Prologue of an Endless Dream

[February 3rd, 2031 - Kyoto, Japan]

Boarding the Karasuma Line, Kaede ruffled his hair and sighed.

The sun shone in through the window of the subway car, casting its merigold hue across the surface of the seating. He had always thought them a dull green. Light was always interesting that way.

Kaede thought the colour always contrasted with his friend Aoto’s hair. He sat next to him now, the fool kicking his feet back and forth as if he were still a child. He was beginning to regret all the positive thoughts he had ever had about the man.

“Say that your patient is declared brain dead post-massive subarachnoid hemorrhage. Explain to me how a god-damn cerebral aneurysm can cause the ceasing of all their brain function.” Aoto suddenly chirped, lost in an article on his phone.

Kaede glanced out of the corner of his eye, sneering.

“It’s too early for questions.”

“You’re saying that because you were allowed to take the test early. Some of us still have to prepare for it, asshole. At least help me out here…” He spat.

“Fuck you, Aoto.”

“Slit length-wise, whore-son.” He retorted, exasperated.

Kaede pulled one of his study booklets out of his bag, listlessly flipping through it as he casually responded to the fool, “I don’t find your insults particularly motivating.”

“You’d start to appreciate them if I stopped completely.”

“Then by all means… fucking stop.” Kaede cursed, eyeing the diagram at the top of the textbook.

The female anatomy… how ludicrous.

Why would he ever want to learn how to treat a woman?

He thought they were altogether terrifying.

Kaede let out a sharp sigh, closing the booklet.

"I wont ever need anyone, Aoto. I’ve decided this long ago. I don’t know the answer to your question, but I’ll learn it as soon as your ugly fucking face is out of my view. The creeping nausea is overwhelming me, so it’s hard to focus. Do you understand? You’re a blight. I hate you and I hope you don’t make it to class.”

“Love you too.” Aoto stood up on his tip-toes, grabbing his junior by the cheek before placing a kiss on the other.

What a… terrible fool he is.

"Self-sufficiency is the greatest virtue. Self-sufficiency is the greatest virtue…”

Kaede listlessly repeated his emergency catchphrase as they both stepped out of the subway, barely hearing the ceasing of sparks crashing against metal as their feet hit the stone tiling. His surroundings were like a horror movie, of ghouls in suits and children in uniforms. They all fit their faces with tired eyes and endlessly-yawning mouths. That was the mask of a stable society.

It was past the summer break, they were all endowed with a certain defeat in their souls— the children who had to return to school, and the parents who had to deal with them alike. The hot summer day featured the chirping of cicadas, but also the cold sweat on their foreheads, the sun bearing down like violence on their skin. They were beginning to feel this defeat fester as well.

But like any other day, it was perfectly ordinary. Ordinarily perfect for studying.

The both of them were medical students at a prestigious university. They would often compete over the top two spots, frequently switching positions. By some stroke of luck, Kaede remained in the number one spot, and so he knew deep down that Aoto had a bit of resentment towards him. That was why he had been trying to adequately conceal it.

Genius was a bit of social fableism at their university, praise was always in abundance. From tenured professors, scholars of great renown, there was nothing but benefit to remaining at the top. This was the game that these two childhood friends had chosen to play from the very start. Aoto, a year older than him, had set the stage long before, and Kaede had arrived to rise above it.

The uniform was classier than most, that was sure enough. The pride of the school’s base was centered around performance and air of elegance. A double-breasted grey herringbone blazer draped over a royal-crimson buttoned shirt. Gold embossed buttons on his sleeves, cream pocket square, an embroidered crest… this was the dream of a madman who had imagined a perfectly sinful way of society.

He had no illusions about who the uniform made him, he was not endowed with the sense that all but he was free of this ugly pride. He was above others, those who ranked below him in academic testing. All because he had been prepared a bit better, because he had been raised a bit different, he would receive a better job in the future, better funding for his further education.

And those who gawked at him as they passed were not expressions he ignored. They all ran through his mind like a sick replay of self-importance. They were those who idolised the life he was living, who desperately fantasised about it being theirs. If they could succeed, what would it be like? What was this person experiencing, just seconds away from them? Wasn’t it like seeing a movie unfold before your eyes?

Some sick assholes who thought themselves the protagonists, that was who Kaede and Aoto were.

“Are we going to grab food before we run this?” Aoto asked, eyeing Kaede out of the corner of his eye. Although he was a year younger, he was much taller than his counterpart.

“Do you want to fill your stomach before your greed robs your classmates of their money?”

“It’s a paid service. Completely voluntary. If we take tests for a thousand students, we’ll be rich. And those students will pass. And we’ll have exploited a flawed and fucked scholarly system. Won’t that have been wonderfully exciting?”

“I think you speak weird and you should die.” Kaede retorted.

The two turned from the busy city street and turned into a side alley, eager for the shade to obscure the harsh sun.

He glanced over his shoulder, gesturing for Aoto to hurry up and move beside him. The clattering of wood echoed in the distance, cawing of crows overhead.

“How many?” Aoto murmured.

“A lot.”

His vision suddenly went blurry.

"What- what the... f-?"

The world had been spinning like a merry-go-round, his balance stolen. He toppled over, hitting his head. Something had swung out towards his face before he could even react. He watched Aoto land harshly beside him, blood seeping out from his senior’s forehead, staining his crow-black hair.

Several tall figures crowded around them, the bleak light of the morning casting faint rays into the alleyway. The ground was damp underneath him, soaking into his jacket from the back. It was a gnawing feeling, an itching discomfort.

He had landed far too harshly.

“W-what the fuck is this for!? My f-fucking finger! I think it’s broken! God-damn it!” Kaede cursed, trying to ascertain just who these indiscernible figures were.

“You slept with my girlfriend, Okada!”

That being Kaede’s surname, caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood, grimacing as he replied, “please elaborate!”

“What!? What do you mean— my girlfriend, Okada! You fucked her!”

“That— that could literally be so many women! How the fuck am I supposed to remember her if you don’t elaborate? What colour is her hair!? How many legs does she have!?”

“What the fuck!”

The mystery man hurled his foot forward, catching Kaede in the stomach.

One of the other men standing around them suddenly chimed in, “ah… my girlfriend only has one leg…”

They all laughed and punched the man on the arm, parading his utter insignificance. At the same time, they ignored their own. Perhaps Kaede had slept with their girlfriends too. But those without the answer were those without worry.

The gang of men beat the two of them for a time. In the end, he imagined both of his arms had been broken, several fingers, perhaps even one of his feet…

They took their wallets, phones, and watches. Anything else of value was broken and left behind. Both of them remained plastered against the wall of the alley way, breath athunder with agony.

“From… the question… from earlier…”

Kaede thought he had finally got it. The answer was spilling red-hot through his mind as he slipped down into a painless reverie.

“Is… is the answer… a brain bleed… Aoto?”

Aoto grimaced, falling against the wall before playing up a faint smile. “I… have no fucking clue…”

The world had started fading to black. He could barely discern his surroundings now. Not that he minded, he was focused on other things. The pain that became duller, his thoughts which had started trailing away.

When the darkness enveloped him, Kaede felt an irreverent peace.

There was something writhing underneath its surface. Something he swore he should have been able to discern, but couldn’t.

Eventually, he came to realise that this was the world speaking to him. In an illusory, honeyed voice, it said,

“You have been chosen to arise.”

“You have been afflicted.”