Wrapped completely in his blanket, he is sleeping peacefully. Suddenly the alarm rings. Without even opening his eyes, he reaches out, stops the alarm, pushes away the blanket, and gets up. When he checks the time, it's 8:00 AM.
He quickly goes to the bathroom, brushes, and takes a shower. After that, he eats two roasted breads and two omelets, and drinks a cup of black coffee. While sipping the coffee, he steps onto the balcony, and it already becomes 9:00 AM.
He packs his bag, takes his bike, and leaves for college.
As soon as he parks the bike, he sees his friend Kiato, and he calls out,
"Hey Kiato!"
Kiato turns around with an anxious expression and says,
"Yesterday madam told us to prepare the PPT on abdominal anatomy… did you think about it?"
Akira replies,
"Yeah, I focused on it last night."
Kiato asks seriously,
"Tell the truth… did you even sleep last night?"
Akira takes a deep breath and walks toward the college racks.
Kiato continues,
"I'm asking you something! At least respond!"
Akira ignores him and keeps walking.
Just then, the madam enters the class, and both of them rush inside.
"Good morning, students," she says. "Today's topic is abdominal muscles."
This is Kyoto Medical College, and Akira and Kiato are medical students and good friends.
The madam suddenly calls out,
"Kiato and Akira, both of you come forward and explain about the abdominal muscles."
Kiato whispers,
"Oh God… seriously? Today of all days?"
Both of them walk to the front of the class. Akira takes a deep breath and begins,
"Today our topic is—"
A student from the back shouts,
"Someone send him out, he looks like he's about to faint!"
Everyone laughs.
Akira still continues and explains the topic for 30 minutes. The whole class becomes silent, listening carefully. The teacher smiles and says,
"Wow, very well done! A round of applause for him."
Kiato watches Akira from the side, impressed.
The class ends. It's now 4 PM. Everyone takes their bags and heads to the parking area.
Kiato says,
"You told me in the morning that you were prepared, but I'm the one who gets stressed out."
Akira laughs and starts his bike.
Kiato asks,
"Okay, fine. What's the plan for the evening?"
"Nothing much," Akira replies. "Just eat and sleep."
Kiato smirks,
"Don't you remember? Today is the moonlight festival. Let's go to Tokyo City Center and enjoy. Don't be boring."
Akira shakes his head,
"I'm not interested."
"Come on, man! You're new to Tokyo. I'll show you around," Kiato insists.
Akira has no other option, so he nods, "Fine."
At 7 PM, Kiato calls Akira.
Akira is preparing dinner in the kitchen when his phone rings.
"Where are you? Are you coming to Shibuya or not?" Kiato asks.
Akira sighs,
"Okay, okay. I'm starting now."
In 10 minutes, he meets Kiato at Shibuya.
"You're so late! The celebration already started," Kiato complains.
"Sorry," Akira replies.
Kiato says,
"I wanted to show you the city, but you never leave your room."
"Okay fine, let's walk and talk," Akira says.
They play games, enjoy the celebration, and then have ramen for dinner. Later, they decide to head home.
It's 11 PM. While returning, Akira's bike suddenly stops.
"Ugh…" he groans and parks it on the side. He starts walking.
Suddenly, a small girl—around 5 years old—comes to him and hands him a sweet.
He takes it and asks,
"What's your name?"
She replies with a smile,
"AIRI."
Then she quickly runs back home.
Akira walks to his room and lies down. After some time, he falls asleep.
In his dreams, he sees blood flowing all over the streets, and Airi dying, as if Akira himself killed her. Terrified, he wakes up suddenly. He can't sleep anymore. It's 4 AM.
He makes a cup of black coffee. When he walks toward the balcony, he notices his main door is slightly open.
"Did someone come inside…?" he wonders.
He checks, but no one is there.
He sits in the balcony drinking his coffee, and suddenly he remembers that in his dream also, the door was open…