Everything went well until one day, when a change took place in Tokio’s body. For some reason, he didn’t feel hungry when the time specified by his Lunch alarm arrived.
Huh? That’s weird. It’s gone right past when my alarm was set for…
Feeling a little confused, he put a hand on his stomach and closed his eyes and fixed his vision on a spot somewhere behind his eyeballs. He used to have to concentrate hard, but now that he’d gotten accustomed to using the Body Clock, it was a lot easier. He could even glance at the display during class without anyone noticing.
The six-digit display drifted up in Tokio’s head just like normal. But when he saw it, he was in for a surprise.
It wasn’t moving. The digital display was frozen on the same time. The Body Clock had stopped before it reached the Lunch alarm.
Wh-why…? Is it…broken? No, it can’t be. Can it…?
Tokio went pale and broke into a cold sweat.
The Body Clock would never break down. That’s what the man at the clock store had told him. So what was going on here?
That day, Tokio didn’t eat a single bite of his lunch. He never got hungry enough to want to, and he couldn’t eat if he wasn’t hungry. Even at the end of his afternoon classes, he didn’t get hungry on his own like he usually would.
C-come on… You’ve gotta be kidding me…
He’d skipped lunch and finished the school day without feeling even a little bit hungry. That wasn’t normal.
The Lunch alarm didn’t go off, so I didn’t get hungry… That means I won’t get tired if the Sleep alarm doesn’t go off, too, doesn’t it…?
Now he was really starting to panic. He’d had quite enough of sleepless nights. He didn’t want to go back to that way of life.
A-anyway, I’ll go back to the store where I bought the clock and ask what I should do.
✦ ✦ ✦
And so he did.
He hurried over to the old, run-down store that he’d found on his way to school that day he bought the Body Clock. The store was still there, and the same strange man in the hat and scarf was inside. When Tokio asked him what was wrong with the Body Clock, the man calmly tried to reassure him.
“Oh, no, it isn’t broken. It’s simply out of batteries,” the man told Tokio.
“Huh…?”
It was such a basic explanation, Tokio was at a loss for words.
“If I recall correctly, you didn’t buy any extra batteries when you purchased this clock. I have plenty of Battery Lozenges still in stock, though. Just wait here while I get them.”
The man disappeared into the back room like this was a perfectly everyday occurrence. Once he was out of sight, Tokio slumped forward, covering his face with his hands.
Right, of course… The Body Clock uses batteries. It’ll stop when its batteries run out and won’t work again until it gets new ones. Just like a regular clock.
He was embarrassed he hadn’t thought of it himself. He’d rushed into the store like this was some kind of emergency, claiming his clock was broken when really it just needed new batteries… He felt like the worst customer ever.
The shopkeeper didn’t seem bothered by it, though. He didn’t make fun of Tokio for his mistake, either. Eventually, the man brought out his box of lozenges and placed it on the counter.
“Swallowing regular batteries can be dangerous, so I must ask that you use only these Battery Lozenges to replenish your Body Clock’s power. Ideally, you should take a new one once a month.”
Then he told Tokio how much they cost. Each battery was ¥500.
That was an expense Tokio hadn’t counted on, but it wasn’t a huge problem. He’d gotten the Body Clock itself basically for free. Five hundred yen a month was a small price to pay for getting to use something as great as this.
He took out his wallet and bought several Battery Lozenges right then and there. Back at home, he swallowed one of them, and his Body Clock once again started keeping perfect time.
✦ ✦ ✦
Several months passed.
Tokio continued to use the Body Clock and its alarm function to live a regular, punctual lifestyle. He still liked to stay up late sometimes, though. On one such day, he’d just bought a new video game. It was such a cool game, and he’d gotten really caught up in playing it. It was getting close to ten PM, but he didn’t want to stop just yet.
That time already, huh…? Guess I’ll turn off my alarm for tonight and stay up a little longer.
Still staring at the TV screen, he blinked, bringing up the digital display behind his eyes. He was just about to deactivate the Sleep alarm when he remembered something important.
“Come to think of it, the clock’s probably going to need a new battery soon… I’ll take one before I go to bed.”
Tokio paused the game and went over to his desk. He opened the drawer where he kept the Battery Lozenges, took one out, and slipped it into his pocket. He’d wash it down with some water the next time he went to the bathroom, or when he was brushing his teeth before bed.
With that settled, he returned his attention to his game.
“Ooh, there’s an item here…? Oh, cool. If I use this, I can get past that door I couldn’t open before…”
Soon, Tokio was completely absorbed in the fictional world on the other side of the screen. He had so much fun that he lost track of time.
✦ ✦ ✦
Then all of a sudden…
✦ ✦ ✦
…his vision went dark. He could no longer see the screen.
His eyes would have opened wide in surprise…except they couldn’t open. His eyelids remained firmly closed as if they’d been glued in place. He couldn’t move them at all; that was why everything had gone dark.
And in that darkness, the digital display at the back of his eyes appeared:
✦ ✦ ✦
22:00:00
Below that, the Sleep icon was lighting up.
Huh? Oh man, did I forget to turn the Sleep alarm off…?
A moment later, still sitting in front of his gaming console, he fell into a deep sleep.
✦ ✦ ✦
And then:
✦ ✦ ✦
Tokio didn’t wake up the next morning.
He’d fallen asleep without taking the Battery Lozenge. And by a stroke of bad luck, his Body Clock had run out of batteries while he was asleep. The clock wouldn’t work anymore, not until he woke up and took the lozenge.
✦ ✦ ✦
His Wake-Up alarm was set for seven AM.
However, his clock had stopped in the middle of the night. No matter how much time passed, as far as Tokio’s body was concerned, his Wake-Up time would never arrive.
So long as his Body Clock was unable to advance to 07:00:00, he would never wake up again.