Chapter 0 - It Begins

Tokyo, Japan

12:50 am in a small apartment room

Water dripped loudly from the sink as each pellet hit the sink. The static from the tv hummed throughout the room. The ceiling lights flickered with a very dim light as the house phone echoed the same message that had been repeating for the last twenty minutes:

"Hello, Ishiyama Akinori. This message is sent to you by your manager calling from Placebo Incorporation. We are sorry to inform you, but we are letting you go." Akinori destroys his apartment room from bitter frustration and depression.

Ishiyama Akinori is a 22-year-old college dropout who ran away from home after an intense argument with his family about dropping out without telling them. He has endured in the big city of Tokyo for about three years with money he smuggled from his parents but cannot land a solid job with any company. After three years. Akinori regrets his actions but is too ashamed to show himself to his family. He has developed depression after all this time, and getting fired today was the last straw.

"Why did I do this to myself?" Akinori yells. "If only I listened to them, I wouldn't be such a mess. Why can't I do anything right?" His neighbors scream at Akinori to quiet down as he starts to break down in tears silently. Akinori thought about a time in his life when he wanted to achieve something and wanted to be remembered by someone for something incredible, but that time had passed for him.

"Why am I still going? There's no point in me being here." Contemplating this option for the last year, he finally brought out the gun from the safe and was ready to end his own life today. As he reloads the gun, the entire world begins to shake rapidly to the point where Akinori drops the gun and falls to the ground. The TV rang an alarm, and Akinori could barely see the message declaring, "This is not a drill. Protect yourself the best you can..." Before Akinori can finish reading the shaky television, he falls to the ground, hits his head, and passes out before he knows what hit him.