ハピネス [Happiness] Series by Shuzo Oshimi

THE THIRST Nothing interesting in happening in Makoto Ozaki’s first year of high school. HIs life is a serise of quiet humiliations: low-grade bullies, unreliable friends, and the constant frustration of his adolescent lust. But one night, a pale, thin girl knocks him to the ground in an alley and offers him a choice. Now everything is different. Daylight is searingly bright. Food tastes awful. And worse than anything is the terrible, consuming thirst... moreTHE THIRST Nothing interesting in happening in Makoto Ozaki’s first year of high school. HIs life is a serise of quiet humiliations: low-grade bullies, unreliable friends, and the constant frustration of his adolescent lust. But one night, a pale, thin girl knocks him to the ground in an alley and offers him a choice. Now everything is different. Daylight is searingly bright. Food tastes awful. And worse than anything is the terrible, consuming thirst. The tiny shames of his old life have been replaced by two towering horrors: the truth of what will slake his awful craving, and high school itself. less

Makoto Okazaki is changing. Having turned his former bully Yuuki into a strange kind of friend, he’s been forced to help confront Yuuki’s own tormentors. But even if Makoto’s bizarre new physiology might solve one problem, it is creating others. And behind all of Makoto’s problems lurk horrifying questions: Who was the girl who attacked him? What is happening to his body? Why is he still so thirsty?

A supernatural story of sexual awakening, growing up, and suburban vampirism, Happiness follows a dorky boy who is attacked by a girl in an alley. She sucks his blood and gives him a choice: life or death. He chooses life, but finds himself nearly overwhelmed by a new thirst and a fascination with the necks of his classmates…

DARK APPETITES Makoto begs Nora to undo the horrific change she has wrought upon his body, even as Yuuki is increasingly consumed by his own thirst. Unaware of his escalating taste for violence, Yuuki’s girlfriend Nao is convinced that her affection can tame the beast he is becoming. But even if the love of a girl will be enough to stop the body count from rising, Makoto is coming to realize that he’s merely the newest player in a very old war…

LIFE OR DEATH As the body count rises, the horror that has descended upon Makoto Okazaki’s life reaches an apex. The forces pursuing him and Nora are relentless, and they will not rest until they’ve captured their prey. But what fate awaits Makoto at their hands? And even as Yukiko continues her determined search for the truth and discovers the carnage that Yuuki has wrought, she is unprepared for the violent consequences…

OLD SCARS Years have passed since Yukiko Gosho's last horrific encounter with Makoto, and the wounds to her body and mind have healed--but imperfectly. When a charming coworker attempts to draw her out of her shell, she must confront the lingering effects of what she witnessed as a teenager. But can the past stay buried?

TAKEN -- Seeking answers to the questions that still haunt her, Yukiko Gosho goes alone to confront a mysterious blood-obsessed cult—the leader of which is none other than Sakurane, the man responsible for the scars on Yukiko’s body and mind. But Sakurane has his own agenda, and he will go to horrifying lengths to pursue it…

MONSTERS Sudo arrives to rescue Gosho from Sakurane’s torture, and like so many before him, he underestimates the cult leader’s monstrosity, with devastating consequences. Amid the horror, Yuuki emerges from his catatonia to a chance at redemption–but it may take a monster to defeat a monster, and in spite of everything, Yuuki’s still just a bit too human…

THE FEAST Sakurane’s madness reaches its peak and causes a blood-soaked frenzy that consumes the cult and even their “god.” With nothing to stop him, Sakurane sets his sights on Gosho to complete his ritual of ascension. But as she suffers unspeakable horrors, her inner pleas awaken Okazaki from his decade-long slumber, and he makes his escape…