Aya (Sawajiri Erika) and Asou (Nishikido Ryo) first met on the day of the high school entrance exam. Aya was so nervous the night before that she had insomnia. The next day, she felt so tired that she fell asleep on the bus and missed her stop. Meanwhile, Asou arrived at the exam venue, Higashi High School on time. However, he decided not to take the exam for some reason and walked away.
The late Aya was running to Higashi High School when she accidentally fell down and knocked down a row of bikes parked on the bridge. Asou, who happened to be collecting his bike there, helped her to pick up the bikes. When it started to rain, he offered to give the injured Aya a ride to the exam venue. Because of that, he ended up taking the exam as well.
While Aya was grateful to Asou for his assistance, Asou felt annoyed that he had to take the exam because of her. Apparently, Higashi High School is the alma mater of his father and dead brother. Ever since his brother died in an accident, his relationship with his father became strained. His father wanted him to follow their footsteps and become a doctor but he was resistant.
Both Aya and Asou made it into Higashi High School. On the first day of
school, she learnt that they were in the same class. Nobody was
willing to volunteer to be the class presidents, so the teacher nominated the
boy and girl whose index number were number 1 on the student's list to take on the roles. Call it fate, the boy and girl were Aya and Asou.
One day, Aya fell down again, this time on her face and injuring her chin badly. She was sent to the hospital. There, she ran into Asou, who went to deliver a
document to his father, the head of the hospital. When she asked him why he was there, he jokingly lied that
he was dying of a terminal disease. Ironic, because Aya was really the one suffering from an incurable and degenerative disease, Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA), although she did not know it at the time.
The evening before the summer holiday started, Aya went on a date with Kawamoto, a senpai (senior) whom she had a long time crush on. Because of her disease, she had difficulty coordinating her movements and she fell down again, seriously injuring her head. She was admitted to the hospital and ended up spending the whole summer there. Kawamoto visited Aya and was shocked to see her doing rehabilitation. Asou visited Aya too and figured out that she was suffering from SCA.
Aya and Kawamoto were supposed to go to the zoo for a date on his birthday. However, Kawamoto had second thoughts after seeing Aya in the hospital. Asou overheard him telling his friend about it. The day finally arrived. Aya was waiting
in the rain for Kawamoto. Asou ran to the zoo to tell her that Kawamoto was not coming. She thanked him and confided in him about her disease.
After the summer holiday, Aya returned to school. She sensed that Kawamoto was trying to distant himself from her. She decided to break up with him, so as not to burden him. She approached Asou and asked him for a favour. She wanted Asou to watch her as she gave Kawamoto a phone call to say goodbye, and make sure she would not cry. Once again, Asou watched from afar, the pain and losses Aya suffered because of her illness.
Once an active basketball player, Aya had to drop out of the team because of her condition. She started hanging out with Asou, who was in the biology club, in the biology lab. He was probably the only person who did not treat her
like a sick or disabled person.
Soon, Aya became wheel-chair bound. She was always late for class and took a longer time to take notes during lessons. Some of her classmates and their parents were unhappy that she was slowing down the pace of learning. One day, when Aya left school early, her teacher and classmates had a class meeting to discuss the inconveniences that she had brought them. When Aya returned to take something she left behind, she accidentally overheard their discussion.
Asou felt disgusted with the class who acted nice and helpful in front of Aya, but said such things about her behind her back. He told them that they should have been honest with Aya if they thought she was a burden. If they had done so, she would have thought of ways to stop burdening them.
Suddenly, Asou saw Aya standing outside the classroom. He ran after the sad Aya. She thanked him for always being by her side and tearfully said goodbye to him. She had made up her mind to leave Higashi High School. Asou broke down and cried too.
Aya transferred to a special school, and Asou continued to keep in touch with her. One day, he invited her to go to the aquarium for a date. They had a great time together.
On the way home, it started to rain. Aya's wheelchair got stuck in the mud and they were caught in the rain. When Asou sent Aya home wet, her mother got angry. She told him that although she felt grateful to him, with Aya's body condition, there were many things
that he had to be careful of. For example, if Aya caught a cold, it was easy for her to develop pneumonia. It was a wake-up call for Asou to be mentally
prepared if he was serious about dating Aya.
That night, Asou
received a call from Aya. Her disease was starting to affect her speech and Asou found it difficult to understand what she was saying. Aya told him that they were living in different worlds,
and they should stop seeing each other. Asou felt troubled and confused after they ended the call.
The next day, Asou went to Aya's school, and confessed his feeling for her.
“I don't know what is going to happen in the future, but I am sure about my feelings for you now. No matter how slowly you talk, I’ll listen carefully. When you cannot talk on the phone anymore, I’ll come to see you in person. If you want to walk, no matter how slow it is, I’ll walk with you. Right now I may not be reliable. But one day, maybe I’ll be able to help. Things can’t be the same as they were before, but there’s this kind of feeling that is linking us together. I don’t think that we are living in different worlds. I like you, probably.”
Aya was touched and they continued seeing each other.
Aya and Asou finally graduated from high school. Asou decided to become a doctor for Aya, and got into medical school. In comparison, Aya's future seemed bleak. Her condition deteriorated and she moved into the hospital
for intensive treatment and rehabilitation. One day, she lost control of her
bladder in front of Asou, the man she liked. She was embarrassed and made up her mind not to see
him again.
Aya and Asou attended the wedding of their high school teacher. She passed him a “love
letter” she wrote.
“For always being by my side and encouraging me, thank you. You have
found what you want to do and are working hard at it. Seeing that makes me happy. You
will gain a lot of knowledge and meet a lot of new people. You will continue to
live on. Your future is expanding by infinite proportions, but it is not the
same for me. Every day, I’m fighting against myself. I’ve used up all my energy
trying to stay alive. The truth is, it’s painful to be with Asou. When I am
with you, I keep on wanting a dream that can never come true. I envy you and I
feel sorry for myself. If this continues, I won’t have the courage to live on.
Thank you for saying that you like me, despite the way I am now. I won’t see
you anymore.”
Asou realized that Aya was breaking up with him, and he broke down in tears. In the hospital, Aya also cried and asked her parents and doctor,
"Will I ever be able to get married?"
For one year, Asou and Aya did not meet. One day, he finally visited her at her ward. Aya had published one of her diary entries to encourage other patients suffering from the same disease. One of them wrote her a postcard and Asou brought it along to read to her. He then told her,
"When I first met you, I
thought that it does not matter whether a human lives or dies. But now it’s
different. For you, it matters. I want you to live on.”
Aya was touched. They made up and he started visiting her
often again.
On a snowy night, there were only Aya and Asou in her ward. Aya told Asou to treasure life and “live
on always". That night, she had a dream in which she could run again, and smiled in her sleep.
6 years later, Aya passed away. Asou became a doctor and lived his life meaningfully, helping other people.
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