Airi's First Client

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December arrived with the promise of winter break and the weight of meaningful work.
Airi's research assistant position had started with administrative tasks—organizing data, reviewing literature, attending meetings. But this week, Professor Nakamura had asked her to conduct her first interview with an actual research participant.
A sixteen-year-old girl struggling with social anxiety and social media addiction.
"You'll be perfect for this," Professor Nakamura said, handing Airi the interview protocol. "You're close to her age. She'll relate to you better than she would to me."
Now, sitting in the small interview room waiting for the participant to arrive, Airi's hands trembled slightly. This was real. This girl—Miyu, according to her file—was struggling. And Airi was supposed to help gather data that might eventually help people like her.
The door opened. A slight girl with dark circles under her eyes stepped in, looking terrified.
"Hi," Airi said gently. "I'm Airi. Thank you for coming."
"Miyu." The girl sat down, not making eye contact.
"I know this might feel awkward. But I want you to know—this is a safe space. Everything you tell me is confidential. And you can stop anytime if you're uncomfortable."
Miyu nodded, still not looking up.
Airi followed the protocol, asking questions about social media use, anxiety triggers, coping mechanisms. But as Miyu answered—her voice small, her words hesitant—Airi saw herself. The girl she'd been in high school. Lonely, isolated, afraid to connect.
"Can I ask you something off-script?" Airi said gently.
Miyu looked up, surprised. "Okay."
"Do you feel invisible? Like people look at you but don't really see you?"
Miyu's eyes filled with tears. "Yes. Exactly that."
"I felt that way too. For a long time."
"You did?"
"I did. I thought if I was perfect enough, people would notice me. But perfection just made me more invisible." Airi leaned forward. "What changed for me was finding one person who really saw me. Who looked past the perfect image to the scared girl underneath."
"How did you find them?"
"I didn't. He found me. And he refused to let me hide."
Miyu was quiet for a moment. "I don't think anyone wants to see me. The real me."
"I think you'd be surprised. The real you is worth seeing. Worth knowing." Airi smiled gently. "And I think you're braver than you believe. You're here. You're talking about hard things. That takes courage."
By the end of the interview, Miyu was actually making eye contact. Actually smiling slightly. When she left, she turned back at the door.
"Thank you. For... getting it."
After she left, Airi sat in the empty room and cried. Happy tears. Purposeful tears. This was why she'd chosen psychology. To help girls like Miyu. Like herself.
To make invisible people visible.
She called Ren immediately.
"How'd it go?" he asked.
"It was... perfect. Scary and perfect. I think I helped her. Even just a little."
"I'm so proud of you. Tell me everything."
She described the interview, Miyu's story, the moment of connection. Ren listened with complete attention, asking questions, celebrating her success.
"This is what you're meant to do," he said. "This is your calling."
"It is. I feel it." She paused. "How was your day?"
"Good. I got to assist with an actual procedure today. Just holding tools, but still. I was actually helping."
"That's wonderful! What was it?"
"Cat with a broken leg. Setting the bone, putting in pins. Intricate work." His voice was full of awe. "The precision required, the care—it's art and science combined."
They talked for an hour about their work, their passions, their growing confidence in their chosen paths. And Airi realized: this was what it looked like when both people pursued their dreams. Not competing, not sacrificing, just both becoming who they were meant to be.
"Three days until winter break," Ren said.
"Three days until I see you."
"A whole month together. I can't wait."
"Me neither. I've been counting down."
"Same. Kenji's making fun of me for how often I check the calendar."
Airi laughed. "Saki does the same. She says I'm insufferable when I talk about you."
"Good. Be insufferable. You have good reason."
---
## 🎄 Winter Break Begins
The day winter break started, Airi packed her bags with trembling hands. One month. Thirty days with Ren. Not just weekend visits or holiday meetings, but actual extended time together.
Her train to Kyoto left at 9 AM. By 1 PM, she was standing on the platform, watching passengers disembark, searching for—
"Airi!"
Ren pushed through the crowd, and she ran to him, launching herself into his arms. He caught her, lifting her off her feet, burying his face in her hair.
"You're here. You're actually here."
"I'm here." She pulled back to look at him. "Show me Kyoto?"
"Show you everything."
They spent the first weekend exploring the city—ancient temples and modern streets, traditional gardens and university cafes. But mostly, they just existed together. Holding hands. Talking for hours. Making up for four months of phone screens and distance.
On Sunday, they visited Ren's apartment. His roommate Kenji was out, giving them privacy.
"It's small," Ren said, showing her around. "But it's mine."
The apartment was tiny—barely bigger than a dorm room—but it was distinctly Ren. Photos of animals from the shelter on one wall. Textbooks stacked everywhere. A plant (somehow still alive) on the windowsill. And on his desk, a photo of the two of them from the summer festival.
"You kept that?" Airi touched the frame.
"Of course. I look at it every morning. Reminds me why I'm doing this."
She turned to face him. "I have the same photo. On my desk in Tokyo."
"We're a pair of saps."
"The sappiest." She kissed him. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."
They spent the afternoon on his small balcony, bundled in blankets, talking about everything they couldn't say through phone screens. The little details of their days. The fears they'd been holding. The loneliness they'd both felt but hadn't wanted to admit.
"I hate going to sleep without you," Ren admitted. "Every night, after our call ends, I just... miss you."
"Me too. Sometimes I keep the call connected just to hear you breathing."
"I do that too!" He laughed. "We're ridiculous."
"We're in love. There's a difference."
"Is there?" But he was smiling.
That evening, Ren's mom came over for dinner. She cried when she saw Airi, pulling her into a tight hug.
"Look at you! All grown up and beautiful. How's Tokyo?"
"Busy. Good. Challenging."
"She got a research position," Ren added proudly. "Working with Professor Nakamura on adolescent anxiety."
"That's wonderful! And you're still together. Making it work." Ren's mom looked between them with warm eyes. "I'm proud of both of you. Long distance is hard. But you're doing it."
Over dinner, Airi felt something settle in her chest. This was family. Not just Ren, but his mom, this tiny apartment, this life he'd built. And she was welcome in it.
When his mom left and it was just the two of them again, Ren pulled Airi onto the couch.
"I've been thinking," he said.
"About?"
"About next summer. After our first year."
"What about it?"
"We should go somewhere together. Just us. Maybe that town with the lake? Where we had our first date?"
"I'd like that." Airi settled against his chest. "A whole week. Just us."
"Perfect." He kissed the top of her head. "One day at a time. That's how we do this."
"One day at a time," she agreed.
---
## 🏥 Ren Saves His First Life
A week into winter break, Ren got an emergency call from Dr. Yamamoto.
"I'm so sorry," he told Airi, clearly torn. "There's an emergency surgery. A dog was hit by a car. Dr. Yamamoto needs assistance and—"
"Go," Airi said immediately. "This is important. I'll be here when you get back."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure. Go save a life."
He kissed her quickly and left. Airi spent the evening at his apartment, reading for her research project, occasionally checking her phone for updates.
At 11 PM, Ren finally called.
"We did it. We saved him."
"Tell me everything."
"It was intense. Multiple fractures, internal bleeding, touch and go for a while. But Dr. Yamamoto let me help. Really help. Holding organs, cutting sutures, monitoring vitals." His voice shook with emotion. "Airi, I helped save a life today."
"I'm so proud of you."
"The owner was crying when we told her he'd make it. This elderly woman who lives alone, and this dog is her whole world. And we gave her her companion back." He paused. "This is why I'm doing this. This feeling right here."
"You're going to save so many more," Airi said softly. "This is just the beginning."
"I love you. Thank you for understanding. For not being mad that I left our evening together."
"How could I be mad? You were doing what you're meant to do." She smiled. "That's who you are. Someone who shows up when needed."
"That's who we both are."
When Ren finally made it back to his apartment at 1 AM, exhausted but exhilarated, Airi was waiting with tea and food.
"You didn't have to wait up."
"Of course I did. You saved a life today. That's worth celebrating."
They stayed up until 3 AM, Ren describing every moment of the surgery in detail, Airi listening with rapt attention. And she thought: this is love. Not just the romantic moments, but the everyday ones. The celebrating each other's work, the supporting each other's passions, the staying up late because you want to hear everything.
This was partnership.
---
## 🎁 Christmas Together
Christmas week, Airi went home to her family, and Ren went to his. They'd be apart for the actual holiday but would reunite in Tokyo for New Year's.
On Christmas morning, Airi woke to a package outside her door. Inside was a small box with a note in Ren's handwriting:
*"For the girl who made me believe in forever. Merry Christmas. - R"*
Inside the box was a delicate silver necklace with a small star pendant.
"So you're always carrying a piece of the sky we share," the note continued. "No matter how far apart we are."
Airi immediately called him, crying.
"Did you get it?" he asked, grinning on screen.
"It's beautiful. I love it."
"Look closer at the star."
She did. Engraved on the back were tiny coordinates.
"That's our rooftop," Ren explained. "Where everything important happens."
"Ren..." She was full-on crying now. "This is the most thoughtful gift anyone's ever given me."
"You deserve thoughtful. You deserve everything." He paused. "Did you get my gift?"
"Open your mailbox."
He did, finding a package. Inside was a leather-bound journal with his initials embossed on the cover.
"For recording your cases. Your patients. The lives you save." Airi smiled through her tears. "So you never forget why you're doing this."
"Airi, this is perfect." He flipped through the pages. "I'm going to fill this with stories. Every animal I help. Every life I touch."
"Good. And someday, we'll read through it together. Remember your journey."
"Our journey. This is our journey. Yours and mine."
"Our journey," she agreed.
---
## 🎆 New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve found them in Tokyo, watching fireworks from Airi's dorm rooftop. Saki had gone home for the holiday, giving them the room to themselves for a few days.
"One year ago, we were about to graduate," Airi said, watching the fireworks paint the sky. "About to start this whole journey."
"One year ago, I was terrified we wouldn't make it."
"And now?"
"Now I know we will." He pulled her closer. "We've survived four months. We'll survive forty-eight."
"That's three more years."
"Three years until we're both graduating university. Then we figure out the next step. Together."
"Together." Airi looked up at him. "Thank you for this month. For reminding me why we're doing this."
"Thank you for understanding my work. For supporting my passion even when it takes me away."
"That's what partners do."
"Yeah." He kissed her as the clock struck midnight. "Happy New Year, Airi."
"Happy New Year, Ren."
"To three more years. To surviving. To thriving. To us."
"To us," she echoed.
Around them, fireworks exploded in celebration. Below them, the city roared with joy. But in their small corner of the world, they just held each other, knowing that the coming year would be hard. That distance would continue to challenge them. That their separate lives would keep growing.
But also knowing that they'd choose each other. Through everything. Always.
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## 📔 Journal Entry
*Dear Future Me,*
*Winter break is almost over. In two days, we go back to our separate cities. Our separate lives.*
*But this month... this month reminded me of everything.*
*I helped Miyu see herself. Ren saved a dog's life. We both found our callings, our purposes, our reasons for being where we are.*
*And we found each other again. Not the high school version of us, but this new version. The university students with dreams and ambitions and separate lives who still choose to be together.*
*I'm wearing his necklace—the star with our rooftop coordinates. He has his journal where he'll record every life he saves.*
*These are the symbols of our separate journeys. But also of our connection. Because even when we're apart, we're carrying pieces of each other.*
*Three more years until graduation. Three more years of distance. But if the first four months taught me anything, it's that we can do this.*
*Not because it's easy. Because it's worth it.*
*Love,**Present Airi (four months stronger, three years to go)*
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