Slumber is the fourth story in The Liminal Zone.
Plot[]
Takuya is an aspiring lawyer who has repeatedly failed the Bar Exam. Believing he might succeed if he studies in an environment with less distractions, Takuya's parents help him move into an apartment of his own. Each morning he awakes with strange, disturbing memories of killing people; at the same time, news reports emerge of a serial killer operating nearby. When he sees on the news that a woman was killed, he remembers her face and the exact circumstances of the murder.
Takuya is confused as to why he'd want to kill the victims, all of whom were strangers to him. Soon, another murder occurs and Takuya awakes with memories of what happened - including the presence of a witness. Sure enough, the news reports that someone has come forward with vital evidence about the murder. Takuya panics that he'll receive the death penalty. He decides to turn himself in, but when he returns home, he sees that someone has been inside his apartment. He finds a bloody knife and a number of black parkas used by the killer.
Takuya's girlfriend Kanami doesn't believe he could have killed anyone. She points out that all the murders are consistent with the MO of a prisoner already executed the year previously, and police think this killer is a copycat. She tries to reassure Takuya by setting up a camera in his room to prove he didn't commit the murders. But on her way home, Kanami falls victim to the killer. She survives the attack and identifies the culprit as a therapist named Ryoji Gobara, who lives in Takuya's building.
Gobara has written journals where he confesses to many murders, assisted by "confidants": people who he believes he can help by sharing their pain. He imitates the circumstances of his target's life perfectly, including moving into a nearby apartment and setting it up to look the exact same way. This gives him a voodoo-like control of the "confidant", and shows them his memories of killing each victim. Takuya realizes that he'd wandered into Gobara's apartment by mistake, and the "witness" he saw was the reflection of Gobara. Gobara has now been sentenced to death, but remains in jail on appeal.
Takuya moves back with his parents and abandons his dream of becoming a lawyer, but continues to see Gobara's memories. Many years later, Gobara is executed; at the moment of his death, Takuya is hit with memories of Gobara's entire life, including what happened as he was hanged. Kanami visits Takuya and says that she doesn't feel any bitterness towards him, since he was a victim of Gobara, just like him. Takuya turns around, showing her that he is possessed by Gobara. Through Takuya, Gobara says he doesn't regret anything, since the experience allowed him to share Takuya's pain.