]
- The 8 Ball on his hat was possibly foreshadowing to how many Magic Users were used on him.
- His Mental Pie Chart from the All-Star Directory is as follows (only one thought):
- I want to become a magic user.