Chapter 1 - The calm before the storm

"Haruto" "Haruto!" A voice is resounding around the room. Light regularly shines through the window as the black curtains softly swing back and forth. The young man slowly breaks out of his sleep and gets his lethargic self ready for a new day.

"Haruto!" The voice shouts again. "I'm coming now" Haruto answers as he trots down the stairs. "Finally! you don't have too much time you know". A woman looks at him worryingly. A slender, middle-aged woman stands by the kitchen table with a pink apron on. "Where is dad?" "He has already left for work". Haruto nods. He sits down by the table. In front of him sits a hot bowl of Miso soup. After Haruto has eaten and readied himself for the day, he leaves his nest. His mother's standing in the doorway with a couple of tears traveling down her cheeks as he disappears.

At the station, silence fills the air. The only thing you can hear is the sounds of the trees swaying in the summer heat. A distant light shines on the station. Haruto's eyes lock onto it in anticipation. It grows bigger as it comes closer until the sound of suspensions and metal can be heard in the distance. The train rolls into position and doors open along the whole metal box. A couple of people leave the train with baggage in hand. Once they have moved out of the way, Haruto finally gets on. The train that will change his life. To Tokyo!

Haruto finds a seat in the middle of the tiny wagon. He is the only one there, not even a stray spider can be seen inside the wagon. He sits down while putting on a headset with j-pop blasting out of them. Haruto's eyes have by now started to shimmer in excitement. He grabs his phone and opens up a school's website and he starts reading a bit about the school dorms to freshen up his memory. Outside the scenery has started to change as the train picks up speed. Farmland is replaced by forests, then by the coastline. As the train is about to leave Hokkaido it suddenly starts to shake intensely. Suddenly a loud crashing sound reverberates through the train. Haruto grips tightly onto his seat, only to be launched off it when the train fails to keep its balance. He flies around for a bit, hitting walls and seats alike. Then it all turns black.