Pray For The Broken Blue Shoelaces

Step 1

The JR Tokkaido Shinkansen line is about to reach Osaka Station but only a few people are on board. It's a weekday, major train stations don't expect much tourists on regular weeks.

Takumi Norio has just finished his lunch on board but he is about to go for another round of rice balls that his aunt made especially for the trip. He wears a hoodie to cover his rice-smeared face, and to cover up for his boredom, decided to eat all that they have.

"You shouldn't eat too much," his Aunt Mimori told him. "You might have a stomach upset."

But seems like he didn't hear anything. He doesn't wear earphones but by paying attention only to his food, no wonder he couldn't hear her. Aunt Mimori decided not to disturb his snack, especially when she saw the teen's bandaged hand, bringing back the painful memories on what she saw when she came hom from Insp. Shiranui's office.

It has been a month since they failed to get any justice from what happened to her nephew. She just found Takumi curled in a corner crying and with his right hand and leg smeared in blood. The television monitored was severely damaged. Takumi admitted that he punched his own TV as well as all the mirrors in the house after he watched the news about that man's sudden escape. His wrist was also almost slashed but good thing it wasn't that deep.

Mimori took him to the hospital without begging for anyone's help. When they reached the hospital, she warned the doctor and the nurses not to say anything in public about Takumi's admission or they will be sued with libel. Mimori would go even on charging anyone who will harm her nephew whom she had already regarded as her own son since she's a spinster. It's not just Takumi's life has been put to danger...

His fame in school and in mass media became also at stake.

Mimori couldn't help but to remember Takumi's first achievement in a certain youth dance reality show that has been running for quite a long time now. His success as television's dancing darling until an unexpected event happened to him came to snatch everything away...

What went wrong?

-----

Five months ago

"This season's Dance Idol Solo Category Grand Champion is none other than Takumi Norio! And for the Group Category, the Grand Prize goes to, once again, Otsuka Boys' Academy! Just one more season, folks, ONE MORE SEASON! Will Inori and Team Otsuka be able to defend their crown and because the new Dance Idol Hall of Famers?! We'll find that out on the next season!"

Mimori never failed to cry in front of the TV monitor of the Registrar's Office everytime her nephew makes it again to the Dance Idol Championship. It's not that new already, but nevertheless she feels so proud of her nephew who was blessed with golden feet. Some say that kind of talent only comes once in a blue moon.

Dance Idol is a youth reality dance search produced by WOW TV to promote the dancing prowess of Japanese youth from different schools and different sects. There are two categories: The Solo and the Group, while each of the major categories have sub-categories: grade school, middle school, and high school, where grade school subcategory starts as early as fourth grade. In the history of the said television show, there was only one person who was able to make it to the Hall of Fame, meaning he had become a champion in three subcategories in the Solo Category alone, and was regarded as a legend.

But maybe this year, there will be another person who will join him in the Hall of Fame. And all are rooting for the Big Boy of Tokyo whose talent can even surpass the Legend...

But that was all just a thing in the past now... Everything was shattered when the said wonder boy and his crew failed to show up in the next season for reasons that remained unclear to all.