Thirty four degrees celsius at the moment in modern Tokyo. It's right at the midday of summer and Kanako is fucked up. She just spent her last money on a popsicle.
"Oi, Kana, it's melting out."
Ohta Kanako, a 25 years old, quiet, calm, and sometimes clumsy young woman. A brilliant graduate student of the University of Tokyo, basically the best campus in the country. Kanako was born and raised in Shizuoka by her grandparents. Both her parents died in a fire accident when she was still a baby.
Later when she was 9 years old, her grandpa left her, then followed by her grandma. How unfortunate for Kanako, her aunt was the only one willing to take her in. Worse is that she only went after Kanako's inherited money.
"I should not have enrolled in that place in the first place."
"What place?"
"Tokyo University! I lost all my money just to pay the semester fees. Now I am broke and have no job. Do I even have a future?" Kana mumbled in frustration.
"Wait, did you really run out of all of your savings?"
Kanako nodded.
"Like all of it?"
She nodded miserably. "I just spent my last 75 yen for this popsicle. I can't even afford a train to get home now."
"You've got to be kidding meā¦"
"It's alright, you'll get a job soon and earn some cash! W-well, I could lend you my train card for today."
"It's not like I want to go home eitherā¦"
Kanako fell silent, and so did her best friend, Haruka.
"It's fine, it's fine. We can go have a sleepover at my place. Ahh, must be so fun-"
"Nope, I'm alright. That witch will beat me up if I don't get home by sunset. Bye, then. I'll see you tomorrow, Ruka!"
Just like that, Kanako left abruptly, heading to her everyday hell. A place that everyone's been calling home, but never for her. She braced herself up, today too, and slided the door open.
"I'm home~"
"Did you get the job?" Kanako's aunt seemed in a bad mood today, as usual.
"Well, I won't know yet. They'll call me again in a few days if I get accepted for the job."
"Oh. That won't happen, then. Kanako, you know, you should have just got a job as a minimarket cashier or something. It's not even half bad. You can still earn money, and pay back your living fees to us. Anyway, what's the use of your 4 years in college if you can't even earn money? Gosh, Kanako, you should have just given up on college in the first place. It's really no use, you know. You can't even do anything. Gosh, I'm so stressed about you. What are we gonna do about you, huh? How are you going to pay us back like this?"
"Aunt."
"What? You have a say?"
"Aunt, uhh I think I forgot something. I'll go out for a while. See you!"
She left, abruptly, again. At this moment Kanako knew, she really is fucked up.