The Girl Nextdoor

Prologue 3: Checkmate.

"Ayanokouji! Ayanokouji!! Ayanokouji!!!" With repeated bang to the door, Ai called out to Kiyotaka.

Ai twisted the door to Kiyotaka's condominium in a frenzy, worried what might his reaction be after hearing the sudden death of a friend.

Fortunately for her, her nerves were set at ease when she saw him there, just standing still, his back facing her.

Broken fragments and sharp shards of glass and plate with foods scattered around the kitchen floor as he kept standing there looking at the TV in the living room.

"So he already knew..." Ai thought.

She gently stretched her hands out and patted his back.

"Ayanokouji..." Ai called but there was no response coming from him.

"Ayanokouji..." she called again.

She looked at his face as she slowly closed the distance between them, still holding onto his back in case he fell down on the floor filled with broken shards on the floor. She also noticed that Kiyotaka scratched his legs with the broken shards.

"There's no change in his expression except for a reddened nose. Compared to the last time, his eyes are so dead. And he's also shed tears..."

"No..." Kiyotaka muttered as he stood still in what appeared like he is in a daze, his voice still monotone.

Ai however, could feel that Kiyotaka is genuinely devastated after hearing the news of a dear friend's passing.

"Ayanokouji. Let's get you move elsewhere. There are tons of tiny pieces of sharp glasses here."

Ai slowly patted Kiyotaka's back repeatedly to bring him back to reality but there were still no response. So Ai decided to call back to Mika who in panicked, called Ai to check on Kiyotaka after hearing a dear friend's passing.

Without a second wasted after the ringtone was heard, Mika immediately answered the call.

<<Yes, Ai! How is Kiyotaka?>>

<<This is bad, Kugeyama-san! He is not himself! He looks like is still in a state of shock! I've been calling him repeatedly now but I still don't receive any responses coming from him!>>

<<Kiyotaka and I will be there shortly! Watch over him for now, okay?>>

<<I will...>> Ai reassured Mika who was also in a state of panic.

"He is more affected that what I thought he would be. Thank god Ai is living right beside him..." Mika silently prayed.

"Kiyotaka, Madoka! Let's go!"

In a rush, Kiyotaka, Mika's husband, Mika herself, and Madoka sprinted out of their home and took the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator.

Once they were on the basement of the suite they were living, Kiyotaka revved the engine, turned the hazard signal on and drove to where Ai and Kiyotaka lives.

As all of these were happening, Ai swept the floor and clear the kitchen from all shards of glass and plates after letting Kiyotaka sit on one of the chairs.

While cleaning the mess in the kitchen, Ai's brain was filled with thoughts on how to bring Kiyotaka back to reality.

And then, a bright idea came into her mind!

She slowly walked to the back of Kiyotaka who was sitting motionless on the chair. She heaved a deep sigh and recalled how Yuki moves and talks when she was with him just days ago before the tragedy even happened.