1:15 AM — The Hour When the Sky Decided to Wash Tokyo with a Broken Hose
The Konbini was submerged in a monochromatic sound: the sound of rain hammering against the glass as if the sky had declared war on Tokyo. The fluorescent lights flickered, sick with boredom, and the air smelled of humidity, static electricity, and that specific type of loneliness that only exists when the whole world is hiding.
There were no customers. Of course not. Who would go out in the middle of a typhoon to buy onigiri? Only an idiot.
Me, Hiroto, was sitting on the floor behind the counter, my back against the drink fridge that buzzed like a plane about to crash. Next to me, Aoi, with her messy blonde pigtails and wrinkled uniform, was drawing hearts in the condensation on the fogged-up windows.
"Nyaaa~ Hiroto-kun," she said, not looking at me. "If the roof collapsed right now, what would you prefer? To be crushed by a shelf of canned coffee or one of doujinshis?"
"The cans. Dying under a pile of +18 doujinshis would be pathetic even for me."
She laughed, a warm sound amidst the metallic cold of the Konbini.
"I'd choose the coffee cans. That way I'd at least die with the smell you like."
I didn't know if it was a joke or a direct hit. I decided to ignore it.
...
"You know what would be funny?" she said, watching the storm through the glass door. "If we got struck by lightning right now, we'd die together, accompanied only by reheated coffee and expired ramen."
"It wouldn't be funny. It would be statistically improbable."
"But imagine it. Two idiots in a Konbini, killed by lightning next to a vending machine. The headline writes itself: 'Couple of losers die as they lived: winning nothing'."
"We're not a couple."
"Of course not," she said, smiling with those little shark teeth. "That would be boring."
The silence returned, but it was a strangely comfortable silence.
Until Aoi, always Aoi, broke it.
"Hey, Hiroto-kun. What would you do if this were the end of the world?"
I looked around. The Konbini was the same as always: bright lights, shelves full of products no one needed, the smell of plastic and disinfectant.
"I'd stay right here," I finally said. "With the cold coffee, the expired bentō, and..."
My eyes met hers. Blue. Too blue.
...and with you.
The thought hit my head like a truck. When had that stupidity entered my mind?
"...and with the cash register," I finished, looking away. "At least I'd die knowing some other idiot will have to count the cash."
Aoi didn't say anything. But she smiled. A small smile, as if she had heard what I thought and not what I said.
The typhoon continued outside. Aoi slid a little closer until her legs were brushing against mine.
"Do you think anyone would come looking for us if we got trapped here?" she asked, toying with her dog collar.
"The manager would come... to make sure we're still working."
"How exciting," she murmured, resting her head on my shoulder.
I didn't push her away.
Minutes passed. Hours. Time blurred with the sound of the rain.
"Hey, Hiroto-kun," she said suddenly. "What would you do if this were the end of the world?"
"You already asked that."
"I know," her voice sounded softer than usual. "But seriously, wouldn't you do anything else?"
"Well..." I swallowed. Her fingers brushed against mine, accidentally. Or not. "I'd also steal the Pocky and..."
And I'd stay with you...
Those words got stuck, burning my throat.
"And?" she insisted, turning to look at me. Her blue eyes gleamed in the dim light.
"And... I'd smash that stupid alarm that won't stop beeping," I said, pointing to the blinking red light above the door.
She laughed, but it was a hollow laugh.
The rain kept falling. The coffee grew cold.
In a move that wasn't accidental (nothing with Aoi ever was), her hand brushed against mine as she reached for her cup.
"Hey, Hiroto-kun," she said, watching the storm. "If we survive this night, will you take me out for ramen?"
"No."
"Ice cream?"
"No."
"Coffee at a shop that isn't this one?"
"...Maybe."
She smiled, satisfied.
The rain stopped near dawn.
Aoi and I were still sitting on the floor, shoulder to shoulder, empty of coffee and full of words that died before they were born.
"Hiroto-kun," she whispered, resting her head on my shoulder again. "If the world had ended... You would have stayed with me, right?"
I looked at her. She already knew the answer.
"No," I lied.
"Good," she smiled, closing her eyes. "Me neither."
The first ray of light filtered through the dirty windows. The Konbini once again smelled of reheated coffee and defeat.
But for a few hours, we had been the only two idiots at the end of the world.
And maybe, just maybe, that wasn't so bad.