Kayako was very mad. When Akio tried to explain, she replied that she didn't saw anyone. Akio's tremors returned and every time he tried to clean Kayako, he would mess it... So she got enough and left. At the distance, the man was clapping, enjoying the moment.
Akio was very depressed. Maybe the man was just a figment of his imagination... Maybe the tumor grew larger and somehow, he was delusional... Maybe everything was real and he royally messed it up. Anyway, it didn't matter... Within a couple of days, Akio would be free.
The next morning, Akio remembered the meeting. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to go, but he wasn't ready to disappoint some else. Plus, his boss had put a lot of his faith in Akio... Was Akio coldhearted enough to deny happiness top an old man? He wasn't.
He dressed and picked up his briefcase and headed for the train station. On his way, he met with Kayako. She was extremely sorry for what happened last night. She didn't know he had an illness. Akio, however, completely forgot about her. He coldly told her that he had an important appointment... He left, leaving her crying.
What she didn't know, was that the man was looking. Akio was extremely sorry, he crutched his chest, feeling extreme sorrow... And when she was gone, he started cursing the man. It only looked amused, its sick grin taunting him, and "told" Akio that he was running late again. It even assumed the same posture and began tapping its wrist. Akio could notice that its hourglass pendant was a nearly straight, a few inches from being completely vertical.
So Akio went to the trains station, the man watching closely. He paid for his ticket and went to the boarding platform. Because of his distraction with Kayako, Akio lost the train, so he boarded the Nozomi.
This time, however, he didn't fell asleep. Although struggling, he stayed awake. We said struggling because he had an extreme fever and all he wanted was to fall unconscious. The pain was extreme... But it ended.
Akio awoke in a white room. There was the man. Its clothes turned into a dark shadow of grey and its eyepatch was gone. The necklace was a perfect standing hourglass.
The man came closer and took off his necklace. He made Akio wear it. Once the necklace was in Akio's neck, the hourglass emitted a clicking sound and it restarted itself, lying on its side. The man smiled and slowly faded away... And Akio woke up.
He found himself in a train wreck. All his clothes were tattered and gashed, his only surviving things being his black pants and his white shirt. And the necklace. When another headache took over, Akio found himself at the train station... Looking at a man about to board the wrong train.
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