Prologue

My name is Maruyama Kiyomi, a P.E teacher at Japan's most prestigious high school, Nada High School. You can say that I'm pretty successful for someone my age. I'm 27 years old this year, and I've been through a lot. Standing on top of the school building, I took a cigarette out of my pocket and lit it. My eyes wandered through the waves of teenagers, laughing and chatting with their friends. Talking about what they were going to do for the evening.

With the strong wind blowing on my face, my eyes narrowed slightly to see better. How envious youths are. Without worries, without pain, without social beatings. My eyes got colder and colder.

My parents were soldiers, so I never saw them more than three times a year, with each time being less than a month. I was taken care of by the maid that was hired for the majority of my life. Tsk. Thinking back, they were very unresponsible parents, weren't they? But still, I have to admit, they were remarkably dedicated to the country.

However, this doesn't change the fact that I hate them to my bones. When they finally retired, I was already in college. They tried thawing out some of the ice between us. They tried to do what all parents were supposed to do. They tried to give their love to me.

"Too late. You guys were way too late for that shit." I took the last puff and snuffed out the lit cigarette with hatred.

I slowly withdrew my eyes from the ocean of students and walked towards the kendo club. As I was walking, I kept thinking about things that I never bothered to care about before.

I had a lot of things. And unlike others, I was born at the finish line. I had beauty, power, wealth, intelligence, and talent. But I lacked. I lacked the things that almost all of the entire human population have at birth.

'But I suppose this is the law of equivalent exchange. Can't get anything without sacrificing something of equal value, am I right? It's not like I can do anything about it.'

I breathed a sigh with indescribable sadness. Reaching the kendo club, I readied myself for my daily sword practice.

Walking in, I took my usual bamboo sword and started practicing. As the supervisor and teacher of this club, it was also my responsibility to guide the club members in kendo. Correcting the postures of each student, I taught them the proper way to hold the sword.

2 hours later...

Reaching the doorstep of my parent's house, the keys clinked together as I took them out from my bag and walked in. What greeted my sight was the loving sight of my mother feeding my younger brother. My father was on the couch, reading a newspaper.

Upon seeing this, I didn't even bother to make my presence known and started walking towards my bedroom. They wouldn't care anyway.

I took out my laptop and started planning the curriculum for the rest of the semester. It wasn't until early in the morning that I finished. I then walked towards the balcony to stargaze.

It was a habit I developed to curb my loneliness. The vastness of the sea of stars dulled my emotions, just a little bit. Seeing a sparkling shooting star slowly flying past, I made a wish. I had zero expectations that my wish would be granted, but at least it gave me a satisfying feeling. Feeling exhausted and hungry, I took a quick wash and climbed into my comfy bed.

My tired eyes closed and I felt a weird sensation moving throughout my body. Before passing out from fatigue, I took one last look at the bright and starry night. And with that last glance, I felt myself losing control of my body and my consciousness blurred.

'I wonder if my wish is being granted?' was my last thought. I never expected anything from the wish I made. I never was a religious person, but somehow, I had a feeling. A feeling that I would get a chance to get what I had longed for.